Fr. Hesburgh and Health Care

I've been so busy recently, I've barely had the chance to even read articles that could make their way to this weblog. Today, though, I saw a headline that was too provocative to pass up: Pelosi Invoked Fr. Hesburgh to Turn 'No' Health Bill Vote to 'Yes'.

This saddens, but doesn't surprise me. Though it is worse than I thought. The headline made me think she said something like "what would Fr. Hesburgh do?" but, it turns out, he actually was asked to make a phone call

Hesburgh was called in to persuade U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) to vote for the health care bill despite the vast expansion of abortion funding embedded in it. Donnelly had been a member of the group of Democrats led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who opposed the bill without Hyde-amendment restrictions on abortion funding.
...

Elizabeth Shappell, Donnelly's press secretary, claims Hesburgh did not tell Donnelly how to vote but only advised him to "vote your conscience."

A well formed conscience should have been able to see clearly what the issues at hand were. In fact, it really would be the role of the episcopate and presbyteriate to help form the consciences of those considering this bill. There was no pressing need to pass this bill now, on that day, as it stood. After all, people weren't dying in the streets; the current system works, though perhaps imperfectly, and we thus should have done such a massive reform correctly, even if it took a little more time.

If only Fr. Hesburgh had forgotten all about the Land O' Lakes statement, and just told Congressman Donnelly to listen to the Bishops.

Works in progress

The faithful reader(s) of this weblog have surely noticed that in recent months, the frequency with which I have been making posts has greatly diminished. Fear not, for I am thinking no less than before; the world of graduate school work presently demands more time of me.

Rather than leave this simply apologetic in nature, I will enlighten you to the areas which have been drawing my interest recently. These interests, very often, manifest themselves as and/or culminate in essays, which could become weblog posts, or the like. This is a recent snapshot of what I have been working on and thinking about.

Working titles:
The theology of grading
On the gnostic nature of Linux
The internet these days (a look at how the internet has so changed everything)
The Scout Oath and Law as a rule for life
Adversus Matrimonii Mixiti (a critique of the practice of mixed-faith relationships)

In addition, I have started to work some more on my Way of the Cross reflections. I have also been tossing around the idea of writing a Rule.

I suppose if any of these interested anyone, I could "fast track" them, as it were. Otherwise, you may see these, or something else that strikes my fancy, right here on some day in the future.

Archabbeys

Friends, I present to you the culmination of a bit of research on my part stemming from a conversation I had recently about archabbeys. I once learned that there were 5 archabbeys in the world, with St. Meinrad and St. Vincent being the two in the US. This was incorrect, as there are 11 in the world. I will recount the results, the sources, and a bit of the quest for this information.

To my knowledge, there does not exist a nice list anywhere, in English or otherwise, of the archabbeys in the world. Try searching google or wikipedia for archabbeys or the like and you won't find a nice list. I did however, come to find that there are indeed 11 in the world. St. Meinrad's website has a citation, claiming "There are only 11 archabbeys in the world, one other in the United States." This is repeated on the wikipedia entry on Indiana. This seemed to me to confirm that I had 11 to find.

I knew of a few, and decided the best way to get to this was to search for a parital list, to see if I could find a full list. I searched google for "pannonhalma beuron ottilien meinrad vincent", which were 5 I was able to find via looking through wikipedia. The only useful entry I found was a web forum in Italian. In case, at some point that link fails to work, I will post here the pertinent entry:

Citazione:

Originariamente scritto da Fidei Depositum 1) Sì. In tutto le arciabbazie sono 11 (secondo il sito dell'abbazia di san Meinrado): di queste conosco Montecassino, Pannonhalma (UNG), Beuron (GER), Emming(GER), San Meinrado (USA), San Vincenzo (USA), San Pietro a Salisburgo (AUT). Se qualcuno mi sa dire quali manchino, ben venga.

Ringraziando Henry O'Shea e il sito www.osb-international.info, cui ho chiesto informazioni, posso fornirvi l'elenco completo delle 11 arciabbazie al mondo (ho completato aggiungendo ad ognuna il link al sito ufficiale):

1) Montecassino;
2) Monte Oliveto Maggiore;
3) Vallombrosa;
4) Arpino (monache)(non hanno sito web);
5) Beuron (DEU);
6) Sankt Ottilien (DEU);
7) Brevnov (CZE);
8) Pannonhalma (HUN);
9) Saint Vincent (USA);
10) Saint Meinrad (USA);
11) Sao Sebastiao em Salvador (BRA)(non hanno sito web).

So, I had a list. I knew some of these, but not all. I also was pointed to the Benedictine's central site, which has a nice search feature (called atlas). This however was not the end of my quest.

I decided that I must confirm that indeed each of these are Archabbeys, as I had my doubts (for instance about Montecassino). A confirmation, I decided, was some mention, on the internet, especially in something official (like their website) that it is an archabbey.

I will cut to the chase a little bit. I did not confirm this list completely, I was able to confirm 10 of the 11, and found another one, which makes 11. I will present them all below, with sources and such.

First, Montecassino in Italy. This one threw me for a loop, because none of the official websites refer to it as anything but the Abbey of Montecassino. A little bit of poking around, and I found a Vatican itinerary on the Holy See's website stating "Celebration of Vespers with the Benedictine Abbots and the Community of Benedictine Monks and Nuns gathered in the Archabbey of Montecassino." I call that confirmed.

Next, Monte Oliveto Maggiore, also in Italy, was another tough one. Their website, and that of the Benedictines didn't refer to it as an archabbey. But, I did find a letter of Pope John Paul II to the Olivetian Benedictines, which says: "...so united to the Archabbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore that they form a single family by a juridical bond..." If it's good enough for the Pope, then it is good enough for me.

I was unable to confirm #3 on the list, Vallombrosa, but I did confirm #4 Arpino. This was the hardest of all, because searching for Arpino in the website of the Benedictines didn't yield a result. In a sense, the confirmation was easy, searching Google for "Arpino archabbey" yielded the 2006 charitable giving of the Knights of Columbus: "Benedictine Archabbey of Arpino, Romania — New monastery". By having the Benedictine website list all the territorial abbeys, one can find the listing for Arpino. That gives you at least a little bit about it, and thanks to the crack record keeping of the Knights, we know it to be an archabbey of nuns.

Beuron archabbey in Germany is one of the few archabbeys with the word "archabbey" in the wikipedia page. Likewise, their website lists them as an archabbey (erzabtei in German).

Saint Ottilien, also in Germany, is also listed as an "Erzabtei" on the OSB website.

Brevnov, located in the Czech Republic, is listed as a "Benediktinske arciopatstvi" which would seem to be Czech for Benedictine archabbey. A quick glance at their website's German version also confirms that it is an erzabtei, or archabbey.

I add in, now, St. Peter's in Salzburg, Austria, another confirmed case of "Erzabtei" thanks to the OSB website.

Pannonhalma, Hungary, is one of the oldest abbeys in the world. Hungarian is a much different beast of a language, but luckily, they have an English version of their homepage, with a note signed "Archabbot Asztrik Várszegi".

St. Vincent in Latrobe and St. Meinrad in Indiana, both proudly call themselves archabbeys.

Which leaves us with the last of our list, being called "Sao Sebastiao em Salvado" in Brazil by the list we had. Though I know no Portuguese, I can gather that this is St. Sebastian in Salvador (Bahia) Brazil. The wikipedia entry for the archdiocese mentions "Basílica Arquiabacial de São Sebastião (first benedictine monastery in the New World)" as a notable Church. Google translate luckily tells me that "arqui abacial" would translate "arch abbey". Additionally, their entry in the OSB atlas gives an email address for the abbey as "arquiabadeemanuel@hotmail.com", and again, google translate tells me that this would be archabbot Emanuel. Looking at their website, they would seem to best be called the Monestary of St. Benedict at the Archabbey of St. Sebastion. Their site further seems to indicate that they were raised to the status of archabbey in 1982.

That is 11. Assuming there are indeed only 11 archabbeys in the world, this is therefore a complete list. I repeat now, the list:

1) Montecassino; Italy
2) Monte Oliveto Maggiore; Italy
3) Arpino (nuns); Italy
4) Beuron; Germany
5) St. Ottilien; Germany
6) Brevnov; Czech Republic
7) St. Peter; Austria
8) Pannonhalma; Hungary
9) Saint Vincent; USA
10) Saint Meinrad; USA
11) St. Sebastion; Brazil


[EDIT: The list of Territorial Abbeys is incomplete, and as such I have removed it. If you are interested the Wikipedia entry on territorial abbeys might be a useful starting point. I will note that though I can't exactly confirm the list, because I don't know if I can put an actual limit on the number of Archabbeys, it seems reasonable. (Actually Catholic Hierarchy and OSB international disagree on the list of territorial abbeys, that is, the OSB site doesn't list Einsiedeln, Subiaco, or Tokwon.) I might buy the Catholic Heirarchy list of male territorial abbeys, but the Wikipedia list leaves out Arpino and Isola San Giulio, which are abbeys of Nuns, so though independent of a local ordinary, they they might not have territorial control over parishes, for instance.]

There you have it, a (possibly) complete list, in English, of all the archabbeys in the world.

The Design Argument

Today, I attended a lecture sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Culture by Stephen M. Barr, entitled The Argument from Design for the Existence of God and the Laws of Physics. He also wrote the book Modern Physics and Ancient Faith and writes occasionally for the Journal First Things. I was turned on to his writing by my Pastor (who also attended the lecture) and have started reading his book.

He started his talk by contrasting his views with the intelligent design view. He had recently wrote an article on the First Things internet site critiquing the Intelligent Design position. The idea is that intelligent design and atheism both see God and science an in competition. Intelligent Design relies on arguments from biology, whereas the Bible and early Christian writers (of which he quoted maybe 6) focused on astronomy and natural order, rather than on biological arguments. The idea is that order in the universe implies a lawgiver. Also, he pointed out that monotheism really ends in an expectation of a natural order, and that Judeo-Christian views have been positive to a scientific explanation of the world.

He then went on to define the three different types of design argument for the existence of God. The three were Cosmic, Biological, and Providential. The Cosmic argument relies on the beauty, order, and structure of the universe to argue for a creator. The Biological relies on bio-complexity. The providential is a midpoint between them. It sees order in the world as moving toward the "good" of creation. It sees and argues from a purpose in the universe and relies heavily on the anthropic principle. Both the cosmic and the biological can be weakened by arguments from atheists relying on simple Darwinism.

The rest of the talk focused on the "Cosmic" argument for the existence of God. Essentially the cosmic view sees the mathematical beauty of the physical world to point toward a creator. The theist would say that seeing an arrangement implies an arranger, aka God. The Law, that is the physical law, does not explain the necessity of the Law. It just is. Consider walking into a room, and seeing a room with a neat arrangement of chairs. Would you assume the arrangement occurred spontaneously or was deigned by some intelligence? The chairs follow a "law" but that is not a necessary law (they could have followed some other law/had some other arrangement). Some laws, however, are necessary; the fundamental laws of mathematics (1+1=2) and logic (a statement cannot be both true and false) are both examples.

The postulate was put forward that order cannot emerge if order is not already extant. If a bunch of hard spheres (marbles, for instance) are put in a box, they will settle into a hexagonal close packing arrangement. This arrangement has less symmetry than an individual sphere. Thus, order at higher levels, which we observe (think, crystals) emerge from even stronger order at deeper levels. All of this comes down from the symmetries we observe in nature, which drive the development of modern fundamental physical laws.

He concluded by critiquing Richard Dawkins. The argument of Dawkins and his ilk is that order builds up from disorder, a bottom up approach. This, Prof. Barr claims, is an illusion (rather than a delusion) which comes from a superficial understanding of science. A simplistic understanding of Science, as a zoologist might have, might think that this is the way the world works. Physics claims that lower order, which we observe, stems from a higher symmetry principle, which may or may not be part of our direct experience.

I was impressed. I have enjoyed the things I have read by Prof. Barr, and this talk beat expectations. I don't need a Cosmic design argument for the existence of God; I am a believer. Even ontological arguments, like that of Anselm, I don't need, but it is at least an idea which can be used to defend the reasonableness of the Theistic position. I look forward to finishing his book.

ADDENDUM:
The above was taken mostly from my notes, but I have been reflecting on this and have a couple more thoughts to add. Professor Barr is a Physicist, this is important to remember. With this in mind, think about what a tough job he has. As a believer, he might be in the minority in his field. At the very least, the most vocal physicists in the question of Faith are the nonbelievers. Then, when he gives talks like this, as the Q&A session bore out, he will be attacked, or at least challenged/questioned on his philosophical and/or theological grounds. He's not a philosopher, nor is he a theologian, so to respond to those points will often be unfulfilling to those groups. He's not alone, but he is almost alone.

February Intentions

I'm excited about the Pope's general prayer intentions for the month of February, because he's praying for me:

That by means of sincere search for the truth scholars and intellectuals may arrive at an understanding of the one true God.

I like it!

Fr. Elgar Bockenfeld, OFM

I was recently informed that a long time pastor of two parishes near my home town passed on to his eternal reward Tuesday evening.

Fr. Elgar Bockenfeld, OFM was 93 years old, was the pastor of two parishes at the time of his death. This fact alone should be enough to tell you what kind of man he was. I imagine (though I could be wrong) that he was possibly the oldest active pastor in the Roman Rite, and if not, in the top 10 or so.

He has always been old. When I was born, he was a stone's throw from 80 years old. I've always known him to have a hacking cough, brought on by years of cigars I'm told, and a slow, shuffling gait.

One of his appeals as a pastor was his liturgical style. His liturgies were fast, but correct. He always had a homily, even if somewhat short, but always relevant to either the readings of the day or some pressing issue in the world. He didn't skip any non-optional parts of the Mass, though he did skip the optional parts, for instance the sign of peace. The altar was always just as it should have been, ready with chalice and pall and burse and veil, colored accordingly with the day. He was one of the few priests who made it a point to "care about the crumbs" in an obvious manner. He insisted on communion with altar servers holding pattens, and was always sure to clean them before stowing them.

He was also devoted to the sacrament of confession. For a while, he was the only priest in the area who had a regular, at least weekly, confession schedule. In addition, as Easter and Christmas approached every year, he always preached on the importance of making a good confession, at this time if at no other, and to reinforce that, he scheduled confessions daily, so nobody had an excuse.

Being a pastor in one place for nearly 40 years is quite unique. I bet he baptized, married, and buried at least someone. He most certainly has baptized grandchildren of couples he married.

Although the Church Militant lost a great pastor yesterday, the Church Triumphant will surely be gaining a great saint.

Christian Unity Week

Somehow, I forgot to post on this earlier. In addition, I really thought I had made this post before, but, for the life of me, cannot find it.

This is the week dedicated for prayer for Christian Unity. This is quite important in this day, considering the overtures offered to the Anglicans, and the rumblings regarding the Orthodox Churches.

And so, I present the prayer for Christian unity offered in the Handbook of Indulgences, grant 44.

Almighty and eternal God,
you gather the scattered sheep
and watch over those you have gathered,

Look kindly on all who follow Jesus, your Son.

You have marked them with the seal of one baptism;
now make them one in the fullness of faith
and unite them in the bond of love.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A partial indulgence.

Remember, you can pray this any time, not just in the week for Christian Unity.

St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr

Today (January 20) is the feast of St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr. He's usually forgotten in the history books and even on the calendar, because people like St. Sebastian more. Pope Fabian was the 20th Pope, and probably my favorite ancient Pope (after Peter, of course). The Martyrologium Romanum states

At Rome, the birthday of St. Fabian, pope, who suffered martyrdom in the time of Decius, and was buried in the cemetery of Callistus.

Not much said, but there is much more to this interesting Saint. He was a layman when he was elevated to the Chair of Peter. In fact, he was a simple farmer. From the Catholic Encyclopedia

After the death of Anterus he had come to Rome, with some others, from his farm and was in the city when the new election began. While the names of several illustrious and noble persons were being considered, a dove suddenly descended upon the head of Fabian, of whom no one had even thought. To the assembled brethren the sight recalled the Gospel scene of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Saviour of mankind, and so, divinely inspired, as it were, they chose Fabian with joyous unanimity and placed him in the Chair of Peter.

The Catholic Encyclopedia goes on to tell us that there is a certain tradition that he instituted the minor orders. It could be St. Fabian we have to thank for the subdeaconate. He sent missionaries to Gaul. Overall, he was a well-liked Pope, I think. He condemned some heresies and did other such Popery.

He is an example for us all. He was not the only Pope to be elevated to the Papacy while still a layman, but he may have been the first (ignoring arguments about when Peter was selected first Pope and made a priest/bishop). Though he isn't especially "popular" among the Saints, evidenced by the fact that usually Sebastian's mass texts get said today, and that he has no official patronage. I, however, propose that he should be considered a patron of being open to the call of God, After all, he just came into Rome to catch some of the excitement of a Papal election (there had had been less than 20 ever). By being open to the grace of God, he came up to Rome a farmer, and ended up Bishop and Pope.

God our Father, glory of your priests,
may the prayers of your Martyr Fabian
help us to share his faith
and offer you loving service.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Mass/New Mass

Fr. Z at WDTPRS made a post here asking for readers, especially those of the younger generation, to email him with brief thoughts on the old mass/new mass question. The responses are there, and in part 2 and part 3. My response was made and posted. All of the responses taken together make an interesting reflection on the question, and as I have continued thinking about it, I'd like to make a more substantial discussion of the topic than was afforded there.

First, I must lay out what I mean by the "old mass/new mass question." Overall, I'd like to discuss my preferences, how I arrived at them, and also the role the Extraordinary Form (EF) has played in my spiritual life at different points.

As I have said before, I didn't much care about the Faith, nor attendance at Church through my freshman year of college. When I returned to the Church as a sophomore, I had only moderate religious formation, and very little understanding of liturgical history. Luckily, though, I had friends who were also willing to learn, and as a group, we grew in the Faith. A close friend of mine had heard that there was a place in the Archdiocese (of Chicago) that had a special indult to celebrate the "Latin Mass" (as we called it). We decided to take in the Mass, and see what it was all about. I looked at some online missal and saw a general structure I recognized, and I figured that since I had been going to Mass all my life, a little Latin wouldn't deter me from knowing what was going on.

We were late, got a little lost on the way, and walked in during the Kyrie. I recognized that; it was one of the last things I recognized. Because we were late, I didn't notice the mass guides in the back of the Church when we came in. The experience was something wholly other. I was lost the whole time, and just did my best to pay attention to the bells. Come communion time, they used a communion rail. I had never received my Lord and Savior directly on my tongue in my life, let alone while kneeling. I think I knew not to say "Amen," but that was about all I knew. Moved by the sacredness of this mode of receiving, from that point on I only received on the tongue.

Reflecting on that Mass later, and attending the EF mass a number of times again, I was moved by the realization that this Mass was one and the same mass that my parents grew up with, and my grandparents had for much of their lives, and my great-grandparents, and back and back and back. I was also struck by the sanctity that the priests and servers showed toward the celebration of the Mass, something I had not seen anywhere else I had been. I also attended Mass at the same parish in the Ordinary Form (OF) in Latin.

Now, with my initial experiences of Mass in Latin laid out, I'd like to go on to discuss my preferences. In short, for the most part, and all things being equal, I'd prefer to go to an OF mass over an EF mass. Part of this is definitely familiarity; I think if I had only known the EF mass and then had limited exposure to the OF mass, I'd at least be leery of it. But, there is more than that. I like hearing what the priest is saying, and having responses given by the congregation rather than by the servers.

I don't attend the EF mass very often, despite having two nearby places to attend every Sunday. I used to go more often when I was in Chicago. I would go when I felt like I needed "an infusion of sanctity" or tradition, or just wanted to attend a liturgy which was done carefully. Today, the parish I attend does not do things "perfectly" (to my liking, at least), but things aren't off the wall either. I would probably more regularly attend if the EF mass was offered as one of the regular liturgies by my parish.

I haven't yet touched on the language issue. On this point I am still torn. I would like to see much greater use of the Latin language, but to what extent I am not sure. Of course, I think that things like the readings of the Mass ought be in the vernacular, but I'm not sure which parts of the ordinary ought be in the vernacular languages, and which others in Latin. I don't accept the premise that people won't be able to relate to or understand prayers in Latin, or whatever the usual complaint is. How many people even pay attention to the words of the Confiteor or the Credo when they hear it in English? Would it be any worse if the prayers were in Latin? The thing I like about keeping large parts of the ordinary in Latin is the uniformity and universality of worship among the Roman (Latin) Rite Catholics.

Finally, I will take a quick detour to discuss the reform I wish had taken place after the council. The mass I would like to see is essentially the EF mass, but with the points I've mentioned above, that is audible prayers by the priest (at least some of those prayers ought be audible), and responses given by the people. Throw in the additionally extended lectionary, and we've got a renewed liturgy which is clearly in continuity with Tradition. This, I think, having read things like Sacrocanctum Concilium, is what the council foresaw.

Eucharistic Compendium

More great news. The Eucharistic Compendium promised in Sacramentum Caritatis is finally finished. It is being reported that it has been published either in Latin or in Italian (depending on who you ask). It also sounds like it is geared toward clergy, rather than the laity, but that won't stop me from getting one once the English version is published.

Reunification!

No longer must I head up these such posts with a question mark, for the Vatican has announced a new canonical structure to be formed to admit perhaps massive amounts of Anglicans into the ranks of the Catholic Church. Deo Gratias!

It was over two years ago when the Traditional Anglican Communion decided they must become Catholic, by presenting signed copies of the Catechism to Vatican officials, and still over a half year ago when you heard that massive overtures were coming from the Holy See.

There are a number of articles which have come out already, but I highlight just one right now. I am sure more are to come soon. My emphasis.

The Apostolic Constitution, which Cardinal Levada said “provides a reasonable and even necessary response to a world-wide phenomenon”, will be a “single canonical model for the universal Church which is adaptable to various local situations and equitable to former Anglicans in its universal application.”

The new canonical structure will allow former Anglicans to enter into full communion with the Church while “preserving elements of distinctive Anglican spiritual patrimony,” said Cardinal Levada. He added that it will allow married former Anglican clergy to be ordained however, in common with Catholic and Orthodox Churches, married clergy will not be allowed to be ordained bishops.

These ‘Personal Ordinariates’ will be formed, “as needed, in consultation with local Conferences of Bishops, and their structure will be similar in some ways to that of the Military Ordinariates which have been established in most countries to provide pastoral care for members of the armed forces and their dependents throughout the world”, the cardinal prefect said.

So, it will be a canonical structure somewhat different from that of Opus Dei. I think that makes more sense. So, as I understand (and until they publish the Constitution we won't really know more), this will be a non-geographical diocese attached to a country, as opposed to Opus Dei which has a similar structure to a global diocese. My guess is that parishes under the care of one of these Personal Ordinariates would also be subject to the local Bishop, as opposed to those parishes of Eastern Rites, who are subject to their Eparch. Essentially they will be of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. It will be interesting to see how inter-conversion works.

I hope we can see some of the US Anglican dioceses, or at least large, more traditionally-minded, groups of Anglicans come over under this structure.

This is a time to pray:

Almighty and eternal God,
you gather the scattered sheep
and watch over those you have gathered.

Look kindly on all who follow Jesus, your Son.

You have marked them with the seal of one baptism;
now make them one in the fullness of faith
and unite them in the bond of love.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
A partial indulgence. (Ench. Ind. 44)

Early October

Some people get a little antsy this time of year. Some because they expect a wakeup call from Stockholm, and some because they worry that whoever is going to get the call is not worthy. I've known physicists in both categories. The technology end of the prize has been forgotten recently, which is why I am glad the Physics prize went to CCDs and fiber optics, as they really changed our world, science and otherwise.

However, it is not the Physics prize I have come to talk to you about today. I woke up this morning to the news that our President, Barack Obama, will be awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Peace. I am trying to figure out what he has done for peace. What definitive actions has this president, sitting for less than 9 months, done to promote peace, here or abroad? I can't really come up with anything. Wars are still going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the notorious detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is still open.

Sure, there has been some strong rhetoric, but this is not what the prize is awarded for. Back in the day, Einstein didn't receive a Nobel Prize for Special Relativity because it wasn't well enough established, even though most people at the time could see that it had to be right. Likewise, President Obama could very well do many things to promote peace, he is, after all, the President of the most powerful nation in the world. This is why the awarding of the prize this year to him rings hollow.

In his defense, however, he has probably done more to promote world peace than Al Gore. Really, the Peace Prize has become more of a popularity contest than anything. The committee makes these decisions with political motivations, which really waters down the prize. I mean, really, Al Gore for pushing shoddy science, and now Barack Obama for talk of Hope.

40 Days For Life

Today was day 1 of the 40 Days for Life, fall 2009. South Bend is participating, as they did last year.

The abortion clinic is located in a little development just off of Ironwood. On days when I bike to school, I pass right behind this building, and I normally say a small prayer as I pass, usually the St. Michael prayer. With the 40 days going on, though, I think I will try to make a bit more effort to stop in and pray, even if it is only a decade of a rosary.

And so, today when I rode past, I decided to stop by. And not long after I got there, I met a few on South Bend's finest. Turns out the building next door changed hands and, in fact, the womens' care center that was there is no longer there anymore. The new owner is less happy to have us there, though at least amicable. The tenants, however, didn't seem to take kindly to us being there. My guess is either they are a little scared because they really have no experience of the 40 days before, or they are supporters of abortion and so want to cause us trouble.

As such, the police were called, and three squad cars showed up. We were informed that when push came to shove, we would be allowed on the very thin stretch of grass between the little strip mall and the clinic. If we were in the streets we could be considered "impeding the flow of traffic" and if we were in the driveway of either building, we would be impeding the right of those businesses to exist. If in either case, the cops were called and we were found outside of the specific location we were allowed, we could be subject to a ticket.

The officers were very nice, they didn't seem like they wanted to be called out to us. One of the officers told us his wife was signed up to be praying there at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Unfortunately it seems like the situation might be a little less amicable this year, but we will persevere. And, who knows, this might be the year they finally close their doors for good.

A Papal Sequel

It would seem that Pope Benedict XVI has finished, for the most part, the Part II of his book Jesus of Nazareth. The Vatican is saying that it will be out in Spring of 2010. [Source]

I am excited, because I really liked the first part. In general, I find I like Pope Benedict's writing style. I am not sure if I like his more German-methodical approach to analysis, or that he is philosophically an Augustinian. I find his writings very readable.

The first book dealt with the earlier parts of Jesus' life, and was especially critical of some of the biblical scholars, and some modern biblical interpretation methods.

Fr. Jenkins Speaks

When I got home this evening, I found I had recieved an email from Fr. John Jenkins, CSC, President of Notre Dame. This letter was sent to all students, as far as I can tell. I will put the text here, without any additional emphasis or inline commenting.

Dear Members of the Notre Dame Family,

Coming out of the vigorous discussions surrounding President Obama’s visit last Spring, I said we would look for ways to engage the Notre Dame community with the issues raised in a prayerful and meaningful way. As our nation continues to struggle with the morality and legality of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and related issues, we must seek steps to witness to the sanctity of life. I write to you today about some initiatives that we are undertaking.

Each year on January 22, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, the March for Life is held in Washington D.C. to call on the nation to defend the right to life. I plan to participate in that march. I invite other members of the Notre Dame Family to join me and I hope we can gather for a Mass for Life at that event. We will announce details as that date approaches.

On campus, I have recently formed the Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life. It will be co-chaired by Professor Margaret Brinig, the Fritz Duda Family Chair in Law and Associate Dean for the Law School, and by Professor John Cavadini, the Chair of the Department of Theology and the McGrath-Cavadini Director of the Institute for Church Life. My charge to the Task Force is to consider and recommend to me ways in which the University, informed by Catholic teaching, can support the sanctity of life. Possibilities the Task Force has begun to discuss include fostering serious and specific discussion about a reasonable conscience clause; the most effective ways to support pregnant women, especially the most vulnerable; and the best policies for facilitating adoptions. Such initiatives are in addition to the dedication, hard work and leadership shown by so many in the Notre Dame Family, both on the campus and beyond, and the Task Force may also be able to recommend ways we can support some of this work.

I also call to your attention the heroic and effective work of centers that provide care and support for women with unintended pregnancies. The Women’s Care Center, the nation’s largest Catholic-based pregnancy resource center, on whose Foundation Board I serve, is run by a Notre Dame graduate, Ann Murphy Manion (’77). The center has proven successful in offering professional, non-judgmental concern to women with unintended pregnancies, helping those women through their pregnancy and supporting them after the birth of their child. The Women’s Care Center and similar centers in other cities deserve the support of Notre Dame clubs and individuals.

Our Commencement last Spring generated passionate discussion and also caused some divisions in the Notre Dame community. Regardless of what you think about that event, I hope that we can overcome divisions to foster constructive dialogue and work together for a cause that is at the heart of Notre Dame’s mission. We will keep you informed of our work, and we ask for your support, assistance and prayers. May Our Lady, Notre Dame, watch over our efforts.

In Notre Dame,

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

An interesting letter, to say the least. We have been waiting for years to have our school's President to lead us in a march for life. Pictures hanging all over campus attest to the protests Fr. Hesburgh led. The ND Right to Life student group gets so little support from the university, we can only hope that this might mark a sea change. Only time will tell.

It is interesting that this seems to reflect some of the demands made by ND Response (which I criticized here). They wanted to see Fr. Jenkins lead the students in the march for life, they wanted to see an institutional commitment to support life. These are little steps.

It is interesting to consider that these changes didn't come from "dialogue" with the University, but rather from the (might I say again, imprudent) demands of a student group. Now, these "demands" were really reasonable, and in fact, were, for the most part, things that a Catholic University should be doing anyways.

We can hope that this is a first, though perhaps small, step toward regaining the Catholic identity of the University. After all that has come down on this issue, a little good news is always nice.