Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog

A charitable but firm trip to the woodshed

Yesterday the editors of The Lariat, the student newspaper of Baylor University, posted an editorial about Pope Benedict and indulgences that was offensive and amazingly multi-layered: ill-informed, insulting, condescending, and juvenile; it was also accompanied by an equally pathetic cartoon of the Holy Father. I had planned to post something about it, but, thankfully, Dr. Francis Beckwith beat me to it. Read the editorial and then read Dr. Beckwith's response, a wonderful example of clarity, charity, and Catholic witness.

By the way, speaking of indulgences, be certain to check out a recently published book, A Modern Guide to Indulgences: Rediscovering This Often Misinterpreted Teaching (Hillenbrand Books, 2008), written by Dr. Edward Peters, canon lawyer, author, professor, and operator of the "In the Light of the Law" blog (the introduction was written by Archbishop Timothy Dolan; perhaps you've heard of him). I've been reading it and plan to interview Dr. Peters about it soon. Highly recommended!

AP: Pro-abortion Gov. Kathleen Sebelius tapped to lead HHS

From this story, dated today:

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of health and human services, a White House source said Saturday.

The source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said Obama will formally announce the nomination on Monday.

The Sebelius pick caps a week in which Obama underscored his resolve to pass a major health care overhaul this year. He issued a challenge to Congress in his speech Tuesday, and followed up Thursday with a budget that requested an eye-popping $634 billion over 10 years, which the administration called a "down payment on coverage for all." This week, Obama will host lawmakers of both parties and representatives of major interest groups, from insurers to drug companies to consumers, at a White House summit on health care reform.

Sebelius, 60, is seen as a solid choice to head HHS because as a governor responsible for the Medicaid program in Kansas, she faced the pressure of rising health care costs directly, and saw how hard it is to expand coverage, particularly in bad economic times. She is also familiar with the insurance industry, a key interest group in the health care debate. Before becoming governor, she served as insurance commissioner, and her fellow state commissioners selected her to be national president of their association.

And:

Abortion foes strongly oppose Sebelius because she once had a reception attended by a late-term abortion provider who now faces criminal charges. Democrats say there was never any doubt that Obama would appoint an HHS secretary who supports abortion rights.

But no mention that "abortion foes" also have concerns (understatement, yes) about Sebelius because she is a Catholic with a consistent history of support for abortion, including speaking at Planned Parenthood fundraisers. But "anti-choice" fanatics (such as myself, I suppose) shouldn't be concerned, claims a column on the RH (Reproductive Health) Reality Check website, because although Sebelius is completely supportive of a woman's right to kill her baby, she is equally supportive of women who decide to not kill their children:

What is true and what the anti-choice advocates don't like is that Governor Sebelius is unequivocally pro-reproductive health care. But, that does not mean abortion care alone. What they choose to ignore is that she is a strong advocate for the health care of children, for prenatal care for women and for preventive medicine. This, unfortunately, gets lost in the debate.  

It would behoove social conservatives to take the Governor's cue on this: that comprehensive medical care, which also includes health care for pregnant women and children, would go a long way to serve their so-called "pro-life" agenda. However, the earth will most certainly freeze over before an admission of any compatibility on the issue surfaces.

But, see, here's the problem: being pro-life is not about providing "comprehensive medical care" that includes the option of aborting babies; it both logically inconsistent and morally bankrupt. It's like saying you are pro-liberty but that you make allowances for folks who would like to own a slave or two, or saying you are pro-marriage as long as adults can marry eight-year-olds. The rhetoric of "anti-choice" is accurate on one hand (those opposed to abortion believe the choice to abort is wrong) and misleading on another since it tells us absolutely nothing about the moral veracity of abortion. For example, I am opposed to rape, incest, child molestation, genocide, and unjust wars, so I am therefore "anti-choice" when it comes to people choosing those evil acts. The rhetorical heart of such language is to remove moral actions from the realm of objective truth and place them in the sphere of subjective desires and interests.

Meanwhile, "anti-choice abortion foes" can try, if they wish, to take heart in candidate Obama's statement, "I don't know anybody who is pro-abortion. I think it's very important to start with that premise." I think it's more important to start with candidate Obama's promise to the loyal minions and lackeys of Planned Barrenhood: "There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield." So far, that's a promise he's been keeping.

• Obama's nominee for Office of Legal Counsel: pregnancy is slavery (Feb. 27, 2009)

About that social encyclical...

... titled Caritas in Veritate ("Love in Truth"). It has been delayed. I have no information about when it might be finished and available (not in April, apparently), but I do know that Ignatius Press will be publishing an English edition of it when it is finally available.

A little snag with the SSPX reunion

From the Italian news agency ANSA, this news (ht: National Catholic Register):

The Society of Saint Pius X whose ultratraditionalist bishops were recently rehabilitated by Pope Benedict XVI will not accept the reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council, the head of the order has told a Swiss paper.

Monsignor Bernard Fellay told the daily Le Courier on Thursday that the Council has caused the Catholic Church ''only damages''. ''The aftermath of the Council has been to empty seminaries, nunneries and churches. Thousands of priests have left their orders and millions of faithful have stopped being practicing Catholics and have joined sects''.

''If these are the fruits of the Council, they're strange indeed''. The Society, he said, is not willing to negotiate on the Council when it begins preliminary talks on rejoining the Church on a number of doctrinal issues.

''The Vatican has acknowledged the need for preliminary talks aimed at dealing with basic issues which stem from the Second Vatican Council. Making the acceptance of the Council a preliminary condition is putting the cart before the horse,'' he said.

The Vatican has not yet commented. But, of course, the February 5, 2009, statement from The Secretariat of State of the Holy See flatly stated: "An indispensable condition for any future recognition of the Society of St. Pius X is their full recognition of Vatican Council II and of the Magisterium of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI." Monsignor Fellay seems to have it backwards, for he apparently wants to put the cart ("basic issues which stem from the Second Vatican Council") before the horse (the Council itself, as well as the whole issue of Church authority). More to come soon, I'm sure.

Obama's nominee for Office of Legal Counsel: pregnancy is slavery

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) assists the Attorney General of the United States in his role as legal adviser to the President and all the executive branch agencies. It is sometimes called "the President's law firm." President Obama's nominee for head of OLC is Dawn Johnsen, who served as Acting Assistant Attorney General heading the OLC during the Clinton administration and was, from 1988-1993, the Legal Director of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (now NARAL Pro-Choice America).

Needless to say, Johnsen is an ardent supporter of what she calls "reproductive liberty," which is, I'm sure, very similar to what then-Sen. Obama called "reproductive justice," that is, a woman's right to choose abortion. To get a sense of her ardor for abortion, read this January 25, 2006, piece for Slate, in which she laments the closing of abortion mills and restrictions on abortions made by many states:

How precisely does this incremental evisceration of Roe work? State legislatures have enacted literally hundreds of abortion restrictions that fall short of bans, some of which have already been upheld by courts, under the prevailing "undue burden" standard. Such government restrictions, combined with clinic violence and harassment, have drastically reduced the number of abortion providers around the country and have made access to the remaining providers exceedingly difficult for growing numbers of women.

Abortion restrictions often sound superficially reasonable and appealing: They include such benign-sounding requirements as waiting periods, "informed consent," special physical specifications for buildings in which abortions are performed, and special hospital admitting privileges for the physicians who perform them. They are designed to sound reasonable while also limiting the number of abortions performed, ultimately as completely as would a criminal ban.

This passionate paragraph is especially striking:

Bishop Martino: "Those whose unworthiness to receive Holy Communion is known publicly..."

"... to the Church must be refused Holy Communion in order to prevent sacrilege and to prevent the Catholic in question from committing further grave sin through unworthy reception."

That from this statement, issued yesterday by the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania. It also states:

However, there are instances when a Catholic’s unworthiness to receive Holy Communion will be determined by the Church because of a person’s public conduct. This determination does not depend upon the private examination of conscience but results rather from a Catholic’s public and persistent actions in opposition to the moral law as taught by the Church. In these cases, the Church forbids members to receive the sacrament. Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law states:

Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.

Catholic World Report notes that Bishop Martino has already publicly warned a leading Democrat from his state about his votes in support of expanded abortion provisions:

The official notice does not mention any individual by name. However it is impossible to overlook the fact that on the same day, February 26, the Scranton diocese also posted an open letter from Bishop Martino of Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey, in which the bishop-- for the second time-- reminded the Catholic lawmaker of his moral obligation "to oppose abortion and other clear evils." [See today's separate CWN headline storyon the bishop's letter.]

Earlier in the month, in a first rebuke to Senator Casey, Bishop Martino had warned that the senator's vote against an extension of the Mexico City policy-- which prohibited US taxpayer funding of abortion advocacy abroad-- was a violation of the legislator's moral obligation. “Your failure to reverse this vote will regrettably mean that you persist formally in cooperating with the evil brought about by this hideous and unnecessary policy,” the bishop wrote.

Bishop Martino also recently criticized the Diversity Institute (wha...?) at Misericordia University’s for hosting a homosexual activist. Some are blaming the Bishop's actions on the "nasty nexus of right-wing Catholics and their well-funded, powerfully placed political allies" who are intent on destroying the spirit of Vatican II through the use of "right-wing" converts under the influence of Opus Dei. Oooooh...I do like conspiracy theories! Of course, it could be that Bishop Martino is just trying to get Catholic institutions of higher learning to be, well, Catholic institutions of higher learning. Imagine that.

The Premises of Gospel Poverty

The Premises of Gospel Poverty | Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. | From Happy Are You Poor: The a Simple Life and Spiritual Freedom

Our purpose at the moment is to delve into premises. Political practices and religious teachings cannot be understood except in terms of their root presuppositions. The practical running of a state makes sense only in the light of the assumptions of the people. Revolutions happen not only because policies are unjust but also because radical philosophies differ. Policies flow out of premises. The same is true of religion. Buddhist theory is consistent with its agnostic position a propos of God. Protestantism must accept the fragmenting consequences of private judgment, and Catholic canon law reflects its acceptance of the divine origin of the hierarchical Church.

One badly misunderstands Gospel poverty if he views it as nothing more than a humanistic concern for the downtrodden or as a politico-sociological effort to redistribute the world's resources. The more a man studies evangelical poverty, the more he is struck by the elaborate yet consistent intertwining of doctrinal themes with actual practice.

Our immediate problem is not to show these intertwinings. That I shall do further on. Our real difficulty is the human propensity to judge by sympathies, not by evidence. I fear that some readers will admit the intertwinings during their encounter with these pages but then revert to merely human presuppositions as they continue on through the rest of the book in its practical applications to the various states in life. It is not easy for us to learn that God's thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not ours.

In lecture work I have found that I may explain at length and, I think, with clarity, radical revealed premises and then find that when we get to the nitty-gritty applications, some listeners have reverted to their own prosaic premises. Naturally enough, their conclusions are at variance with mine. What is still more disturbing is that many of these people seem unaware that they have either forgotten the revealed roots of the matter (though I had developed them twenty minutes earlier) or that their position is in consistent with those roots. What concerns me is that this chapter may be forgotten as we work through the later ones.

Nonetheless, we hope for the best and present the New Testament premises undergirding its teaching on the use and misuse of material goods. Once these are granted, the rest of this volume makes perfect sense. Nothing else does.

Continue reading...

Pres. Obama to rescind "conscience" regulation

From The Washington Post, this news:

The Obama administration has begun the process of rescinding sweeping new federal protections that were granted in December to health-care workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal, moral or religious beliefs.

The Office of Management and Budget announced this morning that it was reviewing a proposal to lift the controversial "conscience" regulation, the first step toward reversing the policy. Once the OMB has reviewed the proposal it will published in Federal Register for a 30-day public comment period.

"We are proposing rescinding the Bush rule," said an official with the Health and Human Services Department, which drafted the rule change.

The administration took the step because the regulation was so broadly written that it could provide protections to health-care workers who object not only to abortion but also to a wide range of health-care services, said the HHS official, who asked not to be named because the process had just begun.

The official also said, "We support a tightly written conscience clause. We recognize and understand that some providers have objections about abortion, and we want to make sure that current law protects them..." We shall see...

In related new, LifeNews.com reports that the "Oklahoma state House has approved a pro-life bill that prohibits using abortions for purposes of sex-selection. The House passed the legislation 93-4 on Wednesday and now the measure heads to the state Senate for its consideration." Read more here and here.

If you haven't read Archbishop Chaput's most recent speech...

... here it is in its entirety. A key section:

I think Catholics -- and I mean here mainly American Catholics -- need to remember four simple things in the months ahead.

First, all political leaders draw their authority from God. We owe no leader any submission or cooperation in the pursuit of grave evil. In fact, we have the duty to change bad laws and resist grave evil in our public life, both by our words and our non-violent actions. The truest respect we can show to civil authority is the witness of our Catholic faith and our moral convictions, without excuses or apologies.

Second, in democracies, we elect public servants, not messiahs. It's worth recalling that despite two ugly wars, an unpopular Republican president, a fractured Republican party, the support of most of the American news media and massively out-spending his opponent, our new president actually trailed in the election polls the week before the economic meltdown. This subtracts nothing from the legitimacy of his office. It also takes nothing away from our obligation to respect the president's leadership.

But it does place some of today's talk about a "new American mandate" in perspective. Americans, including many Catholics, elected a gifted man to fix an economic crisis. That's the mandate. They gave nobody a mandate to retool American culture on the issues of marriage and the family, sexuality, bioethics, religion in public life and abortion. That retooling could easily happen, and it clearly will happen -- but only if Catholics and other religious believers allow it. It's instructive to note that the one lesson many activists on the American cultural left learned from their loss in the 2004 election -- and then applied in 2008 -- was how to use a religious vocabulary while ignoring some of the key beliefs and values that religious people actually hold dear.

Here's the third thing to remember. It doesn't matter what we claim to believe if we're unwilling to act on our beliefs. What we say about our Catholic faith is the easy part. What we do with it shapes who we really are. Many good Catholics voted for President Obama. Many voted for Senator McCain. Both parties have plenty of decent people in their ranks.

But when we hear that 54 percent of American Catholics voted for President Obama last November, and that this somehow shows a sea change in their social thinking, we can reasonably ask: How many of them practice their faith on a regular basis? And when we do that, we learn that most practicing Catholics actually voted for Senator McCain. Of course, that doesn't really tell us whether anyone voted for either candidate for the right reasons. Nobody can do a survey of the secret places of the human heart. But it does tell us that numbers can be used to prove just about anything. We won't be judged on our knowledge of poll data. We'll be judged on whether we proved it by our actions when we said "I am a Catholic, and Jesus Christ is Lord."

Here's the fourth and final thing to remember, and there's no easy way to say it. The Church in the United States has done a poor job of forming the faith and conscience of Catholics for more than 40 years. And now we're harvesting the results -- in the public square, in our families and in the confusion of our personal lives. I could name many good people and programs that seem to disprove what I just said. But I could name many more that do prove it, and some of them work in Washington.

The problem with mistakes in our past is that they compound themselves geometrically into the future unless we face them and fix them. The truth is, the American electorate is changing, both ethnically and in age. And unless Catholics have a conversion of heart that helps us see what we've become -- that we haven't just "assimilated" to American culture, but that we've also been absorbed and bleached and digested by it -- then we'll fail in our duties to a new generation and a new electorate. And a real Catholic presence in American life will continue to weaken and disappear.

Find out more about Archbishop Charles J. Chaput's book, Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life.

"Lent is the sacramental expression of the brief life we live here..."

The USCCB has put together a Lenten page, as has Our Sunday Visitor. Jimmy Akin has a nice list of articles and resources pertaining to Lent.

St. John Chrysostom (347-407) wrote, "In ancient times, many Christians received the Holy Mysteries (Communion) at random and without discrimination, especially on the day of their institution (i.e. Holy Thursday). Seeing the great harm that comes from the careless reception of Communion, the Fathers have set aside forty days (of Lent) for prayer, listening to God’s word, and attending services in order that, after proper purification of our heart by prayer, fasting, alms-giving, night-vigils and confession, we may receive Holy Communion with a clear conscience as many times as possible."

That is taken from a page on Byzantines.net about the Great Fast in the Eastern Catholic rites. In the Byzantine tradition the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts is celebrated at times during the week (usually Wednesdays and Fridays), a combination of Vespers and Holy Communion. Here are portions of a prayer from the first Pre-Sanctified Liturgy:

Brethren, while fasting bodily, * let us also fast in spirit:* let us loosen every bond of injustice, * let us tear apart the strong chains of violence; * let us rip up all unjust assertions; * let us give bread to the hungry * and welcome the poor and homeless to our houses * that we may receive from Christ our God His great mercy. ...

In the multitude of my sins, * a pauper with a darkened mind, * I cry out to you, O all-pure One, * with a repentant and contrite heart. * Illumine the eyes of my heart, * you who once gave birth to the unfading Light * Who illumines the ends of the earth * through the fiery sign of His judgment. * Illumine my mind, O Spotless One, by the light of your prayers. * Make me become a son of light by praying to Christ your Son * who grants to the world his great mercy.

Speaking of the East, the great Eastern Orthodox theologian Alexander Schemann wrote quite a bit about Lent; here is a small taste:

To understand the various liturgical particularities of the Lenten period, we must remember that they express and convey to us the spiritual meaning of Lent and are related to the central idea of Lent, to its function in the liturgical life of the Church. It is the idea of repentance. In the teaching of the Orthodox Church however, repentance means much more than a mere enumeration of sins and transgressions to the priest. Confession and absolution are but the result, the fruit, the "climax" of true repentance. And, before this result can be reached, become truly valid and meaningful, one must make a spiritual effort, go through a long period of preparation and purification. Repentance, in the Orthodox acceptance of this word, means a deep, radical reevaluation of our whole life, of all our ideas, judgments, worries, mutual relations, etc. It applies not only to some "bad actions," but to the whole of life, and is a Christian judgment passed on it, on its basic presuppositions. At every moment of our life, but especially during Lent, the Church invites us to concentrate our attention on the ultimate values and goals, to measure ourselves by the criteria of Christian teaching, to contemplate our existence in its relation to God. This is repentance and it consists therefore, before everything else, in the acquisition of the Spirit of repentance, i.e., of a special state of mind, a special disposition of our conscience and spiritual vision.

I came upon this great quote recently while reading Lightning Meditations by Monsignor Ronald Knox:

Lent ought to pass like a flash, with a sense of desperate hurry. ... Lent is the sacramental expression of the brief life we live here, a life of probation, without a moment in it we can afford to waste. That is why it begins with St. Paul's metaphor of an ambassador delivering an ultimatum; we have only a few "days of grace" to make our peace with God. Ash Wednesday recalls our ignominious, earthly origins, Easter looks forward to our eternity. The space between is not, if we look at it properly, a sluggish declension; it is a mill-race.

One of my favorite poems, T.S. Eliot's "Ash Wednesday," is a moving and rather mystical expression of man's lowly origins and his heavenly calling, imbued with rich Marian imagery and a striking description of spiritual struggle and reflection:

Where shall the word be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence
Not on the sea or on the islands, not
On the mainland, in the desert or the rain land,
For those who walk in darkness
Both in the day time and in the night time
The right time and the right place are not here
No place of grace for those who avoid the face
No time to rejoice for those who walk among noise and deny the voice

Will the veiled sister pray for
Those who walk in darkness, who chose thee and oppose thee,
Those who are torn on the horn between season and season, time and time, between
Hour and hour, word and word, power and power, those who wait
In darkness? Will the veiled sister pray
For children at the gate
Who will not go away and cannot pray:
Pray for those who chose and oppose

Ignatius Press has a number of books that make for excellent Lenten reading, including these titles:
   

Lent: Why the Christian Must Deny Himself

An "oldie but goodie" from the vaults:



Lent: Why the Christian Must Deny Himself | Brother Austin G. Murphy, O.S.B. | IgnatiusInsight.com

We still ask ourselves as Ash Wednesday approaches, "What am I doing for Lent? What am I giving up for Lent?" We can be grateful that the customs of giving up something for Lent and abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent have survived in our secular society. But, unfortunately, it is doubtful that many practice them with understanding. Many perform them in good faith and with a vague sense of their value, and this is commendable. But if these acts of self-denial were better understood, they could be practiced with greater profit. Otherwise, they run the risk of falling out of use.

A greater understanding of the practice of self-denial would naturally benefit those who customarily exercise it during Lent. Better comprehension of self-denial would also positively affect the way Christians live throughout the year. The importance of self-denial can be seen if we look specifically at fasting and use it as an example of self-denial in general. Indeed, fasting, for those who can practice it, is a crucial part of voluntary self-denial.

But since we live in a consumerist society, where self-indulgence rather than self-denial is the rule, any suggestion to fast will sound strange to many ears. It is bound to arouse the questions: Why is fasting important? Why must a Christian practice it? Using these questions as a framework, we can construct one explanation, among many possible ones, of the importance of self-denial.

To answer the question "Why must the Christian fast?" we should first note that fasting, in itself, is neither good nor bad, but is morally neutral. But fasting is good insofar as it achieves a good end. Its value lies in it being an effective means for attaining greater virtue. And because it is a means for gaining virtue– and every Christian ought to be striving to grow in virtue–there is good reason to fast.

Some people point out that fasting is not the most important thing and, therefore, they do not need to worry about it. Such reasoning displays a misunderstanding of our situation. But, since the excuse is common enough, some comments to refute it are worthwhile.

Read the entire article...

A "Roamin' Catholic" and the Cultural Crisis

A "Roamin' Catholic" and the Cultural Crisis | Interview with Gil Bailie, Cornerstone Forum | Ignatius Insight | February 25, 2009

Ignatius Insight: For those who don't know: What is The Cornerstone Forum and the Emmaus Road Initiative? Why were they founded and what are some of the activities and projects of your apostolate?

Gil Bailie: The Cornerstone Forum is the outgrowth and institutionalization of work that I have been doing for thirty years. The Forum is a non-profit organization concerned with today's cultural crisis and with rediscovering the Christian moral, intellectual, and spiritual resources with which to assess the crisis, meet its challenge, and address its religious significance. Emphasizing the anthropological uniqueness of the Judeo-Christian tradition and the unparalleled historical significance of the Christian Gospel, the Forum works to foster an intellectually compelling and theologically orthodox Christian response to the ideological secularism that is today at war with the Judeo-Christian moral bedrock of our civilization, on which, ironically, depends a healthy cultural pluralism.

Though we receive help from many, many people around the country, there are only two of us who work at the Forum's mission every day: myself and my friend and colleague, Randy Coleman-Riese, who is the Executive Director of the Forum. I'm sometimes called a "Roamin' Catholic" and "Road Scholar," but nothing I do could happen without the incredible work that Randy does in the background. Though we live on separate coasts—he in California and I in Massachusetts—we are in daily contact.

In pursuit of our mission, it has been our privilege over the years to work with people of other faiths and with fellow Christians from many different denominational and theological traditions, each committed to its own moral and social priorities and ecclesial vision. Collaboration of this kind has been an important source of inspiration for us, and we welcome the opportunity to work with those who are engaged, as we are, in what can broadly be termed the "re-evangelization" of Western culture. What we bring to this collaboration, however—the source of our hope, the bedrock of our faith, and the touchstone of our apostolate—is the theological richness, anthropological depth, and moral realism of the Roman Catholic tradition. The British historian Christopher Dawson, writing in 1938, aptly expressed the enduring role of this tradition, not only for Catholics, but for anyone who is both grateful for the moral, material, and political achievements of Western culture and concerned about the perils that beset it today.

If Christianity is necessary to Europe, the Catholic Church is no less necessary to Christianity, for without it the latter would become no more than a mass of divergent opinions dissolving under the pressure of rationalist criticism and secularist culture. It was by virtue of the Catholic ideal of spiritual unity that the social unity of European culture emerged from the welter of barbarism, and the modern world stands no less in need of such an ideal if it is to realize in the future the wider unity of a world civilization.

Many of Christianity's enemies and most of its friends—whatever their creedal affiliation—have today begun to recognize the point Dawson was making. To appreciate the role "the Catholic ideal of spiritual unity" has played and continues to play in Western cultural life—fully aware of how inadequately this ideal has sometimes been expressed—is to be more, not less, committed to ecumenical cooperation with non-Catholic fellow Christians and to meaningful interreligious dialogue with non-Christians and non-believers. We welcome, as we always have, the opportunity to collaborate with others in bringing Christianity's theological, cultural and moral resources to bear on the cultural confusions of our time.

As we work to explore both cultural and theological matters as creatively as we can, we seek to clarify, never to challenge, the deposit of faith preserved through the centuries in the teachings of the Church. The work of René Girard, on which we continue to draw heavily, is especially suited to the task as we see it of bringing the truths of Christian faith to bear on the great questions of our day, and to show those who have been taught to dismiss these truths how supremely pertinent to our present predicament they are.

Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—now Pope Benedict XVI—wrote of the need "to reinvest with some concrete and particular meaning theological statements about the uniqueness and the absolute value of Christianity." Christianity has always affirmed its uniqueness and absolute value, but it has only recently had to do so in the presence of countless people, cultures, and religious traditions, to many of whom Christian truth-claims seem both absurd and offensive. Embarrassed by this new situation, some Christians have chosen the line of least resistance, embracing a sentimental multiculturalism which is a very poor substitute for—and often a parody of—Christian catholicity.

Read the entire interview...

Are you tired of thin gruel...

... when it comes to reports about Pope Benedict XVI/Vatican, the SSPX, and the issues separating them? Then I highly recommend an substantive and excellent post by Christopher Blosser: "Pope Benedict, the SSPX, and the dispute over Religious Freedom and Church-State Relations" (Feb. 22, 2009), over on "Against the Grain."

Seeking Deep Conversion

Seeking Deep Conversion | An excerpt from Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer | Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M.

If someone interested in trivia was to ask me to name the ten historical persons who have had the greatest impact on my life (aside, of course, from the Lord and his Mother), my list would include Saints Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, together with John Henry Newman and Hans Urs von Balthasar. To determine the other four might take a bit more pondering, but among them would surely be the man with whom we shall begin our reflections: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.

This doctor of the Church, a man of towering talent, brilliant mind and golden eloquence, traveled about Europe at the behest of the pope as a highly gifted troubleshooter. But more important than his natural gifts was his sanctity. At about the age of twenty he entered the Cistercian order, bringing thirty other men along with him. Most of us entering a religious community bring no one but ourselves. The monks recognized the youngster early on as a highly unusual newcomer and before long elected him as abbot. Bernard united among his many talents fearlessness and tenderness, a rare combination. The most touching funeral homily I have ever read or heard was the one he delivered at the death of his blood brother. The saint was a man of profoundly deep prayer and love for God–which, of course, translated, as it always does, into a genuine love for the people in his life.

A fine biographer of Bernard details for about six hundred pages the drift of this paragraph, but we will get to our immediate point without further ado.

Continue reading...

Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith makes case for "reform of the reform"

From Catholic World News:

A key Vatican official has called for "bold and courageous" decisions to address liturgical abuses that have arisen since the reforms of Vatican II.

Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, the secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, cites a flawed understanding of Vatican II teachings and the influence of secular ideologies are reasons to conclude that-- as then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said in 1985-- "the true time of Vatican II has not yet come." Particularly in the realm of the liturgy, Archbishop Ranjith says, "The reform has to go on."

Archbishop Ranjith, who was called to the Vatican personally by Pope Benedict to serve as a papal ally in the quest to restore a sense of reverence in the liturgy, makes his comments in the Foreword to a new book based on the diaries and notes of Cardinal Fernando Antonelli, who was a key figure in the liturgical-reform movement both before and after Vatican II.

Read the entire piece.

Related IgnatiusInsight.com Articles, Interviews, and Book Excerpts:

• The Spirit of the Liturgy page
• Reform or Return? An Interview with Rev. Thomas M. Kocik, author of The Reform of the Reform?
• For "Many" or For "All"? | From God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Foreword to U.M. Lang's Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical Prayer | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Music and Liturgy | From The Spirit of the Liturgy | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• The Altar and the Direction of Liturgical Prayer | From The Spirit of the Liturgy | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• The Mass of Vatican II | Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.
• Does Christianity Need A Liturgy? | From The Heresy of Formlessness: The Roman Liturgy and Its Enemy | Martin Mosebach
• Walking To Heaven Backward | Interview with Father Jonathan Robinson of the Oratory
• Rite and Liturgy | Denis Crouan, STD
• The Liturgy Lived: The Divinization of Man | Jean Corbon, OP
• Worshipping at the Feet of the Lord: Pope Benedict XVI and the Liturgy | Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D.
• The Latin Mass: Old Rites and New Rites in Today's World | Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D.

"Commie homo-loving sons of guns..."

Once again, I missed the Oscars. Drat. What a shame...I guess. If I had, I could have listened to Sean Penn lecture about "a culture of ignorance ... that breeds this kind of hateful expression..." And, no, he wasn't talking about his short-lived marriage to "Madonna" or his angry attacks on paparazzi. Meanwhile, it appears that some Christians are working feverishly to embrace the beliefs and exhortations of Penn and Pals. No word if a movie about the ongoing capitulation is in the works. If so, I suggest they consider titling it either "Casualties of War" or "We're No Angels"...

Pope Benedict XVI's book on "Saint Paul"...

... is scheduled to be available from Ignatius Press in April:

Saint Paul by Pope Benedict XVI

Available April, 2009

St. Paul is one of the most important figures in Christian history. As Saul of Tarsus he vigorously persecuted Christianity, even collaborating in the death of Christianity’s first martyr, Stephen. His encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus changed Paul’s life, the Christian Church, and world history. More than anyone else in the early Church, Paul saw the universal nature of the Christian message. He became the “Apostle to the Gentiles” and the “Teacher of the Nations”. As the human author of half of the New Testament, Paul is a figure who cannot be overlooked by anyone who wants to understand Jesus Christ and Christianity.

In this book, Pope Benedict XVI, a profound spiritual leader in his own right and a first-rate theologian and Bible commentator, explores the legacy of Paul. Pope Benedict follows the course of the Apostle’s life, including his missionary journeys and his relationship with the other apostles of Jesus such as St. Peter and St. James, and Paul’s martyrdom in Rome. Benedict also examines such questions as: Did Paul know Jesus during his earthly life and how much of Jesus’ teaching and ministry did he know of? Did Paul distort the teachings of Jesus? What role did Jesus’ death and resurrection play in Paul’s teaching? What are we to make of Paul’s teaching about the end of the world? What does Paul’s teaching say about the differences between Catholic and Protestant Christians over salvation and the roles of faith and works in the Christian life? How have modern Catholic and Protestant scholars come together in their understanding of Paul? What does Paul have to teach us today about living a spiritual life?

These and other important issues are addressed in this masterful, inspirational, and highly-readable presentation of St. Paul and his writings by one of today’s great spiritual teachers, Pope Benedict XVI.

• Biography of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• All books by or about Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Excerpts from books by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Articles about Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI

"Our form of Christianity is not business as usual..."

Or so they say, "they" being a Protestant couple opening a "community church" somewhere in western Massachusetts, as reported by the local newspaper:

He said people can expect a different experience than a typical religious service.

"Our form of Christianity is not business as usual," Ventrice said.

"People can ask questions at any time, even in the middle of a sermon," Ventrice said. "They will have participated so much on Sunday that they will be ready to share the gospel at work on Monday. We're raising up disciples."

Impressive. Jesus spent three years with his disciples and they still needed Pentecost to get them out of hiding and boldly sharing the Gospel, yet folks attending this group will be prepared in less than 24 hours by one intermittently-interrupted sermon, some fellowship, coffee, and sharing. It must be the coffee. Or perhaps the music:

Ventrice said people can also expect to hear jubilant music from a live band. "We have very explosive, modern, personal and intimate music that speaks to people's needs," he said. "It's very vibrant and lively."

Explosive and intimate. "Explosive" rules out Coldplay and Metallica isn't very "intimate", so the house church band must be ... U2? Radiohead? Pain of Salvation? Regardless, an Evangelical group featuring an informal gathering, modern music, and claims to being unlike other religious services is definitely unique—if, that is, you've never been to any other Evangelical gathering in your life.

"She came face to face with a human being." And?

Some good, hard questions are asked by Jay Norlinger of NRO in a column about the case of baby Shanice, murdered a few weeks ago in Tampa:

Did you notice a particular line from the AP report? The case “has shocked people on both sides of the abortion debate.” But why? Does five minutes make all that much difference—or 45, or an hour, or whatever? Is the moral gap that great? One minute, the baby is a “fetus,” and perfectly abortable; the next minute, he is a “baby,” and off-limits.

The gruesome cases make you think a little harder. But, of course, they’re all gruesome—some are just less seen than others. Sycloria Williams was shaken up on seeing her baby. The baby’s death was very messy—visible to those who were around. But the baby’s death was going to be pretty bad, anyway—just behind the curtain, so to speak. All nice ’n’ clinical.

The lawyer said, “She came face to face with a human being. And that changed everything.” Yeah, but why? The baby existed—same size, as a matter of fact—before it emerged from the womb. Williams had gone to the clinic to be rid of it. Afterward, she even named the baby (Shanice). Oh, cripe. You go in to get rid of your baby, then you catch sight of it and get all gooey? And the rest of us are supposed to go “Awww”? And penalize the doctor who did not quite get there in time?

Why not penalize you for scheduling the procedure in the first place? You’re the one who asked him; this is not Communist China, you know.

Read the entire piece.

A major statement from Legion of Christ leadership...

... is reportedly coming tomorrow or Ash Wednesday (ht: American Papist).