Sunday evening thoughs

• If your Faith is based upon the occupant of the chair of Peter, you're doing it wrong. There has been much made about the letter of the 4 Cardinals, and now some more Bishops are coming out in support of the letter. Something that I've made mention of before on this blog is that we have ZERO authority to depose a Pope. For someone in the public office of a Pope a public declaration must be made by the Cardinals of the Church, or in their absence the clergy in the diocese of Rome. My thoughts are as follows: The Church already allows re-married people to receive Communion. Of course there's a proper procedure for this...Oikonomia in the East, Dispensation/Declaration of Nulity in the West. As long as either one of those are followed, it shouldn't be an issue. The Issue with AL is that whether it's referring to couples in this situation I've mentioned above, or allowing this without the proper procedures. The latter, allowing without the proper procedures is heresy and the letter of the 4 Cardinals applies. The former is not as through binding and loosening, the Church while she can't change the teachings of Christ Jesus, she can administrate according to need of each situaton. The real problem is when we take matters into our own hands and not with the guide of the Church. The principle of subsidiarity is wonderful, at the same time it does not mean there must be zero central authority either. I often times feel these problems go back to Vatican I, which set a rather interesting precedent of calling councils when things were not in question (Papal Infalibility wasn't really in question...and one can argue, while what's done is done, hindsight being 6/6 (yes, I use the metric system :p) perhaps the dogma should not have been defined :p)...but that's the professor on his pulpit in me speaking. We must pray and be faithful, and let those ahead of us take care of those things that are out of our control. 

• I often get asked a few popular questions, so I guess I can answer:

a. How did you become a cat person?

It is said that once one is loved by a cat, one never goes back....This is what happened to me. It also helps that they're very friendly to introverted humans, and if they're good enough for Pope Benedict XVI, they're good enough for me too :p. Of course actually, I've always been a cat person. My favourite animal has always been a panther. 

b. Why is it necessary to laugh at everyone?

I think it's quite important to be able to laugh at ourselves. Things can't always be so serious. One of the best ways to learn things is through humour. However, in order to pull of sarcastic humour, one actually has to be good at it, and know the time and place to do it. Some people in very high places can't pull it off. They ought to try something different. 

c. You don't sound like you're from California, why?

I have a ton of influences, especially of the Russian influence. Hence the partial Russian accent when speaking. I also happen to think color is better with u in it, aka, The British spelling system rocks. 

d. Why do you rarely use the modern buzzwords of the day? 

People are not defined by the stupidity that comes out of their mouths. People are not necessarily the image we project onto them. There's nothing about having a certain amount of melanin in one's skin that makes one better than another person. Everyone has a talent or ability, they should try to cultivate this. We are not defined by our failures, or labels which society tries to place upon us. I do my best to not subject people to these temptations. 

e. How did you become a conservative?

I don't consider myself to be conservative. i consider myself to be correct ;). There's a huge difference. I suppose relatively speaking if we're using scales, I lean much to the right, and tend to strict interpretations of particular concepts. A lot of my viewpoints come from my math and science background and trying to use my skills in these subjects to look at other situations. For example, yes, humans are more than numbers, but socialized care, for the good intention that it is, can't work for very large populations. The government is not superman and can't do everything. 

• Do you have any advice?

Well, that depends...if you're looking for unsolicited advice. I have plenty.