Baby Faith Dies at 93 Days

The story of Faith and her mother Myah is a story of unconditional love, even in the face of great suffering; it is a beautiful story of the triumph of life over death, of the culture of love over the culture of abortion. When Myah, a 23 year-old woman, was 19 weeks pregnant, doctors found out that her baby had no brain, a condition called anencephaly. She was told the baby would not survive, or would have serious seeing and hearing problems and die soon after birth. Needless to say, doctors pushed Myah for pregnancy termination from the very moment this problem was discovered. And pressures did not come only the first day, but every day of her pregnancy until she gave birth. Faith was born in good health conditions and lived for 93 days. She passed away Saturday, in the arms of her mother. You can see pictures of Faith and read about her difficult but always filled with love journey on Myah's blog:
http://babyfaithhope.blogspot.com/

As a mother who has lost a baby soon after birth due to pregnancy complications I know exactly what Myah went through. I was in the hospital for two months and not a day went by when doctors tried to convince me and my husband that termination was our best option. We were told at week 18 that we had no hope of carrying on the pregnancy. We made it to week 25! We were told that our baby, if born alive, would have serious malformations and seeing or hearing problems among others. We were told it would have been better to kill our baby than to bring her into the world with all these complications. After all, these would have complicated our lives, why doing that? Our baby, Elizabeth Ann, was born alive and was perfect. She came into the world only for a short time, but enough to touch the hearts of some of those people who saw us fighting day after day after day.

God had the same plan for baby Faith: bring her into the world so we could all be reminded of the sanctity of life of EVERY human being, witness the power of love, and recognize the absurdity and horror of abortion. I hope the story of Faith, like the story of many other babies around the world, will truly help us defeat the culture of death and spread a culture of life.

Bernanos on Imbeciles

“Experience has long since shown me that imbeciles are never simple and only rarely ignorant. Should the intellectual, then, by definition be suspect? For sure! When I say ‘intellectual’, I mean the person who gives himself this title by virtue of his accumulated knowledge and degrees. I am obviously not speaking of the scientist, the artist, or the writer, whose vocation it is to create and for whom intelligence is not a profession but a vocation. … The intellectual is so frequently an imbecile that we should always take him to be such until he has proved to us the contrary.”
La France contre les robots pg 181-182

“To be informed about everything and hence condemned to understand nothing: such is the fate of the imbeciles.”
La France contre les robots pg 205

Cardinal Ratzinger and Michael O'Brien on Thought Crimes and Truth

This interview with Michael O'Brien, taken from the Ignatius website, considers the C-250 bill passed in Canada that defines the Christian understanding of the person as a hate-crime.

Cardinal Ratzinger considers the relationship between truth and tolerance.


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Michael O' Brien on the role of the Catholic writer in restoring culture.
Part II
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End of Christianity in UK?

Pravda and Orwell in US Culture

Pravda examines the U.S. descent into totalitarianism. Ironically, this is taking place at the same time we are affirming our freedom.

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Father Michel Schooyans presents an paper at the latest Pontifical Council of Social Sciences meeting discussing the downfall into totalitarianism. I will try to get a hold of the paper and communicate more of its substance on this blog.

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Scalia considers the secular culture's dismissal of religion.

More on Christopher West's Nightline Interview

At the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, many critiques have originated concerning Christopher West’s understanding of John Paul II’s theology of the body. I have heard Michael Waldstein say that West expresses this theology with ‘pop-culture’ language. There are many graduates who know and understand the theology of the body better. David Schindler presents an interpretation of West’s Nightline interview that is important for those who approach the theology of the body through West’s presentation.

One can easily ascertain that West’s personal breakthrough in John Paul II’s theology came not from reading the theology of the body, but from his encounter with Love and Responsibility. If this is the case, he needs to be honest and properly attribute the source of his thought rather than attributing these thoughts to a much more important theological work.

The Faith Forms Culture

“'The West has to decide what weight faith should have in the public life of its citizens. It can’t remove the problem.' These sharp words, expressed by a Middle Eastern bishop at the OASIS International Scientific Committee gathering in Amman, have come to mind recently because of the lively debate in the media about the action of Christians in civil society, the dialogue between secular and Catholic exponents (a dialogue that according to some has reached the end of the line), the supposed defeat of Christianity, and the interference of churchmen in public vicissitudes–in a word, a debate about the style with which Catholics should intervene or not in delicate issues of our common life, such as those of bioethics. It seems to me that this debate often loses sight of the heart of the question: every faith is always subject to a public cultural interpretation. On the one hand, as John Paul II wrote, 'a faith that doesn’t become culture has not been fully embraced, has not been fully thought through, has not been faithfully lived.'"-Cardinal Angelo Scola, Patriarch of Venice (Traces March 2009 emphasis added).

These words of our beloved Pope John Paul II, as quoted by Cardinal Scola, remind us that the faith IS culture, or, that Christ is His own culture. If the faith does not become culture then it is not the real thing. So how does the faith become culture? By seeking Him who is above all things:

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth" (Col 3:1-2).

The transformation of culture takes place when the faithful sets their minds on the things above. It is only by this eschatological vision that the day to day is renewed. You have heard it said that one can be, "so heavenly minded they are no earthly good" but the Apostle says it is only by being heavenly minded that we are any earthly good. Does not our Lord say the same thing? "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

Let us look to the things above and in so doing the things below will be remade and the culture of Life will be formed, as the Psalmist says, "When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth" (104:30).

More on Europe

Abortion Laws

An Inconvenient Truth

Heirs to Fortuyn?

Morten Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium

Heavenly!

Song for Karol

Song For Karol from Mark Mallett on Vimeo.

Cardinal Arinze on Pro-Abortion Politicians

Orwell's Warning to the U.S. Congress

The "thought police" bill has passed the House.

See Orwell's 1946 essay "Politics and the English Language."

Fr Meinrad Miller on Fr. Giussani

Michael O'Brien's Letter to Artists

Michael O'Brien is a painter and writer who witnesses through beauty and poverty the wonders of Christ.

Pro-life Spot For American Idol Finale

The Super Bowl is the most watched TV show in the U.S. each year. This past January, Catholic Vote.org attempted to purchase, at regular commercial rates, sixty seconds for a very tasteful spot to be played during the Super Bowl. They were turned down by NBC.

The second most watched TV show each year, however, is the finale to American Idol. Fox TV has agreed to run the following Catholic Vote.org spot on the finale show next week (Wednesday, May 20).

Are You a Halfway Christian?

Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver, challenges Catholics and indeed all Christians, to live a new life in Christ. Powerful stuff.

Obama at Notre Dame

The Weekly Standard has an article that links Notre Dame's invitation to a cultural problem.

Notre Dame philosophy professor Ralph McInery writes that the university, “Notre Dame has forfeited its right to call itself a Catholic university."

ND law professor Charlie Rice writes "So the Obama Administration will fund the creation of new human beings by cloning for the purpose of killing them and using their stem cells for research... Our leaders ought not to act like the "good Germans," who were submissive to their Fuhrer, by conferring Notre Dame's highest honors on the perpetrator of such an atrocity."

Cardinal George states, "Notre Dame didn't understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation...'

Bishop Robert Morlino

Bishop Robert Baker

Bishop Thomas Olmsted calls Fr Jenkins guilty of a 'public act of disobedience.'

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Free Speech Dead at Notre Dame

The Theology of the Body on Nightline

Christopher West was on Thursday evening's Nightline. His fundamental openness to reality is extremely powerful and attractive.

Some Catholic theologians expressed warning about his presentation.

Historic Apologetic Debate

In line with the Mon Albacete – Hitchens debate, here is the transcript of the Copleston (S.J.) – Russell 1948 debate.

Background on Pope's Visit to Holy Land

Some hostility against the pope originated in fake western news stories in 2006.

The Growth of Secularism

The United States is joining the UN and EU in seeking to remove the Church from public life.

2009 Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences Meeting

The Holy Father’s address to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences encourages the Academy in their examination of ‘non-negotiable human rights which are founded in divine law’.

Mary Ann Glendon's address to Pope Benedict.

Simone Weil

We live in a world of unreality and dreams. To give up our imaginary position at the center, to renounce it, not only intellectually but in the imaginative part of our soul, that means to awaken to what is real and eternal, to see the true light and hear the true silence. A transformation then takes place at the very roots of our sensibility, in our immediate reception of sense impressions and psychological impressions. It is a transformation analogous to that which takes place in the dusk of evening on a road, where we suddenly discern as a tree what we had first seen as a stooping man; or where we suddenly recognize as a rustling of leaves what we thought at first was whispering voices. We see the same colors; we hear the same sounds, but not in the same way. To empty ourselves of our false divinity, to deny ourselves, to give up being the center of the world in imagination, to discern that all points in the world are equally centers and that the true center is outside the world, this is to consent to the rule of mechanical necessity in matter and of free choice at the center of each soul. Such consent is love.

When we have learned to look at perfect purity, the shortness of human life is the only thing to prevent us from being sure that unless we play false we can attain perfection here on earth. For we are finite beings and the evil that is within us is finite too. The purity that is offered to our eyes is infinite. However little evil we were to destroy at each look, we could be certain, if our time were unlimited, that by looking often enough, one day we should destroy it all. . . . It is however then that the act of looking is almost impossible. All the mediocre part of the soul, fearing death with a more violent fear than that caused by the approach of death of the body, revolts and suggests lies to protect itself.

There are people who try to raise their souls like a man continually taking standing jumps in the hopes that, if he jumps higher every day, a time may come when he will no longer fall back but will go right up to the sky. Thus occupied he cannot look at the sky. We cannot take a single step toward heaven. It is not in our power to travel in a vertical direction. If however we look heavenward for a long time, God comes and takes us up. He raises us up easily. As Aeschylus says, “There is no effort in what is divine.” There is an easiness in salvation which is more difficult to us than all our efforts.

From Waiting for God

Flannery Quote

“My cousin’s husband who also teaches at Auburn came into the Church last week. He had been going to Mass with them but never showed any interest. We asked how he got interested and his answer was that the sermons were so horrible, he knew there must be something else there to make people come…” Habit of Being, pg 348

Useful Tools for Those Praying the Offices

Two websites, Cyberhymnal, and Oremus Hymnal, contain hundreds of the tunes that are used in the Liturgy of the Hours as hymns for the various offices. Check them out.

Father James Dean to Enter Postulancy with the Benedictine Monks of Atchison, Kansas

A nice article from the Montgomery Advertiser. Be sure to click on the photos link to see pictures of the abbey.

John Waters, Cardinal Ratzinger, and Harry Potter

John Waters writes an article appealing to reason in the Church's judgment of Harry Potter. Walters admits that he reads Rowling’s books aloud to his children and does not find anything wrong with them. His article is a critique of Cardinal Ratzinger’s warning of the dangers in the Harry Potter series which consisted in a letter Ratzinger wrote affirming Gabriele Kuby’s book against Rowling's work. Waters argues that the Potter books have some good qualities and they cannot be dismissed and therefore there needs to be some assessment of Ratzinger’s letter. While the letter was not infallible, it was a rare example of Cardinal Ratzinger writing a public letter to support an author's critique of something accepted by the popular culture. No one would argue that Harry Potter is totally negative, there is something attractive in these works that appeals to the young. Nonetheless, not everything attractive is good. There is a grave danger in these works that Waters fails to consider. The problem is that it makes evil appear good and that it ultimately nihilistic.

Since education is an important element in Rowling’s works, examining her use of schooling can illustrate my problem with Waters' article. In the series, Potter never seems to learn anything but techniques that he can master to use as he wishes. There is no introduction to reality. The ultimate task is to provide tools to help Potter learn how to get what he wants. This illustrates a severe problem that cannot be overlooked merely because the subject is popular or interesting. If we consider the role of education, Rowling seems to accept a nihilistic worldview. Reality does not come before the subject in Harry Potter; instead the methods acquired in school allow him to change reality to suit his desires. There is nothing greater than the self in the series and therefore it is ultimately closed to reality.

The real danger with Harry Potter is that it makes nihilism appear attractive. If we compare Rowling to Flannery O’Connor, there is a profound difference. If we contrast Harry Potter to Hazel Motes in Wise Blood, Rowling’s character finds himself on the same road but does not travel as far. O’Connor presents Motes as someone who has lost his faith and takes this judgment to its logical conclusion. There are costs to his nihilistic choice. Motes finds himself in a place where he suffers a quick fall. As a result, he blinds himself and, surprisingly, he is able to see. This leads to his redemption. The transformation is never trivialized as Motes carries his past with him and does constant penance. O’Connor presents a character that embraces the post-Christian civilization around him and destroys himself in the process. This path is not an end, but leads to Christ. The problem with Harry Potter is that he accepts the same culture and the negative consequences never emerge in a transformative way. There is conflict that emerges, as it does in all nihilistic settings, but Potter never sees a way out or understands the cause. O'Connor takes Potter's world to its logical conclusion and the results are ugly. Rowling continues to present Potter as someone who finds fulfillent in a reality where happiness cannot be found. Rowling’s understanding of reality is inadequate and there is a wishful lie in her novels.

Dostoevsky’s works deal with the transformation from feudal to a modern society and the alienation it produces. In Crime and Punishment, we meet a former student called Raskolnikov who is poor and fatherless. In his alienation, he endeavors to murder an elderly woman and steal her money. After the crime, he is suspected by the police and ultimately confesses. He is helped by Sonya, a prostitute who believes in Christ, who ministers to him in the labor camp of Siberia. In the epilogue, Raskolnikov undergoes a transformation where he is given a new life through faith. The alienation he suffers in the first half of the book is the suffering all young Russians bear. While we do not expect Harry Potter to follow an identical plot, he is bound by the same reality. Since his education is merely the conferral of techniques, he is prevented from standing alone to confront his alienation. Rowling’s hero, like Raskolnikov, is fatherless (cultureless/reasonless) and lives a life similar to the Russian student. Magic provides Potter with a relief to temporality escape boredom, but this cannot alleviate his estrangement and he is never able to even glance redemption. Ultimately, Potter is not forced to confront reality and he delays the negative consequences of his choices. If he were real, he would face them. Since he is a fictional character, he is satisfied in a world without tradition, reason, or meaning. This would manifest itself with severe symptoms that would force him to examine his life to seek the ultimate cause.

There is a danger comparing Rowling to either O’Connor or Dostoevsky because there are temporal, cultural, and philosophic differences between the three authors. Still, the criticism of Rowling remains valid. She presents people along the way of the nihilist downfall without ever reaching the transformative climax. Perhaps it could be argued that she tries to present a world where people can be happy in a meaningless world. If this is her intention, she is deceiving readers and ignoring the consequences of her assumptions. It is dishonest to present a post-Christian world and disregard the emergent reality.


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Michael D. O'Brien has many articles examining Harry Potter including:
Harry Potter and “the Death of God”
Pope Benedict and Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Paganization of Children's Culture
Why Harry Potter Goes Awry: Zenit Interview
The Potter Controversy: or Why That Boy Sorcerer Just Won’t Go Away
Harry versus Frodo
Interview With Catholic World Report: Special Tolkien Issue


Rev. Gabriele Amorth on Harry Potter Novels

An Escape from Nihilism and Its Manifestation in the UK

There is an interesting book review on Sigred Undset's Back from the Future,
which is an account of the experience of her flight from Norway where she traveled across the Soviet Union to escape the German invasion. One observation is "Every ideology is ultimately a form of nihilism whose adherents worship death – of the body, of the community, of the culture, and of the tradition."
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The UK is forcing children to learn about homosexual sex. A particularly scary idea is, “Sexual health charities warned that allowing parents to opt out, even if it involved only a small number, was an infringement of young people’s rights.”

Pope's Talk to Representatives from the World of Culture

The talk Pope Benedict gave last September in Paris to representatives from the world of culture is worth reading.