David Ancell's Virtual Home

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I have been meaning to post this one for days.

Bishop Vasa of Baker, Oregon is my kind of bishop. I wish there were more like him. I see in Karl Keating’s e-letter that he is at it again. Look near the bottom of the letter for the full report.

It seems that the good bishop is hesitant to mandate “safe-environment training” that is supposed to “protect” children from abuse. He has concerns about the effectiveness of the program. He is also concerned about their association with groups that undermine Church teaching. He emphasizes that he wishes to protect children, but these programs don’t seem like the way to do it.

In other words, Bishop Vasa is thinking about these things before he just goes and does it over the objections of faithful parents. He is risking being called “not in compliance” over this because he sees a greater law. Remember that the USCCB has very limited authority, so he isn’t being disobedient. He has his rights in his own diocese, and it’s refreshing to see a bishop exercise them.

Here is my issue: No doubt there will be a group of screamers who try to say that Bishop Vasa doesn’t care about the protection of children. I do believe that he does; he is just against the programs that are being pushed in this regard. He has legitimate concerns. However, I’ve seen similar situations like this. One opposes the program designed to accomplish a goal, and then one gets accused of being opposed to the goal itself. Why is that?

I’ve also seen another twist on this. Suppose someone at work has a computer that doesn’t work. So, his employer replaces it with a computer that also doesn’t work. The employee complains again, and the management simply responds “Well, we replaced your computer.” It’s as though everything should be fine despite the fact that the replacement doesn’t work either. I’ve seen similar situation (not just in a work environment), and it’s really aggravating. Did it ever occur to people that just because they did something doesn’t mean the problem is fixed?

In fact, this seems to be the case with the USCCB’s response to the sexual abuse crisis. It seems that few are addressing the crisis of faith that underlies the whole problem. I am concerned that they will just implement programs and then cheer about all the work that has been done towards fixing the problem. Shouldn’t they investigate to see if what they have done is working before they assume they have made progress?

I have been playing with my new video software, and I now have a Flash video version of my baptism. On that same page, you can get the MP3 of the conversion story I told to the RCIA. It’s rather abbreviated due to time constraints, but it gives some information as to what led me to become Catholic and then to become stronger in my faith.

I have been reading Dr. Alan Schreck’s excellent book Vatican II: The Crisis and the Promise which tells a lot about what Vatican II really said. While reading it, I found this quote from Gaudium et Spes (expanded from the quote in his book):

This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age. Long since, the Prophets of the Old Testament fought vehemently against this scandal and even more so did Jesus Christ Himself in the New Testament threaten it with grave punishments. Therefore, let there be no false opposition between professional and social activities on the one part, and religious life on the other. The Christian who neglects his temporal duties, neglects his duties toward his neighbor and even God, and jeopardizes his eternal salvation. (Article 43)

So, if you hear any politician or corporate executive tell you that their “religion” is separate from public or professional life, they are in error. However, I think it’s also good for us to take a good look within. I would hope that I would not deliberately say that anything I do at work or during leisure time “had nothing to do with religion” or some other nonsense phrase. However, every time I do something in my work that doesn’t set a good Christian example, I am doing something quite similar to that.

Every once in a while I hear about protesters wanting the School of the Americas to be closed. Supposedly, it is being used to train terroists in Central and South America. Here is a blog posting questioning whether this is really true.

Granted, Diogenes isn’t the most charitable writer. I’d like to see him spend a little less time trying to dig up dirt. However, I must admit that I have never seen an advocate for closing the School of the Americas present any evidence of what they claim is going on. This doesn’t mean there isn’t any; it’s just that I haven’t been advised of it. One rule that I play by is not to assist in causes in which there is little factual information. If the school is truly trying to help preserve democracy, then I don’t care to advocate closing it.

Further, if some graduates of the school have terrorized the people, does this justify closing the school? We can’t close every school that has graduates that don’t become model citizens. It’s only if this school is either intended to promote terrorism or if the school does this a significant part of the time that I would advocate closing it. If anyone has any information, please write me or comment.

As I’ve said before, I’m an RCIA team member. In one of the talks, the catechist brought out how the Isrealites were looking for a military Messiah who would “kick Rome’s butt” and restore Isreal as an independent nation. However, God wanted so much more. He sent his own son to free us from the ultimate slavery – sin.

I think of this as I have recently heard a talk on liberation theology. I’m not about to mention who this was as I have no desire to slam them. Despite knowing that I’m quite different from them, the people sponsoring this have been quite respectful towards me. Anyway, the speaker talked about what he perceived as insensitivities of the hierarchy towards the people of Latin America. He said that the Church needs to start meeting people’s “real needs.” Given his topic, I can’t help but think that he is talking about material aid.

Well, methinks there is a parallel between the liberation theologians and ancient Isreal. They both want freedom from their earthly “bondage.” However, God wants so much more. He wants to free us from sin and bring us to eternal life.

Please don’t get me wrong. I believe that a very important part of showing the love of Christ is to help meet people’s material needs. However, we need not pit this against meeting their eternal needs.

Some of you may have heard of a service called Mobi TV. It lets you watch TV on your cell phone through your provider’s Internet connection. I must admit that I find this to be a bit excessive, but the commercial is pretty funny.

Today, I held a sign on a busy intersection saying “Pray to End Abortion.” I do this every year because I just can’t imagine not doing it. Abortion is truly the greatest evil that we face in our nation. I have no idea how anyone can think it is justifiable.

We had a few people open their window to yell “Pro-choice!” It happens every year. Another yelled out “Jesus aborted babies!” I must admit that I find it hard to laugh at the way they are presenting themselves, but it truly is sad. The latter statement seems blasphemous to me.

Yet the saddest reaction in my mind is the one that I believe that I see most often. That reaction is one of indifference. How can anyone not care that women are being deceived, and their children are being killed in their wombs? Let us pray for these people. Let us pray to end abortion.

Last Thursday, I was the “answerer” for an RCIA program that I work with. This is a seven-minute answer to the question “What is Purgatory?” I have provided it in MP3 format.

Get it here.

I was just at a meeting at my church last night, and some of the people told me that Bishop Steib was at a retreat in his order’s seminary when the hurricane hit. The seminary was in Louisiana. During the storm, the Bishop saw his car float away! At least he is okay. What a story!

Maybe I am just very dense, but can someone please explain this post to me. It’s true that the Vicar General isn’t a small guy. However, Bishop Steib is actually looks quite trim and fit. I haven’t seen him in person in a while, but I don’t think he’s very tall, either.