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Showing posts from July, 2017

In Compliance

Guest Op-Ed - Bishop Schneider: The interpretation of Vatican II and its connection with the current crisis of the Church Once again, we are honored to post this guest op-ed, submitted to us by His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider. We not only allow but encourage all media and blogs to reprint this as well.  OK, I am delighted to do this, as I wrote a book in support of what His Excellency wishes: (From the Amazon page): " Ta king as his point of departure Pope Paul VI’s observation that seven years following the close of the Second Vatican Council conditions in the Church were such that it was as if “the Smoke of Satan has entered the Temple of God,” the author recounts how it was that the misimplementation of the council’s documents resulted in the emergence of what Henri De Lubac termed “a different Church from that of Jesus Christ,” all under the guide of updating (aggiornamento) and renewal. Pope Paul was of the mind that by 1972 the greatest need in the Ch

LGBTQIA and Its Variances

It seems Crisis Magazine has published another piece sparking much discussion on the web (my comments in red): Orthophobia and the Marginalized QTBGL Catholic DEACON JIM RUSSELL As I survey the current state  of the Catholic Church, I believe I can no longer hold back. It is time for me to come out. I am and have for some time identified as a member of the QTBGL community, and I need to explain why I call myself a QTBGL Catholic. For those who may not know, “QTBGL” stands for “Quietly Totally Believing God’s Law” and is sometimes referred to more simply as “TBGL” (just Totally Believing God’s Law). Personally, I think the “Q” is an essential aspect of our community, since it’s important to recognize just how  quietly  we go about totally believing the fullness of truth of the Catholic faith in our daily lives. I suppose I am out of sync here, as I am perhaps not as quiet as I should be. Coming out at this moment is vitally important. Not only do I need to be utterl

Land O' Lakes and the University of Our Lady

In my chapter on Catechesis I did not discuss Catholic Higher Education, as I had not the competence to contribute beyond Catholic priest and famed sociologist Msgr. George Kelly's  https://www.amazon.com/battle-American-church-George-Anthony/dp/0385174330 COMMENTARY  |  JUL. 20, 2017 The Spirit of Land O’Lakes: A Recent Student’s Perspective COMMENTARY: Part of a Register Symposium Jonathan Liedl I can’t help but get defensive when confronted with overstatements about the demise of the University of Notre Dame, my alma mater. After all, my Catholic faith blossomed on Our Lady’s campus, nurtured by friendships with well-formed Catholic peers living out their faith with joy and fidelity. At precisely the moment when the simplistic worldview of my youth was beginning to falter under the pressure of existential questioning, these friends witnessed to me the beauty and satisfaction of a life wholly Catholic. I have similar sentiments for another oft-maligned Catholic ins

Dancing With Mr. D: Biblical Errancy of the First Magnitude

Picture taken 26 October 2006 of an erotic fresco in Pompeii. Art officials have restored an ancient brothel in the archaeological complex of Pompeii, believed to be the most popular one in the ancient Roman city.  Well, now, here we have the Huffington Post, that universal go-to source for all things Divine, publishing  yet another attempt to sophistically rewrite Divine Revelation.    The speaker, the Rev. Canon Steve Chalke is a prominent evangelical Christian from the United Kingdom. In the  video created for the Oasis Open Church Network , Chalke preaches about the  six passages in the Bible that refer to same-sex behavior. These verses are often referred by heterodox Christians as  “clobber passages,”  because they are used to reject the homosexual lifestyle.   A restored erotica fresco is seen in the newly restored public bath in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii November 14, 2001.  I have attempted to clarify matters in these pagesmany times, so here is a blast from

What Think Ye of Pope Francis?

Just stumbled on the following article. My comments in red: Why So Many American Catholics Loathe Pope Francis 11 Michael Liccione  | July 21, 2017 Around the world, Pope Francis is understandably rather popular. It’s not just that he’s a good pastor; it’s that he doesn’t hesitate to speak truth to power when he can have an effect. But he’s probably less popular among US Catholics than anywhere else in the Church. The reasons for that are instructive, and not only for Catholics. Tom Hoopes, writer in residence at Benedictine College, Kansas, recently published a book of reflections on the message of Pope Francis:  What Pope Francis Really Said: Words of Comfort and Challenge.  Having followed Hoopes’ writing for a number of years, I respect his opinions even when I disagree with him. So a few days ago, I lapped up a promotional interview for his book:  Why Aren’t Catholics Rallying Around the Pope? . It’s for a conservative Australian publication, and it’s a pleasur

Talking About the Vagina at Catholic Institutions of Higher Learning

Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, on several Catholic College campuses it was possible to attend a performance of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues , a play which, among “celebrations” of the female experience of the vagina, contains a “romantic” scene, where a 24-year-old woman seduces a 13-year-old girl. The woman invites the girl into her car, takes her to her house, supplies her with vodka, and seduces her, calling the experience “a kind of heaven.” (One wonders what outcry would occur if priests with same-sex attractions were to come to the defense of the play). Nearly through the century's second decade, how is the play faring? Read the latest from the Cardinal Newman Society. Founded in 1993, the mission of The Cardinal Newman Society is to promote and defend faithful Catholic education. The Society seeks to fulfill its mission in numerous ways, including supporting education that is faithful to the teaching and tradition of the Catholic Church; produc

Pastoral Care of "Gays"

C hastity — which is a universal call to every person — is likewise the cornerstone of the Catholic Church’s pastoral approach to people who experience same-sex attractions. The hallmark of an “authentic pastoral program,”  according to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith  (CDF), is that it honestly faces the truth that homosexual intimate acts are immoral, for they are not ordered to the complementarity and procreativity that give sexual union its meaning and purpose. But if our pastoral practice stopped there, it would be woefully incomplete. Instead, the CDF calls for a “multifaceted approach” that helps people to live chastity and to grow “at all levels of the spiritual life: through the sacraments … prayer, witness, counsel and individual care.”

Who Is Jesus?

When I began training as a catechist at an archdiocesan conference in the 1970s, one noted catechetical author informed those present, “Traditionally we Catholics have allowed the Christ of Faith to dominate our faith expression, but after Vatican II it is important to give equal emphasis to the ‘Jesus of history’.” Pope Benedict XVI has decried the impact of this dichotomy as “tragic” for Christian faith, for he has written that the Gospels do present the real, historical Jesus. Neomodernists also  raised questions, as we have seen, as to whether Jesus intended to found a Church, since they understand his mission as concerned only with inaugurating the Kingdom of God, i.e., delivering people from spiritual and physical suffering in this world, which is how neomodernists understand salvation. Here is a recent example of such.

Libido Redux: Youth Led Astray on Gospel of Life

I have taught in Catholic High schools for 39 years and counting. When I first began my career, "same sex marriage" was not even on the table for discussion, and perhaps 60% of my students were "pro-choice." Now, this situation has more than reversed, with over 90% of students being pro-life, FROM CONCEPTION to natural death.... However, as the following article points out, our young are being misled on the fullness of the Gospel of life:   BLOGS  |  JUN. 29, 2017 How Sentimentality Leads Young Catholics Astray About Homosexuality For many in the Church today, there is a dissonance with a growing affirmation of the value of lives in the womb, yet a growing acceptance of same-sex relationships. Daniel Mattson Since coming back to the Church after having a same-sex relationship, I have often been asked to speak to young people about the Church’s teaching on chastity and homosexuality. These are challenging conversations, since it seems that most you