My first rant has to do with my clericalism post below and also has to do with the elitism, better than everyone else (pharisaical) superior spirit of Vatican II type where humility is flung at the rest like a monkey flinging his excrement at those gawking at him.
Tell me what you think of this comment on clericalism from the Praytell blog and am I wrong to characterize it as I do above--the worst of post spirit of Vatican II Catholicism pride and elitism, i.e. The clericalism of the laity in this era:
Where did this young priest get this curious idea?I’ve belonged to a cathedral parish for over 50 years. I no longer attend diocesan liturgies (Mass of the Chrism, ordinations) because I find them overpoweringly clerical.
And then there is what I would call a teenage brat that needs some discipline and a reality test about that which she can't control, no one can control, the inevitability of the dead of every human being and eventually the planet. All things created by God in the natural order will die because of Original Sin and yes, actual sin. It will be only at the final consummation of the earth (and I was taught by fire, not thinking global warming would be the cause of that fire) that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead as well as all the institutions of the world to include religious and political institutions. Then the resurrection of the body will occur and each to his just reward or condemnation for eternity.But look at this little brat. Her motivating force is teenage rebellion and anger but for a just cause that she thinks politicians and others can change, global warming. Even if my dad dispised the current president, he would have taught me manners as a child and would not tolerate his son doing what this daughter is doing in her anger and contempt. Blame her parents for allowing this child to be used for political purposes and worldwide notoriety. I think is is child abuse, no?
29 comments:
Bee here:
Father, don't get sucked in to the tactics of the Left. If you don't think this kid's pontificating about so-called "climate change" is not scripted and orchestrated you are kidding yourself. Content yourself to know you are watching political theater, and treat it as you would seeing a play or movie. What I mean by that is, it isn't real. It's acting.
What you have to wonder is who is funding this. And how do they get the buy in by so many forums and outlets. That takes lots of money and political favors handed out to do that.
That being said, the logical conclusion is there must be a LOT of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in the "climate change" implementation, and there must be some pretty rich and powerful people positioned to make huge amounts of money off the sheeple, and they are getting impatient with the lack of action. Hence, the farce we see playing out now.
I saw an article that asked why the Obamas would buy a $15 Million dollar home on Martha's Vinyard, within sight of the ocean, if climate change were really true and the oceans is going to rise 15 feet. The article also asked how all these coastal homes could be so costly, and rising in value, if climate change would produce the effects they are predicting. Wouldn't it be logical that the high and mighty living in these homes would be trying to dump them, getting at least a part of their money out of them, and move far inland?
So all of this push and mouth and angst and pleading by the young to "save the planet" is, in my opinion, just posturing and politicking. Just like Occupy Wall Street. And so many other supposed "grass roots" Leftist protests.
And yes, I do think this sort of using kids to manipulate public opinion is child abuse.
God bless.
Bee
The five US cities most imperiled by sea level rise are Miami, New York, New Orleans, Tampa, and Boston. Since 1952, Tampa has seen a rise in sea levels of 18 cm (7 inches).
Venice, Italy, now floods more than 60 times a year, up from 4 times per year in 1900.
Earlier this year, Tybee Island, average elevation 10 ft above sea level and 10 miles east of where I am sitting, received a $1.1 million dollar grant to begin raising homes.
All of these cities - and many other around the world - have initiated what are known as "resilience efforts." They take it seriously. These range from improving existing drainage systems to raising roadway levels, building higher and stronger levees, installing deployable sea walls, and replacing paved areas such as parking lots with floodable parks and green spaces.
Many folks laughed a Noah, too.
It is good that we have the ability to raise our houses, build levees and make floodable greenspaces to assist communities with so-called "acts of God."
Sadly, though, when God sent the ice age that no mortal caused, except through the falleness of creation due to Original sin, no one knew how to build better heating systems to withstand all the ice age freezing weather.
When I was in the seminary in Baltimore, 1976-80, three of the harshest winters occurred with tons of snow and ice. There were those in the scientific arena saying to us and politicians repeating, another ice age is on us due to mankind!
fortunately, St. Mary's Seminary had excellent radiator heating and I did not suffer except when I went outside.
"The difference between weather ("three harshest winters") and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time. (NASA)
"Weather is what you see outside on any particular day. So, for example, it may be 75° degrees and sunny or it could be 20° degrees with heavy snow. That’s the weather. Climate is the average of that weather. For example, you can expect snow in the Northeast in January or for it to be hot and humid in the Southeast in July. This is climate. The climate record also includes extreme values such as record high temperatures or record amounts of rainfall. If you’ve ever heard your local weather person say “today we hit a record high for this day,” she is talking about climate records. So when we are talking about climate change, we are talking about changes in long-term averages of daily weather." (NOAA)
The effect humans have on climate (not weather) are not "acts of God."
the term "acts of God" is pejorative and you know that.
Please tell us how humans effected the climate change of the ice age.
also, please inform us if you believe that human beings in this earthly life are terminal, no matter how long science might prolong this life even in a vegetative state.
Do you believe that the earth as we know it is finite heading to its death too?
Do you believe in the consummation of the world and the Second coming?
Your priestly take on the last things is more important than your expertise as a scientist.
"Please tell us how humans effected the climate change of the ice age."
We didn't.
Humans, being carbon-based organisms, all have expiration dates. How long that date can be pushed back remains to be seen, but neither you nor I will see it.
The earth is, I suspect, finite, unless we find a way to stop our sun from becoming a Red Giant, swelling up and gobbling up our planet. Fear not - the time line is 500 million years down the road.
The consummation of the world will occur. Does that mean this planet will cease to exist? Not necessarily. The "consummation" is the end of the present world and the conclusion of the work of Christ. Might God perfect this world in every way and might it be transformed into the everlasting Kingdom of God? Maybe...
No, my priestly take on the last things isn't more important than science. That's a false dichotomy. Am I going to preach repentance and mercy? Yep. Am I also going to do my part of limit my own carbon footprint so that the generations after me will have a better world? Yep, again. Any good Christian, or non-Christian for that matter, would do the same.
An "act of God" is understood to be an even outside human control or activity. Insurance companies include force majeure clauses in their policies to limit their liability that result from "acts of God."
Certainly the best human solution the carbon footprints is the elimination of humans or at least the reduction of them. Abortion, suicide, euthanasia and the like will certainly help in all of this. I think your political party is in favor of these, no?
And certainly genocide on the level of Hitler and communists and socialists would help too. A smaller, purer race is one solution maybe the final solution?
Satirically, the little brat will likely get a full scholarship to some liberal Ivy League university because she mindlessly babbled back the speech someone fed her. It’s old news
"Certainly the best human solution the carbon footprints is the elimination of humans or at least the reduction of them."
No, a solution that benefits humans isn't accomplished by eliminating humans. Think, Allan.
"Abortion, suicide, euthanasia and the like will certainly help in all of this. I think your political party is in favor of these, no?"
I don't belong to a political party. I am a registered Independent.
In your curious consideration of the value of genocides, don't forget to include that carried out by the Roman Catholic Leopold II in the Congo. Lots of cassocks, lacy surplices, and birettas in those pictures. Oh, lots of umbrellas, too. It was a rainy day in Brussels.
Father you need to get inline with the Southern Cross as that rag of a diocesan paper cause it a climate crisis. As for this latest effort for 50 years we’ve been told over 41times that the sky is falling and the end is near. Well the end might be near, but it won’t be because of the ever changing climate.
The green movement is like a watermelon, green on the outside and red inside. And this is nothing more then the continuance of a 100 year effort to completely control people’s lives. Whether through the green hysteria, gun control, which was first applied by the party of slavery against African-Americans to ensure they couldn’t defend themselves in the early 20th century.
Back to the youths being managed. It’s a common practice by all despots from Hitler, Stalin, and especially Mao isn’t he 60s and 70s with his Red Guard which killed millions.
The Left wants a civil war and if they get one they better remember who owns most of the guns when they send their Antigua thugs out in the streets.
The end is near and what happens during the upcoming Amazon synod will confirm a 150 years of Marian apparitions.
God help us all.
From news reports, I learned today that young Greta has some serious emotional and behavioral challenges: Aspergers, bipolar, and depression. I would have advised against her taking on this role, and if that advise were not to be heeded, I would have told her parents -- or her, if she is calling the shots -- that she should accept coaching on PR. And, failing that, she should openly acknowledge these issues so that her message is not diminshed by attention to her manner.
Beyond that, I will say very little about Greta because I am a gentleman. It is very unfortunate if her parents are not guiding her, or else that she is defying them.
Amazing that a 16 year old who is being managed, being scripted, being paid by, no doubt, George Soros, who suffers from aspergers is bipolar and who suffers depression, who is a bratt (sic), who is fostering hysteria, and who is a victim of child abuse has captured the attention of the bloggers here.
Yep, amazing!
"No, my priestly take on the last things isn't more important than science."
Hence why no one attends Mass anymore. The priests don't even believe.
Why be celibate for an NGO?
Christ, who created the universe, preached the last things - not science. Please, if you are a priest, lead us to heaven in the name of Christ. The scientists will change their minds in a decade or so, and you won't have to. We don't need a false dichotomy, but we also don't need false equivalents.
"Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’" (Matt 25:34-36)
In the name of Christ, this is the path to heaven. That feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting those in prison are all done by NGO's does not mean that they should not also be done by those seeking to enter the kingdom of heaven. It also does not mean that these good works are somehow less important than others.
Christ did indeed preach the Last Things. As importantly, he also told us that how we live in this world will determine how we live in the world to come. There should be no artificial separation between the holiness of life that marks our relationships with others and the holiness of life that marks our relationship with the created world. It is simply one holiness expressed in different circumstances. All relationships should be marked by mutual respect - respect for the other people in our lives and in our world, and respect for the material world that is God's creation and gift to us.
Holiness is not a "churchy" virtue. Holiness is a way of life that encompasses, or should encompass, our whole being. Care for souls and care for the created world are not opposed or even separate. they are both ways of preparing for the Last Things in the way prescribed by God.
Very few people actually care about climate change. Environmentalism was much more effective when it dealt with tangible things people could notice -- like picking up trash and cleaning up rivers. Now we have trash-infested streets and parks in places like San Francisco where the population claim to be concerned about climate change. Their fake concern is just a ploy whereby they can have an esoteric cause to rally behind without actually doing anything real, like cleaning up their disgusting city.
Environmentalism is not a fake concern and it has been very effective. And the results of environmentalism and the ecological movement are most certainly tangible.
Since 1980, when laws resulting from environmental awareness were in full-force, the presence of CO2 in the atmosphere is down 82%, lead is down 99%, nitrogen dioxide down 65%, ozone 31%, and sulfur dioxide 91%.
Your lungs and those of your children and grandchildren are welcome.
The same benefits can be found in water quality, and in the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released into the air we breathe. "Breathing VOCs can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, can cause difficulty breathing and nausea, and can damage the central nervous system as well as other organs. Some VOCs can cause cancer. Not all VOCs have all these health effects, though many have several." (American Lung Association)
Very few people, I suspect, cared about the pollution in the Cuyahoga River at Cleveland until it caught fire.(https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_River_Fire)
This little girl who has been elevated to the level of Moral Prophet is a product of socialism. Take a good look at that product: Young, indoctrinated, brainwashed and miserable.
Take a look at the bigger fools who empower her: The UN.
Take a look at the biggest fools who bankroll the UN's existence: The United States.
All due respect Fr. Kavanaugh, let's look at the bigger picture. The United States has spent (and TAXED) more money on environmental regulation and cleanup than any other country, bar none. This globalist push that uses silly little girls as their spokespeople is about something bigger. The nations that condemn the United States the loudest are the biggest polluters themselves. This isn't about anyone caring about the earth--a nice mask for the real agenda--shakedown the United States.
I am not responsible for this, so when I say it, I am not boasting but observing: The United States is the most economically envied nation in modern history. Instead of aspiring to the same success and following our blueprint, too many nations would simply like to bring us down.
Socialism's big brother, Communism has its own legacy too: More people died at the hands of Communist dictators in the last century or because of wars waged by Communists than the sum of war casualties for most of human history's previous years.
No system is perfect, but it's not difficult to see which one has the more glaring imperfections.
"All due respect Fr. Kavanaugh, let's look at the bigger picture. The United States has spent (and TAXED) more money on environmental regulation and cleanup than any other country, bar none."
I suspect this is true. I suspect that it is true because we were among the largest polluters.
"This globalist push that uses silly little girls as their spokespeople is about something bigger."
I don't agree that this is a contrived effort any more than I think the reaction against the indiscriminate use of DDT was a contrived reaction or the effort to protect endangered species is a contrived reaction.
Further, I don't understand why "globalism" has become the bête noire of some folks. We are a global community. We have a global economy. Actions in one part of the world do impact people on the other side of the planet. More and more we travel globally. Globalism is the reality, not something that is going to happen in the future.
"Instead of aspiring to the same success and following our blueprint, too many nations would simply like to bring us down."
I don't think this is the case at all. Because we have a global economy, other nations know that bringing down the U.S. will, in short order for many of them, mean they lose, bigly.
Socialism and Communism have little or nothing to do with environmental matters. Lungs damaged by VOC's or brains damaged by lead in the air and water or the nearly 4,000 who died in the release of methyl isocyanate gas in Bhopal, India, were not hurt by a political/economic system.
Self-righteous, angry (and ignorant) people wagging their fingers at us as they proselytize the new religion of earth worship.
Dostoevsky once wrote that a day would come when we would no longer recognize any sins except in the social order (hunger, etc.)
Need I say more?
Just found this on the internet...makes some good points:
...what many don’t recognize is how communists use environmentalism to claim a moral high ground for the purpose of promoting their own agenda. This is how environmental protection becomes highly politicized, made extreme, and even turned into a pseudo religion — but one without traditional moral foundations. Misleading propaganda and various mandatory political measures have become dominant, turning environmentalism into a kind of “communism-lite.”
The formation and development of the environmental movement is inextricably linked to communism. Specifically, its development has gone through three stages. The first stage is the theoretical gestation period, which can be counted from the publication of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848 to the first Earth Day in 1970.
At the beginning of this stage, Marx and his disciples did not regard environmentalism as the focus of their theoretical discourse, but Marxist atheism and materialism were naturally consistent with the main tendency of environmentalism...
...At the macro level, the counterculture of the 1960s functioned almost like a military parade of communist elements in the West. They took the stage by co-opting the civil rights and anti-war movements, then quickly spread to other forms of anti-capitalist battles, including the feminist movement, the homosexual movement, and more.
Environmentalism has become the main tool for restricting the freedom of citizens around the world, depriving nations of sovereignty, and limiting and fighting against the free societies of the West. The result was that after the end of the Cold War, the former communists of the Soviet Union, as well as the communists and their fellow travelers in the West, all started afresh to join the environmental protection movement. Environmentalism emerged as a force on the world stage and increasingly began to take on a communist color.
Anonymous 6:22 - I find the claims your "internet find" (from "The Epoch Times" a nonprofit news outlet owned by members of Falun Gong, a religious group that has been called a "doomsday cult,"?) makes about a supposed connection between Communism and environmentalism preposterous.
Aldo Leopold, trained as a forester, worked in the early 1900's to preserve wilderness, adopting a holistic approach to natural resource management.
Theodore Roosevelt created over 200 national forests, national monuments, national parks and wildlife refuges.
Rachel Carson, one of the first nature writers of the 20th century, based her work "Silent Spring" on the overuse and misuse of organic chemical pesticides.
Gifford Pinchot, son of a lumber baron, saw the damage done by clear-cutting forests, and worked with T. Roosevelt to adopt better management of woodlands.
These people were not motivates by Communism.
The material you cite states, "Environmentalism has become the main tool for restricting the freedom of citizens around the world..." No one is free to abuse natural resources. True freedom lies in exercising dominion - acting like God - regarding created nature.
Well, Father Kavanaugh, I'll give you credit for being right about one thing--environmentalist extremists certainly do enjoy acting as if they are God!
Anonymous 10:21 - There's a difference between "acting like God" and "acting as if they are God."
"As if they are God" suggests "replacing." No environmentalist I know thinks that he or she replaces God.
"Like" suggests "in the manner of." All of us should act toward the created world "in the manner of" God. That is with love and respect.
Bee here:
To add to what Anonymous Environmentally fatigued said, I couldn't help but notice that Leonardo Boff, famed Liberation Theologian is now espousing Ecological Theology, and if some of you didn't know, he was hailed as a hero by authors of an early preparatory document of the Amazon Synod's Instrumentum Laboris, namely "Towards the Pan-Amazonian Synod: Challenges and Contributions from Latin America and the Caribbean."
Read it if you get a chance (or if you can stand that much Leftist ideology in one sitting.) One of its claims is that "It is not fair to say that only one religion is true and the others are decadent, for they all reveal the mystery of God and reveal the many ways in which we walk in fidelity and love for God."
It adds that the Catholic Church must move "from intolerant exclusivism to an attitude of respect that accepts that Christianity does not have a historical monopoly on salvation" and that "pluralism and diversity of religions are expressions of a wise divine will."
Gee, doesn't this sound A LOT like the kinds of comments Pope Francis makes? Doesn't it sound like some of the content of that "DOCUMENT ON HUMAN FRATERNITY FOR WORLD PEACE AND LIVING TOGETHER" signed by the Pope and the Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb?
And it's interesting to see that Boff has moved into "ecology" and the connection between the environmental movement and Marxist ideology which is a roundabout way of attacking capitalism in the name of concern for the environmment. Ya gotta love those Leftists. They sure are persistent. But then, there's all that money to steal... If you don't think so, just look at Venezuela...
God bless.
Bee
"It adds that the Catholic Church must move "from intolerant exclusivism to an attitude of respect that accepts that Christianity does not have a historical monopoly on salvation" and that "pluralism and diversity of religions are expressions of a wise divine will."
Well, the Church teaches: "It follows that the separated Churches and Communities as such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have been by no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Church."
Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, writes: "Whether a person realizes or not, his salvation would come through the Church as the body of Christ. This is part of Christ’s plan. Even a non-Christian could be saved, since through no fault of his own he might never have heard of the Gospel or made the connection between the Gospel message and the Church. No. 1257 of the Catechism notes, “God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.” This doesn’t mean that we Catholics should neglect our duty to spread the truth of the Gospel; it just means that God will never be unfair.
This principle applies to non-Catholic Christians as well; many have a deep love for Christ and live exemplary lives yet for various reasons they never entered into full communion with the Church."
No, we do not have a monopoly on salvation.
Bee here:
Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matt. 7:13-14
God bless.
Bee
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