Monday, May 25, 2015

Notes: Tuesday, February 3-Monday, May 25, 2015 (part 2 of 2)

6.2 Prof. Ahdar and Prof. Leigh on the question of whether religious establishment is compatible with religious freedom

See the article "Is Establishment Consistent with Religious Freedom?", by Prof. Rex Ahdar and Prof. Ian Leigh, on pp. 635-681 of the McGill Law Journal, Vol. 49, A.D. 2004, downloaded from that journal's website here:

http://lawjournal.mcgill.ca/en/issue/2347

or go straight hither:

http://lawjournal.mcgill.ca/userfiles/other/4692476-Ahdar_and_Leigh.pdf

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, law, morals, religious liberty

6.3 Some information on religious establishment in the pre-U.S. colonies is available in The Catholic Encyclopedia's "Penal Laws" article:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11611c.htm

Labels: Confessional State, law, U.S.A.

7. A couple of recent pronouncements by H.H. The Pope

7.1 More from H.H. The Pope on the death penalty

See the March 20, 2015 Letter of His Holiness to the President of the International Commission against the Death Penalty:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2015/index.html

(That Letter came to my attention via the item "Pope Francis: the death penalty is inadmissible" in the Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletin of March 20, 2015, Year XXII, No. 56; that item is available here:

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-the-death-penalty-is-inadmissible)

Labels: death penalty, Francis Bergoglio, morals

7.2 H.H. The Pope on, among other things, 'the emancipation of women' and 'equal pay for equal work'

See the text of His Holiness's General Audience of April 29, 2015:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2015/index.html

or see the ample extracts from that speech in the item "General audience: the dignity of marriage" in the Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletin of April 29, 2015, Year XXII, No. 80; that item is also available here:

http://www.news.va/en/news/general-audience-the-dignity-of-marriage

Labels: economics, feminism, Francis Bergoglio, morals, work

8. The New Mass's Offertory prayers "are based on Jewish blessings taken not from the Old Testament, but rather from the 5th century Babylonian version of Talmud (T.B.), a central Jewish text which codified oral law and teaching."

The quotation, including the italics, in that headline come from the blog post "ASK FATHER: Using the traditional offertory prayers in the Novus Ordo. Wherein Fr. Z rants." by The Rev. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, dated April 20, 2015, downloaded from Fr. Z's Blog:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2015/04/ask-father-using-the-traditional-offertory-prayers-in-the-novus-ordo-wherein-fr-z-rants/

Labels: N.O.M.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Whitmonday, A.D. 2015

Notes: Tuesday, February 3-Monday, May 25, 2015 (part 1 of 2)

1. A court judgement which might prove useful for countering the diversion of public discourse about Gaiety away from behaviour towards 'identity'

See the article "'Polyamorous' woman loses fight with Catholic Church", by Marianna Papadakis, dated February 17, 2015, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

Warning: This article contains references which might scandalise some readers:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/polyamorous-woman-loses-fight-with-catholic-church-20150217-13gtv9.html?skin=text-only

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

2. Dr. Himmelfarb on a couple of the principles of Liberalism

2.1 "Inevitably the elevation of the idea of liberty has led to the debasement of the idea of authority. As particular authorities have become suspect, so also has the very idea of authority. Deprived of legitimacy, of any presumption of right, authority is reduced to nothing more than the exercise of power or force."

The quotation in that headline comes from p. 8 of the introduction to John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, edited with an introduction by Dr. Gertrude Himmelfarb, published, in Pelican Books, by Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 1974. Cf. error no. 60 of the Syllabus of Errors:
Auctoritas nihil aliud est nisi numeri et materialium virium summa.
[p. 174, Acta Sanctæ Sedis Vol. III (A.D. MDCCCLXVII):
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ass/documents/ASS-03-1867-ocr.pdf
Dr. Deferrari translated that as
Authority is nothing more than numbers and the sum of material strengths (26).
(the "(26)" is a reference to the Allocution Maxima quidem, whence the error was proximately derived)
Dz. 1760, p. 440, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, translated by Roy J. Deferrari from the Thirtieth Edition of Henry Denzinger's Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum, published by Loreto Publications, Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, U.S.A., third Loreto printing 2007]
That quotation from Dr. Himmelfarb led me to see that error in a slightly different light to that in which I had previously viewed it. Previously, I had seen it as a condemnation of an error about the nature of authority, but that quotation makes me think that, although the condemnation does of course apply to such an error, it can also be seen as a condemnation of a denial of the very existence of authority, so that the condemned error could also by expressed as something like 'There is no such thing as authority; when people talk about authority, they really only mean the possession of physical force'.

Labels: liberalism, morals

2.2 "Against the [Wolfenden ]Commission’s claim that private morality and immorality were ‘not the law’s business’, [Lord ]Devlin argued that ‘the suppression of vice is as much the law’s business as the suppression of subversive activities; it is no more possible to define a sphere of private morality than it is to define one of private subversive activity’."

The quotation, excluding my square-bracketed interpolations, in that headline comes from p. 41 of the introduction to John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, edited with an introduction by Dr. Gertrude Himmelfarb, published, in Pelican Books, by Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 1974. Cf. the following:
With his customary intuition, Marcel Lefebvre immediately got to the heart of the CDF theologian’s argument[ in the C.D.F.'s March 9, 1987 reply to Msgr. Lefebvre's Dubia concerning Dignitatis humanæ which were submitted in October 1985]: it was the so-called “social space of autonomous activity” where because of his dignity the person can act publicly in religious matters without the State intervening."
[p. 546, Marcel Lefebvre, by Msgr. Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, translated from the French by Brian Sudlow, with additional material from Rev. Sebastian Wall of The Society of St. Pius X., published by Angelus Press, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A., first printing—April 2004]
For more discussion of Lord Devlin's thesis, see the article "The Limits of Law" (especially §2), by Dr. John Stanton-Ife, downloaded from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's website:

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/law-limits/

Labels: law, liberalism, morals

3. "Women dance in St Mary's Cathedral last Sunday, 8 February, as members of Sydney's Sudanese Catholic community celebrate the feast of St Josephine Bakhita[. … ] The Mass, presided over by the Archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, and attended by more than 1000 worshippers, was both a colourful and proud occasion in typical African style, full of singing and dancing as the community came together in celebration."

The quotation, excluding my square-bracketed interpolation replacing some of the original text, in that headline is part of the three-line caption of a half-page photograph, in the centre of its page, headlined "Sudanese sing, dance on their saint's day", no byline (though the photo was credited to "GIOVANNI PORTELLI", i.e., Giovanni Portelli Photography), p. 3 (though really the front cover, because the first, second, second-last, and last pages (the latter two were pp. 27 and 28, respectively) of that week's issue of The Catholic Weekly were an advertising wrap-around), The Catholic Weekly, February 15, 2015, Vol. 73, No. 4762, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.

See also
  • the Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese, report "Sydney's Sudanese Community to Celebrate Their Feast Day With Archbishop at St Mary's Cathedral", dated February 5, 2015, downloaded from The Archdiocese of Sydney's official website, which (report) mentions that "the Mass will feature more than 50 Sudanese dancers" who "have been in rehearsals for more than eight weeks" (the latter quotation is part of one attributed to "Sudanese-born Anna Dimo, the Archdiocese of Sydney's full-time Pastoral Worker for the Sudanese Catholic Community"; see also the accompanying photo of the dancers rehearsing in a church):
    http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2015/201525_1572.shtml
  • the Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese, report "Sudanese Catholic Community give Thanks to Archbishop Anthony", dated February 9, 2015, downloaded from The Archdiocese of Sydney's official website, in which (report) Ms Dimo is quoted as saying that "[w]e thought there'd be 50 Sudanese dancers but on the day we had 66 dancers" and that the "choir, dancers and musicians have been rehearsing since last November":
    http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2015/201529_1659.shtml
  • the Giovanni Portelli Photography page on Facebook (I'm not on Facebook, so I haven't seen that page myself, but it came up on Google)
Labels: Anthony Fisher, liturgical dancing, liturgy, N.O.M.

4. Some recent Gay/sport items

4.1 "Mardi Gras 2015: Anti-homophobia sports float will be highlight of parade"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Mr. Michael Koziol, dated March 4, 2015, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/mardi-gras-2015-antihomophobia-sports-float-will-be-highlight-of-parade-20150306-13upsz.html?skin=text-only

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

4.2 "NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn said the bank approached the AFL last year about using the NAB Challenge as a platform to raise awareness of the LGBTI community", and now "footy’s first [Gay ]“Pride Cup” match will be played between Sydney and Fremantle during this month’s NAB Challenge" (and such a match might become an annual A.F.L. event)

The quotations (excluding my square-bracketed parenthesis) and other information in that headline come from the article "AFL set to launch gay pride game to tackle homophobia during NAB Challenge", by Mr. Michael Warner, dated March 4, 2015, downloaded from the Herald Sun's website:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-set-to-launch-gay-pride-game-to-tackle-homophobia-during-nab-challenge/story-fni5f22o-1227248255109

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "AFL's rainbow warriors", with the same author, on p. 71 in the "SPORT" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, March 5, 2015, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

There are some hearty laughs to be had in the comments section there, though some of it is low-brow.

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

4.3 "Getting sportsmen together on a [Gay Mardi Gras ]float was an idea that came from NSW Sports Minis-ter Stuart Ayres"; he "wrote to all the major sports' CEOs late last year to encourage them and their athletes to participate."

The quotations, excluding my square-bracketed parenthesis, in that headline (note that the dash in "Minister" was because the word spanned two lines) come from the article "Sports stars get on board in Mardi Gras show of support", by Mr. Phil Rothfield ("SPORTS EDITOR-AT-LARGE"), on p. 108 in the "NRL" pages of the "SPORT" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, March 6, 2015, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., apparently not available at the Tele's website.

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

4.4 "Football Federation Australia is set to unveil an advisory group focusing on anti-homophobia and the organisation's Head of Community and Women's football, Emma Highwood, says the next stage will turn its attention towards the A-League which has the greatest reach to football's widest audience."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Football gets onboard with other athletes to support the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras", by Mr. Dominic Bossi, dated March 6, 2015, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/football-gets-onboard-with-other-athletes-to-support-the-gay-and-lesbian-mardi-gras-20150306-13wxdw.html?skin=text-only

(I first read that article in the version printed under the headline "FFA set to lead way in battle against homophobia", with the same author, on pp. 52 f. in the "FOOTBALL" pages of the "SPORT" section of The Sydney Morning Herald, weekend edition, March 7-8, 2015, Issue No. 55351, ISSN 0312-6315, published by Fairfax Media Publications Pty. Ltd.)

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

4.5 "Three weeks ago the game's[, i.e., rugby union's,] governing body internationally, World Rugby, signed a historic memorandum of understanding with International Gay Rugby, to work together to promote equality and eliminate homophobia in rugby."

The quotation, excluding my square-bracketed interpolation, in that headline comes from the article "Stephen Moore, Michael Cheika back David Pocock on homophobia stance", by Georgina Robinson, dated March 24, 2015, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/stephen-moore-michael-cheika-back-david-pocock-on-homophobia-stance-20150324-1m6i6t.html?skin=text-only

See also
  • the press release "World Rugby signs historic agreement with International Gay Rugby", dated March 5, 2015, downloaded from World Rugby's official website:
    http://www.worldrugby.org/news/59705
  • the news item "2015-03-05: World Rugby signs historic agreement with International Gay Rugby", downloaded from International Gay Rugby's official website:
    http://igrab.net/news-2015-03-05.htm
Labels: G.L.B.T. sport

5. "for the first time, we have ensured that 80 per cent of Australian foreign aid investments must address gender issues"

The quotation in that headline was attributed to The Hon. Sen. Michaelia Cash (Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women) in the opinion piece "Deadline: 2015 the year to end violence against women", by Dr. Anne Summers A.O., dated March 6, 2015, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/deadline-2015-the-year-to-end-violence-against-women-20150305-13wbws.html?skin=text-only

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Our top 2015 non-negotiable priority", with the same byline, on p. 36 in the "NEWS REVIEW" section of The Sydney Morning Herald, weekend edition, March 7-8, 2015, Issue No. 55351, ISSN 0312-6315, published by Fairfax Media Publications Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: feminism, foreign affairs

6. Some recent items regarding 'established religion'

6.1 March 9, 1826: "Letters patent issued in London form a Church and School Corporation, giving the Anglican Church the status of an established religion in NSW with the right to Crown land and control of the school system."

The quotation in that headline comes from the item for the year 1826 in the "ON THIS DAY" column, no author credited (though Mr. Troy Lennon is credited as the history editor in the page's main article), of the history page (p. 28 of the relevant issue) of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Monday, March 9, 2015, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.

See also item 10.2 of this "Notes" post.

Labels: Anglicans, colonialism, N.S.W.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Whitmonday, A.D. 2015