Notes: Wednesday, August 15-Wednesday, August 29, 2012

1. Miss Edwards on Msgr. O'Kelly's "attack[ on] the Vatican action on the US Leadership Conference of Women Religious"

See "Bishop O'Kelly attacks Vatican intervention on US nuns", Tuesday, August 21, 2012, a post by Miss Kate Edwards at her Australia Incognita blog, available here:

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2012/08/bishop-okelly-attacks-vatican.html

Labels: Greg O'Kelly

2. Msgr. Fisher on an under-discussed injustice involved in legalising so-called Gay marriage:

… What is also unjust is retrospectively to redefine marriage: for that tells those already married that they got married on a false premise; that they were wrong to think they were entering a lifelong and exclusive partnership of a man and woman open to raising children; that we have changed the meaning of their vows to being merely about loving each other, for as long as it lasts. That would be unjust to the many people already married and those who might like to be in the future.
[That quotation comes from the sermon of The Lord Bishop of Parramatta at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, on Sunday, August 12, 2012, the text of which is available on-line here:
http://www.parra.catholic.org.au/bishop-of-parramatta/most-rev-anthony-fisher-op/the-bishop-s-homilies.aspx/the-homilies-of-bishop-anthony-fisher/homily----marriage-sunday---19th-sunday-of-ordinary-time-year-b--st-patrick-s-cathedral--parramatta-.aspx
(That text came to my attention via its printing under the headline "Kindness, self-sacrifice — not grudges, bullying" on p. 14 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, Vol. 71, No. 4635, August 19, 2012.)]

Labels: law, marriage

3. More on the Federal Government's policy of giving some of the benefits involved with de ivre marriage to de facto polygamists

See the "Guide to Social Security Law", Version 1.189 (released August 10, 2012), Part 2, Chapter 2.2, Section 2.2.5, 2.2.5.15 Multiple Relationships, from the Australian Federal Government's Department of Families, Housing, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs, © Commonwealth of Australia 2012, available here:

http://guidesacts.fahcsia.gov.au/guides_acts/ssg/ssguide-2/ssguide-2.2/ssguide-2.2.5/pc_13794.html

(That came to my attention via this blog post by Terra.)

I love the bluntness of that guide:

For example, the relationships could comprise a claimant/recipient with any combination of male or female partners.

See also item 2.1 of this Notes post.

Labels: law, marriage, polyamory

4. "A 1996 study by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology pointed out that an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape in the United States each year"; "[t]he journal said the average national rape-related pregnancy rate stood at five percent among victims aged between 12 to 45."

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Fury over Republican candidate's 'legitimate rape' comment", August 20, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/us-election/republican-senate-candidate-todd-akin-says-rape-victims-becoming-pregnant-rare/story-fn95xh4y-1226453854274

Labels: pregnancy

5. In Australia, "polling on the topic[ of "same-sex marriage"] began in 2009"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "MPs to debate same-sex marriage bill", by Jessica Wright, dated August 20, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/mps-to-debate-samesex-marriage-bill-20120820-24hcy.html?skin=text-only

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, opinion polls

6. "A spokesman for Julie Bishop, the opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, said there was no Coalition policy to change existing arrangements" regarding "Australia's overseas aid assistance for family planning in low-income countries" doubling "to more than $50 million a year by 2016, up from $26 million in 2010 and $2 million under the Howard government"

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Family planning aid vote stirs opposition", by Richard Willingham (though the second quotation comes ultimately from Senator Lee Rhiannon), dated August 17, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/family-planning-aid-vote-stirs-opposition-20120816-24bgh.html?skin=text-only

There is a difference, of course, between not having a policy to change certain arrangements, and having a policy not to change those arrangements; is it only the former for the Coalition, or is it the latter (and hence the former too, of course, unless the Coalition's policy platform contains an internal contradiction)? (I don't ask that rhetorically.)

Labels: abortion, contraception, Liberal Party, Nationals

7. "as a legislator I[, Kristina Keneally,] always took the view that it[, viz. abortion,] should be safe and legally available"

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Democracy has a nice habit of giving lunatic fringe a haircut", by The Hon. Kristina Keneally, dated August 22, 2012, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/democracy-has-a-nice-habit-of-giving-lunatic-fringe-a-haircut/story-e6frezz0-1226455247529

(That opinion piece came to my attention via its printing under the same headline and by the same author on p. 13 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, August 22, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2623, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

It's interesting that Ms Keneally omits from that statement, and indeed from her whole opinion piece, the third part of the usual 'safe, legal, and rare' triad of the moderate abortionite.

Labels: abortion, Kristina Keneally

8. "It is now very difficult to point to any state, territory or federal law where getting legally married makes a difference compared with a same-sex or opposite-sex couple who have lived together in a de facto relationship for two years or more, or who have registered their relationship. As a consequence, the right to marry carries little significance in law other than imposing a need to get a formal divorce before marrying someone else."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "About time we all cared more about marriage", by Prof. Patrick Parkinson, dated August 24, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/about-time-we-all-cared-more-about-marriage-20120823-24p2g.html?skin=text-only

Labels: law, marriage

9. Some figures on childcare in Australia

See Child Care Update, September quarter 2011. Dated August 2012 (presumably released on the twenty-fifth). Produced by the Australian Federal Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations on behalf of the Australian Government and published by the same Department. © Commonwealth of Australia, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-642-78431-5

http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Resources/Documents/ChildCareUpdateAug.pdf

(That publication came to my attention via the article "Million kids in care 'shows system works'", by Patricia Karvelas, on p. 6 in "THE NATION" section of The Weekend Australian, August 25-26, 2012, First Edition, No. 14895, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited; available on-line, but behind a paywall, under the same headline, by the same author, and dated August 25, 2012, at The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/million-kids-in-care-shows-system-works/story-fn59niix-1226457727663)

Labels: childcare

10. "The head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the president of the Polish Catholic bishops' conference signed a joint message Aug. 17 urging Poles and Russians to set aside centuries of anger and prejudice and work together to maintain their countries' Christian identities."

The quotation in that headline comes from the Catholic News Service article "Russian Orthodox, Polish Catholic leader sign appeal for reconciliation":

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1203472.htm

(That joint message came to my attention via the article "Russian-Polish reconciliation bid", no by-line, on p. 7 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, August 26, 2012, Vol. 71, No. 4636.)

Zenit has a Vatican Radio translation of the joint message here. The Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations (D.E.C.R.) Communication Service says, on this page at the official D.E.C.R. website that the message "cannot be ranked among theological or inter-church documents and does not deal with doctrinal matters".

Labels: R.O.C.

11. Gay activists in new initiative for promoting "healthy, respectful relationships" "in sport and the workplace" between non-Gays and themselves (presumably while remaining in unhealthy, disrespectful relationships with their respective Gay passivists)

See "AFL declares war on homophobia to stamp out ugly slurs", by Aaron Langmaid, dated August 28, 2012, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/afl-to-stamp-out-gay-slurs/story-e6frexx0-1226459402572

(That article came to my attention via the shorter version of it which was published under the headline "Footballers tackle homophobia and save lives", by the same author, on p. 05 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, August 28, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2628, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., No to Homophobia

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Decollation of St. John the Baptist, and the feast of St. Sabina, Widow, Martyr, A.D. 2012

Notes: Tuesday, March 8-Tuesday, March 15, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. A couple of recent developments regarding euthanasia

1.1 "TASMANIA is poised to become the first state to legalise voluntary euthanasia"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/state-to-push-for-mercy-killing/story-e6frg6nf-1226017319925

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=25378

Labels: euthanasia, Tasmania

1.2 "SUPPORT for voluntary euthanasia in NSW is running at 83 per cent, with only 10 per cent of people implacably opposed"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/state-election-2011/support-for-voluntary-euthanasia-at-85-20110310-1bpsm.html?skin=text-only

Labels: euthanasia

2. An amusing example of gay outrage

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/a-channel-ten-newsreader-has-apologised-after-calling-mardi-gras-disgusting-on-air/story-e6freuy9-1226017840089

When I blogged in late 2008 on the revelation that the N.S.W. State government was directly to fund the Sodomites' Parade, a commenter asked jokingly

But, Pole, it's so *colourful* - how could you possibly object?
[http://cardinalpole.blogspot.com/2008/10/taxpayers-to-fund-sodomites-parade.html?showComment=1223032140000#c296515895030110427]

Luckily I didn't say the following, or I might have been reported to some Anti-Discrimination Commissar:

“With respect, there’s a difference between colourful and disgusting in some cases.”

Mr. Tim Dick wrote about the fiasco in a column in Saturday's Herald:

... on Monday, Channel Ten's Ron Wilson suggested elements of the parade crossed the line from ''colourful'' to ''disgusting'' during an interview with the organisation's co-chairman, Pete Urmson. He batted the suggestion away without too much difficulty, and at the end of the discussion, Wilson congratulated him on the success of the festival and parade.

But it prompted a brief bit of predictable ''outrage'' nonetheless. He was homophobic, he was ignorant, he was narrow-minded. His prejudice was the disgusting thing. Something must be done, and someone inevitably threatened an anti-discrimination complaint.

Wilson was duly back the next morning to apologise for any offence caused, and for good measure threw in some support for the gay marriage campaign.

I wish he hadn't. The over-apology was an over-reaction to an over-reaction.

Journalists are supposed to ask difficult questions, and despite Wilson using a clanger of a word, it was one reference in a longer interview generally positive towards Mardi Gras. ...
[http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/whats-there-to-hide-its-a-sin-to-omit-the-emitters-20110311-1br71.html?skin=text-only]

Labels: G.L.B.T., Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Ron Wilson

3. "Catholica no longer appears on the [Australian Catholic Bishops Conference] list of links"

http://beyondpews.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/quietly-removed/

Labels: A.C.B.C., Catholica Australia

4. Launch of a proposal for a N.S.W. Bill of Rights

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/shes-baaaackkk-20110309-1bnaq.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Bill of Rights, N.S.W.

5. Two "openly gay" N.S.W. Liberal election candidates "support ... removing exemptions to the Anti-Discrimination Act"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/state-election-2011/liberals-challenge-greens-for-the-gay-vote-20110311-1br84.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Adrian Bartels, Bruce Notley-Smith, discrimination, G.L.B.T., Liberal Party, N.S.W.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
15.III.2011

Facts and Figures: On abortion in Australia ("with some caveats") (plus the respective histories and policies of Ms Gillard and Mr. Abbott on it)

The following comes from an article which appeared on what was presumably page ten of the "Health" section of the "Weekend Professional" supplement of last Saturday's edition of The Weekend Australian:

Weekend Health recently obtained government data on pregnancy terminations. It's not the full picture but a valuable snapshot of trends and comparisons in abortion supply and demand.

In 2008-09, 69,026 patients had 72,203 services under a Medicare item number the Department of Health and Ageing nominates as the most accurate indicator of abortion numbers, albeit with some caveats. That item number may cover services for other conditions but does not include abortions conducted in public hospitals or under third-party insurance arrangements.

The number of patients identified under that item number increased by less than 2 per cent since 2004-05. Numbers were down in NSW-ACT, Western Australia and South Australia-Northern Territory but up in other states.

The age group using the most services was the over-35s, with 16,592, followed by the 20 to 24age group with 16,049, the 25 to 29 group with 13,982, the 30 to 34 group with 12,821, and the 19 and younger group with 9841.

More women have those services in large cities (54,614) than inner regional (10,516) and outer regional or remote areas (4158), and the cost to Medicare in 2008-09 was $11,338,880.

Abortion and the issue of embryonic stem cell research have sparked some of the most emotive and divisive debates in federal parliament.

When he was health minister, Abbott handed $22 million over four years to an outspoken critic of ES cell research to establish an adult stem cell institute, bypassing National Health and Medical Research Council review. He also labelled the abortion rate a "national tragedy" and an "unutterable shame", and vowed to reduce the number of pregnancy terminations conducted in Australia.

"Somehow up to 100,000 abortions a year is accepted as a fact of life, almost by some as a badge of liberation from old oppressions," Abbott told parliament.

"We have a bizarre double standard in this country where someone who kills a pregnant woman's baby is guilty of murder, but a woman who aborts an unborn baby is simply exercising choice."

In that debate, Gillard felt the need to tell Abbott the discussion was "not about you, Tony," as Labor accused the conservative Christian of putting religion before policy. She suggested the debate take into account the broader issues around contraception, pregnancy and the treatment of women.

"If we were to truly live in a world where abortion was safe, legal and rare, then we would need to live in a world where there was no sexual violence against women . . . where contraception never failed," Gillard said at the time.

"I wish we lived in that world, and we should all be striving to attain it, but the stark reality is that we do not."

Abbott lost ministerial control of the RU-486 drug, and the hotline he established to dissuade women from having an abortion last month became a broader parents' helpline.

Yet, even though former leaders such as John Howard and Kevin Rudd have actively pursued the Christian vote, Abbott isn't using abortion as leverage.

He was uncharacteristically brief this week when asked if he would block RU-486, list abortion as a separate Medicare item number to aid research or ban Medicare funding for terminations.

"The answer is no, we're not going to do any of those things," he said. "We have no plans whatsoever for any change in that area."

Gillard hasn't been drawn on the issue, but a spokesman for Labor's campaign echoed Abbott, saying no changes were planned.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/dont-mention-the-a-word-abortion/story-e6frg8y6-1225904661029]

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Feast of St. Hyacinth, Confessor, A.D. 2010

Notes: Friday, August 13, 2010

Coalition health (abortion) policy: 'Guaranteed' continuation of Medicare funding for abortion, no other abortion law changes either

The last four paragraphs of the on-line version of an article by Ms Sue Dunlevy which appeared on page eight of yesterday's Sydney Daily Telegraph:

[The Hon. Peter] Dutton [M.P., Opposition health spokesman] gave a "guarantee" he would not move to ban Medicare funding of abortions if he became health minister after the election.

Mr Dutton and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott both voted in 2005 to ban the abortion pill RU486 and some women's groups are concerned about their conservative attitudes .

"We don't propose any change in relation to the abortion laws," he said.

"I can provide an assurance today we don't have any plans and I think Tony has been very clear about that." Dutton said.
[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/election/gp-visit-to-cost-more/story-fn5zm695-1225904144025]

"Safe drinking is not a right"

Interesting opinion piece dealing with rights:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/safe-drinking-is-not-a-right/story-e6frg6ux-1225904115060

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Sts. Hippolytus and Cassian, Martyrs, A.D. 2010

Notes: Thursday, August 12, 2010

"Tony Abbott backs Henry tax reform - but that could mean income tax slug"

From the expanded on-line version of a short article which appeared on p. 5 of yesterday's Sydney Daily Telegraph:

MORE than five million taxpayers who earn between $36,000 and $94,000 would be slugged with a higher tax bill under the tax plan endorsed by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott at his campaign launch.

An analysis of the shows middle income earners would pay up to $500 a year more in tax while millionaires would get a $15,300 a year tax cut.

Mr Abbott said the Henry plan for a simpler income tax system "should be the foundation of Australia's next round of tax reform".

[...] Mr Abbott told The Australian on Monday that he would to cut Australia's overall tax burden when the budget returned to surplus adding that his "instinctive priority" had always been for more personal income tax cuts.

But ACTU analysis shows that under the Henry plan, workers would pay no tax on their first $25,000 and 35c in the dollar until they earned $180,000.

A worker earning $40,000 a year would pay $200 a year more while someone earning $60,000 would face a tax rise of $100.

A worker earning $80,000 would pay $500 a year more.

Low income earners would receive substantial tax cuts under the reforms.

Those on $20,000 a year would pay $751 a year less in tax.

The biggest tax cuts, however, would go to the wealthy.

Those earning $200,000 a year would make a tax saving of $3300 while those on $300,000 would save $4800.
[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/money/money-matters/tony-abbott-backs-henry-tax-reform-but-that-could-mean-income-tax-slug/story-fn300aev-1225903705913]

On the other hand, though:

Economist Posted at 9:23 AM August 11, 2010
OH please - ACTU analysis? What government is going to put up taxes on the levels you describe? Answer - none. A story where the author is not even proud enough to put his/her name to....

Comment 6 of 9

Robert of Pennant Hills Posted at 9:48 AM August 11, 2010
Rather than trust the ACTU calculation people might like to go the the Australian Taxation site and check the above figures. Income $40000 -Abbott tax- $5250. ATO calculation for present tax on $40000-$5668. Saving $418. Looks like a typical Labor con to fool the public.

Comment 7 of 9
[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/money/money-matters/tony-abbott-backs-henry-tax-reform-but-that-could-mean-income-tax-slug/comments-fn300aev-1225903705913]

On the inadequacies of modern men

NEARLY every man on the planet is an inferior version of men that have come before, a visiting author says.

Peter McAllister believes modern man fails to live up to his legacy because his predecessors had to be faster, stronger, smarter and fitter to survive.

[...] McAllister argues that most men fall short of their genetic potential.

Others are pre-destined to have poor eyesight, simple minds, and weak muscles and bones.

He is in town for science week, promoting his book Manthropology, the Science of the Inadequate Modern Male. Tonight's free public event at the RiAus Science Exchange is fully booked.

"Men in the past were challenged very much more than men are today and they developed to a much higher level in all sorts of ways," he said.

"Even though we have a view of ourselves as being very highly developed, we're not anywhere near as developed as what we think. We don't challenge ourselves as much as men throughout even our recent history did."

Our male ancestors were bigger and stronger. Their lives depended on their ability to hunt and defend their territory. Modern males drive to the local shop, eat more than they need and avoid hard labour.

But as palaeo-anthropologist McAllister knows, the human body is designed to respond to stress. "That happens with your bones. The more mechanical load is placed on them, the more robust they become," he said.

The fossil record is filled with bigger bones, which suggest bigger muscles. Few people alive today have the strength of people from ancient times.

"If you look at the arm bones of elite tennis players, they have bone shafts nearly as thick as (the human ancestor) Homo erectus," he said.

"They have placed a lot of stress on their bones and they have developed quite strongly. That goes to show you that in ancient times everybody was equivalent to elite athletes."

Roman soldiers were fitter than elite solders of today and aboriginal people have better eyesight, four times better than those with a farming culture.
[http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/measure-of-a-real-man/story-e6frea83-1225904112125]

"Non-Catholics influenced Vatican II liberalization of Catholic church, new Penn study says"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33121

I found the following paragraphs particularly interesting:

The researchers found that the relationship between the church and state as well as changes in the institution's situation in relation to other institutions, particularly a loss of dominance and the presence of and relationship with other religious institutions, were crucial factors in predicting whether religious leaders would be open to change and also what kinds of change they would prioritize.

They concluded that in places where the Roman Catholic Church enjoyed a stable monopoly as the state church, religious leaders were almost impervious to outside influence and opposed to most kinds of change. In areas in which Catholicism was not the established faith but where the religious field was stable, however, leaders of other religious institutions were a crucial source of influence on Catholic bishops who attended and voted at Vatican II.

Here we see some benefits of Catholicism being a country's State religion and the Catholic Church its established Church, which (benefits) vindicate the perennial Magisterium's teachings on the social rights of Christ the King.

On political developments in The Kingdom of Tonga

In today's Herald:

TONGA MOVES FORWARD

Tonga is nothing if not counter-cyclical. Its prime minister, Feleti Sevele, was in Sydney yesterday and looking forward to stepping down at the country's elections on November 25, which will also mark the surrender of a large portion of royal power by King George Tupou V. Into the bargain, Tonga is preparing to send 55 marines from its small armed forces to Afghanistan, at a time when many nations are looking to pull out. ''It's quite something after 175 years,'' Dr Sevele said, referring to Tonga's stretch of unbroken absolute monarchy. ''But His Majesty has been the driving force.'' The 50,000 voters among Tonga's 104,000 residents, augmented by the 160,000-strong diaspora who return to vote, will elect 17 of the 26 members of the new parliament, leaving only nine representatives who are elected by Tonga's 33 hereditary nobles. The next PM will also be appointed by the parliament, not the king. Meanwhile there's an election issue to be mined among the 30,000 ethnic Tongans here. An import limit imposed by Tony Abbott when he was health minister on kava - the mildly euphoric root product - remains in force. ''It's still there,'' Dr Sevele said of the import limit. ''The reply has always been that medical issues have yet to be cleared up.''
[Bold type in the original,
http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-diary/tv1-court-out-by-miniseries-20100811-11zqx.html?skin=text-only]

Yesterday in history: The colony of New South Wales upgraded

From the "on this day" section of yesterday's Sydney Daily Telegraph's history page (p. 69):

1824
London upgrades NSW from penal colony to crown colony-a milestone on the road to democracy and nationhood.

It's interesting to learn about the different classes of colonies in the British Empire.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Clare, Virgin, A.D. 2010

Sen. Brandis on the Liberal Party

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24537827-7583,00.html

An edited extract from an essay by Sen. George Brandis in a forthcoming book appeared in last Thursday’s copy of The Australian. I reproduce the key paragraphs here, though I encourage you to read the article in full:

JOHN Howard is a bundle of contradictions. An economic liberal, he was the first important leader of the Liberal Party to describe it as a conservative party. A social conservative, he once described himself as a "discerning radical". A person who prided himself on his pragmatic approach to policy-making, he saw politics as primarily a battle of ideas. A believer in social stability, he took Australia down a path of economic deregulation that, while immensely beneficial in the long term, removed traditional protections and created uncertainty in the short term. An apostle of social cohesion, he staked his leadership of the Liberal Party, and arguably lost the prime ministership, by pioneering fundamental industrial relations reforms that, on a few occasions such as the waterfront dispute, provoked acute social conflict. The leader of a party that he held to be the custodian of the tradition of John Stuart Mill as much as that of Edmund Burke, he all too often subordinated the individual to the mainstream.

As a social conservative, he too often lost sight of a core value of Menzian liberalism: a philosophy that makes paramount the rights of the individual and demands that those rights be defended in the case of every individual, not merely weighed in the balance.

At the heart of the Howard paradox is the fact that, by attempting to blend economic liberalism with social conservatism, he was seeking to reconcile values and attitudes that are sometimes irreconcilable.

[…] Howard's attitude reflected not indifference but a conscious preference for social order above personal freedom, for the attitudes of the "mainstream" above the concerns of the marginalised. Given that the philosophy of the Liberal Party - in particular as articulated by Menzies in the 1940s - is ultimately built upon a belief in the primacy of the rights of the individual, this was a profound shift in emphasis.

This comes as a timely reminder that the Howard years were really an aberration, an attempt to wed two incompatible world-views to each other. The longevity of this aberration, though, means that most Australians would indeed think of the Liberal Party as Australia’s conservative party, when it is nothing of the sort. The founding and sustaining influence of Sir Robert Menzies K.T. (a Knight of the Thistle and, moreover, a Freemason) might seem to imply that one might indeed reasonably think of the Liberals as essentially (or at least potentially) conservative, but this would only be sustained by judging him according to the present-day characteristics of conservatism, when in fact, as Sen. Brandis points out, he was an heir to nineteenth-century classical liberalism. It is only because of the ever-worsening slide into libertarian debauchery that he appears conservative; indeed, by present-day standards the classical liberals would be Blimps.

Fortunately, Mr. Malcolm Turnbull, with his libertarian inclinations and support for so-called ‘gay marriage’, is returning the Liberals to their roots. I say ‘fortunately’ not because I approve of liberalism, but because I despise it and want Australians to see just how insidious liberalism is when stripped of its façade of conservatism.

One correspondent in the letters pages reiterated that economic libertarianism and social conservativism are incompatible, while another reiterated the tension between individual rights and the public good. The latter tension, though, only arises from society’s loss of the real meaning of terms like ‘human rights’ and the distinction between liberty and licence. Any natural right is, by definition, compatible with the common good, since its object can only ever be what is true or good. The correspondent Mr. Frank Pulsford was very insightful, though perhaps unwittingly so, when he wrote that “[i]t is pathetic that the touchstone of liberalism should be so-called “gay marriages”.” ‘Gay marriage’ is not liberty; it is licence, it is enslavement and misery.

So I, for my part, am certainly no liberal, and not a conservative either, strictly speaking, since I see very little left that is worth conserving in the Commonwealth of Australia. I am a reactionary, and my views on the foundations of the State are summed up quite well in an extract from His late Grace Msgr Lefebvre They Have Uncrowned Him which appeared in yesterday’s Sydney S.S.P.X. Parish Bulletin for the Feast of Christ the King:

…..the Redemption of Our Lord Jesus Christ must be brought about with the help of civil society, and the state must therefore become, within the limits of the temporal order, the instrument of the application of the work of Redemption.

….all has been created for Our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore for the accomplishment of the work of the Redemption: everything including civil society, which, is itself a creature of the Good Lord. Civil society is not a pure creation of the will of men; it results above all from the social nature of man, from the fact that God has created men so that they will live in society; it is written into nature by the Creator. Therefore civil society itself, no less than individuals, must render homage to God, its author and its end, and serve the redeeming design of Jesus Christ.

….Jesus Christ is therefore the centre of all history. History has one sole law: “He must reign”, if he reigns, true progress and prosperity also reign, which are goods more spiritual than material! If He does not reign, it is decadence, decay, slavery in all its forms, the reign of the evil one. This is what Holy Scripture promises besides: “the nation and the kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish, those nations will be entirely destroyed”.

….there is a goal of history, it is the “recapitulation of all things in Christ” it is the submission of the whole temporal order to His redemptive work, it is the mastery of the Church militant over the temporal city, which prepares the eternal reign of the Church triumphant in heaven.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Ss. Simon and Jude, Apostles
Memorial of Alfred the Great, 2008 A.D.