Blog Archives

God and Good Government: Ignorance Breeds Ignobility

Posted on November 30, 2010 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

It suits politicians, even the ones who speak earnestly of the need for bi-partisanship, to sometimes exaggerate how different they are from The Other Party or The Other Person in order to distinguish themselves in the minds of voters with…

Tagged with: faith in action, Jon Kyl, Reza Aslan, social justice, tax cuts, Unemployment benefits
Posted in Governing, I BLOG, Justice, Politics and Religion

On being not so soft, not so nice, not so late

Posted on November 21, 2010 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

In conjunction with the eighth annual celebration of The Interfaith Alliance Hawaii (TIAH), Rev. John Heidel recently reflected on some of the challenges facing the state in 2011. He cited domestic violence, immigration reform, sustainability and the development of alternative…

Tagged with: 2011 challenges, extremists, John Heidel, progressives, TIAH
Posted in Equality and Faith, I BLOG, Justice, Politics and Religion, Religion

Finding the Rhythm of Being

Posted on November 8, 2010 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

It’s been a season of sharp edges and blunt trauma to the body politic. The absurdities and shrill banalities of a Bachman, Palin, Angle or O’Donnell are annoying jabs that cause no more than surface wounds and bruising. They lack…

Tax-collectors, Politicians and the Sycamore Tree

Posted on November 2, 2010 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he…

Tagged with: Midterm elections, salvation, taxes, wealth and taxes, Zacchaeus
Posted in I BLOG, Politics and Religion, Uncategorized

Taking God’s Name in Vain: A Political Sport

Posted on October 31, 2010 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

Why aren’t church leaders raining hellfire and damnation—or at least withholding communion, since that is the preferred remedy of some—from those who take the name of the Lord in vain? I’d like to know if Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of…

Posted in I BLOG, Politics and Religion, Uncategorized

Our Sense of Shame: Can We Get It Back?

Posted on October 25, 2010 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like everyone…

Current Political Rhetoric: What Would St. Paul Say?

Posted on October 20, 2010 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” The familiar line from St. Paul’s letter to the…

Jesus Separated Church and State; So Should We

Posted on October 17, 2010 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

Justice and governing to ensure that everyone’s interests are served fairly is a messy business. Seldom clear cut, always involving compromise, never completely satisfactory to all parties especially in a society defined by its diversity. That’s why Catholics should be…

Catholic Press: For People in the Pews as Much as Those in Power

Posted on October 9, 2010 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

Recently the Hawaii Catholic Herald ran a full page ad by the Aloha Family Alliance PAC several times calling on Christians in Hawaii to not be “lackadaisical” and to engage fully in the “battle for the soul of Hawaii” by…

Time for Hawaii to be Equally Blessed

Posted on October 1, 2010 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

Thanks to Susie Roth, a listening parent with Fortunate Families, I was just alerted to a wonderful coming together of Catholic organizations dedicated to the view that the church should model its beliefs and its faith by welcoming EVERYONE. This…