World Youth Day Program — and Vanishing Latin Posted by Kenneth J. Wolfe at 7/22/2013 rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/07/world-youth-day-program.html The Latin in Latin America is becoming harder and harder to find, and the “World Youth Day” liturgical events over the next few days will be no exception. The Vatican’s Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has released this week’s World Youth Day program in Rio de Janeiro here (www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/libretti/2013/messale-rio-de-janeiro2013.pdf). As you can see, Latin has been almost entirely removed from the novus ordo celebrations by Pope Francis. Compare this week’s program with the one from the last International World Youth Day trip, to Madrid in 2011, by Pope Benedict XVI, here. Latin was said or sung for the heart of the novus ordo liturgies, especially during the preface and canon. The liturgies were far from traditional Masses, but the week of Latin at the core at least offered a teachable moment for the million-plus youth assembled there. Catholic News Service, the official media outlet of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, looked at World Youth Day and the “personal stamps” of Popes John Paul II, Benedict and Francis. Of note was CNS’ observation on the shift in tone from JPII to Benedict: Under Pope Benedict, the evening vigil was transformed from a rally into a mass moment of eucharistic adoration, surprisingly silent and devout, given the fact that it involved tens of thousands of young people on their knees in the dirt on a wide open field. Pope Francis is flying from Rome to Rio today. Fox News Latino sums up the main event this week here: Mammoth crowds are expected to attend a Mass he will celebrate on Rio’s Copacabana beach during his trip to his home continent. A reminder to any traditional Catholic youth attending: there is a place of liturgical refuge for much of the week here.

[Hat-tip to Fr Z: wdtprs.com/blog/2013/07/wherein-fr-z-is-rejected-by-the-lcwr/ ] LCWR (Leadership Conference of Women Religious [vowed to poverty]) Assembly 2013 [at a swanky Florida resort hotel] lcwr.org/calendar/lcwr-assembly-2013 Tuesday, August 13, 2013 to Saturday, August 17, 2013 [Caribe Royale] Orlando, Florida More pictures from the hotel’s website via Fr Z:

Postcard from Rio, Where Catholics Are a Minority Brazil remains the top country in the world for number of Catholics. But more than a third of the population has switched to other confessions, or abandoned faith altogether. In Rio de Janeiro the collapse is most noticeable by Sandro Magister chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1350563?eng=y ROME, July 22, 2013 – The above is one of the graphics that illustrate the changes in the religious profile of Brazil, analyzed on the eve of the voyage of Pope Francis by the Washington-based Pew Forum, the world’s leading research center for the investigation of religious phenomena: > Brazil’s Changing Religious Landscape Brazil continues to be the country with the largest number of Catholics, 123 million. But if half a century ago nearly all of the population was Catholic, in the following decades the percentage decline has been very stark. From 92 percent of Brazilians in 1970 to 65 percent in 2010. Vice versa there has been a substantial rise, over the same span of time, in the number of Protestants, from 5 to 22 percent. In absolute terms, while the Catholics have stood still for twenty years at a little over 120 million, in spite of the increase in the population, the Protestants are still increasing. From 26 million in 2000 they have risen to 42 million in 2010. By “Protestants” are meant not so much the Lutheran, Calvinist, Methodist Churches, those of the “historical” stock, which make up less than a fifth of the total, but mainly the Pentecostal and Evangelical Churches, some of which – like the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and the God is Love Pentecostal Church – were born in Brazil itself. Over the past few decades the followers of other religions have also increased, in particular those of the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé and Umbanda. From 6 million in 2000 they have become 10 million in ten years. And those affiliated with no religion have also grown, including the agnostics and atheists. In 1970 they were fewer than one million. In 2010 15 million. All of these changes apply in a roughly equal way to both men and women, both educated and less educated. They are more pronounced in the segment of the population under the age of 50. But above all they impact the cities much more than the countryside. While in the rural areas Catholicism continues to be embraced by 78 percent of the population, the figure is only 62 percent in the cities, where the Pentecostals and Evangelicals reap the most conversions and the agnostics and atheists are on the rise. In Rio de Janeiro, the destination of the voyage of Pope Francis, Catholics are now a minority among the citizens, just 46 percent. It comes as no surprise that the pope’s objective is that of infusing into the Brazilian Church – and by extension into the Churches of Latin America – the missionary vitality capable of overturning this tendency to decline.

Defining terms – what is the Americanist heresy? July 23, 2013 Posted by tantamergo A Blog for DallasArea Catholics veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/defining-terms-what-is-the-americanist-heresy/ Even though the Americanist heresy that was identified and condemned by Pope Leo XIII in 1899 was directed at these United States, it is amazing how few Catholics have any idea what the heresy means, how it affected the Church, and whether they should be on the lookout for Americanists. I know I had never heard of this heresy, even after years of studying the Faith, until a couple years ago. Certainly, it is almost totally ignored in this country, which shows that the change of heart Pope Leo XIII (how can he not be at least a venerable? I can tell you, it has much to do with this declaration of heresy) desired has not been forthcoming. Pope Leo XIII defined Americanism in his 1899 apostolic letter Testem Benevolentiae. The document was addressed specifically – by name! – to Baltimore’s Cardinal James Gibbons, certainly the arch-Americanist of his time, and possibly ever. Gibbons tried to block the letter’s publication, but failed. As an aside, it is interesting to note that Baltimore – prior to 1899 always viewed as the US’s primatial see, has never had a bishop gain a red hat since Gibbons, and has been shunted into relative obscurity, after nearly 200 years as the nation’s most important see. Popes have interesting ways of working, even 110 years after the fact. In Testem Benevolentiae, Pope Leo identifies certain doctrines (his word) which it promotes. These include: •Christian perfection can be attained without external spiritual guidance (revived Pelagianism, and certainly very ecumenical, very “universal salvationist”) •natural virtues are superior to supernatural ones and should be extolled over them. And active virtues like social justice are superior to “passive” ones like prayer, contemplation, etc •Religious vows are out of ken with the times in which we live because they limit human liberty •traditional methods of evangelization should be replaced with new ones Pope Leo XIII condemned all the above as counter to the Faith and destructive of both the good of the Church and souls. Certainly, all are very grave problems. Is it not obvious that the first laid the foundations for the “fundamental option,” or universal salvation theories of today and the last several decades? By stating that Christian perfection can be achieved of man’s own volition, without the need for guidance from Church or priest, an essentially protestant position is adopted. And from the belief that man can achieve perfection on his own, it’s not a very far walk to claim that all can achieve perfection, and thus all are saved. The notion that perfection can be attained on one’s own, absent Sacraments, absent the Church, is an essentially protestant claim. The Church in the US has never escaped the yawning shadow of the protestant/enlightenment edifice on which this country was built. Once again, protestants, especially in this country, would tend to find the 2nd and 3rd items Continue Reading

Martyrology-July 25th Roman Martyrology-July 25th- on this date in various years- St. James the Apostle, brother of the blessed evangelist John, who was beheaded by Herod Agrippa at about the feast of Easter. He was the first of the apostles to receive the crown of martyrdom. His sacred bones were on this day carried from Jerusalem to Spain, and placed in the remote province of Galicia, where they are devoutly honoured by the far-famed piety of the inhabitants, and the frequent concourse of Christians, who visit them through piety and in fulfillment of vows. In Lycia, in the time of Decius, St. Christopher, martyr. Being scourged with iron rods, cast into the flames, from which he was saved by the power of Christ, and finally transfixed with arrows and beheaded, he completed his martyrdom. At Barcelona in Spain, during the persecution of Diocletian and under the governor Dacian, the birthday of the holy martyr Cucuphas. After overcoming many torments, he was struck with the sword, and thus went triumphantly to heaven. In Palestine, St. Paul, a martyr in the persecution of Maximian Galerius, under the governor Firmilian. He was condemned to death, but having obtained a short period for prayer, he besought God with all his heart, first for his own countrymen, then for the Jews and the Gentiles, that they might embrace the true faith, next for the multitude of spectators, and finally for the judge who had condemned him and the executioner who was to strike him; after which he received the crown of martyrdom by beheading. At Forcono in Abruzzi, the holy martyrs Florentius and Felix, natives of Siponte. At Cordova, St. Theodemir, monk and martyr. In Palestine, St. Valentina, a virgin, who was led to an altar to offer sacrifice, but overturning it with her foot, she was cruelly tortured, and being cast into the fire with another virgin, her companion, she went to her Spouse. At Treves, St. Magnericus, bishop and confessor. And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. R. Thanks be to God.

The Pope said……. July 23, 2013 Posted by tantamergo A Blog for Dallas Area Catholics veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/the-pope-said/ I see that Pat Archbold – definitely the more traditional of the two brothers who constitute Creative Minority Report- has expressed some dismay at one of Pope Francis’ utterances. I’ll get to that in a moment, but I have been gathering from more and more orthodox Catholics a distinct unease with Pope Francis, which is tending towards foreboding. I would be lying if I said I did not feel at all this way. I know I will be tut-tutted for having the slightest doubt, but if you’ve been paying attention, there are a lot of disturbing signs emanating from this papacy. Arcbhold finds a recent papal statement incredible (I add comments [in brackets]): Sometimes I just don’t get it. Not being snarky, truly. I just don’t get it. Even in the context of a larger and valid point, how can a Pope utter this sentence? “Prayer that doesn’t lead to concrete action toward our brothers is a fruitless and incomplete prayer,” the Pope said July 21. In the interest of fairness, I will give the full context even though I don’t think it mitigates in any way the clumsiness of this sentence. In his Sunday Angelus message, Pope Francis told crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square to unite prayer and action in Christian life, reports Catholic News Agency. “Prayer that doesn’t lead to concrete action toward our brothers is a fruitless and incomplete prayer,” the Pope said July 21. “But at the same time, when ecclesial service only attends to work, not reserving time for dialogue with God in prayer, it risks serving itself rather than God who is present in the brother in need.” Even within the full context, I think that the sentence is simply wrong. [What do you think?] Prayer is action. Pure and simple. There are other forms of action and they can certainly be inspired by prayer, but prayer itself is never fruitless or incomplete in any way for lack of additional action. Hey, the Pope is human and the Sunday Angelus is certainly not ex Cathedra, but I find it strange that such a sentence could pass the lips of a Pope without immediate correction. [Speaking of, I reported last week that Pope Francis may have inadvertantly - or not - appointed a known member of the homosexual priest's cabal to a high Vatican position. Rorate is reporting he submitted his resignation.] I find it most interesting, maybe even providential, that I would find this post from CMR, on this subject, on the same day I posted this! Does what the Pope said have any relation to that post? Could it have something to do with emphasizing active, natural virtues to the detriment of passive, supernatural ones? Is that significant. This is not the first time this pontiff has stressed active virtues against more passive ones. I do not know why there has to be a dichotomy. Both Continue Reading

World Youth Day Liturgical Music Posted by thelarryd July 24, 2013 actsoftheapostasy.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/world-youth-day-liturgical-music/ Terry at Abbey Roads reported on this first – he found out what the WYD Entrance Hymn is! What he didn’t know were the Offertory Hymn… …and the Recessional. I don’t know about you, but these WYD shindigs look like a lot of fun!!

Hat-tip to PewSitter.com : Fr. Dwight Longnecker slams Conservative Catholic Right: Why are ‘piety and purity’ Catholics so often ‘dismissive and hateful of everyone not like themselves’?! [Open season on Trads, part I] July 23, 2013 By Fr. Dwight Longenecker Edited from www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2013/07/peace-and-justice-catholics-just-aging-hippies.html There seems to be an undefined group of Catholics what might be called Piety and Purity Catholics. They are the conservatives who are all for the authority of the Church, family values, high standards of sexual morality. They are typified as wearing sport coats, shirt and tie. Hair combed and with a large brood of scowling kids with an exhausted wife with a calf length skirt and straggly hair smiling through her sufferings. [T]he Piety and Purity conservatives are all for “family values”. They are opposed to same sex marriage, contraception, abortion and divorce. However they are too often silent about the injustice in our society. I’m shocked at the anti-semitism and subtle racism I sometimes hear within their ranks. I’m worried when their conservative family values are sometimes equated with a jingoistic, uncritical American patriotism and militarism. Why are they so often silent about the assault on the environment, the plight of immigrants and the widening wealth disparity in the developed world? Why do we hear so little about their involvement in the fight against hunger and solidarity with the poor? Why are they so often dismissive and hateful of everyone not like themselves? Instead of being a Piety and Purity Catholic we should all be Justice and Mercy Catholics. Justice and Mercy are put together in this phrase to remind us that Justice and Mercy are two sides of the same coin. God’s Justice is Merciful and his Mercy is Just. This is because God’s judgement is a purely righteous judgement. It is both just and merciful at the same time. The Piety and Purity Catholics want Justice. But too often by “Justice” they really mean that they want God to punish all the bad people who are not as pious and pure as they are. [T]he Piety and Purity Catholics also want their enemies to be judged. Mercy is also the answer for them. If they allowed God’s love and mercy to flow from them to all those who are flawed and failed, then their desire for Justice would be met and completed as they exercised mercy. All Catholics need to seek Piety, Purity, Justice and Peace. All Catholics need to be Justice and Mercy Catholics. With hearts that are open to those who are wounded by injustice–with hearts that are open to those who are wounded by immorality and sin–with hearts that are open to all those in need of justice and mercy–all Catholics should be agents of that Divine love and mercy in the world. That is our mission, for if we do not exercise that justice and mercy in the world how shall we expect to be granted that same love and mercy in our time of need? For that matter, Continue Reading

My friend did go to visit them- they are in Italy, near Rome. I forget the exact name of the town but it is online somewhere. She said there are around 15-17 women, between the ages of 18-70′s. They are very devout (full habit of course) and say the traditional office and daily traditonal mass. Their main language is Italian, though they have nuns from other countries who are learning Italian.Some of them rotate to a nearby SSPX seminary where they do housework and such. I did not get any other specific apostolate from her other than SISINONO, which is not a big part of what they do. They follow the rules of poverty. From what she said I would rate them as semi-cloistered; wtih old-style rules about contact wtih relatives and such, however, they apparently are not rigid about that, but I am guessing about that. My friend did not have access to a computer the whole time, though she did not ask either. They do take older women (by that I mean over 50) and excellent health is not required. Other than that, one must research on one’s own. As for her, she decided not to enter. But she thought they were “wonderful” people. Dose anyone here know anything about the Briggitine SErvitores in Tyler Texas? Connectedt to FSSP

[Hat-tip to Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter] Five Myths About Pope Francis July 22, 2013 William Doino Jr. www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2013/07/five-myths-about-pope-francis He has been called an “improv pope,” a pope of many surprises, but the biggest surprise of all is that Francis continues to elude all efforts to classify him. Since the opening days of his papacy, a flood of commentators have come forth to tell us what to expect of him, only to miss the mark. Among the numerous errors about Francis, five in particular stand out. 1. “Francis is the anti-Benedict.” Because Pope Francis is from Latin America, and Pope Emeritus Benedict from Germany—and because Francis is a natural extrovert and Benedict more reserved—some people thought that these stylistic differences signaled a difference in their whole way of thinking. But anyone who ever believed that was not being attentive. (A similar mistake occurred when the rotund and smiling John XXIII succeeded the more regal and austere-looking Pius XII, even though the two were very close). Among Francis’s first words to the world, after succeeding Benedict on March 13th, was to pray for his predecessor, after which he immediately called him on the phone. Just ten days later, Francis traveled to Castel Gandolfo to greet Benedict in a very public and powerful way; and upon Benedict’s return to Vatican City in May, there was a similar and well-publicized embrace. Francis recently told one of his students how sublime a thinker he believes Benedict is, and how much he relies upon his predecessor’s counsel: “It would be foolish to turn down Benedict’s advice.” If there was any lingering doubt about Francis’s fulsome support for Benedict, it’s been erased by Lumen Fidei. This extraordinary teaching document was begun (but never completed) by Benedict in the last stages of his papacy. Francis could have easily put it aside, and written his own papal message. Instead, he decided to finish the projected work, and publish it as his own inaugural encyclical—giving Benedict full credit for the draft. By doing so, Francis endorsed all of Lumen Fidei’s insights about faith and reason, the importance of truth, and the hermeneutic of continuity—all hallmarks of Benedict’s papacy. Francis is actually doing more to consolidate and elevate Benedict’s legacy than the latter’s admirers could have imagined. 2. “Francis is Not a Cultural Warrior.” Following the first error flows a second: unlike the supposedly hard-edged Benedict, we have been told, Francis has a much softer touch. He avoids confrontation and strident denunciations, and wants no part of any culture war; nowhere is that clearer than in his treatment of the hot-button social issues. Religious reporter Allesandro Speciale recently wrote that Francis “has been less eager to engage in the culture wars over abortion or gay marriage cherished by his predecessors.” Sandro Magister added: “It cannot be an accident that after 120 days of pontificate Pope Francis has not yet spoken the words abortion, euthanasia, homosexual marriage.” It’s hard to imagine more misleading statements than these. In addition Continue Reading

Martyrology-July 26th Roman Martyrology-July 26th- on this date in various years- The departure from this life of St. Anne, mother of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. At Philippi in Macedonia, the birthday of St. Erastus, who was appointed bishop of that place by the blessed apostle Paul, and was there crowned with martyrdom. At Rome, on the Latin Way, the holy martyrs Symphronius, Olympius, Theodulus, and Exuperia, who (as we read in the Acts of Pope St. Stephen) were burned alive, and thus obtained the palm of martyrdom. At Porto, St. Hyacinth, martyr, who was first thrown into the fire, and then cast into a stream without being injured. Afterwards, under Emperor Trajan, being struck with the sword by the exconsul Leontius, his martyrdom was fulfilled. His body was buried by the matron Julia on her own estate near Rome. At Verona, St. Valens, bishop and confessor. At Rome, St. Pastor, a priest in whose name a title exists in the church of St. Pudentiana, on the Viminal Hill. In the monastery of St. Benedict, near Mantua, St. Simeon, monk and hermit, who was renowned for many miracles, and at an advanced age rested in the Lord. At Lovere, in the diocese of Brescia, St. Bartholemea Capitanio, virgin, who founded the Sisters of Charity, dedicated to teaching the young. Pope Pius XII added her name to the catalogue of holy virgins. And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. R. Thanks be to God.

[Listen up, you current and former cardinals and other Vatican officials who think so] Can a Catholic support civil unions to prevent gay ‘marriage’? Roberto de Mattei www.lifesitenews.com/news/can-a-catholic-support-civil-unions-to-prevent-gay-marriage July 24, 2013 (LepantoFoundation) – A dangerous belief is gaining ground, even among Catholics, that a juridical recognition of homosexual cohabitation is the only way to avoid “gay marriage.” “No to gay marriage, yes to the rights of de facto couples and homosexuals” is the watchword of those who want to organise a line of resistance based on the disastrous policy of “giving in so as not to lose.” This is not only a colossal strategic error but also – and above all – a grave moral one. The cardinal principle, not only of Catholic morality but also of natural morality, is that one must do good and avoid evil: bonum faciendum et malum vitandum. This first principle is immediately apparent to all men in all places and at all times. It admits of no interpretations or compromises. By postulating the existence of good and evil, this principle presupposes the existence of an objective and immutable order of moral truths which man discovers first and foremost in his own heart because this order is a natural law inscribed “on the tables of the human heart by the very finger of the Creator himself” (Romans 2, 14-15). From the principle that it is necessary to do good and avoid evil, there follows a necessary consequence: that it is never licit for anyone in any sphere, public or private, to do evil. Evil, which is the violation of the natural law, can be tolerated in exceptional cases but it must never be positively carried out. This means that no circumstance and no good intention can ever transform an intrinsically bad act into a good or indifferent human act. An evil act, even a minor one, may never ever be committed, however noble the intentions behind it. The moral system of “proportionalism,” which is today in vogue, rejects the idea of absolute principles in the domain of morals and accepts the idea that a “lesser evil” can be committed in a particular situation in order to obtain a greater good. This theory was condemned by John Paul II in his encyclical, Veritatis Splendor, which reaffirms the existence of immutable and unconditional “moral absolutes.” In the late Pope’s words, “The weighing of the goods and evils foreseeable as the consequence of an action is not an adequate method for determining whether the choice of that concrete kind of behaviour is ‘according to its species,’ or ‘in itself,’ morally good or bad, licit or illicit.” (paragraph 77). The correct criterion for moral judgement, instead, is that which evaluates as act as “good” or “evil” according to whether it respects or violates the natural and divine law, considering it first of all in and of itself, i.e. in terms of its essence, circumstances and consequences. By contrast, the proportionalist criterion is relativist because it evaluates an act as Continue Reading

Russian Orthodox official says West moving towards secularist totalitarianism CWN – July 25, 2013 The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief ecumenical official said that “secularization in disguise of democratization” is leading Western nations toward totalitarianism, according to a report from the Russian news agency Interfax. “This powerful energy today strives to finally break with Christianity, which controlled its totalitarian impulses during 17 centuries,” said Metropolitan Hilarion. “Eventually, it unconsciously strives to set up an absolute dictatorship that demands total control over each member of society. Don’t we move to it when ‘for the sake of security’ we agree to obligatory electronic passports, dactyloscopy [fingerprint identification] for everyone, and photo cameras occurring everywhere?” In legalizing same-sex marriage, France “consciously and demonstratively ignored demands of people and used tear gas to disperse them,” Metropolitan Hilarion said as he criticized efforts to make “immorality normal.” Additional sources for this story: Metropolitan Hilarion believes that Western countries tend to dictatorship (Interfax) interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=10641

[Hat-tip to New Oxford Review] Santiago de Compostela train tragedy: at least 77 dead [Requiescant in pace] Festivities have been cancelled after the tragedy By Staff Reporter on Thursday, 25 July 2013 www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/07/25/santiago-de-compostela-train-tragedy-at-least-77-dead/ At least 77 people have been killed in a train crash near the holy city city of Santiago de Compostela on the eve of the feast of St James. The high-speed train was traveling from Madrid to Ferrol, in Galicia, at 8.40pm last local time, when it came off the rails around a curve, apparently at twice the recommended speed. It is the worst railway crash in Spain in at least 40 years, with more than 100 passengers also injured, 20 seriously. Although passengers heard a loud bang beforehand, government spokesman have said that all signs point it to being an accident. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the Galicia region, described it as a scene out of Dante. The tragedy occured as Catholic pilgrims converged on Santiago de Compostela to celebrate the feast day of St James the Greater, the disciple of Jesus. Thousands will gather to visit the remains of the saint at the end of the the El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage walk. St James’s day festivities planned in Santiago de Compostela have been cancelled.

Jesus vs. Muhammad – scholarship vs. propaganda Posted by Deacon Robert on July 24, 2013 www.jihadwatch.org/2013/07/pamela-geller-jesus-vs-muhammad-scholarship-vs-propaganda.html In “Jesus vs. Muhammad – scholarship vs. propaganda” at WND today, Pamela Geller compares the media treatment of my book about the historicity of Muhammad and Islamic supremacist Reza Aslan’s about the historicity of Jesus (www.wnd.com/2013/07/jesus-vs-muhammad-scholarship-vs-propaganda/): It is critical to point out a small but stunning example of the low state of legitimate public discourse today. Not so long ago, Robert Spencer, one of the world’s leading scholars on Islam, wrote an extraordinary book entitled “Did Muhammad Exist?” It was a brilliant, original and scholarly work investigating the legitimate questions surrounding the historical value of the early Islamic texts about Muhammad. Spencer pulled together information from ancient documents with linguistic and archaeological data in a remarkable re-evaluation of Islam’s origins. Robert Spencer is a writer without peer and a nonpareil scholar, the author of 12 books on Islam, jihad and related topics, including two New York Times bestsellers. Yet “Did Muhammad Exist?” was ignored and dismissed by the intelligentsia, the media elite and subversive academia. Juxtapose that to the recent adulation heaped upon the Islamic supremacist Reza Aslan for his new book. Aslan is an advisory board member of the National Iranian American Council, which has been recently exposed in court as a lobbying group for the Iranian regime. He has smeared and lied about Spencer and me on national television, and responded to Spencer’s reasoned rebuttals with homophobic abuse worthy of a seventh-grader: “I must tell you that I’m flattered but you’re really not my type. … If I send you a picture, will that satisfy your lust for a while?” In March 2012, a Muslim woman, Shaima Alawadi, was found murdered with a note next to her body saying that she should go back where she came from. Aslan immediately accused Spencer and me of inciting the murder, tweeting a semi-literate rant: “If a 32 yr old veiled mother is a terrorist than [sic] so am I you Islamophobic f–ks Gellar [sic] Spencer et. [sic] al. Come find me.” Recently this immature creep wrote a book (or more likely, had it written for him) about Jesus, with the pejorative title “Zealot.” The enemedia machine is in full throttle to deliver this seditious hater a bestseller. In what can only have been inspired by the Goebbels template, Reza Aslan will not only be on the Bill Maher show and “The Daily Show,” but this subversive lowlife will be speaking at universities like NYU, Ohio State and the University of Southern California, as well as at numerous public libraries and (gasp) synagogues like Temple Judea in Palm Beach, at upwards of $30,000 a pop. Despite denying basic Christian doctrines, he is speaking at several churches and even preaching the Sunday sermon at one. You should ask yourself, how did we get here? How can a reasonable, educated and pre-eminent scholar like Robert Spencer be relegated to the very fringe (if that) of the literary Continue Reading

‘Hook Up Culture’ Greatest Threat to Education, Kreeft Tells Christian Classical Educators July 25, 2013, at 9:15 AM | By CNS Staff | Boston College philosophy professor Peter Kreeft was honored last week at a conference of Christian classical educators with the annual Russell Kirk Paideia Prize, recognizing him as a “great man of faith and letters.” The award was presented in Baltimore by the CiRCE Institute (Consulting and Integrated Resources in Classical Education), which strives to “support teachers and parents who want to cultivate wisdom and virtue in their students through the truths of Christian classical education.” CiRCE founder and president Andrew Kern presented the award together with the 2012 winner, Laura Berquist. Cardinal Newman Society president Patrick Reilly and his wife Rosario, founder and president of the Aquinas Learning classical program for Catholic homeschoolers, participated in the conference and were present to congratulate Dr. Kreeft. After accepting the award, Dr. Kreeft told the school leaders, teachers and homeschoolers of the great importance of Christian classical education, which emphasizes the cultivation of wisdom and virtue in students, rather than simply the accumulation of knowledge and skills. Interest in classical education has been growing among Catholic and other Christian educators, according to the methods favored by many of the Church’s greatest thinkers including Blessed John Henry Newman and Saint Thomas Aquinas. But Kreeft also identified challenges facing Christian educators, of which he said the greatest is the “hook up culture” of loose sexuality and reluctance to engage in meaningful personal relationships, which are at the heart of classical learning and human development. Kreeft is a prolific author on topics in philosophy and theology; he has written for many publications and authored 67 books, including his Summa Philosophica (2012). He has taught at Boston College since 1965. Past winners of the Paideia Prize have included author Wendell Berry; Mary Mumbach of the Erasmus Institute at the College of St. Mary Magdalen; the late Marcus Berquist, a founder of Thomas Aquinas College, and his wife Laura Berquist, founder of the Mother of Divine Grace homeschool program; Peter Sampo, founder of Magdalen College and Thomas More College of Liberal Arts; and Louis Cowan of the University of Dallas. – See more at: www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/2397/%E2%80%98Hook-Up-Culture%E2%80%99-Greatest-Threat-to-Education-Kreeft-Tells-Christian-Classical-Educators.aspx#sthash.lTrwW5II.dpuf

The revival of Latin Resurrexit vere A dead language is alive and kicking online and on the airwaves Jul 27th 2013 |From the print edition WHEN Pope Benedict XVI resigned in February he used Latin, giving a scoop to Giovanna Chirri, the only journalist present who understood his words. That was a timely reminder of Latin’s unlikely survival—and revival—as a living language. Radio Bremen, a German station, has broadcast a weekly news roundup called Nuntii Latini Septimanales since 2001. Finland’s YLE Radio 1 has run a similar show since 1989, with listeners in over 80 countries. Twitter’s 140-character epigraphs and aphorisms are ideal for Latin: five words can often say more than ten English ones, notes David Butterfield, a Latinist at the University of Cambridge. Tweets also leave no room for troublesome long subordinate clauses. The Pontifex Latin account has gained 132,000 followers since Benedict XVI started it in January. It is run by the Vatican’s Office of Latin Letters—perhaps the only modern workplace where the language of Virgil is still the lingua franca. Monsignor Daniel Gallagher, one of its seven Secretaries, speaks of the “fun” of writing tweets such as “Plures hodie comparent rerum species falsae. Verum fideles si videri ipsi cupiunt christiani, dubitare haud debent contra aquam remigare.” (“Many false idols are held up today. For Christians to be faithful, they can’t be afraid to row against the current”.) The English version, he says, loses a neat allusion to one of Seneca’s letters. But stretching ancient vocabulary to describe modern phenomena requires ingenuity (see table). Radio Bremen’s coinages include autocinetum electricum for electric car. The Latin Wikipedia takes a strict “Noli fingere” (don’t coin) attitude towards neologisms for its 94,000 articles, which range from iPods to volleyball; it relies on the Vatican dictionary as one of its sources. Google Translate is of limited help. Launched with a blog post (in Latin) in 2010, the software draws on translations of classical texts: good for stories of the Gallic Wars, less so for newscasts. Google says traffic for Latin translations is higher than for Esperanto. Like Google, Facebook offers users a Latin-language setting, replete with “Mihi placet” for “like” and “Quid in animo tuo est?” for “What’s on your mind?” Farther up the slopes of Parnassus is Schola, a Latin-only social-networking site created in 2008; Ephemeris, an online Latin newspaper started by a Polish journalist in 2004, has contributors in Colombia, Germany, Chile and America. Floreat!

[Kicanas et CRS delendi sunt!] CRS head Bishop Kicanas defends $2.7 million grant to abortion giant by Patrick B. Craine www.lifesitenews.com/news/crs-head-bishop-kicanas-defends-2.7-million-grant-to-abortion-giant BALTIMORE, July 25, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The bishop who heads Catholic Relief Services is defending the organization’s $2.7 million grant to a leading promoter of “safe abortion” in the developing world. CRS, the U.S. Bishops’ foreign relief agency, has been under fire in the last week after LifeSiteNews revealed July 18th that they are giving the grant to Population Services International as part of an ongoing project to combat malaria in Guinea. CRS defended the grant in an e-mail response to LifeSiteNews and then followed up with a more detailed statement on their website, published Friday. But Bishop Gerald Kicanas, chairman of CRS’ board of directors, has also defended the grant in reply to concerned Catholics. A LifeSiteNews reader, who wished to remain anonymous, forwarded a response that Bishop Kicanas wrote to him after he had e-mailed the bishop to express his concern over the grant. “CRS upholds the teachings [of] the church on respect for the dignity of all life from conception to natural death,” Bishop Kicanas, who heads the Diocese of Tucson, begins. “CRS opposes abortion in all circumstances and never works with any organization in activities that are in any way related to abortion.” “Regretfully some groups misconstrue CRS’s working with groups to provide humanitarian aid,” he added. “Always go to the CRS website to clarify misunderstandings that some have about CRS’s work which is oftentimes misrepresented by some.” The bishop echoed CRS’ own defense, arguing that the grant was solely for “malaria prevention,” that the funds were not fungible, and that CRS funded PSI at the behest of the Global Fund, which provided the funds to CRS. In CRS’ published statement, they said they knew the grant would provoke criticism but went ahead anyway in order to save lives. “We decided that saving children’s lives was more important than possible criticism. We believe we made the right choice,” they write. They argue that the grant does not “violate Church teaching,” indicating that thy followed a vetting process with their local church partners and their board of directors. “Like many Catholic organizations that engage with the wider secular world, CRS sometimes works with organizations that hold positions contrary to Church teaching,” they write. Pro-life leaders are asking how CRS’ defense of the grant jibes with their insistence last summer that they would never partner with Planned Parenthood, even for a seemingly good project. “We’ve given this a lot of consideration, and there’s a threshold in terms of what the focus of an agency is, and the preponderance of their work,” said CRS spokesman John Rivera. Michael Hichborn, director of American Life League’s Defend the Faith Project, has said that in funding PSI – which was founded for the purpose of population control, and carries it out by marketing contraceptives and abortion drugs in the developing world – they “might as well be funding Planned Parenthood.” LifeSiteNews Continue Reading

A few more things Pope Francis didn’t say By Phil Lawler | July 25, 2013 www.catholicculture.org/commentary/the-city-gates.cfm?ID=621 Have you seen these lines circulating on the internet recently? “We need saints without veil or cassock. “We need saints who wear jeans and sneakers. “We need saints who go to the movies, listen to music and hang out with friends.” The lines are drawn from a poem that is being attributed to Pope Francis. But he didn’t write it. A few years ago the same lines were attributed to Pope John Paul II. He didn’t write them, either. Mary Rezac traces the curious and ultimately mysterious history of the poem, and its sudden bursts of popularity, in an interesting bit of detective work for the Catholic News Agency: www.catholicnewsagency.com/blog/the-poem-pope-francis-never-wrote/

Superman Altar-Stage abandoned Posted by New Catholic at 7/25/2013 rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/07/superman-altar-stage-abandoned.html After a few days of unusually strong winter rain in Rio, the “Campus Fidei” bizarre altar-stage-area prepared in the Guaratiba neighborhood has become a muddy, flooded, affair – and, after millions spent, it will not be used. Only the much more regular-looking stage on Copacabana beach (below), used for the other World Youth Day events, will be used for both the papal vigil and the papal mass. Why were two huge stages in two different parts of the city necessary anyway?

World Youth Day Program — and Vanishing Latin

LCWR (Leadership Conference of Women Religious [vowed to poverty]) Assembly 2013 at a swanky Florida resort hotel

Postcard from Rio, Where Catholics Are a Minority

Defining terms – what is the Americanist heresy?

MARTYROLOGY-JULY 25

The Pope said…….

World Youth Day Liturgical Music

Open season on Trads

disciples of the cenacle

Five Myths About Pope Francis

MARTYROLOGY-JULY 26

Can a Catholic support civil unions to prevent gay ‘marriage’?

Russian Orthodox official says West moving towards secularist totalitarianism

Santiago de Compostela train tragedy: at least 77 dead: Requiescant in pace

Jesus vs. Muhammad – scholarship vs. propaganda

‘Hook Up Culture’ Greatest Threat to Education, Kreeft Tells Christian Classical Educators

The revival of Latin

CRS head Bishop Kicanas defends $2.7 million grant to abortion giant

A few more things Pope Francis didn’t say

Superman Altar-Stage abandoned