Pope Francis Condemns the Cult of Greed, Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan Support It

by Brent Budowsky

In recent remarks that were stunning and profound, Pope Francis harshly criticized what he called “the cult of money” and condemned what he called the “dictatorship” of economies that are socially unjust and morally unfair.

These remarks, reported in The Daily Telegraph and highlighted on the Drudge Report (but not in major American media) suggest a papacy with the potential to transform the global economic and financial debate.

Most recent popes, including Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict, raised the same issues that Francis dramatized this week. What makes the Holy Father different today is that he views economic and social injustice as a defining, and possibly THE defining, theme of his papacy.

This is extraordinary, powerful and profound. There are profound differences between the policies of President Obama and Democrats versus the policies proposed by the atheist Ayn Rand and conservative voices such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rep. Paul Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Republican leaders in Congress.

Francis suggests there should be far more economic and social justice regarding the wealthy and everyone else within the leading industrial nations, and between the leading industrial nations and poorer nations throughout the world.

There is a debate raging in Washington, across Europe and throughout the world pitting the right, which favors cruel austerity at a time of slow growth and high joblessness, versus progressives and moderates who believe harsh austerity today is economically disastrous and morally repellant.

The pope specifically calls on world leaders to address the great economic and financial injustices, and I agree with him completely. The pope uses words like “cult” and “dictatorship” to describe the champions of financial justice and the conditions their policies create, and I fully agree with him about this, as well.

Francis has also put his money where his mouth is. The Vatican Bank has already announced new openness and reforms at his direction, which should interest opponents of financial reform in America, Britain and elsewhere. Paul Ryan is a fervent disciple of Ayn Rand, who was the atheist champion of the culture of greed.

Ryan famously tried to employ Catholic theology on behalf of his budget austerity against the poor, and was quickly forced to retreat as the absurdity of this view became obvious. Various rightist and Republican voices have championed aspects of the cult of money, including Cruz, Ryan, Rand Paul, Ron Paul, Republican leaders in Congress and Mitt Romney, who famously ridiculed and demeaned much of the nation on video, championing the cult of money to a room of Republican donors whose money he sought.

It is ironic that these profound and important views of the Holy Father have so far received more attention from the Drudge Report than the leading newspapers of America, the network television news, or cable networks with so much airtime to put to work.

The BBC, Al-Jazeera, The Daily Telegraph and other international media have respected and reported the profound thoughts from Francis, which deserve far more attention here, which is why I write these words today.

Let us advance this great discussion to the center of politics and media throughout America and across the world. For those who disagree with my views, or for whatever reason continue to champion the cult of money and greed, I command to their attention the recent comments from Francis and the timeless words of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Hill Magazine

Brent Budowsky is served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including one of the core drafters of the CIA Identities Law. Served as Legislative Director to Congressman Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip, House of Representatives. Currently a member of the International Advisory Council of the Intelligence Summit. Left government in 1990 for marketing and public affairs business including major corporate entertainment and talent management.
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Pope Francis condemns the cult of greed, Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan support it

In recent remarks that were stunning and profound, Pope Francis harshly criticized what he called “the cult of money” and condemned what he called the “dictatorship” of economies that are socially unjust and morally unfair.

These remarks, reported in The Daily Telegraph and highlighted on the Drudge Report (but not in major American media) suggest a papacy with the potential to transform the global economic and financial debate.

Most recent popes, including Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict, raised the same issues that Francis dramatized this week. What makes the Holy Father different today is that he views economic and social injustice as a defining, and possibly THE defining, theme of is papacy.

This is extraordinary, powerful and profound. There are profound differences between the policies of President Obama and Democrats versus the policies proposed by the atheist Ayn Rand and conservative voices such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rep. Paul Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Republican leaders in Congress.

Francis suggests there should be far more economic and social justice regarding the wealthy and everyone else within the leading industrial nations, and between the leading industrial nations and poorer nations throughout the world.

There is a debate raging in Washington, across Europe and throughout the world pitting the right, which favors cruel austerity at a time of slow growth and high joblessness, versus progressives and moderates who believe harsh austerity today is economically disastrous and morally repellant.

The pope specifically calls on world leaders to address the great economic and financial injustices, and I agree with him completely. The pope uses words like “cult” and “dictatorship” to describe the champions of financial justice and the conditions their policies create, and I fully agree with him about this, as well.

Francis has also put his money where his mouth is. The Vatican Bank has already announced new openness and reforms at his direction, which should interest opponents of financial reform in America, Britain and elsewhere. Paul Ryan is a fervent disciple of Ayn Rand, who was the atheist champion of the culture of greed.

Ryan famously tried to employ Catholic theology on behalf of his budget austerity against the poor, and was quickly forced to retreat as the absurdity of this view became obvious. Various rightist and Republican voices have championed aspects of the cult of money, including Cruz, Ryan, Rand Paul, Ron Paul, Republican leaders in Congress and Mitt Romney, who famously ridiculed and demeaned much of the nation on video, championing the cult of money to a room of Republican donors whose money he sought.

It is ironic that these profound and important views of the Holy Father have so far received more attention from the Drudge Report than the leading newspapers of America, the network television news, or cable networks with so much airtime to put to work. 

The BBC, Al-Jazeera, The Daily Telegraph and other international media have respected and reported the profound thoughts from Francis, which deserve far more attention here, which is why I write these words today. 

Let us advance this great discussion to the center of politics and media throughout America and across the world. For those who disagree with my views, or for whatever reason continue to champion the cult of money and greed, I command to their attention the recent comments from Francis and the timeless words of the Sermon on the Mount. 

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Ahiara Diocese: Time For Truce

Ahiara Diocese: Time For Truce  

Published on May 16, 2013 by pmnews   ·   No Comments

By Peter Claver Oparah

When he entered the conclave, in the wake of the historical resignation of Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, Pope Francis (then Cardinal Bergoglio), like the nearly 120 Cardinals that made up the conclave, went with his little briefcase containing essentials he may need for the period of time the conclave will last. This was televised live to the entire world. Since  he emerged, after two days, as Pope Francis, no one has known or seen him go back to his native Argentina, either to take his personal belongings or check on his father’s heirloom, lands and estates. Recall that Pope Emeritus Benedict had not visited his native Germany since he voluntarily abdicated the Papacy on February 28. He may not even visit Germany again in his life time as he lives in a sequestrated monastery at the Vatican. The late Pope John Paul II lost his last earthly close relative, his father, when he was barely eighteen. This was after the death of his brother Edward but he went on to become a priest and reached the very zenith of priesthood, which is the Papacy. At his death in 2005, he was known not to have left any earthly possession except his private mails, which he instructed his Secretary to burn at his death. He was not known to have gone to his native Poland to inspect or supervise his family estate, lands or businesses.

That is how it is for every Catholic priest. He is ordained for the Church and exists for the Church. By Church, I mean the Holy Catholic Church and not the church where he is born or is raised. By my understanding, a Catholic priest can be called upon to work anywhere his services are needed. He exists and lives his life at the behest of the Church, exercised through the delegated authority of the local ordinary, which is the Bishop of the Diocese where he works. A priest can work for a diocese other than the one he is born into. That becomes his diocese and if he dies, he is buried there. He may be required to work in a different diocese from the one he is born and where duty calls, he moves without question. He belongs to that diocese for life and when he dies, he will be buried in that diocese as his body may not even be laid in state in the diocese of his origin. A priest, on ordination, takes the vow of poverty, obedience and chastity. This forbids him from owning properties, estates, wives, children or heirlooms or to inherit his father’s estates or properties.   As it is with priests, so it is with bishops and even the Pope. While a priest, he is expected to live on the goodwill of the Church and the community of the faithful. That is the rule for Bishops and even the Pope.

This is why I find really disturbing the on-going slugfest over who should succeed the late Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe as the Catholic Bishop of Ahiara (Mbaise) Diocese. Since this battle was kicked off with the announcement of Msgr. Peter Ebele Okpalaeke as the second bishop of Ahiara, and the rejection by a section of the Catholic community in the diocese, I had maintained a studied silence over the issue. I had rather decided to study and perhaps learn more from that issue than interfere but above all, I prayed silently and wished that the combatants will do their best and let the wheel of progress roll on. Since the issue started, I had read extensively  the submissions of the section of Mbaise people that rejected the appointment of Okpalaeke and the often engaging, deep and incisive reactions from others, mainly Catholic priests, from outside the diocese. Curiously, as I read, I had not found any opinion or any voice outside Mbaise support the rejection of Okpalaeke.

In all I read, I had been nit picking to see where any egregious infraction that impedes the choice of Okpalaeke could be advertised. I had read deeper to see if there is any impediment that would prevent him from being a Catholic bishop to the faithful of Ahiara diocese. I had searched for any hefty indiscretion that endangers his capacity to be an effective bishop for the people of Ahiara diocese. I believe such indiscretion should be founded on very strong reasons to sustain any strong opposition against his candidacy for the Bishopric as being touted by a section of the Catholic community and the huge number of non Catholics that have tapped into this issue for reasons best known to them. Curiously, I have not seen any such malfeasance. I have not seen any scandal and I have not seen any dent in the tons of paid adverts, features and opinions sent forth by those who have sworn that Okpalaeke will not be Bishop of Ahiara. In fact, in its first noted public statement on the rejection, these combatants made up of some priests and lay faithful have said they were not opposing Msgr. Okpalaeke’s candidacy as an attack against him as they said they found nothing wrong about him as a person. So what is firing the unusual obduracy so far displayed by these people?

They said they will never accept Okpalaeke because he is not from Ahiara, that he is from Anambra and they have gone further to allege what they call a deliberate policy of forcing Anambra priests on many dioceses in and outside the East. They have gone further to say that Okpalaeke is not qualified to shepherd the teeming faithful in Ahiara because, as they put it, he doesn’t speak our language or understand our culture. In a nutshell, these form the corpus of their opposition. I have continued to search for more beefy reasons to tag along them and have found out that the many press statements and features they have brought out on this issue revolve around these issues. Strictly speaking, and in line with Catholic traditions, are these weighty enough to disallow Okpalaeke from being Bishop of Ahiara? I don’t think so. Given historical evidences and with our knowledge of the Catholic priesthood and the general history of the Catholic Church, are these sufficient reasons to withdraw the candidacy of Msgr. Okpalaeke? I don’t think so and I feel that those that are sworn to the opposition of Msgr. Okpalaeke’s candidacy should advance further reasons to ground their positions.

I am a Catholic from Ahiara diocese and I remain in full communion with the Catholic Church. To be fair to it, the Catholic Church has had least considerations for place of origin in deciding where its priests or bishops work. Why should it when it professes one Faith, one Baptism and one Father who is God? A priest once ordained becomes a member of the church. It does not assign roles to its priests on consideration of where one comes from. In other words, when ordained, a Catholic priest is primed to work in any part of the world. It may be true that most bishops particularly in the Eastern parts of the country are from Anambra, as insinuated by those that oppose Msgr. Okpalaeke. It may be true that Msgr. Okpalaeke was favoured over priests from Ahiara, in consideration for who succeeds Bishop Chikwe. It is true that Ahiara has one of the highest density of Catholic priests in Nigeria.

It is true that Ahiara has one of the highest density of Catholics in Nigeria. These facts have been well rehearsed by those that want someone from Ahiara as the next bishop of Ahiara. However, none of these facts dents the suitability of Okpalaeke for the Bishop of Ahiara. None is weighty enough to disqualify him for the position and those opposing him, especially the priests among them, know this fact. Okpalaeke is a priest of the Catholic Church and that qualifies him to be bishop of any diocese in the world. It is trite to insist that it must be ‘our son’ or nobody else as the provocateurs of the succession crisis in Ahiara are insisting. Their position finds no known anchor in the ordinances, practices and authorities of the Catholic Church. It is alien to the Church and that is why Ahiara priests work all over the globe.

Coming nearer home, it is an incontestable fact that more than sixty five per cent of Catholic bishops in Nigeria work in dioceses other their diocese of origin. It is an incontestable fact that more priests from Ahiara’s rich pool of priests work in several dioceses all over the world and in different religious congregations. If these were true, how can those opposed to Okpalaeke justify their position on the flimsy basis of ‘he is from Anambra’ or ‘he does not speak our language’ or ‘he does not understand our culture’? Okpalaeke, on my last check is Igbo, he speaks Igbo and is part of that culture, even when we insists that the Church is not a cultural platform. Igbo is a uniform people, with a single culture and language, albeit with slight dialectical variations so it is an abomination to hurl those charges on Igbo just because you want to strengthen a weak point. So if we must disallow Okpalaeke from Bishop of Ahiara on these flimsy grounds, what happens to the multitude of Ahiara born priests working in various parts of the world? Deport them to come and become parts of the okpulo inheritance syndrome that is firing the present tussle?

I know that the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, as a group and individually, has worked round the clock to solve this issue. I know that respectable Priests and Bishops have made rounds to Mbaise to clear this mess. But after each intervention, all you get is one belly-churning publication or the other, alleging injustice and name calling. I have tried my utmost best to understand the grouse of these agitators beyond the flabby articulation put forth so far. It is just repetition of why it should be ‘one of us of no other person’ and when you press it further, everything is collapsed into the magic word, ‘injustice’ and you begin to wonder if the issue is really about injustice. If it is, why is it that more than 65 per cent of Catholic Bishops in Nigeria work in dioceses outside their diocese of origin? When had justice in the Catholic Church been watered down to restricting priests and bishops to their home dioceses?

As it is, by the appointment of Okpalaeke as Bishop of Ahiara, he automatically becomes a citizen of Ahiara. If and when he dies, he would be buried in Ahiara and this conforms to the practice of the Catholic Church so why are we breaking our heads over nothing? Why have we willingly allowed agent provocateurs, fifth columnists into our barn such that they make rounds vilifying the Catholic Church and treating its traditions and practices to trampling? I ask this because I found out that those who have been most fanatical in this warfare are non-Catholics, self confessed traditionalists, people of doubtful Catholicity and those who have publicly renounced their communion with the Catholic Church. They have been carrying on as if their lives rest on the appointment of an Mbaise man as Bishop of Ahiara and shockingly, they are in cahoots with a section of priests and lay Catholics.

I do not see the protest of a section of Ahiara priests and lay faithful to Okpalaeke’s emergence as out of place. It  is natural and should be limited to protests from which some useful lessons should be drawn. But then, they missed the opportunity to press the finest point in their position, which I believe, is asking why Mbaise priests cannot be Bishop of other dioceses. What prevents an Mbaise priest from being the Bishop of Awka or even the Archbishop of Onitsha when these positions become vacant? This was a beautiful ground the agitators for a native Bishop for Ahiara missed in the pent up obduracy to insist they must have their way.

I feel the church however takes note of this salient point and move on. Those who are agitating for a native bishop should rest their war machine and work for the progress of the church. All those who are engaged in this battle should call the truce and embrace peace so that we all will further the ends of development for the diocese and Mbaise land. Equally, those on the other side who are murmuring that ‘they rejected our son’ are misguided because they did not take into consideration the sentiments of a people just coming in contact with such succession reality.

We should put this squabble behind us because it is meaningless. Let us embrace Msgr. Okpalaeke as our brother and put forth our well known Mbaise warmth and conviviality to him. I know my people are capable of this and know when to end a battle. Let the new Bishop start his work, with an urgent mission to pursue reconciliation and peace among the fractious divisions that have developed amongst our people. Let all hands get on the deck and let everybody put the past behind to work for our people. Welcome, Msgr. Peter Ebele Okpalaeke to Ahiara Mbaise and long may your reign be!

•Oparah wrote from Lagos. •E-mail:peterclaver2000@yahoo.com

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Steve’s sharing the sounds of his faith

Published: 19 May 2013

Evangelising: US speaker and worship leader Steve Angrisano singing in Brisbane last week

US speaker and worship leader Steve Angrisano finished his Brisbane-exclusive tour this week.

EMILIE NG caught up with Steve before his Monday night concert, Set Free, to chat about music, life and being a Catholic missionary

IF there was one word to describe Catholic musician Steve Angrisano, it would be “alive”.

He is a man who lives off the joy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and, as a result, is alive and full of the love of Christ.

The Texan embodies the great motivation of Blessed Pope John Paul II, who proclaimed, “We are an Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”

Steve’s principal ministry is sharing the Catholic faith using music and storytelling (specifically with the aid of his Takamine guitar) which he calls “a product of the new evangelisation”.

“I think the new evangelisation gives it a name, and it calls us to new methods, and new approaches to share our faith, but it’s the same faith,” he said.

“The faith is not changing at all, but we are finding ways to reach out to people and allow them to experience it.

“I think what I’m doing is very much a fruit of that spirit that’s moving in the larger Church, and I feel very blessed to do this.”

Last week, Steve brought his energetic and moving ministry to parishes and youth leaders across Brisbane archdiocese.

His performances are a blend of prayers, music, and hand actions, but the most compelling part is his stories, which range from the 12-year-long miracle adoption of his third child, to witnessing the Sisters of the Disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ publically evangelise at a diner in Amarillo, Texas.

His busy schedule as a married man with three kids doesn’t allow much room for extended overseas trips, and his loyalty to his family meant he could only manage a Brisbane tour.

“The truth is, my own son is graduating this year and this weekend is a pretty big weekend for him, and he’s winning some pretty big awards back home,” he said.

“There was a possibility to go to Sydney for the weekend but I didn’t want to miss the things from my own family, so just kept it to Brisbane this time.”

At his live performances and workshops, there’s an immediate sense of Steve’s humility before God, not only from the stories he shares, but also from the prayerfulness of his music.

For Steve, his concerts are not about him, but about increasing his faith experiences.

“If you really don’t engage with your heart, and you just kind of do your thing and then leave, you’re really just having a near-faith experience, that is, you’re around people who are really experiencing it,” he said.

“I try really hard not to do that, but to really engage – to pray when everyone’s praying, or to sing when they’re singing.

“I feel very blessed that there’s a richness in my faith that comes from being in all these big events that people are gathered so it is definitely real significant faith experiences for me.”

The future for Steve lies in Nashville, where he will spend some time recording his new album, due out in November.

“It takes about three trips for me to finish one and about every three years or so, so we’re right in the midst of one now,” he said.

Exhibit honors life of Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day

To extend the legacy of Dorothy Day on Marquette’s campus, the Raynor Library Archives is sponsoring an exhibit designed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the first publication of the Catholic Worker, the newspaper Day helped found.

The exhibit also celebrates the Catholic Worker Movement begun by Day and a French peasant philosopher Peter Maurin.

Day, a controversial figure in Catholic Church history, is best known for her work in New York with the Catholic Worker Movement, which focused on non-violence and hospitality to the poor. Pope John Paul II gave the Archdiocese of New York permission in 2000 to open the cause for her canonization in the Church, which allows her to be called a “Servant of God” by Catholics.

The Dorothy Day Exhibit was inspired by a documentary entitled “Dorothy Day: Don’t Call Me a Saint,” which was written, produced and directed by Claudia Larson. Larson, who also conceived and designed the exhibit, worked on the documentary for 15 years before its world premiere at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival in 2006.

“I often say that it’s as though Dorothy Day walked up my front steps, knocked on my door, I answered,” said Larson. “She’s been here pushin’ ‘n proddin’ me for over 22 years.”

Larson has been interested in Day her whole life, but was especially inspired by stories about Day at the Movement’s 60th anniversary celebration in New York in 1993, which was an opportunity to meet some of Day’s oldest friends from the Catholic Worker. There, she spent time with Phil Runkel, an archivist in Raynor Memorial Library who is responsible for the Catholic social action holdings at Marquette. She also said she is working on a book based on transcripts from her interviews about Day.

“It is a rare privilege to have this collection of documents at Marquette because they present a significant contribution to and perspective on the history of the Catholic Church in the United States,” said Susan Mountin, the director of Manresa for Faculty in the Center for Teaching and Learning and an adjunct assistant professor in the theology department.

The exhibit features many documents from Raynor Memorial Library’s archives as well as some of Day’s personal items. It is designed to give the Marquette community a chance to explore details about Day’s life and experiences, and to see the impact of the Catholic Worker.

“This exhibit is a great visual kick-start to further study of Dorothy Day,” Larson said.

Marquette also hosts a student program for sophomores called the Dorothy Day Social Justice Living Learning Community. Students participating in the program live on two floors of Straz Tower and do many things together such as take a class each semester (Philosophy 1001 and Philosophy 2310), a pair of retreats, and service learning.

Maddie Chouanard, a junior in the College of Arts Sciences, was in the program last semester and is an RA on the Dorothy Day floor. She said that being in the community forced her to re-evaluate her plans.

“It changed my perspective,” Chouanard said. “(The program) has become a large part of my life now.”

Chouanard said service learning allows the students to connect with the community. The students attend the same sites throughout the year.

Day, who underwent a major transformation during her conversion to Catholicism, is known for pushing for major reforms in the Church.

“Dorothy Day was inspired by the Gospel stories about Jesus and looked to what he said and did as the guide to her life,” Mountin said. “She had an incredibly deep love of the Catholic Church, but from that love she also critiqued the institution when it did not live up to the standards of Jesus.”

The exhibit will be on display through at least the end of the semester.

“The ease in which the exhibit is laid out makes for a casual, but profound, learning tool,” Larson said.

Pope Francis trinkets sell briskly near Vatican

VATICAN CITY |
Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:45pm IST

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Less than 48 hours after his surprise election, Pope Francis’s smiling face adorns pendants and devotional souvenir cards packaged with rosaries at the trinket stands near St. Peter’s Square.

Small plastic bags containing a picture of Francis and a rosary – a string of prayer beads – were selling for 7 euros ($9) at Antonio Cardone’s stand and postcards showing the new pontiff were selling briskly at 50 cents.

“We expect more stuff to arrive in the coming days,” said Cardone. “Especially when he’s officially installed on Tuesday.”

Another stallholder, Stefano Di Segni, said his suppliers were scrambling to meet demand now that uncertainty had ended over who would succeed after the abdication of Benedict XVI.

Nearby, outside a Vatican City bookshop, tourists were swarming around posters with the face of the new pope on one side and excerpts from his first address on the other. Inside, they were buying Pope Francis pendants and holy cards.

Di Segni said the most popular item on his stall was still a rosary set with an image of Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005.

But he said Francis, the former Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, had the potential to become as revered as his much-loved Polish predecessor, who reigned for 27 years.

“I think he’s going to be a good pope,” said Di Segni, who has run trinket stands around the Vatican for 30 years.

“He was very emotional when he spoke for the first time, so different from Benedict, who was more cold and reserved.”

(Reporting By Catherine Hornby; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Books will help readers explore world of popes

Books will help readers explore world of popes

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By Therese O’Halloran

Kenosha Public Library

With extensive media coverage of the recent resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and election and installation of Pope Francis, inquiring minds want to know: Who are the men who wield power within the Catholic Church, why do the internal workings of one religion demand such world-wide attention, what is the history and the future of the Church in the Americas and world-wide, what do Catholics believe and why, etc.

The Kenosha Public Library houses an extensive collection of materials to answer these questions and more, many written in very readable and intriguing styles.

“Chronicle of the Popes” is a chronological, “Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacy” beginning with St. Peter and continuing through Pope John Paul II. This well-illustrated history of the popes, the Catholic Church, and its influence on world history, can be read beginning to end, or used as a reference source for information about various popes and the times in which they ruled. “A History of the Popes from Peter to the Present” by John W. O’Malley explores in more depth not only the history of the papacy but its involvement in and influence on world events.

For some true-life espionage and intrigue, check out Eric Frattini’s “The Entity: Five Centuries of Secret Vatican Espionage.” The author claims the Vatican has used the Holy Alliance, now known as the Entity, as its own secret service and through it has been deeply involved in international intrigue, assassinations, money-laundering, manipulations of financial markets, and more.

Another fascinating book is John L. Allen Jr.’s “Opus Dei,” which claims to be “an objective look behind the myths and reality of the most controversial force in the Catholic Church.” The organization that played such a major part in Dan Brown’s “Da Vinci Code” is examined in detail.

To get a fuller, balanced view of the church, read Thomas E. Woods Jr.’s “How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization.” It extols the influence the Church has had in science, law, art, music, economics, and education, and gives credit to the Church for ensuring the survival of western Civilization as we know it.

The “Catholicism Answer Book: The 300 Most Frequently Asked Questions about the Church” by the Rev. John Trigilio Jr. and the Rev. Kenneth Brighenti answers in concise sections questions about Catholic theology, Sacraments, history, and practices — interesting reading for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Finally, for the armchair traveler, “The Vatican Revealed” is an AE documentary DVD covering Vatican City itself, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and many more beautiful sites. If you wish you had been in Rome for recent events, enjoy this visual tour.

Off the Shelves is published Sundays. Each week a different Kenosha Public Library or Community Library staff member organizes reviews of a handful of books (all centered around a certain theme) available through the library system.

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Science, Catholicism and the Papacy in the New Millennium

Experiencing three popes inside of 10 years prompts reflection on continuity and change in one of the world’s longest surviving institutions. From my perspective at the National Center for Science Education, it’s interesting to consider papal involvement in science, especially with regard to contemporary issues of central importance, such as an evolutionary perspective on the universe.

From its earliest centuries Roman Catholicism has enjoyed a complex engagement with science, detailed by many scholars in excellent work over the last 30 years (for a synthesis see Allen and Hess, “Catholicism and Science“.) For the past century and a half the Catholic Church has been assimilating the theory of evolution, and the current generation of Catholic scholars — along with their Protestant colleagues — are integrating Christian theology into a comprehensive evolutionary worldview.

Pope Pius XII cautiously endorsed the study of biological evolution in his encyclical letter Humani Generis (1950), although he placed the study of the human person off limits, declaring that each soul is created immediately by God (paragraph 36). Pope John Paul II broadened the papal acceptance of evolution in his 1996 message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, declaring that “new scientific knowledge has led us to the conclusion that the theory of evolution is no longer a mere hypothesis.”

John Paul II’s principal theological advisor was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, whom he named prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981. Cardinal Ratzinger wrote an insightful theological reflection on the early chapters of the Book of Genesis, in which he noted that “the Holy Scripture in its entirety was not written from beginning to end like a novel or a textbook. It is, rather, the echo of God’s history with his people” (“In the Beginning…”: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall).

In 2002 Ratzinger gave his imprimatur to the scientific account of evolution, at least in broad outline, in “Communion and Stewardship,” a work authored by the International Theological Commission:

There is general agreement … that the first organism dwelt on this planet about 3.5-4 billion years ago. Since it has been demonstrated that all living organisms on earth are genetically related, it is virtually certain that all living organisms have descended from this first organism. Converging evidence from many studies in the physical and biological sciences furnishes mounting support for some theory of evolution to account for the development and diversification of life on earth. (Paragraph 67)

Tacitly moving beyond the cautious position outlined in Humani Generis, Ratzinger wrote about human evolution that

While the story of human origins is complex and subject to revision, physical anthropology and molecular biology combine to make a convincing case for the origin of the human species in Africa about 150,000 years ago in a humanoid population of common genetic lineage.

When he was elected pope, Benedict XVI endorsed a major conference during the Darwin bicentennial year (2009) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, on the theme of “Evolution: Facts and Theories.” This conference drew hundreds of scientists, theologians, philosophers and historians — of all faiths and none — to Rome to discuss state-of-the-art theories on evolution and its theological interpretation. Important questions remain, of course, such as the nature and origin of the human “soul” in light of evolutionary biology, and this conference made ample room for such discussion.

However, despite this solid support by recent popes for understanding of our ancient, dynamic and evolving universe, there remain within the Catholic Church elements that are intransigently opposed to modern science. The oddly-named Kolbe Center in Virginia is a young earth creationist group committed to defending “the literal and obvious sense of Scripture” as upheld by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical letter Providentissimus Deus (1893). Not only do the Kolbe Center rival Protestant fundamentalists in rejecting the evolutionary assumptions of modern biology, but they also pretend that “the modern ‘anti-culture of death’ grew out of the macro-evolutionary theory” — a typical piece of bombastic creationist illogic.

The influence of Kolbe Center apologetics underlies a turgid volume written by Victor P. Warkulwiz, M.S.S., “The Doctrines of Genesis 1-11: A Compendium and Defense of Traditional Catholic Theology of Origins” (2007). This book is breathtaking in its misappropriation of science to further the preposterous claim that the book of Genesis is a literal account both of the formation of earth and universe, and of such events as a worldwide flood survived by Noah and his family and animals in the ark. Warkulwiz writes approvingly of geocentrist Robert Sungenis who argues in “Galileo Was Wrong” that the Church made a monstrous mistake in caving in to the theory of Copernicus and Galileo. We know that the Earth sits at the very center of the universe!

The foreword of The Doctrines of Genesis was written by Catholic Bishop Robert F. Vasa, who, despite having an advanced degree, was deceived into believing that the earth is of very recent creation. It is lamentable and an embarrassment to Catholicism that the scientific ignorance of layman, priest and bishop alike should be broadcast so publicly in such anachronistic books.

Nevertheless, the Church continues to support the science it has helped foster since the foundation of the first papal observatory hundreds of years ago. While as yet we know little about Pope Francis’ views on specific scientific theories, we do know that he has studied and taught chemistry, and that his homilies reflect a solid understanding of the importance of ecological diversity. At his consecration Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on March 19, Francis spoke about that the vocation of being a protector as a basic human obligation.

“It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live … In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!”

I am deeply hopeful that a pope who speaks so eloquently about protecting the fragility of creation likewise respects the science that has made it possible for us to learn so much about the natural world on which we all depend for life.

Letters on Catholic faith, Second Amendment – Longview News

Yes, faith can be lived

Thank you for publishing Kathleen Parker’s and Ross Douthat’s columns regarding the papacy (Opinion, March 13, March 19). It was refreshing reading a commonsense defense of the papacy and the Catholic Church from a non-Catholic secular journalist like Parker. What Douthat wrote was nearly all true, but his article unwittingly exposed a more profound and consequential truth.

As the 265th successor of St. Peter, Pope Francis’ sole responsibility is to safeguard the gifts of truth, life and union Jesus has given only to His Catholic Church. In other words, on the chair of St. Peter, Pope Francis is to be the guardian of the church’s infallible teachings regarding faith and morals, and the dispensing of God’s graces through the sacraments. That is the pope’s task regardless of his personal sanctity or organizational aptitude.

Our task as Christians is to be obedient children who, with faith, hope and love live out what our Holy Father safeguards. But our society, our culture, even most Catholics like disobedient kids want to find excuses for their bad behavior. Even the immense sanctity, heroic virtue, and towering intellect of Blessed Pope John Paul II did not persuade many Western Catholics, to obey the Church’s teachings, especially those regarding sexuality and the sanctity of life, or reverse our society’s slide into the abyss of moral relativism, secularism and all of the other evil isms.

Which brings me back to Douthat’s final question. Absolutely, the Catholic faith can be lived, but it is very difficult, and glorious.

- Kevin McQuaid, Longview

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What happens then?

The common belief that so-called “assault weapons” can hold larger magazines than hunting rifles is incorrect. Any gun that can hold a magazine can hold one of any size. That is true for handguns as well as rifles. A magazine, essentially a metal box with a spring, is fairly easy to make and virtually impossible to stop criminals from obtaining.

A claim of the anti-gun lobby is that the Founding Fathers never intended that individuals should be armed, they only intended for the Second Amendment to apply to a militia such as the National Guard. The Second Amendment reads as follows: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The self-proclaimed interpreters of the Constitution also ignore that the Second Amendment’s specific reference to “the right of the people” appears in the Forth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments as well, and the courts have ruled repeatedly these rights belong to individuals.

Since the Federal Assault Weapons Ban sunset in 1994, murder and overall violent-crime rates have fallen. In 2003, the last full year before the law expired, the U.S. murder rate was 5.7 per 100,000 people, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report. By 2011, the murder rate fell to 4.7 per 100,000 people. One should also bear in mind that just 2.6 percent of all murders are committed using any type of rifle.

If more gun control is the answer and our Second Amendment freedom is to be legislated away, what happens when criminals are the only one’s able to obtain firearms?

- David Barnette, Hallsville

Archbishop praises selection of Pope

Editors Note: The following is printed with permission from the Archdicese of San Antonio and is the official statement of Archbishop Gustavo Garca-Siller regarding the Papal selection of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the Holy Father of the Catholic Church.

The election of Pope Francis is a significant moment in the history of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglios selection is a sign of the faith that unites us, especially we who live in the three Americas. Born in Argentina, he is the first South American Pope and is a sign that the faith of Catholics extends beyond national and ethnic boundaries.
Our new Pope is the first Jesuit priest to be elevated to the papacy. The religious order that formed him was dedicated to the protection of the Pope and the integrity of the faith.
Pope Francis showed his humble and pastoral character when, before he gave his first papal blessing to the world, he asked for the prayers and blessing of the people. In the silent prayer of that moment was written the beginning of a new chapter in the future of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis has a history of speaking courageously for Catholic values and has been a voice for the poor and marginalized, the value of every human life, and the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church. He was ordained a bishop and made a cardinal by Blessed Pope John Paul II, who inspired his spirit of the New Evangelization and love for Jesus Christ and His Church.
I ask all Catholics, and people of good will, to hold our new pope up in prayer so that he will be strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit. At this historic moment let us all offer our thanks to God for this inspired choice.
Archbishop Gustavo Garca-Siller