Creative Minority Report
New Pro-Life App for Priests
Who would have thought that us medieval religious types would embrace technology so much. I love how the pro-life movement is embracing technology and new media. I love the work of LifeNews.com and LifeSiteNews.com who do incredible work on the internet. I love the thousands and thousands of pro-life blogs. I actually know a few people who downloaded that App that shows the size of their baby in ultrasound and they’re not like hardcore culture warriors,just regular people (without blogs if you can believe there are people without blogs anymore.)
And now there’s a new pro-life App from Priests for Life:
Priests for Life has announced a new app for iPhone and iPad, giving priests easy access to three sets of resources to help them preach, teach, and pray about the pro-life message with their congregations.
The first resource is a set of General Intercessions, or “Prayers of the Faithful,” for the Mass, composed according to the guidelines set by the Catholic Church and including a petition for the growth of the culture of life.
The second is a short snippet of text, drawn from Church documents, statements by bishops, or statements by popes, that can be included in a parish bulletin to educate the congregation about pro-life issues and to exhort them to take part in pro-life activities.
Finally, the app also provides pro-life homily hints based on the readings for that particular Sunday. They are meant to help priests connect the Biblical themes of love, justice, and mercy to the issues of abortion, euthanasia, and other threats to human life and dignity. The app provides information for each Sunday of the year during all three liturgical cycles.
The resources were written by Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, based on his experience of preaching about abortion and euthanasia.
The app may be found by looking up “pro-life” or “Priests for Life” on the iTunes store. It costs $1.99.
Fr. Pavone is making it very easy for priests to preach about abortion and that’s good news.
Posted by matthew archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
Paul Ryan Schools Loudmouth Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews on Monday got a much-needed lesson from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) on how tax hikes impact the budget as well as the economy.
“Congressman Ryan, is there any tax role for reducing our $1.4 trillion to $1.7 trillion debt this year — deficit this year?” Matthews asked during the 5PM installment of MSNBC’s “Hardball.” “Is there any role in tax increasing to help do that job?
Posted by matthew archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
The Jersey Sharia”
Many good people from the Garden State do not care for the show “The Jersey Shore” because it makes people from Jersey look like, well, idiots.
Governor Christie even went so far as to complain this weekend about the show saying to Jake Tapper on ABC’s This Week that “reality series doesn’t represent ‘the real New Jersey.’”
If I were from NJ (I dodged that bullet when my NYC born parents chose Long Island over Jersey in the early ’60s) I would be embarrassed too. But not just from “The Jersey Shore.” There is someone making Jersey look even worse than JWoww and Snooki. It is “The Jersey Sharia.”
A judge in New Jersey excused the rape of a woman by her husband because Sharia law says its ok. The judge stated in his ruling:
“This court does not feel that, under the circumstances, that this defendant had a criminal desire to or intent to sexually assault or to sexually contact the plaintiff when he did. The court believes that he was operating under his belief that it is, as the husband, his desire to have sex when and whether he wanted to, was something that was consistent with his practices and it was something that was not prohibited.”
If I were from Jersey I would be a lot more embarrassed by this travesty than by Snooki’s poof. More….
Posted by Patrick Archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
Why 2011 Is Too Late
Many people hope that if Republicans can take back at least one house come November, that some degree of sanity can be restored and our fiscal house can be put in order. But perhaps it will already be too late.
In addition to the health-care bill, which will be nearly impossible to repeal before 2012 or even then, there is the looming humongous tax increase coming our way before the new congress can even be sworn in. IBD tallies:
But as of midnight Dec. 31, the death tax returns — at a rate of 55% on estates of $1 million or more. The effect this will have on hospital life-support systems is already a matter of conjecture.
Resurrection of the death tax, however, isn’t the only tax problem that will be ushered in Jan. 1. Many other cuts from the Bush administration are set to disappear and a new set of taxes will materialize. And it’s not just the rich who will pay.
The lowest bracket for the personal income tax, for instance, moves up 50% — to 15% from 10%. The next lowest bracket — 25% — will rise to 28%, and the old 28% bracket will be 31%. At the higher end, the 33% bracket is pushed to 36% and the 35% bracket becomes 39.6%.
But the damage doesn’t stop there.
The marriage penalty also makes a comeback, and the capital gains tax will jump 33% — to 20% from 15%. The tax on dividends will go all the way from 15% to 39.6% — a 164% increase.
Both the cap-gains and dividend taxes will go up further in 2013 as the health care reform adds a 3.8% Medicare levy for individuals making more than $200,000 a year and joint filers making more than $250,000. Other tax hikes include: halving the child tax credit to $500 from $1,000 and fixing the standard deduction for couples at the same level as it is for single filers.
Letting the Bush cuts expire will cost taxpayers $115 billion next year alone, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and $2.6 trillion through 2020.
But even more tax headaches lie ahead…
Posted by Patrick Archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
Protect the Pope.com
This seems like a great idea. Check out Hermeneutic of Continuity for the story:
Protect the Pope.com is a new website which counters attacks on Pope Benedict’s reputation and integrity, and provides information and resources for Catholics to respond to incidents that constitute incitement to religious hatred.
Posted by matthew archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
Ya’ Gotta’ Give Stupak Credit
Faux pro-lifer Bart Stupak is accusing pro-lifers of playing politics with life.
Yeah. Read that again. Bart Stupak is accusing pro-lifers of playing politics with life.
Man, you’ve got to give the guy credit, when Stupak sells his vote he throws in his credibility, his integrity and any claim to sanity too. He doesn’t care what anybody says he’s going to just keep reiterating his mantra even though everyone knows he’s not telling the truth that Obamacare will not fund abortions.
CNS reports:
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who initially raised the hopes of pro-life Americans when he took a stand against abortion coverage in the Democrats’ health care bill, also posted a message Wednesday, rejecting claims that Pennsylvania’s high-risk insurance pools would allow for federal funding of abortion:
“This is the latest example of some right to life groups politicizing life issues in an effort to undermine health care reform,” Stupak said. “The President’s Executive Order makes clear that federal funds may not be used for abortion under the Affordable Care Act – including the (high-risk) insurance pools currently being implemented in Pennsylvania and states across the country.
Stupak noted that in accordance with President Obama’s Executive Order, the Department of Health and Human Services has told states that federal funds provided under the new health care law may not be used to fund abortion. “HHS has reiterated this policy in response to the current accusations from the National Right to Life Committee,” Stupak said.
“While these recycled scare tactics may make for good headlines, we should not lose sight of the fact that tens of thousands of individuals across the nation who have been denied coverage by health insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions will for the first time have access to affordable health insurance. We need to take a whole life approach to health care which looks out for those who are out of the womb as well as those in the womb,” Stupak concluded. More….
Posted by matthew archbold at 12:32 PM
ObamaCare Now Funding Abortions in PA
“We’ve been able to come up with an agreement to respect the sanctity of life on health care reform. There will be no public funding for abortion in this legislation. We’ve all stood on principle.” -Congressman Bart Stupak on March 21, 2010
Uh, Bart Stupak call your office.
Human Events is reporting that
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is providing $160 million to the state of Pennsylvania to set up a new high-risk insurance pool program that pays for abortions, as part of a larger $5 billion commitment of taxpayer funds that will include abortion coverage for over 400,000 people nationwide.
“This is the boldest admission yet from the Obama administration that the President’s Executive Order on taxpayer-funded abortion was a sham. The fact that the high-risk pool insurance program in Pennsylvania will use federal taxpayer dollars to fund abortions is unconscionable,” said House Republican leader John Boehner. More…
Posted by matthew archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
Can You Be Excommunicated For Stupidity?
Prepare thyself for the stupidest thing you will read today!
Ron Modras, professor of theological studies at St. Louis University and author of Ignatian Humanism, writes at the National Catholic Reporter about the rash of excommunications. It is so singularly stupid that I don’t know if I should be outraged or sorry. A sampling…
…But then last year a former canon law professor at the University of Freiburg, Hartmut Zapp, decided to challenge the church tax. He declared that he was leaving the Catholic church as a legal institution but remaining in it as a community of faith. Fearing a precedent and the potential loss of millions of euros, the Freiburg archdiocese rejected the distinction: One either left the church or did not, all or nothing at all. In May this year, a German court agreed that it was up to church authorities to decide. Zapp is now declared by church and state as having left the Catholic church. That makes him a schismatic and an excommunicate.
I first began thinking about excommunication when friends of mine attended the ordination of two women in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement in February in Sarasota, Fla. I pointed out to them, after the fact, that the Florida papers quoted the local bishop as saying that Catholics who participated in the event were excommunicated. The response of my friends, both of whom are weekly communicants, was a dismissive wave of the hand. Oh, just like that abortion case in Brazil, where everyone was excommunicated except the rapist.
…
if a girl becomes the victim of a date rape and takes the morning-after pill, is she excommunicated? And if so, why is she excommunicated and not the rapist? Or is she excommunicated? Is Zapp now excommunicated for leaving the church as an institution but not as a community of faith? Does opting out of paying his church taxes endanger his immortal soul? Was McBride excommunicated, if she made her difficult gut-wrenching decision with prayer and a good conscience? According to Catholic tradition, the answer is no.When bishops declare Catholics excommunicated, they make the presumption that the alleged offenders were deliberately violating their consciences, acting in bad faith and therefore committing a grievous sin. But no one, no bishop, can presume to judge another person’s conscience. The Second Vatican Council described conscience as the “sanctuary” where the individual “is alone with God” (Gaudium et spes). In the opinion of Thomas Aquinas, we are bound to follow our consciences, even when in error, even if it means excommunication.
It goes on and on like this. More….
Posted by Patrick Archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
Praying For Christopher Hitchens
I know he doesn’t want me to and I know he thinks it is useless but, Christopher Hitchens, I am praying for you.Christopher Hitchens can be smart, acerbic, funny, mean, insightful, and thick. He defends Western Civilization while, via his outspoken atheism, semantically chipping away at the Christian pillars that support it. In short, Christopher Hitchens is a frustrating person. Christopher Hitchens is also very sick. He writes…
“I have been advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus. This advice seems persuasive to me. I regret having had to cancel so many engagements at such short notice.”
There are no good cancers to have…
Continue Reading @ National Catholic Register
Posted by Patrick Archbold @ CreativeMinorityReport.com
New Study: Abortion Triples Risk of Breast Cancer
A new study is showing once again that abortion leads to higher instances of breast cancer.
I know you haven’t seen it on the news and don’t expect to. The study sparked a backlash by those who consider abortion a sacrament. Pro-aborts hate science. They hate ultrasounds and now they hate the growing number of scientific studies that show a link between abortion and breast cancer so they’ll dismiss it and hope it fades away from the public consciousness:
An abortion may triple a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer while breastfeeding can significantly protect her from the disease, a new study has claimed.
A team of scientists at the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka found that women who breastfed for more than a year had a significant reduction in the risk of developing the disease while terminations tripled the risk.
The study of 300 women also found that other factors such as passive smoking and being post-menopausal can trigger the disease, the Daily Mail reported…
The research, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology , is the fourth epidemiological study to show a link between abortion and breast cancer in the recent past, with research in China, Turkey and the US reporting similar conclusions.
However, Cancer Research UK has questioned the accuracy of the figures and said women should not be unduly worried.
Dr Kat Arney, the charity’s science information manager, said: “This is a very small study of only 300 women, so there are likely to be statistical errors in a sample of this size.
“Much larger studies involving tens of thousands of women have shown no significant links.”
More…
Posted by matthew archbold from CreativeMinorityReport.com
Whoomp! There Obama Is?
Hilarious. If that ain’t Barack Obama in 1993′s “Whoomp There It Is” it’s a dude that looks an awful lot like him.
I can’t wait until someone asks Robert Gibbs about this. Can someone get me in Helen Thomas’ old seat just for one day? In deference to Helen I’ll ask, “Is it true that the Jooooooooos forced Obama to appear in this video?”
Freeze the video at 1:01 and tell me what you think.
Here’s a captured pic:
I just spoke to Pat. He says: “It’s definitely him. I love it.”
Posted by matthew archbold from CreativeMinorityReport.com
Thanks to the Brothers Archbold as usual for keepin’ it real, baby!! This IS definitely him, guys! Sofia
NYT: Wouldn’t It Be Great if People Died
Check this one out. This is secular liberalism at its core told to you by an Ivy League Professor. Peter Singer and the New York Times. A match made in…
Influential left-wing wacko Peter Singer, who has previously argued in favor of infanticide and bestiality, has been allowed to write a column for the New York Times. In a saner world that would make news, but there are so many lunatics, freaks, and monsters who’ve edged into the mainstream on the Left that people barely even seem to notice.
Setting that aside, HorseHumper McMurderbaby has actually written a column arguing for the extinction of the human race. My initial thought: You first, buddy. More…
Posted by matthew archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
Donohue, Bozell Sound off on Jesus Sitcom
Looks like a showdown is brewing with many conservatives lining up against the new Comedy Central sitcom about a young Jesus. John Hawkins was on the teleconference:
I was invited to participate in a teleconference featuring a lot of socially conservative heavies who want to complain about the new anti-Christian show on Comedy Central, “JC.” Here’s a rundown of the participants:
Bozell will be joined at a Thursday press conference to protest the show by Tony Perkins, Family Research Council president; Michael Medved, syndicated talk radio host; Bill Donohue, Catholic League president; Tim Winter, Parents Television Council president; and Rabbi Daniel Lapin, The American Alliance.
Posted by Matthew Archbold on CreativeMinorityReport.com
Ump Blows Call. Ruins Perfect Game
Let me set the scene. Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out away from pitching a perfect game. That’s one out away from eternal baseball fame. There were two outs in the ninth inning and a ground ball in the infield looked like a surefire end to the game and… the first base umpire blows a call so badly that this will likely cause an uproar for instant replay.
After the game the umpire saw the replay and said: “I just cost that kid a perfect game…I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay…It was the biggest call of my career.”
I feel terrible for this pitcher. Watch the vid:
Posted by matthew archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com
Madhouse
I swear. This is not my fault. I hardly ever talk politics in front of the kids.
My daughter was asked in school to write what she would like to tell the president. I think she states her point well, don’t you. And no, she won’t be joining the blogging family soon.
Posted by Patrick Archbold at 12:27 AM M/T (that’s mantilla tip hah!) to CreativeMinorityReport.com
Brawling With The Ushers
Tell the truth. Haven’t you at least momentarily though about popping an overly officious and pushy church usher in the chops? Or maybe pulling his polyester jacket over his head — ya know like NHL style? Well somebody went and did it.
HILLSBOROUGH — Police responded to Mary, Mother of God Roman Catholic Church on Sunday for a report of a fight in the parking lot between an usher and a parishioner after the usher told the parishioner to stop videotaping during Mass.
Now, of course most ushers are wholly interested in serving the church and do a thankless service week in and week out. I am not talking about them. But there are those other types, you know who I am talking about. The kind of ushers that buzz about the church like bouncers at a KISS concert flashing their poly-blend jackets like a US Marshall service badge — some of whom view usherdom as an excuse to pay no attention to mass. Well I know that I am not the only one who has. More… Posted by Patrick Archbold
Footprints” by Hans Kung
Posted by matthew archbold at 9:50 PM
NY Times Compares al-Awlaki to Jesus
Posted by matthew archbold at 9:41 AM
Support Immigration “Language” Reform
Posted by Patrick Archbold at 9:42 AM
Obama’s Most Ruinous Legacy Will Be…
Obama is set to nominate someone to the Supreme Court. There’s word on who it could be and what attributes they have but none of it matters. The media talks of the differences between the alleged nominees but they are all simply cosmetic. Some are saying he might nominate a woman or another minority. But none of it matters because in any way that truly matters we all know exactly who Obama is going to nominate. I’ll leave it to liberals to be obsessed with skin color and gender. I couldn’t care less. Solicitor General Elena Kagan is reported to be the frontrunner but I honestly don’t care. Just tell me how old she is so I know approximately how long we’re going to have to put up with her. (She’s 50 so we’ll probably be suffering under her for decades to come.) More… From our colleagues at CreativeMinorityReport Posted by: Matthew Archbold on 5/9/2010
Cancel Mother’s Day! Now!
On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation, declaring the first national Mother’s Day. Nearly one hundred years later a brave group of anti-mother activists are standing up against this discriminatory and likely unconstitutional day. The group expects to file a lawsuit in federal court to prevent national recognition of mothers. Activists opposed to Mother’s Day wished to make it clear that they are not anti-mother only anti-Mother’s Day but when asked to explain the difference became unclear. When asked why the country should no longer recognize Mother’s Day one man said he never knew his mother and has no knowledge of her and he questioned why the federal government is effectively forcing him to honor his mother who he’s not even sure exists. In fact, the group argues that there are many reasons not to force Americans to honor mothers including doing it for the children. The activists argue that children in schools that have activities or spend time making gifts in art class for mothers are left feeling awkward if they don’t have a mother. They also pointed to a small but growing number of Americans who aren’t particularly fond of their mothers. The group also said that this “day-long nationally enforced mother worship” has no precedence in our country’s founding documents. “Nowhere are mothers even mentioned in our Founding documents” said one activist. “Why do we all have to pretend to love our mother by order of the federal government?” Anti-Mother’s Day activists are saying that if someone wants to praise and honor their mother they should do so privately and not force it down other people’s throats. More… Posted by matthew archbold at CreativeMinorityReport
Whats Rocco Got That We Don’t Got?
Posted by Patrick Archbold on 5/6/2010 Seriously, we are doing something wrong. Matt and I are like the Rodney Dangerfield’s of Catholic blogging. Nobody is offering us honorary degrees. This all just goes to prove my theory that the value of ‘stupid’ is misundervalued in our society. Or something. But Rocco, Rocco gets his props. 
Rocco Palmo’s life has been infused with four major blessings — his large Italian family, journalism, baseball and the Roman Catholic church.
All four will coalesce Friday as the 27-year-old blogger, who lives in and works from his parents’ home in Philadelphia, receives an honorary doctorate from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. His parents will be there as Palmo gives the commencement address to the seminary’s 77 graduates. He’ll also watch his beloved Phillies take on the Cardinals this week.
More… Editor’s Note: Rocco Palmo may have the swag, but the Brothers Archbold got the street cred where it counts… Sophia
Crist May Veto Ultrasound Bill
Charlie Crist is a typical self-serving politician whose career may or may not be nearing its end. But that doesn’t mean he won’t do great damage before the issue is decided. Florida legislators passed an ultrasound law similar to Oklahoma’s last week. Now, it’s up to Charlie Crist (Independent)to sign it or veto it. And there’s really no telling what Charlie will do. The only guarantee is that Charlie will do what Charlie thinks is good for Charlie. It sickens me to know that the debate in Charlie Crist’s office is all about polls and triangulating rather than on the issue of life. The ACLU is urging Crist to veto while the pro-life community urges him to sign it. More… Posted by matthew archbold at 9:53 PM 5/4/2010
Baby Survives for Two Days After Abortion
Left for dead. That’s the only accurate way to describe the fate of the baby who survived a botched abortion in Italy only to be abandoned until being discovered by a priest the following day. The UK Telegraph reports:
A baby boy abandoned by doctors to die after a botched abortion was found alive nearly two days later. The 22-week infant later died in intensive care at a hospital in the mother’s home town of Rossano in southern Italy. The mother, pregnant for the first time, had opted for an abortion after prenatal scans suggested that her baby was disabled. However the infant survived the procedure, carried out on Saturday in the Rossano Calabria hospital, and was left by doctors to die. He was discovered alive the following day – some 20 hours after the operation – by Father Antonio Martello, the hospital chaplain, who had gone to pray beside his body. He found that the baby, wrapped in a sheet with his umbilical cord still attached, was moving and breathing. The priest raised the alarm and doctors immediately arranged for the infant to be taken to a specialist neonatal unit at a neighbouring hospital where he died on Monday morning.
Until our culture decides every life is sacred we will continue spiraling into this hedonistic madness. The newspaper said that police are investigating it as a homicide as doctors are obligated to try to preserve the life of a child if the child survives the abortion. Can you just for one second ponder the madness of that. Doctors can try every which way to kill the baby but if that same baby comes out of the womb then those same doctors are legally obligated to do everything in their power to save the baby. What inhuman madness reigns in our culture? Posted by matthew archbold at Creative Minority Report at 3:01PM
Pope To Issue Public Apology
[Independent.co.uk]Pope Benedict XVI is planning to make the first general apology for the abuse of children and minors by Roman Catholic priests when he meets thousands of clergymen from around the world in June at the climax of the International Year for Priests, Vatican sources say. … Vatican officials hope such an unprecedented act of penance by Benedict, together with thousands of clergymen in St Peter’s Square, 9-11 June, will do much to lay to rest the scandal and defuse protests that might disrupt his trip to Britain in September. The encounter will form the climax of the special year of events designed in part to encourage vocations to the cloth but which instead has been marred by the mushrooming paedophile scandal.
Posted by Patrick Archbold at CreativeMinorityReport at 2:17PM.
Kung Fooey
What can be expected, though, is that you comport yourself with a minimum of integrity and elementary decency in the controversies in which you engage. I understand odium theologicum as well as anyone, but I must, in all candor, tell you that you crossed a line that should not have been crossed in your recent article, when you wrote the following: There is no denying the fact that the worldwide system of covering up sexual crimes committed by clerics was engineered by the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Cardinal Ratzinger (1981-2005). That, sir, is not true. I refuse to believe that you knew this to be false and wrote it anyway, for that would mean you had willfully condemned yourself as a liar. But on the assumption that you did not know this sentence to be a tissue of falsehoods, then you are so manifestly ignorant of how competencies over abuse cases were assigned in the Roman Curia prior to Ratzinger’s seizing control of the process and bringing it under CDF’s competence in 2001, then you have forfeited any claim to be taken seriously on this, or indeed any other matter involving the Roman Curia and the central governance of the Catholic Church. [...] recognize that authors do not write the sometimes awful subheads that are put on op-ed pieces. Nonetheless, you authored a piece of vitriol—itself utterly unbecoming a priest, an intellectual, or a gentleman—that permitted the editors of the Irish Times to slug your article: “Pope Benedict has made worse just about everything that is wrong with the Catholic Church and is directly responsible for engineering the global cover-up of child rape perpetrated by priests, according to this open letter to all Catholic bishops.” That grotesque falsification of the truth perhaps demonstrates where odium theologicum can lead a man. But it is nonetheless shameful.
Posted by Patrick Archbold at Creative Minority Report April 23, 2010 12:58 AM
Did Priest Break Seal Of Confession?
Posted by Patrick Archbold April 22, 2010
Check out Pewsitter
Pewsitter is one of the best Catholic websites on the internet. If you don’t check it out often you really should. Tons of news and links.
They seem to be asking their readers to refer other readers to them so this is me doing my part. I check Pewsitter at least twice a day. You should too.
Posted by Matthew Archbold on CreativeMinorityReport.com, April 21, 2010
Editor’s Note: Matthew and Patrick Archbold, authors of Creative Minority Report.com also have a blog on National Catholic Register. the Brothers A are right up there with Pewsitter as one of the best Catholic, news & commentary blogs out there.They have given AwaysCatholic so much support that we ask our readers to remember their intentions in their prayers and visit both blogs daily. Thank you, Sophia Guerra
BTW, please add CreativeMinorityReport & Pewsitter to your bookmarks or to your blogroll if you have a blog.
from Creative Minority Report April 20, 2010
by Matthew Archbold
Sin and Cafeteria Catholicism
I was speaking to a woman I know and she said that a man she knows had stopped going to Church months before and that he didn’t believe in many things the Church taught including the Church’s stance on contraception. But he still considered himself a good Catholic. Pretty normal stuff nowadays sadly.
The women is a committed Catholic and she said that she’d told him that she wasn’t a “Cafeteria Catholic” but he reminded her of many things she’d done which are against church teaching throughout her life and he said triumphantly, “See we all pick and choose.”
She said that she’d come to believe what he’d said was true. Now without going into details I told her that her friend was wrong. Very wrong. There is a big difference between sinning and picking and choosing. More…
from Creative Minority Report April 9, 2010
by Matthew Archbold
Liberation Theologians Use Crisis to Attack
Never let a good crisis go to waste. Donna Freitas who writes for On Faith as The Stubborn Catholic believes that now is the time for feminists and liberation theologians to strike:
As the Catholic hierarchy sweats in the harsh glare of media scrutiny, as they backpedal about investigations into past and current abuse, and get defensive in all the wrong ways, the question “Should the pope resign?” is valid — the man at the top has been harboring criminals. There is no defense for this. There is no defense for those who shuffled around priests known to be guilty of rape and assault and other forms of abuse, be you the pope, a bishop or cardinal.
But now is also a moment with extraordinary potential for grassroots reform in the Catholic Church, and Catholic theology offers a powerful history and tradition of ground-up resistance and civil disobedience in its feminist, womanist, mujerista, and liberation theologies.
So what can these theologies offer in response to the abuse crisis?
Well, they call for no less than a revolution…But liberation theologies speak directly to us, the marginalized Catholics, and provide us frameworks to move from disgust, dismay, paralysis, and disempowerment toward transformation and change.
And if the vast majority of us are now the disenfranchised, it is from this place that we can begin to remake the church. The Vatican is so embattled and its power undermined by the scandal that the center of the Catholic Church has shifted sideways as a result–if we claim it from this place on the margins. If we speak in large numbers from this place as Catholics who are the Church.
We have strength in numbers. There are far many more of us than them. And liberation theologies empower the average Catholic to enter into theological discourse. They take theology from the hands of the few, from the pope, the cardinals, and the bishops, and put the task of theology into our hands. They anchor the Catholic Church in the laity and its ordinary priests and nuns, effectively dismantling the hierarchy’s power and redistributing it on a grassroots level, where it obviously belongs if the hierarchy’s behavior tells us anything at all.
When I used to think of liberation theology I always thought of Christians toppling third world governments. I guess I was stupid. Maybe they were always really interested in toppling the Church.
And remind me, did Jesus give Peter the keys or did he say “”I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven to you, you batty moonbat columnist; and whatever idea pops into your head is cool with me.”
from Creative Minority Reader April 7, 2010
Former Atheist’s Thoughts on the Scandals
Jen F. is always worth reading:
When I was first exploring Christianity, I was enchanted with the idea of Jesus walking among us and performing miracles. I’d come to an intellectual acceptance of the concept that miracles could happen, so it was exciting to hear about instances where they supposedly had! The more my research led me to conclude that Jesus really was who he said he was, the more delightful it was to transport myself back to those times long ago, and imagine the wonder and appreciation the gathered crowds must have felt.
When my studies started leading me to the Catholic Church, though, things got a little weird. More…
Good Friday
from Creative Minority Report April 2, 2010 
As a child I was always wondering why it was called “Good Friday” when it seemed to me to be a pretty awful day. But this day explains Catholicism better than any other. Ours is a faith where pain and suffering are not signs that we are not connected enough to God or that we’ve done something wrong. Faith doesn’t mean easy living. In fact, we only have to look at the cross to see that. Through Christ’s sufferings we are redeemed. But if we take up our crosses God can accomplish so much good through us. More…
Posted by matthew archbold on Creative Minority Report at 11:01 PM 1 April 2010 A.D.
Father DeSouza Responds to the NY Times
from Creative Minority Reader March 29, 2010
Fr. Raymond J. de Souza takes on the media’s portrayal of the Pope:
The New York Times on March 25 accused Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, of intervening to prevent a priest, Fr. Lawrence Murphy, from facing penalties for cases of sexual abuse of minors.
The story is false. It is unsupported by its own documentation. Indeed, it gives every indication of being part of a coordinated campaign against Pope Benedict, rather than responsible journalism.
Before addressing the false substance of the story, the following circumstances are worthy of note:
Father Trigilio on the Treatment of the Pope
from Creative Minority Reader March 25, 2010
Father Giovanni Trigilio believes the media isn’t treating Pope Benedict fairly:
“Fair and Balanced??? Not at CNN”
CNN relentlessly attacked Pope Benedict XVI today. Anderson Cooper and Jack Cafferty wasted no time making illogical inferences that the Holy Father was guilty of covering up a pedophile priest while he was a German Archbishop in 1980. That Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was Archbishop at the time is not de facto empirical evidence he knew everything nor that he was told everything about Fr. Peter Hullermann. Furthermore, the press and media which love sound bytes loathe long explanations even if they clarify the truth.
Bishops Share The Blame
by Pat Archbold Monday, March 22, 2010 6:50 AM
at National Catholic Register Blog
Well, it is done. The Government takeover of health-care is now the law of the land complete with the federal funding of abortion.
At this horrific moment we must make an honest assessment of how we arrived at this point. The responsibility for this terrible moment in history is spread far and wide. The Democrat party, committed to the Siamese causes of increasing government control of lives and desire to have less lives, is the obvious culprit but far from the only one.
A truly honest assessment of the situation should hold the Republican party to account. Truth be told, the Republican party has acquitted themselves well in the past year. They managed to hold off this bill as long as they could facing an opposition with a huge majority. But why did the Democrats have such a huge majority? Because when the reigns of government were entrusted to Republicans, they woefully failed in their duty. They failed to live up to their own creed in both a fiscal and moral sense. No need to go into detail here, everyone knows their failings. Those failings opened the door to a virulently pro-death Democrat Congress and a virulently pro-death Democrat president.
Had the Republicans been good stewards of the authority entrusted them, we would likely not be in this situation now.
There is another group that should also take a hard look at their stewardship and and acknowledge their failures, the US Bishops.
Again, while the Bishops have acquitted themselves well through this process recently, they cannot ignore the past.
The hard truth is that for years the Bishops have allied themselves with the pro-abort party in matters related to health-care, and now they claim 11th hour betrayal.
When you hang out with thieves, you shouldn’t be surprised when you get robbed.
Moreover, the Bishops silence for years in the face of pro-abortion Catholic politicians has given aid and comfort to those who seek the death of children. The Bishop’s unwillingness, with some obvious exceptions, to effectively address or discipline pro-abort Catholic politicians allowed for the Democrats to portray the Church as divided on the issue. They have also allowed a culture of dissent to flourish for decades that culminated in the shameful last minute endorsement by a group of radical nuns that seriously hurt the cause of life.
The bishops’ decades long collective silence on these issues allowed for this culture to develop and has resulted in the USCCB being understandably criticized as an extension of the Democrat party (the Democrat party at prayer they say). This is the horrible result of that ungodly alliance.
Blame may be cathartic for some but that is not the reason I bring this sorry history up now. Like the Republicans, the Bishops too must learn from their mistakes. If they continue to ally themselves with the Democrat party and continue their cowardly and ineffective “pastoral” approach to pro-death Catholic politicians things will only get worse, and yes they can get worse.
So it is time for all of us to admit our mistakes and learn from them. Lives depend on it. We failed them before, let’s not do it again.
Patrick Archbold & his brother Matthew have their own blog, Creative Minority Report. They also write for the blog at National Catholic Register.
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