A Terrible Time

I've been brooding over the Penn State mess, since for one thing I am reminded of it whenever I turn on the TV for news. It's Wednesday evening, and Joe Paterno says he will resign at the end of the season. Much will happen in the next few days, and more heads will probably roll.

I do pray for any victims of aggression that may be suffering at this time. I don't know what is true as far as the allegations, but I can pray to God to help and heal anyone who needs it.

I graduated from Penn State, and also from University of Pennsylvania. Today I happened on a speech given by Archbishop Charles Chaput, "Being Human in an Age of Unbelief," Public Discourse (Nov. 8, 2011). Chaput is outspoken about the right to life and was just moved to Philadelphia, which has had its own problems with sex scandal in Church schools.

If you don't want to read the whole thing, these quotes are worth your while:

The University of Pennsylvania’s motto is Leges sine moribus vanae. It means “Laws without morals are useless.” All law has moral content. It’s an expression of what we “ought” to do. Therefore law teaches as well as regulates. Law always involves the imposition of somebody’s judgments about morality on everyone else. That’s the nature of law. But I think the meaning of Penn’s motto goes deeper than just trying to translate beliefs into legislation. Good laws can help make a nation more human; more just; more noble. But ultimately even good laws are useless if they govern a people who, by their choices, make themselves venal and callous, foolish and self-absorbed.

And:

The deepest kind of revolution never comes from violence. Even politics, important as it is, is a poor tool for changing human hearts. Nations change when people change. And people change through the witness of other people—people like each of you reading this. You make the future. You build it stone by stone with the choices you make. So choose life. Defend its dignity and witness its meaning and hope to others. And if you do, you’ll discover in your own life what it means to be fully human.

We all are faced with difficult decisions. We must ask ourselves what is most important. I am often upset by the way women are treated in the Church, and I wish the Bishops would find in their hearts to value us more. But it is not all about women, it is about all of us. It is not all about life on Earth, it's also about life in Heaven.

It's a double whammy to be associated with Penn State and the Catholic Church if there is any guilt by association. But that's the thing--we are all guilty of sin. Some seems more disgusting because it attacks children on an obscene level. But if life starts at conception, what about abortion? What about the pill if it kills an otherwise healthy embryo? What about in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and genetic screening for imperfections in which embryos are discarded? Though it is not wrong to be scandalized by the sins of others, we must also pray our eyes be opened to our own.

Mississippi just voted against person-hood starting at conception. This is the first time I've been informed that life is based on votes. I've heard some were concerned about repercussions associated with medicine and IVF. If an embryo is life, there should be no question about side issues. They should revolve around the embryo's person-hood.

This is a terrible time for many. But we do have a Leader who was perfect on Earth and is able to guide us through the murky darkness. We must keep our eyes on Him, keep praying, keep hoping. It is the only way to get clean and clear. He is the only way to the Light.