Birth control and birthday cake

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Birth control and birthday cake

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by Sam Worley on

Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 12:46 PM

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Ross Douthat’s weekend column in the Times is about the differing views on abortion held by “cultural liberals” and “social conservatives.” There’s some funny language in this piece. It’s not clear, for instance, why Douthat considers abortion a “cultural” issue—a divertissement on par with, say, a night at the opera—for east-coast communist gay elites, and a “social” issue for others. And I have to confess being brought up short by Douthat’s use of the phrase “artificial birth control,” by which he means “birth control,” only modified with a meaningless adjective. “Natural” birth control—that is, abstinence—would appear to be, in the context of the two modifiers being opposites, equally without meaning. For instance! My boss will be pleased to learn that I am, right now, practicing natural birth control. At my desk! And Ross Douthat will be pleased to learn that I find natural birth control quite easy to consummate. “Birth control” is only a cogent concept if you’re actually talking about sex, in other words. In which case, “natural” styles of birth control range from the withdrawal method to various nonpenetrative tactics, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t what Douthat’s social conservatives have in mind.

Do people—non-Ross Douthat people—actually use the phrase “artificial birth control”?

I decided to try an experiment using the time-honored Google Autoresult Method for Determining the Populist Cachet of an Idea. To wit: how much of the phrase would I have to type in the search field before Google would suggest the answer I wanted? As it turned out, quite a bit: I got as far as “artificial bir” before I found what I was looking for, halfway down the list, following “artificial birds” and “artificial birch tree” but preceding “artificial birthday cake.” Artificial birthday cakes must be the ones that strippers jump out of. That these are less popular than artificial birth control is a result that cultural liberals and social conservatives are free to interpret according to their respective political agendas.

Clicking through, it appears that “artificial birth control” is used mostly by Catholic sources: the first result, entitled “What Does the Bible Teach,” is from catholicsource.net, and nearly all of the initial results are from similar places. Actually, “artificial birth control” was in the Times again yesterday, in this instance in a column by cultural liberal Frank Bruni, who’s making a plea for gay marriage. On his way there he points out that some Catholics opposed to contraception have “broods much smaller than they likely would if they let nature have its way,” presumably because of artificial birth control. He thinks this is evidence of hypocrisy. But who knows! Conservatives might get down with the natural method, too. Wasn’t it just the other day when Herman Cain ensured the country that Newt Gingrich would “pull it out”?

Tags: Ross Douthat, New York Times, birth control, pulling it out, Google, Frank Bruni, gay marriage, natural birth control

Vatican schedules canonization of Pedro Calungsod

By Jason A. Baguia
Inquirer Visayas

Blessed Pedro Calungsod FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY—The Vatican announced over the weekend the canonization of 17th century Visayan martyr Pedro Calungsod on October 21, making him the country’s second Catholic saint.

The announcement followed the approval by Pope Benedict XVI of the canonization of Calungsod, according to the Vatican’s official news website.

The Pope made the announcement through Angelo Cardinal Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, at St. Peter’s Basilica following a ceremony in which 22 bishops from around the world were elevated to the rank of cardinal.

Those to be canonized on October 21 along with Calungsod are Jacques Berthieu, a French martyr and priest of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits); Giovanni Battista Piamarta, an Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth and of the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord; Maria del Carmen, a Spanish founder of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching; Maria Anna Cope, a German religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse; Kateri Tekakwitha, an American laywoman, and Anna Schaffer, a German laywoman.

Calungsod will be the second Filipino to be canonized in the history of the Catholic Church after Pope John Paul II canonized Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila in 1987. Both Calungsod, who hailed from Cebu, and Ruiz were lay persons.

Ruiz, a parish scribe and former altar boy who was born in Binondo, Manila, was martyred in Japan in 1637.

Calungsod was born in 1655 in what was then the Diocese of Cebu which covered the islands of Panay and Mindanao, as well as the Pacific island of Guam.

A lay catechist, he died at 17 in Guam while trying to defend his fellow mission worker, Jesuit priest and now Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, when natives attacked them on April 2, 1672.

Calungsod was struck by a spear and his skull was split by a machete blow. Their bodies were then tied together and thrown into the sea.

The latest announcement is expected to push preparations for Calungsod’s canonization to full swing in the Archdiocese of Cebu, where the archbishop emeritus, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, was the lead promoter of the campaign for Calungsod’s canonization.

Since his beatification in 2000 by Pope John Paul II, Cebuanos have been offering prayers through Calungsod.

The Vatican earlier recognized the recovery from a deep coma of a Cebu businesswoman as a miracle obtained through Calungsod’s intercession.

On March 5, 2000, Pope John Paul II beatified Calungsod along with 43 other martyrs in ceremonies held at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Vatican officially set April 2 as Calungsod’s feast day.

In his homily during the beatification, John Paul called on the youth to emulate Calungsod.

“From his childhood, Pedro Calungsod declared himself unwaveringly for Christ and responded generously to His call. Young people today can draw encouragement and strength from the example of Pedro, whose love of Jesus inspired him to devote his teenage years to teaching the faith as a lay catechist,” John Paul said.

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Cardinal Timothy Dolan ‘Rock Star’ of the Catholic Faith

Newly ordained Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, recently took a vocal stand against President Barack Obama’s birth control mandate. Now, some are calling him the “rock star” of the Catholic faith.

In a sea of red robes at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy, Dolan stood out during the Feb. 18 cardinal ceremony. The bishop even won a smile from Pope Benedict XVI as he placed the red cardinal cap on Dolan’s head.

“From the hands of Peter, and know that your love for the church is strengthened by the love of the Prince of the Apostles,” Benedict said.

Dolan’s charisma is infectious to people of all ages. Several photos have been taken of the cardinal laughing and candidly interacting with the pope and other Catholic leaders.

“My favorite part was when Cardinal Dolan put his red hat on my head,” said Joe Liberatore, Jr., a Catholic pilgrim.

“The Archbishop Dolan, now Cardinal Dolan, has been glowing everywhere he goes. And he just brings that joy to everyone around him,” said Ryan Young, another pilgrim.

“I was so touched the other day. Tears were just coming down my face. I was totally overwhelmed,” said Noreen Berardino of Dolan’s canonization.

Hundreds of New York residents made the trip to Rome for the cardinal’s ceremony and to see the new prince of the Catholic Church deliver his first mass at the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul.

“He looked at Mom and said, ‘You look way too young to be the mother of a Cardinal.’ Is that beautiful?” Dolan said about the pope during the ceremony.

Dolan’s charm isn’t the only thing that’s bringing him higher popularity among Catholics around the world. So is his stance against a new health care mandate that forces all employers — even religious groups — to provide access to free birth control.

“The government will still require most Americans to pay for this coverage, even if it violates their consciences,” Dolan said.

It’s an assertive stand that has some speculating that Dolan may be what the Catholic church needs as its next leader.

Pope Benedict, 84, is growing weaker. He now enters the church on a wheeled platform, unable to walk the aisle.

Dolan is only 62 years old and has a common touch.

“He can present the gospel message, the message of Catholicism to people, with a smile, not a frown,” noted Father Tom Reese of the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

The new cardinal is also humble and happy to be back in New York in time for Ash Wednesday mass.

“You always keep New York first, because first and foremost, the best way I can be a good cardinal is by being a good archbishop of New York,” Dolan explained.

Reports from the Culture War Front

Valentine’s ceremony at Cedar Crest in Pequannock honors long-married couples

In a special commemorative ceremony held just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Cedar Crest Retirement Community honored over two dozen couples that have reached the remarkable milestone of having been married for five decades or more.

The ceremony, which was part of the Catholic Mass at the Cedar Crest Chapel on Sunday, Feb. 12, honored 27 couples who attended. All of the women received a rose, and the men received a prayer card, said Cedar Crest spokesman Tony Ciavolella.

He said one couple in particular stood out amongst the group members: John and Anne Dietz, who were honored for their 75th wedding anniversary, which they’ll celebrate in August.

“At a time when 40 to 50 percent of all marriages fail, recognizing marriages that last 50 years-plus is wonderful,” Ciavolella said. “And to recognize the Dietzes’ anniversary… it’s a fantastic event.”

Ciavolella said that if all the years of marriage between all 27 couples were totaled up, it would be nearly 1,400 years.

The Mass and the ceremonies were conducted by Father Francis Kelly, the associate priest who provides the Catholic Mass at the community.

–Steve Janoski

United for freedom of conscience against government intrusion

By Rev. Chris Arch and Rev. Michael Phillips

—-

Did you hear the one about the Catholic priest and evangelical pastor who decided to write an article together? The question almost sounds like the start of another corny faith-based joke.

Far from being funny, this statement describes our desire to write an article showing Christian solidarity in the face of a potentially dangerous intrusion by the government into areas of personal faith and practice.

Recently, the Obama administration announced it would not expand exemptions for religiously affiliated organizations when it comes to health insurance. Although churches would be exempt, religious institutions such as hospitals, colleges and charities will be required to provide health care coverage to employees that would include subsidized contraception, sterilization and coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, all of which are repugnant to Catholics and some of which are to Protestants.

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, in her statement about the administration’s decision, said there is evidence birth control “has significant health benefits for women and their families….” And although this view flies in the face of Catholic theology, the Obama administration has given Catholic institutions a year to figure out how to either violate their collective conscience or close down shop!

While the vast majority of Protestant Evangelicals don’t have a problem with contraception, every individual of faith must ask him or herself, “What religious conviction will I be forced to abandon one day?” and “When that day comes, will I want other individuals to stand alongside of me or will I want to stand alone?”

We choose to stand together on this issue.

Although not perfect, let’s consider a fictitious analogy that may illustrate the administration’s demands on all Catholic and some Protestant institutions. Suppose the same Department of Health and Human Services came out with a study extolling the value of eating pork. Pork is nutritious and tasty. Pork is an excellent source of protein. Now, suppose this agency would require that in light of such evidence, all Muslim and kosher Jewish delis must serve pork products, justifying their case that certain Jews and Muslims don’t keep dietary law and that folks from outside of these two faiths occasionally visit such restaurants. Such a ruling wouldn’t technically prohibit Jews or Muslims from owning delis, yet it would effectively make it impossible to do so without violating one’s conscience.

A governmental-imposed violation of one’s conscience is what is at stake in Sebelius’ and President Barack Obama’s health care ruling. This is a clear violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This amendment guarantees the religious freedom of people of all faiths from government interference: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Does President Obama really want to see 629 Catholic hospitals closed and 750,000 employees fired? Who will provide care for the 19 million emergency room visitors and 100 million outpatients who sought attention in Catholic hospitals in 2010?

If he does not, then the president must rescind this mandate, allowing for religious liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution.

Until then, we will stand united for freedom of conscience.

Rev. Chris Arch is senior pastor of the Good News Bible Church, Iowa City, an independent, evangelical congregation which he has served for over 15 years. Comments: chrisarch@goodnews

iowacity.com

Rev. Michael Phillips has been pastor at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Iowa City, for 12 years, and he has a total of 43 years of pastoral experience. Comments: wencic@mchsi.com

Pope set on dealing with abuse, says nuncio

The Irish Times – Monday, February 20, 2012Papal nuncio Archbishop Charles John Brown and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin greeting congregation members outside the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin ahead of the Mass of welcome yesterday. “Were it not for the faith of Ireland, I would not be a Catholic today,” said the Manhattan-born former monsignor.Photograph: John McElroy

MICHAEL O’REGAN

POPE BENEDICT XVI was “scandalised and dismayed’’ by the tragedy of clerical child abuse in Ireland, the new papal nuncio, Archbishop Charles John Brown, said yesterday.

The pope knew that recent years had been difficult for Irish Catholic believers, the nuncio said.

“He felt deeply the wounds of those who had been harmed and who so often had not been listened to.’’

The pope, he said, was resolute and determined to put into place changes that would give the church the ability to deal more effectively with those who abused trust, as well as provide the necessary assistance to those who had been victimised. “Pope Benedict has been relentless and consistent on this front, and I assure you that he will continue to be.’’

The nuncio was speaking at a liturgical reception hosted for him at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin.

The Manhattan-born former monsignor, who worked at the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1994, said he represented various realities. “I am the descendent of men and women of Ireland, who emigrated from this island, possessing little more than the treasure of their Catholic faith, which they, through the generations, have passed on to me,’’ he said. “Were it not for the faith of Ireland, I would not be a Catholic today.’’

He recalled he had worked with the then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, in the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church. He said he was “a newly ordained bishop of the Catholic Church and, as such, with all my limitations and defects, a successor of the Apostles”. He was standing before the people principally as the representative of the Bishop of Rome and the successor of the Apostle Peter, he said.

“In his name, I greet you all and I bring you his best wishes for all the people of Ireland, for the Government, and all members of the diplomatic community.’’

The pope always had, and continued to have, a great love of Ireland and a high regard for the Catholic Church in Ireland, with its history of missionary richness and tenacious faith.

The nuncio said that next June’s Eucharistic Congress in Ireland would be a very significant event, not only for the Irish church but the universal church. He said it had been “carefully and creatively’’ organised and prepared. The gathering would renew the faith in the reality at the absolute centre of Catholic life: the real presence of Christ himself in the Eucharist.

“Ultimately, it is renewed faith and love for the Lord in the Eucharist that will renew our lives and renew the life of the church,’’ he added.

In his address of welcome, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin said some had noted that the nuncio was an American and a native English speaker, as if that were something new.

He was actually the fourth nuncio to come to Ireland from the United States.

The ceremony was attended by Minister for Health Dr James Reilly, representing the Government; Brig Gen Michael Finn, representing the Army; several ambassadors; representatives of other churches; and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Is righteous Rick Santorum too scary to be President?

Rick Santorum speaks with a Catholic stridency rarely seen in British politics (Photo: EPA)

Perhaps it is because I was brought up as a middle-of-the-road English Catholic – show up on Sundays, eat fish on Fridays (more expensive than meat now, of course) and don’t ever sing the hymns too loudly (that’s a vulgar habit Anglicans have) – that I find Rick Santorum so, um, well …scary.

Mr Santorum has been surging to the fore in the Republican nomination contest these last two weeks, riding high in the Rustbelt on a combination of his religious convictions and a blue collar, son-of-an immigrant backstory that resonates with the slump-hit voters of the American Midwest.

But in truth it is the religious part of the Santorum package that has me quailing like a choirboy caught swigging on the altar wine – and yes, Bless me Father, in that regard, I have sinned.

The latest Santorum pronouncement to send shivers along the pews is his remark this weekend that pre-natal testing (amniocentesis) is part of an Obama-backed plan to “cull the ranks of the disabled in our society” through the rising number of abortions that result from the tests.

The language is brutal (and, in point of fact, truthful) but more than that, it is Mr Santorum’s righteousness that risks alienating him from the popular mind.

Unlike the thrice-married Mr Gingrich (his fellow Catholic candidate) Mr Santorum is no hypocrite, which is exactly my point. I rather like hypocrites, I find them comforting since they remind me of myself and almost everyone else I know.

But Mr Santorum is moral tungsten. He has a child, Bella, with the usually-fatal genetic disorder Trisomy 18 and six other living children to prove that he has always practiced what the Catholic church preaches when it comes to contraception.

Were I a practicing Catholic I’m sure I’d admire Mr Santorum’s trueness to the teachings of Rome, but to me, even for Catholics, these must be intensely personal moral choices (particularly for women) and not the stuff of point-scoring on the campaign trail.

Personally, I can’t escape the whiff of the witch-hunt about Mr Santorum, who is of a breed of Catholic unfamiliar to us English: a man of the strictest Catholic theology (he’s a big fan of Opus Dei, for example, and sent his children to an Opus Dei affiliated school in Washington) whose message is transmitted through a distinctly evangelical amplifier.

Perhaps it is just my Benedictine education (even the monks at my school admitted they were scared of the Jesuits and their ‘pressure-cooker’ spirituality) but I’m afraid I can’t find much that’s terribly sympathetic or merciful in Mr Santorum, and I’m not sure that’s a particularly good quality in a man who wants to assume the awesome responsibilities of the US presidency.

Medicine and the War on Religion

For people who like political spin, President Obama’s “War on Religion” may seem like Valentine’s Day candy: it is flamboyantly packaged and there’s a lot less to it than meets the eye. The Republican pundits and presidential candidates claim that President Obama is disrespecting the first amendment by requiring Catholic Institutions (universities and hospitals, for example) to carry health insurance that covers birth control pills. American Catholic bishops argue that taking birth control pills is against the tenets of the Catholic faith and they should have the right to offer health insurance without that option.

The bishops have a point. The vast majority of Americans get their health insurance through their employer. The employer gets to decide which health insurance policies they will purchase and that in turn dictates the details of the plan such as which doctor they can see, how much their deductible costs and which, if any medications are covered under that plan. The individual patient has relatively little say in their own health care coverage — but you knew that. So why shouldn’t the Catholic Church dictate which health care plan they want to offer their employees? Isn’t President Obama stepping on the first amendment rights of the Catholic Church?

If you’ll forgive the pun, the devil is in the details. The First Amendment “prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion or impeding the free exercise of religion.” The amendment applies not only to religious entities such as the Catholic Church, but to individuals who wish to practice their religion as their conscience dictates.

Since Catholic hospitals and universities employ people of all faiths (it would be illegal to do otherwise) the Catholic bishops insistence on providing health insurance that is religiously biased is an infringement upon the freedom of religion of their employees.

The First Amendment was written because faith and the adherence to religious doctrines were often compulsory in the eighteenth century. Most modern religious leaders would agree that true faith is the product of personal choice, not coercion. It is archaic to ask a non-Catholic working at a Catholic hospital or university to pay more for birth control simply because their employer dictates it.

As a physician I have my own reasons for wanting the president to prevail on this issue. Currently, I have patients who have various types of insurers and many of those insurers have several types of “insurance products.” It is an absolute nightmare when it comes to prescribing medications. It is not unusual for different insurance “products” to covers different medication variants, leaving a doctor to write a prescription several times until they finally prescribe the right variant for that insurance “product.” Some insurers require prior authorization even to get a generic prescription. The bishops’ position will create another set of rules complicating an already muddled situation.

If the bishops prevail, will it stop there? Will the Bishops impose other restrictions on a doctor’s ability to see patients and prescribe medications? Will other groups be allowed to impose their restrictions on a physician’s ability to examine and diagnose patients? Should there be a separate set of rules for Muslims, Jews or Protestants? What about the patients themselves? When will they have a say about their health care?

With all the problems that the Catholic Church has had to face recently, it is surprising that American Catholic bishops should draw “a line in the sand” here. Recent polls show that the majority of Catholic women use birth control pills and disagree with the position taken by the Bishops. In over twenty years of practice, I’ve yet to meet a woman who told me: “No thanks, doc, I don’t want birth control, I’m a Catholic.” If a Catholic woman doesn’t want birth control pills, she shouldn’t get them, but she shouldn’t have to pay a penalty if she did simply because she worked at a Catholic hospital or university.

Spinning this issue into a “war on religion” might help stir the political base, but it sets a dangerous conflict between individuals and institutions. The United States has a predominantly privatized health care conglomeration. It is bloated and costly in part because of the fragmentation of the various entities involved. When our options become more consistent, it is easier to compare costs and remove unnecessary tests and medications. That, in turn, would give all of us more freedom and more capital.

James Fieseher MD
Portsmouth

Birth control politics and theology

I ended up concentrating on the politics of birth control in my column on the issue, since I was running out of space and I’m a lousy theologian.

I will note for the record that I had a long, pleasant lunch last week with a Catholic friend, who is seminary-trained and experienced working with the hierarchy, who strongly disagrees with me on this and many other political issues.  He was kind enough to give me a book explaining Church teachings  on 12 tough issues, including contraception and homosexuality.  I remain unconvinced, mostly because it seems to rest, like most religious arguments, on the “proof” that the Bible tells me so. Frankly, that doesn’t carry a lot of intellectual weight with me.

I will share one theological note that I ended up cutting from a column that was still too long.  As he was explaining that the Church’s teachings on contraception were based on the idea that one should not artificially interfere with the natural process of reproduction, my friend confessed the reservation that “tooth decay is a natural process too, but the Church doesn’t tell us not to get cavities filled.”

In any event, Garry Wills is better versed in Catholic theology than I’ll ever be. He effectively debunks the position of the U.S. bishops here, in Latin where necessary, concluding that the bishops are looking for “religious dictatorship, not religious freedom.”