Guns Before Religious Liberty

I learned this week that illicit gun trade is apparently a $60 billion global industry.  It is an industry that makes it possible for people to commit horrendous acts of violence in order to force their point of view on others, without needing to make use of the more sensible process of engaging in dialogue to resolve disputes.

Scottish Government Determined About Gay Marriage

Cardinal Keith O'Brien has called gay marriage a
'grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right'. 

So the government of Scotland has announced its intention “to proceed with plans to allow same-sex marriage and religious ceremonies for civil partnerships.”[1]  The Scottish government apparently said that it hopes that the first of the gay marriage ceremonies will be celebrated by the year 2015.  Whoopee!!  Not!!

Contraception Or Holiness

Last week Sky News television presented an interview[1] with Melinda Gates, the wife of Microsoft founder, Bill Gates.  (The Gates Foundation was hosting a Contraceptives Summit in the United Kingdom.)  After broadcasting the interview, Sky News then immediately followed it with a broadcast of a television report[2], by their journalist Alex Crawford, about the high mortality rate amongst women in Malawi.

Bishop Kumalo On Condoms

Mark Riedemann recently interviewed Bishop Kumalo for "Where God Weeps", a weekly television and radio show produced by the Catholic Radio and Television Network.  Bishop Kumalo is Bishop of the Diocese of Eshowe.  When he was asked about the matter of HIV/Aids and the endeavours of the international community to promote condoms as the solution, Bishop Kumalo had this to say:

Courage

I have been out of action for some time because of personal health issues.  Today I am back, but not entirely well just yet.  I have been watching the whole saga around the HHS mandate in the USA with great interest over the last year or so.  Thanks of course to the Internet, which gives me access to important Catholic news from around the world.

Are We Doubting Thomases?

I had only just heard about the appointment of Archbishop Müller yesterday, as the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, and already I began to see various blogs and articles expressing concern about his appointment.  What I found so incredibly amusing was that it seemed that people from both ends of the scale were concerned about the fact that Pope Benedict XVI had appointment him.

About St Thomas, Apostle

The apostle Thomas is famous for doubting the resurrection of Jesus when his fellow apostles told him about it; but if he is the sceptical apostle, he is also the believing apostle, for having seen and touched a risen man, he made the immediate leap of faith and so became the first apostle to call Jesus God.

New Prefect Of The CDF

Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller

Pope Benedict XVI has today appointed Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller as the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.  Bishop Müller was the bishop of Regensburg and has now been elevated to Archbishop.  

What I Want From A Catholic Newspaper

The Southern Cross has historically had absolutely no hesitation whatsoever in publishing content that creates confusion about the true teaching of the Church, or content that portrays the Church or its leaders in a bad light.  The latest issue of the newspaper reveals that this newspaper is clearly determined to continue in this vein.