Al Kresta's Blog, page 328

Church of England reportedly blocked reform of British anti-Catholic law

An effort to amend the Act of Settlement, which bars any Roman Catholic from succession to the British throne, was blocked by an intervention from the Church of England, the London Daily Telegraph reports.

Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, had been working to repeal the Act of Settlement, which was originally passed in 1701. But his effort has been sidelined, the Telegraph says, because the Church of England objected.

According to the Telegraph, Anglican leaders of the pointed to the incongruity of having a Catholic serve as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The opposition could also reflect a degree of rancor aimed in reaction to Pope Benedict's open invitation for Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church.

Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, expressed concern at the report that a "much-needed and long overdue reform has been shelved," and asked Clegg for a clarification.

Samples of Pope John Paul's blood will honored during Beatification

Cartoon of the Day - Assad oppression in Syria

Today of Kresta - April 26, 2011

Talking about the "things that matter most" on April 26

4:00 – Baby Joseph Now At Home and Breathing On His Own
Baby Joseph and his family arrived in Windsor, Ontario on a medical transport flight from St. Louis, Missouri on Holy Thursday. He is now at the family home. He was weaned off ventilator support two weeks ago and has been successfully breathing on his own since then. Baby Joseph, who has been at the center of an international right-to-life debate over the past few months, has defied critics by responding so well to treatment. We talk with Fr. Frank Pavone about lessons to be learned from this event.

4:20 – Fighting the Noonday Devil - and Other Essays Personal and Theological
In this stirring collection of columns, R. R. Reno — a thoughtful, literate writer with a zest for physical and theological adventure — looks back on his time working in the oil fields of Wyoming, his quests to the heights of Yosemite and the ice cliffs of the French Alps, his daughter's bat mitzvah, and more, rendering seven diverse "fragments of life" in energetic prose. Fighting the Noonday Devil resounds with Reno's depth of feeling and regard for the tangible things of life. Through these narratives, vignettes, and reflections he shows that it is the real-life manifestations of love and loyalty — far beyond intellectual abstractions or theories — that train us for true piety. He joins us.

5:00 – Kresta Comments – Pope Benedict XVI and the question "Did Jesus really rise from the dead and what does his resurrection mean?"
As the Church basks in the glow of the Octave of Easter, Al has some thoughts on the Resurrection in light of Pope Benedict XVI's book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week – From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection. Al offers his analysis of the Holy Father's answer to the question "Did Jesus really rise from the dead and what does his resurrection mean?"

5:40 – Archdiocese Gets a Third New Auxiliary Bishop / Art for God's Sake
We check in today with Archbishop Allen Vigneron of the Archdiocese of Detroit for our monthly discussion. The Archdiocese, as well as Ave Maria Radio, is sponsoring and event called "Art for God's Sake." Its purpose is to expose the community to the transcendent beauty of art while inviting artists to share their talents so that "the knowledge of God can be better revealed and the preaching of the Gospel can become clearer to the human mind." We also look at the big news for the Archdiocese - the naming of a third new auxiliary bishop.

FBI Shuts Down Three Largest Poker Websites

More than four years after Congress passed legislation to criminalize Internet gambling in the U.S., the three largest poker websites have been shut down by the FBI.

Eleven executives at PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, along with others, were charged Apr. 15 with bank fraud and money laundering. Visitors to their sites are greeted with a message that reads: "This domain name has been seized by the FBI."

The 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) -- which finally took effect last summer -- bans online gambling and prohibits U.S. financial institutions from processing transactions related to it.

"These defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits," Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement.

Chad Hills, analyst for gambling research and policy at CitizenLink, said the indictments were long overdue. "Foreign gambling operations are not supposed to be soliciting U.S. gamblers," he said, "and yet they've been mocking U.S. law.

"This shows them that the FBI and the Department of Justice mean business. This is going to send a message to other online gambling sites, and I am extremely excited to see this happen."

Giving (up) the Tithe?

Does the Bible actually require the people of God to tithe? Apparently, American evangelical leaders cannot agree upon an answer.

Each month, the National Association of Evangelicals surveys its 100-member board, which includes the heads of Christian denominations, publishers, educational institutions and mission organizations. In the February survey, 95 percent of respondents claimed that they tithed, giving at least 10 percent of their income to the church, but only 42 percent thought tithing is required biblically.

Nationwide, those self-identifying as Christians give an average of 2.43 percent of their income to their churches, according to a report from Empty Tomb, Inc. Evangelicals give at a slightly higher rate of 4 percent.

Leith Anderson, president of the NAE, notes that the Old Testament requires several tithes for government and religious functions. As Bible expert Ben Witherington notes in Jesus and Money, the New Testament calls Christians to the higher standard of "sacrificial giving."

Yet some of the NAE responses point to a belief in situational flexibility. One non-tither explained that he gave according to his own financial circumstances as well as the needs around him. Anderson himself, although he tithes, said he believes "the New Testament teaches 'proportionate giving' that may be more or less than 10 percent based on income."

Purdue sociologist Dan Olson, who has studied the tithing patterns of American Christians, told CNN that some evangelical leaders may object to the word "required," as though tithing were necessary for salvation. Even those who believe the tithe is not required might recommend the practice as an expression of gratitude. NAE board member Alan Robinson argues that Christian generosity, while not beholden to the Old Testament legal model, should "greatly exceed" the 10 percent tithe.

Michigan abortionist tied to four client deaths resists safety regulations

A Michigan judge has ruled that a local abortionist's clinic, which has been found violating several safety regulations and where at least one woman has died of a botched abortion, can stay open until another hearing over whether the facility is too dangerous to stay open.

Alberto Hodari's Lathrup Village abortion facility was licensed until he was dinged with a number of health code violations in 2009, including the lack of an emergency entrance that would accommodate a gurney. Hodari refused to add the emergency entrance due to the expense involved.

Instead, Hodari decided not to seek licensure the following year and unsuccessfully attempted to increase his non-abortion business to avoid the licensing requirement. Michigan only requires an abortionist to get a license if abortions constitute 50 percent or more of services.

Assistant Attorney General Darrin Fowler, who is seeking closure of Hodari's clinic, wondered how emergency workers could access patients without the exit, and stated that the lack of exit left vulnerable women at risk. It was a lack of access to an emergency exit that contributed to the death of abortion patient Karnamaya Mongar at Kermit Gosnell's "house of horrors" abortion clinic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in November, 2009.

Hodari's attorney, Victor Norris, responded, "The department can't be that concerned about irreparable harm if they gave the license in the first place."

Four women are known to have died at Hodari-run abortion mills. Fifteen-year-old Tamia Russell died less than 24 hours after a late-term abortion at Hodari's Lathrup Villiage in 2004, the same clinic that is subject to closure. In 2007, a 17-year-old Hodari patient died from abortion complications. Chivon Williams died less than six hours after having been released from one of Hodari's abortion clinics following a suction abortion.

In 2009, Hodari was fined $10,000 for his part in the death of 32-year-old Regina Johnson in 2003. An investigation by Voices for Women revealed that the facility where Johnson died, having never awakened from anesthesia, was not equipped with resuscitation equipment.

Hodari operates a chain of abortion clinics in Michigan, the number of which seems to fluctuate with circumstances. His other offices are not subject to closure.

The abortionist is also known for stating publicly that he believes abortionists have a license to lie, and that he refuses to wash his hands between abortions, a practice that could spread disease and infection, because multiple washings chafe the skin on his hands.[image error]

Anglican Ordinariate Adds 900 Members

Last week some 900 Anglicans joined the Catholic Church. While this may be a small start to some, Monsignor Andrew Burnham is encouraging his flock to remember that there were even fewer Christians at the first Easter.


Some 30 groups of former Anglicans, including more than 60 clergy, joined the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the new ordinariate for former Anglicans coming into the Catholic Church under the plan proposed by the Pope in "Anglicanorum Coetibus."

At the reception of some 20 new members on Tuesday at the Oxford Oratory, Monsignor Burnham noted that even 1,000 new Catholics is still not "statistically significant." The priest is one of three former Anglican bishops who were ordained to the Catholic priesthood in January.

"Every time we hear a set of national statistics," he said, "even the statistics for rare diseases, the numbers seem to be in the 1,000s and tens of thousands. What significance have 20 or 30, 60, 900 or 1000?"

He warned of a "dangerous" scenario that the "groups of incoming Anglicans will simply melt into the crowd," and that the "Pope's imaginative and prophetic gesture in 'Anglicanorum Cœtibus' will have come to nothing."

"But, there is a much more exciting scenario which could unfold," Monsignor Burnham continued. "And here we need to go back to the first Easter. Even smaller numbers than now were involved.

"By the end of the Last Supper the disciples were down to eleven. By the time Jesus died on the cross there were only two there -- Our Blessed Lady and John the Beloved Disciple. At the Garden of Resurrection there were ones and twos."

"From those small beginnings," he affirmed. "Christianity moved from being a small suspiciously-Galilean, rather unfashionable Jewish sect to becoming the official religion of the known world. And not entirely successfully at first."

"I pray that groups of former Anglicans, as here in Oxford, may grow and flourish within the fertile soil of the Catholic Church," the monsignor stated, adding that the growth of the Church lies in "the contribution of each one of us."[image error]

Philly Priests Sent Bogus Survey

The Greater Philadelphia chapter of Voice of the Faithful is the subject of this commentary by Catholic League president Bill Donohue:

"Voice of the Faithful is a dissident Catholic group that has now launched an agenda to manipulate priests and the public in the Philadelphia area. It recently sent a letter to the 900-plus priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia asking them to agree with its position that Pennsylvania lawmakers should abolish the statute of limitations for sexual abuse, opening a two-year window for civil suits.

"The letter by Marita Green of the Steering Committee has the audacity to say that supporting its position is a "measure of integrity." Included is a "survey" which asks priests whether they agree with its stance. To top things off, it explicitly says that "the number [of postcards] that are not returned will be recorded as votes against abolishing the statute-of-limitations shield."

"How cute. If priests do not agree with those whose goal it is to selectively bankrupt the archdiocese for incidents that allegedly occurred decades ago, they are to be branded heartless. That's what this is all about. Voice of the Faithful is deliberately trying to engineer this "survey" so that it can go to the media "demonstrating" how few priests of "integrity" there are in the Philadelphia area. But it won't work—the Catholic League has already sabotaged this effort.

"After a priest sent us the correspondence from Voice of the Faithful last week, we mailed the 900-plus priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia a letter designed to short-circuit this agenda (click here). We are happy to report that several priests left messages on our answering machine over the weekend, and faxed us letters commending us for our work.

"Catholics were rightfully angry when they learned about the sexual abuse scandal a decade ago. But now their anger is turning on those whose passion for revenge has nothing to do with justice; it's all about settling old scores. We will fight these demagogues to the end."

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White House Spokesman Laughs / Mocks Reporters Asking Why Obama Didn't Release Easter Statement

By comparison, the White House has released statements recognizing the observance of major Muslim holidays and released statements in 2010 on Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Hajj, and Eid-ul-Adha. The White House also failed to release a statement marking Good Friday. However, they did release an eight-paragraph statement heralding Earth Day. Likewise, the president's weekend address mentioned neither Good Friday or Easter.



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