I am hereby demanding a change in one of the key bioethical stances of the Catholic Church.
I do this because I’ve noticed that all dissenters never “ask” the Church to reconsider her stance on things. Us dissenters “demand change” and insult the Church for not doing exactly what we say.
My demands are as follows: The Catholic Church must allow cloning. Not even for everyone. CMR just wants to clone Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Vatican’s highest court. I intend to clone a bakers dozen of Burkes and have them replace other Archbishops and Cardinals in select areas (you know the ones).
Now I’m a reasonable man and understand that it may take some time for the Church to reconsider its prohibition on cloning but it’s OK because I need some time to secure funding and possibly build a laboratory somewhere in North Korea.
Unfortunately, from what I understand, Abp. Burke is clearly and squarely with the Catholic Church on life and bioethical issues, and he likely wouldn’t allow himself to be cloned.
Abp. Burke gains our respect every time he speaks. Yesterday, he was quoted as saying the Democratic Party “risks transforming itself definitively into a ‘party of death.'”
Many in the media are shocked at Abp. Burke’s statements. I too am shocked but only because he said the Dems “risk” transforming themselves into the party of death. To me, the transformation is complete. That party has embraced the culture of death as a sacred right (and not one of those little rights that can be taken away like the Second Amendment.)
According to LifeNews:
Burke said the new Democratic Party isn’t the same as the one supported by generations past.
He told the paper it was once “the party that helped our immigrant parents and grandparents better integrate and prosper in American society. But it is not the same anymore. Burke also lamented that pro-life Democratic leaders are “rare, unfortunately.”
The Catholic News Service also indicates Burke talked with the newspaper about the abortion-communion debate within the Catholic Church and said he wasn’t an isolated position.
“It was shared by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, by Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte and by others,” he said.
“But it is true that the bishops’ conference has not taken this position, leaving each bishop free to act as he believes best. For my part, I always have maintained that there must be a united position in order to demonstrate the unity of the church in facing this serious question,” he added.
CMR has long appreciated Abp. Burke’s efforts, especially on life issues. But we think it’s time we took it to the next level. There are way too many bishops, archbishops, and Cardinals who are…shall we say…a little squishy on many issues.
Archbishop Burke has shown himself to be a leader by his regularly courageous stances and that’s why CMR labs intend to clone him once the Church gets out of the Middle Ages and allows us to clone Abp. Burke. If you’re interested in helping us please send checks or money orders to CMR Labs at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Send lots because beakers and bunsen burners don’t exactly grow on trees, you know.
September 30, 2008 at 4:51 am
North Korea probably has internet restrictions, Matthew, so you wouldn’t be able to blog once you set up your secret laboratory.
In the event the Church doesn’t make this cloning exception, I suggest you invent a Burkification Mitre. Utilizing the latest in CIA/X-files/Time Lord technology, Abp. Burke’s brain wave alpha patterns would be imprinted into a high tech transceiver woven into the Mitre’s fabric. This modified mitre would be given to the less-than-stellar individual, and voila! He dons the mitre and his stances would be transmogrified and thus he would be Burkified!
September 30, 2008 at 5:01 am
You’re hired! You work in the annex (yet to be built)
September 30, 2008 at 5:44 am
always come for a good laugh…larryd’s idea is great…I have some spare time to build the ray gun that will be used to capture the alpha waves of Abp. Burke
September 30, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Kewl! I’ll get my passport!
September 30, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Where’s the signup list for this (long overdue) Burkification Mitre? Sounds like just the ticket for the timid.
September 30, 2008 at 1:59 pm
What is the Church’s stance on ray guns and time lords anyway? I checked the Catechism and I didn’t see anything.
September 30, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Excellent ideas here! You know, he doesn’t have to exactly consent for you to do the deed– you just need a DNA sample or something (just go along with my horrendous science knowledge for now). In short, we could tackle him and take a swab from his cheek or something, and then clone that as many times as necessary to create sufficient copies for all the clones we want!
Either that, or I can try to get in touch with the aliens who clone people. They also have aging technology and can copy someone’s consciousness, so we could in a short amount of time have many Burkes equipped with all the theological knowledge and orthodoxy of the original!
Also, since N. Korea kinda.. lacks food, freedom, and the internet, I recommend an alternative: The People’s Republic of Cambridge (MA). It is more expensive, but Harvard’s already got the tech, and there is a lot of good ethnic food…
September 30, 2008 at 4:58 pm
In a choice between dealing with Harvard or aliens I say let’s start making crop circles.
September 30, 2008 at 5:19 pm
haha, fair enough… although would you believe it, my mom recently discovered she’s not the only one of her class to have converted and be active in parish life. Besides, if Harvard Square isn’t a batteground, I don’t know what is.
I have to say, though, the alien idea is a bit more appealing.. I really need to lay off the SciFi…
September 30, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Well, technically, baptized Catholics can only use Christo Rey guns.
As to time lords – amazingly, there are some parallels. They have a college of cardinals, like the Vatican. They wear fancy robes and headpieces, like bishops and the Holy Father. And while the Time Lords only have one Doctor, the Church has 33. And just like some bishops in the US, the Time Lords have a strict policy of non-intervention.
I just realized that I have to lay off the sci-fi, too.
September 30, 2008 at 6:12 pm
At the very least, let’s please email Abp. Burke’s office and inform him of our admiration and continued prayers. Lord knows he needs them! Sometimes I think we tend to forget that these people are in the crosshairs of Satan and are under fire in ways that we can’t even begin to imagine. So let’s pray for him and for the others like him, that they will continue to be paragons of the True Faith and will lead us on the righteous path.
October 1, 2008 at 12:53 am
Peter, re: “At the very least, let’s please email Abp. Burke’s office and inform him of our admiration and continued prayers.”
I would love to. Do you have a contact email addy for him?
Thanks! (And thanks to CMR for a much-needed laugh.)
October 1, 2008 at 2:19 am
I am not sure how to contact him directly anymore, given that he is now in Rome, but we could try contacting his old Archdiocese in St Louis at http://www.archstl.org/index.php?option=com_philaform&Itemid=149&form_id=1 and asking them to forward our comments on to him. If I find another way, I will of course let you know! Thanks for considering this, these fine apostles need our prayers!
October 1, 2008 at 2:52 pm
We are the Burke. We will convert you. Your heresies and heterodoxies will be corrected and you shall be led into the fullness of faith. Resistance is futile.
(Yeah, so add me to the lenghtening list of giving up sci-fi for Lent.)
October 1, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Nightfly,
your geekiness is showing. Soon, you’ll be dropping Buffy The Vampire Salyer references on us.