Sunday, October 19, 2008

2008 Red Mass - October 30, 2008


















The St. Thomas More Society Lawyers' Chapter cordially invites you to its 50th anniversary Red Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

Procession of Judges—5:55 pm
Mass—6 pm
Reception & Dinner, The University
Club—immediately following Mass

Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
812 North Jackson Street, Milwaukee

The University Club
924 East Wells Street, Milwaukee
(complimentary parking available)

Last year, Archbishop Dolan preached at the national Red Mass.
See photo above: Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington accompanied Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. from the Cathedral of St. Matthew. Archb. Dolan is on the left.

Read about the 2008 DC Red Mass.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

Bring back Bonnie Prince Charlie


From the Daily Mail:

"
Britain's constitutional laws could be reformed to give women equal rights as men to ascend the throne, and to allow Roman Catholics to rule."

Hat tip to Jay Anderson.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Today on the St. Thoms More Society at Marquette blog

September 18, 2008: Feast of Saint Richardis of Swabia (Empress of the Holy Roman Empire).

Obscure legal term of the day...

Scandalum Magnum: In English law, the defamation of a great man such as a peer or high officer of state. Both a tort and a criminal offense until repealed in the 1887 Statute Law Revision Act.

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene...
-Controversy over a firing in the Diocese of Madison

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Catholic Vote in PA?

Every four years, it seems, the media gets the idea that Pennsylvania is the Fourth Rome. For some reason it is looked to as the very epicenter of the Catholic world and a sort of time capsule. It is a land where blue-collar types put in long hours at the steel mill, never miss Mass (said by a priest with an Irish brogue no doubt), and send their kids to parochial schools run by ruler-wielding nuns in full habits. Furthermore, everyone apparently thinks Al Smith or JFK is on the Democratic ticket. This image probably correlates to the last time anything resembling a significant number of members of the media were practicing Catholics and has been frozen in time ever since.

To be sure, the only time the media doesn't mock or downplay Catholic piety is when the slightest hint of it (and Mass attendence is a preety low bar to set) is being exhibited by conflicted, Democratic leaning, voters, in a swing state.

The New York Times tells us...

Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes

(Some excerpts and commentary, emphasis added.)

"...But then his local bishop plunged into the fray, barring Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, from receiving communion in the area because of his support for abortion rights..."

-This would seem to imply that Biden has formally been excommunicated, but since this is the New York Times I will wait for other confirmation of this.

"...Now Mr. Figured thinks he will vote for the Republican candidate, Senator John McCain of Arizona. “People should straighten out their religious beliefs before they start making political decisions,” Mr. Figured, 22, said on his way into Sunday Mass..."

-It is interesting how the younger people, the so called "John Paul II" generation, seem a lot less interested in going against the Bishops than the baby-boomers. Young people who stay in the Church when they see so many of their peers drop out (or more likely, raised largely outside of it) have much more of a "love it or leave it" attitude. Perhaps this is different than the "you can't leave!" mentality of the distant past, but certainly a breath of fresh air compared to the "I can change the Church to something that reflects what I want it to be" approach that was until recent years so dominant in the US.

"...The theological dispute is playing out in diocesan newspapers and weekly homilies, while the campaigns scramble to set up phone banks of nuns and private meetings with influential bishops..."

-If the previous post is any indication, the candidates aren't exactly in "scramble" mood. As for the nuns, one wonders if the sort of nuns who would phone-bank for a pro-choice candidate will even be around three or four election cycles down the road. Bishops speaking out on non-negotiable issues is a good thing, and a matter of duty. Nuns making calls at the county party headquarters seems to be in poor taste, at the very least.

"...planning to vote for Mr. Obama, some saying they sided with their labor unions instead of the church and others repeating liberal arguments about church doctrine broader than abortion..."

-Of course it's broader than that. The ocean is much broader than an iceberg too, but if you're on a collision course with one, it may take priority. As to the labor unions, I was unaware that Jesus had had a copy of those keys he entrusted to Peter made for the Teamsters.

"Susan Tighe, an insurance lawyer who identified herself as “a folk Catholic, from the guitar-strumming social-justice side” of the church..."

-This sounds like the Stockholm Syndrome and may be an opportune moment to thank His Holiness for Summorum Pontificum.

"...Mr. Madonna, the political scientist, said of the Catholic vote in white, working-class Scranton, 'This is a tough area for Obama and some of it is race....'"

-I have a feeling that the supposed wide-spread racism of white, working-class, Catholics that political scientists talk about has long outlived the reality. This charge is more than a little insulting. I am sure if McCain wins, though, this will be talked up as one of the major factors in his favor. Decide for yourself if you think that will end up endearing these voters to the Democratic party in the future.

"...Both sides say that Mr. Obama has a broader grass-roots turnout operation than Mr. McCain. In Pennsylvania, the campaign has trained organizers to talk about Catholic doctrine on abortion and other issues, held about two dozen “brunch for Barack” events after Sunday Mass and organized what the campaign calls “nun banks” to call lists of Catholic voters..."

-Could you imagine what would happen if the McCain campaign was trying to recruit, say, Baptist ministers, to do the same?

"...'It is a running debate between Catholics saying ‘abortion is the only issue’ and others saying ‘you have to look at the whole teaching of the church...’"

-No one is saying it is the only issue, and even if someone was focused on it to the point that they were completely ignoring other valid issues, that would seem far less harmful than people trying to downplay what may be the most important moral issue of our time. It is a relief though to note that even people who are downplaying the issue are not debating the validity of the Church teaching on the matter anymore, that is, other than Nancy Pelosi and Joe Bidden.

Today on the Saint Thomas More Society at Marquette blog

September 17, 2008: Feast of St. Robert Bellarmine.

A special greeting to our friends in Marquette's St. Robert Bellarmine Society! The group exists for the purpose of, "Educating Catholic students about their faith is another aspect of continuing to cultivate a Catholic community and identity. The co-ed St. Robert Bellarmine society fulfills this role by focusing on apologetics and teaching Catholics how to explain their faith to others. The St. Bellarmine society hosts a Pro-Life rosary and promotes Eucharistic Adoration on campus."

Obscure legal term of the day...

Dei judicium: The Judgment of God. The ancient practice of trial by ordeal.

Theology professor from Goethe University to speak on campus
-Hoping their theology is similar to that of another contemporary German theologian...

Catholic Vote in PA?
-Certainly as legendary as Prester John, but is it as real?

The Bishop would like a word...
-And appears to have been put on hold.

Theology professor from Goethe University to speak on campus


It is our intention that this blog serve as a go-to-source for news about all things of Catholic interest happening in the Marquette area.


Dr. Gesche Linde, systematic theologian from the Goethe University at Frankfurt, will present “Science, Signs, and Theology: Theology’s Place in the Modern University,” Thursday, Sept. 18, at 3:30 p.m. in AMU 254.

The lecture is from the Department of Theology’s first visiting professor in its newly created scholar exchange program. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Albertus Magnus Circle, Marquette’s interdisciplinary faculty discussion group on issues intersecting theology and the natural sciences.
Light refreshments will be provided."

The Bishop would like a word...

Hat tap to Jay Anderson for bringing this Wall Street Journal article to our attention...

Catholic Bishops Seek to Meet With McCain, Obama

BOSTON -- America's Catholic bishops have a few thoughts on politics, and this year they want to share them directly with the candidates.

For the first time in recent memory, leaders of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops have invited the two presidential candidates to meet with them before the election. Neither Republican John McCain nor Democrat Barack Obama have replied to the invitations offered last month, said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the conference.

***
We earnestly hope that the candidates both find time to meet with the bishops and that they go into these meetings with open minds and hearts.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Today on the Saint Thomas More Society at Marquette blog

Septmber 15, 2008: Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

-Succisa Virescit? (Cut down, it grows again, motto of the Great Benedictine Abbey of Monte Casino.)

-Campus Ministry provides answers and, apparently, questions.

-Much hope for the Eldest Daughter's "Creative Minority."


Fordham to honor Breyer

Catholic University to Honor Justice Breyer Who Wrote Majority Opinion Supporting Partial-Birth Abortion

This headline mostly speaks for itself but for the details check out the article here.

The article reminds readers that, "In contrast, New York Archbishop, Edward Cardinal Egan recently lambasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for defending the so-called "right to choose." Egan said: "Anyone who dares to defend that they [children in the womb] may be legitimately killed because another human being 'chooses' to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name."

The Cardinal and Fordham may be on a collision course, we will be following this closely.

In considering this matter, it is important to recall remarks made by Archbishop Michael Miller secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education during a visit to Notre Dame in 2005.

Snippets of an article from Notre Dame's campus paper, The Observer, shed some light on the subject (emphasis added).

"As his papacy progresses, Pope Benedict XVI will likely take the path of "evangelical pruning" - or refusing to maintain institutions that have lost their Catholic identity - Archbishop Michael Miller said Monday at Notre Dame's Hesburgh Center auditorium.

"[The pope] argued that it might be better for the Church not to expend its resources trying to preserve institutions if their Catholic identity has been seriously compromised," Miller said.

"His writings show that a time of purification lies ahead, and this undoubtedly will have some ramifications for Catholic institutions."Past writings indicate that the new pope believes it is a mistake to uphold institutions that lack a solid Catholic identity, Miller said."For [the pope] … the measure of an institution can be judged by its Catholic integrity," Miller said.

"If [secularization occurs], it might be a matter of truth and justice that such an institution is no longer upheld. [Pope] Benedict [XVI] and others may believe that if a Catholic institution is no longer motivated by a Catholic identity, it is better to let it go."

Miller said the Church could take two approaches to confront institutions where Catholic identity has been lost: the pope's "evangelical pruning" or a method of hopeful patience."[Proponents of the latter method] believe that while a part of a university's ecclesiastical identity might well be compromised, it is still better that we be patient because the institution is only 'held hostage' by a generation that will pass," he said.

Some Church leaders would rather put up with a "less than ideal" situation and pray for the amelioration of an institution's Catholic identity than dissolve ties with such places, Miller said.

"[The pope] appears to be more inclined to avoid scandal and lead a path of evangelical pruning, but we don't know," he said. "We await."

And wait, and wait, but I get the feeling that we aren't going to have to wait much longer. Fordham seems to be trying to force the Cardinal to react. If Archbishop Miller's words are any indication, the Pope's policy is clear: Succisa Virescit!

New school year (and a new name) for Campus Ministry

The Marquette Tribune recently ran an article on official Catholic life here at Marquette, an issue obviously very near and dear to the St. Thomas More Society. It is reproduced here, in full, emphasis added.

"Campus Ministry widens its programs, offerings-
Campus Renew, Catholicism 101 added to selection
By Roger Lopez

The office formerly known as University Ministry has taken up its old name of Campus Ministry.

But the change in name has not changed the office's mission statement: to provide services that educate, to care pastorally for students of all faiths and to continue the work and spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

The office continues to offer its various programs, from worship to service.

Some programs include the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and confirmation and marriage preparation. This school year, Campus Ministry will also be offering new programs like Campus Renew and Catholicism 101, according to Stephen Blaha, assistant director of Campus Ministry.

The name of the office was changed from Campus Ministry to University Ministry in the 1990s in order to reach out to the off-campus community. But the office found that "Campus Ministry" seemed more appropriate in order to encourage all students — from undergraduates to graduates — to take part in the programs offered.

"We are trying to be more accessible and more integrated into student life," Blaha said. "The door to the office has been and will be open to all Marquette students."

The marriage preparation program is for engaged couples wishing to be married in the Catholic faith. The couple takes part in a retreat together, fills out a premarital questionnaire, goes through counseling on natural family planning and organizes the liturgy for the wedding, Blaha said.

There's no set start and end time for the program, Blaha said."The time all depends on the couples," Blaha said. "They make the program what it is." According to Blaha, the program focuses on what it means to be married and what married life really is all about. Couples enter into a traditional Jesuit period of discernment. Blaha helps couples analyze their relationships, and they discuss issues that might come up later down the road.

"No relationship is perfect, but our participants want to have the best marriage possible," Blaha said. "They want to invest into the marriage."

There are other programs available for students at Campus Ministry. Martha Hurtado, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, participated in the confirmation preparation program last year. She said the program was beneficial, helping to develop her faith.

"During the program I learned to question my faith and I learned that's OK. And I will keep doing that," Hurtado said in an e-mail.The program allowed Hurtado to engage in serious debate about faith and religion with others, she said.

Students not only participate in programs, but also lead some of them.

Michael O'Sullivan, a junior in the College of Communication, has been a retreat and trip leader in the Marquette Action Program, a winter and spring service program.

"When students are open to new experiences and helping others, they experience something so powerful that it is not comparable to anything else, not even ministry programs in high school," O'Sullivan said.

Clovis, Benedict and Sarkozy

The Pope's recent visit to France can be declared a success. While the official aim of the trip was a pilgrimage to the shrine at Lourdes for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions, bolstering the Church in Europe and reminding Europeans of their roots--central themes of the life and work of Pope Benedict XVI--were the underlying themes to the trip. Anyone watching the crowds in Lourdes and Paris would agree that the reports of the death of French Catholicism seem greatly exaggerated; furthermore, the face of the Church in France appeared much younger and much more fervent than one would expect. Also, for the first time in decades, French Catholics have an ally in the president's office, Nicholas Sarkozy.

In a speech at St. John Lateran on Dec. 20, 2007, Sarkozy said...

With the baptism of Clovis, France became the eldest daughter of the church. It’s a fact. By making Clovis the first Christian sovereign, that event had important consequences for destiny of France and for the Christianization of Europe. Following that turning point, French sovereigns repeatedly had occasion to demonstrate the deep ties which connected them to the church and the successors of Peter. Beyond the facts of history, France has had a particular relationship with the Holy See above all because the Christian faith penetrated deeply into French society, into its culture, its towns, its mode of life, its architecture, its literature. The roots of France are essentially Christian. Christianity has counted for a great deal for France, and France has counted for a great deal for Christianity …

As with the baptism of Clovis, secularism is also a fact in our country. I know the suffering that its application in France has produced for Catholics, for priests and for religious congregations, before and after 1905. I know that interpretation of the law of 1905 as a text of liberty, of tolerance, and of neutrality is in part a selective reconstruction of the past. It was above all through their sacrifices in the trenches during the Great Wars, through their sharing in the suffering of their fellow citizens, that the priests and religious of France disarmed anti-clericalism; their common intelligence has allowed France and the Holy See to overcome their disagreements and to reestablish diplomatic relations …

Laïcité is to be affirmed as necessary and opportune, but laïcité should not mean negation of the past. It does not have the power to eliminate from France its Christian roots. It has tried to do so, and it shouldn’t have.

Along with Benedict XVI, I believe that a nation which ignores the ethical, spiritual and religious inheritance of its history commits a crime against its own culture, against that blend of history, patrimony, art and popular tradition which deeply impregnates our way of life and our thought. To take away those roots means to lose meaning, to weaken the cement of national identity and to further fray social relationships that need symbols of memory.

For that reason, we have to hold together the two ends of the rope: accepting the Christian roots of France, while also valuing and continuing to defend a laïcité which has reached maturity."

Sentiments Benedict shared, speaking alongside Sarkozy in Paris, NCR's John Allen reports...
"In fact, it is fundamental, on the one hand, to insist upon the distinction between the political realm and that of religion in order to preserve both the religious freedom of citizens and the responsibility of the state toward them,” the pope said during the encounter with Sarkozy and other officials of the French government.

“On the other hand, [it is important] to become more aware of the irreplaceable role of religion for the formation of consciences and the contribution which it can bring to – among other things – the creation of a basic ethical consensus within society,” the pope said.

Benedict pointed to five specific areas where church and state can work together:

• Moral formation of the young
• Social justice, especially a “surreptitious widening of the distance between the rich and poor”
• Environmental protection
• Human rights
• Countering a “resurgence of old suspicions, tensions and conflicts among nations” – among other things, an indirect reference to the current conflict between Russia and Georgia.

While calling for a re-think of laïcité, Benedict also said that “past suspicion” between church and state in France has abated, saying that today a largely “serene and positive” dialogue exists between the two forces.

Quoting past remarks by Sarkozy, Benedict said that “the roots of France – like those of Europe – are Christian.”
“The transmission of the culture of antiquity through monks, professors and copyists, the formation of hearts and spirits in love of the poor, the assistance given to the most deprived by the foundation of numerous religious congregations, the contribution of Christians to the establishment of the institutions of Gaul, and later France, all of this is too well known for me to dwell on it,” Benedict said.

“The thousands of chapels, churches, abbeys and cathedrals that grace the heart of your towns or the tranquility of your countryside clearly speak of how your fathers in faith wished to honor him who had given them life and who sustains us in existence,” Benedict said."

It seems that on all of Benedict's previous trips, his presence has been a force for revitalizing Catholic life in the places he visits; meetings with seminarians and bishops are building a positive fraternal bond between the pontiff and his priests (and priests to be).

The Church in France is faced with special difficulties: the French bishops have been rather tepid in engaging in dialogue with the secular culture, and conflict between the bishops and the formidable block of traditionalist adherents to the Latin Mass have been a tragic central element to the past few decades of French Catholic life.

The Pope however expressed his hope to the French Bishops that they would reevaluate their stance towards the traditionalists and embrace them, "So that the seamless robe of Christ is not torn anymore." As the Popemobile traveled down the streets of Paris, traditional-minded Catholics held banners thanking the Pope for freeing the Tridentine Mass with Summorum Pontificum. Likewise the old Vendee flag of the Sacred-Heart and Cross imprinted on the Republic Tri-Color waving to greet the Pope was a common sight wherever Catholics gathered.

France has historically been both the eldest daughter of the Church. The land of saints, Joan of Arc, Martin of Tours, Jean Viany, Isaac Jogues, and Crispin just to scratch the surface, it is also home to arguably the most beautiful Cathedrals in the world. On the other hand, France has been the modern birth-place of brutal anti-Catholic repression during the Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror, complete with attempts to eliminate Sunday from the calender and institute worship of various cults such as the Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being, efforts which at times seem only like more frank efforts at embodying popular post-Christian worldviews.

Post-Revolutionary Church-State relations ranged from Napoleon III taking it upon France to be the defender of the Papal States to the 1905 secularism law that sought to push religion completely out of the public square and essentially became the ideal standard of secularism that many other nations imitated.

Benedict and Sarkozy would both seem to think that the days of France the Christian nation are over, but the impact the Christians of the French nation have and will continue to have on France, Europe, and the wider world remains strong and everyone will be the better for it.

No doubt the Pope's hope for France can be found in the words he spoke about the Europeans whilst he was a Cardinal: "Believing Christians should look upon themselves as such a creative minority and help Europe espouse once again the best of its heritage, thereby being at the service of humankind at large."

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Monday, September 1, 2008

Catholic = Pro-Life

From the National Review Online and Father Thomas D. Williams, LC, ThD:

Speaker Pelosi can campaign for abortion all she likes, but to do so as an “ardent, practicing Catholic” is to invite a stiff correction. Americans still value truth in advertising, and know that words have meanings. “Catholic” means pro-life.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Brave Words in Denver

Yesterday, Archbishop Chaput issued a statement clarifying the Church's position on abortion.

He and his fellow Bishop Conley led an Address at Pro-Life Prayer Vigil
outside Planned Parenthood of Stapleton, CO, with Dr. Martin Luther King's niece.

Cardinal Egan's Reply

Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York, replies to Speaker Pelosi's statements.

The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church, Speaker Pelosi

From the Archdiocese of San Francisco website.

Cardinal Justin F. Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities,
and Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, CT, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, have issued the following statement; please see the link.

Monday, August 25, 2008

A Canon (and Civil) Lawyer gives solid Counsel

Notes on Sen. Biden.

Centuries of Jewish and Christian Tradition

Please read this article, which cites numerous sources, Jewish and Christian, which all affirm over centuries the position that abortion is a grave moral evil.

What Makes a Speaker Catholic?

Insightful commentary on faith and politics, and pseudo-Catholic politicians, from the National Review Online.

Thanks to Matt Fernholz for the link.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

New Bishop for Green Bay, WI

After almost a year's vacancy, the Diocese of Green Bay, WI, will have a new Bishop!

See a photo album of the Bishop-elect:

--Credit goes to Wittenberg's favoured son Daniel Suhr for the update.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Good News from the Big D

Late-Term Abortion Facility in Dallas To Close - Eighth Closure Since Bishop Began Prayer at Clinics

24 hours a day, 7 days a week ecumenical effort was organized, with more than 800 people from 89 churches and several denominations.

Archbishop Burke goes to Rome

North American Leaders Bid Farewell to Pro-Life Hero Archbishop Burke

Pro-life "hero" to head to Rome to take position as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura.

You may know that Archbishop Burke was the Bishop of La Crosse, WI, and is a close friend of our own Archbishop Dolan of Milwaukee.

Friday, April 18, 2008

A Man for All Seasons crew 4/18/08


A Man for All Seasons--Origin of the phrase

Read about the origin of the famous encomium for More, "a man for all seasons," or in Latin, vir omnium horarum.

The article, printed in Thomas More Studies 1 (2006), is by Dr. Clarence Miller, who served as Executive Editor of Yale University Press’ Complete Works of St. Thomas More; he translated and edited the 2001 Yale edition of Utopia. He is Professor Emeritus of St. Louis University.

Papal Visit to the US, and Fr. Wild on Catholic Academia

An interesting article from the NYTimes about Pope Benedict's visit to the US, and the two key issues that he has addressed:

1. sexual abuse of children
2. Catholic academia

On the latter point, the Times reported (emphasis added):

Catholic universities and colleges have come under fire for inviting speakers who favor abortion rights, like Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Eliot Spitzer and Stanley Tucci, the actor, who was dropped from an event at Catholic University. The University of Notre Dame was criticized for allowing a campus staging of “The Vagina Monologues,” an edgy feminist theater piece.

The pope insisted on adherence to church doctrine, saying, “Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity, and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual.”

For faculty members, he said: “I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the church would obstruct or even betray the university’s identity and mission.”

The educators in the room were encouraged by the pope’s speech, and applauded his call to keep schools open for poor students.

The Rev. Robert A. Wild, the president of Marquette University, said after the pope’s speech: “What was most striking to me is what it was not. We were not being told that most Catholic schools are not faithful to our message. It was not a finger-waving exercise. It was mostly to encourage us.”

2000 Vatican Proclamation of St. Thomas More as Patron of Statesmen

Read our late Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter, issued Motu Proprio,

PROCLAIMING SAINT THOMAS MORE PATRON OF STATESMEN AND POLITICIANS.

"Given at Saint Peter’s, on the thirty-first day of October in the year 2000, the twenty-third of my Pontificate.
"

Read the official Vatican biography of St. Thomas More and the Petition to our late Pope John Paul II.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Papal Visit to the US Presages a Change in Canon Law?

The NYTimes has an article covering Pope Benedict XVI's visit to NY. The article states (emphasis added)

One expert said that the pope might actually be signaling that he was close to authorizing a change in canon law that would explicitly bar sexual abusers from the priesthood, said Nicholas P. Cafardi, dean emeritus of Duquesne Law School. A civil and canon lawyer, Mr. Cafardi was an original member of the National Review Board appointed by the American bishops at the height of the abuse scandal, in 2002.

There is a section in the church’s Code of Canon law that specifies that a man cannot be ordained a priest, or cannot remain a priest, if he has committed certain acts, like homicide, self-mutilation, attempted suicide or procuring an abortion, said Mr. Cafardi, the author of "Before Dallas: The U.S. Bishops’ Response to Clergy Sexual Abuse of Children" (Paulist Press, 2008).

It’s time to add to that list pedophilia and sexual abuse of children," Mr. Cafardi said. "I’m reading Benedict’s remarks as heading toward a change in the law of the universal church, so that this can be implemented throughout the Catholic world."

He said it was unlikely that the pope would use a papal visit to announce a change in canon law. But, he added: "He’s raised expectations now, and he’s not an unkind person. You don’t raise expectations to bash them."


To read the pertinent sections of Canon Law, see the Vatican's official English translation. The section is Canon 1041 section 4.

The canon falls in the following part of the Code:

BOOK IV FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH (Cann. 834 - 848)
  • PART I. THE SACRAMENTS
      • TITLE VI. ORDERS (Cann. 1008 - 1054)
        • CHAPTER II. THOSE TO BE ORDAINED
          • Art. 3. IRREGULARITIES AND OTHER IMPEDIMENTS

Sunday, April 13, 2008

I die the King's good servant AND God's first

An illuminating article from the National Review about St. Thomas More, and his famous actual last words, so oft misquoted.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, the article's author, Matt Mehan, was a year ahead of me at the University of Dallas, and we served in Student Government together. He is now in the doctoral program back at UD, and he was quite glad that his Politics Dept. comrade Mark Adams and I had refounded the STMS.)

Saint Thomas More Sourcebook

Here is the authoritative source book for St. Thomas More, available on Amazon:

In the spirit of full disclosure, I need mention that I took a graduate class at the University of Dallas from the book's author, Dr. Gerald Wegemer, and we read the manuscript of this book.

A Man for All Seasons




What: the St. Thomas More Society will be hosting a screening of the Academy Award-winning film A Man for All Seasons

When: This Friday, April 18, 2008, from 5:00-7:30 pm

Where: Sensenbrenner Hall Room 325.

Food and drink provided