Friends, Romans, Countrymen

The Light of Christ

2008-10-29T14:54:00.001-07:00

Room With A View

2007-05-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

I have updated my new blog, Room With A View.

Welcome St. Nick!!!

2007-01-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

Roll Tide!!!
We have ourselves a coach. Good luck Coach Saban!!!

Feast of Holy Innocents

2006-12-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Feast of Holy Innocents
December 28th
This has become an even more special feast to us after losing a holy innocent ourselves.

Herod “the Great,” king of Judea, was unpopular with his people because of his connections with the Romans and his religious indifference. Hence he was insecure and fearful of any threat to his throne. He was a master politician and a tyrant capable of extreme brutality. He killed his wife, his brother and his sister’s two husbands, to name only a few.
Matthew 2:1-18 tells this story: Herod was “greatly troubled” when astrologers from the east came asking the whereabouts of “the newborn king of the Jews,” whose star they had seen. They were told that the Jewish Scriptures named Bethlehem as the place where the Messiah would be born. Herod cunningly told them to report back to him so that he could also “do him homage.” They found Jesus, offered him their gifts and, warned by an angel, avoided Herod on their way home. Jesus escaped to Egypt.

Herod became furious and “ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under.” The horror of the massacre and the devastation of the mothers and fathers led Matthew to quote Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah,sobbing and loud lamentation;Rachel weeping for her children...” (Matthew 2:18). Rachel was the wife of Jacob/Israel. She is pictured as weeping at the place where the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for their march into captivity.

Collect for the Feast of the Holy Innocents
O God, whose praise the martyred innocents did this day proclaim, not by speaking, but by dying: Destroy in us all the malice of sinfulness, that our lives may also proclaim thy faith, which our tongues profess. Through our Lord. Amen.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents
Since the sixth century, on December 28, the Church has celebrated the memory of those children killed because of Herod's rage against Christ (cf. Mt 2:16-17). Liturgical tradition refers to them as the "Holy Innocents" and regards them as martyrs. Throughout the centuries Christian art, poetry and popular piety have enfolded the memory of the "tender flock of lambs" with sentiments of tenderness and sympathy. These sentiments are also accompanied by a note of indignation against the violence with which they were taken from their mothers' arms and killed.

In our own times, children suffer innumerable forms of violence which threaten their lives, dignity and right to education. On this day, it is appropriate to recall the vast host of children not yet born who have been killed under the cover of laws permitting abortion, which is an abominable crime. Mindful of these specific problems, popular piety in many places has inspired acts of worship as well as displays of charity which provide assistance to pregnant mothers, encourage adoption and the promotion of the education of children.

As recorded in the gospel of Matthew (below), after the visit of the Magi, Herod, in rage and jealousy, slaughtered all the baby boys in Bethlehem and surrounding countryside in an attempt to destroy his perceived rival, the infant Messiah.

These "innocents" are honored by the Church as martyrs.
• In countries where our own innocents are daily being slaughtered by abortion, this feast day is a special time to remember the unborn, to pray for their cause, and perhaps to picket or pray at facilities where unborn babies are killed through abortion.
• This would be a good day to begin a Novena for the Unborn.
• The collect for the Holy Innocents may be said just before the blessing of the evening meal, or at night prayers.
• The ancient Coventry Carol is a mournful lullaby to the Holy Innocents. The words are printed below.
• Family observances of this feast day have traditionally included serving baby food (oatmeal or pureed fruits), especially to the youngest member of the family. Another custom is eating a light-colored pudding with a red strawberry or raspberry sauce as a reminder of the blood of the tiny infant martyrs. While some adults may find this rather gory, many children appreciate this symbolism without the squeamishness their parents may feel.
• Parents may also want to begin a nightly blessing of their children. Simply trace the sign of the cross on their foreheads while saying "May God bless you in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit".

Scripture Readings

First Reading -1 John 1:5-2:2
Beloved; This is the message we have heard from Him [Jesus Christ], and proclaim to you, that God is light; and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we say that we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin in us, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Gospel - Matthew 2:13-18
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you: for Herod is about to search for the Child, to destroy Him." And he rose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called My Son."
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
"A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation:
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled because they were no more."

The Coventry Carol

This beautiful English lullaby carol originated in the Coventry Corpus Christi Mystery Plays performed in the 15th century. In a play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, the women of Bethlehem sing this song just before Herod's soldiers come to slaughter their children. It tells the story of the murder of the Holy Innocents, and is sung on December 28, the feast of those tiny martyrs.

Lully, Lullay, thou little tiny child.
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay thou little tiny child
Bye, bye, lully, lullay
O sisters, too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day;
This poor Youngling for whom we sing
Bye, bye lully, lullay
Herod the King, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day;
His men of might, in his own sight,
All young children to slay.
Then woe is me, poor child, for thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye lully, lullay.

What does the word catholic mean?

2006-12-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

There is much debate and great confusion when it comes to the word and the use of the word "catholic". Many a great mind has put their spin on this word. I have seen the definition of universal. I have seen fullness. And the list goes on. But, what, you may ask, does the Catholic Church mean with she uses the term "catholic"? One must look no further than the Catechism.

************
830 The word "catholic" means "universal," in the sense of "according to the totality" or "in keeping with the whole." The Church is catholic in a double sense:
First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. "Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church." In her subsists the fullness of Christ's body united with its head; this implies that she receives from him "the fullness of the means of salvation" which he has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession. The Church was, in this fundamental sense, catholic on the day of Pentecost and will always be so until the day of the Parousia.

831 Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the human race:
All men are called to belong to the new People of God. This People, therefore, while remaining one and only one, is to be spread throughout the whole world and to all ages in order that the design of God's will may be fulfilled: he made human nature one in the beginning and has decreed that all his children who were scattered should be finally gathered together as one. . . . The character of universality which adorns the People of God is a gift from the Lord himself whereby the Catholic Church ceaselessly and efficaciously seeks for the return of all humanity and all its goods, under Christ the Head in the unity of his Spirit.
************

The second part of this definition is extremely important to me. 830 can be seen as exclusive. The Church is "catholic" meaning universal or complete or full, but if it is thus without calling all men to herself, then it CANNOT be "catholic". This is an important part of what it means to be "catholic". The Church does what has been done by holy men down through the ages and what Christ says he will do, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself," John 32:12. This is the purpose of the Catholic Church. This is what it means to be Catholic. To seek ALL men (and women) and bring them to Christ. This is the mission of each individual Christian, as well. If we leave out this important part to the definition of "catholic" we have missed the meaning of the word.

2006 Martin Family Review

2006-12-21T07:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all.

This has been a very turbulent year for us, but it has been a very good year because we returned back to the homeland.

In January, of course, we were simply devastated still from losing our precious son Noah, and from dealing with Amanda's injuries. We decided that we wanted to move home. We wanted to be closer to Noah and where he was placed, but we also decided that we wanted a simplier life than living in larger cities such as Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. So, I left my work as an Operations Manager and gained employment with Oncology Supply in Dothan, AL. I was hired as an inventory clerk and my responsibilities include approving and processing all returns, writing up credits, and helping with other inventory matters. OSC is an EXCELLENT company with great benefits. I am truly blessed to work at such a good company and with such competent, caring people.

Amanda is healing from her many wounds and is doing quite well. She, like me, still misses Noah and it is something that we will never get over... it is a situation you live with and work through and she is doing very well with it. Amanda is also settling in to small town life since this is the smallest place she has ever lived. It has been an adjustment particularly with things closing so early and crazy small town rules like the Post Office closing at noon on Thursdays and at 11:30 AM on Saturdays. We are getting deeper and deeper into homeschooling and Amanda is handling it very well. I am very proud of her and to be married to her... she truly is my steel magnolia.

Micah is 6 now and is growing. He has lost numerous teeth and has more coming in. He is learning to read and is starting to write pretty well. He is coloring in the lines pretty well, too. He played T-ball in the summer and is now practicing for basketball. He is extremely excited about that. He is such a joy to be around, just a happy-go-lucky kind of kid (<-like his mom) who LOVES to talk. Guess he gets that from his old man.

Jillian is now 4 and is really growing up. She is still my little girl, but she is definitely maturing. She is learning alot through Micah being homeschooled. She knows her ABC's and can count to 20 in English and could count to 10 in Spainish. She is spunky and doesn't give an inch. She also loves to talk, like her old man. She has been in dance this year and has just started cheerleading practice for the Upward basketball league.

We are a truly blessed family! We will soon be moving to some of my family land where we hope to build a house in the future.

Here's hoping that Santa brings you everything you ask for and praying for God's blessings on you for the coming year.

Merry Christmas!

The Martins

Anthropologist Foresees a Christian Renaissance

2006-12-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

"Ideologies Are Virtually Deceased," Says René Girard

ROME, DEC. 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- French anthropologist René Girard,
one of the most influential intellectuals of contemporary culture,
thinks that a Christian Renaissance lies ahead.

In a book published recently in Italian, "Verità o fede debole.
Dialogo su cristianesimo e relativismo" (Truth or Weak Faith:
Dialogue on Christianity and Relativism), the anthropologist states
that "we will live in a world that will seem and be as Christian as
today it seems scientific."

Girard, recently elected to be one of the 40 "immortals" of the
French Academy, said: "I believe we are on the eve of a revolution in
our culture that will go beyond any expectation, and that the world
is heading toward a change in respect of which the Renaissance will
seem like nothing."

The text published by Transeuropa, is the result of 10 years of
meetings between the French thinker and Italian professor Gianni
Vattimo, theorist of so-called weak thought, on topics such as faith,
secularism, Christian roots, the role of the Gospel message in the
history of humanity, relativism, the problem of violence, and the
challenge of reason.

The book presents specifically to the general public the
transcription of three unpublished conferences in which the two
authors challenge each other on the most radical points of their
thought.

New need

In the book, the French professor states that "religion conquers
philosophy and surpasses it.
PHILOSOPHIES IN FACT ARE ALMOST DEAD. IDEALOGIES ARE VIRTUALLY
DECEASES; POLITICAL THEORIES ARE ALMOST ALTOGETHER SPENT. Confidence
in the fact that science can replace religion has already been
surmounted. THERE IS IN THE WORLD A NEW NEED FOR RELIGION."

In regard to moral relativism, defended by Vattimo, René Girard
writes: "I cannot be a relativist" because "I think the relativism of
our time is the product of the failure of modern anthropology, of the
attempt to resolve problems linked to the diversity of human
cultures.

"ANTHROPOLOGY HAS FAILED because it has not succeeded in explaining
the different human cultures as a unitary phenomenon, and that is why
we are bogged down in relativism.

"In my opinion, Christianity proposes a solution to these problems
precisely because it demonstrates that the obstacles, the limits that
individuals put on one another serve to avoid a certain type of
conflicts."

The French academic continues: "IF IT WAS REALLY UNDERSTOOD THAT
JESUS IS THE UNIVERSAL VICTIM WHO CAME PRECISELY TO SURMOUNT THESE
CONFLICTS, THE PROBLEM WOULD BE SOLVED."

According to the anthropologist, "Christianity is a revelation of
love" but also "a revelation of truth" because "in Christianity,
truth and love coincide and are one and the same."

CHRISTIAN TRUTH

The "concept of love," which in Christianity is "the rehabilitation
of the unjustly accused victim, is truth itself; it is the
anthropological truth and the Christian truth," explains Girard.

In the face of Vattimo's appeals to justify abortion and euthanasia
as well as homosexual relations, the French professor stresses
that "there is a realm of human conduct that Vattimo has not
mentioned: morality." Girard goes on to explain that "understood in
the Ten Commandments is a notion of morality," in which the notion of
charity is implicit.

Girard then answers Vattimo, who suggests a "hedonist Christianity."

"If we let ourselves go, abandoning all scruples, the possibility
exists that each one will end up doing what he wants," writes Girard.

The French anthropologist criticizes the "politically correct world"
which considers "the Judeo-Christian tradition as the only impure
tradition, whereas all the others are exempt from any possible
criticism."

Girard reminds the defenders of the politically correct that "the
Christian religion cannot even be mentioned in certain environments,
or one can speak of it only to keep it under control, to confine it,
making one believe that it is the first and only factor responsible
for the horror the present world is going through."

As regards moral nihilism, which seem to permeate modern society,
Girard concludes that "instead of approaching any form of nihilism,
stating that no truth exists as certain philosophers do," we
must "return to anthropology, to psychology and study human relations
better than we have done up to now."

Pornography Plague

2006-12-12T09:08:00.000-08:00

Bishops Concerned Over Effects on Society and Marriage

By Father John Flynn

ARLINGTON, Virginia, DEC. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).-

Pornography is like a plague ravaging the souls of people and destroying marriages. So warned Bishop Paul Loverde in a pastoral letter entitled "Bought With a Price: Pornography and the Attack on the Living Temple of God."In the document, published Nov. 30, the bishop of Arlington explained that the arrival of new communications technologies such as the Internet, satellite television and cell phones, is allowing pornography to reach more and more people.

"Today perhaps more so than at any time previously, man finds his gift of sight and therefore his vision of God distorted by the evil of pornography," he wrote. "It obscures and destroys people's ability to see one another as unique and beautiful expressions of God's creation, instead darkening their vision, causing them to view others as objects to be used and manipulated."Bishop Loverde also noted that the experience of pornography "changes the way men and women treat one another in sometimes dramatic but often subtle ways.

"Today's culture, he continued, often considers pornography as merely a private weakness, or even as a legitimate pleasure. In fact, it is a grave offense, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states in No. 2354.Its immorality stems from the distortion of the truth about human sexuality. Thus, what should be the expression of a married couple's intimate union of life and love, "is reduced to a demeaning source of entertainment and even profit for others.

"In addition, the pastoral letter continued, pornography violates chastity because it introduces impure thoughts into the viewer's mind and often leads to unchaste acts, such as masturbation or adultery.It is also an offense against justice. This is so because of the grave injury to the dignity of its participants, each one of whom becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others.

"Everyone involved in the production, distribution, sale, and use of pornography cooperates and, to some degree, makes possible this debasement of others," Bishop Loverde warned.Family harmThe letter also warned of pornography's harm to the family and marriage: "Since it immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world, a man's use of pornography turns his attention and affection away from his wife."Moreover, the consumerist view of sexuality promoted by pornography damages women and makes it difficult for both men and women to prepare for married fidelity.Within marriage the use of pornography "is a violation of the commitment of marriage," the prelate noted.

Its use by one of the partners in a marriage will lead to feelings of rejection and betrayal, which, if not healed, will often lead to the permanent destruction of the marital commitment.Bishop Loverde also rebutted the argument commonly used to defend pornography, that there are no victims. In fact, he argued, the pornography industry frequently preys on the vulnerable and the needy, enticing them into dangerous behavior.As well, the nature itself of pornography amounts to violence against the dignity of the human person.

"By taking an essential aspect of the person -- human sexuality -- and making it a commodity to be bartered and sold, to be used and discarded by unknown others, the pornography industry commits a most violent attack on the dignity of these victims," the pastoral letter commented.DownloadingThe bishop's concerns are well founded. Last May 28 the British newspaper Independent published the results of a study on the use of the Internet to access pornography. According to a survey carried out by Nielsen NetRatings, almost 40% of the male population in Britain used pornographic Web sites in the last year.The survey also found that more than half of all children have encountered pornography on the Internet "while looking for something else.

"Meanwhile, in Australia, the Melbourne-based Age newspaper warned in a June 4 article that Internet affairs have replaced the office romance as a main cause of marriage breakups.The article cited marriage counselors as saying they are seeing "more relationships shattered by secret cyber love trysts than ever, while lawyers report a rise in Internet-related divorces."The potential for betrayals was evident in comments made to the Age by a Swinburne University clinical psychologist, Simone Buzwell. She is the co-author of the study "Finding Love Online" that involved interviews with more than 1,000 people. Buzwell found that half of those who had found romance online were already in a relationship at the time.Back in the United States, an article in the Christian Science Monitor of Aug. 16 dealt with the role pornography can play in fomenting criminal behavior.

It is clear that not everyone with an addiction to pornography becomes violent or commits sexual crimes. But, warned Corydon Hammond, co-director of the Sex and Marital Therapy Clinic at the University of Utah: "I don't think I've ever yet seen an adult sex offender who was not involved with pornography."These concerns over pornography were also dealt with in a special section of the Colorado Catholic Herald newspaper, published Nov. 10. When pornography use reaches the level of an addiction, "[i]nstead of being directed toward a loving relationship, sex becomes primarily a chemical experience," a high, explained one of those interviewed, Dan Spadaro of Imago Dei Counseling in Colorado Springs.This means that for the addict, most other important relationships fall by the wayside.

Addicts also tend to deny the problem, and, instead, blame and criticize others. There are reportedly a large number of addicts who struggle with depression, Spadaro noted.He also commented that the use of pornography by husbands has a very negative effect on their wives. The spouse can be affected by feelings of inadequacy, thinking that they are not interesting enough for the husband. Moreover, as pornography use often involves concealment on the part of the husband, the wives often feel betrayed because they have been lied to.Another counselor interviewed, Rob Jackson, added that recent studies suggest that wives often suffer signs of post-traumatic stress.

"In my experience, most will suffer a mixed range of emotions, including anger, sadness, depression," he said.A cancerJustifiably, then, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia described pornography as "a cancer upon contemporary culture." In the June 8 issue of the Catholic Standard and Times, the archdiocesan newspaper, he wrote: "Violence, sexual abuse, psychological trauma and ruptured relationships are the fruit of pornography.

"The cardinal warned of the dangers of pornographic Web sites and asked that parents take steps to ensure that such material is not freely available to their children.He also encouraged all to go beyond the superficial attractions of pornography, to what is the true beauty of marital love, "a love that is both unitive and procreative, a love that mirrors the sacrificial love of Christ for his Church."Adding his voice to the list of bishops speaking out on the issue, Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida, addressed parents now making lists of Christmas presents.

Be careful about buying gadgets that will give children access to pornography, he warned.Writing in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper on Nov. 26, he explained that with mobile devices such as phones, PDAs, and video iPods, "your child will be able to access all the pornography available on the Internet." And if adults and marriages can be harmed by pornography, then children are more vulnerable still. Sobering considerations in the midst of festive preparations. ZE06121021

My Theory

2006-12-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

This is my humble opinion and theory on the Alabama coaching search.

I believe that Saban has been the No. 1 candidate the entire time. I believe that Saban has asked Alabama to give him until the end of the Pro regular season. And I believe that the administration is willing to do this.

So much so that I believe that Moore purposefully offered Rodriguez 2 million to call his bluff. Moore knew that the AD at West Virginia could sweeten the pot enough to keep Rodriguez. He also knew that the backlash would have everybody wanting to slow down the process giving Moore until January to find out Saban's intentions. And lastly he knew that the other coaches who are on his list would still be available then, so there was no need for him to panic or rush.

Moore is wanting this hire to define his legacy.

IMHO

Pope Explains Meaning of Sacred Buildings

2006-12-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

During Consecration of a Roman Parish
ROME, DEC. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).-
Without the Word of God there is no community, but with his Word it is built, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope reflected in depth on this theme this morning, when consecrating -- for the first time as Bishop of Rome -- one of his parishes. He consecrated the Parish of Holy Mary Star of Evangelization, in the Torrino neighborhood.

The Holy Father spoke about the meaning of a sacred building as a house of God and house of men, and did so by referring to the rebuilding of the People of Israel, of the holy city of Jerusalem and the Temple after the return from exile.An external reconstruction cannot progress "unless the people as such are reconstructed first, if there is no operative common criterion of justice that unites all," Benedict XVI explained."

True justice cannot be invented by man; instead, it must be rediscovered," he said. "It must come from God, who is justice" and, it is "the holy Word of God … [that] indicates to people the path of justice.""The Word of God is always force of renewal that gives meaning and order to our time," the Pope added.

From the above is also distilled the meaning of "church building": It exists "so that the Word of God can be heard, explained and understood among us; it exists so that the Word of God can work in us as force that creates justice and love," the Holy Father said."It exists, in particular, so that the celebration can begin in which God wills the whole of humanity to participate, not only at the end of time but beginning now," he added. "It exists to awaken in us knowledge of what is just and good, and there is no other source to know and strengthen this knowledge of the just and good other than the Word of God.

"The building exists, therefore, so that we will learn to live the joy of the Lord, who is our strength. And we pray to the Lord so that he will make us happy in his Word. … We pray to the Lord to make us happy in the faith so that this joy will renew us and the world!"Encounter"Without the Word of God there is no community," the Pope said. "The Word of God is not just a discourse but leads to construction; it is a Word that builds."

He continued: "The Word of God is not just a word. In Jesus Christ it is present in our midst as Person," and the latter "is the most profound objective of this sacred building's existence: The church exists because in it we encounter Christ, the Son of the living God.""God has a face, … a name," Benedict XVI affirmed.

"In Christ, he has become flesh and gives himself to us in the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist. The Word is flesh. He gives himself to us under the appearance of bread and is thus transformed into the Bread from which we live."We people live from the Truth. This Truth is a Person: He speaks to us and we speak to him. The church is the place of encounter with the Son of the living God and so the place of meeting among ourselves."This is the joy God gives us: that he became one of us, that we can almost touch him and that he lives with us. The joy of God is really our strength."

Finally, Benedict XVI turned to the figure of the Blessed Virgin: "Mary tells us the purpose of church buildings … so that within us room will be made for the Word of God; so that within us and through us the Word can also become flesh today."
ZE06121005

I am no longer a candidate.

2006-12-06T11:32:00.001-08:00

I am no longer in contention for the Alabama job:

Kent State offers Doug Martin a contract extension

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/cfootballnews.asp?articleID=182748

We will remember, always

2006-12-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

One year ago, on December 3rd, I lost my son Noah Andrew and I almost lost my wife. It is the most tragic day of my life. I will ALWAYS remember you Noah. I look forward to the day when I can see you and hold you again, my dear son. I will love you always. Dad.

We have a winner

2006-11-17T07:25:00.001-08:00

This is the hands down winner for the "Not My Job" Award. Congrats!

The best rivalry in college football?

2006-11-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

ESPN says:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=2662188

Definition of a real man

2006-11-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

This is what it takes to be a real man.
http://cjcphoto.com/can/

Just the way it is

2006-11-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

This was taken from Tider Insider
Who'sYourDarby?
2006-11-15 02:56:38
Forgive me in advance for this post, but tuesday is the day that theIron Bowl hits me every year.I never post, but I have been reading TIall day, and i want to make sure that i am not alone here.

I am a guy from birmingham . I'm 27. i went to alabama . My mom went toalabama. My dad went to alabama . My brother went to Auburn , but neverwaivered in his love for the tide. I love houndstooth. I name my pets after bama football players. I have damaged relationships over my lovefor my University. My fiance wont talk to my during a game. I KNOW inmyheart of hearts, that even in an era when we arent winning, that we are winners. I know that 12 national championships means something, and iwill argue that point with any fan of any team until i am blue in theface. It matters.
We are in a part of the country where we live and die by college football, and I like You, am the reason for that. I want towin saturday because i was taught as a child that when the Crimson tidelines up to play, we win. I was taught that there is nothing greater than our football team. Other fans say it about their own team, whyshouldnt they? Anyone can cheer, and want their team to win, but theyarent cheering for Alabama . We are.
They have no idea what that means.They dont know how important Bear was, not only to us, but to anyonewhoputs on a football helmet. What he did transcends. It's a foundation.It's an attitude. It's a way of doing things. We win.
In every argument i have every had about football, I win. I win because i am an alabama fan. Say we are disillusioned, and we dont care. Poordefense? Maybe. Who cares. I'm a tide fan. Questionable coaching? sure.who cares. I'm a tide fan.
I have spent my entire life, living among auburn fans who constantly judge their success against ours. we are abenchmark. we are bothered by not winning titles. they are bothered bynot beating us. they are used to not winning titles.
I hate Auburn . Ihate them because i have listened to them. I hate them because they think they are good. i hate them because they hold 4 fingers in my faceand think it means something. It doesnt.
At an alabama/auburn baseball game while i was in college, we went upwith an 8th inning 3 run shot. My father was jumping around like a kid. He was beyond excited. I thought he would have a heart attack, andeveryone else in the stadium was right there with him. In the middle ofthe madness, as we all knew we had the game in hand, my father turnedtome, snatched me by the shirt, and in the most evil voice i have everheard, said to me, "you've got to HATE those sons of bitches." he meantit. he was right. no matter what they say, we win. we are the crimson tide. they are not.
I believe that somewhere inside of every true auburnfan, there is the faint notion that they wish they had begun life as analabama fan. i hate auburn. i hate them BECAUSE they are auburn. ialways will. you should too.
If you read all of this, thank you.
Nothing i have written is news,brilliant, enlightening, or even worth reading. I dont apologize forthat. I needed to vent. I needed to prepare. I needed to set the tone for myself. i have my game face on. i hope you do too. it matters. wewin.

Pope to Hold Summit

2006-11-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

Pope to Hold Summit on Married Priests
By Associated Press
Mon, Nov 13, 11:23 PM
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has called a meeting Thursday with top Vatican officials to discuss lifting the celibacy requirement for priests seeking to marry or who have already married.

Benedict called the summit to examine the implications of the "disobedience" of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, the Zambian prelate excommunicated in September for installing four married American men as bishops, the Vatican said Monday.

The Vatican stressed the meeting would not open a general discussion of the celibacy requirement but would only examine requests for dispensation made by priests wishing to marry and requests for readmission made by clergy who had married in recent years.

Milingo first angered the Holy See in 2001, when he married a South Korean acupuncturist chosen for him by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church. He renounced that union _ at a group wedding in New York _ on an appeal from Pope John Paul II a few months later.

Milingo disappeared from his residence outside Rome in June, resurfacing a month later in Washington, D.C., to announce he was back with his wife and was championing the cause of married priests through his new advocacy group "Married Priests Now."

Milingo said the Catholic Church should embrace more than 150,000 married priests worldwide in part to ease the ongoing clergy shortage and to elevate the sanctity of marriage.

The Vatican said in September that Milingo and the four men he ordained as bishops were "automatically excommunicated" under church law. The Vatican added that it did not recognize the ordination of the four _ the Rev. George Augustus Stallings Jr. of Washington; Peter Paul Brennan of New York; Patrick Trujillo of Newark, N.J.; and Joseph Gouthro of Las Vegas _ and would not recognize any ordinations by those men in the future.

Under Vatican teaching, the authority to name bishops rests with the pope. The church also requires celibacy of its priests ordained under the Latin rite.

The Synod of Bishops in October 2005 rejected suggestions that the mandatory celibacy requirement for priests be dropped. But Milingo's excommunication has brought the issue back into the spotlight.

Bishops pass guidelines to gay ministry

2006-11-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Bishops pass guidelines to gay ministry
By RACHEL ZOLL

AP Religion Writer

Tue Nov 14

BALTIMORE - The nation's Roman Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved new guidelines Tuesday on outreach to gays, trying to support gay parishioners while strictly affirming the church stance that same-sex relationships are "disordered."

Gay Catholic activists immediately judged the document a failure that will push gay and lesbians away from the church.
The statement, "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination," upholds the Catholic prohibition against same-gender marriage and adoption by gay or lesbian couples.
Yet bishops insisted that they're trying to be more "welcoming than condemning."
The document says it's not a sin to be attracted to someone of the same gender — only to act on those feelings. The bishops also state that children of gay Catholics can undergo baptism and receive other sacraments in most cases if they are being raised in the faith.
Still, under the guidelines, parishes must instruct gays to remain celibate. The bishops are also discouraging gays from making "general public self-disclosures" within their churches about their sexual orientation.
"It is not sufficient for those involved in this ministry to adopt a position of distant neutrality with regard to Church teaching," the bishops stated. Gay outreach must include teaching that is "welcoming yet challenging, loving but firm in the truth," they said.
The 194-37 vote, with one abstention, came at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Sam Sinnett, president of DignityUSA, an advocacy group for gay Catholics, said the new guidelines reflect the bishops' ignorance about sexuality. He said the document would alienate gays.
"This document recommends the most unhealthy thing to do which is to stay emotionally and spiritually in the closet," Sinnett said.
Some bishops anticipated such criticism.
"For the person with the inclination, they find that very very difficult to accept, personally," said Bishop Kevin Boland of Savannah, Ga., during the floor debate Monday. "They feel that the church is saying to them that as a person they are disordered. I recognize that it is crucially important to say this, but to apply it pastorally it can be difficult."
On another matter Tuesday, bishops overwhelmingly adopted a statement encouraging Catholics to obey the church's ban on artificial contraception.
Church leaders at the gathering are also discussing how Catholics can make themselves worthy to receive Holy Communion. Several bishops said Monday that Catholics who persist in ignoring church teaching, including gays who are sexually active, should not take the sacrament.

Ironbowl

2006-11-13T11:12:00.000-08:00

For what it is worth, I am going to give my prediction. But I must say that this is the most unanticipated, uninteresting Ironbowl that I can remember. Right now, who cares who wins. The only answer is I do. Do we want Awbun to win so that Mike Shula is one step closer to being gone? Or do we want Bama to win and end the stupid streak of 4 (no thumb) and FINALLY win at Bryant-Denny? It is hard question. I answer with Bama 13 Awbun 10. Roll Tide damn it!

Joining Forces

2006-11-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

For one night, and maybe, one night only... Superman and Supergirl joined forces to fight the evil enemy known as Candy Craving. They saved several citizens from having to eat their own candy by using one simple but powerful phrase, "Trick or treat." It seems deceptive, but it was quite effective as they recieved candy at each and every house they went to. Another successful night of crime fighting. Will they join forces ever again? We shall see.

What did I tell you?

2006-10-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

Right on track. I told you guys that West Virginia will be playing for the National Championship. It really doesn't matter who it is, though, Ohio State is going to kill whoever they play.

Benedict XVI Desirous of Ties With Greek Orthodox

2006-10-31T07:14:00.000-08:00

Benedict XVI Desirous of Ties With Greek Orthodox including Taking Part Together "in the One Altar"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 30, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI spoke of the desire for closer ties with the Greek Orthodox Church when he gave an audience to the Catholic bishops of Greece.

The bishops were on their five-yearly visit to Rome. Catholics constitute only 0.55% of Greece's population of 10.6 million.

"The desire is great in all to take part together in the one altar on which is offered under the veil of the Sacrament the one Sacrifice of Christ," the Pope said today when addressing relations with the Orthodox.

"We want to intensify prayer so that the day will come as soon as possible in which we will be able to break together the Bread and drink from the same Chalice in which the price of our salvation is deposited," he added.

In this context, Benedict XVI hoped "that ever greater perspectives will be opened for a constructive dialogue between the Orthodox Church of Greece and the Catholic Church, and that common initiatives will multiply in a spiritual, cultural and practical order."

The Pope sent greetings to Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece, "praying to the Lord to support him with the wide-ranging vision and prudence necessary to fulfill the arduous service that the Lord entrusted to him."

Relations between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Holy See have progressed since Pope John Paul II visited Greece in May 2001 and was received by Archbishop Christodoulos, according to Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

After greeting the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Pope requested the Catholic bishops to offer their "effective collaboration to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and to the members of the Episcopal College of the Orthodox Church to foster further progress on the path of the longed for full unity."

Europe Without Christ?

2006-10-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

Interview with Director of the Center on New Religions

TURIN, Italy, AUG. 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Europe is afraid of Christ, says Massimo Introvigne.

The director of the Center of Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) recently published "ll Dramma dell'Europa Senza Cristo. Il Relativismo Europeo nello Scontro delle Civiltà" (The Drama of Europe Without Christ. European Relativism in the Clash of Civilizations), published in Italian by Sugarco.

In this interview with ZENIT, Introvigne, author of some 30 books on religious minorities, reflects further on this "fear of Christ."

* * *

Q: The drama of Europe is a somewhat pessimistic title. Is it that bad?

Introvigne: I don't think it's too strong a title. Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI have used even more dramatic expressions.

John Paul II used the _expression "Europe's demographic suicide" and my book begins precisely with this theme: In Europe the number of children per couple (if immigrant couples are excluded, including immigrants who have obtained citizenship, which in some countries, such as France, alter the statistics) is under the level of natural replacement of the population and is typical of civilizations that are dying.

The fact that children are not born is not only an economic but a moral and religious problem, and it is the sign of a terrible crisis of hope. Without hope, a civilization dies.

The moral crisis is also confirmed with the practice and legislation on subjects such as marriage and adoption by homosexual couples, euthanasia in Holland and experimentation with embryos.

Finally, there is a crisis of European institutions which do not succeed in agreeing on almost anything or in speaking with a common voice. When they do so, it is not on very important topics or, worse still, when they try to impose on reluctant countries a relativist view of morality on topics such as abortion, bioethics and homosexual unions.

Q: You say that fear of Christ harms Europe. But there are many Europeans who cannot be afraid because they don't even know Christ. Is ignorance worse than fear or disdain?

Introvigne: In fact, all Europeans know Christ. It is enough to consult national literature or to leave one's home to see signs of Christianity everywhere -- chapels, monuments, and churches.

What some call Christophobia is a conscious rejection of this Christian heritage, a fear especially of moral obligations entailed in embracing Christianity. It's true, phenomena like the success of "The Da Vinci Code" show that there is also much religious ignorance. But that doesn't mean that Jesus Christ isn't known.

It is known who he is, but the truths of faith are not known -- including of lay, historical academic research -- which refer to him, because contact has been lost with religious institutions and also because a relativist climate has been established in which any Dan Brown is considered to have as much authority as a bishop or even a university professor, perhaps a non-believer, but who knows the historical sources and would never endorse the absurdities of "The Da Vinci Code."

Q: What is the "religious capital" to which you refer in your book?

Introvigne: According to a school of sociology born in the United States, that of religious economy, each one of us has a "religious capital" which is made up of beliefs acquired in our youth of which, even after a rejection or estrangement something remains from which one cannot be easily separated.

For this reason, when a non-practicing European returns to religion -- something that today and for the past ten years has been happening ever more frequently -- he can easily return to Christianity, or perhaps to ways that are very distant from orthodoxy but which retain symbols and reminiscences of Christianity, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, instead of converting to Islam or Buddhism.

The theory of religious economy holds that this happens because there is a tendency to conserve one's religious capital.

Those in Europe who return to the Catholic religion from the status of being non-practicing or agnostic, either become Pentecostals, or even Jehovah's Witnesses, retain in the three examples I have just given a part of that "religious capital" that comes to them from their youthful religious education. Those, instead, who become Buddhists or Muslims must give up -- almost -- all their religious capital and build a new one -- almost -- from scratch.

For this reason, though conversion to Islam or even to Buddhism are more newsworthy in newspapers, the majority of Europeans -- in particular since Sept. 11, which led many to question their identity -- who are interested in religion again, return more easily and in a more striking way -- from the point of view of statistics -- to Christian ways or at least retain Christian elements and symbols.

Are Believers Delusional? (Part 2)

2006-10-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Richard Dawkins vs. David Quinn

DUBLIN, Ireland, OCT. 24, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is Part 2 of a transcription of a debate between Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion," and David Quinn, columnist at the Irish Independent, on the existence of God, free will and the effect of religion on the world.

The debate took place Oct. 9 on the "The Tubridy Show," hosted by Ryan Tubridy, and was broadcast on Irish public radio station RTE Radio 1. Part 1 of this debate appeared Monday.

* * *

Tubridy: What evidence do you have, Richard Dawkins, that you're right?

Dawkins: I certainly don't believe a word of that. I do not believe we are controlled wholly by our genes. Let me go back to the really important thing that Mr. Quinn says.

Quinn: How are we independent of our genes by your reckoning? What allows us to be independent of our genes? Where is this coming from?

Dawkins: Environment, for a start.

Quinn: But hang on, but that is also a product of, if you like, matter, OK?

Dawkins: Yes, but it's not genes.

Quinn: OK, what part of us allows us to have free will?

Dawkins: Free will is a very difficult philosophical question, and it is not one that has anything to do with religion, contrary to what Mr. Quinn says.

Quinn: It has an awful lot to do with religion, because if there is no God, there is no free will, because we are completely phenomena.

Dawkins: Who says there is no free will if there is no God? That is a ridiculous thing to say.

Quinn: William Provine for one, whom you quote in your book. I have a quote here from him. Other scientists as well believe the same thing, that everything that goes on in our heads is a product of genes, entity, environment and chemical reactions, that there is no room for free will.

And Richard, if you haven't got to grips with that, you seriously need to, because many of your colleagues have, and they deny outright the existence of free will, and they are hardened materialists like yourself.

Tubridy: OK, Richard Dawkins, your rebuke to that note if you wish.

Dawkins: I am not interested in free will. What I am interested in is the ridiculous suggestion that if science can't say where the origin of matter comes from, theology can.

The origin of matter is a very -- the origin of the whole universe -- is a very, very difficult question. It's one that scientists are working on, it's one that they hope, eventually, to solve.

Just as before Darwin, biology was a mystery, Darwin solved that; now cosmology is a mystery. The origin of the universe is a mystery, it's a mystery to everyone. Physicists are working on it, they have theories, but if science can't answer that question, then it's sure as hell theology can't either.

Quinn: Forgive me if I can come in here. It is a perfectly reasonable proposition to ask yourself, Where does matter come from? And it is perfectly reasonable as well to posit the answer: God created matter.

Dawkins: It is not reasonable.

Quinn: Many reasonable people believe this. It is quite a different category to say, "Look, we will study matter and we will ask how matter organizes itself in its particular forms," and come up with the answer: evolution.

It is quite another question to ask, Where does matter come from to begin with? And if you like, you must go outside of matter to answer that question, and then you're into philosophical and theological categories.

Dawkins: How can you possibly say God did it if you can't say where God came from?

Quinn: Because you must have an uncaused cause for anything at all to exist.

Now I see in your book, you come up with an argument against this that I frankly find to be bogus. You come up with the idea of a mathematical infinite regress.

But this does not apply to arguments about uncaused causes and unmoved movers, because we're not talking about math, we are talking about existence and existentiality. Nothing exists unless you have an uncaused cause, and that uncaused cause, and that unmoved mover, is by definition, God.

Dawkins: You just defined God as that. You just defined the problem out of existence. That's no solution to the problem. You just evaded it.

Quinn: You can't answer the question where matter comes from, you as an atheist.

Dawkins: I can't, but science is working on it. You can't answer it either.

Quinn: It won't come up with an answer. And you invoked a "mystery argument" that you accuse religious believers of doing all of the time. You invoke it for the very first and most fundamental question about reality. You do not know where matter came from.

Dawkins: I don't know, science is working on it. Science is a progressive thing that is working on it. You don't know, but you claim that you do.

Quinn: I claim to know the probable answer.

Tubridy: Can I suggest that the next question, it is quite appropriate, is on the role of religion in wars. When you think of the difficulty that it brings up on the local level, Mr. Dawkins, do you believe the world would be a safer place without religion?

Dawkins: Yes I do. I don't think religion is the only cause of war, very far from it. Neither the Second World War, nor the First World War were caused by religion, but I do think that religion is a major exacerbator, and especially in the world today, as a matter of fact.

Tubridy: OK, explain yourself.

Dawkins: Well, I think it's pretty obvious if you look at the Middle East, if you look at India and Pakistan, if you look at Northern Ireland, there are many, many places where the only basis for hostility that exists between rival factions who kill each other is religion.

Tubridy: Why do you take it upon yourself to preach, if you like, atheism -- and there's an interesting choice of words in some ways. You've been accused of being something like a fundamental atheist, if you like, the high priest of atheism. Why go about your business in such a way that you try to disprove these things? Why don't you just believe in it privately, for example?

Dawkins: Well, fundamentalist is not the right word. A fundamentalist is one who believes in a holy book, and thinks that everything in that holy book is true.

I am passionate about what I believe because I think there is evidence for it. And I think it's very different being passionate about evidence from being passionate about a holy book.

So, I do it because I care passionately about the truth. I really, really believe it's a big question, and it's an important question, whether there is a God at the root of the universe. I think it's a question that matters, and I think that we need to discuss it, and that's what I do.

Quinn: Ryan, if I can say, Richard has just come up with a definition of fundamentalism that suits him. He thinks that a fundamentalist is someone who has to believe in a holy book.

A fundamentalist is someone who firmly believes that they have got the truth, and hold that to an extreme extent, and become intolerant of those who hold to a different truth. Richard Dawkins has just outlined what he thinks the truth to be. It makes him intolerant of those who have religious beliefs.

Now in terms of the effect of religion upon the world, I mean at least Richard has rightly acknowledged that there are many causes of war and strife and ill will in the world, and he mentions World War I and World War II.

In his book he tries to get neatly off the hook of having atheism blamed, for example, for the atrocities carried out by Joseph Stalin, saying that these have nothing particularly to do with atheism.

Stalin, and many communists who were explicitly atheistic, took to view that religion was precisely the sort of malign and evil force that Richard Dawkins thinks it is, and they set out from that premise to, if you like, inflict upon religion, as sort of their own version of a final solution, they set to eradicate it from the earth through violence, and also through education that was explicitly anti-religious.

And under the Soviet Union, and in China, and under Pol Pot in Cambodia, explicit and violent efforts were made to suppress religion underground, religion was a wicked force and we have the truth, and our truth would not admit religion into the picture at all, because we believe religion to be an untruth. So atheism also can lead to fundamentalist violence, and did so in the last century.

Tubridy: Can we let Richard in here?

Dawkins: Stalin was a very, very bad man, and his persecution of religion was a very, very bad thing. End of story. It has nothing to do with the fact that he was an atheist.

We can't just compile lists of bad people who were atheists and lists of bad people who were religious. I am afraid that there were plenty on both sides.

Quinn: Yes, but Richard you are always compiling lists of bad religious people. You do it continually in all your books, and then you devote a paragraph to basically try to dissolve atheism of all blame for any atrocity throughout history. You cannot have it both ways.

Dawkins: I deny that.

Quinn: Of course you do it. Every time you are on a program, talking about religion, you bring up the atrocities committed in the name of religion, and then you try to minimize the atrocities committed by atheists because they were so anti-religious, and because they regarded it as a malign force, in much the same way as you do. You are trying to have it both ways.

Dawkins: Well, I simply deny that. I do think that there is some evil in faith, because faith is belief in something without evidence.

Quinn: But you see, that is not what faith is. You see, that is a caricature and a straw man, and it's so typical. That is not what faith is. You have faith that God does not exist.

Dawkins: What is faith?

Quinn: Wait a second. You have faith that God doesn't exist. You are a man of faith as well.

Dawkins: I do not. I've looked at the evidence.

Quinn: I've looked at the evidence too.

Dawkins: If somebody comes up with evidence that goes the other way, I'll be the first to change my mind.

Quinn: Well, I think the very existence of matter is evidence that God exists.

And by the way, remember, you're the man who has problems believing in free will, which you tried to very conveniently [push] to one side earlier.

Dawkins: I'm just not interested in free will, it's just not a big question for me.

Quinn: It's a vast question because we cannot be considered morally responsible beings unless we have free will. Otherwise we do everything because we are controlled by our genes or our environment. It's a vital question.

ZE06102429

Are Believers Delusional? (Part 1)

2006-10-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Richard Dawkins vs. David Quinn

DUBLIN, Ireland, OCT. 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Differences over the existence of God, free will and the effect of religion on the world triggered a spirited debate recently on Irish public radio.

The debate between Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion," and David Quinn, columnist at the Irish Independent, took place Oct. 9 on "The Tubridy Show." The show was hosted by Ryan Tubridy and broadcast on radio station RTE Radio 1.

Here is the first part of a transcription of the show.

* * *

Tubridy: Your most recent book is called "The God Delusion." Let's talk about the word delusion, just to put it into context. Why did you pick that word?

Dawkins: The word delusion means a falsehood which is widely believed, to me, and I think that is true of religion, it is remarkably widely believed.

It is as though almost all of the population, or a substantial proportion of the population, believe that they'd been abducted by aliens in flying saucers -- you'd call that a delusion. I think God is a similar delusion.

Tubridy: And would it be fair to say you equate God with, say, the imaginary friend, the bogeyman, or the fairies at the end of the garden?

Dawkins: Well, I think he is just as probable to exist, yes. And I do discuss all those things, especially the imaginary friend, which I think is an interesting psychological phenomenon in childhood. And that may possibly have something to do with the appeal of religion.

Tubridy: So take us through that a little bit, about the imaginary friend factor.

Dawkins: Many young children have an imaginary friend. Christopher Robin had Binker; a little girl who wrote to me had a little purple man. The girl with the little purple man actually saw him, she seemed to hallucinate him, and he appeared with a little tinkling bell, and he was very, very real to her, although in a sense she knew he wasn't real.

I suspect that something like that is going on with people who claim to have heard God, or seen God, or hear the voice of God.

Tubridy: And we're back to delusion again. Do you think that anyone who believes in God, anyone of any religion, is deluded? Is that the bottom line with your argument, Richard?

Dawkins: Well, there is a sophisticated form of religion. One form of it is Einstein's, which really wasn't religion at all.

Einstein used the word "God" a great deal, but he didn't mean a personal God, he didn't mean a being who could listen to your prayers or forgive your sins.

He just meant it as a kind of poetic way of describing the deep unknowns, the deep uncertainties of the root of the universe.

Then there are deists who believe in a kind of God, a kind of personal God who set the universe going, a sort of physicist God, but then did no more, and certainly doesn't listen to your thoughts, and has no personal interest in humans at all.

I don't think I would use a word like delusion for, certainly not for Einstein, and I don't think I would for a deist either. I think I'd reserve the word delusion for real theists, who actually think they talk to God and think God talks to them.

Tubridy: You have a very interesting description in "The God Delusion" of the Old Testament God. ... You described God as a "misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully."

Dawkins: Well, that seems fair enough to me, yes.

Tubridy: There are those who would say that's a little over the top.

Dawkins: Read your Old Testament if you think that. Just read it. Read Leviticus, read Deuteronomy, read Judges, read Numbers, read Exodus.

Tubridy: And is it your contention that these elements of the God as described by yourself are what has not helped matters in terms of, say, global religion and the wars that go with it?

Dawkins: Well, not really because no serious theologian takes the Old Testament literally, anymore, so it isn't quite like that.

An awful lot of people think they take the Bible literally, but that can only be because they've never read it, because if they ever read it, they couldn't possibly take it literally.

But I do think people are a bit confused about where they get their morality from. A lot of people think they get their morality from the Bible because they can find a few good verses -- parts of the Ten Commandments are OK, parts of the Sermon on the Mount are OK -- so they think they get their morality from the Bible. But actually of course nobody gets their morality from the Bible; we get it from somewhere else.

And to the extent that we can find good bits from the Bible, we cherry-pick them, we pick and choose them, we choose the good verses from the Bible and we reject the bad.

Whatever criterion we use to choose the good verses and throw out the bad, that criterion is available to us anyway, whether we're religious or not. Why bother to pick verses, why not just go straight for the morality?

Tubridy: Do you think the people who believe in God and in religion generally, who you think have -- you use the analogy of the imaginary friend -- do you think that the people who believe in God and religion are a little bit dim?

Dawkins: No, because many of them clearly are highly educated and score highly on IQ tests and things.

Tubridy: Why do they believe in something you think doesn't exist?

Dawkins: Well I think people sometimes are remarkably adept at compartmentalizing their mind, separating their mind into two separate parts.

There are some people who even manage to combine being apparently perfectly good working scientists, with believing that the Book of Genesis is literally true, and that the world is only 6,000 years old. If you can perform that level of double-think, then you could do anything.

Tubridy: But they might say that they pity you because you don't believe what they think is fundamentally true.

Dawkins: Well, they might, but we'll have to argue it out by looking at the evidence. The great thing is to argue it by looking at evidence, not just to say, oh well this is my faith, there is no argument to be had, you can't argue with faith.

Tubridy: David Quinn, columnist at the Irish Independent, show us some evidence please.

Quinn: Well, I mean the first thing I'd say is that Richard Dawkins is doing what he commonly does, which is he's setting up straw men, so he puts God in the same -- he puts believing in God in the same -- category as believing in fairies.

Well, children stop believing in fairies when they stop being children, but they usually don't stop believing in God because belief in God, to my mind, is a much more rational proposition than believing in fairies or Santa Claus.

Tubridy: Do we have more proof that God exists than we do for fairies?

Quinn: I'll come to that in a second.

The second thing is that by compartmentalizing yourself, and he uses the examples of, well, you got intelligent people who somehow or other also believe the world is only 6,000 years old, and we have a young Earth, and they don't believe in evolution.

But again, that's a too stark an either-or. There are many people who believe in God, but also in evolution and believe the universe is 20 billion years old, and believe fully in Darwinian evolution, or whatever the case may be.

Now, in all arguments about the existence and nonexistence of God, often these things don't even get off the launch pad because the two people debating can't even agree on where the burden of proof rests. Does it rest with those who are trying to prove the existence of God? Or does it rest with those who are trying to disprove the existence of God?

But I suppose, if I bring this onto Richard Dawkins' turf, and we talk about the theory of evolution: The theory of evolution explains how matter, which we are all made from, organized itself into, for example, highly complex beings like Richard Dawkins and Ryan Tubridy, and other human beings. But what it doesn't explain, just to give one example, is how matter came into being in the first place.

That, in scientific terms, is a question that cannot be answered, and can only be answered, if it can be answered fully at all, by philosophers and theologians. It certainly can't be answered by science.

And the question of whether God exists or not, cannot be answered fully by science either. And commonly, and a common mistake that people can believe, is that the scientist who speaks about evolution with all the authority of science can also speak about the existence of God with all the authority of science -- and of course he can't.

The scientist speaking about the existence of God is actually engaging in philosophy or theology, but he certainly isn't bringing to it the authority of science per se.

Tubridy: Back to the first question, have you any evidence for me?

Quinn: Well I would say the existence of matter itself, I would say the existence of morality, myself and Richard Dawkins clearly have different understandings of the origins of morality, I would say free will.

If you're an atheist, logically speaking, you cannot believe in objective morality, you cannot believe in free will.

These are two things that the vast majority of humankind implicitly believe in. We believe for example that if a person carries out a bad action, we can call that person bad because we believe that they are freely choosing those actions. An atheist believes we are controlled completely by our genes and make no free actions at all.

ZE06102321

A Guide in an Age of Religious Pluralism

2006-10-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

Interview With Father José Galindo Rodrigo

VALENCIA, Spain, OCT. 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Christianity does not belong to Christians, but rather is the property of Christ, "who wills to save everyone," says the author of a book on religious pluralism.

Father José Galindo Rodrigo, an Augustinian Recollect, wrote "The Powerful Saving Force of Christ: A Guide for Christians Given the Present Religious Pluralism," published by the Trinitarian Secretariat of Salamanca.

The priest, who teaches theological anthropology at the University of Valencia, shared some of his insights with ZENIT.

Q: Does present-day religious pluralism blur the saving power of Christ?

Father Galindo: Present-day religious pluralism exactly as it is often conceived, indeed blurs the saving power of Christ. If one thinks that all religions save, then Christ is diminished. But to equate, when things are not equal, is an injustice and an error.

Q: Other religions are also God's instruments of salvation. How are they reconciled with Jesus Christ, sole personal cause of salvation of the whole of humanity?

Father Galindo: Other religions are also God's instruments of salvation, because having truths and values, according to several documents of the Church, they can serve, and in fact serve so that God can save faithful of those religions though always through the merits of Christ, who is the only Savior of all.

The founders of the great religions are teachers, and in a certain measure, models for humanity -- Lao-tzu, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, etc.

But solely and exclusively, Christ, in addition to supreme teacher and perfect model, is the savior of the whole of humanity in general and of each and all human beings in particular.

Religions, no matter which they are, and Christ are not on the same plane. Religions, including the Christian, are means or instruments, whereas Christ is the personal cause of salvation. It is the individual, the person whom he saves -- salvation is the action of a personal being -- making use of those means or instruments which religions are.

The one who saves is unique, Christ, while the means of which he makes us, some better than others, can be and are several and different, and the different religions are these means. Both truths are reconciled if we speak of religions and of Christ with precision.

Religions don't save -- none of them -- but rather are instruments of which the only personal agent, Christ, makes use to save. However, it is not correct either to say that religions are foreign to the event of the salvation of human beings, as they are means or instruments of it, given their truths and values.

Q: An equalitarian religious pluralism -- "All religions are valid" -- is as dangerous as an absolute exclusivity -- "Only Christianity is right and other religions don't contribute anything." How do you think a balance can be found?

Father Galindo: An equalitarian or undifferentiated pluralism is erroneous, as it is obvious that not all religions are equal.

Moreover, this would imply falling into the error that Christ, being the Son of God, has not founded a religion that is superior to the others, which implies that Christ either was not serious in founding Christianity or that he is not God. The former is absurd, while the latter is a heresy for a Christian.

Absolutism is not correct either in affirming that only Christianity is right, because the great religions coincide in some things -- truths and values -- with Christianity. …

Q: Might the new name of "interreligious dialogue" be to consider other religions as "valid" in promoting values?

Father Galindo: As Benedict XVI is highlighting, and John Paul II also did, religions must be allies in many important things for the good of humanity.

In time, I hope that Christ will be ever more known by very many people who will end by being better followers of his then those of us who now say we are Christians.

ZE06102324

Arian Heresy Still Tempts

2006-10-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

Arian Heresy Still Tempts, Says Cardinal Bertone
Sees Example in "Da Vinci Code"

ROME, OCT. 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the new Vatican secretary of state, says that the Church continues to be tempted by the Arian heresy, the idea that Christ is not God.

In an interview with the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, the Italian cardinal acknowledged that "one of the main problems of our time is the problem of Christology," according to which Christ is considered only as "a great man."

"If Christ's divinity is doubted," the foundation of Christianity is doubted, he said.

The Vatican official recalled the doctrine of Arius (256-336), a priest of Alexandria and later a bishop, who, beginning in 318, denied the divinity of the Word, the Second Person of the Trinity.

Symptoms of this denial of Jesus' divinity include the support received by "The Da Vinci Code," despite its "absolutely shameful fictional inventions," said Cardinal Bertone, 71.

"But we see in addition that even in the elaboration of certain theology, doubt is cast on the divinity and salvific unicity of Christ, the only Savior," he continued. "This Christological reduction betrays the faith of the nascent Church and of the great Christological councils of Nicaea, Constantinople and Chalcedon.

"It is an authentic betrayal and a denial of the faith of our fathers."

According to the cardinal, "it is necessary, therefore, to return to Christological faith, to the centrality of Christ, true God and therefore only Savior."

Pelagianism

However, according to the Vatican secretary of state, the Church not only faces the threat of Arianism, but also of a new Pelagianism, one of the worst heresies, which arose in the fifth century.

"This hinges on thinking that we can build a Church ourselves and in believing that it is possible to save ourselves, without the Lord's grace and help," he noted. "They are recurring dangers which appear successively in history."

These two challenges were addressed in the 2000 declaration "Dominus Iesus," signed by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, in their capacity as prefect and secretary, respectively, of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

ZE06100906

In Defense of Marriage

2006-10-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

Bishop Tartaglia's Homily at Red Mass

EDINBURGH, Scotland, OCT. 21, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Legislative measures in Scotland and elsewhere have jeopardized family life, according to Bishop Philip Tartaglia.

The 55-year-old bishop of Paisley defended marriage and family in this homily to members of the legal profession during the annual Red Mass on Oct. 8 in St. Mary's Cathedral.

* * *

In today's Gospel, Jesus talks of man, woman and children. In fact he talks of husband, wife and children, which we have come to call the family.

The family constituted by parents, a man and woman married to each other, and their offspring, has been the basic cell of society in pre-Christian, Christian and non-Christian cultures for millennia. Until now.

Now a raft of legislative measures here in Scotland as elsewhere has jeopardized, recklessly I think, family life as intended by God's purpose for human beings created in his image and likeness.

As men and women of the legal profession, these legislative measures will be well known to you. Some of them are these: The Family Law Act which makes divorce even quicker and gives quasi-marital status to de facto heterosexual unions. Civil Partnership legislation allows homosexual couples to register their relationships and enjoy a civil status analogous to marriage. The Gender Recognition Act allows people to choose to be male or female irrespective of their sex.

The Catholic Church's view of these kinds of developments here and elsewhere is well known. We have protested all of these measures. Our reaction to civil partnership legislation is typical of our stance. The social teaching of the Church could not be clearer: "By putting homosexual unions on a legal plane analogous to that of marriage and family life, the State acts arbitrarily and in contradiction with its duties" [Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, No. 228].

This may seem hard on legislators. Yet I have some sympathy for them! They are making provisions for a very diverse, pluralist, secular society, which is being encouraged to become intolerant of and even hostile to the Christian patrimony of this country. They have to respond to pressure groups and focus groups and all kinds of well-organized, well-financed and very determined alliances. And, while the Catholic Church speaks clearly enough on these matters, the Christian voice is sadly muffled, so legislators can more easily set our opinions aside.

As I say, I have some sympathy for legislators, but not a lot. They should know better what is good for society, and in some cases they do know better but ignore it in the interests of power. For instance, all reputable research shows that children do better with two parents who are husband and wife. But political correctness, very often the enemy of right thinking and freedom of speech, practically forbids this to be said because it will offend some group's sensitivities.

But the main reason I do not have sympathy for the legislators who have enacted these laws is because the truth of marriage and of the family is not just a mystery of faith but belongs to the natural law and is accessible by reason. Even many non-Christian societies have recognized this. Unfortunately, in our times, the minds of many have been so darkened by hubris and by the selfish pursuit of their own gratification that they have lost sight of the natural law which God has written into his creation so that even those who do not believe in him may reach out for the truth and so be disposed, however inchoately, to God's presence in the world. Even if they cannot be blamed for not having faith, I suspect that God will call them to account for ignoring the promptings of their own right reason. They are fortunate that he is more merciful than they are!

So in this context it is more than ever necessary for us to be strengthened, enlightened, consoled and inspired by the Word of God. In today's Gospel, Jesus makes it clear that divorce and remarriage is not the way he wants his disciples to live. Divorce may have been possible to some extent in his time under the Mosaic law, just as it is possible, very much more possible, almost to the point of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, in our society. But it is decidedly not what God wants.

Jesus appeals to the mystery of creation. God made them male and female, man and woman, as the first form of communion between persons. "This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has joined together, man must not divide." This is the wonderful vision of marriage which the Catholic Church offers to her children and to all men and women.

It is the vision of marriage which still basically unites Christians, Jews, Muslims and adherents of other respected religions. It is the vision of marriage too which basically inspires any man and woman who marry with true love in their hearts. They want lasting, enduring, faithful love. This vision of marriage is the hope of right reason as well the gift of faith.

Sadly, however, lasting, enduring, faithful love is not always what happens. The Church knows this and, while upholding the sanctity of the marriage bond, has developed a compassionate pastoral attitude to people whose marriages have broken up, encouraging them to remain part of the life of the Church and offering them the things that only the Church can offer to help them to lighten their burden. As you know, there is also the possibility of an annulment appeal to a Church tribunal. As you know, the Scottish Catholic Tribunal investigates among other things serious defects in the original consent exchanged by the couple such as to render that consent null, and so carries out an essential obligation of the Church to bring justice in a timely manner to its appellants.

As you know too, marriage breakdown often ends in a civil divorce. Divorce settlement is bread and butter to the legal profession. Here, Catholic lawyers are in the unenviable position of having to facilitate a legal procedure, civil divorce, which is a grave offense against the natural law because it claims to break the contract to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives a chilling but completely realistic description of the pernicious effects of divorce on spouses, children and society: "Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society" (CCC, No. 2385). So no one, my dear brothers and sisters, should ever get blasé about divorce.

At the same time, we know that a civil divorce may be the only way to tidy up what is already a tragic mess for spouses and children. In these circumstances, civil divorce may be the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the safety of one of the spouses, the care of the children or the protection of inheritance. And in these cases, divorce does not constitute a moral offence (CCC, No. 2383). Remarriage is another matter, but that is not usually the concern of lawyers.

So I would hope that Catholic lawyers will bring to this situation their Catholic principles and conscience about the sanctity of marriage which means that saving the marriage is always a possibility and that divorce is never going to be a quick-fix solution to a problem. I am told that good lawyers nearly always first put the case for staying together to their clients who are in the throes of marriage breakdown.

They will, of course, carry out their work to the best of their professional ability in the best interests of their clients and their children. And in the context of the legal profession and in dealing with politicians, legislators and civic leaders, they should not hesitate to defend the sanctity of marriage and to underline the nefarious consequences of a divorce mentality on the common good of our society.

Lawyers are also well placed to bring to the attention of legislators and others the value of public funding for programs of marriage preparation and of marriage counseling which give a high priority to safeguarding and preserving the marriage bond. This would be a worthwhile contribution to creating a social capital of stable family life. This, my dear brothers and sisters, is the kind of witness to which Catholic lay people are called through their baptism, confirmation and membership of the Church.

Finally, my dear brothers and sisters, let me conclude by affirming our faith that Christian marriage is a holy mystery and a noble vocation. It signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ loved his Church. It is based on the consent of a man and woman to give themselves to each other mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. Marriage in Christ gives rise to the Christian home where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. The family home is rightly called "the domestic Church," a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity.

May you who are married have the joy of living in such a union. May you all, in your professional lives, find the strength in Christ to uphold the sacredness of marriage in your work and in the public square, for the common good of our society and of our country.

[Text adapted]
ZE06102101

SEC warns Auburn for noise violations during game situations

2006-10-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

SEC warns Auburn for noise violations during game situations

October 18, 2006

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- The Southeastern Conference has sent a written warning to Auburn for violating a league rule by blaring music between plays during last Saturday's game against Florida.

The music violated the SEC's restriction on "institutionally-controlled computerized sound systems," associate league commissioner Charles Bloom said.

Auburn spokesman Kirk Sampson confirmed on Wednesday that the university received the letter but had no immediate comment. The warning was first reported by the Press-Register of Mobile on its Web site.

Bloom declined to say who reported the violation.

Auburn has played the first few notes of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" or Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" throughout the season, mostly when the defense was facing crucial third- or fourth-down plays.

The music was played more frequently in the 27-17 win over No. 9 Florida.

Auburn could face a $5,000 fine if it violates the rule again.

The SEC rule states: "The use of institutionally-controlled computerized sound systems, including music, and institutionally-controlled artificial noisemakers shall be restricted to pre-game, halftime, post-game, after a score and team or media timeouts."

Bloom said he was not aware of any other school being fined or warned recently for being in violation of this policy.

Bishops Tighten Catholic-Orthodox Relations

2006-10-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Send Letter to Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow

MOSCOW, OCT. 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The first plenary assembly of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences in Russia helped the Catholic bishops to build closer ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.

In a letter sent Sunday by the assembly to Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, the bishops said that the meeting had "been like having a window opened for us onto a part of Europe where the challenge to get to know our Orthodox brothers and sisters in clear, but where we have also glimpsed the variety of Catholic and other Christian experiences in the Russian Federation."

The presidents of 34 European episcopal conferences, gathered in Saint Petersburg from Oct. 4-8, added in the letter: "We have been encouraged to ... find the way forward rather than giving in to the temptation to dwell on problems of the past."

"What is clear to us here in Russia is that we should not do this separately whenever we can do it together," the bishops said.

According to Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, of the Diocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, the assembly "helped the participants to understand better the religious situation in Russia and, undoubtedly, to develop the relationship between the different confessions and between the Church and society."

United Europe

In a letter sent to Benedict XVI, the assembly stated their wish to work with the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community to promote "evangelization, interreligious dialogue, ecumenism and the process of European unification."

In their note the presidents stated: "We share your profound concern and sorrow over the fact that in the great mobilization in progress of peoples and cultures, there is the risk of using religion to justify irrational acts of violence.

"We promise you our efforts to promote true dialogue and the logic of love indicated to us in 'Deus Caritas Est.'"

The assembly agreed to hold a meeting of professors of European Universities in Rome in June 2007, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Union, to further reflect on the relationship between faith and reason.

In addition, they decided to hold the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu, Romania, in September 2007, with the participation of Christian Churches and communities of all the countries of the Continent.

The conference renewed its president, Cardinal Péter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, who will head the council until 2011.

At 54, Cardinal Erdo is the youngest cardinal in the College of Cardinals.

ZE06101129

Generation Y's Feeble Faith

2006-10-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Australian Study Shows Lower Interest in Religion

By Father John Flynn

MELBOURNE, Australia, OCT. 15, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A study of the younger generation's spirituality in Australia revealed fairly low levels of religiosity and practice. "The Spirit of Generation Y: Young People, Spirituality and Society" was recently released under the authorship of a team of researchers, led by Redemptorist Father Michael Mason, of the Australian Catholic University.

From 2003 till early 2006 the researchers studied a national sample of young people in their teens and 20s. The methodology relied on surveys and face-to-face interviews.

Researchers found that 48% of Generation Y believe in a God, 20% do not, and 32% are unsure. Two-thirds of those who do not believe in God, or are uncertain, do believe in a "higher being or life-force."

Generation Y refers to the cohort born between 1976 and 1990. They followed Generation X (1961-1975) and the baby boomers (1946-1960). The youngest members of Generation Y were aged 13 when interviews began in 2003, and the oldest were aged 29 at the end of 2005.

"It is likely that this cohort is the first in the last 100 years in which the majority have no memory of frequent church attendance," commented the ample summary of the report. The full report will be published in book form next year.

In general the study found that the social forces influencing contemporary religion and spirituality -- secularization, the relativism of postmodernity, consumer capitalism, individualism -- have a greater impact on younger people.

The researchers concluded that members of Generation Y have taken strongly to two modern principles. They are: that an individual's views and preferences, provided they harm no one else, should not be questioned or constrained; and that spiritual or religious beliefs and practices are purely personal lifestyle choices -- in no way necessary.

In spite of moving away in large numbers from traditional religion they seem to have a strong sense of purpose in their lives, according to the study. There is no evidence of a widespread plague of meaninglessness or social alienation among Generation Y.

This positive finding is in spite of declining support from churches and the local community. As these factors have weakened, younger people have compensated by turning to family and friends.

A private affair

The study identified three main strands in the spirituality of Generation Y.

-- Christian, 44%. Overall, only 19% of Generation Y are actively involved in a church to the extent of attending religious services once a month or more. Conservative Protestant denominations -- 16% of Gen Y -- have by far the highest rates of attendance. Nevertheless, many more believe in God and Jesus, and pray regularly. In general, religion is seen as a private matter. And there is a strong tide of movement among Generation Y Christians away from involvement or identification with a church, and even from religious belief.

-- Eclectic, 17%. This consists in believing in two or more New Age, esoteric or Eastern beliefs (reincarnation, psychics and fortunetellers, ghosts, astrology, etc.) and perhaps engaging in one or more alternative spiritual practices (yoga, Tarot, tai chi). Some of these people attend religious services but most do not. Such beliefs and practices are more common among young women than among young men.

-- Humanist, 31%. This group rejects the idea of God, although a few believe in a "higher being." Almost half believe that there is very little truth in religion, and fewer than a quarter believe in life after death. They also largely reject alternative spiritualities.

The study also revealed that the level of social concern among Generation Y is not high. They tend to be more self-centered and lacking in altruism than older generations. This could be linked to the lower levels of religiosity. In fact, those who are actively involved in service to the community and have positive civic values are far more likely to come from the ranks of those who have spiritual and religious beliefs and actively practice them.

The Catholic Church provided the largest single group among the young people studied. Among them 18% identified themselves as Catholic. Another 8% declared themselves Anglicans, and 16% declared themselves as belonging to one of a variety of other Christian churches. Added up, plus some other minor groups, this gave a total of 48% declaring a religious identification, against 52% lacking any such identification.

The researchers were struck by the numbers without a formal religious identification; it was 17% to 18% higher than the level found in previous Australian census data. The latest national census was carried out in 2001.

Another notable finding was that there is no significant difference in the scores of Generation Y males and females. This confirms other recent research in Australia that young women are overall no more religious than young men. Given that mothers are known to have great influence in the religious socialization of children, "it is hard to overestimate the importance of this finding and its likely consequences," commented the report.

Catholic commitment

On nearly all measures of belief and practice Catholic members of Generation Y are positioned between the Anglican and the Other Christian groups. The scale runs from those least likely to affirm religious beliefs (Anglicans) to the group most likely to do so (Other Christians).

Only on belief in life after death did the proportion of Catholics accepting the doctrine approach that of Other Christians. On the belief and practice scales, Catholics scored significantly lower than Other Christians.

Compared with their parents' generation -- those aged 45-59 -- Generation Y Catholics were very similar on most items of belief and practice, with two exceptions:

-- They are more likely to affirm that God relates to us as a person.

-- They are less likely to find it OK "to pick and choose one's beliefs."

The researchers highlighted these differences as being "striking," because they show the younger generation as more, instead of less, orthodox than their parents' generation. On both points the differences were statistically significant.

Not all was positive, however. Two other differences, described as being less strong and characterized as "trends," were that the Generation Y members are more likely to agree that "morals are relative," and less likely to claim that faith was important or very important in shaping their lives.

The researchers divided the Christians according to levels of involvement with their faith. Among Catholics 29% fell into the committed or active categories, compared with 15% for Anglicans and 53% for the Other Christians. As for the rest of the Catholics, a full 53% were described as marginal or nominal, and another 17% as eclectic.

Sydney's Catholic archbishop commented on the study's findings in a Sept. 28 speech to an education conference. Noting that a relatively high percentage of young Catholics believe it is "OK to pick and choose beliefs," Cardinal George Pell declared he was worried about the current situation.

He observed that these, and other data, indicate "a malaise and confusion in the general approach to life rather than a few isolated points of heresy or unbelief."

The cardinal also noted that the Generation Y survey was not able to detect any religious effect of attendance at Church schools, even though a majority of those who believe in God and attend Church schools say the religious education is helpful.

Benedict XVI recently touched on the Australian situation, in a May 18 speech when he welcomed the country's new ambassador, Anne Maree Plunkett, to the Holy See. Describing the situation of Australia as one where "the disquieting process of secularization is much advanced," the Pope augured that World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney will be "a time of deep ecclesial renewal, especially among the young." A sentiment no doubt shared by many.
ZE06101529

New Bama Helmet?

2006-10-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

Keep Shula, Fire Moore

2006-10-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

I drank the Shula Koolaid for years. I actually wanted Shula to coach Alabama before Fran. However, things have changed... the Arkansas game opened my eyes to realize that Shula has not changed or learned or grown since arriving at the Capstone. I hear people say, "If Shula will..." This is the wrong attitude. I know of people who have gone into marriage the same way and wind up in divorce when things don't change. So why am I saying keep Shula and fire Moore? Mal Moore IS the issue. He has hired 3 coaches and all, in some way or other, have been a bust. Until he leaves, I want Shula to stay because I do not want Moore involved in another coaching hire at the University. After he leaves, well, that is another story.

-Doug

The Pope moves to bring Latin Mass back in from the cold

2006-10-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

By Malcolm Moore in Rome and Damian Thompson
(Filed: 12/10/2006)

Pope Benedict XVI has drawn up controversial plans to make it easier for Catholics to attend the Tridentine Mass, which is celebrated almost entirely in Latin.
The Mass was effectively banned in the 1960s after the Second Vatican Council decided that modern worshippers should attend a new Mass celebrated in the vernacular.
In most dioceses, the old Mass, which also contains Greek and Hebrew, can be celebrated only if parishioners are willing to go through a lengthy bureaucratic procedure which includes a petition to their bishop.
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However, the Mass appeals to Benedict XVI's love of tradition, and he will soon use a papal edict to allow congregations to celebrate it unless their bishop publicly forbids it, which many would probably be loath to do.
"This will enlarge the possibilities of the Latin Mass, which would become something ordinary rather than extraordinary," said La Stampa, an Italian newspaper. Vatican experts said yesterday that the move may heal a rift with the ultra-conservative followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who broke with Rome in 1988. He was subsequently excommunicated for consecrating bishops without the Pope's approval.
The Pope's intent is to "help overcome the schism and help bring (the ultra-conservatives) back to the Church," said an official.
Few British Catholics under the age of 50 will have attended a Tridentine Mass. The sacred centre of the liturgy, the Eucharistic Prayer, is recited by the priest in an almost inaudible voice – "the blessed mutter of the mass", as Browning called it. During most of the service, the priest has his back to the people, instead of facing them, as he does in the New Mass.
In England and Wales, there is not much demand for the Tridentine Rite. But that may be because the bishops, who favour folk liturgies, disapprove of it so strongly. Very few English priests have gone through the long and complicated business of learning to say the old Mass.
In other countries, however, Tridentine parishes are flourishing. Many young people are drawn to the glorious solemnity, in which clouds of incense swirl around the priests, deacon, sub-deacon and acolytes as they go through their choreographed motions. They also appreciate the quiet mystery of the old Mass, in which the priest appears to be alone with God.
When he was a cardinal, the Pope said: "Personally, I believe that it would be more generous to consent to the ancient rite to those who want it. It does not really seem that this would be something dangerous or unacceptable. A community opens itself to question when it decides on a whim that something which recently appeared sacred should be prohibited."
Sources in the Vatican suggested that the edict could be issued on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. However, other sources believe that it will emerge either over Christmas or at the beginning of next year.
malcolm.moore@telegraph.co.uk

Barker's biggest game came off the field

2006-10-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

Barker's biggest game came off the field

Jon Johnson / jjohnson@dothaneagle.com
October 10, 2006

The day Jay Barker led Alabama to a national championship win against Miami in 1992 was huge, but nowhere near the most memorable day of his life.

“At 5 years old, the Holy Spirit moved my heart,” Barker says. “Nothing has been better than that day.”

Those who follow sports in this state remember Barker as the poised leader of the Crimson Tide, the winningest quarterback in school history.

When you reflect on the QBs who have worn the crimson and white jersey - names like Joe Namath, Kenny Stabler, Bart Starr - you get the picture, it makes Barker’s accomplishments seem so much more impressive.

Yet for those gathered to hear Barker speak at Covenant United Methodist Church in Dothan on Monday, it’s a good bet they left more impressed with him than ever before.

Barker spent a hour on the floor, but none of it concerned football talk. He shared with the group his passion for Christ, family values and the importance of leading people to the Lord.

As smooth as he used to be in the pocket, Barker was just as confident talking about Christ.

In fact, I found myself wondering why he wasn’t in the ministry full time.

Then he explained how it’s his belief everyone can and should spread the message of Christ in their own way, no matter what their profession may be.

Barker talked of his experience as a quarterback in the short-lived XFL - a hard-core production of football which came under much criticism for its raunchy presentation.

He spent eight months deciding if he should take up an offer to join the Birmingham Thunderbolts.

After reading an article in which someone blasted the league and urged Christians not to have anything to do with it, Barker decided that day he would sign on.

Why?

Because Barker knew there were people he could reach through that avenue.

The first day of team camp, Barker invited players to join a prayer group he and a teammate would lead the following morning.Five people showed up that first day. By the end of the season, there were 17 regular members of the group and a handful who committed their lives to Christ.

Barker then knew his time in the XFL was worth it.

He stays involved in sports as a co-host of a sports call-in show based in Birmingham. And he understands people pay attention to what he says in large part because he once played football on the college and pro level.

For the sports record, he believes Mike Shula is the right man to lead Alabama as head coach and says the worst thing the school could do at this point is go through another transition.
But Barker much rather talk about making it to Heaven than making a touchdown.

That’s the most important game in his life.

God as Logos, Allah as Will

2006-10-06T05:57:00.000-07:00

Father James Schall on Benedict XVI's Regensburg Address

WASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 3, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The "unreasoned" reaction to Benedict XVI's recent speech at the University of Regensburg has proved that his point needed much attention, says a U.S. scholar.

Jesuit Father James Schall, professor of political philosophy at Georgetown University, is author of "The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking" (ISI Books).

He shared with ZENIT why he thinks the Regensburg lecture was liberating and imperative, and how the reaction to it highlighted the modern disconnect between faith and reason.

Q: At Regensburg, Benedict XVI highlighted the Christian understanding of God as Logos. How does the idea of God as Logos differ from an Islamic conception of God?

Father Schall: The Holy Father posed the fundamental question that lies behind all the discussion about war and terror. If God is Logos, it means that a norm of reason follows from what God is. Things are, because they have natures and are intended to be the way they are because God is what he is: He has his own inner order.

If God is not Logos but "Will," as most Muslim thinkers hold Allah to be, it means that, for them, Logos places a "limit" on Allah. He cannot do everything because he cannot do both evil and good. He cannot do contradictories.

Thus, if we want to "worship" Allah, it means we must be able to make what is evil good or what is good evil. That is, we can do whatever is said to be the "will" of Allah, even if it means doing violence as if it were "reasonable."

Otherwise, we would "limit" the "power" of Allah. This is what the Pope meant about making violence "reasonable." This different conception of the Godhead constitutes the essential difference between Christianity and Islam, both in their concept of worship and of science.

Q: Your newest book is entitled, "The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking." In what way is the life of the mind a participation in the Logos of God?

Father Schall: Aquinas says that truth is the "conformity of the mind with reality." This means that a reality exists that we do not ourselves make. It is a reality that cannot be "otherwise" by our own will. It also means that God established what is, not we ourselves.

Thus, if we are to know the "truth," which is what makes us "free," it means that we know what God created, is what it is. We rejoice to know the truth that we did not make. The wonder of what is, elates us.

If Allah is pure will, then anything that is, can be the opposite of what it is, so that nothing really is what it is. It can always be otherwise.

Q: Is Benedict XVI's discussion of "faith and reason" different from John Paul II's encyclical "Fides et Ratio"?

Father Schall: I am not aware of much difference. "Fides et Ratio," as I tried to show in my book, "Roman Catholic Political Philosophy," is itself a defense of philosophy. But it recognizes that faith is also a guide to philosophy. Not all philosophies reach the reality that is.

Both Pontiffs are concerned that faith directs itself to reason and that reason is a reality that is not invented by the human mind. We did not fabricate the mind we have that thinks. We are to use it. We invent neither it nor reality.

Both Popes hold philosophy to be possible and available to every person. But they also recognize that some philosophies cannot defend either faith or reality. This is the problem with the "voluntarism" of classical Islamist philosophy. This same philosophy exists in the West, as Benedict indicated.

Indeed, the Regensburg lecture was directed as much at the West as at Islam on this score. Those who justify abortion follow the exact same philosophical position that the Pope saw in the medieval Muslim thinker from Cordova.

Q: Benedict XVI argued that the synthesis of Hellenistic and Hebrew thought is present as early as the Old Testament wisdom books, but reaches its fullest _expression in the Gospel of John. Why is this position important for the Church in what Benedict XVI calls the "dialogue of cultures"?

Father Schall: The fact that Benedict referred to a "dialogue of cultures" shows that he had more than the West and Islam in mind; China and India are also in his scope. The Pope is clear that the command to Paul to go to Macedonia was itself providential.

Indeed, like John Paul II's trip to Poland, Benedict's visit to Regensburg is providential. Both aimed at the crucial problem of our time. We forget that the papacy is not just another human power, though it is also human. It is uncanny how the contemporary world, to its own surprise, continually finds itself watching the papacy.

The Pope says that reason is now also an element of faith. He does not mean that it ceases to be reason. That is why he, as a Pope, gave a "lecture," whose only public claim was its own intrinsic reasonableness. Of its very nature, a lecture demands not passion but reason to grasp what it says.

When within days after the lecture, storms swelled all through the Islamic world, with lots of objections in the West -- including in Catholic circles -- it was clear that Benedict's address was not read for what it said.

It was not translated immediately into Arabic in leading Muslim papers. Most read only snippets in the West. The spirit of an academic lecture, to present the truth of what is, was violated.

The Muslim world, I suspect, is beginning to have second thoughts about its unrestricted reaction to this address. Its actual reaction did not prove the Pope was "insensitive" or "insulting." Rather it proved that his point needed much attention, just as he intended.

Q: Benedict XVI's speech was also a criticism of the Western world; it should have found many receptive ears among Muslims. Yet, the speech has been widely criticized and denounced, proving the point the Pope was trying to make about reason for the dialogue of cultures. Does this spell doom for Benedict XVI's project?

Father Schall: My own opinion is that Benedict was not surprised by these reactions. Indeed, I suspect it is precisely this unreasoned reaction that has made his point so clearly that no sane mind can deny it. It was a point that had to be made.

It could not have been made by the politicians, who in fact did not make it even when they needed it. Politicians talked about "terrorists," as if a more fundamental theological problem was not at issue. Until this deeper issue was spelled out, which is what the Regensburg lecture was about, we were doomed.

This address is probably one of the most liberating addresses ever given by a Pope or anyone else. As its import sinks in, those who were unwilling to consider what it was about will find themselves either embarrassed -- if they are honest -- or more violent, if they refuse the challenge of reason.

Make no mistake about it: This address illuminated, more than anything that we know, the problems with a modernity based on an explicit or implicit voluntarism that postulated that we could change the world, our nature, our God according to our own wills.

Q: The Western media have often taken Benedict XVI's words out of context and stoked the flames of Islamic aggression. How does the cultural dominance and hostility to the Church by the mass media affect its ability to participate in the dialogue of cultures?

Father Schall: There can be no "dialogue" about anything until the basic principles of reason are granted both in theory and practice. Chesterton remarked on the fact that those who begin to attack the Church for this or that reason, mostly end up attacking it for any reason.

What is behind the attack on reason or the refusal to admit that God is Logos is already a suspicion that the Church is right about intellect and its conditions. We have no guarantee that reason will freely be accepted.

Von Balthasar said that we are warned that we are sent among wolves. We are naive to think that Christ was wrong when he warned us that the world would hate us for upholding Logos and the order of things it implies.

But Benedict is right. He has put the citizens of world on notice that they are also accountable for how they use or do not use their reason. No one else could have done this. The fact is, the world has wildly underestimated Benedict XVI precisely because it would not see the ability he displays in getting to the heart of intellectual things.

In the end, all of this is about "the life of the mind." Both reason and faith tell us so.

Papal Address on Stem-Cell Research

2006-10-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

"A Good Result Can Never Justify Intrinsically Unlawful Means"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 4, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Sept. 16 to the participants in the symposium on "Stem Cells: What Future for Therapy?" organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life.

* * *

Hall of the Swiss, Castel Gandolfo
Saturday, 16 September 2006

Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I address a cordial greeting to you all. This meeting with you, scientists and scholars dedicated to specialized research in the treatment of diseases that are a serious affliction to humanity, is a special comfort to me.

I am grateful to the organizers who have promoted this Congress on a topic that has become more and more important in recent years. The specific theme of the Symposium is appropriately formulated with a question open to hope: "Stem cells: what future for therapy?".

I thank Bishop Elio Sgreccia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, for his kind words, also on behalf of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC), an association that has cooperated in organizing the Congress and is represented here by Prof. Gianluigi Gigli, outgoing President, and Prof. Simon de Castellvi, President-elect.

When science is applied to the alleviation of suffering and when it discovers on its way new resources, it shows two faces rich in humanity: through the sustained ingenuity invested in research, and through the benefit announced to all who are afflicted by sickness.

Those who provide financial means and encourage the necessary structures for study share in the merit of this progress on the path of civilization.

On this occasion, I would like to repeat what I said at a recent Audience: "Progress becomes true progress only if it serves the human person and if the human person grows: not only in terms of his or her technical power, but also in his or her moral awareness" (cf. General Audience, 16 August 2006).

In this light, somatic stem-cell research also deserves approval and encouragement when it felicitously combines scientific knowledge, the most advanced technology in the biological field and ethics that postulate respect for the human being at every stage of his or her existence.

The prospects opened by this new chapter in research are fascinating in themselves, for they give a glimpse of the possible cure of degenerative tissue diseases that subsequently threaten those affected with disability and death.

How is it possible not to feel the duty to praise all those who apply themselves to this research and all who support the organization and cover its expenses?

I would like in particular to urge scientific structures that draw their inspiration and organization from the Catholic Church to increase this type of research and to establish the closest possible contact with one another and with those who seek to relieve human suffering in the proper ways.

May I also point out, in the face of the frequently unjust accusations of insensitivity addressed to the Church, her constant support for research dedicated to the cure of diseases and to the good of humanity throughout her 2,000-year-old history.

If there has been resistance -- and if there still is -- it was and is to those forms of research that provide for the planned suppression of human beings who already exist, even if they have not yet been born. Research, in such cases, irrespective of efficacious therapeutic results is not truly at the service of humanity.

In fact, this research advances through the suppression of human lives that are equal in dignity to the lives of other human individuals and the lives of the researchers themselves.

History itself has condemned such a science in the past and will condemn it in the future, not only because it lacks the light of God but also because it lacks humanity.

I would like to repeat here what I already wrote some time ago: Here there is a problem that we cannot get around; no one can dispose of human life. An insurmountable limit to our possibilities of doing and of experimenting must be established. The human being is not a disposable object, but every single individual represents God's presence in the world (cf. J. Ratzinger, "God and the World," Ignatius Press, 2002).

In the face of the actual suppression of the human being there can be no compromises or prevarications. One cannot think that a society can effectively combat crime when society itself legalizes crime in the area of conceived life.

On the occasion of recent Congresses of the Pontifical Academy for Life, I have had the opportunity to reassert the teaching of the Church, addressed to all people of good will, on the human value of the newly conceived child, also when considered prior to implantation in the uterus.

The fact that you at this Congress have expressed your commitment and hope to achieve new therapeutic results from the use of cells of the adult body without recourse to the suppression of newly conceived human beings, and the fact that your work is being rewarded by results, are confirmation of the validity of the Church's constant invitation to full respect for the human being from conception. The good of human beings should not only be sought in universally valid goals, but also in the methods used to achieve them.

A good result can never justify intrinsically unlawful means. It is not only a matter of a healthy criterion for the use of limited financial resources, but also, and above all, of respect for the fundamental human rights in the area of scientific research itself.

I hope that God will grant your efforts -- which are certainly sustained by God who acts in every person of good will and for the good of all -- the joy of discovering the truth, wisdom in consideration and respect for every human being, and success in the search for effective remedies to human suffering.

To seal this hope, I cordially impart an affectionate Blessing to all of you, to your collaborators and to your relatives, as well as to the patients who will benefit from your ingenuity and resourcefulness and the results of your work, with the assurance of my special remembrance in prayer.

[Translation distributed by the Holy See]

© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Pope Presents Keys for Christian-Muslim Dialogue

2006-10-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

At Meeting With Bishops From Chad

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, OCT. 3, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that Muslims and Christians need a greater mutual understanding of one another in order for collaboration between the two groups to grow.

Such collaboration would be based on solidarity and the recognition of the dignity of every person, the Pope said, when he addressed the bishops of Chad at the end of their five-yearly visit to Rome.

"I am happy to know that in your country relations between Christians and Muslims are generally good, thanks in particular to the pursuit of better mutual knowledge," the Holy Father said in his Sept. 23 address delivered in French.

He continued: "I encourage you therefore to continue collaborating in a spirit of sincere dialogue and mutual respect, to help every one lead a life in keeping with the dignity received from God, with concern for authentic solidarity and the harmonious development of society.

"The consolidation of fraternity among the different communities that make up the nation is an objective that calls for the commitment of all so that the country will be protected from confrontations that could bring about new violence."

Of the 9.9 million inhabitants of this African country, 51% are Muslims and 35% Christians, including 10% Catholics. Chad has difficult relations with neighboring Sudan because of the war in Darfur.

Benedict XVI told the bishops: "Recognition of the dignity of everyone, of the identity of every human and religious group, and of their freedom to practice their religion forms part of the common values of peace and justice that must be promoted for all and in which leaders of civil society have an important role to play."

Call to charity

In a country that lives primarily on subsistence agriculture, the Pope encouraged Catholics to promote "charitable action" as a "manifestation of love of neighbor, rooted in the love of God."

"Love," he added, "is the service offered by the Church to respond constantly to the sufferings and needs, including material, of people."

In his meeting with Bishop Jean-Claude Bouchard, president of the episcopal conference in Chad, the Holy Father explained that the relationship between Muslims and Christians in Chad is "paradoxical."

On one hand, the country recognizes itself as a secular state; on the other, there is a "progression of Islam in administration, trade, politics and in the number of mosques being built, even in villages were there are no Muslims," the Pope observed.

"Pressures are exerted for conversion to Islam, especially on village and canton chiefs, and on some youths by some tutors," he explained. "In such a situation, relations between Christians and Muslims are limited to good neighbor or professional relations, or to going to the same schools and cultural centers, to exchanges, without authentic dialogue, when there are conferences and groups of reflection."

Vatican Criticizes New Stem Cell Procedure

2006-10-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

It's Still Manipulation, Says Bishop Sgreccia

ROME, AUG. 28, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A new procedure in embryonic stem cell research that does not destroy the human embryo is drawing criticisms from the Vatican and Catholic bioethicists.

The scientific review "Nature" reported last week the results of an experiment carried out by Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology Inc. in Alameda, California, in which stem cells were derived from a single-cell biopsy technique that left the human embryo intact. Earlier techniques destroyed the embryo.

Called Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, this process is already used by in-vitro fertilization clinics to assess the genetic health of preimplantation embryos.

Tests were made on the extracted cells, and stable embryonic stem cells were developed, similar to those obtained from intact embryos which are destroyed in the process.

The Lanza group carried out the experiment, after testing it on mice, and on "spare" in vitro fertilization human embryos.

Artificial manipulation

Nevertheless, the new technique has yet to address the issue of manipulation that concerns Catholic bioethicists.

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said Sunday on Vatican Radio that "the announced experimentations continue to be in the terrain of in-vitro procreation, in the production of embryos in-vitro, or of cloning, or of artificial fertilization."

"That, from a point of view that is not only Catholic, but from a point of view of bioethical reasons, is a negative factor," he said.

"If the result expected -- to reproduce cells, not embryos, namely, only embryonic cells -- is the fruit of manipulation, of a process that otherwise would result in an embryo, the objection of an ethical standing remains entirely," Bishop Sgreccia said.

He said this because "such a result is obtained not by a biologically evolutionary process, but by an artificially produced process, so that it would be a question of 'artificiality upon artificiality.'"

Advanced Cell's method "doesn't solve the ethical problems" of manipulation, Sgreccia said.

The bishop also warned that such a "biopsy can also harm the embryo."

"Before being able to exclude all this, it is necessary to carry out appropriate experimentation on animals," he said.

Adult stem cells?

Bishop Sgreccia questioned the need to use human embryonic stem cells "when we already know that stem cells for therapeutic use can be obtained through normal stem cells of an adult individual, which we find in the umbilical cord or in different parts of the human body."

He continued: "A great race is on to undertake these experimentations on the human embryo, also because of the funds that are allocated, the obtaining of which makes the experimentation pass as exempt from ethical objections, even when there is no certainty of the scientific result.

"Nor can objections of an ethical character proper to this type of procedure be excluded."

Roberto Colombo, director of the laboratory of molecular biology and human genetics of the Catholic University of Milan, said that the "study does not state that the embryonic biopsy is a highly risky technique, as shown by all the reservations with which the preimplantational diagnosis is received," reported the Italian daily Avvenire.

"So the principle of the correct assessment of risks-benefits would be violated," he added.

The Italian newspaper observed, moreover, that no mention is made about the ultimate fate of the "spare embryos" used in the experiment.

"The fact that their fate is not that of being implanted in the uterus does not authorize anyone to consider them 'class B' citizens," Colombo said, "and, therefore, 'material' for experimentation."

Pope doesn't dwell on remarks in meeting

2006-09-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press Writer

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI told Muslim diplomats Monday that Christians and Muslims must work together to guard against intolerance and violence as he sought to soothe anger over his recent remarks about Islam.

The pontiff also quoted from his predecessor, John Paul II, who had close relations with the Muslim world, calling for "reciprocity in all fields," including religious freedom. Benedict spoke in French to diplomats from 21 countries and the Arab League in his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome.

"The circumstances which have given risen to our gathering are well known," Benedict said, referring to his remarks on Islam in a Sept. 12 speech at Regensburg University, Germany, which set off protests around the Muslim world.

He did not dwell on the contested remarks, in which he had quoted the words of a Byzantine emperor thusly: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Benedict's five-minute speech on Monday touched on religion and violence only briefly. He said that Christians and Muslims "must learn to work together ... to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations of violence."

After his speech, in a salon in the papal palace in the Alban Hills, Benedict, greeted each envoy one by one. He clasped their hands warmly and chatted for a few moments with each of the diplomats.

Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See said Benedict's address to the envoys should end the anger over the university address.

"The Holy Father stated his profound respect for Islam. This is what we were expecting," Iraqi envoy Albert Edward Ismail Yelda said as he left the 30 minute meeting. "It is now time to put what happened behind and build bridges."

Al-Jazeera, the Arab-language broadcaster, carried the pope's speech live.

Nearly all the other ambassadors drove away without stopping to speak to reporters outside the papal palace.

The embassies of Egypt and Turkey said their ambassadors would have no comment. The Iranian, Indonesian, Lebanese and Libyan embassies did not answer their phones.

When the protests started flaring, Benedict offered deep regrets for offense felt by Muslims and insisted his remarks did not reflect his own opinion and were misunderstood. He stopped short of a full apology that some Muslim leaders demanded.

Benedict said he invited the diplomats to "strengthen the bonds of friendship" between both sides, but he did offer any analysis of the controversial passage, which came in a speech exploring faith and reason.

Benedict said dialogue between Christians and Muslims "cannot be reduced to an optional extra. It is, in fact, a vital necessity on which in large measure our future depends," he said, quoting from a speech he gave to Muslims in Germany in 2005.

Benedict also cited John Paul II as saying "respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres," particularly religious freedom. This is a major issue for the Vatican in Saudi Arabia and several other countries where non-Muslims cannot worship openly.

Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

Among predominantly Muslim nations with diplomatic relations to the Vatican, only Sudan did not participate in the meeting.

Among those attending was a diplomat from Indonesia, where Christian-Muslim tensions were further heightened last week by the execution of three Catholic militants. Benedict last month had appealed for the men's lives to be spared.

Turkey also participated. Benedict has said he hopes to go in November to that predominantly Muslim but officially secular country, whose officials were among the first to vigorously protest the Regensburg remarks.

Last week, the Holy See's ambassadors stationed in Muslim countries met with officials to assure them that the pope respects Islam and to urge a complete reading of the speech.

The Vatican and much of the Muslim world share some important goals for each side, including the battle against legalized abortion. Benedict also was among the first to urge Israel to use restraint and turn to dialogue in its battle in Lebanon against Hezbollah guerrillas over the summer.

The pope also invited leaders of Italy's small Muslim community to the meeting.

Benedict gave "a very clear, very intelligent speech," said Mohamed Nour Dachan, an Italian of Syrian origin who heads the Union of Islamic Communities, or UCOII, one of the more radical Italian Muslim groups. "In a few words, the dialogue goes on. The dialogue is a priority for both Muslims and Christians."

In a departure from usual practice, the Vatican press office included a translation of the speech in Arabic.

Evolution and Creation Are Not Foes, Says Priest

2006-09-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Comments on Current Debate

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 1, 2006 (Zenit.org).- As Benedict XVI begins a three-day symposium with his former students on creation and evolution, a philosophy professor in Rome says that the two theories are compatible.

The Pope's meeting, Sept. 1-3, is an annual one that the Holy Father has had with his doctoral candidates and former students for some 25 years, addressing various topics. This is the second one held at Castel Gandolfo.

Father Rafael Pascual, dean of philosophy at the Regina Apostolorum university, told ZENIT that "creation and evolution integrate one another, and do not exclude each other."

Father Pascual, who is also the director of the masters on science and faith, is the author of "L' evoluzione: Crocevia di Scienza, Filosofia e Teologia" (The Crossroads Evolution of Science, Philosophy and Theology) published in Italian by Studium publishers.

The volume is a collection of the minutes of an international congress on the topic held in Rome in 2002.

Father Pascual said that "the debate on evolution is open. A distinction must be made between the different levels: scientific-philosophical-theological, without confusing them or separating them completely."

In regard to the debate on intelligent design, Father Pascual pointed out that "it isn't a scientific question, but rather a philosophical one."

"But neither is the negation of finality, or recourse to pure chance and to necessity, scientific," that is why "it seems to be a mistake to present intelligent design as an alternative scientific theory to the theory of evolution," he said.

A theory

Asked if the theory of evolution should be taught in schools, Father Pascual replied "yes, but as scientific theory, with the arguments in favor but also recognizing the limits and still unresolved problems, and not as an ideology, as a kind of absolute, definitive and indisputable dogma."

He continued, "Whereas creationism and evolutionism are incompatible in themselves, this is not so of creation and evolution, which are, instead, on two different levels, and are compatible."

The dean of philosophy cited the book "Creation and Sin," written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, which states: "We cannot say: creation or evolution. The exact formula is creation and evolution, because both respond to two different questions.

"The story of the dust of the earth and the breath of God does not tell us how man originated. It tells us what he is.

"It talks about his most profound origin, it illustrates the plan that is behind him. Vice versa, the theory of evolution attempts to specify and describe biological processes.

"It does not succeed in explaining, however, the origin of the 'project' man, his interior derivation and his essence. Therefore, we are before two questions that integrate one another but do not exclude each other."

Father Pascual said that "we must distinguish between theory -- or theories -- of evolution and Darwinism, and then, within Darwinism itself, between the elements of a scientific character and those of a philosophical or ideological nature."

Is Islam peaceful?

2006-09-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is not the way to proof it.

My picks

2006-09-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

LSU beats Auburn
Florida beats Tennessee, although I am not sold on either of these teams, the SEC champ will come from the West
USC stomps Nebraska
Michigan over Notre Dame
TROY over Georgia Tech
Oklahoma slips by Oregon
Louisville beats Miami
TCU upsets Texas Tech

9/11

2006-09-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

Never forget.

Bama 13 Vandy 10

2006-09-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Pitiful, just pitiful. Turnovers and blown opportunities were the story of the game for both teams, but especially for Alabama. Four red zone visits equaled 2 fumbles and 2 field goals. The play calling was greatly improved. JP had another solid performance. JJ is our best back. The defense was solid. Overall just another win. Grade C.

FSU 24 Troy 17

2006-09-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

That close... That close. Troy had FSU but let it slip away. The old saying, "good teams find a way to win," rings true.

Bama 25 Hawaii 17

2006-09-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I am a little behind. I watched this game and I was very impressed with JP and the defense. I thought the defense played very well. They gave up 350 passing yards once their hands were tied. KD didn't look good at all. But I blame that on poor play calling. I thought the defense played zone and prevent too early. And there was way too many dive plays on offense. Long and the short is a win is a win. The team gets a C+ from me.

Goodbye Steve!

2006-09-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

We will miss you!!! I am VERY saddened by the death of Steve Irwin, the Croc Hunter. It was way too soon for him to go. He was a great ambassador for God's creation. If someone were to ask me to show them an example of a person who was passionate about their calling in life, I will always point to him. His calling was not easy. May Steve and the souls of all the faithful rest in peace and may His light perpetually shine upon them.

Happy Birthday Baby G!!!

2006-08-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

Jillian is 4 years old. God's blessings on Jillian for a long life.

Doug’s Sweet 16

2006-08-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Well, College Football is just around the corner and I thought that I would give my picks for how I think it will finish up. Here they are:
1. West Virginia
2. Notre Dame
3. LSU
4. Texas
5. Cal
6. Auburn
7. USC
8. Louisville
9. Ohio State
10. FSU
11. Iowa
12. Oklahoma
13. Florida
14. Georgia
15. TCU
16. Penn State

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15th

2006-08-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

The Assumption of Mary
The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 15 August; also called in old liturgical books Pausatio, Nativitas (for heaven), Mors, Depositio, Dormitio S. Mariae.

This feast has a double object: (1) the happy departure of Mary from this life; (2) the assumption of her body into heaven. It is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin.

THE FACT OF THE ASSUMPTION
Regarding the day, year, and manner of Our Lady's death, nothing certain is known. The earliest known literary reference to the Assumption is found in the Greek work De Obitu S. Dominae. Catholic faith, however, has always derived our knowledge of the mystery from Apostolic Tradition. Epiphanius (d. 403) acknowledged that he knew nothing definite about it (Haer., lxxix, 11). The dates assigned for it vary between three and fifteen years after Christ's Ascension. Two cities claim to be the place of her departure: Jerusalem and Ephesus. Common consent favours Jerusalem, where her tomb is shown; but some argue in favour of Ephesus. The first six centuries did not know of the tomb of Mary at Jerusalem.

The belief in the corporeal assumption of Mary is founded on the apocryphal treatise De Obitu S. Dominae, bearing the name of St. John, which belongs however to the fourth or fifth century. It is also found in the book De Transitu Virginis, falsely ascribed to St. Melito of Sardis, and in a spurious letter attributed to St. Denis the Areopagite. If we consult genuine writings in the East, it is mentioned in the sermons of St. Andrew of Crete, St. John Damascene, St. Modestus of Jerusalem and others. In the West, St. Gregory of Tours (De gloria mart., I, iv) mentions it first. The sermons of St. Jerome and St. Augustine for this feast, however, are spurious. St. John of Damascus (P. G., I, 96) thus formulates the tradition of the Church of Jerusalem:

St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven.
Today, the belief in the corporeal assumption of Mary is universal in the East and in the West; according to Benedict XIV (De Festis B.V.M., I, viii, 18) it is a probable opinion, which to deny were impious and blasphemous.

THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION
Regarding the origin of the feast we are also uncertain. It is more probably the anniversary of the dedication of some church than the actual anniversary of Our Lady's death. That it originated at the time of the Council of Ephesus, or that St. Damasus introduced it in Rome is only a hypothesis.

According to the life of St. Theodosius (d. 529) it was celebrated in Palestine before the year 500, probably in August (Baeumer, Brevier, 185). In Egypt and Arabia, however, it was kept in January, and since the monks of Gaul adopted many usages from the Egyptian monks (Baeumer, Brevier, 163), we find this feast in Gaul in the sixth century, in January [mediante mense undecimo (Greg. Turon., De gloria mart., I, ix)]. The Gallican Liturgy has it on the 18th of January, under the title: Depositio, Assumptio, or Festivitas S. Mariae (cf. the notes of Mabillon on the Gallican Liturgy, P. L., LXXII, 180). This custom was kept up in the Gallican Church to the time of the introduction of the Roman rite. In the Greek Church, it seems, some kept this feast in January, with the monks of Egypt; others in August, with those of Palestine; wherefore the Emperor Maurice (d. 602), if the account of the "Liber Pontificalis" (II, 508) be correct, set the feast for the Greek Empire on 15 August.

In Rome (Batiffol, Brev. Rom., 134) the oldest and only feast of Our Lady was 1 January, the octave of Christ's birth. It was celebrated first at Santa Maria Maggiore, later at Santa Maria ad Martyres. The other feasts are of Byzantine origin. Duchesne thinks (Origines du culte chr., 262) that before the seventh century no other feast was kept at Rome, and that consequently the feast of the Assumption, found in the sacramentaries of Gelasius and Gregory, is a spurious addition made in the eighth or seventh century. Probst, however (Sacramentarien, 264 sqq.), brings forth good arguments to prove that the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, found on the 15th of August in the Gelasianum, is genuine, since it does not mention the corporeal assumption of Mary; that, consequently, the feast was celebrated in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore at Rome at least in the sixth century. He proves, furthermore, that the Mass of the Gregorian Sacramentary, such as we have it, is of Gallican origin (since the belief in the bodily assumption of Mary, under the influence of the apocryphal writings, is older in Gaul than in Rome), and that it supplanted the old Gelasian Mass. At the time of Sergius I (700) this feast was one of the principal festivities in Rome; the procession started from the church of St. Hadrian. It was always a double of the first class and a Holy Day of obligation.

The octave was added in 847 by Leo IV; in Germany this octave was not observed in several dioceses up to the time of the Reformation. The Church of Milan has not accepted it up to this day (Ordo Ambros., 1906). The octave is privileged in the dioceses of the provinces of Sienna, Fermo, Michoacan, etc.

The Greek Church continues this feast to 23 August, inclusive, and in some monasteries of Mount Athos it is protracted to 29 August (Menaea Graeca, Venice, 1880), or was, at least, formerly. In the dioceses of Bavaria a thirtieth day (a species of month's mind) of the Assumption was celebrated during the Middle Ages, 13 Sept., with the Office of the Assumption (double); today, only the Diocese of Augsburg has retained this old custom.

Some of the Bavarian dioceses and those of Brandenburg, Mainz, Frankfort, etc., on 23 Sept. kept the feast of the "Second Assumption", or the "Fortieth Day of the Assumption" (double) believing, according to the revelations of St. Elizabeth of Schönau (d. 1165) and of St. Bertrand, O.C. (d. 1170), that the B.V. Mary was taken up to heaven on the fortieth day after her death (Grotefend, Calendaria 2, 136). The Brigittines kept the feast of the "Glorification of Mary" (double) 30 Aug., since St. Brigitta of Sweden says (Revel., VI, l) that Mary was taken into heaven fifteen days after her departure (Colvenerius, Cal. Mar., 30 Aug.). In Central America a special feast of the Coronation of Mary in heaven (double major) is celebrated 18 August. The city of Gerace in Calabria keeps three successive days with the rite of a double first class, commemorating: 15th of August, the death of Mary; 16th of August, her Coronation.

At Piazza, in Sicily, there is a commemoration of the Assumption of Mary (double second class) the 20th of February, the anniversary of the earthquake of 1743. A similar feast (double major with octave) is kept at Martano, Diocese of Otranto, in Apulia, 19th of November.

[Note: By promulgating the Bull Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared infallibly that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a dogma of the Catholic Faith. Likewise, the Second Vatican Council taught in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium that "the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things (n. 59)."]

Micah & Jillian: My Children

2006-08-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

Bishop sorry for not turning in priest

2006-08-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A Roman Catholic bishop apologized Saturday for waiting several days to notify authorities about sexual abuse allegations against a priest, a delay that may have allowed the priest to flee to Mexico.

Bishop Daniel Walsh of the Santa Rosa diocese said in a one-page statement to parishioners that he put "caution" before "doing the right thing" in handling the allegations against The Rev. Xavier Ochoa.

Church officials say Ochoa admitted April 28 to sexually abusing a 12-year-old altar boy, but the allegations were not reported to Child Protective Services until May 1, and Ochoa disappeared the next day.

"I made an error in judgment by waiting to report Rev. Ochoa's admission," Walsh wrote in the statement, distributed at Saturday Mass throughout the diocese, which stretches from Santa Rosa to the Oregon border. "I should have acted immediately, and not delayed. For this I am deeply sorry."

Ochoa, 68, was charged June 22 with 10 felony counts and one misdemeanor count of child sex abuse involving three boys he allegedly abused. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Walsh said the public admission could aid prosecutors in filing criminal charges against him.

Prosecutors said last month they were investigating whether church officials violated a state law requiring doctors, nurses, teachers and clergy members to immediately report child sex abuse claims.

"If I am found guilty for not taking immediate action, I will accept whatever punishment is imposed," Walsh said.

Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua told The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat on Saturday he had not seen the letter and that the investigation was pending.

Tradition Defined

2006-08-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

Click on tradition

Mary a Meeting Point of Cultures, Says Muslim

2006-08-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

Encourages Pilgrimages to Marian Shrines

ROME(Zenit.org).- An Egyptian Muslim and deputy director of a prominent Italian newspaper suggested that Mary could be the figure who brings Christians and Muslims together.

Magdi Allam of Il Corriere della Sera spoke to ZENIT about the appeal he launched in the pages of the national daily newspaper to Muslims living in Italy to visit the Marian shrines in their host country.

The journalist said that he is convinced that the Virgin Mary is a meeting point between Christians and Muslims.

"Mary is a figure present in the Koran, which dedicates an entire sura [chapter ed.n.] to her and mentions her some thirty times. In Muslim countries there are Marian shrines that are the object of veneration and pilgrimage by Christian and Muslim faithful," he said.

"Therefore, I believe that if this happens in Muslim countries, why can't it happen in a Christian country, especially in a historical phase in which we need to define symbols, values and figures that unite religions, spiritualities and cultures?" he asked.

In Allam's opinion, "the Marian pilgrimage of Loreto -- Italy's National Shrine -- could represent a moment of meeting and spiritual gathering between Muslims and Catholics, around Mary, a religious figure that is venerated by both religions."

Vittorio Messori, author of book-interviews with Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI), also wrote in Il Corriere della Sera on June 15 in support of Allam.

He said that the dialogue between Christians and Muslims "can begin afresh from Mary."

This is Alabama Football

2006-08-09T18:09:00.001-07:00

Click this for the video.

Unite Yourself to Christ's Heart

2006-08-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

Unite Yourself to Christ's Heart, Says Pope
Addresses Apostleship of Prayer

VATICAN CITY,(Zenit.org).- The secret of a fruitful apostolate lies in union with the heart of Jesus, says Benedict XVI.

The Holy Father said this Wednesday at the end of the general audience held in St. Peter's Square, when greeting participants in the Italian national congress of the Apostleship of Prayer.

The meeting commemorated the 50th anniversary of the publication of Pius XII's encyclical "Haurietis Aquas," which greatly stimulated devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

"May union with the Heart of Jesus be, for all, a source of holiness and effective apostolic action," said Benedict XVI.

The congress of the Apostleship of Prayer gathered 500 delegates from various dioceses of Italy this week in Rome.

Father Massimo Taggi, national director of the Apostleship of Prayer, said the meeting confirmed "the urgency of a return to interiority which responds to a widespread and profound expectation of our society."

"Today's world is in urgent need of spirituality," he said at the opening of the working sessions.

"Spirituality," the director said, "is the concrete response to one of the greatest urgencies of our society, involved in a subtle and powerful process which is no longer of secularization but of genuine atheist and materialist secularism."

The Apostleship of Prayer began among Jesuit students in France led by Father Francis Xavier Gautrelet in 1844.

Today, the Apostleship of Prayer has spread worldwide and has at least 50 million members. It is estimated that 100 million people make the daily offering.

Church Seized by Soviets Returned to Catholics

2006-08-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Archbishop Receives Keys and Cross

MOSCOW (Zenit.org).- A Catholic church confiscated 50 years ago by Soviet authorities has been returned to the archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow.

In a ceremony on Sunday, government authorities signed the Church of St. John the Baptist over to Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, and in a symbolic gesture handed him the keys of the church, and a cross bearing a representation of the temple.

The church, built in the early 19th century in the village of Pushkin in northwestern Russia, a short distance South of St. Petersburg, had been closed since 1938.

During the Soviet era the church was used for physical education and concerts.

"Prepare the way of the Lord!" said Archbishop Kondrusiewicz on taking possession of the church.

During the Mass, which gathered some 200 faithful, the archbishop said that "Christ comes to his disciples through the service of the Church."

Also attending the ceremony were Igor Rimmer, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg; Ivan Sautov, director of the Tsarkoe Selo National Museum; as well as Russian priests and Protestants.

During the Mass, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz blessed an icon of Our Lady of Fatima made especially for the church.

Construction began on the church of St. John the Baptist by order of Czar Alexander I in 1823, and was completed in 1826.

Soviet authorities closed the church after arresting the pastor and pressuring those in charge to sign a document stating that they were "unable to repair the church and to pay the state the taxes corresponding to the property."

The first religious celebration took place again in the church in 1991.

St. Cajetan

2006-08-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

St. Cajetan
Feastday: August 7

In 1523, the Church was in sad shape. People could not get the spiritual nourishment they needed from the large numbers of uneducated and even immoral priests who took their money but returned nothing. When good priests and laypeople turned to the hierarchy for help, they found leaders at best apathetic and indifferent to their concerns.

How should a good Catholic respond to this situation? We all known how Luther and others responded -- by splitting away from the Catholic Church when their pleas went unheard.

Cajetan took a different route. Just as concerned as Luther was about what he observed in the Church, he went to Rome in 1523 -- not to talk to the pope or the hierarchy but to consult with members of a confraternity called the Oratory of the Divine Love. When he had first come to Rome many years before, he had felt called to some unknown great work there. A few years later he returned to his hometown of Vicenza -- his great work seemingly unrealized. He had however studied for the priesthood and been ordained and helped re-establish a faded confraternity whose aims were promoting God's glory and the welfare of souls.

In the years he had been gone from Rome, he had founded another Oratory in his home town and Verona where he had promoted spiritual life and care for the poor and sick not only with words but with his heroic example. He told his brothers, "In this oratory we try to serve God by worship; in our hospital we may say that we actually find him." But none of the horrors he saw in the hospitals of the incurables depressed him as much as the wickedness he saw everywhere he looked.

In his former confraternity, he found other clergy who felt the way he did. They didn't want to split off from the Church, they wanted to restore it. So they decided to form an order based on the lives of the apostles in the hopes that these lives would inspire them and others to live holy lives devoted to Jesus. In order to accomplish this they would focus on moral lives, sacred studies, preaching and pastoral care, helping the sick, and other solid foundations of pastoral life. This new order was known as Theatines Clerks Regular because it was an order of the regular clergy and because a bishop known as Theatensis was their first superior general (although Cajetan is considered the founder).

Not surprisingly, they didn't find thousands of formerly greedy and licentious priests flocking to their door. But Cajetan and the others persevered even in the face of open opposition from laity and clergy who didn't want to reform. It was his holy example that converted many as well as his preaching.

Worn out by the troubles he saw in his Church and his home, Cajetan fell ill. When doctors tried to get him to rest on a softer bed then the boards he slept on, Cajetan answered, "My savior died on a cross. Let me died on wood at least." He died on August 7, 1547.

In His Footsteps
Do you have concerns about the Church or about certain people in power in the Church? Have you ever thought of leaving the Church because of these concerns? What positive steps could you take instead of splitting from the Church to help promote holiness and love of God and others?

Prayer:
Saint Cajetan, when we see things that trouble us in our Church, help us to continue to love her. Guide us to the positive steps we need to take to work within the Church for renewal. Help us to be examples of holiness to all. Amen

Copyright 1996-2000 by Terry Matz. All Rights Reserved.

El Paso residents seek emergency shelter

2006-08-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

El Paso is getting soaked. Their average rainfall is 9 inches per year and they have 7 inches to date.

Boom Bama Boom

2006-08-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

Click for a video

Cajetan on Nominal Essence

2006-08-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Just as real essence is a thing's 'what it is', so the nominal essence is the 'what it is' of a name: but a name, since it is the sign of things which are passions objectively in the soul (from the 1st of Aristotle's On Interpretation), does not have any other 'what it is' except this: that it is a sign of some thing understood or thought about.

A sign, however, as such, is relative to the thing signified: wherefore to grasp the nominal essence is nothing but to grasp what such a name is related to, as sign to thing signified. Such a grasp, however, can be acquired through the accidental properties of that thing signified, or through its common, or its essential properties, or simply by a nod, or in any other ways you like.

Just as, by our asking of a Greek about the nominal essence 'anthropos', if a man is pointed to, then we know now the nominal essence [of 'anthropos'], and similarly of other things.

But to those asking about the real essence, it is necessary to give that which belongs to the thing signified in virtue of its essence.

This is the essential difference between the quid nominis and the quid rei: namely, that the quid nominis is the relation of the name to what it signifies; but the quid rei is the essence of the thing related or signified.

And it is from this difference that all the rest that are usually enumerated follow: namely, that the quid nominis is of nonentities, complexes, by accidental, common, and external properties; while the quid rei is of incomplex entities [grasped] by their proper, essential properties.

For a word's relation can be terminated to non-existents, and it can be clarified by accidental and similar properties, but the thing's essence can be known only by proper, essential properties of incomplex things.

Harper Valley P.T.A.

2006-07-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

I love this song.

Lyrics for Song: Harper Valley P.T.A.
Artist/Band: Hall Tom T

I want to tell you all a story 'bout a Harper Valley widowed wife
Who had a teenage daughter who attended Harper Valley Junior High
Well her daughter came home one afternoon and didn't even stop to play
She said, "Mom, I got a note here from the Harper Valley P.T.A."

The note said, "Mrs. Johnson, you're wearing your dresses way too high
It's reported you've been drinking and a-runnin' 'round with men and going wild
And we don't believe you ought to be bringing up your little girl this way"
It was signed by the secretary, Harper Valley P.T.A.

Well, it happened that the P.T.A. was gonna meet that very afternoon
They were sure surprised when Mrs. Johnson wore her mini-skirt into the room
And as she walked up to the blackboard, I still recall the words she had to say
She said, "I'd like to address this meeting of the Harper Valley P.T.A."

Well, there's Bobby Taylor sittin' there and seven times he's asked me for a date
Mrs. Taylor sure seems to use a lot of ice whenever he's away
And Mr. Baker, can you tell us why your secretary had to leave this town?
And shouldn't widow Jones be told to keep her window shades all pulled completely down?

Well, Mr. Harper couldn't be here 'cause he stayed too long at Kelly's Bar again
And if you smell Shirley Thompson's breath, you'll find she's had a little nip of gin
Then you have the nerve to tell me you think that as a mother I'm not fit
Well, this is just a little Peyton Place and you're all Harper Valley hypocrites

No I wouldn't put you on because it really did, it happened just this way
The day my Mama socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.
The day my Mama socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.

Life Without God Undermines The Truth About Man

2006-07-31T05:40:00.000-07:00

VATICAN CITY, JUL 8, 2006 (VIS) - Given below are extracts of the Holy Father's Letter to members of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, which he signed this morning during his visit to the cathedral of Valencia, Spain, and consigned to the president of the conference, Bishop Ricardo Blazquez Perez of Bilbao:

"You know that I follow closely and with much interest the life of the Church in your country, a country with deep Christian roots, one which has greatly contributed and must still contribute to the proclamation and spread of the faith to many other parts of the world. Keep alive and vigorous this spirit, which has accompanied the life of Spaniards throughout their history, so that it will help nourish and vitalize the soul of your people.

"I am aware of, and I encourage, the impulse that you are giving to pastoral activity at a time of rapid secularization, which can also affect the internal life of Christian communities. Continue dauntlessly to proclaim that to live without God, to act as if He did not exist or to relegate faith to the purely private sphere, undermines the truth about man and compromises the future of culture and society."

"Lifting one's gaze to the living God, the garantor of our freedom and of truth, is a premise for arriving at a new humanity. Nowadays, in a special way, the world needs people capable of proclaiming and bearing witness to God Who is love, and consequently the one light which in the end, illumines the darkness of the world and gives us strength to live and work."

"Prompted by your pastoral solicitude and the spirit of full communion in the proclamation of the Gospel, you have guided the Christian conscience of the faithful about different aspects of the situation confronting them. ... You have also made the Eucharist a central theme of your pastoral plan, with the aim of 'revitalizing Christian life from its very heart, since when we enter into the Eucharistic mystery we encounter the heart of God'."

"Brothers in the episcopate, I exhort you earnestly to preserve and increase your fraternal communion, as a witness and model of the ecclesial communion which should reign in all the faithful people entrusted to your care. I pray for you, and I pray for Spain. I ask you to pray for me and for the whole Church. I invoke the Most Holy Virgin Mary, so greatly venerated in your land, asking that she protect and accompany you in your pastoral ministry, and to all of you I impart with great affection my apostolic blessing."

The "One Book" Meme

2006-07-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

1.One book that changed your life: The Spiritual Life: A Treatise On Ascetical And Mystical Theology by Adolphe Tanquerey and Herman Branderis

2.One book that you’ve read more than once: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

3.One book you’d want on a desert island: The Bible

4.One book that made you laugh: The Gospel According to Charlie Brown by Robert L. Short

5.One book that made you cry: A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

6.One book that you wish had been written: The history & theology of Paedo-Communion

7.One book that you wish had never been written: The Christian Agnostic by Leslie Weatherhead.

8.One book you’re currently reading: The Meaning of Grace by Charles Journet

9.One book you’ve been meaning to read: Aquinas: Selected Writings by Thomas Aquinas and Ralph McInerny

10. Now tag five people!!!

Pope's Homily on Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

2006-07-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Examines Meaning of "On This Rock I Will Build My Church"

VATICAN CITY, JULY 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).-Here is the full text of Benedict XVI's homily on June 29, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church" (Matthew 16:18).

What exactly was the Lord saying to Peter with these words? With them, what promise did he make to Peter and what task did he entrust to him? And what is he saying to us -- to the Bishop of Rome, who is seated on the chair of Peter, and to the Church today?

If we want to understand the meaning of Jesus' words, it is useful to remember that the Gospels recount for us three different situations in which the Lord, each time in a special way, transmits to Peter his future task. The task is always the same, but what the Lord was and is concerned with becomes clearer to us from the diversity of the situations and images used.

In the Gospel according to St. Matthew that we have just heard, Peter makes his own confession to Jesus, recognizing him as the Messiah and Son of God. On the basis of this, his special task is conferred upon him though three images: the rock that becomes the foundation or cornerstone, the keys, and the image of binding and loosing.

I do not intend here to interpret once again these three images that the Church down the ages has explained over and over again; rather, I would like to call attention to the geographical place and chronological context of these words.

The promise is made at the sources of the Jordan, on the boundary of the Judaic Land, on the frontiers of the pagan world. The moment of the promise marks a crucial turning-point in Jesus' journey: the Lord now sets out for Jerusalem and for the first time, he tells the disciples that this journey to the Holy City is the journey to the cross: "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised" (Matthew 16:21).

Both these things go together and determine the inner place of the primacy, indeed, of the Church in general: the Lord is continuously on his way towards the cross, towards the lowliness of the servant of God, suffering and killed, but at the same time he is also on the way to the immensity of the world in which he precedes us as the Risen One, so that the light of his words and the presence of his love may shine forth in the world; he is on the way so that through him, the Crucified and Risen Christ, God himself, may arrive in the world.

In this regard, Peter describes himself in his first letter as "a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed" (1 Peter 5:1). For the Church, Good Friday and Easter have always existed together; she is always both the mustard seed and the tree in whose boughs the birds of the air make their nests.

The Church -- and in her, Christ -- still suffers today. In her, Christ is again and again taunted and slapped; again and again an effort is made to reject him from the world. Again and again the little bark of the Church is ripped apart by the winds of ideologies, whose waters seep into her and seem to condemn her to sink. Yet, precisely in the suffering Church, Christ is victorious.

In spite of all, faith in him recovers ever new strength. The Lord also commands the waters today and shows that he is the Lord of the elements. He stays in his bark, in the little boat of the Church.

Thus, on the one hand, the weakness proper to human beings is revealed in Peter's ministry, but at the same time, also God's power: in the weakness of human beings itself the Lord shows his strength; he demonstrates that it is through frail human beings that he himself builds his Church.

Let us now turn to the Gospel according to St. Luke, which tells us that during the Last Supper, the Lord once again confers a special task upon Peter (cf. Luke 22:31-33).

This time, the Lord's words addressed to Simon are found immediately after the institution of the Most Blessed Eucharist. The Lord has just given himself to his followers under the species of bread and wine. We can see the institution of the Eucharist as the true and proper founding act of the Church.

Through the Eucharist, the Lord not only gives himself to his own but also gives them the reality of a new communion among themselves which is extended in time, "until he comes" (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:26).

Through the Eucharist, the disciples become his living dwelling place which, as history unfolds, grows like the new and living temple of God in this world. Thus, immediately after the institution of the Sacrament, Jesus speaks of what being disciples, of what the "ministry" means in the new community: he says that it is a commitment of service, just as he himself is among them as one who serves.

And then he addresses Peter. He says that Satan has demanded to have him so that he may sift him like wheat. This calls to mind the passage in the Book of Job, where Satan asks God for the power to afflict Job. The devil -- the slanderer of God and men -- thereby wants to prove that no true religious feeling exists, but that in man every aim is always solely utilitarian.

In the case of Job, God grants Satan the asked-for freedom precisely to be able by so doing to defend his creature -- man -- and himself. And this also happens with Jesus' disciples. God gives a certain liberty to Satan in all times.

To us it oftentimes seems that God allows Satan too much freedom, that he grants him the power to distress us too terribly; and that this gets the better of our forces and oppresses us too heavily. Again and again we cry out to God: "Alas, look at the misery of your disciples! Ah, protect us!" In fact, Jesus continues: "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail" (Luke 22:32).

Jesus' prayer is the limit set upon the power of the devil. Jesus' prayer is the protection of the Church. We can seek refuge under this protection, cling to it and be safe. But -- as he says in the Gospel -- Jesus prays in a particular way for Peter: "... that your faith may not fail."

Jesus' prayer is at the same time a promise and a duty. Jesus' prayer safeguards Peter's faith, that faith which he confessed at Caesarea Philippi: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). And so, never let this faith be silenced; strengthen it over and over again, even in the face of the cross and all the world's contradictions: this is Peter's task.

Therefore, the point is that the Lord does not only pray for Peter's personal faith, but for his faith as a service to others. This is exactly what he means with the words: "When you have turned again, strengthen your brethren" (Luke 22:32).

"When you have turned again": these words are at the same time a prophecy and a promise. They prophesy the weakness of Simon, who was to deny to a maid and a servant that he knew Christ. Through this fall, Peter -- and with him the Church of all times -- has to learn that one's own strength alone does not suffice to build and guide the Lord's Church. No one succeeds on his or her own. However capable and clever Peter may seem -- already at the first moment of trial he fails.

"When you have turned again": the Lord, who predicted his fall, also promises him conversion: "And the Lord turned and looked at Peter..." (Luke 22:61). Jesus' look works the transformation and becomes Peter's salvation: "he went out and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:62).

Let us implore ever anew this saving gaze of Jesus: for all those who have responsibility in the Church; for all who suffer the bewilderment of these times; for the great and for the small: Lord, look at us ever anew, pick us up every time we fall and take us in your good hands.

It is through the promise of his prayer that the Lord entrusts to Peter the task for the brethren. Peter's responsibility is anchored in Jesus' prayer. It is this that gives him the certainty that he will persevere through all human miseries.

And the Lord entrusts this task to him in the context of the Supper, in connection with the gift of the Most Holy Eucharist.

The Church, established in the institution of the Eucharist, in her inmost self is a Eucharistic community, hence, communion in the Body of the Lord. Peter's task is to preside over this universal communion; to keep it present in the world also as visible, incarnate unity.

He, together with the whole Church of Rome -- as St. Ignatius of Antioch said -- must preside in charity: preside over the community with that love which comes from Christ and ever anew surpasses the limitations of the private sphere to bring God's love to the ends of the earth.

The third reference to the Primacy is found in the Gospel according to St. John (21: 15-19). The Lord is risen, and as the Risen One he entrusts his flock to Peter. Here too, the cross and the Resurrection are interconnected. Jesus predicts to Peter that he is to take the way of the cross.

In this Basilica built over the tomb of Peter -- a tomb of the poor -- we see that in this very way the Lord, through the cross, is always victorious. His power is not a power according to the ways of this world. It is the power of goodness: of truth and of love, which is stronger than death.

Yes, his promise is true: the powers of death, the gates of hell, will not prevail against the Church which he built on Peter (cf. Matthew 16:18) and which he, in this very way, continues to build personally.

On this Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, I address you especially, dear metropolitans, who have come from many countries of the world to receive the pallium from the Successor of Peter. I offer you a cordial greeting, together with all those who have accompanied you.

I also greet with special joy the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, led by His Eminence Ioannis Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon and President of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholics and the Orthodox.

I am grateful to Patriarch Bartholomew I and to the Holy Synod for this sign of brotherhood that demonstrates the desire and the commitment to progress more swiftly on the path of full unity that Christ invoked for all his disciples.

We feel we share the ardent desire, once expressed by Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI, to drink together from the same Cup and to eat together the Bread which is the Lord himself. Let us implore once again on this occasion that this gift may soon be granted to us.

And let us thank the Lord that we are united in the confession Peter made on behalf of all the disciples at Caesarea Philippi: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Let us together bring this confession to the contemporary world.

May the Lord help us at this very moment in our history to be true witnesses of the sufferings of Christ as well as partakers in the glory that is to be revealed (cf. 1 Peter 5:1). Amen.

[Translation issued by the Holy See]

© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted

Methodists to Join Declaration on Justification

2006-07-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

Expected to Agree to 1999 Consensus Reached With Lutherans

SEOUL, South Korea, JULY 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The World Methodist Conference meeting in South Korea is expected to sign the joint declaration on justification signed in 1999 by the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation.

The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity made this announcement today in a communiqué sent to the Vatican press office.

The World Methodist Conference is being held in Seoul from July 20-24. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, will attend.

The conference "is convoked at eight-year intervals and brings together Christians from all over the world that belong to Wesley's tradition," the dicastery's communiqué said.

The Methodist movement originated in England in the 18th century as a movement of spiritual, missionary and social renewal. Today it is present in close to 100 countries.

Englishman John Wesley (1703 - 1791) founded the Methodists.

Historic signing

During this week's World Methodist Conference, the ceremony in which the 1999 declaration will be extended to include Methodists will take place in the course of the solemn celebration of the Word of God, in the presence of Cardinal Kasper and of Reverend Doctor Ishmael Noko, secretary general of the World Lutheran Federation.

The joint declaration, expressing a consensus between the Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church on the doctrine of justification, was signed in Augsburg, Germany, on Oct. 32, 1999.

The doctrine of justification was a cause of Luther's Reformation.

At the end of last year, when Benedict XVI received a delegation of the World Methodist Council, led by its president, Bishop Sunday Mbang of Nigeria, the Holy Father mentioned the council's intention to also sign the joint declaration on the doctrine of justification.

"Should the World Methodist Council express its intention to associate itself to the joint declaration, it would contribute to the reconciliation that we ardently desire and would be a significant step toward the objective of full and visible unity in the faith," the Holy Father said at the time.

Resurrection Motivates Chastity, Cardinal Says

2006-07-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

"Maria Goretti Reveals Dignity of Human Body"

FATIMA, Portugal, JULY 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Purity is a virtue directly connected to the dignity of the human body and to the prospect of the resurrection, explained a Vatican official.

Cardinal James Francis Stafford, major penitentiary of the Catholic Church, reflected on the topic of purity and chastity last Wednesday and Thursday, when he presided over the international pilgrimage to Fatima, to celebrate the 89th anniversary of the Virgin's apparition, on July 13, 1917, in that Portuguese city.

"Grow and multiply" was the theme of the pilgrimage, a context in which the cardinal spoke on purity, "the most mysterious of the virtues," which "Christians would never have thought of if they had not looked forward to the resurrection of the body."

"Many who are still influenced by 19th century mechanism believe that the Church's teachings on virtue are hideous and they especially reject her teaching on the virtues of chastity and purity," he said.

"They deride the observance of the sixth commandment as emotionally disturbing, even downright repulsive and against nature."

Founded on baptism

Cardinal Stafford clarified that it is essential to remember Christ's Paschal Mystery and one's baptism, which provide the "foundation and motivation for the practice of the virtue of purity and of all other virtues."

"St. Paul taught exactly this norm when he wrote, 'Finally, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more … For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from unchastity (1 Thessalonians 4:1-3)," Cardinal Stafford said.

"In the entire New Testament the practice of virtue was based on the appearance of the eschaton, that is, of Jesus' saving work in his death and resurrection," noted the cardinal.

In his homily, the major penitentiary recalled how "deeply" he was affected by the canonization on June 24, 1950, of the young martyr Maria Goretti.

"Present in St. Peter's Square on that occasion were both her mother and her murderer, Alessandro Serenelli," he said. "Her witness to purity and courage became the polar star of my generation."

St. Maria Goretti, whose memorial the Church celebrated on July 6, "understood that purity was intimately connected with the dignity of the human body," he explained.

"She was aware that the Church taught that it was not the soul but the body which will arise, glorified. With the Church she confessed each Sunday: 'I believe in the resurrection of the body,'" he said. "She witnessed to the mystery that the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus are the true laws of nature, of the flesh and of the physical."

Who is Junia?

2006-07-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Who is Junia?
Cardinal Kasper's reference to Junia in Romans 16:7 itself seemed to allow that there might after all be a possibility of re-opening the question; if, he seemed to imply, it could be demonstrated that Junia really was a woman (not 'Junias', a supposedly masculine name, as most translations have had it), then even Roman tradition might be forced to recognise the possibility that women could be apostles, and therefore presumably could hold ordained ministry in the apostolic succession. In fact, despite what the Cardinal suggested at that point in his paper, recent scholarship, drawing on excellent philology and study of ancient names, strongly suggests that the person in question was female. Junia is a well-known female name of the period, but the suggested male name Junias is not otherwise known; and, when Greek scribes began to introduce accents into their texts, they accented the name in such a way as to make it clear that it was female. That, despite what the Cardinal said, is how it appears in the most recent edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament; and the newest edition of Metzger's commentary on textual variants indicates that those who still preferred the masculine accentuation did so simply on the grounds that they doubted whether a woman would be referred to as an 'apostle' - which precisely begs the methodological question.

The Rt Revd Dr Tom Wright is the Bishop of Durham and the Rt Revd Dr David Stancliffe is the Bishop of Salisbury
The full article can be read here.

Ecumenism Expert Detects New Papal Style

2006-07-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Director of Pro Unione Center Offers Perspective

ROME, JULY 25, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Ecumenism has changed considerably with Benedict XVI, says the director of an organization whose courses include a focus on interreligious dialogue.

"The Pope has adopted a more episcopal model for his ministry," said Father James Puglisi, director of the Pro Unione Center in Rome. "In fact, if one looks at the first stamps, they are without the tiara and with the inscription 'Episcopus Romae.' This is of great importance for the Orthodox."

Father Puglisi, who is also general minister of the Franciscans of the Atonement, spoke with ZENIT on the occasion of a three-week course that his center offered to 16 students from the United States, England and Spain.

The summer course offered guidelines on ecumenism and interreligious dialogue from the Catholic point of view.

The priest told ZENIT that "half of the students were ordained ministers and the other half laity. Almost half were Catholics, while others came from Protestant churches."

Among the topics addressed during the course, special attention was given to the present state of the promotion of Christian unity.

Father Puglisi noted Benedict XVI's innovations and added: "His approvals of the Eastern episcopal elections are no longer in the Vatican Web site section 'Resignations and Appointments,' but on a separate page for relations with the Catholic Eastern Churches with the _expression 'we received the decision' of a Synod and 'I accept in the episcopate.'"
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U.S. Bishops' Aide Applauds Bush on Stem Cells

2006-07-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

Says All Human Life Should Be Treated Equally

WASHINGTON, JULY 21, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The deputy director of the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. bishops' conference commended President George Bush for his remarks and actions regarding proposed legislation on stem cell research.

Richard M. Doerflinger made the statement Wednesday at the White House after the president vetoed a bill which would have forced U.S. taxpayers to encourage the destruction of human embryos for their stem cells.

This is the text of Mr. Doerflinger's statement.

* * *
We commend President Bush today for his remarks and actions regarding proposed legislation on stem cell research.

In a major address in the East Room of the White House, the president insisted that progress in treating devastating diseases must be pursued in ways that are both effective and morally sound.

Illustrating his theme was the presence in the East Room of children who were adopted when they were "spare" frozen embryos, and of patients who are grateful for the treatments they received for brain damage, leukemia and other conditions using adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells. Their support for the president's approach dramatized the need to uphold all human lives equally, not destroy some in the quest to help others.

Prior to his speech, the president vetoed H.R. 810, which would have forced U.S. taxpayers to encourage the destruction of human embryos for their stem cells. He also signed into law S. 3504, a bill unanimously approved by both chambers of Congress to prevent the grotesque practice of "farming" unborn children in human or animal wombs in order to harvest their tissue for research.

A third bill, to fund ways to obtain cells with the properties of embryonic stem cells without creating or harming human embryos (S. 2754), was unfortunately not before the president today, because it failed to receive the two-thirds support needed for expedited approval in the House despite receiving unanimous Senate approval. However, we are grateful that the president said he will use his executive authority to ensure that this promising avenue of research is funded.

We join the president in inviting Congress and the scientific community to work together on this issue for the good of all. As he said in his address, ethics and science must not be placed at odds, but work together to serve the cause of humanity.

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Russian Orthodox Ready to Talk

2006-07-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

Synod Votes in Favor of Dialogue With Vatican

MOSCOW, JULY 21, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A meeting of the Russian Orthodox Church ruled in favor of continuing dialogue with the Vatican.

The Ordinary Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, presided over by the Patriarch of Moscow, Alexy II, was held July 17-19 in the Monastery of the Trinity and St. Sergius

According to reports of the Russian news agency Interfax, the key topic of the synod was dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, and in particular the common ground shared between the two Churches.

"These problems were discussed personally in May," reported Interfax, in a meeting between Benedict XVI and the head of the foreign relations department of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Kyrill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, "when both pointed out the closeness of the points of view of the two Churches on such topics, as well as their desire to continue their joint work."

"Also in this meeting, both representatives recognized the usefulness of developing a common position on bioethical problems and the need to join forces for the affirmation and defense of the family as institution, and the value of human life," the news service reported.

The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church also approved the results obtained, in early May of this year, at the Catholic-Orthodox international conference held in Vienna: "To Give Europe a Soul: Mission and Responsibility of the Church."

According to reports of the Russian news agency RIA, the synod considered "productive the continuation of the dialogue between Orthodox and Catholics on the topics discussed in the conference, such as the influence of Christian ethics on politics, dialogue with other religions and with the humanism of secularized cultures, the challenges of globalization, and the economy and mass media, among others."

In regard to the escalation of violence between Israel and Lebanon, the synod, like Benedict XVI, declared itself in favor of establishing "an equitable order in the Middle East" and the use of international justice as means to restore peace.

"The healing of the conflict in the Middle East, as of any other, will not be possible until all governments and political forces resist terrorism, which attempts against peaceful persons and takes hostages," states the meeting's document.

The Synod appealed "to the forces in conflict to abstain from any action and words that engender more violence and increase discord."

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Christ Healed Mary Magdalene, says Pope

2006-07-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Christ Healed Mary Magdalene, Says Pope
She "Reminds Everyone of a Fundamental Truth"

LES COMBES, Italy, JULY 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Mary Magdalene is a witness of the powerful love of Christ, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope highlighted the figure of Mary Magdalene today in his Angelus address, saying that she "plays a principal role in the Gospel."

The figure of Mary Magdalene has been the object of recent debate since the publication of "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, and with the subsequent release of the film of the same title.

Benedict XVI said to the thousands gathered in the Alpine village of Les Combes, where he is vacationing until Friday, that the Gospel of St. Luke presents her as one of the women who followed Jesus after having "'been healed of evil spirits and infirmities,' specifying that from her 'seven demons had gone out.'"

"Magdalene would be present under the cross, together with the mother of Jesus and other women. She would discover, on the morning of the first day after the Sabbath, the empty sepulcher, next to which she remained weeping until the risen Jesus appeared to her," the Holy Father said.

The Pope said that "the story of Mary Magdalene reminds everyone of a fundamental truth: She is a disciple of Christ who, in the experience of human weakness, has had the humility to ask for his help, has been healed by him, and has followed him closely, becoming a witness of the power of his merciful love, which is stronger than sin and death."

Will classic liturgy aid in reunion with Eastern Orthodoxy?

2006-07-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Click here

Gays Accused of Discrimination

2006-07-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

By Jason Szep
Fri Jul 21, 8:34 AM ET

PROVINCETOWN, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Provincetown, New England's summer gay capital, is facing a rise in harassment and discrimination. But this time it's straight people who say they are being ridiculed as "breeders" and "baby makers."

Less than a decade after a successful campaign to end violent paroxysms of "gay bashing" in the beach town at the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, police and town officials report a resurgence in tension between gays and straight people.

Police Chief Ted Meyer said straight people complained of being called "breeders" over the July Fourth holiday weekend, and that in one serious incident a man was charged with assaulting a woman who signed a petition to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, the only state where it is legal.

Equally troubling, he said, Jamaican workers in Provincetown say they have been the target of racial slurs.

"It's been a series of issues," Meyer said.

The flare-ups in a town that overflows in summer with a colorful mix of gay couples often openly holding hands or kissing, cross-dressers and flocks of curious tourists coincide with a planned vote this year in the state Legislature on an amendment to ban gay marriage -- a measure that has rallied activists on both sides of the issue.

Gay-marriage advocates have set up a Web site -- www.knowthyneighbor.org -- that publishes the names of people who have signed the petition, including at least two locals in Provincetown who say they have been singled out and verbally abused by gays since their names appeared on the Web site.

Town officials said the town is struggling to strike a balance between protecting the right to freedom of expression for petition signers, and ensuring its gay majority contain their anger at what many see as an assault on their hard-won right to marriage.

Police would not classify the slurs and name-calling as "hate crimes." But a town meeting was called last Friday to discuss whether social attitudes were changing in the gay resort village with a population of 3,431 that swells to 60,000 in summer and includes a large number of Jamaicans.

"We have business that we haven't talked about as a family," Town Manager Keith Bergman said. "The impact of the same sex marriage petition is high on that list."

Some gays expressed shock at being accused of discrimination after years of suffering harassment.

"There are still a lot of straight people who treat gays badly," said Steve Bowersock, 35, an artist who owns the Bowersock Gallery on the town's main Commercial Street.

Bowersock, who was once married to a woman, said he moved to Provincetown in 2004 with his partner because it gives gays a political voice. He admits he sometimes discriminates against straight people he finds offensive

"If there's a straight couple and I hear them in the background going 'oh fags', I'm like 'hello, where the hell do you think you are?' So in turn I get mad," he said.

"If I see someone nervous like a big butch guy, and you can just tell he's a redneck, I'll grab my partner and I'll kiss him. It's not being mean, but 'hello you're in our town'."

The Rev. Henry J. Dahl, pastor at St. Peter's Church, said several of his parishioners had complained to him of being singled out and verbally abused after signing the petition.

"I don't think it's totally unexpected that there would be some reaction to people who signed the petition," he said. "Let's just hope we can have civil discourse."

Joe Solmonese, president of gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, said the petition signers invited trouble by taking a position that says "loud and clear that you believe that gays and lesbians should be treated as second class citizens."

But are they...

2006-06-30T20:12:00.001-07:00

"But are they our merits or the merits of Christ? The Protestant procedure here as elsewhere is to oppose instead of to subordinate. To the merits of Christ alone it opposes the merits of man alone. It pronounces for salvation by the merits of Christ alone and imputes to us the theory of salvation by the merits of man alone, the pelagian view condemned by the Church as heretical. What, then, is the real Catholic doctrine? It is summed up in one sentence: our merits are from God and Christ as first cause, and from us as second cause - God gives us, in Christ, the power to assent to Him." Charles Journet, The Meaning of Grace, p. 70, paragraph 9.

What is a patron saint?

2006-06-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Patron saints are chosen as special protectors or guardians over areas of life. These areas can include occupations, illnesses, churches, countries, causes -- anything that is important to us. The earliest records show that people and churches were named after apostles and martyrs as early as the fourth century. Recently, the popes have named patron saints but patrons can be chosen by other individuals or groups as well.
Patron saints are often chosen today because an interest, talent, or event in their lives overlaps with the special area. For example, Francis of Assisi loved nature and so he is patron of ecologists. Francis de Sales was a writer and so he is patron of journalists and writers. Clare of Assisi was named patron of television because one Christmas when she was too ill to leave her bed she saw and heard Christmas Mass -- even though it was taking place miles away. Angels can also be named as patron saints.
A patron saint can help us when we follow the example of that saint's life and when we ask for that saint's intercessory prayers to God.