"Temple Police"

He said the diocese was challenged by the ageing of its priests, most of whom would be eligible for retirement by 2014, leaving only six priests out of the full complement of 40.

The 65-year-old said the investigation had been going for two years, but a decision had not yet been made.

"The ultimate outcome is I'd be sacked and have to stand down,"

he said.

"Or they would ask me to resign or operate in another diocese ... at this stage, I don't know."

Bishop Morris, who has held the Toowoomba post for 16 years, said the church couldn't stifle debate and that's what the letter was promoting. "I will continue to fight for what I believe is the truth," he said.

"And I will continue to fight to be able to ask questions."

Bishop Morris said there was a group of very conservative Catholics dubbed the "temple police" who traveled around parishes dobbing in priests who didn't toe the line. "There are plenty of temple police around at the moment," he said.

"They're not a large majority - they believe in their conservative views and if they don't agree with something, they'll write to Rome."

Link (here) to the full story

The Catholic Faith and Higher Education, "Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity"

All of St. Thomas Aquinas' work-all of his natural philosophy and theology-aims ultimately at understanding and revering the God-head, Three-in-One. Thus, the doctrine of the Trinity is one of the last things a student studies at Thomas Aquinas College.

Pope John Paul II reminds us in his encyclical Fides et Ratio that "The Church has been justified in consistently proposing St. Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology." His Holiness concludes that encyclical by invoking the life and example of the Blessed Virgin as a "true parable," illuminating the relation between faith and reason.

"For between the vocation of the Blessed Virgin and the vocation of true philosophy there is a deep harmony." It is therefore particularly fitting that the Chapel of Thomas Aquinas College be both Trinitarian and Marian.

To honor Mary with the name "Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity" is to honor her as the perfect daughter, spouse, and mother. A religious congregation founded under this title (the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity) explains it succinctly: She is the perfect daughter of the Father through the redemptive Incarnation and passion of the Son; she is the spouse of the Holy Spirit through the will of the Father and continues to be the most perfect of all mystical spouses; she is the most perfect mother of the Word through the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Moreover, she is the most perfect creation of the Father through the Son.At Thomas Aquinas College, young men and women engage with their teachers in the pursuit of Christian Wisdom, prior to commencing their life's work. The College is, therefore, focused inward upon that common life of mind and spirit which has as its center the academic quadrangle. Continuity is fundamental to that common life-continuity with the intellectual and spiritual heritage of our civilization.

The student at Thomas Aquinas College claims his inheritance from the inside by reading, analyzing and discussing the works which both produced that civilization and were produced by it. The architecture of the campus, and particularly that of the buildings on the academic quadrangle, reflects this continuity with the whole of western, Christian civilization. Not only do the buildings harmonize with each other, they spring from the architectural traditions of that civilization.

The Chapel, in particular, draws upon the California Missions as well as many of the great Romanesque churches of Christendom. It provides, therefore, an appropriate setting for the spiritual and sacramental life of the College. In its tower, three great bells are hung to ring out the Angelus each day. At the top of the tower gleams a golden cross, a sign to all of the sacred place that lies below. The dome, rising above the crossing of the transept and the nave, symbolizes continuity with the Mother Church, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Link to St. Thomas Aquinas College and Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel

The Culture Of Death: The Politics Of Death

Vatican officials seldom single out political leaders who differ with the Church on issues like abortion rights or embryonic stem cell research. But now that the Vatican’s highest court is led by an American, the former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, we can expect things to get more explicit in Vatican City — at least when when it comes to U.S. politics.

Burke, who was named prefect of the Vatican’s Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature in June, told the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire that the U.S. Democratic Party risked “transforming itself definitively into a party of death for its decisions on bioethical issues.” He then attacked two of the party’s most high profile Catholics — vice presidential candidate Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — for misrepresenting Church teaching on abortion.

He said Biden and Pelosi, “while presenting themselves as good Catholics, have presented Church doctrine on abortion in a false and tendentious way.”

Pelosi drew U.S. bishops’ scorn for saying in a television interview last month that the Church itself had long debated when human life begins. Biden is a practicing Catholic who also supports abortion rights and analysts have said he could help woo wavering Catholics into Obama’s fold. Both argue that they cannot impose their religious views on others.

Burke said pro-life Democrats were “rare” and that it saddened him that the party that helped “our immigrant parents and grandparents” prosper in America had changed so much over the years.

Burke made headlines as archbishop of St. Louis for his public attacks on public figures who strayed from Catholic teaching. He suggested during the 2004 presidential campaign that Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a Catholic, should be denied communion because of his views on abortion. Several bishops said at the time they would not give him communion and the media staked out churches where he attended Mass to see if he received it.

“Lately, I’ve noticed that other bishops are coming to this position,” Burke told Avvenire, which is owned by the Italian bishops’ conference.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, wrote a letter in 2004 to American bishops restating the Church position that a priest must refuse to distribute communion to a Catholic politician who supported abortion rights. But Burke lamented that the letter was never distributed.

Burke’s criticism isn’t limited to Democrats. Last year, he accused singer Sheryl Crow of being “a high profile proponent of the destruction of innocent lives” for defending a woman’s right to have an abortion and for being a proponent of stem cell research. He resigned as head of a children’s medical charity that featured the singer for a benefit concert.

Pope Benedict has been encouraging Catholic bishops to speak out more openly on public policy issues to make the Church’s voice heard. Any bets on when we’ll hear from Burke next?

Link (here)

The Great Push Back

Strife at St Mary's over "Buddha" statue

Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby is considering whether the controversial St Mary's parish at South Brisbane "is in communion with the Catholic Church" after a parishioner protested to the Vatican over a Buddha-like statue.

A member of St Mary's South Brisbane Church told The Courier-Mail that it was understood Archbishop John Bathersby was weighing up the future of the church, after complaints were forwarded from the Vatican. "A very right wing parishioner came and was offended by some of the artwork in the church, including some indigenous art, and an image of a praying monk which they mistook as a Buddha,""That person took photos and sent them to Rome and Rome wrote to the bishop." However, the statue - which was about 1 metre tall - had since been taken out of the church by a disgruntled person and smashed. the parishioner said.

Parish priest Fr Peter Kennedy, who has headed St Mary's for nearly 28 years, said he was unable to comment until he had heard further from Archbishop Bathersby. In a written statement, Archbishop Bathersby confirmed he had received communiques from the Vatican about St Mary's and that they included complaints about an alleged Buddhist statue in the church's sanctuary and unorthodox masses being conducted. He said that since speaking with Fr Kennedy, he had received many letters from parishioners concerned that the church might be closed. He had responded by saying "the key question is whether St Mary's is in communion with the Roman Catholic Church or not." This was something he had previously raised with the church's community and "nothing has really changed since then". In 2004, claims that incorrect language was being used during baptism were upheld and hundreds of baptisms conducted at St Mary's were ruled invalid by Archbishop Bathersby.
Link (here)

SOURCE

Future of St Mary's South Brisbane Church in doubt (Courier-Mail, 20/8/08)

LINKS

St Mary's parish, South Brisbane

Buddha in South Brisbane Church (Letter, AD2000, July 2008)