A link

I don't read Andrew Sullivan. I don't like to take this blog too much into the realm of 'secular politics'. However, this interview is interesting and I thought I'd post it. A commenter at titusonenine linked to an interview of Andrew Sullivan by Hugh Hewitt the radio show host and blogger. It's interesting.

Spin your headline

The Age: Vatican softens line on married priests

THE Catholic Church may be preparing to readmit priests who left to marry — as long as they are now celibate.

A Vatican meeting chaired by Pope Benedict on Thursday discussed readmitting priests and issued a more neutral statement than many expected, while upholding celibacy.

Calgary Sun/AP: Vatican sticks with celibacy stance

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican yesterday reaffirmed the value of celibacy for priests after a summit led by Pope Benedict that was spurred by a married African archbishop who has been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

The three-hour meeting's conclusions "were not a change in how the present rules (on celibacy) are applied," Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said by telephone.

The actual communique:

"In the Apostolic Palace this morning, November 16, the Holy Father presided at one of the regular meetings of the heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia, for a moment of shared reflection.

"The participants in the meeting had at their disposal detailed information concerning requests for dispensation from the obligation of celibacy presented during recent years, and concerning the possibility of readmission to the exercise of the ministry of priests who currently meet the conditions established by the Church.

"The value of the choice of priestly celibacy in accordance with Catholic tradition was reaffirmed, and the need for solid human and Christian formation was underlined, both for seminaries and for ordained priests."

And there you have it

From the BBC:
"The value of the choice of priestly celibacy... has been reaffirmed,"

Housekeeping

The labels/categories have been expanded and more posts have been labeled/categorized. Remember though, not all posts have been labeled, so if a complete search is needed, the search box at the top is still the best bet.

What is this about?

Interfax: Ukrainian Greek Catholics’ attempt to seize an Orthodox church in Transcarpathia

Moscow, November 16, Interfax - The Ukrainian Greek Catholics attempted to seize an Orthodox church in the village of Zarechevo, Perechin district, Transcarpathia region.

The Orthodox village inhabitants could not enter their church for two weeks because the Uniates blocked it up.

The Orthodox church in Zarechevo has always been open, even under the Soviet power. The Greek Catholic comprise 2% of the local worshippers, yet the Transcarpathia administration resolved to build a church for them at the state’s expense. The Orthodox worshippers living in the village favored the decision, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church press service told Interfax.

The Uniates declined the offer and made an attempt to seize the Orthodox church by force.

Bishop Agapit of Uzhgorod and Mukachevo arrived in Zarechevo to encourage his flock. The police managed to stop Uniates’ provocations, and the Orthodox believers could enter the church and celebrate the divine service.

In checking out the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church's website, The Resolutions of The Patriarchal Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church make interesting reading.

The first resolution:

1) A sui juris Church;

2) Completely united with the successor of St. Peter- the Bishop of Rome;

3) Bearers of the Eastern Christian Byzantine tradition from the time of Volodymyr's Baptizing;

4) Taking into consideration our history, our geographic location, and our religious and ecclesiastical experience, we are called to assist in the full and mutual understanding of two Christian traditions- Byzantine and Latin.

The list of resolutions concludes with this [bolding is mine]:

These resolutions are effective as of October 14, 2006, on the Feast of theProtection of Our Most Holy Queen, the God-Bearer and Ever-Virgin Mary

+ Lubomyr

Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

The interdicasterial meeting

From VIS:

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2006 (VIS) - As announced earlier, this morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father met with heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia in order to examine the situation that has arisen following the disobedience of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. The order of the day also included an examination of requests for dispensation from the obligation of celibacy, and requests for readmission to the priestly ministry presented by married priests over the course of recent years.

Now we wait.

The Anglicans

I was going to wait and post on this closer to the Archbishop of Canterbury's visit to Rome, but with the recent remarks of Professor Tighe making the rounds, I think I'll take a moment to contemplate the situation.

For background, Professor Tighe left a comment to the post on the Archbishop's trip to Rome at titusonenine. In the midst of talking about the plight of the Archbishop of Canterbury's own making as far as the Church of England's support of women's ordination and actively gay clergy, Tighe noted the following (bolding is mine):

However, one would really like to be privy to their conversations, especially as I have heard that a proposal is due to land on the pope’s desk on November 16, a proposal that has something to do with facilitating the entry into the Catholic Church of disgruntled Catholic-minded Anglicans. I know nothing of the details, but I would guess that it might involve some sort of expansion and “globalization” of the present “Pastoral Provision” set up some 20+ years ago here in the USA for Episcopalians distressed over WO. My guess is that it may involve a “Personal Prelature” for these people (as for Opus Dei) or else an “Apostolic Administration” like that that was erected a couple of years ago for a whole schismatic “Tridentine Mass” group and their bishop in Brazil. (And it may be that certain ECUSA bishops received a “sneak preview” of what’s in the works on September 6th, but verbum satis sapientibus est, ans we won’t know about it till after January 31st at the earliest.)

Following up yesterday on Professor Tighe's comment was The Times' (of London) religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill at her online column. In part (be sure to read Ruth's actual post, she had all kinds of relevant links throughout her post):

The comment on Titus was posted by the well-informed US church history professor William Tighe. So it cannot be discounted. But the truth actually might be a little more complex. One possible option, for example, is that the document Tighe refers to and the [Tridentine Mass] indult are one and the same. That the indult will contain a more general permission for the Anglican Use rather than it being confined to the US. This was not adopted as the solution to the Anglican women priest's crisis in the first place because it was opposed by the late Cardinal Hume, as William Oddie reported in his book The Roman Option.

This speculation is not, according to a well-informed Anglican source, a step too far. Fr Aidan Nicholls wrote a wonderful essay on the Anglican Use recently. And Paddy Power has him as 5-1 to be the next Archbishop of Westminster. He was also the theologian offered by the Archbishop of Westminster to Forward in Faith, when they asked him for a Catholic to contribute to the discussions for their recent paper, Consecrated Women.

Kudos to Amy for pulling all this together.

So...

1. I think the major indicator in this not being likely in the near term is the fact we have not seen any kind of response from the hierarchy. On the one hand, this document could be really secret and people are being discreet in their comments. However, as we've seen from the French response to the alleged motu proprio on the Mass of Pius V, the hierarchy isn't afraid of publicly making its thoughts (both for and against) known.

2. Benedict XVI has if nothing else proven himself to be a step-by-step kind of man. The tsunami of curial reform never materialized. In place of it, the Pope has steadily appointed people over the months. It just doesn't seem likely that any progress on an Anglican Use document would be pursued while the Tridentine Mass document is still out there. The latter could realistically take months to be processed. When Professor Tighe suggested nothing would be seen of the Anglican Use document until after January 31st of next year, I would agree with that assessment.

3. The Milingo factor. As it was mentioned at some point out there, a canonical framework for the Anglican Use as suggested by Professor Tighe would grant the ability to form seminaries for Anglican Use clergy. Let's consider a hypothetical. The Pope creates an Anglican Use prelature. Masses of Anglo-Catholics make the transition around the world. We now have the Latin Rite with its celibate clergy and the Anglican Use with its married clergy coexisting in may locales. Without trying to generalize the dynamics, it stands to reason that Benedict XVI would be considering such possibilities and any messages that might be sent while Archbishop Milingo's actions remain in recent memory.

Finally,
4. The time factor. It's November 15th. Ash Wednesday falls on February 21st, 2007. That is just over three months away. Assuming that Benedict follows the precedent he set this year during Lent, it's quite possible we'll see another consistory in early to mid-March. I would suggest that unless things breaks sooner rather than later, a lot of what everyone is waiting for could be held in limbo until March at the earliest.

Nothing to fear

AKI: TURKEY: POPE HAS NOTHING TO FEAR DURING VISIT, SAYS TOP ISLAMIC OFFICIAL
Bolding in red is mine.

Turin, 15 Nov. (AKI) - Turkey's top Muslim official who recently demanded an apology from Pope Benedict XVI for remarks the head of the Catholic Church made on Islam, believes the pontiff's safety won't be at risk during the papal visit to Turkey which begins on 28 November. "We are a democratic state and there's freedom: that's why some people don't approve of this visit and they say so. But this won't detract from our traditional hospitality," said Ali Bardakoglu head of the state department for religious affairs, the Diyanet (Mercy).

"This trip [the pope's to Turkey] won't resolve all the problems but it is a good step on the path to dialogue. Peace can be destroyed in an istant [sic] but it takes a long process to rebuild it," Bardakoglu was quoted as saying in an interview published Wednesday in the Turin-based daily La Stampa.

The Turkish cleric was among Benedict's most vocal critics after the pope on 12 September in a speech at a university in Regensburg, Germany appeared to suggest that the Islamic belief in jihad or holy war ran against the will of God and that Islam is at odds with the concept of rationality.
[...]

Asked if he would again ask for Benedict's apology [since B16 never gave one], Bardakoglu replied: "I don't waste time speaking about the past. It's not important whether the person who says something unacceptable on Islam is a layman, a religious figure or an important person - it is one's duty to correct him."

In the interview, Bardakoglu - who will be meeting Benedict XVI in Ankara - denied that Islam is irrational and described the meaning of jihad as "mainly an individual internal struggle agains the evil tendencies of human nature."

On Tuesday the Vatican's ambassador to Turkey, Apostolic Nuncio, Antonio Lucibello, said "we trust the sincerity of Turkish authorities," after meeting Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas.
[...]

On 2 November, a Turkish man fired a gun against the Italian consulate in Istanbul chanting slogans against Benedict and threatening to shoot him during the papal visit to Turkey. Police said they believed the 26-year-old man who was later arrested acted alone.
[...]

It's just this kind of thing that leaves me leery. I don't really expect anything to happen to Benedict while he's in Turkey. There will be too much security for that and the government would never allow an assassination to jeopardize its status with the EU. But it's just this kind of language that I've pointed out that illustrates why Turkey shouldn't be included. Michael Crichton wrote of the Japanese that their thinking was 'fundamentally different'. And note, he was writing of a society that is thoroughly modern and thoroughly Westernized. While proclaiming its secularity and Westernism, Turkey is busy preventing the Orthodox from training priests, suppressing any mention of the Armenian genocide and forcibly dealing with Kurdish autonomy aspirations. The Turks are going to eventually suffer the consequences and realize that they can't keep one foot in Asia and the other in Europe and play both sides without losing.

News round-up

BBC: Vatican enters Muslim veils debate

Cardinal Renato Martino said immigrants must respect the traditions, culture and religion of the nations they go to.

They ought to abide by local laws banning the wearing of certain types of Muslim veils, he added.

"It seems elementary to me and it is quite right that the authorities demand it," said Cardinal Martino, who heads the Vatican department dealing with migration issues.

I agree wholeheartedly with His Eminence's words. It just struck me though. What if he were talking about for instance Mexican immigrants in the US and the Church's efforts to provide them with Spanish language services at the expense of English and assimilation? What would the response to be that? I'll leave you all to guess.

CNS: Pope calls Curia to discuss married priests, Archbishop Milingo
I really hope that there isn't any kind of a relaxation on this. It's a feel-good bandaid to the general lack of discipline in leading Christian lives. Not enough priests? Gee, I wonder why? Maybe because they don't get to have wives? Hey, one answer is as good as another!

Interfax: Alexy II is prepared for personal meeting with the Pope of Rome only after the differences between the two Churches are resolved

‘A possibility of personal meeting with the Pope has never been eliminated. We have always insisted that such a meeting should open a new page in our relations and not be just a protocol meeting before TV cameras to show that we have no problems, while in fact we have them,’ the Patriarch said in his interview to Paris Match published Thursday.

He noted that the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church had never met with the head of the Roman Catholic Church. If this meeting takes place, ‘probably in a third country, - it would have become an exclusive historic event.’

‘Therefore, this meeting should be thoroughly prepared with the betterment of relations between our Churches as its primary object,’ Alexy II underscored.

Does anyone ever get the feeling that the Russian Patriarch has... pretensions? Maybe it's just the translation and all that, but Alexy and his subordinates always ocme off as rather imperious in tone. 'We aren't going to meet with you until you see things our way...' 'Play the game the way we want or we'll take our ball home.'

AKI: VATICAN: TOP CLERIC SLAMS SATIRE OF POPE

Rome, 14 Nov. (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI's personal secretary Georg Gaenswein on Tuesday slammed a TV and radio satire of the pontiff and himself. "I hope it stops right away," Gaenswein told Adnkronos. "I hope these programmes will end immediately: satire is fine but these things have no intellectual level and offend men of the Church. They are not acceptable."

Gaenswein's comments follow an article in Avvenire - the newspaper of the Italian Bishops' Conference - which slammed a satire of the pope by comedian Maurizio Crozza on private television channel La7 and the imitation, by another popular Italian showman, Fiorello, of the pontiff's secretary in a radio programme on state broadcaster RAI Viva Radio 2.

Avvenire lashed out at the programmes saying they were trying to "ridicule Catholic figures."

Gaenswein stressed that he would never watch nor listen to these programmes and noted he wanted "to forget" the entire episode.

He also stressed the pontiff had never commented on the programmes: "A comment of the pope would really honour too much these people."

I wish I had a secretary... :)

Briefly...

This morning I have to get out to the local vocational rehabilitation office to participate in a weekly job search/job counseling activity. I will post again in the afternoon.

If those of you out there who read this blog on a regular basis have any job openings that you think I might be qualified for based on what you've read here, please leave a comment or email me.

Surprise, surprise!

Let me just voice my disappointment at the lack of closed captioning for the live USCCB events being televised this week. My disappointment is made somewhat less by Amy's excellent summary, but still...

French opposition

Magister has a nice summary of events surrounding the motu proprio for the liberalization of the Mass of Pius V. He ends with the following [the link is my own]:

It is thus foreseeable that Benedict XVI will take a little more time, will listen to the objections from some bishops and cardinals, but in the end – probably by winter – will issue the Motu Proprio that will facilitate the use of the Tridentine rite.

He’s sure that this will do nothing but add to the plurality of rites that have always made the Church multifaceted.

The Council of Trent itself was careful not to unify the rites by force. Next to the “Roman” rite, Pius V confirmed the legitimacy of all the other rites in the Church that had been in existence for at least two centuries. And there were quite a few of these rites at the time. The predominance of the Roman rite asserted itself gradually over the following centuries, but it was never complete. Still today, there are marked differences between the Mass in the Roman rite and the “Ambrosian” rite celebrated in the archdiocese of Milan. To this must be added the great variety of the rites of the Eastern Churches united with Rome.

This is without mentioning the incredible – and often unapproved – variety in styles of celebration that was unleashed by the liturgical reform inaugurated by Vatican Council II and by its new missal, enacted in 1970.

Father Z has more on Magister's article.

While there are many out there who are eagerly awaiting a motu proprio, I am not terribly bothered by the delays. Mass these days is an almost-silent reading experience and the wonders of the Mass of Pius V will be found for me in the beauty of my missal and any outward movements of the priest up front rather than singing, chanting and the like. I was talking to a friend last night about the efficaciousness of going it alone through the missal while everyone else around me was busy singing, responding, etc. in the Novus Ordo. He said it was indeed efficacious and made the astute comment that I was merely doing what the laity had been doing for centuries before recent reforms.

That cheered me considerably.

Places to go, people to see in Turkey

From Zenit:

Tuesday, November 28th
The Pope will leave from Rome's Fiumicino airport at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28. He will arrive at the Esenboga airport at Ankara, the Turkish capital, at 1 p.m., local time.

The Holy Father will first visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk, "Father of the Turks," who proclaimed the Turkish republic in 1923.

Subsequently, the welcome ceremony will take place as well as a courtesy visit to Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

The Pontiff will then meet with the deputy prime minister before meeting with the president of religious affairs, Ali Bardokoglu, Grand Mufti and highest Muslim authority, at his headquarters, and with the diplomatic corps in the Apostolic Nunciature. The Holy Father will deliver addresses to each.

Wednesday, November 29th
The following day, Benedict XVI will travel to Smyrna, the country's third-largest city, known as "The Pearl of the Aegean," from where he will go to Ephesus, the city where the Apostle Paul lived and was captive, and where, according to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist also lived.

In Ephesus, Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass at the Meryem Ana Evi (House of Mary) Shrine and deliver a homily. It was in this city that a Council in the year 431 proclaimed the Virgin Mary "Theotokos," of Mother of God.

On that Wednesday afternoon, the Holy Father will fly from Smyrna to Istanbul -- formerly Constantinople -- where he will visit and pray at the Patriarchal Church of St. George and have a private meeting with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople. The Pope will greet him at the patriarchate's headquarters.

Thursday, November 30th
On Thursday morning, Nov. 30, Benedict XVI will take part in the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul. He will deliver an address and sign a joint declaration.

The Pontiff will thus fulfill the original objective of his trip: to respond to the invitation of Patriarch Bartholomew I to take part on the feast of St. Andrew, patron of the patriarchate, observed on Nov. 30.

After the ceremony, the Holy Father will lunch with Bartholomew I in the patriarchate. In the afternoon, he will visit the St. Sophia Museum.

Then Benedict XVI will go to the Armenian Apostolic cathedral, where he will pray and meet and greet Patriarch Mesrob I.

That same afternoon, the Pope will meet with the Syro-Orthodox metropolitan and the chief rabbi of Turkey.

Finally the Holy Father will meet and dine with the members of the country's Catholic bishops' conference.

Friday, December 1st
On Friday, Dec. 1, Benedict XVI will preside over the celebration of Mass in Istanbul's Cathedral of the Holy Ghost and deliver a homily.

It will be his last appointment, as he will then go to the city's airport and, after the farewell ceremony, depart at 1:15 p.m. for Rome's Ciampino airport.

Recently in the PRC

Zenit has a nice summary of recent events in the People's Republic of China pertaining to religious affairs.

One item of interest:

HONG KONG, NOV. 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- As speculation continues over the future of relations between the Vatican and China, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun recently offered to step up his activity in this area. In January the archbishop of Hong Kong reaches 75 years of age, when he must offer his resignation to the Pope. If this is accepted, then he would like to dedicate more time to the Church in mainland China, he told the South China Morning Post on Sept. 22.

Cardinal Zen said that he had spoken of this desire with Benedict XVI. According to a Sept. 28 report in the Morning Post, the Pope promised to consider the matter.

Capitalism and Catholicism

I was reading at Zenit.org this morning about the Oct. 31 videoconference that was organized by the Vatican Congregation for Clergy. The two addresses linked to below brought to mind a book I had read and that now sits on my shelf. The basic premise of the book by John Mueller is that capitalism is not as evil as it is made out to be and that it rewards virtue.

Christian Judgment on Neo-liberalism
- Address by Rodney Moss

First, Catholic social thought does not view economics as concerned only with facts or being value-free/neutral as do the neo-classical/neo-liberal economists. Importantly, economic systems are seen as based on some set of values, whether that system be capitalist, socialist, Marxist or some other economic variant.
[...]

Secondly, in Catholic social thought, the scientific or qualitative aspects of economics are secondary to the human element. Therefore "[e]ven in social and economic life the dignity of the human person and the integrity of his vocation, along with the good of society as a whole, are to be recognized and furthered. Man is the author, the center and the end of all social and economic life."[6]
[...]

Thirdly, Catholic social thought is not based on the belief that individual self-interest should be pursued and that somehow this will contribute to the good of society. This was the assumption of Adam Smith. However, Wilber notes that "Scholarly work in economics over the past fifteen years demonstrates that, under conditions of interdependence and imperfect information, rational self-interest frequently leads to socially irrational results."[9] We need a "moral culture" to inform economic life.

Fourthly, the common good is central to Catholic social thought and can never be regarded as a mere byproduct of individual self-interest. The common good, that which transcends particular interests and which is a good in which all can participate, is very different from a "mechanistic" and individualistic view of society dominant in classical and neo-liberal economic theory.

Finally, economic problems are not solved by growth alone. In "Centesimus Annus," No. 29, we read: "[D]evelopment must not be understood solely in economic terms, but in a way that is fully human. It is not only a question of raising all people to the level enjoyed by the richest countries, but rather of building up a more decent life through united labor, of concretely enhancing every individual's dignity and creativity, as well as his capacity to respond to his personal vocation, and thus to God's call."

Hedonistic Culture and the Global Market
- Address by Father Gary Devery

The overall positive or negative effect of globalization towards the common good of humanity will depend on what is the underlying anthropology giving rise to its moral component; it at this level that the Church has the most to offer.

The present Pope, while still a cardinal, addressing the College of Cardinals before they went into conclave highlighted the urgency of this matter. He noted that today "relativism, that is, allowing oneself to be carried about with every wind of 'doctrine,' seems to be the only attitude that is fashionable. A dictatorship of relativism is being constituted that recognizes nothing as absolute and which only leaves the 'I' and its whims as the ultimate measure."[2]

The culture of hedonism is a consequence of relativism. The measure of the human person is the "I"; all values become relative and subjective. Forecasting this into a global market driven by an anthropology based solely on a "What is in it for me?" attitude could result in a tyrannical empire divided between the "haves" and the "have nots." The latter would be the necessary slaves to feed the hedonistic culture of the "haves."

On the other hand...

Capitalism, Democracy, and Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery
- By John Mueller

From Library Journal
The thesis behind Mueller's cleverly worded title is that capitalism gets terrible press (for promoting greed and deceit) while democracy's is naively positive and uncritical (it can never be as egalitarian and participatory as it claims). Mueller (political science, Univ. of Rochester) feels that Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, from Garrison Keillor's mythical Lake Wobegon (the motto is, "If you can't get it at Ralph's, you can probably get along without it"), is a more realistic model for approaching the two entities. Mueller argues that our unrealistic images of capitalism and democracy prevent us from claiming the full benefit of each. Throughout, he is careful to qualify rather than make bold declarative statements that would be damned by exceptions. Many thought-provoking ideas are packed into this nuanced work, and Mueller's case is strong and well documented. The sophisticated argument, however, will limit its value to academic collections or public libraries where there is an active interest in political science. --Patrick J. Brunet, Western Wisconsin Technical Coll. Lib., La Crosse

Peace is not the absence of war

After the Germans and the Allies agreed to the general armistice on November 11th, what did the Pope have to say? On December 1st he issued the encyclical Quod Iam Diu on the peace and how it should be built.

Venerable Brethren,
Health and Apostolic Benediction.

That for which the whole world has long sighed, which Christianity has implored with such fervent prayer, and for which We too, interpreter of the common sorrow, have never ceased to pray with the heart of the father intent on the good of all - that has come in a moment: at last, the clash of arms has ceased. True, peace has not yet in solemn fashion brought to an end the great war, but to peace the road has been opened happily with the Armistice which has, meanwhile, suspended slaughter and devastation by land, sea and air. Many and various reasons could be given to explain the suddenness of this event; but if the supreme reason be sought there is no other way but to look above to Him who rules all events. Moved to compassion by the unceasing prayers of His servants, He now lets humanity breathe again after so many trials and sorrows. While, then, all thanks are being given to the Lord for this wondrous boon, We are glad that many imposing demonstrations of piety have taken place in the Catholic world to that end. It remains now to implore of the divine mercy that the crown be put on the great gift accorded us. Soon the delegates of the various nations will meet in solemn congress to give the world a just and lasting peace; no human assembly has ever had before it such serious and complex determinations as they will have to take.

2. Words, then, are not required to show how great need they have of being illuminated from on high that they may carry out their great task well. And, as their decisions will be of supreme interest to all humanity, there is no doubt that Catholics, for whom the support of order and civil progress is a duty of conscience, must invoke Divine assistance for all who take part in the peace conference. We desire that that duty be brought before all Catholics. Therefore, Venerable Brothers, in order that there may come from the Congress shortly to be held that great gift of heaven, true peace founded on the Christian principles of justice, that enlightenment from the Heavenly father may descend on them, it shall be your care to order public prayers in each parish of your dioceses in the way you may think most convenient. As for Us, representing, however unworthily, Jesus Christ, King of Peace, We shall exert all the influence of Our Apostolic Ministry that the decisions which are to be taken to ensure for ever in the world the tranquility of order and concord be willingly accepted and faithfully carried out by Catholics everywhere.

3. As harbinger of celestial favours and pledge of Our benevolence, to you, Venerable Brethren, and to you, clergy and people, We impart from Our heart the Apostolic Benediction.

Given at Rome at St. Peter's on the 1st day of December, 1918, the fifth year of Our Pontificate.

BENEDICT XV

The condom thing (again)

There have been various articles floating around out there for the last few days. This one from the LA Times alleges that Benedict is waiting for a report on condom use.

Today — three popes and nearly 40 years later — Pope Benedict XVI has ordered a Vatican staff report on whether condoms can be approved for situations in which there is potential for HIV infection. That report is imminent, according to Vatican rumors, and it is likely that Benedict will act quickly on it given that it was undertaken on his initiative.

Benedict’s review was prompted, in part, by a handful of prominent cardinals and bishops who assert that condoms are necessary to control HIV infection worldwide. Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, after watching countless young women die of AIDS in a health clinic he established, veered from Vatican orthodoxy when he said in 1998 that “denying condoms is a death sentence for women.”

If in fact Benedict moves away from the absolute prohibition against condoms, it likely will be a very measured step; for instance, he might allow their use only in developing countries, where there is little stigma attached to husbands’ infidelity, a factor that increases the risk of infection for innocent wives. However, no matter how narrowly focused, any relaxation of the rules about condoms will have far-reaching consequences.
[...]

But a change of doctrine may not be easy.

Even the smallest reversal of Paul’s absolute moral rule calls into question the entire contraception ruling, the morality of abortion (which the encyclical forbids under the same argument as contraception) and the doctrine of papal infallibility. This last because even though Paul did not formally invoke papal infallibility, it was clear he meant to lay down a law with no exceptions.

Yet Humanae Vitae is not, in its reasoning, as absolute as one might think.

Peter C. Boulay, "a former religious brother, has been a reporter, magazine editor and editor of a Catholic newspaper. He is writing a book on gender issues within the Catholic Church," launches into a critique of the encyclical which does not concern me here.

Let us be frank. Assuming Benedict is actually waiting for a report, there are certainly pastoral reasons out there that supposedly justify an acceptance of condoms in order to protect young wives in Africa from whatever their husbands may carry home.

1. They have a plan for after? Allowing the use of condoms is merely a stopgap measure that does not solve the underlying problem. Do the cardinals and bishops who advocate the acceptance of condom use also have a plan for teaching Catholic men who are unfaithful about the damage they're doing to their immortal souls? I would really need to know a whole lot more about actual cases on the ground and how they're being handled before I would even begin to contemplate what is being suggested.

2. The global impact. In this day and age, if there were to be an acceptance of condoms, it would be traumatic for the Church. In a secularized world, such a move would be seen as a defeat. Condoms may only be tolerated in Africa, but they're still being tolerated and that would send a message to all kinds of groups. In the debates lately about the universal indult, the talk has been about reconciliation with the SSPX, etc. However, as commentators so often point out, there is much more than just the 1962 Missal. How would the SSPX react? For that matter, how would most faithful, orthodox Catholics react at a sudden reversal of such a central pro-life tenet?

Benedict XVI is a brilliant man. I trust him. My thought is that with so much else on his plate, pulling off a nuanced message on the use of condoms would be nearly impossible. Once the bell is rung, it'll be next to impossible to unring it.

On Tolkien

As an amateur Tolkienist (or whatever term one cares to use), I always find it interesting when articles pop up declaring they've found the key symbols that tie Tolkien's works to his Catholic faith.

In the book Morgoth's Ring, there is a fictitious debate called by Tolkien, 'Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth'. It is a debate between the immortal Elf Finrod and the mortal woman Andreth. Tolkien uses the debate as an exposition of the relationship of his mythology to the Christian tradition. Included is the description of the Fall of Man and its consequences and the Elvish thought on the end of the world.

After the debate concludes, Tolkien sets out in a 'third person' commentary the motivations of the Elf and the woman and how they look at various topics relating to life, death, evil in the world and the end of the world itself. After a series of arguments, Tolkien describes the probable final conclusion of the Elf that Eru (God) would in a redemptive fashion enter the world as a Man to cure the evils of Melkor (Satan) and free Men from their original sin. Thus Elvish thought and foresight predict the coming of Christ.

The analysis of the published works The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings is important for the study of the influences of Tolkien's faith upon his works. But with the publication of The History of Middle-earth series, we can see first-hand the creative process of Tolkien's works. We can see the secondary fictional works ('Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth') and philosophical essays that set out definitively Tolkien's attempts to bring his legendarium into a Christian historial framework. Most importantly, we see Tolkien's personal debate over the worth of writing an 'alternate-history' Bible and his ultimate positive answer.

More Orthodox-Catholic discussion

Zenit has part two of the interview with the Orthodox Bishop of Vienna and Austria. A quote that stood out for me:

At this level I can predict many years of exhaustive and difficult work, especially when we come to the issue of universal primacy. Complications will arise not only because of the very different understanding of primacy between the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, but also from the fact that there is no unanimous understanding of universal primacy among the Orthodox themselves.

This fact already became evident during the recent session of the Commission in Belgrade, and the internal disagreement within the family of the Orthodox Churches on this particular issue will be manifested in ways more acute and striking in the future. Thus, a long and thorny path lies ahead.

There is, however, another level to which we should set our sights, and here I mean not so much what divides as what unites us. To be specific, this is the level of cooperation in the field of Christian mission.

Personally, I believe that it is quite premature and unrealistic to expect restoration of full Eucharistic communion between East and West in the foreseeable future. Nothing, however, prevents us, both Catholics and Orthodox, from witnessing Christ and his Gospel together to the modern world. We may not be united administratively or ecclesiastically, but we must learn to be partners and allies in the face of common challenges: militant secularism, relativism, atheism, or a militant Islam.

It is for this reason that, since the election of Pope Benedict XVI, I have repeatedly called for the fostering of ties between the Catholics and the Orthodox Churches through the creation of a strategic alliance for the defense of Christian values in Europe. Neither the word "strategic" nor "alliance" has so far been commonly accepted to describe a collaboration such as this.

Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev makes a good point in that while Benedict may be working steadily towards greater unity with the Orthodox Churches, it's going to be hard to get all of them on board with greater relations with Rome.

Pray hard, brethren.

EDIT: I'll tack this on here since it goes along with it. NCRegister has an interesting article on a meeting between Neocatechumenal Way and Russian Orthodox officials on the possible training of Orthodox priests on more effective ways of evangelization.

The editorial of surrender

At www.chiesa, Sandro Magister breaks down the latest editorial from La Civiltà Cattolica, the magazine of the Rome Jesuits that 'by statute should reflect the pope’s thought and argue on its behalf'. Its content is approved by the Secretariat of State before publication. Here is one example of the editorial's content and tone as quoted by Magister [bolding is by me]:

“From this arises the necessity, for fundamentalist Islam, of the ‘armed struggle’ (al-jihad bi-l-saif) against those who attack an Islamic state with the pretext of turning it into a ‘democratic’ state. An Islamic state, according to radical interpretation, is ‘theocratic’ by nature; that is, it is ruled only according to the Qur’an and the Sunna, and thus, according to the extremists, it cannot be ’democratic’, much less ’secular’, nor can it fail to declare Islam the ‘state religion’. The Universal Islamic Declaration, approved in 1980 by the Islamic Council of Europe, says: ‘The subjection of Muslim peoples and the occupation of their lands in some parts of the world is for us a matter of grave concern. The most painful of these is the usurpation and occupation of the holy city of Jerusalem (al-Quds). It is the sacred right of the umma to mobilize all its forces and to fight ceaselessly to free Jerusalem and all the other Muslim lands. The Muslim countries consider aggression against one of them as aggression against the entire Muslim world’.

Spain, Sicily, the Balkans and a whole lot of other places had better watch out.

Magister doesn't take a stab at how this editorial that basically declares any resistance to fundamental Islam as foolhardy and counterproductive was approved. But I am going to take a guess and suggest that perhaps it was approved by the former Secretary, Cardinal Sodano, in a sort of Roman equivalent to the Midnight Judges... That's the only way I can imagine it happening. I have no idea how long before publication pieces are approved by State, but I find it hard to believe that Bertone and company would have let something like that pass, even in the name of frank discussion. If the editorial had been instead a regular article on the basic motivations of fundamentalist Islam and had left out the 'surrender' suggestions, I can see it in that light, but as an editorial...