The following comes from a February Angelus article by R.W. Dellinger:
One-year-old Autumn Johnson was in her crib in Compton when a bullet probably meant for her 24-year-old daddy, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials, tore through her converted-garage home and into her head. “Minnie,” who weighed five pounds at birth, was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood in a patrol car, where she was declared dead. Darrell Johnson admitted he belonged to a street gang.
Bishop David G. O’Connell, who pastored four inner-city parishes in South Los Angeles for 27 years, says Autumn’s killing is just the latest reminder of the breakdown in society’s bedrock norms and values.
“What comes to mind is that more and more I’m seeing that the children are suffering terribly in our society,” he told The Tidings. “And it seems like, because of the breakdown in our society and our families, it’s the children who are taking the brunt of the suffering.
“So many priests would identify with this — that it’s getting heartbreaking to hear confessions of children. Because they talk about the violence in their homes and neighborhoods and schools, about addiction of their parents, about when dad goes and has another wife and the mom feels betrayed. And when dad has other children, they feel betrayed.
“These children are reaping a terrible harvest of suffering in this society,” he stressed. “We as adults have failed to create a society where children can grow up with the joy and the peace and the love and protection of the guidance and leadership that they need.”
Bishop O’Connell says there’s no easy fix to change society’s new “Me Generation” mindset. But he believes getting kids into Catholic schools can really help.
“I figured if we don’t get them by the time they’re in junior high, they’re going to already start acting out and start self-medicating with marijuana or drinking or medication adults put them on,” he said. “Something to cure the pain. So we really have failed them as adults.
“We have to find some way in our Catholic faith to change that and to help children be released from their pain. And this comes from Jesus Christ himself. In a Catholic school, children can not only feel nourished, but also loved.”
Trouble Is – that often parents of ‘Troubled’ Youth will turn to Catholic Schools because of their renown for quality, safety, discipline and order.
However – this did not occur in a vacuum where the parents just dropped off the kids and this was accomplished while they were otherwise occupied – but rather as a Part of an Upbringing that brought the while family in to the process and the School.
I say programs empowering Catholic Parents to help At School (say as Paid Substitute Teachers, credentials are fairly easy for those with any degree) is the best way to improve Catholic Schools – and keep the tuition circling around the system in to supportive hands..
It used to be that third world countries had millions of unstable, poorly-educated people, with problems of poverty, disease, broken marriages, adultery, children out-of-wedlock, dope and alcohol addiction, child abuse, and a host of other problems. Now affluent, post-1960’s America has been going down this same path, led by ignorant, illiterate, selfish, immoral, immature “hippie freedom-lovers!” They all wanted to destroy their “mom and dad’s society,” to include the Church! All they wanted, was to NEVER GROW UP TO BE LIKE THEIR PARENTS— and make their lives nothing but a ridiculous, endless “rock and roll party,” with dope, alcohol, ugly, loud, horrid rock “music,” and pre-marital sex!
I will continue, with my above post. You cannot lead a wild, corrupt life, of endless, immoral, immature “hippie freedoms,” and lie about that, calling it “good!” And the Church cannot lie about this either, calling it “love,” to permissively allow this evil situation to continue among clergy and laymen– with NO MORALS REQUIRED!! Everyone has to GROW UP!! Just like Mom and Dad! GROW UP– and assume roles of ADULT RESPONIBILITY!! NO MORE “JUVENILE DELINQUENT” TEEN CULTURE!! GROW UP FOR GOOD!!
It takes COURAGE to KILL the “Hippie-Freedom” garbage!!
America has descended to the level of a lawless, corrupt, pagan, Godless “mission land,” that desperately needs to be RE-CONVERTED TO THE FAITH, and RE-CIVILIZED!! Once we are again functioning as a decent, totally moral, hard-working Christian Nation, and people have established good Christian marriages- and good Catholic marriages and homes– next, they all will want excellent Catholic schools, for their children, and a good future for them, and for their Church, and for America! Let’s KILL the American “Haight-Ashbury” 1960’s “hippie” society, TODAY!!
Linda Maria, recently a younger woman, who had been a “celebrity” in the past and gotten out of her cocaine ridden lifestyle, passed away. Although she had been out of the drug scene and into Evangelical Christianity for quite some time, she had some rare diseases that she admitted were caused by her previous lifestyle, and they helped kill her in the end.
One of her redeeming qualities was that she admitted her errors in public, so hopefully others would not do the same things May her soul rest in peace.
It is so sad, that so many naïve young people “sold their souls to the Devil,” with rock “music,” dope, and promiscuity, in the 1960’s– falsely being told by immoral misfits, that such a terrible life would falsely bring them all happiness and “liberation!” What many naïve people do not realize, is that promiscuity, dope, and the rock “music” “lifestyle, are all highly dangerous– and may KILL you!! It is fortunate that this woman finally became a Christian- but bless her, it was too late, for her to have a happy and healthy life! At least she got out of the horrible life of dope, and found Jesus!
I have heard many doctors say, that America is on a terribly dangerous, unfortunate path, with so many people leading lives of dangerous promiscuity! Besides being highly sinful and immoral– promiscuity results in many very dangerous diseases, and doctors have said, that a great many people will die, as a result– and do not realize it!