Author: Pete Vere

Speaking of Saeed al-Sahhaf, the US Reportedly Refuses His Surrender

The following story published by the BBC, if true, is a real tragedy: Saddam’s mouthpiece ‘seeks surrender’. Apparently al-Sahhaf fears for his life, but US forces have refused to take him into custody because he is not on the top 55 list and being a Shiite Muslim is not considered to have been a powerful force in Saddam’s regime. If this report is true, I think it is mistake not to take him into custody. Despite having blown all his credibility during the war, he nevertheless is the one Iraqi that has emerged from the war as a cult-celebrity. While I could make the usual jokes about turning him over to the talent agent of his own choice, I actually feel that al-Sahhaf could play a serious role in bringing democracy to Iraq. Because nobody takes him seriously, he can speak plainly and openly without being considered a threat.

Not a Good Week for Bob Sungenis

At one time many considered him the best debater to emerge from the Catholic Apologetics movement. Yet the last couple of weeks do not appear to have been kind to Bob Sungenis and Catholic Apologetics International. To begin, Bob got hammered by fellow traddy Mark Cameron in a debate over Catholic Tradition and the future conversion of the Jews. Then a bunch of Protestant apologists actually did a pretty funny job lampooning him in The Catholic Apologetics International Enquirer. Jake Mitchell, the only other regular contributor to Catholic Apologetics International, resigns.. Finally, the Curmudgeon over at The Lidless Eye Inquisition posts a hilarious spoof in which the former Iraqi Information minister defends CAI’s more recent controversies. In my opinion, it is time for Bob to throw in the towel, renounce the trajectory he has taken since the geocentrism fiasco last year, and retreat from apologetics for a while. I really feel that he should take some time off to read the Pope John Paul II’s Catechism of the Catholic Church and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae cover-to-cover to with an open heart and an open mind. He could then emerge refreshed and begin to rebuild his reputation among mainstream Catholic apologists.

Varia

Today is Easter when we celebrate the ressurection of Our Lord, and by extention, new life in Christ. Which brings me back to something I’ve pondered over the weekend. I think it was Mother Teresa of Calcutta who made the original comment during a visit to North America, namely, that one seldom sees pregnant women in our society. This is really strange when you consider how much we are saturated with sex in our Western culture. But then again, ours is a culture that separates sex from marriage, and both from procreation.

What got me thinking about this was the whole Laci Peterson case that has come to a head this weekend with the arrest of her husband Scott. Reportedly, Scott’s extra-marital affair began when Laci became pregnant. Laci’s death, and that of the couple’s child, came during the last month of her pregnancy. My guess? This is someone who took the separation between sex, marriage and procreation to a new extreme. We’re likely going to discover in the coming months that Scott was also a severe pornography addict..

Special Prayer Request

I don’t normally blog these, but this one comes from a good friend and the issue is rather serious. I have, however, changed names and anonymized certain other information in order to protect the privacy of those involved….

Dear friends:

Please pray for a young lady here, “Ophelia” (a minor),who is about four months pregnant. Her sonogram indicates the baby has many physical problems: deformed brain, heart and other organs outside the body, etc. Her doctor says the chances of survival are nil and wants to “induce labor” next Monday (IE, abort the baby), as he says there is no hope. Her Mom, “Hilda”, is scared and asking for help. So please get this out to your prayer group(s), that they will be strengthened to do God’s will, not her physician’s.