Club Trinity: This solution just might work for some of the priests accused of sexual abuse

The Church when it has sovereignity over all of Rome had Castel Sant'Angelo, a prison into which it could place criminals convicted of crimes in the Papal States.

There were also place monasteries and convents which offered to those who chose to live a penitential life. This is the origin of phrase "get thee to a nunnery" as Hamlet instructed Ophelia.

But there didn't seem to be a twentieth century solution until now. Money, or if you prefer greed is the motivator. The leverage is financial support from the Archdiocese if you agree to take up residence at the Trinity Retreat House (Club Trinity).

NY Archdiocese tells suspect priests: leave or enter program : AP

NEW YORK (AP) _ New York priests suspected of sexually abusing children but protected from expulsion by Catholic law are being required to enter a lifelong supervision program or leave the church, according to the New York Archdiocese.

Since June, seven priests have been presented with the choice, and five of the men have chosen to leave the priesthood, said Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for Cardinal Edward Egan.

Of course, they mean accept laicization (in tabloidese -- defrocked) rather than excommunication or a forced conversion to a non-Catholic faith.

The details sound a bit like "house arrest" when they are allowed to leave the premises provided they log it.

There's a uncharacteristic candor in this statement by the spokesman for the Archdiocese:

"we have to find something to do with them"

I have a little problem understanding what point the critics are making by demanding that the Archdiocese do something more for the priests who decline this supervised program and lose the "lifetime security net" (the phrase the
New York Times used) They don't suggest what other leverage the Archidiocese has over them. Like someone I knww, he just walked out of the rectory and never looked back.

By the way, where did defrock originate? Did Catholic priests ever wear frocks?

merdeka day

31 August 2006 marks Malaysia's 49th Annivesary of Independence.

Malaya declared independence from English colonial in 1957, but Malayisa wasn't formed until 1963, where Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore joined nation with Malaya.

Technically, Malaysia has been around for 43 years. But in general, Malaysia is recognized as 49 years old.

Happy Birthday Malaysia. Happy Holiday.





" Short Note: My mom's same age as Malaysia, she was born in the year Malaya achieved independence. "

Christian zealots destroy ancient Arctic petroglyphs : Regina Leader Post

Canada's only major Arctic petroglyph site -- a 1,500-year-old gallery of mysterious faces carved into a soapstone ridge on a tiny island off of Quebec's northern coast -- has been ransacked by vandals in what the region's top archeologist suspects was a religiously motivated attack by devout Christians from a nearby Inuit community...

Daniel Gendron, chief archeologist with the Inukjuak-based Avataq Cultural Institute, the key promoter of indigenous history and identity in Nunavik, said the latest vandalism at Qajartalik follows the pattern of previous attacks by members of what he called "a very strong movement" of conservative Christians in Kangiqsujuaq and several other Inuit communities in northern Quebec.

That's the evidence — Gendron claims it fits a pattern.

That mayor was quoted "Kangiqsujuaq's mayor, Mary Pilurtuut, said she hadn't been informed of fresh damage at the site and doubted "something religious" would have been involved." No representative of the Christians or conservative Christians was contacted.

The story implies that the motive for the vandalism is the characteristic superstition and hatred of antiquity that is intrinsic to devout Christian behavior.

congratulations

A week ago, it was her birthday, just as any previous years. However, this year, it means something special for her.

Her prince made the move, proposing to her on the eve.

The outcome?
She nodded and said yes to him. They're engaged now.




Congratulations Mich! Happy 'belated' birthday, and congrats to your engagement!
Cheers!


" Photo note: Borrowing my photoshopped photos taken way back in April. I guess this photos can pass as a wedding/engagement rings shots, right? "

a decision one has to make

" Short note: Since I am leaving the company, my boss a replacement. For those interested in working in Alliance Bank, as a Security Administrator, please forward me your CV and cover letter. Prompt me if you need further details, Thanks. "


Most of us face crossroads in our lives, and when we do, we have to come out with a decision regardless the outcome. Whatever resulted from the decision made, he has to live on with it.

It is rare for me to blog about myself, as you can see from my previous posts. (minus the earlier ones, if you had dug on the OLD archieves.)

It is a tough decision to make, probably one of the toughest in my life so far.



I will be crossing the South China Sea, again, to set my foot back on the Island of Borneo. This may sound strange, but, I feel as though I am surrounded by clouds of uncertainties. Borneo, is where my home lies, but after being based in the Penisular Malaysia for the past 6 - 7 years, I am a stranger to my homeland.

I will have about 4-5 weeks left in KL, at most 6 weeks. By early October, I should be gone, leaving almost no trails here. 25 Sept 2006 should be my last day of service in my workplace.

Plan?

For now, I guess I could just play with my new toy more in KL before I am gone. Practice makes perfect. Hope I can equip myself with better skills before I leave.

I doubt I can travel/visit outstations for my remaining time here. However, Aquaria and KL Towers are among the hopefuls in my list.

So, a month more to go.







Sign off,
Allen



End note: Convocation photos will be uploaded shortly. I'm working on it.

The Doors Lyrics Blog

This Doors Lyrics page was the third group I created a site for. This site has lyrics, song facts, biographies of each band member, a sound section, plus a video of Jim Morrison's Grave. The Doors remain one of my favorite groups. Hope you enjoyed the site.


Post any info you want - your favorite song, seen concerts - anything. Thanks for stopping by.

it's soccer season again folks

Precaution: This entry is strictly NOT intended for female readers and non-soccer fans. This is rated as SF (Soccer fans only). Proceed with your own risk.


A little bit more than a month ago, World Cup 2006 Germany drew its curtain in Berlin, making way to the next World Cup host four years later – South Africa. The Italians emerged victors in Berlin, defeating France in the Final on penalty-shootout.

Just as we thought the hype of football were just cooling off, new footballing season may be well on its way to the world. Despite England’s failure to surpass expectation in the world’s greatest footballing stage, Barclay’s English Premier League remains the most watched football league in the world. All eyes are betting on the likes of defending champion Chelsea, Manchester United, who are looking to end their three years trophy barren run, and you also have Arsenal with their new home turf, as well as 2005 Champions’ League champion Liverpool.

Let’s just look at 2005-06 season in recap.

Chelsea won their back-to-back English league, backed by Russian wealth. However, they did not look as spectacular as they did a season before, as they were handed out four defeats along the way, three more than the previous season. This may boost other teams in the league, proving that Chelsea aren’t immortals after all.

Manchester United continued their title drought for three straight seasons. Nevertheless, last season looked positive for them, as they managed to spark a late push to cut Chelsea’s lead to a mere 8 points in the end. They were trailing as much as 15 points (I think), where at that point, many pundits and almost everyone in the world thought Chelsea would have been a runaway winner.

Liverpool have had indifferent form in the domestic league and cup competition. They had struggled to find form in league competition, which had resulted the third spot by end of the season.

Arsenal, probably had their worst start of the season in recent years, was constantly hovering the 7th – 10th position in the table. Tottenham, meanwhile, was enjoying their status as London’s best club on the season. They were always within the top 3 positions since the early going. However, Arsenal proved that they are still a force to be recognized with, stealing the fourth and last Champions’ League spot from their neighboring club – Tottenham.

Now here's a peep at the major transfer activities in the summer for the mentioned Big Four, also and their new kits (Home only).




Arsenal FC:

New signing:

#7 Tomas Rosicky, Czech Republic, was signed from Dortmund.





Chelsea FC:


New signings:


#13 Michael Ballack, Germany, was signed from Bayern Munich


#7 Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine, was signed from AC Milan.


#19 Lassana Diarra, France, was signed from Le Havre.


#12 Mikel John Obi, Nigeria, was signed from Lyn Oslo.


#21 Solomon Kalou, Ivory Coast, was signed from Feyenoord.





Liverpool FC:

New signings:


#17 Craig Bellamy, Wales, was signed from Blackburn Rovers.


#18 Dirk Kuyt, Holland, was signed from Feyenoord.




#16 Jermaine Pennant, England, was signed from Birmingham.


#10 Mark Gonzales, Chile, was signed from Albacete.




Manchester United FC:


New signings:

#16 Michael Carrick, England, was signed from Tottenham Hotspurs.


#29 Tomasz Kuszczak, Poland, was signed from West Brom.



At this point, Champions League 3rd round qualifiers have been played where Arsenal and Liverpool saw off their opponents with victories. England also started new era under Steve McLaren’s helm with a 4 – 0 victory over European champion Greece at Old Trafford, Manchester last night.

4 goals were scored in first half, with contributions from newly appointed captain John Terry and his Chelsea colleague Frank Lampard, as well as Liverpool’s Peter Crouch. Crouch was heavily criticized (at least from me) for his wasteful chances in Germany, but showed otherwise here against the Greeks. I did not watch the match, so I cannot be sure how he played. But for sure, he bagged himself a brace in the friendly.

English Premier League kicks of this Saturday (today). Check your TV listing and catch them live on Astro.

It’s football season again folks! GOOOOAAALLL again!!



Image source: All images used in this entry were from the football clubs' respective official websites, as well as Soccernet.com.

the day has come...

*** Updated: Convo's over. It just happened THAT fast! Sigh. Update will come soon. I'm in midst of collecting photos. I would love to extend my thanks to my dearest parents, and also my cousin! Thanks man! Really appreciate those! For the rest of MMU Graduates 2006, Well Done on your convocation! Cheers! ***


It's here!

Check it out only in Multimedia University, Cyberjaya campus.

Stay tuned.

a short update

It's been quite busy lately. I won't say that I am EXTREMELY busy, but considerably busy.

It's 8 August today, 08/08/06, 4 days away from MMU's 7th Convocation.

This year, the convocation is set to be held in MMU Cyberjaya campus. Malacca campus have had their time for the past 3 years (I think, if not mistaken).

So, I'm all busy for the event's preparation. But, I'm short of camera! Argh! >.< Can someone donate a camera to me? I want a canon!

haze in malaysia - a seasonal thingy?

When you talk about haze, the first image that hits me is the 1997 case, where my home state - Sarawak was severly affected.

The state was declared to emergency state for a week. There was no classes, no work, nothing! We were urged to stock up food and water in the house, and STAY in the house until the haze eased down. Sigh.. thinking of what happened back then was really sickening.

Too bad digital camera wasn't a common thing back then, I don't think there wasn't even digital camera around. Else, I would have showed the world how it was like having your vision blured so badly, that you don't feel like opening your eyes at all!

I was in KL in 2005 when haze hit our country again. I took some of the older photos I took in KL to show the difference between before and after.

BEFORE Haze






Ya.. ya.. This ain't KL, it's Kuala Perlis, I just thought of showing nice scenary before going into the awful sights.

AFTER Haze

These were taken almost a year ago, mid-August 2005. For your info, this was taken in Bangsar Putraline LRT Station.

Looks like post-war aftermath huh? A dead town. MidValley Megamall was supposed to be visible from there! (I think) -.-"
.
.
.
Okay la.. It isn't really THAT bad. I took the pic in sephia mode. But the result was scary, right?

Here is the actual view that time, taken in normal mode.



Bad huh?

I hope haze won't hit us that badly this year. It had been somewhat hazy in KL here recently. Enough is enough. Why do we need to suffer from other's misconduct? Sigh..

If you think those were bad, wait till you see what we had back in 1997. I think we had our A.P.I (Air Pollution Index), used to measure the air quality, breaching the 1000-mark.

Haze, a season in Malaysia? I just hope not!

Back from Applied Biblical Studies and Defending the Faith

I returned on Sunday from Steubenville and Pittsburgh. It was a great conference with a lot of opportunity to talk to the speakers.

This was XVII but no one is counting. Fr. Benedict Groeschel was there and he looked more frail than when I saw him in May. Sadly, he flew in and out with hardly any time to mingle.

For some folks who come almost every year, we're starting to recognize each other at the conference. Thank you, Fr. Stephen Clark. I recharged my apolgetics batteries.

It wasn't all without problems. My bags were lost by American Airlines. When they finally made it to my house on Tuesday, I went down to Our Lady of Victory Church on 60 William Street and gave thanks to God and to St Anthony.