10-17-06
Greetings!
Conservative Catholic or Liberal Catholic?
Have you ever been asked that? Perhaps it is human nature to try and label, compartmentalize, or lump someone into a wider group. Only one problem, when applied to Catholicism, political labels don't work.
This reflection is occasioned by the upcoming 2 referendums in Wisconsin. The one: to define marriage as between one man and one woman only. The second: an advisory vote as to whether Wisconsin should bring back the death penalty. The Catholic bishops in Wisconsin are urging voters to vote "yes" for marriage and "no" for the death penalty; citing the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The first, marriage being limited to one man and one woman (notice the "one" as groups in Utah are already positing legal arguments geared toward allowing polygamy as a "right".) The position of the Catholic Church is widely considered a "conservative" position.
The second, voting against bringing back the death penalty is widely viewed as a "liberal" position.
Fr. John Hardon, S.J. wrote on this topic in 1998. (Incidentally, Fr. Hardon was the one Mother Teresa asked to write a course on the faith for her religious sisters.) He noted that "labeling others conservative or liberal in matters of faith is of relatively recent vintage….[meaning after Vatican II]…Prior to that time, the People of God were known either as practicing Catholics or fallen away Catholics."
As Douglas Bushman, STL, pointed out, "Who was more liberal on helping the downtrodden then Mother Teresa or John Paul II? And by that same token, who was more conservative on the teachings of the faith then Mother Teresa or John Paul II?"
Fr. Hardon relates the story of a priest recently being asked, '"Father are you a conservative or liberal Catholic," he replied, "I'm a Roman Catholic. I follow the guidelines of the Vatican."' (Copyright 1998 Inter Mirifica)
Amen to that!
Note: For more information on the Bishop's Positions see www.wisconsincatholic.org
Phil's Tidbits:
In 1852, John Henry Newman (to later become Cardinal Newman) described a University's purpose: "A university training aims at raising the intellectual tone of society.… It is the education which gives [people] a clear, conscious view of their own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them."
"The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Washington State University now has a Chief Diversity Officer with a full time staff of 55 and a $3 million annual budget." Source: National Review 10-23-06 Issue
Wow! That's a long way from Newman's vision. My question, if you are truly teaching students the wide breadth of history, aren't you inevitably going to be teaching them "diversity"? And is it not a type of reverse racism for a university to define students by their race, background, or even sexuality as opposed to their ideas and thoughts? Every once in awhile someone argues for teaching diversity or multi-cultural understanding in our religion classes. Now don't get me wrong, understanding and respecting all cultures is important. But if we are truly teaching the students the Faith, how can they not respect others? If we are truly teaching them Jesus Christ, how can they end up not viewing others as Christ would? By contrast, if we are producing students who would look down upon others based on their heritage, we are not doing a good enough job of teaching them Christ.
And I would argue the same could be said of Universities. If they are truly teaching their students to think, to embrace ideas, to use their minds for good, wouldn't a respect for others naturally flow from it?
An inspiring story: Imprisonment a Mission of Faith for Priest
Spent 12 Years in Vietnamese Jail
ROME, OCT. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Far from considering his imprisonment in Vietnam a tragedy, Father Joseph Nguyen Cong Doan sees it as a mission of evangelization.
Speaking on Vatican Radio, the priest commented on his 12 years in a Vietnamese jail, accused of being a counter-revolutionary. Father Doan, 65, is a native of Vietnam, and was ordained a priest of the Society of Jesus in 1970. He was studying in Rome at the Biblical Institute when, in 1975, he was sent to
Vietnam shortly before the fall of Saigon. The city name was changed to Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 when the Communist government took over.
"The first 15 years" in the country, "that is, until the fall of the
Berlin Wall, were very hard due to prejudices caused by history," explained the Vietnamese priest on Vatican Radio. Because "Western colonialism generated great confusion between the Church and colonialism itself ... there were many prejudices which made life hard. The Communist government suspected the Church of being an accomplice of colonialism, so the Church suffered from very tight control measures," said Father Doan.
Speaking of the years he spent in prison, the priest said: "I never regarded this sentence as a tragedy. For me it was a mission." It was a mission "with the prisoners, because it was the only way they could have a chaplain," as "priests could not enter prisons."
In prison, "we were able to help much in clarifying numerous aspects, very many suspicions against the Church," "and a sort of dialogue was born," he said.
Priestly presence
There were "political prisoners and ordinary prisoners" in the jail. However, "the presence of a priest was very respected, including by non-Christians," said the priest. Moreover, "many means" were found "to celebrate Mass discreetly and to distribute Communion and the sacrament of reconciliation to Catholic prisoners," stated Father Doan.
"The Church has always sought to contribute and cooperate in rebuilding the country after so many years of war. Thus, little by little, a good relationship has been created. The seminaries are also full of young people. There are now seven seminaries in the country. It is still not enough, but it is already a lot," he explained on
Vatican Radio.
In so far as professing the faith at present, without the risk of persecution, Father Doan said that "problems are still perceived for those Churches that declare themselves to the government, but everything is public for the Catholic Church; therefore, they are no longer afraid of Catholics.
"The clearest teaching is that of St. Peter, who says we must always be prepared to give the reason for the hope that is in us, with love, patience and respect." "So, after many years, the Church in Vietnam has been able to create a dialogue, and, every year, the Holy See can send a delegation to the country to address several questions regarding the life of the Church ... though there are no diplomatic relations between the two states," he added.
"All this is the result of the spirit of love, patience and respect, as St. Peter affirmed," said Father Doan.
Vietnam has over 80 million inhabitants, more than 80% of whom do not practice any creed. It is estimated that Catholics number more than 6 million and it is thought that between 80-90% of Catholics are active.
ZE06101029
Wal-Mart has unfortunately come a long way from the vision espoused by its founder.
Wal-Mart Sponsors Diversity Week, Includes How To Defeat A Constitutional Ban On Homosexual Marriage
Wal-Mart has given its full endorsement to the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage. Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, will observe LGBT Diversity Week October 9–13.
One of the sponsors for the Diversity Week is Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart is joining the Pleasure Boutique (an adult bookstore which bills itself as "
Idaho's largest selection of adult movies and DVDs and largest adult toy selection in Idaho") and other groups in sponsoring the week. Diversity Week is a week of celebrating homosexuality and promoting the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage.
Among the events being sponsored by Wal-Mart is Idaho Votes No Campaign Update and Information Workshop. Voters in Idaho will be voting on a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in November. This Wal-Mart sponsored event will inform voters how to oppose the amendment and how to get others to do so. Wal-Mart is putting their money behind the effort to legalize homosexual marriage.
Other events being sponsored by Wal-Mart: Gay History of Idaho, Diversity in the Workplace, Women's/Lesbian Issues, Hate Based Crimes, Heterosexism, Homosexuality and Disabilities, LGBT Youth in Trouble, MCC-Faith and LGBT,
and a youth dance for those age 24 and under.
Several weeks ago I saw a call by some Islamic groups to hack and crash the Vatican Website. (One author has dubbed them "jihackists".) Needless to say they were unsuccessful. J
Muslim attackers vanquished by Michael
No, not St. Michael the Archangel. Michael is the name of the firewall, or security computer, at the Vatican website. (They also have servers named Gabriel and Raphael. I think I detect a theme here.) According to a report from Catholic World News, it's been busy lately:
Islamic computer hackers tried to disrupt the Vatican web site earlier this week, but failed, according to a report in the ANSA news service.
In an online forum for militant Muslims, a group announced plans for an assault on the Vatican computer network, which was said to be a form of retribution for Pope Benedict's criticism of Islam in his Regensburg speech. Police later confirmed that there had been a concerted effort by hackers to penetrate the Vatican site, but computer-security experts were able to detect and repel the attack.
Vatican security personnel are remaining vigilant in case of another effort by the hackers. On second thought, maybe the vanquisher was St. Michael the Archangel after all.
-Source: Newadvent.org
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