Regina von Habsburg is dead, RIP

The wife of the son of the Austrian Kaiser, Otto von Habsburg has died at the age of 85 in Upper Bavaria in her house in Pöcking .

Pöcking (kath.ent/KNA) Regina von Habsburg, wife of the son of Kaiser Otto Habsburg, has died at the age of 85 in the Upper Bavarian town of Pocking. It was announced by her eldest son Karl on the same day. With her the family lost a great personality, "who inspired us through her unshakeable faith and her positive attitude toward life."

She was born in 1925 as the Princess of Sachsen-Meiningen in Würzburg and married Otto von Habsuburg in 1951. The pair had seven children and 22 grandchildren. The family has set aside a fund for social charitable needs. Finally the Director Claus Hipp will preside as patron for the "Munich Table".

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Lift military ban on gays, defense officials say

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Lift military ban on gays, defense officials say

Hasn't Obama's administration had enough defeats already?

Ambrosian Rite. Cardinal Biffi's Ax Falls on New Lectionary

Chiesa


It has come into use in Milan with the approval of the Vatican. But the archbishop emeritus of Bologna, Milanese and a leading expert on Saint Ambrose, has found it to be full of eccentricities and errors. He wants Rome to reexamine it from the top

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Political Economy of Monarchy and Democracy by Hans-Hermann Hoppe

Political Economy of Monarchy and Democracy by Hans-Hermann Hoppe

I. The Comparative Economics of Private and Public Government Ownership

A government is a territorial monopolist of compulsion – an agency which may engage in continual, institutionalized property rights violations and the exploitation – in the form of expropriation, taxation and regulation – of private property owners. Assuming no more than self-interest on the part of government agents, all governments must be expected to make use of this monopoly and thus exhibit a tendency toward increased exploitation.[1]

Pope's Appearance Quashes Labour's Equality Law

It's amazing because now everyone is talking about Catholic Dogma and the Church's teaching on the Natural Law. Some might not like how the Holy Father intruded these concepts into the daily discussions of so many people in the wake of his UK visit, but there they are for all to complain about, but not a few, we think, particularly England's Clergy will be energized in a very decisive way to teach and spread the Catholic Faith.

[

Telegraph] Ministers had tried to include a new definition of a priest in the flagship anti-discrimination law, but church leaders complained that it was far too narrow.

They said it would mean religious organisations could no longer opt out of equality rules, and so would face prosecution unless they went against their beliefs by employing homosexuals. Roman Catholics feared they would be forced to admit women to the priesthood for the first time.

In an unprecedented intervention in British politics, on Monday the Pope declared that Britain’s equality laws are imposing “unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs”.

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New Statesman...Pope Condemns Equality Law.

Times... Pope Attacks Labour.

Archbishop Nichols publicly slaps down the Tablet over coverage of new English Missal

Archbishop Nichols publicly slaps down the Tablet over coverage of new English Missal

Busted! But Mundabor, a commentor, is not satisfied and opines:

I am once again not impressed by the Bishop.
–
He should have frankly answered the question about whether this is an area of dissent and should have gone on to say that he considers the new translation excellent, beautiful, totally orthodox, a clear improvement, and the like.

Then he should have invited the Tablet to publish this (that is: *his!*) opinion as they had published the contrary ones.

What he does is to criticise the partiality of the Tablet, without really defending (as in: speaking out and saying “this is good” himself) the new translation, the mention that other have written about the positives is too much of a vicarious defence, I strongly miss the clarity of purpose and seem to detect the desire to permanently sit on the fence.

I think “wily Vin” will have some fortune as a nickname..

Scots cardinal defiant after Pope criticises equality law ahead of visit

THE leader of Scotland's Catholics has insisted the Church's voice would "continue to be heard" despite new legislation which could end its ban on allowing gays taking up senior positions.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien's comments came after Pope Benedict XVI hit out at proposals in the UK's forthcoming Equality Bill, claiming the legislation "violates natural law" and was a threat to religious freedom.

The cardinal, who is leading a week long visit by Scotland's Catholic bishops on their traditional Ad Limina pilgrimage to Rome, spoke out yesterday in the official Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

The pontiff yesterday announced plans to visit Scotland later this year, but in an unprecedented attack on Gordon Brown's human rights policies, the Pope urged Catholic bishops to fight back with "missionary zeal".

Yesterday the Pope faced a backlash from gay and human rights campaigners with Labour MSP Stephen Hughes challenging him to start applying equality rules "on his own doorstep".

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Bishop Fellay: Truth Isn't Negotiated

Please, let us not use the word 'negotiations', it completely misses the point. This has nothing to do with negotiating, bargaining—nothing at all…. For us, we must really see this opportunity for the discussions with Rome as truly a disposition of Divine Providence, as truly an amazing grace to be able to present to the highest authorities in the Church what that Church has always said and which, thanks be to God, we have kept; thus, to make it resound at the very top of the Church. To bear witness to the Faith is a great grace. And even at Rome, a certain number [of prelates] are expecting from these discussions—and it’s a direct quote— “very much good for the Church.”

…The situation in the Church is truly a nightmare, it’s truly a great tragedy, and so to be able to give utterance to what the Church has always taught at the very top of the Church is really something out of the ordinary, hence extraordinary. It is a great grace, and also a great duty, because, of course, we hear: “What are you going to do in that mess? You are going to get lost…you are going to sell out the Society.” It involves no such thing!

…Humanly speaking, you might say that we are in a bad way! We are in about the same shape as Gideon when he went out to attack 20,000 or 30,000 men of the enemy army with his jars, trumpets, and torches—three hundred men to attack tens of thousands of heavily armed enemy soldiers. They were really in a bad way. It is about the same thing when we go down to Rome with our jars, torches, and trumpets… but we are not counting on our human efforts, we are counting on the good Lord as Gideon counted on the good Lord. We are counting on the promises that our Lord made to His Church, we are counting on this duty… It is the good Lord who has given us the grace of still having the Faith, of not having lost it, of having received the instruments of this Faith, even natural instruments, a sound philosophy. Yes, it is a duty to go and remind them of these truths.

…[These are] extremely delicate theological discussions; [there are] a lot of preconceived ideas [a priori]. We can see very well that we are not at all known… there are all sorts of ideas about us.

…The boat is sinking; humanly speaking, the Church is lost; humanly speaking, the Church is not recovering—notice that I say, humanly speaking, for we know that there are the promises of God, so that she is going to recover. How is she going to recover? We may say that it is in the hands of the good Lord, agreed! But the good Lord asks everyone to act according to his strength and capabilities, in his place, for this recovery. We cannot say that the pope has only to do this or that. It is every member of the Church who must, once again, at his place, according to his powers, according to the grace of the good Lord, do everything he can for the Church’s restoration. Everybody must contribute his efforts—everybody. So let us make this effort precisely by our prayers, by our sacrifices, by all the means that truly give life to the Church. The means that the good Lord commonly uses to restore and uplift the Church is called holiness. It is the life of grace; it is faith. It is absolutely certain that every good action within the Church uplifts the Church. The greater the goodness of the act, the more the Church is uplifted.

…The good Lord doesn’t need numbers, but He does need holiness… He asks us for it, and I should say that this battle, these terrible, horrible difficulties that we have briefly outlined, should be for us a stimulant, a real stimulant towards holiness—let’s dare to use the word, it is a very Catholic word… That will be the best way we can contribute, collaborate, and co-operate in helping to bring about an end to the crisis in the Church.

h/t: pewsitter

Link to stjohnvaldosta....

Newt Gingrich: Catholic filmmaker - Belief Blog - Washington Times

Newt Gingrich: Catholic filmmaker - Belief Blog - Washington Times

WCSH6.com | Portland, ME | Anglican, Catholic Bishops saying mass together

WCSH6.com | Portland, ME | Anglican, Catholic Bishops saying mass together

Pope Drops Strong Hint to English Bishops: Get with the Program

ROME February 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has urged the Catholic bishops of England and Wales to stand firm against proposed legislation that he said opposes the natural law, and to present the Catholic Church's moral teaching in the face of the acceptance of moral relativism.

The pope’s remarks are being interpreted by the media as being aimed at the Equality Bill that the Catholic bishops have warned will force churches to violate their religious beliefs on homosexuality, marriage and the priesthood. But others have pointed out that the pope also is likely hinting that the bishops have some changes to make in their defense, or lack thereof, of doctrinal orthodoxy.

"Your country," Pope Benedict said, "is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.

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Priest sues ex-altar boy who accused him of sex abuse :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

Priest sues ex-altar boy who accused him of sex abuse :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

The priest is apparently a conservative and says the latin Mass. A press release from SNAP earlier accused to priest of being insensitive for being "happy" that he'd won his case and accused him of "gloating".

Abstinence educators see vindication in new study :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Abstinence educators see vindication in new study :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Former Jesuit Editor of America Magazine is Dead, RIP

Father Charles M. Whalen the "longest standing" former editor of America Magazine has been "challenging" Church teaching throughout his carreer at the Old "New" Deal Jesuit Magazine. America Magazine has been pushing the socialist agenda at least since the 30s when Father Leonard Feeney was editor.

The Big Guns are Coming to Teach at Trappist Cloister

German Trappists of Abbey Mariawald are returning to the Liturgy and the Discipline of the Fathers and are opening their own House Study.

Abbot Josef Vollberg has according to reports of the website of the Trappist Cloister Mariawald, that a House Study will be established in order to form Priest-Monks.

The organization and direction of the study falls upon the study director, Frank Erich Zehles. Zehles is the director of the 'Bernardus Publishers"

The House Study was established, so that the Monks could intensify their simple profession in the Community of the Cloister and so they might pursue their studies in the amazingly outfitted Library in moderate peace.

Today - on the feast of Candlemass - begins the Summer semester of the Scholastic Year 2010/2011.


The day's feast lecture for the inauguration was held by the New Testament Scholar, Klaus Berger for the Monastery and invited guests. He will teach exegesis at Mariawald.

Also the famous philosopher Robert Spaemann will have his own role as an instructor.

The Study Plan is directed upon Papal Encyclicals and Writings, those of the Popes since Leo XIII. to John Paul II.

Authoritative are the corresponding Canons of general Church law, the Constitutions, the Ratio Institutionis, the Provisions of the General Chapter and the traditions of the Order.

The program's requirements should require 10 semesters. The test times will be included in this time.

In Seminares, Lectures, Tutorials and Revision Courses, will provide a solid basis for the priests philosophical, theological, historical and rhetorical education.

If the Superior allows it, Monks in other Cloisters or clerical institutes of sanctified life could study at Mariawald.

The Abbey Mariawald was endowed with the Papal privilege to take steps back to the old use of the Trappist Order, according to the use of Monte Cistello from the year 1964.

Since then, the Cloister has had a throng of postulants, who in the meantime have become Novices.

Crisis in Catholic Education

MANASSAS, Virginia, February 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Attending a Catholic college has minimal impact on a Catholic student’s practice and embrace of the Catholic faith, according to a new study released Sunday at a gathering of Catholic college presidents in Washington, D.C.

The study was presented to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) by researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

“Catholics should be alarmed by the significant declines in Catholic practice and fidelity at many of America’s Catholic institutions,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society.

“Everyone expects a Catholic college to be markedly different from a secular one. Students should be inspired to embrace and deepen their Catholic faith, not negotiate around Catholic moral teaching.”

Link to original...

Shocking! Jesuits Accused of Sex Abuse on Two Continents

This shouldn't surprise too many people about the Jesuits. Now, let's abolish the Jesuit order and give their resources to people who respect the mission statement of the Catholic Church and don't regard it with cynicism.

The Society of Jesus, the order of Catholic priests also known as Jesuits, admitted on February 1 that boys had been sexually abused at its secondary schools in three countries and that it covered up some 25 years ago. Rev. Stefan Dartman SJ, superior of the order in Germany, spoke in Berlin after a former sex abuser and sports coach who left the order in 1991 went public with an admission that he forced boys to have sex at a boys school in Berlin from 1975 to 1983.

Rev. Dartmann disclosed that the same teacher had been guilty of similar abuses Jesuit schools in Spain and Chile. Rev. Dartmann criticized his predecessors for not making the cases public. In Germany, the abuses happened in five different towns. "We realize with horror that these matters were evidently perceived differently in the 1970s, 80s and 90s," Dartmann said.

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Controversial deacon defends himself

Here he is at an Oregon Parish where he's listed as a "transitional Deacon" despite being bounced on two other occasions from other Diocese because you were covering up for predatory homosexuals like Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity.

He responds here too.

He puts long statement in Sunday’s parish bulletin Church official acknowledges relocating here due to allegations. His “reputation” was “destroyed” in two other dioceses, he admits.

Jan. 26, 2010

A Catholic deacon who was refused ordination two years ago by a New Jersey bishop and was ousted by a Pennsylvania bishop now works at a Bend Oregon church and is defending himself in Sunday in St. Francis parish bulletins.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are unmoved by Deacon Joseph Levine’s missive.

“It’s deceitful and wrong for Levine to basically blame one individual for his own recklessness and cowardice,” said David Clohessy of SNAP. “And he did tremendous hardship by publicly and repeatedly defending pedophile priests. If he’s made peace with one former colleague, that’s wonderful. But he’s evidently done little or nothing to ‘un-do’ the real damage he’s done to Catholic families, Pennsylvania citizens and clergy sex abuse victims.”

Below is a copy of 1) Levine’s defense, 2) SNAP’s recent news release about Levine and 3) SNAP’s letter to Baker’s Catholic bishop about Levine. SNAP has not heard back from the bishop.


1) The following will appear by way of a bulletin insert:

When a man has been subject to vicious calumnies and been forced to relocate on account of them, he does not want to introduce himself to his new acquaintances by saying something like, “Hello, my name is John Doe and these are all the nasty things people are saying about me.” Anyone who reflects for a moment on the embarrassing events of his own life will, I think, agree that he would prefer not to have to introduce himself by making reference to those incidents.

I came to the Baker Diocese after my reputation had been destroyed in two other dioceses where I had worked despite the fact that in those dioceses the Bishops were very pleased with my faithfulness and dedication. In fact, both of them would have very willingly ordained me. Bishop Vasa and Fr. Joseph Reinig were fully informed of the circumstances. Now, however, it has come to my attention that half-truths are circulating in the parish and so it has become necessary to address the matter publicly. I am grateful that I have been allowed to work among you for the past five months without having to explain my past association. I hope that you now have some personal experience of me which will allow you to consider more objectively the worth or value of that which is now being said about me. You have the living man before you.

It is now more than six years since I was a member of a community called the Society of St. John that was established in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1998. I joined the community the same year because I thought the purpose was good and, to my knowledge, the men involved were good. Nevertheless, a scandal arose in which the priest-founder, Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, another priest, Fr. Eric Ensey, were accused of sexual abuse. Though I was only a deacon I was placed in a position for which I was little prepared and succeeded the priest-founder as Superior of the community, even though the priest-founder’s charismatic influence remained dominant. I mistakenly believed that the priest-founder was innocent and defended him as such. In retrospect, I now know I was very naïve in my judgment. That naïve judgment has plagued me ever since. I have been repeatedly accused of having knowingly participated in a ‘cover-up’. That is the most serious allegation that has ever been made against me.

One man in particular, Dr. Jeffrey Bond, made an issue of these things and succeeded first in pressuring the Bishop of Scranton not to ordain me to the priesthood and then he succeeded in pressuring the Bishop of Paterson, New Jersey. Dr. Bond is highly credible because he had both firsthand knowledge and had made a diligent investigation. In the end, I have come to admit that he was substantially correct in his assessment of Fr. Urrutigoity. Before I came to Bend, Bishop Vasa acted as mediator between myself and Dr. Bond. The Bishop made reconciliation with him a condition for my acceptance into the Diocese. As a result of that mediation I wrote a lengthy explanatory letter and apology to Dr. Bond. That explanation and apology was accepted and Dr. Bond, who was almost singlehandedly responsible for the previous cancellation of priestly ordination plans, withdrew his objections to my ordination. My letter and Dr. Bond’s reply will be available in PDF format to any who wish to read it. Dr. Bond has the fullest knowledge of the serious problems with the Society of Saint John and they were extensive. Thus his withdrawal of objections speaks to the sincerity and seriousness of my apology and acknowledgment of error. Unfortunately, it is much easier to focus on events at the Society than the very significant journey I have been on since my departure from and the subsequent collapse of that community.

Deacon Joseph Levine

Holy Father Says Homosexuality a Violation of the Natural Law

Thanks to Louis Welcome for this notification. Isn't there some putative blue law on the books in England where the Pope can be arrested for offending homosexuals like this? We know that many homosexuals want people who teach the contra-natural nature of their behaviors to be locked in jail. But this story is interesting because of its title, and it's interesting to us because there are quite a few churchmen in the United States who deny the actuality (if that's the word) of the natural law. We think that there are a lot of people, particularly at places like St. John's Abbey, who would like for there not to be a natural law. They at least have a vested interest in there not being one, because it means that there are, as their mantra goes, "no moral absolutes" and they can be creative about morality. What they mean is that they want to invent a justification for their moral infirmities to the point of creating a society which praises their activities, or at least turns a blind eye...

Guardian

The Pope yesterday made an unprecedented attack on Britain's equality legislation, claiming Harriet Harman's attempts to bring in new laws enforced sinful behaviour.

Benedict XVl condemned Labour's Equality Bill in extraordinary terms as an assault on the 'natural law' of Christianity - in other words a sin.
His remarks came in a speech at the Vatican moments after he confirmed he will visit the UK in September.

We like this article for other reasons as well in that it affirms Benedict's vision of encouraging the Bishops of Wales and England to adhere to Catholic teaching, particularly in regard to the natural law, which Guardian, unfortunately defines this way:

By natural law, the Pope meant the Christian and Biblical teaching on which Roman Catholic beliefs are based, including the Ten Commandments. Rejection of the natural law is sinful in Catholic theology.

Actually, as Catholic Encylcopedia, quoting St. Thomas, has it, natural law is defined thusly:

...the natural law is "nothing else than the rational creature's participation in the eternal law" (I-II.94). The eternal law is God's wisdom, inasmuch as it is the directive norm of all movement and action. When God willed to give existence to creatures,He willed to ordain and direct them to an end. In the case of inanimate things, this Divine direction is provided for in the nature which God has given to each; in them determinism reigns. Like all the rest of creation, man is destined by God to an end, and receives from Him a direction towards this end. This ordination is of a character in harmony with his free intelligent nature. In virtue of his intelligence and free will, man is master of his conduct. Unlike the things of the mere material world he can vary his action, act, or abstain from action, as he pleases. Yet he is not a lawless being in an ordered universe. In the very constitution of his nature, he too has a law laid down for him, reflecting that ordination and direction of all things, which is the eternal law. The rule, then, which God has prescribed for our conduct, is found in our nature itself. Those actions which conform with its tendencies, lead to our destined end, and are thereby constituted right and morally good; those at variance with our nature are wrong and immoral.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1247706/Pope-condemns-Harriet-Harman-equality-drive-violation-natural-law.html#ixzz0eO0C1aiI

Cardinal Schonborn has NCR fooled

The Register is owned by Regnum Christi. They were taken in by Fr. Maciel, so why not Cardinal Schonborn? They've got a great record of credibillity, but the donations keep rolling in.

National Catholic Register

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn came to Benedictine College yesterday and gave two masterful addresses (a homily which Jack Smith addresses here and a lecture). The Archbishop of Vienna and President of the Austrian Bishops’ conference is too deep a thinker to do justice to in a blog post. But he did say some startling things. So herewith, I attempt only to give you my personal top five revelations from his lecture.

Read points ....

Parma plays part in possible sainthood for Fulton J. Sheen

Parma plays part in possible sainthood for Fulton J. Sheen

PARMA -- The city has two connections to the cause of possibly making the late TV evangelist, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, a saint of the Catholic Church.


Sheen's cause is being promoted during the month of February by the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy (Diocese) of Parma, which is putting the finishing touches on a Sheen exhibit and will host a special meeting of Bishops and clergy this week.

"We're hoping that people will realize that sainthood is not just for people of the early centuries," says Bishop John Kudrick, of the Eparch of Parma, "but, indeed, each of us is called to that as well."

Pope tells English bishops to fight relativism with truth :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Pope tells English bishops to fight relativism with truth :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Vatican City, Feb 1, 2010 / 11:14 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI spoke to members of the English and Welsh Conference of Catholic Bishops on Monday in Rome as part of their "ad Limina" visit. He used the meeting to respond to the wide range of issues being confronted by local Church and urged them to look to Cardinal John Henry Newman as a model for combating relativism and increasing vocations.

The Pope led off his speech with optimism, granting that "even amid the pressures of a secular age, there are many signs of living faith and devotion among the Catholics of England and Wales." As examples he cited the enthusiastic reaction in Britain to the visit of the relics of St. Therese and the growing anticipation for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, as well as the popularity among young people for World Youth Day pilgrimages.

Bishop Williamson Reveals the Democratic Deceit of Free Speech

Bad boy Bishop Williamson is being pelted by the press again. He's being accused of the greatest sin a modern man can commit in this age of unreason, denying the sanctity of the Jewish race and the numbers (accountancy) related to the so-called "Holocaust". In its passion for reification and easy villains, the world press has levelled its guns on one man whose life has been a singular rejection of the liberalism who's cult they adore, as he speaks out against their consensus of depravity.

We agree with Bishop Williamson on attire, is it enough that so many daughters complain of the immoral men that the behaviors that contribute to it can't rightly be castigated? We think that the editors of these propaganda organs want a nice docile population, enslaved to its lusts and caprices, who will enjoy the pillorying of one man who stands against their Orthodoxy and their frequent and unchecked deceit and malice. So much for freedom of speech and the values of "democracy". We should thank Bishop Williamson, whether we agree with him or not, for revealing this democratic deceit.

Williamson has noticed female fans wearing even shorter skirts. "Aren't there are any men left who tell their daughters, sisters, wives or mothers that this sort of outfit is only meant for the eyes of their own husbands?"

More Reports that CCHD/USCCB Supports Planned Parenthood And Promotes Homosexuality

This is just in from Deal.

Two new reports have been published today on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

Rob Gaspar at Bellarmine Veritas Ministry has dug more deeply into the CCHD relationship to the Center for Community Change (CCC).

In "Sleeping with the Enemy," Michael Hichborn at the American Life League has also uncovered more disturbing facts about CCC. Hichborn also chronicles the personal involvement of the USCCB's John Carr, Executive Secretary of Justice, Peace, and Human Development. Carr oversees the CCHD.

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And more stuff in from lifesitenews quoting from abovementioned Hichborn article, and about members of CCHD and USCCB being in openly homosexual relationships.

Washington, DC, February 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A national group that promotes abortion and homosexual rights has deep ties with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, according to a report released Monday.

Top USCCB executive John Carr held simultaneous leadership roles, creating a conflict of interest, with the USCCB and the radical Center for Community Change.

"The closer we look at the Bishops Conference [staff and programs], the more we find a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil," said Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB scandal. "The CCC has lodged itself into the highest places of power in the USCCB while working to promote abortion and homosexuality."

Interfaith is a Crock and Carmelites Should Know

Liberal Catholics love "interfaith" but I don't know anyone else who does. It's more like something you're supposed to do, but invariably don't do, like eating granola, recycling or respecting diversity. No wonder real men don't go to church these days. Anyway, we can't blame these fine sisters too much since Archbishop Nichols, among others, has led the charge on interfaith by going to a Hindu Temple himself.


Catholic nuns and Hindu leader pray together for a better world

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, Carmelite nuns and well-known Hindu statesman Rajan Zed prayed together in Reno (Nevada, USA) today for making the "world a better place".

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, prayed from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE [wow, man, inclusive], with lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures. The nuns prayed from Songs of David and Intercessions, and read from Gospel of Luke in New Testament.

According to Sr. Susan Weber, Prioress of Carmel of Our Lady of the Mountains Monastery, where the prayers and dialogue was held, it was always nice to share the prayers and have dialogue. It was second year of such joint session of Carmelite-Hindu prayers in the Monastery. Sr. Rosey Klupfel led the prayers.

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Photo= Guardian

Two Bishops Defend Church's Teaching

One Estonian Bishop roundly condemns Holy Communion in the hand.



h/t: Athanasius

Archbishop Chaput says "Satan Is Real"

Urges Catholics to Be Missionaries to Modern Culture

ROME, JAN. 27, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Denver is cautioning artists of the danger of pride and vanity, which can lead to a betrayal of their mission to manifest God's glory in the world.

"A key temptation of our age is the will to power," Archbishop Charles Chaput stated today at the Fifth Symposium Rome: Priests and Laity on Mission, which ends today.

The Emmanuel Community and the Pierre Goursat University Institute organized the three-day congress, in collaboration with the Pontifical Institute Redemptor Hominis.

Pondering Roman collars, the Latin Mass and 'holy ignorance' | National Catholic Reporter

Pondering Roman collars, the Latin Mass and 'holy ignorance' | National Catholic Reporter

by John L Allen Jr on Jan. 30, 2010 The Future Church

PDF versionIn The Future Church I identify “evangelical Catholicism” as a key trend, defined as a strong reassertion of traditional Catholic identity coupled with an impulse to express that identity in the public realm. At a purely descriptive level that claim is a no-brainer, because the evidence is crystal clear – from revival of the old Latin Mass, to new demands that pro-choice Catholic politicians be brought to heel.

The $64,000 question isn’t whether the trend exists, but what to make of it.

In that regard, a recent book from the famed French sociologist Olivier Roy, widely considered one of Europe’s leading experts on Islam, offers two perspectives worth pondering. One’s empirical in nature and the other analytical – which is to say, one’s essentially a fact of life, the other a debatable line of interpretation.

Arlington Catholic Herald - Papal environmentalism - catholicherald.com

Arlington Catholic Herald - Papal environmentalism - catholicherald.com

Catholicism is Now Illegal in Quebec

Seems like following Church teaching in Quebec, strangely, one of the most Catholic places in the world, can land you in some hot water.

by Brian Kelly January 28th, 2010

Douglas Farrow of Catholic Civil Rights League: The Québec policy against homophobia was released in December with introductory fanfare from Premier Jean Charest and Justice Minister Kathleen Weil, who is officially “the minister responsible for the fight against homophobia.” It diagrams a full-scale assault, to be coordinated by an inter-departmental committee, against “homophobic attitudes and behaviour patterns” and “sets out the government’s goal of removing all the obstacles” to full recognition of LGBT interests and modes of life. What is thus promulgated is no ordinary policy document, for it aims at the conversion, not merely of this or that piece of public infrastructure, but of the psychological and moral and sexual infrastructure of a generation. It is not directed at creating a situation of legal equality – that, it proudly proclaims, has already been accomplished – but at creating “a society free of prejudice with regard to sexual diversity.”

Link to SBC site... Of course, no one is telling Weil about objective scientific studies at John's Hopkins about the whether or not homosexuality is genetic or not, of course, our diversity police won't want this study to see the light of day; the politics of deviance will see to that.

Paul McHugh, a Roman Catholic and a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that scientific research has not established any genetic causation for homosexual orientation. When asked if his paper might appear in "The American Journal of Psychiatry", he smiled and said, "No." Americans, he said, have become such victims of the "politics of deviance" that objective scholarship is brushed aside in favor of what is deemed to be politically correct.

More here...

Nigerian Catholic priest charged with embezzling $200,000

Catholic priest charged with embezzling $200,000

Church Services are too Feminine

Men don't want to sing 'love songs to a man' while the 'vicar wears a dress'

Ruth Gledhill posted an article citing a statistic that the church attendence is down 49 percent with males under the age of 30 in the last 20 years because services are too sissy. This is one attempt by the Church of England to alleviate the problem, but then, I don't know, why not beef up the church services by restoring the Traditional Latin Mass? We've noticed that there are quite a few more men there than are at the women dominated Novus Ordo Mass.

New Owensboro Bishop Assisted in Protecting Homosexual Predators

When Pope Benedict XVI appointed the Rev. William Medley as bishop of Owensboro in December, many touted the leadership experience Medley gained in 27 years as a priest and administrator in the Archdiocese of Louisville. "I have always accepted any assignment that the church has asked of me," Medley said at the time.But one of those assignments is coming under scrutiny from advocates for victims of sexual abuse, as Medley prepares for his formal installation Feb. 10 as spiritual leader of 50,000 Western Kentucky Catholics.From 1989 to 1993, Medley served as the Louisville archdiocese's director of clergy personnel, where he helped handle re-assignments for five priests facing accusations, some substantiated, of sexually abusing minors, according to court documents.Related• Summary of cases Among those priests were Daniel C. Clark and Louis E. Miller, who ultimately were sent to prison for sexually abusing children. The archdiocese removed all five from ministry a decade later after concluding that accusations against them were valid.Cal Pfeiffer, a Louisville member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he believes the people in Owensboro "have the right to be aware" of Medley's involvement in those cases."These things raise some real questions, and if these things are never brought out, it would show there's no consequence for him" for how he handled his job, Pfeiffer said.Medley said in an interview that he is reluctant to talk publicly about cases that could dredge up new pain for all involved, and he doesn't remember details about the cases."I prefer to look forward," Medley said, adding that while the church cannot "undo the hurt and damage" to children, it is now working to prevent future abuse.He pledged to handle any future revelations of abuse seriously."I think what I need to say to the people in Owensboro, and certainly any victims that would come forward, would be that I fully support the charter," Medley said, referring to the 2002 bishops' charter governing the handling of abuse allegations.

Human beings being what they are, we all know that someone will fail again, but I hope it will not be because the institution protected that or hid that."

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100131/FEATURES10/1310326/New-Owensboro-bishop-played-role-in-re-assigning-priests-accused-of-sexual-abuse
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Catholic author writing to change a generation :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Catholic author writing to change a generation :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)


CNA STAFF, Jan 30, 2010 / 10:55 am (CNA).- CNA recently reviewed “Fatherless,” a book that has been dubbed “the Catholic novel of our generation.” The book, however, isn’t simply just story, author Brian Gail says of his work, “I’m hopeful that the unrest which courses through its pages will spark something that will contribute to a renewal of the Catholic Church in America.”

Gail, a former Madison Avenue ad-man, semi-pro athlete, and father of seven first attempted to write a memoir. But he threw it away after the first chapter. “It was just awful,” he told CNA. “When I sat down to start again, a tale about a priest emerged. Nothing could have surprised me more.”

The result is “Fatherless,” a serious Catholic novel already in its third printing from Dayton, Ohio’s One More Soul.

It is that tale about a priest that is attempting to change the world. Gail says his book, which is at times a fictionalized version of his family’s experiences, was guided by the Holy Spirit in a specific direction: “the re-run of Satan’s strategy in the garden of bypassing the family structure to deceive love and destroy unity.”

Homosexual activists target 96-year-old civic leader for supporting Prop. 8 :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Homosexual activists target 96-year-old civic leader for supporting Prop. 8 :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Vatican Removes Death Penalty from the books

Vatican Removes Death Penalty

A revamped Vatican constitution coming out next month officially takes the death penalty off the Holy See's books.
Pope Paul VI abolished the death penalty within the walls of the Vatican in the 1960s. However, capital punishment remained in the text of the constitution, which dates to the 1929 creation of the modern Vatican city-state, a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said on Friday.
Under the modern state, ``It was never put into effect,'' Benedettini said.
The revised constitution is the first since 1929, and removes anachronisms like the death penalty from the code, Benedettini said.
``After so many years, something must be reviewed,'' he said. ``Being such a small state, we don't need to do it very often.''
The revised constitution takes effect on 22 February.
While the Vatican under Pope John Paul II is strongly anti-death penalty, Vatican use of the death penalty persisted into the 19th century, with hangings under Pope Pius IX.

AP

29-Jan-01


Link to original...

Renedgade Bishop Will Have Civil Partnership

[Telegraph] Outspoken bishop Pat Buckley is set to have a civil partnership in Larne — where he blesses gay and lesbian unions in his private independent chapel.


The maverick cleric (57) will tie the knot on February 8.

While the intention was posted at Larne Borough Council offices, it is thought that a follow-up service will take place at the chapel in The Oratory — his residence which was owned by the Diocese of Down and Connor and which he refused to vacate when he was suspended as a priest.

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/wedding-bells-for-gay-bishop-pat-buckley-14658986.html#ixzz0eCnXOk0P

Vatican II: a triumph of naïve optimism? - Catholic Herald

Vatican II: a triumph of naïve optimism? - Catholic Herald

Dear Fr Aidan,

Thank you for your reply to my previous letter on the concept of Tradition, a subject we can't leave behind just yet, since we're shadowing the agenda for the discussions between the SSPX and Rome, and our topic now is the interpretation of Vatican II in continuity with Catholic doctrinal tradition.

First of all, though, I wasn't suggesting that the sufferings of the SSPX - ostracisation and exile, not to mention the pain of excommunication - constitute a martyrdom. Neither was I comparing the persecution of Christians across the world with the distress of those who watched the religious life that sustained them being dismantled. It's just sad to think of priests who refused to accept the reforms being driven from their parishes and dying of broken hearts, as Archbishop Lefebvre claims happened in A Bishop Speaks.

But were they attached to Tradition or to a particular tradition of expressing Tradition, to borrow your distinction between "Revelation as transmitted in the Church's life" and "the ways in which the Church presents it"?

Archbishop Eijk of Holland: Years of Reality for the Church

[Kathnet, Holland]Dutch Archbishop submits that in Holland in the next ten years 1,000 more churches will be closed, 600 protestant and 400 Catholic. The Archbishop denies that they will be used as mosques.

The Dutch Archbishop Wim Eijk sees the next decade as "years of truth for churches". The turning away of belief in the Church will stabilize itself by year 2020, said the Archbishop of Utrecht in an interview with the newspaper "De Telegraaf" (Saturday). At present perhaps 16 percent of the of the population of the Netherlands is Catholic. This will also sink by ten percent. "Catholics, who still practice their faith, are strengthened by the search for authentic Faith," said Ejik.

The Archbishop maintains, that in the Netherlands over the next 10 years, 1000 churches will close, 600 protestant and 400 Catholic. The Bishops deny the use of churches as mosques. Empty churches could be used by other Christian communities, as health care facilities, or for cultural uses. Also, buildings can be demolished, provided that they are not culturally important landmarks.

Eijk, who has led the diocese of Groningen since the end of 2007, attempted to work decisively toward the financial health of the Church in Holland. "Had we not done anything, we would have been bankrupt in the last ten years, and had no more money to pay salaries," he said. Eijk is receiving sharp criticism for savings measures by a group of institutions for priestly education.

C) 2010 KNA Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur GmbH. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Neconservative Co-Founder of Crisis Magazine is Dead

Ralph McInerny, RIP

By Phil Lawler | January 29, 2010 5:57 PM

Ralph McInerny, one of the most memorable figures on the American Catholic scene, died this morning in South Bend at the age of 80, after a long illness. He will be sorely missed.

For more than 50 years he taught philosophy at Notre Dame, and he ranked among the world's leading Thomists. (It is fitting that he was able to celebrate the feast of St. Thomas, to whom he was so devoted, once last time on the day before his death.) But anyone who expected Ralph to be a dry, detached, ivory-tower scholar was due for a surprise upon meeting him. He was friendly, urbane, and gracious. He moved easily across international boundaries, spending vacations in Italy and giving speeches all across Europe. And he moved with equal ease into the spheres of politics and polemics, literature and the arts. A genuine renaissance man.

Read the entire article...

Beatify Archbishop Romero Now!

Beatify Archbishop Romero Now!

Not too much enthusiasm for +Romero, but this painting showing affinities to Diego Rivera's Mexican Muralism Style is telling. The enemies within the Church can use a Saint to give their cause of Liberation Theology a boost. Archbishop Romero, like the USCCB back in the 70s was trying to tell landowners how to dispose of their property; never mind that the land schemes envisioned by the +Romero and the Government and reformers actually put people out of work and made the El Salvadoran agricultural less efficient.

The Supreme Court and Sharia Law!

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Most Americans predict the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, a national poll indicated Thursday.

And most Americans would prefer the court to rule that way, the Angus Reid Public Opinion poll found.

But then, there is also a block of the population, like this Muslim Vanderbilt professor who thinks that homosexuals should be put to death, so things don't exactly look good for homosexuals and their aims at this point.

What do Patriarch Kiril and Pat Robertson have in Common?

Who will quote the Moscow patriarch?

What is this? An invocation of the God of the Old Testament? Who else would it come from but a Russian, a religious sentiment capable of condemning the public expression of Sodomy, a voice capable of uttering the consequences of deeply held ancestral beliefs, something as rich and powerful as the Russian soul itself, something patriarchal and prophetic.

Getreligion says there will be a firestorm coming. It will be interesting to hear it, but we don't think it will get quite to the level of condemnation raised against Bishop Williamson, because globalists generally agree that Haitians' deserve some of their misfortunes as well, but for more worldly and unforgiving reasons.

Ecumenical wars in Germany- Cardinal speaks to Radio Vatican

Ecumenical wars in Germany- Cardinal speaks to Radio Vatican

Bishop Hubbard is Promoting Needle Exchange

Surely you might recall this Neo-Marxist Bishop's recent support for the Nicaraguan "martyrs", Illegal immigration, supporting our enemies by promoting "No Nukes" and the mysterious death of one of his priests after said priest signed a document denying the allegations he made against Bishop Hubbard.

Now he's engaging in other policies that have done so much to make Holland the wonderful place it is today, needle exchange.

[Catholic Culture] Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, who serves as chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, has approved a proposal by diocesan Catholic Charities to distribute free needles to drug abusers in the hope of preventing the spread of AIDS.

“I understand there will be questions, but this is common sense,” said Sister Maureen Joyce, CEO of Catholic Charities. “I strongly believe in this. It will save lives.”

“From a theological standpoint, we're not being faithful to our mission if we don't reach out to people addicted to drugs, too,” Sister Joyce added.

An $83,000 van filled with syringes will be parked in two neighborhoods and serve as the focal point of Catholic Charities’ needle distribution efforts.

Read some more, please....

Homosexual Orthodox Rabbi "nudges" Judaism

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010922283_rabbi29m.html

Never thought of the gayness of the word "nudge" before.

Catholic Bishops Lobby for ObamaCare, Amnesty for Illegals

Catholic Bishops Lobby for ObamaCare, Amnesty for Illegals

New Archbishop Assesses the Outlook for Christians in Iraq

New Archbishop Assesses the Outlook for Christians in Iraq

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Fr. Corcuera urges charity as Legionaries discuss future :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Fr. Corcuera urges charity as Legionaries discuss future :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Jesuit School in Berlin Reports Sex Abuse Cases

There must be something very systematically wrong with the Jesuits. It must be the modernism that infects the very air a Jesuit breathes from the day he enters the Novitiate to the day he's buried and goes to meet his just reward.

BERLIN -- Several students at one of Germany's most prestigious high schools were sexually abused for many years by their teachers, the school's director said Thursday.

Father Klaus Mertes says he has sent out 500 letters to alumni of Berlin's private Catholic Canisius Kolleg to determine the extent of the case after seven ex-students recently reported they were abused in the 1970s and 1980s.

Canisius Kolleg is one of Germany's pre-eminent schools, alma mater of many politicians, businesspeople and scientists.

Link to original...

Even Communist NPR Knows about France's Royalists: Vive Le Roi!

NPR reports on the Mass for King Louis XVI at St. Dennis, there's some balderdash in the report, but it's surprisingly sympathetic to our cause.

Copyright © 2010 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Every January the Royalists of France, or is it that the Royalists de France, gather to mark the date when King Louis XVI was beheaded. His death marked the beginning of the French Republic. Yet many who remember the kings death hope that France will some day restore the monarchy.

Eleanor Beardsley sends this report.

(Soundbite of music)

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: Organ music thunders through the stone cavernous basilica of Saint Denis on the northern outskirts of Paris. More than 800 people have gathered here, not just to pay homage to King Louis XVI, but to mourn the death of the French monarchy. Saint Denis is the necropolis of the French royal family. More than 50 monarchs, including Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, are buried here.

Unidentified Man #1: (Latin spoken)

BEARDSLEY: The mass is in Latin. The priest swings a censer of incense on a chain. The somber service in this stone-cold Seventh century church resonates with regret for a France that lived 16 centuries in the Catholic monarchy. The priest describes the day it all came to an end when Louis XVI was led to the guillotine.

Read further.....

Bill Donahue Stands by Socialist USCCB

We've been interested in establishing the liberal pedigree of one William Donahue who's a bit of a would-be Catholic carny, barking for donations and declaiming the "enemies" of the Catholic Church while shilling for the USCCB. He's also been promoting the idea of "hate crimes" and we see him here doing lapdog service for the socialist "Health Care Reform" here.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest statement by the bishops on health care reform:

The day before President Obama’s State of the Union address, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a letter imploring the Congress to move forward with health care reform. A plea to the president to do the same was put forth by 23 progressive religious leaders. But the contents of the letters were strikingly different, and the reaction to the bishops has been sharp.

The bishops reiterated their call for universal health care, standing fast on the need to protect conscience rights and the rights of the unborn. New York Times journalist David D. Kirkpatrick, however, calls out the bishops by claiming, “Now that the legislation appears to be near death, the bishops are on the other side.” Wrong. They never switched positions. Indeed, no organization in the nation has been more consistent in its support for health care reform than the USCCB. That the bishops do not support forcing the taxpayers to pay for abortions, and that they care deeply about the conscience rights of doctors and nurses, is hardly a new position. Practicing Catholics believe abortion is “intrinsically evil,” thus it has no legitimate place in any health care legislation.

Sarah Posner, a left-wing writer, is furious with the bishops. She speaks derisively of their commitment to “life-giving” health care; she argues that their real “motive” is to “normalize and expand their agenda on reproductive care”; she accuses them of pursuing a “divide and conquer strategy”; she contends they seek “to portray themselves as the heroes” after “they’ve absolved themselves of responsibility for holding the House bill hostage”; and so forth. In other words, because the bishops have stuck to their guns, they’re the opportunists!

The letter by religious progressives never mentions any objection to abortion or the need for conscience rights, though it does conclude by citing their dedication to “helping the vulnerable.” Nice to know that these religious leaders don’t count the unborn among the vulnerable.

Opus Dei Prelate's Audience with Holy Father

Prelate's Audience with the Holy Father

On last Thursday, January 21, Benedict XVI received Bishop Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei, in a private audience.

American Fiction Writer, Howard Zinn dead at 87

Along with Saul Alinsky, Noam Chomsky, Peter Singer and Herbert Marcuse, he was one of the most deceptive and corrosive influences in American education in the post-war years.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

American historian Howard Zinn, best known for his work A People's History of the United States, died Wednesday, January 27, of a heart attack while traveling to Santa Monica, California. He was 87.

Born in 1922 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, Zinn served in the Army during World War II as a pilot. After the war ended, he took his medals and papers, put them in a folder, and wrote on top "Never again," becoming an anti-war activist for the rest of his life. Zinn He attended Columbia University, where he received a doctorate in history and wrote his dissertation on New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia's congressional career.

Wikinews...

Dealer to Junkies: "Don't Abandon Health Care"

Unelected Bishops aren't satisfied with soft-socialism, they're still bent on the ineffective the highly centralized and failed economic practices of 1848-1992. Despite the best efforts of their DNC masters, the USCCB has failed to push the Socialist agenda yet again. The problem is, however, is that they are using the spiritual capital of the Catholic Church in the United States to push the socialist agendas of others who are not friendly to the Catholic Church. Still, these bemitred denizens of heterodoxy at the USCCB are not willing to give up so easily, they are haranguing their socialist colleagues for yet another go at the freedom and liberty not only of Holy Mother Church, but also the American taxpayer.

January 27, 2010

Months after threatening to oppose the health care overhaul over abortion – and one week after the election of a 41st Republican senator cost the Democrats their filibuster-proof majority, casting passage into doubt – Catholic bishops now are urging Congress against dropping the project.

“The health care debate, with all its political and ideological conflict, seems to have lost its central moral focus and policy priority, which is to ensure that affordable, quality, life-giving care is available to all,” Cardinal Daniel DiDinardo and bishops William F. Murphy and John Wester, writing on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, say in a letter sent to members of Congress this week. “Now is not the time to abandon this task, but rather to set aside partisan divisions and special interest pressures to find ways to enact genuine reform. Although political contexts have changed, the moral and policy failure that leaves tens of millions of our sisters and brothers without access to health care still remains.”

The bishops have advocated consistently for broadening access to health care, but oppose abortion. In November, the conference took an active role in lobbying for an amendment to the House version of the health care overhaul to prohibit taxpayer subsidies for insurance plans that cover the procedure.

Related Articles:


Catholic Bishops Pursuing Liberal Policy Advocating Socialized Medicine.

More USCCB advocating Socialism

USCCB Media Blog

If the cosmos were what scientism affirms it to be,

By Wolfgang Smith

Nothing strikes the contemporary mind as more certain and authoritative than the findings of physics, astronomy, chemistry, and, of late, molecular biology. These are the “hard” sciences of the present age, which, by empirical means, of a scope and accuracy that stagger the imagination, have put us in touch with fundamental realities that could not even have been conceived in bygone days. Moreover, this group of sciences has been in a sense “visibly validated,” for all to see, by the technological miracles which now surround us on all sides; how, then, can one doubt—much less deny—its findings? In truth, one cannot; quantum particles and fields, galaxies and quasars, molecules and the genetic code—all these are undeniable facts, which must henceforth be reckoned with.

We must remember, however, that facts and their interpretation are not the same thing. And since, subjectively, facts are invariably associated with an interpretation of some kind, it comes about that science as a rule presents us with two disparate factors: with positive findings, on the one hand, plus an underlying philosophy in terms of which the formulation and disclosure of these discoveries are framed. In its actuality science is never the kind of purely empirical enterprise it is generally reputed to be, which is to say that ontological as well as epistemological presuppositions do inevitably play an essential role. What is more, these various philosophical articles of belief are rarely if ever examined or subjected to critical scrutiny by the scientific community. They are the foundational ideas one absorbs, as if by osmosis, in the course of one’s scientific education; they pertain, one might almost say, to the scientific unconscious. And when it happens that one or the other of these ingrained philosophical dogmas does emerge into the light of day as a subject of discourse, the typical response on the part of scientists is to point immediately, by way of validation, to the success of the scientific enterprise: “It works!” one is told in effect. And yet in reality no philosophical belief has ever been validated by an empirical finding; the fact is that verification as well as falsification through empirical means apply to scientific as opposed to philosophical propositions. The separation between these two domains, however, is rarely attempted by scientists; only in times of extreme crisis, when the foundations of a science seem to be crumbling, does one encounter serious thought concerning questions of this kind, and even then such inquiries are pursued only by an adventurous few; it takes an Einstein or a Heisenberg to descend, as it were, to the foundational level, where philosophical axioms begin to come into view. What the rank and file absorb from these founders, moreover, pertains mainly to the technical aspect of the enterprise: one accepts the equations of relativity or the formalism of matrix mechanics, while all but ignoring the philosophical side of the coin. It is safe to say that the men and women who engage in the day-to-day business of scientific research tend not to be overly interested in philosophical subtleties; and so they incline to retain the philosophical axioms to which they have become accustomed over the years, and which could only be recognized as such, and dislodged, through serious and concentrated inquiry. It thus comes about that in the minds of scientists today, good science and inferior philosophy coexist and are in fact inextricably intertwined; as John Haught of Georgetown University has recently pointed out, “Some of the most prominent scientists are literally unable to separate science from their materialist metaphysics.”

This said, I can proceed to state my primary thesis: I contend that by virtue of the aforesaid confusion scientists have promulgated philosophic opinions of the most dubious kind as established scientific truths, and in the name of science have thrust upon an awed and credulous public a shallow world-view for which in reality there is not a shred of scientific support. Having gained the trust and admiration of society through the technological wonders which they have engineered, I maintain that scientists as a class have usurped their authority by predisposing the public against the high truths of religion. I am not suggesting, to be sure, that they have consciously deceived others, but rather contend that they have themselves been misled as a rule in matters pertaining to philosophy, metaphysics, and religion. Meanwhile the fact remains that these “blind guides” are exerting an inestimable influence upon education and public belief, with disastrous consequences to human welfare, both here and hereafter.

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CYRIL WANTS A UNION OF CONSERVATIVES

Interview with the church expert Lunkin, the director of the Institute for Religion and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, about the Russian Orthodox patriarch - By Oliver Hinz (KNA)
Moscow (kath.net / KNA)

A year ago, on January 27th, 2009, the new Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Cyril I was elected, succeeding the late Alexis II. The Director of the Institute for Religion and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Roman Lunkin, talks with the Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur ("Catholic News Agency (KNA)") on changes in the official relationships between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Church and the attitude towards religiously mixed Ukraine.

KNA: Mr. Lunkin, what are the differences between the understanding of the office of Patriarch between Cyril I and his predecessor, Alexis II?

Lunkin: Patriarch Alexy II was very mild and conservative. He allowed the bishops and priests a lot of freedom - there was no strict centralization. He supported the idea of national and cultural Orthodoxy in Russia. Patriarch Cyril I is a brilliantly talented figure. He is an advocate of a strong church with a centralized structure like the Catholic Church, and a close relationship between Church and State.

Cyril I wants a non-democratic, orthodox state, which protects the Church in financial and social issues. Formally, the Moscow Patriarchate is independent, but in reality the church is much more dependent on the State. It is impossible to implement the initiatives of Cyril I without the government assistance from Kremlin officials.

KNA: To you, has the relationship between the Russian Orthodox, under Cyril I and the Catholic Church improved?

Lunkin: Those in charge of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Patriarch Cyril I himself say that the relationships between the two churches are increasingly intense. Cyril I and Foreign Ministry Director Archbishop Hilarion have similar opinions on secularization and the consequences of pluralism and liberalism in Europe and the USA.

But this development of relations with the Vatican does not change the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Russian Catholics. These are set by the Moscow Patriarchate under pressure. Cyril I does not allow the conversion of Orthodox believers to Catholicism in Russia. The Patriarchate does not recognize the Catholics of the Byzantine Rite.

KNA: Do you believe that Cyril I and Pope Benedict XVI will meet?

Lunkin: I would very much like for Cyril I and Pope Benedict XVI to meet. This is one of the goals of his church strategy. The Moscow Patriarchate has in mind the triumphant encounter of two traditional and conservative churches of the two cultures - the Western European and Russian. The meeting will happen when the Vatican formally guarantees that Orthodox believers will not be converted in Russia, and the Vatican meets halfway in admitting the mistakes made in western Ukraine.

Cyril I will visit the Ukraine again this year, and I think he will try to visit every year. Then, maybe, the Vatican will develop with the Moscow Patriarchate a common position on Ukraine.

Church Law is only Applied only to Traditionalists

The Munich Canon Lawyer has pounded the Society of Pius X with the pan according to the letter of the law.

(Trier kreuz.net) On 18 January, Munich canon law professor, Fr. Stefan Haering (50) held a lecture against the Society of Pius X.

This was reported on the Trier diocesan web page on Monday.

The defense of the paper which was in April by the Emeritus Canon Law and Rector of Trier, Prelate Peter Kramer (67).

Another Theology?

Fr. Haering imputed to Pius X, a "a wide ranging clear and static picture of the Tradition of the Church".

They tend therefore, to be frozen in the Tradition "in the year 1962". The Society was in reality founded first in the summer of 1969.

Father Haering correctly recognizes, that the Society is a bit more than only about "the love for the old form of the Liturgy". He proceeded to explain: "It devolves upon the rejection of the Second Vatican Council."

In reality the Second Vatican Council itself made clear, that it wanted to pronounce no new teachings.

The Society rejects Ecumenism, the Collegiality of Bishops and Religious Freedom - mentions Father Haering some of the pastoral concerns of the Pastoral Council.

The greatest Church law is the Salvation of Souls?

Further the Benedictine said, that the Society in canonical sense has no jurisdiction (Rechtpersoenlichkeit). Still further intoned the Benedictine: "They can not be represented as a Society (Gruppierung) of the Catholic Church."

Father Haering grounded his judgement with the canonical decision on the Society in 1975 and the illegal Consecrations of 1988.

In this view the ecumenically fanatical priest in any event must maintain, that the Orthodox and Protestants as well have no jurisdiction (legal standing/jurisdiction) in a canonical sense -- even newly formed religious Communities don't have this.

Furthermore the Father imputes to the Society - the outdated language of the Vatican bears -- an "indisputable schismatic stamp"

Only Old Liberal Grievances are Tolerable

Furher on he describes -- in a right plump historical misrepresentation -- Pope Paul VI (+ 1978) as "good Father and Shepherd", who has "shown the way to return".

Which way that had been, the Benedictine doesn't say.

Later he maintains -- throughout without naming any examples --, that the Vatican "is silent but doesn't condone" over alleged grievances of the Society in order not to endanger reintegration:

"Under this general consciousness and the order within the Church, the authority of the Church can be mistaken for weak and arbitrary" - explained Fr. Haering, from whom no similar public complaints about the "De facto" suspension of Church law in the Diocese is known.

The lifting of the Excommunications against the Society of Pius X the Canon Lawyer named only one time, when excommunications are rare, a "free grace from the Pope."

"Pope Benedict managed the Church in an unusual way, he acts as it were as a religious teacher and is not strictly oriented by the law as a judge."

The Church cannot discuss with the Society - Father Haering explained despite the current discussions:

"Otherwise the tail wags the dog."

More Anglicans Crossing the Tiber

TIM DRAKE, Register Senior Writer Monday, Jan 25, 2010 2:01 AM Comments (0)
ORLANDO, Fla. — As 2010 gets under way, many in the Church are anxious to see how last year’s apostolic constitution inviting disaffected Anglicans into the Catholic Church will play out.

While the expectation is that more significant numbers of Anglicans in Britain, Africa and India will accept the offer outlined in Anglicanorum Coetibus, observers say that the decree will impact traditional Anglicans in the United States, as well.

The Traditional Anglican Communion includes approximately 400,000 Anglicans worldwide. The American province, known as the Anglican Church in America, includes approximately 5,200 communicants in four dioceses. Over the next few months, all of the provinces will be holding synods to put forward the question of how they will be responding to the apostolic constitution.

“The expectation is that our general synod will accept the Holy Father’s offer,” said Christian Campbell, senior warden of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Orlando, Fla., and a member of the Standing Committee of the Anglican Church in America’s Diocese of the Eastern United States. “It is not so much a question of whether or not we desire to avail ourselves of the offer — inasmuch as it is a direct and generous response to our appeal to the Holy See. The question now is how the apostolic constitution is to be implemented. We have practical concerns, and we are presently working with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to resolve any outstanding questions.”

Campbell said that the first Traditional Anglican Communion provinces will be entering the Catholic Church within the next six months.

One example of a parish that stands ready to enter en masse is suburban Philadelphia’s Church of the Good Shepherd, an “Anglo-Catholic” parish.

“We’ve been praying for this daily for two years,” said Bishop David Moyer of the Traditional Anglican Communion. Moyer was one of 38 bishops in the communion who signed a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and petitioned Pope Benedict XVI in October 2007 for a way for disaffected Anglicans to be united with Rome.

“The majority of our members will be on board with this,” said Father Aaron Bayles, assistant pastor at Good Shepherd. The parish has approximately 400 members who could come into the Catholic Church.



Anglicans Who Won’t Join

Yet, many Anglicans will not be embracing the offer.

“The Episcopal Church will be only mildly impacted,” said Father Douglas Grandon, a former Anglican pastor who was ordained a Catholic priest in May 2008 and serves as associate pastor at Sacred Heart in Moline, Ill. “Most of those clergy and bishops have already left who had any Catholic sense. In the U.S., the primary ones who will consider this would be the Anglo-Catholics.”

Some Episcopal pastors and parishes upset with the direction of the national Episcopal Church (it has elected two bishops who are openly homosexual and has given the nod to blessing same-sex unions) have placed themselves under the leadership of more conservative bishops in the U.S., Africa or the Americas. For example, approximately 20 Episcopal parishes in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas and Canada have left the Episcopal Church to join the Southern Cone of the Americas, an Anglican province in South America.

For those seeking to accept the Vatican’s offer, examples do exist of communities that have already done something similar. Since the implementation of the Pastoral Provision in 1980 — which allowed for the Catholic ordination of married Episcopal priests and authorized the establishment of personal Catholic parishes that retained certain Anglican liturgical elements — several Anglican-use communities have been created in the United States.

San Antonio’s Our Lady of the Atonement became the first to enter the Church in 1983. At the time, it consisted of 18 people. Today, the Church has more than 500 families. Three Anglican-use communities exist in Texas. In addition, since the Pastoral Provision was made available, more than 100 Anglican priests have gone through the process to become Catholic priests.

The Pastoral Provision, however, differs from the apostolic constitution.

“The story of the Pastoral Provision is that of a hard-fought battle by a few courageous pioneers,” said Campbell. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t implemented in such a way as to bring a large number of people into the Church. It was perceived as being primarily a mechanism for the reconciliation of individual Episcopal priests. By comparison, the apostolic constitution is not about reconciling individuals, but groups of Anglicans in a corporate fashion.”

h/t: Doc Frey

Socialist Witch Commands Bishops: ACORN, moveon.org (must read)

"I tell priests and bishops what to do."

M.J. Tully, Chancellor - Connects Catholics with Moveon.org and ACORN and more...


Dear Advocates for Life,

Strong words and shocking to those at a Southern Oregon meeting in Spring 2007. The actions of Mary Jo Tully have many faithful Catholics wondering what's going on. When she was hired by then Archbishop William Levada, she even helped him define her role, she is one of two women Chancellors in the U.S. Normally a Chancellor is a priest of deacon. But her words, even in jest are not appropriate.

She is in charge of many things but right now I'll concentrate on this: Ballot Measure 66 & 67.

The Archdiocese, not through the Oregon Catholic Conference, but the Office of Justice and Peace says Yes on 66 and 67. Mary Jo is in charge of the director of that office. It's not so much the yes (although I believe a NO vote is more prudent) but the alliances that were exposed in this process that are the problem. We weren't given an opportunity to express ourselves.

Connecting the Dots: TO PUT US (Western Oregon Catholics) IN THE VOTER'S GUIDE ON THE "YES" SIDE.

Attachment #1 - Mary Jo Tully's name is listed with "Defend Oregon" and "Tax Fairness Oregon", who paid $500 to be in the voter's guide since they didn't have the 1000 names to be in the "Vote Yes on 66 and 67' and therefore couldn't get in for free. Remember, non-profits won't have to be taxed, like the church.
Connecting More Dots: WHO ARE THEY, REALLY?

Tax Fairness, Defend Oregon and Our Oregon all have the same address and phone number.

Tax Fairness Oregon Mission Statement
George Soros' Moveon.org's political arm Democracy in Action..is in the web address of Tax Fairness Oregon.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5838/t/6961/p/dia/action/public/index?action_KEY=1202&start=25

Democracy in Action Links to Pro-Aborts and Church Dissidents. Democracy In Action's mission - To "Wire the Progressive Movement." You'll see Faith in Public Life and ACORN Saul Alinsky group and Catholic Alliance a dissident group just to name two.
Now, notice how Mary Jo Tully signed the Tax Fairness "Religious Leaders" list first and then five minutes later our Archbishop did the same. A week later, Matt Cato, newly hired Office of Justice and Peace director signed a week later.

113Thu Nov 19 17:44:24 EST 2009 Matt Cato
94Thu Nov 12 20:59:47 EST 2009Most Rev. John G. Vlazny
93Thu Nov 12 20:54:42 EST 2009Chancellor Mary Jo Tully


*It is fair and just that those who continue to prosper greatly should give back a little more of their income to support the public services that have made their prosperity possible. The responsibility of the wealthy to the poor and to the common good is a principle deeply rooted in the texts and teachings of our religious traditions." Tax Fairness Oregon Statement
SO....What's going on...?

Pro-Life Action of Oregon www.prolifeactionoregon.org put in a call to the Archdiocese upon hearing that both Planned Parenthood and NARAL were urging supporters with big money to vote yes, the Archdiocesan Chancellor Mary Jo Tully replied, “That’s not a bad thing is it?”

After being asked whether the archbishop knows about Planned Parenthood and NARAL’s lobbying efforts, Chancellor Tully replied, “No, I don’t think he knows.”

See. http://prolifeactionoforegon.org/2010/01/06/planned-parenthood-leads-tax-increase-lobby/
Statements IN FAVOR in your VOTERS' PAMPHLET which you should receive in the mail:
Page 16, bottom of right column: Planned Parenthood and NARAL
Page 28, middle of right column: Ecumenical Ministries (Catholic Archdiocese is a member)
Page 73, both columns: Ecumenical Ministries and NARAL

With this action they aligned the Catholics of western Oregon with Planned Parenthood, NARAL National Abortion Rights Action League, Basic Rights Oregon (homosexual lobby) but that's not all.
Mary Jo Tully is on the Board of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. That is the biggest problem we have as Catholics in Oregon.

Western Oregon Catholics are now aligned once again, with ultra-liberal, progressive values, but now it's so obvious, it's blatant and stomach-turning. These NOT the values of the Roman Catholic Church.

So we see that January 25, 2010 the Archbishop endorses Measure 66 & 67.

We pray that Mary Jo Tully can get some new friends and not be so outspoken about her role. It is very unnerving that not ONE of the churches we associate with are pro-life , REAL pro-life protecting unborn white babies, brown babies, black babies, every baby.

It's just not a priority, no matter what the Archbishop says.

God Bless you and yours,
Carolyn

"In accord with the knowledge, competence and preeminence which they possess, they (laity) have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard for the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (Canon 212, P3)


www.vocalnews.org
VOCAL
Voice of Catholics Advocating Life
PO Box 458
Sublimity, OR 97385
503-769-4767
Member of the Catholic Media Coalition "In line with the Church, on-line with the World". www.catholicmediacoalition.org
and Reform Catholic Campaign for Human Development Now www.reformcchdnow.com



Here's Mary Jo (the one with the pantsuit and the orange hair) with her friends at the Oregon Catholic Press: where the gay Dan Schutte practices his craft, or here, or you can hear a gay-friendly tune by Michael Joncas, here, or hear the relaxing tones of the mostly gay St. Louis Jesuits, here

Your pastor shouldn't have this crap in the pews on Sunday, your parish shouldn't have to support Mary Jo and it shouldn't support OCP either. h/t: Gabriel

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Atheists Hate Mother Teresa

Sometimes, intemperate and spiteful criticism of someone you're lukewarm about inspires you to defend them to the death.

Say she's not worthy of memorial stamp
By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

A prominent atheist organization in America is attacking Mother Teresa as unworthy of being honored with a memorial stamp, as the U.S. Postal Service has announced.

In fact, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is advocating that its constituents "vote with your pocketbook, and boycott these stamps."

The group also suggests, "If this choice of a polarizing Roman Catholic figurehead or the Post Office's flagrant violation of its own policy distresses you, let the Post Office know (by mail or e-mail) … Or make this the subject of an educational letter to the editor, or simply use this opportunity to enlighten friends and colleagues about the darker side of Mother Teresa's religious activism."

The Pacific Justice Institute, which engages in battles regularly on behalf of civil rights and the nation's Christian heritage, immediately launched its own campaign urging support for the stamp.

"We didn't want theirs to be the only letters," Matthew McReynolds, the organization's associate counsel, told WND.

Read further...

You're Fired! Local pastor tells his sheep to take a hike.

Pax writes:

My good friend, Father Sanvido, had some parishioners yelling at him after Mass because he told them in his homily that they could not be both Catholic and pro-choice. So, he said to them: "You're fired! Get out of my church and don't come back until you are ready to ask for absolution." They wrote to Bishop Tonnos (Diocese of Hamilton) who stood behind Father Sanvido.

Way to go, Father!

Pascendi's forum...

Radio Maria: P. Nuara is Assigned to Ecclesia Dei -- Prof de Mattei takes over Broadcast-- And FSSP Priest from Portugal Joins Him

(Erba) In the last week at Radio Maria in Italian, the mother station of the world family of Radio Maria, Vicnezo Nuara OP will broadcast for the last time. The Dominican made known his appointment to Ecclesia Dei which is now assigned to the CDF, at the end of the broadcast.

P. Nuara has headed up for the past 10 years a monthly show at Radio Maria. In the beginning he was concerned above all with the subject of Sects and "New Religions". Step by step, in the course of an general change in climate, he began to tackle more delicate subjects, like the question of "subsisit in", the authority of the Second Vatican Council and finally the traditional Liturgy of the Catholic Church. In the past few years toward the end, he celebrated at Radio Maria the first Holy Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite for the first time. [sic]

Prof. Roberto de Mattei will take up his position in February. Mattei is the full Professor for Modern History at the University of Cassino and directs the Historical Seminar at the Europa-University in Rome. He is the deputy Dean of the Italian Government appointed National Advisory Board for Science, writer for newspaper Radici Cristiane and even a friend of Catholic Tradition.

Radio Horeb is heard in German speaking areas, Radio Maria Österreich and Radio Maria Südtirol of the World Family of Radio Maria. They may be heard over Shortwave, Satellite, Cable, and Internet.


English speakers can hear Radio Maria in Canada, or here.
Radio Maria/GN)

Father Nuar OP, is joined also in the Ecclesia Dei Commission, by the Portuguese Allmiro de Andrade of the Priestly Fraterny of St. Peter. He will be the first member of ED who actually belongs to a Society of Tradition and is at the same time a full member of the Commission.

The Internet Site "Messe in latino" calls this move an "extraordinary step" in the direction to "strengthen the Commission" for the effective implementation of the Motu Proprio.

Equality Bill Struck Down in House of Lords

In what would have spelled greater persecution for Catholic priests and bishops, the Equality Bill was struck down by the House of Lords today. It isn't a victory for Religious Liberty, as if that were a laudable thing, but it is a temporary reprieve. Anyhow, Catholic Culture calls this a victory for religious liberty, but we'd like to hear them make a distinction between the liberty and exultation of our Mother the Church and false principle of "religious liberty".

Catholic Culture article...