Peter Kavanagh
Strangers Everywhere
The news is filled with stories about immigration and 'strangers'. Making sense of immigration should be old hat to us by now, given the strength of the argument that . This is a national story with the unfolding events surrounding the arrival of another ship filled with . It is a Toronto story with the , a diocesan story with details of Archbishop Collins sponsoring a Iraqi Refugee Family , as reported by the Register's Michael Swan and an international story with from all sides. It is an issue that won't go away, nor should it. It raises fundamental issues of charity and justice and has been on the If we look with either horror, concern or confusion at the situation in Arizona, it is important to realize that the issue is heating up in Canada as well. And as notes, we shouldn't be too smug because the polls aren't painting a pretty picture of our attitudes or values. It's not a simple matter by any means, but it does require thinking through and possibly some . Without doubt politicians will be getting deeply involved in the issue this fall, which . As Catholic Bishops from America, Canada and Mexico have , we need to drill down deep as to causes, consequences and reactions to all parts of the immigration puzzle. And as Catholics, perhaps it's worthwhile to reflect as did recently on the history of Anti-Catholic immigration scares and the complicated issues raised.Ultimately this is a human story and offers an intriguing way to think about the human, economic and even cultural questions.
State Slams Up Against Church
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The news this week is squarely under the heading Faith in a Secular world.
In the United States, the latest on banning same sex marriages has cheering and Catholics experiencing a range of emotions. The U.S. Bishops were and . called for rethinking the definition of family and perhaps moving on. MercatorNet, out of Australia, published a with Ruth Institute founder Jennifer Morse on what she sees is the disconnect between the Court's ruling and the operating definition of family, while the National Catholic Register has a with William May, who led the Catholic Campaign on Proposition 8.
As to what happens next? Politicians are split, President Obama is , even though he is pleased with the decision on Proposition 8. And Republicans how to react but some that this is just the beginning of the return of 'social issues' to the political scene. The general public according to is tending to side with the ruling. One thing is clear, the and the legal arguments are far from finished.
Europe on the other hand is another country as they say.
The Economist magazine has a on the state of the Catholic Church in Europe today. It is a mix of the expected and the surprising and suggests that matters are not as dire as some predict. The on the other hand sees gloom and blames it all on a 30 year crusade on the part of Pope Benedict to recreate a conservative Catholic Church. Italy might actually be a true indicator or at least that is the argument of in a truly detailed and intriguing report on who goes to Church and why. All three pieces are provocative reading and raise important questions about the near and long term future of the Church in Europe.
The Truth about Residential Schools
On the Papal Front
Benedict XVI tends to attract attention, even if it is for something as as the factoid that he is now the 7th oldest Pope in history. But the more interesting news the past few days is the extent to which the former professor and active intellectual continues to turn out new books. His is aimed at the children among us or in us all. And if telling the story of Jesus and the Apostles in a child-friendly way isn't sufficient, don't worry, he is not done yet. He is at work on the third and final volume of his scheduled to be published in the spring of next year.
Most of the attention he is garnering these days, at least in Britain, concerns his forthcoming Papal visit. While some, and company, mainly are speculating about ways of arresting the Pope when he arrives on British soil, others are clamouring for tickets to his . And if trying to score a ticket to the masses is insufficient entertainment, much of the surrounds the Beatification of Cardinal Newman, something that Michael Coren has written about recently. By the way, in case you were worried, the British Government now has ato insure that his Holiness is not arrested when he arrives.
Linking abuse with ordination a cheap ploy
Without doubt the story that snagged everyone's attention this week, and not always positively, came out the Vatican. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith outlied new procedures dealing with major crimes. News organizations as different as The , and The Catholic Register rightly felt compelled to cover the story. Unfortunately, few in the mainstream media seemed able to resist theto link the new rules on the ordination of women and new procedures for dealing with the sexual abuse of children. And even fewer could resist using the conjunction as an excuse for or . The indignation rings a bit hollow given that The New York Times ran their editorial condemming the new procedures as inadequate almost a week before the new procedures were published.
One of the clearest explanations of the announcement and the history behind it is found in a column by, whose explanation of the reasoning for the 'conjunction' of the two 'crimes' actually makes logical sense if not public relations brilliance. It's this lack of deft touch when it comes to public communication that most concerns , senior editor at First Things. Reno steps back in a provocative editorial and asks if the entire scandal has still worrisome surprises and twists to come.
Pope is evangelizing in midst of storm
U.N. study supports Vatican approach to AIDS
Is It just all about sex?
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The impact of ruling on , the California ban on Same Sex Marriage continues to, though with surpirsing questions from the heart of the matter San Francisco. On Monday there were two very provocative arguments by two very different types of Catholics. the openly gay, defiantly Catholic columnist at Atlantic and the keeper of the most popular blog in America, , riffs off of a column by , the former Atlantic Monthly editor and 'conservative' Catholic Op-Ed columnist with the New York Times. Douthat's on Monday is a defence of the ideal of the life long monogamous heterosexual marriage. It is nuanced, thoughtful and as Sullivan, in his, puts it 'Douthat at his most Catholic'. Both pieces are truly well worth reading and are stirring up .
Anne Rice's continues to roil , as you'll note on her own webpage. She includes all the commentary that comes her way, both supportive and dismissive. There is a quite reflective piece by Lily Burana in Magazine which tries to frame the argument in a slightly different way, asking whether disagreeing with others in the Church forces you out or keeps you in. Reflecting on Anne Rice leads to refelctions on Proposition * and vice versa.
And whenever Anne Rice or Same Sex marriage is being discussed you can win easy money by betting that the issue of sexual abuse is also going to arise. , former editor of the Catholic Herald in Britain, takes on the issue of clerical sexual abuse with athat examines the idea of media bias and news that doesn't make the front page: in this case yet of whether sex abuse is greater within the Church or outside it.
The Continuing Controversy over Stem Cells
The on the part of the to move forward on research has provoked from the Ironically at the same time the announcement was being made there was suggesting that was proving significantly more promising than Embryonic. In the United Kingdom, being raised by Catholic Pro-Life groups is being directed at intensifying the Adult Stem Cell research. The Obama Administration move comes in the face of on the part of the U.S. Bishops.