Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 208

The Pope is currently working on third part of "Jesus of Nazareth"

The Vatican Insider reports that Benedict XVI is working on the third volume of his Jesus of Nazareth books whie he is vacationing at Castel Gandolfo:

The Pope arrived just last Tuesday at Castel Gandolfo, the beautiful town south-east of Rome where he usually spends a period of summer rest. But much of his time is going to be spent studying, praying and writing: “The Pope has started working on his book on Jesus again,” Benedict XVI’s spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi said in a briefing recently.

Ratzinger has already published two books on “Jesus of Nazareth” and is now preparing a third on Jesus’ childhood.  

Lombardi said finishing work on his book “is one of [Benedict XVI’s] primary objectives.” But over the next few weeks of holidays, the Pope is also aiming to work on the “Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Middle East” as well as “prepare the speeches for his upcoming trip to Lebanon.”

The Holy Father is also reported to be "reflecting" on the upcoming Year of Faith.

• Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration
• Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide, Volume I — Paperback
• Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week--From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection
• Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide, Volume II -- Paperback

Can Truth and Diplomacy Be Reconciled?

Can Truth and Diplomacy Be Reconciled? | Alberto Carosa | Catholic World Report

The latest Courtyard of the Gentiles gathering sought a balance between the two concepts in an increasingly relativistic culture.

Rome—The “Courtyard of the Gentiles” is an initiative of the Pontifical Council for Culture to promote dialogue between believers and non-believers, the result of a suggestion that Benedict XVI offered to the Roman Curia on the occasion of his Christmas greetings in 2009.

The most recent of these gatherings was held on June 26, at the Italian Embassy to the Holy See, housed at Palazzo Borromeo, a stately and historic mansion originally owned by the noble household of the Borromeos, among whose members there is a famous saint, San Carlo Borromeo (1538-1584). He was a leading figure during the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, following the Council of Trent and the implementation of its decrees.

As one can already and easily guess from the meeting’s title, “Diplomacy and Truth,” the event saw not only the participation of several cardinals and churchmen, but also, for the first time at a Courtyard of the Gentiles gathering, senior representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See and the Italian Republic. The possibility of reconciling diplomacy and truth, which are generally thought to be poles apart, was under the spotlight.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

Joseph Pearce Joins Thomas More College Faculty

I mentioned this news a few days ago, but here is the just-received press release from Thomas More College:

MERRIMACK, NH—In the quickly approaching fall semester, Thomas More College will welcome as the new Writer-in-Residence Joseph Pearce, the renowned biographer of Catholic literary giants G. K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien and Hilaire Belloc.

Joseph Pearce will offer courses in the Humanities, as well as advise students who are working on Junior Projects or Senior theses.  His guidance will likewise be available to students who wish to improve their writing skills. 

Pearce has worked extensively on numerous projects throughout his career.  He has authored books exploring the affiliations of Shakespeare and C.S. Lewis with the Catholic Church.  He has hosted a series on EWTN about Shakespeare’s Faith and is currently filming special documentaries for the network about Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings.  He is the co-founder and co-editor of the St. Austin Review, an international magazine dedicated to reclaiming Catholic culture, and is the series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions.  In addition to all these accomplishments, he has been a privileged speaker at universities and colleges throughout the world.

As a youth, Pearce was involved with the National Front, a white nationalist party in his native England.  He wrote violent and scathing articles for Bulldog, the Front’s associated magazine, which he developed and edited.  In fact, his comments were so provocative that he was imprisoned twice by the British authorities.

Despite his explosive behavior and agnosticism, Pearce encountered and yielded to saving grace.  After reading the works of G.K. Chesterton—who would become a literary hero for him—he began to look differently on his radically violent lifestyle.  The illuminating ideas discussed by Chesterton, ideas wholly new to young rebel, became the basis for Pearce’s conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1989.

Pearce enters a curriculum at Thomas More College which includes a three-semester sequence of writing courses.  Students first study the wisdom and eloquence of the great minds of Western civilization.  Taking what they have learned, the students then try their hand at writing short stories and metered poems by following the models of the previously studied texts.  In later courses, skills for writing persuasive essays are formed by the standards of classical rhetoric.

In his commencement address to the College’s graduating class of 2011, Pearce reflected on the transcendent nature of the True and the Beautiful.  These divine attributes, he said, have the power to touch and transform a sinner even as far from a life of grace as he once was.  His views accord with those of the College, whose motto, Caritas Congaudet Veritati, translates as “Charity rejoices in the Truth.”

“At Thomas More College, it is our goal to guide students to a contemplation of the truth,” said Dr. William Fahey, President of the College. “That contemplation is fostered in a special way in academia, but our hope is that by cultivating the cultural life of the College through the presence of figures like Joseph Pearce and Paul Jernberg, students will be more disposed to carry the treasures of the classroom into all aspects of life and community.”

Pearce joins a committed faculty with other well-known scholars and artists, including David Clayton, Artist-in-Residence, and Paul Jernberg, Composer-in-Residence.

Professors and artisans of various crafts come to the College in order to develop each student’s God-given talents.   They share the same dedication to building a culture of art and beauty in the fullness of the Catholic tradition, the same tradition which brought forth the renowned works of Michelangelo, Dante and Mozart.  It is hoped that through these culturally enriching endeavors, Thomas More College will be in a position to transform community life by fostering an authentic appreciation for beauty.

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts provides a four-year undergraduate education which develops young people intellectually, ethically, and spiritually in the Catholic tradition and in faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.  Students graduate as skilled and critical thinkers eager to apply their knowledge and serve in whatever vocation they are called to.

-------

Here are some pertinent links:

• The Ignatius Insight author page for Joseph Pearce
• The Ignatius Critical Editions site
• Ignatius Press books by Joseph Pearce
• Saint Austin Review website

Philadelphia Postscript: Will the Guilty Verdict Lead to Lawsuits Elsewhere?

Philadelphia Postscript: Will the Guilty Verdict Lead to Lawsuits Elsewhere? | David F. Pierre, Jr. | Catholic World Report

The success of the case against Msgr. Lynn has been largely overstated in the media.

The single guilty verdict last month in the high-profile criminal abuse trial in Philadelphia was historic. Msgr. William J. Lynn became the first Catholic official in the United States to be convicted for the crime of allowing a priest suspected of abuse to continue in ministry with access to children.

“I thought I was helping people,” Msgr. Lynn testified during the trial. “I thought I was helping priests, and in those circumstances, I thought I was helping victims, as much as I could.”

But Lynn’s efforts were not enough. His failure with regard to one abusive priest convinced a jury that he was guilty of one of the charges of endangering the welfare of a child.

The verdict surely gave a sense of consolation and satisfaction to those who were so grievously harmed by criminal abusive clergy. Of this we must be mindful.

A groundbreaking precedent?

Many observers have declared that the guilty verdict will encourage other prosecutors across the country to pursue actions against Catholic officials for crimes committed years ago.

“This is the first time that someone responsible for the supervision has been held to that civil accountability,” Boston College’s Rev. Raymond Helmick, a Jesuit priest, told the Wall Street Journal after the verdict. “That is a precedent that may go very far. I’m sure all kinds of people are itching to bring criminal cases against many, many authorities, and we’ll have to see how far it goes.”

The notorious Church-suing attorney Jeff Anderson, based in Minnesota, similarly opined, “This trial is unprecedented; it has set a pathway and a standard for prosecutors across the United States.”

But are such observations correct?

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

St. Benedict: A Sixth-Century Saint for the Twenty-First Century

by Paul Catalanotto | Homiletic & Pastoral Review

Chesterton wrote that “it is the paradox of history that each generation is converted by the saint who contradicts it most.” He argues that this is the reason why the 19th century chose St. Francis of Assisi, and the 20th century chose St. Thomas Aquinas, as their contraries—or more rightly, the saints chose them, the times only thinking they have chosen these saints as patrons. The 19th century chose “the Franciscan romance precisely because it had neglected romance.” The 20th century chose St. Thomas, the master of reason, precisely because it had forgotten how to be reasonable.

More than a decade into the 21st century—in the vast, universal, communion of saints—what saint will emerge as the help of his brethren who are still fighting for salvation? Who, besides Christ, can serve as our sign of contradiction for the post-modern world? “Any saint” might suffice as an answer, as our world desperately needs the witness of many saints— vastly different in a way that knights are different from monks, and complementary in a way that knights make excellent monks. However, by saying “any saint,” we fail to realize that not only is one age different from another—being set upon by its own trials and successes—but also each saint is different from another saint in his own trials and successes. Though there really is but one success: being a saint. That is, the 21st century has a craving for a specific saint, similar to a pregnant woman craving a specific, often odd pairing of food, like hot fudge covered pickles. Who will satisfy this craving; to whom will it give birth?

To answer this question, this writer takes his lead from the Holy Father, who chose the name of this sixth century Italian monk, St. Benedict of Nursia.  The father of western monasticism, Benedict is the saint who most contradicts the 21st century. He, the holy, black-clad monk, serves as the practical saint for an impractical world.

The world, particularly America, is impractical. De Tocquville describes America’s philosophical methods as one where “the precepts of Descartes are least studied but are best applied.” That is to say, the impracticality of the world lies in the materialistic, utilitarian, power-over-nature, ethos of our time. Where ideologues and “educrats” force impractical nonsense upon the populace, so much so, that the only places remaining for common sense are the jungles and deserts of the word—a place considered too simplistic by the educated for the educated to care about it. Furthermore, these locations are too untamable, even by using force. So, the only way for the ideologues to tame the untamable is to destroy it. Yet, these areas of uncontrollability are the very places where the inhabitants do the unthinkable, taming their surroundings, not by force, but by letting “the untamable” tame their souls.

Continue reading at www.HPRweb.com.

Ignatius Press offers YOUCAT in Spanish

Publisher offers world’s best-selling Catholic book to U.S. in second language

SAN FRANCISCO, July 11, 2012 – Ignatius Press is now offering YOUCAT – the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church and the best-selling Catholic book in the world – to the U.S. market in English and Spanish editions. The Ignatius Press Spanish edition of YOUCAT is available now at www.Ignatius.com.
 
In his foreword to YOUCAT, Pope Benedict XVI urges readers to “study this Catechism with passion and perseverance.” The book’s amazing, global popularity – with more than 2 million copies already sold around the globe – suggests that millions of Catholics have embraced the Holy Father’s call.
 
“If you look at America’s Catholic population, having this invaluable and important book available in Spanish seems imperative,” said Ignatius Press President Mark Brumley. “In 33 states, Catholics represent the highest percentage of residents. Among those, more than 30 percent of those living in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas identify as Catholics. “We believe these and other areas with significant Hispanic populations will benefit tremendously from having YOUCAT available in Spanish,” Brumley added. “It is quickly becoming the go-to book for young people to deepen their faith. Pastors, school teachers, and catechists are using it in their religious education classes and Confirmation programs. Parents, grandparents, and godparents are buying it as a gift for young people. YOUCAT is an outstanding gift to the Church."
 
YOUCAT adapts the content of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to a format intended to engage young people and young adults. It is an accessible and contemporary expression of the Catholic Faith, and served as the official Youth Catechism of 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid.
 
It explains:

·         Doctrine – What Catholics believe;
·         The Sacraments – How Catholics celebrate the mysteries of the faith;
·         Moral Life – How Catholics are to live;
·         Prayer and Spirituality – How Catholics should pray.

 YOUCAT’s attractive format includes questions and answers, highly-readable commentary, margin photos and illustrations, summary definitions of key terms, Bible citations and quotes from the Saints and other great teachers. The questions are direct and honest, even at times tough; the answers straightforward, relevant and compelling.
 
For more information about YOUCAT, to request a review copy in English or Spanish, or to schedule an interview with Ignatius Press Editor Jesuit Fr. Joseph Fessio or Ignatius Press President Mark Brumley, please contact Kevin Wandra with The Maximus Group at 678-990-9032 or email KWandra@MaximusMG.com.

The "Mind" of Christ

by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.

“The hymn to Christ, or, more commonly, the ‘Christological hymn’ (Philippians 2:4-9) is a hymn in which all attention is focused on the ‘mind’ of Christ, that is, on his way of thinking and on his practical approach to life.”
— Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, June 27, 2012.

“Human logic often seeks self-fulfillment in power, in domination, in forceful means. Man still wants to build the Tower of Babel with his own efforts, to reach God’s height by himself, to be like God.”
— Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, June 27, 2012.

I.

The fact that a quarter of the General Catechism is devoted to prayer has always impressed me. Likewise, this year’s papal audiences are devoted to prayer. Surely, some will insist, this is too much. Like the money spent on oils to anoint Christ’s feet, could they not have found better use, say, in helping the poor? The basic Christian response to this oft-heard remark is this: It is highly unlikely that anyone will help someone else, or even his best self, if he does not pray. Why is this so?

The basic answer at the heart of all human issues is how we stand to God. If we put God first, and not ourselves, we will love others, make their lives ours. If we put ourselves first, we will repeat the history of humanity, which fashions our relations to others in terms of power and struggle, intent on protecting oneself, not in giving oneself.

According to St. Paul, joy is the basic effect of our faith. Our faith is in the example of Christ, including His cross. When Paul thought of these things, he was in prison, probably in Rome. There, he expected no alternative but death. It is in this context that the “Christological hymn” of Philippians revealed “the ‘mind’ of Christ.” This mind teaches us how to think and a “practical approach to life.”

If we look at this mind of Christ in Philippians, Benedict tells us, it reveals “love, generosity, humility, obedience to God, the gift of self.” It involves a whole way of life and thinking about reality. In this sense, “prayers must lead Christians to knowledge and union in ever deeper love with the Lord, if they are to be able to think, act and love like him…. Putting this into practice, learning the sentiments of Jesus, is the way of Christian life.”

The “way” of the Christian life is summarized in this Pauline hymn. It shows “the entire divine and human itinerary of the Son of God and englobes the whole of human history from being in the form of God to the Incarnation, to death on the Cross and to exaltation in the Father’s glory; the behavior of Adam, of man, is also implicit from the start.” This is a remarkable passage.

The understanding of the Son of God—his being and presence within creation—is what explains human history. Over against this history of God’s presence in the world is man’s effort to reject it. This negative relation to God follows from the use of our free will to find reasons why God’s order is not accepted as human order.

Christ was in the “form” of God. He was true God and man. This “being God” did not, however, prevent Him from going out of Himself. God’s “being God” is not seen as a “triumph” or a “supremacy.” Right away, we distinguish God’s being and nature from our own. Christ “stripped” Himself and took on the form of a “slave.” Why did He do this? “To behave as a servant totally dedicated to serving others.” Thus the purpose of God’s coming out of Himself in the Incarnation was to teach us how God acts and expects us to act.

Jesus “humbled” Himself. He was obedient to His Father’s will.” Benedicts cites Cicero as saying that crucifixion is the “most degrading kind of death.” Here Christ attained the “greatest degree of humiliation.” This is not simply humiliation for humiliation’s sake. Rather it is to show the way that God teaches us about His own love, both of Christ and of us. “Through the Cross of Christ, man is redeemed and Adam’s experience is reversed.”

II.

What was Adam’s experience? And why was this reversal needed? “Adam, created in the image and likeness of God, claimed to be like God through his own effort, to put himself in God’s place and in this way lost the original dignity that had been given to him.” Adam’s sin became the paradigm of all sin, great and small. All human sin still follows the same model. It implicitly rejects the love that God gives us and invites us to imitate, a sacrificial love for others. It replaces this love by our own definition of what we want to do and love, now disguised as what “ought” to be done by everyone. Man thus lost “the original dignity” that had been given to him.

Christ, though in the “form” of God, humbled Himself. He did this to show that Adam’s example was not correct for us. We still have some of this “Adam in us.” His “disobedience” needs to be replaced by Christ’s obedience. We are to copy His humbling of Himself. Prayer means precisely “to open our mind, our heart and our will to the action of the Holy Spirit to enter into this dynamic of life.”

“Human logic often seeks self-fulfillment in power, in domination, in forceful means. Man still wants to build the Tower of Babel with his own efforts, to reach God’s heights by himself, to be like God.” This passage is not a critique of “logic” as such. Logic is itself a good thing. But we are aware of the rational steps that press on from our first operative principle, that we want to rule ourselves for our own ends. We conclude that we build our own ethic and politics. They depend on nothing but our chosen end. There is “logic” of disorder and rejection of the good.

In the plan of God, however, that is implicit in this Pauline hymn, “the Incarnation and the Cross remind us that complete fulfillment is found by conforming our human will to the will of the Father. We are to empty ourselves of our selfishness, to fill ourselves with God’s love, with his charity, and thereby become capable of truly loving others.” Thus, the whole point of the human drama is that we be able to receive and live the love that is manifest in the Godhead, in the Trinitarian life, as it is manifest in the life of Christ.

“Man does not find himself by remaining closed in on himself, by affirming himself. Man finds himself only by coming out of himself….” Logically, to “come out of ourselves” means that we see and love what is not ourselves. This is the great divine gift. The inner love of the Godhead by being itself also is creative and, if necessary, redemptive. It is good for man to be, but it is not good for him to be alone.

“And if Adam wanted to imitate God, this was not a bad thing in itself but he had the wrong idea of God.” This is why having the right idea of God is so significant, why idolatry in any form—of statues, laws, polities, or other beings—is so contrary of what we are given to be. “God is not someone who only wants greatness. God is love which was already given in the Trinity and was then given to the Creation. And imitating God means coming out of oneself, giving oneself in love.” When I read passages like these in Benedict, I sometimes think that his great legacy will be to teach us nothing less than that Deus Caritas Est, as he entitled  his first encyclical.

III.

The second part of Paul’s hymn reminds us of two things. The first is that Christ is the “Lord,” the word used for God in the Old Testament. We speak now of the Father who bestows this title on Christ, true man, because of His obedience. The Jesus who is exalted and the Jesus of the Last Supper are the same. There, Christ washed the feet of the Apostles. When He finished, He quizzed them. “Do you know what I have done?” He also identified Himself as their “Teacher.” They are to follow His teaching and example. “Loving is God’s essence.” This is the power that purifies man.

We need a “scale of values” that is the Lord’s, not ours. Prayer is designed to make us aware of this priority. We also show our understanding of God by kneeling and genuflecting. “Every knee shall bow.” The pope is not impressed by churches in which no one kneels or those in which we never see genuflections, or in which we have to look all over to find the Blessed Sacrament. “Genuflection or kneeling in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament exactly expresses the attitude of adoration in God’s presence and also with the body. Hence the importance of not doing this action out of habit or hastily but rather with profound awareness. When we kneel before the Lord, we profess our faith in him; we recognize that he is the one Lord of our life.”

In the end, the “mind” of Christ does not follow “human logic” to find power and rule to be its end. Rather it follows Christ who though in the form of God, took on that of a slave in order that He might teach and restore the original love in which we were created. It is a love that goes out of itself in the way the love of God within the Trinity went out of itself. We do not find ourselves by finding ourselves. We find ourselves by finding Him who first loved us and gave us to ourselves. We pray for ourselves, not to ourselves. We are born and saved because of others have first loved us. This is both a plan of life and the subject of our constant prayer.

A Decisive Hour for American Catholics

by Deacon Paul O. Iacono for Homiletic & Pastoral Review

We want the right to follow our consciences, to worship our God, and to live out our faith by making a contribution within the public square, which is our patrimony and our heritage: our blessed liberties.

We have concluded the “Fortnight for Freedom,” instigated by the United States Conference Catholic Bishops. We now  draw near to the decisive hour.  It is an hour of decision in the history of our great nation; for it is an hour that truly challenges American Catholics’ sense of discipleship.

It was a fortnight in which our bishops asked us to reflect upon our liberties, our history, and our current state of affairs. If you have thought about these issues at all, you know that our history has not lied in this case: America is a nation that was built upon reverence for God, his natural law, and respect for the primacy of individual conscience and religious tradition.

In 1636, 140 years before Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, the founder of the little colony of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, made freedom of conscience and religion the keystone of his community.

In 1776, in the Declaration of Independence, and again in 1789, in the Constitution of the United States, both documents clearly stated the “limitations of government.” In 1791, the Bill of Rights, also carefully enunciated the rights of each individual citizen—the first right being freedom of religion.

James Madison, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, as well as its secretary and recorder, described the legitimacy of conscience as: “the most sacred of all property.” 1 He wrote: “The religion, then, of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as they may dictate.” 2

George Washington wrote, “the establishment of civil and religious liberty was the motive that induced [him] to the field of battle.”  3

In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson assured the Ursuline Sisters of Louisiana—who had, for 77 years, been serving an indigenous population by operating schools, hospitals, and an orphanage—that their ministry would be free “to govern itself according to its own voluntary rules, without, interference from the civil authority.” 4

This is a matter of history. It is not a matter of conjecture, dispute, or equivocation. Yet, it is clear that the vast majority of our current state and federal government leaders do not accept this understanding of what the founding fathers of our nation wrote, lived, and established as our heritage.

Read the entire essay at www.HPRweb.com.

40% off John Herreid's Pick of the Week

40% off John Herreid's Pick of the Week

"I am going to hold a pistol to the head of the Modern Man. But I shall not use it to kill him. Only to bring him to life." —Innocent Smith, Manalive
 
I first read G.K. Chesterton’s wonderful comic novel when I was a teenager. In the years that have passed since that first reading, I’ve revisited the book many times. It’s one of those rare novels that rewards the reader with something new upon each re-reading. It’s not only very funny and full of instantly quotable lines; it’s also a great introduction to the many of the themes Chesterton expounded upon in his non-fiction works. Through his hero, Innocent Smith—a hulking eccentric who breaks all societal conventions while at the same time keeping God’s commandments—Chesterton shows how the wonder of being alive as a part of creation is something which should fill our hearts with gratitude and awe every time we wake to a new day.
 
For quite some time this novel was only available as part of the Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, but we released it not too long ago as a stand-alone—first as an audio book on CD, then in print. I jumped at the chance to design the cover of my favorite of Chesterton’s novels, drawing inspiration from the quote you see at the top of this description.
 
I hope you enjoy this novel as much as I did, and return to it as often as I have. It’s available in sewn softcover, e-book, audio book, and audio download.
 
John Herreid is one of the graphic designers for Ignatius Press. In addition to book and DVD cover design, he also designs the Ignatius Press Catalogue and administers the Ignatius Facebook and Pinterest pages. He has worked for Ignatius since 2000 and is married with three little ones who demand to be read to every day.


*Employee Pick of the Week program features savings of 40% off a book, movie, or compact disc personally chosen and recommended by an Ignatius Press employee.  Each week, an Ignatius Press employee will select a favorite book, movie, or other Ignatius Press product and write a few sentences about why he/she thinks customers will enjoy the particular selection. A short bio of the selecting employee will also be included, giving customers a chance to learn a bit more about the people who are Ignatius Press.

Someone buy Melinda Gates a copy of the "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church"!

Do you think Melinda Gates has enough money to buy a copy of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church? If not, perhaps those professors at Georgetown who took it upon themselves to send a copy to Rep. Paul Ryan a couple of months ago could gift her one as well. You'll recall that the 90 or so faculty members included the Vatican-published volume with a letter lecturing Ryan about his supposed "continuing misuse of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan" they deemed contrary to Church teaching:

“Your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand," says the letter, which the faculty members sent to Mr. Ryan along with a copy of the Vatican’s Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church — “to help deepen your understanding of Catholic social teaching.”

They could simply rework that letter and say to Mrs. Gates:

“Your budget appears to reflect the values of Margaret Sanger rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and so we are sending the Compendium to help deepen your understanding of Catholic social teaching.”

Not that any such thing will happen, of course, as Georgetown professors, in general, don't have a good record of upholding and defending the Church's teaching about contraception and related matters. In a recent interview with CNN, Gates once again displayed the tired combination of serene cluelessness and convinced arrogance that is, sadly, all too common for Cathoilcs who talk endlessly about "social justice" without demonstrating a basic grasp of Catholic social teaching in general or justice in particular:

"Part of what I do with the (Gates) Foundation comes from that incredible social justice I had growing up and belief that all lives, all lives are of equal value," said Gates during a recent interview with CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

About the flak over her Catholicism she said: "We're not going to agree about everything, but that's OK."

Gates is promoting an ambitious family planning program -- which includes raising billions of dollars to provide contraceptives to 120 million women worldwide -- at the London Summit on Family Planning July 11.

Alas, the "incredible social justice" that Gates learned at a Catholic high school is far more in keeping with the beliefs of Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy Pelosi than anything taught by the Catholic Church. First, however, notice that Gates employs a series of rhetorical tactics that play well with the Contraceptive News Network and those dwelling in the sterile confines of the contraceptive echo chamber:

Continue reading on the Catholic World Report blog.