From around the web and perhaps of interest:
• "But this shows that he did, in fact, practise the traditional devotions of the Catholic church and that he was a very pious prince, which slightly balances our view of him. It is very exciting that we are able to show it in public for the first time." — Dr Andrea Clarke, the curator of early modern historical manuscripts at the British Library, on the discovery of a prayer roll once belonging to Henry VIII. It also seems to further highlight how extreme Henry became later in life, no?
• "The second characteristic is that his kingdom is universal. It fulfills the ancient hope of Israel: this reign of David knows no more borders. It extends "from sea to sea" -- as the prophet Zachariah says (9:10) -- that is, it embraces the whole world. This, however, is only possible because it is not a political kingdom, but is based solely on the free adhesion of love -- a love that, for its part, answers to the love of Jesus Christ that has given itself for all. I think that we must always be learning both things -- first the universality, the catholicity. It means that no one can posit himself as absolute, his culture, his time and his world. This means that we all welcome each other, renouncing something of ourselves. Universality includes the mystery of the cross -- the overcoming of ourselves, obedience toward the universal word of Jesus Christ in the universal Church. Universality is always an overcoming of ourselves, a renunciation of something that is ours. Universality and the cross go together. Only in this way can peace be created." — Pope Benedict XVI, from his homily for Palm Sunday.
• "People might argue that if you go in to a house,
you say 'hi', but the priest is not going in to a house. He is going in
to a sacred service. We need to emphasise that the priest is president
of the community and is presiding at the service" — A spokesman for the Diocese of Leeds on news that priest were "told to question whether it was appropriate to say 'good morning' once the priest was on the altar and had made the sign
of the cross." And what about the practice, common in many parishes, of seemingly endless announcements being made up until the beginning of Mass?
• "I also stand here as the parent of four Notre Dame graduates, including
a 2009 graduate, a parent who cannot in good conscience—or, in my
particular case, without giving scandal—attend my own son’s graduation
ceremony." — From a talk given by by Notre Dame Professor, Alfred J. Freddoso, at the Palm Sunday Prayer Rally held today (April 5, 2009) at the University of Notre Dame. The entire talk can be read on Francis Beckwith's "Return to Rome" blog.
• "Let me hear you say it: Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done." —Those sickening words are from a sermon delivered by the Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, newly appointed President and Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Diogenes comments.
• "I just don't agree." — Ann Holmes Redding, the Seattle Episcopal priest who announced in 2007 that she is both Christian and Muslim. She was defrocked by Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, who stated Redding is "a woman of utmost integrity and their conversations over the past two years have been open, honest and respectful ... However, Bishop Wolf believes that a priest of the Church cannot be both a Christian and a Muslim." Apparently Redding would have been better off singing the praises of abortion...
• "Hey, whatever your name is, what are you hiding under your turban?" — A fictional Christian character, a young boy, who is depicted as an Islamophobic thug in a cartoon strip is published by a government-funded charity in Britain. It was, I'm guessing, created to combat the rising tide of Christian terrorist attacks and threats in England and Europe.
• "To my fellow jurists who make these complaints I respond: The natural law is not our enemy. The natural law must not be feared. The natural law is the basis for our democratic institutions. The fundamental concepts of the natural law are that we are made in the image and likeness of God, that we have an obligation to pursue truth and that as a consequence of these two facts we owe certain obligations to ourselves and others which are understandable to our reason." — "Thomas More," on the new blog, "The Fire," makes his appeal, as a Catholic lawyer, for his fellow lawyers to rethink and appreciate the natural law tradition.
• "The latest PBS adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic novel Oliver Twist demonstrates the urgent need for reform of the taxpayer-supported broadcasting service–or an end to taxpayer funding for it." — S.T. Karnick is not impressed with a new PBS-sponsored version of Oliver Twist (one of my favorite novels), which takes some politically-correct liberties with the story.
• "The Tribune concluded its embarrassingly ignorant attack on Cardinal George by admonishing him to show some respect to the president and the presidency. No one who has the slightest acquaintance with Francis Eugene George (a brilliant and gentle pastor, one of whose two earned doctorates is in American political philosophy) could doubt for a second that he is a respecter of persons and a patriot who holds the office of the presidency in high regard. One rather expects that President Obama, who met with Cardinal George the week before the Tribune chose defamation over reason, sensed that respect, even as the cardinal explained to the president that there are certain moral non-negotiables in the Catholic Church’s approach to contemporary public life, including effective legal protection for the conscience-rights of Catholic and other pro-life health-care professionals. The Tribune’s charge of disrespect is worse than a mistake — it is a calumny." — George Weigel, responding to pieces in The Chicago Tribune that attempted to make Cardinal George out to be an intolerant, right-wing zealot for criticizing Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama.
• "See if I've got this right. The "male latex condom is the single most efficient way to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS." Solid. That means Science is telling me that, if my son's an HIV-negative virgin, he positively REDUCES his risk of AIDS infection by abandoning abstinence and engaging in passive sexual relations with some gork who's outfitted with a condom. Well, that's what the man says, isn't it?" — Diogenes, poking holes in the "scientific" attacks made on Pope Benedict XVI regarding the pontiff's comments about AIDS and condoms.
• "There has never been anyone in the Oval Office as extreme on abortion as Barack Obama. He doesn’t merely want abortion to be 'safe, legal, and rare,' he wants to use the force of government to mandate that you to pay for it, from conception to delivery, at home and abroad. Thus, Notre Dame’s invitation to Obama in 2009 is different from its invitation to George W. Bush in 2001. Obama vehemently rejects the Catholic Church’s moral teaching on a procedure that the Catechism calls 'gravely contrary to the moral law.' Bush did not." — Paul Kengor, arguing against the claim that Pres. Bush was in just as much conflict with Church teaching as is Pres. Obama.
Comments