Although the occasional rains of summer may have been a brief but welcome break to the continual hot and dry spells of previous years, the rain has brought an unpleasant legacy along with it. The extra rain through August has added water to the ground, feeding plants and animals, it has added to the dwindling supplies in the reservoirs, and …

It is a commonly accepted fact, not only in moral philosophy but also in everyday life, that all human beings, when have full use of reasoning, possess an inner voice that informs them about good and evil, truth and lie, justice and injustice of human acts.

This is what we call consciousness which not only informs us but also through the consideration of these acts, censures or approves them in an independent way.

The question is: what is conscience based to inform us about the goodness or evil of these human acts? I think that it is based on three factors: reason, faith in God and knowledge of the nature of things that person perceives in the world. With the reason it reflects and judges on the facts, with faith it perceives them with greater clarity and with the knowledge of the nature of things it shows its objective characteristics, challenging us to discover and know them deeply.

The natural law or natural moral law is the objective discovery of this nature of things done fairly by the person and its subsequent recognition For example, we discover the natural law when we say that people should not take over the property of others (steal) or deprive them of life (kill), or maltreat them (violence), or deceive them (lie), or abuse a minor (child sexual abuse) or have sex with another man's wife (adultery), etc.

But we have to consider the role that the will plays in human beings which have the last word in their decisions. In effect, people may reject the faith and even the natural law (the voice of God in the heart of man) to take a subjective stance that takes them to satisfy their ambitions of power, money, domain, influences and wealth or simply for convenience or cowardice. In this case the reason is the exclusive service of the selfish attitude and tries to justify it with fallacious reasoning, imposing its own servitude to human consciousness.

This is what is happening. Since old times until nowadays, many people have chosen to reject the faith in God and the natural law to follow the dictation of willingness inclined to the ego and the power over people. With this attitude they have caused countless harms and injustices to their fellow men with greater or lesser cruelty and intensity (I will not mention names) as the concentration and extermination camps or induced abortion.

These people are those who mock or blaspheme against the Church, Jesus Christ and the faith of believers. They insult, despise, and hate God and call riffraff those who do not think like them. Isn't it true that the blasphemy in some circles of coexistence is a common symptom of "manhood" and hateful arrogance? Or does the mockery against the Church is the cause of revelry? What a Pity!

These words do not intend to be negative, but help to discover the origin of evil that exists in the world from the beginning (the rejection of God, faith and natural law) in order to make that some people think and decide to choose radically God (the good). They must do it with greater determination and intensity and must fight hard against the evil so we can reduce it.

Roberto Grao

For half of women between 30 and 44 years, having a child has significantly altered their working lives, forcing a reduction in working hours, the temporary or permanent abandonment of work.

The existence of children alone does not explain the difficulty of reconciling work and family. The truth is that the high rate of female employment accompanies a very low fertility of 1.34 children per woman.
In Europe, countries belonging to the European Union have lower fertility rates and high female labor activity.

In Spain, a factor that aggravates the low birthrate, is that 37% of working women have a temporary contract when the EU average is 15.5%.

Often in a young family both spouses have a temporary contract, which influences their decisions about whether to have children or not. Most women in the countries of the European Union believe that the ideal model is one in which both spouses have jobs of similar commitment, so that they can share the childcare. But less than half live in a family with such characteristics.

Female labor activity does not prevent bringing children into the world and even form large families. This is the opinion about the work and the children of saint John Paul II, which advised parents: "do not hesitate to have a large family, because the priority is not the pursuit of professional success but transmit to children those human and Christian values that give true meaning to life.”

In this decadent society it is necessary to assess the child in all its dimensions and significance as a developing person. Adults seem to make a special effort to go "against nature" degrading their physical and moral integrity. Those mothers who somehow act cruelly, should not forget that they are not only their children, but also children of God.

"The Misadventures of childhood affect all their life and leave an inexhaustible source of sadness in their hearts," says P. Brulat.

clementeferrerrosello@gmail.com Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of advertising and public relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.

Dear Editor:
Next June 8 is the 43 anniversary of the photo where a girl appears naked and terrified, running down a dusty road in a village in Vietnam, when she was 9 years old.

This image, which perpetuated the horrors of the Vietnam War, has appeared many times through various media and, especially all the TV networks in the world. The girl named Kim Phúc, is now an ambassador for UNESCO and runs a foundation to help the children victims of war and violence.

Far left her 17 operations to cure burns that Napalm caused in 65% of her tiny body. Nick Ut, author of the photo that won the Pulitzer in 1973, took her to the clinic and saved his life. She remained hospitalized for over a year.

She fainted every time the nurses put her in the bathtub and cut the dead skin of her wounded and small body. But she did not die. "Inside me, she says, was a small, strong girl, who wanted to live, and I got over it all, thanks to the love of my family and God."

One of the lessons she has learned from this experience is to forgive. When she read for the first time, the words of Jesus to "love your enemies", she did not know how. I'm human, I have much pain and many scars. She thought it would be impossible. "I had to pray a lot and it was not easy but in the end I got it," she testifies, moved.

In 1996, the Foundation for the Memory of Vietnam Veterans asked Kim Phúc to travel to Washington, where she could talk to one of the crew who were involved in the attack on Trang Bang, her village.

Kim Phúc publicly forgave him saying "Forgiveness is more powerful than any weapon in the world".
"My picture is a symbol of war, but my life is a symbol of love, hope and forgiveness," she said. Forgiveness exalts the spirit and gives strength to go on.

clementeferrerrosello@gmail.com
Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of advertising and public relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.



"These global crises are crises of saints." This phrase was written by Saint Josemaría Escrivá in the thirties of last century. As a saint he had all the reason, even more reason than a saint.

It is not only that we lack great saints (we have Saint Josemaría Escrivá, Saint Francisco Javier or Saint Teresa of Jesus) but we lack the holiness to others. But I am not referring to the holiness of great works or miracles, but the holiness in small things, in the everyday. Saint Josemaría proposes to place Jesus Christ in the peak of all human activities and sanctify ourselves in small things of every day: work, family and human relationships.

I will give you a small example: because of different issues, I have to go through the procedure in another city and I have to go to a back office.

I am sometimes attended by phone and other personally by a lady or young lady. She is the education itself with order and good willingness; she is also effective in her work. When she say goodbye by phone or personally always gives me thanks but I must do this because she makes procedures for me. Then I ask me: “can I do my job better?”

Unfortunately, it is more and more common to see the botch around us, from big projects that born wrong to the sweeper that leaves the half of the trash on the floor. As human beings, we are limited and perfection is impossible. Despite all our efforts, the work does sometimes not go well. But, do we put all our efforts?

It would be enough that all who have work and those who have not made every our effort in all human activities to start to see at least the beginning of the end of the crisis. And it is not needed to offer almost nothing to God.

ALEJANDRO PEREZ BENEDICTO

Independent Forum of Opinion

http://indeforum.wordpress.com

Which of these gifts do you prefer? Is it gold, frankincense or myrrh? The gifts the 3 kings brought one day, were perfection, not just o.k. Given a choice we would say love, is better than the choice above. But love began up there above. I...

The Foundation of the Holy See "Aid to the Church in Need" (ACN) has released some advertising campaigns with these messages: "Emergency in Iraq. Christians have fled Mosul.

They need your help urgently. Do not let them alone. "In another message, ACN states that "With you we can: build and rehabilitate centers; provide sustenance for priests and religious; forming seminarians, novices and priests; publish and distribute catechetical material; provide transportation for evangelization; media to spread the Word of God. "A new advertising slogan says: "Help us raise the church in Nigeria.

There have been nearly 800 murders, more than 430 attacks on churches. They can destroy our buildings and temples but not destroy our faith in Jesus Christ. "The following has also been published: "The hope of Christians in the Holy Land. They are just 2% of the population, but the visit of Pope Francis has given them courage and the certainty of knowing they are not alone.They should not disappear from this sacred Land! "Another ad reads: "Emergency CAR.Thank you for your generosity!

id to the Church in Need would like to thank the generosity of many benefactors who are enabling the collection of urgent assistance to the Central African Republic”. Donations can be done at Banco Popular: ES12 0075 0080 17 0601667548. The journalist Fernando Haro put a face to a tragedy in his latest book "Christians and lions," asserting that the persecution of Christians has become a colossal drama .

It is estimated that about 100,000 Christians are killed each year because of their faith throughout the world. "It's one of the great tragedies in this beginning of the XXI century and has the dimensions of the great persecutions of the times of Diocletian in the fourth century or the twentieth century Stalinism".

Elsewhere in this book he says: "Christians have found something; Jesus Christ, for whom it is worth giving life. Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world." The history of violence in which victims are hundreds of thousands of Christians around the world, passes unperceived for the vast majority of society and also to the media.

clementeferrer3@gmail.com

Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of advertising and public relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.

In view of the dramatic crisis that Spain is suffering, when one out of every five people live in unemployment, when we are in the sights of Europe, when we do not yet know how the current situation of hardship for many families will finish, the thinkers of this Government are devoted to invent tension situations that generate clashes among ordinary people.

Why after 75 years talk about the subject of the civil war to re-create hatreds between people? This topic has already been settled for many years but now this is about creating tension, by straying attention from more important issues, even if it involves bringing the Spaniards into conflict again.

Why make a law on religious freedom trying to distort roots and traditions of people who in their vast majority are and have always been catholic? It is false that there are so many Buddhists, Mormons, Adventists, etc. in Spain.

With another recent law, they emptied the content of the institution of marriage putting it on a level with the same-sex unions and facilitating the dissolution of it with the express divorce. No one thought that this is what actually generates more gender violence.

They have imposed the children and adolescents indoctrination in the official doctrine, through a subject that they called "Education for Citizenship" (in Catalonia is pure and hard pornography), but in reality is only a model to deform the youth.

On the other hand, they have eliminated religion classes and have undermined parent's authority in children's education, making that they can not be given them a slap to correct them. . . And there are parents who believe in it. It is ridiculous!

They have destroyed the legal protection of the most defenseless human beings, those who have not yet been born, allowing 16-years-old girls have an abortion without any obstacle and parental consent. This law is macabre.

This whole approach responds to a strategically designed plan and is put into practice after repeat many times the same ideas until catch on society little by little. In order to do this, they have used all kinds of false arguments and half-truths that the media don't stop hammering.

They have been proposed delete honorable things that still retains the society and in particular, everything that has relation with Christian doctrine and Law of God. Due to they are atheists, they want to impose by force atheism in others and to do this they have strong persuasive forces.

Isabel Costa

Independent Forum of Opinion

A woman who set fire to a man who raped her daughter, killing him in the process, has entered prison after a lengthy battle and appeal to remain free for what many consider was justice for the crime committed by the man. María del Carmen Garc&i...