Intending Death and Drinking Deep
January 7th was the fifth anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, when the offices of the satirical magazine – which made fun of Catholicism as well as Islam – were stormed by two gunmen, who killed 12 people, cartoonists and editors, with head shots at close range, for the ‘crime’ of drawing mocking images of the ‘Prophet’ Muhammad. So much for the ‘religion of peace’, and good for Geert Wilders for renewing the competition to draw the founder of the world’s most violent, coercive religion.
Was the killing of Qasem Soleimani justified? Assassination is not an intrinsic evil – ponder the Catholic Colonel von Stauffenberg’s attempt on the life of Hitler – but it is a choice of last resort, and must be proportionate to the good and evil consequences. And, insofar as is possible, whatever is done should be within the rule of law.
I have my doubts that this was overall a good thing, and wonder whether the evils that accrue – missiles are reported launched at American military bases as I write – will be worth it. And how guilty was Soleimani? Ideally, a war criminal should be arrested, and judged in a court of law, as was the case with Sadaam Hussein. We will see what unfolds – see Hebdo – but as the saying goes, si vis pacem, para bellum.
Meanwhile, on the cossetted front, Justin Trudeau seems to have returned from his carbon-heavy holiday to Costa Rica, on private jet, with family, staff, bodyguards and so on in tow. I care not how much carbon is pumped into the environment, for I think the Earth can handle it, and one bout of forest fires in the land down under puts more carbon into the atmosphere than years of industry, and undoes all the pompous Paris accords could ever dream of – but Justin and those of his ilk should at least live by what they believe, even if what they believe is a pile of hogwash, or worse.
On that note, although it is crude, Ricky Gervais did really give to the feted Hollywood set – a house divided against itself and all that. One must see it to believe it, even though Mr. Gervais himself is no conservative. He has never married his long-time ‘partner’, with whom he has no children, apparently claiming that they would be a waste of 16 years, and there’s too many of ‘them’ regardless. Yet, here he is, skewering his own, for running sweatshops and making crappy films, for their blatant hypocrisy, pomposity, self-aggrandizement, all the while having spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. Schadenfreude, thy name is Gervais.
I may have more to write about George Weigel’s own advice for us all to limit our reading to a few websites of his patristic choosing, for most of which he himself writes, along with a self-selected coterie of his like-minded fellows. Thank you, Mr. Weigel, but I think we can all make up our own Catholic minds. For now, read what you like, including Catholic Insight (not on Weigel’s list, but neither was Crisis, ironically, where I first read his article); of course, all within reason, so long as what you read leads to an increase in virtue, in learning, in the desire and efficacy of your prayers, and to a wider view of the world and the Church.
What was it Pope – not Francis, but the poet – said, way back in 1709?
A little learning is a dangerous thing;
drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
and drinking largely sobers us again.
So drink deep, dear reader, so you may think soberly, clearly, as befits the wide universality of the Catholics Church, which has capacious room for many points of view. Only so, may the truth win out in the end.
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→
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→
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→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→