You've got to love the guys over at Creative Minority Report - the Archbald brothers - there is always something interesting on their blog. Well, today is no different. As I was briefly catching up on news on the net I discovered this article from Matthew Archbald - an overzealous tambourine player had to tazed to get her to stop her frenzied banging away during a service!
I kid you not! Reading it I was just thinking of those Masses I have offered when I had to endure the craziest musical inventions and raging cacophonies - if only someone had had a tazer! I think many of my brother priests will understand my sentiments. I love Matthew's advice for dealing with the folk group musicians:
"But perhaps we shouldn't allow this unfortunate and unique incident to go to waste. Perhaps we should make it so that some suspect it's not so...unique. I'm not saying we do anything like this but maybe a lot of us should just print out this article and hand it out to the folk musicians at your Church service who make the Mass about them. Hand it out to them and just nod while backing away slowly. And then have the usher with the lazy eye stand behind them and reach into a non-descript brown bag every time they start "expressing their individuality" with their tambourine. (Please remember to print it out in a large font because a lot of these folks were in their prime in the 1960's so they don't see as well as they used to.)"
Matthew also an interesting post on tolerance: an atheist who describes himself as only interested in justice and tolerance, is annoyed at all the religiousity. Yep, that sounds like tolerance alright.
Catching up on news: more serious stuff. Michael Kelly of The Irish Catholic had a report last week on Fine Gael's plans to legalise abortion in Ireland. They had promised not to do so in their election campaign, but since taking up the reins of power, they have broken promises left, right and centre. At one time the main political parties in Ireland were divided by many things - the Civil War had no little part to play in those divisions. But they were also united in a number of areas and respect for human life was one of them. Twenty or thirty years ago each party had its prominent pro-life figures. Today, there are few, if any.
Well if Fine Gael brings abortion into this country it will bring a curse on our heads, and for that they will be remembered in infamy. Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach, and James Reilly, Minister for Health, will be forever remembered as the men who sacrificed the lives of innocent Irish children to satisfy the culture of death so beloved by our permissive secularist individualist ideologues. It is time for the pro-life grassroots members of Fine Gael to make their voices heard. Ironically we still hear Fine Gael ministers talk about "children first": Frances Fitzgerald, Minister for Children, and Alan Shatter, Minister for Justice, are bringing in an Act to protect children, criminalising the Seal of Confession: will they support an Act that deprives the most vulnerable of our children, the unborn, of their very lives? Will it be children or abortion first?
The bishops ought to make VERY clear that any minister who facilitates the introduction of abortion approving legislation will be publicly excommunicated. If the bishops do not do this, they are even more culpable than the ministers. This ought to be shouted from the rooftops so that everyone hears it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Peter, but that will not happen. The Bishops will issue a bland pastoral letter and think their work is done.
DeleteTo be fair to them I don't think they will actually know how to respond. Coming from a model of bishops who had power, authority and respect, using their influence to keep society Catholic, they do not know how to be powerless bishops in conflict with anti-Catholic civil authorities.
We need new bishops who know how to face the challenges and are courageous enough to know that they may need to lay down their lives in witness to Christ, his teaching and his Church.
We must pray for the Nuncio.
We could have devices fitted to priests and everyone in the congregation with a button. When people have had enough they could push the button. Like the X factor.
ReplyDeleteThat is the truth, Peter! There was a miserable single (!) Catholic Bishop in attendance at the Annual All-Ireland Rally for Life in Belfast, last Saturday. The attendance of Catholic priests was just as poor - and these are our leaders in Faith and Morals! Prolife people and people of faith in Ireland have been without adequate leadership for decades.
ReplyDelete