From PhatMass.com, Fr. Claude Burns has a video with a message about Pres. Obama’s attack on the 1st Amendment and on the Catholic Church.
[wp_youtube]GaWma3taEEE[/wp_youtube]
“But Father! But Father!”, some of you will be saying, “Father has his back to the tabernacle!”
Yes, he does.
Now, what do you think of
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Can’t find any video as described. There was an article about ‘Dusty’ Burns..? Couldn’t find any videos period. Weird website.
What the phlip is phatmass?? or ‘spirit juice’??? must be me….
I think he has clearly and succinctly stated the issue. I suppose some will say that the setting is too Catholic, that it should be more non-denominational, but he is clearly a Catholic priest and he is speaking as such. Yes, in the sanctuary with his back to the tabernacle. Well, in the OF, that goes on all the time, when there is a tabernacle.
The medium is fine, very well done.
Now I hope that the great commenters here will give me more to think about!
“Father has his back to the tabernacle!”
What’s interesting here is the effect: Christ in the tabernacle and Father Burns in the sanctuary are looking directly at the viewer. (That he remains in the sanctuary during the presentation really helps create this impression.) Whether through the use of camera angles or sheer size of the space, the figure of the priest is dwarfed by the backdrop–he isn’t the distraction that I have come to expect in N.O. Masses. The video includes several views of a truly magnificent tabernacle. Very admirable piece with a beautiful message.
A direct link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE
We could make the case that speaking directly to Our Lord in the taberacle might have a particular effect, but really, this video isn’t precisely aimed at Our Lord in that sense.
If anything, I’m inclined to agree with TZ:
This video isn’t really like a general pleading with a president. This is more like the General explaining the works to an audience, while the President backs him.
God, Himself, seated on His throne, but concealed for our safety (I think I mean that literally), reinforces Fr’s contention.
Rather effective message, I think.
Here is a link from Glenn Beck’s website:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/priests-new-spoken-word-vid-targets-obamas-contraceptive-mandate-a-threat-to-our-countrys-foundation/
Thanks for the links, folks, the video isn’t displaying on my browser either. Wonder if my Firefox Ad blocking add-on thinks its an ad or something. I dunno. This mystery disappearance happens occasionally on this blog.
I like the video, the music, the camera work, the altar and images as background. A succinct punchy message is always good in our modern Short Attention Span atmosphere. Father creates a good delivery.
The haters out there insist on twisting the argument from Constitutionally protected freedom of the practice of religion to an argument about how dare ‘the Church not pay for my medicine’ or ‘tell me what to do’, or just flame-throwing insults about the Catholic Church. Succinct punchy messages like this are needed.
Perhaps too, in addition to the message about Constitutional rights, we need a succinct message that explains that Catholicism cannot be expected to subsidize another’s unchaste and murderous lifestyle.
“Father has his back to the tabernacle”…
Rather, the Lord’s got his back!
What an amazing and inspiring video, Father is truly talented! Well done! And what a magnificent and beautiful church!
I think the medium is great, and it’s a finely made video. He’s a solid speaker and he’ll be able to relate to people.
But man. That said–and I feel like such a Negative Nancy for bringing this up–but I just don’t think this is the right message.
The liberals and the progressives and the folks at HHS certainly care about religious freedom. From their perspective, they aren’t trying to stomp out religious freedom anymore than the Texas Rangers were when they raided the fundamentalist Mormon compound and rescued the 14-year-old girls married off to that 50-year-old creep. Human rights, claim all of us, trump religious freedom.
You can’t claim a religious freedom to circumcise your daughter or perform an honor killing.
Liberals see the Catholic Church’s stance on contraception as akin (albeit less severe) to what the 50-year-old creep did. As such, they are saying, ‘You can have all of the freedom you want, Catholics. But you can’t have the freedom to violate human rights.’
Of course, they are ridiculously wrong here. That goes without saying.
But this is precisely why there’s no use pounding our fists on the table and crying religious freedom. The good priest in the video says it’s not about birth control, but about religious freedom. But I’d say that this is precisely about birth control. The battle needs to be here. If we present contraception as an esoteric stance among us curious Catholics (so as to make sure we get protestants on our side?), we’ll loose the religious freedom battle.
It’s also about abortifacients as well as sterilizations, so Catholics can’t be the only ones who object to the mandate on its face.
But in any event, I was distracted by the fact that this speech was a series of embarrassingly inelegant rhymed couplets (“happiness pursuit”???). Do things really have to be presented as some sort of bad rap video to get young people’s attention?
I can see that the argument is soon going to be about the forced extermination of humanity, its a short step from subsidizing murder methods, to being forced to purchase, own and use them. This could be from peer pressure, political correctness, media derision, environmental responsibility, or outright laws. Whatever twisted method is advanced, it has been found to be way more effective to convince a person that they WANT to exterminate humanity rather than being forced. So it is extremely important that the Church step up to fighting every seed of this poisonous weed.
Yes, we need more of this type of message – lots of them, and succinctly describing not only Constitutional rights, but other subjects related to this relentless slaughter.
Legisperitus said: It’s also about abortifacients as well as sterilizations, so Catholics can’t be the only ones who object to the mandate on its face.
Exactly. This is a point I’ve making to my friends….we need to be consistent about saying “birth control” rather than contraception. There are protestants who object to abortifacient means of birth control (which includes abortion, technically). I think by using the term “contraception”, we are playing into the administrations attempts to divide and conquer.
Love the beauty of that church, and the video is very well produced. Using professional gear and professional shooters always makes a difference.
But I am not fond of the presentation. I detest rap and am not a fan of hip-hop. The good is that the use of verse was more understated and less tortured than I had anticipated. However, I am sure that there may well be kids who Fr. can reach with this, and might not so easily reach otherwise, especially in a short message. If this video gets teens in the door, then it has served well. The job of the priests is then to keep them.
When I read “rap”, I was prepared to hate it. But I was pleasantly surprised. The church is beautiful, and I thought his presentation was very effective.
I agree with Contrarian on this one.
It’s as though priests and bishops are saying, “I’ve never given a homily on why contraception is wrong and no one — not even the president of the United States — can make me do that!”
This is not a fight the Catholic Church can win on the grounds that we have a “right to be wrong”. It can only be won by explaining why contraception is evil.
The bishops don’t want to do that. It’s too much like work. People will think they’re uncool. They might not be invited to prayer breakfasts with politicians and celebrities.
I think this is an exellent video. It is obviously aimed at a specific type of person – young, questioning, urban youth I suspect.
Sometimes we have to change up the method of delivery to deliver the same time less message.
Well done Father. May your work payoff in abundance.
But Father! (Finally got to say it!) I also can’t see the video.
Very interesting video-thanks for the link, TZ!
For some reason it doesn’t show up here.
love, Love, LOVE this video. Right tone, right message, right balance, truly Universal in nature and message!!!
The church is beautiful, and the message is punchy and memorable. I, with wmeyer, despise rap and find the rhythms and lame rhymes distracting. But I’m the choir. He’s not preaching to the choir. I respect that. Most of the YouTube comments are very disheartening.
“Now, what do you think of
1.the substance of what he had to say, and the
2.medium through which he said it?”
Well, the message has merit of course, but the way it was delivered, in my opinion, leaves something to be desired. I’m not sure if this would have been effective even if an “urban” looking youth delivered it in decent rap. As it is we have a milky white priest in a cassock standing expressionless and motionless in front of an altar inside of the sanctuary of a church trying (but failing) to do something like rap. With all due respect to the priest in the video and to his good intentions, I think the reaction of the target demographic would be, “that’s lame”.
That isn’t to say that elements of contemporary culture cannot be mixed with a message delivered by an ecclesiastical authority. They can be, but it has to be done right and the messenger has to be authentically himself. If he seems to pander or to pretend or to condescend, the effort fails, no matter the relevance or poignancy of his message. This is pandering, it seems to me, and I was somewhat embarassed as I watched it.
I think it’s also true that if you cheaply package a profound message, you cheapen the message. Rap (or whatever this is) is not a worthy vehicle by which to deliver a message from the Catholic Church. I don’t believe that anyone who appreciates rap (or this sort of rap-lite) would respect a message from the Catholic Church delivered via this medium. It’s the wrong vessel in which to carry the message. You don’t serve caviar on a paper plate or champagne in a sippy cup.
There is a way for ecclesiastical personalities to be contemporary and fresh while delivering a meaningful message in a meaningful way to a younger demographic. If anyone has ever seen Father Leo Patalinghug’s controversial video (now removed for some reason) addressing the HHS mandate, that’s what I’m talking about. His delivery works because he isn’t pretending to be somebody who he isn’t and he isn’t attempting to awkwardly employ as a vehicle for his message a cultural element that isn’t native to his own experience or paradigm. He’s a young, passionate guy with some zing to him. And he delivers a zinger, using a sort of edgy, contemporary presentation, very naturally (and very memorably), in a way that is entirely harmonious with his age and personality.
This video I would never encourage anyone to watch, imagining that it would cause anyone to reconsider this matter from the Church’s point of view. I think most people watching it would either laugh, or roll their eyes, or otherwise balk at it.
MAG-FRIGGIN’-NIFICENT!!!!!!!! Everything about it!
ContraMundum, contrarian, you guys hit the nail on the head. In my 29 years of going to a Catholic church I have never once heard a priest give a homily on birth control or explain why it is wrong. Nor in confirmation classes, CCD, or RCIA. It never gets talked about. Then this “mandate” comes along and the Bishops act like we will be going back to the days when Catholics have to practice in secret. This leaves many Catholics scratching their heads, especially the younger and progressive ones who A. Have been taught to let other religions practice how they want and B. See all of the hypocrisy in the argument (catholic hospitals tying tubes, vasectomies, etc).
I’m not sure what the ages of everyone on here is, but let me tell you this a guy in his 20s, if you honestly care about this issues you will see that it has to be grass roots. You can cite all of these theories about how Planned parenthood was the one conducting the study on the % of Catholics taking birth control but the fact remains that many Catholics use it. The younger generation is not going to just sit there and listen to a bunch of old bishops (with outdated beliefs on world views) who have never had sex tell them what to do without any explanation. Just like with every single thing in life the reasons have to be taught.
One last thing, anyone who thinks that birth control will lead to the extermination of the human race needs a reality check. There are more people on facebook today than there were people on earth 200 years ago.
“We Hold These Truths” video is “Spot ON” . This video (the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaWma3taEEE&feature=youtu.be ) should be sent to all Catholics…big C or little c. I will recommend Phatmass.com/action to our youth ministers and my Pastor.
The video is a passionate and powerful witness. We must arm our selves with prayer and not be silenced. This is where my mind automatically kicks in Pope Leo’s great St. Micheal’s prayer.
JMJ
So as to the setting, no one mentioned that the candle that signifies that our Blessed Lord is present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, is not lit. Any priest worth being called a priest knows that for something like this the Blessed sacrament is removed and reverently placed in another tabernacle. At the old OF parish I attended, when the sanctuary was being decorated for Advent and Christmas, Father removed the Blessed Sacrament and placed it in the Marian Chapel’s tabernacle so no offense was given and the needed work could be done.
As to the content, I think the good Father makes his point succinctly and well. I agree that basing the argument on religious liberty makes it non-denominational, but we are losing site of why we oppose this mandate, we oppose it because contraception, in any form, is intrinsically and morally evil. It is not just the pill and its abortifacient properties that are wrong, all contraception is evil, including barrer methods and even NFP when used without grave need. Yes, even the holy grail of NFP, which from what I see is often used as catholic birth control, when used as such is mortally sinful. I feel that this, most opportune time to ensure that the Catholic teaching on birth control, articulated so well in Humanae Vitae and Casti Connubii is being lost. Lo, we are reaping the rewards of 50 years of quietly, and thereby implicitly approving of contraception. Now is the time to stand up, or shall I say kneel down and beseech our Lord for forgiveness. The fight is for naught if we, starting with us Catholics, don’t become holy, and the first step, as our dear Father Zuhlsdorf has oft repeated, through the confessional. De profundi clamavi ad te Domine: Domine exaudi vocem meam.
Fr. Claude Burns is a holy priest of great orthodoxy who personally helped strengthen my weakened faith during my college education. He officiated at my marriage and has baptized both my kids (using the ’62 Baptismal Rite :) ). He is not afraid to speak out and utilizes his God-given talent as an urban poet in order to deliver his message in a more digestible form to individuals who might otherwise lack the knowledge base or attention span to hear it. He’s a fantastic homilist as well and is unafraid to ruffle feathers and contribute to the revitalization of our Catholic Culture. As an aside, he once told me “you can learn most of what you need to know about a priest by watching him celebrate the Eucharistic liturgy” and he was totally right.
He responded earlier this year to the anti-religion youtube video which had gone viral (“Why I Hate Religion But I Love Jesus”) and reminded viewers that it is still possible to love both Jesus AND the Church. This response by Fr. Burns is worth watching as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE
Btw, that is an oriented altar of an Opus Dei priest who let Fr. Burns film use his sanctuary. Unless the tabernacle were ON a free standing altar (a la Eastern Rite), I’m not sure how both Fr. Burns could be facing the camera and the tabernacle simultaneously. Perhaps we could consider this a sort of paraliturgical “Dominus Vobiscum” to the world, and, at all the EF Masses I’ve attended the priest ‘turns his back to the altar’ for the “Dominus Vobiscum”. :)
@nsummy
Birth control won’t exterminate the human race because not everyone is fool enough to use it. On the other hand, it *is* creating population inversions that are contributing to the economic woes worldwide, and it is contributing to the erosion of “Western civilization”, particularly in Western Europe.
Contraception is evil on many levels.
The human race is going to endure; we can rest assured of that. We have no such assurances about the United States. The idea of the US disappearing is unthinkable to us today, just like the idea of the Ottoman Empire vanishing was unthinkable in 1912 and the idea of the Soviet Union vanishing was unthinkable in 1982.
In other words, I am not worried that the US and Catholic Church will collide, destroying the Catholic Church. I am worried that the US and Catholic Church will collide, destroying the US.
My thoughts? Very good. He has the church “staged” beautifully. If all Catholic churches looked that dramatic and beautiful, they would go back to doing some of the work for the priest again. You see that the tabernacle area is of importance, the images both teach and have their own radiance to them.
His conviction is enough to fill the screen, and the classical music behind him is quite moving. It takes great courage to use this medium, but rap is little different from poetry in terms of rhyme and rhythm, so no reason not to try. I think that his message parallels that of the bishops so far, and in that way he is reinforcing it at a different level.
I disagree that it is only about birth control, and while I think that the Church should take this as an opportunity to discuss it, there are other issues (same sex marriage, taxation issues, etc,) coming, so it could be preparation for everyone to be reminded of freedom of worship and what that really means.
Hmmmmm …. this video will never play in “Olde Blighty” unless the ending Archers’ Salute (cf: Agincourt) is removed.
V-for Vote? …. I.Think.NOT!
V (^_*)
–Guy
I worked as a music recording engineer in my 20s before deciding to bombard my parents with grand-babies, and I usually cringe when I see things like this. With all due respect, I doubt that this would even be given a chance with kids who don’t already agree. We’ve got to raise the bar in Catholic media. Catholic movies and music and websites shouldn’t be given an atomatic handicap just because they’re Catholic. We should strive for the best in artistic quality that can go head-to-head with the secular art and entertainment. Most of the time when adults try to present themselves as hip or trendy, it ends up looking ridiculous. Rap can be well done (not really my style) but this priest shouldn’t quit his day job. That said, kudos to him for speaking out.
Sorry, that would be *automatic*. I’m not even sure what an atomatic handicap would be.
“The idea of the US disappearing is unthinkable to us today…”
Well, no. I’m afraid the destruction of the US–at least as the shining city on the hill–is well under way. I’m not afraid that collision between the US and the Church will destroy the US. I am afraid that the Church will be unable to reverse the destruction of the US which is already under way.
This is not rap, nor an attempt at rap. This is freestyle spoken word, which is more akin to poetry than music.
Wait ….”Rap”??? I didn’t notice any rap. I did note once in a while a couple of words rhymed. If Father’s speech was a poem, then — to me — he recited it perfectly, without it sounding like a poem.
I guess I’m just too “over the hill.”
I’ll replay it to see if I can catch the “rap”ture.
–Guy
Contramundum, The united States has grown by at least 20 million people every decade for probably the last 50 years. If the US does fall like other empires it will not be because of birth control, it will be because of the military complex and our failures to innovate and educate.
Wmeyer, I fail to see how the collision of the US Catholic church & the government will cause the destruction of the US. Especially considering that a majority of Republican Catholics won’t even vote for the staunchly Catholic candidate, or the other Catholic candidate for that matter. I think you really mean the collision between Bishops and Obama. Non-issue for the country as a whole.
Lost my comment – will do again.
I watched the video the other day and have not told anyone else to look at it. I believe that we are missing the point! Many Catholics who do or do not use contraceptives, have no idea how they work. It is past time for the correct words to be used. If you want to tell people how to use their bodies in a way that demonstrates sanctity – then use the right words.
All regular hormonal contraceptives eg. birth control pills, implant Implanon, vaginal ring, NuvaRing, Evra patch, Depo Provera, and (sometimes) breastfeeding……….may prevent pregnancy by delaying or inhibiting ovulation, inhibiting fertilization or implantation of a fertilized egg (causes abortion). ACOG 1998; Diaz et al.1992
Interfers with transport of embryo to uterus. If the embryo is not transported to the uterus, it dies.
Interferes with development of uterine lining to receive embryo. If the uterus is not prepared for implantation, the embryo is discarded, an abortion.
May interfere with fertilization and cell division. Result could be genetic problems for fetus
If we truly believe that live begins when the sperm enters the egg, then we must see that the above means that we have destroyed life.
These words should be used, then people may be shocked into paying attention to what the priest is saying today.
nsummy, I did not say that it would. What I said was: “I am afraid that the Church will be unable to reverse the destruction of the US which is already under way.”
Our traditional nature as a republic and home of liberty is something the Church should fully support, as it affords more hope for people than any alternative. However, the forces for ill in the secular world are vast, and the forces of the Church more limited, especially as some of the Church members are not yet aligned to the good side.
I liked the setting, I didn’t see anything wrong with Father standing in front of the tabernacle, and I didn’t mind the rhyming; I didn’t notice it at first.
I am curious about Father’s clothing. He’s not exactly wearing a cassock: he’s wearing a standard clerical “tab” shirt, and what looks around his shoulders like a regular overcoat. But when the camera pans back, it seems to reach the floor. I’ve never seen an overcoat like that.
Keep up the good work Father!
Fr. Burns has spoken eloquently of God’s gift of the natural law enshrined in our founding documents. As he said these are rights that cannot be taken away. The attack on our constitution that is based on a recognition of God’s gifts to mankind is what must be recognized by all of us. Fr. Burns has described how we can defend our country and God without a gun, but with a vote.
I see St. Thomas Moore. How appropriate if that is in fact him.
I like the video. And I was glad someone mentioned the other video he made recently, “Why I Love Religion and Love Jesus.” OK, Fr. Burns is (as someone else pointed out) not the typical image of an urban rapper, but the way he is putting himself out there is bold and the sense I get from these videos is one of humility, not of posturing or condescension. And the churches are beautiful.
Whether the videos will change anyone’s mind, who knows – that part is up to God.
@nsummy
I did not say that the US was losing population. Yes, the population has grown — but the native (non-immigrant) population not having enough children to replace itself. This is not typical for American history. This can lead to difficulties if they are not “melting” into the “Melting Pot”, and at least picking up an appreciation for the common law system that underlies our positive law. I will be the first to admit that the biggest problem is not that we are failing to pass down our genes, it’s that we are failing to pass down our culture through an education system that really works. (Don’t waste your time telling me that it’s really OK. I teach too many college freshman to be fooled into thinking that our K-12 system works.)
@wmeyer
Since I was thinking about the end of the US, clearly I was being imprecise when I said that such a possibility is unthinkable. Unbelievable would have been a better description. I grew up with movies like Red Dawn and The Terminator and with books like Red Storm Rising; obviously I can imagine an end. When it comes to leading my everyday life, though, I make plans and go about things like this phase of history will go on forever. Pretty much all of us do — and those who don’t usually are making big mistakes.
However, we’re entering a period of US history where it’s hard to imagine what might happen next. The best comparison for me is the Monica Lewinsky scandal: I found it hard to believe that Clinton could go on as president, but I also found it hard to believe he would be removed or resign. It had the feeling of a bad movie that had done something so ridiculous in the opening scenes that it was impossible to take seriously any future developments.
ContraMundum, I understand the difficulty of selecting suitable words to describe something which, prior to a few years ago, would truly have been inconceivable.
Important message, perhaps undermined by the silliness of the medium? Who IS the target audience, btw?
I liked Fr. Burns’s response, in substance anyways, to the ridiculous, “Why I love Jesus, but hate religion” video. I saw something funny on another Catholic website about that video. Poet asks, “What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion? Response from Catholic poster: “I’d ask you why He didn’t tell me that Himself.” haha. : )
A propos President Obama’s war on the Church, this just was reported in the Washington Post yesterday:
‘The State Department’s annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released Wednesday identifies the Holy See as one of 68 countries or jurisdictions “of concern” for money laundering or other financial crimes.’
Coincidence?
1. Not very much.
2. Argumentum ad antiquitatem.
An excellent job from Fr. Burns, as always. Phatmass.com was instrumental in my own conversion from an anti-Catholic fundamentalist background. Their artists perform regularly at Catholic underground events, and they reach thousands of youth every year. The comments here are symptomatic to what is holding the Church back from an authentic New Evangelization. While Satan is hitting us with a full frontal attack we are tearing each other down internally. No wonder Obama is beating the Church and not overly concerned with the bishops response. We have neutered ourselves.
In reference to the extermination of humanity: the Culture of Death is the Satanic intention to wipe out humanity. He hates us with an ever-consuming envy. Total extermination is not going to happen because the Catholic Church stands in the way. However worldwide, there are millions and millions of people who have not been allowed to EXIST because of certain types of contraception, and there are millions and millions of people who have not been allowed to LIVE because of the other types of contraception and abortion. On top of that we have euthanasia, assisted suicide and all the other methods of getting rid of humanity.
When the devil gets his grip on a civilization, this extermination is one of the symptoms. There are archeological digs that have revealed ancient fields of clay pots where unwanted infants were put to die, ostensibly as a sacrifice to the gods. I’ve seen these broken pots myself. There are pagan civilizations throughout history as well as modern cultures that have decimated generations of people. Our country suffers from Sanger’s eugenics, still being funded and promoted by nefarious groups today throughout the world. This symptom is nothing new, it is as old as the murder of Abel.
Many countries reached zero population growth years ago. The United States may have reached it as well, but the influx of immigrants hides the real birth replacement numbers. The worldwide drop in population is a hidden fact – Putin is asking his nation to have babies while our Social Security system is in virtual bankruptcy because of insufficient younger workers.
Just as Cortes and Our Lady of Guadalupe saved the remaining Mayans from death [thousands were sacrificed daily] so must we continue to work for the Culture of Life. This is no silly sentiment, this is truly a serious war, a war to the death against Powers and Dominions for conversion of sinners. We live in this era because we are called to be here at this very time. We are called to be heroic saints and fight for the Culture of Life.
So yea, we need such videos with various messages for differing audiences. And prayer and fasting.
Contrarian – I’m afraid I’m forced to agree to no small extent. Ann Coulter had insisted on her radio show not long ago that Rick Santorum needed to cool it with the rhetoric regarding contraception. She felt he ought to focus exclusively on religious freedom. I’m rather convinced we need to be pretty insistent about both. I don’t think we can expect to provoke any semblance of general moral behavior if we let go of one or the other.
contramundum, wmeyer – I am, sadly, forced to agree with you as well.
During my last year or so of college, I recall a conversation in which a few friends and I felt that we had about 25 years to do something worthwhile, lest the nation devolve into civil war. Interestingly, Gordon Liddy more or less offered the same idea about 3 years later..on a nationwide radio show.
I must admit, I find THAT idea more than a little disquieting: I swore an oath to defend the Constitution once upon a time. If two sides (or more) would develop, two or more sides whose differences ultimately could not be decided by typical political means….
If I felt compelled to get involved in any armed conflict, which side or faction would I choose? Would I have any cause to think that any side would truly be terribly moral?
I don’t know.
Suffice to say, every time I hear the bishops make a statement to declare that everything will be fine, we’ll figure something out, I begin to wonder if they’ve truly examined the state of the nation, or of the Church, or if they really believe that their efforts will succeed.
Earlier this week, I forgot who made the comment, but one of the bishops..insinuated, I guess..that we’d best be ready for a fight if the Obama Administration won’t change it’s mind.
As Father says often, get to confession soon! We may not be on the brink of conflict (yet), but we might be shocked by how fast things can degrade.
Jflare,
Once things reach a certain point, they can go downhill very quickly, yes. When people speak of their experiences after cataclysmic events in human history, they almost always remark on the rapid fall, almost like going off a cliff that happens at a certain point that seems to come out of nowhere very suddenly.
Also, JFlare, Rick Santorum is not the person who should be preaching to the public on contraception. He should not deny his views, but he is not a pastor. The clergy in this country should be preaching on it. I am heartened by the response of some of the pastors local to me. Some of them have finally preached the first homilies on contraception I have ever heard in my 27+ years as a Catholic.
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Also, JFlare, Rick Santorum is not the person who should be preaching to the public on contraception. He should not deny his views, but he is not a pastor. The clergy in this country should be preaching on it.
How about violence against women? That’s also a moral issue. Do you think it is wrong for politicians to say, “Violence against women is wrong”?
“Phatmass.com was instrumental in my own conversion from an anti-Catholic fundamentalist background.”
Glad you posted – that’s good to know. I’m curious though as to what Catholic “underground” events are…
I know I’m too late to make any impact. (I skipped this entry 1st time around and just watched the video when Fr. Z commanded us to spike Fr. Finelli’s stats.) I have no objection to Fr. Burns having his back to the altar; he is speaking for Christ, IMHOP. Nor do I particularly object to the format, although I have to say I didn’t notice it 1st time around; guess I thought the near-rhymes & rhythm were just prosaic rhetorical devices, rather than poetry. I checked the comments here because what did catch my ear was “all men are created the same”. If anyone else had taken note, I wouldn’t have. Now I understand that it was contorting the meaning to make a (sort-of) rhyme. From what he says here, and on his other video about Christ & Religion, and from what others have said, he’s a good guy and a good priest, but “the same” does not equal “equal”. Human beings have equal rights as human beings, but we are obviously not all the same.