Superior General's Statement...

CNS reports on the open letter to Mr. Obama, written by Rev. Hugh Cleary, C.S.C., Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Valid point...

Ken Woodward has published his view in The Washington Post.

Weigel's piece in the Chicago Tribune is free of the usual polemics found in this debate and soberly presents essential questions and perspectives - this is about rights, fundamental rights for the most innocent of our society.

I keep going back to the thought that this whole storm is about something much larger than any one commencement address. It's about how Catholics fit in the modern U.S. political state as well as the cold stark reality of a society comprised of laws, rights, and duties but also a society that is haunted by the specter which is the abortive act. It's a dire contradiction of values.

Now that Catholics helped get Obama elected, where are they to assist his administration in choosing policies protecting the most innocent of life? Good question as posed in this -

Catholic News Agency article.

Also, a piece from the Wall Street Journal.

Another worthy reminder...

Fr. John Coughlin, O.F.M., is a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame and is currently teaching a course at the Gregorian University here in Rome. Here is an interview he provided to Zenit.

A Reminder...

A reminder why Notre Dame is important to the American society and how its work is a direct result of its Catholic identity.

The voucher program in the District of Columbia is being threatened by legislation that is making its way through Congress. Notre Dame and the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) are working to ensure that the education of the poorest of minority children is not disrupted. Information can be found here.

The death of the voucher program would occur under the watch of President Obama whose children attend a private school themselves. Rationale based on security concerns can be put to rest since the children attended private school in Chicago before the presidency was won.

"Thanks" to all those fighting the good fight for the children of D.C.

Notre Dame's 2009 Commencement...

All I wish to do here is to link to a few statements and also to articles that I think are smartly done -- a rare merit in the debates and discussions.

First is an article by Fr. Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Chicago. His words are especially succinct and well thought out. "Obama and Notre Dame"

Another is not so much an article as it is a blog that has some smart reflections from a variety of minds. Mirror of Justice

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C, President of the University of Notre Dame, has made a statement. "Statement on Commencement Speaker"

Bishop John M. D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort-Wayne / South Bend has made a public statement. "Concerning President Barack Obama..."

Vocation Pilgrimage and Assisi...

As I mentioned in an earlier posting, 10 young men from the University of Notre Dame came to Rome during their Spring Break on a pilgrimage for discernment in their vocations in life. Hosted by the Vocation Office and lead by Frs. Ed Obermiller, CSC and Jim Gallagher, CSC, the men had a safe, prayer-filled, and joyful visit.

Having arrived into Rome on Sunday morning, they spent the day attending the Holy Father's noon angelus address, climbing the cupola of St. Peter's dome, hiking over to the Pantheon for vespers, and then to the Casa for Mass. I often celebrated a "weary traveler's" Mass at ND last year but this was the King of weary traveler's Mass since the jet-lag was kicking into high gear. After Mass the men went out to various nearby restaurants.

On Thursday of that week I joined up with the pilgrimage at Termini Train Station for an 8AM departure to Assisi. I'm glad I went but I had just gotten over a fever and perhaps my travels kept me sick for later days.

Assisi is a favorite spot for many who visit there even once. I'm no exception to that. I spent the day taking in the frescos of Giotto that depict the various key events in the life of St. Francis as well as catching up on news and happenings with my two priest brothers. Around 4PM we celebrated Mass inside the Basilica of St. Francis. Afterwards, the students went back to Rome for a free evening and then a free Friday. I remained and was able to take time to pray at the tomb of St. Francis. In the past it has been packed with visitors. But this time there were maybe 15 loud europeans, who eventually left, leaving me and about 6 others to pray. It was a blessed time.

That evening I prayed vespers with Frs. Ed and Jim and we then enjoyed a nice meal (much cheaper than in Rome). After lauds on Friday morning we took in the morning clean air and made our way back to Rome via train.

I haven't forgotten those 10 students and pray that the Lord will bless them with knowledge of where His Holy Will desires them to be in life.

Update

I have not been posting much lately and my apologies to anyone who may remotely be disappointed by that fact. It is almost the end of March and the daily life of Rome progresses as usual, though the weather has been beautiful for about three weeks straight. I'm told that Spring has arrived early to Rome this year. There has also been a marked uptick in the number of tourists roaming the streets. I try not to have that "I live here" disdain toward them, but I confess, I do at times have that very thought, especially as I'm trying to hurriedly make my way to some spot in the city.

The Spring semester, which began back in mid-February at Sant'Anselmo is going well. Latin and Greek classes provide a daily challenge and continue to constitute the bulk of my daily work. On Thursdays I'm attending a required course on the history of Latin as it progressed from ancient periods to high-medieval times.

A highlight has been a Wednesday afternoon course discussing the Liturgy of the Hours according to the Eastern traditions. This is one of those supplemental courses I've been asked to take so as to fill in any gaps that might exist between the MA in liturgy I received from St. John's University, Collegeville and the licentiate degree here in Rome. For instance, the SJU course on the Liturgy of the Hours focused primarily on Western traditions. My professor at that time was Fr. Allan Bouley, OSB who happens to be here in Rome through Lent and Easter as part of his retirement sabbatical. I hope to meet up with him at some point.

Not the What but the Who...

While browsing blogs today I ran across this article. A Harvard professor agrees with the Holy Father's recent comments regarding condom use in AIDS-plagued Africa. When it comes to the press, perhaps it's not so much what is being said but who is saying it.

Not Alone on Stem-Cells...

In their latest issue (March 27, 2009), the editors of Commonweal have written on President Obama's recent executive order on embryonic stem-cell research. Based on what I wrote earlier in this blog and what the editors wrote on page 5, we share the same position.

Yes, the Bush administration sometimes twisted science
to suit a political agenda—especially when it came to global
warming. But in setting a different course, the new president
must not allow scientific research to steer clear of ethical scrutiny.
The choice in this case is not between “sound science”
and “moral values,” but between genuine ethical reflection
and empty rhetoric.

Italian drama...

Okay, my choice of the word "pain" in the post below was probably my way of adopting the Italian habit of being dramatic about everything. So, "pain" was the wrong choice. "Discomfort" is maybe more apt.
But, I did run across this image today. You can order these caskets from the Trappists in Iowa. If I had "pain" you could ponder gifting this casket to me. Hopefully not anytime soon.

Silentio...

Sorry for the silence. Lots of visitors have been in town and, probably a bigger reason, I've been hit with a bad fever and pain. But I hope to post soon.

Happy St. Patrick's day to you all.

God bless.

Fr. Michael

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
- Greeting, Introductory Rites, Order of Mass according to the Ordinary
Form of the Roman Rite

Vocation Pilgrimage...

In a few hours a group of students from Notre Dame will be on their first leg of a vocation pilgrimage to Rome. After landing in Rome Sunday morning they will have a full day near St. Peter's and then will join me here at the Casa for Mass before supper.

Please keep these young men in your prayers as they seek to know God's will in their lives.

To do something "because we can"...

A critique (and I think a fair one) of science in this modern age is its view that something be done because "we can" never-mind whether or not "we ought". And similarly, society hasn't come to grips (in my opinion) with the difference between technology and science.

Here is the link to a NYTimes article regarding Mr. Obama's forthcoming announcement on Monday the 9th, to take away restrictions placed upon embryonic stem cell research. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/us/politics/07stem.html

The article claims Obama wishes "to separate science and politics". I'm not sure what that means. Later, the same article claims that the president's decision focuses on the intersection between "science and personal moral beliefs". So, which is it? Politics and science or personal moral beliefs and science?

Politics isn't a four-letter word. Poltics, by its very nature, involves moral beliefs.

The article quotes scientists and lawmakers who are critical of the Bush administration's curtailment of scientific research over the past eight years. In juxtaposition, the Obama administration hopes to fulfill "his [Obama's] campaign promise to draw a demarcation line between politics and science". What does that mean? It's a garble of gobbidy-goop speach-making. Who wants untethered, science from political guidance? And who would want political guidance without sound science? And is it really "science" or is it "technology"?

It's because of national policy that experiments regarding plutonium are restricted in favor of unsuspecting citizenry (think pre and post World War II in Nevada) and it's because of national policy/politics/personal moral beliefs that laws have been established that protect children, the elderly, and the mentally disabled from experiments and gives them particular medical rights.

It is too black -n- white to say that Bush dumb-downed scientific research and tied the hands of scientists while Obama is the saviour unbinding their chains. IF scientific progress is merely "doing something because we can" then fine, Obama is the savior unbounding us. BUT, if we are a people with a sense of the good, with a broader view that some technologies come at too great a cost, that some things, while doable, shouldn't be done because there exists a competing or a higher good, then Obama is hardly a savior for scientists but is as dumb as any other brute who says "damn the torpedos, full speed ahead, damn the embryos, damn the moral cautionaries, damn the future slipperly slope of bioethical quagmires and full speed ahead on scientific research, experiments, procedures that might very well provide tremendous medical relief to the suffering but at a terribly high cost."

I think of members of my own family who could possibly benefit from stem cell treatment, their pain relieved. But oh, the cost.

In any event, the gall of Obama to think he is liberating science once and for all from policies and politics etc., Debates are fine, but call it what it is - his personal moral beliefs are now in play as opposed to Bush's personal moral beliefs. One set of politics over another set of politics. The Liberator, the Sophisticated Friend of Science, The Scientific Purist, the Savior? Paaalease.

No Line On the Horizon

U2 has released their latest album, No Line On the Horizon, today. I'm no music critic and won't try to be one just because I host a blog. As a fan, though, I will say that I'm not floored by the music from the get-go as I have been with previous releases.

But I am looking forward to reading the lyrics more carefully. A big reason I am a U2 fan is because their songs don't just "mean something" but they mean something that touches on the universal, the pertinent, and the existential whereas so many songs that flood the airwaves and zoom through the internet possess a meaning that is inconsequential or little.

So, I'm gonna need a bit more time of letting the music and lyrics soak in.

Some memorable lines from a classic play...

And the saints and martyrs wait, for those who shall be martyrs and saints. Destiny waits in the hand of God, not in the hands of statesmen. - Chorus, pg 13.

Be easy, man! The easy man lives to eat the best dinners.

- Tempter to Becket, pg 25.

Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain:

Temptation shall not come in this kind again.

The last temptation is the greatest treason:

To do the right deed for the wrong reason.

- Becket, pg 44.

While I ate out of the King's dish To become servant of God was never my wish. Servant of God has chance of greater sin And sorrow, than the man who serves a king. For those who serve the greater cause may make the cause serve them.
- Becket to Temptor, pg 45.

Dear children, I do not think I shall ever preach to you again; and because it is possible that in a short time you may have yet another martyr, and that one perhaps not the last.
- Becket's Christmas Homily, pg 50.

I submit my cause to the judgment of Rome. But if you kill me, I shall rise from my tomb To submit my cause before God's throne.
- Becket to Knights, pg 66.

Peace! be quiet! remember where you are, and what is happening; No life here is sought for but mine, And I am not in danger: only near to death.
- Becket to Priests, pg 70.

Bro. Andre passes his medical exam...

Update regarding Blessed Bro. Andre's cause for sainthood. Praised be God now and always.

Today, the Medical Commission responsible for studying a case of healing attributable to the intercession of Bro. André has given its positive judgment. According to the unanimous opinion of its members, the healing is scientifically unexplainable. This represents a crucial step for the advancement of the cause. The cause can now proceed to the theological commission, the second of the three commissions that will study it. One of the roles of the theological commission is to make sure that the healing is due to the sole intercession of Bro. André. If the judgement of this commission is also positive, the case will then proceed to a third commission made up of archbishops and cardinals whose role, among other things, is to evaluate the benefit of extending this devotion to the universal Church. Following the recommendations of the three commissions, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will make the final decision. Several months may pass before a final announcement is made.

Mario Lachapelle, CSC Vice-Postulator

Mio fratello a Roma

Fr. Greg Haake, CSC arrived by overnight train from Paris on Thursday morning. He is currently working on his M.A. in French Literature and was able to sneak away for a Roman holiday due to the fact that he has completed his thesis already this early in the semester and his French school is on strike. Oh gracious God in heaven, please, perhaps Roman schools could go on strike, perhaps?

After pranzo here at the Casa on Thursday we made our way to the Pantheon to take in the fresh arrival of sunny skies - something missing from Rome for months.

On Friday we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in-house and then made our way to the North American College (NAC) where a conference on Spiritual Fatherhood was being given. The keynote address this Friday was by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, Preacher to the Papal Household. It was an insightful talk focusing on kerygma and catechesis which are both necessary for the birth of faith and its cultivation. Just as St. Paul cried out the faith and by his strength and teaching helped bring faith to maturity, so too the priest is called to do.

There we met Fr. Steve Titus, a newly ordained priest for the Diocese of Cheyenne, WY and who is currently finishing his licentiate in dogma at the Gregoriana. Steve, like Greg and I, is a member of Notre Dame's class of '99 - a very good year for the Church and priestly/religious vocations. We headed down to the Vatican to see an exhibit marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Vatican City State - an agreement signed in 1929 between Pope Pius XI and the Dux, Mussolini. The exhibit was quite interesting, showing which lands comprise the Vatican State and which lands are extra-territorial throughout Rome and the Italian countryside. The pope's car was on exhibit, featuring the papal tiara and keys doorknobs.

We made our way back to the Casa for pranzo and rest before taking the metro to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. There were very few tourists/pilgrims and the afternoon Roman light shined into the interior nicely. A nice grace about this particular church is that there are often present confessors who speak English in a number of confessionals. It made for a good start to the weekend proper.

We both knew it was a Friday in Lent, but as the reading of the day mentioned, there is time to fast after the bridegroom departs. So, we enjoyed a nice bowl of non-carne pasta at the ristorante Taverno Romano.

Saturday was quite full. We departed the Casa at 6:30AM to make our way to the Stational Liturgy at St. Agostino Church near Piazza Navona. The presider was the bishop of Brisbane, Australia. Fr. Carl Ebey, CSC and Bro. John Paige, CSC are dedicated pilgrims to the Stational Masses during Lent. After Mass the four of us prayed at the tomb of St. Monica whose body was transferred from Ostia to this church named after her son, Augustine. We then enjoyed coffee together and caught up on congregational happenings.

Greg and I then took the bus over to St. Peter's so as to arrive by 8:15 or so when there are very few pilgrims and the security line is short and fast. Such a beautiful place. After touring the church proper we walked through the grotto of papal tombs and stopped to pray at both the tomb of John Paul II and St. Peter.

After pronzo we walked up the Corso to Piazza del Popolo and took in the sunshine and crowds. It has been awfully dark, cold and rainy here in Rome for months and these past few days have seen only blue skies and bright sunshine. We then went to Santa Maria del Popolo Church where there are housed two paintings by Caravaggio - the Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter.

It was a great visit and good to see my brother in community and to talk about the joys and challenges of graduate studies oversees. I also am grateful for an excuse to get out and see the city. We did stop by the French church of San Luigi dei Francesi near the Piazza Navona and I received my first French language lesson from Fr. Haake. I did okay translating one paragraph - so maybe there is hope for me this summer when I am scheduled to dive into the French language. Mama mia!