Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 233

Penitence and Repentance: A Lenten Primer

From a very good Lenten reflection by Fr. Michael Sweeney, OP, president of Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, Calfornia, delivered (I'm fairly certain) to seminarians at the start of Lent:

The season of Lent is a penitential season. But what is "penitence"? The etymology of the word is instructive: it derives from the Latin paenitentia, or "repentance", which in turn derives from the word paenitere, "to cause or feel regret" which likely derives from the word, paene, "almost." In this light, paenitentia, our repentance, stems from our acknowledgment of the fact that life is "almost" right, "almost" enough, that we regret the fact that "almost" is not enough and that we know ourselves to be complicit in the fact. The purpose of our repentance is to be restored to a fullness whereby we are able to face life without regret; we are to eliminate the "almost."

"Repentance" makes little sense to many of our contemporaries in that they have no expectation that life should be other than the all-too-partial satisfaction that they experience; life, after all, is regarded a series of compromises. In fact, to be a Christian in the 21st century is, immediately, to be confronted by two wildly different, even contradictory, accounts of what it is to be human: the testimony of the Church, according to which repentance makes sense, and what we might call "the testimony of the world" according to which repentance makes no sense at all.

And:

Who, we might wonder, would not prefer the testimony of the Church?  Yet there are many who find it an abomination.  There are three things that our age cannot forgive the Church: that it insists upon judging the human situation and therefore offends against tolerance; that it insists upon the value of suffering, and therefore offends against morality; that it insists upon a divine dignity for man and woman, and therefore offends against the freedom to be fully invested in the world. 

I suggested at the outset that, to the degree that we discern a need to repent, we do so because everything is not full, that some things are almost but not quite right with us.  But if we were fully to accept who we are in the Lord's sight, then surely life would be full, surely we could eliminate the "almost".  Can it be that we are ourselves complicit in a testimony about life that is not of the faith?

We should likely acknowledge that, at least in some respects, our actual experience better supports the testimony of the world than it does the testimony of the faith.  It would seem that evil can befall us –we can lose our jobs, be abandoned or betrayed by those who, we thought, loved us, suffer the death of a loved one, the absence of a friend – and what about the toothache?  When we consider our actual circumstances, our lives do not appear to be so very different than those of others, our own uniqueness and our vocation can be obscure to us, and are not tolerance, the alleviation of suffering and accommodation to the world prudent in a pluralistic society?  How can we reconcile the testimony of the faith with our life in the world?

Read the entire address, "Lenten Reflection: Unless You Become Like Children".

The Anti-Catholic "Pontifical Catholic University of Peru"

The Anti-Catholic "Pontifical Catholic University of Peru" | Carlos Polo | Catholic World Report

A former student explains the Vatican's struggle to restore the Catholic identity of Peru's most important university

The escalating struggle between the Vatican and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) over the reform of its statutes may appear to be nothing more than a conflict over administrative differences, and an obscure papal document known as Ex Corde Ecclesiae. In reality, the conflict is about the very nature and identity of a Catholic educational institution.  The PUCP, in short, must decide if it wishes to be Catholic, or not. The fate of the country's most important university, as well as millions of dollars in assets, is riding on the outcome.

A short history of the conflict

On February 21, the Vatican gave an ultimatum to the PUCP to change its statutes before April 8 to conform them to Ex Corde Ecclesiae, a papal decree on the governance of Catholic universities.  The decision to set a deadline was personally given by the Vatican's Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, to the university's rector, Marcial Rubio Correa. Rubio was called to the Holy See days before to reveal to him the conclusions of Cardinal Peter Erdo, who was sent to Lima in December by Pope Benedict XVI to mediate the conflict between the Archbishop of Lima and the PUCP over the conformity of its statutes to Catholic law.

The Peruvian daily El Comercio, citing confidential sources, has indicated that Rubio proposed that the University Assembly designate the rector, and, as a symbolic gesture, to have a mass that would affirm the Catholic identity of the institution. This proposal, as the PUCP has observed, was not considered by the Vatican.

The request of a change of statutes is not new. It was first made almost 30 years ago through Papal Nuncio Mario Tagliaferri.  From that day forward, the same request has been made repeatedly, and the PUCP has repeatedly refused, even taking the issue to court to vindicate its cause. The current rector of the PUCP has misinformed the public, repeating in recent months that the statutes are in agreement with Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Now, in the face of Rome's ultimatum, that is clearly revealed to be untrue.

But beyond the legal issues, the contribution of the PUCP to social and political debates is even less Catholic. The professionals who have been educated in its classes stand out for their efforts to eliminate the Catholic character of Peruvian society.

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

Women and the Priesthood

Women and the Priesthood | Renee Pomarico | Homiletic & Pastoral Review

Is there such a thing as a "right" to priesthood? If so, is it by law, by nature, or by tradition?

"The hour is coming and in fact has already arrived, for the vocation of woman to be fulfilled in plenitude, the hour in which woman acquires an influence in the world, a weight and a power never before reached until now. Therefore, at this moment in history in which humanity is experiencing such a profound change, women filled with the spirit of the Gospel will be able to greatly help humanity from falling." 1

I'll never forget the day I encountered a man who assured me that women would soon be able to be priests. I was at a weekday Mass. A kind, elderly man in the pew in front of me turned to me after mass, said hello and exchanged a few words with me. Then he said, in an apologetic tone, that hopefully one day soon, the Church will change its stance so that I can become a priest. I smiled and responded that I didn't really want to be a priest. It got me wondering why he thought I wanted to be a priest.

I also thought about the idea that women should be priests is so prevalent in society. Is it because women are considered more spiritually sensitive and active in Church affairs? Or is it to bring about greater equality between men and women? Maybe it's actually because some consider the priesthood as the best way for women to gain influence and power? But how are we to understand this "right" to priesthood?  Is it by law, by nature, by tradition?

Does a woman have a just claim to the priesthood by law?
According to the Bible, mankind in his fallen nature needed laws so as not to turn away from God. God, who is Goodness and Truth, was quickly forgotten when his people were doing well. Even after Moses led the chosen people out of Egypt, freeing them from slavery, they began to worship golden calves.

Therefore, God entrusted the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. In addition to the Ten Commandments, many other laws were given to Moses concerning slaves, personal injury, property damage, and other social and religious laws (cf. Exodus 19-24).  The people said that they would do all that the Lord commanded. They made an altar, an ark for the covenant, and a dwelling tent in which to house these sacred objects.

Read the entire article at www.HPRweb.com...

"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, March 4, 2012, the Second Sunday of Lent | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
• Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
• Rom 8:31b-34
• Mk 9:2-10

As a general, Scriptural rule of thumb, dramatic things happen on mountain tops. There are about five hundred references in the Bible to mountains and hills. Sometimes mountains are described as places of hiding and refuge; sometimes they are presented as desolate and barren, hostile to the living. They are depicted as places of false pagan worship; they are also celebrated as sites of authentic worship of the true God.

And in some of the most significant events presented in Scripture, mountains are where man encounters God in transforming, stunning fashion. In such instances, man's faith is tested; he is drawn outside of his comfort zone and into a place—a relationship—that is holy, other-worldly, even terrifying.

Today's Old Testament reading is, along with Moses' encounter with the burning bush and his reception of the Law on Mount Sinai, one of those incredible mountaintop encounters. It is also one of the most perplexing and baffling stories in the Old Testament: how could a good and loving God ask Abraham to sacrifice his own son?

Jean Cardinal Danielou (1905-1974), a great Scripture scholar and spiritual writer, contemplated this unsettling mystery in The Advent of Salvation (Paulist Press, 1962). He described the event as "a high point in the Old Testament" Why? "In the first centuries of the Christian era," he wrote, "the rabbis taught that Abraham merited all the graces given later to his people by sacrificing Isaac, and that Isaac, by submitting to be sacrificed, was the cause of his people's salvation."

When St. Paul wrote, in words heard in today's Epistle, that God "did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all" (Rom 8:32), surely he was very mindful of Abraham's trek to the mountaintop with his beloved son, Isaac. Danielou emphasizes that the Old Testament, in this story and many others, provides a promise and foreshadows a fulfillment. The sacrifice of Isaac was not consummated, but pointed to the sacrifice of the Son of God, which was. The fulfillment of the covenantal promises made to Abraham did not come about in his lifetime, but in and through the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"The passion and death of Christ," Danielou observed, "were the supreme test of faith: from death came the Resurrection wherein the promise was fulfilled." This brings us to today's Gospel and St. Mark's account of the Transfiguration. That blinding event also, of course, took place on "a high mountain"; only Peter, James, and John—the inner core of the disciples—were present. Like Isaac, they weren't sure what to expect. They didn't expect to be granted "a glimpse of the Godhead," in the words of St. John Chrysostom, seeing, as it were, the veil of this world pulled back to reveal the dazzling glory of Christ's divinity and the holiness of Moses and Elijah.

Peter, terrified and shaken, but still impulsive, wished to immediately commemorate the event by setting up tents, perhaps thinking of the Feast of Tents (or Booths) that recalled the forty years in the desert (cf., Lev. 23:39-43). A cloud, the presence of the Holy Spirit, overshadowed them (cf., Lk 1:35) and the Father's voice declared, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Whereas Jesus' public ministry had commenced with his baptism in the Jordan—the heavens torn open, the Spirit descending, a voice saying, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased" (Mk 1:9-11)—his Paschal mystery commenced with the Transfiguration.

Moses, the Lawgiver, and Elijah, the Prophet, pointed to the One who fulfilled perfectly the Law and the Prophets. But he fulfilled it by entering into the heart of sorrow and death, becoming a holocaust, the burnt offering, given in our place. The dark hours of the Passion did, for a while, overcome the disciples. But the Resurrection tore apart the veil that had only been pulled back on the mountaintop.

And now we—listening to the Son, guided by the Holy Spirit—can encounter God in transforming, stunning fashion.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the March 8, 2009, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Cardinal Dolan indicates possible legal actions; rebuffs "cave-in" Catholics

From Cardinal Timothy Dolan's March 2nd, three-page letter to his fellow bishops:

We will continue to accept invitations to meet with and to voice our concerns to anyone of any party, for this is hardly partisan, who is willing to correct the infringements on religious freedom that we are now under. But as we do so, we cannot rely on off the record promises of fixes without deadlines and without assurances of proposals that will concretely address the concerns in a manner that does not conflict with our principles and teaching.

Congress might provide more hope, since thoughtful elected officials have proposed legislation to protect what should be so obvious: religious freedom. Meanwhile, in our recent debate in the senate, our opponents sought to obscure what is really a religious freedom issue by maintaining that abortion inducing drugs and the like are a "woman's health issue." We will not let this deception stand. Our commitment to seeking legislative remedies remains strong. And it is about remedies to the assault on religious freedom. Period. (By the way, the Church hardly needs to be lectured about health care for women. Thanks mostly to our Sisters, the Church is the largest private provider of health care for women and their babies in the country.) Bishop William Lori, Chairman of our Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, stated it well in a recent press release: "We will build on this base of support as we pursue legislation in the House of Representatives, urge the Administration to change its course on this issue, and explore our legal rights under the Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

Perhaps the courts offer the most light. In the recent Hosanna-Tabor ruling, the Supreme Court unanimously defended the right of a Church to define its own ministry and services, a dramatic rebuff to the administration, apparently unheeded by the White House. Thus, our bishops' conference, many individual religious entities, and other people of good will are working with some top-notch law firms who feel so strongly about this that they will represent us pro-bono. In the upcoming days, you will hear much more about this encouraging and welcome development.

Given this climate, we have to prepare for tough times. Some, like America magazine, want us to cave-in and stop fighting, saying this is simply a policy issue; some want us to close everything down rather than comply (In an excellent article, Cardinal Francis George wrote that the administration apparently wants us to "give up for Lent" our schools, hospitals, and charitable ministries); some, like Bishop Robert Lynch wisely noted, wonder whether we might have to engage in civil disobedience and risk steep fines; some worry that we'll have to face a decision between two ethically repugnant choices: subsidizing immoral services or no longer offering insurance coverage, a road none of us wants to travel.

Read the entire letter, available on the USCCB site, in PDF format. For a thorough critique of the faulty views of the cave-in Catholics at America magazine, see the essay, "The Bishops and the Mandate: Principled Witness vs. Politics as Usual", on the Public Discourse site.

New: "Adam and Eve After the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution"

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Adam and Eve After the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution

by Mary Eberstadt

• Also available in e-book format

Secular and religious thinkers agree: the sexual revolution is one of the most important milestones in human history. Perhaps nothing has changed life for so many, so fast, as the severing of sex and procreation. But what has been the result?

This ground-breaking book by noted essayist and author Mary Eberstadt contends that sexual freedom has paradoxically produced widespread discontent. Drawing on sociologists Pitirim Sorokin, Carle Zimmerman, and others; philosopher G.E.M. Anscombe and novelist Tom Wolfe; and a host of feminists, food writers, musicians, and other voices from across today's popular culture, Eberstadt makes her contrarian case with an impressive array of evidence. Her chapters range across academic disciplines and include supporting evidence from contemporary literature and music, women's studies, college memoirs, dietary guides, advertisements, television shows, and films.

Adam and Eve after the Pill examines as no book has before the seismic social changes caused by the sexual revolution. In examining human behavior in the post-liberation world, Eberstadt provocatively asks: Is food the new sex? Is pornography the new tobacco?  

Adam and Eve after the Pill will change the way readers view the paradoxical impact of the sexual revolution on ideas, morals, and humanity itself.

"With the skill of a literary surgeon, Eberstadt slices through the chimera of political correctness to lay bare the facts, statistics, and cultural realities of life after the sexual revolution. A compelling and provocative look at why an about-face is needed now to save Western Civilization from a cultural Doomsday, and is the solution to re-establish a healthy and moral cultural ethos."
- Johnnette S. Benkovic, Founder of Women of Grace®, Television & Radio Show Host, EWTN

"Mary Eberstadt  is intimidatingly intelligent."
- George Will, The Washington Post

"Mary Eberstadt is our premier analyst of American cultural foibles and follies, with a keen eye for oddities that illuminate just how strange the country's moral culture has become."
- George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy Center

"If you want to learn what the Pill and the ensuing sexual revolution really accomplished, you must read Adam and Eve After the Pill. Of course, neo-Malthusians talk up the Pill's benefits: the freedom from having children made it possible for women to pursue serious careers and in the process offered men a new kind of freedom, too. But as Eberstadt writes, how about the increasing unhappiness of women despite their liberation from the chores of raising children? Or husbands' loss of interest in their wives and the corresponding increase in male pornography addiction? Not to be ignored, either, is the effect of the sexual revolution on college campuses by date rapes, hookups, and binge drinking, all of which directly flow from the sexual revolution mandate that women must be sexually available."
- Dr. Raymond Dennehy, University of San Francisco

Mary Eberstadt is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, consulting editor to Policy Review, and contributing writer to First Things. Her articles have appeared in the Weekly Standard, the American Spectator, Commentary, the Los Angeles Times, the London Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Her previous books include The Loser Letters and Home-Alone America.

"What if being Evangelical is not enough?"

A good question. And asked by an Evangelical.

It is a question that I asked myself years ago when I was an Evangelical, which led to a lot of study, which included reading Thomas Howard's fine book, Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God In Liturgy and Sacrament (written nearly thirty years ago) and then several more by Dr. Howard. Along with many more books. Which led, ultimately, to entering the Catholic Church fifteen years ago this Easter, aided and encouraged by a cloud of witnesses. Of which I will likely write more in due time.

On Ignatius Insight:

• Has The Reformation Ended? | An Interview with Dr. Mark Noll
• Thomas Howard and the Kindly Light | IgnatiusInsight.com
• Objections, Obstacles, Acceptance: An Interview with J. Budziszewski | Ignatius Insight
• Thomas Howard on the Meaning of Tradition | Ignatius Insight
• A Friendly Introduction to Catholicism | An Interview with Fr. Dwight Longenecker, author of More Christianity: Finding the Fullness of Faith
• From Protestantism to Catholicism: Six Journeys to Rome
• Further Up and Further In | | Fr. Dwight Longenecker | From the Introduction to More Christianity: Finding the Fullness of the Faith
• Why Catholicism Makes Protestantism Tick | Mark Brumley

CWR: "Irish Coalition Government Divided Over Abortion"

Irish Coalition Government Divided Over Abortion | Michael Kelly | Catholic World Report

In the wake of the 2010 European Court of Human Rights ruling, Ireland's government looks to clarify abortion legislation.

When Socialist Party representative Clare Daly stood up in the Irish parliament last week to propose a motion that would legalize abortion in Ireland, there was little reaction. No one seriously expects the legislation to proceed, and when it comes to a vote on April 19 the government is expected to use its majority in parliament to crush the motion. So far only six of 166 legislators have promised they will support the move. But that won't signal the end of the latest attempt to overturn the country's ban on abortion. Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus remain the only countries in Europe where abortion is illegal.

Pro-life activists have accused the bill's supporters of muddying the waters by creating the false impression that are circumstances in which a direct abortion is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman. The preamble to the proposed legislation states that the plan is "to provide for termination of pregnancy where a real and substantial risk to the life of the pregnant woman exists; to make provision for the prevention of any curtailment, hindrance, or preclusion of such treatment that may arise as a result of the pregnancy of the woman; and to provide for related matters."

However, Dr. Ruth Cullen, a spokeswoman for the Pro-Life Campaign, insists that this description "falsely creates the impression that women in Ireland are being denied necessary medical treatments in pregnancy because of the absence of abortion here."

"The reality is that Ireland ranks as one of the safest countries in the world for pregnant women, safer than places like Britain or Holland where abortion is available on demand," said Dr. Cullen.

Obstetricians can be justifiably proud of Ireland's record on maternal mortality. When six countries (Holland, Germany, Denmark, Slovenia, Norway, and Spain) led a campaign at the United Nations to force Ireland to introduce abortion last year, Caroline Simons—a Dublin-based lawyer—was quick to point out that Ireland has "a much better record of safeguarding the lives of women in pregnancy than any of the six countries that challenged our laws on abortion."

The latest UN study on maternal mortality, published in 2010, shows that out of 172 countries for which estimates are given, Ireland remains a world leader in safety for pregnant women.

Read the entire piece on www.CatholicWorldReport.com...

If you haven't been to the CWR blog lately, you have likely missed...

... the folllowing posts:

• Modern, secular liberalism is a political religion
• Senate has no time for a budget, no interest in a conscience
• The convenient marriage of Al Jazeera, SNAP, and BishopAccountability.org
• Here is a little thought exercise about the lesbian/Communion controversy...
• How difficult is it to obtain free contraceptives?
• Proposed CA bill would allow non-doctors to perform abortions

And there is my most recent rant/editorial, titled (rather sarcastically, but seriously), "Where would we be without experts? Alive!"

Please visit www.CatholicWorldReport.com on a regular basis, as we are putting up new features, interviews, columns, blog posts, and secret codes revealing the meaning of life every week day!

"My Brother, the Pope" is "the most intimate biography of the pope possible."

I'll go out on an (admittedly short) limb and guess that Georg Ratzinger's book, My Brother, the Pope (also available in e-book format) is the first of its kind: a memoir by a sibling of a sitting pope that offers unique and personal insights difficult, if not impossible, to find anywhere else. Perhaps a papal historian out there can show otherwise.

Regardless, is not surprising, then, that the book, which became available for purchase today, has garnered much interest. Here are some of the recent news pieces about the book, along with links to some excerpts:

• "Of Course, He Was Still the Same Old Joseph, and He Still Is Today"— An excerpt on ZENIT (Feb. 24, 2012).

• Micael Hesemann Speaks of Compiling Georg's Testimony in "My Brother, The Pope" — A ZENIT interview with the German historian and journalist who conducted and compiled the interviews with Msgr. Ratzinger.

• Teddy bears and tabernacles: the pope's childhood, told by his brother — A Catholic News Service article about the book (Feb. 27, 2012).

• 'My Brother, The Pope' Co-Author Says Pope Benedict XVI Was a 'Loner,' Denies Nazi Rumors — An ABC News article about how the book came about (Feb. 29, 2012).

• From Chapter IX, "The Pope" — An except from the book (ABC News, Feb. 29, 2012).

For more about My Brother the Pope, visit the book's website.