No Cross?

Western Wall rabbi says pope should not wear cross at site [Jerusalem Post]

The title basically sums it up.

"My position is that it is not fitting to enter the Western Wall area with religious symbols, including a cross," said Rabinovitch in a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post Monday. "I feel the same way about a Jew putting on a tallit and phylacteries and going into a church."

That's his preference and he's welcome to it. I myself would not care what a Jew was wearing if he were to come into a Catholic church. This is just nonsense.

Before 1967, when the Western Wall was under Jordanian rule, Jews were forbidden to pray there. In the Six Day War, Israel conquered east Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, from Jordan and prayer was opened to all religions.

If the wall is going to be open to all religions, then all religions should be able to show up in their usual garb and the garb of a Christian includes a cross.

Father Neuhaus' Last Book

If you do nothing else today, read this review of Father Newhaus' last book by the eminent columnist and commentator Spengler of Asia Times Online. The book is going on my wish list.

President Abraham Lincoln famously called Americans an "almost chosen people". That might qualify as America's national joke, for you can't be "almost chosen" any more than you can be almost pregnant.

Lincoln's oxymoron frames the tension between the religious impulses that made America and the reality that ultimately it is one imperfect polity among many others. America is "a country with the soul of a church", as G K Chesterton wrote, and by no accident, the only industrial nation (apart from Israel) in which religion plays a decisive role in public life. The central role of religion continues to polarize Americans and confuse foreign observers.

The working of faith in America's public square is more complex than Americans acknowledge, or foreigners understand, Richard John Neuhaus shows in this study of the heavenly city versus the earthly city of our exile.
[...]

In some respects, Poland deserves the special admiration of her pre-eminent son. As a breakaway Soviet buffer state on the central front, Poland occupied center stage in the Cold War, and the Polish people led by the Catholic Church rose heroically to the occasion.

The trouble is that Poland's story is coming to an end. The country's population will fall by almost 30% by mid-century, and the median age will rise from 36 years to 56 years. Benedict XVI, for that matter, ranks by my reckoning as the best mind on the planet, but it is questionable whether today's Germany is capable of educating another Joseph Ratzinger.

Letter to the Bishops

Father Z has an English translation of the letter Benedict XVI has sent out to all the bishops regarding the FSSPX and the Williamson affair. Father Z makes pertinent observations throughout in his usual style and I don't feel the need to reproduce the letter here or pull out any excerpts.

My observation after reading it is pretty simple. If you want the letter's technical merits, you'll need to look elsewhere. I found the letter to be direct and to the point, not at all like so many other letters we get out of Rome. Benedict XVI was obviously not expecting and ended up being personally affected by the Williamson affair and it shows in his letter. While I am not one to prognosticate, I would venture a guess that this letter may prove to be a turning point, not in the FSSPX's relations with Rome perhaps, but rather in Benedict's mindset so far.

My Favorite Mahoney Pictures

Cardinal Mahoney, the archbishop of LA here in the US of A, presides every year over a congress of some sort. There is an official name that I could go look up, but I don't really think it's important given the good cardinal's outlook on various points of Catholic doctrine, tradition, law, etc.

There are a few pictures from past congresses that I've seen on other blogs or news reports that I've saved just because they were so priceless and in honor of the most recent congress and a post by Father Finigan, I share them with you all here.





Captions are of course welcome.

The Pope and Israel

Spengler is the pen name of the anonymous columnist for Asia Times Online. Even though he's not one of the Vaticanisti or even known to be Catholic, his writings are as astute as they come when it comes to analysis of the current pontificate.
------------------------------

Benedict's tragedy, and Israel's
By Spengler [atimes.com]

World history is the history of Israel, argued the great German-Jewish theologian Franz Rosenzweig - not the tiny Jewish nation as such, but the Jewish idea, embraced by billions in the form of Christianity, or parodied and rejected by additional billions in Islam. The trouble is that no one wants to actually be Israel, least of all the Jews, who recite with fervor the prayer of Sholom Aleichem's Tevye: "God of mercy, choose a different people!" Jealousy at Israel's Election has provoked the persecution of the Jews for millennia, and it is not surprising that many Jews look for safety in insignificance.

Like many Jewish prayers, Tevye's prayer to be un-chosen also has become popular among some Catholics. The Catholic Church holds itself to be Israel, the People of God descended from Abraham in the Spirit. But many Catholics, including some in leading positions in the Roman Curia, think it an affront to the sensibilities of other cultures to insist on the unique role of the Church. At the other extreme , misnamed traditionalists do not think that the mustard-seed of faith is sufficient, and that the Church cannot fulfill its function without returning to the bygone days of state religion. Pope Benedict XVI, like his predecessor John Paul II, has fought manfully against these prospective deserters within his ranks. The tawdry burlesque over the case of the paranoid Jew-hater and Holocaust denier Richard Williamson is a sad gauge of his degree of success.
[...]
------------------------------

Go and read the rest.

Feeling Good, Europe?

Bishop Williamson and his alleged Holocaust denial may be only the tip of the iceberg for a hypocritical Europe...
----------------------------------------

One-third of Europeans blame the economic collapse on ...
posted at 12:20 pm on February 13, 2009 by Ed Morrissey [HotAir.com]

... the Joooooooos. Anti-Semitic attitudes have increased in the wake of the economic collapse, a study across seven European countries has found, with a third of Europeans blaming the Jews for the economy. Spain appears to have the highest levels of animosity towards Jews:

The Anti-Defamation League said Tuesday that a survey it commissioned found nearly a third of Europeans polled blame Jews for the global economic meltdown and that a greater number think Jews have too much power in the business world.

The organization, which says its aim is “to stop the defamation of Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment to all,” says the seven-nation survey confirms that anti-Semitism remains strong.

The poll included interviews with 3,500 people - 500 each in Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain.

It says that in Spain, 74 percent of those asked say they feel it is “probably true” that Jews hold too much sway over the global financial markets. That is the highest percentage in the survey.

Nearly two-thirds of Spanish respondents said Jews were more loyal to Israel than they were to their home countries.

Anti-Semitism is an old security blanket for people when they can’t get around to blaming themselves. It’s a superstition as old as two millenia, with no rationality to it at all. Europe indulges in this on a regular basis. When Germany collapsed in World War I, no one wanted to take responsibility for conducting an utterly destructive war that bankrupted their nation and killed millions. It was a lot easier to blame the Jews for their own failures — and it led to disastrous consequences.

America isn’t immune to this, either, nor the rest of the Anglosphere. In fact, one of Barack Obama’s appointees, Samantha Power, made an allusion to this a few years ago in an interview, and others in American political life have been less subtle. In Britain last year, 50% surveyed thought British Jews more loyal to Israel than the UK. At the same time, 31% of Americans thought the same about American Jews. Do people question the loyalties of Catholics, Anglicans, the Irish? Perhaps a fringe do, but nowhere near as mainstream as these numbers suggest.

Make no mistake about it; the Jews of the West are in danger of getting completely marginalized at a very bad time in history for it to happen. If those numbers continue to grow, we can expect pressure from these Western nations to abandon Israel, and more importantly, to abandon the fight against radical Islamist terrorism and Iranian hegemony in the Middle East.

Father Maciel and the LC

Remember when I covered the allegations surrounding Father Maciel a long while ago and then his exile just before his death? While a large portion of the Catholic and secular media and blogosphere have been debating the Williamson affair, it came out recently that Father Maciel, in addition to the other things, fathered a child... It's been about two weeks and I don't want to explain the entire thing, so I will direct your attention:

From FUMARE:

• Feb 3: What Is Next For The Legionaries/Regnum Christi?
  
• Feb 6: Germain Grisez Letter to the Legionaries
  
  

  American Papist has an open letter by Dr. Germain Grisez to the Legionaries and Regnum Christi. Dr. Grisez suggests that the LC/RC dissolve the current "juridical person" and seek the formation of a new institution.

  
  
• Feb 7: Through the years... [Lots of video.]
  
  

  Is it really just a problem with Maciel? Or is Grisez right that the corruption runs into the operations of LC/RC?

  
  
• Feb 11: The Hindsight View: Ave Maria, Legionaries of Christ: Henchmen Only Give Palliative Care [Where Maciel and the LC are compared to Monaghan and his Ave Maria projects.]
  
  

  After considering Grisez's article posted by Thales concerning the situation of the LCs, I saw parallels to the situation at Ave Maria. Namely, here was Maciel who it is beyond contention had power to distribute and a society of people under religious vows to obedience and non disparagement of him. It really is the religious equivalent of what Monaghan appears to demand from his henchmen. After all, if you so much as question Monaghan, the people around you accuse you of sin.

  
  
• Feb 12: American Papist Reports on Legionary Mass [A cult? You decide.]
  
• Feb 12: Body of Christ Has Legionaries of Christ Disease, but some say it's just a sniffle [Where the LC's tendrils in the Catholic media are discussed.]

Note as well Dr. Peters' covering of the situation from the canon law standpoint. Check out American Papist as well which is referenced a lot by FUMARE's bloggers.

Rabbi Speaks on Williamson and the FSSPX

Via Father Z...
--------------------

Left Wing of the Catholic Church Destroying the Faith Says Orthodox Rabbi [LifeSiteNews.com]

By Hilary White, Rome correspondent

ROME, February 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The dissident, leftist movement in the Catholic Church over the last forty years has severely undermined the teaching of the Catholic Church on the moral teachings on life and family, a prominent US Orthodox rabbi told LifeSiteNews.com. Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the head of a group of 800 Orthodox rabbis in the US and Canada, also dismissed the accusations that the Holy See had not sufficiently distanced itself from the comments made by Bishop Richard Williamson of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) on the Holocaust.

"I support this move" to reconcile the traditionalist faction in the Church, he said, "because I understand the big picture, which is that the Catholic Church has a problem. There is a strong left wing of the Church that is doing immeasurable harm to the faith."

Rabbi Levin said that he understands "perfectly" why the reconciliation is vital to the fight against abortion and the homosexualist movement.

"I understand that it is very important to fill the pews of the Catholic Church not with cultural Catholics and left-wingers who are helping to destroy the Catholic Church and corrupt the values of the Catholic Church." This corruption, he said, "has a trickle-down effect to every single religious community in the world."

"What's the Pope doing? He's trying to bring the traditionalists back in because they have a lot of very important things to contribute the commonweal of Catholicism.

"Now, if in the process, he inadvertently includes someone who is prominent in the traditionalist movement who happens to say very strange things about the Holocaust, is that a reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater and start to condemn Pope Benedict? Absolutely not."

During a visit to Rome at the end of January, Rabbi Levin told LifeSiteNews.com that he believes the media furore over the lifting of the excommunications of the four bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X is a red herring. He called "ridiculous" the accusations that in doing so Pope Benedict VXI or the Catholic Church are anti-Semitic and described as "very strong" the statements distancing the Holy See and the Pope from Williamson's comments.

Rabbi Levin was in Rome holding meetings with high level Vatican officials to propose what he called a "new stream of thinking" for the Church's inter-religious dialogue, one based on commonly held moral teachings, particularly on the right to life and the sanctity of natural marriage.

"The most important issue," he said, is the work the Church is doing "to save babies from abortion, and save children's minds, and young people's minds, helping them to know right and wrong on the life and family issues."

"That's where ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue has to go."

Although numbers are difficult to determine, it is estimated that the Society of St. Pius X has over a million followers worldwide. The traditionalist movement in the Catholic Church is noted for doctrinal orthodoxy and enthusiasm not only for old-fashioned devotional practices, but for the Church's moral teachings and opposition to post-modern secularist sexual mores. Liberals in the Church, particularly in Europe, have bitterly opposed all overtures to the SSPX and other traditionalists, particularly the Pope's recent permission to revive the traditional Latin Mass.

The Vatican announced in early January that, as part of ongoing efforts to reconcile the breakaway group, the 1988 decree of excommunication against the Society had been rescinded. Later that month, a Swedish television station aired an interview, recorded in November 2008, in which Bishop Richard Williamson, one of the four leaders of the Society, said that he did not believe that six million Jews were killed in the Nazi death camps during World War II.

At that time, the media erupted with protests and accusations that the Catholic Church, and especially Pope Benedict XVI, are anti-Semitic.

Rabbi Levin particularly defended Pope Benedict, saying he is the genius behind the moves of the late Pope John Paul II to reconcile the Church with the Jewish community.

"Anyone who understands and follows Vatican history knows that in the last three decades, one of the moral and intellectual underpinnings of the papacy of Pope John Paul II, was Cardinal Ratzinger.

"And therefore, a lot of the things that Pope John Paul did vis-à-vis the Holocaust, he [Benedict] might have done himself, whether it was visiting Auschwitz or visiting and speaking in the synagogues or asking forgiveness. A lot of this had direct input from Cardinal Ratzinger. Whoever doesn't understand this doesn't realise that this man, Pope Benedict XVI, has a decades-long track record of anti-Nazism and sympathy for the Jews."

A Pro-life Message

I have no idea what this girl is saying, but I watched half of it and she looks pretty animated while saying it.

Backsliding in Mainland China

We haven't hit on ChiComs lately, but Sandro Magister quotes at length a piece by the founder of Asia News.

The main points:
The bishop of Beijing, who was approved by the Vatican, has been giving speeches that appear to place him under the thumb of the Communists. As summarized by Magister:

In fact, the new bishop, Joseph Li Shan (in the photo) whom cardinal secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone had hailed as "a very good and suitable person," is increasingly stringing together actions submissive toward the regime. To such an extent that many among the faithful already consider him a "traitor."

The quoted article by Father Bernardo Cervellera points out that a second letter sent by Cardinal Bertone to the Chinese bishops was seen as weak and that many younger bishops of the official church have no role models and do not remember a time without Communist control. Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong has spoken out to sound the alarm on this backsliding.

The cardinal continues: "So, martyrdom has become a stupid thing? That’s absurd; a short-sighted view! Reaching compromises might make sense as a short-term strategy but it cannot last forever. Being secretly united with the Holy Father and at the same time affiliated with a Church that declares itself autonomous from Rome is a contradiction."

Finally, Cardinal Zen ends with a fraternal appeal: "Dear brother bishops and priests, look at the example of Saint Stephen and all the martyrs of our history! Remember that suffering for the sake of the faith is the basis of victory even if right now it might appear as defeat."

Eluana Englaro

Italy faces constitutional crisis over coma woman
Michael Day in Rome
The Observer, Sunday 8 February 2009

The Italian government has been plunged into a constitutional crisis over the fate of a 38-year-old woman who has been in a coma for the past 17 years. Eluana Englaro was left in a vegetative state after a car crash in 1992. After a decade-long court battle, doctors reduced her nutrition on Friday in preparation for removing her feeding tubes, which her father claims would be in accordance with her wishes.

But in an extraordinary turn of events, the country's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, after consultation with the Vatican [which the Vatican denies], has issued an emergency decree stating that food and water cannot be suspended for any patient depending upon them, reversing the earlier court ruling. On issuing the emergency decree, Berlusconi declared: "This is murder. I would be failing to rescue her. I'm not a Pontius Pilate."

Justifying his campaign to save Englaro's life, the prime minister added that, physically at least, she was "in the condition to have babies", a remark described by La Stampa newspaper as "shocking". Giorgio Napolitano, Italy's president, has refused to sign the decree, but if it is ratified by the Italian parliament doctors may be obliged to resume the feeding of Eluana early this week.

But, in a moving interview with the Observer, Eluana's father Beppino said last week that the doctors were carrying out his daughter's wishes by allowing her to die. "If she couldn't be what she was (before the accident in 1992) then she would not have wanted to live". [Hearsay, though I suppose if there's been a court battle, this has been weighed by competent authorities.]

The case has deeply divided Italian society and raised concerns over the influence of the Vatican. Yesterday Pope Benedict indirectly referred to Englaro in a message delivered to mark the World Day of the Sick, stating that society had a duty to defend "the absolute and supreme dignity of every human being" even when "weak and shrouded in the mystery of suffering". But even some of Berlusconi's political allies, including the president of the lower house of parliament, Gianfranco Fini, have stated that the supreme court ruling should be obeyed and Englaro should be allowed to die.

Opposition leader Walter Veltroni, of the centre-left Democratic party, said the government should leave the Englaro family in peace and warned that Berlusconi's intervention "could cause a very dangerous constitutional crisis". Last night demonstrations in support of Eluana's right to die and the supreme court ruling were taking place across Italy.

[Details of the woman's planned death are elaborated upon here.] The process means the Englaro family and their doctors are now in a race against time as they try to end Eluana's life before the Berlusconi government and its backers in the Vatican halt the process.

Beppino, 67, was last night in the family home in Lecco, 30 miles north of Milan, caring for his wife and Eluana's mother, Saturna, who is gravely ill with cancer. After a long, agonising fight to allow his daughter to die, he described the government's last-ditch attempts as "a grotesque attack on my family".

Prior to issuing the decree, Berlusconi was involved in frantic telephone exchanges with the Vatican head of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone [See above about this alleged conversation and note the complete misunderstanding of Bertone's role as secretary of state], who implored the prime minister to prevent Eluana's death. The cardinal reportedly told Berlusconi: "We have to stop this crime against humanity."

Doctors have confirmed that, after 17 years and with such catastrophic brain damage, Eluana will never regain consciousness or awareness. The anaesthetist caring for her, Professor Antonio de Monte, said: "Eluana died 17 years ago."

Hmmm...

I was going to post on Sandro Magister's look at how Benedict has been isolated in this whole Williamson affair. I went over to Father Z for any updates from the overnight and found this.

Michael Dubruiel
November 16, 1958-February 3, 2009
His wife, Amy Welborn, is a fellow blogger whom I follow and have exchanged email with from time to time. Please pray for the repose of Mr. Dubruiel's soul and for his wife and children.

One Holy Catholic Church

Let us pray for His Holiness the Pope as he works to reconcile all things to Christ.

TAC News

From Father Z and Rorate Caeii.

Some kind of prelature by Easter? We'll see.

Remission of Censure

As you all may have read at other places, the four bishops of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X have had the excommunications lifted. In more technical terms from the decree itself:

Based on the faculty expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present Decree, I remit from Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of latae sententiae excommunication declared by this Congregation on July 1, 1988, while I declare deprived of any juridical effect, from the present date, the Decree emanated at that time.

From the decree quoted in full at Rorate Caeli.

Rorate also has a series of posts that are good background reading in the lead-up to this decree.

Reorganization

Rorate has an excerpt directly from the source which I need not reproduce here. The gist is that PCED will be placed under the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments with Monsignor Perl, the commission's secretary, moved up to lead it as a bishop. The responses are catalogued below.

Positive:
What Does The Prayer Really Say - Father Z finds it interesting with some conditions. I put him in 'positive' due to his approval of Monsignor Perl's possible elevation to the episcopacy.

The New Liturgical Movement - The rumor, if true, is referred to as being an 'excellent' development.

Wait and see:
Rorate Caeli - The post gives no official position, though the comments cover the spectrum, though most are skeptical that this will be a positive development for the EF community. New Catholic describes his position in the comments as 'realist.'

Negative:
None outright so far that I've read.

I don't have an opinion as of yet.

Retrospective

This is going to be simple.

First, yesterday I received in the mail an envelope with a return address from the nunciature in DC. It contained a nice letter from a monsignor relaying the Holy Father's blessings and wishes for Christmas and a laminated holy card with a picture of the Nativity on one side and some printed-on handwriting in Latin that I couldn't quite make out along with the Pope's signature. A very nice and unexpected return for sending the Pope a Christmas card a few weeks ago.

Second, I can't think of anyone who really stood out this last year more than normal. Our greatest expectations though are for Cardinal Canizares Llovera. 2009 could be a big year at CDW what with a new prefect who is of a mind with the Holy Father and the upcoming clarification letter that could lead to greater authority for CDW to in dealing with recalcitrance to the 1962 Missal as well as solving problems with the calendar that are growing more and more acute.

All in God's good time.

The O Antiphons

Father Z's examination of them, always an interesting read each year.

We'll be back for a year-end look soon. Merry Christmas!

End Times?

According to the Times of London, the Holy Father doesn't think so.

Besides a lot of the usual from St. Paul, the Pope had this to say:

Pope Benedict commented that "already at that time, the Church, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, increasingly understood that the 'closeness' of God is not a question of space and time, but a question of love: love draws near!" He said Christmas was coming "to remind us of this fundamental truth of our faith, and in front of the Nativity scene we can taste Christian joy, contemplating in the newborn Jesus the face of God, who out of love drew close to us."
[...]


Last year the Pope dismissed recurring "Messianical" predictions of the imminent end the world, saying "history is ongoing, and involves human tragedies and natural calamities." He added, echoing Pope John Paul II, his predecessor, "Do not be afraid".

Arrogance in Action

From Telegraph.co.uk:

Holland scrapping liberal policies on drugs and brothels to clean up image

The Dutch are rethinking their famously liberal polices on legalised brothels, prostitution and soft drugs, such as magic mushrooms and cannabis, amid fears of growing crime and social decline.

This little quote stood out:

"The country is turning more conservative," said historian and author Han van den Horst. "There is a move away from sex, drugs and rock'n'roll towards some pretty bourgeois values."

'Conservative' equals 'bourgeois.' Right, got it.

A Few Things

Please pray for the soul of my father's uncle, Robert, who passed away and whose funeral Mass is tomorrow morning.

Father Z has a breakdown on the appointment of Cardinal Canizares Llovera and his history with the Holy Father. The quotation from another source also includes a look at upcoming retirements in the Curia.

Patriarch Alexy II Dead

Hat tip to NLM.

AsiaNews:

Moscow (AsiaNews) – The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Aleksij II, has died at the age of 79. The Patriarchate did not give a reason for his death but he had been sick for some time.

Aleksij became Patriarch of all Russia in 1990, the first head of the Church elected without the influence of the Russian government.

He was credited with helping restore the freedom and moral authority of the Russian Orthodox Church after decades of repression under communism, but many priests who had been arrested and sent to the gulag accused him of being a spy for the Soviet secret police (KGB).

He was seen as a supporter of Putin’s New Russia.

In relation to the Catholic Church he always refused to meet Pope John Paul II, pointing the finger at alleged “proselytising” by Russian Catholics.

Catholic-Orthodox ecumenism was substantially held back under his leadership.

Bolding mine. I'm not finding anything in English about how the new patriarch will be elected, but I'll keep looking. The question is if Alexy's successor will be a bit more accommodating or if he'll remain as firm in the Russian Orthodox Church's position as Alexy was vis a vis the Catholic Church. Time will tell, obviously.

RIP

Edit: Just a general search of 'Patriarch Alexy' here for your convenience.

In the Mail

Today I had therapy. I had to leave early to get to an eye appointment that went smoothly with a new doctor (my old ones were a husband and wife that have relocated).

I came home and checked the mail and found a Christmas card from a friend and a pair of letters from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. If you follow Father Z, you may remember them as the nuns who arrived to help clean the old cathedral in Kansas City. After reading about them there and checking out their nice website, I donated a small sum and signed up for their online newsletter.

So today in the first, big envelope was the sisters' new CD with chant, polyphony and other things. I'm sure everything on it sounds great, but I will put it away with my other unopened CDs that I've received. In the other letter was a copy of their print newsletter and a form letter from their prioress thanking me for my support.

If you have an extra funds this Advent and Christmas, send a few dollars their way.

New Blog

Monstrous Regiment of Women
-Twentysomething mother of two.
-Via Father Finigan.

The first post is still on the main page, so it is quite new. Go have a look.

Reality or Doom and Gloom?

China’s six-to-one advantage over the US
By Spengler

America outspends China on defense by a margin of more than six to one, the Pentagon estimates. [1] In another strategic dimension, though, China already holds a six-to-one advantage over the United States. Thirty-six million Chinese children study piano today, compared to only 6 million in the United States.[2] The numbers understate the difference, for musical study in China is more demanding.

It must be a conspiracy. Chinese parents are selling plasma-screen TVs to America, and saving their wages to buy their kids pianos - making American kids stupider and Chinese kids smarter. Watch out, Americans - a generation from now, your kid is going to fetch coffee for a Chinese boss. That is a bit of an exaggeration, of course - some of the bosses will be Indian. Americans really, really don’t have a clue what is coming down the pike. The present shift in intellectual capital in favor of the East has no precedent in world history.

The article goes on, but its basic point is set out in these introductory paragraphs. Spengler spends some time on the proper interpretation of Mozart and his irony and how the Chinese get it and the US and Western Europe doesn't.

My only comment is this: Spengler asserts that thirty-six million Chinese children are learning an instrument while only six million US children are doing the same. But it's important to remember that China's population is at least five times larger than that of the United States and probably more. If you multiply the US population five times to be closer to China's and then look at the comparison of children learning an instrument, it's not quite so dire.

But read all of the article and reach your own conclusions.

I would like to buy an Advent wreath. I am going to try my local Catholic book/knick knack store. We'll see what happens.

Into Great Silence

This film was delivered just before I left for my mother's home for Thanksgiving. This morning while everyone else was in bed, I got up and watched the film. I need to watch it a second time at home in a more comfortable setting so as not to be distracted, but I have a few thoughts.

1. I am not suited to be an ascetic of that degree. Living a life centered around the Divine Office with its chanting and daily work would just not work for me given my disabilities in life. The Office as a reading experience coupled with a life of interior prayer...

2. For those same reasons, I just didn't get into the film. Watching them go through their daily routines was instructive and edifying, but the Great Silence is not anything new to me and their chanting sequences was merely an exercise in watching them sit in the dark and turn on and off their reading lamps.

3. My two favorite parts were their first excursion outdoors and the blind monk's speech towards the end. The group's conversation about different orders' outlooks on even a mundane topic as washing of hands before entering the refectory was instructive. Their final determination that it was not the symbol, but them who was in error was quite insightful. And of course, the blind monk who thanked God for his blindness explaining his pity for a godless world with no reason to live was wisdom itself.

Lord, you seduced me and I was seduced.

A Strategy After FOCA

I've written the following even though it mostly sums up and rehashes various points already made by many commentators out there. However, I write it because I have never seen articulated to the degree I'd like it to be (or maybe it's just my failure in looking) the strategy of finding common ground between social conservatives and libertarians. Given that Republicans shortly will no longer be in power in any branch of government, it presumes a return to power sometime in the future. In the meantime, they must work to follow the principles here at the party level until that future arrives...

I've been thinking about abortion for a long time, about how we can best counter it and the various strategies being followed today. We all agree that abortion is bad, it cheapens human life and takes us down the slippery slope. The question how to best combat abortion. On the one hand, there is the option of a federal amendment that would completely criminalize abortion as murder anywhere in the United States. This would take Roe v. Wade totally out of the equation. On the other hand, there is the option of simply seeing Roe v. Wade overturned and have the issue of abortion kicked back to the states for their own legislatures to consider. This has been the most publicized option with Supreme Court nominees coming under the microscope for their views and, in extreme cases like Bork, sent away. I believe that the second option, though coming more and more under attack for being ineffective, is still the best hope for dealing with abortion.

First, it is important to consider why the Supreme Court option is coming under attack. Critics out there point to the fact that even though Republicans have held the presidency six terms to three since Roe v. Wade was decided, the balance of the Supreme Court has never apparently been enough to overturn that decision. This has led to the idea that Republican presidents are not committed to the idea of overturning Roe v. Wade and are merely using the Christian segments of the Republican base to get elected and are then washing their hands of the issue until the next election. Critics point especially to the justices appointed by Bush 41, moderates who have trended more liberal than conservative in their decision making. They also point to Bush 43, who before the outcry over his first choice to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, nominated one of his close confidants who was more a Bush loyalist than a small government jurist with strong credentials.

Some critics who have come to see the Supreme Court option as a red herring point instead to an all encompassing federal constitutional amendment as being the better option. While this avenue bypasses the judicial branch altogether, it does have its own drawbacks. The chief drawback is that the three different procedures for amending the US Constitution given by that document are all quite lengthy or convoluted. One example is the 27th Amendment, which was proposed along with the Bill of Rights, but not ratified itself until 1992. A second one is the Equal Rights Amendment, which despite broad support, has consistently failed. Another drawback is that even if the constitution is appropriately amended, it would still be interpreted by the Supreme Court; if that court should come to be dominated by activist jurists, the amendment would be interpreted into toothlessness.

It all leads back to the Supreme Court and who is sitting on the bench. In order to prevent disillusionment, it is important to temper expectations. An outright majority of small government jurists should not be expected to overturn Roe v. Wade at the drop of a hat. Rather, it should be expected that they would over time and in concert with lower court judges of the same outlook set up a legal framework to counteract the activist bent seen in the federal judiciary over the last few decades. A slow and steady approach has the virtue of not causing a harsh reaction in favor of preserving the status quo. Once the Supreme Court and lower courts of the federal system set in place a rational system that is not going to legislate from the bench and that is going to respect the natural rights of all citizens, the high court can tackle the chief issue itself.

In conclusion, the abortion issue must be argued in a natural law framework. Too often, the pro-life cause is both identified by others and by itself through its religious framework. This is counterproductive for a number of reasons, the chief of which being that people don't like to give up their rights, even if those rights aren't real rights. Unless the paradigm of the argument itself is altered, it is destined to continue to fail. Social conservatives and liberatarians in the United States can make common cause if social conservatives change their language from a biblical one to a natural law one and if libertarians can be shown that rights for their own sake are not rights at all.

What's New?

Rorate (and Father Z, though I don't have that link) reports the nomination of Cardinal Llovera of Toledo, Spain as the new prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He will replace Cardinal Arinze. Archbishop Ranjith is most likely headed home to Sri Lanka.

Cardinal Llovera is known as the 'little Ratzinger.' According to Neil Young's Film Lounge's list of papabili, the cardinal is number six.

Funeral Arrangements

Father Z talks about funerals. He reports on a fellow priest's funeral and how the priest was 'canonized' instead of having his inherent sinfulness recognized. Purgatory is a very real place and if people die and their friends and family go off thinking they've 'gone to heaven,' then they're probably not going to be praying for the deceased who are most likely languishing in Purgatory.

Before:

• A nice casket or coffin.
  
• If celebration must be had, a wake would be fine, but save the good feelings for that and not the funeral.

My funeral:

• Mass, of course. A Requiem Mass in the old form would be cool.
  
• No uplifting songs. It's a funeral. Chanting is preferred.
  
• Please wear black. And see that the priest does so as well.
  
• And no homilies that are 'feel good.' I'd like some fire and brimstone about the Four Last Things.
  
• Perhaps the Dies Irae could be sung or recited? It would be included in the old form of Mass at least.

After:

• Whatever leftover money there is from my estate should be applied toward stipends for Gregorian Masses to be said for the deliverance of my soul from Purgatory.
  
• And then an annual Mass said for me on the day of my death.
  
• Or even better, sign me up with something like this.

That's all for now. I'll add more later as I think of it.

Muhammad Sven Kalisch

This article from Spengler should be read by all as well as those to which it links.

Out of the East

You all know Spengler, the columnist at Asia Times Online. At least I hope you do. It surprises me how little play he gets in the Catholic blogosphere given how often he talks about the Catholic Church and his obvious admiration for Benedict XVI.

Anyway, he has a new piece posted about the recent conference in Rome with a group of Muslim scholars. Spengler refers to the conference as a 'pyrrhic propaganda victory' for the Church. The Soviet example:

Leonid Brezhnev left the 1975 Helsinki meetings on European security
cooperation convinced that he had won an enormous concession - final recognition of the Soviet Union's postwar borders - in return for lip service to human rights that the communist regime never could or would provide. "Instead," wrote Cold War historian John Gaddis, the Helsinki Accords "gradually became a manifesto of the dissident and liberal movement ... What this meant was that the people who lived under these systems - at least the more courageous - could claim official permission to say what they thought."

The Jewish "refusenik" Natan Sharansky became a symbol of Soviet human rights violation, and president Ronald Reagan's personal support for the dissidents - often over objections of his diplomats - introduced hairline fractures into Soviet Power.

On contrast to this, Spengler describes the concessions of the Muslim scholars in Rome. After much negotiation, they agreed in their statement to pledge their adherence to the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights. Spengler points out the problem with this:

The fact that the attending Muslim scholars - who have no authority over the laws of Muslim countries - piggy-backed on the UN Declaration of Human Rights does not augur well for the "Helsinki" strategy. After all, having signed the UN Declaration of Human Rights does not in the least inhibit Muslim governments from persecuting non-Muslims in their own countries; why should the affirmation of such rights by a group of Muslim scholars have any additional impact?

Spengler then goes on to discuss the superficial agreement between Catholics and Muslims on abortion, but he makes the argument that the two religions have fundamentally different outlooks on God's relationship with Man:

[...] At best the conflation of the Islamic and Judeo-Christian concept of love is an exercise in self-deception. For those who find the theological arguments obscure, I suggest searching the word "love" in any of several online versions of the Koran, and doing the same in the online Bible, and comparing its frequency and context. Even more simply, try a Google search on the respect terms, "God loves you" and "Allah loves you".

The column concludes with a look at Tariq Ramadan's participation in the conference and a look at the consequences of a photo op with the Pope. Spengler ends with a brief paragraph and I join my hopes to his:

Ramadan, as Sandro Magister observed, portrayed the November 4-7 meeting as a rollback of Benedict's Regensburg speech. I hope the pope proves him wrong.

Thoughts This November

UPDATE (11/16/08 1259): Ed over at Hot Air examines the response of the Charleston diocese and quotes a bit of Scripture:

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

----------

It's getting on into November and with the failing of the year, it's both dark and rainy. It's about five in the afternoon and it's already night out.

In the spirit of Father Z's post about a reform of the calendar, I want to bring up a few thoughts.

1. For those out there who think that no harm would come from playing with the 1962 calendar, I urge you all to think again. Just look at the fact there is a faction of the Russian Orthodox Church that is referred to as the Old Calendarists. Moving from Julian to Gregorian time seems not a big deal, but it was to them. Messing with the 1962 calendar with rearrangements and all that would just not be smart if you're looking to increase unity, not decrease it.

2. In case you missed it, Father Jay Scott Newman's piece for his parish in South Carolina has made national news (a nod to Father Z whose post is informative).

Father Newman's first point is not something I am qualified to expound upon beyond the most superficial reading as a layman. However, I would like to point at the comments left for the article at the local newspaper's website. They are quite scary in how they illustrate just how the Catholic Church is disliked and even hated. Not that we needed any reminder, but it's still an important lesson. When I was a boy, my grandmother told me the story of how a cross was burned in her neighbors' yard. Her neighbors though weren't black, they were Catholic.

Father Newman's second point is worth repeating lest we fall into the same trap with Obama those did who disliked Bush:

Barack Obama, although we must always and everywhere disagree with him over abortion, has been duly elected the next President of the United States, and after he takes the Oath of Office next January 20th, he will hold legitimate authority in this nation. For this reason, we are obliged by Scriptural precept to pray for him and to cooperate with him whenever conscience does not bind us otherwise. Let us hope and pray that the responsibilities of the presidency and the grace of God will awaken in the conscience of this extraordinarily gifted man an awareness that the unholy slaughter of children in this nation is the greatest threat to the peace and security of the United States and constitutes a clear and present danger to the common good. In the time of President Obama’s service to our country, let us pray for him in the words of a prayer found in the Roman Missal:

God our Father, all earthly powers must serve you. Help our President-elect, Barack Obama, to fulfill his responsibilities worthily and well. By honoring and striving to please you at all times, may he secure peace and freedom for the people entrusted to him. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.

Amen.

A Black Pope

On November 1, Father Z featured a column written by Archbishop Gregory of Atlanta in the run up to the election. The statement ended up being pro-life, but it was meandering and took many detours. Many commenters felt that it was written by the archbishop more to convince himself than his flock. Others made the comment that it was to be expected that such a nuanced position should come from the former president of the USCCB...

Now today from Times Online, we have this: Black Pope could follow Barack Obama's election, says US archbishop.

Archbishop Gregory, who in 2001 became the first African American to head the US Bishops Conference, serving for three years, said that the election of Mr Obama was "a great step forward for humanity and a sign that in the United States the problem of racial discrimination has been overcome". Like Mr Obama Archbishop Gregory comes from Chicago, and was previously Bishop of Belleville, Illinois.

I wonder what inferences we can draw about how His Excellency voted if he thinks Mr. Obama's election was a great step forward.

Tip o' the hat to Drudge.

All Hallows' Day

I don't have much to post lately. Mainly I'm just waiting for Election Day to see what will come of it after all this time.

If you haven't seen them yet, Father Z has two posts detailing words of wisdom:

ON FIRE! Bp. Finn of Kansas City - MUST READ

Bp. Vasa of Bend, OR! WDTPRS is impressed - kudos!

Cardinal Newman's Feast

Last June 29, I posted a few comments culled from another blog's comments section regarding the negotiations between the Traditional Anglican Communion and Rome. Today, I came home and checked my email and found a comment to be moderated for that post.

The anonymous commenter posted the following: "Look for something to happen on this concurrent with +JH Newman's beatification."

Consider, for what it's worth.

The Slippery Slope

A piece by Daniel Burke of the Religious News Service in USAToday: Group asks IRS to investigate Catholic bishop against Obama.

WASHINGTON — A church-state watchdog group has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether the Roman Catholic bishop of Paterson, N.J., violated tax laws by denouncing Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.

In a letter sent to the IRS on Wednesday (Oct. 22), Americans United for Separation of Church and State accused Paterson Bishop Arthur Serratelli of illegal partisanship for lambasting Obama's support of abortion rights.

In a column posted on the Diocese of Paterson's website and published in its weekly newspaper, Serratelli also compared Obama to King Herod, the biblical monarch who ordered the death of John the Baptist.

The bishop did not refer to Obama by name but only as "the present democratic (sic) candidate."

Under federal tax law, nonprofit groups — including religious organizations — are prohibited from intervening in campaigns for public office by endorsing or opposing candidates.

I'm not going to quote it all. That's about the first half of the article, read the rest for yourself.

Bishop Serratelli responded the other day and the diocese issued a statement:

"The characterization that Bishop Serratelli’s column intervened in the election process is inaccurate. His October 9 column was not directed to the upcoming presidential election, but was rather totally focused on the Freedom of Choice Act and the harm it would do to the nation if it were to be signed into law. It’s absolutely, positively misleading to say that the bishop urged Catholics not to vote for Sen. Obama. All the bishop did was to point out that in a speech before the Planned Parenthood Action Fund last year, Sen. Obama made the promise that the first thing he would do as President would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act.

In addition to his column, the bishop sent a letter on October14 to all pastors in the diocese to be published in the parish bulletins in which he asked the people to read his column and call or write to their elected representatives about the Freedom of Choice Act. He did not make any statement about voting for or against a candidate."

The column itself in the diocesan newspaper may be read online here.

I'm not an expert on the relevant tax law, but whatever fine line His Excellency came close to seems to me not to have been breached. The final paragraph of his letter:

At the time when Herod murdered John the Baptist because of his promise, Rome practiced the principle "one man, one vote." Whoever the emperor in Rome placed in authority over a subject people, ruled. Today we live in a democracy. We choose our leaders who make our laws. Every vote counts. Today, either we choose to respect and protect life, especially the life of the child in the womb of the mother or we sanction the loss of our most basic freedoms. At this point, we are still free to choose!

The letter is a review of one candidate's position on a relevant, in fact quite fundamental, Catholic teaching and its conclusion sums up the position of the Catholic Church on that issue. If bishops cannot expound on the teachings of their Church in their own diocesan newspapers without fear of recriminations and possible governmental sanction, what does that say for the rest of us when we find ourselves in similar situations?

Oh, wait...

Wading Into Politics

A moment of your time, please.

There are thirteen days left before the election here in the United States and it seems more and more likely that Barack Obama is going to be elected as president.

Given the occasion, I wanted to bring to the attention of my readership two items from the blog known as Hot Air.

Item the first: Is George Soros funding pro-Obama Catholic groups?
The upshot of the post is that George Soros, non-Catholic rich guy extraordinaire, has funded to the tune of several hundreds of thousands of dollars two self described Catholic groups that have worked unceasingly to proclaim Obama as pro-life. Honestly, do we really think that is the case?

Item the second: The comprehensive argument against Barack Obama
As the title states, it's a comprehensive look at Obama's positions in a variety of subjects and analysis of the same. It relies upon videos of Obama speaking, his words. The issues covered are abortion (he's not pro-life), taxes (probably going up), radical associations, foreign policy judgment (no preconditions), disdain for the heartland (bitter, clinging to religion, etc.), the race card and a general lack of accomplishments. As is stated in the introduction:

These are lofty promises from a man with precious little executive experience, and a Senate career that lasted exactly 143 legislative days before he launched yet another campaign for higher office. No one can deny his ambition. In fact, if Obama wins on November 4th—and serves one full term in the Oval Office—the Presidency of the United States would be the longest consecutively held full-time job he has ever held without seeking another.

Consider well your vote, readers in the United States, before casting your ballots for such a man as Barack Obama.

Anxious?

UPDATE (10/8/08 1638): Father Z responses. It's pretty good. Read the comments. One snippet of Father Z's:

Is the priest afraid of the bishop? Help the priest. Keep working on the bishop. Carefully. Pray for him, perhaps using the Bux Protocol for praying for bishops: ask St. Joseph to intercede with God that He will either open the bishop’s eyes or close them permanently. Remember: the biological solution is going to be important for the future of the TLM. Therefore, work on the younger priests and on seminarians. Do you best to promote vocations to the priesthood among bright young men and boys who are interested in these things.

----------

Damian Thompson has a new piece out today on the MP's progress so far. After recounting the state of the Gregorian Mass, at the end he sums it up quite well.

Let us be blunt about this. If the Pope were to die tomorrow, he would be remembered for many fine achievements, most of all his encyclicals, but his liturgical reforms would peter out. Summorum Pontificum would remain on the statute book, but the Magic Circle in England and its powerful allies in the Vatican and Europe would quietly suffocate the work of Ecclesia Dei.

My guess is that the next Pope will be as theologically conservative as Benedict, but is unlikely to possess his blindingly intense vision of a liturgical reform in which the pre- and post-Vatican II liturgies revive each other. That reform is not yet properly under way, and the Pope is in his 80s. No wonder traditionalists are alarmed.

"Tick tock, tick tock, Clarice."

Archbishop Burke's statement

Ed Morrissey makes several points about Archbishop Burke's statements regarding the Democratic Party and abortion. Ed's last point:

Burke goes farther, though, in this statement. Until now, bishops have restricted their criticisms to Catholic politicians who work to support abortion rights. Burke has expanded this into a broader political argument, one that will create more controversy in the pews and in the general electorate, especially with pro-life Democrats who will resent the accusation. The church should pursue their mandate of Catholics first, and avoid partisan shots while focusing on issues instead.

1. It will create controversy in the pews, but that is going to happen regardless as the bishops grow a spine and speak out on issues like abortion. The laity has gone thirty years without being properly catechized and unlearning everything bad is not going to be a piece of cake.

2. Who cares what the general electorate thinks? The Catholic Church isn't running for office in the US, it's working to save souls for Christ. If pro-choice Democrats who are Catholics don't like Church teaching, they can take their ball and go play somewhere else. Why would the general electorate (I'm assuming Ed means non-Catholics) care what the Catholic Church says in the first place?

3. Pro-life Democrats stung by the words of a Catholic archbishop should reevaluate their situation. They've for the last thirty years allowed their party to be hijacked by the supporters of Roe v. Wade and done little to chastise those Democrats who have hypocritically changed horses midstream (Ted Kennedy used to be pro-life. Where is the pro-life Democrat outrage?). If what His Excellency is saying hurts them that much, it's probably more due to their own regret and anxiety at their flimsy position in their own party than actually disagreeing with his words.

4. The church should pursue their mandate of Catholics first... Triumphalism may not be vogue at the moment, but the Catholic Church's mandate is not just Catholics, but the entire human race.

5. The church should [...] avoid partisan shots while focusing on issues instead. The archbishop calling it as he sees it on a fundamental issue of human rights is hardly a partisan shot. Is it a partisan shot when the Vatican was speaking out against the US invasion of Iraq?

If I should die before I wake...

Damian has a nice look at the discussion on Last Rites.

His inspiration: A post by Father Z of course.

Another Father Z post on the Apostolic Blessing, something I hope I (and all my family) get when the time comes:

Ego facultate mihi ab Apostolica Sede tributa, indulgentiam plenariam et remissionem omnium peccatorum tibi concedo et benedico te. In nomine Patris, et Filii, + et Spirtus Sancti, Amen. ... By the faculty given to me by the Apostolic See, I grant you a plenary indulgence and the remission of all your sins, and I bless you. In the Name of the Father and the Son + and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You can't make this stuff up!

Ave Watch, the website that chronicles the various efforts of the former head of Domino's Pizza and now president/chairman/godfather of an interlinked web of quasi-legitimate academic enterprises that all tie into a land deal in a Florida swampland (seriously!), has several new posts up on the latest saga, that of Ricky Benitez, the just-fired head coach of the Ave Maria University basketball team.

And now for a public service announcement from 'Vatican Watcher' blog:

"DON'T EVEN THINK OF SENDING YOUR KIDS TO AVE MARIA!"

Useless Reform

At the German-language Facebook equivalent I joined some time ago, it asked me for my political preference. Since it was listed, I chose 'monarchist' because I like monarchies. I think their place in history and the convoluted ways they've survived into the present day is a fun thing to study.

Then I go and read this.

The monarch has no real power. The legislature has emasculated the monarchy over time and basically gutted the House of Lords so that the British system is a tyranny of the majority. If they're so intent on reducing it down to nothing, why don't they just abolish it and be done with it?

There are horror stories from the NHS, Shariah is taking hold as a viable method of legal adjudication and a top ethicist wants to euthanize old people with dementia and all these Labourites can thing of is screwing around with an institution that is powerless anyway?

And to think they make fun of American politics...

Whoa!

A man attacked a parish priest after watching a miserable anti-Catholic flick (take a guess which one). This all took place in Rome.

Pray that the priest and those who came to his aid and were wounded as well recover fully from their wounds. The priest is in serious condition.

From Reader Louis

I inquired as to whether the motherchurch of Texas Catholicism had survived another hurricane (it still has the high water marks from 1900), and got a response...you may want to pass it on to those inclined to donate.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:33:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: St. Mary Cathedral Basilica
To: Louis E.
Subject: Re: Weathered the Hurricane?

The island is uninhabitable and the mayor has said that those who did not evacuate should leave. Basic services like water and power are not going to be restored soon.

The church had 8 feet of water and will need to be cleaned and repaired. The pastor is taking residence in Lake Charles, Louisiana and have no access to a computer. I have evacuated to Dallas and there is nobody at the church.

We have no information of when the postal service will become operational in Galveston. We do not know when we will be able to get back either. The island is in lock down.

If you would like to make a monetary donation to the church please make the check payable to St. Mary Cathedral Basilica and remit to:

Rev. Brendan Murphy
1425 N Chateau Cir
Lake Charles, LA 70605

Also please add a note specifying how you would like your donation to be used. For example: to the needy or for church repair.

Please contact Rev. Brendan Murphy at (409) 370-8844

Blessings,

Sandra.

Parish Secretary

--- On Sat, 9/13/08, Louis Epstein wrote:
From: Louis E.
Subject: Weathered the Hurricane?
To: cathedralstmary@sbcglobal.net
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2008, 9:14 PM

Was the Cathedral damaged by Ike?

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

Father Z's War

Since Speaker Nancy Pelosi, self-described Catholic, spoke out on Meet the Press on abortion, Father Z has been on the job pointing out the gross misrepresentation of the Catholic teachings on this subject as well as keeping it on the forefront of his blog to promote continuing awareness of the subject.

His latest post on the subject is here and it provides a nice round-up of links. I know one of my most loyal readers is not in agreement with the Catholic position, but I think he would agree that San Fran Nan's position is not very tenable.

From the BBC

Priest cancels nun beauty contest | BBC News

An Italian priest who said he wanted to hold the world's first beauty contest for nuns has decided to cancel the project, saying he was misunderstood.

Antonio Rungi said he had never intended to put sisters on the catwalk, but had wanted to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.

He had wanted to hold the contest online on his internet blog.

Father Rungi said he changed his mind after the local religious authorities expressed their displeasure.

"My superiors were not happy. The local bishop was not happy, but they did not understand me either," Father Rungi told Reuters news agency from the town of Mondragone, near Naples.

"It was interpreted as more of a physical thing," he said. "Now, no one is saying that nuns can't be beautiful, but I was thinking about something more complete."

He said he had intended to showcase the good works that nuns do, especially in education and health care, so as to boost interest in religious vocations.

Right, pictures on a blog, vote for whom you like best... What could possibly go wrong?

"We have to draw more attention to the world of nuns, who are often not sufficiently appreciated by society," he wrote in his blog.

I agree with this sentiment.

"Nuns are - above all - women, and beauty is a gift from God," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper before he cancelled the project.

He had wanted nuns to send their photos to him, so that internet users could then choose the winner.

Father Rungi said the idea of the contest had been put to him by nuns themselves.

I'm not even going to try to comment on this. Take it for what it's worth.

Speaker Speaks Out

From Hot Air: Nancy Pelosi... Ugh.

Fine quotes from the Church Fathers. This one from Tertullian is most compelling:

“In our case, a murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from the other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in its seed” (Apology 9:8 [A.D. 197]).

“Among surgeons’ tools there is a certain instrument, which is formed with a nicely-adjusted flexible frame for opening the uterus first of all and keeping it open; it is further furnished with an annular blade, by means of which the limbs [of the child] within the womb are dissected with anxious but unfaltering care; its last appendage being a blunted or covered hook, wherewith the entire fetus is extracted by a violent delivery.

“There is also [another instrument in the shape of] a copper needle or spike, by which the actual death is managed in this furtive robbery of life: They give it, from its infanticide function, the name of embruosphaktes, [meaning] “the slayer of the infant,” which of course was alive. . . .

“[The doctors who performed abortions] all knew well enough that a living being had been conceived, and [they] pitied this most luckless infant state, which had first to be put to death, to escape being tortured alive” (The Soul 25 [A.D. 210]).

Pushing the Agenda

From the local paper... My comments in italics and red in some places.

Wanted: More Catholic priests | [Iowa City] press-citizen.com
Robert Daniel, August 22, 2008

The Rev. Jeff Belger has been a priest for five years.

Nice guy, good priest.

Formerly running camps for the YMCA in Eastern Iowa, he said he felt called at the age of 30 to become a priest in the Catholic Church. Following five years of seminary training at St. Ambrose University in Davenport and St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana, he came to Iowa City, where he splits his time between serving at St. Mary's Catholic Church and the Newman Catholic Student Center at the University of Iowa.

It was a job he said he felt called by God to do.

"Through prayer, I felt led to explore if this was (what God wanted)," Belger, 40, said. "As I learned about being a priest, I felt it was more of a calling."

Belger, however, is becoming more of an anomaly as the Catholic Church continues to deal with a shortage of priests that is becoming more severe as more and more of them retire. [...]

Here be dragons! a lot of the usual numbers detailing a decline in priests...

The Diocese of Davenport, which Johnson County Catholic churches belong, has not been immune to the decrease.

Even though the total Catholic population has decreased slightly from 105,715 in 1976 to 105,650 in 2006, the number of priests has dropped 48.6 percent, from 226 in 1976 to 116 in 2006, according to figures from the Official Catholic Directory and FutureChurch [remember that name], a Cleveland-based group that has pushed for ordaining women and married priests.

The priest shortage even led the diocese to decide to move St. Thomas More Parish from Iowa City to northern Coralville rather than start a new church to better serve Catholics in Coralville and North Liberty.

The Rev. Wally Helms, pastor of St. Thomas More, said the decision is reflective of what the Catholic Church is enduring worldwide.

"You reallocate your resources," he said. "That's true with anything."

The reasons why fewer men are entering the priesthood are varied. The Rev. Marty Goetz, who is the vocation director for the Davenport Diocese, said factors such as materialism discourage some who decide to pursue a more secular job rather than the priesthood. Other factors, such as the requirement of celibacy for priests and the sex abuse scandal the Catholic Church has endured in recent years [yadda yadda yadda], have played a minor role in knocking down interest as well, he said.

However, he said a major reason could be fewer men heeding "a call from God."

"The vocations are out there," Goetz said. "But people are not listening to God's call."

Possible solutions for the priest shortage are as varied. Since priests are the only church members who can lead Mass and celebrate the Eucharist, some Catholics, such as members of FutureChurch [haven't we read about a similar movement here? Nearly same agenda too :P], have pushed for ordaining married priests as well as women.

Helms said it is unlikely changes will occur any time soon though he would welcome them.

"I don't have any problem with women priests or married priests," he said. "Lots of other Christian religions have that and they seem to be doing that."

Not my parish, thank God.

Goetz said it is a matter of current priests having a "sense of true joy" in their work as clergy and displaying it for others to see.

"When we find that joy, we celebrate through prayer and daily contact with people," he said. "We learn this is a wonderful life that way. It's not easy, but I believe if God brings you to it, he'll bring you through it. We have to trust God is there."

Belger said those considering becoming priests have to be willing to listen to God.

"(It's) asking God what He wants for your life as opposed to your desires," he said.

Reach Rob Daniel at 339-7360 or rdaniel@press-citizen.com.

Okay, this post is a /little/ mistitled as Mr. Daniel does a fairly good job of keeping it balanced by having some decent quotes from the vocations director and Fr. Belger. Might have been a better article if the reporter had mentioned the return of the Mass of Blessed John XXIII/St. Pius V/St. Gregory the Great/etc. to the area, but we can live without it.

Immigration in Rhode Island

The bishop of Providence, Thomas J. Tobin and various members of the clergy of that diocese, have released a statement that urges "Stephen Farquharson, Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE), Boston Regional Office, to declare a moratorium on immigration raids in Rhode Island. The clergy also encouraged ICE to allow agents to excuse themselves from participating in raids if such actions are not in conformity with their faith and conscience."

It then goes on to say, "The bishop and pastors met at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Providence on Tuesday afternoon to: assess the current situation with the immigrants in various communities throughout the diocese; determine their needs; and discuss possible diocesan assistance."

Along with the statement are excerpts for the letters sent by His Excellency and the pastors to Mr. Farquharson which you may go and read yourself.

Of note is this quote from the letter in the release: “We the undersigned…urge you to declare a moratorium on immigration raids in the State of Rhode Island, until our nation can implement a comprehensive and just reform of our immigration laws,” wrote Bishop Tobin and Catholic priests. “It is our hope that such reform will make immigration raids obsolete. Until then, we believe that raids on the immigrant community are unjust, unnecessary, and counter-productive.”

Notice the lack of distinction between legal and illegal immigration except insofar as the bishop hopes that 'reform' will eventually render the raids unneeded. Very subtle.

The Leeds Crisis

Damian Thompson has been keeping abreast of this at his blog Holy Smoke. In his latest post, Mr. Thompson describes the reaction of the bishop of Leeds to the recent protest actions of parishioners whose parishes are being closed rather arbitrarily under false pretenses.

The whole thing came up at Mr. Thompson's blog with the issue of the bishop wishing to deal with one Father Lawler, the pastor of St. John the Evangelist at Allerton Bywater for being insubordinate. But Mr. Thompson indicated it had more to do with the good father's using Latin in the Mass and saying Mass while facing liturgical east.

In the latest post:

This whole business stinks, and I hear that the smell is beginning drift as far afield as the Vatican.

Bishop Roche I think has overplayed his hand. As Mr. Thompson has stated repeatedly, he's a member of the magic circle that dominates the English hierarchy and is in the running for succeeding to the archbishopric of Westminster. Coming to the Vatican's attention now not only exposes him as a member of that magic circle that has caught flack before for its /resistance/ to the pope's initiatives, but it also gives truth to the position that /all/ of that group is pretty much unfit for office. If Cormac and his chums hope to retain the see of Westminster, they'd do well to step in and tell their friend Bishop Roche to stop making waves.

South Ossetia V

This post at Hot Air is pretty damning. Sarkozy negotiating away Georgia's sovereignty for a ceasefire... That's pretty sad.

So why are the Russians packing it in for a 'retrograde maneuver?'

Obviously, the cease-fire agreement did not chase the Russians back into South Ossetia. So what did? The unexpectedly strong American response is most likely responsible for the Russian reconsideration. George Bush went from oddly passive in the first hours of the crisis to angry within days. His order to start military airlifts to provide, ahem, “humanitarian” aid to Georgia probably took Russia by surprise. The EU move to kick Russia out of the G-8, where they don’t belong anyway, may also have gotten Putin’s attention.

South Ossetia IV

Tip of the hat to TitusOneNine for this blog post and link to the column.

George Pitcher's words in the Telegraph (scroll down a bit):

Pope Benedict XVI managed, from his holiday in the Italian Alps, to call for an "immediate" end to hostilities in South Ossetia and urged negotiations between Russia and Georgia over the contested province.

But it sounded like a rebuke to two squabbling children, not a plea for an end to a bloodbath, and carefully made no reference to the wider incursion into Georgia.
[...]

Not only will politicians, such as Gordon Brown and his foreign secretary, David Miliband, not break their holidays, but the Pope won't leave his ski chalet either.
[...]

But it's worth noting, for all the talk of unity between Christians when Anglicans bicker about their internal divisions, or Catholics talk of irreconcilable divisions over women priests, that when Christian unity really matters, an ecumenical Church is nowhere to be seen.

While I have neither the time nor the inclination to defend the slew of politicians whom Mr. Pitcher lists in his column, I do think that his words regarding the Holy Father's actions thus far are a bit unfair. Rereading Benedict's words now, they do seem rather pale compared to the condemnations from the US, but I wonder what Mr. Pitcher expects an octogenarian to do in the face of the KGB man Putin and his oil-funded army?

The pope's only weapon is his office's reputation for even-handedness. While condemning Russia directly would have been well and good, I doubt Mr. Putin would have batted an eye given the fact that he seems not at all publicly intimidated by the likes of the United States.

The Living Church: Revisiting Vatican II | The New York Sun
By RICHARD JOHN NEUHAUS | August 13, 2008

An interesting article. Go check it out.

South Ossetia III

Russia has moved out of South Ossetia proper and is moving through Georgia now. Reports indicate that Russia has cut the country in two by taking the main highway and is moving to cut off Abkhazia so they may fully occupy it as well.

This is a good primer on what Russia's been up to for the last eighteen years.

The Holy Father commented yesterday. This is part of the CWN article:

In his reference to the conflict, Pope Benedict remarked that the violence had already caused the deaths of innocent civilians, and forced many more to flee their homes. The fighting could escalate if it continues, the Pontiff added.

Making an appeal to the "shared Christian heritage" of Georgia and Russia-- both predominantly Orthodox nations-- the Pope promised that Catholics would pray for a quick resolution of the conflict.

He also asked international leaders to "make every effort to support and promote initiatives aimed at reaching a peaceful and lasting solution."

South Ossetia II

Danger Room is a fine source for in depth info on what's going on in Georgia. The latest post is about the cyber warfare going on as Georgia's government servers are being attacked.

South Ossetia I

Georgia: Protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russia: Merely following the Kosovo precedent as established by the peace-loving West.

This is a hot war where neither side can escape fault nor be faulted for starting it.

Of course, the Russians have already bombed a Georgian city and there are unconfirmed reports the Georgians are engaging in ethnic cleansing...

I just went through all my bookmarks and Catholic news outlets are silent on a war between two Christian countries, even if they are by and large Orthodox.

A Fallen Hero

Like many others, I know Solzhenitsyn through his many works exposing the totalitarian regime of the Soviet Union for what it was. Since his death a few days ago, the paeans have been many both in the mainstream media and the blogosphere. But The New York Sun had a column on the 8th that paints a somewhat different picture.

For Solzhenitsyn, a survivor of the gulag system enforced by the KGB, the desire to see Russia as a great nation, its eternal spirit superior to the West's vulgar materialism, found him in old age supporting an ex-KGB man, Mr. Putin, who once said that there is no such thing as an ex-KGB man and who sees the Soviet Union's collapse as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of modern times. Despite this, Solzhenitsyn seemed to accept Mr. Putin as a "good dictator," whose silencing of his critics enhances Russia's soul.

The author, Nina Khrushcheva, goes on to describe Solzhenitsyn's later works in his old age as "backward, preachy, conservative, unenlightened, at times even anti-Semitic..." She concludes with the following which quite adequately sums up a legacy:

The tragedy of Solzhenitsyn is that, although he played a mighty role in liberating Russia from totalitarianism, he had nothing to say to ordinary Russians after their liberation, except to chastise them. Yet perhaps one day we Russians will escape our false dreams, and when that day comes, the heroic Solzhenitsyn, the Solzhenitsyn who could never surrender or be corrupted, will be restored to us. But it is now that we need that Solzhenitsyn most. For to paraphrase Milton's "Paradise Lost" on the illumination of Hell, "Solzhenitsyn's is no light, but rather darkness visible."

Suppression: Such a Harsh Word

Damien Thompson is reporting the suppression of a parish and the punishment of its priest.

The priest:

Fr Lawler told me [Thompson] today: "This is a parish that does exactly what the Holy Father tells us to do, celebrating the Mass reverently in the old and new forms. The bishop is determined to squash it, and to destroy me because he doesn't want me moving to another parish and doing the same thing."

The chancery:

Instead, the Vicar General, one Mgr McQuinn, has written to him [Father Lawler], telling him: "The Bishop ... believes your ministry to be divisive, is uncertain that ordinary pastoral care of parishioners is taking place and does not have confidence that you will celebrate the Ordinary Form of the Mass with a generous heart for the vast majority of parishioners who expect Sunday and weekday Masses to be in English and at an altar facing the people."

Apparently Father Lawler has been on the bishop's list for awhile and this seems to be the climax of much tension. The parish has retained a canon lawyer and appealing to Rome.

I would assume that Mr. Thompson would not report such a blatant act as this without first getting his ducks in a row. That the bishop of Leeds would take such drastic action is telling. I would personally like to know the circumstances behind the 'planned' round of closings and if this church was slated for closure before or after all this cropped up. That would be even more damning.

A New Link

Rorate Caeli has a link to the new Institute of Christ the King website. After browsing through it, I put the link down the left hand column along with a link to the FSSP.

The ICK website is very pretty and well designed, quite easy to navigate. Go have a look.

Should I Send This?

Dear Father Z,

If you are looking for a change of pace and wish to form a group, I humbly invite you to join my blog. Since I had surgery last year, I've been less than diligent in posting regularly, but with a partner of your caliber, I'm sure good things will happen while we share the workload. What do you think? Interested?

On the other hand, if you're looking for a partner for your blog, I'd be happy to offer my services. I have little knowledge of the inner workings of the Church beyond what I've read in the blogosphere, but I like to think I've learned some good places to check the news and then comment appropriately. Interested? ;)

Yours in Christ,
...

Huzzah!

I think Google has deemed that the blog is not spam. I didn't get the warning message on the dashboard page.

Reminder:

When: Sunday, August 3rd, 1:30pm

What: Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite aka the Gregorian Rite aka the Mass of Pius V aka the Mass of Blessed John XXIII aka the Traditional Latin Mass

Where: St. Wenceslaus' Church, 623 Fairchild Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52245

I may take the camera for pictures, but don't get your hopes up.

An Online Poll

Ignoring everything wrong with how this question is phrased...

"Should the Roman Catholic Church ordain women?"

Scroll down and vote. 'No' would be preferable (that is if you value the redemption of your soul). ;)

Comments on the Anglican Situation

Mr. Peter Karl T. Perkins of Victoria, Canada is one of many contributors to the comments over at Rorate Caeli. In one of his various comments, he asserts that after the Traditional Anglican Communion and those of the Church of England who wish to enter into communion with Rome complete an organizational structure, the GAFCON/Global South community of Anglican churches will "join a uniate TAC within five years, bringing one-third of the world's Anglicans with them."

I bring this up because I wish to invite Mr. Perkins to lay out his thoughts on why the Global South and GAFCON would be willing to enter into communion with Rome when so much of their theology and practice seems to me more along the protestant rather than the Catholic tradition.

Read This and Consider

Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Nicholas Carr, July/August 2008 Atlantic Monthly

Read all of it at once, don't be distracted and break off or else you'll prove the point of the article.

I'm interested in what effect this may have on our religious beliefs. I would submit that the Internet is having an effect. How do we comprehend God with our brains fundamentally rewritten? Is it bringing us closer to God or is it leading us away?

WYD 08

Father Z has video.

The Anglican Situation

As I reported the other day, various sources familiar with the situation with the TAC say that things are moving forward and that it could be resolved anytime now.

In the meantime, the Church of England voted to 'ordain' women. Due to this, a sizable group led by an Anglican 'bishop' has asked to come over to Rome. All kinds of links can be found at the blogs listed at the left under Daily Readings, so I'm not going to link to them all here.

As one commenter at one of those blogs pointed out, this situation with the Church of England has been on its way for years and years, so it stands to reason that Rome has a contingency plan for just this situation. What it turns out to be remains to be seen.

'Traditional Latin Mass' Announced

This has been out there awhile, but I'll post it anyway:

Una Voce Quad Cities takes great pleasure in making the following announcement:

Beginning August 3, 2008, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered in the extraordinary form (Missa Cantata) every Sunday at 4pm at St. Anthony's Church in Davenport, Iowa. Fr. Scott Lemaster, Fr. David Brownfield, and Fr. Tim Regan will alternate in offering the Mass. For parish information see http://www.stanthonysdavenport.4lpi.com.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes to Bishop Martin Amos and his director of liturgy, Deacon Frank Agnoli, who administered a diocese-wide survey of interest in the Traditional Latin Mass and then encouraged six diocesan priests to seek training in the extraordinary form. We are also deeply grateful to these priests (three of whom will be offering the Traditional Mass at St. Wenceslaus in Iowa City, also beginning August 3rd, at 1:30pm) for sacrificing their time and energy to offer us the ancient form of Mass, and to the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago who offered the (by all accounts superb) training program they attended in May.

Deo Gratias!

After the release of SP, I found my way onto someone's email list for organizing the Extraordinary Form here in IC, so I've been following along with their efforts. It is pleasing to see such efforts come to fruition.

SSPX Letter Content?

Rorate Caeli has a story from I.MEDIA via AFP that the SSPX superior-general's letter has asked that the excommunications be lifted. Go read the dispatch over there.