George Weigel to Youth: Defend Religious Freedom

It remains to be seen whether or not George Weigel has any kind of youth following, but one thing is sure, whatever his appeal with the kids, he's going to try to enlist the Natural Law to defend something which is against the Natural Law, religious liberty.

There is nothing in the Natural Law which can be enlisted to defend anyone's right to hold an erroneous opinion.

Moreover, hitching the pro-life movement to the Civil Rights Movement isn't a good idea. It's just more proof that George Weigel isn't a trustworthy expositor of Catholic truth, but he's certainly a well paid one.

Says Pro-Life Cause Is Successor to Civil Rights Movement

MERRIMACK, New Hampshire, MAY 28, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Catholic theologian and author George Weigel is urging college graduates to base themselves firmly in natural law in order to make a good defense of religious freedom in society today.

The author of Pope John Paul II's biography "Witness to Hope" made this appeal at the May 16 graduation ceremony of the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, in which he was awarded an honorary doctorate and gave the commencement address.

"One of the great challenges of the younger generation of Catholics will be to rise to the defense of religious freedom in full," Weigel said.

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Great Catholic Renaisance in Ukraine is under Threat

by John L Allen Jr on May. 28, 2010

On any countdown of terrific Catholic stories over the last twenty years, the renaissance of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine would have to be near the top of the list. Numbering some five million faithful, about ten percent of the Ukrainian population, Greek Catholics follow Orthodox liturgical and spiritual traditions but have been in full union with Rome since the 16th century.

Under the Soviets, the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine was the largest illegal religious body in the world, and one of the most persecuted. The legendary Ukrainian Cardinal Josef Slipyi, who spent two decades in the gulags, once said that his church had been buried under "mountains of corpses and rivers of blood." During his 2001 visit to Ukraine, John Paul II beatified 27 Greek Catholic martyrs under the Soviets -- one of whom had been boiled alive, another crucified in prison, and a third bricked into a wall.

Given that history, the church's recovery in the short span of time since the Soviet Union imploded has been nothing short of miraculous. In 1939, the Greek Catholics boasted 2,500 priests; by 1989, the number had fallen to just 300. Today it's back up to 2,500, with 800 seminarians in the pipeline. Greek Catholics played key roles in the "Orange Revolution" of 2004/05, which for a brief, shining moment, promised to bring democracy and the rule of law to Ukraine.


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American lawsuit against Vatican misconstrues nature of the Church, canonists say :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

American lawsuit against Vatican misconstrues nature of the Church, canonists say :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Jesuit Parish Hosting Pro-Abort Kennedy Speaker in New York

An evening with Kerry Kennedy author of Being Catholic Now.
Wednesday, June 2nd 7:00 PM Main Church

Her life has been devoted to the vindication of equal justice, to the promotion and protection of basic rights, and to the preservation of the rule of law. At a time of diminished idealism and growing cynicism about public service, her life and lectures are testaments to the commitment to the basic values of human rights.

* For more information: 212.627.2100 x 216 Layspirits@gmail.com
* Suggested Donation $15.00

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'Lost' ends with Catholic twist :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

'Lost' ends with Catholic twist :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Scholars to Convene on Beatification of Cardinal John Newman

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Scholars to Convene on Beatification of Cardinal John Newman

Most Significant Convert to Catholicism in Modern Religious History
Guest Homilist Jack Sullivan is Newman’s First Miracle

Conference Precedes Beatification by Pope Benedict XVI in U.K.

PITTSBURGH, May 4, 2010 – A month before Pope Benedict XVI beatifies 19th century Roman Catholic Cardinal, philosopher and educator John Henry Newman, several hundred scholars and guests will convene in Pittsburgh to present their works on the life and influence of John Henry Cardinal Newman. Pittsburgh-based National Institute for Newman Studies will host the 2010 conference of the Newman Association of America, August 5 -7.

The conference theme is appropriately titled, “A Reflection on the Life, Work and Spirituality of John Henry Newman in Celebration of His Beatification.”

Over 25 speakers will deliver papers on such varied topics as “Principles of Newman's Theological Reading of the Fathers,” “Newman and Twentieth-Century Literary Converts: Lowell, Merton, and Day,” and “Holiness in the Parochial and Plain Sermons: Its Nature, Aids, and Obstacles.” Keynote addresses will be given by Fr. Ian Ker, of Oxford University, Dr. Terrence Merrigan, of the Catholic University of Leuven, and Dr. Cyril O’Regan of the University of Notre Dame.

“This annual event holds even greater importance this year in that it will celebrate the pending beatification by Pope Benedict XVI of Cardinal Newman in September during his trip to England,” said Father Drew Morgan, program chair of the 2010 National Newman Conference and director of the National Institute for Newman Studies. “We are blessed for this momentous opportunity to host this conference and to advance Newman’s cause for canonization,” he added.

The three-day gathering will generate much discussion on Newman’s life, thought, and spirituality. Conference registration is currently underway and online at www.newmanassociationofamerica.org. Registration for the conference will close on July 1. For questions about the Conference, please call (412)681-4375.


Public Invited to Special Opening Mass


The August 5 conference opening Mass at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh is a public event and will be celebrated by its Bishop David Zubik. Guest homilist for this opening Mass will be Deacon Jack Sullivan, the Massachusetts man who was healed from a serious illness through the intercession of Cardinal Newman, representing the first miracle in the road to his canonization.

Plans are underway for a special celebration of Cardinal Newman’s beatification on Sunday, September 19, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Pittsburgh. The National Institute for Newman Studies will host this Mass on the same day of Cardinal Newman’s beatification by Pope Benedict XVI in Coventry, England, Newman’s hometown.

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Remember Bishop Pates: Confused Atheist Schoolteacher Fired on his Watch

Bishop Pates was sent to Des Moines Iowa and was very controversial as an Auxiliary Bishop in St. Paul, Minnesota, here,

A week after the Fox visit, Auxiliary Bishop Richard Pates visited St. Joan of Arc to formally install Fr. DeBruycker as pastor. According to The Wanderer, Bishop Pates assured parishioners that “Fr. DeBruycker has the full support of Archbishop Flynn.” In confirmation of this, Archbishop Flynn himself (along with Bishop Pates) paid a visit to St. Joan of Arc on May 24, 2006, to preside at the funeral Mass for Fr. Harvey Egan, former pastor of St. Joan’s. Fr. Egan is the founder of their famous and controversial “gym Mass.”

To date Saint Joan of Arc still holds meetings and hosts events that either explicitly or implicitly attack Catholic teaching, here.

Despite his earlier career as a serious wreckovator at St. Ambrose in Eagan, Minnesota and at Resurrection Parish in South Minneapolis, he's forging a new role for himself. He's already dealt with unruly teachers before, here. Iowa, being a home of much liberal judicial activism is a challenging place, an interesting place to test the Church's strength against the unwieldy and oppressive power of the state.

Despite Bishop Pates earlier reticence to defend Catholic teaching, indeed, his efforts to undermine it, he is now acting in an unaccustomed role as a defender of Catholic Truth:

A Catholic teacher from Fort Dodge has been fired because of a Facebook survey in which she said she did not believe in God.

Abby Nurre, 27, was hired last summer as an eighth- grade math teacher at St. Edmond Catholic School. In August, she responded to a Facebook members' poll in which she was asked whether she believed in God, miracles or heaven.

In response, Nurre answered, "No." Her answers then became part of her Facebook autobiography page, which was accessible only to her designated "friends."

‘Gay’ Ex-Altar Server Drops Human Rights Case against Bishop

PETERBOROUGH, Ontario, May 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The human rights complaint filed against Bishop Nicola De Angelis of Peterborough, Ontario over his decision to disallow an open homosexual from acting as an altar server in the diocese has been dropped without conditions.

The bishop met with the complainant Jim Corcoran, “in the spirit of peace and reconciliation,” in the bishop’s chancery office on May 21. According to the diocesan bulletin, “As a result of this meeting Mr. Corcoran has withdrawn his Human Rights application with no terms or conditions being requested or imposed on anyone.”

Throughout the public scrutiny of the case, which gained international attention, the bishop remained firm in his resolve not to permit the human rights mechanism to interfere in Church matters.

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Cardinal laments Italy’s ‘demographic suicide’

Catholic World News
May 28, 2010

In a May 25 address to his fellow Italian bishops, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian episcopal conference, lamented his nation’s “slow demographic suicide.” “Over 50% of families today are without children,” he said; another quarter have only one child, while just 5.1% have three or more.


Source(s): •A Nation's Suicide (Zenit)

Sandro Magister is taking Cardinal Schönborn to task as well

Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Argument over Celibacy

Cardinal Schönborn proposes "rethinking" this obligation for the Catholic clergy. And so do other bishops. Benedict XVI, however, wants to strengthen it. In support he has the whole history of the Church, since the time of the apostles

by Sandro Magister
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1343466?eng=y

ROME, May 28, 2010 – Benedict XVI is preparing to conclude the Year for Priests, which he called in order to restore spiritual vigor to Catholic priests at a difficult time for the entire Church.

Meanwhile, however, one famous cardinal among those closest to the pope, Vienna archbishop Christoph Schönborn continues to beat the drum of a "rethinking" of the discipline of celibacy among the Latin clergy.

Schönborn is a well-educated man, a former student of Joseph Ratzinger when he was a professor of theology. In the 1980's, he collaborated in the writing of the catechism of the Catholic Church. But as a man of command, since he has been at the head of a Church so off-kilter as the Austrian Church is, he has shown himself more attentive to the pressure of public opinion than to his leadership duties.

In mid-May, as soon as one of his fellow Austrian bishops, Paul Iby of Eisenstadt, said that "priests should be free to decide whether to marry or not" and that "the Holy See is too timid on this question," Cardinal Schönborn quickly commented: "The concerns expressed by Bishop Iby are the concerns of us all."

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Pope Benedict: The Church must learn again to Show Penance

Some people are saying that he is the Pope of "unity" and that's pretty good, but Pope of Penitance sound a lot better.

Benedict XVI on his address to the Italian Bishops: The Church must learn again to show penance and to accept purification. Not only forgiveness is necessary, rather also righteousness.

Vatican City (kath.net/KNA) Pope Benedict XVI. had invited the Italian Bishops to an open discussion about the Abuse Scandal. "the will to a new age of Evangelization does not preclude wounds, from which the Church suffers on the part of its weakness and sins of some of its members," he said on Thursday before the Italian Bishop's Conference in the Vatican. This "pious and painful understanding" may not be forgotten because there is the example of countless faithful and priests.

Benedict XVI said, the Church must learn again, to show penance and accept purification. Forgiveness is not only necessary, rather also righteousness, said the head of the Church. the Italian Bishops Conference held from Monday to Friday their early year gathering in the Vatican.

At the same time the Pope encouraged the renewed efforts of the Italian Bishops in Education and Formation. Even in Italy, there are signs of a "cultural crisis". As an example he named the uncertainties about moral values as well as the difficulties of many adults, their duties in raising the next generation.

This cultural crisis is "even as serious as the economic"

Benedict XVI. said it is "illusory" to believe, that only the economic crisis should be challenged, while the cultural is ignored. Facing the danger, that the great Traditions would become dead letter, must strengthen the Church's efforts in Christian education and upbringing. The family plays an indispensable role.

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Archbishop Gomez urges conversion at Los Angeles welcoming ceremony :: EWTN News

Archbishop Gomez urges conversion at Los Angeles welcoming ceremony :: EWTN News

Eucharistic Adoration in Rome in Reparation for Abuse

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is hosting two hours of eucharistic adoration “in reparation for abuses committed by priests and for the healing of this wound within the church.”

The service in St. Peter’s Basilica this Saturday will feature an hour of silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, an hour of prayer and meditation, and a solemn blessing at the end.

The unusual initiative was organized by Catholic university students in Rome. Sources said the event was originally planned for the small Church of St. Anne inside Vatican City, but that it was moved to St. Peter’s at the suggestion of Cardinal Angelo Comastri, who is archpriest of the basilica.

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Pope compares Moral Crisis to the Economic One

EDUCATION: HELPING NEW GENERATIONS RELATE TO THE WORLD

VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican's Synod Hall, the Holy Father met with participants in the general assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), who are meeting from 24 to 28 May to consider their general pastoral guidelines for the period 2010 - 2020.

"The Holy Spirit guides the Church in the world and in history", said the Pope. "Thanks to this gift from the Risen One, the Lord remains present in midst of historical events. It is through the Spirit that we can recognise the meaning of human vicissitudes in Christ".

"Supported by the Spirit and continuing down the path shown us by Vatican Council II, in particular with the pastoral guidelines of the last decade, you have chosen to adopt education as the principal theme for the next ten years. This temporal horizon is proportioned to the importance and breadth of educational requirements, which call on us to take responsibility for the new generations with a united, integral and harmonious witness which helps us to think, propose and live the truth, beauty and goodness of the Christian experience".

Benedict XVI went on to speak of modern culture, where sometimes "the dignity of the person, the value of life, and the very meaning of truth and goodness" are placed in doubt, and where "nothing beyond the individual is recognised as definitive". In this situation "it becomes arduous and difficult to present new generations with the 'bread' of truth' for which it is worth spending one's life and accepting, when necessary, the rigour of discipline and the fatigue of commitment.

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Immodest Italian Women want Celibacy Laws to Change

It's one of those situations where a certain kind of man will shrug his shoulders and say something crass, even deliberately crass to offend the sensibility of an antagonistic leftist female.

What had Berlusconi done to arouse the ire of some leftists in Italian society who've made the issue into a cause célèbre? Well, he accused a certain woman of being more beautiful than intelligent, "hey, did I say something wrong?" This happened in 2009 and Berlusconi wasn't too noticeably effected and has been more popular than ever.

About 97,000 Italian women have signed the "Women offended by the premier" appeal after Berlusconi told the matronly, bespectacled leftist Rosy Bindi that she was "more beautiful than intelligent" in a swipe at both her looks and brains.

Facebook girly protest notwithstanding, Berlusconi is still in power.


Feminist political agendas are waged with greater zeal when their object is conservative. Many people were eager to believe Anita Hill who'd accused the black and conservative Catholic, Justice Clarance Thomas of sexually harassing her, but those same women who "believed Anita Hill" were mysteriously silent as the que of Bill Clinton's accusers grew.

It brings to mind a similar but unrelated legal ruling in Italy when female politicians protested outside Parliament with Jeans on in 1999, including Benito Mussolini's granddaughter. The defense was subsequently overturned, but there's definitely a change in Italian society, here. I can't help but feel that the Jeans defense for alleged rapists was somehow the Italian legal system's attempt to punish bad attire.



There are women who are easily offended, especially women of left sensibilities of which there is never a shortage, alas, and leftists are sure to bank on this, because women are a very important economic and moral force in Italian society, any society, but often, women expend their efforts on causes that raise an eyebrow with a hint of sauciness, but have a certain questionable validity, and even more questionable outcomes. The following Guardian Report that tells of a facebook group of former mistresses of priests who are urging the Church to changes its rules on celibacy.

Now, aside from the prurient interest, is this really newsworthy? More importantly, does it help us see women in a positive light?

Dozens of Italian women who have had relationships with Roman Catholic priests or lay monks have endorsed an open letter to the pope that calls for the abolition of the celibacy rule. The letter, thought by one signatory to be unprecedented, argues that a priest "needs to live with his fellow human beings, experience feelings, love and be loved".

It also pleads for understanding of those who "live out in secrecy those few moments the priest manages to grant [us] and experience on a daily basis the doubts, fears and insecurities of our men".

You should notice also that none of their arguments are based on actuality. They're based exclusively on sentiment, and perhaps a hint of malice and prurience.

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Two of the offensive parties have facebook accounts, like this one here:











Photo Credit: Reuters

The Waltz of the Cardinal: ++Schönborn's fickle Allegiance

The Italian journalist Bruno Volpe has commentated on the most recent clarifications by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna about his predecessor, Hans-Herman Cardinal Groër (+2003)

Volpe is the producer of the famous Italian website, 'pontifex.roma.it".

On the end of march Cardinal Schönborn attacked the former Secretary of State Cardinal Sodano and implicated him in preventing an investigative commission on accusations against Cardinal Groër which then Cardinal Ratzinger was to have had undertaken.

Indeed, Volpe has brought "a few clarifications" on this situation.

He recalled on an activity of the Congregation of the Faith that occurred at Castle Laxenburg near Vienna, at the end of 1989.

Cardinal Ratzinger explained this opportunity to journalists, that the naming of Cardinal Groër as Archbishop of Vienna had been "very well considered".

Pope John Paul II named the Benedictine in July 1986 as Archbishop of Vienna and in June h1988 he made him Cardinal.

Volpe knows still more.

in March 1995 the supposed abuse-afflicted and socially maligned Joseph Hartman attacked the former Cardinal of Vienna in the scandal magazine 'profil'.

He accused the Cardinal of sexual abuse, which he was supposed to have committed in the years 1972 and 1976.

Volpe then explained that many defended Cardinal Groër. The journalist named the then Bishop of Sankt Polten, Msgr Kurt Krenn, the former Chairman of the 'Freedom Party', Jorg Haider, and the former Viennese Auxiliary Bishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn.

Volpe also made the comparison of "the attack against Groër with a Church persecution, which would be similar to the Nazi Regime."

Volpe points out, that Msgr Schönborn altered his tactics once Cardinal Groër had fallen from grace. He suddenly made aggressively critical statements in public.

The Guild of journalists: "Cardinal Schönborn has a line on the day, which stands in the best tradition of Viennese waltzers."

Because: "First Cardinal Groër was a victim of anti-Catholic Fascism, then he was accused and perhaps even discovered:

Where here the truth is, might the Bishop of Vienna explain. We will be very thankful and say God Bless you" - said Volpe.


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South African Anglican Bishops engage in Pro-Homosexual Activism

The Bishops of the Anglican Church in South Africa are calling on President Jacob Zuma and South African government to take measures to secure the release of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, a gay couple who were recently sentenced to 14 years’ hard labour after they staged a traditional engagement ceremony.

“We urge them to press for the swift release of these two individuals, who have committed no act of violence or harm against anyone; for the quashing of the sentence against them; and for the repeal of this repressive legislation,” the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa said in a May 26 statement made available to Nyasa Times.

Monjeza and Chimbalanga were given the maximum sentence following a May 20 verdict from a Magistrates’ Court in Malawi, where same-sex relationships are illegal. The two men were arrested on December 28 after their engagement ceremony.

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New Legal Venues for ACLU Legal Activist

He's on his way to change the way the Catholic Church works by attacking it with lawsuits. In the meantime, he's found a new potentially lucrative venue. By suing the multiple users of child pornography on the internet, he stands to keep his warchest full as he Crusades against the Catholic Church.

ST. PAUL — An attorney who has spent years going after priests accused of sexual abuse is now taking on people who download child pornography.

Jeffrey Anderson filed a lawsuit today in federal court that he says will help track people who make, download or possess abusive images..

The lawsuit is filed on behalf of a boy who was 9 when images of him were taken.

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Nungate Continues: Will Leftist Poser Nuns be held Accountable at Last?

Progressive Adrian Nuns under Vatican Scrutiny

They've taught legions of Detroit-area Catholics. They've taken on major corporations. They are watchdog nuns who have urged U.S. companies to be socially responsible.

But to the Vatican, the Adrian Dominican congregation of 850 progressive nuns may be a problem, especially under the conservative papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.

For five days this spring, a Vatican-backed team studied the Adrian Dominicans at their motherhouse in Lenawee County. They are among at least 19 sister congregations being investigated under a process called the Apostolic Visitation.

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Thousands attend Ceremony for next Cardinal

They came from everywhere: cardinals in red skullcaps from the Vatican and Philadelphia, priests and parishioners from Newbury Park, Camarillo and Ventura who battled motion sickness on commuter trains or prayed for parking.

Juan Cano, a 27-year-old Camarillo seminarian, stood outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday, his tie rippling in the breeze, for the same reason as the 4,000 others:

History.

He came to watch Coadjutor Archbishop José H. Gomez welcomed to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in a ritual-filled Mass that marked the beginning of a path that will make him the leader of the nation’s largest archdiocese.

Gomez, 58, will succeed Cardinal Roger Mahony, who will retire Feb. 27 on his 75th birthday after more than 25 years as the archdiocese’s leader. Until then, Gomez will serve as second-in-command.

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