Bobblehead Benedict, Calm Down People!

I don't know if you all have seen the above video, but apparently it is creating some controversy. The Archdiocese of Washington asked Metro to take it down because it is somehow offensive. This type of reaction really gives Catholics a bad image. There is nothing morally objectionable in the video, so why can't we laugh at ourselves a little. I find the fact that metro went to the trouble of actually getting someone to chant in Latin somewhat impressive.

For further coverage of the whole situation you can read about it in the following locations:

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0408/509914.html
http://dcist.com/2008/04/09/morning_roundup_232.php
http://www.americanpapist.com/2008/04/arch-of-dc-requests-metro-remove.html

Summorum Pontificum

In case anyone hasn't heard, the Pope has issued an Apostolic Letter, Summorum Pontificum, ordering, among other things, that the Tridentine Mass (i.e., the Latin Mass that was the norm before 1970) be made much more widely available. This is a very exciting development for one who has grown to love the Tridentine rite and for whom it has been seen to play a key role in a loved one's conversion to the Catholic faith.

The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the 'Lex orandi' (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church's Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church's 'Lex credendi' (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.
- Summorum Pontificum, Article 1 (Unofficial Translation)

It is my hope that the new rules which Pope Benedict has established will serve to foster a greater devotion to the Mass, as that which is beautiful and good in the old form, which has been in many ways lost since the new form, is recovered in view of what is beautiful and good in the new form. I love that Pope Benedict clearly affirms that each form is a different usage of the same Mass. And, I think it may be readily observed that, as such, each form discloses aspects of the same Truth and offers the faithful varied ways to be united with Christ through the same Mass. Instead of this being a cause for division in the Church (though some few might regretfully try to make it so), the diversity celebration 2 forms will promote greater unity

To any Catholics who haven't experienced the Tridentine Mass, I would strongly recommend taking advantage of the coming opportunities to do so. If nothing else, experiencing the extraordinary form of the Mass will increase your knowledge and appreciation of the ordinary form of the Mass.

Cardinal Martino on Amnesty International

I have a confession to make: I've never really liked Amnesty International. Maybe it's because I'm what you would generally call both a realist and a conservative. But in spite of that, I can see that Amnesty is working hard on a very important cause, a cause they believe in. And for that I respected them. Until yesterday.

Zenit reports that the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Martino, who also serves as the Holy See's permanent observer at the UN, is calling on Catholics to withdraw support from Amnesty International since the groups no longer defends the right to life. He said that the recent decision to promote abortion "rights" is a betrayal of Amnesty's identity.

By pushing for the decriminalization of abortion as part of their platform, Amnesty International has disqualified itself as a defender of human rights....If AI is no longer willing to stand up for the most basic human right -- the right to life -- then the very integrity of the organization is called into question.

Amnesty now joins a long list of other international organizations, such as the United Nations Children's Fund, in promoting a so-called right to abortion.

However, the situation is not without hope. "I was head of the Holy See delegation to the Cairo Conference on Population and Development when that issue was settled definitively," Cardinal Martino stated. "Paragraph 8.25 of the Cairo Declaration clearly states, 'In no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning … and every attempt should be made to eliminate the need for abortion."