anti-catholic

This week's St. Louis Review has a few excellent articles that I thought I should share here for the benefit of those reading this blog who may not be from St. Louis.

First is a column from Archbishop Carlson, in which he stresses the importance, and individual responsibility, of the Sunday Obligation. He definitely doesn't sugarcoat things—we need more of this from our leaders!

There is simply no excuse for missing Mass on the Lord's Day. If through your own fault you miss Mass on Sunday, you are committing a serious sin. You should not receive holy Communion until you have gone to confession. (Continued...).

Next up is a 'Dear Father' response from Fr. John Mayo, a friend of mine, concerning the need to celebrate Wedding ceremonies inside physical Church buildings (rather than having 'destination weddings' on beaches, or at otherwise secular locations):

One of the sacraments of the Church is marriage. This sacrament is initiated by a wedding ceremony. Since this ceremony is an act of sacred worship, it properly takes place in a church or chapel.

Why is the joining of two people in marriage an act of sacred worship? First, by Christ's ministry, we know that He intended to restore marriage to its original state: a lifelong commitment of life and love between a man and a woman. He not only restored it, He raised it to the dignity of a sacrament (Matthew. 19:3-12). (Continued...).

Speaking of marriage, this week the Review also had it's yearly 'Christian Marriage' supplement, which is full of great advice for those considering/planning a marriage, and for those who want to be inspired by the oldest married couple in Missouri, or a 'team' of Mizzou fans. More from the Review »

...this is a question posed by KMOX Radio's Mark Reardon, who hosted an hour of some of the most confusing arguments for the Pope's resignation I've ever heard.

His basic principle was this: Accepting the facts of the New York Times' recent article bashing the Pope, should the Pope resign, as would any other head of an organization accused with being an accessory to a crime?

Unfortunately for Mark, most Catholics do not (and likely will not ever) accept the Times as a credible source of information when it comes to Catholic-bashing. There have been numerous posts on the problems in the NYT piece (some are linked to at the bottom of this post), but Mark would not for a moment entertain these problems, or any other arguments against the basis of his question.

Rather, he blamed a couple people for being insensitive to the victims of these crimes. Mark: nobody is arguing that the crimes should be shuffled under the rug or covered up. Rather, people are arguing that, in the specific instance of the NYT piece (and in most media reporting of the issue, by and large), there are serious flaws and inaccuracies that cause most rational people to discount the entire article!

Anyways, here's some good reading on the issue:

• To Whom Shall We Go? (article by Archbishop Timothy Dolan)
• Clocking the Times (article quoted by Whispers in the Loggia, dealing specifically with the U.S. case mentioned in the Times' article)
• Pastoral Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to those in Ireland (straight from the Pope!)
• "A Well-Oiled Campaign Against the Pope" (mentions some important info from different sources)

Spotted recently in the Post-Dispatch's comment box:

Miss Campbell neglects to write the rally was co-sponsored and supported by St. Louis Catholics. Catholics who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and straight. The Catholic Action Network and Holy Families Committee helped co-sponsored the peaceful event and if Miss Campbell actually took the time, she could of called Archdiocese Chief Communications Officer Anne Steffens (who was there on Sunday) and learn that the protest was nothing like Miss Campbell describes.

Neither the Catholic Action Network and Holy Families Committee are Catholic. They are not endorsed, supported, acknoweledged or otherwise recognized by the Church. Please realize this.

Neither of these organizations do anything to build up the Church's support for the poor, give shelter to the homeless, build up a profound respect for the Eucharist and liturgy, or spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are political organizations with the misnomer of 'Holy Family' and 'Catholic' who wish for something that cannot be: a Catholic Church that throws out any moral theology of human sexuality.

Is discrimination and hatred against homosexuals wrong? Of course—these people are human beings with the gift of God's love, just like you and me! However, endorsing their lifestyle is something the Church will never be able to do, for their actions (which can be judged) are opposed to the Church's fundamental teachings about human sexuality and complementarity.

For years, I and other Catholic Saint Louisans have noted with sadness the often disgraceful anti-Catholic slant with which the St. Louis Post Dispatch writes. But until the past few years, the half-truths and boring/uninformed journalistic endeavor was limited to a single story or a single author in the print edition of the P-D. Now, unfortunately, the articles with which secular media (especially the Post) try to destroy Catholocism are a free range for hundreds of other anonymous anti-Catholic commenters.

Take, for instance, today's story by Tim Townsend concerning the fact that the Archdiocese of Saint Louis was one of the contributors to the Archdiocese of Portland, Maine's campaign to protect the traditional definition of marriage. The title, "Carlson tapped archdiocesan fund to fight gay marriage in Maine," can already tip one off to the intent of the story (namely, to incite commenters to bash the Church for being 'anti-gay' and 'hating homosexuals' and 'denying human rights'), but reading through the comments is a practice in patience, as one after another, people tear down the Archbishop, the Church, and anything resembling religion/faith.

I wonder, often, if the Post is purposely becoming ignominious to cater to the anonymous commenters. I guess it generates page views, which give their overabundant ads more impressions. But does anyone take them seriously anymore?

Note: I do not wish to tear down Tim Townsend, in particular - he has actually been one of the most level-headed reporters in any secular publication that has dealt with the Church... but from time to time, an article (or 'blogzone blog' in this case) is simply abhorrent to my taste.

See also: Standing to Defend Marriage: The Archbishop of Saint Louis [Saint Louis Catholic]