Reflections on Trip to Iraq As my country prepares for war with Iraq, I felt compelled to go to Iraq and meet the people we are preparing to kill. The challenge now, as I experienced in returning is to convey to others what our delgation saw, hear and learned.

What stands out is the warmth and goodness of the Iraqi people we met with in homes, in hospitals, on the streets, at the university..and wherever we went. And it saddened and angered me to see the poverty, suffering and death caused to such good people by the many years of sanctions. Wherever we went, we were aksed a basic question. Why does President Bush want to go to war with Iraq? Most people in Iraq believe a big reason, among others is the vast oil reserves in Iraq that are needed in the U.s. to keep our way of life going.

While the culture, religion and history of Iraq and the Middle east are very different from Latin America, I found something they share in common...the overwhelming presence and power of the United States.

As in Latin America, the U.S. is deeply entrenched militarily in the Middle east. And, as in Latin America, those needed resources by the U.s. in the Middle East, CANNOT be acquire without the firepower and men with guns. My coming to Iraq has only confirmed and clarified how important it is for us to close the SOA/WHISC and change U.S. foreing policy in Latin America. Now, as our country prepare to go to war with Iraq, we must do all we can to prevent it. Among the tnes of thousands killed in Iraq will be many of the children, women and men we met and learned from on our delegation. This morning I read Psalm 33. It reminded me that our enmy in the U.S. is not in Iraq, but ignorance. Psalm 33 says, "Rulers are not saved by their armies. Nor can they find hope in their weapons. Despite their pwer, they cannot bring peace." May our weapon be knowledge, love, justice and nonviolence. Fr. Roy Bourgeois

-- Harry (HC@covt.org), December 26, 2002

Answers

Jmj

Good ol' "Harry" leaves us a message from "Father Roy Bourgeois," as though the latter is a simple parish priest. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is an ultra-liberal, pox-christi-type activist, with a long record of anti-American activities. He also needs an "M.M." after his name, to identify him as a member of the Maryknoll Missionaries congregation. This once-great group of religious priests, nuns, and brothers -- noted for evangelizing China and other third-world nations -- went haywire a few decades back and fell into liberation theology, became commie-sympathizers (esp. in Latin America), and cut back on thinking about God and spreading his truth. Here are some facts about Fr. Bourgeois, M.M. -----

"After military service, he entered the seminary of Maryknoll Missionary Order in 1968. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1972 and worked with the poor in Bolivia for five years. In December 1981, Fr. Bourgeois conducted a five-day hunger strike at the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois, to protest the murders of four American missionaries in El Salvador and the Chicago Archdiocese's silence.

-- (TakeYour@Garbage.ElsewhereHarry), December 27, 2002.

"In 1983, Fr. Bourgeois entered Fort Benning to protest the United States' training of Latin American military personnel involved in human rights abuses. Bourgeois and some friends dressed in military uniforms, entered the base and played a tape with the last homily by a slain Salvadoran Catholic archbishop who pleaded for an end to the civil war. In a bench trial, Judge J. Robert Elliott found Bourgeois guilty of re-entering a military base after being removed from it, unlawfully wearing a miliary uniform, and committing assault. Father Bourgeois served a 15-month prison sentence for his convictions. On November 16, 1990, the first anniversary of the killing of six Jesuit priests and two coworkers in El Salvador, Father Bourgeois poured blood on the School of the Americas' Hall of Fame as a protest. He was indicted for wilfully damaging government property, and Judge J. Robert Elliott presided over his jury trial. Father Bourgeois was sentenced to 16 months in jail at the Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee and restitution ... Father Bourgeois was released after 14 months. Judge Elliott once again presided over Father Bourgeois' trial on April 29 and found Fr. Roy guilty of criminal trespass. He was sentenced to the maximum possible penalty of six months in jail. He was released on December 18, 1996.

-- (TakeYour@Garbage.ElsewhereHarry), December 27, 2002.

"Fr. Bourgeois has been an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy in El Salvador over [many] years. Three of these years have been spent in U.S. federal prisons. He is currently working full-time at the School of the Americas Watch just outside the main entrance of Fort Benning."

Implanted in the propaganda posted by Harry is this question: "Why does President Bush want to go to war with Iraq?" How incredibly stupid! Nobody, least of all G. W. Bush, WANTS to go to war. Everybody wants the Iraqi people to live with peace and justice, under a decent leadership and without incredibly deadly weapons. That is all. Bush and all Americans WANT those things to happen without conflict. A "coup" is all that it would take, and a "coup" is exactly what should happen.

-- (TakeYour@Garbage.ElsewhereHarry), December 27, 2002.

...Maryknoll Missionaries congregation. This once-great group of religious priests, nuns, and brothers...went haywire a few decades back and fell into liberation theology, became commie-sympathizers (esp. in Latin America), and cut back on thinking about God and spreading his truth

You're so right. They weren't alone, either. Lots of other religious congregations were absolutely ravaged by liberalism, feminism, & political correctness in the wake of the New Springtime.

-- jake (jake1@pngusa.net), December 27, 2002.

On the other hand, we have to avoid falling into the logical fallacy that is so often observed in people who want to live in the past -- the "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" fallacy. The words mean "after this, therefore because of this." When "thing B" happens after "thing A," it does not necessarily follow that "thing A" CAUSED "thing B." Conclusions about (non-)causality must be drawn very carefully.

People who, through stupidity or ill use of free will, invented or adopted a FALSE "spirit of Vatican II" went off into "outer space" (like the Maryknollers and many other orders/congregations). They lost their faith and abandoned obedience. Many folded, while others barely hang on as clubs of old-timers (who can't get new vocations).

The remaining excellent groups of religious men and women -- the ones who are obedient to the pope and who believe all Catholic teachings -- follow the TRUE spirit of Vatican II. They retained faith and obedience, and they flourish, with many new vocations. And new associations of religious and laity keep springing up, all staying within the true Church.

The Council, a great gift of the Holy Spirit, did not harm the Church. It was sinful or stupid men and women (e.g., in some religious and lay organizations) who harmed (and continue to harm) themselves and the Church.

-- (TakeYour@Garbage.ElsewhereHarry), December 27, 2002.

Lora Beth Roberts and Scott Travis Beard were united in holy matrimony on June 12, 2004 at Campbell Street Church of Christ in Jackson, Tennessee with a reception following. The ceremony was officiated by Ray Hawk. The bride wore a strapless ivory gown made of tiara satin with a beaded bodice and organza overlay on the skirt. Both the skirt and cathedral length train were edged with a satin band, also adorned with beading. The bride wore a matching cathedral length veil highlighted with shimmering gold accents. Her bouquet was a combination of ivory and champagne roses accented with blue mascari.

-- brad s dooley (brad_dooley@dell.com), February 10, 2005.