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Showing posts with the label Europe

Double-think on equality

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Over the past couple of days, Stephen Hughes, Member of the European Parliament for the North East of England, has hit the headlines as a Catholic who has expressed indignant opposition to the Holy Father's comments on Equality legislation. Speaking at a meeting of socialists and democrats, Hughes said that he was appalled by what the Pope had said, and pointed to the duty of religious leaders to eradicate inequality. He protested that "Inequality is at the root of many social problems." One social problem for women in one part of the world has been that when they wanted to have a second baby, they have been forced to have an abortion. Other women in the same country have been subjected to forced sterilisation. The USA declined to continue funding programmes in countries which did this sort of thing. In 2001, the EU stepped in to make up the 33 million shortfall. In 2008, Amendment 134 to the EU budget was proposed: Community assistance shall not be given to any gove...
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Sentenza N. 311

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Here's a nugget I noted before Christmas but did not get round to posting. I think it is worth bringing to your attention. You will remember back in November that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld a complaint by Soile Lautsi, a Finnish woman with Italian citizenship, that her children had to attend a state school that displayed a crucifix in each classroom. She got an order for 5000 euro compensation to be paid by the Italian Government. It seems that this has concentrated the minds of the Italian Constitutional Court which has issued Sentenza N.311 which states that where rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) conflict with provisions of the Italian Constitution, such decrees “lack legitimacy”. See: Gerard Warner Who'd ha thunk it? Italian Constitutional Court tells ECHR to take a hike, asserts national sovereignty
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European elections

My local Somerfield supermarket is open until 10pm and is usually quiet on a Saturday evening so I sometimes do some shopping after the evening Mass to avoid buying things on Sunday. The chap in front of me had four cans of butane gas for his barbecue. Saturday evenings in supermarkets tend to have more than the normal ratio of men to women. Hence it is possible for a little bloke-ish conversation at the till: Me : "Blowin' up the 'ouses of Parliament then?" Chap with butane gas : "'S been tried before - no harm 'avin another go." Chap in front of him : "Bring back Guy Fawkes is what I say - all is forgiven" I suppose that is a fair enough picture of the opinion of the average bloke about politics and politicians. It's a rather dangerous mood; I don't claim that parliamentary democracy is an objectively perfect method of government but I do fear that if there is to be a change in how our country is governed, the godless secularism ...
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More Cato

I was hesitant about posting this since it strays into political territory and I am conscious of the importance of being free of party political allegiance here. However, a video clip of Daniel Hannan, a Member of the European Parliament for South East England, giving a speech at the European Parliament, has been speeding round the internet (especially thanks to Gerald Warner's Telegraph blog " Is it just me? ") The clip in question is an attack on Gordon Brown so I won't embed it but if you want to see it, I will give the link since it is a fine example of modern British political oratory and worthy of consideration for that reason alone. Browsing YouTube, I found another speech from Daniel Hannan regarding the Lisbon Treaty. Again, I cannot take a position on his political views but I was delighted to hear another speaker alluding to Cato (near the end of this speech.) "We should have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty; Pactio Olisipiensis censenda est."
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europe4christ

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There is a Facebook group: Europe4Christ which has an associated website, europe4christ (which is also linked to Facebook but can presumably be accessed generally.) Here is the summary: "Europe for Christ!" is an international and ecumenical Christian initiative to create a network of: PRAYER for a Europe built upon Christian values EDUCATION on vital issues of concern for European Christians ACTION and SUPPORT when needed For an example of what is going on in the European Parliament, see John Smeaton's post " Churches and pro-lifers must act following pro-abortion European Parliament vote ." Another good source of news concerning Europe is the blog of Pat Buckley MEP: European Life Network
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The Grand Duke's noble stand

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Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau, has taken a stand against Euthanasia by stating that he will refuse to sign into law a bill to legalise euthanasia. The Grand Duke's courageous and principles stand has brought about a constitutional crisis in Luxembourg. Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, has threatened to propose a change to the constitution to deny the Grand Duke his veto. Juncker offers the customary and useless disclaimer that he is "personally opposed" to euthanasia. (See the article in Spiegel Online International .)
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"The Cube and the Cathedral"

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The Grande Arche de la Fraternité in Paris, otherwise known as the Arche de la Défense was the initiative of François Mitterrand. It was designed as a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals: it was nevertheless inaugurated on the bicentenary of the French Revolution. A visit to the "Cube" and the clichéd observation that the cathedral of Notre Dame would fit comfortably inside it, inspired George Weigel to ask: "Which culture would more firmly secure the moral foundations of democracy?", a question which he addresses in his book "The Cube and the Cathedral." He looks at various odd features of the current cultural climate in Europe. Among them, he raises the failure of Europeans after 1989 to condemn communism as a moral and political monstrosity, instead allowing only the politically correct and anodyne observation that it "didn't work"; he questions Europe's retreat from democracy into the bureaucracy of Brussels, and the routi...
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Popular posts from this blog

Saint Gabriel

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The angels call for our veneration and awe as part of God’s creation. Part of the destructive modernism of the 1970s included advice to Catholic school teachers that they should not talk to children about angels. This wrought lasting damage which continues to need rectifying. We should include in our prayers a heartfelt recourse to our own Guardian Angels. The Archangel Gabriel “God is my strength” would be terrifying were he to appear to any of us. Our Lady was “troubled” at the word of Saint Gabriel and wondered at the manner of the salutation. Immediately, according to his mission, the awesome messenger explained himself. Modern retelling of the event is often reduced to the jejune “Mary said Yes to God”. In fact, she said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word”. This conveys more accurately the flawless faith and trust of the Immaculata. In the infinitely wise providence of the Father, we now know the structure of the event in even more detai...
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Our Easter Faith: Not a Pious Crème Fraiche

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In public life, some basically well-meaning figures have the graciousness to wish us well at Easter and to recognise the importance of the Christian feast day. Perhaps they might assure us that their thoughts are with us at this time. That is kind of them and in Christian charity we should thank them for their kindness, but Easter should be a great deal more than that for us. We must believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the grave, in the flesh, and lives for eternity. We cannot treat Easter as a jolly holiday that heralds spring, or the remembrance of a significant event from the past. It must change us today and every day, change who we are and what we do. The Christian faith cannot be a mild custard or blancmange of religiosity. (I am showing my age. Nowadays, I should say that it cannot be reduced to a pious crème fraiche .) We bow down and adore the King of Kings, risen from the tomb, who, “[…] continues for ever,...
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Blessing of the New Painting of St Bede at Clapham Park

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This morning, the parish priest at Clapham Park, Fr Marcus Holden, blessed a new picture of the parish's patron, Saint Bede, painted by James Tildsley. It is sited over a recently installed side altar near the rear of the Church. The altar itself was acquired from Antique Church Furnishings . The website gives the information that the altar was built and carved by a nun in a convent near Liverpool. It is a beautiful piece of work and it is always a joy when such works of art find a suitable and dignified home. The inscription on the gradine is AMANS AMATUS AMOR. The sellers translate this as “Loving is the object of love” which is a reasonable stab at “dynamic equivalence”. Today the parish's relic of St Bede was exposed for veneration in its distinctive brightly-coloured reliquary. After the blessing, there was High Mass with Fr Holden as celebrant, Fr Littleton deacon, and myself subdeacon. That gave me the enjoyable task of chant...
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Plenary indulgences not impossible

Dilexit Prior in Letters from a Young Catholic asked some useful questions today about indulgences. I thought it would be best to do a post here especially to cover the controversial question of detachment from venial sin. But first the other questions: The conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence Pope Paul VI set down a number of norms relating to indulgences at the end of Indulgentiarum Doctrina . Norm 7 states: To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfil three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in n.11 for those who are “impeded.” It is worth reading the other norms bec...
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Portiuncula indulgence tomorrow (and indulgences generally)

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Tomorrow, 2 August, you can gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions ( see below ) by visiting a parish Church and there reciting the Our Father and the Creed . This is called the Portiuncula indulgence and goes back to St Francis of Assisi. Fr Z has the details . Don't forget that you can also gain a plenary indulgence by visiting a Church on the day of the titular feast, and there reciting the Our Father and the Creed . I made a list of other indulgences: please see the post Plenary indulgences for particular days which has a link to the list. The post has some background information which you may find helpful since indulgences are not well understood today - which is not surprising since indulgences are not included in most Catholic education curricula, and most priests never preach about them. Therefore many Catholics are left with whatever silly, half-baked, ill-informed nonsense about indulgences happens to be current. If you want to understand the theology...
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