Pope awards the 'Ratzinger Prize,' considered the Nobel of Theology

Pope on seven new saints: Their lives speak to the Universal Church


Pope's Homily on Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Saint



NLM: The Return of the Papal Fanon


The occasion did help me think of a birthday present for my niece.

Joint Liturgy of the Eastern American Diocese and Moscow Patriarchate (Oct. 13, 2012) - PREVIEW

Modernist architecture done right... because there is no bare space on the inside...

Μεθ ημών ο Θεός - Kabarnos Νικόδημος

Agni Parthene (Complete) - Simonopetra Monastery

Living Tradition No. 152: A CANONICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE TEACHING IN HUMANAE VITAE by Andrew Kong

ΚΥΡΙΕ ΕΚΕΚΡΑΞΑ ΠΡΟΣ ΣΕ - Lord I have cried to You

Mospat: Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk meets with Pope Benedict XVI

The Next Dumb Ox Event

At the DSPT, October 30 at 8 P.M.: Fr. Hilary Martin, OP - Does Theology Change Anything?

Money matters, but does theology? Power matters, but does theology? Fr. Yves Congar, OP matters. Fr. Yves Congar, a French Dominican spent his life working with theology. Before, during and after Vatican II he worked on the Faith and how to get it across to people. He was not a bishop at the Second Vatican Council, only a Peritus, but had a hand in a lot that went on there. His Journal, or Daybook, shows how deep a hand he had.

Are we different from the way we were, and the way we were from the way we are now?

The Morality of Dr. Yamanaka's Research

Why are Catholics Praising the Nobel Prize Stem Cell Technology? (via Fr. Z)

Archbishop Cordileone on World Over

The Synod of Bishops and Such

Zenit: Benedict XVI's Address To Second Vatican Council Fathers [2012-10-14]
Christianity Must not be Considered as 'Something of the Past'

Pope's Address at Luncheon with Synod Fathers and Bishops Who Participated in Vatican II
"The Lord Will Also Help us to Move Forward Exteriorly"

Pope Benedict XVI Gives Exclusive Interview for Documentary
"Bells of Europe" Highlights the History between Christianity and Europe

On Wealth
"The Church's History is Full of Examples of Rich People Who Used their Possessions in an Evangelical Way"

Kiko Argüello: 'We Are Spectators of the Works of the Holy Spirit'
Initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way Speaks on the Ecclesial Reality's Role within the Church

Archbishop Pagla's Intervention at Synod of Bishops
"The Future of Evangelization Largely Depends on the Domestic Church"

More

MosPat: Metropolitan Hilarion’s greeting to the Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church Rome, 16 October 2012

The Proper Interpretation of Vatican II

Dominicana: Conciliar Debates and the Desire for Unity

I received an e-mail from Loreto Publications that the translation of Roberto de Mattei's book on Vatican II is in the works, and it is hoped that it will be ready by the end of the year. If you are interested in purchasing a copy when it becomes available, please contact the publisher to let it know.

I still wonder, though, would it be necessary to force a reading of the documents that is orthodox and in harmony with Sacred Tradition if it were possible to admit that the documents are expressions of the Ordinary Magisterium, and hence not everything is on the same level, and that some tentative opinions were advanced which could be erroneous? An ecumenical council may be an "extraordinary act" as stated by the author of the above, but that does not mean that its documents necessary belong to the Sacred or Solemn Magisterium of the Church. If the second Vatican Council had not been so hyped, would we need to pay so much attention to it as a source of discord and division?

There is a video of the sedevecantist Fr. Cekada on the topic of the Ordinary Magisterium.

On the Hermeneutic of Continuity: Benedict XVI, the Reformer
See also The Five "Conciliar" Days of the Pope

Vatican Insider:
“Modifying the draft document on the divine Revelation”
"It taught us to live in a new world" by LUCA ROLANDI - Interview with Jesuit historian and theologian, John W. O’Malley

30 Giorni has had to suspend publication, with issue number 5. IN MEMORY OF DON GIACOMO TANTARDINI

Related:
Si Si No No: RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND THE ORDINARY MAGISTERIUM Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize
Clear Ideas on the Pope's Infallible Magisterium

Rorate Caeli: International Theological Commission: Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Year of Faith

Fr. Joseph Komonchak to Speak in Berkeley Tomorrow

At the Newman Hall (still run by the Paulists?) at 7:30 P.M., as a part of this series.

Given that I disagree with him on ecclesiology and the council, plus the late notice, I doubt I'll attend.

FB event
Vatican II and Parish Life
Faculty profile.
He has a blog.

Novelty in Continuity
Benedict XVI and the Interpretation of Vatican II

Rorate Caeli: FIUV PP: Latin in Seminaries

Kristine Kalanges on William Cavanaugh

From State Soteriology to Eucharistic Anarchism: Cavanaugh’s “True Peace” (via MOJ)

Mount Lebanon Choir of Byzantine Music

The Divine Liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church in English

Scaling for a Christian Community

Fr. Bouyer contrasted in his The Church of God two ideals of ecclesial "membership," the Church of believers and the Church of numbers. Might it be that the Church can be both, if we observed the proper scale to the local Churches (and parishes)? What is the ideal size of a [neighborhood] parish? How many people can a priest be a spiritual father to? Should he not be able to remember the names of all his spiritual children? How many Sunday liturgies can be said in a temple? Can we eventually achieve the Eastern ideal of one? (Given the time necessary to train priests, it seems that celebrating more than one Sunday liturgy at the [main] altar of a temple is a pastoral necessity.

How big should a local Church [diocese] be, in terms of both members and size? In the Western patriarchate at least, auxiliary bishops are given titles to dioceses that do not really exist any longer. What if, instead, the archdiocese was broken up? What if we had more bishops, instead of auxiliary/titular bishops, and more metropolitans (and provinces)? (Is attendance at an ecumenical council limited to metropolitans, in practice or in law?)

What is the basis for the inequality in status (and power?) between the metropolitan and the suffragan bishops, besides the link between his diocese and the political capital? I need to read up more on Church governance and the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Iconostasis and Ciborium

Excellent!


St. George

It is true that the iconostasis is less "solid" than traditional ones.

Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev at Mount Athos

From earlier this week: Metropolitan Hilarion arrives in Athos
Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates at the Russian Monastery on Mount Athos

St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral

Светлая Суббота 2012 г. Bright Saturday 2012


I didn't have the opportunity to visit the cathedral when I was in NYC in August, so I am glad to see its interior in the video. A little too westernized, the icons?

Another video

CWR: History’s View of Vatican II by Michael J. Miller (via Insight Scoop)
The who, what, where, when, and why of the Council

The Second Vatican Council: An Unwritten Story by Roberto de Mattei - it is supposed to be published by Loreto? I don't see it in the catalog.

Over at Chiesa:
The Five "Conciliar" Days of the Pope
With six statements on Vatican II, fifty years after its beginning. Followed by a commentary by Pietro De Marco on the "external paradigm" that influences the interpretation and reception of that event

Eastern Catholic Churches Encounter 2012

website - Main West Conference is coming up, November 2-4.






Traditions of the Eastern Catholic Church
Eastern Catholic Theology PART 1 with Fr. Abbot Nicholas of Holy Resurrection Monastery
Part 2

Greek Byzantine Choir - The Beatitudes (Liturgy of St John Chrysostom)


So has the singing of the Beatitudes been restored to the Greek rite?

Pope Benedict's Homily at Opening Mass of the Year of Faith

Zenit: Pope Benedict's Homily at Opening Mass of the Year of Faith
"Through Christ, God is the Principal Subject of Evangelization in the World"

Greeting by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
"We Join in the Hope that the Barrier Dividing the Eastern Church and the Western Church Will be Removed" [2012-10-11]

Rome Reports


Bartholomew I recognizes before the Pope the capacity of uniting of the Second Vatican Council

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka

Great news about the Nobel Prize
Vindication for Opponents of Embryo-Destructive Research
Stem Cell Scientists Gurdon and Yamanaka Win Nobel Prize in Medicine


Gladstone Institutes

Do we care what Mayor Ed Lee and the City of San Francisco think? Everyone wants to claim a winner as one of their own.

Teacher of Teachers: Blessed John Henry Newman by Christopher Blum

Byzantine, Texas: The Liturgy in 13th century Constantinople

The chanting is splendid, but are the vestments accurate? I'm not understanding the headgear. I think that is supposed to be the emperor, rather than the bishop? NO barrier or ciborium or altar?

Misc.
Cultural Identity and Dress: The Case of Late Byzantine Court Costume

The Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute (PAOI)

Installation Mass of Archbishop Cordileone

Last Thursday.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone Mass of Installation Video
San Francisco's new archbishop seeks to rebuild God's house

Archbishop is 'collaborator' in helping lead the faithful to holiness

Archbishop Cordileone: 'Francis, rebuild my house'
In homily, Archbishop Cordileone calls for 'rebuilding from within'
More from Catholic SF.

NC Reporter: Cordileone's installation in San Francisco includes demonstrations

ΧΟΡΩΔΙΑ ΘΡΑΣΥΒΟΥΛΟΥ ΣΤΑΝΙΤΣΑ - ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟΛΗ

More from the Holy Father on the Liturgy

Zenit: ON THE ECCLESIAL NATURE OF LITURGICAL PRAYER
The Liturgy is the Act Whereby We Enter Into Contact with God

(The previous audience: On the Sacred Liturgy as a School of Prayer.)

From 2003:

Two New Doctors of the Church

Rome Reports: St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. John of Avila are now Doctors of the Church. Pope also welcomes the Synod of Bishops



Zenit:
POPE BENEDICT XVI'S HOMILY AT OPENING MASS OF SYNOD OF BISHOPS
"The Holy Spirit Has Nurtured in the Church a New Effort to Announce the Good News"

DECREE GRANTING PLENARY INDULGENCE FOR YEAR OF FAITH

SPECIALIST IN DOGMATIC THEOLOGY PROMOTES PASTORAL OF "AUTO-EVANGELIZATION"
Father Antonio Aranda Lomena Set to Attend Synod on the New Evangelization

ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΗ ΣΥΝΑΥΛΙΑ ΒΡΥΞΕΛΛΩΝ - ΧΟΡΑΡΧΗΣ ΣΤΑΝΙΤΣΑΣ

How much of this is still true? From 1975: Some differences between Greek and Russian divine services and their significance
by Basil Krivoshein
Archbishop of Brussels and Belgium

How old is the inclusion of the Beatitudes in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom?

St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church

Jimmy Akin, Newest Doctor of the Church: Her Visions, Her Writings, and Her Secret Language
St. Hildegard of Bingen: A Visionary for All Time by Brennan Pursell
St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church by Leroy Huizenga

From the Wednesday audience talks by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010-
St. Hildegard: Cloistered Nun and Mystic
A Continuing Reflection on St. Hildegard

Back when I was in the seminary, a "cranky" (but lovable) Jesuit remarked that if St. Thérèse_of_Lisieux could be declared a Doctor of the Church, why not St. Ignatius of Loyola? We should honor St. Thérèse for her holiness and her "little way" has been influential as a model for our understanding Christian spirituality and by extension the lay vocation, but as a teacher (not necessarily as a writer) does she rank with the other Doctors of the Church? (Someone might claim that in terms of influence on contemporary Catholics, St. Thérèse surpasses them.)

Zenit: POPE TO PRESIDE OVER OPENING MASS FOR SYNOD
Sts. Hildegard of Bingen and John of Avila to be Honored by Pontiff

The corpus of St. Hildegard of Bingen is apparently larger, and she was also an authorized preacher. She did have an impact on the local church(es) of her time period. But is she so influential now? St. John of the Cross continues to be influential as a teacher of Christian spirituality. (The same is true of St. Teresa of Avila.)

I can't help but shake the suspicion that besides being influenced by his German heritage, the pope may be acceding to political pressures and considerations, the demand for women to be "better represented." While some women may have been especially gifted as teachers, one should distinguish between extraordinary and ordinary gifts, and how the office of theologian (or bishop) is tied more to the latter than to the former. Those who have a special mission from God (and the accompanying talents) should not be prevented by the bishops from following it, but this does not mean that women in general should be encouraged to be theologians.

Some may say that the rejection of scholasticism has been beneficial to the Church and allowed for the renewal of older methods of doing theology, but I would argue that the application of reason to understanding revealed truth has never been absent from theology, though it has been complemented by general life in Christ, prayer, and even mystical experiences.

Was St. Paul a sexist, limited by his culture? How should his stricture be understood? Some have limited to the confines of the temple. Anyone who teaches Christian doctrine, female or male, must do so with the permission of the bishop (via his priests) and under his supervision. One can argue for the strict separation of male and female spheres (and roles) in political society, but can this also be done for ecclesiastical society? There is also a somewhat relevant distinction between teaching of morals (and leadership) and teaching of other subjects. The teaching of morality for men should be left to men, because the roles of men and women are different within the family and society as a whole. But what of the teaching of things not pertaining to morality? The best argument for the this to be left to men as well is that while it does not touch upon morality itself, it is ideally an exercise for male communing, once boys come of age. (There is also the question of giving males their proper roles within the community as a whole, and protecting these assignments from encroachments by women. Women in general do not want as a husband a male who is perceived to be a loser, but this is what happens when women displace men.)

Are Saints Teresa of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen the exceptions that then prove the rule? I do not think that it will be possible to find an equal representation of men and women among the Doctors of the Church, though some may want this. Margaret Schatkin or Sister Vassa Larin could be examples from today - but it must be noted that both are single, one a religious. It would seem that those who have consecrated their lives to God as virgins and religious have a greater claim to be teachers of theology than lay women, because their function is no longer one of the political economy but of the ecclesiastical economy. Some may claim that this is unfair, that women should not have to choose between one or the other, that they can have it all, but it is a question of serving God as He sees fit.

Women do not teach their children on their own authority, but do so as willed by their husband. It is true that some men care nothing for how prospective wives will behave and raise their children; but those who do care look for someone who agrees with them and will follow them. Similarly, traditionally women do not manage or represent the household unless they are delegated that authority by their husband (or father). Arguably a catechists task is one that is proper to the laity or to the parents, and they do participate in the sensus fidei.

So how much of a catechist's task is proper to the laity or to parents, and how much is a delegation by the bishop? This is in contrast to the one who preaches in a parish, for to do so he must have permission (and authority) from the bishop? Is the task of the theologian is different, but
is the nature of the theologian's authority different from that of the catechist? Some have explained St. Paul's dictum by distinguishing the teaching authority of the apostles and their successors from that of authority of the lay teacher.

Apparently the title "Doctor of the Church" should be understood as referring to the Church Universal, but can this be problematic with respect to fostering a more ecumenical ecclesiology?

Cistercian Publishers has a translation of St. Hildegard's homilies.

Still More on Prayer Ropes

Using a Prayer Rope (via Byzantine, Texas)

ΑΡΧΩΝ ΘΡΑΣΥΒΟΥΛΟΣ ΣΤΑΝΙΤΣΑΣ

The Writing of Church History

A study group was considering starting Epic; is much of Church History written from a Latin perspective triumphalistic or ultramontane, or a version of Whiggism, resulting in more of a history of the Western Patriarchate, with the non-western churches an afterthought?

A Catholic version of Whiggism, in so far as Catholicism is equated with European civilization and its material advances are attributed in some way to the Catholic faith. Intellectual advances in science and knowledge may originally have been due to the mingling of the Christian focus on the Logos and Greek rationalism. But I am thinking more of the rise of the nation-states and empires - do we want to impute this "success" to the supposed Christian faith of those nation- and empire-builders?

We may not want to go so far as to embrace the ideology of those who declaim the appearance of the Constantinian Church, but what Church history would not incorporate an analysis of Church-state relations (not just in the former Western Roman Empire, but in the Eastern as well), making some sort of normative judgment on what existed? (I think the Church can be an effective means of localism, but has it ever been able to bring that about in the political sphere, apart from some sort of collapse?)

As for the non-Western churches, is it too early to reconsider their histories as part of that of the Church as a whole, as if their apparent separation from the Bishop of Rome was that, only apparent? Do we need a formal restoration of communion going beyond acts of doctrinal agreement first? In the past those non-Western churches not currently in full communion were viewed as heretical and schismatic and treated as such in works of Church history. But is it not only charitable but historically accurate to see the tragic separation as a result of [linguistic] misunderstanding and hardening due to a lack of proper fraternity charity and ill feeling because of other events?

Church history potentially can be more unified than generic world history, as it is centered on Christ and His Church. But can we rightly look forward to histories being written reflecting the diversity of the local Churches, a proper multiculturalism because it is grounded in Christ and the live that He gives to us?

ΠΕΤΡΟΣ ΜΠΕΡΕΚΕΤΗΣ - ΧΟΡΑΡΧΗΣ ΣΤΑΝΙΤΣΑΣ

Fr. Z: Prefect of CDF: No more talks with SSPX

The Lasting Legacy of Cardinal Daniélou by Rev. Brian Van Hove, S.J. (via Insight Scoop)

More on the Prayer Rope (Video in Greek)

The Prayer Rope - What Is It?

How to make an Eastern Christian prayer rope

Vatican Insider: Journals, documents and witnesses: Vatican II is alive both in spirit and in content

Michael Moreland on Alasdair MacIntyre

Remarks for Civitas Dei Medal Presentation to Alasdair MacIntyre

Villanova University Inaugurates Civitas Dei Medal Recognizing Exemplary Contributions to Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Inaugural recipient Alasdair MacIntyre, professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, known for his contribution to the history of philosophy, moral philosophy, political theory, and the philosophy of religion

Zenit: ON THE GOOD DONE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH COMMUNITY
"We must all be always able to appreciate and esteem each other"

St. Augustine writes in this regard: “Just as in the ‘Catholica,'” that is in the Church, “we can find that which is not Catholic, so also outside of the ‘Catholica’ there can be something Catholic” (“On Baptism Against the Donatists,” PL 43, VII, 39, 77). For this reason the members of the Church must not be jealous but rejoice if someone outside the community does something good in Christ’s name, as long as he does it with the right intention and with respect. It can also occur that in the Church herself sometimes there is a failure to value and to appreciate, in a spirit of profound communion, the good things done by various ecclesial groups. We must all, however, be always able to appreciate and esteem each other, praising the Lord for the infinite “imagination” with which he works in the Church and in the world.

Rorate Caeli: New Encyclical in January 2013?

More from Ed Peters on Deaconesses

Further re female ordination to diaconate (via Fr. Z)

The Enduring Schism by Nebojsa Malic

Thomistica.net: Some Simple Mistakes about Formal Cooperation by Michael Pakaluk

A review of Savonarola: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Prophet
by Donald Weinstein at Lapham's Quarterly (via the Pittsford Perennialist)

An excerpt.

Hm, review at America Magazine. The author writes on Rick Santorum.

Rorate Caeli: Vatican II: A discussion that can no longer be stopped
A new kind of discussion has begun about Vatican II and it cannot be stopped.

Je m'appelle Bernadette trailer

Bande-Annonce "Je m'appelle Bernadette" (Partenariat Hôtels Vinuales)


(via MER)

Άγιον Όρος • Σιμωνόπετρα • Ψαλμοί - Mount Athos • Psalms

Kallistos Ware, We Must Pray for All: The Salvation of the World According to St Silouan

"If those in hell are not deprived of God’s love, if they are embraced also by the love of the saints, may it not still be possible for them to respond to this love that surrounds them on every side? Is there not still a hope that they may ultimately be saved? St Isaac certainly seems to have believed in universal salvation:[7] as a member of the Church of the East, dwelling safely beyond the confines of the Byzantine Empire, he had no reason to fear the anti-Origenist anathemas of the Fifth Ecumenical Council (553)."

"The Orthodox Approach to Mission" – A Lecture by Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg)

CWR: Unity of Faith in a Diversity of Traditions
Pope Benedict XVI’s plan for enriching cooperation among the Churches of the Middle East

Orthodox Items

Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America: 2012 Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in North and Central America

Metropolitan Hilarion concludes his working visit to Greece
Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates at Agia Sophia in Athens

“Spiritual But Not Religious” and the Path to God by Fr. Andrew S. Damick

ROCOR:
Kursk: Celebrations in the Kursk Metropoliate
Jerusalem: Bishop Peter of Cleveland celebrates Divine Liturgy at the Church of Holy Royal Martyr Alexandra of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission of the Moscow Patriarchate

How to Make the Sign of the Cross

(The Orthodox way)

Mere Comments: Russian Monastery Choir on US Tour (includes tour schedule - there is a stop in San Francisco on October 22)

“Christ is in Our Midst” by Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D.
A Catholic pays a visit to a Russian Orthodox Church in Beijing.

(via Insight Scoop)

Mark Lilla reviews Brad Gregory's The Unintended Reformation

Mark Lilla, Blame it on the Reformation (via Michael B. Dougherty and Lee Faber)

More on Ecclesial Movements

Will bishops who come from the ecclesial movements be prepared to properly shepherd local Churches? To come up with strategies necessary to revitalize parish life?

Why is a strong parish life necessary for Christians? Certainly it's been part of the history of Christianity, notably for the Early Church, and much weight must be given to its historical reality and importance as a guide for action. Still, some may go so far as to claim that what is needed now are movements tied either to the workplace or to one's profession. If one has time to meet with other members of the movements after work, then they have time to meet with other members of the parish - but only if other members of the parish are willing to commit to deepening their witness to Christ, that is true.

Ecclesial movements can be seen as a temporary band-aid solution and outlet for evangelization efforts because circumstances in many areas prevent a thorough revitalization of the parish, but ecclesial movements are nonetheless ordered to strengthening the life of the local Church at that level. I am not convinced in the long run that many converts will be made in the workplace by ecclesial movements, especially if the nature of the work goes against the "evangelical simplicity" of the Christian life.

What needs to be done is a more thorough explanation of why parish life is necessary for the Christian, one that will draw upon moral theology (and the order of charity), the science of politics (which will elucidate in relation to human goods the nature of the lay vocation, especially with regards to the word, "world," and how it is to be understood), and an exploration of the Church's liturgy as public prayer.

Perhaps it would be better to say that a healthy, vibrant parish life would be the "natural" result of the laity living out their vocation well. But as I've mentioned before, in many parts of the industrialized world, the political economy itself presents obstacles. But we must also look at the culpability of Christians, or the part they have played in the diminishing of parish life, too.

Ian Ker on ecclesial movements

Alba House: New Ecclesial Movements: Communion and Liberation, Neo-Catechumenal Way,
Charismatic Renewal by Tony Hanna (more info)

New City Press: Ecclesial Movements and Communities by Brendan Leahy

Response by Guzman Carriquiry to the paper "On Being Christian in the World"
(I was unable to find a copy of his "The Ecclesial Movements in the Religious and Cultural Context of the Present Day" online.)

Joseph Ratzinger:
The Theological Locus of Ecclesial Movements (pdf)
The Ecclesial Movements: A Theological Reflection on Their Place in the Church

Some of his essays on the topic have been collected here - New Outpourings of the Holy Spirit
(the introduction by Bishop Stanislaw Rylko)

Related:
Pontifical Council for the Laity

Rorate Caeli: SSPX-Rome: Important - Father Schmidberger speaks on conditions and current status of negotiations with Rome
Updated: video with subtitles

ROCOR: Washington, DC: September Celebrations in the Parish of St. John the Baptist Cathedral
Howell, NJ: Metropolitan Hilarion led a Regular Session of the Diocesan Council

Competing with Joseph Ratzinger?

Soon to be published by Liturgical Press: Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was by Gerhard Lohfink - the English translation of a book originally printed in German, I guess.

On the mailing from LitPress, there is the blurb: "If you read only one book about Jesus this year..."

with praise from Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, author of Jesus: A Historical Portrait

I can't find any reviews or critiques by trusted Catholic theologians.

Volume 3 of Joseph Ratzinger's work on Christ will be released in time for Christmas this year.

Related: Book Review of Jesus and Community by Gerhard Lohfink 1982, Fortress Press

Edit.
Jesus and human imagination by Raymond A. Schroth | Sep. 25, 2013
Christological heresy and Pelagianism?

Chiesa: Vatican Diary / The pope's favorites
"They are the cardinals, the bishops, the priests whom Benedict XVI has wanted to add to the participants in the upcoming synod. Three of them are from Opus Dei. And another three from Communion and Liberation"

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit that those attending the synod will be enlightened. Surely He can overcome deficits in learning and experience?

Steven Long on Formal Cooperation

Steven Long, The Dubious Guidance of the New Natural Law Theorists on "Formal Cooperation"

Some thoughts occasioned by Bp. Wcela’s essay on female deacons (via Fr. Z)

A canonical treatment of the question, not a theological response to the ordination of [female] deaconesses in the East and explanations of the practice current in Orthodoxy.

Vengeance and Justice

Something of note: Ed Feser has written something on vengeance and its relation to justice - Justice or Revenge?

Sólo sé mí

Palamism Explained in Twelve Minutes or Less (via Byzantine, Texas) - mp3

Vatican Insider: “Vatican II is the cradle of the new evangelisation”

The theology of Abp. Joseph Augustine DiNoia, O.P. by Michael J. Miller (via Insight Scoop)

"The documents of the Second Vatican Council have lasting value because they were produced and approved by an Ecumenical Council under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The interpretations of those documents by enthusiasts who emphasized “renewal” and ignored “tradition” were not necessarily the same thing."

St. Hildegard of Bingen: A Visionary for All Time by Brennan Pursell

Shinichi Mochizuki

Proof claimed for deep connection between primes

World's Most Complex Mathematical Theory 'Cracked'
NYT

Steve Sailer on supposed Japanese unoriginality.

From 2004: Return of the Relics of St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory the Theologian to Constantinople

Ecclesia in Medio Oriente

English (pdf) - via FT

Vatican summary

Ecclesia in Medio Oriente: Keys to understanding the new papal document


Related:
Pope's Address Upon Signing Apostolic Exhortation on Mideast [2012-09-14]
It "can be read and understood in the light of this Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross"
Pope's Presentation of "Ecclesia in Medio Oriente"
"A guide to follow the various and complex paths where Christ goes before you" [2012-09-16]
Pope's Address at Ecumenical Meeting in Beirut
"Let us work without ceasing so that the love of Christ may lead us little by little into full communion with each other

Being

James Chastek, What am I trying to signify by “being”? and Simultaneity and the First, Second, and Third Way

I've been thinking of the question of being in relation to Duns Scotus and univocity, but since my handle of metaphysics is that of a beginner, I am just jotting some notes for later reference. Can there be a concept of being without first some sort of assent that a particular thing is/exists? How can one know any sensible thing without first sensing it? While essence is not the same as existence for contingent beings, does our conception of a thing necessarily have a reference to the judgment that it has existed? Is our conception of being then dependent upon some "being" having an effect upon our senses? A being is, first, that which has acted upon our senses, either directly or via something else?

If so, can our conception of being be univocal in this way, while it is equivocal when we try to reason out how material creatures differ from immaterial beings and God? Being is univocal in accordance with this sort of preliminary definition, but equivocal with a more "scientific" definition?

Interesting, according to Vox, the OED gives a definition of torture not just as being a form of coercion but as punishment: "he action or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or in order to force them to do or say something"

John Taverner: Dum transisset sabbatum

Something from 1936? Any updates in scholarship since then? St. Isidore and mediaeval science by Floyd Seyward Lear

Fr. Uwe Michael Lang's book, "The Voice of the Church at Prayer", reviewed by Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J.

Zenit: POPE'S MESSAGE ON 10 COMMANDMENTS
"God has given us the Commandments to educate us to liberty and genuine love"

Some discussion of women in the diaconate at ByzCath. Both men and women can serve others - but is it the case that women deacons were raised to Holy Orders? Does the deacon have a place in the hierarchy of authority? (Or is it the case that the diaconate, for both men and women, is a separate Holy Order from that of the presbyterate, as one commentor claims?)

While it may convince some that the priest is male because he represents Christ, what about the question of why is Christ male? Arguing that He is male because He is the Bridegroom while the Church is the Bride may be sufficient for some, but isn't the difference in role not something accidental?

Tomás Luis de Victoria, Ave Regina Caelorum

Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) Ave Regina caelorum a 8


Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) Missa Ave Regina caelorum

Vatican Diary / The conversion of bishop-theologian Bruno Forte

Forte's joining the fray is significant, and in some ways surprising.

It is significant because he is one of the best-known Italian bishops, including at the international level, and enjoys a substantial following among his brother bishops, who in fact appointed him as their representative at the worldwide synod on the new evangelization that will be held in Rome in October. Of the four selections he is the only one without the scarlet, the other three being all cardinals: Angelo Bagnasco, Giuseppe Betori, and Angelo Scola.

It is surprising because Forte has always been considered a theologian of the progressive camp, the camp that most opposes, and not only in Italy, the passage from "for all" to "for many."

At the memorable ecclesial conference in Loreto in 1985, which marked the ascent in the leadership of the Italian Church of then-auxiliary bishop of Reggio Emilia Camillo Ruini, Forte was fighting for the other and the winning side, together with the president of the episcopal conference at the time, Anastasio Ballestrero, and Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini. And it was he who gave the introductory theological presentation.

This is why he has not rarely ended up in the crosshairs of his more conservative theologian colleagues.

For example, in a 2004 article Fr. Nicola Bux, an adviser – both then and now – to the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, singled out Forte as one of the "promulgators" of a "weak and derivative theology" concerning the resurrection of Jesus, reduced "to an 'etiological legend,' or an artifice in support of the worship that the Judeo-Christians were conducting on the site of Jesus' burial."

But Forte's taking the field is even more surprising because it marks in him a change of judgment with respect to the past.

Behavior psychology and Mass Marketing... as Tools of Evangelization?

Full and Active Participation: The Challenge of “Porta Fidei” and the Promise of Right Brain by Deacon Dominic Cerrato (via Insight Scoop)

Given all that has been said to promote the Year of Faith effectively along with its associated catechetical programs, a new marketing approach needs to be crafted that puts joy before the law. It must lead with the contagious love of Jesus Christ, demonstrating how, by attending these various efforts, the participants will share in that joy by experiencing that love. One way this new marketing approach can be crafted is through the Right Brain Research of Dr. Charles T. Kenny. 22 Right Brain has discovered that a brand is created when people make an emotional connection that transforms the specific product or service into an implicit promise. This promise drives their perceptions, the way they feel, their behavior, and their expectations. By understanding this emotional connection as it relates to the product or service, a highly effective marketing effort can be crafted. The Right Brain approach, inasmuch as it seeks to fulfill a deeply felt emotional need, corresponds directly to the kind of dynamic that moves passive participation to active participation.

Historically, marketing approaches tended to be more left brain. Where left brain describes an analytical approach often expressed through a logical argument, right brain keys in on the emotional benefit for the consumer. As explained in St. Thomas’ ethics, and as illustrated by Fr. Barron’s baseball analogy, these two approaches are by no means mutually exclusive. Quite the opposite: they are inclusive and complementary insofar as the joy (right brain) makes possible a fuller appreciation of the law (left brain). The left brain acts to balance, control, and explain actions that are driven by emotional needs seated in the right brain. All human behavior is an interplay of the left brain and the right brain, a beautiful and synergistic interconnectedness.

Motivating people to participate in a catechetical event is subject to the same universal laws of human behavior and psychology that govern any great brand campaign. These include appealing to one or more of the 47 emotional needs discovered by Right Brain Research, and overcoming one or more of the emotional barriers (i.e., fears) that prevent people from responding. In their commercials, the Catholics Come Home advertising appeals to such emotional needs as: love and acceptance, affiliation, community, hope, intimacy, immortality, and redemption. In those same commercials, they also help people overcome such emotional barriers as: fear of rejection, guilt, fear of judgment, and fear of inadequacy. This achievement can be duplicated using Right Brain Research in the promotion of all catechetical programs.

the Motu Proprio Porta Fidei

I need to read Bellarmine.

And how he explains the separation between temporal authority and spiritual authority.

What Barack Obama Could Learn from St. Robert Bellarmine by Gerald J. Russello

3. Laws affect persons. Bellarmine was adamant in his “On Laymen,” part of a series of works called the Controversiae, published between 1586-89, that “from the fact that political authority is temporal and its end is external peace and that man does not make judgments on internal matters, it is rightly inferred that it can oblige only to perform temporal and external acts but not that it cannot bind in conscience.” This is a crucial point that secularists often overlook, since they have a utilitarian or agnostic view of the law. For them, regulations like the HHS mandate simply preserve “health care” or “equality,” and affect only external actions. For them, such laws do not touch religious belief, which is considered only an internal matter and not one concerned with action.

Cardinal Burke's Address to the Kenyan Canon Law Convention

Zenit: CARDINAL BURKE TO KENYA CANON LAW CONVENTION

Someone wrote in linking to this, "The ever amazing Cardinal Burke on how to remake society in a Just and Christian mold...organically." I think that may be an overestimate of its practical usefulness with respect to civic reform.

Canon law is necessary instrument for the life of the Church. But a conference on canon law is not the same as a symposium on the lay vocation or "spiritual" theology, but one should not take the cardinal's remarks on the universal call to holiness (borrowing heavily from John Paul II) as being complete, nor a program for the renewal of political community.

The Right to Citizenship

A follow-up to this post.

Why is there not a universal, natural right to citizenship?

1. What is required for one to be able to order the community, or legislate, well? [Civic] prudence and the moral virtues.

2. What about being able to judge other people well, according to their character (rather than the platform that they espouse)? This requires experience, familiarity with virtue, and right opinion regarding moral precepts and the good, at least, if not knowledge.

These are not inborn traits; they must be acquired and they are contingent, not necessary. As a result, there can be no natural right since no one is "naturally" qualified to rule or to have some share in it. Some notion of [natural] individual dominion or sovereignty is inadequate to back up the claim that such a right exists. In accordance with distributive justice, then, the work of the whole should be done by all the members of whole only if they are qualified to do it, not simply because they are members.

One might appeal to Aquinas' discussion of law as a counter-argument in favor of all being naturally entitled to citizenship:

Now to order anything to the common good, belongs either to the whole people, or to someone who is the viceregent of the whole people. And therefore the making of a law belongs either to the whole people or to a public personage who has care of the whole people: since in all other matters the directing of anything to the end concerns him to whom the end belongs.

The act of legislating belongs to the community as a whole in directing itself to its good - "since in all other matters the directing of anything to the end concerns him to whom the end belongs." This could be further explained by an appeal to dominion or sovereignty (though Aquinas does not do so in the Summa Theologiae).

But not all participate in the ordering in the right way - some order, some are ordered. And even those who order may not do so equally, for example the members of the family. While the wife (and to a lesser extent their children) may contribute to the deliberation of the household, the husband is the authority. I do not think Aquinas would dispute this point. There appears to be a significant difference between an individual directing himself and an individual being a part of a group. The differences between the members and the consequences of these on their relationships to one another (~social dynamics) are such that the group is not reducible to the totality of the individuals who comprise it. The act of legislation may be attributable to the community as a whole, but it is not necessary that all members of the community are equally the author of that act - there may be justified degrees of participation. While it may be proper that all members of a community be consulted concerning potential legislation (especially regarding its impact on the community), this does not entail that all should be legislators.

While I am sympathetic to the claim that the best constitution (or the one most amenable to Christian fraternity) is that of a republic, it is an ideal and not one that comes about naturally. The paideia that is required must be in place in order to bring a republic into being and to sustain it. Nowadays, it is not as important question  as the problem of size and scale, a more pressing matter, not only because of the lack of ecological sustainability.

If it is not in accord with distributive justice that those who do not have the requisite virtue have a share in rule, and it is not unjust to prevent them from having it, could a valid consequentialist argument be made that if they were to have a share in rule that a worse state of affairs would result (e.g. there would be more disagreement and conflict, or the quality of the legislation would decrease as more compromises would have to be made to satisfy the demands of opposing factions)?

An additional question that needs to be addressed is whether men and women are equally suited to rule. But perhaps a more important consideration is the relationship of a man to his family as the husband and father and to other men as a member of a group.

IERS

Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science

Just started to look at the website; Finalism and “The Aristotelian-Thomistic Concept of Nature and the Contemporary Debate on the Meaning of Natural Laws,” (pdf) by Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti at the Pontifical Athenaeum of the Holy Cross.

See also the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences.

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk chairs sessions of presidium of Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission and of working group for compiling modern catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church (via Byzantine, Texas)

OCN Come Receive the Light podcasts

website

MB on theosis. mp3

Christopher Blum's Review of Fr. Augustine's biography of St. Francis

The Francis We Never Knew: Surprising Revelations About the Man From Assisi

Mark Martin's Microbiology Blog

via Dr. Helen - All Creatures Great AND Small: Preaching Microbial Supremacy!

Zenit: On the Law of God
"It leads man out of the slavery of egoism and brings him into the 'land' of true freedom and life"

In the Liturgy of the Word this Sunday the theme of God’s Law, of his commandment emerges. This is an essential element both in the Jewish and Christian religions. In the latter the Law of God finds its complete fulfillment in love (cf. Romans 13:10). God’s Law is his Word that guides man on his life’s journey, it leads him out of the slavery of egoism and brings him into the “land” of true freedom and life. For this reason in the Bible the Law is not seen as a burden, an oppressive limitation, but as a precious gift of the Lord, the witness of his paternal love, of his will to be near his people, of being their ally and writing a history of love with them.

Two from Medievalist.net

The Making of Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae - Bernard McGinn



Science and the Medieval University