Unrepentant to the end

Mike at DOR Catholic posts a transcript of an interview Bishop Matthew Clark gave to mark the thirtieth year of his disastrous espiscopate. This man who reduced a once proud diocese to a pile of rubble expresses no regrets.

Q: Is there anything you would have done differently over the 30 years - differently that would have been personal to you but also that would have impacted the hundreds of thousands in the diocese?

A: I don't think, when I think of that question, you know I have made a lot of decisions over the 30 years, some of them popular and some of them unpopular.

As I look back I realize that I tried to do the best I could with all of them. And when I say tried to do the best I could, I mean I tried to garner the input the input, the advice to do the study to do the prayer, etc., that I felt was necessary to come to a mature decision.

I know that every decision that I've ever made is imperfect, but I can't honestly say that I would go back and change any of those major decisions now. I would say there are lots of instances in which I might have more carefully and thoughtfully garnered the input, but I've never been one … I mean I do think I bring a sort of critical point of view to my own work, before, during and after. But I think for my own mental health and peace of mind I try to avoid the kind of second guessing that leads nowhere. You know you do the best you can, make the decision, entrust it to the community and to God and you move on.

But you always look to improve and to do things better. You know you'd like to have the conversations up front before a decision to be of such quality and scope that you minimize the discontented conversations afterwards. But I don't think we'll ever come to a place where that's gonna be perfect, but you work at it.

"Why is it gaining ground?"

There is something amusing about a speaker from one of the more dissentient parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati speaking at another equally dissentient parish about the dangers of Catholic "fundamentalism." Some folks just can't get over the fact that it's never, ever going to be 1978 again.

The 50 million-bodycount sideshow

'Tuned in NPR on the way to the gym this morning and listened to a self-described "Hollywood Republican" chirpily bemoan the dire straights of the Republican party. From his point of view, the party has drifted away from "core issues" over the past ten to fifteen years. (Fifteen years ago. Hmmm. Help me out here -- what was it that happened to Republicans in '94 again?) Social issues are in his words "a sideshow." You're going to hear a lot of this nonsense between now and 2010, as liberal party members try to remake the party via broadcasts from radio and television studios. The fact is, the party is a coalition of three factions: economic libertarians, social conservatives, and defense hawks. It cannot thrive on a national level unless all three are on board. So Mr. Hollywood, you're stuck with us. And methinks the glib Republican doth protest too much. The Republicans are now +1 on the generic ballot for the first time in years.

"A person can not truly call themselves a Roman Catholic ..."

"... if they do not vote for Ten Reasons in this poll!"

A friendly reader suggests I remind you to vote in the Crescat poll.

"Who is under your carbon footprint?"

In the latest Clergy Communications, the Catholic Social Action office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati promotes their involvement with the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change and the related Catholic Climate Covenant. (Anything that requires this much marketing alliteration is probably on shaky ground.) The announcement ends with a putative endorsement from the Holy Father:

Pope Benedict most recently referenced “troubling climate change” in his Easter message to the world and has insisted that, “Before it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions that can recreate a strong alliance between humankind and the earth. A decisive ‘yes’ is needed to protect creation and also a strong commitment to invert those trends which risk leading to irreversibly degrading situations.”

Something didn't add up, so I did a bit of research. The first quote, Pope Benedict's brief reference to "troubling climate change," comes from his Urbi et Orbi message of Easter 2009. It lists climate change in a parade of horribles:

At a time of world food shortage, of financial turmoil, of old and new forms of poverty, of disturbing climate change, of violence and deprivation which force many to leave their homelands in search of a less precarious form of existence, of the ever-present threat of terrorism, of growing fears over the future, it is urgent to rediscover grounds for hope.

In light of the this context, it's a bit disingenuous to suggest that Pope Benedict has climbed aboard the climate change bandwagon.

It's even more disingenuous when one examines the second quote (which begins with the words “Before it is too late ..."). It comes from a homily Pope Benedict delivered to a gathering of Italian youth a full two years earlier. The homily covers a range of topics, including the safeguarding of creation and environmental stewardship. But climate change? It isn't mentioned at all.

Full, active, and typical

The other night a friend and I were "guess-timating" the number of parishes in the archdiocese whose leaders have read, much less implemented, the guidelines provided by Pope Benedict in his apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, especially his reminder of what constitutes "full, active, and conscious" participation in the liturgy: "It should be made clear that the word ‘participation’ does not refer to mere external activity during the celebration. In fact, the active participation called for by the Council must be understood in more substantial terms, on the basis of a greater awareness of the mystery being celebrated and its relationship to daily life." My friend and I agreed we probably wouldn't need to kick off our shoes to calculate the total. From an article on "lay ministry" in the May newsletter of an East side parish that profiles its worship commission:

(The author is the parish DRE)

One of the important results of the Second Vatican Council was the call for "full, active, conscious participation" by the laity in the liturgy. This happened in a number of ways -- Mass in the vernacular, the priest facing the congregation, receiving the Eucharist under both species. Perhaps one of the most noticeable changes in liturgy was the training and commissioning of lay persons to assist in the roles of Eucharistic ministers, lectors, ushers, and Mass coordinators. ...

The message and the person

Tomorrow's Gospel reading is John 16:1-6, which ends with Jesus declaring, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." It is one of the most powerful, distinctive statements in the Bible. Here is Peter Kreeft on "the message and the person," from his catechism Catholic Christianity:

All other great religious teachers subordinated themselves to their message. They pointed away from themselves to their teachings. For instance, Buddha said,“Look not to me, look to my dharma (doctrine, teaching).” But Christ said,“Come unto me” (Mt 11:28). Buddha said,“Be lamps unto yourselves.” But Christ said, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 9:5). Moses and Muhammad claimed only to be prophets of God; Jesus claimed to be God (Jn 8:58).

Any other religion could survive the loss of its founder. If Muhammad or Buddha or Abraham or Confucius were proved to be mythical and not historical figures, the religions that stem from them might still survive. But Christianity could never survive without Christ. For other religious founders only claimed to teach the truth; Christ claimed to be the Truth (Jn 14:6).

Oratio Dominica

Pater noster, qui es in cælis:
sanctificétur Nomen Tuum:
advéniat Regnum Tuum:
fiat volúntas Tua,
sicut in cælo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum
cotidiánum da nobis hódie,
et dimítte nobis débita nostra,
sicut et nos
dimíttimus debitóribus nostris.
et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem;
sed líbera nos a Malo.

Join us tomorrow (Friday) morning at 8:10 am EST on the Son Rise Morning Show as Brian Patrick and I discuss the final chapter of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults: "Jesus Taught Us to Pray."

(It will be in English, mostly.)

Actually, Fr. Reese, they are listening

Contrary to Fr. Thomas J. Reese's recent column for the Washington Post, a new Rasmussen poll indicates that Catholics are listening to their bishops:

The Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that, by a 60% to 25% margin, U.S. Catholics say Notre Dame should obey guidelines issued by the U.S. bishops and refrain from awarding an honorary degree to the president. Among all Americans, 52% oppose the honor and 25% support it.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans believe that it’s important for speakers at graduation ceremonies of religious universities to share the views of the university. Although a majority (56%) of Catholics agree with the statement, support is also strong among Evangelical Christians (87%) and other Protestants (63%).

In 2004 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement which reads, in part: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

UPDATE. And now you can listen to -- and see -- Fr. John Corapi:



Here's a quote from the video:

“Authentic Catholic identity needs to be restored in our Catholic universities and other institutions of learning. If it is restored our nation will be restored. If it is not restored, we will have much to answer for in the moral unraveling of a great nation.”

“The Catholic Church and its educational institutions must return to a position of strong and uncompromising moral leadership, integrity and credibility. If we stand for nothing, we begin to fall for everything.”

“If we chose prestige over principles and popularity over morality then we become part of the problem, not part of the solution.”

“Pray for the University of Notre Dame, its president, its board of directors, and its students.”

It's so good to have him back, isn't it? My Rochester readers must be counting down the days until his August 15 talk in Buffalo. If I didn't have two sons born on that blessed day, I'd contemplate a road trip.

The importance of discernment

The worship office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is hosting a workshop this month for "new RCIA team members." I am familiar with one of the presenters, and you could fit the number of candidates and catechumens brought into the Church under her leadership over the past three years around my dining room table. If you're interested in this subject, you might contact an RCIA team whose program attracts converts.

"Very satisfied"

I just made an exciting new movie about members of your family.

It depicts them as a criminal gang that murders people who get in their way.

If you don't like it, don't see it.

One retirement away ...

Reader DF posts a superb comment in the "No one could be more pro-life than Obama" post. It's in response to the familiar refrain from the Catholic left that neither President Bush nor Republicans did anything to defend the unborn and that overturning Roe is either unfeasible or undesirable:

What law did he and the Republican controlled Congress and Supreme Court pass that saved a single baby?

The partial birth abortion ban. Upheld, barely (5-4), thanks to the two Bush appointees to the Supreme Court. We're one retirement away from the re-constitutionalization of scissor-aided infanticide.

They will (if they ever do) strike it down as a states rights issue, so again overturning Roe has no effect on the number of abortion in the US because 95% live in states that have little chance of outlawing it.

Absolute nonsense. Overturning Roe will mean that legislatures can pass actual laws on the subject, and not the most glancing and hesitant restrictions permitted now under America's constitutionalized legal abortion regime. Which, I have to add, is second only to China's as the most radical and unregulated on the planet. Even libertine Europe puts more restrictions than America does, thanks to the hamfisted idiocy that is Doe v. Bolton.

No, it wouldn't end abortion in and of itself, but it would take the poison out of the system and allow pro-lifers to fight it out on the ground, as opposed to facing a pre-stacked deck as dictated by 5 lawyers in D.C.

Unfortunately, those who elected Obama supported the preservation of that regime for the foreseeable future.

Oh, and finally: the idea that Obama was protecting Roe on the infanticide bill is belied by the fact that the 2003 Illinois bill had the same Roe-preserving language as the version passed in the U.S. Senate. So the reasons for Obama's vote remain shrouded in his conscience, but the claim that it was an attack on Roe is a blatant untruth.

"So's your ma" and torture

Our Sunday Visitor's John Norton is looking for feedback to explain why in a recent poll Catholics appear to be slightly more supportive of torture than Americans in general despite the Church's clear condemnation of it. Here is my submission:

I submit that one of the main problems is the unwillingness of many Catholic leaders, especially those on the left, to define precisely what torture is. That lack of definition makes it a convenient cudgel to beat political opponents about the head when the subject of abortion comes up. This is the "so's your ma" approach to debating. Try asking the anti-torture bloggers for a definition of torture, and they'll accuse you of "trying to see how close you can get to the outer ring of hell." (That's almost a direct quote.) So the average Catholic, who probably isn't all that catechized in the first place, hedges his bets and keeps all options on the table.

Looking for a good history of Vatican II?

Try the transcripts from James Hitchcock's lectures for the International Catholic University program. It includes a list of the subjects for each lecture, recommended readings, and a list of discussion questions. Here's a sample from Lecture 1: "The Background of the Council":

By most measurable criteria in the late 1950s the Catholic Church would have to be thought to be in very good health. If we were to take the United States as an example, the Church was in a flourishing state. The rate of Church attendance was very high. There was an abundance of religious vocations. Catholics in America, even though they had been poor and immigrants for the most part, had succeeded in building a great parish system. Most parishes had a school; we had a great high school system; we had a college system. By any measurable criteria, anything that lends itself to statistics, the Church was in healthy state. I think also that those who had their finger on the pulse of the Church at the time would have said that it was spiritually healthy as well. People were devout. People were genuinely trying to live up to the teachings of the Church. They were, of course, sinners. They were, of course, people who failed. They had their blind spots. But on the whole they took their faith very seriously. Insofar as they understood that faith, they tried to live it. I think the same was true of most other places in the Catholic world.

Did they sing the Internationale?

The Catholic Courier of Rochester reports on local involvement in last week's May Day demonstration:

(Amid the chants of "Long live Obama!" I'm sure the Catholic demonstrators paused to ask for the intercession of St. Joseph the Worker.)

ROCHESTER -- More than 70 people, many of them students from two local universities, came out to support the region’s migrant workers as part of May Day demonstrations that were held throughout the country.

Supporters here gathered at the Liberty Pole downtown on May 1 -- International Workers Day -- and demanded that President Barack Obama live up to campaign promises to pass immigration-reform legislation and end the workplace raids and deportations that have plagued the migrant community for years.

"We can make it happen if we unite around a common goal: swift, practical legislation now, as a first step, and eliminating the backlog for people whose immigration cases are pending," noted Roberto Resto, who organized the rally and march from the Liberty Pole on East Main Street to the Kenneth B. Keating Federal Building on State Street. "Bring people out of the shadows, resolve their status, reunite families."

Peter Mares, a community-outreach worker for Catholic Charities of Wayne County, said that the president needs to heed the same advice many parents give their children.

"You make a promise, you keep a promise," Mares, who dressed in a sombrero, said to shouts of "Long live Obama."

On the way to the Federal Building, marchers made a brief stop in front of the former Crown Plaza Hotel on State Street to demonstrate solidarity with the workers there. Several speakers at the rally said that management of the hotel, now known as the Rochester Plaza Hotel, is blocking unionization efforts among workers, who are largely immigrants. But the hotel's general manager, Paul Kremp, has insisted that workers are free to decide whether to unionize and that unionization efforts are not being stopped.

The students who marched also linked arms to form a human chain when Rochester police officers stopped them to question them about allegations of damage at a building along the march route. Resto, also a member of Rochester Alliance for Immigrant Rights, said that he would be the only person arrested as the person who organized the demonstration. Police let the marchers go on without further incident. ...

I resemble that statement

I am told I have a fighting chance to win the Crescat's "Best Armchair Theologian" award. You can vote here.

(Next year I'm gunning for the "Best Bat$#%& Crazy Blog" award.)

UPDATE, 7 May 2009. Sister Mary Martha has retaken the lead.

"No one could be more pro-life than President Obama"

In this morning's Cincinnati Enquirer, a Democrat party official and Notre Dame alumnus argues that, despite voting four times to deny medical care to children who survive abortion in the Illinois legislature, racking up a perfect NARAL score in the U.S. Senate, and stacking his cabinet with pro-abortion radicals while president, Barack Obama is actually pro-life. To prove his point, he cites Obama's support for embryonic stem cell research.

I'm a Notre Dame alumnus who volunteered for President Obama's campaign, and was elated when I learned of the invitation for him to speak at my alma mater's commencement. I couldn't be more proud that the institution for which I have the greatest regard has invited the individual who has my greatest respect.

Not surprisingly, I also couldn't disagree more with some Catholic groups, including Cincinnati Archbishop Pilarczyk, who have launched a protest over this invitation. They have misrepresented the president's positions on a number of issues, especially in characterizing him as anti-life.

Everything Barack Obama has stood for throughout his public life has been in support of his fellow human beings and constituents. His recent decision to help the living through embryonic stem-cell research funding is representative, as is his commitment for health care for everyone and human rights around the world. He is restoring the reputation and honor of this country. No one could be more pro-life than President Obama.

Why then would members of a university that embraces the causes of life not want this president to honor alumni and students by speaking at commencement?

Father John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame, has recently reaffirmed that the invitation to President Obama is a firm commitment and that the university will be privileged to have him speak. In doing so, he reminded the people at that venue of the 50-plus years of commitment by Father Theodore Hesburgh, president emeritus of Notre Dame, to civil rights in this country, and how proud Father Ted will be to have President Obama visit.

Father Jenkins' statement was met by a standing ovation of Notre Dame students in attendance and by cheers from alumni far and wide, including this one. We are the Fighting Irish. Welcome to Notre Dame, Mr. President.

Jerry Baker of Evendale is a sales director at GE Aviation, a1973 graduate of Notre Dame, and a ward chairman for the Hamilton County Democratic Party.

Something this brazen and patently wrong -- not to mention absurd -- demands a response by his pastor, presuming this proud ND alum at least attends Mass on a regular basis.

UPDATE, 6 May 2009. Baker's column has prompted a slew of letters in the online edition of the Enquirer. See here, here, here, here, and especially here.

Father Corapi returns!

The National Catholic Register conducts a rare interview with Fr. John Corapi as he is poised to return from a two-year sabbatical (which was largely a time of sickness.) On August 15 he will preach in Buffalo, New York, as a guest of the Catholic radio stations which serve that city and Rochester. Here's a snippet from the interview:

I’ve heard you say that when you first were ordained many fellow priests told you that you couldn’t preach the way you do, “hitting people between the eyes with the word of God.” Yet, you pack auditoriums and receive mailbags full of letters. Why has your bare-bones, hard-hitting way been so successful?

From before I was ordained, I knew I was called to preach. My superiors confirmed that. It’s basically the only thing I’ve ever done. … If I wanted to tone it down, dull the edge of the sword, I couldn’t if I wanted to.

From the very beginning, in general, I’ve had a great, great reception and response from the good Catholic people. I know there are some who, of course, are on the other side of things, and they hate me as much as the good folks love me. I’ve never been so conscious of being loved or hated as since I’ve been a priest.

You know, I think that’s what the truth does. If you present the truth clearly, unambiguously, it will elicit radical responses one way or the other.

A great passage from the Gospels is where Jesus said, “You think I’ve come to bring peace? I have not come to bring peace, but division that will separate a house of five, three against two and two against three.” People will probably scratch their heads reading that, but it’s the truth. What does it mean? What brings division? Truth. …

Those who are ill disposed, those who are confirmed in sin, they react negatively. They’ll behave violently. Those who are well-disposed will react positively. And so that’s why it elicits such strong emotions. I’ve had death threats multiple times over the years — many times.

People can’t understand: “Why do you have security at events?” Well, the FBI told me I better take it seriously, because they do. And it’s because of the truth.

How does Catholicism in the United States compare to when you first became a priest almost 20 years ago?

When I began, I think there were more problems internally. I see the Catholic Church in the United States, and other places, too, as having learned from its existential errors. We’ve made some mistakes; I think we know it.

I think the bishops have done a good job. They’ve really tried to correct a lot of things. … I think we’re doing better in my time. It’s not fashionable to go against Church teaching anymore. We went through a phase, I think, where some people thought it was fashionable or cool or de rigueur to rebel against Church teaching, especially the morals of the Church. There was a large-scale rebellion against the Church teaching on life.

I’m one of those people who firmly believes that in the United States and Western Europe until this absolute travesty and holocaust of abortion is removed we will be able to do nothing right.

Wisdom has been removed from secular leadership, and they will not make good decisions on anything until that’s corrected. Catholic teaching is that a single abortion is homicide, and in the United States, in Europe, we have had 50 million and counting, and I would hold that’s tantamount to genocide. …

I fear for my country because of all the economic chaos we’re going through. I hate to say it, but you ain’t seen nothing until we repent and we remove that scourge from this country and from all the world. Abortion is at the root of all the hellish things that are going on.

Called to be the Church

How do you know a liturgist with an agenda is "at large and in charge"?

When the renewal of baptismal promises includes this gem:

Our faith must be in the power of the Spirit to make us the Church, the people of God. Together we eat this holy meal. Together we must serve each other and the whole world. Do you all believe you are called to be the Church, the people of God?

Spring from human nature

One of the "secrets" of Catholic social doctrine is that, in a sense, it isn't really Catholic at all. Church teaching is grounded in reason and natural law, and is accessible to anyone, regardless of their religious convictions. You need not be Catholic to appreciate, for instance, the rational defense of human life contained in Pope John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae. Pope Benedict underscored this point earlier today in an address he delivered to members of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, whose president is our very own Mary Ann Glendon:

In the wake of the "vast suffering caused by two terrible world wars and the unspeakable crimes perpetrated by totalitarian ideologies" last century, "the international community acquired a new system of international law based on human rights" and, like Paul VI and John Paul II, "forcefully referred to the right to life and the right to freedom of conscience and religion as being at the centre of those rights that spring from human nature itself.

"Strictly speaking", he added, "these human rights are not truths of faith, even though they are discoverable - and indeed come to full light - in the message of Christ Who 'reveals man to man himself'. They receive further confirmation from faith. Yet it stands to reason that, living and acting in the physical world as spiritual beings, men and women ascertain the pervading presence of a logos which enables them to distinguish not only between true and false, but also good and evil, better and worse, and justice and injustice".

"The Church's action in promoting human rights is therefore supported by rational reflection, in such a way that these rights can be presented to all people of good will, independently of any religious affiliation they may have". At the same time, "insofar as human rights need to be re-appropriated by every generation and by each individual, and insofar as human freedom ... is always fragile, the human person needs the unconditional hope and love that can only be found in God and that lead to participation in the justice and generosity of God towards others".

Some fruit falls far from the tree

Scranton's Bishop Joseph Fr. Martino blasts a local Catholic college's decision to have as its commencement speaker Sen. Robert Casey Jr., son of the courageous pro-life champion Robert Casey (Sr.), the former Governor of Pennsylvania:

(Do you sense that more than a few of our shepherds think enough is enough?)

Bishop Joseph F. Martino said today that the decision by King’s College to have Sen. Robert Casey serve as commencement speaker on May 17 is, in view of his affirmative vote for Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, an affront to all who value the sanctity of life. Previously, the Bishop had asked Sen. Casey to reflect on his oft-stated pro-life beliefs and oppose the nomination of Gov. Sebelius who as a Catholic has been a committed advocate of abortion while she served as governor of Kansas. It is the Bishop’s position that his vote on April 28 demonstrates that Sen. Casey is a reliable vote for President Barack Obama’s aggressive pro-abortion agenda, one which pro-life advocates claim is promoting the “culture of death” in the United States.

“Sen. Casey’s appearance at King’s graduation ceremony is sad and disappointing in view of his recent alignment with anti-life forces in the Senate and the highest offices of our government,” Bishop Martino said. “I do not believe he has the moral stature to stand before the graduates of a Catholic college to address them about their futures and the challenges they will face when on the most important issue of the day—the sanctity of human life—he cannot muster the courage to oppose the pro-abortion agenda which is currently being promoted in Washington.” ...

Mary's month is here

You know what to do:



Tip, Auntie Joanna.

Three Bs for three Cs

If you live in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and have wondered why blurbs purportedly about climate change have started appearing in your parish bulletin, you can thank this site sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB.) As you may know, Archbishop Pilarczyk is one of three U.S. bishops who have endorsed what is called the "Catholic Climate Covenant."

The images of Christ

Christ invites us to imitate him, to come to be similar to him, so that in each man the face of God, the image of God, again shines through. In truth, God had prohibited in the Ten Commandments making images of God, but this was caused by the temptations to idolatry that believers could be exposed to in the context of paganism. Nevertheless, when God became visible in Christ through the incarnation, it became legitimate to reproduce the face of Christ. Holy images teach us to see God in the form of the face of Christ. After the incarnation of the Son of God, it has therefore become possible to see God in the images of Christ and also in the face of the saints, in the face of all men in whom the holiness of God shines.

-- Pope Benedict XVI on St. Germanus and Holy Images, Wednesday audience, 29 April 2009

Join us tomorrow (Monday) morning at 7:35 am on the Son Rise Morning Show as Brian Patrick and I discuss sacred images in the life of the Church.