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CERC WEEKLY UPDATE - February 1, 2012 NEW RESOURCES EDITORIALS OF INTEREST EDUCATION MATTERS Note from the Managing Editor:
Last week the Obama administration announced that church-affiliated organizations will now be required — under the new employer insurance plans — to provide free non-medical contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization for all their employees. The bishops are up in arms. So far 116 American bishops have expressed themselves publicly on the matter. The language is strong.
Obama has fired a shot that is unambiguous. Amazingly, the move is almost certainly illegal. See here and here. Elizabeth Scalia reports on the silver lining:
You can keep up to date on this issue by going here. - J. Fraser Field This CERC Weekly Update is also available on our web site here.
• A Time for Catholic Action and Catholic Voices - On the Square • Thriving Catholic Schools - Catholic World Report • Guarding Catholic Identity - Inside Higher Ed • Perpetual Adolescence: A Review of Young Adult - On the Square • Protest Announced Against University of Scranton - Cardinal Newman Society • Bishop compares public schools to Nazi, fascist education systems - Catholic Culture • Increasingly, Young Americans Are Pro-Life; Marriage Is a Another Story - NCRegister • Mastering the art of French parenting - Family Edge • Bill Cosby on education: More funding is not the answer - The Daily Caller • Bethlehem university takes concerns to Vatican - EWTN • The ultimate hypocrisy - California Catholic Daily "To everyone who has, more will be given" - Dom Anscar Vonier, O.S.B. - from The Art of Christ: Retreat Conferences In the things of God and of the Holy Spirit, wealth is the rule; the more you have, the more you receive.
How about some respect for Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease?
A Thread for Weaving Joy - Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. - an address to the Cardinal O'Connor Conference on Life The great French Jesuit Henri de Lubac once wrote, "Suffering is the thread from which the stuff of joy is woven. Never will the optimist know joy." Those seem like strange words, especially for Americans.
I have no intent to demean scientists. I wish merely to see them for what they are, and to see their work for what it is, and to protect the polity from placing too much trust in their unacknowledged priesthood.
Under the impact of today's economic crisis Charles Dickens seems timelier than ever.
Benedict XVI associates justice with judgment.
2011 was a good year for film, and particularly for depictions of faith in film — but not in the Hollywood mainstream on either count.
'Remarkable work of grace' in Boston, 10 years on - Father Raymond J. de Souza - Catholic Register Is it over? Yes and no. It was 10 years ago this month that the sexual abuse crisis exploded in the archdiocese of Boston, with reverberations across the world.
Freedom of Conscience - Father George Rutler - From the Pastor Our many fellow Catholics now enchained for the Faith of our Fathers in such places as China, Syria, and Egypt are, as Father Faber's hymn says, "in heart and conscience free." But what happens when a government tries to chain the conscience itself?
The 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Father John Horgan - CERC The meaning of Christ's miracles.
A Time for Catholic Action and Catholic Voices - On the Square Last Thursday in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a remarkable address to a group of visiting American bishops.
Government and its rivals - New York Times It is Catholics hospitals today; it will be someone else tomorrow.  A Clash of Conscience - National Review Or we soon will be, if Obamacare is allowed to stand.
St. Michael — and HHS - source The threats to religious liberty from the Department of Health and Human Services lead at least one bishop to recommend prayer to the prince of the heavenly hosts.
Survey: half of Americans would ban most abortions - Knights of Columbus As the United States marks the 39th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, a new survey shows that the vast majority of Americans support significant abortion restrictions.
At last - Catholic Online Mount Calvary Episcopal Church of Baltimore has become first parish to be received into the Catholic Church by the Ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
Nigerian drama highlights global anti-Christian violence - National Catholic Reporter Escalating sectarian conflict in Nigeria embodies a growing global tide of anti-Christian violence.
No Need to Panic About Global Warming - Wall Street Journal There's no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to 'decarbonize' the world's economy.
The Church Persecuted — 2011 - On the Square As Chairman of Aid to the Church in Need U.S.A., a Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, a lot of data lands on my desk about violence against Catholics throughout the world.
Child sacrifice in 21st Century America - On the Square The Hebrew Bible is not for the squeamish. And its harshest maledictions are called down upon those who practiced the abomination of child-sacrifice.
Bulgarian bishops were communist spies - The Australian The Bulgarian Orthodox Church was shaken this week by revelations that 11 of its 15 bishops worked as communist spies.
NJ turmoil over gay marriage - New York Times Governor Chris Christie may be the only bulwark against approval of gay marriage in the Garden State.
"It Is Not Weakness To Show Compassion... But Clear We Must Be" - Whispers The nation's largest church packed in with nearly 20,000 people (and an overflow crowd downstairs), by longtime custom, the presiding duties for the evening Mass fell to the US bishops' chair for Pro-Life Activities, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.
In Australia, too - The Australian Catholic hospitals and other non-profits in Australia fear that the government is seeking to take over institutions that resist its policies.
Religion takes a back seat to rights in court, says theologian - Telegraph The courts are endangering religious freedom because the judiciary are giving it a lower priority than equality, a leading philosopher has claimed.
Vatican responds to corruption charges - Catholic Culture The Vatican has responded angrily to an Italian television report about alleged corruption inside the Vatican, charging that the broadcast used "questionable journalistic methods" and presented a biased and oversimplified version of the facts.
Gingrich's Fourth Wife: America - Crisis No one "falls" out of love, since love by its nature is what one chooses to give. The truth would sound like this: "I no longer choose to give myself to you. I am breaking the solemn promise I made before God and man. I am committing adultery with another woman, and I seek to reward myself for that adultery by dismissing you and marrying her."
Cuban coexistence - Miami Herald How the church in Cuba has been able to survive – and flourish – in spite of Cuba’s communist regime.
The female screams we don't want to hear - National Post While the problem of sex-selection abortions is presented as a pathology of Asian cultures that prefer boys to girls, it actually is not rare in respectable Canadian medical practice.
French president: resist secularism - CNS French President Nicholas Sarkozy resists secularism in the French constitution; he recommends that churches take a more vigorous public role.
For Venice the pope did it all himself - Chiesa The new patriarch has been personally chosen by Benedict XVI. He comes from Genoa, and is a disciple of Cardinal Siri. He is a committed Ratzingerian, in both theology and liturgy.
Catholic Schools Week — How you and I can help - Archbishop Charles Chaput In the coming week I'll be writing every state senator and representative in the territory of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to press them to support school vouchers. And I'll continue doing it until vouchers pass.
Thriving Catholic Schools - Catholic World Report Catholic schools have been in decline for fifty years, but there are signs of hope.
Guarding Catholic Identity - Inside Higher Ed It’s a transition that many Roman Catholic colleges and universities are facing: the generations of priests and nuns who led the college in the past are stepping down, and lay leaders are replacing them.
Perpetual Adolescence: A Review of Young Adult - On the Square As somber and unpleasant as it is, Young Adult is a refreshing take on the motif of the perpetual adolescent.
Protest Announced Against University of Scranton - Cardinal Newman Society The University is pridefully and shamelessly compromising its Catholic identity and that, as well, of a fading Religious Order.
Bishop compares public schools to Nazi, fascist education systems - Catholic Culture Bishop Joseph McFadden of Harrisburg has attracted criticism from the Anti-Defamation League and others for comparing the monolithic nature of the public education system to the education systems of 20th-century totalitarian regimes.
Increasingly, Young Americans Are Pro-Life; Marriage Is a Another Story - NCRegister Abortion is a human-rights issue on campuses, but what about the marriage debate?
Mastering the art of French parenting - Family Edge Ms Druckerman identifies two elements to French parenting that set it apart. One is that the French teach their children to be patient. Babies are not picked up at the first snuffle from their cots; children are expected to wait until parents have finished a conversation before getting their attention. This, she concludes, stems from a less child-centred approach.
Bill Cosby on education: More funding is not the answer - The Daily Caller Shortly before President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union on Tuesday night, comedian Bill Cosby joined with school choice advocates to discuss the "State of American Education."
Bethlehem university takes concerns to Vatican - EWTN Bethlehem University, the only Catholic university in the Holy Land, is losing both students and faculty members because of the Israeli "security wall"; that divides the West Bank from Israeli territory.
The ultimate hypocrisy - California Catholic Daily Some Catholic high schools in Archdiocese of San Francisco balk at new guidelines for religious instruction.
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