The Areopagus 5-20-08
posted by Phil Lawson
5-20-08
April 30th and May 1st, the Pointers for Life, a campus organization at UW-Stevens Point put up a display called the “Cemetery of the Innocents”. This display is some 4000 white crosses placed in the ground to symbolize the number of children killed each day through abortion in the United States.
The students make sure to watch over the display as there are often threats of vandalism. This year the threat materialized, in broad daylight, as a student senator went through the display and started destroying it.
As this happened, the students, who had gone through all the proper channels to put up the display and were well within their rights, promptly called Campus Security and took out a video camera. They calmly did nothing to provoke further confrontation.
Personally, I am in awe at their self-discipline and foresightedness. Any kind of confrontation on their part would have negated the good they were trying to do. I’m not so sure I would have had the fortitude to calmly Not Act in defense as they did. For that I give these young people a tremendous amount of credit. Indeed, in recently talking to the group’s president, she expressed to me the need to pray for this young man.
The interaction and vandalism can be viewed here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t5NeLyMZUYM
Here is a story that appeared in the local papers about the vandalism.
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/WDH0101/805020560/1981
Tolerance of other’s opinions is of course the byword and standard today, but here you have someone arguing that the Pointers for Life should not be allowed to express their views because they conflict with his. How do you rectify such a quandary? The University, to their credit, has spoken out against the actions of this student—however he is also a student senator, and as of now, remains one.
My favorite quote came from a very articulate young lady who was able to use modern parlance and verbiage to support her point:
"It's just so disrespectful, and it's disappointing that this comes from UWSP students. I've always thought of this campus as a tolerant place. ... Someone made these (crosses) with their own hands," said Pointers for Life member Tracey Oudenhoven. Source: Wausau Daily Herald 5-2-08
Touche’!
Here is the story as reported by Lifesitenews.com:
CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Wisconsin U Student Senator Vandalizing Pro-Life Display of Crosses
ARLINGTON, VA, May 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Thursday, May 1, 2008, a peaceful Cemetery of the Innocents display at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (UWSP) was vandalized by a Student Senator, Roderick King.
After having their display vandalized on the night of April 30th, several members from the UWSP pro-life group, Pointers for Life, were repairing the display around 11am on the morning of May 1st when a group of angry students, lead by UWSP Student Senator Roderick King, began to walk though the rows, taking crosses from the ground and throwing them.
King began to voice his complaints and said that Pointers for Life had "no right" to display the crosses, and that it was "his duty as a paying student" to take them down.
When the campus Protective Services officer arrived, most of the students stopped vandalizing the display; however, Senator King did not stop. He claimed, "The freedom of speech does not cover these signs and symbols!" Only after the Protective Services officer threatened to make him pay for damages did Senator King stop.
Bob Tomlinson, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, apologized to Pointers for Life for the disrespect and vandalism by the students. Student Senators Katie Kloth and Erica Wardle came to the display and clearly defined the university's policies, asserting that Pointers for Life had correctly reserved the space and were allowed to host the display.
That night, Pointers for Life submitted a complaint to the Student Government Association (SGA) and asked for Senator King to resign or be disciplined appropriately under the student government Constitution. However, the student government has yet to force Senator King to resign.
Jackie Kryzkowski, the Pointers for Life President, said, "Student Senators should be helping to defend our freedom of speech, not trying to take it away because of personal beliefs. If students had a problem with the display, they could exercise their freedom of speech maturely by protesting it peacefully, not by defacing our display."
Ryan Wrasse, another member of the group pointed out: "As we filed our official complaint with the UWSP Student Government Association, we also issued a strong ultimatum: The SGA could either vote to retain Senator King and condone this type of behavior, or remove him from Senate and send a clear message to UWSP students and faculty that this type of behavior will not be tolerated."
Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America, remarked: "This event shows that our country is not immune to the situation going on in Canada right now, where campus pro-life groups are being singled out and excluded from the guaranteed freedom of speech and expression on college campuses. This is not the first time that a student group has had this same type of peaceful display vandalized or has faced discrimination on a college campus. SFLA is here to make sure all college pro-lifers are guaranteed their rights to demonstrate on behalf of those who have no voice."
For more details and perspectives on this story:
Jill Stanek offers her thoughts and more background on the story:
http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/05/proabort_studen.html
Michelle Malkin offers further thoughts:
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/07/video-another-campus-pro-life-memorial-vandalized/
Phil’s Tidbits:
This past Sunday is designated “Trinity Sunday” –to honor the 3 Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. Too often when the Trinity is mentioned, it’s followed by the phrase “it’s a mystery” and the topic is changed. Not this week at St. Peter’s!
“Father Kevin C. Louis gave this excellent homily at St. Peter Catholic Church in Stevens Point, WI, illustrating the relationship between the life of the Trinity and the total gift of self in married love, which extends even to the couple’s fertility. Please pass it on, this message needs to be heard!”-Darcy Bunn
http://www.saintpetercatholic.com/blog/2008/05/gospel-and-homily-for-trinity-sunday.html
Several months ago Georgetown released a study that was trumpeted as showing the Catholic Church loses more of its members as they grow up then the others. Here’s a follow-up article that makes some interesting points that were overlooked in the initial response…stating that in overall numbers we do lose the most, of course we’re also the largest---however as a percentage, the Catholic Church actually does the best at retaining her faithful.
19-May-2008 -- Catholic News Agency
Georgetown Researchers Concerned over Interpretations of “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey”
Washington DC, May 17, 2008 (CNA).- The Catholic results of the Pew survey entitled "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey" have been closely examined by CARA, a Georgetown University research center who points out that commentators may have initially jumped to conclusions after reading the results in the Pew study.
Mark Gray, Director of CARA Catholic Polls; and Joseph Claude Harris, an independent Church research analyst, note in a Letter to the Editor in the April 6, 2008 edition of Our Sunday Visitor that when the Pew survey results were released, “Commentators were swift to assign blame, noting a range of factors from the sex abuse crisis to shortages of priests, or even the long-term effects of the Second Vatican Council.”
The Catholic Church has lost the most members out of all the denominations but, as Gray explained to CNA, “it's also the biggest religion and when you translate the discussion in to proportions you can see the Catholic Church is doing quite well comparatively. It keeps more of its young faithful than any Protestant denomination.”
A CARA essay titled, “The Impact of Religious Switching and Secularization on the Estimated Size of the U.S. Adult Catholic Population,” details the proportions: the “Pew study indicates that the Catholic Church has retained 68 percent of those who grew up Catholic. By comparison, 60 percent of those raised Baptist are still Baptists as adults.” Retention rates are much lower for “Lutherans (59 percent), Methodists and Pentecostals (both 47 percent), Episcopalians (45 percent), and Presbyterians (40 percent).”
In fact, out of all religions in the U.S. consisting of at least 3 million adult members, “only those who were raised Jewish or Mormon are more likely than Catholics to keep their faith as adults (76 and 70 percent, respectively),” the essay stated.
Another issue addressed by CARA is the concern that Pew’s “Religious Landscape Survey” underestimates the size of the Catholic population.
CARA points out that the Pew survey “estimated a smaller proportion of Latinos selfidentifying as Catholic compared to other surveys (i.e., where Spanish or bilingual interviewing is used), including other recent Pew studies.” This is something noted by the authors of the Pew report who state, “The number of Latinos in the Landscape Survey who identify themselves as Catholic (58%) is considerably lower than in a major survey of Latinos the Forum conducted in 2006 with the Pew Hispanic Research Center, where more than two-thirds (68%) identified as Catholic.”
The CARA essay estimates that “The difference between the 58 percent and 68 percent affiliation among adult Latinos is equivalent to 2.7 million U.S. adults.”
Another matter that has led commentators to jump to conclusions is that the Pew report does not include information as to when a person left the Catholic Church.
In a 2003 poll, CARA found that “more than half of former Catholics stopped considering themselves Catholic before 1988 (54 percent).” Gray told CNA that the amount of Catholics leaving the Church has been fairly constant over time. “There are not a lot of big differences in any segment of time and no evidence of some moment where there was a mass exodus.”
The CARA essay notes, “The median age at which former Catholics stopped considering themselves as Catholic is 21. This median age is consistent with research that indicates that these religious changes may often coincide with the young adult stage of life where separation from family, relocation, increased mobility, and marriage are common”
CARA’s report concluded by stating that the presentation of the results “may have left the impression that a vast number of Catholics recently got up and left the faith and that these losses were worse than those experienced by any other faith. In relative terms—as the percentage of those who retained the affiliation of their childhood—the Catholic Church has been among the most successful faiths in the United States."
From my friend, Angel Gebeau: “It’s interesting that the religions retaining the best are the religions that impact lifestyle the most and not the other way around.”
This is a disturbing story. Obviously there is more to this then what is included in the article. Nonetheless, the facts are abhorrent.
US Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Asylum Case for Chinese Forced Abortion Victim
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)--The Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of a Chinese couple seeking asylum from China's brutal One Child Policy.
Asylum applicant Yi Qiang Yang married his wife when he was 20 and she was 17, defying Chinese laws that suppress population growth by requiring men to wait for marriage until the age of 22 and women until the age of 20. Yang's lawyers claim they married in a private religious ceremony.
When authorities discovered that Yang's wife was eight months pregnant, they forced her to have an abortion because she had become pregnant before the legal age of marriage, according to testimony submitted by Yang's attorneys.
"The fetus was placed in a bag and disposed of in front of Ling" states Yang's legal brief.
Yang's attorney writes that "Because traditionally married spouses are unable to register their marriages with the government, the state treats such couples who have children as violators of the population control policy," He adds that "Such couples are often subjected to forced abortions or sterilizations" according to the Christian Science Monitor.
China's One Child Policy, which has been in effect since the 1970s, regularly forces women to undergo abortions if they have more than a single child in urban areas, or two children in rural areas. Those who are unmarried under Chinese law are prohibited from having any children.
To end on an upbeat note—we continue through May, traditionally dedicated to Mary. Pope Benedict in the book “Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI” published by Magnificat (Thanks Jeremy!) points out the following:
“We must become a longing for God. The Fathers of the Church say that prayer, properly understood, is nothing other than becoming a longing for God. In Mary this petition has been granted: she is, as it were, the open vessel of longing, in which life becomes prayer and prayer becomes life. Saint John wonderfully conveys this process by never mentioning Mary’s name in his Gospel. She no longer has any name except ‘the Mother of Jesus.’ It is as if she had handed over her personal dimension in order now to be solely at his disposal, and precisely thereby had become a person…”
May we do likewise!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
April 30th and May 1st, the Pointers for Life, a campus organization at UW-Stevens Point put up a display called the “Cemetery of the Innocents”. This display is some 4000 white crosses placed in the ground to symbolize the number of children killed each day through abortion in the United States.
The students make sure to watch over the display as there are often threats of vandalism. This year the threat materialized, in broad daylight, as a student senator went through the display and started destroying it.
As this happened, the students, who had gone through all the proper channels to put up the display and were well within their rights, promptly called Campus Security and took out a video camera. They calmly did nothing to provoke further confrontation.
Personally, I am in awe at their self-discipline and foresightedness. Any kind of confrontation on their part would have negated the good they were trying to do. I’m not so sure I would have had the fortitude to calmly Not Act in defense as they did. For that I give these young people a tremendous amount of credit. Indeed, in recently talking to the group’s president, she expressed to me the need to pray for this young man.
The interaction and vandalism can be viewed here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t5NeLyMZUYM
Here is a story that appeared in the local papers about the vandalism.
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/WDH0101/805020560/1981
Tolerance of other’s opinions is of course the byword and standard today, but here you have someone arguing that the Pointers for Life should not be allowed to express their views because they conflict with his. How do you rectify such a quandary? The University, to their credit, has spoken out against the actions of this student—however he is also a student senator, and as of now, remains one.
My favorite quote came from a very articulate young lady who was able to use modern parlance and verbiage to support her point:
"It's just so disrespectful, and it's disappointing that this comes from UWSP students. I've always thought of this campus as a tolerant place. ... Someone made these (crosses) with their own hands," said Pointers for Life member Tracey Oudenhoven. Source: Wausau Daily Herald 5-2-08
Touche’!
Here is the story as reported by Lifesitenews.com:
CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Wisconsin U Student Senator Vandalizing Pro-Life Display of Crosses
ARLINGTON, VA, May 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Thursday, May 1, 2008, a peaceful Cemetery of the Innocents display at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (UWSP) was vandalized by a Student Senator, Roderick King.
After having their display vandalized on the night of April 30th, several members from the UWSP pro-life group, Pointers for Life, were repairing the display around 11am on the morning of May 1st when a group of angry students, lead by UWSP Student Senator Roderick King, began to walk though the rows, taking crosses from the ground and throwing them.
King began to voice his complaints and said that Pointers for Life had "no right" to display the crosses, and that it was "his duty as a paying student" to take them down.
When the campus Protective Services officer arrived, most of the students stopped vandalizing the display; however, Senator King did not stop. He claimed, "The freedom of speech does not cover these signs and symbols!" Only after the Protective Services officer threatened to make him pay for damages did Senator King stop.
Bob Tomlinson, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, apologized to Pointers for Life for the disrespect and vandalism by the students. Student Senators Katie Kloth and Erica Wardle came to the display and clearly defined the university's policies, asserting that Pointers for Life had correctly reserved the space and were allowed to host the display.
That night, Pointers for Life submitted a complaint to the Student Government Association (SGA) and asked for Senator King to resign or be disciplined appropriately under the student government Constitution. However, the student government has yet to force Senator King to resign.
Jackie Kryzkowski, the Pointers for Life President, said, "Student Senators should be helping to defend our freedom of speech, not trying to take it away because of personal beliefs. If students had a problem with the display, they could exercise their freedom of speech maturely by protesting it peacefully, not by defacing our display."
Ryan Wrasse, another member of the group pointed out: "As we filed our official complaint with the UWSP Student Government Association, we also issued a strong ultimatum: The SGA could either vote to retain Senator King and condone this type of behavior, or remove him from Senate and send a clear message to UWSP students and faculty that this type of behavior will not be tolerated."
Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America, remarked: "This event shows that our country is not immune to the situation going on in Canada right now, where campus pro-life groups are being singled out and excluded from the guaranteed freedom of speech and expression on college campuses. This is not the first time that a student group has had this same type of peaceful display vandalized or has faced discrimination on a college campus. SFLA is here to make sure all college pro-lifers are guaranteed their rights to demonstrate on behalf of those who have no voice."
For more details and perspectives on this story:
Jill Stanek offers her thoughts and more background on the story:
http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/05/proabort_studen.html
Michelle Malkin offers further thoughts:
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/07/video-another-campus-pro-life-memorial-vandalized/
Phil’s Tidbits:
This past Sunday is designated “Trinity Sunday” –to honor the 3 Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. Too often when the Trinity is mentioned, it’s followed by the phrase “it’s a mystery” and the topic is changed. Not this week at St. Peter’s!
“Father Kevin C. Louis gave this excellent homily at St. Peter Catholic Church in Stevens Point, WI, illustrating the relationship between the life of the Trinity and the total gift of self in married love, which extends even to the couple’s fertility. Please pass it on, this message needs to be heard!”-Darcy Bunn
http://www.saintpetercatholic.com/blog/2008/05/gospel-and-homily-for-trinity-sunday.html
Several months ago Georgetown released a study that was trumpeted as showing the Catholic Church loses more of its members as they grow up then the others. Here’s a follow-up article that makes some interesting points that were overlooked in the initial response…stating that in overall numbers we do lose the most, of course we’re also the largest---however as a percentage, the Catholic Church actually does the best at retaining her faithful.
19-May-2008 -- Catholic News Agency
Georgetown Researchers Concerned over Interpretations of “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey”
Washington DC, May 17, 2008 (CNA).- The Catholic results of the Pew survey entitled "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey" have been closely examined by CARA, a Georgetown University research center who points out that commentators may have initially jumped to conclusions after reading the results in the Pew study.
Mark Gray, Director of CARA Catholic Polls; and Joseph Claude Harris, an independent Church research analyst, note in a Letter to the Editor in the April 6, 2008 edition of Our Sunday Visitor that when the Pew survey results were released, “Commentators were swift to assign blame, noting a range of factors from the sex abuse crisis to shortages of priests, or even the long-term effects of the Second Vatican Council.”
The Catholic Church has lost the most members out of all the denominations but, as Gray explained to CNA, “it's also the biggest religion and when you translate the discussion in to proportions you can see the Catholic Church is doing quite well comparatively. It keeps more of its young faithful than any Protestant denomination.”
A CARA essay titled, “The Impact of Religious Switching and Secularization on the Estimated Size of the U.S. Adult Catholic Population,” details the proportions: the “Pew study indicates that the Catholic Church has retained 68 percent of those who grew up Catholic. By comparison, 60 percent of those raised Baptist are still Baptists as adults.” Retention rates are much lower for “Lutherans (59 percent), Methodists and Pentecostals (both 47 percent), Episcopalians (45 percent), and Presbyterians (40 percent).”
In fact, out of all religions in the U.S. consisting of at least 3 million adult members, “only those who were raised Jewish or Mormon are more likely than Catholics to keep their faith as adults (76 and 70 percent, respectively),” the essay stated.
Another issue addressed by CARA is the concern that Pew’s “Religious Landscape Survey” underestimates the size of the Catholic population.
CARA points out that the Pew survey “estimated a smaller proportion of Latinos selfidentifying as Catholic compared to other surveys (i.e., where Spanish or bilingual interviewing is used), including other recent Pew studies.” This is something noted by the authors of the Pew report who state, “The number of Latinos in the Landscape Survey who identify themselves as Catholic (58%) is considerably lower than in a major survey of Latinos the Forum conducted in 2006 with the Pew Hispanic Research Center, where more than two-thirds (68%) identified as Catholic.”
The CARA essay estimates that “The difference between the 58 percent and 68 percent affiliation among adult Latinos is equivalent to 2.7 million U.S. adults.”
Another matter that has led commentators to jump to conclusions is that the Pew report does not include information as to when a person left the Catholic Church.
In a 2003 poll, CARA found that “more than half of former Catholics stopped considering themselves Catholic before 1988 (54 percent).” Gray told CNA that the amount of Catholics leaving the Church has been fairly constant over time. “There are not a lot of big differences in any segment of time and no evidence of some moment where there was a mass exodus.”
The CARA essay notes, “The median age at which former Catholics stopped considering themselves as Catholic is 21. This median age is consistent with research that indicates that these religious changes may often coincide with the young adult stage of life where separation from family, relocation, increased mobility, and marriage are common”
CARA’s report concluded by stating that the presentation of the results “may have left the impression that a vast number of Catholics recently got up and left the faith and that these losses were worse than those experienced by any other faith. In relative terms—as the percentage of those who retained the affiliation of their childhood—the Catholic Church has been among the most successful faiths in the United States."
From my friend, Angel Gebeau: “It’s interesting that the religions retaining the best are the religions that impact lifestyle the most and not the other way around.”
This is a disturbing story. Obviously there is more to this then what is included in the article. Nonetheless, the facts are abhorrent.
US Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Asylum Case for Chinese Forced Abortion Victim
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)--The Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of a Chinese couple seeking asylum from China's brutal One Child Policy.
Asylum applicant Yi Qiang Yang married his wife when he was 20 and she was 17, defying Chinese laws that suppress population growth by requiring men to wait for marriage until the age of 22 and women until the age of 20. Yang's lawyers claim they married in a private religious ceremony.
When authorities discovered that Yang's wife was eight months pregnant, they forced her to have an abortion because she had become pregnant before the legal age of marriage, according to testimony submitted by Yang's attorneys.
"The fetus was placed in a bag and disposed of in front of Ling" states Yang's legal brief.
Yang's attorney writes that "Because traditionally married spouses are unable to register their marriages with the government, the state treats such couples who have children as violators of the population control policy," He adds that "Such couples are often subjected to forced abortions or sterilizations" according to the Christian Science Monitor.
China's One Child Policy, which has been in effect since the 1970s, regularly forces women to undergo abortions if they have more than a single child in urban areas, or two children in rural areas. Those who are unmarried under Chinese law are prohibited from having any children.
To end on an upbeat note—we continue through May, traditionally dedicated to Mary. Pope Benedict in the book “Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI” published by Magnificat (Thanks Jeremy!) points out the following:
“We must become a longing for God. The Fathers of the Church say that prayer, properly understood, is nothing other than becoming a longing for God. In Mary this petition has been granted: she is, as it were, the open vessel of longing, in which life becomes prayer and prayer becomes life. Saint John wonderfully conveys this process by never mentioning Mary’s name in his Gospel. She no longer has any name except ‘the Mother of Jesus.’ It is as if she had handed over her personal dimension in order now to be solely at his disposal, and precisely thereby had become a person…”
May we do likewise!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
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