Notes: Tuesday-Friday, November 23-26, 2010

1. On Light of the World

Here are some excerpts from the other day's edition of the Vatican Information Service (V.I.S.) daily e-mail bulletin (my square-bracketed ellipses, everything else as in the original):

LIGHT OF THE WORLD. THE POPE AND THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

VATICAN CITY, 23 NOV 2010 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present a new book published by the Vatican Publishing House. The volume is entitled: "Light of the World. The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times. A conversation of Benedict XVI with Peter Seewald".

The conference was presented by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, and the journalist Luigi Accattoli.

Also present were Peter Seewald, who conducted the interviews with the Pope, and Fr. Giuseppe Costa S.D.B., director of the Vatican Publishing House.

[...] For his part, Luigi Accattoli suggested his journalist colleagues should "read this book as a guided visit to the papal workshop of Benedict XVI and to the world of Joseph Ratzinger. ... Above all we will see this man who was called to become Pope in the same perspective as when he published the two volumes on Jesus of Nazareth, which he presents not as documents of the Magisterium, but as testimony of his own search for the face of the Lord".

[...] In this book, Accattoli continued his explanations, the Holy Father "dedicates ample space to the conflict between the Christian faith and modernity. However, in at least two passages he recognises 'the morality of modernity' and the evidence of 'a good and just modernity'. These positive affirmations should be read alongside passages in which he recognises the religious crimes of the past: from the 'atrocities' committed 'in the name of truth' to 'the wars of religion', and that 'rigorism' towards corporeity which was used to 'frighten man'. In the conflict with the modern world, then, it is necessary to ask 'in what is secularism right' and where 'should it be resisted'".

[...] The Holy Father, Accattoli continued, "assures us that he would not have removed the excommunication from Bishop Williamson without undertaking further investigation, had he known the prelate's views on Holocaust denial". [...]
OP/ VIS 20101123 (1320)

So

1. Light of the World is non-Magisterial (we already knew that, of course, but I'll keep that quotation for future reference).
2. The Holy Father speaks of unnamed "'atrocities' ... committed 'in the name of truth'" and thinks that "[i]n the conflict with the modern world, then, it is necessary to ask 'in what is secularism right' and where 'should it be resisted'" (the answers, as far as I'm concerned, are 'nothing' and 'everywhere', respectively).
3. His Holiness "would not have removed the excommunication from Bishop Williamson without undertaking further investigation, had he known the prelate's views on Holocaust denial".

2. A couple of items regarding Msgr. Williamson

2.1 "Official Statement Re: Bp. Williamson's 'Lawyer Affair'"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34842

2.2 Msgr. Williamson did not go straight from Anglicanism to the S.S.P.X. (which was canonically regular at the time of his conversion anyway):

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34861

3. "Russia a 'one-party state'"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/russia-a-oneparty-state-20101125-18976.html?skin=text-only

4. "PLENARY SESSION OF INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION" (to deal with, among other things, social doctrine)

Full text of the relevant item from the other day's V.I.S. daily e-mail bulletin:

PLENARY SESSION OF INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION

VATICAN CITY, 23 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The International Theological Commission, which is presided by Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is due to celebrate is annual plenary session from 29 November to 3 December in the Vatican's "Domus Sanctae Marthae". The meeting will be chaired by Fr. Charles Morerod O.P., secretary general of the commission.

According to a communique published today the commission will study three important themes: the principles of theology, its meaning and its methods; the question of the one God in relation to the three monotheistic religions; and the integration of Church social doctrine into the broader context of Christian doctrine.

At the end of their deliberations the members of the International Theological Commission will be received in audience by the Holy Father.
OP/ VIS 20101123 (150)

5. Some recent articles on so-called gay marriage, in theory, in Australia, and in Europe

In theory:
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/11/22/homosexual-marriage-and-the-slippery-slope/
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/11/22/more-homosexual-marriage-myths/
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/11/21/homosexual-marriages-myths/
http://concerned-voter.blogspot.com/
(I discovered that last single-post blog in a comment at the combox of the web-page whose link I provide immediately before its own link.)

In Australia:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/state-to-push-motions-on-same-sex-unions/story-e6frgczx-1225959710095
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/kids-for-gays-but-not-marriage-hockey/story-fn59niix-1225959716199

In Europe:
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34887

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Sylvester, Abbot, and of St. Peter of Alexandria, Bishop, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Notes: Saturday-Monday, November 20-22, 2010

1. More Russian developments

http://www.smh.com.au/world/russia-pledges-a-new-era-of-cooperation-20101121-182nd.html?skin=text-only
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/russia-baulks-at-full-shield-role/story-e6frg6so-1225957956414
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34791

2. Mr. Fitzgerald on, among other things, drug and alcohol 'harm minimisation'

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/close-the-doors-early-on-teenage-binge-drinking/story-e6frg6zo-1225956404275

3. Mr. McCauley on the teachings and disciplinary (in)actions of John Paul II.

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34787

4. More on so-called gay marriage

Article:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/gillard-would-lose-poll-held-now-20101121-182mf.html?skin=text-only
(latest Herald/Nielsen poll results)

Opinion/analysis:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/support-for-gays-offers-a-way-out-for-gillard-20101121-182mq.html?skin=text-only
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/gay-marriage-demands-should-be-left-on-shelf/story-e6frg6zo-1225956787304
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/same-sex-marriage-should-be-put-to-a-referendum/story-fn558imw-1225957968965
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/gay-marriage-a-union-by-any-other-name/story-fn558imw-1225956825872
http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/marriage-not-for-gays-and-maybe-not-for-anyone/

Related (if All Love Is Equal, then might not some Loves be more Equal than others?):
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/three-is-the-new-two-as-couples-explore-the-boundaries-of-non-monogamy/story-e6frg6zo-1225956410108

4. "Vic priest expects dismissal for public support of women priests"

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24248

5. Fr. Ford on the morality of extra-marital condom use

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24255

6. H.H. The Pope and Cardinal Bertone on religious liberty

The second and fourth paragraphs are, from the perspective of Tradition, the most encouraging pronoucements to come from the Vatican on religious liberty probably since before the Second Vatican Council (unsurprisingly, though, given the publicity over other recent Papal remarks, these remarks have, as far as I know, gone as yet unreported, or at least under-reported, by both the mainstream media and Catholic media):

CONSISTORY BEGINS WITH A DAY OF PRAYER AND REFLECTION

VATICAN CITY, 19 NOV 2010 (VIS) - As part of the consistory during which the Holy Father will create twenty-four new cardinals, the College of Cardinals is today meeting in the Vatican's New Synod Hall to hold a day of reflection and prayer.

The meeting began at 9.30 a.m. with a greeting from the Pope who focused his remarks on the two themes of the morning session. Considering the first of these themes, he noted that the Lord's command to announce the Gospel implicitly embraces the need for the freedom to do so, although, over the course of history, it has encountered various forms of opposition. The relationship between truth and freedom is essential but today faces the great challenge of relativism, which seems to complete the concept of freedom but which actually risks destroying it and becoming an authentic 'dictatorship'. We are then, he suggested, facing a difficult period in our commitment to affirm the freedom to announce the truth of the Gospel and the great achievements of Christian culture. The Pope also recalled the essential importance of liturgy in Church life, being the place of God's presence with us.

The cardinals then turned their attention to the two chosen themes: the situation of religious freedom in the world and new challenges, with an introductory talk by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., and the liturgy in the life of the Church today, with a preliminary contribution from Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Cardinal Bertone presented a panoramic overview of current attempts to restrict the freedom of Christians in various parts of the world, inviting people to reflect on the situation of religious freedom in Western States. We are witnessing, he said, a process of secularisation accompanied by attempts to remove spiritual values from social life. The Cardinal Secretary of State also elucidated the situation of religious freedom in Muslim countries, recalling the conclusions reached during the recent Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. Finally, he explained the activities the Holy See and local episcopates make to defend Catholics, in both East and West. On this subject he also recalled the great efforts made by the Holy See in the international arena to promote respect for the religious freedom of believers.

For his part, Cardinal Canizares Llovera focused his remarks on the importance of liturgical prayer in the life of the Church.

In the course of a broad-ranging debate, eighteen cardinal arose to speak of the great difficulties the Church has to face today in defending values founded on natural law, such as respect for life and the family. Another question examined was that of inter-religious dialogue, in particular with Islam.

Two further contributions are scheduled for the afternoon session. The first, to be delivered by Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will focus on Holy See norms for welcoming Anglican priests and faithful who request to be admitted to the Catholic Church, and for defending victims of child abuse by members of the clergy. The second contribution, by Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will serve to recall the validity of the Instruction "Dominus Iesus" on Jesus Christ our only Saviour, published ten years ago.
OP/ VIS 20101119 (570)

I've pasted the whole V.I.S. bulletin item, but, as I indicated, it's the second and fourth paragraphs in which I'm interested:

The meeting began at 9.30 a.m. with a greeting from the Pope who focused his remarks on the two themes of the morning session. Considering the first of these themes, he noted that the Lord's command to announce the Gospel implicitly embraces the need for the freedom to do so, although, over the course of history, it has encountered various forms of opposition. The relationship between truth and freedom is essential but today faces the great challenge of relativism, which seems to complete the concept of freedom but which actually risks destroying it and becoming an authentic 'dictatorship'. We are then, he suggested, facing a difficult period in our commitment to affirm the freedom to announce the truth of the Gospel and the great achievements of Christian culture. The Pope also recalled the essential importance of liturgy in Church life, being the place of God's presence with us.

[...] Cardinal Bertone presented a panoramic overview of current attempts to restrict the freedom of Christians in various parts of the world, inviting people to reflect on the situation of religious freedom in Western States. We are witnessing, he said, a process of secularisation accompanied by attempts to remove spiritual values from social life. The Cardinal Secretary of State also elucidated the situation of religious freedom in Muslim countries, recalling the conclusions reached during the recent Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. Finally, he explained the activities the Holy See and local episcopates make to defend Catholics, in both East and West. On this subject he also recalled the great efforts made by the Holy See in the international arena to promote respect for the religious freedom of believers.

Not perfect, but nevertheless refreshing in its focus on the only legitimate 'religious liberty': The liberty of the Church of Christ, namely, the Catholic Church, to preach the Gospel, i.e., Catholicism. Any other 'liberty' is really just licence.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Cecilia, Virgin, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Notes: Friday, November 19, 2010

1. Latest on so-called gay marriage in Australia

There's so much that I'll mainly just post links:

Articles:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/early-conference-to-end-forced-consensus-20101118-17zf2.html?skin=text-only
('Gay-marriage'-related motion passed the Federal Lower House 73-72--quite an achievement, given how difficult it tends to be for catamites to pass motions.)
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/conscience-vote-pms-best-option-20101118-17z7m.html?skin=text-only
("According to an Essential Research poll out this week, ... 53 per cent said people of the same sex should be allowed to marry. This included 57 per cent of Labor voters. Coalition supporters were equally divided (45 per cent each way); Greens overwhelmingly in favour (80 per cent).")
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/same-sex-unions-not-a-vote-changer/story-e6frg6nf-1225955971708
("Labor strategists dismissed suggestions the issue would damage the party's support among blue-collar workers, saying it was not a vote-changer. Citing the lack of reaction to recent NSW legislation allowing gay couples to adopt, a senior Labor source said: "People may not support it, but it will not be a vote-changer. And a lot of people in the front bar would say fair enough to gay marriage."")
http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-the-vibe-is-not-a-valid-argument-against-gay-rights/
("Around 25% of lesbian couples in Australia are currently raising children and many more are now planning families together." No source is provided for that figure, however.

One other thing about that last article: Dr. Phelps writes that

Over 60% of Australians support marriage equality. Not some watered-down euphemism like “civil union”, but marriage equality.

I've been thinking that isn't the fact that a marriage involves an husband and a wife, whereas a 'gay marriage' obviously can't, a good enough reason for dismissing the pro-'gay-marriage' insistence on marriage rather than a mere 'civil union' (not that I support 'civil unions', however--I can't see how a 'union' founded on sodomy can be regarded as 'civil')? They don't insist on calling one 'spouse' an husband and the other a wife, so why do they insist on calling their relationship a marriage?)

Editorials:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/allow-a-free-vote-on-gay-marriage-20101118-17z7d.html?skin=text-only
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/dont-get-hung-up-on-the-politics-of-same-sex-union/story-e6frg71x-1225955924810

Letters:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/lineage-has-no-relevance-other-than-to-snobs-20101118-17z7b.html?skin=text-only
(The first letter at the following web-page has apparently had its first sentence cut off; that sentence, judging by the main Letters page, is "WHAT a gutless position the Prime Minister has taken on same-sex marriage.")
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/gillard-fails-test-of-leadership-on-gay-marriage/story-fn558imw-1225955928584

2. "White Britons a minority by '66"

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3234028/Oxford-professor-issues-shock-population-warning-for-Great-Britain-by-2066.html#ixzz15bAcxfjK
(Brought to my attention by this AQ thread.)

3. "Terra" on, among other things, the activities, or lack thereof, of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2010/11/bishops-jump-to-right-and-blogosphere.html

4. "Maurice Pinay" on, among other things, the 'Noahide' movement

The following web-page contains many useful links:

http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2010/11/remnants-conspicuous-blind-spot.html

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Widow, and of St. Pontianus, Pope, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Notes: Thursday, November 18, 2010

1. The latest regarding so-called gay marriage in Australia

1.1 "K[evin] Rudd agreed to back same-sex civil unions at last year's ALP National Conference in a private deal with key Left faction leaders", and, "[a] Sky News poll of 39 Labor MPs yesterday found 22 in support of marriage equality"

(Warning: The following link leads to a web-page with a photo, at the top of the page, of a pair of presumably 'newlywed' Lesbians smooching)
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/gay-marriage-policy-splits-labor/story-e6freuzr-1225954652794

1.2 "Gillard clears way for gay marriage debate"

"JULIA GILLARD has given the green light for Labor's national conference to be brought forward by more than six months so the party can have a full-blown fight over policy differences without hurting its election chances":
http://www.smh.com.au/national/gillard-clears-way-for-gay-marriage-debate-20101117-17xps.html?skin=text-only

"Party may decide on gay marriage, but I choose whether to implement it: Gillard"
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/party-may-decide-on-gay-marriage-but-i-choose-whether-to-implement-it-gillard/story-fn59niix-1225955208166

1.3 Analysis, by Ms Grattan, of the implications of Federal Labor's decision to support the gay-marriage-related motion in Parliament

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/hot-issue-poses-dilemma-for-pm-20101116-17vyl.html?skin=text-only

2. A couple of recent developments regarding Russia

2.1 "Russia plans to move its people to big towns"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/russia-plans-to-move-its-people-to-big-towns-20101117-17xp9.html?skin=text-only

2.2 "Church restitution: Orthodox send threatening response to Mgr. Pezzi"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34733

3. Blog comments by me

At Mr. Schütz's new website: Too many comments, one of which is quite long, to bother reproducing them here, so I'll just give the link to the main thread:

http://scecclesia.com/?p=4569#comments

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul, A.D. 2010

Notes: Tuesday-Wednesday, November 16-17, 2010

1. H.R.H. Prince William of Wales and Miss Middleton have become engaged

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/newsandgallery/news/his_royal_highness_prince_william_of_wales_and_miss_catherin_77816924.html

See also
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/finally-a-wedding-date-for-kate-20101116-17w23.html?skin=text-only
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/prince-william-and-kate-middleton-to-marry-next-year/story-e6frg6so-1225954680963
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/prince-william-to-marry-kate-middleton/story-e6frg6so-1225954659190

2. Federal Labor to support Greens motion calling for M.P.s to consult their respective constituents on so-called gay marriage

http://www.smh.com.au/national/labor-mulls-change-in-policy-20101116-17vzo.html?skin=text-only
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/labor-to-back-greens-on-on-same-sex-motion/story-e6frg6nf-1225954628356

3. Cardinal Tauran on religious liberty and related things

Full text of an item from the Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletin:

CONCLUSIONS OF INTER-RELIGIOUS MEETING IN TEHRAN

VATICAN CITY, 16 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Centre for Inter-Religious Dialogue of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation (Tehran, Iran) and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue held their seventh colloquium in Tehran from 9 to 11 November under the joint presidency of Mohammad Baqer Khorramshad, president of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation, and of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.

At the end of the meeting the participants (seven in the delegation led by Mohammad Baqer Khorramshad and six in the delegation led by Cardinal Tauran), agreed upon the following:

(1) Believers and religious communities, based on their faith in God, have a specific role to play in society, on an equal footing with other citizens.

(2) Religion has an inherent social dimension that the State has the obligation to respect; therefore, also in the interest of society, it cannot be confined to private sphere.

(3) Believers are called to co-operate in the search for common good, on the basis of a sound relation between faith and reason.

(4) It is necessary for Christians and Muslims as well as all believers and persons of good will, to co-operate in answering modern challenges, promoting moral values, justice and peace and protecting the family, environment and natural resources.

(5) Faith, by its very nature, requires freedom. Therefore, religious freedom, as a right inherent to human dignity, must always be respected by individuals, social actors and the State. The cultural and historical background of each society which is not in contradiction with human dignity should be taken into consideration in applying this fundamental principle.

(6) Education of the young generation should be based on the search for truth, spiritual values and promotion of knowledge.

The participants also emphasised the necessity of continuing on the path of a genuine and fruitful dialogue. The next colloquium will take place in Rome in 2012.
OP/ VIS 20101116 (330)

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Gregory the Wonder Worker, Bishop, Confessor, A.D. 2010

Notes: Saturday-Monday, November 13-15, 2010

1. Figures on Catholic religious in Australia today

http://www.smh.com.au/national/down-but-not-out-catholic-orders-shrink-by-half-but-energy-unchanged-20101112-17r78.html?skin=text-only

Main points from the article (which CathNews featured):

• There were 8422 "religious personnel" (including retired religious) in Australia in 2009, down from 17029 in 1976.
• "The median age is 73, and only 8.2 per cent are aged under 50, whereas 26.6 per cent are aged 80 or more."
• "Three-quarters of all religious came from Australia and the rest came from 75 different nations, with Ireland, New Zealand and Vietnam the greatest source countries."
• "[T]he tradition of being taught by a nun or a brother in a Catholic school belongs mostly to previous generations. While 48 per cent of the religious worked in education in 1976, that cohort has shrunk to 12 per cent, as lay-people have taken over Catholic education."
• Despite the decline in membership, "40 congregations out of 109 said they were ''not contemplating change''".

2. Figures on whether a sample of Australians agreed or disagreed with the following statements: "Homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt children", "I believe homosexuality is immoral", "I consider myself a homosexual"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/country-divided-as-support-for-gay-marriage-varies-wildly-20101114-17sq4.html?skin=text-only
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/the-tricky-political-topography-of-samesex-marriage-20101115-17t6y.html?skin=text-only

Neither the descriptive report nor its analysis focus on the figure which I regard as the most remarkable: Only 3% of Australians identify as homosexual. (Terra has more on this.)

3. Mr. Rowney on the philosphical distinction between intended consequences and merely foreseen ones

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24169

I was surprised to see Mr. Rowney write that

Even utilitarians need to decide where they stand on this one. Do they side with Hume and Mill on the Aristotelian side or with Sidgwick, Adams, Singer and the Consequentialists on the other?

since I thought that utilitarianism was an inherently consequentialist moral philosophy.

4. Dr. Jones (responding to Msgr. Williamson) on the teachings of Vatican II

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34678

I disagree with Dr. Jones's conclusions, but I was interested to read the following:

John Courtney [sic] Murray ... was working for Henry Luce’s Time/Life empire, which had intimate connections with the CIA. [That story] will appear in the pages of Culture Wars and a forthcoming book by David Wemhoff.

5. Another benefit of which male same-sex couples deprive their respective children

From a letter by Mrs. Babette Francis in The Australian today:

... the significance of breastfeeding in early education should not be overlooked.

During breastfeeding, an infant's eyes focus on its mother's face and it learns from her "baby-talk" and conversation, whereas bottle-fed babies look away from the mother towards the bottle, and are sometimes propped up with pillows with no adult holding the bottle. ...
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/breast-versus-bottle/comments-fn558imw-1225953455135]

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Feast of St. Albert the Great, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church, A.D. 2010

Notes: Friday, November 12, 2010

1. Prof. Schäfer on the depiction of Our Lord in the Talmud

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8383.html
(Brought to my attention by this AQ comment.)

2. "Israel recruits 'army of bloggers' to combat anti-Zionist Web sites"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=386884#386884

3. Mr. Muehlenberg on the age of consent in Victoria

Appalling though this is, it doesn't really surprise me all that much:

Sadly – and incredibly – in the humanist utopia of Victoria the age of consent is ten! I kid you not. As long as you don’t have sex with anyone more than two years older than yourself, any ten-year-old (up to 15) can legally have sex in this state.
[http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/11/11/more-pc-mischief-and-mayhem/]

4. H.H. The Pope on religious liberty and freedom of conscience

Far from encouraging:

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION "VERBUM DOMINI"

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2010 (VIS) - At midday today in the Holy See Press Office, the presentation took place of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Verbum Domini" of Benedict XVI, on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church.

Today's press conference was presented by Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and Archbishop Nikola Eterovic and Msgr. Fortunato Frizza, respectively secretary general and under secretary of the Synod of Bishops.

The Apostolic Exhortation, which is dated 30 September, Memorial of St. Jerome, is the fruit of the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which was held in Rome from 5 to 26 October 2008. The document, which has been published in Latin, Italian, English, French., Spanish, German, Portuguese and Polish, is made up of an introduction, three parts and a conclusion.

[...] "The Word of God and Inter-religious Dialogue" is the title of chapter four. "Having established the value and topicality of inter-religious dialogue, 'Verbum Domini' ... supplies some important guidelines concerning dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and with members of other non-Christian religions, within the framework of a religious liberty which involves not only the freedom to profess one's faith in private and in public, but also freedom of conscience; in other words, of choosing one's religion". [...]
EXOR/ VIS
20101111 (970)
[my square-bracketed ellipses]

Presumably it was Msgr. Eterovic who spoke the words quoted in the last of the paragraphs of that excerpt, since His Grace is also the one quoted in the paragraph immediately before and in the paragraph immediately after it.

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Feast of St. Martin I., Pope, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Notes: Thursday, November 11, 2010

1. Mr. Andrews on the philosophy of The Greens

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/new-third-force-are-ecological-marxists/story-fn59niix-1225951490061

Key excerpt:

[The Hon. Kevin] Andrews [M.P.] says the roots of the Greens lie in the self-declared "ecological Marxism" of former BLF boss Jack Mundey and the Green Ban movement of the early 1970s that saw well-heeled Sydney NIMBYs and hard-left unionists join forces to block development, rather than the broader environmental movement.

Greens leader Bob Brown has cited the Green Ban movement as a key inspiration.

"Mundey's 'ecological Marxism' is an apt description of the Greens," Mr Andrews argues. "It sums up their two core beliefs. First, the environment is to be placed before all else. Secondly, the Greens are Marxist in their philosophy, and display the same totalitarian tendencies of all previous forms of Marxism when a political movement. By totalitarian, I mean the subordination of the individual in the impulse to forcibly rid society of all elements that, in the eyes of the adherent, mar its perfection."

Mr Andrews believes that while the Greens see themselves as humanists, their policies disregard humanity. "According to the Greens ideology, human dignity is neither inherent, nor absolute," he says, citing the 1996 manifesto by Senator Brown.

I would be interested to read all of Mr. Andrews's critique. It does not seem to be available on-line in its entirety, however.

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Feast of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop, Confessor, and of St. Mennas, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Notes: Tuesday-Wednesday, November 9-10, 2010

1. Word for the day: Heterophobic

A STRAIGHT heterosexual couple are so in love they plan to tie the knot, but insist they don't want to get married.

Londonders Tom Freeman and Katherine Doyle are instead seeking to have a civil partnership, a form of legal union available in Britain only to same-sex couples.

Gay rights activists are backing the couple's bid in an attempt to legalise gay marriage.

Activist Peter Tatchell said "denying heterosexual couples the right to have a civil partnership is heterophobic".
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/straight-uk-couple-seek-gay-union/story-fn3dxity-1225950432056]

2. On State funding of the Church in Spain

I was interested to learn that

the Spanish government spends E6 billion ($8.2bn) each year on financial support for the Catholic Church and recently shelved a law that would have given equal rights to other religions. ...
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/pope-benedict-agitates-memories-of-spains-bloody-purge/story-e6frg6so-1225949637985]

That funding is a little suprising to me, given that, if I'm not mistaken, Catholicism is no longer Spain's State religion, from which I would infer that neither is the Church 'established by law' in Spain.

3. Some discussion board posts on, among other things, salvation by 'implicit Faith'

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/msg/1289304555.html
http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/msg/1289306226.html
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=386575#386575

4. "Pope summons all cardinals for discussion" on, among other things, religious liberty (its present situation in the world rather than the doctrine on it)

Full text of an item in today's edition of the Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletin:

COLLEGE OF CARDINALS MEETS FOR A DAY OF REFLECTION

VATICAN CITY, 9 NOV 2010 (VIS) - Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, has sent a letter to the members of the college, and to the cardinals-elect, announcing that the Pope has invited them all to participate in a day of "reflection and prayer" due to be held in the Vatican's New Synod Hall on Friday 19 November.

The day of prayer, which falls on the eve of the ordinary public consistory of 20 November, will focus on two themes. The first of these is the situation of religious freedom in the world and new challenges, with an introductory talk by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.

The second theme for reflection will be the liturgy in the life of the Church today, with a preliminary contribution from Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Three other contributions are scheduled for the afternoon session: "Ten years on from 'Dominus Iesus" by Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints; and "the Church's response to cases of sexual abuse" and "the Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus', both to be delivered by Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
OP/ VIS 20101109 (220)

See also
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34618
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24114
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/11/what-the-cardinals-will-discusslisten-to-at-the-consistory/

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Andrew Avellino, Confessor, and of Sts. Tryphon and Respicius, Martyrs, and St. Nympha, Virgin, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Mr. Henderson on (against) the Catholic doctrine on Indulgences

http://acroamaticus.blogspot.com/2010/11/quality-of-mercy-is-not-strained.html

I don't have time to weave my thoughts into a proper essay-style rebuttal, so I'll just offer the following thoughts in bullet points, which (points) might be disorganised, so please excuse any incoherence in them:

• The overall problem with Mr. Henderson's critique is the complete failure to address the distinction between objective redemption (the historical work wrought by Christ) and subjective redemption (how that redeeming work is applied to Christians down through the ages/how Christians participate in that redeeming work). So Mr. Henderson, late in his piece, says that

  The Indulgence, which is gained by performing the prescribed pious work - it may be saying the Creed or the Lord’s Prayer or a Hail Mary - remits (i.e. cancels) the temporal punishment. Here the sufficiency of Christ’s satisfaction for sins is clearly brought into question, as the temporal punishment due for sin is remitted by a satisfaction made by the believer himself, or in the case of the “poor souls in purgatory” by someone still living on their behalf.

  Well, no, the gaining of an Indulgence does not impugn the sufficiency of Christ's satisfaction for sin, for several reasons:
  
  1. The Indulgence is dispensed from the Treasury of Merit, which is the sum of the merits of Christ and His living members, but even if no-one after Christ merited anything, the superabundant merits of Christ would still be quite sufficient. (Mr. Henderson appears confused here in another way too, because earlier he had identified (correctly) the "prescribed pious work" of the Indulgence-gainer as a condition for the remission of temporal punishment, but now he speaks of it (incorrectly, in the context of Indulgences) as a cause of that remission. One of Christ's living members can indeed merit satisfaction for his sins and the sins of others, but then that would not, of course, be an Indulgence.)
  
  2. The question of whether the redemption wrought by Christ (objective redemption) was and is sufficient to satisfy for all sin is one thing, but the question of how that redemption is applied to any given Christian, and what should happen to that Christian if he or she falls back into sin after it is first applied, is another.
  
  In the same paragraph, Mr. Henderson goes on to ask

  What else is this [the Catholic doctrine on merit], I ask, but rank synergism, salvation by faith plus human works? How does it not undermine the doctrineof the vicarious satisfaction of Christ for the sins of the world and the sufficiency of the atonement made by Christ by teaching that there is still some satisfaction which must be made by the repentant sinner himself or by others - who have the "correct disposition" - on his behalf?

  There is more confusion on Mr. Henderson's part here, because in fact after Baptism there is no more satisfaction to be made for previous sins--that only becomes necessary if the baptised should lapse back into sin after his Baptism. So the question again is not one of whether Christ's satisfaction is sufficient, but of how that satisfaction is applied.
  
  Mr. Henderson's failure to distinguish objective from subjective redemption is at its most striking here:

  Then consider our Lord’s words “It is finished.” What was finished? The work he came to accomplish, making atonement to God for the sins of mankind.

  In other words, objective redemption was finished. But subjective redemption is another question altogether, and Mr. Henderson hence fails to refute the Catholic doctrinal claims on the matter. In his next paragraph, he goes on to write

  But what does this mean, the lay reader may ask? It means that the death of our Lord on the Cross not only removed the guilt of our sin, but also turned away the divine anger from repentant and believing sinners. God no longer punishes his children for their sins, for that punishment has been borne completely by Christ. God demonstrates his righteousness to us precisely by setting forth Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, to paraphrase Paul in Romans 3 ...

  Here again we have the problem of objective vs. subjective redemption brought to the fore. It is as though for Mr. Henderson there is no distinction between the two. But that surely cannot be the case, for he is a Lutheran, and Lutherans at least administer Baptism, implicitly acknowledging that objective redemption needs to be applied subjectively.
  
• Mr. Henderson writes that

  On the basis of these statements [by the Council of Trent and Paul VI.], we are entitled to draw the conclusion that for Rome the guilt of sin and its temporal punishment are two distinct things; guilt is atoned for by Christ’s death on the Cross, but temporal punishment must be expiated (suffered or paid for) by the repentant sinner, either in this life or the next.

  More confusion here, on two levels:
  
  1. Once again, Mr. Henderson fails to grasp that in Catholic doctrine, eternal and temporal punishment are both remitted in full when the Redemption is first applied to a soul by Baptism; no punishment whatsoever remains due after someone is baptised.
  
  2. Here, and throughout his piece (such as when he quotes St. Anselm asking "What else does it mean to remit sins than not to punish them?"), Mr. Henderson implicitly rejects a distinction between eternal and temporal punishment. Yet according to no less an authority than another Lutheran Pastor and S.C.E. commenter, namely William Weedon,

  the Lutheran Symbols distinguish between temporal and eternal punishments and we acknowledge that God’s remission of eternal punishments does not always eliminate temporal ones. The thief on the cross died a forgiven sinner and was welcomed to Christ kingdom; but the forgiveness didn’t get him out of his cross.
  [http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/lots-happening-trying-to-keep-up-with-the-discussions/]

  (That quotation is all the more apposite here for its reference to the Good Thief, a reference which Mr. Henderson also makes.)
  
• Mr. Henderson asks

  Now, what strange love is this, that [sic] forgives, but still punishes? Strange indeed!

  Here the maxims 'beggars can't be choosers' and 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth' come to mind; if we have been given the gift of new life, and with it the remission of all the punishment we owe, in Baptism, then we can hardly complain if the Giver of this gift requires that some satisfaction be made for sins commited after receiving it. Whereas acts of justice involve giving to someone what is his own, acts of charity/love involve giving to someone what is one's own, and hence an act of charity can be as great or as small as one pleases. Thus there is nothing 'strange' about a love which pays all of someone else's debt at one point in time, but which requires that, if and when future debts are incurred, the debtor pay some share of the newly-acquired debt.
  
  Furthermore, The Catechism of The Council of Trent explains thus how the Catholic doctrine on post-Baptismal satisfaction involves no contradiction of Divine mercy/charity/love:

  It is also in keeping with the divine mercy not to remit our sins without any satisfaction, lest, taking occasion hence, and imagining our sins less grievous than they are, we should become injurious, as it were, and contumelious to the Holy Ghost, and should fall into greater enormities, treasuring up to ourselves wrath against the day of wrath. These satisfactory penances have, no doubt, great influence in recalling from and, as it were, bridling against sin, and in rendering the sinner more vigilant and cautious for the future.
  [http://www.catecheticsonline.com/Trent2.php
  See also Trent, Session XIII, Ch. 8, from which the foregoing was originally drawn and which contains a wealth of relevant Scriptural references. And the whole of the Roman Catechism's section "Advantages of Satisfaction" is worth reading.]

• Mr. Henderson concludes with the following (a little 'epilogue' follows the conclusion, though):

  We cannot, and need not, add to the sacrifice of Christ through our own penal sufferings. To assert that we can is to deny the completeness and sufficiency of Christ’s atonement and deny the Word of God.

  We "cannot ... add to the sacrifice of Christ through our own penal sufferings". So the sufferings of a living member of the Body of Christ are worthless? We "need not ... add to the sacrifice of Christ through our own penal sufferings". So there is, then, no deterrent against falling back into sin after one's Baptism? "To assert that we can is to deny the completeness and sufficiency of Christ’s atonement and deny the Word of God." No, it isn't, since God is perfectly free to apply the fruits of the Redemption as He sees fit.
  
• I conclude with the following: Mr. Henderson asks

  Need I remind the reader of how this system [of "rank synergism"] contradicts scripture? There is a catena of passages one could cite, but suffice it to point to the chief passages and let the reader examine each passage for himself in context and follow through by using the cross-references in his own Bible: Isaiah 43:25, John 3:36, 5: 24, Romans 3,5:9, Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 2:13, Hebrews 1:3; 1 John 2:1-2, 5:10-13, Revelation 1:5.

  That's a perfectly Protestant approach to take--"to point to the chief passages and let the reader examine each passage for himself in context and follow through by using the cross-references in his own Bible" (and here he is in complete accord with Mr. Weedon--"[t]he Lutheran approach is to invite anyone and everyone to read for themselves the Sacred Scriptures and to compare our teaching with them" (source)--but is it the right one? Mr. Henderson has said in the past that "we [Lutherans] hold that everything necessary for salvation and for the faith and life of the church has been set down by the Apostles in the NT", which we can broaden, given Mr. Henderson's Old Testament references here, to say "... by the Apostles and Prophets in the NT and OT." Where, then, is it set down in the Old and/or New Testaments that 'everything necessary for salvation and for the faith and life of the church has been set down by the Apostles and Prophets in the NT and OT'?

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Our Saviour, and (the feast) of St. Theodore, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Notes: Saturday-Monday, November 6-8, 2010

1. Interesting review of The Grand Design

The review in question was published in The Sydney Morning Herald's Spectrum supplement at the weekend, and is available on-line here. The following excerpt was remarkable:

Even if M-theory is the best candidate for a Theory of Everything, it will not, as Hawking concedes, result in anything more than a collection of unproved and unprovable hypotheses.

2. Exactly (precisely?) what I was thinking!

Here's a letter which was published on page twenty-five of today's edition of the Sydney Daily Telegraph and which points out an all-too-common grammatical error which vexes me too:

For years the signs at railway stations have warned us that steps "may be" (that is are permitted to be) slippery when wet. Finally, this ungrammatical phrase is now correct. To avoid slips on the newly refurbished Macarthur station, carpets are being laid as a safety measure. Perhaps State Rail should have warned the wet areas "might be" (this expresses possibility, not permission) slippery.
M. Chaldecott Lindfield

The four effects of law are to command ('You shall ...'), to forbid ('You shall not ...'), to permit ('You may ...'), and to punish (to trangress any of the preceding three is to incur the obligation to suffer the just penalty); see St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, Ia IIæ, Q. 92, a. 2.

3. The Stockholm Bloodbath: An episode in Scandinavian history of which I had not heard

I was interested to learn the following in the "on this day" section of the history page of today's Sydney Daily Telegraph (p. 39):

1520

The execution of more than 80 Swedish nobles and clergy, who opposed their country's invasion by Christian II of Denmark, begins in Stockholm. The dissidents are accused of heresy.

Apparently that episode is known as the Stockholm Bloodbath, about which you can read more at Wikipedia's page on it.

4. The latest development/s in Australia regarding so-called gay marriage

4.1 "Mark Arbib wants Labor to back gay marriage"
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/arbib-wants-labor-to-back-gay-marriage/story-fn59niix-1225948555751

4.2 "Powerbrokers call for gay marriage debate"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/powerbrokers-call-for-gay-marriage-debate/story-e6frea8c-1225948877549

(See also the responses in The Australian's editorial and letters sections.)

5. Interesting books reviewed in the weekend papers

A Place for Truth: Leading Thinkers Explore Life's Hardest Questions
Edited by Dallas Willard
IVP Books,321pp, $27.95

[...] Delusions of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Differences
By Cordelia Fine
Icon Books, 338pp, $29.99
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/where-faith-and-reason-meet/story-e6frg8nf-1225946773855]

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Four Crowned Martyrs, A.D. 2010

Notes: Friday, November 5, 2010

1. The latest figures on fertility in Australia

From a short article, entitled "Too poor for kids", on page nine of yesterday's edition of the Sydney Daily Telegraph (the following excerpt is my transcript):

The nation's fertility rate dropped in 2009 to 1.9 babies per reproductive woman.
This figure was down from 1.96 in 2008 as all states and territories except Queensland saw a fall in birth rates.

Here are some extracts from an Australian Bureau of Statistics media release of November 3 entitled "Fertility rates decline in 2009":

After increasing in recent years, fertility rates in Australia declined slightly in 2009, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In 2009, Australia's total fertility rate was 1.90 babies per woman, a small decrease from 1.96 babies per woman in 2008 and 1.92 babies per woman in 2007.

Fertility rates for all states and territories decreased in 2009, except for Queensland.

Tasmania had the highest fertility rate, with 2.18 babies per woman, while the Australian Capital Territory had the lowest at 1.74.

Women in Tasmania were also having their children at younger ages than women in the rest of Australia; with fertility rates highest for women aged 25-29 years. For the rest of Australia, fertility rates were highest for women aged 30-34 years.

The median age of all mothers for births registered in 2009 was 30.6 years, while the median age of fathers was 33.0 years, both slightly younger than in recent years.

A total of 295,700 births were registered in Australia in 2009. ...

[...] Media notes:

• The total fertility rate represents the average number of babies that a woman could expect to bear during her reproductive lifetime if current fertility rates continue.

[http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyCatalogue/374A7412FAA14CBBCA2574EF007A1DEF?Opendocument]

2. "Eugenics 'rises from Nazi tomb' claims Victorian Bishop Peter Elliott"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/eugenics-rises-from-nazi-tomb-claims-victorian-bishop-peter-elliott/story-e6frg6nf-1225948024158

I would be interested to read more of the transcript of His Lordship's sermon (I presume it was a sermon?), but a Google search of the keywords "Peter Elliott" and "eugenics" and "Nazi tomb" just came up with the same article from The Australian.

3. "Midterm Elections a Big Win for Zionist War-mongers"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34541

Reginaldvs Cantvar

5.XI.2010

Notes: Thursday, November 4, 2010

1. "General Franco's Many Progressive Measures"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34490

Some of the comments there are also interesting.

2. Mr. Brent on political parties 'standing for' something

http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/mumble/index.php/theaustralian/comments/party_stands_for_nothing_hold_the_presses/

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop, Confessor, and of Sts. Vitalis and Agricola, Martyrs, A.D. 2010

Notes: Tuesday-Wednesday, November 2-3, 2010

1. Mr. MacIntyre on the history of Franco-British co-operation

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/britain-france-to-bury-the-hatchet-at-last/story-e6frg6ux-1225946879102

I was surprised to learn the following from that article:

David Cameron is not the first Tory leader to embrace closer military and political union with Britain's best enemy across the Channel. One of his predecessors once proposed an "indissoluble union" of Britain and France, suggesting that "the two governments declare that France and Great Britain shall no longer be two nations, but one Franco-British Union. Every citizen of France will enjoy immediately citizenship of Great Britain; every British subject will become a citizen of France."

The author of this proposal was none other than Winston Churchill. In 1940, with Nazi forces pouring into France, Churchill, backed by the war cabinet, proposed that the two countries become one, combining armies, parliaments and currencies. It was rejected by French collaborationists led by Marshal Petain, who insisted that Britain would soon "have her neck wrung like a chicken".

I think that I had heard of the following earlier, though:

French documents discovered two years ago reveal that, in 1956, French prime minister Guy Mollet proposed to Anthony Eden that France merge with Britain, with the Queen head of the amalgamated state. Eden turned down the idea, but was more enthusiastic about a suggestion that France join the Commonwealth.

2. Dr. Peters on the canonical obligation of clerical continence

http://www.canonlaw.info/a_deacons.htm
(Brought to my attention by this comment at AQ, to which I have responded with this comment.)

3. Blog comments by me

Just these two, both of which are quite short and hence not worth copying-and-pasting, so I'll just give their respective links:

http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/thats-sooooo-20th-century/#comment-17950
http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/thats-sooooo-20th-century/#comment-17968

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Feast of St. Martin de Porres, Confessor, A.D. 2010

Notes: Saturday-Monday, October 30-November 1, 2010 (part 2 of 2)

5. Fr. Zuhlsdorf on, among other things, another deficiency of the N.O.M. (this time in the changes to the main orations for the Mass of the Feast of the Kingship of Christ):

Again, the first part of the prayer [NEWER SUPER OBLATA (2002MR)] is same as the older. In the Latin there are minor changes, but it is effectively the same. The second part, however, shows the theological change desired by the snipping and pasting experts of Fr. Bugnini’s Consilium. In the older prayer there is an explicit appeal to “sacrifice” with also a strong verb “immolate”. This sacrificial language was removed from the newer prayer. But this prayer retains the reference “nations” (gentes).
[http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/10/wdtprs-christ-the-king-1962mr-no-hugs-and-fluffy-lambs/]

See also the comments of Mr. Keener here for more on the Kingship of Christ.

6. An interesting observation by Dr. Brown on The Catechism of The Catholic Church's treatment of the death penalty

If I'm not mistaken, this is something which I too had noticed:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/10/archbp-card-burke-on-the-obligation-to-vote-properly/#comment-231304

7. Interesting books reviewed/mentioned in the weekend papers

The Verso Book of Dissent
Preface by Tariq Ali
Verso 366pp, $29.95

[...] In Praise of Copying
By Marcus Boon
Harvard University Press285pp, $42.95
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/another-side-of-pakistan/story-e6frg8nf-1225943750917]

Also from The Weekend Australian:

HOW to write a press release with a straight face, a lesson in one sentence courtesy of Scribe publishers: "Scribe will be publishing The Australian Book of Atheism, edited by Warren Bonett, on November 22, just in time for Christmas."
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/senators-tryout/story-e6frgdk6-1225945334827]

Plus one book reviewed today at a blog:

A Review of Politics According to the Bible. By Wayne Grudem.

Zondervan, 2010. (Available in Australia at Koorong Books)
[http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/11/01/a-review-of-politics-according-to-the-bible-by-wayne-grudem/]

Reginaldvs Cantvar
All Saints' Day, A.D. 2010

Notes: Saturday-Monday, October 30-November 1, 2010 (part 1 of 2)

1. Msgr. Williamson on the teachings of Vatican II

ELEISON COMMENTS CLXXII (Oct.30, 2010) : DELAY CONDEMNING ?

Following on several recent numbers of "Eleison Comments" emphasizing the importance of doctrine (EC 162, 165-167, 169), a reader asks if it would not nevertheless be wiser to delay the condemnation of Vatican II, on the grounds that neither the Church officials in Rome nor Catholics at large are ready to accept that the Council is doctrinally as bad as the Society of St Pius X, following Archbishop Lefebvre, says that it is. Actually, it is far worse.

The doctrinal problem with the documents of Vatican II is not, mainly, that they are openly and clearly heretical. In fact their "letter", as opposed to their "spirit", can seem Catholic, to the point that Archbishop Lefebvre, who took direct part in all four Sessions of the Council, signed off on all but the two last and worst of those documents, "Gaudium et Spes" and "Dignitatis Humanae". However, that "letter" is subtly contaminated with the "spirit" of the brand-new man-centered religion towards which the Council Fathers were inclining, and which has been corrupting the Church ever since. If the Archbishop could vote again today on the 16 documents, one wonders if with the wisdom of hindsight he would vote for a single one of them.

So the documents are ambiguous, outwardly interpretable as being Catholic for the most part, but inwardly poisoned with modernism, that most pernicious of all Church heresies, said St Pius X in "Pascendi". So when for instance "conservative" Catholics, out of "loyalty" to the Church, defend the documents, what exactly are they conserving ? The poison, and its ability to go on corrupting the Catholic Faith of millions of souls, thereby setting them on the path to eternal damnation. It all reminds me of one Allied convoy crossing the Atlantic with vital supplies for the Allies in World War II. An enemy submarine succeeded in surfacing in the very middle of the defensive perimeter of ships, so that it was free to torpedo them one after another, because the Allied destroyers were chasing around and around the perimeter outside to hunt down the submarine, never imagining it could be in their midst ! The Devil is in the midst of the Vatican II documents and he is torpedoing the eternal salvation of millions of souls, because he is so well disguised in those documents.

Now imagine a sailor with sharp eyes on board one of the merchant-ships in the convoy who has noticed the little tell-tale wake of the submarine's snorkel. He yells, "The submarine is inside !", but nobody takes him seriously. Is he to wait and keep quiet, or is he to scream "Blue Murder !", and go on screaming, until at last the captain is brought to see the deadly danger ?

The SSPX must scream about Vatican II, and go on screaming, and without ceasing, because millions of souls are in deadly and unceasing danger. To grasp that danger, admittedly difficult to grasp in theory, read, or get translated into your own language, Fr. Alvaro Calderon's profound book on the Vatican II documents, "Prometeo: la Religion del Hombre".

Kyrie eleison.

2. Obituary of Mr. Justice Watson ("one of the drafters of the Family Law Act introduced in 1975 and a judge of the Family Court during its most turbulent period")

http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/judge-sought-informality-in-court-with-nofault-divorce-20101031-178v1.html?skin=text-only

3. Some interesting figures on desired and actual Australian fertility rates

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/congratulations-its-lots-of-boys-and-girls-for-south-parramatta-20101031-178y5.html?skin=text-only

4. "Survey undermines size of gay community"

Brought to my attention by a post at Terra's blog:

A comprehensive and credible national survey in the United Kingdom has revealed that only 1.5% of Britons say they are homosexual, lesbian or bisexual, which is much less than the most commonly used estimate of 5 to 7 percent.

The findings were based on interviews with more than 450,000 people by the Office of National Statistics (the UK equivalent of the Australian Bureau of Statistics). The ONS has said that it had produced an accurate estimate based on a question of self-perceived sexual identity, with a valid response to the relevant question provided by 96% of those surveyed.
[http://australianchristianlobby.org.au/2010/10/survey-undermines-size-of-gay-community/]

Reginaldvs Cantvar

All Saints' Day, A.D. 2010