Priest fined $100,000 for ringing his church's bells

So much for sacred ambiance:

An Italian priest has been ordered to pay €60,000 (£49,000) in damages because the bells of his church were too loud, and were rung for too long at "unsocial hours".

The judgement, handed down by a court in the town of Chiavari, has widespread implications for what is often seen as Europe's most Catholic nation, and perhaps the country with the highest density of churches. The case brought by a retired university teacher, Flora Leuzzi, is one of several alleging that over-enthusiastic tolling constitutes noise pollution.

Professor Leuzzi, who lives close to the Carmine church in Lavagna, near Genoa, began her campaign against its belfry 13 years ago. The judge found that the sound it emitted was louder than average. He also agreed that Leuzzi's hearing had been marginally impaired. (The UK Guardian)

Considering the average sounds one hears in an Italian city, I'd have thought the bells would help.

Photo: Italian museum defies pope over crucified frog exhibit

Reuters:

An Italian museum on Thursday defied Pope Benedict and refused to remove a modern art sculpture portraying a crucified green frog holding a beer mug and an egg that the Vatican had condemned as blasphemous.

The board of the Museion museum in the northern city of Bolzano decided by a majority vote that the frog was a work of art and would stay in place for the remainder of an exhibition.

The wooden sculpture by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger depicts a frog about 1 metre 30 cm (4 feet) high nailed to brown cross and holding a beer mug in one outstretched hand and an egg in another.

Called "Zuerst die Fuesse," (Feet First), it wears a green loin cloth and is nailed through the hands and the feet in the manner of Jesus Christ. Its green tongue hangs out of its mouth.

The claim that Pope Benedict has personally taken an interest in and spoken out about this exhibit raised my eyebrows. This claim originates from Franz Pahl, who has already been hospitalized over the exhibit after he went on a hunger strike to protest it:

Franz Pahl, a regional government official who has led a campaign to remove the work, told the Italian news agency ANSA Aug. 27 that he had received a letter of support from the Vatican Secretariat of State expressing the pope's sentiments.

According to Pahl, the letter said the pope believes the sculpture "has wounded the religious sentiment of the many people who see in the cross the symbol of God's love and our salvation."

A Vatican source confirmed that a letter was sent, but did not confirm the contents. (CNS)

So it's not entirely proven that Pope Benedict himself has spoken against the exhibit, which will eventually visit Los Angeles and New York. Can anyone remember if Pope Benedict has publicly (or has been proven to have spoken privately) about an offensive art exhibit before?

As for the museum/artist's defense:

Museum officials have defended the work, saying it was intended as a self-portrait showing the torment faced by the artist. The sculpture was made in 1990, and the artist, who was said to consider the frog his alter ego, created other variations on the same theme.

What are your thoughts?

"Mt. Soledad cross allowed to remain at war veteran memorial"

I have memories of playing around this cross on Mt. Soledad when I lived in California. Even back then some were demanding it be removed. At the time, I couldn't figure out why anyone would want that:

Tuesday the Federal District Court of Southern California ruled that the 29-foot cross overlooking San Diego County will not be removed from its position on Mount Soledad. The cross, originally dedicated in 1954 to honor Korean War veterans is the center of a national veteran’s memorial.

According to the Thomas More Law Center, Federal District Court Judge Larry Alan Burns ruled: “The Court finds the memorial at Mt. Soledad, including its Latin cross, communicates the primarily non-religious messages of military service, death and sacrifice.”

... This isn’t the first time that the Law Center has defended the cross. In a recent release, the Law Center noted that they defended the cross in 2006 after an agreement was made between the City of San Diego and an atheist who wanted the cross to be removed.

The main lobbying organization behind wanting it down? The ACLU, which said they may appeal.

MN professor promises to desecrate Eucharist; Eucharist stolen Friday

CNA had good coverage of this outrageous and provocative gesture:

A Minnesota professor and science blogger has said he will personally desecrate the Eucharist and publish photos of the desecration on the internet if any of his readers acquire a consecrated Host and mail it to him. “I’ll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare,” he has written.

Paul Zachary Myers, an associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota at Morris, made the threat while commenting on a University of Central Florida incident in which a student senator stole and held hostage a consecrated Host from a June 29 Mass.

...

Professor Myers criticized the incident in a derisive July 8 post on his science blog Pharyngula, hosted at scienceblogs.com. He also solicited his readers to acquire consecrated Hosts.

“Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers?” Myers wrote. “…if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I’ll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won’t be tempted to hold it hostage… but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web.”

While Bill Donohue is lodging a complaint against the professor, I'm still disconcerted that I was emailed earlier today with the news that on Friday the Eucharist was stolen from Corpus Christi Cathedral.

I only have one report so far (can anyone confirm it?) which said the adoration chapel had been shut down and the police had been able to obtain fingerprints. I'm not claiming that these two stories are related. I just found it interesting that they happened so close together.

At any rate, let's pray that the Eucharist is not defiled.

Also, examples like this professor have always puzzled me. What, exactly, possesses someone with the desire to trample upon the beliefs of others in this callous manner? Is it an easy out for me to think he's been hurt in some way and this is his way to lash out?

In all seriousness, however, it's pretty clear this professor has seriously violated the terms of conduct stipulated in his contract and his immature and offensive rantings simply should not be tolerated by his employers.

And for all his bombast - he's taken down his original offending post.

Planned Parenthood prepares students for spring break with "Free EC Day"

What better way to prepare for spring break than stocking up on massive doses of artificial hormones?

"Emergency Contraception Giveaway Called 'Irresponsible" in today's Christian Post reports that Planned Parenthood of Indiana has announced a "Free EC (= emergency contraception) Day" at its various clinics.

Mike Fichter of local Indiana Right to Life observes:

"This is all about Planned Parenthood gaining free advertising to build its customer base among sexually active teens," Fichter stated. "When Planned Parenthood's message of sex without consequences results in a new life that is not terminated by the EC drug, the next step is the selling of more profitable surgical abortions at one of Planned Parenthood's three abortion clinics in Indiana."

Local reporting on the protests being organized against "Free EC Day" here and here.

On the PP of Indiana website, "Every woman deserves the chance to prevent an unintended pregnancy!"

What else is on the upcoming Indiana PP event calendar?

Their 5th Annual “Gathering of Goddesses and Gods”, an "evening of pampering, purchasing and partying" where attendees "Relax, rejuvenate and enjoy spa treatments, psychic readings and much more while [they] pamper your palate with wine and Greek hors d'oeuvres." They even had dancing girls last year, as you can see.

The proceeds of the revelry go towards the good cause of assisting "low-income women with critical reproductive health services".

Those pagans sure know how throw a great party.

And I do mean pagans.

[photos: ppin.org]

Pic: "Imagine No Religion" billboard graphic in Columbus, OH

From a sympathetic group's "press release" (extremely subjective, but let them have their say):

In early February, the freethinkers group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) debuted its 14 X 48-foot stained glass style billboard with the message "Imagine No Religion" in Columbus, Ohio.

The national campaign is an effort to let Americans know that there is room for reason and clarity of thought, free from the dogma that organized religion uses to keep its flock in line; as well as donating.

Dan Barker, Foundation co-president and author of 'Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist' said "Many of our members, including generous sponsors in Ohio, want to balance all that religion on the roadside with some reason on the roadside."

Their basic hackneyed premise: faith is contrary to reason. Someone needs to give them a reading list. Here's a good start. Really, guys, we've gone over this. You haven't discovered a radical objection to faith.

If you want a sense of this statement's subjectivity, consider:

It's a must read these writings from the FFRF that IGWT has provided, and very hard to dispute. IGWT is to be commended for helping to get out the message that sanity and reason can replace religious dogma and the knee-jerk fundamentalist Christian philosophy that has driven American domestic and foreign policy throughout George W. Bush's two administrations, much to America's detriment.

A little dose of counter-reality that I was amused to read:

A billboard company contracted to run the "Imagine no Religion" signs in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, put up the first of the signs, scheduled to rotate between three locations, and then followed that run with a sign of their own with a disclaimer - "In God We Trust: Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising LLC.." Underneath are the words: "The previous sign posted at this location does not reflect the values or morals of our company. Thank you."

Now that's a pluralism I can handle. God Bless America.

A clearing house of the challenges facing Catholic public witness

... is handily provided by this article in the UK Times, both in what it says, and in how it says it:

"Italian bishops condemned for urging actors to shun sex scenes"

Point 1: Let's just pause at the title.

The bishops themselves are the ones being "condemned" for urging actors to shun sex scenes. The news subject is actually the bishops being criticized for speaking out.

Point 2: A misappropriation of the facts:

Father Nicolò Anselmi, head of the youth section of the Italian Bishops Conference, said that Moretti was normally noted for his “idealistic and sensitive” films. But the “gratuitous” sex scene with Isabella Ferrari, his co-star, would have an undesirable effect on the “impressionable young” since it was shown without any context involving love or tenderness.

I doubt this quite captures the essence of the Italian Bishops' criticism. Sex scenes in movies are not problematic only when they are "shown without any context involving love or tenderness." Sure, that's a part of the problem. But more fundamentally, sex scenes involve ... people engaging in sexual activity(!), and doing so outside of marriage b) publically c) for profit and publicity, etc., etc.

In other words, sex scenes depicted even in a "context involving love or tenderness" would still be wrong.

Point 3: Anti-Catholicism.

Franco Zeffirelli, the film and opera director, said: “The Church is full of pedants who have lost all sense of proportion.” It was a “fourth-rate” film that did not merit the publicity generated by the bishops' intervention.

A condescending generalization. It's like saying "America is full of nitwits who have lost all sense of honor." What organization besides the Church can routinely be treated in this way with such tolerance? This comment from the man who has previously offered to help Pope Benedict with his style, saying on the one hand "The papal robes are too opulent and flashy" but then claiming "I am in continual contact with his inner circle. The Holy Father honours me with his esteem." He sure isn't sounding like a reliable opinion source to me.

Point 4: Anti-Catholicism (again):

"The row comes amid charges that the Centre Right, led by Silvio Berlusconi, is playing the Catholic card by making abortion an issue in the run-up to the general election in April. Mr Berlusconi has asked the United Nations to pass a moratorium on abortion and the death penalty."

Bringing up the issue of abortion, in a county with one of the lowest birth rates in a continent already experiencing population implosion, is ... "playing the Catholic card." I'm sorry, I don't get it.

Point 5: Anti-Catholicism (surprise):

The comments posted in response to the article follow certain numbing, universal patterns of argument on this topic. Most of them hold that because the Church allowed the sex abuse scandal to happen, for it to speak out on any issue of human sexuality ever again is nothing but hypocrisy. Well, try to defend that conclusion logically.

The later comments do, however, contribute a little glimmering of hope in their use of reason and practice of civility. But honestly, those voices are generally marginalized.

Just like the Italian bishops.

NYC celebrates Valentine's Day with rampant condom promotion

A reminder of the challenges facing Christian love and sexuality in a militantly secular society.

The Associated Press reports:

The official New York City condom has a different look and a sexy new slogan: New Yorkers are being encouraged to "get some" on Valentine's Day.

Street teams will be handing out the free condoms at busy hubs around the city on Thursday, including Times Square, Wall Street and near City Hall.

And an ad campaign on television, radio and subways and buses will soon begin, featuring the catch phrase.

NYC's Catholic leaders, the article concludes, have been "angered " by such tactics, and claimed that the city's administration was "blanketing ... neighborhoods with condoms." More like carpet-bombing.

What do I mean?

You can watch the TV ads here. Below is a sample advertisement (with suitably androgynous models):

NYC has distributed more than 36 million condoms since first introducing it last Valentine's Day.

That's alot of tax-payer dollars.

Because I try to keep AmP a youth-accessible blog, I won't link to the NYC's "condom how-to" page. I will reproduce for illustrative purposes, however, the NYC website's advice to "use a new condom with each new partner" and that step four of using a condom properly is to "Enjoy each other."

What an enlightened vision of human sexuality. I'm glad our local government is showing us the way.

"Anglican bishop fined for refusing gay youth worker"

"An Anglican bishop has been ordered to pay a heavy fine and undergo “equal-opportunies training” for refusing to approve the hiring of an openly homosexual man for a post in youth ministry." - CWNews

Scanning headlines all day sometimes has its toll. When I first read the headline for this story I thought it said, "Anglican bishop fined for having gay youth worker" and I thought to myself "Oh great, here we go again."

Not only was the anglican bishop fined roughly $92,000, but "The tribunal ordered that officials of the Hereford diocese who are engaged in hiring employees—including the bishop-- should be given training to make them more sensitive to homosexual applicants."

I wonder if the anglican diocese could refuse an athiest who wanted to direct anglican youth?

"Why I am an abortion doctor" published in National Post

Read the article, if you wish. It's one of the most-read articles on the internet today.

I actually am going to quote the very last paragraph of what is, overall, a dumbfounding piece.

This is the abortion provider giving his personal testimony about the "enormous personal and professional satisfaction" he gets out of "helping people, [which] includes providing safe, comfortable, abortions":

I want to tell you one last story that I think epitomizes the satisfaction I get from my privileged work. Some years ago I spoke to a class of University of British Columbia medical students. As I left the classroom, a student followed me out. She said: "Dr. Romalis, you won't remember me, but you did an abortion on me in 1992. I am a secondyear medical student now, and if it weren't for you I wouldn't be here now."

I had to re-read the phrase "performed an abortion on me" three times before I realized that what the young woman was saying to the doctor was that "you performed an abortion on my child" instead of (what I first thought) "you tried to kill me as a child in the womb but I survived."

My confusion was not primarily grammatical, but conceptual: for me, the abortion debate always includes two subjects: the woman and the child. For this abortion provider, it is exclusively about the mother. Therefore, the only individual that can undergo an abortion is the woman. The child does not even "count."

But regardless, if it hadn't been for the abortion provider, do you know who also would be here now?

That child.

Pics: A chapel converted into a "modern and stylish apartment"

Talk about social commentary....

In the Netherlands a firm called Zecc has taken the chapel of the former Friars of Utrecht (which in the mid 1900's housed 217 friars), moved the remaining elderly thirteen of them to a nursing home, and converted the complex into 40 "modern and stylish" apartments - including the chapel.

The first picture is of the original, and then the adaptations:




From freshome:

"The design team chose to keep many of the original features like the high gothic stained glass windows and the original choir organ. To allow more light to enter the space, they cut a Mondrian-inspired glass window into the front of the house facing the street perhaps paying homage to Rietveld’s nearby infamous Schroder House. The entire living area has been whitewashed, while the private spaces above were painted dark. In conclusion this place might be controversial, but it looks very modern and stylish."

Yatzer adds: "The character of the little chapel has been respected and enhanced were possible."

For the very interested, this PDF file contains more pictures and design notes (in Dutch).

To adapt a line from Shakespeare's 73rd Sonnet:

"Modern, Stylish apartments, where once the bare ruin'd choirs stood."

And lest you think this is an isolated phenomenon, The Cool Hunter (in a piece titled "Immaculate Renovations"):

Here at TCH, we’ve been noticing architects around the world are transforming church buildings into various types of structures including houses, retail stores, libraries, and well, cooler churches.

I'll let you form a final conclusion, and leave you with this example:

In Maastricht an 800 year old Dominican church was transformed into the newest addition to the Selexyz book store chain – the Selexyz Dominicanen – housing an impressive collection of books not only in Dutch, but in English as well.

The challenge for the Amsterdam based architects Merkx + Girod was staying true to the original character and charm of the church, while also achieving a desirable amount of commercial space. A multi-storey steel structure that houses the majority of the books was constructed and placed along the central nave of the church under the vaulted ceiling.

This, friends, is the architectural facade of creeping materialism. Sometimes beautiful, always deadly.

blogback: "The resulting whited sepulcher is indicative of the state of the Church in the Netherlands." - Will Cubbedge

CWNews: "Canadian Catholic magazine faces legal attack for criticizing homosexuals"

"Catholic magazine in Canada faces severe legal attack and possible censorship after a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission alleged it made derogatory comments about homosexuals.

In February 2007 Rob Wells, a member of the Pride Center of Edmonton, filed a nine-point complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission alleging that Catholic Insight had targeted homosexuals as a powerful menace and innately evil, claiming it used inflammatory and derogatory language to create a tone of “extreme hatred and contempt." - CWNews.

And many more cases to come, if the laws in Canada remain unchanged.

Update: Pelosi defends refusal to put "God" on flag certificates

Backstory here. The Openers blog updates us:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today defended the Architect of the Capitol's refusal to permit use of the word "God" on official certificates enclosed with flags flown over the U.S. Capitol.

...Asked about the issue today at a press luncheon, Pelosi said the architect's policy was adopted because "people were asking for statements that not only were religious, beyond using the word God, but political as well."

..."It's not about being anti-religion," Pelosi said, noting that each day in the Capitol starts with a prayer. "It is just about what the architect thought was appropriate for him to proclaim in a certificate."

... [Re. Michael turner] said members of Congress vet the appropriateness of messages constituents request with the flags, and their discretion should be sufficient.

"We have the responsibility for these common sense issues that might arise with flag inscriptions and this one is basic," Turner said. "The architect has decided the word 'God' is offensive. This rule should not be allowed to stand."

Architect on Capitol hill tries to deny any mention of God

The Associated Press:

Midland Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Camp is among lawmakers objecting because the U.S. Capitol's architect won't allow God to be mentioned in certificates of authenticity accompanying flags flown over the Capitol and bought by constitutents.

.... A 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Ohio reportedly was denied the request to have a certificate read, "This flag was flown in honor of Marcel Larochelle, my grandfather, for his dedication and love of God, country and family."

"I can't believe the U.S. House of Representatives can pass a resolution recognizing the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which we did this week, but can't send out certificates with the word 'God' on them," Camp said. "It doesn't make any sense. The policy needs to be changed."