Fr. Z's Blog | Catholic commentary by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Photographer refuses to shoot same-sex thingy. Bullying ligation ensues. First liberties eroded.

Posted on 7 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Priests and bishops will be targeted by homosexuals activists as victims in harassing court cases. Proponents of unnatural acts will bully – through litigation and threats of litigation and even violence – bully clergy into doing things that are contrary to conscience.

That said, don’t let anyone get away with the claim that same-sex “marriage” is a right is just like the civil rights movement in the 1960’s.

From Catholic Vote comes this by Joshua Mercer:

Have this story handy when somebody says: “How does same-sex marriage have any impact on you?”

The Albuquerque Journal reports:

A photo studio’s refusal to photograph a same-sex couple’s commitment ceremony violates the New Mexico Human Rights Act, the Court of Appeals has ruled, rejecting the Albuquerque studio’s argument that doing so would cause it to disobey God and Biblical teachings. [So much for religious freedom.]

Vanessa Willock asked photographer Elaine Huguenin to take pictures of a “commitment” ceremony between her and her lesbian partner. The photographer said to do such would violate her moral and religious beliefs.

Vanessa could have easily used a smartphone or found a phone book and got the names of about a dozen other photographers who had no problem with this at all. (If a doctor was repulsed by the fact that my wife and I accepted Catholic teaching on contraception, I would simply find another doctor. I wouldn’t take him to court.)

Elaine Huguenin has been ordered by the courts in New Mexico to photograph a lesbian ‘commitment’ ceremony.

[NB] But Vanessa wanted a photographer at her ceremony who thinks what she is doing is immoral. I know. That seems odd, doesn’t it. But the reason is simple: She want this photographer to be compared to restaurants and hotels in the 1950s who refused to serve black customers.

Now let’s review: Same-sex marriage is not legal in New Mexico. Even same-sex civil unions are not recognized in New Mexico.

[…]

I think that in a second term, this is the sort of thing that the Administration of “The First Gay President”, Pres. Obama, will actually evolve into supporting.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Dogs and Fleas, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged 1st Amendment, bullying, civil unions, homosexual activist, Pres. Obama, religious liberty, same-sex marriage, The First Gay President
55 Comments

Man in “coma” cries when he hears fiance’s voice on the phone

Posted on 7 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

With a tip of the biretta to CMR:

A young man who’s been in a coma for a months started crying when his parents put the phone to his ear so he could hear his fiance. Wow.

This is pretty darn amazing and it’s a testament to the great love the guy’s parents and step parent has for him. It’s also one of the very practical reasons we shouldn’t be starving people in comas because how many times do we read that “doctors are stunned” that so and so woke up.

It’s a pretty beautiful story from the Daily Mail:

[…]

Read the rest there.

The CDF statement on artificial nutrition and hydration HERE. And see this.

Some years ago I wrote an article on people in what is called Persistent Vegetative State. Read there a descriptive of what it is like to die in from dehydration.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Just Too Cool, Pray For A Miracle, The Drill | Tagged coma, nutrition and hydration, persistent vegetative state, PVS
10 Comments

SSPX Bp. Fellay on the danger of inventing an idea of the Church that appears ideal.

Posted on 7 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Cindy Wooden of CNS did an article on comments made by SSPX Bp. Fellay on their site DICI. I found this on the site of the UK’s best Catholic weekly, The Catholic Herald.

After some introductory remarks about the present situation already pretty well know to readers here, we find with my emphases and comments:

[…]

In the interview on the SSPX website, Bishop Fellay said: “We are still not in agreement doctrinally, and yet the Pope wants to recognise us. Why? The answer is right in front of us: [as plain as the noses on our faces] there are terribly important problems in the Church today.”

The reconciliation talks, he said, are a sign that the Catholic Church has begun to recognise it needs to recover traditions and traditional teaching eclipsed by the Second Vatican Council. [“eclipses” is a good image… “overshadowed”… “obscured” … and not just by the Council, but especially by a false interpretation of many aspects of the Council’s documents.] If the SSPX were to reconcile fully with the Church, Bishop Fellay said, its members would continue to denounce “doctrinal difficulties” in the Church, [NB:] but would do so while also providing “tangible signs of the vitality of tradition” in its growing membership and vocation rate. [Within!]

[I like this…] Speaking to members of the SSPX who are wary of reconciliation, Bishop Fellay said “one of the great dangers is to end up inventing an idea of the Church that appears ideal, but is in fact not found in the real history of the Church”.

“Some claim that in order to work ‘safely’ in the Church, she must first be cleansed of all error. This is what they say when they declare that Rome must convert before any agreement, or that its errors must first be suppressed so that we can work,” he said.

But the reality of the Church’s history shows that “often, and almost always, we see that there are widespread errors” and that God calls holy men and women to work within the Church to correct the errors, Bishop Fellay said. [Within.]

“We are being asked to come and work just as all the reforming saints of all times did,” he said. [I don’t think it would be fair to call that bombastic. It is bold, but we don’t need mediocre visions today.]

Bishop Fellay said he did not have a timetable for the conclusion of the talks. “There are even some who say that the Pope will deal with this matter at [the papal summer villa in] Castel Gandolfo in July.” [Or a bit later, even. Surely the Holy Father has a few things to reflect on and write these days, which will absorb a good deal of time. Still, I have to believe that this agenda item is high on the list.]

Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.

Posted in Benedict XVI, Brick by Brick, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Pope of Christian Unity, Priests and Priesthood, SSPX, The future and our choices | Tagged Bp. Fellay, SSPX, Vatican II
20 Comments

Rosaries forbidden in a school because they are “gang signs”.

Posted on 7 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

For your Just Too Dumb file:

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 15-year-old Coon Rapids student says he wears a rosary as a necklace to feel close to his grandmother, who is suffering from breast cancer. But the Anoka-Hennepin School District told him to take the rosary off – or face the consequences.

Jake Balthazor says he prays for his grandmother’s health.

“She has breast cancer, and I’m trying to support her for it,” he said.

He wears his beliefs proudly. The rosary is one his grandmother gave him, but it’s also what landed him in the principal’s office.

“They think it’s like a gang sign,” Balthazor said.

A district spokesperson said the school asked Balthazor not to wear the rosary as a necklace again, saying policy forbids it.

The district’s student discipline policy forbids “any apparel, jewelry, accessories, or matter of grooming which by virtue of its color arrangement, trademark, or any other attribute (as a primary purpose) denotes membership in an organized gang.”

Balthazor’s family finds the school’s stance baffling.

“I don’t know how anything with the church can be affiliated with a gang,” said Balthazor’s father, Dave Thompson. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Balthazor’s rosary wearing might also not make sense to many Catholics. He wears the rosary as a necklace, which is unusual. Moreover, Balthazor isn’t Catholic, he’s Lutheran; but those close to the family say they understand why he wears it.

“The rosary brings people closer to Christ,” said Bob Balk, who owns St. George Catholic Books and Gifts with his wife, Sharon.

“It represents faith on her part and his,” Sharon Balk said.

Balthazor’s grandmother goes in for surgery Thursday.

“His opinion is: If he’s wearing it, Grandma’s going to be OK,” Thompson said.

Balthazor said he plans to wear his rosary to school Thursday, but says if he’s asked to take it off, he’ll put it in his pocket.

UPDATE: The communications director for the Anoka-Hennepin School District, Mary Olson, said they were unaware that Balthazor wore the rosary to honor his grandmother. Olson also shared a letter they received last month from the police liaison about rosaries being used as gang signs. [So, rather than ask, they assumed the worst.] The letter states, “A new issue came up recently that is interesting regarding rosary beads. Some gangs do use them as clothing symbols. The gangs identified around here that have been using them are the Latin Kings and the Surenos.” Olson said she understands that Balthazor did wear the rosary to school on Thursday and is currently in finals. She said the school plans to talk with him to try and work out a compromise.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, Throwing a Nutty |
53 Comments

It never rains, but it…

Posted on 7 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

… pours.

What a day I have had.

First, I have felt dreadful all day long. I forced myself out (into the rain – and I don’t do rain well) to get something to eat. I ate about a third of it, gave up, and crawled home.

I figured that, being a prisoner of my room and illness, I would try to polish and cut down the talk I am to give at the LMS conference on Saturday. Thus, I opened my files and got to work and, in my medicated stupor, promptly deleted everything.

I couldn’t even recover temp files or auto backups. Nihil. Strange. Even the autosave directory: zippo. Even the temp directories: nada.

But wait! I had a back up!

I can remotely access things at home. That was when my connection to the internet failed. No problem, quoth I. I used my phone to get into the files back home in order to send a copy by email. That is when the app failed. I wasn’t daunted. I used my other phone, and found that the computer back home, thinking it was being attacked by different sources, locked our all access for a time. Never fear. I have a backup drive with me with enough notes on it that I could use for the talk.

The backup drive wouldn’t let me in.

At this point I nearly put my 300-pound head on the table and wept.

I took a nap, instead.

Rising, I said, “I don’t think I am supposed to give that talk in that way.”

I have therefore spent a few hours putting together with substantially the same thrust but with a couple different angles.

Now, of course, all my apps work again, the internet is back, the computer at home is allowing access, and I have emailed myself a copies of what I worked up.

Today was a classic example of Zuhlsdorf’s Law which in its broadest terms states that “Murphy was an optimist.” In application, however, Zuhlsdorf’s Law states that, in the very moment you need technology, that technology will fail you. And the extent of the failure is directly proportioned to the urgency. I am therefore glad that I wasn’t doing this tomorrow! Anyway, I am sure you have all had the experience of wanting to show someone the great new thing you have. It is precisely then that it won’t work.

Otherwise, perhaps it is that Titivillus knows that you are at low ebb and, therefore, throws spanners into your stuff.

You might have heard that medieval scribes thought that a devil named Titivillus made them introduce copying errors in manuscripts. With all these new gadgets we have today, there are endless ways for us to make mistakes, Titivillus or none.

That was today for me. All day. From top to bottom.

I now, however, am looking out the window and seeing a little blue sky. I am also sensing something akin to hunger rumbling away.

Time for more decongestants and a walk.

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged Murphy's Law, technology, Titivillus, Zuhlsdorf's Law
25 Comments

NYC – Manhattan 7 June Corpus Christi Solemn TLM with Eucharistic Procession around Herald Square

Posted on 7 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

For those of you in or around Manhattan, there will be a Solemn Mass Thursday, 7 June, at 6 PM for the Feast of Corpus Christi at the Church of the Holy Innocents (37th between Broadway and 7th) followed by an outdoor Procession with the Blessed Sacrament (weather permitting) around Herald Square in Manhattan.

The procession will conclude with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the Church of the Holy Innocents.

Posted in The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged Corpus Christi, Eucharistic procession, Manhattan
6 Comments

Have I missed something?

Posted on 6 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I read on the SSPX site for the USA that SSPX Bp. Fellay has asked the Society’s members to

“renew the Consecration of the Society of St. Pius X to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, June 15, the Feast of the Sacred Heart. This will be done in all our houses during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. His Excellency asks that this renewal be preceded by a novena, to start immediately this Wednesday, June 6. The novena is to consist simply in the daily recitation of the Litany of the Sacred Heart in all our houses for the intention indicated.”

I didn’t see any call for any such thing from the leadership of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Did you? Have I missed something?

Did you see any news that the LCWR wants all its members to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart and renew a Consecration to the Sacred Heart? I didn’t. Maybe it is on their website. Lemme check. Nope. Nuthin’

The sad and ironic thing is that the LCWR (a subsidiary of the Magisterium of Nuns) does still have – for now – an official stamp of approval of the Holy See, which the SSPX does not – for now.

Compare and contrast!

In the meantime, Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Magisterium of Nuns, Our Catholic Identity, Pope of Christian Unity, Priests and Priesthood | Tagged Bp. Fellay, LCWR, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Sacred Heart, SSPX
28 Comments

A great video of the Transit of Venus.

Posted on 6 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I feel dreadful from this cold. But this was cool enough to clear my head for a few seconds.

A great video of the Transit of Venus.

[wp_youtube]QX6BbP1wAIs[/wp_youtube]

There are lots of other great videos of the Transit out there now. Take a look at that rare event.

Posted in Linking Back, Look! Up in the sky! | Tagged Transit of Venus
11 Comments

Kusunda

Posted on 6 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Created things pass away.

Here is an interesting I found at dictionary.com:

Obscure language isolate will die with this woman

Seventy-five-year-old Gyani Maiyi Sen is the only native fluent speaker of Kusunda in the world, and linguists are rushing to record the unique language. Around the globe languages are dying rapidly as more and more people are learning global languages instead of maintaining their native tongues. Kusunda, a unique language of Nepal, is another of these dying languages.

Linguists, like biologists, have a scale to measure how endangered a language is. A language is considered “safe” if it will be spoken by children in 100 years. A language is classified as “endangered” when it is unlikely that children will speak it in 100 years. However, Kusunda is more vulnerable than that. It is technically a “moribund” language, which means that no children are currently learning it. When the last native speakers die, a language officially becomes extinct.
Kusunda is unique not only because it is moribund, but it is also a language isolate. Like Basque, Kusunda is not related to any other spoken language. Linguists are rushing to Nepal to record Sen speaking and describing Kusunda. The language does not have an alphabet, though, which makes this task difficult. Some linguists have speculated that Kusunda may be related to Indo-Pacific languages spoken in the Pacific Islands, but there is no definitive correlation.
Recently linguists determined that an endangered language spoken in Siberia is related to languages spoken by Native American groups. Learn its full history here.