Notes: Wednesday, January 1-Monday, February 10, 2014 (part 1 of 2)

1. "Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning abortion advertising"

The quotation in that headline comes from the blog post "Russia Chooses Life", by Steven W. Mosher, undated (though posted some time in 2013), downloaded from the Population Research Institute's website:

http://www.pop.org/content/russia-chooses-life

(That blog post came to my attention via this True Catholic
thread.)

Labels: abortion, Russia, Vladimir Putin

2. According to Sir Paul Coleridge, in the U.K. "cohabiting parents account for only 19 per cent of all couples — but the separation of cohabiting parents makes up 48 per cent of all family breakdowns", and "a child born today has only a 50% chance of living with both parents by the time they are 15"

The quotations, including the bold type, in that headline come respectively from the opinion piece "What does it say about our values when a judge is rebuked for speaking up for marriage?", by Stephen Glover, dated December 18, 2013, downloaded from the MailOnline:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2526082/What-does-say-values-judge-rebuked-speaking-marriage.html

and from the text of the Welcome and Introduction (for the Marriage Foundation Conference "For the Sake of the Kids — Relationships Education: the problem, policy and practice"), by The Hon. Mr. Justice Paul Coleridge Q.C. (the English High Court's family division judge), downloaded from The Marriage Foundation's website:

http://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/Web/Content/Default.aspx?Content=452

(The latter came to my attention via the article "Teach married couples about monogamy for sake of the children, says High Court judge", by John Bingham, dated December 5, 2013, downloaded from the London Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/divorce/10497368/Teach-married-couples-about-monogamy-for-sake-of-the-children-says-High-Court-judge.html)

Labels: cohabitation, demography, families, vice

3. Some figures on abortion in Australia

See the inset "Abortion statistics in Australia" in the article "Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi hits out at 'pro-death' abortion, step-families, IR laws", by Latika Bourke, dated (or, at least, last updated) Monday, January 6, 2014, downloaded from the A.B.C.'s website:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-06/cory-bernardi-says-pro-choice-is-pro-death/5183852

Labels: abortion

4. "Update on 'Justice Equality Defense and Immigration Minister' of Ireland, Israeli Nationalist, Alan Shatter"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of a blog post by Maurice Pinay, dated Thursday, January 2, 2014, downloaded from his eponymous blog:

http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2014/01/update-on-justice-equality-defense-and.html

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland

5. "Husbands living in a "harem" with multiple wives have been cleared to claim state benefits for all their different partners."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Muslim husbands with more than one wife to get extra benefits as ministers recognise polygamy", no byline, dated February 3, 2008, downloaded from the MailOnline:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-512043/Muslim-husbands-wife-extra-benefits-ministers-recognise-polygamy.html

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

Labels: families, law, marriage, polyamory, U.K.

6. "The lesbian couple are the girl's legal parents because they were in a defacto relationship when she was born and therefore the "father" is not considered a parent under the law"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Gay man fights to be recognised as father of child to lesbian couple", by Janet Fife-Yeomans, dated January 8, 2014, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/gay-man-fights-to-be-recognised-as-father-of-child-to-lesbian-couple/story-fni0cx12-1226797386537

(That article came to my attention via the version printed in Thursday, January 9, 2014's issue of The Tele.)

Labels: families, G.L.B.T., law

7. Dr. Oriel on scientific findings regarding fetal pain (and on the implications of those findings for abortion law)

See the opinion piece "Abortion laws must recognise scientific changes", by Dr. Jennifer Oriel, dated January 11, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/abortion-laws-must-recognise-scientific-changes/story-e6frg6zo-1226799220817

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same author, on p. 17 of the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, January 11-12, 2014, First Edition, No. 15313, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: abortion, pregnancy

8. "Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill that criminalises same-sex relationships"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Nigeria criminalises same-sex relationships", by Felix Onuah, dated January 14, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/nigeria-criminalises-samesex-relationships-20140114-30raz.html?skin=text-only

Labels: G.L.B.T., law, Nigeria, vice

9. A couple of recent items regarding the risk factors for sexual abuse of children

9.1 Prof. Goodman-Delahunty on sexual abuse of children by their respective parents

See "Profiling parental child sex abuse" ("Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 465"), by Prof. Jane Goodman-Delahunty, Australian Institute of Criminology (A.I.C.), Canberra, A.C.T., Australia, January 2014, ISSN 1836-2206, downloaded from the A.I.C.'s website:

http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/461-480/tandi465.html

According to that paper, "non-biological fathers (55%) predominated"; the natural question to ask, then, is something along the lines of What percentage of fathers are non-biological? The paper seems neither to ask nor to answer such a question, but my best guess at an answer would be Significantly less than 55%.

(That paper came to my attention via the article "Sex abuse dads not victims of molesters", by John Ferguson, dated January 14, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/sex-abuse-dads-not-victims-of-molesters/story-fngburq5-1226801004198)

Labels: crime, families, sexual abuse

9.2 Dr. Sammut on non-traditional family structure as a risk factor for child sexual abuse

See the paper "The New Silence: Family Breakdown and Child Sexual Abuse" (Issue Analysis (ISSN 1440 6306) No. 142), by Dr. Jeremy Sammut, dated January 30, 2014, published by The Centre for Independent Studies, St. Leonards, N.S.W., Australia, downloaded from that Centre's website:

http://www.cis.org.au/publications/issue-analysis/article/5043-the-new-silence-family-breakdown-and-child-sexual-abuse

See also the article "Political correctness dooms kids to abuse" by Rick Morton (which brought Dr. Sammut's paper to my attention) and the opinion piece "Abuse a bigger danger in non-traditional families" by Dr. Sammut, both dated January 30, 2014, both downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/political-correctness-dooms-kids-to-abuse/story-e6frg6nf-1226813368985

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/abuse-a-bigger-danger-in-nontraditional-families/story-e6frg6zo-1226813360929

Labels: crime, families, G.L.B.T., sexual abuse

10. "Russians attack EU stance on gay rights"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Ben Hoyle, dated January 17, 2014, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/russians-attack-eu-stance-on-gay-rights/story-fnb64oi6-1226803500883

Labels: E.U., G.L.B.T., Russia, Vladimir Putin

11. The latest figures on the number of Catholics in England and Wales

See the article "Roman Catholics decline in England, Wales", by Trevor Grundy, dated January 7, 2014, downloaded from the Religion News Service's website:

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/01/07/roman-catholics-decline-england-wales/

(That article came to my attention via CathNews.)

Labels: demography, social trends, U.K.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Scholastica, Virgin, A.D. 2014

Notes: Tuesday, August 6-Tuesday, September 10, 2013 (part 1 of 2)

1. Some recent items regarding Gay propaganda

1.1 "Foreign Minister Bob Carr today[, "July 19, 2013",] affirmed the Rudd Government’s commitment to make lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) rights a core foreign policy priority."

The quotation in that headline comes from the blog post "Foreign Minister Bob Carr says LGBTI Rights Core Issue for Australian Foreign Policy", by Mr. Doug Pollard, dated July 24, 2013, downloaded from the stirrer website:

http://www.thestirrer.com.au/foreign-minister-bob-carr-says-lgbti-rights-core-issue-for-australian-foreign-policy/

(That post came to my attention while preparing to submit a comment at this blog post by Mr. Gaynor.) See also the article "LGBTI RIGHTS A CORE FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITY FOR RUDD GOVERNEMNT", by Jennifer Josef, dated July 26, 2013, downloaded from the International Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association's website:

http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/ocFCvGb1FI

Labels: Bob Carr, G.L.B.T.

1.2 "Cultural imperialism on the march"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Robert R. Reilly, dated May 13, 2013, downloaded from the MercatorNet website:

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/cultural_imperialism_on_the_march

(That article came to my attention via this AQ comment.)

Labels: Barack Obama, G.L.B.T., U.S.A.

1.3 "Free & Equal is an unprecedented United Nations global public education campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. A project of the United Nations Human Rights Office being implemented in partnership with the Purpose Foundation, Free & Equal will raise awareness of homophobic and transphobic violence and discrimination, and promote greater respect for the rights of LGBT people everywhere."

The quotation in that headline comes from the "About Us" page of The United Nations Human Rights Office's "Free & Equal" website:

http://www.unfe.org/

(That campaign came to my attention via the article "I will never worship a homophobic God: Tutu", no byline, on p. 18 in the "WORLD" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Monday, July 29, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2907, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., ISSN 1038-8745.)

See also the press release "UN Human Rights Office Launches Unprecedented Global Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality", no author credited, dated July 26, 2013, downloaded from the official website of the U.N.O.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13583&LangID=E

Labels: G.L.B.T., U.N.O.

1.4 "Federal Labor will spend $8 million tackling homophobia in schools if it is re-elected", which ($8 million) "would go to the Foundation for Young Australians to expand its Safe Schools Coalition program across the country, which provides training and resources to schools to tackle homophobic bullying"

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Labor commits $8 million to tackle homophobia in schools", by Ms Bianca Hall, dated August 30, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/labor-commits-8-million-to-tackle-homophobia-in-schools-20130830-2sud6.html?skin=text-only

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

1.5 "The Australian Rugby Union, and its chief executive, Bill Pulver, have taken an important step in committing to implement an inclusion policy, to stamp out homophobia in rugby - the first football code to do so"

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "It's time to kick the prejudice into touch", by Mr. Andrew Purchas, dated August 29, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/its-time-to-kick-the-prejudice-into-touch-20130828-2sqmw.html?skin=text-only

See also the article "ARU announces development of new inclusion policy", no author credited, dated August 28, 2013, downloaded from the Australian Rugby Union's (A.R.U.'s) official website:

http://www.rugby.com.au/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1699/ArticleID/10113/Default.aspx

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

2. On Wednesday, July 17, 2013, both Houses of the British Parliament were notified that the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 had received the Royal Assent.

See the A.F.P. article "Queen gives assent to British gay marriage law", by Mr. Danny Kemp, dated July 17, 2013, downloaded from the Google website:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gHohdWzGeWF9i1fR31GKH73WYdQw?docId=CNG.a24e84eead7107254e098183dd59bddf.711

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Queen backs gay marriage", by the same author, on p. 36 in the "WORLD" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, July 19, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2903, ISSN presumably 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.) See also Notice No. 1870356, category "Parliament", sub-category "House of Lords" (Notice Code: 1203), The London Gazette, Issue No. 60579, p. 14703, Thursday, July 25, 2013:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/60579/pages/14703

One can also find the text of that notice here:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/60579/notices/1870356/

The full text of the British Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 is available here:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/30/contents/enacted

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

3. "Peaceful coexistence between different religions is favoured by the laicity of the state, which, without appropriating any one confessional stance, respects and esteems the presence of the religious dimension in society, while fostering its more concrete expressions."

The quotation in that headline comes from (a translation of) the Address, on Saturday, July 27, 2013, by H.H. The Pope at a meeting in Rio de Janeiro with Brazil's leaders of society:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/july/documents/papa-francesco_20130727_gmg-classe-dirigente-rio_en.html

(That Address came to my attention via the item "FRANCIS TO BRAZIL'S LEADERS: A COUNTRY GROWS WHEN ITS CULTURAL COMPONENTS ARE IN DIALOGUE" in The Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service e-mail bulletin no. 160, July 28, 2013 (Year XXII).) The original Spanish (sic) is presumably the following:

La convivencia pacífica entre las diferentes religiones se ve beneficiada por la laicidad del Estado, que, sin asumir como propia ninguna posición confesional, respeta y valora la presencia de la dimensión religiosa en la sociedad, favoreciendo sus expresiones más concretas.
[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/july/documents/papa-francesco_20130727_gmg-classe-dirigente-rio_sp.html]

AsiaNews.it translates it as follows:

Peaceful coexistence between different religions is favoured by the separation of state and religion, which, without appropriating any one confessional stance, respects and esteems the presence of the religious factor in society, while fostering its concrete expressions.
["WYD: For pope, societies must stand for a culture of encounter or everyone loses", no byline, dated July 27, 2013:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/WYD:-For-pope,-societies-must-stand-for-a-culture-of-encounter-or-everyone-loses-28590.html]

For media reaction to that Address, see the Latin American Bureau article "Pope Francis: 'I want you to make trouble!'", by Francis McDonagh, dated Monday, July 29, 2013, in which the author remarks, immediately after quoting (the first of those two tranlsations of) that sentence, that

An interesting aspect of his remarks is his approval of a secular state, with no established religion.
[http://lab.org.uk/pope-francis-i-want-you-to-make-trouble!]

and (see) the Catholic News Service article "Pope urges Brazilian leaders to embrace dialogue, 'social humility'", by Francis X. Rocca, dated July 28, 2013, in which the author reports that

the pope endorsed the separation of church and state, historically a volatile topic in Latin America, where the Catholic Church long held a privileged legal position in many countries, but where it has more recently clashed with governments over issues, including abortion and same-sex marriage.

He said such separation favors "peaceful coexistence between different religions," since the state, "without appropriating any one confessional stance, respects and esteems the presence of the religious factor in society, while fostering its concrete expressions."
[http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1303253.htm]

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, Francis Bergoglio, morals, politics

4. "Abortion has become legal in Ireland in limited cases where the mother's life is at risk, after President Michael D. Higgins signed a law that has exposed deep divisions in the Catholic-majority nation."

The quotation in theat headline comes from the article "Irish president signs abortions into law", no byline (though AFP is the stated source), dated July 31, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/irish-president-signs-abortions-into-law-20130731-2qxr2.html?skin=text-only

Labels: abortion, Ireland

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Confessor, A.D. 2013

Notes: Tuesday, June 26-Monday, July 16, 2012 (part 1 of 2)

1. Some facts and figures regarding paid parental leave

"Paid parental leave and flexible working paying dividends for employers", a media release dated June 19, 2012 from Diversity Council Australia, available for download from this web-page:

http://www.dca.org.au/News/All/Paid-parental-leave-and-flexible-working-paying-dividends-for-employers/267

(That research came to my attention via an article entitled "Parental leave boosts retention", with no byline, in a column headed "WORKOUT", p. 1, "Weekend Professional" section, "Weekend Professional" supplement, The Weekend Australian, June 23-24, 2012, First Edition, No. 14843, ISSN 1038-8761, apparently not available on-line.)

Labels: leave

2. "Australians may play it[, i.e., God Save The Queen] and sing it whenever they wish"

That quotation comes from a letter, by Sir David Smith K.C.V.O. A.O., under the heading "Our royal anthem", published at The Australian's website here:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/our-royal-anthem/story-fn558imw-1226405956092

(That letter came to my attention via its publication, under the same heading, on p. 23 ("Letters to the Editor"), "Commentary" section, "Inquirer" pages, The Weekend Australian, June 23-24, 2012, First Edition, No. 14843, ISSN 1038-8761.)

Labels: God Save The Queen

3. "The Catholic Herald’s Online Archive is ready to go!"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/06/the-catholic-heralds-online-archive-is-ready-to-go/

Labels: media

4. "Women working longer hours 'have smaller babies'"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/women-working-longer-hours-have-smaller-babies/story-fnb64oi6-1226411078461

Labels: pregnancy, work

5. Some facts and figures, from the 2011 Census, on "Same-sex Couple Families"

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features852012-2013

(That came to my attention via the comment of 2.7.12 / 4pm by one Peter Baade in the comments section of this post by Mr. Muehlenberg.)

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

6. "Homiletic and Pastoral Review online"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/06/homiletic-and-pastoral-review-online/

Labels: media

7. The Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts was "created by John Paul II in 1988 to replace the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of the Decrees of the Second Vatican Council, created by Paul VI in 1967."

http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/2012-0615-ferrara-vatileaks.htm

(That article came to my attention via its posting at AQ here.)

Labels: Roman Curia

8. Ireland's "Minister for Justice Alan Shatter (FG) said it was possible that if a priest or a bishop was prosecuted under withholding of information legislation they might claim entitlement to some form of privilege. However, the legal basis for such a claim no longer held, as the special position of the Catholic church had been removed from the Constitution. If such a claim was based on freedom of religion, the courts might be called on to decide the issue."

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0613/1224317819220.html

(That article came to my attention via its posting at AQ here.)

See also

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2012/06/15/the-irish-government-is-going-to-make-it-a-criminal-offence-for-a-priest-not-to-tell-the-gardai-when-a-sex-offender-confesses-his-crime-i-say-bring-it-on/

(That article was highlighted here at Coo-ees and here at CathNews.)

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland, Sacraments

9. H.H. The Pope has appointed "Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as vice president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei"" and has appointed "Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller of Regensburg, Germany, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and as president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and of the International Theological Commission, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop."

http://www.news.va/en/news/other-pontifical-acts-189

http://www.news.va/en/news/other-pontifical-acts-192

See here for some commentary by Fr. Roberts.

Labels: Roman Curia

10. "A Californian politician is pushing legislation to allow a child to have more than two parents."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/and-baby-makes-four-20120703-21fdk.html?skin=text-only

Labels: birth certificates

11. "A survey by pollster IFOP said gays in France make up 6.5 per cent of the electorate, compared with practising Cath-olics at 6.5 per cent."

I transcribed that quotation from the article "Freedom for French gays", no byline, on p. 21 in the "WORLD" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, July 5, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2584, ISSN 1038-8745. A longer version of that article is available here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/france-to-allow-gay-couples-to-marry-and-adopt-children/story-fn6b3v4f-1226416737223

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

12. R.I.P. Mr. Abney-Hastings (The (14th) Earl of Loudoun)

http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/the-jerilderie-man-who-could-have-been-king-20120705-21jwz.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Michael Abney-Hastings

13. "In the most recent ABS report on social trends, it was noted children are financially dependent on their parents until 24 in Australia."

That quotation comes from "[s]ocial researcher Mark McCrindle", quoted in the article "Techie teens are the biggest wallet strain", by Phil Jacob and Nathan Klein, dated June 29, 2012, downloaded from here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/techie-teens-are-the-biggest-wallet-strain/story-e6freuy9-1226411559024

(That article came to my attention via its publication under the same heading and by the same authors on p. 09 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, June 29, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2579 (presumably, though I could find neither volume nor number stated in the paper), ISSN 1038-8745.)

Labels: demography, economics

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, A.D. 2012

Notes: Wednesday, December 7-Tuesday, December 20, 2011

1. "If present trends continue, Europe and Japan will lose half their population by the end of the century"

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=9327&class=Features&subclass=Cardinal's Comment

Labels: demography

2. Several web-pages on or relating to a recent development in U.S. foreign policy

2.1 "US ready to push for gay rights abroad"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/obama-warns-world-against-gay-and-lesbian-discrimination/story-e6frg6so-1226215897814

http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-ready-to-push-for-gay-rights-abroad-20111207-1ojak.html?skin=text-only

http://www.smh.com.au/world/rights-of-gays-to-figure-in-us-foreign-aid-20111207-1oj4l.html?skin=text-only

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40020

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/12/09/obama-the-real-ugly-american/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/06/presidential-memorandum-international-initiatives-advance-human-rights-l

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40069

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/12/14/yet-another-ugly-american/

Labels: G.L.B.T., human rights, U.S.A.

2.2 "Nigeria’s bishops praise ban on public expression of homosexuality"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40081

Labels: G.L.B.T., Hierarchy, Nigeria

2.3 "[U.S.] Senate blocks El Salvador ambassador over homosexual-rights advocacy"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40099

Labels: G.L.B.T., U.S.A.

3. On two recent court cases involving polyamory:

Two court cases, one in Canada last month and one in Australia earlier in the year, show that while British-based law remains resolute against multiple partner marriage, it accepts that a common law threesome is not illegal or even necessarily family-unfriendly.

In the Canadian case, British Columbia Chief Justice Robert Bauman upheld Canada's anti-polygamy law, but left polyamorous families free from sanction if they do not commit an overt act of multiple marriage.

The Australian case involved a man whose wife had left him for another man and a woman, and taken the children. When the trio set up house together, mingled their respective offspring, and shared the same bedroom, the jilted husband applied to the court seeking an urgent order that the children be removed from the "immoral" household.

But magistrate Philip Burchardt rejected the application, saying the threesome seemed to be "thoroughly decent and honest people" and "I do not regard the relationship . . . as being damaging to the children."
[ellipsis in the original,
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/three-in-marriage-bed-more-of-a-good-thing/story-e6frg6z6-1226218569577]

(See here for Mr. Muehlenberg's reaction to that Weekend Australian article.)

Labels: families, marriage, polyamory

4. "Under a new policy approved by Pope Benedict XVI, the heads of other Roman dicasteries who wish to apply to the Pontiff for "special faculties" to handle problems outside the normal processes of canon law must apply through the Secretary of State, rather than appealing directly to the Pope"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40051

You can read the relevant Rescript, in its original Italian, on pp. 127-128 (pp. 41-42 of your browser) of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, here.

Labels: Roman Curia

5. "[Catholic] School forced to take same-sex couple's daughter"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/school-forced-to-take-samesex-daughter-20111214-1ou92.html?skin=text-only

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/senior-bishop-orders-school-to-reverse-ban/story-e6frg6so-1226221684482

Related coverage:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/school-rejects-daughter-of-same-sex-couple/story-e6frg6nf-1226221339567

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40072

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29441

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29456

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29483

http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com/2011/12/bishop-lesbians-and-poor-little-child.html

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2011/12/holy-father-please-terminate-mandate-of.html

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2011/12/campaign-to-abolish-religious.html

Labels: Catholic schools, G.L.B.T.

6. Dr. Arndt on the inadequacies of research findings which purport to show that children in the custody of same-sex couples do at least as well as those of opposite-sex ones:

It has never made sense that gay parents complain of prejudice and exclusion and in the same breath propose their children are suffering no adverse consequences. In fact, in recent years the research allegedly supporting these rosy claims has come under scrutiny and found to be sorely lacking.

"The methods are so flawed that these studies prove nothing," say Robert Lerner and Althea Nagai, experts in qualitative analysis.

"Not a single one of these studies was conducted according to generally accepted standards of scientific research," concludes sociology professor Steven Nock.

Most of the scholarship on gay parenting is conducted by researchers sympathetic to gay concerns and fails to include proper controls, relies on very small samples and uses unreliable or invalid measures.

The reality is that while resilient children may do well despite the prejudice many encounter, others have a hard time.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/prejudice-can-make-life-miserable-for-children-with-same-sex-parents/story-e6frgd0x-1226223351222]

I include the first and last sentences of that quotation in order not to seem to suggest that Dr. Arndt questions the findings because she thinks that same-sex 'parenting' is innately inferior to opposite-sex parenting; apparently, Dr. Arndt would attribute disadvantage experienced by children in the custody of same-sex couples relative to those of opposite-sex ones to 'discrimination', 'prejudice', 'homophobia', 'exclusion', the usual buzzwords.

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

7. "JAY Weatherill[, the South Australian Premier,] has backed a push by a gay MP on his frontbench to allow same-sex couples to access IVF in South Australia"

And a "new law will at last give de facto lesbian couples in South Australia the same rights as others to be formally recognised as co-parents and ensure their child has two legal parents":

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/weatherill-backs-ivf-for-gays/story-e6frgczx-1226223400827

Labels: birth certificates, G.L.B.T., I.V.F., S.A.

8. "The Irish Government is now issuing the certificates to applicants who can prove their Irish ancestry"

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=1&subclassID=3&articleID=9314&class=News&subclass=CW World

This is the website of that initiative:

http://www.heritagecertificate.ie/

Labels: Ireland

9. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference's (A.C.B.C.'s) Media Blog has, apparently, been officially launched

Here is its U.R.L.:

http://www.catholic.org.au/mediablog/

I say "apparently", judging by a recent article in the Sydney Catholic Weekly which provided a round-up of the acts of the recent A.C.B.C. plenary but which does not seem to be available on-line; the Media Blog has been on-line for some time now, so I presume that what occured at the plenary was its official launch.

Labels: A.C.B.C., blogs

10. Mr. DeLano has a blog:

http://magisterialfundies.blogspot.com/

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

Labels: blogs

Reginaldvs Cantvar
20.XII.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: 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

Notes: Tuesday, September 6-Wednesday, September 14, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. A couple of recent posts from Mr. Muehlenberg:

1.1 On the latest initiative for propagating multiculturalism

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/09/05/force-fed-multiculturalism/

Labels: education, multiculturalism

1.2 On his new book, on the challenge of homosexuality

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/09/04/strained-relations/

Labels: G.L.B.T.

2. The latest evidence for a link between abortion and mental health problems

http://www.angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38771

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/study-links-abortion-to-mental-health-problems/story-e6freuy9-1226127657384

Originally I wasn't going to bother logging that AQ post, since anyone who opposes abortion--myself and, presumably, my readers among them--would regard the findings as unsurprising, but then I saw the print-edition version of the article to whose on-line version I link above here taking up about a quarter of page twenty-five of the Sydney Daily Telegraph of Friday, September 2, 2011, and so I thought that I'd better log it, since it's so rare for one of the mainstream media to highlight the adverse consequences of abortion (needless to say, the mainstream media tend not to regard the death of an unborn baby as a necessarily adverse consequence) that the findings must be important. Here are the key excerpts from that Tele article:

The research by American academic Priscilla Coleman, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, said abortion was linked with a 34 per cent greater chance of anxiety disorders and a 37 per cent higher possibility of depression.

This was more than double the risk of alcohol abuse, three times greater risk of cannabis use at 220 per cent and 155 per cent greater risk of attempted suicide.

[...] "Overall, the results revealed that women who had undergone an abortion experienced an 81 per cent increased risk of mental health problems, and nearly 10 per cent of the incidence of mental health problems were shown to be directly attributable to abortion."

The study was based on an analysis of 22 separate projects, which together analysed the experiences of 877,000 women, of whom 163,831 had had an abortion.

Labels: abortion, mental health

3. Dr. Sammut on, among other things, "the disturbing significance of the controversial [recent] NSW birth certificate decision"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/womens-rights-push-dads-aside/story-e6frgd0x-1226128389989

Worth reading in full, but the final paragraph is what I want to log here:

This is the disturbing significance of the controversial NSW birth certificate decision. That no gay spokesperson has expressed concern for the father and child stolen from each other speaks volumes about their priorities. Traditionalists have long argued in defence of marriage that the institution is fundamentally about the rights of children and that advocates of gay marriage just don't get this. Based on the "sperm donor dad" case, they appear to have a point.

Labels: birth certificates, child-rearing, families, G.L.B.T., marriage, parenthood, youngsters

4. "THE well-being of Australia's children and young adults has declined sharply in the past decade - and sliding marriage rates are partly to blame"; "marriage makes a difference, not just the characteristics of a child's parents, because of the commitment involved"

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/falling-marriage-rates-hurting-children-report-20110905-1jubf.html?skin=text-only

Labels: child-rearing, families, marriage, parenthood, youngsters

5. "A member of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is calling for a ban on marriages at Christian churches if they refuse to also perform same-sex unions"

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/thread/1315540178.html

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38865

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/09/uk-mp-pushes-to-force-church-to-have-contrary-to-nature-marriages-or-no-marriages-at-all/

Apparently, such a ban would involve adopting the system, which is used in some Continental countries, in which prospective spouses who intend to wed in a religious ceremony have to get a 'civil marriage' as well.

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, U.K.

6. "Irish government backs down on confessional bill"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38855

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland, sexual abuse

7. "Lesbian foster couple put six year old boy in girl's clothes and post photos on Facebook"

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/lesbian-foster-couple-put-six-year-old-boy-in-girls-clothes-and-post-photos-on-facebook/story-e6freuzr-1226134422557

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/09/12/more-outrages-from-the-rainbow-warriors/

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/same-sex-parents-should-foster-not-play-politics/story-fn6b3v4f-1226135313446

I wonder whether there has been any scholarly research into the phenomenon of one of the members of a same-sex couple undergoing a 'sex change'?

Labels: child-rearing, families, G.L.B.T., parenthood

8. "MEN'S bodies hardwire them to become caring fathers by dropping their testosterone levels after a child is born, a landmark investigation has found"

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/fathers-give-up-mojo-after-children/story-fn6b3v4f-1226135425389

Labels: families, medicine, parenthood

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, August 9-Tuesday, August 16, 2011 (part 2 of 2)

7. A scandalous opinion piece, by an Australian Conciliar Bishop, on marriage

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/marriage-worth-preserving-as-it-stands/story-e6frg6zo-1226113612074

(CathNews also linked to that article here.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., James Foley, law, marriage, morality, theology

8. A little more on the 1824 upgrading of New South Wales's colonial status

In this issue of Notes from about this time last year I quoted an interesting item from the "on this day" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph's history page. This year's version of that item gave a little bit more information:

1824 London upgrades NSW from a penal colony to a "crown colony" with its own legislative council and supreme court - a milestone on the roadway to democracy and nationhood.
[p. 76, Thursday, August 11, 2011]

It's still not clear from that whether a legislative council and a supreme court are of the essence of a British crown, as distinct from penal, colony or whether those were additional, non-essential features.

(The day of that upgrading was itself the anniversary of another event in British colonial history, as the second item before the 1824 one reported:

1784 The British government introduces a Bill to the House of Commons allowing it to resume transportation of criminals, with the destination unstated after the revolt of the American colonies but NSW in mind.
[ibid.])

Labels: colonialism

9. "I struggle to think of a stronger attack by a western European leader on the church than Enda Kenny's"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/irish-pm-lashes-vatican-on-childabuse-reparation-20110815-1iunt.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Ireland

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Joachim, Confessor, A.D. 2011

Notes: Wednesday, July 20-Monday, July 25, 2011

1. "[In N.S.W. State school 'ethics classes', children] are now critically thinking about ethical concepts and moral issues within a secular framework", writes one of the "volunteer ethics teacher[s]"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/even-a-child-could-work-this-one-out-mr-nile-20110719-1hncd.html?skin=text-only

Labels: education, morality, secularism, St James Ethics Centre

2. A couple of recent items regarding polyamory

2.1 Research findings on Muslim polygynous and otherwise irregular marriages

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/sharia-law-at-work-in-australia/story-fn59niix-1226097889992

Labels: Islam, marriage, polyamory

2.2 Fr. Zuhlsdorf's fisking of an article on "[t]he slippery slope: from decriminalization to social acceptance"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/07/the-slippery-slope-from-decriminalization-to-social-acceptance/
(It's the article itself, rather than the fisking, for which I've logged that web-page.)

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

3. "The [Russian Orthodox] Moscow Patriarchate has undertaken a real campaign of expansion at home and abroad"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38209

Labels: R.O.C.

4. On planned or desired State attacks on the Sacrament of Penance

4.1 More on Ireland's planned attack on the Sacrament of Penance

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/07/ireland-priests-will-refuse-to-break-seal-of-confession-if-proposal-becomes-law/
(In that post's combox, good points are made by the commenters markomalley, PostCatholic, and albizzi here, here, and here, respectively.)

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38221

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=27315

Labels: Ireland, Sacraments, sexual abuse

4.2 On Sen. Xenophon's desire for Australian States to attack the Sacrament of Penance

http://www.smh.com.au/national/call-to-end-confessional-confidentiality-20110721-1hr0d.html?skin=text-only

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/unforgiveable-sin-confessing-to-child-abuse/

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=27331

Labels: Nick Xenophon, Sacraments, sexual abuse

5. Mr. Skinner on the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics's findings on the size of the homosexual and bisexual proportion of the population

The comment of 20.7.11 / 5pm in the combox here:

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/07/17/pushing-agendas-ignoring-facts/

The interesting thing about those findings is that it seems that even if you count all non-answers and answers other than heterosexual/straight as 'queer' (or whatever catch-all you prefer) then that would still give a mere 5.2%.

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

6. "Obama's [latest] gay rights push"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/obamas-gay-rights-push-20110720-1houe.html?skin=text-only

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38225

Labels: Barack Obama, G.L.B.T., marriage, U.S.A.

Feast of St. James the Greater, Apostle, and of St. Christopher, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Notes: Wednesday, July 13-Tuesday, July 19, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. Interesting discussion on Assisi III

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/07/card-levada-opines-about-the-upcoming-assisi-meeting/#comments

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue

2. Mr. Muehlenberg on the A.B.C. and its recent Compass episode on so-called gay marriage

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/07/11/the-abc-should-be-put-out-of-its-misery/

(See also Mr. Clarkson's comment of 13.7.11 / 2pm in that post's combox; his comment deals with the first episode of what was apparently a two-part series.) The remarks by Prof. Altman as recorded in the episode transcript are of particular interest. (See this web-page for a follow-up piece by Mr. Muehlenberg on one of those remarks and gay polyamory.)

Labels: A.B.C., Compass, Dennis Altman, Frank Brennan, G.L.B.T., marriage, morality, polyamory

3. Msgr. de Galarreta with some quotations from then-Cardinal Ratzinger

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38113

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger

4. Fr. Zuhlsdorf on the nine ways in which one might "participate in the sin of another person"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/07/quaeritur-participation-in-the-sins-of-other-people/

Labels: morality

5. "[Ireland's] Justice Minister Alan Shatter vowed to bring in ... new laws" under which priests "will be jailed for up to five years if they fail to report paedophiles to gardai -- even if they are told of the abuse in the confession box"

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/priests-will-be-jailed-if-they-dont-report-abuse-2821151.html

(That web-page came to my attention via this AQ comment.) Related coverage:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/vatican-ignored-abuse-guidelines-irish-report-finds-20110714-1hfxt.html?skin=text-only

http://www.smh.com.au/world/irish-child-abuse-report-attacks-vatican-and-powerful-bishop-20110714-1hfzy.html?skin=text-only

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=27239

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38149

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38195

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38200

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=27270

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland, sexual abuse

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, Confessor, A.D. 2011

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

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

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

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

Labels: R.O.C., Russia

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

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

Labels: Russia

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

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

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

2. A few items regarding Ireland

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

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

Not without disagreement, though:

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

Labels: catechesis, education, Ireland

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

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

Labels: Ireland

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

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

Labels: education, Ireland

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

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

I did not know that that was the case.

Labels: Church and State, Monaco

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: Sacraments, theology

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

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

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

Labels: euthanasia, nursing

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

Notes: Tuesday, March 22-Wednesday, March 30, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. "A Statement of Reservations Concerning the Impending Beatification of Pope John Paul II" (with an interesting list of signatories)

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36543

Labels: John Paul II. Wojtyla

2. "[A] a regular Green voter" on, among other things, The Greens' defence policy

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/blogs/blunt-instrument/when-pacifist-greens-want-military-action-its-time-to-ask-if-their-policies-really-can-fly-20110321-1c3zk.html

Labels: Greens

3. "US hails world move to end violence against gays"

Not just violence, though, but also criminal sanctions:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/us-hails-world-move-to-end-violence-against-gays/story-fn3dxix6-1226026852281

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

4. Text of Cardinal Burke's recent Australian speech

No mention of 'separation of Church and State' (cf. item 7 of this Notes post of mine):

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/msg/1300844922.html

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9567

Labels: Church and State, Raymond Burke

5. A couple of recent developments in Ireland

5.1 "Meet Ireland's new Minister for "Justice, Equality, Defence," Immigration and much, much more"

http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2011/03/bolshevik-takeover-of-ireland.html

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland, Jews, State of Israel

5.2 "Irish govt. to take 50% of schools away from the Church"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36666

Labels: Ireland

6. "The Greens have pledged to introduce private members' bills [in New South Wales] to remove abortion from the NSW Crimes Act, and legalise voluntary euthanasia"

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/state-election-2011/nile-says-coalition-is-best-bet-20110323-1c6rq.html?skin=text-only

Labels: abortion, euthanasia, Greens, N.S.W.

7. 'Sidere mens eadem mutato' in nineteenth-century Australia

I was interested to read the following the other day:

Prince Alfred, who excited colonial Australia with a six-month tour in 1867-8, was greeted as a bearer of civilisation by colonists building new cities and towns in the ''wilderness''. English, Scots, Germans and even Chinese lined up to present their guest with loyal addresses declaring that ''in changing our skies, we have not changed our minds''. Australians used the visit to demonstrate all too eagerly that they were not, in fact, Australian. Aboriginal people were displayed at missions to show the prince how they had adopted the culture of the colonisers.
[my emphasis,
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/the-real-reason-for-royal-visit-20110317-1byxo.html?skin=text-only

The mid-nineteenth-century-founded University of Sydney's motto is "Sidere mens eadam mutato", which means something like 'though the skies change, the mind remains constant'. Perhaps this was a popular theme of the time.

Labels: history, University of Sydney

8. Dr. van Gend on euthanasia

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/unproductive-burdens-still-have-a-right-to-live/story-e6frgd0x-1226027674393

Labels: euthanasia

9. "A new analysis of abortion data across all 50 U.S. states has found solid evidence that legislation intended to reduce abortion, such as parental involvement laws, is effective"

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/msg/1301459312.html

Labels: abortion, law

Reginaldvs Cantvar
30.III.2011

Notes: Friday, December 17, 2010

1. Vatican Information Service (V.I.S.) daily e-mail bulletin item on a press conference for H.H. The Pope's Message for the 2011 World Day of Peace

Full text, including hyperlink in the last sentence:

WORLD DAY OF PEACE: "RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. THE PATH TO PEACE"

VATICAN CITY, 16 DEC 2010 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at midday today, a press conference was held to present the Pope's Message for the forty-fourth World Day of Peace. The Day falls on 1 January 2011 and has as its theme: "Religious Freedom. The Path to Peace".

Participating in today's press conference were Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Bishop Mario Toso, S.D.B., Msgr. Anthony Frontiero and Tommaso De Ruzza, respectively president, secretary and officials of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Cardinal Turkson, speaking English, explained how this year's Message is made up of "an introductory reference to the attack on Christians in Iraq, the main body of the text which presents the meaning of religious freedom and the various ways in which it fashions peace and experiences of peace, and a concluding reflection on peace as a gift of God and as the work of men and women of goodwill, especially of believers.

"Religious freedom", he added, "is the theme of the Pope's Message for the World Day of Peace not only because that subject matter is central to Catholic social doctrine, but also because the experience of religious freedom - a basic vocation of man and a fundamental, inalienable and universal human right, and key to peace - has come under great stress and threat: From raging secularism, which is intolerant of God and of any form of expression of religion. From religious fundamentalism, the politicisation of religion and the establishment of State religions. From the growing cultural and religious pluralism that is becoming ever more present and pressing in our day".

"The Holy Father", the cardinal said, "sees the safeguarding of religious freedom in our multi-cultural, multi-religious and secularised world as one of the ways to safeguard peace".

"One of the important tasks that our world set for itself following World War II was the formulation, adoption and promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights", said the president of the pontifical council. Benedict XVI, he said, "is also worried about the increasing instances of the denial of the universality of these rights in the name of different cultural, political, social and even religious outlooks".

"Religious freedom is not a right granted by a State", it "is derived, ... from natural law and from the dignity of the person, which are rooted in creation. Rather, the State and other public institutions, ... need to recognise it as intrinsic to the human person, as indispensable for integrity and peace".

Cardinal Turkson went on: "Religious freedom is a duty of public authority" but "it is not an unlimited right. ... Religious freedom refers primarily to man's freedom to express his being 'capax Dei': his freedom to respond to the truth of his nature as created by God and created for life with God without coercion or impediments. It is in this that man finds his peace, and from there becomes an instrument of peace".

"Religious freedom does not imply that all religions are equal. Nor is it a reason for religious relativism or indifferentism. Religious freedom is compatible with defence of one's religious identity against relativism, syncretism and fundamentalism, which are all abused forms of religious freedom".

After then highlighting how "religious freedom is not limited to the free exercise of worship", the cardinal pointed out that "there is a public dimension to it, which grants believers the chance of making their contribution to building the social order".

"Denying the right to profess one's religion in public and the right to bring the truth of faith to bear upon public life has negative consequences for true development", he said.

"The exercise of the right of religious freedom as a way to peace thus implies the recognition of the harmony that must exist between the two areas and forms of life: private and public, individual and community, person and society. ... Accordingly, the development and the exercise of one's religious freedom, is also the task of one's community".

Referring then to the relationship between religious freedom and the State, Cardinal Turkson affirmed that, "although religious freedom is not established by the State, it (the State) nevertheless needs to recognise it as intrinsic to the human person and his public and communitarian expressions. Recognition of religious freedom and respect for the innate dignity of every person also imply the principle of the responsibility to protect on the part of the community, society and the State".

"The Church's appeals for religious freedom are not based on a claim of reciprocity, whereby one group respects the rights of others only if the latter respect their rights. Rather, appeals for religious freedom are based on the dignity of persons. We respect the rights of others because it is the right thing to do, not in exchange for its equivalent or for a favour granted. At the same time, when others suffer persecution because of their faith and religious practice, we offer them compassion and solidarity".

Cardinal Turkson concluded his observations by noting that "all proclamation of the Gospel ... is an effort to awaken the (religious) freedom of man to desire and to embrace the truth of the Gospel. This truth of the Gospel, however, is unique, because it is truth that saves. ... Evangelisation and the carrying out of the missionary charge, then, do not contradict and oppose the sense of religious freedom".

For his part, Bishop Toso affirmed that Benedict XVI's Message "invites us particularly to examine the truth of the right to religious freedom; in other words, its anthropological, ethical, juridical, political, civil and religious implications. ... Over and above mere tolerance, religious freedom is the marrow bone of all morality and freedom, of reciprocal respect, of peace".

"The Message reserves the same criticism for fanaticism, fundamentalism and laicism, because they all overlook the essence of religious freedom, which is the free and common search for transcendent truth".

"For the Church", the bishop concluded, "dialogue between followers of different religions is an important stimulus to collaborate with all religious communities for the promotion of peace. In this way - in a globalised world characterised by increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-confessional societies - the great religions can represent not a problem but a resource, an important factor of unity and harmony".

To read the text of the Holy Father's Message click here.
AC/ VIS 20101216 (1070)

2. "Irish abortion ban violates womens' rights: European Court of Human Rights"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/irish-abortion-ban-violates-womens-rights-european-court-of-human-rights/story-fn3dxity-1225972470404
http://www.smh.com.au/world/europe-rules-against-irish-abortion-law-20101217-18zsw.html?skin=text-only

3. Mr. Ackland on child sexual assault and child pornography in Australia

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/getting-away-with-child-abuse-20101216-18zik.html?skin=text-only

4. "JOIN THE SSPX.ORG UPDATES LIST"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35145

5. Mr. Haddad on the consequences of the recent changes to the CathNews comments policy

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24542
(first comment there)

6. "Terra" on the A.C.B.C.'s preoccupation with refugees

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2010/12/bishops-are-very-worried-about.html

7. Mr. Muehlenberg on what a family is

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2004/11/20/so-what-is-a-family/
(brought to my attention by one of Mr. Muehlenberg's comments here)

8. Mr. Skinner with a possible reason why most heterosexuals don't kick up a stink about the advance of 'gay rights'

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/12/14/defending-marriage-now-means-being-%e2%80%98hateful%e2%80%99/
(comment of 16.12.10 / 8pm)

Reginaldvs Cantvar

17.XII.2010