Mirror of Justice

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Academic Freedom continued

Steve Shiffrin (here), Fr. Araujo (here), Susan Stabile (here), and others discussed academic freedom and the Catholic university in light of Pope Benedict's address to Catholic educators. Avery Cardinal Dulles provides his usual wisdom in a May 2008 First Things article entitled "The Freedom of Theology." Near the end of the essay, he writes: "All Catholics are of course obliged to accept the defininitive teaching of the Church on matters of faith and morals. Even in the sphere of nondefinitive teaching, theologians should normally trust and support the magisterium and dissent only rarely and reluctantly, for reasons that are truly serious. Dissent, if it arises, should always be modest and restrained. Dissent that is arrogant, strident, and bitter can have no right of existence in the Church. Those who dissent must be careful to explain that they are proposing only their personal views, not the doctrine of the Church. They must refrain from bringing pressure on the magisterium by recourse of popular media."

Given what we profess about the Church and given the general need for civility and love in all things, this approach seems right to me. And, don't Cardinal Dulles' cautions about dissent apply with even greater force to us - at least those of us who are non theologians - because we are not learned in the nuances of the various debates?

"Uncloudy Day"

By Michael Scaperlanda

We were created to live eternally what Willie Nelson called the "Uncloudy Day." Happy 75th birthday Willie; it has been one hell of a ride.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Racism Charges Dog Planned Parenthood

By Michael Scaperlanda

"Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., has called Planned Parenthood a "racist organization" with a "racist agenda." She and others in the pro-life black community are calling for Congress to terminate all federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

Some apologists within the black community compare the services provided by Planned Parenthood to "genocide." Even though African-Americans comprise 13% of the

United States

population, they represent one-third of abortions. While genocide may prove too strong of a term, it does cause concern that African Americans are reproducing below replacement level and that partly due to the high rate of abortions."

For the rest of this article, which also contains an interesting conversation between a UCLA student and a Planned Parenthood employee, can be found here. For another recent story on the subject, click here.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Ethics of Immigration

By Michael Scaperlanda

The May 2008 First Things contains an exchange between me and William Chip on immigration. Here is how FT's Jody Bottum describes it:

"Surprisingly, some of First Things’ readers prefer sharp-edged commentary on the public issues of the day, and if sharp edges are what you want, the May issue features “The Ethics of Immigration,” a strong exchange between William Chip and Michael Scaperlanda. “Is a country that cannot handle its responsibilities to its native workforce in the face of massive economic migration at least capable of fulfilling its moral obligations toward the migrants themselves?” asks Chip. “Data from reliable government sources indicate that we are manifestly incapable of ensuring the successful social and economic assimilation of the enormous numbers that are actually arriving today.”

But Scaperlanda replies: “William Chip’s disagreement with the Church (and me) is not over faith or morals but over economic analysis. . . . If I am correct in my assessment, America continues to be one of those prosperous nations with an obligation to welcome the stranger journeying here in search of economic security.”"

The issue also contains an excellent essay by Cardinal Dulles entitled "The Freedom of Theology," which is relevant to our discussions on academic freedom. More on that subject later.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

April 19, 1995

By Michael Scaperlanda

Time does heal some wounds as memories become more distance. Much of the buzz in the Oklahoma City area today is about the NBA's vote yesterday to approve the Seattle Supersonic's relocation to OKC. 13 years ago in OKC all the focus was on the 171 (including three unborn children) people who lost their lives, the 800 or so injured, and those who were orphaned in the Murrah Building bombing. Please remember them and their families in your prayers.

Friday, April 18, 2008

The Pope, Abortion, and American Culture

By Michael Scaperlanda

Kathleen Parker writes:

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the U.S. has afforded the American media and others an opportunity to remind us that the Catholic Church is "out of step" with modern times.

That is both a criticism and compliment -- praising with faint damnation.

What exactly about modern times would compel a pope to change his institutional mind about the fundamental belief in, say, the dignity of all human life?

The central life issue is, of course, abortion, about which even a majority of American Catholics (58 percent) differ from the church's view. Other related concerns include embryo-destructive research, cloning and assisted suicide.

The Catholic Church persists in opposing all of the above, insisting that life begins at conception, all life has value, no human being has the right to terminate the life of another. Case closed.

And, really, who would insist otherwise? In the abstract, few. In practice, millions.

Though we know that life biologically begins at conception, we've decided to disagree about when that life becomes "human."

And, though we sort of believe that all life has value, our actions suggest that we think imperfect life has less value. Increasingly, Down syndrome babies today are terminated, for instance.

For the rest, click here.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The Headlines for the Pope's Visit - CNN's take is interesting

By Michael Scaperlanda

At 11:30 am, April 16, the websites of NY Times (“At White House, Pope Laud’s America Faith”), Foxnews (“The Pope in America: A Mission of Faith”), and MSNBC (“Bush Hosts Pope for Birthday Party”) lead with the story - in words and pictures - of the Pope’s visit. At CNN, the lead story is on Virginia Tech and the only mention of the Pope’s visit without having to scroll down is this: “Analysis: Watch for Papal Political Fallout.” Hmm! It pays to look at more than one headline me thinks.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Benedict XVI Visit to the US

By Michael Scaperlanda

Here is the link to the Vatican's webpage for the Pope's upcoming visit to the US. The website contains a program - including prayers - for his stops in the US and will contain his addresses and photos of the visit. HT: Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda

Tuesday, April 8, 2008