extreme Catholic

Religion of Peace File

Yahoo Reuters Photo
A Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim mother helps her son beat himself with a sword during a ceremony of Ashoura held in Nabatiyeh, March 13, 2003. Shiites in Lebanon commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, by his rival over 1,400 years ago.

Not to worry, if there's a simulated crucifixion with a real crown of thorns and a real nails in the feet and hands come Good Friday, then I'll post the pictures.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:26 PM Permalink

Darryl Worley - Have You Forgotten

I hear people saying we don't need this war
I say there's some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground?
We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down
They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in
Before you start preaching
Let me ask you this my friend
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

The complete lyrics here.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:56 PM Permalink

rediff.com Arvind Lavakare: Hitler, Vatican and Gandhi

If you have a curiosity around pacifism in the style of Pope Pius XII vs. style of Ghandi, this article is informative. (no connection to the present.) The author is Indian.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:46 PM Permalink

Chicago Sun-Times: Roger Ebert essay on the war:

The pope sent a cardinal from the Vatican to have an hour's discussion with Bush--not about politics, but about theology. The cardinal told the president that the pope disagrees that God supports an invasion of Iraq. ''God does not intervene in the affairs of man,'' the papal emissary said.

Yet another article that repeats the anti-war playbook talking point: In the press conference of March 6, President Bush appeared certain of the morality and neccessity of the preparation for war. Which is a scary thing. Ebert brings in some second-hand Catholic theology to explain his unease.

Of course, if the President appeared uncertain, then that would have been criticized too.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:35 PM Permalink

Anchorage Daily News: Catholic church opens discussion on a 'just war'

Other questions asked that night demanded just as much soul-searching as men and women, young and old, grappled with whether the war before us is a just war. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has decided it is not, at least not based on the church's "just war" criteria.

Did I miss a change to the Cathechism?

"The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good." [CCC 2309]

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:11 PM Permalink

Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor: A Look at the Chirac and the Pope Situation

...The pope, on the other hand, is another story. He continues to say that an attack on Iraq would be immoral, but the pope is not anti-American in my opinion. He a man of peace. I believe that.
But as I've said before, I believe also that John Paul is naive and detached from reality. If America does not lead an attack on Iraq, once again, Saddam remains in power and is free to use his anthrax and other terrible weapons as he chooses.
So the pope does not seem to be concerned about that or about Saddam's behavior in general. Once again, he must know Saddam is a killer. He must know he's oppressed his own people using murder and torture. He must know that.
Is that scenario OK with the Vatican? Is a murderous dictator immoral? Isn't it morally right to neutralize a mass killer?
These are important moral questions for the Vatican to address, and immediately, if it wants to retain credibility among the American people, including Catholics like me.
Selective indignation over military action is a tough argument to make. You either confront evil or you don't. But those who confront it, it seems to me, should not be labeled immoral.
Summing up, Jacques Chirac is our enemy, and the pope, well, I don't know what to think. I'll let you decide.

I wouldn't say it that way. There's a note of contempt for the Pope in how he said it. But in the subtance of what O'Reilly has said regarding how the American Catholic public sees this, I think he's on target.

I don't want a Pope to bless war, even though I know Popes of the past have done so and retain the power to bless wars as a prudential decision.

In the case that we have before us now I can't understand why the emphasis of the Vatican is on ineffective means to achieve a just end.

The Vatican's weak case against the use of force, if necessary, does not show how Saddam gets disarmed.

If Saddam's regime is immoral, then what can be said of the French who have given an absolute threat to veto any "use of force" resolution and consequently insure that he continues to amass weapons of mass destruction.

Cybercast News Service has a syndicated article of Bill O'Reilly. It is more hostile to the position of the Pope and Vatican.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:37 PM Permalink

Church Times UK: Pope give Blair Communion

The Prime Minister received communion from the hands of the Pope during his recent visit to the Vatican, it has been reported from Rome.
Tony Blair, an Anglican, had an audience with Pope John Paul II on 22 February and attended mass on the following day with his wife and their three eldest children, all of whom are Roman Catholics.
A Jesuit liturgist from one of the Pontifical universities confirmed the story. It is said that the Vatican’s Secretariat of State granted a special dispensation for Mr Blair to receive communion on the grounds that there is no Anglican church for him to attend in the Vatican. There are, however, three Anglican places of worship in the centre of Rome.

I'm sure this will get wide publicity among the Anglicans. This is really confusing -- and it will bring pressure on Catholic priests who believe that there are good reasons for not allowing Anglicans to receive Holy Communion.

So, yes. It is possible to be "more Catholic" than the Pope.

blogger credit: A Saintly Salmagundi

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:27 PM Permalink

Old America

A friend of mine prepared this article Old America for publication here.

It is his reflection on this country from 9/11 to the present.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 6:04 PM Permalink

Boston Herald: Law: Probing priest dad was not my job

The story of Fr. James D. Foley who abandoned a woman to die with whom he had a decade-long affair is well-known. But this newspaper account of a deposition interested me:

Law was also asked why he resigned as archbishop, but declined to say if it was due to mistakes in handling abuser priests.
``It was the conviction that I had come to over the months that my ability to provide pastoral leadership was severely impeded by a lack of confidence on the part of a number of people,'' he said. ``I frankly did not see how I would reach a point in any near term when that confidence would be restored.

Using this as a template, how many other bishops have lost the confidence of the laity in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis? Ought they to follow the example of Cardinal Law and resign?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:23 AM Permalink

Italian News Agency: Hitler thought Jesuits untrustworthy

(AGI) - Vatican City, February 27 - "Just before the Russian campaign Hitler declared that the Jesuits were unworthy of carrying arms like the Jews and they were forced to wear a label saying 'nzv', untrustworthy like the Jews". This was documented by Civilta' Cattolica which will include unpublished documents in its next edition about the relations between the Holy See and Nazi Germany. A report prepared by Germans in the Company of Jesus said: "The SS asked for a list of all the members of the Order but we refused to provide one. It was Hitler's intention to send us to the East to the concentration camps which in fact is what happened beginning in 1942". (AGI)

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:34 AM Permalink

Wall Street Journal: My favorite newspaper has comments on the Pope's Legions

If there were any doubts left about where Pope John Paul II stands on war with Iraq, they ought to have been answered by his characterization of any military effort against Saddam as a "crime against humanity." That message has been effectively communicated to the world. Alas, the pope has not enjoyed similar success in providing the context that would put this conclusion in proper moral perspective...
...Now, we appreciate too that the Holy Father's own statements have been more nuanced than the oft-intemperate language used by other Vatican officials, not to mention the Vatican's official and semi-official publications. But it strikes us that precision is also a moral obligation. As a teacher, the pope surely bears special responsibility not simply for his own words but the interpretations and framework offered by men and institutions under his control.

I lack the certainty of the author of this article that the Pope is wrong. I take some comfort in the fact that neither the Pope nor I carry the burden of this decision on our shoulders. I also have confidence that like the liberation of Germany in 4/1945, the liberation of Iraq in 4/2003 will turn up realities that will make moot the objections of the Pope's legions.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:13 AM Permalink

The Standard Reply

Are you with the Pope and against the war? Or are you aganist the Pope and for the war?

I accept without reservation the teaching of the Catholic Church on "just war". (CCC 2309, etal)
I join with the Pope in prayers for peace.
I understand the Church also teaches that the public authorities have the final responsibility for determining if a war is justified.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:04 AM Permalink

Catholic News Service: Abp. Martino is shocked -- shocked to discover backroom politics is taking place at the UN

ROME (CNS) -- A top Vatican official decried the U.S. and French government's efforts to pressure smaller U.N. Security Council members to their opposing sides in the Iraqi crisis, saying the "logic of domination" was undermining the U.N. decision-making process. In a March 13 Italian newspaper interview, Archbishop Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's justice and peace council, also suggested that the United Nations could resolve the 15-member Security Council's deadlock over Iraq by calling an emergency session of all 191 U.N. members. Archbishop Martino, who until recently spent 16 years as the Vatican representative to the United Nations, said smaller U.N. Security Council members should be allowed to vote for or against proposed U.N. resolutions on Iraq "free from any interference." He told the newspaper, Corriere della Sera, "When promises or threats regarding the future of a people are made -- whoever is making them -- the decisional process is falsified and damage is done to the principle of nations' equal dignity."

Archbishop Martino, smoke-filled rooms, and deal-making are the political process. The United Nations is for the politics of self-interest and not for faith and morals which is the domain of the Church.

Rather than being dominated by the U.S. and France, the undecided six: Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, Mexico and Pakistan have never had so much power. The first five have nothing all at stake in the armament or disarmament of Iraq. They can sell their vote to the highest bidder. Hey, make me an offer!

Perhaps Archbishop Martino is smarter than we think he is and he knows that the undecided six are saying right now Show me the money! But if that's the case, why bring the subject up anyway?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:35 AM Permalink

SciFi.Com: Children of Dune

I loved the SciFi Channel version of Dune. So I've been anticipating this for some time. Frank Herbert's "take" on Jesus Christ.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:12 AM Permalink

Japanese Central bank must end zero interest rates

...To clarify what the bank should or should not be doing, let us start with the basics. In Japan, the most basic fact is that interest rates are at zero. This zero interest rate policy is not just a temporary quirk in markets, but the very center of Japan's public policy. The bank has kept rates at zero for more than three years. What this means is that the price of money in Japan is zero. It costs you nothing to borrow. Indeed, with the zero rate policy, Japan is, de facto, infinitely wealthy.

Well... Don't break your calculator by using the zero interest rate function.

As for me, I am not borrowing from a Japanese bank until the interest rates go negative.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:03 PM Permalink

Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart: God made me do it.

Expect to see more articles like this making a connection between Brian "Emmanuel" Mitchell and his faith, his prophecies, etc. Mainstream media always goes for the connection between religious faith and violence:

SALT LAKE CITY, March 13 (UPI) -- Two drifters arrested in the Elizabeth Smart case were jailed Thursday on suspicion of kidnapping while prosecutors worked on formal charges. Police said they believe Brian "Emmanuel" Mitchell and Wanda Barzee took Elizabeth from her Salt Lake City home last summer for reasons that remain unclear. The Seattle Times said a self-appointed prophet may have kidnapped Elizabeth Smart because he thought God had chosen her as his next wife. The newspaper cited a police source in Salt Lake City as saying Brian Mitchell believed God had chosen the unsuspecting 14-year-old as his betrothed.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:57 PM Permalink

OpinionJournal.com: The Rage, the Pride and the Doubt Thoughts on the eve of battle in Iraq. Oriana Fallaci

To avoid the dilemma of whether this war should take place or not, to overcome the reservations and the reluctance and the doubts that still lacerate me, I often say to myself: "How good if the Iraqis would get free of Saddam Hussein by themselves. How good if they would execute him and hang up his body by the feet as in 1945 we Italians did with Mussolini." But it does not help. Or it helps in one way only. The Italians, in fact, could get free of Mussolini because in 1945 the Allies had conquered almost four-fifths of Italy. In other words, because the Second World War had taken place. A war without which we would have kept Mussolini (and Hitler) forever.

Her book, The Rage and the Pride is excellent if you like an unrelenting incohernt style. Of course, her point that there's a moral imperative to start a new crusade to crush Islam is politically incorrect to the max.

Oriana Fallaci is an atheist and therefore not eligible to be an honorary member of the Lepanto Group.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:17 PM Permalink

Weekly Standard: Solzhenitsyn, Again

...First, Solzhenitsyn asked whether the West possessed enough courage to defend itself:
"A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage, both as a whole and separately, in each country, in each government, in each political party, and, of course, in the United Nations. Such a decline of courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling and intellectual elites, causing an impression of a loss of courage by the entire society. There are many courageous individuals, but they have no determining influence on public life...

It's worth a moment to read the excerpts of this speech from 1978.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:32 AM Permalink

Starting the long climb out of the depths of Hell

CBS reports the Senate voted to prohibit partial-birth abortions.

This is the first great step.to rollback the horror of the killing the unborn.

I also deeply believe that final victory will come only through prayer and changing the hearts and minds of people that abortion is the deliberate murder of a human being.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:14 AM Permalink

UK Mirror: Wakes up after six years in coma

A young music fan trapped in a coma for six years woke up when her mum took her to see rock star Bryan Adams live in concert.
Christiane Kittel, now 24, suffered a lung embolism when she was 18 and fell into a coma in 1997.
Her devoted parents, Karl-Gunther and Adelheid, kept a constant hospital bedside vigil.

Saved by Rock 'n Roll

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:06 AM Permalink

Andrew Sullivan doesn't like a parody ad in New Oxford Review

If you don't regularly read Andrew Sullivan, you might want to look at his critique of the Lavender Mafia in the Priesthood

I subscribe to New Oxford Review

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:53 AM Permalink

Abolition of Marriage and Parenthood Watch: Two Items

National Review, Stanley Kurtz: Heather Has 3 Parents discusses a case in Canada.

Newsday AP: Judge: Lesbian couple can both be listed on birth certificate a case in New Jersey.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:46 AM Permalink

via National Review Online via KUTV

This may be Elizabeth Smart

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:36 AM Permalink

Meeting Catholic Traditionalists

On Sunday I went to a Conference of the Latin Mass Magazine. I'm not a traditionalist as they define it. I'm what they would call a Counciliar Catholic for accepting the validity of Vatican II and the election of Pope John Paul II.

Consequently, I'm looking forward with hope that's what wrong with the spirit of Vatican II is going to fixed by our efforts and prayers and the grace of God.

I don't know if I'm asking for the impossible here, but I'd like to see the reverence of the Mass of Pope St. Pius V return to our own Mass of Pope Paul VI. I don't think it's the Latin per se but the distractions in the Mass that are the problem. Sometimes I'd just settle for having one of the longer Eucharistic prayers said slowly and meaningfully, and for there to be an orderly line for Holy Communion.

I liked Michael Rose's talk on what's been going on since Goodbye Good Men was published.

Christopher Ferrara gave a good talk as well even though I would agree with the problem statement, I'd disagree with the solution. He wrote a book with Thomas Woods, Jr The Great Facade You may have to go to Remnant Press to order it. (ISBN 1-890740-10-1)

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:31 AM Permalink

CNS: Hand stolen from statue of St. Peter at the Vatican

The key-holding hand of a 13th-century statue of St. Peter Enthroned was stolen March 11 from the statue at the exit of the grotto under St. Peter's Basilica.

But is there a reward for its recovery?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:13 AM Permalink

CNS: Jesuit university cancels production of 'Vagina Monologues' play

Reacting to community and alumni concerns, Jesuit-run Xavier University in Cincinnati announced March 10 that it would not permit the play "The Vagina Monologues" to be performed on campus.

Another small victory. Thanks be to God.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:10 AM Permalink

Common Dreams: Catholic Workers Activists Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for Splashing Own Blood on Pentagon

Each man was convicted on two charges -- disorderly conduct and violation of preservation of property. Each charge brought a six-month sentence, but they will run concurrently.

Note to self: Be sure to perform civil disobedience of private or state-owned property. Federal sentences for this are serious.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:06 AM Permalink

Washington Times: Democrats distract debate on abortion

The votes were always in the House and Senate, but Clinton vetoed the bill. Bush will sign the bill of course. And the authors of the bill are confident this will survive court challenges.

Pray for the success of this and may God bless America for never giving up on the unborn.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:01 AM Permalink

Weekly Standard, Stardumb: John Cusack

In an extraordinary interview with Beliefnet, Cusack is asked how he prepared for the title role of art dealer Max Rothmann, a German Jew. However, the interviewer pushes a button by mentioning, en passant, that Cusack himself was raised Catholic. The actor's answer: "I was raised Catholic until I was old enough, you know, to say no. My father was great friends with [peace activist] Phil Berrigan, who just passed away. So obviously, I was informed by his kind of radical, left-wing Jesuit mindset." Notice how even as an ex-Catholic, Cusack seems to want credit for being the right kind of apostate. That established, Cusack goes on to say that "research-wise," he did do "a little work" on the role of Max: "I read a book by a Yale professor, Paul Mendes Flohr, a history of the different manifestations of German Judaism."
Cusack is clearly no humble romantic of the Lloyd Dobler school. Rather, by his name-dropping and hilarious "I read a book by a Yale professor" formulation, Johnny, as he calls himself, shows he genuinely wants to be taken seriously. Just not as the kind of stuffybutt who does a lot of work and takes himself too seriously. Okay, then let us try to take seriously the man whose fame goes back to playing Lane Myer in 1985's inspired bit of silliness, "Better Off Dead."

The editors at Weekly Standard missed it but your editor at extremeCatholic noticed it. Philip Berrigan was not a Jesuit. He was a Josephite priest (formally: Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, SSJ). His brother Daniel Berrigan was a Jesuit (formally: Society of Jesus, SJ). Philip's wife was Elizabeth McAlister of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM). I wasn't able to find Ms. McAlister's religious name.

NY Times obituary of Philip Berrigan

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:18 AM Permalink

Predictions

A resolution that substanially repeats 1441 will only be brought to the UN for a vote if the US is sure it will get the votes of the undecideds (the US will accept a French veto)
A new resolution is only go to extend Saddam's deadline to 3/24 at most.
A there's no resolution by 3/17 -- the war is going to start on 3/18. The UN has a deadline of its own to decide if its relevant.
Maybe with the UK forces on the sidelines.
I think the US is losing interest fast in playing diplomatic games on First Avenue.
I think the victory will come soon enough to save Blair's position.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:32 PM Permalink

New York Times: The Right War for the Right Reasons, Sen. John McCain

Critics argue that the military destruction of Saddam Hussein's regime would be, in a word, unjust. This opposition has coalesced around a set of principles of "just war" — principles that they feel would be violated if the United States used force against Iraq.
The main contention is that we have not exhausted all nonviolent means to encourage Iraq's disarmament. They have a point, if to not exhaust means that America will not tolerate the failure of nonviolent means indefinitely. After 12 years of economic sanctions, two different arms-inspection forces, several Security Council resolutions and, now, with more than 200,000 American and British troops at his doorstep, Saddam Hussein still refuses to give up his weapons of mass destruction. Only an obdurate refusal to face unpleasant facts — in this case, that a tyrant who survives only by the constant use of violence is not going to be coerced into good behavior by nonviolent means — could allow one to believe that we have rushed to war.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:16 AM Permalink

Regarding yesterday's "Who said this?"

National Catholic Reporter reported that Fr. Pasquale Borgomeo, S.J., Director of Vatican Radio accepts the "War for oil" conspiracy theory.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:13 AM Permalink

45 Days -- it might as well be 4500 days

Normally, when a student asks me for more time to complete an assignment, I've got some questions. What's the excuse for not being on time? What is going on right now that shows some good faith on your part?

Rather than getting everyone excited, agitated, etc., about 3/17 or 4/25, let's find out why Saddam hasn't presented a accurate, full, final, and complete disclosure of his weapons of mass destruction and verifiable details of how WMD's he claims to have destroyed were destroyed.

Could it be that he has no intention of doing so?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 5:03 PM Permalink

A reply to HMS

The activism of the Vatican in opposing the US policy to enforce the UN resolutions in Iraq is extraordinary. The accusations of criminal intent and behavior on the part of the United States government are without precedent. The role of the bishops in the United States to repeat the teaching of just war doctrine was and is appropriate. That the bishops of the United States call for prayers for peace is expected. The bishops of the United States as far as I know did not

Request that Cardinal Etchegary travel to meet with Saddam Hussein.
Request that Cardinal Laghi meet with President Bush.
Request that Tariq Aziz meet with the Holy Father.
Request that the Vatican's foreign minister attack the United States in an insulting way.
Request that Cardinal Etchegaray announce on 2/16 that Saddam Hussein is "doing everything to avoid war".

Also, it's getting tedious to call the illegal rearmament and acquisition of WMD's in Iraq "peace" and to call the threat of the use of armed force as a last resort to impose disarmament of Iraq "war".

The United States is not establishing an Asian empire or colony. That's what 19th century Europeans, among them, France did or tried to do by "war".

So I don't know if the Pope is or isn't directing the anti-American rhetoric, but it isn't logical to assert that the American hierarchy is calling curial departments in Rome to get the above messages out.

My own belief is that the Vatican elites found an opening for their own Anti-Americanism to get into the mainstream media -- carpe diem

The bishops of "Country B" (ie Iraq) say war would be bad -- of course war is always bad. But sometimes in the name of justice -- a war is just -- and becomes a moral imperative. But as they live a place where death and torture are routine, we can regard their statements with the same interpretation that we give to the statements of hostages under duress. What do people who can speak freely (i.e. defectors and refugees) have to say about the moral conduct of the leadership of Country B.

The bishops of "Country A" (ie the United States) will never say war is good. Thankfully, some of the messages of the USCC repeat the teaching of the Church in the Catechism: that political leaders have the responsbility for the evaluation of the conditions.

Not all the bishops are unified as this item from Catholic World News shows:

The retired Archbishop of New Orleans, 89-year-old Archbishop Philip Hannan, dissented from the consensus, saying his brother bishops do not have a realistic outlook on the situation. "They're not realistic because (they've) never seen what is the result of absolute disregard of human rights," the World War II paratrooper chaplain said. "They've never seen it; they don't know what the hell they're talking about."
Archbishop Hannan recalled that he had stood in two Nazi concentration camps at the end of WWII and compared Saddam Hussein to Communists and Nazis. "You finally come down to a situation where they can enslave whomever they wish, whomever they think is against their particular code, and that's what we cannot tolerate," he said.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:08 PM Permalink

The following applies both to the Sexual Abuse Scandal and the War In Iraq

Bill Bennett writing in NRO: Why We Must Fight

Lincoln described liberty by a useful analogy: "The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty."

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:10 AM Permalink

More items from the mainstream media (and a blog) on "Just War"

Note: the items I blog here get carried over to the "Just War" FAQ - link in the left margin.

UK Guardian: Ordinary Soldiers Need the Protection of a Just War

James Bond is not the only one with a licence to kill: about 200,000 British soldiers, sailors and airmen can also be authorised to take lives. We rarely think of the extraordinary responsibility that we put on these young men and women.

Newsday: Catholics Torn Over Iraq War

Fr. Drew Christiansen, SJ, associate editor of America said just war must have just cause, have the right intention, be declared by a legitimate authority, be a last resort, have a chance of success and commit less evil than already present.
"I think the church is intentionally ambiguous," said Edwin Lambert, an attorney from Rockville Centre. "Listening to President Bush the other night, I feel his view of the facts may be more current than the facts that went into the analysis of the church's position."

Zenit: Fr. Richard Neuhaus

Asked about the permission slip the United States needs from the UNSC.

No further U.N. "authorization" is required. The larger and more interesting question is posed by the frequently heard assertion that the U.N. is the locus of legitimate authority in international affairs. That is asserted but it has not been argued, certainly not in terms of Catholic doctrine regarding legitimate authority.

I welcome Fr. Neuhaus as an honorary member of the Lepanto Group.

Oxblog, Josh Chafetz: Response to Jimmy Carter's op-ed Just War or a Just War

The unanimous vote of approval in the Security Council to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction can still be honored, but our announced goals are now to achieve regime change and to establish a Pax Americana in the region, perhaps occupying the ethnically divided country for as long as a decade. For these objectives, we do not have international authority.
Wait, so I'm confused now. Is he saying that he would prefer it if we went in, forcibly destroyed the weapons, and then left, without bothering to reconstruct Iraq? That strikes me as (a) immoral, and (b) stupid.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:04 AM Permalink

CNN: Blogging Goes Mainstream

I think what they mean is that it can be exploited for targeted marketing.

Another, less interesting article on businesstoday.com on David Winer who wrote some blogging software.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:55 AM Permalink

This Just In?

Amy Welborn blogged this item from Wall Street Opinion Journal

I think it's all old news and added no insights. Am I too close to this?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:41 AM Permalink

MSNBC: Christianity -- Religion of Peace

Christopher Hitchens is not one of my favorite pundits but here he is making points on the application of "just war" doctrine on Iraq.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:32 AM Permalink

Am I being misunderstood?

I don't believe that people are urging that the Pope institute formal juridical proceedings to remove these bishops.

My own hope was that:

the Pope would generally declare that for the good of the Church that bishops who allowed priests to abuse children after obtaining knowledge of that fact should resign as an act of penance and humility.
the Pope would send over special legate such Cardinal Ratzinger or Cardinal Re to obtain the resignations of particular bishops.

I would also think that taking these men from their schedules and responsibilities and giving them more time to pray and repent before they pass into the next world would be helpful for the salvation of their own souls.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:12 AM Permalink

Doing Everything to Avoid War Watch

Is Saddam doing anything yesterday, today, or tomorrow to avoid war? This is a serious question as we are six days away from 3/17. Is he preparing a sneak attack on the US forces? Is moving money around in Swiss bank accounts?

Is anyone believing that Saddam Hussein is bringing the WMD's to a big parking lot for inspection? Nope -- he denies that he has any.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:44 AM Permalink

Washington Post: Blix Says Iraq Should Have Declared Drone

In an oral statement to the UN, Blix failed to mention the drone in the context that it was undeclared and hence represented a material breach of the UN resolutions.

Blix on Friday avoided discussion of the weapons and merely discussed mood, cooperation, and process.

He's sounding like a man who wants to keep his job after 3/17 rather than an objective representative of an organization, the UN, that has demanded that Iraq disarm.

The inspectors discovered a new type of cluster bomb that could disperse biological or chemical agents -- but again, Blix declined to discuss in his oral report.

The conclusion that the US and UK is starting to make is that Blix's mission is compromised. His reports are incomplete or have faulty reasoning -- certainly when a microphone is in front of Blix he wants to avoid saying things like "10,000 liters of anthrax" which his own inspectors estimate is now being hidden. He is saying things that are that are superficial and that certainly must please Baghdad.

Kevin Miller wrote on Sunday I don't buy that the drone is all that significant - it's not, I maintain, "an elephant in the bathroom"

The point about the drone is that it is an undeclared WMD, any other aspects of it may increase or mitigate the gravity, but per se, it is part of the material breach of the UN resolutions. USA Today discussion

Kevin also had a problem with invitations: the United States has the cooperation pf Persian Gulf states.

Arab diplomats were discussing this:

Washington Post: Shut up, you minion, you agent, you monkey.

The invitation comes from

Kuwait
Qatar
Bahrain
Jordan
Oman
UAE
Saudi Arabia
(and very soon) Turkey

CNN has a deployment map

The United States has many friends in the Persian Gulf.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:59 PM Permalink

Exile for Saddam

In the first place, I suggested that Saddam Hussein follow the example of Manuel Noeiga and make his way over to Baghdad, P.O. Box 2090, Saadoun Street 904/2/46 and enter the nunciature.

Discussion of exile is not new:

(AP 2/8/2003) Libya has been mentioned as a possible host country for Saddam, should the Iraqi leader accept to go into exile as a way to avoid military strikes on his country. Many leaders, including Bush, have said they would welcome Saddam's exile as a possible solution to the crisis.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:00 PM Permalink

Who said this?

... asserted during a live broadcast Feb. 25 that it is “difficult to explain” American policy in Iraq without respect to the country’s oil resources. Iraq has the second-largest oil reserves in the world, estimated at 112 billion barrels.
Despite Blair’s recent statement that suggestions of oil interests behind the push in Iraq amount to a “conspiracy theory,” (s)he said that American antiwar protestors carrying signs reading “no blood for oil” may be on to something. (s)he pointed to reports of November meetings between Iraqi opposition leaders and officials of American oil companies to discuss the postwar development of Iraqi oil fields.

The choices are

Fr. Pasquale Borgomeo, S.J., Director of Vatican Radio
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)
Janeane Garofalo, actress

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:10 PM Permalink

The Reason We Fight? The Jews, The Jews, Aways the Jews!

Washington Post: Jewish Groups Blast Moran for Comments Remarks of Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.)

"If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq we would not be doing this," Moran said, in comments first reported by the Reston Connection and confirmed by Moran. "The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going and I think they should."

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:02 PM Permalink

Common Dreams: Please, please, Pope John Paul II -- be a human shield in Baghdad

This is really a two-fer. It would kill the Pope who's hated by these radicals and it would stir up anger by Catholics against the United States around the world.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 6:50 PM Permalink

Reuters: Loose Lips Sink Ships or "Does Saddam Yahoo! ?"

Original was all in caps:

PLEASE BE ADVISED PICTURES FROM KUWAIT, KUW100 THROUGH 106 WHICH MOVED BETWEEN APPROXIMATELY 1500 AND 1600GMT MARCH 10, 2003 INADVERTENTLY IDENTIFIED THE LOCATION OF THE MILITARY BASE. PLEASE DO NOT IDENTIFY THE MILITARY BASE UPON PUBLICATION. IF REFERENCE IS REQUIRED THEN THE PHRASE 'SOMEWHERE IN THE GULF' SHOULD BE USED. REUTERS APOLOGIZES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 5:03 PM Permalink

representative of the leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide?

Rex Dux Imperator Princeps: these are the titles of a secular ruler.
Pontifex Episcopus Pater Papa Pastor Servus Vicar: these are titles of the Pope.

The Pope is both less and more than the leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide.

He is more because he is the Vicar of Christ and successor to St. Peter as leader of the Apostles and Bishop of Rome.

He is less because he is not the ruler of the state where more than a billion Catholics are. They are spread across the earth and their alligence properly belongs to those governments, except for the 880 official citizens of Vatican City. The Pope's authority does not originate in the love or consent of the one billion, it comes from the words spoken by Jesus. Likewise, the Pope doesn't speak to conform to desires of the one billion. He preaches to them so that they will choose to conform to God's will.

Desmond O'Grady "News Editor", Sydney Morning Herald wrote last week:

A [US] administration spokesman recently referred to the Vatican as a "sovereign state" entitled to its own outlook as if it spoke for its few hundred inhabitants. But Laghi will be speaking as representative of the leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide.

So Desmond O'Grady got it wrong. Cardinal Laghi is the representative of the Pope who is the Vicar of Christ, not a mere leader of one billion human beings.

Isn't is typical of the anti-US bias that when the word "deaf" appears in press accounts of this meeting, it's President Bush who is characterized as the deaf one in the dialog?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:01 PM Permalink

Medieval Watch: Reuters: Arm-Wrestle Settles Legal Dispute

Read this and ask yourself why did we get rid of Trial by Ordeal -- like Trial by Fire or is an arm-wrestle more like a Duel?

I suppose this was the reality television of those hated Middle Ages.

At least in Trial by Ordeal, the name of God was invoked.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:01 PM Permalink

1010 Wins: President of St. Bonaventure Resigns

Sometimes I think my entries here are a bit whimsical, but the extremeCatholic sports page of a week ago has turned serious.

BUFFALO, N.Y. St. Bonaventure president Robert Wickenheiser resigned as part of the fallout surrounding the troubles of the school's men's basketball program.
The university's board of trustees, which unanimously sought Wickenheiser's resignation, also placed athletic director Gothard Lane and head coach Jan van Breda Kolff on administrative leave Sunday, pending a review of the program.

Would it be so that this sort of attention was given to Theology Departments and the Catholic life on the campuses of Catholic colleges and universities.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:17 PM Permalink

MSNBC (AP): No link between abortion and breast cancer

The government had updated its online fact sheet to include that there may have been a link between abortion and breast cancer in November 2002.

After an examination of the evidence, there's been a update now to conclude no such link exists. Less incidence of breast cancer is good news.

But it just shows you how every detail of the abortion debate gets positive press when it might increase the number of abortions.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:36 PM Permalink