Of Passports, Kings and Men
Canada will no longer require gender, well, at least on passports. It seems now individuals confused on what sex God made them can place an ‘X’ where ‘M’ or ‘F’, at least previously to today, the only options (curious, that the X chromosome is what makes us, or the fairer half of this race, female, at least having two of them. Could someone put a ‘Y’, I wonder, as in why, oh why). I suppose, given this principle that ‘gender’, which is more properly ‘sex’, is in the mind, that one could change one’s mind. If one is always on a current, a spectrum, carried hither and yon by one’s whims, which can, like an androgynous tadpole or oyster, change one’s sex, I mean, ‘gender’, yearly, daily, hourly…
To continue the amphibious, and amphibolous, analogy, we are entering uncharted waters here, to places dark and deep, where no one know who is who, what is what, and the whole things slow unravels in a quasi-comical danse macabre. Is it bad to laugh as the world lurches towards insanity? Sometime, I suppose. But there is a time for weeping, and for just straight wonder at how bad it all is.
Speaking of which, A Dutch man has ‘fathered’ 102 children, and I use that verb advisedly. For ‘father’ is he not, really, the genesis of his offspring being via artificial insemination, wherein the little dutch boy, sorry, ‘man’, donated his sperm to various banks (as in, sperm banks) without letting them know that he had already donated. This is supposed to be the policy but, as the article states, is ‘rarely enforced’. I guess they are rather desperate in Holland, for the lack of a few good sperm, the counts of which are dropping precipitously. The policy, such as it is, is also supposed to ensure that no one ‘Dad’ ‘fathers’ more than 25 children. Oh, good. This is in turn to preclude half-siblings marrying each other unwittingly, with all those problems with inbreeding.
Of course, none of these children will ever know their purported father, and he will never be a Dad in any real sense of the term. Conceiving just one child by such artificial means is, as the Church has consistently taught, an intrinsic evil. But like all such intrinsic evils, they are a box of Pandora’s fame, unleashing a whole host of other, in many ways worse, evils in their wake. Of course, every child is a ‘gift’, but like most gifts, they should be received in the right way, according to the will of God, and the nature He has given us.
Today’s saint had a number of children, eleven to be exact, whom he raised well and strong. King Saint Louis of France, the ninth of that title, was one of the most noble monarchs in all of history, an example to those who must carry the burden of authority. His wife, Margaret of Provence, whose sister Eleanor would help rule England by marrying Henry III, was an ideal wife for Louis, sharing his devotion, his love of God, of family, of France. King Louis punished grave offenses with fitting gravity, but was not morose and austere, like later ‘Reformers’. His home life was joyful, and he radiated holiness, as a good and devout layman who simply fulfilled the duties God placed upon him.
As the king concludes a letter he wrote to his son, part of today’s Office of Readings,
…dearest son, I give you every blessing that a loving father can give a son. May the three Persons of the Holy Trinity and all the saints protect you from every evil. And may the Lord give you the grace to do his will so that he may be served and honored through you, that in the next life we may together come to see him, love him and praise him unceasingly. Amen.
That is a father, a king, a man. We could do with a few more of them.
Carney’s Amoral Majority
After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop
As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk
As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus
As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→
Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace
Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→
Payette’s Payout
I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→