Source
Fairness of it all
4 hours ago
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Google Ceases Censoring Internet Results in China
Source
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Lord Hear Our Prayer - George Weigel
By George Weigel
One This past Dec. 28, I was jolted out of my morning fog at 8 a.m. Mass when the deacon offered this petition: “For those who are considering abortion: may our prayers and the intercession of the Holy Innocents whom we honor today help them choose life as the best option, let us pray to the Lord.”
I can’t remember whether I blurted “What?” loud enough to be noticed by my faithful companions at daily Mass—many of whom wear hearing aids—but I know I certainly didn’t answer with the prescribed “Lord, hear our prayer.”
The best option? Oh, so the decision whether to carry a child to term is a pragmatic calculation, and we’re to pray that those concerned get the calculation, er, right? How did this morally degrading nonsense get written? How did it get past an editor with any theological grain of sense?
It happened because the parish I was attending, like many others, uses canned general intercessions for weekday Masses, bought from a “liturgical aids” service: the daily intercessions come with a tacky binder in a tear-‘em-out-after-you-use-‘em format, they fit neatly inside the ambo—so why not? Well, Dec. 28 illustrated why not: because more often than we’d like to admit, these intercessions are thoughtlessly written, reflecting the ambient cultural smog rather than the truth of Catholic faith. Moreover, they’re typically organized to suggest that the world of politics is, somehow, the real world: after a brief intercessory nod to the pope, the bishops, or both, we’re immediately invited to pray for sundry social and political causes, never identified as such but wrapped in the gauziness of Feel Good Prayer.
(Continue Reading)
(Emphasis added by G.T.)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Knights of Columbus - Healthcare
A troubling new development has appeared in American politics. For decades, Americans have been subjected to the arguments of certain Catholic politicians who argued that while “personally opposed” to unjust policies like abortion, they were nonetheless unwilling to “impose” that view on the rest of the country. This argument is disingenuous, premised on the fact that somehow a Catholic conscience has to be put aside in the public square.
Now, the very people who argued that they couldn’t bring their private conscience into a secular public square are poised to use the law to impose a particular view on others. By working and voting to include abortion coverage in health care legislation, several Catholic politicians stand to be the deciding votes in forcing their fellow Catholics to fund abortion through tax dollars.
While professing that they cannot impose their consciences on anyone else, these politicians seem to have little hesitation about imposing an immoral political view — one they claim to oppose in principle — on the consciences of Catholic citizens.
Read Full ArticleNow, the very people who argued that they couldn’t bring their private conscience into a secular public square are poised to use the law to impose a particular view on others. By working and voting to include abortion coverage in health care legislation, several Catholic politicians stand to be the deciding votes in forcing their fellow Catholics to fund abortion through tax dollars.
While professing that they cannot impose their consciences on anyone else, these politicians seem to have little hesitation about imposing an immoral political view — one they claim to oppose in principle — on the consciences of Catholic citizens.
(I added bold font for emphasis)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Can Catholics Support Obamacare?
Can Catholics Support Obamacare?
As Congress heads toward its August recess, Washington is questioning whether the Democrat Congress and President Obama will be able to pass a healthcare bill this year. Most of the attention thus far has focused on the hundreds of billions in new taxes, the control board the government will set up, the escalting costs of the plans, etc.But the most interesting pushback, at least for me, is from many quarters of the Catholic Church.
Raymond Arroyo over at EWTN recently posted a very helpful summary of what the Church's major objections would be to Obamacare as it is coming together. They include:
- Federal funding of abortion and/or federal requirements that all insurance plans cover abortion on demand
- Lack of any meaningful rights of conscience for health care providers. Without this, doctors and nurses could be compelled to perform abortions, issue contraceptives, sterilize, euthanize, etc.
- A chilling requirement for Medicare beneficiaries to go into end of life counseling every five years. The idea would be to bully them into euthanizing themselves. Old people that linger on are a major driver of health care costs. The most effective rationing is to get rid of old folks.
I'd like to add that it's excellent that our Bishops are working hard to give the American people better healthcare than the current administration seems intent on giving us. I heartily applaud our Bishops efforts, and I hope that America will be blessed with a good solution.
This article is a few months old, but I thought it looked interesting.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Pope Benedict: Real Environmentalists are Pro-life
Pope Benedict XVI: True Environmentalists Are Pro-Life, Opposing Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 12, 2010
The Vatican (LifeNews.com) -- In his traditional New Year address to the diplomats representing other nations that are accredited to the Holy See, Pope Vatican XVI said true environmentalists are pro-life. He sought to divorce care for the environment with a radical population control agenda that promotes abortions.
Benedict says efforts to protect the environment should not come at the expense of the dignity of human life.
"Each of us could probably cite an example of the damage that this has caused to the environment the world over," the pontiff said. "The denial of God distorts the freedom of the human person, yet it also devastates creation."
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 12, 2010
The Vatican (LifeNews.com) -- In his traditional New Year address to the diplomats representing other nations that are accredited to the Holy See, Pope Vatican XVI said true environmentalists are pro-life. He sought to divorce care for the environment with a radical population control agenda that promotes abortions.
Benedict says efforts to protect the environment should not come at the expense of the dignity of human life.
"Each of us could probably cite an example of the damage that this has caused to the environment the world over," the pontiff said. "The denial of God distorts the freedom of the human person, yet it also devastates creation."
Monday, January 11, 2010
Lutheran Minister Becomes Byzantine Catholic Priest
In this touching story, Fr. James Barrand explains what led him to Rome.
Ex-Protestant at home in Byzantine Catholic Church
Sees Byzantine church a “perfect marriage” of Eastern traditions and unity with pope
By PATRICIA COLL FREEMAN
Catholicanchor.org
A former Lutheran pastor from Northern Michigan now heads St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church in Anchorage.
On Oct. 31, Father James Barrand, 52, succeeded just-retired pastor Father Mike Hornick at the little, dome-topped church, where an ancient Catholic liturgy is celebrated everyday. Father Barrand is quick to explain that he got to the icon and incense-filled church with the help of ancient guides — the Early Church Fathers — who chanted the same Divine Praises in the first centuries of the church as he does now.
FOLLOWING THE FATHERS
While a Protestant seminarian, Father Barrand had been fascinated by the Catholic Church.
“I had been exploring it all the way through seminary,” he told the Anchor.
His concentration was the study of the Fathers of the Church, the influential theologians and writers of the first centuries after Jesus Christ. They include St. Augustine, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. John Chrysostom.
As with many Protestant denominations, Father Barrand explained, Lutherans think they must “restore” the church to “its pristine shape before the corruption – as they saw it – of the Middle Ages. So they very much encourage people to go back to the Fathers. So I did.”
But in examining the writings of those closest in time to Christ and his Apostles, Father Barrand discovered the church Christ founded was the Catholic Church, not the Protestant denominations.
During his inquiry, Father Barrand examined the Orthodox church, as well, but he had become “a firm believer that the pope was the God-appointed vicar (of Christ) on earth,” — a belief the Orthodox do not share with Catholics.
Eventually, Father Barrand was introduced to the Byzantine Catholic Church.
“It was just like a perfect marriage – because it was the spirituality and liturgical traditions of Orthodoxy, while yet being in full union with Rome.”
On his entrance into the Catholic Church, there were no guarantees of being ordained a priest. His bishop wanted faithfulness, Father Barrand recalled, not just a career switch for the Protestant minister.
“I just needed to decide if I wanted to be Catholic. And I did.”
After entering the church, Father Barrand was later permitted to study for the priesthood. And on April 26, 1989, he was ordained a Catholic priest for the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys, California.
POWERFUL PRAYERS
In the Byzantine tradition, most of the liturgy is chanted, without musical instrumentation and led by a cantor. Before the priest announces the Gospel, he leads a procession with the altar servers through the church, holding aloft a gilded, ornamented book of the Gospels, and at several points in the liturgy, the priest incenses the altar and people.
But it is “more than just smells and bells,” Father Barrand explained. “There is that,” he said, but also a powerful tradition.
The liturgy’s prayers are ancient. The modifications made by the fourth century Church Father St. John Chrysostom are still in use.
“It’s amazing how relevant they still are,” commented Father Barrand. “They’ve stood the test of time, Muslim invasions, Communism, all of this sort of stuff.”
“We’ve been praying the same prayers over and over again, maybe slightly different translations, slightly different context at times,” he noted, “but they’ve proven themselves, just like Scripture, to really convey God to us.”
BYZANTINE CATHOLICS
The Byzantine Catholic Church is one of several churches within the universal Catholic Church in which the Mass and the sacraments are celebrated in the context of a particular culture.
The Latin rite — which most U.S. Catholics are familiar with — blossomed in the Western church — in Rome, where the great Saints Peter and Paul were martyred. The Byzantine rite arose in the East — in Constantinople, which is now Istanbul, Turkey. After Emperor Constantine built a capital there in 325, the city became the center for Catholics in the eastern parts of Roman Empire.
Today, many people with an Eastern heritage — even those not in union with Rome, like the Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox — still celebrate the Byzantine form of the Divine Liturgy or Mass.
“A lot of people, because of the domes, think we’re actually Russian Orthodox,” Father Barrand said of St. Nicholas of Myra Church.
But, like all Byzantine Catholics, St. Nicholas of Myra is in full union with Rome, he explained. The parish’s metropolitan or bishop is directly under the leadership of the pope.
BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
St. Nicholas of Myra is home to 109 parishioners with another 25 at its mission of Blessed Theodore Romzha in Wasilla.
Father Barrand said he hopes to maintain and expand the Byzantine Catholic presence as “an Eastern church … in full union with Rome.”
While those of Eastern heritage are culturally connected to the Byzantine rite, increasingly across recent years, other Catholics longing for ancient formalities have turned east, too.
According to Father Barrand, a “fair” number of Latin Catholics attend his church regularly, which can make for a delicate issue.
But Father Barrand believes there should be an affinity between the traditions. “We’re all part of one big church,” he acknowledged.
In fact, like his predecessor at St. Nicholas, Father Barrand is a bi-ritual priest, meaning he is permitted to celebrate the Eucharist and the sacraments in the Byzantine and Latin rites.
He believes the two — “when they’re celebrated well — are very, very close to each other.”
“We tend to be much more mystical and liturgical,” he said, “but I think there’s a lot of similarities in the deep devotion to the Eucharist and to the Holy Mother and the saints.”
“I think we need to maintain our distinctions,” he added, “but I’ve been always a firm believer that we need to be active participants in each other’s traditions and working together.”
So from St. Nicholas, Father Barrand aims to help the Byzantine flock continue their traditions and “help people see the beauty of our church.”
He added: “And the ones who decide that they would like to, the people who have no religious background or even Latin Catholics or others, if this is where the Lord is leading them, help them then to follow the traditions to their fullest.”
BLESSING FOR ALL
Meanwhile, Father Barrand believes the Byzantine tradition can be a blessing for all who witness the ancient worship.
“The Holy Spirit will speak to them of the great reverence and awe that we have for our Creator, for the Almighty, for the Holy Theotokos (Mother of God),” Father Barrand said.
In the Byzantine tradition, he noted, titles are often used in place of the names of God and Mary. It might seem “a little too old-fashioned, a little too hierarchical” to some, he said.
“But for us, it’s kind of like when you know your place a little bit, it helps you to realize how great his love is for us. If he’s the Lord and Master, if he’s the one who formed the whole world and keeps it going, and, yet, still loves and is concerned about my every need and desire and need for affirmation, then boy, that really does affirm how much he loves us and his Holy Mother loves us.”
That sort of tradition can give “meaning and strength” in times like these, he said, where one is “not so sure what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
Source
Sees Byzantine church a “perfect marriage” of Eastern traditions and unity with pope
By PATRICIA COLL FREEMAN
Catholicanchor.org
A former Lutheran pastor from Northern Michigan now heads St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church in Anchorage.
On Oct. 31, Father James Barrand, 52, succeeded just-retired pastor Father Mike Hornick at the little, dome-topped church, where an ancient Catholic liturgy is celebrated everyday. Father Barrand is quick to explain that he got to the icon and incense-filled church with the help of ancient guides — the Early Church Fathers — who chanted the same Divine Praises in the first centuries of the church as he does now.
FOLLOWING THE FATHERS
While a Protestant seminarian, Father Barrand had been fascinated by the Catholic Church.
“I had been exploring it all the way through seminary,” he told the Anchor.
His concentration was the study of the Fathers of the Church, the influential theologians and writers of the first centuries after Jesus Christ. They include St. Augustine, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. John Chrysostom.
As with many Protestant denominations, Father Barrand explained, Lutherans think they must “restore” the church to “its pristine shape before the corruption – as they saw it – of the Middle Ages. So they very much encourage people to go back to the Fathers. So I did.”
But in examining the writings of those closest in time to Christ and his Apostles, Father Barrand discovered the church Christ founded was the Catholic Church, not the Protestant denominations.
During his inquiry, Father Barrand examined the Orthodox church, as well, but he had become “a firm believer that the pope was the God-appointed vicar (of Christ) on earth,” — a belief the Orthodox do not share with Catholics.
Eventually, Father Barrand was introduced to the Byzantine Catholic Church.
“It was just like a perfect marriage – because it was the spirituality and liturgical traditions of Orthodoxy, while yet being in full union with Rome.”
On his entrance into the Catholic Church, there were no guarantees of being ordained a priest. His bishop wanted faithfulness, Father Barrand recalled, not just a career switch for the Protestant minister.
“I just needed to decide if I wanted to be Catholic. And I did.”
After entering the church, Father Barrand was later permitted to study for the priesthood. And on April 26, 1989, he was ordained a Catholic priest for the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys, California.
POWERFUL PRAYERS
In the Byzantine tradition, most of the liturgy is chanted, without musical instrumentation and led by a cantor. Before the priest announces the Gospel, he leads a procession with the altar servers through the church, holding aloft a gilded, ornamented book of the Gospels, and at several points in the liturgy, the priest incenses the altar and people.
But it is “more than just smells and bells,” Father Barrand explained. “There is that,” he said, but also a powerful tradition.
The liturgy’s prayers are ancient. The modifications made by the fourth century Church Father St. John Chrysostom are still in use.
“It’s amazing how relevant they still are,” commented Father Barrand. “They’ve stood the test of time, Muslim invasions, Communism, all of this sort of stuff.”
“We’ve been praying the same prayers over and over again, maybe slightly different translations, slightly different context at times,” he noted, “but they’ve proven themselves, just like Scripture, to really convey God to us.”
BYZANTINE CATHOLICS
The Byzantine Catholic Church is one of several churches within the universal Catholic Church in which the Mass and the sacraments are celebrated in the context of a particular culture.
The Latin rite — which most U.S. Catholics are familiar with — blossomed in the Western church — in Rome, where the great Saints Peter and Paul were martyred. The Byzantine rite arose in the East — in Constantinople, which is now Istanbul, Turkey. After Emperor Constantine built a capital there in 325, the city became the center for Catholics in the eastern parts of Roman Empire.
Today, many people with an Eastern heritage — even those not in union with Rome, like the Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox — still celebrate the Byzantine form of the Divine Liturgy or Mass.
“A lot of people, because of the domes, think we’re actually Russian Orthodox,” Father Barrand said of St. Nicholas of Myra Church.
But, like all Byzantine Catholics, St. Nicholas of Myra is in full union with Rome, he explained. The parish’s metropolitan or bishop is directly under the leadership of the pope.
BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
St. Nicholas of Myra is home to 109 parishioners with another 25 at its mission of Blessed Theodore Romzha in Wasilla.
Father Barrand said he hopes to maintain and expand the Byzantine Catholic presence as “an Eastern church … in full union with Rome.”
While those of Eastern heritage are culturally connected to the Byzantine rite, increasingly across recent years, other Catholics longing for ancient formalities have turned east, too.
According to Father Barrand, a “fair” number of Latin Catholics attend his church regularly, which can make for a delicate issue.
But Father Barrand believes there should be an affinity between the traditions. “We’re all part of one big church,” he acknowledged.
In fact, like his predecessor at St. Nicholas, Father Barrand is a bi-ritual priest, meaning he is permitted to celebrate the Eucharist and the sacraments in the Byzantine and Latin rites.
He believes the two — “when they’re celebrated well — are very, very close to each other.”
“We tend to be much more mystical and liturgical,” he said, “but I think there’s a lot of similarities in the deep devotion to the Eucharist and to the Holy Mother and the saints.”
“I think we need to maintain our distinctions,” he added, “but I’ve been always a firm believer that we need to be active participants in each other’s traditions and working together.”
So from St. Nicholas, Father Barrand aims to help the Byzantine flock continue their traditions and “help people see the beauty of our church.”
He added: “And the ones who decide that they would like to, the people who have no religious background or even Latin Catholics or others, if this is where the Lord is leading them, help them then to follow the traditions to their fullest.”
BLESSING FOR ALL
Meanwhile, Father Barrand believes the Byzantine tradition can be a blessing for all who witness the ancient worship.
“The Holy Spirit will speak to them of the great reverence and awe that we have for our Creator, for the Almighty, for the Holy Theotokos (Mother of God),” Father Barrand said.
In the Byzantine tradition, he noted, titles are often used in place of the names of God and Mary. It might seem “a little too old-fashioned, a little too hierarchical” to some, he said.
“But for us, it’s kind of like when you know your place a little bit, it helps you to realize how great his love is for us. If he’s the Lord and Master, if he’s the one who formed the whole world and keeps it going, and, yet, still loves and is concerned about my every need and desire and need for affirmation, then boy, that really does affirm how much he loves us and his Holy Mother loves us.”
That sort of tradition can give “meaning and strength” in times like these, he said, where one is “not so sure what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Oakland Cathedral's Organ Finished
The Cathedral of Christ the Light's organ is finally finished an operational.It's a very impressive sight inside the Cathedral; it was made following a 2 million dollar donation by some Canadian organ builders, and I'm certainly looking forward to hearing it!
Friday, January 8, 2010
30,000 Expected For Upcoming Walk For Life, West Coast
6th Annual Walk for Life West Coast
Saturday, January 23, 2010
11 a.m. Rally
12 noon Walk
Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco
San Francisco, Jan. 6, 2010 -- Two young women who stood on opposite sides of the abortion debate until a few months ago will headline the 6th Annual Walk for Life West Coast on January 23rd as more than 30,000 peaceful pro-life activists walk along San Francisco’s waterfront.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
11 a.m. Rally
12 noon Walk
Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco
San Francisco, Jan. 6, 2010 -- Two young women who stood on opposite sides of the abortion debate until a few months ago will headline the 6th Annual Walk for Life West Coast on January 23rd as more than 30,000 peaceful pro-life activists walk along San Francisco’s waterfront.
Source
7 Coptics Killed During Mass in Egypt
.- The killing of seven in a drive-by shooting that targeted Egyptian Coptic Christians leaving a Christmas Eve midnight Mass has triggered clashes with police during a funeral procession for the victims.
The shooting took place in the town of Nag Hamadi, 40 miles from the large southern Egyptian city of Luxor, on Jan. 5, which is Christmas Eve in the Coptic calendar. Three men sprayed automatic gunfire into a church crowd.
Bishop Kiroloss told the Associated Press he decided to end the service at St. John’s Church an hour early because of threats. His parishioners had been abused in the street and he had received a threatening text message which said “It is your turn.”
"For days, I had expected something to happen on Christmas Eve," he said.
The bishop left the church minutes before the attack, but a car swerved near him so he took the back door.
“By the time I shook hands with someone at the gate, I heard the mayhem, lots of machine gun shots.”
Six Christians and a security guard were killed, the Telegraph reports. Egypt’s interior ministry said the attack was thought to be retaliation for the rape of a 12-year-old Muslim girl by a Christian man in Nag Hamadi in November.
Police have identified the lead attacker, a known criminal. Security has been strengthened in the town and checkpoints are in place on roads to ease fears of more attacks.
About 5,000 people attended the funeral.
Coptic Christian protesters clashed with police, threw stones at cars and set fire to ambulances.
The shootings added to Copts’ grievances, which the Telegraph says include charges of increasing harassment, prejudice in acquiring government jobs, and police failure to investigate attacks on Christian property.
At the beginning of the swine flu H1N1 pandemic last year, the Egyptian government ordered the slaughter of thousands of pigs farmed by Copts in Cairo. Farmers saw the culling as an attack on their freedoms, as most Egyptians are Muslims who view pork as unclean.
In November, massive mobs of Muslims attacked Coptic Christians and their businesses in the Egyptian town of Farshoot 300 miles south of Cairo. The mobs’ looting, vandalism and arson caused at least $1 million in damage and forced Copts to hide indoors for fear of their lives.
The attacks were sparked by a claim that a 20-year-old Christian man, taken into police custody, had a relationship with a 12-year-old Muslim girl.
The Copts are descended from Egyptian converts to Christianity in the first century A.D.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
