<div dir="ltr">Hi Arthur<div>I read your reflection on authority and would like to say that I agree with you</div><div>Indeed, how sad! I know a friend doctor, an excelent doctor on his seventies now who lost his licence for the reason you talk about.</div><div>How can they complain about shortage of doctors! It's a messy/sad world for sure...what saves my sanity is meditation/contemplation.</div><div>Keep offering us good challenging reflections</div><div>Peace</div><div>Tina</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Jun 18, 2023 at 12:24 PM Arthur Blomme via Sundaycommunity <<a href="mailto:sundaycommunity@lists.integralshift.ca">sundaycommunity@lists.integralshift.ca</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<p>Hi</p>
<p>From time to time I do a reflection on the Sunday liturgical
readings. For this Sunday, June 18th, I composed the following
based on Mathew 10. <br>
</p>
<p>Art<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b><span lang="EN-US">Reflection: Brief History of Church Authority in
4 steps:</span></b></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">1. Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave
them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to
cure every disease and every illness. (MATHEW 10)</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">2. And it came to pass that disciples became
bishops and bishops became powerful feudal lords with authority
over the minds and lives of many. The poor suffered 700 years of
total domination by the Holy Roman Empire.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">3. These dark ages end with the Age of
enlightenment. Immanuel Kant defines this age as using one’s
intelligence without the guidance of another. Its motto: “Dare
to be wise”. This was an age where tyrants were overthrown and
replaced with democracy and recognition of our inalienable
rights to freedom. Authority is related to reason.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">4. Today the priesthood of yore seems asleep and
irrelevant to the halls of power. Critical theorist, Ivan Illich
believes that the new priesthood is found in the medical system.
People have faith in the scientific expertise of their doctor
and become totally dependent on their doctor to the point that
they have surrendered any attempt to care for themselves. These
people surrender their authority of their mind and body to the
medical system. They reverse the enlightenment. They no longer
think for themselves.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">It appears the main stream of our culture has gone
back to the dark ages. Science was once about challenging and
questioning an established hypothesis and creating new ideas.
Now science is a dogma and medical practitioners who do not
abide by this dogma are excommunicated from the medical
profession. For example, this past week in Ontario Dr. Patrick
Phillips joined many others in losing his medical license for
holding views contrary to those dictated by the medical
establishment on the safety of mRNA vaccines. <br>
</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">The concept of the common good has been used by
tyrants in the past and now to control and manipulate people.
Over the past years the common good was used to justify the
removal of rights and freedoms. <br>
</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Francis in Laudato Si clearly opposes this use of
the common good to diminish our rights and freedoms. In the same
paragraph he calls us to exercise the principle of subsidiarity
where all levels of organization should serve the basic cell of
society which is the family. I believe that Pope Francis in this
chapter of Laudato Si captures the “…authority over unclean
spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every
illness”. (MATHEW 10)</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<br>
<b><span lang="EN-US">(Quote from Laudato Si):</span></b><br>
<br>
<b><span lang="EN-US"></span></b>
<p> </p>
<div style="border-top:none;border-right:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:1pt solid rgb(79,129,189);padding:0cm 0cm 4pt;margin-left:46.8pt;margin-right:46.8pt">
<p style="margin:10pt 0cm 14pt">157. Underlying the principle of the
common good is respect for the human person as such, endowed
with basic and inalienable rights ordered to his or her integral
development. It has also to do with the overall welfare of
society and the development of a variety of intermediate groups,
applying the principle of subsidiarity. Outstanding among those
groups is the family, as the basic cell of society. Finally, the
common good calls for social peace, the stability and security
provided by a certain order which cannot be achieved without
particular concern for distributive justice; whenever this is
violated, violence always ensues. Society as a whole, and the
state in particular, are obliged to defend and promote the <span> </span>common good.(Laudato Si)</p>
</div>
<p><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Art Blomme</span></i></b><i><span></span></i></p>
<p><i><span> </span></i></p>
</div>
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