Welcoming Pope John Paul II to Lourdes, President Jacques Chirac of France's remarks revealed the divide between the Church and Europe. Chirac remarked that "France and the Holy See are united in this struggle for a world that puts people first at all times."

"We are driven by the ideal of humanity united by universal values and capable by that same token of respecting and celebrating the diversity of its histories and its cultures; humanity all the more assured in its quest for knowledge and progress since it abides by the ethics of responsibility and the requisites of solidarity."

I wonder if Chirac realizes the irony of that statement. Putting people first ahead of God is what gets the world into trouble. Materialism, secularism, socialism, and most other modern movements all put either the individual or the collective society first, but all have brought disaster because their priorities are wrong. Chirac doesn't even mention anything about God in all this.

The Holy See is struggling for a world which puts God first at all times, not people. Chirac is either clueless about this or is trying to sneakily suggest that the Church backs the me-first attitude plaguing much of the West.

- Posted by at 9:53 PM

Australia is set to pass legislation banning gay marriage, as well as denying the validity of all such unions contracted in foreign countries. This was accomplished when the opposition Labor party agreed to support the legislation.

This is pretty refreshing news, because this is the first time I've seen a Western country's two major parties both rejecting the gay agenda. And that's really the key to opposing the activists, since they make up such a small minority. It's especially puzzling why they have so much power here in the US, since the 2-party system essentially keeps most fringe voices from influencing the political system. If the Democrats chose to reject them, I don't think most gay activists would have anywhere to go.

However, this may also reflect a return to common sense in Australia generally among liberals, since it is also reported that several prominent feminists there are also rethinking the wisdom of abortion. It would be nice of our cousins down under to pioneer the way back to a Christian moralistic society. My prayers go with them in that.

- Posted by at 11:33 PM

Slovakia's government has rebuked the Swedish government for jailing a Pentecostal minister who preached a sermon against homosexuality.

The Christian Democratic Movement, the ruling party of Slovakia, called the jailing a "breach of human rights, the right to religious freedom, and the right of expression."

Well, it's nice to see that there are some European politicians who still have common sense in their heads. Slovakia's government at least can see that the homosexual movement is attempting to impose its own views by force and crush all dissent. Reminds me a lot of totalitarian movements which have been assaulting Europe the last century.

- Posted by at 9:45 PM

The so-called health officials in Britain, apparently having been affected by an STD which degrades common sense, think that more sex education and access to STD clinics is the solution, even though they've been trying that all along, as the rates of STD infection have soared 57% since 1995.

A free bit of advice to the experts: It is impossible to catch an STD if you do not have sex. That's why they're called Sexually Transmitted Diseases! This is the hallmark of prevention for almost any other disease except AIDS and STDs - avoid situations which would make you vulnerable to catching the disease.

- Posted by at 10:44 PM

About 1300 years ago, Europe faced a threat from Islam, which was stopped by the Christian armies of Charles Martel. Today, Europe again faces a threat from Islam, but there are no Christian armies available this time around.

Europe's problem, in particular, is that its native population base is shrinking. Meanwhile, immigating Muslims are not only increasing their size by natural birth, they are also not being acculturated into the existing European culture.

Already in France, Muslims have a much higher rate of fertility than the non-Muslim population. This will begin to ripple down through the years, as a majority of the school children will be Muslims about a couple decades or so from now, then further down the road, they will probably make up the majority of new recruits in the French Army as well as the police.

This poses a serious problem for France because Muslims aren't being acculturated. If they keep their own ways and raise their children the same way, it's more possible they may want to set up a government more Islam-friendly than the current secularist one. Suppose that in 20 or 30 years' time, there is a revolution on their part to take over the country. The results would likely not be good for the French, since a majority of those of fighting age would be Muslims, and by then their presence in the army and police force would make it difficult to put them down. Add to this the woeful record the French have had in military affairs, plus the recent pacifistic side of a good portion of their populace, and it spells disaster.

France seems to be waking up to the reality a little late, but it misread things badly by attempting to ban the veil. That will likely only build up further resistance in the Muslim community to blend in with French society.

Given the rot of Europe's culture, the Muslim pressure may be providential, as one way or another it will likely force change in Europe - either by a re-Christianization of the continent, or as another region conquered by Islam in the course of its history.

Europe was once a great house, but by continually refusing to build on the rock of the Church, the shifting sands of time are going to bring it down sooner or later, and great will be the fall thereof.

- Posted by at 6:44 PM