Quicumque

Though it is not an act specifically granted an indulgence under the Enchiridion, it would still be a good thing to recall and recite the Quicumque, or the Athanasian Creed today.

WHOEVER wishes to be saved must, above all, keep the Catholic faith.
For unless a person keeps this faith whole and entire, he will undoubtedly be lost forever.
This is what the catholic faith teaches: we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity.
Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance.
For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit.
But the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one divinity, equal glory, and coeternal majesty.
What the Father is, the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated.
The Father is boundless, the Son is boundless, and the Holy Spirit is boundless.
The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal.
Nevertheless, there are not three eternal beings, but one eternal being.
So there are not three uncreated beings, nor three boundless beings, but one uncreated being and one boundless being.
Likewise, the Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent.
Yet there are not three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent being.
Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
However, there are not three gods, but one God.
The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord.
However, there are not three lords, but one Lord.
For as we are obliged by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person singly to be God and Lord, so too are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.
The Father was not made, nor created, nor generated by anyone.
The Son is not made, nor created, but begotten by the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit is not made, nor created, nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son.
There is, then, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
In this Trinity, there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less. The entire three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another.
So that in all things, as is has been said above, the Unity is to be worshiped in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity.
He, therefore, who wishes to be saved, must believe thus about the Trinity.
It is also necessary for eternal salvation that he believes steadfastly in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man.
As God, He was begotten of the substance of the Father before time; as man, He was born in time of the substance of His Mother.
He is perfect God; and He is perfect man, with a rational soul and human flesh.
He is equal to the Father in His divinity, but inferior to the Father in His humanity.
Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ.
And He is one, not because His divinity was changed into flesh, but because His humanity was assumed unto God.
He is one, not by a mingling of substances, but by unity of person.
As a rational soul and flesh are one man: so God and man are one Christ.
He died for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose from the dead on the third day.
He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
At His coming, all men are to arise with their own bodies; and they are to give an account of their own deeds.
Those who have done good deeds will go into eternal life; those who have done evil will go into the everlasting fire.
This is the Catholic faith. Everyone must believe it, firmly and steadfastly; otherwise He cannot be saved. Amen.

One of the symbols of the faith. Chock full of goodness, and especially nice for the feast of the Most Holy Trinity.

Marquette III

I don't have much time to discuss the ongoing discussions surrounding Marquette, but I wanted to post this. This professor is asking the right question:

"The question that should be asked is not why Marquette President Father Robert A. Wild backed off the hiring," Wolfe writes, "but how in heaven did the hiring ever occur in the first place?"

You can read his analysis yourself.

Moderation

I'm getting tired of seeing non-real comments from robots on my weblog, so I have instituted "comment moderation." so as to prevent spam from filling up the comments section.

This may mean a slight delay in comments being seen, but I insist I will approve any non-spam comments.

Sorry I had to do this.

The Management.

Marquette - UPDATE

As I mentioned earlier, the President of Marquette University decided to rescind an offer of a dean's position to an openly lesbian professor who had a history of writing things contrary to Catholic doctrine. Lifesite News has a nice summary of the uproar that has followed.

They actually go through some of her writings and find some disturbing things. In addition, some more information has come out with regards to this decision.

One professor, speaking to Milwaukee Magazine on condition of anonymity, said that Fr. Wild told the faculty that Archbishop Listecki had expressed an opinion on the matter that had a bearing on his decision. Upon being pressed for an account of how the decision was made, Fr. Wild reportedly declined to give any details.

When Archdiocesan Judicial Vicar Father Paul Hartmann wrote to the committee chair searching for a new dean, according to the Journal Sentinel, he wrote that some possible candidates were pursuing subjects of study "that seems destined to actually create dichotomies and cause tensions (if not contradictions) with Marquette's Catholic mission and identity."

"My greatest fear, as a priest, alum, and as president of a high school which sends dozens of new students to (Marquette) each fall, is that the important decision to be made in this moment will instead dichotomize university from Church and reason from faith," Hartmann wrote.

Interesting if true. Can you believe, a University listening to its Ordinary? It's good to hear about such things.

Jesus of Nazareth II: Electric Boogaloo

Just in on the wires. Jesus of Nazareth part II is completed, or at least the German version is done. Work on translations, thus is about to get underway. Months, they say. I remember being promised this to be done in the spring. In fact the words were "should be ready" and "expected in the spring of 2010". Indeed, it is still spring, but I was led to believe that the translations were being prepared starting last September, not still the original.

That said, the Pope's a busy guy, and I suppose I can give him a break, but I can't wait for part II to come out! I do hope they don't rush the translation; I want it to be good, like part I was.

Cardinal Schönborn off the Rails

I've admired some of the works of Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, especially his book Change or Purpose on cosmic and biological evolution. He doesn't always get the science right, but he has at least tried to look at the science from a theological perspective, which is a direction in modern theology which I think need to be explored more, especially by those few who are familiar with both science and theology.

So, I have been a bit dismayed with some of the things I have seen in more recent times from Cardinal Schönborn and the Archdiocese of Vienna. Most recently, I saw this.

The Church should "give more consideration" to "the quality" of homosexual relationships, the cardinal archbishop of Vienna said this weekend. Christoph Schönborn told the far-left British Catholic magazine the Tablet that the Church should also consider allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion since “many people don’t even marry at all any longer.”

“We should give more consideration to the quality of homosexual relationships. A stable relationship is certainly better than if someone chooses to be promiscuous,” Schönborn said.

What?

He's a Cardinal Archbishop. Where is this coming from?

Bishop fined for the Truth

Of course, we all knew the day was coming when the secular authorities started fining those in the Church for speaking out for the Truth. An article came out today about a Bishop in Costa Rica who was fined by the government for advocating in a homily voting according to Catholic principles.

He didn't even say anything that outrageous.

During the Mass last September, Bishop Ulloa told the faithful, “We are facing a political campaign in which we must carefully choose who is going to govern us. We are now finding out which candidates deny God and defend principles that go against life, marriage, and the family. Therefore, we must be coherent with our faith and cannot give them our vote in good conscience.”

"We can't vote for those who will oppose the Truth." A sound and simple principle.

Mark my words, the day is coming when the same will be be true in Europe (in fact, it might be here already) and even in this country. Maybe speaking out won't be a crime here, but I'm sure the calls for the Church to lose her tax-exempt status will come with greater fervor in years to come, especially since many of our bishops have started to find their voices in recent times.

Marquette and the Catholic Identity

A good friend of mine has directed me to this article.

Marquette University defended its decision to withdraw an offer to an openly lesbian faculty member to become a college dean after it became evident that the teacher's published writings opposed Church teachings on human sexuality.

The Jesuit university underscored the importance of finding a dean who is not only academically competent but represents “our Catholic identity.”

I took the liberty of checking out her CV, and it indicated she had written articles which had titles likely supporting the claim that her published writings opposed Church teachings.

Fr. Robert Wild, president of Marquette, commented on the situation during a faculty award dinner on Thursday, underscoring that the decision to withdraw the offer to O'Brien was not a discriminatory act.
“I want to say it strongly, clearly and directly,” the reason for rescinding the position was “not about sexual identity,” Fr. Wild said.

Right, the issue is Catholic identity. A Catholic university needs to seek out administrators and faculty who can build up and support that identity. Ex Corde Ecclesiae would agree, saying that those who are not part of the faith must nonetheless be aware of the University's Catholic identity and mission, and work toward that end.

Fr. Wild had to intercede on behalf of the Faith, which is is job. This episode indicates that there are probably some bigger issues that need to be dealt with on this campus. Any chance, though, to re-assert the Catholic identity on campus must be commended.