Subscribe/
Unsubscribe


CERC WEEKLY UPDATE - July 2, 2009

NEW RESOURCES    EDITORIALS OF INTEREST    EDUCATION MATTERS

Note from the Managing Editor:

As Pope Paul VI instructed us in last week's update, "Error makes it's way because truth is not taught, we must teach the truth."

And when that truth is taught, it surely helps if the form the truth takes is itself beautiful.

That's why I was doubly delighted to begin reading The Politically Incorrect GuideTM to Western Civilization, by Anthony Esolen. Esolen presents the truth in a compelling and accessible manner. His book is gracefully written.

Russell Hittinger, the William K. Warren professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa, has this to say on the back cover:

"An acclaimed translator of Dante, and a brilliant teacher of Western civilization, Professor Esolen is the perfect Virgil, guiding the student through the fugue-like influence of Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome."

Our Virgil's book has been favourably received, though some have criticized its author for writing what amounts to "an apologetic for Roman Catholicism".

Well, yes, he has certainly done that, but necessarily so, since the Roman Catholic Church figures so centrally in the largely unknown story he tells.

You will be happy to have Esolen's book on your bookshelf. You can read the preface and a short excerpt below. - J. Fraser Field

This CERC Weekly Update is also available on our web site here.
You can view the previous CERC Weekly Update here.
subscribe/unsubscribe here



New Resources:

Preface - Anthony Esolen - from The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization
The Early Church: How Christians elevated culture - Anthony Esolen - excerpt from chapter four of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization
Salvation - Are You Saved? - Katrina J. Zeno
The Great Philosopher Who Became Catholic - Deal Hudson - Inside Catholic
Long Live Haydn - Robert R. Reilly - Inside Catholic
Persistent Myths in Feminist Scholarship - Christina Hoff Sommers - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Steady As She Goes - Theodore Dalrymple - New English Review
Gran Torino Works - Jordan Ballor - Acton PowerBlog
'Lines that divide' - Charles Colson - Breakpoint
Imagine - Robert Royal - The Catholic Thing

Editorials of Interest:

Papal Programming - Catholic TV
Pope to POTUS: "Thank You"? - Whispers
Per "Caritas," Six Days' Notice - Whispers
Bone Fragments Found in Tomb Are Paul's - Reuters
Fragile Tanzanian Orphans Get Help After Mothers Die - New York Times
Heartless - Slate
Beware the Christians! - Pajamas Media
Christians Can Save Islam - AsiaNews.it
Black Church Opposes Gay Marriage - Washington Times
Michael Jackson and Saint Guinefort - First Things blog
Hotlanta: "Grain Once Scattered"... Now a Juggernaut - Whispers
'Stonewalling' by Obama - NCRegister
A Tale of Two Prizes - Jerusalem Post
Veiled threats: row over Islamic dress opens bitter divisions in France - Guardian
Mexico City Policy Fallout - NCRegister
Miracle in Kansas - The Wichita Eagle
Atheist Summer Camps? - London Telegraph
A Different Strategy for the Hearings - NRO
"Totally Alone" - Inside the Vatican
Doctor tells how Neda Soltan was shot dead by Ahmadinejad's basij - Times
The Pauline Chapel Restored - Examiner
Catholic iPhone Apps - YouTube

Education Matters:

Enrollment down, scores up - New York Post
The Blessings of A Catholic Classical Education - Catholic Exchange
Religious Liberty Stops at the Schoolhouse Door - Catholic Exchange
Muslim School Holidays? - The New York Times
Can you talk yourself into feeling loveable? - Family Edge
Back to the Dating Drawing Board - NCRegister
Patterns: Drinking Age Affects Bingeing, to a Point - New York Times
Modern Love - The New York Times
Disney world ‘too heterosexual’ for children’s good - Family Edge
New study reveals innate gender differences between boys and girls - Inside Catholic


NEW RESOURCES:

Preface - Anthony Esolen - from The Politically Incorrect GuideTM to Western Civilization

The other side has the mainstream media, the Ivy League, the political classes, and a lot more money. Thankfully, on our side, we've got thousands of years of history and some pretty big guns -- with names like Aristotle, Augustine, Burke, and Eliot.

up

The Early Church: How Christians elevated culture - Anthony Esolen - excerpt from chapter four of The Politically Incorrect GuideTM to Western Civilization

What did the Christians cherish from the pagan traditions, and what did they change?

up0



Salvation - Are You Saved?
- Katrina J. Zeno

Many Catholics just don’t know what to say when someone asks them whether they are saved.

up0



The Great Philosopher Who Became Catholic
- Deal Hudson - Inside Catholic

Eight years ago today, a famous American philosopher died who had lived as a Catholic the last year of his life.

up0



Long Live Haydn
- Robert R. Reilly - Inside Catholic

May 31 was the 200th anniversary of Franz Joseph Haydn's death in 1809 at the age of 77.

up0



Persistent Myths in Feminist Scholarship
- Christina Hoff Sommers - The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Harder to kill than a vampire." That is what the sociologist Joel Best calls a bad statistic. But, as I have discovered over the years, among false statistics the hardest of all to slay are those promoted by feminist professors.

up0



Steady As She Goes - Theodore Dalrymple - New English Review

The relation of language to thought has long been a philosophical puzzle, one to which no universally accepted answer has yet been given.

up0

Gran Torino Works - Jordan Ballor - Acton PowerBlog

Clint Eastwood’s 2008 project Gran Torino has recently been released on DVD, and what a delight it is.

up0

'Lines that divide' - Charles Colson - Breakpoint

A new documentary shows why we need to "stem" the tide of embryo-destructive stem-cell research.

up0

Imagine - Robert Royal - The Catholic Thing

Imagine, if you will, just as a thought experiment, a nation that for two generations has been forming almost all its children in state-run schools.

up0


EDITORIALS OF INTEREST:
0

Papal Programming - Catholic TV

CatholicTV currently has the video of the Pallium Mass celebrated June 29 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

up0

Pope to POTUS: "Thank You"? - Whispers

In a normal year, today's feast of Saints Peter and Paul would be the Vatican's "last hurrah" before the summer exodus.

up0

Per "Caritas," Six Days' Notice - Whispers

This morning, the Holy See announced next Tuesday, 7 July, as the release date for B16's social encyclical "Caritas in Veritate."

up0

Bone Fragments Found in Tomb Are Paul's - Reuters

The first-ever scientific test on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul "seems to confirm" that they do indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint, Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday.

up0

Fragile Tanzanian Orphans Get Help After Mothers Die - New York Times

The Berega Orphanage, a cluster of neat stucco cottages in this village of red dirt roads and maize plots, is a far cry from what the name suggests.

up0

Heartless - Slate

The disturbing glee at Mark Sanford's downfall.

up0

Beware the Christians! - Pajamas Media

People who think the religious right are just like Iranian mullahs are just like Iranian mullahs.

up0

Christians Can Save Islam - AsiaNews.it

A Jesuit priest explains how Christians may help Islam avoid cultural suicide.

up0

Black Church Opposes Gay Marriage - Washington Times

A number of black church leaders resent the comparison of gay marriage to the civil rights movement.

up0

Michael Jackson and Saint Guinefort - First Things blog

The death and veneration of Michael Jackson reminds me of my favorite medieval saint: Saint Guinefort.

up0

Hotlanta: "Grain Once Scattered"... Now a Juggernaut - Whispers

Suffice it to say, the fruit is considerable — in the heart of the Bible Belt, the North Georgia Church has seen a more than fivefold increase in membership over the last two decades

up0

'Stonewalling' by Obama - NCRegister

President Barack Obama implicitly endorsed the entire homosexual agenda in the remarks he made yesterday.

up0

A Tale of Two Prizes - Jerusalem Post

Norway is honoring a Nobel Prize winner who supported Nazism, but strangely neglecting Sigrid Undset, an anti-Nazi activist, the first woman to win the prize, and a Catholic.

up0

Veiled threats: row over Islamic dress opens bitter divisions in France - Guardian

In the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, with its busy market, fast-food joints and bargain clothes shops, Angelica Winterstein only goes out once a week – and only if she really has to.

up0

Mexico City Policy Fallout - NCRegister

Speaking to Vatican Radio, our Latin America correspondent Alejandro Bermúdez recently outlined some of the evil consequences of President Barack Obama’s cancellation of the Mexico City Policy.

up0

Miracle in Kansas - The Wichita Eagle

The case for the sainthood of a Servant of God, Fr. Emil Kapaun, may be supported by the remarkable recovery of an injured athlete.

up0

Atheist Summer Camps? - London Telegraph

An atheist worries about what will happen to children at atheist summer camps.

up0

A Different Strategy for the Hearings -NRO

Let Sotomayor talk — and get on the record what Dems don’t want explained about the law.

up0

"Totally Alone" - Inside the Vatican

A talk with two former members of the Society of St. Pius X who are seeking a home in the Church. A bit more on the upcoming encyclical. A note about Pope Pius XII. Plus, Suor Giovanna retires...

up0

Doctor tells how Neda Soltan was shot dead by Ahmadinejad's basij - Times

They were a few brief minutes that Arash Hejazi will never forget, that have changed his life for ever.

up

The Pauline Chapel Restored - Examiner

Less famous than the Sistine Chapel, it was also decorated by Michelangelo—the great artist’s last murals.

up0

Catholic iPhone Apps - YouTube

A brief video ad showing some of the many Catholic-related applications available for the iPhone.

up0


EDUCATION MATTERS:

Enrollment down, scores up - New York Post

In New York City's schools, Catholic students “trounce” all others in math and reading.

up0

The Blessings of A Catholic Classical Education - Catholic Exchange

Classical schools take for their model the kind of education that formed great men such as Benjamin Franklin and William Shakespeare.

up0

Religious Liberty Stops at the Schoolhouse Door - Catholic Exchange

In public school classrooms across the country, religious liberty is under assault.

up0

Muslim School Holidays? - The New York Times

New York's City Council votes to recognize two Muslim holidays in public schools.

up0

Can you talk yourself into feeling loveable? - Family Edge

One of the most influential ideas of the twentieth century was summed
up in the title of Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive
Thinking, published in 1952.

up0

Back to the Dating Drawing Board - NCRegister

Gina Zaccagnini laughs at the thought of her first date. She was in high school. Her little brother had to come along to the movie.

up0

Patterns: Drinking Age Affects Bingeing, to a Point - New York Times

A new study finds that as the drinking age has gone up, binge drinking has gone down — except among college students.

up0

Modern Love - The New York Times

In America, passion and its discontents may not be exactly what they seem.

up0

Disney world ‘too heterosexual’ for children’s good - Family Edge

Two sociologists have come up with a novel reason for fretting about kids’ exposure to media: the risk of seeing heterosexuality as normal and desirable.

up

New study reveals innate gender differences between boys and girls - Inside Catholic

A new study by researchers at Texas A&M University suggests that little boys are hardwired to prefer toy trucks, while girls have innate preferences for dolls -- and all of this apart from social conditioning.

up0

Subscribe/Unsubscribe



ST JUSTIN MARTYR PRAY FOR US



Quote of the week: 

"We are like ignorant shepherds living on a site where great civilizations once flourished. The shepherds play with the fragments that pop up to the surface, having no notion of the beautiful structures of which they were once a part."

- Allan Bloom