VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When it was unveiled in late January, the insider book about the "real" Pope John Paul II looked at first glance like the Vatican's own effort at a pre-beatification biography.
But as the fallout over the next two weeks made clear, the Vatican was not directly involved. Nor was everyone happy that the book was co-authored by the official postulator, or promoter, of Pope John Paul's sainthood cause, using information that is generally considered confidential.
In addition, several officials thought the book's simple presentation of the late pope's reported penitential practices, with little explanation or context, was unwise and counter-productive.
Read further...
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Linz Communications Director Sacked
LINZ, Austria, February 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Ferdinand Kaineder, the former communications chief and spokesman of the diocese of Linz, Austria, has been sacked as part of an agreement reached between the diocese and a group of the faithful who have campaigned for reforms in the diocese. Kaineder has been the focus of criticism for some years as the spokesman for Linz, known internationally as the most liberal of the ultra-liberal European Catholic dioceses.
The “Church Faithful Prayer Initiative,” formed in October 2009, organized a boycott of funds, urging churchgoers to deposit their church tax contributions into a trust fund instead of putting them in collection baskets. Over a period of three years, about 350 parishioners placed 50,000 Euros (US $68,000) into an escrow account, while they demanded the resignation of Kaineder.
“The sacking of Mr. Kaineder was a minimal requirement that we have stated since the end of 2006,” said Gernot Steier, a spokesman for the group and an attorney in Neulengbach in Lower Austria. German media reports that the money has now been transferred to the diocese, with one third of 25,000 Euros reportedly donated to the pro-life movement, Human Life International, and Youth for Life.
In 2006 Kaineder brought down the ire of faithful Catholics when his communications office issued a CD for young people on sexuality, which included information on acquiring contraception and links to websites promoting abortion and the homosexualist agenda.
Kaineder was removed as spokesman for the diocese in July 2009, but was retained on the payroll as “emeritus” head of the communications department. Bishop Ludwig Schwarz was criticized for doing nothing about the Youth CD and for offering Kaineder other positions within the diocese.
Kaineder complained in the press of a “smear campaign” launched against him by “ultra-conservatives” in the diocese, including the internet group Kath.net, who he said has close ties to the Vatican.
“It was always known to me that they worked together,” Kaineder said. “It appeared to me that the information channels between Rome and kath.net functioned well. I believe also that these channels are responsible for my sacking.”
Now Bishop Schwarz is now being accused on the left of bowing to pressure from “ultra-conservatives” in the Church. The notoriously liberal international group We Are Church, said, “The Catholic Church is being held hostage by conservative forces.”
But the Church Faithful Prayer Initiative, the managers of the trust fund, defended their actions saying, “When the chief marketing officer of a company does not know his company’s own product, then he is not doing his duty. So too, if the head of communications of the diocese, which represents the teachings of the Catholic Church, is wrong.”
Link to original...
The “Church Faithful Prayer Initiative,” formed in October 2009, organized a boycott of funds, urging churchgoers to deposit their church tax contributions into a trust fund instead of putting them in collection baskets. Over a period of three years, about 350 parishioners placed 50,000 Euros (US $68,000) into an escrow account, while they demanded the resignation of Kaineder.
“The sacking of Mr. Kaineder was a minimal requirement that we have stated since the end of 2006,” said Gernot Steier, a spokesman for the group and an attorney in Neulengbach in Lower Austria. German media reports that the money has now been transferred to the diocese, with one third of 25,000 Euros reportedly donated to the pro-life movement, Human Life International, and Youth for Life.
In 2006 Kaineder brought down the ire of faithful Catholics when his communications office issued a CD for young people on sexuality, which included information on acquiring contraception and links to websites promoting abortion and the homosexualist agenda.
Kaineder was removed as spokesman for the diocese in July 2009, but was retained on the payroll as “emeritus” head of the communications department. Bishop Ludwig Schwarz was criticized for doing nothing about the Youth CD and for offering Kaineder other positions within the diocese.
Kaineder complained in the press of a “smear campaign” launched against him by “ultra-conservatives” in the diocese, including the internet group Kath.net, who he said has close ties to the Vatican.
“It was always known to me that they worked together,” Kaineder said. “It appeared to me that the information channels between Rome and kath.net functioned well. I believe also that these channels are responsible for my sacking.”
Now Bishop Schwarz is now being accused on the left of bowing to pressure from “ultra-conservatives” in the Church. The notoriously liberal international group We Are Church, said, “The Catholic Church is being held hostage by conservative forces.”
But the Church Faithful Prayer Initiative, the managers of the trust fund, defended their actions saying, “When the chief marketing officer of a company does not know his company’s own product, then he is not doing his duty. So too, if the head of communications of the diocese, which represents the teachings of the Catholic Church, is wrong.”
Link to original...
Bishops: Romero should [not] be canonised - Catholic Herald Online
Bishops: Romero should be canonised - Catholic Herald Online
Thousands of miles from El Salvador, fellow travellers in the British Hierarchy celebrate Masses in his honor and advocate for his canonization despite his controversial political views. Marxist political views which are as they were the day he died, irreconcileable with the Catholic Faith.
We don't see why a man who wanted to confiscate other people's money and spend it on ineffective social programs should enjoy the honor of being named a Saint. Unfortunately for exponents of this avid socialist, there are still a number of people who remember +Romero for what he was, a socialist agitator and a useful tool to Soviet interests.
Thousands of miles from El Salvador, fellow travellers in the British Hierarchy celebrate Masses in his honor and advocate for his canonization despite his controversial political views. Marxist political views which are as they were the day he died, irreconcileable with the Catholic Faith.
We don't see why a man who wanted to confiscate other people's money and spend it on ineffective social programs should enjoy the honor of being named a Saint. Unfortunately for exponents of this avid socialist, there are still a number of people who remember +Romero for what he was, a socialist agitator and a useful tool to Soviet interests.
Bishop Morin Honors Socialist Head of LA CCHD
Bishop Morin, subcommittee head of the USCCB organ overseeing the CCHD, who has been having a lot of problems with telling the truth lately, has honored "social justice" activist who is, coincidentally, the kind of person who takes Catholic's money to fund things that have almost nothing to do with Catholicism. The interfaith agendas she supports may advance Alinskyite social-justice and professional activists who are alien to and hostile to the Catholic Faith, but they are certainly dishonest.
If it weren't bad enough that Bishop Morin is honoring a woman who heads the CCHD in Cardinal Mahony's Archdiocese, but the Harper is herself an avid "Community Organizer" in the Alinksyite vein, and like Cesar Chavez, eager to champion the rights of oppressed workers. The benefit to the workers might be in question, but her political and religious allegiance is not.
For we can certainly question the wisdom of being involved in an labor dispute as part of a Union agenda where Harper was arrested at the Hilton Hotel worker's dispute in 2008, but Harper provided funds for CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice), which is a "multi-faith" (you know what that means) organization headed by Rabbi Jonathan Klein who is a "community organizer" and is "passionate" about the environment. We think you all know what a "Community Organizer" is by now. You might ask yourself why Klein, whose pacifist anti-Catholic agenda the CCHD supports, is such an avid Obama supporter who craves after socialized medicine almost as much as the USCCB does.
Is it any suprise that Rabbi Klein is pro-homosexual as well? He writes in defense of homosexuality and attacking free speech in the following paragraph in 2006, here:
Like the Communists of old, Harper attacks her accusers with emotional arguments attempting to portray them as mean-spirited and out of touch, but unfortunately for her, their criticisms are quite apt in her case.
Link to The Tidings...
If it weren't bad enough that Bishop Morin is honoring a woman who heads the CCHD in Cardinal Mahony's Archdiocese, but the Harper is herself an avid "Community Organizer" in the Alinksyite vein, and like Cesar Chavez, eager to champion the rights of oppressed workers. The benefit to the workers might be in question, but her political and religious allegiance is not.
For we can certainly question the wisdom of being involved in an labor dispute as part of a Union agenda where Harper was arrested at the Hilton Hotel worker's dispute in 2008, but Harper provided funds for CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice), which is a "multi-faith" (you know what that means) organization headed by Rabbi Jonathan Klein who is a "community organizer" and is "passionate" about the environment. We think you all know what a "Community Organizer" is by now. You might ask yourself why Klein, whose pacifist anti-Catholic agenda the CCHD supports, is such an avid Obama supporter who craves after socialized medicine almost as much as the USCCB does.
Is it any suprise that Rabbi Klein is pro-homosexual as well? He writes in defense of homosexuality and attacking free speech in the following paragraph in 2006, here:
I cannot believe the audacity and harm imposed upon us by the Daily Trojan when the editors decided, in the name of a "free press," to print bigoted hate diatribes in the letters to the editor on Thursday. To add insult to injury, Friday's editorial defends that poor decision, arguing that it is legitimate to attack gays since millions of Americans are in their estimations anti-gay. Since many Americans consider a sexual orientation other than heterosexual as immoral, the Daily Trojan argues, it is just fine if a student writes that a gay man’s “lifestyle is sinful, unhealthy and unnatural.” Preposterous!
Like the Communists of old, Harper attacks her accusers with emotional arguments attempting to portray them as mean-spirited and out of touch, but unfortunately for her, their criticisms are quite apt in her case.
"God had a plan for me that didn't include the Peace Corps in Honduras as I thought at the ripe age of 31 but rather a wonderful marriage with three fantastic children," said Harper. "It is through [my husband's] love and the encouragement of my adult children that my ministry 'out there' becomes celebrated and nourished at home."
Acknowledging the pain generated by recent "vicious attacks" accusing CCHD of knowingly and willfully funding groups in opposition to Catholic teaching,[True and justified attacks] Harper commented: "I guess we can take some comfort in knowing that we are doing a good job --- we are ruffling feathers --- and therefore we must be effective. But that only slightly eases the pain of these lies and mis-truths."
"This award today," she said, "is really for all of us --- for our ministry, for our dedication, for staying in the struggle�. I thank God for all of you, knowing we walk this path together."
Link to The Tidings...
Friday, February 12, 2010
Reflections on the Liturgy
by Jonathan Bennett
The liturgy is meant to give a temporal vision of Heaven. How could the sublime and complex rites of the sacred ministers- clothed in sumptuous vestments, bathed in clouds of incense and illuminated by innumerable candles- as they attend to the altar amidst the celestial hosts brought forth in lavish iconography, to the voices of a multitude of choirboys raised in the ancient chants which echo the never-ending praise of the seraphim surrounding the Throne of God, not impose itself in a most magnificent way upon the mind and the senses? Is this not a foretaste-though still inadequate by far- of the Beatific Vision, of eternal contemplation of God?
What a difference then is the state of the liturgy in our own times. Even amongst many traditionalists the liturgy is the subject of much sad neglect. When the priest stomps about the sanctuary in muddy boots, vested in cheap polyester vestments, speeding through the Latin prayers and performing his sacred office in a manner so routine as to strip it of all outward dignity, within a church lacking in any beauty or adornment (or if there is an actual attempt at artwork and ornamentation it is gaudy and banal), the faithful may perhaps be excused for hearing Mass not out of piety but out of obligation, whilst the Divine Offices are relegated to the private prayers of the clergy (meant to sanctify every hour of the day, they are more often than not said all at once, or in two or three sittings at convenient times) and all but ignored by laity.
This of course is neglect in the extreme and not a general accusation, and in some cases more reflective of local conditions than intent, but serves to illustrate to what extent the liturgical patrimony of the Church may be diminished. In other cases it is most certainly intended (the author himself has heard, on no small number of occasions, diatribes against great solemnity and lavish ceremony, interestingly much akin to similar arguments from the Jansenists of previous centuries) and there are those who would pride themselves on the trappings of a persecuted sect- hurried Low Masses at ungodly hours of the day, in tiny isolated chapels, with plain vestments and vessels- out of choice rather than necessity. It might be well to recall the Curé D' Ars, the most austere of priests for whom the vestments could not be rich enough, nor the sacred vessels ornate enough for the service of the altar.
Perhaps what has suffered most from this liturgical minimalism is the Church's immense treasury of music. Not only is the full repertoire of Gregorian chant neglected- in efforts to maintain congregational singing, an early twentieth century novelty for most of the Latin Church, it is often the most simple chant settings which are employed- but choral and polyphonic compositions are regarded as too complex and time consuming for choirs to manage (in fact many Masses and individual pieces were written for a small number of voices for the very purpose of making them accessible to smaller choirs) while orchestral settings, such as those by Haydn, Mozart and Gounod, are unthinkable. Even organ preludes and interludes (not to mention the full organ Masses of the French tradition) are frowned upon in some locales, reputedly for "distracting" the faithful from prayer. Choirs themselves have long been bereft of their hierarchal structure and laicized (no longer even to be found in the actual 'choir' of the church, but in the loft), and in all but a precious few cases have abandoned the once-proud tradition of boy choristers in favor of women to provide the higher voices.
In a like manner has art and architecture declined. From the modernist extreme- that is, those churches of recent decades which on first glance would make one think an airplane crashed into a museum of modern art- many traditionalists have fled to another entirely, in the form of chapels better suited to the Amish than Catholics. Is the answer to near sacrilege (or worse, as exemplified by some of the recent additions to the Stephansdom in Vienna) really to be found in iconoclasm? Fortunately those who really believe so are likely a minority; unfortunately however the majority appears to find their answer deep in the tradition of that golden age of Elvis, poodle skirts and Americanism- the 1950s, from whence comes those almost-infuriatingly cutesy depictions of the Blessed Virgin and the saints, and statuary which resembles sugar candy. Your humble writer finds himself at loss as to whether or not he should concede the excuse that gaudy is better than nothing in that same capacity for which the Church was once the greatest patron of all the arts.
Of course such excuses hinge on two oft-spoken claims. First, that it is just not possible to have "nice things" in this day and age. Tasteful art, let alone entire churches, is a hefty expense and decent choirs demand an amount of time and effort nobody seems to have. That is to say, idealism be damned, it is just not practical to expect such things even if the faithful would treble their efforts should they be made to know just what might come it. Second, that doctrinal orthodoxy is superior to external form, and that this somehow justifies liturgical minimalism. To the former, the author answers that it is better to trust in Providence than to trust in fatalism. To the latter, that the faith cannot be made distinct from form and action- liturgical form is the faith made manifest and is inherently to doctrinal orthodoxy.
In bygone days it was a noted fact that even some of the worst of sinners and the most lacking in faith would attend the liturgy, if not for any remnant of pious inclinations then for the aesthetic beauty of the ritual. Contrary to the belief that the sacraments are rewards for the faithful and virtuous and that the Mass is the privilege of an initiate few, is it not to be hoped that simply being in the presence of the celebration of the sacred mysteries might produce medicinal effect and that these persons may receive even a small amount of grace? Though the very same may be said for all- truly blessed is he who has such faith that it does not need to be strengthened by anything external. Here we perhaps see a part of the motivation of our ancestors in all those centuries of building massive, opulent churches filled with imagery and statues and such things as to delight the mind and raise it from the drudgery of life to thoughts of the supernatural.
What this inadequate and humble writer dares to suggest is that crucial to restoring all things in Christ is the restoration of a liturgical spirituality which sees the august rites of the Church as the living manifestation, the resplendent garb of the Catholic faith and the theurgic act which elevates the mind and soul beyond this mortal coil and brings us into the very presence of God. This demands a perception of the liturgy as something no less than the centerpiece of a Christian society, the fountainhead of all art, the sanctifier of every aspect of earthly life and the means through which we may enter into eternal life, worthy of all the pomp and splendor it is possible to bestow upon it.
Posted on the Feast of the Seven Holy Founds of the Order of the Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a.D. MMX
Catholic Church’s mission is to continue work of Jesus Christ, Archbishop Niendstedt explains :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
Catholic Church’s mission is to continue work of Jesus Christ, Archbishop Niendstedt explains :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
It's hard to tell whether or not Fr. Kung actually believes in the Resurrection or some kind of collective sense of the story's "truth" in a superhistorical sense. Kung denied biblical inerrancy before he wrote "The Church" and has often been a steadfast enemy of the Church, so in one sense it's suprising to hear the Archbishop cite him, however much we might agree with the sentences themselves, we should not overlook the fact that Kung himself was a modernist and liable not to attribute historicity to the Gospel narrative.
But he also says:
It's hard to tell whether or not Fr. Kung actually believes in the Resurrection or some kind of collective sense of the story's "truth" in a superhistorical sense. Kung denied biblical inerrancy before he wrote "The Church" and has often been a steadfast enemy of the Church, so in one sense it's suprising to hear the Archbishop cite him, however much we might agree with the sentences themselves, we should not overlook the fact that Kung himself was a modernist and liable not to attribute historicity to the Gospel narrative.
He quoted from “The Church,” a work of theologian Fr. Hans Kung authored before his more controversial writings:
“…without the raising of Jesus from the dead the community of believers, the Church, is meaningless. Only the certainty that the Crucified Christ lives on as the Risen Christ, glorified by God, gives us the solution to the riddle of Jesus as a person and makes the Church possible and real.”
The first Christian disciples’ affirmation of this faith gave birth to a new community which celebrated the “breaking of the bread” with “glad hearts,” Fr. Kung wrote, quoting Acts 2.
The theologian said this new group was an “eschatological community of salvation.” He used the theological word for “last things” such as heaven, hell, the general judgment of mankind by God, and the resurrection of the body.
Archbishop Nienstedt explained that the source of the Church’s mission is the conviction that Christ is risen and fully alive and present to the community of believing Christians
But he also says:
The prelate then cited Jesus’ words in Matthew 28: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Patrick Kennedy will not run for Re-election.
Still another casualty of the Democratic effort to give us socialized medicine. Would that the USCCB would start dropping off like this and annoucing that they are retiring due to family commitments.
Remember, Kennedy was the one who got a catechism lesson from Bishop Tobin.
Remember, Kennedy was the one who got a catechism lesson from Bishop Tobin.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Conservative Episcopalians are Staying Put
Speaking at the Anglican Communion Institute's conference in Dallas, February 5-6, Bishop James Stanton, Dallas and Bishop Bruce McPherson, Western Louisiana, told delegates that they intended to remain in The Episcopal Church (TEC).
Despite disagreement with TEC over openly gay clergy, Stanton stated, "This diocese is not on the verge of leaving anything." However, the Dallas bishop admitted that "the bonds of communion have been stretched to breaking point" and that he was "concerned about the legal cases."
According to Stanton these are unjustified because TEC has no right to sue dioceses for acting independently. Quoting the Rt. Rev. Alexander Garrett, first Bishop of Dallas, Stanton said that a diocese is "an independent and sovereign state."
Read further....
Despite disagreement with TEC over openly gay clergy, Stanton stated, "This diocese is not on the verge of leaving anything." However, the Dallas bishop admitted that "the bonds of communion have been stretched to breaking point" and that he was "concerned about the legal cases."
According to Stanton these are unjustified because TEC has no right to sue dioceses for acting independently. Quoting the Rt. Rev. Alexander Garrett, first Bishop of Dallas, Stanton said that a diocese is "an independent and sovereign state."
Read further....
George Weigel has a new Book: Reality
A new Bestseller from Papal biographer, George Weigel, a book, that gives an answer to critics with the 10 most important points of disagreement with the Church today.
[Linz] Does belief participiate in freedom? Do Catholics hate the body? Is the Church anti-Democratic? If the discussions around the Catholic Church happen, there are always the same arguments. George Weigel, who wrote the Papal Biography (Witness to Hope. John Paul II.) and most well known Catholic publicist in the USA, has developed responsees to the 10 most important questions. Without polemics he lays out the Catholic view of things. Thereby he shows: the Catholic Church doesn't live according to restrictions. On the contrary: It gives belief to true freedom. It's a book with good arguments for believers and skeptics alike.
Link to original at kathnet....
[Linz] Does belief participiate in freedom? Do Catholics hate the body? Is the Church anti-Democratic? If the discussions around the Catholic Church happen, there are always the same arguments. George Weigel, who wrote the Papal Biography (Witness to Hope. John Paul II.) and most well known Catholic publicist in the USA, has developed responsees to the 10 most important questions. Without polemics he lays out the Catholic view of things. Thereby he shows: the Catholic Church doesn't live according to restrictions. On the contrary: It gives belief to true freedom. It's a book with good arguments for believers and skeptics alike.
Link to original at kathnet....
100s Show up to Celebrate Mandela's release with Marxist ANC
Thousands of South Africans were today marking the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's walk to freedom after 27 years as the world’s most famous political prisoner.
Dozens of leading figures from the African National Congress (ANC) and liberation struggle stalwarts marched out of the gates of Victor Verster prison, since renamed the Drakenstein Correctional Centre, this morning in an emotional re-enactment of Mr Mandela’s march, which signalled the end of apartheid.
Mr Mandela, now a frail 91-year-old, did not attend the celebrations, although a huge bronze statue of him marching from jail, fist pumping the air, formed a fitting backdrop for the ANC figures to address the faithful.
Mr Mandela is expected to attend a session of parliament later today.
Link to original...
Please join us in a resounding chorus of "Kill the White People".
Dozens of leading figures from the African National Congress (ANC) and liberation struggle stalwarts marched out of the gates of Victor Verster prison, since renamed the Drakenstein Correctional Centre, this morning in an emotional re-enactment of Mr Mandela’s march, which signalled the end of apartheid.
Mr Mandela, now a frail 91-year-old, did not attend the celebrations, although a huge bronze statue of him marching from jail, fist pumping the air, formed a fitting backdrop for the ANC figures to address the faithful.
Mr Mandela is expected to attend a session of parliament later today.
Link to original...
Please join us in a resounding chorus of "Kill the White People".
Catholicism is Scotland's Leading Religion
SCOTLAND has become more Roman Catholic than Protestant, with its congregations now outnumbering the Kirk for the first time since records began.
Figures compiled by the independent group Christian Research reveal that in 2005 the number of Catholics who went to Mass surpassed those who attended Church of Scotland services.
A total of 215,000 Catholics went to church, compared with only 20
ADVERTISEMENT8,400 attending the Church of Scotland.
Attendances at both churches – and all other Christian denominations – are falling however, and the group predicts that by 2010, the number of Scots going to church on a Sunday will fall below 10% of the population for the first time from 751,100 in 1990 to 457,600 in 2015.
The change is due to the huge numbers of Catholic Polish immigrants who are boosting church attendance, raising numbers by some 50,000 people since the last time figures were published in 2002.
Read further...
Figures compiled by the independent group Christian Research reveal that in 2005 the number of Catholics who went to Mass surpassed those who attended Church of Scotland services.
A total of 215,000 Catholics went to church, compared with only 20
ADVERTISEMENT8,400 attending the Church of Scotland.
Attendances at both churches – and all other Christian denominations – are falling however, and the group predicts that by 2010, the number of Scots going to church on a Sunday will fall below 10% of the population for the first time from 751,100 in 1990 to 457,600 in 2015.
The change is due to the huge numbers of Catholic Polish immigrants who are boosting church attendance, raising numbers by some 50,000 people since the last time figures were published in 2002.
Read further...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Senator Wilson, Architect of the Afghan War is Dead, RIP
[Telegraph] Charlie Wilson, the Texan Democrat who championed covert CIA support for Afghan fighters battling Soviet troops in the 1980s and whose life was chronicled in a Hollywood film, has died. He was 76.
The controversial former congressman, known as “Good-time Charlie” for his hard-partying ways, died of a heart attack in a Texas hospital late yesterday. Mr Wilson died after having difficulty breathing after attending a meeting in the eastern Texas town where he lived, according to a hospital spokeswoman. He was pronounced dead on arrival, and the preliminary cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest.
Mr Wilson served 12 consecutive terms in the House of Representatives, and was also known as the "Liberal from Lufkin," the town in mostly conservative east Texas where he lived.
Read further...
Photo: Marcy Nighswander/AP
Cardinal Mahony Blogs about New Missal
The Bishops of eleven English-speaking countries have completed a new English translation of the Latin Roman Missal, Editio tertia, and the new English Roman Missal is under final review at the Vatican.
The new Missal will be the first new translation since the current Missal was published in 1974 -- some 36 years ago.
It is anticipated that the new English Roman Missal will begin full use on the First Sunday of Advent, 2011 -- less than two years from now.
Since the 1974 version was translated in haste, there were many errors in the translation which rendered the Missal inaccurate in many places.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles just completed a series of Workshops for all of our priests to inform them about the coming new Missal, reasons for changes, and a good grounding in the efforts taken to produce a Missal which is more theologically correct.
A whole series of Workshops are being planned for everyone involved in the planning and celebration of the Eucharist: permanent deacons, parish liturgy committees, members of the various ministries, and the like. As we get closer to the launch of the new Missal, we will have several weeks of catechesis for all our people about the new Missal and the changes which will affect them in their responses at Mass.
There are two websites which contain a lot of background and information on the new English Missal. I recommend these two:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
www.usccb.org/romanmissal
The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions:
www.fdlc.org/roman_missal.htm
The coming months will be very important to the life of the Church in the English-speaking world, and I encourage all of us to become as informed as we can about the new English Roman Missal.
Linke to California Catholic...
Link to +Mahony blog, here.
The new Missal will be the first new translation since the current Missal was published in 1974 -- some 36 years ago.
It is anticipated that the new English Roman Missal will begin full use on the First Sunday of Advent, 2011 -- less than two years from now.
Since the 1974 version was translated in haste, there were many errors in the translation which rendered the Missal inaccurate in many places.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles just completed a series of Workshops for all of our priests to inform them about the coming new Missal, reasons for changes, and a good grounding in the efforts taken to produce a Missal which is more theologically correct.
A whole series of Workshops are being planned for everyone involved in the planning and celebration of the Eucharist: permanent deacons, parish liturgy committees, members of the various ministries, and the like. As we get closer to the launch of the new Missal, we will have several weeks of catechesis for all our people about the new Missal and the changes which will affect them in their responses at Mass.
There are two websites which contain a lot of background and information on the new English Missal. I recommend these two:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
www.usccb.org/romanmissal
The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions:
www.fdlc.org/roman_missal.htm
The coming months will be very important to the life of the Church in the English-speaking world, and I encourage all of us to become as informed as we can about the new English Roman Missal.
Linke to California Catholic...
Link to +Mahony blog, here.
At War with the USCCB Part II: Follow Up
Renew America
The following statement, provided to me by Stephen Phelan, communications director of Human Life International and spokesman for the Reform CCHD Now coalition, is a follow-up to my previous column.
'It is unfortunate that John Carr has publicly complained about how the coalition did not come to him first about the most recent charges, when, as Rob Gasper points out, he has to date refused to meet with us to discuss any of this. It is his (and other CCHD leadership's) intransigence which has forced this public and growing campaign. It is also unfortunate that he defends himself from a charge that we haven't made — that his pro-life beliefs are in question — while ignoring and leading others to ignore the actual, well-documented charges.
'Perhaps most troubling, however, is that while Mr. Carr and other defenders of the CCHD publicly complain that our charges are baseless and unfair, they and their partners silently 'scrub' their Web sites of the evidence which substantiates the charges. Since the last round of reports, several links in the reports now go to pages that are suddenly password-protected, or that go to pages other than ones originally linked.
'The opportunity for CCHD and USCCB executives to get out in front of this growing scandal and embrace renewal of this crucial Catholic program is still possible. We stand ready to support, as we have in the past, anyone who is doing the right thing, as several dioceses are now doing. There is real reform happening on the local level, but it's sad that these dioceses have had to distance themselves from the national CCHD in order to do this.
Read further...
The following statement, provided to me by Stephen Phelan, communications director of Human Life International and spokesman for the Reform CCHD Now coalition, is a follow-up to my previous column.
'It is unfortunate that John Carr has publicly complained about how the coalition did not come to him first about the most recent charges, when, as Rob Gasper points out, he has to date refused to meet with us to discuss any of this. It is his (and other CCHD leadership's) intransigence which has forced this public and growing campaign. It is also unfortunate that he defends himself from a charge that we haven't made — that his pro-life beliefs are in question — while ignoring and leading others to ignore the actual, well-documented charges.
'Perhaps most troubling, however, is that while Mr. Carr and other defenders of the CCHD publicly complain that our charges are baseless and unfair, they and their partners silently 'scrub' their Web sites of the evidence which substantiates the charges. Since the last round of reports, several links in the reports now go to pages that are suddenly password-protected, or that go to pages other than ones originally linked.
'The opportunity for CCHD and USCCB executives to get out in front of this growing scandal and embrace renewal of this crucial Catholic program is still possible. We stand ready to support, as we have in the past, anyone who is doing the right thing, as several dioceses are now doing. There is real reform happening on the local level, but it's sad that these dioceses have had to distance themselves from the national CCHD in order to do this.
Read further...
Bishop Vasa Cautiously Critical of USCCB
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, Oregon has cautiously expressed concern after reports this week that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is listed as a member of a coalition that promotes homosexual “rights” and access to abortion.
In a Monday article, Deal Hudson of Inside Catholic pointed out the USCCB's membership in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), a coalition of nearly 200 national 'civil and human rights' organizations, founded in 1950, that coordinates national lobbying efforts for its members. The minimum annual dues to join LCCR is $1,000, though that grows with the size of the organization.
One of the coalition's focus issues is “LGBT rights”, and, as Hudson reveals, their website provides evidence of the organization's deliberate thwarting of pro-life efforts and their support for organizations and legislation that facilitate abortion.
Responding to the evidence, Bishop Vasa told LifeSiteNews: “I am not well enough versed in the 'politics' of such associations to make any criticism of the motives or justifications which might be provided but, on the face of it, I would have to agree that support of this organization and an active endorsement of its principles and purposes would appear to be problematic.”
As Hudson reported, Lisa Haywood, LCCR's membership services director, confirmed that members "must share LCCR's principles and purposes." These include recognizing “equal rights, equal opportunities and equal justice” based on a number of grounds, including “sexual orientation.”
Read further...
In a Monday article, Deal Hudson of Inside Catholic pointed out the USCCB's membership in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), a coalition of nearly 200 national 'civil and human rights' organizations, founded in 1950, that coordinates national lobbying efforts for its members. The minimum annual dues to join LCCR is $1,000, though that grows with the size of the organization.
One of the coalition's focus issues is “LGBT rights”, and, as Hudson reveals, their website provides evidence of the organization's deliberate thwarting of pro-life efforts and their support for organizations and legislation that facilitate abortion.
Responding to the evidence, Bishop Vasa told LifeSiteNews: “I am not well enough versed in the 'politics' of such associations to make any criticism of the motives or justifications which might be provided but, on the face of it, I would have to agree that support of this organization and an active endorsement of its principles and purposes would appear to be problematic.”
As Hudson reported, Lisa Haywood, LCCR's membership services director, confirmed that members "must share LCCR's principles and purposes." These include recognizing “equal rights, equal opportunities and equal justice” based on a number of grounds, including “sexual orientation.”
Read further...
Vatican Official Calls for 'Ecumenical Catechism'
A senior Vatican official called on Monday (Feb. 8) for "an ecumenical catechism" setting forth the common beliefs of the Catholic and major Protestant churches.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, announced the proposal at a Vatican symposium with representatives of the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches.
Citing the need for an "ecumenism of basics that identifies, reinforces and deepens the common foundation" of Christianity, Kasper said that the proposed catechism would be written "in consultation with our partners," according to a report by Catholic News Service
Link to original....
Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, announced the proposal at a Vatican symposium with representatives of the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches.
Citing the need for an "ecumenism of basics that identifies, reinforces and deepens the common foundation" of Christianity, Kasper said that the proposed catechism would be written "in consultation with our partners," according to a report by Catholic News Service
Link to original....
Distancing from an Attack on Carr
Renew America
Matt C.Abbott
Would it be best for the Catholic Church in the U.S. (and Rome, for that matter) if the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops were to be dismantled? I say yes, but more on that a bit later.
First, there have been a few interesting developments in the ongoing Catholic Campaign for Human Development controversy.
From a Feb. 5 LifeSiteNews.com story (excerpted; click here for the article in its entirety):
Read further...
Matt C.Abbott
Would it be best for the Catholic Church in the U.S. (and Rome, for that matter) if the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops were to be dismantled? I say yes, but more on that a bit later.
First, there have been a few interesting developments in the ongoing Catholic Campaign for Human Development controversy.
From a Feb. 5 LifeSiteNews.com story (excerpted; click here for the article in its entirety):
'Various offices of the U.S. Bishops Conference (USCCB) have reacted to the two new reports issued by the Reform CCHD Now coalition (RCN) this week, but the reactions, claims RCN, have not addressed the core message of their reports.
'While RCN has offered evidence that 31 CCHD grantees are partnered with a pro-abortion and homosexualist group, the Center for Community (CCC), and that two USCCB officials have served on the same group's board, the reactions have focused primarily on defending the pro-life beliefs of one of those officials — John Carr, who, as executive director of the USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development, oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).
'The report on Carr's involvement in CCC was received by some as questioning Carr's personal pro-life convictions. However, RCN says that the reports in question — one from American Life League (ALL) and another from the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry (BVM) — specified that they were not questioning Carr or any USCCB staffer's personal stance on pro-life.
'Immediately after the issuing of the reports Monday, a line supporting CCC was quietly removed from the CCHD Web site. Not so quiet, however, was the backlash against the perceived attack on Carr....
'While RCN coalition members said they were pleased to hear these affirmations of Carr's pro-life stance, they also said they were concerned with what they called 'false' accusations from other officials which, they said, led even bishops to misconstrue their actions and intentions....
'Michael Hichborn of RCN member ALL told LSN today that, 'We never once alleged that John Carr promotes abortion and homosexual agendas, and all of our public commentary verifies this.' Hitchborn added, 'In fact, in the initial report that I wrote, I specifically stated that we are not questioning the pro-life convictions of John Carr or anyone he works with.'
'In Carr's response to the RCN reports, he reiterated his pro-life convictions and accused RCN members of not contacting him prior to releasing their reports, saying that 'Neither the American Life League nor the Bellarmine Institute contacted me, CCHD or the bishops' conference before making these accusations.'
'But Hichborn claims that Carr's accusation is 'false.' Rob Gasper, head of RCN member BVM said, 'Carr has stated on multiple occasions that he will not meet or discuss issues with either ALL or [Human Life International].' Gasper added, 'The information in the BVM report should not have come as a surprise since it was primarily discussing information released well over two months ago'....'
Read further...
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Vatican Consultant Responds to 'Completely Ignorant' IPPF Accusation
LONDON, UK, February 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A legal consultant to the Vatican has sharply criticized a recent report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) that takes aim at the Catholic Church's teaching on sexuality.
In a report entitled "Stand and Deliver," the international abortion giant attacks the influence of religious values on young peoples' attitude toward sexuality, saying such institutions "deny the pleasurable and positive aspects of sex" and block "information and services" about sex - presumably sex education, contraceptives, and abortion.
"Young people’s sexuality is still contentious for many religious institutions. Fundamentalist and other religious groups - the Catholic Church and madrasas (Islamic schools) for example - have imposed tremendous barriers that prevent young people, particularly, from obtaining information and services related to sex and reproduction," it states.
Link to original...
In a report entitled "Stand and Deliver," the international abortion giant attacks the influence of religious values on young peoples' attitude toward sexuality, saying such institutions "deny the pleasurable and positive aspects of sex" and block "information and services" about sex - presumably sex education, contraceptives, and abortion.
"Young people’s sexuality is still contentious for many religious institutions. Fundamentalist and other religious groups - the Catholic Church and madrasas (Islamic schools) for example - have imposed tremendous barriers that prevent young people, particularly, from obtaining information and services related to sex and reproduction," it states.
Link to original...
False Compassion Killing Children
ROME, February 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Church is suffering from one of the modern world’s most dangerous philosophical errors - that of false compassion, says Michel Schooyans, one of Europe’s leading philosophical minds.
In a new essay, Schooyans writes that the corruption of compassion has created a climate in which it is anathema to condemn the killing of children by abortion and, more recently, by post-natal infanticide. It also has led, he says, to the abolition of the traditional definition of marriage; the spread of AIDS through the “safe sex” doctrine; and a resurgence of the deadly eugenics policies of the early 20th century. (Read the complete essay here)
“Pseudo-compassion,” Schooyans writes, “leads to heresy and division within the Church, because it incites the faithful to deviate from a non-negotiable element of the doctrine of the Church: the duty to respect innocent life.
Link to original...
In a new essay, Schooyans writes that the corruption of compassion has created a climate in which it is anathema to condemn the killing of children by abortion and, more recently, by post-natal infanticide. It also has led, he says, to the abolition of the traditional definition of marriage; the spread of AIDS through the “safe sex” doctrine; and a resurgence of the deadly eugenics policies of the early 20th century. (Read the complete essay here)
“Pseudo-compassion,” Schooyans writes, “leads to heresy and division within the Church, because it incites the faithful to deviate from a non-negotiable element of the doctrine of the Church: the duty to respect innocent life.
Link to original...
Monday, February 8, 2010
Vatican Tempests. The Academy for Life Puts Its Neck on the Line
ROME, February 8, 2010 – In a few days, from February 11 to 13, a meeting will be held at the Vatican of the pontifical academy for life, the president of which is Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella (in the photo).
The meeting promises to be a stormy one. Some of the members of the academy are openly questioning whether Fisichella is fit to be president. Foremost among them is Monsignor Michel Schooyans, Belgian, professor emeritus of the Catholic University of Louvain, a respected specialist in anthropology, political philosophy, bioethics. He is a member of three pontifical academies: for social sciences, of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and – most relevant here – for life. Pope Joseph Ratzinger knows and admires him. In 1997, as cardinal prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, he wrote a preface to one of his books: "L'Évangile face au désordre mondial."
In view of the meeting, Schooyans has written a scathing critique of the "trap" into which he believes also Fisichella has fallen: the deceptive use of the concept of "compassion."
Link to original...
The meeting promises to be a stormy one. Some of the members of the academy are openly questioning whether Fisichella is fit to be president. Foremost among them is Monsignor Michel Schooyans, Belgian, professor emeritus of the Catholic University of Louvain, a respected specialist in anthropology, political philosophy, bioethics. He is a member of three pontifical academies: for social sciences, of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and – most relevant here – for life. Pope Joseph Ratzinger knows and admires him. In 1997, as cardinal prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, he wrote a preface to one of his books: "L'Évangile face au désordre mondial."
In view of the meeting, Schooyans has written a scathing critique of the "trap" into which he believes also Fisichella has fallen: the deceptive use of the concept of "compassion."
Link to original...
The Pope Says the Church will always Condemn Abuse
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned the abuse of children by priests, saying the church will never stop deploring such behaviour. For centuries, the Catholic Church has shown its commitment to loving and respecting children and ensuring their basic human rights are respected, Benedict told members of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family.
"Unfortunately in some cases, some of its members - acting in contrast to this commitment - have violated these rights, a behaviour that the church hasn't, and won't ever stop deploring and condemning," he said on Monday.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/pope-benedict-xvi-condemns-child-abuse-by-priests-20100209-nnom.html
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Catholic News | Archbishop: Humanity Must Build Future 'Free of Nuclear Threat' | American Catholic
Catholic News | Archbishop: Humanity Must Build Future 'Free of Nuclear Threat' | American Catholic
More cold-war style agit-prop from the leftists in the Episcopacy. When will they stop using their offices to satisfy socialists and in this case, in a cause no one's cared about since Ronald Reagan was in office, and Blessed Rembert Weakland was heading the USCCB.
More cold-war style agit-prop from the leftists in the Episcopacy. When will they stop using their offices to satisfy socialists and in this case, in a cause no one's cared about since Ronald Reagan was in office, and Blessed Rembert Weakland was heading the USCCB.
Anglicans Going to Rome not Catholics. Really?
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, says those Anglicans who respond to Pope Benedict's invitation to join the Catholic Church under the provisions of the new Apostolic Constitution, would not be "proper Catholics". You can listen to the interview in full on this week's Sunday Sequence (Sunday, from 8.30am).
In the same interview, Dr Sentamu also called for the banning of the British National Party and says he is "surprised that Parliament doesn't want to do it." He also says he has "every hope" that [Robert] Mugabe will be gone very soon."
Here's part of the exchange I had with Dr Sentamu on this week's Sunday Sequence:
Read it...
In the same interview, Dr Sentamu also called for the banning of the British National Party and says he is "surprised that Parliament doesn't want to do it." He also says he has "every hope" that [Robert] Mugabe will be gone very soon."
Here's part of the exchange I had with Dr Sentamu on this week's Sunday Sequence:
Read it...
USCCB Desperate In Face of Diocesan Catholic Appeal
Fr. Frank Pavone, Pro-life empire builder and establishment figure is eager and willing to step in on behalf of the beleaguered USCCB and their socialist engineering projects at the CCHD which use the monies they received to support aims and organizations hostile to the Catholic Faith. His comments are here, and line up squarely in defense of the homosexuality, anti-Catholic and abortion promoting John Carr. Is there any reason why the establishment Fr. Pavone is sticking his neck out for this man, despite the hand we see in the anti-Catholic cookie jar? Could it be that Fr. Frank Pavone can't really be trusted as credible? The USCCB has already attacked the attackers of Carr and their CCHD, calling its detractors "calumniators" while not giving a single shred of coherent argumentaition as to why it's the case. Actually, this is an effective tool to defuse legitimate criticism.
Like Notre Dame University, a Catholic name doesn't make it Catholic, and even a well-known allegedly pro-life Catholic Priest might not be trusted. Don't watch what these people say but watch what they DO. John Carr, despite telling Frank Pavone that he's solidly pro-life, hasn't been very good at actually defending innocent life, in fact, he's done the opposite as America's Independent Party page describes:
Strangely, even American Papist, although he feels the CCHD should be sidelined, balks at RealCatholicTV.com's description of the situation as "the smoke of Satan" quoting Paul VI's haunting statement about the corruption in the Church.
He still wants to drive a middle-line himself and wants to see the CCHD salvaged as does Reform the CCHD.
Nienstedt and Chaput defend CCHD, here
And even USCCB and +Mahony shill, Bill Donahue, wants to see this thing blow over.
The important thing to remember is that whoever steps up in defense of this socialist engineering garbage is himself either an unwitting tool of anti-Catholic agendas or an active enemy of the Catholic Faith and that includes, as we have seen time and time again, Bishops, priests, "trusted laypersons" and women in pantsuits who claim they're doing it for the kids.
Next week, if not in the coming Easter season, you have been asked by your Bishop to give generously (about 3% of your income) to the Catholic Appeal. We suggest that you take this money and give it to more worthy causes, like people you know and trust. None of your money goes specifically to CCHD, but your Diocese in many cases, with 6 or 7 exceptions nationwide has a CCHD office. We suggest you call your Archdiocese and find out how your Diocese spends the Catholic appeal and whether or not these programs are consistent with Catholic teaching, or hostile to it. In many cases, your Diocese may support a College which invariably as it is with Catholic education, is not consistent with Church teaching. Your charity should be prudent as much as it is given with love and compassion. As it is, if you give to your parish, or your Diocesan appeal, you are likely givingmoney to support anti-Catholic hate groups like ACORN or Planned Parenthood. Be a wise steward of your money.
Also, write or call your Bishop and tell them why you aren't giving any money to support abortion, homosexuality and anti-Catholic hate.
Deal at Inside Catholic takes another bite, here, asking "Why did the USCCB join this Civil Rights Organization?"
Like Notre Dame University, a Catholic name doesn't make it Catholic, and even a well-known allegedly pro-life Catholic Priest might not be trusted. Don't watch what these people say but watch what they DO. John Carr, despite telling Frank Pavone that he's solidly pro-life, hasn't been very good at actually defending innocent life, in fact, he's done the opposite as America's Independent Party page describes:
- Why over 50 CCHD supported organizations are in some capacity engaged in pro-abortion or pro-homosexual causes
- Why Tom Chabolla, associate director of programs for CCHD, replaced Carr on the CCC board while the CCC was heavily engaged in pro-abortion, pro-homosexual advocacy
- Why 31 CCHD grantees are "partners" with the CCC
- Why Ralph McCloud, CCHD executive director, spoke at a CCC-sponsored rally for Barack Obama. McCloud, referred to Obama’s election as, “a great day,” and proclaimed “very soon we will see a new Jerusalem”
- Why Carr’s USCCB bio omits his involvement with the CCC, while near word-for-word copies of his bio for outside activities include it
- If Carr didn’t know the direction the CCC was headed while chairing the board of the organization, how will he address, as the head of the CCHD, the ongoing problem of funding for radical pro-abortion, pro-homosexual groups
Strangely, even American Papist, although he feels the CCHD should be sidelined, balks at RealCatholicTV.com's description of the situation as "the smoke of Satan" quoting Paul VI's haunting statement about the corruption in the Church.
He still wants to drive a middle-line himself and wants to see the CCHD salvaged as does Reform the CCHD.
Nienstedt and Chaput defend CCHD, here
And even USCCB and +Mahony shill, Bill Donahue, wants to see this thing blow over.
The important thing to remember is that whoever steps up in defense of this socialist engineering garbage is himself either an unwitting tool of anti-Catholic agendas or an active enemy of the Catholic Faith and that includes, as we have seen time and time again, Bishops, priests, "trusted laypersons" and women in pantsuits who claim they're doing it for the kids.
Next week, if not in the coming Easter season, you have been asked by your Bishop to give generously (about 3% of your income) to the Catholic Appeal. We suggest that you take this money and give it to more worthy causes, like people you know and trust. None of your money goes specifically to CCHD, but your Diocese in many cases, with 6 or 7 exceptions nationwide has a CCHD office. We suggest you call your Archdiocese and find out how your Diocese spends the Catholic appeal and whether or not these programs are consistent with Catholic teaching, or hostile to it. In many cases, your Diocese may support a College which invariably as it is with Catholic education, is not consistent with Church teaching. Your charity should be prudent as much as it is given with love and compassion. As it is, if you give to your parish, or your Diocesan appeal, you are likely givingmoney to support anti-Catholic hate groups like ACORN or Planned Parenthood. Be a wise steward of your money.
Also, write or call your Bishop and tell them why you aren't giving any money to support abortion, homosexuality and anti-Catholic hate.
Deal at Inside Catholic takes another bite, here, asking "Why did the USCCB join this Civil Rights Organization?"
United Way Supports Catholic Charities
To The Editor:
We, at Catholic Charities, would like to thank the donors to the Greater Oneida United Way, Inc. During these difficult times, when the need is greater and resources fewer, we are most appreciative of the help we receive from our friends in the community.
All through the year, Catholic Charities of Madison-Oneida Counties provides services to hundreds of individuals and families through our local office, at 248 Main St. in Oneida, through our counseling program, adolescent parent program, crisis pregnancy counseling, adoption services, community assistance program, and, youth development programs. When you donate to the United Way of Greater Oneida, Inc., you are ensuring that we can continue these vital services in the Greater Oneida area.
Link to original...
We, at Catholic Charities, would like to thank the donors to the Greater Oneida United Way, Inc. During these difficult times, when the need is greater and resources fewer, we are most appreciative of the help we receive from our friends in the community.
All through the year, Catholic Charities of Madison-Oneida Counties provides services to hundreds of individuals and families through our local office, at 248 Main St. in Oneida, through our counseling program, adolescent parent program, crisis pregnancy counseling, adoption services, community assistance program, and, youth development programs. When you donate to the United Way of Greater Oneida, Inc., you are ensuring that we can continue these vital services in the Greater Oneida area.
Link to original...
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Wages of Sin is Death
HIV Rate Up Sharply in Minnesota
[Star Tribune, Minneapolis]The number of new HIV infections in Minnesota rose 13 percent in 2009, the biggest increase in 17 years, signaling the return of a health scourge that public health experts had hoped was under control.
After holding steady for several years, the number of new HIV cases in the state rose from 326 in 2008 to 368 last year.
The largest cluster of new cases was among gay and bisexual men aged 15 to 24 -- 77 cases, compared to 42 in the previous year.
Read further....
Bishop Fellay says, aggrement not possible "humanly" speaking
There is much talk about standing up to the modernist juggernaut, let's pray that these talks produce divine results. Rorate Caeli, here, reports on the recent statement of Bishop Fellay regarding the talks, They are sobering, also comments on ars orandi.
There is more at DICI (English), here.
There is more at DICI (English), here.
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"...
...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.
Serbian Patriarch wants to meet to discuss end of Schism
In a development that may justly be called astounding, Patriarch Irinej Gavrilovic, the newly chosen head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, held a press conference on Jan. 28 to suggest that it was time the Pope and Orthodox leaders met to discuss ways of healing the longstanding schism with Rome.
He proposes that there be a grand summit in the year 2013 in the city of Nis, the birthplace of the Emperor Constantine, who issued the Edict of Milan in 313. The summit would also be a celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the edict that freed Christians from persecution for the practice of their religion in the Roman Empire. The patriarch envisions this meeting as a step toward full communion with the Holy See.
“This new path should be Christian and sincere with the desire of establishing one Church of Christ," he said.
The Vatican has responded favorably to the proposal. A pope has never visited Serbia, known as one of the Orthodox communions that has historically been most hostile to the Catholic Church.
http://www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/efnews020510.asp
He proposes that there be a grand summit in the year 2013 in the city of Nis, the birthplace of the Emperor Constantine, who issued the Edict of Milan in 313. The summit would also be a celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the edict that freed Christians from persecution for the practice of their religion in the Roman Empire. The patriarch envisions this meeting as a step toward full communion with the Holy See.
“This new path should be Christian and sincere with the desire of establishing one Church of Christ," he said.
The Vatican has responded favorably to the proposal. A pope has never visited Serbia, known as one of the Orthodox communions that has historically been most hostile to the Catholic Church.
http://www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/efnews020510.asp
Report: 94 Catholic sex abusers in Germany
The Associated Press
Saturday, February 6, 2010; 7:25 AM
BERLIN -- The German news magazine Der Spiegel reports that the number of sexual abuse cases in Germany by Catholic clerics and laymen is much higher than was previously thought.
According to a poll by Spiegel, answered by 27 Catholic dioceses in Germany, more than 94 clerics and laymen have been suspected of sexual abuse since 1995. Only 30 have been prosecuted, due to the statute of limitations.
Link to original...
Saturday, February 6, 2010; 7:25 AM
BERLIN -- The German news magazine Der Spiegel reports that the number of sexual abuse cases in Germany by Catholic clerics and laymen is much higher than was previously thought.
According to a poll by Spiegel, answered by 27 Catholic dioceses in Germany, more than 94 clerics and laymen have been suspected of sexual abuse since 1995. Only 30 have been prosecuted, due to the statute of limitations.
Link to original...
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Msgr William Smith is Dead,RIP
Heaven is getting crowded these days! [...]
When Father Venditti redesigned Priestly Pugilist for the new year, he created a new color entry for obituaries; but I had no idea I'd be using it so often right off the bat. First it was Father Neuhaus, then Patricarch Stephanos; now, Monsignor William B. Smith, STD, professor of moral theology at St. Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie), Yonkers, New York.
If you're not up on your theological journals, you probably wouldn't recognize his name—unless you caught him on the Charlie Rose show or the odd episode of "Good Morning America"—; but, for those involved in the defense of Catholic doctrine, particular the Gospel of Life, he was a guiding light.
In the classroom, Father Smith (he wasn't a monsignor then) never made you learn; from him, you always wanted more. You left his class with the same feeling you had leaving the table after a good meal: looking forward to the next one after due digestion. And while the information came fast and furious, it was presented so simply and straightforwardly that, by the end of the class, all the questions you had jotted down to be asked when the lecture was over were already answered. Nor was there any tickery or attempts to show how clever he was—that perennial curse that infects so many academicians—; he wanted you to understand, and, if you didn't, he counted it a personal failure on his part, not yours. "This will be on the exam," he would often say; and there it was on exam day, in exactly the same words as in the lecture. You couldn't help but learn.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2171121/posts
Sexual abuse in Germany Deeper than Originally Thought
So much for Europeans being less litigious than Americans, of course, as in many things deleterious, the Jesuits are leading the way.
Press TV
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Press TV
Less than a week after a German Jesuit leader apologized over a deepening sexual abuse scandal at a prestigious Catholic institution, new reports paint a far grimmer picture of the crisis.
German media reported on Saturday that nearly 100 employees of the catholic Church have been suspected of involvement is sexual abuse over the past 15 years.
The new accusation comes after victims, who suffered abuse as students in four Jesuit-run schools in the 1970s and 80s came forward.
More than 20 of the victims assaulted at a Berlin school were between 13 and 14. A former Catholic priest admitted in early January to sexually abusing pupils in the 1970s and 1980s at a Berlin school where he taught.
Link to original....
Boring White People are Stereotyped at Afrocentric Mass
They look so uncomfortable and ill-at-ease.
How often are we confronted by unattractive stereotypes of non-practicing Catholics cramming into the Gathering Space to sing Eagle's Wings and attempt to show how tolerant they are of other cultures and sexual preferences?
These negative stereotypes of boring white people who are overly sensitive to other cultures are overrepresented at these events, especially at Black History Masses. It's so hard to live down those stereotypes created about us in the media.
Link to original...
How often are we confronted by unattractive stereotypes of non-practicing Catholics cramming into the Gathering Space to sing Eagle's Wings and attempt to show how tolerant they are of other cultures and sexual preferences?
These negative stereotypes of boring white people who are overly sensitive to other cultures are overrepresented at these events, especially at Black History Masses. It's so hard to live down those stereotypes created about us in the media.
Afro-centric Mass celebrated for Black History Month
Created as a way of welcoming Catholics of every persuasion, the Afro-Centric Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church also has become a celebration of Black History Month.
Patsy Turner, who chairs the Multi-Cultural Committee at St. Mary's, said this is the 17th year for the Afro-Centric Mass, which will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. A short performance by the St. Augustine Gospel Choir will precede the service, shortly after 10 a.m.
Jackson originally had two Catholic parishes, St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Catholic Church, a mostly African-American parish, Turner said. The bishop of the Memphis diocese closed St. Joseph's in the 1960s and expected those congregants to attend St. Mary's, Turner said.
"But they didn't feel welcome," she said. "In the early '90s, I began to look around and noticed virtually none from St. Joseph's were at Mass. So we decided to bring them back in a welcoming way with an Afro-Centric Mass."
Link to original...
Archbishop Listeki Caught Lying to Judiciary Committee
Catholic Culture
February 05, 2010
The police chief of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is alleging that Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee spoke untruthfully to the state senate judiciary committee on January 12 about the Diocese of La Crosse’s abuse-reporting policy. The archbishop served as Bishop of La Crosse from 2004 to 2009.
Under the diocese’s abuse-reporting policy, which was reprinted in the diocesan newspaper in late January, victims are asked to report incidents of alleged abuse to the diocese, which in turn reports them to civil authorities. For over a year, Police Chief Jerry Matysik has asked the diocese to change its policy and urge victims to reports incidents directly to police.
On January 12, Archbishop Listecki told the state senate’s judiciary committee that the policy had been changed. “He either misunderstood the question or misled the committee,” said Matysik.
Read further...
Archbishop Listeki was active earlier in Jaunary telling the world that Archbishop Weakland was a "lightning rod", while going ahead and commemorating a vanity bronze of himself as a defender of Milwaukee's children.
February 05, 2010
The police chief of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is alleging that Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee spoke untruthfully to the state senate judiciary committee on January 12 about the Diocese of La Crosse’s abuse-reporting policy. The archbishop served as Bishop of La Crosse from 2004 to 2009.
Under the diocese’s abuse-reporting policy, which was reprinted in the diocesan newspaper in late January, victims are asked to report incidents of alleged abuse to the diocese, which in turn reports them to civil authorities. For over a year, Police Chief Jerry Matysik has asked the diocese to change its policy and urge victims to reports incidents directly to police.
On January 12, Archbishop Listecki told the state senate’s judiciary committee that the policy had been changed. “He either misunderstood the question or misled the committee,” said Matysik.
Read further...
Archbishop Listeki was active earlier in Jaunary telling the world that Archbishop Weakland was a "lightning rod", while going ahead and commemorating a vanity bronze of himself as a defender of Milwaukee's children.
USCCB's Emotional Appeal in its Own Defense
Despite support for the CCHD for allegedly conservative Bishops like Archbishop Nienstedt, there's a lot lining up against the USCCB and its usefulness as an organ of Catholic Truth. He's proven that he will take money from the liberal, socialist welfare Pohlad family
The USCCB calls the charges against it and the CCHD ridiculous, but what is the substance of their debate?
And Bishop Morin, who's lied before, calls the claims "ridiculous"
None of John Carr's sentimental affirmations address the charges brought against the systematic misapplication of Catholics' money going to support anti-Catholic causes. But we're aware of the sheer deception involved in the USCCB's flagrant support for these causes, covered by pewsitter, here.
Read further....
Read, USCCB doesn't get it, here, for a daily rundown of their problems.
The USCCB calls the charges against it and the CCHD ridiculous, but what is the substance of their debate?
"I'm concerned about these attacks on John Carr and I know they are false and I think they are even calumnious," said Bishop Murphy, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, by telephone to CNS. "I am taking this to be a very sad, sad commentary on the honesty of some people in these pressure groups."
And Bishop Morin, who's lied before, calls the claims "ridiculous"
"I'm concerned about these attacks on John Carr and I know they are false and I think they are even calumnious," said Bishop Murphy, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, by telephone to CNS. "I am taking this to be a very sad, sad commentary on the honesty of some people in these pressure groups."
None of John Carr's sentimental affirmations address the charges brought against the systematic misapplication of Catholics' money going to support anti-Catholic causes. But we're aware of the sheer deception involved in the USCCB's flagrant support for these causes, covered by pewsitter, here.
The names of the 21,581 petitioners supporting the CBS decision to air the Tim Tebow ad have been sent by both mail and email to CBS. The first 15,000 names were sent earlier this week and the rest were sent today. Additional names received over the weekend will also be forwarded to CBS to confirm their right decision on this matter. Congratulations to all who responded! This has undoubtedly had an impact upon CBS.
President Obama is encountering yet another major setback with fading hopes for confirmation of his very radical nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel.
Planned Parenthood's counter commercial to the Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad is glaringly missing mention of one crucial person. The unborn child does not exist for "pro-choicers", nor do the large numbers of women hurt from making this often coerced or and seriously uninformed and deadly "choice".
It is disturbing for us to report the offensive tactics being used in response to Reform CCHD Now's well researched and respectfully presented facts about CCHD funding of some pro-abortion and otherwise unworthy groups. It should be very concerning to all that some Church leaders seem compelled to unjustly malign the credibility and motivation of the whistle blowers and to misrepresent the concerns presented, rather than respond directly to the evidence of scandal. The similarity of these responses to the Canadian Development and Peace scandal revelations continue to amaze us.
Steve Jalsevac
LifeSiteNews.com
Read further....
Read, USCCB doesn't get it, here, for a daily rundown of their problems.
Chicoms Continue to Persecute Underground Church
Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A. — Underground Catholic Bishop Leon Yao Liang 姚良主教, the auxiliary bishop of Xiwanzi 西灣子 in Hebei 河北, died on December 30, 2009. He was 87. We have not yet learned of any funeral arrangements for his burial because the news of his death appears to have been tightly controlled by the Chinese authority..
Bishop Yao was born in 1923 in Gonghui Village 公會村, Zhangbei County 張北縣 . He was ordained a priest in 1946. After ordination, he was assigned to various churches as assistant pastor. He was restricted in the region of Xiwanzi for his priestly duty by the Communist regime in the early 1950's, earning his livelihood from vegetable farming and from selling fire wood. In 1956, he was forced to enter labor camp, and in 1958, was sentenced to life imprisonment. His "crime" was to be in communion with the Pope and with the universal Catholic Church. He was finally released from the prison in 1984 after 28 years in labor camps and prison. He was ordained a bishop on February 19, 2002 under a mandate from the Vatican.
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Bishop Yao was born in 1923 in Gonghui Village 公會村, Zhangbei County 張北縣 . He was ordained a priest in 1946. After ordination, he was assigned to various churches as assistant pastor. He was restricted in the region of Xiwanzi for his priestly duty by the Communist regime in the early 1950's, earning his livelihood from vegetable farming and from selling fire wood. In 1956, he was forced to enter labor camp, and in 1958, was sentenced to life imprisonment. His "crime" was to be in communion with the Pope and with the universal Catholic Church. He was finally released from the prison in 1984 after 28 years in labor camps and prison. He was ordained a bishop on February 19, 2002 under a mandate from the Vatican.
Read further...
Remembering Irving Kristol
The New Criterion
Over the past two years we have lost the two intellectual giants of modern conservatism: first, William F. Buckley in February 2008 and then Irving Kristol this past September. In between, other influential figures have fallen as well, including Jack Kemp, Richard John Neuhaus, Paul Weyrich, Robert Novak, and Samuel Huntington, to mention the most prominent of them. This is why hectoring declarations from some quarters about the “death of conservatism” right now cut rather too close to the bone.
Buckley and Kristol, in their ideas and personal styles, remind us of the variety and contradictions that give strength and broad appeal to American conservatism. Buckley was the father of modern conservatism, but Kristol its godfather. Buckley gave birth to a movement, but Kristol guided it into maturity and showed it how to win. Buckley was born to conservatism; Kristol fought through countless obstacles before arriving there. Buckley was aristocratic, Kristol relentlessly bourgeois. Buckley was Catholic, Kristol Jewish. Buckley went to Yale, Kristol to City College. Buckley was sui generis, Kristol was everyman. Buckley wrote books, many of them, and was even an accomplished novelist, while Kristol was an essayist of a high order. Buckley had a television program, a long-running one, Kristol a column in the Wall Street Journal. Buckley attacked the premises of modern liberalism while Kristol exposed its destructive consequences. They pursued a common goal, to keep America strong and vital, but sought to arrive there through widely divergent paths.
Both men founded magazines, created ancillary organizations to spread the conservative message, and recruited influential allies into the war of ideas. Buckley did it first in the 1950s when he founded National Review and Young Americans for Freedom, served as the first president of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and later added Firing Line to his stable of enterprises. Kristol followed suit in the 1960s and 1970s with The Public Interest, The National Interest, and the Institute for Educational Affairs. Kristol, of course, had also been active during the 1950s as the editor in London of Encounter magazine, although it was very far from being his own enterprise. Both men also had to raise money for their ventures, which brought them into contact with business leaders, potential investors, and philanthropic foundations.
Read further...
Over the past two years we have lost the two intellectual giants of modern conservatism: first, William F. Buckley in February 2008 and then Irving Kristol this past September. In between, other influential figures have fallen as well, including Jack Kemp, Richard John Neuhaus, Paul Weyrich, Robert Novak, and Samuel Huntington, to mention the most prominent of them. This is why hectoring declarations from some quarters about the “death of conservatism” right now cut rather too close to the bone.
Buckley and Kristol, in their ideas and personal styles, remind us of the variety and contradictions that give strength and broad appeal to American conservatism. Buckley was the father of modern conservatism, but Kristol its godfather. Buckley gave birth to a movement, but Kristol guided it into maturity and showed it how to win. Buckley was born to conservatism; Kristol fought through countless obstacles before arriving there. Buckley was aristocratic, Kristol relentlessly bourgeois. Buckley was Catholic, Kristol Jewish. Buckley went to Yale, Kristol to City College. Buckley was sui generis, Kristol was everyman. Buckley wrote books, many of them, and was even an accomplished novelist, while Kristol was an essayist of a high order. Buckley had a television program, a long-running one, Kristol a column in the Wall Street Journal. Buckley attacked the premises of modern liberalism while Kristol exposed its destructive consequences. They pursued a common goal, to keep America strong and vital, but sought to arrive there through widely divergent paths.
Both men founded magazines, created ancillary organizations to spread the conservative message, and recruited influential allies into the war of ideas. Buckley did it first in the 1950s when he founded National Review and Young Americans for Freedom, served as the first president of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and later added Firing Line to his stable of enterprises. Kristol followed suit in the 1960s and 1970s with The Public Interest, The National Interest, and the Institute for Educational Affairs. Kristol, of course, had also been active during the 1950s as the editor in London of Encounter magazine, although it was very far from being his own enterprise. Both men also had to raise money for their ventures, which brought them into contact with business leaders, potential investors, and philanthropic foundations.
Read further...
Cardinal Zen vs. Cardinal Bertone: The Struggle for China's Church
Chiesa
ROME, February 4, 2010 – Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiun, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and a passionate strategist of the Catholic Church in China, has never held back in his criticism of Vatican diplomacy, which he sees as too compliant toward the communist regime of Beijing, or of the Chinese priests and bishops he thinks are pushovers.
The most recent bone of contention – reported by www.chiesa in a previous article – was the matter of the coadjutor bishop of Baoding, Joseph An Shuxin, who was set free after ten years in prison and joined the government's Patriotic Association, an action that many interpreted as a surrender to the enemy.
In Cardinal Zen's view, the capitulation of the bishop of Baoding and of others like him has been wrongfully encouraged by Vatican authorities, according to whom the heroic season of the clandestine Church has ended, and its bishops and priests should all enter the official Church recognized by the regime.
Read further...
ROME, February 4, 2010 – Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiun, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and a passionate strategist of the Catholic Church in China, has never held back in his criticism of Vatican diplomacy, which he sees as too compliant toward the communist regime of Beijing, or of the Chinese priests and bishops he thinks are pushovers.
The most recent bone of contention – reported by www.chiesa in a previous article – was the matter of the coadjutor bishop of Baoding, Joseph An Shuxin, who was set free after ten years in prison and joined the government's Patriotic Association, an action that many interpreted as a surrender to the enemy.
In Cardinal Zen's view, the capitulation of the bishop of Baoding and of others like him has been wrongfully encouraged by Vatican authorities, according to whom the heroic season of the clandestine Church has ended, and its bishops and priests should all enter the official Church recognized by the regime.
Read further...
Chief Rabbi backs Pope’s condemnation of equality laws
Chief Rabbi backs Pope’s condemnation of equality laws
Alongside this, what we're seeing is increasing friendliness on the part of Israeli religious leaders, and journals to the Papacy, is a story about one German Catholic's friendship with a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz, here.
Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has said Pope Benedict XVI’s attack on the Government’s equality legislation should be taken seriously.
Writing in The Times on Wednesday, Mr Sacks said: “We may not agree with the Vatican line on homosexuality. But the State is trampling on our rights as individuals.”
The Pope told bishops from England and Wales that the Government’s equality legislation had served to “impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs”.
Alongside this, what we're seeing is increasing friendliness on the part of Israeli religious leaders, and journals to the Papacy, is a story about one German Catholic's friendship with a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz, here.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Division Within Hierarchy in Ireland
PADDY AGNEW in Rome
AS THE countdown begins to the forthcoming Vatican meeting between Pope Benedict, senior Curia figures and the Irish bishops, Vatican insiders have suggested the Holy See has been alarmed by recent signs of internecine strife within the Irish hierarchy.Many commentators believe the Holy See intends the meeting, scheduled for February 15th and 16th, to serve as a starting point around which the Irish Catholic Church can unify as it strives to achieve closure on the pain inflicted, above all on the victims but also on the church, by Ireland's prolonged clerical child abuse crisis.In such a context, the Holy See has been confused and alarmed by apparent factional in-fighting among the hierarchy.Reports of former Dublin auxiliary bishop Dermot O'Mahony criticising Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin for failing to support the priests in his archdiocese in the wake of the Murphy report have caused concern.Likewise, an article in today's Irish Catholic reporting that a number of Dublin priests feel Archbishop Martin showed a lack of compassion towards the auxiliary bishops named in the Murphy report; that he left them "hung out to dry", will only add to the Holy See's sense of concern.Senior Curia figures are likely to be unimpressed by the fact that such tensions in the Irish church have found very public expression.The Holy See and the Italian Catholic Church are rife with bitter internal feuds. But these tend to flow along underground with churchmen rarely criticising one another in public debate. Full frontal attacks are not a constituent part of Holy See DNA.Many commentators had originally anticipated that when the Irish bishops arrive in Rome for their meeting with the pope, they would be presented with a final copy of his forthcoming "pastoral letter" to the Irish faithful.Given the obvious climate of dissension within the hierarchy, it is possible that the pope may wait until he has met and listened to the Irish bishops before issuing the definitive version of this unprecedented message.When the pope last met with the Irish bishops at their Ad Limina visit in 2006, he called on them to "deal with the problem in an efficient manner", adding: "It is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take all possible measures so that this can never happen again in the future, to guarantee that the principles of justice are fully respected and, above all, to heal the victims and all those who have been hurt by these abnormal crimes."At their Vatican meetings, the pontiff is likely to suggest to the bishops that, from the Holy See's viewpoint, the Murphy report represents an important stage in carrying out his Ad Limina recommendations. In that context, senior Curia figures are likely to express their concern at the apparent unwillingness of some members of the Irish hierarchy to accept the overall findings of the Murphy report
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0205/1224263813963.html
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Catholic teaching is not a list of 'no's,' pope tells Scottish bishops
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church has a positive vision of human life, marriage and family which must not be presented as a list of things the church opposes, Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops of Scotland.
The church's "positive and inspiring vision of human life, the beauty of marriage and the joy of parenthood" are "rooted in God's infinite, transforming and ennobling love for all of us, which opens our eyes to recognize and love his image in our neighbor," the pope said.
"Be sure to present this teaching in such a way that it is recognized for the message of hope that it is," he told the bishops Feb. 5 as they were finishing their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses.
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The church's "positive and inspiring vision of human life, the beauty of marriage and the joy of parenthood" are "rooted in God's infinite, transforming and ennobling love for all of us, which opens our eyes to recognize and love his image in our neighbor," the pope said.
"Be sure to present this teaching in such a way that it is recognized for the message of hope that it is," he told the bishops Feb. 5 as they were finishing their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses.
Read further...
Augusto Del Noce, RIP
Twenty years ago, on 30 December 1989, Augusto Del Noce, one of the greatest Italian post-war intellectuals, and a regular contributor to 30Days, died in Rome. The anniversary, to be followed by that in 2010, the centenary of his birth, offers an opportunity to reflect on the philosopher’s conceptual career.
Link to original...
Link to original...
Ringo has found God
It's currently unclear what deonomination or religion.
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Ringo Starr, the Beatles’ drummer, claimed that he has found God. He said thatafter taking a long and winding road to enlightenment, he finally found God.
The reformed rock legend, who turns 70 in July, admitted he lost his way when he was young, referring to the time when he suffered alcohol and cocaine problems in the late 1970s.
Ever since he became a teetotaller and had quit his 60-a-day cigarette habit, he turned to religious practices. For him, religion now plays an important role in his life.
Read further...
Serbian Patriarch Advocates Dialogue with Rome
By JOVANA GEC
The Associated Press
Thursday, January 28, 2010; 8:39 AM
The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Thursday urged dialogue to overcome long-standing divisions with Roman Catholics.
Patriarch Irinej said that a 2013 anniversary important to Christians would be a “good opportunity … to meet and talk.”
He added that “with God’s help this (dialogue) would continue to overcome what had happened in history and take a new, Christian road.”
Link to eirenikon...
h/t youngfogey at conservative blog for peace, here....
Archbishop’s Statement On Catholic School Education
Archbishop’s Statement On Catholic School Education,
Archbishop Wilton Gregory is one of the worst of the USCCBs spokesmen when it comes to religious indifferentism. He supported the revision of the USCCB statement on the Jews and the Old Covenant, saying that it is still salvific.
His address here about Catholic schools is interesting for one reason, he doesn't make a single mention of the Catholic Faith.
In view of this statement, we find it hard to be comforted, although he's not exactly speaking to Catholics either, all the more reason to be emphatic about the Catholic Faith. Ultimately, given the current state of Catholic education in America, it's easy to see his words as so much hot air.
Archbishop Wilton Gregory is one of the worst of the USCCBs spokesmen when it comes to religious indifferentism. He supported the revision of the USCCB statement on the Jews and the Old Covenant, saying that it is still salvific.
His address here about Catholic schools is interesting for one reason, he doesn't make a single mention of the Catholic Faith.
Catholic schools remain at the heart of the church. Within our schools, the primary focus must remain an unyielding commitment to strong Catholic identity and sound moral teaching. This is the mission of our Catholic schools and therefore absolutely central to their existence. As the Archbishop, I am proud that the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Atlanta continue to provide strong faith formation for our youth.
In view of this statement, we find it hard to be comforted, although he's not exactly speaking to Catholics either, all the more reason to be emphatic about the Catholic Faith. Ultimately, given the current state of Catholic education in America, it's easy to see his words as so much hot air.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
WIRE: Backdoor taxes to hit middle class...
« on: Today at 08:34:58 AM »
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100201/bs_nm/us_budget_backdoortaxes
By Terri Cullen Terri Cullen – Mon Feb 1, 4:09 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.
In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.
While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.
The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.
If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.
Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.
Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.
Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year's levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy -- the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.
Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:
* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;
* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;
* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;
* Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;
* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.
h/t: Michael Savage
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100201/bs_nm/us_budget_backdoortaxes
By Terri Cullen Terri Cullen – Mon Feb 1, 4:09 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.
In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.
While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.
The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.
If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.
Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.
Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.
Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year's levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy -- the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.
Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:
* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;
* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;
* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;
* Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;
* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.
h/t: Michael Savage
Vatican official says religious orders are in modern 'crisis'
No solutions yet, but at least they are admitting that there's a problem.
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
Link to original...
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said religious orders today are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices.
Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said the problems go deeper than the drastic drop in the numbers of religious men and women.
"The crisis experienced by certain religious communities, especially in Western Europe and North America, reflects the more profound crisis of European and American society. All this has dried up the sources that for centuries have nourished consecrated and missionary life in the church," Cardinal Rode said in a talk delivered Feb. 3 in Naples, Italy.
"The secularized culture has penetrated into the minds and hearts of some consecrated persons and some communities, where it is seen as an opening to modernity and a way of approaching the contemporary world," he said.
Link to original...
Political programs cannot achieve justice and equality, Pope says in Lenten message
In his message for Lent, Pope Benedict XVI cautions against a purely secular approach to achieving justice in society.
While Jesus "surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine," the Holy Father writes, nevertheless "distributive justice does not render to the human being the totality of his due." Man seeks for something much more-- for salvation-- which can only come through Christ and his Church.
The Pope's annual message takes its title from St. Paul's letter to the Romans: "The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ." Pope Benedict begins with some reflections on the meaning of the word "justice." He notes that the most common definition involves giving every person his due. But a problem arises immediately, he notes: "What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law."
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While Jesus "surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine," the Holy Father writes, nevertheless "distributive justice does not render to the human being the totality of his due." Man seeks for something much more-- for salvation-- which can only come through Christ and his Church.
The Pope's annual message takes its title from St. Paul's letter to the Romans: "The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ." Pope Benedict begins with some reflections on the meaning of the word "justice." He notes that the most common definition involves giving every person his due. But a problem arises immediately, he notes: "What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law."
Read further...
Obama Faith Advisor Knocks Pope, Ignites Catholic Fury
http://www.thechurchreport.com/index.cfm?objectID=20509
Washington D.C- Harry Knox, a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has stood by his past comment that Pope Benedict XVI is “hurting people in the name of Jesus.” And has unleashed a widespread call for his resignation or termination.
Washington D.C- Harry Knox, a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has stood by his past comment that Pope Benedict XVI is “hurting people in the name of Jesus.” And has unleashed a widespread call for his resignation or termination.
Catholic Students More likely to Oppose Church teaching.
The title is misleading, actually, most Catholic students do stray from the Church when it comes to the Church's teaching.
Study: Catholics at Catholic colleges less likely to stray from church
By Chaz Muth
Catholic News Service
Link to original...
Study: Catholics at Catholic colleges less likely to stray from church
By Chaz Muth
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A new study finds Catholic students at Catholic colleges are less likely than Catholics attending public colleges to move away from the church's teachings on a variety of issues.
However, on the issue of same-sex marriage in particular, newly released research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate found that many Catholic students at Catholic and public colleges disagree with church teaching.
CARA, which is based at Georgetown University, presented the results of its "Catholicism on Campus" study Jan. 31, during the annual meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, held in Washington.
The CARA report relied on national surveys of the attitudes of 14,527 students at 148 U.S. colleges and universities, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.
The data was collected from students when they were freshmen in 2004 and again when they were juniors in 2007.
"We measure whether students, regardless of their incoming attitudes and behavior, move closer, stay the same, or move further away from the church while in college," the study said.
CARA classified its research into two groups. The first covered beliefs and attitudes about social and political issues, including abortion, same-sex marriage, the death penalty and reducing suffering around the world. The second focused on religious behavior, such as frequency of attendance at religious services, prayer, reading of religious texts and publications.
On pro-life issues, the results indicated a "mixed pattern," it said. A majority of Catholic students leave college disagreeing that abortion should be legal but they number fewer than those who entered with that opinion, it said. Overall 56 percent said they disagreed "strongly" or "somewhat" that "abortion should be legal."
Regarding same-sex marriage, the study said there is no other issue on which Catholic students -- regardless of where they attended school -- moved further away from the church. Only one in three Catholics on Catholic campuses disagreed "somewhat or "strongly" that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Catholics on non-Catholic campuses were slightly less likely to disagree.
"This issue more than any other may be strongly affected by the millennial generation's post-materialist view regarding marriage and sexuality," said the study's authors, Mark Gray and Melissa Cidade.
They said their analysis showed that while Catholic students at Catholic colleges may move away from the church on some issues, they move closer to the church on others.
Like Catholic students at most public colleges, they moved toward agreeing with the church's position on the need to reduce the number of large and small weapons and its view that federal military spending should not be increased.
On the death penalty, 49 percent of Catholic students on Catholic campuses agreed "strongly" or "somewhat" with the church's opposition to the death penalty and were more likely than Catholic students at public colleges to agree with the church's social justice teaching on the need to reduce suffering in the world and "improve the human condition."
The study found that as Catholic students at Catholic colleges advance in their education, they often "remain profoundly connected to their faith."
In their junior year, 87 percent of them said following religious teachings in everyday life was "somewhat important" to them, and 86 percent said their "religiousness" did not become "weaker" in college.
But the study also found that Mass attendance declined during the college years among almost a third of Catholics at Catholic colleges, but at non-Catholic colleges, the percentage jumped to nearly 50 percent.
"Disturbing as these figures are, they should not be a surprise and should not be interpreted as a specific outcome of students' attendance at a Catholic college or university," said Richard A. Yanikoski, president of the Washington-based ACCU.
Yanikoski said the decline in Mass attendance and religious identity is often caused by weakened family life and diminished religious activity among Catholic families, ineffective catechesis in parishes, understaffed faith formation programs for youths, a sexually provocative culture, and reaction to the sex abuse scandal.
"Catholic campuses serving a broad cross-section of students can only do so much to redress such a collection of antithetical influences," he said. "We know full well that our own capacity in some ways is weaker now than it was when priests and vowed religious were more numerous on our campuses."
Though this study does not dispute many of the findings from a 2003 study commissioned by the Cardinal Newman Society -- a Manassas, Va.-based Catholic college watchdog group -- about the attitudes Catholic college students hold about abortion and same-sex marriage, it does suggest they are less likely to move away from the church than students attending non-Catholic institutions.
Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, said in a Feb. 2 statement that if ACCU officials think "it is a happy fact that Catholics lose their faith somewhat slower at Catholic colleges than elsewhere, then they fail to appreciate the concerns of faithful Catholic families."
Link to original...
Death to the USCCB!
USCCB Scandal Deepens, U.S. Bishops Remain Silent
The scandal that has engulfed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) shows no sign in abating.
Today we learn even more incriminating facts that continue to tarnish the image of the USCCB.
In the latest RealCatholicTV.com program Michael Voris explains the deep entanglement of Democratic Party and anti-Catholic operatives that hold high positions within the USCCB.
Here's the recent response by the USCCB representatives in the usual state of denial.
Read further...
The scandal that has engulfed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) shows no sign in abating.
Today we learn even more incriminating facts that continue to tarnish the image of the USCCB.
In the latest RealCatholicTV.com program Michael Voris explains the deep entanglement of Democratic Party and anti-Catholic operatives that hold high positions within the USCCB.
Here's the recent response by the USCCB representatives in the usual state of denial.
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishops who work closely with John Carr, who oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, say new claims against him and the agency are false and "totally ridiculous."
Bishops William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss., spoke with Catholic News Service Feb. 3 about recent allegations of "a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil" by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops because of Carr's past involvement with the Center for Community Change.
"I'm concerned about these attacks on John Carr and I know they are false and I think they are even calumnious," said Bishop Murphy, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, by telephone to CNS. "I am taking this to be a very sad, sad commentary on the honesty of some people in these pressure groups."
Read further...
Nobel prize-winning author: "England is a cesspit. England is the breeding ground of fundamentalist Muslims."
A NOBEL prize-winning author has accused England of being a "cesspit" that nurtures Islamist terrorism, in a damning indictment of Labour's failed multicultural experiment.
Wole Soyinka, the first African winner of the literature prize, claimed the Nigerian student who tried to blow up a jet over Detroit on Christmas Day, was radicalised during his time at University College London. The criticism comes amid a growing row between Nigeria, Britain and Yemen about where Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab turned to violent extremism.
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Benedict Groeschel of EWTN is clueless about Saul Alinsky
Not only did Father Groeschel host a Paulist on his show, which is a strategic mistake of colossal proportions in itself, but he also was clueless when Saul Alinksy, who wrote a Marxist guide to "community organizing" dedicated to Satan, was mentioned. Most people are familiar with the Paulists themselves and their present reputation for being big on challenging church teaching and welcoming the spirit of the world. The founder of the Paulists, Isaak Hecker himself, was mentioned by name in Leo XIII's encyclical Testem Benevolentiae in the most unfavorable terms.
Father Groeschel, no stranger to hippiedom himself had no idea who Alinsky was, that's pretty surprising in itself, almost as surprising as having consistent orthodox shows on EWTN, a network gone wrong that don't promote crypto-marxism in one way or another... In any event, the Paulist gave a defense of Alinsky that he was a good friend of Jaques Maritain, which surprised us again, because unlike the author of the romancatholic blog, we don't regard Maritain very highly at all and offering him up as an endorsement of Alinsky doesn't bode well for either men, considering what they in fact were in the end. Mauritain in addition to having a strange definition of being, doesn't believe in the existence of Hell according to Romano Amerio, author of the monumental Iota Unum on page 697 and 698. (h/t to RB)
h/t: Barb Kralis
Here's the story by a blogger who saw the show... romancatholic.blog...
Read Hillary Clinton's Senior Thesis about Saul Alinksy, here...
Father Groeschel, no stranger to hippiedom himself had no idea who Alinsky was, that's pretty surprising in itself, almost as surprising as having consistent orthodox shows on EWTN, a network gone wrong that don't promote crypto-marxism in one way or another... In any event, the Paulist gave a defense of Alinsky that he was a good friend of Jaques Maritain, which surprised us again, because unlike the author of the romancatholic blog, we don't regard Maritain very highly at all and offering him up as an endorsement of Alinsky doesn't bode well for either men, considering what they in fact were in the end. Mauritain in addition to having a strange definition of being, doesn't believe in the existence of Hell according to Romano Amerio, author of the monumental Iota Unum on page 697 and 698. (h/t to RB)
h/t: Barb Kralis
Here's the story by a blogger who saw the show... romancatholic.blog...
Read Hillary Clinton's Senior Thesis about Saul Alinksy, here...
Cardinal Schönborn comes to D.C. Christianity "Dying in Europe"
You heard earlier how Cardinal Schonborn has NCR fooled, and his Medjugorje deception is all over town. Now the Scandal Cardinal is in D.C. fooling other people, talking about "Dying in Europe" to reestablish his street cred as a "conservative" prelate.
Cardinal Schonborn comes to D.C. Christianity "Dying in Europe" In Medjugorje the Solution?
Cardinal Schonborn comes to D.C. Christianity "Dying in Europe" In Medjugorje the Solution?
Sitting in the Great Room A of the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. forty minutes before Cardinal Schnborn's much anticipated lecture, two young college women, almost looking over their shoulders, were deeply engaged in a hushed conversation of the still touchy subject of Medjugorje. The conversation ended quickly as Cardinal Schonborn, accompanied by a Dean of Catholic University and the Austrian Ambassador to the United States entered the room, but make no mistake, the presence of Medjugorje continued to loom large.
After a brief and pleasant introduction, Cardinal Schonborn, standing behind a modest podium, looked out at the standing room only crowd and jokingly thanked those without seats for their early standing ovation. It was a nice, light moment for the young Cardinal, whose demeanor and handsome looks remind some of of the great John Paul II.
Though Cardinal Schonborn's delivery is engaging and sprinkled with self-deprecating humor the subject of today's lecture was anything but sunny. Cardinal Schonborn came to Washington D.C. to talk about the health and vibrancy of Christianity and Catholicism in Europe. After hearing the speech, one would have to conclude that the prognosis for Christianity's growth, particularly in Europe, faces many obstacles. His lecture, titled the "The Identity of Christianity - Alien Presence or Foundation of the West", presented a stark assessment of Christian faith in Europe and suggested that the revitalization of faith among its citizens would be arduous and uncertain.
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