The Two Encyclicals

The Pope's newly released encyclical has been called everything but a shift left for the Vatican.

As a public service I figured I'd post an actual quote from the encyclical that those crying foul might do well to reflect on:

"By considering reciprocity as the heart of what it is to be a human being, subsidiarity is the most effective antidote against any form of all-encompassing welfare state. ... In order not to produce a dangerous universal power of a tyrannical nature, the governance of globalization must be marked by subsidiarity, articulated into several layers and involving different levels that can work together."

For those not familiar with the principle of subsidiary...

From the Roman Catholic Catechism 1883:

"Socialization also presents dangers. Excessive intervatrion by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative. The teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity according to which 'a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of the community of a lower order..'"

From 1885:

"The principle of subsidiary is opposed to all forms of collectivism. It sets limits on state intervention... It tends towards the establishment of true international order."

Let's re-quote the encyclical's more controversial passages:

"67. In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. ...Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity..."

In other words the UN needs more teeth. No to socialism. You can call that a contradiction, but the Pope was careful to warn that he was not offering any technical solutions to the current economic crisis.

The Principle of Subsidiary is fairly present in this encyclical. It's interesting how no one seems to notice it.

I wonder just what Papal encyclical the press seems to be commenting on.

Calling all Statist Religious Conservatives...

The next time you want to give Christian Libertarians such as myself a hard time for actually daring to believe in the Free Market Economy I suggest you watch the "Call of the Entrepreneur":

The movie's message is that entrepreneurs are creators of wealth, Wall Street financiers are enablers of economic progress, and the villains of the world are people like the Communist leaders in China and American religious leaders who rail against capitalism.

I've already pre-ordered a copy.

Death and Taxes...

Giving the state the power to kill someone seems to be a no-brainer to the Pope:

ATLANTA (AP) - Citing a parade of witnesses who have since recanted, the Vatican joined supporters of a condemned and urged Georgia's governor to commute his sentence.

Troy Anthony Davis had been scheduled to be executed Tuesday for the shooting death of an off-duty police officer, but he received a 90-day stay from the state Board of Pardons and Paroles.

The letter to Gov. Sonny Purdue from the Vatican Embassy in Washington arrived Monday, the same day the stay was granted.

``In the name of Pope Benedict XVI, I am respectfully asking you to commute Troy's sentence to life in prison without parole,'' wrote Monsignor Martin Krebs, the office's charge d'affaires.

The Pope's intervention in this case is fairly significant. When it comes to the death penalty the Catholic Church teaches not that there isn't a moral justification for the death penalty that is valid, rather that one doesn't exist at the present time.

For the Church the use of force is justified in self defense. And in history the use of the death penalty may have been the only way to prevent a violent person from continuing to be violent.

In today's day and age throwing someone away in prison and locking away the key is a reasonable proposition. So the justification of self-defense becomes pretty lame. The last time I checked there wasn't an epidemic of prisoners escaping prisons, so the argument in favor of capital punishment effectively becomes mute.

Besides the church's position there is one more reason to oppose the death penalty: giving the state the right to decide who will live and who will die should be terrifying to everyone.

I don't trust the Dalton McGuinty's of the world to make those decisions one ayota.

The Road to Hell...

Bush II is elated over the recent positive ruling from the US Supreme Court on his faith based initiatives:

..."Today's Supreme Court decision marks a substantial victory for efforts by Americans to more effectively aid our neighbors in need of help. The Faith-Based and Community Initiative can remain focused on strengthening America's armies of compassion and expanding their good works. Similar efforts by governors and mayors in states and cities all across the country can also continue to advance."

"This ruling is a win for the thousands of community and faith-based nonprofits all across the country that have partnered with government at all levels to serve their neighbors. Most importantly, it is a win for the many whose lives have been lifted by the caring touch and compassionate hearts of these organizations."

What's that old saying? "The road to hell is paved in good intentions?"

That's pretty much how I view Bush's faith based initiative. The intention, although good, has an unfortunate end that social conservatives are not paying attention to.

Non-profit charities derive strength from being independent from the state. It's a strength that isn't easily returned once lost.

The funding of private institutions is sometimes used by those in power as a way of gaining control over that institution. It has happened before in history and it will happen again. The alliance of the church with the state always acts to the benefit of the state and the detriment of the church.

I would cite the supposedly "seperate" and "Catholic" education system in the province of Ontario as a case in point. Once the Catholic education system wasn't funded by the government. Catholics in Ontario had to struggle and help one another out to educate their children. With the onset of the public funding of the Catholic education system it did two things: it made the Catholic system less Catholic, and it made Catholics addicted to government money.

At first they claimed that the state would never interfere with the unique Catholic and faith based curriculum. Slowly the creeping influence of the state had the end result of creating a "Catholic" education system openly supporting causes in direct contradiction with Church teaching.

Faith based organizations would be best to stay away from this initiative. Stay private, stay individual donations based, and stay away from the corruption of government dollars - because let's not kid ourselves that's exactly what government money does.

Climate Change Idolatry

It's funny how life works. Just yesterday I suggested that climate change believers were indulging in "idol" worshiping of the Earth or nature like some golden calf.

Then a democrat suggests that Al Gore is a "prophet."

Then Al Gore makes comments like these:

"I fully understand that Kyoto, as a brand if you will, has been demonized..."

"Our world faces a true planetary emergency. I know the phrase sounds shrill, and I know it's a challenge to the moral imagination."

Ok the "moral imagination" part is pretty standard fluff from a man with a liberal relativistic mind. But for him to use the word "demonized" and for people to start saying that he's a "prophet?"

It's hard not to see a religious dimension here, particularly since these people seem to be inviting it on.

Religion and Climate Change

Religious leaders are having a march for awareness of global warming in New Hampshire...

In snowy weather.

I'm convinced God has a sense of humor:

“God has given us this Eden, and our behavior is making a mess of it,” said the Rev. Jim Antal, president of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ, the state’s largest Protestant denomination.

The religious walkers are part of Religious Witness for the Earth, a 6-year-old national interfaith environmental organization. Supporters include clergy from the Catholic, Unitarian, Jewish, Episcopalian and Muslim faiths.

The leaders are calling for individuals, businesses and government entities to reduce fossil fuel emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

(....)

Many members of Religious Witness for the Earth have used their position from the pulpit to make their congregations aware of climate change.

A "Religious Witness" not for God but for the "Earth."

There is one problem with this ecological love in. It's that love of nature can be a bad thing if it's taken to it's extreme.

Time to call on Cardinal Biffi:

"...the Antichrist presents himself as pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist...there are relative values, such as solidarity, love of peace and respect for nature. If these become absolute, uprooting or even opposing the proclamation of the event of salvation, then these values become an instigation to idolatry and obstacles on the way of salvation."

The question is, do these God fearing people love nature a little too much? Are they treating respect for nature as a moral absolute?

“The interfaith aspect of what we’re doing heightens awareness among everyone,” said Rabbi Justin David of Congregation B’Nai Israel in Northampton. “Climate change is a moral issue and it’s a collective issue. It transcends the differences of faith and politics and generations. This is something everyone needs to pay attention to.”

Climate Change is a "collective issue?" It "transcends differences of faith?"

Idolatry doesn't seem that far off if you ask me.

Trad Sisters

What CBC doesn't bring up in this piece is that these Sisters come from one of the most traditional and Conservative religious orders in North America - and they're growing like nuts.

It's really amazing and untypical of the CBC to even allow a piece like this to be run.

I wonder why the Curt Jester hasn't picked up on this one yet. He's usually pushing that order whenever he can.