News Clips: September 2007 Archives

This is totally unconscionable. Connecticut bishops, who previously opposed abortion drug Plan B in Catholic hospitals, have not only caved in but profess to have an "evolution of thinking" that it is now acceptable.

I can't believe they expect the Holy See will allow them to get away with this. I am assuming that there must be some serious behind-the-scenes pressure to elicit this. It's just too dangerous a position to take otherwise.

I am seriously tempted to write each bishop a letter though I fear it would only be a scathing condemnation which is probably not good. Maybe it would start like this:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all.

(Sound familiar?)

But as bishops, they deserve more respect than that. No, let me rephrase that; the office of bishop deserves more respect than that.

Six nuns at a community in Arkansas have been excommunicated for heresy. It is the first excommunication in the diocese in its 165-year history.

The nuns believe their founder is a reincarnation of the Virgin Mary and that God speaks directly through her. That would definitely be worthy of excommunication.

I am sad to see that these women are so deluded but I am happy to see bishops finally exercising some discipline rather than letting questionable or downright dangerous groups run roughshod over the faithful. I think certain Marian excesses are not extirpated as they should be (not necessarily just heresies).

A doctor is claiming that John Paul II was euthanized by his medical team. His assertion is that they failed to insert a feeding tube soon enough; they inserted it three days before he died, but it needed to be earlier, he says. (If you ask me, three days counts as a good faith effort.)

Others dispute this and note that it's impossible to prove. One rejoinder is that a feeding tube is only necessary when the patient cannot swallow, which he could do until shortly before his death.

Sure to sell papers!

A maverick Catholic bishop (thankfully on the verge of retirement) has suggested that we all call God "Allah".

Now, theologically there is nothing wrong with this. "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for God. And we actually call God "Allah" in the liturgy I attend on Sundays (though we pronounce it closer to "Illah", I never understood the difference except that it was inconsequential). (This, by the way, is because we are a predominately Arab congregation and do much of the liturgy in Arabic.) The Catechism affirms that we worship the same God that Muslims do, at least on paper, despite our radically different views of him. (Some object that those differences mean we in effect worship different Gods; but by that argument, the Jews don't worship the same God, either.)

The real problem with this on the level of prudence. Why should Christians of a non-Arab tradition make a deferential bow towards another religion at a point that is at the core of our worship, repeated dozens of times? That's just too much.

I'd also like to see some olive branch on the Muslims' part. (Which would be impossible, since they have no central authority, each mosque can do what it wants, and those who need to do it most badly won't do it.)

Which brings me back to, I am glad the good bishop is retiring.

(Thanks to Caleb)

Now here is a guy that I'd consider a hero.

I've always wanted to be rich and live the way I am now and give my money away. I'd keep enough to retire on and reserve for a rainy day (maybe two or three million). That's my dream.

(Thanks to Greg K.)

That is the question Newsweek asks. Apparently both Obama and Hillary are courting Evangelicals in this election. The Evangelicals feel disillusioned with the GOP, and many Evangelicals are concerned about issues such as genocide, poverty, and ecology that the Democrats are traditionally better at. Also, Hispanics are supposedly ticked off at the GOP about immigration.

Ostensibly, Evangelicals are finding it hard to find candidates for the next election. I know two that are just fine (Brownback and Huckabee) so I'm not sure what that's about.

It was an interesting parlay that the article relates Howard Dean made to Richard Land. Land recounts, "Dean told me how the Democrats were pro-life in that they wanted a country in which abortion was rare." My immediate reaction would be to challenge him to cite a single piece of abortion-related legislation in which the Democrats did not seek to expand abortion.

Anyway, either the road is being paved for President Hillary Clinton or Newsweek wants us to think that. My take on this is that people will have a distaste for the GOP after this administration, and Evangelicals will be hesitant to vote for Romney, either because he doesn't seem solid on family values or because they distrust a Mormon. This makes the probability of a Clinton win high.

National Catholic Register has a nice article about the dramatic increase in Catholic colleges in the past few years, most founded by lay organizations or individuals (in contrast to colleges of past years). Nice to hear about the growth growing on in that area.

(Thanks to that abundant fount, Greg K.)

Pope Benedict has spoken out strongly in favor of religious liberty — in particular, the rights of Muslims to convert to Christianity, and equal rights for Christians in Muslim countries. We'll see what kind of a reaction he gets.

Speaking of headcoverings, News of the Weird reports, "Arab researchers writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported in June, not surprisingly, that Middle Eastern women who dress covering all or nearly all their skin may have significant vitamin D deficiency due to lack of sunlight. [Reuters, 6-25-07]"

Makes sense!