OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Liberal government is heading for defeat at the hands of the Conservatives after more than 11 years in power, a dramatic new poll predicted on Monday.
Link
Conservatives Give Liberals a Month
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's main opposition party is unlikely to let the minority Liberal government survive more than a month, senior Conservatives said on Monday.
Suddenly energized by a new poll that shows Liberal support in a freefall because of dramatic allegations of kickbacks from a federal spending program, the Conservatives are now looking at when, not whether, to pull the plug on the government.
"There's a window of three to four weeks," one Conservative strategist, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters.
Link
To see the consequences of this poll, click here. (Thanks Jordon)
Monday, April 11, 2005
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Children's Message: Easter 3 - Year A
(This a collaboration of sorts with Richard Fairchild)
Today I’d like to tell you a story about a girl named Anne. Anne couldn't see very well - but the thing was, she didn't know it. No one knew it -not her mother or her father, her grandmother or grandfather - not even her brother or her friends knew that Anne couldn't see very well.
Anne thought that everything in the world had fuzzy edges – because that is the way things looked to her. She didn't know that other children could see further than her. She thought that everyone saw just what she saw. But as she got older her mother began to wonder why Anne always sat so close to the TV. Her grandfather noticed that when she held a book she held it really close to her face. When she began school her teacher noticed that Anne couldn't see the words on the blackboard very easily.
“C’mon, Anne,” said her dad, “we’re going to see the eye doctor.”
The doctor said, "Anne, you need glasses", and in a few short days she got a brand new pair of glasses.
She was a bit scared that the other kids would tease her because she had to wear glasses, but when she put them on -- WOW - the world looked different. Nothing had fuzzy edges. She could read a book even if she held it away from her face. She could see her mothers face clearly, even when she was way across the room.
It was great.
That Sunday at church Anne smiled as her eyes followed the bible readings as Mrs. Harris read them.
That night as Anne and her mom were getting reading for bed and to say their prayers her mom asked,
“How do the glasses feel?”
“Wonderful,” replied Anne, “I was especially glad to have them at church.”
“Why’s that?”
“I could read along with the people reading the bible, and I learned something about these glasses,” replied Anne.
“What did you learn?”
“That my glasses are a lot like Jesus.”
“How can glasses be like Jesus?” asked her mom, laughing.
“The story we read was about when Jesus died, his friends thought that he was gone forever. They didn't know what to do. They were very sad. They couldn't see things clearly because they were so mixed up and upset. Two of Jesus' friends were sadly walking back to their home in the village of Emmaus when another traveler joined them. They didn't recognize who it was, but they told him all about what had happened to Jesus and how sad they were. When it was evening they arrived at their home and invited the stranger to stay with them and have supper. When the traveler broke bread and blessed it, something happened. It was if they had put on my glasses. Suddenly they saw something clearly that they hadn't seen before even though they had been looking right at it most of the day. They realized that the stranger was really Jesus - alive and well, and with them. They ran back to Jerusalem to tell their friends.”
“Wow, Anne. I hadn’t thought about it that way before,” said her mom smiling.
Then they said a prayer like this as we do now,
Dear God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you that he helps us see you more clearly. Amen.
Today I’d like to tell you a story about a girl named Anne. Anne couldn't see very well - but the thing was, she didn't know it. No one knew it -not her mother or her father, her grandmother or grandfather - not even her brother or her friends knew that Anne couldn't see very well.
Anne thought that everything in the world had fuzzy edges – because that is the way things looked to her. She didn't know that other children could see further than her. She thought that everyone saw just what she saw. But as she got older her mother began to wonder why Anne always sat so close to the TV. Her grandfather noticed that when she held a book she held it really close to her face. When she began school her teacher noticed that Anne couldn't see the words on the blackboard very easily.
“C’mon, Anne,” said her dad, “we’re going to see the eye doctor.”
The doctor said, "Anne, you need glasses", and in a few short days she got a brand new pair of glasses.
She was a bit scared that the other kids would tease her because she had to wear glasses, but when she put them on -- WOW - the world looked different. Nothing had fuzzy edges. She could read a book even if she held it away from her face. She could see her mothers face clearly, even when she was way across the room.
It was great.
That Sunday at church Anne smiled as her eyes followed the bible readings as Mrs. Harris read them.
That night as Anne and her mom were getting reading for bed and to say their prayers her mom asked,
“How do the glasses feel?”
“Wonderful,” replied Anne, “I was especially glad to have them at church.”
“Why’s that?”
“I could read along with the people reading the bible, and I learned something about these glasses,” replied Anne.
“What did you learn?”
“That my glasses are a lot like Jesus.”
“How can glasses be like Jesus?” asked her mom, laughing.
“The story we read was about when Jesus died, his friends thought that he was gone forever. They didn't know what to do. They were very sad. They couldn't see things clearly because they were so mixed up and upset. Two of Jesus' friends were sadly walking back to their home in the village of Emmaus when another traveler joined them. They didn't recognize who it was, but they told him all about what had happened to Jesus and how sad they were. When it was evening they arrived at their home and invited the stranger to stay with them and have supper. When the traveler broke bread and blessed it, something happened. It was if they had put on my glasses. Suddenly they saw something clearly that they hadn't seen before even though they had been looking right at it most of the day. They realized that the stranger was really Jesus - alive and well, and with them. They ran back to Jerusalem to tell their friends.”
“Wow, Anne. I hadn’t thought about it that way before,” said her mom smiling.
Then they said a prayer like this as we do now,
Dear God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you that he helps us see you more clearly. Amen.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Sermon: Easter 3
(With a big help from Barbara Brown Taylor's Blessed Brokenness)
How would you recognize Jesus if he walked up to you? What would be the give away? Would you look for a halo over his head? How about long flowing robes, long hair framing his bearded cheeks? Would you look for the celestial light beaming on him wherever he went?
Would you see Jesus if he walked right up to you and started to chat?
Where would you best see Jesus?
Luke says somewhere between here and Emmaus. As one writer points out, “Luke is the only gospel writer who tells us what happened on that road, but everyone has walked it at one time or another. It’s the road you walk when your team has lost, your candidate has been defeated, your loved one has died – the long road back to the empty house, the piles of unopened mail, to life as usual, if life can ever be usual again.” (BBT p.20)
That’s where the disciples found themselves. Defeated. Distraught.
On that road to Emmaus they took the time to chew over where they went wrong. They re-hashed the trial, the execution, the solemn procession to the tomb. They played the “what if?” game. “What if they joined with the revolutionaries? What if they soft sold Jesus’ message? What if they stayed clear of Jerusalem? Maybe Jesus would not have died.
They joked cynically about the crazy talk the women shared of angels and an empty grave.
Real death. Rumoured resurrection.
They probably took their time getting home, because who knows when they would see each other again? For some of them, fishing nets were waiting. For others, who could say what they were going to do?
Behind them, a stranger appears and asks what they’re talking about. They stop and look at him. “Have you been hiding under a rock?” they ask, “Are you the only one in town who hasn’t heard what happened?”
They reminisce about how good and promising life with Jesus was, while the stranger listens. Jesus had energized them. “He did some crazy stuff and got away with it. Boy, you should have seen how he gave to some of those religious leaders. They certainly had it coming,” they said chuckling.
Their eyes softened. “He did everything right, everything he was supposed to do. He said he’d heal the sick and he did. He said he’d raise the dead and now Jairus’ little girl is growing like a weed. He said he’d make the blind see…remember the trick he did with the mud?”
They laughed together, them smiled sadly.
“But he also said he was going to die,” the stranger said not looking at anyone in particular.
The two were silent. Probably wondering how the stranger knew what he knew.
“Yeah, but we didn’t believe him. We thought he was just caught up in the moment. We didn’t think he was actually stupid enough to…” said one disciple, his voice trailing off.
“…to get himself killed?” asked the stranger.
“We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel,” they said to him, admitting their defeat. “We had hoped.” Hoped. Past tense. One of the saddest sounds a human being can make. “We believed the world would change. We believed the Kingdom of God was just around the corner. We believed that life with God would transform our small, struggling lives into the beauty of heaven. But we were wrong. He died. It’s over now. No more fairy tales. No more lies. It’s time to go home.”
That’s when the stranger explodes: “You idiots! If you read your bibles none of this would come as a surprise to you! It’s all right there: the Christ is not the one who wins the power struggle; he’s the one who loses it. The Christ is not the undefeated champion; he is the suffering servant, the broken one, who comes in glory with his wounds still fresh. The holes in his wrists and gashes in his feet are the proof he is who he says who he is – that’s how you will recognize him.
“This means that you do not have to scorn the painful parts of your lives anymore. You don’t have to see your defeats as failures anymore. You don’t have to fear your enemies anymore; you don’t even have to fear death. You can go into scariest places in the world with nothing but a first aid kit; because you, like him, are not fighters but physicians – wounded healers – whose credentials are your scars.”
The disciples look at each other, but avoid eye contact with the stranger.
“What’s he talking about? Who is this guy?” they ask themselves. “How does he know so much?”
As they arrive at their house, the stranger tries to leave. But they want to hear more.
“You look hungry; eat something with us,” they say to the stranger. And they go inside.
It’s not his house, but the stranger plays the host. He offers the blessing over the food, and then breaks the bread. As he serves the pieces of the broken loaf, his sleeves get pulled up, and the disciples see the stranger’s hands; punctured, wounded, once bleeding. They suddenly recognize the stranger as Jesus, and Jesus vanishes from their sight.
I think the disciples didn’t see Jesus because they weren’t expecting him. Their blindness was not a willful disregard for what Jesus was about as much as it was an anticipation of something more glorious than what Jesus was giving them. They wanted a political victory. Jesus gave them death. They wanted freedom for their people. Jesus gave them forgiveness. They wanted a powerful retreat from a dreadful existence. Jesus gave them service to the world.
“The blindness of the two disciples does not keep Jesus from coming to them,” says Barbara Brown Taylor, “He does not limit his post-resurrection appearances to those with full confidence in him. He comes to the disappointed, the doubtful, the disconnected. He comes to those who don’t know their bibles, who do not recognize him even when he is walking right beside them. He comes to those who have given up and are headed back home, which makes this whole story a story about the blessedness of brokenness.
“Maybe that is only good news if you happen to be broken. If you are not, then I guess it would be better news to hear a story about how those who believe in God may skip right over the broken part and go straight to the wholeness part, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Jesus seems to prefer working with broken people, with broken dreams, in a broken world. If someone hands him a whole loaf, he will take it, bless it, break it, and give it, and he will do the same thing with his own flesh and blood, because that is the way of life God has shown him to show the rest of us: to take what we have been given, whether we like it or not, and to bless it – to say thank you for it – whether it is the sweet, satisfying bread of success or the tear-soaked bread of sorrow. To say thank you and to break it because that is the only way it can be shared, and to hand it around, not to eat it all by ourselves but to find someone to eat it with, so that the broken loaf may bring all of us broken ones together into one body, where we may recognize the risen Lord in our midst.”
May this be so among us. Amen.
How would you recognize Jesus if he walked up to you? What would be the give away? Would you look for a halo over his head? How about long flowing robes, long hair framing his bearded cheeks? Would you look for the celestial light beaming on him wherever he went?
Would you see Jesus if he walked right up to you and started to chat?
Where would you best see Jesus?
Luke says somewhere between here and Emmaus. As one writer points out, “Luke is the only gospel writer who tells us what happened on that road, but everyone has walked it at one time or another. It’s the road you walk when your team has lost, your candidate has been defeated, your loved one has died – the long road back to the empty house, the piles of unopened mail, to life as usual, if life can ever be usual again.” (BBT p.20)
That’s where the disciples found themselves. Defeated. Distraught.
On that road to Emmaus they took the time to chew over where they went wrong. They re-hashed the trial, the execution, the solemn procession to the tomb. They played the “what if?” game. “What if they joined with the revolutionaries? What if they soft sold Jesus’ message? What if they stayed clear of Jerusalem? Maybe Jesus would not have died.
They joked cynically about the crazy talk the women shared of angels and an empty grave.
Real death. Rumoured resurrection.
They probably took their time getting home, because who knows when they would see each other again? For some of them, fishing nets were waiting. For others, who could say what they were going to do?
Behind them, a stranger appears and asks what they’re talking about. They stop and look at him. “Have you been hiding under a rock?” they ask, “Are you the only one in town who hasn’t heard what happened?”
They reminisce about how good and promising life with Jesus was, while the stranger listens. Jesus had energized them. “He did some crazy stuff and got away with it. Boy, you should have seen how he gave to some of those religious leaders. They certainly had it coming,” they said chuckling.
Their eyes softened. “He did everything right, everything he was supposed to do. He said he’d heal the sick and he did. He said he’d raise the dead and now Jairus’ little girl is growing like a weed. He said he’d make the blind see…remember the trick he did with the mud?”
They laughed together, them smiled sadly.
“But he also said he was going to die,” the stranger said not looking at anyone in particular.
The two were silent. Probably wondering how the stranger knew what he knew.
“Yeah, but we didn’t believe him. We thought he was just caught up in the moment. We didn’t think he was actually stupid enough to…” said one disciple, his voice trailing off.
“…to get himself killed?” asked the stranger.
“We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel,” they said to him, admitting their defeat. “We had hoped.” Hoped. Past tense. One of the saddest sounds a human being can make. “We believed the world would change. We believed the Kingdom of God was just around the corner. We believed that life with God would transform our small, struggling lives into the beauty of heaven. But we were wrong. He died. It’s over now. No more fairy tales. No more lies. It’s time to go home.”
That’s when the stranger explodes: “You idiots! If you read your bibles none of this would come as a surprise to you! It’s all right there: the Christ is not the one who wins the power struggle; he’s the one who loses it. The Christ is not the undefeated champion; he is the suffering servant, the broken one, who comes in glory with his wounds still fresh. The holes in his wrists and gashes in his feet are the proof he is who he says who he is – that’s how you will recognize him.
“This means that you do not have to scorn the painful parts of your lives anymore. You don’t have to see your defeats as failures anymore. You don’t have to fear your enemies anymore; you don’t even have to fear death. You can go into scariest places in the world with nothing but a first aid kit; because you, like him, are not fighters but physicians – wounded healers – whose credentials are your scars.”
The disciples look at each other, but avoid eye contact with the stranger.
“What’s he talking about? Who is this guy?” they ask themselves. “How does he know so much?”
As they arrive at their house, the stranger tries to leave. But they want to hear more.
“You look hungry; eat something with us,” they say to the stranger. And they go inside.
It’s not his house, but the stranger plays the host. He offers the blessing over the food, and then breaks the bread. As he serves the pieces of the broken loaf, his sleeves get pulled up, and the disciples see the stranger’s hands; punctured, wounded, once bleeding. They suddenly recognize the stranger as Jesus, and Jesus vanishes from their sight.
I think the disciples didn’t see Jesus because they weren’t expecting him. Their blindness was not a willful disregard for what Jesus was about as much as it was an anticipation of something more glorious than what Jesus was giving them. They wanted a political victory. Jesus gave them death. They wanted freedom for their people. Jesus gave them forgiveness. They wanted a powerful retreat from a dreadful existence. Jesus gave them service to the world.
“The blindness of the two disciples does not keep Jesus from coming to them,” says Barbara Brown Taylor, “He does not limit his post-resurrection appearances to those with full confidence in him. He comes to the disappointed, the doubtful, the disconnected. He comes to those who don’t know their bibles, who do not recognize him even when he is walking right beside them. He comes to those who have given up and are headed back home, which makes this whole story a story about the blessedness of brokenness.
“Maybe that is only good news if you happen to be broken. If you are not, then I guess it would be better news to hear a story about how those who believe in God may skip right over the broken part and go straight to the wholeness part, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Jesus seems to prefer working with broken people, with broken dreams, in a broken world. If someone hands him a whole loaf, he will take it, bless it, break it, and give it, and he will do the same thing with his own flesh and blood, because that is the way of life God has shown him to show the rest of us: to take what we have been given, whether we like it or not, and to bless it – to say thank you for it – whether it is the sweet, satisfying bread of success or the tear-soaked bread of sorrow. To say thank you and to break it because that is the only way it can be shared, and to hand it around, not to eat it all by ourselves but to find someone to eat it with, so that the broken loaf may bring all of us broken ones together into one body, where we may recognize the risen Lord in our midst.”
May this be so among us. Amen.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Two Washington Post Pope Related Articles
Carter's Absence From Group Reignites Tensions With Bush
He was the only president ever to host a pope at the White House when John Paul II came to visit a quarter-century ago, and in many ways Jimmy Carter had a powerful spiritual and philosophical affinity for the Polish pontiff. But when the pope is buried at the Vatican this morning, three living U.S. presidents will be in attendance and Carter will not.
The reason has touched off a classic Washington imbroglio fueled by suspicion, animosity and distrust, one that has reopened a rift between the camps of the former president and the current one. When Carter was left off the delegation list assembled by President Bush's White House, Democrats assumed he was snubbed. The Bush team is angry at what it considers an unfair smear.
The whole article is here.
E. J. Dionne on The Cardinal Principles of Politics
Outsiders scoff at the claims we Roman Catholics make, that the Holy Spirit guides the cardinals who will be electing a new pope. To those skeptics, I would suggest that divine protection is the only rational explanation for how our magnificent but flawed church has survived all these years.
But I am fed up with those in the know who hide behind the Holy Spirit to avoid talking about the politics of this election. I'm not referring here to the honest modesty of people such as Washington's Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who would make a great pope. Modesty is called for here. If you think Washington punditry is bad, watch how flawed all the predictions on this papal election will be -- including my own.
Link
He was the only president ever to host a pope at the White House when John Paul II came to visit a quarter-century ago, and in many ways Jimmy Carter had a powerful spiritual and philosophical affinity for the Polish pontiff. But when the pope is buried at the Vatican this morning, three living U.S. presidents will be in attendance and Carter will not.
The reason has touched off a classic Washington imbroglio fueled by suspicion, animosity and distrust, one that has reopened a rift between the camps of the former president and the current one. When Carter was left off the delegation list assembled by President Bush's White House, Democrats assumed he was snubbed. The Bush team is angry at what it considers an unfair smear.
The whole article is here.
E. J. Dionne on The Cardinal Principles of Politics
Outsiders scoff at the claims we Roman Catholics make, that the Holy Spirit guides the cardinals who will be electing a new pope. To those skeptics, I would suggest that divine protection is the only rational explanation for how our magnificent but flawed church has survived all these years.
But I am fed up with those in the know who hide behind the Holy Spirit to avoid talking about the politics of this election. I'm not referring here to the honest modesty of people such as Washington's Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who would make a great pope. Modesty is called for here. If you think Washington punditry is bad, watch how flawed all the predictions on this papal election will be -- including my own.
Link
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Gomery partially lifts publication ban
Ottawa (CBC): Justice John Gomery has partially lifted a publication ban he issued on testimony of former ad exec Jean Brault, saying most of the testimony heard at the sponsorship inquiry last week would not interfere with Brault's right to a fair
trial on fraud charges.
Or is this just another way of sticking it to Chretien?
trial on fraud charges.
Or is this just another way of sticking it to Chretien?
Let the histronics fly!
This showed up in my mailbox today:
The Assault on Clergy Has Begun
Supreme Court Tells PM - Parliament can not protect clergy
Dear Clergy and Leaders:
Religious freedom in Canada is seriously compromised and the assault on Clergy has begun. Today Bishop Fred Henry of Alberta is in the process of being prosecuted for expressing Biblical teachings to his flock. If the government will be so bold as to prosecute a Catholic Bishop it may certainly place you or myself on trial. We must act now to protect religious freedom and preserve the definition of marriage.
In January Bishop Fred Henry wrote a letter to his parishioners stating “Since homosexuality, adultery, prostitution and pornography undermine the foundations of the family, the basis of society, then the State must use its coercive power to . . . curtail them in the interests of the common good,''. Two individuals filed complaints and now the Alberta Human Rights Commission is investigating the Bishop. The Bishop believes this is an attempt to “shut the churches out of this important debate on redefining marriage''.
This comes from the Canadian Family Action Coalition.
Two (2) count 'em, TWO people filed a human rights complaint against Bishop Henry. This constitutes an "assault" on clergy? Gimme a break...
Also, the government is not prosecuting Bishop Henry, as the letter suggests, the Alberta Human Rights Commission is investigating complaints against him. Two very different things. There is no "assault" here.
The writer continues:
The proposed law places Clergy and people of faith at great risk and offers no real protection. Bill C-38 puts forward a guise of protection for Clergy; however, the Supreme Court has already ruled that the Federal Parliament cannot implement any protection. On December 9th, 2004 the Supreme Court of Canada advised Prime Minister Martin that protecting Clergy from being forced to marry same sex couples is “ultra vires parliament”, beyond parliament’s jurisdiction. The Prime Minister knows that the proposed protection is not worth the paper it is written on.
Nonsense. I, as a pastor, am not compelled to perform any weddings. Could it be that the Supreme Court has "already ruled that Federal Parliament cannot implement any protection" because clergy are ALREADY protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
It's this kind of fear-mongering that is stifling good, honest, debate on this issue.
Some Christians experience any opposition as persecution. Some conservative Christians don't want a debate; they want to dictate. They want to impose biblical law on a society that is not under covenant with God. Covenant comes before law. Not the other way around.
Christian organizations like the Family Action Coalition preach law and not gospel. They sound the alarm of doom rather than announce the good news of the Kingdom of God.
I understand the conservative position. Many gentle, loving, and gracious people in my congregation are conservative on this issue. CFAC are not among these conservatives.
Jesus was gentle with sinners and harsh with self-righteous religious leaders. Something all of us in positions in church leadership need always bear in mind.
The Assault on Clergy Has Begun
Supreme Court Tells PM - Parliament can not protect clergy
Dear Clergy and Leaders:
Religious freedom in Canada is seriously compromised and the assault on Clergy has begun. Today Bishop Fred Henry of Alberta is in the process of being prosecuted for expressing Biblical teachings to his flock. If the government will be so bold as to prosecute a Catholic Bishop it may certainly place you or myself on trial. We must act now to protect religious freedom and preserve the definition of marriage.
In January Bishop Fred Henry wrote a letter to his parishioners stating “Since homosexuality, adultery, prostitution and pornography undermine the foundations of the family, the basis of society, then the State must use its coercive power to . . . curtail them in the interests of the common good,''. Two individuals filed complaints and now the Alberta Human Rights Commission is investigating the Bishop. The Bishop believes this is an attempt to “shut the churches out of this important debate on redefining marriage''.
This comes from the Canadian Family Action Coalition.
Two (2) count 'em, TWO people filed a human rights complaint against Bishop Henry. This constitutes an "assault" on clergy? Gimme a break...
Also, the government is not prosecuting Bishop Henry, as the letter suggests, the Alberta Human Rights Commission is investigating complaints against him. Two very different things. There is no "assault" here.
The writer continues:
The proposed law places Clergy and people of faith at great risk and offers no real protection. Bill C-38 puts forward a guise of protection for Clergy; however, the Supreme Court has already ruled that the Federal Parliament cannot implement any protection. On December 9th, 2004 the Supreme Court of Canada advised Prime Minister Martin that protecting Clergy from being forced to marry same sex couples is “ultra vires parliament”, beyond parliament’s jurisdiction. The Prime Minister knows that the proposed protection is not worth the paper it is written on.
Nonsense. I, as a pastor, am not compelled to perform any weddings. Could it be that the Supreme Court has "already ruled that Federal Parliament cannot implement any protection" because clergy are ALREADY protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
It's this kind of fear-mongering that is stifling good, honest, debate on this issue.
Some Christians experience any opposition as persecution. Some conservative Christians don't want a debate; they want to dictate. They want to impose biblical law on a society that is not under covenant with God. Covenant comes before law. Not the other way around.
Christian organizations like the Family Action Coalition preach law and not gospel. They sound the alarm of doom rather than announce the good news of the Kingdom of God.
I understand the conservative position. Many gentle, loving, and gracious people in my congregation are conservative on this issue. CFAC are not among these conservatives.
Jesus was gentle with sinners and harsh with self-righteous religious leaders. Something all of us in positions in church leadership need always bear in mind.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Potential Successors to Pope John Paul II
NPR.org, April 4, 2005 · "Tip O'Neill was correct," says Father Tom Reese, editor in chief of America, the Catholic weekly magazine. "All politics is local... even in the Catholic Church."
Reese suggests that instead of focusing on the possible papal candidates as a bookie would look at horses in the starting gate, try to think about the election from the point of view of the electors, the cardinals who cast the vote
From NPR.
Reese suggests that instead of focusing on the possible papal candidates as a bookie would look at horses in the starting gate, try to think about the election from the point of view of the electors, the cardinals who cast the vote
From NPR.
Nicholas Kristof: The Pope and Hypocrisy
Kristof hits it out of the park again:
John Paul wanted world leaders to show compassion for suffering people like these girls [who were raped and discarded], not for dead popes. Mr. Bush and other world leaders flocking to Rome could truly honor the pope by meeting there to establish a protection force in Darfur.
***
If there is a lesson from the papacy of John Paul II, it is the power of moral force. The pope didn't command troops, but he deployed principles. And it's hypocritical of us to pretend to honor him by lowering our flags while simultaneously displaying an amoral indifference to genocide.
Read the rest here. (NY Times, reg req'd)
The Boston Globe offers this perspective on the "Pope of peace and Bush's war.
THE FAÇADE of respect did not hide President Bush's utter disdain for the pleas for peace from Pope John Paul II. In his press conference Monday to announce that he would attend John Paul's funeral, Bush was asked by a reporter: ''How do you think this pope has affected America's spiritual and political life? And how much weight did you give to his opposition to the Iraq war?"
The London Times asks: Will Vatican's powerbrokers play safe or vote for change?
John Paul wanted world leaders to show compassion for suffering people like these girls [who were raped and discarded], not for dead popes. Mr. Bush and other world leaders flocking to Rome could truly honor the pope by meeting there to establish a protection force in Darfur.
***
If there is a lesson from the papacy of John Paul II, it is the power of moral force. The pope didn't command troops, but he deployed principles. And it's hypocritical of us to pretend to honor him by lowering our flags while simultaneously displaying an amoral indifference to genocide.
Read the rest here. (NY Times, reg req'd)
The Boston Globe offers this perspective on the "Pope of peace and Bush's war.
THE FAÇADE of respect did not hide President Bush's utter disdain for the pleas for peace from Pope John Paul II. In his press conference Monday to announce that he would attend John Paul's funeral, Bush was asked by a reporter: ''How do you think this pope has affected America's spiritual and political life? And how much weight did you give to his opposition to the Iraq war?"
The London Times asks: Will Vatican's powerbrokers play safe or vote for change?
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
"Are You Thinking What We're Thinking?"
British Tories need to fire their press person. Paul Wells weighs in. Michael Howard's viciously anti-immigration policy will hurt him greatly. Especially in a country with declining birth rates that will jeopardize the most fundamental social services within 20 years due to a depleted tax foundation.
Here's the Conservative Party's website. Check out the Tony Blair graphic.
Michael Howard's Conservatives are not your parents' Tories.
Here's the Conservative Party's website. Check out the Tony Blair graphic.
Michael Howard's Conservatives are not your parents' Tories.
Tony Blair calls May 5 vote
LONDON (CBC) - In an effort to win a third consecutive term, British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday called a general election for May 5.
Read the rest here. Also here.
I'm surprised it took him so long. His numbers have been nosediving since he and George W Bush went to war with Iraq.
If I were a Briton, I would just hold my nose and vote Labour. Tory leader Michael Howard seems to be just another right wing nut. The Liberal Democrats under Charles Kennedy are not ready for prime time.
Blair used to be a dynamic leader. Full of energy and ideas. He was the UK's answer to Bill Clinton: a progressive thinker unshackled to traditional left/right orthodoxies. He was a Third Way leader. No one could pin him down.
Then came the lead up to the war in Iraq, and all of a sudden, Tony Blair became Captain America.
Now Labour's base is polarized. Many haven't forgiven Blair for going to war. But they can't see Howard as Prime Minister.
I think Blair will win, but maybe only a minority. This election may be his last.
Read the rest here. Also here.
I'm surprised it took him so long. His numbers have been nosediving since he and George W Bush went to war with Iraq.
If I were a Briton, I would just hold my nose and vote Labour. Tory leader Michael Howard seems to be just another right wing nut. The Liberal Democrats under Charles Kennedy are not ready for prime time.
Blair used to be a dynamic leader. Full of energy and ideas. He was the UK's answer to Bill Clinton: a progressive thinker unshackled to traditional left/right orthodoxies. He was a Third Way leader. No one could pin him down.
Then came the lead up to the war in Iraq, and all of a sudden, Tony Blair became Captain America.
Now Labour's base is polarized. Many haven't forgiven Blair for going to war. But they can't see Howard as Prime Minister.
I think Blair will win, but maybe only a minority. This election may be his last.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Thomas Merton Reflection
Offered in memory of Pope John Paul II
I come into solitude to die and love. I come here to be created by the Spirit in Christ.
I am called here to grow. ‘Death’ is a critical point of growth, or transition to a new mode of being; to a maturity and fruitfulness that I do not know (they are in Christ and in His kingdom). The child in the womb does not know what will come after birth. He must be born in order to live. I am here to learn to face death as my birth.
December 1, 1965, V.333-34
From A Year with Thomas Merton, Daily Meditations from His Journals, selected and edited by Jonathan Montaldo (HarperSanFrancisco, A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 2004), P 31.
I come into solitude to die and love. I come here to be created by the Spirit in Christ.
I am called here to grow. ‘Death’ is a critical point of growth, or transition to a new mode of being; to a maturity and fruitfulness that I do not know (they are in Christ and in His kingdom). The child in the womb does not know what will come after birth. He must be born in order to live. I am here to learn to face death as my birth.
December 1, 1965, V.333-34
From A Year with Thomas Merton, Daily Meditations from His Journals, selected and edited by Jonathan Montaldo (HarperSanFrancisco, A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 2004), P 31.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Canadians pray as Pope John Paul's health turns for the worse
QUEBEC (CP) - From the bustling Toronto subway to contemplative Quebec cathedrals, Canadians prayed Friday as Pope John Paul neared death.
Colette Courrieu tossed aside her normal daily prayers at Basilique Notre-Dame in Quebec City to pray for the soul of a pontiff who defined the church for a quarter-century.
"I often disagreed with him because I thought he was too soft on the modernists," said Courrieu, a retiree who lives near the basilica.
"But today, I'll pray to the Virgin Mary because they say he was especially devoted to her. It's sad, but there is hope, because there is always hope in renewal.
Read the rest here.
Catholic New Services has indepth coverage.
Catholic World News offers their perspective.
I've have deep differences with the pope (contraception, female clergy, his attitude toward Liberation Theology, etc), but his pontificate has been marked with a deep faith. No one could accuse of him of waffling on issues. His was/is an intellectual ministry. He is the philosopher pope. He changed history. He used his throne to advance the cause of the gospel as he understood it.
Tonight, I'll pray for him and for my sisters and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church.
For those who are interested, Time Magazine has published a primer on what happens after a pope dies.
Read it here.
Colette Courrieu tossed aside her normal daily prayers at Basilique Notre-Dame in Quebec City to pray for the soul of a pontiff who defined the church for a quarter-century.
"I often disagreed with him because I thought he was too soft on the modernists," said Courrieu, a retiree who lives near the basilica.
"But today, I'll pray to the Virgin Mary because they say he was especially devoted to her. It's sad, but there is hope, because there is always hope in renewal.
Read the rest here.
Catholic New Services has indepth coverage.
Catholic World News offers their perspective.
I've have deep differences with the pope (contraception, female clergy, his attitude toward Liberation Theology, etc), but his pontificate has been marked with a deep faith. No one could accuse of him of waffling on issues. His was/is an intellectual ministry. He is the philosopher pope. He changed history. He used his throne to advance the cause of the gospel as he understood it.
Tonight, I'll pray for him and for my sisters and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church.
For those who are interested, Time Magazine has published a primer on what happens after a pope dies.
Read it here.
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