In the news this week?

I hardly know where to start!   The news this week has been huge...

.... opening with the Boston Marathon bombings, followed by an explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas and the loss of lives, leading into a tremendous display of pomp and ceremony with Baroness Margaret Thatcher's funeral, which I am happy to say was relatively free of protestors and the Queen looking so well.  Shocking revelations in the press about Rolf Harris, I so hope he isn't guilty, a childhood illusion shattered.  A 5 year old little girl held in a wicked and brutal attack in New Delhi, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in China too many dead .... 20 Kremlin critics arrested in Russia, a return to the bad old days perhaps?  .... and finally closing with the celebrations when one of the Boston bombers is killed and the other captured but seriously injured in hospital!

..... And the good news?  The Queen looking fabulous and relaxed, celebrating her horse winning at Newbury and not just good but great news, they passed the gay marriage bill in New Zealand by 77 votes to 44!  Go the Kiwi's, you have my admiration and its great to see you leading the pack in the region with modern thinking and showing, unlike so many, you don't suffer from narrow minded bigotry!  

My favourite video clip of the week goes to Maurice Williamson and his speech in New Zealand Parliament ..... well said Maurice!  Love it!

Pope Seems Like a Nice Guy

Well a big week for the Papists!  Pope Francis....

..... when I heard Jesuit my first thought was zealot, passionate about his beliefs, possibly fanatical but on reflection devout seems better suited and, a first perhaps?  A man who truly believes in his God!!  On the plus side I am sure his appointment is striking fear into the hearts of those who feel their celibacy oath only applies to anybody over 16!  Can one man clean up so much that is wrong?  The child sex scandal cover ups that suggest acceptance? The unparalleled wealth?  The hypocrisy?

On the other side of the coin, his doctrine is allegedly based on archaic beliefs better suited to the Middle Ages or worse the Middle East 2,000 years ago!  Surely such primitive views compound this apparent acceptance of child sex abuse?  In Biblical times, child brides were accepted, as they still are in many under developed nations, isn't it time to move with the times?  Allow priests to have normal relationships & families, accept same-sex relationships, acknowledge the need for abortion & encourage birth control? 

Proof is in the media on a daily basis, the doctrine, as it is portrayed, doesn't change anything, rather it results in heartache, blackmail, illegal acts and God forbid!! [*sarcasm alert*] Priests holding gay sex parties or getting married in secret!

How many back street abortions still go on today? How many children are still being abused by "trusted" priests?  How many unwanted babies are born every day?  How many people have committed suicide in agony over their sexual feelings?

.... And how can our little planet continue to sustain the population growth encouraged by the Catholic church?  Already over 7 billion!

... And so, back to Pope Francis, he certainly has his work cut out, at first glance it looks unlikely he will be sucked in by the power and luxury, but it will take a strong man to stand firm as he increasingly becomes the subject of worship.  Early indications suggest he might even give away the riches of the Church to the poor! That will make him popular!  I shall watch with interest!

Controversy Over Pope's Resignation

So firstly, let's agree, the Pope's resignation was (in part) a diversionary tactic that has backfired beyond all expectations.  The world was meant to speculate on the incoming Pope; where the outgoing Pope might reside; how he might spend his time; and so on.  While these events unfold we were not meant to wonder "what is the real news?".  It would appear that quite the reverse has happened!

Controversy Over Pope's Resignation

So to the real story - what are the contents of the big red books?  While they remain secret (and no doubt they will) the world will continue to speculate.  Gay orgies?  Is that really as bad as it gets?  Hardly earth shattering stuff and certainly no surprise to those on the outside.  I imagine it suits the Church to allow this speculation to continue - it is likely to be far less damaging in the long run than the truth that they will endeavour to continue hiding.

What could be so bad? Hmmmm .... let me think about that one..... a gay Pope? Nope! ... Proof that Dan Brown was right all along? Highly probable but would that be enough to stand down? Surely not - the theory that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and they had a daughter has been around forever... something worse? 

It has to be something that would truly hurt the  Church at its heart.... but what?

This is Democracy

What the!!!

Death threats to UK's top Muslim MP who voted for gay marriage

I hope Mr Khan does not fall victim to the pressures brought about by his religious choices.  He is clearly somebody able to separate blind religious belief from political independent choice.  Britain cannot allow Islam, Christianity or any other religious institution, large or small to mandate how people live and Church and State must remain separate.

Issuing a ruling against Mr Khan in the name of his religion attempts to remove his independence when attending Parliament.  I would suggest Mr Bandhalevi should take some lessons in understanding the culture and society he has chosen to be a part of.  If he prefers a society where his fatwa is acceptable, then he must relocate to a country that operates under religious law.  Britain does not, it is a democracy and his attempt to change it through fear is simply unacceptable.  It has taken many hundreds of years and a lot of suffering for Britain to evolve her political systems independent of religious influence.  It is vital that this independence is retained.

What Mr Bandhalevi apparently fails to appreciate is that it is the very nature of British culture that allows extremist websites such as the one quoted in the article to exist and him to speak out.  If I try to imagine a  scenario where an atheist, agnostic or even a Christian expressed similar views, in a country governed by Islamic law I can't help but believe it would result in a quick beheading! 

Bigoted views and sinister death threats contribute to racism.

Multi-cultural societies are the next phase for the human race and the only way this can be achieved is to learn to respect each others ways, not try and force others to live as you do.  Threatening to kill somebody if they don't see things your way is, quite frankly, out dated, antediluvian nonsense and it has no place in the future of the UK or any other Western nation.

Planting Seeds!

After mulling over the article about "more than a thousand Roman Catholic priests voicing opposition to same-sex marriage legislation in an open letter to the Daily Telegraph" I suddenly twigged!  This is not only about their fight against gay marriage..

After hundreds and even thousands of years of persecuting others, the Catholic Church has started planting seeds in the media (and no doubt other forums) indicating they are the victims of persecution.  How incredibly and amazingly clever!  I was distracted by the gay marriage debate and didn't realise the primary underlying purpose of their article, which in my opinion is to lay down the seeds for future generations to become confused about exactly who was persecuted and who was not.

The letter stated: “After centuries of persecution, Catholics have, in recent times, been able to be members of the professions and participate fully in the life of this country"

What complete and utter dross!!!

The institution of the Catholic Church is not the victim, it is the perpetrator of persecution!!! From the inquisitions of the middle ages to the alleged collaboration with Nazi Germany.  I struggle to accept that the institution of the Catholic Church can ever be classed as victimised.

I have no argument with those who follow the Catholic doctrine only an exceedingly strong distaste for an institution that manipulates and attempts to control by fear.

The Church on Gay Marriage

This post was prompted by apparent opinion of a news article about more than a thousand Roman Catholic priests voicing opposition to same-sex marriage legislation in an open letter to the Daily Telegraph.

Here is my theory!!    In my first hand experience there is minimal enthusiasm in Britain for the church and yet the UK sentiment against gay-marriage has a very strong religious feel to it.  The pews are empty on all but the major festivals (OK, so people like to sing Christmas carols) and so where is all this religious fanaticism come from?  Why are so many comments in favour of religion and so much negativity against anybody who even hints that the church should mind their own?  My theory is that religious institutions are paying people to work full time writing  comments and voting accordingly!   In modern society it is NOT appropriate for any religious denomination to have a say in how our countries are governed!