Nominally dead

Godfried Cardinal Danneels, the liberal Belgian cardinal — come to think of it, is there any other kind? — figures that Saddam deserves to be dead, but in name only.
I guess this makes sense: his Eminence is considered papabile, but that’s only talk too.

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Hm: what might possibly be offensive about this?

PETA put up this outrage in Rhode Island, the most Catholic state in the Union (population 65% Catholic), and it’s gone already — after the billboard company said they didn’t want to be held liable for protestors going to the site and possibly getting injured while there. peta-board.jpg

Yet PETA’s campaign coordinator William Rivas-Rivas says he’ll use the image again and claims, “We’re still at a loss as to why it was offensive.” He said, according to a CNS story, that the image of Mary was respectful and “beautifully drawn”.
What a confession of idiocy. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Mr. Rivas-Rivas, how about this explanation: replacing the image of Jesus Christ, our God, with the image of a dead chicken is indeed offensive. I suppose the minds of PETA extremists and those of chickens are comparable, but we Catholics really do believe that God and men and chickens are not all interchangeable.
Public reaction, the spokesman claimed, was great: their web site got — wow — 1000 hits. Since PETA’s web page contains 118 images, and each image retrieval counts as a hit to the web server, that means maybe 9 people connected in. Yeah, guy, go ahead and keep spending your ad money this way.
Bishop Robert Mulvee made his objection pretty clear: “This use of one of the most sacred images of the Christian faith trivializes not only the Mother of Jesus but also the very cause PETA strives to advance.”

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We’re not gonna take it; no, we ain’t gonna take it

St. Maria Goretti is famous both for forgiving her attacker and for fighting against his sinful attack. And she’s still on the job!
A flasher who’d harrassed girls at Philadelphia’s St. Maria Goretti High School got his comeuppance yesterday: three students who’d seen his act before chased him down, and another 20 students wrestled him to the ground, holding him until police could arrive.

“I’m happy he’s off the street,” said Caitlin Dalin, 14, a Goretti ninth-grader. The flasher exposed himself to Dalin twice, she said. About two times too many….
Dalin said she kicked the suspect with her Eastland black school shoes.

You go, girl!

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Victor’s take on Michael Schiavo

Whom the gods would destroy, they first send on Larry King Live.
Update: A law student friend mentions:

The transcript isn’t out yet, but Schiavo made an admission which seems to settle the issue in terms of Catholic bioethics, and should settle the matter in law. Even he admitted last night that there is not brain death. Until that happens, if it happens, his actions are objectively morally wrong, and there are no relevant issues in controversy.

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Good news from Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Lawmakers sent Gov. Jeb Bush a bill Tuesday that will give him the power to order a feeding tube reinserted into a brain-damaged woman who is at the center of one of the nation’s longest and most bitter right-to-die battles. From the AP.
My question is: when will this be called a “right-to-live” battle?

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