Missing From the 2016 Presidential Campaign—any Mention of God & Religion
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
There is an old cliche which says, “One thing you should never argue or discuss is politics or religion.”
One thing is for sure, when it comes to politics and politicians no one is mentioning anything about religion. They leave the ‘religion’ out and argue ‘politics’. They not only argue with each other they debase, defame, denigrate, disparage and verbally abuse each other relentlessly and with a no-holds, reckless abandon that is disgraceful but apparently acceptable because, “that’s politics”. On the other hand, they will rarely, if ever, mention God or religion.
According to all of the latest polls, the items of prime importance to the American voter in 2016 are: a) the economy; b) jobs; c) immigration and d) terrorism. Unbelievably (to me) there is little mention about the incessant attacks and rulings against our religious freedom(s). How can this be?
I am fascinated by these polling results not so much for what they say and/or predict but for what they avoid. They completely seem to ignore the religious backdrop of the American story. Religious freedom is the cornerstone of our success. W must stop making believe it is insignificant.
These religious freedoms are the foundation for an ever expanding and vibrant economy. These freedoms are the fertilizer that helps grow jobs.These freedoms are so envied that people from all over the world continually want to come here. Yes, the fact is, Freedom of Religion is the very lynchpin that has held us together throughout our 240 year history.
But now I am afraid. I am afraid because the insidious, intentional eroding of the foundation of our nation is being completely ignored. We are witnessing the weight of a secular self-centeredness that is not only methodically erasing God’s presence in our country but, along with God, the religious tenets (also called Natural Law) used as building blocks by our Founding Fathers.
When people have the freedom to worship God unencumbered and without reservation, it frees up their spirit. They embrace this great gift and it results in personal growth and fulfillment. The United States of America proved to be the greatest nation in history because of an individual’s freedom to be who they would be.
Over the course of our American history there have been numerous Freedom of Religion cases that have impacted our nation. However, over the last decade, the anti-religion, anti-God rhetoric has seemingly taken a secure foothold in the battle against the”Creator who has endowed us ALL with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. And yes, in the very first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence the name of GOD is actually used. He is NOT anathema to the United States of America.
It seems to me that we must stand up and fight back in defense of God and religion. Being a “none” is NOT a religion. being an atheist is NOT a religion and being a Satanist is NOT a religion. Religion is the means we use to worship God and we are free to do so. Religion does NOT define NOT worshiping God.
There is even an organization called the Freedom from Religion Foundation FFRF. Can someone explain to me how, in a country that proclaims Freedom of Religion as a fundamental right, a group can be legalized and can sue folks for expressing that freedom? The Freedom From Religion Foundation is the antithesis of our primary, fundamental Constitutional right. It is even a functioning and approved non-profit 501(c)3 active in all 50 states. Does this make any sense at all? How can an entity whose primary purpose is to attack our First Amendment be legally sanctioned to do so?
Not worshiping or believing in God is our choice as Americans. Those of you who have chosen that route have been blessed with this privilege. Many have died to secure this Freedom for you. Why, if you can non-worship the way you so choose, do you want to prevent others from worshipping as they choose? Why would the name of Jesus Christ, a simple carpenter who preached love and forgiveness, be offensive to anyone? Whatever is your self-absorbed, hateful motivation to attack the very freedom(s) that protect you? What are you so afraid of?
©Larry Peterson 2016 All Rights Reserved
And What About the Children?
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
The headline of the Tampa Tribune this morning (Saturday, June 27) was emblazoned with huge, bold letters that read, “Pride & Joy”. The Tampa Bay Times shouted, “A Right For All”. The Supremes have spoken and their decision is in the books. According to the headlines, the world is rejoicing. I just wish someone could tell me about the children. What about the children?
We all have an inherent need to know our background and where we came from. How often do we hear and/or participate in conversations about our grandparents and great-great grandparents and so forth. We will delight in talking about accomplishments of our dads and our moms. We revel in tales about uncles and aunts and grandparents and their grandparents and where they came from and their achievements.
War heroes, professional baseball players, movie actors, surgeons, jet fighter pilots, musicians, and a myriad list of very different people proudly (and sometimes not) fill the family lore of millions of families. Even adopted children have a need to know their roots. As they get older this need blossoms and they invariably begin a quest to find their birth-parents. It is all about “WHO I AM”. And–they have an absolute right to know. They need to be “complete”. Knowing their own family blood-line can fulfill that completion. That is just the way it is. It is an instinct, it is natural, it is GOOD. None of us came from a “cabbage-patch”.
So, I ask again, what about the children? Yes, now that The SCOTUS has legalized the three parent family in the United States of America, what about the children that will be brought into families with same-sex parents? No matter what rule five empowered lawyers pass they cannot ever change the fact that a child must be the result of the procreation of a man and a woman. An infant may be brought home to two “married men” or two “married women” as their own child but is it really? There is a third parent out there somewhere.
Heterosexual couples who adopt become a mom and a dad. How does it work in a same-sex environment? Is the man who provides the sperm considered the father? Does the woman who provides the uterus for the sperm become the mother? When the child arrives at an age where they ask, “what can you tell me about my birth-mom or birth-dad”, how is that handled? Will the sperm donor from 20 years ago be willing to come forward? What happens when two married women break up? Who gets custody? Do they keep accurate records of all donors?
Will a new “cottage industry” pop up for supplying sperm and eggs to people who might have a disease and cannot get approval to acquire sperm? What if one of the “marrieds” decides that maybe they are not homosexual and want to take up with the opposite sex? And let us not forget genetic predisposition. Will the children of these “marriages” have their actual blood line available so they might be able to use genetic markers to see if they are predisposed to diabetes, breast cancer, heart disease, and even autism or mental illness? It reverts back to the question; what about the children? What does this do to the children?
There is an irrefutable fact of life and this is it. From the beginning of time, man and woman knew that marriage was peculiar to male and female. It is as natural as the rising and setting of the sun. We, as a species, have a need to survive. Continuing the human race is part of that survival instinct. Individual men and women are naturally attracted to each other and when they are they join together to form a family that reproduces and continues the species. It is the way of things and has been so for millennia. A ruling by five people cannot ever change natural law.
Children have “rights” too. And it seems to me that one of these basic rights is to be raised by a female mom and a male dad who have willingly joined together and started a family. Only as unique human beings of the opposite sex can this be done. I wish no malice to gay people. I do not hate gay people. I wish them all the best. If they choose to have a life together, so be it. But, in my opinion, this gay marriage revolution has forgotten about the children. They are an after-thought. Gay marriage is all about secularism’s mantra of self-gratification. But what about the children?
©Larry Peterson 2015 All Rights Reserved
The "Double Whammy" of January 22, 1973: Roe V Wade & Doe V Bolton
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
This coming Thursday is the 42nd anniversary of Roe vs Wade and the annual March for Life will take place in Washington, D.C. Thousands upon thousands of “Pro-Life” advocates will brave the freezing weather in defense of the unborn. Millions more across the country will gather at state capitols, cities and small towns lending their support to the most defenseless of the defenseless. The hopes and prayers of all these folks (including myself) are for the High Court to overturn Roe vs Wade. I am a “pro-life” person who had an “up close and personal” experience with the miracle of life and the pain of death all on the same day. If I had harbored any doubt whatsoever about the “viability of a fetus” that doubt was vanquished forever 36 years ago.
At the beginning of Loretta’s sixth month of pregnancy she unexpectedly went into labor. Bleeding profusely she was rushed by ambulance to the hospital and our fourth child, a daughter, was born. She also lived and died very quickly, within minutes. I had called ahead to Holy Trinity Catholic Church and a priest, Father Murray, was waiting for our arrival. Our baby was baptized and buried with my parents. She was our child and was a gift from God. We had been preparing for the arrival but it came three months earlier than expected. No matter, she was a real person who lived and died. Her name is on a tombstone. It simply reads: Theresa Mary Peterson. September 6, 1978—September 6,1978.
Theresa was not simply a “fetus”. She was not “products of conception”. She was not an “annoyance”, or an extra pair of shoes to worry about or another potentially “sleepless night”. She did not mean less money in the bank. No, Theresa Mary was worth far more than any of that multiplied a thousand times over. Nothing can change the fact that she did exist, albeit for the briefest of moments. In God’s world there is no “time” as we know it. HE lives in the “Eternal Now”. Theresa Mary now lives there with HIM. (I like to think she is close friends with her namesake, St. Therese)
My own daughter was born premature for unknown reasons. But she was alive and fully intact from head to toe. She only lacked additional time in the womb. Today she would have probably been saved. Knowing that, I cannot help but think of the millions of little people like Theresa Mary who have been intentionally put to death in a heinous fashion because they they might cost too much money or might interfere with a career. Maybe they were vanquished simply because they were an unexpected inconvenience. How many have been eradicated simply because people take no responsibility for having sex, getting pregnant, and deciding that this “thing” has to go before it “ruins” their lives.
Here is a quick “news flash” (hopefully at least a few young people will see it): You can actually wait until you are married to have sex. Then you have it with the person you are married to and expect to spend your life with. That type of relationship captures the true beauty and wonder of not only the sex act but also of having children. It is the continuation of God’s plan for the human race. It comes from the Natural Law.
Today many people mock those concepts. Self-gratification seems to be the secular battle cry for continual pleasure. This is an illusion that oftentimes simply leads to sadness. Having sex just to have sex, can be demeaning and self-destructive. In addition, it is NOT the same thing as breathing, eating, and sleeping. Those bodily functions are instinctive and necessary for us to live. We do NOT have to have sex to live. We won’t die if we say NO. Many people actually choose to live a life of celibacy. It is OKAY to do so. And make no mistake, none of them die from NOT doing “it”.
January 22nd will be the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling known as “Roe vs Wade”. Simply put, the court, by a 7 to 2 majority, said that abortion is a citizen’s fundamental right under the United States Constitution. You are all familiar with how that ruling has torn our nation apart. What many people do not seem to be aware of is the other ruling that took place on that very same day. It provided the proverbial “double whammy” to the abortion issue. That ruling is called “Doe Vs Bolton”. Once again, it was a 7 to 2 majority vote affirming the ruling. The US Supreme Court had given birth to the “Roe & Doe” twins.
The ruling in the “Doe Vs Bolton” case is summed up here: (The link supplies the details:
The Court’s opinion in Doe vs bolton stated that a woman may obtain an abortion after viability, if necessary to protect her health. The Court defined “health” as follows:
“Whether in the words of the Georgia statute, “an abortion is necessary” is a professional judgement that the Georgia physician will be called upon to make routinely. We agree with the District Court, 319 F. Supp., at 1058, that the medical judgement may be exercised in the light of all factors-physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age-relevant to the well being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.”
Amazing as it is, if Roe vs Wade was ever overturned, Doe vs Bolton would take its place. Doe vs Bolton allows for abortion “after viability” for almost any conceivable reason. Read the excerpt above closely. According to Doe vs Bolton an abortion could be permitted at full term because the baby’s crying when born might cause too much stress for someone in the house who has a psychological problem. Far fetched? Not really. Just get a doctor to sign off on it.
God help us today and tomorrow.
copyright 2105 Larry Peterson
Marriage & Family~~Pre and Post Woodstock
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
This opening paragraph quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church; #1603: “The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws….God Himself is the author of marriage.”
Last October there was quite the “kerfuffle” created by the secular press when the 2014 Synod of Bishops on the Family was taking place. In their ongoing quest to ‘secularize’ the Catholic Church the main stream media (print & broadcast) was reporting (speculating is the right word) that, under Pope Francis, the ‘new’ church would soon be embracing homosexual marriage and unmarried cohabitation. They also anointed Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany as the Church’s “true voice of reason” because, in his keynote address to the Synod, he suggested that maybe it was time for the church to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to be allowed to receive communion.
The media never seems to grasp the fact that it takes more than a “suggestion” by one cardinal to change church teaching. They rarely if ever reported that this meeting of the Synod was only the first part and it would reconvene again a year later. They always seem to ‘pick & choose’ the narrative that fits their constant secular agenda. Let’s face it, the secular world is not interested in what the Church is, what its history and tradition is and certainly not in its dogmatic teachings. We, as a people, deserve more responsible and forthright journalism. The fact of the matter is NOTHING has changed regarding Catholic Church teaching on the subject of marriage.
Matrimony in the church is one of the seven Sacraments. Within the sacramental life it is meant for a man and a woman who love each other to join together creating a new family that ultimately continues the creation that God initially put in place. It is sacrosanct and inviolable. Furthermore, before Jesus Christ instituted this sacrament it existed under what we call Natural Law. Natural Law is given to us by God. (I also like to call it, “Common Sense”. Please use the link for a Catholic explanation of marriage and natural law.)
My initial reason for starting this essay was to ask the question, “What happened to the concept of marriage being only between a man and a woman? How did that concept seemingly evaporate in only several decades after centuries of acceptance by humankind as “Natural”? In the sophisticated, secular world of 2015 I can be branded an intolerant homophobe for believing that marriage is ONLY for a man and a woman. Let me try to share the world I come from and how most Catholics were raised in the pre-Woodstock era.
Marriage was considered, foremost, an integral part of Natural Law as handed down by God. A man and a woman would meet and fall in love. After a period of time, if they so chose, they would join together as husband and wife creating a new family. It was at this point in their lives when they moved in with each other and lived together. It was a vocation, a calling, and it was not for everyone. Most folks accepted this premise without question. Most folks did choose that path in life. Most were married in a church and most intended to be together “until death do us part”. Finally, most newly marrieds became parents continuing God’s plan of continuing the human race. And that was the way it was.
So, what happened? I suggest it started in 1969 at Woodstock. The now “hallowed” rock & roll jamboree that signaled the end of the 60’s ushered in the officially liberated era of “do your own thing”. We have moved onward since then another 45 years and today, living together BEFORE getting married is almost taken for granted. A matrimonial “test drive” seems a requirement prior to the actual nuptials taking place. No fault divorce makes it very easy to dissolve marriages dismissing vows that were freely taken when the words “until death do us part” were said by the bride and groom to each other. Homosexual marriage is being demanded as a choice and a right and if you disagree you are considered intolerant and a racist. God and Natural Law are being mocked. And that is the way it is. But not everywhere.
The way it was is still in vogue within the Catholic Church. And here is where I will end this essay. From January 5-9, the Confraternities of Catholic Clergy in the United States, Australia, Britain and Ireland unanimously reaffirmed their support for Church teaching on marriage and family rejecting any proposals at the 2014 Synod of Bishops that the Church alter pastoral practices and doctrine in this area.
In a statement issued at the end of a five-day conference they pledged their “unwavering fidelity to the traditional doctrines regarding marriage and the true meaning of human sexuality, as proclaimed in the word of God and set out clearly in the Church’s ordinary and universal magisterium.”
And that was the way it was and that is the way it is. Maybe they never heard of Woodstock.
copyright 2015 Larry Peterson
Childhood Euthanasia: IsThis Secularism's Final Nail into the Casket of God's Natural Law?
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
by Larry Peterson
SATAN: the Supreme Commander of ISIS
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
by Larry Peterson
At 12:30 p.m. on August 31, 1939, Adolf Hitler made a decision. He issued the order that was to plunge the entire world into its bloodiest war ever: This is the order that started World War II
MOST SECRET
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During the 20th century Genocide(s) claimed the lives of tens of millions of people. Joseph Stalin, the brutal Soviet dictator and our “ally” during World War II, probably killed more people than Hitler and his primary means of execution was starvation. Yup, “old Joe” was quite the guy. Between 1932 and 1933 alone, Stalin actually starved over 7,000,000 of his OWN people to death. By the time he died he had killed 25,000,000 people. Now we are in the 21st century. What has changed? Genocide continues in the most brutal fashion. From North Korea to the Middle East to the African continent, genocide is claiming the lives of men , women and children by the thousands. And God help us all, most of the current human butchery is done under the banner of virtue: “Praise Allah”. How sick and evil is that?
I just used the word evil. When I use that word I am not simply referring to something morally wrong or harmful or basically wicked. When I use the word evil I am referencing Satan, the devil himself. He is known by other names such as Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Leviathan, etc. I must be clear so make no mistake; I believe (as do millions more) that Satan does exist and that he is spreading his unending and incomparable vitriolic hatred all over the world. He is also cunning enough to use modern day communication techniques to advertise his demonocity.
I write under the masthead of IT MAKES SENSE TO ME. It follows that what I write does, in fact, “make sense to me”. I am a Catholic man and my faith is part of my very being. Much of that faith is reinforced by what is called Natural Law. Natural Law is part of who we are. It is (in my opinion) part of our genetic makeup. It cannot be seen or touched or examined under a microscope. It cannot even be proven. However, “common sense” tells us it does exist.
Natural Law is what we all, as human beings, know to be right or wrong. Some of us call it “our conscience”. An example of Natural Law at work is when a mother asks her small child, “Did you eat that cookie I left out for your sister?” The child, with crumbs and chocolate on her face answers, “No, mommy.” She knew it was wrong to take that cookie so she made a choice. She used her “free will”. She answered , “No”. That is Natural Law at work.
Angels are God’s creations just as people are. The bible references angels in many places. It also references the evil angels. These are the angels that, upon the moment of their creation, were so filled with their beauty and grandeur, that they decided they were greater than God Himself. In that moment they lost everything. Every last ounce of hope that might have been was gone forever. Unlike mankind, who lives and has many chances, in the angelic world, this could not be. Filled with an unimaginable hatred and loathing and unable to attack God and the Good Angels, Satan and his followers have focused on the ones with free will, the ones filled with pride and envy, the human race.
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein and Pol Pot are high profile followers of Satan. But there are countless millions more who these demons have been able to recruit and induct into their evil army. Just the other day we all saw one of Satan’s followers behead James Foley, an American journalist. For full effect the grizzly execution was performed on camera, for all the world to see, including the Foley family.
How evil is this angel known as Satan? How evil are the angels that followed him into hell? The depths of their hatred for God and all that is Good is incomprehensible. These creatures were the brightest and the highest among all others. Now they are lower than the lowest sinner because even that sinner still has hope for redemption. The “fallen angels”, filled with their own enormous pride and bursting with envy, are silently screeching and wailing as they skulk around the world seeking new followers. Sadly, they have been very successful.
One of Satan’s greatest pupils had great success early on in his morbid career. His name was Adolf Hitler. He destroyed millions. In the end he and his followers were relegated to the ash heap of history. ISIS and all those that are following Satan will suffer the same fate. The cost might be very high but they can never ever win their ignominious war against God. And that is exactly what they are waging, a war against God.
By the way, the greatest weapon at our disposal in this war is PRAYER. Here is one written by Pope Leo XIII back in 1884. The Holy Father’s purpose back then was to combat the “father of lies”.
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
b
y the Divine Power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
*“The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” (abridged edition) by William Shirer pg 117
Meet Little "Christy": She was Murdered by Satan's "Mad Dogs"
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| NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE THIS |
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
by Larry Peterson
The picture to the right is beyond description. It may be the most depraved picture I have ever seen. Yes, that is a baby, maybe 12 to 14 months old. Yes, the “mad dogs” who were about to kill her took the photo before doing so. They wanted to use it to instill fear in others they also hate. So they posted it wherever they could. For me the picture is absolutely haunting because it seems you can actually sense a desperate pleading spread over the innocent face of this beautiful child.
I do not not know her name but, since she was a Christian child, I have named her Christy. Satan, using the blackened souls in his possession, had Christy murdered. The depraved savages doing his heinous bidding made that choice. They did not have to but they did. They embraced Satan and allowed him to turn their souls into nothing more than excrement. They actually laughed as they murdered little Christy. Yes, they laughed. Christy probably was just aching to be held by her mom who had already been killed. (I wish that I could reach into that photo and yank her little body out of there, give her a bottle, a hug, wrap her in a blanket and bring her to her mom.) Damn!
We Americans are so blessed to be citizens of the greatest country there ever was. We are a unique nation, a nation comprised of people from all other nations. We are the true “melting pot” and because of our diversity we are connected to each other. We have many freedoms, freedoms that are based on a Natural Law which is derived from our Judeo-Christian foundation. Our natural resources are abundant and our soil is dark and rich and provides food not only for us but for millions around the world. We are, as President Reagan said, “that shining city on the hill”. (There are those that think not but, indeed we are.)
Along with that lofty place on the world stage and having been blessed with so many natural resources and freedoms comes a responsibility. This responsibility is for the less fortunate around the world. We have an obligation to the persecuted and downtrodden, to the hungry and the poor, to the sick and elderly, to the children and their future—to babies like Christy. “God shed His Light on Thee and Crown Thy Good with Brotherhood”. How often have we all sung those words? How often we have left rivers of our American blood and priceless American treasure behind while being “brotherly”? In our own imperfect way we have tried, over and over and over and we should be proud of our efforts.
Through wars and hurricanes and tsunamis and earthquakes and plagues, we Americans have always been ready to help whether it be with food, water, medicine, clothing, money and whatever else, including soldiers, that was needed. We ALWAYS tried to “Crown His Good with Brotherhood”. That is because we Americans are connected to each other and that connection goes further than “from sea to shining sea”. It moves onward across the oceans like giant tentacles reaching out and latching onto people all over the world. This included Christy and I guarantee you that somehow we are linked to that child.
If I sound a bit like a “pollyanna” I do not care. I know that it seems that our country has lost some of the respect we had and has been diminished in the eyes of some folks around the world. Some of our own leaders have belittled our greatness. No matter, God has shed His Light on us even though some are spitting in His benevolent Face. But nothing has changed. We Americans still have the greatest country with the most plentiful resources and abundant crops. We still have our great freedoms although slowly some have been infringed upon. Having been blessed with these gifts it follows that we still have the responsibility to be a ‘big brother” to our less fortunate and weaker family members.
The “mad dogs” who murdered baby Christy want to murder each and every one of us too. As distasteful as it may seem we must always do our best to “Crown His Good with Brotherhood”. We cannot protect and/or save the world but when vicious barbarians with 7th century brains and 21st century equipment start murdering (in the most brutal ways) men, women, children and babies and these desperate folks plead for the USA to help them, we must. That is also part of our Manifest Destiny and we cannot ignore it. It is time we showed our muscle, acted like a big-brother and helped smash those cowards to smithereens, using whatever means are necessary to achieve that end. If Christy has a brother or sister they need us NOW.
Egotistical Madness is Exterminating "Common Sense"
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
by Larry Peterson
Natural Law is a by-product of Eternal Law it follows that “common-sense” is a by-product of Natural Law.
The United States of America was founded and had placed as its foundation by the Founders, Judeo-Christian principles. These great men knew that they were part of the progression from their Creator. He was the Eternal law and He is the only one with a complete understanding of it. They were his tools to initiate and put in place the rules that would protect Natural Law. Natural Law follows and includes the belief that man is capable of reason and knows inherently right from wrong. He also has a free will and can decide to accept or reject that which he knows is right or wrong. The Founders also knew that such things as the Bible, The Torah, and the Ten Commandments were put in place by God to help guide us on our life’s journey. Ultimately, that God-given gift to us of reason and free included “common sense”.
There is a war being waged against Christianity, especially Catholic Christians. Christ never said it would be an easy road when following Him. History is littered with the deaths, torture, abuse and hatred toward all those who have followed the true Man of Peace and those horrors continue to this very day. But we had the United States of America, the beacon of hope, the place where the “tired, the poor, the homeless, the tempest tossed, and anyone who wanted freedom could come and worship God and say what they wanted to say and live where they decided to live. We Americans even had a Constitution that protected these rights that were inspired by Natural Law.
Another Attempt to Break Down the Doors of the Confessional
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
by Larry Peterson
The Sacrament of Penance is a magnificent gift we Catholics have been given and the beauty of its effectiveness is encapsulated into what is known as the Seal of Confession. Anyone who goes to confession has the absolute certainty that whatever he or she confesses to the priest will NEVER, no matter what, leave that confessional. Confession is between the penitent and Christ. The priest represents Christ and is able to talk to the penitent, advise and counsel them, or simply listen to them. When the person is finished confessing the priest asks that person to say an “Act of Contrition”. This is when the person expresses their sorrow for the sins they have confessed. Then the priest imparts Absolution . It is one of the most beautiful prayers there is and this is where God is called upon to give pardon to the sinner.
Not all judges, politicians and lawyers are secularists; but there are many who are. It seems that many of these folks are ideologically bent and have become true Machiavellians (people that believe that the “end justifies the means”). Forget “Natural Law”, cast out common sense, trash the Ten Commandments, because none of that matters anymore. As long as the needs of those demanding “change” are satisfied we have attained “virtue”. This is “hogwash” but the Supreme Court of Louisiana thinks differently. It has ruled that Father Jeff Bayhi, a priest for 35 years, a man who has served the poor and downtrodden and worked hand in hand with Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, may have to testify about an “alleged” confession.
Apparently, a girl who was 14 in 2008, says she went to confession to Father Bayhi at the time and told him that she was abused by a now dead parishioner. The girl’s parents sued Father Bayhi and the Diocese of Baton Rouge for failing to report the abuse. The parents won their case in district court which said that Father Bayhi must testify. Louisiana’s First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision but then the State Supreme Court once again sided with the parents. The state’s highest court said that Father Bayhi may be subject to “mandatory reporting” laws regarding sexual abuse and cannot invoke the privilege of “confidentiality”. There you have it; the “virtue of secularism”. It is not enough to have this young woman, who is now 20 years old, tell the police and state’s attorneys her story. It is not enough to have years of the documentation on hand that is required to even pursue the case. The accused abuser is dead. SO–let’s get the priest to violate the “Seal of the Confessional”. The accused abuser never confessed and, even if that were the case, the Seal of the Confessional is inviolate. The priest is bound to silence, silence forever.
Our nation is founded under the Judeo-Christian principle which is followed by Natural Law. Our First Amendment guarantees Freedom of Religion. A foundational doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, which has been in effect for two thousand years and is part of a Sacrament instituted by Christ Himself, mandates that the “Seal of Confession” is absolute and inviolable. A priest must NEVER break the Seal. He cannot even admit that someone went to confession to him. No-one, not even the Pope himself, can mandate a priest violate this oath. The priest would have to suffer the civil and criminal consequences, even death if necessary, rather than betray this most sacred of trusts.
The Diocese of Baton Rouge explained in their statement that, “a priest is under the gravest of obligations NOT to reveal the contents of a confession or if the confession even took place. He cannot do so even under threat of imprisonment or civil penalty, and incurs automatic excommunication if he breaks the “seal of confession”. The Church takes this pretty serious, don’t you think?
The secular world has grown not only intrusive into the world of Catholicism but it has become overly obnoxious, nasty, vitriolic and downright hateful. Under the banner of “virtue” secularism honors abortion, euthanasia and sexual promiscuity as a right and a necessity akin to breathing and eating and sleeping. These secularists, some who claim to be Catholic, support these behaviors and are against any kind of “moral” boundaries. Sadly, many court decisions support their beliefs. One thing they need to understand–they can NEVER nullify, invalidate or strike down the magnificence and profound power of the “Seal of Confession”. Do not be surprised if this case winds up in the United States Supreme Court.
Cradling Catholic 