Blog Content

 Yes, I am still in Singapore and have been very busy. I will be returning this Monday to Chicago, so you can expect an increase of posts with the recovery from jet-lag.

I wanted to clarify a few things about this blog following a thought provoking meeting I had with the suberb Serrans in Singapore, which reminded me to repost few tips I read and will repeat for anyone else who runs a blog:

• I aim for the content to follow the "40, 30, 20, 10 percentage rule" for blogs which creates content with enough variety to interest the most people. Around 40% are posts directly related to your goal for the blog, 30% is closely related content 20% mentions and can assist in the previous two while 10% is not related--for example cooking. This is necessary to give a "one stop shop" feel and to involve those whose lives don't belong to one topic--and so that a human being appears to be writing the blog.
• The main purpose of the blog is, through attempting to clarify faith-based and philosophical issues, and by establishing the dichotomy and legitimate dialogue between the priesthoods of Catholicism and secular humanism (via Comte)....more men will be lead to follow their calling in the correct priesthood (in my view). The priesthood of Comte (self claimed followers of 'rationality' claiming that God doesn't exist with very little basis) often gets in the way of those being called to the priesthood of Christ...and the reverse is true (Catholic priests get in the way of people like Dawkins)...and I want to make that more true.

Universal Studios Singapore

Enough about blogging already! Check back in a few days.

Canadian Humanists Want Ban on Exorcisms

The priesthood of Comte is at it again, this time in Canada, disabusing the world of its superstitious practices. Apparently, even though exorcisms are completely ineffective (being not based in medical science), the humanists/naturalists who believe they are harmful (in reality because they acknowledge the supernatural), need a more empirically scientific reason to claim they are harmful -- so now exorcisms actually hurt people. 

Canadian humanist group demands ban on Catholic exorcisms

The Canadian Humanist group,The Centre for Inquiry, has called for the banning of exorcisms by the Catholic Church in response to the news that the bishop of the Diocese of Saskatoon,Don Bolan,was seeking trained exorcists after being informed about a local man who had shown some possible indications of demonic possession.

CBC News reports:

‘Centre for Inquiry spokesman Justin Trottier says that scares him more than demonic possession. 

He says exorcisms have worsened existing medical conditions,caused bodily harm,and have occasionally resulted in death. [I think what he means to say that exorcisms done at the exclusion of proper medical treatment cause death. Please try to help me believe what you are saying by giving me some "evidence" that an exorcism would cause death. One emotional example could really boost your case. Does he know that exorcisms are not just done willy nilly? Does he really believe that this bishop doesn't take into account medical findings? Perhaps the lack of an answer from science.........]

Most cases of claimed demonic possession are,in fact,mental conditions that need medical treatment. [Obviously. I would also guarantee, at least in the secular west that most cases of demonic possession are claimed mental conditions.]

“We have individuals performing essentially psychiatric,psychological or medical treatments of some kind,”he said. “They’re obviously not regulated by any real authority [actually they are, that's why the bishop is contacting Rome... and sorry, if you mean, empirically scientific authority...we don't need your permission],and we don’t quite know what they’re doing.” [Hey aren't you a scientist? Don't you know correlation is not causation? The fact that you don't know what's going on and the fact that someone dies after an exorcism does not mean either of those facts cause the death...especially if you believe an exorcism has no  power. This is what leads me to believe these humanists just find it annoying that religion survives.]

Trottier said he’s also troubled by the secrecy surrounding possession and exorcisms. [I hope he can't sleep at night because of it. :)]

“So we don’t know the prevalence of exorcisms in Canada. We don’t know who’s doing them,we don’t even really know what they’re doing,”he said.

The Centre for Inquiry describes itself as a humanist group. It received considerable media attention last year with its “There’s probably no God” bus billboard campaign.’

Bishop Don Bolen confirmed that a local priest had dealt with a case of possible demonic possession,admitting [Why is it an admission? Like he would hide that fact? Human beings are not omniscient jeez] that the man could have been experiencing a mental breakdown,and made clear that the priest had rightly not performed an exorcism.

It all happened several weeks ago when a priest was called to a home by a woman who said her uncle showed signs of being possessed by the devil. The woman believed a priest’s blessing could help the distraught man.

The man had used a sharp instrument to carve the word “hell”on his chest. 

When the priest entered the room,the man spoke in the third person,saying “He belongs to me. Get out of here,”using a strange voice,according to church officials. [Nope doesn't sound like a potential case, get him out of here.]

The priest told CBC News that he decided to call police,for safety reasons.

While there was no formal exorcism ritual performed,the priest blessed the man,saying he belonged to the good side,to Jesus. That seemed to help.’

Protect the Pope comment:There are a couple of points to be made about this:

First,obviously these Canadian humanists don’t know what their talking about. The Catholic Church has strict rules about exorcisms, one being that there is the presumption that the disturbed behaviour is caused by a psychiatric condition. Medical advice is sought from the start. Another presumption is that it’s a fraud. Once these have been investigated and discounted,only then does the Church look for signs of demon possession.

Second,just as the Humanists discount the existence of God,they also discount the existence of Satan,so it’s hardly surprising that their not open to the reality of possession.

Third,demands that the Catholic Church be banned from performing exorcisms is yet another example of secularists attempting to remove our religious freedom. It’s clear that their overall goal is to reduce the Church to a state-controlled institution as a means to destroy her. Their presumption and arrogance is revealed in the sentence,‘”They’re obviously not regulated by any real authority,and we don’t quite know what they’re doing.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2012/04/18/sk-exorcism-ban-asked-for-1204.html

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=14043

My comment is short: Hey humanists, stop trying to run over our beliefs with your naturalistic dogmatism and P.S. this is none of your business.

Dawkins Too Busy with the Crowd to Worship His Savior?

Are "Reason Rallies" more important than (empirical) science?

If for nothing else, this project makes a point...that the confidence in the explanatory power of modern empirical science esps (MES) espoused by Richard Dawkins remains limited. The shroud of Turin remains a mystery-- that doesn't mean that there is no answer of course there is an answer--all knowledge, including that acquired by modern empirical science (MES) is based on the principle of sufficient reason...that every effect must have a cause. That is why This organization has offered 20,000 pounds for the person who can solve it. In the Aristotelaisn/Thomistic worldview, that cause includes more than the mere mechanical cause of a given effect. What is the mechanical explanation for the coming about of this piece of cloth with an image on it? Any ideas? From Deacon Nick:

David Rolfe, founder of the website Shroud enigma, has challenged Prof. Richard Dawkins to scientifically explain the image on the Shroud of Turin, and how it was created. If Prof. Dawkins succeeds in offering a provable scientific explanation for the creation of the image on the Shroud the Shroud enigma site will donate £20,000 to The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. 

David Rolfe’s challenge to Prof. Dawkins’ categorical statement:

‘“The new ‘evidence’ amounts to yet another ‘Argument from Personal Incredulity’: the Italian scientists cannot understand how it could have been faked. By contrast, the carbon-14 evidence that the shroud’s linen is much too young to be the shroud of Jesus is rock solid. Three independent labs, in Arizona, Zurich and Oxford, were each given four samples, making 12 datings in all”. 

David Rolfe issued the following challenge in an Open Letter to Richard Dawkins:

’29th March 2012

Dear Richard Dawkins

It is really not sufficient to dismiss the Shroud, as you do, on the basis of a C14 test from a single and badly selected sample area. Are you really saying that C14 has never made a mistake? Archaeologists frequently go back to retest something when other data conflicts. That has been impossible with the Shroud.

In your Shroud blog you argue, rightly in my view, that it is not enough for Christian apologists to weigh faith heavier than facts. After all, Christianity is based on a historical figure. The Shroud of Turin is a much-studied tangible object and it is a very significant fact that its unique image – so far – remains unfathomable. But that could be about to change if you, with the weight of your formidable foundation behind you, choose to accept this challenge.

When Professor Hall, Head of the Oxford Radio Carbon Unit announced the C14 result he was asked for his explanation for the Shroud. He said: “Someone just got a bit of linen, faked it up and flogged it”. This sounded a bit glib at the time and now, over twenty years on, it is beginning to sound a little hollow. No one has yet been able to show how it might have been “faked up”.
Thanks to the work of Professor Fanti it is now possible to take a scientific approach to such a task. He describes the criteria that must be satisfied to recreate it and it is published in a peer reviewed scientific journal.

Accepting this challenge would appear to be consistent with your foundation’s mission. Does it not represent a wonderful educational opportunity to investigate what some have suggested could only have been the work of a Leonardo Da Vinci? To make the decision easier for you we will donate the £20,000 to your foundation if you simply accept the challenge and follow it through to some kind of conclusion. The public can make up their own minds about the result.*

The challenge then, if you choose to accept it, is to explain how the Shroud and its image might have come into existence. If you cannot pin it down then, in all conscience, you should, at least, give it the appropriate respect as an enigma. If you can explain it then this site’s title becomes a misnomer and you will have solved a great

US Nuns and the Vatican

As many of you have heard, the Vatican decided to 'check-in' on the situation of the women religious in the United States to 'officially' uncover what we here have known for a long time--yoga is often preferable to Eucharistic Adoration. Here was the statement:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Citing "serious doctrinal problems which affect many in consecrated life," the Vatican announced a major reform of an association of women's religious congregations in the U.S. to ensure their fidelity to Catholic teaching in areas including abortion, euthanasia, women's ordination and homosexuality.

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle will provide "review, guidance and approval, where necessary, of the work" of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Vatican announced April 18. The archbishop will be assisted by Bishop Leonard P. Blair of Toledo, Ohio, and Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., and draw on the advice of fellow bishops, women religious and other experts.

The LCWR, a Maryland-based umbrella group that claims about 1,500 leaders of U.S. women's communities as members, represents about 80 percent of the country's 57,000 women religious.

The announcement from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith came in an eight-page "doctrinal assessment," based on an investigation that Bishop Blair began on behalf of the Vatican in April 2008. That investigation led the doctrinal congregation to conclude, in January 2011, that "the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious congregation in other parts of the world."

Fr. Z made a post creatively entitled "Nuns Gone Wild" to remind us of many of the indications of these problems in recent decades:

Those of you who wonder why the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the American Bishops initiated a reform of the leadership of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), should take a little trip down memory lane.

Vast sectors of women religious in the USA have for decades been infested with a radical feminism so poisonous that many of them, especially in leadership, have even come to defend the killing of babies.

The problems in many communities of some are deeply rooted and, like all weeds, are hard to extirpate.

The following is a review of some key figures in this history of dissent and defiance.  Some of these nuns have faded from view and others are still quite visible.

These are, as it were, the “church Mothers” on which their alternative Magisterium of Nuns was founded.

They all have a lot to answer for.

When you hear some of the radical nuns and their liberal journalist buddies griping about oppression, feigning not to understand what “the Vatican” is doing to them, hiding being words like “freedom” and “respect”, lying about the facts, keep the following list in mind.  Remember that the CDF and USCCB project of reform has been long in coming. 

Nuns Gone Wild: A Trip Down Memory Lane

Theresa Kane: as president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in 1979, she greeted Pope John Paul II at the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. In her address she urged him to open all ministries of Church life to women. Her remarks made headlines around the world. Shortly after her address, she stated that “as a result of the greeting, a few congregations withdrew from the conference. Through that experience LCWR became more public; the membership gained new responsibilities.”  Today she supports women in deciding to undergo fake ordinations of women in the Catholic Church as if they were real. “The Roman Catholic women priesthood is small, highly criticized, and not going away,” she went on. “No one controls our future but ourselves." 

Agnes Mary Mansour, now deceased, was a Catholic nun who in 1983 left her religious order so she could retain her position as the director of the Michigan Department of Social Services. The controversy involved her refusal to make a public statement against abortion. She thought that as long as abortion was legal and available to the wealthy, the procedure should be equally available to women who needed government assistance. 

24 Nuns who signed A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion,alternatively referred to by its pull quote “A Diversity of Opinions Regarding Abortion Exists Among Committed Catholics” or simply “The New York Times ad”, a full-page advertisement placed on 7 October 1984 in The New York Times by Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC): “Statements of recent Popes and of the Catholic hierarchy have condemned the direct termination of pre-natal life as morally wrong in all instances. There is a mistaken belief in American society that this is the only legitimate Catholic position.” Many signers put their names on the ad because they viewed it as a partial response to the highly publicized anti-abortion statements of Archbishop John J. Card. O’Connor of New York. His insistence that a Catholic could not in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate was clearly aimed at Geraldine Ferraro, the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate, a Catholic, a member of O’Connor’s archdiocese, and a consistent pro-choice advocate.

Kathryn BissellMary BylesAnne CarrMary Louise DennyMargaret FarleyBarbara FerraroMaureen FiedlerJeanine GrammickKathleen HebbelerPatricia HusseyCaridad IndaPat KenoyerAgnes Mary Mansour (at the time an ex-nun)Roseanne MazzeoMargaret NultyMargaret O’NeillDonna QuinnEllen ShanahanMarilyn ThieRose Dominic TrapassoMargaret Ellen TraxlerMarjorie TuiteJudith VaughanAnn Patrick WareVirginia Williams 

Barbara Ferraro and Patricia Hussey: in 1984, along with 22 other nuns, they co-signed an ad in The New York Times by Catholics for Free Choice challenging Catholic teaching on procured abortion. Both refused to recant their statements when ordered to do so by the Holy See and their religious order. They both signed a second pro-abortion statement, published in the National Catholic Reporter, and participated in a pro-abortion rally organized by the National Organization of Women (NOW) in Washington on 6 March 1986.   

Margaret Traxler: now deceased, was a supporter of activism among homosexual Catholics, who once carried a banner into the Vatican to protest the church’s stand on abortion. In 1982 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops endorsed a Constitutional amendment proposed by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. It would have allowed state legislatures to restrict or ban abortions. In an appearance on the Phil Donahue show at that time, Traxler said, “I believe every human being has a free will, God respects our free will even though it is sometimes used against God’s will. I believe women must have the right to use their free will in making decisions about their own bodies.” She signed the New York Times ad in 1984 stating that abortion could sometimes be “a moral choice.” “I don’t think church leaders are living on the same planet. They are unrealistic and out of touch with the people,”. . . she said then. She was one of the first to call for women’s ordination in 1971. 

Jeanine Gramick: co-foundress of the homosexual, lesbian activist organization New Ways Ministry. After a review of her public activities on behalf of the Church that concluded in a finding of grave doctrinal error, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) declared in 1999 that she should no longer be engaged in pastoral work with homosexual persons. In 2000, her congregation, in an attempt to thwart further conflict with the Vatican, commanded her not to speak publicly about homosexuality. She responded by saying, “I choose not to collaborate in my own oppression by restricting a basic human right [to speak]. To me this is a matter of conscience.” In 2001, Gramick transferred to the Sisters of Loretto, another congregation of Catholic Sisters, one which supports her in her advocacy on behalf of homosexuals.  

Marjorie Tuite: now deceased, was among the key organizers of the first International Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC). Tuite was also one of the “Vatican 24”, religious sisters who had signed the Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion published in the New York Times on 7 October 1984. Tuite appeared onThe Phil Donahue Show on 28 January 1985 (along with fellow signers Patricia Hussey and Barbara Ferraro) to defend their refusal to recant their support of that statement.  

Margaret Farley: over the years, she has taken positions favorable to abortion, same-sex “marriage,” sterilization of women, divorce and the “ordination” of women to the priesthood. Farley, who taught Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School, is well known for her radical feminist ideas and open dissent from Church teaching. In 1982, when the Sisters of Mercy sent a letter to all their hospitals recommending that tubal ligations be performed in violation of Church teaching against sterilization, Pope John Paul II gave the Sisters an ultimatum, causing them to withdraw their letter. Farley justified their “capitulation” on the ground that “material cooperation in evil for the sake of a ‘proportionate good’” was morally permissible. In other words, she declared that obedience to the Pope was tantamount to cooperation in evil, and that the Sisters were justified in doing it only because their obedience prevented “greater harm, namely the loss of the institutions that expressed the Mercy ministry.” In her presidential address to the Catholic Theological Society of America in 2000 she attacked the Vatican for its “overwhelming preoccupation” with abortion, calling its defense of babies “scandalous” and asking for an end to its “opposition to abortion” until the “credibility gap regarding women and the church” has been closed. In her book Just Love she offers a full-throated defense of homosexual relationships, including a defense of their right to marry. She admits that the Church “officially” endorses the morality of “the past,” but rejoices that moral theologians like Charles Curran and Richard McCormick embrace “pluralism” on the issues of premarital sex and homosexual acts. She says that sex and gender are “unstable, debatable categories,” which feminists like her see as “socially constructed.” She has nothing but disdain for traditional morality, as when she remarks that we already know the “dangers” and “ineffectiveness of moralism” and of “narrowly construed moral systems.”  

Mary Ann Cunningham: wrote an “open letter to Catholic voters”  in 2006 as an alternative to the church hierarchy’s voter education efforts in Colorado and nationwide. “We encourage respect for the moral adulthood of women and will choose legislators who will recognize the right of women to make reproductive decisions and receive medical treatment according to the rights of privacy and conscience.” Cunningham said many Catholics disagree with the church’s opposition to legalized abortion for “compassionate, faithful reasons.” “I do value the voice of the church hierarchy,” Cunningham said. “But I don’t find anything in the Gospels about abortion or gay marriage.” 

Louise Lears: banned from church ministries and from receiving the sacraments in 2008 by then-St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke for 1) the obstinate rejection, after written admonition, of the truth of the faith that it is impossible for a woman to receive ordination to the Sacred Priesthood (cann.750, §2; and 1371, 1º); 2) the public incitement of the faithful to animosity or hatred toward the Apostolic See or an Ordinary because of an act of ecclesiastical power or ministry (can. 1373); 3) the grave external violation of Divine or Canon Law, with the urgent need to prevent and repair the scandal involved (can. 1399); and 4) prohibited participation in sacred rites (can. 1365). 

Donna Quinn an advocate for legalized abortion. As late as 2009 she was engaged in escorting women to abortion clinics in the Chicago area so they could abort their babies safe from pro-life protesters. She is now a coordinator of the radically liberal National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN), which stands in opposition against the Catholic Church’s position on abortion, homosexuality, contraception, and the exclusively male priesthood. In a 2002 address to the Women’s Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity School, Quinn described how she came to view the teachings of her Church as “immoral”: “I used to say: ‘This is my Church, and I will work to change it, because I love it,’” she said.  “Then later I said, ‘This church is immoral, and if I am to identify with it I’d better work to change it.’  More recently, I am saying, ‘All organized religions are immoral in their gender discriminations.’” Quinn called gender discrimination “the root cause of evil in the Church, and thus in the world,” and said she remained in the Dominican community simply for “the sisterhood.” 

Margaret Mary McBride: an administrator and member of the ethics committee at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, in Phoenix, Arizona, who incurred automatic excommunication following her sanctioning of an abortion at the hospital in November 2009. The controversy that ensued resulted in the diocesan bishop declaring that the hospital could no longer call itself Catholic. 

Carol Keehan: as head of the Catholic Health Association, she sparred with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the question of health care reform, which the bishops criticized for funding abortion. Some observers have noted the critical role that she played, along with a social justice lobby of sisters called Network, in the bill’s eventual passage. In his farewell address before resigning the presidency of the U.S. Bishops’ conference last year, Cardinal Francis George – who directly opposed the health care bill, for its abortion funding – spoke of unnamed groups he said wanted to “remake the Church according to their own designs or discredit her as a voice in … public discussions” such as the debate over abortion and health care reform. As for who truly “speaks for the Catholic Church,” the cardinal left no room for doubt: “The bishops in apostolic communion and in union with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, speak for the Church in matters of faith and in moral issues and the laws surrounding them.” In another matter, less than 24 hours after the bishop of Phoenix stripped St. Joseph’s Hospital of its Catholic affiliation for performing abortions, Keehan declared that “Catholic Healthcare West (to which St Joseph’s belongs) and its system hospitals are valued members of the Catholic Health Association.” Keehan also defended the decision of Sr. Margaret Mary McBride to authorize the abortion. “They had been confronted with a heartbreaking situation,” she stated. “They carefully evaluated the patient’s situation and correctly applied the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services to it, saving the only life that was possible to save.” However, two obstetrician-gynecologists from the Diocese of Phoenix’s Medical Ethics Department said Keehan was misrepresenting both the facts of the St. Joseph’s Hospital case, and the ethical principles of Catholic health care.  “It goes back to the basic issue that you can never do an evil, to achieve a good,” said Dr. William Chavira. “The act is inherently evil.” Dr. Chavira is a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist who also serves on the Phoenix Diocese’s medical ethics committee.   

As many of you know, it appears the only religious orders that are not in decline in the U.S. are the ones who are faithful to the tradition of the Catholic faith...who would have thunk it? The Nashville Dominicans ave been out of room for a long time now...

Serra's 16th Asian Convention

As many of you are now tired of hearing about my journeys and would rather get back to the dialogue between faith and reason, the priesthood of Christ and the priesthood of Comte, I would like to report in one post how the convention went. There were nearly 250 participants from 7 different countries in Asia including: China, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Bangalore. The beauty of the convention was that from all these countries (and the even greater number of languages), each person had come seeing the urgency of a strong priesthood for the good of the world. Each person seemed to have been positively affected at some point in their life by a priest or consecrated person that, in virtue of being a Serran, they would attend the convention to continue and unite around these efforts to encourage candidates.

I think for many of those attending (especially the ignorant westerner now writing) the convention served to witness to the diversity of the Asian continent and, uniting around the Serran purposes (and photo-taking), it displayed the incredible universality of the Church which transcended these cultures.

Being an ignorant American, I was enlightened on the following points that most of you probably already know:

1. Business cards and credit cards when being handed over should be held firmly with two hands and a slight nod of the head as a sign of respect.
2. Priests are less likely to wear their clerics and when they do, the color is white or light blue because of the heat. 
3. Latin appears to be used more often at mass because of the language barrier between cultures. There are many dialects of Mandarin, not to mention the languages at this particular convention. 
4. Buy as much as you can afford in Hong Kong. You can always resell it in other places for market value which is nearly twice the price in the U.S. 
5. Asians love to take pictures in general (just like me), not just in tour groups. 

The conference was organized by the Serra Club of Macau and included daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration and various speakers.

Notre Dame's Profs Band Against Bishop Jenky

It comes to our attention this morning that a number of professors at Notre dame (49) have signed a letter asking for Bishop Jenky to resign from the board of Trustees of the university following his controversial remarks (which have been seriously misportrayed). Cardinal Newman Society reports:

49 Notre Dame Professors, Staff Protest Alumnus and Board Member Bishop Jenky

Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky preached during Sunday Mass last week that the Obama Administration’s egregious violations of religious liberty are “following a similar path” to the anti-religion campaigns of Hitler and Stalin.

Now, The Huffington Post reports, 49 professors and staff employees of the University of Notre Dame have drawn up a petition calling for the resignation of Bishop Jenky from the University of Notre Dame Board of Fellows unless he renounces “loudly and publicly this destructive analogy.”

From the report:

The letter, addressed to the University President and the Chair of Board of Trustees is below:

Dear Father Jenkins and Mr Notebaert,

As you will be aware, the Most Reverend Daniel Jenky, a member of Notre Dame’s Board of Fellows, has been widely quoted for a homily in which he described President Obama as “seem[ing] intent on following a similar path” to Hitler and Stalin. Bishop Jenky’s comments demonstrate ignorance of history, insensitivity to victims of genocide, and absence of judgment. We accept that Bishop Jenky’s comments are protected by the First Amendment, but we find it profoundly offensive that a member of our beloved university’s highest authority, the Board of Fellows, should compare the President’s actions with those whose genocidal policies murdered tens of millions of people, including the specific targeting of Catholics, Jews, and other minorities for their faith. We request that you issue a statement on behalf of the University that will definitively distance Notre Dame from Bishop Jenky’s incendiary statement. Further, we feel that it would be in the best interest of Notre Dame if Bishop Jenky resigned from the University’s Board of Fellows if he is unwilling to renounce loudly and publicly this destructive analogy.

Read the list of Notre Dame professors who signed the petition here.

In fact, Bishop Jenky’s statement reportedly made no reference to the genocidal actions of Stalin and Hitler, but only to the dictators’ antipathy toward the Catholic Church and other religions. A citizenry that trusts in God is an obstacle to a political leader who seeks extraordinary powers, and Christianity in particular affirms the sacred dignity of each human life.

Here is what Bishop Jenky said, according to the Chicago Tribune:

Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services and health care. In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama — with his radical, pro-abortion and extreme secularist agenda — now seems intent on following a similar path.

…This fall, every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences, or by the following fall our Catholic schools, our Catholic hospitals, our Catholic Newman Centers, all our public ministries — only excepting our church buildings — could easily be shut down.

The Tribune reported this explanation of Bishop Jenky’s homily from the Peoria Diocese:

“Based upon the current government’s threatened infringement upon the Church’s religious exercise of its ministry, Bishop Jenky offered historical context and comparisons as a means to prevent a repetition of historical attacks upon the Catholic Church and other religions,” said Patricia Gibson, chancellor of the Peoria Diocese.

“Bishop Jenky gave several examples of times in history in which religious groups were persecuted because of what they believed,” Gibson said. “We certainly have not reached the same level of persecution. However, history teaches us to be cautious once we start down the path of limiting religious liberty.”

Only one of the 49 signers to the Notre Dame petition teaches history, with a specialty in organized labor.

The root of this issue is not so much that they are offended by his 'extreme' analogy of mentioning Hitler and Stalin, it is that they have a higher regard for the president of the United States than they do for the Church's teaching on respecting and valuing human life. I would be willing to bet a decent sum of money that the vast majority, if not all of these professors do not share the Church's teaching in Humanae Vitae, nor do they consider it a problem for Catholic hospitals and institutions to have to pay for services which are against the consciences of (hopefully) a decent number of its employees. So why would they share the bishops views or understand his analogy?

Pope Benedict and SSPX

If anyone here is interested in the history of the relationship between Rome and SSPX (the formerly schismatic latin mass group) I suggest you read this article which clearly explains the status of the situation.

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/04/benedict-xvi-last-stage.html?m=1

If there is a matter that seems to be an obsession in this pontificate begun seven years ago, it is the one related to the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX). Shortly following its outset, Benedict XVI met their Superior, Bp. Bernard Fellay, in his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. That was on August 29, 2005. At that time, two communiqués, one by Rome, the other by Menzingen, indicated in unison that it had been agreed to "proceed by stages" in the resolution of problems. And the most lengthily prepared, most keenly discussed, and most vigorously contested texts of this reign were those that constituted these famous stags: the motu proprio that freed the Traditional Mass, then the removal of the excommunications of the bishops consecrated by Abp. Lefebvre.


The 264th Successor of Peter has a rendez-vous with history, come what may. He wants to fix a legacy, half-century-old, one which undoubtedly led him to give up on the Johns and the

Leaving China for Singapore

I am now in Hong Kong airport waiting for my plane for Singapore. The prices in Hong Kong are so low comparatively that I spent $150 worth of Hong Kong money and received about $400 worth of brand-name material. Now I know why Hong Kong is the center of commerce.

Day1 Macau and the opening of the convention

I will be writing a few brief posts from my iPhone so I apologize if the formatting is not perfect.

I arrived last night in Hong Kong, met Dr. Wong for dinner and then we took a ferry across the water to Macau where we checked into our hotel. The Asians (and I mean every type-Philippians, Singaporeans, koreans, Thai, Malaysians, and of course Chinese) are all very friendly and I have no idea what they're saying most of the time.

The opening of Serra's 16th Asian convention happened today where we had mass and a meeting with Bishop. Mass was a moving experience because most of it was completely familiar to me since it was in Latin and according to the standardized forms for universal celebrations. Misa de Angelis VIII. There are so many different languages here that they cannot choose one language over another so, they do what has been done in the Church for millennia, which is use the language in which our theology became crystallized, which takes patience but brings us together around the world.

It has been raining here the entire time and is about 90°F. Macau is the Las Vegas of Asia and casinos are everywhere along with seizure inducing lights.

It is 17:00 now I must return to the talk ...here are some pictures.

Travelling To Hong Kong Tomorrow

I wish to let my readers know that in the coming week and a half the posts will be a bit fewer because tomorrow I will be travelling to Hong Kong in order to attend Serra's 16th Asian Convention, and afterwards by the generous invitation of a friend I will go to Singapore. I will be sure to update the blog with some aspects of my journey and please keep the event in your prayers.

I should also mention that I am aware of the double box/window 'thing' that keeps appearing on some posts and I have one of my friends working on fixing it. The site speed has also become a bit of an issue for me at least and if you have any comments or suggestions while I work on correcting this, feel free to post below.

For those new readers or those who have not read everything on the entire blog, I suggest taking a trip through the labels section (on the right bottom part of the page) posted below to browse posts of interest to you. Peace!

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