Christ has Risen!

Easter, of course, was wonderful and always is. Just imagine the Tridentine Easter liturgy in a church like this one - of which we are unworthy members - and you’ll understand why. But I squandered Lent. If not for the flu, tendonitis, atrial fibrillation, and a host of business problems I would consider myself to have done no penance whatsoever. But, as Joshua over at Katolik Shinja expresses so well,

I finally realized that disappointment might be what the season’s all about: disappointment with one’s sinful self. Lent is for penitence. If I want to feel good about myself, I’ll turn to Oprah and Dr. Phil.

Some have criticized the media, bloggers, and pro-life activists for creating a "circus atmosphere" around Terri Schiavo’s terrible plight. These critics miss the point entirely. Of course it is true that other brain-damaged and disabled individuals have suffered similar injustices in this country. Of course it is true that the abortion mills in your town commit worse crimes every day. But this case is unique in one very important respect: there are thousands of people ready, willing, and able to feed this woman, at no expense or inconvenience to her husband or her caregivers, and the courts have FORBIDDEN anyone from so doing. It has now become a crime for two parents to provide their daughter - innocent of wrongdoing - with the minimal basic care necessary to preserve every human life. That’s not worth a media circus? That’s not worth the energy of pro-life activists? That’s not worth the attention of every father and mother in America who may one day see their own child in the same situation?

I may have been guilty of hyperbole is saying that the Schiavo case proves our system is "damaged beyond repair". Our system, like any system, is only as good as the people within it, and with better men the system would not have failed Mrs. Schiavo. But we’ve got to realize that it is impossible to have justice without real authority invested in our so-called "executives" - monarchial, hierarchical, patriarchal authority. That simple truth is not likely to please republicans, democrats, or federalists, and therefore we are not likely to see meaningful change anytime soon.

Barring any substantive change, what should be done? There is only one realistic solution, and that is for decent, traditional-minded Christians to concentrate their numbers regionally. And so we’re back to my favorite hobby-horse, Catholic resettlement. If you live in a region where the vast majority of residents share core values on the things that matter most, in all likelihood your daughter will not be dehydrated and starved to death by judicial order. In the first place, no court would award guardianship to a man who wants her dead. And if it did, no court would order a hospice to comply with his homocidal wishes. And if it did, no local hospice would be willing to comply with the order. There would be no nurses willing to remove the feeding tube. There would be no policemen willing to guard the doors. The local bishop would make a few phone calls, and contracts would be cancelled, tenants would be evicted, services would be denied, products would not be shipped, and the enemy’s whole economy would come crashing down on his head.

Speaking of Catholic resettlement, Amy Welborn hosts an excellent discussion pertaining to the Catholic community forming in Front Royal, Virgina very exciting.