The New Criterion
Over the past two years we have lost the two intellectual giants of modern conservatism: first, William F. Buckley in February 2008 and then Irving Kristol this past September. In between, other influential figures have fallen as well, including Jack Kemp, Richard John Neuhaus, Paul Weyrich, Robert Novak, and Samuel Huntington, to mention the most prominent of them. This is why hectoring declarations from some quarters about the “death of conservatism” right now cut rather too close to the bone.
Buckley and Kristol, in their ideas and personal styles, remind us of the variety and contradictions that give strength and broad appeal to American conservatism. Buckley was the father of modern conservatism, but Kristol its godfather. Buckley gave birth to a movement, but Kristol guided it into maturity and showed it how to win. Buckley was born to conservatism; Kristol fought through countless obstacles before arriving there. Buckley was aristocratic, Kristol relentlessly bourgeois. Buckley was Catholic, Kristol Jewish. Buckley went to Yale, Kristol to City College. Buckley was sui generis, Kristol was everyman. Buckley wrote books, many of them, and was even an accomplished novelist, while Kristol was an essayist of a high order. Buckley had a television program, a long-running one, Kristol a column in the Wall Street Journal. Buckley attacked the premises of modern liberalism while Kristol exposed its destructive consequences. They pursued a common goal, to keep America strong and vital, but sought to arrive there through widely divergent paths.
Both men founded magazines, created ancillary organizations to spread the conservative message, and recruited influential allies into the war of ideas. Buckley did it first in the 1950s when he founded National Review and Young Americans for Freedom, served as the first president of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and later added Firing Line to his stable of enterprises. Kristol followed suit in the 1960s and 1970s with The Public Interest, The National Interest, and the Institute for Educational Affairs. Kristol, of course, had also been active during the 1950s as the editor in London of Encounter magazine, although it was very far from being his own enterprise. Both men also had to raise money for their ventures, which brought them into contact with business leaders, potential investors, and philanthropic foundations.
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Saturday, February 6, 2010
Cardinal Zen vs. Cardinal Bertone: The Struggle for China's Church
Chiesa
ROME, February 4, 2010 – Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiun, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and a passionate strategist of the Catholic Church in China, has never held back in his criticism of Vatican diplomacy, which he sees as too compliant toward the communist regime of Beijing, or of the Chinese priests and bishops he thinks are pushovers.
The most recent bone of contention – reported by www.chiesa in a previous article – was the matter of the coadjutor bishop of Baoding, Joseph An Shuxin, who was set free after ten years in prison and joined the government's Patriotic Association, an action that many interpreted as a surrender to the enemy.
In Cardinal Zen's view, the capitulation of the bishop of Baoding and of others like him has been wrongfully encouraged by Vatican authorities, according to whom the heroic season of the clandestine Church has ended, and its bishops and priests should all enter the official Church recognized by the regime.
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ROME, February 4, 2010 – Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiun, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and a passionate strategist of the Catholic Church in China, has never held back in his criticism of Vatican diplomacy, which he sees as too compliant toward the communist regime of Beijing, or of the Chinese priests and bishops he thinks are pushovers.
The most recent bone of contention – reported by www.chiesa in a previous article – was the matter of the coadjutor bishop of Baoding, Joseph An Shuxin, who was set free after ten years in prison and joined the government's Patriotic Association, an action that many interpreted as a surrender to the enemy.
In Cardinal Zen's view, the capitulation of the bishop of Baoding and of others like him has been wrongfully encouraged by Vatican authorities, according to whom the heroic season of the clandestine Church has ended, and its bishops and priests should all enter the official Church recognized by the regime.
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Chief Rabbi backs Pope’s condemnation of equality laws
Chief Rabbi backs Pope’s condemnation of equality laws
Alongside this, what we're seeing is increasing friendliness on the part of Israeli religious leaders, and journals to the Papacy, is a story about one German Catholic's friendship with a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz, here.
Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has said Pope Benedict XVI’s attack on the Government’s equality legislation should be taken seriously.
Writing in The Times on Wednesday, Mr Sacks said: “We may not agree with the Vatican line on homosexuality. But the State is trampling on our rights as individuals.”
The Pope told bishops from England and Wales that the Government’s equality legislation had served to “impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs”.
Alongside this, what we're seeing is increasing friendliness on the part of Israeli religious leaders, and journals to the Papacy, is a story about one German Catholic's friendship with a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz, here.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Division Within Hierarchy in Ireland
PADDY AGNEW in Rome
AS THE countdown begins to the forthcoming Vatican meeting between Pope Benedict, senior Curia figures and the Irish bishops, Vatican insiders have suggested the Holy See has been alarmed by recent signs of internecine strife within the Irish hierarchy.Many commentators believe the Holy See intends the meeting, scheduled for February 15th and 16th, to serve as a starting point around which the Irish Catholic Church can unify as it strives to achieve closure on the pain inflicted, above all on the victims but also on the church, by Ireland's prolonged clerical child abuse crisis.In such a context, the Holy See has been confused and alarmed by apparent factional in-fighting among the hierarchy.Reports of former Dublin auxiliary bishop Dermot O'Mahony criticising Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin for failing to support the priests in his archdiocese in the wake of the Murphy report have caused concern.Likewise, an article in today's Irish Catholic reporting that a number of Dublin priests feel Archbishop Martin showed a lack of compassion towards the auxiliary bishops named in the Murphy report; that he left them "hung out to dry", will only add to the Holy See's sense of concern.Senior Curia figures are likely to be unimpressed by the fact that such tensions in the Irish church have found very public expression.The Holy See and the Italian Catholic Church are rife with bitter internal feuds. But these tend to flow along underground with churchmen rarely criticising one another in public debate. Full frontal attacks are not a constituent part of Holy See DNA.Many commentators had originally anticipated that when the Irish bishops arrive in Rome for their meeting with the pope, they would be presented with a final copy of his forthcoming "pastoral letter" to the Irish faithful.Given the obvious climate of dissension within the hierarchy, it is possible that the pope may wait until he has met and listened to the Irish bishops before issuing the definitive version of this unprecedented message.When the pope last met with the Irish bishops at their Ad Limina visit in 2006, he called on them to "deal with the problem in an efficient manner", adding: "It is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take all possible measures so that this can never happen again in the future, to guarantee that the principles of justice are fully respected and, above all, to heal the victims and all those who have been hurt by these abnormal crimes."At their Vatican meetings, the pontiff is likely to suggest to the bishops that, from the Holy See's viewpoint, the Murphy report represents an important stage in carrying out his Ad Limina recommendations. In that context, senior Curia figures are likely to express their concern at the apparent unwillingness of some members of the Irish hierarchy to accept the overall findings of the Murphy report
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0205/1224263813963.html
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Catholic teaching is not a list of 'no's,' pope tells Scottish bishops
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church has a positive vision of human life, marriage and family which must not be presented as a list of things the church opposes, Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops of Scotland.
The church's "positive and inspiring vision of human life, the beauty of marriage and the joy of parenthood" are "rooted in God's infinite, transforming and ennobling love for all of us, which opens our eyes to recognize and love his image in our neighbor," the pope said.
"Be sure to present this teaching in such a way that it is recognized for the message of hope that it is," he told the bishops Feb. 5 as they were finishing their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses.
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The church's "positive and inspiring vision of human life, the beauty of marriage and the joy of parenthood" are "rooted in God's infinite, transforming and ennobling love for all of us, which opens our eyes to recognize and love his image in our neighbor," the pope said.
"Be sure to present this teaching in such a way that it is recognized for the message of hope that it is," he told the bishops Feb. 5 as they were finishing their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses.
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Augusto Del Noce, RIP
Twenty years ago, on 30 December 1989, Augusto Del Noce, one of the greatest Italian post-war intellectuals, and a regular contributor to 30Days, died in Rome. The anniversary, to be followed by that in 2010, the centenary of his birth, offers an opportunity to reflect on the philosopher’s conceptual career.
Link to original...
Link to original...
Ringo has found God
It's currently unclear what deonomination or religion.
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Ringo Starr, the Beatles’ drummer, claimed that he has found God. He said thatafter taking a long and winding road to enlightenment, he finally found God.
The reformed rock legend, who turns 70 in July, admitted he lost his way when he was young, referring to the time when he suffered alcohol and cocaine problems in the late 1970s.
Ever since he became a teetotaller and had quit his 60-a-day cigarette habit, he turned to religious practices. For him, religion now plays an important role in his life.
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Serbian Patriarch Advocates Dialogue with Rome
By JOVANA GEC
The Associated Press
Thursday, January 28, 2010; 8:39 AM
The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Thursday urged dialogue to overcome long-standing divisions with Roman Catholics.
Patriarch Irinej said that a 2013 anniversary important to Christians would be a “good opportunity … to meet and talk.”
He added that “with God’s help this (dialogue) would continue to overcome what had happened in history and take a new, Christian road.”
Link to eirenikon...
h/t youngfogey at conservative blog for peace, here....
Archbishop’s Statement On Catholic School Education
Archbishop’s Statement On Catholic School Education,
Archbishop Wilton Gregory is one of the worst of the USCCBs spokesmen when it comes to religious indifferentism. He supported the revision of the USCCB statement on the Jews and the Old Covenant, saying that it is still salvific.
His address here about Catholic schools is interesting for one reason, he doesn't make a single mention of the Catholic Faith.
In view of this statement, we find it hard to be comforted, although he's not exactly speaking to Catholics either, all the more reason to be emphatic about the Catholic Faith. Ultimately, given the current state of Catholic education in America, it's easy to see his words as so much hot air.
Archbishop Wilton Gregory is one of the worst of the USCCBs spokesmen when it comes to religious indifferentism. He supported the revision of the USCCB statement on the Jews and the Old Covenant, saying that it is still salvific.
His address here about Catholic schools is interesting for one reason, he doesn't make a single mention of the Catholic Faith.
Catholic schools remain at the heart of the church. Within our schools, the primary focus must remain an unyielding commitment to strong Catholic identity and sound moral teaching. This is the mission of our Catholic schools and therefore absolutely central to their existence. As the Archbishop, I am proud that the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Atlanta continue to provide strong faith formation for our youth.
In view of this statement, we find it hard to be comforted, although he's not exactly speaking to Catholics either, all the more reason to be emphatic about the Catholic Faith. Ultimately, given the current state of Catholic education in America, it's easy to see his words as so much hot air.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
WIRE: Backdoor taxes to hit middle class...
« on: Today at 08:34:58 AM »
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100201/bs_nm/us_budget_backdoortaxes
By Terri Cullen Terri Cullen – Mon Feb 1, 4:09 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.
In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.
While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.
The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.
If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.
Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.
Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.
Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year's levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy -- the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.
Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:
* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;
* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;
* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;
* Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;
* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.
h/t: Michael Savage
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100201/bs_nm/us_budget_backdoortaxes
By Terri Cullen Terri Cullen – Mon Feb 1, 4:09 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.
In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.
While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.
The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.
If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.
Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.
Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.
Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year's levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy -- the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.
Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:
* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;
* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;
* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;
* Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;
* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.
h/t: Michael Savage
Vatican official says religious orders are in modern 'crisis'
No solutions yet, but at least they are admitting that there's a problem.
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
Link to original...
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said religious orders today are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices.
Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said the problems go deeper than the drastic drop in the numbers of religious men and women.
"The crisis experienced by certain religious communities, especially in Western Europe and North America, reflects the more profound crisis of European and American society. All this has dried up the sources that for centuries have nourished consecrated and missionary life in the church," Cardinal Rode said in a talk delivered Feb. 3 in Naples, Italy.
"The secularized culture has penetrated into the minds and hearts of some consecrated persons and some communities, where it is seen as an opening to modernity and a way of approaching the contemporary world," he said.
Link to original...
Political programs cannot achieve justice and equality, Pope says in Lenten message
In his message for Lent, Pope Benedict XVI cautions against a purely secular approach to achieving justice in society.
While Jesus "surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine," the Holy Father writes, nevertheless "distributive justice does not render to the human being the totality of his due." Man seeks for something much more-- for salvation-- which can only come through Christ and his Church.
The Pope's annual message takes its title from St. Paul's letter to the Romans: "The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ." Pope Benedict begins with some reflections on the meaning of the word "justice." He notes that the most common definition involves giving every person his due. But a problem arises immediately, he notes: "What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law."
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While Jesus "surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine," the Holy Father writes, nevertheless "distributive justice does not render to the human being the totality of his due." Man seeks for something much more-- for salvation-- which can only come through Christ and his Church.
The Pope's annual message takes its title from St. Paul's letter to the Romans: "The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ." Pope Benedict begins with some reflections on the meaning of the word "justice." He notes that the most common definition involves giving every person his due. But a problem arises immediately, he notes: "What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law."
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Obama Faith Advisor Knocks Pope, Ignites Catholic Fury
http://www.thechurchreport.com/index.cfm?objectID=20509
Washington D.C- Harry Knox, a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has stood by his past comment that Pope Benedict XVI is “hurting people in the name of Jesus.” And has unleashed a widespread call for his resignation or termination.
Washington D.C- Harry Knox, a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has stood by his past comment that Pope Benedict XVI is “hurting people in the name of Jesus.” And has unleashed a widespread call for his resignation or termination.
Catholic Students More likely to Oppose Church teaching.
The title is misleading, actually, most Catholic students do stray from the Church when it comes to the Church's teaching.
Study: Catholics at Catholic colleges less likely to stray from church
By Chaz Muth
Catholic News Service
Link to original...
Study: Catholics at Catholic colleges less likely to stray from church
By Chaz Muth
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A new study finds Catholic students at Catholic colleges are less likely than Catholics attending public colleges to move away from the church's teachings on a variety of issues.
However, on the issue of same-sex marriage in particular, newly released research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate found that many Catholic students at Catholic and public colleges disagree with church teaching.
CARA, which is based at Georgetown University, presented the results of its "Catholicism on Campus" study Jan. 31, during the annual meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, held in Washington.
The CARA report relied on national surveys of the attitudes of 14,527 students at 148 U.S. colleges and universities, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.
The data was collected from students when they were freshmen in 2004 and again when they were juniors in 2007.
"We measure whether students, regardless of their incoming attitudes and behavior, move closer, stay the same, or move further away from the church while in college," the study said.
CARA classified its research into two groups. The first covered beliefs and attitudes about social and political issues, including abortion, same-sex marriage, the death penalty and reducing suffering around the world. The second focused on religious behavior, such as frequency of attendance at religious services, prayer, reading of religious texts and publications.
On pro-life issues, the results indicated a "mixed pattern," it said. A majority of Catholic students leave college disagreeing that abortion should be legal but they number fewer than those who entered with that opinion, it said. Overall 56 percent said they disagreed "strongly" or "somewhat" that "abortion should be legal."
Regarding same-sex marriage, the study said there is no other issue on which Catholic students -- regardless of where they attended school -- moved further away from the church. Only one in three Catholics on Catholic campuses disagreed "somewhat or "strongly" that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Catholics on non-Catholic campuses were slightly less likely to disagree.
"This issue more than any other may be strongly affected by the millennial generation's post-materialist view regarding marriage and sexuality," said the study's authors, Mark Gray and Melissa Cidade.
They said their analysis showed that while Catholic students at Catholic colleges may move away from the church on some issues, they move closer to the church on others.
Like Catholic students at most public colleges, they moved toward agreeing with the church's position on the need to reduce the number of large and small weapons and its view that federal military spending should not be increased.
On the death penalty, 49 percent of Catholic students on Catholic campuses agreed "strongly" or "somewhat" with the church's opposition to the death penalty and were more likely than Catholic students at public colleges to agree with the church's social justice teaching on the need to reduce suffering in the world and "improve the human condition."
The study found that as Catholic students at Catholic colleges advance in their education, they often "remain profoundly connected to their faith."
In their junior year, 87 percent of them said following religious teachings in everyday life was "somewhat important" to them, and 86 percent said their "religiousness" did not become "weaker" in college.
But the study also found that Mass attendance declined during the college years among almost a third of Catholics at Catholic colleges, but at non-Catholic colleges, the percentage jumped to nearly 50 percent.
"Disturbing as these figures are, they should not be a surprise and should not be interpreted as a specific outcome of students' attendance at a Catholic college or university," said Richard A. Yanikoski, president of the Washington-based ACCU.
Yanikoski said the decline in Mass attendance and religious identity is often caused by weakened family life and diminished religious activity among Catholic families, ineffective catechesis in parishes, understaffed faith formation programs for youths, a sexually provocative culture, and reaction to the sex abuse scandal.
"Catholic campuses serving a broad cross-section of students can only do so much to redress such a collection of antithetical influences," he said. "We know full well that our own capacity in some ways is weaker now than it was when priests and vowed religious were more numerous on our campuses."
Though this study does not dispute many of the findings from a 2003 study commissioned by the Cardinal Newman Society -- a Manassas, Va.-based Catholic college watchdog group -- about the attitudes Catholic college students hold about abortion and same-sex marriage, it does suggest they are less likely to move away from the church than students attending non-Catholic institutions.
Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, said in a Feb. 2 statement that if ACCU officials think "it is a happy fact that Catholics lose their faith somewhat slower at Catholic colleges than elsewhere, then they fail to appreciate the concerns of faithful Catholic families."
Link to original...
Death to the USCCB!
USCCB Scandal Deepens, U.S. Bishops Remain Silent
The scandal that has engulfed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) shows no sign in abating.
Today we learn even more incriminating facts that continue to tarnish the image of the USCCB.
In the latest RealCatholicTV.com program Michael Voris explains the deep entanglement of Democratic Party and anti-Catholic operatives that hold high positions within the USCCB.
Here's the recent response by the USCCB representatives in the usual state of denial.
Read further...
The scandal that has engulfed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) shows no sign in abating.
Today we learn even more incriminating facts that continue to tarnish the image of the USCCB.
In the latest RealCatholicTV.com program Michael Voris explains the deep entanglement of Democratic Party and anti-Catholic operatives that hold high positions within the USCCB.
Here's the recent response by the USCCB representatives in the usual state of denial.
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishops who work closely with John Carr, who oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, say new claims against him and the agency are false and "totally ridiculous."
Bishops William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss., spoke with Catholic News Service Feb. 3 about recent allegations of "a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil" by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops because of Carr's past involvement with the Center for Community Change.
"I'm concerned about these attacks on John Carr and I know they are false and I think they are even calumnious," said Bishop Murphy, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, by telephone to CNS. "I am taking this to be a very sad, sad commentary on the honesty of some people in these pressure groups."
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Nobel prize-winning author: "England is a cesspit. England is the breeding ground of fundamentalist Muslims."
A NOBEL prize-winning author has accused England of being a "cesspit" that nurtures Islamist terrorism, in a damning indictment of Labour's failed multicultural experiment.
Wole Soyinka, the first African winner of the literature prize, claimed the Nigerian student who tried to blow up a jet over Detroit on Christmas Day, was radicalised during his time at University College London. The criticism comes amid a growing row between Nigeria, Britain and Yemen about where Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab turned to violent extremism.
Link to original...
Benedict Groeschel of EWTN is clueless about Saul Alinsky
Not only did Father Groeschel host a Paulist on his show, which is a strategic mistake of colossal proportions in itself, but he also was clueless when Saul Alinksy, who wrote a Marxist guide to "community organizing" dedicated to Satan, was mentioned. Most people are familiar with the Paulists themselves and their present reputation for being big on challenging church teaching and welcoming the spirit of the world. The founder of the Paulists, Isaak Hecker himself, was mentioned by name in Leo XIII's encyclical Testem Benevolentiae in the most unfavorable terms.
Father Groeschel, no stranger to hippiedom himself had no idea who Alinsky was, that's pretty surprising in itself, almost as surprising as having consistent orthodox shows on EWTN, a network gone wrong that don't promote crypto-marxism in one way or another... In any event, the Paulist gave a defense of Alinsky that he was a good friend of Jaques Maritain, which surprised us again, because unlike the author of the romancatholic blog, we don't regard Maritain very highly at all and offering him up as an endorsement of Alinsky doesn't bode well for either men, considering what they in fact were in the end. Mauritain in addition to having a strange definition of being, doesn't believe in the existence of Hell according to Romano Amerio, author of the monumental Iota Unum on page 697 and 698. (h/t to RB)
h/t: Barb Kralis
Here's the story by a blogger who saw the show... romancatholic.blog...
Read Hillary Clinton's Senior Thesis about Saul Alinksy, here...
Father Groeschel, no stranger to hippiedom himself had no idea who Alinsky was, that's pretty surprising in itself, almost as surprising as having consistent orthodox shows on EWTN, a network gone wrong that don't promote crypto-marxism in one way or another... In any event, the Paulist gave a defense of Alinsky that he was a good friend of Jaques Maritain, which surprised us again, because unlike the author of the romancatholic blog, we don't regard Maritain very highly at all and offering him up as an endorsement of Alinsky doesn't bode well for either men, considering what they in fact were in the end. Mauritain in addition to having a strange definition of being, doesn't believe in the existence of Hell according to Romano Amerio, author of the monumental Iota Unum on page 697 and 698. (h/t to RB)
h/t: Barb Kralis
Here's the story by a blogger who saw the show... romancatholic.blog...
Read Hillary Clinton's Senior Thesis about Saul Alinksy, here...
Cardinal Schönborn comes to D.C. Christianity "Dying in Europe"
You heard earlier how Cardinal Schonborn has NCR fooled, and his Medjugorje deception is all over town. Now the Scandal Cardinal is in D.C. fooling other people, talking about "Dying in Europe" to reestablish his street cred as a "conservative" prelate.
Cardinal Schonborn comes to D.C. Christianity "Dying in Europe" In Medjugorje the Solution?
Cardinal Schonborn comes to D.C. Christianity "Dying in Europe" In Medjugorje the Solution?
Sitting in the Great Room A of the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. forty minutes before Cardinal Schnborn's much anticipated lecture, two young college women, almost looking over their shoulders, were deeply engaged in a hushed conversation of the still touchy subject of Medjugorje. The conversation ended quickly as Cardinal Schonborn, accompanied by a Dean of Catholic University and the Austrian Ambassador to the United States entered the room, but make no mistake, the presence of Medjugorje continued to loom large.
After a brief and pleasant introduction, Cardinal Schonborn, standing behind a modest podium, looked out at the standing room only crowd and jokingly thanked those without seats for their early standing ovation. It was a nice, light moment for the young Cardinal, whose demeanor and handsome looks remind some of of the great John Paul II.
Though Cardinal Schonborn's delivery is engaging and sprinkled with self-deprecating humor the subject of today's lecture was anything but sunny. Cardinal Schonborn came to Washington D.C. to talk about the health and vibrancy of Christianity and Catholicism in Europe. After hearing the speech, one would have to conclude that the prognosis for Christianity's growth, particularly in Europe, faces many obstacles. His lecture, titled the "The Identity of Christianity - Alien Presence or Foundation of the West", presented a stark assessment of Christian faith in Europe and suggested that the revitalization of faith among its citizens would be arduous and uncertain.
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