Papist Picture of the Day - 09/26/09

• Amazing Video: Does God Exist?
• Amazing Photo: 842 priests ordained *simultaneously* in Barcelona
• Huh? BC residents hand out copies of "Da Vinci Code" to oppose Opus Dei retreat center!
• Hilarious: Dan Brown's 20 worst sentences
• Friday off-beat Video: Cosmic Conflict
• Action: What Catholics can do to help health care reform
• Update: More proof we need to de-fund the CCHD
• Photo: Ask a papist question....
• Video: Cardinal Mahoney tries to dodge abortion in health care question

"Bring the chairs where?"

"To the church!"

"What church?! ... oh."

[Photo: AP Photo]

Amazing Video: Does God Exist?

And now for something quasi-serious.

A fascinating concept, perfectly executed:

Hardly a relative theory.

Amazing Photo: 842 priests ordained *simultaneously* in Barcelona

With a papist tip of the hat to the Blog of the Courtier, the New Liturgical Movement on what has to be a singular event in ecclesiastical history - and one for the record books:

[This is]the simultaneous ordination of 842 Priests which took place at the XXXV International Eucharistic Congress of Barcelona in 1952. In the Olympic Stadium of Montjuich, 21 altars were erected, at which 21 bishops celebrated synchronized Masses during which they ordained about 40 priests each. The bishop of Barcelona, Mons. Modrego Casáus, celebrated at altar 12, and his voice was amplified by microphone throughout the stadium. In the middle, a schola of 300 seminarians from all across Spain led the people in chant.

As Gregor sagely notes at NLM:

Interestingly, the practice of "synchronized" Masses was forbidden by the Instruction "De Musica Sacra et Sacra Liturgia" of 1958 (no. 39), only 6 years after this high-profile celebration.

Gee, can we guess why?

BC residents hand out copies of "Da Vinci Code" to oppose Opus Dei retreat center!

In follow-up to my previous post, these folks need to work on their critical reading skills:

Residents of a quiet West Coast community say they will fight plans by a Catholic organization featured in the novel The Da Vinci Code to build a spiritual retreat in their town.

Opus Dei was depicted in the fictional bestseller by Dan Brown as a powerful and insidious secret society involved in a bloody conspiracy that reached up into the highest levels of the church. The real-life organization, however, says there is nothing sinister about its plans.

... The project will have benefits for the community, but those opposed to the plan have been handing out copies of The Da Vinci Code to encourage opposition, Sarraf said.

Here is a picture from the planning meeting:

"Skeptical residents search the slides for Opus Dei's hidden plans of world domination."

Hilarious: Dan Brown's 20 worst sentences

I've never read a Dan Brown book, but my friends claim that his novels are not very well written, and after reading this list of howlers, I can see what they mean! A sample:

10. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: Five months ago, the kaleidoscope of power had been shaken, and Aringarosa was still reeling from the blow.

(Did they hit him with the kaleidoscope?)

And that's a fairly merciful example.

Now - please - let's not have any top 20 lists of AmP gaffes appearing!

Friday off-beat Video: Cosmic Conflict

I can't believe this is real:



Well - it's real.

Action: What Catholics can do to help health care reform

The current status of the health care debate is complicated (I know, I follow it every day) - but what Catholics can do to make health care reform is fairly simple.

Currently all the focus is on the Senator Baucus bill currently being debated in the Senate Finance Committee. Not suprisingly, like the other Democrat health care plans, it funds abortions.

The American Principles Project blog has a simple explanation for how you can contact your Senator and request that they vote in favor of the various pro-life amendments which have been introduced to get abortion funding out of the Baucus bill. If 100 people called each of their Senators it really would make a huge impact.

For those of you who want a bit more detail, pay close attention to the langauge of the Capps Amendment. It appears to be the model Democrats favor for sneaking abortion funding into various health care proposals. National Right to Life Committee's Doug John picks the Capps amendment apart in this column.

Also, the Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics blog appears to be a good resource for health care reform and end-of-life issues, particularly yesterday's article on "Robbing Peter to pay Paul - funding the senate finance bill by cutting health care funding for older Americans."

Finally, I should mention that I'm happy to do radio or TV interviews on any of these topics. The larger the audience, the better the chance I'll be able to take time away from my other commitments. But of course anyone is welcome to drop me an email.

Update: More proof we need to de-fund the CCHD

Last week I wrote at length about why I believe it is time to de-fund the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. I recommended that Catholics not contribute to their annual second collection at Sunday Masses which is coming up near Thanksgiving.

A week and a half later, I still think this is the best prudential move, as more evidence surfaces.

A report by LifeSiteNews:

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the U.S. bishops' domestic social justice arm, says it has taken "decisive action" on a new report that reveals they have been funding groups that support abortion, contraception, same-sex "marriage," and legalized prostitution.

The organization's funding practices have been the subject of growing scrutiny in the last several years, especially after it was revealed that CCHD had funded the scandal-plagued ACORN organization to the tune of millions of dollars.

The report about CCHD's problematic funding practices was prepared by the new Bellarmine Veritas Ministry (BVM), which has launched a national campaign aimed at addressing the problems with the organization. The group's founder, Rob Gasper, said he is "pleased" with the CCHD's response, but insisted that the organization is in need of further reform before the problems can be said to have been dealt with.

... The report lists four groups from the 2009-2010 grantee list that actively support policies or practices contrary to Church teaching. In total, these groups have been allocated $125,000 this year. The report also lists seven groups that have pushed for the current version of Obama's health care reform.

The Catholic Media Coalition (an organization I cannot personally vouch for) has a whole page on the CCHD, and wrote an open letter to the US bishops (PDF) about a year ago asking that they de-fund the CCHD. The actions they suggest the US bishops take, I find myself in agreement with:

• That the CCHD grant process be frozen and 2008 grants be suspended until a complete review and overhaul of the campaign can be conducted
• That all donations be placed in safe interest‐bearing accounts during the process
• That the grant application process be thoroughly studied and new policies developed that ensure only organizations that follow Catholic moral principles, i.e., pro-life, pro-family, pro-marriage, and pro-biblical morality be eligible for grants
• That the principle of subsidiarity be honored in the grant process
• That ACORN, the Industrial Areas Foundation and other Alinsky-style community organizations that follow immoral principles of action be permanently banned from receiving grants {this has already happened in the case of ACORN}
• That groups networking and interfacing with groups that advance pro-abortion, pro-homosexual policies be permanently banned from funding
• That whenever possible Catholic organizations be given preference over secular groups

That seems reasonable to me.

Photo: Ask a papist question....

... get a whole lot of papist answers:

You can read them if you join the American Papist Facebook Fanpage!

Only the top 2,523 coolest papists on Facebook are doing it. ;-)

Video: Cardinal Mahoney tries to dodge abortion in health care question

From CNSNews.com's Edwin Mora, an incredible video interview recorded yesterday:

Let's look at what Mahoney said when asked if he agreed with Cardinal Rigali that abortion funding is in the health care reform proposal being drafted in the House of Representatives:

“This is way beyond my field. My field is immigration. I really haven’t kept up on that, and I spend all my time on this other. You have to get somebody who spends time on that.”

When asked whether he believed abortion should be funded under the health care bill, Cardinal Mahony said: “No, but that’s what the president said, too, so.”

My initial thoughts:

• I'm waiting for liberal Catholics to condemn Mahoney's response as inadequate because he basically claims to be a "single issue" Catholic bishop. "My field is immigration"? Excuse me? Since when does focusing on one issue get a bishop off the hook of being informed about other issues? *crickets*
• "This is way beyond my field"? Sounds like the infamous "This is above my pay grade" response which Obama gave at one point to a similar question (and even he later admitted this was a flippant answer).
• Is Mahony so oblivious to current events that he is unaware of the actions taken by Cardinal Rigali, of the warnings issued by over forty US bishops, of the numerous reports in mainstream media outlets that confirm this simple fact that abortion funding exists in the House version of health care reform?
• Finally, Mahony pulls the rug out from underneath his own feet when he says "No, but that’s what the president said, too, so." ... what?! I thought Mahony said he was uninformed? And yet he is evidently informed about what Obama has said. So, Mahony knows what Obama has said about abortion, but not what the US Bishops have said.

Absolutely incredible.

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/24/09

• Outrageous: Italian PM calls Pope Benedict a liar in newspaper
• Alert: How you can help Dominican Nuns overflowing with vocations!
  
• Important: Catholic Medical Association comes out strongly against ObamaCare

"Insiders note it is becoming increasingly difficult to hide the pope's hobbies."

[Photo: Reuters]

Outrageous: Italian PM calls Pope Benedict a liar in newspaper

Watch it. That's my pope you're talking about:

The Italian newspaper Il Giornale, owned by the family of Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, carries a headline today dominated by the words “Ha mentito” - “he lied”, referring to Pope Benedict XVI. The paper is busy stirring up trouble over the claims by Swedish TV, due to be aired tonight, that the Vatican knew in advance about the Holocaust-denying background of Bishop Richard Williamson before his excommunication was lifted.

The words “he lied” are admittedly taken from the programme. But it’s a malicious allegation: Benedict has told no lies whatsoever regarding this matter, even if Vatican officials working for him have a case to answer. (UK Telegraph Blog)

Damian Thompson has the full background.

Here's hoping the Vatican press office vigorously and competently defends the pope against these unfair accusations.

I mean, there's a first for everything.

Alert: How you can help Dominican Nuns overflowing with vocations!

I've been corresponding over the past couple of days with a Dominican Sister of the Mary, Mother of the Eucharist community in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I have had the privilege of knowing several sisters in this thriving young order during my time in Michigan, and since then as well. I will never forget the sight of their young professed sisters walking along the sidewalks of Ann Arbor in their white habits, often with a backpack full of school books for whatever class they were attending.

Now for the wake-up line: this religious community has grown by 2500% in the last 13 years.

You read that right. This explosion in vocations is unparalleled in my experience, and now I would be thrilled to see the AmP community support the necessary costs of providing for the needs of this flourishing order.

I'm going to rewrite in my own words her description of some of the upcoming events and opportunities for support she has brought to my attention:

"The 4th Annual “A Pledge of Future Glory Gala Dinner and Golf Tournament” will be held in Vienna, VA, on October 5th. These events provide assistance to help fund the growth of our community. We have grown from four Sisters in 1997 to ninety-nine as of 2 weeks ago, when our 17 newest Sisters entered (as recently covered in an article on CNA - which includes a YouTube video as well).

As you can imagine, there are significant costs associated with such growth – the main 2 costs being the building of our Motherhouse, and the education and formation of our young Sisters.

The name of our golf events comes from the title of our ongoing “A Pledge of Future Glory” mission advancement campaign, with an overall goal of raising $25 million for the burgeoning needs of our community (and the name of the campaign comes from St. Thomas Aquinas’ prayer “O Sacrum Convivium” – we are Dominicans, after all!).

Our website has a registration page for the event and also has a link to a PDF brochure. We also have online donation capabilities, for those who might not be able to attend the event, but who would like to help the cause! Every gift helps us!"

If you want to support a culture of young, orthodox vocations to women religious communities in the United States, you simply couldn't support a better group of sisters than these Dominicans.

Especially as the Vatican attempts to reform the older female religious communities in the United States through an extensive (and often resisted) visitation, now is the perfect time to support the joyfully-faithful sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, to help them remain and become an even brighter shining example of a life lived totally for Christ and his Church.

Catholic Medical Association comes out strongly against ObamaCare

While I was in Orlando I was privledged to meet several members of the Catholic Medical Association.

I am thrilled to see they have come out vocally against Obamacare because of its deep, particular flaws, and have also cautioned against any proposal which involves a government takeover of the private medical profession.

They have released a 3-page open letter to "Catholics and Catholic organizations", and - because I realize people tend to be daunted by larger documents - I'm excerpting the conclusion here:

"We must ensure that well-intentioned efforts to bring about “change” are not exploited to create a federally controlled system that promises health care for all, but creates an oppressive bureaucracy hostile to human life and to the integrity of the patient physician relationship. It would be better to forgo long-needed changes in health-care financing and delivery in the short-term if these would lead to a long-term, systemic policy regime that is inimical to respect for life, religious freedom, and the goods served by the principle of subsidiarity. Rather than accept such an outcome, we should take the time required to implement reform measures that are sound in both principled and practical terms."

The entire letter can be read here (PDF) through the CMA website. They have created a new section of their website dedicated to health care reform which I would urge you to visit.

This is a brave move by the Catholic Medical Association. Having met several of their members, I believe they are sincere Catholics who genuinely want to practice their profession according to their Catholic principles.

List: *44* Bishops against Obamacare (and counting!)

From time to time AmP has compiled (with the help of readers like you) summaries of statements by the American heirarchy on important current issues.

There is now a growing list of bishops across the United States who have preached or written about their prudential opposition to the current health care proposal in Congress.

I will update this post as time goes on....

1. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, PA
2. and Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, NY
3. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, CO
4. Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, CO
5. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, NY
6. Bishop Walker Nickless of Sioux City, IA
7. Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, ND
8. Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, IA
9. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, KS
10. and Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO
11. Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN
12. Bishop Paul Loverde of Arlington, VA
13. Bishop Robert Guglielmone of Charleston, SC
14. Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland, OH (PDF)
15. Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte, NC
16. and Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh, NC
17. Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse, WI (PDF)
18. Bishop Blase Cupich of Rapid City, SD (PDF)
19. Bishop Donald Trautman of Eire, PA (PDF)
20. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, PA
21. Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, CT
22. Bishop Thomas Doran of Rockford, IL
23. Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, NJ (part II here)
24. Bishop Anthony Taylor of Little Rock, AR
25. Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, WI
26. Bishop Paul Coakley of Salina, KS
27. Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio, TX
28. and Bishop Oscar Cantu of San Antonio, TX
29. Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, NE
30. Bishop Alex Sample of Marquette, MI
31. Bishop Victor Galeone of St. Augustine, FL
32. Bishop David Choby of Nashville, TN
33. Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernardino, CA
34. Bishop Peter Sartain of Joliet, IL
35. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, TX
36. Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, IL
37. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Lousville, KY
38. Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, TX
39. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore, MD (PDF)
40. Bishop Joseph Galente of Camden, NJ
41. and Bishop John Smith of Trenton, NJ
42. Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse, WI (PDF)
43. Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, FL
44. Bishop James Johnson of Springfield - Cape Girardeau

Please send me tips at "thomas [at] americanpapist.com". Thank you!

You may also consider respectfully asking your bishop to preach or write about health care if he has not already done so. This is an important issue and we ought to hear what our pastors have to say about it!

[photo credit - CNSNews.com]

Behind in emails, but not forever!

A quick note to AmP readers - the last couple weeks have been unusual in that I have been travelling extensively and excessively busy at my full-time employment.

As a result, I have about 700 emails that I have not had a chance to respond to as of yet. I will get to your email eventually - and even if I do not respond - it will be read.

The vast network of individuals who send me excellent advice, feedback and tips contributes so much to the quality and relevance of AmP reporting, so please don't despair that your emails are going unnoticed or unappreciated.

Please be patient in the meantime. I hope to work through this backlog in the next week or so.

And to those who have dropped me a tip (sometimes a mega-tip) through the AmP Paypal button on the sidebar, my special thanks. I thank God for your generosity and you are in my close prayers.

Obama: On Douglas Kmiec's complete moral meltdown

Prof. Douglas Kmiec of Pepperdine University was the most visible Catholic apologist for Barack Obama in last year's presidential election. During that time, I frequently blogged about my profound disagreement with his pro-Obama advocacy, stemming from a false articulation and exposition of Catholic prudential principles.

After Obama was elected, Dr. Kmiec was awarded the ambassadorship to the Catholic nation of Malta.

Now, in his first interview with the Times of Malta, Dr. Kmiec displays what I can only describe as a complete intellectual meltdown. He describes his first encounter with Mr. Obama:

Even though there were areas of disagreement, Mr Obama pointed out the responsibility of government to provide a family wage, to care for the environment and to provide healthcare for the uninsured.

"When I thought about all these things, I thought 'this is my catechism come to life' because we are called to each of these things in the social teachings of the Church."

It is for that reason, Prof. Kmiec says, that he was convinced he had found a person of intelligence who had articulated a set of views and policies he could easily support.

Come again - the most pro-abortion, pro-same-sex marriage president in history, and Dr. Kmiec sees him as a "catechism come to life"? By that definition, what pro-abortion, pro-same-sex marriage politician is not a catechism come to life? Does Dr. Kmiec have no sense of objective assessment? Do words and actions mean anything to him? Or is someone "pro-life" simply through a subjective self-assessment with no correspondence to reality?

Dr. Kmiec's support of Obama has become more extreme as the evidence to support his views about the President have become more impossible to substantiate. If Dr. Kmiec truly thought this about Mr. Obama when he first met him, why did he withhold such high praise until now?

I would suggest it is because Dr. Kmiec is going for broke. After all, no one takes him seriously now who does not already agree with his unstated first principles (that abortion is a reality we just have to "live with", for instance) - so why not become explicit about how warped is his integration of Catholic moral teaching and prudential instruction?

I mean, what other conclusion can one come to when you read passages like this:

Prof. Kmiec admits that this approach to abortion is not the ideal solution, saying that poverty or not being married is no excuse to take the life of a child. However, he believes one should be realistic about the problem and if the abortion rate could be reduced - and some studies point out that tackling poverty could lead to fewer abortions - "this seems to me a good interim step".

"I prayed on this," he explains, pointing out that Pope John Paul II had said that Catholics must be clear on their stand on abortion but also that people in political life could sometimes do less than they would like to do as long as there were moves towards the protection of life.

"Mr Obama has taken some steps towards this, perhaps not as fast as some would like," he says.

This is delusional. Mr. Obama has "taken steps towards the protection of life ... not as fast as some would like" in Dr. Kmiec's view? In fact, Mr. Obama has taken steps in the opposite direction. And fast.

Consider: Mr. Obama has chosen to fund oversees abortions at US taxpayer expense. He has destroyed President Bush's faith advisory board and populated it with pro-abortion representatives. He has appointed not a single pro-life Catholic or political figure to any position of responsibility in his administration. He continues to lie about the existence of abortion provision in his multiple health care provisions (a fact verified by multiple mainstream news media organizations). He has not lifted a single finger when Democrats in Congress have thwarted repeated attempts by Republicans to exclude the expansion of abortion funding and coverage from these health care plans. He has not put a single conscience clause provision into writing. His Democrat-controlled Congress is poised to pass legislation that will drastically expand the federal funding which Planned Parenthood and other abortion mega-providers will receive annually. He has ended the federal ban on embryonic stem cell research. And these concrete examples are only those which come immediately to mind.

I was at the debate on life issues between Dr. Kmiec and Dr. Robert George at the National Press Club here in Washington DC earlier this summer. At one point, Dr. George asked Dr. Kmiec to name a single pro-life initiative that Dr. Kmiec knew Mr. Obama has proposed or supported. Dr. Kmiec could not. Several months down the road, there is still nothing one can point to. There is even more one can point to as evidence that Mr. Obama is not pro-life or pro-marriage. He has never made any secret of his pro-abortion stance. It is pitiful to defend someone who sees no point in defending himself on these and other issues.

This interview is also pitiful, as are the continued attempts by pro-Obama Catholics who try to argue that Mr. Obama - despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary - is a pro-life politician, or is a good example of a "catechism come to life." But Dr. Kmiec and his friends have learned that the best way to lie, is to repeat the lie.

And so, here we are, with more lies, or at least delusion.

Either way, I hope that sane individuals who have witnessed Kmiec's meltdown are taking note.

Note: H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine - not from aborted embryos

The swine flu (H1N1) is often in the news these days. Catholics can be relieved about this news:

"A pro-life group that monitors vaccinations is pleased to report that the new H1N1 swine flu vaccines the federal government will be distributing next month do not rely on cells from babies killed in abortions. Other vaccinations have been condemned for relying on such cells to formulate the vaccines." (LifeNews)

Personally I believe an argument can be made that recourse to a vaccine that was developed using stem cell lines derived from aborted embryos is permissible according to the principle of remote material cooperation.

That said, it is always better to have access to vaccines which were not developed through such immoral methods.

Notre Dame: Charlie Rice asks President Jenkins to do the "manifestly right thing" for pro-life detainees

I've written before about the plight of those who marched for life on the Notre Dame Campus prior to the commencement address delivered by Barack Obama. I've also written at length about the Notre Dame scandal.

Yesterday Dr. Charles E. Rice - one of the most famous professors at Notre Dame - takes up the cause of the "Notre Dame 88". He writes (ph/t Insight Scoop):

... I understand that Notre Dame students have invited you to participate with them in the March. The problem arises from an aftermath of Commencement. On this I refer back to Chief of Staff Shavers’ response to Professor Freddoso’s request that Notre Dame ask dismissal of the charges against those arrested. Dr. Shavers states that “these protesters were arrested for trespassing and not for expressing their pro-life position.” That is misleading. This is not an ordinary case of trespass to land such as would occur if a commuter walks across your lawn and flower bed as a short-cut to the train station. Notre Dame is ordinarily an open campus. Those 88 persons, 82 of whom are represented by Tom Dixon, ND ’84, ND Law School ’93, were arrested not because they were there, but because of who they were, why they were there and what they were saying. Other persons with pro-Obama signs were there but were not arrested and not disturbed. Serious legal and constitutional questions are involved, arising especially from the symbiotic relationship between the Notre Dame Security Police, who made the arrests, and the County Police. This letter is not a legal brief. Rather I merely note that it is disingenuous for Notre Dame to pretend that this is merely a routine trespass case. (emphasis added)

... Clearly, Notre Dame should do all it can to obtain the dismissal of those criminal charges. This has nothing to do with one’s opinion of the tactics of rescue at abortuaries. It is simply a matter of you, as President, doing the manifestly right thing.

... Your decision to present an official Notre Dame presence at the March could be beneficial, but not in the context of an unrelenting criminalization by Notre Dame of sincere and peaceful friends of Notre Dame whose offense was their desire to pray, on the campus, for the University and all concerned including yourself. If you appear at the March as the continuing criminalizer of those pro-life witnesses, you predictably will earn not approbation but scorn—a scorn which will surely be directed toward Notre Dame as well. As long as you pursue the criminalization of those pro-life witnesses, your newest pro-life statements will be regarded reasonably as a cosmetic covering of the institutional anatomy in the wake of the continuing backlash arising from your conferral of Notre Dame’s highest honor on the most relentlessly pro-abortion public official in the world. (emphasis added)

[for the full text - see Insight Scoop.]

I will be watching carefully how the "Notre Dame 88" are treated by Fr. Jenkins.

Please, Fr. Jenkins, do the manifesty right thing.

Bioethics: "Pregnant mother forced to give up IVF baby after doctors gave her wrong embryo"

A small example of the problems caused by In Vitro Fertilization:

A pregnant mother will have to give birth to another couple's baby after a blunder by an IVF clinic.

Carolyn Savage had the wrong embryos implanted into her and will have to give the boy up to his biological parents as soon as he is born.

... Mrs Savage learned she was pregnant with a boy in February after deciding to try again with the last of her frozen embryos.

They learned about the mix-up after Mr Savage received a phone call at work and returned home to tell his wife.

She said: 'I was upstairs in my bedroom and he came to the door and said "I have some really bad news".

... You're pregnant,' he told her. 'But they transferred the wrong embryo.'

Mrs Savage said she just kept repeating: 'You're joking.'

But when she looked at her husband 'he was as white as a sheet'.

The couple decided not to have an abortion because of their religious beliefs, and have met the other couple and arranged a handover. (UK Daily Mail)

While I am happy to see that they have not chosen abortion, if they practiced according to Catholic "beliefs" they would never have found themselves in this tragic situation.

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/21/09

• Photos: Archbishop Dolan's first communion, and first Mass 
  
• Video: Dog participates in liturgy at Sunday Mass
  

"Oh, so now you want to see shadow puppets, is that it?!"

[Photo: AP Photo]

Photos: Archbishop Dolan's first communion, and first Mass

I understand this is a fanboy thing to do, but I am a big fan of Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan - so here we are!

The Archbishop Timothy Dolan fanpage on Facebook just posted these pictures:

Young Timothy Dolan on the day of his First Communion.

Father Timothy Dolan's first Mass.

Video: Dog participates in liturgy at Sunday Mass

A concerned papist writes:

"The video [shows] one of many liturgical abuses during Sunday Mass, which also included a plug before Mass for Father's favorite dog shampoo (As he set the bottle of shampoo on the altar while continuing to talk about it and then made some in the congregation smell it)."

Here is the video:

The Parish is the Church of the Resurrection (Destin, Florida) in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. The priest can be e-mailed at pastor@rcc-destin.org. Please be charitable if you choose to contact him.

I think it is legitimate to document cases of liturgical abuse and bring them to the attention of the wider Catholic community, so that prompt action can be taken by the local bishop. Scandal has already been done to those who directly witnessed the event, and by making the abuse public, there is a better chance that action will be quickly taken to address the situation internally.

Photo Caption Call - 09/18/09

{Even if you don't have a caption, you can rate your favorite captions (submitted by others) in the comment box.

View the last Photo Caption Call here. Submit new photos for AmP photo caption call to my email!

[Photo: Mike Crupi Photography]

"Pope holds meteorite during visit to Vatican astronomers' headquarters"

Pope Benedict Phone Home:

When Pope Benedict XVI officially inaugurated the Vatican Observatory's new headquarters in Castel Gandolfo, a Jesuit astronomer let the pope hold a meteorite from Mars.

"The pope very much wanted to be involved with our new headquarters," U.S. Jesuit Father George Coyne told Catholic News Service Sept. 17.

Pope Benedict spent the evening of Sept. 16 in the company of papal astronomers who conduct study and research in Castel Gandolfo, outside of Rome, and at another research center in Tucson, Ariz.

His hourlong visit began with "a very beautiful prayer and blessing" for the staff and official inauguration of their new headquarters, said Father Coyne, the former director of the Vatican Observatory. (CNS)

Sounds like a stellar time.

"Teen Birth Rates Higher in Highly Religious States"

I love science. Especially science about sex. It leads to such interesting conclusions.

U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.

The relationship could be due to the fact that communities with such religious beliefs (a literal interpretation of the Bible, for instance) may frown upon contraception, researchers say. If that same culture isn't successfully discouraging teen sex, the pregnancy and birth rates rise. (Live Science)

Now, I have a different interpretation. I would tend to think that religious individuals are less likely to choose abortion once pregnant. And that is why the teen birth rates are higher among religious individuals - because those babies aren't being killed in the womb.

The actual study, of course, "don't say anything about cause and effect", but that doesn't stop the scientists from forming their own conclusions:

"We conjecture that religious communities in the U.S. are more successful in discouraging the use of contraception among their teenagers than they are in discouraging sexual intercourse itself."

How odd because - again - I would conjecture that religious communities in the U.S. are more successful in discouraging the choice to abort a child once he or she has been conceived.

Am I biased? Probably. Are the scientists biased? Probably.

But the difference is that the scientists look at this issue through the lens of contraception, and I look at it through the lens of abortion. Maybe we can find common ground in admitting that both can be a factor.

Oh, and that teens having abortions is far worse than teens becoming pregnant.

And that the Church proposes very effective solutions to both problems. If anyone will listen.

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/17/09

• Event: I'm at the Values Voter Summit now
• Politics: Dear Mr. President, go to Church. 
• Updated - A Note from Fr. John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame 

Pope Benedict searches for his ego.

[Photo: Reuters]

I'm at the Values Voter Summit now

I'll be at the 2009 Values Voter Summit today through Saturday.

From Wikipedia:

Every fall, FRC Action (the political arm of FRC) holds an annual summit composed of hundreds of conservative Christian activists and evangelical voters in Washington, D.C. In the past, the summit has been a place for social conservatives across the nation to hear presidential hopefuls pitch what they value, and also a means of providing an early prediction of which candidate will win the favor of Christian conservatives.

If I get a chance, I'll be twittering updates from the floor.

Dear Mr. President, go to Church.

I thought this was a fascinating read. Of course the mainstream media hasn't noticed the fact that Mr. Obama is too busy these days to attend weekly Christian services - I'm sure many of them could relate:

Dear Mr. President,

Remember all the analysis immediately after your election this past November regarding where you and your family would attend church? Newspapers and websites were filled with stories about where you would go, and numerous congregations in Washington invited you, your wife, and children to attend their Sunday morning services. Although Americans have usually displayed substantial interest in where their presidents attended church while in office, never before had there been such fascination with this issue before a president was inaugurated. At present, this focus seems ironic because you and your family have attended church in Washington only once—on Easter Sunday—since you took office (although you have attended a few services at Camp David).

... One excellent way to demonstrate your Christian commitment, which some Americans question, and provide spiritual nurture for yourself and for your family, is to attend church consistently. - Dr. Gary Scott Smith

{Updated:} A Note from Fr. John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame

Posted for informational purposes (thanks to the readers who forwarded this to me).

Dear Members of the Notre Dame Family,

Coming out of the vigorous discussions surrounding President Obama’s visit last Spring, I said we would look for ways to engage the Notre Dame community with the issues raised in a prayerful and meaningful way. As our nation continues to struggle with the morality and legality of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and related issues, we must seek steps to witness to the sanctity of life. I write to you today about some initiatives that we are undertaking.

Each year on January 22, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, the March for Life is held in Washington D.C. to call on the nation to defend the right to life. I plan to participate in that march. I invite other members of the Notre Dame Family to join me and I hope we can gather for a Mass for Life at that event. We will announce details as that date approaches.

On campus, I have recently formed the Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life. It will be co-chaired by Professor Margaret Brinig, the Fritz Duda Family Chair in Law and Associate Dean for the Law School, and by Professor John Cavadini, the Chair of the Department of Theology and the McGrath-Cavadini Director of the Institute for Church Life. My charge to the Task Force is to consider and recommend to me ways in which the University, informed by Catholic teaching, can support the sanctity of life. Possibilities the Task Force has begun to discuss include fostering serious and specific discussion about a reasonable conscience clause; the most effective ways to support pregnant women, especially the most vulnerable; and the best policies for facilitating adoptions. Such initiatives are in addition to the dedication, hard work and leadership shown by so many in the Notre Dame Family, both on the campus and beyond, and the Task Force may also be able to recommend ways we can support some of this work.

I also call to your attention the heroic and effective work of centers that provide care and support for women with unintended pregnancies. The Women’s Care Center, the nation’s largest Catholic-based pregnancy resource center, on whose Foundation Board I serve, is run by a Notre Dame graduate, Ann Murphy Manion (’77). The center has proven successful in offering professional, non-judgmental concern to women with unintended pregnancies, helping those women through their pregnancy and supporting them after the birth of their child. The Women’s Care Center and similar centers in other cities deserve the support of Notre Dame clubs and individuals.

Our Commencement last Spring generated passionate discussion and also caused some divisions in the Notre Dame community. Regardless of what you think about that event, I hope that we can overcome divisions to foster constructive dialogue and work together for a cause that is at the heart of Notre Dame’s mission. We will keep you informed of our work, and we ask for your support, assistance and prayers. May Our Lady, Notre Dame, watch over our efforts.

Update - The Cardinal Newman Society (the organization which gathered over 350,000 signatures protesting Obama's commencement honors), has released a statement which includes four more steps Notre Dame should take if Fr. Jenkins is serious about upholding the University's mission.

Rick Garnett, a professor at Notre Dame, also writes his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Ed Morrissey, a Catholic contributor to the widely-read conservative blog Hot Air writes about the ongoing paradox of Fr. Jenkins intending to attend the March for Life soon, while continuing to prosecute those who marched for life on the campus of Notre Dame:

Jenkins himself will participate in a massive protest against abortion. Will he do so while prosecuting the woman at the center of the court case that has lent years to the pro-life cause to undo the damage of Roe, merely for the offense of having embarrassed Jenkins during Obama’s appearance? Does Notre Dame, a Catholic institution, really want to press criminal charges against fellow pro-lifers who did nothing on their campus except hold signs and pray the Rosary?

Jenkins should drop the charges and end what seems to be a personal grudge against these activists. Until he does, he risks being a modern-day Pharisee, hiding behind trespassing statutes to gain retribution against those who publicly disagreed with Jenkins about his invitation to Obama. We’ll pray that Jenkins makes the right decision.

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/16/09

A pilgrim visually expresses his support for Pope Saint Pius V.

[Photo: Reuters]

Important: As Acorn gets Axed, it's time to toss CCHD in the fire too

ACORN, the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now, is in the news a lot these days (and much more now that the mainstream media outside of Fox News has decided they can't ignore the story anymore).

Most recently, the Senate chose to de-fund 169 million dollars earmarked for ACORN by a vote of 83-7 (I'd like to see the seven names that still supported this corrupt organization).

ACORN has long been in the inside track of democrat community activism, and until recently was even going to play a role in the 2010 census - a process which is often used for political expediency by activist organizations like ACORN, whose employees have already been convicted multiple times for registering dead people and cartoon characters to vote in elections. Seriously.

Back in October and November (twice) of last year I did a series of posts pointing out that our own Catholic Campaign for Human Development (which operates out of the US Bishops' office) funnelled Catholic contributions to ACORN.

That's right, money given by Catholics in the pew has been going to an organization that was caught on film telling pimps in New York City how to hide money from loan sharks by burying it in the backyard before they go apply for a government mortgage for their home under an assumed name. Seriously.

From everything I've heard and read so far, CCHD is just bad news. The fact that it funded ACORN for so many years (and continues to fund highly-questionable organizations) simply proves the leadership of CCHD is completely at-odds with responsible Catholic social activity.

Mary Ann Kreitzer has an extended article on CCHD's misdeeds published at Spero News. She also writes about "thirteen news stories designed to tear back the curtain on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), or as I call it, Catholic Cash Helping Democrats."

Papists, money is tight these days. With our government (finally) de-funding the state-sponsored corruption at ACORN, we Catholics need to de-fund the Catholic-sponsored corruption at the CCHD.

What can we do?

Every year around Thanksgiving time there is a second collection taken for CCHD at Masses in the United States. Here's what I'd like to do:

1. In the next weeks I will search for the dioceses that have chosen to opt out of this second collection for CCHD (you can help me by emailing me if you know this has happened).
2. I'd will publish these dioceses here on AmP, and keep the list updated.
3. Then, I'd encourage you to (respectfully) write your bishop (if his diocese is not on the list) and ask that he also instruct his parishes to opt out of this second collection.
4. Put that extra money you would have given to CCHD in the collection basket of your own parish, where it will do some actual good.

If an organization has proven to be a bad steward, the Lord will find new stewards. We can help.

update - not to get distracted, but an AmP reader writes in:

Of the 7 senators who voted against pulling funding from ACORN:
- 1 is Baptist
- 1 is Episcopalian
- 1 is Jewish
- 4 are Roman Catholic

Wonderful.

Cool: XMarks ranks AmP as the top catholic blog!

An AmP reader writes:

"AMP is ranked as #1 in the category "Catholic Blogs" on XMarks.com, an intuitive web site based on people's bookmarks and how often sites are mentioned on other web sites such as "Twitter" and blogs. It also uses other variables for ranking sites."

I'm happy to see AmP doing well in this metric. Without getting into which Catholic blog is "best" (AmP certainly isn't the most popular Catholic blog), I'm happy to see the top 10 list populated completely with Catholic blogs I consider to be deserving of the high placement.

I also like that this XMarks website takes account of the very active parallel AmP communities on Facebook (almost 2,500 folks) and Twitter (almost 2,000 followers).

I recently asked the AmP Facebook community how often they visit the "physical" AmP blog and was surprised to find out that most of them access and interact with AmP stories only within the Facebook website. AmP Twitter followers are also more likely to keep up on my news beat primarily on their cell phones and blackberries.

Which is all fine by me, because it's the "message", not the medium, that is ultimately important.

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/15/09

• Stupid: People who don't support Obama are racists, liberal Catholic claims
• Politics: What is the USCCB doing on Health Care?
• Action: Catholic Church steps up defense of traditional marriage in Maine
• Recap: What I'm reading today in Catholic issues and Politics
• Report: AmP pictured, called, and written-up

Sometimes you have to tape over your son's little league game.

[Photo: Reuters]

People who don't support Obama are racists, liberal Catholic claims

I've discovered the application of Godwin's law which is most applicable to pro-Obama Catholics. It goes like this:

"As it becomes more difficult to defend Obama, the probability of a charge of racism approaches."

In all seriousness, Michael Sean Winters - a liberal Catholic who supported Obama during his presidency and continues to do so - actually wrote this in American Magazine about those who came to Washington DC for an anti-tax rally:

"It is becoming well nigh impossible to deny the racist overtones of these protests."

What, may you ask, is the strongest argument for this astounding claim?

"Many of the virtually all-white crowd on Saturday yearned for an earlier time with less government involvement in society."

You read that correctly: the fact that this crowd was predominantly caucasian (by Winters' account), proves that it must be racist. By Winters' logic, the United States Senate must be "racist" - it is "virtually all-white", after all.

Winters goes on:

"But, that earlier time [of less government involvement in society] recalls, for many of us, the memory of states’ rights being enforced through dogs and water cannons."

So let's parse this argument:

1. When there was less government involvement in society in America, there was also racial segregation
2. The anti-tax marchers want less government involvement in society (specifically, over-taxation and regulation)
3. ... the anti-tax marchers want a return to racial segregation.

That is Winters' argument, in three easy steps.

As I tweeted immediately upon being forwarded and reading Winters piece, "Liberal Catholics would do well to practice some fraternal correction." Let me explain:

Liberal Catholics will go ballistic when a conservative Catholic writer makes an absurd argument, and demand that fellow conservatives disown the maverick's argument. Because, on the whole, we strive to be reasonable and agreeable people, we typically do so. We can call one of our own out of bounds without feeling we've eroded our common arguments. We can call crazy "crazy" because we try to avoid it. Winters seems to be reduced to just writing crazy.

Well, in similar fashion, I'd like to see some "liberal" Catholic writers take Winters to the woodshed for this one. People who don't like Obama don't like him because they are racist - really?! Is anyone typically sympathetic to Winters prepared to defend this claim of his? There are many more people in America who did not attend this march who are sympathetic to the concerns of those who did attend. Are all of them equally guilty of the racism Winters ascribes?

I'll be waiting for such logical reflection on these claims Winters has injected into the debate.

But frankly, until Winters himself retracts this stupidity, I'll feel free to disregard him completely.

After all, I shouldn't give my time to someone who writes for a racist magazine like America.

I mean, just look at the complexion of that magazine's editors.

[photo - boston college]

What is the USCCB doing on Health Care?

Russell Shaw tries to figure out their strategy - if they have one:

Does the bishops' conference know something about health care and abortion that the rest of us don't? Otherwise it's difficult to say what to make of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' response to President Obama's speech to Congress last week. Even as the rest of the prolife community was continuing its criticism of abortion coverage in the plan, USCCB issued a news release welcoming Obama's claim that publicly funded abortion won't be part of it.

... It's hard to say exactly what that means, but it could mean the bishops won't fight very hard to keep abortion out of the health care plan provided it includes some sort of conscience clause they can live with. It may also mean that the bishops have received private assurances from the White House that if they play ball on health care, that's what they'll get. If this is what's going on, however, it's a risky game at best.

My advice: get your concession in writing.

Because, by my count, the promises made by Obama, his campaign and his administration to Catholics have been fulfilled precisely zero times. Conscience clauses? Abortion reduction? Supporting traditional marriage?

Name me one example.

update: Deal Hudson agrees that the USCCB is taking a "huge risk" here.

Catholic Church steps up defense of traditional marriage in Maine

Bishop Richard Malone, head of the only diocese in Maine, has placed the resources of local Catholics behind the efforts of Stand for Marriage Maine. We should too.

Maine is yet another example of government officials or judges forcing same-sex marriage on a state. Stand for Marriage Maine is simply attempting to give the people of Maine a chance to vote on an issue that will effect them intimately.

Same-sex marriage proponents intend to use the individual example of states (like Maine) to eventually make same-sex marriage legal nationally (they make no secret about this strategy of theirs).

Well, we can prevent this happening if we appeal to the average American - who still supports traditional marriage - instead of leaving this in the activist hands of courts and government officials.

Hop on over to http://standformarriagemaine.com/ and they have ways you can support their efforts to preserve traditional marriage. There's an action item for most everyone who feels passionate about this issue.

What I'm reading today in Catholic issues and Politics

Dan Gilgoff's USNEWS & World Report blog is a great place to keep up on news relating to religion and US politics, as I've written before.

There's a little kerfuffle today about Kathleen Sebelius appearing on ABC's This Week over the weekend and repeating Obama's promises about abortion funding not being in his health care reform.

Quick take: nothing to see here. The status quo hasn't changed - the current health care reform will fund abortion.

Gilgoff also has an interview with the most conservative member of Obama's faith council, who won't even rule out resigning because he feels he's so ineffective there.

(As an aside, Americans United for Life president Charmaine Yoest is being honored with a meeting attended by "Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes and White House Director for Public Liaison Tina Tchen, both of whom are strong abortion advocates" - strong abortion advocates, you know, like everyone in Obama's administration.)

At the end of this week I'll be attending the annual Values Voter summit, which Gilgoff describes this way:

Sure, the 2012 election is still a ways off, but the Christian right is about to begin flexing its muscle in the race, with a presidential straw poll scheduled for next week's big Values Voter Summit.

Spearheaded by Family Research Council Action, the summit has become the key annual get-together for conservative Christian activists. After splintering among a handful of candidates in the 2008 Republican primaries, from Mike Huckabee to Mitt Romney to Rudy Giuliani (that's right—Pat Robertson endorsed him) , some Christian right leaders are eager to consolidate movement support behind a single candidate in 2012.

Dan also has a poll for his readers, asking them which candidate they would support.

There is some chance that former congressman (Catholic) Rick Santorum will run for President in 2012.

AmP pictured, called, and written-up

Last Thursday and Friday I was attending (and presenting at) the 12 annual Catholic Leadership Conference in Orlando. It was extremely fruitful.

Highlights include meeting Fr. Dwight Longenecker of the excellent, excellent blog Standing on My Head (new assignment: read everything Fr. Longenecker has written, beginning with his poetry). Fr. Dwight managed to snap a rare foto of AmP. I was also graced with meeting Deacon Keith Fournier, whom I have often quoted on these pages.

I think my presentation on "Catholic Blogging: Finding Common Ground Online" (which I co-presented with Josh Mercer, the communications director for CatholicVote.org) was well received. Deal Hudson live-blogged some of the main points I made in it.

I also appeared for an hour on the Drew Mariani Show, calling-in to his end-of-the-week round table with Jeff Gardner, CEO of Catholic Radio International, on a wide variety of subjects, and taking calls too. You can listen to the show on the Relevant Radio website here (or download it as an MP3 here).

More important things happening this week - updates to follow!

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/13/09

And you thought the music at your Mass was annoying.

[Photo: Reuters]

In Orlando today and tomorrow

As I mentioned last week, I'll be in Orlando today and tomorrow attending the 12th Annual Catholic Leadership Conference. Tomorrow I'll be part of a panel discussion on "Catholic Blogging: Finding Common Ground Online" with Josh Mercer of CatholicVote.org.

I look forward to reporting on the event, and (if you are in attendence) - meeting you!

Urgent: Support the Foundation for Sacred Arts!

My good friend Erik Bootsma, graduate of the Notre Dame School of Architecture (and the artist behind the design for American Papist Apparel), sent me this impassioned plea for financial assistance.

I know many members of this organization and would love to see AmP readers get behind their important mission and work. Please read, contribute, and spread the word:

"The Foundation for Sacred Arts is dedicated to a new renaissance in Catholic arts: Painting, Sculpture, Music, Architecture, etc.

The Foundation sponsors speakers, academic forums, arts competitions and exhibitions of contemporary artists who best exemplify artistic excellence with an emphasis on the continuity of artistic tradition. We already have a number of speakers and programs coming up next year and beyond.

The Foundation is, however, desperately in need of financial support to keep its office open and to continue its work of building a solid groundwork for new programs needed to help foster a truly Catholic and beautiful culture of art in the Church today.

Right now the Foundation is actively searching for seed money to jump-start this new programming, while also requiring financial support to maintain current operations.

Every penny is precious right now so small donations are just as welcome as large ones. We hope to eventually raise $100,000 through a combination of individual donations and larger grants."

I think the main challenge facing the Foundation at this point is that they are unknown. Living as Catholics in 21st century America, I think we are all keenly aware of the urgent need to support young Catholic artists who are inspired to create beautiful art in the Catholic tradition.

Beautiful works of art, after all, inspire us to see the beauty of God's creation and the dignity of his creation Man. Good art is fitting praise for the all-good God. And we shouldn't have to look for good Catholic art only in museums and art history books.

Erik recently wrote an excellent article for the Catholic News Agency entitled "Novelty vs. Beauty":

When I tell Catholics I meet that I’m an architect, invariably they ask me, “Why doesn’t the church I attend look like a church? Why don’t they build nice churches like the old ones we love?” Sometimes I come up with a complicated answer or theory, but most of the time I answer, “architects.”

In the United States, we have a fairly good tradition of building beautiful churches in which one can feel a true sense of reverence. One would be hard pressed to find a church built before World War II that wasn’t beautiful and beloved by its parishioners. It would be an even more difficult task to find such a church built after the World War that comes close to the beauty found in an average 1920s church and a Herculean task to find one built since the 1960s.

How is it that even within the Catholic Church, where we affirm and believe in the importance of tradition, that a deep and profound architectural heritage came to be abandoned? Again the answer is that architects, like so many other artists, have become obsessed with the idea of novelty. Most artists have been trained to believe by their mentors in 20th century art culture that only novel or “revolutionary” creations are worthy of being called art.

[Read the full article here.]

Another important factor in the sad situation that Erik describes is, well, money. Catholics must actively help good artists do their work. We've probably all complained at some point about bad Catholic art. Well, I've moved past grumbling and now I want to fix it. And the Foundation for Sacred Arts is well-equipped to do just that, with your assistance and mine.

If you cannot contribute to the Foundation directly, please help spread the word by emailing your friends, blogging about this, and telling your friends about them on Facebook and Twitter. All donations are tax-deductible, so that's an incentive, too.

If you want to contact Erik directly for interviews or publicity, you can do so at "erikbootsma [at] gmail.com."

So the next time you walk into a beautiful or ugly Catholic church, think for a moment about who was responsible for building it. Then, if you want to see more beautiful Churches, or less ugly ones, drop a few dollars in the Foundation's basket. I will.

Augustine wrote that he who sings, prays twice. Well, he who helps those who helps others pray ... well, it works out pretty good for them, too! I know I can count on you papists.

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/09/09

AmP topics:

• Important: Pro-Environmentalist and Pro-Contraception forces finally join hands
• Announcement: AmP coming to Colorado in October!
• Papist Quote of the Day: National Catholic Reporter
  
• Irony: Notre Dame ralies alumni to "Fight for the lives of Children"
  
• Open thread: "On Satisfying the Requirements for a Catholic Funeral"

Season ticket holders get the best seats for Papal Masses.

[Photo: Reuters]

Pro-Environmentalist and Pro-Contraception forces finally join hands

For some time I've been waiting for this to happen. Here's why: the radical environmentalist movement is fundamentally an anti-humanist movement, because it blames human activity for environmental problems facing the world, and sees the good of the "earth" as trumping the good of human existence and flourishing.

So what's their solution to human-caused problems, especially when they are unavoidable? 

Simple: reduce the number of humans.

Once you understand that conclusion, headlines and articles like this UK Telegraph one make perfect (perverted) sense:

'Contraception cheapest way to combat climate change'

Contraception is almost five times cheaper as a means of preventing climate change than conventional green technologies, according to research by the London School of Economics.

Every £4 spent on family planning over the next four decades would reduce global CO2 emissions by more than a ton, whereas a minimum of £19 would have to be spent on low-carbon technologies to achieve the same result, the research says.

The report, Fewer Emitter, Lower Emissions, Less Cost, concludes that family planning should be seen as one of the primary methods of emissions reduction. The UN estimates that 40 per cent of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended.

... UN data suggests that meeting unmet need for family planning would reduce unintended births by 72 per cent, reducing projected world population in 2050 by half a billion to 8.64 [b]illion.

Did you catch that? 500,000,000 less people. And some individuals think this is a good thing! Even though it's well proven that there are plenty of resources to feed such a population.

This is the brave new world envisioned by these radical pro-environmentalist figures: a depopulated world in the future, and a lifestyle of illogical limitation for those already living.

This is an ideology we Christians, as a people of hope and trust in God, must defeat.

AmP coming to Colorado in October!

At the invitation of the Archdiocese of Denver Youth and Young Adult Ministry, I'll be presenting a Theology on Tap talk for them on the topic "Catholic Principles of Health Care Reform" on October 9th. I'll also be appearing in Fort Collins on October 8th.

Here is the flyer:

Other speakers in the Fall Series include Fr. Thomas Loya, Mark Shea, and Dr. Christian Brugger.

So mark your calendars and bring your Catechisms! See you in CO!

Papist Quote of the Day: National Catholic Reporter

From arch-dissenter Father (he doesn't like using the title) Richard McBrien in arch-liberal publication National Catholic (they shouldn't get to use the title) Reporter:

"Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward." (source)

Yes, I'm sure Jesus doesn't want us worshipping His substantial presence (sarcasm).

Seriously, remind me why the Catholic News Service Twitter (the official news agency of the US Catholic Bishops) continually publicizes National Catholic Reporter articles?!

Here's my quote of the day:

"Supporting NCR, perpetually or not, is a doctrinal, theological and spiritual step backward, not forward."

Irony: Notre Dame ralies alumni to "Fight for the lives of Children"

The kick-off for Notre Dame University's Fall fundraising campaign (here's why it's ironic):

The first in this year’s series of “What Are You Fighting For?” ads aired last Saturday during the Notre Dame vs. Nevada game. This installment featured Dr. Kasturi Haldar, Notre Dame biology professor and chair of the Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases.

Among the afflictions that Prof. Haldar works to cure, is Niemann-Pick Type C. Though this disease even sounds obscure, it is very real to Mike and Cindy Parseghian. Three of their four children were born with, and eventually died from, this syndrome. Prof. Haldar hopes that her research will lead to new treatments and cures, so that a rare disease diagnosis, like Niemann-Pick, is no longer a death sentence.

Fighting for the lives of children; it's one more battle our faculty and students couldn't wage without your support. Thank you.

You can watch this ad on our site: http://video.nd.edu/204-fighting-for-the-lives-of-children. I hope you enjoy it.

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for fighting for the lives of children.

I just want to see us fighting for the lives of *all* children.

And opposing those who continue to put millions of them in harms way.

"On Satisfying the Requirements for a Catholic Funeral"

Several folks have asked that I post this commentary by Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro Carámbula, Doctor of Dogmatic Theology and head of the Rome office of Human Life International.

It is in regards to the Catholic funeral that Ted Kennedy received in Boston.

My father, Canon Lawyer Ed Peters - no defender of Mr. Kennedy's public record and example - disagrees with Msgr. Ignacio. 

update: My father doubles-down and *really* disagrees with Msgr. Ignacio.

Photo Caption Call - 09/08/09

(I've bumped this post farther up so more folks can enter a caption!)

{Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Barcelona, Spain}

Even if you don't have a caption, you can rate your favorite captions (submitted by others) in the comment box.

View the last Photo Caption Call here. Submit new photos for AmP photo caption call to my email!

[Photo: Unicorns Are Magical]

Orthodoxy FAIL: "A Catholic View Of Gay Marriage"

A letter to the Washington Post editor from Mark Clark, a member of the board of "Dignity USA, a national organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics and their families and supporters":

"A Catholic View of Gay Marriage"

As one of the 580,000 Catholics in the Washington Archdiocese, I object to the suggestion by Ronald Jackson, executive director of the D.C. Catholic Conference ["Wuerl Ups Opposition to Gay Marriage," Metro, Sept. 2] that we are all bigots.

Many Catholics support the right of all people to marry, whether to a person of the opposite sex or to a person of the same sex.

Church authorities should stick to the governance of religious wedding ceremonies and leave to civil authorities the responsibility of granting marriage licenses, a responsibility that should be exercised without discrimination.

Calling faithful Catholics "bigots"? Check. False "Church is a democracy" assertion? Check. "Church shouldn't speak out on moral issues" fallacy? Check.

That's one heckuva letter to the editor.

Baltimore Catholic Schools opting in to Obama schoolchildren address

Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore are opting in to Obama's speech intended for public school children, but Archbishop O'Brien is also respecting the decision of some parents to have their kids skip the President's video presentation. This from Abp. O'Brien:

Since news of the address was first reported, the Catholic Center and several Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have been contacted by parents, teachers and others expressing a desire that parents be given the opportunity to request that their children be excused from viewing the address.

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, acknowledges the historic significance of the President’s speech and is fully supportive of the educational messages the White House says the President will deliver. However, he agrees that parents should ultimately have the right to choose whether their child views the address and will ask Catholic schools in the Archdiocese to communicate this to parents.

“We respect the rights of our parents to decide what’s best for their children in this matter and our schools will be asked to make arrangements for children not watching the program in an alternate venue in order to offer an opportunity for discussion about the role and responsibilities of the presidency and the value of education,” the Archbishop said.

Is your Catholic school signing-up to watch Obama's speech? Are you opting your children out of the presentation?

Related: "When Bush spoke to students, Democrats investigated, held hearings"

My thoughts on the Van Jones "green jobs czar" resignation

I've posted them over at the American Principles Project blog.

As I wrote in my APP post, I think Mr. Obama's science czar, John Holdren, is the next official appointed by Mr. Obama whose previous statements and record require serious public examination and discussion.

It's pretty clear to me that Van Jones is crazy, but John Holdren is just. plain. scary.

Liturgical No-No: Puppets in Mass

From last week's parish bulletin at St. Agatha's in Milton, MA:

They are quite serious about puppets at St. Agatha's. They have a "Puppet Ministry History" page on their website and a chance to "meet the cast" (my favorite is Clyde, a "Male camel who thinks he is self-important and superior to the other animals" - like all males, I guess).

The organizers say they are only performing at the 9AM Mass because they "feel it is the best place to begin." Actually, Mass is the worst place to begin. Puppets have no place in the divine liturgy.

They say they are going to "pray, and let God lead us where He wants us to go."

I think he wants you to get out of Mass. That's a good place to begin.

Tip: Save babies every time you use a Credit Card!

This is really cool. Crossroads Pro-Life now has a credit card you can use which will donate 1% of every one of your purchases to their cause. The first time you swipe it, Crossroads Pro-Life gets $25!

It's the only pro-life credit card out there.

(And if you want to change the image on the front of the card to something you want instead - you can!)

So spread the word, and if you want a pro-life cause supported by your purchases - get this one.

Detroit archdiocese losing $42k a day, lays off 1/3 of staff

Long-overdue budget cuts for the Catholic Church in motor city:

The Archdiocese of Detroit announced major cuts today, slashing its central staff by 29% because of a $14.5-million operating deficit, a spokesman said.

It will reduce its central staff from 264 to 187, one of the biggest reductions in years, said Joe Kohn, an official with the archdiocese. And it plans to sell the Gabriel Richard building on Michigan Avenue in downtown Detroit, one of its main offices.

The archdiocese oversees 1.4 million Catholics in metro Detroit, the largest religious denomination in the region. But the slumping economy has taken its toll on the church's financial and property investments. And tithing is down between 5% and 10%, compared to previous years.

In a meeting today at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in downtown Detroit, Archbishop Allen Vigneron announced the changes. (Detroit Free Press)

Also on the chopping block: the Michigan Catholic, which will no longer receive a subsidy from the archdiocese.

Please pray for the Catholic Church in Detroit. I have many ties there.

In St. Louis Today & Tomorrow

I'm in the Gateway City today, visiting my family, some of whom have convinced me to attend a Mizzou football game with them.

It's a very short visit so I won't be able to organize any meet-up of STL American Papists .... this time. But I do know I'll be back someday!

Ben & Jerry introduces gay ice cream

This is not a parody:

From the Ben & Jerry's website:

In partnership with Freedom to Marry we are gathered here to celebrate Vermont and all the other great states where loving couples of all kinds are free to marry legally. We have ceremoniously dubbed our iconic flavor, Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby in support, and to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality. Check out our press release.

Talk about setting out on a rocky road....

So long, Ben & Jerry's, I'm going to miss Half-Baked. Hopefully Haagen-Dazs wants more business.

Ph/t: Catholic Femina.

Video: Catholic Schoolchildren taught to "pledge allegiance to the earth and all Her sacred hearts"

Amy Proctor:

The cult of enviornmentalism is being preached at St. Mary’s Resurrection Elementary School in New Jersey. In this Fox Report below, you’ll see Catholic school children start their day by pledging “allegiance to the earth and all Her sacred hearts”, an allusion to the Sacred Heart of Mary and Jesus. You’ll also hear them sing their song, “Whose the greatest mom of all? Earth Mama!”

If I were a parent, I'd want a refund.

MSM shocked that Catholics see connection between prayer, sex

Just because its off-beat news day:

Roman Catholic couples are being encouraged to pray together before they have sex.

A book published by a prominent Church group invites those setting out on married life to recite the specially-composed Prayer Before Making Love.

It is aimed at 'purifying their intentions' so that the act is not about selfishness or hedonism.

The prayer, which appears in the Prayer Book for Spouses, implores God 'to place within us love that truly gives, tenderness that truly unites, self-offering that tells the truth and does not deceive, forgiveness that truly receives, loving physical union that welcomes'.

It adds: 'Open our hearts to you, to each other and to the goodness of your will.

'Cover our poverty in the richness of your mercy and forgiveness. Clothe us in true dignity and take to yourself our shared aspirations, for your glory, for ever and ever.' - UK Daily Mail

Tsk-tsk, those Catholics and their unhealthy views about sex.

Friday off-beat: Lego my Cathedral!

I really look forward to AmP's friday offbeat news day.... I get to post stuff like this:


In Minnesota, "LEGO ambassador Roy Cook sizes up the dome of his LEGO Cathedral that he completed recently in the Ryan Room of the Cathedral of St. Paul." (The Catholic Spirit)

They even have a lego kit to create a mini Cathedral of St. Paul.

And afterwards, you can have a lick of "Immaculate Con­fection, a new Sebastian Joe’s ice cream flavor dedicated to the Basilica of St. Mary." I'm for serious.

Top 10 Recent AmP Topics

The most important stuff on AmP right now:

• Rewarded: Doug Kmiec gets his send-off to Malta
• Hypocrite: Fr. Jenkins still showing no mercy to Notre Dame protesters
• Controversy: Cardinal O'Malley defends participation in Kennedy funeral
• Text: Letter from US Legion Territorial Directors to members
• Event: I'll be in Orlando for the Catholic Leadership Conference from Sep. 10th-11th
  
• List: *25* Bishops against Obamacare
• Open topic: Bishop Joseph Martino resigns
• Prayer: Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for September
• Politics: Obama using faith-based office to politicize religion
  
• Video: The most awesome Ordination video you'll ever see
  

Rewarded: Doug Kmiec gets his send-off to Malta

Douglas Kmiec, Obama's most devoted Catholic defender, was sworn-in yesterday as Obama's new ambassador to the Catholic country of Malta, and Dan Gilgoff was there.

As Gilgoff says, "The Obama administration's faith outreach operation can make for some pretty bizarre scenes."

It also provides an opportunity for Kmiec to utter some pretty bizarre lines, like this one: "We live at a time when even at some great universities, a spirit of narrow-mindedness sets in over a spirit of inquiry."

In this case, the "spirit of inquiry" that inspired Mr. Kmiec to support Barack Obama for President, has - lest we forget - resulted in not a single discernible step towards building a culture of life in this country, despite all of Mr. Kmiec's promises that Obama would do this. 

Instead, Obama has subsidized foreign abortions with our tax money, is attempting to "mainstream" abortion funding in his health care plans, will allow hundreds of millions of dollars to go to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, and has not introduced any sort of conscience protection for Catholic health care providers and doctors. And that's just a sample. I'm not even talking about euthanasia and same-sex marriage, also core issues of Catholic concern.

Of course, pointing out these sorts of facts does not get you an ambassadorship to Malta.

I'm just too "narrow-minded" to deserve that, I guess.

Hypocrite: Fr. Jenkins still showing no mercy to Notre Dame protesters

Ever notice how people who talk about "tolerance" and "understanding" when they feel persecuted show precious little of either when it's their turn in power?

That's exactly what Fr. Jenkins is doing now. 

After being roundly criticized by bishops and faithful alike for inviting Barack Obama to give the commencement address at Notre Dame earlier this year, Fr. Jenkins is now doing precisely nothing to help the plight of over 88 peaceful pro-life protesters who were arrested on Notre Dame's campus in the weeks leading up to Obama's arrival (I blogged about their situation back in June).

Thomas Brejcha, a Notre Dame alum and president of the Thomas More Pro-Life Law Center has penned an open letter to Fr. Jenkins:

I’m writing you, as president of Notre Dame, my alma mater, with an urgent plea that you drop the criminal trespass charges that have been pending against the many defendants – most of whom are faithful, fervent pro-life Catholics – who “dared” to venture onto Notre Dame’s campus last Spring, 2009, to bear peaceful, prayerful witness to the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death. 

... All were arrested, handcuffed, and hauled off to jail where they spent the night and sometimes longer in custody.

Surely that protracted detention and the humbling impact of a public arrest on trying to enter the campus of America’s premier Catholic university was enough of a penalty to offset whatever “injury” or “insult” these good people inflicted on Notre Dame’s property rights.

So, it was shocking to hear that the charges were not quickly dropped, and an even worse surprise to hear that these good Catholics had to return to South Bend to enter their pleas of “not guilty” and then again to demand jury trials.

When the St. Joseph County prosecutor backed off the latter demand, we were yet more deeply aggrieved on hearing, Fr. Jenkins, that you had responded to a request that the charges be dropped by claiming that “it is out of [your] hands.”

With respect, Father, the future of these cases – if they must go on – is squarely in your hands. Notre Dame is the complainant. Its security personnel directed and/or conducted the arrests, pointing out those who would be arrested (pro-lifers) and those who would not (those carrying pro-Obama signs and/or taunting the pro-lifers).

Participation of Notre Dame witnesses will be essential if these 88 cases – all of which are to be scheduled for jury trials – actually go forward. Some defenses that already have been raised by initial trial counsel – e.g., Catholics’ access to the Sacred Heart Basilica on campus – also would require Notre Dame witnesses’ involvement in the trials.

So much for tolerance, forgiveness and finding common ground.

Fr. Jenkins ought to be ashamed.

Controversy: Cardinal O'Malley defends participation in Kennedy funeral

This is going to ruffle feathers. 

The cardinal's blog (mirrored here) is down right now, probably swamped in traffic {update - appears to be working now}.

Michael Paulson at the Boston Globe:

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley last night issued a forceful defense of his decision to participate in the funeral of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, an appearance that has drawn sharp criticism from some conservative Catholics because of Kennedy’s ardent support for abortion rights.

O’Malley, writing in his blog, also revealed the substance of a conversation he had with President Obama near the altar of the Mission Church as the congregation assembled for Saturday’s funeral. He said he told Obama that the Catholic bishops are “anxious to support a plan for universal health care, but we will not support a plan that will include a provision for abortion or could open the way to abortions in the future.’’

But the most impassioned part of the cardinal’s blog post - which is at times folksy, at times cerebral, and punctuated by snapshots of the memorial events - is a de facto plea for greater civility among Catholics when discussing divisive issues. He warned against “harsh judgments’’ and attributing “the worst motives’’ to people with whom Catholics have disagreements, saying “these atti tudes and practices do irreparable damage to the communion of the Church.’’

I did not watch the Kennedy funeral, but I gathered from reports that Cardinal O'Malley attended in choir (instead of concelebrating). I thought this was an acceptable compromise approach to making an appearance but not "endorsing" the proceedings.

This is something different, however.

As Fr. Roger Landry wrote:

".... [here is] one of the most important lessons that pastors in the United States need to draw from the history of the Church’s interactions with Senator Kennedy for its future engagement of other pro-abortion Catholic politicians. Despite the good intentions to try to engage him, teach him, and help bring him to conversion, the strategy failed. There were many words given at the Senator’s exequies about his “private faith,” but private faith is not enough. “Faith without deeds is dead,” as St. James poignantly reminds us. The Church has a responsibility to help bring people from “private faith” to see the consequences of it in public actions, and, in the Senator’s case, we didn’t succeed."

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/02/09

• Text: Letter from US Legion Territorial Directors to members 
  
• Event: I'll be in Orlando for the Catholic Leadership Conference from Sep. 10th-11th
• List: 13 Bishops against Obamacare
• Parish life: From Archbishop Dolan, 4 tips for fostering vocations

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Orange."

"Orange who?"

"Orange you glad you get to see the pope?!"

(Sorry folks, I've got nothing. It's time for the pope to come back to Rome!)

[Photo: AP Photo]

Text: Letter from US Legion Territorial Directors to members

This letter is being widely distributed among members of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi in the United States. It bears the names of Fr. Scott Reilly LC, Territorial director for the Atlanta territory, and Fr. Julio Marti LC, Territorial director for the New York territory. I'm posting it below for discussion.

My complete coverage of the Legion scandal is here. Recent coverage includes:

• Claim: Legion founder Maciel had multiple children; other details emerging
  
• Huh? Regnum Christi releases CD promoting RC vocations
  
• Update: Fr. Berg breaks his silence about the Legion
• Breaking: Abp. Chaput, other Legion visitors appointed by Vatican (full details added)  
  

Here it is embedded:

And here it is for download and viewing in a separate window.

I'll be in Orlando for the Catholic Leadership Conference from Sep. 10th-11th

From September 10th-11th I'll be attending the 12th Annual Catholic Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida. On the 11th I'll be part of a panel discussion on "Catholic Blogging: Finding Common Ground Online" with Josh Mercer of CatholicVote.org (you may have seen their videos).

Below this picture of the Orlando skyline I've posted the conference press release.

===

The Catholic Leadership Conference Celebrates Vitality in the Church

Promoting and celebrating "vitality" in the Church in the face of "cultural hostility" will be the theme of the 12th-annual Catholic Leadership Conference over September 10-11 in Orlando, Florida. "CLC has invited speakers who epitomize the kind of vitality needed throughout our Church," says Bud Hansen, a founding member of the steering committee. Bishop Thomas Wenski will welcome the meeting of Church leaders from around the country by celebrating Mass at the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, with Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, concelebrating.

At the dinner that evening, popular Fox news commentator Rev. Jonathan Morris will talk about his experience as a priest in the mainstream media. Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, who played a leading role in protesting the award given by Notre Dame to President Barack Obama, will offer an overview of the controversy and its impact. And popular Catholic blogger Thomas Peters, of the American Papist, will brief the conference on the importance of Catholic media online.

The direct impact of the Obama presidency on the parish will be the subject of the talk by Rev. Jerry Pokorsky, a priest of the diocese of Arlington, Virginia, and a well-known commentator on EWTN. Maggie Gallagher, president of the Institute for Marriage and Family, will describe how she helped lead the fight to pass Proposition 8 in California. Father Pavone will celebrate the closing Mass, and former Sen. Rick Santorum will discuss his view of "Five Ways to Revitalize our Church."

(Contact Liz Kenny at clconference@aol.com for conference information.)

===

I'm looking forward to meeting Fr. Dwight Longenecker, who I know will be in attendence.

... I hope to see you there as well!

[picture credit - planetoftheweb]

From Archbishop Dolan, 4 tips for fostering vocations

The newly-installed Archbishop of New York City, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, uses this Year for Priests to give us laity four distinct ways of promoting vocations:

The first, said Archbishop Dolan, is by emphasizing the vocation of marriage and family. Citing data from a Pew Research Center study, Archbishop Dolan stated that only about 50% of Catholic young people are approaching the sacrament of marriage.

“Taking care of the first crisis will take care of the second,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Vocations to the priesthood and religious life come from lifelong, life-giving faithful marriages.”

Secondly, Archbishop Dolan spoke of re-creating a culture of vocations.

“There were no good old days in the Church,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Every era in Church history has its horrors and difficulties.”

“We need to recapture the climate/tenor/tone/ambiance in the Church where a boy or man isn’t afraid to publicly say, ‘I want to be a priest,’ and where his family, relatives, neighbors, parish, priest, sisters, teachers and even non-Catholics are robustly supportive.”

Thirdly, Archbishop Dolan said that the laity need to not be afraid to ask their priests to help them be holy.

“For a faithful Catholic, a priest is essential for growth in holiness because he gives us the sacraments, and without the sacraments we can’t be holy,” said Archbishop Dolan. “When you ask us to help you be holy, we realize that we must be holy, and you remind us that there is something unique in the Church that only a priest can do.”

Finally, Archbishop Dolan said that priests must be reminded that they are here to help the laity get to heaven.

“A priest is an icon of the beyond, the eternal, the transcendent,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Heaven gives us hope and meaning in life.”

Archbishop Dolan's pastoral voice is featured prominently in this excellent vocations video by Grassroots Films I published on AmP yesterday.

Papist Picture of the Day - 09/01/09

• Important: In DC, Archbishop Wuerl gets off the same-sex marriage fence 
• Open topic: Bishop Joseph Martino resigns 
  
• Prayer: Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for September 
• Politics: Obama using faith-based office to politicize religion
  
• Video: The most awesome Ordination video you'll ever see 
  

This is the closest you'll ever see the pope to liturgical dancing.

[Photo: Reuters]

In DC, Archbishop Wuerl gets off the same-sex marriage fence

(Not to say he was ever on the fence about the issue - but hey, it made you click the headline, didn't it?)

In all seriousness, Archbishop Donald Wuerl is definitely off the bench and in the fight for traditional marriage now.

From the Washington Post:

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl is plunging the Catholic Church deeper into the battle over legalizing same-sex marriage in the District, a tactic that could complicate the D.C. Council's efforts to quickly take up the matter this fall.

Wuerl sent a letter to 300 local Catholic priests Tuesday reminding them about the church's opposition to same-sex marriage, and he launched a round of media interviews designed to bolster the church's presence in the debate.

In his efforts to mobilize Catholics, Wuerl joins a group of Baptist, predominantly African American, preachers in stepping up the pressure on D.C. officials to allow a public vote on whether same-sex marriage should be legalized.

... 

Wuerl launched the media offensive on the same day that eight opponents of same-sex marriage, including {non-Catholic} Bishop Harry Jackson, filed a request with the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to hold a initiative next year defining marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The proposed initiative simply states: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in the District of Columbia." 

... 

In a letter supporting the proposed initiative, the D.C. Catholic Conference noted that there are 580,000 Catholics living in the Washington metropolitan area.

"It is ironic that at the same time the city is asking for voting representation in the U.S. Congress, its leaders are denying residents the opportunity to participate in the Democratic process for an issue with widespread implications for children and families," Ronald Jackson, executive director of the D.C. Catholic Conference, said in a statement. 

Good to have you in the game, Archbishop. Now let's get behind him.

From the Archdiocese of Washington press release:

Learn more about Catholic teaching and marriage at www.MarriageMattersDC.org, an initiative of the Archdiocese of Washington to promote a deeper understanding of marriage and its contribution to society.

Open topic: Bishop Joseph Martino resigns

Today Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, PA resigned, confirming a report I mentioned last week.

Unfortunately my current level of obligations prevents me from examining the decision in detail (for that, see Rocco's reporting), but I think it is important the AmP community is aware of it and discussing the fall-out.

Bishop Martino is a hated man for a simple reason - he has attempted to be faithful to the teachings of the Church, and to his episcopal vows.

A brief report from the Associated Press:

A Roman Catholic bishop in northeastern Pennsylvania says he is stepping down for health reasons.

Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino says he suffers from insomnia and crippling physical fatigue.

The 63-year-old leader of the Diocese of Scranton is resigning more than a decade before the usual retirement age of 75. He had led the diocese since 2003.

Martino had been heavily criticized by parishioners who felt alienated by his imperious leadership style and staunch defense of Catholic orthodoxy. Supporters say Martino was simply enforcing church doctrine.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Justin Rigali, who leads the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, to oversee the Scranton diocese until the Vatican appoints a new bishop.

A recap of his "controversial" actions as a bishop, as reflected by the Religion News Service:

The bishop burst into the national scene during the 2008 presidential campaign, when he frequently criticized Catholics -- including fellow bishops -- who suggested that abortion was only one of many issues by which to assess candidates.

Shortly after the election last November, Martino stood on the floor of the bishops' meeting in Baltimore and pledged to withhold Communion from Biden, who was raised in Scranton, because he supports abortion rights.

Martino later issued similar threats to Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., after he voted to confirm Kathleen Sebelius, who supports abortion rights, to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

Martino also warned Scranton politicians that he would close the diocese's cathedral on St. Patrick's Day if they honored any politicians who support abortion rights; he tried to shut down a local Catholic college's diversity program after it hosted a gay rights advocate; and he refused to recognize a local Catholic teachers union. He also presided over mass consolidations of schools and parishes, many of which were contentious.

"By the world's standards, perhaps I have not been successful,"
Martino said Monday. "But I have been faithful."

David Gibson - a religion reporter with whom I have disagreed in the past - writes in Politics Daily:

But church insiders say Martino had also worn out his welcome with his brother bishops and the Vatican. So his resignation may be further evidence that the U.S. hierarchy is divided between moderate voices and a more strident conservative minority that is struggling in the wake of Obama's success with Catholic voters.

Liberal Catholics are taking Bishop Martino's resignation as a vindication of their position, and as a sign from within the Bishops conference and from the Vatican that Bishop Martino's pastoral "style" is unnaceptable:

But it was an event in late October last year, on the eve of the presidential vote, as religious rhetoric was growing white-hot, that may have pushed Martino over the line in the eyes of many.

A parish was holding a regular voter-education forum on the election, featuring discussion of a document, "Faithful Citizenship," the election guide endorsed almost unanimously by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, or USCCB. Martino showed up at the parish hall unannounced, causing a stir. Then he took the microphone and proceeded to critique the organizers for not using his own letter on abortion as the basis of the discussion.

When a nun at the forum reminded Martino about the document of the enitre bishops conference Martino responded, "No USCCB document is relevant in this diocese. The USCCB doesn't speak for me," Martino declared. "The only relevant document ... is my letter. There is one teacher in this diocese, and these points are not debatable."

It was a bizarre episode and one that not only capped Martino's reputation as a divisive figure, but also seemed to set him against his other bishops -- a stance that may have been the ultimate cause of his downfall. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia was named Monday by the pope to be the temporary administrator for the Scranton diocese, which comes under Rigali's purview.

Whatever the ins and outs of the internal church maneuvering, the upshot is that a leading voice in the anti-Obama wing of the church hierarchy has been silenced while both Obama and Biden continue to take center stage.

.... In addition, there are signs that some bishops are growing uneasy with the more strident and even partisan tone of many church leaders, especially in the wake of the shooting of Kansas abortionist George Tiller. The opposition of some bishops to health care reform -- which the pope has declared a fundamental human right -- as well as fallout from the fierce opposition by some to Obama's appearance at Notre Dame in May has also given some bishops pause.

.... "By the world's standards perhaps I have not been successful here," Martino concluded. "But I did what I thought was right.

Clearly not everyone agreed with that self-assessment, from Martino's fellow bishops on up to the pope. Where the hierarchy, and American Catholics, go from here is the question that remains unanswered.

Again, it pains me to be currently unavailable to pause and reflect on this episode at length, but in the meantime, I'd invite AmP readers to fill in the context and add their helpful observations to a debate that is shaping up to be central in defining the identity of American Catholics in the years to come.

For those who are interested, there is a Facebook group "I Support Bishop Joseph Martino" which has almost 500 members. I'm a member.

Photo: CNA.

Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for September

Are....

Pope Benedict XVI's general prayer intention for September is: "That the word of God may be better known, welcomed and lived as the source of freedom and joy".

His mission intention is: "That Christians in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, who often meet with great difficulties, may not be discouraged from announcing the Gospel to their brothers, trusting in the strength of the Holy Spirit".

Amen.

Politics: Obama using faith-based office to politicize religion

Dan Gilgoff has an excellent article posted to US News & World Report entitled "Obama Has Dramatically Changed Role of Faith-Based Office." He has excerpted the most important part of his findings:

Yet some of the biggest questions surrounding Obama's office when it launched remain unanswered. The administration has not decided whether to allow religious groups to hire only fellow believers with federal funds, a hugely controversial issue. The outside faith advisory council, which will formulate proposals for achieving the office's policy goals—and for combating climate change and reforming the office itself—won't formalize its recommendations until next year. And the office is still devising metrics by which to measure its effectiveness, a subject of much debate during the Bush years.

So, in many ways, the office is a lame duck.

Simultaneously, however, there are more foundational concerns about this office coming to light:

Reinforcing its new policy role, Obama has brought his office under the purview of his Domestic Policy Council, delighting many faith leaders, particularly on the left. "The Bush office was totally disconnected from policy," says Wallis.

Such access has upset some on the left, who say religious leaders shouldn't be shaping government policy, and some on the right, who say the work amounts to politically inspired religious outreach. "We would have gotten killed for doing that," says Jim Towey, who directed Bush's faith-based office and notes that religious outreach in the previous administration was handled by the White House Office of Public Liaison, which reported to Karl Rove. "It looks like a political office now."

Bottom line: under the Bush administration, this office helped faith-based organizations pursue their public work (or "agenda") more effectively. In contrast, under Obama, this office harnesses the resources of these faith-based organizations to carry out Obama's agenda.

That's change I don't like.

Video: The most awesome Ordination video you'll ever see

I try to avoid vulgar language on AmP, so I'll restrain myself and simply say this video "kicks butt".



I love it for many reasons, including:

• It bears the unmistakable marks of a Grassroots Films production {update - link fixed.}
• It prominently features the pastoral voice of Archbishop Timothy Dolan
• It uses the multimedia arts to powerfully convey the spiritual reality it portrays

Show your friends, especially your non-Catholic ones. It might help them better understand the beauty and majesty of a life given totally to Christ and His Church.