Division Within Hierarchy in Ireland

PADDY AGNEW in Rome

AS THE countdown begins to the forthcoming Vatican meeting between Pope Benedict, senior Curia figures and the Irish bishops, Vatican insiders have suggested the Holy See has been alarmed by recent signs of internecine strife within the Irish hierarchy.Many commentators believe the Holy See intends the meeting, scheduled for February 15th and 16th, to serve as a starting point around which the Irish Catholic Church can unify as it strives to achieve closure on the pain inflicted, above all on the victims but also on the church, by Ireland's prolonged clerical child abuse crisis.In such a context, the Holy See has been confused and alarmed by apparent factional in-fighting among the hierarchy.Reports of former Dublin auxiliary bishop Dermot O'Mahony criticising Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin for failing to support the priests in his archdiocese in the wake of the Murphy report have caused concern.Likewise, an article in today's Irish Catholic reporting that a number of Dublin priests feel Archbishop Martin showed a lack of compassion towards the auxiliary bishops named in the Murphy report; that he left them "hung out to dry", will only add to the Holy See's sense of concern.Senior Curia figures are likely to be unimpressed by the fact that such tensions in the Irish church have found very public expression.The Holy See and the Italian Catholic Church are rife with bitter internal feuds. But these tend to flow along underground with churchmen rarely criticising one another in public debate. Full frontal attacks are not a constituent part of Holy See DNA.Many commentators had originally anticipated that when the Irish bishops arrive in Rome for their meeting with the pope, they would be presented with a final copy of his forthcoming "pastoral letter" to the Irish faithful.Given the obvious climate of dissension within the hierarchy, it is possible that the pope may wait until he has met and listened to the Irish bishops before issuing the definitive version of this unprecedented message.When the pope last met with the Irish bishops at their Ad Limina visit in 2006, he called on them to "deal with the problem in an efficient manner", adding: "It is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take all possible measures so that this can never happen again in the future, to guarantee that the principles of justice are fully respected and, above all, to heal the victims and all those who have been hurt by these abnormal crimes."At their Vatican meetings, the pontiff is likely to suggest to the bishops that, from the Holy See's viewpoint, the Murphy report represents an important stage in carrying out his Ad Limina recommendations. In that context, senior Curia figures are likely to express their concern at the apparent unwillingness of some members of the Irish hierarchy to accept the overall findings of the Murphy report

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0205/1224263813963.html
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Catholic teaching is not a list of 'no's,' pope tells Scottish bishops

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church has a positive vision of human life, marriage and family which must not be presented as a list of things the church opposes, Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops of Scotland.

The church's "positive and inspiring vision of human life, the beauty of marriage and the joy of parenthood" are "rooted in God's infinite, transforming and ennobling love for all of us, which opens our eyes to recognize and love his image in our neighbor," the pope said.

"Be sure to present this teaching in such a way that it is recognized for the message of hope that it is," he told the bishops Feb. 5 as they were finishing their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses.

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Augusto Del Noce, RIP

Twenty years ago, on 30 December 1989, Augusto Del Noce, one of the greatest Italian post-war intellectuals, and a regular contributor to 30Days, died in Rome. The anniversary, to be followed by that in 2010, the centenary of his birth, offers an opportunity to reflect on the philosopher’s conceptual career.

Link to original...

Ringo has found God

It's currently unclear what deonomination or religion.

Ringo Starr, the Beatles’ drummer, claimed that he has found God. He said thatafter taking a long and winding road to enlightenment, he finally found God.

The reformed rock legend, who turns 70 in July, admitted he lost his way when he was young, referring to the time when he suffered alcohol and cocaine problems in the late 1970s.

Ever since he became a teetotaller and had quit his 60-a-day cigarette habit, he turned to religious practices. For him, religion now plays an important role in his life.

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Serbian Patriarch Advocates Dialogue with Rome

By JOVANA GEC

The Associated Press
Thursday, January 28, 2010; 8:39 AM
The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Thursday urged dialogue to overcome long-standing divisions with Roman Catholics.

Patriarch Irinej said that a 2013 anniversary important to Christians would be a “good opportunity … to meet and talk.”

He added that “with God’s help this (dialogue) would continue to overcome what had happened in history and take a new, Christian road.”

Link to eirenikon...

h/t youngfogey at conservative blog for peace, here....

Archbishop’s Statement On Catholic School Education

Archbishop’s Statement On Catholic School Education,

Archbishop Wilton Gregory is one of the worst of the USCCBs spokesmen when it comes to religious indifferentism. He supported the revision of the USCCB statement on the Jews and the Old Covenant, saying that it is still salvific.

His address here about Catholic schools is interesting for one reason, he doesn't make a single mention of the Catholic Faith.

Catholic schools remain at the heart of the church. Within our schools, the primary focus must remain an unyielding commitment to strong Catholic identity and sound moral teaching. This is the mission of our Catholic schools and therefore absolutely central to their existence. As the Archbishop, I am proud that the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Atlanta continue to provide strong faith formation for our youth.

In view of this statement, we find it hard to be comforted, although he's not exactly speaking to Catholics either, all the more reason to be emphatic about the Catholic Faith. Ultimately, given the current state of Catholic education in America, it's easy to see his words as so much hot air.

WIRE: Backdoor taxes to hit middle class...

« on: Today at 08:34:58 AM »

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100201/bs_nm/us_budget_backdoortaxes

By Terri Cullen Terri Cullen – Mon Feb 1, 4:09 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.

In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.

While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.

The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.

If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.

Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.

Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.

Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year's levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy -- the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.

Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:

* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;

* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;

* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;

* Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;

* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.

h/t: Michael Savage

Vatican official says religious orders are in modern 'crisis'

No solutions yet, but at least they are admitting that there's a problem.

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said religious orders today are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices.

Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said the problems go deeper than the drastic drop in the numbers of religious men and women.

"The crisis experienced by certain religious communities, especially in Western Europe and North America, reflects the more profound crisis of European and American society. All this has dried up the sources that for centuries have nourished consecrated and missionary life in the church," Cardinal Rode said in a talk delivered Feb. 3 in Naples, Italy.

"The secularized culture has penetrated into the minds and hearts of some consecrated persons and some communities, where it is seen as an opening to modernity and a way of approaching the contemporary world," he said.

Link to original...

Political programs cannot achieve justice and equality, Pope says in Lenten message

In his message for Lent, Pope Benedict XVI cautions against a purely secular approach to achieving justice in society.

While Jesus "surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine," the Holy Father writes, nevertheless "distributive justice does not render to the human being the totality of his due." Man seeks for something much more-- for salvation-- which can only come through Christ and his Church.

The Pope's annual message takes its title from St. Paul's letter to the Romans: "The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ." Pope Benedict begins with some reflections on the meaning of the word "justice." He notes that the most common definition involves giving every person his due. But a problem arises immediately, he notes: "What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law."

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Obama Faith Advisor Knocks Pope, Ignites Catholic Fury

http://www.thechurchreport.com/index.cfm?objectID=20509

Washington D.C- Harry Knox, a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has stood by his past comment that Pope Benedict XVI is “hurting people in the name of Jesus.” And has unleashed a widespread call for his resignation or termination.

Catholic Students More likely to Oppose Church teaching.

The title is misleading, actually, most Catholic students do stray from the Church when it comes to the Church's teaching.

Study: Catholics at Catholic colleges less likely to stray from church

By Chaz Muth
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A new study finds Catholic students at Catholic colleges are less likely than Catholics attending public colleges to move away from the church's teachings on a variety of issues.

However, on the issue of same-sex marriage in particular, newly released research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate found that many Catholic students at Catholic and public colleges disagree with church teaching.

CARA, which is based at Georgetown University, presented the results of its "Catholicism on Campus" study Jan. 31, during the annual meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, held in Washington.

The CARA report relied on national surveys of the attitudes of 14,527 students at 148 U.S. colleges and universities, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.

The data was collected from students when they were freshmen in 2004 and again when they were juniors in 2007.

"We measure whether students, regardless of their incoming attitudes and behavior, move closer, stay the same, or move further away from the church while in college," the study said.

CARA classified its research into two groups. The first covered beliefs and attitudes about social and political issues, including abortion, same-sex marriage, the death penalty and reducing suffering around the world. The second focused on religious behavior, such as frequency of attendance at religious services, prayer, reading of religious texts and publications.

On pro-life issues, the results indicated a "mixed pattern," it said. A majority of Catholic students leave college disagreeing that abortion should be legal but they number fewer than those who entered with that opinion, it said. Overall 56 percent said they disagreed "strongly" or "somewhat" that "abortion should be legal."

Regarding same-sex marriage, the study said there is no other issue on which Catholic students -- regardless of where they attended school -- moved further away from the church. Only one in three Catholics on Catholic campuses disagreed "somewhat or "strongly" that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Catholics on non-Catholic campuses were slightly less likely to disagree.

"This issue more than any other may be strongly affected by the millennial generation's post-materialist view regarding marriage and sexuality," said the study's authors, Mark Gray and Melissa Cidade.

They said their analysis showed that while Catholic students at Catholic colleges may move away from the church on some issues, they move closer to the church on others.

Like Catholic students at most public colleges, they moved toward agreeing with the church's position on the need to reduce the number of large and small weapons and its view that federal military spending should not be increased.

On the death penalty, 49 percent of Catholic students on Catholic campuses agreed "strongly" or "somewhat" with the church's opposition to the death penalty and were more likely than Catholic students at public colleges to agree with the church's social justice teaching on the need to reduce suffering in the world and "improve the human condition."

The study found that as Catholic students at Catholic colleges advance in their education, they often "remain profoundly connected to their faith."

In their junior year, 87 percent of them said following religious teachings in everyday life was "somewhat important" to them, and 86 percent said their "religiousness" did not become "weaker" in college.

But the study also found that Mass attendance declined during the college years among almost a third of Catholics at Catholic colleges, but at non-Catholic colleges, the percentage jumped to nearly 50 percent.

"Disturbing as these figures are, they should not be a surprise and should not be interpreted as a specific outcome of students' attendance at a Catholic college or university," said Richard A. Yanikoski, president of the Washington-based ACCU.

Yanikoski said the decline in Mass attendance and religious identity is often caused by weakened family life and diminished religious activity among Catholic families, ineffective catechesis in parishes, understaffed faith formation programs for youths, a sexually provocative culture, and reaction to the sex abuse scandal.

"Catholic campuses serving a broad cross-section of students can only do so much to redress such a collection of antithetical influences," he said. "We know full well that our own capacity in some ways is weaker now than it was when priests and vowed religious were more numerous on our campuses."

Though this study does not dispute many of the findings from a 2003 study commissioned by the Cardinal Newman Society -- a Manassas, Va.-based Catholic college watchdog group -- about the attitudes Catholic college students hold about abortion and same-sex marriage, it does suggest they are less likely to move away from the church than students attending non-Catholic institutions.

Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, said in a Feb. 2 statement that if ACCU officials think "it is a happy fact that Catholics lose their faith somewhat slower at Catholic colleges than elsewhere, then they fail to appreciate the concerns of faithful Catholic families."

Link to original...

Death to the USCCB!

USCCB Scandal Deepens, U.S. Bishops Remain Silent

The scandal that has engulfed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) shows no sign in abating.

Today we learn even more incriminating facts that continue to tarnish the image of the USCCB.

In the latest RealCatholicTV.com program Michael Voris explains the deep entanglement of Democratic Party and anti-Catholic operatives that hold high positions within the USCCB.



Here's the recent response by the USCCB representatives in the usual state of denial.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishops who work closely with John Carr, who oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, say new claims against him and the agency are false and "totally ridiculous."

Bishops William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss., spoke with Catholic News Service Feb. 3 about recent allegations of "a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil" by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops because of Carr's past involvement with the Center for Community Change.

"I'm concerned about these attacks on John Carr and I know they are false and I think they are even calumnious," said Bishop Murphy, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, by telephone to CNS. "I am taking this to be a very sad, sad commentary on the honesty of some people in these pressure groups."

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Nobel prize-winning author: "England is a cesspit. England is the breeding ground of fundamentalist Muslims."

A NOBEL prize-winning author has accused England of being a "cesspit" that nurtures Islamist terrorism, in a damning indictment of Labour's failed multicultural experiment.

Wole Soyinka, the first African winner of the literature prize, claimed the Nigerian student who tried to blow up a jet over Detroit on Christmas Day, was radicalised during his time at University College London. The criticism comes amid a growing row between Nigeria, Britain and Yemen about where Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab turned to violent extremism.

Link to original...

Benedict Groeschel of EWTN is clueless about Saul Alinsky

Not only did Father Groeschel host a Paulist on his show, which is a strategic mistake of colossal proportions in itself, but he also was clueless when Saul Alinksy, who wrote a Marxist guide to "community organizing" dedicated to Satan, was mentioned. Most people are familiar with the Paulists themselves and their present reputation for being big on challenging church teaching and welcoming the spirit of the world. The founder of the Paulists, Isaak Hecker himself, was mentioned by name in Leo XIII's encyclical Testem Benevolentiae in the most unfavorable terms.

Father Groeschel, no stranger to hippiedom himself had no idea who Alinsky was, that's pretty surprising in itself, almost as surprising as having consistent orthodox shows on EWTN, a network gone wrong that don't promote crypto-marxism in one way or another... In any event, the Paulist gave a defense of Alinsky that he was a good friend of Jaques Maritain, which surprised us again, because unlike the author of the romancatholic blog, we don't regard Maritain very highly at all and offering him up as an endorsement of Alinsky doesn't bode well for either men, considering what they in fact were in the end. Mauritain in addition to having a strange definition of being, doesn't believe in the existence of Hell according to Romano Amerio, author of the monumental Iota Unum on page 697 and 698. (h/t to RB)

h/t: Barb Kralis

Here's the story by a blogger who saw the show... romancatholic.blog...

Read Hillary Clinton's Senior Thesis about Saul Alinksy, here...

Ouija board a controversial toy for tots (OneNewsNow.com)

Ouija board a controversial toy for tots (OneNewsNow.com)

Cardinal Schönborn comes to D.C. Christianity "Dying in Europe"

You heard earlier how Cardinal Schonborn has NCR fooled, and his Medjugorje deception is all over town. Now the Scandal Cardinal is in D.C. fooling other people, talking about "Dying in Europe" to reestablish his street cred as a "conservative" prelate.


Cardinal Schonborn comes to D.C. Christianity "Dying in Europe" In Medjugorje the Solution?

Sitting in the Great Room A of the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. forty minutes before Cardinal Schnborn's much anticipated lecture, two young college women, almost looking over their shoulders, were deeply engaged in a hushed conversation of the still touchy subject of Medjugorje. The conversation ended quickly as Cardinal Schonborn, accompanied by a Dean of Catholic University and the Austrian Ambassador to the United States entered the room, but make no mistake, the presence of Medjugorje continued to loom large.

After a brief and pleasant introduction, Cardinal Schonborn, standing behind a modest podium, looked out at the standing room only crowd and jokingly thanked those without seats for their early standing ovation. It was a nice, light moment for the young Cardinal, whose demeanor and handsome looks remind some of of the great John Paul II.

Though Cardinal Schonborn's delivery is engaging and sprinkled with self-deprecating humor the subject of today's lecture was anything but sunny. Cardinal Schonborn came to Washington D.C. to talk about the health and vibrancy of Christianity and Catholicism in Europe. After hearing the speech, one would have to conclude that the prognosis for Christianity's growth, particularly in Europe, faces many obstacles. His lecture, titled the "The Identity of Christianity - Alien Presence or Foundation of the West", presented a stark assessment of Christian faith in Europe and suggested that the revitalization of faith among its citizens would be arduous and uncertain.

Climate experts hit back at critics, but need to learn to take criticism

Climate experts hit back at critics, but need to learn to take criticism

Regina von Habsburg is dead, RIP

The wife of the son of the Austrian Kaiser, Otto von Habsburg has died at the age of 85 in Upper Bavaria in her house in Pöcking .

Pöcking (kath.ent/KNA) Regina von Habsburg, wife of the son of Kaiser Otto Habsburg, has died at the age of 85 in the Upper Bavarian town of Pocking. It was announced by her eldest son Karl on the same day. With her the family lost a great personality, "who inspired us through her unshakeable faith and her positive attitude toward life."

She was born in 1925 as the Princess of Sachsen-Meiningen in Würzburg and married Otto von Habsuburg in 1951. The pair had seven children and 22 grandchildren. The family has set aside a fund for social charitable needs. Finally the Director Claus Hipp will preside as patron for the "Munich Table".

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Lift military ban on gays, defense officials say

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Lift military ban on gays, defense officials say

Hasn't Obama's administration had enough defeats already?

Ambrosian Rite. Cardinal Biffi's Ax Falls on New Lectionary

Chiesa


It has come into use in Milan with the approval of the Vatican. But the archbishop emeritus of Bologna, Milanese and a leading expert on Saint Ambrose, has found it to be full of eccentricities and errors. He wants Rome to reexamine it from the top

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Political Economy of Monarchy and Democracy by Hans-Hermann Hoppe

Political Economy of Monarchy and Democracy by Hans-Hermann Hoppe

I. The Comparative Economics of Private and Public Government Ownership

A government is a territorial monopolist of compulsion – an agency which may engage in continual, institutionalized property rights violations and the exploitation – in the form of expropriation, taxation and regulation – of private property owners. Assuming no more than self-interest on the part of government agents, all governments must be expected to make use of this monopoly and thus exhibit a tendency toward increased exploitation.[1]

Pope's Appearance Quashes Labour's Equality Law

It's amazing because now everyone is talking about Catholic Dogma and the Church's teaching on the Natural Law. Some might not like how the Holy Father intruded these concepts into the daily discussions of so many people in the wake of his UK visit, but there they are for all to complain about, but not a few, we think, particularly England's Clergy will be energized in a very decisive way to teach and spread the Catholic Faith.

[

Telegraph] Ministers had tried to include a new definition of a priest in the flagship anti-discrimination law, but church leaders complained that it was far too narrow.

They said it would mean religious organisations could no longer opt out of equality rules, and so would face prosecution unless they went against their beliefs by employing homosexuals. Roman Catholics feared they would be forced to admit women to the priesthood for the first time.

In an unprecedented intervention in British politics, on Monday the Pope declared that Britain’s equality laws are imposing “unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs”.

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New Statesman...Pope Condemns Equality Law.

Times... Pope Attacks Labour.

Archbishop Nichols publicly slaps down the Tablet over coverage of new English Missal

Archbishop Nichols publicly slaps down the Tablet over coverage of new English Missal

Busted! But Mundabor, a commentor, is not satisfied and opines:

I am once again not impressed by the Bishop.
–
He should have frankly answered the question about whether this is an area of dissent and should have gone on to say that he considers the new translation excellent, beautiful, totally orthodox, a clear improvement, and the like.

Then he should have invited the Tablet to publish this (that is: *his!*) opinion as they had published the contrary ones.

What he does is to criticise the partiality of the Tablet, without really defending (as in: speaking out and saying “this is good” himself) the new translation, the mention that other have written about the positives is too much of a vicarious defence, I strongly miss the clarity of purpose and seem to detect the desire to permanently sit on the fence.

I think “wily Vin” will have some fortune as a nickname..

Scots cardinal defiant after Pope criticises equality law ahead of visit

THE leader of Scotland's Catholics has insisted the Church's voice would "continue to be heard" despite new legislation which could end its ban on allowing gays taking up senior positions.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien's comments came after Pope Benedict XVI hit out at proposals in the UK's forthcoming Equality Bill, claiming the legislation "violates natural law" and was a threat to religious freedom.

The cardinal, who is leading a week long visit by Scotland's Catholic bishops on their traditional Ad Limina pilgrimage to Rome, spoke out yesterday in the official Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

The pontiff yesterday announced plans to visit Scotland later this year, but in an unprecedented attack on Gordon Brown's human rights policies, the Pope urged Catholic bishops to fight back with "missionary zeal".

Yesterday the Pope faced a backlash from gay and human rights campaigners with Labour MSP Stephen Hughes challenging him to start applying equality rules "on his own doorstep".

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Bishop Fellay: Truth Isn't Negotiated

Please, let us not use the word 'negotiations', it completely misses the point. This has nothing to do with negotiating, bargaining—nothing at all…. For us, we must really see this opportunity for the discussions with Rome as truly a disposition of Divine Providence, as truly an amazing grace to be able to present to the highest authorities in the Church what that Church has always said and which, thanks be to God, we have kept; thus, to make it resound at the very top of the Church. To bear witness to the Faith is a great grace. And even at Rome, a certain number [of prelates] are expecting from these discussions—and it’s a direct quote— “very much good for the Church.”

…The situation in the Church is truly a nightmare, it’s truly a great tragedy, and so to be able to give utterance to what the Church has always taught at the very top of the Church is really something out of the ordinary, hence extraordinary. It is a great grace, and also a great duty, because, of course, we hear: “What are you going to do in that mess? You are going to get lost…you are going to sell out the Society.” It involves no such thing!

…Humanly speaking, you might say that we are in a bad way! We are in about the same shape as Gideon when he went out to attack 20,000 or 30,000 men of the enemy army with his jars, trumpets, and torches—three hundred men to attack tens of thousands of heavily armed enemy soldiers. They were really in a bad way. It is about the same thing when we go down to Rome with our jars, torches, and trumpets… but we are not counting on our human efforts, we are counting on the good Lord as Gideon counted on the good Lord. We are counting on the promises that our Lord made to His Church, we are counting on this duty… It is the good Lord who has given us the grace of still having the Faith, of not having lost it, of having received the instruments of this Faith, even natural instruments, a sound philosophy. Yes, it is a duty to go and remind them of these truths.

…[These are] extremely delicate theological discussions; [there are] a lot of preconceived ideas [a priori]. We can see very well that we are not at all known… there are all sorts of ideas about us.

…The boat is sinking; humanly speaking, the Church is lost; humanly speaking, the Church is not recovering—notice that I say, humanly speaking, for we know that there are the promises of God, so that she is going to recover. How is she going to recover? We may say that it is in the hands of the good Lord, agreed! But the good Lord asks everyone to act according to his strength and capabilities, in his place, for this recovery. We cannot say that the pope has only to do this or that. It is every member of the Church who must, once again, at his place, according to his powers, according to the grace of the good Lord, do everything he can for the Church’s restoration. Everybody must contribute his efforts—everybody. So let us make this effort precisely by our prayers, by our sacrifices, by all the means that truly give life to the Church. The means that the good Lord commonly uses to restore and uplift the Church is called holiness. It is the life of grace; it is faith. It is absolutely certain that every good action within the Church uplifts the Church. The greater the goodness of the act, the more the Church is uplifted.

…The good Lord doesn’t need numbers, but He does need holiness… He asks us for it, and I should say that this battle, these terrible, horrible difficulties that we have briefly outlined, should be for us a stimulant, a real stimulant towards holiness—let’s dare to use the word, it is a very Catholic word… That will be the best way we can contribute, collaborate, and co-operate in helping to bring about an end to the crisis in the Church.

h/t: pewsitter

Link to stjohnvaldosta....

Newt Gingrich: Catholic filmmaker - Belief Blog - Washington Times

Newt Gingrich: Catholic filmmaker - Belief Blog - Washington Times

WCSH6.com | Portland, ME | Anglican, Catholic Bishops saying mass together

WCSH6.com | Portland, ME | Anglican, Catholic Bishops saying mass together

Pope Drops Strong Hint to English Bishops: Get with the Program

ROME February 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has urged the Catholic bishops of England and Wales to stand firm against proposed legislation that he said opposes the natural law, and to present the Catholic Church's moral teaching in the face of the acceptance of moral relativism.

The pope’s remarks are being interpreted by the media as being aimed at the Equality Bill that the Catholic bishops have warned will force churches to violate their religious beliefs on homosexuality, marriage and the priesthood. But others have pointed out that the pope also is likely hinting that the bishops have some changes to make in their defense, or lack thereof, of doctrinal orthodoxy.

"Your country," Pope Benedict said, "is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.

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Priest sues ex-altar boy who accused him of sex abuse :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

Priest sues ex-altar boy who accused him of sex abuse :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

The priest is apparently a conservative and says the latin Mass. A press release from SNAP earlier accused to priest of being insensitive for being "happy" that he'd won his case and accused him of "gloating".

Abstinence educators see vindication in new study :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Abstinence educators see vindication in new study :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Former Jesuit Editor of America Magazine is Dead, RIP

Father Charles M. Whalen the "longest standing" former editor of America Magazine has been "challenging" Church teaching throughout his carreer at the Old "New" Deal Jesuit Magazine. America Magazine has been pushing the socialist agenda at least since the 30s when Father Leonard Feeney was editor.

The Big Guns are Coming to Teach at Trappist Cloister

German Trappists of Abbey Mariawald are returning to the Liturgy and the Discipline of the Fathers and are opening their own House Study.

Abbot Josef Vollberg has according to reports of the website of the Trappist Cloister Mariawald, that a House Study will be established in order to form Priest-Monks.

The organization and direction of the study falls upon the study director, Frank Erich Zehles. Zehles is the director of the 'Bernardus Publishers"

The House Study was established, so that the Monks could intensify their simple profession in the Community of the Cloister and so they might pursue their studies in the amazingly outfitted Library in moderate peace.

Today - on the feast of Candlemass - begins the Summer semester of the Scholastic Year 2010/2011.


The day's feast lecture for the inauguration was held by the New Testament Scholar, Klaus Berger for the Monastery and invited guests. He will teach exegesis at Mariawald.

Also the famous philosopher Robert Spaemann will have his own role as an instructor.

The Study Plan is directed upon Papal Encyclicals and Writings, those of the Popes since Leo XIII. to John Paul II.

Authoritative are the corresponding Canons of general Church law, the Constitutions, the Ratio Institutionis, the Provisions of the General Chapter and the traditions of the Order.

The program's requirements should require 10 semesters. The test times will be included in this time.

In Seminares, Lectures, Tutorials and Revision Courses, will provide a solid basis for the priests philosophical, theological, historical and rhetorical education.

If the Superior allows it, Monks in other Cloisters or clerical institutes of sanctified life could study at Mariawald.

The Abbey Mariawald was endowed with the Papal privilege to take steps back to the old use of the Trappist Order, according to the use of Monte Cistello from the year 1964.

Since then, the Cloister has had a throng of postulants, who in the meantime have become Novices.

Crisis in Catholic Education

MANASSAS, Virginia, February 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Attending a Catholic college has minimal impact on a Catholic student’s practice and embrace of the Catholic faith, according to a new study released Sunday at a gathering of Catholic college presidents in Washington, D.C.

The study was presented to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) by researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

“Catholics should be alarmed by the significant declines in Catholic practice and fidelity at many of America’s Catholic institutions,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society.

“Everyone expects a Catholic college to be markedly different from a secular one. Students should be inspired to embrace and deepen their Catholic faith, not negotiate around Catholic moral teaching.”

Link to original...

Shocking! Jesuits Accused of Sex Abuse on Two Continents

This shouldn't surprise too many people about the Jesuits. Now, let's abolish the Jesuit order and give their resources to people who respect the mission statement of the Catholic Church and don't regard it with cynicism.

The Society of Jesus, the order of Catholic priests also known as Jesuits, admitted on February 1 that boys had been sexually abused at its secondary schools in three countries and that it covered up some 25 years ago. Rev. Stefan Dartman SJ, superior of the order in Germany, spoke in Berlin after a former sex abuser and sports coach who left the order in 1991 went public with an admission that he forced boys to have sex at a boys school in Berlin from 1975 to 1983.

Rev. Dartmann disclosed that the same teacher had been guilty of similar abuses Jesuit schools in Spain and Chile. Rev. Dartmann criticized his predecessors for not making the cases public. In Germany, the abuses happened in five different towns. "We realize with horror that these matters were evidently perceived differently in the 1970s, 80s and 90s," Dartmann said.

Read further...

Controversial deacon defends himself

Here he is at an Oregon Parish where he's listed as a "transitional Deacon" despite being bounced on two other occasions from other Diocese because you were covering up for predatory homosexuals like Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity.

He responds here too.

He puts long statement in Sunday’s parish bulletin Church official acknowledges relocating here due to allegations. His “reputation” was “destroyed” in two other dioceses, he admits.

Jan. 26, 2010

A Catholic deacon who was refused ordination two years ago by a New Jersey bishop and was ousted by a Pennsylvania bishop now works at a Bend Oregon church and is defending himself in Sunday in St. Francis parish bulletins.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are unmoved by Deacon Joseph Levine’s missive.

“It’s deceitful and wrong for Levine to basically blame one individual for his own recklessness and cowardice,” said David Clohessy of SNAP. “And he did tremendous hardship by publicly and repeatedly defending pedophile priests. If he’s made peace with one former colleague, that’s wonderful. But he’s evidently done little or nothing to ‘un-do’ the real damage he’s done to Catholic families, Pennsylvania citizens and clergy sex abuse victims.”

Below is a copy of 1) Levine’s defense, 2) SNAP’s recent news release about Levine and 3) SNAP’s letter to Baker’s Catholic bishop about Levine. SNAP has not heard back from the bishop.


1) The following will appear by way of a bulletin insert:

When a man has been subject to vicious calumnies and been forced to relocate on account of them, he does not want to introduce himself to his new acquaintances by saying something like, “Hello, my name is John Doe and these are all the nasty things people are saying about me.” Anyone who reflects for a moment on the embarrassing events of his own life will, I think, agree that he would prefer not to have to introduce himself by making reference to those incidents.

I came to the Baker Diocese after my reputation had been destroyed in two other dioceses where I had worked despite the fact that in those dioceses the Bishops were very pleased with my faithfulness and dedication. In fact, both of them would have very willingly ordained me. Bishop Vasa and Fr. Joseph Reinig were fully informed of the circumstances. Now, however, it has come to my attention that half-truths are circulating in the parish and so it has become necessary to address the matter publicly. I am grateful that I have been allowed to work among you for the past five months without having to explain my past association. I hope that you now have some personal experience of me which will allow you to consider more objectively the worth or value of that which is now being said about me. You have the living man before you.

It is now more than six years since I was a member of a community called the Society of St. John that was established in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1998. I joined the community the same year because I thought the purpose was good and, to my knowledge, the men involved were good. Nevertheless, a scandal arose in which the priest-founder, Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, another priest, Fr. Eric Ensey, were accused of sexual abuse. Though I was only a deacon I was placed in a position for which I was little prepared and succeeded the priest-founder as Superior of the community, even though the priest-founder’s charismatic influence remained dominant. I mistakenly believed that the priest-founder was innocent and defended him as such. In retrospect, I now know I was very naïve in my judgment. That naïve judgment has plagued me ever since. I have been repeatedly accused of having knowingly participated in a ‘cover-up’. That is the most serious allegation that has ever been made against me.

One man in particular, Dr. Jeffrey Bond, made an issue of these things and succeeded first in pressuring the Bishop of Scranton not to ordain me to the priesthood and then he succeeded in pressuring the Bishop of Paterson, New Jersey. Dr. Bond is highly credible because he had both firsthand knowledge and had made a diligent investigation. In the end, I have come to admit that he was substantially correct in his assessment of Fr. Urrutigoity. Before I came to Bend, Bishop Vasa acted as mediator between myself and Dr. Bond. The Bishop made reconciliation with him a condition for my acceptance into the Diocese. As a result of that mediation I wrote a lengthy explanatory letter and apology to Dr. Bond. That explanation and apology was accepted and Dr. Bond, who was almost singlehandedly responsible for the previous cancellation of priestly ordination plans, withdrew his objections to my ordination. My letter and Dr. Bond’s reply will be available in PDF format to any who wish to read it. Dr. Bond has the fullest knowledge of the serious problems with the Society of Saint John and they were extensive. Thus his withdrawal of objections speaks to the sincerity and seriousness of my apology and acknowledgment of error. Unfortunately, it is much easier to focus on events at the Society than the very significant journey I have been on since my departure from and the subsequent collapse of that community.

Deacon Joseph Levine

Holy Father Says Homosexuality a Violation of the Natural Law

Thanks to Louis Welcome for this notification. Isn't there some putative blue law on the books in England where the Pope can be arrested for offending homosexuals like this? We know that many homosexuals want people who teach the contra-natural nature of their behaviors to be locked in jail. But this story is interesting because of its title, and it's interesting to us because there are quite a few churchmen in the United States who deny the actuality (if that's the word) of the natural law. We think that there are a lot of people, particularly at places like St. John's Abbey, who would like for there not to be a natural law. They at least have a vested interest in there not being one, because it means that there are, as their mantra goes, "no moral absolutes" and they can be creative about morality. What they mean is that they want to invent a justification for their moral infirmities to the point of creating a society which praises their activities, or at least turns a blind eye...

Guardian

The Pope yesterday made an unprecedented attack on Britain's equality legislation, claiming Harriet Harman's attempts to bring in new laws enforced sinful behaviour.

Benedict XVl condemned Labour's Equality Bill in extraordinary terms as an assault on the 'natural law' of Christianity - in other words a sin.
His remarks came in a speech at the Vatican moments after he confirmed he will visit the UK in September.

We like this article for other reasons as well in that it affirms Benedict's vision of encouraging the Bishops of Wales and England to adhere to Catholic teaching, particularly in regard to the natural law, which Guardian, unfortunately defines this way:

By natural law, the Pope meant the Christian and Biblical teaching on which Roman Catholic beliefs are based, including the Ten Commandments. Rejection of the natural law is sinful in Catholic theology.

Actually, as Catholic Encylcopedia, quoting St. Thomas, has it, natural law is defined thusly:

...the natural law is "nothing else than the rational creature's participation in the eternal law" (I-II.94). The eternal law is God's wisdom, inasmuch as it is the directive norm of all movement and action. When God willed to give existence to creatures,He willed to ordain and direct them to an end. In the case of inanimate things, this Divine direction is provided for in the nature which God has given to each; in them determinism reigns. Like all the rest of creation, man is destined by God to an end, and receives from Him a direction towards this end. This ordination is of a character in harmony with his free intelligent nature. In virtue of his intelligence and free will, man is master of his conduct. Unlike the things of the mere material world he can vary his action, act, or abstain from action, as he pleases. Yet he is not a lawless being in an ordered universe. In the very constitution of his nature, he too has a law laid down for him, reflecting that ordination and direction of all things, which is the eternal law. The rule, then, which God has prescribed for our conduct, is found in our nature itself. Those actions which conform with its tendencies, lead to our destined end, and are thereby constituted right and morally good; those at variance with our nature are wrong and immoral.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1247706/Pope-condemns-Harriet-Harman-equality-drive-violation-natural-law.html#ixzz0eO0C1aiI

Cardinal Schonborn has NCR fooled

The Register is owned by Regnum Christi. They were taken in by Fr. Maciel, so why not Cardinal Schonborn? They've got a great record of credibillity, but the donations keep rolling in.

National Catholic Register

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn came to Benedictine College yesterday and gave two masterful addresses (a homily which Jack Smith addresses here and a lecture). The Archbishop of Vienna and President of the Austrian Bishops’ conference is too deep a thinker to do justice to in a blog post. But he did say some startling things. So herewith, I attempt only to give you my personal top five revelations from his lecture.

Read points ....

Parma plays part in possible sainthood for Fulton J. Sheen

Parma plays part in possible sainthood for Fulton J. Sheen

PARMA -- The city has two connections to the cause of possibly making the late TV evangelist, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, a saint of the Catholic Church.


Sheen's cause is being promoted during the month of February by the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy (Diocese) of Parma, which is putting the finishing touches on a Sheen exhibit and will host a special meeting of Bishops and clergy this week.

"We're hoping that people will realize that sainthood is not just for people of the early centuries," says Bishop John Kudrick, of the Eparch of Parma, "but, indeed, each of us is called to that as well."

Pope tells English bishops to fight relativism with truth :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Pope tells English bishops to fight relativism with truth :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Vatican City, Feb 1, 2010 / 11:14 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI spoke to members of the English and Welsh Conference of Catholic Bishops on Monday in Rome as part of their "ad Limina" visit. He used the meeting to respond to the wide range of issues being confronted by local Church and urged them to look to Cardinal John Henry Newman as a model for combating relativism and increasing vocations.

The Pope led off his speech with optimism, granting that "even amid the pressures of a secular age, there are many signs of living faith and devotion among the Catholics of England and Wales." As examples he cited the enthusiastic reaction in Britain to the visit of the relics of St. Therese and the growing anticipation for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, as well as the popularity among young people for World Youth Day pilgrimages.

Bishop Williamson Reveals the Democratic Deceit of Free Speech

Bad boy Bishop Williamson is being pelted by the press again. He's being accused of the greatest sin a modern man can commit in this age of unreason, denying the sanctity of the Jewish race and the numbers (accountancy) related to the so-called "Holocaust". In its passion for reification and easy villains, the world press has levelled its guns on one man whose life has been a singular rejection of the liberalism who's cult they adore, as he speaks out against their consensus of depravity.

We agree with Bishop Williamson on attire, is it enough that so many daughters complain of the immoral men that the behaviors that contribute to it can't rightly be castigated? We think that the editors of these propaganda organs want a nice docile population, enslaved to its lusts and caprices, who will enjoy the pillorying of one man who stands against their Orthodoxy and their frequent and unchecked deceit and malice. So much for freedom of speech and the values of "democracy". We should thank Bishop Williamson, whether we agree with him or not, for revealing this democratic deceit.

Williamson has noticed female fans wearing even shorter skirts. "Aren't there are any men left who tell their daughters, sisters, wives or mothers that this sort of outfit is only meant for the eyes of their own husbands?"

More Reports that CCHD/USCCB Supports Planned Parenthood And Promotes Homosexuality

This is just in from Deal.

Two new reports have been published today on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

Rob Gaspar at Bellarmine Veritas Ministry has dug more deeply into the CCHD relationship to the Center for Community Change (CCC).

In "Sleeping with the Enemy," Michael Hichborn at the American Life League has also uncovered more disturbing facts about CCC. Hichborn also chronicles the personal involvement of the USCCB's John Carr, Executive Secretary of Justice, Peace, and Human Development. Carr oversees the CCHD.

Read Further...

And more stuff in from lifesitenews quoting from abovementioned Hichborn article, and about members of CCHD and USCCB being in openly homosexual relationships.

Washington, DC, February 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A national group that promotes abortion and homosexual rights has deep ties with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, according to a report released Monday.

Top USCCB executive John Carr held simultaneous leadership roles, creating a conflict of interest, with the USCCB and the radical Center for Community Change.

"The closer we look at the Bishops Conference [staff and programs], the more we find a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil," said Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB scandal. "The CCC has lodged itself into the highest places of power in the USCCB while working to promote abortion and homosexuality."

Interfaith is a Crock and Carmelites Should Know

Liberal Catholics love "interfaith" but I don't know anyone else who does. It's more like something you're supposed to do, but invariably don't do, like eating granola, recycling or respecting diversity. No wonder real men don't go to church these days. Anyway, we can't blame these fine sisters too much since Archbishop Nichols, among others, has led the charge on interfaith by going to a Hindu Temple himself.


Catholic nuns and Hindu leader pray together for a better world

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, Carmelite nuns and well-known Hindu statesman Rajan Zed prayed together in Reno (Nevada, USA) today for making the "world a better place".

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, prayed from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE [wow, man, inclusive], with lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures. The nuns prayed from Songs of David and Intercessions, and read from Gospel of Luke in New Testament.

According to Sr. Susan Weber, Prioress of Carmel of Our Lady of the Mountains Monastery, where the prayers and dialogue was held, it was always nice to share the prayers and have dialogue. It was second year of such joint session of Carmelite-Hindu prayers in the Monastery. Sr. Rosey Klupfel led the prayers.

Read further...

Photo= Guardian

Two Bishops Defend Church's Teaching

One Estonian Bishop roundly condemns Holy Communion in the hand.



h/t: Athanasius

Archbishop Chaput says "Satan Is Real"

Urges Catholics to Be Missionaries to Modern Culture

ROME, JAN. 27, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Denver is cautioning artists of the danger of pride and vanity, which can lead to a betrayal of their mission to manifest God's glory in the world.

"A key temptation of our age is the will to power," Archbishop Charles Chaput stated today at the Fifth Symposium Rome: Priests and Laity on Mission, which ends today.

The Emmanuel Community and the Pierre Goursat University Institute organized the three-day congress, in collaboration with the Pontifical Institute Redemptor Hominis.

Pondering Roman collars, the Latin Mass and 'holy ignorance' | National Catholic Reporter

Pondering Roman collars, the Latin Mass and 'holy ignorance' | National Catholic Reporter

by John L Allen Jr on Jan. 30, 2010 The Future Church

PDF versionIn The Future Church I identify “evangelical Catholicism” as a key trend, defined as a strong reassertion of traditional Catholic identity coupled with an impulse to express that identity in the public realm. At a purely descriptive level that claim is a no-brainer, because the evidence is crystal clear – from revival of the old Latin Mass, to new demands that pro-choice Catholic politicians be brought to heel.

The $64,000 question isn’t whether the trend exists, but what to make of it.

In that regard, a recent book from the famed French sociologist Olivier Roy, widely considered one of Europe’s leading experts on Islam, offers two perspectives worth pondering. One’s empirical in nature and the other analytical – which is to say, one’s essentially a fact of life, the other a debatable line of interpretation.

Arlington Catholic Herald - Papal environmentalism - catholicherald.com

Arlington Catholic Herald - Papal environmentalism - catholicherald.com

Catholicism is Now Illegal in Quebec

Seems like following Church teaching in Quebec, strangely, one of the most Catholic places in the world, can land you in some hot water.

by Brian Kelly January 28th, 2010

Douglas Farrow of Catholic Civil Rights League: The Québec policy against homophobia was released in December with introductory fanfare from Premier Jean Charest and Justice Minister Kathleen Weil, who is officially “the minister responsible for the fight against homophobia.” It diagrams a full-scale assault, to be coordinated by an inter-departmental committee, against “homophobic attitudes and behaviour patterns” and “sets out the government’s goal of removing all the obstacles” to full recognition of LGBT interests and modes of life. What is thus promulgated is no ordinary policy document, for it aims at the conversion, not merely of this or that piece of public infrastructure, but of the psychological and moral and sexual infrastructure of a generation. It is not directed at creating a situation of legal equality – that, it proudly proclaims, has already been accomplished – but at creating “a society free of prejudice with regard to sexual diversity.”

Link to SBC site... Of course, no one is telling Weil about objective scientific studies at John's Hopkins about the whether or not homosexuality is genetic or not, of course, our diversity police won't want this study to see the light of day; the politics of deviance will see to that.

Paul McHugh, a Roman Catholic and a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that scientific research has not established any genetic causation for homosexual orientation. When asked if his paper might appear in "The American Journal of Psychiatry", he smiled and said, "No." Americans, he said, have become such victims of the "politics of deviance" that objective scholarship is brushed aside in favor of what is deemed to be politically correct.

More here...

Nigerian Catholic priest charged with embezzling $200,000

Catholic priest charged with embezzling $200,000

Church Services are too Feminine

Men don't want to sing 'love songs to a man' while the 'vicar wears a dress'

Ruth Gledhill posted an article citing a statistic that the church attendence is down 49 percent with males under the age of 30 in the last 20 years because services are too sissy. This is one attempt by the Church of England to alleviate the problem, but then, I don't know, why not beef up the church services by restoring the Traditional Latin Mass? We've noticed that there are quite a few more men there than are at the women dominated Novus Ordo Mass.

New Owensboro Bishop Assisted in Protecting Homosexual Predators

When Pope Benedict XVI appointed the Rev. William Medley as bishop of Owensboro in December, many touted the leadership experience Medley gained in 27 years as a priest and administrator in the Archdiocese of Louisville. "I have always accepted any assignment that the church has asked of me," Medley said at the time.But one of those assignments is coming under scrutiny from advocates for victims of sexual abuse, as Medley prepares for his formal installation Feb. 10 as spiritual leader of 50,000 Western Kentucky Catholics.From 1989 to 1993, Medley served as the Louisville archdiocese's director of clergy personnel, where he helped handle re-assignments for five priests facing accusations, some substantiated, of sexually abusing minors, according to court documents.Related• Summary of cases Among those priests were Daniel C. Clark and Louis E. Miller, who ultimately were sent to prison for sexually abusing children. The archdiocese removed all five from ministry a decade later after concluding that accusations against them were valid.Cal Pfeiffer, a Louisville member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he believes the people in Owensboro "have the right to be aware" of Medley's involvement in those cases."These things raise some real questions, and if these things are never brought out, it would show there's no consequence for him" for how he handled his job, Pfeiffer said.Medley said in an interview that he is reluctant to talk publicly about cases that could dredge up new pain for all involved, and he doesn't remember details about the cases."I prefer to look forward," Medley said, adding that while the church cannot "undo the hurt and damage" to children, it is now working to prevent future abuse.He pledged to handle any future revelations of abuse seriously."I think what I need to say to the people in Owensboro, and certainly any victims that would come forward, would be that I fully support the charter," Medley said, referring to the 2002 bishops' charter governing the handling of abuse allegations.

Human beings being what they are, we all know that someone will fail again, but I hope it will not be because the institution protected that or hid that."

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100131/FEATURES10/1310326/New-Owensboro-bishop-played-role-in-re-assigning-priests-accused-of-sexual-abuse
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Catholic author writing to change a generation :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Catholic author writing to change a generation :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)


CNA STAFF, Jan 30, 2010 / 10:55 am (CNA).- CNA recently reviewed “Fatherless,” a book that has been dubbed “the Catholic novel of our generation.” The book, however, isn’t simply just story, author Brian Gail says of his work, “I’m hopeful that the unrest which courses through its pages will spark something that will contribute to a renewal of the Catholic Church in America.”

Gail, a former Madison Avenue ad-man, semi-pro athlete, and father of seven first attempted to write a memoir. But he threw it away after the first chapter. “It was just awful,” he told CNA. “When I sat down to start again, a tale about a priest emerged. Nothing could have surprised me more.”

The result is “Fatherless,” a serious Catholic novel already in its third printing from Dayton, Ohio’s One More Soul.

It is that tale about a priest that is attempting to change the world. Gail says his book, which is at times a fictionalized version of his family’s experiences, was guided by the Holy Spirit in a specific direction: “the re-run of Satan’s strategy in the garden of bypassing the family structure to deceive love and destroy unity.”

Homosexual activists target 96-year-old civic leader for supporting Prop. 8 :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Homosexual activists target 96-year-old civic leader for supporting Prop. 8 :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Vatican Removes Death Penalty from the books

Vatican Removes Death Penalty

A revamped Vatican constitution coming out next month officially takes the death penalty off the Holy See's books.
Pope Paul VI abolished the death penalty within the walls of the Vatican in the 1960s. However, capital punishment remained in the text of the constitution, which dates to the 1929 creation of the modern Vatican city-state, a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said on Friday.
Under the modern state, ``It was never put into effect,'' Benedettini said.
The revised constitution is the first since 1929, and removes anachronisms like the death penalty from the code, Benedettini said.
``After so many years, something must be reviewed,'' he said. ``Being such a small state, we don't need to do it very often.''
The revised constitution takes effect on 22 February.
While the Vatican under Pope John Paul II is strongly anti-death penalty, Vatican use of the death penalty persisted into the 19th century, with hangings under Pope Pius IX.

AP

29-Jan-01


Link to original...

Renedgade Bishop Will Have Civil Partnership

[Telegraph] Outspoken bishop Pat Buckley is set to have a civil partnership in Larne — where he blesses gay and lesbian unions in his private independent chapel.


The maverick cleric (57) will tie the knot on February 8.

While the intention was posted at Larne Borough Council offices, it is thought that a follow-up service will take place at the chapel in The Oratory — his residence which was owned by the Diocese of Down and Connor and which he refused to vacate when he was suspended as a priest.

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/wedding-bells-for-gay-bishop-pat-buckley-14658986.html#ixzz0eCnXOk0P

Vatican II: a triumph of naïve optimism? - Catholic Herald

Vatican II: a triumph of naïve optimism? - Catholic Herald

Dear Fr Aidan,

Thank you for your reply to my previous letter on the concept of Tradition, a subject we can't leave behind just yet, since we're shadowing the agenda for the discussions between the SSPX and Rome, and our topic now is the interpretation of Vatican II in continuity with Catholic doctrinal tradition.

First of all, though, I wasn't suggesting that the sufferings of the SSPX - ostracisation and exile, not to mention the pain of excommunication - constitute a martyrdom. Neither was I comparing the persecution of Christians across the world with the distress of those who watched the religious life that sustained them being dismantled. It's just sad to think of priests who refused to accept the reforms being driven from their parishes and dying of broken hearts, as Archbishop Lefebvre claims happened in A Bishop Speaks.

But were they attached to Tradition or to a particular tradition of expressing Tradition, to borrow your distinction between "Revelation as transmitted in the Church's life" and "the ways in which the Church presents it"?

Archbishop Eijk of Holland: Years of Reality for the Church

[Kathnet, Holland]Dutch Archbishop submits that in Holland in the next ten years 1,000 more churches will be closed, 600 protestant and 400 Catholic. The Archbishop denies that they will be used as mosques.

The Dutch Archbishop Wim Eijk sees the next decade as "years of truth for churches". The turning away of belief in the Church will stabilize itself by year 2020, said the Archbishop of Utrecht in an interview with the newspaper "De Telegraaf" (Saturday). At present perhaps 16 percent of the of the population of the Netherlands is Catholic. This will also sink by ten percent. "Catholics, who still practice their faith, are strengthened by the search for authentic Faith," said Ejik.

The Archbishop maintains, that in the Netherlands over the next 10 years, 1000 churches will close, 600 protestant and 400 Catholic. The Bishops deny the use of churches as mosques. Empty churches could be used by other Christian communities, as health care facilities, or for cultural uses. Also, buildings can be demolished, provided that they are not culturally important landmarks.

Eijk, who has led the diocese of Groningen since the end of 2007, attempted to work decisively toward the financial health of the Church in Holland. "Had we not done anything, we would have been bankrupt in the last ten years, and had no more money to pay salaries," he said. Eijk is receiving sharp criticism for savings measures by a group of institutions for priestly education.

C) 2010 KNA Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur GmbH. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Neconservative Co-Founder of Crisis Magazine is Dead

Ralph McInerny, RIP

By Phil Lawler | January 29, 2010 5:57 PM

Ralph McInerny, one of the most memorable figures on the American Catholic scene, died this morning in South Bend at the age of 80, after a long illness. He will be sorely missed.

For more than 50 years he taught philosophy at Notre Dame, and he ranked among the world's leading Thomists. (It is fitting that he was able to celebrate the feast of St. Thomas, to whom he was so devoted, once last time on the day before his death.) But anyone who expected Ralph to be a dry, detached, ivory-tower scholar was due for a surprise upon meeting him. He was friendly, urbane, and gracious. He moved easily across international boundaries, spending vacations in Italy and giving speeches all across Europe. And he moved with equal ease into the spheres of politics and polemics, literature and the arts. A genuine renaissance man.

Read the entire article...

Beatify Archbishop Romero Now!

Beatify Archbishop Romero Now!

Not too much enthusiasm for +Romero, but this painting showing affinities to Diego Rivera's Mexican Muralism Style is telling. The enemies within the Church can use a Saint to give their cause of Liberation Theology a boost. Archbishop Romero, like the USCCB back in the 70s was trying to tell landowners how to dispose of their property; never mind that the land schemes envisioned by the +Romero and the Government and reformers actually put people out of work and made the El Salvadoran agricultural less efficient.

The Supreme Court and Sharia Law!

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Most Americans predict the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, a national poll indicated Thursday.

And most Americans would prefer the court to rule that way, the Angus Reid Public Opinion poll found.

But then, there is also a block of the population, like this Muslim Vanderbilt professor who thinks that homosexuals should be put to death, so things don't exactly look good for homosexuals and their aims at this point.

What do Patriarch Kiril and Pat Robertson have in Common?

Who will quote the Moscow patriarch?

What is this? An invocation of the God of the Old Testament? Who else would it come from but a Russian, a religious sentiment capable of condemning the public expression of Sodomy, a voice capable of uttering the consequences of deeply held ancestral beliefs, something as rich and powerful as the Russian soul itself, something patriarchal and prophetic.

Getreligion says there will be a firestorm coming. It will be interesting to hear it, but we don't think it will get quite to the level of condemnation raised against Bishop Williamson, because globalists generally agree that Haitians' deserve some of their misfortunes as well, but for more worldly and unforgiving reasons.

Ecumenical wars in Germany- Cardinal speaks to Radio Vatican

Ecumenical wars in Germany- Cardinal speaks to Radio Vatican

Bishop Hubbard is Promoting Needle Exchange

Surely you might recall this Neo-Marxist Bishop's recent support for the Nicaraguan "martyrs", Illegal immigration, supporting our enemies by promoting "No Nukes" and the mysterious death of one of his priests after said priest signed a document denying the allegations he made against Bishop Hubbard.

Now he's engaging in other policies that have done so much to make Holland the wonderful place it is today, needle exchange.

[Catholic Culture] Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, who serves as chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, has approved a proposal by diocesan Catholic Charities to distribute free needles to drug abusers in the hope of preventing the spread of AIDS.

“I understand there will be questions, but this is common sense,” said Sister Maureen Joyce, CEO of Catholic Charities. “I strongly believe in this. It will save lives.”

“From a theological standpoint, we're not being faithful to our mission if we don't reach out to people addicted to drugs, too,” Sister Joyce added.

An $83,000 van filled with syringes will be parked in two neighborhoods and serve as the focal point of Catholic Charities’ needle distribution efforts.

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Homosexual Orthodox Rabbi "nudges" Judaism

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010922283_rabbi29m.html

Never thought of the gayness of the word "nudge" before.

Catholic Bishops Lobby for ObamaCare, Amnesty for Illegals

Catholic Bishops Lobby for ObamaCare, Amnesty for Illegals

New Archbishop Assesses the Outlook for Christians in Iraq

New Archbishop Assesses the Outlook for Christians in Iraq

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Fr. Corcuera urges charity as Legionaries discuss future :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Fr. Corcuera urges charity as Legionaries discuss future :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Jesuit School in Berlin Reports Sex Abuse Cases

There must be something very systematically wrong with the Jesuits. It must be the modernism that infects the very air a Jesuit breathes from the day he enters the Novitiate to the day he's buried and goes to meet his just reward.

BERLIN -- Several students at one of Germany's most prestigious high schools were sexually abused for many years by their teachers, the school's director said Thursday.

Father Klaus Mertes says he has sent out 500 letters to alumni of Berlin's private Catholic Canisius Kolleg to determine the extent of the case after seven ex-students recently reported they were abused in the 1970s and 1980s.

Canisius Kolleg is one of Germany's pre-eminent schools, alma mater of many politicians, businesspeople and scientists.

Link to original...

Even Communist NPR Knows about France's Royalists: Vive Le Roi!

NPR reports on the Mass for King Louis XVI at St. Dennis, there's some balderdash in the report, but it's surprisingly sympathetic to our cause.

Copyright © 2010 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Every January the Royalists of France, or is it that the Royalists de France, gather to mark the date when King Louis XVI was beheaded. His death marked the beginning of the French Republic. Yet many who remember the kings death hope that France will some day restore the monarchy.

Eleanor Beardsley sends this report.

(Soundbite of music)

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: Organ music thunders through the stone cavernous basilica of Saint Denis on the northern outskirts of Paris. More than 800 people have gathered here, not just to pay homage to King Louis XVI, but to mourn the death of the French monarchy. Saint Denis is the necropolis of the French royal family. More than 50 monarchs, including Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, are buried here.

Unidentified Man #1: (Latin spoken)

BEARDSLEY: The mass is in Latin. The priest swings a censer of incense on a chain. The somber service in this stone-cold Seventh century church resonates with regret for a France that lived 16 centuries in the Catholic monarchy. The priest describes the day it all came to an end when Louis XVI was led to the guillotine.

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Bill Donahue Stands by Socialist USCCB

We've been interested in establishing the liberal pedigree of one William Donahue who's a bit of a would-be Catholic carny, barking for donations and declaiming the "enemies" of the Catholic Church while shilling for the USCCB. He's also been promoting the idea of "hate crimes" and we see him here doing lapdog service for the socialist "Health Care Reform" here.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest statement by the bishops on health care reform:

The day before President Obama’s State of the Union address, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a letter imploring the Congress to move forward with health care reform. A plea to the president to do the same was put forth by 23 progressive religious leaders. But the contents of the letters were strikingly different, and the reaction to the bishops has been sharp.

The bishops reiterated their call for universal health care, standing fast on the need to protect conscience rights and the rights of the unborn. New York Times journalist David D. Kirkpatrick, however, calls out the bishops by claiming, “Now that the legislation appears to be near death, the bishops are on the other side.” Wrong. They never switched positions. Indeed, no organization in the nation has been more consistent in its support for health care reform than the USCCB. That the bishops do not support forcing the taxpayers to pay for abortions, and that they care deeply about the conscience rights of doctors and nurses, is hardly a new position. Practicing Catholics believe abortion is “intrinsically evil,” thus it has no legitimate place in any health care legislation.

Sarah Posner, a left-wing writer, is furious with the bishops. She speaks derisively of their commitment to “life-giving” health care; she argues that their real “motive” is to “normalize and expand their agenda on reproductive care”; she accuses them of pursuing a “divide and conquer strategy”; she contends they seek “to portray themselves as the heroes” after “they’ve absolved themselves of responsibility for holding the House bill hostage”; and so forth. In other words, because the bishops have stuck to their guns, they’re the opportunists!

The letter by religious progressives never mentions any objection to abortion or the need for conscience rights, though it does conclude by citing their dedication to “helping the vulnerable.” Nice to know that these religious leaders don’t count the unborn among the vulnerable.

Opus Dei Prelate's Audience with Holy Father

Prelate's Audience with the Holy Father

On last Thursday, January 21, Benedict XVI received Bishop Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei, in a private audience.

American Fiction Writer, Howard Zinn dead at 87

Along with Saul Alinsky, Noam Chomsky, Peter Singer and Herbert Marcuse, he was one of the most deceptive and corrosive influences in American education in the post-war years.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

American historian Howard Zinn, best known for his work A People's History of the United States, died Wednesday, January 27, of a heart attack while traveling to Santa Monica, California. He was 87.

Born in 1922 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, Zinn served in the Army during World War II as a pilot. After the war ended, he took his medals and papers, put them in a folder, and wrote on top "Never again," becoming an anti-war activist for the rest of his life. Zinn He attended Columbia University, where he received a doctorate in history and wrote his dissertation on New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia's congressional career.

Wikinews...

Dealer to Junkies: "Don't Abandon Health Care"

Unelected Bishops aren't satisfied with soft-socialism, they're still bent on the ineffective the highly centralized and failed economic practices of 1848-1992. Despite the best efforts of their DNC masters, the USCCB has failed to push the Socialist agenda yet again. The problem is, however, is that they are using the spiritual capital of the Catholic Church in the United States to push the socialist agendas of others who are not friendly to the Catholic Church. Still, these bemitred denizens of heterodoxy at the USCCB are not willing to give up so easily, they are haranguing their socialist colleagues for yet another go at the freedom and liberty not only of Holy Mother Church, but also the American taxpayer.

January 27, 2010

Months after threatening to oppose the health care overhaul over abortion – and one week after the election of a 41st Republican senator cost the Democrats their filibuster-proof majority, casting passage into doubt – Catholic bishops now are urging Congress against dropping the project.

“The health care debate, with all its political and ideological conflict, seems to have lost its central moral focus and policy priority, which is to ensure that affordable, quality, life-giving care is available to all,” Cardinal Daniel DiDinardo and bishops William F. Murphy and John Wester, writing on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, say in a letter sent to members of Congress this week. “Now is not the time to abandon this task, but rather to set aside partisan divisions and special interest pressures to find ways to enact genuine reform. Although political contexts have changed, the moral and policy failure that leaves tens of millions of our sisters and brothers without access to health care still remains.”

The bishops have advocated consistently for broadening access to health care, but oppose abortion. In November, the conference took an active role in lobbying for an amendment to the House version of the health care overhaul to prohibit taxpayer subsidies for insurance plans that cover the procedure.

Related Articles:


Catholic Bishops Pursuing Liberal Policy Advocating Socialized Medicine.

More USCCB advocating Socialism

USCCB Media Blog

If the cosmos were what scientism affirms it to be,

By Wolfgang Smith

Nothing strikes the contemporary mind as more certain and authoritative than the findings of physics, astronomy, chemistry, and, of late, molecular biology. These are the “hard” sciences of the present age, which, by empirical means, of a scope and accuracy that stagger the imagination, have put us in touch with fundamental realities that could not even have been conceived in bygone days. Moreover, this group of sciences has been in a sense “visibly validated,” for all to see, by the technological miracles which now surround us on all sides; how, then, can one doubt—much less deny—its findings? In truth, one cannot; quantum particles and fields, galaxies and quasars, molecules and the genetic code—all these are undeniable facts, which must henceforth be reckoned with.

We must remember, however, that facts and their interpretation are not the same thing. And since, subjectively, facts are invariably associated with an interpretation of some kind, it comes about that science as a rule presents us with two disparate factors: with positive findings, on the one hand, plus an underlying philosophy in terms of which the formulation and disclosure of these discoveries are framed. In its actuality science is never the kind of purely empirical enterprise it is generally reputed to be, which is to say that ontological as well as epistemological presuppositions do inevitably play an essential role. What is more, these various philosophical articles of belief are rarely if ever examined or subjected to critical scrutiny by the scientific community. They are the foundational ideas one absorbs, as if by osmosis, in the course of one’s scientific education; they pertain, one might almost say, to the scientific unconscious. And when it happens that one or the other of these ingrained philosophical dogmas does emerge into the light of day as a subject of discourse, the typical response on the part of scientists is to point immediately, by way of validation, to the success of the scientific enterprise: “It works!” one is told in effect. And yet in reality no philosophical belief has ever been validated by an empirical finding; the fact is that verification as well as falsification through empirical means apply to scientific as opposed to philosophical propositions. The separation between these two domains, however, is rarely attempted by scientists; only in times of extreme crisis, when the foundations of a science seem to be crumbling, does one encounter serious thought concerning questions of this kind, and even then such inquiries are pursued only by an adventurous few; it takes an Einstein or a Heisenberg to descend, as it were, to the foundational level, where philosophical axioms begin to come into view. What the rank and file absorb from these founders, moreover, pertains mainly to the technical aspect of the enterprise: one accepts the equations of relativity or the formalism of matrix mechanics, while all but ignoring the philosophical side of the coin. It is safe to say that the men and women who engage in the day-to-day business of scientific research tend not to be overly interested in philosophical subtleties; and so they incline to retain the philosophical axioms to which they have become accustomed over the years, and which could only be recognized as such, and dislodged, through serious and concentrated inquiry. It thus comes about that in the minds of scientists today, good science and inferior philosophy coexist and are in fact inextricably intertwined; as John Haught of Georgetown University has recently pointed out, “Some of the most prominent scientists are literally unable to separate science from their materialist metaphysics.”

This said, I can proceed to state my primary thesis: I contend that by virtue of the aforesaid confusion scientists have promulgated philosophic opinions of the most dubious kind as established scientific truths, and in the name of science have thrust upon an awed and credulous public a shallow world-view for which in reality there is not a shred of scientific support. Having gained the trust and admiration of society through the technological wonders which they have engineered, I maintain that scientists as a class have usurped their authority by predisposing the public against the high truths of religion. I am not suggesting, to be sure, that they have consciously deceived others, but rather contend that they have themselves been misled as a rule in matters pertaining to philosophy, metaphysics, and religion. Meanwhile the fact remains that these “blind guides” are exerting an inestimable influence upon education and public belief, with disastrous consequences to human welfare, both here and hereafter.

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