News

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Compiled by Steve Jalsevac

REAL CATHOLIC TV

Cultural Ghetto – REAL Catholic TV Video
The Catholic Faith is being chased into a cultural ghetto. This is happening because all the traditional avenues of transmitting the Faith are largely gone.

Angry Nuns
  – RealCatholicTV Video

CHRISTMAS

Shoppers prefer ‘Merry Christmas’ signs, poll finds – EWTN
Sixty-nine percent of respondents to the Rasmussen poll thought stores should use “Merry Christmas” signage, while 24 percent like “Happy Holidays” instead. The results are similar to surveys in previous years.

After years of celebrating the more politically correct “festive season” or “happy holidays,” the phrase “Merry Christmas” just may be poised for a comeback. – CTV

Why Has Fox News Taken The Christ Out Of Christmas? – Media Matters


CHINA VS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

The return of the Cultural Revolution: Chinese bishops imprisoned or hunted like criminals – Asia News

A bold challenge from Rome – National Post editorial board
Friday, the Holy See issued a thundering denunciation of China’s violation of religious liberty. It was a surprise on at least two counts. First, the Holy See usually expresses itself in the reserved language of formal diplomacy, hardly ever identifying any country by name. Second, in regard to China, the Catholic Church has for over forty years tried to avoid direct confrontation in favour of various working arrangements. But the frontal assault of the past month from the PRC has obviously changed minds in Rome. The quiet diplomacy has been set aside.

Religious liberty in China has seemed to recede in recent years. In combination with troubling measures taken against freedom of speech and the press, particularly in regard to the Internet, there are reasons for grave doubt about China’s progress to greater openness and liberty.

Holy See Blasts China for “Intransigent Intolerance”
– Zenit
Laments Forced Participation in National Church Meeting


CATHOLIC CHURCH CONDOMS CONTROVERSY


THE POPE, THE CONDOM, AND THE ELEPHANT
By Jeffrey A. Mirus

The Pope, the Church, and the Condom: Clarifying the State of the Question – George Weigel
What the Pope was speculating upon was a subtlety that seemed beyond the comprehension of virtually every reporter who wrote about p. 119 of Light of the World. To read into that papal speculation some radical shift in the Catholic Church’s moral teaching was more than a stretch; it was a serious distortion. Unfortunately, a clarification issued by Vatican press spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., made matters worse.

Were the teachings of the 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor [The Splendor of Truth], in which John Paul II rejected the moral-theological method of proportionalism and reaffirmed that the Church’s moral judgment was focused on acts, including acts that could be known by reason to be intrinsically evil, now under review—or being reversed? Had a new subjectivism, or intentionalism, been given a tacit papal seal of approval? Was the highest teaching authority of the Church endorsing a method of moral analysis focused on the lesser-of-evils?

…it cannot be doubted that a certain lack of clarity has characterized the Holy See’s response to the controversy. That lack of clarity could impede the possibility of a genuine deepening of Catholic moral insight as the internal theological debate unfolds. There is little question that it will put Catholic bishops who have taken a strong line in defending the Catholic integrity of Catholic medical institutions and Catholic health care professionals in a very difficult position vis-à-vis an increasingly aggressive and secularist ambient culture.

…it would seem opportune for an indisputably authoritative voice, capable of speaking in the name of the Church, to publish a substantial clarification of the issues that have surfaced over the past month. It would also be helpful if such a statement would reaffirm that what the Catholic Church teaches in these complex and delicate areas of human life is not a matter of “positions” that can be changed if sufficient public pressure is brought to bear.

A response to Father Rhonheimer on condoms By Janet E. Smith – OSV Newsweekly
After papal remarks, U.S. moral theologian takes exception with ethicist’s position on use of prophylactics. Pope Benedict certainly did not “say” that the Church “does not unconditionally ‘prohibit’ prophylactic use of condoms,” that is, the use of condoms to avoid transmission of disease.  Neither those words or anything like them appear in the interview. Moreover, nothing Pope Benedict said in his interview suggests that such would be his position.  Rather, he said the use of condoms was neither “a real or moral solution.” 

Did Pope Benedict really intend to launch a public discussion on whether fornicators or HIV-infected spouses can morally use condoms? I don’t think so. I think he intended to start a public discussion on how to help individuals and our culture recover from the banalization of sexuality.


MISCELLANEOUS

Sex abuse crisis, Vatican PR woes figure in WikiLeaks scoops – NCR

Pope wanted Muslim-dominated Turkey to be out of EU: Wikileaks
– One India
The Guardian quoted the cables as saying that in 2004, Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, was the leading voice behind the Holy See’s unsuccessful drive to secure a reference to Europe’s “Christian roots” in the EU constitution.

The cables also said Ratzinger “clearly understands that allowing a Muslim country into the EU would further weaken his case for Europe’s Christian foundations”.

Legion orders images of disgraced founder removed – AP

With Legionaries founder Maciel Buried, His Centurions’ Fires Are Burning Out by Sandro Magister
Among the Legionaries of Christ, revolt is stirring. The real news of recent weeks is that within the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, the critical voices and the calls for renewal are no longer those of a few isolated individuals, but have become a chorus.

De Paolis is moving at the snail’s pace typical of the Roman curia, in which he is a perfect example of the old school ways. He is still studying the terrain, but he already knows where he’s going. He is absolutely convinced that there can be no renewal of the Legion with the same men who brought it to disaster still at the top. He has the full support of Benedict XVI. In a few months, maybe for Easter, the first heads will roll.

Notre Dame’s inquiry of alleged sex attack upsets parents of girl who accused athlete, killed herself
– Chicago Tribune

Feds Force Okla. Bank To Remove Crosses, Bible Verse
Federal Examiners Say Religious Decoration Inappropriate