Unfortunately it’s a common story:  You get changed for phys. ed. class, lock up your valuable and belongings, then make your way to the gym to begin class.  After a difficult class period of work outs and exercise, you return to your “secured” locker only to discover the door to your locker is open, your things thrown around the room, and your money or valuables missing.  You tell your teacher, who then reports the incident to administration with the hopes that someway, somehow… your things will be returned.  Normally, this is not the case however… because there are rarely any witnesses to these types of crimes, the guilty parties, though suspected, are never punished due to lack of evidence. 

A sophomore at Linden High School in California decided enough was enough and took it upon himself to take matters into his own hands.  Justin Betti set up a small camera inside a locker in order to catch a prolific locker-room thief.. . and catch them he did!  The twist however is that the perpetrator was not one of the usual likely suspects… it was none other than… a teacher!

The video shows a teacher going through the lockers and taking money out of student backpacks!  Unbelievable! 

Thoughts? 

Yesterday, an estimated 150,000 people jammed into Vatican Square to hear the final address of Benedict XVI as Pope.  In his departing remarks he thanked the masses and urged world Catholics for prayer and for total obedience to the next Pope as he also promised to not interfere in any way with the governing of the Church.

The following are some of the Pope’s most telling comments from yesterday:

“To love the church means also to have the courage to take difficult, painful decisions, always keeping the good of the church in mind, not oneself.

“I have had moments of joy and light, but also moments that haven’t been easy… moments of turbulent seas and rough winds, as has occurred in the history of the church when it seemed like the Lord was sleeping.”

“I have taken this step with the full understanding of the seriousness and also novelty of the decision, but with a profound serenity in my soul.”

Today is Benedict’s final day as Pope, and as early as this coming Monday the cardinal electors will begin their deliberations into the election of the next Pontiff.  With so much attention on allegations against high ranking members of the clergy, the election of the next leader of Roman Catholicism has an added significance.

Following his formal resignation today, Benedict will be known as Pope Emeritus. 

Thoughts?  

Previously, I had posted a blog topic concerning the issue of rape in India.  The crux of that post was that rape in India has quickly become a problem of epidemic proportions as many rapes go uninvestigated, or the victim is blamed for enticing her attacker, or worse still the victim was counseled to actually marry her attacker.  Victims would never be treated in such a way in our country, right?

Last spring a student at the University of North Carolina reported that she was raped, and little if anything has been done to investigate the accusation.  Landen Gambill claims that not only has the school not fully investigated the charges, but her attacker is still on campus and a student at the school, and in a shocking turn of events, she is actually being charged with a violation of the school’s Honor Code.  The specific violation includes willfully disparaging another student in order to harm their reputation or academic pursuits.

When Ms. Gambill first reported the alleged assault to school officials, they implied that she was emotionally unstable because she has a history of depression, said that they didn’t find her accusations credible, dismissed the case.  Following this Ms. Gambill did not report it to local police as she felt that she didn’t even have the support of her university.

Thoughts?

It is sometimes difficult to fully appreciate what reality is for people outside the relative safety of the United States and the overall Western World.  A prime example of this is the access to education you as students in this country have. 

Last week’s February vacation was a time of rest and relaxation for many of us, and we lamented the prospect of returning to the pain and drudgery of Pilgrim High School.  While you all struggled to get out of bed to make that 7:24 bell, people your age in India were busy descending 70 feet into the earth on a wobbly staircase of bamboo  towards a black hole about two feet wide through which they crawled over 100 yards in order to start their day of work.   

Their job is not to pass a geometry test or write a research paper, it was to mine coal.  Despite a 2010 law mandating all Indian children between the ages of 6 and 14 be in school, millions are instead working long hours in dangerous conditions for very little pay.

Some of these child-workers prefer this life to the alternative of tests and study, but most relish the idea of sitting in a class discussing philosophy, mathematics, or advanced sciences.  The reality is that people die all the time in the mines, and very few take so much as a notice to this reality.

This region of India known as Meghalaya  lies in the Northeast portion of the country and is proof that laws are only as good as their enforcement.  You can be grateful that people in your world enforce the laws requiring children to attend school.

Thoughts? 

What obligation, if any, does the movie industry have when making films about historical events or historical figures?  Should they seek to portray the events as they happened, or should their focus be solely on the entertainment value of the final product?  What does it really mean when the phrase “Based on a true story” appears at the start of a movie?  

Last night at the Oscars, “History Movies” were well represented as Lincoln, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, and Django Unchained were all nominated for multiple awards.  History movies are also major components of many history classes in secondary and post-secondary schools… but how much truth is there in these films.

Lincoln for example has been heralded as a film which accurately portrays President Lincoln’s fight for the 13th Amendment… but how accurate was it?  We can perhaps forgive the fact that the film shows the Connecticut delegation in the House of Representatives as splitting on the vote for the Amendment when in fact all four of the delegates voted for its passage, we can also forgive the fact that the film makers even changed the names of the representatives from Connecticut, what’s more difficult to swallow is the fact that the film shows Lincoln as the white savior and totally discounts the role blacks played in the fight for their own equality.

The other films have similar such errors…

Movie makers are not historians and they are not reporters so do they have a responsibility to entertain us with the truth?  Or should consumers and moviegoers simply be more educated about basic historical fact and not take everything they see as truth? 

Thoughts?  

A Pennsylvania youth football league has made what is being perceived as a controversial decision regarding female participation in the sport.  Caroline Pla, an 11-year-old girl who has been playing in the league for the past five years, has been told that she can no longer be in the league.  The reason… her gender.

The official policy of the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) is expressed in its charter mandating only male children participate in tackle football.  Pla has been an all-star player for the previous two seasons and her coach said that very quickly it became apparent that her gender was in no way an issue and she was viewed by her team and the coaching staff as just another player on the team.

Pla wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles Chaput requesting reinstatement in the league, his response was as follows:

“I admire your love of the game, Caroline, and I’m impressed by your zeal in pursuing the opportunity to play it.  At the same time, it’s important to understand that pressure is not a good way of showing respect for dedicated people who are simply fulfilling their duty to protect young people in sports.”

According to reports a final decision regarding Caroline as well as the future of female participation in the league will be made in mid March.

Thoughts?

Mike Moroski is a teacher employed by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati at Purcell Marian High School… that it he was until he was fired this past Monday for something he posted on his Facebook page... the post was actually a quote from President Obama.  The post reads as follows:

I unabashedly believe that gay people SHOULD be allowed to marry.  Ethically, morally and legally I believe this.  Gay marriage in NOT something of which to be afraid."

Once his principal and the Archdiocese learned of the post they told him to take it down, recant his statements, and agree to not publically disparage the archdioceses. According to a letter sent to parents by the Archdiocese, Mr. Moroski was fired for public postings that “directly contradict well-known teachings of the Catholic
Church…”

Moroski is Catholic, not gay and is married to a woman… he decided it was not worth compromising his own
morals and views  and walked away from his job as Dean of Students rather than take down the post.

Thoughts?

Last night's Sate of the Union address focused on several different topics and themes; immigration reform, education reform, and gun control.  You saw Liberals stand and clap and conservatives scowl with disapproval.  You will most likely hear strong opinions and argument on the effectiveness and veracity of what the President said; something I will refrain from doing here.  I'm interested in your opinion concerning the President's remarks and your view of the direction in which our nation is currently headed... 

I'm not interested in telling you what to think and that your opinion is wrong or right.  

Instead I invite you to do a little bit of your own research... actually listen to the speech, check the facts, and form your own educated opinion.  See what MSNBC had to say then check out FOX News in order to compare the liberal and conservative views.  

Once you are armed with a little information, please post your comments. 

  

On Monday Pope Benedict XVI announced to the world’s over one billion Catholics that he was stepping down from his position of leadership due to his advanced age and ailing health.  Such an event is so rare that it has been six centuries since the last time a Pope has stepped aside.  Church leaders, Vatican historians, and news media outlets have been debating about the reasons behind the sudden announcement.  Some are arguing it truly is his health and age, while others claim that the stress of a divided church bombarded with scandal has proven too much for the Pope.

In any event, the next few weeks will be spent figuring out the process of the how the new Pope is to be elected.  Normally a the process begins 15-20 days after the death of the Pope, at which time all Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote and are sequestered in the Vatican before taking an oath of secrecy.  However because Benedict has not died, there is a little confusion as to when the conclave will commence.

Also, no one is really sure what Pope Benedict will be called following is resignation… will it be Pope?  Will he go back to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger?  Will be known as “Former Pope Benedict XVI?”

There is such confusion because during the entire two thousand year history of the Church only a handful of men are known to have resigned:

304: Pope Marcellinus – Either abdicated or was deposed after offering a sacrifice to the Roman Gods after being ordered to by Emperor Maximian. 

1045:  Pope Benedict IX – Elected Pope at the age of 20, he sold the papacy to his godfather in 1045.

1046:  Pope Gregory VI – Forced to resign after it became known that he paid Pope Benedict IX to resign.  A council of bishops said he obtained the papacy through bribery. 

1294:  Pope Celestine V  - After only five months on the job, Celestine walked away to continue his life as a recluse.  He was imprisoned by his successor Boniface VIII so such behavior would not become the norm for future popes.

1415:  Pope Gregory XII – Gregory resigned in order to end a rift in the church which had existed since 1378.  His resignation helped to end a situation in which three different people had claims to the Papacy.

In January of 2011, when the Tunisian Revolution ousted longtime president Ben Ali, they ended 23 years of dictatorial rule.  The Tunisian street hoped for a more prosperous future; one consisting of new found freedoms and participation in the direction of their country.  Two years later however, the situation is much the same at it was in 2011.

While Ben Ali is in exile in Saudi Arabia, the new government led by Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali’s Ennahada Party, came to power promising a model government that blended Islamist principles with tolerant pluralism… the results however have not reflected those professed goals.

Yesterday a political opponent of the Ennahada Party was assassinated outside of his home.  Chokri Belaid was one of Tunisia’s most vocal human rights activists as well as a fierce critic of the ruling party.  On Wednesday morning however his voice was silenced when two unidentified gunmen opened fire on him, striking him four times.

Tunisia is once again on the verge of revolution, as is Egypt and many other areas across the region as those who promised change and protected freedoms, seem more interested is maintaining their own power base.

Thoughts?