Venezuelan bishops declare constitutional reform as “morally unacceptable”

Last updated on: November 26, 2007 at 9:30 pm By voxnovablog

The Venezuelan bishops have declared “morally unacceptable” a constitutional reform proposed by Chávez and the National Assembly. Venezuelans will vote through a referendum this upcoming Sunday, December 2nd on whether they approve or disapprove the new additional or ammended articles to the 1999 constitution that was proposed by Chávez himself. Here is a detailed article-by-article summary of the reform, but it is not the actual text. Keep in mind that the new 33 articles will have to be voted in... Read more

Dominoes Keep Falling

Last updated on: November 26, 2007 at 4:42 pm By Morning's Minion

Being an ally of the Bush administration is indeed a kiss of death. First, the pro-war regimes in Spain and Italy were tossed out. A few months ago, it was Poland’s turn, when the electorate had enough of the Kaczynski twins. And now, John Howard’s long-lasting government in Australia has also collapsed, with Howard himself losing his seat after a 33-year tenure. Howard’s loss came in spite of a strong and stable Australian economy. He was given the boot for... Read more

Quote of the Week

Last updated on: November 26, 2007 at 4:14 pm By Policraticus

No one, I believe, will regret that people are today enjoying themselves in greater measure and numbers than before, since they have now both the desire and the means of satisfying it. The evil lies in the fact that this decision taken by the masses to assume the activities proper to the minorities is not, and cannot be, manifested solely in the domain of pleasure, but that it is a general feature of our time. Thus–to anticipate what we shall... Read more

November 27, Feast of the Buddha?

Last updated on: November 25, 2007 at 8:21 pm By Henry Karlson

Further, the extreme boldness of Justin’s thought will be noted, in that he does not hesitate to liken the saints of paganism, Socrates and Heraclitus, to those of Judaism, Abraham and Elias. A new step forward is taken here. The Old Testament tells of the pagan saints before Abraham; St. Paul shows that this sanctity could have existed after Abraham; Justin does not hesitate to affirm that the most outstanding figures of paganism were, in fact, saints. That is above... Read more

Tony Blair set “to pope”?

Last updated on: November 25, 2007 at 4:06 pm By rgarnett

It sounds like the long-expected Tony’s trans-Tiber trip is imminent. Interesting. Read more

What Would Jesus Buy?

Last updated on: November 25, 2007 at 2:25 am By Iafrate Michael

6 Comments

A few years ago, a band that I was in had the privilege of playing a show in New York City along with Rev. Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping, the star of and mastermind behind an upcoming documentary called What Would Jesus Buy? The documentary, out this week from what I understand, is produced by Morgan Spurlock, who directed and starred in Super-Size Me. Rev. Billy was brilliant when I saw him “live,” giving a sermon by himself... Read more

Take Time’s “Morality Quiz”

Last updated on: November 25, 2007 at 1:13 am By Policraticus

If you like online “quizzes,” reserve a moment to take Time‘s “Morality Quiz.” You’ll find that each question of the quiz has two possible results: either a consequentialist act or a non-consequentialist act. The possible exception is the final question, which I can see some principle-of-double-effect-spin being put on it. What I like about this quiz, despite its narrowness, is that it is indicative of moral questions treated in contemporary ethics, where consequentialism reigns (along side, of course, contractualism and... Read more

Video of Cardinal DiNardo receiving his “hat”

Last updated on: November 24, 2007 at 8:52 pm By Policraticus

Today, Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo, my shepherd, was created cardinal. Click here for the video. From the Houston Chronicle blog: A Reception Fit for a Cardinal Read more

Self-sterilization to save the planet

Last updated on: November 24, 2007 at 4:15 pm By rgarnett

Read on. Read more

Was William a Catholic?

Last updated on: November 24, 2007 at 11:05 am By Henry Karlson

It is one of the perennial questions in Shakespearean scholarship: what was the Bard’s religious faith? A consistent amount of evidence in his works, but also within the scant biographical material we have outside his plays, suggests he was himself a Catholic. The evidence, to be sure, has been questioned back and forth between scholars; to me, his early work on the play about St Thomas More (which is usually neglected and not put into collected editions of his work, because he was not its only... Read more