From Cardinal James Hickey Dies at 84 (washingtonpost.com):
"Cardinal James Aloysius Hickey, 84, a champion of orthodoxy in church dogma and a compassionate shepherd of the area's half million Roman Catholics while head of the Washington Archdiocese for 20 years, died this morning at a nursing home in Washington.
His health had been in decline for the past year."
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Liberal Priests Join Forces in Milwaukee
Funny they have an Orthodox (as in Eastern) priest pictured on their web site. I feel sorry for Archbishop Dolan who is a good and holy bishop, he doesn't deserve this but I guess it is predictable. The problem it is very clear to me with the Catholic Church in the United States is that many of the pastors who should be leading us in worship are following someone other than Christ and the Church he founded.
Friday, October 22, 2004
John Allen Receives a Mild Rebuke for His Speculation on Who the Vatican Supports for US President
From Cardinal Martino...
As reported in Allen's Word for Rome in NCR:
As reported in Allen's Word for Rome in NCR:
Your e-mail message, received here on 15 October, left me as confused as
the original article, published on 8 October. You wrote that your "analysis was
based on wide conversations with people at all levels, along with a reading of
the public record." And I have to wonder, "To whom did you speak, and what did
you glean from that 'public record?"
While I have made statements against the war in Iraq it would be
inappropriate for me, any member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
or any other official of the curia to make statements in favor or against any
particular political candidate.
I believe that your article did grave damage to the understanding of
your readers. They have been led to believe that certain offices and officials
within the Roman Curia have actually committed themselves to support one
candidate over the other. While I am certain that many have personal opinions
about particular candidates, these could never be an official reflection of or
interpreted as the position of all those who work within a certain congregation,
pontifical council or the Secretariat of State nor that of the offices
themselves.
To say that a particular office was more supportive of President Bush
or Senator Kerry is a sort of accusation that those working within an office
have taken sides in the partisan politics of the democratic process. Nothing
could be further from the truth, at least as far as this pontifical council is
concerned. At the same time, this pontifical council cannot and will not remain
silent in the face of positions taken or policies espoused by any politician or
political candidate, especially when those issues touch upon subjects that fall
within the competencies and responsibilities of the Council for Justice and
Peace.
As far as public statements are concerned, some issues may indeed
outweigh others. However, it must go without saying that the Pontifical Council
for Justice and Peace will never shrink from its responsibility to preach the
message of the Gospel or call attention to those situations in the world where
the tenants of justice and peace are violated.
A Site Devoted to A Bushism
Plays a snipet of Bush saying "I hear there's rumors on the Internets."
One of the most linked web sites on this day.
One of the most linked web sites on this day.
Another Setback for Terri Schiavo
From Times Against Humanity O tempora, o mores!:
"Reuters reports today that the Florida Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its 7-0 ruling overturning Terri's Law, a state statute supported by Gov. Jeb Bush that put a halt to the forced fatal starvation of Terri Schindler Schiavo by her unfaithful husband.
In a 4-3 opinion, the court rejected a request by Bush's attorneys to rehear the case. The court ruled unanimously last month against the hastily crafted law that prevented Michael Schiavo from withholding food and water from his wife, Terri. She has been on life support since suffering a heart attack in 1990.
It is not known what action Gov. Bush will take next to continue to protect Terri's life from Florida's killer courts. According to Bush spokeswoman Jill Bratina, 'Our lawyers are looking at the legal options before us. We will be looking to make a decision on our next step very soon,' possibly today."
"Reuters reports today that the Florida Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its 7-0 ruling overturning Terri's Law, a state statute supported by Gov. Jeb Bush that put a halt to the forced fatal starvation of Terri Schindler Schiavo by her unfaithful husband.
In a 4-3 opinion, the court rejected a request by Bush's attorneys to rehear the case. The court ruled unanimously last month against the hastily crafted law that prevented Michael Schiavo from withholding food and water from his wife, Terri. She has been on life support since suffering a heart attack in 1990.
It is not known what action Gov. Bush will take next to continue to protect Terri's life from Florida's killer courts. According to Bush spokeswoman Jill Bratina, 'Our lawyers are looking at the legal options before us. We will be looking to make a decision on our next step very soon,' possibly today."
Faith and Patriotism
Archbishop Chaput in the The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Faith and Patriotism:
"The theologian Karl Barth once said, 'To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.'
That saying comes to mind as the election approaches and I hear more lectures about how Roman Catholics must not 'impose their beliefs on society' or warnings about the need for 'the separation of church and state.' These are two of the emptiest slogans in current American politics, intended to discourage serious debate. No one in mainstream American politics wants a theocracy. Nor does anyone doubt the importance of morality in public life. Therefore, we should recognize these slogans for what they are: frequently dishonest and ultimately dangerous sound bites.
Lawmaking inevitably involves some group imposing its beliefs on the rest of us. That's the nature of the democratic process. If we say that we 'ought' to do something, we are making a moral judgment. When our legislators turn that judgment into law, somebody's ought becomes a 'must' for the whole of society. This is not inherently dangerous; it's how pluralism works.
Democracy depends on people of conviction expressing their views, confidently and without embarrassment. This give-and-take is an American tradition, and religious believers play a vital role in it. We don't serve our country - in fact we weaken it intellectually - if we downplay our principles or fail to speak forcefully out of some misguided sense of good manners.
People who support permissive abortion laws have no qualms about imposing their views on society. Often working against popular opinion, they have tried to block any effort to change permissive abortion laws since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. That's fair. That's their right. But why should the rules of engagement be different for citizens who oppose those laws?
"
"The theologian Karl Barth once said, 'To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.'
That saying comes to mind as the election approaches and I hear more lectures about how Roman Catholics must not 'impose their beliefs on society' or warnings about the need for 'the separation of church and state.' These are two of the emptiest slogans in current American politics, intended to discourage serious debate. No one in mainstream American politics wants a theocracy. Nor does anyone doubt the importance of morality in public life. Therefore, we should recognize these slogans for what they are: frequently dishonest and ultimately dangerous sound bites.
Lawmaking inevitably involves some group imposing its beliefs on the rest of us. That's the nature of the democratic process. If we say that we 'ought' to do something, we are making a moral judgment. When our legislators turn that judgment into law, somebody's ought becomes a 'must' for the whole of society. This is not inherently dangerous; it's how pluralism works.
Democracy depends on people of conviction expressing their views, confidently and without embarrassment. This give-and-take is an American tradition, and religious believers play a vital role in it. We don't serve our country - in fact we weaken it intellectually - if we downplay our principles or fail to speak forcefully out of some misguided sense of good manners.
People who support permissive abortion laws have no qualms about imposing their views on society. Often working against popular opinion, they have tried to block any effort to change permissive abortion laws since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. That's fair. That's their right. But why should the rules of engagement be different for citizens who oppose those laws?
"
Elderly Alabama Monk Indicted in 1970 Rape
From al.com: NewsFlash - Elderly Alabama monk indicted in 1970 sexual assault:
Grand jurors indicted an 82-year-old monk in an alleged rape in 1970 that a would-be nun said occurred at St. Bernard's Abbey but wasn't reported for decades.
Benedictine monk Ignatius Kane was arrested Oct. 10 on a charge of first-degree rape.
Defense lawyer Rusty Turner said Kane is back at the abbey after being released from jail on $30,000 bond.
"We'll mount a vigorous defense and we believe he'll be exonerated," said Turner.
Kane had polio as a child and has been confined by health problems, including a stroke. Formerly the abbey librarian, Kane is now mostly bedridden.
Anne McInnis, 55, of Memphis, Tenn., said Kane raped her in the abbey library in 1970 at a retreat to consider whether she should become a nun. She told her story publicly in The Birmingham News last year but said she did not report the assault to anyone in 1970.
Grand jurors indicted an 82-year-old monk in an alleged rape in 1970 that a would-be nun said occurred at St. Bernard's Abbey but wasn't reported for decades.
Benedictine monk Ignatius Kane was arrested Oct. 10 on a charge of first-degree rape.
Defense lawyer Rusty Turner said Kane is back at the abbey after being released from jail on $30,000 bond.
"We'll mount a vigorous defense and we believe he'll be exonerated," said Turner.
Kane had polio as a child and has been confined by health problems, including a stroke. Formerly the abbey librarian, Kane is now mostly bedridden.
Anne McInnis, 55, of Memphis, Tenn., said Kane raped her in the abbey library in 1970 at a retreat to consider whether she should become a nun. She told her story publicly in The Birmingham News last year but said she did not report the assault to anyone in 1970.
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