Vatican hiding war crimes suspect?

The Vatican is helping Croatia's most wanted war crimes suspect evade capture, a top UN prosecutor alleges.

Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, has said she believes Gen Ante Gotovina is hiding in a monastery in Croatia.

Ms del Ponte's spokeswoman told the BBC News website that the Vatican had refused to help in the search for him, despite being in a position to do so.

Read the complete article War crimes chief accuses Vatican from BBC News.

In the article it says that the Vatican will be coming out with a statement on this. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Holy See has to say. My first thought would be that this is pretty much a Croatian Church matter as far as if there is any hiding being done. Would the Holy See want to crack down and tell the Croatian bishops to stop aiding the general? We'll see what the forthcoming statement has to say.

Ms del Ponte's spokeswoman, Florence Hartmann, told the BBC News website that "the law applies to everyone, including the Vatican".

What law is Ms. Hartmann referring to, by the way? I suppose the Holy See is a signatory of various international conventions, but citing international 'law' in such a way is almost laughable. The Holy See ought to see this general turned over for the right reasons, not because they want to pull the 'law' card. What are they going to do, recommend that the UN and the EU punish the Holy See with sanctions...?

The Renaissance

I was at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on Saturday. I returned home from the trip today and will back into the swing of things tomorrow. But I'll leave you all with a few observations.

The Renaissance Festival was really not very 'Renaissance'. The costumes, the wares and everything else... It would seem that a more appropriate name would be the 'Medieval Festival' or the 'Pirate Festival'.

The single most glaring omission was anything Christian. To put it succinctly, there may very well have been no Renaissance without the Church. However, the festival in Minnesota is completely lacking. They have people dressed up as the King and his court, the Lord Mayor and a host of other characters, but no one playing any clergy.

On the other hand, there were plenty of visitors to the festival who dressed up as wizards and witches. Apparently, the Renaissance was not so much Christian as it was pagan I guess...

This is not to say I didn't have a good time. The Minnesota Renaissance Festival's goal is not historical authenticity and I am fine with that. But the festival itself is an interesting demonstration of how popular culture views that time period.

Kelo v. New London and the Church

I don't have time to comment on this extensively. I'll do so on Monday. Read and consider...

Church wants immigrant’s property via ‘eminent domain’

Brief absence

Starting later this morning and running through Sunday, I will be absent. It's off to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

Take care and God bless.

The national convention

[...]
At the end of his weekly general audience on Wednesday Pope Benedict greeted Italian exorcists who, he disclosed, are currently having their national convention, presumably in Rome.

The Pope encouraged them to "carry on their important work in the service of the Church."

Problem was, that until the Pope spoke, few people outside the inner circle knew that a convention of Beelzebub busters was going on, presumably in Rome.

And where are they holding it? A church, a hotel, a graveyard?

"They try to keep these things quiet," said a Catholic professor who has dealings with exorcists.
[...]

Read the complete article Pssst. Where the devil is the exorcists convention? from Reuters.

The article recounts as well the course at the Regina Apostolorum. It also explains a bit why there is so much interest in exorcisms in Italy these days:

According to some estimates, as many as 5,000 people are thought to be members of Satanic cults in Italy with 17-to 25-year-olds making up three quarters of them.

Interest in the devil and the occult has been boosted by films such as "The Exorcist" in 1973 and last year's "Exorcist: The Beginning".

Last year, Italy was gripped by the story of two teenage members of a heavy metal rock band called the "Beasts of Satan" who were killed by other band members in a human sacrifice.

The deaths horrified Catholic Italy, with pages of newspapers given over to descriptions of the black candles and goats' skulls decorating one victim's bedroom and witness statements of sexual violence.

That recalls the great wave of hysteria over Satanism in the United States during the 1980s. Hopefully, the Italians won't go so far as some Americans did in accusing their neighbors of sick perverse stuff that led to the removal of children, etc., when the neighbors were in fact innocent.

O'Brien: Gays need not apply

the title of this post is not very fair, but it's catchy, isn't it?

The American prelate overseeing a sweeping Vatican evaluation of every seminary in the United States said Monday that most gay candidates for the priesthood struggle to remain celibate and the church must ``stay on the safe side'' by restricting their enrollment.

Archbishop Edwin O'Brien made the comments as Roman Catholics await word of a much-anticipated Vatican document on whether gays should be barred from the priesthood. O'Brien and several other U.S. bishops have said they expect that document to be released soon.

O'Brien, who leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services in Washington, told The Associated Press that ``there are some priests, I don't think there are many, some ordained people with same-sex attractions and they've done very well'' remaining celibate.

``But generally speaking, in my experience, the pressures are strong in an all-male atmosphere,'' he said. ``And if there have been past failings, the church really must stay on the safe side. ... The same-sex attractions have gotten us into some legal problems.''

O'Brien had told the National Catholic Register, an independent newsweekly, that ``anyone who has engaged in homosexual activity, or has strong homosexual inclinations, would be best not to apply to a seminary and not to be accepted into a seminary,'' even if they had been celibate for a decade or more. O'Brien told The AP that the church is not ``hounding'' gays out of the priesthood, but wants to enroll seminarians who can maintain their vows of celibacy.
[...]

Read the complete article U.S. Prelate: Gays Shouldn't Be Ordained from Guardian Umlimited.

The rest of the article is a recap of the situation. An expert is quoted as saying that Archbishop O'Brien's comments cannot be dismissed due to his position and his connections. The document in question has been floating around for some time and reports are contradictory as to if or if not it will be released.

The question is why is O'Brien speaking out now? He could simply be fulfilling his mission in talking about an issue that he sees as something than needs to be addressed for seminaries to function, regardless of any official position by the Vatican. O'Brien could be the point man as far as the initial soundings before the document is finally released. Or he could just be expressing his personal opinion.

Regardless, only time will tell how this will all shake out.

Summing up

Sandro Magister's latest opens with his usual intro and then the guest essay. Today's topic is the lack of condemnation by missionaries in places like Singapore that are emerging as leaders in human cloning and other bio-industries.

Amy the Well-Informed talks about the Catholic blogging niche of 'hierarchial reporting'. Go take a look at that. And many thanks to Amy for the nod and link.

The Register proves its worth

There are times when I hate The Des Moines Register. But it does have David Yepsen, who is always good. He and Mike Glover are /the/ guys on the archaic political world of Iowa, where all future presidents are vetted like nowhere else, not even Philly (sorry Rocco).

From the Register:

Catholic priests are emerging from dark days of the child sexual abuse scandal with a new sense of hope and accomplishment, according to a new survey that will be published before the end of the year.

The survey mirrors the sentiments expressed by three veteran priests of the Des Moines Catholic diocese, who spoke to the Des Moines Sunday Register about what it has been like to be a priest during the scandal.

The priests talked about feeling anger and betrayal toward abusive priests. They also were fearful that under the U.S. bishops' new zero-tolerance policy, they might be unjustly accused and removed from the priesthood. However, all said they have been buoyed by the support of their parishioners.

Read the complete article Ragsdale: Priest morale rebounds from DesMoinesRegister.com.

Yesterday's article is on the morale of the priesthood, with extensive quotes from Des Moines-area priests. I'm not all that familiar with the Des Moines diocese, hailing myself from Sioux City and having spent much time in Davenport.

The following caught my eye in particular:

"We were talking last week that there isn't a priest shortage, that we are moving out of a surplus," Siepker said. "Catholics got spoiled in the U.S. Most parishes had its own priest, and some had several. There were three or four Masses on the weekends. Now, outside of Des Moines and Council Bluffs, almost every parish is paired. We are more like the pioneer priests, traveling from parish to parish."

Hess likes being a parish priest, but, at 60, he's feeling "spread thinner."

"I'm not as young and vigorous as I used to be," Hess said. "There never seems to be enough time to pray and reflect so you can do a good job. We're pulled in all kinds of different directions."

The greatest gift today's priests said they could receive from their congregations would be to be relieved of parish administrative tasks, according to the survey.

As far as Iowa goes, I would agree with that assessment. All over the state, parishes are not closing to the degree as they are in other places, but they are being grouped together. In my hometown of Fort Dodge, the three parishes along with several others from surrounding smaller towns are grouped together in a 'Team Ministry' format. This is good in some ways and bad in others, given the fact that last year, due to scheduling mishaps, at one parish everyone showed up for Christmas Mass except the priest.

Larger cities can close down parishes and have the people drive a few extra blocks to the next parish. In Iowa, closing a parish entails driving 30 miles or more to the next town. Solutions are worked out, but as the surplus passes, more and more will have to be done.

And now for something complete different

From In Today's Catholic World, bringing us the news of the pontificate of Gregory XVII and his secret successor who is out there somewhere.

Remember, my friends, the truth is out there.

Emily Rose

A disclaimer: I have yet to see the movie. We'll have to wait for it to come out on DVD.

Somehow the movie really never takes off into the riveting fascination we expect in the opening scenes. Maybe it cannot; maybe it is too faithful to the issues it raises to exploit them. A movie like "The Exorcist" is a better film because it's a more limited one, which accepts demons and exorcists lock, stock and barrel, as its starting point. Certainly they're good showbiz. A film that keeps an open mind must necessarily lack a slam-dunk conclusion. In the end Emily Rose's story does get told, although no one can agree about what it means.

Read the complete article The Exorcism of Emily Rose (PG-13) from rogerebert.com.

The above is how Roger Ebert ended his review of the movie about Emily Rose, the poor college girl who was either possessed or nuts and her priest who was either prevented from saving her due to drugs or didn't save her because he took her off the drugs. Or something.

Aside from plot details, in the little except above, Ebert compares the movie to the ultimate of the genre, The Exorcist. Ebert claims that the former keeps an open mind, even up to the end, while the later accepts demons as a given. I would have to disagree to some extent. The Exorcist as a novel and even as a film was specifically up to a certain point supposed to be ambiguous. Yes, as members of the audience, we probably figured it out that Regan was possessed, but the characters, especially Father Karras, operated pretty much up to the climax as if it were just some kind of manifestation of a psychosis. But I'm quibbling with Ebert.

In any case, in a broader discussion, one wonders where prosecuting a priest for the rite of exorcism falls under freedom of religion. As one reviewer I've read noted, the biggest suspension of disbelief for The Exorcism of Emily Rose is getting a grand jury to indict the priest in the first place.

The church is curiously ambivalent about exorcism. It believes that the devil and his agents can be active in the world, it has a rite of exorcism, and it has exorcists. On the other hand, it is reluctant to certify possessions and authorize exorcisms, and it avoids publicity on the issue. It's like those supporters of Intelligent Design who privately believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis, but publicly distance themselves from it because that would undermine their plausibility in the wider world.

Ebert claims that the Church is ambivalent. The conventional wisdom of the post-Vatican II Church would agree. However, such wisdom is according to many sources outdated. I challenge any of you to call your local diocese and ask them who is the appointed exorcist and see what kind of a response you get. I'm willing to bet that you will get more than just a disclaimer and ambivalence.

What kind of cross are you?

From Unam Sanctum:

You are the San Damiano Cross: Rich in symbolism,
this cross was first painted in the twelfth
century gathering images from the Gospel of
John. Christ is the central figure and is
surrounded by the angles, the apostles and the
Virgin Mary. The cross became well known
because it was the cross in front of which St.
Francis was praying when he received the call
to rebuild the Church.


What Kind of Cross are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

One of the questions for the quiz is in which movie you'd prefer to be a character; I picked 'Ben Hur' over 'The Passion of the Christ'. Mel's vision is a great one and I admire his movie, but 'Ben Hur' is the complete package.

Ecumenism with the East

Allen starts off with the obligatory Katrina news, focusing on world reaction. Then he looks to the news out of Assisi and the symposium sponsored by the Pontifical University Antonianum on the Eucharist in the East and the West.

Despite centuries of theological, liturgical and political controversies between East and West, most Orthodox and Catholic observers believe that today those differences could be understood as healthy diversity, rather than motives for schism. At bottom, there is only one real remaining obstacle to unity, but it's a whopper: the role and power of the pope, summed up in the word "primacy."

Read the complete article here.

In short, the Orthodox are quite adamant that structural unity will probably never come about, but say that ecumenism should be directed toward issues of common interest: secularization, etc. A Roman attendee was more optimistic on structural unity.

"In the Orthodox world, even the patriarch can't celebrate Mass outside his own diocese without the permission of the local bishop, and sometimes it is refused," he said. "The bishop enjoys a quasi-absolute position."

Another factor, he said, is political.

"There is a small percentage of fanatics in the Orthodox church who see Rome as the enemy, but they have a strong hold on the bishops, who don't want to rile them," Vassiliadis said.

[...]

"I think we can enrich one another's theology, we can get to know one another better, and I think we can work together on things we both care about - the fight for the soul of Europe, for example," Vassiliadis said. "To expect more than that is probably asking too much."

One step forward, Vassiliadis said, would be for the Orthodox to do for Catholics what Catholics have already done for Orthodox -- recognize them as "sister churches."

"Catholics recognize the validity of our ministries and sacraments, but it's not as clear from the Orthodox side," he said. "I think it would be very helpful to clarify this."

The senior Catholic official who was optimistic on unity also discussed with Allen the prospects of a papal visit to Constantinople. The Patriarch wants the Pope to come. The Pope wants to go, but the Turkish government is hesitant.

Padovese confirmed something that has long been rumored, which is that the hold-up in terms of making the visit official comes from the Turkish civil government, not the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, which is eager for the visit. It's the opposite of the situation in Russia, where Putin's government has said it has no problem with a papal visit, but it's blocked by the Russian Orthodox.

Why is the Turkish government skittish?

"In part, it has to do with the internal politics of Turkey," Padovese said. "The trip will not be accepted by all. Not everybody wants a dialogue with the Western world, or with the Christian church. There are radical circles within Islam that the government has to worry about," he said.

Padovese said security is undoubtedly also a concern.

I asked if Joseph Ratzinger's reservations about Turkey's admission to the European Union, expressed before he was elected pope, were also a factor.

"If he comes, it would give him the chance to make his views a little more precise," Padovese said. "It was presented in the Turkish press like a complete refusal [of Turkey's candidacy], but it's more open than that."

Padovese speculated that the government may be waiting to formally announce the invitation to the pope until after Oct. 3, when negotiating sessions on membership with the EU begin. If it seems clear from the outset that the negotiations are going well, it would be easier to manage any domestic opposition to the pope's arrival; further, inviting the pope at that time would be an ideal way for Turkey to demonstrate its openness to the West, as well as its capacity to handle security and logistics for the travel of major world leaders.

If the talks go well? In the current political environment, it would be unwise for the Turks to pin the Pope's visit on if the talks go well.

Exorcism and Satanism

ROME, SEPT. 8, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Interest in Satanism hasn't waned.

That is why the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University and the Socioreligious Research and Information Group are offering a course on "Exorcism and the Prayer of Deliverance," the second of its kind.

To better understand the objectives and reasons for the course, which starts Oct. 13, ZENIT interviewed one of the program's teachers, Carlo Climati, a journalist who has written on youth Satanism.

Read the complete article Why Another Course on Exorcism and Satanism from Zenit News Agency.

As I think I've mentioned before, I've written on exorcism for my degree and it's been an interest of mine. When I first really started reading up on the subject academically, there were no high level courses offered on the subject. It's interesting to see moves to 'professionalize' the occupation of 'exorcist' (as far as that is possible) bearing fruit.

An amusing idea is that of all the Catholic sacraments and rituals, exorcism is probably at once the most well-known and superficially well-understood, but at the same time the most misunderstood. Could the average Catholic today tell you exactly when and how transubstantiation takes place? Could the average Catholic today tell you how Jason Miller and Max von Sydow exorcised the demon in Linda Blair?

Food for thought.

Back on the Orthodox beat

VATICAN: CARD. KASPER, TIES WITH RUSSIAN CHURCH IMPROVE
(AGI) - Vatican City, Sep 8 - Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church continues and regarding the improvement of relations, Card. Walter Kasper, President of the Pontificate Council for Christian Unity, said "we are on the right path," in reply to journalists at a press conference. "There was no negative reaction from the orthodox Christians on the decision of moving the Easter Rites Ukrainian Catholic Church's headquarters to Kiev, and [Russian Orthodox Christians] seem to be interested in the situation in Europe". (AGI) -
081354 SET 05
COPYRIGHTS 2002-2005 AGI S.p.A.

From AGI.

I read the above and am just wondering what Kasper knows that hasn't leaked out to the media yet.

As we saw in the last episode of 'East Meets West', the Russian Orthodox Church was quite upset over the move from Lviv to Kiev. Now there is 'no negative reation'... If you say so, Your Eminence, if you say so.

Visiting Constantinople

Papabile caught this first...

Vatican official says he expects November papal trip to Istanbul

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said he expects Pope Benedict to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, in late November for a meeting with Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
[...]

Read it all here.

The November 30/Feast of St. Andrew date was mentioned again and the article basically recounts the ecumenical meetings that began back in 1964 when Paul VI met the Patriarch in the Holy Land. There has been no official confirmation thus far on the trip.

There was a news story that I read the other day that discussed Turkey's EU bid and how with the situation being what it is, the roadmap was stretched out over a decade and longer... I wonder just how they're going to handle Benedict XVI.

The Holy Land

ROMA, September 7, 2005 – With harsh and unexpected words, the Custodian of the Holy Land, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has called everyone's attention back to the increasing violence and humiliation that the Christians of Cisjordan suffer at the hands of Muslims.

And farther down:

At the end of July, a firestorm broke out between the Vatican and the Israeli government.

Read the complete article The Custody Must Be Doubled in the Holy Land from www.chiesa.

In the first part of the article, Magister details the situation in the Holy Land as Christians continue to be persecuted by Muslims, aided and abetted by the Palestinian Authority. Land fraud, intimidation and violence are the methods of choice. Magister gives one example that happened just recently.

And on the very day this public protest appeared, another case of anti-Christian violence was reported in Taibeh, the ancient city of the Bible known as Ephraim, a village east of Ramallah.

In Taibeh on Sunday, September 4, thirteen homes inhabited by as many Christian families were attacked and burned, the streets devastated, a statue of Mary demolished.

The reason for the destruction: the love relationship between Hiyam Ajai, a young Muslim woman of the nearby village of Deir Jreer, and Mehdi Kouriyee, a Christian from a prominent family of Taibeh that owns a brewery that bears their name.

When her family learned that she was expecting a child, they shut her up inside the house and beat her. On Thursday, September 1, Hiyam was found dead. The parents explained: “That Christian raped her, and she tainted herself.” Vengeance was called for, and the assault prepared. The Christian families of Taibeh found safety by fleeing their homes. By the time the Palestinian police arrived, the damage had already been done.

Since the Second Intifada began five years ago, Christians have been increasingly targeted as the secular (and Christian) nationalist figures of the Palestinian movement have been displayed by radical jihadist figures. The article points out how the Christian population is falling rapidly as Christians emigrate to escape persecution, adding to their increasing marginalization.

The second part of the article explains the sequence of events that led first to the firestorm of criticism between the Vatican and Israel and the eventual reconciliation. I can't help but think that Magister tied the two points together to make a larger one...

Despite all the righteous protestations by the State of Israel, the Jews aren't necessarily the ones who are hurting the most over there right now.

Good news

Today, after over a month of dial-up service, the cable company finally sent someone to take care of things (installing the cable jack, verifying that everything works, etc.). So now the morning can be spent more profitably.

In a general round up of what's been going on...

Rocco and Papabile have been commenting on the curial shake up that now seems to be postponed until after the upcoming Synod. The Archbishop of Washington being retained in his office is also noted with general approbation.

Amy keeps up on the Katrina situation. Her blog has turned into a clearinghouse of requests for aid, links to ways you can donate and contribute, etc. Check it out.

Politicizing Katrina

My more widely-read colleague at Whispers in the Loggia posted here today on the slow response to Hurricane Katrina. Rocco uses his bully pulpit to quote a African American religion professor at NYU. The professor's piece criticizes Bush and implies he is some kind of anti-Christ.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine today.

[Friend]: Um, if there wasn't such a selfish, moronic, dumbass in charge of this country, there wouldn't be so many people desperate for help. :)

Sephiroth9611 [me]: Yeah, just blame it all on whipping boy.

[Friend]: Well, perhaps if the whipping boy would do something instead of milking the never ending gas price gouging with his cronies, there wouldn't be any need to blame anyone.

My friend is a college graduate. She's intelligent and knowledgeable on many topics. But her comments above... If it wasn't so sad, it'd be funny that anyone can be that naive on how the world works. The same has to be said for the African American religion professor.

Tens of thousands of people are roaming, looting, raping, murdering, dying in a flooded wasteland. A New Orleans police officer compared it to Somalia, with armed thugs driving around in the back of pick-ups raping and pillaging. It's not something you solve in a week, no matter what your color or creed.

If it's Frday, it's...

John Allen comments on the meeting between the Pope and Fellay. He also has comments on WYD debriefings and the big shindig last week in Italy of the Communion and Liberation movement.

Read first, then read my comments, I won't quote extensively.

On the Lefebvrites:
Allen's comments on the why and the how of the Lefebvrite movement's validity vs. illicitness are very well timed. The context of the negotiations are typically glossed over in the mainstream Catholic press. The fact that the SSPX could very well build a 'valid' mirror Catholic hierarchy is a very important one. Kudos to John for explaining this in detail.

On Islam:
The Pope met with Oriana Fallaci, the famed Italian journalist who is terminally ill with cancer. Allen makes the connection that her audience with the Holy Father is yet another example of the new stance of jihadist Islam and the tacit approval of a lot of the mainstream Islamic leaders.

The idea that those countries under Shariah law are somehow not completely civilized is I think a slight mistake. As I've noted before. the problem is more with ingrained social custom. In places like Spain, the Caliph had to beg the Christians not to make trouble. One exception perhaps, but it goes to show that blanket condemnations are not always the best.

On gay martyrs:
Here I'll quote something:

Philip and Randi Reitan of Eden Prairie, Minn., said they had symbolically "adopted" Ormando as their own son, since his natural family had rejected him. "We know so many young gay men like him, so hurt by the teachings of the church," Randi Reitan said. "When the church teaches people not to accept and to love their own children, it destroys a mother's heart."

Don't blame the Church and its teachings for the social taboos of rural Sicily, thank you very much.

Finally, On Communion and Liberation:
I'll quote again, this time CL's founder:

"A movement in the church is like an unplanned pregnancy … the child may be unwanted, but it can't be aborted,"

An interesting and rather striking insight into such things...

We deal in threes here

I was the 6,001st hit this morning. Thanks for reading.

As for me, I'm talking a little break from really typing a lot, as my wrist is bothering me.

Read Magister's full text of the Holy Father's ecumenical speech during WYD. As Magister points out, the actual speech was twice as long word-wise as the printed speech distributed beforehand.