Msgr. Fellay announces new Rosary Crusade

"[F]or the intention that the Church may be delivered from the evils that oppress her or threaten her in the near future, that Russia may be consecrated and that the Triumph of the Immaculata may come soon."

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36920

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36919

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Tuesday in Holy Week, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, April 12-Monday, April 18, 2011

1. Latest American figures on sexual abuse by Catholic priests

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/thread/1302558767.html

http://www.catholicleague.org/nytstraighttalk.php

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36834

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=25812

Labels: sexual abuse

2. Dr. Gates on the G.L.B.T. proportion of the population

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/gay-equality-doesnt-add-up-until-we-do-the-numbers-20110412-1dcit.html?skin=text-only

Labels: demography, G.L.B.T.

3. Cardinal Pell with some facts about events in the post-Conciliar era

Pope Paul VI appointed no bishops who were opposed to the ethos of Vatican II, ...

[...] Incidentally it is a matter of historical record that at the 1971 Synod of Bishops, Pope Paul offered to the bishops the option of ordaining married men to the priesthood and the bishops declined to accept this.

[...] In Pope John Paul’s 27 years of pontificate 24 individuals were disciplined for their theological views, including eight who were silenced or removed, in the worldwide Catholic community of more than one billion believers.
[http://theswag.org.au/2011/04/some-gaudium-and-no-spes/]

His Eminence also asserts in that letter that "the bishops of the Society of St. Pius X ... are still in schism", which is not only false, even from Rome's perspective, but illogical for him given that in the same section of the letter he says that their putative excommunications were lifted.

Labels: celibacy, George Pell, John Paul II. Wojtyla, Paul VI. Montini, S.S.P.X., Vatican II

4. "Ethnic federation calls on PM to bolster multicultural policy"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/ethnic-federation-calls-on-pm-to-bolster-multicultural-policy/story-fn59niix-1226039379342

Labels: multiculturalism

5. Discussion thread on the pre-1955 Holy Week liturgical schedule

Mainly of interest to me for the references to the present and past practice of the S.S.P.X. in that connection:

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36891

Labels: liturgy, S.S.P.X., T.L.M.

6. Figures on the use of contraception by American Catholics

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36893

Labels: contraception

7. Two items regarding John Paul II.

7.1 Review of a biography of John Paul II.

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36884

Labels: John Paul II. Wojtyla

7.2 List of quotations from John Paul II. regarding Islam

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=404020#404020

Labels: Islam, John Paul II. Wojtyla

8. Note regarding possible new admissions to the Order of the Garter

This Saturday, April 23 (which is usually St. George's Day), is Holy Saturday. Apparently,

This year 2011, St Georges Day will be officially celebrated on May 2nd. This is because Easter falls late this year and April 23rd is Holy Saturday, the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Under the rules of the Church of England, if St Georges Day falls within a week of Easter then Easter has precedence and St Georges Day is moved to after Easter. This will the first Monday in May, May Day Bank Holiday, ...
[http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/StGeorge.htm]

Now there are currently three vacancies in the Order of the Garter (judging by the list at H.M. The Queen's website, one would think that there were only two, but that list has not been updated to take into account the death of His late Grace The Duke of Grafton). If Her Majesty intends to fill some or all of those vacancies this year, I wonder whether the announcement will be made on Holy Saturday, or on May 2? Delaying any announcement till the latter date would be convenient in that The Queen could also announce Miss Middleton's admission to the Order as one of its Royal Ladies.

Labels: Order of the Garter

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Monday in Holy Week, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, April 5-Monday, April 11, 2011

1. A few items regarding Russia and/or the Russian Orthodox Church

1.1 Significant recent Russian space mission carried "an icon presented by the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/international-mission-marks-50-years-of-russian-space-flight/story-e6frg6so-1226033950957

Labels: R.O.C., Russia

1.2 "In Russia, the dissolution of the Soviet Union led initially to a more world-oriented curriculum in the 1990s, with an emphasis on ''common human values'', but more recently, in line with Russia's foreign policy, it has been moving back to a more national and patriotic story"

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/new-curriculum-will-ultimately-mould-our-national-identity-20110405-1d2uw.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Russia

1.3 "Russian prelate says 'godless' West doomed to collapse"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36808

Labels: R.O.C., Russia, secularism

2. A few items regarding Ireland

2.1 "Irish Minister says religion in schools is a waste of class time"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36735

Not without disagreement, though:

"Former Irish prime minister defends religious instruction"
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36807

Labels: catechesis, education, Ireland

2.2 "Irish State to seize religious order’s property to pay victim’s comp"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36734

Labels: Ireland

2.3 "Irish report argues against hasty government takeover of Church-run schools"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36768

Labels: education, Ireland

3. "The Roman Catholic Church is the official state Church in Monaco"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36736

I did not know that that was the case.

Labels: Church and State, Monaco

4. Gay man reflects on the implications which legalising 'gay marriage' has for legalising polygamy

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/over-the-rainbow/4407748/Is-polygamy-such-a-bad-thing

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, morality, polyamory

5. Dr. Brown on the theology of the Blessed Sacrament

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/04/maynooth-seminary-in-ireland-fit-for-mission/#comment-264609

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/04/maynooth-seminary-in-ireland-fit-for-mission/#comment-264910

Labels: Sacraments, theology

6. "With the battle over legalised euthanasia touch and go in South Australia and Tasmania, the president of the Australian Nursing Federation, Coral Levett, has taken the extraordinary step of personally endorsing it"

This article is valuable for other nursing-and-euthanasia-related information in it, too:

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nurses-not-neutral-on-lethal-needle/

Labels: euthanasia, nursing

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Leo I., Pope, Confessor, Doctor of the Church, A.D. 2011

Notes: Thursday, March 31-Monday, April 4, 2011

1. The Conciliar Church and the 'search for truth'

1.1 "[Vatican] MESSAGE TO BUDDHISTS: TRUTH IS NECESSARY TO SEEK PEACE"

Excerpts from one of the Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletins of last week:

MESSAGE TO BUDDHISTS: TRUTH IS NECESSARY TO SEEK PEACE

VATICAN CITY, 31 MAR 2011 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh, issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. [...]

The message, which is entitled "Seeking Truth in Freedom: Christians and Buddhists live in Peace", Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the pontifical council, note that "in the pursuit of authentic peace, a commitment to seek truth is a necessary condition. ... This human striving for truth offers a fruitful opportunity for the followers of the different religions to encounter one another in depth and to grow in appreciation of the gifts of each".

The English-language text continues: "[...] Wherever religious freedom is effectively acknowledged, the dignity of the human person is respected at its root; by the sincere search for what is true and good, moral conscience and civil institutions are strengthened; and justice and peace are firmly established". CON-DIR/ VIS 20110331 (270)
[my square-bracketed ellipses]

See also the discussion on that Message at AQ:

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36698

Labels: inter-religious dialogue, religious liberty, Roman Curia

1.2 Dr. Casey on how the shared 'search for truth' leads to social Nirvana

A question put to Dr. Michael Casey, who works for the Sydney Archdiocese, in an interview, followed by his answer:

But how can you possibly be tolerant if you believe in truth? Aren’t you thereby committed to discriminating against people who don’t accept “your truth”?

Casey: That view explains why relativism is regarded as the only form of moral philosophy safe for democracy. Given the abundance of conflicting views, values and desires, and the adamant insistence on our own supremacy, truth appears to be not only implausible but tyrannical. When truth prevails, so the standard line goes, it narrows existence, constrains the possibilities of knowledge, and limits freedom and autonomy. Its ideas of “good and evil”, “true and false” cause division and intolerance.

The way forward is to move from a stubborn insistence that there is no such thing as truth, or that truth is dangerous, to conceding that perhaps truth is possible and available to us after all, and that in our own way we are all seeking it.

Conceding the possibility of truth, and that we all share a desire to find the truth and to live in its light, changes the situation completely. Nothing is lost from diversity, disagreement, scepticism and dispute, but they are re-located within a common journey which makes trust, openness and respect for each other in our different moral commitments stronger and easier. This is what real tolerance means.

Truth is not an answer in a box and it is not a cudgel. It is the unfolding of reality in which each of us takes part. Wherever our own search for the truth might lead us, the shared acceptance that it is the truth we are all seeking changes the game. It takes us out of the dead end of intolerant tolerance.
[http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/thread/1301520054.html]

In other words (at the risk of over-simplification): In order to bring about a Utopia of 'tolerance', relativism about the existence of truth is forbidden, but relativism (at least at the level of society) about the essence of truth is compulsory. So long as we agree that truth is, we can all live in harmony even though we disagree about what truth is. Yeah, right.

Labels: Michael Casey

2. "Vatican II coming to Orthodox churches?"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36676

Labels: Eastern Schism

3. "Company Uses Fetal Cells From Abortions for [testing of] Artificial Flavors"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36663

See also:

"Companies Stop Using Abortion Cells to Test Artificial Flavors"
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36699

Labels: abortion, Senomyx

4. Pius XII. on the death penalty

In this comment by a reader at Dr. Feser's blog, I found a link to the text of a speech which Pius XII. gave which dealt with the death penalty and for which I had previously looked unsuccessfully. (Though for lack of time I have not read the post in whose combox I found that comment, I did read Dr. Feser's subsequent post and it's worth reading, though not perfect (but, again for lack of time, I can't write a critique of it).) Here is the link to the text of that speech (in Italian):

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/speeches/1955/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19550205_unione-giuristi-cattolici_it.html

Labels: death penalty, justice, morality, Pius XII. Pacelli

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Isidore, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church, A.D. 2011