Postscript.
"The Catholic church believes we need to shock the faithful, scare them and discipline them like children so we could instill in them the teachings of the church. That is the only way to get the church's message across."--Sister Regina Arguelles explains the rationale behind a new "shock and awe" policy implemented by the hierarchy in the Philippines to keep the faithful on the straight and narrow. (1)
"People are just letting it go. People are understanding. It's 2006. Everybody twists the rules a bit on their way through life."
--Declan Walsh, a parishioner of 73-year-old Catholic priest Rev. Maurice Dillane, who admitted fathering a child last year with a local schoolteacher. (2)
"There is room for both priests who are married and celibate priests in our church."
--Bishop William Walsh of Killaloe, Ireland. (3)
"I promise you two and a half months of complete sexual abstinence until April 9."
--Italian premier Silvia Berlusconi seeks the (very) conservative Catholic vote in advance of Italian elections in April. (4)
"Yes, frequently."
--Berlusconi's subsequent response when he was asked if he had been faithful to his two wives. (5)
"[The archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, and Vicar-General David Cappo] are now no more than political harlots and goons."
--Julian Stefani, a Catholic member of Adelaide's state parliament in Australia, expresses his views on the intricate links between church and state. He later apologized. (6)
"We cannot participate in an effort to pursue legal permission to discriminate against Massachusetts citizens who want to play a part in building strong families.... The course the bishops have charted threatens the very essence of our Christian mission. For the sake of the poor we serve, we pray they will reconsider."
--From a statement by seven members of the Catholic Charities Board who resigned in protest at the Massachusetts Roman Catholic bishops' request that Catholic social service agencies be exempt from a law requiring them to place some adoptive children in gay households. (7)
"Nobody has confessed as to what the victims had done. On more than one occasion, they provoked (the men) with what they said.... Men generally do not lose their cool through domination but through weakness: they cannot take any more and react by releasing strength that crushes the woman provoking them.... I am saying that a woman's behavior can attenuate the guilt of a man."
--Spanish priest Fr. Gonzalo Girones offers his view as to why 63 women were killed by their husbands or partners last year in Spain. (8)
"I don't have any allergic reaction per se to the subject matter. There are ways it could be treated good and ways it could be treated bad."
--An unnamed spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Chicago responding to the announcement that students at DePaul University in Chicago can now get a minor in LGBTQ studies. (9)
"If we want to have programs in deviant sexual behavior, why no minor in prostitution? Other than a need to bow to political correctness, why homosexuality particularly? Why no minor in heterosexual activities?"
--Patrick Reilly, president of the ultraconservative Cardinal Newman Society, gives his view on the matter. (10)
"The program was created in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Polish Episcopate."
--Lidia Deja, a spokesperson for the Warta insurance company, which offers a 20% discount on car insurance for those who provide a certificate from the parish priest confirming their moral conduct and merits to the parish. (11)
"The encyclical: Sex, drugs and rock "n" roll]"
--The view from the conservative Italian newspaper II Foglio on Pope Benedict's first encyclical "Deus Caritas Est. (12)
(1) Christine F. Herrera, "Church adopts tough stance on birth control," Manila Standard, February 20, 2006. (2) Brian Lavery, "Scandal? For an Irish parish, it's just a priest with a child," New York Times, January 2, 2006. (3) America, "Signs of the times," January 16-23, 2006. (4) Pete Kiefer, "Berlusconi chastity countdown," New York Times, January 31, 2006. (5) Richard Owen, "Abortion pill ban is latest move to woo Catholic vote," Times (Uk'), February 1, 2006. (6) Mark Brolly, "Adelaide MP condemns church-state links," Tablet (UK), February 11, 2006. (7) Jay Lindsay, "Seven Catholic Charities board members resign to protest bishops' move," Associated Press, March 1, 2006. (8) Associated Press, "Spanish priest under investigation for suggesting battered women responsible for abuse," February 15, 2006. (9) Advocate, "Illinois Catholic university to offer queer studies minor," February 22, 2006. (10) Hilary White, "Chicago Catholic university starts 'Queer Studies' program," Lifesite news, February 8, 2006. (11) Warsaw Voice, "Heard in passing," January 4, 2006. 12 Ian Fisher, "Benedict a man of his words," New York Times, January 29, 2006.
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| Publication: | Conscience |
|---|---|
| Date: | Jun 22, 2006 |
| Words: | 774 |
| Previous Article: | Setting the record straight on feminism in Muslim countries. |
| Next Article: | Editor's note. |
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