Food for thought, sent from “Patriot64’s” iPhone…

Bishop Thomas Tobin

The story of Nelson Mandela must include his time in a South African prison, as well as how that horrible period shaped his future. The destroyer of Apartheid will rightfully be remembered as a pivotal and influential figure in world history. With that said, the totality of his life and all that he believed and advocated for, must not be dismissed simply for the sake of his legacy, but rather must be included in the reading in order to reconcile that legacy for history’s sake.

So while the timing of Bishop Tobin’s remarks may or may not be debatable, they were indeed factual and important. For far too long, many Catholics have had it easy, bending the rules, and promoting a false “tolerance”, born of every manipulation of the faith and self-proclaimed victim of a manufactured intolerance, or “selfie” snapping opportunist politician. No rules, no accountability, “it’s all good”, as Jesus would want it that way. Not so much… Regrettably, it is this very hypocrisy among its followers which drove me from the Catholic Church.

For good or bad, Nelson Mandela’s legacy and contributions to humankind may very well be forever connected to the words equality and freedom. However his early life and beliefs, along with his stances on the issues of our time, were far from always oriented to “life”, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To know this, you must do your homework, and rely not so much on a simple and agenda driven news stories as propagandized by the likes of Brian Williams.

For my part, I believe Bishop Tobin did his flock a good service. He reminded them that all is not necessarily as it seems. And that before we heap praise and glory, we should examine and reconcile the message so as to be true to our faith and our posterity. I can’t think of a more applicable quote from one of my heroes, simple and wholly accurate, which defines the controversy…

“The promotion of the culture of life should be the highest priority in our societies…If the right to life is not defended decisively as a condition for all other rights of the person, all other references to human rights remain deceitful and illusory.”

Pope John Paul II