Refuting the Purveyors of Hate of the Church

Obviously there have been numerous news reports coming from the secular press and the usual Catholic dissidents personally attacking the Pope over the sex abuse crisis and their search for the "smoking gun" that will rid them of the greatest obstacle in their grail quest of moral relativism.  Their fanatical hatred of the Pope is perhaps only eclipsed by their  hatred of George Bush.  In true fashion they haven't allowed anything like the Truth spoil their hysteria.  I don't need to reinvent the wheel so here are three well written articles refuting the errors they keep spewing forth.  And remember to not lose heart over this which fittingly takes place during Holy Week.  As Jesus suffered during his earthly life, the Church must likewise suffer and we too are called to offer our sufferings united to Christ's. 

 Rebuttal by Fr. Raymond J. de Souza in National Review Online

Article by George Weigel in First Things 

Article by Jimmy Akin in the National Catholic Register

Refuting the Purveyors of Hate of the Church

Obviously there have been numerous news reports coming from the secular press and the usual Catholic dissidents personally attacking the Pope over the sex abuse crisis and their search for the "smoking gun" that will rid them of the greatest obstacle in their grail quest of moral relativism.  Their fanatical hatred of the Pope is perhaps only eclipsed by their  hatred of George Bush.  In true fashion they haven't allowed anything like the Truth spoil their hysteria.  I don't need to reinvent the wheel so here are three well written articles refuting the errors they keep spewing forth.  And remember to not lose heart over this which fittingly takes place during Holy Week.  As Jesus suffered during his earthly life, the Church must likewise suffer and we too are called to offer our sufferings united to Christ's. 

 Rebuttal by Fr. Raymond J. de Souza in National Review Online

Article by George Weigel in First Things 

Article by Jimmy Akin in the National Catholic Register

Pray the Rosary on Good Friday Between 12 - 3

Are you aware there is an initiative to unite all Catholics in prayer on Good Friday between Noon and 3pm?

Everyone is aware of the downward moral spiral we are all caught up in which seems to be touching every aspect of our lives. Please consider praying with us to bring peace to the world and protection to those who are most in need of our protection, like the homeless, the elderly, children and young people, and the unborn. [I would also include an intention for the Church and the Pope who is being aggressively attacked by his enemies.]

There is a great deal to gain and absolutely nothing to lose!

Imagine what might happen if every Catholic in the world would pray a Rosary on the same day! We have an example in October of 1571, when Europe was saved from the invasion of the mighty Turkish fleet, by the praying of the Rosary by all Christians!

So, on Good Friday, let us all pray a Rosary for peace in the world and the return of moral values into our communities. If possible, please pray your Rosary between Noon and 3:00pm.

Also, please e-mail this message to every Catholic on your address list, and ask them to pass it along to every Catholic on their lists. Let's unite in praying one of the most powerful prayers in existence, for these intentions, on one of the holiest days in our Church year.

Pray the Rosary on Good Friday Between 12 - 3

Are you aware there is an initiative to unite all Catholics in prayer on Good Friday between Noon and 3pm?

Everyone is aware of the downward moral spiral we are all caught up in which seems to be touching every aspect of our lives. Please consider praying with us to bring peace to the world and protection to those who are most in need of our protection, like the homeless, the elderly, children and young people, and the unborn. [I would also include an intention for the Church and the Pope who is being aggressively attacked by his enemies.]

There is a great deal to gain and absolutely nothing to lose!

Imagine what might happen if every Catholic in the world would pray a Rosary on the same day! We have an example in October of 1571, when Europe was saved from the invasion of the mighty Turkish fleet, by the praying of the Rosary by all Christians!

So, on Good Friday, let us all pray a Rosary for peace in the world and the return of moral values into our communities. If possible, please pray your Rosary between Noon and 3:00pm.

Also, please e-mail this message to every Catholic on your address list, and ask them to pass it along to every Catholic on their lists. Let's unite in praying one of the most powerful prayers in existence, for these intentions, on one of the holiest days in our Church year.

Denying Communion to Pro-Abort Pols

There is a reluctance on the part of some (many?) Bishops to deny Communion or impose other penalties upon pro-abortion politicians.  Instead they prefer to wait patiently for the pol's conversion and recognition of their error.  However well intentioned their excellencies motives may be, any parent with children knows that it is very imprudent to allow a child to remain disobedient without any threat of punishment.  Oftentimes it is not until some tragedy occurs that we realize our mistake.

It is important to recall that the purpose of discipline is to help an individual recognize that they are in error and motivate them to correct their bad behavior, not as some form of vengeance for wrongdoing.  Any person who receives Holy Communion unworthily commits sacrilige and brings further condemnation upon oneself.  With that in mind I thought that this scene from Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade was apropos.

UPDATE!  Dr. Ed Peters has written an excellent article on why it is time Bishops begin enforcing canon 915.  Read the article here. 

Denying Communion to Pro-Abort Pols

There is a reluctance on the part of some (many?) Bishops to deny Communion or impose other penalties upon pro-abortion politicians.  Instead they prefer to wait patiently for the pol's conversion and recognition of their error.  However well intentioned their excellencies motives may be, any parent with children knows that it is very imprudent to allow a child to remain disobedient without any threat of punishment.  Oftentimes it is not until some tragedy occurs that we realize our mistake.

It is important to recall that the purpose of discipline is to help an individual recognize that they are in error and motivate them to correct their bad behavior, not as some form of vengeance for wrongdoing.  Any person who receives Holy Communion unworthily commits sacrilige and brings further condemnation upon oneself.  With that in mind I thought that this scene from Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade was apropos.

UPDATE!  Dr. Ed Peters has written an excellent article on why it is time Bishops begin enforcing canon 915.  Read the article here. 

A Christian Approach to Healthcare Reform

For better or worse, well its definitely worse, but it looks like barring Divine intervention we are going to have a national healthcare program. However unless we want to see the inevitable bankruptcy to the country caused by such a program we ought to still work to influence the ultimate direction healthcare reform takes. Dr. Robert Condit has a well written article on A Christian Perspective for Healthcare Reform.  We would have been better off if this were followed before the passage of the Bill from Hell but we cannot give up the fight. 

How should health care in the United States be reformed? The principles of social justice outlined in Catholic social teaching can be considered by all those of good will as guidelines for ethical health care reform. Those principles, are the dignity of the human person, the common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. These four social-justice principles provide a foundation for a virtuous and economically sound improvement in medical resource allocation; a Christian prescription for health care reform.

It is clear that we have a duty to improve access, affordability, and quality of care for all citizens because of their human dignity. Frequently missing from the discussion of health care reform is the role of personal responsibility. Pope Benedict XVI has emphasized the point: “In the name of freedom, there has to be a correlation between rights and duties, by which every person is called to assume responsibility for his or her choices.” [This is a huge issue than will not be resolved simply by giving people a health insurance card and telling them to go see a doctor when they are sick.  Some time back I quoted the late Fr. McNabb O.P. on this same issue where he said it is time we stop hearing about the rights owed us and instead start recognizing the duties we owe to God.]

Behavior and responsibility for the consequences of personal health choices need to be linked for significant health care reform. If patients participated more directly, at the point of service, in paying for their care or for their medical insurance, medical resource consumption would diminish. More health care resources could be used for prevention of disease than spent on chronic illness associated with modifiable risk factors. The 38 percent of American deaths caused by the behaviors of smoking, diet, physical inactivity, and alcohol use could be mitigated.  Patients with stronger incentives to stay healthy could decrease expenditures associated with smoking, obesity, diet controlled diabetes, atherosclerotic heart and peripheral vessel disease, strokes, alcoholism, and osteoporosis, to name a few. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight, which directly correlates with chronic disease and increased health care spending.  [A couple years ago the Belgian Minister of Public Health gave a talk at the Brookings Institution which highlighted among other issues the significant obesity problem in America compared to Belgium and the rest of Europe. This factor must be taken into account when trying to draw comparisons to the national healthcare programs in other countries. He also said that America has to deal with the issue of tort reform, something ardently fought against by the Democrat Party beholden to trial lawyers.  In Belgium everyone is expected to pay something, regardless of income, on a sliding scale]

Christ’s teachings on justice did not omit discussion of personal responsibility. “He will repay all according to his conduct” (Matt. 16:27). Contemporary platforms for health care reform can neither neglect nor discount personal behavior and accountability.  [I have seen numerous times people calling 911 for respiratory distress only to arrive and find them smoking endlessly with a full ashtray and their oxygen tank humming along beside them.  Never mind the obvious danger of mixing smoking and oxygen but again this type of behavior will not change simply because people have access to nationalized healthcare since many of them were already on Medicare/Medicaid.]

Patients’ paying for health care at the point of service are more prudent purchasers of health care than those perceiving health care benefits as an entitlement. They would spend less on health care if they took better care of themselves for modifiable conditions. They seek to be more informed and ask more questions about quality, outcomes, and cost. Furthermore, as consumers, they are more motivated to negotiate regarding costs of elective treatment decisions. Medical inflation would improve. Patients’ directly paying insurance premiums, rather than indirectly through foregone wages or by taxes, would lead to stronger demands and competition for quality of service from insurance companies.

The Medicare Trust Fund is expected to become insolvent by 2019. Medicare patients are going to have to bear more financial responsibility for their health care decisions, particularly for elective procedures. Presently, physicians and hospitals rarely are asked about the cost of care by patients and families when they expect insurance to cover their bills. Definitions of extraordinary care could consider financial expenditure. Medical resources are not unlimited. Less futile end-of-life spending could potentially increase resource availability for more preventative and basic care, while at the same time promoting greater respect for human dignity. This is an area in which the Church’s teaching offers invaluable guidance. Cases of withholding ordinary care have rightly garnered national attention and provoked outrage, but it is also true that the technological extension of life by extraordinary means can absorb significant resources without enhancing the prospects for a dignified and natural death.

The affluent elderly could bear more financial burden for their health care. The established social contract where workers’ taxes provide for medical expenses of those over sixty-five has to be reconsidered given demographic changes as well as advances in expensive technology and specialty care. Fewer workers are paying taxes to support the ever expanding percentage of the population that is retired.

Some argue that medical care demand is inelastic; the quantity of care demanded is not sufficiently influenced by prices, and increasing consumer responsibility for payment will not curb health care spending. However, much of health care is not emergent. Many patients are sophisticated enough to become informed health care consumers, as they are for other goods and services. Primary care physicians can assist their patients and families in cost-conscious decision-making, in addition to encouraging lifestyle and diet changes that can have tremendous impact on preventable or modifiable chronic disease. There is opportunity for a more just allocation of the two trillion dollars spent annually on health care in the United States. Half of the United States population spends very little on health care, while 5 percent of the population spends almost half of the total amount. The RAND Health Insurance Experiment, completed in 1982, identified considerable price elasticity, wherein some personal financial responsibility for health care did not significantly affect quality of care.

What if consumers choose not to purchase, or cannot afford, health insurance? Should someone be denied care because they cannot pay? It is reasonable to seek to agree on primary care services or basic safety-net coverage that might be provided to all citizens; for example, children’s health, pregnancy care, and emergent and urgent conditions. Market forces would identify fundamentally desired health care service more effectively than committees or bureaucracies. Furthermore, incentives need to be created to encourage patients to avoid emergency rooms for non urgent conditions. As a society, we cannot turn our backs on the indigent. However, unlimited procedures and treatments are not possible. Patient participation in the cost of their care, even a small percentage, is a more just situation than abdicating total control of payment and what is provided, or denied, to a third party. Human dignity is promoted by reforms respecting both duties to others and personal responsibility.

A Christian Approach to Healthcare Reform

For better or worse, well its definitely worse, but it looks like barring Divine intervention we are going to have a national healthcare program. However unless we want to see the inevitable bankruptcy to the country caused by such a program we ought to still work to influence the ultimate direction healthcare reform takes. Dr. Robert Condit has a well written article on A Christian Perspective for Healthcare Reform.  We would have been better off if this were followed before the passage of the Bill from Hell but we cannot give up the fight. 

How should health care in the United States be reformed? The principles of social justice outlined in Catholic social teaching can be considered by all those of good will as guidelines for ethical health care reform. Those principles, are the dignity of the human person, the common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. These four social-justice principles provide a foundation for a virtuous and economically sound improvement in medical resource allocation; a Christian prescription for health care reform.

It is clear that we have a duty to improve access, affordability, and quality of care for all citizens because of their human dignity. Frequently missing from the discussion of health care reform is the role of personal responsibility. Pope Benedict XVI has emphasized the point: “In the name of freedom, there has to be a correlation between rights and duties, by which every person is called to assume responsibility for his or her choices.” [This is a huge issue than will not be resolved simply by giving people a health insurance card and telling them to go see a doctor when they are sick.  Some time back I quoted the late Fr. McNabb O.P. on this same issue where he said it is time we stop hearing about the rights owed us and instead start recognizing the duties we owe to God.]

Behavior and responsibility for the consequences of personal health choices need to be linked for significant health care reform. If patients participated more directly, at the point of service, in paying for their care or for their medical insurance, medical resource consumption would diminish. More health care resources could be used for prevention of disease than spent on chronic illness associated with modifiable risk factors. The 38 percent of American deaths caused by the behaviors of smoking, diet, physical inactivity, and alcohol use could be mitigated.  Patients with stronger incentives to stay healthy could decrease expenditures associated with smoking, obesity, diet controlled diabetes, atherosclerotic heart and peripheral vessel disease, strokes, alcoholism, and osteoporosis, to name a few. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight, which directly correlates with chronic disease and increased health care spending.  [A couple years ago the Belgian Minister of Public Health gave a talk at the Brookings Institution which highlighted among other issues the significant obesity problem in America compared to Belgium and the rest of Europe. This factor must be taken into account when trying to draw comparisons to the national healthcare programs in other countries. He also said that America has to deal with the issue of tort reform, something ardently fought against by the Democrat Party beholden to trial lawyers.  In Belgium everyone is expected to pay something, regardless of income, on a sliding scale]

Christ’s teachings on justice did not omit discussion of personal responsibility. “He will repay all according to his conduct” (Matt. 16:27). Contemporary platforms for health care reform can neither neglect nor discount personal behavior and accountability.  [I have seen numerous times people calling 911 for respiratory distress only to arrive and find them smoking endlessly with a full ashtray and their oxygen tank humming along beside them.  Never mind the obvious danger of mixing smoking and oxygen but again this type of behavior will not change simply because people have access to nationalized healthcare since many of them were already on Medicare/Medicaid.]

Patients’ paying for health care at the point of service are more prudent purchasers of health care than those perceiving health care benefits as an entitlement. They would spend less on health care if they took better care of themselves for modifiable conditions. They seek to be more informed and ask more questions about quality, outcomes, and cost. Furthermore, as consumers, they are more motivated to negotiate regarding costs of elective treatment decisions. Medical inflation would improve. Patients’ directly paying insurance premiums, rather than indirectly through foregone wages or by taxes, would lead to stronger demands and competition for quality of service from insurance companies.

The Medicare Trust Fund is expected to become insolvent by 2019. Medicare patients are going to have to bear more financial responsibility for their health care decisions, particularly for elective procedures. Presently, physicians and hospitals rarely are asked about the cost of care by patients and families when they expect insurance to cover their bills. Definitions of extraordinary care could consider financial expenditure. Medical resources are not unlimited. Less futile end-of-life spending could potentially increase resource availability for more preventative and basic care, while at the same time promoting greater respect for human dignity. This is an area in which the Church’s teaching offers invaluable guidance. Cases of withholding ordinary care have rightly garnered national attention and provoked outrage, but it is also true that the technological extension of life by extraordinary means can absorb significant resources without enhancing the prospects for a dignified and natural death.

The affluent elderly could bear more financial burden for their health care. The established social contract where workers’ taxes provide for medical expenses of those over sixty-five has to be reconsidered given demographic changes as well as advances in expensive technology and specialty care. Fewer workers are paying taxes to support the ever expanding percentage of the population that is retired.

Some argue that medical care demand is inelastic; the quantity of care demanded is not sufficiently influenced by prices, and increasing consumer responsibility for payment will not curb health care spending. However, much of health care is not emergent. Many patients are sophisticated enough to become informed health care consumers, as they are for other goods and services. Primary care physicians can assist their patients and families in cost-conscious decision-making, in addition to encouraging lifestyle and diet changes that can have tremendous impact on preventable or modifiable chronic disease. There is opportunity for a more just allocation of the two trillion dollars spent annually on health care in the United States. Half of the United States population spends very little on health care, while 5 percent of the population spends almost half of the total amount. The RAND Health Insurance Experiment, completed in 1982, identified considerable price elasticity, wherein some personal financial responsibility for health care did not significantly affect quality of care.

What if consumers choose not to purchase, or cannot afford, health insurance? Should someone be denied care because they cannot pay? It is reasonable to seek to agree on primary care services or basic safety-net coverage that might be provided to all citizens; for example, children’s health, pregnancy care, and emergent and urgent conditions. Market forces would identify fundamentally desired health care service more effectively than committees or bureaucracies. Furthermore, incentives need to be created to encourage patients to avoid emergency rooms for non urgent conditions. As a society, we cannot turn our backs on the indigent. However, unlimited procedures and treatments are not possible. Patient participation in the cost of their care, even a small percentage, is a more just situation than abdicating total control of payment and what is provided, or denied, to a third party. Human dignity is promoted by reforms respecting both duties to others and personal responsibility.

Feast of St. Nicholas Owen

Today is also the feast of St. Nicholas Owen, one of the 40 English Martyrs, who did so much to keep the Faith alive in England after Henry VIII.  I just read an account of his life in the book, Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries, which is an interesting book and contained a fascinating section on this saint and his role building the "priest holes."  Here is a short excerpt of his life taken from American Catholic.  What makes his story all the more remarkable was his diminutive physical stature complicated by a hernia.

Born at Oxford, this humble artisan saved the lives of many priests and laypersons in England during the penal times (1559-1829), when a series of statutes punished Catholics for the practice of their faith. Over a period of about 20 years he used his skills to build secret hiding places for priests throughout the country. His work, which he did completely by himself as both architect and builder, was so good that time and time again priests in hiding were undetected by raiding parties. He was a genius at finding, and creating, places of safety: subterranean passages, small spaces between walls, impenetrable recesses. At one point he was even able to mastermind the escape of two Jesuits from the Tower of London. Whenever Nicholas set out to design such hiding places, he began by receiving the Holy Eucharist, and he would turn to God in prayer throughout the long, dangerous construction process.

After many years at his unusual task, he entered the Society of Jesus and served as a lay brother although—for very good reasons—his connection with the Jesuits was kept secret.

After a number of narrow escapes, he himself was finally caught in 1594. Despite protracted torture, he refused to disclose the names of other Catholics. After being released following the payment of a ransom, "Little John" went back to his work. He was arrested again in 1606. This time he was subjected to horrible tortures, suffering an agonizing death. The jailers tried suggesting that he had confessed and committed suicide, but his heroism and sufferings soon were widely known.

He was canonized in 1970 as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales.

Feast of St. Nicholas Owen

Today is also the feast of St. Nicholas Owen, one of the 40 English Martyrs, who did so much to keep the Faith alive in England after Henry VIII.  I just read an account of his life in the book, Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries, which is an interesting book and contained a fascinating section on this saint and his role building the "priest holes."  Here is a short excerpt of his life taken from American Catholic.  What makes his story all the more remarkable was his diminutive physical stature complicated by a hernia.

Born at Oxford, this humble artisan saved the lives of many priests and laypersons in England during the penal times (1559-1829), when a series of statutes punished Catholics for the practice of their faith. Over a period of about 20 years he used his skills to build secret hiding places for priests throughout the country. His work, which he did completely by himself as both architect and builder, was so good that time and time again priests in hiding were undetected by raiding parties. He was a genius at finding, and creating, places of safety: subterranean passages, small spaces between walls, impenetrable recesses. At one point he was even able to mastermind the escape of two Jesuits from the Tower of London. Whenever Nicholas set out to design such hiding places, he began by receiving the Holy Eucharist, and he would turn to God in prayer throughout the long, dangerous construction process.

After many years at his unusual task, he entered the Society of Jesus and served as a lay brother although—for very good reasons—his connection with the Jesuits was kept secret.

After a number of narrow escapes, he himself was finally caught in 1594. Despite protracted torture, he refused to disclose the names of other Catholics. After being released following the payment of a ransom, "Little John" went back to his work. He was arrested again in 1606. This time he was subjected to horrible tortures, suffering an agonizing death. The jailers tried suggesting that he had confessed and committed suicide, but his heroism and sufferings soon were widely known.

He was canonized in 1970 as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales.

Memorial of Blessed Clemens August Cardinal von Galen

Today is the memorial for Blessed Clemens August Cardinal von Galen, who was a member of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and of Malta.  Joanna Bogle wrote this bio on him in Women for Faith and Family.

This month marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of a German bishop whose name became well known to American and British people in World War II, and was much admired, especially by Catholics. In the post-war years he was forgotten, and has only recently returned to prominence.

He is Bishop Clemens-August von Galen, known as the “Lion of Münster”, and the reason he has recently returned to prominence is that he has now been beatified. I was present for his beatification in Rome in 2005 — and I believe that his story should be better known, as his life and message have an important significance for us today.

Born on March 16, 1878 into an ancient aristocratic family, Bishop (later Cardinal) von Galen would become the best-known of the German churchmen speaking out against the Nazis. He had spent the first years of his priesthood working among the poor in Berlin in the 1920s, and on his appointment as Bishop of Münster he became known for his personal austerity of life and his vigorous commitment to the needs of his diocese.

In the war years, he would become the leading German speaker and campaigner against the hideous Nazi euthanasia program, which saw men, women, and children in mental hospitals or long-term institutions taken away and killed.

The Church had started denouncing the persecution of the Jews as far back as 1933 when Cardinal Michael Faulhaber of Munich preached strongly against the Nazi anti-Jewish campaigns that were then starting. And in 1938, when synagogues were being attacked, the Chief Rabbi of Munich asked Cardinal Faulhaber for help, and he sent a truck to take the Torah scrolls and other precious objects to safety before a mob could reach the building. When this became known, a Nazi crowd gathered outside the cardinal’s residence, shrieking “Out with Faulhaber, the friend of Jews!”

In a pastoral letter in Lent 1934, Bishop von Galen forcibly denounced the National Socialist ideology as being heathen and offensive to God, and in a sermon two years later he spoke of people who had been killed for opposing Nazis: “There are in Germany today new graves containing the ashes of those on whom the German people look as martyrs”.

The Nazis were now beginning to close down Catholic organizations and to impose Nazi ideology in schools.

In January 1937 Bishop von Galen was among a group of German bishops who went to Rome to help prepare what became a crucial papal letter to the German people, Mit Brennender Sorge (“with burning anxiety”), begging them to turn away from National Socialism. [The letter, issued by Pope Pius XI in March 1937, is accessible on the Vatican web site. — Ed.]

But these actions were to no avail and the Nazi war machine rolled on. In 1941, the first hints emerged of the euthanasia program. It was the killing of the mentally ill and disabled that preceded the Nazis’ mass slaughter of Jewish people through which, eventually, millions would die. And the official National Socialist Government line was being imposed everywhere.

In his dramatic sermon at Saint Lambert’s Church in the summer of 1941, Bishop von Galen set the scene: “Religion has been banned from the schools, our organizations have been suppressed, and now Catholic kindergartens are about to be abolished — there is a deep-seated hatred of Christianity which they are determined to destroy”.

The killing of mentally handicapped people was now being authorized: “And why?” asked the bishop: “Because, in the judgement of some official, they have been deemed ‘unworthy to live’, because they are classed as ‘unproductive members of the national community.’ The judgement is that they can no longer produce any goods, they are like an old piece of machinery which no longer works…. If it is once admitted that men have the right to kill ‘unproductive’ fellow-men — even though it is at present only applied to poor and defenseless mentally ill patients — then the way is open to the murder of all unproductive men and women….”

Three major sermons by Bishop von Galen, all denouncing euthanasia and arbitrary arrests and killings, reached the Western Allies, were reprinted and dropped into Germany by the RAF and were mentioned in broadcasts from London. His language had been strong: “A curse on men and on the German people if we break the holy Commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’! Woe to us if we not only license this heinous offense but allow it to be committed with impunity”.

The bishop was placed under house arrest and only the Nazis’ fear of a major uprising in Westphalia if he were made into a martyr prevented his being taken to Dachau. Several hundred German priests were already in the concentration camp there and most would die before the end of the war: twenty-four priests from Bishop von Galen’s own diocese were arrested and he knew that it was because of his own activities rather than just their own that they had been made victims. Extraordinarily, because of the furor caused by Bishop von Galen’s sermons, the euthanasia program in Westphalia was stopped for a time.

The city of Münster was very heavily bombed and the cathedral and the bishop’s residence were largely destroyed. Like many others, he was homeless and had to find shelter outside the city, but was still under watch from the authorities.

At the end of the war, the bishop was honored by the Church by being made a cardinal, in what was widely seen as a gesture of goodwill towards the defeated Germans who were by then hungry and broken in the ruins of their destroyed cities. His health was by now poor and he lived only a month after going to Rome to receive the honor from Pope Pius XII in 1946. He was buried in his ruined cathedral.

The Blessed Cardinal von Galen’s legacy of courage and faith continues. Today one of his great-nieces runs a major German pro-life organization. Especially since his beatification in 2005, he is recognized as an inspiration to all who speak out in defense of the value of human life — a message badly needed as the threat of euthanasia looms again in our culture.

Memorial of Blessed Clemens August Cardinal von Galen

Today is the memorial for Blessed Clemens August Cardinal von Galen, who was a member of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and of Malta.  Joanna Bogle wrote this bio on him in Women for Faith and Family.

This month marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of a German bishop whose name became well known to American and British people in World War II, and was much admired, especially by Catholics. In the post-war years he was forgotten, and has only recently returned to prominence.

He is Bishop Clemens-August von Galen, known as the “Lion of Münster”, and the reason he has recently returned to prominence is that he has now been beatified. I was present for his beatification in Rome in 2005 — and I believe that his story should be better known, as his life and message have an important significance for us today.

Born on March 16, 1878 into an ancient aristocratic family, Bishop (later Cardinal) von Galen would become the best-known of the German churchmen speaking out against the Nazis. He had spent the first years of his priesthood working among the poor in Berlin in the 1920s, and on his appointment as Bishop of Münster he became known for his personal austerity of life and his vigorous commitment to the needs of his diocese.

In the war years, he would become the leading German speaker and campaigner against the hideous Nazi euthanasia program, which saw men, women, and children in mental hospitals or long-term institutions taken away and killed.

The Church had started denouncing the persecution of the Jews as far back as 1933 when Cardinal Michael Faulhaber of Munich preached strongly against the Nazi anti-Jewish campaigns that were then starting. And in 1938, when synagogues were being attacked, the Chief Rabbi of Munich asked Cardinal Faulhaber for help, and he sent a truck to take the Torah scrolls and other precious objects to safety before a mob could reach the building. When this became known, a Nazi crowd gathered outside the cardinal’s residence, shrieking “Out with Faulhaber, the friend of Jews!”

In a pastoral letter in Lent 1934, Bishop von Galen forcibly denounced the National Socialist ideology as being heathen and offensive to God, and in a sermon two years later he spoke of people who had been killed for opposing Nazis: “There are in Germany today new graves containing the ashes of those on whom the German people look as martyrs”.

The Nazis were now beginning to close down Catholic organizations and to impose Nazi ideology in schools.

In January 1937 Bishop von Galen was among a group of German bishops who went to Rome to help prepare what became a crucial papal letter to the German people, Mit Brennender Sorge (“with burning anxiety”), begging them to turn away from National Socialism. [The letter, issued by Pope Pius XI in March 1937, is accessible on the Vatican web site. — Ed.]

But these actions were to no avail and the Nazi war machine rolled on. In 1941, the first hints emerged of the euthanasia program. It was the killing of the mentally ill and disabled that preceded the Nazis’ mass slaughter of Jewish people through which, eventually, millions would die. And the official National Socialist Government line was being imposed everywhere.

In his dramatic sermon at Saint Lambert’s Church in the summer of 1941, Bishop von Galen set the scene: “Religion has been banned from the schools, our organizations have been suppressed, and now Catholic kindergartens are about to be abolished — there is a deep-seated hatred of Christianity which they are determined to destroy”.

The killing of mentally handicapped people was now being authorized: “And why?” asked the bishop: “Because, in the judgement of some official, they have been deemed ‘unworthy to live’, because they are classed as ‘unproductive members of the national community.’ The judgement is that they can no longer produce any goods, they are like an old piece of machinery which no longer works…. If it is once admitted that men have the right to kill ‘unproductive’ fellow-men — even though it is at present only applied to poor and defenseless mentally ill patients — then the way is open to the murder of all unproductive men and women….”

Three major sermons by Bishop von Galen, all denouncing euthanasia and arbitrary arrests and killings, reached the Western Allies, were reprinted and dropped into Germany by the RAF and were mentioned in broadcasts from London. His language had been strong: “A curse on men and on the German people if we break the holy Commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’! Woe to us if we not only license this heinous offense but allow it to be committed with impunity”.

The bishop was placed under house arrest and only the Nazis’ fear of a major uprising in Westphalia if he were made into a martyr prevented his being taken to Dachau. Several hundred German priests were already in the concentration camp there and most would die before the end of the war: twenty-four priests from Bishop von Galen’s own diocese were arrested and he knew that it was because of his own activities rather than just their own that they had been made victims. Extraordinarily, because of the furor caused by Bishop von Galen’s sermons, the euthanasia program in Westphalia was stopped for a time.

The city of Münster was very heavily bombed and the cathedral and the bishop’s residence were largely destroyed. Like many others, he was homeless and had to find shelter outside the city, but was still under watch from the authorities.

At the end of the war, the bishop was honored by the Church by being made a cardinal, in what was widely seen as a gesture of goodwill towards the defeated Germans who were by then hungry and broken in the ruins of their destroyed cities. His health was by now poor and he lived only a month after going to Rome to receive the honor from Pope Pius XII in 1946. He was buried in his ruined cathedral.

The Blessed Cardinal von Galen’s legacy of courage and faith continues. Today one of his great-nieces runs a major German pro-life organization. Especially since his beatification in 2005, he is recognized as an inspiration to all who speak out in defense of the value of human life — a message badly needed as the threat of euthanasia looms again in our culture.

And Then There Were None

So with the promise of an executive order from President Obama, Bart Stupak has delivered over the remaining pro-life Democrats to vote for the healthcare bill.  However as the Curt Jester has observed, are we now to believe that the same president who made it his first action in office to rescind the Mexico City policy which had restricted federal funding of abortion overseas is now going to issue an order preventing federal funding of abortion in this country?  Wanna buy some Enron stock?  Oh well at least Sen. Ben Nelson has some new company. 

And Then There Were None

So with the promise of an executive order from President Obama, Bart Stupak has delivered over the remaining pro-life Democrats to vote for the healthcare bill.  However as the Curt Jester has observed, are we now to believe that the same president who made it his first action in office to rescind the Mexico City policy which had restricted federal funding of abortion overseas is now going to issue an order preventing federal funding of abortion in this country?  Wanna buy some Enron stock?  Oh well at least Sen. Ben Nelson has some new company. 

Modern Martha's - LCWR, CHA, and Network

Fr. Barron in a talk on Three Paths to Holiness explains the Gospel story of Martha and Mary as not merely a contrast between the active and contemplative life as is it commonly understood.  Instead he sees that the rebuke of Martha by Jesus is more than her being active but that her activity is scattered, leaving her anxious and troubled,  lacking Mary's focus on the one thing necessary, porro unum est necessarium, which is obviously Jesus.  

Like Martha it would seem that many of our modern women religious, especially those who belong to the LCWR or involved with groups like the Catholic Health Association and Network are so busy "living the Gospel" in their words, that they have forgotten the,  porro unum est necessarium, Jesus, in their mission.  In the words of St. Augustine in his sermon on this same passage Martha is busy serving, Mary has chosen to be fed.   These women in their worthy desire to minister to others have forgotten that their primary mission is to bring others to Jesus.

But how does one lead to Jesus by causing scandal through public opposition to the U.S. Bishops on the issuse of healthcare.  By supporting a healthcare plan which will ultimately use Federal dollars for abortion even if it initially gets filtered through a complex accounting scheme.

Modern Martha's - LCWR, CHA, and Network

Fr. Barron in a talk on Three Paths to Holiness explains the Gospel story of Martha and Mary as not merely a contrast between the active and contemplative life as is it commonly understood.  Instead he sees that the rebuke of Martha by Jesus is more than her being active but that her activity is scattered, leaving her anxious and troubled,  lacking Mary's focus on the one thing necessary, porro unum est necessarium, which is obviously Jesus.  

Like Martha it would seem that many of our modern women religious, especially those who belong to the LCWR or involved with groups like the Catholic Health Association and Network are so busy "living the Gospel" in their words, that they have forgotten the,  porro unum est necessarium, Jesus, in their mission.  In the words of St. Augustine in his sermon on this same passage Martha is busy serving, Mary has chosen to be fed.   These women in their worthy desire to minister to others have forgotten that their primary mission is to bring others to Jesus.

But how does one lead to Jesus by causing scandal through public opposition to the U.S. Bishops on the issuse of healthcare.  By supporting a healthcare plan which will ultimately use Federal dollars for abortion even if it initially gets filtered through a complex accounting scheme.

5th Station Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

I was reading in a book of meditations today a reflection on the fifth station where Simon helps Jesus carry his cross.  Typically in this station we contemplate the actions of Simon and his inital unwillingness to get involved and how this relates to our own response when asked to carry our crosses.  This reflection offered a different perspective though. Which was not on the reluctance of Simon but rather the failure of anyone in the crowd to go and help Jesus in His obvious struggle.

Does it not seem astonishing that no one out of that crowd, many of whom had been miraculously healed by Him, and who besides still secretly believed in Him, came foward to offer to carry our Lord's cross? Must this not have wounded so tender a heart as that of Jesus; and do not we also wound Him when we refuse to follow Him in the path of suffering and humiliation, out of unfounded fear or human respect? 

5th Station Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

I was reading in a book of meditations today a reflection on the fifth station where Simon helps Jesus carry his cross.  Typically in this station we contemplate the actions of Simon and his inital unwillingness to get involved and how this relates to our own response when asked to carry our crosses.  This reflection offered a different perspective though. Which was not on the reluctance of Simon but rather the failure of anyone in the crowd to go and help Jesus in His obvious struggle.

Does it not seem astonishing that no one out of that crowd, many of whom had been miraculously healed by Him, and who besides still secretly believed in Him, came foward to offer to carry our Lord's cross? Must this not have wounded so tender a heart as that of Jesus; and do not we also wound Him when we refuse to follow Him in the path of suffering and humiliation, out of unfounded fear or human respect? 

Letter of Archbishop Nienstedt to Minnesota's Congressional Delegation

March 15, 2010


E-Mail Message

Dear Senator or Representative,

I write to urge you, as a member of Senate or House, to commit yourself to enacting genuine health care reform that will protect the life, dignity, consciences, and health of all.

While I am grateful that the House health care bill, by way of the Stupak amendment, applies the existing prohibitions on federal funding for abortion, I am deeply concerned about the current Senate health care bill. This legislation fails to keep in place the current law. It requires taxpayers and the federal government to fund and facilitate plans which include elective abortion and then requires people in those plans to pay directly into a fund which only pays for abortions. This is unacceptable.

I thank you for your leadership to the state of Minnesota, and hope that you will continue to represent Minnesotans faithfully. No legislation should be finalized until and unless basic moral criteria are met. The only way we will get needed health care reform legislation that protects the life, dignity, conscience and health of all is if you continue to provide strong and consistent moral and political leadership. I hope that we as Minnesotans can count on your help in this urgent task.

Please know of my prayers for you and your families as you face these decisions that will impact us all.

With every good wish, I remain,

Cordially yours in Christ,


The Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt

Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Letter of Archbishop Nienstedt to Minnesota's Congressional Delegation

March 15, 2010


E-Mail Message

Dear Senator or Representative,

I write to urge you, as a member of Senate or House, to commit yourself to enacting genuine health care reform that will protect the life, dignity, consciences, and health of all.

While I am grateful that the House health care bill, by way of the Stupak amendment, applies the existing prohibitions on federal funding for abortion, I am deeply concerned about the current Senate health care bill. This legislation fails to keep in place the current law. It requires taxpayers and the federal government to fund and facilitate plans which include elective abortion and then requires people in those plans to pay directly into a fund which only pays for abortions. This is unacceptable.

I thank you for your leadership to the state of Minnesota, and hope that you will continue to represent Minnesotans faithfully. No legislation should be finalized until and unless basic moral criteria are met. The only way we will get needed health care reform legislation that protects the life, dignity, conscience and health of all is if you continue to provide strong and consistent moral and political leadership. I hope that we as Minnesotans can count on your help in this urgent task.

Please know of my prayers for you and your families as you face these decisions that will impact us all.

With every good wish, I remain,

Cordially yours in Christ,


The Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt

Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Feast of St. Padraig

Happy feast of St. Padraig's. Here are a couple links to previous posts on this great saint including an essay from Msgr. Knox on the ascetical practices of St. Padraig.

http://tuitiofidei.blogspot.com/2009/03/happy-st-patricks-day.html

http://tuitiofidei.blogspot.com/2009/03/st-patricks-purgatory.html

Feast of St. Padraig

Happy feast of St. Padraig's. Here are a couple links to previous posts on this great saint including an essay from Msgr. Knox on the ascetical practices of St. Padraig.

http://tuitiofidei.blogspot.com/2009/03/happy-st-patricks-day.html

http://tuitiofidei.blogspot.com/2009/03/st-patricks-purgatory.html

Unknown Knight of Malta by Pinturicchio

Painting of an unknown Knight of Malta in background as Archbishop of Siena, Aeneas Piccolomini presents Eleanor of Portugal to Frederick III at the Comollia gate in Siena in 1451. Fresco by Pinturicchio (1502-07). Piccolomini Library, Duomo, Siena, Italy

Clarity in the Use of Liturgical Terms

Fr. Z has added a good commentary to an article by Prof. William Mahrt in Sacred Music on how the terms we use make a difference in understanding liturgical language.  Here is a sample and you can finish reading the article here.

Words make a difference. Even though two words are identical in basic meaning, their connotations may suggest that one is much more appropriate than the other. When it comes to music and liturgy, the connotations of some commonly-used words point to a mistaken ecclesiology. [Bingo!] This was an issue in the discussions of Music in Catholic Worship and Sing to the Lord. The former document represented an anthropocentric view of the church and her liturgy, while the latter, while far from perfect, yet included a much more theocentric view. I would suggest that if musicians and liturgists would consistently use the more appropriate terms, a change in attitude might gradually be effected. [Do I hear an "Amen!"?]

Take, for example, two words: assembly and congregation. [Oooo… good one to tackle.] “Congregation” was used before the council, but has largely been replaced by “assembly.” Etymologically there are subtle differences. “Assembly” derives from ad + simul, a coming together, making similar. “Congregation” comes from con + grex (flock), a gathering together in a flock. Some would object to calling the people in church a flock, as in a flock of sheep, who are simply herded around without exercising their own independent judgment. [Then people would take exception to our Lord describing His people as a "flock" and as "sheep".] But I would suggest that the difference between the two terms is more functional: “assembly” implies bringing people together without distinction, being made similar; “congregation” implies being brought together under the guidance of a shepherd. That shepherd, as we know, is Christ, who is represented liturgically by the priest, who acts in persona Christi, who leads in the place of Christ himself.

The Reign of Christ Over Nations

"So long as Christ does not reign over nations, His influence over individuals remains superficial and precarious.  If it is true that the work of the apostolate consists in the conversion of individuals and that nations as such do not go to heaven, but souls, one by one, we must not forget, nevertheless, that the individual member of society lives under the never-ceasing influence of his environment, in which, if we may not say the he is submerged, he is, at least, deeply plunged.  If the environment is non-Catholic, it prevents him from enmbracing the faith or, if he has the faith, it tends to root out of his heart every vestige of belief.  If we imagine Catholic social institutions, with Our Lord no longer living in the hearts of the individual members of society, then religion has there become merely a displeasing signboard which will  soon be torn down.  But, on the other hand, try to convert individuals without Catholicizing the social institutions and your work is without stability.  The structure you erect in the morning will be torn down by others in the evening.  Is not the strategy of the enemies of God there to teach us a lesson?  They want to destroy the faith in the hearts of individuals, it is true, but they direct still more vigorous efforts to the elimination of religion from social institutions.  Even one defeat of God in this domain means the weakening, if not the ruin, of the faith in the souls of many."  from the Kingship of Christ according to Cardinal Pie of Poitiers, p.59

Fun - The Meaning of Life

On the way home this morning I saw a bumper sticker that said Life is Meant To Be Fun! and then linked to a website no doubt promoting this philosophy.  Undoubtedly we should have fun in our lives and when things are fun they can be more enjoyable.  Even menial or dull tasks can be made to be fun, rendering them more pleasant to do.  But is 'Fun' really the meaning of life and where does this lead society if we make it the goal rather than something we enjoy along the way? Because when we encounter situations that cannot be made fun, we will be tempted to despair or become disheartened.

Last week after the Canadian women's Olympic hockey team won the gold medal they spent hours after the game, on the ice, celebrating their victory while smoking cigars and drinking champagne.  It is one thing to enjoy the moment with joyful exhuberance but quite another  to show up your opponent by turning the whole thing into an on ice victory party in front of them.  Add in the fact that a number of the girls were under the legal drinking and smoking age and you have a situation that showed a considerable lack of class and sportsmanship for the fans and opponents.  Why I mention this is that there were comments from a number of people following the article in the news that condoned their actions by reducing them to a common thread that, "they were just having fun."  It is one thing to have fun but quite another to make it your life's identity and excuse any type of behavior because it was "fun". 

Without going to deeply into the subject I think that there is a different philosophy that I believe is more Catholic and get's us to our ultimate goal, Heaven, without having to slog through a life absent any joy.  This idea comes from the title of a book on the lives of saints and is called Saints Are Not Sad.  It opens with a quote from St. Francis de Sales who said, "A sad saint would be a very sorry saint indeed."

So as we make our way through the remainder of Lent let us remember that the sacrifices and penances we undertook might not be 'fun' but we should still find joy in doing them.  For by God's grace they help us grow in holiness, to become saints and anything undertaken for the glory of God should bring us happiness, even if it isn't fun.

Msgr. Knox on Forty Days of Grace

Some thoughts of Msgr. Knox from one of his Lenten sermons that appeared in the London Times.

"Worldliness like yours," the preacher says, "would give God a perfectly good excuse for cutting you off, here and now, in your sins. What holds his hand is the appeal of Calvary. He is giving you a little more time to repent in; let us call it forty days. After that, if you remain impenitent, I cannot answer for what will happen."

Is the right recipe for Lent, then, to live as we would if we were certainly to die on Good Friday? No harm in the idea, but it misses the point. God's threats are conditional; when Jonah cried "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," he meant, not that the city was doomed in any case but that only repentance could save it. In these days, when nations rather than individuals have become he units of history, perhaps we should think of sin abandoned as our hope of staving off the deluge.

St. John's Commandry Swingfield

Saint John's
Commandery in
Swingfield, Kent U.K.

Hospitallers preceptory founded 1180 on the site of the nunnery of the Sisters of the Order of St John of Jerusalem who were removed to Buckland Priory (ST 32 NW 3). The chapel is the only surviving building, it dates to the 13th century and was converted into a house after the Dissolution. Further alterations were made during the 18th century and 19th century. It was restored in 1972-74. Traces of other buildings survive as parchmarks and slight earthworks to the south and west of the chapel. It appears that the chapel was situated to the east of a courtyard. The cemetery lay to the northeast of the chapel.