Burke Given a Desk Job

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic about Benedict, but I have the feeling that part of the reason for Archbishop Burke's appointment as Prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature at the Vatican is to get him out of the spotlight. Seriously, what harm can he actually do as in this position? This court mostly handles marriage cases, which will probably be pretty clear cut from a canon law point of view.

Benedict may have his strong conservative opinions, but he does not appear to be the persecutor that John Paul II made him out to be. Benedict does not want the Catholic Church viewed as a persecutor church, such as Burke was doing in St. Louis and making national headlines in his wake. Benedict is the type of bishop who meets with Hans Kung. Benedict is more of a bridge-builder than a bridge-destroyer. So perhaps I am mistaken, but I think that Benedict had enough of reading Burke headlines in the NY Times and decided to give him a desk job would he can no longer to any real harm.

A Faithful Catholic

Anglicans Get There First... Again

As reported on the Anglican Communion Website, women will be admitted as bishops within the Anglican communion. There will be provisions set up to work with those who would be averse to having a woman bishop, but not all the details have been ironed out yet. According to Timesonline, 1300 clergy had threatened to leave if this happened, but how many will follow through on that threat remains to be seen.

In 1930 at the Anglican Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Communion began to sanction the use of birth control as moral in certain situations. At Vatican II, one of the main reasons against the use of birth control was that it would mean the Anglicans had been right for over 30 years.

The commission set up by John XXIII and Paul VI to condemn birth control was swayed by the arguments of others and felt that Paul VI should change the Catholic Church's current teaching, but he dropped the ball on this issue in Humanae Vitae and never wrote another encyclical afterwards. I'm not sure when, but I'm sure that one of these days our Catholic Church will catch up to the Anglican Communion on these issues.

A Faithful Catholic

Indulgences Won't Go Away

According to a Vatican decree signed by Cardinal Stafford and Bishop Girotti, the upcoming World Youth Day in Australia will provide Catholics with the opportunity to receive indulgences. Plenary indulgences (complete remission of sin for the moment) will be granted to those who come to the youth day in a spirit of pilgrimage. Partial indulgences will be available for those you pray for a good outcome from the day.

I cannot understand why the Vatican continues to make indulgences available. They will not allow communal absolution, but will allow what is the equivalent of absolution for those attending the youth day. Ergo, if a bomb dropped on them during that day, they would all go straight to heaven. This is simply bad theology and represents the superstitious portion of Catholic thought.

I think indulgences come from the good intention of explaining how our actions are an important aspect of our faith and relationship with God, but this is an embarrassment that is more comparable to a magic show than religion.

A Faithful Catholic

"Intrinsic Evil" Is Not Worse Than "Regular" Evil

I have noticed in comments on this blog and places like "Relevant" Radio, that many people have a bias which states: "Intrinsic evil is worse than regular evil." "If you only have a choice between intrinsic evil and another evil, choose the other evil." "Vote for pro-life candidates because abortion is an intrinsic evil and war could be okay sometimes."

I must admit that I am not a big believer in intrinsic evils. I think there are actions that appear to have no situation in which they could be permissible, but like Thomas Aquinas, I do not believe in intrinsic evils, per se, where the circumstances are never considered.

In any case, I think there is a gross misunderstanding of intrinsic evil as it is understood by many Catholics. ALL INTRINSIC EVIL MEANS IS THAT ONE NEED NOT CONSIDER THE SITUATION. IT IS NOT MORE WRONG THAN A REGULAR EVIL WHERE YOU CONSIDER THE SITUATION.

A case in point: Masturbation is an intrinsic evil by Church standards. It's wrong in all circumstances. The scourging an innocent man (such as Jesus) is not an intrinsic evil, but I think you would be hard pressed to find a moral theologian (who believes masturbation is sinful) who would say the former is a worse act because it is an intrinsic evil.

Something that is intrinsically evil could be worse than a "normal" sinful act, but the fact that it is "intrinsically" evil should not be used as the reason for it being worse. It's just bad theology.

A Faithful Catholic

Mass Attendence Down 22% In 5 Years

As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this morning, Mass attendance has dropped from 212,300 to 165,100 over the last five years. That's a drop of over 22% over the time that Archbishop Dolan has been here. Do I think Dolan is the cause? Probably not. Your average Catholic in the pews likes Dolan, but not because of his theological views; they like him because he seems down to earth and has a gregarious personality.

Is this Weakland's fault? I don't see how. He hasn't been Archbishop for six years. Maybe the sexual abuse crisis is part of the reason. Or maybe part of the reason is "orthodoxy fatigue." By orthodoxy fatigue, I mean that I think many Catholics have become sick of the communion wars, and the church's continued harsh line on contraceptives, gays, women priests, etc. I think many Catholics are sick of a church that seems to value the arguments against women & married priests and the like as more important that keeping their parishes open and the preaching of the Gospel message. More than 60 parishes have merged or closed in Milwaukee since in the late 1990's. I think this issue is bigger than "should we blame Dolan or Weakland?"

An orthodoxy fatigue was also the reason for the Pietist movement in the late 17th century. People were sick of the wars (literally) in the name of orthodoxy and began to value individual spirituality over orthodoxy. That sounds pretty similar to the sentiment of many Catholics and ex-Catholics today.

A Faithful Catholic

Vatican Gives St. Pius More Love...

According to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Benedict would like every Catholic parish in the world to celebrate the Tridentine Mass. It's hard to say whether Hoyos, who is President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, is being accurate, or bending the truth because of this love of the Latin Mass. It is his job to reach out to the likes of the St. Pius X Society that have problems not only with the vernacular liturgy, but also with the Catholic Church's new found ecumenism after Vatican II. In any case, until the Pope himself says something, it's possible that Hoyos may be getting a little overzealous in his job and misinterpreting "available" to every parish that wants it to "should be" in every parish period.

In truth, I have no problem with the Latin Mass being celebrated where a parish wants it to be celebrated, I just wish the Vatican and Benedict would have the same respect for those Catholics who want to celebrate a more inclusive Mass that does not insult the laity and treat them like children. Maybe we could call it Mass 2K or the Holy Inclusive Liturgy.

A Faithful Catholic

The Proof is in the Sandwich

I guess that there is a Bill Maher movie coming out later this year on religion. It looks like it may raise some good questions about religion. I assume that Maher's face on the sandwich is suppose to signify the "Virgin" Mary being found in water stains in underpasses. Here is the trailer.

A Faithful Catholic