The Week in Review: 22-28 July 2007

fyi...
USCCB 2007 Political Activity Guidelines for Catholic Organizations
Cardinal Arinze on the Translation of Pro Multis (USCCB Comm. on the Liturgy Newsletter Nov. 2006)
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Summorum pontificorum...

Castrillón speaks to 30 Giorni (Rorate caeli)
Fellay speaks to the N.C.Register (Rorate caeli)
Archbishop Burke Speaks to Confraternity; Clergy Voice Their Full Support
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Portland Bishop Expresses Outrage At Legislative Proposals in Maine
Plan B Use Surges, And So Does Controversy
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Homosexual Immorality: What's the Debate? (More on the Democratic Presidential candidates' "Gay Debate")
Corporate America: The New Gay Activists
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Microchip Implants Raise Privacy Concern
Illegal immigrants to get ID cards in Connecticut

The Week in Review: 15-21 July 2007

The Vatican City State Website (via rorate Caeli)

The Summorum Pontificorum Contact Database

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH (In Latin, English, and other languages)

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH COMMENTARY ON THE DOCUMENT "Responses to some questions regarding
certain aspects of the doctrine on the Church"

'Kill the pope!'(WorldNetDaily)
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Experts: Credit Romney for homosexual marriage (WorldNetDaily)
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New Birth Control Pill Threatens to Once Again Dupe Women into Abusing Their Bodies, but Fertility Expert Shows it Doesn’t Have to be This Way (via LifeSite)

Highest Court of South Korea: Fetus is "Not A human Person" Until Labor
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L.A. Archdiocese to Pay $600M to Victims (via Drudge)


Love is never having to say you're sorry...
LA cardinal apologizes to plaintiffs
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A couple so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering... (via Drudge)

Feast days of the week 22-28 July, A.D. 2007 (1962 liturgical calendar).

SECOND PART OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR: THE EASTER CYCLE (MYSTERY OF THE REDEMPTION).[1]
III. THE SEASON AFTER PENTECOST

Sunday, 22 July, 2007
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (II)
"We have received the mercy of God and we are children of God, since we may say in all truth: Our Father. God has given us life, therefore we must do His holy Will."
Epistle: Bl. Paul to the Romans, 8:12-17.
Gospel: St. Luke, 16:1-9.

St. Mary Magdalen, Penitent (III)
"St. Mary Magdalen, of Magdala in Galilee, was the sister of St. Martha and St. Lazarus. First a sinner, she was converted by our Lord, who raised Lazarus at her prayer. She stood at the Cross 'till our Lord sent forth His Spirit'. After His Victory, Christ showed Himself to Magdalen and made her His messenger to announce His Resurrection to the Apostles."
Lesson: Canticle of Canticles, 3:2-5; 8:6-7.
Gospel: St. Luke, 7:36-50.

Monday, 23 July, 2007
St. Apollinaris, Bishop, Martyr (III)
"St. Apollinaris, a disciple of St. Peter, came with the latter from Antioch to Rome. He was consecrated Bishop of Ravenna and preached the Gospel of Christ amidst many persecutions, including prison and exile. The Apostle of Ravenna was beaten to death A.D. 79."
Epistle: First Letter of Blessed Peter the Apostle, 5:1-11.
Gospel: St. Luke, 22:24-30.

St. Liborius, Bishop, Confessor (Comm.)
"St. Liborius, a Gaul, was Bishop of Le Mans in France and died A.D. 395."
Lesson: Ecclesiasticus, 44:16-27; 45:3-20.
Gospel: St. Matthew 25:14-23.

Tuesday, 24 July, 2007
Ferial (IV)
Epistle: Bl. Paul to the Romans, 8:12-17.
Gospel: St. Luke, 16:1-9.

St. Christina, Virgin, Martyr (Comm.)
"St. Christina of Tuscany was martyred at the age of ten under Diocletian, A.D. 300."

Wednesday, 25 July, 2007
St. James, Apostle (III)
"St. James, called the Greater, preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria and Spain. On his return to Jerusalem, Herod condemned him to death; he was beheaded A.D. 42. His body was conveyed to Compostella in Spain, and is venerated by many pilgrims."
Epistle: First Letter of Bl. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, 4:9-15.
Gospel: St. Matthew, 20:17-38.

St. Christopher, Martyr (Comm.)
"The name Christopher means 'Christ-bearer'. He suffered martyrdom at Lycia, in Asia Minor, under Decius A.D. 250."

Thursday, 26 July, 2007
St. Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary (III)
"St. Anne, the spouse of Joachim, was the mother of Our Lady and the grandmother of Our Lord. Devotion to St. Anne has increased very much in the whole Church. She is highly venerated as the Patron of Brittany."
Lesson: Proverbs, 31:10-31.
Gospel: St. Matthew, 19:3-12.

Friday, 27 July, 2007
Ferial (IV)
Epistle: Bl. Paul to the Romans, 8:12-17.
Gospel: St. Luke, 16:1-9.

St. Pantaleon, Martyr (Comm)
"St. Pantaleon, a medical doctor at Nicomedia, and patron of doctors, was martyred during the persecution of Diocletian A.D. 303."

Saturday, 28 July 2007
Sts. Nazarius & Celsus, Martyrs,
St. Victor I, Pope, Martyr,
St. Innocent I, Pope, Confessor (III)
"Nazarius and his disciple Celcus are two Milanese martyrs. They were beheaded A.D. 67.

St. Victor, successor of St. Eleutherius, was martyred under Septimus Servius A.D. 199.

Having, like his contemporaries St. Jerome and St. Augustine, fought with his pen and his eloquence for the teaching of Christ, St. Innocent, the successor of St. Anastasius, died A.D. 417."
Lesson: Book of Wisdom, 10:17-20.
Gospel: St. Luke, 21:9-19.

[1] Remarks are abstracted from The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual, from Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962
(Baronius Press Limited, London, 2004, in conjunction with the Fraternal Society of St. Peter, www.baroniuspress.com)

The Week in Review: 8-14 July 2007

SUMMORUM PONTIFICORUM:
Buchanan on SUMMORUM PONTIFICORUM
Woods on SUMMORUM PONTIFICORUM
RORATE CAELI on SUMMORUM PONTIFICORUM

Meanwhile, back in politics, the Neroes fiddle...
Dem Presidential "Gay debates"

while Rome burns...
US mortgage fears spark sell-off

The Mass of All Time: The Motu Proprio SUMMORUM PONTIFICORUM

Today, 7 July 2007, the long awaited Apostolic Letter SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM of the Supreme Pontiff BENEDICT XVI was given MOTU PROPRIO. The full text is available at here at RORATE CAELI and, following their usual thorough and complete practice, the Papal Explanatory Letter is available here, and a summary of all the RORATE CAELI links is here. I did, however, take the liberty of pasting the text of the Motu Proprio below.

On a personal note, I have prayed for this, and I continue to pray for this. I believe, as I wrote here awhile back, that the Church, in order to find her way out of the desert in which she has found herself, must, first and foremost, return to the Mass of All Time. This Apostolic Letter is not, to borrow a phrase from Winston Churchill, the end of the current troubles, nor is the beginning of the end, but it may be the end of the beginning.

Deo Gratias

TPC


APOSTOLIC LETTER SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM OF THE SUPREME PONTIFFBENEDICT XVI GIVEN MOTU PROPRIO

[INTRODUCTION: Unofficial Vatican Information Service Translation, amended where needed]

It has been the constant concern of the Supreme Pontiffs, and up to the present time, to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy worship to the Divine Majesty, 'to the praise and glory of His name,' and 'to the benefit of all His Holy Church.'

Since time immemorial it has been necessary - as it is also for the future - to maintain the principle according to which 'each particular Church must concur with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith.' (1)

Among the pontiffs who showed that requisite concern, particularly outstanding is the name of St. Gregory the Great, who made every effort to ensure that the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in preceding centuries. He commanded that the form of the sacred liturgy as celebrated in Rome (concerning both the Sacrifice of Mass and the Divine Office) be conserved. He took great concern to ensure the dissemination of monks and nuns who, following the Rule of St. Benedict, together with the announcement of the Gospel illustrated with their lives the wise provision of their Rule that 'nothing should be placed before the work of God.' In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety.

Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more effectively. Outstanding among them is St. Pius V who, sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and 'renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers,' and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.

One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.

'It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and liturgical books were brought up to date and when necessary clarified. From the beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform.' (2) Thus our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, St. Pius X (3), Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII all played a part.

In more recent times, Vatican Council II expressed a desire that the respectful reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. Moved by this desire our predecessor, the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, approved, in 1970, reformed and partly renewed liturgical books for the Latin Church. These, translated into the various languages of the world, were willingly accepted by bishops, priests and faithful. John Paul II amended the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Thus Roman pontiffs have operated to ensure that 'this kind of liturgical edifice ... should again appear resplendent for its dignity and harmony.' (4)

But in some regions, no small numbers of faithful adhered and continue to adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms. These had so deeply marked their culture and their spirit that in 1984 the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, moved by a concern for the pastoral care of these faithful, with the special indult 'Quattuor abhinc anno," issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted permission to use the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in the year 1962. Later, in the year 1988, John Paul II with the Apostolic Letter given as Motu Proprio, 'Ecclesia Dei,' exhorted bishops to make generous use of this power in favor of all the faithful who so desired.

[ONLY LEGAL ARTICLES OFFICIALLY PROVIDED BY THE HOLY SEE]

Our predecessor John Paul II having already considered the insistent petitions of these faithful, having listened to the views of the Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God, with these Apostolic Letters We establish the following:

Art. 1

The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the Lex orandi (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same Lex orandi, and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church’s Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church’s Lex credendi (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.

It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents Quattuor abhinc annis and Ecclesia Dei, are substituted as follows:

Art. 2

In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.

Art. 3

Communities of Institutes of consecrated life and of Societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962, for conventual or “community” celebration in their oratories, may do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to undertake such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken by the Superiors Major, in accordance with the law and following their own specific decrees and statutes.

Art. 4

Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may – observing all the norms of law – also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.

Art. 5

§ 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.

§ 2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.

§ 3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.

§ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be qualified to do so [in good standing] and not juridically impeded.

§ 5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.

Art. 6

In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic See.

Art. 7

If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 § 1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”.

Art. 8

A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission “Ecclesia Dei” to obtain counsel and assistance.

Art. 9

§ 1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 2 Clerics ordained “in sacris constitutis” may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962.

Art. 10 The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.

Art. 11 The Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” (5) , erected by John Paul II in 1988, continues to exercise its function. Said Commission will have the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign it.

Art. 12 This Commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of these dispositions.

We order that everything We have established with these Apostolic Letters issued as Motu Proprio be considered as “established and decreed”, and to be observed from 14 September of this year, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the contrary.

From Rome, at St. Peter’s, 7 July 2007, third year of Our Pontificate.


General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, no. 397.
John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," 4 December 1988, 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
Ibid.
St. Pius X, Apostolic Letter Motu propio data, "Abhinc duos annos," 23 October 1913: AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," no. 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
Cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Motu proprio data "Ecclesia Dei," 2 July 1988, 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.

Week in Review 22-28 April 2007

First designer babies to beat breast cancer

(Please note that this article is in the “Life and Style” section of the UK’s TimesOnLine. That pretty much says it all, I think.)
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Gardasil:

HPV vaccine concerns give legislatures pause

Do we really want to go down the path of vaccinating children against deficits of moral intelligence and willpower?

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A new study by Michels on the abortion / breast cancer link is seriously flawed, said the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer.

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Gonzales v. Carhart:

Can't we agree this is reprehensible?

The Auth Cartoon

5 New Things The High Court Did

US Supreme Court Rescinds Former Rulings on Abortion Laws in Missouri and Virginia

Planned Parenthood Organizes Protests in Favour of Gruesome Partial Birth Abortion Procedure

Activists ready for abortion bill fight

PJB- Abortion is Back – in 2008

Aborted alive in the UK vs. U.S.

Mexico City Lawmakers Pass Abortion Bill

'No abortions, no exceptions,' in sight
Georgia group aims for constitutional amendment in 2008

Dutch Abortion Boat Granted License for International Abortions

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Gay marriage evil, abortion terrorism: Vatican

Judge: Catholic Position Against Homosexual Adoption Justifies Government Hostility Towards Church

Democrats Refuse Religious Freedom Amendment to Hate Crimes Bill

Christians in bull's-eye in new 'hate crimes' plan

Hate Crime Update- Pastors- Act Now or Prepare for Jail

Ban on 'mom' and 'dad' considered – again

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From the National Catholic Bioethics Center:

FAQ on the Persistent Vegetative State

IVF and the conjugal act: the proper cause of procreation.

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Watering-Down Catholic Education has Made it Indistinguishable from the Secular - thus Dispensable

Ontario Public School Boards Call for Elimination of Catholic Separate System

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Secret postal rate hike: Democracy at stake?

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Brazil's Catholics for a Free Choice Housed in Building owned by Catholic Religious Order

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HIV Vaccine Pre-clinical Toxicology Testing

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Ethanol causes more smog?

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F.C.C. Moves to Restrict TV Violence

(I have nothing good to say about television; it serves no useful purpose and we’d be far better off without it. Its main function in society it to keep the mass of people financially enslaved by saturating them with consumerism, sexually enslaved by saturating them with increasingly blatant pornography, and intellectually enslaved by eliminating independent thought.)

Feast days of the week 18 - 24 March, A.D. 2007 (1962 liturgical calendar).

SECOND PART OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR: THE EASTER CYCLE (MYSTERY OF THE REDEMPTION).[i]
Lent

Sunday, 18 March, 2007
Fourth Sunday of Lent (I)
"Laetare, Rejoice” says the Introit. Laetare Sunday offers us a break in the midst of the Lenten observance. We are soon to rise again with Jesus through confession and Easter Communion."
Epistle: Gal 4:22-31.
Gospel: John 6:1-15.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church. (III)
“When he was a simple priest, St. Cyril used to instruct the Catechumens during Lent. He is still renowned for these admirable homilies, full of divine wisdom, precious documents for Catholic theology. The Arians exiled him twice. He died in A.D. 386.”
Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 39:6-14.
Gospel: Matt 10:23-28.

Monday, 19 March, 2007
St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Confessor (I)
“To be convinced how much the intercession of St. Joseph prevails with Jesus Christ, we have only to consider these words of the Evangelist: And He was subject to them. The Son of God employed thirty years assiduously obeying Joseph and Mary! It was sufficient for Joseph, by the least word or sign, to show that he wished Him to do anything; Jesus immediately obeyed. This humble obedience of Jesus teaches us that the dignity of Joseph is above that of all the other Saints, except that of the Queen of Saints. Let us hear what St. Teresa says of the confidence which all should place in the protection of St. Joseph: ‘To the other Saints,’ she says, ‘it appears that the Lord may have granted power to succour us on particular occasions; but to this Saint, as experience proves, He has granted power to help us on all occasions. Our Lord would teach us that, as He was pleased to be subject to Joseph upon the earth, so He is pleased to grant whatever this Saint asks for in heaven. Others whom I have recommended to have recourse to Joseph, have known this from experience. I never knew any one who was particularly devout to him, that did not continually advance more and more in virtue. For the love of God, let him who believes not this make his own trial. And I do not know how any one can think of the Queen of Angels, at the time when she laboured so much in the infancy and childhood of Jesus, and not return thanks to Joseph for the assistance which he rendered both to the Mother and to the Son.’ We should be particularly devout to Saint Joseph, that he may obtain for us a happy death.”
Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6.
Gospel: Matt 1:18-21.

Monday of the Fourth Week in Lent (III)
Day of fast (traditional)
Lesson: III Kings 3:16-28.
Gospel: John 2:13-25.

Tuesday, 20 March, 2007
Tuesday of the Third Week in Lent (III)
Day of fast (traditional)
Lesson: Exodus 32:7-14.
Gospel: John 7:14-31.

Wednesday, 21 March, 2007
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent (III)
Day of fast (traditional)
Lesson: Isaias 1:16-19.
Gospel: John 9:1-38.

St. Benedict, Abbot (III)
“Sent to Rome for his studies, he gave up both them and his career in the world, and retired to the solitude of Subiaco. He founded there twelve monasteries, among them Monte Cassino, and wrote the Holy Rule which bears his name. He is revered as the Founder of the Benedictine Order, and Co-Patron Saint of Europe. He died A.D. 543.”
Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6.
Gospel: Matt 19:27-29.

Thursday, 22 March, 2007
Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent (III)
Day of fast (traditional)
Lesson: IV Kings 4:25-38.
Gospel: Luke 7:11-16.

Friday, 23 March, 2007
Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent (III)
Day of fast (Obligatory)
Lesson: III Kings 17:17-24.
Gospel: John 11:1-45.

Saturday, 24 March 2007
Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent (III)
Day of fast (traditional)
Lesson: Isaias 49:8-15.
Gospel: John 8:12-20.

St. Gabriel, Archangel (III)
"St. Gabriel was chosen by God to announce to Mary that she was to be the Mother of Christ."
Lesson: Daniel 9:21-26.
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38.

[i]Remarks are abstracted from The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual, from Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962
(Baronius Press Limited, London, 2004, in conjunction with the Fraternal Society of St. Peter, www.baroniuspress.com)

The Week in Review: 4-10 March 2007

The Latin Mass and the Church

I saw in this article that the two states were New Mexico and Maine. Now, to Maine I have great personal attachment (not to mention that it is also the recipient of a goodly chunk of my tax dollars):

Two States Consider Subversion of Marriage

Then I saw that the Diocese of Portland, Maine, had endorsed this legislation:

Diocese confirms support for homosexual partnership bill

And, though I wasn't surprised (saddened, but not surprised), I thought I'd check the Diocesan website:

Diocese Supports Bill to Extend Family Leave Benefits

Now, everyone knows the Church is a mess, and everyone knows that a large part of the reason is because we have got, by and large, lousy Bishops. There are a few excellent ones, to be sure (I've found myself looking at land prices in Nebraska...), but most are incompetent. If I did my job as badly as the average American Bishop does his, I'd not only be fired, I'd be in jail. But, who appoints the Bishops? The Pope. Nothing mystifies me more than why the post Conciliar popes have appointed, by and large, such awful Bishops...

Here's the link to the actual Maine legislative proposal:

LD 375 An Act To Amend the Family Medical Leave Laws

All the more reason to keep praying for a rapid return to Tradition within the Church. Speaking of the elusive motu proprio, here's the SSPX's take on it, courtesy of Rorate caeli:
Fellay speaks on the eventual motu proprio

On the plus side, though:While Critics Blame Catholic Church for AIDS Deaths Stats Show Just the Opposite

Medical Stuff
Sadly, I think that more and more frequently physicians of conscience are going to find themselves forced out of medicine:
Doctor's Resignation over Euthanasia Gets Praise in Vatican Newspaper

Here's the official CDC recommendations regarding Gardasil. No surprise, but still disappointing: Recommended Immunization Schedules for Persons Aged 0--18 Years --- United States, 2007

Although there are a few legitimate uses for prenatal screening, they generally serve the purpose of helping the parents and the physicians practice eugenics. In this case, though, it sounds like a perfectly legitimate prenatal ultrasound:
Healthy Baby Born After Prenatal Screening Falsely Showed he "Died"

This is a year or so old, but still worth reading:
Egg-donor business booms on campuses

My wife read a novel along these lines, but I can't recall the name of it...
Concern over 'spare part' babies

Wrongful life suits are usually centered around a physician who fails to detect a birth defect prenatally, so that the mother can kill the defective child before he's born. This case has a little twist to it:
Boston woman sues for child-rearing costs after failed abortion

Odds and Ends

This'll cheer you up:
Teen 'sport killings' of homeless on the rise

Our 7 year old started out in Daisy Scouts - we took her out, for many of the reasons listed in this piece. Now she's in Little Flowers.
Confessions of a former Girl Scout

A little dose of PJB:
Corruption in the Schools

So you take your kids out of the government schools because they're cesspools, and out of the "Catholic" schools because they're just as bad and you have to pay thousands of dollars to boot, and you try to do the job yourself. Then, you get this: New Jersey Judge Orders Penal Charges Against Mom for Home-Schooling

And this:9th Circuit endorses censoring Christians Ruling says 'family values' is hate speech that scares city workers

To end on a positive note, though, there's this:Granddaughter of Famous US Black Slave Dred Scott Fights for Unborn Rights to End Abortion

Ciao.

The Week in Review: 25 February - 3 March, A.D. 2007

The Latin Mass and the Church

On the Lenten Papal retreat, Cardinal Biffi, and the Antichrist: "pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist" (originally on LifeSite):

Anti-Christ is among us

Also from Rorate caeli, for those of us awaiting the liberation of the Latin Mass:

For the record: news from Mexico

Medical stuff

Here is a series of recent articles from the TimesOnLine. As we saw in the essay in Stem Cells Part V: Chimeras, chimeras and hybrids are part and parcel of hES cell research.
Scientists triumph in battle over ban on hybrid embryos

Nobel scientists urge fertility watchdog to back hybrid embryos

Cloning pioneer fears Britain will lose out

On a related note, also out of the UK:

Law change 'may bring designer babies'

Actually, I think it's a race to the bottom, with all the European nations (and the U.S.) in the competition:

Britain Dragging Other Countries into Ethical and Moral Abyss ~ SPUC Director

Update on Gardasil:

WorldNetDaily ran this:

CDC to STD vaccine maker: 'Back off'

Here's the original Washington Times report:

Medical Foundation Under Governor's Vaccine Order Continues To Collapse: CDC Doctor told Merck not to lobby for mandates
More from WND:

STD vaccine opposition builds in Texas
Merck gives up push for girls to get shots
HPV mandates face federal money ban

Odds and ends
This appeared in the Financial Times in 2005, and popped up recently on LifeSite. I have run into the transhumanists before in my wanderings, but this is a good summary. And, like Peter Singer and his buddies advocating infanticide, the transhumanists occupy chairs at our major universities.

The most dangerous idea on earth?

I read Mr. Steyn's book, America Alone and thought it was pretty good, though I don't agree with some of it. Much of the population demographics material echoed Pat Buchanan's Death of the West:

Mark Steyn Confirms How Wrong Dissenters of Paul VI's Humanae Vitae Have Been Says Reveiwer

No Comment.

Early-Onset Dementia May be Linked to Vasectomy, Study Suggests

The Week in Review: 21-27 January, A.D. 2007

The March for Life
God bless, them, the Canadian-base LifeSite has covered the March for Life, and will do more of it in upcoming days. Their link is here:
http://www.lifesite.net/
I know there's a lot of links regarding the march in the Catholic blogosphere. I'm more concerned with the mainstream media because, you know what? That's where the folks I work with on a day to day basis get their information. They don't even know the Catholic blogosphere exists, much less do they get any information from it. Heck, for that matter, I try to limit my time on the internet, and this is why:
Study- Americans spend more time with computer than spouse...
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5075438
Having said that, though,

Where did the March for Life go?
As of Wednesday morning, there was a media blackout regarding the March for Life. As of Friday morning (when I put this little piece together), there still is, among the mainstream media, including the mainstream "alternative media" like Drudge Report. Jeff Miller over at The Curt Jester commented on this on his Monday , 22 Jan post, "Newsworthy means advancing their agenda" (he also has an interesting link, but I won't put it here. Go to his blog). I didn't expect to hear anything about it on our local NPR radio station, and I can't say anything about what's on TV, since we don't have one. If I had to guess, though, on a multiple choice test regarding TV coverage, I'd check the answer, "Minimal coverage, and what there was came with lots of pro-abortion spin." But, nothing on Drudge Report, except the oblique reference to Bush's telephone call (linked below). WorldNetDaily? Nothing. Although WorldNetDaily, in general, does an excellent job regarding abortion and it's offspring, they have been silent on this. However, WNF did post an excellent commentary by David Kupelian,
Lies and fraud of Roe v. Wade
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53872

How about Catholic News Service? These two articles. The first is a pretty good overview,
Culture of life means changing hearts, president tells March for Life
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0700411.htm

The second is the usual namby pamby pish posh one expects from our frightened senior prelates.
Cardinal- 'Reasons for rejoicing' exist despite legalized abortion
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0700393.htm

I'd do considerably more rejoicing if some of our frightened senior prelates had the guts to go head to head with some of our "Catholic" abortion-supporting politicians... But never mind that, let's look at the data.
The most recent data available from the CDC is from 2003, and this data shows the number of abortions as showing, at best, minimal decreases, with the overall numbers holding more or less steady at around 850,000 (CDC) or around 1 million (Alan Guttmacher Institute[1]) per year. Most abortions are still being performed on women who are unmarried (82%) white (55%) and under 25 years old (51%)[2]. Teenage girls (19 years old or less) accounted for 20% of all abortion in 1995, 18.8% in 2000, and 17.7% in 2003. Yes, that is a slight decrease. Women aged 20-25 accounted for 32.5% of all abortions in 1995, and 33.5% in 2003[3]. That's a slight increase and, interestingly, parallels the increase in out of wedlock pregnancy rate among 20 somethings (see link below). What we really have is a more or less steady state situation, with percentages in individual subcategories (such as age) swishing around a bit. Further, these data sets track primarily traditional surgical abortions. Medical abortions, on the other hand, are rapidly rising, and are far more difficult to track. In 2003 they were 8% of all abortions reported to the CDC[4], a small fraction of the overall number, to be sure, but an over 400% increase from 2001.[5] And, none of these data sets counts the unknown, and unknowable, number of early abortions caused by hormonal contraceptives - the birth control pill and all it's friends. Not to mention good old Plan B.

In the same article, Cardinal Rigali stated that the Church's position on abortion is "one of profound concern for the unborn..." Gosh, and all this time I thought the Church's position was that abortion represented the murder of an innocent person, an act which is a mortal sin and which could, if unrepented, land the one who had the abortion (as well as though one who performed it, and possibly those who assisted) in Hell for all eternity. Silly me.

Lest you think I'm being too hard on our frightened senior prelates, try this:
Bishop and Priest Hasten to Apologize to Pro-Abortion Politician for Homily Calling Him to Account
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012502.html
The deacon had some guts, and his superiors pulled the rug out from under him. Try this:
First Things' Fr. Neuhaus Criticizes Archbishop Wuerl on Pro-Abortion Politicians Fiasco
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012501.html

On the positive side, though, we have this:
Lawsuits threatens Planned Parenthood, other abortion clinics
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53807

And this:
Mom, meet your (unborn) child!
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53829

But, on the grim side, I have maintained that American medical students are simply marinated in the liberal left wing pro-death culture. Granted, I graduated from medical school twenty years ago this June (self disclosure! And, yes, Frank, it's true...two decades since we graduated. Who's the old man now? Huh?) so maybe things have changed. But Drudge ran a link a day or two ago, which apparently crashed the link's site, and has since been removed from Drudge. Or, at least I can't find it. But
Denise Hunnell over at Catholic Mom (http://catholic-mom.blogspot.com/) commented on it, and now it's up at LifeSite:
“Roe v. Wade Week” at Yale Features Do It Yourself Abortions
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012503.html

The Society Section...
Informed Choice — Mental Health and Abortion
http://www.catholicexchange.com/node/9736

Informed-Choice Bill May Have Tough Time in Congress
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003693.cfm

Out-of-Wedlock Babies- Intended . . . Or Not-
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12225/BLI/datadigest/index.htm

Canadian City Councillor Fined $1000 for Saying Homosexuality “not Normal or Natural”
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07011902.html

...and Entertainment:
SHOCK- Bestiality film premieres at Redford's SUNDANCE...
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-121sundance,0,6997847.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

No Buyers for Dakota Fanning Rape Movie
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,246698,00.html

Pope Says Parents Must Counter Media’s “Formative” Influence on Children
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012507.html

You bet'cha.

Here's the financial news:
Payment For Stem Cell Eggs Debated
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=40562

RICHARD BRANSON LAUNCHES 'VIRGIN' STEM-CELL STORAGE COMPANY
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9068-2566831,00.html

And foreign affairs:
Vatican says Chinese church growing; pope to write Chinese Catholics
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0700380.htm

Miscellaneous,
FDA Considers Lowering Acceptable “Failure” Rate on Approved Contraceptive Pills
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012411.html

I've included this for interest, but also because there's a minor error in the article. As those of you who've been bravely soldiering on with the stem cell series will immediately recognize, it's not a zygote which is aborted by oral contraceptives (or, for that matter, the IUD or any other hormonal contraceptive method: injected, implanted, or pasted on), it's the blastocyst.

And, the Last but not Least department.
Contraceptive side effects study needed- panel
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070124/ts_nm/contraceptives_fda_dc

Lights 'not of this world' mystery finally solved
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53936

I told you so.

Ciao.

Endnotes
[1] "Facts in Brief: Induced Abortion in the United States" The Alan Guttmacher Institute, Washington, DC/NY,NY, 2005. Available at www.guttmacher.org AGI is the pro-abortion arm of Planned Parenthood, but they keep good data, probably more accurate than CDC, which undercounts abortion data by 20% or more.
[2] "Abortion Surveillance - United States, 2003." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports Surveillance Summaries 24 November 2006, Vol.55/SS-11
[3] ibid, Table 1
[4] ibid, Table 8
[5] ibid, Table 1

The Week in Review: 14-20 January, A.D. 2007

The big news, I suppose, is not from this week, but this upcoming weekend:
The 34th Annual March For Life - January 20, 21, and 22 - Washington, D.C.
Read all about it here -

http://www.marchforlife.org/

And, just to remind yourself what it's all about,
Amazing pictures that show triplets bonding -- in the womb....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html?in_article_id=429098&in_page_id=1799&in_a_source=&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=picbox&ct=5

Meanwhile, some legislatures are preparing to do battle with Roe...
Georgia Prepares to Battle Roe v. Wade
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07011507.html

While other legislatures just get more and more ridiculous...
CALIFORNIA BILL WOULD BAN SPANKING YOUNG CHILDREN...
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/16487654.htm?source=rss

Here is the CMA's take on the HPV Vaccine,
Catholic Medical Association Press Release on HPV Immunization
http://www.cathmed.org/pressreleases/hpv_vaccine_jan07.htm
There is a link at the CMA site to their downloadable position paper as well.

From the National Catholic Bioethics Center,
Correction to the Fifth Edition of Health Care Ethics - Care of Permanently Unconscious Patients
http://www.ncbcenter.org/07-01-13-HE5.asp

First test-tube baby in the world gives birth – without IVF
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2545718,00.html
This week, we're discussing early human embryology in out little stem cell series, as a foundation to understanding embryonic stem cells, IVF, and a whole host of related topics. Next week we'll get into IVF a bit more specifically, since, at this point, IVF embryos are where many (not all) human embryonic stem cells come from. I'll grant you, a blastocyst doesn't look much like those hugging triplets, but the blastocyst is a biological human being just as surely as are the triplets, you, or I. And, when Louise Brown, born in England, 25 July 1978, began her life, she began it in a petri dish, and was a blastocyst, exactly as we will discuss next week. And, as a blastocyst in a dish, she could just as easily have been dissected for her parts rather than being placed in her mother's womb, to grow, be born, and one day bear children of her own. We will all do well to keep that in mind.

The stem cell wars are not going to go away. It'll be a race to the bottom, folks.
New York Legislature Pledges to Outstrip Competitors in Funding Ambitious Embryo Research Project
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07011702.html
Pro-life groups decry House backing for embryonic stem cell research
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=8368

Just to see what our brethren in the UK and north of the border are up to.
UK, Canada Ran Neck and Neck in 2006 Race to Exterminate Religious Freedom
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07011704.html

And, to keep us from becoming smug here in these United States,
2006 Losses of Religious Freedom Should Make American Christians Wake Up
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07011504.html
Congress preparing to criminalize critics-
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53813

And now,
51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/us/16census.html?ei=5065&en=fd431ee3a6bf026f&ex=1169528400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print The tone of this article suggests that the writers (three of the four of whom are women) think this is a good thing. It is filled with quotes from women - many in their mid or late 50's, and divorced, or never married - who are now liberated, and living fulfilling lives. There are also quotes from their daughters (granddaughters?) who have never been, and presumably, will never be, married. Yet our civilization will cease to survive without the family unit. Perhaps, if one has renounced the family, one doesn't really care too much about the future beyond that encompassed one's own life span. Meanwhile, those Muslims keep making babies...

In the miscellaneous department, first this:
2 cousin companies bet market for RFID chips will extend to humans before long
http://www.wnd.com/redir/r.asp?http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jan2007/sb20070111_186325.htm?chan=smallbiz_smallbiz+index+page_today%27s+top+stories

And, this...
WEATHER CHANNEL Climate Expert Calls for Decertifying Global Warming Skeptics...
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=32abc0b0-802a-23ad-440a-88824bb8e528
Some time back, I ceased being under the illusion that there was any objectivity in medical research, understanding that instead that the public opinions of "medical experts" were instead shaped primarily by (1) the political agendas of the liberal left, and secondarily by (2) big money. I am saddened, but not surprised, to see the same thing happen to meteorology.

And, finally, this...
Air Force colonel reports lights 'not of this world'; Snaps images above Arkansas- 'I have no idea what they were'...
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53820

Why, you might ask, am I putting this in here? Well, not because I believe in UFO's. I don't. And, I know it has nothing directly to do with Catholicity and medicine. However, I do believe that we threw away our future when we turned our back on manned space exploration. The NASA of 1969 (not to be confused with the NASA of 2007) was completely capable of developing a colony on Mars, and could have done so by the mid 1980's. All it lacked was money: we, the people, said it was a waste of money. How much money, instead, have we spent since 1969 on pointless dead end social programs, not to mention cat and dog food? Despite the hundreds of billions we have poured, and still pour, down the drain labeled “entitlements” (far, far more than we ever spent on the moonships), today we have a vicious and ever expanding class of persons who truly live lives outside the boundaries of what was once known as "western civilization", and cats and dogs on weight control programs and Prozac. And, for good measure, the nation which once could send three men to the moon for a week can today barely get a man into low earth orbit. Here's a thought experiment: suppose, just suppose, that the NASA of 1969 had really been able to carry out its (then) very realistic plans of moon and Mars colonization in the last decades of the 20th century. Today we would have permanent colonies on the moon, and on Mars, and a growing and developing interplanetary transport system. How would our world be different?

The Week in Review: 7-13 January, A.D. 2007

H.R. 3: Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2000 Passed 253YEA’s, 174 NAY’s

http://www.house.gov/

As of 2:30 PM EST on Thursday, 11 January, the bill was to be sent back for an amendment preventing human cloning. They're so silly - don't they understand that without cloning, embryonic stem cells are close to useless as therapeutic devices? Apparently they did, because the instruction failed, 189 YEA’s to 238 NAY’s. Eight minutes later, they took Role Call #20, and the bill passed, 253 YEA’s to 174 NAY’s.
Of interest (to me, anyway), Mike Michaud, the Representative from Maine's second district, and a politician who touts his Catholicism(see next item regarding Catholic politicians and our courageous and manly Bishops), is a co-sponsor of the bill. He did, of course, vote for it. Since I pay taxes to the great State of Maine, I suppose I contribute to his care and feeding in some way (sigh).

New D.C. Archbishop Washes Hands Over Nancy Pelosi Political Exploitation of Catholic Mass
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07010811.html
The scandal, of course, isn't that Pelosi does this. Like all politicians (see Maine's Michaud, above), she's merely a political creation and not expected to be cognizant of real things like religious truths. The scandal is that, as usual, our Bishops, and the Vatican, stand to one side, in frightened silence, as politicians claiming to be Catholic once again make a mockery of the Church.

Christians hail ethical source for stem cells
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53705
Jeff Miller over at The Curt Jester (http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/)got it right with his 9 January post on the placenta cells: they will not solve the tissue rejection problem. That is why embryonic stem cell researchers repeatedly point out that so-called therapeutic cloning will be a necessary component of any medical future that utilizes products of embryonic stem cells in medical therapy. We'll get to cloning in due course in our little stem cell series...

Britain Set to Ban Human-Animal Hybrid Embryonic Research
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07010504.html
Chimeras are no joke. The National Research Council said this about human-animal hybrids (chimeras): "...such conclusive evidence (of proper functioning of the products of embryonic stem cells) requires testing in blastocyst chimeras as is routinely done in (mouse embryonic stem cell research).[1] We'll talk about chimeras when the time comes...

A follow up to December's call for FDA input on vaccines using aborted fetal cell lines is available here:
ABORTED FETAL CELL LINES - MANY THANKS TO ALL

http://www.cogforlife.org/fdaalert.htm

More on Plan B.
New Report Admits- Emergency Contraception Does Not Reduce Abortion
http://www.cogforlife.org/fdaalert.htm

More on the HPV vaccine.
Parents block plans to vaccinate nine-year-olds against sex virus
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=34172007

More on The Ashley Treatment.
Surgery to stunt disabled girl's growth raises ethical questions
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/01/04/ashley.treatment.ap/

Finally, I've linked this over on the right. It really works!
ProLife Search
http://www.prolifesearch.com/

[1] "Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research" National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. 2005:pg. 33, "Scientific Background". My emphasis. www.nap.edu and www.national-academies.org