Another Point of View

Another kind of lawful slaying belongs to the civil authorities, to whom is entrusted power of life and death, by the legal and judicious exercise of which they punish the guilty and protect the innocent.  The just use of this power, far from involving the crime of murder, is an act of paramount obedience to this Commandment which prohibits murder.  The end of the Commandment is the preservation and security of human life.  Now the punishments inflicted by the civil authority which is the legitimate avenger of crime naturally tend to this end, since they give security to life by repressing outrage and violence.  Hence these words of David:  "In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land, that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord."  -Ps 100:8

from the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the section of the fifth commandment.  Translated into English by John A. McHugh, O.P., S.T.M., Litt.D. and Charles J. Callan, O.P., S.T.M., Litt.D.


"[T]he legitimate avenger of crime".  Interesting turn of phrase, that.


(Personally, I'm not sure I would object to the abolition of capital punishment as a practical matter.   As the late Joe Sobran pointed out, one has only to note who makes these life-or-death decisions. . . .)

My World is Tottering

The How-to Geek newsletter, to which I cannot link because this bit only seems to be in the email and not on-line, has startling news in it this morning.  It changes one's whole view of reality. 

I quote:

Despite what cartoons have taught us, the coyote can run up to 43 miles per hour while the roadrunner can only run up to 32 miles per hour.

Further research is clearly called for.   But if true, then what to make of all those catastrophic accidents?    Hmm.  It appears the Acme Corporation would be wise to lawyer-up, sooner rather than later.

"Not a Drinking Game" it says at the bottom. . . .

. . . . but it could be.   Easily.

Go here and play Bishop Press Release Bingo.

(Tip of the balmoral to the good Hilary for putting this cite on her twitter feed, from which I appropriated it.)

The Dress Act of 1746

The Dress Act 1746 was part of the Act of Proscription which came into force on 1 August 174[7] and made wearing "the Highland Dress" including tartan or a kilt illegal in Scotland as well as reiterating the Disarming Act. The Jacobite Risings between 1689 and 1746 found their most effective support amongst the Scottish clans, and this act was part of a series of measures attempting to bring the warrior clans under government control. An exemption allowed the kilt to be worn in the army, continuing the tradition established by the Black Watch regiment. The law was repealed in 1782.

From the always interesting Vintage Tartan FB page. The direct link to the piece is here.

The Scottish Tartan Authority has more on the Dress Act of 1746 here.

The tartan shown above is the St Ninian tartan commissioned by the Scottish parliament for the visit of Pope Benedict to Scotland.   More here.

Lammas Day

Today, the first of August, is indeed Lammas Day.

Lammas Day (Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas, "loaf-mass"), is a holiday celebrated in some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, usually between 1 August and 1 September. It is a festival to mark the annual wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop, which began to be harvested at Lammastide, which falls at the halfway point between the summer Solstice and Autumn September Equinox.

So sayeth Wikipedia here, along with much else.

Even though today is actually Lammas Day, the Ould Lammas Fair actually occurs at the end of August.  Go figure.

Gastro-oeconomia

Does one need to explain that Dr Kirk isn't always to be taken literally?

No, surely not.

So it should be safe to link here without undue repercussions.

And even here.

(Oops.  Link should be fixed now.)