The Anchoress

Very sorry for the light blogging and the unanswered emails - as noted in the post below, we’re dealing with Buster’s mangled knee among other things. To all of you who have offered prayers and words of support, I thank you. I’ll never turn down an offer of prayer (although Buster is so cranky I wonder if I don’t need them more than he does…) but I figured I’d toss out a few interesting tidbits that you probably have not read elsewhere. I haven’t even looked at the headlines today…egad.

The Torture Question: Lots of interesting reading out there for those of us who are having some difficulties with the issue. For my money, the best compilation of articles and posts on the morality of torture has been put up by The Ratzinger Fan Club - some very thoughtful writing from a Catholic view, from a secularist view, etc.

Quite simply because advocates for both extremes have taken positions and no longer trust the other side to reasonably define it, and legal prosecution against guards/soldiers/etc. are now highly likely as a result.

Which leaves the only real option to negate both extremes is to try and define more precisely each act as acceptable or not. I support Mark’s efforts to have tactics like waterboarding condemned and stopped. But I also support better definition of if/when tactics like sleep deprevation, etc. can be used so that guards/soliders can’t be brought to trial for simply doing things they felt were acceptable.

I highly recommend your taking a look - it’s been interesting for me. Ugly emails and finger-wagging commenters aside, believe me, I am not cavalier on this issue of information coersion. While I’ve had no time to respond to your thoughts, the matter is much on my mind. I’ve been thinking it through via Thomas Merton:

Corruptio optima pessima “…evil is the defect of good”. Merton says: Since evil is the defect of good, the lack of a good that ought to be there, and nothing positive in itself, it follows that the greatest evil is found where the highest good has been corrupted.

Lots to think on, there, about terrorism, torture, even about journalism and blogging. Corruptio optima pessima…you can take it as far as you wish, then rein it back in, in order to find some perspective; that’s what I’m trying, anyway.

I think one thing that we need to do is really define what is and is not torture rather than put everything into a blanket definition which could be taken to any extreme - either toward something truly harrowing, or something so pacific as to be silly.

So, for those of you who have emailed me accusing me of having no soul and a “vile” nature because my own conscience is not as well-or-perfectly formed as your own, allow me to say I’m still thinking and praying on the issue, and that is all I can honestly do. I do wonder about some of you Christians who think it’s your place to judge and condemn me to hell (it’s not; that duty is God’s alone, and He’ll deal with me in His good time) and I wonder about some of you on the left who write me 2000 word rants about the evils of belly slaps when I strongly suspect that if a President Clinton or Gore were taking President Bush’s position you’d be praising them for their “humanitarian concerns to limit information coersion…”

And you’re quite wrong when you suggest that a President Clinton or Gore would have me howling against them. I’d still be as unsettled as I am on the whole issue. You guys keep forgetting that Clinton, when he acted for national security reasons, had the support of the right.

(Oh, and for those of you hate mailers who end your missives laughing about my son’s injury as “justice from God,” please seek help. It cannot be good for you to live with that much hate inside you.)

A Homily by Bishop Wuerl worth reading: At times our society, like many contemporary cultures heavily nurtured in a secular vision that draws its inspiration elsewhere, can be tempted to think that we are sufficient unto ourselves in grappling with and answering the great human questions of every generation in every age: how shall I live; what is the meaning and, therefore, the value of life; how should we relate to each other; what are our obligations to one another?

The assertion by some that the secular voice alone should speak to the ordering of society and its public policy, that it alone can speak to the needs of the human condition, is being increasingly challenged. Looking around, I see many young men and women who, in such increasing numbers, are looking for spiritual values, a sense of rootedness and hope for the future. In spite of all the options and challenges from the secular world competing for the allegiance of human hearts, the quiet, soft and gentle voice of the Spirit has not been stilled.

Blessing the College Dorms: I like this story and video about a Franciscan Friar who begins the school year by blessing the dormrooms at Catholic University of America.

Iraqi’s hate Al Qaeda, too: A good piece by Jules Crittenden on AlQaeda’s mismanaged PR among Muslims in Iraq. In fact, they’re joking about Osama’s death!

Meanwhile The Jawa Report has the latest Osama video up and running. And here is one marine’s sobering view of Iraq.

Hillary’s glum expression: Bizzyblog has an observant eye and some interesting information about what President Clinton was advised and when. It would be really nice if the finger pointing and blaming would stop so that right and left can get on the same page about terrorism…but since Clinton brought it up, the subject is still raging.

On the other hand, why should we talk about terrorism and national security when we can just talk about sex? That’ll certainly keep us safe! I never really follow these sexcapade stories. I didnt’ follow Clinton/Lewinsky much, either, but I do recall that Newsweek tried to spike that story, didn’t it, and Dan Rather said he didn’t want to cover it because it was “salacious” or something? Somehow I think the press won’t find this story as distasteful to cover. Foley is a creep and the story is disgusting (and if Denny Hastert knew about it, he should resign; he’s an embarrassment) but Clarice Feldman has looked into its genesis and that’s pretty interesting. Apparently a fake blog was used to set up the Foley story’s well-timed release.

Interesting thoughts on Allen: I’m not a fan of George Allen, but I do think the press is simply romping on him, at this point. Called as Seen links to an interesting piece.

Lastly, this being October, it is the month when Catholics are exhorted to especially try to pray the rosary, which St. Pio of Pietrelcina called “the strongest weapon against the evils of the world.

If you’ve gotten away from it, or had trouble praying the rosary - sustaining the images from the Gospels for the 15-20 minutes it takes to do the five decades - this is a good time to renew your acquaintance with the beads. I’ve personally burned “hot and cold” with the rosary - sometimes it is contemplative prayer to which I feel called, other times it makes me restless - but I always try to pray it daily in October and I remember how strong was the urge to do so just before the 2000 elections. For my money, you do better if you don’t skip the Apostle’s Creed at the beginning. There is a wonderful meditation in that prayer alone and it gives you the springboard you need to get through the mysteries.

There are good instructions, here and some nice artwork for mediation, here.

Related: Lame Duck Prexy Still Flies.