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CERC WEEKLY UPDATE - October 29, 2009 NEW RESOURCES EDITORIALS OF INTEREST EDUCATION MATTERS Note from the Managing Editor:
His Grace Michael Miller, CSB is Archbishop here in the Vancouver archdiocese. He's the former Secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education. Especially on the subject of Catholic Education he's understandably outstanding. The first part of his small book, The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools is offered below. The second part will be featured in our next update. I want to let you know that you can support CERC while you shop online. GivingCart, a non-profit Catholic fundraising effort, offers links to hundreds of online retailers. When you use GivingCart's links to shop at any of these stores, part of what you spend is automatically donated to the Catholic cause of your choice which I hope will be CERC. Click here to join GivingCart's program and support CERC financially. It costs you nothing beyond what you would normally spend while shopping online. Bless you. - J. Fraser Field This CERC Weekly Update is also available on our web site here.
Quote of the Week: "Who sows virtue, reaps honor." - Leonardo da Vinci
• A Moment of Thanks - Salt & Light • Historians Reassess Battle of Agincourt - New York Times • Shouting is the new spanking - Family Edge • Law urged to make teens stay in school - Boston Globe • A Moo-Moo Here, and Better Test Scores Later - NY Times • The dismal science's promise for education - The Harvard Education Letter • Survey says . . . - BBC The Current Situation of America's Catholic Schools - Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB - Introduction and chapter one from "The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools" Certainly there is much to applaud in the American Catholic school system that currently enrolls almost 2.5 million students in its primary and secondary schools.
As We Forgive - Frederica Mathewes-Green - National Review What touched me about As We Forgive was the unexpected beauty of forgiveness, the victory of love over evil, the bursting of light into darkness.
The real choice in accepting or rejecting a child with special needs is between love and unlove; between courage and cowardice; between trust and fear. That's the choice we face when it happens in our personal experience. And that's the choice we face as a society in deciding which human lives we will treat as valuable, and which we will not.
The Thirty Years War looms large in the contemporary secularist imagination.
While many Americans are skeptical of the claims of the self-help industry, their attitude can be summed up as follows: "OK, we all know this is a silly and sometimes expensive exercise in navel-gazing. But really, where's the harm?"
Deep changes in society have created a growing demand for the legalization of euthanasia -- but that doesn't make it right.
All pardon for sins ultimately comes from Christ's finished work on Calvary, but how is this pardon received by individuals? Did Christ leave us any means within the Church to take away sin? The Bible says he gave us two means.
Nicolaus Copernicus - Father George W. Rutler - Weekly Column Father Copernicus seems to have been so self-effacing that he was not considered well-known enough for a marked grave. He did not change the world as Christ did, but he changed the way the world is understood.
Bold, Benedetto, and Bello - Robert Royal - The Catholic Thing Benedict will take criticism for his gutsy moves, but he's playing a masterful hand of new and old cards while preserving the fundamental authority of the Church.
Heroes and Saints - Donald DeMarco - Lay Witness The saint, because he is real, fully faithful, permanent, and transcultural, is the best role model for children.
A Moment of Thanks - Salt & Light Just over a week ago Christopher West was in Toronto speaking about Theology of the Body. . . It was overwhelming to see the public outpouring of love by the faithful for their priests and religious.
More Christian unity on the way? - Rome Reports The pope reaches out to the Orthodox Church.  Nasty ink about Anglo-Catholic move? - Get Religion So far, most of the mainstream media coverage of the Vatican's move to open a door for Anglo-Catholics into the Church of Rome has focused on the Anglican side of the story.
The Lives and Improbable Works of the Pro-Life Democrats - The Catholic Thing Who would have imagined, at the beginning of the year, that we would find ourselves, in the fall, at a moment of desperation for a new administration of the far Left, supported by heavy congressional majorities?
The White House war on Fox News - St. Louis Post-Dispatch You'd think the leader of the free world would have more important things to
"Cordial, Respectful, Constructive": The "Peace Talks" Begin - Whispers Following today's first session of the much-awaited "doctrinal dialogue" between the Holy See and the Society of St Pius X, the Holy See Press Office released the following statement.
Benedict's Gambit - New York Times The Church of England has survived the Spanish Armada, the English Civil War and Elton John performing “Candle in the Wind” at Princess Diana's Westminster Abbey funeral.
A sensible limit on free speech - Seattle Post-Intelligencer The Supreme Court has blocked the release of the names of those who donated money to defeat gay marriage in Washington and who feared becoming targets for reprisal.
452 Word of the Week: "L'Chaim" - Archbishop Timothy Dolan - Whispers "I wish I could tell you that Church leaders were brave, countercultural and prophetic," I can still hear him say, "but that would not be the truth."
Obamacare: Dems Still Playing Abortion Hide the Ball - Second Hand Smoke There is a temporary impasse about abortion funding in the House, with pro life Democrats balking at the current bill because it could have federal money fund abortion.
The case for the seeing-eye horse - Mark Steyn - MacLean's What if a blind man with a guide dog had taken on a Muslim bed-and-breakfast owner?
Baby Faces - New York Times This is the magical thing about babies on the subway. They carry the antidote to adulthood.
Capping Charitable Deductions to Pay for Health Care Is a Bad Idea - Roll Call The Senate should abandon the idea of a cap on charitable deductions as a way to fund health care reform, or for any other purpose.
The Case for God - Challies It is a rare occasion that I find it difficult to point out any redeeming features in a book-when I struggle to find a single positive to write in a review. Unfortunately Karen Armstrong's The Case for God is one of those books.
Anti-anti-defamation - AP The U.S. government defends free speech against Islamic efforts to implement "anti-defamation" policies at the U. N. Human Rights Council.
Saints to offset the sinners - ilsussidiario The Vatican canonized five saints this month. In an era obsessed with celebrities -- many of whom lead personal lives in direct defiance of traditional morality -- the Vatican's latest move is a refreshing exaltation of worthy individuals.
Battle brewing - New York Times Maine will vote next week on repeal of the legislature's fiat on same-sex marriage, and a close result is predicted.
Talks with traditionalists - AP The Vatican says the talks with the Traditionalists begun Monday have been cordial and will continue in the coming months.
Hell on earth - The Economist North Korea: The West still turns a blind eye to the world's most brutal and systematic abuse of human rights
Almost expunged - The Economist Even Somalia's supposedly moderate government is loth to protect Christians.
Looking for Solutions to the Catholic-School Crisis - TIME Gilbert Cruz reports that America's urban Catholic schools are facing a serious identity crisis--not to mention financial catastrophe.
Historians Reassess Battle of Agincourt - New York Times But he'll remember with advantages What feats he did that St Crispin's day.
Shouting is the new spanking - Family Edge Now that spanking is taboo, what are parents using as a last resort? Screaming, say people who are in the know.
Law urged to make teens stay in school - Boston Globe Massachusetts students would be required to stay in school until age 18 under an ambitious proposal, part of a broader effort to halve the state's high school dropout rate, to be announced today by a special state commission.
A Moo-Moo Here, and Better Test Scores Later - NY Times On the bus ride to the farm, the children sang rounds of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and a boy yelled, “I love pumpkin pie!”
The dismal science's promise for education - The Harvard Education Letter Education research is slowly developing towards a cold hard science. So argues the latest edition of the Harvard Education Letter, which explores the role of economic research in education policy.
Survey says . . . - BBC Half of those asked in ten countries believe Creation should be taught along with Darwin. Subscribe/Unsubscribe |
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