May 2006 – Page 6 – Jimmy Akin

Through And Through

[NOTE: A lot of folks in other countries see the site at unsual hours, and I didn’t want this week’s special event to get buried under other posts and be less visible over the weekend, so I moved the two relevant posts to the top. This should also make it easier for folks who want to participate but who couldn’t read the story during work hours. For an explanation of what we’re doing see here.–ja]

Through and Through

by Tim Powers

ALREADY when he walked in through the side door, there were new people sitting here and there, separately in the Saturday afternoon dimness. The air was cool, and smelled of floor-wax.

He almost peered at the shadowed faces, irrationally hoping one might be hers, come back these seven days later to try for a different result; but most of the faces were lowered, and of course she wouldn’t be here. Two days ago, maybe—today, and ever after, no.

The funeral would be next week sometime, probably Monday. No complications about burial in consecrated soil anymore, thank God . . . or thank human mercy.

His shoes knocked echoingly on the glossy linoleum as he walked across the nave, pausing to bow toward the altar. In the old days he would have genuflected, and it would have been spontaneous; in recenter years the bow had become perfunctory, dutiful—today it was a twitch of self-distaste.

There were fewer people than he had first thought, he noted as he walked past the side altar and started down the wall aisle toward the confessional door, passing under the high, wooden Stations of the Cross and the awkwardly lettered banners of the Renew Committee. Maybe only three, all women; and a couple of little girls.

They never wanted to line up against the wall—a discreet couple of yards away from the door—until he actually entered the church; and then if there were six or so of them they’d be frowning at each other as they got up out of the pews and belatedly formed the line. silently but obviously disagreeing about the order in which they’d originally entered the church.

Last week there had been five, counting her. And afterward he had walked back up to the front of the church and stepped up onto the altar level and gone into the sacristy to put on the vestments for 5:30 Mass. Had he been worrying about what she had said? What sins you shall retain, they are retained. Probably he had been worrying about it.

As he opened the confessional door now, he nodded to the old woman who was first in line. The others appeared to be trying to hide behind her—he could see only a drape of skirt and a couple of shoes behind her. He didn’t recognize the old woman.

He stepped into the little room and pulled the door closed behind him. They wouldn’t begin to come in until he turned on the red light over the door, and he needed a drink.

Continue reading “Through And Through”

JA.O Literary Club Meeting #1

Okay, I’d like to call this first meeting of the JimmyAkin.Org Literary Club to order.

(Bangs gavel several times. Waves it threateningly at one member of the crowd, who quickly settles down.)

Our story today is "Through and Through" by Catholic fantasy author Tim Powers.

If you didn’t do your homework and read the story (or if your time zone prevented you from doing so–drat these global forums!) then kindly read it now. It’s the post just under this one.

To prevent spoilerage, I’m putting my own remarks on the story in the below-the-fold part of this post. Please feel free to add your own remarks on the story and the issues it raises in the combox, and I hope you’ll enjoy this first-ever meeting of the JA.O Literary Club!

(NOTE TO OTHER BLOGGERS: If you like the story and the discussion of it, you might invite your own readers to join in!)

Continue reading “JA.O Literary Club Meeting #1”

Harriet Miers All Over Again?

Word is that

PRESIDENT BUSH IS GOING TO BE GIVING A MAJOR SPEECH ON IMMIGRATION POLICY ON MONDAY.

Word also is that he will be laying out a "comprehensive" policy proposal for dealing with immigration and that it will include tougher border-securing measures.

Talk includes putting the national guard on the border.

That ain’t enough.

#1: The national guard can’t cover every single foot of the border the way that a wall can.

#2: The national guard won’t stay on the border permanently the way a will will. Eventually, units will be pulled back and reassigned elsewhere, when the public and the MSM isn’t looking.

The bottom line is that no solution involving just putting people on the border will serve as the kind of permanent fix for the torrent of illegal immigration that the nation is currently experiencing.

We’ve been down that road before, and it’s led us to the situation we’re in now.

After all the bridges that Pres. Bush has burned with conservatives, any solution that doesn’t involve a wall is likely to be perceived as another piece of insincere lip service from the president.

To put it bluntly: Conservatives no longer trust Bush, to the extent that they ever did. After debacles like the Harriet Miers nomination, the out-of-control spending while giving lip service to conservative principles, the gay marriage amendment that has gone nowhere, the president is simply no longer trusted by his base.

As a result, if the president comes out touting tough new border enforcement ideas and these do not include the building of a physical barrier that will permanently remain and that can’t simply be recalled and reassigned when the public isn’t looking then it may well be viewed as more insincere lip service on the part of the president.

In other words: It may look like another attempt from a phony-conservative president to deceive his political base.

If so, the proposals he trots out Monday will badly burn him.

It may be Harriet Miers all over again.

Pastoral Consequences Of The Mormon Baptism Decision

A reader writes:

My wife came into the Catholic church somewhere around 2000 before we were married in the Church. She had been a baptized Mormon before then, in which the Deacon teaching her RCIA class said the church recognized as a valid baptism. I never thought to double check his assertion on this, and there’s the possibility he flat out just misunderstood or lost record of her telling him this. Whatever the case, she underwent the Preparation for Christians, instead of the Preparation for the Unbaptized. We regularly celebrate the sacraments together now, and I was wondering the validity/invalidity of her confirmation into Catholicism? Would you please shed some light on this for us?

This is a very delicate question, and I want to compliment you for asking it. It shows a willingness to confront potentially unpleasant or disturbing matters and to follow God’s truth even in the face of potential difficulties.

What the deacon told you was probably based on a correct understanding of Catholic practice at the time. Prior to 2001, it was generally assumed that Mormon baptisms were valid and thus that Mormons who became Catholic did not need to be baptized upon their reception into the Church, though many were given conditional baptisms just in case.

Those were the fortunate ones, because in 2001, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the following response :

RESPONSE TO A ‘DUBIUM’
on the validity of baptism conferred by

«The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints»,

called «Mormons»

Question: Wheter the baptism conferred by the community «The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints», called «Mormons» in the vernacular, is valid.

Response: Negative.

The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, in the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved the present Response, decided in the Sessione Ordinaria of this Congregation, and ordered it published.

From the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 5 June 2001.

+ Joseph Cardinal RATZINGER
Prefect

+ Tarcisio BERTONE, S.D.B.
Archbishop emeritus of Vercelli
Secretary

This means that, after further reflection, the Church does not regard Mormon baptisms as vaild.

Whether your wife received preparation for the baptized or preparation for the unbaptized is not of concern at this point, but what is of concern is the status of her baptism.

If she received a conditional baptism at the time she was received into the Church then her confirmation and her participation in subsequence sacraments will be valid (in the case of confession, for example) and legitimate (in the case of her reception of Holy Communion).

If she did not receive at least a conditional baptism at the time of her reception then she would not be able to validly (and in the case of the reception of the Eucharist, legitimately) participate in the other sacraments since baptism is the gateway to the sacraments.

It would therefore be necessary for her to receive at least a conditional baptism, following which she would be able to participate in a normal sacramental life, including receiving confirmation.

Thus if she was not given at least a conditional baptism at the time of her reception, I recommend contacting the pastor of your parish to pursue these options. Please let me know if you encounter difficulties with this.

I’d also add a couple of additional notes:

First, the response issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is brief and does not go into the reason why Mormon baptisms are invalid. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, however, published a commentary by Fr. Luis Ladaria on the reasoning behind the decision. That commentary may be helpful in better understanding this issue.

IT IS AVAILABLE HERE.

Second, it sounds to me as if everyone was acting in good conscience at the time of your wife’s reception into the Church, and so nobody here is to be blamed–not the deacon, not your wife, not anybody. In fact, Fr. Ladaria’s commentary points out:

It is equally necessary to underline that the decision of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is a response to a particular question regarding the Baptism of Mormons and obviously does not indicate a judgment on those who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Furthermore, Catholics and Mormons often find themselves working together on a range of problems regarding the common good of the entire human race. It can be hoped therefore that through further studies, dialogue and good will, there can be progress in reciprocal understanding and mutual respect.

Thus while the Church has on further reflection determined that Mormon baptisms are not valid, this is not to be understood as a negative judgment on Mormons or on those who were baptized as Mormons. Nor should those who were following the Church’s practice before the clarification issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith be faulted.

It is an unfortunate situation that needs to be addressed pastorally through the administration of baptism to those who were received into the Church under the prior practice (if they did not receive conditional baptisms at the time of their reception), but nobody here is to blame or should be made to feel bad regarding this.

I hope this helps, and I encourage my readers to pray for you and your wife.

God bless you both!

Mother Oprah

Some time ago, an apologist in This Rock mused about the secular world’s penchant for tossing out Catholicism and adopting paler images of what had been tossed:

"G. K. Chesterton famously observed that when you stop believing in God, you don’t believe in nothing; you believe in anything. Similarly, in the absence of the Catholic Church, you get (before Christ) things that anticipate it or (after Christ) things that are a cheap imitation of it. For instance, Ebay is the modern world’s unwitting testament to the Catholic theology of relics. People who laugh over ‘primitive’ medievals and their interest in the true cross will lay down big bucks to own a pair of John Lennon’s shoelaces. Likewise, what is Oprah but a sort of video testament of the need of the human soul for a mother?"

GET THE STORY. (Scroll to Item 6.)

Lest you think the apologist was exaggerating, take a look at this: In an article titled "The Divine Miss Winfrey?" La Oprah is hailed as "a spiritual leader for the new millennium, a moral voice of authority for the nation."

"She’s no longer just a successful talk-show host worth $1.4 billion, according to Forbes’ most recent estimate. Over the past year, Winfrey, 52, has emerged as a spiritual leader for the new millennium, a moral voice of authority for the nation.

"With her television pulpit and the sheer power of her persona, she has encouraged and steered audiences (mostly women) in all matters, from genocide in Rwanda to suburban spouse swapping to finding the absolute best T-shirt and oatmeal cookie.

"’She’s a really hip and materialistic Mother Teresa,’ says Kathryn Lofton, a professor at Reed College in Portland, Ore., who has written two papers analyzing the religious aspects of Winfrey. ‘Oprah has emerged as a symbolic figurehead of spirituality.’"

GET THE STORY.

Catholics have the Blessed Virgin Mother; hip materialists have Mother Oprah. The comparison by Professor Lofton between Mother Teresa and Mother Oprah was especially interesting. Mother Teresa once said "I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness." For what do the disciples of Mother Oprah pray?

The Polar Grizzly

What do you get when you cross a polar bear with a grizzly bear? Many have wondered but now the answer has arrived, thanks to a strange-looking bear shot last month by a hunter.

"Roger Kuptana, an Inuvialuit guide from Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, was the first to suspect it had actually happened when he proposed that a strange-looking bear shot last month by an American sports hunter might be half polar bear, half grizzly.

"Territorial officials seized the creature after noticing its white fur was scattered with brown patches and that it had the long claws and humped back of a grizzly. Now a DNA test has confirmed that it is indeed a hybrid — possibly the first documented in the wild.

"’We’ve known it’s possible, but actually most of us never thought it would happen,’ said Ian Stirling, a polar bear biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Edmonton."

GET THE STORY.

Thinking: Can a polar hybrid be considered bipolar?

[JIMMY QUIPS: If the two bears are poles apart!]

Finding The Right Words

I’m looking for the best word or words to express a concept. Maybe y’all can help me out.

Y’know that argument we’ve been hearing from President Bush and numerous others that there are "jobs Americans won’t do" or "aren’t eager to do" and that’s why we need a permissive immigration policy?

Yeah, you know the one. . . . the false and insulting argument.

It’s false because there aren’t any jobs Americans won’t do if you pay them enough (same as people anywhere).

But it’s also insulting, both to Americans and non-Americans.

It’s insulting to non-Americans because it implies that Americans are so high and mighty that they can’t deign to lower themselves to perform certain jobs, so we need lowly foreigners to come here and do them for us.

It’s insulting to Americans because it portrays them as . . . what exactly?

Stuck up immature babies?

Snobs?

I’m looking for the best term of contempt to apply to persons who consider themselves too high and mighty to do certain jobs.

The term or phrase should have as much emotional punch as possible (while being within the bounds of polite discourse; no cuss words!) and being short and pithy ("stuck up immature babies" may be too long).

Adjectives that describe the attitude of such a person could also be useful.

Any help would be appreciated.

Muchas gracias, mis amigos!

The Time Tunnel

WOO-HOO!!!

Back in 1966 there was a TV show that lasted only a season (30 episodes, back then) called The Time Tunnel.

It was about two guys who worked for a secret government time travel project who get lost in time and spend each week jumping from one time period to another.

I was too young to see (or at least to remember) the series when it was first on, but it replayed irregularly on Saturday afternoons on local channels in the 1970s, and I got to see a number of episodes.

I LOVED IT!

But I could never count on seeing it from week to week because of the irregularly with which it played (around ball games or something, I suppose).

BUT NOW I CAN SEE THE WHOLE THING!

Yes, it’s coming out on DVD. In fact, the first half of the series is already out, and the second half will come out next month.

Unfortunately, some of the episodes I remember the best are in the second half (like the one where they went a million years in the future and mankind had evolved into a kind of bee-like society. . . .Creepy!), but it’s less than a month to wait.

YEE-HAW!

A boyhood ambition (seeing the whole series) is about to be fulfilled!

Special Meeting Of The JA.O Literary Club Tomorrow

Just an announcement that we will be having a special meeting of the JimmyAkin.Org Literary Club tomorrow.

This will be our first meeting, and I’m pleased to say that I have secured the Internet reprint rights to a short story by the renowned Catholic fantasy author Tim Powers.

The story is titled "Through and Through," and it is heavily Catholic-themed. (You’ll be surprised at how much!)

I read the story and thought it would make an excellent text for the JA.OLC, and Mr. Powers was kind enough to allow me to reprint it so we can all read it.

Here’s how it’ll work: Tomorrow at a bit after midnight (Pacific Time), I’ll put up the story, but it’ll have the combox turned off so that folks can just read the story. Then, at about nine a.m. (again Pacific), I’ll put up my review of the story with the combox turned on so that folks can add their own reviews, thoughts, discussions.

Hope y’all enjoy the story, and I hope to see you at the first-ever meeting of the JA.O Literary Club!

St. President

In Italy, where they are still trying to elect a president, votes have been cast for a rock singer, the daughter of Italy’s last king, and for St. Pio of Pietrelcina who is better known as Padre Pio.

"With no hope of immediately electing a president, lawmakers have been throwing away votes for the past two days while party leaders negotiate a consensus candidate. A secret ballot has allowed them to get creative.

"For one elector, the political deadlock offered a rare chance to vote for Padre Pio, a 20th century mystic monk who had the stigmata — bleeding wounds in the hands and feet similar to those of Christ — and was made a saint in 2002.

"The speaker of Italy’s lower house of parliament immediately annulled the ballot paper. Padre Pio died in 1968."

GET THE STORY.

Italy’s current scramble for a president kind of reminds me of California’s 2003 recall election, in which candidates included everyone from former child star Gary Coleman ("Diff’rent Strokes") to porn pusher Larry Flynt (Hustler) to the eventual winner, muscleman turned movie star turned Kennedy kin Arnold Schwarzenegger. The only difference is that the votes in the California election were not a joke but all too real.