Sunday Post

Today in moral posturing: a memorial was held in Vancouver for Aylan Kurdi and his brother, Galip, two boys who drowned after their father paid human smugglers to flee the safety of Turkey:

Hundreds of people, both family, friends and complete strangers took seats at Simon Fraser University's Habour Centre in downtown Vancouver to pray, reflect and hear stories about the family, who have gained the attention of people around the world.

All three drowned while trying to flee from the Syrian War, their boat — loaded with refugees — capsizing on its way to Greece.

Now that everyone has had a good cry about someone they have never met, what comes next?

From Peter Hitchens:

Actually we can’t do what we like with this country. We inherited it from our parents and grandparents and we have a duty to hand it on to our children and grandchildren, preferably improved and certainly undamaged.

It is one of the heaviest responsibilities we will ever have. We cannot just give it away to complete strangers on an impulse because it makes us feel good about ourselves.

Every one of the posturing notables simpering ‘refugees welcome’ should be asked if he or she will take a refugee family into his or her home for an indefinite period, and pay for their food, medical treatment and education.

If so, they mean it. If not, they are merely demanding that others pay and make room so that they can experience a self-righteous glow. No doubt the same people are also sentimental enthusiasts for the ‘living wage’, and ‘social housing’, when in fact open borders are steadily pushing wages down and housing costs up.

As William Blake rightly said: ‘He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars. General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite and flatterer.’

So who's game?

We refuse to liquidate ISIS, as we ought, and won't spare a thought to the native Christians and Yazidis whose plight is arguably worse than the so-called refugees demanding that Europe let them in by the drove. Which saddened social justice warrior will open the doors to his loft to the unassimiable?

Food for thought:

As the migrant-train standoff entered its second day in Hungary, with thousands of mostly Syrian refugees seeking passage to Germany, it’s time the West recognized this shift in Muslim populations for what it is, say American activists who have been warning of a “fifth column” for years.

Author Robert Spencer wrote Sept. 4 in Front Page Magazine, “This is no longer just a ‘refugee crisis.’ This is a hijrah.”

Hijrah is the Islamic doctrine of migration, which is a form of stealth jihad.
“To emigrate in the cause of Allah – that is, to move to a new land in order to bring Islam there, is considered in Islam to be a highly meritorious act,” Spencer wrote. He cited the following Quranic text:

“And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many locations and abundance,” says the Quran. “And whoever leaves his home as an emigrant to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him, his reward has already become incumbent upon Allah. And Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful” (Quran 4:100).

And now, looking at Europe and America, a migration invasion of a much greater magnitude is underway.

Evidence of that invasion came in February when an ISIS operative confirmed what many already suspected – the Islamic State is using the refugee crisis to form a fifth column of Muslim fighters inside Western nations.

The Syrian operative claimed more than 4,000 trained ISIS gunmen have already been smuggled into Europe – hidden among innocent refugees, reported the Express, a British newspaper.

(Sidebar: that's probably why Israel wants a big fence.)

Also: the third pillar of Islam in practice:

More than four million Syrians have been forced to escape the never-ending civil war ravaging their country and the barbaric terror group carving a bloody trail across the Middle East.

The vast majority live in overcrowded refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq - all under threat from ISIS - and record numbers are making the perilously long journey to Europe.

Yet, as debate rages between politicians in Europe over how many they should take, nearby super-wealthy Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have refused to offer sanctuary to a single Syrian refugee.

Incredibly stupid and incorrect reporting on Vatican matters notwithstanding, Father Tom Lynch explains things to the popular press:

Pope Francis made headlines around the world this week when he announced that priests will be able to offer forgiveness to women who have had abortions.

In practical terms, though, the announcement means little in Canada, where bishops have long designated that ability to local priests, says Rev. Tom Lynch, a professor of theology at St. Augustine’s Seminary at the University of Toronto.

“I think here in Canada it’s not as big of news as perhaps in other parts of the world,” says Lynch, the national director of Priests for Life Canada and the pastor St. Mary’s Parish in Lindsay, Ont.

For four decades, North American bishops have delegated the decision to priests to hear confession and offer forgiveness for this “sin.”

Forgiveness for only eight of the most grievous sins is reserved for bishops, Lynch says. Abortion is not one of them.

“This isn’t a change in the teaching on abortion; it isn’t a change in the teaching on confession. It’s just a change in the pastoral practice,” he says.

Queen Elizabeth II will surpass Queen Victoria's record as longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom:

On Sept. 9, the current Queen will succeed Victoria as the United Kingdom's longest-reigning monarch after 63 years and 218 days on the throne.

Good for her.