God so loved the world
Is this a new discovery? By no means. “Long time ago in Bethlehem …” the world was given a lesson in love which has never been equalled. It took the experts in human psychology 2000 years to arrive at a rediscovery of this lesson. Christ could have come into this world in any way He wished. He could have been a king or a president or one possessed of limitless wealth and power. Instead He chose to come in the form of a helpless Babe who had nothing to give but LOVE! The early Christian writer, Tertullian (2nd century) described the Child in the Crib as “Omnipotence in bonds.” The image of God in swaddling clothes has gripped the attention of the world in every age and in every clime and will continue to do so as long as the world needs love. And if ever the day comes when the world does not need love – there won’t be any more world!
Yes, I’m a Radical
What is a practising Catholic?
The media has not the ‘foggiest’ notion about the meaning of being a Catholic. For instance, when the Pope was celebrating Mass at Downsview, a commentator said, “Mr. John Turner, a devout Roman Catholic, receives Communion from the hands of the Pontiff.” Very touching! But I have heard Mr. Turner at least three times speaking with obvious pride about his part in piloting the present Abortion Law through Parliament in 1969. That law has been mainly responsible for the murder of well over 1,000,000 Canadian babies. If John Turner is a ‘devout’ Catholic, I’d hate to meet a ‘non-devout’ one after dark.
Yes, I’m a Radical
Our choices are always limited
If your choice is a personal one which does not contravene the rights of another or the laws of God, then you are free to choose. But, if your choice infringes on the rights of others or on the commandments of God, you are NOT FREE. Abortion not only breaks the commandment of God, “thou shalt not kill”, it also tramples on the basic right to life of an innocent human being. When a human life is at stake, it is not pro-choice – it is no choice!
Yes, I’m a Radical
They keep missing the point
In the question of abortion, we are not talking about the woman’s body but the baby’s. So, speaking about the mother’s right over her own body is missing the point. Scientifically speaking – and that means genetics and fetology – there is no doubt about the fact that the child in its mother’s womb is a distinct, unique human being and not part of the mother.
Yes, I’m a Radical
The return of Mr. Turner
Politics as politics have never interested me. I have lived as a citizen in three countries and have never belonged to a political party in any one of them. But I do come to life when moral and political issues blend into one, and this has certainly occurred in Canada with regard to abortion.
Yes, I’m a Radical
What can we do?
I strongly suggest that all who profess to be pro-life take the time either to phone or write to their candidates, asking them where they stand – or sit – on this paramount question. If they reply saying how much they appreciated your letter or call but give ‘both sides’ of the question and explain that the matter is so complex that it is impossible to solve it in the present ‘political climate,’ don’t let them get away with such meaningless and insulting jargon … I have had such letters from the Prime Minister on down, and they all add up to one big ‘zero.’ The only effective reaction is to write back saying that the issue of abortion is just about as complicated as the issues of murder, rape, or bank robbery!
Yes, I’m a Radical
How and why I left Kenya
So what was I to do? Make a report to the Archbishop of Nairobi and the heads of the other churches and ask them to take some action? Or, probably the easiest of all, turn the other cheek and keep my mouth shut! But each of us has evolved from a very definite mold for good or evil. I have been blessed, or some would say cursed, with a conscience which will not allow me to keep a prudent silence when principles are at stake.
Yes, I’d Do It Again
Prison from the inside
Personally I found boredom the third negative aspect of prison life. We rose at 6:30 a.m. and lights went out at 10:30 p.m. So we had 16 hours of unoccupied time. As we were on “remand,” we were in maximum security and so had no access to the library. Fortunately the Gideons supply the prisoners with Bibles, and they were our main reading material. But one can tire even of reading the Bible. We prayed a lot and talked a lot. We got twenty minutes of exercise in the prison yard. With no arm chairs and only hard stools on which to sit, we spent a lot of time on our beds, and I felt that my IQ was gradually ebbing away from sheer lack of incentive.
Yes, I’d Do It Again
‘Stone walls do not a prison make’
A 17th century poet, Richard Lovelace, who was also a prisoner of conscience, expressed the positive side of prison in these memorable words, “stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.” The body can be rendered captive – but not the spirit! If I had been imprisoned for a crime, murder or robbery, I would have found prison intolerable. I quite understand now, how people who do not have faith hang themselves in jail. When there is nothing to look forward to but years of degradation, loss of freedom, no privacy, systematic depersonalization, and, to add to all this, a sense of personal guilt, what is there to live for? But, being in prison for a cause makes all the difference. All the difference between night and day, light and darkness; I might almost say, Heaven and hell. From feeling captive, I experienced an extraordinary sense of inner freedom. First of all, I did not have to be there. I had only to request the presence of a district justice and sign the condition imposed by the judge and I was free. But I would not have been really free. For – in my particular case – I would have compromised my conscience. My body would have been in liberty, but not my spirit. And that is the lowest form of slavery.
Yes, I’d Do It Again
Matter of Conscience
The First Witness to Truth I mention is Thomas More. In 1635 this ‘most admired Englishmen’ stood before a huge crowed that had gathered to see him die. Beside him stood the headsman, axe in hand, and before him was the block on which he would lay his head. Looking out on the crowd his last words were these, “I die, the King’s good servant. But God’s first.” Those words express eloquently the principle upon which multitudes of men and women have sacrificed their lives, languished in prison, and lost their livelihood. And that principle needs to be resurrected today and imparted in the minds of our young people who are so bombarded with the idea of being successful in this world that they often succumb to it– even at the cost of their souls.
I’m Still a Radical
Population
“It was the Spanish philosopher Jorge Santayana (1863- 1952), who gave us the famous saying “Those who do not learn from the errors of history are bound to repeat them.” Those words can be applied to many situations but seldom more aptly than to the present population crisis. History is a great teacher. But, like many other great teachers, she is seldom listened to in the clamour of life and in our frantic efforts to turn our “wants” into “needs.”
I’m Still a Radical