Tag Archives: catholic

Catholic Professor Fired for Teaching Catholic Doctrine in Catholicism Class

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The Creative Minority Report has a story today about a college professor who was fired because he taught Catholicism…in his Catholicism 101 course.

 It’s got to be a joke, right? Unfortunately not.

University of Illinois adjunct professor Kenneth Howell was fired after a student complained about his teaching of the Catholic Church’s doctrine that homosexual acts are gravely wrong.

 Nothing to see here people, move on. The Catholic Church has always taught that and it seems to be along the lines of the natural progression of a basic Catholicism class that that particular teaching would be taught.

The anonymous student who complained to the school said that Howell was teaching “hate speech.” Howell has been an adjunct professor at the school for 9 years and was the director of the Institute of Catholic Thought, part of St. John’s Catholic Newman Center on campus and the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

 From the News-Gazette story:

 ”My responsibility on teaching a class on Catholicism is to teach what the Catholic Church teaches,” Howell said. “I have always made it very, very clear to my students they are never required to believe what I’m teaching and they’ll never be judged on that.”

 The Creative Minority Report blog says that the school basically wants to put a warning-label on the class to say it doesn’t reflect the school’s thinking. Read more here on what the school thinks.

This is not only an awful case of political correctness gone wrong but also a lack of a serious backbone in academia. Not really surprising but still outrageous and disappointing.

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Male and Female He Created Them

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United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is launching an educational guide on marriage called Marriage: Unique for a Reason. Here are some details:

Marriage: Unique for a Reason provides resources to assist with the catechesis and education of Catholics on why marriage is unique and why it should be promoted and protected as the union of one man and one woman. The initiative will eventually include five videos with companion viewer’s guides, resource booklets, and an interactive Web site.

Check out the great vidoe here:

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“I was conceived in a test tube”

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A heartbreaking story ran today in the Daily Mail in the UK about the feelings of children conceived in a test tube with a sperm donor instead of through a loving union.

Again, like we wrote about this week, there are severe consequences of when a baby is conceived by other means rather than the natural union, preferably a marital one, of man and woman.

The UK story talks to a number of children conceived with the help of a sperm donor and a new study, the first of its kind, which reveals how sperm donor children feel about how they were conceived and how they view their lives now.

The study says that the children often feel confusion, isolation and hurt, even more so than those children who were adopted. Here’s a sample of what these children said of their conception:

“Adoption is very different – not only can you usually find your real parents, but also you don’t have to cope with the psychological effects of knowing you were conceived in a test tube. That’s unsettling and weird. Being a sperm donor child makes you question everything about your humanity.  I can honestly say that no matter how desperate I might be for a child, I’d never use a sperm donor. I wouldn’t condemn any child to grow up as I did.”

“He’s my father, and I have no idea who he is. I think it would be easier if I was the product of a one-night stand – at least then there would have been a connection between two people.”

“My brother and I were told that we were conceived using donor sperm. We were shell-shocked, and it has affected me to this day…All that time I’d been growing up with an image in my head which was one big lie. That had a huge impact on me.”

“I’m not a scientific experiment, I’m a person, yet I don’t know half of my identity. I have my mum’s hair and eyes, but the rest of me is a mystery.”

Another thing to consider is that many times, a particular sperm donor donates more than once so it’s likely that these children have half-siblings that will never know. And what if they end up dating or marrying one of them? They may never know.

Add this to already long list of reasons why the Catholic Church forbids conceiving a child outside of a marital union.

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From the Lips of Walter Dellinger to the Ears of God

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What was probably a publicity stunt to energize pro-abortion activists on the eve of the nomination hearings of Obama’s latest Supreme Court pick Elena Kagan, former acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger predicted Tuesday night that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark decision that brought about the murder of millions of children.  The POLITICO today reports: 

The noted liberal scholar said the 1973 decision has become a “trophy” that the court’s conservative bloc could overturn if a Republican president chooses a replacement for Justice Anthony Kennedy.

“I absolutely believe it,” Dellinger said during a forum cosponsored by POLITICO. 

“For a while I thought that one could simply chip away at a lot more and more regulations that sort of protected access (to abortions) for the most affluent women but really made it impossible for women who were vulnerable to geography, poverty (and) youth,” he added. “But now I think that, actually, it is such a symbol of a kind of jurisprudence that conservatives have set themselves in opposition to.” 

Catholics need to be engaged.  Information on Elena Kagan found here and Students for Life has organized a petition.  Sign it here.

 

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Wellsprings Capable of Bestowing the Water of Life

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The news reports out of Rome highlighted that the Pope Benedict XVI “beg[ed] forgiveness from God and from the persons involved, while promising to do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again.”  The homily delivered at the papal Mass on the feast of the Sacred Heart that marked the end of the Year for Priests was so much more.  Here is the translation:

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Fatherless

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Have you read Fatherless” yet? You should. It’s a Catholic novel that is selling fast.

The book is a real page-turner and follows the lives of a parish priest and families that have entrusted themselves to his care. It tackles a lot of hot button issues like contraception, adultery and morality in the workplace. It’s one of those books where the reader is taken into the minds of characters and feels their emotions. You won’t be able to put the book down.

Now we have some good news about the book and need your help. Fatherless, written Brian J. Gail, has been selected as one of 12 featured titles in the 2010 Catholic Summer Reading program. Voting for the top 3 adult titles is currently underway on the Catholic Summer Reading website.

If you have a minute please vote this week to help keep Fatherless on the top 3 list – http://www.catholicsummerreading.com/.

In the meantime, if you haven’t picked up a copy (or need a gift for Father’s Day), you can get it at Human Life International here.

For more info on the book, go to www.fatherlessbook.com. Brian Gail’s next book, Motherless, is expected to come out this Fall so we’ll keep you posted.

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Praying That Your Favorite Sports Team Wins

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A local news station has a story about a Catholic priest in Chicago who is praying that the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup. The priest, Fr. Marty Michniewicz, says that he doesn’t want to be in prayer competition with the Flyers so instead he prays that “God gives the Blackhawks players the will to win.”

This priest loves hockey. His office is adorned in the Blackhawks color of red and black and he has a statue in his office of Jesus playing hockey with children. And he tends to invoke hockey in his homilies if applicable.

“It’s is just like a hockey team, I’ll say. I’ll say you need your goalies, your finesse players. They all form a team. As a parish, we all have something to offer and something to form the body of Christ, the church, the team, whatever,” said Fr. Marty.

Have you ever been so intensely watching the game of your favorite sports team and instinctively prayed to God to let them score just one more goal or make that 3-pointer or run back a punt for a touchdown?

Do you think God hears our prayers for a win? God loves each one of us with a love that we can never fathom and he wants us to be happy but does that mean he’ll help our favorite sports teams?

What do you think?

UPDATE 6/10/10: Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last night!

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Andrea Bocelli: Almost Aborted, Devout Catholic

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Award-winning  pro-life blogger Jill Stanek has posted a great piece “Almost Aborted: Tenor Andrea Bocelli .” Her story links to video of the esteemed opera singer sharing his personal connection to abortion, which is both moving and beautiful:

 This is a powerful reminder that every life truly is special and worth fighting for despite difficulty, pain, risk and even “expert” opinion. I’m inspired by Mrs. Bocelli having the courage to continue with her pregnancy even while knowing her child may have a severe disability. Only God could have foreseen that her child would bring so much joy – to her and to millions of people around the globe – through the gift of his voice.

It’s sad to think of how many people like Andrea we are missing today because parents feared a disability for their child and thought it was better to abort. There are so many friends, colleagues and family members we should have in our lives, but don’t. Let Andrea’s story  inspire those facing difficult pregnancies, and remind us to encourage and support those who parent children with disabilities.  God blesses each child with gifts, talents and the ability to touch so many lives regardless of their ability or disability.

This isn’t the first time Bocelli has publicly stood for what he believes in. As a devout Catholic, he declined the invitation from friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holms to sing in their wedding ceremony in 2007 because of his faith. He attended the post-ceremony festivities, but did not join them for the Scientology wedding “because I’m Catholic. I didn’t think it was respectful for my religion to be there.”

What a class act.  Bocelli follows his faith and his heart in a respectful yet assertive way. Hollywood could stand to benefit from a whole lot more than singing lessons from him.

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Pelosi Fills “The Word” With Whatever She Wants

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As you readers know, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a self-professed Catholic, loves to flaunt her faith erroneously any chance she gets. As this blog is dedicated to defending the Catholic faith in the public square, this issue is right up our alley (again). Since Pelosi is such a public figure, what she says about the faith reaches more than her immediate audience and could very well be interpreted by some people as the truth, which is unfortunate.

In her latest escapade to show the world how very Catholic (and apparently a part-time theologian) she is, while speaking at a Catholic conference recently said that:

“They ask me all the time, ‘What is your favorite this? What is your favorite that? What is your favorite that?’ And one time, ‘What is your favorite word?’ And I said, ‘My favorite word? That is really easy. My favorite word is the Word, is the Word. And that is everything. It says it all for us. And you know the biblical reference, you know the Gospel reference of the Word.”

“And that Word,” Pelosi said, “is, we have to give voice to what that means in terms of public policy that would be in keeping with the values of the Word. The Word. Isn’t it a beautiful word when you think of it? It just covers everything. The Word.
 
“Fill it in with anything you want. But, of course, we know it means: ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.’ And that’s the great mystery of our faith. He will come again. He will come again. So, we have to make sure we’re prepared to answer in this life, or otherwise, as to how we have measured up.” [emphasis ours]

Oh Nancy, you can’t just fill the Word with whatever you want. As the New York Daily News so eloquently put it – “This isn’t Morally Relative Mad Libs. That’s not how it works – but while we’re at it, how about “The Hypocrisy”? Now that has a ring to it. The Word is not something you can use interchangeably to bear witness for whatever strikes your fancy. Any devout Christian knows that.”

Maybe Pelosi sees the polling numbers are rapidly dropping for her party and figures she has to start appealing to moral values. Whatever the reason, where are the bishops? They must be compiling a long list of Pelosi’s public comments on the faith that are outright wrong and an affront to the faith before they make their move, hopefully.

If you’re so inclined, here’s the video of her speaking at the conference:

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Face of Christ

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Last week one of the St. Michael Society editors had the privilege to see the Shroud of Turin, arguably the Church’s most holy relic.  The shroud is controversial but I will leave that discussion to the scientists.  I believe it is the burial cloth of Jesus but if you want a good review of the science and history of the shroud I suggest these two books:

Stained with blood, sweat and tears as well as the remnants of an unknown “radiation” the shroud allows us to meditate about our faith as no other relic.  The face, clearly visible, calls to mind the humanity of Jesus.  The blood, dispersed in a pattern consistent with a man that has been scourged, crowned with a head dress of thorns and crucified with nails, is a lasting reminder of the suffering our Lord endured for our sake.  The illumination markings on the cloth, impossible to reproduce and unexplained to this day, are signs of His resurrection; the most important miracle of Jesus.

All four Gospels mention the shroud.  The garment left behind by Jesus as he broke open the gates to our salvation offers us a physical sign of the incarnation, passion and resurrection.   Meditating on the shroud allows us to reflect on the greatest events in the history of mankind.

After Pope Benedict XVI prayed before the shroud he spoke eloquently about Holy Saturday, “the day a great silence was upon the earth.  Great silence because the King sleeps.”

The most obscure mystery of faith is at the same time the most luminous sign of a hope without limits. Holy Saturday is the “no man’s land” between death and resurrection, but into this “no man’s land” has entered the One, the Only One, who has crossed it with the signs of his passion for man: “Passio Christi. Passio hominis.” And the Shroud speaks to us precisely of that moment; it witnesses precisely to the unique and unrepeatable interval in the history of humanity and the universe, in which God, in Jesus Christ, shared not only our dying, but also our remaining in death. The most radical solidarity. In that “time-beyond-time” Jesus Christ “descended into hell” (“agli inferi”) What does this expression mean? It means that God, made man, went to the point of entering into the extreme and absolute solitude of man, where no ray of love enters, where there is total abandonment without any word of comfort: “hell” (“gli inferi”). Jesus Christ, remaining in death, has gone beyond the gates of this ultimate solitude to lead us too to go beyond it with him.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Turin said more than 1.7 million people had made reservations to view the shroud up close and countless more without reservations will view the shroud from a distance in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  It is unknown when the shroud will be on display again.

The same day that we visited the Shroud our group joined seminarians from Washington, DC in mass celebrated by Father Carter Griffin.  During his homily he encouraged us to allow our time with the cloth that is renowned for touching Jesus to renew our devotion to the Eucharist. 

The mystery represented by the shroud; the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection, should be a source of great hope to us all.  God with love so complete enters history, shares in our pain and suffering, defeats death and invites us to join Him in everlasting life.  I pray that the Face on the Shroud inspires you to draw closer to Jesus Christ.

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