Definition of Homophobia
The word "homophobia" has been thrown around a lot lately, especially at Notre Dame. What, exactly, does it mean? Well, the word itself can be broken down into two parts: "homo" (meaning "one") and "phobia"(meaning "fear of"). In the context of today's society, this word "homophobia" refers to an irrational fear of homosexuals.
Now, contrast that definition with the one put forth
HERE. This organization states blatently that "homophobia" is simply thinking that homosexual acts are immoral. So according to this group, if I think the homosexual lifestyle is immoral (which I do), I suddenly have an irrational fear of homosexuals themselves??? Or am I missing something? Because I do not fear homosexuals and I do not fear homosexuality. I have friends who are homosexuals and I love them. I can tell you that I have as much fear of a homosexual couple living a homosexual lifestyle as I do a heterosexual couple that fornicates...which is, in a word - NONE. In fact, I don't know any people who have "homophobia."
Just what we need, more confusion about the words we carelessly throw around.
New Provost for ND
Anyone is better than Nathan Hatch (the man with the distorted view of academic freedom and an ego to boot), but I really have a feeling that
this guy might be good. He seems excited about the Catholic mission of the university, which, of course, is the most important thing. Maybe we'll see some positive changes. Notre Dame is one of the great academic institutions in America, but she can be greater. Pray for this man, who will help direct the course of Notre Dame and her quest to embrace both faith and reason.
Bush Nominates Roberts
I'm very surprised, but I'm happy. Smart move - the fillibusters have no basis for a fillibuster and he's pro-life under the radar. His wife is VP of Feminists for Life, and I can imagine that if they had different views on this subject there would be a great deal of tension in the home. My take is that he's a solid pro-life candidate that the Dems cannot fillibuster without completely losing the support of the public. Ingenious indeed.
Comments? (I could be wrong after all...)
Canadian Insanity
I would laugh, but I think
this guy is actually serious, and he was aired by the Canadian government sponsored broadcasting agency. They hail him as an expert. He honestly thinks that there should be government regulation of religion. He even goes so far as to say that you wouldn't be able to be a priest or religious unless you had a "government sponsored" degree, and that Catholics would not be able to exclude women from the priesthood under his regime.
Oh...Canada. The worst part is this guy's idea of separation of Church and State. He says that religion interferes so much in public life that it needs to be totally controlled by the State. What??? Apparently, he believes that the Vatican would be upset by this (no shit!), but that it would soon come to terms with the way things go in Canada.
Does anyone else feel like throwing up??
Sunday Obligation
This article speaks about Phoenix's Bishop, who recently told his diocese that they should take the Sunday observance more seriously. He condemned shopping on Sundays and said that this day of rest should be more focused on the family, on relaxation and the Eucharist.
I really admire this Bishop, but I want to know what others think about the Sunday observance in general. What do you do to make the Sabbath a day of rest? Is it necessary to sit quietly in your homes and not drive very far? Are there different ways of taking rest? What does orthodoxy and love of Christ require?
Catholic Author takes McBrien to Task
She's right, you know. A 'priest' with a national voice in the media should probably use that voice to encourage the faithful to live the life of the Gospel in Truth and Love. Instead, he wastes his time talking about the "ideological center" of Catholics today, for the simple reason that he just doesn't GET what Catholicism IS. His blathering is indicitive of a deeper disease of disobedience and cynicism towards the Church and what she requires of her "little Christs."
Cool Blog on Theology of the Body
Now
this, is a cool blog. For the people wondering about "Theology of the Body" and all the sexual ethics stuff that I'm interested in, check it out. I'm going to post it as a blog of interest on the side panel.
Judges and Catholic Legal Philosophy
Check out the conversation at
Mirror of Justice. My very own professor, Rick Garnett, is leading the fray. Thoughts and comments are welcome.
Euthanasia for Babies
This horror is beyond words. I won't talk about slippery slopes and I won't talk about the moral implications of this and the awful reality that now exists in the Netherlands. But I will say this: it is not out of "compassion" that we insist on ending the lives of these innocent human beings. No...it is out of our selfishness that we choose death. That's right, our selfishness. Because we can't bear to even WITNESS suffering, let alone suffer ourselves. We are so blinded by our fear and hatred for any discomfort that we have forgotten what compassion is. Instead of standing beside these infants and offering them suffering love by sharing in what they experience in their short lives, we bathe in our cowardice, not even able to let a sword pierce our hearts. Yes, it is our selfishness and want for our own comfort that we choose death every time. We choose death when there is suffering, we choose death when there is inconvenience, we choose death when we think we have not achieved success in the world. Our definition of compassion today is throwing from our presence anything that reminds us that we are mortals and we are not in control. It is a destructive sort of compassion, indeed.
Holy Innocents, pray for us, for we do not know what we are doing...
St. Benedict
Today is St. Benedict's feast day - he is the Patriarch of Western Monasticism and the patron saint of Europe. His prayers are especially needed today, as Europe enters a crisis of faith, seeking to rid itself of its cultural roots in Christianity. More on St. Benedict
here.
Also, today's Gospel reading - a tough one - Matthew 10:34-11:1. Jesus says that he comes not to bring peace, but the sword. He says he will divide mother against daughter, father against son. How ironic that the peace of Christ in one's heart brings about the division Jesus talks about today. Zeal for Christ often leads one to the loneliness of the narrow road to Calvary. "You will be persecuted by all men for my name's sake - but he who endures to the end will be saved." Mark 13:13
Whoa...
Uganda has decided to CRIMINALIZE same-sex "marriage." I'm interested to know people's thoughts. Not only will this country not recognize these arrangements, but they've decided to actually outlaw them. Is it going too far?
The Roe Effect
Ah...my
favorite political theory ever. It's a very simple concept, actually. In the end, pro-life Republicans will outbreed everyone else. But that's not the whole point. The point is that the abortion issue keeps the Democrats on the losing end by forcing them into extremist positions that are bound to fail. If only the Democratic Party would allow the pro-lifers back in, we might just have a REAL election next time. In fact, it would basically be in the Democrats' best interest to help overturn Roe v. Wade by not placing obstacles in the way of a conservative nominee for the Supreme Court. Put the abortion debate back in the legislative branch, and the Democrats might just get my vote (if I become an American citizen, of course).
God's Presence Amidst Tragedy
Patrick reports
here on the London bombing this morning. It seems that a "strong intuition" may have saved his life...
Phony Ordination...On a Boat?
I mean...
their obstinent dissent from Church teaching is bad enough, but these fake ordinations are always taking place on these boats. Weird. And apparently the next one is in Canada...and you guessed it...it's going to be on a boat on the St. Lawrence River! Maybe the boat represents their separation from the Body of Christ (represented by the land), as they float where they will, apart from the guidance of the Holy Spirit in Christ's Bride, the Church.
There are only two good words to describe women ordaining themselves "priests" or "bishops," and I think they were mentioned in this article: useless and irrelevant.
Students' Speech Stifled in Florida
I actually don't entirely know what to think about
this story. A girl was prohibited from distributing pro-life leaflets under the schools "no leafletting" policy, and her parents filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the school's policy was unconstitutional. The court sided with the school, which I actually think is ok. I mean, the policy says that no one can hand out materials, no matter what the topic. It seems fair to me in that regard.
I'm interested in what people think of this from a scholarly, Rick Garnett-type First Amendment perspective, and then I'm interested in comments about high school "no-leafletting" policies in general.
NDLS gets $21 million
Finally! Apparently Eck's substantial gift is the 5th largest in school history - I guess Dean O'Hara has a handle on things, after all! The addition will come long after I'm gone, but it's cool nonetheless.
O'Connor is Retiring
I'll leave this up for the discussion, but I say SWEET! Check out the story
here.
My favored nominees: women who have spines - Janice Brown and Edith Jones. Let the confirmation battles begin!
