Chiesa: Happy Birthday To Luther. But in a Minor Key
While celebrating in Sweden the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Francis sidestepped the points of contrast. All of which remain, however. And meanwhile he continues to condemn “proselytism,” precisely as the missionary impulse collapses in the Church
Wednesday, November 09, 2016
Tuesday, November 08, 2016
More Notes on Voting
One may vote for an unworthy candidate only when this is necessary to prevent a still less worthy candidate from obtaining office; but in such a case one should explain the reason for his action if this is possible. In an exceptional case one may vote for some unworthy candidate; viz., if he can thereby avert some unusually great personal disadvantage. (Fr Jone, Moral Theology, n. 295)
Has the formality or the ratio of the object of voting been changed?
The formality of the object of the act is not necessitated. Whether someone is "worthy" of the office is separable in reason from what one judges to be the consequences of his being in office.
I used to lean towards thinking that it was consequentialism and in so far as one ignores what should be the intrinsic morality of the act of voting it does appear to be such. It is one thing to choose someone who ones knows is unworthy and to deliberately do so. It is another to change the ratio of the act of voting from being an act of distributive justice to one of choosing the better option in a rigged system in view of possible consequences.
The object of the act itself can be changed by reason or differ in reason. Am I cutting off an arm to injure another? Or am I cutting off an arm to save his life? The physical act is the same -- the formal object of the act differs.
One could argue that because political office is linked to the common good that choosing someone for political office is therefore an act of distributive justice. I would contend the problem here is that political office, especially in the United States, is not tied to the common good by virtue of the inappropriate size of the political organization and its history. For a similar argument regarding the modern nation-state based on its history, see William Cavanaugh. Because political office, by the very structure of the nation-state, is not tied to the common good it is already an illegitimate use of power to command others. By the fact that it is a tyranny, there is no way to exercise distributive justice to begin with.
Re: the example of casuistry in the OP then,
So taking the ideal example of a true polity which respects the common good --
1. if all of those worthy for office for some reason refused to accept an office or to be considered for office and this is something that could not be changed
2. and one was left with two unworthy candidates, one being less unworthy than the other
3. It seems that in such a case distributive justice cannot be exercised, and the voter is not culpable for this being so (though the culpability of those refusing to take office may differ) -- and one is justified in choosing the less worthy candidate because of the common good.
In the example of a system that is rigged by those who actually hold power so that one is presented with candidates one would not choose otherwise and there are no remedies for this tyranny (peaceful or violent), then the culpability of the injustice falls on those responsible for preserving the system, and not on the voter.
Monday, November 07, 2016
Photo-Report of the Consecration of Bishop Irenei
ROCOR: Archimandrite Irinei (Steenberg) is Consecrated Bishop of Sacramento on the Feast Day of the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy Of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco (Photo-Report)
Sermon by Newly-Consecration Bishop Irinei (Steenberg) of Sacramanto, Second Vicar of the Western American Diocese
Sermon by Newly-Consecration Bishop Irinei (Steenberg) of Sacramanto, Second Vicar of the Western American Diocese
Sunday, November 06, 2016
Saturday, November 05, 2016
Common Good is becoming an over-used term...
What is the common good of the modern nation-state? What of the goods of the historic French peoples?
Roman Catholic Social Teaching is in severe need of added elaboration and revision regarding the common good.
Friday, November 04, 2016
A Feature on Vladimir Grygorenko
(via Byz, TX)
His website. Flickr.
The video is also on Facebook:
Holy Ascension Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC - FB
New World Byzantine
OCA
Related:
His website. Flickr.
The video is also on Facebook:
Holy Ascension Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC - FB
New World Byzantine
OCA
Related:
Thursday, November 03, 2016
The ACPA Meeting is in SF
(Doubt anyone will lecture Roman Catholic academics for a failure of nerve.)
Chiesa: Goodbye, Jesuits. Vatican Media Get a New Face and New Boss
And this with a Jesuit pope, no less. Vatican Radio will stop broadcasting on shortwave. And “L'Osservatore Romano” will also be absorbed into a single “content hub.” Under the command of Monsignor Dario Viganò
And this with a Jesuit pope, no less. Vatican Radio will stop broadcasting on shortwave. And “L'Osservatore Romano” will also be absorbed into a single “content hub.” Under the command of Monsignor Dario Viganò
1P5: The Wedding of the Lamb by Peter Kwasniewski
Prof. Kwasniewski cites Fr. Bouyer at the beginning of his essay but what would Fr. Bouyer think of the essay and the appropriation of what he wrote regarding the Christian Mystery?
Setting aside the question of merit and Christ's meritorious causality, does the following not stike one as being problematic?
"He speaks these words because He wills to give us nothing less than His very self. In the gift of His holy and life-giving Eucharist, His resurrected flesh and blood, we receive the Lord, our God, King, Father, Spouse, Brother, Friend, for our pilgrimage on earth and for eternal glory in heaven."
Christ is not God the Father and we are not adopted sons of the Son but adopted sons of the Father. Sounds like a problem with Trinitarian theology.
As for spouse... Christ is the bridegroom and the Church is His bride, but I still think it problematic to take that metaphor to understand it literally in describing our relationship to him.
Prof. Kwasniewski cites Fr. Bouyer at the beginning of his essay but what would Fr. Bouyer think of the essay and the appropriation of what he wrote regarding the Christian Mystery?
Setting aside the question of merit and Christ's meritorious causality, does the following not stike one as being problematic?
"He speaks these words because He wills to give us nothing less than His very self. In the gift of His holy and life-giving Eucharist, His resurrected flesh and blood, we receive the Lord, our God, King, Father, Spouse, Brother, Friend, for our pilgrimage on earth and for eternal glory in heaven."
Christ is not God the Father and we are not adopted sons of the Son but adopted sons of the Father. Sounds like a problem with Trinitarian theology.
As for spouse... Christ is the bridegroom and the Church is His bride, but I still think it problematic to take that metaphor to understand it literally in describing our relationship to him.
Wednesday, November 02, 2016
Chiesa: Celibacy For Priests. The Defense Takes the Floor
It will not be discussed at a synod, but pressure is growing in favor of the ordination of married men. The most highly esteemed of the Italian theologians has puts a spotlight on the question in an authoritative magazine. And he is opting to hold on to celibacy: not only “opportune,” but “necessary”
It will not be discussed at a synod, but pressure is growing in favor of the ordination of married men. The most highly esteemed of the Italian theologians has puts a spotlight on the question in an authoritative magazine. And he is opting to hold on to celibacy: not only “opportune,” but “necessary”
I believe Ignatius Press will handle the English translation?
CWR: The Quiet Courage of Cardinal Robert Sarah
In his new book, La Force du Silence, Cardinal Robert Sarah speaks with serene strength to a world consumed by self-referential chatter and to Christians who have lost their awe of God.
By Dr. Samuel Gregg
About 365 miles south-east of Paris, high in France’s remote Chartreuse Mountains, lies one of the world’s most well-known monasteries. Since its foundation in 1084 by the religious order that would become known as the Carthusians, La Grande Chartreuse has been characterized by a daunting quietness. This was famously captured a...
In his new book, La Force du Silence, Cardinal Robert Sarah speaks with serene strength to a world consumed by self-referential chatter and to Christians who have lost their awe of God.
By Dr. Samuel Gregg
About 365 miles south-east of Paris, high in France’s remote Chartreuse Mountains, lies one of the world’s most well-known monasteries. Since its foundation in 1084 by the religious order that would become known as the Carthusians, La Grande Chartreuse has been characterized by a daunting quietness. This was famously captured a...
Tuesday, November 01, 2016
No Correction Here?
Just following the example of Luther and ignoring the parts of St. Paul that aren't convenient.
Monday, October 31, 2016
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Can Vatican I Be Preserved?
Regarding Msgr. McPartlan's opinion on the Chieti document, who in recent years has advanced a maximalist interpretation of Vatican I's teaching on the authority of the pope and given an explanation of what the following mean?
1. full power has been given by our lord Jesus Christ to tend, rule and govern the universal Church
ordinary jurisdiction means?
2. the Roman Church possesses a pre-eminence of ordinary power over every other Church, and that this jurisdictional power of the Roman Pontiff is both episcopal and immediate.
[The rest of paragraph 2 is probably highly objectionable to Orthodox: "Both clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world."]
What are the limits to papal authority? What is to prevent the pope from banning married men from becoming priests? Or to imposing the Roman rite on all apostolic Christians?
1. full power has been given by our lord Jesus Christ to tend, rule and govern the universal Church
ordinary jurisdiction means?
2. the Roman Church possesses a pre-eminence of ordinary power over every other Church, and that this jurisdictional power of the Roman Pontiff is both episcopal and immediate.
[The rest of paragraph 2 is probably highly objectionable to Orthodox: "Both clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world."]
What are the limits to papal authority? What is to prevent the pope from banning married men from becoming priests? Or to imposing the Roman rite on all apostolic Christians?
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Chiesa: Luther At the Stake. No, At the Altars. The Double Vision of the Jesuit Pope
Yesterday he saw the Protestant Reformation as the root of all evil. Today he celebrates it as “medicine for the Church.” But he doesn’t appear to have retracted his critiques. Here they are, word for word
Yesterday he saw the Protestant Reformation as the root of all evil. Today he celebrates it as “medicine for the Church.” But he doesn’t appear to have retracted his critiques. Here they are, word for word
Ines A. Murzaku on the Chieti Document
Crisis Magazine: The Chieti Agreement Encourages Catholic-Orthodox Unity by Ines A. Murzaku
A New Book from Fr. Gabriel Bunge
in English translation that is... Spiritual Fatherhood: Evagrius Ponticus on the Role of the Spiritual Father
Friday, October 28, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
CWR: Martin Luther's Revolt: A Psychological Examination By Peter M.J. Stravinskas
Several of the key moves in Luther’s life were made as a rebellious answer to the authority he encountered at the time, including entering the monastery and founding his own church.
Several of the key moves in Luther’s life were made as a rebellious answer to the authority he encountered at the time, including entering the monastery and founding his own church.
One Day Late
I that the story of Holy Demetrios and Holy Nestor is remarkable in so far as it is like David versus Goliath; God uses the small to overthrow the proud and powerful, and in this case even to kill of the persecutor. It would seem contrary to an interpretation of Christianity as advocating absolute pacifism. (Unless someone wants to claim that Holy Nestor went too far and went against the will of God, though he was reconciled in time to die a martyr's death.)
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Franciscan Antinomianism
Lecturing Roman Catholics once again...
Pope Francis: Rigid People Are Sick by Edward Pentin
A person who is rigid in many cases conceals a "double life", lacks the freedom of God's children and needs the Lord's help, Pope says in morning homily.
Pope Francis: Rigid People Are Sick by Edward Pentin
A person who is rigid in many cases conceals a "double life", lacks the freedom of God's children and needs the Lord's help, Pope says in morning homily.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
What sort of separation between the nave and the sanctuary?
What is the nature of the separation? What would Fr. Schmemann say?
Iconostasis, Rood Screen, Communion Rail...or Shag-Pile Carpeted Step? by David Clayton
Iconostasis, Rood Screen, Communion Rail...or Shag-Pile Carpeted Step? by David Clayton
Rorate Caeli: "Reverence Is Not Enough: On the Importance of Tradition" -- Dr. Kwasniewski's Lecture at Strahov Abbey in Prague
From footnote 8:
Is this really true of Jungmann?
From footnote 8:
As it happens, the theorists of the Novus Ordo, above all Josef Jungmann, S.J., held two false theories: the Corruption Theory (that at some undefinable point in the early Middle Ages the liturgy began to depart from its pristine ancient condition and suffer corruption, a process that only worsened over the centuries) and the Pastoral Theory (that liturgy must be adapted to the mentality and condition of each age, and that modern man, being exceptionally different from his forbears, needs a radically different liturgy). The former has as a corollary antiquarianism or archaeologism, while the latter has as its corollary modernization. Both theories are false and must be rejected, and their poisons must be purged from the Mystical Body.
Is this really true of Jungmann?
Insight Scoop: New: "The Wise Man from the West: Matteo Ricci and His Mission to China" by Vincent Cronin
Monday, October 24, 2016
Who Can Block the Holy Spirit?
I read Matthew Levering's Engaging the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Regarding the Holy Spirit’s unitive mission in the Church, Levering responds to Kendall Soulen, who focuses on relationship between the Holy Spirit and multiplicity or diversity, by emphasizing the Holy Spirit’s promotion of unity in truth and unity in charity, the bond that unites the Church. I was reminded of the Kontakion hymn in the Byzantine rite for the feast of Pentecost, which contrasts God’s dispersal of mankind at Babel with His calling of all to become His people at Pentecost. God’s undoing of the tower Babel is not through the Church having a single, uniform language and culture, but through the unifying of diverse peoples with their own Christianized languages and cultures. But as we see in the history of the estrangement between Catholics and Orthodox, and the early separation of the Oriental, or Non-Chalcedonian, Orthodox churches and the Assyrian Church of the East, differences in languages or terminology (as mentioned above in the dispute over the Filioque), exacerbated by political issues, nationalism, cultural chauvinism, and other factors, have been significant barriers to agreement and communion. But the greatest cause of the failure of the apostolic churches to reach full communion in the past may have been insufficient charity (and humility). In relation to the Holy Spirit’s mission of unity, it seems to me that the zeal of bishops to preserve the unity of faith may have surpassed their zeal for charity. In this respect, the tasks of the Third and Fourth Ecumenical Councils remain incomplete (though the various apostolic churches have in the last half-century issued statements with other churches that they do not really disagree on the important issues of Christology). All must examine their conscience or the churches will continue to be chastised. The Holy Spirit is the force behind healing and reconciliation; but can it even be said that in defense of Bouyer's thesis in The Church of God, that the Holy Spirit has never failed to preserve those who have no fault in the separation in the unity of faith and charity, even though some of their bishops may have thought otherwise and excluded each other from communion?
Anamnesis, Not Amnesia: The 'Healing Memories' and the Problem of 'Uniatism' by Father Robert Taft, S.J.
Ecumenism and healing of memories; ecclesiological issues?
Anamnesis, Not Amnesia: The 'Healing Memories' and the Problem of 'Uniatism' by Father Robert Taft, S.J.
Ecumenism and healing of memories; ecclesiological issues?
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Saturday, October 22, 2016
An International Conference on Vocations
for the Patriarchate of Rome. Like it'll help with the crisis.
Related:
Related:
Christendom College Seeks to Build a New Chapel
Their current recruitment video: Dare to be Great? Reminds me of Donald Trump and "Make America Great Again."
Christendom College launches a new capital campaign.
They want to build a Gothic-style chapel even though none of the other buildings are in that style. And I personally think that overall, Gothic is not that attractive, though some Gothic temples here and there are beautiful, especially if they are made primarily out of wood. The first chapel may be simple, but I think it fits the campus better and is more American in appearance ("colonial" style?). What will the locals think of the temple? A foreign intrusion into their area? (Did they even bother to consult the locals for the design?)
They plan to convert the current chapel into a cultural center.
What alternative Latin architectural style might be suitable for the campus? Did they choose Gothic because it is associated with the medieval period? Modified colonial, with some Renaissance influence, something to complement the library?
There are different national styles of Byzantine architecture, but do we see as much change in these styles over time? Is Byzantine architecture more likely to be stable and have the semblance of "timelessness"?
Related:
O Ancient Beauty Ever New: Thinking about Sacramental Architecture by Steven Shloeder, Ph.D.
How different would some of those designs be if the architects did not have pews in mind when they created their designs?
Restoring Sacred Architecture to a Higher Plane by TRENT BEATTIE
William Heyer works to draw faith communities heavenward.
Christendom College launches a new capital campaign.
They want to build a Gothic-style chapel even though none of the other buildings are in that style. And I personally think that overall, Gothic is not that attractive, though some Gothic temples here and there are beautiful, especially if they are made primarily out of wood. The first chapel may be simple, but I think it fits the campus better and is more American in appearance ("colonial" style?). What will the locals think of the temple? A foreign intrusion into their area? (Did they even bother to consult the locals for the design?)
They plan to convert the current chapel into a cultural center.
What alternative Latin architectural style might be suitable for the campus? Did they choose Gothic because it is associated with the medieval period? Modified colonial, with some Renaissance influence, something to complement the library?
There are different national styles of Byzantine architecture, but do we see as much change in these styles over time? Is Byzantine architecture more likely to be stable and have the semblance of "timelessness"?
Related:
O Ancient Beauty Ever New: Thinking about Sacramental Architecture by Steven Shloeder, Ph.D.
How different would some of those designs be if the architects did not have pews in mind when they created their designs?
Restoring Sacred Architecture to a Higher Plane by TRENT BEATTIE
William Heyer works to draw faith communities heavenward.
Friday, October 21, 2016
One Would Expect More from the Orthodox as Well
Seems that many Orthodox prelates can't help but embed themselves with American politicians, much like their Catholic counterparts. But at least the Russian-American Orthodox do not do this?
Byz, TX: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo receives Pat. Athenagoras award
Byz, TX: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo receives Pat. Athenagoras award
Thursday, October 20, 2016
CWR Dispatch: Taking a page from the Proportionalist Playbook? Edward N. Peters
A minister’s decision about giving holy Communion to an individual is not controlled by the recipient’s subjective conscience, well-formed or otherwise.
A minister’s decision about giving holy Communion to an individual is not controlled by the recipient’s subjective conscience, well-formed or otherwise.
CWR Dispatch: William Byrd and the beckoning of beauty by Peter M.J. Stravinskas
Style and class have been banished from most Catholic sanctuaries in our land – and we are all the poorer for it. The transient, the ephemeral, the cheap have replaced the beautiful, the uplifting, the inspiring.
Style and class have been banished from most Catholic sanctuaries in our land – and we are all the poorer for it. The transient, the ephemeral, the cheap have replaced the beautiful, the uplifting, the inspiring.
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