The fight over Communion has taken on local significance for me.
Protesters urge bishop to deny communion to pro-abortion legislators
Thursday, June 17, 2004
By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A dozen people picketed the Downtown headquarters of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh yesterday, calling on Bishop Donald Wuerl to deny communion to Catholic legislators who support legal abortion."
Well, this ought to draw some attention, perhaps some less than friendly. Then again, I'm more interested in morality than new friends.
Petition of Support for the Federal Marriage Amendment
"Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., has introduced the Federal Marriage Amendment (H.J. Res. 56) as a proposed constitutional amendment, which will remove the definition of marriage from the reach of all legislatures and courts permanently. This amendment simply states:"
"'Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union between a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups'"
Regarding “Peace in Pieces”
Some of my friends have tried to argue that diversity builds credibility. While this can be true, I do not believe it to be the case here. What’s happening is a lot of lefties claiming there’s support from the right and a few righties pointing to the swarm on the left. Neither side likes the other or is against the war for evenly remotely similar reasons, but coincidental agreement is seen as a credibility boost anyhow. Now, if those groups got together and formed a focused (i.e. no mission creep) anti-war effort, they might actually turn a few heads. Lefties, you can fight for abortion rights another day (though I really rather you protected the unborn as well as you protect other underdogs). Now is the time to participate in a unified front against the possible war in Iraq AND ONLY AGAINST THE WAR. Righties, ‘not yet’ is not as good ‘not moral’ or ‘not ethical’ or ‘not wise’. Got it, folks?
I haven’t decided what I’ll tell my kids about Santa.
Fed-Up Priest Starts ‘Santa-Free Zone’
By Ruben Baudisch
Groups in Germany and Austria have launched campaigns protesting the commercialization of Christmas. The main target is Santa, an American import who doesn’t represent what the holiday is all about.
This is an interesting site that’s a rallying point for those opposed to current US anti-terrorist policies. While, I agree that we’re going too far, I do not believe it’s an issue of oil. Jerry says it better:
"I am very concerned about some of the privacy intrusions and some of the detainment policies of suspected terrorists, but I do not think of this as ‘war for oil’ transaction, and even most of the anti-war politicians do not stoop to such simplicity–if we want oil, we’ll drill in the ANWR or get it off the Russians. Sure the Iraqis have plenty, but the dangers and capital required are not good business. I do agree that we should protect the rights of those oppose ‘the war’, and we should not deem entire countries or peoples evil (regimes are a different matter!). This petition, therefore, is not in my name. :)"
The Not In Our Name Project is a national network of individuals and organizations committed to standing with the people of the world. As the Not in Our Name Pledge of Resistance states, "we believe that as people living in the United States it is our responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government, in our names." Our mission is to build, strengthen and expand resistance to stop the U.S. government’s entire course of war and repression being waged in the name of "fighting terrorism."