Sts. Nunilo and Alodia pray for us… at Ground Zero

From Dick Morris.com we find this about the proposed mosque at Ground Zero.

My emphases and comments, to be followed by some irony.

The proposed mosque near to ground zero is not really a religious institution. It would be — as many mosques throughout the nation are — a terrorist recruitment, indoctrination and training center.  [As the "Muslim Brotherhood" might propose.] It is not the worship of Islam that is the problem. It is the efforts to advance Sharia Law with its requirement of [eventual] Jihad and violence that is the nub of the issue.

There is a global effort to advance Sharia Law and make it the legal system of the world. Most major banks and financial institutions offer Sharia Compliant Funds which have their investments vetted by the most fundamentalist and reactionary of clerics to assure that they advance Sharia Law. Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf, the founder of the proposed Mosque, helps to prepare a Sharia Index which rates countries on their degree of compliance with Sharia Law. In the United Kingdom, many courts have recognized Sharia as the governing law on matters between two Muslims.

Not only is Sharia Law a vicious anti-female code which orders death by stoning, promotes child marriage, decriminalizes abuse of women, and gives wives no rights in divorce, but it also explicitly recognizes the duty of all Muslims to wage Jihad against non-believers and promotes violence to achieve its goals. In this respect, violent Jihad is as inherent in Sharia Law as revolution is in Communist doctrine.

But there are non-Sharia mosques where peaceful and spiritual Muslims worship God in their own way without promoting violence.  [I wonder.] A soon-to-be published study funded by Frank Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy, found that 20% of the mosques in the United States have no taint of Sharia and simply promote peaceful worship. But 80% are filled with violent literature, Sharia teachings, and promotion of Jihad and its inevitable concomitant — terrorism.

Which brings us to the ground zero mosque. [But not the chapel to Sts. Nunilo and Alodia!] There can be no doubt that any mosque organized and run by Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf will be based on Sharia Law and will serve as local branch office of the pan-Islamic terrorist offensive against the west. That such a facility should be located right next to the place where Jihad achieved its most hideous triumph is unspeakably inappropriate.

President Obama is confusing the issue when he describes it as one of religious freedom. There is broad latitude to worship God as one chooses. But there is none to promote violence and terrorism. The record of involvement of Sharia mosques with the 9-11 attackers and the Ft. Hood massacre shooter is so deep and extensive that it vividly underscores the difference between a religious institution and an organization that promotes terrorism.

Politically, President Obama’s defense of the mosque and his efforts to make it a First Amendment issue are incredibly self-destructive. They raise questions about his political sanity. It is hard to believe how tone deaf he must have become to take such a position. He has now embraced two positions that are anathema to two-thirds of all Americans — the mosque and opposition to Arizona’s immigration law. Neither was a controversy that sought him out. He waded into each one voluntarily with flags flying. He had no role in the Arizona law but his lawsuit to invalidate it made it his fight. He does not sit on the New York City Planning Commission, but his endorsement of the mosque puts him squarely in the center of controversy. What is he using for brains these days?

To continue the efforts to battle Sharia Law and the attempts of radical Muslims to use it to destroy our values and the gains of feminism, [authentic feminism] please follow the work funded by the Center for Security Policy and conducted by David Yerushalmi. To help to fund their efforts, go to centerforsecuritypolicy.org.

We need a chapel at Ground Zero to Sts. Nunilo and Alodia, little girls who were slain according to Sharia Law in 9th c. Spain (which the Sharia time-machine recreates).

Think about this.   And for those who don’t want to think this through, let’s spell it out.

No reasonable person thinks that the developers don’t have the legal right to build a mosque on that spot.  But do they have a moral right to build there? 

There is such a thing as propriety

The project of this Mosque is not neutral in meaning.  The location is not neutral in meaning.  The desire behind building this particular mosque is not neutral. 

In my opinion it is spectacularly insensitive to press for this mosque to be built at that site.  It would be tantamount to building a church dedicated to Christian children martyred under an Islamic regime next to a place revered by Muslims.

Sts. Nunilo and Alodia, pray for us.

Posted in Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged ,
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QUAERITUR: Where did Mass “facing the people” come from?

We should network our brain power for this.  Father’s tired.

From a reader:

I once wrote (by invitation) an article for a diocesan newspaper in which I mentioned, inter alia, that Vatican II never called for the priest to face the people, even though we have subsequently witnessed the virtual abolition of ad orientem worship.  The local bishop pulled the article before the paper went to press and wrote me a private letter of explanation in which he said:
 
"I am going to put this on hold because there seems to be some great lacunae with regard to ‘Mass facing the people’ as it was sometimes called, that is, the Novus Ordo.  [NB: This bishop simply assumes NO = facing the people.] I don’t understand how all of a sudden with regard to the Mass, the priests in the entire world could turn and face the people if there had not been some sort of Vatican legislation or permission granted to episcopal conferences for something which led the entire world to turn and face the people during Holy Mass.  There seems to be a lacuna in this column.  I think that without explanation this can cause grand confusion."  [On the other hand, this bishop then based his own assumptions on another assumption he never really verified.  That, in turn, became his law.]
 
This is indeed something I have always wondered about: how DID it happen that, almost overnight, ad orientem was thrown out and versus populum embraced?  Can educated readers out there tell me the [1] basic history, [2] the key documents, [3] the permissions, etc.?  In my opinion, versus populum is the single worst mistake that has ever been made in liturgical history, [Klaus Gamber would agree.] and so it seems very important that Catholics who are trying to "restore the sacred" should understand how this mistake could have happened in the first place.  Otherwise I think we will have nothing intelligent to say when we are given the sort of response quoted above.

 

There was no document that required the destruction of existing altars.  Vatican II did not required it.  There was experimentation with it during the Liturgical Movement, often by those with protestantizing tendencies.  The scholarship in those years which was advanced in support of Mass "facing the people" as an "ancient" practice, was later repudiated by the authors (e.g., Bouyer, Jungmann).  The fact that they changed their minds was never given as much press as the errors they had committed earlier.  This was a desideratum of liberals from long before the Council.

The great liturgical scholar Klaus Gamber said that of all the harmful things that came from the post-Conciliar reform, turning altars around was the most damaging.

There was a document which stated that for new construction, it should be possible for one to walk around the altar.   The new GIRM in 299, widely and infamously mistranslated, states that if it is possible altars should be constructed in such a way that Mass can be said from either side.

The rubrics of the post-Conciliar Missale Romanum clearly assume that Mass is not "facing the people", that it is actually ad orientem.

Let’s get other readers involved.

PLEASE…. don’t … I repeat … don’t post comments such as "I like/don’t like Mass facing the people", or "Mass ad orientem is better" or "We need to return to Mass facing God!".   UNHELPFUL!  IRRELEVANT!

We want documents, articles, books, etc.  We want some analysis.

How was this assumption of "facing the people" imposed?

Let’s see if we can build up sources.

Another directive:  Don’t just dump links.  Say why the links are important, what is said, what is useful from each.  Quote or give a precis.

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box, Classic Posts, SESSIUNCULA | Tagged , , ,
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QUAERITUR: “self-service” from the chalice

From a reader, edited:

Last night I was scandalised, apart from the usual "inclusive" language that the Priest used throughout, he asked, after the Priests Communion (normally the EMHC’s are crawling over each other by now) whether there was a "Eucharistic Minister" available – no takers ! Lo and behold he then declared "the chalice will be there (pointing to the Altar) feel free"

This would be considered "self-communication" and it is strictly forbidden.

If he is doing this regularly, the diocesan bishop and/or the Congregation for Divine Worship should be informed.

In Redemptionis Sacramentum you read:

94. It is not licit for the faithful “to take . . . by themselves . . . and, still less, to hand . . . from one to another” the sacred host or the sacred chalice.[181] Moreover, in this regard, the abuse is to be set aside whereby spouses administer Holy Communion to each other at a Nuptial Mass.

       [181]Cf. Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 160.

 

 

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box | Tagged , ,
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Another technical question: back ups and restores

Those who do a lot of work with a computer may know the old phrase, "Jesus saves, and so should you."

We have probably all had the experience not just of losing minutes to hours of work on a document or project, but perhaps losing, and disastrously, everything because of a hard-drive crash or some other problem.

If you haven’t… you will.

There are offsite back-up companies.  There onsite solutions.

What do you do?

I am particularly interested in hearing about

Programs and hardware for backing up a computer so that you could do a "restore", even to the "bank" disk of a different computer if necessary.  Or even for migrating everything you need to a new computer.

Do you use the built in functions in, say, Windows?

Do you use specialized software?

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes |
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“Don’t equate women priests with pedophiles.” Welllll… Okay!

This is from Diogenes at Off The Record:

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, who identifies herself as a "Roman Catholic womanpriest," has chastised the Vatican in an op-ed column written for the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader. The title encapsulates her demand: "Don’t equate women priests with pedophiles."

Actually I agree with her (or at least with that short statement of her argument– which, I confess, is all that I read). There are very distinct differences between pedophiles and female Catholic priests. Offhand I can think of two:

  1. Nobody ever writes a newspaper column identifying himself as a pedophile.
  2. Pedophiles exist.

Posted in Lighter fare |
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America Magazine: Pastor Apologizes for Vatican’s “Insensitive” Words

From America Magazine with my emphases and comments:

Pastor Apologizes for Vatican’s "Insensitive" Words
August 18, 2010
James Martin, S.J.

A pastor in Oak Park, Ill., has apologized to the women and women religious of his parish for the Vatican’s "insensitive and harsh words." ["insensitive and harsh"?] Here is the story from the local newspaper, the Journal of Oak Park and River Forest.

Rev. Larry McNally, pastor of Ascension Parish in Oak Park, couldn’t remain silent. "One of our catechists quit teaching religious ed. [OH NO!] We’ve been losing lectors and communion ministers all along," [Picture me in my grief.] McNally said. "Then my spiritual director quit." [SAY IT AIN’T SO!] Quit?  [How will he cope?]

"Quit the church. Then I read the article by Sheila O’Brien in the Tribune ["Excommunicate me, please," [Step right up, Sheila.  And, btw, there is an Anglican Church waiting for you.] Aug. 4]. That got to me. I had to do it."  [Oh yes… he was compelled to say something.]

"It" was a letter to the Commentary section of the [Chicago] Sun-Times, published Aug. 10, criticizing his church’s hierarchy for its treatment of women–specifically equating the ordination of women with pedophilia and investigating women’s religious orders.

This past Sunday, he wrote in the church bulletin, "As we celebrate this great feast of Mary, the Mother of God [the Feast of the Assumption], I want to take this opportunity to say to all of our wonderful and virtuous women that I am sorry. I apologize to each one of you for the insensitive and harsh words coming from the Vatican male hierarchy of the church." [What arrogance!]

"We have so many [women]religious who come to our church," McNally said. "I felt I had to say something." [Probably because he is afraid of them.]  As of Monday, he hadn’t received a single negative comment. He knows they’re coming, but he’s overwhelmed by the positive feedback he’s received.

After reading this, I just felt compelled to say something.   I apologize to all Catholics of good will everywhere for the insensitivity of this pastor in Oak Park, IL.  His harsh words wound us all.  I am sincerely sorry for the public damage he has done to the Church’s good reputation. 

Posted in Picture Me In My Grief | Tagged ,
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Benedict XVI: First Communion at “age of reason”

From CNA:

Benedict XVI affirms first communion for children at age of reason

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 18, 2010 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Father remembered Pope St. Pius X and reviewed his Church reforms and renewals during Wednesday’s general audience catechesis . Among Pius X many reforms, said Pope Benedict, his decree that set the age of first communicants at "the age of reason" was opportune.  [And there should be First Penance before First Communion.]

The general audience was held in the cortile of the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo as is customary at this time of year. The courtyard was filled with flag, banner and pilgrim scarf-waving faithful.

During the catechesis, Benedict XVI [the "Pope of Christian Unity"] spoke of Pope St. Pius X, who from the time of his ordination at 23 years old, "showed that deep love of Christ and the Church, that humility and simplicity and that great charity towards the most in need, that were characteristic of his entire life."

Although he accepted his election to the papacy with difficulty because he did not feel himself to be worthy of the position, Pope Benedict XVI said, "he left an indelible mark in the history of the Church" through a pontificate that "was characterized by a notable effort for reform, summarized in the motto ‘Instaurare omnia in Christo’ (Renew all things in Christ)."

Pope Benedict pointed to Pius X’s reorganization of the Roman Curia, how he began work to re-examine the Code of Canon Law and his revision of the protocol for priestly formation. He also spoke of the Pope-saint’s work to develop a universal catechism after having witnessed the great need for a reference point of the faith amidst widespread emigration.

"The Catechism called ‘from Pius X,’ was for many a sure guide in learning the truth of the faith for its simple, clear and precise language and for its expositive effectiveness," recalled Pope Benedict.

He was also reminded of the attention Pius X gave to Liturgical reform in an effort "to guide the faithful to a more profound prayer life and to a fuller participation in the Sacraments." Referencing the 1903 Motu Proprio "Tra le sollecitudini," he explained that Pius X asserted through it that "the true Christian spirit has its first and indispensable source in the active participation in the sacrosanct mysteries and in public and solemn prayer in the Church.

"For this," continued Benedict XVI, "he recommended to receive often the Sacraments, promoting daily participation in Holy Communion, (being) well prepared, [!] and anticipating opportunely the First Communion of children to seven years of age, ‘when the child begins to reason’ …"  [Did I mention First Confession before First Communion?]

In marking the 100th anniversary of the Pius X-approved decree "Quam singulari" earlier this month, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments wrote about this very subject in the Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper. He suggested that the Church must confirm Pius X’s decree and even possibly contemplate lowering the age further to ensure the graces on children as the reach the age of reason amidst the difficulties of today’s world.  [Some were wondering if the Prefect really was suggestion that the age of First Communion should be even lower.  This seems to clear it up.]

Concluding Wednesday’s catechesis, the Holy Father said: "Dear brothers and sisters, St. Pius X teaches all of us that the base of our Apostolic action in the various fields in which we work must always be for us an intimate personal union with Christ, to cultivate and grow day after day this nucleus of all of his teaching, of all of his pastoral genius.

"Only if we are in love with the Lord will we be capable of bringing men to God and opening them up to His merciful love."

 

The 1983 Code of Canon Law says:

 

Canon 914. It is the responsibility, in the first place, of parents and those who take the place of parents as well as of the pastor to see that children who have reached the use of reason are correctly prepared and are nourished by the divine food as early as possible, preceded by sacramental confession; it is also for the pastor to be vigilant lest any children come to the Holy Banquet who have not reached the use of reason or whom he judges are not sufficiently disposed.

 

NB: This is the canon immediately before the infamous canon 915, which should guide us in the matter of self-professed Catholic politicians who manifestly promote or support abortion.

 

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Pope of Christian Unity, SESSIUNCULA | Tagged , ,
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A Preferential Option for the Poor Ignoramuses

There is a new blog The Motley Monk (which also has some food posts, btw).   There are some very smart posts there.   My interest was captured by the mention of one of the better profs in the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame, John Cavadini.

There are good theology profs at Notre Dame.

In any event, given the anniversary of Ex corde Ecclesiae, some of you might find this interesting:

A Preferential Option for the Poor Ignoramuses: Installment #1

In his “Distinctly Catholic” NCR On-Line blog this past week, Michael Sean Winters discussed Pope John Paul II’s apostolic constitution, Ex corde ecclesiae. On Friday, August 13, Winters interviewed John Cavadini, a Theology Professor at the University of Notre Dame and Director of the McGrath-Cavadini Institute for Church Life. In that interview, Cavadini put his finger squarely on an issue of immense interest to The Motley Monk.  (click here for the complete interview)

Cavadini believes the impact of the apostolic constitution has been marginal, at best. [No surprise there.] He explains: “What we ended up with was a series of local versions of a separate peace, which only in a few exceptional places had any institutional impact whatsoever.”

Why? A footnote in Ex corde concerning a mandatum to teach theology in Catholic institutions of higher education became the focal issue in U.S. Catholic higher education rather than the document’s content. A bright and diplomatic academic, Cavadini notes: “Having solved the ‘problem’ posed by Ex corde, but never having really confronted the ‘ideal,’ Catholic colleges and universities went forward, by and large, without the guidance of the ‘ideal,’ without a concrete sense of what they were aiming at.”

That’s sort of like taking a shot with a bow and arrow having no clue as to where the target is located! There are laws which prohibit such irresponsibility. What about the responsibility professors and administrators have to the Church which sponsors these institutions?

Cavadini doesn’t say so, but I believe those professors and administrators had a target they were aiming at and co-opted arguments over the mandate to hit the bull’s-eye!

To discuss how I believe this happened, I want to consider Cavadini’s synopsis of post-Vatican II U.S. Catholic higher education in four installments: 1) the social justice agenda; 2) the academic officials; 3) the parents; and, 4) the graduates.

Today, the first installment: The Social Justice Agenda

[…]

 

Go read the rest there.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA, The Drill | Tagged , ,
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Mexican Bishops on Supreme Court about same-sex “unions”

From CNA:

Bishops of Mexico: Homosexual adoption an attack on natural order

Mexico City, Mexico, Aug 17, 2010 / 09:59 pm (CNA).- The Bishops’ Conference of Mexico released a statement on Tuesday rejecting the decision by the country’s Supreme Court to uphold the legality of same-sex “marriage” and to allow gay couples  to adopt. The prelates remarked that the ruling not only goes against the natural order, but also against the will of the people.

Here is the complete statement titled, “Responsibility and Free Expression, a Right of Every Person.”

During recent days the media has bombarded us with the controversial issue of same-sex ‘marriage’ and their adoption of children.

We are all aware of Mexico City Assembly’s decision to pass a law that opened the door to these kinds of unions. This decision was carried out hurriedly, without the necessary consultation of different leaders in society and without concern for the consensus of the majority, [Sounding familiar yet?] which was against such unions and especially the adoption of children. The steamroller of the ruling party prevailed and debate on the issue was set aside to the detriment of the majority of society that was shown to be against it.

The attorney general’s office challenged the measure’s constitutionality before the Supreme Court, thus demonstrating its disagreement. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ended its debate without getting to the heart of the issue and only confirming the legality of the juridical process carried out by the Mexico City Legislative Assembly.

The Bishops of Mexico, sensitive to the opinion of the majority not only in Mexico City, but also in the entire country, exercising the freedom of expression guaranteed by our democratic political regime, manifest our total disagreement with the ruling issued by the Supreme Court, with all due respect for the institutions of the Mexican State. We believe that to make these unions equal to marriage is disrespectful both to the very essence of marriage between a man and a woman, as expressed in article 4 of the Constitution, as well as to the customs and the very culture that has governed us for centuries.

The Church, made up of all the baptized, watches over the rights of those who cannot defend themselves, and in this case, children who are the weakest among us. For this reason, based on natural law and our faith, as pastors, the bishops have always and will always be on the side of the rights of the unborn, of those who cannot watch over themselves, of those humiliated and exploited in every sphere.

The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, at different times and with appropriate reflections, has insisted on the importance of safeguarding the fundamental values of the human person from conception to natural death.  Likewise, he has expressed the importance of respecting and protecting creation, nature in general and human nature in particular. The environmental awareness that has won so many converts for the safeguarding of different species, respecting their natural processes, should include the human species, whose dignity and consciousness of its own development is superior to all. [But wait!  Man isn’t part of nature!  … Right?]  For this reason, the Church discovers in nature itself the dignity of marriage between a man and a woman.  This encourages us to promote the dignity of the couple and their offspring by appealing to natural and moral values.

We lament that in manifesting these concepts to the public, there exist those who respond with recriminations and threats, claiming this is intolerant, when tolerance is supposed to ensure that we call all express our opinions and positions.  For this reason, we express our solidarity and our feelings to Cardinals Norberto Rivera Carrera and Juan Sandoval Iniguez about this delicate issue.

What Mexico is experiencing now demands a dignified debate that unites us and in which all members of society together address the problems that afflict us: the lack of security, violence, corruption, unemployment, etc.  It is urgent that our country put an end to the hindrances of stubbornness, exclusion and prejudices of all kinds, and that all of us as brothers and sisters strive to build a Mexico with room for all and respect for the rights of each individual, where transparency and the good use of democratic freedoms make our nation prosperous based on transcendent values.

As pastors of the People of God and brothers of all, we bishops call on the faithful to pray to the Holy Mary of Guadalupe for the decisions of our leaders and for all the children who have no voice but who have the right to have a family that can be an example of virtues for them.”

 

The West is in big trouble.

Posted in Emanations from Penumbras | Tagged
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Help! I need technical advice!

I need help from you knowledgeable readers.

Is there any software that will allow me to record – on a single computer – 4 usb webcams with 1 or 2 audio sources?

The idea is to record simultaneously four different camera streams so that you can later edit them together into, say, an interview or even 4 different angles of a Mass.  I don’t mean having some switch between cams while the thing is going on… I mean recording all four and then editing/switching later.

Any ideas?

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes |
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