The Areopagus 5-27-08
posted by Phil Lawson
5-27-08
Cardinal Avery Dulles recently stepped down as a professor at Fordham University---at age 89(!). For some time he has been a widely respected voice of wisdom and clarity in the Church. Just last year, he published a paper on the current state of Ecumenism “Saving Ecumenism from Itself” in First Things, that was among the best I have ever read. In fact, I sent a copy of it to a local protestant pastor who was similarly interested in ecumenism, suggesting he would also find Cardinal Dulles’ insights helpful.
He recently gave a farewell address, although it had to be delivered orally by someone else due to the Cardinal’s failing health. In it was this gem by this man so appreciated for his wisdom and insight:
“Very few new ideas, I suspect, are true. If I conceived a theological idea that had never occurred to anyone in the past, I would have every reason to think myself mistake.” Source: Catholic News Service as published in the Catholic Times 4-17-08
How’s that for humility, as well as understanding our role in teaching the faith or “doing theology.”? May the cardinal’s remaining days on earth be blessed!
Phil’s Tidbits:
A friend found this quote from the Holy Father. I trust you’ll enjoy it. J
"Romance is thinking of your significant other, when you are supposed to be thinking of something else" - Pope Benedict XVI
This is a really beautiful story about Archbishop Burke—and by the local secular newspaper no less! I myself wouldn’t mind signing up for one of those “walks”!
Special congratulations to Noah Waldman, ordained this past weekend. Noah spent some time at St. Peter’s discerning his vocation.
Burke's efforts lead to biggest Catholic ordination class in decades By Tim Townsend ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Sunday, May. 18 2008 Once or twice a year, each student at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary will drop by Archbishop Raymond Burke's residence in the Central West End at 4:30 p.m. From there, they set off down Lindell Avenue and into Forest Park.."The walks," as the seminarians call them, are opportunities for young men to have heart-to-hearts with a man who regularly meets with the pope, a heady prospect for a young priest-in-training. The conversations are usually casual, and the seminarians get to see a more personal, human side of Burke — like when he gets a little skittish around off-leash dogs. Kenrick officials organize the walks using time sheets. When the sheets are posted, there's a rush to sign on."It's like when you throw pellets at the Japanese fish at the Botanical Gardens," said seminarian Edward Nemeth, 26. "Guys falling over each other to get their names on the list."On Saturday, Nemeth and eight of his colleagues at Kenrick will be ordained as priests in the St. Louis Archdiocese — the largest St. Louis ordination class in 25 years and one of the largest in the U.S. It's also the same number of ordinations in St. Louis as the last three years combined.Since the 1980s, declining interest in the priesthood has been a growing crisis for the Roman Catholic church in the U.S., a situation that was compounded by the clergy sex-abuse scandal earlier this decade. One church study suggested that 80 percent of parents whose sons are considering the priesthood try to dissuade them, fearing their child is entering a life of loneliness and unhappiness.Burke is credited for helping to address such concerns at Kenrick. He is active in recruiting priests and knows the seminarians — their names, their life stories, their joys and their fears. He's also a frequent visitor to the seminary, sometimes dropping by unannounced for lunch with the students."He's the center and the core of this whole thing," said the Rev. Michael Butler, the vocations director for the archdiocese.The student body at Kenrick-Glennon, which includes the undergraduate Cardinal Glennon College and graduate-level Kenrick Theological Seminary, is 112 students, the largest enrollment in two decades and a 50 percent increase over last year. Monsignor Ted Wojcicki, Kenrick-Glennon's president, said he hopes to enroll 120 students next year, which would double the size of the seminary population from a decade ago. Last year, the archdiocese announced plans to expand the seminary.The archdiocese officially attributes its recent success with vocations — Latin for vocare, which means, to call — to a higher power. More men are hearing God's call to the priesthood, they say. But God has had a hand from Burke, who decided vocations would be a high priority since he arrived in St. Louis in 2004. "A bishop's principal responsibility is to provide priests for the people in his pastoral care," Burke said in an interview last week from Rome. "Ordinations have to be absolutely right at the top of my priorities."
View Source
A group called “Roman Catholics for Obama” uses a quote from Archbishop Chaput to support their argument. The Archbishop, in his usual, thoughtful, and engaging way, takes some time to respond. I include the full article here because it is well worth reading.
THOUGHTS ON ‘ROMAN CATHOLICS FOR OBAMA’
+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
May 19, 2008
Forty years ago this month Bobby Kennedy was still alive and running for the Democratic Party's 1968 presidential nomination. I was a seminarian in Washington, D.C. I was also an active volunteer on Kennedy's campaign. I can still remember helping with secretarial work in the same room where Edward Kennedy and Pierre Salinger labored away on RFK strategy. It was my first involvement in elective politics, and after the Vietnam Tet Offensive in February and Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder on April 4, Kennedy's cause seemed urgent. Then on June 5, Kennedy was gunned down himself.
After RFK died, the meaning of the 1968 election seemed to evaporate. I lost interest in politics. I didn't get involved again until the rise of Jimmy Carter. Carter fascinated me because he seemed like an untypical politician. He was plain spoken, honest, a serious Christian and a Washington outsider. So I supported him during his 1976 campaign when I was a young priest working in Pennsylvania. After his election as president, I came to Denver as pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Thornton in 1977. I eventually got involved with the 1980 Colorado campaign for Carter's re-election on the invitation of a parishioner and Democratic Party activist -- Polly Baca, who was and remains a good friend. Carter had one serious strike against him. The U.S. Supreme Court had legalized abortion on demand in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and Carter the candidate waffled about restricting it. At the time, I knew Carter was wrong in his views about Roe v. Wade and soft toward permissive abortion. But
even as a priest, I justified working for him because he wasn't aggressively "pro-choice." True, he held a bad position on a vital issue, but I believed he was right on so many more of the "Catholic" issues than his opponent seemed to be. The moral calculus looked easy. I thought we could remedy the abortion problem after Carter was safely returned to office.
Carter lost his bid for re-election, but even with an avowedly prolife Ronald Reagan as president, the belligerence, dishonesty and inflexibility of the "pro-choice" lobby has stymied almost every effort to protect unborn human life since.
In the years after the Carter loss I began to notice that very few of the people, including Catholics, who claimed to be "personally opposed" to abortion really did anything about it. Nor did they intend to. For most, their personal opposition was little more than pious hand wringing and a convenient excuse -- exactly as it is today. In fact, I can't name any "pro-choice" Catholic politician who has been active, in a sustained public way, in trying to discourage abortion and to protect unborn human life - - not one. Some talk about it, and some may mean well, but there's very little action. In the United States in 2008, abortion is an acceptable form of homicide. And it will remain that way until Catholics force their political parties and elected officials to act differently.
Why do I mention this now? Earlier this spring a group called "Roman Catholics for Obama '08" quoted my own published words in the following way: "So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can't, and I won't. But I do know some serious Catholics -- people whom I admire -- who may. I think their reasoning
is mistaken, but at least they sincerely struggle with the abortion issue, and it causes them
real pain. And most important: They don't keep quiet about it; they don't give up; they keep lobbying their party and their representatives to change their pro-abortion views and protect the unborn. Catholics can vote for pro-choice candidates if they vote for them despite -- not because of – their pro-choice views."
What's interesting about this quotation - which is accurate but incomplete - is the wording that was left out. The very next sentences in the article of mine they selected, which Roman Catholics for Obama neglected to quote, run as follows: "But [Catholics who support 'pro-choice' candidates] also need a compelling proportionate reason to justify it. What is a 'proportionate' reason when it comes to the abortion issue? It's the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them face
to face in the next life - which we most certainly will. If we're confident that these victims will accept our motives as something more than an alibi, then we can proceed."
On their website, Roman Catholics for Obama stress that:
"After faithful thought and prayer, we have arrived at the conclusion that Senator Obama is the candidate whose views are most compatible with the Catholic outlook, and we will vote for him because of that -- and because of his other outstanding qualities -- despite our disagreements with him in specific areas."
I'm familiar with this reasoning. It sounds a lot like me 30 years ago. And 30 years later we still have about a million abortions a year. Maybe Roman Catholics for Obama will do a better job at influencing their candidate. It could happen. And I sincerely hope it does, since Planned Parenthood of the Chicago area, as recently as February 2008, noted that Senator Barack Obama "has a 100 percent pro-choice voting record both in the U.S. Senate and the Illinois Senate."
Changing the views of "pro-choice" candidates takes a lot more than verbal gymnastics, good alibis and pious talk about "personal opposition" to killing unborn children. I'm sure Roman Catholics for Obama know that, and I wish them good luck. They'll need it.
View Source
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, you can use the form on the sidebar of this page to sign up.
Cardinal Avery Dulles recently stepped down as a professor at Fordham University---at age 89(!). For some time he has been a widely respected voice of wisdom and clarity in the Church. Just last year, he published a paper on the current state of Ecumenism “Saving Ecumenism from Itself” in First Things, that was among the best I have ever read. In fact, I sent a copy of it to a local protestant pastor who was similarly interested in ecumenism, suggesting he would also find Cardinal Dulles’ insights helpful.
He recently gave a farewell address, although it had to be delivered orally by someone else due to the Cardinal’s failing health. In it was this gem by this man so appreciated for his wisdom and insight:
“Very few new ideas, I suspect, are true. If I conceived a theological idea that had never occurred to anyone in the past, I would have every reason to think myself mistake.” Source: Catholic News Service as published in the Catholic Times 4-17-08
How’s that for humility, as well as understanding our role in teaching the faith or “doing theology.”? May the cardinal’s remaining days on earth be blessed!
Phil’s Tidbits:
A friend found this quote from the Holy Father. I trust you’ll enjoy it. J
"Romance is thinking of your significant other, when you are supposed to be thinking of something else" - Pope Benedict XVI
This is a really beautiful story about Archbishop Burke—and by the local secular newspaper no less! I myself wouldn’t mind signing up for one of those “walks”!
Special congratulations to Noah Waldman, ordained this past weekend. Noah spent some time at St. Peter’s discerning his vocation.
Burke's efforts lead to biggest Catholic ordination class in decades By Tim Townsend ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Sunday, May. 18 2008 Once or twice a year, each student at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary will drop by Archbishop Raymond Burke's residence in the Central West End at 4:30 p.m. From there, they set off down Lindell Avenue and into Forest Park.."The walks," as the seminarians call them, are opportunities for young men to have heart-to-hearts with a man who regularly meets with the pope, a heady prospect for a young priest-in-training. The conversations are usually casual, and the seminarians get to see a more personal, human side of Burke — like when he gets a little skittish around off-leash dogs. Kenrick officials organize the walks using time sheets. When the sheets are posted, there's a rush to sign on."It's like when you throw pellets at the Japanese fish at the Botanical Gardens," said seminarian Edward Nemeth, 26. "Guys falling over each other to get their names on the list."On Saturday, Nemeth and eight of his colleagues at Kenrick will be ordained as priests in the St. Louis Archdiocese — the largest St. Louis ordination class in 25 years and one of the largest in the U.S. It's also the same number of ordinations in St. Louis as the last three years combined.Since the 1980s, declining interest in the priesthood has been a growing crisis for the Roman Catholic church in the U.S., a situation that was compounded by the clergy sex-abuse scandal earlier this decade. One church study suggested that 80 percent of parents whose sons are considering the priesthood try to dissuade them, fearing their child is entering a life of loneliness and unhappiness.Burke is credited for helping to address such concerns at Kenrick. He is active in recruiting priests and knows the seminarians — their names, their life stories, their joys and their fears. He's also a frequent visitor to the seminary, sometimes dropping by unannounced for lunch with the students."He's the center and the core of this whole thing," said the Rev. Michael Butler, the vocations director for the archdiocese.The student body at Kenrick-Glennon, which includes the undergraduate Cardinal Glennon College and graduate-level Kenrick Theological Seminary, is 112 students, the largest enrollment in two decades and a 50 percent increase over last year. Monsignor Ted Wojcicki, Kenrick-Glennon's president, said he hopes to enroll 120 students next year, which would double the size of the seminary population from a decade ago. Last year, the archdiocese announced plans to expand the seminary.The archdiocese officially attributes its recent success with vocations — Latin for vocare, which means, to call — to a higher power. More men are hearing God's call to the priesthood, they say. But God has had a hand from Burke, who decided vocations would be a high priority since he arrived in St. Louis in 2004. "A bishop's principal responsibility is to provide priests for the people in his pastoral care," Burke said in an interview last week from Rome. "Ordinations have to be absolutely right at the top of my priorities."
View Source
A group called “Roman Catholics for Obama” uses a quote from Archbishop Chaput to support their argument. The Archbishop, in his usual, thoughtful, and engaging way, takes some time to respond. I include the full article here because it is well worth reading.
THOUGHTS ON ‘ROMAN CATHOLICS FOR OBAMA’
+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
May 19, 2008
Forty years ago this month Bobby Kennedy was still alive and running for the Democratic Party's 1968 presidential nomination. I was a seminarian in Washington, D.C. I was also an active volunteer on Kennedy's campaign. I can still remember helping with secretarial work in the same room where Edward Kennedy and Pierre Salinger labored away on RFK strategy. It was my first involvement in elective politics, and after the Vietnam Tet Offensive in February and Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder on April 4, Kennedy's cause seemed urgent. Then on June 5, Kennedy was gunned down himself.
After RFK died, the meaning of the 1968 election seemed to evaporate. I lost interest in politics. I didn't get involved again until the rise of Jimmy Carter. Carter fascinated me because he seemed like an untypical politician. He was plain spoken, honest, a serious Christian and a Washington outsider. So I supported him during his 1976 campaign when I was a young priest working in Pennsylvania. After his election as president, I came to Denver as pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Thornton in 1977. I eventually got involved with the 1980 Colorado campaign for Carter's re-election on the invitation of a parishioner and Democratic Party activist -- Polly Baca, who was and remains a good friend. Carter had one serious strike against him. The U.S. Supreme Court had legalized abortion on demand in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and Carter the candidate waffled about restricting it. At the time, I knew Carter was wrong in his views about Roe v. Wade and soft toward permissive abortion. But
even as a priest, I justified working for him because he wasn't aggressively "pro-choice." True, he held a bad position on a vital issue, but I believed he was right on so many more of the "Catholic" issues than his opponent seemed to be. The moral calculus looked easy. I thought we could remedy the abortion problem after Carter was safely returned to office.
Carter lost his bid for re-election, but even with an avowedly prolife Ronald Reagan as president, the belligerence, dishonesty and inflexibility of the "pro-choice" lobby has stymied almost every effort to protect unborn human life since.
In the years after the Carter loss I began to notice that very few of the people, including Catholics, who claimed to be "personally opposed" to abortion really did anything about it. Nor did they intend to. For most, their personal opposition was little more than pious hand wringing and a convenient excuse -- exactly as it is today. In fact, I can't name any "pro-choice" Catholic politician who has been active, in a sustained public way, in trying to discourage abortion and to protect unborn human life - - not one. Some talk about it, and some may mean well, but there's very little action. In the United States in 2008, abortion is an acceptable form of homicide. And it will remain that way until Catholics force their political parties and elected officials to act differently.
Why do I mention this now? Earlier this spring a group called "Roman Catholics for Obama '08" quoted my own published words in the following way: "So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can't, and I won't. But I do know some serious Catholics -- people whom I admire -- who may. I think their reasoning
is mistaken, but at least they sincerely struggle with the abortion issue, and it causes them
real pain. And most important: They don't keep quiet about it; they don't give up; they keep lobbying their party and their representatives to change their pro-abortion views and protect the unborn. Catholics can vote for pro-choice candidates if they vote for them despite -- not because of – their pro-choice views."
What's interesting about this quotation - which is accurate but incomplete - is the wording that was left out. The very next sentences in the article of mine they selected, which Roman Catholics for Obama neglected to quote, run as follows: "But [Catholics who support 'pro-choice' candidates] also need a compelling proportionate reason to justify it. What is a 'proportionate' reason when it comes to the abortion issue? It's the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them face
to face in the next life - which we most certainly will. If we're confident that these victims will accept our motives as something more than an alibi, then we can proceed."
On their website, Roman Catholics for Obama stress that:
"After faithful thought and prayer, we have arrived at the conclusion that Senator Obama is the candidate whose views are most compatible with the Catholic outlook, and we will vote for him because of that -- and because of his other outstanding qualities -- despite our disagreements with him in specific areas."
I'm familiar with this reasoning. It sounds a lot like me 30 years ago. And 30 years later we still have about a million abortions a year. Maybe Roman Catholics for Obama will do a better job at influencing their candidate. It could happen. And I sincerely hope it does, since Planned Parenthood of the Chicago area, as recently as February 2008, noted that Senator Barack Obama "has a 100 percent pro-choice voting record both in the U.S. Senate and the Illinois Senate."
Changing the views of "pro-choice" candidates takes a lot more than verbal gymnastics, good alibis and pious talk about "personal opposition" to killing unborn children. I'm sure Roman Catholics for Obama know that, and I wish them good luck. They'll need it.
View Source
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, you can use the form on the sidebar of this page to sign up.
Labels: Areopagus Catholic Newsletter
The Areopagus 5-20-08
posted by Phil Lawson
5-20-08
April 30th and May 1st, the Pointers for Life, a campus organization at UW-Stevens Point put up a display called the “Cemetery of the Innocents”. This display is some 4000 white crosses placed in the ground to symbolize the number of children killed each day through abortion in the United States.
The students make sure to watch over the display as there are often threats of vandalism. This year the threat materialized, in broad daylight, as a student senator went through the display and started destroying it.
As this happened, the students, who had gone through all the proper channels to put up the display and were well within their rights, promptly called Campus Security and took out a video camera. They calmly did nothing to provoke further confrontation.
Personally, I am in awe at their self-discipline and foresightedness. Any kind of confrontation on their part would have negated the good they were trying to do. I’m not so sure I would have had the fortitude to calmly Not Act in defense as they did. For that I give these young people a tremendous amount of credit. Indeed, in recently talking to the group’s president, she expressed to me the need to pray for this young man.
The interaction and vandalism can be viewed here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t5NeLyMZUYM
Here is a story that appeared in the local papers about the vandalism.
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/WDH0101/805020560/1981
Tolerance of other’s opinions is of course the byword and standard today, but here you have someone arguing that the Pointers for Life should not be allowed to express their views because they conflict with his. How do you rectify such a quandary? The University, to their credit, has spoken out against the actions of this student—however he is also a student senator, and as of now, remains one.
My favorite quote came from a very articulate young lady who was able to use modern parlance and verbiage to support her point:
"It's just so disrespectful, and it's disappointing that this comes from UWSP students. I've always thought of this campus as a tolerant place. ... Someone made these (crosses) with their own hands," said Pointers for Life member Tracey Oudenhoven. Source: Wausau Daily Herald 5-2-08
Touche’!
Here is the story as reported by Lifesitenews.com:
CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Wisconsin U Student Senator Vandalizing Pro-Life Display of Crosses
ARLINGTON, VA, May 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Thursday, May 1, 2008, a peaceful Cemetery of the Innocents display at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (UWSP) was vandalized by a Student Senator, Roderick King.
After having their display vandalized on the night of April 30th, several members from the UWSP pro-life group, Pointers for Life, were repairing the display around 11am on the morning of May 1st when a group of angry students, lead by UWSP Student Senator Roderick King, began to walk though the rows, taking crosses from the ground and throwing them.
King began to voice his complaints and said that Pointers for Life had "no right" to display the crosses, and that it was "his duty as a paying student" to take them down.
When the campus Protective Services officer arrived, most of the students stopped vandalizing the display; however, Senator King did not stop. He claimed, "The freedom of speech does not cover these signs and symbols!" Only after the Protective Services officer threatened to make him pay for damages did Senator King stop.
Bob Tomlinson, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, apologized to Pointers for Life for the disrespect and vandalism by the students. Student Senators Katie Kloth and Erica Wardle came to the display and clearly defined the university's policies, asserting that Pointers for Life had correctly reserved the space and were allowed to host the display.
That night, Pointers for Life submitted a complaint to the Student Government Association (SGA) and asked for Senator King to resign or be disciplined appropriately under the student government Constitution. However, the student government has yet to force Senator King to resign.
Jackie Kryzkowski, the Pointers for Life President, said, "Student Senators should be helping to defend our freedom of speech, not trying to take it away because of personal beliefs. If students had a problem with the display, they could exercise their freedom of speech maturely by protesting it peacefully, not by defacing our display."
Ryan Wrasse, another member of the group pointed out: "As we filed our official complaint with the UWSP Student Government Association, we also issued a strong ultimatum: The SGA could either vote to retain Senator King and condone this type of behavior, or remove him from Senate and send a clear message to UWSP students and faculty that this type of behavior will not be tolerated."
Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America, remarked: "This event shows that our country is not immune to the situation going on in Canada right now, where campus pro-life groups are being singled out and excluded from the guaranteed freedom of speech and expression on college campuses. This is not the first time that a student group has had this same type of peaceful display vandalized or has faced discrimination on a college campus. SFLA is here to make sure all college pro-lifers are guaranteed their rights to demonstrate on behalf of those who have no voice."
For more details and perspectives on this story:
Jill Stanek offers her thoughts and more background on the story:
http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/05/proabort_studen.html
Michelle Malkin offers further thoughts:
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/07/video-another-campus-pro-life-memorial-vandalized/
Phil’s Tidbits:
This past Sunday is designated “Trinity Sunday” –to honor the 3 Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. Too often when the Trinity is mentioned, it’s followed by the phrase “it’s a mystery” and the topic is changed. Not this week at St. Peter’s!
“Father Kevin C. Louis gave this excellent homily at St. Peter Catholic Church in Stevens Point, WI, illustrating the relationship between the life of the Trinity and the total gift of self in married love, which extends even to the couple’s fertility. Please pass it on, this message needs to be heard!”-Darcy Bunn
http://www.saintpetercatholic.com/blog/2008/05/gospel-and-homily-for-trinity-sunday.html
Several months ago Georgetown released a study that was trumpeted as showing the Catholic Church loses more of its members as they grow up then the others. Here’s a follow-up article that makes some interesting points that were overlooked in the initial response…stating that in overall numbers we do lose the most, of course we’re also the largest---however as a percentage, the Catholic Church actually does the best at retaining her faithful.
19-May-2008 -- Catholic News Agency
Georgetown Researchers Concerned over Interpretations of “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey”
Washington DC, May 17, 2008 (CNA).- The Catholic results of the Pew survey entitled "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey" have been closely examined by CARA, a Georgetown University research center who points out that commentators may have initially jumped to conclusions after reading the results in the Pew study.
Mark Gray, Director of CARA Catholic Polls; and Joseph Claude Harris, an independent Church research analyst, note in a Letter to the Editor in the April 6, 2008 edition of Our Sunday Visitor that when the Pew survey results were released, “Commentators were swift to assign blame, noting a range of factors from the sex abuse crisis to shortages of priests, or even the long-term effects of the Second Vatican Council.”
The Catholic Church has lost the most members out of all the denominations but, as Gray explained to CNA, “it's also the biggest religion and when you translate the discussion in to proportions you can see the Catholic Church is doing quite well comparatively. It keeps more of its young faithful than any Protestant denomination.”
A CARA essay titled, “The Impact of Religious Switching and Secularization on the Estimated Size of the U.S. Adult Catholic Population,” details the proportions: the “Pew study indicates that the Catholic Church has retained 68 percent of those who grew up Catholic. By comparison, 60 percent of those raised Baptist are still Baptists as adults.” Retention rates are much lower for “Lutherans (59 percent), Methodists and Pentecostals (both 47 percent), Episcopalians (45 percent), and Presbyterians (40 percent).”
In fact, out of all religions in the U.S. consisting of at least 3 million adult members, “only those who were raised Jewish or Mormon are more likely than Catholics to keep their faith as adults (76 and 70 percent, respectively),” the essay stated.
Another issue addressed by CARA is the concern that Pew’s “Religious Landscape Survey” underestimates the size of the Catholic population.
CARA points out that the Pew survey “estimated a smaller proportion of Latinos selfidentifying as Catholic compared to other surveys (i.e., where Spanish or bilingual interviewing is used), including other recent Pew studies.” This is something noted by the authors of the Pew report who state, “The number of Latinos in the Landscape Survey who identify themselves as Catholic (58%) is considerably lower than in a major survey of Latinos the Forum conducted in 2006 with the Pew Hispanic Research Center, where more than two-thirds (68%) identified as Catholic.”
The CARA essay estimates that “The difference between the 58 percent and 68 percent affiliation among adult Latinos is equivalent to 2.7 million U.S. adults.”
Another matter that has led commentators to jump to conclusions is that the Pew report does not include information as to when a person left the Catholic Church.
In a 2003 poll, CARA found that “more than half of former Catholics stopped considering themselves Catholic before 1988 (54 percent).” Gray told CNA that the amount of Catholics leaving the Church has been fairly constant over time. “There are not a lot of big differences in any segment of time and no evidence of some moment where there was a mass exodus.”
The CARA essay notes, “The median age at which former Catholics stopped considering themselves as Catholic is 21. This median age is consistent with research that indicates that these religious changes may often coincide with the young adult stage of life where separation from family, relocation, increased mobility, and marriage are common”
CARA’s report concluded by stating that the presentation of the results “may have left the impression that a vast number of Catholics recently got up and left the faith and that these losses were worse than those experienced by any other faith. In relative terms—as the percentage of those who retained the affiliation of their childhood—the Catholic Church has been among the most successful faiths in the United States."
From my friend, Angel Gebeau: “It’s interesting that the religions retaining the best are the religions that impact lifestyle the most and not the other way around.”
This is a disturbing story. Obviously there is more to this then what is included in the article. Nonetheless, the facts are abhorrent.
US Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Asylum Case for Chinese Forced Abortion Victim
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)--The Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of a Chinese couple seeking asylum from China's brutal One Child Policy.
Asylum applicant Yi Qiang Yang married his wife when he was 20 and she was 17, defying Chinese laws that suppress population growth by requiring men to wait for marriage until the age of 22 and women until the age of 20. Yang's lawyers claim they married in a private religious ceremony.
When authorities discovered that Yang's wife was eight months pregnant, they forced her to have an abortion because she had become pregnant before the legal age of marriage, according to testimony submitted by Yang's attorneys.
"The fetus was placed in a bag and disposed of in front of Ling" states Yang's legal brief.
Yang's attorney writes that "Because traditionally married spouses are unable to register their marriages with the government, the state treats such couples who have children as violators of the population control policy," He adds that "Such couples are often subjected to forced abortions or sterilizations" according to the Christian Science Monitor.
China's One Child Policy, which has been in effect since the 1970s, regularly forces women to undergo abortions if they have more than a single child in urban areas, or two children in rural areas. Those who are unmarried under Chinese law are prohibited from having any children.
To end on an upbeat note—we continue through May, traditionally dedicated to Mary. Pope Benedict in the book “Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI” published by Magnificat (Thanks Jeremy!) points out the following:
“We must become a longing for God. The Fathers of the Church say that prayer, properly understood, is nothing other than becoming a longing for God. In Mary this petition has been granted: she is, as it were, the open vessel of longing, in which life becomes prayer and prayer becomes life. Saint John wonderfully conveys this process by never mentioning Mary’s name in his Gospel. She no longer has any name except ‘the Mother of Jesus.’ It is as if she had handed over her personal dimension in order now to be solely at his disposal, and precisely thereby had become a person…”
May we do likewise!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
April 30th and May 1st, the Pointers for Life, a campus organization at UW-Stevens Point put up a display called the “Cemetery of the Innocents”. This display is some 4000 white crosses placed in the ground to symbolize the number of children killed each day through abortion in the United States.
The students make sure to watch over the display as there are often threats of vandalism. This year the threat materialized, in broad daylight, as a student senator went through the display and started destroying it.
As this happened, the students, who had gone through all the proper channels to put up the display and were well within their rights, promptly called Campus Security and took out a video camera. They calmly did nothing to provoke further confrontation.
Personally, I am in awe at their self-discipline and foresightedness. Any kind of confrontation on their part would have negated the good they were trying to do. I’m not so sure I would have had the fortitude to calmly Not Act in defense as they did. For that I give these young people a tremendous amount of credit. Indeed, in recently talking to the group’s president, she expressed to me the need to pray for this young man.
The interaction and vandalism can be viewed here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t5NeLyMZUYM
Here is a story that appeared in the local papers about the vandalism.
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/WDH0101/805020560/1981
Tolerance of other’s opinions is of course the byword and standard today, but here you have someone arguing that the Pointers for Life should not be allowed to express their views because they conflict with his. How do you rectify such a quandary? The University, to their credit, has spoken out against the actions of this student—however he is also a student senator, and as of now, remains one.
My favorite quote came from a very articulate young lady who was able to use modern parlance and verbiage to support her point:
"It's just so disrespectful, and it's disappointing that this comes from UWSP students. I've always thought of this campus as a tolerant place. ... Someone made these (crosses) with their own hands," said Pointers for Life member Tracey Oudenhoven. Source: Wausau Daily Herald 5-2-08
Touche’!
Here is the story as reported by Lifesitenews.com:
CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Wisconsin U Student Senator Vandalizing Pro-Life Display of Crosses
ARLINGTON, VA, May 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Thursday, May 1, 2008, a peaceful Cemetery of the Innocents display at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (UWSP) was vandalized by a Student Senator, Roderick King.
After having their display vandalized on the night of April 30th, several members from the UWSP pro-life group, Pointers for Life, were repairing the display around 11am on the morning of May 1st when a group of angry students, lead by UWSP Student Senator Roderick King, began to walk though the rows, taking crosses from the ground and throwing them.
King began to voice his complaints and said that Pointers for Life had "no right" to display the crosses, and that it was "his duty as a paying student" to take them down.
When the campus Protective Services officer arrived, most of the students stopped vandalizing the display; however, Senator King did not stop. He claimed, "The freedom of speech does not cover these signs and symbols!" Only after the Protective Services officer threatened to make him pay for damages did Senator King stop.
Bob Tomlinson, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, apologized to Pointers for Life for the disrespect and vandalism by the students. Student Senators Katie Kloth and Erica Wardle came to the display and clearly defined the university's policies, asserting that Pointers for Life had correctly reserved the space and were allowed to host the display.
That night, Pointers for Life submitted a complaint to the Student Government Association (SGA) and asked for Senator King to resign or be disciplined appropriately under the student government Constitution. However, the student government has yet to force Senator King to resign.
Jackie Kryzkowski, the Pointers for Life President, said, "Student Senators should be helping to defend our freedom of speech, not trying to take it away because of personal beliefs. If students had a problem with the display, they could exercise their freedom of speech maturely by protesting it peacefully, not by defacing our display."
Ryan Wrasse, another member of the group pointed out: "As we filed our official complaint with the UWSP Student Government Association, we also issued a strong ultimatum: The SGA could either vote to retain Senator King and condone this type of behavior, or remove him from Senate and send a clear message to UWSP students and faculty that this type of behavior will not be tolerated."
Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America, remarked: "This event shows that our country is not immune to the situation going on in Canada right now, where campus pro-life groups are being singled out and excluded from the guaranteed freedom of speech and expression on college campuses. This is not the first time that a student group has had this same type of peaceful display vandalized or has faced discrimination on a college campus. SFLA is here to make sure all college pro-lifers are guaranteed their rights to demonstrate on behalf of those who have no voice."
For more details and perspectives on this story:
Jill Stanek offers her thoughts and more background on the story:
http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/05/proabort_studen.html
Michelle Malkin offers further thoughts:
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/07/video-another-campus-pro-life-memorial-vandalized/
Phil’s Tidbits:
This past Sunday is designated “Trinity Sunday” –to honor the 3 Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. Too often when the Trinity is mentioned, it’s followed by the phrase “it’s a mystery” and the topic is changed. Not this week at St. Peter’s!
“Father Kevin C. Louis gave this excellent homily at St. Peter Catholic Church in Stevens Point, WI, illustrating the relationship between the life of the Trinity and the total gift of self in married love, which extends even to the couple’s fertility. Please pass it on, this message needs to be heard!”-Darcy Bunn
http://www.saintpetercatholic.com/blog/2008/05/gospel-and-homily-for-trinity-sunday.html
Several months ago Georgetown released a study that was trumpeted as showing the Catholic Church loses more of its members as they grow up then the others. Here’s a follow-up article that makes some interesting points that were overlooked in the initial response…stating that in overall numbers we do lose the most, of course we’re also the largest---however as a percentage, the Catholic Church actually does the best at retaining her faithful.
19-May-2008 -- Catholic News Agency
Georgetown Researchers Concerned over Interpretations of “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey”
Washington DC, May 17, 2008 (CNA).- The Catholic results of the Pew survey entitled "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey" have been closely examined by CARA, a Georgetown University research center who points out that commentators may have initially jumped to conclusions after reading the results in the Pew study.
Mark Gray, Director of CARA Catholic Polls; and Joseph Claude Harris, an independent Church research analyst, note in a Letter to the Editor in the April 6, 2008 edition of Our Sunday Visitor that when the Pew survey results were released, “Commentators were swift to assign blame, noting a range of factors from the sex abuse crisis to shortages of priests, or even the long-term effects of the Second Vatican Council.”
The Catholic Church has lost the most members out of all the denominations but, as Gray explained to CNA, “it's also the biggest religion and when you translate the discussion in to proportions you can see the Catholic Church is doing quite well comparatively. It keeps more of its young faithful than any Protestant denomination.”
A CARA essay titled, “The Impact of Religious Switching and Secularization on the Estimated Size of the U.S. Adult Catholic Population,” details the proportions: the “Pew study indicates that the Catholic Church has retained 68 percent of those who grew up Catholic. By comparison, 60 percent of those raised Baptist are still Baptists as adults.” Retention rates are much lower for “Lutherans (59 percent), Methodists and Pentecostals (both 47 percent), Episcopalians (45 percent), and Presbyterians (40 percent).”
In fact, out of all religions in the U.S. consisting of at least 3 million adult members, “only those who were raised Jewish or Mormon are more likely than Catholics to keep their faith as adults (76 and 70 percent, respectively),” the essay stated.
Another issue addressed by CARA is the concern that Pew’s “Religious Landscape Survey” underestimates the size of the Catholic population.
CARA points out that the Pew survey “estimated a smaller proportion of Latinos selfidentifying as Catholic compared to other surveys (i.e., where Spanish or bilingual interviewing is used), including other recent Pew studies.” This is something noted by the authors of the Pew report who state, “The number of Latinos in the Landscape Survey who identify themselves as Catholic (58%) is considerably lower than in a major survey of Latinos the Forum conducted in 2006 with the Pew Hispanic Research Center, where more than two-thirds (68%) identified as Catholic.”
The CARA essay estimates that “The difference between the 58 percent and 68 percent affiliation among adult Latinos is equivalent to 2.7 million U.S. adults.”
Another matter that has led commentators to jump to conclusions is that the Pew report does not include information as to when a person left the Catholic Church.
In a 2003 poll, CARA found that “more than half of former Catholics stopped considering themselves Catholic before 1988 (54 percent).” Gray told CNA that the amount of Catholics leaving the Church has been fairly constant over time. “There are not a lot of big differences in any segment of time and no evidence of some moment where there was a mass exodus.”
The CARA essay notes, “The median age at which former Catholics stopped considering themselves as Catholic is 21. This median age is consistent with research that indicates that these religious changes may often coincide with the young adult stage of life where separation from family, relocation, increased mobility, and marriage are common”
CARA’s report concluded by stating that the presentation of the results “may have left the impression that a vast number of Catholics recently got up and left the faith and that these losses were worse than those experienced by any other faith. In relative terms—as the percentage of those who retained the affiliation of their childhood—the Catholic Church has been among the most successful faiths in the United States."
From my friend, Angel Gebeau: “It’s interesting that the religions retaining the best are the religions that impact lifestyle the most and not the other way around.”
This is a disturbing story. Obviously there is more to this then what is included in the article. Nonetheless, the facts are abhorrent.
US Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Asylum Case for Chinese Forced Abortion Victim
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)--The Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of a Chinese couple seeking asylum from China's brutal One Child Policy.
Asylum applicant Yi Qiang Yang married his wife when he was 20 and she was 17, defying Chinese laws that suppress population growth by requiring men to wait for marriage until the age of 22 and women until the age of 20. Yang's lawyers claim they married in a private religious ceremony.
When authorities discovered that Yang's wife was eight months pregnant, they forced her to have an abortion because she had become pregnant before the legal age of marriage, according to testimony submitted by Yang's attorneys.
"The fetus was placed in a bag and disposed of in front of Ling" states Yang's legal brief.
Yang's attorney writes that "Because traditionally married spouses are unable to register their marriages with the government, the state treats such couples who have children as violators of the population control policy," He adds that "Such couples are often subjected to forced abortions or sterilizations" according to the Christian Science Monitor.
China's One Child Policy, which has been in effect since the 1970s, regularly forces women to undergo abortions if they have more than a single child in urban areas, or two children in rural areas. Those who are unmarried under Chinese law are prohibited from having any children.
To end on an upbeat note—we continue through May, traditionally dedicated to Mary. Pope Benedict in the book “Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI” published by Magnificat (Thanks Jeremy!) points out the following:
“We must become a longing for God. The Fathers of the Church say that prayer, properly understood, is nothing other than becoming a longing for God. In Mary this petition has been granted: she is, as it were, the open vessel of longing, in which life becomes prayer and prayer becomes life. Saint John wonderfully conveys this process by never mentioning Mary’s name in his Gospel. She no longer has any name except ‘the Mother of Jesus.’ It is as if she had handed over her personal dimension in order now to be solely at his disposal, and precisely thereby had become a person…”
May we do likewise!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
Labels: Areopagus Catholic Newsletter
The Areopagus 5-6-08
posted by Phil Lawson
5-6-08
Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Take a look at the story below.
From “Mom’s choice on work” -by Karen Heller of the Philadelphia Inquirer as reprinted in the 4-22-07 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Motherhood is forever but not for every minute. Bennettts{Leslie Bennetts author of the new book “The Feminine Mistake”] identifies the ’15-year paradigm,’ the demanding aspect of mothering that spans a short period compared with decades in the workforce and longer life expectancies….Bennetts quotes economist Heidi Hartmann as saying that ‘unless you are the mother of an Einstein or a Madame Curie, which most of us are not, your own work, if it is significant, is probably more important than raising your kids.’”
Now, if you didn’t appreciate your mother before, perhaps you can be grateful she’s not like the economist described above? Thankfully, I don’t think I know any Mom’s who would ascribe to such a utilitarian and materialistic worldview.
Phil’s Tidbits:
Think about it…..
“According to most philosophers, God in making the world enslaved it. According to Christianity, in making the world he set it free. God had written not so much a poem, but rather a play; a play he had planned as perfect, but which necessarily had been left to human actors and stage managers, who have since made a great mess of it.” -G.K. Chesteron, Orthodoxy
A Day in the Life of Pope Benedict via YoutTube. It’s in German, but quite worth it for the video footage.
Cardinal Lopez Trujillo recently passed away. He was known as a brave defender of the family and human dignity.
Benedict XVI recalled one of Cardinal López Trujillo's writings in which he prayed, "I very much believe in the value of this decisive fight for the Church and for humanity and I ask the Lord to give me strength so that I am neither lazy nor cowardly."
http://www.ewtn.com/news/index.asp
Considering the “heady” nature of the above selections, here’s a bit of humor to wrap up this week’s edition:
On the first day, God created the dog and said:
'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'
The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years
and I'll give you back the other ten?'
So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the monkey and said:
'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'
The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'
And God agreed.
On the third day, God created the cow and said:
'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under
the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'
The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty
years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day, God created man and said:
'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty
years.'
But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'
'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'
So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy
ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our
family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Take a look at the story below.
From “Mom’s choice on work” -by Karen Heller of the Philadelphia Inquirer as reprinted in the 4-22-07 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Motherhood is forever but not for every minute. Bennettts{Leslie Bennetts author of the new book “The Feminine Mistake”] identifies the ’15-year paradigm,’ the demanding aspect of mothering that spans a short period compared with decades in the workforce and longer life expectancies….Bennetts quotes economist Heidi Hartmann as saying that ‘unless you are the mother of an Einstein or a Madame Curie, which most of us are not, your own work, if it is significant, is probably more important than raising your kids.’”
Now, if you didn’t appreciate your mother before, perhaps you can be grateful she’s not like the economist described above? Thankfully, I don’t think I know any Mom’s who would ascribe to such a utilitarian and materialistic worldview.
Phil’s Tidbits:
Think about it…..
“According to most philosophers, God in making the world enslaved it. According to Christianity, in making the world he set it free. God had written not so much a poem, but rather a play; a play he had planned as perfect, but which necessarily had been left to human actors and stage managers, who have since made a great mess of it.” -G.K. Chesteron, Orthodoxy
A Day in the Life of Pope Benedict via YoutTube. It’s in German, but quite worth it for the video footage.
Cardinal Lopez Trujillo recently passed away. He was known as a brave defender of the family and human dignity.
Benedict XVI recalled one of Cardinal López Trujillo's writings in which he prayed, "I very much believe in the value of this decisive fight for the Church and for humanity and I ask the Lord to give me strength so that I am neither lazy nor cowardly."
http://www.ewtn.com/news/index.asp
Considering the “heady” nature of the above selections, here’s a bit of humor to wrap up this week’s edition:
On the first day, God created the dog and said:
'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'
The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years
and I'll give you back the other ten?'
So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the monkey and said:
'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'
The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'
And God agreed.
On the third day, God created the cow and said:
'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under
the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'
The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty
years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day, God created man and said:
'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty
years.'
But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'
'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'
So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy
ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our
family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
Labels: Areopagus Catholic Newsletter
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