EWTN

Rather, Sungenis on Ferrara on EWTN. Make of it what you will.

Mel Redux

The Passion of the Christ: Definitive Edition, says the cover. It promises deleted scenes, but it delivers only two fairly mediocre cuts–not the controversial Emmerick-inspired scenes of the building of the cross (in the high priest’s courtyard) and the slaughtering of the paschal lamb (in the upper room) that I kind of hoped might be on it.

The DVD contains the theatrical version, the recut version from last year, and some features. There’s a commentary track, with comments by Fr. William Fulco, SJ, Fr. John Bartunek, LC, and sedevacantist Gerry Matatics. They provide the usual rambling commentary.

The “making of” videos are interesting, but omit any reference to Mel’s extra-Biblical sources. The one about “guerilla marketing” shows that Mel and his people still are playing the martyrs and still don’t understand what the fuss was about. They portray it as a battle between those who accept the Bible and those who don’t, between people of faith and unbelievers. That, of course, is slanderous. (For a refresher of the issues, see this article I wrote at the time).

See Christianity Today’s review of the new DVD.

Gumbleton in Tucson

Local Catholic diocese shuns retired bishop who’ll speak here. Gumbleton was invited by Call to Action. Bishop Kicanas says Call to Action can’t meet on church property, regardless of who they invite.

Jesus Seminar

Dr. Blosser on William Farmer on the Jesus Seminar.

Jimmy Akin on union dues

Jimmy Akin, Gotta pay your dues? On the case of Carol Katter.

More RadTrad response to SPLC

Fringe sources continue to blast the Southern Poverty Law Center’s report on antisemitism among Traditionalist Catholics.

At “Tradition in Action,” one Atila Sinke Guimarães blasts the Arrogant Harassment against Our Catholic Rights (What a choice of words! Worthy of George Wallace!). Atila’s main point is that you can’t confuse religious opposition to Jews with the racial theories that began in the 19th century.

“Daily Catholic” denounces The Real Hate Mongers … and it is hard to characterize their article. You really need to read it. This may give you a sense of it: “What SPLC and ADL and all the other liberal entities are upset with is that true Catholics won’t buy into the garbage and apostasy preached by Vatican II and which has rejected Catholic truth.” Yes, that’s their starting point–the “apostasy of the false church of Vatican II,” for daring to say that we need to improve relations with the Jews.

Daniel Radcliffe, Actor

There comes a point when every child actor must tell the world he’s not a child anymore. Daniel Radcliffe is doing that by playing Alan Strang in a London revival of Equus. “Harry Potter” supporting actor Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon) plays Dr. Martin Dysart.

Now, if he had not been “Harry Potter,” would this catch anyone’s attention? But the idea of an actor who has portrayed a children’s hero taking on an adult role … with minimal wardrobe needs … has some folks flummoxed.

As a one time two-bit community theater actor, I can appreciate the complexity of the role and the skill necessary to pull it off (My toughest was playing Dan in Emlyn Williams’ “Night Must Fall”). But I don’t see that I could ever have done this sort of role.

NEW BLOG

Go visit Confessions of a Crazy Schoolmarm.

Defining Torture

Driving out the Snakes gives us some very easy to understand definitions of torture and what is acceptable and unacceptable treatment of enemy prisoners. Bottom line: “If you treat them as you would like to be treated were you captured or detained, then you will be treating them humanely.”

On interrogation:

If you suspect a captured or detained person is an enemy soldier or spy, you do not know that you are correct. That determination is made by specified personnel at a higher headquarters. You may question captives and detainees for military information of immediate value to your mission, but never use threats, torture, or other forms of coercion. An enemy captive is required to give you only his name, rank, service number, and date of birth.

Combat experience has proven that useful information has been gained from captives who have been treated humanely, while information gained through torture or coercion is unreliable.

Source? FM 27-2. (Via Shea).

Pulp fiction.

I learned today that my dad had a first cousin, Robert William Taylor, who wrote pulp fiction. Check out the lurid cover for his 1959 book, Occasion of Sin.

Drinan dead at 86

Robert Drinan, SJ, died today at the age of 86. Washington Post. Curt Jester. Georgetown press release.

His Jesuit superiors gave him permission to run for office as a Democrat–while denying his fellow Jesuit, John McLaughlin, permission to run as a Republican.

His Jesuit superiors argued that he would be a good advocate in Congress for Catholic moral principles. Well, he was instead known for his advocacy of lots of liberal causes, for being a loud voice against Vietnam and Reagan. He was also known for his consistent support of abortion (see Catholic World News retrospective written in 2002).

Imagine what he could have done in politics in the 1970s if he had opposed abortion with the same vigor with which he opposed Republicans.

He now faces a more harsh tribunal than either the halls of Congress or the blogosphere.

May God have mercy on his soul.

The “Emerging Church”

Christianity Today profiles the evangelical movement known as the “emerging church.”

It is said that emerging Christians confess their faith like mainliners—meaning they say things publicly they don’t really believe. They drink like Southern Baptists—meaning, to adapt some words from Mark Twain, they are teetotalers when it is judicious. They talk like Catholics—meaning they cuss and use naughty words. They evangelize and theologize like the Reformed—meaning they rarely evangelize, yet theologize all the time. They worship like charismatics—meaning with their whole bodies, some parts tattooed. They vote like Episcopalians—meaning they eat, drink, and sleep on their left side. And, they deny the truth—meaning they’ve got a latte-soaked copy of Derrida in their smoke- and beer-stained backpacks.

Another webpage, emergingchurch.info, describes this movement thus:

The emerging churches that I have encountered have, to a great extent, been comprised of urban, post-modern, progressive young adults who are missionally minded, committed to community and spiritual practice while figuring out what it means to be followers of Christ in the messy, ambiguous world in which they find themselves. These communities vary greatly in “worship style”- from old-timey country to jazz, from techno-liturgica to rock and roll so it’s surprising to me when those outside of the emerging church think it’s about a worship style ….

“Make a wish”

Some sent me this link: Hospice helped dying man lose his virginity. 22 year old Nick Wallis has a form of muscular dystrophy; a hospice for young adults (founded by Sister Frances Dominica, an Anglican nun) helped him make an arrangement with a prostitute. Here’s his own account. He concludes:

I do not think I will necessarily choose to repeat the experience, although I have not ruled it out. Sexuality is more than just sex: it is about feeling attractive and attracted to others without feeling guilty or peculiar about something that is intrinsically part of being human. A cliche, I know, but it is about feeling comfortable in your own skin. My experience taught me a lot and gave me a sense of normality to a degree. It also helped me to realise that I could make things happen if I really wanted them enough. But it did not give me what I most want. I continue to hope that I may be able to establish a relationship with the right person. The same as any other “dude”, as my older brother Tom would say, I want to be able to hold hands with someone, to love and be loved.

Can a Catholic refuse union dues?

Ohio law lets people refuse union dues, but only if they belong to denominations that have historically and consistently refused to recognize labor unions–and the law only recognizes Seventh-day Adventists and Mennonites in that category. But a Catholic teacher is filing suit against that law because she is not being permitted to claim the religious exemption. She doesn’t want her dues going to support abortion. Will the state Catholic conference take a position …?

Triple Tragedy

Three tragic NASA anniversaries this week: 40 years since Apollo 1 (Jan 27), 21 years since Challenger (Jan 28), 4 years since Columbia (Feb 1).

“A useless mass”

Can there be such a thing? Fr. Reginald Foster thinks so. The phrase comes in this article:

He said reports that Pope Benedict will reintroduce the Tridentine Mass, which dates from 1570 and is largely conducted in Latin, were wrong – not least because of the Pope’s desire to avoid more controversies. A speech last year offended Muslims and more recently he gave initial support to a Polish archbishop who was eventually forced to resign, after admitting that he had collaborated with the communist-era secret police.

“He is not going to do it,” Fr Foster said. “He had trouble with Regensberg, and then trouble in Warsaw, and if he does this, all hell will break loose.” In any case, he added: “It is a useless mass and the whole mentality is stupid. The idea of it is that things were better in the old days. It makes the Vatican look medieval.”

See here and here.

Random thoughts

It looked like a scene from a Dagwood and Blondie comic–me sprawled under my kitchen sink trying to replace the faucet. The soundtrack was more like the Dad in “A Christmas Story,” however. I emerged triumphant from my battle with the beast, however.

I also did some cooking today. I have learned that indeed you must use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet to make decent corn bread, heating the skillet before putting in the batter (Franklin is no doubt nodding his head vigorously).

We watched the 1999 Meryl Streep film, Music of the Heart, this afternoon. None of us had ever seen it. It’s the true story of Roberta Guaspari, founder of the Harlem School of Music. I was curious and went to Google, found the webpage of the school, and was surprised to see on their faculty page, listed right after Guaspari, the name of Lynelle Smith–she was one of our classmates at Atlantic Union College, and is now Master Teacher and Head of the String Department.

“Pan’s Labyrinth”

I was thinking today that I hadn’t seen any reviews by Barbara Nicolosi for a long time. Her blog has had few posts since her Houston visit. Well, she’s back with a vengeance, and her target is “Pan’s Labyrinth.” I was especially interested in how she would react to this film, given her work on another Spanish Civil War project. This one is definitely taking an opposite approach to hers. It’s part pseudo-history and part fantasy, in a world where the Spanish Republicans were like the Jedi Knights and the Catholics were the agents of the Dark Lord, Franco. And Hollywood cheers on the return of the Jedi (as we saw in the streets of DC this weekend).

Antisemitism and the Catholic Right

It was five years ago that I started looking at Antisemitism and the Catholic Right. Some folks who used to defend the person I was investigating at that time now acknowledge that I was correct.

I’ve chosen not to step back into that fray, but there are discussions going forward led by others that you might be interested in: see Christopher Blosser’s blog as well as Papa Blosser’s comments.

And the civil rights organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center, is also paying attention now. See Heidi Beirich’s article, The New Crusaders.

And the folks who are her target are of course firing back. See Thomas Droleskey, Hating without Distinction (railing against “the diabolical lie of the Judeo-Masonic ethos of conciliarism”), and John Vennari, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Hate-Mongers (on why “Muslims, Jews and all non-Catholics … [are] part of the kingdom of Satan”).

How the media covers marches

Michelle Malkin on the attention the MSM gives to different kinds of protests in DC.

William Miller was a freemason

The progressive adventism blog has an interesting post documenting William Miller’s membership in the lodge. It is remarked that another religious founder, Joseph Smith, was also a freemason. Smith’s masonry clearly influenced his religious views–did Miller’s? I don’t think so.

The remodeling of St. Theresa’s

Fr. Bart Reynolds is remodeling the sanctuary of St. Theresa’s Church in Sugar Land, Texas. Duncan Stroik is the architect. Duncan’s portfolio shows the plan, and what it looked like before and during the initial construction. Here’s how it looks now (pillars still need faux marble painting).

See also the before and after pictures of the chapel, which was the first step.

Direct your contributions to St. Theresa Catholic Church, 115 Seventh St., Sugar Land, TX, 77478.

In a church kneeler …

Church’s kneeler yields a trove of artifacts.

Super Bowl Party Poopers

NFL bans tailgating in Miami.

Gumbleton’s Retirement

Detroit archdiocese responds to NCR report about retired auxiliary bishop Tom Gumbleton’s removal as pastor of St. Leo’s. Letter from Cardinal Maida.

Gay adoption in UK

Tony Blair and Ruth Kelly at odds over gay adoption.

COMMUNITIES Secretary Ruth Kelly was cut adrift by Tony Blair last night in the row over gay adoptions.

The Prime Minister issued a statement saying he backed adoptions by same-sex couples.

Ministers backed him, saying the Catholic Church should not be allowed to opt out from gay rights laws.

Staunch Catholic Kelly had been battling to allow church adoption agencies to be exempt from laws forcing them to give children to gay couples.

She was thought to have Blair’s backing.

But after days of talks, the PM said: “I have always personally been in favour of the right of gay couples to adopt.

Update: See comments by “Joee Blogs, a Catholic Londoner”: “this law is different. It forbids Catholics (and indeed other Religious people) to have a religious conscience.”

Jimmy Carter: “Too many Jews” on Holocaust Council

Jimmy Carter has some explaining to do:

Former President Jimmy Carter once complained there were “too many Jews” on the government’s Holocaust Memorial Council, Monroe Freedman, the council’s former executive director, told WND in an exclusive interview.

Freedman, who served on the council during Carter’s term as president, also revealed a noted Holocaust scholar who was a Presbyterian Christian was rejected from the council’s board by Carter’s office because the scholar’s name “sounded too Jewish.”

Freedman, now a professor of law at Hofstra University, was picked by the council’s chairman, author Elie Weisel, to serve as executive director in 1980. The council, created by the Carter White House, went on to establish the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

This comes in the wake of controversy over Carter’s recent book, which has been criticized for ignoring Jewish suffering and for glossing over Arab violence–even, in one place, appearing to encourage the latter.

Deborah Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewish and Holocaust studies at Emory University which is in partnership with the Carter Centre, wrote this week that the book trivialises the Israeli experience.

“It is hard to criticise an icon,” she says. “Jimmy Carter’s humanitarian work has saved countless lives. Yet his life has also been shaped by the Bible, where the Hebrew prophets taught us to speak truth to power. So I write.

“Carter’s book, while exceptionally sensitive to Palestinian suffering, ignores a legacy of mistreatment, expulsion and murder committed against Jews.

“‘His book, which dwells on the Palestinian refugee experience, makes two fleeting references to the Holocaust. The book contains a detailed chronology of major developments necessary for the reader to understand the current situation in the Middle East. Remarkably, there is nothing listed between 1939 and 1947.”

While Carter has not cited that passage for a change, he did apologise for one extraordinary sentence that appeared to condone terrorism. On page 213 Carter wrote: “It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the road map for peace are accepted by Israel.”

Jewish groups seized upon the conditional “when”, sending Carter scrambling back to the editors for a correction in the reprints.

“That was a terribly worded sentence which implied, obviously in a ridiculous way, that I approved terrorism and terrorist acts against Israeli citizens,” Carter says. “My publishers have been informed about that and the sentence has been changed in all future editions of the book.”

The UN and the “boiled frog”

UN folks screaming about global warming use the tale of the “boiled frog” to warn against indifference. But that tale is an urban legend. Junk science. If they can’t get that right, how do they expect us to trust them on something so big? Two decades ago they were scaring us about global freezing; now its global warming.

I suppose I agree with Robert Frost:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

End of Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Aside from a couple of bloggers and my own mutterings, I’ve heard no mention this week of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Pope Benedict XVI wants all to be involved in the work of ecumenism, but he’s shouting into the roaring wind of the world’s collective yawn.

Sometimes the free market system works

Lots of blogs have been getting riled up about the movies shown at the Sundance festival, including “Hounddog,” in which Dakotah Fanning’s  character is raped. Sometimes the free market system does work–the reviewers have panned it as “simply awful,” and it has no buyers.

Roger Friedman of FOX news has this to say about the film:

Since I am one of the few who’ve actually seen it, let me explain something important. There is no point that I can find to the child’s rape.

Once it happens, it’s never discussed. The culprit is never accused or apprehended. The child never tells her story to anyone. There’s no great moment of revelation that could possibly help someone who’s watching the film. It’s simply there for shock value.

The fact that Kampmeier and the producers have somehow conned rape-assistance groups into using the movie as a public-service announcement is bizarre to me. But I guess it’s no more bizarre than using Dakota Fanning as the public defender of the indefensible.