“The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments responded to a lay Catholic in Britain, in a diocese in which communion on the tongue had been restricted due to concerns related to the Influenza A virus, subtype H1N1 (“Swine flu”) epidemic.” See the letter here.
(National Catholic Reporter) The vast majority of U.S. women religious are not complying with a Vatican request to answer questions in a document of inquiry that is part of a three-year study of the congregations. Leaders of congregations, instead, are leaving questions unanswered or sending in letters or copies of their communities’ constitutions.
“There’s been almost universal resistance,” said one women religious familiar with the responses compiled by the congregation leaders. “We are saying ‘enough!’ In my 40 years in religious life I have never seen such unanimity.”
The Vatican initiated the study in January, saying its purpose is to determine the quality of life in religious communities, given the decline in vocations in recent decades. From the outset, the women have complained they were never consulted before Vatican officials announced the investigation and there is no transparency in the process. Some have called the effort demeaning and intrusive.
NCR contacted more than a dozen women religious familiar with the responses. Almost no one would allow her name to be used, citing fear of reprisal against their congregations and the desire to have the apostolic visitator receive their letters before word of the actions became public.
She said women religious have been virtually unanimous in spirit that they have been living out their missions, as directed by the gospels and by the Second Vatican Council…
“Vatican II took us out of the ghettos and into ecology, feminism and justice in the world,” she said. “The Vatican still has a difficult time accepting that…” [reference]
Some sources have said that only on percent of these religious communities replied to the questionnaires. Not sure how no answer is going to do anything other than to show exactly why the Apostolic Visitation was needed in the first place. Rampant disobedience does not exactly show that there is not rampant disobedience. Though if they had answered the questionnaires truthfully they would have the same problems. But if they really believe that there way is the truth than they should not have a problem responding. The martyrs died for their faith, can’t even one of these dissidents standup up for what they believe is the truth? Trying to hide behind canon lawyers and other tricks is in no way a sign of obedience. Their actions are the actions of a guilty party who know that they are not on the right side. They are not the actions of innocents being guided by the Holy Spirit.
As I wrote some years ago the best part of Thanksgiving is now I know
of whom to give thanks to!
Te Deum
We praise Thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship Thee and the Father everlasting.
To Thee all Angels: to Thee the heavens and all the Powers therein.
To Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim: cry with unceasing voice:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Hosts.
The heavens and the earth are full: of the majesty of Thy glory.
Thee the glorious choir: of the Apostles.
Thee the admirable company: of the Prophets.
Thee the white-robed army of Martyrs: praise.
Thee the Holy Church throughout all the world: doth acknowledge.
The Father of infinite Majesty.
Thine adorable, true: and only Son
Also the Holy Ghost: the Paraclete.
Thou art the King of Glory: O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son: of the Father.
Thou having taken upon Thee to deliver man: didst not abhor the
Virgin’s womb.
Thou having overcome the sting of death: didst open to believers the
kingdom of heaven.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God: in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come: to be our Judge.
We beseech Thee, therefore, help Thy servants: whom Thou has redeemed
with Thy precious Blood.
Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints: in glory everlasting.
Lord, save Thy people: and bless Thine inheritance.
Govern them: and lift them up forever.
Day by day: we bless Thee.
And we praise Thy name forever: and world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day: to keep us without sin.
Have mercy on us, O Lord: have mercy on us.
Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us: as we have hoped in Thee.
O Lord, in Thee have I hoped: let me never be confounded.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.
Prepare yourself for Christmas and Good Friday!
I was going to ask this question, but Diogenes already did.
Logic question: How could Bishop Tobin, by writing a private letter in 2007, escalate a public dispute that began in October 2009?
Yes not only can Bishop Tobin time travel, but he must also have other powers. For example his powers include making Rep Kennedy reveal the letter at the proper time and making him keep bring up the dispute.
Funny how the media has framed this “conflict” exactly backwards. Bishop Tobin has been working behind the scenes in regards to Rep. Kennedy and his public statements have always been in response to Rep. Kennedy.
Rep. Kennedy has been masterful at plucking the strings of the media. He knows exactly how to get media attention. Plus when it starts to die down he plays the trump by telling about a Jan 2007 letter he relieved from the Bishop. He knows the so-called Communion wars are tasty bits for the MSM and that they would tie this “interference” into the health care debate. Well played Rep. Kennedy.
In a novel where the plot involves an assassin and an Angel you might think you ran across a typical Dan Brown style plot. A lesser novelist might make hash of such a plot, but this is not that case with Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim
Since her return to the Catholic faith she has written two life of Jesus novels and her spiritual biography and her new novel also addresses living a life of faith. This time we have a hired assassin good at his work that comes to an event that totally changes his path. An odd conversion story of sorts that reminded me of some of the elements of Anne Rice’s own spiritual biography. As a novel I found this book quite fascinating with an in-depth look at the life of the main character and the various turns it took. Anne Rice creates memorable characters and this time around it is a character you grow to really like as he goes through the point of conversion.
As with everything she has written since her conversion I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, though as with her life of Jesus books I had a few quibbles. Though mostly her theology is quite sound and she relied on Peter Kreeft’s book on Angels along with another reliable source. So again despite reservation in one area I can highly recommend this book as an enjoyable novel with a solid theological dimension. The book also seem to be a beginning of a new series, at least I hope so.
Not quite a spoiler alert, but close. One aspect of the plot involved deception with lying and swearing of oaths in order to save a whole group of people. This part of the plot was in some ways similar to the type of deceptions used to protect the Jews during the Nazi regime. While the magisterium has not fully weighed in on things such as having a mental reservation, the latest edition of the Catechism shows the movement to be towards all lying being sinful. I just wish the plot was resolved in another fashion that did not make doing something sinful for good cause so important. As the Catechism states “Lying is the most direct offense against the truth.” Add this to a plot where the main character is being directed by an Angel it becomes even more problematic.
Pretty funny spoof sent to me by a reader.
The Catholic Church, which heavily influenced and even authored language of the anti-abortion language in the health care bill in the House, in clear violation of the constitution, has escalated its war over the separation of church and state by barring Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving communion by Catholic Bishop of Rhode Island Thomas Tobin.
Tobin’s barring of Kennedy was the result of Kennedy’s criticism of the church for threatening to oppose health care reform unless it contained tighter restrictions on abortion.
Now just how many things can you get wrong in an article? Well this reporter is going for a world record. Clear violation of the Constitution? Gee the part about religious group not being able to speak up about legislation in not in my copy of the Constitution. The author goes on to talk about Thomas Jefferson and his famous phrase. Gee I was also unaware that Jefferson’s letters were part of the Constitution. Though of course his letter to the Danbury Baptists on the wall between Church in state was about the government not being able to interfere with the churches, not vice versa. But liberals can’t be troubled by facts when popular myths are all they need.
The reporter also did not find out that the letter to Rep Kennedy by Bishop Tobin is actually sent in 2007, so it was not a result of the Healthcare Debate as it is being framed in so many stories. The Boston Globe reports:
Bishop Thomas Tobin divulged details of his confidential exchange with Kennedy after the Democratic lawmaker told The Providence Journal in a story published Sunday that Tobin had instructed him not to receive Communion. The two men have clashed repeatedly in the past few weeks over abortion.
Kennedy did not say where or how he received those instructions. He declined to say whether he has obeyed the bishop’s request.
“The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion,” Kennedy told the paper in an interview conducted Friday.
,,Tobin said in a statement Sunday that he “has never addressed matters relative to public officials receiving Holy Communion with pastors of the diocese.”
If Bishop Tobin had told his pastors not to give him Communion two years ago surely the story would have leaked out. So I wold say that Rep. Kennedy is not being honest about that part. Though if the Bishop did indeed write this letter in 2007 I wish that he would also have instructed his pastors about this.
It looks like Bishop Tobin was doing the same thing that Archbishop Joseph Naumann did in regard to Gov. Sebelius who was told not to present herself before Communion, but that priests were not instructed to deny Communion if she went forward.
Being only an armchair bishop I have wondered why if you instruct a person to not receive Communion why you wouldn’t instruct priests, deacons, and EMHC to not give Communion to those persons if they put themselves forward. Though maybe it is not necessary if the person does not go forward for Communion. Rep. Kennedy will not say whether he has followed the Bishop’s instructions or not.
Being that the fast forward button on my DVR is my friend I don’t see many commercials, but I saw this one. This commercial could be the dictionary entry for relativism.
86 the rules, you do what just feels right.
Ah, the very meaning of Christmas. Christ was born into the world so that we could just do what feels right. Hey I feel like beating up the producers of this commercial, think they would mind?
Of course any mention of the made up holiday by a convicted torturer (aka Kwanzaa) annoys me, but now we even get Solstice added to the list. As if when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun has anything to do with shopping at the Gap. Or is it that Solstice Claus will come this year on the 21st of December. How many children will wake up disappointed with their tilt of the earth gifts.
This commercial by trying to be multiculturally sensitive become culturally insensitive. So often attempts at inoffensiveness become offensive.
We have heard of “God of the Gaps” arguments, well these commercials are evidence that there is no God in the Gap stores, just smarmy multiculturalism.
Deacon Greg Kandra posts asking Is the Gap ad anti-Christmas? and reports that some of now boycotting Gap because of the commercial. Is the ad anti-Christmas? Well it was certainly not meant to be so. Relativism is never really anti-anything in theory – just in practice. Though really all commercializations of Christmas are to some extent anti-Christmas in that they totally miss the point that a savior came into the world to save us from our sins.
I was wondering if there would be a 2009 Tossmas and sure enough there is.