If you live in the Boston area, then unlike any other part of the country, the past few days have brought about another withering round of attacks on the Church. It started this week with the arrest of the Phoenix Archbishop's arrest for leaving the scene of an accident. I don't all know the facts, and will reserve my own speculation on this matter for another time. The second round was the resignation of Gov. Keating from the Bishops panel on child abuse. As I've briefly seen from a stroll through the blogs I read, this is a relatively hot issue. Then this morning on the way to work, I listened with intense frustration to a morning radio program that just couldn't (wouldn't – it is good radio to bash the Church) see why Gov. Keating was asked to step down. Some key points that need to be made regarding this issue, and then some follow up points on the Catholic atmosphere that is perpetuated here in the Archdiocese. The crux of the issue about Gov. Keating seems to me to be this: The Catholic Church, and its Catholic Archbishops, within the authority of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Council on Child Sexual Abuse, hired a well known “Catholic” man with strong investigatory credentials. Ostensibly the Catholic Bishops believed Gov. Keating was a practicing Catholic in communion with the Catholic Church, and therefore his selection to lead the panel would rightly give necessary credibility to the panel. The panel Gov. Keating was charged to lead was a Catholic lay panel investigating a serious problem within the Catholic Church in the United States. As such, the Catholic Church within the United States, under the guidance of the Catholic Pope, sought to resolve the problem within the Authentic Deposit of Faith - i.e. within, and maintaining fidelity to, the Universal Catholic Church's teachings that were received directly from Christ. Keating, therefore, in remarks that started last year with his suggestion that the laity try to take power away from the bishops, as well as praising Luther's reformation efforts, put himself fundamentally at odds with Catholic Church. The Bishops did not ask Gov. Keating to try to resolve this problem by changing the Catholic Faith or seeking protestant solutions. Exactly the opposite, the Bishops asked Gov. Keating to help resolve the problem within the confines of the Faith. Therefore, Gov. Keating’s suggestion that more lay involvement would somehow solve or have prevented this problem does not pass even the slightest logical test, let alone any test of faith, and shows itself to be nothing more a salacious poke at the Church. The call of both the Church and the laity – that is the Faithful – is a call to be faithful to the teaching of Christ and to lead a life of holiness. Suggesting the laity are somehow in a better position than the Bishops and Priests to maintain the Church’s faithfulness to the teachings of Christ is patently absurd. It furthermore fails to recognize Christ commissioned the apostles to lead and instruct the Church and spread His message, thus highlighting an egregious misunderstanding of the Catholic Faith on Gov. Keating’s part. It is the unintentional or deliberate misunderstanding of the Faith that led to Gov. Keating’s ouster. For more insight into a sampling of what the "faithful" laity of the Boston area believe, see the poll I blogged about previously. If this poll has even an element of truth to it, then it is a perfect reason why more lay control will not work. The poll cited above and the argument presented thus far lead me to this final point about this whole sordid mess. The crisis within the Church is fundamentally a crisis of fidelity, as has been noted on this blog in my references to Fr. Richard John Neuhaus who said it first. The lack of fidelity to the teaching of Christ, the lack of fidelity and trust in Christ, the lack of fidelity to the Catholic Church which holds as Sacred Tradition the teachings of Christ, are the root causes of the abuse scandal, as well as the fundamental reason Gov. Keating was forced to resign. The Church itself is nowhere at fault in this matter. No where in the teachings of Christ, Sacred Tradition, the Bible or Catholic doctrine, is the abuse, rape and molestation of children by anyone condoned or extolled. What Christ taught, what the Church continues to teach, is remarkably simple and yet so often so difficult to accept. It is best seen and explained by Christ himself in Matthew's recalling of the Sermon on the Mount. See Matthew 5:1 - 7:27. Perhaps, however, the most appropriate part of this message as it pertains to this crisis and the lack of fidelity is this: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14 Remember please, in these troubled times, that the very message of Christ so vividly contained in the reading above, is at once message of Mercy, of Forgiveness, of Repentance, and of a total change of heart and conduct on the part of those who are to receive the Kingdom of God.

posted by Michael Lee on 6/18/2003 09:29:00 AM | link |

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Some very interesting news is breaking here in the local Boston area. In a hospital in Milton, MA, an apparition of the Virgin Mary has drawn over 20,000 people since June 14th when it was first reported in the Boston Globe. Evidently on the third floor of the hospital administration building in a double paned glass window, condensation has seeped between the panes and taken the form of the Blessed Mother holding the Child Jesus. Viewed from up close, the image is non-descript, but from afar it is said to be unmistakable. You can read stories about it here, here and here. My wife and I are going tonight, and I will post about it after I return. The Archdiocese of Boston's spokesman, Fr. Christopher Coyne, said to reporters yesterday that while the Church has not taken a stand on the validity of the image, "If it causes people to deepen their faith, then it is a good thing." Well said, Father Coyne. If there is one thing the Archdiocese of Boston truly needs, it is a deepening of faith.

posted by Michael Lee on 6/18/2003 08:13:00 AM | link |

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Tuesday, June 17

A very interesting article came out today on Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet daily email. Incidentally, if you don't subscribe, it's a great daily source of news and information centering on the politics of pro-life issues. Visit their page here. According to the email, Norma McCorvey, the former "Roe" of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, is filing an historic motion today to re-open her case and request that it be overturned. The filing is based on changes in law and factual conditions since the high court handed down its decision 30 years ago. In case you don't follow pro-life issues closely, THIS IS HUGE! The sacred cow of the left has, perhaps, just been dealt its death blow. Whether Ms. McCorvey is successful initially or not is actually less important than the fact that Roe has staked her claim on the side of life. In the article, she says, "I long for the day that justice will be done and the burden from all of these deaths will be removed from my shoulders," McCorvey said. "I want to do everything in my power to help women and their children. The issue is justice for women, justice for the unborn, and justice for what is right." Well said Ms. McCorvey. The first issue of justice she cites upon – justice for women - is absolutely critical. The abortion movement has made mockery out of the original concept of Feminism. In fact, the founders of Feminism were staunchly pro-life, a fact that is often overlooked all too easily today. Instead, with heavy handed tactics and cultural brainwashing, groups like NOW and NARAL (who by opposing Conner’s Law have shown the world their true colors) had largely succeeded in convincing many American women - indeed many women world wide - that "reproductive choice" means having the ability to have sex without consequences. A result, unintended for sure, has been the exact opposite of Feminism’s founding ideal – that women are equal to men. Instead, abortion on demand creates a culture atmosphere where sex on demand is often followed by outside pressure on women to escape the very responsibility and equality they sought. Furthermore, this slippery slope too often has led too many men down the path of believing sex without real consequences and responsibilities, or the ability to escape those consequences and responsibilities through abortion, means women really are “objects of passion.” As a result of these consequences, the devastating cultural effect of abortion now gives way to evidence such as this: Between 30 and 60 percent of abortions are undergone because the pregnant woman is submitting to the pressure of her male partner, parents, physicians, or other third persons. Abortion on demand has statistically and forcibly removed a woman's most sacred responsibility and the essence and foundation of her femininity - motherhood - and turned it into a demeaned or looked down upon activity. Despite the obvious fact the tide is turning on this scourge on humanity, nevertheless today countless articles, stories and reports in the nation's most "honored" publications, present us with “anecdotal evidence" about how either abortion is a blessing for society or that women who willing choose not to abort are being "irresponsible." I pray that through and by Ms. “Roe’s” legal motion groups like NOW, NARAL and the abortion industry will no longer be able to claim themselves supporters of “Women's rights” while simultaneously denying the physical fact the gift of creation and the power of birth, motherhood alone is humanity's continual hope for the future. For more information on this topic, see Emily's blog After Abortion.

posted by Michael Lee on 6/17/2003 10:06:00 AM | link |

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Monday, June 16

Been very busy at work recently. My boss was preparing for a lengthy overseas trip, which he is now on, and I was traveling last week. That aside, it's time to get back to blogging. Been trying to read everything I can get my hands on lately. Well, actually I try to do this all the time, but recently I've been focusing on catechesis topics. Being somewhat of a 're-vert' I'm in the process of reading through the New Testament in its entirety for the first time. It is an amazing piece of work and the more I read it the more its divine inspiration becomes relevant. The other book I'm reading, in tandem with the Bible, is Frank J. Sheed's "Theology for Beginners." I happened upon this book on accident some months ago, and read the whole thing (about 200 pages) in about 2 days. It is an amazing book that really grabbed hold of me. Now I'm re-reading it again so I can reference the Gospels every time his book does. For other very good books, I recommend checking out Fr. C.J. McCloskey's List at the Catholic Information Center's website located here. Other notes and asides. I'm going out on a limb - decided to teach 9th Grade CCD this year. After all, what good is our faith if we can't share it? Which coincidentally shows just how fundamentally flawed Voice of the Faithful's mission statement - "Keep the Faith, change the structure" - really is. After all, Christ never said anything about keeping the faith. He told us to spread it! I'm also enrolled in International Catholic University's Master's of Theology Program via Distance Learning. I was debating between this program and the Catholic Distance University. The decision came down to the degree I wanted. CDU only offers a MA or a Masters of Religious Studies. I wanted the Theology degree. Either way, it's going to take some time, but it should be lots of fun.

posted by Michael Lee on 6/16/2003 11:36:00 PM | link |

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