Ever wonder where your taxes go?

Much goes on suppressing the Catholic religion.

Listen.

Christians must seek to ensure that young people know about God and his laws. That’s why we have Catholic schools.

Christians must seek to participate in practical and loving care of the poor, sick, dying – hence Catholic hospitals and welfare agencies.

But . . . .

. . . the taxes paid by Catholics are increasingly devoted to abolishing exactly those activities.

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The day comes when any homosexual failing to land a job that he/she sought in a Catholic school, hospital etc., will be able drag the employer endlessly through equal-opportunity tribunals, kangaroo courts etc.

The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, in a recent submission to an Attorney-General’s inquiry, called for “removal of religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws on the basis of sexuality – particularly in relation to employment and the provision of health and community services . . . .”

AFAO and numerous like-minded bodies receive taxpayer funding – your money — via the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA).

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Jesus Christ taught that God’s will regarding “sexuality” is that “a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”

Will the Church have to “correct” his words?

Perhaps to “a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife and/or same-sex partner . . . .”

Blasphemous?

Stupid?

There’s a real war on in culturesville.

Wars have casualties.

A new book about atheism and religion is creating some interest.

Swiss multimedia commentator, Alain de Botton, calls his book “Religion for Atheists: a non-believer’s guide to the uses of religion”.

He says modern atheists are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

He has little time for Richard Dawkins, for example. Such people, he says, have forgotten important truths — and must now humbly revisit at least some aspects of Faith to get them back.

Truths about how to live and love, care for others, handle suffering and death etc.

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Some of the book’s suggestions are misguided: for example that atheists copy the idea of a weekly communal meal — as is, he says, “found at the heart of the Catholic Mass”.

No.

The communal meal concept is not the heart of the Mass.

The Mass is first and foremost a sacrifice — the sacrifice of Christ’s Cross made present, its memory celebrated and its saving power applied to the faithful.

Mass can be validly celebrated when non-communal — celebrated by a priest alone.

The Mass is something totally supernatural.

It has no “natural” equivalent that atheists can borrow.

It is part of the Catholic Faith or it is nothing.

Victoria’s parliament is holding an inquiry into the handling of child abuse allegations by churches and other non-government organisations.

ABC announcer, Wahid Ali, commented, for the benefit of listeners who hadn’t thought of it, that this really means the Catholic Church.

The Sydney Morning Herald and other anti-Catholic publications are underlining a similar message.

* * *

It is true that Catholic clergy who have sexually penetrated young children should be punished — ideally hung.

However the usual worry exists — false accusations could lead to innocent persons being executed.

The superiors of such offenders, e.g. bishops — if shown to have lied to protect them or failed to ensure that they have no further dealings with children — they should be locked up.

But Tony Abbott, federal Opposition leader, warns committee members not to single out the Catholic Church.

* * *

Everybody knows that most child abuse happens within families, especially step-families and de facto-headed families — not in churches.

Yet the ABC, SMH etc. never condemn de facto relationships — and tend to be supporters of teaching kindergarten and primary students that homosexual coupling is normal.

Don’t the media generally, especially television, reinforce our worst tendencies?

Wall-to-wall programs focussed on instant gratification and the joys of demeaning other people by word and deed?

Cardinal Pell, debating atheist Richard Dawkins, insisted that hell does exist.

Then added that he hopes hell is empty.

Contradicting himself.

Jesus Christ taught that there is a hell, and that it is not empty:

“At the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 13)

Best ignore modernists, no matter how high they rank in the Church, whose teaching is anti-Catholic.

If you believe in hell, the struggle to avoid it is worth any sacrifice — denying yourself seemingly pleasant disobediences to God’s laws.

If you don’t believe in hell, then whatever you do makes no difference to anything . . . .

You don’t really exist except as some kind of a robot.

* * *

Many so-called religious people think that everybody will go to the same place — namely heaven.

Atheists believe that everybody will go to the same place – namely non-existence.

Both groups are on the same side of the argument.

Both are wrong.

So believe in God. And believe in hell.

Pray that you will escape hell.

Pray for the souls of your friends and for all sinners everywhere.

Last Sunday night, ABC television show “Q and A”, featured a debate between British atheistic author, Richard Dawkins, and Australia’s Cardinal George Pell.

The Cardinal did well.

For example, exposing Dawkins’ ignorance about the beliefs of his own hero, evolution theorist, Charles Darwin.

Dawkins said Darwin was an atheist – but Cardinal Pell was able to quote Darwin’s own autobiography, where he said the opposite.

Darwin wrote:  “. . . I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist . . . .”

* * *

This debate was a welcome change from the media’s usual determination to distract us and shrink our powers of reason.

Good for the public to see how it was the Catholic doing the thinking and the atheist who needed to resort to name-callings, platitudes and regurgitations of prejudice — the reverse of what we often tend to think.

The whole program is worth viewing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD1QHO_AVZA

The media did notice that yesterday was Good Friday.

Cardinal Pell’s Easter message helped me in my attempts to reflect on the meaning of the season.

www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-06/archbishops-deliver-easter-message/3936874

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Cardinal Pell’s message compelled listeners/viewers to consider the struggle between good and evil.

Was he saying that the death and resurrection of Christ is best understood as a struggle between good and evil?

Yes and No.

The crucifixion of Christ was not merely one struggle between good and evil.

His crucifixion was THE struggle between good and evil.

That’s what it means to take seriously the claim of the man Jesus to be God.

That’s where the Christian faith parts company with other world views.

Any “social capital” needed to generate fairness, respect etc. depends on relating every motive and endeavour to God who creates and redeems us.

To deny this is to miss the Easter opportunity.

* * *

Less helpful was media coverage of Filipino Christians crucifying themselves, the thoughts of Father Bob Maguire etc.

Such individuals’ efforts may be motivated by real devotion but, for most people, are distractions not inspirations.