Notes: Wednesday, December 4-Tuesday, December 31, 2013 (part 3 of 3)

15. New South Wales (N.S.W.) Premier "Mr O’Farrell said Mr Vic Alhadeff had been appointed the new Community Relations Commission’s Chair, and Mr Hakan Harman as its CEO."

The quotation in that headline comes from the media release "NEW CHAIR TO LEAD COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION", no author credited, dated Friday, December 17, 2013 (sic—presumably the author meant Tuesday, December 17, 2013, given that those appointments came to my attention via the Wednesday, December 18, 2013 issue of the Sydney Daily Telegraph), downloaded from the N.S.W. Premier's website:

http://www.premier.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/NEW%20CHAIR%20TO%20LEAD%20COMMUNITY%20RELATIONS%20COMMISSION.pdf

and also available at the Community Relations Commission's (C.R.C.'s) and Office of Communities' respective websites:

http://www.crc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/22453/131219_New_Chair_to_Lead_Community_Relations_Commission.pdf

http://www.communities.nsw.gov.au/assets/pubs/media/citizenship_communities/131217_new_chair_to_lead_Community_Relations_Commission.pdf

For reaction to Mr. Alhadeff's appointment, see the article "George Brandis reveals new direction for human rights commission", by Deborah Snow, dated December 21, 2013, in which Ms Snow observes that

Ironically, as the Abbott government prepares to soften laws against racially offensive speech, the O'Farrell government in New South Wales seems headed down a different path. This week it appointed the chief of the Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff, as chairman of the state community relations commission. Alhadeff, a former South African newsman, was a fierce opponent of apartheid who lost grandparents in the Holocaust. As a consequence, he is a staunch defender of anti-discrimination laws, particularly those aimed at racism.
[downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/george-brandis-reveals-new-direction-for-human-rights-commission-20131220-2zqpk.html?skin=text-only
and brought to my attention by the version printed under the headline "Inside job draws fire", by the same author, pp. 6-7 in the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, December 21-22, 2013, no issue number stated (but presumably No. 54976—the issue number for December 28-29, 2013, minus five (not seven, since The Sun-Herald doesn't count, and not six, since there was no Herald on Christmas Day)), ISSN 0312-6315]

and see also the Middle East Reality Check blog posts "The New Face of Multiculturalism in NSW" and "'A Fierce Opponent of Apartheid'", both by MERC, dated respectively Thursday, December 19, 2013 and Sunday, December 22, 2013:

http://middleeastrealitycheck.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/the-new-face-of-multiculturalism-in-nsw.html

http://middleeastrealitycheck.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/a-fierce-opponent-of-apartheid.html

Labels: N.S.W. Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff

16. "The Fraser government set up the AHRC as an almost quasi-judicial body that would have the power to enforce rulings on issues within its ambit. But a 1995 High Court judgment stripped the commission of the power to make and enforce decisions, turning it into a toothless tiger. Hence the AHRC no longer conducts hearings."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Brandis and Dreyfus take hypocrisy to a new level", by Prof. Peter van Onselen, dated December 21, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/brandis-and-dreyfus-take-hypocrisy-to-a-new-level/story-fn53lw5p-1226787694605

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline (but with all the letters capitals), with the same author, on p. 18 in the "COMMENTARY" pages of the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, December 21-22, 2013, First Edition, No. 15298, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: A.H.R.C.

17. "A British Medical Journal study on euthanasia in Flanders, Belgium, found that 47 per cent of deaths were not reported. Last year The Lancet published a meta-analysis which found that 23 per cent of euthanasia deaths went unreported by doctors. In both studies, unreported euthanasia was associated with questionable and sometimes illegal practice."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Euthanasia advocates' overkill stymies the right-to-die debate", by Dr. Jennifer Oriel, dated December 28, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/euthanasia-advocates-overkill-stymies-the-righttodie-debate/story-e6frg6zo-1226790758222

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same author, on p. 14 in the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, December 28-29, 2013, First Edition, No. 15303, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: euthanasia

18. Prof. Anderson et al. apply against life sentences an argument which is often used against the death penalty

See the opinion piece "NSW sentencing laws are out of step with its human rights obligations", by Associate Professor John Anderson, Mrs. Felicity Wardhaugh, and Mr. Daniel Matas, dated December 28, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/nsw-sentencing-laws-are-out-of-step-with-its-human-rights-obligations-20131227-2zz0p.html?skin=text-only

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Parole … eventually" (ellipsis symbol in the original), with the same authors, on p. 11 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, December 28-29, 2013, No. 54981, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: crime, death penalty, justice

19. Cardinal Scola on, among other things, religious liberty and what His Eminence regards as "the proper and necessary non-confessionality of the state"

See the article "THE EDICT OF MILAN: INITIUM LIBERTATIS", by His Eminence The Most Rev. The Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, on pp. 10-19 of the Humanitas review, No. 5 (Second Semester 2013), Biannual English Digital Edition, available for download from here:

http://review.humanitas.cl/

or go straight hither:

http://issuu.com/humanitas60/docs/h5_ingl__s_baja?e=2218461/6092099

Labels: religious liberty, Confessional State

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Tuesday in the Octave of Christmas, and the feast of St. Sylvester I., Pope, Confessor, A.D. 2013

Notes: Tuesday, May 21-Thursday, June 20, 2013

1. "But the State can preserve a religious identity provided it acts with neutrality and justice toward all religious groups in its territory."

The quotation in that headline comes from the Statement of His Grace The Titular Archbishop of Acelum C.S. in His Grace's capacity as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva at the Twenty-Second Session of the Human Rights Council, Item 3, "Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief", dated March 6, 2013, downloaded from the official website of the Holy See Mission to the United Nations in Geneva:

http://www.holyseemissiongeneva.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14396:22nd-session-of-the-human-rights-council-report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-freedom-of-religion

Msgr. Tomasi's Statement came to my attention via this AQ post, one of the sources for which was this CatholicCulture.org article.

See also the Vatican Radio articles "Religious freedom: cornerstone of dialogue and collaboration" (also available here) and "Archbishop Silvano Tomasi speaks on the abuse of Religious minorities in the world".

Labels: Confessional State, religious liberty, Silvano Tomasi

2. "Wealthy Russians dominate the purchase of country houses[ in England] and make up a quarter of buyers in the above-£5m bracket."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Mind your manors", by Ben Power, dated May 25, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/prestige-property/mind-your-manors/story-fn6njxlr-1226649405628

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline (though with all the letters capitalised), by the same author, on pp. 12 f. in the "WEEKEND PROPERTY" section of the "WEEKEND A PLUS" supplement of The Weekend Australian, May 25-26, 2013, First Edition, No. 15125, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: Russia, U.K.

3. A couple of recent items on income distribution in Australia

3.1 Prof. Ergas on income distribution in Australia

See the opinion piece "Taxes put bite on middle-class families", by Prof. Henry Ergas, dated May 27, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/taxes-put-bite-on-middle-class-families/story-fn7078da-1226650920952

Labels: economics, families

3.2 Prof. Whiteford on income distribution in Australia

See the article "Who gets what? Who pays for it? The welfare state debate revisited", by Prof. Peter Whiteford, dated June 4, 2013, downloaded from the Inside Story website:

http://inside.org.au/who-gets-what-who-pays-for-it-the-welfare-state-debate-revisited/

(That article came to my attention proximately via this webpage and ultimately via this blog post by Miss Edwards.)

Labels: economics, families

4. Mr. Russell on euthanasia

See the article "EUTHANASIA: NSW parliament rejects euthanasia bill", by Mr. Paul Russell, dated June 8, 2013, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=5603

Labels: euthanasia

5. "While it is estimated that 70-80 per cent of Australians with HIV were infected through homosexual contact, about 15 per cent were infected through heterosexual contact, and 3 per cent through unsafe injecting practices."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "At-risk groups focus of concern for HIV", by Sean Parnell, dated June 3, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/foi/at-risk-groups-focus-of-concern-for-hiv/story-fn8r0e18-1226655484603

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

6. A couple of points of interest from the article "Children of same-sex couples thriving: study", by Vince Chadwick, dated June 6, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

Most same-sex couples are now having children through assisted reproductive technology. Dr Crouch said that 10 years ago most children came from previous heterosexual relationships.

According to the 2011 Census, there were 6120 children under 25 in same-sex-couple families. However, Dr Crouch said due to under-reporting, the true figure could be more than double this.
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/children-of-samesex-couples-thriving-study-20130605-2nqjy.html?skin=text-only]

(For more on the Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families, see the National Review Online article "Assessing the Australian Study", by Associate Professor Mark Regnerus, dated June 6, 2013 (which came to my attention via this Australian Christian Lobby post), and this post at MercatorNet's "Conjugality" blog.)

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

7. "For the first time [in Australia ]more than one million children (1,030,970) attended approved child care during the [September ]quarter, an increase of 3.9 per cent since the September quarter 2011."

The quotation in that headline, excluding my square-bracketed interpolations, comes from p. 1 of Child Care Update, September quarter 2012, ISBN: 978-1-74361-057-2, © Commonwealth of Australia, 2013, produced by the Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations (D.E.E.W.R.) on behalf of the Australian Government, and published by the D.E.E.W.R., downloaded from the "Reports" page of the Australian Government's mychild.gov.au website:

http://mychild.gov.au/pages/ResourcesReports.aspx

(Child Care Update, September quarter 2012 came to my attention via an article at The Australian's website which (article) is apparently no longer available there.)

Labels: childcare, families, social trends

8. Mr. Baker on religious liberty in America

See the article "AMERICA’S PROBLEMS WITH RELIGIOUS LIBERTY", by Mr. Michael Baker, dated May 19, 2013, downloaded from his Super flumina Babylonis website:

http://www.superflumina.org/America_problem_rel_freedom.html

Labels: religious liberty

9. "the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a new LGBT Global Development Partnership" which (Partnership) "will strengthen the capacity of LGBT civil society organizations, train LGBT individuals to participate more fully in democratic processes, and undertake research on the economic impact of discrimination against LGBT individuals"

The quotations in that headline come from the press release "USAID Announces New Partnership to Promote LGBT Human Rights Abroad", from the USAID Press Office, dated Monday, April 8, 2013, downloaded from the official USAID website:

http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/usaid-announces-new-partnership-promote-lgbt-human-rights-abroad

(That press release came to my attention ultimately via this blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg and proximately via the LifeSiteNews.com articles "Obama administration begins training homosexual activists around the world" and "Despite sequestration, Obama funds homosexual groups in other countries".)

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

10. The Australian's position on abortion: "Our view on this matter reflects the view of the vast majority of Australians: all women should legally have access to a safe abortion if they need it, but we hope they never do."

The quotation in that headline comes from the editorial "Leave abortion out of politics", dated June 14, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/editorials/leave-abortion-out-of-politics/story-e6frg71x-1226663471678

Labels: abortion, Australian

11. Past Theological Studies articles are available here:

http://www.ts.mu.edu/readers/content/get-past-articles.html

(That came to my attention via the second comment at this Mirror of Justice post.)

Labels: theology, morality

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Silverius, Pope, Martyr, A.D. 2013

Notes: Tuesday, February 28-Tuesday, March 20, 2012

1. "After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?", by Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva:

http://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2012/03/01/medethics-2011-100411.full.pdf+html

(That U.R.L. came to my attention via this True Catholic thread.)

See also "An open letter from Giubilini and Minerva":

http://blogs.bmj.com/medical-ethics/2012/03/02/an-open-letter-from-giubilini-and-minerva/

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

And in Mr. Bolt's opinion piece on that Journal of Medical Ethics article, he mentions some cases of late-term abortion.

Labels: abortion, infanticide, morality

2. "Six specialised teams, each with a doctor, are criss-crossing the Netherlands to carry out euthanasia on patients at home whose own doctors refuse to do so."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/euthanasia-units-at-work-20120301-1u5sx.html?skin=text-only

Labels: euthanasia

3. "Rick Santorum and the Kingship of Christ"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41106

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, morality, political science, Social Reign of Christ

4. "BENEDICT AND THE JEWS"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41083

Labels: B'nai B'rith, Freemasons, Jews

5. "Statistics Canada reports the prevalence in the country of homosexuals, lesbians and bisexuals to be 1.5% of the population."

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/this-lent-development-peace-teaches-that-10-of-the-world-is-homosexual

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

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

6. "The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the prohibition of adoption to non-married couples is not discriminatory, because it applies to both heterosexual and homosexual couples equally[, and] has also ruled that homosexual “marriage” is not a right under the European Convention on Human Rights"

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/gay-marriage-not-a-right-prohibiting-gay-adoption-not-discrimination-europe

(That web-page came to my attention via this True Catholic thread; there is also an AQ thread about it.)

Labels: E.C.H.R., G.L.B.T., marriage

Reginaldvs Cantvar
20.III.2012

Notes: Tuesday, November 15-Tuesday, November 29, 2011

1. The November 2011 issue of the Regina Coeli Report (from the United States District of the S.S.P.X.)

http://sspx.org/rcr_pdfs/2011_rcrs/november_2011_rcr.pdf

(I log that for its information on the 2011 Angelus Press Conference on the Kingship of Christ. It came to my attention via a recent edition of the S.S.P.X. U.S. District's e-mail update, to which you can subscribe at that District's website (see this blog's links section).)

Labels: Social Reign of Christ

2. "HUNDREDS of doctors have formed a coalition to support voluntary euthanasia and lobby state governments to decriminalise the practice"

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/news/national/national/general/doctors-form-lobby-for-right-to-die-with-dignity/2356069.aspx

(That came to my attention via this CathNews page.)

Labels: euthanasia

3. The latest on Australian popular support for so-called Gay marriage

http://www.smh.com.au/national/voter-opinion-adds-weight-to-shift-in-marriage-policy-20111114-1nfkj.html?skin=text-only

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/australia-is-not-ready-to-say-we-do-to-gay-marriage-20111124-1nwy2.html?skin=text-only

In The Australian's editorial on some of those findings, that newspaper reminds us that it "believes that consenting adults should be free to make their own lifestyle choices". So why does it put the word "marriages", when writing of "unregistered polygamous … Sharia "marriages" among Muslims", in inverted commas when, in line with its aforementioned belief, it does not do likewise for so-called Gay/same-sex marriage?

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

4. "Purgatory in Scripture: New Developments"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39762

Labels: Purgatory, Scripture, theology

5. Some recent findings on Australian demography

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/one-million-kids-wont-move-out-of-home/story-e6frg6nf-1226205401109

The findings which are of most interest to me are, in the order in which they appear in that article, that "[o]ver 6.3 million families were couples with children and 14 per cent were one-parent families", that "[o]ne million children or one in five of those aged 0-17 had a natural parent living outside the household", that "[i]n the 12 years since 1998 the percentage of couples with children in which both parents were employed increased from 56 per cent to 61 per cent", that "31.5 [is] now the median marrying age for men and 29.2 the median age for women", and that "[t]he median age of Australians is 37.6".

Labels: demography, families, marriage, work

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Saturninus, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, July 26-Monday, August 8, 2011 (part 1 of 2)

1. Mrs. Shanahan on, among other things, the nexus between multiculturalism and 'gay rights'

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/cheap-emotionalism-stymies-sensible-christian-debate-on-homosexuality/story-fn562txd-1226099272405

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

2. It "is good" that "public opinion endorses the legal recognition of rights which arise from long-term same sex unions"?

This is an excerpt from His Eminence The Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney's weekly column in the Sydney Catholic Weekly (presumably it ran in the previous Sunday's edition of the Sydney Sunday Telegraph, too):

While not many ["Australians who declare themselves homosexual"] would choose to marry if the law was changed, public opinion endorses the legal recognition of rights which arise from long-term same sex unions.

This is good.
[http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=8585&class=Features&subclass=Cardinal's Comment]

How so, Your Eminence?

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

3. Prof. Somerville on euthanasia

Excerpts from an interview in the Sydney Catholic Weekly:

In 1994 the state of Oregon legal­ised “physician-assisted dying” with restrictions and requirements, in­cluding a psychological assessment stating that the patient is competent and is not depressed.

“None of the psychiatrists will do that in Oregon so the ‘Death with Dignity’ people are flying in their own pro-euthanasia psychiatrists.”

[...] Between 500 and 1000 people, some of whom are mentally incompetent, die in the Netherlands each year through euthanasia without consent.

[...] “They’ve just done re­search in Belgium where they found that 32 per cent of doctors who had undertaken euthanasia admitted that they had done it on occasions without the person’s consent.

“That’s a third of the doctors; that’s appalling.”

In 2010 it was revealed that more than 100 Belgian nurses, mostly men, had ended the lives of patients without consent.

“When they were asked why, they said they thought it was in the patients’ best interests … the most frequent victims were people over the age of 80.”

[...] The Oregon Health Auth­ority, which supervises the application of the Death With Dignity legislation, also de­cides whether patients will receive state funding for expensive medication to prolong their lives.

“Some of those drugs can cost up to $30,000 a month,” Margo says.

When the authority de­cides that it’s not going to provide the drug, it won’t pay for it, she said, it distributes a letter which says: “It’s not been approved; however, we would like to remind you that assisted suicide under our system is available at a very reasonable cost.”

Margo is also concerned about the connection be­tween euth­anasia and organ donation, with a recent article in a medical journal ad­dressing the case in Bel­gium.

“In the latest article, four people were euthanased and their lungs were transplanted into another person.

“One of the people was a woman who was mentally ill and not physically ill at all.”

(Belgian legislation now permits euthanasia for the mentally ill.)

[...] “I was asked by a senator in the South Australian Parliament to provide a legal opinion on what they were doing with legislation and to analyse the Second Reading Speech, and I couldn’t be­lieve what was said; it was just wrong – that the Nether­lands shows us there is no slippery slope, that there had been no problem in Oregon and Belgium was completely safe!

“It was just unbelievable. This is what’s being said in Par­liament.”
[http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=9&articleID=8592&class=Features&subclass=A conversation with]

Labels: euthanasia

4. A reminder of some aspects of the content and origin of Victoria's current abortion law

... critics argue that when the abortion bill was introduced in 2008, it did not have to fully adhere to the human rights charter - as is the case with all other bills - due to a clause known as section 48, which states: ''Nothing in this charter affects any law applicable to abortion or child destruction.''
[http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=27356]

Labels: abortion, Victoria

5. Several web-pages on an under-examined aspect of the Norway killings

The Monday after the killings, I was reading the Sydney Daily Telegraph's coverage of them, the first close reading I'd done on the matter, and I was interested to read that the alleged killer's manifesto contained mention of the Knights Templar. This made me wonder whether there might be a Masonic connection involved, and as I was surfing the web that night, visiting the blogs which I usually visit, lo and behold, there at Fr. Roberts's blog was a photo of the alleged killer in the costume of his Lodge (Swedish Rite, I've read). Here's a link to Fr. Roberts's write-up of the matter:

http://kingshipofchrist.blogspot.com/2011/07/freemason-or-crusader.html

And here are some other web-pages on the matter:

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38323

http://revisionistreview.blogspot.com/2011/07/anders-behring-breivik-judeo-masonic.html

Labels: Anders Breivik, Freemasons

6. "Coo-ees from the Cloister up & running again"

http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com

(That was brought to my attention by this Cath Pews post.)

Labels: blogs

7. "Malta’s parliament legalizes divorce"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38305

Labels: divorce, Malta, marriage

8. Two quotations (in their original French) from Pius XII. on Church-State relations

(Any Francophone readers are welcome to submit their translations in this post's combox.)

1. From an Allocution to which this web-page refers as "Ai partecipanti al primo Congresso mondiale dell'Apostolato dei Laici (14 ottobre 1951)":

Il ne faudrait pas non plus laisser passer inaperçue, ni sans en reconnaître la bienfaisante influence, l'étroite union qui, jusqu'à la révolution française, mettait en relations mutuelles, dans le monde catholique, les deux autorités établies par Dieu : l'Eglise et l'Etat. L'intimité de leurs rapports sur le terrain commun de la vie publique, créait — en général — comme une atmosphère d'esprit chrétien, qui dispensait en bonne part du travail délicat, auquel doivent, aujourd'hui, s'atteler les prêtres et les laïques pour procurer la sauvegarde et la valeur pratique de la foi.
[AAS 43 (1951), p. 785,
http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/index_en.htm]

2. From an Allocution which this web-page calls the "Address Vous avez voulu to participants in the 10th International Congress of Historical Sciences (September 7, 1955)":

L'historien ne devrait pas oublier que, si l'Eglise et l'Etat connurent des heures et des années de lutte, il y eut, de Constantin le Grand jusqu'à l'époque contemporaine et même récente, des périodes tranquilles, souvent prolongées, pendant lesquelles ils collaborèrent dans une pleine compréhension à l'éducation des mêmes personnes. L'Eglise ne dissimule pas qu'elle considère en principe cette collaboration comme normale, et qu'elle regarde comme un idéal l'unité du peuple dans la vraie religion et l'unanimité d'action entre elle et l'Etat. ...
[AAS 47 (1955), p. 679,
http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/index_en.htm]
Also available in Spanish here:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/speeches/1955/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19550907_vous-avez-voulu_sp.html]

Labels: Church and State, Pius XII. Pacelli

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. John Mary Vianney, Confessor, and of Sts. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs, A.D. 2011

Notes: Tuesday, May 10-Monday, May 16, 2011

1. "80 per cent of parish pastors in Australia ... belong to the [National Council of Priests]"?

According to a letter from one L. F. Donnelly which was published last week in The Australian, "80 per cent of parish pastors in Australia ... belong to the [National Council of Priests]". Is this a fact, though?

Labels: N.C.P.

2. "Putin signals 2012 bid"

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/putin-signals-2012-bid-20110510-1eh6f.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Russia, Vladimir Putin

3. A few recent items regarding H.H. The Pope

3.1 Holy Father mentions "eclipse of God" in Allocution on prayer

AG/ VIS 20110511 (610)

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110511_en.html

"Eclipse of God" is the title of a book by the Jewish pseudophilosopher Martin Buber. His Holiness mentions Buber favourably in Milestones.

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Jews, Martin Buber, philosophy, theology

3.2 "Pope receives delegation of B'nai B'rith International"

AC/ VIS 20110512 (340)

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37310

Labels: B'nai B'rith, Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, Freemasons, inter-religious dialogue, Jews

3.3 H.H. The Pope on religious liberty

AL/ VIS 20110516 (590)

Excerpt from the Holy Father's Address to Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of India on their "ad Limina" visit:

Moreover, as Indian Christians strive to live in peace and harmony with their neighbours of other beliefs, your prudent leadership will be crucial in the civil and moral task of working to safeguard the fundamental human rights of freedom of religion and freedom of worship. As you know, these rights are based upon the common dignity of all human beings and are recognized throughout the concert of nations. The Catholic Church strives to promote these rights for all religions throughout the world. ...
[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/may/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110516_ad-limina-india_en.html]

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, morality, religious liberty

4. Mr. Muehlenberg with "Further Reasons To Reject Legalised Euthanasia"

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/05/11/further-reasons-to-reject-legalised-euthanasia/

Labels: euthanasia

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Ubald, Bishop, Confessor, A.D. 2011

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

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

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

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

Labels: R.O.C., Russia

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

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

Labels: Russia

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

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

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

2. A few items regarding Ireland

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

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

Not without disagreement, though:

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

Labels: catechesis, education, Ireland

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

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

Labels: Ireland

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

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

Labels: education, Ireland

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

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

I did not know that that was the case.

Labels: Church and State, Monaco

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: Sacraments, theology

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

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

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

Labels: euthanasia, nursing

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

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

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

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

Labels: John Paul II. Wojtyla

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

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

Labels: Greens

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

Not just violence, though, but also criminal sanctions:

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

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

4. Text of Cardinal Burke's recent Australian speech

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

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

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

Labels: Church and State, Raymond Burke

5. A couple of recent developments in Ireland

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: Ireland

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

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

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

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

I was interested to read the following the other day:

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

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

Labels: history, University of Sydney

8. Dr. van Gend on euthanasia

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

Labels: euthanasia

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

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

Labels: abortion, law

Reginaldvs Cantvar
30.III.2011

Notes: 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: Tuesday, February 1-Friday, February 4, 2011

1. On Egypt and developments there considered with respect to the State of Israel

From the Herald the other day:

Writing in the Israeli daily Haaretz, military analyst Amos Harel says: "The collapse of the old regime in Cairo, if it takes place, will have a massive effect, mainly negative, on Israel's position in the region. In the long run it could put the peace treaties … in danger, the largest strategic assets [Israel has] after the support of the US."

Explaining what is at stake, a senior Israeli official is quoted in The New York Times: "For the US, Egypt is the keystone of its Middle East policy. For Israel, [Egypt] is the whole arch."

The former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Eli Shaked, writes: "The only people in Egypt who are committed to peace are the people in Mubarak's inner circle, and if the next president is not one of them, we are going to be in trouble."

[...] Ron Lesham warned in Haaretz of the consequences of Egyptian politics operating without Mubarak: "The parties will be myriad and fragmented, colourless and disappointing, left-wing and right-wing - and all of them hostile to Israel. An unstable, rudderless transition period, a parliamentary democracy in the Turkish model, if not the Iranian, will give rise to a religious regime that within a few years will presumably be in control of the best-trained and best-equipped army in the Middle East."
[my square-bracketed ellipsis, italics and other square-bracketed interpolations in the original,
http://www.smh.com.au/world/peoples-gain-is-loss-for-us-and-israel-as-arab-allies-falter-20110201-1ach7.html?skin=text-only]

Labels: Egypt, State of Israel

2. "Obama signs Russia arms pact"

Excerpt:

US officials said Mr Obama would make the ceremonial gesture in the Oval Office, before the milestone pact comes into force on Saturday at a ceremony in Munich attended by both nations' top diplomats.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the new START agreement's ratification last Friday after the Russian parliament passed the pact, which was endorsed by the US Senate last month.

The treaty comes into force when the two nations exchange their respective "instruments of ratification".
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/obama-signs-russia-arms-pact/story-e6frg6so-1225999016923]

Labels: Russia, U.S.A.

3. On exaggerated reporting of the Australian Christian Lobby's (A.C.L.'s) reaction to the N.S.W. Coalition's plan no longer to abolish ethics classes

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/christians-vent-anger-after-opposition-abandons-promise-on-ethics-classes-20110203-1afjh.html?skin=text-only

When the critical thinker reads a headline about "Christians vent[ing their] anger" above a first line beginning with the words "FURIOUS Christians", he or she thinks "Those are pretty strong words. Are they warranted?" Now can anyone read that article and tell me how one could answer that question in the affirmative?

Labels: A.C.L., S.M.H.

4. Mr. Ackland on the High Court's dealings with Church-State relations

The excerpts which are of interest to me:

The constitution says that the Commonwealth cannot make a law for establishing a religion, or for imposing religious observance or prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Importantly, ''no religious test shall be required as qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth''.

In 1981, in a case brought by the Defence of Government Schools people, a majority of the Barwick court said state aid was perfectly kosher and did not violate the constitution. Only Justice Lionel Murphy accepted an argument that decisions of the US Supreme Court which prohibited direct government support for religious institutions should be followed here.

The majority did not take a particularly broad view of our constitutional provision, confining the restraint to laws that sought to ''establish'' a religion in Australia. As long as the government did not officially identify itself with one religion or another, then all would be well.

[...] Ron Williams says his children have been subjected to religious zealotry by chaplains employed through the Scripture Union. He has persuaded the Sydney solicitor Claude Bilinsky and barrister Bret Walker to challenge the program on constitutional grounds in the High Court. The case will be heard in May, not as an appeal but as part of the court's original jurisdiction.

[...] Then there is the crunch constitutional point. Any school chaplain engaged under this scheme holds an office under the Commonwealth. By requiring these chaplains to comply with certain guidelines, a ''religious test'' as a qualification for a government job is imposed. This, it is argued, breaches the constitution.
[http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/religiously-follow-the-rules-or-catch-church-in-bed-with-state-20110203-1afbf.html?skin=text-only]

Labels: Church and State, Constitution, High Court of Australia, law

5. Someone who does not oppose assisted suicide on the notion of 'dying with dignity'

An interesting letter in today's Herald:

Throwing in the towel is not dignity

John Newton and Bryan Milner (Letters, February 3) are taking liberties with the English language. Dying with dignity? I don't think so.

Euthanasia legislation parading as dying with dignity is a misnomer and insults those with true dignity. It is silly for a society to make suicide, or even assisting suicide, a crime, but it is hardly a dignified exit to life. When we accord ''dignity'' to those who throw in the towel and say that those who fight to the end ''lack dignity'', we have lost the concept of dignity.

Dignity refers to the human spirit, to qualities worthy of esteem or respect. It has nothing to do with whether someone needs help to eat or go to the bathroom. By all means let people exit how they want but please don't say it was dignified. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with throwing in the towel but that is what it is.

When you feel the need to wrap your actions in inappropriate words to make them palatable, you probably don't truly believe you are doing the most honourable thing.

Mary Ancich Birchgrove
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/recovery-too-great-a-task-to-leave-to-charity-20110203-1afbc.html?skin=text-only]

Labels: euthanasia

6. A couple of interesting websites which I've discovered

Via the Blogger profile of a commenter at Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog I've discovered that the philosopher Edward Feser has a blog:

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/

The first post which I saw at Dr. Feser's blog linked to an article entitled "The Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Law":

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2011/02/oderberg-on-natural-law.html

Natural-law ethics's three metaphysical presumptions are the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and psychological liberty. I have not read Dr. Oderberg's paper yet but I would be quite interested to do so, if I have time.

Labels: morality, natural law, philosophy

7. "A Review [by Mr. Muehlenberg] of Unplanned. By [former "Planned Parenthood" clinic director] Abby Johnson."

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/02/04/a-review-of-unplanned-by-abby-johnson/

Labels: Abby Johnson, abortion

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Andrew Corsini, Bishop, Confessor, A.D. 2011

Notes: Friday-Monday, January 7-10, 2011

1. Some figures on attitudes of Jews living in the State of Israel towards non-Jews

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35446

Labels: Jews, State of Israel

2. Ms Keneally is pro-abortion?

I was surprised to read the following in the on-line version of an article from last Sunday's Sydney Sunday Telegraph:

[The Hon. Kristina Keneally M.P., N.S.W. Premier] said she disagreed with the Catholic church on some points and with some of its social teachings, including the church's views on abortion.
[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/premiers-unholy-row-with-cardinal/story-fn6bm90q-1225984274530]

My understanding was that Catholic teaching on abortion was one of the teachings to which she assented. Was this understanding incorrect?

Labels: abortion, Kristina Keneally, Magisterium, morality

3. More from Mr. Pearson on euthanasia

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/right-of-reply-on-right-to-die/story-e6frg6zo-1225983866944

Excerpts:

Ina Borger of Marion, SA, suggests the editor tell me "the inquisition happened a long time ago" and says she doesn't need me "or the pope to make my mind up". This is a gambit known in contemporary politics as "playing the secularist card". It invites disdain towards a policy position because of the advocate's religious affiliation, without entering into debate about the merits of the (in this case, rational rather than faith-based) argument.

[...] Last May the Canadian Medical Association published two important articles on recent experience in the Flemish region of Belgium. The first surveyed doctors involved in euthanasia and found that 66 cases out of a total of 208, or 32 per cent, were without explicit request or consent of the patient.

Of course some of the patients were babies with profound disabilities, as well as other categories, including dementia sufferers. In 77.9 per cent of cases of death without consent or explicit request, the decision was not discussed with the patient. The second study, involving nurses in the same region participating in euthanasia, found that 120 of 248 cases, or 45 per cent, were without explicit request or consent.

Labels: euthanasia, morality, secularism

4. Mrs. Livingstone on, among other things, Sunday Mass attendance by Australian Catholics and Australian Sees to get new Ordinaries as early as this year

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/church-calls-the-unfaithful-home/story-e6frg6zo-1225983253582

Excerpt:

... The most recent Australian survey of mass attendance, in 2006, found the number of Catholics attending weekly had fallen to 13.8 per cent.

The episcopal chess board is set for big changes this year with three senior archbishops - John Bathersby in Brisbane, Adrian Doyle in Hobart and Barry Hickey in Perth - turning 75, the retirement age for bishops. A replacement will also be appointed for Sandhurst bishop Joseph Grech, 62, who died in December.

Labels: liturgy

5. Mrs. Shanahan on, among other things, The Greens' policy on relationship recognition

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/greens-are-the-biggest-catastrophe/story-e6frg6zo-1225983252139

Excerpt:

So, for example, with gay marriage - which will obviously take up a fair bit of parliamentary time and effort and popular anxiety, and is meant to cement the Greens' credentials as the party of forward-looking tolerance - there is actually a different agenda. Again, according to the official website, the policy encompasses a bizarre demand that all sexual permutations be given legal relationship status.

In fact, so many sexual permutations are mentioned in this policy - intersex, intrasex and transsexual, up down and round about - that this average heterosexual mum finds it difficult to follow, or to take seriously.

Does the policy include polygamy, I wonder?

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

6. "Shock: 41% of New York City Pregnancies End in [surgical] Abortion"

http://www.angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=393796&sid=473c6f23a2aaeeba69db224013743e02

Labels: abortion, morality, N.Y.C.

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

Notes: Tuesday-Thursday, January 4-6, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: politicians

4. The latest figures on Australians' support for euthanasia

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

Labels: euthanasia, morality

5. On Muphry's (sic) Law

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

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

Labels: Muphry's Law

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

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

Of particular interest to me were these sections:

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

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

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

7. On Japanese immigration policy

Could someone please tell me whether it is true that

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

Labels: Japan

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

Notes: Tuesday-Wednesday, December 14-15, 2010

1. A good letter (1.1) to The Australian on abortion and infanticide and a bad (but significant) letter (1.2) to the same paper on euthanasia

1.1 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/is-keli-lane-a-victim-of-celebrity-culture/story-fn558imw-1225971154237 (the second of the letters)

1.2 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/pain-free-dignity/story-fn558imw-1225971157866

Excerpt:

Those who sanctify human life above all other [sic] and who persist with the myth that dying from a terminal disease can be dignified are wrong.

What an insult to the many people who have courageously and dignifiedly obeyed the natural law's prohibition of euthanasia.

2. Leo XIII. on religious error as "the main root of all social and political evils"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35120
(second-last sentence of the last paragraph in the quote block in the thread-starter)

3. Bizarre justification for womenpriests

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35109
(nicely refuted in the first comment after the thread-starter)

4. Mr. Rabich on the difference between identity and behaviour (in connection with 'gay rights')

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/12/14/christian-adultery-conference/
(second of the thirteen combox comments)

5. Council of the European Bishops' Conferences communiqué regarding the 2nd Catholic-Orthodox Forum (Rhodes, Greece, October 18-22, 2010, main theme: "Church and State Relations: from Historical and Theological Perspectives")

http://www.ccee.ch/index.php?&na=4,1,0,0,e,126134,0,0,
(brought to my attention by Mr. Schütz in this comment of his at his blog)

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Ember Wednesday in Advent, A.D. 2010

Notes: Saturday-Monday, December 4-6, 2010

1. Messrs. Glover and Kelly on, among other things, so-called gay marriage

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/the-true-history-of-the-beer-belly-gang-20101203-18jvj.html?skin=text-only
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/labor-faces-crucial-test-on-greens-values/story-e6frg6zo-1225965403165

2. Mr. Muehlenberg with some new figures on euthanasia in the Low Countries

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/12/06/more-reasons-to-oppose-legalised-euthanasia/

3. More from Russia

From an article entitled "Obama faces Republican resistance over nuclear deal as Russia warns of new arms race" by one Giles Whittell and which appeared on page seventeen in the "WORLD" section of The Weekend Australian last Saturday and which is apparently not available on-line:

AFTER years of negotiations with Russia and months of lobbying congress, the White House has until Monday to persuade a single Republican senator to back a new nuclear arms treaty. Failure could start a new arms race, Moscow has warned.
Mr Obama has made the START (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks) treaty, which would slash the Russian and US long-range nuclear arsenals by a third, his foreign policy priority for this session of congress.
It has the support of the Krem-lin, the Pentagon, seven former commanders of the US's nuclear forces and five secretaries of state to Republican presidents.
[...] Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told CNN on Wednesday that if ratification stalled in Washington, Moscow "will have to react somehow".
"Russia will simply be obligated to ensure its security with different means, including the deployment of new nuclear missiles," he added. [...]
THE TIMES

See also "Obama may give up tax rise to get missiles treaty":
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/obama-may-give-up-tax-rise-to-get-missiles-treaty/story-e6frg6so-1225966229966

4. H.H. The Pope on, among other things, marriage, the natural law, and Church-State relations

Excerpts from items from a couple of recent Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletins:

COSTA RICA: CONTINUE TO BE A BEACON FOR PEACE

VATICAN CITY, 3 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today received the Letters of Credence of Fernando F. Sanchez Campos, the new ambassador of Costa Rica to the Holy See, to whom he expressed his contentment at the Jubilee Year the nation is currently celebrating to mark the 375th anniversary of the discovery of the image of Our Lady of the Angels, the national patroness.

[...] "In this context", the Pope continued, "the public authorities must be the first to seek out what is of benefit to everyone, working principally as a moral force that augments each individual's freedom and sense of responsibility. This must not undermine the fundamental values which support the inviolable dignity of the person, beginning with the unswerving protection of human life. In this context I am pleased to recall that it was in your country that the Pact of San Jose was signed, which expressly recognises the value of human life from conception. Thus it is to be hoped that Costa Rica does not violate the rights of the unborn with laws that legitimise in vitro fertilisation or abortion".

The Holy Father then turned his attention to a new legal agreement which will, he said, "reaffirm the long history of mutual collaboration, healthy independence and mutual respect between the Holy See and Costa Rica", helping to guarantee "their traditional and fruitful understanding - more stably and more in keeping with current historical circumstances - with a view to the greater good of the country's religious and civil life".

[...] "A great contribution in this direction will be made if one of society's fundamental and irreplaceable pillars is strengthened: the stability and union of the family. This institution is suffering, perhaps like no other, the effects of the broad and rapid transformations of society and culture; nonetheless, it must not lose its true identity. ... Thus, no measure will be in vain if it favours, safeguards and supports marriage between a man and a woman". [...] CD/ VIS 20101203 (680)

HUNGARY: MEDIATOR BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

VATICAN CITY, 2 DEC 2010 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received the Letters of Credence of Gabor Gyorivanyi, the new Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See.

[...] "Without doubt the Catholic faith is one of the fundamental pillars of Hungarian history", the Holy Father added. "When, long ago in the year 1000, the young Hungarian Prince Stephen received the regal crown sent to him by Pope Sylvester II, this gift included the mandate to give faith in Jesus Christ a space and a home in that land. ... Of course we do not expect the State to impose a particular religion; rather, it should guarantee the freedom to confess and practice the faith. Nonetheless, politics and Christian faith do meet. ... This does nor mean imposing norms or codes of behaviour upon people who do not share the faith. It means, quite simply, purifying reason with the aim of helping to ensure that what is good and just may be recognised and put into practice, here and now".

The Pope then went on to refer to the important role played by Hungary following the fall of the Iron Curtain, to its entry into the European Union six years ago, and to its forthcoming presidency of the Council of Europe. "Hungary", he said, "is particularly called to act as mediator between East and West. The Holy Crown, the legacy of King Stephen, by uniting the circular 'corona graeca' with the arched 'corona latina', ... shows how East and West must support and enrich one another on the basis of their spiritual and cultural heritage, and on the living profession of faith".

Speaking them of the project for a new Hungarian constitution, the Pope expressed the hope "that it will be inspired by Christian values, especially as concerns the position of marriage and the family within society, and the protection of life".

He went on: "Marriage and the family constitute an essential foundation for the healthy development of civil society, of countries and of peoples. ... Europe would not be Europe if this basic social building block disappeared or was substantially transformed. ... The Church cannot approve legislative initiatives which involve the acceptance of alternative models of marriage and family life, as these would contribute to weakening the principles of natural law and thus to relativising legislation and society's understanding of values".

Finally Benedict XVI highlighted how the Catholic Church, "like other religious communities, plays a significant role in Hungarian society ... through her institutions in the field of education, culture, and social assistance, in this way she makes a useful contribution to the moral edification of your country. ... May the collaboration between the State and the Catholic Church in this field grow in the future and bring benefit to everyone".
CD/ VIS 20101202 (560)

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

Notes: Friday, November 5, 2010

1. The latest figures on fertility in Australia

From a short article, entitled "Too poor for kids", on page nine of yesterday's edition of the Sydney Daily Telegraph (the following excerpt is my transcript):

The nation's fertility rate dropped in 2009 to 1.9 babies per reproductive woman.
This figure was down from 1.96 in 2008 as all states and territories except Queensland saw a fall in birth rates.

Here are some extracts from an Australian Bureau of Statistics media release of November 3 entitled "Fertility rates decline in 2009":

After increasing in recent years, fertility rates in Australia declined slightly in 2009, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In 2009, Australia's total fertility rate was 1.90 babies per woman, a small decrease from 1.96 babies per woman in 2008 and 1.92 babies per woman in 2007.

Fertility rates for all states and territories decreased in 2009, except for Queensland.

Tasmania had the highest fertility rate, with 2.18 babies per woman, while the Australian Capital Territory had the lowest at 1.74.

Women in Tasmania were also having their children at younger ages than women in the rest of Australia; with fertility rates highest for women aged 25-29 years. For the rest of Australia, fertility rates were highest for women aged 30-34 years.

The median age of all mothers for births registered in 2009 was 30.6 years, while the median age of fathers was 33.0 years, both slightly younger than in recent years.

A total of 295,700 births were registered in Australia in 2009. ...

[...] Media notes:

• The total fertility rate represents the average number of babies that a woman could expect to bear during her reproductive lifetime if current fertility rates continue.

[http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyCatalogue/374A7412FAA14CBBCA2574EF007A1DEF?Opendocument]

2. "Eugenics 'rises from Nazi tomb' claims Victorian Bishop Peter Elliott"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/eugenics-rises-from-nazi-tomb-claims-victorian-bishop-peter-elliott/story-e6frg6nf-1225948024158

I would be interested to read more of the transcript of His Lordship's sermon (I presume it was a sermon?), but a Google search of the keywords "Peter Elliott" and "eugenics" and "Nazi tomb" just came up with the same article from The Australian.

3. "Midterm Elections a Big Win for Zionist War-mongers"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34541

Reginaldvs Cantvar

5.XI.2010

Notes: Friday, October 29, 2010

For future reference: Prof. Bagaric on his moral philosophy

... I regularly make wide-ranging comments that conflict with policies of the Left and Right. I'm apolitical; the policies of Labor and Liberal are so similar to make the debate almost irrelevant. Most of my writing is informed by one underlying principle. It's called utilitarianism. It is the theory that when you are faced with a moral or political choice you should make the decision that will maximise human flourishing, where each person's interest counts equally.

The Left doesn't like me because I'm a fan of tough counter-terrorism laws and harsher sentences for sex and violent offenders. I also oppose euthanasia, abortion and dispute the desperate need for a reduction in greenhouse gases. I often upset the Right because I push for gay marriages, animal rights, no tax for the poor and mega taxes for the rich, multiculturalism and tolerance towards Muslim values.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/mutant-rebels-need-some-causes/story-e6frg6zo-1225944885437]

"Salazar and Catholic Social Teaching"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34429

Excerpt of most interest to me:

Salazar was above all things a Christian and a Catholic. Yet, for the revival of religion or the restoration of the Church he had done so little positively that some foreign observers had even taken scandal thereat. General Franco, who in so many ways resembled him, had done much more in 12. Why this? Some had attributed it to timidity. But Salazar was not timid. His personal influence had been exerted to its utmost for religion.

If then, he had moved so slowly there must have been grave reason. Salazar felt that State patronage exercised against the present disposition of important sections of opinion, would not help to anchor the Church in the hearts of the people.

He thought it wiser to give the Church freedom and let it rebuild from the base upwards upon new and better foundations than could be laid by any statesman setting it up as a department of the new State. In giving the Church liberty and equality before the law he had already done much.

"Qld pro-abortion MPs would face 12% against them, says survey"

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=23973

"Tasmanian Labor-Green Coalition Government has released a discussion paper on a Human Rights bill"

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2010/10/secularist-attacks.html
http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=30717

Interesting comment by Mr. Schütz:

Yes, and I am not rejecting that centuries old tradition and synthesis in any way. The problem comes when this synthesis is read back into the exegesis of the scriptural passages, thus missing an important element in the understanding of the passage (nb. I am not saying that the passage cannot be legitimately understood in other ways, but that we must have appreciation for how it sounded to the first readers). When it comes to the Lutheran Catholic dialogue, it is quite appropriate to argue about “infused grace” or “imparted righteousness” over against “imputed righteousness” and “forensic justification”, as long as we understand that this was not Paul’s argument. And that is important, because the Lutheran argument is that Catholic doctrine is “unscriptural”, not “untrue”. The fact is that Lutheran doctrine is “unscriptural” too, because the scriptures they quote to support their position doesn’t address their position any more than it addresses the Catholic position.
[http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/taking-your-greek-bible-to-church/#comment-17856]

H.H. The Pope on, among other things, "the depenalisation of abortion [and] euthanasia"

Excerpts from an item from today's edition of the Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletin:

BRAZIL: CHURCH TEACHES MAN HIS DIGNITY AS CHILD OF GOD

VATICAN CITY, 28 OCT 2010 (VIS) - Prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Northeast region 5) who have just complete their five-yearly "ad limina" visit were received this morning by the Holy Father. [...]

"First, the duty of direct action to ensure a just ordering of society falls to the lay faithful who, as free and responsible citizens, strive to contribute to the just configuration of social life, while respecting legitimate autonomy and natural moral law", the Holy Father explained. "Your duty as bishops, together with your clergy, is indirect because you must contribute to the purification of reason, and to the moral awakening of the forces necessary to build a just and fraternal society. Nonetheless, when required by the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls, pastors have the binding duty to emit moral judgments, even on political themes".

"When forming these judgements, pastors must bear in mind the absolute value of those ... precepts which make it morally unacceptable to chose a particular action which is intrinsically evil and incompatible with human dignity. This decision cannot be justified by the merit of some specific goal, intention, consequence or circumstance, Thus it would be completely false and illusory to defend, political, economic or social rights which do not comprehend a vigorous defence of the right to life from conception to natural end. When it comes to defending the weakest, who is more defenceless than an unborn child or a patient in a vegetative or comatose state?"

"When political projects openly or covertly contemplate the depenalisation of abortion or euthanasia, the democratic ideal (which is truly democratic when it recognises and protects the dignity of all human beings) is betrayed at its very foundations. For this reason, dear brothers in the episcopate, when defending life we must not fear hostility or unpopularity, rejecting all compromise and ambiguity which would conform us to the mentality of this world". [...]
AL/ VIS 20101028 (630)
[my square-bracketed interpolations]

Blog comments by me

Just this one:

Cardinal Pole
October 29, 2010 at 2:52 am

Here’s the rectified link:

http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com/search/label/Fr%20Crothers
[http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/our-st-mary-more-likely-to-pray-for-vocations-than-to-challenge-for-women-priests/#comment-17874]

Reginaldvs Cantvar

29.X.2010