Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog

The new manna, the Eucharist, is supernatural food given for supernatural life

Detail from "Institution of the Eucharist" (1441) by Fra Angelico (www.wikiart.org)

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, June 22, 2014 | Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a
• Psa 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
• 1 Cor 10:16-17
• Jn 6:51-58

In my late teens I began to have questions about the beliefs and practices of the small Fundamentalist Bible chapel—co-founded by my parents—I had attended most of my life. Many of these questions were only half-formed at the time, but later came into sharper focus, causing me to critically rethink much I had been taught.

Why was it, I wondered, I had heard several sermons about Rahab the harlot (Josh 2 and 6), but only one about Mary, the mother of Jesus? Why did we celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of Christ, but ignored Good Friday and the commemoration of his death? And why did we celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday, but always emphasized that our communion service was only “symbolic” in nature?

This latter topic was especially vexing. And it became even more troubling after I attended an Evangelical Bible college for two years. I heard sermons and lectures about the miraculous gift of the manna (Ex 16; Num 11), but I don’t recall ever hearing a sermon or lecture about the final twenty verses of the sixth chapter of John. That passage fascinated and troubled me. I read it again and again, mulling over the stunning words, heard in today’s Gospel reading, uttered by Jesus: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”

John 6, especially verses 51-71, was the most bothersome passage in the Bible for me as a Protestant. That section of Scripture played an essential role in the decision my wife and I made to become Catholic, entering the Church together in 1997. Yes, there were many other important issues, including Church authority, history, Mary, and the other sacraments. But at the heart of our hunger was a desire for the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

“For my flesh is true food,” Jesus told his disciples and the others listening to him, “and my blood is true drink.” I became convinced of what the Church taught—and had taught for two thousand years—about the Real Presence: “In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he ‘poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par 1365).

Four times in John 6 the words “Amen, amen” (or “Truly, truly) are uttered by Jesus (vs 26, 32, 47, 53). Each signifies a transition and a teaching of great importance; each is a deeper revelation into the person and work of Christ. First, Jesus rebuked the people for seeking only after earthly, temporal food—they instead should believe in him (v. 29). Secondly, Jesus emphasized that it is his Father, not Moses, who gave the manna in the desert. Third, Jesus strongly stated that belief in him is eternal life (v. 47) and that he is “the bread of life” (v. 48).  He then announced, to the amazement of those present, that the bread he referred to is his flesh. “This is the bread that came down from heaven,” Jesus stated, “Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus had fed the people real bread (Jn 6:1-14). He then offered real, eternal life to those who believed in him. And then he offered his real flesh as food and his real blood as drink. Natural food, of course, sustains natural life. And the manna, although given in a miraculous manner, was still natural food for natural life. But the new manna, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is supernatural food given for supernatural life. This new manna, the Eucharist, is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324). It is, as Paul wrote the Corinthians, participation in the blood and body of Christ.

It is, for me, no longer bothersome, but still stunning.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the May 25, 2008, issue of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

And the largest cult in China today is....

Women pray near the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue at the shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Sheshan outside Shanghai in 2007. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

by Carl E. Olson | CWR blog

Murong Xuecun, a Chinese novelist, writes of recent measures taken by the Chinese government to intimidate Christians and repress the growth of Christianity:

On June 1, my friend Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Reformed Church in Chengdu was arrested while distributing anti-forced-abortion leaflets. The stated grounds for detaining him were “illegal advertising.” He was let go after half an hour. Three days later, Mr. Wang was detained again. This time the arresting officers produced no identification and gave no reason for taking him in. After 12 hours of interrogation, he was finally released at midnight.

Xuecun notes when he posted about the arrest, several readers protested the injustice—but many supported the government's actions, with one stating, “The cops have done a beautiful job!” He points out that some of the hostile reactions may come from those being paid to mouth the Party line: "The government employs a cyberpolice force of propagandists known as the 50-Cent Party. But given other recent events, and China's agonizing history with organized religion, I believe that a good number of the pro-government comments reflected genuine opinion."

Xuecun reports that the government recently released a list of twenty active "cults", instigating an anti-cult campaign that has led to more overt attacks on mainstream religions such Christianity, with talk of how Christians undermine "national security." He writes:

The government’s anti-religion campaign is not borne of concern for public security stemming from a horrific murder. This is a concerted effort to bring independent churches and their followers into line. The clampdown is simply the government’s way of strengthening its control of society.

As the government has cracked down on Christian groups and churches, it has pinpointed not only the legal churches, but also the "underground" or "home" churches, culminating (so far) in the demolishing of the new Sanjiang Church—"the crown jewel of the city of Wenzhou." Afterward, the pastor of that Protestant church reportedly said, "Pray for the Christians in China. The Communist Party sometimes begins with a small act, like tearing down one church, and it becomes a trend that could spread throughout China.”

Xuecun concludes with this fascinating observation:

Continue reading in the CWR blog.

An Anxious Age—and an Antagonistic Future?

An Anxious Age—and an Antagonistic Future? | Christopher White | CWR

Jody Bottum's new book examines why the old language of traditional religion is out, and a new language of spirituality is in

In 1965, over fifty percent of Americans were active members of mainline Protestant churches. Today that number is down to under ten percent. Meanwhile, Catholicism in America continues to enjoy moderate success, primarily due to the wave of new immigrants, but weekly mass attendance is in significant decline. Yet ask the average passerby on the streets about their religious beliefs and few are willing to dismiss religion all together. From the increased practiced of yoga, to the deeply moralistic rationale of Wall Street’s occupiers in 2011, to Tea Party members who invoke the Almighty as often as they do patriotic duty, there is no shortage of spiritual language filling our public discourse today—it’s just that American religion as we have known it is seemingly passé.

The old language of traditional religion is out. A new language of spirituality is in.

“Ours is an anxious age—the Anxious Age, it often seems,” writes Joseph Bottum in his new book by that very title. “A moment more tinged by its spiritual worries than any time in America since perhaps the 1730s,” he speculates. Borrowing from the great sociologist Max Weber, Bottum laments the disenchantment of the world, and in particular, the fact that Christianity has been stripped bare of its mystery and supernatural elements, with social and political ideas now elevated to the divine and with science considered salvific.

Bottum’s project in An Anxious Age: The Post-Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of America is twofold: first, to trace the decline of mainline Protestantism in America, which has been central to our public institutions and vocabulary. “When the Mainline died,” he writes, “it took with it to the grave the vocabulary in which both criticism and support of the nation could be effective.”

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

Delving Into The Protestant's Dilemma

Delving Into The Protestant's Dilemma | CWR | Christopher White

An interview with author and apologist Devin Rose about how the Reformation's consequences point to the truth of Catholicism

During the Lenten season Catholics devote special time for prayer, penance, and acts of charity in preparation for Easter. However, a sometimes overlooked—yet integral—part of this liturgical season is that it’s also a special and important time for candidates preparing to convert to the Catholicism at the Easter Vigil.

In 2001, Devin Rose underwent that same process and today he’s an active Catholic apologist, specializing in answering Protestant objections to Catholicism. His new book, The Protestant's Dilemma: How the Reformation's Shocking Consequences Point to the Truth of Catholicism (Catholic Answers, 2014),offers a catechetical style manual that addresses common Protestant critiques with insightful and accessible explanations.

Recently, Catholic World Report spoke with Rose about his new book.

CWR: Your own personal journey from Protestantism to Catholicism began as you considered the fact that Catholics have seven more books in our Bible than Protestants do. Why would this really matter?

Rose: It matters because the doctrines we believe in come from the Scriptures, God’s revelation. If we are missing books, we will be either omitting doctrines or erring on doctrines because we lack part of the divine revelation that God gave to us. If we include spurious books that God did not inspire, we will mistake mere human ideas for divine truth and err that way.

Knowing the canon of Scripture with ironclad certainty is essential in both the Catholic and Protestant paradigms.

CWR: Protestants, as you note, strongly reject the papacy because they see it as granting power and privilege to one man. Is the papacy really Biblical, and if so, do we really need it?

Rose: The papacy is Biblical. However, like many truths of our Faith, the Holy Spirit has deepened the Church’s understanding of these truths over the centuries. So we don’t find exhaustive explanations of, say, papal primacy in the Bible. Instead we find actions done and promises made by Christ that only make sense if God established St. Peter and his successors as the principle of unity of His Church. We need it because God decided we needed it.

CWR: Many Protestants still adhere to the Nicene Creed that affirms belief in "One, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church." Have they simply changed the meaning of these four marks of the church or are we in agreement here?

Continue reading on the Catholic World Report site.

"Sola Shea": Mark Shea interviews Mark Shea about "By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition"

Sola Shea | Catholic World Report

Mark Shea interviews Mark Shea about By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition

Editor's note: I've known Mark Shea for many years, having first met him in person about ten years ago in Seattle, just a few hours up the road from where I live. A few years ago, I interviewed Mark about his Marian trilogy, published by Catholic Answers. As I thought about interviewing Mark about the revised and expanded edition of his book, By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition (Ignatius Press, 2013), I thought, “I need someone who can really get into Mark's head. Someone who know him better than most and who can ask the difficult, even awkward, questions.” And then I realized who would be the perfect interviewer. What follows is that the interview of Mark Shea by Mark Shea, or of “Mark” by “Shea” for those who cannot tell them apart.

-------------

There is only one drawback for me to this interview: having to interview that guy, whose faults are particularly well-known to me. I grew up with him and there are plenty of stories I could tell you. He is a guy who has spent more time eluding my salient criticisms and critiques—sometimes living in denial, sometimes promising reform and then skipping out when the kitchen got too hot, always slow to serious action—than anybody else on planet Earth. Abrasive, opinionated, quick to see the speck in the eyes of others and slow to see the log in his own eye. He has a juvenile sense of humor and a thin skin. He is notoriously prideful and childishly vain. He is, shall we say, “portly” and not what you would call a champion at self-restraint. He has a talent for making enemies and a certain listlessness when it comes to attending to the work that he needs to be doing. Nor does he have any particular academic training beyond his tepid BA in English.

Essentially, he has a big mouth and a bunch of opinions and yet somehow managed to persuade a lot of people that saying them aloud is sufficient reason for them to listen to him. There are any number of people who can’t stand him, me among them many days of the week, and I have to restrain myself from letting my hostility to him bleed into the conversation. However, I think I mostly managed it.

Mark: So. There are fifty jillion conversion stories out there. Why would you ever imagine yours is so important that it needs to be read by anybody else? What’s the big deal about By What Authority? and why does it matter that you just revised and expanded the book when it has been in print since 1996?

Shea: Well, when you put it that way, I didn’t really think of the book as a conversion story, but as an argument: one conducted (in my head) with friends from my old church and constructed—very consciously—along the lines of a sort of mystery story.

Mark: Not a conversion story?

Shea: No. Not really. By What Authority? deals with a single thread out of a whole tapestry of thoughts, emotions, struggles and problems I grappled with as I was coming into the Church. I have never really written up what I would call my conversion story, though I have told it and you can hear that story (if you like) by getting hold of a four-CD set that I did ages ago for St. Joseph Communications called Making Senses Out of Scripture. Three of the CDs are a seminar I did on my book of the same name. The fourth is my conversion story. The question of Sacred Tradition and the canon of scripture plays a role in that story, but lots of other things come in as well.

Mark: So are you saying that By What Authority? is not really giving the reason you converted?

Shea: No. I’m saying By What Authority? is describing only one of the reasons I converted. People seldom convert for a single reason, at least not when the conversion is a healthy one. Rather, you come to see that, as von Balthasar put it, “Truth is symphonic”. It’s not just that you realize that Sacred Tradition points toward the Church, or that Scripture points toward the Real Presence, or that the Magisterium and papacy make sense, or that Marian devotion is obviously apostolic and ancient. It’s that, eventually, everything starts pointing to the Faith like the spokes on a wheel. You reach a tipping point at which you realize the question is no longer “Why be Catholic?” but is rather “Why not be Catholic?” You start to realize the Church doesn’t tell this truth and that truth, but that it is a divinely constituted truth-telling thing, even when its member may be liars and scoundrels. And you are hard put to it to find good rebuttals to its teachings.

Mark: So you decided to grace the Church with your presence?

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

Where is Prayer for Christian Unity in Our Parishes?

Where is Prayer for Christian Unity in Our Parishes? | James Likoudis | HPR

Every post-conciliar Pope has emphasized, with Vatican II, that ecumenism is a necessary aspect of the Church’s mission, and one involving the effort of all the faithful, clergy, and laity alike.

It was once quite common for many Catholic parishes to celebrate the week of January 18-25 (from the Feast of St. Peter’s Chair at Rome to the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul) for fervent prayers to God for the Unity of Christians separated from the visible Unity of the Catholic Church. There were also fervent prayers for lapsed Catholics and for the conversion of Jews to the Christian Faith. There is no question that, in the last four decades, post-conciliar, doctrinal, and liturgical disorders, together with the spread of religious indifferentism, have resulted in the weakening, or actual loss, of Catholic identity among many professed Catholics who no longer express concern or care for the salvation of others. The grave error that has spread is that it makes no difference whether a person is an actual member of the Catholic Church or not, as long as he is sincere in his particular belief.

All this has occurred despite the Second Vatican Council’s  insistence that “Christ the Lord founded one Church  and one Church only” and exhorting every Catholic to pray for an end to the historical divisions among Christians which “contradict the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching of the Gospel to every creature.” (Decree on Ecumenism §1). Catholics are reminded further that:

Our separated brethren, whether considered as individuals or communities, and Churches, are not blessed with that Unity which Jesus wished to bestow on all those who to whom he has given new birth into one body, and whom he has quickened to newness of life—that Unity which the Holy Scriptures and the ancient Tradition of the Church proclaim. For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help towards salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the One Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God … To attain that fullness of Unity which Jesus Christ desires, the Sacred Council exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism  (Ibid., §3 and 4).

From the days of Blessed Pope Pius IX in the 19^th century, the Popes have attempted to reach out, with great charity, to those “other sheep” separated from the One Flock committed to Peter, Chief of the Apostles. 

Continue reading at www.HPRweb.com.

Evangelization: It’s Not Just For Protestants

by Terry Barber | From How to Share Your Faith with Anyone: A Practical Manual of Catholic Evangelization

(Also available in Electronic Book Format)

"God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission." — Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

I think most people associate evangelization with Fundamentalist Christians and pseudo-Christian groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. But according to the teaching of Vatican II, it is the main duty of Catholic men and women to ‘‘bear witness to Christ’’ in our lives and in our works. In our home, on the job, in our social group or professional circle, we must show forth ‘‘the new man created according to God in justice and true holiness’’. The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed by what we say and do. This is evangelization.

Now, I did not make this up. This is the official teaching of the Second Vatican Council. But if you are like 99 percent of Catholics, you have probably never read the documents of Vatican II. That is why I am ‘‘preaching to the choir’’ in this book—because, in plain language, lay Catholics need to know that we are on the earth precisely to sanctify secular society. We have a duty to give our family, our friends, and our neighbors—and that means everybody—the Good News of Jesus Christ.

In the 1960s Pope Paul VI taught that the ‘‘pressing need to evangelize the multitudes’’ through mass media is no excuse to abandon one-on-one evangelization. Our gift of faith is an inheritance from God that is meant to be shared with a lost and hurting society. But the late pontiff also reminds us that one-on-one evangelization is never an ‘‘isolated act’’ because evangelization is a ‘‘deeply ecclesial’’ activity. Therefore individual Catholic communities have the task of learning the essence of the Gospel message and sharing it. What Pope Paul VI was telling us is that there is no place for ‘‘Lone Ranger-ism’’ in the work of evangelization. Simply put, ‘‘Jesus and me’’ Christianity is absolutely alien to Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition. As lay Catholics—even when we evangelize as individuals—we really evangelize through, with, and in the Church.

Evangelization is a mandate for all the lay faithful, but it must take place in communion with our pastors—the priests and bishops Jesus gives to His Church—and with the Magisterium (the Church’s official teaching office of the Pope and the bishops under him). Likewise, the growth of the Church is the ‘‘consolation of the Holy Spirit’’. The Holy Spirit is the ‘‘soul of the Church’’ and the main source of all Catholic ministry.

There is a profound link between Christ, the Church, and evangelization. It is vital that your local parish reflect and express true unity with Holy Mother Church, because the more your local church is attached to the universal Church—especially in being faithful to theMagisterium—the ‘‘more it will be truly evangelizing’’. Union between the local Church and the universal Church is essential because all Catholic Christians need to be on the same page; centered on the Holy Eucharist, devoted to Mary, faithful to our Holy Father, the Pope, and sharing the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Faith.

Light from the Word

Evangelization is a duty:

‘Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel’’ (1 Cor 9:16).

Have confidence:

‘‘Do not be afraid; just have faith’’ (Mk 5:36).

Evangelization must be done ‘‘through and with’’ the Church:

"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light’’ (1 Pet 2:9, RSV).

‘‘To bring to light [for all] what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God . . . so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church’’ (Eph 3:9–10).

Union with priests and bishops is crucial:

‘‘Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account’’ (Heb 13:17, RSV).

The Fortunate Faith of Audrey Assad

The Fortunate Faith of Audrey Assad | Carl E. Olson | Catholic World Report

The singer-songwriter discusses her new album, faith, conversion, and why she doesn't make “Christian music”

Audrey Assad (www.audreyassad.com) is a thirty-year-old singer, pianist, and songwriter who has steadily established herself in recent years as an exceptional musical artist with a gift for deeply spiritual lyrics and memorable melodies.

Assad was raised in a Protestant home in New Jersey, then moved with her family to Florida in her late teens where she began to study and learn more about Catholicism. She entered the Church in 2007. Her first album, The House You’re Building (2010), was recognized on Amazon.com as Christian Album of the Year and by iTunes as Christian Breakthrough Album of the Year. Her second album, Heart (2012), was critically acclaimed and reached #3 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. The lyrics in those albums revealed the influence of St. Augustine, the Jesuit poet and priest Gerald Manley Hopkins, and the poet Francis Thompson.

Her new, self-produced album, Fortunate Fall, was released this past August.

Assad recently answered some questions from Carl E. Olson, editor of Catholic World Report, about her music, her decision to become Catholic, the influence of Augustine on her writing, and why Catholic artists need to pursue beauty and truth, no matter the cost.

CWR: Your first two studio albums, The House You're Building and Heart contained many songs oriented toward worship, but your new album, Fortunate Fall, is focused entirely on music to be used in personal devotion and public worship. What inspired you to pursue making such an album? How do you envision your music being used in liturgy and in private prayer?

Assad: After making my first two albums (and after a few years in the music business) I found myself at a personal crossroads: I asked myself what, as a Catholic, I should be doing in the world—and how I should be making music. In that period of discernment I came to the conclusion that there is no room in my artist’s heart for making “Christian pop” — less still for making what has come to be known as “Contemporary Christian music.” In these phrases, the word “Christian” is a modifier, not a noun—essentially, it’s become a marketing term. I don’t believe that’s how the word should be used. So going forward, I don’t make “Christian music”, even when it’s intended for the Church. I make Church music, and that’s what Fortunate Fall is.

As you stated, the music on Fortunate Fall is intended for personal devotion and public worship. I envision it being incorporated into anything from prayer time in the car on the way to work to Adoration and even, in some cases, Mass -- based on the Church’s guidelines, we did our best to notate appropriate usages in the liner notes. Hopefully that’s helpful to those who pick up a physical copy!

CWR: The influence of St. Augustine is front and center, from the title of the album to the lyrics of many of the songs. When did you first discover Augustine and how has he affected you as a person and an artist?

Assad: I discovered St. Augustine as I was on my way into the Catholic Church—I was confirmed in 2007. In the two years of study I did before coming into the Church, St. Augustine was a steady and pulsing voice in my reading. Though he and C. S. Lewis are different, I think they share this similarity, and thus share a large amount of influence in my work: they both think like philosophers and write like poets. I can’t compare myself to either of them, but they inspire me in that way, and in that way I hope to be as like them as possible.

CWR: Three themes stand out upon repeated listens: the Incarnation, redemption, and abandonment to God's will. What are some of the key connections you see among the three? What other themes were central to the writing and making of the album?

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

To Trace All Souls Day

Church of the Holy Family (Grand Blanc, Michigan) - interior, stained glass, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, Holy Rosary, Christ the King (Nheyob/Wikimedia Commons)

To Trace All Souls Day | Fr. Brian Van Hove, S.J. | CWR Blog

All Souls Day has to do with the mystery of charity, that divine love overcomes everything, even death

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once said so well, one major difference between Protestants and Catholics is that Catholics pray for the dead:

"My view is that if Purgatory did not exist, we should have to invent it." Why?

"Because few things are as immediate, as human and as widespread—at all times and in all cultures—as prayer for one"s own departed dear ones." Calvin, the Reformer of Geneva, had a woman whipped because she was discovered praying at the grave of herson and hence was guilty, according to Calvin, of superstition". "In theory, the Reformation refuses to accept Purgatory, and consequently it also rejects prayer for the departed. In fact German Lutherans at least have returned to it in practice and have found considerable theological justification for it. Praying for one's departed loved ones is a far too immediate urge to be suppressed; it is a most beautiful manifestation of solidarity, love and assistance, reaching beyond the barrier of death. The happiness or unhappiness of a person dear to me, who has now crossed to the other shore, depends in part on whether I remember or forget him; he does not stop needing my love." [1]

Catholics are not the only ones who pray for the dead. The custom is also a Jewish one, and Catholics traditionally drew upon the following text from the Jewish Scriptures, in addition to some New Testament passages, to justify their belief:

Then Judas assembled his army and went to the city of Adulam. As the seventh day was coming on, they purified themselves according to the custom, and they kept the sabbath there. On the next day, as by that time it had become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kinsmen in the sepulchres of their fathers. Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was why these men had fallen. So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; and they turned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honourably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin. [2]

Besides the Jews, many ancient peoples also prayed for the deceased. Some societies, such as that of ancient Egypt, were actually "funereal" and built around the practice. [3] The urge to do so is deep in the human spirit which rebels against the concept of annihilation after death. Although there is some evidence for a Christian liturgical feast akin to our All Souls Day as early as the fourth century, the Church was slow to introduce such a festival because of the persistence, in Europe, of more ancient pagan rituals for the dead. In fact, the Protestant reaction to praying for the dead may be based more on these survivals and a deformed piety from pre-Christian times than on the true Catholic doctrine as expressed by either the Western or the Eastern Church. The doctrine of purgatory, rightly understood as praying for the dead, should never give offense to anyone who professes faith in Christ.

When we discuss the Feast of All Souls, we look at a liturgical commemoration which pre-dated doctrinal formulation itself, since the Church often clarifies only that which is being undermined or threatened.

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

Evangelical theologian lauds "Christocentric legacy" of Benedict XVI

by Carl E. Olson | CWR Blog

Although he might not be well known outside of certain theological circles, Dr. Hans Boersma is one of the finer young Evangelical theologians writing today. He is the J.I. Packer Professor of Theology at Regent College, one of the best Evangelical schools in Canada, and he is the author of some books that engage deeply and thoughtfully with Catholic theology, notably Nouvelle Théologie and Sacramental Ontology: A Return to Mystery (Oxford, 2009), and Heavenly Participation: The Weaving of a Sacramental Tapestry (Eerdmans 2011). As his bio on the Regent website states, Boersma's "main theological interests are Catholic thought, the church fathers, and spiritual interpretation of Scripture." (And in the words of a snide Amazon.com reviewer, he is "A Roman Catholic in evangelical clothing".)

In the September/October 2013 edition of Books & Culture: A Christian Review, in an article titled, "The Real Presence of Hope & Love" (subscription required for full article), Boersma praises the "Christocentric legacy" of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and touches on how it should help fruitful ecumenical conversation between Catholics and Evangelicals. He notes that far too many discussions of theology begin with premises about "conversative" and "liberal," which often derail matters before anything of substance is actually discussed. "With regard to Benedict," writes Boersma, "what stands out is not his alleged 'conservatism' but his focus on Christ in matters both theological and moral. That is what will render him relevant for many years to come." He then writes:

Protestants have long been afraid that Catholics take their starting-point in human realties. Human merit before God, Mary and the saints as objects of our adoration, the concrete materiality of Baptism and Eucharist—these, and other aspects of Catholic theology and spirituality, seem to Protestants attempts to place ourselves in the position of the risen Lord, as a move from Christocentrism to anthropocentrism. Oakes' insistence, therefore, that Ratzinger's theology is marked first and foremost by its Christocentrism, should make Protestants sit up and listen. And I think there is a sense in which it should make both Protestants and Catholics sit up and listen. If, after all, [Fr. Edward] Oakes is right that Christocentrism lies at the heart of Ratzinger's thought, then this is the key also to how we can deconstruct the relativism of our culture that thinks only in terms of the binaries of "conservative" and "progressive." To place Christ at the center is to gainsay the need to be "up-to-date" or "relevant." To place Christ at the center is, therefore, also to stab at the heart of the relativism that underlies this division between "conservative" and "progressive." There is good reason, I think, why Ratzinger's most stringent rejection of relativism comes under the title of Dominus Iesus (2000). It is the Lord Jesus who sent us on a mission in the world, and it is his Lordship and the definitive character of his revelation that are " 'the true lodestar' in history for all humanity," as the document's concluding paragraph puts it. Evangelicals and Catholics should be drawn together by this theological—that is to say, Christological—focus, which is the real antidote to so much non-theological humbug that typifies most media interest in Catholic thought and in the Christian faith in general. The insistence that Christ is the beginning, the center, and the end of theology has always served as reminder that in terms of theology and morality there is something more important to worry about than God's relevance to us, namely, our relevance to God.

Beorsma then focuses on Benedict's first two encyclicals—Deus caritas est (2005) and Spe salvi (2007)—highlighting "Benedict's insistence that the love of God has become incarnate:

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"[A]ll evangelizers proclaim Christ, but Catholic evangelizers proclaim a Eucharistic Christ.”

Earlier this week, noted Scripture scholar and author Dr. Scott Hahn (see Ignatius Press books authored and co-authored by Dr. Hahn) delivered the inaugural lecture in Christendom College’s Major Speaker Program, entitled, “The Bible, the Eucharist, and the New Evangelization.” The press release from Christendom College provides some highlights from Hahn's address:

The entire lecture can be downloaded at Christendom on iTunes U, christendom.edu/itunesu. This past April, America magazine published an article by Hahn, "Mass Evangelization", which covers much of the same material. In that piece, Hahn wrote,

scholar and author Dr. Scott Hahn (see Ignatius Press books by and edited by Dr. Hahn) delivered the inaugural lecture in Christendom College’s Major Speaker Program, entitled, “The Bible, the Eucharist, and the New Evangelization.” The press release from Christendom College provides some highlights from Hahn's address:

“We face the task of re-evangelizing the de-Christianized,” Hahn said. “The cause of de-Christianization has been this oppressive secularization, which doesn’t just cause us to forget the faith, but it causes us to become more and more distant from those structures that make it real.”

Hahn explained that just as human love and relationships lead to a sacrament—Matrimony—so too does our love and relationship with God lead to a sacrament—the Eucharist. He noted that it was Blessed Pope John Paul who first called for the new evangelization to be based on the Eucharist and, citing and a paper by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, he said, “all evangelizers proclaim Christ, but Catholic evangelizers proclaim a Eucharistic Christ.”

“But there is something else that is new about the new evangelization,” Hahn said. “It isn’t just for clergy. It isn’t just for missionaries. It isn’t just for those who go out to the foreign lands. It’s for each and every single one of us. Not only to go out and share the faith, but also to allow ourselves to be evangelized and converted.”

Hahn debunked the myth that St. Francis said, “preach the Gospel at all times and use words when necessary,” saying that there is no proof or historical record of the saint saying those words to his friars.

“I would want to say this to those who use that as an excuse,” he continued. “Just look in the mirror some evening and ask yourself, ‘Am I so upright, so virtuous, so compelling that all people really need to do is just keep their eyes on me and my life and that should be sufficient to give them the grace of conversion?’ Before you answer that question yourself, ask your spouse or your roommate. You may be in for a surprise.”

Hahn said that Catholics must not only recognize their need to evangelize, but also their need to be evangelized themselves in their family life and marriages.

“Conversion is life long,” he said. “It is ongoing. It is ever deepening. It is daily. And it is also difficult.”

Concluding, Hahn said that all Catholics are involved in the new evangelization, but very few Catholics are going to be equipped like Christendom students.

“Very few Catholics are ever going to be launched like Christendom grads,” he said. “Let me just ask you those old questions: if you don’t, who will? And if you wait, when will it happen? And if you say ‘yes,’ I got to tell you, stand back and watch, because God wants to do more through us than we want Him to do.”

He encouraged the students to study and pray hard and to take all that they have gained from the college out into the world.

“What you are learning here is what the world is dying for,” he said. “I hope that none of you ever get to the point where you take it for granted. This is one of the largest slices of heaven on earth.”

The entire lecture can be downloaded at Christendom on iTunes U, christendom.edu/itunesu. This past April, America magazine published an article by Hahn, "Mass Evangelization", which covers much of the same material. In that piece, Hahn wrote,

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

A Postmodern Christianity?

Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong,  “Tower of Babel” painting, Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo

A Postmodern Christianity? | Rev. Joseph R. Laracy | HPR

The instantiation of postmodern preferences has had varying effects on ecclesial communities, and has even given rise to new religious groups.

The salient characteristics of postmodern philosophy can be seen in many aspects of contemporary culture. In particular, the “flight from being (or truth)” is particularly evident in the areas of politics, ethics, and religion and is not constrained by the principle of non-contradiction. The rejection of grand narratives, fragmentation of knowledge, loss of the human subject, and so-called “death of man,” have had particularly devastating consequences on both the academic study of theology, and the practice of religion. Philosophers, theologians, and indeed entire ecclesial communities have attempted to adapt the Christian faith to this new perspective.

The instantiation of postmodern preferences has had varying effects on ecclesial communities, and has even given rise to new religious groups. Due to the absence of a Magisterium, the Protestant mainline has been greatly weakened, and the religious culture of the United States profoundly changed, by postmodern influences. New groups have also emerged that explicitly appeal to the postmodern mind, such as the so-called “Emerging Church.” With the formation of the Unitarian Universalist Church in 1961, the postmodern project finds an even more profound realization. Finally, one encounters the most extreme instantiation of the postmodern preferences in the pensiero debole (weak thought) and teologia debole (weak theology) of the Italian philosopher, Gianni Vattimo. Nonetheless, whatever the approach may be, any endeavor to marry the postmodern preferences to Christianity will be deleterious to encountering the central message of the Gospel summed up in the ancient acronym:  ΙΧΘΥΣ—Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior ¹—“for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 RSV)

The Postmodern Project
Postmodernity is not simply a philosophical movement that follows modernism, but rather is a reaction to it. The Italian archbishop and theologian, Bruno Forte, offers the insightful metaphor of light and darkness: “The night is that which follows the setting of the light. If the light is the metaphor of the modern spirit, the night is the metaphor of postmodernity, that is, of this time in which the strong reason of modernity is rediscovered as a weak, uncertain, and restless reason. The night is a time of shipwrecks.” ²

Continue reading at www.HPRweb.com.

The Church and the Experts

The Church and the Experts | James Kalb | CWR

Catholics cannot fight something with nothing, so devotion and integrity must come before engagement.

The Church today has a troubled relation to the academy and media.

The reasons are quite basic. Secular intellectual authorities believe they stand for a way of understanding the world, free unprejudiced inquiry carried on by disinterested professionals, that is sufficient as well as uniquely correct. The Church considers neutral secular expertise insufficient, since the world is neither neutral, secular, nor fully comprehensible by human means. She therefore accepts additional sources of knowledge, such as tradition, revelation, and natural law, and appeals to them especially in regard to ultimate issues and questions of value.

In such cases the kind of expertise on which secular intellectual authorities rely gives no definite answer. Those authorities therefore apply some default principle they consider neutral, like freedom, equality, or efficiency. Because the Church rejects that solution, they view Catholic doctrine as essentially arbitrary and oppressive.

That view dominates public discussion today. The result is that the secular media never bother to get Catholic beliefs right. They have no respect for them, and tailor their account of them to the general story they want to tell about the world. What passes for neutral rationality, it turns out, has a mythology and plot line of its own. Mainstream academia is much the same: it is reluctant to accept truth or authority that elude its control, so it tends toward a reductive, dismissive, or negative view of religion in general and Catholicism in particular. Even Catholic colleges, who willingly accept the authority of governments and accrediting agencies over policies, programs, and personnel, reject religious authority and think it a point of honor to hold the Church at arm’s length.

A basic part of the problem is the position and function of those who deal professionally with words and symbols in today’s society, not just academics and journalists but lawyers, bureaucrats, and producers of pop culture. The activities of such people are big business, the potential rewards attract clever and energetic careerists, and the growth and pervasiveness of government, bureaucratic organization, and electronic communications give them unprecedented power.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

New Evangelization and Ecumenism

New Evangelization and Ecumenism | Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton | HPR

Ecumenism is the effort to re-compose unity among divided Christians. The “new” evangelization is the effort of the Catholic Church to reach out in new and effective ways, first to its own immense membership…

Ecumenism – or the ecumenical movement – is the effort involving most of the Christian Church communities in the world today to build greater unity with one another and ultimately to achieve the unity of all Christians in one Church.  This organized activity is just about a century old, usually dating back from the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910. ¹Respecting its final goal, the movement has been to date only minimally successful, although it has brought about greater understanding, cooperation and convergence—meaning a moving toward one another, doctrinally—among the world’s major Christian Church communions.

The position of the Catholic Church—by which phrase we mean the full communion of all the Eastern and Western Churches with the Bishop of Rome, whom we acknowledge as the Successor of St. Peter, with a unique Primacy in the Church’s ministry—is a well-known position within this general movement.  We are not seeking to reconstitute a divided church, but to promote and achieve the full communion of all the other Church communions with the one Catholic Church of Christ.

Ecumenism and the new evangelization: how are they related?  Ecumenism is the effort to re-compose unity among divided Christians.  The “new” evangelization is the effort of the Catholic Church to reach out in new and effective ways first to its own immense membership, some or many of whom now are only nominal Catholics not really accepting and seeking daily to live by the integral teaching of the Gospels. In introducing the idea of the “new evangelization,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI invited us to re-propose the Gospel to one another and to those lapsed so that a living faith may once again characterize the Church world-wide.  Then beyond our Church borders and even overlapping them are the great de-Christianized masses of the mainly Western world, other already Christian Church communions and the still other huge non-Christian world religions.  Last October, the World Synod of Bishops discussed goals in this evangelizing effort, of which we have been already given a glimpse and preparation in the encyclical Porta Fidei (Door of Faith), ²  issued by Pope Benedict for the special Year of Faith, which began October 11, 2012 and is now soon going to come to a close.

Continue reading at www.HPRweb.com.

New: "By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition" by Mark Shea

Now available from Ignatius Press:

By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition

by Mark Shea

• Also available in Electronic Book Format

In this newly updated, expanded version of his popular work of apologetics, Shea presents a lively and entertaining look at his conversion to Catholicism from Evangelicalism and his discovery of Christian tradition. As an Evangelical, Shea accepted the principle of "sola scriptura" (Scripture alone) as the basis of faith. Now as a Catholic convert, he skillfully explains how and why Sacred Tradition occupies a central role in Divine Revelation.

Tracing his own journey of intellectual and spiritual awakening, Shea begins by looking for a rejoinder to those modern-day false prophets who would claim that Scripture itself is not to be trusted, and ends with his conviction that tradition, as explained by the Catholic Church, is the only sure guarantee of the truth of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Mark Shea is an award-winning columnist for the National Catholic Register, and a frequent contributor to Our Sunday Visitor and other Catholic publications. He is a popular blogger, and frequent guest on radio and television. 

Praise for By What Authority:

"A crystal clear and compelling case for Sacred Tradition, on the basis of logic, history and Scripture. It is simply the best I have found." 
- Scott Hahn, Author, Rome Sweet Home 

"This is not just another book of Catholic apologetics. It is not only a good think; it's also a good read. Concrete, clear, compelling arguments."
- Peter Kreeft, Author, Handbook of Catholic Apologetics 

"An important service for Catholics, Evangelicals and all those seeking a firm grounding for Faith. Shea argues powerfully for the extra-biblical authority of Sacred Tradition as a depository and source of revelation side by side with the Bible, to which it testifies and which it interprets with authority."
- Russell Shaw, Author, American Church 

From Calvinist Prosecutor to Papist Apologist

From Calvinist Prosecutor to Papist Apologist  | David Deavel | Catholic World Report

Convert Jason Stellman's new old-fashioned apologetic explains that we are “hard-wired for heaven”

Sunday, June 21, marked the 90^th anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial decision. The questions surrounding evolution—meaning, in particular, the origins of humans—still raise large and important questions for how we understand human nature and the doctrine of original sin. But Jason Stellman thinks that the obsession with our physical origins, though understandable, is perhaps theologically off-kilter. Where we've come from biologically is not as important as where we're heading. It's not the beginning of the journey, man—it's the destination. Stellman's The Destiny of the Species (Wipf and Stock, 2013) is a brief, rollicking, and readable apologetic, notable not just for turning the question of origins on its head, but also for pioneering a slightly different route from the path taken by many Catholic converts in their first books.

From Prosecutor to Papist

Stellman's own personal story is compelling. Born and raised in Orange County, California, Stellman came to serious faith in the context of the Evangelicalism of the California preacher Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel ministries. He served as a Protestant missionary in both Hungary and Uganda before turning to a more theologically rigorous form of Protestantism: Calvinism. Stellman attended Westminster Seminary in Escondido, California and began ministering in the Presbyterian Church in America, the largest conservative Presbyterian denomination in the U.S., planting Exile Presbyterian Church in Woodinville, WA in 2004. Stellman's name came into the limelight when he was chosen to serve as the chief prosecutor in the 2011 heresy trial of fellow Presbyterian minister Peter Leithart, a Calvinist writer and scholar known to readers of journals including First Things and Touchstone. Leithart's views were accused of being in line with a school of Presbyterian thought known as the “Federal Vision,” and he was tried for, among other charges, allegedly failing to distinguish justification and sanctification, divine law and divine grace, and teaching that baptism confers grace and divine adoption. In short, Leithart was on trial for being too Catholic.

Although Stellman's work as prosecutor was acknowledged as solid at the time, Leithart was acquitted by the Northwest Presbytery. In the time after this trial, however, Stellman himself began to question certain historic Protestant beliefs like sola scriptura and sola fide.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

No Faith, No Freedom. Know Faith, Know Freedom.

No Faith, No Freedom. Know Faith, Know Freedom. | Carl E. Olson | CWR

The state of Maryland was the first experiment in religious freedom in human history. Lord Baltimore and his Catholics were a long march ahead of William Penn and his Quakers on what is now called the path of progress. That the first religious toleration ever granted in the world was granted by Roman Catholics is one of those little informing details with which our Victorian histories did not exactly teem." — G. K. Chesterton, What I Saw in America

"Where society is so organized as to reduce arbitrarily or even suppress the sphere in which freedom is legitimately exercised, the result is that the life of society becomes progressively disorganized and goes into decline." — Bl. John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 25.

"But freedom attains its full development only by accepting the truth. In a world without truth, freedom loses its foundation and man is exposed to the violence of passion and to manipulation, both open and hidden." — Bl. John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 46.


Today is Independence Day in the United States, a day marked by celebrations large and loud, festive and familial. The word of the day, the defining characteristic of the celebration of the signing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, is "freedom". Today also marks the conclusion of the second "Fortnight of Freedom", which commenced on June 21st, the vigil of the Feast of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. It should give pause, if for only a moment, that the "Fortnight" began on the feast day of two English martyrs and then ends on the National Day commemorating the 237th anniversary of a declaration of independence from the rule of Great Britain. Among other things, it speaks to the fact that while religious freedom has a special place in the history of the United States—see the quote above from Chesterton—that freedom is catholic, something that all men and women should enjoy, even though so many throughout the world do not. It also speaks to the special relationship between Catholicism and freedom, a relationship little understood and rarely acknowledged in a country whose historical and cultural foundation was largely Protestant in nature.

And what of today? In thinking of today, specifically and in the broader sense of the current age, it is notable that Pope Francis will tomorrow release his first encyclical, Lumen Fidei ("The Light of Faith"), which is reported to be the joint work of Francis and Benedict XVI. Rather than coincidental, the timing is fortuitous. That fact hit home when, in the process of cleaning my office yesterday, I re-discovered a book about the relationship between freedom and faith, written by an English scholar (my office usually has several stacks of books, each with 20 or 30 books, so such "discoveries" are hardly unusual). Several passages caught my attention, but I'll share just a couple of them. Bypassing the context for a moment, here's the first passage:

The confidence in state action, the glorification of technology, the unlimited faith in science, the centralization of decision, and the subordination of low to so-called mass interests—all these … have helped in the West to create communities in which the individual citizens feels overwhelmed, isolated, and helpless before the anonymities of public and private bureaucracy. We are right to fear these vast distortions of tendencies already at work in our society.

It is a fine summation of the broad (and deep) problems faced today, yet it is not original. Except that it was written, not in the past few years, but over sixty years ago, in the the early 1950s. The book is Faith and Freedom, the author was Barbara Ward, and the publisher was Image; the subhead is: "A stimulating inquiry into the history and relationship of political freedom and religious faith." It is a book worth tracking down for many reasons, among them Ward's beautiful and learned writing, the historical perspective presented, and the philosophical insights, which are just as meaningful today, if not more so, than there were when the book was first published in England in 1954.

Ward has some interesting things to say about the War for Independence and the founding of the United States, but I am more interested here in her thoughts on dealing with and fighting against tyranny.

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

American Anti-Catholicism and the Confessional

American Anti-Catholicism and the Confessional | John B. Buescher | CWR

A brief history of the anti-Catholic rhetoric deployed in the US against the sacrament of Confession.

The highest tides of anti-Catholic feeling in this country occurred in the 19th century.  The standard explanation for this simply points to Protestant fears that the waves of Catholic immigrants, especially from Ireland, would take their jobs away.

Anti-Catholicism, as this explanation goes, was rooted in the Protestant fear that the “trying of swords” between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism which had reshaped European history was moving to the continent of North America, and that the Protestant United States was not only being outflanked and encircled by Catholic Latin America and French Canada, but that the US was itself being undone from within by Catholic immigrants, who were simply waiting until they could impose their anti-American views on the country by their hive-mind bloc voting, controlled by “priest police.”  The most well-known exponent of this view of the Catholic Menace was inventor and painter Samuel F. B. Morse, who in 1835 wrote and published Foreign Conspiracy against the Liberties of the United States.

But there was certainly another aspect of the antipathy to Catholics: they were thought to be essentially alien in the sense of un-American, that is, they could not or would not be assimilated to basic American principles of freedom and the common good.  Some of this came out into the open during the battles over the public schools and parochial schools—and Catholics today may still have some lingering sense of that—but the other place this particular anti-Catholic rhetoric was deployed was in attacks on the Catholics’ sacrament of Confession.

Catholic apologist James Chancy wrote in 1888, “By far the bitterest attacks of the Protestants have been directed against the Confessional.  They merely scoff at the other sacraments of the Church, but of the Sacrament of Penance their condemnation is strong, their hate deep, bitter, and lasting.”

Why was their antagonism focused most especially on Confession?  Chancy continued, “Instinctively they feel this is one of the greatest powers the Church wields to preserve its members from the contamination of the world, the continuance of the indulgence of passion, and the taint of heresy.”  Unsurprisingly, this was not what non-Catholics offered as their reason for opposing it so strongly.  Confession, to them, was the very sink of iniquity and foremost danger to the republic.  Today’s Catholic surely would be surprised to learn this.  Or to learn that two ex-Catholic priests carried the banners in the crusade against Confession.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

Ecumenism and Canon Law

Ecumenism and Canon Law | R. Michael Dunnigan | CWR

Thoughts on Cardinal DiNardo's recent decision to allow the Methodist ordination of a woman in the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, recently permitted the United Methodist Church to celebrate an ordination service at the Catholic Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston. This event has set in motion a wave of criticism on orthodox Catholic blogs and websites. The criticism generally has focused on the fact that the Catholic Church does not recognize the validity of Methodist ordinations, and the fact that the presiding Methodist bishop was a woman. The prevailing critiques also charge Cardinal Di Nardo with the sin of scandal. However, the commentary to date has included little discussion of the law of the Church.

A follower of the vigorous criticism directed against Cardinal DiNardo might be surprised to learn that the cardinal’s decision enjoys relatively strong support in canon law. I do not mean that the law commands the accommodation that Cardinal DiNardo made for the Methodists, but rather that it provides him with ample discretion to make such a decision. Although the primary purpose of churches and cathedrals is for Catholic worship, canon 1210 makes allowance for some other uses of sacred places as well.

What other uses are permissible? Such uses must be only occasional, and they must not be opposed to the holiness of the place (cf. can. 1210). An example of an activity that would be contrary to the holiness of a church would be a political rally. By contrast, a legitimate other activity that might occasionally be held in a church would be a historical lecture.

Does a Methodist liturgy qualify as a legitimate other use of the Catholic cathedral? Canon 1210 itself does not directly answer this question, but the breadth of its language seems to allow any occasional use that is not contrary to the sacredness of the place. Moreover, in the 1993 Ecumenical Directory, the Holy See says outright that it sometimes is permissible for a non-Catholic liturgy to take place in a Catholic church.

Many Catholics will be surprised to learn this.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

Episcopalian leader Schori bashes on St. Paul, opposition to homosexual relationships

by Carl E. Olson | CWR Blog

The Anglican Ink site reports:

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has denounced the Apostle Paul as mean-spirited and bigoted for having released a slave girl from demonic bondage as reported in Acts 16:16-34 .

In her sermon delivered at All Saints Church in Curaçao in the diocese of Venezuela, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori condemned those who did not share her views as enemies of the Holy Spirit.

The presiding bishop opened her remarks with an observation on the Dutch slave past. “The history of this place tells some tragic stories about the inability of some to see the beauty in other skin colors or the treasure of cultures they didn’t value or understand,” she said.

She continued stating: “Human beings have a long history of discounting and devaluing difference, finding it offensive or even evil.  That kind of blindness is what leads to oppression, slavery, and often, war.  Yet there remains a holier impulse in human life toward freedom, dignity, and the full flourishing of those who have been kept apart or on the margins of human communities.”

Schori then states:

We live with the continuing tension between holier impulses that encourage us to see the image of God in all human beings and the reality that some of us choose not to see that glimpse of the divine, and instead use other people as means to an end.  We’re seeing something similar right now in the changing attitudes and laws about same-sex relationships, as many people come to recognize that different is not the same thing as wrong.  For many people, it can be difficult to see God at work in the world around us, particularly if God is doing something unexpected.

But if different is not the same thing as wrong, then how can views that are different from hers be wrong? Come to think of it, how can anything be wrong if it can simply be described as "different"? One might be taken aback at Schori's grasp of both epistemology and moral theology, but one is surely not impressed. The same holds for her exegetical skills, which are unleashed upon Acts 16:16ff:

Continue reading on the CWR blog.