G-8
meeting
Benedict XVI joined his voice to the appeals of Church
leaders who are asking the members of the G-8 to make
good on promises to the poor. The Pope spoke on Sunday
after praying the midday Angelus about the Group of
Eight gathering under way in Japan. The G-8 groups
Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia
and the United States. The summit is also to include
a special meeting of African leaders, and another
meeting of the 17 largest emitters of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gasses, as part of the effort
to come to an agreement on climate change. 'In recent
days numerous voices have been raised -- among them
those of the presidents of the episcopal conferences
of the involved nations -- to appeal for the carrying
out of the commitments assumed in previous G-8 meetings,
and to adopt all the measures necessary to overcome
the scourge of extreme poverty, hunger, sicknesses
and illiteracy that still affect a great part of humanity,'
the Holy Father said. 'I also join myself to this
solemn call to solidarity!'
The
Pontiff expressed his hope that 'at the heart of their
deliberations they will put the needs of the weakest
and poorest peoples, whose vulnerability has increased
because of speculation and financial turbulence and
its adverse effects on the price of food and energy.
I hope that generosity and foresight will help them
to make decisions in regard to relaunching an equitable
process of integral development to safeguard human
dignity.' Benedict XVI referred to a message from
the episcopal conferences of the G-8 countries directed
to the meeting participants. In that letter, the prelates
recalled that the world's richest countries have pledged
an additional $50 billion per year of development
assistance by 2010, half of that money designated
for Africa. 'This commitment must be met,' the bishops
stated, 'and additional commitments should be made
in the areas of health care, education and humanitarian
aid.' [Zenit] 1463.2
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New
secretary general for CDF
Pope
Benedict XVI yesterday appointed Fr. Luis Francisco
Ladaria Ferrer S.J., professor of dogmatic theology
at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University and secretary
general of the International Theological Commission,
as secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith. At the same time he was elevated to
the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was
born in Manacor, Spain in 1944 and ordained a priest
in 1973. [Vatican Information Service] 1463.3
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Anglicans
'break with apostolic tradition'
The
Church of England's vote on Monday evening to move
ahead with the ordination of women as bishops has
prompted the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity to say that the decision is a 'break with apostolic
tradition' and a 'further obstacle' to any efforts
at dialogue between the two churches. The Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity reacted to the
decision, saying, 'We have regretfully learned the
news of the Church of England vote that paves the
way for the introduction of legislation which will
lead to the ordaining of women to the episcopacy.'
Listing
its objections to the admittance of women, the council
said, 'The Catholic position on the issue has been
clearly expressed by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul
II. Such a decision signifies a break with the apostolic
tradition maintained by all of the Churches since
the first millennium and is, therefore, a further
obstacle to reconciliation between the Catholic Church
and the Church of England.' Although the Vatican has
maintained an ongoing dialogue with the Church of
England, it said that, 'This decision will have consequences
on the future of dialogue, which had up until now
borne fruit, as Cardinal Kasper clearly explained
when on June 5, 2006 he spoke to all of the bishops
of the Church of England at the invitation of the
Archbishop of Canterbury.' [CNA] 1463.4
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Letter
to British Prime Minister
Benedict
XVI has affirmed to British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown that only generosity will ensure that the Millennium
Development Goals meet their deadline. The Pope stated
this in a June 18 letter sent in his name by his secretary
of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to the prime
minister. The Holy Father was responding to a May
letter that Brown sent him. 'In your letter you recall
certain practical initiatives in the realm of international
cooperation undertaken recently by the British government
and the Holy See for the benefit of poor countries,'
Cardinal Betone wrote to Brown. 'At the same time
you propose the creation of a broad international
coalition with a view to honoring the commitments
made in 2000 and, consequently, attaining the MDGs
by the year 2015. 'In this regard, I wish to refer
to His Holiness' message of June 3, 2008, to the FAO
summit on food security, in which he asked for a courageous
effort to 'globalize the expectations of solidarity.''
Cardinal Bertone explained that this globalization
implies that 'due attention will be given to respect
for human dignity in all negotiations, all decisions
and in the manner of their implementation, so that
the fruits of creation will be available to all people,
and to all future generations. Only a deeply felt
and responsible sense of generosity will ensure that
the MDGs are reached within the projected time scale.'
The secretary of state assured that the Pontiff prays
'that the important international meetings planned
for the second half of the present year will be able
to provide an effective response to the economic crises
afflicting several regions of the planet, and put
into effect a concerted international plan of action
aimed at freeing the world from extreme poverty, from
the scourge of hunger and from the chronic lack of
general medical care.'
In his letter, Brown had expressed concern that action
in 2008 is key for reaching the MDGs. He highlighted
several of the Pope's public exhortations in this
regard, including the address to the United Nations
in April, his purchase of the first International
Immunization Bond in November, 2006, and a speech
from June, 2007. 'Your Holiness, I know that you are
deeply committed to achieving the MDGs. […] I
believe that without concerted action this year,'
Brown wrote, 'the MDGs will slide down the political
agenda and the opportunity to deliver on our promises
to the developing world will be lost for another generation.
We are determined to prevent this and are building
a global coalition to ensure that we live up to the
pledges we made back in 2000. Your Holiness, I sincerely
hope that again you will lend your voice to these
efforts in the weeks and months ahead.' [Zenit] 1463.5
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Bishops
as teachers of holiness
Bishops
need to be conquered by the love of Christ so that
they can be teachers of holiness, says Benedict XVI's
secretary of state. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone affirmed
this Friday at the episcopal consecration of Archbishops
Bernardito Auza and Piergiuseppe Vacchelli, who have
both received new posts in the Church. According to
Vatican Radio, the cardinal said in his homily that
'on the foundation of the Apostles, the Church is
'one, holy, apostolic and catholic,' the Church of
all peoples, that does not identify with any one nation,
or any one culture, or any one state, but is always
the Church of all, called to gather humanity together
beyond any border, so that, amid the divisions of
this world, the peace of God and the reconciling force
of his love will be possible.'
Archbishop
Auza was named the new nuncio in Haiti, while Archbishop
Vacchelli was appointed associate secretary of the
Congregations for the Evangelization of Peoples and
president of the Pontifical Mission Societies. 'Especially
in our time it is important that bishops be witnesses
and teachers of holiness, capable of transmitting
faithfully, by example and words, those truths that
illumine man's heart and lead him to eternal life,'
Cardinal Bertone affirmed. 'For this to occur, it
is necessary, in the first place, that you be conquered,
as the Apostle Paul says, by Christ, and that you
show all those you meet the way that leads to him.
'In this way the bishop becomes a witness of the hope
of Christ. In store for the bishop, therefore, is
the task of prophet, witness and servant of hope,
with the duty to instill and proclaim before the world
the reasons for Christian hope.' [Zenit] 1463.6
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Visit
to Belarus
Pope
Benedict XVI has accepted an invitation to visit Belarus,
the Interfax news agency reports. President Aleksander
Lukashenko of Belarus issued an invitation to the
Pope in June, during a visit to Minsk by Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State.
Although the cardinal did not respond to the invitation,
he hinted broadly about the likelihood of a papal
visit, comparing his own visit to Belarus to the mission
of St. John the Baptist and explaining that he was
a forerunner for the Pontiff. Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz
of Minsk, the nation's capital, told a national television
audience that the Pope had responded favorably to
the invitation. 'If God allows it, then Yes,' he quoted
the Pope as saying. No dates have been discussed for
a possible papal visit. Although the Orthodox Church
comprises the largest single religious bloc in Belarus--
and the restrictive religious policies of the pro-Russian
government tilt heavily toward the Patriarchate of
Moscow-- Catholics constitute the largest minority
faith. A papal visit to the country could be seen
as a stepping-stone toward a policy goal that the
late Pope John Paul II set for the Holy See: a papal
visit to Moscow. [CWNews] 1463.7
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The Miraculous Medal
The
Association of the Miraculous Medal was given pontifical
approval 100 years ago today, and a centenary is beginning
to mark the anniversary. Vincentian Father Gregory
Gay, superior-general of the association, announced
the centenary that will run through Nov. 20, 2009,
when the group will have its third international meeting.
The association, established after the apparitions
of the Virgin Mary to St. Catherine Laboure, was recognized
formally on July 8, 1909. The miraculous medal was
manifested by the Blessed Virgin to St. Catherine
in Paris in 1830. The medal shows Our Lady standing
on a globe with her arms outstretched and with the
rays of light streaming from her fingers. Framing
the figure is the inscription: O Mary, conceived without
sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. The back
of the medal has 12 stars encircling a large 'M' from
which arises a cross. Below are two hearts with flames
arising from them. One heart is encircled in thorns
and the other is pierced by a sword. In a letter titled
'100 Years of Pilgrimage With Mary, United With Jesus
in the Poor Through the Miraculous Medal,'
Father
Gay invited those who follow the spirituality of St.
Vincent de Paul to mark the centenary. The letter
recalls the progress of the miraculous medal association
in its 100 years of existence. It noted that the principal
apostolate has been prayer to promote a greater devotion
of the Virgin Mary. 'The association has developed
this apostolate of prayer and evangelization by way
of the home visits where, in a family environment,
persons of faith and good will fall in love with the
Lord Jesus through an intimate closeness to his mother
Mary,' Father Gay explained. 'In the more recent history
of the association, a service-apostolate has been
developed in imitation of Mary who visited her cousin
Elizabeth, giving the consolation that only the God
of life can give to anyone in need,' he added. 'Without
a doubt, it has been Mary, through her intercession,
who has blessed this journey,' Father Gay stated.
'We pray that she continue to accompany us in the
jubilee year. […] We invite all the members of
the Association of the Miraculous Medal and other
members of the Vincentian Family to develop activities
to promote a greater devotion to our mother, Mary,
and a greater love for the poor, doing all that we
do for the greater honor and glory of God.' [Zenit]
1463.8
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The Family
Report
to Russian Orthodox Council
The
supreme governance and administrative body of the
Russian Orthodox Church, the Bishops' Council, which
is held every four years, was opened on June 24th
in Moscow, presided over by His Holiness Alexy II,
Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.
In
his report to the Council on the opening day, in the
section 'Orthodoxy and Family Care', his Holiness
spoke on the crisis of the family in modern society.
In
particular Alexy II pointed to the increasing practice
of casual sexual liaisons and licentious cohabitation,
the high rate of divorce, and the large number of
incomplete and unsuccessful families as evidence that
the crisis exists.
The
majority of divorces occur in the very first years
after the creation of the family, he said, and as
a result a significant number of children live without
fathers. The statistics show that the majority of
so-called 'difficult' teenagers are coming from such
broken families.
It
was pointed out by his Holiness that the spreading
of cohabitation without the conclusion of marriage
testifies to the unwillingness of couples to accept
responsibility both to each other and to their future
children, whose birth frequently is not even expected
in such unions, which rarely last.
Addressing
the clergy, the Patriarch specified the need to explain
to their congregations why such unions cannot be considered
as marriage at all, and, at the same time, to explain
the importance of witnessing to the meaning and traditions
of Christian marriage, which grants happiness and
fulfillment.
He
pointed to the need to resolutely resist attempts
to dilute the concept of family, which can only be
the lawful union of a man and a woman, which creates
the proper conditions for raising children.
On
divorce and the dissolutions of marriages blessed
by the Church, his Holiness emphasized that the Church
can only register a family break-up, stressing that
under no circumstances can there be a good reason
to bless a divorce - 'What God has joined together,
man must never separate' (Matthew, 19, 6).
Addressing
the problem of the extremely high rate of abortion,
the Patriarch stated the unalterable viewpoint of
the Church: abortion is murder and is subject to moral
condemnation as a serious sin.
Russia's
demographic crisis is related to the pitiable status
of family and marriage and low level standards of
morality and spirituality, His Holiness said.
He
also pointed out to the assembly that any attempts
to overcome the demographic crisis by economic means
only, without taking into account a spiritual component,
are doomed to failure - since the sources of the crisis
are not in purses, but in the souls of people. He
said it is not accidental that believers have more
children than non-believers in identical economic
conditions.
Demographic
problems do not arise in poor countries that have
kept their religious traditions, he observed. Thus
Russia should be looking for a way out of the demographic
crisis in a spiritual and moral transformation of
the person and society. [LifeSiteNews] 1463.9
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United Nations
A
scheme to make Christians criminals
Dozens
of nations dominated by Islam are pressing the United
Nations to adopt an anti-"defamation" plan
that would make Christians criminals under international
law, according to a United States organization that
has launched a campaign to defend freedom of religion
worldwide.
"Around
the world, Christians are being increasingly targeted,
and even persecuted, for their religious beliefs.
Now, one of the largest organizations in the United
Nations is pushing to make a bad situation even worse
by promoting anti-Christian bigotry," the American
Center for Law & Justice said yesterday in announcing
its petition drive.
The
discrimination is "wrapped in the guise of a
U.N. resolution called 'Combating Defamation of Religions,'"
the announcement said. "We must put an immediate
end to this most recent, dangerous attack on faith
that attempts to criminalize Christianity."
The
"anti-defamation" plan has been submitted
to the U.N. repeatedly since about 1999, starting
out as a plan to ban "defamation" of Islam
and later changed to refer to "religions,"
officials said. It is being pushed by the 57-member
Organization of the Islamic Conference nations, which
has adopted the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights
in Islam, "which states that all rights are subject
to sharia law, and makes sharia law the only source
of reference for human rights."
The
ACLJ petition, which is to be delivered to the United
Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, already
had collected more than 23,000 names in just a brief
online existence.
The
ACLJ's European division, the European Center for
Law & Justice, also has launched its work on the
issue. It submitted arguments last month to the U.N.
in opposition to the proposal to institute sharia-based
standards around the globe.
"The
position of the ECLJ in regards to the issue of 'defamation
of religion' resolutions, as they have been introduced
at the U.N. Human Rights Council and General Assembly,
is that they are in direct violation of international
law concerning the rights to freedom of religion and
expression," the organization's brief said.
"The
'defamation of religion' resolutions establish as
the primary focus and concern the protection of ideas
and religions generally, rather than protecting the
rights of individuals to practice their religion,
which is the chief purpose of international religious
freedom law."
"Furthermore,
'defamation of religion' replaces the existing objective
criterion of limitations on speech where there is
an intent to incite hatred or violence against religious
believers with a subjective criterion that considers
whether the religion or its believers feel offended
by the speech," the group continued.
Interestingly,
in nations following Islam, the present practice is
to use such laws to protect Islam and to attack religious
minorities with penalties up to and including execution,
the brief noted.
"What
should be most disconcerting to the international
community is that laws based on the concept of 'defamation
of religion' actually help to create a climate of
violence," the argument explained.
For
example, just two months ago an Afghanistan court
following Islam sentenced to death a 23-year-old apprentice
journalist who had downloaded an article from an Iranian
website and brought it to his class, the ECLJ said.
Other instances include:
* Award-winning author Mark Steyn has been summoned
to appear before two Canadian Human Rights Commissions
of vague allegations of "subject[ing] Canadian
Muslims to hatred and contempt" for comments
in his book, "America Alone," the group
said.
* In Pakistan, 15 people were accused of blasphemy
against Islam during the first four months of 2008,
the organization said.
* Another Pakistani man sentenced to life in prison
for desecrating the Quran was jailed for six years
before being acquitted of the charge.
* In Saudi Arabia a teacher was sentenced to three
years in prison plus 300 lashes "for expressing
his views in a classroom."
* In the United Kingdom, police announced plans to
arrest a blogger for "anti-Muslim" statements.
* In the United States, a plaintiff sued his Internet
service provider for refusing "to prevent participants
in an online chat room from posting or submitting
harassing comments that blasphemed and defamed plaintiff's
Islamic religion."
The
ECLJ said, "The implementation of domestic laws
to combat defamation of religion in many OIC countries
reveals a selective and arbitrary enforcement toward
religious minorities, who are often Christians. Those
violations are frequently punishable by the death
penalty."
The
newest "anti-defamation" plan was submitted
in March. It specifically cites a declaration "adopted
by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers"
at a meeting in Islamabad "which condemned the
growing trend of Islamophobia and systematic discrimination
against adherents of Islam."
It
also cites the dictates from the OIC meeting in Dakar,
"in which the Organization expressed concern
at the systematically negative stereotyping of Muslims
and Islam and other divine religions."
It
goes on to cite a wide range of other practices that
"target" Islam, but does not mention any
other religions, and urges all nations to provide
"adequate protection against acts of hatred,
discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting
from the defamation of any religion."
According
to published reports, the U.N. Commission on Human
Rights' 53 members voted to adopt the resolution earlier
this year, with opposition from the United States
and the European Union.
At
the time, Cuba's delegate, Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez,
said: "Islam has been the subject of very deep
campaign of defamation."
"They're
attempting to pass a sinister resolution that is nothing
more than blatant religious bigotry," the ACLJ
said in its promotion of its petition. "This
is very important to understand. This radical proposal
would outlaw Christianity … it would make the
proclamation of your faith an international crime."
"In
his recent dissent on the Supreme Court's ruling on
Guantanamo Bay, Justice Scalia said, 'America is at
war with radical Islamists.' Never has this rung more
true than today. Never have Christians been more targeted
for their religious beliefs. And never have we faced
a more dangerous threat than the one posed by the
OIC," the ACLJ said.
On
the Grizzly Groundswell blog, the author described
the situation as, "The United Nations: 160 cannibals
and 17 civilized people taking a majority vote on
what to have for dinner."
The
U.S. State Department also has found the proposal
unpalatable.
"This
resolution is incomplete inasmuch as it fails to address
the situation of all religions," said the statement
from Leonard Leo. "We believe that such inclusive
language would have furthered the objective of promoting
religious freedom. We also believe that any resolution
on this topic must include mention of the need to
change educational systems that promote hatred of
other religions, as well as the problem of state-sponsored
media that negatively targets any one religion."
[WorldNetDaily] 1463.9a
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Sustainable
agricultural programs
The
Vatican representative at the UN has called for a
greater government efforts 'to invest in long-term
and sustainable agriculture programs at the local
and international levels.'
Archbishop
Celestino Migliore, the permanent observer for the
Holy See at UN headquarters in New York, spoke on
July 2 at a meeting on 'the right to food.' A report
on his address was made public by the Vatican press
office on July 8.
'Short-sighted
economic, agriculture and energy policies' have contributed
to the problem of world hunger, the archbishop said.
He added that 'financial speculations on commodities,
uncontrollable increase of oil prices and adverse
climate conditions on the other' were also factors.
In
response, Archbishop Miglior said, 'immediate action
must be taken to assist those in immediate danger
and suffering from malnutrition and starvation.' He
argued that if the world's nations can spend $1.3
trillion on armaments, ample resources could be available
to feed the hungry.
The
archbishop called for greater agrarian reforms in
developing nations, 'to give smallholder farmers the
tools for increasing production in a sustainable manner
as well as access to local and global markets.' [CWNews]
1463.10
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Europe
Promotion
of homosexuality
Homosexual
activists have called 'very important' a resolution
adopted by the Council of Europe this week to step
up pressure on EU member states to implement their
political programme in countries still retaining traditional
definitions of marriage and family, as well as 'gender'.
At
their meeting on July 2, the Committee of Ministers
of the Council ordered the 'elaboration of a recommendation'
aimed at 'at enhanced... action against discrimination'
and to bring member states into line with the homosexual
movement's political advances.
This
will include 'work' on the topic of 'of marital and
non-marital partnerships and cohabitation' to assist
those member states who have not yet implemented legal
recognition of homosexual and other types of unions.
Member states will be instructed to 'avoid and remedy
any discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation
or gender identity'. Proposals are planned to 'strengthen
the equal rights' of homosexuals and 'transgendered
persons' and to combat 'discriminatory attitudes'
towards them.
The
homosexualist movement reacted with high praise saying
that the Council of Europe 'strongly reaffirmed' their
position. The International Gay and Lesbian Association,
the European Union's premier homosexualist lobby group,
called it an 'historic development'.
ILGA-Europe
Executive Director, Patricia Prendiville commented,
'For the first time since the foundation of the Council
of Europe nearly 60 years ago, its executive committee,
the Foreign Ministers of the 47 member states, is
to issue a formal declaration in support of LGBT rights,
and to engage the whole organisation in combating
discrimination against LGBT people.'
With
this decision, it is expected that pressure will increase
on those countries that maintain legal definitions
of marriage and family that preclude recognition of
homosexual partnerings.
Although
Poland's constitution, for example, guarantees equality
under the law for all citizens and bars unlawful discrimination
'for any reason', the country is under almost constant
pressure to implement special provisions recognising
homosexual partnerships.
Meanwhile,
surveys continue to show overwhelming public opposition
in Poland to the attempted normalisation of the homosexual
lifestyle. A 2005 survey found 89 per cent of the
population stating that they consider homosexuality
an 'unnatural' activity. In 2006 the European Commission
ran a poll that showed Polish public opinion was generally
opposed to same-sex 'marriage' and to adoption by
homosexuals.
Greece,
Latvia, Belarus, Serbia, Malta, Slovakia and Ukraine
are likely to be particularly singled out by activists
and EU officials for having retained the legal meaning
of marriage and family as being between a man and
a woman and refusing attempts to install 'gay marriage'
or civil partnerships.
In
some of those countries, homosexuality is still recognised
as a mental disorder that bars a person from military
service. The adoption of children is reserved for
couples in natural marriages. In many of the countries
homosexual activists have noted that the continued
influence of religious bodies, in most cases either
Orthodox or Catholic, is a significant obstacle for
their progress. [LifeSiteNews] 1463.11
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The radical onslaught
Catholic institution honours dissident theologian
A 'feminist theologian' who thinks that God can be
called 'Gaia,' after the Roman mother-earth goddess,
has accepted a one-year honorary professorship at
the University of San Diego, according to an announcement
by the school, which describes itself on its web site
as 'a Roman Catholic institution.' Rosemary Radford
Ruether will hold the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair
in Roman Catholic Theology at USD for the academic
year 2009-2010.
Besides
being a regular columnist for the National Catholic
Reporter, Ruether holds multiple professorships,
has 12 honorary doctorates, and has written a long
list of books, including Gaia and God: An Ecofeminist
Theology of Earth Healing (1992), Goddesses and the
Divine Feminine: A Western Religious History (2005),
and America, Amerikkka: Elect Nation and Imperial
Violence (2007). As Portman Chair at USD, Ruether
will teach one undergraduate course in the fall of
2009 and will deliver the annual Portman Lecture.
Ruether
has long been an advocate of women's ordination and,
beginning in 1985, has served as a board member for
the pro-abortion Catholics for a Free Choice (now
Catholics for Choice) organization. In 2000, the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement
saying the group 'is not a Catholic organization,
does not speak for the Catholic Church, and in fact
promotes positions contrary to the teaching of the
Church.' Catholics for a Free Choice, said the bishops,
is 'an arm of the abortion lobby in the United States
and throughout the world.'
In
an article entitled 'Sexual Literacy' published by
Catholics for a Free Choice in its Summer 2003 Conscience
magazine, Ruether wrote that, under the old 'patriarchal'
social order, in which girls were expected to remain
chaste before marriage, while boys could ''sow their
wild oats', with 'bad (lower class) girls,'' young
women on their wedding night 'were, in effect, raped
by young husbands whose previous sexual experience
came from exploitative relationships with servant
women and prostitutes. The young bride went into marriage
without knowledge of how to experience pleasure or
prevent pregnancy.'
According
to Ruether, 'the Christian Right, Catholic and Protestant,
is trying to roll back the sexual revolution by returning
to a patriarchal puritanism based on a classist separation
of females into 'good' girls and 'bad' girls, exploiting
the bad girls while denying the good girls personal
freedom.'
Ruether's
solution to 'patriarchal puritanism' is 'a two-stage
process' of 'sexual integration.'
'In
the first stage of young people's lives they should
learn how to give sexual pleasure to one another without
getting pregnant,' said Ruether. 'This entails adults
helping them to learn about their own sexuality in
a way that would endorse both sexual pleasure and
contraception. It assumes that young people can engage
in sexual experimentation before they are ready for
reproduction, perhaps 'going steady' with a partner,
in a way that connects sexual pleasure and contraception
with friendship; i.e. accountable, responsible relationships.'
In
2005, Ruether told an audience at Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles that 'Christianity is not
necessarily worse than other religions, but it is
the vehicle of Western Civilization,' which, she said,
is riddled with hierarchy and patriarchy. Christianity,
she said, presents an image of a tribal war god instead
of 'wisdom pervading the universe.'
Such
notions as human superiority over animals must also
be discarded, Ruether has said elsewhere.
Ruether
is not the first dissident theologian invited to USD
via the Portman Chair. This year, Fr. Peter C. Phan,
a theologian under investigation by the Holy See,
gave the Portman Lecture. In his book, Being Religious
Interreligiously, Phan downplays 'the singularity
of Jesus Christ as savior of the world,' said the
U.S. bishop's Committee on Doctrine in late 2007.
According
to the USD web site, 'The Portman Chair was established
in the department in the year 2000 through an anonymous
donor's generous bequest. It was named after Msgr.
John R. Portman, who served as the founding chair
of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies
from 1967 to 1974. Msgr. Portman has been a pioneer
in ecumenical dialogue, and served as pastor of the
Church of the Immaculata and in other parishes in
San Diego for over 30 years after leaving the University
of San Diego. He was recently (fall 2006) honored
with the title of Professor Emeritus.'
The
University of San Diego was founded in 1949 by Charles
F. Buddy, first bishop of the Diocese of San Diego,
and Rosalie Hill, Mother Superior of the Society of
the Sacred Heart. [CalCatholic] 1463.12
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Bishop
sponsors homosexual youth group
Bishop
Raul Vera of the Diocese of Saltillo is sponsoring
a homosexual youth group that accepts sodomy and cross-dressing,
holds 'Gay Pride' festivals, and openly affiliates
itself with the pro-abortion group 'Catholics for
the Right to Decide', LifeSiteNews has learned after
an investigation of several months.
The
Bishop of Saltillo, Raul Vera, is reportedly aware
of the group's activities and approves them. Vera
is also an open supporter of the State of Coahuila's
'civil union' legislation for homosexuals.
The
organization, called the 'Lesbian and Gay Community
of San Elredo' (Saint Aelred) made headlines in local
newspapers recently when it sponsored the appearence
of expelled Dominican and homosexual activist James
Alison at a 'Gay Pride Festival' promoted by the diocese.
The
group, founded in 2002 by two homosexual adolescents,
takes the name of Saint Aelred, who some homosexuals
claim as one of their own, despite his clear and vehement
denunciation of sodomy.
In
an interview last year, group co-founder Noe Ruiz
told LifeSiteNews that the group doesn't 'talk about
avoiding relations, but we do talk about protection'.
He added that the priests who counsel the group teach
that homosexual sexual acts are not sinful, as long
as the two are really 'in love.'
'We
have three priests, who are spiritual guides for the
community, and yes they touch on that type of subject,
but always very responsibly, and we are talking about
a couple that is in love, and it really is a demonstration
of love, it really is affection that they feel for
each other, there's no problem,' said Ruiz.
Asked
to explain, he said, 'as long as there's love between
the two people, go ahead, but if you change partners
every weekend, then we're doing wrong.'
'So
they say that if the two people have a stable relationship,
in that case their sexual relations are good?' LifeSiteNews
asked. Ruiz responded. 'In those cases, yes.'
LifeSiteNews
contacted one of the priests who guides the group,
Fr. Robert Coogan, an American originally from New
York. He at first flatly denied that the group was
being taught that sodomy could be morally acceptable.
However,
he soon called back to retract his statement, acknowledging
that 'I think it is certainly true, that in the group,
members of the group have heard that, depending on
their situation, two people who are trying to live
responsibly in a relationship with people of the same
sex, there are conditions so its not a blanket statement,
they could hear a priest say that their situation
is not necessarily (wrong) but that is something that
some people would hear - with the conditions.'
Asked
about the 'conditions', Fr. Coogan claimed that psychological
factors can reduce or eliminate the guilt of an act.
However, he also claimed that the Catholic Church
does not condemn homosexual behavior as sinful, and
does not teach that any acts are evil in themselves,
both of which are contradicted by recent statements
by popes as well as the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, which is a summary of Church teaching issued
by Pope John Paul II.
Fernando
Hernandez, Special Events Coordinator for the group,
noted in a recent interview with the news agency Notise
that in contrast to Catholic groups like Courage,
which seeks abstinence and even a change in sexual
inclination, where possible, for its members, the
Community of San Elredo does not.
'We're
part of nature and we're happy that way. Homosexuality
is not an illness, nor something that harms oneself,'
he said.
One
member of the organization, co-founder Marco Antonio
Mata, has openly expressed his intention to register
his partner and himself under Coahuila's civil unions
law, the only one in Mexico, according to Copley News
Service in 2006.
The
Community of San Elredo also has links to the pro-abortion
movement. Earlier this year, the group held a series
of forums on 'sexual diversity' with the open sponsorship
of 'Catholics for the Right to Decide', which is the
sister group of Catholics for a Free Choice, an organization
condemned repeatedly by Church authorities for advocating
abortion and for misleading Catholics on Church doctrine
regarding human life issues.
Saltillo's
Bishop Raul Vera has a history of involving himself
in controversial social and political causes. Although
he was slated to replace the Bishop of San Cristobal
de las Casas in the state of Chiapas in 2000, the
Vatican's decision to instead appoint him to the diocese
of Saltillo was seen as an attempt to remove him from
a leadership role in the low-level insurgency led
by the socialistic Zapatista movement.
Although
Vera has sponsored activities that affirm homosexual
sexual orientation, he has spoken out against the
use of birth control. He also opposes homosexual 'marriage'.
While
Coahuila is widely regarded as a conservative state,
news reports indicate that Vera has thus far encountered
little resistance to his promotion of homosexual political
and social causes. [LifeSiteNews] 1463.13
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Harassed teacher quits
Chris
Kempling will be leaving his position in Canada's
public school system after years of harassment for
his Christian beliefs and his moral stand against
the campaign to promote homosexuality in schools.
Kempling has announced he will be taking a job at
St. Ann's Academy in Kamloops.
Earlier
this year Kempling received a fresh list of citations
for 'conduct unbecoming a member' of the BC College
of Teachers (BCCT) for his exposition of the Christian
position on homosexuality, which fact Kempling said
drove him to leave the College of Teachers.
Kempling said that although this move will afford
him greater freedom, it will not prevent the BCCT
from continuing their attempt to penalize him for
having spoken out against their homosexualist program.
In January this year, the BCCT laid 12 charges against
Kempling, citing him for his letters to editors; for
quoting biblical passages about homosexual behaviour
in an interview with CBC Radio; and for having published
an article, re-published by the Calgary Herald in
December 2003, outlining the differences between social
liberals and social conservatives.
'I've decided I've had enough of the College of Teachers,'
Kempling said in announcing his decision to change
jobs. 'Although the remuneration is less [at St. Ann's],
it is worth it to me not to have to be a member of
the BCCT.'
One
upshot of the decision to leave the College, however,
is the loss of Kempling's legal aid fund, which was
provided by the College. The schoolteacher will be
covering his own legal costs for an upcoming hearing
with the College, but he still faces enormous financial
challenges as he throws himself into a fight that
is anticipated to take years and which he has said
he intends to pursue all the way to the Supreme Court
of Canada if necessary.
Kempling was also cited by the College for publishing
a scholarly article in a German periodical on homosexuality,
for offering 'orientation change therapy' to homosexual
people and for mentioning this in a radio interview,
and for 'for having knowledge,' while a candidate
for the Christian Heritage Party, that an article
written by party leader Ron Gray in support of Kempling
was posted on the party's website.
Kempling says the list of charges is 'the most Orwellian
document I have ever read.' He also says his lawyer
had warned him to 'expect a very substantial suspension'
if he remained a member of the College. Kempling has
been subpoenaed for a four day hearing in late September.
The mild-mannered teacher has been employed as a teacher
and counsellor by the Quesnel School District at a
high school in Quesnel, British Columbia since 1990.
In 1997, he began his life in the limelight as one
of Canada's most prominent proponents of free speech
and traditional values when he wrote a series of letters
to the local papers warning parents and citizens of
the efforts of the school system to normalise homosexuality
to children.
Kempling wrote in the Quesnel Cariboo Observer,
'I refuse to be a false teacher saying that promiscuity
is acceptable, perversion is normal, and immorality
is simply 'cultural diversity' of which we should
be proud.'
For writing this, in 2001 Kempling was cited and suspended
for professional misconduct by the BCCT. In January,
2003, Kempling expressed his views on CBC radio, at
which point his school district instructed him not
to express his views on homosexuality in school or
in public. But Kempling has chosen to continue to
speak out against the homosexualist political doctrines
and has stood as a candidate for the Christian Heritage
Party in the Cariboo-Prince George riding. [LifeSiteNews]
1463.14
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International
news
Argentina
Modern
slavery
The
Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio,
warned against the modern forms of slavery and exploitation
during a Mass this week for immigrants, women involved
in prostitution and victims of slave labour. During
the Mass, which commemorated the anniversary of the
International Convention on the Rights of Migrant
Workers and was held at the shrine of Our Lady of
Immigrants in Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio pointed
to the need to work for ending modern-day forms of
slavery. 'Our country shelters slave traders: men
and women who buy and sell people. Men and women who
act at the same as those Egyptian foremen did with
the Israelites: they beat them, the make them work
more, the take away their papers so they cannot travel
about. You all know about this,' the cardinal said.
According
to the AICA news agency, Cardinal Bergoglio said,
'Here in Buenos Aires, in the big city, in this city
that is more modern every day, there also are migrant
brothers and sisters who are working 20 hours a day,
18 hours a day, they get very little pay and a salami
sandwich. . These modern-day slave traders could care
less that kids are dying,' he said. 'Since we are
Christians we also pray to God to touch the hearts
of these men and women who enslave because they are
also slaves themselves. Slaves of something else:
of greed, pride, self-importance and evil. I pray
to you for them but above all I come to you to pray
for our humble brothers and sisters who are subjected
to this slavery,' the cardinal said. [CNA] 1463.15
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Australia
One
of the world's most secular nations
Australia,
the host country for this year's celebration of World
Youth Day, is among the world's most thoroughly secularized
nations, a survey by Bertelsmann Foundation in Germany
shows. The Bertlesmann study-- outlined in a story
published in the Christian Post shows that
a majority of Australians (52%) seldom or never attend
church services, 31% do not believe in God, and 28%
describe themselves as unreligious. However, the director
of the Bertelsmann survey-- which questioned 21,000
adults-- found a 'strong religious vitality' among
Australia's young people in the weeks leading up to
World Youth Day. Catholicism is Australia's leading
faith, accounting for about 5.7 million people out
of the country's total population of nearly 21 million.
[CWNews] 1463.16
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Australia Cardinal's
'innocent error'
Cardinal
George Pell of Sydney, Australia, has said that he
made an 'innocent error' rather than deliberately
covering up evidence of sexual abuse in a case that
is commanding media attention in the final days before
World Youth Day. Australia's ABC television network
revealed on July 7 that Cardinal Pell had written
to an alleged victim of sexual abuse, telling him
that there had been no other complaints against the
priest he accused, on the same day that the prelate
wrote another letter acknowledging assaults by the
same priest. Cardinal Pell admitted that the letter
he wrote in 2003 to Anthony Jones was 'badly worded,'
but insisted that he had no intention to be 'deceitful.'
Jones had reported that he was molested in 1982 by
Father Terrence Goodall.
An
archdiocesan investigation eventually sustained the
complaint, and the priest was removed from ministry.
Goodall was convicted of indecent assault in 2005.
At a July 8 press conference in Sydney, Cardinal Pell
said that he had intended, in his 2003 letter to Jones,
to convey the idea that there were no other allegations
of 'attempted aggravated sexual assault' against Goodall.
He explained that he had accepted the results of the
church investigation, which found clear evidence of
homosexual activity involving Goodall and Jones, but
he believed that Jones-- who was 28 years old at the
time of the incident-- had been a consenting partner
rather than a rape victim. 'There was no cover-up,'
Cardinal Pell insisted. He said that the archdiocese
had cooperated with legal authorities in the prosecution
of Father Goodall. [CWNews] 1463.17
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Brazil Condom
vending-machines in public schools
