Speaking objectively

I had been rather peckish today about vandals painting over the pro-life posters at the university and scribbling their own messages (some rather crude) instead of putting up their own oppositional posters. I had declared that these people weren't satisfied with counter-arguments and felt the need to conceal pro-life sentiments because the former group can't handle the truth. My friend Philip simply said "I wouldn't presume to know why they did that" (painted over the pro-life posters).

Mea culpa. I will try to speak objectively. Truth to tell, I do not know if the falsehoods circulating the arguments of abortion advocates are deliberate or accidental. I know that their logic, premises and data are indeed incorrect, but I have no mind-reading ability, hence I cannot judge them as liars. I have no right, and I am sorry.

IVF bill for gay and lesbian parents passes the Lower House

Ever get that feeling that we're getting hit from multiple angles? So while many are on the phone and email (among others) to their MPs concerning the Abortion Law Reform bill, this IVF bill has zoomed past. It still has the Upper House to hurdle, however, and I hope those who are concerned can muster the time to voice concerns to the Legislative Council about this one, too. Both bills are fraught with problems, e.g., lack of data, foresight, appreciation for the big picture, etc.

Incredible abortion statistics

As previously posted, much of abortion advocacy is based on lies. I'd like to temper that by saying that advocates are not always nor necessarily lying deliberately. However, they can be typically unwilling to dig deeper into the issues. I came into the university today to find that campus posters paint and scribbles on top of quoted abortion survivors (born alive after an abortion, fortuitously given medical care and now are scarred but competent adults). The quotes were painted over with red. Some angry scribbles were put in.

What sort of truths are out there? Note these statistics which apparently come from the Guttmacher Institute, itself a well known advocate for abortion "rights":

UNITED STATES Number of abortions per year: 1.37 Million (1996) Number of abortions per day: Approximately 3,700 ... Who's having abortions (income)? Women with family incomes less than $15,000 obtain 28.7% of all abortions; Women with family incomes between $15,000 and $29,999 obtain 19.5%; Women with family incomes between $30,000 and $59,999 obtain 38.0%; Women with family incomes over $60,000 obtain 13.8%. Why women have abortions 1% of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient). ...

So let's go back to facts: what is the abortion lobby about, really?

By their fruits indeed

Over the years, one would notice (if research is actually conducted sincerely) that much of the lobbying to legalize and facilitate abortion on demand is based on lies. When NARAL Pro-Choice America in the US was conceived (simply as NARAL), according to one of its founders, they deliberately exaggerated the number of deaths due to backyard abortions:

"How many [maternal] deaths were we talking about when abortion was illegal? In N.A.R.A.L. we generally emphasized the drama of the individual case, not the mass statistics, but when we spoke of the latter it was always '5,000 to 10,000 deaths a year.' I confess that I knew the figures were totally false, and I suppose the others did too if they stopped to think of it. In 1967, the federal government listed only 160 deaths from illegal abortion. In the last year before the Blackmun era began, 1972, the total was only 39 deaths. [T]he actual total was probably closer to 500." [Aborting America, p. 193.] When it comes to lying, NARAL has continued being "tough and persistent, undiscouraged and unbowed."

The same lies are being used today in Mexico:

Citing the number of women who had had abortions legally in the nation's capital since legalization, Velasco claimed, "What the 12 thousand that were served in the Federal District means is that it is probable that two thousand would have died" had legal abortion not been available. However, Mexico City's own health department gives statistics that differ dramatically from Velasco's estimates of deaths due to illegal abortions. In the year before legalization, the health department recorded that only eight women died from miscarriages and induced abortions. The city does not distinguish between miscarriage and illegal abortions in its official statistics, so it is unknown how many of the eight deaths were caused by illegal induced abortions.

That's one problem I have with the abortion agenda: the obfuscation and outright lies. Here in Victoria is another one: hiding the fact that the Abortion Law Reform bill contradicts existing laws and international agreements. Why can't abortion proponents stick to the truth?

And has anyone else found this eerie echo between the so-called "Abortion Law Reform" bill and the "National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws" (the original name of NARAL)? Surely there is no connection -- it isn't as if the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (who earned about $115 million in profits, according to their last annual report) is planning to set up shop here in Australia. Right?

Is the abortion debate steering off course?

The latest abortion-related issue is concerning Catholic hospitals. The debate on the parliamentary floor is on decriminalizing abortion completely, and extending abortion beyond 24 months upon the say-so of two doctors. Pretty soon the debate will likely be about partial-birth abortion. Nothing new here as this has happened or is still happening elsewhere. No one even blinks an eye anymore that a US presidential candidate voted against protecting newborn infants who survive an abortion. Abortion has become so mainstream that it is a wonder how its advocates are not even looking at the overwhelming evidence of abortion's devastating consequences to women, families and society at large.

What bugs me is that all these things are peripheral to the real problem: that deliberate abortion is wrong. The Catholic hospitals issue is already in itself a concession to a society that has legalized abortion. No society that legalizes abortion has ever really confronted the fact that abortion is unjust. Nor has it been seriously considered that other options are far more ideal, such as providing sufficient state support for women to see the pregnancy through to keep the child or have the child adopted. Women deserve better than abortions, but governments refuse to investigate further.

As it stands, with so many people getting it wrong on abortion, including Catholics, the job of the Church is to go on the offense: educating people. And this is a truly critical task. For we can now see far too many Catholics, including lawmakers, repeat the anti-Catholic lines about Church control. They're not even aware that their very dissent proves that the Church CANNOT exercise the draconian control that they are protesting. Ironically, the current debate is actually about how the State threatens to wield such dictatorial authority over Catholic doctors and nurses, who view abortion as murder, but will be compelled to be complicit to murder through referrals.

Update: Found this article with some data on late term abortions for psychosocial, no health-related reasons. This supports a separate thesis of mine, that people are not paying enough attention to where this is all going. Yesterday, restricted abortions. Today, if Morand has her way, unrestricted abortions, tomorrow, partial birth abortions?

The Age Polls: Should Catholic hospitals be forced to comply with the new abortion laws?

I'm not sure what new abortion laws they speak of here, since the Abortion Law Reform bill has not yet been legislated. It has passed the Lower House, but must still go through the Upper House in a few weeks.

In any case, the poll as it stands now is a big "Yes", obviously from non-Catholics who find nothing wrong with the State dictating over the doctrines of the Church while at other times (when it suits them) crying "separation of Church and State". Please visit the poll and make your views count. Polls are a dime a dozen, but in this day and age, many people actually let polls shape their principles. Tragic, I know..

Update: this abortion law is about forcing hospitals to refer women seeking abortion to abortion providers. Our Archbishop has spoken out against this. We refer to this as cooperating with evil, which in itself is a grave and objective evil, given the nature of what is at stake (murder). The government would use the term "collusion" or "aiding and abetting" in other situations, but obviously not when it is an abortion.

Stop the Abortion Law Reform Bill

Someone from the university has kindly prepared several PDF documents containing contact information about specific members of parliament and the legislative council, as well as letters urging them to oppose the Abortion Law Reform Bill here in Victoria. It is probably preferred that the letters are given a personal touch, but note that whatever is written must be given in charity and respect. These people are not enemies: they are public servants whom we should pray for and assist in their decision-making. Our role is not berate them, but to voice our concerns to them, in the hope that we will influence their understanding. Marcin (who prepared these documents) sends along this explanation for the various documents in the zip file linked to above:

1. find out what your Legislative Council Region is by seeing "list_of_council_members-3.pdf" (Clayton is in the SouthEastern Region)
2. open the PDF for your Council Region (western, northern, etc.) and fill out the forms with your Name and Address up the top and Name down the bottom (copy and paste will do the trick) for all FIVE members.
3. find out who's your Assembly MP by seeing "assembly_members-4.pdf" and filling out and printing ONE of the letters in that PDF
4. sign and send them (each in separate envelope with name of MP on the front) to Parliament House, East Melbourne, Vic 3002
Or type up your own letters. Or, even better, hand write them. Or even better visit an MP or two in person.

This fight isn't about condemning women who obtain abortions. It's about saving lives: the mother's, the father's and the baby's.

Sydney lab cleared to clone human embryos

It did not involve the creation of a human life. "We are not creating an embryo for reproductive purposes," Dr Stojanov said.

-- The Age (online), 17 September 2008

So... creating an embryo does not involve the creation of human life? And these guys are IVF professionals? What's their batting average then??

One body

First reading today from Corinthians 12,12-14.27-31.

As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it. Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

And came a Jehovah's witness a-knocking at my door

.. and fool that I was, there I stood chatting with him at the doorway, leaving my work undone. :-) It was a pleasant enough chat, though it took almost an hour, it seems, and plans to bring the family to a barbecue were abandoned. I should have held my tongue, but I cannot do so when told that there is no immortal soul, that there is no eternal punishment, that the kingdom of God on earth started less than a century ago. Oh and the 144,000 in Revelations is taken literally, but not Christ's words about eternal punishment. Hmm... And my Evangelical wife stayed wisely indoors. But I didn't have the heart to hurry the man along. He was old enough to be my father, and kindly, and obviously sincere, if a bit inconsistent in exegesis.

The Glory of the Cross

Today we celebrated a feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Glory to God in the highest whose mercy and kindness was graciously given to us not only in spite of but through death and horror. As the poisonous serpents were foiled by the serpent raised up on a standard, so was the torturous horror of crucifixion foiled by the Savior crucified. O happy cross, too, that foiled thereby the wages of sin through the innocent Lamb who took the penalty of sin unto his own flesh!

Authority and Reason

Today's Gospel reading (Luke 4:31-37) relates the amazement of the Lord's audience at his authority to teach and command. He taught at the synagogue with authority, and he commanded the unclean spirit to depart the man it was afflicting. Behind all this is the divine power which is God's alone; I think divinity is the basis for authority. Perhaps it is not too much of a stretch to consider that it is also the basis for reason, for what can be rational if it is not based on unassailable, perfect, eternal (and thus divine) Truth? What can be logical if it is not based on objective and true premises?

The commentary cited by DailyGospel.org from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) is worth repeating here:

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI] Lenten sermons 1981 "What is there about his word?" The moment that the Bible calls «the beginning» points us to the One who had the power to create what is and to say: «Let there be...!» and it was (Gen 1,1-3)... That phrase «Let there be..!» did not bring mindless chaos into existence. The more we get to understand the universe, the more we discover a rationality in it whose ways, interpenetrated by thought, amaze us. Through them we find again that creator Spirit to whom we, too, owe our reason. Albert Einstein wrote that the laws of nature: «Manifest so superior a reason that all other rationality of human thought and will seem, by comparison, to be an absolutely insignificant reflection of it.» We note that the infinitely great universe of stars is ruled by the power of Reason [Logos]. But we learn even more concerning this from the infinitely small, the cell, the fundamental elements of living things. There, too, we discover a rationality that astonishes us, so that we have to say with Saint Bonaventure: «Anyone who cannot see this is blind. Anyone who cannot hear it is deaf. And anyone who does not start praying and praising the Creator Spirit at this point, is dumb»... Through creation's rationality, God himself confronts us. Physics, biology, all the sciences generally, have offered us an account of the new and unheard of creation. Such great, new images help us to know the Creator's face. They remind us, yes, that in the beginning, and in the depth of every being, stands the Creator Spirit. The world has not issued forth from darkness and absurdity. It resonates intelligence, freedom, the beauty that is love. Seeing all this gives us the courage that makes living possible and makes us able to take up confidently on our shoulders the adventure of life.

Local News of Note

A few reports I've dredged up, plus my reactions. Please excuse me if I rant in some issues longer (and with more intensity) than others.

"Priest facing 33 charges of sexual offenses", and it appears that the man is guilty. It is logical to resolve this with a thorough criminal investigation.

A rebellion in the Brisbane Archdiocese from a parish where the sacraments, liturgy and goodness knows what else have been twisted, abused, misused, or applied illicitly. The news is grim indeed, which to me only drives home the point about being clear in doctrine and firm in pastoring. Being vague and soft only invites errors from well-meaning but confused or misguided folks.

New abortion laws introduced in Victoria. Many recognize that the current laws, which allow abortions only in cases where the mother's life is in danger, are not being applied consistently. The twisted logic is thus to normalize the infractions by decriminalizing abortion completely. It is incredible to read opinions that this will not affect the number of abortions. Those who hold such opinions will not be held accountable, of course, even if they are proven wrong. Sadly, the implications are too real for the unborn as well as their mothers, should abortion be considered. The Women's Affairs minister, Ms. Morand, is doing a disservice to women. Women deserve better. The minister is not giving them a solution, nor does she seem to have taken a close look at the devastation wrought by abortion on demand in other countries. The data is there, and it spans 30 years and more than 30 million abortions since Roe vs. Wade in the US. Why don't they simply take a look? The exaggerated reports of backyard abortions are dwarfed by the abortions legally carried out in the US today. I can't understand the stubborn refusal to look at the evidence. Abortion kills. Just look at what is extracted, or compare what happens between two pregnant women nine months later, where one has an abortion and the other doesn't. Or check the DNA of the aborted fetus, which is not identical with the mother's. The data is clear. It's the politics/ideology that happens to be shadowy.

[Sources: The Age, News.com, and Yahoo News.]

When politicians make false claims

In Meet the Press recently, US Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the following about the her views on when life begins, within the context of abortion:

"I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition . . . St. Augustine said at three months. We don't know. The point is, is that it shouldn't have an impact on the woman's right to choose."

Mercifully, a quick response came from the Church, this time, via this very straightforward statement coming from Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver. [Links to a PDF file] The short form of his response is that the relevant issue to address is the fact that the Church has always considered abortion objectively and gravely wrong. The Curt Jester posts about several responses from the Church, in fact. I can only add from what I know that some ancient Christian literature such as the Didache and The Epistle of St. Barnabas are clear about this.

Fascinating (and one of the few endorsed) Marian apparitions

From a village in Lithuania, this amazing story about Our Lady of Siluva. Evangelicals these days are not as hostile to the Catholic faith as Protestants were of less recent days. It is reasonable for one to ask why a Christian already sharing a personal relationship with Christ our Lord should even bother with the Blessed Mother. This answer may seem glib, but it's no less true: it is the design and will of God to do so. Just as, for our Lady, it is the design and will of God for her to take us under her motherly love, children won by the salvation of our Lord's love and mercy.

Learning

Nursing a lively little bug that's so far gone through every member of this household, it seems. And now that it's hit me, here's a little insight prompted by watching "Batman Begins" on DVD:

Why do we get hurt? So that we'd know how others feel when they are hurt.

[The inspiration comes from this nasty bug and Bruce Wayne's memory of this question: Why do we fall, Bruce?

All is quiet here.. but not in the real world

On the contrary, life has been fairly hectic. The fact that this blog speaks little of it is actually a good thing. At least my wife would say so. To give a very brief report, life for this little family simply goes on. Kids got sick, they got better. K1 still has authority issues, but that's life; he's eight. I still struggle to strike a balance between discipline and moral support. He is a lively little boy with (I think) advanced social skills for his age. K2 has moderation issues, both with his irrepressible sense of humor (at the expense of his brothers, usually) and his toys. But he has his deep thinking moments, and that irrepressible humor is always a blast of sunshine that is so enjoyable when I open myself to actually enjoying it. K3 is growing up a true gem so far, all five years of him. He is cheerful, except when his brothers are too harsh with him, and he is so alive. Swinging his head this way and that, and sometimes all his limbs, he virtually dances to the liturgy, right there beside me.

And that's a brief report! :-)

As for theology, liturgy, faith and everything else I used to blog so much about, that's all going on in the background. No time to report on all that at this point, except to say ancora imparo: I am still learning. There is so much to learn, after all, and I am such a tiny vessel.

Sobering thoughts about society

and just what might well be at stake.

What is society doing to our girls?

Pornification, it seems. :-(

Good Frisking of Bad Scholarship

Being an academic has its lows, particularly when I read about academics who, wanting to prove their pet thesis so badly, will sacrifice anything -- even their integrity. Mark Shea (as usual) gives a good critique of the latest attempt to discredit Jesus Christ and Christianity using whatever will gain publicity. Nothing is inappropriate when engaging in non-scholarship like this. Even my 6-year old will be puzzled at this sensationalized but utterly insignificant claim that Jesus was Jewish. He'll probably go, "Of course he is. So what?"

Have a read of Mark's frisking above. In the end, all we can do is shake our heads, smile knowingly about this age-old story of the world rejecting Jesus Christ, time and again. The truth is much simpler, but that would be too demanding. So they continue to reject Him. But for all the amusement factor in such stories, for goodness' sake, let's teach our children well. Lest the world fool them into rejecting Christ, too, when we're not looking.