April 24, 2005
Et Tu Ignoramus
Apparently, journalism schools are now teaching their students that when they don't know something, just make shit up.
Listening to KCRA Channel 3's morning newscast in Sacramento, i was appalled to hear the news bimbo say that the Pope was given his "ring and woman's shawl" at this morning's installment ceremony.
It's called a stole, you idiot! Not common knowledge certainly, but a few seconds of research would have helped you avoid sounding like a complete ass.
"Woman's shawl?" Why not just say "shawl" if you didn't know what it was? If you're gonna make shit up, why not just say they gave him a ceremonial cigar too? Or that they passed around the ceremonial beer at mass?
i tell ya. It's near impossible to watch the news anymore.
Update: Okay, maybe i mis-heard it. She might have said "woolen" shawl. But still. How about a little enunciation?
Update 2: A little more than a few seconds of research revealed that i was wrong too. The stole is more properly called a Pallium, and Benedict spoke about its significance in this morning's homily.
The first symbol is the Pallium, woven in pure wool, which will be placed on my shoulders. This ancient sign, which the Bishops of Rome have worn since the fourth century, may be considered an image of the yoke of Christ, which the Bishop of this City, the Servant of the Servants of God, takes upon his shoulders. Gods yoke is Gods will, which we accept. And this will does not weigh down on us, oppressing us and taking away our freedom. To know what God wants, to know where the path of life is found this was Israel's joy, this was her great privilege. It is also our joy: Gods will does not alienate us, it purifies us even if this can be painful and so it leads us to ourselves. In this way, we serve not only him, but the salvation of the whole world, of all history.
The symbolism of the Pallium is even more concrete: the lambs wool is meant to represent the lost, sick or weak sheep which the shepherd places on his shoulders and carries to the waters of life. For the Fathers of the Church, the parable of the lost sheep, which the shepherd seeks in the desert, was an image of the mystery of Christ and the Church. The human race every one of us is the sheep lost in the desert which no longer knows the way. The Son of God will not let this happen; he cannot abandon humanity in so wretched a condition. He leaps to his feet and abandons the glory of heaven, in order to go in search of the sheep and pursue it, all the way to the Cross. He takes it upon his shoulders and carries our humanity; he carries us all he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. What the Pallium indicates first and foremost is that we are all carried by Christ. But at the same time it invites us to carry one another. Hence the Pallium becomes a symbol of the shepherds mission, of which the Second Reading and the Gospel speak.
. . .
One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ whom he serves. 'Feed my sheep,' says Christ to Peter, and now, at this moment, he says it to me as well. Feeding means loving, and loving also means being ready to suffer. Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of Gods truth, of Gods word, the nourishment of his presence, which he gives us in the Blessed Sacrament. My dear friends at this moment I can only say: pray for me, that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me, that I may learn to love his flock more and more in other words, you, the holy Church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another.
i was pleased to read the following passage from Benedict's homily, which was pertinent to
a post i wrote Friday regarding inter-faith relations:
I greet with great joy and gratitude all of you gathered here. . . . With great affection I also greet all those who have been reborn in the sacrament of Baptism but are not yet in full communion with us; and you, my brothers and sisters of the Jewish people, to whom we are joined by a great shared spiritual heritage, one rooted in God's irrevocable promises. Finally, like a wave gathering force, my thoughts go out to all men and women of today, to believers and nonbelievers alike.
Posted by: annika at
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Sheesh, who's a curmudgeon? I prefer misanthrope. Ten more years and you'll be there. It comes with living among the ignoranimi.
Posted by: Casca at April 24, 2005 10:03 AM (cdv3B)
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Interesting trivia on this: In the Latin rite, it's traditional to
wear the front portion of the pallium straight down the center of the body. Benedict wore his draped so that it hung from his left shoulder, which apparently is how Eastern Rite archbishops wear theirs. (HT:
Fr. Tucker.) I'm told that he also gave a Byzantine blessing at the end of Mass. It looks like he's making a real effort to acknowledge the Eastern Rite Catholic churches.
Posted by: Matt at April 24, 2005 04:50 PM (kHims)
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thanks for the heads up on the pallium mis-alignment.
interesting.
i enjoyed the ceremony tremendously.......
after i turned the sound OFF.
i could not take another moment of the yammering chowderheads that the networks had on air.
Posted by: louielouie at April 25, 2005 03:34 PM (i7mWl)
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April 22, 2005
So Much For The Anti-Ecumenical Criticism
In one of his first official acts as pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI will meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury. What surprised me is that such an invitation has
never before happened, according to the
Times of London.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will meet Pope Benedict XVI for the first time on Monday.
Anglican insiders said it was "highly significant" that the Pope should choose to meet the honorary head of the Anglican communion in the very first hours of his official pontificate.
The papal audience in the Vatican follows his attendance at tomorrowÂ’s inaugural mass at St PeterÂ’s, when Dr Williams will become the first serving Archbishop of Canterbury to attend a papal inauguration since the Reformation. On Sunday evening Dr Williams will preach at the Anglican church of All Saints in Rome.
After a chilly period for Anglicanism under the last Pope because of the ordination of women priests, Benedict XVI appears eager to usher in a new era of closeness between the two communions.
[emphasis added]
That's a good thing.
More myths busted: The anti-semitic slur against the new pope is bogus:
Rabbi Di Segni quoted a letter from the pope, who said he had "trust in the help of the Almighty", in which he pledged to continue and intensify contacts with Jews begun by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
'I trust in the help of the Almighty to continue and strengthen the dialogue and collaboration with the sons and daughters of the Jewish people,' the pope said in the message, dated yesterday.
Jewish leaders in Israel and beyond have saluted the election of Benedict, saying he was a friend of the Jewish people and calling on him to continue the fight against anti-Semitism.
Muslims are supportive, too.
The new pope's conservative outlook, which has caused controversy in the Western world, appears not to overly concern religious leaders in the Middle East.
Jordan's King Abdullah II, a direct descendant of Islam's prophet, Mohammed, voiced his trust in the new pope's 'wisdom and courage to go forward and continue his predecessor's mission with strength and faith to bring about world peace and reinforce respect between religions.'
And you won't hear Chris Matthew or those of his ilk mention
the following tidbit either:
The Italian daily La Repubblica, meanwhile, reported that the documents Benedict had been working on before being elected pope included one allowing divorced couples who remarry to receive Communion.
Which goes to show you, the unfair criticism of Benedict XVI, by leftists who had never heard of him before this week, is driven by the same thing that drives most leftist thought on any subject: an irrational fear and hatred of Christianity.
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considering the head of the church did not attend the funeral mass of his predecessor. the meeting IS being held in rome. things could still go south.
Posted by: louielouie at April 22, 2005 12:48 PM (i7mWl)
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Annika,
You know I've got big reservations about this particular pope. Whether his papacy will truly continue in the spirit of reconciliation* fostered by JP2 is unclear to me. The priests and grad students I knew at Catholic University never spoke well of Ratzinger; one joke was that, whenever a reprimand was issued by the the CDF, it was termed "getting a rat zinger."
I'm glad to see the optimism that you and Mike (of Naked Villainy) have for this papacy; I won't be upset if it turns out you guys are right, but Pope Benedict is going to have to fight an uphill PR battle quite unlike the one that sometimes dogged JP2. My main concern is that Benedict might view his new role simply as an expanded version of what he, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was doing as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. If he does go that route, treating your Church as the CDF writ large, I can't expect good results.
As I argued on my blog, religious conflicts tend to occur where one or both parties in a religious dispute present
clearly defined doctrinal (or cultural, theological, ecclesiological, etc.) boundaries. The danger of a Ratzinger/Benedict papacy is that he'll want to keep the faithful "in their place" and make the spiritual boundaries of Catholicism as clear as possible. Whether this is healthy, in the current global religious climate, I don't know.
Anyway,
hope is one of the cardinal Christian virtues, so I'll do a lot of hoping. Unfortunately, I can't shake the feeling that Benedict's election is a mistake.
"Just my two scents," as the skunk said.
Pax,
Kevin
_____________
*I can hear people objecting to this noun, arguing that JP2 did a lot to divide Catholics from Catholics and Catholics from non-Catholics. Perhaps, but to reduce his life to those actions would be to miss the larger context of his entire papacy.
Posted by: Kevin Kim at April 23, 2005 01:22 AM (1PcL3)
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As a law student, one thing i've learned is that clear boundaries are good. In essence, that is what law is all about. It is the essential aim of all law. Marking the lines of human behavior so that people can predict the consequences of any course of action and plan accordingly. In the real world, it doesn't always work out that way, and even less so nowadays. But if that ideal of predictable consequences is breaking down here in the west, it's because we've allowed too much gray area to creep into our legal system.
i say this because i believe what works for the civil law should also work for God's law. The Catholic tradition has always been that the Church maintains clear doctrine from the top down. Yes, i know that was a major disagreement that led to the Protestant Reformation. But that's the way we do things on this side, and i hope we continue.
There are so many people outside the Church (and i consider fallen away Catholics like Andrew Sullivan, Chris Matthews and Rosie O'Donnel in this category) who have their own vision about where the Church should be going. A pope who could please all of them is impossible, because the Church would splinter apart if these people had their way,* and what would be left would not be Catholic at all. It would be a bunch of little new denominations. Maybe that's what the liberal critics want.
(Well Kevin, proofreading the above, i see i've gone off about doctrine, while the thrust of your comment was interfaith relations. On that score, i'm also hopeful that Benedict will continue John Paul's good work.)
_______________
*Look at what's happening to the Anglican Church, based on one issue.
Posted by: annie at April 23, 2005 07:27 AM (YPCN4)
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Annika, as it turns out, I don't have to listen to anything you say because my battle monster beat your battle monster three times.
Seriously, though: your point is well taken re: clarity. But clarity, like lack of clarity, is a two-edged sword. Islamofascists are quite clear in their vision of right and wrong, of Dar-al-Islam versus Dar-al-Harb. Abortion clinic bombers also demonstrate a certain perverse clarity. Many American fundamentalist Christians are pretty sure the Bible is the literal Word of God-- a Word leaving no room for interpretation because everything's so
clear.
Clarity solves some problems and creates others, as Keith Burgess-Jackson implies whenever he uses the example of determining a legal drinking age. When you draw that bright line, it sometimes hurts the wrong people (as when the drinking age prevents mature teens from drinking, while allowing certain immature adults to drink-- KBJ's example).
I don't think Pope Benedict is going to be a raving lunatic. He won't deliver any homilies that sound anything like those being delivered by certain Muslim clerics. I'm dismissive of the "Nazi past" crap being put out by the press. All of that is just a bunch of desperate flailing by sensationalist journalists.
But Ratzinger's controversial history as CDF prefect is reason enough for caution-- no need for journalists to spin or exaggerate.
Your blog post makes a good point when you quote Jordan's king: a clear, firm stance gets respect. That's true. Then again, the previous Pope was very much against the Iraq war and got slammed by American conservatives for "getting in the way" or "being on the wrong side." Ratzinger, too, has been an opponent of Bush's project. What will political conservatives say about him?
I'll watch with interest as the cosmos unfolds.
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Kim at April 23, 2005 09:18 AM (1PcL3)
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Conservatives simply dismiss any criticism of capitalism or war as naive and expected from Church. However, when it comes to sex lives ignoring the Church presents a 'values' problem.
Both sides of the aisle quote selectively from the Catholic Church but only the Republicans push to have the US government endorse Christian theology.
Posted by: Preston at April 23, 2005 01:38 PM (pm/Ll)
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April 19, 2005
Habemus Papam
i'm ecstatic about the selection of Cardinal Ratzinger, which is strange since i'm quite liberal on many Catholic issues. It's not just because we share a Bavarian ancestry. i really believe that the Church needs an orthodox leader after the touchy-feely pontificate of John Paul II.
The list of changes i would favor in my Church is long. But my faith remains strong. i'm not going to leave the Church because women can't be ordained, for example. It is good that the Pope is more conservative than i am. That's something the reformers seem to forget. When religion doesn't set moral standards, it ceases to be a religion, and becomes a social club.
Also, the media critics don't want to admit that most of the Catholic world is very happy at the selection of a conservative cardinal. It's just here in the godless west that you hear the whining. i am hopeful and happy about Pope Benedict XVI because he has already signalled that he will not lead the Church into error by chasing after fallen Catholics. It is up to the faithful to remain in faith, not the other way around.
Lastly, i'm sick and tired of hearing the talking heads question whether Cardinal Ratzinger will be too divisive, when (they arrogantly surmise) the Church needs a uniter. i'm reminded of the following words of scripture:
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies will be the members of his own household. [Matthew 10:34-36]
Two thousand years of Catholic tradition and teaching should never be thrown out lightly, and certainly not on the basis of any CNN poll or Andrew Sullivan column.
Viva il Papa nuova.
Update: Zomby has a great post on this very thing.
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Posted by: jake at April 19, 2005 09:30 PM (58xmk)
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"We share a Bavarian ancestry." Ah, so you're one of THOSE Danes.
Ratz is definitely the man to bitchslap the old kennedy-catholics of the senate. Sorry boys, can't vote for abortion and take communion, hehehehe. I can't wait for the excommunication of these assholes.
Posted by: Casca at April 19, 2005 10:04 PM (cdv3B)
Posted by: Casca at April 19, 2005 10:05 PM (cdv3B)
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I don't know that I'd characterize JPII as “touchy-feely” (although perhaps that was his public image) but he certainly had little interest in the mundane administration of the Church. That's where I have hopes for Benedict XVI.
Posted by: Dave Schuler at April 20, 2005 06:59 AM (oziG1)
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As a fellow Catholic, I must admit that I was skeptical of Ratzinger when I first heard he was from Germany, but that was due to my ignorance of the man's background. Fortunately, the squawking Leftists like Chris Matthews have alleviated my concerns with their renewed Pope-bashing. Rush Limbaugh also mentioned how German poll results show that most of them don't like their new Pope since he's not liberal enough for them. That is good news for everyone that takes the Church seriously.
Posted by: reagan80 at April 20, 2005 07:10 AM (hlMFQ)
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And let's remember, that just like Supreme Court justices, popes have a way of confounding expectations... no one could have predicted John XXIII would turn out as liberal as he did.
Posted by: Hugo at April 20, 2005 10:07 AM (qldcl)
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I like him, especially the homily he gave before they entered the conclave. I TiVo'd it.
Posted by: Scof at April 20, 2005 12:37 PM (ur/xf)
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"Pappa Ratzi"
Gotta love the guy. The Jesuits are shivering and Kerry is ready to convert vback to Judaism.
Ain't it cool?
Posted by: shelly at April 20, 2005 04:38 PM (pO1tP)
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My sister who lives in Hamburg with her german husband, said that an overwhelming number of germans don't accept Ratzinger's dogma! I remember her saying about two weeks ago that germans feared he would become the pontiff. I seriously was expecting a more progressive pope to be elected. Perhaps there is a good chance next time considering how Ratzinger is of an elder age.
Posted by: Daniel at April 20, 2005 07:02 PM (Df1zp)
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Couldn't be happier.
"Senator Kennedy, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we have a pope. The bad news is that he's a Catholic."
Posted by: Matt at April 20, 2005 09:07 PM (kHims)
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"Two thousand years of Catholic tradition and teaching should never be thrown out lightly, and certainly not on the basis of any CNN poll or Andrew Sullivan column."
Amen!
And as a non-Catholic, I can still appreciate what it means to have a new Pope who will stick to the guns of traditional doctrine.
Posted by: Desert Cat at April 20, 2005 09:14 PM (xdX36)
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