Ten Reasons

Rigged

2009-11-28T15:49:00.007-05:00

Now that the "science" behind man-made global warming has been revealed to be, according to one observer, the product of a sclerotic, partisan, and tribal process, one can hope the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will rethink its support for the Climate Change Covenant. But given that those same qualities characterize the office leading the effort, it seems unlikely.

As half the chancery pumps its fist

2009-11-28T15:18:00.016-05:00

The editors of the Catholic Telegraph, the official newspaper for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, saw fit to devote the entire Letters section of the most recent issue to a pair of editorials that chafe against the Church's settled teaching on priestesses. The first letter is unimaginative, straightforward dissent: the people want women's ordination, the meanies in the Vatican won't give it to them. The second is a hand-wringing lamentation from several faculty members at Xavier University, including Art Dewey (denier of Christ's divinity), Ken Overberg (denier of Christ's salvific action on the cross), Adam Clark (proponent of black liberation theology), and Edward Hahnenberg (author of an agenda-driven guide to Vatican II). Here it is in full:

“Why are you downcast, my soul; why do you groan within me?” The psalmist’s lament (42:6) expresses our own sadness over the events that took place some weeks ago in the Catholic Church in Cincinnati. We write this reflection with respect for Archbishop Pilarczyk, Sister Louise Akers and the others directly involved, celebrating their many years of faithful service to the church, acknowledging their different gifts and responsibilities. We are saddened by the impact on their lives of the publicity and polarization. We lament for the church.

It is painfully clear once again how difficult and costly it can be to attempt meaningful conversation in the public square on sensitive matters of church belief and practice. Unfortunately, the manner of framing such questions in the terms of our society’s political and cultural wars between “conservatives and liberals” feeds into a tired, destructive, and false polemic. In such a climate, it is easy to get trapped in contentious debate and to lose sight of the more demanding way of love expected from all who seek to follow Jesus Christ.

We have heard from numerous people, including members of our parishes and our students, who are puzzled and upset by these events, that have roots in Pope John Paul’s 1994 apostolic letter on the ordination of women, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. Some have concluded that reasoned inquiry and discussion are not permissible in the Catholic Church. Some are scandalized by this even to the point of not wanting to be identified as Roman Catholic. All this leads us to lament for our church, the people of God.

As theologians who love the church, we write to reaffirm that the Catholic tradition holds in honor both the authority of the magisterium and the dignity of faith-informed conscience, even when recognizing possible tensions. We write to reaffirm the church’s teachings on the mutuality of faith and reason, recalling the conclusion of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, Faith and Reason: “The church remains profoundly convinced that faith and reason ‘mutually support each other’; each influences the other, as they offer to each other a purifying critique and a stimulus to pursue the search for deeper understanding” (#100).

The Catholic tradition, then, does not fear to engage pressing questions at the intersection of faith and reason. At its best, the church invites a richness of scriptural, historical, and theological conversation in trust that the Spirit of Christ will guide us to truth (John 16:13). Only by engaging issues carefully with charity for all voices around our shared table can we hope to gain new insight into the mystery of God, and how best we might seek to reflect that mystery humbly in our core beliefs and practices. That the Spirit will guide us along the way, above all in charity, is indeed our hope.

So we write with mixed thoughts and feelings: saddened by the pain and polemics, concerned pastorally for all those distressed by recent events, committed to conserving the Catholic tradition with its embrace of authority and conscience and of faith and reason, and hopeful that the Spirit will lead us all in charity and wisdom.

Jennifer Beste, Adam Clark, Arthur Dewey, Marie Giblin, Elizabeth Groppe, Edward Hahnenberg , Kenneth Overberg, S.J., Christopher Pramuk, John Sniegocki
Xavier University, Cincinnati

Giving some thought ...

2009-11-24T21:35:00.006-05:00

... to shutting this joint down.

Or perhaps taking a sabbatical.

(Maybe I could loan it to someone.)

These things tend to run their course.

And I'm busier than a one-armed paper-hanger lately.

Happy Thanksgiving regardless.

Bye bye, Blackberry

2009-11-23T19:35:00.004-05:00

I just went through my third Curve in six months. Finis, Blackberry.

My iPhone arrives tomorrow afternoon -- just in time for the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Feel free to suggest apps to download; they need not be Catholic or spiritual.

Beauty can save the world

2009-11-23T16:15:00.005-05:00

Today on the Son Rise Morning Show, Brian Patrick and I discussed Pope Benedict's recent focus on the importance of artistic beauty. Although we spend most of our time on the Holy Father's most recent Wednesday audience catechesis, which described the significance of cathedrals, we did touch on Pope Benedict's brilliant follow up address, on beauty in the abstract, to a group of 250 artists over the weekend. Here's an excerpt:

Indeed, an essential function of genuine beauty, as emphasized by Plato, is that it gives man a healthy "shock", it draws him out of himself, wrenches him away from resignation and from being content with the humdrum -- it even makes him suffer, piercing him like a dart, but in so doing it "reawakens" him, opening afresh the eyes of his heart and mind, giving him wings, carrying him aloft. Dostoevsky's words that I am about to quote are bold and paradoxical, but they invite reflection. He says this: "Man can live without science, he can live without bread, but without beauty he could no longer live, because there would no longer be anything to do to the world. The whole secret is here, the whole of history is here." The painter Georges Braque echoes this sentiment: "Art is meant to disturb, science reassures." Beauty pulls us up short, but in so doing it reminds us of our final destiny, it sets us back on our path, fills us with new hope, gives us the courage to live to the full the unique gift of life. The quest for beauty that I am describing here is clearly not about escaping into the irrational or into mere aestheticism.

"Proceeds will go to St. Bernard’s ..."

2009-11-23T14:08:00.003-05:00

The Catholic Courier of Rochester informs us that Bishop Clark will be making a few appearances around town to sign copies of his new book. The story mentions that the book includes essays by several "lay ecclesial ministers" whose names don't ring a bell. Is anyone familiar with them?

Bishop Matthew H. Clark will sign copies of his new book Forward in Hope: Saying Amen to Lay Ecclesial Ministry Sunday, Nov. 29, and Thursday, Dec. 3. The book is being published Nov. 22 by Ave Maria Press.
The Nov. 29 signing will be at the Cathedral Shop at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park, Rochester, following the 9:15 a.m. Mass.

Bishop Clark will speak about the book at 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Community Room at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 3349 Monroe Ave., Pittsford, and the signing will immediately follow. Copies will be sold at the event and will be stocked by Barnes and Noble locally.

The book is being sold for $11.95; proceeds will go to St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry in Pittsford.

The 128-page book explores the increasing significance of lay ecclesial ministry and how it is changing the face of the Roman Catholic Church. The book includes Bishop Clark’s personal experience and insights, and also features essays by several local lay ecclesial ministers: Anne-Marie Brogan, Charlotte Bruney, Rose Davis, Deborah Housel and Patrick Fox. Zeni V. Fox, an author and scholar, wrote the book’s foreword.

To order the book online, visit www.avemariapress.com and click on "New Releases."

EDITOR'S NOTE: A review of Forward in Hope: Saying Amen to Lay Ecclesial Ministry will appear in the Catholic Courier's December edition.

Birds of a feather

2009-11-21T13:11:00.027-05:00

The print edition of the Nov. 21 Cincinnati Enquirer ran a response to my Nov. 16 letter from Tony Stieritz, director of the Social Action office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and Lynn Williams, "lead organizer" for the Contact Center. My letter concerned the troublesome track record of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) of the bishops conference. They said my "insinuation" about the CCHD-supported Contact Center, i.e., its inclusion of what I called a "Marxist-style upraised fist" and the slogan "welfare reform = death" in the group's website masthead, was "ludicrous and offensive." Since my letter ran, the Center has taken down its site. If my insinuation is so ludicrous, why the online subterfuge? Let the people see what I described.

Moreover, the Contact Center has also engaged in outright partisan activity, such as hosting a mock party for "Santa Bush," who "distributed tax breaks to the wealthy and holiday cards to Republican elves U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, Sen. George Voinovich and Rep. Steve Chabot." This is human development?

Stieritz and Williams also claim that "if any organization is regrettably approved for funding that shouldn’t have been, CCHD immediately cancels such grants." In fact, the CCHD "immediately" canceled grants to several groups only after critics publicly exposed these organizations for being at odds with Church teaching on subjects like abortion and traditional marriage. The grant to Young Workers United was canceled in late September as dioceses around the country ramped up their efforts to promote November's CCHD collection. In any event, here is Stieritz's and Williams's letter in full:

In response to the letter “Don’t fund CCHD” (Nov. 16), we wish to clarify that Contact Center adheres to the Catholic Social Teaching that all human life is sacred, including the lives of the poor. Its staff and leaders believe that people can make a difference when they work together in a non-violent manner to advocate for policy change that assists them in rising out of poverty.

The letter writer’s insinuation that the Contact Center and other CCHD-funded agencies are somehow Marxist or anti-Catholic is ludicrous and offensive to the thousands of people they serve and countless volunteers who support their work, including Catholics from religious congregations, parishes and schools. For the record, there are protocols in place to avoid funding organizations that would promote abortion, euthanasia, or any other activity that would violate Church teaching. We would strongly encourage everyone who wishes to be reliably informed to read the response of the U.S. bishops regarding the allegations against CCHD on their web site at www.usccb.org/cchd.

If any organization is regrettably approved for funding that shouldn’t have been, CCHD immediately cancels such grants and demands repayment of any already allocated funds. It did so with Young Workers United in San Francisco.

We applaud the other worthy causes that the author listed in his letter. At the same time, we support Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who are encouraging Catholics in parishes this coming weekend, not only to support the poor through direct charity, but through the CCHD collection that empowers the poor to overcome their own poverty. That’s what CCHD is about.

Tony Stieritz

Director, Archdiocese of Cincinnati Catholic Social Action Office

Lynn Williams

Lead Organizer, Contact Center

Meanwhile, a three-member coalition reports that 31 CCHD-funded entities have ties to groups that oppose Church teaching on a variety of topics.

Update. From a Cincinnati reader:

Tonight after mass, in order to justify the second collection, the priest read, virtually verbatim, Tony Stieritz's refutation of your recent article to the CE. In addition to mentioning that CCHD halted funding of YWU, the letter mentioned that CCHD has not funded ACORN for 3 years. The priest made a point to repeat this fact. I immediately thought, wow, 3 whole years? I am sure the only reason they ceased funding was because someone disclosed the evil actions of YWU and ACORN, anyway. I was floored. Why would it be ok to give $ to a group that EVER funded ACORN?

You should be happy to know that the basket was virtually empty by the time it got to me.

Rogue'd

2009-11-20T06:47:00.004-05:00

If you have to be in my Hyde Park neighborhood this afternoon, don't even try Smith-Edwards off 71:

CINCINNATI - Signing her name on at least 1,000 copies of her new book is only part of what former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be doing in Cincinnati Friday.

Before the noon to 3 p.m. sold-out book-signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Norwood's Rookwood Pavilion, SarahPAC, the former Alaska governor's political action committee, is holding a private, invitation-only reception Friday morning with local GOP donors and party leaders at an undisclosed location.

But the big event - the one that is likely to clog traffic in and around Rookwood Commons, especially with the nearby Nordstrom Rack store holding its grand opening at the same time - is the session where the former Alaska governor will sign copies of her new book, "Going Rogue." The book had about 1.5 million advance sales and has caused a stir with some because of Palin's blunt criticisms of John McCain's presidential campaign last fall. ...

(Take Red Bank from the north, Dana from the south.)

Sweet whiskers

2009-11-18T15:15:00.004-05:00

From today's Notable & Quotable feature in the Wall Street Journal:

(The "Do grasp that" line made me guffaw aloud.)

The British author Evelyn Waugh, then in Yugoslavia, writing home to his wife on Jan. 7, 1945:

Darling Laura, sweet whiskers, do try to write me better letters. Your last, dated 19 December received today, so eagerly expected, was a bitter disappointment. Do realize that a letter need not be a bald chronicle of events; I know you lead a dull life now, my heart bleeds for it, though I believe you could make it more interesting if you had the will. But that is no reason to make your letters as dull as your life. I am simply not interested in Bridget's children. Do grasp that. A letter should be a form of conversation; write as though you were talking to me.

I think it's time for another reading of the Sword of Honour trilogy.

Outrageous indeed

2009-11-18T14:12:00.010-05:00

A new story from CNS picked up by the Catholic Telegraph of Cincinnati covers the controversy surrounding this weekend's collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, a project of the bishops conference. To CNS's credit, they interview critics of the CCHD, including representatives from Bellarmine Veritas Ministries and Human Life International. I thought their statements were measured and fair, a contrast from some issued by the CCHD's defenders. In the full version of the story available online, CCHD subcommittee chairman Bishop Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss. claims critics are stating "untruths" and making "outrageous claims," despite the well documented information and evidence these critics have made available. If that weren't enough, Bishop Morin questions the critics' motives, claiming they "simply are not in favor of the church's social teaching." The Telegraph also features two related stories: (1) a letter from Archbishop Pilarczyk urging the faithful to support the collection and (2) a profile of local grant recipients from reporter David Eck.

Also, the print edition of Monday's Cincinnati Enquirer ran the following letter from yours truly:

This month area Catholics are asked to contribute to the bishops conference's Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Unfortunately, the CCHD funds a number of radical organizations with questionable ties to Catholic teaching.

One such group is the Contact Center, whose website masthead features a Marxist-style upraised fist and the slogan “welfare reform = death.” Other groups, such as Young Workers United, oppose Church teaching on critical subjects like abortion. And there is the CCHD’s longstanding support for ACORN, which ended last year when the partisan organization became the subject of a national scandal. For more information, see the website www.reformcchdnow.com.

Rather than fund the radicals sponsored by the CCHD, area Catholics should consider making contributions to groups that actually help those in need, like the St. Vincent DePaul Society, the Freestore Foodbank, and the Walnut Hills Food Pantry.

My letter prompted a response from the heads of the Social Action office and the Contact Center (which has curiously taken down its website).

Unlooked for players

2009-11-18T10:37:00.002-05:00

Kudos to Archbishop Pilarczyk for playing a helpful role in stopping Bishop Trautman's last-ditch effort to block the new Mass translations at the bishops meeting this week. Fr. Z has the details:

It remains to be seen how the bishops will eventually deal with this departure from regular procedure in the future.

Unlooked for players on the correct side of this battle were, wait for it…. Archbp. Pilarczyk and Card. Mahony. They both suggested that, after Bp. Trautman’s motion was addressed, the body of bishops could simply ratify what Card. George had done acting as president of the USCCB in his dealings with the Holy See over the Gray Book for antiphons.

As it was, Bp. Trautman’s last ditch move to delay the process was rejected by the other bishops. Then Archbp. Pilarczyk made the motion that the bishops let Rome handle the antiphons and the bishops approved the same overwhelmingly.

Harmonious blend of faith and art

2009-11-18T09:19:00.005-05:00

In a General Audience address today that almost certainly will be the subject of my next Monday morning segment for the Son Rise Morning Show, Pope Benedict explains the significance of medieval cathedrals:

VATICAN CITY, 18 NOV 2009 (VIS) - "The Christian faith, profoundly rooted in the men and women of the Middle Ages", said the Pope in his catechesis during this morning's general audience, "not only gave rise to masterpieces of theological literature, it also inspired some of the most exalted artistic creations of all civilisation: the cathedrals".

Apart from the more favourable historical conditions, such as greater political stability, the artistic fervour Europe witnessed over three centuries from the year 1000 was due also to "the ardour and spiritual zeal of monasticism", thanks to which the abbeys were built. There "the faithful could remain in prayer, drawn by the idea of venerating the relics of saints, which led to incessant pilgrimages", said Holy Father to the 8,000 faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall.

Thus the Romanesque churches and cathedrals came into being, one of the novelties of which was the introduction of sculptures which, more than seeking technical perfection, "had an educational aim. ... Their recurring theme was the representation of Christ as Judge, surrounded by the figures of the Apocalypse. In general it is the portals of Romanesque churches that present this image, underlining the fact that Christ is the Door that leads to heaven".

Benedict XVI then turned his attention to the Gothic cathedrals of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries characterised, he said, by "their vertical thrust and luminosity". They "reveal a synthesis of faith and art, harmoniously expressed through the universal and captivating language of beauty. ... The Gothic cathedrals thus sought to translate - in their architectural lines - the longing of the soul for God", while their stained glass windows caused "a cascade of light to fall upon the faithful, recounting the story of salvation".

"Gothic sculpture made cathedrals 'Bibles of stone', depicting the episodes of the Gospel and illustrating the passages of the liturgical year, from the Nativity to the Glorification of the Lord. ... Nor were the figures of the Old Testament overlooked, whose story thus became familiar to the faithful".

Yet "the artistic masterpieces created in Europe over previous centuries are incomprehensible is we do not take account of the religious spirit that inspired them", said Pope Benedict. "When faith, especially as celebrated in the liturgy, encounters art, a profound harmony is created because both wish to speak of God, to make the Invisible visible". He also indicated that during his forthcoming meeting with artists, scheduled for 21 November, he will renew his "proposal of friendship between Christian spirituality and art, as expressed by my predecessors, especially ... Paul VI and John Paul II".

"The force of the Romanesque and the splendour of Gothic cathedrals remind us that the 'via pulchritudinis', the way of beauty, is a privileged and fascinating way to approach the Mystery of God", said the Holy Father.

"May the Lord help us", he concluded, "to rediscover this way of beauty as one of the paths, perhaps the most attractive and captivating, to encounter and to love God".

If memory serves, Amy Welborn makes many of these points in a kid-friendly way in a chapter in her highly recommended Loyola Kids Book of Heroes.

Full text here.

"Should women be ordained?"

2009-11-16T21:57:00.005-05:00

Cincinnati's Fox 19 television answered the age-old (or, more precisely, thirty-year-old) question in a three-minute news report last night. Vocations director Fr. Kyle Schnippel was interviewed and has the details on his site.

Love of wisdom

2009-11-16T17:12:00.007-05:00

Now this has some promise. St. John Fisher College of Rochester is giving its annual Philosophy Day a Catholic focus for the first time this year, with a video and talk on Fulton J. Sheen, the diocese's former bishop. Is anyone familiar with the folks behind this "day" or any of the presenters?

A video on a former Rochester bishop will be shown and discussed during the seventh-annual Philosophy Day Nov. 18 and 19 at St. John Fisher College’s midlevel of the Golisano Gateway.

The video "The Wit and Wisdom of Fulton J. Sheen" will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, and at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. Following the Wednesday screening, Kathleen Riley, professor of history at Ohio Dominican University and author of Fulton J. Sheen: An American Catholic Response to the Twentieth Century, will give a talk on Archbishop Sheen’s life. Archbishop Sheen was a television priest, served as bishop of Rochester from 1966-69 and is being considered for canonization.

Riley’s talk serves to kick off a day of sessions on "Philosophy and the Catholic Heritage," which run from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 19.

Other topics explored during Philosophy Day will include: "The Catholic Heritage," "The Roots of Catholic Education," "Social Justice" and "Catholic Education." Presenters will be faculty and students from St. John Fisher College, Syracuse University, Empire State College, Daemen College and a Rochester City School District psychologist. James Simpson, a Harvard University professor of English, will conclude the program Nov. 19 with a talk on "Bad News Bible: Six Dark, Dynamic and Demeaning Paradoxes of Sixteenth-Century Evangelical Bible Reading."

This is the first time the college’s Philosophy Day has had an intentionally Catholic theme, said Father William Graf, who is the chairman of the religious-studies department and the William and Helen Cavanaugh Chair of Catholic Studies at St. John Fisher College. ...

Not buying it

2009-11-16T10:23:00.004-05:00

For Yankee fans, the over-and-under on when a Yankee-hater will grouse about the team's payroll is about 45 seconds into a conversation -- less if alcohol is involved. So you'll forgive me for having a Cheshire grin on my face over Andrew Zimbalist's piece in the Wall Street Journal this morning:

Judging from the media coverage, it seems that the only thing the Yankees didn't do on their way to buying the 2009 World Series is ask the federal government for a bailout. But is it true that the Yankees bought their trophy? Are the championship rings the players will take home simply a byproduct of the largest payroll in Major League Baseball? And if so, how come the Yankees haven't won the fall classic since 2000, even though the franchise led the way in payroll each year and actually spent more last year (when it missed the playoffs) than it did this year?

It's a little surprising, but the statistical relationship between a team's winning percentage and its payroll is not very high. When I plot payroll and win percentage on the same graph, the two variables don't always move together. In other words, knowing a team's payroll does not enable one to know a team's win percentage.

More precisely, depending on the year, I find somewhere between 15% and 30% of the variance in team win percentage can be explained by the variance in team payroll. That means between 70% and 85% of a team's on-field success is explained by factors other than payroll. Those factors can include front office smarts, good team chemistry, player health, effective drafting and player development, intelligent trades, a manager's in-game decision-making, luck, and more. ...

Working in whose neighborhood?

2009-11-15T18:34:00.025-05:00

The Catholic Social Action office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has sponsored a series of "foreclosure forums" with the group Working in Neighborhoods (WIN). According to the office's website, the forums "explain the causes behind the foreclosure crisis, inform homeowners behind on their mortgages where they can turn for help, and provide members of churches and community organizations information about what they can do to respond to address the crisis and support their neighbors in need." Members of the archdiocese should also know that WIN is a member of National People's Action (NPA), a network of twenty-four like-minded groups spread throughout the country.

NPA members spell out their agenda for "sweeping reforms" in the National People's Platform. According to the document, our society's two main system problems are "privatism" and "structural racism," the former defined as "private market-based mechanisms" typically favored by political conservatives. Accordingly, Presidents Reagan and Bush (I) are blamed for ushering in a period of greed that culminated in last year's financial crisis. They make no bones about their partisanship and who they regard as enemies:

Conservatives out-organized us by naming and fighting for their big ideas about how government and society should work. They used their ideas about rugged individualism, the virtues of unregulated markets and a limited role for government to build support for a political agenda that brought us deregulation, privatization and economic policies rewarding greed and corruption at the expense of shared prosperity.

The reforms they advocate for housing are the standard positions of the hard left, from race-based lending to a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to housing. No surprises here; it's the same corporatist flimflam that got us into this mess in the first place.

Once they arrive at education reform, things start to get interesting. NPA members like Working in Neighborhoods seek to eradicate "sexism and homophobia in our schools" and "biases against GLBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered] students." You've heard of schooling's "three Rs"? Meet the three Ds. Their health care reform section calls for "exposing the harmful role of the private market in our health care system." They "call upon the Federal government to take the lead in regulating, financing, and providing health coverage to all." Again, partisan politics is a constant feature. President Obama is praised, President Bush is demonized: "The Bush Administration’s prescription drug program was designed by and for big pharmaceutical companies."

What this agenda has to do with Catholic social teaching is anyone's guess. Oh, one more thing. Working in Neighborhoods is the recipient this year of a local grant from -- wait for it -- the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

Fellow serfs, meet Mr. Hayek

2009-11-15T08:09:00.011-05:00

Friedrich von Hayek, the most famous scholar of the Austrian school of economics, which included not a few Catholics, is the subject of Amity Shlaes latest column for Bloomberg News. It's reprinted in the Cincinnati Enquirer's health care-focused forum page this morning. Liberty-loving members of the faculty at Capital University Law School introduced me to Hayek, Mises, Hazlitt and a host of other Austrians during the mid-nineties.

World War II was the era of John Maynard Keynes, who taught that a few great minds can improve an economy. The 1990s were the era of Milton Friedman, when markets proved they had the capacity to slip past government and regulatory obstacles.

The next few years? They belong to Hayek, and for that we can thank the effort to pass the health-care bill.

Friedrich von Hayek literally was an Austrian, born in Vienna in 1899. But Hayek also was a member of the Austrian school of economics, that group of scholars who built models that tried to explain the business cycle.

Having served as an artillery officer during World War I, Hayek learned that when the worst could happen, it often did. In the early 1930s he decamped to the U.K., where he taught at the London School of Economics. During the blitz, Hayek was an air warden and walked the rooftops with Keynes, the man who would become his great opponent.

As the war came to end, Hayek penned an apocalyptic tract, “The Road to Serfdom.” His thesis was that war gets people used to national planning. So the planners continue to plan, even in peacetime. These incremental expansions of the social- welfare state aren’t benign. They foster the creation of ever- more-powerful interest groups. The economy becomes less productive. Political corruption in turn gives rise to dictators. Foreign-policy tension or economic crisis accelerates the trend.

“‘Emergencies,’” Hayek wrote, “have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have eroded.” ...

And speaking of expansions of the social-welfare state and ever-more-powerful interest groups, the collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development begins this weekend.

Meetless

2009-11-14T14:53:00.001-05:00

Note to young or future parents:

You might consider encouraging your children to avoid sports that have "meets."

"Yes, it will probably be dark outside when it's time to go home."

Knowing next to nothing

2009-11-14T07:41:00.005-05:00

This past week, I thought much of the outrage by conservatives over some of the press's supposed whitewashing of Ft. Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hason's jihadist motivations was overdone.

Then I read typist Leonard Pitts's latest assortment of words in this morning's Cincinnati Enquirer:

This outburst of vituperation from message boards and bloggers is, of course, traceable to Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist and American Muslim accused of shooting 13 people dead and wounding 29 others in a rampage last week at Fort Hood, Texas. At this writing, we know next to nothing of why he did it.

Maybe he was a stone cold psychopath like Eric Harris who, with Dylan Klebold, shot up Columbine High in 1999.

Maybe he was deranged and delusional like Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech in 2007.

Maybe he was driven by a grudge against the federal government like Timothy McVeigh, who blew up a federal building in 1995.

Maybe he was a terrorist.

Predictably, it is the last possibility that has ignited outrage and condemnation from the usual speak-first, think-later types, employing the usual sweeping half truths and untruths to argue that Muslims are un-American and contribute nothing to this country.

The only way I can explain this is that he's trying to get a show on MSNBC.

Allsides

2009-11-13T16:00:00.005-05:00

From a reader:

I follow your blog and so you might be interested that this morning on public radio WOSU at 10:00 in Columbus, they had a show about women priests. The show is called Allsides. I tuned in thinking they were going to have all sides talked about but the only 2 people interviewed were Fr. Bourgeois and Sr. Louise [Akers] from Cincinnati. It was so one-sided! Anyway I thought I'd give you a heads-up.

You can listen to an archived version of the program here.

Your day isn't so bad

2009-11-13T13:09:00.001-05:00

Really, it's not.

The entry for "sword" is probably interesting

2009-11-13T12:13:00.004-05:00

A St. Xavier High School religion teacher has written a new book on Catholic symbols. You can see sample pages here and previous work here.

Cluniacal focus

2009-11-13T11:57:00.003-05:00

At this week's General Audience in Rome, the Holy Father devoted his catechesis to the achievements and contributions of the monks of Cluny in the Middle Ages. Interestingly, he's departed somewhat from form in recent weeks by focusing on trends, or in this case an order, rather than individuals and saints. The paragraph below grabbed my attention. Any genuine effort toward renewal in the Church starts "above all" with authentic worship.

Represented at Cluny was the observance of the Rule of St. Benedict with some adaptations already introduced by other reformers. Above all the intention was to guarantee the central role that the liturgy must have in Christian life. The monks of Cluny dedicated themselves with love and great care to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, the singing of psalms, to processions both devotional and solemn and, above all, to the celebration of Holy Mass. They promoted sacred music; they wanted architecture and art to contribute to the beauty and solemnity of the rites; they enriched the liturgical calendar with special celebrations such as, for example, the commemoration of the faithful deceased at the beginning of November, which we also celebrated a short time ago; the they enhanced devotion to the Virgin Mary.

The reminder and the verdict

2009-11-12T21:15:00.005-05:00

In her latest can't miss column for Zenit, Rome-based art and architecture historian Elizabeth Lev reflects on the importance of the cross in Italian culture and the meaning for Europe of the EU's recent cruxophobic decision:

In Italy the crucifix is more than a religious symbol; it is a reminder of what continued to unify the peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire. Ever since Constantine’s vision of a cross on the eve of the battle of the Milvian bridge the crucifix has been a beacon for Italy’s greatest achievements. The reminder of Christ’s sacrifice, far from being a cause of discrimination (we don’t have fundamentalists here except as regards mozzarella, olive oil and soccer) draws out the best of the Italians.

When Italians spontaneously help a person in need, they often say “quel povero Cristo” calling to mind “that poor Christ” they have seen on the cross all their lives who spurs them to selfless kindness.

One of the first things that made me appreciate Italy enough to dissolve my love affair with France and settle here was the powerful sense of identity and tradition among the Italians. As an art historian, it seemed that I could still glimpse the world of Michelangelo and Giotto in their modern descendants. This ECHR verdict, aimed at eliminating differences among the people of the European Union, indicts Italy for having maintained its link with its Christian identity.

This ruling should serve as an alarm bell to citizens of the European Union, urging them to monitor closely the ideologies that are about to be foisted on its member states. Most of the Europeans see the EU as a gravy train, leading its members into greater prosperity, but nothing comes for free. European citizens need to realize that for a few more designer clothes and fancy cars, they may end up having unwittingly sold their souls.

Billboard blues

2009-11-12T11:25:00.003-05:00

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that two billboards for associates of the culture of death have hit a few snags. First, Planned Parenthood:

DAYTON, Ohio — An Ohio Planned Parenthood chapter complains that a billboard company said it didn't believe in the organization's mission and rejected an ad for the group's annual book fair.

Karen Meade, director of development for Planned Parenthood in Dayton, says the sign would have promoted only this weekend's fundraiser, not sex education or abortion. She says local outdoor advertising company Key-Ads Inc. refused to sell her group space on a digital billboard along U.S. Route 35.

Longtime chapter volunteer Marilyn Bissett says the episode shows that when some people hear "Planned Parenthood," they think only of abortion.

Now, the atheists:

A billboard that reaches out to those who don’t believe in God is being moved after threats to the owner of the land on which the billboard stands, the sponsoring group said Thursday.

The United Coalition of Reason paid $3,875 to place a billboard on 12th Street, one block south of Liberty Street in Over-the-Rhine Tuesday.

The billboard, facing southbound Interstate 71, reads: “Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone.” It lists the Cincinnati chapter’s web site.

The organization said it was informed Wednesday that the unidentified landowner had been threatened over the billboard.