Cardinal Pell says "Choice, not condoms, make the difference with AIDS"

Choice is only a bad thing when we abuse it for bad decisions (for instance, when we choose abortion).

"Choice, not condoms, will make the difference with AIDS" is a good way of re-framing the question, according to Cardinal Pell. Because a mountain of rubber won't solve the world's problems (my words).

Curing disease is a wonderful thing. But converting hearts and lives? Now that's even better.

Text/Video: Cardinal Pell on the New English Mass Translation

The UK Catholic Herald has "omnicoverage" today on the story I highlighted and commented on yesterday ("S. Africa protest over new Catholic Mass translation").

Video of Cardinal Pell on the issue:



Polished article: "'Nothing is being thrust upon anyone': Cardinal George Pell talks to Luke Coppen about the new English Mass translation, the SSPX and being a 'lightning rod' in the Church". {Also a full transcript of the interview.}

And they're even on Twitter and Facebook.

Folks, that's how it's done nowadays. Good show!

Expected: Cardinal Pell to call for Vatican oversight of Legion

I'm hearing reliable reports that during Cardinal Pell's recent visit to England he said on the record that he thinks the Legion can't possibly be expected to sort out its own affairs and that some sort of Vatican involvement is needed, probably in the form of an apostolic visitation.

Stay tuned....

Related: "Cassandra Jones" pens a lengthy summary of the Maciel scandal in Spero News Forum and claims that the Legion is delaying its response due to an internal debate over its "charism".

update: as expected: "Cardinal backs intervention in Legionaries crisis".

Aussie Cardinal Pell Disputes “global warming hypothesis”

CNA reports:

In the April 20 edition of the Australian newspaper, the Sunday Telegraph, Cardinal George Pell expressed his concern regarding the “global warming hypothesis” in an article titled, “Global warming is over.”

Cardinal Pell began his article by giving recent examples of countries that have experienced more bitter temperatures and heavier snow than usual.

... The cardinal stated that while “the world is much bigger than both China and Canada combined, which might be the exceptions to the new rule of man-made global warming, but they are inconvenient facts for the climate-change bandwagon.”

"And it is an intolerant bandwagon with loud, exaggerated claims that the issue is settled and that an unchallenged consensus among scientists confirms the hypothesis of dangerous, humanly caused global warming. In fact, the issue is far from settled.”

He continued by listing three significant points. [Read them here.]

Cardinal Pell's apt - and memorable - "Donald Duck heresy"

Update: David @ C-N-S has a good break-down of the Cardinal's argument in short hand.

Cardinal Pell has been too-long absent from AmP coverage. Reading about his constant witness and energetic teaching to build up a culture of life around the world is always a strong gust of fresh air:

In his recent book “God and Caesar,” the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, said a “common heresy of our times” is believing that Catholics can accept and practice contraception, using the “primacy of conscience” as a justification.

Taking a metaphor from Oxford professor Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, the cardinal called this belief that has spread among Catholics the “Donald Duck heresy,” referring to the Disney character who "knows it all", and "has an unshakeable conviction of self-righteousness." The self-indulgent duck, explains Pell is well-meaning but "his activity is often disastrous for himself and others."

The same thing happens with Catholics who practice and promote a disordered vision of human sexuality through contraception, abortion and the destruction of embryos.

With claims to "primacy of conscience," he said, “they falsely believe themselves in the right, while they thus distort the image of God which the Creator intended to convey in the fruitful sexual union of husband and wife.”

"Too many 'Donald Ducks' produce a 'feel good' society, which works to remove personal guilt, anything that would make people feel uncomfortable, and complacent self-satisfaction becomes a virtue," writes Pell. "Confession of sins is replaced with therapy, and self-reproach with self-discovery."

Cardinal Pell noted that the false conception of the “primacy of conscience” was the object of John Paul II’s 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor.

"Only truth, or the Word of God has primacy, and is the ultimate rule of action.” The individual conscience is necessary, but sometimes insufficient. “Even a genuine searcher for truth can be mistaken, sometimes with disastrous consequences," he added.

The book is a compilation of essays the Cardinal has penned over the years. In one essay which was delivered as a talk to the Linicare Conference in the UK in 2000, under the title "The Role of the Bishop in Promoting the Gospel of Life", the Cardinal warns that the Catholic Church would not grow unless the full teaching of the Church on life issues was promoted. "Tactical silence", as practiced by many bishops, would in fact stifle growth, he suggested. [CNA]

Needless to say, I expect him to shine at World Youth Day in Sydney next year.