Notes: Thursday, June 17, 2010

Two articles on abortion and politics

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/health-minister-nicola-roxon-attacks-opposition-leader-tony-abbott-on-abortion-issue/story-fn3dxity-1225880561340
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/bid-to-raise-abortion-during-parental-leave-debate-angers-senators/story-e6frgczf-1225880471463

Body of the first article (it's not too long):

FEDERAL Health Minister Nicola Roxon has launched an attack on Tony Abbott and his religion, accusing the opposition leader of letting his "personal beliefs" in Catholicism affect policy formulation.

Ms Roxon fired the salvo during question time today when discussing Labor's commitment to an "expanded and improved pregnancy, birth and baby hotline".

"We want to provide help and information and choice to women, not give them a lecture," the health minister told parliament.

"This is in stark contrast to the complete failure of the leader of the opposition's own baby, and that was the national pregnancy support helpline."

Mr Abbott's helpline was established in 2007 after he failed as health minister to stop the introduction of the abortion pill RU-486.

Opponents argued the groups selected to formulate the advice to be provided on the helpline were biased because they followed Catholic teaching and were openly pro-life.

Ms Roxon said Mr Abbott allowed his "personal beliefs to interfere and get in the way of providing completely accessible and non-judgmental public services".

"Mr Abbott doesn't live in the real world," she said.

The attack comes after the Rudd government warned Australians that the latest opinion polls showed Mr Abbott could win the next election.

Frontbenchers lined up to label the opposition leader as "too risky" for the top job.

Excerpt from the second:

A bid by Family First leader Steve Fielding to turn a parliamentary debate about paid parental leave into one about abortion has angered fellow senators.

A largely bipartisan Senate debate about the Rudd government's paid parental leave scheme became heated today when Senator Fielding introduced amendments dealing with abortion.

He called for a stricter definition of a mother's eligibility in the event of a late-term abortion, to ensure those women are not eligible for any paid parental leave.

“Drug addicts and welfare cheats can go out there and get themselves pregnant and then after 20 weeks have an abortion and still pocket the government's cash,” Senator Fielding told the Senate.

The debate moved to the difference between stillborn babies and those that had been aborted.

“We don't need assurances, we need to make sure this is in the law,” Senator Fielding said.

“There may be mums out there who want to cheat the system in an horrific way.”

"Groups seek Federal protection for Catholic education"

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21937

Excerpt:

Catholic Education Commissions have joined the Federation of Parents and Friends Associations in a combined push for six Federal commitments that will ensure Catholic education remains sustainable.

The Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) issued a statement outlining the demands that have come from the Federation of Parents and Friends Associations and the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC).

These are that:

•Catholic schools and systems should have a direct (funding) relationship with the Commonwealth Government, underpinned by legislation.
•Catholic schools and systems from 2013 have, at the very least, access to the same funds, indexed to government school costs, as currently available.
•Catholic systems have the
capacity to distribute funds to schools according to need. •Funding levels must be indexedannually, using a transparent mechanism, to ensure that Catholic schools and systems are able to meet the rising costs of education.
•Funding for students with disabilities must be increased towards parity with government school funding.
•Capital funding should be increased for educationally disadvantaged communities and areas of population growth.

As the only commenter at that article said:

Why do these organisations still call themselves Catholic Education or Catholic Schools? They're of little use to the CHurch Mission.

Posted By: John Streaky Bay SA

It sounds to me like a recipe for driving the final nail into the coffin of genuinely Catholic Catholic education in Australia.

H.H. The Pope on the theology and philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas

Here's an interesting allocution by the Holy Father (this is the text of the relevant item in today's Vatican Information Service e-mail bulletin):

***

THOMAS AQUINAS: INTER-RELATION OF PHILOSOPHY, THEOLOGY

VATICAN CITY, 16 JUN 2010 (VIS) - In his catechesis during this morning's general audience, Benedict XVI continued his presentation of the figure of St. Thomas Aquinas, "a theologian of such importance that the study of his works was explicitly recommended by Vatican Council II", he said. He also recalled how in 1880 Leo XIII declared him as patron of Catholic schools and universities.

The Pope noted how Thomas Aquinas focused on the distinction between philosophy and theology. This was because in his time, in the light of Aristotelian and Platonic thought on the one hand, and the philosophy of the Church Fathers on the other, "the burning question was whether ... a philosophy elaborated without reference to Christ and the world of faith, and that elaborated bearing Christ and the world of faith in mind, were compatible or mutually exclusive".

"Thomas", the Holy Father explained, "was firmly convinced that they were compatible, and that the philosophy elaborated without Christ was awaiting only the light of Jesus in order to be made complete. The novelty of Thomas, what determined his path as a thinker, was this: to demonstrate the independence of philosophy and theology, and at the same time their inter-relation".

For the "Doctor Angelicus", the Pope went on, "faith consolidates, integrates and illuminates the heritage of truth acquired by human reason. The trust St. Thomas places in these two instruments of knowledge (faith and reason) can be explained by his conviction that both come from a single wellspring of truth, the divine Logos which works in the area of both creation and redemption".

Having established the principle of reason and faith, St. Thomas makes it clear that they follow different cognitive processes: "Reason accepts a truth by virtue of its intrinsic evidence, either mediated or direct; faith, on the other hand, accepts a truth on the basis of the authority of the revealed Word of God".

"This distinction ensures the autonomy of the human sciences, ... and the theological sciences. However this does not mean a separation; rather, it implies mutual and advantageous collaboration. Faith, in fact, protects reason from any temptation to mistrust in its own capacities and stimulates it to open itself to ever broader horizons".

"Reason too, with the means at its disposal, can do something important for faith, offering it a triple service which St. Thomas summarises thus: ... 'demonstrating the foundations of faith; using similitudes to explain the truth of faith; rebuffing the objections that arise against the faith'. The entire history of Christian theology is, in the final analysis, the exercise of this duty of the intellect, which shows the intelligibility of the faith, its inner structure and harmony, its reasonableness and its capacity to promote the good of man.

"The correctness of theological reasoning and its true cognitive significance is based on the value of theological language which, according to St. Thomas, is principally a language of analogy", the Pope added. "Analogy recognises shared perfections in the created world and in God". Thomas based his doctrine of analogy, "not only on purely philosophical arguments, but also on the fact that, with the revelation, God Himself spoke to us and, thus, authorised us to speak about Him".

The Holy Father highlighted the importance of this doctrine which, he said, "helps us overcome certain objections raised by modern atheism which denies that religious language possesses objective meaning and holds that it only has a subjective or merely emotional value. In the light of the teachings of St. Thomas, theology affirms that, however limited, religious language does have meaning".

St. Thomas' moral theology retains great relevance in its affirmation that "the theological and moral virtues of man are rooted in human nature", said Pope Benedict. "Divine Grace accompanies, supports and encourages ethical commitment but, according to St. Thomas, all men and women, believers and non-believers, are of themselves called to recognise the requirements of human nature as expressed in natural law, and to draw inspiration therefrom when formulating positive law; that is, the laws produced by civil and political authorities to regulate human society.

"When natural law and the responsibility it implies are denied," he added, "the way is thrown dramatically open to ethical relativism at an individual level, and to totalitarianism at a political level. Defending the universal rights of man and affirming the absolute value of the dignity of the person presupposes a foundation: and is not this foundation natural law, with the non-negotiable values it contains?".

"Thomas", the Holy Father concluded, "presents us with a broad and trusting view of human reason. Broad, because it is not limited to the area of empirical-scientific reason but open to all of existence and therefore also to the fundamental and inescapable questions of human life; trusting, because human reason, especially if it welcomes the inspiration of Christian faith, promotes a civilisation which recognises the dignity of the person, the inviolability of his rights and the cogency of his duties".
AG/ VIS 20100616 (830)

***

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Gregory Barbarigo, Bishop, Confessor, A.D. 2010