More on the UD imbroglio March 30, 2011
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, North Deanery, scandals.comments closed
National Catholic Register has an article about the debate going on at UD over the School of Ministry. It’s a long article, and i’m short on time, so I’ll just say a few things. First, Bishop Farrell and Bishop Vann issued statements about how the orthodoxy of the programs at UD is on them, and they would never allow any faculty or programs that were not 100% A++++ orthodox. Well. I guess it all comes down to how you define ‘orthodox,’ then. Second, the School of Ministry program that is the source of controversy is going forward. In spite of a great deal of resistance from students, alumni, and some faculty, the decision has been made that, specifically, lay ministers in the Diocese will receive training from faculty at the School of Ministry. Third, about that faculty…..as my other recent post on this subject indicated, there remains a good deal of concern over this faculty, and with good reason. Although a few problematic individuals appear to have been dismissed, several still remain, including advocates of gay marriage, an end to the discipline of priestly celibacy, and advocates for the impossibility of female ordination (sigh…..how many times must this be explained!). So, again…..it all depends on your view of ‘orthodox,’ I suppose, in determining just how faithful the School of Ministry will be.
It would seem apropos to remind readers at this time that I have been told that the Bishop (Bishop Farrell) has personally vouched for the ‘orthodoxy’ of individuals such as Sr. Joyce Rupp and Sr. Marie Schwan (both serious advocates of new age practices), and has permitted problematic speakers like Fr. Bill Sheehan (new age), Dr. Arturo Chavez (pro abort), Dr. Rick Gaillardetz (bizaare views of the Magisterium), Amy Florian (gay marriage) at conferences in the Diocese over the last year (yes – just the last year, and that’s not nearly an exhaustive list). Orthodoxy can be such a subjective thing.
But then again…..I must remind, I do have ‘taliban’ tendencies, so all of the above could simply be the ravings of a homicidal lunatic.
Priest accused of ‘anti-gay’ indoctrination March 30, 2011
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, sadness, scandals, sickness, Society.comments closed
A priest at a Catholic high school in Indianapolis has been accused of “spouting a stream of homophobic and offensive falsehoods about same-sex marriage and gay people in general to a classroom full of students” by a radical gay rights group, “Equality Matters” (but some views are of course more equal than others). Why? Because he dared to present the constant, Magisterial Doctrine of the Faith on homosexuality and homosexual acts, a Doctrine that condemns the acts as hostile but states just as clearly that homosexuals are to be treated with charity and respect as they are encouraged to lead lives of constant chastity, he is a target for harrassment and defamation by radical gay activists.
The goal of this harrassment is not “equality,” the goal is the complete and total silencing of any views that do not embrace the most radical of gay activist agendas. The goal is subjugation of traditional views on marriage and the triumph of a view of sexuality as a fetid playground. The goal is to so marginalize traditional religious views that one can scarcely voice them in public for fear of a savage (and well funded and well coordinated) backlash. The goal is to shut you, and me, and any faithful Catholic, especially clergy, the #$^@ up. Because one thing sin cannot stand is to have the light of Truth shined on it.
The article goes on to quote a made up statistic that 70% of Catholics believe that the Doctrine of the Faith, as presented in the Catechism and repeated numerous times throughout Sacred Scripture, leads to gay teen suicide. This is the new tactic – a claim that any representations of a Faith (or any other view) that condemn homosexual acts leads directly to gay teens killing themselves. Again, the goal is not to win the case on merit, because with regards to the Church, radical gay activists know they have met an implacable foe. So, the goal is to silence the opposition through harrassment and outright persecution, and to peel away as many Catholics as possible from the authentic Doctrine of the Faith.
The videos that caused the hubbub are on youtube:
Everything Planned Parenthood says is a lie March 30, 2011
Posted by Tantumblogo in Abortion, awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, sadness, sickness, Society.comments closed
Even words like “the” and “a” and “uh…..” – all lies! Planned Parenthood has claimed to provide essential health services for women, like mammograms. Utterly false. Watch Cecille Richards – “we provide all kinds of basic health care to women, like……………..family planning! (meaning contraception and abortion!) Oh, and mammograms! (zzzzzt – wrong!)
Way to go Live Action. Will ivory tower moral theologians get in a tizzy over these phone calls? Is Lila Rose exhibiting the right amount of moral reservation?
h/t CMR
Catholic Relief Services refuses to evangelize March 30, 2011
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, foolishness, General Catholic, North Deanery, sadness, scandals.comments closed
This should make Janet B unhappy – Catholic Relief Services has stated that as a matter of policy, they refuse to evangelize in any way – and will not even distribute Bibles. This came up in relation to their work in Darfur, where CRS is likelyu doing very good work helping those who are starving due to muslim oppression and general political instability. CRS was accused of proselytizing, and handing out Bibles in a region that has a relatively high number of Christians – who might even want a Bible. But in response to the criticism of Bible distribution, CRS released this statement:
“This is completely wrong,” said a CRS representative. “It is against all our operating principles.”
As Al Lawler at Catholic Culture said…….really? Evangelizing at all is totally against Catholic Relief Services operating principles? We don’t even evangelize a little bit? Well, given that, why should a Catholic give to CRS, when they can just as well give to a secular group, or even a generally Christian group that at least evangelizes some. And which, by the way, may have substantially lower overhead than CRS, which spends about 90% of donations on actual help to people, unlike Christian Food for the Poor, whose ratio is over 98%? What is the advantage of giving to CRS, then? Why would anyone support this group – especially with some of that overhead going to foolishness like the Cathoilc Climate Covenant (a ‘climate change’ advocacy group)?
This is another reason why I don’t give to CRS or Cath0lic Charities. They are fundamentally secular in behavior and too often socialist in outlook, and far too eager to be dependent on government handouts.
A short history of the USCCB March 30, 2011
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, foolishness, General Catholic, North Deanery, sadness, scandals, sickness.comments closed
Steve K over at The Fifth Column has a post up giving a brief history of the USCCB, or, really, it’s antecedent organizations, and how they were nearly killed off by a papal decree in the early 1920s (it’s a shame that decree wasn’t enforced). Regarding the authority the USCCB yields, Steve K quotes Apostolos Suos Christus Dominus, an encyclical produced by Pope John Paul II,which dealt with the subject of episcopal conferences:
10. At the level of particular Churches grouped together by geographic areas (by countries, regions, etc.), the Bishops in charge do not exercise pastoral care jointly with collegial acts equal to those of the College of Bishops.
11. In fact, only the faithful entrusted to the pastoral care of a particular Bishop are required to accept his judgement given in the name of Christ in matters of faith and morals, and to adhere to it with a religious assent of soul.
12. Nonetheless, this territorially based exercise of the episcopal ministry never takes on the collegial nature proper to the actions of the order of Bishops as such, which alone holds the supreme power over the whole Church. In fact, the relationship between individual Bishops and the College of Bishops is quite different from their relationship to the bodies set up for the above-mentioned joint exercise of certain pastoral tasks.
19. This provision is found explicitly in the Code of Canon Law where we read: “A diocesan Bishop in the diocese committed to him possesses all the ordinary, proper and immediate power which is required for the exercise of his pastoral office except for those cases which the law or a decree of the Supreme Pontiff reserves to the supreme authority of the Church or to some other ecclesiastical authority”
20. In other cases “the competence of individual diocesan Bishops remains intact; and neither the Conference nor its president may act in the name of all the Bishops unless each and every Bishop has given his consent”.
In short, the various episcopal conferences have NO authority except when granted by the bishops, and that requiring a supermajority vote (and very limited). Any local bishop can override any decision of the USCCB (or any other conference) at any time.
Steve K notes that the USCCB and the previous US episcopal conferences came into being out of a desire to be seen as political ‘players,’ for the most part – to have a ‘voice’ at the tables of worldly power. It is very unfortunate that it appears major areas of Church Doctrine, including important Canon laws, are not being enforced, perhaps out of fear of being denied access to big name political players who just also happen to be “dissenting” (read as heretical) Catholics. After canon lawyer Ed Peters called out Andrew Cuomo and Bishop Hubbard for Cuomo’s receipt of Communion from Hubbard, and Hubbard’s “homily” which was basically a political rally in favor of Cuomo, Cuomo cancelled a meeting with the New York state Catholic bishops (yet another conference). I am certain that panic ensued, as well as quick reassurances that the bishops would never let some lowly canon lawyer tell them how to enforce basic Catholic Church law. One wonders if the scandalized faithful have been considered in the calculations of many bishops with respect to Canon 915 and other “controversial” issues.
But what do I know, I’m nothing more than a dirty taliban, anyway.
A handy collection of great little Catholic books March 30, 2011
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Interior Life, North Deanery.comments closed
When we were in Hanceville over Christmas, we found some books lying around near one of the little bed and breakfasts next to the monastery that turned out to be really good. They are produced by a Catholic priest in Louisiana, and given away for free. They cover a huge variety of topics, especially those that are especially “problematic” in the Church today – divorce, contraception, radical feminism, etc. They are short – usually just 15-20 pages – but they are concise and give a good presentation of both the problems that come from disobedience to Church Doctrine, and how to incorporate the Doctrine into your life. They’re actually pretty fun to read. You can view all the books here, and download and read any you want – you can also order many copies for free for distribution at your parish, if you wish. They are produced by Christian Family Outreach.
Here’s a little book for starters, entitled 30 percent, that discusses the reasons why so few Catholics believe in the Doctrine of the Real Presence anymore and even bother to attend Mass. It examines lack of reverence at Mass and the impact that has had on the beleifs held by the faithful. This little pamphlet is only a couple pages long – go read it!
Perhaps we’ll start seeing some of these good little books lying around our local parishes soon. I think it may be helpful.
A Blog for Dallas Area Catholics 