Abbey-Roads2

Religion can never be a vehicle for hate.

Visiting Naples the Holy Father said, “Faced with a world lacerated by conflicts, where at times violence is justified in the name of God, it is important to re-emphasize that religion can never be a vehicle of hate; never, in the name of God, can we justify evil and violence.” - Zenit 

He was addressing those gathered in Naples for the 21st International Encounter of Peoples and Religions, organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio.  This event is connected to the Assisi gatherings for Peace, which in the past have been the source of much controversy amongst traditional Catholics.  Pope Benedict refrained from attending the latest Assisi congress, yet recommended yesterday that religious people should work to promote peace and the “spirit of Assisi”.

Understanding and respect.

Appealing for understanding amongst people, the Holy Father stated that the Catholic Church intends “to continue along the road of dialogue to promote understanding among different cultures, traditions and religious wisdom.”

“I ardently desire that this spirit spread more and more, especially where the tensions are strongest, where freedom and respect for the other are denied and men and women suffer the consequences of intolerance and misunderstanding,” the Pope added. - Zenit  

Hitting close to home.

Though the Holy Father is addressing the disharmony which exists between various religions and cultures, his words should resonate into our every day life and relationships with others.  This is a subject I have been wrestling with for the past several days, no - months, as my posts here would indicate.

The tempests in a tea pot blogging foments, revealing at times the cruel underbelly of otherwise decent people, trouble me.  You’ve read it all.  Gay people attacking the Church, Catholics attacking those who promote the so-called  gay agenda.  Catholic bloggers writing that another man blogging is a fake priest; me writing a sort of rebuttle to demonstrate that one of the more popular  orthodox  bloggers could be a fake nun, since she may have made a mistake in terms.  (I was simply trying to illustrate the arrogance of the blogosphere.)  And then there are the intolerant traditionalists who mistrust nearly every development in the Church since Vatican II.

Tolerance for the intolerant.

In fact it is many of the uber-traditionalist  types who abjure anything at all to do with the “spirit of Assisi” and among other things, view it as a conspiracy to establish a one world religion.  Yet many other Catholics have been repelled by the liturgical abuses which occurred right under the Pope’s nose at previous meetings in Assisi, and look upon the events with equal suspicion.  What a complex world, huh?

Perhaps a world without love - or dogma dogs  gone wild.

[Photo: The Holy Father venerating the relic of St. Januarius in the Naples Cathedral.  I wonder if he prayed to him?  ;)]  

Healthy, wealthy, and wise decisions by parents.

TimesOnline  has a report on how medical professionals and parents are using abortion to weed out the slightly lame and crippled.  (I guess it is a more convenient way to save on future medical bills.)

MORE than 50 babies with club feet were aborted in just one area of England in a three-year period, according to new statistics.

Thirty-seven babies with cleft lips or palates and 26 with extra or webbed fingers or toes were also aborted.

The data have raised concerns about abortions being carried out for minor disabilities that could be cured by surgery. - TimesOnline

Nice parents.

[Art: Blessed Herman the Cripple, composer of the Salve Regina.]

Giving your kids whatever they want.

One of the benefits to the use of contraception in limiting the size of one’s family, seems to be insuring that there is enough expendable income for luxury items, fashion and entertainment - among other self indulgences modern life offers. 

This thought occurred to me after I heard about the recent Hannah Montana concert in the Twin Cities.  This pop star appeals to pre-teen, tween girls.  Hannah Montana is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, and is a manufactured act.  Packaged and marketed by Disney to appeal to little girls who are too young to realize they are being manipulated and formed by media.  (Molded into little Stepford  girls.)

What happened.

When the concert tickets went on sale, the bulk of the tickets were bought up by ticket brokers, who in turn offered $30 tickets for sale at inflated prices - $100 per ticket up to $2,000  for 4 tickets.   Parents paid the price for their little darlings to go and rock out with their teen idol.  Several  parents made the pilgrimage from out of State, as far away as Canada and Chicago.  Some of the girls appeared to be only four or five years old.   Maybe I’m old, but there seems to be something almost obscene about the whole phenomenon.

Many of the girls went to a mall for ‘makeovers’ before the event.  Little girls with make-up and hi-lighted hair, indulged like royal princesses.  Obviously most of the girls are from affluent families, or  households wherein most purchases are made with plastic.  Whatever their level of income, this is one example of how many parents dispose of their expendable income - without depriving themselves of their own superfluous expenditures. 

No wonder when little girls are treated like little adults, school boards feel the need to offer birth control to 11 year olds, and molestor teachers find themselves attracted to  already-been-sexualized  pre-teens. 

Those little darlings! 

[Photo:  Hannah Montana.]