On the Da Vinci Code

Does exercising the Office of Love mean shepherds would allow the hungry and vicuous wolves to come close to their flock?

DVC is clearly a blasphemy to God and the Church no matter how one justifies it, no matter what angle one looks at it, in the end it is blasphemy. It is true Dan Brown claims that his work is just fiction, just to lessen the steam, but it is that same fiction that makes it blasphemous: The fiction that portrays Christ as having been married to Mary Magdalene, the fiction that portrays the Church as being a murderous organization among other things.

We, formally educated Catholics, have tolerated the errors of the secular society for the longest time. Our argument has always been that we are not affected by these errors and lies because we are educated Catholics who know the ins and outs of our faith. We tend to forget that we are not the only Catholics living in this world. How about the Catholics who are ignorant of their faith, who do not have the privilege of having access to the right information? How about the Catholics who are exploring their faith (good) but searching in the wrong place (bad)? Each and every Catholic want and is thirsty for affirmations with regards to their faith but what they find is toleration of ideologies and errors against their faith. This is the reason why we have less and
less Church attendees and more and more none practicing Catholics.

With regards to appreciating it as an art form: How could one appreciate something that is insulting and blasphemous in the first place? If I were to weigh art against faith, faith has more weight, "seventy seven times seven times!"

The Gnostics through the New Age Movements has been revived. They are building up their forces and making it felt through movies, tv shows, music, magazines and the Internet. The secular society is using the same weapons to spread its errors as well. Are we just going to sit back, relax and tolerate such developments?


"Tolerance is the virtue of a man with no convictions." GK Chesterton

To the Filipino

this is the reaction i made when i read again in another forum a fellow filipino who is ready to leave the country when the right offer comes due to discontentment with the current political situation:

Author: Do good for your family but do what is best for your country.
Q: What do you think would be best for the country at this point?
Author: Sacrifice
Q: Sir, what kind of sacrifice? Can you elaborate? I'm just curious.

A: We have to pause for a moment, reflect and step down and get back to basics.

Getting back to basics is indeed hard and would require sacrifice.

What kind of sacrifice can we do for the country? I propose some examples:

1. Be disciplined. Fall in line properly. Obey traffic rules. Be punctual. etc. It is hard to be disciplined, and means sacrifice.

2. Teach our sons and daughters and ourselves about service. This may entail sacrificing the possibility of future financial wealth. Example: We often tell our children, "Go get a nursing degree and work abroad, that way, you'll earn lots of money." Here, earning lots of money becomes the priority, the objective, instead of the true meaning of nursing which is service. Today, when you are in the hospital, you seldom see nurses get out of their way to help and assist the sick and the needy, they often pass it to hospital aides even though the patient requires immediate help. We see more and more nurses and doctors who go abroad, sadly most of them have the objective to earn more, instead of to serve their countrymen. Its not that earning money is bad, it becomes bad when it becomes the priority and making service only second.

3. If we have a lot of spare time to devote for our personal wants and needs besides work, why not give some of that time and devote it for civic oriented groups?

4. Others, would leave because of their discontent of political issues. If everybody who is discontent, but capable of serving and leading, leave, then kawawa talaga ang Pilipinas. The "crocodiles" are happy and continue to ruin the lives of the Filipino because we have failed to do our duty as citizens. We are capable of serving and leading but we run away. Stand up, be active and participate in the affairs of the State. Affairs of the State is not only the for the traditional politicians whom we all know, it is the GOD given duty of every citizen to participate actively and lively in the affairs of the State. Is this rebellion? NO! Rebellion is turning back on our duties as citizens. Here, we are just doing our job and duty to promote the common good, through common sense.

"Capable nga ako pero ayoko maging pinuno, tutulong ako in the sidelines." "Pag umalis naman ako, makakatulong ako, magpapadala ako ng dollars, nakakatulong pa din ako in the sidelines." Please, wag nyo gawing sideline ang Pilipinas! When called to lead, LEAD. When called to serve, SERVE.

"Wala ako mapapala dito, kaya aalis nalang ako." Kung ikaw lang mag isa, wala talaga, pero kung marami tayo, at karamihan magsasakripisyo, sinisigurado ko sa inyo, may mapapala lahat tayo. Totoo ang Pilipinas ay bansang pinagpala. Kaya dapat lang gawin ng bawat isa ang kanikanilang tungkulin para sa bayan, para tayong lahat ay may mapala.

Again, sacrifice for the common good, through common sense.

CATHOLICS MUST BE ENGAGED IN POLITICAL DEBATE, SAYS POPE

30-March-2006 -- Catholic News Agency

Vatican City, March 30, 2006 (CNA) - Speaking earlier today to a group of parliamentarians from Europe’s Popular Party, Pope Benedict affirmed the need for a Catholic voice in the public square that informs consciences and helps citizens act “freely and responsibly.”

The Church has come under heavy fire in recent years--particularly in the U.S.--for engaging in political debate where some say it has no place. Critics charge that many politicians worldwide seek to relegate faith life merely to the private sphere.

Benedict reminded the parliamentarians however, "that when Churches or ecclesial communities intervene in public debate, expressing reservations or recalling various principles, this does not constitute a form of intolerance or interference.”

He said that the Church’s political interventions “are aimed solely at enlightening consciences, enabling them to act freely and responsibly, according to the true demands of justice, even when this should conflict with situations of power and personal interest."

In this light, the Pope said that the main area of the Church's intervention in the public sphere "is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person.” “…She is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable."

Here, he listed a number of principles for which Catholics must continue to fight. Namely, these are: "Protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death; recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family, as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage, and its defense from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its destabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role; and the protection of the right of parents to educate their children.”

While he admitted that "These principles are not truths of faith, even though they receive further light and confirmation from faith,” he stressed that “they are inscribed in human nature itself and therefore they are common to all humanity.”

The Pope explained that “The Church's action in promoting them is therefore not confessional in character, but is addressed to all people, irrespective of any religious affiliation they may have."
He closed by calling on the politicians "to be credible and consistent witnesses of these basic truths through your political activity, and more fundamentally through your commitment to live authentic and consistent lives."