Pete Doherty: Hero, Villain or Just Human?

'Bad boy' of Rock: Doherty

After Mass today I visited the local and inside the pub was playing an Amy Winehouse song.  I'm sure it sounds quite naff to say it but it was genuinely sad hearing it in the light of her recent death. It's quite haunting, really.

Her friend, Pete Doherty, has just been released from prison where he had been serving a sentence for possession of crack cocaine. It is worthy of note that both of these figures will, 'worthily' or 'unworthily', go down in rock and roll history, for whatever that hall of fame is worth, but that their names will most likely be synonymous with illegal drugs, self-destruction and will be tinged with public notoriety.

It is highly unusual for rock artists to come in for public criticism nowadays, but society makes an exception for Doherty and did for Winehouse.  The stigma concerning heroin and crack cocaine - and there should be a stigma - has led a great many people, in this post-Christian society, to forget the rule of 'hating the sin' and 'loving the sinner' and whenever a lack of charity abounds about certain people, you can be pretty sure that a great deal of hypocrisy is thrown in for good measure.

For the life of me I can't see why Doherty and Winehouse came and still do come in for such criticism when the world of music is soaked with drugs, illegal drugs at that, copious amounts of booze, narcissism, immorality and self-destruction. What is more, it seems to go back a lot further than just the modern day musicians.  It is said that nobody enjoyed a debauched party quite so much as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer of so much music that still makes the World breathless in awe. While perhaps few of us would present the following names as role models, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Oasis and just about any band or musical artist you could care to mention have long histories of drug abuse and self-destructive behaviour which befit the 'rock star' image.

That is why it is so unusual for one or two rock stars to come in for such close attention. More than that, however, is the fact that Doherty has admitted that what he has is a real addiction problem - not necessarily a devil-may-care attitude to life in general. A friend of mine told me today that it is likely that Amy Winehouse died not of a drugs and drink overdose, but of the effects of withdrawal.

Neither is drug abuse rife merely among the artists on the stage.  Both the media and the musical industry which promotes performers have unrivalled access to drugs and a large percentage of those who work in both industries find time in their busy schedules to indulge. Even in the legal profession, which is, certainly in these parts, constantly sending addicts into prison, rehab and the rest, illegal drug abuse is relatively common.  Like I say, there is a great deal of hypocrisy that surrounds the drugs issue.

The reason why I find the scathing criticism of Doherty and Winehouse interesting is because, were they not so talented, or, depending on your view, their rubbish so promoted, then by all accounts both could be living in 17/19 Grand Parade in Brighton, scraping by enough money a week to get a hit, being evicted for not paying their top up fee and ending up on our soup run at St Mary Magdalen's. That, I think, is the real reason why these figures come in for such close attention from the media. Their talent has put them somewhere where the 'right thinking majority' believes they do not belong - and that place is fame.

These people forget, rather conveniently that possibly all of their favourite pop and rock stars have lived lives riddled with sex, drugs and rock and roll. Elton John is wheeled out at Royal events and while we are already aware of his homosexual lifestyle, many of those who love him also forget his earlier years when he was quite plausibly sniffing cocaine like there was no tomorrow. That is how many rock stars live - like there is no tomorrow - and society can condemn that if society wishes, but please, don't have one rule for some rock stars and another rule for others. That is just plain old rank hypocrisy, something particularly condemned and even loathed by Our Blessed Lord.

With all of that said, neither fame nor fortune make Pete Doherty happy and neither did they do any favours  for Amy Winehouse.  Very recently, another body bag was dragged out of 17/19 Grand Parade by the ambulance workers and that is a terrible place to live, an horrific excuse for accommodation. Amy Winehouse's body was removed from a £2.4 million house in London and the result was the same and for similar reasons. It has to be said again and again, as our beloved Holy Father said in his visit to the UK, that neither fame nor fortune can answer the needs of that most mysterious of things - the heart of man. Only Our Lord Jesus Christ can do that and He doesn't force Himself upon us. In our lives we can accept Him, or reject Him, on a daily basis, in our struggles to live a holy life. Hope - that most priceless treasure - is only in Him and happiness is in Him alone. All rock stars have fallen short of the Glory of God, as we have and do. Quite why the media and the general public single out Pete Doherty for closer attention than most, however, I have no idea.

Right. Blog post done. Off for a fag...

Three Kings

One of Hollywood's best films about the Middle East, Three Kings (1999) holds up remarkably well twelve years and three "interventions" later. Like another Groggy favorite, The Wind and the Lion, David O. Russell's Gulf War opus is a pointed treatsie on American foreign policy disguised as a macho action flick.

March 1991. The Persian Gulf War has ended, with the US-led coalition expelling Iraqi troops from Kuwait but leaving Saddam Hussein in power. Special Forces Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) hears that a trio of soldiers - First Sergeant Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg), Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) and Private Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze) - have discovered an "ass map" detailing the location of stolen Kuwaiti gold within Iraq, and conspire to "liberate" it. Gates and his cohorts find Iraqi's Shia population rebelling against Saddam, but without American support they're slaughtered in brutal reprisals. The Americans try to focus on the mission, but spiralling Iraqi atrocities force them to get involved.

Three Kings borrows its basic plot from Kelly's Heroes, the goofy Clint Eastwood vehicle which had World War II GIs searching for German gold and inadvertently kickstarting the liberation of France. Russell's film, however, is much more serious, even as it retains a darkly comic edge. It's the rare action movie that takes its content seriously, and I hope you'll forgive me for a longer-than-usual review.

Plenty of Middle East-themed films have been made since 2001, but most are burdened with the usual "issue movie" baggage. Syriana and Lions for Lambs try to be cerebral but play as obnoxious PC posturing, and even Munich struggles with moral equivalence. Occasionally we get throwbacks like The Kingdom, whose puerile culture clash jokes seem anachronistic. Movies actually dealing with Afghanistan (Brothers) and Iraq (The Hurt Locker) generally have little to say.

Made two years before 9/11, Three Kings seems remarkably prescient. Despite the Gulf War's tactical success, the failure to remove Saddam left a bad taste. The opening scene, where Troy mistakenly kills a surrendering Iraqi, sets the tone immediately. American soldiers don't know why they're fighting, and all Troy can do when interrogated by an Iraqi Captain (Said Taghmoui) is spout propaganda. The toned-down depiction of Republican Guard atrocities against Shiite rebels throws the moral posture into question: If America's on the side of the angels, how can they let this happen? The liberation of Kuwait isn't unjustified, but as with our heroes self-interest takes precedence over moral concerns.

The strangest thing about Three Kings is that it's a liberal film. Eight years of George W. Bush made people forget that humanitarian intervention is a liberal idea: hence Clinton's dispatch of troops to Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo (and our current difficulties in Libya). The film is very smart in showing that even "humanitarian" wars have consequences - rebel Amir (Cliff Curtis) lost his business to American bombs - but it ultimately endorses the Magnificent Seven scenario of gun-toting Americans rescuing downtrodden Iraqis. Again, one is reminded of The Wind and the Lion, where Marines on a political mission are shanghaied into an impromptu rescue: "I'd like to throw in with you. And God help us!"



It's easy to quibble with Three Kings' depiction of the Gulf War. All wars have unforseen consequences, even the rare, unquestionably justified ones: didn't World War II give us nuclear weapons and the Cold War? And since 2003, we've seen that the alternative to keeping Saddam around was problematic, to say the least. But the overall message is powerful: American interventions in the Middle East, whether for democracy, oil or counterterrorism, have consequences, and we ignore them at our peril.

Three Kings won't disappoint those looking for action and thrills, either. There are plenty of excitingly-staged gun battles and action scenes, with enough variety in stylization to keep from growing repetitive. It's also a very funny film, with a lot of great dialogue (the protagonists debating which Arab slurs are acceptable) and clever gags. There are a few pointed digs at the news media, with Nora Dunn's ratings-hungry reporter ("Stupid fucking birds!") and her rival (Judy Greer) sleeping with Gates for a story.

Russell's direction is heavily stylized, with use of handheld, Steadicam and tinted photography. A variety of editing choices - slow-motion shootouts, quick cut fantasy sequences - make for arresting viewing, as do the unique insert shots of bullets destroying organs and internal structures. Russell's script is extremely clever, turning throwaway gags into key plot points: a running argument about whether Lexus makes convertibles, and a Nerf skeet shooting scene have big payoffs. The only flaw is a happy ending, which undermines the caustic message a bit.

This film gave a huge career boost to its trio of stars, each struggling to break into "serious" acting. Mark Wahlberg scored a success with Boogie Nights two years earlier, but George Clooney was still struggling to shake off E.R. and Batman and Robin and Ice Cube worked to build off his cult hits Boyz n the Hood and Friday. All three stars are at the top of their game: Clooney mixing cocky and cynical, Wahlberg exuding confused intensity, Cube the stoic anchor.

Cliff Curtis (The Insider) and Said Taghmaoui (The Kite Runner) give layered portrayals of Iraqis caught up in the war. Spike Jonze's dumb Private and Nora Dunn's (Pineapple Express) self-absorbed reporter get some big laughs. Mykelti Williamson (Forrest Gump) and Holt McCallany (Rough Riders) play befuddled superior officers.

Three Kings is smart, funny and entertaining. If I've dwelt excessively on the politics, it's only because the movie actually has something to say about its hot-button content (Rambo, anyone?). Whether you enjoy it is a smarter-than-average war movie or an interesting look at the Middle East, Three Kings is excellent.

Guitar or Plainchant?....Guitar or Plainchant?......

Ummm.....Guitar?................



......or.......Plainchant?..............



                      Guitar or Plainchant?......Plainchant of course!

Dedicated to some good friends in Newcastle Emlyn - in the absence of a Sunday Mass today - chiz!

Three years and counting!

Today is the 3rd anniversary of starting this blog!

It's hard to contemplate everything that's happened since then - three years of college, a girlfriend, a change of majors, and hundreds, if not thousands of movies (the 423 reviews are just the tip of the iceberg). Now I'm a college grad with a full-time job, holding out hope that I can find a writing job (and if possible get back to Pittsburgh).

Unfortunately, my job is still preventing me from watching many movies. I bought Three Kings on DVD at an FYE for cheap, so maybe I can squeeze in a viewing (and review) of that soon. If nothing else, I can wait for my brothers to go back to college so I have access to a huge backlog of movies on TiVo.

Again, thanks to all of my loyal readers for helping to make my blog a modest success, especially dshultz, Jack L., larma and Matt S. I welcome all comments and discussions, so all of your contributions are appreciated. Just know that my plate is full and I can't really follow your suggestions as much as I'd like. Also, I haven't the foggiest why you love Howard the Duck so much, but beggars can't be choosers.

Here's to another year of film watching and blogging - and hopefully something even more exciting down the road!

No Masses in Menevia Diocese in August!

There's a lotta square miles in Menevia!

Yes, that's right, there are NO Masses in the Diocese of Menevia in August 2011. That's no as in zilch, zero, nil, b------ all!

Amazing huh? Oh, sorry, forgot to say "No EF Masses in Menevia in August"*

EF Masses? Oh, that doesn't matter then!

* Other than the LMS Pilgrimage Mass at the National Shrine at 3pm on 7 August

From the UK Census to US Body Scanners

Talk about fingers in pies!

I'm an avid reader of Prison Planet and I've just read that Lockheed Martin, who were the boys responsible for the UK Census this year, have been given the $72 million contract for the body scanners now at every major airport in the United States of America.

Isn't it wonderful to see the 'land of the free' living up to its traditions?

It's also so heartening that both the US and the UK will never allow terrorism to 'change our way of life'. We launched those wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to defend freedom, liberty and all those values for which that the West stands and we haven't allowed them to intimidate us. No, siree!

Although Lockheed Martin have all our details in the United Kingdom, we know that these details are safe in their trustworthy hands. We can also rest assured that these body scanners are 100% safe and that the Orwellian measures being applied to US citizens are safe in the hands of this gigantic US arms manufacturer. Just remember folks! "War is peace!"

Revealed! The Bishop's training video

Have you ever wondered how our Bishops fine tune their minds so that they can cope with all the complex problems that face them - how they ensure that they are at the cutting edge of decision taking and innovation.

At last I am able to reveal their training video, it's a real eye opener!

Old but good - my version of 'Shine Jesus, shine'

For some obscure reason I found myself singing this beautiful hymn this morning and, much to my surprise then found that the excellent blogger Laodicea had posted the words. It is a great hymn that encapsulates all that we believe regarding receiving the Body of Christ at Holy Communion or worshipping Him at Benediction.

See also, Fr Z's post on Cardinal Canizares Llovera's sermon on how we should receive the Sacrament - kneeling and on the tongue!

I could only find this sung version of the hymn on Youtube, it is a little lacking in oomph and numbers and, what is more, the antics of the altar servers are most off-putting as they prepare the altar for Benediction, strolling on and off, arms by their sides and only the occasional genuflection.

But, it's still a beautiful hymn! -

O Jesus Christ remember when Thou shalt come again.......

Needs to be sung sans piano and with a bit more verve and gusto!

You're Hired! For £2.50 an hour...

My job search continues and I noticed recently that the Jobcentre website has started to advertise a lot of apprenticeships.

The new apprenticeship scheme differs to those of the past, in as much as it is not offered to 16/17 year olds only, but to people of all ages, and so yours truly is invited to apply to become a patisserie chef, an administrator or a joiner and obtain that precious NVQ.

The question(s) is (are)...

Should a 33 year old graduate with a considerable history of employment consider working for £2.50 an hour?

Is this just a convenient way for companies to circumnavigate the minimum wage?

Is this exploitation of the unemployed?

How long does one have to be an apprentice before one is taken on and employed as regular staff with employment rights?

Why did the Government not secure a more decent set of working rights for the new scheme so that it doesn't appear that companies are just setting up a cheap pool of labour in exchange for training?

Click image to enlarge

Time to say farewell to Channel 589?

Please DO adjust your sets!

Just in case you live outside of England and Wales, Channel 589 is the EWTN Channel - the Eternal Word Television Network founded by Mother Angelica with a large nudge from the Holy Spirit to get it going.

It started well with Mother A's fairly traditional homespun type of Catholicism; the good common sense type that one's Granny might have counselled you with but, in recent years the Channel's integrity levels seem to have dipped.

EWTN screens a weird mix of what one might call 'folk Catholicism' - a bit of Dana here and some University Graduates sounding off about sexual abstinence there. I do not mock the subject matter, just the saccharine way in which the Faith is presented.

And for some reason, all male presenters (other than Raymond Arroyo) seem to sport beards or moustaches. Now an occasional beard is acceptable but wall to wall carpeting is a bit of an overkill. As for moustaches......the very height of male vanity!

Now I'm really getting into curmudgeon mode, the set backgrounds look as if they are rejects from the Addams Family series, sort of 1950s style meets with Austrian kitsch. Ugh!

Could someone please also tell them that they could achieve better effects with a little subtle lighting and a plain background?

If you have children then they will be put off the Catholic Faith for life if they watch the Bible according to Mickey Mouse, the noxious and vomit inducing cartoon version of the Life of Christ.

As for the Daily Mass, I have never heard such monotonous wailing. No one looks very pleased to be there and there is a cantor with a most odd tone. Just what is going on?

Of course I am being judgemental and critical but then all too often the Catholic laity have been served up with luke warm offerings from their Bishops and the lay organisations that exist to promote the Faith and it really is time that what is offered to us is improved in its content and presentation and we should not be afraid to complain, loudly.

Now, we have lost Fr Corapi, and that leaves a very big hole for EWTN to fill. We do have the Papal Audience which is worth watching (every couple of months or so) and we do have Fr Groeschel, also very interesting and informative. We also have dear Auntie J doing her cookery thing - very nice.

What are the reasons for this dive into pop Catholic culture? Is it a battle for ratings? Or, is it that most if not all of the EWTN production and presentation team seem to be refugees from the Lutheran Church and have, maybe, brought this strange mix of lib Protestant/Catholic values with them?

We should be dancing on the tables at the thought of a Television Channel dedicated to Catholic news and views; instead, I find it all rather embarrassing and would rather my non Catholic friends did not see it.

Bishops of England and Wales Take Heed

Cardinal Antonio Canizare Llovera

Fr Z has posted on the latest utterances of Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera and those utterances are well worth reading and re-reading, courtesy of CNA.

'Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera recently recommended that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue, while kneeling.

“It is to simply know that we are before God himself and that He came to us and that we are undeserving,” the prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said in an interview with CNA during his visit to Lima, Peru.

The cardinal’s remarks came in response to a question on whether Catholics should receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue.

He recommended that Catholics “receive Communion on the tongue and while kneeling.”

Receiving Communion in this way, the cardinal continued, “is the sign of adoration that needs to be recovered. I think the entire Church needs to receive Communion while kneeling.”

“In fact,” he added, “if one receives while standing, a genuflection or profound bow should be made, and this is not happening.”

“If we trivialize Communion, we trivialize everything, and we cannot lose a moment as important as that of receiving Communion, of recognizing the real presence of Christ there, of the God who is the love above all loves, as we sing in a hymn in Spanish.”

In response to a question about the liturgical abuses that often occur, Cardinal Canizares said they must be “corrected, especially through proper formation: formation for seminarians, for priests, for catechists, for all the Christian faithful.”

Such a formation should ensure that liturgical celebrations take place “in accord with the demands and dignity of the celebration, in accord with the norms of the Church, which is the only way we can authentically celebrate the Eucharist,” he added.

“Bishops have a unique responsibility” in the task of liturgical formation and the correction of abuses, the cardinal said, “and we must not fail to fulfill it, because everything we do to ensure that the Eucharist is celebrated properly will ensure proper participation in the Eucharist.”'

How very encouraging are the Cardinal's words. It is encouraging that the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship should advise that the whole Church needs to receive Our Blessed Lord kneeling and on the tongue. If we do not recognise Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament then we do not recognise our need for Him. If we do not recognise our need for Him then we will certainly not recognise Him. If we recognise neither Him nor our need for Him then how on Earth will He recognise us when He comes in Glory?

Sirocco

One of Humphrey Bogart's worst films, Sirocco (1951) is borderline unwatchable. Playing like a strange mixture of Casablanca and The Battle of Algiers, it's dramatically stilted, thematically garbled and completely unsatisfying.

In 1925, Syrian Arabs revolt against France's heavyhanded rule, plunging Damascus into brutal guerilla warfare. General LaSalle (Everett Sloane) urges brutal tactics in suppressing the uprising, but sensitive Colonel Feroud (Lee J. Cobb) urges negotiation with Arab leader Hassan (Onslow Stevens). Into this volatile mixture steps Harry Smith (Humphrey Bogart), an American ne'er-do-well who ends up running guns to the Syrians. Harry seduces the pretty Violette (Marta Toren), who happens to be Feroud's lover, and the American finds himself caught between the two sides.

Prior to Lawrence of Arabia, Hollywood rarely even tried to get the Middle East right, and Sirocco is more egregious than fantasies like The Sheikh and The Four Feathers because of its seriousness. An early scene has a journalist interviewing the French and Arab leaders, showing each of them equally intransigent, but this interesting idea is lost with a completely one-sided portrayal. The French engage in disreputable tactics but Feroud's disapproval is emphasized, while the Arabs ambush French soldiers in the streets and blow up nightclubs. France's occupation of Syria was baldfaced imperialism, League of Nations Mandate or no, and Sirocco bests even the later Lost Command in its unsophisticated view of Middle Eastern insurgency.

Sirocco has more problems than its politics. The plot is a lazy retread of Casablanca, with the same roughish protagonist, tortured love triangle, shifty French officers and air of amorality, but without anything approaching the richness and enjoyability of that classic. The film was obviously made on the cheap and director Curtis Bernhardt does little to make it look good, with generically seedy back alleys and bombed out streets straight out of The Third Man. Most of the action occurs offscreen and the facile dialogue and characterization make it hard to care about what we do see. Sirocco is just a sour and empty experience all around.

Humphrey Bogart is on autopilot. By this point in his career, Bogie could play a cynical, amoral adventurer in his sleep and he proceeds to do just that. The idea of Harry as an anti-Rick Blaine is an interesting conceit, but Bogart does little with his character, merely going through the roguish motions. Even in lesser roles like Sabrina Bogart is rarely forgettable, but he comes awfully close here with a character who's just a low-rent creep.

Lee J. Cobb (On the Waterfront) anchors the film with a surprising role. Usually a scenery chewer extraordinaire, Cobb gives a refreshingly restrained, down-to-earth performance, his honorable French officer far more appealing than the unpleasant Bogart. Marta Toren is pretty in a weak role as the love interest. The supporting cast, despite including recognizable names like Onslow Stevens, Zero Mostel, Everett Sloane, Gerald Mohr and Jeff Corey, is completely forgettable.

Sirocco is junk of a rather low order. It's interesting neither as a portrayal of the Middle East, nor as a foreign noir, nor as a vehicle for Humphrey Bogart.

9/11 and the Cross

Tim Stanley writes a balanced and thoughtful piece today on the American Atheists lawsuit attempting to take away the Cross that stood poignantly as consolation to all those affected by the atrocity of September 11 in New York.

In the article he highlights that...

'Dave Silverman, head of the American Atheists, called the display a breach of the separation between church and state. He said that the cross “has become a Christian icon. It has been blessed by so-called holy men and presented as a reminder that their god, who couldn’t be bothered to stop the Muslim terrorists or prevent 3,000 people from being killed in his name, cared only enough to bestow upon us some rubble that resembles a cross.”'

Interesting. A couple of things stand out from Silverman's comment.  Firstly, the Cross of Christ has been offensive for a long, long time, so it is not surprising that some people would rather it were banished from Ground Zero. It was St Paul who called it a 'stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles.' Secondly, quite what God is meant to do when a group of people decide to fly a couple of airliners into very tall buildings is a mystery. The Lord did, after all, and still does, give us all free will to decide between good and evil, life and death. Anyway, it offends him and his atheist friends and so a lawsuit has been filed to have the offending material taken away.

Aside from this however, one wonders whether these 'American Atheists' would like to see the back of the vast and sprawling usage of masonic symbolism in American life.

Such symbolism is there for all to see on the dollar bill, for instance, and I think I am right in thinking that quite a lot of US companies enjoy using such symbolism on their logos and the like.

'Krafty' folk those Freemasons...Sadly, if Catholics boycotted all masonic foods we'd likely never eat.

Who would you most like to meet in Heaven?

Assuming, of course, that we make it to Heaven and also that, our loved ones might be first on the list – so just who else would we most like to meet?

The question used to be asked of us boys in the RE class of Sister Paul OP.

The good sister, herself, had a burning desire to meet with Hereward the Wake (“after St Paul, of course, boys”). What? Hereward the Wake? What would a good old Irish nun be doing with meeting an 11^th century marsh vaulting rebel – oh, it must have been the rebel bit!

"I'm as surprised as you are Lord, but shall
I let him in?"

But it remains an interesting question. Who would it be? St Thomas More ranks high in my shortlist which also includes St Cuthbert Mayne, St Edmund Campion, St Catherine of Siena, St Maximilian Kolbe and, of course, our own Bl Titus Brandsma. But we are not restricted to canonised saints; so my list could extend to include Fr Donald Proudman OP., J.R.R. Tolkien, GKC and Hilaire Belloc, Archbishop Fulton Sheen oh, and Keith who borrowed £5 off me in 1971….it would be good to meet up with him again!

But…I almost forgot. I just have to include my Guardian Angel on my list. My guess is that he/she will be found in Heaven’s version of Intensive Care – much needed after looking after me!

Can you think of any priests, Bishops or Archbishops who do not condemn homosexuality?



Aaahh...mmmm......let me think now....errr. there's Father A, B and P and Bishop R, S, G, well all of 'em really and then there's Archbishop.......no - don't go there!

Cardinal Robert Sarah

 

Well Cardinal Robert Sarah has stated in no uncertain terms that they are all in grave danger of finding themselves on the wrong side of Divine judgement. Here is what he said:

"If we have fear of proclaiming the truth of the Gospel, if we are ashamed of denouncing the grave deviations in the area of morality, if we accommodate ourselves to this world of moral laxity and religious and ethical relativism, if we are afraid to energetically denounce the abominable laws regarding the new global ethos, regarding marriage, the family in all of its forms, abortion, laws in total opposition to the laws of nature and of God, and that the western nations and cultures are promoting and imposing thanks to the mass media and their economic power, then the prophetic words of Ezechiel will fall on us as a grave divine reproach.”

Whew! Hot on the heels of Fr Vincent Twomey we have a senior churchman telling the world what the traditionalists have always held to...the true teachings of Christ, not the compromised teachings of Christ or the teachings of Christ according to the homosexual lobby or the anti life groups; the actual teachings of Christ as handed down to us by Christ Himself.

This Cardinal is not afraid to speak the uncomfortable (to many) truth. In May he addressed a gathering of aid organisations and instructed them that he had noted :

“a serious moral regression and gradual ‘silent apostasy’” in the western world. He also noted that foreign aid for Catholics “is not merely philanthropic and humanitarian assistance aimed at relieving a certain kind of distress, but also and above all it entails giving back to human persons all their dignity as children of God, and promoting an anthropology that also encompasses the religious dimension of human persons, namely their encounter with God.”

What is more, in his June address he said that:

"... in modern society “we no longer know what is evil and what is good. There are a multitude of points of view.  Today, we call white what we once called black, and vice versa.  What is serious, and make no mistake about it, is the transformation of error into a rule of life. 

“In this context, as priests, pastors and guides of the People of God, you should be continuously focused on being always loyal to the doctrine of Christ.  It is necessary for you to constantly strive to acquire the sensitivity of conscience, the faithful respect for dogma and morality, which constitute the deposit of faith and the common patrimony of the Church of Christ.”

Sometimes one feels an enormous sense of relief at hearing such sound teaching coming from a Cardinal; it comes at a time when so much tripe and nonsense has been flung around the ether by those who are supposed to be our shepherds that we almost begin to doubt our own sanity, and begin to think that we have just gone barking mad and, somewhere along the line, missed the big point.

That is not the case. The Church, always when faced with grim opposition, even from within, comes to the surface with an explosion of sound common sense thanks to a liberal helping of the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Deo Gratias!

Pray for Cardinal Sarah; pray for the Faith and pray (yes pray very hard) for our Bishops.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:

Cardinal Sarah hails from Guinea and on 20 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI created and proclaimed him Cardinal-Deacon of San Giovanni Bosco  in via Tuscalona. He will have voting rights until his 80th birthday. On 29 December 2010, Cardinal Sarah was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples,  Pontifical Council for the Laity and Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Did Freemasonry Ruin Capitalism...as well as Government?

 "Too much capitalism does not mean too many capitalists, but too few capitalists." ~ G.K Chesterton

I, for one, am convinced that a great many local government and perhaps national government contracts are agreed not in the corridors of power, but in the corridors of the masonic lodges of the United Kingdom.

It is strange, for instance, that Brighton and Hove City Council has such a cosy relationship with Baron Homes and KEM Properties, not to mention the Mears Group. Kier Longley is the highest paid supplier to the Council with the omnipresent Mears Group following quickly behind them.

However, on a larger scale I wonder whether it is within the context of the secretive society that spawned the Norwegian mass murderer, that we can see such monopolisation of retail and a great deal of commercial property in terms of Tescos and Sainsburys, as well as local businesses and agencies that are awarded lucrative contracts.

I wonder whether it is freemasonry that has destroyed the essence of capitalism and turned it into a cosy club of friends shaking hands. It sounds silly, but looking at things as objectively as I can, I suspect that I am right. A good barrister friend of mine relatively told me about the various hand gestures and bodily gestures freemasons give in court to judges which often result in more lenient sentences. I wonder how the Norwegian killer will get on in court. Now that his masonic membership is becoming more widely known (not that the mainstream press are reporting it) perhaps the lodges will try and distance themselves from him and do justice to one of their own.

Local Government's Biggest Suppliers

The Openly Local website lists Kier Longley as its most paid supplier, in receipt of average £1.3 million per month. The Mears Group receive on average £1 million per month from Brighton and Hove City Council for their housing, repairs and maintenance services. Westridge Construction Ltd receive just short of £1 million per month for their services to the Council.

For those who have been following George and Diane's story, KEM Properties, who have Brighton's self-contained temporary housing scene so wrapped up that they do not even have need of a website, receive £135,000 a month for their services. It all adds up.  The Baron Homes Corporation Ltd, who own emergency accommodation 17/19 Grand Parade, the emergency housing at Brunswick Square and Windsor Court, receive nearly £100,000 a month from Brighton and Hove City Council for their services. Helgor Trading Ltd, who own Percival Terrace where George and Diane used to live, receive £30,000 a month for their services. These are quite vast sums of money we are talking about here, yet the same companies do not even maintain their own buildings to a barely minimum standard because, as we all know the poor aren't "worthy". They are disgusting places.

How did these companies land such lucrative deals with the Council? Were these contracts discussed in Council chambers or in the local lodge?

For those interested in how the Council recruits and employs its temporary staff (for my sins, I was once one of these staff members) and perhaps some permanent staff, chief beneficiaries of the Council's generous pocket are Carlisle Staffing plc, who receive a whopping £426,000 a month for acting as middle men and women for the Council to employ people and Plan Personnel who receive around £94,000 a month for doing the same. Talk about pouring money down a drain!

For a Council that enjoys spending money like water, they sure don't like to spread it around to too many different contractors. Neither do they make demands of their suppliers that the most vulnerable in their care are treated humanely in tenements which are staffed, clean, healthy and secure. Best to have one or two rogue landlords running the property and recruitment in Brighton and Hove, isn't it?

The question is, just how are these deals made, who clinches them and is the final handshake in the Council buildings or the local masonic temple? We'll never know for sure, of course, but then isn't I guess that is just what a secret society is all about: "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

Fr Twomey pulls no punches

What a relief! A Catholic priest who is unafraid of the Bishops and who is willing to speak out for the truth and the Faith.

H/T to Mark Greaves of The Catholic Herald http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/07/20/priest-close-to-pope-calls-for-mass-resignation-of-irish-bishops/

for his account of Fr Vincent Twomey's outspokenness. Fr Twomey states that the Catholic Church in Ireland has been without leadership over the past 15 years.
 I might disagree with him on that point as I believe that there has been no leadership for over 25 years. I well recall the excommunications of the four SSPX Bishops; this happened at a time when the IRA was bombing and murdering unselectively in Northern Ireland yet many priests and community leaders took an active part (like gun running and hiding weapons) on their behalf. There were no excommunications then and no condemnations either.

Fr Twomey, author of many

 books on Pope Benedict XVI

But back to Fr Twomey,  emeritus professor of moral theology at Maynooth seminary who has also called for all Bishops appointed before 2003 to be sacked resign (even though there are, he admits, some good men among them); again, I beg to differ in one respect. Could not the Holy Father extend this invitation to resign to ALL Bishops of the United Kingdom and Ireland (with the exception of one) and make the cut off date 2010?

But who would fill their holy shoes goes up the cry?

Everyday priests just are not experienced enough in administration blah, blah.

Utter rubbish! We are endowed with some wonderful priests; some have parishes, some are bloggers, some are academics in various monastic orders and all would do a damn sight better than many of their lordships who are in place at present.

And now the cry of 'Bishop basher' will go up. Quite right. I am unashamedly a Bishop basher when my faith is saturated with those who would drag its followers down to the pit by their indifference, their inadequacy in following both Christ's teachings and the Holy Father's, their hesitation in answering questions on morality by the media and their half hearted responses. And all or almost all would go in one great sweep, the good, the bad and the other ones - a fresh start is what is needed.

So three cheers and huzzah for Father Vincent Twomey, long may he thrive! (and also may he have the opportunity to speak with the Holy Father and give him a personal briefing H/T to Jane Mossendew.

Smash up Your Televisions...But Watch your Favourite Documentaries First

I know that Dr Joseph Shaw, LMS Chairman, has written a highly commendable and laudable post on our need as Catholics to smash up our televeisions, but every now and then an interesting documentary does emerge from 'Satan's lantern'.

This is a quite fascinating exploration of the economic crash of 2008, about who won and who lost, entitled 'The Super Rich: The Greed Game'. Quite inexplicably, even though the presenter does a good job of explaining hedge funds and the sub-prime mortgage crisis, I still don't understand it, so don't bother explaining it to me either, because I'll never get it. Economics just goes right over my head.

Ban the Burkha is becoming the call sign of the right wing extremists

It had to happen, of course, the English Defence League and National Front thugs are now spouting off about banning the burkha.

It's a good line to take as it is, in my view, the single most obvious way of stating "I'm set apart from you lot" and, for that reason, it does need banning, but it's a pity that the extremists have nobbled it so that more moderate voices may not use it for fear of being branded fascists.

The burkha mask is set to become the line in the sand of Islamic fundamentalist progress; to many Muslim people it represents the very essence of their faith and you cross that line at your peril.

France seems to have carried off a burkha ban very successfully but it may be too late for Great Britain. Some time ago I posted about parts of the country becoming no go areas for non Muslims and now it is starting to happen.

Sign of the times?



London's Tower Hamlets has been "Islamized" by person or persons unknown and declared a no go area for smoking, alcohol or music; it's almost enough to make me want to start up smoking again. And I would just desire above every other avenue open to me to process through the borough with a train of like minded folk singing plainchant!

It would be a step too far to say that we would carry an alcoholic supply with us - anyway, street drinking should be banned; I am with them there.

Apparently, the offending posters have been popping up all over the East End and council workers are rushing around ripping them down and the police are looking into it. If the Met force is anything like our local constabulary I would say that the poster stickers are quite safe.

But this activity is going to spread and it won't be long before dress code is added to the list of don'ts. "Don't expose your face if you are a woman over the age of 12" will be the next rallying cry.

And when that happens, we are only a hop and a skip away from Shariah Law and a public flogging for not wearing your mask.

Scroll forward another twenty years and it will be a public flogging (or worse) for being a Christian.

We live in interesting times as the Chinese say.

Baron Tents Corporation Ltd

George and Diane's shrine at Baron Homes's Windsor Court

"Welcome to Baron Tents, here at Baron Tents we supply only the finest camping equipment to our clients in parks and cemeteries around Brighton and Hove..."

Well. That is George and Diane's situation, except neither The Baron Homes Corporation Ltd or Brighton and Hove City Council provided them with a tent. It was Jason who did that, helping them to pitch up last night with a passer-by and a friend of mine, Mister Paul.

Since George and Diane's eviction from Arundel Court, under KEM Properties ownership, they have been to the absolutely diabolical 17/19 Grand Parade, the Wardleigh Hotel, a bed and breakfast in Eastbourne and had ended up in Windsor Court, which appeared as if it was being used for the set of Les Miserables.

I have, for a few weeks now, being doing my best not to allow my Catholic blog to morph into the George and Diane show, but I have meanwhile been doing what I can to support them - hence less blogging.  As it stands now, Brighton and Hove City Council have abandoned them totally, renouncing their statutory duty to house them and so they are in a local park. George and Diane were assessed to have breached their licence agreement and because the Council "uses KEM properties for all of our self-contained properties in Brighton and Hove," there is nowhere else for them to go. In other words, after they had been barred from KEM Properties, being barred from Baron Homes properties means that there is nowhere for George and Diane. Things have spiralled downwards quickly for them.

Abandoned by the Council: George and Diane

Of course, at the park, park rangers come round to tell them to take their tent down because they cannot stay there. I've reported before how park rangers of the Council do their best to close down any tents in Preston Park, lest the Council have to admit that the homeless problem in Brighton and Hove City Council really is spilling out from houses into streets and parks. I'm sure it doesn't look good for tourists, but ultimately, if the Council has renounced its own duty to house George and Diane then surely the same local authority cannot turn around and tell them they are unable to live in a tent in a park. After all, where are they supposed to go?

I asked Brighton and Hove City Council to produce a letter stating that they had renounced all duty of care to one of their mental health service clients so that I could take it to the local press. I waited a long time only to be told that they will produce it Monday. Today I was busy helping a friend move so I couldn't get that letter. Shame on them, they are cowards! They couldn't even come down from their offices at Priory House or Bartholomew House to confront George and Diane and tell them they were washing their hands of them and that they were on the street! They did it by phone in one of their phone kiosks! Vipers!

And this is what I am seeing a lot of in Brighton and beyond. The prejudice that the poor face is extreme and diabolical in nature, deadly, poisonous and unflinchingly cruel.  In the services, whether it be housing or social services, substance misuse services or whatever, they all hide behind desks and phones in offices. Rarely do they ever step outside of their comfort zone to begin to understand the sufferings of the poor and even more rarely do they lift a finger to help them. They get their paychecks and return to their more comfortable abodes, living off the plight of those who they do not care about.

When George and Diane went to the Wardleigh Hotel, the manager told George and Diane that they "belong in a cardboard box". Nice, eh!? And that is where the Council are placing vulnerable homeless 'clients' just so they can provide these emergency hostel operations with extortionate rates of housing benefits. Yet, even the Wardleigh Hotel cannot compare with the extortion of Baron Homes! The Director, I see from the internet, sold her house in Beverley Hills for $6million before returning back to the United Kingdom. Alright for some isn't it! What vile racketeers they are!

If you would like to help George and Diane in any way, let me know, my email is on the sidebar. Now that the Council have abandoned them to the streets they are considering Scarborough or somewhere else up North. If you can do nothing please pray for them. George can rough it but Diane doesn't belong on the streets or in a tent.

Hyde Martlett Housing Association

Riddled with damp, but the tenant is not "worthy" of help

Today I assisted a friend's move from another town to here who has been given a place to live in Moulscoomb an area on the outskirts of the city. I was terribly shocked to see that in the really rather quaint little cul-de-sac where she had been living, the living conditions of her home.

As you can see from the image left, Hyde Martlett Housing Association managed to do rather nicely out of my friend's housing benefits of £94 a week, but, scandalously, didn't think that the tenant was "worthy" (their words not hers) of having the damp in her house sorted out. Her property stank of damp. She had been sleeping in the front room because her bedroom was so noxious with the stench of damp that she rarely entered it. I could not believe that the Housing Association, Hyde Martlett, had said that they would do something about it when they deemed that she was "worthy" of it, but I believe that it underscores much that I have written about the perceptions of living conditions of those who are most scorned and looked down upon in society.

Hyde Martletts: Available, but not willing to help "unworthy" tenants

The kind of prejudice faced by the poor would be all over the front pages of the press if the same outrageous hypocrisy was levelled at the LGBT community. She, like George, was raised Catholic, though she claims that her Catholicism was beaten out of her by nuns at a convent school when she was young. She has a past of drugs but she is looking forward to "a new chapter" in her life, in Brighton.

She believes that people in Brighton are less judgmental and more open-minded than where she lived. I hadn't the heart to tell her that Brighton is no different. Many of her neighbours loved her and were sad to see her go even though it was obvious she had had many difficulties. A couple of neighbours came out to tell her "good riddance". I hope that Brighton shows her more compassion and kindness that did her neighbourhood, but wherever they go, the very poor will find the same prejudice. It is as old as sin itself, but it is vicious and this vile prejudice should be utterly condemned wherever it is found.

Amy Winehouse RIP

She would have fitted in quite well in Brighton, I think.  I always found it sickening that no matter how talented and inspiring was the music of this woman, many within the press called her and Pete Doherty "scum" and the rest. I always find that the "dregs" are at the bottom of a glass. "Scum" only rises to the top of society, usually the top of newspaper empires, governments, Councils and companies.

Certainly, many souls in Brighton who know what she went through are praying for her because they understand her and have known so many who have died similar deaths in similar circumstances, in alleyways, in hostels, in public lavatories, in 17/19 Grand Parade, in their homes. Whenever I saw pictures of her and her friend Pete Doherty, I thought they appeared much as many of the homelesss appear: lost, broken, desperate, in great afflication and pain - men and women bleeding like unto the pierced side of Our Blessed Saviour. Such souls are usually more honest than most and most who criticise them, much less so and with much more shameful things to hide.

May she and all who die at the hands of drink and drugs find rest in His pierced Heart. May the soul of Amy Winehouse rest in peace.

You have ten seconds to choose between Heaven and Hell!

The clock is ticking and you HAVE to make a choice.....the right choice gets you to Heaven, the wrong one sends you to the other place.

Here are your options......get it right and you are made for (eternal life).......

Option 1.

Do you agree that Westminster Diocese was wrong to ban a Catholic lay organisation (Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice) from holding a guest speaker event on Westminster Diocesan premises?         

Option 2.

Do you agree that Westminster Diocese was wrong to allow an organisation for homosexuals (Quest) to hold a meeting on Westminster Diocesan premises?

Which option will you say "yes" to............................

I think I know.........see you all in Heaven!

H/T to Counter Cultural Father The Sensible Bond and to Catholic and Loving it

Norway Atrocity

Masonic murder suspect: Is he York or Scottish Rite?

According to The Daily Telegraph...

'Police officials have also said that the suspect appeared to have posted on websites with Christian fundamentalist tendencies.'

Hmm...Strange because he looks rather like a Freemason to me.

Why is it that Christians, Jews and Muslims have blame placed upon them (or us) for all manner of ills, yet nobody ever blames the Freemasons for anything, despite their malevolent influence on local, national and supranational governments being relatively widely acknowledged?

May God grant rest to the victims of the atrocity in Norway and consolation to their families.

Drought, famine, disease and pestilence

Sudan, Somalia, parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, the list of countries facing the grim reaper due to drought and subsequent crop failure or warlords and oppression, is depressingly long; and that's only Africa.

Redundant in twenty years?

Back in the 1980s (so I recall) we had the Brandt Commission to look at world poverty and starvation and to come up with some suggestions as to how the wealthier nations could support the third world developing world emerging world (that's the latest pc descriptor).

The commission (under the steer of Herr Willy Brandt) came up with a series of suggestions as you would expect but one in particular has stuck in my memory (and not many things do these days).

It was the suggestion that the 'civilised' world create a tax per head of population - not a big tax as I recall, in fact, I think it was pennies; but this tax would be levied every year.

Like most tax ideas it went as far as the round file and all forgot about it pdq except for moi.

I like the idea of a compulsory tax aimed at totally eradicating world poverty say, in a 20 year time frame. I do not like the idea of the British Government giving our hard won dosh to countries that, to my mind, do not meet the description of starving and impoverished; I believe at present we contribute to countries such as Malaysia and China and, in my book, they should be able to look after their own.

But a yearly tax of, let us say, £1 per head of population (excluding the unemployed but only the unemployed) would yield a massive

£1 billion pounds! That's 1.6266 billion US dollars. Of course that's not just Great Britain, it must come from all of the European and English speaking world. So I calculate, very roughly, that the total population of GB., USA., Mainland Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is c. 1.225 billion, lose 20% as being unemployed and you are left with the mathematically convenient sum of £1,000,000,000.

Now, multiply that over a twenty year perid and you have a grand total of........an awful lot of noughts and cash!

Next comes stage two; Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith had a good article in The Catholic Herald recently covering the sound strategy of providing foreign aid in the form of vouchers rather than foodstuffs or implements which are promptly nabbed by the warlords who get rich on the back of their fellow countrymen's misfortunes. The vouchers help support the local economy and slowly the wheels of feeding the hungry start to roll.

But, of course, the income from taxation must be put to many uses remembering the old adage, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for one day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for life". It would be essential to create an comprehensive and lasting infrastructure; roads, railways, irrigation, reservoirs, anti erosion planting schemes, cooperatives, training (especially training) and so on.

This all sounds very simplistic I agree but it is, in essence, one of the main thrusts produced by the Brandt Commission so better minds than mine have thought this through. It should be possible to tackle one or two countries each year and maybe, just maybe, after twenty or thirty years one could say that there is no longer an emerging world but rather an emerged world.

The burning question is: would the European and English speaking communities of the world stand for an annual tax? I think that they would; after all, £1  or 1.6 US dollars is not too much to pay to have all those images of emaciated, dying children and pot-bellied infants removed for ever from our television screens.

Is it?

SUPPORT THE 'PROTECT THE SEAL' CAMPAIGN

Wot me?

No! not that sort of seal you idiot!..........................

This one......

The world is turning in on the Faith, first Ireland and now Australia, where will it end?

H/T to The Genesius blog Mulier Fortis and Fr Z