Happy Memorial Day

For us Catholics, of course, every day is pretty much a Memorial Day -- we call them Feast Days. Have a good one!

Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genetrix
A.M.D.G.

Well Excuse Him for Being Catholic

Cardinal Arnize's remarks about homosexuality during a Georgetown graduation ceremony draws fire.

Ed Ingebretsen, a professor of English at Georgetown and a priest in the American Catholic Church, said on Wednesday that Cardinal Arinze's remarks were in line with Catholic doctrine, but nonetheless seemed out of place at the commencement ceremony.

"These things are exactly what he's paid to say," Professor Ingebretsen said. "[But] it's a graduation; why he decided to do the pro-family thing no one seems to know."

Professor Ingebretsen said he was compelled, as a writer, to post a short apology on the email subscription list "on behalf of Catholics" for Cardinal Arinze's "insensitive remarks", which he termed "un-Christian".


Could someone please explain to me how Cardinal Arinze's remarks can be consistent with Catholic doctrine on the one hand, yet "un-Christian" on the other? What the heck are the Jesuits smoking?

SCOTUS Punts Sectarian Prayer Case

Last year, a California state appellate court ruled that a city council sponosored invocation in which Jesus Christ was referred to was unconstitutional. On appeal, the California Supreme Court refused to review the matter, and now the SCOTUS has done the same. That's too bad, since I believe there is sufficient case law to uphold the constitutionality of a government sponsored "sectarian" prayer/invocation (See, e.g., Marsh v. Chambers).

Lookism?!

There are apparently several pending employment lawsuits that have been filed by people who claim they were discriminated against on the basis of their attractiveness, or lack thereof. One guy is even claiming his obese appearance makes him eligible to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

With Apologies to Relapsed Catholic, From Our Bulging "Aw, Lighten Up!" Files

A supermarket chain in Denmark has withdrawn from sale sandals with the images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary on them after criticism from religious groups.

What's the "problem"? The images are on the portion of the slipper that the bottom of your foot normally covers.

SCOTUS Will Review "Vouchers Part II" Case

To a large extent, the case of Davey v. Locke may be more significant than the Cleveland vouchers case the Court ruled on last year. In Davey, the state of Washington has asserted its "Blaine Amedment" law as justification for denying a state scholarship to a college student who wanted to study theology and become a minister. "Blaine Amendments," of course, are laws that specifically prohibit a state government from directly funding any program that is religious in nature, or connected to a religious institution. Several states have these laws, including California, and they were originally fueled by widespread anti-Catholic sentiment during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although I am not confident that the SCOTUS, as a whole, will address the bigoted origins of "Blaine Amendments", I expect that individual justices like Scalia and Thomas will.

Don Quixote Lives!

Larry Klayman's Judicial Watch sues the U.S. Senate over the Democrats filibustering of judicial nominees.

School Authorities Penalize Student for Missing Class to Sing at Bush Speaking Event

They must be anti-Bush Democrats. (Link via Drudge)

Lunar Eclipse Tonight

And the Rapure Index is at 166! Sure am gonna miss all my Fundamentalist and Evangelical friends down here.

"Everybody Runs"

This is recurrent quip by actor Tom Cruise in Minority Report, a movie that is set in a future where people are arrested for crimes that they think about committing, but have yet to act upon. Well, it looks as though California is getting ever closer to this Big Brother scenario with the state Assembly's passage of AB 458 which, if signed into law by the governor, would require pro-homosexual sensitivity training for all California foster parents. The underlying presumption, of course, for this requirement is that there is something profundly wrong with any person who believes homosexuality to be a disorder, and morally disapproves of any sexual conduct related to it. Thus, in order to prevent future "hate" crimes, the state must take preemptive steps to reorient what it believes to be dangerous thinking among some people. Scary stuff, huh?

Someone Needs a "Time-Out"

...and a conversion to the truth.

Reports published in Roll Call and the Washington Times say [Congressman Jim] Moran (D-Va.) recently got into a shouting match with a priest at Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria. Roll Call reports the confrontation followed a Mass in which the homily touched on life-related topics. Moran is reported to have complained to one of the parish priests, who in turn asked Moran, "How can you reconcile yourself as a Catholic with your views on abortion?"
Moran is said to have shot back, "You priests don't know anything about abortion!" According to a parishioner, the priest responded, "Congressman, put away the talking points. Talk to me
as your priest." Roll Call reports a fuming Moran then reportedly walked away, the priest's final comment was, "Congressman, one day you will need me, and I will be here."

Scoring Error May Cost Some New Lawyers Their "Ticket"

I smell many lawsuits.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners, which produces the 200-question multistate portion of the bar exam taken in almost every state, last week warned bar officials in 48 states that the scores of all 20,204 law students who took the test in February are being recalculated because of a clerical mistake.
...

"The scoring error was detected and every jurisdiction is affected," said Erica Moeser, president of the national conference. "The error is being corrected" as quickly as possible and states are being notified, she said. The problem was discovered at the beginning of May.

Apparently, Crime Pays When You're Attractive

"We already know that attractiveness affects sentences, but this study found that only a simple word -- 'handsome' or 'pretty' -- has an effect," Per Schioldborg, a psychology professor at the University of Oslo, told Reuters. "I was surprised."

Guess maybe we should extend our equal protection laws to the terminally ugly. Either that or start subsidizing cosmetic surgery with federal and state tax dollars.

In Case You Haven't Seen It Yet

Here's the California "Catholic Dirty Dozen" ad that American Life League is buying space for in several state newspapers.

I had no idea State Supreme Court Justice Ming Chin was Catholic. Truly disappointing that he favors abortion rights.

Man Fined for Cheering Gay Neighbor's Death

OK, it wasn't very nice, but how 'bout recognizing a little free speech? Oh yeah, this happened in Germany.

Oh, Those Nutty NewsMax Folks

Why Aren't More Catholics "Disappointed" With Bill Bennett?

Generally because we aren't Protestant.

[T]he U.S. Catholic bishops' conference, which has pronounced on virtually every major social problem over the past few decades, has never addressed [legalized gambling] - though individual bishops and groups of bishops have sometimes opposed legalized gambling in their cities and states.

By contrast, both liberal and conservative Protestant church officials have issued repeated denunciations of legalized gambling.

They agree that it's a serious social problem and a sinful practice that builds upon greed and deceit, destroys families, exploits the poor and fosters crime.
...

The catechism of the Catholic Church says wagers "are not in themselves contrary to justice" but "become morally unacceptable" if they deprive people of basic needs.

"The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement," the catechism warns.

Graham Openly Criticized for Anti-Islam Remarks by Fellow Evangelical Prots

Paul Marshall, senior fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom, a human rights group, said anti-Islam comments serve only to antagonize people. "Exactly what is to be achieved by that except boosting the ego of who said it?" he asked.

Going off on a tangent, one thing I'm sort of curious about is whether the average Muslim in the Middle East makes any kind of a distinction between Christianity and the Catholic Church. In other words, would an average Middle Eastern Muslim automatically associate an Evangelical Protestant missionary he sees or hears about with the Catholic Church? Hmmm...

Clairification: I'm reading what I wrote above, and I seem to be suggesting that the Catholic Church, of which I am devout member, isn't Christian. What I meant to inquire on was whether the average Muslim in the Middle East was aware of any other kind of Christianity aside from that which (fully) subsists in the Catholic Church.

Dobson on Bennett

"We were disappointed to learn that our longtime friend, Dr. Bill Bennett, is dealing with what appears to be a gambling addiction. One of the reasons Focus on the Family continues to be strongly opposed to any form of gambling is because it has the power to ensnare and wound not only its victims, but also those closest to them. 'Gaming,' as the industry euphemistically refers to itself, is a cancer on the soul of the nation.

However, if Bennett was a recreational masturbator, Dobson's opinion would seemingly be different.

Happy Now Leftys and Moral Relativists?

Statement from William Bennett (via Drudge): 'A number of stories in the media have reported that I have engaged in high stakes gambling over the past decade. It is true that I have gambled large sums of money. I have also complied with all laws on reporting wins and losses.

Nevertheless, I have done too much gambling, and this is not an example I wish to set. Therefore, my gambling days are over...'

Much has been said about this issue on various other Catholic blogs, but I'm basically of the position that as long as his gambling isn't endangering the well-being of his family, and he isn't knowingly contributing to any illegal enterprises, William Bennett should not be disqualified from being a respected public moralist. But even if Bennett's gambling was problematic, his status as a public moralist should still be secure as long as he takes responsibility for the wrongs he has done, and he doesn't repeat them. We could only have hoped so much out of Bill Clinton who, at last check, still has yet to explcitly admit that he had an extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, publicly lied about the affair ever occurring, and committed criminal perjury about it during his testimony in a civil trial. Under such circumstance, "Slick Willy" is absolutely precluded from ever telling anyone what is and isn't right.