Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Notice regarding changes to this blog's sidebar

Today I've changed this blog's sidebar, with an overall motive simply of making it more convenient for me. I've got rid of the distinction between endorsed and non-endorsed links, not because of any change in my attitude towards any of the websites in question, but simply in order to make the links section as compact as possible, confident that any new readers of this blog can work out my attitude towards those websites easily enough anyway. I've deleted links to websites which are updated too infrequently, or which I visit too infrequently, to justify linking to them. I've also put the "Gadgets" in a different order, and put the links within the "Links" Gadget in a different order; the new order is, roughly, the descending order of the frequency with which I use them. (The biggest exception to that rule is the first two links; although I don't use them often, I want them at the top of the sidebar as a signal of what I stand for.)

If there's something which you want from the old version of the sidebar which is not in, or is different in, the new version, then feel free to contact me for the information which you want.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
19.II.2013

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Notes: Tuesday, January 1-Tuesday, February 12, 2013 (part 2 of 2)

9. Part of the reason why women can't be priests:

From the Holy Father's Angelus address in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, January 20, 2013 (His Holiness was speaking in a different context than the ineligibility of women for ordination, but the following is, as you'll see, nevertheless applicable to it):
… With this “sign”[, i.e., the sign of the miracle of the transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana,] Jesus revealed himself as the messianic Bridegroom come to establish with his people the new and eternal covenant, in accordance with the prophets’ words: “as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Is 62:5). Moreover, wine is a symbol of this joy of love; but it also alludes to the blood that Jesus was to pour out at the end to seal his nuptial pact with humanity.

The Church is the Bride of Christ who makes her holy and beautiful with his grace. …

[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/angelus/2013/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20130120_en.html]
Labels: womenpriests

10. "I[, Kristina Keneally,] object in conscience to the Church's teachings on women, homosexuality and contraception."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Talking to children about the Royal Commission", by The Hon. Kristina Keneally, dated November 22, 2012, downloaded from the Eureka Street website ("A publication of Jesuit Communications Australia"):

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=34263

Labels: Kristina Keneally

11. RU486 "is on the World Health Organisation list of essential medicines"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Push for abortion drugs to cost less than $12", by Linda Silmalis, dated January 31, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/push-for-abortion-drugs-to-cost-less-than-12/story-e6freuy9-1226565413699

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline and with the same byline on p. 09 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, January 31, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2760, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: abortion, U.N.O.

12. Mr. Creighton on the proportions in which the members of different income quintiles contribute towards public finance and the proportions in which it is distributed among them

See the article "Rich are paying their fair share, and then some", by Adam Creighton, dated February 2, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/rich-are-paying-their-fair-share-and-then-some/story-fn59niix-1226567054479

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline and with the same byline on p. 15 in the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, February 2-3, 2013, First Edition, No. 15031, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: economics, justice, taxation

13. "In the beginning our work was the conversion of the Jews, but after the Holocaust we realised no, we don’t go out to convert people, we should have Jewish-Christian relations."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Catholics honoured for service to nation", by Sharyn McCowen and Damir Govorcin, dated February 3, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=1&subclassID=2&articleID=11625&class=Latest News&subclass=CW National

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline and with the same byline on pp. 1 and 5 (p. 5's part of the article was headlined "Aust Day honours for Catholics") of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, February 3, 2013, Vol. 72, No. 4658, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: inter-religious dialogue, Jews, N.D.S.

14. "The Vatican is spearheading the initiative to study the construction and painting techniques of sarcophagi during Egypt's so-called Third Intermediate Period, which was 3,000 years ago."

The quotation in that headline comes from the Catholic News Service (C.N.S.) article "Vatican mummy health check: It's never too late for an endoscopy", by Carol Glatz, dated January 18, 2013, downloaded from the C.N.S.'s website:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1300235.htm

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Mummy check-up finds 'she' is a 'he'", by the same author, on p. 22 (the "Vatican Letter, Classifieds" page) of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, February 3, 2013, Vol. 72, No. 4658, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd. "Mummy check-up finds 'she' is a 'he'" is available on-line under the same headline as at the C.N.S. website, by the same author, dated January 21, 2013, at The Catholic Weekly's website here:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=1&subclassID=84&articleID=11578&class=Latest%20News&subclass=Breaking%20News)

Labels: Egypt, Vatican Museums

15. "the Catholic Church opposes legal sanctions against homosexuality and favors legal protections for unmarried people living together"

The quotation in that headline comes from the Catholic News Service (C.N.S.) article "Defend traditional family, rights of others, archbishop says", by Cindy Wooden, dated February 4, 2013, downloaded from the C.N.S. website:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1300458.htm

That C.N.S. article reports that Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family (who is apparently also a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation),
said the Catholic Church affirms "the equal dignity of every child of God. No one lacks the dignity of being a child of God, so that is untouchable."

While the church opposes recognizing gay unions as "marriage," he said, it affirms the full dignity of homosexual men and women. "If a country outlawed homosexuality, I would work to overturn it," he said, adding that he believed there are still "20 or 25 countries" that define homosexuality as a crime.

Archbishop Paglia also called for greater efforts to ensure legal protection and inheritance rights for people who are living together, but not married. "To promote justice and to protect the weak," he said, legal means must be found to guarantee rights and regulate inheritance.

"But do not call it marriage," he said.
For discussion on Msgr. Paglia's remarks, see this AQ thread, this Fish Eaters Traditional Catholic Forum thread, this CathInfo.com Traditional Catholic Forum thread, and the comments section of this Rorate Cæli post. For follow-up material, see this Rorate Cæli post and this LifeSiteNews.com report.

(Msgr. Paglia's remarks came to my attention via the article "We must defend marriage: Vatican", by Cindy Wooden, on p. 7 (the "World News" page) of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, February 10, 2013, Vol. 72, No. 4659, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd. An online version of that article is available under the headline "We must defend marriage: Vatican Church[ sic]", with the same byline and date, at The Catholic Weekly's website here.)

Labels: civil unions, crime, G.L.B.T., Roman Curia, vice, Vincenzo Paglia

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, Confessors, A.D. 2013

Notes: Tuesday, January 1-Tuesday, February 12, 2013 (part 1 of 2)

1. "With developments in philosophical thought and in ways of understanding the modern State, the doctrine of tolerance, as worked out in detail by Pius XII, no longer seemed sufficient."

The quotation, including its hyperlink, in that headline comes from ""It was a splendid day" - Reflections of His Holiness Benedict XVI, published for the first time on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council", from "Castel Gandolfo, on the Feast of Saint Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli, 2 August 2012", appearing in L'Osservatore Romano on October 11, 2012. (I found that web-page at the Vatican website's page for the Year of Faith, which (Year) began on the same day (October 11, 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the II. Vatican Council).) The Catholic World Report said that that L'Osservatore Romano essay/article "is the introduction to a collection of [H]is[ Holiness's] writings on the Council, to be published in German next month[, i.e., November 2012]". Vatican Radio said that
Penned this past summer in Castel Gandolfo, the article is in fact the preface to a collection of writings by the young Prof. Joseph Ratzinger at the time of the Council, which, however, have never been published. Edited by Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, [current Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – ed], the complete collection is due to be published in Germany , by Herder.
[square-bracketed interpolation in the original,
"Pope pens rare article on his inside view of Vatican II", Vatican Radio, October 10, 2012]
And judging by that Vatican Radio article, the Holy Father's article was published not on Thursday, October 11, 2012, but on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, in "a special edition[ of L'Osservatore Romano] dedicated to Vatican II", though L'Osservatore Romano's website has a version of the article dated October 11, 2012, with the body of the article under the headline "It was a splendid day, Benedict XVI recalls".

For discussion of that article, see AQ, Ignis Ardens, or Rorate Cæli (which gives the date of the relevant issue of L'Osservatore Romano as October 10-11, 2012).

(It was a splendid day came to my attention via the printing of excerpts from it in the "THE CHURCH AROUND THE WORLD" item "Pope Benedict XVI recalls Vatican II" on p. 4 in AD 2000, Vol. 25, No. 11, December 2012-January 2013, published by Peter Westmore for the Thomas More Centre in Balwyn, Victoria, Australia; the item's stated source was L'Osservatore Romano. That "CHURCH AROUND THE WORLD" report is available online at the AD 2000 website here.)

Labels: Americanism, Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Dignitatis Humanæ, religious liberty, Vatican II

2. "The QUEEN has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 31 December 2012 to declare that all the children of the eldest son of The Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour."

The quotation in that headline is the body of a notice (Notice Code: 1108) in The London Gazette, Issue No. 60384, p. 213, Tuesday, January 8, 2013. (One can also find the text of the notice by going to the "Advanced Search" page of The London Gazette website and entering part of the quotation in the "With the exact phrase:" field.)

(That notice came to my attention via the article "If it's a girl, Kate's baby to be a princess", no byline, on p. 24 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, January 11, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2743, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., apparently not available online.)

Labels: styles and titles

3. "As far as I[, Michael Costigan,] know there is no special significance in the fact that some of the [Vatican II ]documents are introduced in this publication [, namely, THE DOCUMENTS OF VATICAN II: With Notes and Index ("Vatican Translation"), 2009 edition, St Pauls Publications ]as “solemnly promulgated”, others as “promulgated” and several as “proclaimed”."

The quotation in that headline comes from the book review "Up-to-date collection of Vatican II documents", by Michael Costigan, dated January 13, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=20&articleID=11537&class=Features&subclass=Books

(That book review came to my attention via the version printed with the same headline and the same byline on p. 14 (the "Books" page) of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, January 13, 2013, Vol. 72, No. 4655, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd. The quoted portion of the online version is the same as the corresponding part of the print version except that the latter has a dash after the "u" in "documents".)

Labels: Vatican II

4. "In 1985 when the Australian Human Rights Commission bill passed the House of Representatives, it was intended to be the enforcement mechanism for cognate legislation, the Australian Bill of Rights Bill."

The quotation in that headline comes from a letter by Peter Breen to The Sydney Morning Herald, dated January 15, 2013, downloaded from the Herald's website where it is available with other letters under the headline "Distorted analysis adds fuel to the racial hatred fire":

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/distorted-analysis-adds-fuel-to-the-racial-hatred-fire-20130114-2cppf.html?skin=text-only

Labels: A.H.R.C.

5. "There were about 29,000 Medicare-supported terminations in 2009 in NSW/ACT."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Using science to give birth to a better world", by Nicky Phillips , dated January 19, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/using-science-to-give-birth-to-a-better-world-20130118-2cykz.html?skin=text-only

That article also reports that "The highest proportion of women who terminate a pregnancy are at either end of their reproductive life - in their teens or above 40." The second part of that disjunction came as a surprise to me, for the reason given at the beginning of the article:
Most women think their fertility slowly declines with age.

''But it's actually a precipitous cliff from about age 34,'' reproductive biologist John Aitken says …
(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline (as part of the "LUNCH WITH" series of profiles) and with the same byline on p. 10 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, January 19-20, 2013, No. 54690 (presumably, though the front cover said "54,69"), ISSN 0312-6315.)

(While searching unsuccessfully on Google for the ultimate source for the quotation in the headline of this item (item 5), I found a document whose publication details I wish to record for possible future reference to it; it is Briefing Paper No. 9/05 ("Abortion and the law in New South Wales"), by Talina Drabsch (from, and written for, the New South Wales Parliamentary Library Research Service), August 2005, © 2005, ISSN 1325-4456, ISBN 0 7313 1784 X:

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/0/4b0ec8db3b4a730dca2570610021aa58/$FILE/Abortion%20&%20index.pdf

Labels: abortion, Medicare

6. "It's also about[, i.e., "special rights being claimed by religious groups" are "also about"] the ongoing push by the religious right to define homosexuality as behaviour and to prevent it being protected as an innate part of a person's identity, as is gender and colour."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Exemptions for religious groups keep fears alive", by Brian Greig, dated January 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/exemptions-for-religious-groups-keep-fears-alive-20130121-2d2f8.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Dennis Altman, G.L.B.T.

7. "Worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation, the abortion rate has dropped from 50-60 million a year to an estimated 46 million a year, a figure that includes 20 million illegal abortions."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "A woman's right to choose still a public battlefield", by Miriam Claire, dated January 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/a-womans-right-to-choose-still-a-public-battlefield-20130121-2d31w.html?skin=text-only

Labels: abortion

8. Mr. Nicholls on Mr. O'Farrell's motive for calling "an inquiry into how the state's racial vilification laws are operating in NSW"

See the article "Look behind Premier's motive", by Sean Nicholls, on p. 11 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, January 26-27, 2013, No. 54696 (presumably, though the front cover said "64,696"), ISSN 0312-6315, available online under the same headline and with the same byline, dated January 26, 2013, at the Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/look-behind-premiers-motive-20130125-2dbz9.html?skin=text-only

See also the follow-up article "Failure to prosecute rioters means laws need closer look - O'Farrell", by Sean Nicholls, dated January 28, 2013, downloaded from the Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/failure-to-prosecute-rioters-means-laws-need-closer-look--ofarrell-20130127-2dey4.html?skin=text-only

That follow-up article reported that Mr. O'Farrell "nominated the Muslim riot in central Sydney last year as one reason why an inquiry is needed into whether the state's racial vilification laws need strengthening." But the author of the Middle East Reality Check blog says that
… Sydney's so-called Muslim riot* occurred on September 15 last year. [Mr. O'Farrell], however, first announced his inquiry months before at an "Israel Independence Day cocktail event" in May. …
[asterisk, bold type, and italics in the original,
"Not So Fast, Baruch O'Farrell", no author credited, Tuesday, January 29, 2013,
http://middleeastrealitycheck.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/not-so-fast-baruch-ofarrell.html]
Labels: Barry O'Farrell, racism, State of Israel

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, Confessors, A.D. 2013