Notes: Tuesday, February 11-Monday, March 17, 2014 (part 1 of 2)

1. Fr. Unger on St. Irenaeus of Lyons's Adversus haereses, III, 3, 2 ("the locus on the importance of the Roman Church as a criterion of apostolic tradition")

See the article "St. Irenaeus and the Roman Primacy", by The Rev. Fr. Dominic J. Unger O.F.M. Cap., in Theological Studies, 13.3 (1952), pp. 359-418:

http://www.ts.mu.edu/readers/content/pdf/13/13.3/13.3.3.pdf

(That article came to my attention via the reference to it on p. 154 of The Church and Infallibility. A Reply to the Abridged "Salmon"., by The Rt. Rev. The (7th) Lord Abbot of Downside (B. C. Butler) O.S.B., published by The Catholic Book Club, undated (but sometime between September 1952 and 10.3.56, judging by, respectively, that article and the handwritten inscription in my second-hand copy of The Church and Infallibility.)

Labels: dogma, Papacy, St. Irenaeus of Lyons

2. Mr. Saletan on the opinions of nominal Catholics on matters of Faith and morals

See the article "The pope's Catholic problem", by Mr. William Saletan, dated February 12, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-popes-catholic-problem-20140212-32gv5.html?skin=text-only

Labels: demography

3. For the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child's concluding observations on the most recent periodic reports of, respectively, the Holy See and the Russian Federation, see here:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/VAT/CRC_C_VAT_CO_2_16302_E.pdf

and here:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/RUS/CRC_C_RUS_CO_4-5_16305_E.pdf

Labels: U.N.O.

4. A couple of recent Gubernatorial (New South Wales) activities

4.1 On Friday, the 7th ult., Her Excellency The Governor of New South Wales "attended the Rainbow Flag Raising Ceremony celebrating the launch of the 2014 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival followed by a reception hosted by The Lord Mayor, at Sydney Town Hall."

The quotation in that headline comes from the webpage "Friday, 7 February 2014" at the official Governor of New South Wales website:

http://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/news/diary-of-engagements/friday-7-february-2014/

(That event came to my attention via the Vice-Regal notices on p. 31 in the classifieds section of the "Weekend Business" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, February 8-9, 2014, No. 55017, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., N.S.W.

4.2 In the early evening of Friday, the 28th ult., Her Excellency The Governor of New South Wales "opened the “We Are Family”, photographic, video and installation works exhibition, as part of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, at the Australian Centre for Photography, Paddington."

The quotation, including the italics, in that headline comes from the webpage "Friday, 28 February 2014" at the official Governor of New South Wales website:

http://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/news/diary-of-engagements/friday-28-february-2014/

(That event came to my attention via the Vice-Regal notices on p. 34 in the Classifieds section of the "BusinessDay[ sic]" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, March 1-2, 2014, Issue No. 55035, ISSN presumably 0312-6315.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., N.S.W.

5. Prof. Flannery's curriculum vitæ

See the article "Tim Flannery: a man for all climates", by Mr. Mark Dapin, dated February 8, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

Warning: The following article contains references which might scandalise some readers:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/tim-flannery-a-man-for-all-climates-20140207-3271c.html?skin=text-only

(That article came to my attention via the version printed as an installment in the Herald's "LUNCH WITH" series under the headline "Beefing up for a climate fight" ("LUNCH WITH TIM FLANNERY"), by the same author, on p. 6 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, February 8-9, 2014, No. 55017, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: Tim Flannery

6. Mr. Ban (the United Nations Secretary-General) on what he regards as proper and improper treatment of Gays & al. around the world

See the article "Ahead of Sochi Olympic Games, Ban praises power of sport to unite all people", no byline, dated February 6, 2014, downloaded from the United Nations website::

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47094#.UxWXLmex5es

(One of Mr. Ban's remarks came to my attention via the article "Putin hypocrisy exposed", no byline (but the stated sources were The Times, A.F.P., and The Wall Street Journal), on p. 9 in the "WORLD" section of The Weekend Australian, February 8-9, 2014, First Edition, No. 15337, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited, and available online under the same headline, with the same stated sources, dated February 8, 2014, at The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/putin-hypocrisy-exposed/story-fnay3ubk-1226820990769)

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

7. Uganda's President has assented to a Bill which strengthens Uganda's anti-sodomy law.

See the article "Ugandan president signs law to jail gays for life", by Grace Matsiko, dated February 25, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/ugandan-president-signs-law-to-jail-gays-for-life-20140225-hvdn7.html?skin=text-only

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

8. Dr. Zimmermann on no-fault divorce

See the article "The innocent victims of 'no-fault' divorce", by Dr. Augusto Zimmermann, dated March 1, 2014, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=56495

Labels: divorce, law, marriage

9. "It's thought that about 50 per cent of new [H.I.V. ]infections come from people who don't know they are infected"

The quotation, excluding my parenthesis, was attributed to Prof. Sharon Lewin ("a world-leading HIV researcher") in the article "HIV study lifts prevention hopes", by Julia Medew, dated March 7, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/hiv-study-lifts-prevention-hopes-20140306-34a9m.html?skin=text-only

Labels: H.I.V./A.I.D.S.

10. Some research on the hours of paid and unpaid work done by Australian men and women, respectively

See the paper "COOKING, CARING AND VOLUNTEERING: UNPAID WORK AROUND THE WORLD" (O.E.C.D. Social, Employment, and Migration Working Paper No. 116), by Dr. Veerle Miranda, dated September 20, 2011, downloaded from the O.E.C.D.'s website:

http://search.oecd.org/officialdocuments/displaydocumentpdf/?cote=DELSA/ELSA/WD/SEM(2011)1&doclanguage=en

(That research came to my attention via an article in the Sydney Daily Telegraph of Friday, March 7, 2014.) But see the opinion piece "Women struggle to escape drudgery", by Peter Martin, dated March 9, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/women-struggle-to-escape-drudgery-20140308-34dvj.html?skin=text-only

Labels: economics, families, work

11. "Many people who oppose marriage equality do so, not out of homophobia, but out of sincerely held religious beliefs or views about the nature of marriage"

The quotation in that headline was attributed to "Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome" in the article "Mundine comes out fighting against Abbott race, gay slurs", by Mr. Rick Morton, dated March 8, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/mundine-comes-out-fighting-against-abbott-race-gay-slurs/story-fn59niix-1226848483178

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline and with the same author on p. 8 in "THE NATION" section of The Weekend Australian, March 8-9, 2014, First Edition, No. 15361, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: marriage, morals

12. A few recent Masonic activities by H.R.H. The Duke of Kent (Grand Master, United Grand Lodge of England)

12.1 In the evening of Wednesday, the 26th ult., H.R.H. The Duke of Kent "attended the Board of Grand Stewards Dinner at the Goring Hotel, … London", England

See the Court Circular—the source for the quotation (excluding the ellipsis symbol) in that headline—of that day.

Labels: Edward Kent, Freemasons

12.2 In the afternoon of Thursday, the 6th instant, H.R.H. The Duke of Kent visited Stroud Masonic Hall. Later in the same day, His Royal Highness "attended a Service in Gloucester Cathedral to mark the work of the local Freemasons".

See the Court Circular—the source for the quotation in that headline—of that day.

Labels: Anglicans, Edward Kent, Freemasons

Reginaldvs Cantvar
St. Patrick's Day, A.D. 2014

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

9. Dr. Tighe on what makes a Council Ecumenical

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/09/a-pessimitic-article-about-sspx-and-talks-with-rome/#comment-294303

Labels: Church Councils, Eastern Schism, Hierarchy, Papacy, theology

10. More from Dr. Brown on the notion of "the Eucharist [as] a memorial of the Last Supper"

Point 3 of this blog comment, in which there is a link to the text of one of Paul VI.'s General Audiences:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/09/when-diocesan-priests-choose-to-use-exclusively-the-extraordinary-form-fr-z-rants-a-lot/#comment-294513

Labels: liturgy, Paul VI. Montini, Sacraments, theology

11. "it has now become a constitutional convention that [the British] Parliament does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Established Church"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/09/uk-mp-pushes-to-force-church-to-have-contrary-to-nature-marriages-or-no-marriages-at-all/#comment-294030

Labels: Anglicans, U.K.

12. A very short, but very interesting, biography of St. Robert Bellarmine

http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1141

(I first read that biography in the Sydney Catholic Weekly last Sunday.) These are the parts which were of most interest to me and for which I log that biography here:

His most famous work is his three-volume Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on the temporal power of the pope and the role of the laity. He incurred the anger of monarchists in England and France by showing the divine-right-of-kings theory untenable. He developed the theory of the indirect power of the pope in temporal affairs; although he was defending the pope against the Scottish philosopher Barclay, he also incurred the ire of Pope Sixtus V.

[...] ... The process for his canonization was begun in 1627 but was delayed until 1930 for political reasons, stemming from his writings. In 1930, Pope Pius XI canonized him and the next year declared him a doctor of the Church.

Labels: Papacy, political science, St. Robert Bellarmine, theology, William Barclay

13. Two recent opinions pieces from Mr. Steyn

13.1 "Using rights to gag free speech"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/using-rights-to-gag-free-speech/story-e6frg6zo-1226136138035

(Needless to say, I reject that 'freedom of speech' is a true moral freedom; I mainly log that web-page for its information on examples of anti-'hate-speech' action.)

Labels: hate speech

13.2 "FOURTH TRIMESTER ABORTION"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38913

Labels: abortion

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

Notes: Tuesday, May 24-Monday, May 30, 2011 (part 2 of 2)

6. A couple of recent items regarding H.H. The Pope

6.1 Review of Light of the World

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37400

Worth reading as a whole, but I'm keeping it for future reference just for its mention of the apparent reason for the present Pope's non-use of the title "Patriarch of the West".

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Papacy, Patriarch of the West

6.2 H.H. The Pope on the Church's non-pursuit of "privileges"

POPE ENTRUSTS ITALY TO VIRGIN'S PROTECTION

VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Benedict XVI presided over the praying of the Rosary together with the bishops of Italy, entrusting the people of Italy to the Virgin. The Italian bishops were gathered for a General Assembly on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the political unification of Italy.

After praying the Luminous Mysteries, Benedict XVI addressed the Italian bishops, ...

[...] "Faith, in fact", he continued, "is not alienation. The experiences that poison the dignity of humanity and the quality of social life are other [than faith]. ... Italy, celebrating 150 years of political unity, has reason to be proud of the presence and outreach of the Church, which does not pursue privileges nor intend to substitute the responsibilities of political institutions. Respectful of the State's legitimate secularity, the Church is attentive to sustaining the fundamental rights of the human person. Among these are foremost ethical instances and therefore the openness to transcendence, which constitute values prior to any state jurisdiction because they are inscribed in the very nature of the human person".
[...]BXVI-ROSARY/ VIS 20110527 (600)

It occurred to me recently that one of the big differences between the Catholic religion and the Conciliar religion is evident in the Leonine Prayers for recital after Low Mass, in which Catholics pray for "the liberty and exaltation of our holy Mother the Church"--that's liberty and exaltation, not just liberty. Whereas the Catholic Church asks God for her liberty and exaltation, the Conciliar church asks the State merely for its liberty:

... And what does this Church ask of you after close to 2,000 years of experiences of all kinds in her relations with you, the powers of the earth? What does the Church ask of you today? She tells you in one of the major documents of this council. She asks of you only liberty, the liberty to believe and to preach her faith, the freedom to love her God and serve Him, the freedom to live and to bring to men her message of life. ...
[Address of Paul VI., on behalf of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, to "all those who hold temporal power",
a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/speeches/1965/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19651208_epilogo-concilio-governanti_en.html]

I suppose that members of the Conciliar religion would try to downplay this contrast by saying that they do desire the Church's exaltation, but in an eschatological sense. A Catholic can respond to this by pointing out that Christ the King has social rights not just at the end of time, but right here and right now, and if Christ is King, then surely His Bride is Queen.

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Church and State

7. Notable appointments to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation

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

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 19 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father appointed as consultors of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization: Msgr. Fernando Ocariz, vicar general of Opus Dei; ... Fr. Julian Carron, president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation and ecclesiastical assistant to the Association "Memores Domini"; ... Dr. Chiara Amirante, founder and president of the New Horizons Association of the diocese of Anagni-Alatri, Italy; Mr. Kiko Arguello, a co-initiator of the Neo-Catechumenal Way; ...
[...]NA/ VIS 20110519 (240)

According to a ucanews post to which there was a link in one of the items in last Friday's edition of CathNews Perspectives, "[f]ive representatives from various Church movements were appointed along with five experts."

Labels: Roman Curia

8. "More older Britons having abortions"

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/more-older-britons-having-abortions-20110529-1fav1.html?skin=text-only

That article's concluding paragraph seemed particularly significant:

The figures reflect large-scale social changes in recent years. The percentage of single women in Britain has more than doubled in the past three decades, with 43 per cent of women under 50 never having married in 2009.

Labels: abortion, demography, marriage, U.K.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Felix, Pope, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Notes: Wednesday, February 9, 2011

1. More on so-called gay marriage

1.1 "[Malcolm] Turnbull seeks views on gay marriage"

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/turnbull-seeks-views-on-gay-marriage-20110208-1alqa.html?skin=text-only

Labels: G.L.B.T., Malcolm Turnbull, marriage, morality

1.2 "Union revolt on same-sex marriage ban"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/union-revolt-on-same-sex-marriage-ban/story-fn59niix-1226002429479

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, morality, S.D.A.

2. "[Russian Orthodox] Archbishop Hilarion on Christian Unity"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35951

I was interested to read there that the prelate in question

believe[s that] we the Orthodox are ourselves not altogether clear about what we mean by primacy and how this primacy should be exercised. We have, for example, certain differences between the primacy as it is understood by the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the primacy as it is understood by the Patriarchate of Moscow.

See also the first comment in that AQ thread for information on relations between the Russian State and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Labels: Hilarion Alfeyev, Kirill of Moscow, Papacy, R.O.C., Russia

3. Dr. Oddie on Catholic-Anglican 'ecumenical' discussions

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35950
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/02/why-does-the-old-fashioned-style-of-catholic-anglican-dialogue-continue/

Excerpt:

... A document so general that they can all subscribe to it will somehow be cobbled together. Nobody will read it: and the whole operation will at great expense achieve nothing.

Can anybody explain to me why we carry on with ARCIC? Is there any real intention, as 30 years ago there undoubtedly was, of actually acheiving something? Is it a continuing self-delusion on the part of those participating? Or is ARCIC III just a PR exercise, designed to avert attention from the fact that we have now, inevitably but finally, come to the bitter end of the ecumenical road?

Labels: Anglicans, ecumenism

4. "St. Thomas Aquinas on Admonishing Prelates"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35938

Labels: Hierarchy, morality, St. Thomas Aquinas, theology

5. (For laughs) And what about their Gender Studies credentials?

I was amused to read the following question, submitted, apparently seriously, in the comments section at the CathNews post entitled "New missal translation 'archaic': Irish priests' group"

Is there any evidence that anyone on the final committee of the new translation had/has any qualification in anthropology or the sociology of language?

Posted By: Anne , Redlands
[bold type in the original,
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24975]

Labels: humour, New Mass

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church, and of St. Apollonia, Virgin, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Notes: Thursday-Monday, January 13-17, 2011

1. Some figures on attitudes of mothers towards paid work

From the on-line version of an article which expands on a shorter article which I read in the Sydney Daily Telegraph last week:

... a British survey has found nearly two-thirds of women would love to find a husband with a bigger pay packet than theirs to allow them to care for their kids full time.

The YouGov survey of 922 women found 55 per cent of respondents would like to be home with their children full time if money were not an issue.

And 60 per cent said they felt pressured by society to go out and work.

[...] "Research evidence consistently shows most mothers would prefer not to have competing demands of family work and paid jobs," Dr [Catherine] Hakim said.

Her report arrives as the biggest Australian survey of parents in decades has found a third of women would like to work less, and two-thirds thought working made them less effective as a parent.

But only about 15 per cent of women could afford to be at home full time because their partner earned enough money to support them.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies' Growing Up in Australia study of 10,000 children and their parents shows two-thirds of mothers with four to eight-year-olds worked 20 to 30 hours a week.

Two thirds of these women enjoyed work and thought it made them a good role model for their kids, but they didn't always find it compatible with family life, and would prefer to work less.

[...] Jenny Baxter, Australian Institute of Family Studies senior research fellow, said women might like the idea of being at home full-time, especially if they had young children.

"But many women are highly educated and like working, and would worry about financial dependency given thehigh rate of relationship breakdown," Ms Baxter said.
[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/mothers-hanker-for-husbands-of-wealth/story-fn6bmg6l-1225985375979]

Labels: families, parenthood, social trends, work

2. Some observations about Mme. Le Pen

If I'm not mistaken, Msgr. Lefebvre regarded M. Jean-Marie Le Pen as the 'least-worst' altervative among French politicians with realistic chances of electoral success. I'm not sure that he would have the same regard for M. Le Pen's daughter and likely successor as leader of the National Front:

She has campaigned against immigration and Brussels but favours a woman's right to have an abortion. She also advocates the return of the death penalty. In a more sober style than her father she has denounced “fundamentalist Catholics” and “those obsessed by the Holocaust”.

“Marine Le Pen portrays herself as a lawyer, a mother, twice-divorced, very liberal on issues like abortion or homosexuality,” said Sylvain Crepon, a sociologist at West-Nanterre University.

“She can woo the working and middle classes, who are worried about crime and immigration and who used to see the National Front as too conservative.”
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/daughter-to-succeed-french-far-right-leader-jean-marie-le-pen/story-e6frg6so-1225988872315]

Labels: Marine Le Pen

3. An interesting discussion at Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog

With some suprising contributions, such as the first red-coloured interpolation in this comment, by Fr. Zuhlsdorf:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/01/sspx-bp-fellay-criticizes-benedict-xvi-about-assisi-meeting/#comments

Labels: John Zuhlsdorf, Papacy, theology

4. Dr. Sudlow is blogging again

http://thesensiblebond.blogspot.com/2010/08/sensible-bond-returns.html

Labels: blogs, Brian Sudlow

5. "Ha'aretz says U.S. officials face 'pro-Israel' background check"

http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/12/04/haaretz_says_us_officials_face_pro_israel_background_check

(brought to my attention by this AQ comment)

Labels: State of Israel

6. Cardinal Pell and the so-called Catholic Charismatic Renewal (C.C.R.)

I was interested to read the following in Msgr. Coleridge's eulogy for the late Lord Bishop of Sandhurst (may he rest in peace):

A sign that things were changing in the Church came when Archbishop Pell chose Joe to be spiritual director of the seminary, an appointment which surprised some who either didn’t know Joe or who underestimated him.
[http://www.dow.org.au/news/death-of-bishop-joe-grech]

I did not know that Cardinal Pell endorsed the C.C.R. so strongly as to appoint one of its major local figures to such a position.

Labels: C.C.R., George Pell

7. Ms Legge on so-called gay marriage

Excerpts (I don't have time to comment on them, unfortunately, so I'm just saving here for future reference the excerpts of most interest to me):

... But when a son or a daughter or a brother or a sister or a niece or a nephew turns out to be gay there’s an inevitable mellowing of suspicion and prejudice. Is there a grandparent on the planet who would spurn a soft, warm bundle of kinship, however tangled the threads?

[...] Days after Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull spoke against gay marriage, he began to equivocate. He now acknowledges he’s “open” to persuasion. ...

[...] That’s how Tasmanian gay activist Rodney Croome explains the desire for marriage amongst a younger cohort he calls “the Family Law Act generation”. ... The institution of marriage has evolved through no-fault divorce and the rise of de facto relationships. ...

[...] Marriage matters to ["Alex Grimshaw, 30, spokesman for Australian Marriage Equality"]: “It’s important for equality, the symbolism, because it allows us to be more comfortable with who we are.”

[...] Frank Bates, emeritus Professor of Law at Newcastle University, can’t see what’s wrong with another shift to account for the rise of same-sex relationships. Originally seen as a means of securing property rights, marriage became invested with romantic and emotional baggage in the 19th century. “There’s nothing magical about the Marriage Act – it’s just another piece of legislation,” says Bates. ...

[...] Concerns at how these offspring will fare may not be resolved until a generation are well into adulthood. A US study that followed 78 children raised by lesbian mothers for 17 years reported last June that these adolescents demonstrated healthy psychological adjustment. But critics have challenged the veracity of these results. The academic arena is so heavily politicised that one Australian academic who has reviewed the scientific literature for state parliamentary reviews examining same-sex couple adoption now begs anonymity because of the abuse he’s copped for pointing out methodological flaws in the research. He believes work on the children raised in these families is embryonic and suffers from bad science and bias.

Little is known about the impact of donor anonymity on children’s welfare. Much depends on the individual personality of the child and the stability of their adult relationships. There is no rulebook; each couple devises strategies to suit their needs. Australian researcher Dr Ruth McNair shares a three-year-old son, Sam, with her lesbian partner. Sam knows the identity of the man who helped his mothers conceive. The man visits from time to time. Sam calls him by his first name. Eilis Hughes of the Melbourne based Rainbow Families Council says her daughter Drew enjoys frequent contact with the biological father she calls “Dad”. The Mok children can access the identity of their donor father when they turn 17. The Luiciani-Crouts say they have chosen anonymity to limit problems and confusion for their daughter. The Fergusons were concerned to avoid donor intervention down the track.

[...] The couples I interviewed try very hard to bring a mix of genders into their family circle so that male or female family and friends counter the imbalance in their household. Megan and Leanne Ferguson held a “naming ceremony” for baby James where guests were invited to contribute to his lifelong education. ...
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/we-are-family/story-e6frg8h6-1225986408817]

Labels: families, G.L.B.T., marriage, morality, parenthood, social trends

Feast of St. Anthony, Abbot, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday-Wednesday, October 12-13, 2010

"Drug taken before pregnancy confirmed" (Queensland miscarriage procurement case)

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/drug-taken-before-pregnancy-confirmed/story-e6frg6nf-1225937859544

It is believed to be the first abortion-related trial in Queensland in 24 years, and pro-choice demonstrators from around Australia have converged on Cairns to call for the decriminalisation of abortion. Anti-abortion activists are also watching the case closely.

Interesting choice of descriptions there: "pro-choice" and "anti-abortion". Why not be consistent and speak of either pro- and anti-abortion (if we are to describe them by reference to their respective attitudes to the matter at hand, namely abortion) or of pro-choice and pro-life (if we are to describe them by their respective preferred descriptions)?

"I wanted to give my kid the best," Mr [Sergie] Brennan told the police, in an interview replayed to the court. "At that moment I felt I couldn't give my kid the best."

You couldn't give him or her the best, so you gave him or her the worst? Talk about making the perfect the enemy of the good.

"Synod bishops raps Israeli plan for citizenship oath"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34147

Interesting AQ thread on geocentrism

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33799&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Particularly this:

if we look at the Church's constant teaching, we find that She holds that the objective, physical geocentricity of the universe is a fact that can only be known by Divine revelation. (See St. Thomas Aquinas.)
[http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=383042#383042]

Mr. Ferrara on "Christ the King and the Catholic Tea Party"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34142

I was interested to learn that

in 1874 a nationwide movement of prominent Protestant clergy, academics, legislators and jurists known as the National Reform Association (NRA) presented a Memorial and Petition to Congress, which had been circulating since 1864, calling for nothing less than an explicit recognition of the sovereignty of God and the Social Kingship of Christ in the Constitution. Referring to “our national sins, which have provoked the Divine displeasure”—that is, the Civil War—and the need of “of imploring forgiveness through Jesus Christ,” NRA’s petition called upon Congress to initiate the process for amending the Constitution’s Preamble to read as follows:

We, the people of the United States, [humbly acknowledging Almighty God as the source of all authority and power in civil government, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ruler among the nations, his revealed will as the supreme law of the land, in order to constitute a Christian government,] and in order to form a more perfect union…
[italics and ellipsis in the original]

Related (to the Kingship of Christ) post by Fr. Zuhlsdorf:

"Card. Rivera: Priests must work to transform society"
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/10/card-rivera-priests-must-work-to-transform-society/

"Stemma Papale"

"On Sunday a new stemma papale [the Pope's coat-of-arms] was seen"--with the Papal Tiara replacing the mitre which the Holy Father has on his coat-of-arms:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/10/stemma-papale/

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Edward, King, Confessor, A.D. 2010

Notes: Thursday, October 7, 2010

A good question in a letter in today's Australian

The last sentence of this letter in the "Last Post" section of the letters section:

Why does marriage need to be between one man and one woman? The arguments for same-sex marriage equally apply to polygamy and polyandry. If people want to fundamentally transform Australia's culture, why stop at half measures?

D. Straface, Perth, WA
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/last-post-october-07/story-fn558imw-1225935108767]

Mr. Magister on the September 20 to 27 meeting of the joint international commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church ("Papal Primacy. Russia Heads the Resistance Against Rome")

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34058

I was interested to read in that article that

the Eastern Churches are slowly approaching the convocation of the pan-Orthodox "Great and Holy Council" that should finally unite them in a single assembly after centuries of incomplete "synodality," [...]

Material preparation for the end of the Eastern Schism after the Consecration of Russia, perhaps.

Mr. Schütz contra Dr. Gray on euthanasia

http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/you-do-not-have-a-right-to-chose-your-time-of-death/

Mr. Schütz uses a very good piece of rhetoric in that rejoinder to Dr. Gray's opinion piece, which (opinion piece) I covered in yesterday's edition of Notes:

To die with dignity is, I would agree, a “human right” – but in a secondary sense: ie. everyone is entitled to that “dignity” which is due to them because they are a human being in BOTH life and death. The question is: what do you mean by “dignity” in this context? Japanese warriors and Jihadist Terrorists both had/have ideas about what a “dignified” death is. We disagree with both their accounts. We disagree with Nigel Gray’s too.
[my emphasis]

Pro-Confessional-State pronouncement from the Vatican?

http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2007/03/theyre-making-their-move.html

I was interested to read the following from the text of the conclusions from the meeting of March 11-13, 2007 of the Bilateral Commission of the Delegation of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel's Delegation for Relations with the Catholic Church in an old post at the Maurice Pinay blog:

6. In addition to respecting the freedom of religious choices, the integrity of faith communities should also be guaranteed. Accordingly it is legitimate for a society with a predominant religious identity to preserve its character, as long as this does not limit the freedom of minority communities and individuals to profess their alternative religious commitments, nor to limit their full civil rights and status as citizens, individuals and communities. This obliges us all to safeguard the integrity and dignity of holy sites, places of worship and cemeteries of all religious communities.

A few thoughts:

• To say that "it is legitimate for a society with a predominant religious identity to preserve its character" is encouraging insofar as that it is saying that it is legitimate for a Catholic Confessional State to have Catholicism as the State religion and the Catholic Church as the established Church. (Unfortunately that does not seem to have been Vatican policy in the aftermath of Vatican II.)
• But of course, it is discouraging insofar as it is saying, by the same token, that an Anglican Confessional State, or Lutheran Confessional State, or Muslim Confessional State, or Atheist Confessional State, or, given the context, Jewish Confessional State, is also legitimate, which is false.
• It is also discouraging insofar as it does not affirm, or does not affirm adequately, the right (and duty) of a Catholic Confessional State to repress, where prudent, offenders of the Catholic religion.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of St. Mark I., Pope, Confessor, and of St. Sergius and Companions, A.D. 2010

Notes: Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Mr. Kelly on euthanasia

Excerpt:

The entire key to the euthanasia debate lies in its great paradox: consistent polls showing a majority in favour. But what, exactly, are people supporting? The 1996-97 debate provides the answer: most people think that turning off life-support machines and discontinuing life-preserving treatment is euthanasia. In fact, this is nothing to do with euthanasia. Indeed, it is the precise opposite of euthanasia. If a family turns off a life-support machine, the patient dies because of their illness, not because of the doctor. But if the doctor gives a lethal injection, then the patient is killed. This is a fine yet critical distinction.

Because euthanasia involves one person being sanctioned to kill another, it cannot be seen just within a human rights framework. It is an ethical and intellectual failure to pretend that euthanasia is merely a human right awaiting recognition. It is about society and its norms and values. There is no escaping the chasm that euthanasia crosses. Creation of a legal framework to permit killing must affect the way all people perceive their lives and the expectations that friends, family and doctors have of patients.

This issue was best put by former NSW politician Tony Burke, now Minister for Sustainability and Environment in the Gillard government, when he led the 1996 campaign from Labor's side: "There is a maxim often used in the capital punishment debate which applies perfectly to legalised euthanasia: whether you support it or oppose it in principle, if one innocent person is going to be killed, that is too high a price." Exactly.

Former Labor MP Lindsay Tanner, on October 28, 1996, tore to shreds the logic of the Northern Territory law. Asking where the line should be drawn, Tanner asked rhetorically: "Why is it that it is only the terminally ill? Why shouldn't it also be the severely disabled? Why not somebody with an incurable mental illness? Why not children who are terminally ill?"

Tanner's point is that lines cannot be firm or fixed. Reinforcing his argument is that many euthanasia advocates, such as Peter Singer, actively promote its extension more widely.

Tanner also dismissed the furphy about territory rights, saying it was absurd to let the Northern Territory, representing 1 per cent of the people, make such a decision affecting all Australians. Finally, he asked: What about the terminally ill who do not want to die? Good question. It was the question hammered by Burke and Andrews. Once the killing culture is established, the aged, sick and disabled will have to consider whether to put up their hands. They will feel obligated. Financial pressures, healthcare costs and expectations of family will assume new dimensions.

The old joke for the sick is that euthanasia is "putting us out of your misery".

Yes, some people in pain want to die and it is hard to deny their claim. Yet there are many others glad to be alive today who would have volunteered for euthanasia if it had been legal five years ago. As Andrews said in 1996, a well person who is suicidal is offered counselling, but under euthanasia an ill person who is suicidal becomes an option for death.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/browns-euthanasia-bill-a-perilous-test-for-gillard/story-e6frgd0x-1225931193178]

"Nitschke says GP poll shows euthanasia support"

Body of the CathNews article:

One in three GPs in major cities believe people older than 70 who feel "tired of life" should have the right to professional help in ending it, a poll conducted by Philip Nitschke's Exit International has found.

More than 33 percent of 500 doctors surveyed in Sydney (35 percent), Melbourne (36 percent) and Adelaide (43 percent) agreed with the provocative question. In Perth, 28 percent endorsed it, according to a report in The Australian.

Dr Nitschke said he was surprised by the support for a proposition that sits at the radical end of the euthanasia spectrum. He conducted the poll during weekend workshops convened by Sydney-based Elixir Healthcare Education on "clinical controversies" that GPs attended in July and last month, the news report said.

People feeling "tired of life" are a potentially enormous group of elderly citizens who may not be suffering from chronic health problems.

"My feeling is, and not everyone agrees, is that this opens up a much broader debate around the fundamental idea of control towards the end of life," Dr Nitschke said. "Baby boomers want control."

About half the GPS surveyed from the four capital cities agreed that they want legislative reform to allow euthanasia for the terminally ill, said the report.
[http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=23483]

Some figures on the knowledge (or agreement?) Catholics have of (with?) Catholic teaching

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/atheists-beat-the-faithful-in-knowledge-of-religion-20100928-15vru.html?skin=text-only

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=23481

See also here:

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=381416#381416

"Catholic-Orthodox talks: officials optimistic but ... [sic, but no breakthroughs]"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33932

Mr. Robertson on, among other things, the Vatican City State and Pius XI.

Excerpt:

This is perpetuated, Mr Robertson writes, by the ''pseudo state'' of the Holy See that was created in 1929 in a deal between Mussolini and the pro-fascist Pope Pius XI, and which the Vatican describes as an ''absolute monarchy''. As its head of state, the Pope is immune from prosecution, to which Mr Robertson says he has no rightful claim.
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/holding-pope-responsible-for-abuses-is-not-too-dangerous-20100928-15vun.html?skin=text-only]

At the time of the (needless to say, illegitimate) overthrow of Papal civic sovereignty over the States of the Church, the Pope's title to that sovereignty was the strongest of the respective titles of all the European rulers (they (the Popes) had held that title for a good thousand years or more). Given this, it's hard to begrudge the Popes the tiny concession of the present-day Vatican City State. And as for Pius XI. being "pro-fascist", well that's just ridiculous, though I don't have the time to do a proper rebuttal of it.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Michaelmas, A.D. 2010

Notes: Friday, September 24, 2010

Fr. Zuhlsdorf on 'servitude', the Mass, and priesthood

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/09/mass-priesthood-and-sacrifice-must-never-be-separated/

The Rev. Fr. John T. Zuhlsdorf provided a useful reminder of the meaning of the Papal title of 'servant of the servants of God':

... Servitus was sometimes in ancient times used as a form of address. We mustn’t stretch this too much, but tune your ear to how our ancient forebears would have heard words such as servitus. In the writings of the Fathers of the Church servus is used for the priest or bishop. St. Pope Leo I, “the Great” (+461) refers to himself in this way (ep. 108, 2). Servitus or “Servitude” was much as Sanctitas or “Holiness” is for the Pope today, or Excellentia or “Excellency” is for a bishop. I don’t hear of many bishops today welcoming the title “Your Servitude”. St. Augustine (+430) used servus servorum (ep. 217). One of the venerable titles of the Bishop of Rome is, from the time of the aforementioned St. Gregory I, “Servus Servorum Dei… Servant of the servants of God”.

And Father continues well, with the following reminder of the meaning of the Mass:

The altar is the supreme place of priestly service. An altar is about sacrifice. Priesthood is about sacrifice. Priesthood and sacrifice must never be separated in our minds.

We must never lose sight of Mass as propitiation, or of the priest as offering sacrifice to God. This deep current in Holy Mass must inform every word and gesture, ornament and sign.

Unfortunately, Fr. Zuhlsdorf then messes things up by introducing a little Vatican-II-ism:

For example, when the priest is standing at the altar in the place of Christ,
Head of the Church (in persona Christi capitis), ...

Another letter in The Australian on euthanasia (and the on-line comments which that letter has elicited)

Note: The web-page for the letter (published under the heading "Double standards") seems to have cut off the opening sentence, which, judging by the Letters main page, was

THE sanctity of life is a cornerstone of liberal democracy.

followed by

Its primary importance is pragmatic, not philosophical -- it provides ultimate protection of the weak in society.

=Unless we want to re-run the last 500 or so years of political evolution, we can't afford to abandon the principle that no individual or group has the right to kill others. The Greens' proposed euthanasia legislation does just this, devaluing human life and exposing its proponents to the accusation that they have double standards.

How can we concede that the sanctity of a life may be negotiable in some circumstances and then credibly campaign against capital punishment? How can we solve some people's problems by quietly euthanasing them and then hope to persuade teenagers that suicide is not a viable solution to their own problems?

The unconsidered social consequences of adopting this very unprogressive measure are potentially profound and likely to go well beyond its superficial aim of providing the ultimate in pain relief.

John Francis, Lauderdale, Tas
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/double-standards/story-fn558imw-1225928597351]

It was interesting to see some of the comment writers rejecting that the "sanctity of life is a cornerstone of liberal democracy":

v Posted at 8:33 AM Today

John Francis, I am afraid that yours is one of the most dishonest letters I have ever read. The "sanctity" of life is NOT a cornerstone of liberal democracy. ...

robert thomson of brisbane Posted at 9:43 AM Today

The sanctity of life a cornerstone of liberal democracy? What sort of bilge is this? ...
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/double-standards/comments-fn558imw-1225928597351]

Well, there you have it. Liberals rejecting that the sanctity of life is a cornerstone of liberal democracy. Why would anyone support such a political system?

"Vatican joins commemoration of Rome capture"

Full body of the text posted at CathNews:

For the first time, the Vatican has joined in anniversary celebrations of the 1870 capture of Rome by Italian troops which ended the Papal States' domination of the city for more than 1,000 years.

"We are here to take part in a symbolic gesture and to re-affirm the fact that Rome is the indisputable capital of Italy, just like it is the heart of everything that concern the Church," Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said before the ceremony, the Times of Malta reports.

Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano and the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, also took part in the celebrations of the 140th anniversary of the "breach of Porta Pia," when on September 20, 1870 Italian troops broke into Rome close to the city gate, completing the country's unification.

Mr Alemanno said Cardinal Bertone's presence had "a special meaning", even though the ceremony "was no longer a matter of healing the historical wound between the Italian state and the Holy See".
[http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=23427]

Dr. Kok on euthanasia

One of the regular commenters at Mr. Muehlenberg's blog had some interesting things to say in a couple of comments at the latter's blog. Large excerpt from the first of those comments:

Jereth Kok
21.9.10 / 2am

[...] Bill, I am a medical practitioner who has spent time working with many dying patients. Arguments about there being a thin line between turning off life support and euthanasia are (to use the academic term) “complete bollocks”.

Life support (which includes such things as respirators, dialysis and artificial feeding) is artificial intervention which maintains life when it would otherwise cease. On the other hand, euthanasia is administration of a drug to a living patient which will shut down their body systems and kill them.

In a life support situation, if medical staff elect to “do nothing”, the patient will die in a way that is completely natural. Sometimes a patient is put on (artificial) life support in the hope that their body will recover to a point that life can be sustained naturally once again; life support is only switched off when it is clear that there is actually no prospect of recovery.

In a euthanasia situation, if medical staff elect to “do nothing”, the patient will continue living. Ongoing life is natural; euthanasia is artificial — the exact reverse of the former set of circumstances.

There is therefore a world of difference between withdrawing medical treatment which artificially prolongs life, and deliberately administering a drug to kill somebody. Contrary to your claim, there is not a hint of “grey” in this at all.

Jereth Kok
[http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/09/19/christians-and-the-party-of-death/]

See also Dr. Kok's comment of 23.9.10 / 10pm in that same combox for details on how nurses deal with end-of-life situations.

Blog comments by me

Just one, at Terra's blog:

Cardinal Pole said...

Another thing of which Islam reminds us is the social rights of God. If we take the following proposition as the basic principle of Islamism:

Men not just in societies but also as societies must profess Islam.

then that is false not because of the form of the syllogism by which it is argued or because its major premise is false, but because its minor premise is false:

Men not just in societies but also as societies must profess the true religion.
Islam is the true religion.
Therefore men not just in societies but also as societies must profess Islam.

September 24, 2010 3:11 PM
[http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-we-can-learn-from-islam.html]

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Our Lady of Ransom, A.D. 2010

Notes: Saturday-Wednesday, August 7-11, 2010

T.R.H. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark are expecting

From Amalienborg Palace:

The Crown Prince Couple is expecting twins

Issued Friday August 6, 2010


Amalienborg Palace, August 6, 2010

Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess are happy to announce that The Crown Princess is expecting twins.

The birth is expected to take place at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen (Copenhagen University Hospital) in January, 2011.

Lene Balleby
Head of Communication
Tel.: +45 30 40 10 10
[http://www.crownprincecouple.dk/7f22774/Year/2010]

Discussion on H.H. The Pope's dropping of the Papal title of 'Patriarch of the West'

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/08/dropping-patriarch-of-the-west-and-changing-titles-of-roman-basilicas-to-papal/#comments

Why (among other reasons) women can't be priests (and shouldn't be altar servers, either)

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/08/whither-losservatore-romano/#comment-217182

Another web-page on that disgraceful L'Osservatore Romano article:

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33085

"Mexico's Separation of Church and State"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33055

"Judge’s anti-Prop. 8 decision ‘finds as a fact’ that Pope Benedict’s teachings are harmful to homosexuals"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33072

"NSW to consider adoption agencies right to reject gay couples"

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=22748

Interesting books reviewed/mentioned in the weekend papers:

Reviewed in The Weekend Australian:

"Legend's makeover gives thieving hero a licence to kill"
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/legends-makeover-gives-thieving-hero-a-licence-to-kill/story-e6frg8nf-1225900606998
"Holy Warrior
"By Angus Donald
"Sphere, 344pp, $29.99"

"Do worry and don't always be happy"
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/do-worry-and-dont-always-be-happy/story-e6frg8nf-1225900609218
"The Uses of Pessimism: And the Danger of False Hope
"By Roger Scruton
"Atlantic Books, 232pp, $35"

Reviewed in The Sydney Morning Herald:

Griffith Review 29: Prosper or Perish
(It was only one of the short reviews, presumably not available on-line, so here's the U.R.L. for the book's official web-page:
http://www.griffithreview.com/editions.html)

And I was interested to see that ranking at no. 8 on the Herald's list of the top ten "Political/social science" bestsellers was, would you believe, The Communist Manifesto.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Sts. Tiburtius, Martyr, and Susanna, Virgin, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Notes: Saturday-Tuesday, June 26-29, 2010

"Federal grant to protect gays against stigma in aged care"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/federal-grant-to-protect-gays-against-stigma-in-aged-care-20100627-zc2c.html?skin=text-only

Excerpt:

Gay rights activists hope a federal government grant of almost $400,000 for aged-care training will help to decrease the stigma, discrimination and exclusion to which gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people can be subject.

[...] Training for aged-care staff was important to ensure older gay people were treated with dignity and respect, said a spokesman for the Australian Coalition for Equality, Corey Irlam. For too many years older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people and their specific needs had been largely ignored by the government and parts of the aged-care sector, he said.

Mr Irlam and a gerontologist, Jo Harrison, recently met Ms Elliot's staff, other MPs and departmental staff to discuss issues affecting older gays, including creating safe and inclusive environments.

Despite a change to the Aged Care Act 1997 giving same-sex couples the same entitlements and obligations to health and ageing programs, Ms Plibersek said the training would raise awareness of gay ageing issues among service providers and the broader community.

"While we can change the law, the greatest challenge will be in generating changes in attitude," she said.

The executive director of the National LGBT Health Alliance, Gabi Rosenstreich, said: "Older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex Australians experience significant health and wellbeing issues due to decades of stigma, discrimination and social exclusion."

So the big question is: Just what are these "specific needs"/"gay ageing issues"? "[C]reating safe and inclusive environments" is a rather vague goal on which to spend hundreds of thousands of taypayer dollars. And could it be that whatever 'gay-specific ageing issues' there might be arise not so much from "decades of stigma, discrimination and social exclusion" as from decades of living a debauched lifestyle?

A good letter to The Australian on a recent finding regarding abortion

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/compassionate-killing/story-fn558imw-1225884943226

Compassionate killing?

The Australian June 28, 2010 12:00AM

THE question of whether or not a 24-week-old fetus can feel pain ("No pain for fetus prior to 24 weeks", 26-27/6) may be interesting to those who have a genuine concern for the welfare of an unborn child.

It is, however, quite irrelevant to the issue of abortion, the sole purpose of which is to kill a living human being who, at that stage of development is fully recognisable as such, with fingers and toes, eyes, nose and mouth and a heart which started beating at around three weeks after conception.

I find the notion of compassionate killing totally incongruous. It should hardly need pointing out that a human being at any age or stage of development can be killed painlessly by a variety of means -- bullet, gas, electrocution -- but that in no way lessens the crime of a deliberate act of killing. Why should abortion be different?

Peter Davidson, Ashgrove, Qld

Mr. Wilson with a quotation from The Catholic Encyclopedia in rebuttal of errors about St. Gregory the Great's understanding of the powers of the Pope

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=366523#366523

H.H. The Pope on religious liberty

The fourth paragraph of the following Vatican Information Service (V.I.S.) daily e-mail bulletin item contains what would have to be the most sweeping Papal endorsement of the error of 'religious liberty' ever:

STABLE PEACE AND SECURE COEXISTENCE IN THE HOLY LAND

VATICAN CITY, 25 JUN 2010 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received participants in the annual Meeting of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO), whose work this year focused chiefly on preparations for the forthcoming Synod for the Middle East.

Beginning his remarks to them, the Pope noted that "all of us desire the gift of stable peace and secure coexistence in the Holy Land, in Iraq and in the Middle East. This will arise through respecting human rights, families, communities and peoples, and through overcoming religious, cultural and social discrimination".

He went on: "I encourage our brothers and sisters in the East ... who continue to keep the faith and, despite numerous sacrifices, stay in the land where they were born. At the same time I encourage emigrants from the East not to forget their origins, especially their religious origins. Their human and Christian faithfulness and coherence depend on this".

The Holy Father made special mention of "Christians who suffer violence because of the Gospel", entrusting them to the Lord. "I continue to hope that the leaders of nations will truly guarantee, without distinction and in all places, public and community profession of religious belief".

Benedict XVI expressed his appreciation for the enthusiasm with which the Eastern Catholic Churches participated in the recently-concluded Year for Priests, recalling how in antiquity the East was a cradle for great schools of priestly spirituality. In this context he particularly referredto the Church of Antioch, which produced extraordinary saints, and he called on the priests of the Eastern Churches to continue to reflect this spiritual heritage.

Referring then to the Special Assembly for the Middle East, due to be held from 10 to 24 October, the Pope said: " I am pleased at the broad co-operation provided thus far by the Eastern Churches and for the work which, from the beginning, ROACO has done, and continues to do for this historical event. This joint effort will have fruitful results because of the presence of some of your representatives at this episcopal gathering and your ongoing relationship with the Congregation for the Eastern Churches".

The Holy Father asked the participants in the annual meeting "to contribute with your activities to keeping the 'hope that does not disappoint' alive among the Christians of the East. ... We would like to be with them always! Trusting in the intercession of the Blessed Mother of God and of the Apostles Peter and Paul, I commend to the Lord the benefactors, friends and collaborators (living and dead) who in one way or another are linked to ROACO, with a special mention for the recently-deceased Bishop Luigi Padovese".

AC/ VIS 20100625 (460)

"MSGR. MAMBERTI RECEIVES CREDENTIALS OF RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR"

From another recent V.I.S. daily e-mail bulletin:

MSGR. MAMBERTI RECEIVES CREDENTIALS OF RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR

VATICAN CITY, 26 JUN 2010 (VIS) - The Secretariat of State today announced that Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States, received the Letters accrediting Nikolay Sadchikov as ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Holy See. In the near future, Archbishop Antonio Mennini will present Sergei Lavrov, minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, with the Letters of Credence accrediting him as apostolic nuncio to that State.

SS/ VIS 20100628 (80)

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, Apostles, A.D. 2010

Notes: Wednesday, May 26, 2010

On the push to punish for murder or manslaughter those who kill late-term unborn babies

The Sydney Daily Telegraph has been running this for the past couple of days and I see it's being discussed at The Punch:

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Why-cant-a-foetus-be-a-victim-of-crime/?referrer=email&source=Punch_nl&emcmp=Punch&emchn=Newsletter&emlist=Member

and at Cath Pews:

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/thread/1274739589.html

Arabella made the following comment at the latter:

I can't imagine any law coming into being which would impinge upon a woman’s ‘right’ to abortion.

A paragraph from a USA court case around abortion sums up the current state of affairs well I believe. Basically the way of life in countries such as the USA and Australia now depends upon the availability of abortion.

Quote:
The Roe rule's limitation on state power could not be repudiated without serious inequity to people who, for two decades of economic and social developments, have organized intimate relationships and made choices that define their views of themselves and their places in society, in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail.
Unquote.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=505&invol=833
See paragraph ‘e’ at link.

A website which monitors Facebook posts

I saw this in today's Herald. Here's the U.R.L.:

http://www.openfacebooksearch.com/

Might be useful.

"Testimony to the Primacy of the Pope by a 17th c. [Ruthenian] Orthodox Prelate"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31701

Interesting article on AQ. Here's an exerpt:

The appropriate solution would be the following: Let all recognize the primacy. The Apostolic See ought to content itself with this without changing or abandoning any of its principles and basic rights. It is real union and not mere change that we must seek. Now, the constitution and nature of union is to unite two realities and to safeguard each natural integrity. That which existed previously should exist today; that which did not exist previously ought to be suppressed. That which has always existed is the Sovereign Pontiff regarded as the first and supreme pastor in the Church of Christ, as the Vicar of Christ, the Chief. May that be conserved today! But we have never read that a Latin has ever exercised a direct jurisdiction over the Greek rite. The Greeks have always acknowledged the primacy, but they themselves have always been under the jurisdiction of a patriarch of their own rite.

... We confess openly, in virtue of the principles and basic foundations of the Church of God that our own (Byzantine) rite distinguishes us from the Roman, but that we have communion in one and the same faith. We are not able to deny that the Blessed Apostle Peter has been, as we profess in the hymns of our Church, the Prince of the Apostles and that his successors, the Roman Pontiffs, hold in perpetuity the supreme authority in the Church of God.

Consequently, without distancing ourselves from our father, the patriarch [of Constantinople], from whom we Ruthenians have received initiation into holy baptism, and without delaying the union of the Church (in which is given true salvation), everyone of us - clerics and laity - (in order to escape the dangers of dissensions) has accepted the following solution in the name of Our Lord: to live in unity under one head and one only pastor, the Vicar of Christ, as the Symbol of Faith [the Creed] prescribes for us; to profess one only Catholic and apostolic Church and in her, one only sovereign successor of Peter, the Roman Pontiff; and to remain faithful to the rites of our holy Greek religion conserved in their integrity from the beginning and until the most clement God (by His power from on high) will render liberty to the Greek people (from the Turks) and to our pastor, the Patriarch (of Constantinople) who will conduct us to that salutary concord which we implore with a holy ardor, especially in the Divine Liturgy.

I worry about where it says

The Greeks have always acknowledged the primacy, but they themselves have always been under the jurisdiction of a patriarch of their own rite.

though. Although Eastern Catholics are, of course, under the jurisdiction of their respective Patriarchs, they are also under the full, supreme and immediate jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff, which jurisdiction he is free to exercise at any time.

Joshua on the Old and News Rites of Mass

"Offertories Old and New":
http://psallitesapienter.blogspot.com/2010/05/offertories-old-and-new.html
"A Few Restorations to the Mass":
http://psallitesapienter.blogspot.com/2010/05/few-restorations-to-mass.html
"Three Most Untraditional Prayers":
http://psallitesapienter.blogspot.com/2010/05/three-most-untraditional-prayers.html
"Offerimus tibi Domine":
http://psallitesapienter.blogspot.com/2010/05/offerimus-tibi-domine.html

I've left the following comment at the first of those posts:

Cardinal Pole said...

"Then someone had the bright idea of adapting the Jewish table blessings of bread and wine, much as, just perhaps (who can say?), Our Lord did at the Last Supper."

It ought to be noted that the N.O.M. 'preparation of the gifts' comes from the Talmud, which is the written collection (written down hundreds of years after the time of Christ) of the very 'traditions of men' which Our Lord condemned. There is no proof that the table blessings therein are those of the Jews before and during the time of Christ, and, on the contrary, according to Encyclopedia Judaica they probably date to no earlier than the second century A.D.

"It is important that sacrificium nostrum... placeat tibi, Domine Deus be read in the strongest sense, as praying that the sacrifice offered – which is Christ – please the Lord, placate Him, appease Him, be a propitiation availing for us men and for our salvation."

The surrounding text does not impose that reading. Someone who knows the theology of the T.L.M. will read that into it, but someone who does not would be perfectly reasonable to read that as 'pleasing' in the way a mere sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving is pleasing, not 'pleasing' in the sense in which a true, propitiatory sacrifice is pleasing.

"Undeniably, however, this is doctrine is deëmphasised ..."

'expunged' would be a better word.

"The Supreme Pontiff formerly known as Cardinal Ratzinger mentioned, while yet in that rank, that Lumen Gentium has passages that sound almost semi-Pelagian in their overconfident view of "modern man"."

I think you mean Gaudium et spes, Joshua.

(I hope I don't come off sounding too harsh here, Joshua; I appreciate these posts you've done on the Old vs. New Masses and am about to link to them at my blog.)

Wednesday, 26 May, 2010

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Reginaldvs Cantvar

Wednesday in the Octave of Pentecost, A.D. 2010