Amoris Laetitia, Global Greed, and Warming Up
*The Holy Father’s Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia is now promulgated. I have only read the first few pages, wherein the Pope advises us to read the document “patiently and carefully”. At over 200 pages, that may be unavoidable. There are already a number of commentaries out there, presumably by those who have read it at a rather quicker pace. Commentators have already remarked that the Pope has advocated that we ‘not throw stones’ at those who fail in living the moral life, and has apparently opened some kind of door to Communion for the ‘remarried’. Hmm. I will read it over the next while at a pace moved by the Holy Spirit, I hope, as I plow through essays and preparation for the last classes of the semester.
*Panama papers, Liberal cronyism, riots in Iceland (of all places), political corruption en masse continues to astound, or not, depending upon how inured one is to the daily revelations amongst our governing members of kick-backs, favoritism, financial misdeeds, sheer hypocrisy, lying, obfuscation, avoidance of any scrutiny or oversight, cowardice and the sheer, unbridled love of money, cupiditas which, as Saint Paul warns, is the root of all evil. Saint Thomas builds on this divinely-inspired insight, teaching that avarice, the disordered desire for money or artificial wealth, is far more evil than greed, the disordered desire for natural wealth like food, cars or clothing. For there is no natural limit to avarice, and the hoarding of money gives the illusion of unlimited power, with concomitant flouting of God and His laws, if the avaricious even think He exists. So welcome to a God-less world, in the hands of evil. But then Christ knew that when the devil offered it all to Him. And, like Christ, we can live without the baubles and charms of this passing pageantry.
*Well, almost. People, especially all those good people raising large families, need some property and money to make things go. G.K. Chesterton’s distributist principles advocate for a wide distribution of wealth, both natural and artificial, but not by socialist, State-enforced tendencies. People just need access to some of the sources of wealth, not least private property, which, if they are raised and educated properly, they will put to good use in increasing the wealth of the nation. Whenever I hear of a ‘billionaire’, I wonder, why does he have all that money, located in one place, doing not much of anything? Why should a mediocrity like Mark Zuckerberg have billions? I suppose the money goes where the people go, and people go to Facebook, offering for free all that personal information to Mr. Zuckerberg, which he in turn sells ‘for billions’ to advertisers and companies quite interested in all that intimate knowledge, written and visual, of you, your life, and your loved (and hated) ones.
*Now we have 20-something Millennials who are famous just for being famous (well, amongst a certain clientele, for I had never heard of them), making millions from ‘Instagram’ pictures of themselves doing things famous people do, like lounge on couches and hang out in restaurants where the price of an entree could feed an African village for a year.
*That said, at least one Hollywood actress is doing something right, by getting married and having children. I am glad to see the princess of Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway, has always wanted to be a mother, as I suspect every woman does deep down, so congratulations to her on the birth of her baby boy. May many more join in her footsteps.
*And, finally on this Easter Friday, the clouds are coming! It turns out that global warming, or change, or whatever it might be today, is coming far faster than was first thought. The clouds are apparently trapping more ice, and this will somehow warm the Earth up much more quickly than anyone, or any computer-model at least, imagined. For all I care, the clouds have all the ice they want from the Ontario village in which I happen to dwell, and, I, for one, could do at least with some heavy-duty local warming.
*So be of good cheer! Spring is here, at least in theory, and soon in reality. And, of course, Christ is Risen, the source and basis of all our hope.
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→