Front Royal, Va., Dec 5, 2009 / 10:06 am (CNA).- Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President of Human Life International has called for Americans to be watchful of President Obama's appointments to the new Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, claiming the unlikelihood of the advisors to share the pro-life sentiment of the majority of Americans.
On November 24, President Obama signed an Executive Order creating the new Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, whose purpose is to advise the President on concerns emerging from advances in biomedicine and related areas of science and technology.
Read Further...
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The Forces of Liberalism Are Attacking the Church
John Allen writes in NCR on the Pope's "headaches" that Holy Father might need the aspirin of liberalism to remedy the old nationalist headaches of populists; is it Pat Buchanan he is thinking of as well as remote Lombards and Venetians? As we read this we thought about the comparison between populist Catholics, assuming our definition is the same as Allen's and that he means to actually slur conservative (read actual) Catholics as being synonymous with nationalists and fascists, many of whom never the less, echo Oriana Fellaci's instinctual but rationally formed concerns for European Civilization in relation to Islam. Interestingly, Allen correctly points out that many Italians in the North, particularly the more nationalistically and Catholic minded, perhaps echoing similar intellectual movements in France like the Action Française, cling strongly to their Catholic identity, yet do, as John Allen maintains, retain a certain degree of anti-clerical feeling. Well, in a sense, who can blame them and in another, one wishes for a higher motivation still, that they may realize after all that the globalists (Allen calls them "centralists") who are strongly represented in the Vatican are, if we are really honest with ourselves, liberals who favor stronger centralization, government control and diminution of the things that define the nation.
The real issue then, John Allen's posturing notwithstanding, is the brain tumor of modernism. Pain is a good thing. If populists are causing the Holy Father a "headache" it must only be nature reminding him that something is wrong, and that reforms are needed to restore the heart of Europe to its everlasting Christian youth.
There are some evil men like John Allen's masters behind the furor in the Sex Abuse Scandal in the developing world. Of course, the liberals behind all of this aren't making us aware of the absolute deprivation of the poor in places like South Africa and Rhodesia whose regimes they lobbied for vociferously for more than a decade. They're much more concerned in getting some headway against the Irish Church and robbing its money by using the abuse scandal as a reason. They're already in the process of absconding with some 166 Million from the Christian Brothers, and they've used a convenience of accounting in San Francisco to finagle another 14.4 Million.
No doubt, lusting after the Church's millions, the Irish Republican Government and Gordon Brown's Labor Government have, like the Martians in HG Well's sci-fi novel, feasted their covetous eyes on the property of the Catholic Church after their failed social programs have failed to yield heaven on earth and left hell instead.
Ironically, men of their type had more to do with the scandal than does the Catholic Church itself. These liberals will blame "secrecy", but the real issue is the liberalism, and this media event was manufactured by them to whip up anger against Ireland's oldest and wisest institution by forces no one, not least of all those who are angered by this, understand.
Abuse takes place in government (and private schools) at a much greater rate than they have in Catholic schools, but there's a difference. First of all, the Government isn't interested in creating another shortfall, other religious denominations don't have any money, at least not compared to Catholicism and besides, the Church teaches a lot of things that many Europeans despise and let's face it, put a damper on living in the sleek world of tomorrow without guilt and all that medieval stuff.
The Church is easily demonized and it's wealthy. It sounds like a recipe for nationalization of assets to us.
Pope, President, Archbishop to discuss abuse scandal in Dublin.
Protest in Dublin, by 10 people with VOTF, another self-interested organization that will harp on pre-ordained issues which actually have nothing to do with the problem. They will insist that "secrecy" and "medievalism" are the problems when the real problem is something they themselves embody: liberalism. It really is indicated by the fact that VOTF wants to "change the structure of the Church."
Hopefully the Church strikes back against this non-sense by pointing out the liberals in their midst, as they have with Senator Patrick Kennedy. We need to do the same with the Bishops whose mismanagement gave the pretext to the government in the first place.
PITTSBURGH -- Catholics from the Pittsburgh area teamed up with the Washington DC group Insurrecta Nex to protest at the office of Sen. Bob Casey.
The Friday protest was to ask Bishop David Zubik and all U.S. bishops to deny Communion to senators who vote for health care reform covering abortion.
“If you vote for this bill, there’s child killing in it, then you will not be able to receive Holy Communion,” said one protester. “We’re tired of the treachery and the cowardice of so-called Catholic politicians who rebel against the teachings of Christ.”
Zubik responded in a statement that said, “The Church … has the responsibility to protect the sacredness of the Eucharist from any abuse, inclusive of politicizing Communion. If a time came where I must engage any individual for any reason in regard to reception of the Eucharist, that would be solely between myself as pastor and that person as a member of my flock.”
Zubik went on to say it would not be debated publicly.
Link to article....
The real issue then, John Allen's posturing notwithstanding, is the brain tumor of modernism. Pain is a good thing. If populists are causing the Holy Father a "headache" it must only be nature reminding him that something is wrong, and that reforms are needed to restore the heart of Europe to its everlasting Christian youth.
There are some evil men like John Allen's masters behind the furor in the Sex Abuse Scandal in the developing world. Of course, the liberals behind all of this aren't making us aware of the absolute deprivation of the poor in places like South Africa and Rhodesia whose regimes they lobbied for vociferously for more than a decade. They're much more concerned in getting some headway against the Irish Church and robbing its money by using the abuse scandal as a reason. They're already in the process of absconding with some 166 Million from the Christian Brothers, and they've used a convenience of accounting in San Francisco to finagle another 14.4 Million.
No doubt, lusting after the Church's millions, the Irish Republican Government and Gordon Brown's Labor Government have, like the Martians in HG Well's sci-fi novel, feasted their covetous eyes on the property of the Catholic Church after their failed social programs have failed to yield heaven on earth and left hell instead.
Ironically, men of their type had more to do with the scandal than does the Catholic Church itself. These liberals will blame "secrecy", but the real issue is the liberalism, and this media event was manufactured by them to whip up anger against Ireland's oldest and wisest institution by forces no one, not least of all those who are angered by this, understand.
Abuse takes place in government (and private schools) at a much greater rate than they have in Catholic schools, but there's a difference. First of all, the Government isn't interested in creating another shortfall, other religious denominations don't have any money, at least not compared to Catholicism and besides, the Church teaches a lot of things that many Europeans despise and let's face it, put a damper on living in the sleek world of tomorrow without guilt and all that medieval stuff.
The Church is easily demonized and it's wealthy. It sounds like a recipe for nationalization of assets to us.
Pope, President, Archbishop to discuss abuse scandal in Dublin.
Protest in Dublin, by 10 people with VOTF, another self-interested organization that will harp on pre-ordained issues which actually have nothing to do with the problem. They will insist that "secrecy" and "medievalism" are the problems when the real problem is something they themselves embody: liberalism. It really is indicated by the fact that VOTF wants to "change the structure of the Church."
Hopefully the Church strikes back against this non-sense by pointing out the liberals in their midst, as they have with Senator Patrick Kennedy. We need to do the same with the Bishops whose mismanagement gave the pretext to the government in the first place.
PITTSBURGH -- Catholics from the Pittsburgh area teamed up with the Washington DC group Insurrecta Nex to protest at the office of Sen. Bob Casey.
The Friday protest was to ask Bishop David Zubik and all U.S. bishops to deny Communion to senators who vote for health care reform covering abortion.
“If you vote for this bill, there’s child killing in it, then you will not be able to receive Holy Communion,” said one protester. “We’re tired of the treachery and the cowardice of so-called Catholic politicians who rebel against the teachings of Christ.”
Zubik responded in a statement that said, “The Church … has the responsibility to protect the sacredness of the Eucharist from any abuse, inclusive of politicizing Communion. If a time came where I must engage any individual for any reason in regard to reception of the Eucharist, that would be solely between myself as pastor and that person as a member of my flock.”
Zubik went on to say it would not be debated publicly.
Link to article....
Friday, December 4, 2009
Here are some Christmas ++Weakland O.S.B. Memories
rembert the ripper
Diogenes
Newly released depositions reveal that Nantucket's naughtiest nightowl, when he was an eminent pastor of souls, had an effective method for dealing with embarrassing documentation. He shredded it.
Didn't want inadvertently to disedify the cleaning lady, I suppose.
Everyone has his favorite Rembert Weakland story. Many lovingly recall his remark that pro-life Catholics "need a hug and a laxative." My own heart is particularly warmed by the priestly solicitude he displayed in August of 1984. In July of that year, three lay teachers at an archdiocesan school wrote the archbishop that Salvatorian Fr. Dennis Pecore was inviting boys to his bedroom for purposes of sexual mischief. Weakland turned the tables on the informants and sternly wrote back: "any libelous material found in your letter will be carefully scrutinized by our lawyers." The teachers took the point, but they ignored the threat and continued to plead for an intervention. For their pains, all three were fired. In January 1987 Pecore was convicted of sexual assault on a juvenile (and later sentenced to 12 years in prison for another sex offense). After paying out $600,000 to Pecore's victims, Weakland wrote in his May 26, 1988 Herald of Hope column: "Sometimes not all adolescents are so 'innocent,' some can be sexually very active and often quite street wise." The pastoral touch.
When the sexual abuse crisis exploded in early 2002, Weakland was still riding high, congratulating himself on his accomplishments as a "maverick" archbishop. In early March he wrote his priests: "I would suggest that we all relax a bit on our Lenten resolutions. The bombardment in the public forum about pedophilia in the Church has provided enough penance for everyone this year." Shortly thereafter Weakland's world exploded as former catamite Paul Marcoux made public love-letters from the archbishop, as well as a settlement by which $450,000 of Archdiocesan funds were paid him as hush-money.
Post-resignation Weakland seemed only dimly aware of his disgrace and continued to write petulant (if muted) criticisms of Pope John Paul II and other orthodox Catholics. More recently, in his autobiography, Weakland admitted to several homosexual liaisons in his career as priest and bishop. As is perfectly in character, the conclusion Weakland drew from his infidelities is that it's the Church that needs to rethink her teaching on sexuality and the priesthood. The image of Weakland shredding evidence of abuse with one hand while, with the other, throwing brush-back pitches at concerned layfolk provides a wonderfully rounded portrait of this most progressive of progressivist bishops.
Which brings me to my point: Uncle Di's Christmas Gift Suggestion for 2009. For that irony-impervious prelate on your holiday list, I highly recommend Unfailing Patience and Sound Teaching: Reflections on Episcopal Ministry in Honor of Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B. -- a bargain at only $49.27! Think of it as a down-payment on Paul Marcoux's trousseau.
P.S. I expect it'll be a surprise best-seller in Ireland this season.
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29181
Diogenes
Newly released depositions reveal that Nantucket's naughtiest nightowl, when he was an eminent pastor of souls, had an effective method for dealing with embarrassing documentation. He shredded it.
Former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland routinely shredded copies of weekly reports about sexual abuse by priests, according to formerly sealed testimony turned over to Milwaukee County's district attorney on Thursday.
[chop]
In the deposition, Weakland explains that he got copies of the weekly logs made by vicars in the archdiocese about ongoing problem priests. He said he would read them, then shred them because he didn't want to keep them in his office. He would "try to remember anything that is quite serious and important," and later discuss the matters with the vicar.
Didn't want inadvertently to disedify the cleaning lady, I suppose.
Everyone has his favorite Rembert Weakland story. Many lovingly recall his remark that pro-life Catholics "need a hug and a laxative." My own heart is particularly warmed by the priestly solicitude he displayed in August of 1984. In July of that year, three lay teachers at an archdiocesan school wrote the archbishop that Salvatorian Fr. Dennis Pecore was inviting boys to his bedroom for purposes of sexual mischief. Weakland turned the tables on the informants and sternly wrote back: "any libelous material found in your letter will be carefully scrutinized by our lawyers." The teachers took the point, but they ignored the threat and continued to plead for an intervention. For their pains, all three were fired. In January 1987 Pecore was convicted of sexual assault on a juvenile (and later sentenced to 12 years in prison for another sex offense). After paying out $600,000 to Pecore's victims, Weakland wrote in his May 26, 1988 Herald of Hope column: "Sometimes not all adolescents are so 'innocent,' some can be sexually very active and often quite street wise." The pastoral touch.
When the sexual abuse crisis exploded in early 2002, Weakland was still riding high, congratulating himself on his accomplishments as a "maverick" archbishop. In early March he wrote his priests: "I would suggest that we all relax a bit on our Lenten resolutions. The bombardment in the public forum about pedophilia in the Church has provided enough penance for everyone this year." Shortly thereafter Weakland's world exploded as former catamite Paul Marcoux made public love-letters from the archbishop, as well as a settlement by which $450,000 of Archdiocesan funds were paid him as hush-money.
Post-resignation Weakland seemed only dimly aware of his disgrace and continued to write petulant (if muted) criticisms of Pope John Paul II and other orthodox Catholics. More recently, in his autobiography, Weakland admitted to several homosexual liaisons in his career as priest and bishop. As is perfectly in character, the conclusion Weakland drew from his infidelities is that it's the Church that needs to rethink her teaching on sexuality and the priesthood. The image of Weakland shredding evidence of abuse with one hand while, with the other, throwing brush-back pitches at concerned layfolk provides a wonderfully rounded portrait of this most progressive of progressivist bishops.
Which brings me to my point: Uncle Di's Christmas Gift Suggestion for 2009. For that irony-impervious prelate on your holiday list, I highly recommend Unfailing Patience and Sound Teaching: Reflections on Episcopal Ministry in Honor of Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B. -- a bargain at only $49.27! Think of it as a down-payment on Paul Marcoux's trousseau.
P.S. I expect it'll be a surprise best-seller in Ireland this season.
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29181
Pro-Homosexual Jesuit Speaker in Archdiocese of St Paul, Minnesota
There is going to be a "Retreat" by a Jesuit who promotes the moral and psychological normalcy of Homosexuality and Liberation Theology and despite warnings from concerned individuals, the Archdiocese has steadfastly refused to do anything about these dissidents speaking in its jurisdication this evening and all day tomorrow.
Dennis McGrath, Communications Director for the Archdiocese of Minnesota who even warned us of the "Catholic Coalition for Church Reform", insists that he's been doing everything possible to keep Michael Bayly, a local homosexual activist, and speakers friendly to him off of Archdiocesan property as speakers or people involved officially with the Archdiocese in any way. We think that he would prefer there weren't any Catholics in the Archdiocese at all, you know, no oversight.
We've just been informed that Terri Griep, a freelance writer, who is organizing the talk is a close collaborator with Michael Bayly and is herself not "harmonious with Catholic teachings" regarding Homosexuality and Liberation Theology. She describes her mission with the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform this way.
Link to original...
Related Articles:
Perhaps Archbishop Nienstedt isn't a "real" conservative?
And he's soft on Marxism too!
Another... Jesuit...
Dennis McGrath, Communications Director for the Archdiocese of Minnesota who even warned us of the "Catholic Coalition for Church Reform", insists that he's been doing everything possible to keep Michael Bayly, a local homosexual activist, and speakers friendly to him off of Archdiocesan property as speakers or people involved officially with the Archdiocese in any way. We think that he would prefer there weren't any Catholics in the Archdiocese at all, you know, no oversight.
We've just been informed that Terri Griep, a freelance writer, who is organizing the talk is a close collaborator with Michael Bayly and is herself not "harmonious with Catholic teachings" regarding Homosexuality and Liberation Theology. She describes her mission with the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform this way.
Is it consistent with the Gospel message of transforming love and abundant life to construct and promote a theology that justifies denying lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons full expression of their sexuality and the human good of partnering? What might an alternative theology, one informed by the findings of science and the experiences and insights of LGBT people, look like?
The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Work/Study Group of the 2010 Synod will explore the historical, biological, and psycho/social aspects of human sexuality – with particular emphasis on homosexuality. It will also make recommendations for the adoption of a theology that values and celebrates the lives and relationships of LGBT people.
The abovementioned event took place at Our Lady of Lords Catholic Church, Edina, Minnesota.
Link to original...
Related Articles:
Perhaps Archbishop Nienstedt isn't a "real" conservative?
And he's soft on Marxism too!
Another... Jesuit...
Driving all the Snakes Out of Ireland for St. Patrick's Day?
WIDESPREAD condemnation of the way the Roman Catholic bishops of the Dublin archdiocese dealt with paedophile priests over three decades culminated in a call for the expulsion of the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, over the Vatican’s failure to respond to the scandals (News, 27 November).
The independent commission established by the Irish government under Ms Justice Yvonne Murphy of the High Court examined complaints against 46 individual priests, involving 320 children, the majority of whom were boys. One priest admitted sexual abuse of more than 100 children.
It found that four Archbishops and several auxiliary Bishops of Dublin, including five now serving in dioceses of their own, seriously failed in their duty of protection towards children.
The Roman Catholic Church’s own rules and structures facilitated a cover-up, the report says, which included the movement of priests who were known offenders from one parish to another, thus allowing them to reoffend. It also failed to report offenders to the Garda Siochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland, over the entire period of their tenure in office. The Gardaí, in turn, often deferred to the hierarchy by simply advising archbishops of complaints they themselves had received. RC prelates were thus regarded as being above the law of the State.
The inquiry described the behaviour of successive Archbishops of Dublin as showing “denial, arrogance, and cover-up” over a period from the 1970s until the 1990s. The Justice Minister of Ireland, Dermot Ahern, described the report as chronicling a scandal on an astonishing scale, and pledged that, in the Republic, no organisation or institution would be allowed to regard itself as superior to the State or its people. “A collar will protect no criminal,” he said.
Link to original...
Related Articles:
Irish Church in Trouble: Blame Liberals.
Dublin's Archbishop Silent on Catholic Teaching.
Irish Minister "demands" meeting with Nuncio.
Even Golden Brown wants to get in on the feeding frenzy and talk tough about evil in Northern Ireland.
At least Russia is more sensible than Ireland. They want to improve their relations with the Vatican. In our humble opinion, we think that Catholicism is too good for Ireland.
The independent commission established by the Irish government under Ms Justice Yvonne Murphy of the High Court examined complaints against 46 individual priests, involving 320 children, the majority of whom were boys. One priest admitted sexual abuse of more than 100 children.
It found that four Archbishops and several auxiliary Bishops of Dublin, including five now serving in dioceses of their own, seriously failed in their duty of protection towards children.
The Roman Catholic Church’s own rules and structures facilitated a cover-up, the report says, which included the movement of priests who were known offenders from one parish to another, thus allowing them to reoffend. It also failed to report offenders to the Garda Siochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland, over the entire period of their tenure in office. The Gardaí, in turn, often deferred to the hierarchy by simply advising archbishops of complaints they themselves had received. RC prelates were thus regarded as being above the law of the State.
The inquiry described the behaviour of successive Archbishops of Dublin as showing “denial, arrogance, and cover-up” over a period from the 1970s until the 1990s. The Justice Minister of Ireland, Dermot Ahern, described the report as chronicling a scandal on an astonishing scale, and pledged that, in the Republic, no organisation or institution would be allowed to regard itself as superior to the State or its people. “A collar will protect no criminal,” he said.
Link to original...
Related Articles:
Irish Church in Trouble: Blame Liberals.
Dublin's Archbishop Silent on Catholic Teaching.
Irish Minister "demands" meeting with Nuncio.
Even Golden Brown wants to get in on the feeding frenzy and talk tough about evil in Northern Ireland.
At least Russia is more sensible than Ireland. They want to improve their relations with the Vatican. In our humble opinion, we think that Catholicism is too good for Ireland.
Why are Jews trying to Wreck Italy?
This is from an article in 2005 and it demonstrates not only longstanding Jewish intolerance of religious expressions outside of Judaism, but it shows a certain similarity with other planned cause celebs launched by the SPLC, ADL and ACLU. Hello, Saul Alinsky. The Italian government will ignore this judicial bullying.
Italian Jews’ Crucifix Stand
The leader of the Italian Jewish community has called for public displays of crucifixes to be outlawed.
In a statement released last week, Amos Luzzatto, Chair of the Italian Union of Jewish Communities (UCEI) spoke out against the symbols as irreflective of all members of society.
"We do respect the Christian people,” Luzzato said. “But a symbol of divine presence in a public school should be recognisable by the citizens of all faiths and it should address them all in an equal manner.
“Now, since every school hosts citizens with different beliefs or no belief at all, we should rather avoid displaying any symbol".
Silence broken
The new declaration broke the August quiet of Italian politics and followed Pope Benedict XVI’s homily on Assumption of the Virgin Day, August 15.
From his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, a village on a hill close to Rome, the Pope said that it is important to continuously display the divine presence "through the cross symbol in privates homes as well as in public buildings".
Since the revision of the 1929 Lateran Pacts of between Italy and the Holy See in 1984, the issue of displaying the crucifix in public buildings such as schools, hospitals and law-courts has been controversial and the subject of much debate.
In 2000, the Court of Cassation ruled as illegitimate the presence of the crucifix in polling stations. And, in its court order four year later, the Italian Constitutional Court, recognised that "The mandatory display of the Crucifix in classrooms would violate the state’s duty of equidistance with respect to different faiths and would contradict the need for a neutral public space".
However, the Court has somehow delegated the local authorities to decide whether to display the cross or not.
Rabbi reacts
Rome’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, reacted with detachment to the situation.
He declared to the press: "I think there’s absolutely no new official position of the Church on the issue" he declared.
"It is important that the Pope underlined the religious aspect of the symbol. Benedict XVI is a Pope who talks very openly. In the previous polemics some were defending the idea that the crucifix is a cultural symbol (of the Western world); it is clearly not the case and we must take note of this clarification," Di Segni added.
Link to original...
The response
Vatican Condemnation.
Judicial Activist, all part of the initial plan.
Italian Jews’ Crucifix Stand
The leader of the Italian Jewish community has called for public displays of crucifixes to be outlawed.
In a statement released last week, Amos Luzzatto, Chair of the Italian Union of Jewish Communities (UCEI) spoke out against the symbols as irreflective of all members of society.
"We do respect the Christian people,” Luzzato said. “But a symbol of divine presence in a public school should be recognisable by the citizens of all faiths and it should address them all in an equal manner.
“Now, since every school hosts citizens with different beliefs or no belief at all, we should rather avoid displaying any symbol".
Silence broken
The new declaration broke the August quiet of Italian politics and followed Pope Benedict XVI’s homily on Assumption of the Virgin Day, August 15.
From his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, a village on a hill close to Rome, the Pope said that it is important to continuously display the divine presence "through the cross symbol in privates homes as well as in public buildings".
Since the revision of the 1929 Lateran Pacts of between Italy and the Holy See in 1984, the issue of displaying the crucifix in public buildings such as schools, hospitals and law-courts has been controversial and the subject of much debate.
In 2000, the Court of Cassation ruled as illegitimate the presence of the crucifix in polling stations. And, in its court order four year later, the Italian Constitutional Court, recognised that "The mandatory display of the Crucifix in classrooms would violate the state’s duty of equidistance with respect to different faiths and would contradict the need for a neutral public space".
However, the Court has somehow delegated the local authorities to decide whether to display the cross or not.
Rabbi reacts
Rome’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, reacted with detachment to the situation.
He declared to the press: "I think there’s absolutely no new official position of the Church on the issue" he declared.
"It is important that the Pope underlined the religious aspect of the symbol. Benedict XVI is a Pope who talks very openly. In the previous polemics some were defending the idea that the crucifix is a cultural symbol (of the Western world); it is clearly not the case and we must take note of this clarification," Di Segni added.
Link to original...
The response
Vatican Condemnation.
Judicial Activist, all part of the initial plan.
Even the USCCB thinks Jesuits are Evil
It's not just a few bloggers, or the weight of popular opinion which holds that Jesuits aren't exactly Catholic; now a Capuchin Theologian, Fr Weinardy, almost like in the ancient theological debates of old, takes a Fordham Jesuit to the cleaners.
So, Jesuit institutions are categorically problematic and even the USCCB is aware of it. This Fordham theologian, Dr. Tilley, insists on hiding behind the notion that he is representing a kind of Catholic Theology to be comprehended by contemporary persons, but we wonder two things: whether or not his formulations are equal to or harmouniuos with the formulations of Catholic theology of the first centuries, do they express the same thing and granting that Jesuit theologians actually succeed in adding new light to the faith, does anyone really understand what they're saying after all is said and done? Under the penumbras of their theological praxis, modernist theologians of the Jesuit stripe often escape from the authorities and are allowed to present counterfeit theological positions as Catholic.
In reality, the stylish but unpopular theological formulations of Dr Weinardy bear a stronger resemblance to Simon Magus and the Gnostics throughout the ages than they do to the deposit of Faith. Again we ask the question: what's wrong with the Anglicans, they have openings don't they?
Back in 1993, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger gave an address in Hong Kong to the presidents of Asian bishops’ conferences on Christology, meaning the church’s teaching about Christ. Ratzinger criticized trends in contemporary theology that he believed gave too much away for the sake of accommodating religious diversity, and a footnote cited the work of Belgian Jesuit theologian Jacques Dupuis.
At that stage, Ratzinger’s footnote was no more than a scholarly citation, yet it signaled that Dupuis was on the radar screen of the church’s doctrinal authorities. For those paying attention, it thus came as little surprise that eight years later, Dupuis was subject of a critical Vatican “notification.” (Dupuis died in 2004.)
Right now, the memory of that episode might make Terrence Tilley, a Fordham theologian and past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, shudder.
In the most recent issue of the Quarterly of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Capuchin Fr. Thomas Weinandy, executive director of the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat of Doctrine, subjects Tilley’s presidential address to the CTSA last June to a withering critique – in effect, suggesting that it offered clever rhetoric masking “doctrinal ambiguity and error.”
In very broad strokes, the CTSA is often perceived as leaning to the left in Catholic debate, while the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars has a reputation as more conservative.
Weinanday’s essay was affixed with a note that his views “do not necessarily reflect any position of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.” Of course, it’s also not quite the same thing to be targeted by a staffer for the U.S. bishops as to be singled out by the Vatican’s doctrinal czar and a future pope.
At the moment, there is no reason to believe that either Tilley or the CTSA is likely to face any sort of official investigation or reprimand. At a minimum, however, Weinandy’s essay is a reminder of the deep divides within the theological community, as well as the sometimes uneasy relationship between the church’s doctrinal authorities and its theological guild.
Though the disputes involved are complex, as with Dupuis the heart of the matter is Christology. The title of Weinandy's essay suggests that Tilley's views lead to "the demise" of the doctrine of the Incarnation, meaning that Christ was both fully God and fully human -- a charge that Tilley denies.
read further...
But then, there are many Bishops responsible for this non-sense going on right in their back yard. Fordham is Archbishop Dolan's problem.
Perhaps Henry Karlson of Fordham University can give us some insight into Liberalism, which he doesn't think is a sin.
So, Jesuit institutions are categorically problematic and even the USCCB is aware of it. This Fordham theologian, Dr. Tilley, insists on hiding behind the notion that he is representing a kind of Catholic Theology to be comprehended by contemporary persons, but we wonder two things: whether or not his formulations are equal to or harmouniuos with the formulations of Catholic theology of the first centuries, do they express the same thing and granting that Jesuit theologians actually succeed in adding new light to the faith, does anyone really understand what they're saying after all is said and done? Under the penumbras of their theological praxis, modernist theologians of the Jesuit stripe often escape from the authorities and are allowed to present counterfeit theological positions as Catholic.
In reality, the stylish but unpopular theological formulations of Dr Weinardy bear a stronger resemblance to Simon Magus and the Gnostics throughout the ages than they do to the deposit of Faith. Again we ask the question: what's wrong with the Anglicans, they have openings don't they?
Back in 1993, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger gave an address in Hong Kong to the presidents of Asian bishops’ conferences on Christology, meaning the church’s teaching about Christ. Ratzinger criticized trends in contemporary theology that he believed gave too much away for the sake of accommodating religious diversity, and a footnote cited the work of Belgian Jesuit theologian Jacques Dupuis.
At that stage, Ratzinger’s footnote was no more than a scholarly citation, yet it signaled that Dupuis was on the radar screen of the church’s doctrinal authorities. For those paying attention, it thus came as little surprise that eight years later, Dupuis was subject of a critical Vatican “notification.” (Dupuis died in 2004.)
Right now, the memory of that episode might make Terrence Tilley, a Fordham theologian and past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, shudder.
In the most recent issue of the Quarterly of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Capuchin Fr. Thomas Weinandy, executive director of the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat of Doctrine, subjects Tilley’s presidential address to the CTSA last June to a withering critique – in effect, suggesting that it offered clever rhetoric masking “doctrinal ambiguity and error.”
In very broad strokes, the CTSA is often perceived as leaning to the left in Catholic debate, while the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars has a reputation as more conservative.
Weinanday’s essay was affixed with a note that his views “do not necessarily reflect any position of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.” Of course, it’s also not quite the same thing to be targeted by a staffer for the U.S. bishops as to be singled out by the Vatican’s doctrinal czar and a future pope.
At the moment, there is no reason to believe that either Tilley or the CTSA is likely to face any sort of official investigation or reprimand. At a minimum, however, Weinandy’s essay is a reminder of the deep divides within the theological community, as well as the sometimes uneasy relationship between the church’s doctrinal authorities and its theological guild.
Though the disputes involved are complex, as with Dupuis the heart of the matter is Christology. The title of Weinandy's essay suggests that Tilley's views lead to "the demise" of the doctrine of the Incarnation, meaning that Christ was both fully God and fully human -- a charge that Tilley denies.
read further...
But then, there are many Bishops responsible for this non-sense going on right in their back yard. Fordham is Archbishop Dolan's problem.
Perhaps Henry Karlson of Fordham University can give us some insight into Liberalism, which he doesn't think is a sin.
Catholic Charities may Close in DC after all.
It might not just be a matter of refusing government funds in the future which will cost the Diocese upwards of $9 Million but of the government revoking state licenses required for Catholic poor relief. This is the reward for all of those years in which Catholic Charitable organizations weren't very active in proselytism for the undoubted financial support of the Government; strings are attached to that money. Perhaps now is a good time to consider closing Jesuit and Catholic Colleges in the Nation's Capital and converting those properties to better use than they are now currently engaged? Now we're increasingly facing a wonderful situation where the Catholic Faith is illegal. Deo Gratias. We're just happy the Bishops are being intransigent about this.
Yesterday, the DC City Council passed the "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009" with a nearly unanimous 11-2 vote, completing the first of three steps necessary to enact the bill into law.
In response to the tremendous support of the bill and the very high probability that it will pass the second step, in about 30 days, and continue into the books, the Archdiocese of Washington as well as other Christian religious leaders are weighing their options.
Although the bill does exempt religious organizations from celebrating same-sex marriages it does not protect nor exempt them from recognizing it as employers or social service providers.
The diminished capacity or capability is not just a monetary thing, it is also related to the certifications and licenses archdiocesan agencies need in order to provide particular services such as homeless services, mental health services, foster care, etc. Should the law pass, the city would be required to revoke current certificates and licenses or withhold their renewal. Therefore preventing the archdiocese, Catholic Charities, and other religious organizations, individuals, and agencies from providing those services because of their legitimately-held religious beliefs.
The Archdiocese of Washington has partnered with the other religious leaders around the nation, the ACLU, and other public-interest legal firms to assert their concerns regarding the narrowing of religious freedoms as well as seeking a balance of interests so that religious organizations, their social services agencies, and individuals can function without violating their faith tenets on same-sex marriage.
Link to original...
Yesterday, the DC City Council passed the "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009" with a nearly unanimous 11-2 vote, completing the first of three steps necessary to enact the bill into law.
In response to the tremendous support of the bill and the very high probability that it will pass the second step, in about 30 days, and continue into the books, the Archdiocese of Washington as well as other Christian religious leaders are weighing their options.
Although the bill does exempt religious organizations from celebrating same-sex marriages it does not protect nor exempt them from recognizing it as employers or social service providers.
The diminished capacity or capability is not just a monetary thing, it is also related to the certifications and licenses archdiocesan agencies need in order to provide particular services such as homeless services, mental health services, foster care, etc. Should the law pass, the city would be required to revoke current certificates and licenses or withhold their renewal. Therefore preventing the archdiocese, Catholic Charities, and other religious organizations, individuals, and agencies from providing those services because of their legitimately-held religious beliefs.
The Archdiocese of Washington has partnered with the other religious leaders around the nation, the ACLU, and other public-interest legal firms to assert their concerns regarding the narrowing of religious freedoms as well as seeking a balance of interests so that religious organizations, their social services agencies, and individuals can function without violating their faith tenets on same-sex marriage.
Link to original...
Thursday, December 3, 2009
It's Socialism as Usual in Minnesota
Archbishop Nienstedt did mention subsidiarity in his brief interview today on MPR, but what he's asking for, ala Democratic Party, amounts to very direct government interference and more wealth confiscation on the part of the government. Insisting that the healthcare bill include "subsidiarity", the Archbishop suggested that it "move authority down to the lowest level," but he didn't elaborate on how increased centralization and wealth confiscation will involve subsidiarity, or how the mission of the Church to provide healthcare as She has in the past will not be hindered by this legislation.
As far as we know now, the Archbishop is still permitting a Marxist Jesuit to speak at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Edina, contrary to his own Guidelines regarding Catholic speakers.
by Tom Crann, Minnesota Public Radio,
Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio
December 3, 2009
St. Paul, Minn. — Archbishop John Nienstedt reiterated the Catholic Church's opposition to any health care reform bill that would allow abortion coverage, in an interview with MPR's All Things Considered on Thursday.
Nienstedt, the archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, called health care "essential for the human life and dignity of every person," [Even if we have to extort the money from taxpayers] but said the Catholic Church will not support health care legislation unless it meets specific church demands.
"I believe that health care reform is necessary," said Nienstedt. "I'm all in favor of that. The question is, What kind of health care do we want as a nation? And any health care program that would include the killing of the unborn is unacceptable."
Nienstedt said that parishioners should oppose any bill that allows abortion or euthanasia coverage, rations care for the elderly, or lacks a "conscience clause" to allow medical providers to opt out of performing abortions or other procedures they consider immoral.
The Catholic Church has attracted controversy for its lobbying efforts in the health care debate, particularly for its efforts to ban abortion coverage in public option insurance plans.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to U.S. senators in November urging lawmakers to oppose abortion coverage, provide coverage for illegal immigrants and expand coverage for low-income Americans.
"I don't see that as political muscle," Nienstedt said. "I think that's the moral voice of the church speaking."
Link to original...
Don't forget to call the coordinator of Jesuit Kevin Burke's retreat, Terri Griep, here's her social justice website.
As far as we know now, the Archbishop is still permitting a Marxist Jesuit to speak at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Edina, contrary to his own Guidelines regarding Catholic speakers.
by Tom Crann, Minnesota Public Radio,
Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio
December 3, 2009
St. Paul, Minn. — Archbishop John Nienstedt reiterated the Catholic Church's opposition to any health care reform bill that would allow abortion coverage, in an interview with MPR's All Things Considered on Thursday.
Nienstedt, the archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, called health care "essential for the human life and dignity of every person," [Even if we have to extort the money from taxpayers] but said the Catholic Church will not support health care legislation unless it meets specific church demands.
"I believe that health care reform is necessary," said Nienstedt. "I'm all in favor of that. The question is, What kind of health care do we want as a nation? And any health care program that would include the killing of the unborn is unacceptable."
Nienstedt said that parishioners should oppose any bill that allows abortion or euthanasia coverage, rations care for the elderly, or lacks a "conscience clause" to allow medical providers to opt out of performing abortions or other procedures they consider immoral.
The Catholic Church has attracted controversy for its lobbying efforts in the health care debate, particularly for its efforts to ban abortion coverage in public option insurance plans.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to U.S. senators in November urging lawmakers to oppose abortion coverage, provide coverage for illegal immigrants and expand coverage for low-income Americans.
"I don't see that as political muscle," Nienstedt said. "I think that's the moral voice of the church speaking."
Link to original...
Don't forget to call the coordinator of Jesuit Kevin Burke's retreat, Terri Griep, here's her social justice website.
Openly Lesbian "Catholic" Woman Is Member of USCCB Subcommittee For Health Care and Work
By James Todd
Pewsitter.com
December 3, 2009 - According to the USCCB website Mary Kay Henry was appointed to the USCCB Subcommittee for Health Care and Work in 1998. Now more than a decade later, Ms. Henry continues to provide consultation to the USCCB in this capacity – in spite of her open dissent from Church teaching on homosexuality.
Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV, who first reported this story, stated that when he called the USCCB their only immediate comment was that someone would get back to him. Mr. Voris in his daily video commentary states: “Where do the bishops find these people to consult? Surely, there has to be .. somewhere in America .. a faithful Catholic the bishops can turn to for advice on matters of health care.”
What Mr. Voris is referring to is the information found in Mary Kay Henry’s CV posted on the SEIU web site. The last paragraph of that CV follows.
“Mary Kay is also active in the fight for immigration reform and gay and lesbian rights. She is a founding member of SEIU's gay and lesbian Lavender Caucus. She and her partner, Paula Macchello, have been together for 20 years.”
There appears to be a growing distrust and credibility gap between faithful Catholics and the USCCB. Just last month the USCCB’s annual CCHD collection was challenged by a coalition of Catholic lay groups, over the CCHD funding of anti-catholic organizations.
Last year, immediately after the 2008 elections, CCHD finalized their decision to defund Acorn and end its many years of association with this controversial group.
Michael Hitchborn of American Life League, commenting upon CCHD funding controversy last month stated “Given how easily we discovered CCHD funding going to anti-Catholic causes, the only two possibilities are that the CCHD is incompetent or complicit.”
Mr. Hitchborn’s quote would seem to apply here, to the present association between Mary Henry and the USCCB, as well. A quick 5 minute search on the internet can uncover Ms. Henry’s CV including a statement about her “partner” of 20 years, her role as a founding member of a gay and lesbian organization, her active support for gay marriage, and her opposition to Prop 8 in California.
Link to original...
Pewsitter.com
December 3, 2009 - According to the USCCB website Mary Kay Henry was appointed to the USCCB Subcommittee for Health Care and Work in 1998. Now more than a decade later, Ms. Henry continues to provide consultation to the USCCB in this capacity – in spite of her open dissent from Church teaching on homosexuality.
Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV, who first reported this story, stated that when he called the USCCB their only immediate comment was that someone would get back to him. Mr. Voris in his daily video commentary states: “Where do the bishops find these people to consult? Surely, there has to be .. somewhere in America .. a faithful Catholic the bishops can turn to for advice on matters of health care.”
What Mr. Voris is referring to is the information found in Mary Kay Henry’s CV posted on the SEIU web site. The last paragraph of that CV follows.
“Mary Kay is also active in the fight for immigration reform and gay and lesbian rights. She is a founding member of SEIU's gay and lesbian Lavender Caucus. She and her partner, Paula Macchello, have been together for 20 years.”
There appears to be a growing distrust and credibility gap between faithful Catholics and the USCCB. Just last month the USCCB’s annual CCHD collection was challenged by a coalition of Catholic lay groups, over the CCHD funding of anti-catholic organizations.
Last year, immediately after the 2008 elections, CCHD finalized their decision to defund Acorn and end its many years of association with this controversial group.
Michael Hitchborn of American Life League, commenting upon CCHD funding controversy last month stated “Given how easily we discovered CCHD funding going to anti-Catholic causes, the only two possibilities are that the CCHD is incompetent or complicit.”
Mr. Hitchborn’s quote would seem to apply here, to the present association between Mary Henry and the USCCB, as well. A quick 5 minute search on the internet can uncover Ms. Henry’s CV including a statement about her “partner” of 20 years, her role as a founding member of a gay and lesbian organization, her active support for gay marriage, and her opposition to Prop 8 in California.
Link to original...
Irish Theologian Calls for Irish Bishops' Resignation
In addition to the opportunistic, traitorous as a Scythian and very liberal Archbishop Martin of Dublin, a different and much more credible voice speaks out asking for the Mitres of named Irish Bishops, in contrast to the Peace and Justice Bishop of Dublin, he speaks about the spiritual dimension of this outrage and the malfeasance of the Bishops who aided and abetted it.
A prominent Irish theologian who is former student of Pope Benedict’s has called on those Irish bishops who are named in the Murphy report on clerical abuse in the Dublin diocese “to resign immediately from their current pastoral positions”.
Dr Vincent Twomey, who is professor emeritus of moral theology at Maynooth, writes in a letter published in today’s Irish Times that “at the very least, it would seem, all were guilty of negligence – some, such as Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick, whose behaviour was described as ‘inexcusable’, more than others."
He adds, "But all were deemed guilty of inaction, of failing to listen to their conscience, as Mary Raftery put it on radio and television.”
Speaking to The Universe today, Dr Twomey said that the spiritual damage that had been done to the victims by the priests who abused them, and the damage done by the apparent inaction of the bishops, was "now being exacerbated by the bishops' failure to stand down and take repsonsibility".
The theologian underlines in his letter to the Irish Times that “the longer they delay in doing so, the greater the damage they will do to all faithful Catholics, and in particular to the survivors of abuse who are still paying the price for the sins of their priests and bishops”.
Dr Twomey is a member of the Pope Benedict’s Schülerkreis, an annual conference of the Pope’s graduate students who meet the pontiff every year to discuss theological issues.
In his letter, Dr Twomey writes that his “instinct is to defend the Church from unfounded attacks. But the revelations of the Murphy report are something else."
He adds, "The actions, or rather for the most part, the inactions of the bishops named there are simply indefensible.”
Yesterday, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin called on bishops and priests criticised in the Murphy report into the handling of clerical sexual abuse in his diocese between 1975 and 2004 to admit their mistakes and resign.
Five serving bishops who were auxiliary bishops in Dublin over the period of time investigated by Judge Yvonne Murphy’s Commission were criticised in the report, which was published last Thursday.
In what was seen as a response to a statement made by Bishop Donal Murray at the weekend saying his decision about whether to stay on as a bishop would be guided by the faithful of Limerick where he now serves, Archbishop Martin said he would be writing to all the auxiliary bishops who served in Dublin and who are named in the Dublin diocesan report to say that their responses to the report were a matter for the Catholics of the Archdiocese.
Dr Martin said he would need to be confident his priests could stand over their statements.
He added that what they did and did not do failed people in Dublin and they owed them a response. Everyone should stand up and take responsibility for what they did, he said.
Bishop Murray was an auxiliary bishop of the Dublin Diocese from 1982 to 1996.
Pressure has mounted on Bishop Murray to resign after the report branded his failure to investigate complaints against Fr Tom Naughton when later allegations were made as “inexcusable”.
Link to original...
And in a related story, we have another who should resign to a very austere Monastery (if there are any left) who is guilty of the same inaction and indifference as the Irish Bishops, Cardinal Egan. At least he's out of the game and can't do any more damage.
A prominent Irish theologian who is former student of Pope Benedict’s has called on those Irish bishops who are named in the Murphy report on clerical abuse in the Dublin diocese “to resign immediately from their current pastoral positions”.
Dr Vincent Twomey, who is professor emeritus of moral theology at Maynooth, writes in a letter published in today’s Irish Times that “at the very least, it would seem, all were guilty of negligence – some, such as Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick, whose behaviour was described as ‘inexcusable’, more than others."
He adds, "But all were deemed guilty of inaction, of failing to listen to their conscience, as Mary Raftery put it on radio and television.”
Speaking to The Universe today, Dr Twomey said that the spiritual damage that had been done to the victims by the priests who abused them, and the damage done by the apparent inaction of the bishops, was "now being exacerbated by the bishops' failure to stand down and take repsonsibility".
The theologian underlines in his letter to the Irish Times that “the longer they delay in doing so, the greater the damage they will do to all faithful Catholics, and in particular to the survivors of abuse who are still paying the price for the sins of their priests and bishops”.
Dr Twomey is a member of the Pope Benedict’s Schülerkreis, an annual conference of the Pope’s graduate students who meet the pontiff every year to discuss theological issues.
In his letter, Dr Twomey writes that his “instinct is to defend the Church from unfounded attacks. But the revelations of the Murphy report are something else."
He adds, "The actions, or rather for the most part, the inactions of the bishops named there are simply indefensible.”
Yesterday, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin called on bishops and priests criticised in the Murphy report into the handling of clerical sexual abuse in his diocese between 1975 and 2004 to admit their mistakes and resign.
Five serving bishops who were auxiliary bishops in Dublin over the period of time investigated by Judge Yvonne Murphy’s Commission were criticised in the report, which was published last Thursday.
In what was seen as a response to a statement made by Bishop Donal Murray at the weekend saying his decision about whether to stay on as a bishop would be guided by the faithful of Limerick where he now serves, Archbishop Martin said he would be writing to all the auxiliary bishops who served in Dublin and who are named in the Dublin diocesan report to say that their responses to the report were a matter for the Catholics of the Archdiocese.
Dr Martin said he would need to be confident his priests could stand over their statements.
He added that what they did and did not do failed people in Dublin and they owed them a response. Everyone should stand up and take responsibility for what they did, he said.
Bishop Murray was an auxiliary bishop of the Dublin Diocese from 1982 to 1996.
Pressure has mounted on Bishop Murray to resign after the report branded his failure to investigate complaints against Fr Tom Naughton when later allegations were made as “inexcusable”.
Link to original...
And in a related story, we have another who should resign to a very austere Monastery (if there are any left) who is guilty of the same inaction and indifference as the Irish Bishops, Cardinal Egan. At least he's out of the game and can't do any more damage.
Gays 'will never go to heaven', says cardinal
(AFP) – 1 day ago
VATICAN CITY — Homosexuals and transsexuals "will never enter the kingdom of heaven", a leading Roman Catholic cardinal said on Wednesday.
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan said that while the Church regarded homosexuality as an "insult to God", this did not justify discrimination against gay and transsexual people.
"Transsexuals and homosexuals will never enter the kingdom of heaven and it is not me who says this, but Saint Paul," the cardinal said, in comments reported by the Ansa news agency.
"People are not born homosexual, they become homosexual, for different reasons: education issues or because they did not develop their own identity during adolescence. It may not be their fault, but acting against nature and the dignity of the human body is an insult to God," he said.
Barragan, the retired head of the Vatican's Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, quoted a passage from Paul's epistle to the Romans which speaks of "men committing indecent acts with other men".
"Homosexuality is therefore a sin, but this does not justify any form of discrimination. God alone has the right to judge," the cardinal said.
"We on earth cannot condemn, and as human beings we all have the same rights."
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
VATICAN CITY — Homosexuals and transsexuals "will never enter the kingdom of heaven", a leading Roman Catholic cardinal said on Wednesday.
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan said that while the Church regarded homosexuality as an "insult to God", this did not justify discrimination against gay and transsexual people.
"Transsexuals and homosexuals will never enter the kingdom of heaven and it is not me who says this, but Saint Paul," the cardinal said, in comments reported by the Ansa news agency.
"People are not born homosexual, they become homosexual, for different reasons: education issues or because they did not develop their own identity during adolescence. It may not be their fault, but acting against nature and the dignity of the human body is an insult to God," he said.
Barragan, the retired head of the Vatican's Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, quoted a passage from Paul's epistle to the Romans which speaks of "men committing indecent acts with other men".
"Homosexuality is therefore a sin, but this does not justify any form of discrimination. God alone has the right to judge," the cardinal said.
"We on earth cannot condemn, and as human beings we all have the same rights."
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Guidelines aren't so Strict, Minnesota Archbishop Soft on Marxism
Dennis McGrath, the mouthpiece of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul, Minnesota, insists that a controversial speaker, Father Kevin Burke SJ, who is about to speak at a local parish, Our Lady of Grace in Edina, is a priest in good standing and there is no cause to invoke any sanctions against his coming visit and talk. While Mr. McGrath admits that the Church has admonitions about Liberation Theology, he won't admit that it condemns this Marxist ideological approach. McGrath insists that, "condemnation is much too strong a word." In reality the Church has condemned Liberation Theology and even if a specific condemnation weren't available at this point, many of its underlying principles. The Communications Director of the Archdiocese is wrong, the Church has condemned Liberation Theology and the Archdiocese (link) is hosting a well-known advocate of Liberation Theology and Homosexuality in opposition to his own rules not to host speakers whose writings are not in harmony with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Father Burke SJ has written and not retracted various treatises on Liberation Theology in praise of Marxists like Ignacio Ellacuria, who became a casualty of war when he assisted Soviet backed guerrillas in the Salvadoran civil war.
He also heads a faculty in Berkeley that features "Queer Studies". It's hard to see how this amounts to "being in harmony with the teachings of the Church."
When we brought this to the McGrath's attention, he accused the interviewer of not "loving homosexual persons" and went on for a while, insisting that they are certainly welcome in the Archdiocese.
We'd suggest that the Communications Director, given the large salary he receives to represent the Archdiocese in these matters, actually read the directives and teachings of the Church and Archdiocese he claims to represent.
At this point it seems clear where the Bishop and Dennis McGrath, ever eager to make false allusions himself, stand with regard to the teachings of the Church. We would in no way, of course, say that Archbishop Nienstedt or any of those under his leadership are Marxists or Homosexuals, naturally.
Related Articles:
Stricter Guidelines for Catholic Speakers.
Kevin Burke SJ.
Archbishop Nienstedt defends CCHD.
Father Burke SJ has written and not retracted various treatises on Liberation Theology in praise of Marxists like Ignacio Ellacuria, who became a casualty of war when he assisted Soviet backed guerrillas in the Salvadoran civil war.
He also heads a faculty in Berkeley that features "Queer Studies". It's hard to see how this amounts to "being in harmony with the teachings of the Church."
When we brought this to the McGrath's attention, he accused the interviewer of not "loving homosexual persons" and went on for a while, insisting that they are certainly welcome in the Archdiocese.
We'd suggest that the Communications Director, given the large salary he receives to represent the Archdiocese in these matters, actually read the directives and teachings of the Church and Archdiocese he claims to represent.
At this point it seems clear where the Bishop and Dennis McGrath, ever eager to make false allusions himself, stand with regard to the teachings of the Church. We would in no way, of course, say that Archbishop Nienstedt or any of those under his leadership are Marxists or Homosexuals, naturally.
Related Articles:
Stricter Guidelines for Catholic Speakers.
Kevin Burke SJ.
Archbishop Nienstedt defends CCHD.
Catholic Charities in D.C. Will Continue Operations Even If Bill Passes
Auxiliary Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Washington said despite news reports to the contrary, “Catholic Charities is vowing to continue its services even if a same-sex marriage bill passes” in the District of Columbia’s City Council. Bishop Knestout made the commitment in an open letter to local Catholics posted on the Web site of The Catholic Standard, Washington’s archdiocesan newspaper. The bishop said the level of services will not be the same, though, because “without a meaningful religious exemption in the bill, Catholic Charities and other similar religious providers will become ineligible for contracts, grants and licenses to continue those services.” Arch-diocesan officials and other religious leaders in the district have said that if the council is going to pass the measure despite their objections, then it must include strong protections for religious conscience. Catholic Charities currently serves 68,000 people in the city, including one-third of Washing-ton’s homeless.
Link to... America
Link to... America
Moscow and Rome Making Progress
Inevitably, this is going to happen and it's just a matter of time. The friendly overtures on the part of the Bulgarians as well as the recent talks in Cyprus point to it, but there are negative reasons as well, threats that are far greater than the Turk.
By Oleg Shchedrov
MOSCOW, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church are making progress towards healing their 1,000-year-old rift, a senior Russian official said ahead of President Dmitry Medvedev's first visit to the Vatican.
But the Russian leader will not invite Pope Benedict to make an historic visit to Russia when the two meet on Thursday because he believes church heads should take the initiative, said the official, who refused to be identified.
"It is not appropriate for a secular leader to raise the issue in the absence of a hierarch," the official said. "They (Church leaders) should decide the issue themselves."
"However, a movement towards normalisation is clearly seen and things are moving in the right direction," he added.
The Russian Orthodox Church has revived dramatically since the collapse of communism and is now a powerful and influential force. Its leader, Patriarch Kirill, is often seen with Kremlin chiefs, top officials and visiting foreign leaders.
Visits by Russian leaders to the Holy See in the past have failed to help heal the rift between the churches.
But fresh hopes emerged when Kirill took power after the death of his theologically more conservative predecessor Alexiy II last December.
Patriarch Alexiy, who spearheaded the revival of his church after decades of Communist persecution, treated rival religions and churches with suspicion.
The Russian Orthodox Church has accused the Vatican of poaching for converts in its territory, including Slav neighbour Ukraine. The Catholic Church says it is only ministering to an existing flock of around half a million Russian Catholics.
The mediaeval Christian church split into Eastern and Western branches in the Great Schism of 1054 amid disputes over papal authority and the insertion of a clause into the Nicene Creed. The divide has never been healed.
Patriarch Kirill, who headed the Church's foreign relations department for many years before taking his present job, has shown less hostility towards Catholics than Alexiy.
German-born Pope Benedict, a theological conservative, is viewed by Orthodox hierarchs as a more welcome partner than his predecessor John Paul II.
John Paul hailed from Poland, a traditional enemy of Russia, and his fight against Soviet Communism was interpreted by the Orthodox Church as a crusade against Russia.
In March, Medvedev took part in a ceremony in which the Italian government handed a pilgrimage centre in the southern city of Bari to the Orthodox Church.
"I think relations (between the churches) are now becoming more open," the Russian source said. "These steps show they are working on the atmosphere and we appreciate this."
© 2009 Reuters
Link to original...
By Oleg Shchedrov
MOSCOW, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church are making progress towards healing their 1,000-year-old rift, a senior Russian official said ahead of President Dmitry Medvedev's first visit to the Vatican.
But the Russian leader will not invite Pope Benedict to make an historic visit to Russia when the two meet on Thursday because he believes church heads should take the initiative, said the official, who refused to be identified.
"It is not appropriate for a secular leader to raise the issue in the absence of a hierarch," the official said. "They (Church leaders) should decide the issue themselves."
"However, a movement towards normalisation is clearly seen and things are moving in the right direction," he added.
The Russian Orthodox Church has revived dramatically since the collapse of communism and is now a powerful and influential force. Its leader, Patriarch Kirill, is often seen with Kremlin chiefs, top officials and visiting foreign leaders.
Visits by Russian leaders to the Holy See in the past have failed to help heal the rift between the churches.
But fresh hopes emerged when Kirill took power after the death of his theologically more conservative predecessor Alexiy II last December.
Patriarch Alexiy, who spearheaded the revival of his church after decades of Communist persecution, treated rival religions and churches with suspicion.
The Russian Orthodox Church has accused the Vatican of poaching for converts in its territory, including Slav neighbour Ukraine. The Catholic Church says it is only ministering to an existing flock of around half a million Russian Catholics.
The mediaeval Christian church split into Eastern and Western branches in the Great Schism of 1054 amid disputes over papal authority and the insertion of a clause into the Nicene Creed. The divide has never been healed.
Patriarch Kirill, who headed the Church's foreign relations department for many years before taking his present job, has shown less hostility towards Catholics than Alexiy.
German-born Pope Benedict, a theological conservative, is viewed by Orthodox hierarchs as a more welcome partner than his predecessor John Paul II.
John Paul hailed from Poland, a traditional enemy of Russia, and his fight against Soviet Communism was interpreted by the Orthodox Church as a crusade against Russia.
In March, Medvedev took part in a ceremony in which the Italian government handed a pilgrimage centre in the southern city of Bari to the Orthodox Church.
"I think relations (between the churches) are now becoming more open," the Russian source said. "These steps show they are working on the atmosphere and we appreciate this."
© 2009 Reuters
Link to original...
Revolutionary San Francisco will Steal 14.4 Million Dollars from Church
Socialist confiscation schemes are nothing new and now the Archdiocese of San Francisco is being held accountable for 14.4 Million Dollars by the Revolutionary Government of San Francisco. Their hostillity isn't surprising given the Catholic Church's opposition to immoral practices like homosexuality. All in all, it sounds more like the continuation of the Masonic Government ofMexico's Revolutionary Government.
It will be very interesting indeed to see what kind of steely leadership will be provided by Archbishop George Niederauer.
By Ryan Thomas Riddle
Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting is the victor in the high-stakes battle against the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The church has been ordered to pay an estimated $14.4 million in transfer taxes to the city. But the victory comes on the heels of the California State Board of Equalization’s decision to slightly lower property taxes statewide.
On Tuesday, Dec. 4, the Transfer Tax Review Board voted 3-0 in favor of the Assessor’s Office, resulting in what the office is calling “the second largest transfer tax event in our city’s history.” The board decided that the Archdiocese’s extensive 2008 property transfers were taxable under the Real Property Transfer Tax Ordinance.
Ting said via phone conference that board’s decision shows that his office has been “aggressive and fairly enforcing the law.” He added that while the Assessor’s Office may have turned a blind eye in the past, the board’s verdict shows that every taxpayer gets treated the same under his watch. “We have worked hard to ensure every taxpayer is being assessed transfer taxes in a fair and consistent manner.”
How the diocese is going to pay up has yet to be determined, according to Ting. The easiest way would be for the diocese to “cut a check,” he told the Guardian. However, it’s expected that the diocese won’t be able to file an appeal until the transfer taxes are paid. And until it does, the Assessor’s Office will continue to charge interest.
But the victory was also a case of “win some, lose some.” Board of Equalization (BOE) chairwoman Betty T. Yee’s office announced on the same day announcing the BOE’s decision to lower property taxes by 0.237 percent. The release calls this a “negative inflation factor.” Translation: deflation.
The release states: “This is the first time such a broad scale reduction in property tax base year values has occurred. Since the passage of Proposition 13, the inflation factor has never before been negative, and in all but five years the annual adjustment has been capped at 2 percent.”
Ting said “going negative isn’t a positive thing.” His office calculates that the city could potentially lose an estimated $3 million in property revenue for 2010-2011. However, the numbers are still being crunched. One thing is for certain: everyone will see a decrease in their property taxes.
“Every property owner in San Francisco that didn’t get a reduction will get a reduction,” Ting said.
However, one property owner will be exempt from the lower rate—the Archdiocese of San Francisco. According to the Assessor’s Office, the church doesn’t have to pay yearly taxes on its properties because of its non-profit status, which the Transfer Tax Review Board’s decision doesn’t change.
Link to original...
It will be very interesting indeed to see what kind of steely leadership will be provided by Archbishop George Niederauer.
By Ryan Thomas Riddle
Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting is the victor in the high-stakes battle against the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The church has been ordered to pay an estimated $14.4 million in transfer taxes to the city. But the victory comes on the heels of the California State Board of Equalization’s decision to slightly lower property taxes statewide.
On Tuesday, Dec. 4, the Transfer Tax Review Board voted 3-0 in favor of the Assessor’s Office, resulting in what the office is calling “the second largest transfer tax event in our city’s history.” The board decided that the Archdiocese’s extensive 2008 property transfers were taxable under the Real Property Transfer Tax Ordinance.
Ting said via phone conference that board’s decision shows that his office has been “aggressive and fairly enforcing the law.” He added that while the Assessor’s Office may have turned a blind eye in the past, the board’s verdict shows that every taxpayer gets treated the same under his watch. “We have worked hard to ensure every taxpayer is being assessed transfer taxes in a fair and consistent manner.”
How the diocese is going to pay up has yet to be determined, according to Ting. The easiest way would be for the diocese to “cut a check,” he told the Guardian. However, it’s expected that the diocese won’t be able to file an appeal until the transfer taxes are paid. And until it does, the Assessor’s Office will continue to charge interest.
But the victory was also a case of “win some, lose some.” Board of Equalization (BOE) chairwoman Betty T. Yee’s office announced on the same day announcing the BOE’s decision to lower property taxes by 0.237 percent. The release calls this a “negative inflation factor.” Translation: deflation.
The release states: “This is the first time such a broad scale reduction in property tax base year values has occurred. Since the passage of Proposition 13, the inflation factor has never before been negative, and in all but five years the annual adjustment has been capped at 2 percent.”
Ting said “going negative isn’t a positive thing.” His office calculates that the city could potentially lose an estimated $3 million in property revenue for 2010-2011. However, the numbers are still being crunched. One thing is for certain: everyone will see a decrease in their property taxes.
“Every property owner in San Francisco that didn’t get a reduction will get a reduction,” Ting said.
However, one property owner will be exempt from the lower rate—the Archdiocese of San Francisco. According to the Assessor’s Office, the church doesn’t have to pay yearly taxes on its properties because of its non-profit status, which the Transfer Tax Review Board’s decision doesn’t change.
Link to original...
Glasgow's Archbishop criticizes Modern Art
Modern art is paganised and increasingly reflects a culture of death, Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow has said.
He was speaking a day after the Pope met more than 250 artists at the Sistine Chapel in Rome, urging them to embark on a "quest for beauty".
Archbishop Conti said in his homily at a Mass for artists in Glasgow that a lot of modern art was "incoherent and dispiriting".
He said: "If we can legitimately speak of a culture of death, much art reflects it: the body is defaced; the marital act prostituted; gender dissembled."
In particular he cited a play portraying Jesus as a transsexual, called Jesus, Queen of Heaven, and an exhibition displaying a Bible with abuse written on it. He has said it was "disgraceful" that both events received public funding.
He compared the offence they caused to Christians to the apparent offence given to a Finnish woman by the display of crucifixes in Italian classrooms - a complaint upheld by the European Court of Human Rights.
Archbishop Conti said the image of the crucified Christ was deemed offensive because it had become a challenge to secular society.
He quoted an editorial in L'Osservatore Romano which predicted a time when public places were stripped of religious symbols "for fear of offending others' sensibilities".
In Europe, he said, "the very foundations of our Christian civilisation are being disturbed", and modern art, as an expression of culture, reflected that.
The archbishop concluded his homily by urging Christian artists to use their work to bear witness to Christ, "and so countering all that obscures his beauty".
His appeal closely echoed that of Pope Benedict XVI in his meeting with 262 leading arts figures in the Sistine Chapel on Saturday.
Guests, who included artist Anish Kapoor, composer Ennio Morricone and Gomorra director Matteo Garrone - though not U2 singer Bono, who was invited but could not attend - sat underneath Michelangelo's Last Judgment and heard a choir sing music by Palestrina.
Pope Benedict told them that they had a "great responsibility to communicate beauty".
True beauty, he said, forced people to encounter reality and pointed them to the mystery of existence and, ultimately, to God.
The Pope appropriated the language of modern art criticism, saying beauty "gives man a healthy 'shock', it draws him out of himself, wrenches him away from resignation and from being content with the humdrum". He said it may even make the onlooker suffer, "piercing him like a dart".
He then distinguished between superficial beauty, which "rekindles desire, the will to power, to possess", and true beauty, which "unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the other, to reach for the beyond". He said: "If we acknowledge that beauty touches us intimately, that it wounds us, that it opens our eyes, then we rediscover the joy of seeing, of being able to grasp the profound meaning of our existence, the mystery of which we are part."
The Pope said that beauty, whether in nature or in art, by pointing beyond ourselves, and "bringing us face to face with the abyss of infinity, can become a path towards the transcendent, towards the ultimate mystery, towards God".
The Pope urged artists to "enter into dialogue with believers". He said that faith "takes nothing from your genius or your art. On the contrary, it exalts them and nourishes them".
Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi-born architect, said afterwards that the audience "was quite an emotional experience". The American architect Daniel Libeskind described it as an "amazing step". Bill Viola, an American video artist, told the New York Times that artists had struggled for centuries "walking that fine line between creative freedom, between bending the rules" and breaking them. But he said the audience had "real potential for something interesting".
Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, director of the Pontifical Council for Culture, organised the event. He has suggested that the Vatican should have its own pavilion at the next Venice Biennale art exhibition in 2011 as well as at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Link to article...
He was speaking a day after the Pope met more than 250 artists at the Sistine Chapel in Rome, urging them to embark on a "quest for beauty".
Archbishop Conti said in his homily at a Mass for artists in Glasgow that a lot of modern art was "incoherent and dispiriting".
He said: "If we can legitimately speak of a culture of death, much art reflects it: the body is defaced; the marital act prostituted; gender dissembled."
In particular he cited a play portraying Jesus as a transsexual, called Jesus, Queen of Heaven, and an exhibition displaying a Bible with abuse written on it. He has said it was "disgraceful" that both events received public funding.
He compared the offence they caused to Christians to the apparent offence given to a Finnish woman by the display of crucifixes in Italian classrooms - a complaint upheld by the European Court of Human Rights.
Archbishop Conti said the image of the crucified Christ was deemed offensive because it had become a challenge to secular society.
He quoted an editorial in L'Osservatore Romano which predicted a time when public places were stripped of religious symbols "for fear of offending others' sensibilities".
In Europe, he said, "the very foundations of our Christian civilisation are being disturbed", and modern art, as an expression of culture, reflected that.
The archbishop concluded his homily by urging Christian artists to use their work to bear witness to Christ, "and so countering all that obscures his beauty".
His appeal closely echoed that of Pope Benedict XVI in his meeting with 262 leading arts figures in the Sistine Chapel on Saturday.
Guests, who included artist Anish Kapoor, composer Ennio Morricone and Gomorra director Matteo Garrone - though not U2 singer Bono, who was invited but could not attend - sat underneath Michelangelo's Last Judgment and heard a choir sing music by Palestrina.
Pope Benedict told them that they had a "great responsibility to communicate beauty".
True beauty, he said, forced people to encounter reality and pointed them to the mystery of existence and, ultimately, to God.
The Pope appropriated the language of modern art criticism, saying beauty "gives man a healthy 'shock', it draws him out of himself, wrenches him away from resignation and from being content with the humdrum". He said it may even make the onlooker suffer, "piercing him like a dart".
He then distinguished between superficial beauty, which "rekindles desire, the will to power, to possess", and true beauty, which "unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the other, to reach for the beyond". He said: "If we acknowledge that beauty touches us intimately, that it wounds us, that it opens our eyes, then we rediscover the joy of seeing, of being able to grasp the profound meaning of our existence, the mystery of which we are part."
The Pope said that beauty, whether in nature or in art, by pointing beyond ourselves, and "bringing us face to face with the abyss of infinity, can become a path towards the transcendent, towards the ultimate mystery, towards God".
The Pope urged artists to "enter into dialogue with believers". He said that faith "takes nothing from your genius or your art. On the contrary, it exalts them and nourishes them".
Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi-born architect, said afterwards that the audience "was quite an emotional experience". The American architect Daniel Libeskind described it as an "amazing step". Bill Viola, an American video artist, told the New York Times that artists had struggled for centuries "walking that fine line between creative freedom, between bending the rules" and breaking them. But he said the audience had "real potential for something interesting".
Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, director of the Pontifical Council for Culture, organised the event. He has suggested that the Vatican should have its own pavilion at the next Venice Biennale art exhibition in 2011 as well as at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Link to article...
Swiss Bishops show their Internationalist Colors
Like windup automatons, these lunchroom Lenins at the Swiss Bishops Conference have been roused to play their divisive role for globular harmony in the face of Switzerland's auto-immune response against the evils of Islam. Either the Swiss Bishops are eager to please their Masters or they have been effectively conditioned to be hostile to their own motherland. These kinds of divided loyalties are commonplace, for example, a recent poll taken of Vatican Employees showed a clear Obama majority. Will someone put these dinosaurs to pasture and replace them with younger, orthodox men?
We look with hope that some day, real Bishops will come from the Monasteries to replace these men who are more like grocery store managers than prelates.
By John Thavis, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The bishops of Switzerland said the country's ban on the construction of minarets, the Muslim prayer towers, represents an obstacle to interreligious harmony.
The ban aggravates interfaith tensions and could have negative repercussions on Christian minorities in Muslim countries, the bishops said in a statement Nov. 29.
The prohibition was adopted by Swiss voters in a referendum that passed with a 58 percent majority. There are about 150 mosques in Switzerland serving some 400,000 Muslims; only four have minarets and, unlike in Islamic countries, they are not used to call Muslims to prayer.
The bishops said the referendum campaign, promoted by right-wing parties, had used exaggeration and caricature, and demonstrated that "religious peace does not operate by itself and always needs to be defended."
"The decision of the people represents an obstacle and a great challenge on the path of integration in dialogue and mutual respect," the bishops said. Banning the building of minarets "increases the problems of coexistence between religions and cultures," they said.
The bishops said the measure "will not help the Christians oppressed and persecuted in Islamic countries, but will weaken the credibility of their commitment in these countries."
Swiss authorities said after the vote that the four existing minarets would be allowed to stand, and that there was no ban on the construction of new mosques.
Copyright © 2009 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
.
Link to article...
We look with hope that some day, real Bishops will come from the Monasteries to replace these men who are more like grocery store managers than prelates.
By John Thavis, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The bishops of Switzerland said the country's ban on the construction of minarets, the Muslim prayer towers, represents an obstacle to interreligious harmony.
The ban aggravates interfaith tensions and could have negative repercussions on Christian minorities in Muslim countries, the bishops said in a statement Nov. 29.
The prohibition was adopted by Swiss voters in a referendum that passed with a 58 percent majority. There are about 150 mosques in Switzerland serving some 400,000 Muslims; only four have minarets and, unlike in Islamic countries, they are not used to call Muslims to prayer.
The bishops said the referendum campaign, promoted by right-wing parties, had used exaggeration and caricature, and demonstrated that "religious peace does not operate by itself and always needs to be defended."
"The decision of the people represents an obstacle and a great challenge on the path of integration in dialogue and mutual respect," the bishops said. Banning the building of minarets "increases the problems of coexistence between religions and cultures," they said.
The bishops said the measure "will not help the Christians oppressed and persecuted in Islamic countries, but will weaken the credibility of their commitment in these countries."
Swiss authorities said after the vote that the four existing minarets would be allowed to stand, and that there was no ban on the construction of new mosques.
Copyright © 2009 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
.
Link to article...
Maoists ended Monarchy in Nepal
What's the possibillity of restoring the Monarchy to Nepal and handing the Chinese their own back-yard insurgency? We didn't back the Afghani Monarchy when it was still in power and effectively running the country and now look at the mess we have.
Prakash Koirala
Senior Politician, Nepal
Prakash Koirala demands no introduction as he is a well known politician of this country. His association with the Nepali Congress was simply but natural because one of the founding fathers of the present day NC was his own father late B.P Koirala.
Junior Koirala differed with his uncle, Girija Prasad Koirala, on many issues of national interests. When enough had been enough, Junior Koirala quit the mother party or say he was sidelined by his own conspiratorial uncle.
Junior Koirala still commands respect and honor in his former party.
However, when Prakash Koirala went to the fold of the Nepali Monarchy, his prestige began swinging in his own mother party. Koirala claims that Nepal’s Monarchy could still be taken as the symbol of national unity and in an implied manner wants to see the now sidelined monarchy revived through the conduct of a referendum.
The rest, let’s listen to what Junior Koirala has to say on contemporary political events: Editor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TGQ1: What prompted you Mr. Koirala to proceed with the “Nationality Preservation Campaign”? What are the prime objectives of this campaign? Will you please shed some light on what have you been doing of late? Your comments please!
Koirala: The country at the moment is undergoing through a very dangerous transitional period. The country and the Nepali nationality are under grave threat. Practically all the important national decisions are being taken in collaboration with the forces that represent the international community. Because of the intensified international pressure with each passing days, the country and its nationalism aspect is becoming weaker and weaker.
While, on the one hand, we make tall claims as regards the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national independence, however, in practice foreign forces are being allowed in a naked manner to decide our fate. Analyzing the existing anomalies in the national politics, we have endeavored to move ahead with the campaign to preserve and protect Nepal’s nationalism which has been made weaker.
Link to article...
Prakash Koirala
Senior Politician, Nepal
Prakash Koirala demands no introduction as he is a well known politician of this country. His association with the Nepali Congress was simply but natural because one of the founding fathers of the present day NC was his own father late B.P Koirala.
Junior Koirala differed with his uncle, Girija Prasad Koirala, on many issues of national interests. When enough had been enough, Junior Koirala quit the mother party or say he was sidelined by his own conspiratorial uncle.
Junior Koirala still commands respect and honor in his former party.
However, when Prakash Koirala went to the fold of the Nepali Monarchy, his prestige began swinging in his own mother party. Koirala claims that Nepal’s Monarchy could still be taken as the symbol of national unity and in an implied manner wants to see the now sidelined monarchy revived through the conduct of a referendum.
The rest, let’s listen to what Junior Koirala has to say on contemporary political events: Editor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TGQ1: What prompted you Mr. Koirala to proceed with the “Nationality Preservation Campaign”? What are the prime objectives of this campaign? Will you please shed some light on what have you been doing of late? Your comments please!
Koirala: The country at the moment is undergoing through a very dangerous transitional period. The country and the Nepali nationality are under grave threat. Practically all the important national decisions are being taken in collaboration with the forces that represent the international community. Because of the intensified international pressure with each passing days, the country and its nationalism aspect is becoming weaker and weaker.
While, on the one hand, we make tall claims as regards the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national independence, however, in practice foreign forces are being allowed in a naked manner to decide our fate. Analyzing the existing anomalies in the national politics, we have endeavored to move ahead with the campaign to preserve and protect Nepal’s nationalism which has been made weaker.
Link to article...
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tom Golisano is Pro-Life, for real this time.
It is now apparent that Tom Golisano who gave 4 Million Dollars to Ave Maria University, is really pro-life all alone. It wasn't clear before, but now it is.
Catholic Online
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - I recently wrote an article on the generous four million dollar gift received by Ave Maria University from Tom Golisano. Some within the broader Pro-Life and Catholic community raised issues concerning the acceptance of the gift, others concerning the naming of the new athletic facility after the donor.
Among those who questioned the naming of the facility was the Cardinal Newman Society. They did so in a public press release. Out of respect for both Ave Maria and the Cardinal Newman Society we offer the full text of the response of Ave Maria University to the Cardinal Newman Society. We also offer the CNS statement below this story:
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Read further...
Catholic Online
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - I recently wrote an article on the generous four million dollar gift received by Ave Maria University from Tom Golisano. Some within the broader Pro-Life and Catholic community raised issues concerning the acceptance of the gift, others concerning the naming of the new athletic facility after the donor.
Among those who questioned the naming of the facility was the Cardinal Newman Society. They did so in a public press release. Out of respect for both Ave Maria and the Cardinal Newman Society we offer the full text of the response of Ave Maria University to the Cardinal Newman Society. We also offer the CNS statement below this story:
****
Read further...
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