Spaniard named nuncio for Canada
CANADIAN CATHOLIC NEWS
OTTAWA - Canada has a new apostolic nuncio.
On Dec. 10, Pope Benedict appointed Archbishop Pedro López Quintana as the Holy See's ambassador to Canada.
López Quintana, 56, has been apostolic nuncio to India and Nepal since 2003. He will succeed Archbishop Luigi Ventura, who served in Ottawa from 2001 until his appointment as nuncio to France in September.
The Spaniard has served in the nunciatures of Magagascar, the Philippines and India, as well as in the Holy See's Secretariat of State, where he served as assessor for general affairs.
The archbishop holds a doctorate in canon law and speaks French, English, Italian and Portuguese as well as Spanish.
"Once again the Holy Father has shown his great care and love for Canada in assigning a first class nuncio to this country in the person of Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana," said Salt + Light TV CEO Father Tom Rosica who first met the new nuncio at the Secretariat of State when Rosica was preparing for World Youth Day 2002.
"I was always impressed with his intelligence, great affability, kindness and buoyant hope."
"He also loves young people!" Rosica said.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Avatar is More Agit-Prop
Why Does Cameron Infantilize Natives?
Big Hollywood
by Kurt Schlichter
There’s no hiding that Avatar is a politically correct piece of semi-coherent agit-prop lurking behind a lot of over-praised CGI effects. While the fanboys hype it as the next great leap forward in filmmaking, it actually takes a huge step backward by employing one of the oldest and lamest of clichés – the white guy hero representing Western civilization who comes along and saves the natives while embracing their simple yet wise ways.
Read further...
Big Hollywood
by Kurt Schlichter
There’s no hiding that Avatar is a politically correct piece of semi-coherent agit-prop lurking behind a lot of over-praised CGI effects. While the fanboys hype it as the next great leap forward in filmmaking, it actually takes a huge step backward by employing one of the oldest and lamest of clichés – the white guy hero representing Western civilization who comes along and saves the natives while embracing their simple yet wise ways.
Read further...
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Phoney Catholics and Health Care "Reform"
In an ill-advised attempt to square liberalism and the Catholic Faith with Health care Reform, this Chicago "Catholic" writer tries to take Deal Hudson to task for his critical position by adopting an emotional argument, suggesting that we have a common goal of "abolishing abortion". I am not aware that this is a Catholic position. Unfortunately, abortion, like all sins will be part of the human condition until the last trumpet. This writer might not be aware of the irreconcilability of the Catholic Faith with funding for abortion, but he's not interested in truth, he's interested in promoting more socialism, defending the seamless garment mode of Chicago's own Cardinal Bernardin.
Deal Hudson--formerly of the conservative Catholic Crisis magazine--used his InsideCatholic blog to denounce two Catholic political interest groups lobbying for health care reform: Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United, although he calls them "fake" Catholic groups.
Hudson appoints himself the arbiter of what is Catholic, [so do you] and if you support health care reform that in any way might lead to an abortion paid for with public funds, you are not one. (Hudson told US News and World Report's Dan Gilgoff that calling the groups "fake" was "journalistic hyperbole," which I guess is another name for calling people names.) Hudson goes on at length to point out the connections these group have to the Democratic Party and George Soros (while not mentioning his own GOP paymasters, for whom he courted Catholics on behalf of previous administrations). [So?]
According to Hudson, Catholics should oppose health care reform if it in any way directs public money to abortion--even if it does practically guarantee health care for children already born. Abortion, after all, is a "non-negotiable," and you're a "fake" Catholic if you disagree with him. [He'd be right]
Well, I disagree with him, and if he wants to have a debate about whether I'm a Catholic, I say: Bring it, Deal. It's time for Catholics with actual knowledge of the breadth of the Catholic tradition to start speaking up for themselves before we all get read out the church.
Case in point on abortion: While the church does teach that procured abortion can never be morally justified--and Catholics are bound to that teaching--Catholics are free to hold different positions on how the right to life should be pursued in the public sphere. Our common goal is no abortions;[No it's not our common goal, we are still not allowed to participate in the procuring of an abortion, especially not with government money] our paths can differ. There is plenty of evidence that making abortion illegal actually does little to prevent it--it just forces women in crisis into dangerous and desperate situations. Catholics who argue that access to affordable health care and other progressive social policies will reduce abortion are on solid moral ground.
I'm not the only Catholic who is willing to do the difficult moral math and judge health care reform worth the difficulty surrounding abortion funding. On Christmas Day The New York Times reported that both the Catholic Health Association, which represents hundreds of Catholic hospitals, and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, whose member congregations built the bulk of the Catholic health care system in this country, came out in support of the Senate's approach to the segregation of public funds from premiums used to fund abortion coverage. (UPDATE: Sister Carol Keehan of the CHA denied any divergence between CHA and the bishops in a Catholic News Service story yesterday.)
In other words, you don't have to limit yourself to what is finally the clumsiest of moral arguments and say that abortion alone is the make-or-break issue for Catholics when it comes to health care reform. Catholic teaching has long recognized access to health care as a human (not merely civil) right. (And you'll note that the loudest voices on abortion have said next to nothing about the fact that more than 10 million undocumented immigrants are explicitly excluded from this measure, which should outrage any Catholic.)
Not all Catholics are willing to make the perfect the enemy of the good when health care for a further 31 million of our fellow citizens is at stake. And they're every bit as Catholic as Deal Hudson.
Bryan Cones [Should become Episcopalian] is managing editor of U.S. Catholic magazine in Chicago.
Deal Hudson--formerly of the conservative Catholic Crisis magazine--used his InsideCatholic blog to denounce two Catholic political interest groups lobbying for health care reform: Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United, although he calls them "fake" Catholic groups.
Hudson appoints himself the arbiter of what is Catholic, [so do you] and if you support health care reform that in any way might lead to an abortion paid for with public funds, you are not one. (Hudson told US News and World Report's Dan Gilgoff that calling the groups "fake" was "journalistic hyperbole," which I guess is another name for calling people names.) Hudson goes on at length to point out the connections these group have to the Democratic Party and George Soros (while not mentioning his own GOP paymasters, for whom he courted Catholics on behalf of previous administrations). [So?]
According to Hudson, Catholics should oppose health care reform if it in any way directs public money to abortion--even if it does practically guarantee health care for children already born. Abortion, after all, is a "non-negotiable," and you're a "fake" Catholic if you disagree with him. [He'd be right]
Well, I disagree with him, and if he wants to have a debate about whether I'm a Catholic, I say: Bring it, Deal. It's time for Catholics with actual knowledge of the breadth of the Catholic tradition to start speaking up for themselves before we all get read out the church.
Case in point on abortion: While the church does teach that procured abortion can never be morally justified--and Catholics are bound to that teaching--Catholics are free to hold different positions on how the right to life should be pursued in the public sphere. Our common goal is no abortions;[No it's not our common goal, we are still not allowed to participate in the procuring of an abortion, especially not with government money] our paths can differ. There is plenty of evidence that making abortion illegal actually does little to prevent it--it just forces women in crisis into dangerous and desperate situations. Catholics who argue that access to affordable health care and other progressive social policies will reduce abortion are on solid moral ground.
I'm not the only Catholic who is willing to do the difficult moral math and judge health care reform worth the difficulty surrounding abortion funding. On Christmas Day The New York Times reported that both the Catholic Health Association, which represents hundreds of Catholic hospitals, and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, whose member congregations built the bulk of the Catholic health care system in this country, came out in support of the Senate's approach to the segregation of public funds from premiums used to fund abortion coverage. (UPDATE: Sister Carol Keehan of the CHA denied any divergence between CHA and the bishops in a Catholic News Service story yesterday.)
In other words, you don't have to limit yourself to what is finally the clumsiest of moral arguments and say that abortion alone is the make-or-break issue for Catholics when it comes to health care reform. Catholic teaching has long recognized access to health care as a human (not merely civil) right. (And you'll note that the loudest voices on abortion have said next to nothing about the fact that more than 10 million undocumented immigrants are explicitly excluded from this measure, which should outrage any Catholic.)
Not all Catholics are willing to make the perfect the enemy of the good when health care for a further 31 million of our fellow citizens is at stake. And they're every bit as Catholic as Deal Hudson.
Bryan Cones [Should become Episcopalian] is managing editor of U.S. Catholic magazine in Chicago.
St. Thomas Becket Refused to Bend to the Power of the State
There are a great many Bishops in the Church, but would to God we were the zealous teachers and pastors that we promised to be at our consecration.’
'As successors of the Apostles, we hold the highest rank in our churches; we have accepted the responsibility of acting as Christ’s representatives on earth; we receive the honor belonging to that office, and enjoy the temporal benefits of our spiritual labors. It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the reign of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple in the Lord.'
by Deacon Keith Fournier
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) – On December 29 we continue the celebration of the Octave (Eight days) of Christmas. The Church instructs us concerning the implications of the Nativity of the Lord in the selection of these feasts. In the Incarnation, which encompasses the entire saving life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, humanity was re-created in Christ the new Adam. He became like us in order to capacitate us to become like Him. That happens as we respond to the continual call of the Holy Spirit and receive the graces needed for our continuing conversion.
In our first reading for today’s Mass we find these words from the beloved disciple John: “Beloved: The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.” (1 John 2)
As members of the Risen Body of Christ, the Church, we are called to continue His redemptive mission; making Him present in every age until he returns to complete his work of redemption. We are called to “walk the talk”, even when such a bold and brave witness of life places us at risk of being persecuted. The Saints reveal the heroic virtue which is to be manifested in the vocation to which we are all called in our Baptism. We are to become Saints, no matter what our state in life.
On this Octave day of Christmas we consider the life and martyrs’ death of a Bishop named Thomas Becket. He faced a hostile government and refused to bend. He teaches us in our own day how vital it is to stay faithful to the Truth. For the Christian, the Truth is a Divine Person named Jesus Christ. We are called to bear His name and, in the words of the Apostle, “walk just as he walked.”
However, Thomas Becket is a special witness for our beloved Bishops. Today they face the growing hostility of a State which has no tolerance for their insistence on the fundamental human right to life from conception to natural death.Like Thomas, they must refuse to bend
Read further...
'As successors of the Apostles, we hold the highest rank in our churches; we have accepted the responsibility of acting as Christ’s representatives on earth; we receive the honor belonging to that office, and enjoy the temporal benefits of our spiritual labors. It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the reign of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple in the Lord.'
by Deacon Keith Fournier
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) – On December 29 we continue the celebration of the Octave (Eight days) of Christmas. The Church instructs us concerning the implications of the Nativity of the Lord in the selection of these feasts. In the Incarnation, which encompasses the entire saving life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, humanity was re-created in Christ the new Adam. He became like us in order to capacitate us to become like Him. That happens as we respond to the continual call of the Holy Spirit and receive the graces needed for our continuing conversion.
In our first reading for today’s Mass we find these words from the beloved disciple John: “Beloved: The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.” (1 John 2)
As members of the Risen Body of Christ, the Church, we are called to continue His redemptive mission; making Him present in every age until he returns to complete his work of redemption. We are called to “walk the talk”, even when such a bold and brave witness of life places us at risk of being persecuted. The Saints reveal the heroic virtue which is to be manifested in the vocation to which we are all called in our Baptism. We are to become Saints, no matter what our state in life.
On this Octave day of Christmas we consider the life and martyrs’ death of a Bishop named Thomas Becket. He faced a hostile government and refused to bend. He teaches us in our own day how vital it is to stay faithful to the Truth. For the Christian, the Truth is a Divine Person named Jesus Christ. We are called to bear His name and, in the words of the Apostle, “walk just as he walked.”
However, Thomas Becket is a special witness for our beloved Bishops. Today they face the growing hostility of a State which has no tolerance for their insistence on the fundamental human right to life from conception to natural death.Like Thomas, they must refuse to bend
Read further...
Monday, December 28, 2009
US Catholicism Decline and Fall
The decline of the Catholic Church in the United States and in Europe is apparent to anyone who looks at the statistics. The American statistics would be comparable to the far worse European ones if it were not for the influx of Hispanic, Vietnamese, and Filipino Catholics. Catholics of European descent are a vanishing race.
Read further...
Read further...
CHA Denies Spilt with Bishops on Abortion
Despite previous reports of disengagement with the USCCB at the New York Times on Healthcare Reform with respect to Abortion, the head of CHA, Sister Keehan, insists that they are fully behind the US Bishop's socialist agenda and its tentative Prolife position.
'Not a shred of disagreement' between CHA, bishops on health reform
By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Despite a New York Times report to the contrary, the Catholic Health Association and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are working together to achieve health reform legislation that does not expand federal funding of abortion, according to the CHA president and CEO.
Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity, told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview Dec. 28 that her organization has never wavered in its commitment to health care that protects "from conception to natural death," as outlined in the CHA document, "Our Vision for U.S. Health Care."
She disputed a report in The New York Times Dec. 26 that a recent CHA statement on Senate negotiations over abortion funding in health reform legislation represented a split with the bishops.
"There is not a shred of disagreement between CHA and the bishops," Sister Carol said. "We believe there is a great possibility and probability that in conference committee we can work toward a solution that will prevent federal funding of abortion."
She said the CHA, which represents more than 600 Catholic hospitals in the U.S., "brings a lot of expertise with funding structures in the marketplace" to the debate and hopes to "bring that to bear" during the conference committee's work.
Shortly before the Senate approved its version of health reform legislation early Dec. 24, the chairmen of three USCCB committees said the bill should not be approved "without incorporating essential changes to ensure" that it "truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all."
In a letter sent late Dec. 22, about 36 hours before the Senate's 60-39 vote along party lines, the USCCB leaders pledged continued efforts to incorporate needed changes during the work of the House-Senate conference committee.
"For many months, our bishops' conference has worked with members of Congress, the administration and others to fashion health care reform legislation that truly protects the life, dignity, health and consciences of all," said the letter signed by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and Bishops William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and John C. Wester of Salt Lake City.
The three chair the USCCB committees on Pro-Life Activities, on Domestic Justice and Human Development and on Migration, respectively.
"We regret to say that in all the areas of our moral concern, the Senate health care reform bill is deficient," the three chairmen added.
The bishops said their biggest problem with the Senate bill was its treatment of abortion funding, which "not only falls short of the House's standard but violates long-standing precedent in all other federal health programs."
In addition to not maintaining the legal status quo on abortion funding that has been supported by President Barack Obama and by the majority of Americans in many polls, the abortion provisions in the manager's amendment to the Senate bill would require purchasers of some health insurance plans "to pay for other people's abortions in a very direct and explicit way," the USCCB letter said.
"There is no provision for individuals to opt out of this abortion payment in federally subsidized plans, so people will be required by law to pay for other people's abortions," it added.
The Senate bill also fails to include provisions to prevent "discrimination against health care providers that decline involvement in abortion" and would not protect the rights of Catholic and other institutions "to provide and purchase health coverage consistent with their moral and religious convictions on other procedures," the chairmen said.
The letter also urged changes in the Senate bill's provisions barring undocumented immigrants from purchasing health insurance from an exchange with their own money and banning legal immigrants from federal health benefit programs for five years.
Sister Carol said Times reporter David D. Kirkpatrick based his Dec. 26 story on a Dec. 17 CHA statement which noted that CHA had not reviewed the language of various amendments on the table at the time but was "encouraged by recent deliberations and the outline" Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., was developing.
At that point, "I felt they were making progress and were getting where we needed to be," she said.
"I understand that it doesn't make a good story to say (CHA and the USCCB) are working together," Sister Carol added. "But it would have been an honest story."
In an earlier statement, Cardinal DiNardo said the USCCB would continue to oppose the Senate legislation "unless and until" it is amended to "comply with long-standing Hyde restrictions on federal funding of elective abortions and health plans that include them."
The Hyde amendment prohibits federal funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the woman's life.
On abortion, the USCCB had backed a bipartisan amendment sponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and others. Similar to a House-passed measure sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., the amendment would have incorporated the Hyde amendment protections into the health reform bill.
When the Senate tabled Nelson's amendment in a 54-45 vote Dec. 8, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, USCCB president, and the three USCCB chairmen called it "a grave mistake and a serious blow to genuine health reform."
Nelson joined with the 57 other Senate Democrats and two independents in voting Dec. 19 to end debate on the health reform legislation, cutting off a Republican filibuster.
Nelson told the Lincoln Journal Star Dec. 23 that he "did not compromise my pro-life principles" by supporting the Senate language on abortion funding. "We just found different language that will work," he added.
Link to original...
'Not a shred of disagreement' between CHA, bishops on health reform
By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Despite a New York Times report to the contrary, the Catholic Health Association and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are working together to achieve health reform legislation that does not expand federal funding of abortion, according to the CHA president and CEO.
Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity, told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview Dec. 28 that her organization has never wavered in its commitment to health care that protects "from conception to natural death," as outlined in the CHA document, "Our Vision for U.S. Health Care."
She disputed a report in The New York Times Dec. 26 that a recent CHA statement on Senate negotiations over abortion funding in health reform legislation represented a split with the bishops.
"There is not a shred of disagreement between CHA and the bishops," Sister Carol said. "We believe there is a great possibility and probability that in conference committee we can work toward a solution that will prevent federal funding of abortion."
She said the CHA, which represents more than 600 Catholic hospitals in the U.S., "brings a lot of expertise with funding structures in the marketplace" to the debate and hopes to "bring that to bear" during the conference committee's work.
Shortly before the Senate approved its version of health reform legislation early Dec. 24, the chairmen of three USCCB committees said the bill should not be approved "without incorporating essential changes to ensure" that it "truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all."
In a letter sent late Dec. 22, about 36 hours before the Senate's 60-39 vote along party lines, the USCCB leaders pledged continued efforts to incorporate needed changes during the work of the House-Senate conference committee.
"For many months, our bishops' conference has worked with members of Congress, the administration and others to fashion health care reform legislation that truly protects the life, dignity, health and consciences of all," said the letter signed by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and Bishops William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and John C. Wester of Salt Lake City.
The three chair the USCCB committees on Pro-Life Activities, on Domestic Justice and Human Development and on Migration, respectively.
"We regret to say that in all the areas of our moral concern, the Senate health care reform bill is deficient," the three chairmen added.
The bishops said their biggest problem with the Senate bill was its treatment of abortion funding, which "not only falls short of the House's standard but violates long-standing precedent in all other federal health programs."
In addition to not maintaining the legal status quo on abortion funding that has been supported by President Barack Obama and by the majority of Americans in many polls, the abortion provisions in the manager's amendment to the Senate bill would require purchasers of some health insurance plans "to pay for other people's abortions in a very direct and explicit way," the USCCB letter said.
"There is no provision for individuals to opt out of this abortion payment in federally subsidized plans, so people will be required by law to pay for other people's abortions," it added.
The Senate bill also fails to include provisions to prevent "discrimination against health care providers that decline involvement in abortion" and would not protect the rights of Catholic and other institutions "to provide and purchase health coverage consistent with their moral and religious convictions on other procedures," the chairmen said.
The letter also urged changes in the Senate bill's provisions barring undocumented immigrants from purchasing health insurance from an exchange with their own money and banning legal immigrants from federal health benefit programs for five years.
Sister Carol said Times reporter David D. Kirkpatrick based his Dec. 26 story on a Dec. 17 CHA statement which noted that CHA had not reviewed the language of various amendments on the table at the time but was "encouraged by recent deliberations and the outline" Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., was developing.
At that point, "I felt they were making progress and were getting where we needed to be," she said.
"I understand that it doesn't make a good story to say (CHA and the USCCB) are working together," Sister Carol added. "But it would have been an honest story."
In an earlier statement, Cardinal DiNardo said the USCCB would continue to oppose the Senate legislation "unless and until" it is amended to "comply with long-standing Hyde restrictions on federal funding of elective abortions and health plans that include them."
The Hyde amendment prohibits federal funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the woman's life.
On abortion, the USCCB had backed a bipartisan amendment sponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and others. Similar to a House-passed measure sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., the amendment would have incorporated the Hyde amendment protections into the health reform bill.
When the Senate tabled Nelson's amendment in a 54-45 vote Dec. 8, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, USCCB president, and the three USCCB chairmen called it "a grave mistake and a serious blow to genuine health reform."
Nelson joined with the 57 other Senate Democrats and two independents in voting Dec. 19 to end debate on the health reform legislation, cutting off a Republican filibuster.
Nelson told the Lincoln Journal Star Dec. 23 that he "did not compromise my pro-life principles" by supporting the Senate language on abortion funding. "We just found different language that will work," he added.
Link to original...
L'Osservatore Romano Pays Tribute to the Beatles and Hippie Cult
In an ill-starred attempt to garner more popular appeal, L'Osservatore Romano pays tribute to the figures who were truly important to them when they were actually young.
The December 25 edition of L’Osservatore Romano paid tribute to two new books devoted to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Mark Hayward’s The Beatles: On Camera, Off Guard 1963-69 and The Rolling Stones: On Camera, Off Guard 1963-69 contain photographs-- most of them previously unpublished-- of the bands.
The L’Osservatore Romano column was written by Giuseppe Fiorentino and Gaetano Vallini, who earlier this year commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the hippie film Easy Rider.
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5021
The December 25 edition of L’Osservatore Romano paid tribute to two new books devoted to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Mark Hayward’s The Beatles: On Camera, Off Guard 1963-69 and The Rolling Stones: On Camera, Off Guard 1963-69 contain photographs-- most of them previously unpublished-- of the bands.
The L’Osservatore Romano column was written by Giuseppe Fiorentino and Gaetano Vallini, who earlier this year commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the hippie film Easy Rider.
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5021
Columbian Governor Arrests Christians
Governor outlaws Christianity, arrests believers in Colombia
28 indigenous Colombian Christians have been imprisoned since October for refusing to denounce their faith, reports MNN.
Logan Maurer with International Christian Concern says the central government gave local governors relative autonomy. "They have devolved power to a governor there who has outlawed Christianity. He has said that if anybody there is a Christian, they're going to go to prison."
With that announcement, the local governor over the Kogui (ko-gee) called the Christians together on October 27th. "He was holding a meeting to discuss this issue," said Maurer, "and he surprised these Christians by saying, 'You're all under arrest.'"
The governor wants them to maintain more of the traditional identity to the tribal region, which includes animism. The group is still being held because they refuse to reconvert.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide says at last report, two of the kidnapped infants were seriously ill. The governor and his allies also humiliated non-Christian leaders who had supported the Christians in the community and protected them from being expelled.
What's especially odd about this case is that the Colombian government has apparently refused to act on behalf of the Christians. That's prompting outcry from human rights watchdog groups. Maurer adds that the Colombian government is "willing to ignore its own Constitution and its international agreements, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ICCPR, the ICSECR, and the American Convention on Human Rights--all of which explicitly protect the right of individuals to choose their own faith and to convert of their own free will."
Link to original...
28 indigenous Colombian Christians have been imprisoned since October for refusing to denounce their faith, reports MNN.
Logan Maurer with International Christian Concern says the central government gave local governors relative autonomy. "They have devolved power to a governor there who has outlawed Christianity. He has said that if anybody there is a Christian, they're going to go to prison."
With that announcement, the local governor over the Kogui (ko-gee) called the Christians together on October 27th. "He was holding a meeting to discuss this issue," said Maurer, "and he surprised these Christians by saying, 'You're all under arrest.'"
The governor wants them to maintain more of the traditional identity to the tribal region, which includes animism. The group is still being held because they refuse to reconvert.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide says at last report, two of the kidnapped infants were seriously ill. The governor and his allies also humiliated non-Christian leaders who had supported the Christians in the community and protected them from being expelled.
What's especially odd about this case is that the Colombian government has apparently refused to act on behalf of the Christians. That's prompting outcry from human rights watchdog groups. Maurer adds that the Colombian government is "willing to ignore its own Constitution and its international agreements, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ICCPR, the ICSECR, and the American Convention on Human Rights--all of which explicitly protect the right of individuals to choose their own faith and to convert of their own free will."
Link to original...
Is the Left Anti-Semitic After All?
Well, the left hates Joey Liberman (I), so it must be anti-semitic, because it hates Israel. Does the knife cut both ways? Never before has supporting Israel been so much fun, because you get to trash two faulty ideologies at once.
The Examener
Ruminations, December 27, 2009
Health insurance lives saved vs. lives lost
The Institute of Medicine, the health branch of the National Academy of Sciences, issued an analysis that concluded 22,000 lives were lost in 2006 due to a lack of health insurance. Many proponents of the new health care proposals are projecting their figures across 10 years and estimating that the new Congressional health care bill will save, conservatively, 150,000 lives over 10 years.
Although this analysis is speculative, it is an interesting and worthwhile exercise to examine the potential effect of health insurance on longevity. Rather than focusing on the dollars and cents side of the health care debate, perhaps adding an additional balance sheet focusing on lives would be worthwhile.
Saving 22,000 lives per year is based upon 30 million of people who are currently uninsured obtaining insurance and thus being able to afford to see their doctors once a year. If 30 million more people will go to their doctor once a year and, according to some estimates, a doctor and an assistant (nurse, physician’s assistant, or another doctor, etc) can see and examine 2,000 people per year (one visit per person). That means we’ll need 30,000 new medical professionals to see 30 million people. Where will they come from? They won’t materialize from thin air. With current staffing levels, regardless of insurance, we won’t have enough medical professionals to see these people. So maybe, unless or until we can expand our medical professionals, the 30 million people currently uninsured still won’t be able to see a doctor and 22,000 lives we estimated that would be saved will be lost anyway.
While accepting the estimate of 22,000 lives saved in one year, let’s consider the number of lives that the new health care bill may cost. For instance, won’t cutting nearly $500 billion from Medicare over 10 years have an adverse affect on the life spans of 46 million seniors? That’s an average cut of $10,000 per person over 10 years. It seems that by reducing health care by that amount, for a group whose earning power is limited and whose advancing years makes their health precarious enough without the cuts, will contribute to the lives lost count. Will it contribute to the premature death of more than 150,000 over ten years? Could be.
And, while we are on the subject of saving lives, there is no doubt that American medical innovation over the last decades has saved millions of lives. In fact, it is so advanced and superior, that, according to Deloitte & Touche, last year 400,000 people came from foreign lands to get health care in the United States. They came from all over including places such as Canada and Great Britain, where national health care is provided gratis. Why did they come? Not to save money, that’s for sure. They came because they wanted innovative health care that was unavailable in their home countries. Many, including those with diverse political perspectives as liberal former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich and conservative Fox commentator John Stossel, believe that a new health care system will not provide new innovations and, consequently it may cause a number of premature deaths that innovation could have saved.
So, on balance, will the new health care bill in Congress save lives? Maybe not.
Lieberman and anti-Semitism
The last two members of the Democratic caucus fell into line last week and supported the Democrats health care bill. Joe Lieberman (I, CT) and Ben Nelson (D, NE) voted to end debate on the bill and proceed towards its passage.
The left has been almost apoplectic on the about Joe Lieberman (I, CT), who threatened to join Republicans and filibuster the Senate Health Care bill. But when Lieberman’s objections to the “public option” and to the provision to allow people under 65 to apply for Medicare were met, he withdrew his filibuster threat and supported the bill. Lieberman had held out on principle. And by mollifying Lieberman, the Democrats were able to secure his support. But the left still treats him as a traitor.
Ben Nelson (D, NE), the last hold out, came back to the party-line when he was offered a $100 million subsidy for his Nebraska voters and tax breaks for Nebraska insurance companies. After he came back, the left treated him like a hero.
You can agree or disagree with Nelson and Lieberman but can you hold a mercenary in higher regard than a man who stands on principle?
It doesn’t seem so for many of the left. Rosa DeLauro (D, CT) says, “I'll say it flat out, I think he [Lieberman] ought to be recalled." MoveOn.org has raised one million dollars so that when Lieberman “comes up for re-election, we'll make sure we send him home for good.” Michael Moore demands that Connecticut recall Lieberman and wants to punish Connecticut for electing Lieberman by means of a boycott. MSNBC news commentator Keith Obermann said that Lieberman was “embarrassing humanity.” And the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation has been pressured to sever relationship with Lieberman’s wife, Hadassah.
Is there something else at work here – something other than political opposition? When people oppose President Barack Obama, some of Obama’s supporters are quick to state or imply that the reason for the opposition to Obama is racism. Could one conclude that the reason for the strong opposition to Lieberman is anti-Semitism?
First of all, let’s set aside the lunatic fringe that will always be with us. There is no doubt that there is a small group of people who don’t like Lieberman because he is a Jew – just as there exists a small group of people who don’t like Obama because he is black. Small fringe groups, however outrageous their beliefs, are of little concern; when the group gets large or influential, that’s when it bears watching.
In Lieberman’s case, the left has other reasons to dislike him. In 2006, Lieberman returned from a fact-finding trip to Iraq and declared the war not only winnable but worth fighting. This infuriated the left and, at the Connecticut Democratic state Convention, instead of nominating the incumbent Lieberman, anti-war candidate Ned Lamont was nominated for senator. Lieberman then had the effrontery, in the eyes of the left, to run for senator as an independent against a party-line Democrat – and he won.
In 2008, Lieberman spoke at the Republican National Convention and endorsed Republican John McCain.
While many on the left urge rapprochement with Cuba, Lieberman has remained strongly anti-Castro.
And, while a significant portion of the American left leans toward Palestine in the Israeli-Palestinian controversy, Lieberman is strongly pro-Israel.
So the resentment of Lieberman for opposing the party orthodoxy has been building. Was the Health Care kerfuffle the tipping point? Is it a knee-jerk reaction to dismiss Lieberman detractors as anti-Semites? Let’s explore that notion.
There still is a remnant of anti-Semitism in the United States and some of it by seemingly responsible public figures and politicians who should know better. Former Senator Fritz Hollings (D, SC), for example, implied that President Bush initiated the war on terror in order to appease Jews.
While anti-Semitism in the United States is not at the levels it had been in the 1930s, it still exists. In November 2005, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a Campus Anti-Semitism briefing report (http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/081506campusantibrief07.pdf) that said, “Indeed, anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism flourish on college campuses because of the energetic focus of a determined minority and their willingness to dedicate themselves to this cause.” If that was and is the case, we don’t need to wonder that the attitudes of people who have been subjected to academic precepts of anti-Semitism made to sound intellectual will become anti-Semites themselves.
But according to the Commission, it is a small group of determined activists that foment anti-Semitism on campus. And who is it that leads political groups? Small groups of determined activists.
One of the Commission’s major findings is that “The assault on Jewish nationalism is embedded in the ideology of the left” and that "Anti-Semitic bigotry is no less morally deplorable when camouflaged as anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism." As was pointed out above, Lieberman strongly supports Israel.
Former Soviet dissident and Israeli government official Natan Sharansky stated that “One of the major difficulties in grappling with the new anti-Semitism is the ease with which it can be denied. Unlike in the past, post-modern anti-Semitism no longer exclusively involves such phenomena as violence against the Jews, sporting swastikas and burning synagogues. While these phenomena do indeed exist and are even increasing, especially in Europe, today they form only part of the problem.”
So, is opposition to Lieberman anti-Semitism camouflaged as politics or is it legitimate political opposition? It’s probably both. There is no doubt Lieberman has, overall, a liberal voting record. But liberal-versus-conservative voting records are hard to measure; the big issues for the left over the past year have been the war in Iraq, the presidential election and health care. Lieberman has, at times, opposed the left on all three.
Just as Lieberman has taken principled stands to oppose the left, it is fair to say that many on the left are taking principled stands in opposing Lieberman. Some of that opposition may be anti-Semitism camouflaged in principle and some, when it is expressed with venom and rancor, may not be camouflaged but blatant anti-Semitism.
The conclusion? It’s worrisome.
Link to original...
The Examener
Ruminations, December 27, 2009
Health insurance lives saved vs. lives lost
The Institute of Medicine, the health branch of the National Academy of Sciences, issued an analysis that concluded 22,000 lives were lost in 2006 due to a lack of health insurance. Many proponents of the new health care proposals are projecting their figures across 10 years and estimating that the new Congressional health care bill will save, conservatively, 150,000 lives over 10 years.
Although this analysis is speculative, it is an interesting and worthwhile exercise to examine the potential effect of health insurance on longevity. Rather than focusing on the dollars and cents side of the health care debate, perhaps adding an additional balance sheet focusing on lives would be worthwhile.
Saving 22,000 lives per year is based upon 30 million of people who are currently uninsured obtaining insurance and thus being able to afford to see their doctors once a year. If 30 million more people will go to their doctor once a year and, according to some estimates, a doctor and an assistant (nurse, physician’s assistant, or another doctor, etc) can see and examine 2,000 people per year (one visit per person). That means we’ll need 30,000 new medical professionals to see 30 million people. Where will they come from? They won’t materialize from thin air. With current staffing levels, regardless of insurance, we won’t have enough medical professionals to see these people. So maybe, unless or until we can expand our medical professionals, the 30 million people currently uninsured still won’t be able to see a doctor and 22,000 lives we estimated that would be saved will be lost anyway.
While accepting the estimate of 22,000 lives saved in one year, let’s consider the number of lives that the new health care bill may cost. For instance, won’t cutting nearly $500 billion from Medicare over 10 years have an adverse affect on the life spans of 46 million seniors? That’s an average cut of $10,000 per person over 10 years. It seems that by reducing health care by that amount, for a group whose earning power is limited and whose advancing years makes their health precarious enough without the cuts, will contribute to the lives lost count. Will it contribute to the premature death of more than 150,000 over ten years? Could be.
And, while we are on the subject of saving lives, there is no doubt that American medical innovation over the last decades has saved millions of lives. In fact, it is so advanced and superior, that, according to Deloitte & Touche, last year 400,000 people came from foreign lands to get health care in the United States. They came from all over including places such as Canada and Great Britain, where national health care is provided gratis. Why did they come? Not to save money, that’s for sure. They came because they wanted innovative health care that was unavailable in their home countries. Many, including those with diverse political perspectives as liberal former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich and conservative Fox commentator John Stossel, believe that a new health care system will not provide new innovations and, consequently it may cause a number of premature deaths that innovation could have saved.
So, on balance, will the new health care bill in Congress save lives? Maybe not.
Lieberman and anti-Semitism
The last two members of the Democratic caucus fell into line last week and supported the Democrats health care bill. Joe Lieberman (I, CT) and Ben Nelson (D, NE) voted to end debate on the bill and proceed towards its passage.
The left has been almost apoplectic on the about Joe Lieberman (I, CT), who threatened to join Republicans and filibuster the Senate Health Care bill. But when Lieberman’s objections to the “public option” and to the provision to allow people under 65 to apply for Medicare were met, he withdrew his filibuster threat and supported the bill. Lieberman had held out on principle. And by mollifying Lieberman, the Democrats were able to secure his support. But the left still treats him as a traitor.
Ben Nelson (D, NE), the last hold out, came back to the party-line when he was offered a $100 million subsidy for his Nebraska voters and tax breaks for Nebraska insurance companies. After he came back, the left treated him like a hero.
You can agree or disagree with Nelson and Lieberman but can you hold a mercenary in higher regard than a man who stands on principle?
It doesn’t seem so for many of the left. Rosa DeLauro (D, CT) says, “I'll say it flat out, I think he [Lieberman] ought to be recalled." MoveOn.org has raised one million dollars so that when Lieberman “comes up for re-election, we'll make sure we send him home for good.” Michael Moore demands that Connecticut recall Lieberman and wants to punish Connecticut for electing Lieberman by means of a boycott. MSNBC news commentator Keith Obermann said that Lieberman was “embarrassing humanity.” And the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation has been pressured to sever relationship with Lieberman’s wife, Hadassah.
Is there something else at work here – something other than political opposition? When people oppose President Barack Obama, some of Obama’s supporters are quick to state or imply that the reason for the opposition to Obama is racism. Could one conclude that the reason for the strong opposition to Lieberman is anti-Semitism?
First of all, let’s set aside the lunatic fringe that will always be with us. There is no doubt that there is a small group of people who don’t like Lieberman because he is a Jew – just as there exists a small group of people who don’t like Obama because he is black. Small fringe groups, however outrageous their beliefs, are of little concern; when the group gets large or influential, that’s when it bears watching.
In Lieberman’s case, the left has other reasons to dislike him. In 2006, Lieberman returned from a fact-finding trip to Iraq and declared the war not only winnable but worth fighting. This infuriated the left and, at the Connecticut Democratic state Convention, instead of nominating the incumbent Lieberman, anti-war candidate Ned Lamont was nominated for senator. Lieberman then had the effrontery, in the eyes of the left, to run for senator as an independent against a party-line Democrat – and he won.
In 2008, Lieberman spoke at the Republican National Convention and endorsed Republican John McCain.
While many on the left urge rapprochement with Cuba, Lieberman has remained strongly anti-Castro.
And, while a significant portion of the American left leans toward Palestine in the Israeli-Palestinian controversy, Lieberman is strongly pro-Israel.
So the resentment of Lieberman for opposing the party orthodoxy has been building. Was the Health Care kerfuffle the tipping point? Is it a knee-jerk reaction to dismiss Lieberman detractors as anti-Semites? Let’s explore that notion.
There still is a remnant of anti-Semitism in the United States and some of it by seemingly responsible public figures and politicians who should know better. Former Senator Fritz Hollings (D, SC), for example, implied that President Bush initiated the war on terror in order to appease Jews.
While anti-Semitism in the United States is not at the levels it had been in the 1930s, it still exists. In November 2005, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a Campus Anti-Semitism briefing report (http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/081506campusantibrief07.pdf) that said, “Indeed, anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism flourish on college campuses because of the energetic focus of a determined minority and their willingness to dedicate themselves to this cause.” If that was and is the case, we don’t need to wonder that the attitudes of people who have been subjected to academic precepts of anti-Semitism made to sound intellectual will become anti-Semites themselves.
But according to the Commission, it is a small group of determined activists that foment anti-Semitism on campus. And who is it that leads political groups? Small groups of determined activists.
One of the Commission’s major findings is that “The assault on Jewish nationalism is embedded in the ideology of the left” and that "Anti-Semitic bigotry is no less morally deplorable when camouflaged as anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism." As was pointed out above, Lieberman strongly supports Israel.
Former Soviet dissident and Israeli government official Natan Sharansky stated that “One of the major difficulties in grappling with the new anti-Semitism is the ease with which it can be denied. Unlike in the past, post-modern anti-Semitism no longer exclusively involves such phenomena as violence against the Jews, sporting swastikas and burning synagogues. While these phenomena do indeed exist and are even increasing, especially in Europe, today they form only part of the problem.”
So, is opposition to Lieberman anti-Semitism camouflaged as politics or is it legitimate political opposition? It’s probably both. There is no doubt Lieberman has, overall, a liberal voting record. But liberal-versus-conservative voting records are hard to measure; the big issues for the left over the past year have been the war in Iraq, the presidential election and health care. Lieberman has, at times, opposed the left on all three.
Just as Lieberman has taken principled stands to oppose the left, it is fair to say that many on the left are taking principled stands in opposing Lieberman. Some of that opposition may be anti-Semitism camouflaged in principle and some, when it is expressed with venom and rancor, may not be camouflaged but blatant anti-Semitism.
The conclusion? It’s worrisome.
Link to original...
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Ms. Magazine Features Sex-Friendly Event at Modernist Monastery
Archbishop Sheen once said that, "Dirt is nothing more than matter which is in the wrong place." Someone should apply that maxim to Catholic education in Minnesota. Not only do they have in place a sex education program which they insist which will prevent if not indemnify the Archdiocese from future lawsuits, but they apply other phony policies designed to pay homage to a small segment of concerned laity who cry foul when their parish priest or college hosts things contrary to Catholic teaching.
Archbishop Nienstedt claims that there are specific guidelines against those using Church facillities as speakers who are not harmonious with Church teachings either in their former written works or deeds.
St. John's University, in Collegeville, according to an article in Ms. Magazine, in addition to having some serious allegations against it for being a haven for indecent behavior and heresy has reinforced that reputation recently by hosting a conference about men's role in feminism. Two activist filmmakers Byron Hurt with a "Hip-Hop " approach and Nancy Schwartzman want to create a "sex friendly" approach to rape prevention that deals with issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. The films contain sexually explicit material and surely have no place on the campus of a Catholic institution.
These endless and prurient discussions are guaranteed to titilate and the only thing that they lack for is a justification, for it is impossible to justify this talk which is aimed at further corrupting the students and leading them to perdition.
Archbishop Nienstedt claims that there are specific guidelines against those using Church facillities as speakers who are not harmonious with Church teachings either in their former written works or deeds.
St. John's University, in Collegeville, according to an article in Ms. Magazine, in addition to having some serious allegations against it for being a haven for indecent behavior and heresy has reinforced that reputation recently by hosting a conference about men's role in feminism. Two activist filmmakers Byron Hurt with a "Hip-Hop " approach and Nancy Schwartzman want to create a "sex friendly" approach to rape prevention that deals with issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. The films contain sexually explicit material and surely have no place on the campus of a Catholic institution.
Gender justice filmmakers Byron Hurt (Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes) and Nancy Schwartzman (Where Is Your Line?) were on hand to screen videos about pop culture, sexuality, masculinity and assault. Speakers emphasized accountability, authenticity and continued hard work, and no one could ignore the heat generated by unresolved issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. The second plenary session was interrupted by angry shouts from the floor by men tired of carrying collective guilt for other men’s violence. Several attendees conceded that the movement has yet to figure out constructive ways of grappling with men’s power and their fears in order to work effectively in partnership with women.
These endless and prurient discussions are guaranteed to titilate and the only thing that they lack for is a justification, for it is impossible to justify this talk which is aimed at further corrupting the students and leading them to perdition.
Catholic Hospitals and Church Split over Abortion Coverage
As Catholic Schools don't teach much in the way of Catholicism, so Catholic Hospitals are not very consistent in following Catholic moral teaching with regard to abortion. It's unfortunate enough that liberals, getting it wrong as they often do, fail to understand the issue outside of their quest to justify sexual license and personal "liberty" that the consequences of the normalization of this situation is higher than they understand.
As those who have been following the congressional health care bill know, the Catholic Church has played a significant role, expressing its disapproval mostly over federal funding for coverage of abortion procedures. The Church backed the House's Stupak Amendment, which "bars a new government-run insurance plan from covering abortions, except in cases or rape, incest or the life of the mother being in danger, and prohibits any health plan that receives federal subsidies in a new insurance marketplace from offering abortion coverage," and has expressed dismay at the new compromises over abortion in the Senate (ones which, ironically, pro-choice advocates are not happy with either).
From the New York Times, the new provisions allow "any state to bar the use of federal subsidies for insurance plans that cover abortion and requires insurers in other states to divide subsidy money into separate accounts so that only dollars from private premiums would be used to pay for abortions." This makes it difficult, bureaucratic, and certainly not desirable for insurance companies to cover abortions - but it still does not ban abortion coverage completely.
Link to original...
As those who have been following the congressional health care bill know, the Catholic Church has played a significant role, expressing its disapproval mostly over federal funding for coverage of abortion procedures. The Church backed the House's Stupak Amendment, which "bars a new government-run insurance plan from covering abortions, except in cases or rape, incest or the life of the mother being in danger, and prohibits any health plan that receives federal subsidies in a new insurance marketplace from offering abortion coverage," and has expressed dismay at the new compromises over abortion in the Senate (ones which, ironically, pro-choice advocates are not happy with either).
From the New York Times, the new provisions allow "any state to bar the use of federal subsidies for insurance plans that cover abortion and requires insurers in other states to divide subsidy money into separate accounts so that only dollars from private premiums would be used to pay for abortions." This makes it difficult, bureaucratic, and certainly not desirable for insurance companies to cover abortions - but it still does not ban abortion coverage completely.
Link to original...
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Catholic Hospitals Support Senate Passage of Healthcare Reform
WASHINGTON — In an apparent split with Roman Catholic bishops over the abortion-financing provisions of the proposed health care overhaul, the nation’s Catholic hospitals have signaled that they back the Senate’s compromise on the issue, raising hopes of breaking an impasse in Congress and stirring controversy within the church.
Recent developments on the struggle over health care with background, analysis, timelines and earlier events from NYTimes.com and Google.
The Senate bill, approved Thursday morning, allows any state to bar the use of federal subsidies for insurance plans that cover abortion and requires insurers in other states to divide subsidy money into separate accounts so that only dollars from private premiums would be used to pay for abortions.
Just days before the bill passed, the Catholic Health Association, which represents hundreds of Catholic hospitals across the country, said in a statement that it was “encouraged” and “increasingly confident” that such a compromise “can achieve the objective of no federal funding for abortion.” An umbrella group for nuns followed its lead.
Link to originals...
Recent developments on the struggle over health care with background, analysis, timelines and earlier events from NYTimes.com and Google.
The Senate bill, approved Thursday morning, allows any state to bar the use of federal subsidies for insurance plans that cover abortion and requires insurers in other states to divide subsidy money into separate accounts so that only dollars from private premiums would be used to pay for abortions.
Just days before the bill passed, the Catholic Health Association, which represents hundreds of Catholic hospitals across the country, said in a statement that it was “encouraged” and “increasingly confident” that such a compromise “can achieve the objective of no federal funding for abortion.” An umbrella group for nuns followed its lead.
Link to originals...
Catholics Should Stop Funding Kairos
Editorials
Catholics should stop funding KAIROS
By Fr. Alphonse de Valk
Issue: January 2010
Throughout much of 2009 Canada’s Catholic bishops have been struggling how to handle the controversy with the Canadian Catholic Organization of Development and Peace (CCODP). Readers will recall that the controversy began in March of 2009 when the pro-life news agency LifeSiteNews.com, which issues daily bulletins on the internet of what is happening in The Americas and the rest of the world with respect to the “life” issues (abortion, contraception, bio-ethics, sexual orientation, etc.) came across evidence that a number of foreign partners of CCODP were involved in sometimes anti-life activities.
On enquiry with D&P HQ in Montreal it was discovered that D&P “did not have a policy for or against abortion.” (“The Development and Peace conundrum,” C.I., Sept. 2009, p. 3). In an age where secularism is ruthlessly anti-life and neutrality is an unknown commodity, that meant that D&P was quite comfortable supporting anti-life organizations under the guise of “we don’t know anything about it.”
Link to original...
Catholics should stop funding KAIROS
By Fr. Alphonse de Valk
Issue: January 2010
Throughout much of 2009 Canada’s Catholic bishops have been struggling how to handle the controversy with the Canadian Catholic Organization of Development and Peace (CCODP). Readers will recall that the controversy began in March of 2009 when the pro-life news agency LifeSiteNews.com, which issues daily bulletins on the internet of what is happening in The Americas and the rest of the world with respect to the “life” issues (abortion, contraception, bio-ethics, sexual orientation, etc.) came across evidence that a number of foreign partners of CCODP were involved in sometimes anti-life activities.
On enquiry with D&P HQ in Montreal it was discovered that D&P “did not have a policy for or against abortion.” (“The Development and Peace conundrum,” C.I., Sept. 2009, p. 3). In an age where secularism is ruthlessly anti-life and neutrality is an unknown commodity, that meant that D&P was quite comfortable supporting anti-life organizations under the guise of “we don’t know anything about it.”
Link to original...
Moscow Patriarch: Homosexuality is a Personal Choice
MOSCOW — The head of the Russian Orthodox Church said Wednesday that although the church views homosexuality as a sin, gays should not face discrimination.
Patriarch Kirill said "those who sin" must not be punished and therefore the church opposes any discrimination. Same-sex unions, however, should not be considered equal to heterosexual marriages, he said.
"We accept all the choices a person makes — in terms of their sexuality as well," the patriarch said in comments carried by the state RIA Novosti news agency.
Gay rights advocates argue that homosexuality is not wrong because it is an in-born orientation, but the church insists that it is a choice.
It was unclear to what extent the patriarch was easing church dogma in his carefully chosen statements, made during a meeting with visiting Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland.
Opposition to gay rights remains widespread in Russia, where homosexuality was decriminalized only in 1993.
Several high-profile Russian politicians have spoken against gay rights. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov once described gays as "sodomites" and has blamed them for spreading AIDS.
Kirill, who was elected patriarch in January, has been seen as a modernizer and a politically savvy figure, but so far he has made no major statements that would signal a shift in the church's conservative views on homosexuality and abortion.
Link to original...
Patriarch Kirill said "those who sin" must not be punished and therefore the church opposes any discrimination. Same-sex unions, however, should not be considered equal to heterosexual marriages, he said.
"We accept all the choices a person makes — in terms of their sexuality as well," the patriarch said in comments carried by the state RIA Novosti news agency.
Gay rights advocates argue that homosexuality is not wrong because it is an in-born orientation, but the church insists that it is a choice.
It was unclear to what extent the patriarch was easing church dogma in his carefully chosen statements, made during a meeting with visiting Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland.
Opposition to gay rights remains widespread in Russia, where homosexuality was decriminalized only in 1993.
Several high-profile Russian politicians have spoken against gay rights. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov once described gays as "sodomites" and has blamed them for spreading AIDS.
Kirill, who was elected patriarch in January, has been seen as a modernizer and a politically savvy figure, but so far he has made no major statements that would signal a shift in the church's conservative views on homosexuality and abortion.
Link to original...
The Biblical Story of Jesus in Egypt
The Christmas season is almost upon us and is a great opportunity to tell children around the world that the infant Jesus travelled in Egypt and performed his first miracles there, says Jill Kamil
Despite the biblical references to the Holy Family's journey to Egypt: Take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt [Matt: 2:13], and Out of Egypt have I called my son [Matt: 2:15], outside of the Coptic communities around the world, the early years of Jesus are not as widely known as the Nativity, the Passion, and the Resurrection. Is it not time to stage a three-act play in Coptic churches that combines the Nativity with the Flight into Egypt? It should be borne in mind that, apart from Copts in Egypt and the Middle East as a whole, there are more than 500,000 in the United Sates, 100,000 or in Canada, 300,000- odd in Australia, and more than a million residing in Europe, Latin America, Africa and New Zealand.
If the children of Coptic doctors and academics, engineers and businessmen -- and I should mention that Copts in the diaspora have built impressive Coptic Orthodox churches and the bulk are regular church-goers -- took part in or attended such a play, I wager that soon enough the schools that they attended would come to know about the three-act "Christmas Story", and perhaps it would then be enacted in churches of other denominations. What a boost to tourism that would be!
Some years ago an attempt was made by the Ministry of Tourism to promote tours entitled "In the Footsteps of the Holy Family". The first step, which achieved great success, was the restoration of sites and churches associated with the visit of Mary, Jesus and Joseph -- no fewer than 22 throughout the Delta and Upper Egypt. Subsequently, there was sustained effort in promoting the tour on television and video clips. Ultimately, though, it failed. The idea was not sold by travel agents, largely because due consideration had not been given to its feasibility. It was not possible to take tourists to the sites associated with the Holy Family because most of them were too far apart: they span the whole of the Delta as far as Wadi Natrun in the Western Desert, and extend from Cairo and its suburbs to sites in Upper Egypt as far as south in Deir Al-Muharraq, west of Assiut.
Religious tourism is a fixture of both ancient and modern cultures, a constant through the ages, and until today a mainstay of tourism in several areas. It is not possible, however, to promote this product in the same way as Pharaonic monuments are marketed, which is to say as religious buildings rather than a religious experience. What better way than to bolster Coptic Orthodoxy than by actively joining in the celebrations at the end of each year, rather than wait until 7 January, the date of the Coptic Christmas, when the New Year celebrations are over and people are enjoying the post- Christmas shopping sales? Why not take advantage of the pomp and ceremony that surrounds the Western Christmas well in advance of 25 December to relish and promote the tradition so strongly supported in Egypt, of the sojourn of the Holy Family, and extend our celebrations through to 7 January? And why not bring reverence for the past into a tangible present by presenting a three-act play at the right time, when the whole of the Christian world is focussed on the birth of Jesus Christ. The play might run like this:
Act I: The traditional scene of the Nativity with Christ in the manager, the three Wise Men and the shining star, culminating with the entry of Roman soldiers, and with Mary and Joseph gathering up the Child, and fleeing across the barren desert of Sinai into Egypt's fertile Delta.
Read further...
Archbishop Twal of Jerusalem: "The Baby Jesus is a Cure for Pride"
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
"While they were [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger." (Luke 2:6-7)
On behalf of the Child of Bethlehem, born in the shelter of a poor cave, and on behalf of many children, like him, born homeless and in refugee camps, I wish to welcome you with the very words the angels spoke to the shepherds: "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And this is the token for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Luke 2: 10 to 12). We hope for this to happen again in the today that belongs to God, starting from this city and this cave and the manger towards which we will, in a moment, carry the divine child in procession!
Read full article...
"While they were [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger." (Luke 2:6-7)
On behalf of the Child of Bethlehem, born in the shelter of a poor cave, and on behalf of many children, like him, born homeless and in refugee camps, I wish to welcome you with the very words the angels spoke to the shepherds: "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And this is the token for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Luke 2: 10 to 12). We hope for this to happen again in the today that belongs to God, starting from this city and this cave and the manger towards which we will, in a moment, carry the divine child in procession!
Read full article...
Friday, December 25, 2009
Why Aren't American Bishops Resigning?
Ok, we write about this all of the time, we write about the moral and intellectual incapacity of most Bishops to reign their Diocese. They live in an environment of not so benign neglect, and the welcome deaths of the Theologians of the Vatican II generation, notably Fr. Schilebeecx a few days ago, and Fr. Godfry Dieckman OSB, has us thinking about how people compartmentalize things to the point where the emotional attachments exist without any rational justification.
A lot of people would get arrested for practicing surgery without the need or requisite training and certification, but in Theology, you can botch all kinds of souls and no one says anything. Even the state turns a blind eye when professional Clerics, under the seal of the confessional, or in the capacity of mental health care workers, take young people into their conference to guide and shape them in a way completely inconsistent with Catholic teaching. The government even turns a blind eye when these unprincipled charlatans seek to take liberties with their charges, like a priest out of Boccaccio's Daecameron, for illicit and forbidden pleasure.
The Scriptures are astoundingly clear, even where civil justice and modern post-Vatican II theologians with their notions of easy virtue and a debased theological perspective and deliberate liturgical chaos fail. Such men should have a milestone tied around their necks and they should be cast into the sea, but quite often, such men will challenge a seeker of justice and the layman so ill-advised to challenge the prelate or priest on his quest for illicit pleasure, had better have a lot of documentation before the Vatican will be forced to act under the pressure of public opinion to remove a man like Archbishop Weakland, who even today, shakes his self-rightous fist at his accusers and justifies his gay-friendly approach. Perhaps such self-righteous homosexuals, publishing words by which we can hang them legally later, is a great ally? These men are brash, and like individual roaches in a plague of roaches, fearless.
If Scriptures are clear, the history of the Church is quite clear. Homosexuals, the kind who nowadays abuse children, would be sent to the scaffold or the stake after a fair trial by the Inquisition. We favor the restoration of this. The Vatican should, in collaboration with existing governments, send independent fact-finders to investigate abuses and try the guilty in ecclesiastical courts where excommunication will be invoked; then the state can try and convict these monsters and ship them to maximum security prisons where they can enjoy the tender mercies of convict justice.
Anyhow, like Fr. Z, we digress, and we've already mentioned the possibility of American Bishops resigning, of course, they have resigned for some right reasons (+Weakland and +Law), but no one, even most of the Catholic press, is addressing the Bishops' failings with regard to teaching and upholding the Catholic Faith. Many Bishops seem to think that supporting Marxists causes such as CCHD and Catholic Charities will save them and sometimes it isn't enough, but in Cardinal Mahony's case, he seems to lead a charmed life. Will no one rid us of this troublesome priest? No one?
Four Irish bishops have now resigned within weeks of a scathing report that they knowingly sheltered sexual predator priests from the laws of church and state.
The 720-report into abuse cover-ups in Dublin from 1940 to 2004 became public in late November. Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin (shown above), who was brought in after the period dealt with in the report, made it clear that the old ways of protecting priests, not children and teens, were inexcusable.
Two bishops resigned earlier this month. Two more resigned during Christmas Mass, offering apologies to victims and all Dublin's one million Catholics.
Here in the USA, however, only one bishop resigned in acknowledgment of mismanagement.
U.S. Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace as archbishop of Boston over his role in the clergy sex abuse crisis, prays during a Mass at the St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, Sunday, April 10, 2005.
CAPTIONBy Anja Niedringhaus, APCardinal Bernard Law resigned as Archbishop of Boston, where the scandal erupted here in 2002, in the face of demands from his flock and his priests. Two bishops were ousted because they themselves were credibly accused of abuse -- Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee and Anthony O'Connell of Palm Beach, Fla.
But while the abuse crisis on US shores has largely subsided from the headlines, groups such as BishopAccountability.org continue to call for scores of bishops to do more than apologize for mistakes.
They call for individual accounting for all the records of how abusive priests were dealt with and for bishops to face the canonical and legal consequences of their mismanagement, above and beyond apologies.
Link to original...
A lot of people would get arrested for practicing surgery without the need or requisite training and certification, but in Theology, you can botch all kinds of souls and no one says anything. Even the state turns a blind eye when professional Clerics, under the seal of the confessional, or in the capacity of mental health care workers, take young people into their conference to guide and shape them in a way completely inconsistent with Catholic teaching. The government even turns a blind eye when these unprincipled charlatans seek to take liberties with their charges, like a priest out of Boccaccio's Daecameron, for illicit and forbidden pleasure.
The Scriptures are astoundingly clear, even where civil justice and modern post-Vatican II theologians with their notions of easy virtue and a debased theological perspective and deliberate liturgical chaos fail. Such men should have a milestone tied around their necks and they should be cast into the sea, but quite often, such men will challenge a seeker of justice and the layman so ill-advised to challenge the prelate or priest on his quest for illicit pleasure, had better have a lot of documentation before the Vatican will be forced to act under the pressure of public opinion to remove a man like Archbishop Weakland, who even today, shakes his self-rightous fist at his accusers and justifies his gay-friendly approach. Perhaps such self-righteous homosexuals, publishing words by which we can hang them legally later, is a great ally? These men are brash, and like individual roaches in a plague of roaches, fearless.
If Scriptures are clear, the history of the Church is quite clear. Homosexuals, the kind who nowadays abuse children, would be sent to the scaffold or the stake after a fair trial by the Inquisition. We favor the restoration of this. The Vatican should, in collaboration with existing governments, send independent fact-finders to investigate abuses and try the guilty in ecclesiastical courts where excommunication will be invoked; then the state can try and convict these monsters and ship them to maximum security prisons where they can enjoy the tender mercies of convict justice.
Anyhow, like Fr. Z, we digress, and we've already mentioned the possibility of American Bishops resigning, of course, they have resigned for some right reasons (+Weakland and +Law), but no one, even most of the Catholic press, is addressing the Bishops' failings with regard to teaching and upholding the Catholic Faith. Many Bishops seem to think that supporting Marxists causes such as CCHD and Catholic Charities will save them and sometimes it isn't enough, but in Cardinal Mahony's case, he seems to lead a charmed life. Will no one rid us of this troublesome priest? No one?
Four Irish bishops have now resigned within weeks of a scathing report that they knowingly sheltered sexual predator priests from the laws of church and state.
The 720-report into abuse cover-ups in Dublin from 1940 to 2004 became public in late November. Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin (shown above), who was brought in after the period dealt with in the report, made it clear that the old ways of protecting priests, not children and teens, were inexcusable.
Two bishops resigned earlier this month. Two more resigned during Christmas Mass, offering apologies to victims and all Dublin's one million Catholics.
Here in the USA, however, only one bishop resigned in acknowledgment of mismanagement.
U.S. Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace as archbishop of Boston over his role in the clergy sex abuse crisis, prays during a Mass at the St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, Sunday, April 10, 2005.
CAPTIONBy Anja Niedringhaus, APCardinal Bernard Law resigned as Archbishop of Boston, where the scandal erupted here in 2002, in the face of demands from his flock and his priests. Two bishops were ousted because they themselves were credibly accused of abuse -- Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee and Anthony O'Connell of Palm Beach, Fla.
But while the abuse crisis on US shores has largely subsided from the headlines, groups such as BishopAccountability.org continue to call for scores of bishops to do more than apologize for mistakes.
They call for individual accounting for all the records of how abusive priests were dealt with and for bishops to face the canonical and legal consequences of their mismanagement, above and beyond apologies.
Link to original...
Catholic Church in Columbia Wants to Negotiate With FARC
BOGOTA (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic Church official on Friday proposed a meeting in Europe with Colombia's main guerrilla leader to discuss handover of hostages and possible negotiations to end Latin America's oldest insurgency.
World
Previous attempts to bring the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to the table have failed over conditions for the release of the captives it holds in jungle camps and demands that the rebels end hostilities before talks begin.
Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon said the plan to seek talks with the FARC was approved by President Alvaro Uribe, whose U.S.-backed army offensive has battered the guerrilla group to its weakest level in decades.
The proposal for dialogue with FARC commander Alfonso Cano came after Uribe blamed rebels for kidnapping and killing Luis Cuellar, the governor of Caqueta state. He was abducted from his home on Monday and later found with his throat cut, as soldiers pursued the kidnappers.
The kidnapping and murder raised questions about the success of Uribe's campaign against the rebels. Colombia's government has received billions in U.S. aid in its security campaign.
"If there is a dialogue it could be in Europe. The possibility is there. The president agrees with that, as long as it is in the best interests of the country," Castrillon said in an interview with local RCN radio.
He did not give details on where talks could occur.
The FARC has not issued a statement on the kidnapping of Cuellar, the highest-profile attack on a politician during Uribe's presidency. The Colombia leader, however, has ordered his military commanders to try to rescue 24 police and soldiers held by the rebels, some in captivity for more than a decade.
Cano took over the leadership of the rebel group last year after several of its top commanders were killed and its ranks were weakened by a steady flow of desertions due to increasing military pressure.
Uribe, whose father was killed in a botched rebel kidnapping two decades ago, is popular for his security drive which has helped cut back on the kidnapping, bombings and attacks that once made violence endemic in Colombia.
"The government is ready to told talks with these illegal armed groups once they show a real willingness to seek peace," said Cesar Mauricio Velasquez, a presidential spokesman.
Uribe says any dialogue with the FARC must begin with a rebel ceasefire. The FARC has said it wants to handover the 24 hostages for hundreds of jailed fighters.
The rebel group previously has unilaterally released hostages in what it has described as goodwill gestures. Uribe says, while welcomed, those releases are part of FARC attempts to score political points. Rebels had said they planned to free two more hostages soon.
(Writing by Patrick Markey in Bogota; Editing by Paul Simao)
Link to the original...
World
Previous attempts to bring the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to the table have failed over conditions for the release of the captives it holds in jungle camps and demands that the rebels end hostilities before talks begin.
Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon said the plan to seek talks with the FARC was approved by President Alvaro Uribe, whose U.S.-backed army offensive has battered the guerrilla group to its weakest level in decades.
The proposal for dialogue with FARC commander Alfonso Cano came after Uribe blamed rebels for kidnapping and killing Luis Cuellar, the governor of Caqueta state. He was abducted from his home on Monday and later found with his throat cut, as soldiers pursued the kidnappers.
The kidnapping and murder raised questions about the success of Uribe's campaign against the rebels. Colombia's government has received billions in U.S. aid in its security campaign.
"If there is a dialogue it could be in Europe. The possibility is there. The president agrees with that, as long as it is in the best interests of the country," Castrillon said in an interview with local RCN radio.
He did not give details on where talks could occur.
The FARC has not issued a statement on the kidnapping of Cuellar, the highest-profile attack on a politician during Uribe's presidency. The Colombia leader, however, has ordered his military commanders to try to rescue 24 police and soldiers held by the rebels, some in captivity for more than a decade.
Cano took over the leadership of the rebel group last year after several of its top commanders were killed and its ranks were weakened by a steady flow of desertions due to increasing military pressure.
Uribe, whose father was killed in a botched rebel kidnapping two decades ago, is popular for his security drive which has helped cut back on the kidnapping, bombings and attacks that once made violence endemic in Colombia.
"The government is ready to told talks with these illegal armed groups once they show a real willingness to seek peace," said Cesar Mauricio Velasquez, a presidential spokesman.
Uribe says any dialogue with the FARC must begin with a rebel ceasefire. The FARC has said it wants to handover the 24 hostages for hundreds of jailed fighters.
The rebel group previously has unilaterally released hostages in what it has described as goodwill gestures. Uribe says, while welcomed, those releases are part of FARC attempts to score political points. Rebels had said they planned to free two more hostages soon.
(Writing by Patrick Markey in Bogota; Editing by Paul Simao)
Link to the original...
Two More Irish Bishops Resign: Irish Cathedral Burns
Reuters
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Two more Irish bishops have said they will offer their resignations to the Pope, bringing the total number of church leaders to quit after a damning report into child sex abuse by priests to four.
World
Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field, the only two serving auxiliary (assistant) bishops in the archdiocese of Dublin, said they had informed Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of their decision.
"It is our hope that our action may help to bring the peace and reconciliation of Jesus Christ to the victims/survivors of child sexual abuse. We again apologize to them," they said in a statement released late on Thursday.
Like Bishop Jim Moriarty who resigned on Wednesday, both bishops had said the report had shown that they had done nothing wrong.
Moriarty admitted that he should have challenged the "prevailing culture" that allowed criminal acts against children to take place.
Last week Bishop Donal Murray became the first bishop to quit since the publication of the report, which said Church leaders in overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland had covered up widespread sexual abuse of children by priests for 30 years.
The report, issued on November 26, said the archdiocese had been more preoccupied with protecting the Church's reputation than safeguarding children and had "obsessively" hidden child abuse from 1974 to 2004.
Walsh has served as an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of Dublin since 1990. Field took up his post in Dublin in 1997.
Link to original...
Related:
Irish Cathedral Burned.
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Two more Irish bishops have said they will offer their resignations to the Pope, bringing the total number of church leaders to quit after a damning report into child sex abuse by priests to four.
World
Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field, the only two serving auxiliary (assistant) bishops in the archdiocese of Dublin, said they had informed Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of their decision.
"It is our hope that our action may help to bring the peace and reconciliation of Jesus Christ to the victims/survivors of child sexual abuse. We again apologize to them," they said in a statement released late on Thursday.
Like Bishop Jim Moriarty who resigned on Wednesday, both bishops had said the report had shown that they had done nothing wrong.
Moriarty admitted that he should have challenged the "prevailing culture" that allowed criminal acts against children to take place.
Last week Bishop Donal Murray became the first bishop to quit since the publication of the report, which said Church leaders in overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland had covered up widespread sexual abuse of children by priests for 30 years.
The report, issued on November 26, said the archdiocese had been more preoccupied with protecting the Church's reputation than safeguarding children and had "obsessively" hidden child abuse from 1974 to 2004.
Walsh has served as an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of Dublin since 1990. Field took up his post in Dublin in 1997.
Link to original...
Related:
Irish Cathedral Burned.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
FBI Says Catholics Susceptible to Hate Crimes
Hate Crimes schmate crimes. It's bad law. We should abuse it and run it into the ground. Does anyone know if it would be a good idea to start up a Catholic advocacy and civil rights organization to exploit this bad law and make a lot of cash?
By Carol Zimmermann
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- According to a recent FBI report, religious groups are not exempt from being targets of hatred.
The FBI's report on hate crime statistics for 2008, released in late November, showed that the majority of hate crimes in the U.S. were motivated by racial bias but that religious groups and homosexuals were the next largest targets.
The overall number of reported hate crimes -- more than 7,700 -- increased about 2 percent in 2008. Although racially motivated hate crimes -- the largest category -- decreased by less than 1 percent, crimes against religious groups increased by 9 percent and crimes based on sexual orientation increased 11 percent over the previous year.
Hate crimes include acts of vandalism or property damage, intimidation or physical attacks. The FBI downplays year-to-year comparisons of hate crimes compiled since 1992, saying the increased figures could simply be the result of more local agencies tracking crimes. Civil and human rights groups say the figures are not accurate enough because not all hate crimes are reported.
Thomas Perez, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, told reporters Dec. 17 that he was committed to putting a stop to violence stemming from hatred and bias and planned to hire 100 additional staffers to assist with the expanded federal hate crime laws.
In documented crimes against religious groups in 2008, Jews were targeted the most -- 66 percent -- while Muslims accounted for 13 percent and Catholics were victims of 5 percent of hate crimes.
The Anti-Defamation League said the new figures show a need for a national initiative to combat hate crimes.
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told USA Today that attacks on Catholics could be motivated by the church's opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. As Catholics become more vocal on issues, he said, they become targets for those who disagree with them.
The sense of a growing anti-Catholic sentiment was the focus of an Oct. 29 blog entry by New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan. The entry was an expanded version of an op-ed he submitted to The New York Times that was not published.
In the entry, the archbishop likened anti-Catholicism to "a national pastime," citing frequent examples of anti-Catholic bias in the pages of The New York Times. He also said the bias was prevalent in the "so-called entertainment media."
Laurie Goodstein, one of the reporters singled out in the archbishop's blog, responded by saying she was disturbed to read his characterization that her work and that of her colleagues was anti-Catholic.
Read further...
"Goldblog" Tells it Like it is
Jewish blogger, Jeff Goldberg at "Goldblog" expresses frustration with the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Who can blame him? Simon Wiesenthal was a huge charlatan and a fraud. There are all kinds of Nazis in the Vienna phonebook, but Simon never went after them.
One wonders if all of the whining won't, as Jeff observes, undermine the cause of Jewish security rather than help in the long run?
We'd like to thank Jeff for his sanity and good will, finally, someone gets it. Jews have no more business harping about Vatican Canonizations than Catholics have lecturing Jewish leaders about how they run their internal affairs.
He writes:
Put me down as both unshocked and uninterested. I don't particularly care who the Catholic church elevates to sainthood, because I'm not Catholic. It's not my business who the Catholics decide to call saint. The Catholic Church today is respectful of Jews and Israel; it also adores its former Popes. I don't see a contradiction. I'm not sure why I'm so unmoved by these Jewish protests -- maybe because I think Jews should keep their powder dry for actual problems. Or maybe because excessive whining is just so damn annoying.
Wiesenthal Center "Shocked" by Vatican; Goldblog Unshocked
Wiesenthal Center "Shocked" by Vatican; Goldblog Unshocked: "From the AFP:The founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center voiced dismay and disappointment Monday at weekend Vatican moves to raise controversial wartime pope Pius XII to sainthood.The Vatican sparked anger in Jewish communities worldwide with moves to nudge Pius --..."
Speaking of professional whiners... another Liberal blog attacks Bill Donahue who engages the media on behalf of the Catholic Church, not only winning scattered approval from elderly Catholics who send him money, enough to fund a $15 Million dollar a year non-profit, but allows him a broad platform to potentially discredit and undermine the thing he claims to be saving. In our opinion, he shouldn't be allowed to talk about rancorous sexual topics on television. He seems to us no more credible than Simon Wiesenthal or the 700 Club, but because he gets face time and fits a certain image, he'll continue speaking for the Church though he has no official position and receives hearty endorsements from Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles.
Vatican Sends Anti-Communist Message with Canonizations
Lifesite
By Hilary White
ROME, December 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Vatican has sent the world a message of Catholicism's fundamental opposition to communism with the announcement this weekend from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Three of the greatest twentieth century opponents to the communist and socialist ideologies, Pope John Paul II, Pope Pius XII and the Polish Solidarity priest Jerzy Popieluszko, all moved a step closer to canonisation. The two popes were declared "venerable" for their heroic virtues and the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI had approved the decree of beatification for Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko, the "Solidarity chaplain" murdered by the communist secret police.
In his lengthy biography, "Witness to Hope", American author George Weigel credits Pope John Paul with instrumental behind-the-scenes work in bringing down the communist regime in Eastern Europe. According to Weigel, John Paul, a Polish nationalist, was the third leg of an international triumvirate of world leaders - with US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher - who gave moral authority to the economic and political pressure that finally led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Following the shooting of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Piazza in May 1981, it was widely speculated that the assassination attempt had been ordered by Moscow in retaliation for the pope's support for the Polish Solidarity movement. In March 2006 an Italian parliamentary commission concluded "beyond any reasonable doubt that the leaders of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate the pope Karol Wojtyla."
Pius XII, from the beginning of his pontificate in 1939 to his death in 1958, was implacably opposed to communism which was brutally persecuting Catholics throughout Eastern Europe. In July 1949, he formally excommunicated all members of the communist party and anyone who aided or abetted it. He forbade Catholics, on pain of excommunication, to write, publish, distribute or read books, periodicals, paper or pamphlets promoting communist doctrines. His 1951 letter to the Catholic Church of Czechoslovakia denounced the Communist regime for its vicious persecution.
Link to original...
By Hilary White
ROME, December 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Vatican has sent the world a message of Catholicism's fundamental opposition to communism with the announcement this weekend from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Three of the greatest twentieth century opponents to the communist and socialist ideologies, Pope John Paul II, Pope Pius XII and the Polish Solidarity priest Jerzy Popieluszko, all moved a step closer to canonisation. The two popes were declared "venerable" for their heroic virtues and the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI had approved the decree of beatification for Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko, the "Solidarity chaplain" murdered by the communist secret police.
In his lengthy biography, "Witness to Hope", American author George Weigel credits Pope John Paul with instrumental behind-the-scenes work in bringing down the communist regime in Eastern Europe. According to Weigel, John Paul, a Polish nationalist, was the third leg of an international triumvirate of world leaders - with US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher - who gave moral authority to the economic and political pressure that finally led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Following the shooting of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Piazza in May 1981, it was widely speculated that the assassination attempt had been ordered by Moscow in retaliation for the pope's support for the Polish Solidarity movement. In March 2006 an Italian parliamentary commission concluded "beyond any reasonable doubt that the leaders of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate the pope Karol Wojtyla."
Pius XII, from the beginning of his pontificate in 1939 to his death in 1958, was implacably opposed to communism which was brutally persecuting Catholics throughout Eastern Europe. In July 1949, he formally excommunicated all members of the communist party and anyone who aided or abetted it. He forbade Catholics, on pain of excommunication, to write, publish, distribute or read books, periodicals, paper or pamphlets promoting communist doctrines. His 1951 letter to the Catholic Church of Czechoslovakia denounced the Communist regime for its vicious persecution.
Link to original...
Pope Attacked at Midnight Mass
Pope Benedict XVI was attacked during Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. A woman is said to have attacked the Pope as he walked towards the altar.
Immediate reports are that the Pope was unharmed and went on to start the mass.
MSNBC reports that the woman jumped over a barrier and was able to knock down the pope. Pope Benedict's security guards helped the pontiff back to his feet.
Early reports from the Daily Mail Online say that the woman was mentally unstable. She has since been arrested by Vatican Police.
The woman also knocked over Cardinal Roger Etchegaray. The cardinal was taken to hospital.
The mass had been moved to an earlier time so that the Pope, 82, would not get exhausted.
Link to original...
Immediate reports are that the Pope was unharmed and went on to start the mass.
MSNBC reports that the woman jumped over a barrier and was able to knock down the pope. Pope Benedict's security guards helped the pontiff back to his feet.
Early reports from the Daily Mail Online say that the woman was mentally unstable. She has since been arrested by Vatican Police.
The woman also knocked over Cardinal Roger Etchegaray. The cardinal was taken to hospital.
The mass had been moved to an earlier time so that the Pope, 82, would not get exhausted.
Link to original...
Wave of Clergy Killings in Russia
Voice of America
The second murder of a Russian priest in as many months has prompted a call by the Orthodox Church for Russians to think about their country's spiritual and moral condition. The killings follow more violence this year directed against Muslim clerics in Russia's troubled Caucasus region.
Tuesday's shooting death of 39-year-old priest Alexander Filippov is alleged to be the act of two intoxicated men in the village of Satino-Russkoye near Moscow. His widow is quoted as saying Filippov had reproached the suspects for relieving themselves at the entrance of their apartment building.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, called Filippov a bright and clean-living individual who leaves behind three daughters.
Kirill says the priest was killed because he was not indifferent to disgusting human behavior and took a principled stand against it in accordance with his calling.
The Interfax News Agency says a total of 26 Orthodox priests have been murdered in Russia since 1990. Many others have been assaulted. They include Vitaly Zubkov, who was kicked and beaten last month, just days after the murder of his friend, Father Daniil Sysoyev in Moscow. Sysoyev had received death threats for his outspoken criticism of Islam and attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity.
News reports quote Orthodox Church Spokesman Vladimir Legoida as saying that recent events show Russians must think of the spiritual and moral situation they live in.
The head of the Religion and Law Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Roman Lunkin, told VOA many Russians call themselves Orthodox Christians but have no idea about the obligations required by organized religion. He says Russian spiritual leaders themselves often set the wrong example by mixing church-state relations.
Lunkin says church leaders send a signal that to call oneself an Orthodox, it is enough to maintain close ties with the state or government officials and to participate in official ceremonies. He says this reveals an absence of true faith, adding that priests often begin with the construction of a church building, instead of first organizing a community of believers.
Lunkin says communism stripped many Russians of religious faith, and with it any respect for priests and churches.
Lunkin recalls an incident several years ago when a priest began building a church in the Ivanovo region north of Moscow and arrived one morning to find that local residents had dismantled the structure for its bricks because there was no organized community in that village and no one knew what Orthodoxy was. He adds that local hooligans who killed the priest considered themselves to be Orthodox.
Russia's Islamic community has also been rocked this year by several high-profile killings of Muslim clerics in the Caucasus. They include Akhmed Tagayev, deputy mufti of Dagestan, and Ismail Bostanov, rector of the Islamic Institute in the southern Karachai-Cherkessia region.
Some observers link those murders to Islamic militants who are fighting pro-Kremlin authorities. The deputy head of Russia's Mufti Council, Damir Khazrat Gizatullin rejects any connection. He told VOA he attributes the violence to incivility throughout Russia stemming from 70 years of communist rule.
Gizatullin says people in Russia do not know how to listen to one another, to give others the right away on the road, or to understand the foundations of spirituality and religion. This, he concludes, leads to current situation, which follows 70 years of alienation from the spiritual roots and traditions of Russia. He says people now fail to realize that members of the clergy and all others are protected by the Almighty and by the law.
He says Communists also made the mistake of focusing on the construction of buildings at the expense of community.
Gizatullin says Soviet authorities wanted to construct more living space for people, but toilets and other communal structures were forgotten. He says there was no time, no energy, and no resources for such things, and now Russia is reaping those elements of Soviet life.
Murders of prominent Russians are not limited to the clergy. Investigative journalists and political activists have also been victims. Most of the killers remain at large.
Link to original...
The second murder of a Russian priest in as many months has prompted a call by the Orthodox Church for Russians to think about their country's spiritual and moral condition. The killings follow more violence this year directed against Muslim clerics in Russia's troubled Caucasus region.
Tuesday's shooting death of 39-year-old priest Alexander Filippov is alleged to be the act of two intoxicated men in the village of Satino-Russkoye near Moscow. His widow is quoted as saying Filippov had reproached the suspects for relieving themselves at the entrance of their apartment building.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, called Filippov a bright and clean-living individual who leaves behind three daughters.
Kirill says the priest was killed because he was not indifferent to disgusting human behavior and took a principled stand against it in accordance with his calling.
The Interfax News Agency says a total of 26 Orthodox priests have been murdered in Russia since 1990. Many others have been assaulted. They include Vitaly Zubkov, who was kicked and beaten last month, just days after the murder of his friend, Father Daniil Sysoyev in Moscow. Sysoyev had received death threats for his outspoken criticism of Islam and attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity.
News reports quote Orthodox Church Spokesman Vladimir Legoida as saying that recent events show Russians must think of the spiritual and moral situation they live in.
The head of the Religion and Law Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Roman Lunkin, told VOA many Russians call themselves Orthodox Christians but have no idea about the obligations required by organized religion. He says Russian spiritual leaders themselves often set the wrong example by mixing church-state relations.
Lunkin says church leaders send a signal that to call oneself an Orthodox, it is enough to maintain close ties with the state or government officials and to participate in official ceremonies. He says this reveals an absence of true faith, adding that priests often begin with the construction of a church building, instead of first organizing a community of believers.
Lunkin says communism stripped many Russians of religious faith, and with it any respect for priests and churches.
Lunkin recalls an incident several years ago when a priest began building a church in the Ivanovo region north of Moscow and arrived one morning to find that local residents had dismantled the structure for its bricks because there was no organized community in that village and no one knew what Orthodoxy was. He adds that local hooligans who killed the priest considered themselves to be Orthodox.
Russia's Islamic community has also been rocked this year by several high-profile killings of Muslim clerics in the Caucasus. They include Akhmed Tagayev, deputy mufti of Dagestan, and Ismail Bostanov, rector of the Islamic Institute in the southern Karachai-Cherkessia region.
Some observers link those murders to Islamic militants who are fighting pro-Kremlin authorities. The deputy head of Russia's Mufti Council, Damir Khazrat Gizatullin rejects any connection. He told VOA he attributes the violence to incivility throughout Russia stemming from 70 years of communist rule.
Gizatullin says people in Russia do not know how to listen to one another, to give others the right away on the road, or to understand the foundations of spirituality and religion. This, he concludes, leads to current situation, which follows 70 years of alienation from the spiritual roots and traditions of Russia. He says people now fail to realize that members of the clergy and all others are protected by the Almighty and by the law.
He says Communists also made the mistake of focusing on the construction of buildings at the expense of community.
Gizatullin says Soviet authorities wanted to construct more living space for people, but toilets and other communal structures were forgotten. He says there was no time, no energy, and no resources for such things, and now Russia is reaping those elements of Soviet life.
Murders of prominent Russians are not limited to the clergy. Investigative journalists and political activists have also been victims. Most of the killers remain at large.
Link to original...
Revolutionary Theologian Edward Schillebeeckx (1914-2009) deceased
Radbound University Nijmegen
Yesterday, on the 23rd of December 2009, the internationally renowned theologian Edward Schillebeeckx died. Dr Schillebeeckx was Professor of Dogmatics and History of Theology at Nijmegen University from 1957 to 1983. Edward Schillebeeckx has been of major importance to twentieth century and contemporary theology. Many recognize him as a pioneer who connected faith, church and theology with modern humanity in a secular society. He has been an iconic figure for Radboud University Nijmegen.
Edward Schillebeeckx was born in Antwerp, on 12 November 1914. In 1934, he entered the order of the Dominicans and in 1941 he was ordained as a priest. Late in 1957, Schillebeeckx was appointed Professor of Dogmatics and History of Theology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen, now known as Radboud University Nijmegen.
Second Vatican Council
Schillebeeckx accompanied the Dutch bishops as their advisor during the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965). In 1960 he wrote a pastoral letter for the bishops informing the faithful about the Council. This letter attracted international attention because of the way in which Schillebeeckx described the relationship between the faithful and the hierarchy of the Church: he believed it is the task of the bishops and the Pope to express the live of the faithful, rather than the other way around.
Faith can change the world
In 1974, Schillebeeckx published Jezus, het verhaal van een levende, (translated in 1979 as Jesus: an experiment in Christology), and in 1977 Gerechtigheid en liefde, genade en bevrijding translated in 1980 as Christ: the Christian experience in the modern world). In these books, Schillebeeckx presented Christian faith as a source of inspiration for those who wish to stand up for the poor and oppressed and change the world for good. These books have broken new ground for twentieth-century theology and are still widely read and studied.
Church authorities
Schillebeeckx continued to be involved in the internal affairs of the church after the Second Vatican Council. In addition to his earlier works on the sacraments of the Church (De sacramentele heilseconomie, 1953), his later publications deal with priesthood and the role of the faithful in the Church (Kerkelijk ambt, 1980 and Pleidooi voor mensen in de kerk, 1985, translated as The Church with a human face: a new and expanded theology of ministry). As a result of the innovative character of his works, Schillebeeckx was asked to justify himself to the Church authorities on three occasions. Shortly before his retirement in 1983, he received the prestigious European Erasmus prize. Schillebeeckx’ work is still widely studied, particularly in the United States and Great Britain.
Read original...
Yesterday, on the 23rd of December 2009, the internationally renowned theologian Edward Schillebeeckx died. Dr Schillebeeckx was Professor of Dogmatics and History of Theology at Nijmegen University from 1957 to 1983. Edward Schillebeeckx has been of major importance to twentieth century and contemporary theology. Many recognize him as a pioneer who connected faith, church and theology with modern humanity in a secular society. He has been an iconic figure for Radboud University Nijmegen.
Edward Schillebeeckx was born in Antwerp, on 12 November 1914. In 1934, he entered the order of the Dominicans and in 1941 he was ordained as a priest. Late in 1957, Schillebeeckx was appointed Professor of Dogmatics and History of Theology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen, now known as Radboud University Nijmegen.
Second Vatican Council
Schillebeeckx accompanied the Dutch bishops as their advisor during the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965). In 1960 he wrote a pastoral letter for the bishops informing the faithful about the Council. This letter attracted international attention because of the way in which Schillebeeckx described the relationship between the faithful and the hierarchy of the Church: he believed it is the task of the bishops and the Pope to express the live of the faithful, rather than the other way around.
Faith can change the world
In 1974, Schillebeeckx published Jezus, het verhaal van een levende, (translated in 1979 as Jesus: an experiment in Christology), and in 1977 Gerechtigheid en liefde, genade en bevrijding translated in 1980 as Christ: the Christian experience in the modern world). In these books, Schillebeeckx presented Christian faith as a source of inspiration for those who wish to stand up for the poor and oppressed and change the world for good. These books have broken new ground for twentieth-century theology and are still widely read and studied.
Church authorities
Schillebeeckx continued to be involved in the internal affairs of the church after the Second Vatican Council. In addition to his earlier works on the sacraments of the Church (De sacramentele heilseconomie, 1953), his later publications deal with priesthood and the role of the faithful in the Church (Kerkelijk ambt, 1980 and Pleidooi voor mensen in de kerk, 1985, translated as The Church with a human face: a new and expanded theology of ministry). As a result of the innovative character of his works, Schillebeeckx was asked to justify himself to the Church authorities on three occasions. Shortly before his retirement in 1983, he received the prestigious European Erasmus prize. Schillebeeckx’ work is still widely studied, particularly in the United States and Great Britain.
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Wednesday, December 23, 2009
New Details on Claims against Modernist Monastery
It's going to be difficult to take a case on now that the perpetrator is dead, but the presence of systemic and institutional abuse has been part of Novice formation since Abbot Eidenschenk would inspect his Novices in the nude as part of their counseling.
A deceased former Hastings area resident and priest, who was a counselor at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., for many years, is named in two civil lawsuits filed in Stearns County alleging sexual misconduct as far back as the early 1970s.
By: Jane Lightbourn, The Hastings Star-Gazette
A deceased former Hastings area resident and priest, who was a counselor at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., for many years, is named in two civil lawsuits filed in Stearns County alleging sexual misconduct as far back as the early 1970s.
The first lawsuit was filed by Jeremiah “Jerry” McCarthy, now living in New York. He accuses the college and the church officials of knowing in the mid-1960s that the Rev. Bruce Wollmering, who died earlier this year at the age of 68, had been “sexually inappropriate” with a child.
McCarthy was a 16-year-old preparatory student at St. John's in 1971 when he met with Wollmering for academic and psychological testing and spiritual counseling. He said the sexual contact with Wollmering occurred in Wollmering's office.
According to the first lawsuit, McCarthy accuses Wollmering of having a long history of sexual misconduct with students and the college of being aware of it.
The second lawsuit, filed Dec. 16, names Wollmering, two other individuals and the Order of St. Benedict, charging them with sexual misconduct (or being aware of the misconduct) against a then-student at the university.
The suit alleges Wollmering, the Rev. Finnian McDonald and Brother John Kelly sexually violated a 19-year-old student (identified only as John Doe in the lawsuit) and that Catholic officials knew or should have known of the incidents.
Specifically, the lawsuit charges that from 1984 to 1986, through his “role of psychologist, counselor and/or spiritual advisor,” Wollmering “deceived” Doe into “engaging in illegal sexual contact with him under the guise of providing religious instruction and emotional counseling.”
The lawsuit also alleges McDonald, while heading the academic advisory program, sexually exploited Doe, and that Kelly, while a faculty member engaged in illegal sexual contact with Doe.
According to the lawsuit, Doe was “raised in a devout Roman Catholic family and therefore developed great admiration, trust, reverence and respect for the Roman Catholic Church and its agents.”
The lawsuit indicated Wollmering provided spiritual and emotional guidance to Doe. But that, beginning in 1984, “Wollmering deceived Plaintiff John Doe into engaging in sexual contact.” The sexual contact continued for approximately two years, according to the lawsuit.
“That a student gets sexually abused by three clerics in three years at St. John's shows that the recklessness, deceit, corruption of church officials was very widespread,” said attorney Patrick Noaker of the St. Paul law firm of Jeffrey Anderson and Associates, who is representing the alleged victim. “We're grateful for this young man and each of the dozens of others who have helped expose dangerous Benedictine clerics.”
The suits seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. Doe, now in his 40s, lives on the west coast.
After the first civil lawsuit was filed in Stearns County (Dec. 9), St. John's Abbey released a statement, indicating its position. “St. John's takes the issue of sexual misconduct very seriously, and over many years, has worked to ensure that policies and procedures on human rights are followed and enforced,” the statement said. [The inevitable pusilanimous disclaimer]
Link to original...
A deceased former Hastings area resident and priest, who was a counselor at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., for many years, is named in two civil lawsuits filed in Stearns County alleging sexual misconduct as far back as the early 1970s.
By: Jane Lightbourn, The Hastings Star-Gazette
A deceased former Hastings area resident and priest, who was a counselor at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., for many years, is named in two civil lawsuits filed in Stearns County alleging sexual misconduct as far back as the early 1970s.
The first lawsuit was filed by Jeremiah “Jerry” McCarthy, now living in New York. He accuses the college and the church officials of knowing in the mid-1960s that the Rev. Bruce Wollmering, who died earlier this year at the age of 68, had been “sexually inappropriate” with a child.
McCarthy was a 16-year-old preparatory student at St. John's in 1971 when he met with Wollmering for academic and psychological testing and spiritual counseling. He said the sexual contact with Wollmering occurred in Wollmering's office.
According to the first lawsuit, McCarthy accuses Wollmering of having a long history of sexual misconduct with students and the college of being aware of it.
The second lawsuit, filed Dec. 16, names Wollmering, two other individuals and the Order of St. Benedict, charging them with sexual misconduct (or being aware of the misconduct) against a then-student at the university.
The suit alleges Wollmering, the Rev. Finnian McDonald and Brother John Kelly sexually violated a 19-year-old student (identified only as John Doe in the lawsuit) and that Catholic officials knew or should have known of the incidents.
Specifically, the lawsuit charges that from 1984 to 1986, through his “role of psychologist, counselor and/or spiritual advisor,” Wollmering “deceived” Doe into “engaging in illegal sexual contact with him under the guise of providing religious instruction and emotional counseling.”
The lawsuit also alleges McDonald, while heading the academic advisory program, sexually exploited Doe, and that Kelly, while a faculty member engaged in illegal sexual contact with Doe.
According to the lawsuit, Doe was “raised in a devout Roman Catholic family and therefore developed great admiration, trust, reverence and respect for the Roman Catholic Church and its agents.”
The lawsuit indicated Wollmering provided spiritual and emotional guidance to Doe. But that, beginning in 1984, “Wollmering deceived Plaintiff John Doe into engaging in sexual contact.” The sexual contact continued for approximately two years, according to the lawsuit.
“That a student gets sexually abused by three clerics in three years at St. John's shows that the recklessness, deceit, corruption of church officials was very widespread,” said attorney Patrick Noaker of the St. Paul law firm of Jeffrey Anderson and Associates, who is representing the alleged victim. “We're grateful for this young man and each of the dozens of others who have helped expose dangerous Benedictine clerics.”
The suits seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. Doe, now in his 40s, lives on the west coast.
After the first civil lawsuit was filed in Stearns County (Dec. 9), St. John's Abbey released a statement, indicating its position. “St. John's takes the issue of sexual misconduct very seriously, and over many years, has worked to ensure that policies and procedures on human rights are followed and enforced,” the statement said. [The inevitable pusilanimous disclaimer]
Link to original...
Pope traces history of Christmas celebration, notes influence of St. Francis
December 23, 2009
In his final Wednesday public audience before Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI traced the history of the feast day. He reminded the audience in the Paul VI auditorium that Easter, not Christmas, was the “the most ancient feast of Christianity.” The tradition of celebrating the Nativity developed later.
At first the celebration of Christmas replaced the Roman pagan feast of Sol invictus-- the return of the Sun after the darkest day of the calendar year. “This highlighted the fact that the birth of Christ is the victory of the true light over the darkness of evil and sin,” the Pope remarked. The Christmas celebration as we now know it was advanced by St. Francis of Assisi, whose devotion to the Christ-child helped the world to understand “that we can establish an intimate rapport of profound affection with Him, just as we do with a newborn child.”
“God becomes a defenseless child to overcome man's pride, violence and thirst for possession,” the Pope continued. "People who have not understood the mystery of Christmas have not understood the decisive element of Christian existence: that those who do not accept Jesus with the heart of a child cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven.”
Link to original...
In his final Wednesday public audience before Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI traced the history of the feast day. He reminded the audience in the Paul VI auditorium that Easter, not Christmas, was the “the most ancient feast of Christianity.” The tradition of celebrating the Nativity developed later.
At first the celebration of Christmas replaced the Roman pagan feast of Sol invictus-- the return of the Sun after the darkest day of the calendar year. “This highlighted the fact that the birth of Christ is the victory of the true light over the darkness of evil and sin,” the Pope remarked. The Christmas celebration as we now know it was advanced by St. Francis of Assisi, whose devotion to the Christ-child helped the world to understand “that we can establish an intimate rapport of profound affection with Him, just as we do with a newborn child.”
“God becomes a defenseless child to overcome man's pride, violence and thirst for possession,” the Pope continued. "People who have not understood the mystery of Christmas have not understood the decisive element of Christian existence: that those who do not accept Jesus with the heart of a child cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven.”
Link to original...
Chaldean Church attacked and Election Candidate Killed in Bomb Attack
Church hit and election candidate killed in Iraq attacks
By Mujahid Mohammed (AFP) – 14 hours ago
MOSUL, Iraq — A pre-Christmas attack on a church killed two people in the Iraqi city of Mosul Wednesday while a Sunni Arab candidate died in a bombing in Fallujah, the first such murder ahead of March polls.
They were among 13 people killed in violence across the country, despite security forces ramping up their presence ahead of Christmas and the Shiite commemoration ceremonies of Ashura.
In Mosul, two people were killed and five others wounded Wednesday morning when "a handcart used to carry flour, left across the street from the Syrian Orthodox church of St Thomas, exploded," witness Hamis Paulos said.
A hospital official in the main northern city said the two people killed were Muslims, based on examination of their identity papers.
"Christians are being targeted during Christmas time -- the security forces, police and army must provide security, the police and army are responsible for this," said Father Abdul Massih Dalmay of the church.
"Is the number of security forces not enough? There is negligence on the part of the security forces."
The attack was the sixth on Christians in Mosul in less than a month, and came after the army said it put its forces on alert in areas with significant Christian populations because of intelligence they could be attacked.
In the former rebel bastion of Fallujah, a Sunni Arab candidate for parliamentary elections on March 7 was killed in a "sticky bomb" attack.
Saud al-Essawi of the Iraqi Unity Alliance (IUA) and his two bodyguards were killed when a magnetic bomb attached to his car exploded in the city, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad.
The IUA is a multi-confessional grouping led by Ahmed Abu Risha, a key Sunni leader who turned against Al-Qaeda to play a major role in reversing Iraq's insurgency, and current interior minister Jawad al-Bolani, an independent Shiite.
Iraqi political leaders and senior American generals have expressed concerns in recent months about violence linked to the election.
The security situation in Fallujah has improved dramatically in recent years.
Since 2006, Sunni tribesmen and former rebels, known as the Sahwa (Awakening) movement, have made common cause with the US military against Al-Qaeda, greatly reducing the jihadists' presence in the area.
In Baghdad, violence killed six people, including three men at a Shiite mourning ceremony as worshippers were participating in Ashura rituals.
Twenty-eight others were wounded, including four women and five children, in the bomb attack in the east Baghdad neighbourhood of Mashtal, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another person was killed and four wounded by a bomb at a Shiite mosque in the capital's central shopping district of Karrada, police said.
Security officials have said they will increase their presence during Ashura, which in the past has been used by Sunni extremists to target Shiites. In the holy shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf, for example, 46,000 policemen and soldiers will be out in force.
Also in Baghdad, Brigadier General Riad Abdel Majid, an inspector for the defence ministry, was killed by "unknown persons who opened fire on him while he was in front of his house," an official said a day after the attack.
A magnetic "sticky bomb" affixed to a minibus in the predominantly Shiite north Baghdad district of Kadhimiyah killed one person and wounded three at around midday (0900 GMT) on Wednesday, a police official said.
Outside of Baquba city, northeast of Baghdad, two Sahwa militiamen, including local Awakening leader Adnan Serhid, were killed by a roadside bomb, according to a policeman who did not want to be named.
The Sahwa, known as the "Sons of Iraq" by the US army, joined American and Iraqi forces to wage war in 2006 and 2007 against Al-Qaeda and its supporters, leading to a dramatic fall in violence.
Attacks still remain common however in Baghdad, Mosul and some other areas.
Link to original...
By Mujahid Mohammed (AFP) – 14 hours ago
MOSUL, Iraq — A pre-Christmas attack on a church killed two people in the Iraqi city of Mosul Wednesday while a Sunni Arab candidate died in a bombing in Fallujah, the first such murder ahead of March polls.
They were among 13 people killed in violence across the country, despite security forces ramping up their presence ahead of Christmas and the Shiite commemoration ceremonies of Ashura.
In Mosul, two people were killed and five others wounded Wednesday morning when "a handcart used to carry flour, left across the street from the Syrian Orthodox church of St Thomas, exploded," witness Hamis Paulos said.
A hospital official in the main northern city said the two people killed were Muslims, based on examination of their identity papers.
"Christians are being targeted during Christmas time -- the security forces, police and army must provide security, the police and army are responsible for this," said Father Abdul Massih Dalmay of the church.
"Is the number of security forces not enough? There is negligence on the part of the security forces."
The attack was the sixth on Christians in Mosul in less than a month, and came after the army said it put its forces on alert in areas with significant Christian populations because of intelligence they could be attacked.
In the former rebel bastion of Fallujah, a Sunni Arab candidate for parliamentary elections on March 7 was killed in a "sticky bomb" attack.
Saud al-Essawi of the Iraqi Unity Alliance (IUA) and his two bodyguards were killed when a magnetic bomb attached to his car exploded in the city, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad.
The IUA is a multi-confessional grouping led by Ahmed Abu Risha, a key Sunni leader who turned against Al-Qaeda to play a major role in reversing Iraq's insurgency, and current interior minister Jawad al-Bolani, an independent Shiite.
Iraqi political leaders and senior American generals have expressed concerns in recent months about violence linked to the election.
The security situation in Fallujah has improved dramatically in recent years.
Since 2006, Sunni tribesmen and former rebels, known as the Sahwa (Awakening) movement, have made common cause with the US military against Al-Qaeda, greatly reducing the jihadists' presence in the area.
In Baghdad, violence killed six people, including three men at a Shiite mourning ceremony as worshippers were participating in Ashura rituals.
Twenty-eight others were wounded, including four women and five children, in the bomb attack in the east Baghdad neighbourhood of Mashtal, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another person was killed and four wounded by a bomb at a Shiite mosque in the capital's central shopping district of Karrada, police said.
Security officials have said they will increase their presence during Ashura, which in the past has been used by Sunni extremists to target Shiites. In the holy shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf, for example, 46,000 policemen and soldiers will be out in force.
Also in Baghdad, Brigadier General Riad Abdel Majid, an inspector for the defence ministry, was killed by "unknown persons who opened fire on him while he was in front of his house," an official said a day after the attack.
A magnetic "sticky bomb" affixed to a minibus in the predominantly Shiite north Baghdad district of Kadhimiyah killed one person and wounded three at around midday (0900 GMT) on Wednesday, a police official said.
Outside of Baquba city, northeast of Baghdad, two Sahwa militiamen, including local Awakening leader Adnan Serhid, were killed by a roadside bomb, according to a policeman who did not want to be named.
The Sahwa, known as the "Sons of Iraq" by the US army, joined American and Iraqi forces to wage war in 2006 and 2007 against Al-Qaeda and its supporters, leading to a dramatic fall in violence.
Attacks still remain common however in Baghdad, Mosul and some other areas.
Link to original...
CCHD Grantee Refers Homeless to Planned Parenthood: Oregon
Remember Oregon, with all the sex-abuse claims from the Jesuits?
Pro-Life Action of Oregon
(Portland, Ore., Dec 23, 2009, Pro-Life Action of Oregon)
STREET ROOTS, a newspaper for the homeless, received $5,000 of Archdiocesan money this year that originates from the collection basket at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. See Dec. 17, 2009 Sentinel article: ‘Archdiocese of Portland Presents Grants to Anti-Poverty Groups.’
Follow The Left-Wing Ideology
The Street Roots newspaper publishes a homeless guide, ‘THE ROSE CITY RESOURCE.’
The Rose City Resource guidebook refers the homeless – under “Health Resources” – to PLANNED PARENTHOOD. Pro-Life Action of Oregon spoke with Eddie Barbosa today and he confirmed that their current guidebook lists Planned Parenthood. (He gave us the phone numbers and the Tri-Met bus numbers to take, thinking we called for directions.)
Furthermore, the guidebook online displays a MAP OF RESOURCES. We located Planned Parenthood locations on the map.
Also troubling is the PARTISAN POLITICS involved. Street Roots newspaper online directs visitors to DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: “Wiring The Progressive Movement.”
Help us continue to serve the community by donating to the Rose City Resource via a secure link through our friends at Democracy in Action.
Are you upset as we are? We’re pretty upset. In fact, we’re angry at the sheer ignorance of those at the Archdiocese in charge of our money.
A soup kitchen would be better!! Donate to the poor DIRECTLY!
Planned Parenthood is an enemy of the Catholic Church. Just look at this fund raising ad which mocks Our Lord’s birth: CHOICE ON EARTH.
Who else mocks Jesus Christ? SATAN. He is the prince of lies.
Link to original...
Pro-Life Action of Oregon
(Portland, Ore., Dec 23, 2009, Pro-Life Action of Oregon)
STREET ROOTS, a newspaper for the homeless, received $5,000 of Archdiocesan money this year that originates from the collection basket at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. See Dec. 17, 2009 Sentinel article: ‘Archdiocese of Portland Presents Grants to Anti-Poverty Groups.’
“When the bishops formed the CCHD, they wanted to take a step beyond charity,” Archbishop John Vlazny says, explaining the program as a complement to the work of Catholic Charities and other groups.
The idea of the bishops was to help the poor help themselves via economic development. The campaign is still choosy about whom it funds, Archbishop Vlazny says, making sure all church criteria are met.
The national campaign backs projects, but so do local dioceses. The three local grants given last week were selected with the help of a committee guided by Matt Cato, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Justice and Peace and Respect for Life. [Emphasis added.]
Follow The Left-Wing Ideology
The Street Roots newspaper publishes a homeless guide, ‘THE ROSE CITY RESOURCE.’
The Rose City Resource guidebook refers the homeless – under “Health Resources” – to PLANNED PARENTHOOD. Pro-Life Action of Oregon spoke with Eddie Barbosa today and he confirmed that their current guidebook lists Planned Parenthood. (He gave us the phone numbers and the Tri-Met bus numbers to take, thinking we called for directions.)
Furthermore, the guidebook online displays a MAP OF RESOURCES. We located Planned Parenthood locations on the map.
Also troubling is the PARTISAN POLITICS involved. Street Roots newspaper online directs visitors to DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: “Wiring The Progressive Movement.”
Help us continue to serve the community by donating to the Rose City Resource via a secure link through our friends at Democracy in Action.
Are you upset as we are? We’re pretty upset. In fact, we’re angry at the sheer ignorance of those at the Archdiocese in charge of our money.
A soup kitchen would be better!! Donate to the poor DIRECTLY!
Planned Parenthood is an enemy of the Catholic Church. Just look at this fund raising ad which mocks Our Lord’s birth: CHOICE ON EARTH.
Who else mocks Jesus Christ? SATAN. He is the prince of lies.
Link to original...
Second Irish Bishop Resigns
Surely the abuse in Ireland isn't more significant than it is in Los Angeles where Cardinal Mahony has been stonewalling for years against frequent lawsuits caused by his close associates and sexual co-conspirators. We don't think that language is too strong. Cardinal Mahony must have done something very special for some very popular people, because no one is asking for his resignation.
Even worse, no one is putting the cause of the abuse where it belongs, that of liberal vampires like Roman Polanski who don't have the slightest moral moorings and think nothing of breaking a few moral or civil laws along the way.
Not quite as bad, but a close second, is the fact that this is the result of public opinion which the Church has been courting now, increasingly, hiring PR Firms to improve its brand image, since the end of the First World War.
Portland Archdiocese Bankruptcy See the Facts of the Case Here
Wednesday December 23 2009
A SECOND Catholic bishop named in the shocking Murphy Report into cover-ups of clerical child sexual abuse in the archdiocese of Dublin is expected to announce his resignation today.
Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin James Moriarty will explain that he is stepping down as head of the diocese in order to give the priests and lay people a fresh start for 2010.
The decision of Bishop Moriarty, a former Dublin auxiliary under Cardinal Desmond Connell, comes six days after Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray's resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI.
Dr Murray stepped aside over his "inexcusable" failings when investigating complaints against notorious paedophile priest Fr Thomas Naughton when he too was an auxiliary bishop in Dublin.
This dramatic second resignation will intensify pressure on two existing Dublin auxiliaries, Eamonn Walsh and Ray Field, to quit as well even though both have told Archbishop Diarmuid Martin that they did no wrong and that it would be a miscarriage of justice for them to resign or be fired.
A fifth former Dublin auxiliary now at risk of losing high office is the Bishop of Galway, Martin Drennan, who until now has put up fierce resistance to going on the grounds that he too did no wrong.
He has also strongly criticised Archbishop Martin's impassioned plea for him to accept collective responsibility for the cover-ups as questioning his personal integrity.
A sixth former Dublin auxiliary, Dermot O'Mahony, who is in retirement, resigned from the presidency of a body which organises annual trips to Lourdes for the disabled and has been ordered by Archbishop Martin not to administer Confirmation to children next spring.
Last night four informed sources in Dublin and Kildare separately said that "Bishop Moriarty will resign tomorrow in order to give his diocese a fresh start for 2010".
Intense
One source suggested that over the weekend Bishop Moriarty (73) decided after intense consultations with trusted colleagues and friends at his residence in Carlow that he would go quickly.
An announcement of acceptance of his resignation by Pope Benedict could come as early as midday today, Rome time.
Other sources, however, questioned this timescale and suggested that Bishop Moriarty plans to say today that he has offered his resignation to the Holy Father.
- John Cooney
Irish Independent
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/second-bishop-to-step-down-over-abuse-coverups-1985712.html
Even worse, no one is putting the cause of the abuse where it belongs, that of liberal vampires like Roman Polanski who don't have the slightest moral moorings and think nothing of breaking a few moral or civil laws along the way.
Not quite as bad, but a close second, is the fact that this is the result of public opinion which the Church has been courting now, increasingly, hiring PR Firms to improve its brand image, since the end of the First World War.
Portland Archdiocese Bankruptcy See the Facts of the Case Here
Wednesday December 23 2009
A SECOND Catholic bishop named in the shocking Murphy Report into cover-ups of clerical child sexual abuse in the archdiocese of Dublin is expected to announce his resignation today.
Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin James Moriarty will explain that he is stepping down as head of the diocese in order to give the priests and lay people a fresh start for 2010.
The decision of Bishop Moriarty, a former Dublin auxiliary under Cardinal Desmond Connell, comes six days after Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray's resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI.
Dr Murray stepped aside over his "inexcusable" failings when investigating complaints against notorious paedophile priest Fr Thomas Naughton when he too was an auxiliary bishop in Dublin.
This dramatic second resignation will intensify pressure on two existing Dublin auxiliaries, Eamonn Walsh and Ray Field, to quit as well even though both have told Archbishop Diarmuid Martin that they did no wrong and that it would be a miscarriage of justice for them to resign or be fired.
A fifth former Dublin auxiliary now at risk of losing high office is the Bishop of Galway, Martin Drennan, who until now has put up fierce resistance to going on the grounds that he too did no wrong.
He has also strongly criticised Archbishop Martin's impassioned plea for him to accept collective responsibility for the cover-ups as questioning his personal integrity.
A sixth former Dublin auxiliary, Dermot O'Mahony, who is in retirement, resigned from the presidency of a body which organises annual trips to Lourdes for the disabled and has been ordered by Archbishop Martin not to administer Confirmation to children next spring.
Last night four informed sources in Dublin and Kildare separately said that "Bishop Moriarty will resign tomorrow in order to give his diocese a fresh start for 2010".
Intense
One source suggested that over the weekend Bishop Moriarty (73) decided after intense consultations with trusted colleagues and friends at his residence in Carlow that he would go quickly.
An announcement of acceptance of his resignation by Pope Benedict could come as early as midday today, Rome time.
Other sources, however, questioned this timescale and suggested that Bishop Moriarty plans to say today that he has offered his resignation to the Holy Father.
- John Cooney
Irish Independent
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/second-bishop-to-step-down-over-abuse-coverups-1985712.html
Quisling USCCB Mounts Another Last Ditch Defense
The Bishops aren't too happy that a lot of Marxist legistlation isn't going to be passed into law, but they are, to be fair, keen on insuring that none of this mostly favoured legislation includes funding for abortion. Considering their resistance to the Congressional Bill, it's hard to believe that their resistance against abortion funding wasn't half-hearted like the French General Staff's too deliberate ineptitude in facing the Germans in 1940. Sure, individual units of Frenchmen fought bravely against the invading Germans, but Command Headquarters was largely blind and stuck in a hermetic enclosure from the rest of its armies owing to a complete lack of effectivc communication with its subordinate units; France in 1940, like American Catholicism, is doomed to political irrelavence and defeat.
But we're Catholics, we're used to being murdered by our enemies and betrayed by our shepherds. We should thank God for these tribulations and these shepherds. They and the surrounding irreligion and illusory freedoms give us much opportunity to proove our love of God.
Read the USCCB letter, it'll be dead letter before long, possibly a historical document choronicling the decline and fall of American Catholicism. What an ugly logo.
Here's a blog writing about this. He doesn't get it.
But we're Catholics, we're used to being murdered by our enemies and betrayed by our shepherds. We should thank God for these tribulations and these shepherds. They and the surrounding irreligion and illusory freedoms give us much opportunity to proove our love of God.
Read the USCCB letter, it'll be dead letter before long, possibly a historical document choronicling the decline and fall of American Catholicism. What an ugly logo.
Here's a blog writing about this. He doesn't get it.
Queen's College Concert at St. James' Catholic Church, London
Here's an ecumenical effort that doesn't give ecumenism a bad name. Treat yourself to the glories of Catholic choral music -- sung by one of the finest ensembles in England -- breath in the holy sanctity of the incense, like aqueous clouds floating in the firmament of the Cathedral apses. It's a universe of sound and vision. Special thanks to Royalcello for the mention.
From St James's Roman Catholic Church, Spanish Place, London, with the Choir of The Queen's College, Oxford.
Versicle and Response: Deus in adjutorium (Padilla)
Rorate caeli desuper (Guerrero)
Psalms: 110, 147 - Dixit Dominus (Padilla), Lauda Jerusalem (Patino)
First Lesson: Isaiah 55
Office Hymn: The Angel Gabriel (Basque trad, arr Pettman)
Magnificat (Morales)
Second Lesson: Matthew 1 vv18-23
Nunc Dimittis (Coelho)
Homily: Prof Christopher Rowland
Anthems: Ave Maria (de Cristo); Pastores, si nos quereis (Guerrero); O magnum mysterium (Victoria); Alma redemptoris mater (Fernandez); Verbum caro factum est (Lobo)
Organ Voluntary: Tiento y discurso de segundo tono (Correa de Araujo)
Organ scholars: Benedict Lewis-Smith and Matthew Burgess
Director of music: Owen Rees.
Podcasts and audio available:
Link here...
From St James's Roman Catholic Church, Spanish Place, London, with the Choir of The Queen's College, Oxford.
Versicle and Response: Deus in adjutorium (Padilla)
Rorate caeli desuper (Guerrero)
Psalms: 110, 147 - Dixit Dominus (Padilla), Lauda Jerusalem (Patino)
First Lesson: Isaiah 55
Office Hymn: The Angel Gabriel (Basque trad, arr Pettman)
Magnificat (Morales)
Second Lesson: Matthew 1 vv18-23
Nunc Dimittis (Coelho)
Homily: Prof Christopher Rowland
Anthems: Ave Maria (de Cristo); Pastores, si nos quereis (Guerrero); O magnum mysterium (Victoria); Alma redemptoris mater (Fernandez); Verbum caro factum est (Lobo)
Organ Voluntary: Tiento y discurso de segundo tono (Correa de Araujo)
Organ scholars: Benedict Lewis-Smith and Matthew Burgess
Director of music: Owen Rees.
Podcasts and audio available:
Link here...
Orthodox Church Saved Russia from Both Reds and Whites
In represents the latest effort of Russian nationalist activists close to the Moscow Patriarchate to promote the role of Orthodoxy in Russia, a new book on the Russian Civil War argues that the Church saved Russians from the catastrophes that would have been visited on them by any final victory of either the Reds or the Whites.
The book, “The Civil War in Russia: An Encyclopedia of a Catastrophe” (in Russian; Moscow: Sibirsky Tsiryul’nik, 2010, compiled by Dmitry Volodikhin), argues, according to a review by Pavel Svyatenkov, that “the official historiography” of that long-ago conflict is completely wrong (www.russ.ru/pole/Cerkov-po-tu-storonu-belogo-i-krasnogo).
That historiography, Svyatenkov writes, views the Civil War “through the prism of the conflict of the Reds and the Whites,” with the battle presented as one between “the central Bolshevik government in Moscow” and “numerous ‘separatists’ – the White generals Kolchak, Denikin, Yudenich and Wrangel.”
Consequently, “from the point of view of Soviet historiography as it was established under Stalin, the Bolsheviks behaved as ‘Ivan Kalitas,’ as ingatherers of the Russian lands that had fallen away.” And “therefore, the cult of empire in the post-Soviet period is not accidental – its roots are in the propaganda model of Stalinist times.”
Link to original...
The book, “The Civil War in Russia: An Encyclopedia of a Catastrophe” (in Russian; Moscow: Sibirsky Tsiryul’nik, 2010, compiled by Dmitry Volodikhin), argues, according to a review by Pavel Svyatenkov, that “the official historiography” of that long-ago conflict is completely wrong (www.russ.ru/pole/Cerkov-po-tu-storonu-belogo-i-krasnogo).
That historiography, Svyatenkov writes, views the Civil War “through the prism of the conflict of the Reds and the Whites,” with the battle presented as one between “the central Bolshevik government in Moscow” and “numerous ‘separatists’ – the White generals Kolchak, Denikin, Yudenich and Wrangel.”
Consequently, “from the point of view of Soviet historiography as it was established under Stalin, the Bolsheviks behaved as ‘Ivan Kalitas,’ as ingatherers of the Russian lands that had fallen away.” And “therefore, the cult of empire in the post-Soviet period is not accidental – its roots are in the propaganda model of Stalinist times.”
Link to original...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Farc Rebels Kill Columbian Governor
Farc rebels in Colombia have killed a provincial governor hours after kidnapping him in a bold commando raid, marking a return of political kidnaps.
Clad in his pyjamas, Luis Francisco Cuellar was taken from his home in Florencia, capital of Caquetá province, on Monday night after at least eight suspected members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) blasted the door down with explosives, according to local officials.
His body was found hours later in a rural area. President Alvaro Uribe said last night that Cuellar's throat had been slit.
The acting Caquetá governor, Patricia Vega, told local radio that the government had confirmed Cuellar's body was found near a vehicle abandoned by the commando squad. "Unfortunately we have to accept this painful reality," Vega said. The Farc has yet to issue a statement.
Officials said information from peasants led troops to the body after Uribe had offered a $500,000 (£313,000) reward for information. Uribe's father was killed in a botched kidnapping in 1982.
Troops combed jungles and mountains of the region throughout Tuesday, searching for Cuellar and his abductors
Link to original...
Clad in his pyjamas, Luis Francisco Cuellar was taken from his home in Florencia, capital of Caquetá province, on Monday night after at least eight suspected members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) blasted the door down with explosives, according to local officials.
His body was found hours later in a rural area. President Alvaro Uribe said last night that Cuellar's throat had been slit.
The acting Caquetá governor, Patricia Vega, told local radio that the government had confirmed Cuellar's body was found near a vehicle abandoned by the commando squad. "Unfortunately we have to accept this painful reality," Vega said. The Farc has yet to issue a statement.
Officials said information from peasants led troops to the body after Uribe had offered a $500,000 (£313,000) reward for information. Uribe's father was killed in a botched kidnapping in 1982.
Troops combed jungles and mountains of the region throughout Tuesday, searching for Cuellar and his abductors
Link to original...
News site uncovers political party affiliations of Chicago bishops, chancery staff
December 22, 2009
An investigation by an independent Chicago Catholic news site has found Democrats and Republicans among the Archdiocese of Chicago’s auxiliary bishops and key members of the chancery staff.
Those who requested Democratic ballots in 2008 included retired Auxiliary Bishop John Gorman, retired Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Lyne, archdiocesan chancellor Jimmy Lago, and Father Raymond Baumhart, SJ. Those who requested Republican ballots included Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki, Father Daniel Flens (Cardinal George’s secretary), and Father Thomas Baima, vice president and provost of Mundelein Seminary. In addition, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry said that he voted for presidential candidate John McCain in the general election.
Link to original...
An investigation by an independent Chicago Catholic news site has found Democrats and Republicans among the Archdiocese of Chicago’s auxiliary bishops and key members of the chancery staff.
Those who requested Democratic ballots in 2008 included retired Auxiliary Bishop John Gorman, retired Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Lyne, archdiocesan chancellor Jimmy Lago, and Father Raymond Baumhart, SJ. Those who requested Republican ballots included Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki, Father Daniel Flens (Cardinal George’s secretary), and Father Thomas Baima, vice president and provost of Mundelein Seminary. In addition, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry said that he voted for presidential candidate John McCain in the general election.
Link to original...
Drug Lord Scum Murder Marine's Family in Mexico City
This is the only news worth talking about in Mexico today; flags at half-mast.
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO, Associated Press Writer E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press Writer – 44 mins ago
MEXICO CITY – Assailants on Tuesday gunned down the mother, aunt and siblings of a marine killed in a raid that took out one of Mexico's most powerful cartel leaders — sending a chilling message to troops battling the drug war: You go after us, we wipe out your families.
The brazen pre-dawn slayings came just hours after the navy honored Melquisedet Angulo as a national hero at a memorial service.
"The message is very clear: It's to intimidate not only the government but its flesh and blood," said Jorge Chabat, a Mexican expert on drug cartels. "It's to intimidate those in the armed forces so they fear not only for their own lives, but the lives of their families."
Federal officials had warned last week's killing of drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva, known as the "boss of bosses," could provoke a violent backlash from smugglers, who have gone after federal police in the past following the arrest of high-ranking cartel members.
Beltran Leyva was among the most-wanted drug lords in Mexico and the United States, and was the biggest trafficker taken down by President Felipe Calderon's administration so far. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials blamed his cartel for much of the bloodshed across Mexico.
Link to original...
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO, Associated Press Writer E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press Writer – 44 mins ago
MEXICO CITY – Assailants on Tuesday gunned down the mother, aunt and siblings of a marine killed in a raid that took out one of Mexico's most powerful cartel leaders — sending a chilling message to troops battling the drug war: You go after us, we wipe out your families.
The brazen pre-dawn slayings came just hours after the navy honored Melquisedet Angulo as a national hero at a memorial service.
"The message is very clear: It's to intimidate not only the government but its flesh and blood," said Jorge Chabat, a Mexican expert on drug cartels. "It's to intimidate those in the armed forces so they fear not only for their own lives, but the lives of their families."
Federal officials had warned last week's killing of drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva, known as the "boss of bosses," could provoke a violent backlash from smugglers, who have gone after federal police in the past following the arrest of high-ranking cartel members.
Beltran Leyva was among the most-wanted drug lords in Mexico and the United States, and was the biggest trafficker taken down by President Felipe Calderon's administration so far. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials blamed his cartel for much of the bloodshed across Mexico.
Link to original...
Egypt's New Televangelist
HEART AND SOUL
By Magdi Abdelhadi
Arab Affairs Analyst, BBC World Service
Amr Khaled's unique brand of Muslim preaching has made him one of the most popular preachers in the world.
Such is his appeal, he was recently named the 13th most influential person in the world by Time Magazine.
In Cairo, his DVDs stand on the top shelves reserved for best sellers in the Virgin record store, next to Bruce Willis and Charlie Chaplin.
His controversial style, comparable to the almost rock star approach of some of America's Christian evangelists, has drawn criticism from the religious establishment and he has moved away from his native Egypt.
Ironically, thanks to the proliferation of satellite channels, he is now able to reach far greater numbers than he could have ever done had his message remained within the confines of a mosque or a lecture hall.
'You're fired'
Now, following on from his hugely successful TV shows - which are watched by millions across the world - Mr Khaled plans to launch his own version of the reality television show The Apprentice.
"The aim of it is not to make money, but to make the youth ready to support the society," he told the BBC.
Link to original...
By Magdi Abdelhadi
Arab Affairs Analyst, BBC World Service
Amr Khaled's unique brand of Muslim preaching has made him one of the most popular preachers in the world.
Such is his appeal, he was recently named the 13th most influential person in the world by Time Magazine.
In Cairo, his DVDs stand on the top shelves reserved for best sellers in the Virgin record store, next to Bruce Willis and Charlie Chaplin.
His controversial style, comparable to the almost rock star approach of some of America's Christian evangelists, has drawn criticism from the religious establishment and he has moved away from his native Egypt.
Ironically, thanks to the proliferation of satellite channels, he is now able to reach far greater numbers than he could have ever done had his message remained within the confines of a mosque or a lecture hall.
'You're fired'
Now, following on from his hugely successful TV shows - which are watched by millions across the world - Mr Khaled plans to launch his own version of the reality television show The Apprentice.
"The aim of it is not to make money, but to make the youth ready to support the society," he told the BBC.
Link to original...
More Proof of Shakespeare's Catholicity
Three mysterious signatures on pages of parchment bound in leather and kept under lock and key may prove the theory that William Shakespeare was a secret Catholic who spent his “lost years” in Italy.
An exhibition at the Venerable English College, the seminary in Rome for English Catholic priests, has revealed cryptic names in its guest books for visiting pilgrims, suggesting that the playwright sought refuge there.
“Arthurus Stratfordus Wigomniensis” signed the book in 1585, while “Gulielmus Clerkue Stratfordiensis” arrived in 1589.
According to Father Andrew Headon, vice-rector of the college and organiser of the exhibition, the names can be deciphered as “[King] Arthur’s [compatriot] from Stratford [in the diocese] of Worcester” and “William the Clerk from Stratford”.
Link to original...
Joseph Pearce has also written a book dealing with this subject.
An exhibition at the Venerable English College, the seminary in Rome for English Catholic priests, has revealed cryptic names in its guest books for visiting pilgrims, suggesting that the playwright sought refuge there.
“Arthurus Stratfordus Wigomniensis” signed the book in 1585, while “Gulielmus Clerkue Stratfordiensis” arrived in 1589.
According to Father Andrew Headon, vice-rector of the college and organiser of the exhibition, the names can be deciphered as “[King] Arthur’s [compatriot] from Stratford [in the diocese] of Worcester” and “William the Clerk from Stratford”.
Link to original...
Joseph Pearce has also written a book dealing with this subject.
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