Notes: Tuesday, March 18-Monday, May 5, 2014 (part 1 of 2)

1. More from H.H. The Pope Emeritus (though gloriously reigning at the time of the pronouncement in question) on 'healthy secularity'

See §29 of Ecclesia in Medio Oriente (the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in the Middle East), September 14, 2012, pp. 751 ff. (§29 is on p. 764 (p. 18 in your computer's reader)) of Acta Apostolicæ Sedis, Year and Vol. CIV, No. 10, October 5, 2012:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/2012/ottobre2012.pdf

Ecclesia in Medio Oriente is also available in French here:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20120914_ecclesia-in-medio-oriente_fr.html

and in English translation here:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20120914_ecclesia-in-medio-oriente_en.html

(That reference to 'secularity' came to my attention via the item "SUMMARY OF THE POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION "ECCLESIA IN MEDIO ORIENTE"", dated September 15, 2012, in The Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service e-mail bulletin of September 15, 2012, Year XXII, No. 163, available online under the same headline, but undated, here:

http://www.news.va/en/news/summary-of-the-post-synodal-apostolic-exhortation)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, morals, politics, secularism

2. On March 10, 2014, H.M. The Queen gave the Royal Assent to the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill.

See Notice No. 2017122, Notice Type "Parliament & Assemblies", Sub-Type "Scottish Parliament" (Notice Code: 1208), The London Gazette, Issue No. 60808, p. 5424, March 17, 2014:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/60808/page/5424

One can also find the text of that notice here:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/L-60808-2017122

(The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill came to my attention most recently via this CathNews post regarding this Catholic News Service article.)

Labels: Elizabeth II. Windsor, G.L.B.T., law, marriage, U.K.

3. Cardinal Turkson on recent African legislation against sodomy (and on Rome's reaction to that legislation)

See the article "Catholicism growing in heart of Muslim world", by Mr. John Allen, apparently undated, downloaded from The Boston Globe's website:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/03/08/catholicism-growing-heart-muslim-world/LxIiUYwSlro7Zl6ugvVQJM/story.html

See also the article "Cardinal Turkson criticises Uganda’s anti-gay law", no author credited, dated Tuesday, March 4, 2014, downloaded from CatholicHerald.co.uk:

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2014/03/04/cardinal-turkson-criticises-ugandas-anti-gay-law/

Labels: G.L.B.T., law, Peter Turkson, Roman Curia, vice

4. Prof. Baskerville on no-fault divorce

See the article "Five Myths about No-Fault Divorce", by Associate Professor Stephen Baskerville, apparently undated, downloaded from the Catholic News Agency's website:

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/life-and-family/marriage/five-myths-about-no-fault-divorce/

(That article came to my attention via this blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg.)

Labels: divorce, law, marriage

5. "It takes about 20 hours a week to exclusively breastfeed - feeding a baby is by itself a part-time job."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Baby care needs nurturing", by Dr. Julie Smith, dated March 24, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/baby-care-needs-nurturing-20140323-35bhp.html?skin=text-only

Labels: breastfeeding, economics

6. More aged care and disability care Gay propaganda

See the web page "LGBTI Aged Care Training", no author credited, undated, downloaded from ACON's website:

http://www.acon.org.au/ageing/training/lgbti-aged-care-training

(Note that that webpage is the same webpage to which the link in item 1 of this "Notes" post leads; the U.R.L. and content of that webpage have, however, clearly changed.)

Labels: aged care, disability, G.L.B.T.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Pius V., Pope, Confessor, A.D. 2014

Notes: Tuesday, August 6-Tuesday, September 10, 2013 (part 2 of 2)

5. "CATHOLIC laws dating back to the church's inception no longer protect priests from civil and criminal law, a NSW inquiry has heard."

The quotation in that headline is the first paragraph of the very short (only three paragraphs) article "NO PRIEST SHIELD", no byline, p. 16, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, August 1, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2910, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd. (The article seemed to have been a shortened version of the 9NEWS/AAP article "Church law no protection: inquiry", dated July 31, 2013, but "Church law no protection: inquiry" is no longer available, and nor is any version available at the Tele's website.)

The inquiry in question is the Special Commission of Inquiry into matters relating to the Police investigation of certain child sexual abuse allegations in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, and the relevant portion of its transcripts is on pp. 64-127 here:

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/Special_Projects/ll_splprojects.nsf/vwFiles/Transcript_Day_20_-_TOR_2_-_31_July_2013.pdf/$file/Transcript_Day_20_-_TOR_2_-_31_July_2013.pdf

But the earliest chronological reference I can find there is to the Middle Ages.

Labels: benefit of clergy, Church law, Church and State, civil law, Divine law, law

6. Some recent information regarding childcare in Australia

See the articles "More than 1m Australian children now in childcare", by Rebecca Puddy, dated August 4, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/more-than-1m-australian-children-now-in-childcare/story-fn59nlz9-1226690884914

and "Childcare splits parents, experts", by Justine Ferrari, dated August 3, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/more-to-childcare-than-safety/story-fn59nlz9-1226690481586

and "Budgeting for a million childcare places", by Peter Martin and Elli Harvey, dated August 11, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/budgeting-for-a-million-childcare-places-20130810-2rp4t.html?skin=text-only

Labels: childcare, social trends

7. Dr. Zimmermann on divorce

See the article "Assessing the destructive impact of divorce", by Dr. Augusto Zimmermann, dated August 3, 2013, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=56299

Labels: divorce, marriage

8. Some recent information on social trends

See the article "We're older and working harder", by Rick Morton, dated August 9, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/were-older-and-working-harder/story-e6frg6nf-1226693852100

See also the Australian Government's Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's Australia's welfare 2013 (the report on which "We're older and working harder" was based):

http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129543825

Labels: social trends

9. More from H.H. The Pope Emeritus (though at the time gloriously reigning) on a World State

See (a translation of) His Holiness's Address to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Monday, December 3, 2012, downloaded from the Vatican's website:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/december/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20121203_justpeace_en.html

See also the Catholic News Service (C.N.S.) article "Pope calls for world authority as 'moral force'", by Francis X. Rocca, dated December 3, 2013, downloaded from the C.N.S. website:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1205060.htm

(That Address came to my attention via this AQ post.)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, morals, politics

10. "In the evening[ of Friday, August 16, 2013], Her Excellency[ The Governor of New South Wales] delivered an Address and unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the 125th Anniversary of The United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, at the Museum of Freemasonry, Sydney."

The quotation in that headline comes from the webpage "Friday, 16 August 2013" in the "Diary of Engagements" pages of the offical website of The Governor of New South Wales:

http://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/news/diary-of-engagements/friday-16-august-2013/

(That event came to my attention via the "VICE REGAL" notices section on p. 35 in the classifieds section in the "Weekend Business" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, August 17-18, 2013, No. 54868, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: Freemasons, Marie Bashir

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Confessor, 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

Notes: Tuesday, October 9-Monday, December 31, 2012 (part 2 of 2)

10. "The total fertility rate in Australia for 2011 was 1.88 babies per woman"

The quotation in that headline comes from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (A.B.S.) media release "Record number of women over 40 having babies", dated Octoer 25, 2012, numbered 164/2012:

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/latestProducts/3301.0Media%20Release12011

See also the A.B.S. website's web-page for "3301.0 - Births, Australia, 2011":

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3301.0?OpenDocument

The "Births" page to which that web-page links says that "[o]f all births registered in 2011, 66% of births were to parents in a registered marriage".

Labels: demography, families, marriage, social trends

11. "Australia had the most generous public subsidy of assisted reproductive technology in the world, with no restrictions on maternal age, marital status, social health issues such as weight and smoking, or the number of cycles that were payable under Medicare, the spokeswoman[ "for the Department of Health and Ageing"] said."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Medicare cuts mean 1200 babies not conceived, says IVF professor", by Peter Jean and Amy Corderory, dated October 26, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/medicare-cuts-mean-1200-babies-not-conceived-says-ivf-professor-20121025-2888l.html?skin=text-only

Labels: A.R.T., Medicare

12. "Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other."

The quotation in that headline, which (quotation) is itself a quotation from Alexis de Tocqueville, comes from the opinion piece "Cup day: a race result with a difference . . .", by Mike Bailey, dated November 4, 2012, downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=2&subclassID=81&articleID=11118&class=Comment&subclass=The Bailey Beat with Mike Bailey

(That opinion piece came to my attention via its printing under the same headline, in the same column ("The Bailey Beat with Mike Bailey"), by the same author, on p. 4 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, November 4, 2012, Vol. 73, No. 4646, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: religious liberty, U.S.A.

13. Dr. Furtado on abortion

See the comments section here:

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=33745

and here:

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=34070

Labels: Michael Furtado

14. On November 10, 2012, by the Motu Proprio whose incipit is Latina lingua, H.H. The Pope "established the Pontifical Academy for Latin, which will be part of the Pontifical Council for Culture. The new academy will be directed by a president assisted by a secretary, to be appointed by the Pope, and will comprise an academic council. It will supersede the foundation "Latinitas", established by Paul VI with the Chirograph "Romani Sermonis" of 30 June 1976."

On the same Saturday, His Holiness "[a]ppointed Ivano Dionigi and Fr. Roberto Spataro S.D.B., respectively, as president and secretary of the Pontifical Academy for Latin." (These quotations come from the V.I.S. bulletin items "POPE ESTABLISHES PONTIFICAL ACADEMY FOR LATIN" and "OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS", respectively.)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Latin, Roman Curia

15. "Mr Putin, presenting his first state-of-the-nation speech since his election in March, set out a program of cautious modernisation that he said rejected any foreign interference and which would go hand in hand with a revival of traditional values."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Vladimir Putin outlines vision for Russia's rebirth", by Roger Boyes, dated December 14, 2012, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/vladimir-putin-outlines-vision-for-russias-rebirth/story-fnb64oi6-1226536380363

Labels: Russia, Vladimir Putin

16. A couple of recent examples of G.L.B.T. propaganda:

16.1 "$2.5 million will be committed to sensitivity training for aged care workers"

The quotation in that headlne comes from the article "Call to action as gays go grey", by Dan Harrison, dated December 20, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/call-to-action-as-gays-go-grey-20121220-2bo5y.html?skin=text-only

See also the earlier posts with my "aged care" label.

Labels: aged care, G.L.B.T.

16.2 "The ADF also said that the Air Force has also introduced diversity handbooks for lesbian, gay and bisexual members and commanders which will rolled out to the rest of the military."

The quotation in that headlne comes from the article "Australian soldiers to march in uniform at Mardi Gras", by Natalie O'Brien, dated December 22, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/australian-soldiers-to-march-in-uniform-at-mardi-gras-20121222-2bsbv.html?skin=text-only

See also item 1 of this Notes post.

Labels: A.D.F., G.L.B.T.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Monday in the Octave of Christmas, A.D. 2012

Notes: Wednesday, April 11-Tuesday, April 24, 2012

1. "the texts of the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church are essential tools which serve as an authentic guide to what the Church believes on the basis of God’s word"

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20120405_messa-crismale_en.html

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, C.E.C., Vatican II

2. "CONSTANTINE THE GREAT: RELIGION AND THE STATE AT THE DAWN OF EUROPE"

That is the title of this Vatican Information Service report; here is an excerpt from that report:

Vatican City, 17 April 2012 (VIS) - "Constantine the Great. The Roots of Europe" is the title of an international academic congress to be held in the Vatican from 18 to 21 April. The event has been organised by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences to mark the 1700th anniversary of the battle of the Milvian Bridge and the conversion of the Emperor Constantine.
[… ]This congress is the first of two, the second of which will be held in Milan in 2013 for the 1700th anniversary of the promulgation of the Edict of Milan, which established freedom of religion in the Roman empire and put an end to the persecution of certain religious groups, particularly Christians. While the 2013 congress will concern itself with what is known as the "Constantinian revolution", tomorrow's event will focus on the environment in which Constantine lived and on relations between Christians and the Roman empire prior to the year 313. …

To me, the second congress sounds like the more interesting of the two.

At the (Italian-language) website of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences' website, some more information on the first congress is available; some papers, presumably presented at the congress, are available in Italian here, and a one-page English-language flyer (?) is available here.

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, Constantine the Great, history, religious liberty, Roman Empire

3. That Atheist straw man again:

… a debate between a believer for whom evidence is superfluous and a scientist who insists upon it would always provide an impossible conversation, and it was not a pleasant lift in which to be trapped. …
[my emphasis,
I transcribed that from "From fight and flights to sinking feeling"/"THE WEEK", by Matt Buchanan, on page three of the "News Review" supplement in the April 14-15, 2012 edition of The Sydney Morning Herald, available on-line here.]

Labels: atheism

4. "Researchers originally attributed the cohabitation effect [whereby "[c]ouples who cohabit before marriage (and especially before an engagement or an otherwise clear commitment) tend to be less satisfied with their marriages — and more likely to divorce — than couples who do not" ]to selection, or the idea that cohabitors were less conventional about marriage and thus more open to divorce. As cohabitation has become a norm, however, studies have shown that the effect is not entirely explained by individual characteristics like religion, education or politics. Research suggests that at least some of the risks may lie in cohabitation itself."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/the-downside-of-cohabiting-before-marriage.html

(That came to my attention via the posting of this LifeSiteNews.com article in this AQ thread.

Labels: divorce, marriage, vice

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Martyr, A.D. 2012

Notes: Wednesday, March 28-Tuesday, April 3, 2012

1. The Vatican website's English translation of the text of H.H. The Pope's March 24, 2012 Video Message on the occasion of the national meeting at Lourdes on March 24-25, 2012 of the Church of France for the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/pont-messages/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20120324_chiesa-francia_en.html

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Vatican II

2. "HOLY FATHER ASKS CUBAN PRESIDENT TO RE-ESTABLISH GOOD FRIDAY AS A HOLIDAY":

http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-father-asks-cuban-president-to-re-establish-g

And: "CUBA: GOOD FRIDAY WILL BE A HOLIDAY":

http://www.news.va/en/news/cuba-good-friday-will-be-a-holiday

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Cuba

3. Cardinal Pell on religious liberty:

… people of good will, religious or irreligious, should support the rights of everyone, including minorities, to practise a religion or no religion.

Freedom of religion is a fundamental right of each person, not a government grant, and has to be acknowledged even where we find an official national religion.
[http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=9753&class=Features&subclass=Cardinal's Comment]

Labels: Confessional State, George Pell, religious liberty

4. Some points of interest from the March 2012 issue of the Australian Bureau of Statistics's Australian Social Trends:

(http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/701575637CC4BBE3CA2579CE000BB833/$File/41020_astmar2012.pdf)

• … Of the registered marriages in 2010, 31% were religious ceremonies, down from 58% in 1990. In contrast, in 2010, 69% of marriage ceremonies were conducted by civil celebrants, up from 42% in 1990.
  p. 12

• In 2009–10, 11% (1.9 million) of Australians aged 18 years and over were living in a de facto relationship, while 53% were in a registered marriage.
  p. 12

• De facto relationships include those living in a same-sex relationship and in 2009–10 there were around 46,300 people living in a same sex couple. The majority of these couples had no children.
  p. 13

• Cohabitation prior to registered marriage has increased over the last twenty years. In the early 1990s, just over half of all registered marriages were preceded by a period of cohabitation (56% in 1992).[ Endnote 1, p. 16: "Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1994, Focus on Families: Demographics and Family Formation, cat. no. 4420.0, Canberra, [left-pointing circumflex]www.abs.gov.au[right-pointing circumflex]."] By 2010 it was almost eight in ten (79%).
  p. 13

• Australia’s total fertility rate [was] 1.89 babies per woman in 2010
  p. 14

• … The proportion of babies born outside registered marriage also rose [between 1990 and 2010], from just over one fifth (22%) to just over one third (34%) of all births.
  p. 14

• … In 2009–10, of the 5 million children aged 0–17 years, just over 1 million, or one in five (21%), had a natural parent living elsewhere. For four fifths (81%) of these children, the parent living elsewhere was their father.
  
  Of all children who had a natural parent living elsewhere, nearly half (48%) saw this parent at least once per fortnight, while one quarter (24%) saw them less than once per year or never.
  
  Nearly three quarters (73%) of children with a parent living elsewhere were in one parent families, 14% lived in step families, and 11% lived in blended families.
  p. 15

Labels: Australian fertility rate, demography, marriage, social trends, vice

5. Her Excellency The Governor of New South Wales received, while Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, a call at Government House, Sydney, from H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester on Friday, March 30, 2012

http://www.gg.gov.au/program.php/view/id/2854/title/royal-australian-air-force-91st-anniversary-royal-botanical-gardens-friends-of-the-sydney-international-piano-competition-australia-ceremonial-welcome-samoa-parliament-of-samoa-state-lunch-samoa-senese-school-for-children-with-disabilities-australian-pacific-technical-college-reception-for-senior-samoan-women-reception-for-australian-volunteers-in-samoa

http://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/news/diary-of-engagements/friday-30-march-2012/

The call must have been an unofficial one, since it does not appear in the Court Circular, which reports engagements of His Royal Highness on March 28, 29, and, vicariously, 31, but none for the thirtieth.

His Royal Highness's late father was, of course, once Australia's Governor-General.

Labels: Richard Gloucester

6. The Dominican Sisters of Wanganui, New Zealand, have a blog:

http://dominicansisterswanganui.blogspot.com.au

(That came to my attention via the March (29, )2012 S.S.P.X. Australia District Newsletter.)

Labels: blogs

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Tuesday in Holy Week, A.D. 2012

Notes: Wednesday, January 18-Monday, February 6, 2012 (part 1 of 2)

1. "Obesity link to lack of mother bonding":

INFANTS who don't bond closely with their mothers show an increased likelihood of growing up to be obese.

[…] Pediatrics, 2011;doi:10.1542/peds.2011-0972, (Anderson S, et al)
[Bold type in the original,
"Obesity link to lack of mother bonding", by Adam Taor, dated January 14, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/obesity-link-to-lack-of-mother-bonding/story-e6frg8y6-1226242984452
Also published, in slightly different form, as the "Pulse" column by Adam Taor on page nine of the "Health" section of the "Weekend Professional" supplement in the print edition of The Weekend Australian, January 14-15, 2012]

Labels: families, health

2. According to the Holy Father, "the ecumenical task is a responsibility of the entire Church and of all the baptized, who must develop the partial communion that already exists among Christians and make it grow into full communion in truth and in charity"

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120118_en.html

"INVOKING THE GIFT OF UNITY AMONG CHRISTIANS"
VIS 20120118 (720)
http://www.news.va/en/news/invoking-the-gift-of-unity-among-christians

See also
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40551

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, ecumenism

3. H.H. The Pope on "legitimate separation of Church and State" and religious freedom

"DIFFICULTIES AND HOPES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA"
VIS 20120119 (760)
http://www.news.va/en/news/difficulties-and-hopes-of-the-catholic-church-in-a

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/january/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20120119_bishops-usa_en.html

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40451

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40441

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Church and State, religious liberty, U.S.A.

4. Several web-pages on recent news regarding the Neo-Catechumenal Way

"HOLY FATHER MEETS WITH MEMBERS OF NEO-CATECHUMENAL WAY"
VIS 20120120 (780)
http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-father-meets-with-members-of-neo-catechumenal

"APPROVAL FOR CELEBRATIONS OF NEO-CATECHUMENAL WAY"
VIS 20120120 (220)
http://www.news.va/en/news/approval-for-celebrations-of-neo-catechumenal-way

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/01/the-holy-see-did-not-approve-neocat-liturgical-variants-for-mass/

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/01/benedict-xvi-the-neocats-and-their-liturgy/

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/01/another-confirmation-that-neocats-must-follow-official-liturgical-books-for-mass/

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40450

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40468

Labels: N.C.W.

5. "Is Homosexuality Biologically Determined?"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40452

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

6. "Muslim men first to be found guilty of [Gay] hate crime [in the U.K.]"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9028205/Muslim-men-first-to-be-found-guilty-of-sex-hate-crime.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/20/three-muslims-convicted-gay-hate-leaflets

Labels: death penalty, G.L.B.T., hate speech, Islam

7. "A study published in the Lancet last Friday found that globally, more restrictive abortion laws do not lead to lower abortion rates – sometimes, rates are higher where abortion is illegal"

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/beware-the-pro-lifers-doing-hard-labor-on-abortion/

Labels: abortion, law

8. Prof. George has a blog

More precisely, he contributes to this group blog:

http://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/

(That came to my attention via this post at Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog.)

Labels: blogs

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Titus, Bishop, Confessor, and of St. Dorothy, Virgin, Martyr, A.D. 2012

Notes: Thursday, January 12-Tuesday, January 17, 2012

1. More Modernism from Dr. Elmer?

Ultimately, the scriptures are not straight-forward historical and objective texts that yield reliable information akin to say a police crime report or a thoroughly researched documentary on current events. Ultimately the Gospels specifically and the Bible generally are the products of faith communities that have preserved, augmented and passed on these stories as relevant to their lived faith experience. …
[…] I agree with Johnson’s view that the only “real Jesus” is not the one found in history books, but “he” who we encounter in the lived and living traditions of the community of faith. …
[http://scecclesia.com/?p=6111&cpage=1#comment-27258]

Labels: Ian Elmer, modernism, Scripture, theology

2. H.H. The Pope on how, according to His Holiness, "[a]t the Last Supper, with its overtones of the Passover and the commemoration of Israel’s liberation, Jesus’ prayer echoes the Hebrew berakah"

General Audience of Wednesday, January 11, 2012
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120111_en.html

"THE PRAYER OF JESUS AT THE LAST SUPPER"
VIS 20120111 (880)
http://www.news.va/en/news/the-prayer-of-jesus-at-the-last-supper

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Jews, liturgy, Scripture, theology

3. More from Msgr. Williamson on the State's religious duties

Eleison Comments Number CCXXXV (235), January 14, 2012, "STATE RELIGION? III",
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40390

(In posting "STATE RELIGION? III" at AQ, the poster omitted the following formatting of the e-mail version:

• In the second paragraph: The text from the start of the paragraph up to, but not including, the word "Answer" was italicised in the e-mail, and the "not" in "Our Lord is not here separating Church from State" and the "social beings" in "what they owe to him as social beings, namely" were underlined.

• In the third paragraph: The text from the start of the paragraph up to, but not including, the word "Answer" was italicised in the e-mail, and the words "cannot" and "will not" in "that is not because its citizens cannot discern, but because for a variety of reasons they will not, or do not" was underlined.

• In the fourth paragraph: The text from the start of the paragraph up to, but not including, "It is for the glory of God" was italicised in the e-mail.

There were also "Â"s distributed here and there throughout the e-mail version, but presumably that was just a typographical problem.)

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, morality, political science, theology

4. "Italian bishop suggests registration of civil unions, not same-sex marriage"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40381

Labels: civil unions, Paolo Urso

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Anthony, Abbot, A.D. 2012

Notes: Some previously-unpublished items from 2011 (part 2 of 2)

4. Dr. McGavin on the "pastoral function" of "Magisterial teaching" in the thought of Benedict XVI.:

… The present Holy Father when Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith treats the issue of ["discriminating the grades of ["Magisterial"] teaching"], and questioningly instances particular aspects of the anti-Modernist decisions of the Church (implicitly involving the decisions of Pope St Pius X. He speaks of their having fulfilled their pastoral function in the situation of their time. On this, see particularly page 106 in his volume The Nature and Mission of Theology (Ignatius Press San Francisco, 1995), where he speaks of applications of the principles that he develops in that book.
["Not ‘dead wrong’", a letter by The Rev. Dr. P. A. McGavin, from the Sydney Catholic Weekly of November 6, 2011, downloaded from The Catholic Weekly's website:
http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=2&subclassID=5&articleID=9266&class=Comment&subclass=Letters]

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Magisterium, modernism, theology

5. "Benedict XVI to Further Alter 1962 Missal"

http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2011/10/benedict-xvi-to-further-alter-1962.html

(See also item 2 of this edition of Notes.)

Labels: liturgy, Roman Curia, T.L.M.

6. "Families-- not autonomous individuals-- are basic units of society, Pope writes"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39659

"UNEMPLOYMENT UNDERMINES HUMAN DIGNITY"
VIS 20111110 (590)
http://www.news.va/en/news/unemployment-undermines-human-dignity

Message on the occasion of the Second National Family Conference [Ecuador, 9-12 November 2011] (1 November 2011):
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/pont-messages/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20111101_familia-ecuador_en.html

Labels: families, political science

7. "POPE SENDS GREETINGS TO CHIEF RABBI FOR ROSH HASHANAH"

"POPE SENDS GREETINGS TO CHIEF RABBI FOR ROSH HASHANAH"
VIS 20110929 (150)
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-sends-greetings-to-chief-rabbi-for-rosh-hasha

http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2011/10/pope-greets-his-brother-rabbis-for.html

(See also the item headed "The Old Law: A bringer of blessings, or a bringer of death?" at the following post:
http://cardinalpole.blogspot.com/2010/09/on-some-recents-pronouncements-by-hh.html)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Jews, theology

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Anthony, Abbot, A.D. 2012

Notes: Wednesday, December 21, 2011-Wednesday, January 11, 2012 (part 2 of 2)

8. H.H. The Pope's homily at a Mass on the 2012 World Day of Peace (January 1): In at least one respect, a vast improvement on His Holiness's Message ("Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace") for the celebration of the 2011 World Day of Peace:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20120101_world-day-peace_en.html

(That homily came to my attention via this item in a recent edition of the Vatican Information Service's (V.I.S.'s) daily e-mail bulletin:

"IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATING YOUNG PEOPLE IN JUSTICE AND PEACE"
VIS 20120102 (1090)
http://www.news.va/en/news/importance-of-educating-young-people-in-justice-an

See also this V.I.S. daily e-mail bulletin item:

"ANGELUS: PRAYING THAT THE NEW YEAR MAY BE A TIME OF PEACE"
VIS 20120102 (440)
http://www.news.va/en/news/angelus-praying-that-the-new-year-may-be-a-time-of)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, religious liberty

9. On the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

9.1 "ALL new laws will be checked to see whether they stack up against Australia's human rights commitments, after Attorney-General Nicola Roxon declared the sharper focus on rights would ensure legislation lived up to the nation's obligations"

"Laws to face human rights check", by Patricia Karvelas, dated January 4, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/laws-to-face-human-rights-check/story-fn59niix-1226235954400

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

9.2 Two editorials in The Australian:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/the-case-for-trusting-the-judgment-of-parliament/story-e6frg71x-1226236809315

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/the-right-to-common-sense/story-e6frg71x-1226237750214

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

9.3 In relation to the so-called Malaysia Solution:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/the-malaysia-solution-ducks-rights-scrutiny/story-fn9hm1gu-1226236845046

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

10. A major new initiative for propagating the teachings of Vatican II

"Note with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith", from the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, dated January 6, 2012:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20120106_nota-anno-fede_en.html

See here for the accompanying "Communiqué on the Note of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith".

(The web-page for the text of the Note came to my attention via this post by Terra; originally, the Note came to my attention via the following V.I.S. e-mail bulletin items:

"PASTORAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH"
VIS 20120105 (770)
http://www.news.va/en/news/pastoral-recommendations-for-the-year-of-faith

"PASTORAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH"
VIS 20120107 (1430)
http://www.news.va/en/news/pastoral-recommendations-for-the-year-of-faith-2)

Labels: C.E.C., Roman Curia, Vatican II

11. "[Catholics and others] will either have to change their views [on marriage] or be treated in the same way that white supremacists and the segregationist Senators were treated"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40323

Labels: discrimination, G.L.B.T., marriage, religious liberty

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Hyginus, Pope, Martyr, A.D. 2012

Notes: Wednesday, November 30-Tuesday, December 6, 2011 (part 2 of 2)

2. Msgr. Williamson on the State's duties regarding Christ the King

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39882

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, morality, political science, Social Reign of Christ

3. H.H. The Pope on the death penalty

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29060

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1104679.htm

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20111130_en.html

"ENCOURAGING INITIATIVES TO ELIMINATE THE DEATH PENALTY"
VIS 20111130 (290)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, death penalty

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Nicholas, Bishop, Confessor, A.D. 2011

Notes: Wednesday, November 9-Monday, November 14, 2011

1. "Franco resisted bid by Paul VI to end role in naming bishops"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39637

According to the web-page to which that AQ thread-starter links,

In his letter, Paul VI recalled the Council’s appeal to governments to renounce their privilege in nominating bishops.
[http://www.osservatoreromano.va/portal/dt?JSPTabContainer.setSelected=JSPTabContainer%2FDetail&last=false=&path=/news/cultura/2011/258q11-A-Dio-quello-che---di-Dio.html&title=To%20God%20that%20which%20is%20God]

Would anyone care to let me know the Act of Vatican II in which the Council made that appeal? (I don't recall it being in Dignitatis humanæ, and I checked Lumen gentium, Gaudium et spes, and the Address of Paul VI., on behalf of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, to "all those who hold temporal power" but couldn't find it in any of them.)

Labels: Church and State, Francisco Franco, Hierarchy, John Charles I. Borbón, Paul VI. Montini, Spain

2. "The proportion of IVF cycles resulting in a live baby remained at 17 per cent in 2009, the same as in 2005, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/big-breakthrough-for-saving-tiny-lives-but-its-an-overseas-exclusive-20111110-1n9kj.html?skin=text-only

Labels: I.V.F.

3. Fr. Zuhlsdorf and Messrs. Magister and Keener on H.H. The Pope's apparent call, in Caritas in veritate, for a World State

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/11/more-on-the-one-world-government-white-paper-from-pont-council-for-justice-and-peace/#comment-305633

I do not find Mr. Magister's defence of the Holy Father's vision for the governance of globalisation convincing. The word "moderamen" is used once in Caritas in veritate, in §57:

Ne periculosa quaedam constituatur universalis potestas monocratici generis, globalizationis moderamen formam induere debet subsidiarietatis, diversis in gradibus ordinibusque dispositum, qui mutuo cooperentur.
[italics in the original,
AAS 101 [2009: 8], p. 693 (53 in Adobe),
http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/2009/agosto%202009.pdf]

The Vatican website's English section has the following translation:

In order not to produce a dangerous universal power of a tyrannical nature, the governance of globalization must be marked by subsidiarity, articulated into several layers and involving different levels that can work together.
[italics in the original,
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html]

But the same logic would apply to ordinary, non-worldwide States; so for instance, in the case of several small States uniting into a Federation, one might say that 'in order not to produce a dangerous Federal power of a tyrannical nature, the governance of interaction between member States must be marked by subsidiarity, articulated into several layers and involving different levels that can work together'; subsidiarity is, after all, a requirement of any society which is made up of other, smaller societies.

Furthermore, keep in mind the rest of §67; the proposed "true world political authority" ("vera Auctoritas politica mundialis"—italics in the original) would "need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights" ("Auctoritas sane haec ab omnibus est agnoscenda, quae reali potestate pollere debet, ut unicuique securitas, iustitiae observantia, iurium item tuitio praestentur") and would "have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums" ("facultate ipsa pollere debet suarum deliberationum observantiam sodalibus itemque simul disposita in internationalibus tribunalibus praecepta imperandi"). How is that anything other than a World State in all but name?

(Caritas in veritate in Latin is also available here.)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Caritas in veritate, political science

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Josaphat, Bishop, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, November 1-Tuesday, November 8, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. "The [Jewish] organizations represented [at Assisi III] are: ... the Anti-Defamation League (Rabbi Eric Greenberg), B’nai B’rith International (David Michaels), ..."

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=422380#422380

(That quotation apparently comes from a report published before Assisi III got underway, strictly speaking, though I'm not aware of any cancellations other than the unrelated cancellation, on his own initiative, of A. C. Grayling.)

Labels: A.D.L., Assisi III, B'nai B'rith, Jews

2. "Pepsi Shareholders Demand It Stop Using Aborted Fetal Cells"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39467

Labels: abortion, Pepsi, Senomyx

3. H.H. The Pope on "healthy secularism", "freedom of worship", and religious education

His Holiness's speech of October 31, 2011 to the new Ambassador of Brazil to the Holy See is not yet available in English at the relevant Vatican web-page so I took the following quotation from VIS 20111031 (530), "BRAZIL: FRUITFUL COOPERATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE", an item in a recent edition of the Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin:

One important chapter of this "shared fertile history" was the agreement the Holy See and the Brazilian government signed in 2008, which "officially and juridically sealed the independence and collaboration of the two parties". In this context, the Pope also expressed the hope that the State would recognise that "healthy secularism must not consider religion as a mere individual sentiment, relegated to the private sphere, but as a reality which, being organised into visible structures, requires public recognition of its presence".

"It is therefore up to the State to ensure that all religious confessions enjoy freedom of worship, and the right to practice their cultural, educational and charitable activities, when these do not contrast with morality or public order", he said. ...

Benedict XVI identified a number of fields of mutual cooperation, including that of education in which the Church has "many institutions which enjoy prestigious recognition in society. The role of education cannot, in fact, be reduced to the mere transmission of knowledge and abilities for professional formation", he explained. "Rather it must comprehend all facets of the individual, from social factors to the longing for transcendence. We must, therefore, reiterate that the teaching of a particular religion in State schools, ... far from indicating that the State assumes or imposes a certain religious belief, is recognition of the fact that religion is an important value in the formation of the individual. ... Not only does this not prejudice the secularism of the State, it guarantees parents' rights to chose the education of their children, thus helping to promote the common good".
[all ellipses, except the one at the end of the second paragraph, in the original]

The State imposing Catholicism on those who were never Catholic is one thing, but what's wrong with the State assuming Catholicism?

(That speech was also reported at CathNews and AQ:

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=28834

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39563)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, education, religious liberty, secularism

4. An interesting discussion on H.M. The Queen's authority in Australia

http://scecclesia.com/?p=5898#comments

Labels: Constitution

5. St. Ambrose on how the civil ruler is a minister of God:

St Ambrose affirmed in his Commentary on Luke’s Gospel: “The institution of civil power derives so clearly from God that whoever exercises it is also a minister of God” (Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam 4:29). ...
[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/october/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20111014_prefetti-italia_en.html]

Labels: political science, St. Ambrose, theology

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Four Crowned Martyrs, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, October 11-Tuesday, October 18, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. H.H. The Pope on Catholicism as the object of 'religious freedom'

This is a quotation from the Holy Father's Address of Friday, October 7, 2011 to the Bishops of Indonesia during their "ad Limina" visit:

... Appropriately, Indonesia’s constitution guarantees the fundamental human right of freedom to practice one’s religion. The freedom to live and preach the Gospel can never be taken for granted and must always be justly and patiently upheld. Nor is religious freedom merely a right to be free from outside constraints. It is also a right to be authentically and fully Catholic, to practice the faith, to build up the Church and to contribute to the common good, proclaiming the Gospel as Good News for all, and inviting everyone to intimacy with the God of mercy and compassion made manifest in Jesus Christ.
[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/october/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20111007_bishops-indonesia_en.html
That Address came to my attention via an item headed "TO INDONESIAN BISHOPS: PATIENTLY UPHOLD RELIGIOUS FREEDOM" (VIS 20111007 (500)) in a recent edition of the Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin.]

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, religious liberty

2. "Only a third of marriages take place in church"

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=28573

Labels: marriage, social trends

3. "Ireland bows to UN recommendations on contraception, same-sex unions, religious hiring [but resists on abortion]"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39282

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland

4. "The headline figure [in 2008], drawn from the 2006 census, was 105,000 homeless. Of those, 16,000 were actual homeless (those sleeping rough) and 89,000 were potential homeless. The revised amounts are now 63,000 homeless: 8000 actual homeless and 55,000 potential homeless"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/inflating-homeless-to-fund-lobbyists/story-e6frgd0x-1226165274504

(As I've asked in the two other instances in which I've logged information about homelessness, please don't jump to conclusions about why I'm doing so.)

Labels: homelessness

5. A "a day-by-day report" on the recent Angelus Press Conference on the Kingship of Christ

http://sspx.org/district_news/angelus_press_conference_2011/angelus_press_conference_2011.htm

I read that report--which came to my attention via the latest edition of the weekly e-mail from the U.S. District of the S.S.P.X. (and for which I encourage you to subscribe--you should be able to do so at that District's homepage, a link to which is available in the "Endorsed links" section of this blog's sidebar)--and thought how good it would be to have a transcript of the proceedings; at that stage, I knew only that audio recordings were to become available for purchase. Now I'm very pleased to see that Angelus Press has added to its catalogue Reflections on the Kingship of Christ:

... Along with biographical information about the speakers at the 2011 Angelus Press Conference, this book presents the relevant encyclicals from Popes Leo XIII, St. Pius X, Pius XI, and Pius XII in their entirety, plus articles from the late Cardinal Pie, Fr. Juan Carlos Iscara, FSSPX, and Dr. John Rao. ...
[http://www.angeluspress.org/oscatalog/item/8534/reflections-on-the-kingship-of-christ]

(Reflections on the Kingship of Christ, which costs a mere US$10, came to my attention via the latest e-mail from Angelus Press.)

Labels: Social Reign of Christ

6. "Historian Peter Frankopan is challenging a millennium of scholarship in his view of the First Crusade"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/historian-peter-frankopan-is-challenging-a-millennium-of-scholarship-in-his-view-of-the-first-crusade/story-e6frg8nf-1226166509828

Labels: Crusades, history

7. On the the first known recorded observation that 'a country gets the government which it deserves'

Joesph [sic] de Maistre in Lettres et Opuscules (1853):

EVERY country has the government it deserves.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/the-practices-of-democracy-do-not-sit-comfortably-with-greens-or-labor-eggheads/story-fn72xczz-1226166203784]

Labels: Joseph de Maistre, political science

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, September 27-Tuesday, October 4, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. "British Muslims reviving polygamy"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/british-muslim-reviving-polygamy/story-e6frg6so-1226147865652

Labels: Islam, polyamory

2. "E[very] child should take a citizenship pledge at school, and all Australians should know the pledge by heart, the Social Inclusion Minister, Tanya Plibersek, said last night"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/my-oath-citizens-should-know-it-says-minister-20110927-1kvib.html?skin=text-only

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/love-of-australia-is-about-more-than-lifestyle-20110928-1kwfd.html?skin=text-only

Labels: liberalism, secularism

3. H.H. The Pope implicitly criticises the arrangements of union between Church and State which existed in history's Catholic Confessional States?

Excerpts from an item in a recent edition of the Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin:

IT IS TIME FOR THE CHURCH TO SET ASIDE HER WORLDLINESS

VATICAN CITY, 25 SEP 2011 (VIS) - At 5 p.m. today at the concert hall of Freiburg im Breisgau, the Holy Father met with representatives of Catholic associations active in the life of the Church and of society.

[...] "In the concrete history of the Church, however, a contrary tendency is also manifested, namely that the Church becomes settled in this world, she becomes self-sufficient and adapts herself to the standards of the world. She gives greater weight to organisation and institutionalisation than to her vocation to openness", the Pope said.

And he went on: "In order to accomplish her true task adequately, the Church must constantly renew the effort to detach herself from the 'worldliness' of the world. ... One could almost say that history comes to the aid of the Church here through the various periods of secularisation, which have contributed significantly to her purification and inner reform".

"Secularising trends", he added, "whether by expropriation of Church goods, or elimination of privileges or the like, have always meant a profound liberation of the Church from forms of worldliness, for in the process she has set aside her worldly wealth and has once again completely embraced her worldly poverty". In freeing herself of material ties, "her missionary activity regained credibility".

Benedict XVI recalled that history shows how a Church detached from the world can bear more effective missionary witness. "Once liberated from her material and political burdens, the Church can reach out more effectively and in a truly Christian way to the whole world, she can be truly open to the world", he said.
[...]PV-GERMANY/ VIS 20110926 (750)

It's mainly the last of those paragraphs in which I'm interested here (I provide the others mainly for context, and the full text of His Holiness's speech is available here). Does it contain an implicit criticism of the arrangements of union between Church and State which existed in history's Catholic Confessional States? (I don't ask that rhetorically. What do you make of that speech and particularly that paragraph of it?)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Church and State, Confessional State, secularism

4. On Quærit semper

Excerpts from an item in a recent edition of the Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin:

MOTU PROPRIO "QUAERIT SEMPER"

VATICAN CITY, 29 SEP 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father yesterday promulgated "Quaerit Semper", an Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" which modifies the Apostolic Constitution "Pastor Bonus", transferring certain functions of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to a new office established in the Tribunal of the Roman Rota. The office will deal with the procedures for dispensation from unconsummated marriage and causes for the nullity of priestly ordination.

Extracts from the document are given below.

[...] "In the current circumstances it seemed fitting that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments should dedicate itself chiefly to giving fresh impetus to promoting sacred liturgy in the Church, in keeping with the renewal promoted by Vatican Council II through the Constitution 'Sacrosanctum Concilium'.

[...] The new norms will come into effect as of 1 October.
MP/ VIS 20110929 (460)

See also the following web-pages:

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39116

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=28449

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/09/motu-proprio-quaerit-semper-rearranges-the-cong-for-worship-and-roman-rota/

Labels: liturgy, Quærit semper, Roman Curia, Vatican II

5. Prof. Hamilton on differences between men and women:

With women to take on military combat roles, it is time to sound the Last Post over the rotting corpse of feminism. It's what has to be done to their minds. When the Defence Minister says the individual has to have "the right physical, psychological and mental attributes", he's thinking of male mental attributes - those needed to kill.

Putting women in the front line is a victory only for the campaign to obliterate difference, as if everything women were before the advent of feminism was the creation of patriarchy. But didn't women's life experiences and history provide distinctive qualities more needed today than ever? We should celebrate the uniquely female rather than bury it under the demand for equality.

Women's morality differs from men's. Feminist philosopher Carol Gilligan argues women are motivated more by care than duty, and inclined more to emphasise responsibilities than rights. They seek reconciliation through the exercise of compassion and negotiation rather than demanding "justice", through force if necessary.

War best represents the continued hegemony of male thinking, with the grunt culture of hyper-masculinity inescapable because survival depends on it. And no institution more purely reflects the male understanding of power than the armed forces, built on the idea that the world is a place of conflict where disputes can be resolved by lethal force, and the more lethal the better.
[http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/women-at-war-is-the-final-surrender-20110929-1kz77.html?skin=text-only]

Labels: gender differences

6. Br. André Marie on "The Freedom and Exaltation of Holy Mother Church"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39121

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, Leo XIII. Pecci, T.L.M.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Confessor, A.D. 2011

Notes: Thursday, September 15-Monday, September 26, 2011

1. Some figures on abortion in South Australia

According to the latest figures released by the South Australian government, abortion rates dipped slightly in 2009.

The number of abortions fell to 15.3 per 100,000 women of childbearing age from 16 a year earlier.

The highest abortion rates were among women aged 20 to 24 (30 per cent) followed by those aged 25-29 (22 per cent) and under 19s (18 per cent).
[http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/abortions-unlikely-to-rise-due-to-ru486-20110922-1kmuz.html?skin=text-only]

Labels: abortion, S.A.

2. In 2010, "a joint commission was set up, with experts of the commission “Ecclesia Dei” and of the congregation for divine worship, for the “updating” of the commemorations of the saints and the “possible insertion of new prefaces” into the preconciliar Roman missal of 1962", according to The activity of the Holy See for 2010, printed by Libreria Editrice Vaticana

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/09/revising-and-updating-the-1962-missale-romanum/

Labels: liturgy, Roman Curia, T.L.M.

3. "Despite reports, Ireland not backing down on forcing priests to break seal of confession"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38947

Labels: Ireland

4. On the latest development in Vatican-S.S.P.X. relations

"COMMUNIQUE CONCERNING THE SOCIETY OF ST. PIUS X"
OP/ VIS 20110914 (450)

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/09/sspx-bp-fellay-interviewed-after-cdf-meeting-today/

Also, AQ has had several threads on the matter.

Labels: Roman Curia, S.S.P.X., T.L.M., theology, Vatican II

5. "ADL Urges Vatican To Ensure Anti-Jewish Sect Accepts Teachings Of Vatican II Before They Are Welcomed Back"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38957

Keep in mind the relationship between the A.D.L. and B'nai B'rith, and the relationship between B'nai B'rith and the Vatican (see here and item 3.2 here); there might also be a direct relationship between the A.D.L. and the Vatican.

Labels: A.D.L., B'nai B'rith, Freemasons, Jews, S.S.P.X., Vatican II

6. H.H. The Pope on religion as a basis for social coexistence

From a recent edition of the Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin:

POPE HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY [...]

... "We are witnessing a growing indifference to religion in society, which considers the issue of truth as something of an obstacle in its decision-making, and instead gives priority to utilitarian considerations.

"All the same", he added, "a binding basis for our coexistence is needed; otherwise people live in a purely individualistic way. Religion is one of these foundations for a successful social life. 'Just as religion has need of freedom, so also freedom has need of religion'. These words of the great bishop and social reformer Wilhelm von Ketteler, the second centenary of whose birth is being celebrated this year, remain timely.
[...] PV-GERMANY/ VIS 20110922 (630)

I agree with the comment by Mr. Keener in the combox at Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog post on that Papal address.

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Confessional State

7. An interesting "CathBlog" and combox comments on metaphysics (or, perhaps more precisely, Natural, and Dogmatic, Theology)

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=28012

Labels: philosophy, theology

8. The latest, and presumably most controversial, installment in Catholica's serialisation of Fr. Dresser's God is Big. Real Big!

http://www.catholica.com.au/gc0/pd/008_pd_240911.php

That's the chapter in which one reads, among other things, that "[n]o human being can ever be God. And Jesus was a human being. It is as simple as that!"

Labels: Peter Dresser, theology

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Sts. Cyprian and Justina, Martyrs, A.D. 2011