Punditry

Old hippie Joni Mitchell bravely confronts Islam’s treatment of women… oh, wait —

"Joni Mitchell is back after nine years, and she’s on the attack. In the title track to her new album, ‘Shine,’ Mitchell takes a nice swipe at the Catholic Church by name.

"’Shine on the Catholic Church/And the prisons that it owns,’ she sings. ‘Shine on all the Churches/that love less and less.’"

Shine on Joni Mitchell/And anti-Catholic bigotry.

Shine on has been singers/And there search for relevance.

I guess I have been on a prophetic boycott of Starbucks since I have never gone to one.

Fragments of a cassock worn by Pope John Paul II have been available from vicariatusurbis.org the site for his beautification cause. The relics were available for free (though postage has to be paid), but next to the relic initiative users can click on "Freewill offering for the cause" towards the beautification.

The scheme is run by the Vicariate of Rome, which is promoting sainthood for John Paul. The faithful also receive a “holy card” with a prayer to “obtain graces through the intercession of John Paul II”.

Maybe they use scheme as a non-pejorative term in England, but judging by the rest of the article this doesn’t appear to be the case. Besides why sneer quotes around holy card?

But the scheme has caused disquiet in the Vatican, which is anxious to discourage the veneration of relics, seen as a medieval practice with no place in the modern church. “Wars were fought over the hunt for relics in the Middle Ages,” said Bishop Velasio De Paolis, secretary of the Apostolic Signature, the Vatican’s top judicial body.

Funny I guess nobody told the writers of the Catechism that it was only a medieval practice. Besides just who in the Vatican is disquieted? I guess you can just take quotes from Bishop Velasio De Paolis that appeared in a La Stampa article and then just assert whatever the heck you want to.

1674 Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church’s sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals, etc.

Also I wasn’t aware that the medieval ages went all the way back to the earliest days of the Church when relics were taken for St. Polycarp and has been a constant practice throughout the history of the Church including both testaments of the Bible.

�This is not a commercial operation,� said Father Marco Fibbi, spokesman for the Vicariate. Fragments would be sent to those who did not make a payment as well as to those who did.

The relics on offer are known as ex indumentis, meaning cloth that the late Pope touched. The Vicariate said it had been overwhelmed by requests for the relics, and donations to the beatification website had increased to 1,200 a day from 300 a day when it was launched four months after John Paul�s death. Thousands continue to file every day past the late Pope�s tomb in the crypt of St Peter�s Basilica.

You just got to love the ignorant media coverage of the Church. Also recently Jeff Israely once again did some ignorant coverage for Time in the assertion that Pope John Paul II requested euthanasia and he said that “Catholics are enjoined to pursue all means to prolong life.” It is quite obvious that one source religion reporters never use when covering the Church is the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

I am always glad when my skepticism about a story proves right and in this case I hadn’t covered the Kathy Saile’s USCCB appointment because of a spidey sense about the story.

Mark Shea’s got the goods.

Though I am rather surprised about myself that I even had any skepticism about a story that purported that the USCCB had supposedly appointed someone who was pro-abortion for the Director of Domestic Social Development.

Though while I am certainly glad she is pro-life, just judging from some of her past statements I don’t align myself with her previous statements on domestic policy and liturgy.

Earlier Amy Welborn linked to The Provincial Emails on a program called "Energizing Our Vibrancy" to increase Mass attendance in the Diocese of Milwaukee. This looks like another misguided program.

Sherry W at Intentional Disciples looks at the program and this problem in an post well worth reading.

Christian culture is not self-sustaining. Christian culture is the fruit of personal faith. Without the preaching of the kerygma and personal conversion which is the source of renewal in every generation, Christian culture ultimately withers away and dies.

A statement from the Diocese of Pittsburgh regarding Bodies … The Exhibition.

…With the assurances that the affidavits provide over the source of the bodies and fetuses, and the understanding that it is morally ethical that bodies unclaimed over a definitive period of time can be used for medical study and education, the Diocese of Pittsburgh concludes the following:

1. Bodies � The Exhibition� can provide worthwhile and effective opportunities to promote learning and to explore issues in the natural sciences, morality and spirituality;

2. �Bodies � The Exhibition� is certainly not appropriate for all audiences. Individuals in general and parents in particular must consider their own and their children�s sensitivities when determining whether or not to attend the exhibit;

3. The discussion generated in the public arena in anticipation of this exhibit is a valuable one that has raised serious questions about the dignity of the human person and how that dignity is expressed, protected and promoted. We applaud this public discourse on a matter so important to the fostering of a good society. We encourage continued dialogue on these important topics and welcome the opportunity to participate in them over the course of the exhibit�s stay in Pittsburgh.

The statement seems to me to be lacking in some of the moral issues concerning this display that go well beyond whether the bodies were obtained legally. Skinning bodies and posing them for entertainment value at the cost of admission is not exactly the same thing as the use of donated bodies for medical use.

Using the excuse that it can provide worthwhile discussions on morality and spirituality seems to be the same old excuse that is thrown out whenever they can’t justify it morally. The same excuse used by some to defend the Da Vinci Code movie and other events. Besides if worthwhile moral discussion were important then why aren’t any made in this letter besides the issue of where they got the bodies?

I would think at least that the dignity of the body would be discussed especially in the context of what has become a billion dollar plus exhibit. Or whether these so-called unclaimed bodies from the unreliable Chinese government really are treated with the respect and charity as specified in the Catechism. Archbishop Burke in St. Louis cancelled Catholic school field trips to the exhibit, but left it up to the parents as to whether this exhibit contradicted the Catholic faith.

First Things magazine had serious discussion on this exhibit with Robert T. Miller (anti) and Claire V. McCusker (pro) on the subject. Maybe this exhibit can be moral, I just wished the diocese letter attempted to address those issues.

Hat tip to the reader that sent this to me and Power Blog.

Both the Vatican and the U.S. bishops are investigating a book by a prominent American Catholic theologian, Vietnam-born Fr. Peter Phan of Georgetown University. The book raises issues about the uniqueness of Christ and the church, issues that were also behind recent censures of other high-profile theologians, as well as a recent Vatican declaration that the fullness of the Christian church resides in Catholicism alone.

The case confirms that no subject is of greater doctrinal concern for church authorities, including Pope Benedict XVI, than what they see as “religious relativism,” meaning the impression that Christ is analogous to other religious figures such as the Buddha, or that Christianity is one valid spiritual path among others.

John Allen Jr. writes that the investigation by the CDF has been ongoing since 2005 and so far Fr. Phan has not yet responded to questions given by Archbishop Angelo Amato.

As is always the case the CDF is slow and deliberate by giving theologians every opportunity to explain and to correct where necessary. It is rather interesting that Bishop William Lori, chair of the Committee on Doctrine for the U.S. bishops, is conducting a separate investigation with their own set of questions.

Carl Olson covers Hans Kung latest interview and his latest distortions of the Catholic faith and not surprisingly taking the media line on the new CDF document. We also learn that Kung is releasing yet another biography. Once again it is Hans Kung against the Church so he should be called Hans Solo.

Whereas the best theologians have done their theology on their knees, you get the idea that Hans Kung does his in front of a mirror.

The AP has their knives out for the Pope’s trip to Austria.

Apathy, hostility await Pope Benedict during his 3-day visit to Austria

The article managed not one positive thing and calls the organization "We are Church" influential.

It will be much better to read Gerald’s take from Austria.

Media
gaffes when it comes to the Church are often pretty funny such as the case of crow’s ear being substituted for crosier. But American Papist has found a real howler, as he calls it. The media has been working overtime to cast the Pope’s visit in Loreto as an eco-friendly youth rally.

"Intentionally wearing green vestments, [Pope Benedict] spoke to a vast crowd of mostly young people…"

Creative Minority Report gives his own vestment interpretation guide.

American Papist also has good commentary and coverage on what the pope actually said instead of the the spin given it to fit what they want him to mean within a narrow context.

Now it is no surprise that the media interprets so much within environmental terms since they are par of the eco chamber on this issue.

You often hear criticism of the Church’s position on the sanctity of marriage and the indissolubility of the marriage bond as being cruel. Compassion is also often invoked as a response for those who want to remarry. The repeated suggestion is that for someone whose marriage has ended in civil divorce that it totally unfair to the person that they not be allowed to get remarried. Once again the Catholic Church is the cast as the sour old bad guy keeping people from living and enjoying their lives as they please. I have even heard a homily in a Catholic Church by a priest who was upset with the cruelty of the Church in not allowing remarriage.

With the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist occurring just a couple of days ago I wonder what kind of media attention John would have gotten in modern times. I can easily imagine headlines such as "Marriage activist looses his head" or "Intolerant nutcase wilderness preacher slams Herod’s marriage." It is quite obvious that the Church’s teaching on marriage has never been popular and St. Thomas More also was beheaded for defending marriage.

Today at Mass a reading from 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 was used to mention something that Jesus had said regarding divorce. This reminding me of society’s current attitude which is exactly opposite of what Jesus said. Jesus said that it was the hardness of heart of the people that caused Moses to allow divorce, while critics say it is hardness of heart that doesn’t allow divorce. Jesus used "You have heard it said" to lead off to how the truth was quite the opposite of what he had heard said and this is just another example.The cruelty is suppose to be all on the Church’s part while the cruelty to children as the result of divorce is roundly ignored. As a child of divorced parents when I was a teenager I know of this cruelty that had put me in a downward spiral without realizing it. But there is also cruelty when spouses don’t reconcile and with divorce now seen as a quick fix and where the idea of not getting your way at all times has lead to massive selfishness.

Instead of reconciling problems and performing necessary compromises the horrible idea of irreconcilable differences has emerged. Love as emotional gooeyness has triumphed and as soon as you don’t feel love this is suppose to be evidence that love is gone. The idea that love is a willed act is little known and instead people say silly things like "I have fallen out of love with you" when the reality is that they have willed not to love that person anymore. Jesus’ commandment to love our enemies is now even more scandalous in our times than it was in his since we now attach love as purely an emotional feeling. The heresies of the seventies included such nonsense as "Love means never having to say you’re sorry." A statement like that makes you understand why they once burned heretics. Many now think that sacrificial love is an oxymoron and it is any wonder considering that sacrifice itself has come on such hard times? Not only do we want cheap grace, we want it on a revolving credit plan.

A culture of selfishness certainly does not prepare one for marriage especially since in every case they are a couple who both suffer from the effects of original sin. As Father Pacwa would say they don’t make the other model anymore. All the focus is on Cupid not concupiscence. Though as depressing the modern culture’s view on marriage is it does make me reflect on how strong the role of grace is. Looking at the cultural indicators I think it is much more amazing that the divorce rate isn’t much higher, but Jesus did promise that where sin abounds that grace abounds even more. The grace bandwidth is measured by Laud rate since we should certainly give praise and glorify God for it. Grace is what keeps me from being a pessimistic cynic since I know from experience He can touch even the most hardheaded individual. After 27 years of marriage my wife can also testify to that fact.

So while I doubt that society will anytime soon learn that it is their hardness of heart and not the Church’s in regard to marriage, we also know that grace is more powerful than propaganda.