This weekend was at least one day that I had to remove myself from the political dissonance of the last two weeks. The Easter holiday, it seems, needed to be a time to focus on something more meaningful than the posturing emanating at both the state and national levels, some of it, ironically enough, in the name of religion and patriotism.
My wife and I drove to Potomac, Maryland, where we rendezvoused with our children and our grandkids to celebrate this joyous feast. There comes a time when an American has to call a timeout and pay attention to matters other than government and politics. For us, Easter is one of those times.
I hope that those of you who profess the Christian tradition as your claim to faith had a weekend of good will. It’s just as important to extend the spirit of Sunday’s celebration to all sincere people of faith in the Bridgewater area, however different that tradition may be. Even to those of good will with no particular faith conviction.
In the words of the Irish bard, “May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back.”
Showing posts with label Religious Tolerance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religious Tolerance. Show all posts
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Iraq the Ungrateful
This is a story that you can expect not to read much about, or to see analyzed in depth on cable news networks and prime time television: In a disgusting display of cowardice and extreme prejudice, terrorists in Iraq are responsible for the death of Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho who was kidnapped in Mosul, Iraq on February 29.
According to an Associated Press report, Rahho was “the second most senior Catholic cleric in Iraq. " In the same dispatch, “President Bush, the Pope and Iraq's prime minister condemned Rahho's kidnapping,” and “U.S. officials in Baghdad called it 'one more savage attempt by a barbaric enemy to sow strife and discord.'”
The Chaldean Church has had a presence in the land that is now Iraq since the 2nd Century, well before the time of the Prophet Muhammad, who was born around 570 A.D.
Before the steady sectarian crackdown on Christians in Iraq after the second U.S.-led invasion, Chaldeans comprised about 550,000 of Iraq’s estimated 700,000 Christians. Since then, there has been a vast exodus of Christians from Iraq, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. Some observers believe that the remainder may be forced to go underground to assure its minority survival.
Is this the kind of democracy we can continue to expect from our Iraqi “allies?”
According to an Associated Press report, Rahho was “the second most senior Catholic cleric in Iraq. " In the same dispatch, “President Bush, the Pope and Iraq's prime minister condemned Rahho's kidnapping,” and “U.S. officials in Baghdad called it 'one more savage attempt by a barbaric enemy to sow strife and discord.'”
The Chaldean Church has had a presence in the land that is now Iraq since the 2nd Century, well before the time of the Prophet Muhammad, who was born around 570 A.D.
Before the steady sectarian crackdown on Christians in Iraq after the second U.S.-led invasion, Chaldeans comprised about 550,000 of Iraq’s estimated 700,000 Christians. Since then, there has been a vast exodus of Christians from Iraq, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. Some observers believe that the remainder may be forced to go underground to assure its minority survival.
Is this the kind of democracy we can continue to expect from our Iraqi “allies?”
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