Notes: Friday, June 21-Tuesday, June 25, 2013

1. On Garter Day (the Monday in Royal Ascot week) 2013 (in 2013, Garter Day was the seventeenth of June), H.M. The Queen held a Chapter of the Order of the Garter in Windsor Castle's Throne Room, during which Her Majesty invested Lord Stirrup with the Insignia of a Knight Companion of that Order. In the afternoon of that day, in St. George's Chapel, The Queen installed His Lordship in the same Order.

See the Court Circular of that day.

Labels: Graham Stirrup, Order of the Garter

2. In "a recent petition by the Polyamory[ sic] Action Lobby[,] … the group said: "We demand nothing less than the full recognition of polyamorous families"."

That quotation, excluding my ellipsis symbol and square-bracketed interpolations, comes from the article "Bernardi: I was right on gay marriage and polygamy", by Jonathan Swan, dated June 18, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/bernardi-i-was-right-on-gay-marriage-and-polygamy-20130618-2offe.html?skin=text-only

See also the Poly Action Lobby's (sic—the group's name seems to be, as of March 1, 2013, "Poly Action Lobby", not "Polyamory Action Lobby") submission (No. 1224) in relation to the Parliamentary "Inquiry into Same sex marriage law in NSW", which (submission) "was received on 1/3/2013 by the Social Issues Committee":

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/7773A58712584B87CA257B2B0004EE96

Labels: polyamory

3. "there are still almost 80 countries around the world which criminalise same-sex relations"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Does Australia deserve a place at the world's top human rights table?", by Mr. Phil Lynch, dated June 20, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/world-commentary/does-australia-deserve-a-place-at-the-worlds-top-human-rights-table/story-e6frg6ux-1226667020964

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

4. Prof. Williams on anti-death-penalty legislative victories in Australia

See the opinion piece "Chances of return to death penalty remain almost nil", by Prof. George Williams, dated June 18, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/chances-of-return-to-death-penalty-remain-almost-nil-20130617-2oeie.html?skin=text-only

Labels: death penalty, law

5. "About 60 per cent of those in custody in Australia have been imprisoned before."

The quotation, including its hyperlink, in that headline comes from the webpage "Recidivism" at the website of the Australian Government's Australian Institute of Criminology:

http://www.aic.gov.au/crime_community/communitycrime/recidivism.html

(That figure came to my attention via the opinion piece "Why we shouldn't call Adrian Bayley a Monster", by Alecia Simmonds, dated June 19, 2013, downloaded from Fairfax's Daily Life website:

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/why-we-shouldnt-call-adrian-bayley-a-monster-20130618-2og5v.html?skin=text-only

Labels: crime

6. Ms Maley on Coalition-Labor co-operation to end legislative discrimination against sodomite-catamite couples and to prevent capital punishment in Australia:

[The Hon. Robert ]McClelland[ M.P.], for instance, gave a shout-out to his opposition shadow[ Federal Attorney-General] Senator[ The Hon.] George Brandis[ Q.C.], who came across to the House of Representatives to watch McClelland's valedictory. He thanked Brandis for his ''vital'' co-operation in amending some 80 pieces of legislation to remove discrimination for same-sex couples, and in legislating to prohibit capital punishment from ever being reintroduced in Australia.

These legislative results were achieved ''in substantial part as a result of [Brandis'] support and decency'', McClelland said …
[my ellipsis symbol and square-bracketed interpolations, except for "[Brandis']",
"Now they tell us …[ sic] pollies hide virtues till the end", by Ms Jacqueline Maley, dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/now-they-tell-us-8230-pollies-hide-virtues-till-the-end-20130621-2onu5.html?skin=text-only]

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same byline, on p. 11 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, June 22-23, 2013, No. 54820, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: A.L., death penalty, discrimination, G.L.B.T., L.P.A., law, Nationals

7. "A new study published in the journal Psychological Science found some crucial, fascinating insights into how extremists can shift their positions to more moderate stances. The researchers, from the University of Colorado Boulder, Harvard Kennedy School, UCLA and Brown University, found that people's positions became less severe once they were asked to actually spell out their policies, and once they realised they did not know as much as they thought they did on the subject."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "The silence of the moderates", by Dr. Julia Baird, dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/the-silence-of-the-moderates-20130621-2onnp.html?skin=text-only

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same byline, on p. 12 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, June 22-23, 2013, No. 54820, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Presumably Dr. Baird was referring to the article "Political Extremism Is Supported by an Illusion of Understanding", by Assistant Professor Philip M. Fernbach et al., the abstract of which is available here:

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/24/6/939.abstract

Labels: extremism

8. "The ACTU has provided evidence that one in three women leave the workforce permanently while pregnant or after having a child."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Gillard launches gender inquiry", by Mr. Michael Gordon, dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/gillard-launches-gender-inquiry-20130621-2oo81.html?skin=text-only

(That article came to my attention via the version printed on p. 1 of the "NEWS" section of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, June 22-23, 2013, No. 54820, ISSN 0312-6315.)

See also the article "HRC to look at leave discrimination", no byline (though its source is the A.A.P.), downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website, which (article) says that the A.C.T.U.'s president, Ms Ged Kearney,

said Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed almost one third of working women with a child under two left the workforce permanently while pregnant or after having a child.
[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/hrc-to-look-at-leave-discrimination/story-fni0xqi3-1226667945055]

(For more on the inquiry in question, see the media release "Inquiry into parental leave discrimination: Fairer workplace practices to benefit families and the economy", issued jointly by The Hon. Mark Dreyfus Q.C. M.P., The Hon. Jenny Macklin M.P., and The Hon. Bill Shorten M.P. (respectively the Federal Attorney-General, the Federal Minister for Families, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs, and for Disability Reform, and the Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations), dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from the Federal Attorney-General's website:

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Mediareleases/Pages/2013/Second%20quarter/22-June-2013---Inquiry-into-parental-leave-discrimination-Fairer-workplace-practices-to-benefit-familes-and-the-economy.aspx

See also the webpages "Pregnancy and return to work research begins" and "Prevalence of experiences of discrimination relating to pregnancy at work and return to work after parental leave" at the Australian Human Rights Commission's website.)

Labels: discrimination, families, P.P.L., pregnancy

9. "BOYS as young as five will be encouraged to envisage becoming nurses and girls soldiers under a French primary school program designed to break down age-old stereotypes", which (programme)", called the ABCD of Equality, will be introduced into 500 primary schools from September before being made part of the national curriculum a year later."

The quotations, including the bold and capitals, in that headline come from the article "French gender-bender blue", no byline (its source is The Times of London), dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/french-gender-bender-blue/story-fnb64oi6-1226667762224

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline on p. 10 in the "WORLD" section of The Weekend Australian, June 22-23, 2013, First Edition, No. 15147, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: feminism

10. "100,000[ Australians] ceased calling themselves Catholic between 2006–2011"

The quotation in that headline comes from the installment of His Eminence The Most Rev. The Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney A.C.'s "Cardinal's Comment" column titled "Numbers up, percentage down", dated June 16, 2013 (sic—presumably that was the date of its printing in the Sydney Sunday Telegraph), downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=12307&class=Features&subclass=Cardinal's Comment

(That article came to my attention via the version printed on p. 8 under the same headline in the same "CARDINAL'S COMMENT" column in The Catholic Weekly, June 23, 2013, Vo. 72, No. 4678, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company.)

Labels: demography, social trends

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. William, Abbot, A.D. 2013

Notes: Wednesday, February 13-Tuesday, March 26, 2013 (part 1 of 2)

1. "Vatican Apostolic Library uploads 256 digitized manuscripts"

See the article "Vatican Apostolic Library uploads 256 digitized manuscripts", no author credited, dated January 30, 2013, downloaded from the Rome Reports website:

http://www.romereports.com/palio/vatican-apostolic-library-uploads-256-digitized-manuscripts-english-8886.html

or go straight to the relevant webpage of the Apostolic Library's website:

http://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php?pag=mss_digitalizzati

(That Rome Reports article came to my attention via this Catholica thread-starter.)

Labels: books

2. "these two documents, on religious freedom and Nostra Aetate, linked to Gaudium et Spes, make a very important trilogy"

The quotation, including its italics and hyperlinks, in that headline comes from the Vatican website's translation of the Address of H.H. The Pope Emeritus (then gloriously reigning) at the Meeting with the Parish Priests and the Clergy of the Rome Diocese on Thursday, February 14, 2013 in the Paul VI. Audience Hall. (That Address came to my attention via this article from the Vatican Radio website.)

Labels: Dignitatis Humanæ, Vatican II

3. "about one in five students at Sydney Catholic schools comes from other faith backgrounds or is not religious"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "School choice is not just keeping the faith", by Josephine Tovey and Georgina Mitchell, dated February 18, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/school-choice-is-not-just-keeping-the-faith-20130217-2el4a.html?skin=text-only

That quotation is the authors' report of what "the executive director of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Sydney, Dan White", told them.

Labels: Catholic schools

4. Mr. Gutierrez on how, in his opinion, "Dignitatis Humanae, the Council document on religious freedom, represented a development of Church teaching, not a reversal of it."

See the article "Vatican II and Religious Liberty", by Omar F. A. Gutierrez, dated January 14, 2013, downloaded from The Catholic World Report website:

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1883/Vatican_II_and_Religious_Liberty.aspx

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

Labels: Dignitatis Humanæ, religious liberty

5. A couple of recent items regarding the death penalty

5.1 A potentially useful website on the death penalty

See here:

http://tcreek.jimdo.com/

(That came to my attention via this comment.)

Labels: death penalty

5.2 Prof. Feser on the death penalty

See his blog post "Capital punishment lecture", dated Wednesday, March 13, 2013:

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/capital-punishment-lecture.html

(I log that post because Prof. Feser doesn't use subject labels for his blog posts, so if I need to see what he's written on the topic I can refer to that post.)

Labels: death penalty

6. "All [U.S. ]states are within a couple of percentage points of the overall LGBT national average of 3.5%."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "LGBT Percentage Highest in D.C., Lowest in North Dakota", by Gary J. Gates and Frank Newport, dated February 15, 2013, downloaded from the Gallup Politics website:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/160517/lgbt-percentage-highest-lowest-north-dakota.aspx

See also the press release "LGBT Percentages Highest in Washington, DC, and Hawaii", no author credited, dated February 15, 2013, downloaded from the website of The Williams Institute (a "national think tank at UCLA Law", which (think tank) "is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy"):

http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/press-releases/lgbt-percentages-highest-in-washington-dc-and-hawaii/

(I found both that article and that press release at this Williams Institute webpage, and the findings originally came to my attention via this or this Sydney Morning Herald article.)

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

7. The report, by one of the (Australian) Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, on the Exposure Draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 is available here:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=legcon_ctte/anti_discrimination_2012/report/index.htm

(That report came to my attention via the article "Criminals on payroll", by Natasha Bita, p. 19, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, February 22, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2779, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., available online under the headline "Crime doesn't pay, unless you're promoted", by the same author, dated February 22, 2013, at The Daily Telegraph's website here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/crime-doesnt-pay-unless-youre-promoted/story-fncvk70o-1226583085494)

Labels: discrimination, human rights, law

8. A couple of recent items regarding the 2013 Sydney Gay Mardi Gras

8.1 "Mardi Gras spending" "has already been given more than $600,000 in funding and in-kind works from the [Sydney City ]council"

(Presumably the $600000 refers to this year's funding, rather than the funding over all the years during which the Council has been funding it. I say that because in this "Facts and figures" post from early 2009 I logged that Sydney City Council was spending $240000 in cash and in-kind support, collectively, on the Mardi Gras that year; even assuming that the nominal value of the support hasn't increased, clearly it would have greatly exceeded $600000 just for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011, collectively.)

The quotations in that heading come from the comment piece "This is a rainbow that's costing us a pot of gold", by Vikki Campion, immediately below her article "$110,000 wasted with gay abandon at Taylor Square", dated February 27, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/wasted-with-gay-abandon-at-taylor-square/story-e6freuy9-1226586361494

(The information in this Notes item's headline came to my attention via the comment piece "A pot of gold to pay for rainbow" (commenting on the article "$110,000 wasted with gay abandon", by the same author, immediately above the comment piece), by Vikki Campion, p. 16, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, February 27, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2783, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

8.2 "Gay members of Australia's defence force (ADF) marched in their uniforms for the first time"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Mardi Gras celebrates its founders in Sydney", no byline, dated March 3, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/mardi-gras-celebrates-its-founders-in-sydney/story-e6frg6nf-1226589176589

The article also reports that one of those who marched in uniform, namely the R.A.A.F.'s Squadron Leader Vince Chong

said the decision to allow members to march, reflected the ADF's policy to encourage more workplace inclusion.

“It shows the priority that's been placed on diversion and inclusion in the Australian Defence Force. This is just the start of many things to come under the pathway to change. We will see more and more about generating a culture of inclusion.”

Labels: A.D.F., G.L.B.T., Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

9.1 Dr. van Gend on how "making abortion legal or illegal has never, historically, made the slightest detectable difference to the safety of women", because "medicine alone, not the law, has achieved all the magnificent gains in maternal safety."

See the article "Backyard distortions", by Dr. David van Gend, downloaded from the website of Life Ministries:

http://lifeministries.org.au/internal.php?content_id=125

(That article came to my attention via the comment of 17.2.13 / 3pm by one Philip J. Rayment in the comments section of this blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg.)

Labels: abortion

9.2 Dr. Summers on recent changes in pro-abortion rhetoric:

… the words[ "safe, legal and rare"] were removed from the Democratic Party platform in 2008. No one uses them any more and for a very good reason: women find them offensive.

Dawn Laguens, of US Planned Parenthood, said earlier this year that language about making abortion ''rare'' polled very poorly because women found it judgmental and shaming.

Similarly, Planned Parenthood has made the momentous decision to drop the language of ''pro-choice'' after research that shows most Americans feels the pro-choice/pro-life polarity fails to represent the actual complications of what it's like to find yourself with an unwanted pregnancy. Women complained that the word ''choice'' made the decision seem frivolous.
["Abortion zealots a risk for Abbott", by Dr. Anne Summers A.O., dated March 16, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/abortion-zealots-a-risk-for-abbott-20130315-2g5sn.html?skin=text-only
Dr. Summers' article is also available at the same website and with the same date under the headline "It's a woman's right to choose":
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/its-a-womans-right-to-choose-20130317-2g8d8.html?skin=text-only]

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Abortion zealots a risk for Abbott", by the same author, on p. 12 in the "OPINION" pages of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, March 16-17, 2013, No. 54738, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: abortion

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Tuesday in Holy Week, A.D. 2013

Notes: Tuesday, May 22-Monday, June 25, 2012 (part 1 of 2)

1. "Twenty-two US states after the Second World War supported past motions that supported world Government."

The quotation in that headline comes from Dr. (at the time, Senator) Bob Brown as recorded in the transcript for the Monday, April 23, 2012 episode of ABC TV's Q&A programme, which (transcript) is available here:

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3478779.htm

It came to my attention via the opinion piece "Brown displays special version of free speech", by Andrew Bolt, p. 13, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, April 26, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2525, available on-line here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/brown-displays-special-version-of-free-speech/story-e6frezz0-1226338208014

Labels: U.S.A.

2. The text of the questions to, and answers from, Msgr. Coleridge at a press conference on April 4, 2012:

http://www.catholicleader.com.au/news.php/features/leading-a-missionary-church_79228

Labels: Mark Coleridge

3. More from Prof. Feser in relation to A Universe from Nothing:

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/steng-operation.html

http://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/05/not-understanding-nothing

(The last of those came to my attention via this blog post by Prof. Feser.)

Labels: atheism, God's Existence, philosophy, theology

4. "I[ , Dr. Robert Brown,] have little use for the theology (and its method) that dominated the Church from 1500 to 1950"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/05/hans-kung-wont-celebrate-50th-of-vatican-ii-prefers-funeral-service/#comment-341431

Labels: Robert Brown

5. How heterosexual degeneration is a precondition for the implementation of the Gay agenda

5.1 A "child, born in April, 2010, now has [a Gay couple] as parents, with the birth mother agreeing to no longer be recognised on the birth certificate"

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/two-dads-and-a-surrogate-create-legal-landmark/story-e6freuzi-1226377828528

(That came to my attention via the version of it which was published as "Two dads and a surrogate create legal landmark", by Amy Dale, p. 04, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, June 1, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2555.)

Presumably, birth certificates for I.V.F.-conceived and surrogate-carried babies record, and have recorded for some time, as parents the opposite-sex couple which commissioned the surrogacy and the I.V.F. conception rather than recording the surrogate mother and the respective sperm and ovum donors as parents, so there would have been, from a legal positivist perspective, no great logical, legal, or practical difficulty in doing likewise for a same-sex couple.

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

5.2 The legalisation of divorce as a precondition for so-called Gay marriage:

[John ]Pilger's same-sex marriage blind spot is not uncommon among left-wingers his age. Many older lefties retain an outdated view of marriage as an instrument of male domination over women, the middle class's domination over workers, and God's domination over us all.

They refuse to see that the institution has been reformed, at least in the West, so that women, workers and non-believers now have much more autonomy to decide how, when and if they wed, how they conduct their marriage (including whether or not they have kids), and if and when their marriage will end.

They refuse to acknowledge that it is precisely this change which has made same-sex marriage an issue: now that marriage is a choice for the majority, it makes sense to ask why it isn't a choice for the minority.
[http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4023802.html]

(That article came to my attention via this Australian article.)

See also the letter by one John Challis here.

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

5.3 "Only when husbands and wives have legal equality and are approaching economic parity does it make sense for there to be a household made up of two husbands or two wives."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/defenders-of-marriage-risk-jumping-at-shadows/story-e6frgd0x-1226368648235

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

5.4 Prof. Bouma on the recent history of marriage

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/churchs-fight-to-control-marriage-20120618-20k81.html?skin=text-only

Labels: divorce, G.L.B.T., history, law, marriage

6. Ms Bryce summarises the victories of Feminism:

AS the first female Governor-General and former federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, you've been a trailblazer for women. What do you regard as the biggest steps forward for women during your lifetime?

The most important steps have been in education - girls completing secondary education and going on to tertiary education and training in every field. Family planning advice, maternity leave, the Sex Discrimination Act and childcare have been the others.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/quentin-bryce-governor-general-69/story-e6frg8h6-1226362579263]

(That came to my attention via the version of it which was published as "10 Questions", Greg Callaghan interviewing "Quentin Bryce, Governor-General, 69", in the "Foreword" ("People & Observations") section, p. 8, The Weekend Australian Magazine, May 26-27, 2012, The Weekend Australian, May 26-27, 2012, Second Edition, No. 14819, ISSN 1038-8761.)

Labels: feminism

7. "the federal Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, is holding an inquiry into consolidating the Commonwealth's four separate anti-discrimination laws. Her Department's position paper says that there will be exemptions for churches, schools and other oganisations. Yet, numerous GLBTI and radical human rights groups have told the Attorney General's inquiry that there must be no such exemptions."

http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2012/jun2012p3_3790.html

Labels: discrimination

8. Dr. Wiker on 'Gay marriage' in ancient Rome

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1367/gay_marriagenothing_new_under_the_sun.aspx

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

Labels: G.L.B.T., history, marriage, Roman Empire

9. Some recent releases from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

9.1 Some figures regarding childcare

http://www.smh.com.au/national/grandparents-bear-greater-share-of-childcare-duties-20120516-1yr9w.html

Labels: childcare

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

Notes: Tuesday, February 7-Monday, February 27, 2012 (part 1 of 2)

1. "With identical twins, where the genetic heritage is identical, … if one twin is gay or lesbian, [then] there is 50 per cent likelihood the other twin is gay or lesbian"

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/blogs/godless-gross/gayness-and-godliness-20120206-1r173.html

But if the genetic heritage is identical, i.e., 100% the same, then why is that likelihood so low, a mere 50%?

Labels: biology, G.L.B.T., genes

2. "Proposition 8 therefore could not have been enacted to advance California's interest in childrearing or responsible procreation," ["Judge Stephen Reinhardt"] wrote, "for it had no effect on the rights of same-sex couples to raise children or on the procreative practices of other couples"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/validation-for-us-as-a-couple-california-gay-marriage-ban-overturned-20120208-1r959.html?skin=text-only

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

3. "Family Planning Queensland’s revolutionary book, Is This Normal? Understanding your child’s sexual behaviour"

http://fpq.com.au/pdf/media/MR_IsThisNormal.pdf

http://fpq.com.au/publications/fsBrochures/Br_Sexual_Behaviours.php

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/red-light-on-abnormal-child-sex-behaviour/story-e6freuzi-1226264151190

http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/parents-set-right-on-sex-myths/story-fn6ck45n-1226264102996

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/sexual-behaviour-in-children-whats-normal-20120206-1r1nm.html?skin=text-only

Labels: education, Holly Brennan, Judy Graham, vice, youngsters

4. "The thrice-married [French] President[, M. Nicolas Sarkozy,] … lauds the importance of traditional marriage and opposes moves to legalise homosexual marriage on the grounds it would lead to gay adoption"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/nicolas-sarkozy-woos-far-right-vote-to-see-off-marine-le-pen-juggernaut/story-e6frg6so-1226268138630

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

5. "[At] a Mardi Gras meeting in the early '90s[,] a vote barring bisexuals from membership was carried"

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/about-town/showgirl-returns-20120213-1t0t0.html?skin=text-only

Labels: discrimination, G.L.B.T., Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

6. Some recent figures on Australian popular support for so-called Gay marriage

http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-poll-backs-samesex-marriage-20120213-1t1h4.html?skin=text-only

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

7. "There's no such thing as a good divorce: the kids always suffer"

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-good-divorce-the-kids-always-suffer-20120210-1sl3d.html?skin=text-only

Labels: divorce, families, marriage, youngsters

8. "Some months ago [Catholica Australia] had nearly 750 registered members and ["an assistant administrator on Catholica" has] now cut it back to about 560. By the time he's finished[, Mr Brian Coyne, C.A.'s editor and publisher,] said to him [that Mr. Coyne] expect[s that] it might get down to somewhere between four and five hundred."

http://members7.boardhost.com/TrueCatholic/thread/1328095044.html

Labels: Catholica Australia

Reginaldvs Cantvar
27.II.2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, religious liberty

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

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

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

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

9.2 Two editorials in The Australian:

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

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

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

9.3 In relation to the so-called Malaysia Solution:

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

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. "Patriarch Kirill lauds Putin for ‘enhancing Russia’s international authority’"

http://www.angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39294

(See also the first comment after the thread-starter for information about recent developments in the Russian Orthodox Church.)

Labels: Cyril of Moscow, R.O.C., Russia, Vladimir Putin

9. "Princess wants stunning before slaughter"

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/princess-wants-stunning-before-slaughter-20111017-1lt1g.html?skin=text-only

I was surprised to learn, from Australia's Agriculture Department's acting deputy secretary for the live animal export taskforce, quoted in that article, that in Australia,

For cattle we do allow for ritual slaughter purposes, for stunning to occur after the cut has been done, so it's a post-cut stunning.

Labels: Islam, Jews

10. "Last Wednesday [two Lesbians] organised a forum for gay and lesbian parents with school-age children to address what they see as a stereotypical and heterosexual representation of family at their schools"

[...] The forum included representatives from the Board of Education and the Board of Studies, as well as 70 gay, lesbian and heterosexual parents.

[...] A group calling themselves Rainbow Schoolies have set up a work party to produce a program for principals and teachers on how they should include a child from a gay family in the school environment.

Although the program will initially be aimed at [one] primary school, the group hopes to extend the program to other schools in in Australia, and is planning a national conference next year.

[...] [One panellist at that forum, who is "an associate professor in the school of education at the University of Western Sydney" and "specialises in issues of gender and sexuality within education"] said the changes to the curriculum next year would be a chance to address issues of diversity and inclusion within the school environment, with a platform for members of the public to voice their concerns.
[http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/happy-fathers-day-mum--gender-restriction-a-challenge-for-gay-families-20111016-1lrfi.html?skin=text-only]

See also item 3 of this edition of Notes.

Labels: education, families, G.L.B.T., N.S.W., Rainbow Schoolies

11. "Growth [in the world's population] has been so rapid that the US Population Reference Bureau estimates that about 5 per cent of all the people who have ever lived are living now"

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/coming-soon-7-billion-reasons-to-rethink-how-we-use-the-planet-20111016-1lrdu.html?skin=text-only

Labels: demography

12. "Toowoomba GP and pro-family activist David van Gend found himself in conciliation before the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland over a complaint that an article he wrote for Brisbane's The Courier-Mail, as part of a debate about same-sex marriage, vilified the homosexual community"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/discrimination-police-indulging-in-gay-abandon/story-e6frg6zo-1226167016741

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/10/17/truth-the-telling-is-now-hate-speech/

Labels: David van Gend, discrimination, families, G.L.B.T., marriage

13. A blast from Australia's 'sectarian' past

I was intrigued when I read a very short biography of one "Sister Liguori", of whom I didn't recall previously hearing, on the Sydney Daily Telegraph's history page yesterday, and planned to see if I could find out, on the Internet, more about her and the episode of Australian 'sectarian' history in which she featured so prominently. I've found that the Australian Dictionary of Biography's article "Partridge, Bridget (1890–1966)" is available here.

Labels: Bridget Partridge

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

Notes: Wednesday, June 15-Tuesday, June 21, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. "["[H]omeless people sleeping rough"] represent probably only 3 or 4 per cent of the homeless population"

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/cold-and-so-alone-for-sydneys-homeless/story-fn6b3v4f-1226075926361

(Please do not jump to conclusions as to why I have noted this. I do not mean to downplay the difficulties which those who are homeless but are not sleeping rough undoubtedly experience.)

Labels: homelessness, poverty

2. Prof. Flint on, among other things, the questions of H.M. The Queen's nationality and who is Australia's Head of State

Under the heading "State of the nation" here:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/tough-reality-is-ill-health-necessitates-change-20110615-1g3qf.html?skin=text-only

The next day, the Herald published a number of responses to Prof. Flint's letter, under the heading "It's obvious who's the boss, and her nationality", here:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/theres-room-to-make-way-for-commuters-20110616-1g673.html?skin=text-only

Labels: David Flint, republicanism

3. "Echo of Soviet era in Putin's bid for votes"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/echo-of-soviet-era-in-putins-bid-for-votes/story-e6frg6so-1226076653930

Labels: Russia, Vladimir Putin

4. "Hungary sponsors bold pro-life campaign with EU money - Eurocrats enraged"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37795

Labels: abortion, E.U., Hungary

5. Mr. Ferrara on the Rosary and the New Rosary

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23422

Labels: John Paul II. Wojtyla, Rosary

6. Two recent opinion pieces from Mr. Muehlenberg

6.1 A blog post on fallacious comparisons of mixed-race marriage and same-sex 'marriage'

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/06/19/same-sex-marriage-playing-the-race-card/

The Girgis-George-Anderson Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy article to which Mr. Muehlenberg presumably refers in that post is available here:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1722155

Labels: discrimination, G.L.B.T., law, marriage, morality

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Confessor, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, June 7-Tuesday, June 14, 2011

1. "Private prestige university on the way"--"reportedly being funded by millions of pounds from private investors secured by the eminent British philosopher A. C. Grayling"; "[f]ourteen leading academics are backing the project and will teach at the university, including evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/private-prestige-university-on-the-way-20110605-1fnb2.html?skin=text-only

Labels: education, N.C.H.

2. Jewish-to-Catholic convert and State-of-Israel citizen named as a Prelate Auditor of the Roman Rota ("the Holy See’s highest appellate court")

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37641

http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2011/06/pope-appoints-fanatical-zionist-to.html

http://www.ucanews.com/2011/06/03/jewish-convert-named-to-top-vatican-role/

(The last of those three web-pages came to my attention via this CathNews page.)

Labels: David Jaeger, Roman Curia, State of Israel

3. Fr. Zuhlsdorf on, among other things, the myth of the origin of 'vernacular' Catholic liturgy

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/06/critics-of-the-new-corrected-translation-would-have-back-in-the-day-resisted-also-the-king-james-bible/

Labels: Latin, liturgy, vernacular

4. "Remarks [from a "Deputy Assistant Secretary" of the U.S. Department of State] for LGBT Pride"

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/2011/165264.htm

(That web-page came to my attention via this comment at AQ.)

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

5. "[In The State of Israel,] there are more than 20 individual laws that discriminate between the Jewish and non-Jewish population"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/mandela-factor/story-fn558imw-1226073258456

Labels: discrimination, Jews, State of Israel

6. An article on evolution which (article) contains some interesting points from a Creationist perspective

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/a-grey-matter-of-size-brains-arent-what-they-used-to-be/story-e6frg8y6-1226073980121

Labels: evolution, neuroscience

7. Four viewpoints on whether "people [should] be able to use the sperm or eggs of their dead partner"

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/should-people-be-able-to-use-the-sperm-or-eggs-of-their-dead-partner-20110603-1fkir.html?skin=text-only

Labels: I.V.F., medicine, morality

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Pentecost Tuesday, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, March 8-Tuesday, March 15, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. A couple of recent developments regarding euthanasia

1.1 "TASMANIA is poised to become the first state to legalise voluntary euthanasia"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/state-to-push-for-mercy-killing/story-e6frg6nf-1226017319925

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=25378

Labels: euthanasia, Tasmania

1.2 "SUPPORT for voluntary euthanasia in NSW is running at 83 per cent, with only 10 per cent of people implacably opposed"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/state-election-2011/support-for-voluntary-euthanasia-at-85-20110310-1bpsm.html?skin=text-only

Labels: euthanasia

2. An amusing example of gay outrage

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/a-channel-ten-newsreader-has-apologised-after-calling-mardi-gras-disgusting-on-air/story-e6freuy9-1226017840089

When I blogged in late 2008 on the revelation that the N.S.W. State government was directly to fund the Sodomites' Parade, a commenter asked jokingly

But, Pole, it's so *colourful* - how could you possibly object?
[http://cardinalpole.blogspot.com/2008/10/taxpayers-to-fund-sodomites-parade.html?showComment=1223032140000#c296515895030110427]

Luckily I didn't say the following, or I might have been reported to some Anti-Discrimination Commissar:

“With respect, there’s a difference between colourful and disgusting in some cases.”

Mr. Tim Dick wrote about the fiasco in a column in Saturday's Herald:

... on Monday, Channel Ten's Ron Wilson suggested elements of the parade crossed the line from ''colourful'' to ''disgusting'' during an interview with the organisation's co-chairman, Pete Urmson. He batted the suggestion away without too much difficulty, and at the end of the discussion, Wilson congratulated him on the success of the festival and parade.

But it prompted a brief bit of predictable ''outrage'' nonetheless. He was homophobic, he was ignorant, he was narrow-minded. His prejudice was the disgusting thing. Something must be done, and someone inevitably threatened an anti-discrimination complaint.

Wilson was duly back the next morning to apologise for any offence caused, and for good measure threw in some support for the gay marriage campaign.

I wish he hadn't. The over-apology was an over-reaction to an over-reaction.

Journalists are supposed to ask difficult questions, and despite Wilson using a clanger of a word, it was one reference in a longer interview generally positive towards Mardi Gras. ...
[http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/whats-there-to-hide-its-a-sin-to-omit-the-emitters-20110311-1br71.html?skin=text-only]

Labels: G.L.B.T., Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Ron Wilson

3. "Catholica no longer appears on the [Australian Catholic Bishops Conference] list of links"

http://beyondpews.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/quietly-removed/

Labels: A.C.B.C., Catholica Australia

4. Launch of a proposal for a N.S.W. Bill of Rights

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/shes-baaaackkk-20110309-1bnaq.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Bill of Rights, N.S.W.

5. Two "openly gay" N.S.W. Liberal election candidates "support ... removing exemptions to the Anti-Discrimination Act"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/state-election-2011/liberals-challenge-greens-for-the-gay-vote-20110311-1br84.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Adrian Bartels, Bruce Notley-Smith, discrimination, G.L.B.T., Liberal Party, N.S.W.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
15.III.2011

Notes: Saturday, February 12-Monday, February 14, 2011

1. More from Ms Horin on so-called gay marriage

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/next-step-down-the-aisle-is-plain-20110211-1aqil.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Adele Horin, G.L.B.T., marriage, morality

2. Dr. Cook on Prof. Singer's views on incest

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/peter-singer-the-jerry-springer-of-philosophy/

Labels: morality, Peter Singer

3. Two recent blog posts by Mr. Muehlenberg:

3.1 On Ms Hartland's views on the death penalty and abortion

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/02/11/another-green-brain-drain/

With a good comment there by Dr. Kok:

If execution is state sanctioned murder, then imprisonment is state sanctioned kidnapping; fines are state sanctioned theft; impoundment of an illegally parked vehicle is state sanctioned grand theft auto!

Labels: abortion, Colleen Hartland, death penalty, morality

3.2 On Dr. Savulescu's views on eugenics

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/02/13/let%e2%80%99s-create-a-master-race-%e2%80%93-again/

Labels: eugenics, Julian Savulescu, morality

4. Mr. Marr on moves against discrimination by religious organisations against certain classes of sinner

http://www.smh.com.au/national/faiths-rule-on-sex-from-staffroom-to-bedroom-20110214-1asj0.html?skin=text-only

Labels: David Marr, discrimination, G.L.B.T., morality

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Valentine, Priest, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday-Wednesday, January 18-19, 2011

1. "British gay couple turned away from B&B win discrimination case"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/british-gay-couple-turned-away-from-bb-win-discrimination-case/story-fn3dxity-1225990668968

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

2. Ms Tankard Reist on surrogacy

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/gestational-carrier-is-an-ugly-term/story-e6frg6zo-1225990595552

Labels: parenthood, surrogacy

3. "Abortion Has Caused 300K Breast Cancer Deaths Since Roe"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35595

Labels: abortion, cancer, health

4. Dr. Peters and others on the obligation on clerics to be celibate and/or continent

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/01/continence-and-married-deaconspriests/

Dr. Peters has posted at his website a full, searchable P.D.F. version of his Studia Canonica article "Canonical considerations on diaconal continence” (previously only the abstract, which I have brought to your attention already in item 2 of this post, was available there):

http://www.canonlaw.info/a_deacons.htm

Unfortunately I do not have time to read it yet, though.

Labels: celibacy, Deacons, Divine positive law, Ecclesiastical law, Edward Peters, Priesthood

5. "Row over HIV health cash"

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/row-over-hiv-health-cash-20110115-19rvu.html?skin=text-only

Excerpts:

A BITTER row has erupted in Sydney's gay community after a group of prominent activists accused the state's leading homosexual health service of squandering millions of dollars in taxpayers' money.

Gay rights campaigner Gary Burns, HIV lobbyist Shayne Chester and journalist Peter Hackney have demanded the state government "demolish" ACON, formerly known as the AIDS Council of NSW.

The trio alleged the service, which specialises in HIV prevention, care and support, received $12.6 million in government funding last year but spent only $800,000 on programs and services. In a scathing attack, the group dubbed the organisation a "gravy train" and called on Premier Kristina Keneally to hand back ACON's work to NSW Health.

[...] Mr Chester said NSW had had high rates of HIV infection for more than a decade, and this was compounded by an increase in unprotected casual sex among gay men.

"Why is this happening?" he asked. "Because ACON, which is chartered with HIV education and prevention, is failing us."

[...] In NSW cases involving HIV infection peaked in the mid-1980s, with 1636 diagnoses reported in 1987. Since then rates have dropped dramatically, with 327 new cases recorded in 2009, although that is a slight increase from 323 in 2008.

Labels: ACON, G.L.B.T., H.I.V./A.I.D.S., health, vice

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Sts. Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum, Martyrs, and of St. Canute, King, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Facts and figures: a couple of the strange requirements of Australian anti-discrimination laws

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/marconi-club-orders-staff-only-talk-english-in-secret-memo/story-e6freuy9-1225795538680

A story in today’s Sydney Daily Telegraph mentioned a couple of anti-discrimination rules, neither of which seem terribly conducive to workplace harmony:

The memo [the subject of the story] also drew opposition from NSW Anti-Discrimination Board president Stepan Kerkyasharian, who described it as "very shortsighted".

One anti-discrimination law guideline issued by the ADB states it is "against the law to stop you speaking in your own language at work unless it stops the work or study being done properly". Another states it is "against the law for an employer to insist that you speak English fluently unless it is reasonable for the particular job".
[my emphasis]

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Andrew Avelino, Confessor, A.D. 2009

Mr. Pearson on Victorian secularist moves to eliminate discrimination by religious bodies against their respective employees

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25929930-5013596,00.html

Mr. Christopher Pearson had some interesting things to say in an opinion piece of his a few Saturdays ago in The Weekend Australian:

Victoria's Interfaith Committee represents various branches of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism. Its response to the government's options paper, signed by 53 religious leaders, is a trenchant analysis of the public service brand of secularism.

"The main assumption that the options paper makes is that religious activity can be divided into core activities, which are restricted to matters of worship and private devotion, and peripheral activities, such as the delivery of health, welfare and education services. In fact, no such distinction is made by religious organisations. The distinction is a fabrication and does not correspond to the reality of religious activity. Particularly for religious people, the delivery of services is integral to faith activity."

Shortly before I read that piece I read, at the angelqueen.org/forum discussion board, about a similar development overseas:

The bishops of England, Wales, and Scotland are warning that a proposed EU directive against discrimination and harassment could lead to the erosion of religious freedom. [...] Art. 13 requires Member States to ensure that ‘any …internal rules of undertakings, and rules governing profit or non-profit-making associations contrary to the principle of equal treatment are, or may be, declared null and void or are amended.’ This could have the effect of requiring Catholic organisations to act against their ethos: if a Catholic event takes place at a venue that offers double, twin, and single bedded rooms, the teaching of the Church would require that double bedded rooms were only available to married couples. Under Article 13 the rule (and the practice it governed) could be unlawful for failing to provide equal treatment to unmarried heterosexual couples or to homosexual couples. At this point the EU would effectively be dictating to religious bodies what their faith does or does not require: a wholly unacceptable position.
[my emphasis,
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27236]

But unfortunately, it seems that State arbitration of what are a religion’s ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ doctrines—indeed, whether a given notion is to be regarded by the State as a religious doctrine at all—is already happening here in Australia:

The [N.S.W. Administrative Decisions] Tribunal rejected the argument put by Wesley Mission that the exemption in section 56 of the Anti-Discrimination Act applied to this situation [“the Tribunal found that an organisation run by Wesley Mission had discriminated against a same-sex couple on the grounds of homosexuality when it refused to provide them with services relating to making an application to become foster carers” ]. In making its determination, the Tribunal considered (among other matters) the meaning of the terms ‘religion’ and ‘doctrine’ and concluded that the belief that ‘monogamous heterosexual partnership within marriage is both the norm and ideal’ was not a ‘doctrine’ of Christianity so as to attract the exemption in section 56(d). …
[New South Wales Parliament Legislative Council Standing Committee on Law and Justice, Inquiry into adoption by same-sex couple, Final Report, p. 124
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/C81BE8593A9FEC64CA2575ED000E043F]

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Stephen, King, Confessor, A.D. 2009

On the Herod's profile of Ms Broderick

A very disappointing piece of soft reporting, little better than a puff piece really, by Ms Nikki Barrowclough on Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Ms Elizabeth Broderick appeared in The Sydney Morning Herod’s Good Weekend magazine on Saturday. It revealed very little about her that one would not have been able to infer otherwise, and failed to probe critically into exactly what it is that Ms Broderick stands for. For instance, Ms Barrowclough asked Ms Broderick how well-versed in academic feminism the latter was, but she let her dodge the question so that the reader is left none the wiser as to whether or not she has any grasp of feminist theory. And needless to say, there was no interrogation of Ms Broderick on her recent absurd assertion that “[t]here is no question that legislated paid maternity leave is a basic human right”, nor did it give us any clue as to what, if any, religious convictions she might hold, despite the fact that this might have been raised in connection with the death of Ms Broderick’s mother. One might object that it’s just a weekend magazine, but if one compares this to the relentlessly critical recent piece on a visiting Creationist one might wonder why they can’t be more even-handed.

The article did, however, do readers the service of alerting us to two of Ms Broderick’s latest pre-occupations: getting men to do more housework, and getting men to consider part-time rather than full-time work, encapsulated in “her view that couples sharing more of the home duties can also lead to a change in workplace culture.” The latter shows just how out of touch she is, since there are plenty of men working both part-time and full-time, and those working only part-time probably would take full-time work if they could find it. And as for the former, a more equitable division of total work done might be achieved by encouraging mothers to do fewer hours of paid work. Nonetheless it will be interesting to see how Ms Broderick pursues this agenda.

The article did reveal one thing to the credit of Ms Broderick and her family, though: they do not have a television!

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. John Cantius, Confessor, 2008 A.D.

On N.S.W.’s abolition of parenthood

According to an article in today’s Sydney Daily Telegraph,

LESBIAN parents will be able to have both their names on their child’s birth certificate from today.

As I pointed out some time ago in a comment at the old Coo-ees blog, this development appears to be based on the idea that a mother and a father are not, to borrow the language of microeconomics, perfect complements, as would traditionally be held, but merely perfect substitutes. Hence, for proponents of this madness, a mother and a father are as good as ‘two mums’ or ‘two dads’.

But if this is the case, then why is two the optimum number of ‘co-parents’? It’s a pretty arbitrary number, really, once it’s divorced from conjugal complementarity between spouses and biological connectedness between parents and children. Why must we submit slavishly to such a dreadfully old-fashioned and ‘heteronormative’ model of parenthood? How long will it be before we are called upon, in the noblest traditions of tolerance, to ‘celebrate the diversity’ of three-, four-, five-parent mega-families? How dare we discriminate against the right of bisexuals to take both an husband and a wife?! (Perhaps we will see the pansexuals and the Muslims find some common ground here! One’s enemy’s enemy is one’s friend, after all.) The next logical step after ‘Parent 1, Parent 2’ birth certificates is clearly to have just a blank space headed ‘Parents’. (Obviously, a child with 'two mums' already has three parents, since there must have been a dad somewhere along the line, though I understand that there are scientists working to overcome this little piece of discrimination from homophobic old Mother Nature.)

So what I am trying to argue is that by abolishing motherhood and fatherhood we don’t just eliminate a ‘discriminatory’ model of parenthood (which, as usual, is a move that ignores the fact that there is just discrimination and there is unjust discrimination); in fact, we abolish parenthood itself and replace it with a notion of parents as merely long-term carers. But then, the pansexuals were never too good at teasing out all the implications of their deranged demands all at once. It’s always little by little, bit by bit.

Reginaldvs Canvar

The clock is ticking: the rush to end the latest ‘injustice’

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/judges-urge-coalition-to-pass-samesex-bill/2008/09/13/1220857873114.html

I see that

[s]enior judiciary members have urged the Coalition not to block or delay Government legislation that will give same-sex couples the same financial rights as heterosexual de facto couples

And the impetus for this? The imminent retirement of the Hon. Mr. Justice Michael Kirby A.C. C.M.G.:

Justice Kirby has become the public face of the proposed legislation. As the law stands, his partner of almost 40 years, Johan van Vloten, would be ineligible to receive part of his pension should he die first. If Justice Kirby was female, Mr van Vloten would receive the part pension.

This discrimination exists in more than 100 areas of Commonwealth law, which Labor has sought to end with two bills.

The question is: is this discrimination unjust? I say: no, it is not, since even a lawful spouse is not ‘owed’, in justice, a part-pension or other entitlements. One could make a tenuous argument, I suppose, that since a wife makes sacrifices for her husband, she should enjoy some of the benefits that he reaps from these. But this would ignore the fact that these sacrifices are part of a mother’s vocation. Also, the law has an educative function, and any discouragement of homosexual activity is a good thing. And the notion that a sinner should be rewarded for the longevity of his state of sin is quite repugnant.

But since the question of human rights and discrimination has come up again, I might make a few more remarks on the topic. We know, or should know, that a right is implied by and dependent on a duty. Now a Christian can point to the Ten Commandments as the source of his or her rights, since they lay down the corresponding duties. For instance, a duty not to kill implies a right to life, a duty not to steal implies a right to private property, and a duty to worship God implies a right to hear Mass offered according to the rubrics. Christians don’t (or shouldn’t) claim too many rights that have no basis in God’s ordinances.

Or, to look at the matter from another angle: each of us has an indestructible ontological dignity, an orientation towards a transcendent goal. We have certain rights in order that we can pursue this goal.

So it is perplexing when one hears secularists like Ms Elizabeth Broderick asserting that “[t]here is no question that legislated paid maternity leave is a basic human right” or the Sodomites League’s calls for same-sex ‘marriage’. What are the new-found duties that evoke these absurd demands?

Or even when a Catholic like Rev. Fr. John T. Zuhlsdorf refers to a right to vote as though it were “written into our being”. How can this be, when no-one contests the State’s denial of voting rights to the insane and to convicts, whose ontological dignity is no less than anyone else’s?

But at least with Catholics we know what ‘human dignity’ means. What do the secularists mean, though, when, unable to show the duty from which their asserted rights were inferred, they make some vague appeal to human dignity? If any secularists are visiting here (or anyone who understands the secularist world-view), please let me know!

In Iota Unum, Professor Romano Amerio links such claims to abstract rights without corresponding duties to the conflation of human nature and the human person. But then there are secularists like Professor Peter Singer, who explicitly separate out the two in their scheme of ‘human non-persons’ and ‘non-human persons’. And then one hears the likes of Mr. Paul Keating calling for a society based on the innate dignity of man according to a vague humanist conception. But when man has no goal beyond this world, ‘human dignity’ becomes a very shaky foundation indeed.

Reginaldvs Cantvar