THE BLAME GAME

According to this report, a Protestant Church bishop said Catholic Church leaders should also be blamed for the Philippines’ reputation as among the most corrupt countries and must offer their resignation if they continue to insist that President Macapagal-Arroyo step down from office.

Bishop Pedro Maglaya of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines said some Catholic Church leaders have called for the resignation of Ms Arroyo but they have themselves to blame for failing to teach humility to their flock, who count her among them….

I suddenly remembered my university student days. I had a very difficult time getting the grades I wanted. It’s not that I had a lofty yearning to be a Dean’s lister, as I was already gratefully contented with just scraping by with three's. When I got quattros or cincos, it was fairly convenient enough to criticize the professors who “didn’t know how to teach”. It didn’t help any that I was a gallivanting, happy-go-lucky student back then. It didn’t help too that I wasn’t paying any attention to the lessons in class, as I was more interested in those ladies, my cute seatmates in class. That, and those all-too-often drinking binges with my fraternity brothers. Ah, those days…

Now Bishop Pedro Maglaya of the United Church of Christ puts to task some Catholic Church leaders, who “have themselves to blame for failing to teach humility to their flock”. Hmm, perhaps…, and I presume Bp Maglaya himself is so eminently successful in teaching humility to his own flock. That being the case, I wonder if Bp Maglaya will consider crossing the Tiber.

“Whose fault was this? Was it God’s fault? Is it the Church who failed?” he asks. It always feels good to do some finger-pointing. Usually when one does this sort of thing, you notice that the thumb part usually points back to the person. He said this means “Church leaders are also accountable”. Sure enough, but then each and every one of us are actually accountable in one way or another. That excludes the good bishop Maglaya, I suppose. I now regret that Maglaya wasn’t my professor in my university student days. Who knows, I could have been a Dean’s lister despite my careless attitude. Either that, or I see him throwing up his hands in despair and resigning as my teacher.

The Solomonic doctor

(emailed by bro DBC of CFC ProLife)

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said:

'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 yr. old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.'

So the doctor said: 'Ok, and what do you want me to do?'

She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'

The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms'.

The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!

'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be ok with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.'
The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point.

The mother of all churches

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

...His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me....
(John 2:13-22)

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Saint John Lateran Basilica.

St. John Lateran is the Pope's cathedral or principal church of the Bishop of Rome. It was once a royal palace and basilica which belonged to the ancient Roman Emperor Constantine and his family. After Constantine’s conversion in A.D. 313, the Emperor gave the palace and adjacent church to Pope Miltiades.

It is here that the most powerful pope of the middle ages, Innocent III, had a curious dream of a magnificent church breaking apart. In that dream he stood looking out over the Lateran Church and watched with fear as the proud building shook, the tower swung, and the walls began to crack. Suddenly, a small common looking man, barefoot, in peasant garbs, with a rope tied as a belt, came towards the Lateran. Rushing to the falling Church, he set his shoulder in under the wall and with a mighty push straightened the whole falling church, so that it again stood aright.

Soon afterwards, a group of beggars from Assisi arrived, led by a man named Francis, asking for his approval for their lifestyle and work. The Pope, still wary of the trouble caused by sects like the Albigensians and Waldensians, was at first hesitant. As Francis passionately pleaded his cause, the pope then remembered the man in his dreams. Having recognized the hand of God, he encouraged the movement of Francis of Assisi that renewed the Church.

Today, the church building whose dedication we celebrate is not as important as the reality it symbolizes. Every church building, no matter how large or small, symbolizes the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the cornerstone, the apostles as the pillars, and each member as a living stone that together comprise the edifice. As todays Gospels narrates how Jesus drove out the merchants from His Temple, we recall the words of the Scripture: "For the zeal for your House consumes me".

May our celebration today draw us closer to the Lord Jesus, the One who promises us that the Church will prevail even against the gates of Hades.

PRIMACY OF TRUTH (2)

"It is of course undisputed that one must follow a certain conscience or at least not act against it. But whether the judgment of conscience or what one takes to be such, is always right, indeed whether it is infallible, is another question. For if this were the case, it would mean that there is no truth - at least not in moral and religious matters, which is to say, in the areas which constitute the very pillars of our existence."

- Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Ratzinger in his 1991 address: CONSCIENCE AND TRUTH)

That is a very good point, TE. I actually have problems understanding what is meant by the terms half-Catholics, progressive Catholics, thinking Catholics, liberal Catholics, conservative Catholics, whatever. Just being a plain, persevering Catholic is fine by me, and it is a choice to be one. When we choose to be a Catholic, we choose to be in unity with the body of Christ, known as full communion with the Church. It is a unity that must of necessity be unbroken by heresy or schism, and requires agreement on essential doctrine and practise. This is not to mean that we have to be in absolute uniformity in theology and usage, provided that essential unity is maintained. When Catholics find cause in their consciences to express dissent to the Church, it must be worthwhile to determine whether this dissent involves any essential doctrine or practise. In today's challenging times when the faithful finds themselves in constant deliberations on public issues that concerns their faith, it is of essence to take note of Pope Benedict XVI's address on the three non-negotiables in the public sphere:

/
As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the principal focus of her interventions in the public arena is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person, and she is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable.

Among these the following emerge clearly today:

[FIRST NON-NEGOTIABLE]

- protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death;

[SECOND NON-NEGOTIABLE]

- recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family - as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage - and its defense from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its destabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role;

[THIRD NON-NEGOTIABLE]

- the protection of the right of parents to educate their children.

These principles are not truths of faith, even though they receive further light and confirmation from faith; they are inscribed in human nature itself and therefore they are common to all humanity.

The Church’s action in promoting them is therefore not confessional in character, but is addressed to all people, prescinding from any religious affiliation they may have. On the contrary, such action is all the more necessary the more these principles are denied or misunderstood, because this constitutes an offence against the truth of the human person, a grave wound inflicted onto justice itself.

/

To choose to be Catholic, is to respond to the call to be “credible and consistent witness[es] of these basic truths”.

Dominican's turn

What is similar about the Jesuit and Dominican Orders?

They were both founded by Spaniards, St. Dominic for the Dominicans, and St. Ignatius of Loyola for the Jesuits. They were also both founded to combat heresy: the Dominicans to fight the Albigensians, and the Jesuits to fight the Protestants.

What is different about the Jesuit and Dominican Orders?

Well, have you met any Albigensians lately?

***

The difference also appears to be that we won't be seeing any UST professors coming out in support of the RH bill.

According to this CBCP news report:

The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas (UST) will focus on the promotion of "faith and life issues" and continue to support the stand of the Filipino Bishops against the reproductive health bill. As a Catholic university of the Philippines, the Dominican-run UST will stress on "faith and life matters" more in the backdrop of the on-going debate on "Reproductive Health (RH)" bill pending in the Congress, said Fr. Filemon I. de la Cruz, Jr., Op, Vice-rector for Religious Affairs. Asked if UST professors, like that of the state-run University of the Philippines, Diliman and Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, would come up with an independent ‘position paper on RH bill’, De la Cruz said, "that would not happen." ...

Interesting, and most welcome. UST has a larger faculty than Ateneo. With 40,000 students, UST is the largest Catholic university in the world in one campus. Another interesting thing is that the Jesuits and the Dominicans appears to have this supposed rivalry that had its roots in a theological dispute about grace and free will. No wonder as I remember back in my high school days when Ateneo was still in the NCAA, our priests were as keen in cheering "ARRIBA LETRAN!" whenever we had a big game against Ateneo. Oh well...

***

The joke above is obviously told from a Dominican perspective. The Jesuit response would be: "That's because we didn't use swords!"

It's OBAMA

"The first thing I'll do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." - OBAMA



Patrick of CMR says:

"I know that all I have said about FOCA and the Supreme Court is true if history continues on its current path. But God is in charge of history. Not Obama, not the Dems, not me, and not you. God. My faith is in you Lord. We pray that our nation is spared the horrible effects of the choices we have made. We pray, if it is your will, that we turn from the path we have chosen and repent. We pray for that repentance so that we may be spared your righteous anger. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

I say: Amen.

Five bishops speak out

"The time to prepare ... is now"

"Corruption in such an extensive degree in the Philippines is a crime that cries to heaven for vengeance. Corruption in this country has become endemic, systemic, from top to bottom in government. Perhaps they may be given the punishment they deserve by the human justice system, but that’s not enough. Someone else in the Higher Authority will punish them as they deserve,"

- Archbishop Lagdameo

Very good and well said, Bishop.

A standout though, is another well-said snippet from one of my favorite high school batchmates.

"We are not here to bring you peace. We are here to disturb you. I’m praying to God that after this meeting, may the Lord trouble you because the trouble that comes from the Lord is going to make you a better person and it’s going to make the country a better country."

- Bishop Soc Villegas

Let's hope and pray that a lot of people are troubled, especially those whose consciences are not "blinded through the habit of committing sin" (CCC #1791)