Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Updated



Appearances
Updated



My Wife Amélie
Judge Rejects Governor Bush's Plea



Due to a massive amount of email received by the Governor about this case, he wrote to the judge to reopen this case. The judge refused. The judge also refused to allow the feeding tube to be removed from Terri. This is a sad case with a lot of conflicting information.



One of the side stories here has to do with money, another is that the husband is living with another woman. Shouldn't he leave the care of his wife to the parents? But it seems that he is unwilling to do so because he would lose money. Therein lies the moral issue that I would think a judge could rule on.



From

Judge Denies Bush's Request To Rehash Terri Schiavo Case - from Tampa Bay Online:



"Michael Schiavo said his in- laws, Bob and Mary Schindler, orchestrated a campaign to send e-mail to the governor through a Web site that also raises money from right-to-life supporters. He accused the Schindlers of using his wife's Catholic faith to their own ends.



``Suddenly, they are on the religious kick. They never went to church a day in their lives,'' he said. ``I believe in God and so did Terri, but they are out to push it on people.''

Bob Schindler said his son- in-law is forgetting he and his wife sent Terri and her siblings to Catholic schools and that the Schiavo wedding was performed by a priest.



``It [Michael Schiavo's comment] is really upsetting to my wife because she is a better Catholic than I am,'' he said.



The Web site has drawn a good response, Schindler said. Any donations it generates are going to family attorney Pat Anderson, who had been working for free, he said.



In a third development Tuesday, Greer denied Michael Schiavo's request for an immediate hearing to set a date for removing his wife's feeding tube. That matter will be handled at a hearing previously scheduled for Sept. 11 to decide whether Michael Schiavo can ban a priest from visiting his wife, the judge said. "
General Instruction of the Roman Missal



Amy is now doing some fascinating detective work, discovering what various dioceses are doing to implement the changes mandated by the revision of the General Instruction. As I've said previously the changes mostly affect the presider and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. Other changes include the presence of a crucifix in the sanctuary. Those who have resurrected Christs, processional crosses with out a corpus, etc should all be making changes--I have witnessed changes being made already to the Archabbey of Saint Meinrad in Indiana earlier this summer (including the installation of kneelers in a place where many future priests were trained to accept "standing" as the accepted posture during the Eucharistic Prayer).



Notice that having the congregation pray in the "orans" position is nowhere in any of Amy's other diocesan directives that she has uncovered so far. It is true that the Bishop is the chief liturgist of his diocese but even that has limits.

Tuesday, August 26, 2003

I believe Lord, help my unbelief...



A new book illustrates how little most of us either understand what we are doing or what we are saying when we pray the Creed. Luke Timothy Johnson does a fine job of showing the Scriptural origins of "creeds", their development and then finally the meaning of the Creed that Christians say every Sunday when they worship.











Another book on the Creed that has come out this year is by one of my favorite authors, Dwight Longenecker. Dwight is a convert that grew up a Menonite, to later become an evangelical Christian and graduate of Bob Jones University, next he became an Anglican priest only later to become a Catholic and soon to become a Catholic priest (a married one at that). Giving his journey, he knows a thing or two about creeds and his book on the creed is an adventure and aptly named.









And because it fits into this general theme in a negative way. I can't forget my friend Father Richard Hogan who upon reflecting on the Church's history of heresy reflected on them in light of the Creed, in Dissent from the Creed:





Interview with Al Kresta



From National Catholic Register:



When did you learn that your life was in danger?



The next day, in about the mid-afternoon a number of doctors came into the room to introduce themselves. There was a kidney doctor, and a cardiac doctor, a vascular doctor, and a general surgeon. They all looked pretty concerned and asked me how I was doing.



I told them that I was tired, but I thought it would pass. They pointed to two purplish-black marks on my leg and asked if I had seen them before. I told them I had not.



They explained to me that they thought I had necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating bacteria). I asked if there would be a way for them to test it any further?



They said that they could do a biopsy, but the condition was so far advanced that if they didn't take care of it in the next 20 minutes I would be dead in 1-3 hours.



They explained that they might have to take my leg to save my life. It was a clear choice to make. A nurse came over to initiate prayer with me. I thought this might be the end and I embraced my wife.



I had been visited by two priests earlier in the day, so I felt as prepared spiritually as I could be. They slapped the mask on over me and put me to sleep. I woke up about six to seven days later without my leg and with a lot of pain medication in me.






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