I guess it is a good thing Michael Richards never directed a movie on the life of Christ – or otherwise his racist outburst against blacks at the Laugh Factory would be getting a whole lot of media attention.
*Title came from Steve Dillard’s post at Southern Appeal.
I wonder if the is the first Ad Orientum Time Cover?
There cover story on the Pope and Islam as he gets ready to go to Turkey includes What the Pope Gets Right by Fr. Neuhaus and of course the Muslim balance of And Where He’s Still in the Dark. Rather ironic title considering that the author of it is the one in dark as far as the Regensburg speech goes.
But Benedict’s speech implicitly suggested that he believes that Islam has no such relationship with reason–and thus is excluded from being European.
He frames the Pope’s whole speech on being European centric and says that Benedict is a "profoundly European Pope." That he whole speech was about European identity. It is amazing how so many can read the same speech and then talk about as if they read a totally different one. He then goes on to what Kathy Shaidle would describe as "They invented Chess you know" defense of Islam with a list of influential Muslim scholars – though it seems to me most of them were greatly influenced by Greek thought in the first place. One he mentions kind of makes the Pope’s point about reason. Avicenna believed that human minds were not in themselves capable of abstract thought, only potentially and only when illuminated by an angel – the Tenth Intellect.
Gerald has a copy of a letter that Father Joseph Patrick Breen has sent to Cardinal Levada, who he refers to as "Cardinal Bill", who he went to seminary with. The letter is typical boilerplate dissident advocacy talking points. On of Gerald readers wondered how the letter was leaked – whether it was the CDF or someone in his parish. I pretty much doubt that this letter was leaked at all. There is a full story on him in his advocacy in his local newspaper. The newspaper also has a PDF of his letter.
The article included:
In 1993, Breen was asked by former Nashville Bishop Edward Kmiec to sign a pledge refraining from advocating that the church’s celibacy rule be changed to ease a priest shortage.
The prohibition came shortly after Breen had mailed a letter to Catholic bishops outlining his views. The year before, 780 members of Breen’s church signed a petition to the pope with the same request.
The gag order was quietly lifted two years later, and Breen continued his fight, writing to Catholic newspapers and talking with fellow priests.
Then last month, Breen celebrated the 45th anniversary of his ordination in Rome with fellow seminarians, including Cardinal Bill Levada, who now heads the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which sets policies on faith and morals for Catholics worldwide.
Breen handed Levada a letter that said there was consensus among Catholics for married priests, artificial birth control, a greater acceptance of divorced people and women deaconesses.
In Athanasius time there was also a consensus among Catholics that God the Father and the Son were not co-eternal and that Jesus though a divine being was created and inferior to God the father. This only goes to show that modern dissidents are much more boring than previous ones like Arius.
The headline of the article is "Priest not afraid to advocate change." Exactly what would he be afraid of? He is not exactly a martyr and will get headlines not a headsman’s axe. In the modern climate dissent is punished by indifference.
Via Kathy Shaidle
Quite possibly the world’s stupidest Muslim guy actually asks, with a straight face, one presumes:
"Why has the [Nobel] Prize been awarded to 167 Jews and only 4 Arabs?"
Because you don’t get the Nobel for perfecting suicide bomber belts and making explosive shoes. This maybe also explains why the issuance of patents to those in Arab countries has slowed to a crawl. I read this tidbit before.
According to the 2003 Arab Human Development Report, between 1980 and 1999 the nine leading Arab economies registered 370 patents (in the US) for new inventions. Patents are a good measure of a society’s education quality, entrepreneurship, rule of law and innovation. During that same 20-year period, South Korea registered 16,328 patents for inventions. You don’t run into a lot of South Koreans who want to be martyrs.
A talking Jesus doll has been turned down by the Marine Reserves’ Toys for Tots program.
A suburban Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the foot- tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season. The battery-powered Jesus is one of several dolls manufactured by one2believe, a division of the Valencia- based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., based on Biblical figures.
But the charity balked because of the dolls’ religious nature.
Toys are donated to kids based on financial need and "we don’t know anything about their background, their religious affiliations," said Bill Grein, vice president of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in Quantico, Va.
As a government entity, Marines "don’t profess one religion over another," Grein said Tuesday. "We can’t take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."
Do Jews and Muslims give toys on Christmas? The Marine’s Toy for Tots Mission statement says they "Distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted." Political correctness where Jesus dolls are outlawed on Jesus’ birthday is exactly the type of contradictions we expect today. It is just so dangerous to have proselytizing plastic doll’s converting children against their parents will. Talking Jesus dolls are scarier then an alive Chucky doll to many secular parents.
The company that provides these dolls also makes other ones from the Old and New Testament. Too bad they don’t have an Abraham doll since that would be acceptable for Christian, Jewish, and Muslim children. They could donate them instead and see what excuse they come up with next.
Amy Welborn has been providing excellent coverage of the bishop’s conference and today includes this:
Archbishop Burke is speaking about Courage and EnCourage . It seems as if his amendment is calling for explicit recognition of the ministry. Saying that there is no support group that is more faithful or has more history.
Bishop Serratelli: says the committee agrees with Bishop Burke. It’s not a question of the group. The committee felt with a generic statement and not to recommend or mention any particular group.
Bishop Paproki gets up and speaks in support of Archbishop Burke and poitns out since this is a document for bishops, it would be helpful to have specific suggestions.
Bishop Niederauer speaks against Archbishop Burke’s amendment. I want to support the committee’s judgment for a generic mention. No reason given.
Why am I not surprised ?
…Cardinal George: in favor of the amendment, strongly, saying that Courage has been unjustly attacked and falsely misrepresented. The effectiveness of the group has struck him: "they are not only striving to be chaste, but they are striving to be saints. They are holy people."
Thank you Cardinal George for speaking the truth. The amendment though was defeated 121 to 105, but they did approve mention of Courage and Encourage as a footnote. Maybe they should start a new group called Discourage since they seem to want to discourage those with same-sex attraction from living a chaste life.
American Papist has also been providing good coverage of the conference.
A parish web site with pictures of men kissing and the pastor blessing the participants of a gay pride parade must of course be the infamous Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in San Francisco. [Via The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen]
The pastor Fr. Meriwether is reportedly on leave from his duties after so many complaints to the Archdiocese for this parish allowing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence holding bingo games with sex toy prizes in the parish hall. Unfortunately it appears the Archdiocese is now allowing Fr. Meriwether to return to his parish. This Sunday they are holding a pancake breakfast in honor of his return. So now that the media attention has gone away from the last fiasco it appears that everything is back to what can be called normal there. People thought that the infamous St. Joan parish with it’s rainbow flag was scandalous, but this parishes web site puts them into the bush leagues.
Not surprising this parish also has monthly Monthly Celebration of the Anointing of the Sick where all are invited to come and participate. Somehow I don’t think the parish is populated by one hundred percent of people who are "dangerously ill" in regards to canon law.
Please send a polite email to the archdiocese about this scandalous situation.
Archbishop George Niederauer and Bishop John Wester
Bishop Ignatius Wang.
UK scientists have applied for permission to create embryos by fusing human DNA with cow eggs.
Researchers from Newcastle University and Kings College, London, have asked the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for a three-year licence.
The hybrid human-bovine embryos would be used for stem cell research and would not be allowed to develop for more than a few days.
But critics say it is unethical and potentially dangerous.
I guess they want to create a missteak or perhaps dairy farms will start delivering the milk of human kindness.
Kathy Shaidle’s headline was Don’t have a man-cow.
The decision was not a difficult one for Frank McMahon, although he said it was one he thought he would never have to make.
As a prerecorded message from Bishop Robert Morlino began playing during Saturday’s Mass at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Madison, McMahon, 70, a lifelong Catholic, quietly but purposefully strode to an exit.
"I could have stayed in there and pretended I was soaking it up, but why be a hypocrite?" said McMahon, as he waited out the 14-minute message from Morlino by gazing at a quilt hanging in the church vestibule.
A handful of other parishioners also walked out, unwilling to hear Morlino’s opposition to three controversial issues – same-sex marriage, the death penalty and embryonic stem-cell research. One read the Bible. One prayed. One dabbed at tears.
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It was an odd and difficult weekend, many Catholics said. While they are no strangers to the complexities of church issues, this was a new development in negotiating the tricky intersection of personal faith, religious doctrine and electoral politics, they said.
Morlino, bishop for 270,000 Catholics in the 11-county Madison diocese, had ordered all parishes to play his strongly worded audio message on Nov. 4 and 5, just days before an election in which all three hot-button topics will be on the state ballot, either directly or indirectly.
It is rather sad that they have not heard a previous message before Bishop Morlino’s tape. As if what the Church teaches has been a secret that was just released. Though maybe that is rather accurate in some parishes. Does walking out before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass fulfill your Sunday obligation? If not what a great way to make a political point by committing a grave sin.
This is how some of the priests introduced the Bishop’s tape.
" As most of you have heard by now, I have been ordered to play this." Another said he was "required" to play it.
At Holy Mother of Consolation Church in Oregon, the Rev. Bill Connell admitted he wasn’t supposed to say anything about the taped message from Morlino but couldn’t help himself. Looking a bit ragged, Connell confessed he hadn’t slept for two nights, worrying about what parishioners might do or say upon hearing the tape.
Loosing sleep over how parishioners would react to Church teaching? Seems to me he should be losing sleep over the bad catechesis at his parish. The article though at least printed the positive reaction from some people.
Jennifer Milas, 54, a member of St. Ignatius, said she fully supports the bishop and was glad that he ordered the tape to be played.
"I think a lot of people hadn’t talked about their beliefs much," she said. "This really brought it to people’s minds."
Milas said she will be voting in favor of the ban on gay marriage and civil unions Tuesday. As for those who walked out of services or protested in other ways, "I just pray that they’ll have a stronger faith," she said. "I don’t condemn them. I pray for them."
The only thing I would quibble with the good bishop on is his statement on "standing against the death penalty." Mixing things that are intrinsically evil with something requiring prudential judgment only muddle what the Church teaches. For the record I believe that the death penalty should be severely limited, but opposition should be framed in what the Church teaches and not on subject that then-Cardinal Ratzinger said could entail a "legitimate diversity of opinion" among Catholics. Though in this case Bishop Morlino is probably referring to voting in support of a non-binding resolution concerning the death penalty and somebody convicted with first degree murder.
Roman Catholic Blog has pictures from the Halloween Mass at the "Catholic-Christian community" of Corpus Christi in Aliso Viejo, in the Diocese of Orange, California. The pictures includes a devil in the choir(rock group) and a She-Devil as a extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. I guess someone dressed as a She-Devil giving out communion is extraordinary. Someone should have gone dressed as a kneeler, since in that diocese it would be pretty scary.
Catholic Church Conservation has pictures of a group of nuns (thankfully not at Mass) who appear to be willing to wear anything but a habit. Diogenes also comments on one of the pictures of a nun in solidarity with the murder of innocents – chickens that is.