Day: September 9, 2014

Bishop Flores RIP

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As those of you who live in San Diego will doubtless know by now, a few days ago, Bishop Flores passed away. A few months ago he suffered a stroke and we heard recently that his condition had seriously deteriorated.

Bishop Flores

I was a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council around the time Bishop Flores took over the care of San Diego Diocese from Bishop Brom. Through these Council meetings, as well as through various diocesan events, I got to know this shepherd of Christ reasonably well. He was kind and had a great sense of joy, as well as certainly having some fire in his bones! He was extremely supportive of the Young Adult Catholic Community here in San Diego.

At 7:30pm the Young Adult Community in San Diego will be praying a rosary for Bishop Flores. Please join us in prayer, even if you can’t make it to the church.

My favourite memory of the Bishop was at the Rite of Election this year. My roommate Nathan was entering the Church and I was (for my sins) his sponsor. As we stood with the other candidates and catechumens having a group photograph, Nathan whispered to me “I want to high five the bishop”. As Nathan is always a bad influence on me, I whispered back “Do it!”. Nathan quickly made his way down to the bishop. Oh, it was the highest of fives… 🙂

Now that Bishop Flores has gone to be with the Lord, I can’t help but think of the words of St. Ignatius of Antioch to the young Bishop Polycarp at the beginning of the Second Century:

The times call for you, as pilots do for the winds, and as one tossed with tempest seeks
for the haven, so that both you and those under your care may attain to God. Be sober
as God’s athlete: the prize set before you is immortality and eternal life
– St. Ignatius of Antioch to St. Polycarp

You have run your race, Bishop Flores. May you rest in peace.

Absolutely Relative

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I recently had a conversation in which a friend said that he was quite liked relativism. Relativism has all kinds of problems, not least of which is that there exists a logical contradiction at the most basic level, since it makes an absolute statement in saying that everything is relative.

Despite this logical error, relativism is extremely popular. After all, it seems a rather nice, live-and-let-live outlook on life. However, the very practical problem with relativism is that it’s not how we really live our lives, since we all hold many things to be absolute truths. This means that, in order to be a consistent relativist, one ends up having to say some pretty crazy things. For proof of this, please see the video below…

Update – Here’s a follow-up conversation on Facebook which I think is worth sharing so as to really spell out the ridiculousness of some of the things said:

Friend: Well besides the fact that Todd Friel is clearly a douche-bag, I am supremely in agreement with the relativist! Sorry!

Me: Oh yes, Todd is extremely obnoxious, that’s a given. But how can you agree with the relativist? Aside from the fact that he can’t see the inherent logical contradiction in the very definition of relativism, he says things which he can’t possibly believe to be true.

He couldn’t even affirm that 2+2=4! I can *guarantee* that he doesn’t live his life as though that could be false. Consider the question of his race. If that man had been asked in ANY other context, he’d have had no problem answering the simple question. He just knew that his paradigm was at stake, so he was forced to deny the obvious. This is the primary problem with relativism – it’s not how people really live their lives…

* If this guy bought some gum at a store with a $20 note, do you think he would complain if I tried to just give him a dime change? Are there objective arithmetic truths when his own money is at stake?! 🙂

* When this chap was filling in the enrollment form at college, do you really think he was unable to commit to saying that his ethnicity was African-American?

* When taking his Math final, do you think he seriously entertained the idea that 2+2=5?

* In his history class, do you think he would have disputed with someone who claimed that the Holocaust was evil? When studying about African Slavery in the deep south, do you think he would have suggested that, from a certain point of view, the brutal treatment of the slaves was, in fact, a morally praiseworthy thing?

This is the weakness with relativism – it’s not how anyone lives their life and, if applied consistently, renders someone completely unable to confront moral evil since even something as horrific as rape could technically be morally good from another person’s point of view.