Showing posts with label temptation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label temptation. Show all posts

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Yeats, Cthulhu, and Synod 14

Some mainstream news isn't "journalistic infotainment-like art-product," as Hyraxx, the alien reporter in Buck Godot, described her work.

That said, there's a reason for my concentrating on News.va, the Vatican's official news source, for Synod 14 coverage.

Outfits like CNN, Reuters, BBC News, and Mirror Online, depend at least partly on advertising to pay their bills. I've got no problem with that, particularly since I couldn't afford 'pay per view' news services.

But since they rely on advertising, their editors are obliged to focus on what attracts the most viewers: and advertisers. Most folks aren't like me, thank God, so we get news that's full of drama and suspense.

Some news services lay it on with a trowel, embracing the if it bleeds, it leads philosophy. Others present their emotionality in a more genteel manner: with, I think, the same fervor.

Emotions are part of being human. We're supposed to feel happy, sad, or whatever. But God gave us brains: and expects us to think, too. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1704, 1731, 1762-1769, 1778, 1780, 1792, 1951)

I have no problem with emotions: which is a good thing, since I'm a very emotional man. I've enjoyed shows like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Revenge of the Cybermen, but that's entertainment.

I like my news, particularly news about anything I take seriously, to be heavy on facts and very light on feelings. That's why I've been following Synod 14 mostly through News.va, and I'm back where I started.

More than You Need to Know About Cthulhu

"New game: when reading blog posts today about the Synod, replace 'Synod' with 'Cthulhu's Return' and 'Relatio' with 'Necronomicon.' "
(A tip of the hat to Jonathan Sullivan, on Google Plus (October 13, 2014))
For the benefit of folks who have better things to do than read the sort of stuff I do: Cthulhu is a cosmic entity imagined by H. P. Lovecraft, back in 1928. Cthulhu caught on, and has appeared in quite a few stories since.

In many stories, the problem isn't that Cthulhu doesn't like humans: it's that Cthulhu notices us the way we notice pond scum.

I think Lovecraft's fear of his civilization's imminent doom was understandable, that he deserves credit for imagining space aliens who didn't act like humans in monster suits, and that's another topic. (June 27, 2014)

"...Things Fall Apart; the Centre Cannot Hold..."


If I thought this world was perfect in the 1950s, I might feel like Yeats did:
"...Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity...."
("The Second Coming," W. B. Yeats (1919))
Yeats had a point. It was the end of civilization as he knew it.

Some folks see today's problems, think it's the end of civilization as we know it: and feel that this is a bad thing.

I agree with them, sort of. I think it's the end of civilization as we know it: and about time, too.

You see, I remember the 'good old days,' and they weren't.

We don't live in a perfect world. Dragging the world back to an imagined 'Golden Age' isn't an option. But there's hope that we can build a better world. (August 31, 2014; August 3, 2014)

Waiting a Year


I'm looking forward to reading any documents that come from Synod 14: the finished documents.

I'm not very interested in details of who said what about whose ideas. That's because I don't plan on making a study of the psychology, planning strategy, or rhetoric, of the Synod.

I do plan to write about what comes from Synod 14. But since I don't make "journalistic infotainment-like art-product," I'll wait until the document or documents are released before writing about what they said.

I'll have to be patient, though. Synod 14's job was discussing "pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelisation," and drafting a document for the Episcopal Conferences:
" '...we still have one year to mature, with true spiritual discernment, the proposed ideas and to find concrete solutions to so many difficulties....

"...'One year to work on the "Synodal Relatio" which is the faithful and clear summary of everything that has been said and discussed in this hall and in the small groups. It is presented to the Episcopal Conferences as 'lineamenta' [guidelines]...'."
(Pope Francis, from Vatican Radio, via News.va (October 18, 2014))
That's right: folks will be working on the "Synodal Relatio" for another year.

I'm quite confident that we won't have nine, or 11, Commandments in November of 2015.

I'm also pretty sure that some folks will be very upset about what Synod 14 said, didn't say, or — in their opinion — said the 'wrong' way.

I put a few excerpts from news.va at the end of this post.1 Believe it or not, I cut a lot out of the first excerpt, and even more out of the rest.

Small wonder that most news services snip out the juiciest bits for their Synod 14 coverage.

"Tensions and Temptations"


In Synod 14's closing speech, Pope Francis talked about "tensions and temptations, of which a few possibilities could be mentioned." This is my quick paraphrase of the Pope's list of temptations to:
  • Hostile inflexibility
    • Wanting to close oneself within the written word
    • Not allowing oneself to be surprised by God
  • A destructive tendency to goodness [Italian, "buonismo"]
    • Treating symptoms, not causes
  • Transform
    • Stones into bread
    • Bread into a stone
  • Come down off the Cross
    • Pleasing people
      • Not God
  • Neglect the 'depositum fidei' [the deposit of faith]
    (Paraphrased from Pope Francis' remarks, via Vatican Radio/News.va)
That's a very quick paraphrase. There's enough in each of the five paragraphs I boiled down for another of these 'being Catholic' posts. At least.

Change Happens


This isn't the 1st, 11th, or 20th, century any more. Change happens, some things don't change, and that's yet another topic. Topics. (Catechism, 302, 1954-1960)

I said this last week: what the Church teaches hasn't changed in two millennia. How it's taught has been changing, and will continue to change.

Haven't had enough of me yet? There's more:
Background:
Excerpts from News.va:
"Pope Francis speech at the conclusion of the Synod"
Vatican Radio, via News.va (October 18, 2014)

"At the conclusion of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, Pope Francis addressed the assembled Fathers, thanking them for their efforts and encouraging them to continue to journey.

"Below, please find Vatican Radio's provisional translation of Pope Francis' address to the Synod Fathers:

"Dear Eminences, Beatitudes, Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters,

"With a heart full of appreciation and gratitude I want to thank, along with you, the Lord who has accompanied and guided us in the past days, with the light of the Holy Spirit.

"From the heart I thank Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod, Bishop Fabio Fabene, under-secretary...

"...I can happily say that – with a spirit of collegiality and of synodality – we have truly lived the experience of 'Synod,' a path of solidarity, a 'journey together.'

"And it has been 'a journey' ... there were also moments of desolation, of tensions and temptations, of which a few possibilities could be mentioned:

" - One, a temptation to hostile inflexibility, that is, wanting to close oneself within the written word, (the letter) and not allowing oneself to be surprised by God, by the God of surprises, (the spirit); within the law, within the certitude of what we know and not of what we still need to learn and to achieve. From the time of Christ, it is the temptation of the zealous, of the scrupulous, of the solicitous and of the so-called – today – 'traditionalists' and also of the intellectuals.

" - The temptation to a destructive tendency to goodness [it. buonismo], that in the name of a deceptive mercy binds the wounds without first curing them and treating them; that treats the symptoms and not the causes and the roots. It is the temptation of the 'do-gooders,' of the fearful, and also of the so-called 'progressives and liberals.'

" - The temptation to transform stones into bread to break the long, heavy, and painful fast (cf. Lk 4:1-4); and also to transform the bread into a stone and cast it against the sinners, the weak, and the sick (cf Jn 8:7), that is, to transform it into unbearable burdens (Lk 11:46).

" - The temptation to come down off the Cross, to please the people, and not stay there, in order to fulfil the will of the Father; to bow down to a worldly spirit instead of purifying it and bending it to the Spirit of God.

" - The temptation to neglect the 'depositum fidei' [the deposit of faith], not thinking of themselves as guardians but as owners or masters [of it]; or, on the other hand, the temptation to neglect reality, making use of meticulous language and a language of smoothing to say so many things and to say nothing! They call them 'byzantinisms,' I think, these things…

"Dear brothers and sisters, the temptations must not frighten or disconcert us, or even discourage us, because no disciple is greater than his master; so if Jesus Himself was tempted – and even called Beelzebul (cf. Mt 12:24) – His disciples should not expect better treatment.

"Personally I would be very worried and saddened if it were not for these temptations and these animated discussions; this movement of the spirits, as St Ignatius called it (Spiritual Exercises, 6), if all were in a state of agreement, or silent in a false and quietist peace. Instead, I have seen and I have heard – with joy and appreciation – speeches and interventions full of faith, of pastoral and doctrinal zeal, of wisdom, of frankness and of courage: and of parresia. And I have felt that what was set before our eyes was the good of the Church, of families, and the 'supreme law,' the 'good of souls' (cf. Can. 1752). And this always – we have said it here, in the Hall – without ever putting into question the fundamental truths of the Sacrament of marriage: the indissolubility, the unity, the faithfulness, the fruitfulness, that openness to life (cf. Cann. 1055, 1056; and Gaudium et spes, 48)....

"...Dear brothers and sisters, now we still have one year to mature, with true spiritual discernment, the proposed ideas and to find concrete solutions to so many difficulties and innumerable challenges that families must confront; to give answers to the many discouragements that surround and suffocate families.

"One year to work on the 'Synodal Relatio' which is the faithful and clear summary of everything that has been said and discussed in this hall and in the small groups. It is presented to the Episcopal Conferences as 'lineamenta' [guidelines].

"May the Lord accompany us, and guide us in this journey for the glory of His Name, with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Saint Joseph. And please, do not forget to pray for me! Thank you!

"[The hymn Te Deum was sung, and Benediction given.]

"Thank you, and rest well, eh?"
What you just read — or skimmed through — or skipped entirely — is a fraction of the transcript.

More excerpts, even more drastically cut down to size:
"Message of the Synod Assembly on the pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelisation"
VIS, via News.va (October 18, 2014)

"This morning a press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office to present the Message of the Third Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops...Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and president of the Commission for the Message and Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India. The full text of the message is published below:

" 'We, Synod Fathers, gathered in Rome together with Pope Francis in the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, greet...

"...We offer you the words of Christ: 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me'....

"...We recognise the great challenge....

"...We remember the women who suffer violence and exploitation, victims of human trafficking, children abused by those who ought to have protected them and fostered their development, ... 'The culture of prosperity deadens us…. all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us'. We call on governments and international organizations to promote the rights of the family for the common good.

"Christ wanted his Church to be a house with doors always open to welcome everyone. We warmly thank our pastors, lay faithful, and communities who accompany couples and families and care for their wounds....

"...Father, grant that we may all see flourish a Church that is ever more faithful and credible, a just and humane city, a world that loves truth, justice and mercy'."
"Synod on Family shows Church whose doors are always open"
Vatican Radio, via News.va (October 18, 2014)

"Bishops attending the Synod on the Family on Saturday concluded their two week meeting by voting on a final document which will form the basis for discussion over the coming year....

"...A lengthy standing ovation echoed around the Synod Hall as Pope Francis spoke of the journey that Synod participants have travelled since the opening Mass in St Peter's Basilica nearly 2 weeks ago. He talked of the enthusiasm and grace he'd experienced listening to pastors and to couples sharing their experiences of married life. And he talked of the disappointments, tensions and temptations that have been part of the conversations too. The temptation to be closed into the 'hostile inflexibility' of the traditionalist or the destructive temptation to be a liberal 'do-gooder.' But none of these temptations should discourage us, the Pope said, because this is the Church which is not scared of rolling up its sleeves to tend peoples' wounds, rather than standing aloof and passing judgements from an ivory tower. Following in Jesus' footsteps, it's a Church which is not afraid to eat with prostitutes and publicans, a Church whose doors are always open to help those in need....

"...'Keep in mind this is not a magisterial document….the Pope asked for it to be made available to show the degree of maturity that has taken place and that which still needs to take place in discussions over the coming year.'

"So that's all from the Vatican press office for the Synod on the Family for 2014 – now the real work begins of taking this document back to the dioceses and parishes, in preparation for the bigger and even more significant Ordinary Synod on the Family in October 2015."
"Card Napier: Synod document highlights all main concerns"
Vatican Radio, via News.va (October 17, 2014)

"Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban in South Africa, is one of the bishops participating in the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family that is coming to a close in the Vatican.

"He is also one of those appointed to the group drafting a final document for the Synod for submission to Pope Francis by Sunday....

"...In a conversation with Vatican Radio's Linda Bordoni, Cardinal Napier spoke of how the Synod has been an occasion to listen to differing ideas and concerns from across the world, and of how a climate of frank and open discussion has given life to a working document that reflects the core issues that have been addressed...."
"Synod on the Family: Reports of English language working groups"
Vatican Radio, via News.va (October 17, 2014)

"Below we publish the texts of the reports presented for consideration in the drafting of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops’ final document or Relatio synodi from the English language Working Groups.

"Relatio - Circulus Anglicus 'A'

"Moderator: Em.mo Card. Raymond Leo BURKE
"Relator: S.E. Mons. John Atcherley DEW

"I present this report of behalf of the English speaking group Anglicus 'A'. The group has suggested a number of amendments to the RELATIO POST DISCEPTATIONEM, some are major amendments and others quite small, nevertheless they have significant meaning attached to them. In proposing amendments we have shifted the focus from particular situations described in the Relatio to the people involved in the situations, concentrating on the goodness to be found in them.

"We believed that there needed to be a new introduction to the Relatio...."
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Friday, November 18, 2011

My Take on the News: Stem Cells, Science, and "The Man with the X-Ray Eyes"

Quite a lot was in the news this week, but I picked this pair for my weekly take on the news:
  1. Science, Limits, and the Pope
  2. Stem Cells, Business, and the Vatican

Religion, Science, and Dealing with Facts

Ever get the impression that science and religion are like mongoose and cobra, bitter enemies? And that 'religious people' are against education, because their kids might learn something that's not 'in the Bible?'

What Bible-thumpers seem most upset about are ideas that contradict Bishop Ussher's cozy little model of the universe.

Bishop Ussher, who was sincerely not Catholic,1 came up with 4004 B.C. as the year when God made the universe. Ussher could be right, but I doubt it. Evidence we've collected over the last several centuries indicates otherwise.2

Insisting that something has to be 'in the Bible' to be true may 'feel right.' The idea's hard to apply consistently, though.

Take Chicago, Illinois, for example. It isn't in the Bible, but I've yet to hear objections to teaching children about Chicago. And I'm wandering off-topic.

Here's what I think about science, stem cells, and the Vatican's new venture:

1. Science, Limits, and the Pope

'Mad scientist' movies were fairly popular when I was growing up. A fair number of them made their way into late-night television, anyway. The story sometimes involved 'tampering with things Man Was Not Meant To Know:'3

Not all of those movies involved giant mutant atomic insects. Some even involved thought-provoking (?) dialog:
"Dr. James Xavier: I'm blind to all but a tenth of the universe.
"Dr. Sam Brant: My dear friend, only the gods see everything.
"Dr. James Xavier: My dear doctor, I'm closing in on the gods."
("X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes" (1963))
That line, "I'm closing in on the gods," brings up another notion from the "B" movies: that some scientists think they're "beyond good and evil." Sadly, too many scientists and doctors acted as if they believed that rules were for lesser beings:
  • Tuskegee syphilis experiment (1932-1972)
  • Harold Blauer (1952)
  • High oxygen to premature infants (1953)
  • Injections of cancer cells (1963)
  • Hepatitis in retarded children (1964+)
  • Cincinnati radiation experiments (1960-72)
I'll admit to bias about ethics and research: I'm the survivor of a medical experiment, and that's not quite another topic.4

I think one reason that so many folks see religion and science as enemies is that it's hard to fit Christian beliefs into the 'anything for science' attitude. Then there's the Bishop Ussher business, and that's another topic.1

With a little editing, this news item could be "proof" that the Catholic Church is anti-science:
"Pope: No Human Life Is Dispensable"
ZENIT.org News Agency, via EWTN (November 15, 2011)

"Benedict XVI is acknowledging the temptations facing scientists who seek cures for degenerative illnesses, but he says that not even one human life can be destroyed for the benefit of another.

"The Pope said this Saturday in an address to some 250 participants in an international conference on 'Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture.' The symposium was promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture in collaboration with the U.S. Stem for Life Foundation.

"The three-day meeting examined the use of adult stem cells in medicine, both from the perspective of science, and from that of its cultural, ethical and anthropological implications.

"The Holy Father recalled that, because of human beings' immortal souls, 'there are dimensions of human existence that lie beyond the limits of what the natural sciences are competent to determine.'..."
An awkward aspect of acknowledging 'the big picture' is that it tends to put limits on what we're allowed to do. Like killing Fred to get organs that save Sam's life.

On the other hand, the Church is okay with science:
"Scientific, medical, or psychological experiments on human individuals or groups can contribute to healing the sick and the advancement of public health."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2292)
Provided that we follow some ethical guidelines. (Catechism, 2292-2295) Organ transplants are okay, too. (Catechism, 2296)

2. Stem Cells, Business, and the Vatican

I think it'd be harder to spin this item as 'proof' that the Catholic Church doesn't care about human suffering, and is against scientific progress. I suppose it could be done, though:
"Vatican launches stem cell venture with US company"
CNA/EWTN News (November 16, 2011)

"The Vatican has signed its first ever commercial agreement with an outside company. The contract with U.S.-based bio-pharmaceutical firm NeoStem will advance ethical research into stem cells.

" 'We would like to create a hotspot for scientists, benefactors, academics (and) Church leaders that will now join this group and would work together for the benefit of humanity,' Fr. Tomaz Trafny of the Vatican's Council for Culture told CNA June 16.

"The deal was announced before the global media in Rome this morning.

" 'We are a public company pioneering new medical research with adult stem cells,' explained Doctor Robin Smith, the CEO of NeoStem.

" 'This research has the potential to alleviate human suffering by unlocking the healing power of the human body. Most importantly, we are able to do all this without destroying another human life,' she said...."
As Doctor Smith said, this will be "new medical research with adult stem cells." Despite an emphasis on stem cells from folks who are still embryos, we've known about adult stem cells for quite a while. Researchers don't have to kill people to get stem cells.

So, why the emphasis on stem cells 'harvested' from bodies coming out of abortion centers?

Dred Scott, Nuremberg, and "Potential Women"

Maybe this is cynical, but I suspect that focusing on stem cells from 'women's health centers' is a way to position abortion as a good thing. After all: what reasonable, caring person would oppose medical research?

The trick, of course, is to focus on the 'real' people who might benefit from research: and deny that the folks being killed are people. Denying the humanity of inconvenient or unwanted people is not limited to historical examples like the Dred Scott decision, or Nazi-era Germany:
"...In her eye-opening book, 'Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men,' journalist Mara Hvistendahl estimates that ultrasound and abortion have 'claimed over 160 million potential women and girls - in Asia alone.' That's more than the entire female population of the United States...."

"...These immigrant women, the study observed, 'are both the assumed beneficiaries of reproductive choice while remaining vulnerable to family violence and reproductive coercion.'..."
("In this brave new world, girls disappear, Debra J. Saunders, SFGate, San Francisco Chronicle (July 31, 2011)) [emphasis mine]
(cited August 11, 2011)
I've discussed depersonalization before. (See Footnote 6 (October 7, 2011))

That excerpt impressed me. Saunders was apparently concerned about millions of girls being killed. So far, so good. But, since the baby girls are killed before they're born: "reproductive choice" is involved.

Saunders was, I think, facing a dilemma. On the one hand, selectively killing girls was deliberate attack on woman-kind. But abortion is involved: and that is a "right" which many regard as paramount. Deciding that the victims are merely "potential" people is a solution: of sorts.

Is there an age at which Saunders thinks people stop being "potential" people; and when we become real? I don't know. Maybe she hasn't allowed herself to think in those terms.

Science, Technology, and Zeppelins

One reason I don't yearn for the 'good old days' is that I know what they were like.

The notion that science and technology will solve all our problems is silly. But much of an American's everyday life depends on technology and applied science, like relatively affordable clothing. Street lighting is nice, too.

It's also nice to be unconscious during major surgery. Last year I put together a short list of newish technologies:
  • Anesthesia
  • Antiseptics
  • The Jacquard Loom
  • The McCormick reaper
  • Steam locomotives
  • The telegraph
  • A variety of electric lighting devices
    (about.com: 1800s)
The first half of the 20th century was more of the same:
  • Air conditioners
  • Kidney dialysis machines
  • Neon lights
  • Penicillin
  • Talking motion pictures
  • Radio transmitters and receivers
  • Zeppelins
    • Okay: so not all inventions caught on
    (about.com: 1900s)
(First posted October 30, 2010)

I think it's a mistake to see science and technology either as a cure-all for humanity's needs; or as something that's going to kill us all. It looks like I'm not the only one who sees the situation this way:
"Certainly the Church acknowledges that 'with the help of science and technology…, man has extended his mastery over almost the whole of nature', and thus 'he now produces by his own enterprise benefits once looked for from heavenly powers' (Gaudium et Spes, 33). at the same time, Christianity does not posit an inevitable conflict between supernatural faith and scientific progress. The very starting-point of Biblical revelation is the affirmation that God created human beings, endowed them with reason, and set them over all the creatures of the earth. In this way, man has become the steward of creation and God's 'helper'....

"...Science, however, while giving generously, gives only what it is meant to give. Man cannot place in science and technology so radical and unconditional a trust as to believe that scientific and technological progress can explain everything and completely fulfil [!] all his existential and spiritual needs...."
Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 6 November 2006."
From "Plenary Session on The Scientific Legacy of the 20th Century" (PDF) (28 October - 1 November 2010)
(Originally posted October 30, 2010)
Finally, I think it's important to remember that not all scientists are like Doctor Xavier in "X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes." And that, no matter what you read in the papers, NOT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE DOLTS." And that's another topic.

Related posts:
Background:
1 Bishop Ussher did his best to warn folks about " 'papists' and their 'superstitious' faith and 'erroneous' doctrine." (Linder) He also read the Bible, did some calculations, and decided that God created the universe in the year 4004 B.C. - 'It says so in the Bible.'

I'm not going to tell God that He couldn't have created Ussher's world, following Ussher's specifications. I'm not going to tell God that He couldn't have created a universe that's much larger than what I'd probably have planned.

Basically, God's large and in charge, and I'm willing to learn about what the Almighty's done - not tell Him how it ought to be. I've been over this before:
  • God is all-powerful, but his power is not arbitrary (271)
  • Creation is being completed - it is "in a state of journeying" toward perfection, but isn't there yet (302)
  • "...The sacred books powerfully affirm God's absolute sovereignty over the course of events: 'Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.'..." (303")
(From March 5, 2009)

More of my take on shrill campus secularists, Bible-thumping disciples of Ussher, and getting a grip:"2 The notion that the universe is a few thousand years old, because the Bible says so, goes back at least as far as Bishop Ussher. He wasn't a Catholic bishop, and I've been over this before:
3 I'd like to think that folks don't take what they see in the movies seriously:
I used that list before, in footnote 1 of "Faustus, Mephistopheles, and a Simple Contract: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" (September 20, 2011).

4 It's not always 'the other guy' who's experimenting on unwilling subjects:
Don't get me wrong: I like living in America. Partly because this country has a pretty good track record for (eventually) learning from its horrible mistakes:

"A Lesson from Nürnberg: Get Informed Consent Before Experimenting on People

"The so-called Nürnberg Code was supposed to give physicians guidelines about how to use people as guinea pigs. It didn't work quite as well as might have been hoped. "After the code was set up, America saw a number of more-or-less well-publicized lapses:
  • "Tuskegee syphilis experiment (1932-1972)
    Black men in in Macon County, Alabama, who had syphilis weren't treated
  • "Harold Blauer (1952)
    Mr. Blauer went to the New York State Psychiatric Institute for treatment of depression, was dosed with mescaline derivatives supplied by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps: then he killed himself
  • "High oxygen to premature infants (1953)
    Premature babies were exposed to high levels of oxygen: the doctor knew that it would probably cause blindness, and noticed their eyes swelling, but kept up the treatment anyway
  • "Injections of cancer cells (1963)
    Doctors wanted to know if cancer cells would thrive as well in patients who were debilitated by something other than cancer, as they did in debilitated cancer patients, so they injected cancer cells into patients who didn't have cancer - without telling them.
    • "Ironically, this non-consensual research was done at the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital. And: "Two years later, the American Cancer Society elected the principal investigator to be their Vice-President."
  • "Hepatitis in retarded children (1964+)
    The Willowbrook State Hospital in New York injected severely retarded children with hepatitis virus: as 'a vaccine against hepatitis.' True enough, survivors of the disease had an immunity.
  • "Cincinnati radiation experiments (1960-72)
    Blacks, again, and this time exposed to high radiation. For the U.S. military.
    "Without their consent
    "Source: "Nonconsensual Medical Experiments on Human Beings" (copyright 1997 by Ronald B. Standler)

"What's Going on Here?

"Although half of the cases that Mr. Standler mentioned involved the American military, half didn't. I don't see these excesses of experimental enthusiasm from the fifties and sixties - or the current scandal at the VA - so much as a military problem, as a medical one...." (Another War-on-Terror Blog (June 17, 2008))
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Friday, May 13, 2011

Information Technology, Blogging, and Practicing Patience

I try to post once a day on this blog, partly as a way to make sure I keep learning about what it is to be Catholic.

This blog had no post for yesterday, May 12, 2011. And still doesn't, for that matter.

It's not that I stopped being Catholic yesterday. A "dark night of the soul" wasn't involved, either - not even an overcast afternoon.

Well, literally, yesterday afternoon was overcast yesterday afternoon, and drizzling. Which was frustrating, since I'd blocked out time to sit in the back yard and listen to birds.

The [only] Big Blogger Crash of 2011 - I Hope

I'd just finished a post for another blog yesterday, when Blogger went down. Not entirely. Most of my blogs, the ones I hadn't worked on that day, were online. But this blog and Apathetic Lemming of the North (there's an explanation for that blog's odd name), were simply not there.

Good news: Blogger's techs knew about the problem, were doing something about it - and were posting the occasional update on Blogger's status.

Bad news: I couldn't edit existing posts, or make new ones on Blogger, for more than a day.

I just hope that this mid-May crash is the first and last big SNAFU in Blogger's service this year.

I wrote about my experience in another blog:
Blogger's been down before, by the way - but not for too long: and not much at all recently. From another blogger's experience, about five years ago:
  • "Blogger down"
    The Hermeneutic of Continuity (June 8, 2006)

Knowing Virtue, Good: Practicing Virtue, Better

I think it's a good idea to know about Christian virtues. I also think it's better to practice virtues - applying knowledge and will in a practical way. Remember, though: I've got the teaching authority of "some guy with a blog."

I was going to write about practicing the virtue of patience. Just one problem with that idea: Patience isn't one of the four cardinal virtues. Those are
  • Prudence
  • Justice
  • Fortitude
  • Temperance
    (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1805)
Then there are the three theological virtues:
  • Faith
  • Hope
  • Charity
    (Catechism, 1813)
Technically, patience isn't a virtue at all: it's one of the 12 fruits of the Spirit:
  • Charity
  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Goodness
  • Generosity
  • Gentleness
  • Faithfulness
  • Modesty
  • Self-control
  • Chastity
    (Catechism, 1832)
So it looks like I was practicing a fruit yesterday and much of today. Which sounds downright odd.

Practicing Patience, Taking My Meds

Whatever working at being patient would be called, that's part of what I was doing yesterday.

I am not a particularly patient man. Some of my kids laugh - snort, actually - when I make that observation.

No, I am not one of those calm, composed, easy-going, even-tempered, forbearing, imperturbable, meek, mild, mild-tempered, fellows who seem to invest a particular sort of 'uplifting' story.

I like to think that decades of trying to act reasonably when frustrated is paying off. I'm pretty sure that diligently taking my prescribed medications has helped. (November 11, 2010) Taking meds and trusting God? I've written about that before. (March 4, 2010)

Particularly when compared to previous performance, I think I did okay, staying calm during the Blogger shutdown. There's still room for improvement, of course.

Pursuing Good, Anyway

I don't have anything against 'feeling spiritual.' I've had deeply-moving experiences: and I've written about that before. (April 22, 2010)

I think it's a mistake, though, to assume that if the buzz is gone, it's time to switch religions. The Catechism has a few words about fortitude, including these:
"Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. 'The Lord is my strength and my song.'70 'In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.'71"
(Catechism, 1808)
I think it's noteworthy that 1808 uses words like "firmness," "resolve," "resist," "overcome," and "conquer."

Emotion is mentioned: fear. But that's what we're supposed to conquer.

There's nothing I can see in 1808 that says we have to 'feel good' about following our faith. Just that we're supposed to do it. Sometimes, I think, the emotional high comes as a sort of side-effect: sometimes it doesn't.

And sometimes folks have gone days, months, years, without feeling 'uplift.' But they kept practicing their faith, anyway. Then there's Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who seems to have gone through much of her life in a 'dark night of the soul.' And that's another topic.
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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Readings for April 17, 2011, Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion:

Palm/Passion Sunday

By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
April 17, 2011

By now you must be wondering, what is this Sunday really about? The Sacramentary calls it Passion Sunday while the Lectionary call it Palm Sunday. To confuse you more last Fridays readings find the people wanting to stone Jesus. Today we find Jesus greeted with great excitement with palm branches and "Hosannas" as the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. For all these many years we do exactly the same thing on this Sunday by the blessing and waving of palm branches. To honor, to greet and get excited in the present of Jesus here in this assembly.

And suddenly the scene changes to the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all have heard and taken part in. How quickly the hearts of people change, from throwing stones to great rejoicing, to Crucify Him, Crucify Him!

The scene hasn't changed all that much in 2000 years, for Bishop Sheen reflects on the issue of the Church and the world after the Vatican Council: and how the world continues to challenge the Church even in our day. "Come down and we will believe, come down from your belief in the sacredness of life. Come down from your belief that truth is merely what is pleasing. Come down from the Cross of sacrifice and we will believe." Taken from Bishop's book titled, Treasure in Clay.1

None of this is helpful unless we began Holy Week at the Cross, at the heart of the greatest act of Love ever possible: the Divine dying for the imperfect, for sinners, the Perfect mortally wounded for each one of us. Just as the crowd tempted Jesus to come down from His Cross, we too can be tempted to come down from our crosses.

Maybe there is a cross in your life right now and you are tempted to come down and flee from what God is calling you to do. Maybe you are tempted to let go of your vocation or a resolution that you have previously made. We are all nailed to different crosses, and the temptation to take an "easy way out" is quite strong. Yet the only way to live in Christ is by embracing our crosses, embracing our vocations, embracing our call to holiness, and allowing our absolute death to selfishness to bring new life, into ourselves, our families, our Church and into the world for the greater honor and glory of God.
'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.
More reflections:
Somewhat-related posts:
1 "Treasure in Clay:" The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen.
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Friday, May 14, 2010

The Pope Wants - Something New?!: Catholicism in the 21st Century

In some circles, Catholics in general and the Pope in particular are considered none-too-bright atavisms who desperately cling to a few old, outmoded, and seriously ungroovy ideas.

In a way, there's something to that. We worship the eternal God, and are on the same page as the quartet that sings: "...'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.' " (Revelation 4:8) (I rather like the title we used in English for a while: "Book of the Apocalypse" - but "Revelation" focuses on what the book's about.)

Acting over a span of nearly two thousand years and anchored in eternity, it's no surprise that the Catholic Church isn't exactly known for jumping on every intellectual bandwagon that goes by.

On the other hand, we were told to go "and make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19) We're dealing with nations that didn't exist when Jesus gave that order, and we've had to change - not the message, but how we deliver it.
"In Portugal, pope calls for new style of evangelization"
Catholic News Service (May 14, 2010)

"On a four-day visit to Portugal, Pope Benedict XVI turned the church's attention to Fatima and offered a new perspective on the continuing relevance of Mary's appearances and messages there.

"But the larger purpose of his May 11-14 trip, a point enunciated at each of his three stops, was to prod Catholics to adopt a more forceful and direct way of evangelizing in a largely secularized society.

"In talk after talk, the pope spoke about how to be a missionary in the modern world, challenging Portugal's Catholic majority -- and its bishops -- to stop acquiescing in a kind of silent surrender as the faith is marginalized and even ridiculed...."

"...'We need to overcome the temptation to limit ourselves to what we already have, or think we have, that is safely our own: that would be a slow death for the church as a presence in the world,' he said.

Pope Benedict has sometimes been presumed to accept the idea of a smaller but more militant church, supposedly to strengthen the church's identity. But he made it clear in Portugal that 'pruning back' is not his strategic goal...."
There's scuttlebutt that we'll have a "Pontifical Council for New Evangelization" soon. Before somebody has a stroke, READ THIS:
"...The 83-year-old pope made it clear from the moment he stepped off his airplane that his idea of 'new evangelization' did not mean trying to reinstall Catholicism as the state religion. Arriving in Lisbon May 11, he told civil authorities that the church was happy to live in a pluralistic society, which challenges its members to articulate their beliefs and put them into practice...."
(Catholic News Service") [emphasis mine]
There's more to the article, including what Benedict XVI said about the message of Fatima. I'm going to write a little more about the evangelization angle of the article.

What the Pope said about living in a pluralistic society is, I think, important. I'm an America, born during the Truman administration. I remember when many folks didn't think America was - or should be - particularly "pluralistic."

"Pluralism?"

"Pluralism" is what you've got when you have "a social organization in which diversity of racial or religious or ethnic or cultural groups is tolerated" (Princeton's WordNet) That's just about the opposite of the sort of conformism memorialized in "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956). The 'good old days?' No, thanks: I remember them, and don't want to go back.

A person might think that someone like me, who likes living in a small town in central Minnesota, would be dead-set against pluralism. People like me are supposed to like living in communities where everybody is either a WASP or a WASP mimic. Or at least all go to the same church.
Rambling On About the Town I Live In
Sauk Centre is a very Catholic town - but we've got two Catholic parishes in large part because in early years the German priest wouldn't use English in Mass; and the Irish settlers didn't, for the most part, understand German. I really should write more about that some time.

It's been a long time since there have been essentially two families in town: the German one and the Irish one. (April 19, 2010) And there's been quite an assortment of churches in town in the quarter century I've lived here. We've got a Kingdom Hall, a Harvest Church, an Assembly of God, as well as the more big-name outfits like Baptists, Lutherans, and Methodists.

Aside from getting our door knocked on by committees from one of the more enthusiastic outfits: I'm fine with the situation. Seriously: I do not mind living in areas where everybody doesn't believe exactly what I do. Although I'll admit that it makes be a bit more self-conscious about how I live out my faith. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The German/Irish identity of Sauk Centre is fading. Which is fine by me. Hispanic families in town meant prayer candles being available in Coborn's - a real convenience for this family. Besides, it's nice to see folks who aren't transplanted Germans and Irishmen. That didn't come out quite right, but I'll let it stand.

Since "diversity" has been a big deal: one more thing. Among the banns posted in last week's parish bulletin was this pair of surnames: Middendorf and Rayamajhi.

If I could learn to pronounce German names, I figure I can learn to pronounce just about anything: so no, I don't mind getting new neighbors.

Back to the Pope, Portugal, and Evangelization

"...The bishops themselves, he said, must respect pluralism and engage in dialogue, but without being 'gagged' when it comes to defending the church's moral teachings.

"Clearly, the pope sees evangelization today as a countercultural activity. As he said in his first talk in Portugal, in modern societies it can even lead to the 'radical choice' of martyrdom...."
(Catholic News Service")
Martyrdom?! I know that's a sort of 'fast track' to sainthood: but I really do not like pain, and would rather avoid that, myself. God willing, I won't have to choose between life and my faith. America has had a history of (grudging) tolerance - which I hope will endure.

Benedict XVI, Evangelizing, and Me

Evangelization is one of the reasons I started this blog. I converted to Catholicism because I had good reason to believe that this is the outfit organized by Jesus, and originally led by Peter. Short version: I'm convinced that being Catholic is the right thing to do.

But I won't 'make' you become a Catholic. How could I? You've got free will, and can make your own choices. My job ends when I provide the information. After that, it's your decision and your life.

So, I've been writing about my faith, what it's like to live a Catholic life in America, and why I like being Catholic.

Related posts:
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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Money isn't Everything: But it Helps

From a Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops news release:
"Catholics Donate Almost $60 Million Through Special Sunday Collection for Haiti"
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (April 8, 2010)

"Another $60+ million donated by individuals, groups through Catholic Relief Services"
"CRS now focusing on long-term reconstruction"
"Church in Latin America Subcommittee to help rebuild the Church in Haiti"

"A special Collection for Haiti in Catholic parishes nationwide has raised $58.7 million to date.

"On January 13, one day after a devastating 7.0 earthquake destroyed much of Haiti's capital, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, chairman of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), appealed to Catholics across the country to help Haiti through parish collections.

" 'I cannot even begin to say how thankful we are to all the people who have so selflessly given to help the people in Haiti,' Archbishop Dolan said. 'It is an amazing example of love and faith in action.'

"In their appeal the bishops explained that '[f]unds will be used to support the efforts of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services…as they respond to immediate emergency needs for such necessities as water, food, shelter and medical care, as well as to the long-term need to rebuild after widespread destruction, and to meet the pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Church in Haiti.'

"A majority of the funds collected will support CRS' continued humanitarian relief. Funds also will be used to rebuild and support the Church in Haiti.

" 'CRS, with over 300 staff on the ground in Haiti, started helping people immediately,' said Archbishop Dolan. 'They have been providing food, temporary shelter, hygiene kits, water and sanitation services around the clock for tens of thousands at parishes, makeshift camps, and other sites throughout the Port-au-Prince. In the long run, CRS will be there with the Haitian people to help them rebuild.'..."
There's quite a bit more to the press release.

About a quarter-million of that came from the St. Cloud Diocese, here in central Minnesota. I've written about that before.

Hypothetical Extremes

These days, a person probably won't run into too much of this sort of opinion:
  1. Why should I give? Let those [redacted] lift themselves by their own bootstraps, just like I did
  2. Oh, how can you think that mere money will suffice? Is it not better to tend to their spiritual needs?
At least, I hope neither of these (rather extreme) views is very common.

I've run into both: but then, I haven't been all that picky about who I talk with, and have been around people for decades. The latter sort of 'spirituality' isn't all that common, happily - I haven't run into it in a long time. For which I'm grateful.

Lifting Yourself By Your Bootstraps: Great, If You've Got Boots

That 'bootstrap' remark is another thing. Back in the sixties, I heard it fairly often. I prefer to think that many of the men who said it were quite sincere. They quite likely didn't realize that their background was a little special. Most were:
  • From a white, middle-class family
  • Served in WWII
  • Almost certainly got
    • G.I. grants
    • Low-interest loans
    • Entered the job market at the start of one of America's biggest economic booms
I have no problem with the grants and loans. I wish that America always treated its soldiers well. Which is another topic.

I don't think they "deserved" all those breaks. And I don't think they "didn't deserve" all those breaks. I'm in a better position than I might have been, as a result of some choices my ancestors made. I'm also from a family who doesn't own a good-size acreage of downtown Chicago because of some choices other ancestors made.

But I don't need the trouble I'd earn at the final judgment, assuming superiority over others on the basis of the breaks I got - and didn't get.

About that 'bootstrap' remark? Yeah: the guys who said that had worked hard for what they had. But lifting yourself by your bootstraps means you need bootstraps. And, for that matter, boots.

Too Heavenly-Minded to be Any Earthly Good

I don't doubt that Haitians need spiritual support. We all do. They also need food, clothing, shelter, medical supplies, and both clean water and a functioning sewer system.

I hope that building shelters moves along promptly. If there aren't enough weatherproof buildings up next month, I'm afraid that a lot of folks are going to start dying.

Haiti's climate is nicer than Minnesota's: but the rainy season is coming.

So: do I think that there's more to life than money? You bet!

But it's important. I'd say vital, but there have been economies based on barter - and feudal Europe's system of interlocking personal obligations. And I'm getting off-topic.

Money, Loving Money, and Getting a Grip

The problem, I think, isn't money - it's loving money: making an idol of the almighty buck.

As I've written before:

The Church is rather specific when it comes to the matter of idolatry.

We're not supposed to do it. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2110-2114)

"Idolatry" isn't just worshiping a statue:
"Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, 'You cannot serve God and mammon.'..."
(Catechism, 2113)
That "mammon" quote is from Luke 16:13.

Speaking of which:
A list of charities you've probably heard about already, with links and some contact information: Also a list of posts in this, and two other blogs, about Haiti.
Related posts:
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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Dying to Ourselves, Dying to Self: Not Exactly a Feel-Good Religion?

This Lent, at Mass, we've been singing "Create in me a clean heart oh God ... If we die to ourselves and live through your death / Then we shall be born again to be blessed in your love."

My son asked me what "die to ourselves" meant.

Good question.

I told him that my take on it was that we were supposed to react to temptation like we were dead. And, that he should ask me again, when I'd had time to do a little research.

Sounds like this is sort of what St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort had in mind, when he wrote:
"...Secondly, in order to empty ourselves of self, we must die daily to ourselves. This involves our renouncing what the powers of the soul and the senses of the body incline us to do...."
("TREATISE ON TRUE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN" St. Louis de Montfort, 81)
That was part of Chapter Two / "Third principle: We must rid ourselves of what is evil in us."

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church" makes similar points in ARTICLE 5
THE MORALITY OF THE PASSIONS. As usual, terms need to be defined:
"...Feelings or passions are emotions or movements of the sensitive appetite that incline us to act or not to act in regard to something felt or imagined to be good or evil."
(1763)
Since I speak American English, I think something needs to be made clear here. "Passion," in this context, isn't (necessarily) sexual desire. "Love" doesn't (necessarily) involve sex. Don't get me wrong: I think that human sexuality is a hoot. God didn't need to make the way people make more people so much fun - and I'm rather glad He did.

I'm getting off topic: but not by much. Back to the Catechism.

Trust Your Feelings: No!

Back to the Catechism:
"In themselves passions are neither good nor evil. They are morally qualified only to the extent that they effectively engage reason and will. Passions are said to be voluntary, 'either because they are commanded by the will or because the will does not place obstacles in their way.' It belongs to the perfection of the moral or human good that the passions be governed by reason." (1767)

"Strong feelings are not decisive for the morality or the holiness of persons; they are simply the inexhaustible reservoir of images and affections in which the moral life is expressed...." (1768)
The way I see it, there's nothing wrong with feelings: as long as we're running them, and not the other way around. If you think that sounds cold and hard, I'd agree: as cold and strong as steel; hard and clear as diamond. And, as beautiful and lasting.

God Makes Good Stuff

Man, humanity: not so much. Again with the Catechism: While discussing the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, the Catechism touches on doing things God's way. I've highlighted some points here:
"...Whoever confesses his sins . . . is already working with God. God indicts your sins; if you also indict them, you are joined with God. Man and sinner are, so to speak, two realities: when you hear 'man'—this is what God has made; when you hear 'sinner'—this is what man himself has made. Destroy what you have made, so that God may save what he has made. . . . When you begin to abhor what you have made, it is then that your good works are beginning, since you are accusing yourself of your evil works. The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works. You do the truth and come to the light." (1458)
That sounds a bit like 'dying to ourselves.'

Catholicism: Not a 'Feel-Good' Faith?

In the long run, I think that all this 'dying to self' and not galloping after every hare-brained impulse feels better than the alternative. But, I'll admit it: Being Catholic isn't for people who want to have bright, happy, feelings, 24/7.

We're not a bunch of dour party-poopers, either. The Lord we worship provided the best drinks at a wedding feast, remember. (John 2)
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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.