Fantastic New Vocations Video From Monks of St Joseph Abbey in Covington Louisiana

I am putting this on the Louisiana Catholic State Wide Update tommorrow but wanted to goiahead and give this it's separate post. This is a wonderful new Vocations Video from St. Joseph Abbey down in Covington , Louisiana.

Quiet, Dignity, and Grace who has the video and attended the School at the Abbey has some thoughts at What is monastic life? Watch this video!

It well done and it's good to the unique beauty of the Abbey also shine forth.

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Issues The Vocation of the Christian Business Leader ( Overview )

Well this is pretty exciting and it looks good. It is not up yet at the Vatican Web site but can be viewed here. It was just unveiled today but over at National Review they have overview. See In Praise of Business: A New ‘Note’ from Justice and Peace

The Episcopal Church - Mainline Church Friend To Israel

This is an interesting dynamic.

I suspect the difference is this. More Episcopalians that know and are friends with Progressive Liberal Jewish people that strong for Israel than Methodist or Presbyterians who know such folks.

That is cynical view. I am not an expert on the Episcopal Church USA 's Investment or Divestment policy. However there seem perhaps a different tone.

Still an interesting split on the religious left.

Pope Benedict 's Prayer Intentions For April 2012

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for April is: "That many young people may hear the call of Christ and follow Him in the priesthood and religious life".


His mission intention is: "That the risen Christ may be a sign of certain hope for the men and women of the African continent".

Should We Tweet The Addresses Of People Accused of Crimes And/ Or in Court Proceedings?

I generally think that is a bad idea. Though Roseanne Barr still it appears is not fully convinced.

What about accused Rapists? People that are accused of abusing Children?People accused of Ripping off a Charity?

Of course this is all very dangerous ,and irresponsible. What happens if someone gets hurt? Will the Twitter folks that RT take any sense of moral responsibility?

Of course when a person is arrested sometime the address appears in a paper. Generally that is a one time event , and the newspaper I don't think is urging folks to go confront them.

National Catholic Report Accepts Full Page Ad From Catholics for Choice

Somehow I am beyond being shocked as to NCR.

The Roman Catholic View of When Jesus Comes Again ( Plus Mormon and Seventh Day Adventist Art )

It is with some amusement that I see a Catholic article on the Second Coming use as art background the "Second Coming" by a Seventh Day Adventist artist Harry Anderson .

Though this was I believe a Church of Latter Day Saint's commission . The fact that this well know artist took on Latter Day Saint's commissions is interesting as he was devout Seventh Day Adventist. This PDF is quite interesting into what and what he would not do for the Mormon Church. I always find his work wonderful too look at . My Grandmother was a Seventh Day Adventist so I key in on his artwork when it comes around a great bit.

Anyway good post by Monsignor Pope. When Will Christ Come? Some Basics of Catholic Eschatology

Louisiana Catholic State Wide Update March 30, 2012

Again I am looking for more Louisiana Catholic social media to link so as always leave that in the comments.

Archdiocese of New Orleans-

Abitadeacon highlights the appearance of Cardinal Dolan on Fox the other night at Cardinal Dolan on Bill O'Reilly

Till April 11 by going to Lunch at Cafe Hope can get you free Hornets tickets

Louisiana and NOLA expat Da Mihi Animas has Prayer: A Pilgrimage through Difficult Wilderness , and
Catholicism: The Real Dark Night

Hosuton we have a problem. New head of Notre Dame Seminary in this hometown profile swears he will not become a Saints Football fan.

Diocese of Shreveport -

Truth and Charity has Spring Break! (from what?)

Diocese of Lafayette-

From the From The Recamier notes that yesterday was a date of significant note for the Knights of Columbus.

Baseball Players at a major Catholic School acting badly gets them suspended from Post Season play

Diocese of Baton Rouge-

The Brown Pelican Society has a ton of links up today. Here are a few. Via Dolorosa , Daily Reading & Meditation: Friday: (March 30) , and Conscience Concerns Could Prove Decisive in Health Care Ruling says Jesuit Priest and Scholar

From the Baton Rouge Catholic Newspaper - Message of hope found in the cross given at Lenten day of reflection

This is a interesting . Elements of a historic Syracuse church could find a home in Louisiana. As You can tell at the gallery link the windows are beautiful.

Diocese of Lake Charles -

Father has a post at Birthdays will never be the same

British Observer Looks At History of GOP and Catholics

A British observer of the American scene has Why the GOP is banking on Catholics A good piece and also gives us the forgotten tidbit that Nixon actually was one that started in an aggressive matter go after the Catholic vote.

As I posted a few days ago of course it's important to look at events in the late 60's and early 70's very closely. The departure of Evangelicals in areas of the country from the democrat party was at play too. The New Deal Coalition was fraying. See The CNN Article On How the GOP Got Catholic Is Incomplete . In that post this link tells a lot of the story.

Coca-Cola Advertising / Graffiti In New Orleans Makes Citizens Outraged ( Updated)

Update- Coke says they are being removed and they did not authorize this.

This is causing quite a stir from what I can tell , and I very much understand why. This seems like a bad idea. Nola Femmes has a post that seems like the typical reaction of many at Historic French Quarter and Faubourg Tremé defaced with graffiti advertising Coca-Cola products

The " Holy Dogs " of the Holy Land

Get Religion highlights a very interesting article about the "Holy Dogs" of Israel . See Dog days in the promised land.

Obama Could Lose both Catholic and Protestant Vote Badly and Still Win

From a Catholic or Protestant point of view these numbers are sort of concerning long term for reasons that go beyond the 2012 election.

Upside. If you are fan of Pope Benedict New Evangleization well there are plenty of people to evangelize

New Catholic Mass Translations Means We Praying More With Anglicans and Episcopalians

A much more happy note from my last post as to the Protestants. Some good news. Since the Catholic revision of the English Liturgy we Catholics and Episcopalians / Anglicans are PRAYING more and more together. Something I was not aware of till now. Liturgy has a post on this at collects in common .

Perhaps Prayer will be the answer to the troublesome things I posted about today.

Will The Mainline Protestant Churches Become the New Anti Catholics

MCJ has an interesting post at CIRCUMLOCUTION BLUES which deals with the Episcopal Bishop of New York remarks on religious freedom.

Underneath all theHHS Birth Control mandate controversy we are seeing signs of a more and more antagonistic relationship between the Catholic Church and the some of the mainline Churches.

The Bishop of New York said:

Analogously, when a religious community engages the general public, an extraordinarily delicate balancing act is required. The exercise of government power needs to be wielded with great care so as to avoid muffling the freedom of religious speech. At the same time the religious community itself must guard against seeking a privileged place either in the court of public debate or with regard to its activities in the world.

What is not mentioned in all that is the Episcopal Church , along with the involvement of two other major mainline bodies, pretty much lobbied!! for this change and if fact do not think it will far enough.

The question becomes what is next. In the old days things like the Papacy, "Mary Worship" , and Catholic views on salvation were the evils.

The new evils that cry out to Heaven to be corrected will be such things as the right to "blessings of abortion" , ,and social evils that teach various sexual arrangements are not on equal par with heterosexual arrangements.

I contend that these will largely overwhelm any shared position we have on other social issues such as poverty issues or the poor. In fact we see that now as to Catholic Charities and requirement that might be forced upon it.

Further the theological "errors" of Catholicism will no doubt be highlighted. The Church shall be the new "Fundamentalists" . Fundamentalists whose reading of scripture plays a part in the oppression of part of God's people. Especially as to people of certain genders and sexual preferences. Make no doubt many view these as social sins crying to Heaven for vengeance. Accommodation is out and error that must be proscribed is in.

The media has not realized this seismic shift in developments , but as the years pass it will become more apparent. The actions as to the HHS mandate though represent a important development.

Now not all mainline Churches are at the same position on this Path. I would submit the Episcopal Church is further along than the Presbyterians. Whom both are a tad further along than the Methodists.

But soon more not so diplomatic ranks of the clergy about this matters will replace in greater number the Bishops and other leaders. In the mean time on blogs, in the academy, in publications the "evils" of Catholicism will be discussed more and more.

The HHS Mandate and other battles we have had just gives us a preview of coming attractions.

Update- On a more postive note see New Catholic Mass Translations Means We Praying More With Anglicans and Episcopalians

Jimmy Carter Wants Anti Abortion Plank At 2012 Democratic Convention

Jimmy Carter has been in the news a good bit lately talking about his Biblical views. However this is quite a shocker. See Jimmy Carter: Democratic Party Should Be More Pro-Life . ( there is also a vid)

At the end he has this bombshell

"I’ve signed a public letter calling for the Democratic Party at the next convention to espouse my position on abortion which is to minimize the need, requirement for abortion and limit it only to women whose life are in danger or who are pregnant as a result of rape or incest. I think if the Democratic Party would adopt that policy that would be acceptable to a lot of people who are now estranged from our party because of the abortion issue," he added.

I wonder how hard he will lobby for that. Of course it has no chance of passing , but it would interesting and good to see it pushed.

However this does seems a tad late ( better late than ever though).

It certainly would have been helpful in 1984 when Louisiana Congresswoman Lindy Boggs was being considered for VP by Walter Mondale:

In 1976, Boggs became the first woman to preside over a national political convention when she chaired the Democratic National Convention that nominated James Earl “Jimmy” Carter for the presidency. In 1984, when Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale sought a vice presidential running mate, his party encouraged him to select a woman.13 Boggs’s name was added to a high-profile list of current, former, and future Members of Congress, including Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, future Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, Representative Pat Schroeder of Colorado, and former Representative Martha Griffiths of Michigan. Mondale eventually picked Boggs’s House colleague, rising Democratic star Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York. Observers believed that the choice of Ferraro had as much to do with her pro-abortion position (in contrast with Boggs), as it did her potential for delivering a larger electoral college state.14 “[The party’s] confidence was pleasing, but I knew that my age and my feelings regarding abortion…would preclude any serious consideration of me,” Boggs later recalled. “I stayed within the mainstream of the consideration and talked to various groups, never about myself but always about the fact that a woman could be President or Vice President. I wanted people to remain interested in the possibility.”15 The possibility passed in 1984, however, when the Mondale–Ferraro ticket was handily defeated by the Ronald Reagan–George H.W. Bush team in November.

It would have been been great to hear this booming voice at the 1992 convention:

The outline is bad enough.

The governor who had won his state in 1990 by an astounding 66 percent of the vote was forbidden by his own party leadership from addressing the convention because of his pro-life views.

The rebuke is infamous among Catholics. Bill Galston noticed as much while discussing religion and the Democratic Party: "I cannot manage to find a Catholic intellectual who will not in conversation refer to what happened to Bob Casey at the 1992 Democratic convention."

But the details of the Casey insult are agonizing to read.Casey described the rejection letter the DNC sent in response to his request for floor time as "the kind of letter they might have sent Lyndon LaRouche, had he asked to address the convention." One of the guests on the convention platform was Kathy Taylor, a Republican pro-choice activist who had campaigned for Casey's opponent in the gubernatorial race. The governor described his place at the convention:

And so from my seat in the outer reaches of the Garden, I watched a pro-choice Republican supporter of my pro-choice Republican opponent, whom I had defeated by a million votes to be re-elected as Democratic governor, proudly proclaiming her allegiance to the pro-choice forces.

In his latest book Mark Stricherz provides the exemplar of Casey's humiliation. "On the convention floor was Karen Ritter, a state Democratic legislator, selling large buttons with pictures of Casey dressed up as the Pope."How did the Democrats, who were once denounced for being the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion," reach a point where an activist on the convention floor could confidently, if unconsciously, echo the propaganda of the Know-nothings and the Klan?

It does seem sadly we have even moved to an era where the Democratic talking point of "safe legal and rare" is heard less and less. In fact one major Episcopal Church figure mirrors the emerging political thought of many democrat activist. That is abortion is an blessing.

It's interesting though too see how times have changed , and perhaps Carter is not aware of it. From the interview:
"I never have believed that Jesus Christ would approve of abortions and that was one of the problems I had when I was president having to uphold Roe v. Wade and I did everything I could to minimize the need for abortions.

Rick Santorum talks like that and there are calls that he wants to impose a THEOCRACY. Jimmy Carter because of position in the Democrat party of course will not be called a theocrat , or a danger to the republic like by these folks. That would be considered rude. Still it does give us a view of how times have changed.

However if Jimmy Carter is serious about this I wish him all the luck in the world.

UPDATE-
Appears The Organization Catholic Democrats opposes Jimmy Carter. So those delegates are sadly out of the picture.

There is a " Buzz " About Holy Saturday This Year - Bees and New English Mass Translation

This is so cool - Of Bees, the Exsultet, a Paschal Candle (and Pius XII)

Huge Influence of Legal Blog On Supreme Court Justices and Obamacare

I have read and linked for years the legal blog Volokh Conspiracy . There was a nice write up at the Atlantic after the Supreme Court 's oral arguments on Obamacare how much this influence this blog had , and how the influence of legal blogs might be increasing. See the response of Volokh guys here at Crediting/Blaming the VC for the Possible Defeat of the Individual Mandate

Louisiana Statewide Catholic Update for March 29 2012 (Updated)

Archdiocese of New Orleans

Starting off with not so happy news. Abp. Chapelle High School teacher arrested for sexual behavior with a student. The New Orleans Picayune has an article up on this . The student was of the age of consent and thus the misdemeanor charge. There are a lot comments at the Picayune article and in them you can see some defenders of the teacher.

Also from the Picayune Parents critical of preliminary plan by Archdiocese of New Orleans to raise tuition

The Jesuits of the New Orleans Province has their Spring edition magazine out. There is some New Orleans news in it. Including a good article Table of Plenty New Orleans Restaurant with Jesuit Roots Inspires Souls and Food on page 20

Updated- As to the School issue above Townhall Meetings tonight in New Orleans and Metairie

Also appears St. Joseph Abbey is hosting a "Come and See" Retreat this weekend for men interested in learning more about priesthood and religious life.

St Joesph Abbey also has an article up on the Huge Abbey Fest with a ton of photos. They Abbey and Seminary also has a article up with photos at ARIZONA MISSION TRIP 2012

Diocese of Shreveport -

Truth and Charity has The 5 Rules of Fame , The Human Brokenness Found Within ‘October Baby’ ,and Fr. Barron on Palm Sunday

Diocese of Lake Charles-

A Priest Life has Waiting for the parousia which we learn is much like waiting for the Cable guy.

Also in the Diocese of Lake Charles a Day of Prayer and Fasting on Friday, March 30 for victims of sex abuse in the Church.

Diocese of Lafayette-

This an article on the Campaign and appeal fora treasured resource in Grand Couteau. See Renewing a Sacred Place Saint Charles College. There is a video too.

At the ULL Catholic Student center there will be CATHOLIC HISTORY SEMINAR on Dante’s Purgatory April 3.

From The Recamier has a review of Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25¢ At A Time by Jane Knuth

Diocese of Baton Rouge -

In news relating to a Church I would attend on occasion. See Families connect with poor in Gardere area by bringing sack lunches

Brown Pelican Society of Louisiana has a lot of posst up today of a religious and political nature. . Just a few that caught my eye. See Timothy Cardinal Dolan Enters the ‘No Spin Zone’ , The Cross is Not A Roadblock , and Daily Reading & Meditation: Thursday: (March 29)

Pope Benedict In Cuba Day 3 ( Links)

LONG LONG DAY, Not much blogging , but I was able to catch the Pope's excellent Homily to end his Cuba trip.

Here are some links:

The picture above is part of the big newsday for the Holy See , and Latin American. Whispers notes that was the shot of the day.

Whispers also has the full text of the Pope Homily that was closely watched for obvious reasons. See "Cuba Needs Change": The Pope's Island Farewell

Vatican Radio has the Full text of the Pope's Farewell address at Havana Airport which was of some length.

The Catholic News Agency had quite a charming story last night. SO HOPE I can find some pictures. See Benedict XVI meets his 'spiritual Godmother' in Santiago de Cuba . Also at their site see Pope asks Raúl Castro to declare Good Friday a Cuban holiday , and Spokesman reveals Pope discussed Cuban dissidents with Castro.

There is a big side story beside the Pope. That is the limited amount of Cuban American Catholics allowed to come for the trip many exiles. Here is just one taste of that in Cuban-American in emotional return to family home

I hope this is not as bad as it seems “As soon as the Pope leaves, we are going to disappear you all.” See A Helluva Text Message

I will try to have huge wrap up tommorow.

Louisiana Catholic Update For March 28, 2012

When I started this blog I had a Daily Louisiana Catholic update. I have decided to bring that back . I enjoyed doing it ,and since I have a faster internet connection it's not such a hassle to do every ( or every other day) .

Also I am always interested in Louisiana Catholics doing social media so let me know of any in the comments.

In a important matter that is important for all Catholics in Louisiana- House approves Gov. Bobby Jindal's proposal rewarding donations for private-school tuition

Archdiocese of New Orleans-

The Clarion Herald has a great article on the new head of the Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. I think the Archdiocese of New Orleans and indeed many of the Dioceses that this Seminary serves are going to be well pleased. See Notre Dame rector to start July 1 .

They also have a great article on how a Mandeville Parish has teamed up with a Haiti Parish. See Twinning plan for Northshore, Haiti parishes a success.

Finally the Clarion Herald talks about how New evangelization starts with a warm welcome. The occasion was Ralph Martin speaking to the Southern Regional Conference of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal on March 24.

Abita Deacon has Today's highlight from the Pope's full day in Cuba

Catholic Charities of Nola tells you how you can easily get Free tickets to the Hornet's game by just dining at Cafe Hope .

Father Kenneth Allen has a cool picture and thoughts at Charity Hospital

Quiet, Dignity, and Grace has Where There is Love, There is God: A Book Review

Domine, da mihi hanc aquam! has Sisters supporting our bishops. . .

Diocese of Shreveport -

Truth and charity has God’s Gift of Girlfriends , 7 Connections Between the Womb and the Tomb , Reverse Usury( I might highlight this again) , Catholic Persecution: Nothing New , and Religious Freedom Rally

Diocese of Lake Charles -

Father Jeff at a Priest's Life has two good post from recent days. See The joy of Christ within , and Being present

Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks has an interesting observation on British Royalty.

Diocese of Baton Rouge -

This is the Statement of Bishop Muench regarding the HHS Mandate that the Bishop gave to the Religious Liberty Rally last friday.

Father Brent Maher last Friday at A Soul Seeking to be Known had this post Face-Melting Quote of the Day

Father Paul Gros has An Opinion: Moral conscience and church teaching at core of discussion in the Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Newspaper.

Also see Catholic Charities and St. Joseph Cathedral Way of the Cross set for Good Friday

Brown Pelican Society of Louisiana has so many article each day I can't link them all. But a couple that caught my eye Human Nature: The Question behind the Culture Wars and Controlling Language in the “Contraceptive” Debate
Diocese of Alexandria -

Dr. Brant Pitre to speak in Bunkie about Jewish Roots of Eucharist April 20-21 at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church

Diocese of Lafayette -

This is quite something and I will highlight several times. See Funeral Arrangements to bury the unclaimed on April 28th at Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist . That is 87 people!!

Coming up April 2 nd Monthly “Holy Hour for Vocations and the Spiritual Renewal of Priests” at St. Patrick Church, 406 E. Pinhook Road, Lafayette

Anyway not a bad start to the revival of the Daily Louisiana Catholic update

The Ten Major Highlight of The Big Day of Supreme Court Obama Care Oral Argument

Been fun reading all the oral arguments. Ann Althouse has the 10 big highlights.

Catholic Legal Reaction To Opinion In ACLU v. Sebelius ( Grant To Catholic Chruch to Combat Human Trafficking )

Some news was made Friday by a District Judge in Massachusetts in a case.

This is sort of a significant case because the Church will have to deal with a appeal. On the flip side I feel good that a good bit of that reasoning the Judge used will not survive an appeal.

Prof Richard Garnett has Wack-a-Doddle-ry in ACLU v. Sebelius , and the Center for Law and Religion at St. John's University School of Law Forum we have Awarding Government Contracts to Catholic Organizations Violates the Establishment Clause

Render Unto Mao The Things That Are Mao's - The Catholic Church Today In China

This looks like a interesting paper written by Fr. Araujo. He has as you can see quite the legal background too. Mirrors of Justice has the link to it at Fr. Araujo on China and religious freedom: "Render Unto Mao"

Pope Benedict In Cuba Day 2 ( Links)

If you had not had a chance to read the Pope's excellent Homily from last night's mas go here to my post Pope Benedict 's Trip To Cuba - Day 1 Links

So it's day two of Papa in Cuba. The Public agenda has just one event That is Visit to the Shrine of the "Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre" Full Text of that short address can be seen here.

That does not mean it will not be a busy day behind the scenes of course. One meeting will be with the Cuban leadership. Including Castro himself.

Some pictures of the Cuban Papal Visit are here .More here.

Also see Top Cuban official rules out political change following Pope Benedict's appeal for 'renewal'

Good Piece here - Has the Church Gone Soft on Communism?

The Miami Herald has a good article here Pope visits shrine of Our Lady of Charity

Also see from the Herald - Few South Florida journalists given OK to cover papal visit from Cuba

More later as it develops.

To Protect Church Autonomy Vanderbilt Catholic Will Not Register With University

Well this insane state of affairs at Vandy has now reached this consequence. Vanderbilt Catholic perhaps had no choice here.

See

Vanderbilt Catholic Will Not Comply with Vanderbilt University’s Mandate

Dear Vandy+Catholic Members

Letter was sent to alumni, parents and friends of Vanderbilt Catholic

I suspect they will not be the only one. The question will be will we see this at sad state of affairs at more private universities. I suspect we will.

For background on this see my post and links at Vanderbilt Catholics Unites For Religious Freedom and Association On Campus Today ( Wearing White Nationwide ) , Tocqueville and The Religious Liberty Crisis At Vanderbilt University , and Vanderbilt University 's Right To Discriminate Against The Catholic Church On Campus

Should the Church and Faith Communities Stand Down A Little on The George Zimmerman / Trayvon Martin Case

I noticed several things in the social media the last few days especially on the Twitter that goes like this "Why is the Catholic Church Protesting Birth Control and not giving Sermons on the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case."

Let me submit that is perhaps one sign that leaders of Faith Communities at this stage might stand back and observe for a while.

I am not talking about the Al Sharpton's of the world who will do what they do, but everyone else.

I thought Outside the Beltway had a good post on this that was balanced. He did not address the Faith Community issue but I think the observations are apt to it. See George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin, And Rushing To Judgment

He says in part :
For nearly a month, of course, the legal system wasn’t working for Trayvon Martin’s parents, which is why sometimes it is necessary to raise a protest in order to get action to be taken. But, we’re at the point now where action is being taken. The Justice Department is investigating, there’s a Grand Jury being convened. And until there’s a trial and a jury reaches a verdict, George Zimmerman is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Shouldn’t we all just back off on judging the guilt or innocence of George Zimmerman based on incomplete evidence and let the system do its job?

I largely agree with that. We are also in a situation where people that just happened to be around , the witnesses, are on the edge of having their lives exposed in a very public way.

There is some evidence of Witness accounts that seem to give credence to Zimmerman's side here. Other witness's may not. There is just a lot we don't know. But that being said we need the system to work here . Reading Revolution 21 post yesterday as to this makes me think some calm and perspective needs to be restored.

There has been a lot of talk the past months about Separation of Church and State.

That is the proper role of the Church commenting and influencing the public square. Strangely this discussion never seems to be brought up when dealing with criminal matters like this. In fact if history is a guide the Church has been a force of good here , and well not such a good thing.

To be clear I think the "Church" has a proper role in shining light on this incident. In fact I think legally it can go out ,and urge the arrest of George Zimmerman if they wish.

However Faith Leaders concerned about justice in our system should also be aware of the awesome power they have to influence here. I have to admit I have a tad discomfort in seeing religious fevor being used in what seems like a presumption of guilt before the investigation is complete.

It is not a popular stand. I also realize that I have a tendency at a certain state in criminal cases to play the role of Defense Lawyer. That is before you take the serious step of charging a crime do it right. Make sure the "I" 's are dotted and the "T" 's are crossed. At the very least get probable cause.

Great News - Another Catholic Canon Lawyer On the Internet

Pretty exciting news. We have a new English lanquage Catholic Canon Law Lawyer Blog!! Canon Lawyer Ed Peters at In the Light of the Law informs us of Fr. Stuart MacDonald, JCL at Musings of a Canonist .

Canon Law is often talked about by Lay Catholic, non Catholics, and the media. Sadly I get the impresson most don't know what they are talking about.

This ignorance is also not helped there is a surprising lack of both Canon lawyers and online commetary ( in English ) at least as to Canon Law on the net. Ed Peters gave his thoughts on that here at Why there isn’t more on-line canonical commentary.

So it's great too see someone new on the net in the ANGLO speaking net world as to this topic

LSU 's Coach Les Miles Makes New Orleans Catholic School Principal 's Day After Arson at His School

An update and a nice story that shows how the community is getting behind Resurrection of Our Lord School in New Orleans East after the arson. See Go ahead, Les, make my day!

Archdiocese of Philadelphia Sex Abuse Trial - Day 1

Well this will not be pleasant so say the least. Rocco Palmo has In Philadelphia, The Hour of Trial

Conservative Southern Baptist Theologian Says Don't Boycott Starbucks

Confession- I don't really do boycotts that well . I also lose interest in them because Christians unlike liberals never seem to succeed at them very well . We don't have a Starbucks in the small town I live in so appears this "cup" will not have the opportunity to even get close to my lips.


Respected Southern Baptist Theologian Russell Moore has a post up that has generated a lot of discussion in his comment section. See Should Christians Boycott Starbucks? which deal with the companies support of gay marriage and such.

He brings up good points. But so do those in the comment section that disagree with him on some points he makes. Anyway a interesting post and comments too for the late evening

Non Catholic Non Christian Female Journalism Student Awed By Seminarians At Pontifical North American College In Rome

Students at the Pontifical North American College in Rome pray during Sunday Mass. Photo by Anam Siddiq.

This is a rather nice article to read on days when you just hear about the struggles of the Church. See My application to seminary school

Pope Benedict 's Trip To Cuba - Day 1 Links

Should have more time to cover this better than the Mexico part.

Here is the Public Schedule for Pope Benedict in Cuba

As the Pope finished up speaking Vatican Radio released Full Text: Pope's speech at arrival ceremony in Cuba ( according to reporter Kevin Hall ( @KEVINGHALL )National Economics Correspondent-McClatchy twitter remarks " Small but important change from prepared papal remarks, Benedict adds the word liberty in what he prays for guidance on Cuba"

THe NYT has their First article up after the Pope Landed that gives some overview - Raúl Castro Greets Pope Benedict at Start of Closely Watched Visit

The text of the remarks of President Raúl Castro at opening welcome at up.

The Pope tonight had the Feast of the Annunciation Mass in Cuba tonight which also commemorated the 400 year anniversary of the discovery of the image of the “Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre”. The Mass was quite beautiful. The Pope's Homily is a good read as it hits on Mary, the central fact of the Incarnation, obedience of Faith, family, and Mary as Model of the Church.

Full English Text at via Salt and Light - B16 Homily in Cuba: The obedience of faith is true liberty, authentic redemption.

Jimmy Carter Compared John Paul II to Ayatollah Khomeini ( Tense 1978 Pope/ Carter 1978 Meeting ? )

OH JIMMY CARTER. American Catholic has the links at Jimmy Carter, Ex-President and Anti-Catholic Bigot, Attacks Pope John Paul II

John Paul II is like the Ayatollah Khomeini ? And also what in the blue blazes is Jimmy Carter doing as President at the time talking issues of the Sacrament of Holy Orders to the Pope as it relates to women. What kind of shocking about this and the liberation theology discussion was this was 1978 !!

Vatican Approves New Texts for ‘Blessing of a Child in the Womb’

No link here to the actual Blessing , but this seems a good development. See Vatican Approves English and Spanish Texts for ‘Blessing of a Child in the Womb’

Understanding Various Same Sex Unions Scriptural and Theological Camps ( Part 1 )

William Witt has produced a wonder post at The Hermeneutics of Same-Sex Practice: A Summary and Evaluation. I think it is a good thing to print out. There is also a PDF link.

The argument for same sex marriage, Same sex unions, and related matters does not operate in isolation from other teachings of the Church. It does not operate in isolation from how we engage scripture. I have always said HOW ONE GETS there is just as important as the underlying issue. If these hermeneutics are accepted as to same sex unions what else will be affected?

Therefore I think when engaging a person on this issue it's important to realize what viewpoint or "camp" they are in as to how they advance their argument. Mr Witt article here is rather long. SO I am dividing up hitting some bullet points he made today as to the "camps" . I will do another post on how he using Scripture, The Church Fathers, and others combats these claims.

This article is from an Anglican viewpoint , but most can applied to Catholic circles. I have made some comments in blue below .

The Camps:

Selectivism Camp -
-most prevalent position

-recognizes that Scripture condemns same-sex sexual activity , but that Scripture is wrong
-Subcamps in selectivism range from straightforward in their rejection of what Scripture teaches to a more nunaced stand.

- As to Radical Selectivism we see Michael Hopkins, former President of Integrity (a gay rights advocacy group in The Episcopal Church), stated: “The Bible and the Church have both been wrong. The Holy Spirit is teaching this to us.

-In the back ground is Feminist Theology. Advocates say that one must approach Scripture with a ‟hermeneutic of suspicion.”

-“[t]he Church has authority to set aside or ignore its own decisions, even when these decisions are recorded in Scripture, and based upon other Scriptures to which divine mandate is attached. It does this by deciding that the divine mandate was temporary, allowing the law to lapse through disuse, or by interpreting the law in a new light.”


-On the other hand nuanced Selectivism is distinguished by a more restrained rhetoric rather than a difference of methodological approach.

-Moderate Selectivism suggests that the Bible should be seen as a “foundational document” or a “religious classic” rather than a normative authority. The Bible sets the basic agenda for Christianity because of its relation to Christian origins. It asks the basic questions, and should be respected as a “serious statement” about what it means to be Christian. Nonetheless, the contemporary Christian may well find him- or herself in disagreement with biblical texts.

-It is acknowledged that certain biblical materials are accepted as authoritative and others are not because they “fit the experience” of the one doing the selecting.

-Selectivist has two step approach

(1) an identification of elements in the biblical text that can no longer be considered authoritative ( looking at cultural background and social values of the time during which it was written .

(2) countervailing positive themes that compensate for these undesirable limitations found in Scripture, and it is these themes that provide the legitimation for the Church’s approval of same-sex activity. Often this is the liberation from oppressive structures as being an important part of the biblical message.

-differences among Selectivists both as to what needs to be dispensed with in Scripture, and also as to which parts of the biblical message still have contemporary relevance

(1) Bishop Spong approach- writes that the heart of the Bible.... comes down to us wrapped in two thousand years of cultural baggage. To recover this experience for ourselves, we must get past the cultural baggage. Once we get past the baggage, we find an experience of love and self-acceptance—the courage to be one’s true self.

(2) A more sociological Selectivism suggests that there is a contrast between two ethics in the Bible, a holiness/purity ethic and a compassion/love ethic. Jesus rejected this purity ethic to advocate an ethic of love and compassion. Proscriptions against homosexual activity are part of a purity ethic, and have been superseded by this ethic of love.

Revisionist Camp -

- tries to revise the traditional interpretation of Scripture concerning homosexual activity

- What was condemned by the writers of Scripture was either exploitative same-sex activity, pederasty, or cult prostitution.

-two contradictory arguments appear

(1) biblical writers knew nothing about long-term committed same-sex relationships, and so could not have condemned them. Biblical writers were aware were the ritual homosexual prostitution characteristic of biblical Israel’s Canaanite contemporaries or the exploitative pederastic practices of pagan Hellenism.

(2) Conversely,biblical writers did know about long-term committed same-sex relationships, and did not condemn them. For example, Naomi and Ruth. Jonathan and David, Jesus and the disciple.

-A variation on this argument tries to split the difference between these two claims about the biblical writers’ knowledge of homosexuality

-Revisionist hermeneutic emphasizes that only a handful of biblical texts speak negatively about same-sex activity, and claims that even these have been misunderstood. The proscriptions in Leviticus 18:22, 20:13 condemn not committed loving same-sex activity, but perhaps homosexual cultic prostitution.

-Both the Selectivist and Revisionist approaches have serious problems

(1) first approach is politically untenable, and the second exegetically so. No church that hopes to keep the average worshiper in the pew can do so by embracing the arguments either that the Bible is a document of oppression or that it cannot be trusted in its moral assertions.

(2) The second approach fails as well because the vast majority of biblical scholars, both historically and recently, concede that the plain-sense reading of the biblical texts prohibits homosexual activity, and that Scripture endorses only one permissible model for sexual activity: exclusive life-long commitment within heterosexual marriage.

Which leads us a third and newer Camp

Ecclesial Dispensation-

-the Scriptures prohibit same-sex activity, nonetheless, the Church is free not to be bound by these proscriptions in the same way that it has recognized that it is not bound by other prohibitions in the Bible .

-Most superficial example is the “shellfish” argument . Bible prohibits the eating of shellfish or the wearing of mixed-weave fabrics, or some other prohibition usually found somewhere in the Mosaic law. Yet we all eat shellfish and wear mixed-blend clothing. Prohibition of homosexual activity, it is implied, falls into the same category as prohibition of eating seafood or wearing wool-polyester blends.

-A more sophisticated version of this third approach can be found in the New York Episcopal Diocese’s “Let the Reader Understand,”.appeal to the Biblical precedent found in Jesus’ setting aside the dietary laws of the Old Testament, and in the New Testament church’s decision to admit Gentiles into fellowship.

-conclusion drawn by the document is that the Church has the authority to set aside either positive biblical commandments or negative prohibitions that it considers no longer binding. In the document’s own words: “[I]t is insufficient simply to condemn those things that are condemned somewhere in Scripture, or to approve those things that are somewhere approved . . . [T]he Church has come to oppose or forbid acts mandated or tolerated in Scripture, and to allow acts or behaviors forbidden there.

the local (national) church that has the right to make these decisions about which biblical prohibitions are binding or may be set aside, claiming for a local church the authority to set aside the moral teaching of the universal Church, and the Scriptures.

-This hermeneutic creates a fundamental confusion by its ambiguous use of the word “Church.” Is it :

(1) Is the “Church” the apostolic church that wrote the Scriptures, the church of the second century that recognized the canon of Scripture along with the Rule of Faith, the historic episcopate, and the sacraments as marks of identity that distinguished Catholic Christians from gnostic heretics, the church of the ecumenical councils that drew up the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian formulation.....

or

(2) twenty-first century American Episcopal Church as a denomination? ( this argument of "Local Options "also comes up among some Catholics and other Protestants).

- If the “Church” is the church that understood Jesus to have set aside the dietary portions of the Old Testament law, then the “Church” must refer to the church of the apostles, since the reference is to Mark’s gospel (Mark 7:19).

- In the conclusion, however, “Church” clearly means the Episcopal Church as a local denomination. This last use is particularly idiosyncratic. In what sense can a small American denomination of less than 2 million members, and less than a million regular communicants, think of itself as “the Church”? Even as the “national church” in a country with numerous denominations that far outnumber the Episcopal Church in size? Why would the Episcopal Church be the “national church” and not the Roman Catholics or the Southern Baptists? ( Again we could perhaps see this dynamic in Catholic circles developing ) .

-The failure to distinguish between the apostolic church and the post-apostolic church is a genuine concern here.

-In the very act of acknowledging a canon, the second-century church placed itself under the Rule (canon) of the apostolic witness. The bishops (who recognized the canon) are successors to the apostles, but they are not themselves apostles. In recognizing the canon of Scripture, the Church “interprets” Scripture by submitting to its authority. It does not place itself over Scripture, or decide which portions of Scripture it will consider authoritative.

-the “Church” that discerned in Jesus’ statement recorded in Mk 7:19 that the dietary laws of the OT were no longer binding was the apostolic church that wrote the canonical Scriptures, not the post-apostolic church that received the canon.

-LTR’s approach makes a fundamental error in failing to distinguish between the apostolic and post-apostolic church, between the church that created the canon of Scripture, and the church that receives the canon of Scripture.

-hermeneutic fails to distinguish properly between the Catholic (or universal Church) and the local or national church, and in so doing, contradicts basic principles of Anglican theology. ( Again Double Ditto for Catholic )

-cannot help but wonder where this principle could lead. Would the local church be free to set aside doctrinal principles as well, for example, the Nicene affirmation that the Son is homoousios with the Father? Could a national church decide to add contemporary materials to the canon? Or omit material from the canon that did not conform to contemporary sensibilities?

Non-biblical Arguments Camps -

-Rather than addressing the biblical prohibitions, or reinterpreting them, these approaches base their case on some theological principle or argument arrived at completely independently of what the Bible actually says about the morality of sexuality, whether heterosexual or homosexual

- “ Enthusiast.” subcamp . The claim here is that God is doing a new thing in the Church. The Holy Spirit is leading the Church into a new understanding of what it means to be the Church. It is claimed that the inclusion of practicing homosexuals in the Church is parallel to Gentile inclusion in the early church in which at first only Jews had been members. ( In application this seems to be tied in often with the Ecclesial Dispensation discussed above often )

- Parallel to the above argument is an appeal to” inclusivity.” It is suggested that for the Church to forbid same-sex sexual activity is to deny the baptismal rights of homosexuals.

-appeal is often rooted in the rhetoric of civil rights, coupled with it is a characterization of the disagreement over church approval of same-sex sexual activity as a primarily political issue

-Denial of sexual diversity is the same kind of irrational prejudice that lies behind xenophobia or racism—an example of uncharitable intolerance.

-Implicit in the notion of same-sex orientation is what is sometimes called the “Politics of Identity.” People are said to derive their sense of worth and their moral standing from the groups with which they primarily identify—groupings of class, race, sex (male or female). Thus only those who know themselves to be homosexual can make moral judgments about the morality of same-sex activity.

-Those of homosexual orientation do not choose to be that way, and it is cruel and unjust to demand that they embrace celibacy as the only alternative to engaging in same-sex activity. The implicit assumption here is that all people have an inherent right to sexual fulfillment.

(Part II of this post on evaluating the claims of these camps and responses later )

Will Wisconsin Republicans Busy With Defending Governor From Recall Hurt Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum's victory in Louisiana was impressive. He carried all Parishes besides New Orleans. Also in most Parishes his victory was considerable. I was expecting him to win ,but not by that fashion.

Now we are too Wisconsin that has a slightly different voter make up that Wisconsin perhaps. This is a huge test for Rick Santorum.

The problem for both Santorum , Newt and Romney is Republican volunteers are sort of busy right now defending their Governor against a Democratic recall.

Ann Alhouse has "Reince, I hate to burst your bubble, but nobody in Wisconsin is talking about the presidential primary."

One has to think this might affect Rick Santorum and Newt more and in fact could be critical. Santorum really depends on the enthusiasm of his flock to to GOTV and compete against Romney money and ads. So it will be interesting to see how they counter this problem.

Episcopal Diocese Wants Church To Give Communion to the Unbaptized

It is pretty amazing to think of the logic of this. See GARAGE SALE.
It certainly does not seem validated by Scripture. It surely is not validated by the Tradition or the Church Fathers

"But let no one eat or drink of this Eucharistic thanksgiving, but they that have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord hath said: 'Give not that which is holy to the dogs.'" - Didache, 9, 10-12 (AD 60)"

And this food is called among us the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh." - St. Justin Martyr, First Apology, 66 (AD 150)"

And when a certain one, who himself was defiled, dared with the rest to receive secretly a part of the sacrifice celebrated by the priest; he could not eat nor handle the holy of the Lord, but found in his hands when opened that he had a cinder. Thus by the experience of one it was shown that the Lord withdraws when He is denied; nor does that which is received benefit the undeserving for salvation, since saving grace is changed by the departure of the sanctity into a cinder." - St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lapsed, 26 (AD 254)"

His poverty enriches, the fringe of His garment heals, His hunger satisfies, His death gives life, His burial gives resurrection. Therefore, He is a rich treasure, for His bread is rich. And 'rich' is apt for one who has eaten this bread will be unable to feel hunger. He gave it to the Apostles to distribute to a believing people, and today He gives it to us, for He, as a priest, daily consecrates it with His own words. Therefore, this bread has become the food of the saints." - St. Ambrose of Milan, On the Patriarchs, 9, 38 (AD 390)

In fact the Church Fathers show us repeatably in many places that even those entering the Church could not be present the Eucharistic Sacrifice at times. We actually pay tribute to this during Lent when RCIA folks leave the Mass after the Liturgy of the word.

GOP Woman Vote Keeping Rick Santorum In Race

A interesting fact one is not likely too see in a headline.

I expect we shall see this in spades tonight in Louisiana.

In France You Can Marry A Dead Person

Strange.

Pope Benedict Trip To Mexico ( Links )

Appears the media ( oh he is not John Paul II so people are not excited ) meme is wrong again. I am reading up to 700,000 people showed up just to see the arrival of the Successor of Peter AKA Pope Benedict.

Here are some links for arrival yesterday and events today. This shall be updated

Full Text: Pope Benedict XVI's remarks on arrival in Mexico

Vatican Radio has some good articles up:

Rapturous welcome for Pope Benedict in Mexico

Lombardi: Hope is at heart of Pope’s mission to Mexico

Pope represents experience of the love of God

There is some interesting background on where the Pope is at today. See Guanajuato: A spiritual heartland

The wonderful Vatican reporter John Allen has a good overview of the Mexico Cuba trip. See

The pope in Mexico and Cuba

For whatever reason the official Vatican page for the trip seems painfully slow getting English translations out. Till then on this page is the there is a translation of the Q&A from the rough transcript published by the Italian service of Vatican Radio with the Papal Press Conference on the plane trip over.

From the press we have Pope's arrival in Mexico sparks surprising emotion ( I am not surprised )

Update-
I got hung up this weekend on some natters so sorry for the lack of updates. I will be able to do better on the Cuba Phase of the visit which starts tody.

There were not a huge number of events in public. But here are links to the Papal Text

Ther will be a new post fo the Cuba phase. Pope Benedict shoud be arriving there about 1 : 30 pm Central Standard time.

The CNN Article On How the GOP Got Catholic Is Incomplete

CNN has a article up called How GOP got Catholicized . I think it's slightly flawed and leaves crucial things out.

First the real story line could be how did the GOP get Catholicized AND BORN AGAIN. Catholic and Evangelicals have often been brothers in status and economics for decades. They were part of that NEW DEAL Coalition.

It is often called Gospel that the tensions of race tensions played the major role in the South going GOP. I beg to differ. After the real tensions of desegregation where were we at in Louisiana on the eve of the year I became able to vote. That being 1987. Well the Congressional Delegation was in pretty darn good shape for the Democrats . Both U.S. Senators were Democrats . There were 3 Republicans and the rest of Democrats.

Today Louisiana has one Democrat in the House. When popular Blue Dog Congressman Democrat Rodney Alexander became a Republican because the Nancy Pelosi was putting impossible demands on him the revolution was complete.

What happened can be found in a pretty much incredible coup against the New Deal Coalition at the Democratic Party Convention. One of those Catholics Bosses that was dethroned was Louisiana's own Hale Boggs for all practical purposes. For a run down on this see Why the Democrats Are Blue - A Conversation with Mark Stricherz . That link is required reading for everything I am saying here.

It should be recalled how socially liberal Republican was at this time. Nixon gave an award to the guy that made the birth control pill. The Rockerfeller Branch were sitting on boards of Planned parenthood and many were very pro choice. It's no accident that a lot of former Republican First Ladies differ from their husbands on abortion. When the social conservative Democrats and the more Hawkish Democrats were thrown overboard the GOP was there waiting to be taken over.

When the unthinkable happened , and Governor Casey got vetoed from the speaking at the 1992 Democratic Convention it was clear that the Blue Dog Democrats with pro life views was now a functional zoo exhibit which people could look at as something exotic .

It's my belief that Evangelicals ,and born agains got the jump on Catholics to the GOP because of lack of Union Power where they were located.

Catholics by tradition, demographics, and location were much more connected to Democratic aligned Labor than their evangelical cousins were. However this was just temporary. Unions were losing influence. Plus the continued migration of Catholics to the Midsouth , South , and West further changed the dynamic. Throw in a lot of Reagan and well it was off to the races.

So again its needs to be recalled that too long ago in the past these Born Again votes were dye in the wool Democrats. Many Catholics and "Born Agains" are now just being reunited again.


There are a few other things I take issue with in this article:

The GOP is undergoing a quiet process of Catholicization. It's one of the reasons why this year's race has focused so much on social issues -- and sex.

I have no idea what that means. If this is in reference to the HHS mandate that is not about sex , but religious liberty.

. Santorum is also an outspoken admirer of Saint Josemaria Escriva, the founder of the conservative lay organization Opus Dei. Opus Dei encourages among its members a work ethic and an effort to "live like a saint" that is strikingly similar to the values and mores of New England's Puritan settlers.

Don't get me started on that comparison.

Pope Benedict Uses Cane - World Freaks - Film at 11

I suspect this will be the headline we see tonight as the Pope sets out on this Mexico Cuba Trip ( I shall be covering that everyday so check back for links on this blog).

As noted here the Pope has started to feel more secure using a cane. A common thing and a COMMON SENSE thing to do when you are 85.

Today SNAP In Reckless Manner Accuses Bishop Provost Diocese of Lake Charles of Sex Abuse Cover Up In Louisiana Ex Priest Arrest

Today a sad event in Diocese of Lake Charles. See Former Priest living in Duson accused of molesting boy while in priesthood This alleged incident happened between 1986 and 1989. He left the Priesthood in 1994.
As you can see the Diocese is one the informed the authotites once they got information from the alleged victim

Now SNAP responds. See Statement from SNAP on predator priest arrest

This is the sort of typical NAPLAM statement throwing accusations not worry about facts response we see from SNAP often sadly . A tactic that I think does more harm than good in dealing with sexual abuse in the Church.

We hope that Louisiana law enforcement officials will look beyond Fr. Broussard's crimes and investigate the clear cover-up that took place at St. Henry Catholic Church. Officials at the Diocese of Lake Charles, especially Bishop Glen John Provost should become targets of this investigation as well. The fact that they knew of Fr. Broussard's disturbing crimes and relocated him instead of turning him over to police is egregious and should be severely punished.

Investigate the Bad BISHOP!! The huge problem is Bishop John Provost was not the Bishop them. In fact he was not even in the Diocese of LAKE CHARLES. He was in the DIOCESE OF LAFAYETTE.

From the time period mentioned:

Bishop Provost was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lafayette by Pope Paul VI on June 29, 1975 in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. He served as an Associate Pastor at Our Lady Queen of Heaven in Lake Charles during the summer of 1975. He was Associate Pastor of St. Mary Magdalene in Abbeville, 1975-1983; Pastor of St. Leo in Roberts Cove, 1983-1985, Pastor of St. John Cathedral, 1985-1998, and Pastor of Our Lady of Fatima, 1998-March 6, 2007.

He served as a Judge on the Diocese of Lafayette Tribunal, was a member of the Diocesan School Board, 1987-1996, Vice Chairman of the Council of Priests, 2005-2006; Chairman of the Council of Priests, 1989-1991, 2006-2007; Member of the Council of Priests, 2001-2007; Episcopal Vicar and Dean of the West Lafayette Deanery, a Diocesan Consultor, 1991-2007; and a board member of the Lafayette Catholic Service Center/Opelousas Housing Corporation, 1996-2000. Bishop Provost served as the Bishop's Liaison to the Legal Community, and was an instructor in the Department of Theology for Church History, Aquinas Institute, Holy Cross College, Lafayette/New Orleans.

The Diocese of Lake Charles was formed in 1980. The Bishop was ordained a Priest in 1975 where it appears he had a brief encounter with what is now the Diocese of Lake Charles right out of Seminary. He served as an Associate Pastor at Our Lady Queen of Heaven in Lake Charles during the summer of 1975. He then was moved to what is still the Diocese of Lafayette that same year. He was Associate Pastor of St. Mary Magdalene in Abbeville, 1975-1983.


Yet SNAP is demanding a criminal investigation of Bishop Provost. Before they send out statements they need to get their facts straight. Most Dioceses have BIO pages. The more you know

Opinionated Catholic Louisiana GOP Primary Endorsement- I Am Voting For Newt Gingrich

First it should be clear I am not anti anyone. Out of the top three GOP contenders I think all have assets, all have weakness, and all are good decent good men. It is not a easy thing to put yourself out in the public square in this day and age. That should be respected.

Second it's clear Mitt Romney is going to win this thing. I have no problem with that. I am not really anti Mitt.

He does not set my world on fire but that is me. I also have no problem with GOP hopefuls still running after Louisiana so too put their argument forth. That is important too. Still unless Romney drops dead it's clear to me he will win.

As the famous Edwin Edwards would put it - The only way Romney loses the GOP nomination is if he is caught in bed with a live boy or dead girl. It's hard to beat the math here.

But people have a right to make statements ,and people that take time out of their lives to support people need to be heard.

So I think there is a positive benefit for this to go on. Not everything here is about the eventual winner. There are issues in States that are ignored these primaries give a window on. So hurrah for the ongoing Civics lesson.

I was very tempted to vote for Rick Santorum.

Confession time- Before this race I never really liked Rick Santorum. It was more of a personality thing. However after following him I have opened up to him greatly. I also respect his wiliness to say what he believes. Even when this was not popular. Take the Porn Issue. Rick Santorum never really made Porn a issue in this race beyond some things he had on his web site. But once asked about it he did not back down.

I very much get the First Amendment issues here , and in some practical applications of proposed law would differ from some social conservatives.

Still in this age of "war on women" it is hard to imagine something worse than the porn industry.

An industry that seems not to be regulated under any practical work safe regulations , and where the dirty little secret is that the line between rape and consent to get the product out is a thin one. If you have to have your models DRUNK or high out their minds to tignore the mental and often physical pain well lets me say this is worse than what Catholic Hospitals are doing.

People did not want to hear it. People did not want to hear about the obvious social cost because well people like Porn. But Rick stood up there ,and took the arrows. I use that as just one small example.

Also it's hard for me not to vote for Rick Santorum because of the attacks on his Catholicism. I am not sure Democrats and liberals have realized the cost of that yet. It has been offensive to me ,and has probably swore me off voting for any Democrat for some time.

I asked yesterday this question. Why are the attacks on Rick Santorum , and his "13th Century" Catholicism, as the New York Times put it so persistent at this late stage. Surely the media and politicos must realize as I do the MATH is getting impossible for Santorum to win. So why the doubling down?

I have to think it is partly to make his Orthodox Catholicism a non player in the future. That is people like me and many Blue Dog Catholic Louisiana Democrats from just a decade ago are dangerous! We are the new Theocrats , and that is not acceptable.

Rick has other virtues and of course some weakness.

But I am not voting for Santorum. I am voting for Newt Gingrich.

Newt has his faults , and needless to say he has less of a chance with the math than Santorum. But in practical terms he is just as good on the social issues as Rick Santorum. Though I recognize his personal life presents some challenges.

He seems to get the Louisiana energy issues like Santorum does. Further he seems to get certain Louisiana issues such as having to battle the Corp of Engineers from issues to a to z . An issue as Louisiana prepares to implement his master plan to save our Coast that will be critical.

I also like he is a man of big IDEAS. American was based on a big idea , and it's expansion into a world power was based on big ideas. Now this can be a downfall. One can say Newt throws out too many big ideas. But I have to admit when was talking about the space program he got my attention. The fact that so many seemed so anti visionary in their absolute ridicule of his Space ideas also got my attention. What else does that lack of vision go into? Newt is an OPTIMIST! and that is what has made America great.

However here is the main reason I am voting for NEWT.

It seems he gets the Hispanic vote ,and it's future to the GOP. He understand listening, tone, and nuance are important.

Besides Rick Perry ,Newt has been the only one that has dealt with Latino concerns with some degree of sophistication. Even at this late stage in Louisiana when he needs every vote he can get. See
Newt 2012 Announces Hispanic Leadership in Louisiana.

I don't think Rick Santorum ,and Mitt Romney are anti Latino . But having empathy is important in presenting issues and considering solution. I have hope for Mitt Romney ( which I will discuss later) ,but so far Rick and Mitt have been like a bull in china shop as to this.

If we lose the Latino vote because of perception then you kiss all other issues that Mitt and Rick Santorum care about good bye. The Latino vote is not monolithic by any means. But I think many are a natural fit in the GOP. Especially here in the Deep South where they are becoming more of a influence. See Georgia, See North Carolina heck see the Louisiana city of Kenner.

The problem is not to give false impression that make Latinos go tribal against the GOP. See above my discussion how Democrats / Liberals and their Catholic comments have made me go very tribal against them. It very well could be that my perception is wrong that Liberals view orthodox Catholicism as a threat to the Republic. As outdated and in fact bigoted. But that is my perception and in perception is important. Further I am voting on that perception.

So this weekend , I shall be voting for Newt .

However do not make the mistake many pundits will make that Louisiana Catholic voters ,and I that will vote for Romney and Newt are voting so to reject Santorum's "13th Century " Catholicism.

Louisiana Orthodox Catholic Rice and Soybean farmers might be voting for Mitt because they think he is best for the farmers. Catholic people of Faith might be voting for Newt because they like his talk about the bureaucracy of the Corp of Engineers. For me it was the reaching out to Latinos and the future of our party and nation in that regard

Will Media One Day Do A Mea Culpa On HHS Mandate and Religious Liberty Issue

Get Religion has an column up that I am in a 100 percent agreement with. See Scaring people away from religious freedom.

How the media has gone out of their way to frame this issue really seems to me to malpractice. As the Get Religion notes:

But this piece embedded here is more of the same from the Church of Planned Parenthood. From Andrea Mitchell and NBC Nightly News. Brian Williams introduces the segment on what he calls “a push to limit women’s access to contraceptives and abortion.”
Now, let’s be clear about something. The reason why this topic is news is not because Catholic bishops or anyone else out there “pushed” to “limit” anything. The reason why we’re dealing with this political battle is because an entirely different group of people “pushed” to “limit” something. What they pushed was a mandate by the Health and Human Services administration to limit religious freedom. The status quo right now is that people are not forced to fund abortion drugs, sterilization or contraception. But they will be, because of actions taken by the current administration.
That is not how the media has framed this battle. But that’s who instigated this action. It is a deliberate misrepresentation to state otherwise.

Exactly! I keep asking this question , but it never gets answer. If what these Faith Groups were doing was such a War on Women then why hardly a peep before this year in the media. In other words if we living in the Catholic Dark ages that was such a threat why no reporting on this issue before the Obama rule. No one cared.

Get Religion also goes into the now almost comic use of scare quotes we see every day. That is " religious liberty ".

The not very sophisticated analysis of the legal issues has been something else.


Each year I enjoy observing the annual Religion Newswriters Association conference.

I do wonder if when they are among themselves if some self inspection on how they as a group ,and their more secular media handled this issue will happen. I sadly doubt it. But in a conference 5 to 10 years from now it might be a topic sadly. Then it might be too late.