Leon Suprenant of CUF writes about the USCCB semi-annual meeting November 10-13th in Baltimore, the “practical and pastoral implications of political support for abortion.” He also writes about three concerns that he has spoken to bishops about.
Nick Alexander has refreshed his site.
Pope Benedict XVI greets British professor Stephen Hawking during a meeting of scientists, theologians and philosophers at the Vatican today to discuss the origins of the cosmos.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The world did not emerge out of chaos; rather it was created intentionally by “the first being,” Pope Benedict XVI said.
The Creator also is involved not only with the origins of the universe, but continually sustains the development of life and the world, said the pope during an Oct. 31 audience with 80 participants of a Vatican-sponsored conference on evolution.
Scientists, philosophers and theologians from around the world were attending the Oct. 31-Nov. 4 plenary session on “Scientific Insights Into the Evolution of the Universe and of Life” at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
The pope said the topic was timely and has elicited interest worldwide.
“Questions concerning the relationship between science’s reading of the world and the reading offered by Christian revelation naturally arise,” he said. Popes Pius XII and John Paul II had found there was “no opposition between faith’s understanding of creation and the evidence of the empirical sciences,” he said.
“In order to develop and evolve, the world must first be, and thus have come from nothing into being. It must be created,” the pope said.
Via Fr. Blake and American Papist
Matthew at Creative Minority Report turns in some more stunningly good writing on family.
You so often hear how Catholics have “baptized” some Pagan practice to sanctify it. While no doubt this has certainly happened many times (wedding rings for example), the most famous examples of this happening is for All Saints Day and Christmas.
But the question is are these valid examples? On plenty of otherwise solid articles on Halloween I see the nebulous “scholars say” in reference to Pope Gregory III moving the celebration from May 13th to Nov 1st that he was doing so to override a pagan celebration. I have though never seen any evidence to really back this up. Father Augustine Thompson, O.P. in Catholic Parent in 2000 wrote:
It’s true that the ancient Celts of Ireland and Britain celebrated a minor festival on October 31–as they did on the last day of most other months of the year. However, Halloween falls on the last day of October because the Feast of All Saints, or “All Hallows,” falls on November 1. The feast in honor of all the saints in heaven used to be celebrated on May 13, but Pope Gregory III (d. 741) moved it to November 1, the dedication day of All Saints Chapel in St. Peter’s at Rome. Later, in the 840s, Pope Gregory IV commanded that All Saints be observed everywhere. And so the holy day spread to Ireland.
The day before was the feast’s evening vigil, “All Hallows Even,” or “Hallowe’en.” In those days Halloween didn’t have any special significance for Christians or for long-dead Celtic pagans.
In 998, St. Odilo, the abbot of the powerful monastery of Cluny in southern France, added a celebration on November 2. This was a day of prayer for the souls of all the faithful departed. This feast, called All Souls Day, spread from France to the rest of Europe.
So now the Church had feasts for all those in heaven and all those in purgatory. What about those in the other place? It seems Irish Catholic peasants wondered about the unfortunate souls in hell. After all, if the souls in hell are left out when we celebrate those in heaven and purgatory, they might be unhappy enough to cause trouble. So it became customary to bang pots and pans on All Hallows Even to let the damned know they were not forgotten. Thus, in Ireland at least, all the dead came to be remembered–even if the clergy were not terribly sympathetic to Halloween and never allowed All Damned Day into the church calendar.
So the idea of Pope Gregory III specifically choosing this day to override the Celtic holiday of Samhain seems to me to be totally lacking in evidence. Ireland was certainly no longer a Pagan country by 741 and it seems more likely that it was moved to this day simply because it is the dedication day of All Saints Chapel in St. Peter’s at Rome. Besides this feast was not raised to a universal feast by Pope Gregory IV until almost 80 years after the transference by Pope Gregory III. It would be rather odd for Gregory III to move it to Nov 1 to offset a Celtic celebration when it was only a local feast and not even celebrated in Ireland yet.
Now when it comes to Christmas I think Mark Shea aptly shows that Sol Invictus was actually created as a response by Pagans to Christians celebrating the Nativity of Christ and not the other way around as so-called popular knowledge says. Often the more we learn sometimes means the more we have to unlearn.
Now in the spirit of secular Halloween, here is something really scary.
John C. Wright on interpretation.
Interviewers frequently ask me how my conversion to Catholicism has influenced my writing. I tell them that writing the books is still pretty much the same, but that, now the I am Catholic, I am not allowed to interpret my own books, nor read them in English, but must have my books interpreted by the magisterium, based on the findings of a general council.
(On the other hand, if I had been a Protestant, I would have been able to interpret my own books howsoever the Spirit led me: but anything I said aloud and did not write down, things I said in interviews and stuff, I could not use.)
I agreed right away, of course, thinking that by the ‘magisterium’ they meant the sinister baddies from Pullman’s GOLDEN COMPASS, who send out Jesuit ninja to kill people and stuff. I could not wait to perform my first intercission on some bratty girl or gypsy streetrat! But no, it was just some dumb teaching authority.
And all it teaches is the love and forgiveness fluffy-nuffy stuff that is so opposed to my cold and savage Romulan nature. What a letdown.
And here I thought the pope was going to be Darkseid seeking the Anti-Life Equation, and he turns out to be this nice old scholarly man of the cloth who does not approve of war, torture, sodomy or aborticide.
No interviewer has ever asked my what it is like being the chief of sinners, however. No one asks me why the Church is so beautiful, like a bride adorned for her wedding, or so frightening as a sharp and shining sword whose scabbard has been tossed away. In other words, they ask me about my religion, but not about my faith, if you see my meaning.
Last Saturday I had the privilege of consecrating the restored church of Old St. Patrick. This is the oldest existing Catholic church in Kansas City. It will serve as the Oratory for the Latin Mass community which first began here under Bishop John Sullivan, and for many years has shared the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows.
One of the beauties of the Traditional Latin High Mass that I celebrated is that it highlights a most profound aspect of the Mass, namely our participation with the Communion of Saints. The high altar, multiple candles, incense and Gregorian chant, collectively give us a striking image of the Heavenly Jerusalem which is our ultimate home. Every Mass celebrates this reality, but I must admit that the traditional Mass captured this magnificent expression of the ultimate hope and goal of Christians in a powerful way. We should reflect on this often, because the ultimate goal of everything we do is to get ourselves to heaven and bring with us as many as we can.
The month of November begins with the two great celebrations: All Saints day (November 1) and the Commemoration of All Souls (November 2). These feasts celebrate our communion with the “Church triumphant” in heaven, and the “Church suffering” in purgatory. Today I would like to share a few brief comments about what we have sometimes called the “Church militant,” the Church here on earth.
We, the Church on earth, have a very special challenge as participants in the grace and life of Jesus Christ to “fight” against the enemies of Christ’s justice and truth and light and life. We must be attentive to the demands of this daily “battle” in a peaceable but serious manner.
I am sometimes amazed at the casual manner with which Christians, Catholics included, take up our life within what Pope John Paul II rightly called the “culture of death.” The Church, by comparison, reminds us that we are engaged – by reason of our Baptism and Confirmation – in a battle, “not with flesh and blood, but with the principalities and powers, with the rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in heaven.” (Eph 6:12) Jesus Christ has won the ultimate battle, but we, in the course of our human life must make our choice, determining on whose side we will live and die. Whose side will you choose?!
What is at stake in this battle is our immortal soul, our salvation. My responsibility as bishop is with the eternal destiny of those entrusted to my care. My total energies must be directed to the well being of those who otherwise may come under the spell of a radically flawed and fundamentally distorted moral sense, at odds with what our Mother the Church teaches. There are objective and transcendent truths. There is such a thing as right and wrong. There is a legitimate hierarchy of moral evils, and the direct willful destruction of human life can never be justified; it can never be supported. Do you believe this firm teaching of the Church?
Did you know that in Canada priests and Christian ministers have already been brought before tribunals for preaching and teaching in support of marriage? They are charged with “hate speech” against homosexuality. In light of the tyranny of choice growing each day in our own beloved country, we ought to be ready for similar attacks on religious freedom. We must not fail to preach the Gospel. We can not withhold the truth of our faith. That is why I will never be silent about human life. It is why I am proud of so many others – bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity – who are not afraid to speak out about the values that matter most. What about you?!
Our Lord told His apostles that they would be hated by the world, just as He was. Nearly all of them died a martyr’s death. As warriors in the Church militant, we must never resort to violence. But we must stand up fearlessly against the agents of death, the enemies of human life. Human beings are not Satan, but we know too well that they can come under his spell. They can become willing agents of death, numbed and poisoned in this culture of death. What about you?!
As we begin this month of November, the month of the Church, let us call upon the Saints to inspire us, befriend us, and pray for us. Let us offer many prayers and sacrifices for the poor souls who have gone before us. They need our meritorious suffrages to help them reach heaven.
And let us resolve to be warriors of the Church militant; warriors with our eyes fixed on heaven. Let us ask God’s mercy and strength to persevere in our call – individual and collective – to holiness. Mary, Mother of the Church, Pray for us! [source]
If Obama wins on November 4 with the help of Catholic voters, the biggest factor in his favor will be the bishops’ own document and Web site, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.”
I never thought it likely that Catholic voters could be persuaded to support a candidate with both the most extreme record on abortion and who favors gay marriage. Yet, barring a miracle, that paradox is only a week away: The New York Times is reporting Obama 22 points ahead among Catholic voters. [article]
I wouldn’t put it on the USCCB doc at all. The USCCB could have published Faithful Citizenship with one line saying “Abortion is the preeminent issue of our time.” and they would still have found wiggle room with a Clintonesque meaning of “is”. Like Vatican II we have a “spirit of Faithful Citizenship.” It does not matter what the totality of a document says, they will strip it out of context.
The main things about many dissenters is that they are basically liars. For example Fr. Reese, S.J. recently saying “Democrats are finally emphasizing that it should be rare” when they actually stripped “rare” from their platform and made a stronger statement supporting abortion “rights”. Sure sometimes they are just mistaken and pass on something that somebody else said. Often though dissenters just lie to our face and expect us to accept what they say. So many dishonest things are said that it is hard to find a charitable explanation. No doubt some read a document and interpret them through their own lens and actually think it says what they say it says. That is always a danger for everyone. Mainly though they ignore strong statements and grasp at straws.
Look at what they have done to scripture? So can we be surprised what they do this to a USCCB document.
As to Faithful Citizenship itself it certainly is not without flaws. It is way to wordy, long and, repetitive. Obviously written by a committee and not having a strong editor to clean it up. Though that is kind of the nature of USCCB documents in the first place. It does though have some of the clearer statements on abortion and that it is not just one issue of many and it much better than the documents released in 2000 and 2004.
Somebody who understands how horrific an evil abortion is, is not going to read Faithful Citizenship and say “Wow, I guess I can vote for Obama if I want to.” People who are willing to overlook abortion, ESCR, euthanasia, cloning, and homosexual marriage are not likely to be swayed by a USCCB document anyway.
Besides how many average people in the pew have actually read Faithful Citizenship anyway. Or in fact any USCCB document. I have never seen a bishop’s document passed out or on a table as you enter a church. Sure wonks such as myself read all the documents coming out of the Vatican and USCCB, but surely this is not common. Probably the average Catholic knowledge on these documents is often third hand if at all. So I think blaming the Faithful Citizenship is a bit of hyperbole.
Though I must admit I applauded when Bishop Morlino said “The USCCB doesn’t speak for me.” The problem with all bishop’s conferences is that they are a created structure and really have no theological justification. Like pretty much all committees you end up taking weaker positions in the name of collegiality. For the USCCB the abuse scandal was about anything but Bishop’s who helped enable abusers. Nobody was surprised when the USCCB said it was up to each bishop to decide whether to withhold Communion from pro-abortion politicians. The USCCB can easily become a scapegoat, but Bishop Morlino was right in multiple ways. It is the local ordinary who is the official teacher for his diocese. Sometimes it seems to me that we have bishops conferences so that individual bishops can avoid making tough decisions. Thank God that more and more bishops are taking seriously their role as shepherd and are speaking out. Though there have been some great statements coming from the USCCB recently. This is due though to individual bishops part of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. This Secretariat has been there for a long time and never managed to make a statement against a pro-abortion candidate until now.
So certainly there are things we can complain about the USCCB on, but we also give it more credit for what it can do than it deserves.
The film by grassrooots films for CatholicVote.com has been viewed over 2 million times and has been praised by many.
I guess some Protestant groups also liked it so much that they decided to copy it. I received this bit of information
The AFA – American Family Association completely parroted the film and slapped their name on it: compared to the original: www.catholicvote.com. Ironically, the AFA film was produced by Creative Laboratory. Not one “creative” aspect to it, you’ll note.
And, it has been brought to my attention that other groups have used (and abused) the film by taking out the Catholic elements and filling in whatever they want more appropos for their denominations. Here is an even more audacious example: http://www.cbasc.com/ (just see their voter’s guide video on the homepage).
I find this quite unfortunate that while our goals are the same in this election that they ripped off somebody else s work to one degree or another and passed it off as their own. This seems more like something Joe Biden would do.