Here is Zenit's English translation of Pope Benedict's XVI's homily yesterday to close the Eucharistic Congress taking place in Italy. It's amazing, read it now.
My favorite part:
The Lord does not leave us alone on this journey. He is with us; what is more, he wishes to share our destiny by absorbing us. In the conversation that the Gospel just recounted, he says: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (John 6:56). How can we not rejoice over such a promise? However, we heard that, in the face of that first proclamation, instead of rejoicing, the people began to argue and protest: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (John 6:52).
To tell the truth, that attitude has been repeated many times in the course of history. It would seem that, deep down, people do not want to have God so close, so available, so present in their affairs. People want him to be great and, in a word, rather distant. Then they ask themselves questions to demonstrate that in fact such closeness is impossible.
However, the words Christ pronounced specifically in that circumstance retain all their graphic clarity: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). Facing the murmur of protest, Jesus could have backed down with tranquilizing words. "Friends, he could have said, don't worry! I spoke of flesh, but it is only a symbol. What I wish to say is only a profound communion of sentiments."
But Jesus did not take recourse to such sweeteners. He maintained his affirmation with firmness, even in face of the defection of his own apostles, and did not change at all the concrete character of his discourse: "Will you also go away?" (John 6:67), he asked. Thank God, Peter gave an answer that we also assume today with full awareness: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).
In the Eucharist, Christ is really present among us. His presence is not static. It is a dynamic presence, which makes us his, he assimilates us to himself. Augustine understood this very well. Coming from a Platonic formation, it was difficult for him to accept the "incarnate" dimension of Christianity. In particular, he reacted before the prospect of the "Eucharistic meal," which seemed to him unworthy of God. In ordinary meals man becomes stronger, as it is he who assimilates the food, making it an element of his own corporal reality. Only later did Augustine understand that in the Eucharist the exact opposite occurs: the center is Christ who attracts us to himself; he makes us come out of ourselves to make us one with him (cf. Confessions, VII, 10, 16). In this way, he introduces us into the community of brothers.
Dead Canadian gets statue because he may have been gay.
Sorry, did I say "dead Canadian?" I meant to say "19th century Canadian magistrate whose greatest claim to fame is fleeing the country to avoid sexual assault charges."
In other news, the National Organization of Women is considering commemorating the pioneering work of Jack the Ripper.
BRISBANE, May 30, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Australian researchers have corroborated research showing that women who have many babies develop significant protection against developing not only breast cancer, but also other cancers including colorectal, ovarian and uterine cancers later in life.
“The more children you have, the more protective it gets,” said medical statistician Steven Darlington, a member of a group at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) who conducted the research, according to a news.com.au report. “It seems that an increase in the hormones produced during pregnancy are protecting against cancer, but we're not quite sure exactly how or why that happens.”
After studying cancer rates and correlating that with the number of children borne in 1.2 million Swedish women, Darlington and colleagues found a significant correlation with number of children and cancer incidence, noting that multiple children was especially protective against colorectal cancer. Sweden’s birth and cancer registries are more detailed and comprehensive than Australia’s, he explained.
In addition, starting a family at a younger age conferred significant protection against breast cancer, as compared to women who began their families later in life. The findings were reported in the journal Twin Research and Human Genetics.
Serious violations against women and girls continued to be reported as a result of the enforcement of the family planning policy, including forced abortions and sterilizations. In July the authorities publicly reinforced a ban on the selective abortion of female foetuses in an attempt to reverse a growing gap in the boy-girl birth ratio.
Hat-Tip: Lifesite News
Following the May 13th announcement that the Pope was expediting John Paul II's cause for sainthood, the Vatican formally announced the cause today with the releae of an official edict calling for testimony to his holiness and requesting any unpublished writings by John Paul that may exist.
MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Orthodox Church is open for dialogue with the Vatican, Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and All Russia said on Monday. "We are open for dialogue, for overcoming difficulties which hamper our cooperation and for improving relations between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches," Alexis II said.
We should start a dialogue, he added.
The patriarch expressed hope that "the new Pope will open dialogue with Orthodox Churches" as he had stated recently. "We hail such statements," Alexis II said.
"We should overcome difficulties hampering our dialogue and cooperation," he added.
Feminine Genius is a newer blog I've been following, and is quite good. Here, contributor Genevieve Kineke shows how women are duped and taken advantage of by the cohabitation phenomenon.
Fides: Democratic Congo - Sixty per cent of the country’s healthcare centres are Catholic hospitals
Manila (Fides Service) - The kidnapping and release of sixteen bus passengers yesterday in Zamboanga Sur in Mindanao southern Philippines which caused great alarm among the local people was happily concluded without any dead or injured. The passengers, all women and children, were taken hostage by three armed men who boarded the bus. When the bus reached the town of Pagadian, men asked for a priest to come on board thinking perhaps that his presence would ‘guarantee’ their journey to Ipil. Instead of a priest the local Catholic Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar volunteered to join the bus hoping to obtain the release of the passengers.
A few hours later while the bus was still on the way to Ipil, the Bishop’s hopes came true: the kidnappers got off the bus and fled leaving the women and children and the bishop unharmed. According to the local police the kidnappers were common criminals rather than a gang of the communist or Muslim rebel groups which operate in Mindanao.
Zadok blog s from ROme and has pics and commentary from ROme's procession with the Pope.
Here are some articles from the Fides news service about celebrations around the world for Corpus Christi:
Australia: Corpus Christi may give new impulse to Catholic mission in Australia
Cameroon: The Eucharist is fundamental, essential in the life of the missionary
Tomorrow, Bishop Daniel Jenky CSC will ordain four men to the priesthood.
Here is a profile of the about-to-be-ordained from the Catholic Post,
Also, here is a piece on one of them from The Peoria Journal-Star. Deacon Dodd is a 60 year old widower and grandfather who is about to become a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. What a fascinating story and witness to the marvels of both the priestly and married vocations!
Of special interest is that two of the ordinandi are friends of mine from the U of I Newman Center.
Five years ago the three of us stood in a parking lot sharing a smoke (well, Tony and I were, I don't remember about Mike) in the parking lot of a small Church in Pesotum, IL where a retreat was taking palce. Tony and Mike were attending the retreat, while I had dropped by to "visit."
I had met Tony a few weeks earlier, and we had discovered that we were both considering the priesthood; I didn't really know Mike, but had been told by his cousin that he was thinking about the priesthood as well; and on this retreat, Tony had met Mike and had discussed the same subject. So there the three of us were, talking about the possibility of being in the seminary the next year. I remember so clearly: Tony took a drag off his cigarette, then extended his three fingers - thumb towards himself and first two fingers towards and Mike and I - and posed the question: "So, what do you think, three at the Mount next year?" referring to Mout St. Mary's seminary in Emmitsburg where Peoria sneds many of their seminarians.
Obviously, God had different plans for me, but it brings a smile to my face and warms my heart to know that they are now receiving their Orders, that as my Vocation to the married life was sacramentally sealed nearly two years ago, so now is their Vocation to the holy priesthood.
Congratulations to these men and thanks be to God for the gift of the priesthood!
The Diocese of Peoria released the new clergy assignments for the coming year. The moves may be found here (.pdf file).
Of note for Champaign folk is that Monsignor Hallin will be in residence at the Newman rectory while moving from Holy Cross to pastor of St. Boniface in Seymour. Fr. Henderson is also leaving Holy Cross, he will be at St. Mark's in Peoria. Holy Cross's new pastor will be Fr. Steven Willard from St. Thomas in Philo, and they may also be getting an assistant from the about-to-be-newly ordinained. That would be neat if Fr. Co or Fr. Angarola were across the street from me...
Pope Benedict XVI on the Corpus Christi procession.
Archbishop Foley works in the Vatican as head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He delivered this address Wednesday to a group of American journalists. He started off with the following statement on the America flap:
Since I was informed before the publication of certain recent news that one of the communicators to share the podium today is Father Thomas Reese, let me first say that I had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation, that I found out about it in the newspapers, that I appreciate receiving America magazine each week, and that Father Reese is a fine gentleman and a fine priest who did excellent work during the recent events in Rome -- where we occasionally encountered one another, but that I generally find myself in agreement with a recent editorial in Our Sunday Visitor and with Russell Shaw's op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal that a priest-editor, who in some way is expected to represent the magisterium of the Church, cannot appear to give equal weight in a publication sponsored by a religious community to articles which present the teaching of the Church and articles which dissent from it.
In August 1968, the editor of The Catholic Standard and Times in Philadelphia was on vacation when "Humanae Vitae" was published -- and I found myself in charge. A number of Catholic publications ignored the fact that there was dissent from the encyclical; a greater number highlighted the dissent and put the encyclical in a subordinate position. I decided to use the encyclical as the lead story and to use the dissent as a separate story on an inside page with the jump of the encyclical story from page one -- and then I did an editorial in support of the encyclical.
I felt that the encyclical represented the official teaching of the Church, which had to be highlighted and with which I happened to agree then, as I do now, but that the dissent was a significant fact that could not and should not be ignored. I also thought that the official teaching of the Church should be supported editorially -- both through comment and through story placement. If I were still an editor, I think that would remain my publication philosophy today.
Supreme Knight Carl Anderson on abortion:
"For many years, our campaign for a Culture of Life focused on abortion, and for an obvious reason: it is the greatest killing of human life in human history," said the Supreme Knight. "But today, through advances in ultrasound technology, a bright window has been opened up in the womb - and we can clearly see the unborn child's face, his or her development and even his or her personality. We know now, that this child feels pain, feels emotion, reacts to music! And still, the law of both our countries insists on a fiction - that who we see clearly as a child is somehow not yet a human being."
Australian Idol funds and promotes pro-life crisis pregnancy center.
Perhaps my favorite: Abortion Pill Crackdown in Philippines Has Police Chasing Down U.N. - Supported NGOs.
Abortion groups, funded heavily through the United Nations population control body the UNFPA, unused as they are to their agenda being effectively opposed, have complained that they feel they are being persecuted. [Papa-Lu sez: BOOOOO-HOOO HOO HOOO BOOOOOO HOO HOO.] Carolina Ruiz-Austria, of the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) said, "They were told that what they are doing is forbidden in Manila. It's unnerving." Such groups also complain that there is a growing opposition to their efforts in the Philippines and that the country is becoming more pro-life in public opinion.
Birth Control Pill May Permanently Reduce Sex Drive Study Finds.
Headlines like that would be funny if they weren't so sad. Gee, you think the daily artificial altering of your hormonal balance may have some long-term effects? I never would have thought.
Speaking of birth control: the Japanese are non-reproducing themselves into oblivion.
Remember that claim a few months ago that there abortions have increased during the Bush presidency because of his wicked social policy?
A more thorough study by the Guttmacher Institute (the scientific propaganda arm of Planned Parenthood) disproves this notion, showing that abortions have actually decreased. I'd say not to to reust it because of the source, but if Guttmacher wanted to make things up here, they'd say the opposite, so this is probably accurate.
This probably isn't completely accurate either, because many chemcical abortions are not counted, and those have increased tremendously due to increased ease in obtaining them, making accurate figures more difficult to come by.
There really isn't any good news to report here, but the earlier claim can be dismissed as the product of shoddy data analysis.
Hat-tip: Open Book.
This report from the NCReporter and this commentary from Dom suggest that there is disagreement between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Vatican Secretariat of State that is showing up in conflicting reports about the existence of an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse involving Legionaries of Christ founder Fr. Marcial Maciel. The recent statement that there is no process against Fr. Maciel came in the form of an unsigned fax bearing the seal of the Secretariat, which has no authority in the matter. The CDF, which is charged with handling these allegations, has made no statement, even to the Secretariat.
The worst tragedy is the existence of the allegations of course. I hope they are not true, but if they are, I pray for healing for the victims and for forgiveness and mercy for Fr. Maciel.
At the same time, it's unfortunate to have false messages coming from high-ranking offices on such a grave subject. At best, it's an incredibly irresponsible mistake, which opens the Church up to justifiable criticism and damages Her credibility. At worst, we have officials charged with important duties in spreading the protecting the faith engaged in disinformation. Nobody wins here.
This is a horrible time to have politics affecting the Church's handling of sexual misconduct. It is a reminder, however, that those charged with responsibility in the Church need our constant prayer.
Zenit reports that a few Phillipine bishops have taken to blogging.
The blogs:
The Meaning by Bp. Jose R. Manguiran of the Diocese of Dipolog,
Viewpoints by Abp. Oscar V. Cruz of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, and
Tidbits by Bp. Leonardo Medroso of the Diocese of Borongan.
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- This fall the Supreme Court will hear its first case about access to abortion in five years when it considers the constitutionality of a New Hampshire law requiring parental notification before minors can have abortions.
Please pray for the Court to make a good decision here. With the current composition of the Court, it would take a change of heart by at least one judge for a reversal.
CT's Timothy George relates The Promise of Benedict XVI.
Their reasons:
- He takes truth seriously
- His theology is Bible-focused
- His message is Christocentric
- He is Augustinian in perspective
- He champions the culture of life
ROME, MAY 25, 2005 (Zenit) - Cardinals, bishops and priests worldwide are invited to attend a retreat Sept. 25-Oct. 1 in Ars, France, to renew the grace of the priesthood.
The initiative is being organized in the village of St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests, by the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services, an institution headquartered in the Holy See.
On Psalm 115(116).
A taste:
In the Hebrew original, Psalm 115(116) constitutes a single composition with the preceding Psalm 114(115). Both are a unitary thanksgiving addressed to the Lord who liberates from the nightmare of death.
In our text appears the memory of an anguished past: The Psalmist has held high the flame of faith, even when on his lips there was the bitterness of despair and unhappiness (see Psalm 115(116):10). All around him, in fact, an icy curtain of hatred and deceit was raised, because his fellowman showed himself to be false and unfaithful (see verse 11). Now, however, the prayer is transformed into gratitude because the Lord has raised his faithful one from the dark vortex of falsehood (see verse 12).
Therefore, the Psalmist prepares to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, in which the ritual cup will be drunk, the cup of the sacred libation, which is the sign of acknowledgment of the liberation (see verse 13). The liturgy, therefore, is the privileged place from which to raise grateful praise to the Savior God.
In fact, in addition to the sacrificial rite, explicit reference is also made to the assembly of "all the people," before whom the Psalmist pays his vow and witnesses his faith (see verse 14). It is in this circumstance that he renders public his thanksgiving, well aware that, even when death is imminent, the Lord bends over him with his love. God is not indifferent to his creature's drama, but breaks his chains (see verse 16).
Saved from death, the Psalmist feels himself "servant" of the Lord, "son of his handmaid" (ibid.), a beautiful Eastern expression to indicate the one who is born in the master's house. The Psalmist professes humbly and with joy his belonging to the house of God, to the family of creatures united to him in love and faithfulness.
Full translation from Zenit.
Governor Pawlenty signs bill funding pro-life crisis pregnancy center.
The Positive Alternatives Act, which for the first time would give state funding to crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion, was signed into law today by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The bill creates a $2.5 million fund that can be tapped by the network of more than 100 crisis pregnancy centers and maternity homes across the state that discourage women from having abortions. It was the top legislative priority of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL).
Added bonus: view the hypocrisy with which an abortion advocate calls this bill a "handout." Some people have no shame.
From Bill White. My results:
Your Taste in Music: |
| 90's Alternative: Medium Influence |
| Adult Alternative: Low Influence |
| Alternative Rock: Low Influence |
| Ska: Low Influence |
Just for fun, and to shock and horrify my readers, I retook the test, substituting my musical tastes as they were 8 years ago:
Your Taste in Music: |
| Gangsta Rap: Highest Influence |
| 90's Alternative: High Influence |
| 90's Hip Hop: High Influence |
| Hip Hop: Medium Influence |
| 80's Alternative: Low Influence |
| 80's R&B: Low Influence |
| 90's Pop: Low Influence |
| 90's R&B: Low Influence |
| 90's Rock: Low Influence |
| Adult Alternative: Low Influence |
| Alternative Rock: Low Influence |
| Old School Hip Hop: Low Influence |
| R&B: Low Influence |
| Ska: Low Influence |
Yikes! How far we've come...
I should add that I cannot take seriously issue with a survey that pretends to gauge influence of 90's hip-hop without including Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan or Tupac. Not that it matters, but if you care about accuracy...
CNS' news briefs page for yesterday (4th item) includes the following:
Future of Catholic health care seen in long-term, not acute, care
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan of Brooklyn said May 20 that the future of Catholic health care would likely be in delivering long-term care rather than acute care. Catholic hospitals do not have the resources to compete with the major research hospitals that patients tend to prefer when they develop acute illness, he said. He also said people with acute illness do not usually choose a hospital on the basis of its religious sponsorship. When Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York developed cancer, he did not go to a Catholic hospital but to the prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Bishop Sullivan recalled. But he said people often do prefer an institution run by their own religious denomination for long-term care. Bishop Sullivan discussed the problems and possibilities of Catholic health care in an address to the Catholic Healthcare Administrative Personnel program, which was held in New York May 15-20 at St. John's University with joint sponsorship by St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers.
That's very interesting, and I sympathize with those who spurn Catholic hospitals. My mind goes to a Catholic hospital in Chicago where my grandmother received care towards the end of her life. The conditions where atrocious, and she was eventually transferred to Northwest Memorial in the burbs where she received much better care.
The Church may do well to reflect on specific areas of health care that She could focus on and within which She could do the best job of evangelizing.
For instance, the Church could concentrate on areas where modern secular medicinal practice has gone farthest off track, such as women's health and beginning-of- and end-of-life care, and leave transplants and splints to the for-profit institutions. Also, the Church could focus on low-cost clinics to help the poor have access to better basic care and stay healthier.
I don't mean to say that the Church should withdraw from the hospital system - on the contrary, no matter what one finds himself in the hospital for, being able to gaze upon a crucifix or pray with a chaplain can bring great comfort - rather, I'm just pointing out that a prayerful reflection on how the resources going into Catholic healthcare are being used could benefit the health and souls of many.
You think it's hard getting the Bishop to come to your parish?
BAKU, Azerbaijan, MAY 20, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Catholics of Azerbaijan received the sacrament of confirmation on Pentecost, a grace some of them had to wait seven decades for.
Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the apostolic nuncio to Azerbaijan, visited the former Soviet Republic -- where Catholicism was swept away by Stalin's persecutions -- and found a group of elderly believers who had kept the faith alive for more than 70 years without the sacraments.
"It was an indescribable emotion," said the archbishop to the Italian newspaper Avvenire, "to see the elderly ladies, with the traditional veil on their heads and the elderly men full of wrinkles come forward and again pronounce their baptismal name -- Teresa, Anselm, Francis -- after decades of using other names of Azerbaijani roots, and then ask for confirmation."
Full story from Zenit.
I know journalists have to make a buck, but this is ridiculous.
Headline:
"Cardinal takes hard line against Giuliani honor"
First paragraph:
Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore has lashed out at a Catholic college for honoring Rudy Giuliani, a major stand by a veteran church leader against Catholic politicians who advocate abortion rights and a possible sign of trouble for Giuliani's political future.
Actual text of the letter:
Dear Doctor Haddad,
It has just come to my attention that graduation day at Loyola College in Maryland will be held on Friday, May 20.
This letter is written in confirmation of an earlier exchange of correspondence in which you state the reasons for inviting former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to receive recognition at Loyola's graduation.
May I state that there will be no representative of the Archdiocese participating in any event honoring former Mayor Giuliani.
I am confident that, by now, you understand many of the consequences that spring from an invitation having been extended to former Mayor Giuliani to receive an honorary degree at Loyola.
May the Lord make of this event a teaching moment for many.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Cardinal William H. Keeler
Archbishop of Baltimore
Oh me oh my, what a vicious thrashing our dear Cardinal has delivered! I sure hope Dr. Haddad doesn't need therapy after this brutal assault!
QUEBEC -- Pope Benedict XVI will make a trip to Quebec City in 2008 "if God is willing," Marc Cardinal Ouellet said Thursday.
Although the papal visit is not confirmed, the pope would traditionally attend the major eucharistic congress being staged in Quebec City in June 2008.
"I invited Benedict XVI to Quebec during my stay in Rome and he said he will be there, if God is willing,'' Ouellet said Thursday.
An Italian mountain peak was renamed after the late Pope John Paul II on May 18 because it would have been the late pontiff's 85th birthday.
The 2400 metre-high peak is located in the Gran Sasso Mountain, the highest mountain in the Appennines, which John Paul had visited many times during his 26-year-papacy. It was previously known as "The Gendarme".
The pope, an avid mountaineer in his youth, reportedly told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square once that in the Bible, mountains "were considered a special place to meet God."
Girls rugby coach beaten unconscious by opposing coach and parents.
This is what we teach our children, and then we wonder...
This happened back in April, but I never heard of it until today, when I saw this Zenit story.
he Catholic Church and human rights groups are asking Pakistan's government to intervene on behalf of 40 Pakistani Christians, arrested by Saudi Arabia's religious police.
Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, called on the authorities to act "immediately" in order to get the release of those detained in Riyadh by the muttawa, reported AsiaNews.
"The government must treat this case without any religious discrimination and act on behalf of its citizens who are living abroad," said the archbishop.
The 40 Pakistani Christians were arrested April 23 as they celebrated Mass in a private residence in the city of Riyadh.
Policemen who raided the premises, where the Eucharist was being celebrated, found Christian books and audiovisual material.
In Saudi Arabia it is illegal to practice any religion other than Islam.
It is not yet clear what might happen to those arrested, as the Saudi authorities have not yet made any public comment about the incident.
Pakistani authorities have also been silent; there has been no word of condemnation for the action or any expression of solidarity towards the victims.
Here is the English translation of the Holy Father's address at the general audience yesterday.
The Lord lowers himself with solicitude to our littleness and indigence which would impel us to withdraw in fear. He directs his loving gaze and efficacious commitment towards the least and miserable of the world: "The Lord raises the needy from the dust, lifts the poor from the ash heap" (7).
Thus God bends over the needy and the suffering to console them. And this expression finds its ultimate meaning, its greatest realism at the moment that God bends down to the point of becoming incarnate, to become like one of us, like one of the poor of the world. He confers the greatest honor on the poor, he "sits them with princes"; yes, "with the princes of the people" (8). To the lonely barren woman, humiliated by ancient society as if she were a dry and useless branch, God gives the honor and great joy of having several children (cf. 9). Therefore, the Psalmist praises a God who is very different from us in his greatness, but at the same time very close to his suffering creatures.
BERLIN (AFP) - Germans have stopped having children -- and the number of couples opting for a childless life is rising every year to the consternation of politicians and employers in the eurozone's biggest economy.
Voila: the end result of separating sex from babies.
You could live in Canada. Here's two reasons to be glad you don't
First:
VANCOUVER, May 18, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Despite its near universality following the 1960’s, there are, apparently, still those for whom the total sex-saturation of modern culture – including all its recently legalized perversions – is insufficient. Now LifeSiteNews.com adds British Columbia’s Sex Party to its bulging "Weird Canada" files. The Sex Party declares their goal as the development of "a sex-positive culture."
Apparently, it's some kind of joke party. I know, hilarious! Get it?! Teach our kids to screw away their souls before they're 17! Aaahahaha.
It might be a bit funnier if they're "joke" political agenda weren't pretty much the same as Planned Barenhood's.
The article has two great quotes from Canadian columnist David Warren:
On builidng a "sex-positive culture:
"Now there’s one for the department of redundancy department. Did I miss something? Haven’t we already got one of those?"
Another:
"Here’s a novel idea, why don’t we start a party for moral people and call it the 'Married-People-Making-Babies-to-Save-the-Canada-Pension Party?' Now that might be of some practical use."
Second:
Man convicted and fined $17,500 for being blunt.
SASKATOON, SK, May 18, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Saskatchewan man has been charged and ordered to pay $17,500 in damages to several homosexuals as a result of a flyer he distributed in Regina, containing warnings against the dangers of a homosexual lifestyle that a human rights tribunal ruled was “hate speech.”
Granted, I don't think the flier was destined to be particularly effective featuring warnings such as: "if we do not say no to the sodomite desire to socialize your children into accepting something that is clearly wrong." The fact remains that he is right, and abrasive though he may be, he is clearly being persecuted for speaking what he believes and what is clearly taught in Christian scriptures.
Again, intellectual integrity requires honestly engaging opposing arguments. It does not require providing a platform for opposing arguments. I dare say that an editor working for Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, or the National Rifle Association who regularly turned a publication into a platform for those opposed to the mission of the organization would soon be looking for another job.
Benedict XVI leads by example in introducing first liturgical reform.
Germany rethinks legalized prostitution.
Georgia governor signs bill for 24 hour "cooling off" period before abortions. What a great common-sense way to corral the abortion industry!
Tiller sends another woman to the hospital. When are they going to stop this guy?
Thos oughta ruffle some feathers: Analysis of child molestation by homosexuals vs. heterosexuals.
Having quoted the Reporter, I now turn to the Register.
I love this piece about how JPtG and B16 complement each other.
The images that we might remember of Benedict’s first days as pope are the photos of him walking through the streets of Rome. He was visiting his old apartment while an appreciative cluster of people looked on, but the pictures make you realize that you can’t remember ever seeing John Paul walk along the streets of Rome.
And yet when humble, gentle Benedict appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s for the first time, young nuns in habits shrieked with glee. Young American seminarians pumped their arms in victory.
How is it possible that a reserved classical pianist who loves cats gets that kind of reception? How is it possible that young people in the 21st century were delirious with excitement to find out that the new Pope had taken the name of a fifth-century monk?
Pope John Paul II made it possible.
If he hadn’t rallied the crowds, set fires in their hearts and anchored them firmly to Peter, then Benedict would be facing a far more difficult task than he faces now.
But if the successes of John Paul’s pontificate made Benedict’s pontificate possible, it may also be the case that Pope Benedict made John Paul possible. John Paul’s pontificate may find its fulfillment and completion in Benedict.
Lots of good stuff on Levada, Reese, China and Vietnam, the Anglicans and more.
The part that caught my eye is way down towards the bottom. Allen talks about the beatifications tomorrow, which will not be presided over by the Pope.
Aside from the American connection with Cope, the beatifications have attracted attention for another reason: Pope Benedict XVI will not preside at the ceremony, and is not expected to be present. Instead, Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will lead the ceremony.
In so doing, the Vatican reverts to the tradition that the pope performs canonizations and other officials carry out beatifications, which had been the case until 1971, when Pope Paul VI elected to preside personally at the beatification of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Pope John Paul II, of course, personally presided over the beatifications of 1,338 beati, a record that's as close to unbeatable as such things come in papal annals.
Some have read this shift, not entirely unreasonably, as an indication that Pope Benedict XVI's papacy will be less personal, less theatrical, than that of his immediate predecessor. However that may be, the reasoning for the change is, in the first place, theological. Experts in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and elsewhere have long been concerned that the distinction between beatification and canonization had become blurred, given that both have recently been treated as papal galas, with little ceremonial distinction.
When someone is beatified, the pope allows members of the person's religious order and Catholics in the place the person lived to celebrate the newly beatified person's feast day Mass and hold other public acts of veneration. Canonization, on the other hand, is an official papal declaration that the person -- now recognized as a saint -- is to be venerated throughout the Catholic church. A beatification does not involve the pope's infallibility, whereas a canonization does.
Probably many people who watched the massive beatification ceremony for Mother Teresa in Rome in October 2003, however, came away thinking that she was now officially a saint, and will be puzzled when another ceremony is eventually staged. It's that kind of confusion the Vatican wants to eliminate.
A senior Vatican official told NCR May 10 that in the future, it's likely that beatifications won't be held in Rome at all, but in the diocese where the cause originated, and will be led not by Vatican officials but by the local bishop. In that way, he said, the local character of a beatification will be more clearly visible.
I love this. The concept of "graduated solemnity" comes to mind, and it appears that this Pope's strong devotion to the liturgy reflects this concept particularly well.
Ottawa, May. 13 (CNA/CWNews.com) - Canadians turned out by the thousands to demand an end to abortion at the National March for Life yesterday and to voice their support for the creation of a culture of life.
Nearly 6,000 people gathered on Parliament Hill for the annual event, and at least half were under the age of 25. People traveled from Montreal and as far west as London, a seven-hour drive from Ottawa. It was the highest turnout in recent years. Last year, 3,500 people participated.
This would be momentous, to say the least.
WASHINGTON (May 12, 2005)—Over $150 million has been given to Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ international relief agency, to address the tsunami crisis which struck Southeast Asia less than five months ago.
The donations are believed to mark the most money ever collected by the church in a single appeal.
The figures included donations directly from 168 of the nation’s 192 dioceses, eparchies, and territorial sees.
Canada's largest gay publisher supports Bishop Henry's right to speak. He's not at all friendly to Bishop Henry or the Church - his art (entitled "Let the Hate Flow" contains a call for mor "gay rage" - but he does make the point that some people are being "over-sensitive."
A neat little sketch that gives about as much information as can be expected while still respecting the oath of secrecy.
Statue of Our Lady of Bai Dau to tour Vietnamese communitites in US and Canada.
Through the remainder of 2005 and into 2006, the statue will make a pilgrimage throughout the United States and Canada. In communities that will host the statue, local Knights and Vietnamese Catholics will lead a Marian prayer service.
Our Lady of Bai Dau has special meaning to many Vietnamese Catholics. In the coastal city of Vung Tau, Vietnam, near Ho Chi Minh City, there is a shrine dedicated to her. The shrine features a 65-foot-tall statue of Mary holding aloft the infant Jesus, as if she is presenting him to the world.
After the fall of Saigon to the communists in 1975, as tens of thousands of Vietnamese fled their homeland by boat from Vung Tau, the statue of Our Lady of Bai Dau was the last image many of them had of their homeland. She is honored as the "mother of refugees."
Juventutem, an international group of young Catholics devoted to the Latin Mass will attend World Youth Day, and their events will feature some prominent Church figures.
Juventutem will be joined by an all-star panel of cardinals, archbishops and bishops: Archbishop Georg Eder, Emeritus from Salzburg, Austria will celebrate a pontifical High Mass in the Abbey Ottobeuren for the opening of the Juventutem Bavarian retreat, on August 10th, 2005. Cardinal Francis George (Archbishop of Chicago; Vice-President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) will address the Juventutem delegation in Cologne and will lead them in praying the rosary; Cardinal Francis Arinze (Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) will address the Juventutem youth and will preside at vespers and benediction; Cardinal George Pell (Archbishop of Sydney, Australia) will also celebrate traditional vespers and benediction.
Jean-Pierre Ricard (Archbishop of Bordeaux; President of the French Episcopal Conference; member of the Pontifical Ecclesia Dei Commission), Raymond Burke (Archbishop of Saint-Louis, USA), Czeslaw Kozon (Bishop of Copenhagen, Denmark), and André-Mutien Léonard (Bishop of Namur, Belgium) will meet with the youth from Juventutem in Cologne; Archbishop Wolfgang Haas of Vaduz, Liechtenstein, will offer a pontifical High Mass in Bavaria for Juventutem; Bishop Fernando Rifan (Superior of the St John Mary Vianney Apostolic Administration) and Bishop George Alencherry (Thuckalay, India) will accompany Juventutem for the whole program, from August 10th-16th in Bavaria and August 17th-21st in Cologne.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today announced its 2005 recommendations to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs. The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) requires that the United States designate as CPCs those countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. The Commission’s recommendations for 2005 include, for the first time, Uzbekistan. In addition, the Commission reaffirmed its 2004 recommendations that the Secretary of State designate the following countries as CPCs: Burma, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam. India was removed from the Commission’s recommended list of CPC countries.
2005 annual report online here. WARNING: Large .pdf file.
The Ethics and Public Policy Center last month sponsored a free showing of Witness to Hope (an excellent documentary based on George Wiegel's book).
"The documentary was preceded by remarks from Radek Sikorski and Michael Novak, both of the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Sikorski, a Polish political refugee in the 1980s, was later Poland's Deputy Minister of Defense (1992), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1998-2001), and the secretary of foreign affairs of the Polish Solidarity Party (1999-2002)."
An audio file of those remarks can be found at the bottom of this page.
Also, next month the EPPC will host a conference on The Cube and the Cathedral, Gerge Wiegel's new book. Mr. Wiegel himself will be speaking at the event as will the WaPo's Anne Applebaum. If they have any audio or video from the event, I'll post it.
Fides gives the history of the Domincan Missionaries of the Rosary and speaks with their current Superior general about their foundress, who will be beatified tomorrow.
Fides provides more information on the problems with the Togolese elections that led to unrest and also reports on Togolese "death squads" that are terrorizing the opposition.