CATHOLIC CHURCH: YESTERDAY AND TODAY

Catholic Church issues involving priests generally, celibacy, marriage, women being ordained priests, abortion, and homosexuality had their place in another time, also.

The Catholic Church of today is not the Catholic Church of yesterday in many regards. A few of the differences will be demonstrated. Many the result of man's interpretation of the Bible rather than God's word.

There were no priests till the end of the first century. The apostles were holy men. Men of God. They bore no specific title.

By the end of the first century, Christ's followers had multiplied. The holy men were of the opinion they themselves should be referred to with a special designation. Something to demonstrate they were above the masses. 

The title Priest came into being. With it, ordinations.

The issue of celibacy arose. Not a problem in God's time. It took a thousand years to rear its head. Certain apostles were married. Peter, the first Pope, was. Subsequent holy men were. They enjoyed sex and fathered children.

No where in the Bible does it say God insisted on celibacy for priests. There were no priests for almost 100 years after Christ's death. For almost a 1,000 years thereafter, priests had been enjoying marital bliss. Some even outside their marriage bonds.

In 1074 AD, Pope Gregory VII declared candidates for ordination could not marry. Few, if any, listened to him. Priests continued to marry in large numbers for another hundred years. Celibacy was mandated and made part of Canon Law in 1139 AD at the Second Lateran Council. 

Between 1074 AD and 1139 AD, Pope Urban II became a zealous advocate of celibacy. So much so that he had priests' wives sold into slavery and their children abandoned.

Priests continued marrying and/or having sex for several hundred more years. In decreasing numbers. By 1200 AD, fifty percent of priests were married and fifty per cent not. So much for the Second Lateran Council.

History suggests Popes were married  through 1585 AD. Some fathered children. Six Popes subsequent to 1139 AD  produced illegitimate children. One Pope four, another three, and several two. 

It is well established that four Popes had male lovers. Open and notorious. One slept in the same bed with his partner in the Vatican of that time.

The most interesting thing learned is that celibacy is not a vow. Rather it is a promise. A promise a new priest makes to a Bishop.

Abortions have their place in Church history. Not as represented today. Rather as what existed in reality at a certain time.

It was 836 AD. Priests had been  having sex with nuns and other women for a number of years.. Some of the ladies became pregnant. The monasteries and nunneries became abortion mills. Infanticide was an agenda item. Very young babies were killed. Sort of makes one think.....Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

In any event, the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle decreed in 836 AD that there were to be no more abortions and child killings in monasteries and nunneries.

There were women priests. Would you believe! From the time of Christ to some time into the fourteenth century. And further in time. There was another Council in the fourteenth century that declared women could no longer be ordained priests. Yes, they had actually been ordained just as men up to that time.

Few payed attention to no more female priests. A hundred years later, women were still being ordained, hearing confessions, etc.

By the fourteenth century, male presence and power was increasing within the Church. The hierarchy began to look down upon women as priests.The female gender was considered less than the male one. Women were no longer worthy of being priests.

The hierarchy relied on the Bible for its new found position regarding female priests. Man's interpretation as opposed to God's. Where was that interpretation for fourteen hundred years?

A modern day inconsistency also exists.

In 1972, Czech women were imprisoned in large numbers by the Communists. Ludmilla Jarorova and several other Czech women were ordained as priests to serve the needs of those women.

For centuries, Popes themselves married and procreated.

The purpose of this article is to make  people aware there is a difference between God's Laws and what man later determines to be God's Law. Some believe the inconsistencies, the law changes, are the result of those who considered themselves special. The men in the Church. There have been such men in every century. Once in power, they abrogate power and authority to themselves. The result is the screwed up Catholic Church of today.

MUSLIMS TAKING OVER SWEDEN

Sweden is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe. Its capital and largest city is Stockholm. Until recent years, Sweden was considered one of the best run governments in the world. Not any longer. Muslim immigration in recent years has dramatically altered the Sweden of yesterday.

Sweden has always opened its doors to everyone. Especially the oppressed. It is the nature of the Swedish people.

An example is how Sweden handled a Jewish problem during World War II. Sweden remained neutral during the war. Befriended both sides, however. The Allies got air bases on Sweden soil. The Germans were able to use Swedish railroad lines.

Sweden's neighbor Denmark was occupied by the Germans. Eight thousand Jews were rounded up to be sent to concentration camps. Sweden worked things out so the 8,000 were permitted to enter Sweden and the safety it provided. So too with Norwegian Jews.

In addition to rescuing the Jews, Sweden has had a long history of tolerance and respect for the rights of others. Its borders have always been open. Everyone welcome. Sweden considered itself a utopia of multi-culturalism. Immigrants knew they were welcome.

Immigration began getting out of hand in 2004, however. And has continued to this day. Muslims in droves immigrated to Sweden from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. Well in excess of a half million. There were and are not enough jobs for the Muslim immigrants. 

The Muslims believe there are a sufficient number of them to demand social changes. They want what they want. Changes that fit into their life style. Streets riots have become common place. Motivated by what the Muslims view as a growing inequality.

People who immigrate to a new country normally take up the life style and ways of that country. Not the Muslims. Not in Sweden or any where else. They protest and fight for the ways of the old country they left. 

Muslims for example want to be governed by their own law. Sharia law. Criminally and civilly. The kind that stones a person to death or cuts off a person's head, condones the rape of women. This is a problem in other countries as well that are experiencing an influx of Muslims. Today's democracies are their own worst enemies. They try to accommodate themselves to everyone. An impossible task.

Under the guise of religious freedom, the Muslim population received permission to erect their first mosque. Today there is a mosque called Fittja in Stockholm. Every Friday for 3-5 minutes, the bells ring calling the faithful to prayer.

Swedish Jews are under attack by the new Muslim population. The Quaran, imams, and mosques all preach the Jew is evil and against Allah. The Muslims are upset that the Swedish government is not addressing what they perceive a problem.

Again, there is no assimilation. The Muslims do not desire it. They do want to increase their numbers, however. They recruit from jails and street gangs.

Food is involved. Muslims want halah food. Food cleansed by Islamic standards. They are getting it in Sweden. The path to the food desired was a simple one.

First, Muslims secure jobs where foodstuffs are prepared. When their working numbers become a force to be reckoned with, they pressure supermarkets to feature halah on their shelves. The pressure comes by way of threats, protests and the like.

Any non Islamic action offends Islam. Leading to threats and protests.

The United States is not he only nation whose flag is burned in Middle East. Swedish flags are also.

The Muslims insist that Sweden provide them with government enforcement of Muslim blasphemy laws. The want any criticism or insult to Islam to be punished under Sharia law.

Rape is big on the agenda. There is no respect for women. Stockholm is now regarded as the rape capital of the world. Quite a distinction. Sweden has the second highest number of rapes occurring world wide. It is projected that 1 out of 4 Swedish women will be raped. Seventy seven percent of the rape cases have Muslim immigrant  involvement. The major increase in rapes parallels the major increase in Muslim immigration.

Sweden is not an American style melting pot. The Muslim immigrants practice their own medieval values.

Some believe Sweden is on its way to becoming a third world country. I do not believe so. The thought is too far out. Much afield. However, things are bad in Sweden. Recently bad which makes the situation all the more scary.

What is happening in Sweden is occurring in most other European nations. The Islamic goal is to control the world. All nations need to have a greater awareness when it comes to immigration. Yes, immigration is a problem. It takes different forms and peoples. Think how it impacts our national and state governments.

Immigration becomes a balancing act. We want our doors open to everyone. The give me your oppressed thing. On the other hand, we do not want our basic American values trodden upon. Vigilance is the key.

THINGS THAT BOTHER ME

Many facets of life bother me, give me concern. Let me share a few with you.

On December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, Adam Lanza entered the Sandy Hook School armed with an assault rifle. Before he killed himself, he murdered twenty children age 5-6 and six adults. A tragedy. All America mourned. I thought.

Now a little more than a year later, the nuts are at it. The cry is Sandy Hook never occurred. It is a phony tale and part of a conspiracy. Shades of the John Kennedy assassination.

It is claimed the government fabricated Sandy Hook so gun laws could be pushed through easier. One conspiracy proponent claims Sandy Hook was ".....bullshit peddled by liberal assholes to get gun control." The claim is the government and media in unison staged a hoax.

The initiator/primary culprit is a Wolfgang Halbig. The man has credentials. A former teacher, principal and now school safety expert, he claims to have trained 3,500 school safety officers. His position simply is that Sandy Hook is a fraud. He sets forth factual discrepancies to support his position. He is being well received by gun enthusiasts.

There are twenty angels buried in Sandy Hook cemeteries. Whose bodies are they? Was an entire community involved in the fraud allegedly perpetrated? I think not. This story is getting legs. It is an excellent example of the insanity that guides some in today's society.

Another item bothering me involves food stamps. Food stamps and the military. Were you aware that a significant number of military personnel are on food stamps? Yes, and the number grows yearly.

The number of military recipients has increased more than 300 per cent since the recession hit in 2007. Military families received $5 million more in food stamp assistance in 2013 than 2012. In the last fiscal year, military commissaries took in $104 million in food stamps.

These are the men and women who defend us and their families. Some have been wounded or died in the defense of their country in recent years. While getting shot at in Afghanistan, their families back home have to use food stamps to put food on the table.

How proud our elected representatives must be. They who earn $174,000 plus a year. They who have great medical and retirement plans. They who receive all kinds of perks. How can they tolerate even one military family subsisting on food stamps?

Note that in the new Farm Law, Congress cut $8 billion over the next five years out of the food stamp program.

Something is wrong.

The cry from Washington is the country is broke, we do not have enough money. The House of Representatives allocates/determines the American budget. Waste is rampant. I often speak of it citing specific examples.

Here is a big one.

Money that has been lost or is non traceable in military budgets. More succinctly referred to as missing military-industrial complex monies. Allegedly involved are waste, graft and systemic bribery.

Federal law mandates annual audits of all government departments. The Pentagon is not audited. The unaccountable dollars have been adding up. In recent years, $8.5 trillion has never been accounted for.That number represents roughly half the national debt. It is not Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or food stamps that are breaking America's back.

The books of the Pentagon and Department of Defense are regularly cooked. Trillions are hidden. No accurate record of money spent and not spent is kept. If dollars remain at year end in a particular military budget, the money is not returned. Numbers are added to balance the books and visually eradicate the unspent dollars from them.

The United States spends substantially more money on military-industrial matters than any other nation. In 2012, the United States budget was $712 billion. The amount represented 46.5 per cent of total monies spent by all nations. China was second with a meager $100 billion which represented 6.5 percent. Russia was number 5 and spent $53.5 billion.

The $712 billion spent was equal to to the total spent by the next 40 countries.

Something is wrong. No one appears to be watching the cash register. Some have their hands in the till. Corporations doing business with the government are probably overcharging big time.

While all this waste is going on, Congress knowingly keeps certain military and their families on food stamps, have cut food stamp availability, and want to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

It does not make sense to me.

Finally, two major deficiencies in the new Farm Law. I have discussed and written about them repeatedly.

Some members of Congress have financial interests in farms.Congress has been voting on farm subsidies and crop insurance. All of which benefit farmers in general. However, there is no legal requirement in the law that the Congressmen who are receiving benefits under the Farm Law be identified. Why not? They vote on the very legislation that will put money in their pockets.

Another shortcoming of the new Farm Law involves farm corporations. It is the world of the Agrifarm corporations. Six major corporations, Monsanto being an example, control most of the farming in the United States today. Mom and Pop and family farms are a thing of the past. The new Farm Law bars corporations who receive benefits from being listed/made known.

So much for transparency regarding Congressmen and Agrifarm corporations.

The recently adopted Farm Law was just short of $1 trillion.

These four examples are representative of matters which aggravate me/cause me concern. I am sure most of you, also. Unfortunately, the problems can only be identified. Correcting them is a another story. An onerous task. When will we be up to it? Will we ever be up to it?

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY IDIOSYNCRASIES

The universal day of love passed last week. February 14 is the magic day each year. The facts surrounding the holiday are not as well known as most think.

 

History provides several St. Valentines. Most historians attribute St. Valentine's Day to a third century Roman priest. His name obviously Valentine.

 

The popular concept is that Valentine was executed because he was promoting Catholicism. In the course of spreading the word, Valentine married many people. His conducting of a large number of marriages was the problem. Not his Catholicism.

 

Claudius was emperor at the time. He needed a large army. Wars were common place. Married men were exempted from service. Claudius proclaimed a ban on new marriages. Valentine was warned. Stop marrying people. He continued. Claudius warned him repeatedly. Valentine opted not to listen.

 

Valentine was arrested and sentenced to death. He was to be beaten with clubs and stones. He was. He would not die. Claudius ordered him beheaded. The date of Valentine's execution was February 14.

 

The centuries have added an aura to the day. It is for lovers. Recognized as such universally. Even Pope Frances spoke of love this St. Valentine's Day while carrying a red rose. Red has become the symbolic color of St. Valentine's Day. Together with gifts of red roses and chocolate candy. Everywhere today, except for one place. Saudi Arabia.

 

Most areas of Saudi Arabia frown big time on St. Valentine's Day. The day of love is considered immoral. Red roses cannot be sold. Some merchants do, however. From the back room of their shops. Heart shaped chocolates are sold from under the counter. The color red is prohibited. Reminiscent of the 1950's and 1960's when condoms and porn magazines were sold from under the counter.

 

 Valentine Day gifts of red roses and chocolate candy are considered immoral under present day Islams. Obviously illegal also. The two are intertwined. Imagine gifts of sexy female underwear. I am sure the reaction would be explosive

 

Saudi Arabia maintains a secret police. A religious secret police. The group is commonly referred to as the religious patrol. Ever vigilant, they hawk the stores looking for red roses, chocolate candies and the color red being used in displays during the time surrounding February 14.

 

They also are on the look out for any public display of affection. A cleric recently stated that those who celebrate Valentine's Day ".....want to copy the infidels." You and me.

 

Pope Frances has it right. We should all love one another and express that love. Change is a constant. Perhaps some day the men of Saudi Arabia will be openly able to bring their wives and lady friends red roses and chocolate candy. Purchased in an open market place.

 

ADDENDUM to last week's column concerning the new Farm Law. This information came to light after the column went to press.

 

I am beginning to suspect not everyone reads bills before they are voted upon by Congress. Perhaps they do and keep quiet about certain items since they do not want us to know.

 

One of the biggest problems with the Farm Law is that certain Congress persons who vote for the bill thereafter receive monies under the bill. They own farms or a portion thereof. Through subsidies and/or crop insurance, they walk away with significant chunks of money.

 

My problem with the system is that the law does not require those Congress persons to be identified. The new law as drafted contained such a provision. It was deleted prior to final vote.

 

The new law was signed by President Obama on a Friday. The following Tuesday, it was revealed that the new law contained a provision barring the disclosure of the names of corporations receiving benefits. We live in an era of big corporations in the farm business. Corporations like Monsanto.

 

Why hide these things? What has happened to transparency? Obama promised transparency when he first ran. It seems we are getting less rather than more today. Secrecy seems to cloak more and more governmental operations.

 

We live in a time of economic depression. Every taxpayer dollar is important. Never the less, government waste is rampant.

 

On the same Tuesday the corporate ban came to light, it was announced that under the previous Farm Law, $36 million was paid to dead farmers over a four year period. Some 4,000 plus deceased farmers.

 

Who is watching the cash register? This death issue is a common problem for Washington agencies. How do they find out who is dead that was receiving benefits so they can be terminated?

 

A simple system has been devised where most federal agencies are hooked up to the Social Security computer. Death information is instantaneous. Not the Farm Bureau.

 

How do these things happen? Why do they happen? Are we being had?

 

NEW FARM LAW.....A GRAVY TRAIN

The American people should be furious. Furious about the farm laws of old and the new farm law. Furious that the farm law provides subsidies to the rich and food stamps to the poor. The people being shafted once more by their elected officials.

 

Farm legislation came into being as part of the New Deal back in 1933 when things were worse than today. Roosevelt made sure farmers could survive by having the government pay them even though they did not grow food. Roosevelt was also concerned about the poor having food to eat. A nutrition program was part of the farm package. The precursor to the present day food stamp program.

 

The life of a farm law is five years. Every five years, a new one must be adopted. The new one this week when President Obama signed it into law.

 

This article is concerned not with the entire law. Rather a few basics that suggest questionable activity.

 

The farm bills through 1996 were not bad. Though the paying for not growing feature had increased. Then in 1996 the government added a new method by which farmers could protect themselves. Crop insurance. Crop insurance paid if a crop failure or price drop occurred. From 1996 forward, direct subsidy payments and the crop insurance program were available to farmers.

 

The crop insurance program has resulted in the highest subsidies paid in history. Crop insurance premiums are paid substantially in part by the government.

 

What a deal! Either way, by direct subsidy or insurance, the government is guaranteeing the success of the agricultural industry. There is no other business receiving such a benefit.

 

What is bothersome is that many Congressmen have benefited from the law. They vote in support of the law, together with its subsidies and crop insurance programs, at a time when they also own farms. Farms that will benefit from the legislation.

 

What is most bothersome is the secrecy that comes into play. The farm law does not require the names of Congressmen and members of their immediate families who receive benefits under the law be revealed. The law extends to Cabinet members also. The identity of such Congress persons was a part of this year's law as originally drafted. However, it was removed prior to the final vote. So much for transparency. Makes you suspect something stinks in Denmark!

 

Following are examples of Congress persons and/or their immediate family who received benefits in 2012 alone. This information purportedly secret and supposedly not available. However certain open government groups have come up with the following. Rep. Doug La Malfa (R-Ca) & wife $62,857, Rep. Frank Lucas' wife (R-Ok) $14,584, Rep. Stephen Fincher & wife (R-Tenn) $70,574, Sen. John Tester & wife (D-Mt) $21,281, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-In) $9,935, and Sen. Orin Hatch & wife (R-Ut) $10,506.

 

Note that the new farm law cuts $8 billion from the food stamp program over the next 10 years. Eight hundred fifty thousand poor families will receive $90 per month less while the above Congressional persons are receiving subsidies in far greater amounts. It does not make sense.

 

The rich and/or famous also benefit. Those receiving monies under the farm law include former President Jimmy Carter, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Alan (co-founder Microsoft), Leonard Lauder (former CEO Este Lauder Companies), S. Trist Cultry (founder Chick-fil-A), Charles Schwab(founder brokerage firm Charles Schwab Corporation), and David Rockefeller, Sr. (former chairman and Chief Executive of Chase Manhattan Bank).

 

Lobbying dollars come into play. Monies paid to assure legislation is passed consistent with the desires of those paying. Government for money.

 

Recall that each farm law is for five years. Monsanto is a major agri-farmer. One of the biggest. The American Farm Bureau lobbies for the benefit of its farmer members. Over a five year period, the two spent a total of $57.9 million for lobbying efforts. Monsanto $36 million and the American Farm Bureau $27.9 million.

 

Some of those dollars ended up in the coffers of those most able to help. The House Agriculture Committee Chairman received $744,000 from agribusinesses in the 2012 election cycle. The Senate Chair received $346,000 from the crop production industry. These monies were generally paid into their political war chests.

 

Such is a brief part of the farm law story. The rich getting richer and the poor, poorer. The government permitting a crop insurance/subsidy program to continue for which there is no practical need. Congressional persons who voted for the law benefiting from it. Secrecy clouding specifically who they were.

 

Only in America? No. It has been this way in most other nations over the years. The United States has merely caught up with governmental abuse of the electorate.

 

 

THE FLU EPIDEMIC.....1918

In researching material for my next book Growing Up Italian, the flu epidemic of 1918 came into play. I read a little about it, became fascinated by the story and so researched it thoroughly. Especially in view of how each year it is drummed into us to get a flu shot. I share with you what I discovered.

The flu epidemic of 1918 is technically referred to as pandemic influenza. Pandemic is defined as an epidemic of infectious disease that has spread through human populations across a large region, including multiple contingents. The 1918 flu bug infected and killed people on every continent.

Flu obviously is short for influenza.

The 1918 flu extended into 1919. It was deadly.The bug infected five hundred million people world wide. Five hundred million was 35 per cent of the world's population. Fifty million died. Sixty hundred seventy thousand died in the United States alone.

It was called the Spanish flu. Strange. Only because it began at a U.S.Army camp in Kansas.

The Spanish flu was not a significant danger to the young or old. It predominately killed young adults. Those 20-40 years old.

It has been described as ".....the greatest medical holocaust in history." The Spanish flu killed more people than the Black Death did in a century. More dramatically, it killed more people in 24 weeks than AIDS did in 24 years.

This was a hit and kill virus. People became sick suddenly and were dead in  a matter of hours. The bug caused massive hemorrhaging and edema in the lungs with bleeding from the ears and nose. The infected almost immediately developed the most viscous type of pneumonia ever seen. Death was by suffocation. Patients died struggling to clear their airways of a blood tinged froth that sometimes gushed from their nose and mouth.

Physicians were helpless. The epidemic was an unforgettable year of suffering and death.

I appreciate today's flu is a different one. Today, there are multiple strains. Perhaps more deadly.

I share what I learned for one reason. Get the flu shot! Too many say no. Some say I did and got sick. Many are smart types that simply ignore the medical message. Anti arguments should be set aside. We never know when and if another pandemic flu epidemic will arise. One which could kill as many or more than the 1918 flu did.

HOMOSEXUALS LOST IN HISTORY

This column is not about individual homosexuals. It is about a specific band of gay men who distinguished themselves yet were forgotten by history for an extended period of time.

Today gays, homosexuals, and same sex marriages are common place. The closet has been outed in most instances. In the military, don't ask, don't tell, is no longer the command of the day.

There was a time way back when the homosexual lifestyle was recognized and respected. More so than today. The place was ancient Greece. The time the 300 BCs. Homosexual relations were common. Men so inclined lived openly as partners. The lifestyle was not politically incorrect.

The Greece of those years was not the same as the Greece of today.There was no central government. Cities ruled. They were powers unto themselves. Little kingdoms. They fought each other constantly.

Sparta was the big gun. It was the most powerful city in Greece. The men were devoted to the military arts. Spartan boys were sent to military school at seven, Every male between the ages of 20 and 60 was required to serve in the armed forces. The military might of Sparta was feared by all.

Thebes was recognized at the time as a city of substance. A power militarily and commercially. However it was not considered competition for Sparta. 

The Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC changed that impression. The Spartans were beating the Thebes as expected. The turning point in the battle came when an elite Thebian military unit was able to break through the Spartan right wing. The unit was known as the Sacred Band.

Thebes won. Historians refer to the Battle of Leuctra as the most decisive battle ever fought by Greeks against Greeks.

The Sacred Band consisted of 300 soldiers who had something in common. They were gay. They were lovers. The Sacred Band consisted of 150 homosexual couples who lived openly as such. The group was referred to as a band of lovers. Respectfully, of course.

It was not accidental that the Sacred Band came to be. The unit was conceived and put together on the theory that every man would be motivated to fight to his maximum. To protect his lover and to avoid shaming himself in front of his lover. The Sacred Band did conduct themselves accordingly.

The Sacred Band was undefeated for 33 years. Their defeat when it came was an annihilation. The defeat occurred in 338 BC in the Battle of Chaeronea. They were defeated by the Macedonians.

The opportunity to surrendered was offered. The remaining Sacred Band members refused. They preferred to fight to the death. They did so. All were killed.

School children should have been taught of the bravery of the Sacred Band. One could say they were not because of their homosexuality. Such would not be true. It was politics.

City states were big time rivals. The dislike for each other was great. Over the years leading up to the defeat of the Sacred Band, Thebes reputation diminished. Sparta's and Athen's increased. After the defeat of the Sacred Band, Thebes continued its downward spiral reputation wise and power wise.

How many today have ever heard of Thebes? Yet all know of Sparta and Athens. The Greeks wrote Thebes out of the history books. It is only in recent times that knowledge of Thebes has been returned. And with it the bravery and glory of the Sacred Band.