Natural Law, and an Apologia for TWU
A blessed memorial of King Saint Louis IX (+1270), on whom I hope to post a few words, as this is the anniversary of my baptism, an event, as either Pope John Paul or Benedict pointed out at one point, more significant than one’s birth, the whole physical versus spiritual regeneration, grace building on nature, the soul, and its end, transcending the body.
Also, an apologia on my recent reflection on Trinity Western University, and their giving up their covenant policy, which required students to refrain from any sexual activity, except within the covenant of matrimony. A good priest friend of mine mentioned that I was bit harsh on the school, which was not my intent, so apologies. As one who has helped found a Catholic college, and still in the midst of doing so, a number of whose graduates have attended TWU, for which I have great respet, I know how difficult it is to bring something worthwhile in this world, not just into existence, but unto fruition.
If harshness was meant at all, it was to the socialist government that forces schools such as TWU to capitulate, or at least rescind, on something so dear to them. The objective truth still stands, that the government of Canada, or British Columbia, or anyone else, has not right to dictate to a private school (or any other institution) how to run their internal affairs, their rules and procedures and such, unless those ‘internal affairs’ are causing grave harm to the members.
But, as I wrote, we all now disagree on that, allowing grave evil to continue unabated, even aided by law, while a noble exhortation to students to live in accord with the natural and revealed law (and no one is forced to attend TWU) is seen as something that cannot be tolerated.
So my sympathy goes out to TWU, and all their administration, faculty and staff, in making this difficult decision, which is theirs to make. There are other ways to foster virtue amongst students than their covenant policy, but giving up what they had, in such a public and humbling way, giving in the powers-that-be, cannot be easy.
And while on natural law, Paula Adamick has a reflection on the irony of the current scandals, that they vehement reaction against them, even from the most secular of sources, evinces that there is some objective moral truth, such as the ‘sexual abuse of children is wrong’, written on our very hearts and minds, to which we all agree.
The sad thing is that this truth has become so obscured and warped, that we now agree upon very little, like the tower of Babel, leading to profound societal dis-integration.
But, on a note of hope, maybe that ‘very little’ can provide a basis for dialogue, in the spirit of apologetics, to return to some common idea of objective moral truth, which Pope Saint John Paul II describes as the basis for all or our decisions and actions, which will give shape to our lives here upon earth, and upon which we will all be judged at the end of this temporal life.
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→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]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→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→