Author: Richard Chonak

Study finds youth holding more “conservative” views than parents’
The survey says: the moral compass of young adults and teenagers is turning a little differently than their parents’ did. Sometimes it’s more in a pro-life and pro-religion direction:

Political science professors Merrill Shanks and Henry Brady of the University of California, Berkeley, found the generation gap was most pronounced on issues such as school prayer – on which 69 percent of teenagers surveyed said it should be allowed, compared to 59 percent of adults 27 to 59.
When it came to federal funding of faith-based charities, 59 percent of college-aged adults supported it along with 67 percent of younger teenagers. That compares to 40 percent of adults in the older age bracket.
On the issue of abortion, 44 percent of those 15 to 22 supported restrictions while 34 percent of adults over 26 shared that feeling.

Livin’ on the Fringe

Amy Welborn, not usually a part of the More Traditionalist Than Thou Dept., suggests breviary.net to those who like to say the Office “in traditional language”. Unfortunately, the site also comes with some untraditional resistance to papal authority. The so-called Confraternity behind the site rejects both Pope Paul VI’s and Pope Pius XII’s liturgical reforms and all the saints’ days added after Pius XII (see para. 4.3 and 4.4).

That puts them in an odd position: they agree that Pope Pius had the authority to add saints’ days to the calendar, but they reject his authority to move feasts or otherwise modify the rites. Maybe this is a variation on RadTrad thinking that I haven’t seen before.

Internet culture: 20 years of “emoticons”
It figures: the typed smiley face “:-)” was invented by a developer in LISP, the language heavy in parentheses. Has the Internet affected your use of language? Occasionally I catch myself writing the “;-)” by hand.

Quick turnaround in Worcester
A relief for abuse survivors: Worcester Bishop Daniel Reilly tells the lawyers to call off their sweeping subpoena for information from SNAP’s files.

The Sept. 9 subpoena instructed SNAP to disclose all information it had in the case of five women who alleged the church didn’t protect them from the Rev. Robert E. Kelley, who was convicted of rape and has admitted molesting 50 to 100 girls at St. Cecilia’s in Leominster 20 years ago.
It also demanded “names of all persons” who ever alleged to SNAP that a priest in the Worcester diocese abused them.
…Reilly said in a statement the diocese’s insurance company made the request without his knowledge, and he was “dismayed” to learn about it in Sunday’s newspapers.
“The Diocese of Worcester is committed to the care and support of those who have been victims of child sexual abuse by clergy and I stand unequivocally by that commitment,” Reilly said.
[SNAP regional leader Philip] Saviano questioned why Reilly didn’t know about the subpoena, given that lawyers for the insurance company and the diocese itself were informed when the subpoena was issued.
“If the bishop wasn’t in the loop, I think that’s a whole other problem,” he said.

Does this demonstrate that the lawyers were heartless about threatening the confidentiality of a support group, or clueless about the bad publicity? Take your pick.

Job opening: any journalists out there?
The Boston archdiocesan newspaper is seeking a full-time news reporter. BA in communications/journalism and experience required. Be Catholic. By post: Managing Editor, The Pilot, 141 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111-1200; by e-mail: resumes@bostonpilot.org. Good luck.