David Ancell / Friday, October 24, 2003 / Comments(0)
Yesterday, I invested a little money in some decorations for my apartment. I got myself a new holy water font:
I also got a San Damiano crucifix that now hangs right over my kitchen table:
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David Ancell / Friday, October 24, 2003 / Comments(0)
Jeff Miller hits the nail on the head with his satire of men’s issues in the Catholic Church.
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David Ancell / Thursday, October 23, 2003 / Comments(0)
The New York Times reports that many pro-aborts in Congress voted to ban partial-birth abortion. Some of their comments indicate that they have something that resembles a conscience. Others were probably doing so in hopes that they would be left alone and that the courts would then tear the ban to pieces.
Yet, the most interesting comment came from Senator Blanche Lincoln:
“Trying to legislate what doctors can do,” she said, “is a very dangerous thing.”
Um, excuse me, but insurance companies do this all the time. Besides, do we wish to give doctors the authority to murder any patient they deem undesirable. Come to think of it, don’t we have state medical boards for a reason. Believe me, there are plenty of people who legislate what doctors can do, and it is necessary to protect people from unscrupulous practices. You are voting to prevent doctors from murdering near full-term babies by a gruesome procedure. You had better have more repugnance towards that.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, October 22, 2003 / Comments(0)
One would hope that doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc. went into their respective professions to save lives. Even though there may well be a point in which we must concede that death is inevitable, why must we be quick to determine someone is in a “persistent vegetative state” so that we can murder them? I found this post says it all.
I have my suspicion as to what the reason is. Our health care is so often governed by insurance companies whose best interests easily conflict with those of the patient. I can testify that they make life a living hell for health care workers. Medicaid is the worst; each state has its own set of regulatory hoops that we have to jump through.
Granted, Terri Shiavo may never make a full recovery. However, does this give us the right to say that her life is not worth living? Heaven forbid that we make ourselves the judge of the value of any individual’s life! Only God can judge who is to live and who is not.
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David Ancell / Tuesday, October 21, 2003 / Comments(0)
I just looked at my e-mail to find that Terri’s fight is not yet over. Gov. Bush worked to get the state legislature to pass a law allowing him to sign an executive order suspending the withdrawal of nutrition for someone who has no advanced directives and whose family challenges the order. Once it was passed, Gov. Bush signed it and wasted no time in giving the order for Terri Schiavo.
I’m sure that her husband will continue to fight to kill her. I’m also concerned that, given the time she has been without nutrition and hydration, she may have sustained permanent damage. Hopefully, that is not the case, and maybe it will take her husband so long to get any legal action through that she will have made significant recovery by the time any judge can rule.
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David Ancell / Monday, October 20, 2003 / Comments(0)
This past week I have received my copy of This Rock magazine. It has three assessments of the pontificate of John Paul II. I am also reminded of the posting here that includes a comment about a priest who said that the way he handles things is to ignore the bishops and pretend they didn’t exist.
Well, we can’t ignore our bishops any more than we can ignore our own fathers. We must show concern for their salvation even if (especially if) they show no concern for ours. We must hear what they say and either obey it or be greatly disturbed by it. Let us not forget that these bishops will one day give an account of the way they held their office before Almighty God.
With that being said, however, I don’t believe that the clergy will be the ones to reform the Church. Much of the good fruits that we have seen in recent times comes from lay people like Scott Hahn, Catholics United for the Faith, and the people of the Catholic Resource Center. Granted, they get the support of the clergy, but it is largely the lay people doing the work. One reason that they do this is that the clergy (and the diocesean bureaucrats) are not doing it. Almost every great reform in the history of the Church has been the work of the laity.
Let’s see how many dissident homilies we hear when it’s known that the people in the pews won’t have it. Bishops will feel more comfortable taking action when they know their flock supports them. We as laity can and must make a difference. Just as the bishops will be accountable before Almighty God, so will we.
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David Ancell / Sunday, October 19, 2003 / Comments(0)
Breaking news on Terri Schindler-Schiavo is still available at this site. I wish something would be done. I am praying for them. I’ve heard that her husband wants to have her body cremated immediately after her death. I hope someone orders an autopsy if she dies. I think everyone involves needs to know what may have happened to her.
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David Ancell / Thursday, October 16, 2003 / Comments(0)
I’m in the middle of one of my least favorite tasks . . . . getting my car’s oil changed. Fortunately, they provide free Internet access here; you just have to bring your own computer. I brought my laptop.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, October 15, 2003 / Comments(0)
By now, you probably have already heard of this story. It says the feeding tube has already been removed from Terri Schiavo. NewsMax reports this story that the family is seeking a divorce for her. Maybe they have some hope in Florida law against the neglect of a disabled person.
You can see right on video that Terri has some mobility. The family has filled a site with the responsiveness of their daughter to them. I’m saying that none of this should be necessary. The fact remains that she is obviously a living, breathing human being who only needs the nutrition to survive that all of us need. Case closed!! Neither her husband nor anyone else have any right whatsoever to kill her. This is human life that belongs to none other than God that is to be preserved as long as God allows it.
All of those who seek to remove the feeding tube are seeking nothing less than murder. I dare say that unless everyone involved repents before they die there is a great chance that they will be subject to eternal hellfire. No matter how sanitized it looks under medical procedures, court proceedings, etc, it is still nothing more than a case of adultery and murder, both of which, last I checked, were mortal sins that damn souls.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, October 15, 2003 / Comments(0)
I volunteer at my parish’s RCIA program, and I am recording the sessions this year and burning them to CD for people to use to make up classes. I think of this because I just read this question on Catholic Exchange. I can assure you that we don’t have these problems at my parish.
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