Can you direct me to find the Church's teaching about

The Church is my family and I love her. If ever I ask questions or criticize, it is because I feel that I can be real and authentic with my family and I want her to be her better self always.

That said, I think that whenever people are being kidnapped, tortured, unjustly detained and murdered, the Church needs to speak out and up, loud and clear, in no uncertain terms. So I searched the Vatican web site for articles , http://www.vatican.va/ , about the Church's position on the human rights violations in Iran and found nothing. Then I went to the Bishops Conference site, http://www.usccb.org/ , and still found nothing. If you see something, please send it my way.

My second question is why? I know a little about the Shah, SAVAK, the Baath party and what went on in the last 4 decades that complicates the US-Iran relations. However, the Catholic Church is universal, transcending nations, cultures and peoples. So the American experience on Iran should not in any way restrain the Church.

Is it none of the Church's business? Back in the seminary, I studied the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (Lumen Gentium) and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World and it pretty much states that Muslims and even agnostics and atheists (the good ones) are related to, if not part of, the People of God - the Church. If they're related or part of the Church, then we must hurt whenever our relatives are hurt or if a part of us is injured. But I don't hear a cry of pain and anguish. And that silence sounds like apathy.

Is it because some Muslims hate and persecute Christians in their lands? You all know the Gospel verses to address that and a glance at the crucifix is enough to remind us of who we are supposed to imitate, follow and morph into. So, I think we need to contact our bishops and raise this concern because it is evil, wicked and sinful not to say or do anything when others are being oppressed - even if they're Muslims or Jews.

Later the Lord will say, "I was tortured and you turned a blind eye or hardened your heart." To find out when, just note the present date.

(Cross posted from

http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html#2648985042535349612 )

The good Samaritan and 9/11

Christians have 2 great commandments. The second is to love their neighbor. When asked to define "neighbor", the Lord Jesus told the story of how a Samaritan helped the man who belonged to the religion that hated him.

I know what the Koran states about Christians. But true Christians do not hate back not even after 9/11. Our leader was also tortured, but he loved back instead. We have a chance to do the same by supporting the Iranians' present struggle and cross out the circle of hate.