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CERC WEEKLY UPDATE - June 18, 2009 NEW RESOURCES EDITORIALS OF INTEREST EDUCATION MATTERS Note from the Managing Editor:
The Times Literary Supplement had a positive review of Ian Linden's new book Global Catholicism in it's Easter issue. In the June/July issue of First Things, Jody Bottum alluded to the book and to the Times review:
That story, told in Global Catholicism, is summarized by the Times reviewer:
While these and many other positive contributions of the Church remain ignored and unknown to most everyone -- most egregiously Catholics -- the wondrous fact remains, as Bottum points out, that "...slowly, hidden from the eyes of the world, grace is at work, Christianity grows, and God's purposes are served." - J. Fraser Field This CERC Weekly Update is also available on our web site here.
Quote of the Week: "The error of Diogenes lay in the fact that he omitted to notice that every man is both an honest man and a dishonest man. Diogenes looked for his honest man inside every crypt and cavern, but he never thought of looking inside the thief." - G.K. Chesterton
• Year of the Priest Letter - Pope Benedict XVI - Vatican • Reason vs. Faith: the Battle Continues - The Chronicle Review • Sense of family obligation healthy for teens - Family Edge • When Provided with Accurate Information, Public Support for Increased Spending on Education Declines - Education Next • Demography as Destiny? - Education Next • Silence, Please - Standpoint • Please don't mention Jesus - CNA • Education Behind Bars - NCRegister • The bad news from Pottsville - The Republican Herald The Unquiet Men - Anthony Esolen - Touchstone On those who are leaving the reservation.
June 1979—The Nine Days of John Paul II - George Weigel - The Catholic Difference America's premier Cold War historian, John Lewis Gaddis of Yale, is not ambiguous in his judgment that "When John Paul II kissed the ground at the Warsaw airport on June 2, 1979, he began the process by which communism in Poland -- and ultimately everywhere -- would come to an end."
Rural upstate New York, where I grew up, offers unique evidence these days about some shifting demographics of the Seven Deadly Sins.
If Jesus wants us to become as children, then baseball reminds us that His charge is not an impossible one to keep, for baseball is a game of folly and deep faith. It disdains the cynic and reminds us of some of the most dramatic, awe-inspiring moments detailed in Scripture.
After President Obama's Cairo lecture to the "Muslim World," we may be permitted to wonder if a corresponding "Christian world" exists.
After having served 18 days in prison, the Rev. Walter Hoye is a free man and will remain so -- as long as he doesn't come within eight feet of anyone who is about to enter an Oakland abortion clinic.
Pope John Paul II, in the course of his "Theology of the Body", refers to the "Masters of Suspicion", an expression he borrows from Paul Ricoeur that applies to Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Joyce Appleby, Catholic Conscience, and the Supreme Court - Matthew J. Franck - The Moral Accountability Project Should Catholic justices recuse themselves on certain cases?
Obama Hovers From on High - Charles Krauthammer - Washington Post When President Obama returned from his first European trip, I observed that while over there he had been "acting the philosopher-king who hovers above the fray mediating" between America and the world. Now that Obama has returned from his "Muslim world" pilgrimage, even the left agrees.
Henry VIII, 500 Years Later - Edward Pentin - National Catholic Register King Henry VIII may have lived five centuries ago, but he remains much in the news. Three leading English historians were asked to put Henry's actions into proper perspective.
Year of the Priest Letter - Pope Benedict XVI - Vatican On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 – a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy –, I have decided to inaugurate a "Year for Priests".
Caritas in Veritate Update - NCRegister There hasn't been a formal confirmation yet, but as the image of this book cover at Amazon.com indicates, arrangements are well underway  The Invisible Woman - YouTube Nicole's sketch "The Invisible Woman" brings a powerful message of hope to every taken-for-granted woman in today's world.
Saint Chesterton - The Catholic Herald Scholars will soon meet in Oxford to discuss the possible Cause of G.K. Chesterton.
Our Historically Challenged President - NRO In his speech last week in Cairo, President Obama proclaimed he was a "student of history."
Rome, Inc. - Get Religion More on the State of Connecticut's attempt to suppress the Catholic Church.
Theology of the Body Fight - NCRegister Criticisms about Christopher West's work that first surfaced in the Register seven years ago are back.
Lincoln's Memo to Obama - The Wilson Quarterly A distinguished Lincoln biographer imagines what advice the 16th president would offer the 44th as he takes office.
Obama's gay agenda - US News His surrogate says the Administration will scrap the Defense of Marriage Act.
The smothering embrace of nanny government - Mark Steyn A society of children cannot survive, no matter how all-embracing the government nanny.
A Decade On, "Father Basil" on Prayer - Whispers The man credited with having brought English Catholicism "out of the closet" four and a half centuries after the Reformation, Wednesday sees a decade since the death of Cardinal Basil Hume, the Ampleforth man whose grace and piety on the national stage rocketed the archbishopric of Westminster to a Canterbury-esque prominence in Britain's public life.
Focus on the Family's new CEO shifts perspectives - Denver Post The secret of Jim Daly's success, he says only half-jokingly, is "low expectations."
All Eyes Are on Tiger Woods, the Father - New York Times Life is so much better with kids than when I was just winning titles, he says.
In Iran, an Iron Cleric, Now Blinking - New York Times For two decades, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has remained a shadowy presence at the pinnacle of power in Iran.
Why Economists Failed to Predict the Financial Crisis - Knowledge Wharton Of all the experts, weren't they the best equipped to see around the corners?
What to Do About Darfur - The New York Review of Books The slaughter in Darfur has now lasted more than six years, longer than World War II, yet the "Save Darfur" movement has stalled -- even as the plight of many Darfuris may be worsening.
Message for China's Catholics - AP "The Vatican's top envoy for China says the time has come for the Holy See to get tough with Beijing."
The good-old days - Times Online As a British election approaches, a columnist wonders why a secular age longs for faith.
"Culto DiNoia" Comes to Pass - Whispers The first American in four decades to be given a lead role in overseeing the global church's liturgical life the archbishop-elect will be ordained to the episcopacy on 11 July.
Michelle Rhee On Improving D.C. Public Schools - Washington Post (video) DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee discusses the progress of improving education and teaching in DC Schools and what she hopes for the future.
Reason vs. Faith: the Battle Continues - The Chronicle Review In 1802 Georg W.F. Hegel wrote an impassioned treatise on faith and reason, articulating the major philosophical conflict of the day.
Sense of family obligation healthy for teens - Family Edge A study of Chinese-American youths shows that they tend to have better mental health than average in their mid-teens. The reason highlighted by the study is their sense of obligation to their families -- caring for siblings or helping elders, for example.
When Provided with Accurate Information, Public Support for Increased Spending on Education Declines - Education Next A new survey shows that if the public is given accurate information about what is currently being spent on public schools, their support for increased spending and confidence that more spending will improve student learning both decline.
Demography as Destiny? - Education Next Sustained emphasis on reading, accountability, and school choice have narrowed the achievement gap for Florida's minority students.
Silence, Please - Standpoint We have betrayed children by confiscating their silence.
Please don't mention Jesus - CNA A UCLA commencement speaker is asked not to thank the Lord for His aid. But the university relents.
Education Behind Bars - NCRegister Like other college students, James Shehan and Tuan Huynh have dreams of making a difference. Shehan hopes to mentor troubled youth and keep them off the streets. Huynh wants to become a biblical counselor. Unlike other college students, Shehan and Huynh are convicted murderers.
The bad news from Pottsville - The Republican Herald Three Catholic schools in central Pennsylvania were shuttered in the last year. And a number of churches too. Why? Subscribe/Unsubscribe |
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