Notes: Tuesday, July 17-Tuesday, July 31, 2012

1. A couple of points of interest from "Partnership of dioceses leads to witness in schools", by Tracey Edstein, on p. 6 of the June 2012 issue (No. 114) of Aurora, the magazine of The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle

(It's available from that Diocese's website, and came to my attention via the version published under the headline "Catholic, Anglican bishops renew tri-diocesan pact" on p. 21 in the "Regional Round-up" section of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, Vol. 71, No. 4624, June 3, 2012.)

1.1 An amusing definition of ecumenism

by The Lord Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle (though His Lordship disagrees with it):

Our ecumenical people meet with your ecumenical people and we have a lovely time together!

Labels: ecumenism

1.2 Msgr. Wright's "message of Christian care and service rather than a message of belief or conversion"

This is the last paragraph of that article:

A feature of the Service of Worship was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, giving expression to the Covenant through a pastoral care partnership. This partnership sponsors and supports Chaplains/Pastoral Care Workers in the schools of the regions served by the three dioceses. Bishop Bill said, "It is our prayer that through this ministry, students, their families and school staffs will come to experience the loving compassion of Jesus Christ: a message of Christian care and service rather than a message of belief or conversion."

Labels: Bill Wright

2. Some links to reports which contain recent Papal mentions of the Second Vatican Council or its Catechism or both

http://www.news.va/en/news/presentation-of-the-year-of-faith

http://www.news.va/en/news/papal-message-closes-fiftieth-international-euchar

http://www.news.va/en/news/blessed-are-the-peacemakers

http://www.news.va/en/news/the-church-must-preach-truth-and-justice

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-recalls-time-as-conciliar-expert-in-nemi

Labels: C.E.C., Vatican II

3. "Obama admin video tells Pentagon ‘Being gay isn’t about sex; it’s about life’"

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/obama-admin-video-tells-pentagon-being-gay-isnt-about-sex-its-about-life

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

I log that quotation in relation to the observation by the Australian Gay activist Prof. Dennis Altman that

The greatest single victory of the gay movement over the past decade has been to shift the debate from behavior to identity, thus forcing opponents into a position where they can be seen as attacking the civil rights of homosexual citizens rather than attacking specific and (as they see it) antisocial behavior.
[http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2008/05/01/on-relationship-recognition/]

Labels: Dennis Altman, G.L.B.T.

4. On some recent developments regarding 'family planning'

4.1 "the Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, said Australia would double its overseas aid for family planning programs to more than $50 million a year by 2016"; "[a]t least $70 million over the next four years will go to the United Nations Population Fund to promote equitable access to family planning", and "[a]n extra $10 million will be given to the International Planned Parenthood Federation program to ensure people caught in disasters can gain access to reproductive health services." Furthermore, a "London conference, organised by the British government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is set to refocus on the issue and garner $2 billion in pledges by 2020."

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/focus-on-family-planning-as-carr-doubles-foreign-aid-20120711-21wdw.html?skin=text-only

See also "Abortion aid 'won't help save lives of mothers in childbirth'", by Damir Govorcin, p. 7, the Sydney Catholic Weekly, Vol. 71, No. 4631, July 22, 2012, apparently available on-line, but behind a paywall, here; the following is my transcription:

Mr[ Paul] Hanrahan[, executive director of Family Life International, "Australia's largest Catholic pro-life org-anisation"] said the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Brazil recently failed to deliver what the population controllers wanted - a univer-sal 'right' to abortion.
"Obviously, the 'major fam-ily planning summit' in Lon-don which Mr Carr will at-tend, is a pathetic attempt to carry out the Rio + 20 agenda by a circuitous route, via friendly diplomats and gov-ernments, mainly in the West-ern world," he said.

Labels: contraception

4.2 "The British government is pledging to double its efforts on family planning, raising its spending from £90 million ($137 million) a year to £180 million."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/faith-in-contraception-puts-gates-on-collision-course-with-the-vatican-20120712-21yx7.html?skin=text-only

Labels: contraception

5. "The 2011 annual surveillance report into HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia, compiled by The Kirby Institute at the University of NSW" says that while "HIV transmission primarily occurred through sexual contact between men, about 25 per cent occurred through heterosexual contact."

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/hiv-no-longer-means-certain-death-20120714-222rn.html?skin=text-only

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

6. The text of an interview with Msgr. Di Noia

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/society-of-st-pius-x-di-noia-16482/

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

Labels: Augustine Di Noia

7. Mr. Copland—"the political editor of ACT queer magazine FUSE" and "the convenor of the ACT Greens"—on "an ongoing problem with the queer movement where people[ such as polyamorists] who don’t fit into the mainstream queer mould are being excluded from the debate, with claims that they are ruining our chances to reach equality"

http://www.starobserver.com.au/opinion/soapbox-opinion/2012/06/14/we-need-to-return-to-our-liberation-roots/79005

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

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

8. The Statement, given at Ecône, on July 14, 2012, of the General Chapter of The Society of St. Pius X. to Rome

http://www.dici.org/en/news/society-of-st-pius-x-general-chapter-statement/

The Statement has also been posted on the "Announcements" page of the S.S.P.X.'s District of Australia website.

Labels: S.S.P.X.

9. Dr. Feser on, among other things, how he "came to see that existing naturalistic accounts of language and meaning were no good"

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/road-from-atheism.html

See also this interview with Dr. Feser, which came to my attention via the version published as "New Atheism 'is devoid of moral, intellectual merit'", "A conversation with Dr Edward Feser, university professor, author, philosopher and former atheist", by Damir Govorcin, on pp. 11 f. in the "Connections" section of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, Vol. 71, No. 4631, July 22, 2012.

Labels: languages

10. "Men work twice as long as women in paid employment; women work twice as long as men in unpaid employment at home."

http://www.smh.com.au/national/statistics-confirm-its-still-a-mans-world-20120727-22zki.html?skin=text-only

(That article came to my attention via the version published as "Statistics confirm it's still a man's world", by Tim Colebatch "with Andrew Stevenson", p. 10, "News" section, The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, July 28-29, 2012, No. 54542, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Presuambly the source for the quotation in that headline is ultimately the "Engagement in work (employment related and unpaid)" page at the website of The Australian Bureau of Statistics (A.B.S.), where it says that

While in 2006 males spent nearly twice as long as females on employment related activities, females on average spent nearly double the time spent by males on primary activities associated with unpaid work.

and proximately the A.B.S.'s media release "Men fare worse than women in education, health and crime", July 27, 2012, which has a link to the "Gender Indicators" page, which in turn has a link to a "Time use" page (in the context of "Work and Family Balance"), where there is a link to the ultimate source.

Labels: work

11. Mr. Creighton on the intentions of the Federal Government's childcare policies:

JUDGED by its intentions, the Australian government's childcare policies are superb.

"Gone are the days when this sector was considered a babysitting service," trumpeted Childcare Minister Kate Ellis this week, as she foreshadowed $22.3 billion of spending on early childhood services over the next four years.

[… ]According to the federal government, that money aims to ensure "nurturing, culturally appropriate, safe and socially inclusive" care for children in "approved childcare services", whose parents in turn enjoy "workforce participation choices".
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/broken-puzzle-of-childcare/story-fn59niix-1226431226541]

(That article came to my attention via its publication under the same headline ("Broken puzzle of childcare"), by the same author (Adam Creighton), on p. 15 in the "Inquirer" section of The Weekend Australian, Second Edition, No. 14866, ISSN 1038-8761, July 21-22, 2012, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: childcare

12. Mr. Unwin on historical Masonic influence in Manitoba, Canada:

I spend my final evening creeping through the corridors of the Manitoba Legislative Building. Built between 1913 and 1920 by British architect Frank Worthington Simon, this grand edifice is the ultimate monument to Winnipeg's good times. My guide is local author Frank Albo, whose bestselling Hermetic Code unlocks a world of occult mystery smuggled into the architecture.

"Everything is hidden in plain view," he tells our wide-eyed tour group as he reveals Masonic codes, hieroglyphic inscriptions and an intriguing hotchpotch of Christian and pagan symbolism.

Manitoba's legislators (all Freemasons, it turns out) believed they were reconstructing nothing less than Solomon's Temple amid the prairies. It's gripping stuff. But what really catches my eye are the two magnificent stone bison either side of the great marble steps to the upper chamber - a Manitoban take on the totemic wild boars of classical temples.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/holiday-at-the-heart/story-e6frg8rf-1226430230929]

(That article came to my attention via the version published under the same headline ("Holiday at the heart"), by the same author (Mike Unwin), on p. 8 of the "Travel & Indulgence" supplement of The Weekend Australian, Second Edition, No. 14866, ISSN 1038-8761, July 21-22, 2012, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: Freemasons

13. "A study published in medical journal Psychosomatic Medicine found mums and dads were 52 per cent less likely to catch a cold compared to those couples without children", "[a]nd the bigger the family, the better mum and dad's odds of staying healthy, research by Carnegie Mellon University found."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/parents-less-likely-to-catch-their-childs-cold/story-e6freuy9-1226422949125

(That article came to my attention via the version published under the same headline ("Parents less likely to catch their child's cold"), by the same authors (Lisa Power and Samantha Malagre), on p. 07 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Vol. 1, No. 2589, ISSN 1038-8745, Wednesday, July 11, 2012, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: families, health

14. "Secret minutes of a meeting on June 30 also revealed that the leadership of the Australian Young Greens party wanted to push for a public debate on polyamorous marriage, which allows people to have several wives or husbands."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/greens-caught-recruiting-youth-on-refugee-issue/story-fnejm6bt-1226423536728

(That article came to my attention via the version published under the headline "Greens use refugees as lure", by the same author (Simon Benson), on p. 11 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Vol. 1, No. 2589, ISSN 1038-8745, Wednesday, July 11, 2012, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: Greens, polyamory

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Confessor, A.D. 2012

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

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

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

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

Labels: families, health

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

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

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

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

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, ecumenism

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: N.C.W.

5. "Is Homosexuality Biologically Determined?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: abortion, law

8. Prof. George has a blog

More precisely, he contributes to this group blog:

http://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/

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

Labels: blogs

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

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

1. Interesting discussion on Assisi III

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger

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

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

Labels: morality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland, sexual abuse

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

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

10. "Apostolic Nuncio to Britain on Russian Orthodoxy"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36583

See also:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/03/should-you-ever-advise-someone-not-to-become-a-catholic/

http://scecclesia.com/?p=5288

Labels: Antonio Mennini, ecumenism, R.O.C.

11. Figures on annulments in the U.S. in recent decades

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36580

Labels: annulments, marriage, U.S.A.

12. "Cardinal to Launch Groundbreaking Intellectual Journal"

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/thread/1301052217.html

Labels: Solidarity (journal)

13. "REFORM OF ECCLESIASTICAL STUDIES OF PHILOSOPHY"

VIS 20110322 (600)

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36556

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/03/latin-in-the-ordinary-form-seminary-wherein-fr-z-rants/#comment-261488

Labels: education, Fides et ratio, John Paul II. Wojtyla, seminaries

14. Interesting new academic/news website: "The Conversation"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/new-website-the-conversation-gives-access-to-australian-academics/story-fn3dxity-1226027509468

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/academia-nets-2m-to-go-on-the-web/story-e6frgakx-1226027704333

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/andrew-jaspans-new-site-offers-something-to-talk-about/story-e6frg99o-1226029038230

Labels: Conversation (website)

15. "Gender Bender Moonbattery" (in the U.N. and elsewhere)

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/03/29/gender-bender-moonbattery/

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

Reginaldvs Cantvar
30.III.2011

Notes: Wednesday, March 16-Monday, March 21, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. A couple of recent articles regarding the Russian Orthodox Church

1.1 Reasons not to be too optimistic about the prospects for Rome-Moscow relations

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36412

Labels: ecumenism, R.O.C.

1.2 "Russian Orthodox Church hierarch calls for strategic alliance with Catholics, Protestants"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36513

Labels: ecumenism, R.O.C.

2. An AQ thread on, among other things, the requirements imposed on F.S.S.P. priests regarding Vatican II and the Novus Ordo Missæ

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36360

Labels: F.S.S.P.

3. Mr. Assange on the Internet as "the greatest spying machine the world has ever seen"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/internet-is-worlds-greatest-spying-machine-and-obstacle-to-free-speech-assange/story-e6frgakx-1226022439504

Labels: Internet

4. A couple of interesting items from this month's edition (the first for the new year) of the Sydney Archdiocese's Life, Marriage and Family Centre's monthly e-mail

4.1 Dr. van Gend on same-sex 'marriage', same-sex parenting, and Lord Russell's views on marriage

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/liberation_--_or_deprivation/

Labels: Bertrand Russell, G.L.B.T., marriage, morality, parenthood

4.2 The survival of the pro-life movement as a reason for hope in the face of the argument that opponents of 'gay marriage' are 'on the wrong side of history'

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/01/2439

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

5. Mr. Muehlenberg on the re-definition of marriage

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/03/16/marriage-equality-let%e2%80%99s-go-for-the-whole-hog/

Labels: Katrina Fox, marriage, morality

6. "Philosopher argues against abortion through reason alone"

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=25470

Labels: abortion, Christopher Kaczor, morality

7. "New documents reveal inner workings of papal birth control commission"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36478

Labels: contraception, Magisterium, morality, Paul VI. Montini

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Benedict, Abbot, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, February 15-Friday, February 18, 2011

1. Ms Keneally and Mr. O'Farrell speak at Australian-Christian-Lobby-organised forum

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/state-election-2011/leaders-reject-abortion-change-20110215-1avab.html?skin=text-only
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/nswno-devil-dealing-with-the-greensofarrell/story-fn3dxity-1226006653977

Given that The Greens are, as far as I know, the only group with Parliamentary representation which (group) advocates discriminalising abortion (outside Parliament we have, of course, "Pro Choice NSW", a lobby group formed precisely in order to remove abortion from the Crimes Act), it came as no suprise to me that neither Labor nor the Coalition intend to do so, so the point of greater interest to me from those two articles is that nor, apparently, do they intend to collect and publish data on abortions like South Australia does.

Labels: abortion, N.S.W., South Australia

2. Information on who will be involved in H.R.H. Prince William of Wales's wedding ceremony

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/harry-to-be-wills-best-man/story-e6frg6so-1226006024147

Labels: William Wales

3. An interesting blog which I've discovered (via Cath Pews):

http://maguidhir.blogspot.com/

Labels: blogs

4. Anglican slap in the face for their Catholic 'dialogue' partners: Pretender Archbishop of Canterbury appoints ladybishop to be one of the ten Anglican representatives to the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/news-update-items/article/toronto-bishop-appointed-to-international-commission-9549.html
(discovered at
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/02/anglican-communions-greatest-contribution-to-ecumenism-ev-er/)

Labels: Anglicans, ecumenism, womenpriests

5. "Huge drop in Zimbabwe HIV rate fuelled by rise in abstinence, fidelity"

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/msg/1297828973.html

Labels: contraception, H.I.V./A.I.D.S., vice

6. "Archbp. Marchetto’s book about “School of Bologna” and interpretations of Vatican II now in English"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/02/archbp-marchettos-book-about-school-of-bologna-and-interpretations-of-vatican-ii-now-in-english/

Labels: Agostino Marchetto, Vatican II

7. Interesting article on recent High Court judgements (and "the closest that Australia comes to having a constitutional Bill of Rights")

http://www.smh.com.au/national/fingerprints-of-chief-justice-seen-in-high-court-unanimity-20110217-1ayap.html?skin=text-only

Labels: High Court of Australia, law

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

Notes: Wednesday, February 9, 2011

1. More on so-called gay marriage

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

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

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

1.2 "Union revolt on same-sex marriage ban"

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

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

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

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

I was interested to read there that the prelate in question

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

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

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

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

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

Excerpt:

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

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

Labels: Anglicans, ecumenism

4. "St. Thomas Aquinas on Admonishing Prelates"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: humour, New Mass

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

Notes: Tuesday, May 11, 2010

(This first edition of Notes covers last Saturday to today, inclusive of both.) [Update, Tuesday, May 11, 2010, approx. 0400 hrs.: After posting this, I noticed that I had forgotten that I had opened the Blogger "New Post" screen on Monday (but didn't hit "PUBLISH POST" till Tuesday), so when I wrote that "This first edition of Notes covers last Saturday to today", by "today" I mean Tuesday, not Monday, as one might have inferred from the day and date given at the top of this post.]

Mr. Gittins on the Henry Review

http://www.smh.com.au/business/how-much-stick-to-give-jobless-20100507-ujkx.html

I was disappointed but unsurprised to see, in The Daily Telegraph's recommendation-by-recommendation summary of the Henry Review last week, that one of the Review's recommendations was for the individual, rather than the family, to remain the basic unit for taxation. But perhaps this isn't such a bad thing, given that the Review's aim seems to be to make two-income families even better off relative to one-income families:

Now, it's clear from all the references to the ''tax and transfer system'' that one of the major goals of the review was to fully integrate the two systems - make them fit together better. That the two systems don't fit well can be seen from our frequent wrestling with the problem of high ''effective marginal tax rates''. Say a mother working full-time is considering moving to a tougher, higher-paying job. On each extra dollar she earns she would lose 31.5¢ in income tax. But she may also lose 30¢ in family benefit. If so, her marginal tax rate is, effectively, 61.5¢ in the dollar - well above the top tax rate of 46.5¢ and quite a disincentive.

It's clear the hope in getting the Henry review to look at the tax and transfer system was for it to find a comprehensive fix to the effective marginal tax problem.

But here's the scoop: it couldn't do it. After much effort it decided the two systems just couldn't be integrated. The problem is created by our love of means-testing, but is compounded because income tax is levied on the individual, whereas eligibility for transfer payments is based on the joint income of couples.

Its best suggestion was that the separate means tests for part A and part B of the family benefit be combined, with a single ''withdrawal rate'' of only 15¢ to 20¢ for each extra dollar of income earned.

(And here's another interesting figure from Mr. Gittins's article: "For every dollar the federal government gets in, more than 25¢ goes out in transfers.")

Ms Summers on fifty years of the Pill

http://www.smh.com.au/national/little-pill-that-changed-the-world-20100507-ujo8.html

Obviously I disagree with her on the liceity of contraception, but the article gives an insight into how the other side thinks.

Ms Smith on the N.S.W. State school ethics course

Here's a letter from yesterday's Herald:

Trial celebrates choice and parental responsibility

Date: May 10 2010

[...]

So what is the take-home lesson from the decimation of scripture classes by the ethics-course trial that Anglicans had predicted?

It's not a judgment on the quality of SRE classes, because it was parents who made the choice, without attending SRE classes or the trial classes. It's not a judgment on the quality of SRE teachers, because the ethics course teachers are simply civic-hearted volunteers like those SRE teachers who do not have theological or teaching qualifications (as many do). And it's not a judgment on the relative value of religion or ethics.

The take-home lesson is that the implementation of the ethics course created an ethical dilemma, which was the need to choose between ethics and religion when that choice should not have been necessary. The timetable slot is for SRE.

If the ethics course is not SRE, it should not be scheduled then and parents would not be forced to choose between a (heavily promoted) ethics course and religious education.

Claire Smith Roseville
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/trial-celebrates-choice-and-parental-responsibility-20100509-ullk.html?skin=text-only]

And here's one from today's Herald:

All views count in schools blessed with tolerance

Date: May 11 2010

[...]

Claire Smith (Letters, May 10) is wrong. As a parent I am well aware of what goes in at an SRE class.

Over the years I've had to explain to my daughter that my wife and I will not end up burning in hell. I patiently had to explain the cultural difference between angels and fairies. I had to explain that the leaflet she had been told to bring home, which gave ''10 reasons why we know the Bible is true'', had no foundation in fact, that at best the evidence for the ''reasons'' given were dubious at best and outright lies at worst. So I do know what SRE is about. It is not about ethics; it is not about learning how religion has shaped our culture; it is definitely not learning about the life and nature of Jesus Christ. It is an attempt by the church to indoctrinate children, in the hope that it will put a few more bums on seats to bolster its falling numbers. And the reality is it doesn't work.

As for ''parents been forced to choose'', this too is a lie. Many parents have wanted for a long time an ethics and critical thinking alternative to SRE, preferably taught by trained teachers as opposed to ''civic hearted'' volunteers. Well, finally, some parents have a choice for their children, and the church is bleating.

Paul Gittings Russell Lea
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/all-views-count-in-schools-blessed-with-tolerance-20100510-uojd.html?skin=text-only]

So "[m]any parents have wanted for a long time an ethics and critical thinking alternative to SRE". Now you might be aware that not just the Catholic Church and the Protestant sects are opposed to the ethics course trial, but so too is the Teacher's Federation, not because it subscribes to the content taught in Scripture classes, but because separate ethics classes would imply that pupils receive inadequate ethical formation from teachers. But Mr. Gittings and, apparently, "[m]any [other] parents" think that State school teachers don't even give pupils adequate instruction in critical thinking!

Mr. van Onselen on the porosity of Mr. Turnbull

As will the perception, if not the reality, of being indiscreet ["need to be remedied"]. Turnbull described himself on the ABC's Australian Story last year as "the soul of indiscretion". After his arrival in John Howard's cabinet, it started to leak. After he lost the leadership showdown with Brendan Nelson following the 2007 election defeat, Nelson quickly started to be undermined. When Abbott defeated Turnbull for the leadership last December, a private conversation between Turnbull and Julie Bishop in which she allegedly bagged Abbott leaked.

At one level skulduggery is expected in politics, but practitioners need to be discreet. Turnbull would do well to steer clear of low-grade political manoeuvring. Apart from anything else, he isn't much good at it.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/turnbulls-presence-looms-large-on-political-horizon/story-e6frg6zo-1225863814373]

Msgr. Fellay's latest Letter to Friends and Benefactors

http://www.dici.org/en/?p=4652

You might also want to check out the discussions on the Letter at angelqueen.org/forum and wdtprs.com/blog (at the latter, the comment by moon1234 — 8 May 2010 @ 4:10 am provides a useful recap on the status of the Second Vatican Council and its teachings).

Fr. Aidan (Nichols O.P.) and Mrs. Doorly on the Second Vatican Council and ecumenism

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31518

Ms Hogan on accusations of heresy

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21089

See also here and here for comment, by Terra and Mr. Schütz, respectively, about Ms Hogan's blog post. Someone ought to put Ms Hogan in her place and simply quote Fr. Küng on, say, the dogma of Papal infallibility.

Dr. Brown on St. Thomas Aquinas's doctrine on God as First Cause

Here's a fascinating comment by Dr. Robert Brown, a regular commenter at wdtprs.com/blog:

[... Dr. Brown] would not agree that St Thomas was working from the notion of a created world. His arguments move via abstraction from sensible knowledge to metaphysical knowledge. From the fact that the limited being that comprises all material existence needs a cause (and that an infinite chain of essential causes is impossible), he arrives at the knowledge of the existence of the First Cause, Whom we call God.

The very fact of limited being means that it must have been created, and so there is nothing a priori about his concept of a created world.

[...]

Comment by robtbrown — 7 May 2010 @ 11:41 pm
[http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-this-cogito-ergo-sum-thus-if-i-think-i-am-reverent-i-am/#comment-203647]

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Feast of Ss. Philip and James, Apostles, A.D. 2010