Several US Diocese are writing petitions to Church leaders to make celibacy optional among priests.

Not being Catholic, my opinion is irrelevant. However, since the above story was published a few days ago, Bishop Wilton Gregory, of the Belleville IL diocese, and President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, has made a statement I can comment upon:

The current sexual-abuse crisis “is not a moment when the church needs to, or in fact intends to, review every one of our constitutive qualities and identities and beliefs and practices,” Gregory said. “It’s a moment of very intense feelings, raw feelings, but the whole store is not up for sale.î

“I don’t believe that there is any linkage between the abuse of children and celibacy,” he added, because if that were so, sexual abuse within families would not be so widespread.

To argue abuse of children happens without celibacy, so therefore celibacy doesn’t cause abuse of children falls for a very simple logical fallacy. It assumes there is only one cause of abuse in the entire universe.

I’m not saying I believe in the logic one way or another, but to discount the connection merely because there are obviously other causes of the societal problem is I believe a mistake.

For those who celebrate the holiday 4 months late every year, here’s a poem I wrote 2 years ago at this time:

End of Summer Rituals
(August, 2001)

On September Third
Millions of Americans
Will celebrate the End of Summer
By having a barbecue.

Few know where the name
Of this holiday came from.
To most, it seems ironic
Since none but a few work.

Labor Day now means
The changing color of trees,
The start of the school year,
Or just another day off.

Any connection to unions
Or the forbidden word, “Socialism,”
Is obscured by the distance
From the First of May.

If we’re to return to the roots
Of this annual worker’s holiday
We need to barbecue Phil Knight
Over a bonfire of shoes

Or observe how Bill Gates
Changes colors
As we remove his tongue
And he can’t speak a Word^®.

I have added a comic to Make Louvre (Not War) illustrating a case for why it might be dangerous to teach religion in school. Among those friends I have been showing my work to lately, this is one of the strips that has garnered the most laughter. So I figured I’d post it here for your enjoyment…
Read More »

Here’s a chance to roast FOX News over an open flame in front of a live audience!

“Fair & Balanced is a scathing satirical attack on Fox News Channel and its claim of ownership to the words “fair and balanced.” Playwright Brian Flemming, who co-wrote the Off-Broadway smash hit Bat Boy: The Musical, penned this dark one-act comedy in which “Fair” and “Balanced” are charactersóthey are prisoners held in an underground dungeon, and every night at 8 p.m. a foul character named “Bill O’Reilly” comes down into the dungeon to torture them. ”

More information about the author and the play at the above link.

Living in the state I do, responsible for the likes of John Ashcroft and Rush Limbaugh, one gets used to not expecting any good news on issues such as the Death Penalty. That we live in a society that news such as this is progress is sad. But if the Missouri Supreme Court is finally saying no to juvenile executions, there’s hope for the rest of the country.

—
Excerpted from Supreme Court of Missouri’s opinion:

SENTENCE OF DEATH SET ASIDE RESENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT ELIGIBILITY FOR PROBATION, PAROLE OR RELEASE EXCEPT BY ACT OF THE GOVERNOR.

Court en banc holds:

(1) In 1989, the United States Supreme Court declined to bar the execution of offenders who were 16 or 17 years old at the time of their crimes, holding that there was not then a national consensus against such executions. Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989). This Court is not bound by Stanford, however, because the determination of what is cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment must be interpreted in a flexible and dynamic manner. This determination must be considered by current standards, recognizing that society’s standards of decency are fluid and evolving.

(2) In the 14 years since Stanford was decided, a national consensus has developed against the execution of juvenile offenders. No state has lowered the age for execution from 18 to 17 or 16, five more states have banned the practice of executing juvenile offenders through legislative action and a sixth state has banned such a practice through a judicial decision. Only six states have executed a juvenile offender in the past 14 years. Opposition to the juvenile death penalty by professional, social and religious organizations, both nationally and internationally, has grown since Stanford. Similar to the reasons set out in Atkins in regard to offenders who are mentally retarded, neither retribution nor deterrence provides an effective rationale for imposing the juvenile death penalty, and the risk of wrongful execution of juveniles is enhanced.

(3) This Court concludes that the United States Supreme Court would hold that the execution of persons for crimes committed when they were under 18 years of age violates the evolving standards of decency and is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the United States constitution. This decision applies retroactively to persons whose cases are on collateral review.

A comment to my earlier post has encouraged me to come up with a list of possible organizations one might donate to in Sally Baron’s name…(see earlier post for explanation)

1. The commenter suggests “any political party” other than the Republicans. Some might have qualms with this. Any conservative political party (such as the Libertarians) would draw votes away from Bush and help the Democratic challenger. But I maintain voting Green, Natural Law, etc, actually helps Bush. There is nothing wrong with voting Green or Natural Law if you truly believe that it won’t matter to you whether Bush is re-elected or the Democratic challenger is elected. But you aren’t helping Sally Baron’s cause. Which is clearly stated as the removal of Bush from office.

2) The ACLU is definitely a worthy cause, as the commenter suggests. And supporting them will help to keep Bush et al from doing more damage to the US Constitution. They may indirectly help towards removing Bush from office by keeping some of the more outrageous things his administration has done in the public eye.

3) Beyond support of the Democratic Party, or a party that will steal votes away from Bush, the most direct action would be to support any and all Impeach Bush movements. But at this stage of the game, working towards defeating him in the 2004 election makes the most sense. If we fail, then we work towards impeaching him, so we don’t have to suffer a full 4 years. (But then we’re stuck with Cheney…We may have to impeach both of them. Impeach everyone necessary to get to Powell?)

The first case of West Nile hits St. Louis

I didn’t know her…at all…but her kids knew how to write a great obituary…

Excerpted:

STOUGHTON – Sally Baron, age 71, of Stoughton, died Monday, Aug. 18, 2003, after struggling to recuperate from heart surgery…She learned to cope with life’s trials with laughter and smiles…Memorials in her honor can be made to any organization working for the removal of President Bush.

Article of explanation.

and on the lighter side…Man puts wife’s brain on eBay

Brand New. Never Been Used. Still in Box.

Why do some people feel the need to erect monuments to their deities on public ground?

I believe in God. I love God. I go to services and pray. But when I visit a courthouse, capitol building, public school, I don’t expect to see monuments to God’s greatness. They don’t belong there. They belong in our homes and in our churches. (Unless you feel such monuments border on idolatry, and your religion states you aren’t supposed to construct idols, then perhaps they don’t belong in your homes or in your churches. But that’s for you to decide.)

Our forefathers were motivated by religion to come to this country. This fact SHOULD be taught to our students. History books should NOT be rewritten to downplay religion’s role in the formation of this country. This doesn’t violate any freedoms.

The stories in the Bible can be taught to our students — as literature. It is important for the literature student to be able to identify allusions to Judeo-Christian-Islamic, Greek, and Roman mythos. Without this knowledge, understanding of literature is crippled.

However, instructing our children as to the proper way to pray is a role that belongs to the parents, and the churches. Organizing school prayer forces one religion’s mode of prayer on those of different faiths. Letting students lead doesn’t solve this, as while each day a different student might lead, each day others will be led down a prayer they do not accept. (And if hypothetically 5% of the student body were one religion, and 95% another, than 95% of the time the minority would feel ostracized.) Setting aside a few minutes each day for silent prayer isn’t offensive, at least not to me. But I don’t see the point. Any child can pray silently at any time during the day they wish. They don’t need the time set aside for them to do it.

There is a time for everything…
There is a place for everything…
dairy shouldn’t be mixed with meat
government shouldn’t be mixed with religion