Archive for the ‘Perceptions’ Category
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 |
November 18, 2008, marks the 30th Anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre. Religious leader Jim Jones, founder of the Peoples Temple, promised his followers a safe place, a utopia in the jungles of Guyana. However, soon after their settlement was established, rumors of human rights abuse made their way back to California, where many of the almost 1000 inhabitants had migrated from in order to escape media scrutiny of their group.
During a visit by a delegation led by California Congressman Leo Ryan, Jones and members of the group felt threatened by the investigation along with the fact that some of the members had requested the delegation’s help to leave the camp. As Ryan’s delegation and the defecting members were boarding planes on an air strip preparing to leave, a group from the Temple’s security forces gunned down and killed several of the passengers, including Ryan. Following the air strip shootings, Jones led over 900 members of his group in a mass suicide.
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Monday, November 17th, 2008 |
There has been more bad news about the U.S. economy since the Presidential election; the stock market has plummeted, the country has lost more than 500,000 jobs since September, and companies that have been the backbone of the U.S. economy are hemorrhaging and pleading for help from the government. In these uncertain times, what spiritual wisdom and practical advice can the church offer?
Father Robert Barron, Chicago priest and theologian, points out that economics is seen by the church as part of morality, since it is crucial to the maintenance of the common good. “Maintaining the health and viability of our economic system is of pressing ethical importance because it honors the dignity of the human being as a free and self-directing agent.” Fr. Barron reminds Christians that while a vibrant economy is important, they should never allow anything in this world to be a substitute for God.
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Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 |
Karen L Brauer MS, RPh, President of Pharmacists for Life International, submits the following:
In a routine internet search for the news, I followed a link to a fascinating recent New York Times article “Palin fuses motherhood and politics in a new way”. The author, Jodi Kantor, carefully avoided the more obvious abuse of Sarah Palin by the media, concerning her ability to simultaneously serve as mother and public official. However this quote caught my eye: “In just a few months, she has gone from hiding her pregnancy from those closest to her to toting her infant on stage at the Republican National Convention.
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Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 |
Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, issued the following statement on the fact sheet on abortion released by the anti-choice lobbying arm of the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops.
“The fact sheet from the bishops’ lobbying arm, the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, reaffirms the U.S. bishops’ desire to place themselves at the center of the political discussion on abortion. However, in doing so, they do not reflect the fullness of Catholic teaching on abortion, nor do they represent what Catholics actually believe.
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