Mr Rick Santorum is not favourite to win the American presidency — but it is not impossible.

Santorum hasn’t got as much money as the other candidates.

He does not have the blessing of the rich who own the media.

Western “democratic” nations are less demo-cratic than they are pluto-cratic.

The big money owns the media. The media own (or endeavour fairly successfully to own) the minds of the TV-watching punters/voters.

Anybody who presents himself in the public arena as a practising Catholic will be killed off by the journalists – that is what they being paid to do.

* * *

Journalists are far worse people than prostitutes.

To prostitute your body is not as immoral as to prostitute the Word.

Is Santorum mankind’s only hope?

If he gets elected, will they not simply kill him — like they killed that other Catholic president?

Santorum is a lot more Catholic than Kennedy ever was.

It is amazing that there is such a thing as Christmas.

The One whose birth is commemorated seems such an unlikely person to have dominated human history — and to have done so for so long.

This Jesus had no army.

He had no friends in high places.

At his death, the number willing to stand by him could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Yet now, 2011 years later, 2.1 billion — one third of all human beings — follow him at least nominally. (Pew Research, 2010 *)

Yes, that is amazing.

We have a lot to be thankful for.

Let us ask God to grant us each a happy and holy Christmas.

And to enable us in New Year 2012 to live faithfully by the teachings of Jesus Christ.

( * www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-exec.aspx)

The governor of Wisconsin state, USA, recently made an announcement that “the Christmas Tree displayed in our state Capitol will have homemade ornaments . . . . etc.”

Horrified responses followed

“Freedom From Religion Foundation” (FFRF) called his words “rude and insensitive . . . a snub to non-Christians.”

Legal moves will possibly come next.

* * *

The FFRF refers to itself as a group of “freethinkers”

They believe in your “freedom” never to say the word Christmas in public.

Since the 1980’s, those Americans who hate the idea of “government endorsement of religion” have witch-hunted anybody saying Christmas tree . . . .

Instead of “Holiday tree” which is a permissible phrase.

So much for the status of belief in the USA.

What about Australia?

* * *

Researchers claim that only 40 percent of Australians now identify as Christians.

About 10 percent identify themselves with other religions.

The rest don’t believe in anything much.

20 percent call themselves “spiritual” but not “religious”.

We mostly want to feel good and — to some that way inclined — religion and/or spirituality can be a convenient feelgood.

Are we all — both religious and un-religious – alike primarily committed to self-fulfilment, self-esteem and self-worship?

Only the colour of the tinsel varying?

(stats from: OliveTree Media Research, 22 November 2011)

Mrs Clinton is in Libya congratulating National Transitional Council bosses, Jalil and Jibril, for disempowering/killing ex-dictator, Colonel Gaddafi.

“The future belongs to you,” she said.

They know that.

“We will support a process of democratisation that respects the rule of law etc.,” she added.

They don’t know so much about that.

Nobody seriously expects a democratically-elected government to be in charge in Libya, soon or ever.

Look at Egypt. Look at Afghanistan. Liberated in the name of democracy. Corruption all the way to the top after months and years respectively.

* * *

Why should these people want democracy?

If you mean by “democracy”, rule by US-style media-brainwash, billionaire candidates and politicians lying 24/7 — they could hardly be blamed for not wanting it.

The results of democracy is having people like Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton’s husband rising to the surface.

Or like the Gillard.

Or like the reverend Mr Silvio Berlusconi, for goodness sake.

* * *

Mrs Clinton will probably never be heard telling Libyans that what they need is to become Christians — to stop following a beheading Prophet and to start following One who gave his life on the cross to redeem our race.

Nor would she say it to the people of the USA.

Or to herself.

Anyway, we don’t need politicians lecturing us on what to believe and how to conduct our lives.

We know it already.

But it is not so easy to do it.

Ultimately it is between oneself and God.

Robert Jeffress, a supporter of would-be Republican candidate for the US Presidency, Rick Perry, has caused a stir.

He says that opposing candidate Mitt Romney — a Mormon– is “not a Christian”.

He labels Mormonism a “cult”.

Mr Jeffress is pastor of a Baptist 10,000-member “mega church”.

Question: are Baptist mega churches Christian?

Anyway, the Democrats are enjoying watching the Republicans undermining each others’ credibility.

And the secular media are bleating about more “separation of Church and State”.

And “keeping religion out of politics”.

* * *

Yes, there must be a degree of “separation of Church and State” – or we’ll end up with injustice.

Two examples:

(1) State-dominating-Church as in China: where the government interferes with the appointment of Catholic bishops.

(2) Church-dominating-State as in Egypt: where today and tomorrow people are shot to pieces or run over by tanks for being non-Muslims.

But “keeping religion out of politics” is something else.

Keeping religion out of politics is not possible.

Without true religion, how does one determine right from wrong?

Without true religion, those getting in your way merit no special respect, being simply animals/robots who, if inconvenient, can be thrust aside or disassembled.

* * *

Think about the practical questions of surrogate pregnancy, abortion, human cloning, euthanasia, same sex “marriage”, business fraud etc.

On issues like these, Mr Romney has been willing to flexibly adopt whatever stance seems politically expedient.

A Catholic cannot do that.

If he tries it, his bishop must discipline him — and, if necessary, excommunicate him.

If not, that bishop must, himself, be attended to by somebody acting for the Pope.

Pope Benedict, visiting his home country, Germany, has paid tribute to those who kept the faith during Nazi and Communist persecutions.

After meeting a group of victims of past sexual abuse by church workers, he humbly commented that he could “understand that, in the face of such reports, people, especially those close to victims, would say, ‘This isn’t my church anymore’.”

He vowed that the Church will “deal with all crimes of abuse” and is “committed to promotion of measures for the protection of children and young people”.

* * *

In a world where hatred seems to reign, to learn the message of God’s love is urgent and critical.

The people you meet every day need to discover that they are infinitely lovable, no matter how badly they feel about themselves.

And to experience the life-altering potency of God’s love.

It is the task of the Church to be God’s agent in passing on that message and that transforming experience of love.

Now is not the time for Christians to abandon the Church, but to redouble our efforts, at the personal level, to spread God’s life-changing love.

* * *

Today, try to let everyone you meet be aware of his/her lovability.

All are infinitely loveable, because God loves all infinitely.

We must first let God’s love change us — then endeavour to become change-agents in creating and spreading love.

It is not easy to act consistently with this kind of love.

None of us is as good at it as we ought to be.

If we humbly ask God for his grace, he will change us – and use the change in us as a step towards changing the world.