Blogworthies VII

Because The Blog from the Core simply can't cover everything.

Noteworthy entries @ Dyspeptic Mutterings, The Curt Jester, Dust in the Light, Daniel Pipes, Catholic Analysis, The Mighty Barrister, little green footballs, Daniel Pipes (again), Midwest Conservative Journal, Dust in the Light (again), JunkYardBlog, and Times Against Humanity.

The Long, Long Shadow of Sr. Margaret Flagrum and Her Six Foot Rosary Belt. @ Dyspeptic Mutterings (italics and quoted ellipsis in original):

There is a certain type of older Catholic for whom the word "nun" causes the color to drain from the face, replaced by ashen shellshock.

"Aiiiee! The Little Sisters of Vinegar and Gall used to march up and down the classroom aisle, razor-stropping anyone who didn't have the Baltimore Catechism lesson memorized that day! And we chopped wood at recess! And then we'd go home to clean out the paper bag we lived in, and dad would wake us up half an hour before we went to sleep....!"

All of which adds up to a great big "Whew! Goodbye to all that, and thank heaven for the fact we sing the soundtrack for Jesus Christ Superstar at Mass these days. In English! Or Spanish! Or Esperanto! Or Apache! Doesn't matter if we don't understand it! Just so long as it's different."

Pretty much any language will do. Except the one that brings on nun flashbacks....

That Dead Language Must Die! @ The Curt Jester:

Domenico Bettinelli links to and comments on this article on a vice-Mayor of Mesa upset about having Latin Masses conducted in the diocese again.

The announcement by Bishop Thomas Olmsted that Latin masses will be allowed in the Phoenix diocese after a 25-year absence troubles me, particularly in the context of other recent changes in church policy and procedures.

I wonder what those changes he objects to are? Could it be the return to orthodoxy?...

Pushed into a Corner @ Dust in the Light:

Some Cornerites have fallen for a trick that shows why Andrew Sullivan was a master debater back in his prep school days....

Teresa Heinz and CAIR @ Daniel Pipes:

The wife of the Democratic candidate for president of the United States, John Kerry, appears to be giving money to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an organization I have for two years characterized as standing "on the wrong side in the war on terrorism." Here's the connection: ....

Through Mary's Eyes @ Catholic Analysis:

The Mel Gibson movie is opening the eyes of many to the role of Mary in our own Christian journey. It reminds me of an old religious print showing Jesus and Mary side-by-side with this Latin inscription underneath: "Cor Jesu Adveniat Regnum Tuum * Adveniat Per Mariam" — in English, "Heart of Jesus, May Your Kingdom Come * May it Come Through Mary." Many Protestants and Catholics are re-awakening to this crucial aspect of the Christian revelation....

Mel Gibson — Guilty! Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! @ The Mighty Barrister:

Apparently, being a Christian is now a "hate crime."

Claiming Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" has resulted in "hate crimes" against Jews, a nonprofit organization is seeking online signatures for a petition asking Attorney General John Ashcroft to "evaluate possible actions" against the filmmaker.

Interestingly, the group making this charge has been unable to cite to a single instance where a viewer of the movie was led by the movie's message to commit a "hate crime." ....

Peaceful Religion Watch @ little green footballs:

The terror attacks in Spain unleashed a hellish torrent of hatred in the mosques of the Middle East last Friday, emboldening the imams and sheikhs of even the most “moderate” Islamic countries to scream for Jewish and Crusader blood.

In that order.

I haven’t seen these freaks this worked up for quite a while....

Did the ACLU Disrupt My Talk at American University? @ Daniel Pipes:

When I spoke at American University in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, 2004, a number of those in the audience engaged in a variety of antics, as described by the school newspaper, the Eagle:

As Pipes took the podium at approximately 8:15 p.m., almost a third of the crowd of 150 took out black pieces of cloth and, in unison, wrapped the cloth around their mouths as a sort of "gag." This was apparently meant as a form of symbolic and silent protest of Pipes's ideas.

Ten minutes into the lecture, and again in unison, the protesters stood up, turned and knelt in their chairs to face the crowd behind them. Ten minutes later, the protesters took out signs that denounced "Campus Watch," an initiative begun by Pipes that monitors and acts as a watchdog against Middle Eastern Studies in North America and attempts to improve them.

I mention this because the leader of the disrupters was at the front of the room. When he brought out his gag, the others did too. When he stood up, so did the others. When he pulled out a sign, the others followed. And when he walked out, so did the others.

Here's a description of this person, from someone who wrote me after the event: ....

The Seven Days @ Midwest Conservative Journal (blockquoted quotations here are italicized in original):

The Episcopal war escalates as the first diocesan line is crossed:

Launching a new front in the Episcopal Church's conflict over gay clergy, six defiant congregations joined Sunday in a confirmation service for youths, led by visiting, conservative bishops who acted without required permission from the Diocese of Ohio.

Which is a Bad Thing:

Under Episcopal law and liturgy, confirmations are supposed to be performed only by local bishops or by visiting bishops approved by the head of the host diocese, in this case Bishop J. Clark Grew II of Cleveland.

"This business against the diocesan bishop is simply defiant and that's why it's troubling," said Daniel England, a church spokesman. "It violates our constitution and canons."

Last August may actually have been a defining moment in the ECUSA. Episcopal conservatives finally seem to be serious this time: ....

Unanimity About Same-Sex Marriage @ Dust in the Light:

Phil Lawler asks and answers a couple of questions arising from the "compromise" amendment in Massachusetts: ....

Europe's Dark Day @ JunkYardBlog:

I can't help but think that somewhere in some cave or hovel, whoever is leading the terrorist army is smiling tonight. Europe seems thoroughly cowed by the spectre of terrorism on one end, and on the other it almost seems like we're seeing the return of the old USSR....

Body of Evidence @ Times Against Humanity:

In one of several flashbacks in The Passion of the Christ, we see Our Lord as He institutes the Sacrament of the Altar on Holy Thursday. His handsome countenance stands in marked contrast to the evidence of the brutal disfigurement to which He has been subjected from the moment of His arrest and dramatically underscores the price paid by the body of Christ to ransom the Body of Christ from the debt due our sins.

The repentant sinner knows the unfathomable beauty of Christ crucified and, yes, the beauty of the Cross. In a culture that respects neither Christ nor His Cross, however, beauty is only skin deep. In such a superficial society, physical appearance is often a standard for social acceptance and, at times, even membership in the human race....

See also Blogworthies VI and Blogworthies VIII.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 03/20/04 02:54:21 PM
Categorized as Blogworthies.