Intelligent Design and Evolutionism

Stratford Caldecott has a profound article on Second Spring website addressing intelligent design and evolutionism. He offers a new synthesis which lies in the postulation of more levels of reality than simply the one accepted by materialists, or the two levels accepted by creationists. Such a synthesis takes into account the depth out of which reality emerges.

So let us look more closely at the idea of a "depth dimension" of being, and move on from there to the possibility of an evolutionary science that would take account of a distinction between levels of reality. Christians already have a robust understanding of how this works in everyday life in the concept of divine Providence. No matter how accidental a series of events may appear to be, Christians often believe them to be foreseen and permitted, if not positively intended, by Providence, and to be unfolding according to an eternal plan. (The problem of whether divine foreknowledge of human action deprives us of free will need not detain us, since it was adequately answered long ago. God exists above time, and so he does not see our decisions before we make them, but sees them eternally as we make them. Since he plans the world in eternity, he can take into account every free act that will ever be made.)

References to Providence are, however, normally found in discussions of spirituality rather than science. According to J.-P. de Caussade in his classic Sacrament of the Present Moment (sometimes called Abandonment to Divine Providence), God speaks to us not in human words but through whatever happens to us, moment by moment. We are talking here of another kind of causality, at right angles to the kind investigated by science but not in contradiction to it. The events of my everyday life have their normal (efficient, material) causes, the kind studied by science, but they also have a higher explanation in terms of some kind of "divine speech". The Christian therefore has faith in a higher level of order or meaning, supervening upon and assuming the lower-level order of material cause and effect. I know there is a perfectly rational reason for my friend to have phoned at five o'clock. But my friend may also have phoned at five in answer to a prayer, or because God knew that I needed to hear what that friend would say precisely then, rather than two hours earlier.

To apply the same idea on the material level and in the realm of biology, a given genetic mutation might well appear random or accidental, and be adequately explained as far as science is concerned by a set of physical causes, whilst still possessing another cause entirely, a cause that we might describe as descending "vertically" rather than affecting events in the temporal sequence "horizontally". It owes its existence to the God who brings it (along with all its physical and temporal causes) out of nothing, and it belongs to an order that only becomes evident when the ultimate purpose of God is revealed. Thus faith in Providence need not change the way the Christian does science, in the way that the faith of the creationist in the literal truth of Genesis is supposed to do. Nevertheless it allows for a sense of purpose, of teleology (goal-directedness), within the physical world observed by science.

In the 19th century, St George Jackson Mivart, a Catholic opponent of Charles Darwin, argued along these lines, and was praised by Cardinal Newman for exposing the logical insufficiency of Darwin's theory. In the 20th century, the scientist-philosopher Michael Polanyi analysed the phenomenon of emergence and concluded that evolution, and life itself, must have been originated by the action of an "orderly innovating principle" of a higher order, the action of which is "released" by random fluctuations and "sustained" by fortunate environmental conditions.

More recently, the Faith Movement in Britain has been aiming for some years to reconcile the theory of evolution with Catholicism in its own "new synthesis". The movement, inspired by the late Father Edward Holloway, posits that God works through evolution to bring about an ordered cosmos. Christ is the embodiment and master of a Law of Unity and Direction, the center of human and universal history. In the words of Fr David Barrett to a Faith Theological Symposium in 2003, the Mind of God is "actively and dynamically knowing and willing the creation as a unity in development, an evolving whole. So the Unity-Law is identified with and through every aspect of the material universe, and is at the same time the relationship of all these parts as a unity to the Mind of God. What is essential to grasp is that the Unity-Law denotes the fundamental relationship of the Universe to the Mind of God. Control and direction, space and time, meaning and purpose are descriptions of how evolving matter is constituted by Mind in one perpetual act of knowing and willing."

This is an elegant attempt to harmonize faith and science. It means that the "laws of nature" should be considered not as somehow detached from God but as intentional acts of the Divine Mind. They are ways of describing the effects in time and space of the eternal wisdom of God, ordering all things to an end. That end or goal is found in the Person of Christ, human and divine. The divine Idea in which the creation itself is comprised and towards which it converges is both the supreme Universal, and a particular, concrete individual who is born, dies and is resurrected within the creation. The paradox of the Incarnation signifies nothing less than the appearing within the world of its true centre, orienting the cosmos towards its beginning and its end, its alpha and its omega. (In mechanics this would be known as an "attractor". It is as though the flat surface of the world had been given a shape by the insertion upon it of a weight so heavy that all the lines of space and time now converged upon it.)

The Faith Movement points out in its publications and lectures that the world is such a finely-balanced and inter-related whole that it could not have evolved by pure chance. "The universe of matter is like one vast cloth, woven without seam. There is total mutual interdependence of each part upon every other part, of each being upon every other being... The Universe is an ordered harmony, ruled by law." Science itself depends on finding invisible laws that underlie the cosmic harmony, and many hard-bitten materialists concede that the physical constants of our universe appear "as if" designed precisely in order to provide a possible setting for human life (the "anthropic principle").

The entire article is a great read.

Judge Alito confirmed: what does it mean?

Judge Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court. Wendy Long posted on Bench Memos the following reflection:

Justice Alito: What It Means
[Wendy Long 01/31 11:59 AM]

The confirmation of Justice Alito is a great moment for the country for two reasons.

One: the triumph of quality. We have a new Justice with outstanding qualifications and experience, proving that the demagogues of the liberal left can no longer ‘Bork’ such outstanding nominees. The process is still nasty, and the demagogues still try their hardest, but the partisan judicial filibuster has failed. The American people see that Justice Alito is not the caricature the extremists tried to paint. Indeed, it is clear that is attackers are the real extremists.

Two: the triumph of the philosophy of judicial restraint. Americans are appreciating the virtue of judicial modesty and respect for democracy in our courts. The last few years, Americans have grown increasingly frustrated with out-of-control judges imposing a leftist agenda on them through judicial activism. A recent ABA poll shows the public believes such judicial activism has reached "crisis" proportions. But Justices like Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito hold the promise of greater faithfulness to the Constitution and the laws enacted by the people through their elected representatives. Today, a significant step has been taken in restoring American self-government.

Why have the years after Vatican II been years of quarrel and power-struggles?

George Weigel's reflections on Benedict's view of Vatican II:

Why, the Pope asked, had Vatican II (which concluded just forty years ago) had such a difficult reception? Why had a Council intended to give the Church a new birth of evangelical energy on the threshold of a new millennium given rise, instead, to decades of energy-sapping quarrels and power-struggles?

According to the conventional story-line, Vatican II was a battle between (good) "progressives" and (wicked) "conservatives" in which the former won the battle of the Council itself but the latter made a comeback during the (engaging but reactionary) pontificate of John Paul II. Which is, of course, utter nonsense. The radically anti-modern forces at and after Vatican II, identified with the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, were and are something of a sideshow. The real struggle at the Council, and ever since, has been between two groups of reformers.

One group of reformers saw the Council as a sharp break with the Catholic past, and particularly with the wholesale rejection of modernity found in the 19th century pontificates of Gregory XVI and Pius IX. A second group of reformers, committed to a renewal of Catholic life that reached back to the sources of Christian self-understanding in the Bible and the first millennium "Fathers"of the Church in order to engage modernity in a distinctively Catholic way, saw Vatican II as the fulfillment of reformist tendencies in the Church that had been underway for decades, rather than as a thorough rupture with the past. The first group of reformers was enthusiastic, even fulsome, in its embrace of contemporary culture; the second group of reformers wanted the Church's dialogue with the modern world to be a two-way street. The first group seemed largely unconcerned with the self-destructive tendencies in Western culture in the late 1960s; the second group saw this eruption of nihilism and relativism as a cautionary tale, for both the Church and for modernity.

In his December 22 address to the Curia, Pope Benedict underscored his membership in this second group of reformers and his conviction that this school's interpretation of Vatican II best reflects the intentions of John XXIII in summoning the Council and Paul VI in seeing it through to a successful conclusion. An interpretation of Vatican II according to a model of "discontinuity and rupture," the Pope said, was an inauthentic, indeed false, reading of Vatican II. The Second Vatican Council, he insisted, was a Council of "reform" in continuity with "the teachings of Jesus [and] the Church of the early martyrs."

Those who know Joseph Ratzinger – as distinct from the cartoon Ratzinger created by his critics and broadcast through the media – would have expected precisely this thoughtful and careful correction of the conventional storyline. Yet to have him say these things, as pope and at one of the key agenda-defining moments of the Roman Church's year, was important.

Now, almost nine months into the pontificate, comes the hard part: how will Pope Benedict XVI "translate" his convictions about the intentions and meaning of Vatican II into a reform of the Curia and a reform in the process by which bishops are chosen, so that the Church's leadership, in Rome and around the world, is committed to authentic reform, not "rupture" and not clerical business-as-usual?

Globalization needs a true vision of humanity

Today sees the end of one conference on globalization (with over 2,000 executives, politicians, and celebrities at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland)and the beginning of another (held by the Congregation for the Clergy at the Vatican: see www.clerus.org for video and text files of the proceedings).

The word "globalization" is on the lips of economists, politicians, business people, and pastoral ministers in the Church. Globalization is fueling tremendous global change which affects the possibilities and the security of everyone on earth. Some countries have profitted immensely from the process of globalization while others have failed to thrive. The world has become less safe. It is to this new world that the Gospel needs to be addressed in a way that creates solidarity, justice, and truth.

The Church seeks to address the ethical aspects of globalization. This is a summary of Cardinal Renato Martino at the World Economic Forum:

In the debate over ethical aspects of globalization, Cardinal Martino noted that the Catholic Church has an important contribution to make, that is, a fully humanist perspective. "The reality of globalization," he said, "is not known in detail without a true vision of man and without an ethical framework."

Globalization, the cardinal explained, is not some kind of uncontrollable, natural phenomenon. Rather, it is a human phenomenon, tied to the exercise of liberty and responsibility. To cope with its challenges, he said, we need a common code of ethics, a code based on the common humanity of all people.

The Church, he continued, announces that all humanity is called by God to form a single family in which the rights and responsibilities of all are recognized. As a consequence the political communities are called to the service of all persons.

In this context it is vital that globalization does not lose sight of the issue of human work and its dignity, the Vatican official added. The possibility of work transforms a poor person, who needs to be provided for, into a resource able to provide for both personal and community needs.

Ensuring sufficient work for everyone is a part of what is meant by the concept of globalization in solidarity, the cardinal observed. Thus, the call for solidarity is not just a vague sentimentalism. It is a policy of shared responsibility, and a stimulus to coordinate resources for the common good.

The globalization that the Church is interested in, Cardinal Martino commented, is one involving reciprocal assistance. In such a system, all collaborate to achieve what is good for every human being. A globalization that leaves no one behind. (from Zenit Jan. 28th Weekly News Analysis)

Comments about Deus Caritas Est

Noted Italian Vatican analyst Orazio Petrosillo said that the encyclical revealed the man once known as il Grande Inquisitore, "the grand inquisitor," as instead il Grande Innamorato, "the grand lover."

From John Allen in this week's Word from Rome:

First, he will not, as some feared, lead the Catholic church to collapse in on itself and become preoccupied with its own internal business. One can hardly imagine a theme of more universal human concern than love.

Second, while he possesses vast erudition (in the first 20 pages of Deus Caritas Est, he manages to cite Nietzsche, Descartes, and Plato), Benedict expresses himself as a pastor. He treats a core theme of Christian faith, and for the most part uses terms that don't require a license in systematic theology to grasp. While history will remember John Paul II as a great evangelist, Benedict XVI may go down as the most classic example of a "teaching pope" in modern times.

Third, for all the talk about Benedict as an Augustinian pessimist, he actually believes there are still people in the world who can be influenced by unadorned argument, shorn of theatricality or grand symbolism. In its own way, it's a remarkably optimistic stance.

Fourth, Benedict grasps the old bit of wisdom about governing the Catholic church expressed by John XXIII, who once said, "I have to be pope both of those with their foot on the gas, and those with their foot on the brake." Deus Caritas Est reflects an obvious concern for balance. He warns Catholic charitable groups they must not forget about Christ, yet understands there are times when this faith must go unspoken, so charity workers don't give the appearance of "proselytism"; he stresses the "vertical dimension" of prayer and worship, yet also writes that "a Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented."

Finally, the encyclical shows that Benedict's determination not to impose his personality upon the papacy will sometimes mean we don't get what some consider the "real" Ratzinger. One senior Vatican official, for example, told me that he felt Deus Caritas Est could have been a courageous encyclical on sexual morality, but the pope's collegial willingness to pick up the threads of a pre-existing document on charity prevented that. The reaction is analogous to frustrations that the pope is not moving fast enough to "shake up" the Curia, to reverse "business-as-usual" in the appointment of bishops, or to bring dissenting forces into line. For good or ill, his approach seems to be patient, gradual, and articulated in a "still, small voice" rather than bellowed from the rooftops

Cardinal Francis George made an intriguing point about Benedict's motives for writing Deus Caritas Est, which most other commentary has missed:

"Love is the measure of, and the source of, a truly lasting peace," he said. "The desire to be a peace-maker is, I think, a driving factor behind the Holy Father's writing to the world about love in his first encyclical."

Teleconference Friday on Globalization and Contemporary Culture

The conference is put on by the Congregation for the Clergy and can be followed live or downloaded later at www.clerus.org. There is an excellent archive of videoconferences available at this site.

Love is the fundamental project of life

"The encyclical sends out a very strong message. It proclaims love as the fundamental project of life; it places it at the center of everything, of the economy, of technology and of history. The object of everything is love -- or everything is vain."
Liliana Cavani on Pope Benedict's encyclical Deus Caritas Est
Liliana Cavani is an Italian movie director.

State Legislative Task Force Provides Roadmap for Overturning Roe

We report today on a thoughtful report prepared by a taskforce of the South Dakota state legislature. The taskforce investigated six assumptions of the Supreme Court in the Roe decision and found fault with each of them. They could be grounds for upending Roe at some future date.

A new report from a South Dakota legislative taskforce may provide a roadmap for challenging and overturning Roe v. Wade. The taskforce's report enumerates six assumptions of fact made by the Supreme Court in their 1973 decision and concludes that "it is clear that the most essential assumptions made by the Roe Court are incorrect . . ."

The 71-page document was prepared at the request of the South Dakota Legislature which created the taskforce to study abortion. The taskforce was asked to study a number of issues surrounding abortion including the practice of abortion since its legalization, what current science can tell us about the characteristics of the unborn child, the degree to which women who undergo abortions are truly informed about the procedure, and any adverse health affects on women having abortions.

The taskforce spent considerable time hearing testimony from embryologists and other scientists in order to answer whether "the human being, from the moment of conception, [is] a whole separate living member of the species Homo sapiens in the biological sense." In deciding Roe, the Supreme Court said that at this "point in the development of man's knowledge" it was unclear whether or not a fetus was a human being.

One doctor, Dr. David Fu-Chi Mark, "explained that the new recombinant DNA technologies that have developed over the past twenty years provide scientific evidence about the unborn child's existence and early development and her ability to react to the environment and feel pain prior to birth." Dr. Bruce Carlson testified that "The wholeness (or completeness) of the human being during the embryonic ages cannot be fully appreciated without an understanding of how the genetic information is packaged, and how the information becomes unfolded and cascades into visible structures."

Regarding whether or not the fetus is human life, the report took special note of the testimony of those who support legal abortion. "No credible evidence was presented that challenged these scientific facts. In fact, when witnesses supporting abortion were asked when life begins, not one would answer the question, stating that it would only be their personal opinion."

The report also concluded that a South Dakota Planned Parenthood facility which provides a significant portion of that state's abortions did not provide sufficient information to the mothers who received abortions there. "Based on their testimony, it is admitted that the Planned Parenthood facility in Sioux Falls does not disclose any information about the unborn child and that it does not disclose to the pregnant mother in any way that the child, the second patient, is already in existence." Of particular concern to the taskforce is "that the women who come to Planned Parenthood sign a 'consent' to have an abortion without first speaking to the doctor. These consent forms are filled out before the doctor sees the patient."

In its final section the report states that the "state, the mother, and the child all have interests that justify changing the laws of the state of South Dakota to protect the child's life, first and foremost, to protect the mother-child relationship, and to protect the mother's health."

Culture of Life Foundation www.culture-of-life.org

UN negotiation could enshrine abortion as international law

The "Friday Fax," from the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, which reports on the activities of the UN and lobbies for Christian values such as the right to life, reported on very important negotiations going on right now about the Disabilities Convention--a treaty designed to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities:

The seventh round of negotiations began this week over a treaty designed to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities. Pro-life advocates remain concerned about proposed language in the document.

Of chief concern to pro-lifers is the inclusion in Article 25 of language in the latest version of the treaty granting persons with disabilities "the same range and standard of affordable health services as provided other persons, [including sexual and reproductive health services] and population-based public health programme." The phrase "including sexual and reproductive health services" is in brackets in the proposed text because it remains a point of debate among negotiators. Such language has never appeared in a treaty which is binding on all signatories and it is the only health right specifically mentioned in the article.

Pro-abortion groups insist that sexual and reproductive services means abortion, though this has never been agreed to by UN Member States. By placing sexual and reproductive services in the context of rights guaranteed to all citizens, the document could be used to enshrine abortion rights into international law. Pro-abortion activists in signatory countries that restrict abortion may challenge those laws by citing the convention.

The Friday Fax reported in August that concerns about Article 25's language were raised during the sixth round of negotiations by Patrick Buckley of the London-based Society for the Protection of Unborn Children. Buckley received an unusual rebuke from the Chairman, Don MacKay of New Zealand, who called Buckley's concerns invalid.

Pro-lifers are also concerned with Article 10 which deals with the right to life. The article declares "that every human being has the inherent right to life . . ." But what that means and how the international community defines "human being" are unclear. The article does not offer protection to the unborn from being aborted because of a disability and there is nothing insuring the right of the disabled to be protected from euthanasia. Considering the fact the European Union backs this language whole heartedly and that a number of EU nations have legalized euthanasia it is unlikely that this language would prohibit euthanasia otherwise those nations would be unwilling to sign on.

Negotiations over the treaty have been contentious since they started in the middle of 2002. This session is scheduled to conclude February 3 and another session is slated for August. Negotiators hope to complete work by the end of the year.
Copyright 2005 - C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute).
Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.

Sneak peak at new encyclical by Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI spoke today to the participants in a meeting on organized by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" in preparation for the release of his first encyclical. He said that the vision of Dante, the great Italian poet (1265-1321) , was decisive in the development of thought in his encycical Deus Caritus Est (in English God is Love). With this vision of Dante the encyclical seeks to recover the full meaning of the word "love," which Benedict said is "so tarnished, so spoiled and so abused, that one is almost afraid to pronounce it with one's lips." If you don't get a chance to read the actual document, or even if you intend to, this presentation of the document by the author himself offers both a wonderful summary and a perfect preparation to reading the document:

The cosmic excursion in which Dante wants to involve the reader in his "Divine Comedy" ends before the everlasting Light that is God himself, before that Light which at the same time is the love "which moves the sun and the other stars ("Paradise" XXXIII, verse 145). Light and love are but one thing. They are the primordial creative power that moves the universe.

If these words of the poet reveal the thought of Aristotle, who saw in the "eros" the power that moves the world, Dante's gaze, however, perceives something totally new and unimaginable for the Greek philosopher.

Eternal Light not only is presented with the three circles of which he speaks with those profound verses that we know: "Eternal Light, You only dwell within Yourself, and only You know You; Self-knowing, Self-known, You love and smile upon Yourself!" ("Paradise," XXXIII, verses 124-126). In reality, the perception of a human face -- the face of Jesus Christ -- which Dante sees in the central circle of light is even more overwhelming than this revelation of God as Trinitarian circle of knowledge and love.

God, infinite Light, whose incommensurable mystery had been intuited by the Greek philosopher, this God has a human face and -- we can add -- a human heart. In this vision of Dante is shown, on one hand, the continuity between the Christian faith in God and the search promoted by reason and by the realm of religions; at the same time, however, in it is also appreciated the novelty that exceeds all human search, the novelty that only God himself could reveal to us: the novelty of a love that has led God to assume a human face, more than that, to assume the flesh and blood, the whole of the human being.

God's "eros" is not only a primordial cosmic force, it is love that has created man and that bends before him, as the Good Samaritan bent before the wounded man, victim of thieves, who was lying on the side of the road that went from Jerusalem to Jericho.

Today the word "love" is so tarnished, so spoiled and so abused, that one is almost afraid to pronounce it with one's lips. And yet it is a primordial word, expression of the primordial reality; we cannot simply abandon it, we must take it up again, purify it and give back to it its original splendor so that it might illuminate our life and lead it on the right path. This awareness led me to choose love as the theme of my first encyclical.

I wished to express to our time and to our existence something of what Dante audaciously recapitulated in his vision. He speaks of his "sight" that "was enriched" when looking at it, changing him interiorly [The textual quotation in English is: "But through the sight, that fortified itself in me by looking, one appearance only to me was ever changing as I changed" (cf. "Paradise," XXXIII, verses 112-114)]. It is precisely this: that faith might become a vision-comprehension that transforms us.

I wished to underline the centrality of faith in God, in that God who has assumed a human face and a human heart. Faith is not a theory that one can take up or lay aside. It is something very concrete: It is the criterion that decides our lifestyle. In an age in which hostility and greed have become superpowers, an age in which we witness the abuse of religion to the point of culminating in hatred, neutral rationality on its own is unable to protect us. We are in need of the living God who has loved us unto death.

Thus, in this encyclical, the subjects "God," "Christ" and "Love" are welded, as the central guide of the Christian faith. I wished to show the humanity of faith, of which "eros" forms part, man's "yes" to his corporeal nature created by God, a "yes" that in the indissoluble marriage between man and woman finds its rooting in creation. And in it, "eros" is transformed into "agape," love for the other that no longer seeks itself but that becomes concern for the other, willingness to sacrifice oneself for him and openness to the gift of a new human life.

The Christian "agape," love for one's neighbor in the following of Christ, is not something foreign, put to one side or something that even goes against the "eros"; on the contrary, with the sacrifice Christ made of himself for man he offered a new dimension, which has developed ever more in the history of the charitable dedication of Christians to the poor and the suffering.

A first reading of the encyclical might perhaps give the impression that it is divided in two parts, that it is not greatly related within itself: a first, theoretical part that talks about the essence of love, and a second part that addresses ecclesial charity, with charitable organizations. However, what interested me was precisely the unity of the two topics, which can only be properly understood if they are seen as only one thing.

Above all, it was necessary to show that man is created to love and that this love, which in the first instance is manifested above all as "eros" between man and woman, must be transformed interiorly later into "agape," in gift of self to the other to respond precisely to the authentic nature of the "eros." With this foundation, it had then to be clarified that the essence of the love of God and of one's neighbor described in the Bible is the center of Christian life, it is the fruit of faith.

Then, it was necessary to underline in a second part that the totally personal act of the "agape" cannot remain as something merely individual, but, on the contrary, it must also become an essential act of the Church as community: that is, an institutional form is also needed that expresses itself in the communal action of the Church. The ecclesial organization of charity is not a form of social assistance that is superimposed by accident on the reality of the Church, an initiative that others could also take.

On the contrary, it forms part of the nature of the Church. Just as to the divine "Logos" corresponds the human announcement, the word of faith, so also to the "Agape," which is God, must correspond the "agape" of the Church, her charitable activity. This activity, in addition to its first very concrete meaning of help to the neighbor, also communicates to others the love of God, which we ourselves have received. In a certain sense, it must make the living God visible. In the charitable organization, God and Christ must not be strange words; in fact, they indicate the original source of ecclesial charity. The strength of "Caritas" depends on the strength of faith of all its members and collaborators.

The spectacle of suffering man touches our heart. But charitable commitment has a meaning that goes well beyond mere philanthropy. God himself pushes us in our interior to alleviate misery. In this way, in a word, we take him to the suffering world. The more we take him consciously and clearly as gift, the more effectively will our love change the world and awaken hope, a hope that goes beyond death.

[Translation by ZENIT]

Birth rates and re-evangelization in the West

The National Catholic Register ran an article on the 18th commenting on Mark Steyn's Wall Street Journal online column, "It's the Demography, Stupid." Although the answer is probably not as simplistic as the NCR article supposes it has a point. With birth rates well below replacement levels in Europe and at replacement levels in the US and other non-European countries, Steyn's conclusion was that Europe will need to take in "immigrants at a rate no stable society has ever attempted" to avoid collapse.

NCR's proposal is different.

The Catholic Church still holds – and vigorously teaches at the highest levels – doctrines that would transform this demographic scenario virtually overnight, if Catholics actually followed them.

“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,” teaches the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 2270). And yet the rate of abortion among Catholics is almost indistinguishable from that of the larger population.

In reiterating the church’s teaching against using artificial contraception, the Catechism (no. 2373) reminds us that “sacred scripture and the church’s traditional practice see in large families a sign of God’s blessing and the parents’ generosity.” And yet the birthrate among Catholics in a given society isn’t much higher than the average.

It could even be said that the West faces a demographic crisis precisely because Catholics have rejected – or have been taught to ignore – the church’s teaching.

It ought to be that Catholics are the “little flock” that builds the Kingdom of God, to echo Christ’s words. But in our day, the dynamic seems to have gone the other way around – Catholics are too often the ones who are being transformed by the spirit of our age.

John Paul would agree. From The Gospel of Life:

What is urgently called for is a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life. All together, we must build a new culture of life: new, because it will be able to confront and solve today's unprecedented problems affecting human life; new, because it will be adopted with deeper and more dynamic conviction by all Christians; new, because it will be capable of bringing about a serious and courageous cultural dialogue among all parties. While the urgent need for such a cultural transformation is linked to the present historical situation, it is also rooted in the Church's mission of evangelization. The purpose of the Gospel, in fact, is "to transform humanity from within and to make it new".123 Like the yeast which leavens the whole measure of dough (cf. Mt 13:33), the Gospel is meant to permeate all cultures and give them life from within,124 so that they may express the full truth about the human person and about human life.

Encyclical letter, The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae, paragraph 95)

Day of Penance on Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Today has been declared a day of penance to ask God for the gift of being able to create a culture of life in the US. Abortion, euthanasia, terrorism, murder--all these and more are crimes against human dignity and life. Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the US, has been the immediate cause of 1.31 million abortions in the U.S. each year. 48% of women now seeking abortion have had at least one previous abortion. The U.S. abortion rate per 100 pregnancies is 24.5. (all statistics from the Alan Guttmacher Institute's articles.)

I found the following piece in the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities' October-November 2005 issue of Life Insight.

What’s going on at The Washington Post? Recently this
predictable well-spring of pro-choice thinking ran an op-ed
by longtime Post columnist Richard Cohen questioning the
legitimacy of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.
This is the third time since January that Post commentators
have taken on Roe and its flaws.

Appearing as they do in a newspaper known for its
staunch support of the abortion license, recent Post op-eds
seem to reflect a dramatic shift in cultural attitudes.
A nation that has more or less acquiesced in Roe – out of ignorance of its extremism, respect for federal courts, and a desire to be nonjudgmental – has awakened in recent years to three realities. If Roe means that partial-birth abortion must be legal, Roe is far worse than once thought. If abortion cheapens life and hurts women, maybe it’s not a “tolerable evil,” but just plain evil. If the Supreme Court’s adherence to Roe prevents restricting abortion in ways that 70% of Americans favor, maybe Roe has to go.

Thanks to the Internet and several effective media
campaigns, the constitutional objections to Roe have finally
made the leap from scholarly journals and pro-life literature
to widely read websites, the great blogosphere, and even
the mainstream media. Three campaigns by the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops – Roe Reality Checks, the
Second Look Project (“Abortion: Have we gone too far?”),
and End the Roe Litmus Test – have no doubt prompted
some to consider abortion in a new light.

The link above goes to a page listing the reasons why women have abortions at the USCCB Pro-Life Activities site. Very interesting.

The Church's "yes" is to love

John Allen's reflections on Benedict's first encyclical to be released on January 25th:

When I was in Washington a couple of weeks ago speaking to the priests of the archdiocese, Msgr. Peter Vaghi asked me why Benedict had chosen this as the theme of his first encyclical, rather than something more "programmatic," such as the relationship between truth and freedom, clearly one of the pope's core concerns. In that sense, we might have expected Deus veritas est, not caritas, as its title.

First of all, there's a practical motive, which is that the arena of human sexuality, eros, tends to be where the church's message is most controversial these days. The pope wants to argue that Catholicism is not hostile to human love, but, in his view, guides it to a higher level. Second, Benedict will insist that the structures and rules of the church are not ends in themselves, but must be animated by a spirit of self-giving love. Third, picking up left-over elements of what once had been planned as a separate encyclical under John Paul II, Benedict will argue that Christian social service is founded on something very different from the secular understanding of the word "charity."

Underlying all this is Benedict's belief that the Christian message, even those aspects of its sexual morality sometimes seen as "hard-line," are ultimately based not on fear or power, but on love. His argument is that the church is committed to the full flowering of the human person, which sometimes means condemning patterns of behavior or thought which are at odds with that flowering. In the pope's mind, this is never condemnation for its own sake; as then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote in 1993, "Christianity is at its heart a radical 'yes,' and when it presents itself as a 'no,' it does so only in defense of that 'yes.'" Ultimately, according to the pope, the church's "yes" is to love.

From "The Word from Rome" January 20, 2006

Benedict announces his first encyclical

After leaks in the Italian news regarding the first encyclical of Benedict XVI--leaks of information which was never confirmed by the Vatican--the Holy Father has himself announced when it will be released and what it will be about. It will be released on January 25th. From Zenit:

With this encyclical I would like to show the concept of love in its different dimensions. Today, in the terminology that it is known, "love" often seems something very remote from what a Christian thinks when he speaks of charity. I would like to show that it is one movement with different dimensions.

The "eros," the gift of love between man and woman, comes from the same source of the Creator's goodness, as well as the possibility of a love that denies itself in favor of the other. The "eros" is transformed in "agape" in the measure in which the two really love one another and one no longer seeks oneself, one's enjoyment, one's happiness, but seeks above all the good of the other. In this way, the "eros" is transformed in charity, in a path of purification, of deepening. From one's family one opens wide to the larger family of society, to the family of the Church, to the family of the world.

I also try to show that the totally personal act that comes to us from God is a unique act of love. It must also be expressed as an ecclesial, organizational act. If it is really true that the Church is the expression of God's love, of that love that God has for his human creature, it must also be true that the fundamental act of faith, which creates and unites the Church and gives us the hope of eternal life and of the presence of God in the world, engenders an ecclesial act. In other words, the Church, including as Church, as community, must love in an institutional manner.

And this "Caritas" is not a mere organization, as other philanthropic organizations, but a necessary expression of the profound act of personal love with the God who has created us, awakening in our hearts the thrust to love, reflection of God-Love, that his image makes us.

Time has passed before the text was ready and translated. Now the fact that it will be published precisely on the day in which we pray for the unity of Christians seems a gift of Providence. I hope it might illuminate and help our Christian life.

Beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Each January there is a week of prayer for Christian Unity celebrated by Catholics throughout the world, which Benedict XVI called "an appointment to reflect on the tragedy of the division of the Christian community and to pray with Jesus himself 'that they may all be one so that the world will believe." This prayer for unity is an essential accompaniment to the theological work that is being done, and Vatican II encourages Catholics to promote unity through "public and private prayers, conversion of heart, and holiness of life." From Benedict XVI's address opening the Week of Prayer:

But we do not limit ourselves to implore. We can also give thanks to the Lord for the new situation that, with effort, has been created in the ecumenical relations among Christians with the fraternity that has been found again through the strong bonds of solidarity established, of the growth of communion and of the convergences carried out -- surely in an unequal manner -- between the different dialogues. There are many reasons to thank God. And if there is still much to be done and to hope for, let us not forget that God has given us much on the path to unity. For this reason, we are grateful to him for these gifts. The future is before us.

The Holy Father John Paul II, of happy memory, who did so much and suffered for the ecumenical question, taught us opportunely that "An appreciation of how much God has already given is the condition which disposes us to receive those gifts still indispensable for bringing to completion the ecumenical work of unity" ("Ut Unum Sint," No. 41). Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us continue to pray so as to be aware that the holy cause of the re-establishment of Christian unity exceeds our poor human efforts and that unity, finally, is a gift of God.

I've always been attracted to a young sister who lived in the first half of the 1900's who offered her life for Christian Unity: Blessed Maria Gabriella.

Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2006

Bishops' Official Comments on Court Decision on Assisted Suicide

From today's Zenit regarding:

WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Supreme Court's decision regarding use of federally controlled drugs for assisted suicide doesn't settle the legal or moral issues involved in helping people kill themselves, says a bishops' aide.

Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, commented about the case whose decision was announced Tuesday.

Doerflinger explained that the Supreme Court has ruled only that "Congress has not delegated to the U.S. attorney general" the authority to prevent such misuse of federally controlled drugs.

"This by no means settles the legal or moral issues regarding assisted suicide," he said, "but only changes the forum in which these must be addressed."

The bishops' conference aide added in a statement: "In 1997 the Supreme Court unanimously upheld state laws against physician-assisted suicide as constitutionally valid.

"It has not yet addressed the question whether Oregon's law, allowing physician-assisted suicide for certain vulnerable persons, violates constitutional guarantees such as equal protection under law; one federal court answered that question in the affirmative, but its ruling was overturned on procedural grounds by an appellate court."

Doerflinger added: "As the Catholic bishops' conference of the United States said in 1991: 'To destroy the boundary between healing and killing would mark a radical departure from longstanding legal and medical traditions of our country, posing a threat of unforeseeable magnitude to vulnerable members of our society.'

"In no sense can assisting a suicide be called a 'legitimate medical purpose' for any drug. Congress now has an obligation to reaffirm that fact."

Doctor-Assisted Suicide Upheld

This morning on the way to chapel I read the headlines in the newspaper regarding the Supreme Court upholding Oregon's doctor-assisted suicide law. The article wasn't very enlightening regarding all the issues involved since it focused mainly on Roberts vote. More comprehensive information can be found in these two CNS articles:

High court upholds Oregon doctor-assisted suicide law

Legalization of assisted suicide erodes medical care, doctor says

A chilling piece of information from this last article:

"Pain is not the issue," said Dr. Kenneth Stevens, a veteran professor of radiation oncology at Oregon Health Sciences University and vice president of Physicians for Compassionate Care. "There is not one case in Oregon of assisted suicide being used for actual untreatable pain. Pain can be treated. Assisted suicide has been used for psychological and social concerns."

Stevens explained that it is ethically appropriate and acceptable to treat a patient for pain, even if the treatment may shorten life. The point is that the treatment is being given to treat the pain and not specifically to cause death, he said.

Many physicians, Stevens said, are writing prescriptions for lethal drugs for patients they have not seen previously. One Salem doctor has said that is the case for three-fourths of his assisted-suicide patients.

For more evidence of the diminution of treatment, Stevens said, one need go no further than the Oregon budget. In 2003, the Oregon Health Plan, the state's medical coverage for low-income residents, stopped paying for medicines for 10,000 poor Oregonians.

In 2004 and the first half of this year, an additional 75,000 Oregonians were cut from the state's plan to keep the state budget balanced.

Priestly Celibacy

I ran across this story regarding priestly celibacy by George Sim Johnson I thought I'd share:

It is about a friend of mine who is now a prominent Catholic moral theologian. Years ago, he was an Episcopalian priest who decided to convert to Catholicism. He was married with children and was given the option of becoming a Catholic priest. He agonized over the decision. He was already an ordained minister (although the Church does not recognize the validity of Episcopalian orders) and was deeply attracted to the Catholic priesthood. But at the same time, he recognized that there must be serious reasons why the Church insists on a discipline that is such a sign of contradiction to the modern world.

The debate went on, until finally there came the moment of clarification. He was up all night with one of his children who was seriously ill. Feeling drained and haggard, he went to Mass the next morning, and the priest celebrating Mass came out looking equally drawn. During the brief homily, the priest mentioned in passing that he had been up all night with a parishioner’s child who was dying of meningitis. A light bulb went off over my friend’s head: You can’t do both. If you fully understand the vocations to marriage and to the priesthood—the total availability and self-emptying that each demands—you would not choose to do both. And so he became a lay theologian and, apart from raising a large family, has served the Church in ways that he probably could not have as a member of the clergy.

As my bleary-eyed friend discovered at that early morning Mass, the sacraments of Holy Orders and matrimony are too consuming to allow for both. A married priest can’t help giving his first thoughts to his wife and children. To the extent he does so, he may be forgoing his priestly role as “father,” and people who call a married priest “father” would rightly get the idea that they are second in line as spiritual children. Paul understood this perfectly well when he wrote to the Corinthians, “For he who is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of this world, how he may please his wife; and he is divided” (1 Cor 7:32-34).

There are many reasons, both practical and theological, why the Church insists on clerical celibacy. It is a wise practice that was gradually codified in light of centuries of accumulated knowledge and experience. Early on, it became obvious to many bishops that a married priesthood doesn’t work and that the Church needs men who are willing to embrace a higher spiritual state. Starting with the Spanish Council of Elvira in 305, regional churches began to ask of the clergy what many priests had already spontaneously chosen. The early Church Fathers—Tertullian, Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome, and Hilary—wrote in favor of clerical celibacy, and at the end of the Dark Ages, great reforming popes like Leo IX and Gregory VII insisted that henceforth the priesthood would be celibate. This decision greatly strengthened the Church and still does so today.

Roe: is it really constitutional law?

Richard John Neuhaus writes on January 13 on the First Things website:

The Roe decision of 1973, wrote Yale’s legendary law professor, John Hart Ely, “is not constitutional law and gives almost no sense of an obligation to try to be.” He is hardly alone in holding that view. Among the harshest critics of Roe, most of whom nonetheless support the abortion license, are Laurence Tribe, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, William Saletan, Alan Dershowitz, Cass Sunstein, and Michael Kinsley. Timothy Carney has pulled together some of what they and others have said about the wrongheadedness of Roe and that can be found on his website here.

End Discrimination Against Migrants

Pope Benedict XVI called on Christians to shun all forms of discrimination and welcome the migrants in their midst. Marking the Vatican's celebration of World Day for Migrants and Refugees Jan. 15, the pope called on people to recognize the benefits of migration and overcome "every form of discrimination, injustice and disdain for the human person, because each person is an image of God." Addressing visitors in St. Peter's Square after reciting the midday Angelus prayer, the pope said the movement of people is a "sign of the times." While the movement may be voluntary or forced, legal or clandestine, motivated by work or study, Pope Benedict said, the arrival of newcomers from far away can lead to a knowledge of and respect for ethnic and cultural differences. Pope Benedict expressed hope that Catholics would help their communities overcome "difficulties of acceptance and integration" as they welcome migrants and refugees.

Pope's Encyclical ready to roll

As Catholic News Agency informs today, The Pope’s Encyclical is ready to roll this week. The 46 pages text is divided into two parts; the first one is dedicated to “the unity of love, the creation and the history of salvation”, and the second one to the notion of “Caritas,” as the “Exercise of love from the Church.”

The second section speaks of the concept of Love-Caritas in relation to Catholic Charity Organizations. The Pope notes that Charitable work in the Church has to be totally separated from parties and ideologies, because Charity, being more than a way to change the world, is the achievement here and now of the love man always needs.

Benedict's dictus: time to go to confession

The above title caught my eye on The Catholic Outsider. The article announced that on April 11, Benedict XVI will preside over a "Liturgy of Reconciliation." In this communal penance service, there is basically a Liturgy of the Word focusing on penitence and conversion followed by a homily, and then the faithful are invited to proceed to individual confession and absolution. John Paul II used to highlight the Sacrament of Penance during Holy Week by hearing confessions in one of the confessionals of St. Peter's. This year's Liturgy of Reconciliation is a much bolder signal by the Holy Father regarding the need to recover the "forgotten sacrament" and a sense of sin.

It is not known whether Benedict XVI will himself administer the sacrament of reconciliation to individual penitents.

Stopping the hour of darkness

An excellent article by Ronald Rolheiser.

Sometimes darkness has its hour and there is nothing we can do to stop it. Sometimes the blind, wounded forces of jealousy, bitterness, violence, and sin cannot, for that moment, be stopped. But, like Mary under the cross, we are asked to "stand" under them, not in passivity and weakness, but in strength, knowing that we can't stop the crucifixion but we can help stop some of the hatred, anger, and bitterness that surrounds it.

The Secret Supper, The Labyrinth and The Templar Legacy

Excellent article in National Catholic Reporter analyzing three novels in the "Da Vinci Code" style, the claims by their authors, their historical realiability, and how to speak with friends who have read them and believe them to be true. The three novels are: The Secret Supper, The Labyrinth, and The Templar Legacy.

A Week to Celebrate Life -- Invitation for Washington D.C.

A Week to Celebrate Life

January 18 - 25

Four speakers approach the subject of abortion from all angles,
presenting unique perspectives regarding this issue.

The lectures will all take place at 12:40 pm, just after the noon Mass, at the Catholic Information Center, 1501 K Street, NW, Washington DC. This is located on K street between 15th and 16th Streets. All are welcome (you do not have to attend Mass to attend the lectures). For any questions about the lecture series, call 202-783-2062.


WEDNESDAY, January 18, 12:40 PM
"The Fight for Life: What the Church Can Do, What You Can Do"

Cathy Cleaver Ruse , Senior Fellow for Legal Studies, Family Research Council

As the former chief spokesperson on human life issues for the U.S. Catholic bishops, Mrs. Ruse played a prominent role in the Church’s mission to teach and deepen respect for the dignity of all human life. Mrs. Ruse was also Chief Counsel to the Constitution Subcommittee in the House of Representatives where she handled civil rights and human rights issues, as well as religious freedom and free speech. In 1998-99 she was counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton.

Before her work on Capitol Hill, Mrs. Ruse served as Legal Director of the Family Research Council, and as Legal Counsel and Program Director for the National Law Center for Children and Families. Mrs. Ruse also practiced law with Washington, D.C. law firms.

THURSDAY, January 19, 12:40 PM
"Religious Liberty and Human Dignity - What Vatican II Said About It"

Rev. Br. Dominic Legge, Dominican House of Studies

Br. Dominic Legge is a Dominican friar from the Dominican House of Studies. Originally from Seattle, he attended Claremont McKenna College in southern California, and then Yale Law School in New Haven . He practiced law for four years, three of them in Washington, D.C. as a Constitutional Law trial lawyer in the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2001, he entered the Dominican Order. Since then, he has taught courses in Catholic Social Thought at the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America and at Providence College . He was recently ordained a deacon and will be ordained a priest next year.


MONDAY, January 23, 12:05 PM (day of the March for Life)
Mass & Rosary for Life


TUESDAY, January 24
“How the Abortion Pill is Killing Girls and Why the
Pro-Choice Feminists Don’t Care"

Wendy Wright , Executive Vice-President, Concerned Women for America

Wendy Wright is Executive Vice President for Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation's largest public policy women's organization representing approximately 500,000 women and like-minded men. Her focus is sanctity of life and international issues, and she is frequently interviewed in national media on moral, social and political issues. Wright helps promote legislation and international policies that are beneficial to women and families, briefs congressional and administration staff on pro-family issues, and trains grassroots activists.

Miss Wright has been active in pro-life, family and religious issues for over 15 years. She is coordinating the current challenge by doctors and women to the Food and Drug Association of its approval of the abortion drug RU-486, based on the drug not meeting safety standards for patients. She successfully coordinated a similar challenge to keep the morning-after pill as prescription only, and testified at the FDA Advisory Committee hearing on it. Miss Wright has been involved in freedom of speech cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, Texas Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court. Her international experience includes teaching at the Sri Lanka Bible College , and advocating on behalf of Chinese refugees fleeing China 's forced abortion and sterilization population program.



WEDNESDAY, January 25
“Griswold, Eisenstadt, Roe and Doe: How the Supreme Court Got Us Into
This Abortion Mess in the First Place”

Edward Whelan, President, Ethics and Public Policy Center

Mr. Whelan, a lawyer and a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, has served in positions of responsibility in all three branches of the federal government. From just before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, until joining EPPC, Mr. Whelan was the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. In that capacity, he advised the White House Counsel’s Office, the Attorney General and other senior DOJ officials, and Departments and agencies throughout the executive branch on difficult and sensitive legal questions. Mr. Whelan previously served on Capitol Hill as General Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In addition to clerking for Justice Scalia, he was a law clerk to Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Whelan also previously worked as Senior Vice President and Counselor to the General Counsel for Verizon Corp. and as a lawyer in private practice.


We hope you will be able to join us for any or all of the events.
Pleas call with any questions.

Da Vinci Code and Opus Dei

"Da Vinci Code" -- a Blessing for Opus Dei?
Use the Lemon to Make Lemonade, Says Spokesman

ROME, JAN. 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The forthcoming film "The Da Vinci Code" might not be so bad for Opus Dei after all.

For the first time, in this interview, a representative of the "evil one of the film" -- the Opus Dei prelature -- offers his view on this production, which Sony-Columbia will release in May.

Marc Carroggio, who oversees Opus Dei's relationship with the international media, told ZENIT that interest about the book and the film "is turning out to be a sort of indirect publicity for us."

Carroggio added that, given the existence of the movie, there will be no fight against anyone. An effort is being made to take advantage of the great interest aroused to propose the figure of Jesus Christ, he stressed.

Q: What do you most dislike about the book and now the movie?

Carroggio: I realize that fiction has its own rules and you shouldn't take it too seriously, but like any Christian I dislike the frivolous way the book plays with the life of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, scripts like this demonize a particular group. It presents the Catholic Church as a band of criminals who for 2,000 years has tried to hide a huge lie.

Although the story is absurd and at times somewhat humorous, it produces a hateful image of the institution and it is well known that hateful images like this produce feelings of hatred in those who lack a critical sense.

I don't think we need more caricatures of any religion. We should all be working for harmony, tolerance and understanding. You cannot be seeking peace with your left hand while you are beating people over the head with your right.

Q: Opus Dei does not usually give official responses to events. Will there be an exception for the "Da Vinci Code" movie?

Carroggio: Some people are waiting for a "declaration of war" from the Catholic Church and from Opus Dei. This might interest those who are marketing the movie -- you know, a big fight in public.

But I can assure you that Opus Dei's only response will be a declaration of peace. No one is going to make threats or organize boycotts or anything like that.

We would have been happy if the producer, Sony-Columbia, had given us some sign that they would respect us. I would call their response so far "polite but noncommittal," with little indication that they intend to respect religious beliefs.

Q: How do you think the members of Opus Dei will react to the movie?

Carroggio: The reaction of the members of Opus Dei, like that of many other Christians, will be to "use the lemon to make lemonade."

Actually this event gives us a wonderful chance to talk about Jesus Christ. After all, it is the figure of Jesus Christ that explains, to a large degree, the popularity of the book.

The novel is essentially parasitical: The author makes a name for himself by attacking a major cultural figure, and he presents it as art. If the plot did not center on Jesus Christ, the book would lose its appeal.

I think that the best response is simply to help people to know Jesus Christ. I suspect that in the coming year, many people will be moved to read the Gospels or a book about the life of Jesus Christ.

They will be drawn to consider the great themes of faith, which give light to the most difficult questions of human existence. For me, these are all ways of turning the lemon into lemonade.

Q: In a certain way, Dan Brown has made Opus Dei more fashionable and given you an opportunity to explain yourselves. Have you noticed an increase in numbers of people seeking information?

Carroggio: Undoubtedly. In the last year, in just the United States, more than a million persons have visited our Web site [www.opusdei.org] and this is primarily due to interest generated by "The Da Vinci Code."

So we are receiving a sort of indirect publicity. This reminds me of what used to happen in the former Communist countries.

If an official organ published an article against the Church -­ at times attacking Opus Dei as well -­ we would receive secret messages from individuals who would read the article "backward." They would conclude that if Opus Dei was being criticized by people who criticized the Catholic Church, then Opus Dei must be interesting.

Something similar is occurring with "The Da Vinci Code." We have already made quite a bit of lemonade with the book and, God willing, we hope the movie only increases production.

We will try to give out as much information as possible and will be completely open and available: The doors are open.

We would like to offer anyone who wants it the chance to know about Opus Dei firsthand. This, by the way, is something that seemed to interest neither the author of the book nor the producer of the movie.

Q: Are you going to take legal action against the movie?

Carroggio: I would be surprised if that happened. Of course there are more than enough reasons.

Suppose a movie revealed that Sony-Columbia was not what we had always thought but was a secret group of assassins run by the Mafia, but included a disclaimer that it was just fiction. Somehow I doubt their lawyers would be satisfied. I am sure they would threaten a suit.

Still, legal action is like an icon of institutional conflict. It would be "Opus Dei vs. Sony-Columbia." To me that just sounds almost surreal. As I said earlier, the only thing Opus Dei is going to do is to make a declaration of peace. It takes two to fight and in this case we lack a quorum.

But there are members of Opus Dei in 60 countries. Some of them, with others, run centers that train farmers and young people who can't find work. They also run hospitals in underprivileged areas. All these activities depend financially on the help of many donors. Obviously the novel and movie could make their fund raising more difficult. For this reason, it would not surprise me if some of these organizations thought about seeking damages.

Q: Is Opus Dei going to advise its members not to see the movie? Or would it prefer that they be aware of the negative perception of Opus Dei in some circles?

Carroggio: Members of Opus Dei are adults. We are not going to advise them either way.

An interesting question is whether this movie should be only for adults. Any adult with a minimum of education can distinguish reality from fiction. But when history is manipulated, you cannot expect a child to make proper judgments.

Merely adding a disclaimer that says "Fiction" is not enough. Just as we protect children from explicit sex and violence, it would seem to make sense to protect them from violence that is more subtle and thus more insidious.

I think it is reasonable to be concerned about this question. Besides thinking about profits, one should also think about possible negative influences on the young. As I said earlier, this is not the time for sowing disharmony among persons, nations and religions, but rather understanding.
ZE06011202

US Bishop Urges "Responsible Transition" in Iraq

Zenit reports a summary of the report of Bishop Thomas Wensky, chairman of the US episcopate's Committe on International Policy calling for a national civil dialoge that will lead to a responsible transition in war-torm Iraq.

Some highlights:

"Our nation cannot afford a shrill and shallow debate that distorts reality and reduces the options to 'cut and run' versus 'stay the course,'" said Bishop Wenski of Orlando, Florida.

"Instead we need a forthright discussion that begins with an honest assessment of the situation in Iraq and acknowledges both the mistakes that have been made and the signs of hope that have appeared," he added.

"Most importantly, an honest assessment of our moral responsibilities toward Iraq should commit our nation to a policy of responsible transition," the prelate said. "Our nation's military forces should remain in Iraq only as long as it takes for a responsible transition, leaving sooner rather than later."

What is the central moral question?

"The central moral question is not just the timing of U.S. withdrawal, but rather the nature and extent of U.S. and international engagement that allows for a responsible transition to security and stability for the Iraqi people," said Bishop Wenski, 55.

"Our nation is at a crossroads in Iraq," he continued. "We must avoid two directions that distort reality and limit appropriate responses. We must resist a pessimism that might move our nation to abandon the moral responsibilities it accepted in using force and might tempt us to withdraw prematurely from Iraq without regard for moral and human consequences.

"We must reject an optimism that fails to acknowledge clearly past mistakes, failed intelligence, and inadequate planning related to Iraq, and minimizes the serious challenges and human costs that lie ahead."

What does responsible transition mean?

A responsible transition in Iraq means establishing a series of basic benchmarks, including: "achieving adequate levels of security; establishing the rule of law; promoting economic reconstruction to help create reasonable levels of employment and economic opportunity; and supporting the development of political structures to advance stability, political participation, and respect for religious freedom and basic human rights," Bishop Wenski said.

Four key challenges to a responsible transition cited by Bishop Wenski include: terrorism, and the United States' response to it; violation of the human rights of persons in the custody of U.S. and Iraqi forces; threats to religious liberty and religious minorities in Iraq; the plight of refugees; and meeting other responsibilities of the United States.

Religious Freedom Critical for Peace

Bishop Wenski said religious liberty is a "foundational freedom that is critical to a just and lasting peace in Iraq. Full religious freedom for all persons and all religious bodies in Iraq would contribute to stability and help avoid sectarian conflict," he said.

"Without guarantees of religious freedom, the ability of minority religious bodies to bridge sectarian divisions, which they have often done in the past, and to contribute to the rebirth of a democratic and prosperous Iraq could be undermined. … A truly democratic Iraq must continue to accommodate its religious, especially Christian, minorities."

John Paul II's would be assasin released from prison: Agca

Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981, was released from prison in Turkey without having asked publicly for pardon. Ali Agca spent 19 of his 48 years in an Italian prison until he received a presidential pardon in 2000. He was then extradited to Turkey and jailed in Istanbul for a variety of crimes, including the 1979 murder of Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci. Ali Agca was released today for good behavior after serving five years of a 10-year sentence for the murder of the journalist. Ali Agca might be called up immediately by the Turkish army to do his military service. According to Zenit:

Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, Poland, who at the time was John Paul II's personal secretary -- who held the Pope in his arms when he was felled by bullets -- has accepted the decision of the Turkish courts.

"John Paul II forgave Ali Agca a long time ago," Archbishop Dziwisz said Monday through his spokesman, Father Robert Necek. "Now he prays for him from heaven, and so do I."

"Without going into the matter, I remember a phrase of the Pope: 'How will we be able to appear before the Lord if we do not forgive one another?'" the archbishop said.

Peggy Noonan has in her book a little known fact about the conversation that John Paul II had with Agca in prison. Agca told the Pope he was confused. He was a good shot. He was up close. And he had missed. John Paul told him that Our Lady of Fatima had preserved him. Agca was then afraid that this Fatima lady, who must be very powerful, would come back and take revenge on him. No, John Paul II, Mary is gentle and forgiving, and would never take revenge on him. We can think that John Paul II placed Aqca from that moment in Our Lady of Fatima's hands.

H.R. 4437 Justice for Immigrants

HR 4437 is before the Senate Judiciary Committee right now. Its title in full is: H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005.

Why should this concern us? As Christians, our attitudes and values are to be formed by the Scriptures. As reasonable human beings are attitudes and values should be formed by the facts. Listening in on numerous conversations lately I have realized more than ever how little real facts people know about immigrants, and how ignorant Christians are of the spirit of solidarity and love proposed to the followers of Jesus in the New Testament. Prejudices are formed on myths and people get hurt. In this post you will find:

1. A summary of HR 4437 from Justice for Immigrants: wwww.justiceforimmigrants.com of the US Bishops Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform
2. Common myths regarding immigration
3. The Catholic Church's position on immigration
4. How you can act now on this vital issue.

HR 4437:

Major Provisions of HR 4437
The following is a summary of the major provisions of H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The legislation passed the House of Representatives 239-182 on Friday, December 16, 2005.

“Unlawful presence” would now be considered a crime and a felony, meaning that undocumented immigrants may have to serve jail time and would be barred from future legal status and from re-entry into the country.

Immigrants, including asylum-seekers, victims of human trafficking, victims of domestic abuse, and children who are apprehended along an international border or at a port-of-entry would be detained until such time as they are removed from the nation or otherwise provided immigration relief.

Anyone or any organization who “assists” an individual without documentation “to reside in or remain” in the United States knowingly or with “reckless disregard” as to the individual’s legal status would be liable for criminal penalties and five years in prison. This could include church personnel who provide shelter or other basic needs assistance to an undocumented individual. Property used in this act would be subject to seizure and forfeiture.

The use of expedited removal, which would permit DHS enforcement personnel to remove a potential asylum-seeker without providing an opportunity to appear before an immigration judge or qualified adjudicator, would be mandated within 100 miles of the border and within 14 days of a person’s entry into the country.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be required to erect up to 700 miles of fencing along the Southwest border at points with the highest number of immigrant deaths.

State and local law enforcement are authorized to enforce federal immigration laws. State and local governments which refuse to participate would be subject to the loss of federal funding.

Asylum seekers and refugees who are convicted of a minor offense, such as petty theft, would be barred from permanent legal residence and eventual citizenship.

Document fraud would be considered an aggravated felony and would subject an asylum-seeker to deportation and bars to re-entry.

Nationals from countries who do not accept the return of aliens who commit crimes in this country would not be admitted to the United States. This would include countries such as China, Vietnam, and Cuba.

DHS would be given the authority to continue to detain individuals who have served their sentences based upon a determination that they are a “dangerous alien,” contrary to Supreme Court rulings barring indefinite detention.

The diversity visa lottery program, which allows 50,000 immigrants each year from countries around the world to permanently reside in the United States, is eliminated.
These represent a few of the most egregious provisions of H.R. 4437. We urge you to contact your representatives to express deep concern with the passage of this legislation. Take action here

It's easy to take action: click on http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/action.html

Immigration Myths

Immigrants don’t pay taxes

Immigrants pay taxes, in the form of income, property, sales, and taxes at the federal and state level. As far as income tax payments go, sources vary in their accounts, but a range of studies find that immigrants pay between $90 and $140 billion a year in federal, state, and local taxes. Undocumented immigrants pay income taxes as well, as evidenced by the Social Security Administration’s “suspense file” (taxes that cannot be matched to workers’ names and social security numbers), which grew by $20 billion between 1990 and 1998

(Source: http://www.immigrationforum.org/about/articles/tax_study.htm)

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Immigrants come here to take welfare

Immigrants come to work and reunite with family members. Immigrant labor force participation is consistently higher than native-born, and immigrant workers make up a larger share of the U.S. labor force (12.4%) than they do the U.S. population (11.5%). Moreover, the ratio between immigrant use of public benefits and the amount of taxes they pay is consistently favorable to the U.S. In one estimate, immigrants earn about $240 billion a year, pay about $90 billion a year in taxes, and use about $5 billion in public benefits. In another cut of the data, immigrant tax payments total $20 to $30 billion more than the amount of government services they use.

(Source: “Questioning Immigration Policy – Can We Afford to Open Our Arms?”, Friends Committee on National Legislation Document #G-606-DOM, January 25, 1996. http:www.fas.org/pub/gen/fcnl/immigra.html)

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Immigrants send all their money back to their home countries

In addition to the consumer spending of immigrant households, immigrants and their businesses contribute $162 billion in tax revenue to U.S. federal, state, and local governments. While it is true that immigrants remit billions of dollars a year to their home countries, this is one of the most targeted and effective forms of direct foreign investment.

(Source: http://www.cato.org/research/articles/griswold-020218.html.)

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Immigrants take jobs and opportunity away from Americans

The largest wave of immigration to the U.S. since the early 1900s coincided with our lowest national unemployment rate and fastest economic growth. Immigrant entrepreneurs create jobs for U.S. and foreign workers, and foreign-born students allow many U.S. graduate programs to keep their doors open. While there has been no comprehensive study done of immigrant-owned businesses, we have countless examples: in Silicon Valley, companies begun by Chinese and Indian immigrants generated more than $19.5 billion in sales and nearly 73,000 jobs in 2000.

(Source: Richard Vedder, Lowell Gallaway, and Stephen Moore, Immigration and Unemployment: New Evidence, Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, Arlington, VA (Mar. 1994), p. 13.

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Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy

During the 1990s, half of all new workers were foreign-born, filling gaps left by native-born workers in both the high- and low-skill ends of the spectrum. Immigrants fill jobs in key sectors, start their own businesses, and contribute to a thriving economy. The net benefit of immigration to the U.S. is nearly $10 billion annually. As Alan Greenspan points out, 70% of immigrants arrive in prime working age. That means we haven’t spent a penny on their education, yet they are transplanted into our workforce and will contribute $500 billion toward our social security system over the next 20 years

(Source: Andrew Sum, Mykhaylo Trubskyy, Ishwar Khatiwada, et al., Immigrant Workers in the New England Labor Market: Implications for Workforce Development Policy, Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, Prepared for the New England Regional Office, the Employment and Training Administration, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Boston, Massachusetts, October 2002.

http://www.nupr.neu.edu/1102/immigration.PDF#search='center%20for%20labor%20market%20studies%20at%20Northeastern%20University%20studies')

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Immigrants don’t want to learn English or become Americans

Within ten years of arrival, more than 75% of immigrants speak English well; moreover, demand for English classes at the adult level far exceeds supply. Greater than 33% of immigrants are naturalized citizens; given increased immigration in the 1990s, this figure will rise as more legal permanent residents become eligible for naturalization in the coming years. The number of immigrants naturalizing spiked sharply after two events: enactment of immigration and welfare reform laws in 1996, and the terrorist attacks in 2001.

(Source: American Immigration Lawyers Association, “Myths & Facts in the Immigration Debate”, 8/14/03. http://www.aila.org/contentViewer.aspx?bc=17,142#section4)

(Source: Simon Romero and Janet Elder, “Hispanics in the US Report Optimism” New York Times, (Aug. 6, 2003).

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Today’s immigrants are different than those of 100 years ago

The percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign-born now stands at 11.5%; in the early 20th century it was approximately 15%. Similar to accusations about today’s immigrants, those of 100 years ago initially often settled in mono-ethnic neighborhoods, spoke their native languages, and built up newspapers and businesses that catered to their fellow émigrés. They also experienced the same types of discrimination that today’s immigrants face, and integrated within American culture at a similar rate. If we view history objectively, we remember that every new wave of immigrants has been met with suspicion and doubt and yet, ultimately, every past wave of immigrants has been vindicated and saluted.

(Source: Census Data: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kprof00-us.pdf,http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/censr-4.pdf )

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Most immigrants cross the border illegally

Around 75% of today’s immigrants have legal permanent (immigrant) visas; of the 25% that are undocumented, 40% overstayed temporary (non-immigrant) visas.

(Source: Department of Homeland Security (http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/index.htm)

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Weak U.S. border enforcement has lead to high undocumented immigration

From 1986 to 1998, the Border Patrol’s budget increased six-fold and the number of agents stationed on our southwest border doubled to 8,500. The Border Patrol also toughened its enforcement strategy, heavily fortifying typical urban entry points and pushing migrants into dangerous desert areas, in hopes of deterring crossings. Instead, the undocumented immigrant population doubled in that timeframe, to 8 million—despite the legalization of nearly 3 million immigrants after the enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. Insufficient legal avenues for immigrants to enter the U.S., compared with the number of jobs in need of workers, has significantly contributed to this current conundrum.

(Source: Immigration and Naturalization website: http://www.ncjrs.org/ondcppubs/publications/enforce/border/ins_3.html)

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The war on terrorism can be won through immigration restrictions

No security expert since September 11th, 2001 has said that restrictive immigration measures would have prevented the terrorist attacks—instead, the key is effective use of good intelligence. Most of the 9/11 hijackers were here on legal visas. Since 9/11, the myriad of measures targeting immigrants in the name of national security have netted no terrorism prosecutions. In fact, several of these measures could have the opposite effect and actually make us less safe, as targeted communities of immigrants are afraid to come forward with information.

(Source: Associated Press/Dow Jones Newswires, “US Senate Subcommittee Hears Immigration Testimony”, Oct. 17, 2001.)

(Source: Cato Institute: “Don’t Blame Immigrants for Terrorism”, Daniel Griswold, Assoc. Director of Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies (see: http://www.cato.org/dailys/10-23-01.html)

It's easy to take action: click on http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/action.html

ABOUT the Catholic Church's Positions on Immigration

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Why does the church care about immigration policies?

The Catholic Church has historically held a strong interest in immigration and how public policy affects immigrants seeking a new life in the United States. Based on Scriptural and Catholic social teachings, as well as her own experience as an immigrant Church in the United States, the Catholic Church is compelled to raise her voice on behalf of those who are marginalized and whose God-given rights are not respected.

The Church believes that current immigration laws and policies have often led to the undermining of immigrants’ human dignity and have kept families apart. The existing immigration system has resulted in a growing number of persons in this country in an unauthorized capacity, living in the shadows as they toil in jobs that would otherwise go unfilled. Close family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents must wait years for a visa to be reunited. And, our nation’s border enforcement strategies have been ineffective and have led to the death of thousands of migrants.

The Church has a responsibility to shine the message of God on this issue and help to build bridges between all parties so that an immigration system can be created that is just for all and serves the common good, including the legitimate security concerns of our nation.

Does the Catholic Church support illegal immigration?

The Catholic Bishops do not condone unlawful entry or circumventions of our nation’s immigration laws. The bishops believe that reforms are necessary in order for our nation’s immigration system to respond to the realities of separated families and labor demands that compel people to immigrate to the United States, whether in an authorized or unauthorized fashion.

Our nation’s economy demands foreign labor, yet there are insufficient visas to meet this demand. Close family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents face interminable separations, sometimes of twenty years or longer, due to backlogs of available visas. U.S. immigration laws and policies need to be updated to reflect these realties.

Does the Catholic Church support “amnesty”?

The Catholic bishops are proposing an earned legalization for those in this country in an unauthorized status and who have built up equities and are otherwise admissible. “Amnesty,” as commonly understood, implies a pardon and a reward for those who did not obey immigration laws, creating inequities for those who wait for legal entry. The bishops’ proposal is not an “amnesty.”

The Bishops’ earned legalization proposal provides a window of opportunity for undocumented immigrants who are already living in our communities and contributing to our nation to come forward, pay a fine and application fee, go through rigorous criminal background checks and security screenings, demonstrate that they have paid taxes and are learning English, and obtain a visa that could lead to permanent residency, over time.

It's easy to take action: click on http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/action.html

99th of 122 former death-row inmates exonerated

Juan Roberto Melendez Colon can remember holding a rope in his hands preparing to strangle himself in his prison cell on Florida's death row, but something held him back. Instead, he went to sleep and dreamed he was swimming again as he loved to do as a boy in the tranquil aqua waters of the Caribbean. "The sun was bright. The sky was blue. The palm trees looked so good from the shore of the beach, and I was right there in the Caribbean swimming. Then I saw ... four dolphins ... flipping and jumping like dolphins do. And then I looked to the shore and I saw my mama waving at me. ... I was happy," he recalled.

He awoke with new hope that one day he would be found innocent, and he flushed the rope down the toilet. In January 2002, he became the 99th of 122 former death-row inmates to be exonerated in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. He and 12 other exonerated men took part in a recent retreat in Hampton sponsored by the Witness to Innocence project.

Survey shows high school seniors feel abortion is wrong

From CNS.com, January 9, 2006:

A national survey of high school seniors reported that many of them have a strong moral opposition to abortion and favor restrictions on "a woman's right to choose" an abortion. An analysis of the survey said that when they answered general questions about abortion, seniors "appeared supportive of abortion rights," but responses to more detailed questions on circumstances in which it should be allowed showed "most seniors regard abortion as morally wrong" and that they "would significantly limit" when a woman could have an abortion. The survey also showed that almost 75 percent of the respondents supported legal recognition for gay couples with 54 percent of the respondents supporting gay marriage and 20 percent favoring gay civil unions. The survey of 1,000 public and private school seniors was conducted by Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., and the polling firm of Zogby International. It was made public at a Jan. 5 news conference in Washington.

Papal Apartment Makeover

From CNS STORY: No place like home: Papal apartment gets extreme makeover:

The renovation, the workman related, was long overdue. The architects said they were surprised at the poor state of the apartment.

For one thing, the electrical system was not up to code. Some rooms still used old 125-volt electrical outlets, which were phased out years ago in Italy in favor of 220 volts. The water pipes were encrusted with rust and lime, and the heating system was approximate at best.

Above the false ceiling, workers discovered big drums placed strategically to catch the leaks from the roof; some were nearly full of water.

The makeover included renovation of the medical studio, which is said to include emergency surgery and dentistry equipment. The papal bedroom, situated at the corner of the building, was completely redone, and most of the rooms were freshly wallpapered.

The new kitchen was reportedly outfitted by a German company, with state-of-the-art ovens, ranges and other appliances.

Those who frequented the papal apartment under Pope John Paul II have no doubt that the place needed an overhaul. Polish film director Krzysztof Zanussi, a friend of the late pope, once said he was astonished at the gloominess of the place, with its outmoded furnishings and lack of lighting.

Islam--toward a fruitfulness of the mutual enrichment of civilization

Benedict XVI's statement to the Diplomatic Corp on the clash of civilizations with regard to Islam:

“In today’s global context, attention has rightly been drawn to the danger of a clash of civilizations. The danger is made more acute by organized terrorism, which has already spread over the whole planet. Its causes are many and complex, not least those to do with political ideology, combined with aberrant religious ideas. Terrorism does not hesitate to strike defenceless people, without discrimination, or to impose inhuman blackmail, causing panic among entire populations, in order to force political leaders to support the designs of the terrorists. No situation can justify such criminal activity, which covers the perpetrators with infamy, and it is all the more deplorable when it hides behind religion, thereby bringing the pure truth of God down to the level of the terrorists’ own blindness and moral perversion.”

But Benedict XVI did not take a pessimistic outlook on this. Instead, he recalled the fruitfulness of the mutual enrichment of civilizations, including Muslim civilization:

“In past centuries, cultural exchanges between Judaism and Hellenism, between the Roman world, the Germanic world and the Slav world, and also between the Arabic world and the European world, have enriched culture and have favoured sciences and civilizations. So it should be again today, and to an even greater extent.”

The Holy Land--Benedict's teaching

The title of his January 1st World Day of Peace Message was In Truth, Peace. On January 10, in his address to the Diplomatic Corp, Benedict XVI expanded this principle in regard to the Holy Land. As reported by Sandro Magister on chiesa.com today:

Justice, freedom, forgiveness – the three elements that embody peace among men and nations – all derive from what Benedict XVI called “the commitment to truth.”

“Those who are committed to truth cannot fail to reject the law of might, which is based on a lie and has so frequently marked human history, nationally and internationally, with tragedy. The lie often parades itself as truth, but in reality it is always selective and tendentious, selfishly designed to manipulate people, and finally subject them. Political systems of the past, but not only the past, offer a bitter illustration of this. Set against this, there is truth and truthfulness, which lead to encounter with the other, to recognition and understanding.”

It is the search for truth – the pope said – that brings recognition to diversity and equality. And it therefore permits the realization of these according to justice.

Benedict XVI applied this criterion to the Holy Land:

“There, the State of Israel has to be able to exist peacefully in conformity with the norms of international law; there, equally, the Palestinian people has to be able to develop serenely its own democratic institutions for a free and prosperous future.”

Update on Benedict XVI's first encyclical

Reported by John Allen in The Word from Rome, January 6, 2006:

A senior Vatican official told NCR in early January that the release of Benedict XVI's first encyclical, Deus caritas est, would likely come sometime after Jan. 15. This official said that Benedict is concerned about "information overload" from the Vatican, and wants the Christmas and New Year's messages to have time to sink in before another important text is issued.

Anyone looking for a "warm-up exercise" might consider C.S. Lewis' 1960 book The Four Loves. The encyclical is expected to review different concepts of love, much like Lewis did in distinguishing among affection, friendship, erotic love and unconditional love. Like Lewis, Benedict will argue that if the modern world could arrive at a proper understanding of the nature of love, many problems would be on their way to resolution.

What Benedict XV wants for the Church

Quoted in John Allen's The Word from Rome, January 6, 2006--

He wants a church with an impact on the culture, one that radiates joy and conviction, and thereby points the way to a different future. In other words, he wants a church the world takes seriously.

Benedict's gamble seems to be that, for all its superficiality, the post-modern world will still respond to the force of unadorned argument -- at least enough of the world to make a difference. For all those who take the pope for an Augustinian pessimist, it's actually a rather hopeful stance. Whether he's right -- and whether his particular arguments are winning ones -- will shape the drama of his papacy.