The Greens Party is using its current grip on Australian politics to push for legal euthanasia while they have the chance.

Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is frightened of the Greens. They can end her prime-ministership anytime with about five minutes notice.

But JG has misgivings about euthanasia. She is not stupid. At present she is perching on the fence.

She fobbed them off at Channel 10 by saying she finds it “almost impossible to conceptualise how there would be appropriate steps and safeguards”.

* * *

Full-time euthanasia campaigner, Philip Nitschke, wants her to make up her mind:

“Plenty of places, including Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and the US states of Washington, Montana and Oregon, have proved legislation is feasible.

“It isn’t good enough for politicians to fence-sit on such an important social and moral issue and to keep betraying their electorate for possible fear of a Christian backlash.”

You can picture him turning aside to spit on the floor after mouthing the word “Christian”.

PN is peeved. A television ad sponsored by his group has been banned because it encouraged suicide – which put it in breach of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice.

* * *

It was a blunder to mention Belgium, Holland etc.

These places don’t have genuine Palliative Care services. Instead, they have so-called “integrative palliative care” which includes deliberately hastened death as an option — a contradiction in terms.

True Palliative Care regards dying as a normal process — its role being neither to hasten nor to postpone death, but to offer every possible physical, emotional and spiritual comfort to the dying.

* * *

Real Palliative Care is a wonderful gift to the whole human race — not just to those who are dying.

Palliative Care is a protector of decency and compassion — in a world where those virtues are scarce.

Palliative Care was pioneered by Christians — notably Dr Cicely Saunders, in London, England (not Dr Nitschke’s favourite historical figure).

Euthanasia, on the other hand, is a great dis-service to the human race — a crime against humanity — and should be treated as such.

Yesterday’s opening of Australia’s 43^rd Federal Parliament included a “Welcome to Country” ceremony performed by some people of Aboriginal descent.

Aboriginal elder, Matilda House, dressed in traditional garb, welcomed parliamentarians and explained the significance of the traditional smoking ceremony, saying, “I’m particularly pleased we’re holding the ceremony in the forecourt of Parliament House. Enjoy this beautiful country . . . .”

Later, she invited the politicians to come forward for a “cleansing” from the smoke. “It helps”, she said.

There is, of course, an alternative opinion — held by many people — that it doesn’t.

Certainly Julia Gillard, staunch atheist as she claims to be, would dismiss all such spiritual-type observances as so much superstitious claptrap.

* * *

Anyway, J Gillard was presented with a boomerang, for which she thanked Matilda House, and “acknowledged the bond” that the traditional owners have with the land.

“Words and symbols matter”, she said, adding that every sitting day of Parliament, recognition of elders will be carried out.

If she does, in fact, consider Aboriginal traditions meaningless, why this plan to go on with it on a daily basis?

Presumably so that any Christian-type ritual can be relativised as just one more irrelevancy and/or eliminated at some future date.

* * *

Interestingly, both she and fellow feminist idealogue, Mrs Quentin Bryce (Australia’s Governor General), chose not to attend a church service marking the opening of Parliament.

You could say they didn’t miss much. It was fairly bland and conventional.

Father Frank Brennan said that, even if a “kinder, gentler polity” was beyond the “unaided human capacities” of parliamentarians, he urged them to show faith, hope and love for each other.
“For each other”? More meaningful, perhaps, to have said “for God”.

Love for fellow pollies, if not based specifically on love for the Creator, will soon fizzle out, to be replaced by the more usual name-callings and character-assassinations.

* * *

Labor senator, Ursula Stephens, chairwoman of the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, urged all Australians to “Please keep us in your prayers as this very eventful Parliament unfolds”.

That’s a good idea. Dear blog-readers, please do it.

There is more one could say about Senator Stephens, but that can wait for another occasion.

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Independent MP, Bob Katter, said yesterday that he intends continuing his practice of not always turning up at Parliament every time there is a vote on.

Not if he has matters of importance happening in his electorate, e.g. funerals of worthy local identities. However he will always be there for major issues, like voting on an Emissions Trading Scheme.

To him, that’s what an Independent does – puts his electorate first.

As a rural Independent, Mr Katter stated 2o demands for the major parties to consider. The Coalition favoured more of them than did Labor — hence Mr Katter’s decision to support them.

* * *

Mr Katter’s demands were common-sense things that every rational Australian agrees with.

For example:

* removing the tax on Australian-produced bio-fuels and introducing a statutory 10 percent ethanol content in all petrol.

* breaking Coles’ and Woolworths’ two-chain stranglehold on food sales by permitting only a maximum 22.5 percent market share by any one company.

* no carbon tax/no emissions trading scheme/no mining super-tax.

* using the Future Fund to create a National Development Corporation for major infrastructure and strategically important industries.

* prohibiting imports of plant products from countries with endemic plant diseases.

* using some of the vast quantity of water in Australia’s north – currently going unused – for agriculture.

* equal government-funded parental assistance for mothers, whether they work in the home or in paid employment.

* establishing a registry of foreign-owned farmland, corporations etc.

* * *

All issues basic to our national sovereignty and to simple justice. How did the big parties react?

They didn’t.

Too busy making deals and offering assistance grants here and there.

Mr Katter’s fellow so-called Independents, Windsor and Oakeshott, were also uninterested — reluctant to talk to Mr Katter at all.

* * *

P.S. Yesterday was Julia Gillard’s first attempt to do some prime-ministering since the election.

What a fizzer.

She’s trying to set up a “Climate Committee”.

Senator Brown is now in control and he knows it.

As a nation, we are in trouble.

Nobody disagreeing with Senator Brown will be allowed on the committee.

The maniacs are in now charge of the asylum.

The fact that Bob Katter is sane won’t be enough to save us.

ABC-TV has “discovered” that Mary MacKillop’s excommunication followed her exposing a child-molesting priest.

They’ll tell all on TV, seven days before Blessed Mary’s canonisation.

Amazing. What a coincidence. The timing, I mean . . . .

Nothing of this “whistle-blowing” was mentioned in Father Paul Gardiner’s Vatican-commissioned biography of Mary MacKillop — or in her letters, as published by the Josephite Sisters.

* * *

Father Gardiner now says:

“The story of the excommunication amounts to this: that some priests had been uncovered for being involved in the sexual abuse of children . . . .

“The nuns told him (Father Julian Tenison Woods) and he told the Vicar General who was in charge at the time, and he took severe action.

“And Father Horan, one of these priests, was so angry with this that he swore vengeance — and there’s evidence for this — against Woods by getting at the Josephites and destroying them . . . .”  (www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/25/3021772.htm)

Father Gardiner never mentioned such “evidence” before.

Was he treating his readers as idiots, unworthy to know the facts?

* * *

The ABC also says:

“A statement from the Sisters of St Joseph says the events of September 1871 have been comprehensively documented.

“There were several factors that led to this painful period for Mary and the sisters . . . .

“The reasons for Mary’s excommunication have been written about and commented on in the public domain since that time. This is consistent with the information contained in the Compass program.” 

In the public domain? Where?

Are the ladies fibbing?

* * *

It only plays into the hands of anti-Catholic forces, to give them cover-ups to seize upon.

Better for the Church to be honest about past failures of its personnel . . . .

Then — with that out of the way — get off the back foot and give the Church’s enemies the prophetic message they richly need and deserve.

The ABC, for example, is a disgrace, intellectually and morally.

Whenever the public are most likely to reflect on the Faith – e.g. Easter or Christmas – along comes the ABC with some documentary allegedly undermining the historical basis of the Gospels . . . .

Now, on this occasion, they’ll taint the atmosphere of a happy canonisation with insinuations that all priests are good for is interfering with children.

Today’s gospel reading for Mass in traditional Catholic churches says:

Entering into a boat, Jesus crossed the water and came to his own city. People there brought him a paralysed man lying on a stretcher. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the sick man, “Be of good heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.”

At that, some of the scribes said amongst themselves, “He is blaspheming.” Jesus seeing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Rise up, and walk . . . .’? So that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, (he then turned and spoke to the sick man) Rise up, take your bed, and go back to your house.”

He rose and went to his house.

The crowd, seeing this, feared and glorified God that he gave such power to men.

(Saint Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 9)

* * *

The big miracle was their faith in God. That’s what saves souls.

Whether Jesus proceeded to miraculously fix the man’s body was less important.

The physical healing was more for the benefit of the unbelievers present — the Scribes, paid to be religious, but reluctant to recognise God Incarnate when they saw him.

Religious people – especially religious leaders — are always in danger of pride, which can lead to selective blindness.

* * *

Most Australian Catholics can’t see that the English-language ceremony used in their parish church is NOT a translation of the Traditional Latin Catholic Mass, as used until the 1970’s – but something completely different.

Why not? Because their religious leaders haven’t told them, and don’t want them to see why . . .

* the new Mass downplays the sacrificial nature of the Mass

* modern altars have no Cross on them

* the priest’s Signs of the Cross, as per the Old Mass, are suppressed

* modernist priests seldom kneel, more often bobbing their heads at the holiest moments of the Mass

* * *

Those watching Jesus miraculously heal the paralysed man were filled with fear . . . .

We need the Mass of Tradition, which miraculously fills us with the fear of God . . . not only in church on Sunday, but all day, every day.

Everything is going wrong!!

The New Delhi Commonwealth Games will be a fiasco!!!

So the media would have us believe. They seem to hope that it will be so. Some of the horror stories (roofs falling in etc.) have been intentionally exaggerated.

Watching people fail — then putting them down for it — is regarded as “good media”. That’s what ordinary people (TV-watchers, newspaper-readers) want to see and read.

Why? Because people basically hate each other, and want to see others humiliated.

* * *

Apparently many Indian contractors working on Games infrastructure have been money-hungry and incompetent.

That couldn’t happen in Australia, could it? We can safely look down our noses at the Indians for letting it happen, can’t we?

Once upon a time, in an era now hardly remembered — like last year — the Australian Labor government handed out good taxpayers’ money to incompetent and crooked roof insulation installers . . . .

And now Australian voters have put the same party back into power! Not only do we tolerate corruption, we cast our votes so as to ensure that it keeps happening.

* * *

Anyway, what did the athletes visiting India expect?

To arrive in a country where countless millions have no running water, doctors, schooling, hygienic toilets etc. – and expect the equivalent of Australian motels to stay in?

The main difference between these athletes and poorer Indian citizens is that the Indians work for a living and the athletes do not. All “elite” athletes do all day is practise playing games and running about — then expect to be fed and fawned upon as celebrities.

Because they can run fast, jump high etc., are they really a cut above everybody else?

* * *

Sport? Yes, sport is potentially a great thing.

But it should all be amateur. All athletes ought to work at real jobs — doing sport in their spare time.

If they must travel, let them catch a bus and travel 50 miles now and then to compete with athletes from nearby districts.

If they have enough money to travel overseas, let them spend it on overseas aid, like sponsoring a child in India.

Not going to India, showing off in front of them, and then whingeing about the conditions.