Fr. Z's Blog | Formerly entitled: "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" – Clear, straight commentary on Catholic issues, liturgy and life by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)

Reading Francis Through Benedict: clerical sexual abuse

Posted on 5 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We continue to…

Read Francis Through Benedict.

Here is a communiqué from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

The Holy Father today received in audience Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. During the audience, various subjects pertaining to the Dicastery were discussed, the Holy Father recommended in particular that the Congregation, continue the line desired by Benedict XVI of decisive action regarding cases of sexual abuse, primarily by promoting measures for child protection; help for the many who in the past have suffered such violence; due process against those who are guilty; the commitment of Bishops’ Conferences in the formulation and implementation of the necessary directives in this area which is of great importance to the witness of the Church and its credibility. The Holy Father assured that the victims of abuse and their suffering are especially present in his thoughts and prayers.

So, Francis is brought up to date on what the CDF is doing which was entirely set in motion by Pope Benedict.

But liberals have been saying that Benedict didn’t do enough even as they praise Pope Francis as the great hope who will set everything to right again.

News media headlines read: FRANCIS ACTS DECISIVELY! For example HERE.

But wait… Francis says “Keep doing what Benedict told you to do”.

Which is it?

We continue to ….

Read Francis Through Benedict.

Posted in Benedict XVI, Biased Media Coverage, Francis, Reading Francis Through Benedict | Tagged Benedict XVI, CDF, clerical sexual abuse, Pope Francis
12 Comments

QUAERITUR: Is it a sin to fast during the Easter Octave?

Posted on 5 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

I listen to the Catholic Channel on Sirius/XM a lot and yesterday a priest who is usually fairly reliable made the comment that it is a sin to fast during the Octave of Easter. My wife started fasting certain days during Lent and found it benefited her spiritually, she has continued to a lesser degree even after Lent ended. Is it wrong to do this at a time when the Church says we should feast to celebrate the resurrection?

A sin? No, I wouldn’t say that it is a sin to fast during the Octave of Easter. Also, since I didn’t hear the broadcast, I wonder what the priest really said. We can sometimes use words that have technical meanings but in a less technical way. For example, “It would be a sin to leave that last piece of key lime pie go to waste. Father? A third piece?”

It is true that the Octave is a mysterious period resembling the eschatological 8th day, the time of outside of time after the 7 day cycle of creation and rest, foreshadowing the time after the end of the world and remaking of the cosmos. It is true that during the Octave we continue to observe the celebration of Easter so that we can view it from different angles and take in more about the mystery of the resurrection. It is true that, liturgically, the days of the Easter Octave outweigh many other liturgical points.

On the other hand, Easter Friday this year is a 1st Friday and Friday is… well… Friday. It may be in the Octave of Easter, but it also remains the day when we give special consideration to the Passion of the Lord. We are not bound by law to fast on any day but two during the year and we are bound to do penance/abstain on all Fridays except when exempted by law, such as when the day is a solemnity.

On Easter Friday we may not want to have bread and water, but neither are we obliged to have the second … or third… piece of key lime pie.

I think we are capable of observing moments of joyful penance, or penitential joy, such as on the Sundays of Lent. Each Sunday is like Easter, but Lent is still Lent. So too Friday of the Easter Octave is still Friday though it is the continuation of Easter. Moreover, there are other ways to do penance than fasting.

Is it a sin to fast during the Easter Octave? No, I wouldn’t say it is a sin. But I would not want to see anyone completely ignore the Octave as if Good Friday were continuing for all those days. That would go against the Catholic grain.

Furthermore, in the ancient Church people didn’t fast simply for themselves, but for the sake of giving what they didn’t eat to the poor as an act of mercy. Acts of mercy can be personal mortifications at times but they are surely permitted on great feasts and solemnities.

And who are any of us to oblige a person to eat more than she wants to eat or needs to eat? So long as she maintains her heath and energy to fulfill the duties of her state in life, who are we to oblige her to eat more than she chooses?

Common sense applies.

Happy 1st Friday.

^{PS: Please don’t send me key lime pies. I like that sort of pie once in while but there are others I prefer.}

UPDATE 14:39 GMT:

I saw on the blog of my friend His Hermeueticalness, the Dean of Bexeley, the P.P. of Blackfen, Fr. Tim Finigan, a very good entry about this very matter: Abstinence and Friday of the Easter Octave.

After my own heart, he looks at the Latin of the law in question and argues that Friday of the Easter Octave is celebrated as if it were a solemnity, even though technically it isn’t.

He concludes:

So what should I answer to the question “Should we abstain on the Friday of the Easter Octave?” I suppose, unhelpfully, we just have to say that there are two legitimate interpretations of an ambiguous provision in the calendar.

However I will certainly be abstaining from meat tomorrow. (Let’s be honest, it’s not that hard.)

And, in the hope of saving some time, let me quote a part of the short article:

Doubtless some will consider this all very nitpicking and legalistic, and protest that we should be concerned with the “spirit” of fasting rather than calendrical minutiae. Yet the point of days of fasting and penance prescribed by the Church is so that we can share together, as a communion in Christ, in a common practice of penance. Observing canon law does not prevent us from prayerfully fulfilling the spirit of penance as well.

Read the whole, useful entry over at his fine blog.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged 1st Friday, abstinence, fasting, key lime pie, Octave, Octave of Easter, penance
28 Comments

NOT CGI!

Posted on 5 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A few days back, this was on Astronomy Pic of the Day.

From the International Space Station as it travels around your planet.

It is not CGI!

If you are every wondering where the ISS is, click HERE. I used that when I set up an antenna and Yaesu hand-held radio (a reader here sent me) in order pick up the ISS as it passed over.

Posted in Just Too Cool, Look! Up in the sky! | Tagged earth, International Space Station, ISS
12 Comments

For Fishwrap, El Pueblo knows best!

Posted on 4 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Over at the National Schismatic Reporter, Michael Sean Winters has a supremely naïve piece (for which I hope he was paid by the word). Winters lays out a grand plan for Pope Francis to reform the Roman Curia and why.

Aside from the fact that MSW has no clue whatsoever about procedures in the Roman Curia, here is one naive assertion about how thing ought to be under this kinder, compassionate Pope:

As mentioned at the beginning, the most important change that appears to be needed at the curia is a change of heart. Already, the new pope seems willing to teach by example. Will his simplicity of personal style be mimicked by his new associates and will that simplicity carry over to their style of thinking, their manner of approaching problems? For example, you may agree or disagree with the decisions made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding any given theologian, but the whole process of examining theological texts should be re-worked, to introduce greater openness and accountability. [Good grief… if only he knew thing one about the procedure presently followed in the CDF!] You may like the appointment of culture warrior bishops or, like me, think it is a horrible development in the life of the Church, but why do Metropolitans and their suffragan bishops – and indeed the local clergy – no longer play any role in drawing up ternas for vacant sees? [They do still play a role, though perhaps not as much as they did once.] Wide consultation yields better information and, usually, a more balanced perspective. But, this kind of change is not intended only to yield more information, it is designed to end the sense among some nuncios and among those who work at the Congregation for Bishops that “they know best.”

Note the plea about “more information” at the local level. El Pueblo knows best!

MSW calls for what was done under apostolic delegates such as Archbp. Jadot.

That yielded a culture of protectors of child abusers.

Posted in Liberals, The Drill, The future and our choices, Throwing a Nutty |
15 Comments

Does a California bill really classify pedophilia as a “sexual orientation”?

Posted on 4 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

UPDATE: 5 April 13:19 GMT

From information provided by readers in the combox, below, you will see that there were a lot of problems with the information about the bill and the issues. That’s why I posted the title in the form of a question. A pretty good discussion resulted.

_____________

In the past I have posted that the cultural push (putsch?) to normalize homosexual acts will result in a program also to eliminate the taboo against sex with children.

Now I read this at Rethink Society.

Pedophilia Is A Sexual Orientation Under CA Bill

California Congresswoman, Rep. Jackie Speier CA (D), wants to federalize a state law to prohibit counseling to change a person’s sexual orientation. That doesn’t sound that extreme, but pedophilia is a sexual orientation according to this bill as well.

Under the bill’s language, a mental health counselor could be sanctioned if there was an attempt to get a pedophile or gay individual to change his behavior or speak negatively about their behavior as it relates to sexuality.

The bill calls on states to prohibit efforts to change a minor’s sexual orientation, even if the minor requests it, saying that doing so is “dangerous and harmful.”

The text of the legislation doesn’t specifically ban “gay” conversion therapy. Instead, it prohibits attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation.

“Sexual orientation change efforts’ means any practices by mental health providers that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation,” the bill says.

Republicans attempted to add an amendment specifying that, “pedophilia is not covered as an orientation.” However, the Democrats defeated the amendment. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) stated that all alternative sexual lifestyles should be protected under the law, and accordingly decided that pedophilia is a sexual orientation that should be equally as embraced as homosexuality. [There it is.]

“This language is so broad and vague, it arguably could include all forms of sexual orientation, including pedophilia,” said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute. “It’s not just the orientation that is protected—the conduct associated with the orientation is protected as well.”

Who Cares If Pedophilia Is A Sexual Orientation?

It also means that, if pedophilia is a sexual orientation, [then…] that discrimination laws also apply to pedophiles. That means you cannot block a pedophile from being a preschool teacher or any other high-risk occupation.

[…]

Once you attack what true marriage is, what nature calls for, this is the road you follow.

Posted in Liberals, Pò sì jiù, The future and our choices | Tagged Jackie Speier, pedophilia, sexual orientation
70 Comments

Dippy coverage from Reuters on Pope Francis’ General Audience

Posted on 4 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

It is hard to imagine how wrong newsies can be… and then you run into the abysmally twisted report from Reuters about what Pope Francis said today in his Wednesday audience about women.

Pope stresses “fundamental” value of women in Church

By Naomi O’Leary

ROME | Wed Apr 3, 2013 1:23pm EDT
(Reuters) – Pope Francis stressed the “fundamental” importance of women in the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, a message hailed as a significant shift from the position of his predecessor Benedict. [ROFL! Over HERE we saw that Francis was virtually quoting Benedict. Furthermore, Francis stressed motherhood. But let’s go on…]

Supporters of liberal reform of the Church have called on it to give a greater voice to women and recognize their importance to the largest religious denomination in the world, and some groups call for women to be ordained as priests.

The head of the Women’s Ordination Conference, [ROFL! Here we go!] which calls for women to be treated equally in the Church [Naomi is not actually reporting at all, now, is she…] and to be allowed to become priests and bishops, said Francis’s words were the most encouraging she had heard in her lifetime, but did not go far enough. [They will wait a looooong time, I’m afraid.]

“While the pope was trying to be positive about women’s role, where he’s actually wrong is that women were actually disciples, like Mary Magdalene,” [that’s not the point] WOC [spell it backwards] Executive Director Erin Saiz Hanna told Reuters.

“He said women are able to communicate Christ’s words, but actually women can’t preach so that’s a false statement.” [So, Francis is a liar.]

The Vatican [I love it when they write “The Vatican” like that.] says woman cannot be priests as Jesus Christ willingly [translation problems? purposely… intentionally…] chose only men as his apostles. Advocates of a female priesthood reject this position, saying Jesus was merely conforming to the customs of his times. [What is so funny about this is that, today, Francis said in his talk that the ancient cultural norms were being contradicted by what happened at the time of the Resurrection.]

Francis, elected last month as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, said women had always had a special mission in the Church as “first witnesses” of Christ’s resurrection, and because they pass belief onto their children and grandchildren. [There it is, but poor Naomi and the others don’t get it. They do this as MOTHERS, not MINISTERS.]

“In the Church, and in the journey of faith, women have had and still have a special role in opening doors to the Lord,” Francis told thousands of pilgrims at his weekly audience in S. Peter’s Square.

He said that in the Bible, women were not recorded as witnesses to Christ’s resurrection because of the Jewish Law of the time that did not deem women or children to be reliable witnesses. [Is Naomi unaware that the Gospels are part of the Bible. Or is Naomi of a tradition that doesn’t accept the Gospels as part of the Bible?]

“In the Gospels, however, women have a primary, fundamental role … The evangelists simply narrate what happened: the women were the first witnesses. This tells us that God does not choose according to human criteria,” Francis said.

REFORM

The address was the second time Francis had spoken of women’s role as witnesses to the resurrection of Christ, a subject of bedrock importance to the Catholic faith. [The Resurrection is of “bedrock” importance, but not women’s role as witnesses.]

His Easter Vigil address on Saturday made prominent mention of women and urged believers not to fear change.

Francis’s decision a week ago to include women in a traditional foot-washing ritual drew ire from traditionalists, who see the custom as a re-enactment of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles and said it should therefore be limited to men.

Marinella Perroni, [Who?] a theologian and leading member of the Association of Italian Women Theologians, which promotes female experts on religion and their visibility in the Church, said the pope’s words marked a significant shift from the previous pope.

“The fact that the Pope acknowledges that the progressive removal of female figures from the tradition of the resurrection … is due to human judgments, distant from those of God…introduces a decidedly new element compared to the previous papacy.” [This incomprehensible. Translation problem? Bottom line: silly.]

[…]

This is just dumb.

Posted in Francis, Liberals, Our Catholic Identity, Reading Francis Through Benedict, The Drill | Tagged Pope Francis, WOC, Women's Ordination Conference
36 Comments

A diocesan “morality clause” in Louisiana

Posted on 4 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Bp. Vasa has had a bumpy ride in Santa Rosa in implementing a provision that teachers in Catholic schools not live or teach in open violation of Catholic teachings.

Now I see that in the Diocese of Lafayette, a Catholic school is under attack in the local press for doing the same. Watch the language choices in the story, found at the site of KATC in Lafayette.

New Morality Clause Ends One Teacher’s Career At Fatima

A new morality clause [a catchy phrase which sounds like something from the former Soviet bloc… but it is actually fairly common in legal parlance] that is now included in Diocese of Lafayette teachers’ contracts bars teachers from being gay, using birth control or being married outside the church, KATC has learned. [Then KATC has not yet learned how to think. How can anyone “bar” another person from “being gay”? Or any of those other things? Dioceses have control over whom they hire, but they cannot bar anyone from making personal choices.]

The new clause has led to the end of at least one teacher’s career at Our Lady of Fatima School, because she is gay. [Because she is “gay” (I hate how that word has been twisted)? The Church does not teach that it is a sin to “be gay”. But wait! There’s more…]

“Fatima School did not ask me to leave. It was because I could not sign my contract and be honest to its content,” teacher Jane Riviere said in a statement. “The leadership was very respectful, compassionate and understanding during this process.” [What’s this I read? The Church did not “bar” this person for “being gay” after all? The leadership was “compassionate”? The person made her own choice?]

Riviere, a longtime art teacher at Fatima, will not be returning to the school next year because of the contract. [And now we push it back on the Church.]

“I love this school and wish all the best to everyone involved. While I do not agree, I accept the position of the Diocese,” Riviere said.

It is unclear whether any other teachers have declined to sign a contract as a result of the new morality clause.

The Diocese of Lafayette declined to comment on the clause, when it went into affect and why it was put in place. [Because it is entirely obvious to anyone with half a brain.]

“It is the policy of the Diocese that personnel issues are not discussed in a public forum,” said diocese human resources director Maureen Fontenot.

The new clause is not sitting well with everyone associated with Fatima. Parent Jaci Russo, the president of Our Lady of Fatima Advisory Council — the equivalent of a school board — said Fatima has an amazing group of educators.

“I would hate to think we would ever not renew the contract of a teacher who is an outstanding teacher because of something to do with her personal life,” Russo said. [That, ladies and gents, is an example of complete confusion. I suppose Russo would defend some theoretical teacher’s use of child porn behind closed doors.]

But although everyone may not agree with the clause, as a religious and private employer, the Diocese likely did nothing illegally when it instituted the new morality clause, said LSU Law professor William Corbett.

“Some states actually do have state employment discrimination laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, about 24, 25 states have state laws that say that. Louisiana’s does not. Louisiana’s state employment discrimination law covers all the grounds covered by Federal law, and a few others, but not sexual orientation,” Corbett said.

Corbett said morality clauses are common at both public and private schools, and he’s not surprised that the Catholic diocese in Lafayette is now asking teachers to sign them. [Has the writer also covered what secular schools have done?]

“What is a little bit more surprising is the specificity of this one, that it goes into specific definitions of what it means about morality,” Corbett said. [That’s because the Church has actually worked this out. And a clear set of definitions will protect people better.]

While Louisiana law says its legal for morality clauses to include sexual orientation, on the Federal level, employment discrimination also doesn’t include sexual orientation.

“It’s been proposed at the Federal level a number of times to amend the Federal employment discrimination statue to include prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. It’s come very close to passage, but never quite made it,” Corbett said.

The Catholic diocese morality clause also allegedly discusses birth control and marriage.

“Given this is a Catholic school, and a Catholic owned operated school I don’t find it that surprising they do specifically define what they mean by morality,” Corbett said.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, Linking Back, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged Catholic schools, homosexuals, morality clause, same-sex attraction
46 Comments

Did this inspire Tolkien to write about The Precioussssss?

Posted on 3 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We have had a couple serious weeks around here, and so I am having a little fun with my blog today.

Therefore, please go to read this VERY COOL piece at the History blog. HERE.

It has to do with ancient pagan gods, J.R.R. Tolkien, a lost and – centuries later found – cursed gold ring too big for a person’s finger, a lead curse-tablet with the name of the person who inscribed his name on the ring …

It may have been the inspiration for Tolkien to write about a certain other gold ring.

Just too cool.

Posted in Just Too Cool | Tagged J.R.R. Tolkien, Vyne Ring
24 Comments

Cool stuff in the mail

Posted on 3 April 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today I received two issues of the newsletter of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, put out for years by the Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro… che non finisce mai, by the way. I have every issue ever issued… which may be unique in North America. I subscribed when I was working the curia, got the back issues, and have maintained it every since no matter where I was.

The newsletter shows what work projects are going on, new additions, ancient things discovered, who did what, where and when, etc.

These are the January and February issues of volume 25.

I took notice of the restoration of an image of Mary, Mother of the Church, Mater Ecclesiae, since my friend the estimable Fr. Pasley has the charge of that great parish in New Jersey.