Blog Archives

Malaysia: From Tun Abdul Razak to Najib Razak

Posted on July 28, 2011 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

1967 In a speech celebrating Malaysia’s 10th year of Merdeka (Independence), then Deputy PM Tun Abdul Razak declared: “We have drawn from the richness of our multi-racial cultural heritage and have built a Malaysian culture with an identity of its…

Tagged with: Bersih, Bishop Paul Tan, Najib Razak, Tun Abdul Razak
Posted in Christians in Malaysia, Freedom of Religion, Human Rights in Malaysia, I BLOG, Malaysian Government, Politics and Religion, Pope Benedict, Readers of the Book, Religion and Political Discourse, Uncategorized

Malaysia: Pope gets the View from the Pew

Posted on July 23, 2011 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

Several hundred Malaysian Catholics have endorsed a letter to the Pope about Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to the Vatican on July 19. Following are extracts from the letter which provides background and a context for the visit that Catholics…

Tagged with: Ambiga Sreenavasan, Bersih, Dr. Jeyakumar, Malaysian Bar Council, Parti Sosialis Malaysia, PM Najib Razak, Vatican, Walk for Democracy
Posted in Catholic, Catholics and Culture, Christians in Malaysia, Free and Fair Elections, Freedom of Religion, Governing, Human Rights in Malaysia, I BLOG, Lay Catholics, Malaysia, Malaysian Government, Pope Benedict, Uncategorized, Vatican

1Malaysia: BERSIH (clean) or KOTOR (dirty)?

Posted on July 12, 2011 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

Happy those…whose hope is in the LORD, their God, The maker of heaven and earth, the seas and all that is in them. Who keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed,gives food to the hungry.The LORD sets prisoners free.…

Tagged with: Bersih 2.0, Dr. MIchael Jeyakumar, Free and Fair Elections, Socialist Party Malaysia
Posted in Catholics and Culture, Free and Fair Elections, Governing, Human Rights in Malaysia, I BLOG, Politics and Religion, Uncategorized, Vatican, Workers' Rights

Blessed is the Banker to the Poor

Posted on June 25, 2011 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

How could I not have read Banker to the Poor earlier? But I’m glad I just did—thanks to my daughter’s prompting—almost 12 years after this autobiography of the visionary micro-credit pioneer, Dr. Muhammad Yunus was first published. Banker to the…

Tagged with: Bangladesh, Banker to the Poor, Catholic Charities, Gordon Gekko, Grameen, micro-credit, micro-lending, Muhammad Yunus, women and micro-credit
Posted in Business and Justice, Faith, Feeding the Hungry, Fighting Poverty, Hunger, I BLOG, Muslims, Politics and Religion, Uncategorized

Knowing Beans and Being Catholic. . .

Posted on June 16, 2011 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

My small harvest of beans grown on the lanai that wraps around our apartment feeds who I am as a Catholic in all kinds of, maybe muddled, ways. For Catholics, the idea of seeding and bearing fruit and harvesting runs…

Tagged with: Ahupuaa, Charles Reppun, Jaipur, Jesus the Gardener, Jon Osorio, Mission Sisters of Ajmer, Myanmar, UCANews, Value of Hawaii
Posted in Feeding the Hungry, I BLOG, Sustainability, Uncategorized

Reading Lolita in Tehran and Weiner in Washington D.C.

Posted on June 11, 2011 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

I finished Azar Nafisi’s wonderful memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran just as the story of Weiner’s online sexual antics broke. Nafisi’s memoir of resistance to tyranny through the liberating power of literature makes the point that one should not let…

Tagged with: Azar Nafisi, Bellow, John Ensign, John Profumo, Lolita in Tehran, Weiner
Posted in I BLOG, Politicians and their Lies, Politics and Religion, Readers of the Book, Sex and Politics, Survival, Transformation, Uncategorized

On Tiara Street: Grace at Work

Posted on June 1, 2011 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

Just enjoyed the blessing of a couple of days in L.A. with old friends, Gwen and Richard Mayer. If art is a gift of grace, their lovely home on Tiara Street is grace in abundance. Bright splashes of color on…

Tagged with: Art, Grace, Gwen Mayer, Richard Mayer
Posted in Art, Friends, Grace, I BLOG, Uncategorized

Deaf

Posted on May 20, 2011 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

What a sad, sad, parade of powerful men making the news. Their predatory behavior is damning enough. But the behavior of each one also speaks to a spiritual and emotional deafness to those in whose midst each man built his…

Tagged with: Belgian Bishop Vangheluwe, DKE, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF, Schwarzenegger, US Bishops, YAle
Posted in Business and Justice, Family and Friends, I BLOG, Politicians and their Lies, Uncategorized, US Bishops

Of Gods and Men. . . and Jon Stewart

Posted on May 16, 2011 by freecatholic808 — 1 Comment

I watched Of Gods and Men the same week the news was filled with images of exultation at the killing of Osama bin Laden. The journey from Jon Stewart’s testosterone-driven treatment of bin Laden’s death on the Daily Show to…

Tagged with: Algeria, Daily Show, Gods and Men, Jon Stewart, Osama bin Laden
Posted in Catholics and Culture, Colonization, I BLOG, Movies, Muslims, Readers of the Book, Uncategorized

Emmaus: Seeing and Surrendering

Posted on April 28, 2011 by freecatholic808 — 2 Comments

. .while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they…

Tagged with: Admiral Bob Kihune, Battleship Missouri, Bishop Larry Silva, Dignity of life, Emmaus, Kamemehameha Schools, Kitty Hawk
Posted in Careers, I BLOG, Journeys, Self-Discovery, Uncategorized, Vocations