Michael P. asks "what's going on?" with respect to the investigations into women religious in America. Michael references a PBS interview of National Catholic Reporter's Tom Fox. In that interview Fox speculates that the Vatican may be attempting "to rein in this last remnant of the Second Vatican Council" and may be using the investigations in preparation for picking the pockets of these congregations of religious women in order to pay some of its bills. Michael P., do you think this is what's going on? Or, do you have some other speculation?
Friday, August 21, 2009
"What's going on?"
What does it mean to identify oneself as "Catholic"?
For me it is a willingness to ask God each day for the grace to say "Be it done unto me according to your will" and the grace not to beat myself up when I fail at this a million times everyday.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Transubstantiation
As we have been working our way through John 6 at Mass these past few weeks, this passage from the Omnivore's Dilemma caught my attention. "[The grass farmer] reached down deep where his pigs were happily rooting and brought a handful of fresh compost right up to my nose. What had been cow manure and woodchips just a few weeks before now smelled as sweet and warm as the forest floor in summertime, a miracle of transubstantiation."
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Oklahoma "Law Requiring Ultrasounds for Abortions is Struck Down"
According to the Washington Post: "An Oklahoma judge decided Tuesday that doctors do not need to perform ultrasounds and offer women detailed information about the tests before performing abortions."
For the full article, click here.
The abortion clinics opposing the law charged that the law "infringed on a woman's right to privacy, violated her dignity and endangered her health." (Washington Post article). For some odd reason, I thought "choice" was about making aninformed and knowledgeable decision. Doesn't a law that requires the doctor to show a patient the biological reality of her "choice" assist her in making an informed and knowledgeable decision? So how can those who purport to be in favor of choice oppose such legislative measures?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Why I detest politics more and more with each passing day
According to this Atlantic blog post, HHS Secretary Sebelius said that a public option was not essential to the President's health care reform plan. One administration official later said that she "misspoke" but then added that the public option "is not, in the president's view, the most important element of the reform package." Another government official sidestepped the question of whether Sebelius misspoke, reiterating that the president believes that a public option is the best way to achieve desired goals. A third White House official "said that Sibelius didn't misspeak. 'The media misplayed it,' the third official said."
One cannot get a straight answer out of these folks. To be clear, I am not pointing a critical finger at just President Obama and the Democrats. Republicans play the same games. My question is why should we to trust our elected officials (full-time politicians) with important decisions like going to war (Bush) or reforming health care (Obama) when they won't give us straight answers to even the most basic questions. I don't want to be a libertarian, and I continue to hope that the government can play a role in fostering the common good, but these exercises in misdirection and obfuscation make me skeptical of how large a role the government can play in fostering that good we hold in common.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
"Atticus Finch and the Limits of Southern Liberalism"
Malcolm Gladwell has this interesting article in a recent New Yorker. Any thoughts?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
"Common Ground" on Health Care
For months now, Congress and the White House have talked about the need for Americans to seek “common ground” on the issues that face us. This is a very welcome theme.
The “common good” and “common ground” are central messages in Catholic social teaching. This is why the Church always seeks to work cooperatively with people of other faiths and no faith to secure the basic elements of human dignity for all our citizens—decent housing, a living wage, justice under the law and adequate food and health care. It’s why America’s Catholic bishops have pushed for national health care reform for the past several decades. It’s also why the Church, in principle, supports current efforts to craft legislation that would ensure basic health care coverage for all Americans.
But God, or the devil, is always in the details.
Read the rest of Archbishop Chaput's column here.
Human Nature
"The clue to the political thought of any period lies in the conflict between various views of human nature."
-Kingsley Martin, The Rise of French Liberal Thought (1929)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Thomas More Society on Facebook
After resisting for years, I finally joined Facebook. And, on Facebook, I found the St. Thomas More Society, a "group designed for Catholics who are practicing lawyers, or law students (doesn't say anything about professors, oh well) to discuss what it means to be a Catholic Lawyer." If you are interested and are on Facebook, I encourage you to consider joining this group.
Barbecue Day of Obligation
Ok, Ok, I missed it by a day, but today I am smoking a brisket (rubbed with Salt Lick dry rub) for our RCIA core team, which is meeting at our house this evening. In the early 1990's, we'd get together with the editors of the Texas Catholic papers at a state park every year on August 10 to barbecue in honor of St. Lawrence. Sorry St. Claire, you'll have to share today at our house with St. Lawrence.
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