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"My decision to leave Korn was hard in early 2004 to think about, but at the end of 2004 it was quite simple, actually. I wanted to learn how to be the best dad that I could be to my beautiful little girl.

"Right before I quit Korn, I caught my daughter walking around my house one day singing songs about sex and death that came from my band. I wasn’t having that anymore. When you have a 5-year-old daughter singing ‘All Day I Dream About Sex’, and ‘Dead Bodies Everywhere’ etc., it’s going to have an effect on you as a parent. Also, I was sick and tired of being a slave to the ol’ mighty buck at the expense of my family, my music, my happiness, my health, and my morals.

"I loved money more than everything in my life. Money was my god and it was going to kill me if I didn’t get my life in the correct order it needed to be in. I played Mr. Angry for too long. I wanted to feel love again in my heart.

"I’m not an angry Christian. I’m not better than anyone. Christians are supposed to despise the principalities that hurt the people in the world, not despise the people in the world. I think some Christians and non-Christian people are very confused about that.

"I left Korn because my child was starting to imitate her dad. I left Korn because i wasn’t happy anymore. I left Korn because I was supposed to leave Korn. I would still be in Korn right now if I was meant to be.

"After I left, Jesus healed me from a major alcohol and drug addiction, and most of all a broken heart.

"I feel like some people want me and my former bandmates to not get along like it’s some kind of battle between good and evil. Words in magazines get all twisted around. It’s lame! The stuff that was said in some recent interviews that I did wasn’t said in the context that it was written. I did say a couple things a few months ago, but I’ve apologized for them and I’ve moved on.

"I love all my brothers in Korn. I was just as much of a whiny rock star as they were. The lifestyle made us that way. I heard that those guys are closer than ever now. That makes me happy and sad at the same time. I’m happy because they are happy, but I’m sad because I’m not there with them in the happiness. All I know for sure is that I love Jesus and my baby girl with all my heart. [Source]

LYON, France –A French woman defied a threat of excommunication by the Roman Catholic Church and held a ceremony proclaiming herself a priest on Saturday.
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In a small ceremony on a boat, Genevieve Beney was joined by other women from around the world who have taken similar dramatic action to draw attention to the church’s policy against women priests.

"This is not a rupture with the Roman Catholic Church," Beney said in a statement read aloud before she boarded the boat. "If there is a rupture on my part, it is with a situation that I consider to be obsolete and unjust to women." [Source][Via Dei Gratia]

What is it with women’s ordinations and being on a boat anyway? Is it a pun on the Sea of Peter or is a a subconscious acknowledgment of a watered down theology that is overboard? The title of the story is "French woman ordains herself a priest." Judging by the story I don’t know if that is an accurate description of what they thought to have happened, but I do think someone ordaining themselves a priest is the perfect analogy of what is wrong with so many modern religious concepts. That it it is break from apostolic succession and becomes a parody as part of of radical individualism. After all when you break from the constant teaching of the Church and its authority then why even play the game of finding a faux bishop to ordain you – just ordain yourself. But why she stopped at just ordaining herself a priest I don’t know. Or does she wait a day or two to ordain herself a bishop. After all she has already become her own pope. I wonder if she laid hands on herself? Instead of being sent she sends herself.

I can just imagine the inner conversation of a women priest before being called to be ordained a bishop.

"I have decided that I will ordain myself a bishop"

"I am not worthy for this honor but since I have been called by myself I will submit out of obedience with due humility to myself."

Judging by this picture I do feel sorry for what occurs from the oppression of women priests. They can’t go to Gammarelli Ecclesiastical Tailoring and find matching handbags for their robes and obviously are wearing inferior products.

Anyway this picture demands a part II for the captions contest started previously and for the record I protest the Angry Twins comparing them to the Three Stooges. What did the Stooges ever do to them to elicit such an unfair comparison?

Anyway to get the contest started.

"Believe us – the blue Deacon Stole Life Preserver your wearing will prevent you from drowning."

"When do I get my own red moo-moo?"

Cacciaguida has has passed on to me the Caesar’s Bath Meme "List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can’t really understand the fuss over. To use the words of Caesar (from History of the World Part I), ‘Nice. Nice. Not thrilling . . . but nice.’" Here were his answers.

1. Bottled Water: This one is just beyond me in its appeal. Just the thought of paying the same thing for a bottle of water as for a bottle of soda shows that society is wacky. To actually have a favorite brand of water makes me laugh. "Ah 2005 this is a good year with full taste and a fine aroma." Especially since tests have shown that the majority of bottled waters have the same levels of contaminates as tap water.
2. Country Music: I was traumatized by the show He Haw as a kid – enough said.
3. Sushi:I am convinced some lazy chef came up with this one. "Wow if I didn’t have to cook my job would be much easier." Raw fish by any other name is still raw fish people. I lived in Japan for two years and loved the culture but raw fish and seaweed is not for me. I have often thought that the mother of invention in not necessity but laziness instead.
4. Radical Materialism: I am technically a boomer, but a reluctant one. Growing up in the me-me-me generation with radical individualism Through yuppies with their beamers and the hyper-concentration on things that pass away. On this subject I am like an ex-cigarette smoker on this subject since I previously was a devotee of Ayn Rand (yes I am still doing penance for this.)
5. Reality Television: An oxymoron to say the least. This is like Candid Camera being out in the open and people still cooperating in the ridiculous circumstances setup. Though maybe it is an object lesson in what people are willing to do for money. I can see why some like this as a form of entertainment, it is just not for me.

I pass on the Caesar’s Bath baton to My Domestic Church and The Cafeteria is Closed.

The press coverage of the Church and the conclave just keeps getting funnier and funnier. First Cardinal Ratzinger’s wonderful pre-conclave homily was referred to as a "hard line stance" in this article.

In 1994, when Pope John Paul II declared the church had no authority to ordain women, it was Cardinal Ratzinger who sought to quell the outcries by invoking a variation of infallibility that seemed to stretch the traditional definition.

Several Catholic observers were not so surprised by the policy, but by the Vatican’s swift stroke in closing the debate. Robert McClory, author of Power and the Papacy: The People and Politics Behind the Doctrine of Infallibility, commented: "The pope said nobody’s supposed to talk about it any more, which is what you tell your six-year-old kid when he wants to go to McDonald’s in the middle of the night. You can’t deal with adults that way."

Infallibility is a subtle idea that has turned into a blunt instrument, he says. "It’s a nuclear weapon and you if use it, you blow yourself up, too."

Wow a nuclear option for the papacy. I guess when Stalin asked how many divisions the Pope had he didn’t know about the nuclear papal infallibility weapon. Of course the nuclear weapon was developed in the Trinity project and papal infallibility was developed by the Most Holy Trinity.

Margaret O’Gara, professor of theology at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto, did her thesis on papal infallibility, and now she teaches it.

"Infallibility is a misleading, confusing word," she says. "At its best, it means praise of God, that God is helping. That is different from, ‘God is helping me and you better listen’."

NEWTON — Catholic bishops are about to begin a series of meetings with leaders of Catholic colleges, hospitals, and social-service agencies to discuss the most effective way to withhold honors from politicians who support abortion rights or have other major doctrinal differences with the church, an influential American cardinal said last night at Boston College. [Source]

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, said a task force he heads will seek to ensure that an agreement by the bishops to withhold such honors is enforced consistently and nationally. The plan to withhold the honors followed last year’s decision by the bishops not to take a collective position on whether to allow Catholics who support abortion rights, such as Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, to receive Communion.

In an interview before his speech, McCarrick said he will argue that politicians who disagree with church teachings should be allowed to speak at Catholic colleges but should not receive honorary degrees. He said he decided in his own diocese, where many members of Congress worship, not to attempt to deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights, because ”I do not believe there is a place for confrontation at the altar."

McCarrick, who is one of 11 American cardinals eligible to vote in the next papal election, said in the interview that he expects the ailing John Paul II to remain pope ”as long as he feels he can continue to serve the church.

It looks like what was already a weak compromise is to be weakened even further. If they now define honoring as just giving an award and will allow politicians who are blatantly pro-abortion, pro-ESCR, or pro same-sex marriage to speak. There was some discussion in the aftermath of what honoring entails and now unsurprisingly it is defined very narrowly. The USCCB previous document stated:

The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.

So I guess not being given platforms means absolutely nothing. I am sure they would not allow someone like David Duke to speak regardless of how far his speech was from racial hatred. I happen to think that allowing those who hold and support positions that are in fact gravely sinful is in fact scandalous. The Catechism says:

2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." 86 Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep’s clothing.

When someone who holds these contrary opinions is held up as an appropriate speaker then there appears to be at least some sort of endorsement. That this persons ideas must not be so bad if there is no problem giving them a platform to speak.

On the bright side Cardinal McCarrick has issued a good letter in regards to two bills appearing in the Maryland legislature. Though if these same legislators who are Catholic and vote for ESCR and human cloning appear in front of the Cardinal he would have no problem giving them Communion or allowing them to speak at a Catholic institution. Kind of a mixed message to implore that you vote against these unethical bills, but if you don’t there are zero consequences as a result.

Quick which would you prefer? A thousand years added in Purgatory or going on this tour. [Via Catholic Light]

Happy Catholic posts a comedic list of viruses that were emailed to her.

This has inspired me to post some of my own virus ideas:

• Cardinal McCarick virus – Corrupts the wording of emails received from Cardinal Ratzinger.
• American Catholic virus – Causes programs either to run or not run depending on if operating system instructions conform with their conscience.
• Liturgist virus – Causes programs to behave oddly and to react in any way except as per operating instructions.
• John Kerry virus – Infects your computer prior to not infecting it.
• Mario Cuomo Virus – Personally opposed to destroying your data as it votes to wipe your disk slick.
• Howard Dean Virus – Overwrites all you data files with a long string of state names, causing you to go Arrrrrrrrrrrrrggghh!
• Planned Parenthood Virus – Mainly causes damage to computers in minority neighborhoods.
• Dan Rather virus – Automatically formats all your Word documents in Times New Roman.
• Bill Clinton virus – Slows down your internet connection by continuously accessing dictonary.com to find the meaning of "is."
• Hillary Clinton virus – Causes your billing records to disappear. Even after files were deleted by this virus they have been know to mysteriously recover in a White House office at a latter date.
• Michael Moore virus – Add tons of disinformation to your data files causing the file size to bloat to – well – Michael Moore proportions.
• United Nations virus – Does absolutely nothing besides displaying a form that says "Working …."
• Republican Leadership Spine virus – This virus is a urban myth.

Ave Maria University today announced the creation of a new scholarship fund for current and former members of the U.S. Marine Corps to attend Ave Maria University, with an initial contribution of $100,000 by the Ave Maria Foundation.

The announcement was to be made by Ave Maria University Chancellor Thomas S. Monaghan at a media briefing on the university’s interim campus in Naples. Members of the Marine Corps were scheduled to attend.

“The Marine Corps lives by the motto, Semper Fidelis, which translated from Latin, means ‘always faithful.’ Always faithful to our core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment, and always faithful to defending the freedom and liberties enjoyed by our great nation today,” said Monaghan, a former Marine and founding chairman of Ave Maria.

“We’re hopeful that all Americans embrace this motto as well, especially when it comes to supporting our men and women while on active duty, and when they return home to their civilian lives. This fund will enable men and women who have so bravely served our country to continue leading productive lives in an environment also inspired by the enduring Marine Corps values,” Monaghan said. [Source]

Many pundits have talked about whether the comment by minority leader Harry Reid concerning that Justice Clarence Thomas was an embarrassment to the Supreme Court. Paul at Southern Appeal argues that it isn’t racism and that it reflects the belief that Thomas is some intellectual dullard. Now it is quite true that liberals often frame conservatives of necessarily being dumb, yet Harry Reid also went on to praise Justice Scalia as "one smart guy."

I myself think that Reid’s comment were a form of racism. Not the type of racism that sees blacks as inferior, but the type that sees blacks as being tied to a political party. Many liberals seem to feel that being black automatically means that you have to support all the ideas of the modern Democratic Party. That they see blacks as a fully owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party. Now every proponent of a political party believes their side to be correct and that all people should hold to their correct position. So why do they reserve so much anger for blacks who do not hold to their view? Partially I believe this is because they have come to believe the ahistorical idea that the Democrats have always been the party of civil rights. So for a black to disagree with their positions shows a disregard for the thanks they feel they deserve. This to me is almost a slave owner’s idea of possession and that his slaves should be thankful for what they have. That blacks should fully belong to the Democratic party and when they stray of the plantation often the most hateful rhetoric is use to show their displeasure at what they have done.This I think would explain why statements and editorial cartoons will portray the most racist stereotypes. I think it is rather ironic that they will use the term Uncle Tom’s to describe black conservatives since they are actually upset that these blacks aren’t being obedient to their commands.

Hebrews 5:7-9
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Holy Mother of God,
hear the prayers of the Church
for all mothers,
especially those wearied by life
and overcome by the suffering
they bear for their children.
Hail Mary…

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
intercede for them
from your place in heaven,
that the mercy of your divine Son
might lighten their burden
and give them strength.

Hail Mary…

Glory to the Father….

Pray for Families
I know of a family which prays each night. Since the kids were little they are gathered from their games and their grumbling to the couch in the living room. There they pray for those whom they love and those they have a hard time loving. They pray for the unborn and for little babies. They pray for the sick and the dying. They pray for the Church and for their priest. Many a night it was the knowledge of those prayers that gave me hope and peace and a good night’s sleep.