Hungary’s Ambassador to the Holy See is rather perplexed by the negative reaction of some European figures and institutions to his country’s new Constitution — a document he sees as offering a possible impetus to a “Christian renaissance” in Europe.

“We think it’s a little bit strange to hear such voices,” Ambassador Gábor Győriványi told ZENIT March 27th. “The real founding fathers of the European Union planned to base the Union on Christian values, and expressed the notion that European democracy can only be viable if constructed on the Christian basis.”

The preamble of the new Constitution, or “Fundamental Law,” which came into force Jan. 1, contains references to God, Christianity, and traditional family values. It further stipulates that the life of a fetus be protected from the moment of conception (abortion remains legal, however, in cases where the mother’s health is threatened).

The Constitution states that it recognizes the role of Christianity “in preserving nationhood”; it requires that marriage only be between a man and a woman; it assigns parents, rather than the State, primary responsibility for protecting the rights of the child; and it holds that “the family and the nation constitute the principal framework of our coexistence.”

In sum, it marks a refreshing change in stark contrast to a Europe suffering from increasing secularism and a European Union that only a few years ago tried to push through its own Constitution, which conspicuously omitted references to God or Christianity. It also points to the positive contribution some former Eastern bloc countries could make to the spiritual well-being of the continent….

…

And yet the new law, drafted by the ruling centre-right Fidesz party and its coalition partner, the Christian Democratic People’s Party, has drawn hyperbolic criticisms both domestically and internationally. Often these attacks are driven by liberals, greens, socialists and secularists – particularly in the European Parliament – who have labelled some of the Constitution’s laws “extremist,” hard line and a threat to democracy…(Source)

Looks like Hungary will not be made a Colony of the European Union.  Good for them. Obviously this country isn’t afraid of displaying its Christian heritage. As Canucks, we need to get some of that Hungarian in us!

Nevertheless Pera has made common cause with the Pope because he is convinced that Europe cannot survive as a free and democratic society without recognizing its cultural roots in Christianity. The history of Europe is inextricably entwined with the history of Catholicism, he argues, and to love Europe means to admire the Catholic faith. The Church is not without flaws, he concedes:

But in the end, how can we fail to see that without the Catholic Church, Europe would have disappeared not once but countless times, and the West would have lost its civilization.…How can we fail to realize that when other institutions, parties, movements, or systems—political, philosophical, juridical, economics—are in error, they simply cease to attract adherents or they disappear, but when the church errs, its very errors exalt the grandeur of its message, the noncontingent value of its words, and the spiritual reality to which it bears witness?

…

Because of their disparate interests and their well-established tendency to quarrel among themselves, Pope John Paul insisted, the nations of Europe could not form a stable union unless it was based on some fundamental principles. The Christian moral tradition furnishes such a stable foundation, he pointed out; economic interests do not. The late Pontiff warned that a European Union based on nothing more permanent than shifting economic interests would soon collapse. Less than a decade later, his prediction may already be coming true….(Source)

Exactly.  I’ve been saying the same thing about Canada and western civilization in general.  If you are tied by only “economic interests”, just what happens when your country or “continental union” falls on hard times?  I’ll tell you what happens, because it’s the same thing that happens within marriages:  splitsville i.e. divorce. That’s exactly what is happening with the European Union and Greece right now. Germany is making plans to kick Greece to the curb.  Just like in modern marriages today, it follows the same solemn promise:  “I promise to honour you during the good times.  Bad times? Not so much.”

A civilization must be based on substance and principles of solidarity, subsidiarity, and transcendance.  For the West, there is only one place for that and that is Christianity and Catholicism in particular.  When the tough times hit, we pull together as brothers and sisters in THE FAITH, but if you don’t have the Faith, then it’s everyone for themselves…as we are sadly seeing in Europe.  The only way that the European Union can stay together is if the wealthier countries are willing to sacrifice for the poorer ones, but that’s not likely to happen, is it?  And why is that?   Because modern man hates sacrificing for the good of the other (which is why it hates what the Catholic Church teaches).  And why is that?  Because they see no point in sacrificing for another country of people who are indulgent brats like they, themselves, are.  Paying someone else’s bills doesn’t really benefit them in this life, and for them, this life is all there is.  If you try and build a society and civilization on money without absolute principles which God has revealed to us, it’s going to collapse. It might take a few decades, but it does eventually happen.

Good on the Africans.  They can’t be bought with Obama bucks.

…who knows? 

Maybe a Catholic blogger might win some day too!

I never thought I’d see the day.

Since the formation of the European Union, some people suspected it would eventually lead to a united government for Europe, but I wasn’t a believer. Despite today’s announcement by the leaders of the two largest countries in Europe, a united government is still far off. They’re only talking economics at this point. But still, I’m surprised that they’re talking about it so openly.

Good piece by Rex Murphy on President Obama’s lack of leadership.

Remember Tony Blair’s reception into the Catholic Church a few years ago and how really great it was…at least according to Britain’s Catholic chattering classes?  Socon or Bust had pointed out at the time that there was a serious problem with Tony’s reception into the Church.

Well, it turns out that Tony really needs to work more on genuine conversion.  But I guess it does demonstrate – perfectly – the state of British Catholicism.

A thoughtful article.

What the heck is happening?

Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Palestinian Territories… All these countries are experiencing political crises. Dictators are being ousted, regimes toppled, riots in the streets.

Let’s pray for peace.

Follow the chronology of the tumultuous start to 2011 using this nifty interactive timeline from the Wall Street Journal.

I was just watching British football on TV. I was struck when I saw the jersey of one of the teams, Newcastle (see picture on right).

Every team has the logo of their main sponsor on the front of their jersey. In the case of Newcastle, it happens to be Northern Rock. If you’ve never heard of the name, don’t be too hard on yourself. They are relatively unknown in North America, but they’re a very large bank in the UK.

During the financial crisis, Northern Rock went bust. They had made such poor loans that their losses because unsustainable.  The government took over the bank in 2008 and has been the sole owner ever since.

The UK government, like many other European governments, is in really bad shape financially. They’re slashing spending and raising taxes (the national sales tax was just jacked from 17.5% to 20%).

Yet, in spite of all the hardships the government must impose on its population as part of much needed financial reforms, they still allow themselves to sponsor a football club. Does that make any sense? I don’t know how much they’re paying for that sponsorship, but it must a doozie.

As the government cuts services and lays off public servants, it doesn’t seem reasonable to be funding a football team.

We’ve been through these dilemmas in Canada too. Several years ago, the Quebec government made the decision to allow the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Expos to leave their province rather than offering government bailouts. Similarly, Manitoba let the Winnipeg Jets go.

When it comes down to saving hospitals or saving a sports team, the government needs to get its priorities straight. They owe it to their citizens.

China’s economic development over the last 40 years has been spectacular.  However, its  record on human rights remains abysmal. In years past, the rich countries of the West used to be more vocal about human rights violations in China, but in the last 10 years or so, diplomats have been very quiet about it.  They seem more interested in making money by doing business with China than seeing any real progress in democracy or fundamental rights.

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Cardinal Archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico, Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, gave a speech Sunday in which he lashed out at the United Nations and other international organizations that he says are running a campaign to destroy the family.

“The family is being permanently attacked,” said the cardinal at a meeting of the international Catholic relief organization, Caritas. “And the organizations that are in charge of rearranging the family are powerful organizations, beginning with the United Nations Organization, the World Bank, the Interamerican Bank, the big leftist parties in the world.”

The United Nations Organization, said the cardinal, has been promoting a new concept of “gender” since 1995. “Gender isn’t something like [the sex of a person], but rather a relationship, with whomever I interact sexually,” he added.

“If we so decide, for example, bestiality, well that would be another gender, doing it with animals, fetishism, where men get excited by feminine dress and live that way.”

Sandoval Iñiguez observed that the same organizations are also vigorously promoting the legalization of abortion in poorer countries, promoting the idea of “the right of the woman over her body, and it is propagated everywhere, and they have required governments, because they are in debt, they have required governments to accept abortion in their laws.”

The cardinal’s comments come in response to an increasingly intense campaign waged in recent months by Mexican pro-abortion and homosexualist groups, often funded and coordinated by foreign organizations and governments, to change Mexico’s laws on abortion and gay “marriage.”

For years, pro-life activists would recoil as certain high ranking Vatican officials would extol the benefits of the U.N.  While these declarations were no doubt well-intentioned, pro-life activists would shake our heads at such declarations, and wonder just what were our leaders thinking?

After Planned Parenthood, the U.N. is the greatest organizational enemy of the unborn and the traditional family – and it has been for decades.

Finally, we have a high ranking cardinal doing what us lowly bloggers have been doing for years now — calling out the elephant in the room.

Did you catch what the Cardinal said about the whole gender ideology gig?  I found that most interesting.

There`s a certain blogger that has been pointing to the growth in this gender ideology in the Canadian Church`s charity business too, but he`s been given the shaft by the current Canadian hierarchy.

Still, as the Lord says, “wisdom is vindicated by her works“ (Matthew 11:19).

This is an insightful video on the dangers of the regime in Iran.  Certainly, this regime doesn’t speak for all of the Middle East or Islam, but it is reflective of some elements in the region.  Regardless, Iran represents a serious international threat to peace and safety.  I don’t see any easy solution. We need to pray for God’s intervention here.

Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any crazier, we break a new record on the dumb-ometer. It’s worse than dumb. It’s outright evil.

In Spain, a TV network called Intereconomia has just been fined by the socialist government for ads that allegedly “attack the dignity” of homosexuals.  Sounds pretty serious, eh?  So what horrible things did the TV network show in its ads?  After all, as Christians, we may disagree with the homosexual lifestyle, but we still want to show them respect.  So what heinous ads did the TV network show?

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A great example, even if it’s politically incorrect.

Out with the communists!

Communists angry after Kerala bishops urge vote for ‘God-fearing’ candidates

July 21, 2010

Bishops in Kerala– the southwestern Indian state that has been the Church’s stronghold in India since its evangelization by St. Thomas the Apostle– told the faithful in a July 18 pastoral letter to vote for “good, capable, and God-fearing” candidates.

The bishops’ letter prompted a rebuke from Thomas Isaac, the state’s Communist finance minister, who accused the bishops of “meddling in politics.” The Communist Party of India has more members in Kerala than in any other Indian state.

“We are not against religion but we will resist the move of religious leaders interfering in politics,” said Isaac. (Source)