Someone commits suicide, so you trash talk them

...how very unChristian of you.  

I'm not talking about the issue of euthanasia here and anyone's "right" to "legally" kill themselves. 

I'm talking about common decency for the dead person's grieving families who had no idea this was going to happen. And that mental illness hits people of all types. 

Catholic hot-shot Bill Donohue from Catholic League writes: 
"If Anthony Bourdain had been a religious man, would he have killed himself? Probably not. The celebrity chef was found dead today in his hotel room in Strasbourg, France."

Atheists put their hope in science and medicine and when that fails they feel hopeless. For people who don't know God...it is all too easy to fall into despair when you are suffering depression or other mental illnesses with no hope, no knowledge of God. 

Yet mental illness kills religious and non-religious alike.

Researcher Ning Hsieh, funded by the National Institute of Health, released a report based on data from 42 countries in seven regions, and found the following... 

Quote: "...although religion is linked to lower suicide rates in Latin America, eastern Europe, northern Europe, and English-speaking countries, it is associated with higher suicide rates in East Asia, western Europe and southern Europe.
According to the study, evidence that religion protects against suicide is strongest in Latin America, where a one percent increase in religious participation is associated with 3 percent decrease in suicide rates."

Whatever you think of the person who committed suicide...how about some compassion for their families and friends trying to cope with the sudden loss of their loved one?

Where has compassion and come decency to not speak ill of the dead (especially when the body is still warm) gone?

Donohue wasn't the only one showing a cold heart to the deceased family, David Leavitt (a generally nasty person on any given day) stormed Twitter with his unkind thoughts upon the death of Bourdain (clearly these two never liked each other, but one is dead and the other can't refrain from attacking a dead man). 

What the hell is wrong with people? A person, doesn't matter who they are, commits suicide and people trash talk them with ZERO thought for their grieving families left behind. 

The sudden death of a loved one is gutting to families. You can't wrap your head around it and the very last thing you need are people like Donohue and Leavitt sitting in judgment of your deceased loved one. You're probably already worrying about their souls. What you need are prayers and support to get through this tragic time. Suicide is a tragedy. 

These dim-witted men sit in judgment of the deceased as if they know what mental illness Bourdain may or may not have been suffering to do such a horrible thing. 

And since Leavitt mentioned "purgatory" in his tweet, I should share the Catholic Church's thoughts on suicide.  

Catholic Catechism #2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

Catholic Catechism #2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

Can't we just PRAY for the dead and their suffering families? 

Would that really be too much to ask for in today's society?



In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 

***To be clear, I've never watched a show with Anthony Bourdain in it, but I have seen commercials for his shows over the years. I don't really know anything about this man, my point in writing this was mostly about compassion for his family and friends who are grieving now. 


Links: 

https://twitter.com/David_Leavitt 

https://www.catholicleague.org/would-religion-have-saved-bourdain/

http://dc.medill.northwestern.edu/blog/2017/07/05/new-study-suggests-religion-affects-suicide-rates-differently-around-the-  world/#sthash.9evBo1m2.dpbs  

Facebook: Virgin Mary Should've Aborted

I received a disturbing email with a link to a Facebook page called “Virgin Mary Should’ve Aborted”.  This atheist Facebook page depicts the Virgin Mary smoking a cigar and a pre-born Jesus image with the wounds of the cross and a tattoo on his arm.

The content is 100% hatred of God.  It is a vile and disgusting Facebook page that's only purpose is to attack people of Faith and attempt to degrade God with assorted blasphemies.

The atheist's reason for these blasphemous attacks on the Holy Infant and Mother of God...?

 About

People have rights, ideas do not. No beliefs are above criticism. Organized religion is AIDS and we desperately need a cure:http://imgur.com/a/FbIbqDescription*Please note that by engaging in comments, posts or messages with us, you give us full permission to use your words in status updates* If this page full-heartedly offends you, you are my target demographic. Let's talk about scripture, context is everything. We highly encourage all people to participate in these debates - share your insights and express your beliefs. Whether it concerns abortion,LGBT rights, religion, etc., all discussion is welcome. And we're all safe behind keyboards.We do not seek to convert people, just to promote critical thinking. Beliefs are harmless until they attempt to deny others rights and happiness. The purpose here is to expose the heinous absurdity that is organized religion, and its detrimental affects on seemingly reasonable human beings. We call religious bigots on their blatant hate, rustling their jimmies with obvious satire. The bible (along with all religious scripture) is a load of outdated traditional horse manure and has no place in education, laws, politics or government. Organized religion is a man-made tool to control society and justify oppression, currently dividing and destroying the planet.We conceal our identities so the extremists don't hunt us down and kill us for our beliefs. However we have posted our pics, and we stand by our anti-religion convictions. Unlike god, we can provide proof of our existence.

Who are these offensive and hate filled people?  

Meet the admins:
Z24 year old student, heterosexual, 1st born, raised christian (bandwagon church), pro-food, pro-sex, pro-science, pro-choice, pro-equality, pro-freedom, pro-progress.I believe in life before death.I have come to my conclusions from contemplating all viewpoints I've been presented and the natural world around me.I love all until given a reason not to. Challenge traditions, question everything! [:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=165986323558429&set=pb.153716391452089.-2207520000.1364066142&type=3&theater
Lilith23 year old student, bisexual, awesome hair, Harry Potter and LOTR fanatic, pro-abortion for myself, pro-choice for others. Enjoy.https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=165621446928250&set=pb.153716391452089.-2207520000.1364066142&type=3&theater
Σɾᶏδîc8 = Eradicate, as in “Eradicate All Irrational & Illogical, Divisive Religious Belief Systems.”Joined 2014 in January.30yo international economics and foreign languages (Japanese) B.A. graduate, screenwriter, political scientist, philosopher & theorist, who also runs his own page at www.fb.com/im.a.libertarian-end quote-

Besides the written content being offensive, so are the photos shared.  They all take shots at people who believe in God, but this Facebook page has a particular hatred for Christians and Muslims whom are targeted the most.

Most images are FAR TOO offensive and blasphemous for me to display here.

Now according to Facebook’s Community Standards this Facebook page is in clear violation of Facebook’s own policy, yet it remains.

 
·         Hate Speech
Facebook does not permit hate speech, but distinguishes between serious and humorous speech. While we encourage you to challenge ideas, institutions, events, and practices, we do not permit individuals or groups to attack others based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.

If you read the comments left by some people on this page it is clear that for MONTHS numerous people have reported this page as a violation of Facebook’s own policy and still it remains.

So now I am asking ALL OF YOU who read this, GO TO FACEBOOK AND DEMAND THIS BLASPHEMOUS PAGE BE REMOVED.

Reporting Abuse:   If you see something on Facebook that you believe violates our terms, you should report it to us. Please keep in mind that reporting a piece of content does not guarantee that it will be removed from the site. 
Because of the diversity of our community, it's possible that something could be disagreeable or disturbing to you without meeting the criteria for being removed or blocked. For this reason, we also offer personal controls over what you see, such as the ability to hide or quietly cut ties with people, Pages, or applications that offend you.

How do you report abuse on Facebook?

 How do I report an abusive Page?

To report an abusive Page:

1.     Go to the Page you want to report
2.     Click  on the Page's cover photo
3.     Select Report Page and follow the on-screen instructions
We'll review the Page and remove anything that doesn't follow the Facebook Community Standards. We may also warn or disable the person responsible.

Go to the offending page and follow the above instructions to report it!

OFFENSIVE FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/VirginMaryShouldveAborted/timeline

My suggestion…if you have a Facebook page PLEASE SHARE THIS so others can report it too!  The more reports Facebook gets the more likely they are to DO something about it.  

Don't allow this to continue without voicing your outrages on behalf of our Lord and the Mother of God.  And pray for these delusional young people, they are on the wrong path and their souls are in SERIOUS jeopardy - pray for them, they need it.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner


UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FACEBOOK IS STANDING BY THE BLASPHEMOUS HATE SPEECH PAGE AND ALLOWING IT TO STAY.  

TELL FACEBOOK WHAT YOU THINK...
https://www.facebook.com/help/220217228006012

TWEET THIS ARTICLE WITH HASHTAG #FacebookSupportsReligiousHateSpeech

Pope Francis' 2014: A Year of Silence?

Watching all the media speculate on what the United States will look like in 2014 made me wonder what this nation would look like IF [big IF here] American Catholics were to live the new year inspired by what they HEARD and BELIEVE [rightly or wrongly] Pope Francis has said in 2013. 

And yes, I am strongly considering that what MOST Catholics ‘heard’ Pope Francis say was actually what THE MEDIA interpreted Pope Francis said- though to be fair, a good amount came directly from Pope Francis’ mouth himself.

So let’s speculate what 2014 will look like IF Catholics did what they believe the Pope has taught this past year.

[links to all sources at bottom]

First up, no more Catholics at the March for Life on January 22, 2014 in Washington D.C. because the 

Pope told the world in his Jesuit interview with America Magazine…

“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.  The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.”

What Catholics around the world heard from media sources was…

New York Times: “Pope says Church is “obsessed” with Gays,Abortion and Birth Control”

CBS News: “Pope Francis Denounces Abortion after Decrying Church’s focus on rules”

ABC News: “Pope Francis Calls for End to “Obsession” with Homosexuality and Abortion”

MSN News: “Pope: Church will Fail if mired in rules for gays and abortion”

These views [rightly or wrongly interpreted-depending on who you ask] of the Pope’s statements were further set in stone when the Pope gave his now infamous 2^nd Interview – the one that was first on the Vatican website, then months later removed because of the uproar it caused among confused Catholics.  We later found out that the interview was written ‘by memory’ rather than actual notes.

At any rate the media ran with what was reported in the Interview (and remember this interview was on the Vatican website for a while which Catholics -and others-viewed as the Church’s stamp of approval on the writings) and people are still confused over what was 'right' and what was 'wrong' in the interview.  The average Catholic doesn't (in my experience) look up everything the media reports to see if its true or not, especially when the article in question is known to be on the Vatican website.  So it is believed as it was reported.

Now lets look at the ALREADY PROVEN results of how United States Catholics have understood the Pope’s words and responded on the topic of ‘gay marriage’…[its fairly safe to presume that this will continue if the Pope/Vatican don’t better clarify the Church’s teachings and Pope Francis’ words.]

In a new poll taken just after the Pope’s interview, six in ten Catholics now SUPPORT gay ‘marriage’.  That is 56% of Catholics now STRONGLY support gay marriage- UP from just eleven months before the Pope’s interview, going from 53% of Catholics favoring same sex marriage to 56% supporting same sex marriage.  

But it doesn’t stop there with the issue of gay ‘marriage’, homosexuality and the Pope.  At the end of World Youth Day 2013, the Pope’s now famous words “Who am I to judge?” (when asked about homosexuality) have rippled across the globe and planted themselves into Catholic heads as a stamp of approval to no longer oppose any part of the gay agenda.

Catholic politicians have taken Pope Francis’ “Who am I to judge?” statement and used it to vote in favor of legalized same sex marriages in assorted states. [I wrote about this in Novemeber 2013]

During a homily in 2013 Pope Francis talked about Atheists…

"The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

What people heard via the media (and many still believe)…

Huffington Post: “Pope Francis says Atheists who do good are redeemed, not just Catholics”

The Independent (UK): “Pope Francis Assures Atheists: You don’t have to believe in God to get to Heaven”

This again caused so much confusion the Vatican had to put out a statement clarifying the Pope’s homily.

The Huffington Post then published: “Vatican Confirms, Atheists still going to Hell despite Pope’s Remarks”

But how many people remember the ‘clarification’ from the Vatican when most of the media didn’t talk about that, they simply ran the ‘no need for belief’ story and people (rightly or wrongly) believed it because the Pope said it?

The misunderstanding of uneducated Catholics could have a very big effect in 2014 based on the news headlines from 2013.

So let’s look at what Catholics in the United States MIGHT do in 2014 based on what they believe (rightly or wrongly) Pope Francis taught them in 2013…

1)      No more opposition to gay marriage.
2)      No more Pro-life marches in Washington (or anywhere).
3)      No more evangelization of Atheists because everyone goes to Heaven.
4)      No more talking about abortion, gay marriage or birth control because we Catholics have ‘obsessed’ on those topics for far too long.
5)      No more praying outside abortion clinics to end abortion.
6)      No more opposition to gay adoption.
7)      No more opposition to birth control.
8)      No more obsession with ‘a multitude of [Church] doctrines’.
9)      No more calls for pro-choice politicians to be denied Holy Communion.
10)   No more teaching people what is sin because “Who are we to judge?”

This sadly IS what many Catholics have taken away from 2013.  So what does that leave us?

What do we have instead?  

Silence.

Catholics with no voice.

An enormous deafening of the Catholic voice in the world for the first time in over two thousand years.

Catholics will merely feed the hungry and visit the elderly [as they already have been doing] and strive for better jobs for our youth, but we will no longer SPEAK the Faith to anyone because we’ve talked too much and become ‘obsessed’ with ending the slaughter of millions of pre-born human beings.  We’ve become ‘obsessed’ with warning people about the mortal sin of homosexual relationships and the need to repent from mortal sin before it’s too late and your soul is damned.  Who are we to judge if your sin damns you eternally?  We’re not our brother’s keeper- right?

Silence.

In silence we will watch the further decay of the world should Catholics take what the media reported and what the Pope said and put it into NON-action.

The “new evangelization” is NOT silence – it can NEVER be silence.  Christ commissioned His Church to PREACH the Faith and to OBEY the Faith- who can obey it if we don’t tell anyone what the Church teaches?  What is sin?  What must be repented of?

We can’t do what Christ commissioned us to do if we are silent.

Silence kills – innocent children and eternal souls.

Don’t believe what the media reports and don’t be silent in 2014.  Let 2014 be the loudest Catholic year yet! 

Happy New Year and may God bless you,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Sources:

Link: http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html?_r=0

Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-denounces-abortion-after-decrying-churchs-focus-on-rules/

Link: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/pope-francis-calls-end-obsession-homosexuality-abortion-20337159

Link: http://news.msn.com/world/pope-church-will-fail-if-mired-in-rules-for-gays-abortion

Link: http://www.religionnews.com/2013/10/04/poll-catholics-agree-church-focused-issues-support-gay-marriage/

Link: http://connecticutcatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2013/11/pope-partially-to-thank-for-illinois.html

Link: http://connecticutcatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2013/10/oops-he-did-it-again-pope-francis-2nd.html

Link: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/05/22/pope_at_mass:_culture_of_encounter_is_the_foundation_of_peace/en1-694445

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/pope-francis-good-atheists_n_3320757.html

Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-assures-atheists-you-dont-have-to-believe-in-god-to-go-to-heaven-8810062.html

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/27/vatican-confirms-atheists-still-going-to-hell_n_3341368.html

MSNBC's "United in Godlessness" Up w/Chris Hayes show

Catholic Catechism #2124 The name "atheism" covers many very different phenomena. One common form is the practical materialism which restricts its needs and aspirations to space and time. Atheistic humanism falsely considers man to be "an end to himself, and the sole maker, with supreme control, of his own history." 59 Another form of contemporary atheism looks for the liberation of man through economic and social liberation. "It holds that religion, of its very nature, thwarts such emancipation by raising man's hopes in a future life, thus both deceiving him and discouraging him from working for a better form of life on earth."

I don’t often sit home on Sunday mornings watching Sunday news programs on television- most of it is just rehashing news from the previous week which was depressing enough the first time I heard it. But this Sunday morning, my family and I were attending the 10:30 am mass so I had time to kill and happened upon a title that caught my eye. The show was MSNBC’s “Up with Chris Hayes” and the Sunday feature show was entitled “United in Godlessness” – a show about Atheism in America, in politics, in science, in social society and even in church.

The guests were all atheists including the show’s host Chris Hayes (an exCatholic), Susan Jacoby (author), Jamila Bey (Washington Post blogger), Jamie Kilstein (comedian), Richard Dawkins (author), Steven Pinker (scientist), Robert Wright (author) and Nondenominational Christian church Pastor Mike Aus who “came out” Sunday morning on national television as an atheist leading a Christian nondenominational church. [I’d be interested in hearing how his congregation took this ‘coming out’ news.]

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

My initial response to hearing what these people were saying was to be offended by them, most especially the mockery of belief in the Eucharist being the actual Body of Christ and the Cup being the Blood. So as I start this, I am going with my initial reactions… being offended and my knee jerk reaction (yelling at the TV and calling them ‘hypocrites’ and ‘liars’.) Yet after the show, all I really felt was extreme pity for them. And I am not saying that to be condescending, I truly feel pity for any human being that has no belief in anything other than themselves and/or their science. The hopelessness of being an atheist (in my opinion) is incredibly sad. But back to my initial rant… (for now).

Richard Dawkins…, I am used to hearing his tirades on Christians, so I wasn’t surprised by what he was saying, but rather the laughter, giggling and entertainment the other guests found in Dawkins remarks calling Christian beliefs “ridiculous beliefs” and referring to Christians as “nutcases”. Apparently I was giving them more credit for having a respectful discussion on belief vs. no belief than they deserved. I won’t make that mistake twice.

Then Richard Dawkins made one comment that actually got me thinking. He was talking about religious people in politics and the discussion was about giving your vote to a “nutcase” that believes in Christ’s Second Coming or in the Eucharist. He stated that he thinks people of faith in politics should be put to the test- force them to defend their beliefs publicly. He wants politicians to answer for their faith before people vote them into any political office. He was presumably referring to Rick Santorum or perhaps Newt Gingrich when he hypothetically gave an example saying: “Do you truly believe the wafer turns into the Body of Christ?” –his idea of putting a politician in a place of defending the belief they claim to hold. I wonder if Mr. Dawkins would like progressive (a word they all oozed with love over) liberal Nancy Pelosi to answer that same question? Or perhaps President Obama? How would he answer Dawkins’ question about his personal faith and beliefs? Do "progressive" atheists refer to Nancy Pelosi or President Obama as "nutcases" or is that just reserved for nonliberals? Dawkins then went on to attack the Mormon faith without naming Romney as the politician whose faith he was taking pot shots at.

Susan Jacoby showed herself to be a snobbish hypocrite, in my honest opinion. She clearly stated at the start of the show that her atheism is “central” to whom she is and stated that it “shapes her views” in other areas of her life. She then went on (along with the others) to attack Christians for allowing their faith to “shape their views” and for Christianity being “central” to a Christian. I call that hypocrisy. She further offended me by saying (in so many words) that believers of religious beliefs were uneducated and that because of this “lack of education” 80% of conservatives were part of the “religious right” having little education passed the 8th grade. Personally, I found nothing of worth in anything Susan Jacoby had to contribute to the show so I won’t waste anymore time on her here.
Comedian Jamie Kilstein, a proud atheist, had the biggest ego of the bunch. He was on Jacoby’s bandwagon about how smart atheists/progressives were and how dimwitted people of faith are. Besides declaring “the religious right has over stepped it’s bounds” (what bounds and where/when did said over stepping happen, he never said) he went on to say...

“If you’re having a conversation with a religious person, I would start with something like gay rights or something like women’s rights that they could maybe relate to as opposed to saying ‘Everything you’ve been taught as a child is incorrect because I think you’re dumb’.”

Really Jamie? That’s how you approach people of faith? And liberals dare to call Christians “narrow minded” and “intolerant”!

A whopper of a lie came from Jamila Bey a blogger for the Washington Post when she declared that if she were pregnant and the pregnancy was going to kill her that a Catholic hospital would say “fine, let me [Jamila] die” because (according to Jamila) the Catholic Church has legislated that all Catholic hospitals let pregnant women die rather than providing life saving care. The fact is the Catholic Church forbids DIRECT abortion, not indirect abortion to save a life. That is to say, an abortion for the sole purpose of not having a baby is a sin- its murder. The Church does NOT forbid INDIRECT abortion to save a mother’s life.

Directive #47: "Operations, treatments and medications that have as their direct purpose the cure of a proportionately serious pathological condition of a pregnant woman are permitted when they cannot be safely postponed until the unborn child is viable, even if they will result in the death of the unborn child."
Source: http://usccb.org/about/doctrine/ethical-and-religious-directives/

After listening to these atheists and watching Pastor Mike Aus “come out” on television as an atheist leading a Christian nondenominational church a profound sadness hit me. These people were missing so much and they didn’t even know it. Some of them weren’t just missing out; they had rejected what they once had. What a horrid blasphemy to reject God! They were so wrapped up in college degrees, science and their own superior attitudes that they could not see that it was them lacking, not religious people. They are void of faith.

What a terrible thing to have no faith. Believers have a duty to share what they know with unbelievers and to pray for them. We must pray and ask God to have mercy on unbelievers, to gift them with the grace they need to have faith. What a terrible thing for believers not to share their faith with unbelievers! Souls are precious to God, every single one of them. A Christian’s soul is no more important than an Atheist's soul. A lost soul is a horrible crime…made worse if there was something a believer could do and he/she failed to act. If believers don’t share their knowledge and faith with unbelievers are we not guilty of concealing the Truth and keeping them from the joys and fulfillment we’ve found in God? We do not need to beat people over the heads with our bibles, we need to be willing to share our faith when we can and when we can’t, we must pray for unbelievers. Pray that they will have the grace needed for faith to grow.

Catholic Catechism #2125 “Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion. The imputability of this offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances. "Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion.”

Prior to this show, I honestly hadn’t put much thought into Atheism. It was just there…a silent, sad state of being. After listening to this show my eyes have been opened to just how hopeless these people are. I was horrified to imagine an atheist at the moment of their death coming face to face with the Truth of God’s existence and the horror they must feel in that instant of knowing they were wrong in their willful rejection of God.

I truly don’t want a single human being to die an Atheist, to that end, I will pray more than ever for the conversion of souls. What a joy it would be, to witness unbelievers becoming believers!