Here’s a great article published in the Georgia Bulletin, Atlanta’s diocesan newspaper (by a staff writer for the Bulletin, no less) that will seriously just about make you vomit with rage.  Basically, a big study was done finding that young Catholics don’t have any interest in actually being Catholic.  The newspaper’s headline is a little more kum-ba-ya than mine.  It is, “Young Catholics embrace Jesus’ Message, not practices.”  It’s a long one, I will only excerpt it here.  A study was conducted by Catholic University of America.  Click on through to read it, and then send your editorial on to the Bulletin.  Or just post it in the combox.

ATLANTA—The youngest Catholics may not be sitting in the pews, but they have picked up Jesus’ key message. Serving the poor is a core belief of the Catholic faith for some 91 percent of so-called “Millennial” Catholics, according to a survey done by Catholic University of America sociologists.

At the same time, the same group rarely makes it to weekly Mass.

Mark Dannenfelser, OLA parish director of religious education, said the church message of serving the poor is being heard. Dannenfelser said a question he always asks church members on hot-button issues is “tell me more.” It opens a conversation with people and builds relationships, he said. “The church is a bunch of relationships,” he said.

*That’s funny, my Catechism says that the Church is the Body of Christ on earth.  Oh, but “church” isn’t capitalized in that quote, so they must not even be talking about the Catholic Church, right?

Nick Meyer, of Our Lady of the Assumption, said the talk left him wanting to learn about the positions taken by the church, especially to read the church’s views on birth control, “Humanae Vitae,” the 1968 encyclical by Pope Paul VI on married love and procreation.

*Which would indicate that the Catechesis he received before Confirmation was pathetic.

For instance, on the issue of sex before marriage, among the oldest and most traditional Catholics in 1987, close to half said church leaders should have the final say on the issue. By 2005, among the same group, that number dropped to 30 percent. It is even more problematic for the youngest Catholics where 2 percent agreed that church leaders should have the final say on the issue.

*Perhaps instead, they should have asked if the Bible should have the final say on this issue.  You don’t need to look to Church leaders for information on this issue, it’s pretty clearly laid out in the Bible…

Increasingly, people want a dialogue with bishops and other church leaders on moral issues.

*This is code language for, “people want to negotiate with church leaders on moral issues.”  That dog won’t hunt…

About 30 percent of Catholics want a talk about human sexuality and other issues with church leaders, up from 5 percent when the question was first asked, said D’Antonio.

People do not find church teachings on these moral issues convincing, so they don’t believe church leaders should have the final word surrounding human sexuality, he said. “It’s issues of lived experience. (Church teachings) are less and less persuasive,” he said.

*Again, this notion that Church teaching is supposed to be “persuasive” or “convincing” is based on the complete lack of understanding that Church teaching is Church teaching, not Church “suggestion.”  Using these words implies that it’s negotiable and that the people surveyed think it’s negotiable.

The experiences are on many fronts, said D’Antonio. People may have gay friends or family members, so the church teaching that same-sex relationships are wrong does not match what they encounter, he said. Parents may see their children divorce and remarry without an annulment and don’t understand why they cannot receive the Eucharist.

*Let’s prioritize this list, kids, in order of importance: Scripture, Tradition (i.e., Church Teaching) reason, and life experience.  Hmmm…apparently life experience trumps all of these.

The article concludes with the following quote from Lumen Gentium, which sure smells like it is being taken out of context.

D’Antonio said, “The body of the faithful as a whole, anointed as they are by the Holy One … cannot err in matters of belief. Thanks to the supernatural sense of the faith which characterizes the people as a whole, it manifests this unerring quality when, ‘from the bishops down to the last member of the laity,’ it shows universal agreement in matters of faith and morals.”

Of course, clearly, the study reveals that many of the “faithful” are severely in error on matters of belief.  Archbishop Gregory, it would be very appropriate for you to release an official statement on this study’s result, correcting the erroneous belief that there is any dialog to be had (dialog in this case clearly a code word for negotiation and compromise) on any Church teaching.

From NPR we get a great story on Catholics having trouble deciding between Clinton and Obama. Some excerpts:

“There certainly is no Catholic bloc vote these days, like there may have been, say, in the 1960 election, when John F. Kennedy was running for election and the first Catholic was elected to the White House,” Green says.

It could be that Clinton has done well with Catholics because so many are blue collar, or because they are older — two categories of voters that Clinton has carried. But, Green also points out that exit polls from the Wisconsin primary on Feb. 19 indicate that the “Catholic gap” that Clinton has enjoyed could be evaporating. There is a possibility that Clinton and Obama could split the Catholic vote.
…

These are voters who say their top issues are jobs, health care and finding a way out of Iraq.

…

None of these Catholic Democratic voters mention what is generally assumed to be the big issue for Catholics, which is abortion. Father Auth says the issue is important to these voters, but he says that they also look at what he calls broader life issues, such as the war, the death penalty and services for the poor.

Oh, well, no wonder…they have a priest who is not bothering to tell them that there is one paramount life issues against which all others pale in comparison. They’ll answer for their lack of Catholicity, but their priest will answer so much more for not faithfully teaching the truths of the faith.

Regular contributor Tim said he heard the radio version of this story, and the reporter mentioned the Catholics being together at the bowling alley on Friday eating turkey chili. Hello?

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 In a move surprising no one, someone on the left has now put allegations out in the press about McCain having some sort of inappropriate affair with a Washington lobbyist.  McCain says it’s false…but it doesn’t matter, because as we all know, it’s only okay for Democrats to have affairs.

If only  McCain were to lie under oath about it, he’d be home free!

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This past weekend I had the awesome experience of going to Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary. A youth minister that I know said that she had some extra money in her budget to bring me along for their annual retreat, Mount 2000. This year’s theme was Seeking the Face of Christ. Now this is a retreat aimed at young adults, but mostly high-schoolers attended. It was not as much of a discernment retreat as I had thought it would be, rather just your typical youth conference. However, my spiritual director, an alumnus, had contacted one of our Archdiocese brothers to show me around. All I can say is that I have never felt more called to be somewhere. The men there made me feel so welcome. They were all like me, granted most of them were a good bit older. I felt that the Lord is really calling me into this more and more. One guy told me that the only bad thing he thought is if you come in with an attitude of conservatism and like to do things the RIGHT way that the Mount wouldn’t really break you of that. Now I don’t at all see how that could be a bad thing. Our seminaries SHOULD rule out any mediocrity and “Spirit of Vatican II” liberalness.

The retreat itself was great except for the music. Now I understand–as was the case when I was only a few years younger– that when having high-schoolers the praise and worship music is a must to grab their attention (unfortunately). I just think that at a seminary they should really be able to differentiate for the youth that Mass is not a concert, but rather the most solemn and prayerful experience that we have. Of course though, the guy that they hired for the music was more of a “lets clap during the Gospel acclamation and the Kyrie and the Lamb of God Kind of guy.” Now when the National Catholic Youth Conference was held here in Atlanta, I thought that it was done very well. There were times for the Praise and worship Concerts, but when it came time for the Mass, it was toned down. They certainly didn’t rewrite the Kyrie as this guy did. As I said though, aside from that it was great. They had nocturnal Adoration; and before they presented the Blessed Sacrament they had a forty-five minute Eucharistic Procession. This was a phenomenal experience. It was just such an awesome feeling to have Jesus right in front of you and moving through the crowds as if He would do when He was on earth teaching. Also we had Mass every day, and Confessions were heard throughout the duration of the retreat. They said that over six thousand confessions were heard.

Now I won’t be there for another three years, I have to finish out my undergrad, but I really do look forward to being there.

First of all, I’ve been down with the flu for the last 4 days…that’s why I have been so quiet. My almost-3-year-old daughter had a milder case, my wife appears to have dodged it entirely (please pray for her!) and our 2-week-old totally missed it.

Now then, here’s a story on Italian Bishops suggesting Christian actors should stay out of steamy sex scenes:

A row has erupted over “Vatican interference” after the Italian Synod of Bishops appealed to actors to exercise their consciences and refuse to take part in “vulgar and destructive” erotic scenes in films.

The appeal follows public condemnation by the bishops of an explicit sex scene in Caos Calmo, starring the Italian actor and director Nanni Moretti, which has just been released. In the film, directed by Antonello Grimaldi, Moretti plays a television executive who experiences a mid-life crisis after the death of his wife in the course of which he has a torrid affair with a woman he saves from drowning.

Father Nicolò Anselmi, head of the youth section of the Italian Bishops Conference, said that Moretti was normally noted for his “idealistic and sensitive” films. But the “gratuitous” sex scene with Isabella Ferrari, his co-star, would have an undesirable effect on the “impressionable young” since it was shown without any context involving love or tenderness.

Franco Zeffirelli, the film and opera director, said: “The Church is full of pedants who have lost all sense of proportion.” It was a “fourth-rate” film that did not merit the publicity generated by the bishops’ intervention.

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My Dad sent along a link to an ABC News Online health report where one Dr. Jennings, of the Center for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University (rumored to at one time have been a Catholic institution) talks about a new way to track your reproductive cycle using beads.  Yes, cycle beads.  The interviewer asks Dr. Jennings if this is really just the rhythm method, and Dr. Jennings responds that it simply allows you to see what day of your cycle you’re on, with no weird calculations.  She points out how in countries around the world this is effective, and it’s well received among those willing to try it.

Now, I am as happy as anyone to see an allegedly Catholic school talking about any type of NFP.  But, it’s important to make it clear that, #1, this is not a new discovery, and #2, this is not as effective or as useful as the sympto-thermal method of NFP that the Kippleys have been teaching for 30 years, first under the auspices of the Couple to Couple League, and now in their new organization, NFP International.  These cycle beads only work for women with cycles of 26-32 days.  Sympto-thermal works for all sorts of weird cycle durations.  And, all the cycle beads do is help you to guess when you are fertile provided you have a normal cycle length of 26-32 days.  To avoid pregnancy, it requires a period of abstinence of about 10 days (which is enough to run off some folks right away.) Contrast that with sympto-thermal which could see an abstinence period as brief as 5 days.  And, of course, if you have one cycle where ovulation is just a little late or a little early, you become a parent – with sympto-thermal, you’re looking for actual signs of ovulation – so it’s more effective.  It’s not guessing.

Georgetown ought to be out there promoting the Kippleys’ method which has already been tested for 30+ years showing an effective rate of 99% under perfect use!   But then, there’s apparently some reason to hide sympto-thermal.  No money in it, I guess.

And one more thing…until Georgetown stops using the word “risk” with the word “pregnancy,” they haven’t returned to true Catholic teaching.

So, go watch the video… 

For those under a rock, Mitt Romney vacated the Republican Presidential race this morning, and that means that it’s between Huckabee and McCain.  McCain has more delegates, so it seems that he’s got the nomination and Huckabee must have a sweet position in the McCain administration, or he would have gotten out before Super Tuesday.

Thus, if it’s McCain vs. a democrat, who the heck do I vote for?  McCain is right on abortion and right on national defense, but he’s wrong on every other issue that’s important to me.  I don’t think I can vote for him because I’d be sacrificing my conservative principles just to keep Clinton/Obama out of office.  Might it be better to have one of these extreme left wing nuts in office for 4 years and pull a Jimmy Carter, so as to jar the Republican Party into coming up with a real, conservative candidate in 2012?

Also, in another email that I sent to Chris about the continuation of this conversation I said this:

ya and he also said that hes a sola scriptura guy. so i said

ok, who did paul write his letters too? early churches right? so then how were they already established?

o well they had the scripture passed on to them through oral tradition.

right… but what about the pauline epistles? how could they have been passed on if they werent yet written.

o well they had already established based on the other books.

right then i guess we don’t need Pauls letters?

no they corrected the early churches, they were led astray.

so then i guess by that logic the church didn’t officially start until Paul “corrected” it right?

wel no… umm…

and we have some of that circular reasoning. of course he claims calvinism too.

Tim Nadolski

Courtesy of my brother-in-law, Tim, who is living in a dorm among many fundamentalists, we have an interesting adventure in apologetics.  Tim was talking to someone about the “once-saved-always-saved” concept.

First, he asked the guy about the parable of the Prodigal Son. If you’ll remember, at the end of the parable, the father says, my son who was dead is alive again.  Now, logically, in order for someone to be alive “again” means that they were at one time alive, then they were dead, and then they came back to life.  You can’t be alive again without having also been alive before and then gone through a period of not being alive.  Now, most people agree that the father in this parable is parallel to God, and that there are two types of Christ-followers, those who are steady and consistent in faith throughout their lives, and those who aren’t but in the end return to God’s good graces.  Wouldn’t this parable then be telling us that it is possible to be in God’s good graces, but then to turn our backs and walk away, and then, most importantly, to come back to him?

Then, Tim went on to ask the person about when Jesus talked about vines and branches, and how Scripture tells us that branches that don’t produce fruit will be cut off and burned in the fire.  Now, most folks agree that Christ is the vine, and Christians are the branches (in fact, I think Jesus actually says “I am the vine, you are the branches.”)  Logically, the branches are joined to the vine in order to survive.  However, it’s our responsibility as Christians to bear fruit (that is to witness to God’s grace) or we will be sheared off and burned up.  Now, if we are branches that are attached to the vine, the Body of Christ, then that means we are in Him and He is in us.  In other words, we’re in good shape.  We’re heaven-bound, we’re living members of his body.  But then, if we don’t bear fruit, we can be sheared off.  Separated from the vine.  If we as branches are separated from the vine, we’re dead.  And then there’s that whole “burned in fire” thing that sounds a little like hell, or at least like purgatory.  That would imply that we can be joined to the vine and then we by virtue of not bearing fruit can be separated from the vine.  Again, if we can be separated, then that would mean we are fallen away from God’s grace.

So there you go – two very cogent arguments against “once-saved-always-saved.”  The fundy that Tim was talking to simply responded that neither of these stories is actually about salvation, because in neither case was the person saved before falling away (even though they were “alive” and attached to the vine.)  So, Tim asked why these two cases are mentioned in the Bible.  The person responded that they tell us how to come to Christ.  Even using a literalistic interpretation that is subscribed to by fundamentalists, these two stories clearly tell us how not to be separated from Christ – not how to come to Him.

Amazing how easy it is to believe once-saved-always-saved when you just ignore what the Bible says.

Two mentally retarded women strapped with remote-control explosives—and possibly used as unwitting suicide bombers—brought carnage Friday to two pet bazaars, killing at 73 people in the deadliest day since Washington flooded the capital with extra troops last spring.

No, it’s not news.  We already know they kill their own in the name o their version of their religion.

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