Renounce Violence...

In prior years I have posted a Happy Easter blog. I thought that this year it may be appropriate to have a Good Friday entry. Good Friday is the scandal on which are faith rests. As St. Paul said: It is a scandal to the Jews and folly to the Greeks. Even our beloved Muslims brothers and sisters cannot reconcile this suffering to a prophet and messenger of God; hence, they say that Jesus did not die on the cross.

As reported in by the AP in numerous papers across the country, Pope Benedict pre-recorded answers to questions submitted to him from Catholics and non-Catholics all over the planet. The questions and answers focused on the mystery of suffering.

A Muslim from Ivory Coast asked: "As an ambassador of Jesus, what do you advise for our country?" In his response, the Pope stated: "The only path is to renounce violence, to begin anew with dialogue." Some may say the Pope is being naive. How can nonviolence and dialogue solve problems of extreme violence? Nevertheless, Benedict witnessed the horrors of Nazi Germany as a boy and young man. So his words cause me pause. As with the British military of old, the sun never sets on the American military. Should we not heed the words of the Holy Father and make drastic cuts to our military?

As Good Friday illustrates, Jesus did not repay violence for violence. He took the violence (sin) of the world upon himself and died so that others would have new life.

A Faithful Catholic

Bishops Want to Keep Lovers Apart

In a sad piece of news from a couple of weeks ago, the US bishops are against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) adopting a proposed regulation that would add sexual orientation to a list of categories for which one receiving HUD funds cannot discriminate. They believe that this would cause many faith-based initiatives to not participate in HUD, especially when it comes to "shared" housing projects. I guess that they are scared that a couple's gayness may rub off on some of the nearby children. Later on in the statement, they also state that they are against unmarried straight couples living together in shared housing. This seems to be an addendum of sorts to try and prove that they are not homophobic, because the proposed regulation has absolutely nothing to do with unmarried straight couples.

Basically, the bishops are stating that if this passes, they may take their ball and go home. It is actually quite disgusting that the bishops are putting out a document that essentially states, "We are not against gay couples having housing, but they should not be near anybody else." This is simply another embarrassing move for US bishops regarding their thoughts on pelvic issues. Sadly, this could affect where some people could live.

A Faithful Catholic