Vatican Message for Hindu Feast of Diwali


"Toward Enhancing of Mutual Respect, Trust and Cooperation"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 28, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is the message sent by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on the occasion of the Hindu feast of Diwali, the festival of light, which will be observed Nov. 5.

The letter is titled "Christians and Hindus: Toward Enhancing of Mutual Respect, Trust and Cooperation." It is signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the president of the dialogue council, and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, its secretary.

* * *

Dear Hindu Friends,

1. As in the past, we join you in the celebration of Deepavali, sending you our sincere greetings and congratulations on behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. May God, the Supreme Light illumine your minds, enlighten your hearts and strengthen the human bonds in your homes and communities! We wish you all a joy-filled Deepavali!

2. On this occasion, I would like to reflect on how best we can strengthen our friendship and cooperation by mutually ensuring and enhancing respect and trust.

3. Respect is the proper regard for the dignity which naturally pertains to every person irrespective of any external recognition. Dignity implies the inalienable right of every individual to be protected from any kind of violence, neglect or indifference. Mutual respect, therefore, becomes one of the fundamentals for peaceful and harmonious co-existence as well as progress in society.

4. Trust, on the other hand, nourishes every genuinely human relationship, both personal and communitarian. Mutual trust, besides creating an environment conducive to growth and the common good, shapes a shared conviction that we can depend on each other to achieve a common purpose.

5. This shared conviction creates in individuals and communities a readiness and willingness to enter into productive cooperation not only in the area of doing good in general, but also, addressing the grave and unresolved challenges of our times.

6. Applying the above to our engagement in appreciating and promoting interreligious dialogue and relations, we well know that respect and trust are not optional extras but the very pillars on which the edifice of our engagement itself stands. This engagement involving all of us, believers and people who seek the Truth with a sincere heart, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, is "…together to become artisans of peace, in a reciprocal commitment to understanding, respect and love." (Address to the delegates of other Churches and Ecclesial communities and of other Religious traditions, 25 April 2005).

Thus, the greater our engagement in interreligious dialogue, the fuller our respect and trust become, leading us to an increase in cooperation and common action. Pope John Paul II, of happy memory, on his first visit to India, said: "Dialogue between members of different religions increases and deepens mutual respect and paves the way for relationships that are crucial in solving the problems of human suffering" (Address to non-Christian leaders, Madras – Chennai, 5 February 1986).

7. As people who hold in common the well-being of individuals and communities, may we give greater visibility with every means in our power to a culture that promotes respect, trust and cooperation.

Once again, most cordially, I wish you a happy Deepavali.

Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran
President

Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata
Secretary

The letter is appealing to men of good will, though Christ came to divide and hostility towards those who have converted to Him is inevitable.

Asian News: Pope: the one human family also includes brothers who emigrate
In his message for the next World Refugee Day, Benedict XVI highlights migration as part of a globalized society, which emphasizes the unity of mankind. The "dutiful gesture of human solidarity" in welcoming migrants. Those who emigrate must "assume the rights and duties existing in the country that receives them, contributing to the common good, not to mention the religious dimension of life."

Zenit: Pope's Message for World Migrant and Refugee Day [2010-10-26]
Theme for the Day: "One Human Family"

The road is the same, that of life, but the situations that we pass through on this route are different: many people have to face the difficult experience of migration in its various forms: internal or international, permanent or seasonal, economic or political, voluntary or forced. In various cases the departure from their Country is motivated by different forms of persecution, so that escape becomes necessary. Moreover, the phenomenon of globalization itself, characteristic of our epoch, is not only a social and economic process, but also entails "humanity itself [that] is becoming increasingly interconnected", crossing geographical and cultural boundaries. In this regard, the Church does not cease to recall that the deep sense of this epochal process and its fundamental ethical criterion are given by the unity of the human family and its development towards what is good (cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Caritas in veritate, 42). All, therefore, belong to one family, migrants and the local populations that welcome them, and all have the same right to enjoy the goods of the earth whose destination is universal, as the social doctrine of the Church teaches. It is here that solidarity and sharing are founded.

"In an increasingly globalized society, the common good and the effort to obtain it cannot fail to assume the dimensions of the whole human family, that is to say, the community of peoples and nations, in such a way as to shape the earthly city in unity and peace, rendering it to some degree an anticipation and a prefiguration of the undivided city of God" (Benedict XVI, Encyclical Caritas in veritate, 7). This is also the perspective with which to look at the reality of migration. In fact, as the Servant of God Paul VI formerly noted, "the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations" (Encyclical Populorum progressio, 66), is a profound cause of underdevelopment and -- we may add -- has a major impact on the migration phenomenon. Human brotherhood is the, at times surprising, experience of a relationship that unites, of a profound bond with the other, different from me, based on the simple fact of being human beings. Assumed and lived responsibly, it fosters a life of communion and sharing with all and in particular with migrants; it supports the gift of self to others, for their good, for the good of all, in the local, national and world political communities.

Venerable John Paul II, on the occasion of this same Day celebrated in 2001, emphasized that "[the universal common good] includes the whole family of peoples, beyond every nationalistic egoism. The right to emigrate must be considered in this context. The Church recognizes this right in every human person, in its dual aspect of the possibility to leave one's country and the possibility to enter another country to look for better conditions of life" (Message for World Day of Migration 2001, 3; cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Mater et Magistra, 30; Paul VI, Encyclical Octogesima adveniens, 17). At the same time, States have the right to regulate migration flows and to defend their own frontiers, always guaranteeing the respect due to the dignity of each and every human person. Immigrants, moreover, have the duty to integrate into the host Country, respecting its laws and its national identity. "The challenge is to combine the welcome due to every human being, especially when in need, with a reckoning of what is necessary for both the local inhabitants and the new arrivals to live a dignified and peaceful life" (World Day of Peace 2001, 13).

In this context, the presence of the Church, as the People of God journeying through history among all the other peoples, is a source of trust and hope. Indeed the Church is "in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race" (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 1); and through the action within her of the Holy Spirit, "the effort to establish a universal brotherhood is not a hopeless one" (Idem, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 38). It is the Holy Eucharist in particular that constitutes, in the heart of the Church, an inexhaustible source of communion for the whole of humanity. It is thanks to this that the People of God includes "every nation, race, people, and tongue" (Rev 7:9), not with a sort of sacred power but with the superior service of charity. In fact the exercise of charity, especially for the poorest and weakest, is the criterion that proves the authenticity of the Eucharistic celebration (cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mane nobiscum Domine, 28).

If human flourishing requires that one be part of a community, is entitled to join any community one wishes?

Robert John Araujo, SJ: Bishops, Catholics, Cooperation, Citizenship, and More (“Thomas” or “additional”?)

New Wine, New Wineskins, Call for Papers (via Thomistica)

Who is the featured guest for 2011? Fr. James Keenan. When I first saw a flyer advertising the group's existence, I wasn't impressed. This new fact hasn't helped. Once again, what is the point of doing moral theology if one questions the Church's teachings or even its authority? And even if one proclaims to be "orthodox," what sort of impression does one give by inviting heterodox speakers?

A friend posted this on her FB:

Marc Berquist, husband of Laura Berquist, who developed the Classical Curriculum for homeschoolers, Mother of Divine Grace School, and professor at St. Thomas Aquinas College in CA, is not expected to make it through this weekend (he is terminally ill). I've only recently been aware of the Berquists' situation, but want to ask for all of your prayers throughout the weekend for Marc and his family.

The Founders Speak: Marcus Berquist - Founder and Tutor
Discipleship in the Intellectual Life

Why bother?

Thomistica.net: Philosophical Graduate Studies on Aquinas

John Finnis on the moral status of the conceptum

The Other F-Word (via The American Catholic)

His arguments concerning the moral status of the fetus are dependent of course on the claim that the embryo is a human person. See my previous posts on that question.

Eirenikon: Vatican II and the Orthodox Bishops

Smart Planet: Most medical studies are wrong

The study: Why Most Published Research Findings are False.

Hieromonk Maximos: Denominationalism

NLM: Toronto Oratory: Solemn Mass in Honour of the Beatification of John Henry Newman

Fr Cessario's Sermon on Newman from Marco Guillen on Vimeo.

Papal Address on Anniversary of Eastern Canon Law

Papal Address on Anniversary of Eastern Canon Law


Canon Law "Will Not Fail to Contribute to the Life and the Mission of the Church"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 10, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of an address given Saturday by Benedict XVI upon receiving in audience participants in a congress marking the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of Canons of Eastern Churches.

* * *

Lord Cardinals,
Venerable Patriarchs,
Major Archbishops,
Dear Brothers in the episcopate and priesthood,
Illustrious Representatives of other ecclesial churches and communities,
Esteemed Practitioners of Eastern Canon Law,

With great joy I receive you at the conclusion of the scholarly proceedings, which were convened to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the "Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium." I cordially greet all of you, beginning with Monsignor Francesco Coccopalmerio, whom I thank for the words he addressed to me also on behalf of those present. I thank the Congregation for Eastern Churches, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, who worked together with the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts in organizing this conference. I would like to express my cordial appreciation to the speakers for the competent scientific contribution to this ecclesial initiative.

20 years after the promulgation of "Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium" we would like to pay homage to the intuition of John Paul II, whom, in his concern that the Eastern Catholic Churches "flourish and carry out the mission entrusted to them with new apostolic vigor" (Vatican Council II, "Orientalium Ecclesiarum," 1) wanted to grant these venerable Churches a complete universal Code adapted to the times. In this way there was fulfilled "the same constant will of the Roman pontiffs to promulgate two Codes, one for the Latin Church and the other for the Eastern Catholic Churches" (Apostolic Constitution "Sacri canones"). At the same time there was reaffirmed the "very clear, constant, and firm intention of the supreme legislator in the Church in regard to the faithful safeguarding and diligent observance of all the rites" (ibid.).

The "Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium" was followed by two other important documents of the magisterium of John Paul II: the encyclical letter "Ut unum sint" (1995) and the apostolic letter "Orientale Lumen" (1995). Furthermore, we cannot forget the "Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism" published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (1993) and the instruction of the Congregation for Eastern Churches about the application of the liturgical prescriptions of the Code (1996). In these authoritative documents of the magisterium various canons of the "Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium," just as the "Codex Iuris Canonici," are textually cited, commented on and applied to the life of the Church.

This 20th anniversary is not only a celebratory event to preserve it in memory, but rather provides an occasion for confirmation to which above all the "sui iuris" Eastern Catholic Churches and their institutions, especially the hierarchies, are called. In this regard the apostolic constitution "Sacri canones" already foresees the context of verification. It is a question of seeing in what measure the Code effectively had force of law for all the "suir iuris" Oriental Churches and also in what measure the legislative authority of each "sui iuris" Church has provided for the promulgation of its own particular law, keeping present the traditions of its right along with the directives of Vatican Council II.

The topics of this conference articulated in three unities -- history, particular legislation, ecumenical perspectives -- indicate a very important "iter" to follow in this verification. It must start from the awareness that the new "Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium" has created for the Oriental Catholic faithful a disciplinary situation that is partly new, becoming a valid instrument to protect and promote their rite understood as a "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, distinct by culture and historical circumstances of peoples, that is expressed a way of living of the faith that is proper to each "sui iuris" Church" (can. 28, § 1).

In this way, the "sacra canones" of the ancient Church, that inspire the Oriental codification in force, stimulate all the Oriental Churches to conserve their own identity, which is simultaneously Eastern and Catholic. In preserving the Catholic communion the Eastern Catholic Churches did not at all intend to deny their own tradition. As has been many times repeated, the full union of the Eastern Catholic Churches with the Church of Rome that is already realized must not lead to a diminution of the consciousness of the unique authenticity and originality of those Churches. For this reason it is the task of all the Eastern Catholic Churches to conserve the common disciplinary patrimony and nourish their own traditions, which is a treasure for the whole Church.

The same "sacri canones" of the first centuries of the Church constitute to a large extent the same basic patrimony of canonical discipline that also regulates the Orthodox Churches. Thus the Eastern Catholic Churches can offer a peculiar and relevant contribution to the ecumenical journey. I am happy that in the course of your symposium you have taken account of this particular aspect and I encourage you to make it an object of further study, cooperating thus for your part to the common effort to adhere to the Lord's prayer: "May all be one ... that the world may believe ..." (John 17:21).

Dear friends, in the context of the Church's current effort for a new evangelization, canon law, as the peculiar and indispensable ordering of ecclesial fellowship, will not fail to contribute to the life and the mission of the Church in the world, if all the components of the People of God know how to interpret is wisely and apply it faithfully. Thus, I exhort, as did the venerable John Paul II, all the beloved children of the Eastern Churches "to observe the precepts set down with a sincere heart and a humble will, not in the least doubting that the Eastern Churches will provide in the best way possible for the good of the souls of faithful Christians with renewed discipline, and that they will always flourish and carry out the task entrusted to them under the protection of the glorious and blessed ever Virgin Mary, who in all truth is called 'Theotokos' and who shines as the great mother of the universal Church" ("Sacri canones").

I accompany this wish with the Apostolic Blessing, which I impart to you and to those who make their contribution in the various fields connected with the canon law of the Eastern Churches.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Ite ad Thomam: Sapientis Institute, Free Course!

Algebra

I remember a discussion of algebra (which included a brief mention of calculus) in a class with Dr. Andres. (The class covered part of St. Thomas' commentary on the De Trinitate? As for the actual name of the course... I'd have to look it up on the transcript.) Dr. Andres did not think it was math, since it did not involve actual quantity. I offered the opinion that it was a study of rules concerning operations or calculation. I think that now I would say that it is more like the study of the "logic" of calculations, though for many it does not go to this level, as it is just memorization. Hence, it can seem like it is a study of the rules of calculation. The reasoning behind the calculation is obscured or ignored while we do the operations in order to get results.

2007: William Tighe replies to Louis Bouyer concerning the Great Schism.

Philippa Foot

From October of this year: Philippa Foot, Renowned Philosopher, Dies at 90 (via Mish)

Volokh Conspiracy
tpm
Time
Philosophy Now
Edward Feser

Natural Goodness (Google Books)
Virtues and Vices (Google Books)

Catholic Family News: A Great Thomist is Gone
Dr. Raphael Waters, R.I.P.
By John Vennari

“If the Lord takes me soon, be assured that I will be praying for you.” Dr. Waters said this to us, a group of his students, who visited him at his home on Friday evening, August 20.

We would not see him again. He died the following Thursday, on August 26 at 4:30 am in St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, NY, at age 86.

His death is an incalculable loss.

Apart from being an internationally recognized scholar who was a member of several prestigious scholarly associations, he was also a lively and humorous professor whose intense love of philosophy was as contagious as it was exhilarating.

He died in the saddle, continually planning new courses to teach as he was slowly consumed by cancer and other painful maladies.

A Unique Pedigree

Dr. Waters was buried on September 1, 2010, one hundred years to the day from St. Pius X’s promulgation of the Oath Against Modernism, in which St. Pius X taught, “In the future the doctorate in theology or Canon Law must never be conferred on anyone who has not first of all made the regular course in scholastic [Thomistic] philosophy. If such a doctorate is conferred, it is to be held as null and void.”

It was Pius X who taught in his magisterial decrees that scholasticism is a central component in the combat with Modernism. Some of those at the funeral remarked that it appeared to be one of those ironies of Providence that Dr. Waters, one of the last of the great Thomists, should be buried on this significant anniversary.

Dr. Raphael Waters was a Master of Thomistic philosophy who possessed a pedigree that few others could boast. Born in Australia, and years later starting his career as a pharmacist, he became a student of the eminent Father Austin Woodbury at the Aquinas Academy in Sydney, a unique institution in the world. The school could not grant any degrees, yet people from all walks of life flocked to it because of the genius of its founder and instructor.

Father Woodbury, widely-known as “Doc” Woodbury, was trained by Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, arguably the greatest Thomist of the 20th Century. Raphael Waters studied at the feet of Father Woodbury for decades. He took all the courses at the Aquinas Academy twice, and later became Father Woodbury’s co-teacher.

Dr. Waters traveled to Canada to further his studies, where he received three canonical and civil degrees in Philosophy from the University of Montreal. These degrees established him as qualified to teach in any Catholic seminary in the world.

In Canada, he studied under world-renowned masters such as Fathers Louis-Marie Regis and Louis-Bertrand Geiger. He said repeatedly, however, that the best of all his masters who towered head and shoulder above the rest was the “boy from the bush,” Father Woodbury.

For seven years he served as assistant professor of Philosophy at the University of Ottawa. In 1976 he accepted a position at Niagara University in Lewiston NY, where he served as Professor of philosophy until he resigned in 2004.

In 2005, he founded the Aquinas School of Philosophy. This was the last great project of his life to which he devoted all of his time and energy.

He lectured every Friday night, first at a parish church hall in Niagara Falls, then at the Education Room in St. Mary’s hospital in Lewiston. The classes were free and open to all.

Dr. Dennis Bonnette, retired professor of philosophy from Niagara University and long-time colleague, who also teaches at the Aquinas School of Philosophy, said in tribute to Dr. Waters the day after his death, “Dr. Waters’ entire life was devoted to what he called the Apostolate of Scholarship… nobody was more dedicated to his students, spending many hours with them.”

The love Dr. Waters nursed towards his students was evident from the tributes they voiced after his death.

One former student drove from North Carolina to attend the funeral. Others wrote touching tributes on his webpage obituary. One reads, “I was a student on Dr. Waters at Niagara University. I remember Dr. Waters fondly. He was a dedicated teacher who cared deeply for his students. Thank you, Dr. Waters, for courageously teaching the truth.”

Father Francis DeRosa, a former student of Dr. Waters, drove from Virginia to celebrate the Funeral Mass in Niagara Falls. In his homily, Father DeRosa said that apart from his parents, Dr. Waters was the single most determining factor in his decision to become a priest: “It was through the teaching of Dr. Waters that I truly came to understand the Catholic Church as the one true Church established by Christ.”

Dr. Waters’ dedication to scholarship is demonstrated by the fact that upon retirement at age 80, when many a man is ready to “take it easy”, he went on to found his own school: The Aquinas School of Philosophy. He did this to keep alive the vital philosophical teachings of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas so woefully neglected in our time.

Indeed, he embodied 2500 years of the best of Western philosophical thought, and believed himself duty-bound to continue transmitting these great truths to others for as long as God gave him life.

Thomism Scorned

Dr. Waters was appalled at the state of education, and especially at the state of philosophy taught in Catholic colleges and universities. Thomistic scholasticism is out of fashion among Catholic academics, and has been so for decades.

Even prior to Vatican II, the progressivist proponents of the “New Theology” scorned scholasticism, claiming it too difficult for modern man to understand, and propounded new philosophical systems such as existentialism that would allegedly speak to modern man in his own language.

As early as 1950, keen Thomists such as Father David Greenstock warned against this new development: “We are asked to accept, in exchange for this solid foundation [of Thomism], the fluid concepts of a new philosophy, destined to change with time – we are told – like everything else in this fluid world. This, to our way of thinking, is not merely unreasonable, but also very dangerous.”

This new approach lacked the clarity and precision of Thomistic philosophy and introduced much mischief. It also cut the Catholic from his past, making the centuries-old Catholic language of scholasticism a foreign language to him.

This new approach was also the basis for progressive bishops and theologians at Vatican II to insist that Council documents be drafted in so-called pastoral (ambiguous) language. For example, the Decree on Ecumenism never defines ecumenism. The Council lays stress on “human dignity”, but never defines human dignity, etc.

Even Father Joseph Ratzinger, a young progressive theologian at Vatican II who was an adherent of the New Theology, rejoiced that the Council documents would not be drafted in scholastic terminology, as has been documented in past issues of Catholic Family News.

This lack of precision of Vatican II documents was alluded to by Bishop Thomas Morrow, a prelate who attended the Council. Catholic World News reported Bishop Morrow’s statement, “I was relieved when we were told that this Council was not aiming at defining or giving final statements on doctrine, because a statement of doctrine has to be very carefully formulated, and I would have regarded the Council documents as tentative and liable to be reformed.”

The chaos resulting from these documents is well attested by the present ruinous state of the Church throughout the world. The very fact it is commonly held that Vatican II documents can have both a liberal interpretation and a conservative interpretation (the hermeneutic of discontinuity/hermeneutic of continuity dichotomy) testifies to the want of scholastic precision in the documents themselves. No one even pretends the Decrees of Trent or Vatican I can be interpreted in any other manner than the precise language in which they are written.

The wholesale abandonment of scholasticism quickly spread throughout Catholic universities, where the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas was ignored, and a confused modern approach put in its place.

The Science of philosophy is replaced with the “History of Philosophy”, which introduces the student to hundreds of conflicting thinkers, but never teaches the student how to think. This results in the belief that philosophy is nothing more than a contradictory jumble of personal ideas and ideals.

“The ‘History of Philosophy’ is the worst way to teach or study philosophy”, insisted Dr. Waters. A History of Philosophy course has its place for students who already have years of solid philosophical instruction, and whose minds are trained in the true science that gives them the ability to recognize errors of deceptive systems.

It is akin to attending a school of architecture where the student is taught a history of the various styles of structures from ancient Greece to modern New York, but never learns how to build a building.

The disorder in philosophy is worse, as it necessarily flows into confusion in Ethics, and to a grand perversion of the way Ethics is taught. The modern instructor does not teach the student the sound objective principles of Aristotle and Aquinas by which to judge moral actions. A contemporary Ethics course often consists of a text book that is merely a collection of essays from various authors presenting conflicting views. On Abortion, two essays in favor, two essays against; Euthanasia: two essays in favor, two essays against; Capital Punishment: two essay in favor, two essays against.

The student, who is not taught any firm principles by which to judge, is then told to make up his own uninformed mind. In the end, the student will be swayed in moral matters either by gut feeling, or by personal interests, or by popular liberal sentiment. The deformed student will also come to accept the prevailing error taught in modern universities: that there is no objective moral law.

This is not education, but deformation. One can only pity students and their parents who spend vast sums of money, and go into debt for years, to receive this perverse de-education.

Philosophy is a Science

By contrast, Dr. Waters, along with Father Woodbury and St. Thomas Aquinas, rightly teach that philosophy is a science that gives certitude to the mind. Dr. Waters defined philosophy as “certain knowledge of all things through their ultimate causes in the light of the principles of reason.”

By “certain knowledge”, he means “sure knowledge”.

Dr. Waters’ mentor, Father Woodbury, spends a remarkable nine pages in his unpublished Introduction to Philosophy, demonstrating with pitiless logic: “Philosophy is knowledge of all things through highest causes, proceeding under the natural light of human reason.” Here, both Dr. Waters and Father Woodbury simply reiterate the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas: “Wisdom [i.e. philosophy] is the science which studies first and universal causes; wisdom considers the first cause of all causes.”

Philosophy differs from the experimental sciences as it studies the ultimate cause of all things.

For example, as the philosopher Brother Benignus noted, the science of physics formulates the laws of motion, but it does not answer the question “Why is there motion in the universe”? Biology sets out to explain the functions, likeness and unlikeness of living things, but it cannot answer the origin, principle and purpose of life. Experimental psychology seeks to describe the behavior of man, but it cannot answer the questions: “What is man?” or “what is the reason of man’s existence?”

“The philosopher is above all the guardian of the principles of reason”, Dr. Waters taught. Principles of reason are so fundamental that they cannot be proved, only defended. Some of these principles of reason include:

• Nothing can both be and not be at the same time and under the same circumstances (this is the principle of non-contradiction which is the most fundamental principle of reason).
• Whatever undergoes movement is moved by another;
• Every agent acts for the sake of an end;
• The whole is greater than its part;
• It is never lawful to do an evil act for the sake of a good end.

These and other principles of reason are the tools of the philosopher by which he forms solid judgments about the world around him.

The principles of reason are employed in every branch of true philosophy: Logic; Cosmology; Philosophical Psychology; Metaphysics; Poietics; Ethics, and the rest. All of these sciences, properly taught according to the Aristotelian/Thomistic tradition, form a magnificent whole that support and complete one another.

For example, one cannot have sound notion of what is proper human behavior (Ethics) unless one has a correct understanding of what is human nature (Philosophical Psychology), or of the existence of God as our last end (Metaphysics).

Another advantage of sound philosophy is that it prevents one from bowing down before the altar of experimental science. Professor Stephen Hawking and his bogus claim that the universe can be explained without God do not intimidate a man familiar with the metaphysical teachings of Aristotle and Aquinas.

In his new book The Grand Design – which as of mid-September has sold over 36,000 copies – Hawking claims, “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists,” and it is not necessary to invoke God as the source of all creation.

In other words, Hawking says that the entire universe came from nothing, that we have a magnificent effect without a cause, that nothing produced everything. This absurdity, which we see nowhere else in all of creation, is what Hawking invokes to explain all of creation.

As philosopher Dr. Bonnette remarked when he heard Hawking’s assertion, “This is what happens when a physicist tries to do metaphysics. He’s speaking outside his field.” The modern world in its godless ignorance prostrates itself before the scientist Hawking. The true philosopher regards Hawking as an object to be pitied.

The Aquinas School of Philosophy

Dr. Raphael Waters taught the true science of scholastic philosophy at his Aquinas School of Philosophy. Between 2005 and 2007, he delivered courses in Philosophical Psychology and Ethics. I was privileged to start attending his classes in spring 2007, and recorded a series of stand-alone lectures on various topics, a full course on Metaphysics, and a full course on Philosophical Psychology.

In fact, at the time he was teaching Philosophical Psychology, he had an accident at home that laid him up for 10 months. On a Sunday night in winter at about 9:30, he fell in his bathroom, crushed his ribs when he hit the bathtub, and lay there all night unable to move.

Providentially, a driver from the cancer institute, who had come the next morning to take him to hospital, called the police when Dr. Waters did not answer the door. The entire time he was hospitalized from this accident, wracked in pain, his only thought was returning to his students.

On September 11, 2009, Dr. Waters began his course on Ethics, which would alas remain unfinished. While giving this course, he was in an out of the hospital, and was also undergoing cancer treatment at Roswell Park Institute in Buffalo.

On Friday January 22, 2010 when we were about halfway through the Ethics course, he opened the class with a special thank you to all of us who came to the school, supported it, and spread word about it (it is actually we who owed thanks to him). He told some of us privately that he was scheduled for a special meeting at Roswell Cancer Institute the following Monday, and they had bad news for him.

The next night, January 23, he experienced such strong pains in his legs (due to another malady unrelated to his cancer) he was rushed to the hospital. He would never return to class.

Above all, he was concerned for the future of his school. As I have recorded his lectures and have them on audio CD, the class continued to meet each Friday night in Lewiston to listen to his recorded talks and continue the study of philosophy.

In April, his long-time friend and colleague Dr. Dennis Bonnette was able to return and resume teaching. The school thus continues. Dr. Bonnette has delivered a brief course on points of Metaphysics, and is now conducting his own course on the Philosophy of Human Nature. He is a superb teacher.

All of these classes are being recorded and will be released through Oltyn Library Services at www.aquinasphilosophy.com . Dr. Waters’ unfinished Ethics course will also be released before the end of the year.

In the Saddle

I will close with a consideration that indicates the remarkable character of Dr. Waters; his determination to carry on. Throughout his final months, even though he would never return to class, he did not give up his plans to continue.

One day last February, when I visited him at the hospital, he laid out four other courses he was planning to teach: Logic, Epistemology, a course on Dr. Woodbury’s Introduction to Philosophy, and a fourth that I don’t remember. This was apart from his determination to complete his unfinished Ethics course.

It was edifying and humbling to see this 86-year-old man, literally dying from cancer, steadfast in his resolve to teach in the future.

His article against the fallacy of homosexual “marriage”, on page 5 of this issue, is something he wrote and sent to me only three weeks before his death. Even in the last days of his life on earth, he was still working out a new Prospectus for the school.

He always kept going. He never gave up. He never said, “I’ve done enough”. He never said, “I’m too old or too sick to continue”. In this and in his lifelong dedication to truth, he is model for us all.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Dr. Raphael Waters. May he rest in peace.

The Centre for Thomistic Studies

Sandro Magister, Papal Primacy. Russia Heads the Resistance Against Rome
The patriarchate of Moscow is a great admirer of the current pontiff. But it is also the most hesitant to recognize his authority over the Orthodox Churches of the East. The results of the talks in Vienna

Eirenikon has a post concerning Louis Bouyer's opinion about the schism between Catholic and Orthodox, along with links to past discussions at Pontifications and elsewhere.

Papal Address at Concert in His Honor

Papal Address at Concert in His Honor


"The Masterpiece of the Human Being Is His Every Act of Genuine Love"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 4, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Friday during a concert held in his honor in Paul VI Hall.

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Venerable Brothers,

Distinguished Gentlemen and Ladies, Dear Brothers and Sisters,

First of all I would like to address my heartfelt gratitude to ENI [Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi], in the person of the president, professor Roberto Poli, who courteously sponsored this evening. Already some time ago ENI offered to organize a concert to coincide with the restoration project on the lateral facades of St. Peter's Basilica. After carrying out the memorable cleaning of the facade, admired by millions of pilgrims during the Jubilee of 2000, this great subsequent work is fully under way: entering the Vatican by the Arch of Bells or by the Petriano, one is surprised -- on looking at the part that is already finished -- by the appearance of the Travertine [marble], which looks like we've never seen it, soft and velvet-like. This is also a great "orchestral" work, and all those who direct it and carry it out, with mastery and diligence, deserve applause!

Hence ENI thought of a concert -- perhaps to compensate for the noise that these works inevitably cause! Called to this were the Orchestra and Choir of the St. Cecilia National Academy, that is, two institutions that, because of their history, the quality of their art and their typically "Italian" sound, represent Rome and Italy in the global musical scene.

To all the members of the orchestra and the choir I would like to offer my congratulations, with the hope that they will always be able to give life -- as this evening -- to immortal works. In particular, I express my heartfelt appreciation to the director, Neeme Jarvi, to the pianist, Andrea Lucchesini and to the choir master, Ciro Visco. A special greeting also to the group of the poor, helped by the diocesan Caritas, whom I wished to invite to experience with us this moment of joy.

And now a brief reflection on the music we have heard: a Haydn symphony, of the "London" group called "The Surprise," or mit dem Paukenschlag for the characteristic use of the timpani in the second movement; Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, a quite atypical passage as genre in Beethoven's landscape, but which shows in a synthetic way the expressive possibilities of soloist, orchestral and choral music; and placed in the middle, the Cecilia, vergine romana, of Arvo Part. The two works of Haydn and Beethoven have made resound all the richness and power of symphonic music of the Classical and Romantic period: With it human genius competes in creativity with nature, gives life to varied and manifold harmonies, where the human voice also takes part in this language, which is as a reflection of the great cosmic symphony. This form is characteristic above all of the Romantic and late Romantic period, but it goes further, it represents a universal dimension of art, a way of conceiving man and his place in the world.

Part's work on the other hand, though making use of a similar instrument, a symphonic orchestra and a choir, wishes to give voice to another reality, which does not belong to the natural world: It gives voice to the testimony of faith in Christ, which in one word is "martyrdom." It is interesting that this testimony is personified in fact by St. Cecilia: a martyr who is also the patroness of music and of bel canto.

Hence it is necessary to congratulate also the one who planned the program, because joining this work on St. Cecilia to Haydn's and Beethoven's works offers a contrast rich in meaning, which invites us to reflect. The text of the saint's martyrdom and the particular style that interprets it in a musical key, seems to represent the place and task of faith in the universe: In the midst of the vital forces of nature, which are around man and also within him, faith is a different force, which responds to a profound word, "arising from the silence," as St. Ignatius of Antioch would say. The word of faith needs great interior silence, to hear and obey a voice that goes beyond the visible and tangible. This voice also speaks through the phenomena of nature, because it is the power that has created and governs the universe; but to recognize it, a humble and obedient heart is necessary -- as the saint teaches, whose memorial we celebrate today: Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Faith follows this profound voice where art on its own cannot reach: It follows it on the path of witness, of selfless giving of oneself out of love, as Cecilia did. Then the most beautiful work of art, the masterpiece of the human being is his every act of genuine love, from the smallest -- in the daily martyrdom -- to the extreme sacrifice. Here life itself becomes a song: an anticipation of this symphony that we will sing together in Paradise. Thank you again and good evening.

[Translation by ZENIT]