Faithful revolutionary

If you're looking to add some Catholic flavor to your observance of Independence Day, you might spend a little time learning about Charles Carroll of Carollton, lone Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Wikipedia has a useful page, and the old Catholic Encyclopedia has a just-the-facts entry. Zenit conducted a two-part interview with Scott McDermott in 2005 when he released his biography of Carroll:

Q: How did Carroll use natural law and natural rights in arguing that the colonies were justified in breaking from England?

McDermott: In his "First Citizen" papers of 1773, Carroll argued that it was necessary to move back beyond the common law to the "clear and fundamental" principles of the English constitution, namely the natural law.

Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence cites the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" to justify the Revolution, and appeals to the natural rights that derive from the natural law.

At the same time, Carroll was writing his own "Declaration of the Delegates of Maryland" to explain Maryland's vote for independence. Carroll's natural law thinking as expressed in this document complements Jefferson's approach while correcting some of its distortions.

Carroll wrote: "We the Delegates of the People of Maryland in Convention assembled do declare that the King of Great Britain has violated his compact with this People, and that they owe no allegiance to him."

Then he went back and crossed out "of the People." Thus, in keeping with Catholic corporatism, the "Delegates of Maryland" represent the whole body of society, and not just the majority will. Popular sovereignty is not a matter of ongoing revision of the Constitution by majorities, as Jefferson supposed.

Also, Carroll's document stays with the traditional natural rights of life, liberty and property. "Slaves, savages and foreign mercenaries have been meanly hired to rob a People of their property, liberty [and] lives, guilty of no other crime than deeming the last of no estimation without the secure enjoyment of the two former."

Jefferson, of course, substitutes a right to the "pursuit of happiness" for the right to property. By inventing this new right, Jefferson distorted the concept of natural law, with dramatic consequences for the rest of American history. ...

"We apologize for the Pope's insensitivity and ignorance."

As the folks at Cleansing Fire put it, who said the situation at St. Anne's of Rochester couldn't get any worse?

The quote at the top of the post is from a new pastoral associate reacting to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's 2007 document on whether Vatican II changed Catholic doctrine on the Church. (It didn't, which appears to disappoint her.)

Keep writing the CDF, my Rochester readers; it's the best chance you have for a faithful shepherd in 2012.

More here on the extent to which the parish has been "fertilized."

But for Malta?

Doug Kmiec has his prize.



Update. I should have known the Wales reference was already in circulation.

Understanding Christ's redemptive work

An evangelical pastor pens a response to my post about the "the privilege of sacramental certainty" that comes with absolution in the confessional. The penultimate paragraph is an eye-opener. Perhaps some of the priests among my readers can offer their thoughts.

Hi, I'm an evangelical pastor and theologian (PhD). To encourage co-operation, I want to comment because I think you are misunderstanding what is happening here.

Most Protestants have the same certainty of forgiveness that Catholics have--in fact, all should. The difference between Protestants is that we see the certainty as a promise from Christ himself, something that can be but is not necessarily mediated through one particular church or tradition. So, while a Protestant would not fully agree with 'sacramental certainty' in all of its details, we would agree fully with its intent: That a disciple of Jesus can and should have certainty of forgiveness of sins because of his redemptive work. As a Protestant, I have that certainty, no less of a degree than a Catholic.

The problem here is that we have different wings within the Protestant Confession same as Catholics have different wings. One wing of Protestantism is the emotional, no-doctrine wing. Yes, it's an embarrassment to us too, but it's unfair to say that wing is true Protestantism. It'd be like me claiming the pro-abortion wing of Catholicism is the true wing. So, the caller mentioned int he post doesn't have certainty of forgiveness, NOT because it is not a part of Protestant doctrine, BUT because the radio program doesn't understand Protestant doctrine, and can't explain it properly.

I pastor a church in California that is over 60% former Catholics (100s each week). These former Catholics come to my church NOT because Catholic doctrine is necessarily wrong, BUT because they are coming from Catholic parishes who are unable or unwilling to teach Christ, and Him Cruficied. So -- friends -- we who believe in the purity of Christ, his church and his doctrine, we have the same problem!

This is not a evangelical versus Catholic issue. This is a understanding Christ's redemptive work versus not understanding issue. Blessings!

Diocese may change

In the July 2 issue of the Catholic Courier of Rochester, Bishop Matthew Clark offers something akin to a "state of the diocese" report. He lists accomplishments, acknowledges challenges, and ominously warns of "controversial" measures to address Rochester's mounting problems. The paragraph excerpted below stands out; he attributes Rochester's plummeting Mass attendance rates to a nationwide trend and its supposed leveling off to a local renewal effort that features the musings of Joan Chittister.

While it is no secret that Mass attendance has generally declined since the mid-1960s nationwide — not unlike attendance for other mainline Christian denominations — we saw last year in our own diocese a leveling off of that trend. I can only attribute that leveling off to our Spirit Alive-related efforts. Even as we engage the people already in the pews through this spiritual renewal, we also are reaching out in new 21st century ways to people we want to welcome back — and especially to attract young people to become active member of our faith communities. This is so important in an age in which all religious groups must vie with Hollywood, the Internet and other media in touching and forming the lives of the young.

Romeward from Rochester

The Diocese of Rochester's two incoming seminarians -- "outgoing" is probably more apt; they'll be studying at the North American College in Rome -- are blogging. Visit Peter's site here, and Greg's here.

Congratulations, men. We'll be praying for you.

"one might even call them cults"

In his weekly CNS column appearing in this week's Catholic Telegraph of Cincinnati, the always entertaining Father John Dietzen reveals how to become a more authentic Catholic. Here's a snippet:

Another warning flag is the claim that this or that faction constitutes the “elite” in the church. They are the genuine orthodox Catholics. Anyone not with them, or who sees things differently, is at best a second-level Catholic.

These types of movements (one might even call them cults) have been around since the beginning of Christianity. We read about them already in the New Testament.

Exaggerated claims like this seem to be a common temptation for enthusiastic religious associations. In my 55 years as a priest I have led or participated in dozens of spiritual and apostolic movements. All have accomplished much good.

Nearly every one, however, went through a stage when it was tempted to consider itself something like the eighth sacrament, to assume that no one is a genuine, full Catholic until he or she has done their “thing” or seen things their way.

Naturally, groups and societies who pursue this course always have the highest motives, to “purify” the church and so on. But unchecked, such attitudes often lead to gross arrogance and intolerance. When sufficiently large, they can cause enormous personal pain, persecution and hurt to the body of Christ. But still they surface every generation or so.

This is a common theme for Fr. Dietzen, as he spills similar ink about unnamed "elitist" groups in his book Catholic Q&A: Answers to the Most Common Questions About Catholicism. You can read my 2005 review for Amazon here.

The last martyr of Tyburn

Today's saint is St. Oliver Plunket, Primate of Ireland in the seventeenth century and the last Catholic martyr of London's Tyburn tree. I do hope to make another pilgrimage to Tyburn someday, perhaps for next year's Martyrs' Walk. Last night EWTN aired a well-made hour-long biographical documentary on the saint that featured testimony from a number of scholars on Irish history. The documentary highlighted that one of Plunket's first acts upon returning to Ireland from de facto exile in Rome was to confirm 10,000 Catholics. (In those days, there was no provision in canon law for allowing priests to confirm, and almost all of the bishops had been purged from the land.) His sense of priorities seems perfectly in keeping with Pope Benedict's Wednesday audience address yesterday, in which the Holy Father said the two essential priestly ministries are "'proclamation' and 'power,' that is to say 'word' and 'sacrament.'" In his "Saints Alive" sketch for today, the late Fr. Robert McNamara of the Diocese of Rochester includes a colorful description of the men who ensnared St. Oliver in the bogus Titus Oates Plot:

Fortunately, the local British authorities did not molest Plunket for a couple of years. In 1673, however, a new persecution was launched and he had to go into hiding. Then in 1678 the royal government accepted as true the report brought in by an unscrupulous English clergyman that Catholics in the British Isles were preparing to welcome a Catholic invasion of Britain. Some worthless Irish ex-priests denounced Dr. Plunket as one of the conspirators. When a pro-British tribunal in Ireland could not find grounds to convict him, the royal government brought the archbishop to England, lodged him in the Tower of London, and in a mock trial brought in a verdict of treason and a sentence of death by hanging, drawing and quartering. The presiding judge revealed the real motive for the condemnation when he told the prelate in the open court, "The bottom of your treason was your setting up of your false religion." But true to the prayerful, resigned spirit Dr. Plunket had displayed throughout his captivity, he simply replied with joy, "Thanks be to God!"

At Tyburn gallows, Oliver inspired the vast crowd by his dignity and serenity. In the traditional speech that was allowed him before execution on July 11, 1681, he asserted his innocence of treason. He prayed for the king, he said, and for all his own enemies as well. Oliver Plunket was the last Catholic to be executed for his faith on the scaffold of notorious Tyburn Hill.

Which is easier?

The Navarre commentary for today's Gospel reading (Mat 9:1-8) provided by the Daily Word Google group includes critical insights from St. Thomas Aquinas along with a neat little catechesis on Confession. The explanation of the "Which is easier ..." query Jesus poses to the scribes is very helpful; I could have used it last night when I stumbled my way through explaining the passage to my children. (We try to review the day's saint and Gospel the night before.) And unbeknownst to me, the paralytic in the story is the same man dropped through the ceiling in Mark 2:2-5. Consider adding this service to your bookmarks. It's an excellent, free way to engage in daily lectio divina.

3-7. Here "to say" obviously means "to say and mean it", "to say producing the result which your words imply". Our Lord is arguing as follows" which is easier -- to cure the paralytic's body or to forgive the sins of his soul? Undoubtedly, to cure his body; for the soul is superior to the body and therefore diseases of the soul are the more difficult to cure. However, a physical cure can be seen, whereas a cure of the soul cannot. Jesus proves the hidden cure by performing a visible one.

The Jews thought that any illness was due to personal sin (cf. John 9:1-3); so when they heard Jesus saying, "Your sins are forgiven", they reasoned in their minds as follows: only God can forgive sins (cf. Luke 5:21); this man says that He has power to forgive sins; therefore, He is claiming a power which belongs to God alone--which is blasphemy. Our Lord, however, forestalls them, using their own arguments: by curing the paralytic by saying the word, He shows them that since He has the power to cure the effects of sin (which is what they believe disease to be), then He also has power to cure the cause of illness (sin); therefore, He has divine power.

Jesus Christ passed on to the Apostles and their successors in the priestly ministry the power to forgive sins: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:22-23). "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven" (Matthew 18:18). Priests exercise this power in the Sacrament of Penance: in doing so they act not in their own name but in Christ's--"in persona Christi", as instruments of the Lord.

Hence the respect, the veneration and gratitude with which we should approach Confession: in the priest we should see Christ Himself, God Himself, and we should receive the words of absolution firmly believing that it is Christ who is uttering them through the priest. This is why the minister does not say: "Christ absolves you...", but rather "I absolve you from your sins..." He speaks in the first person, so fully is he identified with Jesus Christ Himself (cf. "St. Pius V Catechism", II, 5, 10).

The two essential elements of priestly ministry

Perhaps I should change the name of this site to Sixteen Reasons -- as in, Benedict XVI's reasons for embracing dynamic orthodoxy. You could certainly devote a blog to unpacking the works of his ordinary Magisterium. At this morning's Wednesday audience, the Holy Father continues his catechesis on St. John Mary Vianney and the priesthood, this time focusing on the essential elements of priestly ministry. After explaining that spiritual sacrifice is at the heart of the priesthood, he offered this correction:

"Following Vatican Council II", Pope Benedict added, "in some places the impression arose that there were more important things in the mission of priests in our time: some people believed that the priority was to build a new society".

Yet "the two essential elements of priestly ministry" always remain "announcement and power", said the Holy Father recalling how Christ sent His disciples out to announce the Gospel giving them the power to drive out demons. "Announcement and power", in other words "Word and Sacrament, are the pillars of priestly service, over and above the many forms it can take".

He then closed with a comment about priestly vocations:

The Pope continued: "When the 'diptych' of consecration-mission is not taken into due account, it becomes truly difficulty to understand the identity of priests and of their ministry in the Church. ... During this Year for Priests", he said, "let us pray for all the clergy. ... Prayer is the primary duty, the true path of sanctification for priests and the heart of authentic pastoral care of vocations".

And he concluded: "The low numbers of priestly ordinations in some countries not only must not discourage us, it should stimulate us to dedicate greater space to silence and to listening to the Word, to improving spiritual guidance and the Sacrament of Confession, so that the voice of God, which always continues to call and to confirm, may be heard and followed by many young people".

Adult education

When we hear someone refer to an "adult faith" or use the term "thinking Catholic," we instinctively reach for our catechetical revolvers, for as often as not what follows is a soft-pedaling of embarrassing doctrines on birth control, abortion, and marriage. In his vespers homily for the Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict explains an authentic adult faith:

In his Letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle says that "with Christ we must reach adulthood, mature humanity. ... Paul wants Christians to have 'responsible' faith, 'adult' faith. The phrase 'adult faith' has become a common slogan over recent decades. It is often understood as the attitude of those who no longer listen to the Church and her pastors, but autonomously choose what they wish to believe and not to believe: a sort of 'do-it- yourself' faith. This is also presented as the 'courage' to go against the Magisterium of the Church. The truth, however, is that it requires no courage because one is always certain of garnering public sympathy.

"What does require courage", he added, "is to adhere to the faith of the Church even if this contradicts the blueprint of the modern world. It is the 'non-conformity' of faith that Paul calls 'adult faith'. What he considers childlike is to charge after all the winds and currents of the age".

The Holy Father went on: "Part of adult faith, for example, is commitment to the inviolability of human life from the very first moment, thus radically opposing the principle of violence by defending the most helpless human creatures. Part of adult faith is recognising lifelong marriage between a man and a woman, as ordained by God and re-established by Christ. Adult faith does not allow itself to be blown here and there by the slightest breeze".

The year of the (womyn)priest

Yet another priest in the Diocese of Rochester uses his bulletin to promote women's ordination. In the June 28 edition, Fr. Kevin Murphy, pastor of St. Louis Church, hopes that during the Year of the Priest, "we would consider the possibility that God has planted the vocation to Priesthood in women’s lives." (You will recall that Fr. Dan Holland offered similar sentiments last summer.)

Tip, Cleansing Fire; in the comment box you can learn how to write the CDF.

Why they wince

In a June 24 column for the Catholic Telegraph of Cincinnati, Fr. Rob Waller provides a teaching moment on the Eucharist and Confession:

On occasion, sometimes in the sacrament of reconciliation itself and sometimes in a conversation outside confession, people will bear their souls about a burden that they are bearing because of something that they have done and that they now regret terribly. They often say that they felt so bad and were so sorry, but that they “went to Communion last Sunday anyway.”

They wince when they make that last statement, assuming that they have sinned further and expecting to be scolded. But like many priests I say, “Good! You needed Communion then. Maybe more than you ever needed it before, you needed Communion. Maybe at that moment you were more worthy to receive than you have ever been before. It is good that you received Communion. You were hungry. The Lord wanted to feed you.”

Perhaps, Father, they wince because they're familiar with what the Church teaches; to wit, "Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1415).

Pros and cons

Jann Armantrout, coordinator of life issues for the Diocese of Rochester, continues to be a breath of fresh air in the Catholic officialdom of my hometown. In Mike Latona's June 26 piece on healthcare reform in the Catholic Courier, she rightly raises a flag or two about the risks of a greater federal role. While she ultimately comes down in favor of universal coverage, she at least pauses to ask tough questions. (Unsurprisingly, Sister Patricia Schoelles, SSJ, president and associate professor of ethics at the notorious St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry, more or less equates Obama's objectives with Catholic social teaching.)

In addition, Armantrout questions how well reform will line up with the teachings of the Catholic Church, given Obama's support for embryonic stem-cell research and abortion rights.

"I am not real confident that the dignity of all human beings is a priority," she said. She said she also wonders whether another practice the church opposes -- euthanasia -- might become a way to trim costs, considering that end-of-life medical expenses run so high.

Nonetheless, Armantrout -- a Catholic Charities staff representative on the diocesan Public Policy Committee -- added that Obama's basic premises of driving reform toward universal coverage "are laudable goals. I'm happy that somebody is trying to take the bull by the horns."

"Comprehensive health care is seen by the Catholics as a goal," Sister Schoelles added. "On that score, Catholic teaching on health care would be in alignment with (Obama's objectives)."

"SCHARE the vision"

Lisa Schare, head of the dissident group Catholic Democrats of Ohio and author of the now infamous "Back up Obama" memo that urged supporters to fight the bishops' opposition to our pro-abortion president receiving an award from Notre Dame, is running for the Cincinnati school board. She unwittingly handed us a campaign card at yesterday's Hyde Park Blast.

Disconnections

My critical review of the Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers has been removed from the Amazon website, almost certainly at the request of the book's authors and publisher. This site gets enough hits that a Google search of the title -- the "Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers" -- should reveal this post and thus the content of my review.

Standard hamburger basics.

The "Pieces of Music" post concerning the Archdiocese of Cincinnati's annual Laudate conference, by which aspiring Catholic musicians are presumptively trained, generated a lively discussion. Two comments worth highlighting came from Ten Reasons "den mothers" Jackie and Maureen. Here's Jackie's:

I think its clear from all the different documents quoted that as far as music is concerned -

1. Gregorian Chant has pride of place in the Liturgy

2. Other music is permitted

I think, starting with #2, most would agree that this doesn't mean that all musical styles or instruments are appropriate. The real work here is determining what is appropriate.

I think #1 would look like having chant in all parishes, at most Sunday Masses, much of the time.

I also think that pride of place’ means FIRST or most important. A way to tell if a musical conference is faithfully following the idea of Pride of Place is that Chant would always be at the conference. And not just one small class to ‘check the box’ but a majority!

Now - to be clear - I don't know if this conference had sessions on chant. (I looked for the list of classes and didn't find it.) If it did not, I'm not saying that the folks that organized it are evil or heretics.

What I am saying is that if there was no chant offered - in fact I would think 50% of the offerings, I don't know how this event is following what has been proclaimed by Vatican II – that Chant has pride of place and that all efforts – certainly ones sponsored by the Archdiocese should be working in that direction.

That might be seen as promoting an agenda not consistent with Church teaching – simply through omission.

And now an excerpt from Maureen's:

Vatican II mandated that all parishes teach all Catholics how to make the basic Latin responses which belong to the people, and to teach them how to sing them.

So it would be logical if every parish music program began with these basics. It would be logical if a diocesan music workshop for young people included such things as remedial education for anybody who hadn't happened to learn the basics.

But usually, Catholic post-Vatican II music programs don't, just as a whole honking lot of pre-Vatican II music programs didn't. The reform has been blithely ignored in the main. Sometimes these things are included as extra enrichment, as I got some of it, but not as the standard hamburger basics.

You can say similar things about the mandate that chant be used, the strong encouragement of polyphony, and sadly, even the strong encouragement of organ as the most suitable instrument when instruments are used.

Shrug. But of course, we live in a society where basics of math and reading are routinely turned into extras or too much trouble. So it doesn't surprise me that other basics are likewise neglected. So much easier to chase the buzzwords of the moment....

Real men use charcoal

'Whipped up sausage patties using the family recipe from Rochester.

You really can't go wrong with this one at a summer cookout.

(And gas grills are for sissies; real mean use charcoal.)

One pound pork shoulder or "butt," ground coarsely (I use a Kitchenaid mixer and the food grinder attachment.)
3/4 tsp of fennel seed
1 tsp of salt (kosher style works best)
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/3 tsp of ground black pepper

Grind the pork first (we use the KitchenAid food grinder attachment), then mix with other ingredients by hand in a large bowl. Form into patties and grill over charcoal fire. (You can also stuff the meat into casings.) Serve with roasted peppers and mustard on a good roll.

Blastoff

See that family over the left shoulder of the woman on the right?



That's us. (Your host is directly above her head.) Yesterday was the Hyde Park Blast, a four mile run for charity that in the past half-dozen years has blossomed into a day-long street festival. There were follow-up races for the kids, lots of good food, and bands after sunset. We gathered at a neighbor's house to watch cyclists whiz by for the early evening bike race. Great, great fun.