Religion (general)

www.tmatt.net Terry Mattingly April 5, 2006

It’s hard to laugh about religion in Northern Ireland, but Oxford theologian Alister McGrath likes to tell the following joke that hints at the challenges he faced as a young skeptic in that troubled land.

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USA Today James P. Gannon January 16, 2006

Two snapshots from a recent tourist trip to Europe: We are in Prague, the lovely and lively capital of the Czech Republic, where the bars and cafes are full, the glitzy crystal and art shops are busy, and the dozens of historic cathedrals and churches are largely empty — except for gawking tourists snapping photos. In The Prague Post, an English-language weekly newspaper, a front-page article reports, in titillating detail, how the city has become Europe’s new capital for pornographic filmmaking, while an op-ed examines why only 19% of the people in this once-religious country believe that God exists.

Change the scene to Rome. We are at the Vatican, swimming in a sea of 150,000 people waiting in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Benedict XVI to appear at a special celebration for Catholic children who have made their first communion in the past year. Rock bands and kids’ choirs entertain the faithful until a roar sweeps through the crowd at the first sighting of the “Popemobile,” carrying the waving, white-robed Benedict down barricaded lanes through the throng. The crowd goes wild.

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Ed. note: In theological terms, the end of limbo is another example of the declining influence of Augustinian anthropology in the Roman Catholic Church. The redefinition of the dogma of the the “Immaculate Conception” is another indication.

Wall Street Opinion Journal KENNETH L. WOODWARD Friday, January 13, 2006

When word went out from Rome recently that the pope’s theological advisers were prepared to abandon the idea of “limbo,” it was clear that the medieval notion of a place where unbaptized infants, among others, go was as good as dead. Two decades ago, when then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was new to his role as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he said that he personally thought the church should “let [limbo] drop, since it has always been only a theological hypothesis.” Now, as Pope Benedict XVI, he can have his way.

But this is a case of a pope validating a change in the church, not creating one on his own. Time was when infants were routinely baptized at birth or shortly thereafter to ensure that they would not, through crib death or other misfortune, be denied access to heaven. Now, Catholic priests and parents wait weeks or even months to perform the ceremony–a clear sign that they no longer take the idea of limbo seriously. The limp reaction of the Catholic press–a nod here and there, but mostly a yawn–is further evidence that limbo has already died the death of indifference.

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London Times Andrew Pierce January 2, 2006

A MARRIED former Anglican bishop who led the protest against the ordination of women priests may make history by becoming a Roman Catholic cardinal.
Two former Cabinet ministers are backing the move to give Graham Leonard, who was the Bishop of London, the highest honour the Vatican can bestow. If Pope Benedict XVI backs the idea, it would be the most significant promotion for an Anglican convert since John Henry Newman was made a cardinal in 1879.

In 2000 Pope John Paul II awarded one of the highest Catholic honours — the honorific title of the Right Rev Mgr — to Father Leonard, 84, who led many other priests out of the Anglican fold. In 1995 he had become a Catholic priest after being an Anglican bishop for more than 30 years.

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Wall Street Opinion Journal December 24, 2005

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression — for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

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townhall.comPatrick Hynes November 28, 2005

A recent report published by the National Bureau of Economic Research provides penetrating insight into the role of religion in America. Outside coverage from ABC News, however, the report hasn’t received the attention it deserves. In the report, Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Jonathan Gruber identifies a correlation between the frequency with which a person attends church and that person’s income.

According to Gruber, a household that attends church with twice the level of frequency as another household has 9.1 percent more income. Gruber’s paper highlights some other interesting findings, according to ABC News:

That extra participation in religious activity correlates with 16 percent less welfare participation than the usual rate, 4 percent lower odds of being divorced and 4.4 percent increased chances of being married.

Gruber does not claim to have established causation through his study. He only notes the correlation.

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BOSTON, Nov. 22 /Christian Wire Service/ -– “The clergy sex abuse scandal exposed the Chuurch to a deep rooted problem which Pope Benedict XVI could not ignore,” said Ambassador Raymond L. Flynn in response to the Vatican’s release of an instruction on criteria for priestly vocational discernment regarding persons with homosexual tendencies.

“Pedophile priests will be prosecuted and active homosexual men will no longer become priests. Both of these policies will ultimately make the Catholic Church stronger.”

Ambassador Flynn can be contacted for interviews at (617) 269-0909.

Raymond L. Flynn is the former Mayor of Boston and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican.

Catholics for the Common Good is a national non-partisan and independent organization of lay Catholics dedicated to promoting the common good, especially in regard to the dignity of life, the primacy of the family, human rights and freedom, and solicitude for the poor and vulnerable.