Notes: Tuesday, February 5-Monday, July 22, 2019 (part 3 of 3)

7. The latest bioethical offences from Australia's political duopoly

7.1 A Labor Federal Government would work to increase access to contraception and abortion, most notably by ensuring that "Commonwealth-State hospital funding agreements will expect that termination services will be provided consistently in public hospitals."

See the Media Release "LABOR’S PLAN TO SUPPORT WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS", Wednesday, March 6, 2019, issued jointly by The Hon. Tanya Plibersek M.P. (at the time, Deputy Leader of H.M.A. Opposition and its Shadow Minister for Education and Training and for Women) and The Hon. Catherine King M.P. (at the time, Federal Shadow Minister for Health and Medicare) and available at their respective websites:

http://www.tanyaplibersek.com/media_release_labor_s_plan_to_support_women_s_reproductive_rights_wednesday_6_march_2019

https://www.catherineking.com.au/2019/03/05/labors-plan-to-support-womens-reproductive-rights/

Labels: A.L., abortion, contraception

7.2 "Women will have greater choice around IVF services with the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government providing up to a $500 rebate for pre-IVF fertility testing and greater access to lower cost treatments", whereby "the NSW Government will provide lower cost IVF treatments for around 6000 women through services at Royal Prince Alfred, The Royal Hospital for Women and Westmead hospitals"; and there will be "a partnership with UNSW for the first statewide fertility preservation service for young cancer patients at The Royal Hospital for Women."

Those quotations come from the press release "MAKING IVF MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR WOMEN", Saturday, March 9, 2019, downloaded from the website of The Liberal Party of Australia's New South Wales Division:

https://nsw.liberal.org.au/candidates/gladys-berejiklian/news/articles/MAKING-IVF-MORE-ACCESSIBLE-FOR-WOMEN

Labels: I.V.F., L.P.A., Nationals

8. St. Thomas Aquinas against the doctrines of original liberty and original equality

See note 92 at the end of the article "The Corporate Idea and the Body Politic in the Middle Ages", by Anton-Hermann Chroust, in The Review of Politics, Vol. 9, Issue No. 4, October 1947, pp. 423-452:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-politics/article/corporate-idea-and-the-body-politic-in-the-middle-ages/0B226F3CF3CB5272E74E7655C48EE5D2

This is the relevant section of that note:

Compare St. Aquinas, Thomas, Summa Theologica I, quaest. 96, art. 3 Google Scholar: “We must of necessity admit that in the primitive state there would have been some inequality.…” See ibid, quaest. 96, art. 4: “… a man is the master of a free subject, by directing him either towards his proper welfare, or the common good. Such a type of mastership would have existed in the state of innocence between man and man, for two reasons: first, because man is by nature a social being, and thus in the state of innocence he would have led a social life. Now a social life cannot exist among a number of people unless under the direction of one to look after the common welfare; for many, as such, seek many things, whereas one attends only to one.…” See also Summa contra Ceniiles[ sic] III, 81
[italics, bold type, and hyperlinks in the original, my square-bracketed interpolation]

Labels: Democratism, liberalism, morals, politics, St. Thomas Aquinas

9. Dr. Gosbell on ancient Christian (and pagan) attitudes to abortion and infanticide

See the A.B.C. Religion and Ethics article ""As long as it's healthy": What can we learn from early Christianity's resistance to infanticide and exposure?", by Dr. Louise Gosbell, Wednesday, March 13, 2019:

Warning: That article is headed by a picture which could scandalise some readers:

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/early-christianitys-resistance-to-infanticide-and-exposure/10898016

Labels: abortion, Fathers, infanticide, morals

10. 24% of mothers in couple families in Australia were unwaged in 2016, down from 32% in 1991.

My immediate source for the information in that headline is Figure 2 of the Australian Institute of Family Studies research summary "Fathers and work: A statistical overview", by Dr. Jennifer Baxter, May 2019:

https://aifs.gov.au/aifs-conference/fathers-and-work

(The ultimate source is the Australian Population Census customised reports, 1991–2016, according to Figure 2's caption.)

Labels: demography, family, social trends, work

11. On the morning of the 26. ult., The Duke of Cambridge "officially opened the Albert Kennedy Trust new Services Centre" in London.

See the Court Circular of that date. According to akt's "our history" webpage, akt is the "world’s first ever service for homeless LGBT youth":

https://www.akt.org.uk/our-history

and according to its "duke of cambridge visits akt" webpage, that official opening involved "the first visit to a lgbtq+ youth charity by a member of the royal family":

https://www.akt.org.uk/news/duke-of-cambridge-visits-akt

Labels: G.L.B.T., William Cambridge

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Penitent, A.D. 2019

Notes: Tuesday, February 5-Monday, July 22, 2019 (part 2 of 3)

5.2 An interesting survey, found in an unexpected place, of some Papal and Patristic opinions on political theory, including Church-State relations

S.v. "The papal theory", art. "Papal Arbitration", The Catholic Encyclopedia:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11452a.htm

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, law, morals, politics, Social Reign of Christ

5.3 Dr. Chambers on, among other things, prescription ('thorough settlement') as a title to sovereignty

See the doctoral thesis Conscience and allegiance : an investigation into the controversy over Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy during the Reign of William III and William II, 1689 - 1702, by Dr. Jeffrey Alexander John Chambers, Dublin, Ireland, 2016, available at Trinity College, Dublin's Trinity's Access to Research Archive website:

http://www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/82900

Or go straight hither:

http://www.tara.tcd.ie/bitstream/handle/2262/82900/Chambers%2c%20Jeffrey_Phd%20History%20TCD%202016%20Conscience%20%26%20Allegiance.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Labels: morals, politics

5.4 Prof. Burgess on the difference between regalism and absolutism

See the article "The Divine Right of Kings Reconsidered", by Glenn Burgess, in The English Historical Review, Vol. CVII, Issue No. CCCCXXV, October 1992, pp 837–861, available at that journal's website:

https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article/CVII/CCCCXXV/837/521648

Or go straight hither:

https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article-pdf/CVII/CCCCXXV/837/9783615/837.pdf

Labels: morals, politics, regalism

5.5 "… The politician must be in the midst of his people and collaborate in this way or another to make the sovereign people the protagonist of their history."

The quotation, excluding my ellipsis symbol, in that headline is attributed, after translation, to H.H. The Pope in The Holy See Press Office Bulletin item "Audience with a Group of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, 04.03.2019":

http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2019/03/04/190304e.html

The original Spanish of that quotation ("… El político está en medio de su pueblo y colabora con este medio u otros a que el pueblo que es soberano sea el protagonista de su historia.") is available, with the rest of the Papal address whence its untranslated version was extracted, in the Italian version of that Bulletin item, "Udienza ad un Gruppo della Pontificia Commissione per l’America Latina, 04.03.2019":

http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/03/04/0184/00374.html

The original Spanish and translated English texts of the Papal address in question are also available via the following two links, respectively:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/speeches/2019/march/documents/papa-francesco_20190304_pontcommissione-americalatina.html

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2019/march/documents/papa-francesco_20190304_pontcommissione-americalatina.html

Labels: Democratism, Francis Bergoglio, morals, politics

5.6 Dr. Balmez (or Balmes) on the origin of, justification for, and mode of transmission of political authority

See CC. XLIX ("THE ORIGIN OF SOCIETY, ACCORDING TO CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS."), L ("OF DIVINE LAW, ACCORDING TO CATHOLIC DOCTORS."), and LI ("THE TRANSMISSION OF POWER, ACCORDING TO CATHOLIC DOCTORS."), pp. 238-259 (267-88 in the document reader), Protestantism and Catholicity Compared in Their Effects on the Civilisation of Europe., by The Rev. J. (for Jaime) Balmez, translated, from M. Blanche's French translation of the original Spanish, by C. J. Hanford and R. (for Robert) Kershaw, published, or at least printed, by Robson, Levey, and Franklyn, London, 1849, downloaded from Search Oxford Libraries Online:

http://dbooks.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/books/PDFs/590051082.pdf

Also available at Google Books:

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=IEoEAAAAQAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Labels: Democratism, morals, politics, regalism, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Thomas Aquinas

5.7 Mr. Anderson on Filmer's Patriarcha

See the magisterial thesis Sir Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha: Royalist Propaganda, by Kurtis G. (for George) Anderson, available for download from Emory University's Electronic Theses and Dissertations website:

https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/d217qq34d?locale=en

Labels: morals, politics, regalism

6. Fr. Parsons on two opposing concepts of political liberty and on their respective relationships to authority

S.v. "DEMOCRATIC LIBERTY" and "LIBERTY AND AUTHORITY", art. "The Theory and Origins of Democracy", by The Rev. Fr. Wilfrid Parsons S.J. (then-Professor of Political Science at The Catholic University of America), p. 11, The Advocate (Melbourne), Vol. LXXIX, No. 4740, Wednesday, June 5, 1946:

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/172227845

Labels: Democratism, liberalism, morals, politics

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Penitent, A.D. 2019

Notes: Friday, January 1-Monday, March 28, 2016

1. Some changes to this blog's sidebar

Just before posting this issue of "Notes", I added

• a "Search services" section, containing links to Google and to Trove, between my "Discussion links" and "Reference links" sections

• a link to Theological Studies' website to my "Miscellaneous links" section (whence I moved my Trove link)

• a link to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy's website to my "Reference links"

Labels: blogs

2. Mr. Alexander on two theories of how political authority is transferred from God to the sovereign:

… Ever since Suarez and Bellarmine, this theory[, that is, "the theory of the social contract and the transfer of power by the people as a whole",] had been the subject of violent dispute between the partisans of the formal and conservative interpretation of the doctrine of Thomas Aquinas which found the origin and the bearer of state power to be in the state community, and the partisans of a realistic interpretation and its further development in the tradition of Suarez and the others. According to the first concept, the people in a state are only indirectly the bearers of political power and all they can do is to designate (designatio) or elect the immediate bearer of political power to whom this power is then transferred “by the grace of God.” According to the second concept the people in a state are themselves the bearers of state power which they transfer directly (delegatio) to the organs of the state in the name of the natural rights of the people, whereby they do not by any means dispose of these rights permanently by the contractual act of delegation, but on the contrary remain the perpetual and original possessors of political power. This difference between the so-called “designation theory” and the “translation theory” has significant consequences for the doctrine of the social contract and the active, i.e., revolutionary, right of resistance. Those who hold fast to the designation theory necessarily reject the democratic theory of the social contract and people’s sovereignty and, by the same token, deny the existence of a direct right to resist and to make revolutionary constitutional changes. Those who believe in the translation theory, on the contrary, not only defend the Suarist concept of people’s sovereignty but also deduce from it the right of active resistance. …
[my ellipsis symbols and square-bracketed interpolation,
pp. 506 f., sub-section 2. "The Doctrine of the State", section 2. "The Political Doctrines", Chapter VI "Political Doctrines and Social Theories", in "Church and Society in Germany. Social and Political Movements and Ideas in German and Austrian Catholicism 1789-1950" by Edgar Alexander, translated by Dr. Toni Stolper; "Church and Society in Germany" is Part IV of Church and Society: Catholic Social and Political Thought and Movements 1789-1950, edited by Prof. Joseph N. Moody in collaboration with twelve others, published by Arts, Inc., New York, 1953]

Labels: morals, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Thomas Aquinas

3. Mr. Smith on Mr. Nile's involvement in the New South Wales Parliament's extension, to all shops, of permission to trade on Boxing Day 2015 and ’16:

… You[, that is, Shop, Distributive, and Allied Employees' Association, New South Wales Branch (S.D.A.N.S.W.) "members, Delegates and supporters",] sent in thousands of emails and made hundreds of phone calls to the Rev Nile. Every major Christian religious group wrote letters of support calling on Parliament to leave the day for families. Despite all of this, the Rev Nile broke his election promise to you and he voted with the Baird Government to allow all shops to trade on Boxing Day.
[my ellipsis symbol and bracketed interpolation,
"A Challenging Year Draws to an End", by Mr. Bernie Smith (S.D.A.N.S.W. Secretary), p. 3, SDA NEWS (the "OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, NEW SOUTH WALES BRANCH"), Summer 2015, available at the S.D.A.N.S.W.'s website here:

https://www.sdansw.org.au/news/sda-news-summer-2015-edition

Or go straight hither:

http://issuu.com/sdansw/docs/sda_news_summer_2015_so?e=9746493/31899528]

But see also the Media Release "Boxing Day Trading – Let’s Keep with the Facts", dated November 12, 2015, downloaded from the Christian Democratic Party's website here:

http://www.christiandemocraticparty.com.au/media-releases/boxing-day-trading-lets-keep-with-the-facts/

In particular, in connection with Mr. Smith's statement that "[e]very major Christian religious group wrote letters of support calling on Parliament to leave the day for families", see the message from the leader of the Sydney branch of the Anglican sect, available for download at that Media Release's webpage, or go straight hither:

http://www.christiandemocraticparty.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/151110-Archbishops-letter-to-FN-and-PG.pdf

Labels: Fred Nile, work

4. In the conclusion to H.H. The Pope's brief homily during a New-Order Mass (the Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord, January 10, 2016), His Holiness "invited mothers to feel free to feed their babies in the Sistine Chapel if necessary."

The quotation in that headline comes from the item "Baptisms in the Sistine Chapel: offer your children the legacy of faith", dated January 10, 2016, in the Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletin of January 11, 2016, Year XXVI, No. 5; that item is available online under the same headline and with the same date at News.va:

http://www.news.va/en/news/baptisms-in-the-sistine-chapel-offer-your-children

An English version of the text of the homily in question is available here:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2016/documents/papa-francesco_20160110_omelia-battesimo-signore.html

and in what was presumably its original Italian here:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/homilies/2016/documents/papa-francesco_20160110_omelia-battesimo-signore.html

Labels: breastfeeding, Francis Bergoglio, morals

5. Five points of interest in connection with the Safe Schools Coalition's All of Us "teaching resource"

The text immediately after each of the following bullet points is a quotation from the article "Sexual politics in the classroom", by Natasha Bita, on p. 17 in the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, February 13-14, 2016, First Edition, No. 15961, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited. I transcribed the quotations myself (though the article is also available online (behind a paywall, which you might be able to circumvent if you Google part of one of the following quotations and click the resulting link), at The Australian's website, under the headline "Safe Schools Coalition: sexual politics in the classroom", with the same author, dated February 13, 2016, here); each dash is the result of a word spanning two lines, and any bracketed interpolations are mine.

• Victoria has ordered all govern-ment schools to sign on[ to the "Safe Schools Coalition program"] by 2019[ sic—twenty nineteen].

• Taxpayers are funding the pro-gram, which the Safe Schools Co-alition devised based on advice from a “curriculum consultant” and a group of Melbourne teach-ers

• Safe Schools Coalition national pro-gram director Sally Richardson tells Inquirer the Federal Edu-cation Department approved the All of Us teaching manual

• The de-cision to target the teaching to the youngest high school students, she[, namely Sally Richardson,] says, was made by education con-sultant Janice Atkin, a former Aus-tralian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority project officer who managed the develop-ment of the national health and physical education curriculum.

• “We worked closely with the federal Department of Education and Training to ensure all the les-son plans and videos were appro-priate for years 7 and 8,” Richardson says. “All of our re-sources are being fully funded by the Australian government.”

You can download the All of Us unit guide from the Safe Schools Coalition's website here:

http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/all-of-us

or go straight hither:

http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/app/theme/default/design/assets/all-of-us/documents/unit-guide.pdf

On seeing Mr. Marco Fink credited (under his assumed named "Margot Fink") on p. 2 under "DIRECTOR", "EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS", "SPECIAL THANKS", "PHOTOGRAPHY", and "CAST MEMBERS", I couldn't help but think of Little Britain's parody of Dennis Waterman refusing to accept work on a T.V. show unless he could "star in it, write the feem toon, sing the feem toon".

Regarding H.M. Victorian Government's putative plan to make all State-run Victorian schools take part in the Safe Schools programme: Two possible sources for that piece of information are the Media Release "All Victorian Government Schools to Be Prouder, Safer", dated February 2, 2015, downloaded from the Premier of Victoria's official website here:

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/all-victorian-government-schools-to-be-prouder-safer/

and "Victoria’s 10-year mental health plan", authorised and published by H.M. Victorian Government, Melbourne, November 2015, available here:

http://mentalhealthplan.vic.gov.au/

According to the "SNAPSHOT OF ACTION" on p. 4 (p. 3 in your reader) of the latter,

We have increased support for the resilience and wellbeing of young people through:
• expanding the Safe Schools program to all secondary schools across the state

and according to the former,

a successful program that creates safe and supportive classrooms for same-sex attracted and gender diverse students will be implemented at every Victorian Government secondary school.

(and the "successful program" is "The Safe Schools Coalition Victoria program".) It was also interesting to see, under the sub-heading "Quotes attributable to Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, James Merlino", 'respectful relationships' popping up again:

this program is about working with teachers to provide a respectful and safe environment where every young person can belong.

Labels: A.C.A.R.A., education, G.L.B.T., sex ed, Victoria

6. Pius XII. on world federal government

See the text of the French-language Allocution of April 6, 1951 to the delegates to the fourth annual congress of the World Movement for World Federal Government in Acta Apostolicæ Sedis 43 (A.D. 1951), pp. 278-280 (to which the index refers on p. 891):

http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-43-1951-ocr.pdf

The text of that Allocution is also available in HTML format here:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/fr/speeches/1951/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19510406_confederaz-mondiale.html

Apparently, an English translation, though with no translator credited, was printed in the "THIS CHANGING WORLD" column (no byline) on p. 4 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, Vol. X, No. 480, Thursday, May 10, 1951:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/17409103

Labels: morals, Pius XII. Pacelli, U.N.O.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Easter Monday, A.D. 2016

Notes: Wednesday, December 21, 2011-Wednesday, January 11, 2012 (part 1 of 2)

Firstly, let me say that I hope that you had a merry Christmas and are having a happy New Year.

1. Some recent data on the respective ages of Australian women who have given birth:

[The] experience of [an Australian woman] having her first baby after the age of 35 is increasingly common, new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures show, with the number of first-time mothers aged 35+ rising from 10.3 per cent in 2000 to 13.7 per cent in 2009 (the most recent year of data).

The report, Australia's mothers and babies 2009, released today, shows the average age of women who gave birth reaching 30 years, up from 29 in 2000.

"The proportion of mothers aged 35 and over also continues to rise -- up from 17.1 per cent in 2000 to 22.8 per cent in 2009," AIHW national perinatal epidemiology and statistics unit spokeswoman Elizabeth Sullivan said. "And mothers aged 40 and over made up 4 per cent of women giving birth in 2009 compared with 2.6 per cent in 2000."
["Happy to labour later in life, first-time mums push the age barrier", by Stephen Lunn, dated December 21, 2011, downloaded from The Australian's website:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/happy-to-labour-later-in-life-first-time-mums-push-the-age-barrier/story-e6frg8y6-1226227102521]

Labels: demography, families

2. "A woman has died from a failed legal abortion in Australia"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40166

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2011/12/another-woman-dies-after-melbourne.html

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/12/22/abortion-hurts-women-not-to-mention-babies

Labels: abortion

3. "[Australian p]sychologists urge support of gay marriage as beneficial to mental health"

"Psychologists urge support of gay marriage as beneficial to mental health", by Milanda Rout, dated December 23, 2011, downloaded from The Australian's website:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/psychologists-urge-support-of-gay-marriage-as-beneficial-to-mental-health/story-e6frg8y6-1226228887945

Labels: A.P.S., G.L.B.T., marriage, mental health

4. "Navy rumour"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/more-work-not-higher-fares-will-solve-problem-20111229-1pe6y.html?skin=text-only

(That letter, of December 30, 2011, was a rejoinder to a letter published here under the heading "Under the carpet"; date: December 29, 2011.)

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

5. Prof. Freddoso's (incomplete) translation of St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica:

http://www.nd.edu/~afreddos/summa-translation/TOC.htm

(That came to my attention via one of the Christmas presents which I received, namely the book Just the Arguments; this is its website.)

Labels: philosophy, St. Thomas Aquinas, theology

6. Fr. Gleize on the teachings of Vatican II

http://www.dici.org/en/documents/debate-about-vatican-ii-fr-gleize-responds-to-msgr-ocariz/

(If I recall correctly, that came to my attention via a recent issue of the e-mail newsletter of the S.S.P.X.'s U.S. District.)

Labels: Vatican II

7. Together At One Altar—"a resource for school aged children in years F-12 in Australia to develop their formation in the Eucharist and assist their full, active and conscious participation in the Eucharist":

http://www.togetheratonealtar.catholic.edu.au/index.cfm

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

Labels: liturgy, theology, Together At One Altar

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

Notes: Tuesday, February 22-Wednesday, February 23, 2011

1. "54 Answers from Bishop Fellay"

http://sspx.org/superior_generals_ltrs/54_answers_from_bishop_fellay_feb_2011/54_answers_bp_fellay1.htm

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36104
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36131

In one of the interview web-pages, there is a hyperlink to an English translation of the Twenty-Four Thomistic Theses, which theses the Sacred Congregation of Studies approved in the early twentieth century:

http://sspx.org/miscellaneous/24_thomistic_theses.htm

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Bernard Fellay, philosophy, S.S.P.X., St. Thomas Aquinas, theology, Traditional Latin Mass, Vatican II

2. R.I.P. Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the former abortionist and National Abortion Rights Action League co-founder who became pro-life and, later, Catholic

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36142
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36147

Labels: abortion, Bernard Nathanson

3. Interesting AQ thread on the motive for the Incarnation

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36137

Labels: theology

4. Excerpt from a blog comment on the relationship between abortion and contraception:

... A recent study of around 2000 women found that 1 in 2 had an unplanned pregnancy and 60% of those were using contraception at the time. More than half of women who have abortions report they were using contraception at the time. Also if you multiply 99% by the number of women on the pill you will come out with a number of failures that is completely unacceptable if you intend to kill ‘failures’.

http://www.mariestopes.org.au/research/australia/australia-real-choices-key-findings
[http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/02/21/pro-aborts-say-the-dumbest-things/#comments]

Labels: abortion, contraception

5. What's this all about?

I don't remember seeing anything like this in, if I recall correctly, almost four years of reading the Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletin:

HOLY FATHER TO CANONISE THREE BLESSEDS ON 23 OCTOBER

VATICAN CITY, 21 FEB 2011 (VIS) - In the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace at midday today, the Holy Father presided at an ordinary public consistory for the canonisation of the following blesseds:

[...] A number of cardinals then expressed to the Pope their desire to pass from the order of deacons to the order of priests:

- At the request of Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan, the diaconate of the Holy Guardian Angels at Citta Giardino has been elevated "pro hac vice" to presbyteral title and assigned to the same cardinal.

- At the request of Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, the diaconate of St. Eustace has been elevated "pro hac vice" to presbyteral title and assigned to the same cardinal.

- At the request of Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, the diaconate of St. Nicholas in Carcere has been elevated "pro hac vice" to presbyteral title and assigned to the same cardinal.

- At the request of Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, the diaconate of St. Jerome of Charity has been elevated "pro hac vice" to presbyteral title and assigned to the same cardinal.

- At the request of Cardinal Walter Kasper, the diaconate of All Saints on the New Appian Way has been elevated "pro hac vice" to presbyteral title and assigned to the same cardinal.

- At the request of Cardinal Roberto Tucci S.J., the diaconate of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Campo Marzio has been elevated "pro hac vice" to presbyteral title and assigned to the same cardinal. [...]
OCL/ VIS 20110221 (390)

And the question in the title of this Notes item is not rhetorical.

Labels: College of Cardinals

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Peter Damian, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church, 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: Tuesday-Thursday, January 4-6, 2011

1. "Cardinal George Pell agrees to meet gay marriage campaigners"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/cardinal-george-pell-agrees-to-meet-gay-marriage-campaigners/story-e6frg6nf-1225981271561

Labels: G.L.B.T., George Pell, marriage, morality

2. "S. THOMAE DE AQUINO OPERA OMNIA" (Latin)

http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/iopera.html

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

3. Mr. Kent on Ms Keneally's behaviour at press conferences

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/kristina-keneallys-painful-lesson-in-how-to-say-nothing/story-e6frezz0-1225981904591

Interesting mainly for its observations on how 'sound bite' culture degrades press conferences:

Over the next 30 minutes, explaining the legal advice in her hand, Keneally repeats the phrase "independent and non-political advice" eight times.

[...] She says it often enough that it begins echoing in the subconscious, the intention all along. She says it even when the question didn't ask for it. Or even require it.

Indeed, she says what she wants, over and over again, because Kristina Keneally realises one of the great truths of the political press conference.

Repeat only your message - ignoring all legitimate answers to all valid and reasonable questions - and reporters are unable to quote anything else.

The wisdom of this is revealed later, when reporters must cut their 90-second news report - and what else can be reported other than her stage-managed message? Her refusal to answer all legitimate questions is lost in the need to report what she did actually say.

Labels: politicians

4. The latest figures on Australians' support for euthanasia

http://www.smh.com.au/national/support-steadfast-for-death-to-ease-pain-20110105-19gau.html?skin=text-only

Labels: euthanasia, morality

5. On Muphry's (sic) Law

From the last item in today's edition of the Herald's "Column 8":

Margaret Ruwoldt, of Leopold, Victoria, adds to the Laws Of Inevitable Error discussion of recent days: '' I'm fairly certain that snortee Alan Lloyd on Thursday meant to refer to Muphry's Law, defined in 1992 by John Bangsund of the Society of Editors (Victoria). Under Muphry's Law, if you write anything criticising editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written.'' ...
[http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/column-8/column-8-20110105-19g6s.html?skin=text-only]

Labels: Muphry's Law

6. Mr. Donnelly on Sir Elton John's procurement of his (Sir Elton's) pseudo-son

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/zachary-may-feel-like-eltons-motherless-child/story-e6frg6zo-1225981951351

Of particular interest to me were these sections:

One Australian who has given the issue of artificial reproductive technology careful thought is Margaret Somerville. Somerville teaches at McGill University in Canada. Earlier this year she presented a paper, "Children's Human Rights to Natural Biological Origins and Family Structure", at a symposium in Slovakia. ...

[...] One Australian who has given the issue of artificial reproductive technology careful thought is Margaret Somerville. Somerville teaches at McGill University in Canada. Earlier this year she presented a paper, "Children's Human Rights to Natural Biological Origins and Family Structure", at a symposium in Slovakia.

Labels: families, G.L.B.T., Margaret Somerville, morality, parenthood

7. On Japanese immigration policy

Could someone please tell me whether it is true that

Japan forbids permanent immigration in order to preserve its homogeneous culture.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/arbitrary-penalties/comments-fn558imw-1225981977332]

Labels: Japan

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, A.D. 2011

Notes: Saturday-Monday, December 11-13, 2010

1. "Israeli rabbis back ban on renting property to Arabs"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/israeli-rabbis-back-ban-on-renting-property-to-arabs-20101208-18pwx.html?skin=text-only

See also this AQ thread:
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35074

2. Mr. Muehlenberg on how legalisation of so-called gay marriage affects (adversely) people other than the gay 'husbands' and their respective 'wives'

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/12/10/same-sex-marriage-who-says-nothing-will-change/

3. A few interesting books reviewed/mentioned over the weekend

3.1 "In Your Face: The New Science of Human Attraction
"By David Perrett Palgrave
"Macmillan, 305pp, $42"
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/for-the-footy-fans/story-e6frg8nf-1225966843570

3.2 "Peter Leithart, Defending Constantine. IVP, 2010"
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/12/12/recommended-reading-for-the-christmas-break/

3.3 "Edward Feser, Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide (Oneway Publications, 2009)"
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/12/13/historical-theology-a-bibliographic-essay/
(also metioned in comments at the web-page linked in 3.2)

4. "AUSTRALIA'S culture of long work hours is putting at risk children's early learning opportunities"

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/long-work-hours-leave-little-time-for-childs-play-20101210-18swv.html?skin=text-only

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Lucy, Virgin, Martyr, A.D. 2010

Notes: Thursday, June 17, 2010

Two articles on abortion and politics

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/health-minister-nicola-roxon-attacks-opposition-leader-tony-abbott-on-abortion-issue/story-fn3dxity-1225880561340
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/bid-to-raise-abortion-during-parental-leave-debate-angers-senators/story-e6frgczf-1225880471463

Body of the first article (it's not too long):

FEDERAL Health Minister Nicola Roxon has launched an attack on Tony Abbott and his religion, accusing the opposition leader of letting his "personal beliefs" in Catholicism affect policy formulation.

Ms Roxon fired the salvo during question time today when discussing Labor's commitment to an "expanded and improved pregnancy, birth and baby hotline".

"We want to provide help and information and choice to women, not give them a lecture," the health minister told parliament.

"This is in stark contrast to the complete failure of the leader of the opposition's own baby, and that was the national pregnancy support helpline."

Mr Abbott's helpline was established in 2007 after he failed as health minister to stop the introduction of the abortion pill RU-486.

Opponents argued the groups selected to formulate the advice to be provided on the helpline were biased because they followed Catholic teaching and were openly pro-life.

Ms Roxon said Mr Abbott allowed his "personal beliefs to interfere and get in the way of providing completely accessible and non-judgmental public services".

"Mr Abbott doesn't live in the real world," she said.

The attack comes after the Rudd government warned Australians that the latest opinion polls showed Mr Abbott could win the next election.

Frontbenchers lined up to label the opposition leader as "too risky" for the top job.

Excerpt from the second:

A bid by Family First leader Steve Fielding to turn a parliamentary debate about paid parental leave into one about abortion has angered fellow senators.

A largely bipartisan Senate debate about the Rudd government's paid parental leave scheme became heated today when Senator Fielding introduced amendments dealing with abortion.

He called for a stricter definition of a mother's eligibility in the event of a late-term abortion, to ensure those women are not eligible for any paid parental leave.

“Drug addicts and welfare cheats can go out there and get themselves pregnant and then after 20 weeks have an abortion and still pocket the government's cash,” Senator Fielding told the Senate.

The debate moved to the difference between stillborn babies and those that had been aborted.

“We don't need assurances, we need to make sure this is in the law,” Senator Fielding said.

“There may be mums out there who want to cheat the system in an horrific way.”

"Groups seek Federal protection for Catholic education"

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21937

Excerpt:

Catholic Education Commissions have joined the Federation of Parents and Friends Associations in a combined push for six Federal commitments that will ensure Catholic education remains sustainable.

The Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) issued a statement outlining the demands that have come from the Federation of Parents and Friends Associations and the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC).

These are that:

•Catholic schools and systems should have a direct (funding) relationship with the Commonwealth Government, underpinned by legislation.
•Catholic schools and systems from 2013 have, at the very least, access to the same funds, indexed to government school costs, as currently available.
•Catholic systems have the
capacity to distribute funds to schools according to need. •Funding levels must be indexedannually, using a transparent mechanism, to ensure that Catholic schools and systems are able to meet the rising costs of education.
•Funding for students with disabilities must be increased towards parity with government school funding.
•Capital funding should be increased for educationally disadvantaged communities and areas of population growth.

As the only commenter at that article said:

Why do these organisations still call themselves Catholic Education or Catholic Schools? They're of little use to the CHurch Mission.

Posted By: John Streaky Bay SA

It sounds to me like a recipe for driving the final nail into the coffin of genuinely Catholic Catholic education in Australia.

H.H. The Pope on the theology and philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas

Here's an interesting allocution by the Holy Father (this is the text of the relevant item in today's Vatican Information Service e-mail bulletin):

***

THOMAS AQUINAS: INTER-RELATION OF PHILOSOPHY, THEOLOGY

VATICAN CITY, 16 JUN 2010 (VIS) - In his catechesis during this morning's general audience, Benedict XVI continued his presentation of the figure of St. Thomas Aquinas, "a theologian of such importance that the study of his works was explicitly recommended by Vatican Council II", he said. He also recalled how in 1880 Leo XIII declared him as patron of Catholic schools and universities.

The Pope noted how Thomas Aquinas focused on the distinction between philosophy and theology. This was because in his time, in the light of Aristotelian and Platonic thought on the one hand, and the philosophy of the Church Fathers on the other, "the burning question was whether ... a philosophy elaborated without reference to Christ and the world of faith, and that elaborated bearing Christ and the world of faith in mind, were compatible or mutually exclusive".

"Thomas", the Holy Father explained, "was firmly convinced that they were compatible, and that the philosophy elaborated without Christ was awaiting only the light of Jesus in order to be made complete. The novelty of Thomas, what determined his path as a thinker, was this: to demonstrate the independence of philosophy and theology, and at the same time their inter-relation".

For the "Doctor Angelicus", the Pope went on, "faith consolidates, integrates and illuminates the heritage of truth acquired by human reason. The trust St. Thomas places in these two instruments of knowledge (faith and reason) can be explained by his conviction that both come from a single wellspring of truth, the divine Logos which works in the area of both creation and redemption".

Having established the principle of reason and faith, St. Thomas makes it clear that they follow different cognitive processes: "Reason accepts a truth by virtue of its intrinsic evidence, either mediated or direct; faith, on the other hand, accepts a truth on the basis of the authority of the revealed Word of God".

"This distinction ensures the autonomy of the human sciences, ... and the theological sciences. However this does not mean a separation; rather, it implies mutual and advantageous collaboration. Faith, in fact, protects reason from any temptation to mistrust in its own capacities and stimulates it to open itself to ever broader horizons".

"Reason too, with the means at its disposal, can do something important for faith, offering it a triple service which St. Thomas summarises thus: ... 'demonstrating the foundations of faith; using similitudes to explain the truth of faith; rebuffing the objections that arise against the faith'. The entire history of Christian theology is, in the final analysis, the exercise of this duty of the intellect, which shows the intelligibility of the faith, its inner structure and harmony, its reasonableness and its capacity to promote the good of man.

"The correctness of theological reasoning and its true cognitive significance is based on the value of theological language which, according to St. Thomas, is principally a language of analogy", the Pope added. "Analogy recognises shared perfections in the created world and in God". Thomas based his doctrine of analogy, "not only on purely philosophical arguments, but also on the fact that, with the revelation, God Himself spoke to us and, thus, authorised us to speak about Him".

The Holy Father highlighted the importance of this doctrine which, he said, "helps us overcome certain objections raised by modern atheism which denies that religious language possesses objective meaning and holds that it only has a subjective or merely emotional value. In the light of the teachings of St. Thomas, theology affirms that, however limited, religious language does have meaning".

St. Thomas' moral theology retains great relevance in its affirmation that "the theological and moral virtues of man are rooted in human nature", said Pope Benedict. "Divine Grace accompanies, supports and encourages ethical commitment but, according to St. Thomas, all men and women, believers and non-believers, are of themselves called to recognise the requirements of human nature as expressed in natural law, and to draw inspiration therefrom when formulating positive law; that is, the laws produced by civil and political authorities to regulate human society.

"When natural law and the responsibility it implies are denied," he added, "the way is thrown dramatically open to ethical relativism at an individual level, and to totalitarianism at a political level. Defending the universal rights of man and affirming the absolute value of the dignity of the person presupposes a foundation: and is not this foundation natural law, with the non-negotiable values it contains?".

"Thomas", the Holy Father concluded, "presents us with a broad and trusting view of human reason. Broad, because it is not limited to the area of empirical-scientific reason but open to all of existence and therefore also to the fundamental and inescapable questions of human life; trusting, because human reason, especially if it welcomes the inspiration of Christian faith, promotes a civilisation which recognises the dignity of the person, the inviolability of his rights and the cogency of his duties".
AG/ VIS 20100616 (830)

***

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Gregory Barbarigo, Bishop, Confessor, A.D. 2010