Abbey Roads on Euthanasia in Belgium

The following post is from one of our favorite blogs, Abbey Roads, written by Terry Nelson.  Mr. Nelson writes with humor, pathos, wisdom and a heart and mind very close to our Lord and His Church.  This is his post on a recent, tragic story from Belgium:

Deaf and dumb... a very sad story.

The story is unbelievable.

If it is true, then it is very sad, and very scary.  These poor men must not have understood that they have a soul, and that God exists, and that he loves them:  That what is invisible is important... eye has not seen, ear has not heard... 

Identical twins have been killed by Belgian doctors in a unique case under the country's euthanasia laws.

The 45-year-old brothers from the Antwerp region were born deaf and sought euthanasia after finding that they would also soon go blind. They told doctors they were unable to bear the thought of not being able to see each other again.

 

The twins, who have not been named but have been pictured on Belgian TV, had spent their entire lives together, sharing a flat and working as cobblers.

Belgium's 'Het Laatste Nieuws' newspaper reported at the weekend that doctors at Brussels University Hospital in Jette "euthanised" the two men by lethal injection last month.

 

Under Belgian law, euthanasia is allowed if those wishing to end their lives are able to make their wishes clear and a doctor judges that they are suffering unbearable pain.
David Dufour, the doctor who presided over the euthanasia, said the twins had died together and had taken the decision in "full conscience".

"They were very happy. It was a relief to see the end of their suffering... - Source
 

Blood and water flowing from the side of Christ as a font of mercy for us, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.

 

"My Lady's Knight": Charles Untz

Terry Nelson's Abbey Roads is one of the most edifying and interesting blogs to be found. He very kindly granted us permission to repost the following. It is a powerful reminder that great saints still walk among us.

Charles Untz once wrote to one of his friends, "Don't take God's mercy for granted because death will come you when you least expect it, so make sure you are as blameless as possible when that time comes."*

The Scapular kid.

Charles Anthony Francis Untz, killed by a driver who did not see him, right in front of his family's home, as Charles set out on his short walk to work.  Charles died that day, March 20, 2000 at the age of eighteen.

On his college application, Charles wrote, "I go to Eucharistic Adoration and Mass almost every morning before school. I think that this sets a better mood for the day. "

Charles enjoyed country living, the horses and other animals, and his job across the street at the turkey farm. He especially enjoyed his scouting experiences. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout on July 8, 1998. For his Eagle project he wrote an altar server handbook for Epiphany Catholic Church, Coon Rapids, MN, and directed the training of the new servers.

Before moving west, he and his family mowed the lawn, and shoveled and plowed the walks and parking lot of St. John Bosco Church, Stamford, VT. Charles also mowed the lawn at St. Francis of Assisi Church, North Adams, MA. Both projects were done as a volunteer.

Charles became an altar server when he was eight. He was the only server at the small parish of St. John Bosco, where he served for 5 years. His family transferred to St. Francis of Assisi where he served for two years. In 1996, the family moved to Andover, Minnesota; and he served at Epiphany Church until his birth into eternal life in 2000. He had that "presence" about him when he was serving that can’t be taught. One could see that he truly believed that Jesus was present.

Charles began praying the Liturgy of the Hours regularly when he was eleven. At the same time, he started serving as a Youth 2000 New England volunteer. He designed the web page, maintained the mailing list, and designed flyers and nametags. During the retreats he was an altar server and sacristan, and the general gopher for whatever was needed. For Youth 2000 Minnesota, he maintained the mailing list, designed the nametags, served at the altar, and was available to help behind the scenes whenever needed.

Charles had a great devotion to Mary. He designed and made his own brown scapular on his Mom’s embroidery machine. On one side was "My Lady" and the other side was "Mary" with twelve stars around it. In 1999, he also made a Mother’s Day card for Mary (this was discovered after his death).

On his "Ambition and Life Purpose" sheet for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, Charles Anthony Francis Untz wrote, "My life purpose is to do the will of God. My ambition in life is to become a saint. There is nothing harder to achieve than this, but I will continue to strive for it. " - Source

Source

Pray for us Charles, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

More on Charles Untz

Young Knights...

Outing Priests and Bishops

One of my wisest brothers in Christ must surely be Terry Nelson at the Abbey-Roads blog. Following is his post on plans by homosexualists to "out" closeted homosexual priests and bishops. Were such efforts aimed at the defiantly heterodox, we would rejoice that "all things work together for good to them that love God." Indeed, the sodomites would be performing a service to the Church in shining a light on the corruption. But invariably, as Terry points out:

Many same sex attracted men have struggled to live according to the teachings of the Church, and as all of us sinners, many fall - and rise again. Priests are not perfect, to preach the truth about homosexuality is not hypocrisy - even if a priest fails to live up to his vows from time to time. If he repents and strives to live accordingly, in time he will be victorious.

From Abbey-Roads

Activists in D.C. intend to begin outing closeted homosexual priests and bishops in retaliation for Archbishop Wuerl's anti-same-sex marriage efforts as well as a USCCB pastoral letter, which has been perceived as an 'anti-gay attack' - when in actual fact it is a defense of marriage, defining Catholic teaching on issues of faith and morals. From the website,

ChurchOuting.org press release: .

ChurchOuting.org is a clearinghouse for reports of priests who are openly gay men in social settings yet professionally closeted in their parishes. The campaign will also accept reports of heterosexual priests who are involved in romantic or sexual relationships, yet support the Archbishop’s efforts to harm lesbian and gay families. - Source .

Our local gay activist Michael Bayly joins his support to the organization's efforts: .

I should say from the start that I support efforts to out the hypocrisy of those Roman Catholic bishops and priests who live secretive gay lives while at the same time either publicly support the official anti-gay rhetoric and efforts of the church’s clerical leadership to strip gay people of civil rights protections, or remain silent in the face of such un-Christlike behavior. Indeed, I resonate with ChurchOuting.org’s founder Phil Attey’s hope that this campaign in Washington, D.C., will “inspire similar campaigns in every archdiocese across the country.” - Source .

Nothing new. .

Didn't Act Up launch a campaign to out closeted public figures way when? Most recently Larry Craig pretty much outed himself when he was caught with his pants down in a MPLS airport. Gay activists like Michael say that type of behavior wouldn't happen if everyone was out and being gay was on equal terms with heterosexuality. In response I like to cite people such as George Michael who seems to prefer that type of sexual adventure even though he lives in a domestic partnership - he famously and unashamedly defended such behavior saying, "It is what gay people do." Yet activists maintain such sleazy behavior is motivated by shame - although in the case of closeted 'bi-sexual' predators who may struggle against such sins, it is just hypocrisy. .

Washington gay activists may be placing all their bets on these tactics of detraction since they appear to have worked so well in the Church of England:

Furthermore, "outing" (or the threat of "outing") may help persuade some homophobic closet gays to stop doing damage to other gay people, and thereby prevent considerable suffering. It can also very effectively pressure homophobic institutions to reconsider their anti-gay policies. .

This is what happened when OutRage! named ten Anglican Bishops last November. Suddenly, for the first time ever, the Church of England began high-level dialogue with the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. In January, the Bishops held a previously unscheduled re-examination of their stance on homosexuality, which resulted in a strongly-worded condemnation of homophobic discrimination and anti-gay violence. Church officials have privately admitted that none of these developments would have occurred if OutRage! had not "provoked a crisis" by naming the Bishops. .

However, perhaps the most significant effect of calling on the Bishops to "Tell The Truth!" is that the whole homophobic establishment is now aware that "outing" is not just an idle threat. OutRage! has ripped open the closet doors of the Church of England. We can, if we decide to, also expose hypocritical and homophobic closet gays in politics, business, the military, judiciary and the police. These people now understand that all those who abuse their power to harm other lesbian and gay people are potential targets. This will probably encourage at least some of them to think twice about being homophobic in the future. - Source .

I thought blackmail was illegal? .

Well, it is certainly not honorable. I suppose all is fair in love and war, and never forget, this is war. Consider as well that 'the sin of the Gentiles is they lack charity', therefore these kind of threats should not surprise anyone. 'Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed,' right? .

. "Fornicator I always was, heretic I never was." - St. Andrew Wourters, Gorcum Martyr .

The fact is, many same sex attracted men have struggled to live according to the teachings of the Church, and as all of us sinners, many fall - and rise again. Priests are not perfect, to preach the truth about homosexuality is not hypocrisy - even if a priest fails to live up to his vows from time to time. If he repents and strives to live accordingly, in time he will be victorious. On the other hand, perhaps there are 'bad' priests living duplicitous lives, and exposure could perhaps bring them to repentance? I don't know. I do know that some priests will suffer for the faith if this happens. Priests wrongly accused, priests who have reformed their lives, and priests actively struggling, as well as priests who reject their homosexual inclination and who have never acted on it. Priests and Bishops who preach the truth despite their failings are not hypocrites. .

If indeed there are active homosexualist priests living duplicitous lives, I strongly suspect their lifestyle is already known by many of those around them - think liberal priests in liberal parishes - therefore I suspect such outings will have little to no effect. Publicising it will only confirm that Perez Hilton is not some odd aberration of gay culture, but typifies an essential weakness of the immature homosexual personality: to complain, to attack, to wallow in self-pity, to gossip, to detract, to calumniate, to mock, to scorn. .