September 2005 Archives

Papabile has pulled his blog from the net, it seems, leaving just an image of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Let's hope it's only temporary, and that his prudent commentary on church news will be back soon. Any clues?
Update: What little was left is now gone, alas.

...more cake!
A new car!
A pony!

And we want the Church to be more conciliar!!!!

-The Ecumenists

The whole article is scary, but here's a particularly frightful piece. They want:

"Strengthening the teaching authority of bishops' conferences and giving them authority over things such as the adaptation of the liturgy to their culture."

So much for universal! We wouldn't know when to stand, sit or kneel.

Can you guess the author without Googling?

Katrina and Catholic Social Teaching

Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath have dealt an unspeakably cruel blow to the U.S. Gulf Coast and to hundreds of thousands of people of all ages, races, and economic strata who have resided and worked there for all or most of their lives.

But this is not the time to meditate on the meaning of human suffering or the mystery of life. This tragedy, although the product of nature, could have been substantially mitigated by adequate preparedness beforehand and an effective plan to deal with its aftermath.

In the face of the subsequent torrent of widespread and angry criticism, the Bush Administration's strategy became one of repeating, mantra-style, the line that it did not want to "play the blame game." Now is the time, it said, to address the problems created by the hurricane and the subsequent flooding and evacuation of New Orleans. The determination of what went wrong and who was responsible can wait until later.

And the whole point of the article:

A tax policy that favors the rich to such an excessive degree is contrary to the principle of distributive justice, which is a cornerstone of Catholic social teaching.

I'll give you a hint:
It's a renegade catholic theologian who is more likely to get lefty on you than affirm the divinity of Jesus.

A bishop in Brazil has started a hunger strike and threatens to go to his death, if the country's President doesn't put the kibosh on a proposed water diversion project. He seems to have forgotten that direct intentional suicide, even as a means to a good end, is immoral; and that threatening to commit suicide is immoral.

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law. Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

The scandal involved is not insignificant. The Punjabi bishop who shot himself in 1998 in outrage over the invidious blasphemy law in Pakistan is still treated as somewhat of a hero.

The chair of the convention, Catholic Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad, said "the present [election] system here is really nothing but political apartheid."

"We want to be treated as equal citizens. We will continue our struggle peacefully for that," said the bishop, who had succeeded Bishop John Joseph. In 1998, Bishop Joseph shot himself in protest against Pakistan's Blasphemy Law and what he considered to be the harassment of Christians.

Asserting that the "qurbani" (sacrifice) of his predecessor "has not gone in vain," Coutts said that "change does not take place all of a sudden. We need to be consistent and keep trying."
[from CT]

"Qurbani" or "sacrifice", in whatever language, is a religious word; and linking self-murder to it is gravely misleading.

(via Amy.)

We got a support call from a Web hosting customer today. We've had to restore from back-up several times in the past because he has deleted index.htm or entire Web directories and then called to tell us his site is "inaccessible."

So today he asked when he couldn't access his server from inside his office. Our tech reviewed and determined it was an internal firewall issue.

What he should have said was, "There's nothing we can do. The server has acted in defense of itself."

Cathy Young of the libertarian Reason magazine comments on a recent Times article: apparently high-achieving Ivy gals are planning to put motherhood ahead of conventional careers:

One could argue that stay-at-home mothers, present or future, are exercising their freedom of choice in the most feminist way possible. Yes, this likely means that women will not reach parity in leadership positions. But to ask women to sacrifice their personal aspirations to a feminist vision of parity would be a peculiar kind of liberation.

For the herd of independent minds in the mass media, the Cindy Sheehan storyline is set in stone: bereaved mom of dead soldier turns on foolish president, updates at 11. Media accounts almost invariably say that Specialist Sheehan "was killed in Iraq," or he "died in Iraq," without mentioning the Mahdi Army, the gang of thugs who killed him.

The Mahdi Army is led by dimwit cleric Moqtada "Mookie" al Sadr, and they have few principles beyond hatred of America, the state of Israel, any Muslim whose theology varies from their own, the use of soap, etc. Last year, they tried to take over Baghdad, with the goal of seizing the southern half of Iraq.

If the Mahdi Army had gained power, they promised to institute the full Mookie: everyone would have been oppressed with an uncompromising version of Sharia law, and Iranian despots would have had a large say in Iraq's internal affairs — that is, if Iraq continued to exist. This is a group of (ahem) individuals who are not excessively devoted to the natural moral law.

Had it not been for men like Casey Sheehan, the Mahdi Army would have at least carved out a terrorist enclave for themselves, much as the jihadis established Fallujah as their home base around the same time. Dozens of American soldiers like Specialist Sheehan died while defending the populace of Iraq.

You could read all of that by trolling through news accounts. But who was Casey Sheehan, the man? That's not as well-known. His mother carries his 8x10 portrait to protest rallies, in a twisted parody of a religious procession, as if she is carrying a saint's icon that she intends to use as a weapon.

But that belittles the flesh-and-blood Casey Sheehan, who could well be a saint. He was an altar boy as a youth, and served as a eucharistic minister for his fellow soldiers. On the day he died, he went to Mass, and when he got back he heard that the Mahdi Army had trapped a group of soldiers and were slowly picking them off, one by one. Specialist Sheehan volunteered to help rescue them.

He didn't have to go. He was a mechanic, and nobody ordered him on the mission. But he insisted on helping his comrades. Fanatic thugs ambushed his vehicle and murdered him and another soldier, Corporal Forest J. Jostes.

Specialist Sheehan and six other soldiers died that day, Palm Sunday, 2004. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for battlefield valor.

His mother basks in the attention she would not receive if she were just another crank with no dead son. I pray that Casey Sheehan is basking in the pleasures of heaven, a well-deserved reward for his Christ-like desire to place others' lives before his own.

(Read a short biography of Casey Sheehan here.)

Usually when I hear people rant that bishops should send the sex-abuse perps away to a monastery, I figure it's not a good idea: monastic communities aren't a dumping ground for the Church's problem cases.

Cardinal George is trying something similar, though, having 11 such priests relocated to a diocesan retreat house, for what one hopes will be a closely monitored life of penance and prayer. It'll be interesting to find out how effective and fruitful this approach will prove.

(Thanks to Rocco).

I used to think that Cindy Sheehan used to deserve the benefit of the doubt because she lost a son in Iraq, and has been obviously manipulated by the paranoic fringe of the Left. Today, we can accurately call her a media whore with no fear of slandering her. Unfair? Look at her expression as she is arrested in front of the White House for obstructing the sidewalk:

Does it look like she's "grieving"? Can we all stop pretending she's motivated by moral indignation?

Cindy Sheehan will spend the evening in jail, then perhaps she will be charged with a misdemeanor, pay a small fine, and that's it. For that, she is called a "hero" and lionized in the media. But her son does not get one-hundredth of the attention of his camera-loving mother, and that is a crime, too. Casey Sheehan not only did his duty, he went above and beyond it — and died a glorious death. He died after volunteering for rescue mission to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. He was under no obligation to go on that mission; indeed, he was on his second enlistment, so he didn't have to be a soldier in the first place.

Casey represents what is best about America, and indeed humanity itself: the willingness to risk one's life for others. There is no better kind of death, except dying for the Cross. By contrast, his mother represents self-absorbtion, emotion posing as moral analysis, and dialogue by shrieking — the very things that threaten our foundation as a democracy. For if we can't discuss anything rationally, and constantly excoriate our country and its institutions, how can we possibly continue?

You've probably seen the news story Saturday about a cardinal's leaked conclave diary. Tim the Lapped Catholic has come across some more info!

Hitting the fan this month: a Midwest clampdown on a strange lay group, the "Love Holy Trinity Blessed Mission".

Cardinal George bans group over concerns of cult-like behavior (official statement)

Abp. Hanus of Dubuque does the same (Rockford and Madison too)
Series of reports from Dubuque newspaper

The web encyclopedia Wikipedia has an article on the developing story.

From the group's web site, it seems they took over a Chicago Polish religious/cultural organization called Nowy Zycie (New Life).

Critics on an anti-cult forum [very long thread] say that the mystic lady behind it all is an ex-Buddhist who claims to read souls and sit on our Lord Jesus' lap as He gives her spiritual direction.

Maybe there's an inter-religious analogy: this PDF booklet from the sect is so full of slogans and recruitment appeals, it reminds me of certain Buddhist groups that seem to reduce a whole religion to a few formulas and a lot of chanting. Several pages of the booklet are composed of letters ostensibly written by children in the group's school, and it's creepy to think of their childhood being deformed by this weird organization.

(Exercise for the reader: find the link between this group and the fictional evangelist Leo Bebb.)

(And a hat tip to Papabile.)

I just deleted a post and the associated comments that were getting out of hand.

It's one thing to have a problem with the state of Catholic liturgy. It's quite another to bash the Pope and the Church with a bunch of vitriolic bile.

An examination of conscience is advisable for anyone who carries around that much angst and hate.

And if one feels the urge to publish long lists of "sins" and "false teachings" that's obviously been copied from dubious sources - get your own blog.

This story looked interesting even before I found out what the name of the airline was: Jet Fakes Emergency for Gambia Soccer Game

The airline: Air Rum.

Speaking of 'clean hands': Mexican bishop admits accepting drug money donations.

Your public service announcement for the week.

September 18 is the beginning of National Clean Hands Week. Spare your family and pals from the flu and other nastiness by giving those hands a good scrub.

Teachers and moms who like to hang things around the house: here's a nifty Clean Hands Week poster in convenient PDF format.

The Washington Bach Consort will be playing the B-Minor Mass at the Strathmore on Friday. The choir is always extremely well-prepared, as is the "period" orchestra, although we will certainly pity the poor hornist who has to play "Quoniam" on a corno di caccia, as well as the three trumpeters who will surely lose some grey matter during the performance of the work. (Should you want to hear a "period" orchestra, try the samples for this recording of the Bach.)

A book by Simon Wiesenthal, may he rest in peace, told about a confession with no absolution: as a concentration camp prisoner, he was called to the deathbed of a Nazi who, apparently repentant, admitted his crimes and sins against the Jewish people. The story highlights the differing approaches Judaism and Christianity give to the conflict of justice and forgiveness.

This story makes me wince with embarrassment for the Church. Some boneheaded priest, aged 78, thought it would be a good idea to demonstrate pain during his homily for the kids' Mass - by calling them up and pricking their hands with a pin. He was gravely mistaken.

To start with, kids already know what pain is, Father. There's not a kid in the country who has never fallen off a bike and never tripped on a shoelace; landed hard on the ground, and bled, and experienced bodily pain. Kids don't live their lives stored in padded boxes.

The priest's conduct violated the parents' authority and gave a bad example: he intentionally imposed bodily pain on someone else's child -- directly: that is, not as an unintended side effect to some legitimate action. After the horrible cases exposed in the past few years -- about priests who used children's bodies for their own cruel purposes -- it is downright scandalous and therefore stupid for a priest to do a demonstration that comes anywhere near the category of physical abuse.

But Father says he'll apologize at Mass next week -- for not sterilizing the pin. As if the small health risk to which he exposed them were the main problem! As if sticking them with clean pins would have been just fine. Father needs to write on the board 100 times, "I will not stick pins in my parishioners."

This is encouraging and infuriating at the same time. It's a huge pile of cash that could have gone to so many things.

OC diocese pays off most of debt from $100 million settlement

ORANGE, Calif. - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange has paid off most of the debt stemming from last year's $100 million settlement with alleged victims of clergy abuse, church officials said Monday.

The diocese took out a $50 million loan from Bank of America to fund payouts to some 90 plaintiffs and relied on insurers to pay the balance, according to a diocese statement.

Last month, it paid down about $35 million of the loan with proceeds from the sale of some of its investments, said Rob Fitzgerald, a retired executive who helped advise church officials. Plans are to pay off another $5 million to $10 million by February before retiring the loan next June.

The diocese did not rely on money or investments earmarked for its parishes and schools, Fitzgerald said.

The Richard DeLong "Prayer of Saint Francis" - it's a lyrical 20th century piece. Challenging for the choir, but some interesting colors in the harmony.

It is a devil of a job but someone has to do it. Applications are invited for exorcism training at the Vatican's Rome university, the Athenaeum Pontificium Regina Apostolorum. The 10-week course includes sessions in exorcism rites, how to talk to the Devil, the tricks he uses to fight back and signs of the occult hidden in rock music and video games. more...

I was up in the middle of the night listening to five or six barred owls and their territorial call (click here to listen). One was very close to the house, the others were farther down the street. They were getting fresh for about half an hour.

My editorial provided in the brackets.

Married [former] priests call on pope to end celibacy rule

WIESBADEN, GERMANY - Some 80 Catholic former priests ended a four-day meeting in Germany Monday by issuing an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI calling for an end to Rome's nine-century-old policy that forbids priests to marry.

"We want the practice of the married priest in the Eastern Church to be implemented in the Western Catholic Church," said conference spokesman Heinz-Juergen Vogels.

[And we also want to have our cake and eat it too! We want Christmas in July! And we want a pony!]

The irony shouldn't escape anyone. If one's vocation is abandoned, one shouldn't petition Rome to make disciplinary changes - as if that was the problem in the first place. There are plenty of former priests who are living quiet, holy lives in support of the dogmas of the Church and the disciplines of each vocation.

Pope Benedict won't be voting in the German elections today. As Deutsche Welle puts it,

"Sundays are bad, because I kind of have to run a major world religion."

I'm sure most Catholic Light readers are all in favor of the Vatican reviewing American seminaries. While looking for "evidence of homosexuality" sounds outrageous to some, the Church needs an educational system that is capable of preparing men for life-long celibacy and fidelity to the Church.

A side benefit: you probably won't hear any show tunes at Catholic seminaries any time soon. That's what I call progress.

French Quarter?! What's he doin', givin' a speech in some French Quarter?!

Judge says pledge is out of bounds

Thanks to Michael Newdow, a misguided activist intent on spoiling something that millions of people have no problem with, we have this:

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton said the pledge's reference to one nation ``under God'' violates students' constitutional right to be ``free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.''

Go to the Google Blog Search with the term "Catholic" (it's already in the link above.) See what comes up at the top of the page under "Related Blogs"

Here's the real divide in America: Starbucks nuts (left-wing, West Coast, urban women) vs. Dunkin Donuts addicts (right-wing, East Coast, rural men).

(I admit it: I'm one of those Independent wussies who wants to pick and choose. I'll be paying in Purgatory for my lack of moral courage.)

[Petitions for use in the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, by the Very Rev. Michael Hayduk, Syncellus for Doctrine and Worship, (Byzantine-Ruthenian) Eparchy of Parma]

We also pray, O Lord, for those who face incomprehensible anguish, sorrow and loss in the destruction of Hurricane Katrina; deliver them from every affliction, trouble, distress, wrath and need; that they may be safeguarded by Your holy angels; grant them assistance, peace, health and a long life, we pray You, hear and have mercy.

Lord, have mercy! (3x)

We also pray for those departed as a result of Hurricane Katrina, for their grieving loved ones; for families who were separated that they may be reunited; reassure them of Your divine presence and heavenly grace, we pray You, hear and have mercy.

Lord, have mercy! (3x)

We also pray for all involved in the relief efforts, O Lord, in this special time of need; strengthen them in body, mind and spirit as they labor and serve our neighbors in need. Grant them and all of us the firm resolve to support their efforts in love and generosity, we pray You, hear and have mercy.

Lord, have mercy! (3x)

"In this corner, weighing in at 214 pounds, the defending World Boxing Federation Champion.
In the opposite corner, tonight's challenger, a dill pickle."

That's what the Victor Davis Hanson vs. Arianna Huffington debate is going to be like. It's an 8pm webcast (pacific time I believe). If you get to watch, please make a few comments. I'll be at choir rehearsal tonight, then retiring for the evening with Hanson's book Carnage and Culture

...that Ted Rall is a thoroughly contemptible, detestable person. That's the definition I got when I typed the word I was thinking into dictionary.com.

CHARITIES ARE FOR SUCKERS

It's a classic liberal rant about how the U.S. government should care for, feed, educate, house, provide medicine, retirement benefits, etc. to everyone who inhabits the United States.

Does he really think that private charities are for suckers? That the Red Cross is less efficient and effective at helping the displaced than FEMA, Gov. Blanco and her state resources, of Mayor Ray Nagin and the public work force of New Orleans? Of course he does! But he argues that because of those nasty republicans, the govt is under funded, under staffed and in some cases, literally, underwater.

Bottom line for the lefties in the Ted Rall Club: If it's not paid for with tax dollars and executed by a bumbling bureacracy, it's not done right.

Thanks for another classic, Ted. You can think of all the great things that happen with your federal, state and local taxes. And maybe you can feel a little guilt when you claim more than one tax deduction - "Am I doing enough to help??? The government can do so much with what comes out of my paycheck!"

I can think about the wonderful things that charities do with great people, great resources, and the generosity of people who actually care. And we aren't suckers.

Chinese City Bans Foreign-Sounding Names

SHANGHAI, China (AP) Farewell, "Aladdin Gardens." "White House Mini District" — you're history.

The southwestern Chinese city of Kunming is forcing developers to change the names of those properties and others deemed too foreign sounding, saying they debase traditional culture, officials said Tuesday.

At least nine developments in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, have changed their names since officials began implementing new guidelines last month. "Paris of the East Plaza," "French Gardens," and "Ginza Office Tower," were among others making the change.

"It's not proper to name those communities with so many weird foreign titles," said an official with the Kunming Urban Planning Bureau, who like many Chinese bureaucrats would only be identified by his surname, Xiao.

You never know what you're going to get on the Google news listings...

This appeared today in a quick search.

SITUATION OF CATHOLIC CHURCH CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE AND DECISIVE ACTION!

Reasons why we are urging the faithful to rise and fight for Our Lady of Fatima now.

1. The Third Secret of Our Lady of Fatima is a Dogma of Faith whose declaration perfects the Holy Catholic Church in preparation for the second coming of Our Lord and God Jesus Christ.

2. The Proclamation of this Dogma is long overdue and Our Blessed Mother has warned us that the Third Secret is vital to our salvation.

3. The Holy Catholic Church is disintegrating and our Clergy are going astray because of the Papacy’s disobedience to the Most Holy Trinity. etc...

The release links to this site - Mary is God, which is obviously Nutrageous. Possibly the nuttiest thing I've ever seen.

I would post more often if I had the perspicacity and insight to come up with something like this.

Sermon

Go. Read.

(This priest received me into the Church several years ago. He da man.)

I am in Turkey right now, about 44 hours before I return home. I've been gone for two weeks, and I'm quite ready to see my family again. Hopefully, after I get back, I'll blog regularly, or at least more than once every nine or ten days.

Some people worry that the words of our Lady at Fatima haven't been fulfilled yet: that Russia hasn't been converted, but when the head of state openly embraces the Christian faith to the extent Putin has, it's something. Is it enough to counter his ominous saber-rattling toward his neighbors?

By the way, scroll down on that second link for an amusing story about Pope Benedict paying off a bet with a reporter.

This ought to be on the disclosure forms you fill out when dealing with real estate: Is the property inhabited... by any ghosts or spirits? A restauranteur (a Chinese-American JW -- huh?) balks at moving into the building he leased because it's haunted. Is it his own fault for not getting a proper building inspection done?

A seminarian writes:

Please pray for the repose of this priest, recently ordained, having been graduated from the Mount this past May. He is remembered by all for his holiness; he suffered from cancer while he was in seminary but made a recovery. Apparently the cancer returned rapidly in the past couple of weeks and he succumbed today during the 3:00 hour. Fr. Darin Didier, requiescat in pace. (death notice below)

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 8:32 PM
Subject: Fr. Darin Didier

Fr. Darin Didier (Seminary Class of 2005 and a priest of the Diocese of Fargo) died this afternoon during the 3 o'clock hour. He received the Sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick, Viaticum, and the Apostolic Pardon.

Fr. Terry Dodge, a classmate of Fr. Darin here at Mount and a priest of the Diocese of Fargo, shared the news with members of the administration this evening.

Fr. Darin was very much devoted to the Divine Mercy Devotion and active in promoting Divine Mercy Sunday on campus. So it is significant that he entered eternal life during the Hour of Mercy.

As the spiritual director for the Legion of Mary and University Chaplain, I am grateful for the privilege of serving with him. He was the longtime president of the Legion of Mary on campus and the chaplain to the track and cross country teams.

Please pray for the repose of his soul and the consolation of his family, parish and friends.

I'm in London on business with the Nameless Entity. I just finished with the British Shakespeare Association conference in Newcastle, where I led a seminar discussing online versions of Shakespeare. That was just a diversion -- no tax dollars were used to fund my trip, in case you were wondering -- but the whole experience was fascinating and gratifying.

Before that, I was in San Diego for a conference on behalf of the Entity. After London, I will go to another country, and won't get back until next week. Needless to say, I'm missing my family very much, but at least I'm doing intersting things.

I feel totally disconnected from America in a way that I have never felt, because when I left, New Orleans still existed. Blogging about that seems rather solipsistic, since it really has nothing to do with me, but I know this is obviously a tremendously important event in the life of our country, and it's odd to watch it from across an ocean.

Has any First World country ever lost an entire city since the end of World War II? The way some people talk, you would think it's a routine occurence. I watched two BBC anchors who were perplexed that "the richest and most advanced country in the world" couldn't do something as simple and straightforward as remove several hundred thousand people on short notice, even in a city where the government is notoriously corrupt, inefficient, and slow.

It's hard to explain our federal system to regular, everyday British subjects. Not that they're incapable of understanding it, but the U.K. is so much more geograpically compact, and their government is so much more centralized, that they have difficulty conceiving that the president can't just swoop in with thousands of troops and federal workers. Even today, CNN reported that the governor of Louisiana is resisting President Bush's plan to federalize the whole mess.

Isn't it time to revisit the concept of "acts of God"?

OK, folks, here's something we folks at a distance can do: volunteer to help organize data on missing persons. Let's get to it.

Update: Belay that, buckoes: the people running the database have to stop data entry for a few hours while they relocate to a bigger computer.

2nd Update: The service is back up Monday.

Food for the Poor, a very efficient charity with strong Catholic involvement and only 4% overhead, normally specializes in shipping food, medications, and other needed goods to the Caribbean from their base in Florida. That same location is also a good launching-point for their hurricane-relief efforts. Help 'em out if you can.

The Mayor of New Orleans is disgruntled and understandably so. But before he starts complaining about the response of outside agencies, perhaps he should reflect on mistakes right in his own administration. He didn't declare evacuation mandatory until Sunday, when the system was already moving in over the city.

In a critical failure of the city's preparation, it appears the police have no communication infrastructure, and thus no command-and-control system for organizing their activities. One division of police even evacuated to Baton Rouge!

All in all, I think this has been a learning experience for the mayor.

Update: Good news: computer guys running an ISP on the scene report "no visible looting" today.

2nd update: The mayor's relieved now that the Army's on the scene with a take-charge general at the head of the operation.

I'm not worried about the price of gas; I'm going to use dollar-cost averaging.

Katrina's wake : A statue of the Virgin Mary sits on the porch of home destroyed by hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (AFP/Robert Sullivan)

(via Yahoo News)