Punditry

Head ‘too religious’ to run a Catholic college
The head of a Roman Catholic college has quit after complaints from pupils that she was too religious.

Seventeen pupils at the sixth form college were suspended for a day for missing Mass, while others were forced to take part in a procession around the playing field carrying religious icons.

Some said they were made to listen to a lecture by US evangelist Barbara McGuigan, who claimed homosexuality was a disorder and if pupils had an abortion they would go to hell.

Now Maria Williams, principal of St Luke’s Catholic Sixth Form College in Sidcup, has resigned after a vote of no confidence by staff.

Michael Aldis, 18, one of the pupils excluded for skipping Mass, said: "We felt we should be allowed to make up our own minds whether to go. We had just a week before A-levels and wanted to spend the time revising. They used to herd us into Mass and then post teachers at the doors to stop us leaving.

"We were suspended for one day and then summoned to what the principal called a re-entry interview and allowed back."

He added: "They once made everyone walk round the playing field, singing hymns and carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary."

Fr. Finnigan who is quoted in this article comments on it at his fine blog The Hermeneutic of Continuity (I feel smarter just reading blogs with titles like that.)

The other day "The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens" had this advice:

"But he added that the pope’s comments on Islam showed he was fallible, ‘because of the kind of interpretation he had of Islam, he should read Gandhi and find out what he said about Islam,’ the singer said, adding that the Indian leader had a more peaceful interpretation of the faith."

Today I ran across this:

Following the assassination of Swami Shraddhanand at the hands of a Muslim fanatic in December, 1926, Mahatma Gandhi had said: "Mussalmans have an ordeal to pass through. There can be no doubt that they are too free with the knife and the pistol. The sword is an emblem of Islam. But Islam was born in an environment where the sword was, and still remains, the supreme law. The message of Jesus has proved ineffective because the environment was unready to receive it. So with the message of the Prophet. The sword is yet too much in evidence among the Mussalmans. It must be sheathed if Islam is to be what it means – peace."
[Via Ecce Homo]

Thanks for the heads up Steven Georgiou aka Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam.

VATICAN CITY (AP) – Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, the Zambian prelate who angered the Vatican by getting married in 2001, has been excommunicated for again defying the Holy See by installing four married men as bishops, the Vatican said Tuesday.

The Vatican said Milingo, 76, was “automatically excommunicated” under church law for the ordination of the men at a church in Washington on Sunday.

The Archdiocese of Washington said Sunday that the installations were not valid.

Milingo is in a condition of “progressive, open break with communion with the Church,” the Vatican said in a statement.

The four men, who claim affiliation with the breakaway Synod of Old Catholic Churches, also were automatically excommunicated for being ordained, the Vatican said.

In its announcement of the excommunication, the Vatican accused Milingo of “sowing division and dismay among the faithful,” and said it lost patience with him after trying to persuade him against the ordinations.

…One of the four men whom Milingo ordained, the Rev. George Augustus Stallings, Jr., said by telephone from Washington that Vatican officials had “badgered” the Zambian prelate by telling him he would risk “going to hell” if he went ahead with the ordinations.

Stallings noted that he was already excommunicated in 1990 when he announced he was forming the breakaway African American Catholic Congregation.

Stallings is not exactly a reliable witness. Exactly how did the Vatican know of the impending ordinations in the first place? It is possible that they had been working with him and that Bishop Milingo told them of his plans, but I think it is highly doubtful that they would say that he would go to hell for this disobedience. They would surely mention the excommunication, thought this is certainly no one way ticket to Hell.

`They excommunicated me then, and I rose from the dead, I guess, and came back to haunt them,” Stallings said.

No surprise that somebody who started a breakaway church would have a Christ complex. Though I truly hope that he does rise from the dead in that he repents of his acts and once again comes in full communion with Holy Mother Church.

A reader sent me the text of the communique while I was writing this.

"With great concern, the Holy See has followed the recent activities of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, emeritus of Lusaka, Zambia, with his new association of married priests, spreading division and confusion among the faithful.

"Church representatives of various levels have tried in vain to contact Archbishop Milingo in order to dissuade him from persisting in actions that provoke scandal, especially among the faithful who followed his pastoral ministry in favor of the poor and the sick.

"Bearing in mind the understanding shown, also recently, by Peter’s Successor towards this aged pastor of the Church, the Holy See has awaited with vigilant patience the evolution of events which, unfortunately, have led Archbishop Milingo to a position of irregularity and of progressively open rupture of communion with the Church, first with his attempted marriage and then with the ordination of four bishops on Sunday, September 24, in Washington D.C., U.S.A.

"For this public act both Archbishop Milingo and the four ordinands have incurred excommunication ‘latae sententiae,’ as laid down in Canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law. Moreover, the Church does not recognize, nor does she intend to recognize in the future, these ordinations and all ordinations deriving from them; and she considers the canonical status of the four supposed-bishops as being that they held prior to this ordination.

The Apostolic See, attentive to the unity and peace of the flock of Christ, had hoped that the fraternal influence of people close to Archbishop Milingo would cause him to rethink and return to full communion with the Pope. Unfortunately the latest developments have made these hopes more unlikely.

"At times of ecclesial suffering such as these, may prayers intensify among all the community of the faithful."

May our prayers intensify indeed. It is interesting though that the Vatican considers these ordinations as not being recognized. I wonder what defect of form or intention they specifically considered.

On a lighter note. If the Vatican had a Starbucks would they serve a latte sententiae? If they did would the refund be reserved to the Holy See?

Via Cosmos-Litrugy-Sex

Michael Higgins, president of New Brunswick’s St. Thomas University and a regular columnist in The Catholic Register [not the National Catholic Register but a local Toronto weekly], offered his explanation on why Pope Benedict said what he did at Regensberg saying, “the only possible answer is gross stupidity.” He has publicly said that, “Pope Benedict XVI lacked either the intelligence or the moral awareness to avoid offending Muslims in his Regensberg Germany speech”.

A common theme among liberal critics of Benedict’s speech was also echoed by Higgins who told Maclean’s that as Pope, Benedict must be more responsible, no longer having the freedom to make “airy theological speculations.”

Higgins’ holds a prominent position as a leader within Canada’s left-leaning “liberal” academic elite which Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, has criticized for decades. Before his appointment as president of St. Thomas University in Fredericton, Higgins was President and Vice-Chancellor of St. Jerome’s University at the University of Waterloo, a school notorious for its promotion of a secularized, dissident Catholicism that has dominated Canadian Church institutions for decades.

Shelray ends with the comment "This guy sounds like he trips over cordless phones and turns off his AM radio after noon! "

Now how could someone come to this conclusion? Why of course “the only possible answer is gross stupidity.” Well actually I think this is a documented case of Benedict Derangement Syndrome (BDS).

Jonah Goldberg has a interesting column in USA today titled Islam needs a central authority — such as a pontiff. So often we hear of the call for a reformation in Islam. Now of course as a Catholic I don’t see the so-called Reformation as a positive thing, it is hard to put a happy face on schism. In Jonah’s article he reminds people that the reformation was not exactly all peaches and cream, but that it "inaugurated an era of relentless religious wars." His contention that the Muslim reformation already happened with the demise of the Ottoman Empire is quite interesting. Of course with any parallel they are never 100 percent exact and breakdown at certain points. But it is quite true that any church without some type of consolidated teaching authority will break down into ever more groups. Each individual as interpreter can decide for themselves what a text means in what they hold as sacred text. Whether it is Sola Scriptura or Sola Koran inevitably there are the same problems in interpretation. Though at least with Protestants they start with the Word of God. Muslim start with truths with a large admixture of heresies and falsehoods.

In the West we often hope for a prevalence of moderate Muslims, though our use of moderate would have mostly nothing to do with the Koran or their own traditions and history. What most people mean I would guess would be the predominance of secular Muslims.

Amy Welborn said of Jonah’s article "Jonah Goldberg might take some heat for this one…" Some of the interesting responses can be seen at The Corner here.

In somewhat related news Pope Benedict speaks with ambassadors from Islam. American Papist provides once again a good roundup of the meeting, the text of the meeting, and reactions and commentary on the meeting from other sources.

The Pope ended his speech saying:

Dear friends, I am profoundly convinced that in the current world situation it is imperative that Christians and Muslims engage with one another in order to address the numerous challenges that present themselves to humanity, especially those concerning the defence and promotion of the dignity of the human person and of the rights ensuing from that dignity. When threats mount up against people and against peace, by recognizing the central character of the human person and by working with perseverance to see that human life is always respected, Christians and Muslims manifest their obedience to the Creator, who wishes all people to live in the dignity that he has bestowed upon them.

Dear friends, I pray with my whole heart that the merciful God will guide our steps along the paths of an ever more authentic mutual understanding. At this time when for Muslims the spiritual journey of the month of Ramadan is beginning, I address to all of them my cordial good wishes, praying that the Almighty may grant them serene and peaceful lives. May the God of peace fill you with the abundance of his Blessings, together with the communities that you represent!

WASHINGTON – An African archbishop who wants to make celibacy optional for priests installed four married men Sunday as Roman Catholic bishops.

The Archdiocese of Washington did not recognize the installations. "This means nothing within the church," spokeswoman Susan Gibbs said.

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo – whose marriage to a woman chosen by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon scandalized the Roman Catholic Church – performed the ceremonies at a Capitol Hill church.

Installed were the Rev. George Augustus Stallings, Jr., of Washington, Peter Paul Brennan, of New York, Patrick Trujillo, of Newark, N.J., and Joseph Gouthro, of Las Vegas.

The four men claim affiliation to the breakaway Synod of Old Catholic Churches.

"We are not only validly ordained Catholic bishops, but we are ordained Roman Catholic bishops," Stallings said.

Milingo has said that the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops has demanded he send a letter of repentance by Oct. 15 to Pope Benedict XVI or face "canonical suspension."

Sad news indeed. We have followed the archbishop’s foibles throughout the years. They have been so wacky that they were somewhat amusing. There has been much talk recently of him being excommunicated, though there can be no doubt that this act will lead to it.

I previously wrote the educational game parody Where in the World is Archbishop Milingo. Well this week he is living in Washington D.C. area.

Update: Canonist Ed Peters posts:

By ordaining to the episcopate, without a pontifical mandate, four men (who happen to be married, though that is not required here), the notorious Abp. Milingo has just walked right into an unambiguous excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See (1983 CIC 1382). The only canonical question I can see is whether notification of an excommunication can be sent via email.

Oddly, though, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington says "this means nothing in the Church." I wish that were so. This stunt is not like a woman’s "ordination", which in one regard "means nothing" in the Church. This ordination most definitely means several things: it means the episcopal orders Christ entrusted to His Church have just been conferred on four patently ill-disposed men; it means five men are now automatically excommunicated; and it means Rome is squarely faced with a grave violation of ecclesiastical order.

Update 2 from Ed Peters:

Well, veeery interesting, we seem to have a split in the news sources on a relevant point. Some print sources refer to Milingo ordaining bishops, others to his installing bishops. If it was the latter, and if that act did not include ordaining them (one website, which I know little about, would seem to support that interpretation) then Milingo would not be in violation of Canon 1382, as I argued above, though he likely would be at risk of canonical penalties for, among other things, abuse of ecclesiastical power (1983 CIC 1389) and communicatio in sacris (1983 CIC 1365). My thanks to a brother canonist for alerting me to this possibility; now let’s see what might turn up over the next few days.

Kathy Shaidle guest blogging over at Small dead animal.

In other news: Pope calls "Peace Train" "self-indulgent, second rate"

"In an interview with BBC television, [Cat Stevens] said that he went to a Catholic school, ‘so at one point I used to believe that the Pope was infallible.’

"But he added that the pope’s comments on Islam showed he was fallible, ‘because of the kind of interpretation he had of Islam, he should read Gandhi and find out what he said about Islam,’ the singer said, adding that the Indian leader had a more peaceful interpretation of the faith."

***
Wow, that must’ve been some craptastic Catholic school, because, as everyone else learned in, like, grade 4, the Pope is only infallible when speaking ex cathedra on matters of faith and morals.

But I guess those big words confounded the man behind such profound compositions as "Wild World".

As for Gandhi, I for one have always been way more interested in what he said about daily enemas as the path to enlightenment, sleeping with naked teenage girls, and how Jews should let Hitler kill them.

But I’m funny like that.

I do keep waiting for him to update some of his old classics like "Hard Headed Inman", "Spanish Peace Train Bombing", "But I might die tonight (if my suicide belt works properly)", or "Crecentshadow" In fact if you read some of the lyrics of the original Moonshadow they do have a suicide bomber bent. Such as:

And if I ever lose my hands…
And if I ever lose my eyes.., And if I ever lose my legs,
And if I ever lose my mouth, all my teeth, north and south,

Well I am all for his losing his mouth part.

Since just when did the Washington Post start printing conversion stories? I guess when a Catholic converts to Islam. [Via Gerald] Exactly why is the conversion story of an aspiring and unknown rock musician worthy of the Post’s coverage. I don’t seem to recall similar stories of more well known people or the ones of rockers like Alice Coooper, Iron Maiden’s drummer Nicko McBrain, or Korn’s ex-guitarist Brian "Head" Welch. Oh maybe it was because they converted to Christianity and not Islam.

We won’t soon be reading conversion stories of Muslims turned Christians in Islam dominated countries. Those converts know they are heading for trouble or should I say beheading for trouble.

A readers sent me a link to an interesting Telegraph blog post on the state of the nations faith which chronicles the further decline of religious faith in Britain. That without Christian migrants would be even more in a free fall.

The Roman Catholics have recorded the largest drop; between 1989 and 1998 (the dates covered by a previous Census) it declined by 3.2 per cent. Between 1998 and 2005, the latest figures, it lost a further 4.2 per cent. In other words, on the measure of Sunday attendance, it has halved over the past sixteen years.

The Oxford movement has become the secular movement. Though considering Oxford today maybe they are the same thing.

The percentage of 15 to 29-year-olds attending has fallen from 15 per cent in 1998 to 12 per cent. The overall drop in the 20 to 29 age group was a staggering 29 per cent, the highest of any age group.

Women are abandoning the pews twice as fast as men (an intriguing finding given the ordination of women). The average age of churchgoers is 45, against a population average of 40.

No real surprise there. All attempts at changing doctrine to fit the times results in a church that comes out of a Jello mold. It looks fine at a distance, but it wobbles and conforms itself to fit the times; and of course collapses easily under the slightest pressure.

Joseph Pearce at the First Things’ blog at a good post on the effects of multiculturalism in England.

The trouble, of course, is that the comrades, long since disillusioned with Lenin, have adopted Lennon instead. Whereas the old Marxists believed in something, albeit something absurd and dangerous, New Labour believes in nothing; “nothing” as defined by John Lennon in his sentimentally pernicious imagination: “No heaven … no hell … no countries … nothing to kill or die for and no religion too.” This is the new hedonism with which the secularists want to unite British society; the new uniculturalism to replace the old multiculturalism. It is perhaps not surprising that many Muslims are unconvinced by this self-centered hedonism in which, to return to Lennon, “all the people” are “living for today.” If this is all we have to offer, to hell with it.