Saturday, July 31, 2010

Anne Rice Quits Christianity

Friday, July 30, 2010, First Things Blog, Elizabeth Scalia
Anne Rice, whose book Called Out of Darkness was a beautifully-written spiritual confession, has decided that she loves Christ but not Christians.
She’s neither the first nor the last to feel that way.
Sometimes I do, too. Sometimes I hate myself as a Christian, because I do the thing so badly.
Christianity is easy to do badly. You take the dogma and leave out the love – you’re doing it wrong.
You try to “correct” others and bring too much “righteousness” and not enough love – you’re doing it wrong.
Apply too much love, without accountability – you’re doing it wrong, then, too.
We cheat Christ when we do it badly.
We cheat Christ and each other when we teach Him badly.
We cheat Christ and each other and the Church when we catechize poorly, or when we approach the Supernatural with superficiality; when we stop applying thought to it.
Forty years of sloppy, empty elementary catechesis during concurrent social revolution and generational upheaval was a bad choice for the churches, who now reap what they have sown.
Continue reading at The Anchoress | A First Things Blog

Bill Maher and his Bozo Fans



I'm not sure who to feel more contempt for - Bill Maher or his bozo fans in the audience. Maher is simply a lying shit-head and his approving audience must surely have shit for brains. There is no evidence that Pope Benedict XVI has been involved in any cover-up of sex abuse. I'm sure Maher gets much of his information from reading the rants of Christopher Hitchens. But so much of what Hitchens writes against the Catholic Church is easily refuted with the facts.

Tom Piatak from Chronicles Magazine debunks much of what Hitchens writes as does Sean Murphy who includes 80 footnotes in his article tearing to bits the lies of Hitchens.

From about 2:50 into the video Maher continues his lies this time directed at the Catholic League whose public criticism of Maher can be found here. It’s interesting to note the responses the Catholic League received from Maher bosses:

HBO spokesman stated ‘it’s a free country, and people are free to say silly things—even on HBO.’
And from Time/Warner, Maher’s anti-Catholic remarks were a matter of ‘creative freedom.’

Okay, so Bill Maher is a jerk who is permitted to lie and say silly things because comedians are given ‘creative freedom’. But what is funny about falsely accusing Pope Benedict of covering up sex abuse. Maybe Maher’s laughing fans are just bozos.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Sex au Naturel

Primacy of Truth over Power. St. Thomas More, Man for This [and All] Seasons

By Deacon Keith Fournier 22nd July 2010 Catholic Online (http://www.catholic.org/)
The England of the sixteenth century was in the midst of a serious crisis of politics, culture and faith, not unlike the times in which we now live
Thomas More Thomas More showed heroic courage in the face of a State which had lost its soul. He Never wavered in his fidelity to the Truth. He would not betray the truth or compromise it on the altar of public opinion for political opportunism. Thomas More was brought to trial for his fidelity to the Truth. As is often the case with persecution against Christians, it was framed as a charge against the "positive law".
Continue reading at Catholic Online

Also from EWTN Live:
Sir Thomas More - Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. with Dr. Samuel Gregg

Holy See and Russia establish full diplomatic ties

Vatican City, Jul 28, 2010 / 11:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).

Just under two weeks ago Russian officials accepted the credentials of Archbishop Antonio Mennini as the first papal nuncio to their country. The event ushers in a new era of full diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Russian Federation.

The Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano (LOR) newspaper reported that Foreign Affairs minister Sergei Lavrov met with Archbishop Mennini on July 15 in Moscow to seal full diplomatic relations, which Pope Benedict XVI and president Dmitry Medvedev had agreed to last December. Just a month ago, on June 26, the Holy See accepted the credentials of Mr. Nikolai Sadlichov as ambassador from Russia.

Continue reading at Catholic News Agency (CNA)

CHINA Xiwanzi underground priest arrested again after three years in prison - Asia News

Beijing (AsiaNews) July 2010.
On July 24th authorities in northern Hebei province arrested Fr. Peter Wang, a priest of the Diocese of Xiwanzi. The priest was stopped immediately after being released from prison, where he spent the last three years for having celebrated a Mass with government permission. The authorities want to force Fr. Wang to join the Patriotic Association.
According Ucanews.com, some relatives of the priest were waiting - along with about 20 lay people of the diocese - outside the gates of the Tangshang Jidong prison. As the gates opened at 4 am, Fr. Wang was able to take only a few steps before being grabbed by 4 men, who pushed him into a car and brought him back into the prison.
About an hour after the gates were reopened to allow two police cars pass. The crowd stopped the car to talk to the priest. According to one source, Fr. Wang told them "not to create problems with the police. He added that he was in good health and asked us to let him go". Several hours later, he phoned his sister to say that he was "doing well".
Catholics believe that local authorities would like Fr. Wang to “work in the light of the day by accepting the authority of the government run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association". The fast "re-arrest," they explain, comes from the fact that the police fear that the faithful will hide and protect him once back home.
Continue reading CHINA Xiwanzi underground priest arrested again after three years in prison at Asia News

Wikipedia entry on the Communist backed Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Pope reflects on beauty of radical acceptance of God's call

Vatican City, Jun 27, 2010 / 10:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).

Before reciting the Angelus prayer from the window of his apartment in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, Pope Benedict XVI spoke today about "radical" responses to divine vocations. Referring to Sunday's readings he took up the theme of Christ's call to us and "its demands."

As the Pope looked out over the crowd gathered to join him for the weekly prayer on Sunday at noon, he saw a smattering of Polish flags waving, especially well represented now that the country's children have just begun their summer vacation and brightly colored parasols were used to shelter many of the pilgrims from the intense Mediterranean sun.

Referring to the day's Gospel reading from Luke in which Jesus asks those on the road to Jerusalem to cut their family ties and follow him, the Holy Father explained that the demands Jesus makes of Christians might seem "too tough."

"But," he went on, "in reality they express the newness and the absolute priority of the Kingdom of God that makes itself present in the very Person of Jesus Christ."

He said that, upon further analysis, "it's about that radicalism that is due to the Love of God, to which Jesus himself is the first to obey

Continue reading at CNA - Pope reflects on beauty of radical acceptance of God's call

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan rips New York Times coverage of Pope

July 2010
Because of all the inaccuracies in the recent coverage of the Catholic Church in the New York Times and other publications, appearing in news articles, editorials, and op-eds, I was tempted to try my best to offer corrections to the multitude of errors. However, I soon realized that this would probably be a full time job.
It is a source of consternation as to why, instead of complimenting the Vatican and a reformer like Pope Benedict XVI, for codifying procedures long advocated by critics, such outfits would instead choose to intrude on a matter of internal doctrine, namely the ordination of women.
But, correcting the paper is not what really matters. What is important is the well-being of God’s people, especially of His little ones.
The bottom line is that the Holy Father, the Vatican, and the Church universal regards with the utmost seriousness the heinous and sinful crime of child abuse and is committed to doing everything it can to ensure that justice is served and that such abuse never happens again.
If critics want to say, “It’s about time,” fair enough. But for critics to continue their obsessive criticism of Benedict XVI, claiming that he just “doesn’t get it,” is simply out of bounds.
Continue reading at the website of the Archdiocese of New York.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s (Pope Benedict XVI) Foreword to U.M. Lang's "Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical Prayer"

Ignatius Insight
To the ordinary churchgoer, the two most obvious effects of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council seem to be the disappearance of Latin and the turning of the altars towards the people. Those who read the relevant texts will be astonished to learn that neither is in fact found in the decrees of the Council. The use of the vernacular is certainly permitted, especially for the Liturgy of the Word, but the preceding general rule of the Council text says, 'Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites' (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 36.1).
Continue reading Cardinal Ratzinger’s Foreword to U.M. Lang's Book "Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical Prayer" at Ignatius Insight

Friday, July 23, 2010

China’s Divided Catholics Seek Reconciliation

NPR July 20, 2010. Second of five parts

For decades, China's Catholics — estimated at more than 12 million — have been bitterly divided. Some worship in China's government-sanctioned Catholic churches, others in "underground" churches loyal to the Vatican.

But three years ago, Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Chinese Catholics — the first from a pope in more than a half-century — urging reconciliation. Yet China's Catholics have struggled to follow these instructions.

Early morning in Sheshan, on the outskirts of Shanghai, Catholics kneel on the ground in front of the pilgrimage shrine to the Virgin Mary, known as the Marian shrine. A cacophony of prayer rises as different groups of pilgrims conduct their services, singing hymns of praise almost loud enough to drown each other out.

Continue reading China’s Divided Catholics Seek Reconciliation : NPR

New Courage apostolate in Oakland a sign of change

Catholic News Agency 22nd July 2010

A new chapter of the Courage apostolate has opened in Oakland to minister to Catholics and others who have same-sex attractions. A California Catholic paper said the event showed a “landmark shift” away from other regional groups’ dissent from Catholic teaching on chastity and homosexuality.

The formation of the chapter was announced in the July 19 edition of The Weekly, a chancery publication for the clergy, religious, employees and parish staff of the Diocese of Oakland.

“Do you know someone who identifies her/himself as Gay/Lesbian, Homosexual, or Same-Sex Attracted and feels that this keeps her/him from taking full part in the life of the Church? If so, consider talking to her/him about Courage where we believe that the Catholic Church welcomes all of her children and is our home,” the chapter’s notice read, according to the California Catholic Daily.

The national Courage website explains the apostolate’s outlook: “By developing an interior life of chastity, which is the universal call to all Christians, one can move beyond the confines of the homosexual identity to a more complete one in Christ.”

Continue reading New Courage apostolate in Oakland a sign of change, newspaper says :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Brisbane Courage.

German inquiry into top cleric ends with no proof

The Associated Press 22nd July 2010

BERLIN — German prosecutors say investigators have found no proof that would justify holding the country's top Roman Catholic cleric responsible for hiring a priest known to have sexually abused minors.

Prosecutor Christoph Hettenbach says in a statement released Wednesday that the investigation into Freiburg Archbishop Robert Zollitsch has been closed.

The southwestern city of Konstanz had been investigating an unidentified complaint that alleged Zollitsch was responsible for hiring a priest in 1987 known to have sexually abused minors. Zollitsch now heads the German Bishops Conference and at the time was in charge of human resources at the Freiburg diocese.

The archdiocese has rejected the allegations.

The Associated Press: German inquiry into top cleric ends with no proof

Indiana Planned Parenthood Caught On Tape Giving Fabricated Medical Information

From Gloria.tv: Indiana Planned Parenthood Caught On Tape Giving Fabricated Medical Information

Thursday, July 22, 2010

St Mary’s South Brisbane

St_Mary's
St Mary's South Brisbane
It’s been more than a year since the departure of Peter Kennedy and his followers from St Mary’s Catholic Church South Brisbane. The following article discusses the issue that ultimately brought the dispute to a head.




BY WHOSE AUTHORITY?...A BISHOP HAS ULTIMATE AUTHORITY IN A DIOCESE
The following article was written by Rev Dr David Pascoe, Associate Professor of St Paul's Theological College at the ACU National Brisbane Campus:

The Second Vatican Council is one authority that has not been questioned in the sad division within the Catholic Church around the standoff between the parish priest of St Mary’s, South Brisbane, and Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane.

On the one hand, Fr Peter Kennedy publically appeals to Vatican II for how St Mary’s is an expression of the council’s teaching.

On the other hand, Archbishop Bathersby grounds his assessment that St Mary’s is not in communion with the Catholic Church on the council’s theology of communion.

For some, of course, the above opposition might be all too easily resolved. My side is in the right; the other is in the wrong! But going beyond this all too simplistic view one way toward some resolution is to go back to the sources and ask the question: what does Vatican II teach on the legitimate authority for the ongoing formation of the Church?
Continue reading at Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane: Media Releases

An Interview with Archbishop Basil Georges Casmoussa, Archbishop of Mosul for the Syrian Catholic Church in Iraq.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) News - Interview on 19/7/2010.
Archbishop Georges Casmoussa of Mosul Since the first century Christians have been present in Iraq and have contributed actively to the cultural development of the Arab world. Today Christians make up only 3% of the Iraqi population. Rev. Basil Georges Casmoussa is the Archbishop of Mosul for the Syrian Catholic Church. In 2005 he was abducted at gunpoint only to be released 24 hours later unharmed.
Continue reading - An Interview with the Archbishop Basil Georges Casmoussa

Local Hero - Pro-life advocate facing jail term

Published: 25 July 2010 Catholic Leader
By: Paul Dobbyn
LONG-time Brisbane pro-life activist Graham Preston [who is not a Catholic], expects the police to knock on his door at any moment and take him to jail for unpaid fines relating to his sit-ins in front of abortion clinics.
The father of seven said he could be spending at least seven months in jail for unpaid fines totalling about $7500.
This is despite the remission of more than $4500 of fines by the previous Governor of Queensland after a successful court challenge against police actions moving him on from abortion clinics.
Mr Preston said, having spent more than a total of eight months in custody on four different occasions since he started the protest actions in 2002, "jail is no longer an unknown quantity for me".
Continue reading at the Catholic Leader. Pro-life advocate facing jail term.

Of course "Pro-Choicers" have their heroes too, but they tend to kill the unwanted.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Anti-Catholic junk history

 
Mary, Queen of Scots
1542-1587

Britain remains marinated in anti-Catholic mythology as a consequence of centuries of relentless propaganda by establishment interest groups.

It seems the phenomenon of Protestant propagandist misrepresentation of English history is inescapable this week. First, the Orangemen paraded inaccurate images of the Battle of the Boyne; now the London Dungeon is in trouble over its advertisements featuring "Bloody Mary" Tudor – Queen Mary I – on the London Underground. The complaint against the Dungeon is not that it perpetuated a sectarian myth but that it terrified children by juxtaposing a normal portrait of the Queen alongside one of her transforming into a flesh-eating zombie.
Continue reading at Catholic Education Resource Center.

Tension in Venezuelan between Church and State

CARACAS, Venezuela, JULY 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).-

The Venezuelan bishops are denouncing the "unjust aggressions" of President Hugo Chávez against the Catholic Church.

Chávez leveled verbal attacks against Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, archbishop of Caracas, and the entire Venezuelan episcopate during the nation's July 5 independence day celebrations.

The cardinal issued a written response on July 9, in which he spoke out against the "unconstitutional" and "illegal" actions of Chávez, in violation of the rights of the Venezuelan people.
Cardinal Urosa, who was in Rome at the time, returned to Caracas on July 11. The next day, the Venezuelan bishops' conference issued a statement at the close of their plenary assembly, expressing support for the cardinal and concern over the aggression of the state authorities.

"We reject the reiterated and unjust aggressions by the president of the republic against persons and institutions, wounding also the religious sentiment of several confessions," stated the bishops' communiqué.

It underlined the expectation that "top executives and officials" would "give example of the respect that all the citizens deserve."

Continue reading at Catholic.net - Catholics on the net

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Gerard Charles Wilson has about 20 links to articles defending Pope Benedict.

That so many in the Media would follow the New York Times in promoting outright lies to attack the Pope is truly despicable and an indictment on the quality of so many journalists. 
Link to Gerard Charles Wilson’s blog page linking to numerous articles showing the lies of so many journalist and editors.

New Vatican rules on sex abuse

July 14, 2010.

The new Vatican rules against sex abuse are a set of processes and sanctions exclusively internal to the Church.  The rules are not intended to replace state laws, which the Vatican has ordered to respect as well.

Accused priests must undergo two processes: one canonical, or internal to the Church, and another with the state, where laws dictate.

The Church will now proceed internally against an accused priest up to 20 years after the victim's 18th birthday; the previous statute was 10 years after the victim turned 18.  The statute for criminal law varies, but the Church can still sanction an accused priest even after the civil period has passed.  In severe cases the accused likely will be expelled from the priesthood.

The new norms are an update to the document about offenses against morality and the sacraments titled “De delictis gravioribus.”  The majority of the new norms are converting prior provisions into law.

These are not the only changes.  Possession of child pornography, abuse of mentally disabled adults and the recording of confessions using new technologies are all now considered “serious offenses.”

Internal sanctions against accused priests can range from a ban on appearing in public as a priest or celebrating Mass to expulsion from the priesthood in serious cases.  The Vatican insists that the penalties for these crimes are internal and will not interfere or replace state sanctions.

Another important change now makes the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responsible for trying cardinals, patriarchs and bishops.

From “Rome Reports” New Vatican rules on sex abuse are independent from civil laws. (Video will start automatically after jump).

Monday, July 19, 2010

Catholics protest over exhibit of Virgin Mary holding child-like Hitler :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Rome, Italy, Jul 18, 2010 / 08:07 pm (CNA).
The pastor of the Italian city of Pietrasanta, together with local Catholic associations, have lodged a complaint with city officials over a picture of the Virgin Mary holding a child-like Adolph Hitler in her arms.
The picture titled, “The Virgin of the Third Reich” belongs to the collection of Italian artist Giuseppe Veneziano, known in the region for his works mocking various historical figures including Jesus Christ and Pope Benedict XVI.
Continue Reading Catholics protest over exhibit of Virgin Mary holding child-like Hitler :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Saturday, July 17, 2010

LINDSAY LOHAN'S CATHOLIC MOMENT

Catholic League: For Religious and Civil Rights 
July 15, 2010

A poster for the upcoming Robert Rodriguez movie, "Machete," shows Lindsay Lohan dressed in a nun's habit licking the barrel of a gun. Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

What is it about these Catholic-raised girls that makes them so adolescent, so silly and rebellious at the same time? Madonna takes liberties with the crucifixion; Lady Gaga struts her trampy stuff playing a nun; and now poor Lindsay Lohan dons a habit while finding phallic pleasure with a gun. No matter, it looks like Lindsay's Catholic moment isn't good enough to lure the audience—she didn't make the trailer.

Twentieth Century Fox certainly has her number: Lindsay doesn't have what it takes to tease the movie, but she is eminently worthy of exploitation. Perhaps the poster girl will be able to give this some thought while serving time in jail for 90 days, starting next week. If she makes the necessary reforms, she may yet claim her true Catholic moment. That would be our gain, and Twentieth Century Fox's loss.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Courier Mail journalists have trouble putting a coherent story together.

One of course does not take seriously the reporting  in Brisbane’s Courier Mail. One does not so much read the Courier Mail to become informed of facts but to simply maintain an vague awareness of what is happening out in the world. Not surprisingly it’s reporting on things Catholic are generally inaccurate and unhelpful, today being no exception.
The story in today's Courier is in olive and my response is in white.

Headline for story:

Female priests as unwelcome as child abuse: Vatican

Wow, the Vatican actually said that? Well no, but what the heck. We’re the Courier Mail and we often make-up “facts” for our stories.
THE Vatican placed the ordination of women as Roman Catholic priests on the same level as child abuse in the eyes of the Church.
“on the same level”??? What level is the Courier Mail talking about? Is it a bit like how stealing a million dollars is a serious crime as is assaulting someone with a baseball bat even though the two types of crimes have nothing in common?
The Canon Law’s revision to the laws on sexual abuse of children by priests included the “attempted ordination of a woman,” with future cases to lead to immediate excommunication at the hands of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Shouldn’t that read “The Church’s revision of Canon Law…”. My 10 year old daughter seems to agree with me. And why does the Courier Mail conflate to separate areas of Canon Law – those dealing with the treatment of sex abusers and those dealing with attempted ordination of a woman? Was it because the Vatican released the two separate revisions on the same day.
The Catholic Church teaches it cannot ordain women as priests because Christ chose only men as his apostles.
Well I think there’s a bit more to it than just that, but they get some points for getting something right.
Many respected scholars argue that Mary Magdalen was an Apostle
Well I suppose there are Apostles and apostles. Saint Paul’s writings(the earliest New Testament writings) don’t seem to indicate any such thing. And who are this “respected scholars”, and who are they respected by.
but her [Mary Magdalen] role in the early Church was downgraded by male writers with an agenda of promoting the all-male priesthood.
“downgraded”? If you think being elevated to the status of Saint (with her own Feast Day)and having many churches named after you equates to being downgraded so be it.
But maybe the Church has an all-male priesthood because that’s what Jesus intended. Priestesses where a dime a dozen in the Gentile world into which the early Church was growing. I would hardly think Gentile converts to Christianity would have had hang-ups over Christian Priestesses unless of course they understood that Jesus did not envisage women to be priests.
The pop star Sinead O’Connor is among a number of Catholic women who were illicitly ordained priests.
I wish Sinead O’Connor well. She seems to have had a terrible childhood. I’m sure there is a connection between the type of upbringing she endured and her rebellious and bitter nature.
The new “substantive norms” on “delicts against the faith” came days after the Church of England General Synod voted in favor of legislation to ordain women bishops.
It also came days after I had a wisdom tooth removed. But I’m sure there’s no connection or relevance.
The Vatican's changes, its first in nine years, also included new legal procedures to speed up the handling of priests who abuse children.
Well that’s gotta be good.
“This gives a signal that we are very, very serious in our commitment to promote safe environments and to offer an adequate response to abuse,” said Monsignor Charles Scicluna, a Vatican doctrinal official who helped revise the norms.
“If more changes are needed, they will be made.”
I would expect nothing less from Monsignor Scicluna, and nothing more from the Courier Mail.
Anyone interested in the facts the Courier Mail should have been reporting instead of the drivel it actually reported can find the said facts at Catholic Culture.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Report Cites Fewer Sex Abuse Cases in US. Only 6 new cases of sexual abuse of minors for the year 2009.

23 March 2010, Zenit.

Numbers relating to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy are at the lowest they've been since 2004, and most allegations in 2009 were regarding earlier decades.
This is one of the positive trends reported in the 2009 annual report on compliance with the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
In 2009, there were 398 allegations and 286 offenders reported to dioceses. Of these allegations, six regarded children under the age of 18 that year. By the end of 2009, almost 50 of the allegations had been determined false or were unsubstantiated.
The data was collected by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).
“For the majority of new allegations (71%) brought to dioceses, the abuse began between 1960 and 1984. The most common time period for allegations reported in 2009 was 1975-1979,” CARA noted.

Continue reading at ZENIT - Report Cites Fewer Sex Abuse Cases in US

Chavez Calls for Review of Ties With Catholic Church - BusinessWeek

July 14 2010 (Bloomberg)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered a review of ties with the Roman Catholic Church after his policies were criticized by church leaders in recent weeks.

Chavez called local officials led by Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino “troglodytes, cavemen and fascists.” He said that the Catholic Church acts as if it has special privileges in the country, and called on the Foreign Ministry to review agreements with the church and to contact the Vatican.

“With all due respect to the Vatican and pope, you’re not an ambassador of Christ, Christ doesn’t need an ambassador,” Chavez said today on state television. “The bishops and cardinals think they are above the state -- come down from that cloud, cavemen.”

Continue reading Chavez Calls for Review of Ties With Catholic Church – BusinessWeek

Image courtesy of Agencia Brasil.

Vatican, China OK new bishop as relations warm

 The Associated Press: Vatican, China OK new bishop as relations warm

15 July 2010

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican and the Chinese government have approved the consecration of a new bishop for Taizhou in a sign of warming ties.

The Vatican said Wednesday 75-year-old Msgr. Antonio Xu Jiwei was named bishop over the weekend in a ceremony presided over by four other bishops who similarly are in communion with Rome and are recognized by China's official church.

China forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican in 1951. Worship is allowed only in state-backed churches, but millions of Chinese belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI has prioritized improving relations with Beijing and reconciling the two churches. In recent years a compromise has been reached under which both Beijing and Rome agree on bishop candidates.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Break out the cotton wool – Gay student offended and has Professor sacked.

July 2010
Professor Kenneth Howell was fired from the University of Illinois after he taught students Catholic thought about human sexuality in a class that was about Catholic thought. Students were apparently offended to even hear traditional Catholic ideas in a class they chose to attend.
Continue reading

UPDATE.
Champaign, Ill., Jul 29, 2010 / 05:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A professor who was recently fired for explaining the Catholic teaching on homosexuality will be reinstated, according to the University of Illinois. Dr. Kenneth Howell's position at the school was terminated at the end of the Spring Semester this year after teaching in a class on Catholicism that the Church believes homosexual behavior violates natural law.
Continue reading

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Pro-Choice world view? - "If you are willing to die for a cause, you must be prepared to kill for it, too."

Blunt and chilling. You wouldn't expect much less, however, from a radical jihadist, or an avowed terrorist, or some other sort of violent extremist. But how about from a "pro-choice" feminist? Antonia Senior, who is the Personal Finance Editor of The Times (London), wrote a column, published June 30th, titled, "Yes, abortion is killing. But it’s the lesser evil." Give her credit for honesty, but then take away said credit for lack of logic and a chilling willingness to justify murder in the name of "a woman's right":
Continue reading Carl Olson at Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog: "If you are willing to die for a cause, you must be prepared to kill for it, too."

The Selective Outrage of the New York Times

 NEW YORK TIMES HAS NO MORAL AUTHORITY
Catholic League - July 9, 2010

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on an editorial in today’s New York Times:

When New York State was considering two bills dealing with the sexual abuse of minors, the New York Times endorsed the one that did not apply to the public schools. And today it has the nerve to lecture the pope for not having a universal policy on this issue. Too bad the pope didn’t hold a news conference saying he is taking his cues from the New York Times and has chosen to adopt the weakest of all measures.

When Family Planning Advocates, the lobbying arm of Planned Parenthood, and the New York Civil Liberties Union, blocked a bill in New York State mandating that all cases involving the sexual abuse of minors be reported, the New York Times said nothing! Looks like it saves its condemnatory language for the Catholic Church. By the way, the two liberal groups did so because they know that Planned Parenthood learns of cases involving statutory rape on a regular basis.

Does the New York Times want to compare the record of the Catholic Church to all other religious and secular institutions on this issue? Not for a moment. Indeed, when it was reported a few months ago that there were exactly six allegations made against over 40,000 priests between 2008 and 2009, the newspaper gave it a whopping 92 words.

The Times wonders why the Catholic Church doesn’t have the same policy everywhere. Does the Boston Globe, which the Times owns, have the same policies on misconduct as the Times? What about all the other companies the Times owns? Does it have even a clue as to how incredibly decentralized the Catholic Church is?

Finally, let’s get it straight, one more time. There is no “pedophilia scandal” as the Times says today. It’s always been a “homosexual scandal,” but the gay-happy New York Times doesn’t have the guts to tell the truth. In short, its moral authority is spent.

Yes anti-Catholics really are very stupid.

AOL NEWS WRITER COMPARES POPE TO TERRORIST
Catholic League - July 9, 2010
Recently, CNN fired Octavia Nasr for praising Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah on her Twitter account. Following his death, Nasr wrote that she was “sad” to hear of his passing and said that he was “One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.” While commenting on this story on AOL News, contributor Paul Wachter asked whether CNN should be consistent and fire anyone who praises Pope Benedict XVI “who covered up the clerical rape of young boys and whose anti-contraception proselytization has contributed to the deaths of millions from AIDS?”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on this today:
The fact that Paul Wachter would compare Pope Benedict XVI to the anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist Fadlallah is despicable. But his ignorance makes his commentary truly astounding. Despite the ceaseless efforts of those in the media—in particular the New York Times—there is absolutely no evidence that the pope has covered up any instances of priestly sexual abuse.
Wachter is also wrong in saying that the pope has contributed to millions of deaths for denouncing the indiscriminate distribution of condoms. In fact, as Harvard professor Edward C. Green has said, “Many countries that have not seen declines in HIV have seen increases in condom use, but in every country worldwide in which HIV has declined there have been increases in levels of faithfulness and usually abstinence as well.”
It’s so nice to learn that Wachter praises Fadlallah for being pro-woman. Inconveniently for him, his hero is also pro-terrorist.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Leading stem cell scientist quietly drops embryonic work

by Michael Cook | 3 Jul 2010

Amongst scientists who promoted the use of human embryonic stem cells five years ago, in the middle of passionate debates in the US, Australia and elsewhere, few were more influential in shaping the ethical debate than Harvard’s George Q. Daley. “We must support the vitally important applications of embryonic stem cells to medical research,” he testified to a Congressional committee in 2005.

He contended that work on hESCs was so important that it could not be delayed. It was needed for cures, drug development and genetic research. The fact that years had passed without results made no difference. “The field of human embryonic stem cell research is a mere 7 years old, so it is premature to expect successful cell therapies to have already been delivered to patients.”

Now, he has transferred the same sense of urgency and excitement to an ethical non-controversial alternative to hESC research which he dismissed before the committee – induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). At the time, he said, “Although this strategy is worth pursuing, it is extremely high-risk, and may take years to perfect, and may never work as well as nuclear transfer, which we know we can practice today.”

However, in 2007 iPS cells were developed by Shinya Yamanaka. Professor Daley immediately stopped campaigning for hESCs. In an interview with Nature Medicine, he says, “Once Yamanaka solved the problem, I turned around virtually my entire program to take advantage of that breakthrough.”

In language remarkably similar to his 2005 testimony, he now promotes iPS cells: “There's no reason in my mind to think that we're not going to have iPS cells that function as well as embryonic stem cells.” Why haven’t there been any cures yet? “You can't hold the field to too high a standard. It's only been two years, and a lot of this stuff is in the pipeline.” ~ Nature Medicine, June

Continue reading at BioEdge: Leading stem cell scientist quietly drops embryonic work

'Hitler's Pope' saved thousands of Jewish lives - Telegraph

By Simon Caldwell - 06 Jul 2010
Pope Pius, who was labelled “Hitler’s Pope” because of his silence during the Holocaust, may have arranged the exodus of about 200,000 Jews from Germany just three weeks after Kristallnacht, when thousands of Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.
The claim was made by Dr Michael Hesemann, a German historian carrying out research in the Vatican archives for the Pave the Way Foundation, a US-based inter-faith group.
He said that Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli – the future Pius XII – wrote to Catholic archbishops around the world to urge them to apply for visas for “non-Aryan Catholics” and Jewish converts to Christianity who wanted to leave Germany.

Continue reading ‘Hitler's Pope’ saved thousands of Jewish lives – Telegraph
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The term ‘Hitler’s Pope’ comes from John Cornwell’s anti-Pope Pius XII book ‘Hitler’s Pope’ published in 1999. At the time certain media outlets (ABC) heavily promoted the book. Since then much of Cornwell’s book has been debunked. Ken Woodward, writing in Newsweek, stated that Hitler's Pope has "errors of fact and ignorance of context [that] appear on almost every page.

On a positive note, Cornwell has now changed his position on Pope Pius XII. In his book The Pontiff in Winter (2004), p. 193, Cornwell says:
“ I would now argue, in the light of the debates and evidence following 'Hitler's Pope', that Pius XII had so little scope of action that it is impossible to judge the motives for his silence during the war, while Rome was under the heel of Mussolini and later occupied by the Germans.”

However it has been asked that given Cornwell has changed his position on Pope Pius XII why has he not withdrawn his book, or at least altered its hateful title?

Of course there’s plenty of money to be made in promoting lies and hate against the Catholic Church just ask Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.

Image courtesy of Ambrosius007

Advance warning: inaccurate news reports coming soon

By Phil Lawler at Catholic Culture | July 08, 2010

Be prepared.

Sometime in the next few days the Vatican is expected to release new norms for the handling of sex-abuse complaints. Dozens of news reports will undoubtedly follow, saying that the Vatican has changed policies in response to public pressure. Those reports will be wrong.

The norms are changing. The policies are not.

According to reports that have leaked extensively this week, the Vatican will change a few norms of canon law, bringing the law into conformity with the policies already in use by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. To date these policies have been authorized-- first by Pope John Paul II, then by Benedict XVI-- as allowable exceptions to the canonical rules. Now they will become the rules.

So-- unless the leaked reports are all wrong-- the rules will change, but not practices of the CDF.

It's not that hard to understand, if you pay a bit of attention to the details. But recently reporters have been rushing into print without making the effort to understand Church law.
The norms are changing. The policies are not.

Fr. Barron comments on Mother Teresa and her Sisters



Fr Barron's Word on Fire

Book Review: The Borgias and Their enemies

Father Steve at Word on Fire reviews Christopher Hibbert's The Borgias and Their Enemies, taking a closer look into the lives of the notorious family of Pope Alexander VI.
Borgias-and-Their-Enemies The scandalous pontificate of Alexander VI represents a nadir of the papacy. Many might prefer that this notorious pope and his family disappear from historical reckoning, but the memory of the Borgias continues to be remarkably persistent.  Showtime will release a dramatic interpretation of Alexander VI and his intrigues in 2011, testimony to the enduring cultural fascination for Borgias. News of this upcoming series might stir some consternation among the Catholic faithful. Alexander VI has been used for centuries as a source for the opposition to the claims of the Church in regards to the papacy. He has become a symbol of the potential abuses of power, particularly within the Church.
Continue reading at Fr. Robert Barron's Word On Fire Blog - Books: Borgias Behaving Badly

Jay Leno playing it safe for his audience

From Bill Donohue Catholic League - July 8, 2010
On last night's "Tonight Show," Jay Leno said the following: "Oh, and a Catholic priest in Connecticut has been charged with stealing $1.3 million in church money and using the money for male escorts. Of course, his parish is very upset about this—except the altar boys. They're going, huh, dodged a bullet on that one. Yeah, he spent $1.3 million on male escorts and, of course, the other priests were very confused. They said: Why buy the escort when the altar boys are free?"

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented as follows:
Jay Leno called many years ago to apologize for insulting Catholics. I accepted his apology and told him why he crossed the line. At that time, he was making fun of the Eucharist. He got the point, and the conversation ended amicably. But now I know the man is insincere.

For the past several years, wayward priests have been fodder for his material; miscreant rabbis and imams never seem to get mentioned. Occasionally, he sticks to the culprit, which is not necessarily objectionable, but most of the time he indicts all priests. He did that last night in a most vicious way.
The priest he was talking about was a homosexual; so are most of the abusing priests. Does Jay Leno have the guts to tell jokes about gay priests? Not that he should, but he doesn't. So he takes the cheap way out and sticks it to over 40,000 priests.

Jay Leno's jokes painting all priests as child abusers is not comedy. It is bigotry. He has crossed the line too many times.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Tough competition in the media-bias department

By Phil Lawler from Catholic Culture – 7th July 2010

A German rag, Der Spiegel has produced a story that rivals the coverage of the New York Times in its flagrant bias against Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church.

The headline provides sets the tone: Pope Benedict XVI Lashes Out at Secular Justice. You get the message: the Pope is opposed to justice. Subtle. If you read past the headline, you see that the Pope really didn't "lash out" at secular justice at all. He objected to the aggressive police raid on the Belgian bishops' headquarters. But as even the Spiegel story concedes, he "argued in favour of cooperating with the secular justice system." So the headline is roughly 180° off from the facts contained in the report.

It goes downhill from there. How much misinformation can you cram into a single paragraph? Let’s see:

Continue reading at Catholic Culture

And ditto for the Melbourne Age.

Science Blog ignores facts to promote hate and misinformation.

PZ Myers, a contributor to Science Blog has decided to contribute some of his time to hate mongering against the Catholic Church and in particular Pope Benedict. He apparently thought Tim Minchin’s rather stupid and factually incorrect ditty on Pope Benedict was truthful enough to put on a science blog. Gee and here I thought scientists deal in facts silly me.

I’m guessing Tim Minchin based his anti-Pope Benedict ditty on the rantings of Christopher HItchens which have been demolished in an article by Sean Murphy complete with 80 footnotes. Which is 80 more than Hitchens provided.

There’s not much difference between the level of factual material found in Tim Minchin’s video and the anti-Catholic videos made by the “God Hates Fags” Westboro Baptist Church.

One wonders why PZ Myers of Science Blog chose to promote Tim Minchin’s bit of hate mongering. It’s interesting to also note just how retarded are many of the comments praising PZ Myers’ post. Hopefully these “science type” people aren’t working in a field of science requiring the use of rational thought.

More information on the role of Pope Benedict in preventing and dealing with sex abuse within the Church.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Catholic faithful to celebrate witness of 120 Chinese Martyrs :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

CNA STAFF, Jul 4, 2010 / 05:03 am (CNA).
On Friday, July 9, the Church will celebrate the feast of the 120 Martyrs of China. Religious persecution has a long history in China, especially persecution of Christians, thousands of whom have died for their faith in the last millennium.
On October 1, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 120 men, women, and children who gave their lives for the faith in China between the years 1648 and 1930. The martyrs include 87 native Chinese and 33 foreign missionaries. The majority were killed during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900.
Continue reading at Catholic News Agency

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Vatican Lawyer Jeffrey Lena on Immunity and Responsibility

Vatican Radio - 30 June 2010

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a lawsuit that challenges the Vatican's immunity from prosecution in clerical sex abuse cases.
Jeffrey Lena is the California-based attorney currently representing the Holy See in the Oregon case of Holy See vs John Doe.
In the following interview, Mr Lena responds to erroneous reporting in the mass media, and reiterates that “the fact that the Holy See is not involved, and the priest in question was not an employee of the Holy See, is not to say that the victim is not truly a victim.  He surely suffered as no child ever deserves to suffer, and there is no question in this case that this man was victimized by a priest”:

Continue reading at Vatican Radio

Saturday, July 3, 2010

'Gay cover-up must end'

By Gerard Charles Wilson - 11 April 2010
Surveys on clerical sexual abuse consistently show that at least eighty percent of abuse cases are about male religious abusing pubescent males. I have endlessly pointed out this fact that anyone with a normally functioning brain and not in the state of drug-induced hallucinations cannot walk around: homosexual priests abusing teenage boys are responsible for the overwhelming majority of cases of clerical sexual abuse.
I have endlessly pointed out that if eighty percent of the two percent of religious guilty of sexual abuse are homosexual then logically 'clerical' sexual abuse is not a function of being a cleric but of being a homosexual. Third, something I have not spoken much about, all this raises the critical question of how and why so many homosexual men made it through the seminary and on to ordination. This third point is one that still needs a lot of investigation and explanation.
Continue reading at gerardcharleswilson

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Pro-Choice -- The Banality of Evil


From Andrew Bolt in 2007:
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But being "Pro-Choice" means never having to take responsibility for your sexual activity, and never having to say no to abortion. No wonder the Planned Parenthood cheer squad seem so happy.


Rachel's Vineyard Australia - Healing the hurt of abortion.


"Agora" more anti-Catholic propaganda?

Fr Barron from "Word on Fire" comments on the movie "Agora".
Did Carl Sagan misrepresent the truth about Hypatia?



Wikipedia entry on Hypatia.

Review by self declared Irish - Australian atheist bastard Tim O'Neill.