Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 292

The Roots of the Papacy and the Primacy of Peter

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, August 21, 2011 | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Isa 22:19-23
• Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
• Rom 11:33-36
• Mt 16:13-20

"The doctrine of the primacy of Peter is just one more of the many errors that the Church of Rome has added to the Christian religion."

So wrote the Presbyterian theologian Loraine Boettner in his 1962 book, Roman Catholicism, a popular work of anti-Catholic polemics. Although the religious landscape has changed significantly since the early 1960s, there are still many non-Catholic Christians today who agree wholeheartedly with Boettner's assertions. The Papacy is unbiblical! It has no basis in Scripture! Peter was never singled out as a leader of the apostles!

Growing up in a Fundamentalist home, I believed such statements. But I now agree instead with the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the 'rock' of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock" (par 881; cf. 551-53). Some of the reasons for the change in my beliefs are found in today's readings, which provide some Old Testament context for the papacy and also describe a profound exchange between Jesus and Peter.

First, the Old Testament background. King Solomon and his successors had twelve deputies or ministers who helped the king govern and rule (cf., 1 Kings 4:1ff). The master of the palace, or prime minister, had a unique position among those twelve, as described in today's reading from the prophet Isaiah. The prime minister wore a robe and sash befitting his office, and was entrusted by the king to wield the king's authority. The symbol for that authority were "the keys of the House of David," which enabled the minister to regulate the affairs of the king's household—that is, of the kingdom. In addition, this prime minister is described by Isaiah as a "father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah."

Fast forward to about the year A.D. 30. Jesus and his disciples are in the region of Caesarea Philippi, a pagan area about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. They likely were standing at the base of Mount Hermon in front of a well-known cliff filled with niches holding statues of pagan deities; at the top of the cliff stood a temple in honor of Caesar. Jesus first asked the disciples who other people thought he was. The variety of answers given revealed the confusion surrounding the identity of Jesus, quite similar to the confusion and controversies about Jesus in our own time. 

Jesus asked who they thought he was. It was Peter—brash but correct—who responded with the great acclamation, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God", confessing both the divinity and kingship of Jesus. Peter was then addressed singularly by Jesus, who renamed him Petros, or "Rock". That name was unique among the Jews, reserved in the Old Testament for God alone. Jesus further declared he would build his Church upon the newly named Rock, and he gave Peter "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." 

This dramatic moment makes little or no sense without the context provided by Isaiah 22 and other Old Testament passages. Jesus, heir of David and King of kings, was appointing Peter to be his prime minister, the head of the Twelve. "The 'power of the keys'," explains the Catechism, "designates authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church" (par 553). The binding and loosing refers to prohibiting and permitting; it also includes the function of rendering authoritative teaching and making official pronouncements.

Does this mean that Peter and his successors are sinless or even somehow divine? No, of course not. They are men in need of salvation, just like you and I. But God has chosen to work through such men in order to proclaim the Gospel, to lead the Church, and to teach the faithful. They are fathers ("pope" means "papa") who hold a unique office for one reason: they were called by Christ to hold the keys of the household of God.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the August 24, 2008, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Related IgnatiusInsight.com Articles, Book Excerpts, and Interviews:

• Peter and Succession | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• "Primacy in Love": The Chair Altar of Saint Peter's in Rome | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome | Stephen K. Ray
• From "The Appeal to Antiquity", Chapter One of The Early Papacy to the Synod of Chalcedon in 451 | Adrian Fortescue
• The Essential Nature and Task of the Church | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• On the Papacy, John Paul II, and the Nature of the Church | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Papal Authority in von Balthasar's Ecclesiology | Raymond Cleaveland
• Church Authority and the Petrine Element | Hans Urs von Balthasar
• Motherhood of the Entire Church | Henri de Lubac, S.J.
• Mater Ecclesia: An Ecclesiology for the 21st Century | Donald Calloway, M.I.C.
• The Papacy and Ecumenism | Rev. Adriano Garuti, O.F.M.
• The Church Is the Goal of All Things | Christoph Cardinal Schönborn
• Excerpts from Theology of the Church | Charles Cardinal Journet
• Authority and Dissent in the Catholic Church | Dr. William E. May

On the "riches and merits" of St. Bernard of Clairvaux's theology

From Pope Benedict XVI's August 20, 2006, Angelus address, focused on the life of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church, whose feast is celebrated on this date:

The riches and merits of his theology do not lie in having taken new paths, but rather in being able to propose the truths of the faith in a style so clear and incisive that it fascinated those listening and prepared their souls for recollection and prayer. In every one of his writings, one senses the echo of a rich interior experience, which he succeeded in communicating to others with a surprising capacity for persuasion.

For him, love is the greatest strength of the spiritual life. God, who is love, creates man out of love and out of love redeems him. The salvation of all human beings, mortally wounded by original sin and burdened by personal sins, consists in being firmly attached to divine love which was fully revealed to us in Christ Crucified and Risen.

In his love, God heals our will and our sick understanding, raising them to the highest degree of union with him, that is, to holiness and mystical union. St Bernard deals with this, among other things, in his brief but substantial Liber de Diligendo Deo.

There is then another writing of his that I would like to point out, De Consideratione, addressed to Pope Eugene III. Here, in this very personal book, the dominant theme is the importance of inner recollection - and he tells this to the Pope -, an essential element of piety.

It is necessary, the Saint observes, to beware of the dangers of excessive activity whatever one's condition and office, because, as he said to the Pope of that time and to all Popes, to all of us, many occupations frequently lead to "hardness of heart", "they are none other than suffering of spirit, loss of understanding, dispersion of grace" (II, 3).

This warning applies to every kind of occupation, even those inherent in the government of the Church. In this regard, Bernard addresses provocative words to the Pontiff, a former disciple of his at Clairvaux: "See", he writes, "where these accursed occupations can lead you, if you continue to lose yourself in them... without leaving anything of yourself to yourself" (ibid).

How useful this appeal to the primacy of prayer and contemplation is also for us! May we too be helped to put this into practice in our lives by St Bernard, who knew how to harmonize the monk's aspiration to the solitude and tranquillity of the cloister with the pressing needs of important and complex missions at the service of the Church.

The full address, along with numerous others, is included in the recently published collection, Holiness Is Always in Season (Ignatius Press).

You can listen to a great introductory lecture on natural law...

... by Dr. J. Budziszewski on the Intercollegiate Studies Institute website; Budziszewski's hour-long talk, "An Introduction to Classical Natural Law", was given on June 21st at the Seventh Annual Summer Institute at Princeton University. (The ISI site has several hundred lectures available for online listening, on a wide range of philosophical, political, and cultural topics.)

Dr. Budziszewski is the author of several books, including What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (revised edition) published a few months ago by Ignatius Press. Here is an excerpt from that book:

 

And here is an interview with Budziszewski about his book and natural law:

Four On Two-Minus-One

Many readers have probably already read (or read about) a lengthy New York Times article, "The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy", written by Ruth Padawer about how some pregnant women make the decision to "reduce twins to a single fetus" as a way of "managing" and "controlling" one's life.

There is plenty to be said about the essay—and I'll point to a few articles that are worth reading in response—but the paragraph that caught my attention and held it for some time was near the beginning. Padawer muses:

What is it about terminating half a twin pregnancy that seems more controversial than reducing triplets to twins or aborting a single fetus? After all, the math's the same either way: one fewer fetus. Perhaps it's because twin reduction (unlike abortion) involves selecting one fetus over another, when either one is equally wanted. Perhaps it's our culture's idealized notion of twins as lifelong soul mates, two halves of one whole. Or perhaps it's because the desire for more choices conflicts with our discomfort about meddling with ever more aspects of reproduction.

It would be disconcerting enough if Padawer had said, in one way or another, "Well, yes, this is the termination of a life, and I suppose some people have qualms about that since they think the fetus is actually a viable and living person. But that is the choice reserved for the mother" and so forth—the sort of typical talk we've come to expect of abortion activists. At least then there would be a sense, however small and lacking, that she has a sense of the moral landscape.

But Padawer doesn't even appear to be aware that such a perspective even exists; her language is so ultra-utilitarian you might think she was discussing a choice between two sweaters or items on a dinner menu: "What is it about eating a steak rather than a veggie burger that upsets some people? Is it because the burger tastes more like meat? Or because 'burger' sounds like 'booger'? Ooooh! Gross!" Good grief. If the topic weren't so deadly serious, her moral cluelessness would be downright laughable.

Thomas Peters took up this topic in an excellent post on CatholicVote.org, writing:

What made it hard, I think, to start was my complete inability to grasp the moral universe where the people described in this article are coming from. Story after story of women who, having invested so much energy and money into getting pregnant in the first place, decide to kill off one of the twins they are carrying, supposedly so they can provide the surviving twin with a higher quality of life.

Welcome to the world Roe has created, I thought. A world where children simply do not matter. A world where the only thing that matters in the end is what adults want. ...

Imagine what will happen to these children, these siblings of aborted brothers and sisters, when they grow up. Most of the parents interviewed in this story say they intend to hide their choice to kill off one of their twins from their friends and family. Shame on them. Abortion has gone on for so long because the victim never has a chance to speak. These children who have survived the abortion of their twin (or twins) have a voice already – ours.

Let's talk about the reasons given for Coin Toss abortions. The cop-out used by almost all the parents interviewed in this article is that they choose to kill one of their children to provide a better life for the surviving twin. They'll be able to be better parents, they say, if they have to parent less children. There's a word to describe this, and it refers to something found at the bottom of bull's stall.

Read his entire post, "Coin Toss Abortion? Why Our Protracted National Tolerance For Abortion Must End".

David J. Ayers, in this post on the Center for Vision and Values site, wrote:

So why would women pregnant with twins want to "minus" one? The main reasons cited in the Times article were "social" and "emotional"—not medical. Women want to avoid the stresses and deprivations of raising twins, often even construing their "choice" as an act of love that benefits both the terminated and surviving twin. As one proponent admitted, it is really about women exercising their freedom to "fashion their lives how they want."

In the 1970s and 1980s, pro-choice activists ridiculed what they claimed were illegitimate "slippery slope" arguments made by pro-lifers about what moral horrors might be generated by an absolute right to abortion. We were told that Roe v. Wade would mainly allow freedom for the "hard choices" of desperate women; those hard choices would become increasingly rare as birth control became more effective and widely available. We now have countless women casually obtaining one abortion after another, and for all sorts of reasons. The newest reason is the "two-minus-one pregnancy."

The slippery slope is here. And we are picking up speed.

And David French, in a short but very strong post on NRO's "The Corner", said:

 What is the common thread? A desire for life on their own terms. They want children (I don't doubt some desperately want children; especially the older women seeking expensive and sometimes painful fertility treatments), but within certain boundaries. That's not to say there aren't profound and intense emotions involved, and those emotions are certainly rationalized in innumerable ways, but selfishness is the heart of the matter. In fact, the very "fear" that many people feel is not the fear that they will harm their children through their own parental inadequacies but instead the fear that their children will harm them — by taking from them the life they'd always imagined.

Self-indulgence is the common thread that runs through most culture war issues. From marriage to divorce to cohabitation to abortion, the desperate desire to satisfy the longings of our heart collides with a Judeo-Christian moral tradition that calls for children to be raised in faithful, married mother-father households. And so we make endless accommodations to our desires — protecting as a legal right the quest to satisfy every personal whim — and our culture cracks and crumbles.

The paradox of the human condition is that those who seek to find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life will find it. In other words, the very act of self-denial enriches your life while selfishness destroys the soul.

Finally, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, in a piece titled, "The Failure of Liberal Bioethics", states:

The liberal camp includes many thinkers I admire, and it has produced some of the more eloquent reflections on biotechnology's implications for human affairs. But at least in the United States, the liberal effort to (as the Goodman of 1980 put it) "monitor" and "debate" and "control" the development of reproductive technologies has been extraordinarily ineffectual. From embryo experimentation to selective reduction to the eugenic uses of abortion, liberals always promise to draw lines and then never actually manage to draw them. Like Dr. Evans, they find reasons to embrace each new technological leap while promising to resist the next one — and then time passes, science marches on, and they find reasons why the next moral compromise, too, must be accepted for the greater good, or at least tolerated in the name of privacy and choice. You can always count on them to worry, often perceptively, about hypothetical evils, potential slips down the bioethical slope. But they're either ineffectual or accommodating once an evil actually arrives. Tomorrow, they always say — tomorrow, we'll draw the line. But tomorrow never comes.

One of the most revealing passages in Padawer's article has to do with one of the Most Sacred Words of the First Church of Secular Liberalism: "choice":

Sheena Iyengar, a social psychologist at Columbia Business School and the author of "The Art of Choosing," suggests that limitless choice is a particularly American ideal. In a talk at a TED conference last year in Oxford, England, Iyengar said that "the story upon which the American dream depends is the story of limitless choice. This narrative promises so much: freedom, happiness, success. It lays the world at your feet and says you can have anything, everything." Nevertheless, she subsequently told me, "we are in the midst of a choice revolution right now, where we're trying to figure out where the ethical boundaries should be."

Oooh, a "choice revolution". Huh? Are these people capable of saying anything at all with directness, clarity, and moral certainty? (That's essentially a rhetorical question, as I know the answer. Hint: it isn't "Yes".) Perhaps I'm naive, but I think most Americans over the course of this country's history have understood that there is no such thing as "limitless choice", and that expressions such as "you can do whatever you set your mind to do" or "The sky is the limit" come with some logical, commonsense qualifiers, many of them explicitly moral. Most people, for example, don't believe that committing murder, stealing, or lying are part of an American-styled "limitless choice" package—unless, I suppose, you believe that killing babies, stealing their lives, and lying about what really happened is "ethical".

On the plus side, I suppose I should be mildly pleased that a social psychologist has managed to put the words "ethical" and "boundaries" together. Hopefully they stay together, with neither being "reduced" before they are able to see the light of day.

• "Pro-choice" vs. "Pro-abortion"? Or, "Pro-choice" = "Pro-abortion"? (Oct. 9, 2008)

"The message of Fatima is crucial to our times..."

... if we're going to hold on the family, to life and its sacredness, we need to put Mary's message into practice. We can say for sure that it will work. People just need to put it into practice.

From an August 12th interview with Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R., on "The Good Catholic Life" program. Listen to the program and read a general transcript on the program's site.

On Ignatius Insight:

Extraordinary (form) anecdote of the day

William Oddie, author and editor of several books (including a couple published by Ignatius Press), has penned a column for The Catholic Herald titled, "Why do our Bishops pull out candidates for the priesthood from seminaries which teach the Extraordinary Form? Why are they so intent on defying the Pope?" (August 18, 2011). He writes:

About three months ago, I wrote a piece about the pastoral letter from all the bishops on the subject of the new translation of the Novus Ordo—a letter which I said was another example of "a pattern of behaviour which the bishops have been exhibiting more and more since the papal visit". I was thinking also of the welcome given by them to the Ordinariate (a stark contrast to their behaviour 15 years ago when they crushed any such idea before it had chance to be born), and also of the restoration of two of our holy days of obligation, the return of Friday abstinence from meat, and so on.

All this was very welcome, and I had hopes that it portended not a selective tactical retreat but a permanent and irreversible cultural revolution. But a blog posted on Monday by Fr Christopher Smith, tellingly headlined "Why Are Seminaries Afraid of the Extraordinary Form?" tells a different story: the revolution in English Episcopal thinking has some way to go yet. Anglicanorum Coetibus may have attracted the support of our bishops: but Summorum Pontificum has so far attracted stiff Episcopal opposition to the Pope's wishes, an attitude which may tell the real truth about what they think of him and his vision for the Church's future. Why are seminaries afraid of the Extraordinary Form? Simple: as Fr Hill puts it, "what does a good seminary rector do when he knows that Tradition-unfriendly Bishops will pull their guys out of their seminaries if they begin to teach the EF?"

A few paragraphs later he quotes from Rev. Fr. Christopher Smith's August 15th post, "Why Are Seminaries Afraid of the Extraordinary Form?", which is available on The Chant Café blog. Fr. Smith opens with this anecdote:

I had just entered the seminary when Cardinal Ratzinger's book, The Spirit of the Liturgy, came out. I had an English copy expressed to me and brought it with me into the chapel as my spiritual reading during our daily community Holy Hour. One of the older men knelt next to me as I was engrossed in Ratzinger's chapter on Rite and whispered, "Do you want to get kicked out of the seminary? Change the book cover now." All of my attempts to not publicise the fact that I actually knew the Old Latin Mass had apparently been blown out of the water by this defiant act of wanton schism. Suddenly seminarians began to knock on my door and counsel me how to survive the seminary, and so I exchanged Ignatius Press' book cover for one entitled "The Pastoral Letters of Paul VI."

Read the entire piece, which has many good observations about priestly formation and the Extraordinary Form. Then, if you've never read Joseph Ratzinger's The Spirit of the Liturgy, track down a copy (it's also available in e-book format) and read it—it is one of the best books about liturgy written in the past fifty years. Also visit out the "Spirit of the Liturgy" website, which has links to many related books and articles:

New Books, Films and Music from Ignatius Press at 20% off!

[image error]

New Books, Films and Music from Ignatius Press at 20% off!

Offer ends Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 at 12:00 midnight EST. These prices are available online only through Ignatius.com

In The Life of the World to Come, Abbot Vonier provides us with a close up view on what Heaven looks like. Michael Coren's new book Why Catholics Are Right explains what Catholics believe and why. The movie Of Gods and Men follows eight French Trappist monks living in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery  when a crew of foreign workers is massacred by Islamic terrorists, and fear sweeps through the region. In the recording What Wondrous Love, the acclaimed Catholic music group Marian Grace presents their new CD of glorious sacred hymns for all ages! These are just a few among many of new products offered by Ignatius Press - all at 20% off! 

The Life of the World to Come
Abbot Vonier
We all want to go to Heaven - but what will Heaven actually be like? Drawing on sacred Scripture and Catholic doctrine, The Life of the World to Come pulls back the veil to give us a closer look at the dazzling joys, the reality of eternal life. With simplicity and good humor, this "marvelous little book" achieves the goal Abbot Vonier set for all his works - opening the eyes of men and women to the splendors of the Catholic faith. 

Why Catholics Are Right
Michael Coren
Columnist, television host, author, and practicing Catholic Michael Coren examines four main aspects of Catholicism as they are encountered, understood, and more importantly, misunderstood, today. Why Catholics Are Right opens with a discussion of the abuse scandal and the reality of what happened. Coren then traces Catholic history, with a discussion of the Crusades, Inquisition, Holocaust, and Galileo. He looks at Catholics and theology, explaining what and why Catholics believe what they do - Papal infallibility, immaculate conception, the Church rather than Bible alone.

Praying with Saint Mark's Gospel
Daily Reflections on the Gospel of St. Mark
Fr. Peter Cameron, O.P.
Delve deeply into Mark's Gospel, which is read during the liturgical year 2011-2012. Edited by Magnificat's Fr. Peter Cameron, O.P., this book is a clear-cut and effective way to meditate daily on Saint Mark's Gospel.

[image error]The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers
Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity
Meg Meeker
The pressure on women today has pushed many American mothers to the breaking point. It feels as if "doing your best" is never enough to please everyone, and the demands mothers place on themselves are both impossible and unrealistic. Now Meg Meeker, M.D., critically acclaimed author of Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, puts her twenty-five years' experience as a practicing pediatrician and counselor into a sound, sane approach to reshaping the frustrating, exhausting lives of so many moms.

God in Action
How Faith in God Can Address the Challenges of the World
Francis Cardinal George
In this bracing manifesto, His Eminence Francis Cardinal George provides refreshing insight into the intersection of faith and the public sphere.

God Wants You to Be Happy
From Self-Help to God's Help
Jonathan Morris
In God Wants You Happy, Father Jonathan Morris replaces the unsatisfying, fleeting solutions we receive from the New Age self-help industry with the simplicity and depth of authentic Christian spirituality. 

Gangland to Promised Land
One Man's Journey from the Criminal Underworld to Christ
John Pridmore
This inspiring autobiography tells of the incredible journey of a man who came to understand that there was something very important missing from his life, and who turned to Christ to find true healing, forgiveness, and peace.

A Biblical Walk Through the Mass
Edward Sri
Dr. Edward Sri takes us on a unique tour of the Liturgy. Based on the revised translation of the Mass which goes into effect Advent, 2011, this book explores the biblical roots of the words and gestures we experience in the Liturgy and explains their profound significance.

DVDs

 

[image error]Of Gods and Men
This DVD version for OF GODS AND MEN is only available for purchase exclusively from Ignatius Press. Based on a true story, Of Gods and Men has won accolades and awards the world over, including the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Eight French Trappist monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by Islamic terrorists, fear sweeps though the region. Should the monks leave their home and the people they serve? Should they stay despite the threat of violent death? The answer to that question forms the uncompromising center of this unforgettable film.

To Be Born
Words of Love, Cries of Mercy
To Be Born is about a young woman faced with an unplanned pregnancy that seeks to have an abortion. In the midst of the procedure, she finds herself in a regrettable situation when she hears her unborn daughter begin to describe the chilling details of what is happening to her.

Soul Surfer
The inspiring true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a brutal shark attack and, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith, overcame all odds to become a champion surfer again.

What Every Catholic Needs to Know About the Pope
Discover the Gospel truths about the Pope featuring practical explanations by four of the greatest communicators today teaching the fundamentals of our Catholic faith. Watch Scott Hahn, Michael Barber, Brant Pitre, and Jesse Romero passionately explain the role of the Popes from Saint Peter to Pope Benedict XVI.

MUSIC

 

What Wondrous Love
Marian Grace
Following up on the heals of their highly acclaimed self-titled debut album last year, Marian Grace presents another soul stirring new collection of very beautiful famous hymns and prayers that soar with angelic vocals, uniquely crafted piano and string arrangements, and stunning overall production.

Dream With Me
Jackie Evancho
One of 2011's most heavily anticipated new releases, Dream with Me features a repertoire of classical arias and popular classics handpicked to suit Jackie's angelic voice. Her range is so great that she ably shifts from the Disney classic When You Wish Upon A Star to Puccini's Nessun Dorma on this new album. Other highlights on this album include two extraordinary superstar duets showcasing the young vocalist performing with music legend Barbra Streisand, singing Somewhere together from West Side Story. And with international phenomenon Susan Boyle on a duet of A Mother's Prayer.

Liberal Studies Program
Under the leadership of Ignatius Press founder and editor, Father Joseph Fessio, Chancellor, the Liberal Studies Program ("LSP") provides unrivaled educational opportunities for homeschoolers, high school students, and college students, to earn college credit while acquiring the foundations for a Catholic liberal education and lifelong learning. Click HERE to learn more!

Fr. Gamber on the mission of the Love and Life Center at WYD 2011

From the Catholic World Report blog:

Last May, Oprah Winfrey ended her 25-year television program by taking over a Chicago stadium and having a self-love celebration that featured the beautiful and glamorous of the world. But the events of that night are long forgotten, and the celebrity world has moved on to its next big thing. But in Madrid, a four-day celebration of self-giving rooted in Catholic teaching and the life of Christ is changing lives from all over the world with hope for a truly lasting impact.

World Youth Day pilgrims from the United States are finding a home away from home at the Love and Life Center in Madrid, where English-language programs being are held practically around the clock under the sponsorship of the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus. Housed at the Palacio de Deportes, a large indoor arena that seats more than 10,000 people and is located in an upscale part of Madrid, the center hosts the daily English-language catechesis and other activities throughout the afternoons and evenings of World Youth Day celebrations. There are keynote speakers, concerts, panel discussions, and exhibits, many centered on the Catholic Church´s teaching on marriage and family life and other issues of Catholic morality.

There is an adoration chapel that is usually filled to capacity, and priests are available to hear confessions throughout the day and night.

The Love and Life Center in Madrid is an outgrowth of a smaller operation that the Sisters of Life began in conjunction with the Knights of Columbus during World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008, the focus of which was John Paul II´s theology of the body. Madrid´s World Youth Day organizers asked the sisters to repeat their successful Sydney program but to increase its capacities and offerings to accommodate the more than 25,000 pilgrims from the U.S., as well as other large groups of English-speaking pilgrims from Canada, England, Australia, and many Asian nations. The list of sponsors at this year´s Love and Life Center includes the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America, the World Youth Alliance, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), Holy Cross Family Ministries, the Jesuits' Apostleship of Prayer, and Canada´s Salt + Light Television.

Read the entire post, "A packed program of events at Madrid's Love and Life Center".

Pope Benedict arrives in Madrid

From Fr. Matthew Gamber, S.J., who is blogging for Catholic World Report from World Youth Day in Madrid:

Pope Benedict arrived in Madrid today, one day after a government-sanctioned protest turned into a brawl between the protesters and the police. Security is at the highest level possible as hundreds of thousands of World Youth Day pilgrims and Spaniards who love the Pope welcome him to the 26th World Youth Day, which opened on Tuesday and will continue until the Pope´s departure on Sunday. Seven protesters were detained by the police on Wednesday evening when their actions and rhetoric turned threatening, especially toward the young Catholics and their adult leaders who were trying to enjoy the evening in the plazas of central Madrid. One young American college woman from the U.S. was spat upon by a female protester for simply wearing a World Youth Day t-shirt and walking through a public place in downtown Madrid. 

Despite the high security and the threats of violence, the Pope did not change his schedule, and arrived at noon at Barajas International Airport in Madrid.

Read the entire post on the Catholic World Report blog.

The Lost Liturgical Dress Code: No, it's not a novel...

... but, unfortunately, the idea of dressing modestly for Mass is quite novel to some Catholics:

Father Gregory Pilcher, pastor of Holy Redeemer Church in El Dorado in southern Arkansas, has a dress code that allows parishioners to wear casual clothes, provided they are "clean, neat and modest," he said. 

The policy is posted on the parish website, in the parish bulletin and has been announced from the pulpit. One family in particular has refused to comply. 

Father Pilcher was celebrating Mass one day and noticed a young woman in the congregation wearing a skimpy dress. He spoke to her afterward, requesting she wear clothes that left more to the imagination. She objected, saying she had worn the dress to other parishes without incident and that it was her right to dress as she wished. She returned with her parents, who joined in her protest. 

In response, Father Pilcher said, "I asked them if it would be OK if I wore only a bathing suit with the right liturgical colors and thongs to celebrate Mass. But my argument didn't work; they insisted what I wore wouldn't matter, either." 

The family continues to attend Mass with the daughter wearing what she pleases, still annoyed that Father Pilcher brought up the subject. He said, "I see that same family at the 10 a.m. Mass every Sunday, sitting there glaring at me." 

But despite the grief the one family has caused, most of the 300 families in the community have been supportive. In fact, some of the parishioners have been more outspoken and aggressive about the policy than he has. "They can be uncharitable about it," he said. "I strive not to be."

That is from an article in the August 21st edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper, "Church dress codes call for more modesty at Mass", by Jim Graves. The best line comes from a priest in Minnesota: "When the issue arises, I tell our parishioners, 'We like seeing you in church — just not so much of you.'" Amen to that!