Papist Quote of the Day

From Joseph Sobran:

"Abortion is the single issue on which it's wrong to be a single issue voter."

Source.

PQOTD: "Getting divorced is easier than cancelling cell phone service"

Sad ... but so true!

"Archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren Anselmi of Piura called on officials last week to promote measures that help the family instead of weaken it, referring to recent passage of a law facilitating divorce, which he said, makes it “easier to get a divorce in Peru than to cancel your cell phone service.” (CNA)

I bet more people stay in their cell phone contract than marriage. But at least a phone contract is supposed to end.

Well, I guess this might be as good a time as any to officially announce that I'm getting ...

... a new cell phone plan. ;-)

I've long been considering a Blackberry, specifically the 8830 "World Edition" (pictured left) with Verizon Wireless.

Anything I should know before I "take the leap" into a two year contract? Could I do better for the money?

Papist Quote of the Day

I didn't even have to read past the first line of this article titled "Pastor Gets into Motorcycle Crash - During Service" before I was cracking a smile:

"A pastor brought out a dirt bike during a church service to demonstrate the concept of unity. Now he's demonstrating the concept of healing."

:-D!

Pope Benedict lauds St. Maximus for his lack of "tolerance"

Well, in effect:

Continuing his series of weekly talks on the early Church, Pope Benedict XVI devoted his public audience on June 25 to a discussion of St. Maximus the Confessor.

... Pope Benedict said that St. Maximus earned the title "Confessor" by the "dauntless courage" with which he proclaimed "the integral truth of Christ, without reduction or compromise."

The adamant stand taken by this heroic Christian teacher should be an example to contemporary Christians, the Pope said, suggesting in particular that the saint knew when to insist on truth and reject error. Christians cannot accept every thought put forward in the modern world, the Pope said. "Tolerance that does not know how to distinguish between good and evil would become chaotic and self-destructive," he said. "Dialogue that does not know what to dialogue about becomes mere empty chatter."

Like St. Maximus, believers should make Christ their fixed point of reference, and "thus we also learn how to position all other values because we discover their true significance," the Holy Father concluded. (CWNews)

Now there's marching orders. Just re-read those sentences I've underlined.

PQOTD: A rainy weekend for the pope and me

This past weekend a friend visited me in DC and we often found ourselves dogged by rain.

Well, it looks like the pope was in the same boat during a recent trip, but found a silver lining:

"Dear young people, unfortunately, the rain followed me in these days," said Pope Benedict XVI Sunday in Genoa, "but let us take it as a sign of blessing, fertility for the land, even as a symbol of the Holy Spirit who comes and renews the earth, the dry earth of our souls."

Okay, I guess I have nothing to complain about either.

Ph/t: Pope2008.

Papist Quote of the Day (iPods)

Newly-installed Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing:

“Their life is centered on iPods, and it's a problem all over the world,” he said.

Looks like he can sling zingers.

Quotable Benedict: "Music infuses hope into the human soul"

Some excerpts from a speech he made at the Vatican after a concert performed in his honor:

This week the Italians took their turn at showing their affection and respect for the Pope by hosting a classical music concert in honor of his third anniversary and birthday. Benedict XVI thanked the choir and the orchestra for sharing the gift of music with people. Music, he said, has a spiritual value because it can “infuse hope into the human soul.”

.... The concert featured pieces by Luciano Berio, Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven and was performed by the Giuseppe Verdi symphony orchestra and choir of Milan.

.... The Pope explained that there is a “spiritual value” to the art of music which, “in a special way, is called to infuse hope into the human soul, marked and sometimes injured by its earthly condition.

“There is a profound and mysterious relationship between music and hope, between song and eternal life", the Holy Father said. "It is no coincidence that Christian tradition shows the spirits of the blessed as they sing in chorus, captivated and enraptured by the beauty of God. But true art, like prayer, is not foreign to everyday reality, rather it calls us to 'irrigate' that reality, to make it sprout that it may bring forth fruits of goodness and peace.

Music, in fact, has a far greater value because it "reminds us furthermore of the value and the universal importance of artistic heritage,” the Pope said. He also mentioned that it is of particular value to the young, who can draw "new inspiration" from such heritage "in order to build a world founded on justice and solidarity, putting the multiform expressions of world culture to good account at the service of mankind".

Benedict XVI mentioned the importance that "educating people to recognize true beauty has for the formation of the young", and he explained how art "contributes to refining their souls and leads towards the construction of a society open to the ideals of the spirit. (CNA)

Underlinining my own. Many of the performers were young adults.

A few pictures from the event:



Credit: REUTERS/Tony Gentile (VATICAN), AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, HO

Cardinal Arinze: "Send 12 Swiss Guards to arrest them all!"

The fine folks at the Cardinal Arinze Podcast have given us a gem of a Cardinal Arinze answer:

Watch the first 45 seconds, then jump to 2:30, then to 3:30....

On a more serious note though - is it really as funny as all that?

The Cardinal Arinze Podcast, of course, has the coolest. logo. ever:

It has a permanent place on the AmP sidebar.

Oddest unnecessary qualification ever?

Behold:

"Even if he won every delegate still available, [Ron] Paul could not capture the party's nomination in September in St. Paul, which is no relation." - LA Times blog

Because, of course, I think we were all tempted to make that mistake. I mean, right?

Papist Quote of the Day

A rather funny exchange occurred at today's public session of the U.S. Bishops meeting during one of the action items and debate. A bishop stood up to suggest an item and it went something like this:

Bishop: I just want to confirm that there is in fact a typo in this draft document that reads "... the bishops wish to end marriage." Shoudn't that read defend marriage?

Moderator: Um, yes, that is correct.

*laughter ensues.*

Moderator: ... You have to understand that at 11 o'clock it can be difficult to read.

Indeed!

Papist Quote of the Day

From Il Papa:

Those who teach the faith “cannot run the risk of appearing like a type of clown who is playing a part; rather he must be like the beloved disciple who rested his head on the Master’s heart and learned therein how to think, speak and act”. Because “at the end of it all a true disciple is he who announces the Gospel in a credible and effective way”, in short “authentic witness”, as was the case with Saint Ambrose. [AsiaNews]

Papist QOTD

Rep. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery), the sponsor of a new bill that would require every hospital in Pennsylvania to immediately administer Plan B to all victims of rape (underlining mine):

"Some people believe AIDS is punishment for sin ... but we would never allow doctors to withhold treatment from anyone struck with the illness. We are all free to practice our religion, but if we put ourselves in a position to provide emergency medical care, our right to practice religion ends when we start making life-changing, adverse decisions for other people." [source.]

You're welcome to read the entire article, focusing on the similarities/dissimilarities between what it describes and what we've been covering in CT. There's much at stake here, and plenty of misinformation being spread.

Supreme Court Justice claims abortion was real confirmation hearings issue

A drudge exclusive:

In his first television interview, in which he discusses his childhood, his race, his rise to Supreme Court Justice and his job on the nation's highest court, Clarence Thomas says the real issue at his controversial confirmation hearings 16 years ago was abortion. Saying the issue was "the elephant in the room," Thomas also tells Steve Kroft that the hearings he called at the time a "high tech lynching" harmed the country. The interview will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES, Sunday Sept. 30.

... Thomas, whose Supreme Court positions on abortion issues have been conservative, says the confirmation hearings in which he was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee -- allegations he continues to deny -- were really about abortion. "That was the elephant in the room... That was the issue. That is the issue that people are apparently so upset about," he tells Kroft. "[That is the issue] that you determine the composition of your Supreme Court and your entire federal judiciary, it seems now," says Thomas.

AmP quote of the day

Financial Times:

“This is an emergency,” Mr Gore told the opening session of the Clinton Global Initiative. “I think that the key to fighting global poverty is to have the wealthy nations and the developing nations join together to reduce global warming … I think what we need is a global Marshall plan to make the creation of jobs around the reduction of carbon the central principle for how we develop this.”

Some other quotations from the article:

Robert Zoellick, the head of the World Bank, sounded a sceptical note on the developing world’s ability and desire to reduce carbon emissions, however. Poorer countries are worried aid is going to be “hijacked” by the climate change agenda, Mr Zoellick said.

... “There is some sensitivity in the developing world that resources that can be channelled to climate change will come at the expense of other development needs,” Mr Zoellick said. “It needn’t be that way, it shouldn’t be that way… but it is the responsibility of the developed world to reassure the developing world that it doesn’t come at their expense and instead can come in support of their aims of overcoming poverty.”

"Every place I went, people are very worried that developed countries are going to hijack spending,” he added. “We have to explain how it fits their energy and growth needs.”

... The World Bank estimates that 1.6bn people around the world do not have access to electricity. The developing world currently has a funding gap of around half of the $160bn investment needed annually to fulfil growing demand for electricity, the bank says.

Papist-Quote-of-the-Day

From Il Papa:

Benedict XVI smilingly affirmed that Italian debates on taxation are a sign that "some things never change."

The Pope jokingly made this comment Wednesday during his reflection at the general audience focused on St. John Chrysostom. Referring to the saint's homilies written during the so-called statue revolt, a third-century protest over the emperor's taxes, the Holy Father said with a smile, "You can see that some things never change throughout history."

The Pontiff's off-the-cuff remark came two days after Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi announced that he will not cut personal income taxes this year. The prime minister raised taxes last year in an effort to cut the country's budget deficit. [Zenit]

PQOTD: "Miracles are hard to come by in Britain."

Update: I've found confirmation of this report (in a roundabout way) and posted the results here.

Original Post: Today's papist quote of the day originated - allegedly - from Il Papa himself:

"Friction even seemed to emerge as the Pope and Prime Minister appeared in public for the cameras. Mr Blair, joined by his wife Cherie, presented Benedict with a framed set of three antique pictures of Cardinal Newman, who converted in 1845 after more than 20 years in the Church of England clergy and is now a candidate for sainthood.

Mrs Blair said: "I believe you are very familiar with him and he is on the journey to sainthood."

To which the Pope responded: "Yes, yes, although it is taking some time - miracles are hard to come by in Britain."

The source is a UK tabloid. I think a UK tabloid getting a story straight would be a minor miracle in itself.

ph/t: Amy.

Papist Quote of the Day

Archbishop Raymond Burke, on submitting his resignation as chairman of the board for a foundation that invited pro-abortion activist Sheryl Crow to sing at their fundraiser: "It's very painful for me, but I have to answer to God for the responsibility I have as archbishop."

Get the full (AP version of the) story here.