Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex

The Take-Two Interactive video game “Bully” was released with the rating of T for teens. The star character is a 15-year-old boy who navigates through missions which involves fighting preppies, jocks, other stereotypical school aged bullies. Upon completion of kicking the stuffing out of the bullies, this 15 year old kid has the option of approaching either boys or girls with candy and flowers in exchange for making out.

When Jimmy approaches a tall, blond boy with some flowers, the boy replies: “I’m hot. You’re hot. Let’s make out.” Gay video-game enthusiasts have embraced “Bully,” which was was the U.S.’s third top-selling game in the week ending Oct. 27, according to figures from UBS.

In “Bully” the controversial scene was not hidden — but it also was not advertised to consumers. The video game industry rating board considered the boy-kissing-boy scenes in “Bully” before assigning it a “Teen” rating, spokesman Eliot Mizrachi said.

Why does the gaming industry feel the need to provide the opportunity for school age kids to experience a virtual homosexual experience? I’ve seen a clip of this game on youtube, and the sound effects of the boys making out is so pornographic and disgusting. What is the typical age and sex of kids that play these type of fighting video games and with whom and where do they usually play?

O.k. It looks like it is down to Ratizinger v. Balthasar in the finals over at Evangelical Catholicism. Voting goes until Friday. I won’t tell you where it stands but if you are a Balthasar fan you better go over and vote. Having said this, if you are a Ratzinger fan you better go over and keep those Balthasarians from upsetting your favorite.

Vote here:

If you have not seen the Mary, Queen of Angels 2006 issue of Dappled Things, it is worth taking a look. Here is a summary of the issue:

“Refiner’s Fire” by Shannon Berry is a wise, moving personal essay about the trials of prayer and discernment – one of the best I’ve read.

Poets Karen K. Adams ( “African Angelus,” “Little Hours”) and Sarah DeCorla-Souza (” Ordinary Time” ) both meditate on the quotidian miracle that is parenthood, while Amos Hunt, J.B. Toner, and Daniel Gibbons tackle terror in “Night Crossing,” despair in “To Whom Much Is Given,” and emptiness (“my winter’s silent utter zero”) in “Autumnal.”

Katy Carl recounts her meeting with a curious saint, “like something out of a Flannery O’Connor novel,” in “A Private Matter,” a personal essay in which she explores end-of-life issues and the possibility of wrongful behavior at a Catholic hospital.

In her story “Open Great Wide Doors,” Stephanie Mader sketches the lead-up to a brash and driven young man’s first encounter with God.

Matthew Alderman explains the artistic and historical inspirations behind his symbol-rich ink drawing, “St. Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome, Seated in State Upon the Throne of Peter.”

Our featured author this quarter is Arthur Powers, a relief and development director, lawyer, international businessman, and accomplished short story writer who has spent most of his adult life in Brazil. Dappled Things is pleased to premiere “A Hero for the People,” “Stone,” and “Carla,” a triptych of stories that form a portrait of modern Brazil: of the peasants, the priests, the landowners, the farmers, the students, and the educated elite who must confront the turmoil of twentieth-century change.

You can find all of these pieces and more from the Mary, Queen of Angels 2006 issue, as well as archived issues, submission instructions, and the Dappled Things forums, at www.dappledthings.org.

A few weeks ago I got a DVD in the mail and just now got a chance to see it. The DVD was of a talk entitled Truth, given by Fr. Larry Richards, a diocesan priest from the Diocese of Erie, PA. He has a regular show on Relevant Radio.

You can tell quickly that he is from Pittsburgh. He is a very compelling speaker and he has recently launched an interactive website: www.thereasonforourhope.org. The site is managed by The Reason for Our Hope Foundation which was founded by Fr. Larry.

Fr. Larry’s goal is to change the world by reaching 15 million people with the ultimate Reason for our Hope, Jesus Christ. The site allows visitors to send e-cards to family and friends, receive free MP3 downloads and screensavers, and more, all containing the message of hope. The only thing visitors need to do is register.

Check it and and see what you think.

Jim Holman, who publishes the 3rd largest weekly “alternative” paper in the nation – The San Diego Reader, is Catholic and a father of seven. Although the content of the paper is typical of “alternative” weekly magazines, he doesn’t allow sex hotlines or family planning advertisements. He started supporting pro-life initiatives once he saw the reality of abortion through photographs, and is the man behind Proposition 85, an anti-abortion measure on the Nov. 7 ballot. Jim Holman has contributed more than 3.5 million dollars for pro-life causes.

“He is the man behind the curtain,” said Kathy Kneer, president of Planned Parenthood of California, a major opponent of the measure. “There wouldn’t be a campaign if Jim Holman weren’t funding it.”

He has said that he opposes abortion not because he is a religious person, but because it’s the deliberate taking of innocent human life.

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John, from over at The Immaculate Direction, passed on a post he did recently discussing a new PBS series about a young Tae Kwon Do instructor turned priest who is taking a new approach to trying to make a positive influence on culture through promoting healthy family life.

Fr. Leo is a diocesan priest from the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In the series, he goes into families’ homes to cook a meal and help them to understand the importance of family and the need for families to spend time together around the table.

The series is called, Grace Before Meals. I looked at the trailer (they also have the pilot on line) and must say that I am impressed. He does very well in front of the camera and has a very positive message to present. Fr. Leo is correct, the family today is in crisis. There are many reasons for this. It seems to me that this is one approach that can help some families to realize the damaging effects of a fast food lifesyle.

Go over and take a look and let me know what you think. Hopefully this show does well. If you think it’s worthwhile, let others know about it.

The local Catholic churches had their annual Rose Dinner last night to raise money for the local crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life groups. Tricia and I attended with others at the Newman Center’s table. The speaker was Gianna Jessen, about whom many are familiar and of whom we have posted previously.

Gianna is an abortion survivor. Her biological mother, at 17 years old, went in for a late term abortion. Her abortion procedure entailed the injection of a saline solution into the placenta which was supposed to burn the baby inside and out and cause the mother to deliver a dead baby within about 24 hours. Gianna did not die, though the deprivation of oxygen and other damage from the saline solution and the early delivery left her with many medical problems including cerebral palsy. She is a courageous and very positive young woman and her medical difficulties have not stopped her from doing everything from pursuing a singing career to running several full marathons!

Gianna has a very positive and witty personality that charmed those gathered. Then she mentioned that earlier this year she was convinced to meet with her biological mother. She said her mother had wanted the meeting. In giving this part of her story, her bubbly personality changed for a moment. Even those of us not very sensitive to non-verbals could detect that this was a very painful experience for her. She did not go into much detail, but she summarized it with clearly the most significant event for her.

She said at the meeting she had offered her mother forgiveness and her mother rejected it. Her mother said she did not want her daughter’s forgiveness. I have thought about this for sometime and how one might take this rebuff…from one’s mother. Gianna was forgiving her mother for trying to kill her and her mother essentially seemed to be saying that she did not need to be forgiven. I would think that this is not much different than one’s mother coming out and saying to her child: “you have no right to be alive.” Gianna had briefly described the intense suffering that she has been through in her life dealing with the physical aspects of the abortion and the emotional aspects of knowing one’s mother not just rejected her but thought she was not worth giving life to. To have a mother’s rejection reconfirmed must be one of the most painful emotional experiences imaginable.

Gianna had earlier said that when women go in for abortions, due to various reasons, they see this decision as all about them. It is hard to know what her mother was thinking but its difficult not to imagine that her biological mom still seems to think that her abortion was all about her. I do not understand how one can look into the eyes of another human being that one tried to kill, one’s child no less, and not beg for forgiveness. To refuse forgiveness that is freely offered is beyond the pale.

In an open letter to Catholic voters, the National Coalition of American Nuns encouraged Catholic voters to have respect for the moral adulthood of women. They should select the legislators who will support the women’s right to make reproductive decisions and receive medical treatment according to the “rights of privacy and conscience.” They also argue that many Catholics support abortion for “compassionate, faithful reasons”.

“We’re supposed to vote as our conscience tells us, not as the archbishop’s conscience tells him,” said Cunningham, a member of the Sisters of Loretto. “I have great respect for the archbishop, but I think that’s kind of treating us like children.”

Opposing war and treating immigrants with compassion are included in a list of seven issues outlined by the group. Mary Ann Coyle and Anna Koop of Denver and Sallie Ann Watkins of Pueblo are the other Colorado nuns on the board.

In their open letter, they pledge themselves to “initiate, invite, and support deepening actions on behalf of social justice, particularly as these impact women, racial/ethnic minorities, and gay or lesbian persons.” How biblical of them.

Source

Nicaragua voted to outlaw ALL forms of abortion. The main political parties supported a bill establishing jail sentences of six to 30 years for women who terminate their pregnancies and for doctors who perform the procedure.

The bill, if signed into law by President Enrique Bolaños, will overturn a 130-year-old policy permitting abortions in exceptional cases and put Nicaragua among several countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East, with total bans. Latin America seemed to be going the other way, with Mexico, Colombia and Chile signalling possible moves to loosen abortion laws.

The church, a powerful force since 85% of the population of 6 million is Catholic, drove the campaign. Posters, billboards and pamphlets urged people to vote against pro-abortion candidates, a message echoed at a recent 200,000-strong rally in the capital Managua. The bill drew heavily on a text drafted by the Nicaraguan Catholic Bishops Conference. A pro-choice march drew just a few hundred people.

I’m glad to see Nicaragua is smart enough to catch on to the deceptive abortion industry which consider all pregnancies as potential exceptional cases.

Russell Reid, a consultant psychiatrist and specialist on gender identity disorder, is being investigated by a Medical Tribunal for his unethical managment of patients who consider hormonal therapy and surgical gender reassignment. This guy is educated enough to know that some of the individuals who seek out “transgender” surgery suffer from mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or manic depression, which may cause a delusion of being “transsexual“. For example, a woman who was suffering from manic depression was scheduled for surgery (despite her family informing Reid of her diagnosis of Manic Depression). Fortunately, she receives treatment for her manic episodes two weeks prior to surgery and she no longer has any desire to be a man. Another case involves a gentleman, who still identifies himself as a man, who had gentatalia constructive surgery through the encouragement of Reid, and testified:

“I find life very difficult because I don’t want to be female any longer. I am not gay and I will never be able to have a full relationship with a female again, and I don’t want a relationship with a male. “I get very confused whenever it comes to even simple things such as choosing which conveniences to use. It is very hard.”

For patients who were concerned over the costs of the surgery, this medical professional allegedly told them they could pay for surgery by working as escorts. Does adding insult to injury mean anything to this quasi health care professional?! This is the problem with so many so called sex experts, they think their own deviant perception of sex is normal and healthy, and look down their noses at those who do not share in their perversion. What kind of normal human being would advocate putting a fake penis on a mentally ill woman?

Paul McHugh, a Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, wrote an Article for First Things called Surgical Sex, which shares his experience in the world of the transgendered.

A Catholic Resource on Gender Identity Disorder

Rorate-Caeli has posted a small piece by a rad-trad seminarian in Rome who tells us about the persecution he must endure as he is forced, due to his traditionalism, to live “in the closet.” He tells us how he draws near daily to the Lord’s Passion by suffering a perpetual, bloodless martyrdom, forced to deny in public who he really is in order to make it through the process of formation. Of course, his situation leaves him as frustrated with so-called “neoconservative” Catholics as with “progressive” Catholics. He must hide his true self from the former as well as the latter. The former, he claims, crave tradition but have no real understanding of it, because it has not formed them. They think, he asserts, “that every word John Paul II uttered was as valuable as the Holy Gospels themselves!” “Neocon” Catholics seem to strike him as a rather bumbling lot.

One comment of his in this regard struck me as rather amusing: “In the parish, [the neocons'] piety will score them points with the faithful—but their ignorance of the ecclesial patrimony that has preceded them will destroy their credibility in the eyes of the educated. They are more of a weakness for the Church than the liberals (who are dying off with no young vocations to carry their torch).”

One wonders who these educated souls are of whom he speaks. Does he count himself among this elite group of cultured and discerning souls? Clearly he must, given the condescending tone of the statement. However, the statement raises a question that often strikes me in regard to the rad-trads: “To what extent is this seminarian truly educated in theology?” I would grant that constant exposure to the traditional rite of the Roman Mass — as it is usually celebrated in this day and age by the faithful who have preserved it — is an unparalleled formative tool for one’s spirit and can refine one culturally in a way that the current state of the Pauline Rite, frankly, cannot do. But, given all that, does his theological acumen match his sensibilities in matters liturgical? Usually, when confronted with rad trads, I find that the answer is “no.” Oftentimes, rad trad aestheticism and piety is accompanied by a rather fervent irrationalism. No greater example of this can be found than when Husserl is dismissed by rad trads, tout court, as a thoroughgoing subjectivist, or when Thomas’s participationist ontology is rejected by rad trads (should the discussion even get to that exalted level) as an unfortunate hangover of neo-Platonism — as was commonly argued by neo-Thomists in the first half of the twentieth century to dismiss some of Thomas’s expressions in his De Veritate.

No doubt, this young seminarian considers himself a follower of the Angelic Doctor’s theology, as all good rad trads must do. But, how well does he really understand the teachings of Thomas? More often than not, rad trads can be found wanting on this score. They know Gamber’s work on the liturgy backwards and forwards, and that is a good thing. But do they really know Thomas quite so well? It is a rather undisputed fact that Thomistic studies underwent a gigantic leap forward in the last half of the twentieth century — the transcendental Thomists notwithstanding — and that many of the men who count among the members of the curia today are the beneficiaries of an education in this renewed Thomism. John Paul II, for one, benefited from this renewal. Benedict XVI did as well, though he is not, technically speaking, a Thomist in the traditional sense.

But, more often than not, rad trads, for all of their refined liturgical sensibilities, would have us plunge back into the era when Thomas’s neo-Dionysian influence was dismissed, or when the breadth and depth of his Trinitarian thought went unappreciated, or when the ways in which his thought can be made available to moderns was left undeveloped. In regard to this last point, one oftentimes encounters among rad trads an a priori dismissal of JP II’s use of Husserl. Would they dismiss as well the project of the great American Thomist, Fr. Robert Sokolowski, to make Thomas available to the contemporary world via Husserl?

In the end, it seems to me, the neocons, for all their purported bumbling, are more open to these renewed currents of Roman Catholic theology than the rad trads. In fact, theologians who would surely garner the label “neocon” by this seminarian were largely responsible for this recovery of Thomas’s genuine thought.

The New Atheist Movement doesn’t merely disagree with what they consider religious myths, but feel justified in promoting religious intolerance. It’s not only the faithful that pose a problem to atheists. The agnostics and “liberal” believers are also seen as the enemy, based on their “if you’re not with us, than you’re against us” campaign. For the New Atheists, the problem isn’t any specific religion or religious ideologies, but the fact there is religion, period.

“My answer is that the big war is not between evolution and creationism, but between naturalism and supernaturalism. The sensible” — and here he pauses to indicate that sensible should be in quotes — “the ’sensible’ religious people are really on the side of the fundamentalists, because they believe in supernaturalism. That puts me on the other side.”

“A lot of Catholics use condoms, a lot of Catholics are divorced, and a lot don’t have a particular opinion about whether you are homosexual. But when the Pope stands up and says, ‘This is what Catholics believe,’ he still gets credit for speaking for more than a billion people.

My impression of the Wired report of the angry, “in your face” atheists, is that they sound pretty much like the notorious “religious” extremists who want to rid the world of non-believers. Same irrational hate, different gods.

O.k., this link is from the same source as the previous one (Time). I’m not sure that I trust this very much because I am sure they are force fitting a plethora of discordant views under the same categories since they have tried to synthesize four views.

Interestingly, this says that that a quarter of Americans are Deists. Only 17% of those who see God as a Benevolent God think abortion is always wrong…and they are the second highest percentage after the Authoritarian God category. Ahhh, statistics…

Our librarian sent along this interesting link to a US map that shows the population distribution of four groups (all religions, mainline Protestants, Evangelicals, and Catholics) of believers.

The documentary, “Suicide Killers,” by French-Jewish filmmaker Pierre Rehov concludes that Palestinian suicide bombers are influenced by a religious culture that represses sexual desires which consequently channels their sexual frustration into a homicidal rage. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering “Suicide Killers” as a 2007 nominee for Best Documentary. The method that Pierre uses to come to his assinine conclusion is best taken directly from the horses mouth:

I’ve studied psychology, and there are a lot of things connected to flashers — they want to destroy innocence. I realized that these guys (suicide bombers) in the last minute of their lives have this same behavior. This is when I understood there is something really sexual about this extreme act they want to commit. I knew (about the Islamic religious belief) of 72 virgins, and I also knew about how sexual frustration can lead to people becoming serial killers.

Sexual frustration kills? Only if it were that simple; the ability to avoid immoral sexual acts based on our own merit, because we believe it to be “bad”. This line of thinking probably explains the “hypocrite” tag, which is so popular in the attack against people of faith. Is Pierre suggesting we can eliminate/treat criminal behavior such flashers, serial killers and suicide bombers through sex therapy? I think he has it totally backwards, it’s the refusal  and inability to control our sexual desires that gets us into trouble.

The scottish lay organization, Catholic Truth, is allegedly demanding a priest whom they believe has same sex attraction, reveal his sexual “orientation”. The group reports the objective behind indentifying “gay” Catholic clergy is to raise awareness of the problem within the Church and to restore a traditional orthodox Catholic church in Scotland. While I can sympathize with their frustration, the tactics appear to be inappropriate when a campaign demands that priests publicly announce their sexual orientation.

Shelray mentioned a while ago about the World Series of Catholic Theologians that Michael and Katerina over at Evangelical Catholicism have put together. Well, they are now down to the semi-finals. I am happy to see that for the most part the voters have distinguished between Catholic theologians who have had the biggest impact on authentic Catholic theology and those Catholic theologians who have had the biggest affect distorting authentic theology (except for the fact that a Liberation theologian has survived to the semi’s).

For some reason, there seemed to be some mild controversy over the fact Fr. Raymond Brown was beat out by Fr. Aidan Nichols. I don’t share the concern. Fr. Nichols is an excellent theologian who I would suggest, has done much for the English speaking world in explicating and developing Balthasar’s thought. In my view, Fr. Brown was a scriptural exegete who limited himself to higher criticism and because of this, at his own peril and ours, sometimes ventured into theological speculation. He seemed to suggest by his work that historical criticism was the only valid approach to biblical exegesis and so he was forever having to defend his work because his conclusions seemed to regularly contradict Church teaching. In his replies he would often say that Scripture does not say something but he believed it because the Church teaches it…a response that often led to further confusion…but I digress…

Any way, go over and vote.

The controversial decision to require a Catholic perspective at a Catholic university has come under fire from the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) Senate, which passed a resolution that condemned the administration making changes made without student input.

“Hindering discourse in this way undermines the free academic environment that is fundamental for all institutions of higher learning,” the resolution stated. The policy does not apply to guests brought in by faculty, a discrepancy that the resolution also criticizes.”

I remember being a moron when I was in college too. It’s important to remember that it’s a medical fact that the frontal lobe of the brain will not fully develop in many college students until their early twenties. I think the real controversy should be the fact that they let speakers who oppose Catholicism speak at a Catholic university.

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Today is the feast of the North American Martyrs, the eight Jesuits who were martyred by Iriquois and Huron natives between 1642 and 1649. Especially noted by the Church this day are St. Isaac Jogues and St. John de Brebeuf. I taught about these Martyrs recently and so I had the opportunity to investigate the manner of their lives and deaths. All of these saints were enlivened with zeal for Jesus Christ and spreading His gospel, but these two stand out.

St. Isaac Jogues was concerned for the Natives’ spiritual and temporal welfare. During his missionary activities, he was captured, tortured and kept in slavery for over a year until Dutch Calvinists helped to rescue him. During his trials, several fingers from his hands had been chewed or burnt off. He was returned to France where he was given a dispensation to say Mass by the Pope since at the time his mutilated hands made that a canonical impossibility. He begged his superior and eventually was allowed to return to North America where all knew he would eventually suffer martyrdom. This came to fulfillment within two years of his returned. For more on St. Isaac see the Catholic Encyclopedia.

St. John de Brebeuf was one who prepared Jesuits for their missionary activities. He would admonish his pupils that if they were to be successful in winning the natives to Christ, they must sincerely love them. He was also eventually captured and here is a description of the torture that he suffered:

On entering the village, they were met with a shower of stones, cruelly beaten with clubs, and then tied to posts to be burned to death. Brebeuf is said to have kissed the stake to which he was bound. The fire was lighted under them, and their bodies slashed with knives. Brebeuf had scalding water poured on his head in mockery of baptism, a collar of red-hot tomahawk-heads placed around his neck, a red-hot iron thrust down his throat, and when he expired his heart was cut out and eaten. Through all the torture he never uttered a groan. The Iroquois withdrew when they had finished their work. The remains of the victims were gathered up subsequently, and the head of Brebeuf is still kept as a relic at the Hetel-Dieu, Quebec.

From his diary, which is in today’s Office of Readings, it is clear that he both expected martyrdom and desired it. He was also quite aware of what awaited him but he was confident that if this was God’s will, that he would be given the strength to endure it. He writes:

Jesus, my Lord and Savior, what can I give you in return for all the favors you have conferred on me? I will take from your hand the cup of yours sufferings and call on your name. I vow before your eternal Father and the Holy Spirit, before your most Holy Mother and her most chaste spouse, before the angels, apostles, and martyrs, before my blessed fathers Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis Xavier–in truth I vow to you, Jesus my Savior, that as far as I have the strength I will never fail to accept the grace of martyrdom, if some day you in your infinite mercy should offer it to me, your most unworthy servant.

For more on St. John go also over to New Advent.

These men were moved by the Holy Spirit with a burning desire to witness Trinitarian Love made Incarnate in Jesus Christ and manifested by His total gift of Himself to the Father on the Cross, for us. It is with this love, made efficacious for us on the Cross, that we are called to participate as the medicine for the restoration of harmony on earth and the conquering of sin and death by drowning evil with love. Evil is not destroyed through violence, it is destroyed only by love joined to the Cross. In other words, the Cross triumphs over evil in our day and time only through God’s grace working through His unworthy servants who have incorporated themselves into Christ’s Mystical Body.

For those such as myself raised and nurtured in the arts of applying military tools as the solution to problems of aggressive violence, the Church’s wisdom of celebrating martyrdom is a continual blessing. It is easy to confuse the rightful honor given to those who selflessly serve others by protecting them, often at the cost of their lives, with the sometimes violent methods that need be employed. However, it must be clear that violence itself is not honorable, it is a necessary evil that is often too quickly employed. This is especially true of those who have the greater capacity to wield it.

In reading St. John’s diary, I am reminded that if I am to truly imitate Christ in trying to bring peace and safety to the world, I must have much more zeal for giving myself back to Him in imitation of His total self gift than zeal for attempting to bring peace through violence.

Anthony Mercieca, an active priest in the Diocese of Goza (a Mediterranean island that is part of the Republic of Malta) Diocese, stated that his, “encounter with Foley was an aberration, and that the Catholic Church never had to send him for counseling during his 38 years in the priesthood in Florida.” He considered the relationship innocent, but he now says he could see how his actions could be called inappropriate. In an effort to illustrate the logic of this statement (hopefully not be miscontrued as making light of this event), I will refer you to this Seinfeld episode. He wishes Foley well, and hopes he can, “let bygones be bygones”.

Apparently this illegal homosexual relationship lasted two years that included taking trips together. Foley would have been 13 years old when the priest started work at the Florida diocese. Based soley on the priest’s statements reported in the article, which lacked a sense of contrition or accountability, the bishop of Gozo should intervene immediately. It seems Fr. Mercieca expressed more concern over the exposure of the incident, than for the damage that he did to Foley and the further damage it has done to the Church and the image of the priesthood.