Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Webster Cook Impeached for stealing Eucharist

Sometimes, justice does prevail, and from college students!
"Let me begin by addressing an issue that's recently received a great deal of attention and cast a negative light on our efforts within the Student Government," Peterson said. "The situation involving Senator Cook and the Catholic Campus Ministry is an isolated event and one that has interfered with our true purpose."
Webster Cook, along with a friend, went to a Catholic Campus Ministry Mass on June 29. During the Mass, Cook had an altercation with various members of the organization after he pocketed a Eucharist, which is against Catholic tradition."
Good job, speaker Peterson! University of Minnesota, watch and learn how justice is done.
Read the entire story here.
HT CBS NEWS

25 comments:

A Voice in the Crowd said...

The irony is that a dumb, 18-year old college student who did not fully think through his actions with a mature reasoning, and is paying money to attend a university, will be discipline by other teenagers.

A college professor who new exactly he was desecrating, now, multiple faiths, and is being paid money by an university is yet to be discipline by adults.

I don't know if you saw this AM's CNA press release on Myers. The UM Chancellor dishes the disgust harshly at Myers. I believe it is a sign of things to come.

Thanks for having the heart, Faith and courage to following these stories.

Anonymous said...

So the victim of religious persecution is victimized again and you call this justice? And you hope for this religious persecution to be carried out AGAIN?!

There are no words to express my disgust at your hatred and your evil.

Leticia said...

OK anonymous, let me get this straight, Webster steals a sacred host with intentions to insult our faith, good Catholics try their best to defend what they believe is Jesus Himself from desecration, and Webster is suffering religious persecution?
Our culture has wandered so far from any semblance of civility and respect for one another's beliefs that we are calling such blatantly disordered actions heroic!

Anonymous said...

Firstly, this was not a stunt by Cook to insult anyone. He was going to show his friend the Eucharist until he was assaulted by a Catholic, forcing him to flee. Secondly, even if he had, it would not warrant this incredibly hateful response from bigots, oh I'm sorry, "good Catholics". Thirdly, these "good Catholics" are not defending their beliefs, they are going after an innocent kid, threatening his academic career and even his life.

Yes, this is obviously religious persecution. Your attempt to claim that Cook was the uncivil one here is just incredibly dishonest and hypocritical; your fervent hope that evil will be repeated with Myers is just icing on the cake. Our culture has indeed wandered far from any semblance of civility when religious persecution is called "justice".

Leticia said...

Webster Cook was raised a Catholic, and knew he had NO business removing the Host from the Church without consuming it. He gave four different reasons for stealing the Host, I see you have chosen to believe this one. It makes him sound the victim.
As for the death threats, quote your source, there were none, it's merely another ploy for sympathy.

Anonymous said...

He was going to show it to a friend in the church until he was assaulted, whereupon he fled. This is not unusual among Catholics and didn't become a big deal until he was assaulted (oh, have I mentioned how Catholic blogs everywhere are celebrating that woman's despicable actions?). He looks like the victim here because he IS the victim here. You are blaming the victim, taking pleasure in further persecution, and hoping that this evil is repeated in Myers' case.

And now you're actually denying Cook was threatened? Are you kidding me?! "It didn't happen and they deserved every bit of it"...now where have I heard that before?

Anonymous said...

I was raised a Catholic, and in a half a century have seen any number of people do what Cook did, in plain sight of both clergy and laity who never objected. But now you claim insulting your faith requires “discipline” and “justice”? Legally, no. Myers was being a jerk and disrespectful: not illegal. Cook, in response to an assault which legally justified his use of force, only violated tradition, not the law. Nor was there legally a theft.

OTOH, Ducker and her accomplices committed clearly illegal assaults, followed by a campaign of harassment. The death threats are publicly posted on Pharyngula: look them up instead of spreading false witness. The fanatics are not attacking people's beliefs, they are attacking their political office, their jobs, their school enrollment, and threatening their lives. On religious grounds. Yes, that is religious persecution, not “justice”.

Your biased article fails to even mention the stated grounds for impeachment, which had nothing to do with religion. It describes insults being met with punitive action while actual lawbreaking is ignored, and is no example of “justice” under our legal system. It may be so under the “justice system” in your church, which explains why so many of us now avoid it.

Anonymous said...

All you all still hanging on to those limp and dangling defenses about threats of death and bodily harm? After the stunt the professor pulled, real or imagined threats should be the very least of his worries. Or yours, for that matter, for defending him or anyone else who defiles the Holy Eucharist.

Do any of you seriously think you’re instructing Christians on Christianity? The weakest prayer holds infinitely more power than the sum of your wordy and long-winded scripture-laced diatribes, which is why most folks aren’t buying any of what you’re selling. By no prompting of his own, that professor and his defenders, have millions, yes millions, if not more, of Catholics and Christians praying for him, even in spite of what they may be thinking or feeling about him and even while knowing what he thinks of and feels toward them. Whether or not any of you or he thinks that relevant is, well, irrelevant. If you really want to offer him legitimate support, you’d be down on your knees too.

Those finite gods of science, rhyme, reason and rhetoric are poor substitutes for the reality, and I hope you consider that sooner than later, if you haven’t already.

And for crying out loud, find yourselves some mirth.

Anonymous said...

"...he was assaulted, whereupon he fled...?" There's so much I can do with that ridiculous description that I won't even bother. What's up with the 'anonymous' name. Fearful for your life are you from those heathen Catholics? Or just cowardly?

Anonymous said...

"...A week after taking the Eucharist, he (Cook) returned it without getting an apology."

Let me understand this: Cook stole the Holy Eucharist from a Catholic Mass, claims to have been threatened for doing so, and is now annoyed that no one has apologized to him after returning the Eucharist to the Church?

Would someone please explain this narcissistic madness to me?

Anonymous said...

I thought someone tried to pry the Eucharist from his hand? Prying a stolen Sacrament from the hand of the thief equates to assault now?

But theft and desecration of a Holy Sacrament is not considered a crime on any level?

So sorry to steal your thunder, but the Son of the Creator of the Universe trumps all of us.

Anonymous said...

You can do so much with that "ridiculous description" that you won't even bother? Wow, it's just like the creationists who see so many biologists embracing creationism that they can't even point to a single peer-reviewed paper that supports their "theory".

And considering the ongoing campaign of hate and harassment against Cook and Myers by those poor, persecuted Catholics, anonymity is obviously prudent.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous, you may be surprised to learn that there are, in fact, countless scientists who support creationism, and more increasingly, they're publicizing their theories. The problem is and has been that many of them have been shunned by the scientific community for doing so. Publicizing their theories has also proved to have adverse effects on their careers. But that's changing as you'll note over time.

And, yes Anonymous, your description was a bit dramatized. "On-going campaign of hate and harassment" toward Cook and Myers? Isn't that statement somewhat ludicrous considering their behavior of late? Who again is on the receiving end of hate and harassment? Even so, 'prudent anonymity' is not only unnecessary but out of the question for me, and not just as a Catholic. I’m an adult.

The simple truth is that the defenders of Myers and Cook don’t have any legitimate defense, so they (and you) seek to go on the offensive attack, instead. A crafty diversion, but hopelessly played out and not very effective, or honest, for that matter.

Anonymous said...

A voice in the crowd, I can't find that news release you mentioned earlier about the UM president's remarks. Could I trouble you to post the address?

Anonymous said...

Refusal to return an item in your possession after it was freely given to you does not constitute theft under the law.

Assault is legally defined as basically touching someone. Prying something from their hand is most definitely assault, and under Florida statutes possibly Battery as well.

No state or federal ordnances forbid theft and desecration of any Holy Sacraments, so no, it is not a crime.

If you think your belief in some legend trumps the law, you are the problem.

Anonymous said...

You said it, A Voice In the Crowd. I imagine the reasons we'd hear would include vocabulary like Myers' situation is more 'complicated' and there are other 'factors to consider' (ie, there's more $$$$ involved in any decision-making)

Anonymous said...

The comments coming from those of you who were raised Catholic and no longer follow the faith have no more credibility than those comments coming from practicing Catholics. You're not projecting yourselves as 'expert' witnesses.

We are sorry you left the Church, but the choice was yours, just as the choice will always be yours, to return.

As for the reasons why you left the Church, only each of you can answer that for yourself, but, as a practicing Catholic, I know that perfection won't be found in either the clergy or the laity, because they're human. Only Christ offers perfection.

In the meantime, you might consider respecting those of us who've stayed with the Church and make the effort every minute of everyday to faithfully follow His teachings.

Anonymous said...

That would include, naturally, the Holy Eucharist, and allowing Catholics to receive the Body of Christ in peace.

Anonymous said...

And just as many convert to Catholicism, watercat. More than you know.

Anonymous said...

Just for the record, 'religious persecution' does not mean 'experiencing feelings of persecution by people who are religious.'

Anonymous said...

As predicted, the rhetoric and the hummin and hawin keep rolling in...state and federal ordinances, persecution, further persecution, harassment, this evil, victimized, assault--anything to avoid accountability or maybe, ooooh, guilt?

Anonymous said...

Just whose hatred and disgust are you referring to, Anonymous? Reading over the comments posted here, the tonal differences are striking. Those revealing their hatred and disgust issues are painfully obvious.

Anonymous said...

From the wailing going on here, you'd think that Myers and Cook were on death row, rather than being called on the carpet for their irresponsible irreverence toward Christianity.

A sad spectacle indeed to watch a 50 year old man surpass the immaturity of an 18 year old.

Anonymous said...

If basically touching someone constitutes an assault and prying is definitely assault, then the majority of mothers would be incarcerated to prison hundreds of times over for assaulting their children every time they pry an M&M or a marble from their hands.

Assault and battery? If someone tried to smuggle your child out of church and refused to hand them over to you, no hands-on activity would occur?

That 'possession' was the Body of Christ, and Cook knew full well that the Eucharist wasn’t to be taken from the church. He didn’t casually walk out the front door with the Host, he tried to sneak out—not exactly typical behavior by someone who has just freely received a gift. He knew he was wrong and that’s why he can't seem to come up with a clear explanation of why he left the Church with the Host at all.

Anonymous said...

And I almost forgot: Zoro and Sleepy Hollow are legends. Our Savior, Christ Jesus, is alive and well, thank you very much.

If He were here now, watercat, I don't think myself presumptuous in telling you that He would tell you how much He loves and misses you. He's that kinda guy.