Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 227

The Continuing Struggle for the Soul of Cuba

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The Continuing Struggle for the Soul of Cuba | Jordan Allott | Catholic World Report

In the wake of Pope Benedict's visit, Cuban Catholics express frustration and anger as the Castro regime continues political repression and religious persecution.

A day before Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit to Cuba on March 26, I was in Arroyo Naranjo, one of Havana's poorest areas, meeting with Lilvio Fernandez Luis, a Catholic and the leader of JACU, or Joventud Activa Cuba Unida. Lilvio spent the day showing me the life he has worked hard to create—a life built on a strong family and the courage to fight against the repression that the Cuban government has inflicted on its people for more than 53 years. 

When I spoke with him, Lilvio wasn't planning to attend the papal Mass at the Plaza de Revolution in the center of Havana on March 28. "I will attend Mass here at my home parish of St. Barbara just two blocks away," he explained.  "If I try and leave my neighborhood on the day of the Mass, I will most likely be detained by state security." 

Lilvio's situation was not unique. Although the Church's goal was to reach out to the Cuban people during Pope Benedict's visit, many individuals and families found it difficult or impossible to participate in the three days of events organized by the Cuban Catholic Church and Vatican with permission from the island's Communist government. Despite the government's limitations, however, Lilvio and almost everyone I talked to during my time in Havana believed the Pope's trip would be a positive spiritual experience, if not a positive political experience, for the people of Cuba.

Throughout the past five decades, the Communist government of Fidel and Raul Castro has consistently repressed institutions and organizations not under their strict control. Soon after the 1959 revolution, Fidel Castro declared Cuba an atheistic state and reduced the Church's ability to work among the people by deporting hundreds of priests and nuns, seizing all Church properties, and imprisoning and executing countless Catholics and others who expressed faith in God. As the decades passed, Christians continued to face severe discrimination.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, however, the Cuban government felt the need to ease up on its repression against the Church in order to receive economic concessions from Europe—aid it had previously received from the USSR. In 1992, Cuba declared itself a secular state and permitted Catholics and others to join the Communist Party, the country's only legal political party.

In 1998, Pope John Paul II made a historic visit to Cuba. It was Cuba's first papal visit, and the trip ignited hope amongst those who remembered John Paul II's journeys to his native Poland (then Communist) in 1979. The Pope's visits helped initiate the Solidarity Movement that ultimately contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

During his five-day visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II held meetings with Fidel Castro and religious leaders, and celebrated public Masses in several cities. John Paul II spoke often about the nation's need for individual responsibility, strong families, and a culture of life. With his visit, Pope John Paul II brought spiritual hope not only to Roman Catholics, but also to the many other Christians and non-believers who attended the various public Masses and celebrations.

But certain topics were off limits during the Pope's visit, including any public discussion of Cuba's political prisoners.

Read the entire essay at www.CatholicWorldReport.com...

Convert to Catholicism credits Scripture, Dietrich von Hildebrand, Cardinal Burke

From the InterMountain Catholic, published by the Diocese of Salt Lake City, the story of how Dr. Richard Sherlock, a professor of philosophy at Utah State University, has finally made his way to the Catholic Church (he will enter the Church on Easter Vigil this Saturday):

Sherlock grew up in an atypical Mormon family. "My mother was semi-active and my father converted late in life," he said. "Neither my brother nor I went on missions; I did not think I could bear witness to Mormonism. My brother is now a rabbi, which leaves only my sister as a Mormon."

When Sherlock told his brother he was converting to Catholicism, he answered, "'Rick, you haven't believed in Mormonism in decades. When you were a graduate student at Harvard in the 1970s, you were essentially a Catholic theologian,'" Sherlock said, whose dissertation used the resources of Catholic moral theology. His Harvard roommate, who was from Notre Dame University, studied early Christian writers.

"We have been friends for 40 years," Sherlock said. "Twenty years ago he told me the way I talk and think I should be Catholic. I knew he was right, but life intervened. Other friends have told me they thought I was already a conservative Catholic when they heard I was converting."

Sherlock was a conscientious objector in the Vietnam War and has been an opponent of abortion, euthanasia and capital punishment his whole adult life, he said. "When I was a professor of Catholic moral theology at Fordham University in New York City in the mid-1980s, I happily defended the view that artificial birth control is morally wrong," he said.

While intellectually he reflected the Catholic faith, it wasn't until 2010 that Sherlock had an experience in Rome that helped him convert his heart. "I saw Rome for the first time while attending a conference devoted to the work of Catholic phenomenologist and convert Dietrich von Hildebrand," he said. "I attended a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Raymond Burke. His homily was magnificent and my blessing felt like electricity going through my body. It was a feeling, but more, it was a grasp of truth; an illumination. I felt the same thing while meditating on the passion narrative in Luke in the chapel of the Huntsville Monastery."

The WhyIAmCatholic.com site has Dr. Sherlock's own testimony, at length. It begins:

One should never leave the religion in which one was born or raised for anything but the most serious of reasons. Warm feelings, family, friends, a social ethos, should never be the reason for joining or leaving a religion. The fact that you do not like the priest, pastor or parishioners should never be a reason for staying or leaving. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have never been a person to "go with the flow" or seek popularity. I was a conscientious objector in the Vietnam War and I have a 1-0 draft card to prove it. I have been an absolute opponent of abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment my whole adult life. When I was a professor of moral theology at Fordham University in the mid-1980's I happily defended the view that artificial birth control is morally wrong. This was at a time when many, if not most, actually Catholic moral theologians wouldn't do so, or wouldn't do so strongly. I have not left religion or Christianity. But I have left Mormonism. I have become a deeper, more intellectual, more spiritual and truer Christian than I have ever been, literally. I am converting to the Roman Catholic Church. All true roads do lead to Rome.

And includes this:

Conversion is a matter of both the heart and the head. Mormonism is all about feeling and almost never about a conversion of the head. But conversion must be more than just feeling. The experience of the Holy Spirit often, but not always, involves feeling to be sure; The Holy Spirit, however, is a profound sense of the presence of God, not merely emotion. It is hearing a music that is transcendent. But if it is truly the presence of God it will lead to wisdom and intellectual curiosity, not away. Reason is a precious Divine gift. We should use it. If the beliefs to which you become emotionally attached are intellectually wrong, emotional attachment won't magically make them right.

In a truly moving opening passage in his seminal encyclical Fides et Ratio Pope John Paul II expresses this marriage of faith and reason: " Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know Himself—so that by knowing and loving God, men and women may come to the fullness of truth about themselves."

I was a "head convert" much longer than I have been a heart convert. It began really at Harvard. Even a non-specialist study of patristic literature convinced me that the story I had grown up with about the "great apostasy" in patristic period was wrong. Of course the Nicene Creed is not found literally in the New Testament. But it is an essential development out of the teaching of scripture. I am not even in the same intellectual universe as Cardinal John Henry Newman. But my journey, like his, was begun by realizing that there is a development of Christian doctrine, not a sharp break.

Read the entire piece.

New: "Fundamental Speeches from Five Decades" by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Fundamental Speeches from Five Decades

by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

"When we read through [these speeches] again, we were surprised by their lasting relevance and are therefore presenting them as...fundamental speeches that display the breadth and core of the theological thought of Pope Benedict XVI."
-Dr. Florian Schuller, Editor & Director of the Catholic Academy of Bavaria

While a professor of theology and throughout his rise in the Roman Catholic hierarchy, Joseph Ratzinger again and again delivered important speeches over the course of five decades at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria (1963-2004). The broad spectrum of topics-from the primacy of the papacy to the moral foundations of western society-demonstrated not only his breadth of knowledge but also his prescience, for these issues remain important for both the Church and modern man.

The fundamental speeches in this volume are arranged thematically. And before each one is a brief introduction written by Dr. Florian Schuller, the director of the Catholic Academy of Bavaria in Munich, who also contributed the foreword.

Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) is widely recognized as one of the most brilliant theologians and spiritual leaders of our age. As theology professor, prelate, prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine and now Pope, he has been an inspiring teacher and a prolific writer. As Pope he has authored important encyclicals, as well as the best-selling Jesus of Nazareth. Prior to his pontificate, he wrote many influential books that continue to remain important for the contemporary Church, such as Introduction to Christianity and The Spirit of the Liturgy.

The Easter Triduum: Entering into the Paschal Mystery

The Easter Triduum: Entering into the Paschal Mystery | Carl E. Olson

The liturgical year is a great and ongoing proclamation by the Church of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a celebration of the Mystery of the Word. Through this yearly cycle, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, "the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfold"(CCC 1171). The Easter Triduum holds a special place in the liturgical year because it marks the culmination of the yearly celebration in proclaiming the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Latin word triduum refers to a period of three days and has long been used to describe various three-day observances that prepared for a feast day through liturgy, prayer, and fasting. But it is most often used to describe the three days prior to the great feast of Easter: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil. The General Norms for the Liturgical Year state that the Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, "reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday" (par 19).

Just as Sunday is the high point of the week, Easter is the high point of the year. The meaning of the great feast is revealed and anticipated throughout the Triduum, which brings the people of God into contact – through liturgy, symbol, and sacrament – with the central events of the life of Christ: the Last Supper, His trial and crucifixion, His time in the tomb, and His Resurrection from the dead. In this way, "the mystery of the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time, until all is subjected to him" (CCC 1169). During these three days of contemplation and anticipation the liturgies emphasize the sacrificial death of Christ on the Cross, and the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, by which the faithful enter into the life-giving Passion of Christ and grow in hope of eternal life in Him.

Holy Thursday | The Lord's Supper

The Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, which commemorates when the Eucharist was instituted at the Last Supper by Jesus. The traditional English name for this day, "Maundy Thursday", comes from the Latin phrase Mandatum novum – "a new command" (or mandate) – which comes from Christ's words: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (Jn 13:34). The Gospel reading for the liturgy is from the first part of the same chapter and depicts Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, an act of servitude (commonly done by slaves or servants in ancient cultures) and great humility.

Earlier on Holy Thursday (or earlier in the week) the bishop celebrates the Chrism Mass, which focuses on the ordained priesthood and the public renewal by priests of their promises to faithfully fulfill their office. In the evening liturgy, the priest, who is persona Christi, will wash the feet of several parishioners, oftentimes catechumens and candidates who will be entering into full communion with the Church at Easter Vigil. In this way the many connections between the Eucharist, salvation, self-sacrifice, and service to others are brought together.

These realities are further anticipated in Jesus' remark about the approaching betrayal by Judas: "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." The sacrificial nature of the Eucharist is brought out in the Old Testament reading, from Exodus 12, which recounts the first Passover and God's command for the people of Israel, enslaved in Egypt, to kill a perfect lamb, eat it, and then spread its blood over the door as a sign of fidelity to the one, true God. Likewise, the reading from Paul's epistle to the Christians in Corinth (1 Cor 11) repeats the words given by the Son of God to His apostles at the Last Supper: "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me" and "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

Thus, in this memorial of Jesus' last meal with His disciples, the faithful are reminded of the everlasting value of that meal, the gift of the priesthood, the grave dangers of turning away from God, the necessity of the approaching Cross, and the abiding love that the Lord has for His people.

Good Friday | Veneration of the Cross

This is the first full day of the Easter Triduum, a day commemorating the Passion, Cross, and death of Jesus Christ, and therefore a day of strict fasting. The liturgy is profoundly austere, perhaps the most simple and stark liturgy of the entire year. The liturgy of the Lord's Passion consists of three parts: the liturgy of the Word, the veneration of the Cross, and the reception of Communion. Although Communion is given and received, this liturgy is not a Mass; this practice dates back to the earliest years of the Church and is meant to emphasize the somber, mournful character of the day. The Body of Christ that is received by the faithful on Good Friday was consecrated the prior evening at the Mass of the Lord's Supper and, in most cases, was adored until midnight or another late hour.







The liturgy of the Word begins with silence. After a prayer, there are readings from Isaiah 52 and 53 (about the suffering Servant), Psalm 31 (a great Messianic psalm), and the epistle to the Hebrews (about Christ the new and eternal high priest). Each of these readings draws out the mystery of the suffering Messiah who conquers through death and who is revealed through what seemingly destroys Him. Then the Passion from the Gospel of John (18:1-19:42) is proclaimed, often by several different lectors reading respective parts (Jesus, the guards, Peter, Caiaphas the high priest, Pilate, the soldiers). In this reading the great drama of the Passion unfolds, with Jew and Gentile, male and female, and the powerful and the weak all revealed for who they are and how their choices to follow or deny Christ will affect their lives and the lives of others.

The simple, direct form of the Good Friday liturgy and readings brings the faithful face to face with the cross, the great scandal and paradox of Christianity. The cross is solemnly venerated after intercessory prayers are offered for the world and for all people. The deacon (or another minister) brings out the veiled cross in procession. The priest takes the cross, stands with it in front of the altar and faces the people, then uncovers the upper part of the cross, the right arm of the cross, and then the entire cross. As he unveils each part, he sings, "This is the wood of the cross." He places the cross and then venerates it; other clergy, lay ministers, and the faithful then approach and venerate the cross by touching or kissing it. In this way each person acknowledges the instrument of Christ's death and publicly demonstrates their willingness to take up their cross and follow Christ, regardless of what trials and sufferings it might involve.

Afterward, the faithful receive Communion and then depart silently. In the Byzantine rite, Communion is not even offered on this day. At Vespers a "shroud" bearing a painting of the lifeless Christ is carried in a burial procession, and the faithful keep vigil before it through the night.

Holy Saturday and Easter Vigil | The Mother of All Vigils

The ancient Church celebrated Holy Saturday with strict fasting in preparation of the celebration of Easter. After sundown the Christians would hold an all-night vigil, which concluded with baptism and Eucharist at the break of dawn. The same idea (if not the identical timeline) is found in the Easter Vigil today, which is the high point of the Easter Triduum and is filled with an abundance of readings, symbols, ceremony, and sacraments.

The Easter Vigil, the Church states, ranks "the mother of all vigils" (General Norms, 21). Being a vigil – a time of anticipation and preparation – it takes place at night, starting after nightfall and finishing before daybreak on Easter, thus beginning and ending in darkness. It consists of four general parts: the Service of Light, the Liturgy of the Word, Christian Initiation, and Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The Service of Light begins outdoors (or in a space outside of the main sanctuary) and in darkness. A fire is lit and blessed, and then the Paschal candle, which symbolizes the light of Christ, is lit from the fire by the priest, who proclaims: "May the light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds." The biblical themes of light removing darkness and life overcoming death suffuse the entire Vigil. The Paschal candle will be placed in the sanctuary (usually by the altar) for the Easter season, then will be kept in the baptistery so that when the sacrament of baptism is administered the candles of the baptized can be lit from it.

The faithful then join in procession back to the main sanctuary. The deacon (or priest, if no deacon is present), carries the Paschal Candle, lifting it three different times and chanting: "Christ our Light!" The people respond by singing, "Thanks be to God!" Everyone's candles are lit from the Paschal candle and the faithful return in procession into the sanctuary. Then the Exultet is sung by the deacon (or priest or cantor). This is an ancient and beautiful poetic hymn of praise to God for the light of the Paschal candle. It may be as old as Saint Ambrose (d. 397) and has been part of the Roman tradition since the ninth century. In the darkness of the church, lit only by candles, the faithful listen to the song of light and glory:

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

And, concluding:

May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

The Liturgy of the Word follows, consisting of seven readings from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. These readings include the story of creation (Genesis 1 and 2), Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22), the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14 and 15), the prophet Isaiah proclaiming God's love (Isaiah 54), Isaiah's exhortation to seek God (Isaiah 55), a passage from Baruch about the glory of God (Baruch 3 and 4), a prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36), Saint Paul on being baptized into Jesus Christ (Rom 6), and the Gospel of Luke about the empty tomb discovered on Easter morning (Luke 24:1-21).

These readings constitute an overview of salvation history and God's various interventions into time and space, beginning with Creation and concluding with the angel telling Mary Magdalene and others that Jesus is no longer dead; "You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here." Through these readings "the Lord 'beginning with Moses and all the prophets' (Lk 24.27, 44-45) meets us once again on our journey and, opening up our minds and hearts, prepares us to share in the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the cup" (General Norms, 11).

Some of the readings are focused on baptism, that sacrament which brings man into saving communion with God's divine life. Consider, for example, Saint Paul's remarks in Romans 6: "We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life." Easter is in many ways the season of baptism, the sacrament of Christian initiation, in which those who formally lived in darkness and death are buried and baptized in Christ, emerging filled with light and life.

From the early days of the ancient Church the Easter Vigil has been the time for adult converts to be baptized and enter the Church. After the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word, catechumens (those who have never been baptized) and candidates (those who have been baptized in a non-Catholic Christian denomination) are initiated into the Church by (respectively) baptism and confirmation. The faithful are sprinkled with holy water and renew their baptismal vows. Then all adult candidates are confirmed and general intercessions are stated. The Easter Vigil concludes with the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the reception of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Crucified and Risen Lord. For as Eastern Catholics sing hundreds of times during the Paschal season, "Christ is risen from the dead; by death He conquered death, and to those in the graves, He granted life!"


(This article was originally published in a slightly different form in the April 9, 2006, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Related IgnatiusInsight.com Articles:

• The Cross — For Us | Hans Urs von Balthasar
• The Question of Suffering, The Response of the Cross | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• The Truth of the Resurrection | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Easter: The Defiant Feast | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.
• Easter Delivers Us From Evil | Carl E. Olson

Carl E. Olson is the editor of IgnatiusInsight.com.

He is the co-author of The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code and author of Will Catholics Be "Left Behind"? He has written for numerous Cathlic periodicals and is a regular contributor to National Catholic Register and Our Sunday Visitor newspapers. He has a Masters in Theological Studies from the University of Dallas.

He resides in a top secret location in the Northwest somewhere between Portland, Oregon and Sacramento, California with his wife, Heather, and three children. Visit his personal web site at www.carl-olson.com.

The Gray Lady Makes SNAP-Friendly Judgments

The Gray Lady Makes SNAP-Friendly Judgments | David F. Pierre, Jr. | Catholic World Report

The New York Times allies with advocacy group in new attack against Catholic Church

The New York Times would have you believe that the Catholic Church is on a heartless crusade to expose the names, addresses, and phone numbers of anonymous victims of atrocious clergy abuse. According to a recent Times editorial, Church leaders are "threatening to expose private files compiled by advocates for abuse survivors [and] are giving victims new reason to retreat into fear and secrecy."

Then there is the reality.

The Times has been reporting on the growing conflict between the Church and the vocal advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. The clash has swelled in recent months after lawyers for an accused priest in Missouri deposed SNAP's national director, David Clohessy, in January.

The Times predictably paints the clash between the two parties as a case of the big, bad Catholic Church bullying an innocent group of abuse victims. In fact, in a front-page story about the adversarial situation, the Times portrays the Church as callously disregarding victims. Reporter Laurie Goodstein relays:

Read the entire essay at www.CatholicWorldReport.com...

Where does the title, "Mary, Mother of Mercy," come from?

Fr. James McTavish examines the question in detail in a recent HPR essay, "Mary, Mother of Mercy. Christ the Power of Merciful Love":

We have many popular prayers that speak of Mary as Mother of Mercy. For example, "Hail holy Queen, Mother of mercy" … and, later: "turn, then, your eyes of mercy towards us."  In another prayer, the Memorare, we hear: "To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful, O Mother of the Word incarnate, despise not my petitions but in your mercy, hear and answer me."  Moreover, in the lives of the saints, we hear Mary referred to as "Mother of mercy." Once, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska had a vision of the Blessed Mother. Mary said to Sr. Faustina: "I am not only the Queen of Heaven, but also the Mother of Mercy, and your Mother" (Diary of St. Faustina,330).  Also, Pope John Paul II refers to Mary as Mother of Mercy in his 1980 encyclical, Dives in Misericordia:

Mary is also the one who obtained mercy in a particular and exceptional way … Mary, then, is the one who has the deepest knowledge of the mystery of God's mercy. She knows its price, she knows how great it is. In this sense, we call her the "Mother of mercy" (§9).

Note that the Hebrew word for mercy, rahamim, comes from rehem, a mother's womb. God's mercy must have something of a maternal warmth about it—unconditional, intimate, and nurturing love, symbolized by a mother's womb. God's mercy is, therefore, tender and affectionate, life-giving and indispensable.  God chose Mary to reveal this merciful love to us. Therefore, we need Mary in our lives as Christians. Many people, many sects, will tell you that you don't need Mother Mary. Have you heard that? One elderly Jesuit I know told me once that some people were arguing about how we don't need Mary in order to know Jesus. They told him to go directly to Jesus. He replied that God has given us Mary for a reason, suggesting finally: "Okay, you go directly to Jesus; I will go through Mary. And we will see who gets there first!"

God has given us a mother for a reason.

Read the entire essay at www.HPRweb.com.

Nothing. Mandate, Intl. Mexico. Fluke. Freedom. Sneering. Cave-in Catholicism.

Those topics and others, on the CWR blog:

 
• More Nothing
• The Contraceptive Mandate, International Edition
• "A God who responds to our reason": Schall on Benedict on Mexico
• Benedict XVI in Mexico: "I come as a pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of love."
• Pope begins his week-long apostolic trip to Mexico and Cuba
• Sandra Fluke misses contraceptive Target by about $2,919.00
• Across the country, protesters stand up for religious freedom (UPDATED)
• Over 140 "Stand Up for Religious Freedom" rallies planned for today
• Veteran NYT reporter sneers at Santorum's "far right Catholicism"; "dour 13th-century philosophy"
• The Emptiness and Deceit of Cave-in "Catholicism"
• Vatican releases findings of the Apostolic Visitation in Ireland
• And Much More!

A science fiction author promotes philosophical fiction. People applaud.

The science fiction author, Ursula Le Guin, was recently in town (she lives up the interstate in Portland) to talk about the great threat that hovers Darth Vader's bad breath over civilization: book censorship by fundamentalist Protestants. Huh. Is she stuck in the early 1970s or something? Apparently:

Sometime in the 1970s, a group of fundamentalist Christians in the United States decided that "fantasy was evil," famed science fiction writer Ursula Le Guin told a standing-room-only crowd of about 200 at the Eugene Public Library on Saturday.

"A lot of school boards had members who were kind of determined to get fantasy and sci-fi away from kids," the Portland author said.

Le Guin once went to a hearing that would determine whether her 1971 novel, "The Lathe of Heaven," would be removed from a particular school district's shelves, and she'll always remember what one of the students who stood up to defend the book said about it:

"I thought this book was really stupid. But I want to decide that for myself."

No, no, that isn't the remark alluded to in my headline. And, to be fair to Le Guin, I know a bit about that fundamentalist group she referred to (update: that's a tongue-in-cheek remark. Beware!). It consisted of about thirty people meeting in a "home church" in Plains, Montana. I know, because I was at the meeting. And there was spirited discussion (this was in 1974 or so) about whether or not some of the teenagers there should be reading C. S. Lewis's Narnia books because, first, the books had witches as characters and, secondly, the books used a lion to apparently symbolize the person of Jesus Christ. Although I was only five or so, I recall one man saying, "There is no need for allegory; if people want to learn about Jesus, they can read the Bible." Indeed. And if people want to read symbolism or allegory, they can read the Book of Revelation, which is, um, in the Bible. (And what about The Pilgrim's Progress? That was considered to be near gospel. But wasn't it just a wee bit allegorical in nature?)

Where was I? Well, it goes without saying that no one in our little group mentioned Le Guin, but I'm sure she and her dread book were on our mind.s Or not. I hadn't read it, and I never did.

Here, however, is remark, by Le Guin, that prompted the headline:

"Theism and atheism can be equally dangerous," she said. "Any belief, any unbelief, is dangerous if it is adopted, enforced, accepted as the only acceptable ideology."

Whew. If Le Guin is as good of science fiction writer as she is philosophical fiction writer, she's fabulous. This is gold. Fool's gold, glittering in its unashamed casuistry. Because if Le Guin is correct, then it follows that her absolute and uniquely "acceptable" statement—"Any belief, any unbelief, is dangerous if it is adopted, enforced, accepted as the only acceptable ideology"—is itself to be condemned as dangerous. In fact, in one neat and incredibly tidy remark she has exposed a mortal flaw in modern, secular liberalism: the belief that all beliefs are equal, which necessarily holds, as a presupposition, that said belief is itelf above, beyond, and superior to all other beliefs. Which means that some beliefs must be superior to other beliefs, which then brings us back to the key questions: What beliefs? And on what grounds, basis, or authority?

Also interesting is the remark that theism and atheism "can be equally dangerous". That sounds very deep, but it is really just very vacuous, similar to saying, "Love and hate can be equally dangerous", or "Sky diving and scuba diving can be equally dangerous". Except there is a deeper problem, since her claim that theism and atheism can be equally dangerous is, as we've seen, based on a completely false assumption about absolutes. Besides, the far better question is: Is atheism or theism more true? Which of the two makes better sense of existence, reality, morality, and human nature? And what sort of "theism" are we talking about? Of course, Le Guin was kept free from having to delve into those deep waters as she preaching to People's Republic of Eugene, Oregon, choir, who are absolutely sure that absolutely nothing is absolute.

Le Guin's statement is what I call the "Wile E. Coyote Philosophy of Life": You don't think through the premises of your plan, you don't calculate the costs if it makes no sense, and you don't bother to look at where you'll end up if you are wrong until it's too late:

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Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Mexico is met with enthusiasm -- and attacks

Benedict XVI rides in the popemobile to House of Conde Rul, in Guanajuato, to meet President Calderon. (Matthew C. Hoffman)

The Holy Father in Mexico (Friday and Saturday) | by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman | Catholic World Report

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Mexico Friday to an enthusiastic welcome from crowds of Catholic faithful and government officials, evoking memories of Pope John Paul II's many successful trips to the world's largest Spanish-speaking country.  However, the pontiff's journey is also becoming the occasion of a carefully-planned attack by a victim of the late Fr. Marcial Maciel, who accuses Benedict, John Paul, and other high officials of the Church of failing to respond adequately to the accusations against the sexually-abusive priest. 

Words of encouragement and peace

Benedict arrived in Mexico on Friday, touching down in the state of Guanajuato, the heart of Mexico's strongly-Catholic Bajio region. He was received by President Felipe Calderon, and gave a brief speech thanking Mexicans for their legendary hospitality, reiterating the themes of faith, hope, and charity addressed by recent encyclicals, and promising to pray for the end of suffering caused by "old and new forms of rivalry, resentment, and violence."

"I come as a pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of charity," the pope told the crowd. "I desire to confirm the believers in Christ in their faith, consolidate them in it, and encourage them to revitalize it with the hearing of the Word of God, the sacraments, and the coherence of life.  In this way, they will be able to share it with others, like missionaries among their brothers, and be a leaven in society, contributing to a respectful and peaceful coexistence, based in the incomparable dignity of every human person, created by God, and whom no power has the right to forget or despise."

President Calderon responded with a discourse on challenges facing the country, and expressing confidence that the traditional values of the Mexican people would give them the strength to prevail. Among other issues, such as poverty and economic inequality, Calderon decried the "ruthless and naked violence" caused by "delinquents" and "organized crime."

Noting that "in this, our country, 93 million of us Catholics live...we are the the country with the second highest number of Catholics in the world," Calderon credited the Church with  impregnating Mexico with "the most elevated sense of love of neighbor..." Following the exchange, the pope was then taken in a procession to Leon's Colegio Miraflores in the popemobile, greeted by enthusiastic crowds whose ardor has been widely judged as equal to that afforded to his predecessor.

On Saturday the pontiff said mass privately in a chapel of the Colegio, where he had passed the night, and then proceeded to the city of Guanajuato, where he symbolically received the keys to the city from the governor and mayor of the city, and broke protocol by personally greeting members of the faithful who had come to see the event. 

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Conflict and Confusion in Cuba

Conflict and Confusion in Cuba | Matthew Cullinan Hoffman | Catholic World Report

Cuban dissidents ask Benedict XVI to take up their cause as papal visit approaches

As Cuba prepares to receive Pope Benedict XVI on March 26, an increasing number of voices both on the island and abroad are complaining that the local church authorities are ignoring dissident groups and showing favoritism to a government that oppresses its own people. They also fear that the pontiff's visit could be exploited for the same purposes.

In recent days, Lech Walesa, the former leader of Poland's Solidarity movement that toppled the communist regime in 1989, as well as Cuban-American congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, have joined Cuban dissident groups to ask the pope to speak out against human rights abuses by the island's communist government during his upcoming trip.

The Cuban authorities have added fuel to the fire during the past week by temporarily arresting human rights protesters and other dissidents, including seventy members of the Ladies in White, which consists of the wives and female relatives of political prisoners. Thus far, requests by the Ladies in White to meet with Pope Benedict during his trip have not been answered.

Churches occupied

Seeking to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the pope's visit, a group calling itself the Republican Party of Cuba occupied several churches in the dioceses of Havana and Holguín on March 13. The group's spokesman says that they were trying to "call the attention of the pope" to their cause, which they characterize as "liberty, democracy, and respect for human rights."

Although the dioceses of Havana and Holguin deny that they asked for police intervention, the Havana protesters were ejected by government authorities by force two days later, after the archdiocese informed the police of the situation. The Republican party of Cuba complains that its members were handled roughly, and that the Bishop of Holguin behaved towards them in an insulting manner when asking them to leave, an order that was peacefully obeyed.

The Archdiocese of Havana accuses the dissidents themselves of attempting to use the pope's visit for political purposes, claiming their actions are based "on a strategy prepared and coordinated by groups in various regions of the country."

"It is not a chance event, but rather a planned one, apparently with the purpose of creating critical situations as the Pope's visit approaches," the archdiocese stated in a press release published by Granma, an organ of the government.

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