The iPadre Catholic Podcast

Do you remember that big new item a few years back?  There were a group of Italians, who had renounced their association with the Church and with their Baptism, who requested their names be removed from the Baptismal register.  We live in really weird times.  The parents and grandparents of these poor souls would be broken hearted.

It all ties in the the them of Blessed John Paul and Pope Benedict XVI: “Europe is losing it’s soul!”  Indeed it is, along with America and most other westernized nations.  We have renounced our Christian roots for a new secular humanist religion.  It’s the religion of whatever pleases me for the moment.

The root of it all is that we have lost our identity!  Identity is so important.  It is important for a priest to know he is a priest and what that means and for the baptized to know they are baptized and all that entails.  The days are gone by when people identified themselves by their religion.

In this weekends second reading, St. Paul makes an important point that fits right into this who discussion.  “The gifts and call of God are irrevocable.”  Once you belong to God, there is no turning back.  You can abandon the Lord, but He won’t abandon you!

The Church teaches us this important truth in the reception of three Sacraments.  There are three sacraments in which there is an indelible mark placed upon the soul.  Baptism Confirmation and Holy Orders seals a person for all eternity.  When a person receives each of these three Sacraments, they receive and indelible mark upon their soul that sets them apart for all eternity.  Once a person is Baptized, Confirmed or Ordained, they can never repeat that sacrament again.  As the old saying goes, “Ones a priest, always a priest.”

We can burn all of the baptismal records in the world, and even renounce our baptism, yet we are marked for all eternity.  Despite our infidelity, God is always faithful and never takes back His promises.

This is a must see.  What an awesome idea, but we know who through it up first.  God creates, man imitates!  Enjoy

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_JcKSHUtQ

When I first heard of and saw Google’s new social networking site, I was really excited.  It looked like a great alternative to Facebook.  I like the ability of placing people in different categories.  Facebook has become so out of control, that there are many people following me whom I have no connection with at all.  They are just friends of friends of friends who saw me and decided to add me as a friend and found my profile through a roll of the dice.

There are other people who befriended me on Facebook that I had to remove.  I don’t want self starts and men who have been ordained by some “other Catholic” church using my credibility drawing innocent people into their fold.  Just as and example, I had two men claiming to be the legitimate successors of St. Peter as friends.  There are others who started out as a priest and a few weeks later, they are bishops of their own domain.  Many of these men are just as much a bishop as my golden retriever.

I also have friends on Facebook because they are my “real” family members.  I have people from every day life (you know, the real world), friends, and co-workers.  I have a good number who are members of the Catholic Podcast community.  There are people I went to school and graduated with but haven’t seen since that day long ago.

However good and important many of these people are, they are all mixed up in the same pot of stew.   There are things that I want to share with everyone, there are also things I want to share with collaborators on a project, and things that I want to share only with my family and friends. There are some things that I don’t want to share with complete strangers and wisdom tells us that we darn well had better not.  Well, you get the idea!

I want a way to separate all of my friends into different groups and move them around at will.  I want to message one group, three groups all all at once.  I want to be able to have as many or as few friends as I choose.  And, I want to have complete control over who views my information.  I want my information to remain my personal property and not give my rights to some overgrown self start company like Facebook or Google.

I heard some things about Google’s new service, so I did a little investigating into the Terms of Service and I don’t like what I read.  Read on and see if you are willing to agree to Google’s terms.

11. Content license from you

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.

11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above license.

So, it’s possible that I post my profile picture and suddenly see it advertising some immoral product or service by Google or one of their collaborators.  They might take portions out of my podcasts to give a message contrary to my beliefs and or morals.

As long as Google has such unjust terms of service, they can keep their social network!