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John Allen’s answers:

• For a pope committed to reawakening a strong missionary spirit in Catholicism, receiving a high-profile convert during the Easter Vigil is a symbolic way of making the point. In effect, Benedict is saying that the church shouldn’t shrink from receiving anyone who knocks on its door, even if there’s a political price to be paid.
• Allam’s baptism can also be read as a statement of solidarity with Muslim converts to Christianity around the world, many of whom suffer in various ways on account of that decision.
• Finally, the episode illustrates an important wrinkle to Benedict’s personality — stubborn indifference to the canons of political correctness. Benedict is a gracious figure, but he also refuses to sanitize what he regards as important matters of belief or practice in order to avoid PR headaches. Whether that amounts to moral courage or tone-deafness to public reaction is a matter of opinion, but the pattern is clear.

You can see a video of the baptism here.

newseditor :: Mar.31.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Islam has outpopulated us:

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single religious denomination in the world, the Vatican said on Sunday.

Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican’s newly-released 2008 yearbook of statistics, said Muslims made up 19.2 percent of the world’s population and Catholics 17.4 percent.

“For the first time in history we are no longer at the top: the Muslims have overtaken us,” Formenti told Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano in an interview, saying the data referred to 2006. [Full Article]

newseditor :: Mar.31.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI’s outreach to traditionalist Catholics by liberalizing the use of the Tridentine Mass already is bearing fruit, said Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos.

The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” which coordinates care for traditionalist Catholics, said that thanks to the pope’s action “not a few have asked to return to full communion, and some already have returned.” Continue Reading »

newseditor :: Mar.31.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Vatican, Mar. 28, 2008 (CWNews.com) - In an interview with the Vatican newspaper, the head of the Ecclesia Dei commission has indicated that priests do not require permission from their bishops in order to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Latin liturgy.

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos told L’Osservatore Romano that “all can celebrate” the traditional Latin Mass. While the “ordinary form”– the Novus Ordo– remains “the Mass that normally all priests say,” the cardinal said that Pope Benedict, in his motu proprio broadening access to the traditional liturgy, authorized all priests to use the older liturgy.

“Some ask permission, as if this were some sort of concession or exception,” Cardinal Castrillon said. “But there is no need for that.”

The Colombian cardinal, whose Ecclesia Dei commission supervises the implementation of the motu proprio, said that “some practical difficulties” have delayed the worldwide acceptance of the motu proprio. But when questioned about the criticisms of that document expressed by some bishops, the cardinal said that it was “a controversy born from a lack of understanding.” He said that the Ecclesia Dei commission plans new efforts to educate the clergy about the liturgical norms in order to eliminate those misunderstandings.

When asked how the wider use of the older liturgy might affect relations with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Cardinal Castrillon said that Summorum Pontificum could help to pave the way for a restoration of the traditionalist group to full communion with the Church.

However, the cardinal took pains to say that members of the SSPX are not separated from the Catholic Church. “The excommunication applied only to the four bishops,” he said. While the Mass celebrated at SSPX chapels is not licit, he said, it is unquestionably valid. “Certainly neither the priests nor the faithful are excommunicated,” he added.

newseditor :: Mar.28.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Catholic group challenges university presidents to disband pro-homosexual groups

By Michael Baggot

SPRING GROVE, PA, March 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Volunteers for the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) found that 45% of the websites of 211 major Catholic universities contained information about pro-homosexual clubs.

“Many of these clubs share in the movement’s radical goal - to force social acceptance of unnatural vice on Christian America, and gag expressions of free speech that oppose the movement’s ideological agenda,” warns an official TFP statement. Continue Reading »

newseditor :: Mar.28.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Expert says, “Brain death was concocted, it was made up in order to get organs. It was never based on science.”

By John Jalsevac

OKLAHOMA, March 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - 21-year-old Zack Dunlap, a man who was diagnosed as “brain dead” and who was mere minutes away from having his organs harvested, now says, four months after the accident that brought him to the brink of death, that he feels “pretty good.” Dunlap’s story was told in an NBC piece aired earlier this week, in which the young man himself was interviewed.

While Zack’s case is being touted in the media as a “miracle”, a neonatologist and expert on brain-death has told LifeSiteNews.com that Zack’s case, while remarkable in a sense, is not as rare as the mainstream media’s reporting makes it seem. Continue Reading »

newseditor :: Mar.28.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Washington, Mar. 27, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Americans have a strongly positive view of Pope Benedict XVI, according to a new poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus.

In a survey conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, 58% of respondents said that they have a favorable opinion of the Holy Father; only 13% held a negative view.

Nearly two-thirds of those polled– 65%– held a favorable view of the Catholic Church in general, with 28% reporting a negative view.

Close to half of the American people (42%) and two-thirds of the Catholics would like to attend one of the public events that have been scheduled for Pope Benedict’s April visit to the US.

The poll results show that most Americans (64%) would like to hear Pope Benedict’s guidance on how to increase the spiritual strength of their society. Even higher proportions of the respondents wanted to hear the Pontiff talk about finding spiritual fulfillment and bringing God into their lives.

newseditor :: Mar.28.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

On the national sovereignty front: President Bush wanted Texas to adhere to a World Court ruling and the Texas courts resisted. After years of wrangling, the Supreme Court has just agreed with Texas. [Full article]

newseditor :: Mar.28.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

The subject of this story in the Boston Herald, Joseph R. Nolan — known around these parts as “Judge Nolan” — was a student of Brother Francis at Holy Cross College. Still a friend and supporter of the Center, he visits his old prof now and again. And in case anyone doubts his dedication to the cause, one of the Acolyte Judge’s sons proudly bears the name Leonard Feeney Nolan.

He once sat on the state’s highest court, but on the altar he is a humble page to the king of kings.

“It’s marvelous, beautiful. There’s no comparing the Latin Mass to the Novus Ordo (modern Mass),” said ex-Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Joseph R. Nolan.

At 82, Nolan is the most senior altar server trained to perform Latin Mass. He does not serve regularly anymore, but filled in just a few weeks ago to help in a pinch. [Full story]

newseditor :: Mar.27.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

There are sedevacantists who accuse the present Roman Pontiff of denying the bodily Resurrection of our Lord. They cite a passage from one of his theology books, ambiguous at best, in which then Father Ratzinger spoke of the pre-existing (not-yet-incarnate) Logos and the Resurrection. The passage, even yanked out of context, is unconvincing as a proof of “heresy.”

The nail — or one of many — in the coffin of the sickly theory is here:

The Resurrection of Jesus brings to believers “the certainty of our final resurrection,” the Holy Father said. He pointedly remarked that the historical truth of the Resurrection “is amply documented, even if today, as in the past, there is no lack of people who put it in doubt or even deny it.” In fact, the Pontiff continued, “the weakening of faith in the Resurrection of Jesus leads to the weakening of the testimony of believers.” [From CWN]

We can only hope that the theory will not be resurrected.

Brother Andre Marie :: Mar.27.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Madrid, Mar 26, 2008 / 03:39 pm (CNA).- A report by the Madrina Foundation in Spain has revealed that pregnancy is the main reason why 25% of women between the ages of 18 and 25 lose their jobs. The figure jumps to 50% when women ask to work fewer hours after returning from maternity leave or for time off to care for a sick child. According to the newspaper “Alba,” 90% of women surveyed by the Madrina Foundation said their employers have harassed them because of a pregnancy. “Unfortunately, pregnancy is viewed as bad news, almost as an illness,” said the president of the foundation, Conrado Gimenez.

Brian Kelly :: Mar.27.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Oklahoma City, Mar 27, 2008 / 05:58 am (CNA).- A young man who was injured in an all-terrain-vehicle accident woke from his coma and showed signs of life just minutes before he was to be disconnected from life support, Dateline NBC reports.

Dunlap said he did not remember the accident, but he does remember the doctor declaring him dead. “I heard it and it just made me mad inside,” he said.

Full Story here.

Brian Kelly :: Mar.27.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

London, Mar. 26, 2008 (CWNews.com) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will allow reconsideration of the Act of Settlement, which bars Catholics from the throne, the Herald newspaper reports. The Act of Settlement, passed in 1701, stipulates that neither a Roman Catholic nor the spouse of a Catholic may wear the crown. The legislation has regularly been denounced by Catholic leaders as an instance of blatant religious discrimination. Here’s the full article.

Brian Kelly :: Mar.27.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

By Magdi Allam
3/25/2008

Zenit News Agency (www.zenit.org)

“I converted to the Christian Catholic religion, renouncing my previous Islamic faith. Thus, I finally saw the light, by divine grace. On my first Easter as a Christian I not only discovered Jesus, I discovered for the first time the face of the true and only God, who is the God of faith and reason.” Full article here.

Brian Kelly :: Mar.26.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

On March 25, 2004 Catholic President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines signed Proclamation No. 586 which states, among other things, that March 25, and every year thereafter, is declared as the the “Day of the Unborn” in the Philippines. As an interesting aside, she was a classmate of Bill Clinton’s while studying at Georgetown from 1964-1966. It was about fifteen years after both future presidents attended this Jesuit institution that the Sign of the Cross and the invocation of the Blessed Trinity was prohibited at all public functions by the university’s president, Father Timothy Healy, S.J. God bless President Arroyo for defending the unborn children and doing, as she often says of herself, “the right thing, not the popular thing.”

Brian Kelly :: Mar.26.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

San Antonio, TX, Mar 25, 2008 / 10:36 pm (CNA).- An influential Texas pastor who endorsed Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain has denied allegations he is anti-Catholic.

Rev. John Hagee, pastor of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, has been accused of anti-Catholicism by Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Donohue argued that Hagee “clearly distorts” Catholic teaching and misrepresents Church history, especially concerning the actions of Pope Pius XII during the Second World War. Full article from CNA here.

Brian Kelly :: Mar.26.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Rome, Mar. 25, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Some of the 138 Muslim intellectual leaders who signed an appeal for dialogue with the Catholic Church have now criticized the publicity that greeted the conversion of Magdi Allam, the Italian journalist who was baptized by Pope Benedict XVI at the Easter Vigil.

Muslim leaders said that the highly public conversion was being viewed in some quarters as an open challenge to Islam rather than an individual’s private religious choice. The spokesman for the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, Imam Issedin Elzir of Florence, said that “the case garnered more attention than it merited, given that each day many convert to Islam and many to Christianity.”

Brian Kelly :: Mar.26.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Maybe I am missing something here, but was this a denial of permission for Catholics to build a Church in Saudi Arabia or a refusal by the royal family to build one? I cannot fathom how the latter prospect could have even been entertained. I suspect that it was the former proposal that was denied. In any event, nothing new here, just Mohammedans being Mohammedans. By the way, was there any protest from Mohammedan quarters about those traditional Catholic using the old Good Friday Prayer for the conversion of the infidels?

Riyadh, Mar. 25, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The president of the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies, Anwatr al Oshqi, has reported that Saudi Arabia’s royal family has decided against building a Catholic church in the kingdom.

Earlier this month Vatican Radio reported that the Saudi government was weighing a proposal for the construction of a Catholic church. That report came as a surprise, since the Saudi regime does not allow public worship by any faith other than Islam.

In November 2007, when King Abdullah became the first reigning Saudi king ever to visit the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI urged him to allow the building of a Catholic church.

While it was not an official response to that request, Al Oshqi’s report carries considerable weight because it was made during a broadcast on the Al Arabiya news channel, which is owned by the Saudi royal family.

Brian Kelly :: Mar.26.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Bogota, Mar 24, 2008 / 11:19 am (CNA).- The Colombian daily “El Tiempo” revealed on Holy Saturday that a crisis that could have ended in an open conflict between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela was averted by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe confiding the situation to the intercession of Mary under the three different titles by which she is the country’s patroness.

The crisis between Colombia and its southern (Ecuador) and northeastern (Venezuela) neighbors started On March 1, when Uribe ordered a military raid into Ecuador’s territory against a rebel camp used by Marxist guerrillas to launch terrorist strikes. The raid targeted and killed the No. 2 FARC rebel leader, Raul Reyes. Continue Reading »

newseditor :: Mar.25.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off

Diogenes, listing the many woes which constitute “The Void” in the Church’s life, pays tribute to Karl Rahner’s contribution:

Or again, think of the Church’s missionary outreach to the unevangelized: once a prime concern for Catholics everywhere, now emptied of urgency by the sentimentalism that surrounds the Anonymous Christian and his exotic spiritualities. Missionaries return to give us glad news of wells dug or dances learned, rarely of pagans baptised.

newseditor :: Mar.25.2008 :: Uncategorized :: Comments Off