Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Given that our Lord and His Apostles and Evangelists transmitted very little about political life and political arrangements (beyond the importance of obedience), would it be erroneous to conclude that political life is not important? Yes. It would also be erroneous to think that Catholic Social Teaching is not subject to change or correction, as its moral theology is only as good as the one doing it.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Psychological Impediments to Marriage
What would be considered as such in the Byzantine canons?
In the west there is a consideration of factors that would eliminate consent or voluntariness. But what of broader psychological impediments to contracting marriage, i.e. moral or spiritual impediments?
And deception is not the same as the lack of good judgment on the part of the person who doesn't really know the other person.
Is lack of moral maturity (which is different from emotional maturity but may include it?) sufficient to nullify the marriage? If one of the parties is selfish or narcissistic and cannot make a real commitment despite a verbal willingness to state that intent, can that party truly marry? Or can the law only limit itself to cases in which one deliberately lies about making a permanent and stable commitment to be with the other person?
What of other personality disorders?
How would one prove that a party never had the properly intentionality with respect to marriage? The mere fact that the party left the marriage? But someone could just change his mind and break his vow. It seems to me that it is psychologically possible for someone to merely mouth the vow without intending it; saying the words in order to attain some goal other than a true marriage. Would that be a conscious lie? Perhaps.
And what if the parties are psychologically or morally unable to fulfill the roles in marriage; i.e. the male is unable to lead and care for the other, or the female is unable to follow/obey and care for the other?
In the west there is a consideration of factors that would eliminate consent or voluntariness. But what of broader psychological impediments to contracting marriage, i.e. moral or spiritual impediments?
And deception is not the same as the lack of good judgment on the part of the person who doesn't really know the other person.
Is lack of moral maturity (which is different from emotional maturity but may include it?) sufficient to nullify the marriage? If one of the parties is selfish or narcissistic and cannot make a real commitment despite a verbal willingness to state that intent, can that party truly marry? Or can the law only limit itself to cases in which one deliberately lies about making a permanent and stable commitment to be with the other person?
What of other personality disorders?
How would one prove that a party never had the properly intentionality with respect to marriage? The mere fact that the party left the marriage? But someone could just change his mind and break his vow. It seems to me that it is psychologically possible for someone to merely mouth the vow without intending it; saying the words in order to attain some goal other than a true marriage. Would that be a conscious lie? Perhaps.
And what if the parties are psychologically or morally unable to fulfill the roles in marriage; i.e. the male is unable to lead and care for the other, or the female is unable to follow/obey and care for the other?
Monday, January 29, 2018
Latin Sacramental Theology
Were there any alternative explanations by the schoolmen for the Real Presence in the Sacred Species, other than that offered by St. Thomas? Or was his the "standard" explanation?
Is it possible to formulate an explanation of the Real Presence without relying on Aristotle's metaphysics, and at the same time acknowledging that the Sacred Species is a sign (sacramentum) and a symbol, but not a symbol that refers to something else completely apart from itself? The Sacred Species conveys or signifies the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, localizes and realizes this Presence. Can the Real Presence be explained through participation? It is more than the causal presence of Christ in the natural matter or artifact of bread, nor is it the accidental conjunction of two different things.
Can the Real Presence be explained by other than an analogue to the Hypostatic Union?
It does not seem that if bread is not a substantial unity but an accidental unity that this would pose a problem for a "Aristotelian" explanation -- we would hold that the Real Presence is in all of the parts of bread which are substances.
Is it possible to formulate an explanation of the Real Presence without relying on Aristotle's metaphysics, and at the same time acknowledging that the Sacred Species is a sign (sacramentum) and a symbol, but not a symbol that refers to something else completely apart from itself? The Sacred Species conveys or signifies the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, localizes and realizes this Presence. Can the Real Presence be explained through participation? It is more than the causal presence of Christ in the natural matter or artifact of bread, nor is it the accidental conjunction of two different things.
Can the Real Presence be explained by other than an analogue to the Hypostatic Union?
It does not seem that if bread is not a substantial unity but an accidental unity that this would pose a problem for a "Aristotelian" explanation -- we would hold that the Real Presence is in all of the parts of bread which are substances.
Friday, January 26, 2018
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Rorate Caeli: The Franciscans of the Immaculate: A courageous voice speaks out by Father Paolo M. Siano
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
CWR Dispatch: The East, the West, and Simon Leys by Gerald J. Russello
A new biography and a new collection of essays provide details into the fascinating life and wide-ranging thought of author Simon Leys, who may have been the last great Catholic man of letters.
A new biography and a new collection of essays provide details into the fascinating life and wide-ranging thought of author Simon Leys, who may have been the last great Catholic man of letters.
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
What does the pope mean by casuistry?
CWR: The Pope’s misuse of “calumny” distracts from deeper, more troubling questions by Christopher R. Altieri
The problem with Pope Francis’ defense of Bishop Juan Barros is not just that Francis has a poor grasp of technical legal terminology or that he misuses certain words, but that he thinks he knows better and refuses to listen to the people who do.
The problem with Pope Francis’ defense of Bishop Juan Barros is not just that Francis has a poor grasp of technical legal terminology or that he misuses certain words, but that he thinks he knows better and refuses to listen to the people who do.
This would not be the first time Pope Francis’ lexical idiosyncrasies were cause for confusion. I still have not met anyone trained in the sacred sciences who can tell me what Francis means when he speaks of “casuistry” – or “abstract casuistry” – though it is clear he does not mean what is generally meant by the term, i.e. the resolution of moral problems by investigation into the specifics of the case and careful application of the general principles of moral science to the specific case, from within the specifics of the case, themselves.
Monday, January 22, 2018
CWR: Cardinal Burke: It is a “source of anguish” to hear suggestions “that I would lead a schism”
“The truth of the matter is marriage is not an ideal. It is a reality,” says Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke in a lengthy new interview with Chris Altieri. “What frightens me a great deal about the present situation of the Church,” he adds, “is what I would call a politicization of Church life and of Church doctrine.”
podcast
“The truth of the matter is marriage is not an ideal. It is a reality,” says Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke in a lengthy new interview with Chris Altieri. “What frightens me a great deal about the present situation of the Church,” he adds, “is what I would call a politicization of Church life and of Church doctrine.”
podcast
What is going on at the OSC at Fordham?
British Council Awards Grant to Orthodox Christian Studies Center for LGBTQ Research
Both faculty members in question are Greek Orthodox, I believe, solidifying the impression that their jurisdiction is the laxist in the U.S. Even if they weren't sincere believers in their project, this would still be scandalous to the faithful.
Both faculty members in question are Greek Orthodox, I believe, solidifying the impression that their jurisdiction is the laxist in the U.S. Even if they weren't sincere believers in their project, this would still be scandalous to the faithful.
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Cardinal Müller on Papal Authority
First Things: By What Authority
The pope's words are at the service of the whole Tradition of the Church, and not the other way around.
The pope's words are at the service of the whole Tradition of the Church, and not the other way around.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Some Reactionary Orthodox May Agree
Patriarch Athenagoras was a modernist or a heretic? Just because he didn't think there were significant (i.e. Church -dividing) theological differences between Roman Catholics and Byzantine Orthodox. I would guess that his understanding of the theological differences would be greater than that of Pope Francis.
Sandro Magister: Athenagoras, Orthodoxy's Bergoglio
Sandro Magister: Athenagoras, Orthodoxy's Bergoglio
Friday, January 19, 2018
Exactly
Ed Peters on what seems to be the latest publicity stunt for the "populist, pastoral" pope: Thoughts on a Mid-Air Marriage (original)
In his update, Peters reports that this may have been a planned event. If that is the case, did the same person who got this to happen also have the conscience necessary to make sure the necessary vetting of the couple was done? Even if that were the case, the fact that this was publicized as a spontaneous event and to maintain a certain image of the pope speaks volumes about the papacy.
In his update, Peters reports that this may have been a planned event. If that is the case, did the same person who got this to happen also have the conscience necessary to make sure the necessary vetting of the couple was done? Even if that were the case, the fact that this was publicized as a spontaneous event and to maintain a certain image of the pope speaks volumes about the papacy.
Concept: Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann on the Common and the Personal in the Divine Liturgy by V.V. Pechatnov
article
article
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Except the Patriarchate of Rome is not the Church Universal
In other news, Latins still infected with latinocentrism.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
But Very Little Overt Resistance in the Form of Affirming Traditional Discipline
CWR: “Ecclesial reception” in the Era of Francis by Peter M.J. Stravinskas
Out of more than 5,000 bishops in the universal Church, I don’t think we can consider supporters of the problematic practice of permitting divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion as constituting “reception”.
Out of more than 5,000 bishops in the universal Church, I don’t think we can consider supporters of the problematic practice of permitting divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion as constituting “reception”.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Nicholas Denysenko on the Theophany
Theophany, Blessing Waters, and Conversion by Nicholas Denysenko
μωραίνει Κύριος ον βούλεται απολέσαι
German bishop wants to make 16 years the minimum age for the reception of Confirmation: German Bishop Suspends Confirmation For Four Years
Lectoring in the Roman rite in the US
The Byzantine rite does have instituted lectors but it also does allow for non-instituted lectors, who should chant the reading as well. And, there is also a question here of whether the artchitectural feature of the "sanctuary" reflects a good and proper understanding of the temple as a place for the Eucharistic assembly.
CWR: The Jesuit Pope and the problematic reform of the Roman Curia by Christopher R. Altieri
2017 was a year in which the micro-fissures in the structure began to be visible to the naked eye. 2018 is likely to be the year in which it becomes clear that major structural reform cannot be postponed.
2017 was a year in which the micro-fissures in the structure began to be visible to the naked eye. 2018 is likely to be the year in which it becomes clear that major structural reform cannot be postponed.
Monday, January 15, 2018
CWR: Pope Francis and Ideology by Eduardo Echeverria
It is unfortunate that the Holy Father’s overall emphasis on legalism is such that he never addresses the antithesis of legalism, namely, antinomianism, leaving us with a lopsided picture of contemporary culture.
It is unfortunate that the Holy Father’s overall emphasis on legalism is such that he never addresses the antithesis of legalism, namely, antinomianism, leaving us with a lopsided picture of contemporary culture.
Francesco Arzillo Defends Ratzinger
Sandro Magister: Why Ratzinger Is Not a Heretic. The Defense Speaks. See also Antonio Caragliu.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Friday, January 12, 2018
Bishop Barron Has a New Book
CWR Dispatch: “Fundamentally a missionary”: New book captures Bishop Barron’s evangelistic vision by Gregory J. Sullivan
A review of To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age, by Bishop Robert Barron, with John L. Allen, Jr.
Are Latin bishops able to give a proper presentation of the kerygma? And do they realize their missionary field is not one country, but many within the borders of the United States?
A review of To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age, by Bishop Robert Barron, with John L. Allen, Jr.
Are Latin bishops able to give a proper presentation of the kerygma? And do they realize their missionary field is not one country, but many within the borders of the United States?
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
New Men
website
What if...
the exaltation of the monastic life led to the imposition of a quasi-monastic rule on lay people (for example, fasting regulations)? And the denigration of lay vocation? And it had an adverse psychological or emotional impact, with lay people believing that they were too "normal," not good enough to be holy? And thus they identified asceticism too much with certain external practices regarding goods of the body, and not enough with the mortification of the will with the divine agape?
Tuesday, January 09, 2018
Means to End, End to Means
Time to reconsider God as end in respect of the relationship of the common good to the ultimate end?
From The End of Modernity by Thaddeus Kozinski:
From The End of Modernity by Thaddeus Kozinski:
According to St. Thomas, men cannot adequately understand in theory, let alone fulfill in practice, the detailed precepts of the natural law without the help of its author, God, and its divinely appointed interpreter, the Roman Catholic Church. With regard to a non-sacral foundation for political order, the Thomist Joseph May in the 1950s stated: “The only true doctrine is that civil society cannot prescind from the ultimate end [emphasis mine] both because the temporal welfare implies an ordering to the spiritual and supernatural, and because the individual citizens are directly and positively bound to tend to it.”[8] And even Dignitatis Humanae insists that it “leaves untouched the traditional Catholic doctrine about the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and the one Church of Christ” (Sec. 1). As Pope John Paul II often reiterated, the face of Jesus Christ is the only true mirror in which man can fully and accurately contemplate and comprehend his own nature and destiny; thus, only therein can he discern the moral values and goods most perfective of himself and the political order.
A Conservatism That Is Not Critical Enough
Or a conservatism that is just underdeveloped liberalism.
The Imaginative Conservative: Cosmopolitanism: Citizens Without States? by Lee Trepanier
The Imaginative Conservative: Cosmopolitanism: Citizens Without States? by Lee Trepanier
NCReg: US Bishops Set Course on Liturgical Translations by Joan Frawley Desmond
In the wake of Magnum Principium’s changes to the process for approving liturgical translations, the U.S. bishops are charting a careful path forward.
In the wake of Magnum Principium’s changes to the process for approving liturgical translations, the U.S. bishops are charting a careful path forward.
Show Me the Local Cult That Exists
And proof of miracles attributed to the brothers...
Pray for the iconographer. Lunacy is not the word to describe this.
Fr. Z
Pray for the iconographer. Lunacy is not the word to describe this.
Dear friends: I'm so happy to share with you this new icon by Robert Lentz, OFM, the great iconographer (with his permission) of two of great prophets of our time: Philip Berrigan and Daniel Berrigan, SJ. https://t.co/UAf9xsyKuv pic.twitter.com/gzQ4znHTDU
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) January 7, 2018
Fr. Z
Monday, January 08, 2018
A 2007 Interview with William Cavanaugh
From The Nation State Project, Schizophrenic Globalization, and the Eucharist: An Interview with William T. Cavanaugh by Ben Suriano & William T. Cavanaugh :
TOJ: You mentioned that the state acts as if it does not have an overriding metanarrative of its own, yet it does. You’ve commented on how it does take itself as peace-loving and the greatest promoter of world peace, yet through the use of violence as well. Can you, however, comment more specifically about the myths at the very origin of the state—in the early stages of its formative history—that have especially led to these currently accepted ideas?
BC: Well, when I say “the state” I am thinking in particular of the Western liberal democratic state. What is at the origin of this form is the idea of liberalism—which is, to reiterate, the idea of openness and universality overcoming particularity. This is one of the most basic ideas at bottom of the nuts and bolts formation of the Western state. It is basically an overcoming of the local through a centralization of power in the allegedly universal. So the particular loyalties of the people in the medieval period—loyalties to church and clan and guild and town and lord and so on—all of those particular loyalties are fragmented and absorbed into one centralized, universalized loyalty to the state. This transferring of loyalties in the process of state building is then a basic project that we find at the beginning of the rise of the Western state.
TOJ: You have mentioned in your work Charles Tilley’s idea that this process of state building is a process of war-making, almost like organized crime, in trying to centralize this power and these loyalties. And the centralized ordering of social space now seems to be more de-ritualized and secularized without the older particular loyalties of the past. Yet you have claimed in your work that in order for the state to develop this seemingly open, secular order it nevertheless uses quasi-religious liturgical practices that are somewhat of a religious parody in order to discipline and instrumentalize the devotion and imagination of the people. Can you comment on this movement of de-ritualizing and yet using quasi-liturgies by the state in order to gain allegiance and order? And what are ways it is still apparent in the U.S.?
BC: This process of state building and secularization is a very ambivalent movement because it certainly is the case that the liturgical rhythms of previous societies have been truly washed away. This is evident in the ways that the rhythms of time have been changed. Sundays used to be days of rest and now everything is open all the time on Sunday and everything is available 24-7 on the internet and so on, which really does de-liturgize society in a way.
But there are exceptions to this. I think the primary exception is the way that rituals of national patriotism are highly symbolic and highly ritualized and liturgized, especially as they revolve around the flag as the central totem symbol.
Susan Brinkmann on Mindfulness
CWR: Catholicism and Mindfulness: Compatible practices or contrary spiritualities? by Carl E. Olson
“The Church’s mystical tradition is rarely, if ever, addressed from the pulpit,” says Susan Brinkmann, author of a new book on the practice of mindfulness, “which leaves many vulnerable to being drawn into eastern forms of prayer that are not compatible with Christian prayer.”
“The Church’s mystical tradition is rarely, if ever, addressed from the pulpit,” says Susan Brinkmann, author of a new book on the practice of mindfulness, “which leaves many vulnerable to being drawn into eastern forms of prayer that are not compatible with Christian prayer.”
Brad Gregory on Luther
Law and Liberty: Luther’s Rebellion: A Conversation with Brad Gregory by Brad S. Gregory
Rebel in the Ranks
Rebel in the Ranks
Sunday, January 07, 2018
Saturday, January 06, 2018
CWR: From what, precisely, are Amoris Laetitia “dissenters” dissenting? by Christopher R. Altieri
If even Pope Francis could be unsure about the orthodoxy of his controversial post-Synodal Exhortation, surely the faithful will be allowed to have perplexities of various kinds regarding it?
Related: Canon 17 does not let us undercut Canon 915 and what it protects: A response to Stephen Walford by
Edward N. Peters (original)
If even Pope Francis could be unsure about the orthodoxy of his controversial post-Synodal Exhortation, surely the faithful will be allowed to have perplexities of various kinds regarding it?
Related: Canon 17 does not let us undercut Canon 915 and what it protects: A response to Stephen Walford by
Edward N. Peters (original)
Is Humanae Vitae Next?
More rumors and guessing...
Catholic Herald: There’s a movement to undermine Catholic morality – Communion is just the start by Ed Condon
Catholic Herald: There’s a movement to undermine Catholic morality – Communion is just the start by Ed Condon
Philip Lawler, Lost Shepherd
Regnery
Google Books
Remnant Newspaper: The Importance of Not Being Us by Christopher A. Ferrara
Sandro Magister: The Bergoglio Mystery. Why the General of the Jesuits Didn't Want Him Made Bishop
Google Books
Remnant Newspaper: The Importance of Not Being Us by Christopher A. Ferrara
Sandro Magister: The Bergoglio Mystery. Why the General of the Jesuits Didn't Want Him Made Bishop
Friday, January 05, 2018
Capital Punishment as Deterrent
CWR: How and why the death penalty deters murder in contemporary America by Joseph M. Bessette
Too many churchmen simply ignore the evidence that the death penalty saves lives and promotes public order. Catholic public officials charged with the care of the common good deserve better from their religious leaders.
Too many churchmen simply ignore the evidence that the death penalty saves lives and promotes public order. Catholic public officials charged with the care of the common good deserve better from their religious leaders.
Thursday, January 04, 2018
CWR Interview with Fr. Fawaz Kako
But no mention of the Chaldean liturgical reform?
For Chaldean Catholics, the Faith has been transmitted by “a testimony of blood” by
A Chaldean Catholic priest from Iraq living in the US discusses his Church’s ancient liturgical tradition as well as the dangers faced by Middle East Christians today.
For Chaldean Catholics, the Faith has been transmitted by “a testimony of blood” by
A Chaldean Catholic priest from Iraq living in the US discusses his Church’s ancient liturgical tradition as well as the dangers faced by Middle East Christians today.
Wednesday, January 03, 2018
Tuesday, January 02, 2018
CWR Interview with Cardinal Brandmüller
CWR: Cardinal Brandmüller reflects on Luther, “Amoris laetitia”, the Dubia, and current situation
An interview with the Church historian and theologian Walter Cardinal Brandmüller conducted by Armin Schwibach of kath.net.
An interview with the Church historian and theologian Walter Cardinal Brandmüller conducted by Armin Schwibach of kath.net.
Latin Teachings on Authority
A product of papal centralization -- so do they reflect a second millenium claim about episcopal (or papal) authority and the attendant obligations of the Christian faithful?
What is included in the deposit of Faith for a bishop? Only that which has been explicitly determined to be a part of the deposit of Faith? Or do theological conclusions count as well? Or are such conclusions to be taken to be opinion until agreed upon by the Church Universal? What about laws or precepts? Which laws are to be made by a bishop for the good of the local Church? Which precepts are not laws that are binding but only recommendations or suggestions? (Does a bishop really have the authority to set laws pertaining to diet, for example)
On non-infallible teachings of the Magisterium and the meaning of “obsequium religiosum” by Dr. Jeremy Holmes
Sometimes “religious obsequium” is translated “religious assent,” at other times “religious submission,” and at other times “religious respect”. What exactly are we being asked to do?
What is included in the deposit of Faith for a bishop? Only that which has been explicitly determined to be a part of the deposit of Faith? Or do theological conclusions count as well? Or are such conclusions to be taken to be opinion until agreed upon by the Church Universal? What about laws or precepts? Which laws are to be made by a bishop for the good of the local Church? Which precepts are not laws that are binding but only recommendations or suggestions? (Does a bishop really have the authority to set laws pertaining to diet, for example)
On non-infallible teachings of the Magisterium and the meaning of “obsequium religiosum” by Dr. Jeremy Holmes
Sometimes “religious obsequium” is translated “religious assent,” at other times “religious submission,” and at other times “religious respect”. What exactly are we being asked to do?
Monday, January 01, 2018
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