Paddy is trying to smuggle Irish whiskey out of the Emerald Isle. As he passes through security he’s asked what’s in the bottle “In this holy bottle is holy water; and from Lourdes where the Virgin Mary herself appeared no less!”.
The security guard opens the bottle and sniffs inside and shouts “Why this is Irish whiskey!” Paddy falls to his knees and cries “Well Bless my soul! Another miracle!!”Obviously if Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner dies, a priest writing in the media is going to dis his legacy.
What I didn’t expect was for the Prime Minister of Australia to almost boast of his key involvement in bringing Playboy magazine pornography to Australia. But if the body is good, what’s wrong with pornography, right?
If one says a work of art is objectively beautiful and to be admired for its sound worth, what happens when the artwork is spoiled or exploited for money's sake?
Should artwork not be protected from being spoiled or exploited? In a 2011 interview Hefner stated "Part of the reason that I am who I am is my Puritan roots run deep. There was no drinking in my home. No discussion of sex.”
Sadly the Hefners, like all loveless extremists, brought about the opposite of what they intended. Pornography has spoiled marriages, relationships, innocence, children, the weak, and possibly why the internet gets so slow after midnight.
As for the argument that it prevents worse, well, I’m not so sure; whenever they delve into the lives of pedophiles and rapists they always discover a prior addiction to porn, because “for things unknown there is no desire” (Tony Hancock).
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I believe the Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima in 1917 to three “peasant” children of which this Friday 13th October will be 100th Anniversary of the last time.
Why do I believe? Because the prophecies of 1917 came true and I don’t think three children of very limited intelligence could have made this stuff up.
Maybe I wasn’t paying attention before, but I’ve noticed over the last few years in movies, music and in real life, the hero, the person who saves the day, even in Star Wars and Doctor Who, is a woman. Maybe heaven is trying to get us ready for things to come.
Words of Wisdom with Father Brendan Lee is written weekly for The Area News.
