Category: +Religion

If you’re considering a Christmas present for Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, a former Master General of the Dominican order, might I suggest a case of Ivory soap? He undoubtedly needs it for all of the mouths he apparently would like to scrub clean:

"Dogma is a bad word! But beauty has its own authority, an authority to which every human being responds, and an authority that in no way threatens. We need to find ways of disclosing God’s beauty to our contemporaries."

GET THE STORY.

Of all the many quotes that could have been pulled from Vatican correspondent John L. Allen’s "The Word From Rome" column this week, which one do you suppose the National Catholic Reporter‘s webmaster chose to pull for highlighting? Fr. Radcliffe’s or this one from Pope Benedict XVI:

"[W]ithout the light of truth, sooner or later every person is in fact condemned to doubt the goodness of his or her own life and the relations that make it up, as well as the validity of his or her commitment to construct something in common with others."

No fair peeking at the story before guessing.

The story sounds like a tall tale to me — how can a person over the age of reason, and one suffering from senile dementia to boot, be received into the Church without his knowledge or consent? — but this unique conversion story that is purported to be true did make me laugh:

"James died at an advanced age, and was given a full Roman Catholic funeral with the bells and smells. Joseph was deeply upset over the loss of his dear brother and senile dementia, which had already set in, got progressively worse. Joseph often got confused about things, and at some point, possibly after witnessing all the Catholic ceremonial, became convinced he was a Catholic too.

"’Of course I’m a Catholic … my brother was a Catholic and we’re twins … how could I not be a Catholic?’ was his response to anyone who said he was a Protestant. Now, Joseph’s grown-up children were, of course, pleased to hear their father now considered himself a Catholic. The problem was — he hadn’t yet been properly received into the Catholic Church, and wouldn’t even listen when his children suggested he be received — ‘I’ve always been a Catholic,’ he would protest. His health was going rapidly downhill too, and he insisted he must be given a Catholic funeral.

"What was one to do? They had a talk with the local RC priest and they had an idea."

GET THE TALE.

Tales such as this, especially those originating several generations ago and thus unverifiable, make the rounds of Catholic circles. You’d be surprised how many I hear from inquirers who want to know if I can explain the tales’ illogical points (e.g., the reception into the Church of a sleeping man). All one can do is to point out the principles (e.g., informed knowledge and consent is ordinarily necessary for adult reception) and advise the person to enjoy the story as a Catholic tall tale.

Nod to Dappled Things for the link. I especially liked Fr. Tucker’s own tale: "It reminded me of what one of our deacons tells non-Catholic best men at wedding rehearsals: ‘When I sprinkle the rings with holy water, make sure not to get any on you, otherwise you automatically become a Catholic.’ Then he makes sure to get the horrified Protestant wet during the wedding ceremony.")

You scored as Fundamentalist. Fundamentalism represents a movement in opposition to Modernism, stressing the highest importance on foundational religious tradition. Science has brought on corruption of society. God is real and is watching. Scripture leaves little room for interpretation; man is God’s creation. About a quarter of the population in the U.S. is classified as Fundamentalist. Fundamentalist 81% Romanticist 69% Cultural Creative 69% Postmodernist 44% Existentialist 25% Idealist 19% Modernist 0% Materialist 0% What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

I’m a Fundamentalist!  Who’da thunk it?  Actually, given the nature of the questions, I’m not surprised.  The creators of the quiz seem to consider a belief in absolute, objective truths to be the definition of Fundamentalism.  If that is the case, my name is Michelle and I’m a Catholic Fundamentalist.  There.  It’s finally out in the open now.

(Nod to Mark Mossa, S.J., for the link.)

Oh, goody. ABC’s Elizabeth Vargas — the journalist who brought you the straight scoop on Jesus and Mary Magdalene’s luv-‘n-marriage, according to the Gospel of Dan Brown — is doing a special for 20/20 on the Resurrection of Christ to be aired on Friday, May 20. Guess who will be joining her as special guests?

Did you say Fr. Richard McBrien and (Episcopal) Bishop John Shelby Spong (among others)? How’d you figure it?

Sample Quotes:

McBRIEN: "If they had digital cameras in those days, and they took … tried to take a photo of Jesus, you know, ‘Get over there with Peter … would you stand with Mary Magdalene? This would make a great shot. I mean, no one will ever believe this.’ You take a photo of that scene and you’d get Peter and Mary Magdalene, but not Jesus."

You’d think a college professor would speak more coherently.

SPONG: "I don’t think that most of the resurrection narratives in the New Testament are historical at all. But I don’t think there would have been a New Testament or a Jesus movement had there not been some astonishing experience of power that caused these people to see Jesus in a way they had never seen him before."

Translation: "The Gospels are pretty fakey, but those poor misguided souls who spun those fairy tales must have experienced some weird Christ event to get them to make that stuff up."

GET THE STORY.

(Nod to Relapsed Catholic for the link.)

Be sure to wake me when it’s over.

Furious over the election of Pope Benedict XVI, whom they have venomously called a "liar" and an "aggressive homophobe," members of the so-called Rainbow Sash movement — a calls-itself-Catholic, pro-homosexual movement — are calling for their members to disrupt Catholic Masses around the United States on the Feast of Pentecost on Sunday, May 15:

"The Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) with its supporters will be entering Cathedrals and parishes around the nation on Pentecost Sunday, May 15. We are inviting our supporters to join us, and wear the Rainbow Sash as a symbol of dignity and inclusion.

"We continue to call for public dialogue with Cardinal Francis George Vice President of the National Council of Catholic Bishops.

[…]

"We hope that our presence will also counter the lies that Pope Benedict XVI is promoting about our community. We are Catholic, and will raise our voices to speak to the truth of our lives from the pews. We will no longer be silent in the face of this injustice."

Actually, all they will succeed in doing is demonstrating their own irrelevance while profaning the Blessed Sacrament. Stories like this can make it a very difficult trial for orthodox Catholics who know they must separate contempt for the sin from contempt for the sinner.

GET THE RSM PRESS RELEASE.

GET LIFESITE.COM’S STORY.

Author Helen LaKelly Hunt’s interview about her book Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance has some nuttiness in it — such as scolding the Pope for "narrowness" in his approach to feminism — but it is also interesting to see secular feminists grappling with religion.  This anecdote was particularly amusing:

"With Betty [Friedan], she was never against religion. She was always frustrated that feminists projected that. In fact, of the seven people who founded NOW [National Organization for Women], two of them were nuns. And when they had their first press conference, Betty said, ‘Wear your habits.’ And the nuns said, ‘We don’t want to wear our habits because we are here to start a social movement—it’s not about a religious thing.’ And Betty said, ‘No, I want you to wear your habits for this.’ And they said, no, they wouldn’t. And finally Betty said, ‘Dammit, wear your habits!’"

GET THE STORY.

Author Helen LaKelly Hunt’s interview about her book Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance has some nuttiness in it — such as scolding the Pope for "narrowness" in his approach to feminism — but it is also interesting to see secular feminists grappling with religion.  This anecdote was particularly amusing:

"With Betty [Friedan], she was never against religion. She was always frustrated that feminists projected that. In fact, of the seven people who founded NOW [National Organization for Women], two of them were nuns. And when they had their first press conference, Betty said, ‘Wear your habits.’ And the nuns said, ‘We don’t want to wear our habits because we are here to start a social movement—it’s not about a religious thing.’ And Betty said, ‘No, I want you to wear your habits for this.’ And they said, no, they wouldn’t. And finally Betty said, ‘Dammit, wear your habits!’"

GET THE STORY.

Y’know how we’re always hearing about the post-Christian world?

Well, there’s an element of truth in that–at least when it comes to Europe and to a lesser-extent the English-speaking world.

But Christianity ain’t the only religion that’s having its troubles.

So’s atheism.

CHECK THIS STORY ON THE DECLINE OF ATHEISM WORLDWIDE.

Excerpts:

There seems to be a growing consensus around the globe that godlessness is in trouble.

"Atheism as a theoretical position is in decline worldwide," Munich theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg told United Press International Tuesday.

His Oxford colleague Alister McGrath agrees. Atheism’s "future seems increasingly to lie in the private beliefs of individuals rather than in the great public domain it once regarded as its habitat," he wrote in the U.S. magazine, Christianity Today.

Two developments are plaguing atheism these days. One is that it appears to be losing its scientific underpinnings. The other is the historical experience of hundreds of millions of people worldwide that atheists are in no position to claim the moral high ground.

A few years ago, European scientists sniggered when studies in the United States – for example, at Harvard and Duke universities – showed a correlation between faith, prayer and recovery from illness. Now 1,200 studies at research centers around the world have come to similar conclusions, according to "Psychologie Heute," a German journal, citing, for example, the marked improvement of multiple sclerosis patients in Germany’s Ruhr District due to "spiritual resources."

Zulehner cautions, however, that in the rest of Europe re-Christianization is by no means occurring. "What we are observing instead is a re-paganization," he went on.

As for the "peril of spirituality," Zulehner sounded quite sanguine. He concluded from his research that in the long run the survival of worldviews should be expected to follow this lineup:

"The great world religions are best placed," he said. As a distant second he sees the diffuse forms of spirituality. Atheism, he insisted, will come in at the tail end.

I found especially interesting this bit:

John Updike’s observation, "Among the repulsions of atheism for me has been is drastic uninterestingness as an intellectual position," appears to become common currency throughout much of the West.

When you think about it, atheism is startlingly uninteresting an flat as a worldview compared to either theism or polytheism. It also makes the world a horror show since mankind would be a cosmic accident with nobody up there caring about him.

Hence, if you’re an atheist, like H. P. Lovecraft and you think the world is a big horror show due to being God-less, you might do something like . . . write horror stories.

I’m about to break my no-names-in-the-main-blog-area rule because a situation has come up down yonder and I want to head off potential confusion.

I’d like to share an e-mail I recently sent to Other Eric, who has told me that he does not have a problem with me blogging from our e-mail exchange. Here goes:

Eric,

I wanted to write and say, first of all, that I feel for the cross you
are carrying. We all carry crosses, and the struggle of same-sex
attraction is no different. It is a temptation to a different kind of
sin than most have, but all struggle with temptation. We all have fallen
natures, and God loves and cares for you as much as he does for me or
anyone else.

I also wanted to say that I appreciate your thoughtful comments on my
blog as you wrestle with this issue, and I understand how insensitive
the comments of some may be. I hope that my remarks are better in this
regard.

I agree that there comes an age in which the concerns I have expressed
on the blog lessen and eventually cease to apply. At some point in their
lives, children must come to become aware of the existence of
homosexuality and its moral status, because they will certainly run into
it as adults. Children cannot be shielded from the realities of life
forever. Their parents must prepare them to face not only the good
things in life but the bad and tragic things as well. The question is
when. This is a decision that I feel is best left up to individual
parents, as there is no obvious answer. Since multi-family schools must
make a common decision about it that is bound to be inappropriate for
some children, as they progress at different rates, I prefer
homeschooling situations where each family can make these decisions
based on the knowledge, temprament, and unique circumstances of their
own children.

I also agree that different individuals with homosexual temptations are
different. They are not all outspoken advocates of the gay lifestyle,
though many are. The same is true of the children they raise, and this
has to be taken into account in the decision to admit the children of
such couples into a school.

The situation of a child’s parents also have nothing to do with his
ability to receive the sacraments as long as he accepts the Catholic
faith (including its teaching on moral matters) and otherwise fulfills
the requirements for the sacraments.

I want to stress that I view you and all in similar situations as human
beings first above all. You may have same-sex attraction temptations,
but those are not determinitive of what you are. To tell the truth, I
don’t even like using "homosexual" as a noun. In a blog post, space
restrictions prevent me from using (repeatedly) the phrases that I
prefer–"*person* with homosexual temptations" and "*person* with
same-sex attraction"–but these phrases better reflect the reality of
the situations of individuals struggling with this condition, and I
would encourage you to think of yourself, not as a homosexual, but as a
*person* who happens to have same-sex temptations.

I’ve said such things in public before, and would be happy to blog to
this effect again, but didn’t want to use your e-mail as an occasion of
doing so in case you wanted it kept private.

I’m glad that you’re getting in touch with David Morrison, and I hope
he’s able to help you on your journey. Feel free to write me again, and
I hope you’ll keep reading the blog.

God bless, and take care!

Jimmy Akin

One of the other commenters down yonder noted that Other Eric’s e-mail address indicates his sexuality. I posted the following comment in response:

As his e-mail address indicates,
Other Eric is a person who has homosexual attractions and who openly
describes himself as gay.

He also has interacted respectfully with others on this blog, even
though of late we have been discussing issues that one would suppose
might pain him and that he might strongly disagree with.

In view of his respectful attitude and willingness to think through
these subjects, we owe him the same respect and willingness to think
through points he may make.

Just because someone practices the "gay lifestyle" does not mean
that he should not be treated with respect and engaged in dialog on
important issues, including the Church’s teachings regarding
homosexuality.

That’s what Christ, who died for Other Eric just as much for all of the rest of us, would have us do.

Thanks for understanding.

I’m about to break my no-names-in-the-main-blog-area rule because a situation has come up down yonder and I want to head off potential confusion.

I’d like to share an e-mail I recently sent to Other Eric, who has told me that he does not have a problem with me blogging from our e-mail exchange. Here goes:

Eric,

I wanted to write and say, first of all, that I feel for the cross you

are carrying. We all carry crosses, and the struggle of same-sex

attraction is no different. It is a temptation to a different kind of

sin than most have, but all struggle with temptation. We all have fallen

natures, and God loves and cares for you as much as he does for me or

anyone else.

I also wanted to say that I appreciate your thoughtful comments on my

blog as you wrestle with this issue, and I understand how insensitive

the comments of some may be. I hope that my remarks are better in this

regard.

I agree that there comes an age in which the concerns I have expressed

on the blog lessen and eventually cease to apply. At some point in their

lives, children must come to become aware of the existence of

homosexuality and its moral status, because they will certainly run into

it as adults. Children cannot be shielded from the realities of life

forever. Their parents must prepare them to face not only the good

things in life but the bad and tragic things as well. The question is

when. This is a decision that I feel is best left up to individual

parents, as there is no obvious answer. Since multi-family schools must

make a common decision about it that is bound to be inappropriate for

some children, as they progress at different rates, I prefer

homeschooling situations where each family can make these decisions

based on the knowledge, temprament, and unique circumstances of their

own children.

I also agree that different individuals with homosexual temptations are

different. They are not all outspoken advocates of the gay lifestyle,

though many are. The same is true of the children they raise, and this

has to be taken into account in the decision to admit the children of

such couples into a school.

The situation of a child’s parents also have nothing to do with his

ability to receive the sacraments as long as he accepts the Catholic

faith (including its teaching on moral matters) and otherwise fulfills

the requirements for the sacraments.

I want to stress that I view you and all in similar situations as human

beings first above all. You may have same-sex attraction temptations,

but those are not determinitive of what you are. To tell the truth, I

don’t even like using "homosexual" as a noun. In a blog post, space

restrictions prevent me from using (repeatedly) the phrases that I

prefer–"*person* with homosexual temptations" and "*person* with

same-sex attraction"–but these phrases better reflect the reality of

the situations of individuals struggling with this condition, and I

would encourage you to think of yourself, not as a homosexual, but as a

*person* who happens to have same-sex temptations.

I’ve said such things in public before, and would be happy to blog to

this effect again, but didn’t want to use your e-mail as an occasion of

doing so in case you wanted it kept private.

I’m glad that you’re getting in touch with David Morrison, and I hope

he’s able to help you on your journey. Feel free to write me again, and

I hope you’ll keep reading the blog.

God bless, and take care!

Jimmy Akin

One of the other commenters down yonder noted that Other Eric’s e-mail address indicates his sexuality. I posted the following comment in response:

As his e-mail address indicates,

Other Eric is a person who has homosexual attractions and who openly

describes himself as gay.

He also has interacted respectfully with others on this blog, even

though of late we have been discussing issues that one would suppose

might pain him and that he might strongly disagree with.

In view of his respectful attitude and willingness to think through

these subjects, we owe him the same respect and willingness to think

through points he may make.

Just because someone practices the "gay lifestyle" does not mean

that he should not be treated with respect and engaged in dialog on

important issues, including the Church’s teachings regarding

homosexuality.

That’s what Christ, who died for Other Eric just as much for all of the rest of us, would have us do.

Thanks for understanding.