“One factor [behind the abuse crisis] was a poor understanding and communication of the Church’s teaching on sexuality, shown particularly in a rigorist attitude to the body and sexuality. This was mediated in part through the formative influence of Irish Catholicism in the life of the Church in Australia. We owe the Irish an immense debt of gratitude for what they have given us, but for complex historical reasons the Church in Ireland was prey to the rigorist influence that... Read more
Seems the Jesuits are at it again, rejecting the true and authentic teaching of the Church. Fr. Michael Kelly, Jesuit CEO of the Asian Catholic news agency UCA News has this to say about the doctrine of transubstantiation: Regrettably, all too frequently, the only Presence focused on is Christ’s presence in the elements of bread and wine. Inadequately described as the change of the “substance” (not the “accidents”) of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, the mystery... Read more
NOTHING is so beautiful as spring— When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing; The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling. What is all this juice and all... Read more
There is something about Christopher Lee that the idea of him doing a “heavy metal” album based upon the life of Charlemagne seems like it should work. Sadly, it doesn’t. In part, because the album, Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross, is treated like a musical play, with each song merely a sequence in the play itself. Some of it somewhat works, but as a whole — the “heavy metal” experience is not there. (more…) Read more
Those who know me well know how much I dislike the way we glorify sports and sports stars in our society. I am not saying that no one should be playing sports, nor that all sports should be unprofessional (although, I wouldn’t complain if that change took place). What I dislike is how sports figures earn far more than they are worth, and they are given far greater leeway than the rest of us if and when they mess up.... Read more
I’m not going to have much to add here. I figured I’d add some speculations. 1. Abortion is typically an outpatient procedure. This isn’t South America. Catholic hospitals don’t need to create excuses for performing abortions. If a person wants to have an abortion in this country, there are facilities that will perform them, no questions asked. The fact that the person who had the abortion was inpatient and approval had to be sought by a committee should be sufficient... Read more
One of the reasons why Christians cannot assume all texts of Scripture are to be followed according to their literal face value is that we can find examples where verses, taken that way, would end up in conflict with one another. Perhaps no better example can be found than a text from the Torah, where the literal meaning should not give us any difficulty in interpreting: “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain” (Deut. 25:4... Read more
From the New York Times: WASHINGTON — Rand Paul, the newly nominated Republican candidate for Senate from Kentucky, touched off more controversy on Friday by calling the Obama administration “un-American” for taking a tough stance with BP over the company’s handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A day after he was forced to explain remarks he had made suggesting he was not fully supportive of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, Mr. Paul set off... Read more
Most people have heard of the concept of “survival of the fittest” — that is, evolution goes on because those individuals or species which survive fit the environment they live in better than others. Many read into this a sense of individualistic competition, and bring this individualistic competition into human society, saying that it is a law of nature which must be acknowledged. The problem is, this isn’t exactly what has been found in the study of evolution. Instead, we... Read more
“They are trespassing,” says the woman who wants to abort her child. “My body, might absolute right to control what happens to it, my right to decide how I am to use it. The child has no right to use it, to steal nourishment from me, to be a lazy, good for nothing freeloader within my body!” “They are trespassing,” says those who want to engage police-state tactics on unregulated migrants in the United States. “This is our border, this... Read more
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