Here is a link to an very good article found by the Crossed the Tiber blog.

I found this interesting article highlighting the increasing number of young evangelical Christians who are discovering the roots of their faith and converting to Catholicism. The author interviews students from King’s College, a traditional evangelical college in NYC.  Once again, the discovery of Church history (before 1517) plays an important part in the conversion process.

There was so much in it that I wanted to quote from, I have up and just encourage you to read it instead. The article does make one mistake in that Patrick Madrid is not a convert, but a cradle Catholic.

Here is a topic I never expected to cover on this blog.  Some surely are aware of the area of mobile applications generically called the fart app.  These apps originally appeared for the iPhone/iPod Touch and can now be found on all mobile devices.  The fart apps themselves range across the board, but there main focus is of course the sound of flatulence.  Yes we have moved from talented kids orchestrating this sound via their armpit to software developers doing it electronically.  How this became a popular area of app is decidedly low brow and to me seem more in the line of playground humor.  Though in way too many children’s movies the fart has become a prominent part of the humor such as in Shrek.  One of the reasons I so love Pixar is that they make great and funny movies that never resort to this and treat children much more intelligently than going for the cheap laugh.

For the interest of disclosure my iDevices are fart app free.

Now you might wonder why I have chosen such a topic? Well the reason is a new video game by Mutant Games coming out later this year.  As I was going through all the RSS feeds I follow which include feeds on iOS applications I noticed something in the picture they had up for this new game called Farts vs. Zombies.  Unfortunately I think I am describing this game accurately when I tell you the gameplay is to touch Chuck Norris’ derriere and then direct the fart toward a zombie hoard attacking you.

This is a takeoff on the highly successful game Plants vs. Zombies which is a very enjoyable multilevel tower defense style  game that has loads of nice touches and humor without resorting to farts.

Here is a screen grab from their promotional video.

Whenever a YouTube video is displayed it shows one of the frames from the video – not necessarily the first frame.  When I saw this frame I immediately noticed the resemblance of one of the zombies with Pope Benedict XVI.  So I played the video and sure enough the frame I captured clearly shows that this is intended to be a zombie version of the Pope.

To say that this is in poor taste even for a game with poor taste is an understatement.   Even the low brow portrayal of the power of Chuck Norris’ flatulence lends itself towards the Chuck Norris meme of his mighty powers.

Now would I be as upset about this if one of the zombies was Hans Kung?  Probably not – but loving my enemies includes not wanting to have farts directed at them in such a demeaning way.

Here is the promotional screen shot they use for their video.  The one frame they thought important enough to select as the frame shown when you first download a webpage.

Yes the predictable Hitler and Pope Benedict XVI moral equivalency by zombie portrayal.    I sincerely hope that the developers loose money on this game, but realize any organized outrage would probably lead to more sales for them.

Now I am not against zombie humor myself as this post shows. But at least I did not direct or waft anything in the direction of Dick McBrien even if his theology smells.

Anne Rice, author of the a series of best-selling vampire novels and, most recently, fictional accounts of the life of Christ, has taken to Facebook to announce she is no longer a Christian:

For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten …years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

Later she wrote:

As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of …Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen. (Source)

When I reviewed her autobiography which I quite enjoyed I marked out the points where she was still not inline with the Church. Looks like she choose to not reconcile herself with the Church, but to just reconcile herself to herself. Though I hope she tells us what group she joins that is not “quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious”. That perfect form of believing in Christ where you don’t have to do any conversion to Christ.

I do find it rather ironic for her list of “antis-“, yet being anti-Christianity. I guess when you anti up, you pick what you prefer.

“I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist.” Well so do I. Though really it is the supporter of modern feminists that are anti-feminist and have little in common with the feminist reformers. Modern feminism has done nothing towards respecting femininity, but instead have tried to shoe-horn women to act as men. Modern feminism has kowtowed to allowing women to be seen as a piece of meat for sexual gratification in return for pottage. I also refuse to being anti-gay in that I do not pretend that those suffering with same-sex attraction do not have a cross to bear. Those that support and encourage homosexual acts only damage the human person. Previously she defended her position on homosexuality largely in part because her son has same-sex attraction. Though somebody that defended alcoholism for the same reason would be laughed at. So many people fail to see that you can believe that homosexual acts are intrinsically evil while at the same time believing that those with some level of same-sex attraction are your brother.

Being committed to Christ while being against his Church is like loving your wife, but hating being around her.  It is because of the Church that we even know Christ. The Body of Christ is so evident throughout scripture and you have to be a Protestant to ignore where the Church is mentioned in the New Testament.  As St. Paul said: “I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

I do pray that Anne Rice comes back to the Church and that this time she has a fuller conversion that leaves behind the modern secular baggage destructive to the faith.   Maybe she just had a bad day and there is not a one of us who does not struggle, but it is my faith and grace given me that keeps my struggles from becoming defeats.

Diane M. Korzeniewski on the Progressives theory about reason Archbishop Burke was sent to Rome.

“Promoted out” of the US?

Ok – let’s count ’em…

June 2008: Appointed as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura
October 19, 2009: Appointed a member of the Congregation for Bishops
July 6, 2010: Appointed a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship
Today: July 26, 2010: Appointed a member of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints

’nuff said – LOL

ad multos annos, Excellency! [Source]

Well this doesn’t discount the Progressive’s theory – to them it would be obvious that the Holy Father is loading the Archbishop up with so many jobs he will break under the load.

Don Michele Bigi, using the iPad to say mass at a summer camp in Gramolazzo (Tuscany) [Source]

Yikes. The using of the iPad with a PDF version of the Lectionary is the least troublesome part of this. Now I can certainly understand valid instances where the local ordinary would approve a Mass held outside. But, come on – couldn’t he find a decent place inside to hold Mass? Plus the altar really makes me cringe. I guess you can use it for Mass and then mix paint on it afterwards.

Can. 932 §1. The eucharistic celebration is to be carried out in a sacred place unless in a particular case necessity requires otherwise; in such a case the celebration must be done in a decent place.”

We often hear about Catholics who want to have their wedding Mass held outside. The local bishop can give a dispensation for that, but I don’t know of such a case where this was done. But I have seen a lot of photo’s of priests conducting Mass outside in less than ideal circumstances – or maybe I just see the photos of the more shocking cases.

I once went to an outdoor wedding held in the Rose Gardens next to the Zoo in Portland, Ore. When the minister asked the “Do you take” question the Zoo train blew it’s whistle. It was pretty funny though.

I previously posted thoughts on the iPad at Mass here.