Translators working on pope's new book; publication still months away
By Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has handed his editors the final draft of the second volume of his book, "Jesus of Nazareth," but it will be months before the work is translated from German and published, the Vatican said May 10.
"This second volume is dedicated to the Passion and the Resurrection, and takes up where the first volume ended," the Vatican press office said in a statement.
The first volume of the work was published in the spring of 2007 and covered Jesus' life from his baptism to his transfiguration. In the United States, the English translation was published by Doubleday.
Read further...
Monday, May 10, 2010
Portuguese Cardinal Criticizes Cardinal Schönborn
A Vatican Stroll for the Vienese Cardinal
If the Archbishop of Vienna didn't understand, why didn't he call? The answer: Because he was already then an opportunist.
[kreuz.net] The Portuguese Emeritus Cardinal José Saraiva Martins (78) has criticized the Vienese Natter Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.
At the end of March, Cardinal Schönborn made known to 'Österreichischen Rundfunk', that Cardinal Angelo Sodano had hindered an exploratory commission of the then Cardinal of Vienna, Hans-Hermann Groër († 2003).
The last one responsible for the events then was in any event, Pope John Paul II († 2005).
Cardinal Sodano was the Secretary of State and second in charge at the Vatican. He is the present ean of the College of Cardinals.
On the end of April Cardinal, Schönborn broke a lance also for Unnatural Love.
The public attack of the Vienese Prelate against the Dean of the College of Cardinals has caused a gigantic uproar in Italy.
Really, now the Romans have had their fill of the Defamation and Homo-Cardinal.
Today, José Cardinal Saraiva Martins commented on these attacks for the famous Italian website, 'pontifex.roma.it'.
Cardinal Martins is the former Prefect of the Congregation for Canonization.
On the question, if he were acquainted with Cardinal Schönborn's comments, he said:
"Look, everyone is free to say what he wants and must bear the responsibility for that. It isn't up to me to condemn a brother Bishop."
It was another thing entirely, to offer his own thoughts for consideration:
"I personally would have called my colleague and asked for a clarification, and offered fraternal correction and worked the things out with him.
"These problems can't be solved by the media. That is the least suitable and convincing method to go about a subject."
Otherwise one gives "our enemies" the impression of a Church, which is consumed by polemics, what allegedly "not in the least" is the case.
Cardinal Martins won't speak of his colleague in terms of "good will", but moreover, his comments have caused the Church no good service:
"In order to make the situation clear: I would not have done that and apologize for the matter."
The emeritus Cardinal alluded to the polemics surrounding the pedophilia in terms of abatement:
"Now the danger exists, that the fire will burn more intensively and widely than just an attack on a former Secretary of State and Dean of the College of Cardinals."
Cardinal Martins posted the question: "If the Archbishop of Vienna didn't understand, why didn't he call?" That is something you'd have to ask Cardinal Schönborn himself.
Indeed: "Publicly discrediting the representative of the College of Cardinals is not done."
The truth should have been spoken, "it must be formulated with love."
"I personally would not have made these comments, and I consider them to be an error."
If the Archbishop of Vienna didn't understand, why didn't he call? The answer: Because he was already then an opportunist.
[kreuz.net] The Portuguese Emeritus Cardinal José Saraiva Martins (78) has criticized the Vienese Natter Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.
At the end of March, Cardinal Schönborn made known to 'Österreichischen Rundfunk', that Cardinal Angelo Sodano had hindered an exploratory commission of the then Cardinal of Vienna, Hans-Hermann Groër († 2003).
The last one responsible for the events then was in any event, Pope John Paul II († 2005).
Cardinal Sodano was the Secretary of State and second in charge at the Vatican. He is the present ean of the College of Cardinals.
On the end of April Cardinal, Schönborn broke a lance also for Unnatural Love.
The public attack of the Vienese Prelate against the Dean of the College of Cardinals has caused a gigantic uproar in Italy.
Really, now the Romans have had their fill of the Defamation and Homo-Cardinal.
Today, José Cardinal Saraiva Martins commented on these attacks for the famous Italian website, 'pontifex.roma.it'.
Cardinal Martins is the former Prefect of the Congregation for Canonization.
On the question, if he were acquainted with Cardinal Schönborn's comments, he said:
"Look, everyone is free to say what he wants and must bear the responsibility for that. It isn't up to me to condemn a brother Bishop."
It was another thing entirely, to offer his own thoughts for consideration:
"I personally would have called my colleague and asked for a clarification, and offered fraternal correction and worked the things out with him.
"These problems can't be solved by the media. That is the least suitable and convincing method to go about a subject."
Otherwise one gives "our enemies" the impression of a Church, which is consumed by polemics, what allegedly "not in the least" is the case.
Cardinal Martins won't speak of his colleague in terms of "good will", but moreover, his comments have caused the Church no good service:
"In order to make the situation clear: I would not have done that and apologize for the matter."
The emeritus Cardinal alluded to the polemics surrounding the pedophilia in terms of abatement:
"Now the danger exists, that the fire will burn more intensively and widely than just an attack on a former Secretary of State and Dean of the College of Cardinals."
Cardinal Martins posted the question: "If the Archbishop of Vienna didn't understand, why didn't he call?" That is something you'd have to ask Cardinal Schönborn himself.
Indeed: "Publicly discrediting the representative of the College of Cardinals is not done."
The truth should have been spoken, "it must be formulated with love."
"I personally would not have made these comments, and I consider them to be an error."
We Have a Pope Who's wlling to take the Devil Head On
Pope Benedict wants to Increase the Presence of the Exorcist in the Church
Who're you going to call when you have ghosts, or other paranormal phenomena? The world-wide demand for exorcists is up, here, here, here as is an increasing desire for the trappings of traditional religion, like the Immemorial Mass of All Ages, are expressed by the faithful, and quite understandably, those who are not Catholic at all.
Is it any wonder that Germany has yielded such a bad crop of Bishops, since the country hasn't had any exorcists in 30 years?
Linked with a desire for deeper and more powerful religiosity, comes a dark threat which can only be met with spiritual weapons wielded by those men God has sent to us as shepherds.
Read further, here...
Amorth Comments Further on Satanism Ring, NOR, here...
Who're you going to call when you have ghosts, or other paranormal phenomena? The world-wide demand for exorcists is up, here, here, here as is an increasing desire for the trappings of traditional religion, like the Immemorial Mass of All Ages, are expressed by the faithful, and quite understandably, those who are not Catholic at all.
Is it any wonder that Germany has yielded such a bad crop of Bishops, since the country hasn't had any exorcists in 30 years?
Linked with a desire for deeper and more powerful religiosity, comes a dark threat which can only be met with spiritual weapons wielded by those men God has sent to us as shepherds.
Father Gabriele Amorth said people who are possessed by Satan vomit shards of glass and pieces of iron. He added that the assault on Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve by a mentally unstable woman and the sex abuse scandals which have engulfed the Church in the US, Ireland, Germany and other countries, were proof that the Anti-Christ was waging a war against the Holy See."The Devil resides in the Vatican and you can see the consequences," said Father Amorth, 85, who has been the Holy See's chief exorcist for 25 years.
He can remain hidden, or speak in different languages, or even appear to be sympathetic. At times he makes fun of me. But I'm a man who is happy in his work." While there was "resistance and mistrust" towards the concept of exorcism among some Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI has no such doubts, Father Amorth said. "His Holiness believes wholeheartedly in the practice of exorcism. He has encouraged and praised our work," he added. The evil influence of Satan was evident in the highest ranks of the Catholic hierarchy, with "cardinals who do not believe in Jesus and bishops who are linked to the demon," Father Amorth said.
Read further, here...
Amorth Comments Further on Satanism Ring, NOR, here...
Jesuit Prep School teacher Accused of Abuse
The Jesuits in the USA are getting hit hard in the last few days. This has been an issue since March and was picked up by Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit. Father Larry Reuter was president of the school from 1975-2000, the prestigious Jesuit Preparatory School, Loyola Academy, has been credibly accused by two different men at this point. It's also the alma mater of comedian Bill Murray.
Perhaps he will tell us about the notorious Chicago Boy's Club, about which Father Greeley is well-informed about the members.
Perhaps he will tell us about the notorious Chicago Boy's Club, about which Father Greeley is well-informed about the members.
The Catholic Church will not "easily surrender its long-established role in education."
THE CATHOLIC Church will not “easily surrender its long-established role in education”, retired Church of Ireland Archdeacon of Dublin Gordon Linney has said.
And while he agreed reform in education was needed, it should not be “on terms dictated by a secular agenda represented to be inclusive when it is not”.
He accused the Department of Education of taking “revenge” on his church by cutting back on funding for Protestant schools and contrasted this with the generous 2002 indemnity deal the department concluded with 18 Catholic religious congregations which ran institutions for children investigated by the Ryan commission.
Link to original...
And while he agreed reform in education was needed, it should not be “on terms dictated by a secular agenda represented to be inclusive when it is not”.
He accused the Department of Education of taking “revenge” on his church by cutting back on funding for Protestant schools and contrasted this with the generous 2002 indemnity deal the department concluded with 18 Catholic religious congregations which ran institutions for children investigated by the Ryan commission.
Link to original...
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Bishops Approved by China and Rome are Ordained.
The state-backed church has begun to ordain Vatican-approved bishops after a hiatus of more than two years, signalling that long-strained relations between the two sides are on the mend, here.
Elderly Priest Murdered in Venezuela
An elderly Catholic priest was found dead at home in a small eastern Venezuelan town Thursday morning. While some reports claim the priest was a victim of a robbery, authorities are still investigating the crime, reports Catholic News Agency.
Fr. Esteban Woods, a native of Vancouver, Washington had served the Catholic Church in the state of Bolivar, Venezuela for nearly half his life.
Local media reports that parishioners first knew something was wrong when the elderly priest didn’t go out for his 5 a .m. jog. When he wasn't available to open the doors of the church that morning, locals went to his house where they found his body. The missionary priest had been gagged and stabbed multiple times.
Read further ...
Fr. Esteban Woods, a native of Vancouver, Washington had served the Catholic Church in the state of Bolivar, Venezuela for nearly half his life.
Local media reports that parishioners first knew something was wrong when the elderly priest didn’t go out for his 5 a .m. jog. When he wasn't available to open the doors of the church that morning, locals went to his house where they found his body. The missionary priest had been gagged and stabbed multiple times.
Read further ...
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Archbishop of Bamberg demands Married Priests
The old liberal Archbishop of Bamberg calls himself a "Catholic 68er" and sells his stale merchandise to an anti-Church magazine.
[kreuz.net, Bamberg] Archbishop Ludwig Schick (60) of Bamberg has alignned himself with a grateful scandal magazine, 'Spiegel' against priestly celibacy:
"I would be favorable, if one were to rethink it" - said the Archbishop in a sales jingle for 'Spiegel Online'.
Msgr Schick desires celibacy only for Bishops, Religious and - cite - "Cathedral Vicars".
Because of the media hunt to use rare homosexual abuses, the Archbishop is promoting nebulous and in total, "more open" Church.
This means that there will be more responsibility for the laity: "They belong to and be involved with and drawn from office holders. And they must be more involved in collaborating with committees in decision making."
Already for years ecclesiastical advisers and decision organs have virtually guaranteed the loss of authority making the hierarchy ineffective.
It [the ineffective hierarchy?] must, "happen in the episcopal, and surely on the world-wide level."
Additionally, "women [should] collaborate more in the Church, and also in the Pastoral as community consultants and pastoral consultants -- and especially in our Directorial bodies."
In terms of selling his stale goods on 'Spiegel Online' he describes the Old Liberal Archbishop himself as a "Catholic 68er". [another boomer]
To his "conservative" brother bishops he proposes a change of course:
"There have even been backward steps in the Church. It demonstrates rigidity and encrustations, fear of the evil world."
Old liberals love to use these formulations, in order to legitimate their lockstep with the Powers hostile to the Church.
Both wings of the Church - Neo-Conservative and Old Liberal -- should get together and have talks -- proposed the magnanimous Archbishop.
In the last years there has been too little dialogue. That, "we must take it up again".
Link to original....
He was also advocating the lengthening of the statute of limmitations in March, here.
[kreuz.net, Bamberg] Archbishop Ludwig Schick (60) of Bamberg has alignned himself with a grateful scandal magazine, 'Spiegel' against priestly celibacy:
"I would be favorable, if one were to rethink it" - said the Archbishop in a sales jingle for 'Spiegel Online'.
Msgr Schick desires celibacy only for Bishops, Religious and - cite - "Cathedral Vicars".
Because of the media hunt to use rare homosexual abuses, the Archbishop is promoting nebulous and in total, "more open" Church.
This means that there will be more responsibility for the laity: "They belong to and be involved with and drawn from office holders. And they must be more involved in collaborating with committees in decision making."
Already for years ecclesiastical advisers and decision organs have virtually guaranteed the loss of authority making the hierarchy ineffective.
It [the ineffective hierarchy?] must, "happen in the episcopal, and surely on the world-wide level."
Additionally, "women [should] collaborate more in the Church, and also in the Pastoral as community consultants and pastoral consultants -- and especially in our Directorial bodies."
In terms of selling his stale goods on 'Spiegel Online' he describes the Old Liberal Archbishop himself as a "Catholic 68er". [another boomer]
To his "conservative" brother bishops he proposes a change of course:
"There have even been backward steps in the Church. It demonstrates rigidity and encrustations, fear of the evil world."
Old liberals love to use these formulations, in order to legitimate their lockstep with the Powers hostile to the Church.
Both wings of the Church - Neo-Conservative and Old Liberal -- should get together and have talks -- proposed the magnanimous Archbishop.
In the last years there has been too little dialogue. That, "we must take it up again".
Link to original....
He was also advocating the lengthening of the statute of limmitations in March, here.
Papal Nuncio plays the Bully outside the Washington Nunciature
The proud Levite, allegedly diplomatic and a Nuncio, treads the jaunty streets of D.C., sans soutane, in a pricey burberry scarf and cane, hurling insults at an eccentric and frail old man who pickets the Washington Nunciature asking for the redress of a crime committed against him when he was 15. This was reported by Huffington Press. Yes, Archbishop Sambi has a well-documented reputation for aiding and abetting the enemies of the Church and he's doing a great job for them here, and like a classic bully, he acts with impunity.
This enjoyable D.C. assignment wasn't Archbishop Sambi's only assignment, he's been all over the world, working as a Vatican diplomat; helping the bad guys mostly. Back in that time when ++Sambi was assigned to the UK, Austen Ivereigh could still be counted upon to help smooth things over in an impending abuse imbroglio against his master, Cardinal Cormac-McCarthy. The Archbishop Nuncio, Sambi, was going to parties and helping the process along, especially in trying to conceal the fact that other UK Bishops, like Hollis, were not doing their jobs and working to undermine or otherwise denigrate Catholic teaching in the UK via Tablet with a little help from the ever-helpful BBC; those were the days. One unnamed source speculated that the Archbishop's knowledge of England was limmited to watching Monty Python.
There's a discussion of this Nuncio in this New Oxford Review article, Bishops, Nuncios & Delators. It is a fascinating article and descibes events and back ground, beginning with Pro-homosexual ++McCarrick's welcoming of the new Nuncio to the USA. We get a picture which fits the malicious man who come to his D.C. office and lashes out at a helpless eccentric as he goes to work.
Fatima debate: Some say 'third secret' is still secret
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ten years after the Vatican divulged one of the church's best-kept secrets -- the third part of the message of Fatima -- a small band of skeptics and critics are still questioning the official explanation.
More than 100 of them gathered at a hotel not far from the Vatican in early May for a weeklong conference on such topics as "Fatima and the Global Economic Crisis," "The Present Need for the Consecration of Russia" and "Is There a Missing Text of the Third Secret?"
For those in attendance, the answer to that last question is a no-brainer.
Read further...
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ten years after the Vatican divulged one of the church's best-kept secrets -- the third part of the message of Fatima -- a small band of skeptics and critics are still questioning the official explanation.
More than 100 of them gathered at a hotel not far from the Vatican in early May for a weeklong conference on such topics as "Fatima and the Global Economic Crisis," "The Present Need for the Consecration of Russia" and "Is There a Missing Text of the Third Secret?"
For those in attendance, the answer to that last question is a no-brainer.
Read further...
Cardinal Hume: A man for all seasons
h/t: mad priest
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Scott Hahn?
£Are any of the people +Levada's asking to help actually Catholic?£
In a wide-ranging talk that paid tribute to the writings of Msgr. Ronald Knox, Cardinal Francis George, C. S. Lewis, Scott Hahn, [Why not ask for help from Bertrand Russel or Nipsey?] and others, Cardinal William Levada called for a "new apologetics" to counter "the likes of Richard Dawkins and his fellow apostles of the so-called 'new' atheism."
"For this apologetic to be credible, we must pay greater attention to the mystery and the beauty of Catholic worship, of a sacramental vision of the world that lets us recognize and value the beauty of creation as a foreshadowing of the new heavens and the new earth envisioned in 2 Peter and the Book of Revelation," the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said in his April 29 lecture. "The witness of our lives as believers who put our faith into practice by work for justice and charity as followers who imitate Jesus, our Master, is an important dimension of our credibility as dialogue partners in a time of a new apologetics."
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=6243
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
In a wide-ranging talk that paid tribute to the writings of Msgr. Ronald Knox, Cardinal Francis George, C. S. Lewis, Scott Hahn, [Why not ask for help from Bertrand Russel or Nipsey?] and others, Cardinal William Levada called for a "new apologetics" to counter "the likes of Richard Dawkins and his fellow apostles of the so-called 'new' atheism."
"For this apologetic to be credible, we must pay greater attention to the mystery and the beauty of Catholic worship, of a sacramental vision of the world that lets us recognize and value the beauty of creation as a foreshadowing of the new heavens and the new earth envisioned in 2 Peter and the Book of Revelation," the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said in his April 29 lecture. "The witness of our lives as believers who put our faith into practice by work for justice and charity as followers who imitate Jesus, our Master, is an important dimension of our credibility as dialogue partners in a time of a new apologetics."
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=6243
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Police Chief Gulity of Child Abuse for Decades
From 1962 to 1980, former Minneapolis park police chief William Jacobs sexually assaulted 17 boys who recently came forward, according to allegations in a document filed Friday by a Hennepin County prosecutor. The document details alleged incidents with boys whom Jacobs knew when he was a teacher, camp counselor or coach at YMCA Camp Warren in Eveleth, and at Blake and Breck schools in the Twin Cities.
In the 12-page document, Assistant County Attorney Judy Johnston claims administrators at all three institutions knew about such allegations no later than the mid-1970s. Jacobs, 66, of Deephaven, ran the park police from 1987 to 2001. He is scheduled to go on trial in October on a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He is accused of molesting a boy from 2007 until January, when the 15-year-old boy told authorities. He is free on $500,000 bail.
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/93067314.html?elr=KArksUUUU
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Catholic Bishops and Pope have higher Approval ratings than Obama
The Bishops are interested in gettng involved with Immigration Reform in the same way they were involved with Healthcare Reform. The media attacks don't help their credibillity when they attempt to promote agendas which aren't clearly aligned with Catholic social teaching.
Read further...
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholics' approval ratings of Pope Benedict XVI's job performance while in office had dropped 15 points over the past two years, according to a new poll conducted by Zogby Interactive and commissioned by the National Catholic Reporter weekly newspaper.
The numbers slid from 71 percent in April 2008, as the pope made his first pastoral visit to the United States as pontiff, to 56 percent in April 2010, as Pope Benedict and the Vatican came under increased media scrutiny over past handling of clerical sexual abuse cases.
"Fifteen points is dramatic," said John Zogby, who runs the polling firm that bears his name, at a May 6 luncheon in Washington during which the poll results were issued.
Read further...
Friday, May 7, 2010
Vienese Cardinal attacks Sodano: It's ok to be gay sometimes
(AP) – 3 hours ago
VIENNA — Austria's cardinal has said the former second-highest Vatican official blocked a probe into a sex abuse scandal that rocked the country's Catholic church 15 years ago.
Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn also accused Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the retired Vatican secretary of state, of causing "massive harm" to victims when he dismissed claims of clerical abuse as "petty gossip" on Easter Sunday.
Schoenborn's recent comments to a select group of journalists were summarized by the Catholic news agency Kathpress.
Not only replying using the same wording, the Cardinal is sure to get a couple of licks in for his homosexual and leftist agenda by arguing the morally qualitative difference between homosexuals in committed relationships and those who are not and even tried his best to make it look like there was a cover-up in the first place:
"The days of cover up are over," Schoenborn said during last week's interview.
In other comments, Schoenborn was quoted as saying that the quality of a gay relationship should be taken into greater consideration.
"A stable relationship is certainly better than if someone simply indulges in promiscuity," Schoenborn said. The church also needed a new perspective on the remarriage of divorcees, he added.
Read further.,..
Bishop Fellay stands firmly behind the See of Peter
Bishop Fellay has given a rousing harangue to the troops, assembled on the deck of the Barque of Peter, as if before the battle of Lepanto amid the fluttering of pennants against the darkening skies and the distant shouts of the Church's enemies. He proves once again where the loyalties of the SSPX are, and proves the mettle of the men who serve the Pope in times of need and always have.
The Church’s situation increasingly resembles a sea that is agitated in all directions. We see waves and more waves, which seem to be about to capsize the bark of Peter and drag it into the endless abyss. Since the Second Vatican Council, it seems that a wave has been trying to carry off everything into the deep, leaving only a heap of ruins, a spiritual desert, that the popes themselves have called an apostasy. We do not want to describe this harsh reality again; we have already so often done, and all of you can see that it is so. Still, to us it seems useful to comment somewhat on the events of the past months; I want to speak about the surprisingly violent and particularly well-orchestrated blows that have been dealt to the Church and the Supreme Pontiff. Why such violent attacks?
Father Z has already given his comments on this most recent statement by Archbishop Fellay, yet he calls it a change of perspective.
It's certainly a far cry from what was thought about Bishop Fellay in 2008 when he was accused of "snubbing" Rome. If anyone's perspective is changing, it's the perspective of those who've traditionally attacked the SSPX.
Now that the chips are down, it's been the SSPX who've stood by the Papacy and the Church, as Father Schmidberger did earlier this year.
If anyone has changed their perspective it hasn't been the SSPX, it's been detractors of the SSPX who've had to change their perspectives.
Bishop Bambera takes out Jesuit University. Bam!
Hold on! The Bishop is just letting the man who wrote this souless effeminate statement, attend the lecture to make sure that the pro-Abortion speaker doesn't say anything inappropriate:
Isn't that like letting the fox observe the chickens to make sure they're ok, and not getting suddenly filched? Julius Caesar said, "keep your friends close..." but this stretches things a little too far.
Read full story, here.
Father Pilzarz will make sure there's no monkey business.
Bishop Bambera has engaged in a dialogue with Father Scott Pilarz, S.J., president of the University of Scranton, regarding an event being hosted tonight (May 6) by the University’s Inclusion Initiative.
The stated goals of the Inclusion Initiative involve providing “a more inclusive environment and a better understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity. A safe place and a voice will be provided for these students in our community while holding true and dedicated to Catholic teaching and the Jesuit principle of cura personalis, care for the person as a unique individual.”
Isn't that like letting the fox observe the chickens to make sure they're ok, and not getting suddenly filched? Julius Caesar said, "keep your friends close..." but this stretches things a little too far.
Tonight’s event features a talk by Sara Bendoraitis, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at American University. Ms. Bendoraitis belongs to the Facebook group “AU (American University) Students for Choice,” a group that supports abortion rights. In March she spoke at and accompanied American University students to the National Young Feminist Leadership Conference, which included presentations on abortion rights and access to birth control.
Ms. Bendoraitis obviously supports positions that are contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church. For this reason, Bishop Bambera has expressed concern to Father Pilarz about the University hosting this speaker.
Father Pilarz [SJ] has informed the Bishop that he will attend the lecture to ensure that the principles of Catholic teaching are upheld.
Read full story, here.
Father Pilzarz will make sure there's no monkey business.
Poll says abuse scandal now impacts US Catholics less than 2002 crisis
Bishops and Catholic Church leaders should be lookinig at their antagonists and seeing that they've played all their trumps.
Read further...
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The current clergy abuse scandal in Europe has not had the same impact on the U.S. Catholic Church as the 2002 reports of clergy abuse that focused on U.S. priests and bishops, according to a new poll.
The New York Times/CBS News poll -- released May 4 -- shows that U.S. Catholics view the current wave of scandals as a "far-off storm" that has had "no effect" on Mass attendance, financial contributions or parish participation.
Many of the Catholic respondents in the telephone poll conducted April 30-May 2 said they have seen a change in how the church is handling the abuse crisis. The poll questioned 1,079 randomly selected adults and included 412 Catholics.
Read further...
Orthodox Patriarch urges Reuninion with Rome
Told you so.
Read further...
Metropolitan Filaret: It's Time to Take a Step Toward Unity
By Jesús Colina
VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The time is now for the Orthodox and Catholic Churches to take a step toward unity, and for Benedict XVI and the Orthodox patriarch of Moscow to meet, says the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus.
Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Sluck said this Tuesday at the international conference held in Rome on "The Poor Are the Precious Treasure of the Church: Orthodox and Catholics Together on the Path of Charity."
During the conference, which was promoted by the Sant'Egidio Community, participants reflected on the reception of the most frail in our societies, the testimony of the Fathers of the Church, and the challenges dictated by new social problems.
Read further...
Marquette Rescinds Offer to Homosexual
This isn't just a "man bites dog" story, it's a "Jesuit University enforces Ex Corde Ecclesiae story". It's almost like hearing news of a Martian landing somewhere. Is this for real? If it is, expect howls and cries of alleged discrimination and a need for academic freedom; even if it isn't a real story.
Read further...
Marquette University on Thursday abruptly rescinded an offer to a sociologist to serve as dean of one of its colleges, angering some students and faculty members who said the university did so after learning she was a lesbian who wrote about sexuality.
Marquette, a Roman Catholic university run by Jesuits in Milwaukee, said the professor lacked “the ability to represent the Marquette mission and identity.”
The professor, Jodi O’Brien, who teaches sociology at Seattle University, is openly gay and writes frequently about sexuality in academic journals.
Read further...
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The Wanderer gets bought out by Ave Maria
No suprises here. Wanderer caves to the Pizza King.
Read Further...
Has a Venerable Institution been Compromised by Wealth?
I received my Wanderer newspaper in the mail yesterday, as always a week late thanks to the postal service that discriminates against small publications. As usual I gave it a quick scan to see what the main issues are. When I got to the back page the piece that particularly drew my attention was the "retraction and correction" related to recent articles on Tom Monaghan and Ave Maria University and town. I read all the articles and was disappointed that the paper was caving in the face of Monaghan's pressure. The retraction on its face is simply not credible.
Since the very first controversy at Ave Maria over the Monaghan-designed monstrosity of a church, I've followed the events at the school closely. My husband and I were thrilled to hear of a new Catholic college and town and joined the "founders club" early on with regular contributions. However, we withdrew in the light of growing problems over, not only the design of the church, but the draconian actions taken against the Ave Maria Law School in Ann Arbor MI.
We were appalled at the forced move to Florida including the removal of Dr. Charles Rice from the governing board and the suspension of three law professor who sued the president of the law school, Dean Bernard Dobranski, and Tom Monaghan. The professors subsequently won a settlement including full reinstatement and an undisclosed financial award. But a promising institution that had a 100% pass rate for the Michigan Bar Exam in 2004 and was accredited in the shortest time possible, ranked at the bottom in the 2010 U.S. News and World Report review of law schools.
Read Further...
Cardinal Kasper complains that talks with the SSPX are difficult
According to an interview with Reuters, the often heterodox and getting close to retirment, Cardinal Kasper, can't resist saying things that aren't true. After being out of the loop when the talks between Rome and the SSPX were set to take place, it's not surprising that he's just spreading disinformation, as usual. It's amazing that someone who has been so frequently proven wrong in time still insists on spreading false information. It's even more amazing that he hasn't been relieved of his duties. Correctly, the SSPX, he says, regards him as a heretic.
Removal of Anti-Communist Archbishop Improves Relations with Vatican in Vietnam
A much younger Bishop, highly critical of the Vietnamese Communist government has been replaced by a much older man who meets with the approval of that government.
Read further...
A major stumbling block to diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Vatican has seemingly been removed with the resignation of a popular Vietnamese Catholic leader and government critic.
Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet was the archbishop of Hanoi for the past five years, overseeing parishes in the capital and in the northern third of the country. He quietly supported a wave of protest vigils calling for the return of government-confiscated church properties and greater religious freedom.
The Vietnamese government, which is often accused of violating religious freedom, hopes to silence human-rights critics, especially in the United States, by establishing full relations with the Holy See. Vietnam, with approximately six million Catholics, offers the Vatican the second-largest Catholic population in Southeast Asia after the Philippines.
Read further...
Hans Küng warns against Wholesale Attack on Church
Kung warns of attacks, but he also advocates a "universal ethics". It's doubtful that his universal ethics will have much if anything to do with the natural law.
Why should he warn against something he's done so much to create? It is supposed plausible deniability.
Read further...
Another article, here.
Why should he warn against something he's done so much to create? It is supposed plausible deniability.
Vatican critic Hans Küng has warned against "condemning the church and its priests wholesale" over clerical sex abuse and dismissed as nonsense claims that Pope Benedict has been "the worst" pontiff "for centuries".
"It would be a bad generalisation to place the whole clergy and Catholic Church under suspicion," the Roman Catholic priest was quoted as saying in an interview with The European, a Berlin-based online news service, according to an ENI report in Insights.
Mr Küng also said he still agrees with Pope Benedict XVI on some key issues, said the report.
Read further...
Another article, here.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
An Incurable Romantic: Jesuit Highwaymen!
Thailand gettaways shouldn't raise an eyebrow for hardworking donors, benefactors and collaborators: a Jesuit is a very complicated and fascinating man who doesn't play by your rules and gender roles. Yet, despite Papal calls for a clearer declaration of their vaunted loyalty to the Church and Her teachings, they make a mockery of the whole thing, no doubt snickering and chortling about all the fools they've duped along the way.
You may have heard about him first at American Papist, or even on Mark Shea's blog. After facing some intense pressure, Mark Shea took his blog entry down. It seems that Mr. Brissett had some staunch defenders, most notably the dying Jesuit Order and a few of his fellow travellers. Now he's a Scholastic.
This Jesuit belongs to the already beleaguered Oregon Province and there's really no way out but to see him as a liability. The Jesuit Province in Oregon had to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy too. Despite their past mismanagement of personnel, that hasn't deterred them from inviting further problems upon themselves. As Bill Donahue correctly maintains, 80% of abuse cases, the kind which has landed Oregon province in so much trouble so far, are homosexual in nature.
But it's not just that Mr. Brissett is homosexual. That would be sufficient grounds to exclude him from the priesthood altogether. Mr. Brissett has been a voice for change in the past as his advocacy for sex in public restrooms and sex with children will testify.
Mr. Brissett has, as a matter of fact, a kind of ministry in Boystown in Chicago working with "at-risk" youth and perhaps the city of Chicago doesn't have a problem with potential pederasts with a love for exotic Thailand working with their children, but surely there must be a lot of people at the New York Times and at Anderson Law Offices who would benefit from Mr. Brissett's activities at some point. They're not interested now, but they just might be interested in the future.
Some people have suggested that Mr. Cormac has turned over a new leaf. We weren't fooled but many pious folks are. This is Cormac's Facebook profile from a few weeks ago, since taken down, which advertises his membership in facebook groups like GayVancouver.net and Out Twin Cities Film.
We're fairly convinced, given the rousing support for Mr. Brissett in Jesuit circles on the Internet and elsewhere that homosexuality isn't just a passing phase; they say they're sorry for the wreckage they've caused when they got caught at abuse, but this is a persistent if pathological problem and it's a problem the management of the Jesuits is abetting by their negligence; and those who support them in any way are collaborators too.
For the time being, we've been told by the Oregon Pronvince and Arrupe House in Chicago that Mr. Brissett is still a Jesuit in good standing.
You may have heard about him first at American Papist, or even on Mark Shea's blog. After facing some intense pressure, Mark Shea took his blog entry down. It seems that Mr. Brissett had some staunch defenders, most notably the dying Jesuit Order and a few of his fellow travellers. Now he's a Scholastic.
This Jesuit belongs to the already beleaguered Oregon Province and there's really no way out but to see him as a liability. The Jesuit Province in Oregon had to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy too. Despite their past mismanagement of personnel, that hasn't deterred them from inviting further problems upon themselves. As Bill Donahue correctly maintains, 80% of abuse cases, the kind which has landed Oregon province in so much trouble so far, are homosexual in nature.
But it's not just that Mr. Brissett is homosexual. That would be sufficient grounds to exclude him from the priesthood altogether. Mr. Brissett has been a voice for change in the past as his advocacy for sex in public restrooms and sex with children will testify.
Mr. Brissett has, as a matter of fact, a kind of ministry in Boystown in Chicago working with "at-risk" youth and perhaps the city of Chicago doesn't have a problem with potential pederasts with a love for exotic Thailand working with their children, but surely there must be a lot of people at the New York Times and at Anderson Law Offices who would benefit from Mr. Brissett's activities at some point. They're not interested now, but they just might be interested in the future.
Some people have suggested that Mr. Cormac has turned over a new leaf. We weren't fooled but many pious folks are. This is Cormac's Facebook profile from a few weeks ago, since taken down, which advertises his membership in facebook groups like GayVancouver.net and Out Twin Cities Film.
We're fairly convinced, given the rousing support for Mr. Brissett in Jesuit circles on the Internet and elsewhere that homosexuality isn't just a passing phase; they say they're sorry for the wreckage they've caused when they got caught at abuse, but this is a persistent if pathological problem and it's a problem the management of the Jesuits is abetting by their negligence; and those who support them in any way are collaborators too.
For the time being, we've been told by the Oregon Pronvince and Arrupe House in Chicago that Mr. Brissett is still a Jesuit in good standing.
Serbian church replaces Kosovo Bishop
Belgrade - The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has removed Bishop Artemije, accused of financial abuse, as the head of the troubled Kosovo eparchy, Belgrade newspapers said Wednesday.
Artemije was suspended and provisionally replaced by another bishop, Atanasije, already in February. It remains unclear whether the SPC Synod now fired Artemije or sent him into retirement.
The church did not officially clarify by Wednesday morning.
Read further...
Artemije was suspended and provisionally replaced by another bishop, Atanasije, already in February. It remains unclear whether the SPC Synod now fired Artemije or sent him into retirement.
The church did not officially clarify by Wednesday morning.
Read further...
Cardinal Pell appointed to Congregation of Bishops: Is this a good thing?
Rorate mentioned Fernández de la Cigoña, who had mentioned this as a possibility on May 3rd, here as mentioned by Rorate Caeli.
Some links and coverage of Cardinal Pell's appointment to the Congregation of Bishops, here
http://te-deum.blogspot.com/2010/05/cardinal-pell-new-prefect-for.html
Damian Thompson hopes Cardinal will provide some good appointments and give more positive direction to the Church in England.
It might be premature to hope that, because Cardinal Pell has done and not done various things that don't provide for much enthusiasm on the part of some:
When he turned a blind eye to Stations of the Forest by Caritas.
When he said,in relation to John Paul II's death and the election of a new Pope that, "Sometimes the Holy Spirit gets it wrong", here.
Recently turned a blind eye to a scandalous "Gay" Mass in Sydney, here.
On the other hand, he:
Made some timely statements about Islam, here.
Denounced the so-called "primacy of conscience" which allows female religious to destroy the Church under cover of an alleged vocation, here.
Global Warming skeptic, here.
Some links and coverage of Cardinal Pell's appointment to the Congregation of Bishops, here
http://te-deum.blogspot.com/2010/05/cardinal-pell-new-prefect-for.html
Damian Thompson hopes Cardinal will provide some good appointments and give more positive direction to the Church in England.
It might be premature to hope that, because Cardinal Pell has done and not done various things that don't provide for much enthusiasm on the part of some:
When he turned a blind eye to Stations of the Forest by Caritas.
When he said,in relation to John Paul II's death and the election of a new Pope that, "Sometimes the Holy Spirit gets it wrong", here.
Recently turned a blind eye to a scandalous "Gay" Mass in Sydney, here.
On the other hand, he:
Made some timely statements about Islam, here.
Denounced the so-called "primacy of conscience" which allows female religious to destroy the Church under cover of an alleged vocation, here.
Global Warming skeptic, here.
Middle East synod to help Christians witness in Muslim countries :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
Vatican City, May 4, 2010 / 10:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During meetings at the Holy See from April 23-24, Middle Eastern patriarchs and Vatican prefects drew up a draft of the working document for the coming Synod. They foresee that the October assembly will strengthen Christians, revive communion between the Churches of the region, and give guidance to Christians on how to evangelize in Muslim-majority countries. This was the third meeting of the pre-synodal council in preparation for the Middle East synod which will be held at the Vatican from October 10-24.
In a May 3 statement describing the proceedings and results of the meetings, the Vatican underscored the two major objectives of the Synod as "to confirm and strengthen Christians in their identity through the Word of God and the Sacraments, and to revive the ecclesial communion between the Churches, so they may be an genuine Christian witness, in contact with other Churches and ecclesial communities.”
Organizers called the assembly "a valuable opportunity to also examine the religious and social situation, to give Christians a clear vision of how to be active witnesses of Christ in the context of Muslim-majority society."
Middle East synod to help Christians witness in Muslim countries :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
In a May 3 statement describing the proceedings and results of the meetings, the Vatican underscored the two major objectives of the Synod as "to confirm and strengthen Christians in their identity through the Word of God and the Sacraments, and to revive the ecclesial communion between the Churches, so they may be an genuine Christian witness, in contact with other Churches and ecclesial communities.”
Organizers called the assembly "a valuable opportunity to also examine the religious and social situation, to give Christians a clear vision of how to be active witnesses of Christ in the context of Muslim-majority society."
Middle East synod to help Christians witness in Muslim countries :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Bishop Mixa's Successor is on the Way
The ramshackle Bavarian CSU-State Government has already decided who will be the next Bishop in Augsburg and Eichstätt
[Kreuz.net] The Regensburg Princess, Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, has a favorite for the office of the Flight-Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg, as reported by the anti-Church Munich 'Abendzeitung' on the 3rd of May.
The Candidate of the Princess is the Prelate Wilhelm Imkamp (58), pilgrimage director at the well-known Swabian Sanctuary Maria Vesperbild in the Diocese of Augsburg.
The article in the 'Abendzeitung' serves to create an atmosphere against his person in order to hinder his naming as Bishop as well.
First a Little Praise for Diversion
"He belongs to the charismatic members of the clergy, not only because he is a fetching man," says the 'Abendzeitung' citing the Princess's comments, as she's still enthusing about the clergyman, "he preaches so clearly and relentlessly."
The "Clear text" preached by the Prelate consists in an excerpt from 'Abendzeitung' in commonplaces such as, that Catholics in Germany are a "persecuted minority", who "must resist".
The 'Abendzeitung' calls the clergyman the "Dandy of the Servants of God". He likes to wear silk shirts and gold rings.
In place of ordinary water he blesses - according to 'Abendzeitung' - Gold water from the Maria Vesperbilder spring, flecked with gold flakes.
Then the 'Abendzeitung' shows its other side.
Worse than Bishop Mixa
For the Bavarian State Government the "stock-conservative" Prelate from the Schwabia is a red cape -- said the paper with its customary objectivity.
The decadent CSU-politicians are concerned that the Prelate will follow in the neoconservative course adopted by the Flight-Bishop Mixa.
"He polarizes and divides" - will be the intoned and well-known litany of blockade.
Alone by his thoughts about Bishop Imkamp, the Chief of the Bavarian State Chancellery, Siegfried Schneider (54) as the angry red in his face glows -- reports 'Abendzeitung': "He is even worse than [Bishop] Mixa."
Schneider was one of those who sang Hosanas, as Minister of Culture, when the Flight-Bishop was installed in October 2005.
The Desired Candidate
CSU-Functionary Schneider identified Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke of Eichstaett as the desired candidate of the State Government.
He lives according to the motto "humility, obedience and poverty" and could lead "everyone" in Augsburg "back together again".
One candidate the Bavarian State Government would like to emplace, who will block a Catholic successor for Mons. Hanke in Eichstaett there, is the Old Liberal Augsbuger Auxilliary Bishop and Cathedral Dean, Anton Losinger (52).
The 'Abendzeitung' portrays the expected colorless Church bureaucrats as "beloved" and as "intellectuals with extraordinary international contacts."
The Paper also mentions that the former CSU-Chief and Bavarian Ministry Head, Horst Seehofer knew Msgr Walter Mixa already from his time secular priest of Schrobenhausen.
Seehofer could actually imitate this perfectly. At a celebration of the CSU-Eichstätt he even arrived in full episcopal regalia as Mixa-Imitator.
Old Friends
With Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke - the former Abbot of the Benedictine Cloister of Plankstetten - is a close friend, again, according to 'Abendzeitung'.
"When things go especially bad for Seehofer, he submerges in the Cloister with his pal to exercise."
State Chancellor- Boss Siegfried Schneider knows the Eichstätter Bishop from their time together in a fraternity in his present episcopal city.
Mons Hanke was Schneider's freshman class director. He had the task, to bring new members into the fraternity.
At last the 'Abendblatt' said that the papal secretary Prelate Georg Gänswein also has ambitions for the See of Augsburg.
[Kreuz.net] The Regensburg Princess, Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, has a favorite for the office of the Flight-Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg, as reported by the anti-Church Munich 'Abendzeitung' on the 3rd of May.
The Candidate of the Princess is the Prelate Wilhelm Imkamp (58), pilgrimage director at the well-known Swabian Sanctuary Maria Vesperbild in the Diocese of Augsburg.
The article in the 'Abendzeitung' serves to create an atmosphere against his person in order to hinder his naming as Bishop as well.
First a Little Praise for Diversion
"He belongs to the charismatic members of the clergy, not only because he is a fetching man," says the 'Abendzeitung' citing the Princess's comments, as she's still enthusing about the clergyman, "he preaches so clearly and relentlessly."
The "Clear text" preached by the Prelate consists in an excerpt from 'Abendzeitung' in commonplaces such as, that Catholics in Germany are a "persecuted minority", who "must resist".
The 'Abendzeitung' calls the clergyman the "Dandy of the Servants of God". He likes to wear silk shirts and gold rings.
In place of ordinary water he blesses - according to 'Abendzeitung' - Gold water from the Maria Vesperbilder spring, flecked with gold flakes.
Then the 'Abendzeitung' shows its other side.
Worse than Bishop Mixa
For the Bavarian State Government the "stock-conservative" Prelate from the Schwabia is a red cape -- said the paper with its customary objectivity.
The decadent CSU-politicians are concerned that the Prelate will follow in the neoconservative course adopted by the Flight-Bishop Mixa.
"He polarizes and divides" - will be the intoned and well-known litany of blockade.
Alone by his thoughts about Bishop Imkamp, the Chief of the Bavarian State Chancellery, Siegfried Schneider (54) as the angry red in his face glows -- reports 'Abendzeitung': "He is even worse than [Bishop] Mixa."
Schneider was one of those who sang Hosanas, as Minister of Culture, when the Flight-Bishop was installed in October 2005.
The Desired Candidate
CSU-Functionary Schneider identified Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke of Eichstaett as the desired candidate of the State Government.
He lives according to the motto "humility, obedience and poverty" and could lead "everyone" in Augsburg "back together again".
One candidate the Bavarian State Government would like to emplace, who will block a Catholic successor for Mons. Hanke in Eichstaett there, is the Old Liberal Augsbuger Auxilliary Bishop and Cathedral Dean, Anton Losinger (52).
The 'Abendzeitung' portrays the expected colorless Church bureaucrats as "beloved" and as "intellectuals with extraordinary international contacts."
The Paper also mentions that the former CSU-Chief and Bavarian Ministry Head, Horst Seehofer knew Msgr Walter Mixa already from his time secular priest of Schrobenhausen.
Seehofer could actually imitate this perfectly. At a celebration of the CSU-Eichstätt he even arrived in full episcopal regalia as Mixa-Imitator.
Old Friends
With Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke - the former Abbot of the Benedictine Cloister of Plankstetten - is a close friend, again, according to 'Abendzeitung'.
"When things go especially bad for Seehofer, he submerges in the Cloister with his pal to exercise."
State Chancellor- Boss Siegfried Schneider knows the Eichstätter Bishop from their time together in a fraternity in his present episcopal city.
Mons Hanke was Schneider's freshman class director. He had the task, to bring new members into the fraternity.
At last the 'Abendblatt' said that the papal secretary Prelate Georg Gänswein also has ambitions for the See of Augsburg.
Patriarch Kirill Laments Population Implosion
The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has called upon the faithful to have more children in order to repopulate their vast nation.
“What's the good of having economy, if our nation is sick?” said Patriarch Kirill. “How will we reclaim these boundless spaces, vast lands, not only in European part of Russia, but in Siberia as well?”
Heartened by news that Russia’s birthrate has increased, he added, “We hope this tendency will be stable and our people rather than strangers with alien culture and alien faith will inhabit our vast lands inherited from God and our hardworking forefathers and this greatest treasure-- our land-- will be cultivated by descendants of those who merged it to the great Russian state.”
Link to Catholic Culture..."
“What's the good of having economy, if our nation is sick?” said Patriarch Kirill. “How will we reclaim these boundless spaces, vast lands, not only in European part of Russia, but in Siberia as well?”
Heartened by news that Russia’s birthrate has increased, he added, “We hope this tendency will be stable and our people rather than strangers with alien culture and alien faith will inhabit our vast lands inherited from God and our hardworking forefathers and this greatest treasure-- our land-- will be cultivated by descendants of those who merged it to the great Russian state.”
Link to Catholic Culture..."
Double Bombing Leaves 1 Dead, 120 Injured: Pope Laments Islamic Hatred in Iraq
VATICAN CITY, MAY 4, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI expressed his condolences for the attack on Christian university students in Iraq over the weekend in a telegram sent to Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of Mosul.
The telegram, which was signed by the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, stated that the Holy Father was "profoundly saddened by the tragic loss of life and for the injuries" that were caused by the Sunday bombing, reported Vatican Radio.
Fides news agency reported today that two bombs hit three buses filled with Christian students en route to the University of Mosul. The blasts left at least one passenger dead, and some 120 injured. Three students are in serious condition, and one student is in a coma.
Read Further...
The telegram, which was signed by the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, stated that the Holy Father was "profoundly saddened by the tragic loss of life and for the injuries" that were caused by the Sunday bombing, reported Vatican Radio.
Fides news agency reported today that two bombs hit three buses filled with Christian students en route to the University of Mosul. The blasts left at least one passenger dead, and some 120 injured. Three students are in serious condition, and one student is in a coma.
Read Further...
Cardinal Kasper honored by Jewish Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 4, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Walter Kasper was honored last week by the American Jewish Committee for his "extraordinary" achievements in interreligious affairs.
The president of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, as well as the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, was given the prestigious Isaiah Interreligious Award at the end of the committee's annual meeting, which was held Wednesday through Friday.
A committee communiqué reported Friday that the award was given in acknowledgement of the cardinal's "longstanding commitment to Jewish-Catholic dialogue and leadership in advancing understanding between the two faiths."
Read further...
The president of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, as well as the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, was given the prestigious Isaiah Interreligious Award at the end of the committee's annual meeting, which was held Wednesday through Friday.
A committee communiqué reported Friday that the award was given in acknowledgement of the cardinal's "longstanding commitment to Jewish-Catholic dialogue and leadership in advancing understanding between the two faiths."
Read further...
Monday, May 3, 2010
Catholic Churches on Sale, Cheap
Wall Street Journal
The recent wave of accusations that the Catholic Church has mishandled sexual-abuse cases is giving new momentum to state efforts to extend the time frame for alleged victims of childhood abuse to sue the church.
Legislatures in a handful of states, including Connecticut, Arizona, New York and Michigan, as well as the territory of Guam, are considering lengthening or eliminating their statutes of limitations in sex-abuse cases. On Monday, the Florida legislature voted to abolish its time limitations in any new cases filed. The church has been lobbying against such measures, which typically apply to all sexual-abuse cases, not just those involving the church.
The state efforts to extend the time period in which people can sue for harm were begun before the latest string of allegations against the church. These include allegations against church leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, of failing to quickly defrock priests in Wisconsin, Oakland, Calif., and pockets of Europe, despite knowledge or warnings that the priests had sexually abused children.
The Vatican has denied wrongdoing in instances in which it has been accused of failing to act expeditiously in disciplining priests. It has acknowledged abuse and offered apologies for incidents of sexual abuse by priests. The pope recently ordered a delegation to investigate abuse in Irish dioceses.
Read further...
The recent wave of accusations that the Catholic Church has mishandled sexual-abuse cases is giving new momentum to state efforts to extend the time frame for alleged victims of childhood abuse to sue the church.
Legislatures in a handful of states, including Connecticut, Arizona, New York and Michigan, as well as the territory of Guam, are considering lengthening or eliminating their statutes of limitations in sex-abuse cases. On Monday, the Florida legislature voted to abolish its time limitations in any new cases filed. The church has been lobbying against such measures, which typically apply to all sexual-abuse cases, not just those involving the church.
The state efforts to extend the time period in which people can sue for harm were begun before the latest string of allegations against the church. These include allegations against church leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, of failing to quickly defrock priests in Wisconsin, Oakland, Calif., and pockets of Europe, despite knowledge or warnings that the priests had sexually abused children.
The Vatican has denied wrongdoing in instances in which it has been accused of failing to act expeditiously in disciplining priests. It has acknowledged abuse and offered apologies for incidents of sexual abuse by priests. The pope recently ordered a delegation to investigate abuse in Irish dioceses.
Read further...
Capuchin Leader on Vocations: "You find Happiness as Part of a Mission"
When asked to reflect on the theme of the 100th anniversary of the Capuchin Franciscans' presence in the western United States - to create a culture of vocation awareness - the head of the worldwide religious community thought a moment before responding in Italian to an interpreter, fellow Capuchin Father Charles Serignat
"Yes, this is a huge challenge, of course, in a place like Los Angeles that is more and more secularized, where people are more and more concentrating on their own individual needs. And so a pursuit of happiness is seen in terms of satisfying one's own individual desires," said Father Mauro Johri, minister general of the Capuchins during an interview at St. Lawrence of Brindisi Parish in Watts. "Whereas if you're walking about raising vocational awareness, this means that you come to see that there isn't only your life, there are others as well around you.
"And so it's a question of presenting an alternative, and the alternative is that you are invited to take part in a plan that goes beyond just yourself, which involves other people," he continued. "You find happiness by being part of a mission, which is at the service of other people. That helps you to develop and to find your own fulfillment and happiness. So I think the big challenge is to help people to discover what does it mean to love. What is love all about?"
Read further...
"Yes, this is a huge challenge, of course, in a place like Los Angeles that is more and more secularized, where people are more and more concentrating on their own individual needs. And so a pursuit of happiness is seen in terms of satisfying one's own individual desires," said Father Mauro Johri, minister general of the Capuchins during an interview at St. Lawrence of Brindisi Parish in Watts. "Whereas if you're walking about raising vocational awareness, this means that you come to see that there isn't only your life, there are others as well around you.
"And so it's a question of presenting an alternative, and the alternative is that you are invited to take part in a plan that goes beyond just yourself, which involves other people," he continued. "You find happiness by being part of a mission, which is at the service of other people. That helps you to develop and to find your own fulfillment and happiness. So I think the big challenge is to help people to discover what does it mean to love. What is love all about?"
Read further...
Homosexual Policeman Arrests Man For Saying Sodomy is a Sin
[Daily Mail UK]The Rev Arthur Bentley-Taylor, 68, vicar of the Emmanuel evangelical church where Mr Mcalpine worships, said:
‘As far as I am concerned, this is about free speech. If we arrested everybody who said something we found offensive, everyone would be in prison.’
Read more...
Psychiatrist also gets short shrift for appealing his sacking for refusing to give sex therapy to gay couples, "christians have no special rights."
Read here...
Bearers of the Heavenly Jerusalem: Vatican II and Developement in Church Architecture
Adoremus Bulletin
By Denis McNamara
When I give presentations in parishes or teach in the classroom, I am often asked many intelligent questions by students, building committee members, architects, pastors, and parishioners. These questions have given me great insight into the needs and desires of the People of God. The questions that follow are among those most frequently asked, and shorter summary answers are provided here for the reader's convenience.
Didn't the Second Vatican Council do away with traditional, beautiful churches? What about "noble simplicity"?The documents of the Second Vatican Council relating to art and architecture are in complete continuity with the Church's great tradition, even as they set certain guidelines for the liturgical renewal. The document on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, asked that sacred art be composed of "signs and symbols of heavenly realities" that were meant to be expressive of "God's boundless beauty" (SC 122). It also asked that all sacred arts be "in accordance with faith, piety, and cherished traditional laws" (SC 122). It is interesting to note that the Council never used the phrase "noble simplicity" to refer to liturgical art and architecture. It actually asked that churches strive for "noble beauty" (SC 124). The term "noble simplicity" was mentioned in the Council's documents in relation to the rites (SC 34). So, beauty is in fact the goal of new church architecture, according to the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
http://sacredheartchariton.blogspot.com/
By Denis McNamara
When I give presentations in parishes or teach in the classroom, I am often asked many intelligent questions by students, building committee members, architects, pastors, and parishioners. These questions have given me great insight into the needs and desires of the People of God. The questions that follow are among those most frequently asked, and shorter summary answers are provided here for the reader's convenience.
Didn't the Second Vatican Council do away with traditional, beautiful churches? What about "noble simplicity"?The documents of the Second Vatican Council relating to art and architecture are in complete continuity with the Church's great tradition, even as they set certain guidelines for the liturgical renewal. The document on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, asked that sacred art be composed of "signs and symbols of heavenly realities" that were meant to be expressive of "God's boundless beauty" (SC 122). It also asked that all sacred arts be "in accordance with faith, piety, and cherished traditional laws" (SC 122). It is interesting to note that the Council never used the phrase "noble simplicity" to refer to liturgical art and architecture. It actually asked that churches strive for "noble beauty" (SC 124). The term "noble simplicity" was mentioned in the Council's documents in relation to the rites (SC 34). So, beauty is in fact the goal of new church architecture, according to the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
http://sacredheartchariton.blogspot.com/
Another Bombing in Mosul aimed at Christians
(CNN) - At least one person was killed and 80 others wounded in a double bombing near the northern city of Mosul on Sunday, according to police.
A parked car bomb and a roadside bomb detonated in quick succession in Kokjali, east of Mosul, striking buses transporting mostly Christian university students. Minorities in Iraq, especially in the north of the country, including Christians, have been frequently targeted by militant groups.
Although the overall levels of violence across the country have dropped drastically compared to the height of the sectarian war in 2006 and 2007, official figures showed an increase in civilian casualties last month. At least 274 civilians were killed in April compared to 216 in March and 211 in February, according to Interior Ministry figures. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/02/1-dead-80-wounded-in-iraq-bombings/
For picture of the injured youth, please click here: http://www.ishtartv.com/viewarticle,28901.html
A parked car bomb and a roadside bomb detonated in quick succession in Kokjali, east of Mosul, striking buses transporting mostly Christian university students. Minorities in Iraq, especially in the north of the country, including Christians, have been frequently targeted by militant groups.
Although the overall levels of violence across the country have dropped drastically compared to the height of the sectarian war in 2006 and 2007, official figures showed an increase in civilian casualties last month. At least 274 civilians were killed in April compared to 216 in March and 211 in February, according to Interior Ministry figures. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/02/1-dead-80-wounded-in-iraq-bombings/
For picture of the injured youth, please click here: http://www.ishtartv.com/viewarticle,28901.html
Jesuit Tutor of Castro Dies
MIAMI (CNS)—He taught Fidel Castro. And then his former student forced him to leave Cuba.But Jesuit Father Amando Llorente—who at one point conceived of creating a religious order of sheepherders—gathered his sheep once more in exile, re-establishing the Agrupacion Catolica Universitaria in Miami.He spent the rest of his priestly ministry "forming Catholics for the church," as he put it, in a paraphrase of Cuban patriot Jose Marti's line that "whoever would build a homeland must build up men."
http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=2540
http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=2540
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Archbishop Warns of "Civil Unrest" in Wake of UK Court Ruling against Christian Counselor
By Peter J. Smith
LONDON, April 30, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The clash between Christians and the state has intensified, with a UK court now having upheld the dismissal of a Christian psychologist who refused to give advice on sexual intimacy to homosexual couples - a decision the former Canterbury Archbishop Lord Carey has denounced as a prelude to “civil unrest” between Christians and the secular government.
Gary McFarlane, 48, a Bristol solicitor, father of two, and evangelical Christian, had worked part-time as a psychological counselor with Relate for five years, during which time he even gave advice to homosexual couples working out basic relationship problems. However, he was sacked from his job in 2008 when he qualified as a psychosexual counselor, because he said he could not give advice in homosexual intimacy as this violated his conscience and beliefs.
McFarlane tried without success to challenge Relate’s decision to fire him at an employment tribunal, arguing that they should have accommodated his religious views. He then appealed to the UK Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the tribunal’s ruling.
However, Lord Justice John Laws denied McFarlane’s request in a strident ruling that argued the law had no responsibility to protect the individual’s expression of conscience or religious belief.
Laws made clear that the court did not view legislation protecting individual conscience as justifiable, calling it an irrational position that “is also divisive, capricious and arbitrary."
Read further...Lifesite...
LONDON, April 30, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The clash between Christians and the state has intensified, with a UK court now having upheld the dismissal of a Christian psychologist who refused to give advice on sexual intimacy to homosexual couples - a decision the former Canterbury Archbishop Lord Carey has denounced as a prelude to “civil unrest” between Christians and the secular government.
Gary McFarlane, 48, a Bristol solicitor, father of two, and evangelical Christian, had worked part-time as a psychological counselor with Relate for five years, during which time he even gave advice to homosexual couples working out basic relationship problems. However, he was sacked from his job in 2008 when he qualified as a psychosexual counselor, because he said he could not give advice in homosexual intimacy as this violated his conscience and beliefs.
McFarlane tried without success to challenge Relate’s decision to fire him at an employment tribunal, arguing that they should have accommodated his religious views. He then appealed to the UK Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the tribunal’s ruling.
However, Lord Justice John Laws denied McFarlane’s request in a strident ruling that argued the law had no responsibility to protect the individual’s expression of conscience or religious belief.
Laws made clear that the court did not view legislation protecting individual conscience as justifiable, calling it an irrational position that “is also divisive, capricious and arbitrary."
Read further...Lifesite...
Undermining the Catholic Church - latimes.com
This is wondrous strange, a pro-Catholic Op-Ed piece in a socialist mouthpiece.
Undermining the Catholic Church - latimes.com
Posted using ShareThis
Undermining the Catholic Church - latimes.com
Posted using ShareThis
Three Anglican Bishops coming to Rome
n a move likely to raise tensions between the two Churches, a group of Church of England bishops met last week with advisers of Pope Benedict XVI to set in motion steps that would allow priests to convert to Catholicism en masse.
They are set to resign their orders in opposition to the introduction of women bishops and to lead an exodus of Anglican clerics to the Catholic Church despite Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, urging them not to leave.
It would be the first time for nearly 20 years that large numbers of priests have crossed from the Church of England to Rome, and comes only weeks ahead of a crucial General Synod debate on making women bishops.
Read further...
They are set to resign their orders in opposition to the introduction of women bishops and to lead an exodus of Anglican clerics to the Catholic Church despite Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, urging them not to leave.
It would be the first time for nearly 20 years that large numbers of priests have crossed from the Church of England to Rome, and comes only weeks ahead of a crucial General Synod debate on making women bishops.
Read further...
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The Anglican Patrimony, Part II
First the Prayer Book. Despite the amount of dated rhetoric that one typically finds in Catholic circles regarding Anglicanism, any superficial perusal of the 1662 Prayer Book or one of its predecessors (e.g. the 1549 Book) or one of its pre-conciliar progeny (e.g. the 1928 American Book) will quickly surprise us with how Catholic it is. A history lesson is in order here. Catholics will typically say that Anglicanism began when Henry VIII led the English Church into open schism with Rome. That is only partially the case. While it is true that Protestants tried to use the schism to their advantage, the only thing Henry did to the Church in England was to declare himself the head of it and dissolve the monasteries. The rest of the Church’s medieval edifice, so to speak, was kept intact. Under the latter part of Henry’s rule, Lutherans and those who preached against mandatory clerical celibacy and monastic vows were often forced into exile or burned at the stake; those who preached against transubstantiation were tied, drawn, and quartered. The Latin liturgy remained officially unchanged for the most part (except that the Pope was no longer prayer for) and the iconoclasm which was to blaze under Bloody Bess (Elizabeth I) was officially discouraged except in a few rare instances. Things were so bad for the Protestant cause in England at the time that one Protestant remarked, “the King has gotten rid of the Pope, but not the popery.” Nevertheless, Archbishop Cranmer, who had come to power only by making the customary oath of allegiance to the Holy See, was able to implement two slight changes in the official liturgy. Three years before Henry’s death in 1547, Cranmer cum permissu regis published an English exhortation to prayer and an English litany to be used in processions.
Unfortunately, because the exhortation was novel, it was not included later in the Prayer Book. The litany, however, which was based on that used during Rogation day processions, was essentially the same as its medieval predecessor, except that the invocations of the saints at the beginning were significantly curtailed, although not altogether eliminated. In the first Prayer Book of 1549 the invocations were completely scrapped and in this truncated form the litany has endured as a standard feature of any Prayer Book.
All of this changed when Edward VI, the boy king, came to the throne. Cranmer, by now a full-fledged heresiarch, could at last openly implement his hellish and foul agenda against the old, medieval religion in an attempt to turn England into another Geneva, but the old devil proceeded craftily. He knew he could not impose upon the English people a new religion at once, for the peasantry and a significant portion of the nobility still held to the faith of their fathers. So he went about changing the faith of his countrymen gradually. The first major step was the first all-English Prayer Book in 1549, a glorious gem of English prose. In it, Cranmer and his minions translated, edited, and simplified the medieval Latin liturgy (primarily the Sarum Use to be more precise) with which they had all grown up. As with all of its later descendants, the 1549 Book includes the entire Anglican liturgy (except the Ordinal) and from it all future versions of the Prayer Book derive, chiefly the 1662 Book and the various colonial Prayer Books.
In my next installment, I shall consider the 1549 Prayer Book in some detail and take this history up until the death of Cranmer in 1556.
Part I is, here.
Friday, April 30, 2010
What the new Missal translations ought to sound like...
As my continued series on the Anglican Patrimony is still being written, I thought some of my readers might care to read and hear aloud what glories neo-Cramnerian prose can do to the traditional liturgy. This morning, I received an email from a professor friend of mine at Ave Maria University who wanted me to translate an old prayer from the Rituale for the blessing of a soldier first going off to war (originally, as is clear from the wording of the prayer, off to one of the Crusades) into the idiom of the BCP. For those of you who read Latin, I include it also:
Deus, cunctorum in te sperantium protector, adesto supplicationibu nostris, et concede huic famulo tuo qui sincero corde gladio se primo nititur praecingere militari, ut in omnibus galea tuae virtutis sit protectus: et sicut David et Iudith contra gentis suae hostis fortitudinis potentiam victoriam tribuisti, ita tuo auxilio munitus contra hostium suorum saevitiam victor ubique existat, et ad sanctae ecclesiae tutelam proficiat; per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
O God, the guardian of all them that put their trust in thee, mercifully accept our prayers and grant that this thy servant, who with heart unfeigned striveth to gird himself with a sword of battle for the very first, may in all things be protected by the helmet of thy might; and, as Thou of old didst grant the victory unto David and Judith against the face of the enemies of their race, so, defended by thine aid, may he arise in all places the victor against the rage of his foes and advance the safeguard of thy holy church, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
All of us literati must bemoan that the Pauline Missal is not now being translated into this sort of English, for if we are going to pray in English, it should (of course!) be this English, as I'll make clear in a future post. But we can hope and pray that when the Novus Ordo turns 80 (in Advent 2049) maybe translations like this will be mandated for Latin Rite parishes everywhere. A noble cause for which to pray, fast, and do penance!
Pope Benedict creates 'new evangelization' Curial Department: headed by Pro-Abort
According to Allen at NCR this appointment could be a vindication of the pro-abort Cardinal, here. This is a strong indication that the new Curial department will be a paper tiger. Has Pope Benedict written Europe off? Perhaps this is the nail in the coffin of John Paul II's credibillity as a Saint as this 'new evangelization' was one of his more enthusiastic, if dubiously effective, creations.
The Cardinal has offered no recantation or apology for his confusing and cynical official act.
Read further...
The Cardinal has offered no recantation or apology for his confusing and cynical official act.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI is planning to create a Roman Curia department charged with overseeing the "re-evangelization" of traditionally Christian countries, an Italian newspaper reported.
The Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization will be announced in an apostolic letter being prepared by the Pope and will be headed by Italian Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Il Giornale said April 25. The Vatican had no immediate comment on the report.
The step would represent the first major Roman Curia innovation under Pope Benedict, who has frequently spoken about the need to renew the roots of the faith in European and other Western societies.
Read further...
Benedictine Monks Restore Abbey at Nursia
Soli Deo Honor et Gloria"
The only sound in the monastery refectory, in the small Umbrian town of Norcia, about three hours from Rome, is the high metallic sound of forks clinking against plates.
"Clink.... clink clink..."
No, wait... I'm wrong.
As I sit listening, I can also hear the sound of water pouring into glasses, the sound of robes swooshing as the monks move about, the sound of chair legs scraping the floor as the monks rise to get a second helping (it is a buffet meal, of soup, pasta in tomato sauce with red and green olives, lettuce, and rough-cut bread) and the sound of glasses thumping softly down against the table cloth after the monks take a drink.
Read further...
The only sound in the monastery refectory, in the small Umbrian town of Norcia, about three hours from Rome, is the high metallic sound of forks clinking against plates.
"Clink.... clink clink..."
No, wait... I'm wrong.
As I sit listening, I can also hear the sound of water pouring into glasses, the sound of robes swooshing as the monks move about, the sound of chair legs scraping the floor as the monks rise to get a second helping (it is a buffet meal, of soup, pasta in tomato sauce with red and green olives, lettuce, and rough-cut bread) and the sound of glasses thumping softly down against the table cloth after the monks take a drink.
Read further...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
An Interview with Father Arnaud Rostand, SSPX
Note: Catholic Family News Editor John Vennari conducted this interview with Father Arnaud Rostand, District Superior of the Society of St. Pius X in the United States. The Interview covers the Documentary itself, important points in the life of Archbishop Lefebvre, and how the laity can help in the Documentary’s production.
Link to Catholic Family News...
Link to Catholic Family News...
Journalist Abuses underage Students at Traditional School: Institute of the Good Shepherd
France [Kreuz.net] The perpetrator provoked children to make racist comments. Now one hears distancing, which one would never hear in conjunction with the daily defamation of Catholics.
A French provocation-journalist has approached prepubescent adolescents in a traditional (altglaeubigen) school in France, in order for them to make racist comments in front of a camera.
His daring feat would have been for him to do this in other schools -- if state, Muslim or Jewish -- they would have been successful. The child-abuser does his deed with a hidden camera.
The criminal act was broadcast on Tuesday for the anti-Christian French television station,'France 2', in order to create an negative mood against the school, which is directed by the traditional (old believing) Priestly Institute of the Good Shepherd.
The Film consisted almost exclusively of illegally filmed scenes with a spy camera.
Next the video showed the various steps of the Pathfinder Group 'Dies Irae', which consists of 150 total youth.
The illegally filming Journalist wanted to construe an "ideological connection" between the Pathfinders, the traditional pastorage and the Institute founded School.
The Journalist enticed the students of the traditional school to various racist comments as he continued his illegal filming in the school areas.
In one part the Journalist provokes the children to sing a song, which invites Jews to come to a Death Camp to take a free shower.
In another class he provoked an expression: "I don't like Jews, I don't like Arabs, I don't like blacks."
Another student in the same class announced, all the passages in the Gospel together, which the Jews criticize. He came to the conclusion, that "all Catholics must hate the Jews."
Suspicious are the single expressions against Arabs and Blacks, because they could not count as much as those against Jews but as a kind of medium artillery, and are immediately fired away, if true or alleged racism as they arise in public.
It concerns racism against the Church
The Superior of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, Pater Philippe Laguérie, dissociated the Institute on Wednesday from an explanation of racism.
The traditional priest called the filmed statements "out of the question" and "scandalous".
The represented statements themselves as "mentally disturbed fringe groups".
At the same time the Institute wants to complain against the television station because of the illegal filming at the school.
Father Laguérie sees the broadcast against its Institute as part of the present "systematic campaign" against the Church.
The Archdiocese of Bordeaux dissociated itself in an explanations Wednesday as well from "the scandalous and unacceptable photographs shown."
The Archdiocese is against all forms of racism, hate and violence.
Illegally Obtained French Video:
Link to original...
A French provocation-journalist has approached prepubescent adolescents in a traditional (altglaeubigen) school in France, in order for them to make racist comments in front of a camera.
His daring feat would have been for him to do this in other schools -- if state, Muslim or Jewish -- they would have been successful. The child-abuser does his deed with a hidden camera.
The criminal act was broadcast on Tuesday for the anti-Christian French television station,'France 2', in order to create an negative mood against the school, which is directed by the traditional (old believing) Priestly Institute of the Good Shepherd.
The Film consisted almost exclusively of illegally filmed scenes with a spy camera.
Next the video showed the various steps of the Pathfinder Group 'Dies Irae', which consists of 150 total youth.
The illegally filming Journalist wanted to construe an "ideological connection" between the Pathfinders, the traditional pastorage and the Institute founded School.
The Journalist enticed the students of the traditional school to various racist comments as he continued his illegal filming in the school areas.
In one part the Journalist provokes the children to sing a song, which invites Jews to come to a Death Camp to take a free shower.
In another class he provoked an expression: "I don't like Jews, I don't like Arabs, I don't like blacks."
Another student in the same class announced, all the passages in the Gospel together, which the Jews criticize. He came to the conclusion, that "all Catholics must hate the Jews."
Suspicious are the single expressions against Arabs and Blacks, because they could not count as much as those against Jews but as a kind of medium artillery, and are immediately fired away, if true or alleged racism as they arise in public.
It concerns racism against the Church
The Superior of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, Pater Philippe Laguérie, dissociated the Institute on Wednesday from an explanation of racism.
The traditional priest called the filmed statements "out of the question" and "scandalous".
The represented statements themselves as "mentally disturbed fringe groups".
At the same time the Institute wants to complain against the television station because of the illegal filming at the school.
Father Laguérie sees the broadcast against its Institute as part of the present "systematic campaign" against the Church.
The Archdiocese of Bordeaux dissociated itself in an explanations Wednesday as well from "the scandalous and unacceptable photographs shown."
The Archdiocese is against all forms of racism, hate and violence.
Illegally Obtained French Video:
Link to original...
Jeff Anderson's ACLU Attack Exposed by Commonweal
Wow! this is almost like having a huge front-page advert in Pravda defending the cult of the Saints and the Catholic Religion!
Back a few days ago, we cried "J'accuse" (I accuse). Now everyone's doing it. Could this be because so many people are logging onto the Scarlet Pimpernel of blogs, "oh brother" you say? Or could it be the obvious resemblance of this current cause célèbres, to another famous and pivotal cultural event that shook the foundations of French society in the years before the First World War known as the Dreyfus Affair? The associations of the affair with a Jewish officer guilty of treason and its subsequent attack on traditional society is what is so important to the expression and the event.
It's probably true that most of the sympathetic readers of this ephemeral publication are anti-Dreyfusards, even if they don't know who Dreyfus was. The Dreyfus case, like many before and since, became a means of social change and a bludgeon to attack the traditions of society. And because we don't like the way the press has been deliberately misrepresenting the Church and the calls to bulldoze it under the ground, we can look back in history at how these movements have panned out and perhaps understand how it is that modern liberals are moved by the same sentiments that motivated anarchists, socialists and other social reformers in the day, and how these stories became for them, mythos.
It's astoniishing that Commonweal is producing this article, it's nice that they picked up on the J'accuse reference, we're glad they did, even if they don't spend any time over here. We're also glad they picked up on what an opportunist Jeffrey Anderson of the ACLU (I SUE YOU!) happens to be. It's to be expected that way, but what's amazing is that even more than mentioning the ACLU, Commonweal actually embarked on what will only be identified as a foray into anti-Semitism by suggesting that the NYTs activities amount to the appearances of The Protocals of Zion.
The essay probably slips up a bit in that it identifies the New York Times, a Jewish paper, as a kind of religion. Indeed, it's the moutpiece of the religion of secular humanism with which the Catholic Church has been at war for hundreds of years; Commweal writes:
Back a few days ago, we cried "J'accuse" (I accuse). Now everyone's doing it. Could this be because so many people are logging onto the Scarlet Pimpernel of blogs, "oh brother" you say? Or could it be the obvious resemblance of this current cause célèbres, to another famous and pivotal cultural event that shook the foundations of French society in the years before the First World War known as the Dreyfus Affair? The associations of the affair with a Jewish officer guilty of treason and its subsequent attack on traditional society is what is so important to the expression and the event.
It's probably true that most of the sympathetic readers of this ephemeral publication are anti-Dreyfusards, even if they don't know who Dreyfus was. The Dreyfus case, like many before and since, became a means of social change and a bludgeon to attack the traditions of society. And because we don't like the way the press has been deliberately misrepresenting the Church and the calls to bulldoze it under the ground, we can look back in history at how these movements have panned out and perhaps understand how it is that modern liberals are moved by the same sentiments that motivated anarchists, socialists and other social reformers in the day, and how these stories became for them, mythos.
It's astoniishing that Commonweal is producing this article, it's nice that they picked up on the J'accuse reference, we're glad they did, even if they don't spend any time over here. We're also glad they picked up on what an opportunist Jeffrey Anderson of the ACLU (I SUE YOU!) happens to be. It's to be expected that way, but what's amazing is that even more than mentioning the ACLU, Commonweal actually embarked on what will only be identified as a foray into anti-Semitism by suggesting that the NYTs activities amount to the appearances of The Protocals of Zion.
The essay probably slips up a bit in that it identifies the New York Times, a Jewish paper, as a kind of religion. Indeed, it's the moutpiece of the religion of secular humanism with which the Catholic Church has been at war for hundreds of years; Commweal writes:
And even today, of course, there is much criticism of the Times that smacks of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, especially when it comes to the newspaper’s coverage of the Middle East. Still, the paper’s institutional suspicion of traditional religions, especially when they assert themselves in public affairs, makes Orthodox Jews as well as conservative Evangelicals and Catholics feel like barbarians at the gates. The most telling comment Tifft and Jones elicited in this regard was from the current publisher, Arthur Ochs “Pinch” Sulzberger Jr. He described his personal faith this way: “I have the Times. That’s my religion. That’s what I believe in, and it’s a hell of a thing to hold on to.”
Catholic Seton Hall U. to Offer Gay 'Marriage' Course by Homosexualist Prof
By Kathleen Gilbert
SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey, April 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Seton Hall University, the oldest Catholic diocesan university in the U.S., will be offering a same-sex "marriage" course taught by a homosexualist professor.
The Setonian, the university's newspaper, reported that the new course offering for Fall 2010 would be offered by associate professor W. King Mott, an open homosexual who was demoted in 2005 after complaining about the Catholic Church's stance against homosexuality.
The course will be offered under the Women and Gender studies department, and will be available to upper level students of any major.
“The Roman Catholic Church is prima facie homophobic,” Mott had told the press. “The Roman Catholic Church considers me to be inherently disordered. I don't know how much more homophobic one can be.” However, the university insisted that it was not rebuking Mott for his personal views, but only for failing to disassociate himself from the school.
Mott claims that next semester's course is not an advocacy course, but will, in the words of the Setonian's Jessica Sutcliffe, "[teach] the issue of gay marriage from an academic perspective."
“It is one thing to say ‘I am for or against gay marriage,’” Mott said. “It’s another to actually understand the issue. ... I hope my students gain an appreciation and respect for disinterested analysis that can be used to formulate an informed opinion."
Students in the course will write a report on same-sex "marriage" from "a perspective they choose after they have been educated on the issue," according to the article.
Junior Anthony Angelella, a secondary education and mathematics major, quoted by the Setonian, said he was "surprised" but "excited" about the class, and that it "just shows that a Catholic campus doesn't have to be so cut and dry about controversial issues.”
Mott, who as of 2005 lived with his male partner, openly maintains an affiliation with Lambda Legal, the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, and Human Rights Campaign, all leading homosexualist groups.
TFP Student Action points out that, in a paper entitled "The Sanctity of Marriage: Current Boundaries and the New Vocabulary," Mott said that maintaining marriage as between one man and one woman was "laughable."
"The notion that marriage is a stable and ancient human arrangement, derived from divine revelation, limited to that existing between one man and one woman, and binding save through the permission of a single Church is contrived," he wrote, as quoted by the student group. "It is laughable to consider that human relationships could ever find satisfaction and expression in this single interpretation of marriage."
TFP Student Action's John Ritchie questioned the rationale behind allowing Mott to offer the course. "Why should any Catholic university sponsor a course that leads students away from the truth?" he asked.
"Why should the Catholic classroom be used as a tool to advance the homosexual movement and undermine traditional marriage?
"In our hyper-sexualized culture, Seton Hall University would do well to cancel this course and replace it with one that teaches students how to appreciate the beauty of abstinence, modesty and heroic purity."
Seton Hall University responded to LifeSiteNews.com's request for comment with a statement declaring that the class was a "special topics" course that, as such, professors could offer "on an experimental basis three times" and therefore was "not reviewed by the college curricular committee."
"This course has been scheduled for the fall semester to examine one of the most significant political policy questions of our time. It is not presented to our students as an advocacy course. Thus, we fully anticipate that the Catholic position on same-sex marriage will be robustly explored," stated the school.
The University declined to give further comment.
Link further...
SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey, April 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Seton Hall University, the oldest Catholic diocesan university in the U.S., will be offering a same-sex "marriage" course taught by a homosexualist professor.
The Setonian, the university's newspaper, reported that the new course offering for Fall 2010 would be offered by associate professor W. King Mott, an open homosexual who was demoted in 2005 after complaining about the Catholic Church's stance against homosexuality.
The course will be offered under the Women and Gender studies department, and will be available to upper level students of any major.
“The Roman Catholic Church is prima facie homophobic,” Mott had told the press. “The Roman Catholic Church considers me to be inherently disordered. I don't know how much more homophobic one can be.” However, the university insisted that it was not rebuking Mott for his personal views, but only for failing to disassociate himself from the school.
Mott claims that next semester's course is not an advocacy course, but will, in the words of the Setonian's Jessica Sutcliffe, "[teach] the issue of gay marriage from an academic perspective."
“It is one thing to say ‘I am for or against gay marriage,’” Mott said. “It’s another to actually understand the issue. ... I hope my students gain an appreciation and respect for disinterested analysis that can be used to formulate an informed opinion."
Students in the course will write a report on same-sex "marriage" from "a perspective they choose after they have been educated on the issue," according to the article.
Junior Anthony Angelella, a secondary education and mathematics major, quoted by the Setonian, said he was "surprised" but "excited" about the class, and that it "just shows that a Catholic campus doesn't have to be so cut and dry about controversial issues.”
Mott, who as of 2005 lived with his male partner, openly maintains an affiliation with Lambda Legal, the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, and Human Rights Campaign, all leading homosexualist groups.
TFP Student Action points out that, in a paper entitled "The Sanctity of Marriage: Current Boundaries and the New Vocabulary," Mott said that maintaining marriage as between one man and one woman was "laughable."
"The notion that marriage is a stable and ancient human arrangement, derived from divine revelation, limited to that existing between one man and one woman, and binding save through the permission of a single Church is contrived," he wrote, as quoted by the student group. "It is laughable to consider that human relationships could ever find satisfaction and expression in this single interpretation of marriage."
TFP Student Action's John Ritchie questioned the rationale behind allowing Mott to offer the course. "Why should any Catholic university sponsor a course that leads students away from the truth?" he asked.
"Why should the Catholic classroom be used as a tool to advance the homosexual movement and undermine traditional marriage?
"In our hyper-sexualized culture, Seton Hall University would do well to cancel this course and replace it with one that teaches students how to appreciate the beauty of abstinence, modesty and heroic purity."
Seton Hall University responded to LifeSiteNews.com's request for comment with a statement declaring that the class was a "special topics" course that, as such, professors could offer "on an experimental basis three times" and therefore was "not reviewed by the college curricular committee."
"This course has been scheduled for the fall semester to examine one of the most significant political policy questions of our time. It is not presented to our students as an advocacy course. Thus, we fully anticipate that the Catholic position on same-sex marriage will be robustly explored," stated the school.
The University declined to give further comment.
Link further...
Archdiocese of Toronto will work with Canadian Authorities on Sex Ed
Mexico's masonic government has had a penchant for sex-ed since the 1920s, even before it was largely tried in other parts of North America, except for individuals like Margret Sanger, here. The proposal was so unpopular then, that riots took place. Of course, Mexico, ever on the forefront of socialist progress, has exceeded possibly even the most optimistic expectations of the cause of depravity recently by proposing a very daring sex-ed program. Back in 1934, the Catholic Church in Mexico was still strong enough to cause the resignation of the Minister of Education, Narcizo Basol, and here, and not serve as a facilitater of socialist wealth confiscation programs and urge the violation of US Law and its enforcement as Archbishop Dolan does.
The Church was also strong enough to produce men of independent spirit and great intelligence then, too. The famous Bishop Kelley who worked with Cardinal Curley of Boston to write, the seminal Blood Drenched Altars, wrote scathingly of the socialist government's connection with sex education, which President Lázaro Cárdenas tacitly admitted, would destroy the family:
And back then, Bishops didn't just pay lip service to charity by encouraging people to break the law, they actually held vigils, like Cardinal Hays once did, here.
For a great back ground in the history of Mexico and the persecution of the Church there, read, Blood Drenched Altars, available, here.
Entire article...here
The Church was also strong enough to produce men of independent spirit and great intelligence then, too. The famous Bishop Kelley who worked with Cardinal Curley of Boston to write, the seminal Blood Drenched Altars, wrote scathingly of the socialist government's connection with sex education, which President Lázaro Cárdenas tacitly admitted, would destroy the family:
It is untrue that Socialistic education may lead to the dissolution of the home; and it is also untrue that it perverts children and separates them from their parents. Socialist education prepares the child so that, when he becomes a man, he may comply with his obligations of solidarity in a spirit of fraternity for his class companions.24
He [President Lázaro Cárdenas] was thinking, no doubt, that the federal president's words in Ciudad González were aimed at the eight archdioceses, twenty-two dioceses, and one vicariate apostolic of all Mexico. And it was no secret that the revolutionary school system was inculcating atheism. Its program of "sex-education" was crude and laughable in today's terms. And it was certainly offensive to Mexican standards of decency. One might also add that the whole persecution was crude because it only served to enrage the vast multitudes of the population. Blood Drenched Altars, Book Review, Brian van Hove SJ here.
And back then, Bishops didn't just pay lip service to charity by encouraging people to break the law, they actually held vigils, like Cardinal Hays once did, here.
Catholic groups led by the Archbishop of Toronto have vowed to work co-operatively with the Ontario Education Ministry on a new sex-education curriculum for children in Grades 1 to 8.
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s office issued a statement from the groups on Wednesday night, amid controversy over whether all publicly funded schools in the province were in fact planning to follow the same sex-ed curriculum.
The now shelved sex-ed curriculum would have introduced the topic of same-sex marriage to Grade 3 students and a mention of anal intercourse in Grade 7. Sister Joan said the Catholic version of the curriculum would not have taught children in separate schools about gender identity until Grade 7.
Mr. McGuinty said he was in the dark about his government’s revamped curriculum until last week, when a Christian group led by evangelist Charles McVety complained about it. But he took the blame for the fact that it has been derailed. He read the chapter on sex-ed only last Thursday, the same day he pulled the plug on the document.
For a great back ground in the history of Mexico and the persecution of the Church there, read, Blood Drenched Altars, available, here.
Entire article...here
Military Chaplains urge Obama to Maintain Ban on Homosexuals in Military
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Over 40 retired military chaplains are urging President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to consider the impairment of religious liberty that would likely result from imposing a "non-discrimination" policy regarding open homosexuals in the military.
The Family Research Council (FRC) and the Alliance Defense Fund Wednesday released a letter signed by the chaplains expressing concern over what they claim would be a threat to Christian free speech if the military's "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy on open homosexuals in the military were to be lifted. Defense Secretary Gates confirmed in February that, acceeding to the wishes of the Obama administration, the Pentagon would begin taking steps towards repealing the Clinton-era DADT.
"As chaplains whose cumulative service is measured in centuries, we are deeply concerned that these changes would threaten the religious liberty of chaplains and service members," states the letter. The former chaplains note that, because they are retired, they have more freedom to speak, "unlike our active-duty brethren in the chaplaincy, who may risk accusations of insubordination or discrimination if they raise these concerns."
Read further...
The Family Research Council (FRC) and the Alliance Defense Fund Wednesday released a letter signed by the chaplains expressing concern over what they claim would be a threat to Christian free speech if the military's "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy on open homosexuals in the military were to be lifted. Defense Secretary Gates confirmed in February that, acceeding to the wishes of the Obama administration, the Pentagon would begin taking steps towards repealing the Clinton-era DADT.
"As chaplains whose cumulative service is measured in centuries, we are deeply concerned that these changes would threaten the religious liberty of chaplains and service members," states the letter. The former chaplains note that, because they are retired, they have more freedom to speak, "unlike our active-duty brethren in the chaplaincy, who may risk accusations of insubordination or discrimination if they raise these concerns."
Read further...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Bishop Tobin Strikes Again
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Roman Catholic bishop of Providence has withdrawn two hospitals sponsored by his diocese from membership in a Catholic hospital group that supports health care reform.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed reform legislation because of fears it would allow for public funding of abortion, but the Catholic Health Association disagreed and supported it. Sister Carol Keehan, head of the group that represents about 600 hospitals, met with President Barack Obama at the White House days before the bill passed. The bill was signed into law March 23.
The diocese on Wednesday released a letter written March 29 by Bishop Thomas Tobin to Keehan in which he complained that even an association with the group was embarrassing.
Link to original...
Prince Welcomed back in Nepal
Four years after his car was stoned by angry protesters and his royal legacy abolished by parliament, Nepal's former crown prince Paras has begun to regain his halo, thanks to the mounting public anger against the unsuccessful political parties.
Ahead of a fresh crisis with the Maoist party having called an indefinite general strike nationwide, Paras was given a hero's welcome in southern Nepal Wednesday as he began a series of public appearances, the first since the abolition of monarchy in 2008.
The 39-year-old had chosen to go into self-imposed exile in Singapore, unable to forgive his father, deposed king Gyanendra, for surrendering power after a sweeping pro-democracy movement in 2006.
Read further at prokelara orginal...
Ahead of a fresh crisis with the Maoist party having called an indefinite general strike nationwide, Paras was given a hero's welcome in southern Nepal Wednesday as he began a series of public appearances, the first since the abolition of monarchy in 2008.
The 39-year-old had chosen to go into self-imposed exile in Singapore, unable to forgive his father, deposed king Gyanendra, for surrendering power after a sweeping pro-democracy movement in 2006.
Read further at prokelara orginal...
Archbishop Nienstedt: Let's Protect the Meaning of Marriage
Tough crowd in Minneapolis if you look at the comments.
Read further...
h/t: pewsitter
Why should Minnesotans care about passing a marriage amendment?
Marriage matters to every Minnesotan, whether or not we choose to marry personally, because it is the natural way we bring together men and women to conceive and raise the next generation. The intended reality of marriage as a lifelong, committed, life-giving union between one man and one woman, a reality long accepted as established fact, is severely challenged today. High rates of fatherlessness and family fragmentation impoverish children and leave women with the unfair burden of solo parenting. Children suffer, but so does the whole society, when marriage fails in its irreplaceable task of bringing together mothers and fathers with their children.
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h/t: pewsitter
Psychiatrist Haller: 0.3 Percent of all Perpetrators are from Ecclesiastical Background
He also says that 50% of reports of sexual abuse are false.
Link to original...
The other 99.7 percent of the perpetrators of abuse come from the non-ecclesiastical field, says Juristic Psychiatrist in ORF-Interview.
Bregenz (kath.net) Only 0.3 Percent of all perpetrators, who have committed abuse against a minor, are from the ecclesiastical profession, said Juristic Psychiatrist Reinhard Haller in an interview with ORF Vorarlberg. 99.7 percent of the perpetrators come from familial environment or from societal organizations. Haller is a member of the independent commission, which is assigned to abuse cases in the Catholic Church and which is directed by Waltraud Klasnic.
It will be only little noticed in the current situation, that the most abuse cases occur in families or in societies. He hopes in the future, that the cases will be attended together, not only one of a special group.
His long experience in working with victims as a psychiatrist could be key for Klansic, Haller suspects the reason for his employment in the commission. Haller is a Specialist in Psychiatry and Neurology and for 20 years the medical director of the Vorarlberg Treatment Center for Addicts, Maria Level. Since 1983 his is a court appointed, sworn and certified expert for criminal psychiatry. As Catholic the collaboration in the commission is a concern.
He wants to discover also, how (potential) perpetrators can be kept away from the Church - and its work with youth. Even the "copycats" interest Haller: Some fifty percent of all occurrences of sexual abuse are false. This is a problem he wants to confront.
Link to original...
Standards for the Priesthood must improve, Cardinal Levada
MARGARET WARNER: Cardinal Levada, thank you for having us.
CARDINAL WILLIAM LEVADA: You are welcome. It's my pleasure. I'm a great fan of the NewsHour.
MARGARET WARNER: Thank you. And I apologize for my voice. Last week the pope accepted the resignation of two prominent bishops in Europe. Another bishop tendered his resignation in this clergy sex abuse scandal. Are there going to be more?
CARDINAL WILLIAM LEVADA: I don't think there is any way to predict. There have been several in the past, over the past 10 years let's say for various reasons. There is no way of predicting that, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Full PBS interview...
CARDINAL WILLIAM LEVADA: You are welcome. It's my pleasure. I'm a great fan of the NewsHour.
MARGARET WARNER: Thank you. And I apologize for my voice. Last week the pope accepted the resignation of two prominent bishops in Europe. Another bishop tendered his resignation in this clergy sex abuse scandal. Are there going to be more?
CARDINAL WILLIAM LEVADA: I don't think there is any way to predict. There have been several in the past, over the past 10 years let's say for various reasons. There is no way of predicting that, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Full PBS interview...
Good News for the Catholic Church
WARSAW (Reuters) - Support for the Roman Catholic Church has risen in Poland, a survey showed on Tuesday, despite child sexual abuse scandals that have badly eroded its authority and reputation in many other countries.
The TNS OBOP survey, conducted from April 8 to 19 among 1,056 people, showed 73 percent of Poles had a high regard for the church's work, up 5 percentage points from March. Only 18 percent of respondents viewed the church critically.
The survey coincided with a plane crash on April 10 that killed Poland's president, his wife and 94 others, mostly senior military and political officials. The disaster triggered a week of national mourning in which the church played a central role.
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Did the Vatican let Benedict XVI take the rap for the child abuse scandal in order to protect the memory of John Paul II?
Father Malachi Martin, the famous ex-Jesuit and Hebrew Scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls once said that John Paul II was surrounded by men who despised him. Now that he is dead, many are rushing to coopt and protect his legacy. It's only fitting since the late Pope had been a real sign of contradiction, so much so that he frequently contradicted himself in public pronouncments.
One thing hasn't changed, if what Father Malachi said is true (and there's plenty of evidence around to suggest it is): it's not just the media that hates Benedict XVI and the Papacy, but it's the Vatican itself, like a familiar disease whose immune defense system attacks the body it is supposed to defend.
Damian Thompson's analysis is correct here, as usual.
Did the Vatican let Benedict XVI take the rap for the child abuse scandal in order to protect the memory of John Paul II?
One thing hasn't changed, if what Father Malachi said is true (and there's plenty of evidence around to suggest it is): it's not just the media that hates Benedict XVI and the Papacy, but it's the Vatican itself, like a familiar disease whose immune defense system attacks the body it is supposed to defend.
Damian Thompson's analysis is correct here, as usual.
Did the Vatican let Benedict XVI take the rap for the child abuse scandal in order to protect the memory of John Paul II?
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