We should all stand with Bishop Frank Dewane, Chairman of the US Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Peace. Regarding the Charlottesville mayhem, he said, “We stand against the evil of racism, white supremacy and Neo-Nazism. We stand with our sisters and brothers united in the sacrifice of Jesus, by which love’s victory over every form of evil is assured.”
Please join us in praying the Novena through the intercession of Our Lady of America for true hope and change in America.
Without justifying any evil, we should acknowledge that there was evil on both sides of the demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12. There were two groups of demonstrators at the event called Unite the Right, an ultra-rightist group containing White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis and an ultra- leftist group containing Antifas and Anarchists. The ultra-rightists had a permit. The ultra-leftists who opposed them did not and outnumbered the ultra-rightists.
According to a local reporter eyewitness, the two groups intermingled and mayhem broke out. She smelled pepper spray in the air, she was hit by a bag that smelled of urine and she witnessed the breakout of clubs and fistfights. She said that officials called it an unlawful assembly and closed the event before it even began.
The permitted ultra-rightist group was exercising its First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. The First Amendment even protects their racist, hateful and vile speech. Since they had a permit, they would not have constituted an unlawful assembly that did not occur until the unpermitted ultra-leftist group engaged them. Perhaps the event would have been peaceful if they had not been engaged by the ultra-leftists. However, the violence then escalated.
A 20-year-old man deliberately drove a car down the street. He killed an innocent woman and injured 19 others. Earlier in the day, a photograph of the alleged driver showed him standing with Vanguard America, a Neo-Nazi group.
Neo-Nazism means the new Nazi movement that seeks to revive the ideology of Nazism under Hitler in the last century. It is an ideology that includes ultra-nationalism, racism and antisemitism.
Satan never lets go of an evil idea, such as Nazism, even if it is apparently defeated as in the World War II victory over Nazi Germany. He simply replants his evil idea anew in minds that are open to receive it. They act in a common cause with other like-minded people, emanating from hate, to overthrow the existing social order and establish a utopian state with a supposedly superior race.
To combat such an evil ideology, we must always respect and never forget the innate dignity of every human being of every race, created in the image of God and naturally ordered to eternal happiness with him.
According to a local reporter eyewitness, the two groups intermingled and mayhem broke out. She smelled pepper spray in the air, she was hit by a bag that smelled of urine and she witnessed the breakout of clubs and fistfights. She said that officials called it an unlawful assembly and closed the event before it even began.
The permitted ultra-rightist group was exercising its First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. The First Amendment even protects their racist, hateful and vile speech. Since they had a permit, they would not have constituted an unlawful assembly that did not occur until the unpermitted ultra-leftist group engaged them. Perhaps the event would have been peaceful if they had not been engaged by the ultra-leftists. However, the violence then escalated.
A 20-year-old man deliberately drove a car down the street. He killed an innocent woman and injured 19 others. Earlier in the day, a photograph of the alleged driver showed him standing with Vanguard America, a Neo-Nazi group.
Neo-Nazism means the new Nazi movement that seeks to revive the ideology of Nazism under Hitler in the last century. It is an ideology that includes ultra-nationalism, racism and antisemitism.
Satan never lets go of an evil idea, such as Nazism, even if it is apparently defeated as in the World War II victory over Nazi Germany. He simply replants his evil idea anew in minds that are open to receive it. They act in a common cause with other like-minded people, emanating from hate, to overthrow the existing social order and establish a utopian state with a supposedly superior race.
To combat such an evil ideology, we must always respect and never forget the innate dignity of every human being of every race, created in the image of God and naturally ordered to eternal happiness with him.
We must foster the true, the good and the beautiful. Ultra-rightist groups have scheduled other demonstrations in the near future. Let us pray that they are peaceful and nonviolent by all sides.
Please join us in praying the Novena through the intercession of Our Lady of America for true hope and change in America.
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