"In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ." The Mass

I know that this is an old story but it's worth posting

The man who saved millions of lives

Let's celebrate the Apocalypse

"These masterpieces will help visitors to reread the last book of the Holy Scripture. The Apocalypse is not the worrying announcement of a catastrophic end to humanity, but a great proclamation of the failure of the infernal evils and of the mystery of Christ." - Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone

Cardinal Praises Muslims for "Eloquent" Letter

"Each party must be concerned with its own spiritual identity. We ourselves have, as Christians, to manifest that Jesus Christ reveals God in a complete and definitive manner."

Regarding dialogue with other religions, Cardinal Taruan said: "The discourses of the Pope are very clear. He said, in Cologne: 'Dialogue with Islam it not an option, but a vital necessity upon which depends our future.' Furthermore, a text like 'Dominus Iesus' puts the parameters to avoid religious syncretism.

"We must not put our flag in our pocket, and we should clearly show in whom we believe. Also, when we look at the teachings of the Pope, the themes of reflection with the non-Christian religions emerge: the sacred character of life; to cultivate the fundamental values, for example, the family, the place of religion in education."


Holy See Defends Right to Convert

Rosary Crusade 2007

"Catholics took to the streets of London to proclaim their devotion to the Mother of God during the Rosary Crusade of Reparation. Nearly two thousand faithful thronged the route from Westminster Cathedral to Brompton Oratory as the four foot high statue of Our Lady of Fatima, blessed by Pope Pius XII, was carried in a manner fit for a queen."

Slideshow

"Hitchens' idiosyncratic ideas and positions preclude easy classification" -wikipedia

"Perplexed conservatives can stop wondering what Hitchens really wants. He wants to live — and presumably wants all of us to live — in a society resembling Moorish-occupied Spain...

...Hitchens grants that Moorish Spain is a long way from the 'secular state' he proposes in the same article. He nonetheless goes on to suggest that life under the firm yet benevolent rule of enlightened Muslim emirs may be the closest thing to a perfect society that we benighted humans can expect to achieve, given our biological limitations — specifically, given the unhappy circumstance that 'the religious impulse itself seems to be partly innate at our present stage of evolution,' as Hitchens puts it."

If this article is true, Hitchen seems to believe that genocide is the path to that "enlightened Islamic society"

"Or, at least, wholesale execution of the population of the Moslem world until they are sufficiently cowed and frightened and depleted that they are unable to resist us in any way, ever again."

A more viable solution which I wholeheartedly endorse is:

"A clash of whole civilizations is a war of ideas. The way we can 'conquer' is on the cultural and economic level: the West should not invade and destroy, but should instead set an example, lead with strength, and be the civilization that every rational citizen of the other side wants to emulate. Yes, there will be wars and skirmishes, because not everyone on either side is rational, but the bloodshed isn't the purpose. Hitchens would make it the raison d'etre of the whole Western effort."

Of course, I would argue that a Catholic society is simply more attractive than a secular one.

Which Middle East country held Spontaneous Candlelight Vigils for victims of the World Trade Center Attack on 9/11?

* Kuwait - No.
* Saudi Arabia - No.
* Israel - No.
* Iran - Yes.


More Pictures

To Bury the Dead: A Corporal Act of Mercy

In an abortion debate held in Italy some years ago, a pro-abortion leader challenged a Catholic opponent, "If you really believe these fetuses are persons, why doesn't the Church bury them?"

Glad you asked.

The fact is, we do. And there is a growing movement to make the proper and dignified burial of aborted children more widely known and practiced. I recently had a priest visit me in my office at the Pontifical Council for the Family in Rome. He has an association in Italy which works to lawfully obtain fetuses that have been aborted or miscarried and give them ceremonial burial.

A fascinating interview with Dr Alice von Hildebrand at Catholic Media Coalition

I am very concerned that there are "fanatical" Catholics who use the Faith and the truth it proclaims as an intellectual toy. An authentic appropriation of the truth always leads to a striving for holiness. The Faith, in this present crisis, is not an intellectual chess game. For anyone not striving for holiness, that’s all it will ever be. Such people do more harm to the Faith, particularly if they are proponents of the traditional Mass.

I thought that this was interesting
Vatican Film Festival

I think that this portfolio is lovely.

Hat tip to Carrie Tomko at Still Running Off at the Keyboard

More on Iran

"Suppose they gave a war and nobody came...."

Thoughts on Iran