News Clips: June 2006 Archives

The Pope wants to end guitar Masses.

Depending on your liturgical orientation this could be good or bad. Admittedly many of my friends (you know who you are) would rejoice at this. And I admit I would not want to see any musical instrument at my Eastern-Rite church or see our traditional music abandoned. On the other hand I can't stand traditional Roman music and much prefer the modern guitar music to it. It lifts my mind to God much better. At least the way it is usually implemented. When I was in Rome I liked the traditional music I heard but the traditional music here doesn't sound like that. I suspect it's easy to do traditional music badly.

Anyway it should be interesting to see how strictly he imposes his judgment.

Americans have fewer close friends they can confide in, a survey says. Nearly a quarter said they had zero friends to confide in. Another 50 percent mentioned two or fewer confidants, typically family members.

I feel very blessed to have so many close friends. Such relationships are very important for maintaining our emotional health, and it is sad, though not surprising, that Americans have so few of them. My friends are my lifeblood, especially when I am so far away from family. They are my support, since I have no siblings, my mother is long gone, and my father is emotionally unavailable.

I got the following alert from the American Family Association:

Brittany McComb was the valedictorian at Foothill High School recently. She graduated with a 4.7 GPA. She earned the right to address the other graduates at Foothill, located in Henderson, Nevada.

She gave a copy of her graduating speech to the school administrators. It contained some Biblical references and even mentioned (one time) the name “Christ.” The school administrators censored some of the Biblical references. They also censored the single reference to Christ.

Then the school officials handed the speech over to the ACLU for approval and/or more censoring. After getting the OK from the ACLU, Brittany’s speech (minus the censored references to the Bible and Christ) was approved. Brittany was warned that if she deviated from the ACLU approved language, her mike would be cut off.

Then came the moment for the big decision. She would not bow down, she decided. She would go with her original version. She stepped to the mike and began her speech. But just before she could utter the name “Christ,” her mike went dead. School officials silenced her. The crowd of 400 jeered for several minutes, angry at the action of the school officials. The ACLU was happy. They had silenced another Christian.

“I went through four years of school at Foothill and they taught me logic and they taught me freedom of speech. God’s the biggest part of my life. Just like other valedictorians thank their parents, I wanted to thank my lord and savior,” Brittany said.

Because she refused to bow down to the ACLU’s idol of gold, she did not get her wish. She was censored.

This young heroine deserves praise and a thank you from those who believe in free speech.

Please sign the petition thanking Brittany for her courage. The goal is 100,000 signatures. AFA will put the CD containing the signatures in a beautifully decorated frame and present it to Brittany.

I think this is deplorable but not surprising. My salutatorian speech was entitled, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth". I do not remember if I mentioned Christ, or whether I spoke strictly in terms of God, but it was definitely a religious speech. My advisor on the speech, a believer herself, was delighted, but did also recognize the possibility that the Superintendent would be there and would get upset. But there were no repercussions (except my dad refusing to come).

I think students ought to be able to say what they wish about religion, and that this in no ways violates the separation of church and state, as long as it is not instigated by the administrators. I wonder what court cases have been related to this very issue.

Bleach finds its way into holy water font

The Pope has appointed Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa, as Secretary of State, succeeding Cardinal Angelo Sodano. Sodano had been expected to be replaced since the accession of the Pope. This appointment had been expected by Vatican watchers.

The Secretary of State is the most powerful man in the Vatican next to the Pope.

The New York Times is reporting that there is a movement among conservatives to oppose contraception based on the same anti-chid mindset that fuels abortion. Note that these are not just Catholics; they are Protestants as well. I never thought I'd see the day when this would start to be a political issue. They even articulate a powerful argument on our side: "The mind-set that invites a couple to use contraception is an antichild mind-set," Judie Brown, president of the American Life League told them. "So when a baby is conceived accidentally, the couple already have this negative attitude toward the child. Therefore seeking an abortion is a natural outcome. We oppose all forms of contraception." (Well, presumably she means artificial contraception.)

I can only hope this movement grows ...

CNN is reporting that there is a new church popping up in Nigeria. It's a syncretic mix of Christianity, Islam, and traditional religions. The pastors preach from both the Bible and the Koran side-by-side. (Not sure how they manage that.) They also sell dubious "miraculous" oils and such. Very interesting.

The story is a CNN video. Go here, look for the green WATCH box on the right, and click on "A mix of faiths". If you have trouble with the URL, do a CNN search for "a mix of faiths".

This has been making the blog rounds but the American bishops have approved a new translation of the liturgy. For example, "and also with you" will be "and with your spirit", and "Lord, I am not worthy that you should receive me" becomes "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof". I see this as a very good thing because these are finally accurate translations.

It will be difficult for a while to adapt but I think it will be worth it. Thirty-six years or so is a long time; it's not unreasonable to update the liturgy.

Here is a discussion of the draft; however, please note that I understand not all changes from the draft were approved. Whispers in the Loggia has details on the amendments accepted; if I understand what he says correctly, the vast majority of the changes were declined (only 62 accepted, 175 declined).

Note that the changes still have to be approved by Rome, and perhaps other bishop's conferences. That could take years.

Here's an interesting article. Apparently at the Vatican cosmology conference a few years ago, John Paul discouraged scientists from investigating the beginnings of the universe, saying in effect, "It's OK to study the universe and where it began. But we should not inquire into the beginning itself because that was the moment of creation and the work of God."

It seems rather strange to me that John Paul would say that. I'm not doubting that he did (although we should get his exact words), but I am scratching my head as to why. Why can't the moment of creation and the "work of God" be scrutinized? I should think that the more they study the origins of the universe, the more they'll realize that there had to be a Creator. Besides, trying to stop them will only aggravate the scientific community. (Read about Hawking's quite-inappropriate remark.)

What with all the church closings and remodelings and such, a market has been created for church artifacts. This causes some problems; a church official found an altar in a casino, and one woman wanted a tabernacle to hold her jewelry. But it also allows these items to be recycled by newer parishes.

One site that sells them online is King Richard's.

Do you recall this rather overzealous individual who has been trying for some time to sue the Vatican over a sexual-abuse case? Until now he's made little progress on account of the Sovereign Immunity Act, which says that a head of state is immune from prosecution. Well a judge recently ruled that there are exceptions to the Sovereign Immunity Act, and is allowing the lawsuit to go through.

I personally think the lawsuit is preposterous. It alleges that the Holy See "covered up" and "concealed" the abuse, and that they "conspired" with the Archdiocese of Portland and the arcbishop of Chicago.

To me this betrays an ignorance of how the Holy See works. For everyday matters, unless someone files a canonical lawsuit, dioceses operate autonomously of the Holy See. The Pope is not aware of personnel actions unless there is conflict of some sort; with thousands of dioceses (and hence bishops) the Pope can't possibly get involved in the details of how all the dioceses are run. Therefore if a molester was being shuttled about, the Vatican would more than likely be wholly ignorant of that.

On the other hand, there could be special rules for molestation cases that I'm unaware of. It may be a question for Peter Vere, canonist. If the dioceses notified the Holy See, and the Holy See was involved in the decision to transfer them, they'd have a case.

To me, to "conspire" means you have to communicate with someone about an issue and make plans together for wrongdoing. To conceal or cover up means that you're aware of molestation but take active steps to hide it. If they can demonstrate that the Holy See did this, fine.

The Motion Picture Association of America has decided that a movie that talks too much about God merits a PG rating. The film "Facing the Giants", about the turnaround of the life of a depressed high school coach, filmed by two "associate pastors of media" at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA for $100,000.

Click here to register a protest email to the MPAA.

Apparently there are modern-day worshippers of the 12 Greek gods of antiquity. I first learned about this studying the Wikipedia page on the Holy Fire of the Holy Sepulchre, which said that a professor who followed the 12 Greek gods tried to demonstrate he could do the same thing with phosphorus. I got to wondering if he was alone or whether there was a large group of such people. I started to wonder if they had a formal body of doctrines and community who worshipped together and so forth. The adherents in this article claim they number 100,000, but that's probably an exaggeration. Still, it's probably not a trivial number.

I wonder what would draw people to religion like that. Maybe it is because the Greek gods seemed so real and immanent in Greek mythology. But then one would think they would stop believing when they didn't experience that for themselves. The Greek gods weren't exactly a loving and compassionate lot. They were basically immortal humans with supernatural powers. Mercurial (literally, in one case!), hot-tempered, cold-hearted, they manifested an array of human foibles. How can you want to worship that?

I can only shake my head and pray for such people.

A man jumped into a zoo's lion's den shouting, "God will save me, if he exists", with predictable results.

He obviously missed the part about "Thou shalt not test the Lord thy God." Never mind his rather weak faith.

Of course one has to wonder about the sanity of such people.

Presuming God will miraculously save us is always a bad idea. I like the attitude of the Three Young Men in the fiery furnace: We trust in our God, but even if he does not save us, we will not disobey him. That's a safe attitude to take; be prepared for the worst.

(Thanks to Caleb)

The woman who unwittingly created a grilled-cheese sandwich with an image of what she believes to be the Virgin Mary on it, who sold it for $28,000 on eBay, had an image of it permanently tattooed on her breast.

Cheesy, if you ask me.

Reported by News of the Weird and reprinted with permission:

For 30 years now, many residents of Frostburg, Md., have been puzzled, and annoyed, at the three-story-high, 400-foot-long metal- and-concrete frame that Pastor Richard Greene calls his modern Noah's Ark, at which he works off and on, awaiting Judgment Day. According to an April Pittsburgh Post-Gazette dispatch, Greene said the Arc came to him in visions during disturbing dreams in 1976. Some neighbors are patient, but others call the Ark an eyesore that depresses property values and wastes religious charity (since contributions to Greene have totaled $1 million). [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4-16-06]

Didn't this guy get to the part of the Scriptures where it says God will never again flood the earth??

A case brought by a Roman Catholic pharmacist against Wal-Mart on the grounds they dismissed him for not filling contraceptive prescriptions was dismissed by a judge Thursday.

But apparently, he had put customers who called about contraceptives on hold indefinitely, and refused to get service for those who showed up in person. I think this is grounds for dismissal.

It brings up an interesting moral question, though: If you can't in conscience do something someone asks you to do, how culpable are you if you refer them to someone who will, especially when you are in a situation in which you have little choice?

I suppose he could just tell people "I can't help you with contraceptives, I'm sorry" and leave it to them to ask another pharmacist, that doesn't work so well when people call. Unless you just don't pick up the phone.

It's not like you're stopping anyone by not referring them. Perhaps it is enough to not participate in it? Or perhaps this is just situational ethics.

I'll have to ask a philosopher I know and see what he thinks.

I see a few solutions to this:

1) Go work for a Catholic pharmacy. Not practical; besides all pharmacies are now being compelled to sell contraception.
2) Go into another line of work.
3) Refer people to other pharmacists.

I wonder if #2 is the only acceptable solution. (It wouldn't be the first time that an entire line of work became off-limits to Christians. Actors were once in this category. Of course prostitutes have always been.)

Bishop David Walker of the Australian diocese of Broken Bay has proposed a new vocation for women and is working to set it up.

The vocation is for womn "who wish to consecrate themselves to the pastoral care of the local Church." The mission will be to help him with the pastoral care of the diocese, and the hope will be to recognize the "feminine genius" that John Paul spoke of. He says, "I plan to provide an opportunity for a new vocation for women within the diocese. I will offer women an opportunity to be more deeply involved in the life and leadership of the diocese. I plan to form a group of ecclesial women who will share with me the pastoral care of the people of Broken Bay Diocese."

The vocation will be open to single women and will, in his words, "involve[] a celibate life." There will be, as with religious orders, several periods of temporary committment followed by a lifelong committment.

Ha, the faithful confound scientists again. A Greek Orthodox monk was found incorrupt 15 years after his burial. "Even his soft parts are intact," the bishop averred. (I wouldn't consider it notable if his "soft parts" were not intact, but we'll let that go.) We* may have a new saint ...

*"We" in a general, informal, ecumenical sense.

... and has already had an affair with another character.

(Un)Holy political correctness, Batman!

(Thanks to Dave Barry's blog.)

The Piggly-Wiggly grocery chain found out the hard way that not all customers appreciate new biometric retail authentication systems that allow customers to identify themselves and pay for purchases with a fingerprint or iris scan. One 70 year-old customer, when asked if she wanted to enroll, threw a bible at the clerk and told him that God was going to rain hellfire on him and that he was promoting the devil's work. Wow!

Someone needs to read her bible more carefully. The biblical scenario — if we are to take it literally which is by no means a given — says that there is a mark that people must accept on their hands or foreheads in order to buy or sell. Obviously using a pre-existing fingerprint defeats this scheme.

But people will be people, they will get paranoid and jump to conclusions and misunderstand.