Father Forgive Them...

For they know not what they do. Education is clearly necessary for some people in this world. Ignorance is winning, and dictators are making sure that "their" people remain ignorant. Sudan is a perfect example, the voting is being done with symbols, not words, as most of the people can't read. Can you believe that in this day and age, people can't read or write? That is how the dictators remain in power.

It is also how the Imams keep "their" people ignorant. They use the power of speech to subdue or inflame those who can not read or write. It is all about power not about religion. No wonder the power hungry lefties support the backwards preaching of the Imams, they crave power too.

Pope Benedict XVI has called for Pakistan to repeal its anti-blasphemy law and demanded that governments in predominantly Muslim countries do much more to protect minority Christians from violent attacks.

The blasphemy laws are designed to allow Muslims to control and kill minorities. The Pope needed to come out strongly against a law that is designed to allow minorities in Muslim countries to be persecuted and killed. It's not just Christians who are being threatened, it is also other Muslim sects and especially women. As a female, I shudder to even think about living in a Muslim country. It would be so repressive and down right terrifying. Violence can erupt at anytime and bombs are not reserved just for non-believers.

An influential religious party in Pakistan said the pontiff's remarks were offensive and amounted to interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs.

"The pope has given a statement today that has not only offended the 180 million Muslims in Pakistan, it has also hurt the sentiments of the entire Islamic world," said Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a senior leader of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).

"This is an interference in Pakistan's internal matters ... we respect the pope, being head of Christians and their religion, but he should also refrain from interfering in Muslims' religious affairs."

Here is the main problem, religious parties interfering in the business of the state. Hurt feelings? Give me a break! If you were less primitive and more respectful of your mother's, wives, and daughters, you might not be so limited as human beings. No wonder the educated Muslims are fleeing to Canada and the United States, they understand that they have to get their children out of those repressive Muslim countries if they want their children to live without fear.

May southern Sudan vote to separate, so that their children can live without fear of being a minority in a Muslim country. I pray that they achieve the freedom they deserve, and will be able to peacefully live next to northern Sudan. The vote is only one step towards independence, but it is a huge step. Makes our Quebec Bloc seem very irrelevant in the whole scheme of things doesn't it?

Dear Pope, Butt Out!

As a Catholic, I pay close attention to what the Church is preaching, but that does not mean that I blindly agree with everything they tell us to do or think. This is one of the times that I have to disagree with the Pope.

In Charity in Truth, which should be released next week, he is expected to point out the failings of capitalism and lament the world's roiling markets, exploited workers and the harsh disparity between rich and the poor.

"Many conservatives will be shocked and disappointed by the encyclical, which will reflect Benedict's skepticism toward unbridled capitalism based on greed," wrote Father Thomas Reese, an American Jesuit scholar and an expert on the Vatican.

"Unlike President Obama, who wants to reform a system that he believes is out of control, Pope Benedict wants to rethink the whole system."

Rethink the system into a communist state? Leave politicians like Obama out of this, or you will wear his defeat. Obama supports partial birth abortions.

Unbridled capitalism based on greed? Does the Church not preach 10% of your wages go to the tax exempt Church? Have you seen how the Pope lives? This Pope is a total disaster, he is doing more to drive people away from the faith than to unite them. "Harsh disparity between rich and the poor"? I might have accepted that from Mother Teresa because she lived what she preached, but from a Pope who lives in luxury, not a chance.

"We're in a desperate world," Fr. Rausch said. "To have some kind of clear teaching on how economic decisions impact on people is probably a good counterbalance to the typical American emphasis on 'Let the market be free. The market will solve its own problems.' "

The Church should stay out of the market, that is none of their business, except for how their billions donated by Catholics are invested. Let the Catholics be free than. Free to give nothing to the Church, because the Church invests that money in the "free markets" they are about to condemn!

It's time for the Pope to get back to the roots of what it means to be a Catholic. I have always been proud to be a Catholic, mainly because in a world with disintegrating morals, the Church has stood firm on issues like abortion. They have given clear guidance that we could follow. Even when I questioned some of the Churches stances, at least I knew what they stood for, and I could make my own decisions based on their teachings. It is not so clear anymore what they stand for, and that is disappointing in a world that needs a clear moral compass.

"Part of the role of the pope is to be able guide the Catholic Church and help it to read the signs of the times."

Said Prof. Gillis: "He is addressing the entire world, including non-Catholics. He is being a voice for the voiceless."

He is NOT being a voice for the voiceless, he is taking a stance from his own personal viewpoint. If he could really read the signs of the times he would understand that we are looking for clear moral direction, not a discussion on capitalism.

We lived through multiple Priests who lost their own moral compasses, and we gave the Church a chance to redeem itself by setting an example. I have yet to see that happen. Greed in the form of capitalism is not at fault for the existence of poor people. The Church is at fault for the decline in attendance at Mass because the people are losing faith.

Maybe the Church should concentrate on their lambs and forget about the lions.

This Is Going To Bug The Lefties

Easter is a very joyful time for Christians. It seems that others agree.

Pope baptizes prominent Italian Muslim

VATICAN CITY -- Italy's most prominent Muslim commentator, a journalist with iconoclastic views such as support for Israel, converted to Roman Catholicism Saturday when the pope baptized him at an Easter service.

As a choir sang, Pope Benedict XVI poured holy water over Magdi Allam's head and said a brief prayer in Latin.

"We no longer stand alongside or in opposition to one another," Benedict said in a homily reflecting on the meaning of baptism. "Thus faith is a force for peace and reconciliation in the world: distances between people are overcome, in the Lord we have become close."

Christians and Muslims are not far apart in their beliefs, as this baptism shows. It is interesting that he converted at Easter, a time of renewal. May he finally find a true home with the Catholic Church.

Why is his conversion more believable than Obama's? I guess for me it is because he was baptized by the Pope. I am sure many do not respect the Pope as much as I do, but compare him to Obama's preacher, then decide.

Happy Easter, and God Bless.