Mysteries, Missiles and Modern Morality
What happened in the school shooting at Stoneman High School gets even odder: It now seems a senior officer on scene ordered all the deputies to ‘set up a perimeter’ while the killer wandered around in the building for six minutes killing people. This goes contrary to the procedure instantiated after the Columbine massacre in 1999, that the first officer present ‘on scene’ was to engage the assailant and ‘neutralize’ him, even without backup.
Did that first deputy I discussed yesterday fail in his duty? I don’t mean to lay blame where there is none, but it seems he should he have just gone in and ‘neutralized’ the target. Perhaps he was ordered not to, Perhaps not. Like the Vegas shooting, there are layers and layers, all filtered through the media, so who really knows, except, perhaps, him?
People are waking up to the fact that the police cannot really protect you. By the time they arrive, the damage is generally done. Switzerland has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the world, and not because they’re all Swiss, but rather that every able-bodied male must take a turn in the military, and keep his weapon at home. This is what used to be called a ‘militia’, and, in our current climate, it might not be a bad idea to get back to that quaint notion. Florida is now arming its teachers. What a world. But one must face reality.
And speaking of reality, Vladmir Putin in a speech yesterday extolled the glories of the Russian military, claiming they now have a nuclear missile with ‘infinite range’, which means that it can hit any target on Earth (so not quite infinite), impossible to intercept, travelling at Mach 10 which is about 7,410 miles per hour, which means it can traverse Moscow to Washington, DC (4,861 miles) in just over half an hour.
As Putin put it in his speech: “No one listened to us. Listen to us now“. Hmm.
What does he want to say, I wonder?
And on the front of spiritual warfare, Cardinal Sarah has more or less warned of a possible schism in the Church, if such is not already happening in a practical way. As the Cardinal put it:
Some high-ranking prelates, above all those coming from opulent nations, are working to cause modifications to Christian morality with regard to the absolute respect for life from conception until natural death, the question of the divorced and civilly remarried, and other problematic family situations. These ‘guardians of the faith’ however ought not to lose sight of the fact that the problem posed by the fragmentation of the ends of marriage is a problem of natural morality.
Stay firm and founded in the truth, dear reader. As I wrote a few days ago, Christ will make all things well in His own good time. In the interim, there is much to pray for in this Lententide, for which we should offer some thanks to God.
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→