We Stick With the Church's Prudential Judgement on the Death Penalty

Here are some comments from critics of the execution of Saddam Hussein including Cardinal Martino's:

Saddam's execution punishes 'a crime with another crime. ... The death penalty is not a natural death. And no one can give death, not even the state.' _ Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI's top prelate for justice issues, to the Rome newspaper La Repubblica.

Mohammedans Try To Commandeer Spanish Cathedral

Cordoba cathedral in Spain is situated inside a complex that used to be a mosque. The mosque itself was built upon the remains of a church which had been destroyed by the invading Moors. It is currently the subject of a third attempt by Muslims to allow it to be used as an Islamic place of worship.

Orthodoxy's SSPX

Tsk tsk.

God's Law or Secular Law?

The Muslim Charter "an initiative challenging Muslim communities living in the West to subordinate their interpretations of Sharia law to the laws of the land" sounds from this article like an initiative with really horrific implications.

The practical subordination of God's law to secular law is a mark of totalitarianism, and the results have been particularly apparent in the 20th century. The very concept of human rights can only be coherent if such rights arise from something transcending the arbitrary secular law. The Nuremberg Trials only make sense if there is a "higher" law than that promulgated by the state. If there is not such a "higher" law, the Nuremberg trials represent nothing other than an exercise of force.

No, the problem is not in the Mohammedans believing that God's law is higher than the secular law. The Catholic Magisterium certainly teaches that. The problem is that many (arguably a plurality of) Mohammedans have a terribly defective understanding of God's law, most problematically in the area of religious freedom. One risks various forms of oppression up to and including death to convert from Mohammedanism to Christianity in most Mohammedan-majority countries.

For those groups of Mohammedans who do believe that God's law prohibits the killing of non-combatants and who also believe that God's law prohibits violent repression of religious freedom, we can have respect--with them we can engage in dialogue. Unfortunately, there is clearly no consensus within Mohammedanism that such is the nature of God's law.

The proposed Muslim Charter effectively asks Mohammedans to convert from their religion to secularism. This will not be good either for their own souls or for the European countries they live within.

3 Non-Negotiable Principles

Not news, since it was from March, 2006. But it is from a new compilation from the International Observatory - Cardinal Van Thuân - for the social Doctrine of the Church. Sounds very odd in English to call it an Observatory. Check it out.

The three non-negotiable principles.

Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI
to the participants in the Conference promoted by the European People’s Party

«As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the principal focus of her interventions in the public arena is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person, and she is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable. Among these the following emerge clearly today:

- protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death;

- recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family - as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage - and its defence from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its destabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role;

- the protection of the right of parents to educate their children.

These principles are not truths of faith, even though they receive further light and confirmation from faith; they are inscribed in human nature itself and therefore they are common to all humanity.. The Church’s action in promoting them is therefore not confessional in character, but is addressed to all people, prescinding from any religious affiliation they may have. On the contrary, such action is all the more necessary the more these principles are denied or misunderstood, because this constitutes an offence against the truth of the human person, a grave wound inflicted onto justice itself».

One Shot of Anthropophagy, Please!

Speaking of products from Hell, anthropophagy has been given new life by the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to the fraudulent hype regarding the fetal stem cell miracle cures that will soon become for us a fountain of youth, we have the much more prosaic and common problem of vaccines that are derived from aborted fetal stem cell lines. Moral theologians correctly distinguish between the remote cooperation with this crime that we incur when we (typically unwittingly) have our children inoculated from the more obvious (and messy!) direct killing and eating of a human victim. Nonetheless, the acts are of the same genus. When we kill humans and then use their tissue to sustain our health or life, we are acting in the mode of cannibals.

In a word, it is ghoulish. That the medical industry and the government regulators who approve their products subject citizens to the dilemma of choosing between vampirism or not vaccinating our children is shameful and criminal. It is also bad policy.

The FDA is currently accepting comments from the public on this very issue. The public has until December 28th to submit comments. This can be done online at the FDA.

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/CommentSearch.cfm?CID=&AGENCY=FDA

The docket ID is: 2006D-0383. You can just enter that and click the "Find" button. Then enter your comment.

Don't Buy What Hell is Offering

In New Zealand, Catholics are advised not to buy from Hell. The majority of abortions occur after contraception has been used, but has failed. The underlying premise of the use of condoms is that the users are attempting to prevent the exchange of bodily fluids with someone who might transmit any one of a number of horrifying diseases. Pregnancy is considered to be one of the horrifying diseases that may be transmitted.

The gigantic and almost universally unexamined assumption that the widespread availability of (and instruction in the use of) contraceptive techniques and devices reduces the rate of abortion has absolutely no evidence to support it. This bears repetition. THERE IS NO STATISTICAL EVIDENCE that the availability of contraception reduces the rate of abortions. On the contrary, there is a strong correlation between widespread availability of contraception and a high rate of unwanted pregnancies.

So, we concur with the call in New Zealand to boycott the products that are being offered by Hell.

Sacred Music, A Most Worthy Cause

Check out the Sacred Music Website and read Dr. Mahrt's Message

Special Message from William Mahrt, President of the CMAA Dear Friend of Sacred Music,

The first Sunday of Advent is soon upon us. For most of Church history, people at morning Mass would hear a glorious Gregorian melody sung to the text of the Introit from the choir's book, the Graduale. The words of the first chant of the new liturgical year convey the meaning and capture the purpose of all sacred music:

Ad te levavi animam meam.
To thee have I lifted up my soul.

If you are like most Catholics in this country, you will not hear this melody on Advent. Nor will a bright of "Puer natus est" greet you on Christmas morning. Nor will a plaintive "Invocabit me" mark the first Sunday of Lent. For many people, not even the most basic chants, such as seasonal Marian antiphons, are heard in their local parishes.

It is no secret that Catholic music is not what it should or could be, so I'll not continue with a litany of loss. What we need now is a clear path forward. More precisely, we need to walk the path that the Church has laid before us. Our generation must continue the restoration of sacred song.

Indeed, the Church has urged our parishes to adopt Gregorian chant and polyphony because the chant is an integral part of Mass. Pope Benedict XVI has said that even new music for the Church should share in the lineage of chant. Cardinal Arinze, head of the Congregation of Divine Worship, has called for a full Latin Mass with chant every week in all but the smallest parishes.

But how do we get from here to there? Musicians need training, singers need resources, priests need education, the Bishops who are working for change need support, and the faithful need to experience sacred music so they can come to love it and sing it with the angels and saints.

As a means toward that end, I like to ask you to join and generously support the Church Music Association of America. The CMAA is a nonprofit organization uniquely positioned to make a difference: through our journal Sacred Music, through colloquia and workshops around the country, through distribution of music and educational resources, and through expertise that we can share with musicians around the country and the world. We've put together an ambitious plan to make this a reality in our parishes and in our lifetimes.

We have already seen results. People around the world are using the CMAA's authoritative editions of Gregorian chant, via our website (musicasacra.com). We've published some of the most scholarly--and practical--writings on sacred music to appear in many years. Our summer colloquium, the most well attended in years, has produced fruit in parish after parish around the country.

The activities of the CMAA have been written up in Catholic World Report, The Wanderer, and Catholic World News, as well as many secular venues that are taking notice of the change in the air. Journalist Amy Welborn credits the CMAA for sparking a revival of sacred music that it impossible to miss.

When the US Bishops' subcommittee on music and the liturgy met in the Fall of 2006 to draft a new document on music, the CMAA was there to present a perspective that reflected the true intent of the Second Vatican Council, which called for Latin chant to be given primacy of place in the liturgy.

Our journal Sacred Music is the oldest continually published journal of music in the United States. A new generation of writers, composers, conductors, and editors have infused its pages with an impassioned zeal for beauty and truth. Circulation is rising rapidly. It is now a 60-page quarterly and has been warmly received in parishes around the country.

The CMAA is not a new organization. It was founded in 1964 in the closing days of the Second Vatican Council, as the coming together of the St. Cecilia and St. Gregory Societies. It quickly gained an affiliation with the Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae in Rome, founded by Paul VI to protect and propagate sacred music after the Council.

In a real way, the CMAA was made Rome's voice on matters of music in the United States. Our journal made the case for continuity with our sacred musical heritage. The CMAA helped publish the Liber Cantualis and the Adoremus Hymnal--two collections that have done so much to restore a sense of dignity and solemnity to modern worship.

Thanks to the efforts of its presidents, officers, members, and benefactors, the CMAA worked quietly and behind the scenes from the late 1960s onward. But music publishers began to promote styles and approaches that reflected popular and secular trends, rather than the true wishes Council. Even in the midst of upheaval, the CMAA maintained its high standards and ideals, and prepared for the future that is now upon us.

Times have changed again. Rome is becoming more explicit in its demands, and many US Bishops are prepared to help. A generation of new priests is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the 1970s. Many young people today are learning chant and Latin, and they want to help bring them back. New scholas are being founded all over the country, and they are singing at Mass. Diocesan Catholic newspapers are noting the change, and running more stories about exciting developments in sacred music.

The CMAA today is helping to make the difference. The restoration of the music of the Church requires a large investment of time and energy. But it is worth our every effort.

As John Paul II said in his St. Cecilia Day message, Gregorian chant and choral music based on it has "a special place" because it "corresponds best with the qualities demanded by the notion of sacred music, especially liturgical music."

Pope Benedict XVI, too, has been a magnificent defender of sacred music, speaking on the subject in many formal and informal talks. He has given a much-welcome tribute to the organ, which he said "gives resonance to the fullness of human sentiments, from joy to sadness, from praise to lamentation. By transcending the merely human sphere, as all music of quality does, it evokes the divine."

It is for this reason that the annual CMAA Colloquium on Sacred Music features organ at Mass and in recitals. This coming year, we will introduce new tutorials for organ as well, along with the best training in Gregorian chant and polyphony available. This conference alone--we have reserved enough space this year for 125-plus attendees--can transform Catholic music in America.

Now, let me let share with you a striking truth: the CMAA has no paid staff. Not even the outstanding contributors to Sacred Music are compensated. Maybe that can change someday, but, for now, anyone who does anything for the organization directly is contributing time and talent purely out of love for beautiful liturgy.

There are nonetheless expenses, and they are mounting by the day. There are website costs, printing costs, typesetting costs, promotional costs, travel costs, and so much more. It is gratifying work but it is also rather alarming to do what we do on such an extremely thin budget.

This system works for now, but I look forward to the day when the CMAA can be more financially stable and thus expand dramatically our workshops, publications, and educational efforts.

Thus do we need your help.

Please keep your membership in the CMAA up to date, or, if you are not a member, join today. Musicasacra.com uses paypal to make joining and contributing easy. Or you can write the address below.

How much should you give? Year-end gifts of $50, $100, $200, and $300 are very much welcome. If you can give more--$500, $1000, or $5,000—please do, and know of our deep gratitude.

Also, please consider giving a gift subscriptions to Sacred Music to every Church musician you know. We also provide an option for a full parish membership for $150.

We do not have the resources to undertake expensive mailings with color brochures, much less hire writers to make just the right pitch. We have to rely on you to forward this note to other friends of sacred music. You know people who understand how critical this issue is. Help us to get to know them too.

Finally, I would like to ask you to say a prayer of thanks for those who have led this cause through difficult times, and pray for the future success of the CMAA and the restoration of the sacred in the liturgy and of excellence in its music.

Sacred music is a cause that affects all our lives as Catholics. It should be beautiful, holy, and universal, like the faith itself. The quality of our liturgy is also linked with the quality of our prayer. A revival in the Catholic Church will also have an impact on our culture. It will encourage conversions. It will help rebuild the practice of our faith after so many years of wandering.

Perhaps not this year, but maybe next or the next and then forever after, we can all be greeted on the morning of Advent to a rebirth of music that causes us to lift our souls to the Lord our God. A renaissance awaits. Please help make it possible.

Sincerely


William Mahrt
President

Pizza President?

Domino's Pizza founder tosses money, influence to Sen. Brownback. This hit piece, surprisingly, lacks any quote from Frances Kissling.

Saturday Night is NOT All Right for Fighting

Regarding Laetare Sunday, Father Cantalamessa, the Pontifical Household preacher, quoted recently from Leopardi's poem. Here is the poem in English translation:

THE VILLAGE SATURDAY NIGHT.

The damsel from the field returns,
The sun is sinking in the west;
Her bundle on her head she sets,
And in her hand she bears
A bunch of roses and of violets.
To-morrow is a holiday,
And she, as usual, must them wear
Upon her bodice, in her hair.
The old crone sits among her mates,
Upon the stairs, and spins;
And, looking at the fading light,
Of good old-fashioned times she prates,
When she, too, dressed for holidays,
And with light heart, and limb as light,
Would dance at night
With the companions of her merry days.
The twilight shades around us close,
The sky to deepest blue is turned;
From hills and roofs the shadows fall,
And the new moon her face of silver shows.
And now the cheerful bell
Proclaims the coming festival.
By its familiar voice
How every heart is cheered!
The children all in troops,
Around the little square
Go, leaping here and there,
And make a joyful sound.
Meanwhile the ploughman, whistling, returns
Unto his humble nest,
And thinks with pleasure of his day of rest.

Then, when all other lights are out,
And all is silent round,
The hammer's stroke we hear,
We hear the saw of carpenter,
Who with closed doors his vigil keeps,
Toils o'er his lamp and strives so hard,
His work to finish ere the dawn appear.

The dearest day of all the week
Is this, of hope and joy so full;
To-morrow, sad and dull,
The hours will bring, for each must in his thought
His customary task-work seek.

Thou little, sportive boy,
This blooming age of thine
Is like to-day, so full of joy;
And is the day, indeed,
That must the sabbath of thy life precede.

Enjoy, it, then, my darling child,
Nor speed the flying hours!
I say to thee no more:
Alas, in this sad world of ours,
How far exceeds the holiday,
The day that goes before!

In the original:


La donzelletta vien dalla campagna
in sul calar del sole,
col suo fascio dell'erba; e reca in mano
un mazzolin di rose e viole,
onde, siccome suole, ornare ella si appresta
dimani, al dí di festa, il petto e il crine.
Siede con le vicine
su la scala a filar la vecchierella,
incontro là dove si perde il giorno;
e novellando vien del suo buon tempo,
quando ai dí della festa ella si ornava,
ed ancor sana e snella
solea danzar la sera intra di quei
ch'ebbe compagni nell'età piú bella.
Già tutta l'aria imbruna,
torna azzurro il sereno, e tornan l'ombre
giú da' colli e da' tetti,
al biancheggiar della recente luna.
Or la squilla dà segno
della festa che viene;
ed a quel suon diresti
che il cor si riconforta.
I fanciulli gridando
su la piazzuola in frotta,
e qua e là saltando,
fanno un lieto romore;
e intanto riede alla sua parca mensa,
fischiando, il zappatore,
e seco pensa al dí del suo riposo.

Poi quando intorno è spenta ogni altra face,
e tutto l'altro tace,
odi il martel picchiare, odi la sega
del legnaiuol, che veglia
nella chiusa bottega alla lucerna,
e s'affretta, e s'adopra
di fornir l'opra anzi al chiarir dell'alba.

Questo di sette è il più gradito giorno,
pien di speme e di gioia:
diman tristezza e noia
recheran l'ore, ed al travaglio usato
ciascuno in suo pensier farà ritorno.

Garzoncello scherzoso,
cotesta età fiorita
è come un giorno d'allegrezza pieno,
giorno chiaro, sereno,
che precorre alla festa di tua vita.
Godi, fanciullo mio; stato soave,
stagion lieta è cotesta.
Altro dirti non vo'; ma la tua festa
ch'anco tardi a venir non ti sia grave.

Note that the Lepanto League has as its reading theme for next year "The 19th Century -- What the Hell Happened?" We are definitely reading Manzoni, and we may squeeze in some Leopardi.

2nd Protestant Reformation?

A Second Protestant Reformation - the essayist argues that the homosexual rights movement constitutes a "Second Protestant Reformation." Hmm..., maybe he's got something there.

Plurality in Islam

Here are the translated words of Robert Redeker about Islam as published in Le Figaro last September--an appraisal of the Mohammedan threat. And, this pundit's article about that article's author, Le Figaro's apology, and the other folks also in hiding because of Mohammedan death threats.

Reflections on Ghastly Transhumanism

The Anti-Theology of the Body is worth a read. Eastern Orthodox theologian David B. Hart considers the significance of John Paul II's Theology of the Body for bioethics and beyond.

MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 2007

VATICAN CITY, DEC 12, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was Benedict XVI's 2nd Message for the World Day of Peace. The Day falls on January 1, 2007, and has as its theme: "The Human Person, the Heart of Peace." The text has been published in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese.

Extracts from the Message are given below:

"At the beginning of the new year, I wish to extend prayerful good wishes for peace to governments, leaders of nations and all men and women of good will"

"As one created in the image of God, each individual human being has the dignity of a person; he or she is not just something, but someone, capable of self-knowledge, self-possession, free self-giving and entering into communion with others."

"Likewise, peace is both gift and task. If it is true that peace between individuals and peoples - the ability to live together and to build relationships of justice and solidarity - calls for unfailing commitment on our part, it is also true, and indeed more so, that peace is a gift from God."

"The body of rules for individual action and the reciprocal relationships of persons in accordance with justice and solidarity, is inscribed on human consciences, in which the wise plan of God is reflected. ... Peace is thus also a task demanding of everyone a personal response consistent with God's plan. The criterion inspiring this response can only be respect for the 'grammar' written on human hearts by the divine Creator.

"From this standpoint, the norms of the natural law ... should be welcomed as a call to carry out faithfully the universal divine plan inscribed in the nature of human beings. Guided by these norms, all peoples - within their respective cultures - can draw near to the greatest mystery, which is the mystery of God. Today too, recognition and respect for natural law represents the foundation for a dialogue between the followers of the different religions and between believers and non-believers. As a great point of convergence, this is also a fundamental presupposition for authentic peace."

"The duty to respect the dignity of each human being, in whose nature the image of the Creator is reflected, means in consequence that the person can not be disposed of at will. Those with greater political, technical, or economic power may not use that power to violate the rights of others who are less fortunate. Peace is based on respect for the rights of all. Conscious of this, the Church champions the fundamental rights of each person.

"In particular she promotes and defends respect for the life and the religious freedom of everyone. Respect for the right to life at every stage firmly establishes a principle of decisive importance: life is a gift which is not completely at the disposal of the subject. ... The right to life and to the free expression of personal faith in God is not subject to the power of man.

"As far as the right to life is concerned, we must denounce its widespread violation in our society: alongside the victims of armed conflicts, terrorism and the different forms of violence, there are the silent deaths caused by hunger, abortion, experimentation on human embryos and euthanasia. How can we fail to see in all this an attack on peace? Abortion and embryonic experimentation constitute a direct denial of that attitude of acceptance of others which is indispensable for establishing lasting relationships of peace.

"As far as the free expression of personal faith is concerned, another disturbing symptom of lack of peace in the world is represented by the difficulties that both Christians and the followers of other religions frequently encounter in publicly and freely professing their religious convictions. Speaking of Christians in particular, I must point out with pain that not only are they at times prevented from doing so; in some States they are actually persecuted, and even recently tragic cases of ferocious violence have been recorded.

"There are regimes that impose a single religion upon everyone, while secular regimes often lead not so much to violent persecution as to systematic cultural denigration of religious beliefs. In both instances, a fundamental human right is not being respected, with serious repercussions for peaceful coexistence. This can only promote a mentality and culture that is not conducive to peace."

"At the origin of many tensions that threaten peace are surely the many unjust inequalities still tragically present in our world. Particularly insidious among these are, on the one hand, inequality in access to essential goods like food, water, shelter, health; on the other hand, there are persistent inequalities between men and women in the exercise of basic human rights.

"A fundamental element of building peace is the recognition of the essential equality of human persons springing from their common transcendental dignity. ... The extremely grave deprivation afflicting many peoples, especially in Africa, lies at the root of violent reactions and thus inflicts a terrible wound on peace.

"Similarly, inadequate consideration for the condition of women helps to create instability in the fabric of society. I think of the exploitation of women who are treated as objects, and of the many ways that a lack of respect is shown for their dignity; I also think - in a different context - of the mindset persisting in some cultures, where women are still firmly subordinated to the arbitrary decisions of men, with grave consequences for their personal dignity and for the exercise of their fundamental freedoms. There can be no illusion of a secure peace until these forms of discrimination are also overcome, since they injure the personal dignity impressed by the Creator upon every human being."

"Humanity, if it truly desires peace, must be increasingly conscious of the links between natural ecology, or respect for nature, and human ecology. Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa."

"In recent years, new nations have entered enthusiastically into industrial production, thereby increasing their energy needs. ... Meanwhile, some parts of the planet remain backward and development is effectively blocked, partly because of the rise in energy prices."

"The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use, and the violent hoarding of the earth's resources cause grievances, conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences of an inhumane concept of development."

"Thus there is an urgent need, even within the framework of current international difficulties and tensions, for a commitment to a human ecology that can favour the growth of the 'tree of peace.' ... It is understandable that visions of man will vary from culture to culture. Yet what cannot be admitted is the cultivation of anthropological conceptions that contain the seeds of hostility and violence. Equally unacceptable are conceptions of God that would encourage intolerance and recourse to violence against others. This is a point which must be clearly reaffirmed: war in God's name is never acceptable!"

"Today, however, peace is not only threatened by the conflict between reductive visions of man, in other words, between ideologies. It is also threatened by indifference as to what constitutes man's true nature. ... A 'weak' vision of the person, which would leave room for every conception, even the most bizarre, only apparently favors peace. In reality, it hinders authentic dialogue and opens the way to authoritarian impositions, ultimately leaving the person defenseless and, as a result, easy prey to oppression and violence."

"The protection of human rights is constantly referred to by international bodies and, in particular, the United Nations Organization, which set itself the fundamental task of promoting the human rights indicated in the 1948 Universal Declaration. That Declaration is regarded as a sort of moral commitment assumed by all mankind. There is a profound truth to this, especially if the rights described in the Declaration are held to be based not simply on the decisions of the assembly that approved them, but on man's very nature and his inalienable dignity as a person created by God. Consequently it is important for international agencies not to lose sight of the natural foundation of human rights."

"Were that to happen, the international bodies would end up lacking the necessary authority to carry out their role as defenders of the fundamental rights of the person and of peoples, the chief justification for their very existence and activity."

"The recognition that there exist inalienable human rights connected to our common human nature has led to the establishment of a body of international humanitarian law which States are committed to respect, even in the case of war. Unfortunately, to say nothing of past cases, this has not been consistently implemented in certain recent situations of war. Such, for example, was the case in the conflict that occurred a few months ago in southern Lebanon, where the duty 'to protect and help innocent victims' and to avoid involving the civilian population was largely ignored."

"The new shape of conflicts, especially since the terrorist threat unleashed completely new forms of violence, demand that the international community reaffirm international humanitarian law, and apply it to all present-day situations of armed conflict, including those not currently provided for by international law.

"Moreover, the scourge of terrorism demands a profound reflection on the ethical limits restricting the use of modern methods of guaranteeing internal security. Increasingly, wars are not declared, especially when they are initiated by terrorist groups determined to attain their ends by any means available. In the face of the disturbing events of recent years, States cannot fail to recognize the need to establish clearer rules to counter effectively the dramatic decline that we are witnessing."

"Another disturbing issue is the desire recently shown by some States to acquire nuclear weapons. This has heightened even more the widespread climate of uncertainty and fear of a possible atomic catastrophe."

"Unfortunately, threatening clouds continue to gather on humanity's horizon. The way to ensure a future of peace for everyone is found not only in international accords for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, but also in the determined commitment to seek their reduction and definitive dismantling. ... The fate of the whole human family is at stake!"

"Finally, I wish to make an urgent appeal to the People of God: let every Christian be committed to tireless peace-making and strenuous defense of the dignity of the human person and his inalienable rights. ... In Christ we can find the ultimate reason for becoming staunch champions of human dignity and courageous builders of peace."

Mirabile Dictu

Anecdotal positive news about Mohammedan conversions to Christianity. Note well, if there is no compulsion in religion, then every Mohammedan must oppose the threats of discrimination, legal sanction, violence and death which hang over the head of any convert to Christianity in a Mohammedan-dominated country.

Mohammedans in Denial

Mohammedan denial of the genocides of the 20th Century is deplorable. Shame on the Iranian government.

Da Vinci my A...

Da Vinci my a..

Nice Mohammedan Tribute to the Blessed Virgin

Cologne Cardinal's Directive Stirs Inter-Faith Dialog Debate

The religious affiliation of the Congress

Catholicism: Best Brand on the Planet?

The worst problems in the American Church come from bishops and pastors viewing it as a corporate business. Now this guy claims Catholicism has the best "brand" in history.

Unacceptable: Another venerable Catholic Church sold to become mosque.

Papal Love From the National Catholic Register

Missionaries of Lectio Divina

"I urge you to become familiar with the Bible, and to have it at hand so that it can be your compass pointing out the road to follow." Zenit

Wearing the Hijab Because of Threats from Fellow Mohammedans

77 percent of girls wearing the hijab said they did so because of physical threats from Islamist groups

Counterterrorism, integration of Islam in Europe

Apparent Victory: The Christian's Body that the Mohameddans were trying to steal from the Catholic widow in Malaysia has been reluctantly returned.

Christianity in India

DNA sequencing test may end long search for St Ketavan’s relics in Goa

Sensible Australian Mohammedans act Correctly

Gregorian chants between your study groups

Hot off the Budapest Press regarding Catholic Culture

Christmas Gift Idea?

Book Review: Saints: A Year in Faith and Art by Rosa Giorgi. Say, I wouldn't mind getting a copy.

is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion...

"As the government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion..." I would be interested to see this verified from a less tendentious source.

John Allen's follow up on Papal Trip to Turkey

"Shall the Fundamentalists Win?"A lengthy excerpt from a book about Christianity in the Southern Hemisphere.

Immigration and religious demographics.

Mohammedans Kidnap Another Priest in Baghdad

Chaldean Patriarchate confirms Father Samy’s abduction. The priest, who is rector of the Major Seminary, disappeared yesterday. He was supposed to open the new academic year yesterday.

You are invited to join the Patriarch in calling on Mary's intercession.

Fr. Groeschel and the Grinch

Fr. Groeschel on opposing the Grinch this Christmas.

More on Suicide of the West

More on Mohammedans denying Christians a Christian burial in Malaysia.

Armenian Genocide

A review of A Shameful Act By Taner Akcam Translated by Paul Bessemer. This book is on the Turkish genocide of the Armenians: a Turkish historian has mined and synthesized the Ottoman Empire's internal documents and memoirs.

News & Opinion

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor talking about the usual topics that secular journalists are so fixated upon.

In Lebanon, a crisis for Christians. Pierre Gemayel's murder is yet another blow to the Christian bloc, sidelined by a Sunni-Shiite political divide.

A thoughtful Mohammedan analysis of Pope Benedict's posture towards Mohammedanism.

Rwanda: Church Role in Genocide Under Scrutiny

Here's a blog entry reviewing Jihadwatch and providing some grounds for further research.

Nice blog entry on false causality, and the Mohammedan suggestion that critical occidentals are to blame when the occidentals make a criticism of some Mohammedans and then various Mohammedans start rioting/burning/murdering.

Two from the ever-popular American Thinker:

What Islamic Science and Philosophy?

Islam and the Problem of Rationality

72,000 Lonely Virgins

This is, in a sense, about the birds and the bees, in that there may hopefully be a shortage of Mohammedan suicide bombers in the future, with consequent unemployment prospects for those virgins in Mohammedan Heaven.

Papal Visit et al.

Follow in detail the Pope's Trip to Turkey on the American Papist

Religion and Respect for Law
Religious faiths, particularly Protestantism, Catholicism, Asian Ethnoreligion, and Hinduism, have a positive effect on a nation’s respect for the rule of law and level of corruption, according to a Baylor University research paper.

Islam vs. McWorld - 2004 NCR Review of a Book on Secularism's Threat to Mohammedanism

The Pope and Radical Islam - another John Allen piece.

Media and religion in the Arab/Islamic World

"Let me sum it all up. Until recently, the media in the Arab/Islamic world by and large have tended to aggravate numerous political and religious pathologies through their disregard for truth and accuracy, a habit shaped by their literary and propagandist antecedents. They have been the least faithful to Islam’s own standards, leading to dangerous distortions of this religion."

The address made to the Pope by Turkey's Director of Religious Affairs. He puts the obligatory, albeit implicit threat of violence against anyone who points out that numerous Mohammedans commit violence in the name of their religion in this way:

"...we all regret to observe that during the recent times Islamophobia has been in escalation promoting such notions that the religion of Islam with its sources and history encourages violence, that Islam has spread by force of sword and that Muslims are potentially violent. I wish to make it known to all that each member of Islam whose name originates from peace, is very much deeply touched and offended by such accusations and claims which are not based on any historical fact and on any scientific research nor do they commensurate with any sense of justice and fairness. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that such accusations and attempts can only serve to encourage those who perform wrong-doings on behalf of religion by way of exploitation."

Dialogue of religions?
- Another Turkish Mohammedan's viewpoint.

Religious Liberty

Malaysian Catholic blogger writes about the Mohammedan oppression of Catholics.

The State of Religious Liberty in Turkey Sounds a bit more rosy than I've seen elsewhere.

Official Vatican Page on the Trip to Turkey

Basic Islam for Hindu Dhimmis: Hindu oppression by Mohammedans

Secular World Attacks Organized Belief

Now stop whining about our beloved Catholic/Hispanic immigrants.

This article is getting a lot of play. European minorities torn between worlds - an anecdotal survey of cultural mishmash. See how good we have it? Now stop whining about our beloved Catholic/Hispanic immigrants.

More blogging on the Time article.

This blog exists to attack a variety of individuals and groups of "moderate" Mohammedans. Did you know that the Mohammedan nickname for moderates is "proggies"?

Interview with Damon Linker: Secular America Under Siege. This is about the theocons: Neuhaus, Novak, and Weigel.

Blog entry on the Mohammedan support for the Nazis.

Weigel: When Benedict XVI goes to Turkey, the media talk will be of Islam, but the pope's visit could advance religious liberty for Orthodox Christians.

John Allen: Both bemoaning the West's secularism, Benedict XIV and Mideast Muslims have a shot at true dialogue.

And you may ask yourself:

And you may ask yourself
This is a secular state?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large Catholic Church?
And you may tell yourself
This is not equality of rights!
And you may tell yourself
This is not a European state!

LOW TURNOUT FOR POPE'S VISIT

A strange article on the ancient history and current situation in Abyssinia. Avert an East African Islamic Terror Volcano – Break down fake ‘Ethiopia’!

RECONSTRUCTION OF A GLOBAL CRISIS - How the Pope Angered the Muslim World

Conventual Franciscan Friar Martin Kmetecef describes Benedict XVI's forthcoming visit to Turkey as a "courageous gesture."

Nigerian Archbishop on Oil and the Common Good

Here are excerpts from a speech that Abuja Archbishop John Onaiyekan gave at a Nov. 2-3 gathering of the Catholic bishops' conference of Nigeria. The theme of the gathering was "Making Oil and Gas Wealth Serve the Common Good."

Wahhabism, et alia

Wahhabism

Turkish men on trial for insulting 'Turkishness'. Actually, it is because they are converts to Christianity.

Erdogan calls on pope to back 'alliance of civilizations'.

'Hi, my name is Ahmed and I want to be a suicide bomber'. An interview.

Goat Grabbing

Goat Grabbing. Seriously. Better than a rodeo. Almost as good as Portuguese-style bullfighting.

"Police: Nationalist Turks occupy Haghia Sophia to protest papal visit."

Threats and extortion force Caritas Mosul to shut down

Blogger attacks Time Magazine Article on Islam/Christianity

Electronic jihad's cyber soldiers

Jihad Finds a Strange Advocate

Opinion/analysis by Sandro Magister on the recent La Civiltà Cattolica editorial.

Hobnobbing Nabobs

A regular conservativelonghairpalooza: America's Post-Secular Future.

That Wild and Wacky Former Archbishop

Archbishop rejects excommunication. Milingo reminds me of certain other bishops who are in denial as to their excommunication--but at least Milingo provides comical relief.

NCR on the Recent Meeting of Bishops

One can always count on the National Catholic Reporter to get it exactly wrong.

Wednesday Morning Clippings

Pro-life groups, lawmakers urge Amnesty to keep abortion neutrality

Pope trying to restore world's sense of faith and reason, Weigel says at U.N. conference

"Islam is to the 21st century what communism was to the 20th." said the priest who offered the traditional Mass at resurgent right-winger Le Pen's national convention. Tellingly, the photo has the enormous Le Pen campaign logo ABOVE the tabernacle/altar during Mass--this may suggest the hierarchy of values held by the National Front.

This Blog offers an "Anti-Christ Watch" who's who -- the blogger's picks for most anti-Christian leaders in Islam.

Analysis of the Mohammedan radicals who grew up in Europe.

John Allen on Rome's Visit to Byzantium

"Turkey poses daunting tests for Benedict"

Interview with the High Priestess of the Episcopalians

Q. Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?

A. "No. It’s probably the opposite. "

Angry Unbearded Slogan-Chanting Christians

"Angry anti-Syrian protesters in the Christian town of Zahle in east Lebanon blocked streets and shouted slogans against Hezbollah.." I confess I have often wanted to do this myself. Syrian/Mohammedan forces seem intent on killing every Christian leader in Lebanon with a view to driving out all of the Christians in that unfortunate land.

Imams on a Plane

"They took us off the plane, humiliated us in a very disrespectful way," said Omar Shahin, one of the six clerics taken off a plane Monday. I don't exactly know how you would go about humiliating someone in a respectful way, but not to worry, the Council on American Islamic Relations is on the job...

Bottum's Big Essay Generating Discussion

First Things' Bottum published a very long essay on Catholic Culture recently, and the blogosphere chatter is on the rise.

Local SF Bay Area Items

Bishop Daniel Walsh of Santa Rosa is not going to jail.

And, some follow up regarding the ongoing situation at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco. The Archbishop is to be commended for his swift and decisive action as soon as he heard of the planned "Bare Chest Bingo" in the parish's hall. As an encore, he might want to arrange some remedial catechesis for those responsible at the parish.

Thin Pickins for News Today

On suicidal anti-breeding post-Christian societies.

Commentary on why Christians make lousy films.

Hussein's Death Sentence

The Vatican and Human Rights Watch seem to be on the same page regarding Hussein's death sentence.

Recent News and Blog Entries

The Lepanto League exists to spread Catholic Culture and to pray in particular for the conversion of our Mohammedan brethren. This is a periodic posting of recent articles or blog entries having to do with these matters.

must read - Cardinal Arinze on Latin in the post-conciliar Liturgy

aussie foot in mouth Imam: more commentary

piece on UN study of causes of Middle East tension

Book review of Mark Steyn’s American Alone: The End of the World as We Know It

Removing the veil? Anglican Archbishop of York?

On the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies

Long essay by Paul Johnson on... everything, just about.

Pre-analysis of Pope to Constantinople

Papal dialog with Mohammedan academic

The more-reasonable Mohammedan response to the Regensberg address

Analysis on how civilizations are swapping ideologies

Another Mohammedan perspective (love the beret's)

Thumbnail of the problems with Mohammedanism

A little humor

On the historical myth of tolerance in Mohammedan Spain

Naughty Mohammedan hackers

More on naughty Mohammedan hackers

On the perverse pervasity of Mohammedan violence against Christian churches