Joyful Pio and Angry Greta

Before we leave Padre Pio in the liturgical rearview mirror, an anecdote that sort of captures the man, who lived his Faith, as do all the saints, and should we all, as though it were really true. Not sort of true, or likely true, or true in a way that we would rather not, but truly true. And, if so, everything else depends upon what is taught by that same Faith.

When a young man, mired in sin, unbelieving, confessed to the saint that he did not believe in hell, Padre Pio simply replied, ‘You will when you get there’. We may hope he took the Friar’s words to heart, and discovered the reality of hell from the other side, so to speak.

And, speaking of hell, a secular version thereof seems to be where grumbling graceless Greta Thurnberg seems to condemn ‘climate deniers’, even mild skeptics, even those who don’t think about the topic all that much (if such be possible in our saturated age). The science, to her young mind, is beyond all doubt, suspicion or any breaking of rank and consensus.  ‘We will never forgive you!’ she cries, in apocalyptic ululation, unless we all do ‘something‘ about climate change. What that ‘something’ actually entails is left forebodingly ambiguous. It is ironic that her condemnatory berating of world leaders three and four times her age – chastened, nay, castigated, by a moping moppet – should arrive hot on the heels of this essay by Theodore Dalrymple, who comments, in his laconic, psychiatric way, on Greta’s apparent utter lack of humour, unaware, we may surmise, of how she comes across to others of a relatively sane and unbiased mind, as a jejune and juvenile harridan, likely put up to the ultimately thankless task by others above her, who have even more aggressive agenda, of which she knows little.

On that score, whatever the consensus on climate change, there is also a growing trend amongst young people vowing never to have children until ‘something’ is done. This neo-Malthusian Manicheism must be refuted, with a clear and bright line drawn in the sand, signifying the beauty and richness of God’s created world, which He made for Man, and not the other way around.

Here are the words of Pope Saint John Paul II from his 1981 Laborem Exercens, on the proper use and domination of the wealth hidden in nature:

The whole of the effort to acquire knowledge with the aim of discovering these riches and specifying the various ways in which they can be used by man and for man teaches us that everything that comes from man throughout the whole process of economic production, whether labour or the whole collection of means of production and the technology connected with these means (meaning the capability to use them in work), presupposes these riches and resources of the visible world, riches and resources that man finds and does not create. In a sense man finds them already prepared, ready for him to discover them and to use them correctly in the productive process. In every phase of the development of his work man comes up against the leading role of the gift made by “nature”, that is to say, in the final analysis, by the Creator At the beginning of man’s work is the mystery of creation.

Ah, yes, ‘man’s work’ on the gift of God’s creation, which produced the world in which we live, and without which we would be back to vita primitiva, red in tooth and claw.

So rejoice, dear reader, for freedom Christ has set us free. So use that freedom well, with a magnanimous spirit, in whatever path you be called. Padre Pio and Pope John Paul, who rejoiced in large families, would be proud.

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→