The fight over Alito - throwing mud

As the title might suggest, this blog post is going to be a rant about the state of the Alito nomination. What brought this on, to briefly continue a topic from my last post, is the fight going on in the full Senate over confirming Judge Alito to the Supreme Court. The Democrats are trying to block his nomination by filibuster. Ultimately, this will fail, because the Senate has enough votes (60 out of 100) to end a filibuster. But what upsets me is more terminology. In my last blog, I explored the terms 'liberal' and 'conservative' and their meanings. Today I read an article about the struggle in the Senate (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_go_co/alito) and Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California said that the addition of Alito to the Supreme Court would allow them to apply 'originalist' interpretations to court decisions. I was curious to what 'originalist' means and so again went to the online dictionary. According to http://dictionary.reference.com the definition of originalist is:  the belief that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted according to the intent of those who composed and adopted it. Well DUH! Wouldn't it seem reasonable to interpret the Constitution in the way in which it was intended when it was written??? It seems that those who would rather interpret the Constitution as they see fit are doing a great diservice to our country and are basically rebelling against the very foundations of the United States.

What was even more exasperating was the reason Senator Feinstein gave for opposing this "originalist" stance. She says, and I quote:

"If an originalist analysis was applied to the Fourteenth Amendment, women would not be provided equal protection under the Constitution, interracial marriages could be outlawed, schools could still be segregated and the principle of one man, one vote would not govern the way we elect our representatives."

See there is a slight problem with her arguement: by definition, an originalist is someone who interprets the Constitution according to the intent of those who COMPOSED and ADOPTED it. It was composed and adopted on December 15, 1791 and only included 10 articles we know as the Bill of Rights (http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html). The other Amendments (#11 - 27) are just that: amendments to the original Bill of Rights. Heck, Amendment 14 wasn't even composed and adopted by the original (root word in which originalist is derived) writers. It wasn't even passed until until July 9, 1868.

You might ask, "why all this ranting over the word 'originalist'?" Because those who wish to push their agenda are using scare tactics to try to convince the people that if Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court that the people's world as they know it will come to an end. The word 'originalist', which most people probaby have no idea what it means (heck, I had to look it up!), sounds very discrimating. It sounds like it might be akin to 'racist' or 'fascist' or even 'Communist' and those words scare people and anger people. SO, needless to say, the Senator's hope is to scare people into thinking an originalist interpretation will take away all the 'freedoms' we have in today's society. The reality is that this type of interpretation would seem to return our society to a state of moral and social maturity that our founders intended.

I could be wrong here and if you think I am, please feel free to comment. I like hearing other points of view or even expansions on my view.

Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 20:34 | link | comments |
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Life and death

Our seminarians returned this morning from their trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the March For Life. Of our 70-some students, we had 35 go on the trip and at least 3 faculty members as well. Most of them have crashed in their rooms for the evening after a 15 hour bus ride. They deserve the rest, though, because of their courage to stand up for life.

Judge Alito was confirmed today by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The vote was along party lines, which is also what is likely to happen in the full Senate vote later this week. The liberals are already griping that this will shift the balance of the Supreme Court to the conservative side. Not only are they complaining, but they act as if the conservative views are somehow alien to our culture and that we are somehow betraying the people because of this.

I have a problem with the terms 'liberal' and 'conservative' anyway. Both elude to sterotypes that do not fully represent the beliefs and values of its people. For example, the current Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines liberal as someone who is: broad minded, especially one who is not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms. Whereas conservative is defined as someone who: tends to or is disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions. This does not represent either group well.

Before I close this blog entry, I did want to point out an interesting tidbit. An obsolete definition of liberal is the following: one who lacks moral restraint. Now THAT sounds like a more appropriate definition of liberal!!!

Until next time...God bless

posted by: crossman at 21:58 | link | comments |
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Pro-Life and mourning Roe vs. Wade

Each year, on Jan. 22nd, we mark the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973 that leagalized abortion. Although it is usually referred to as the anniversary of this decision, I like to think of it as the day of mourning for that decision. This pivotal case, as well as a case being heard at the same time known as Doe v. Bolton, changed the landscape of the country and ushered in the Culture of Death that is so prevalant in our society today. Within a matter of years, by 1980, there were 1,297,606 abortions recorded in that year! By 1990, there were 1,429,557 abortion that year (http://www.abortionfacts.com/statistics/statistics.asp).

Once it was made legal to kill an innocent and defensless baby in the womb, the Culture of Death grew and expanded. It is interesting to note that only 3 years after abortion was made legal, the Supreme Court re-instated the death penalty. By the 1990's euthanasia was becoming an issue, with Jack Kevorkian and physician-assisted suicide. In 1998, the State of Oregon passed the first law in the U.S. making euthanasia legal in that state.

There is a struggle going on in the U.S. right now between the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death. As we fight for life, especially the life of innocent, unborn children, I ask you to pray for an end to abortion. Pray also for the conversion of those who support the Culture of Death. Lastly, pray for those who have had an abortion. Many of these women now regret that decision and need our compassion, love and prayers.

Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 10:21 | link | comments (1) |
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A new semester...

We began our semester today at Kenrick, but for me its almost another day off. You see, I have no classes on Tuesday. In fact, I have 3 classes on Mon. and Wed., one class on Thur. afternoon and one class on Friday. Plus, none of my classes begin until at least 10:30 a.m. I know...it's a rough life, but someone has got to do it <grin>.

In light of the execution of a 76 year old man by the State of California (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181862,00.html), it would seem its time to re-examine both the humaneness of capital punishment and whether we actually need it in today's society. Executing a 76 year old man seems to be fairly cruel, but regardless of the person's age it seems like an extreme means. It is also permanent and final. If you later find out the person was innocent, its not like you can release them and say, "we're sorry." And I have heard the argument that nearly everyone executed is guilty. The words 'nearly everyone' bothers me. The prime example of an innocent person being executed was Jesus Christ.

On my second point, it seems that as deterrent to crime and protecting society , which are the common arguments used to defend capital punishment, the death penalty doesn't seem to be very valid reasons for promoting its use. As a deterrent, it seems to make no difference since murders continue to be committed and persons continue to be sentenced to death. Secondly, in our society today, the prison system does a fine job in keeping prisoners behind bars and as such protecting society. Besides, how dangerous could a 76 year old man be that we fear for our safety. It appears to me that the death penalty is used more as a means of revenge. This seems to be the case with this 76 year old man, especially since he had a nearly fatal heart attack this past Sept.  and yet he was revived after the heart attack only to be executed four months later.

Statistics show that the death penalty is not doing what supporters claim it does. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that the U.S. murder rate for 2004was about 5.5 per 100,000 persons, nearly unchanged from 2001(5.5%), 2002(5.6%) and 2003(5.6%). Furthermore, according to 2004 statistics, the murder rate of the states that have the death penalty (38 states) was 5.1%. Compare this with the murder rate of 2.9% for states without the death penalty (12 states) (source: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/).

In the final analysis, the death penalty doesn't seem to deter crime or protect society any better than prisons, rather it serves more as a revenge factor. It also has questionable issues regarding humaneness. Lastly, it continues to feed the Culture of Death that seems to be growing in our society today.

Just my two cents on capital punishment. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 11:14 | link | comments |
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Another semester is set to begin

Its been a while since I made an entry. I've actually been on my Deacon retreat and forgot to post that I would be unavailable until today. Canon Law requires those to be ordained either to the diaconate or to the priesthood participate in a five day retreat prior to orders (Canon ¶1039). Having completed my retreat brings me one step closer to my diaconate ordination at the end of May, God willing.

Seminary classes begin this next Tuesday. I will try to fill you in on our classes when we discuss items of interest. I am taking a class in Eastern Christianity that looks to be very interesting. I am also taking a class on the Trinity as well as a class on spirituality. I am also going to attempt to learn Spanish. Thanks to Sesame Street, I can count to ten in Spanish, but I hope to learn a little more.

For those who have been following the Supreme Court hearings, it looks like Alito is going to replace Sandra Day O'Conner as Surpreme Court judge. This bodes well for many important issues in the Catholic Church, especially overturning Roe vs. Wade, euthanasia and the death penalty. I also hope that the push to remove God from every aspect of our lives can also be halted and even reversed. Only time will tell.

 Until next time...God bless.

 

posted by: crossman at 19:11 | link | comments |
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Top 10 Catholic Events of 2005

Happy New Year and Mary, Mother of God Solemnity!!!

As promised, below is my Top 10 list of Catholic Events in 2005. These are a mix of Catholic events in the Universal Church and events in the local Church (U.S. dioceses). I have included a brief description of why I chose each event. So let's take a look:

#10: On Priesthood and Those With Homosexual Tendencies - the only reason I have included this on the list is because of the media hype regarding this document. As far as Vatican documents go, this isn't anything new or extraordinary.

#9: Portland, Oregon diocese files for bankruptcy - This event is notable because it is the first time a diocese filed bankfuptcy to protect itself from massive financial loss, mostly due to lawsuits from priest scandals.

#8: Appointment of Archbishop Leveda as head of the Congregation for the Faith - I mention this because his appointment is the highest position held by a U.S. prelate in the history of the United States.

#7: St. Stanislaus struggle in St. Louis Archdiocese - For those unfamiliar with this situation, this parish is in a struggle with Archbishop Raymond Burke over who should rightly have jurisdiction over the parish finances and assets. Canon Law is soundly on the side of the archbishop, but the parish has refused to back down leading to an eventual confrontation in the near future.

#6: Supreme Court appointments - The importance of these appointments is that their outcome could have major influence on many issues vital to the Catholic Church - most notably abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty.

#5: World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany - The first major event of Pope Benedict's papacy, this gathering of hundreds of thousands of young Catholics shows the future of the Church and their devotion to Benedict very similiar to John Paul II.

#4: Retirement of Archbishop James P. Keheler and succession of Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann - This is a local event of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in KS, but an important one. Co-Adjutor for jsut over a year, Archbishop Naumann took the reigns of the KC in KS Church on January 15, 2005 and had a difficult but productive first year as archbishop.

#3: Terri Schiavo struggle for life and end-of-life debate - A heartbreaking event, the struggle to preserve the life of Terri had tragic results, but it opened the eyes of many people to the question and morality of euthanasia. Following on the footsteps of her murder was the death of John Paul II, who showed the world that one could die with dignity and honor in a natural way.

#2: Election of Pope Benedict XVI - I chose to place this extremely important event second because without the death of John Paul II, the event would have never taken place.

#1: Death of Pope John Paul II - After 26+ years as pope, JPII's death was the first pope to die in their lifetime for many people. The contributions to the World and the Catholic Church are way too numerous to list here, but one of his most important contributions to the world may have been the honor he gave to the process of growing old and to dying with dignity. May John Paul II rest in eternal peace.

While all may not agree with the ordering of these 10 events, I think most everyone can agree that each of these events were pivotal to the Catholic Church and give us much to think about as we enter this new year.

Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 01:22 | link | comments |
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