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Oh well, Peter wasn’t made the pope for his fishing skills, either.

Photo: AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano

Let me begin this observation with some important points: 

• I believe our current immigration system is broken and that the federal government has a responsibility to fix it.
• I believe the majority of immigrants are industrious individuals who strengthen our economy and country.
• I believe there should be a reasonable path to citizenship established for the estimated twelve million people who are in this country illegally. Mass deportation is simply unfeasible.
• I believe law enforcement has every right to check the citizenship status and even deport those who, having broken the law coming into this country illegally, commit a serious crime in our country subsequently. 

That said, why oh why has the USCCB Migration Chairman Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City praised the laughably-bad court decision that was handed down two days ago by Judge Susan Bolton?

“It is the right decision,” Bishop Wester said.  “Any law that provides legal cover to profiling affects all members of our communities, including legal residents and citizens.  It is a very slippery slope. What is needed now is for Congress and the Administration to live up to their responsibilities and address this issue by passing immigration reform.”

I agree with the last part – that the federal government needs to work on immigration reform legislation. But I simply cannot agree with the bishop’s first claim that this was the “right decision”! It’s a travesty of judicial activism. A faulty interpretation of a law which had to be enacted in the first place because the federal government is failing it its responsibilities. Consider Rich Lowry’s column today:

Taking her cues from the Obama administration’s suit against the law, Judge Bolton worried that too many legal aliens would be caught up in Arizona’s dragnet. Of course, these aliens are already required by federal law to carry proof of their legal status. But let’s put that aside (as Judge Bolton does). She claims that too many legal aliens without ready access to documents proving their lawful entry into the U.S. will be put at risk, including visitors from visa-waiver countries.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that visitors from countries like Norway and Australia are flooding into the border areas of Arizona. And let’s assume they engage in recklessly illegal conduct, daring cops to stop and arrest them. And let’s assume they exhibit all the behaviors associated with illegal immigrants. How could such a visitor escape the dreaded fate awaiting him when an officer asks about his legal status? Perhaps by producing a passport stamped with the duration of his stay, possessed by every visitor from a visa-waiver country?

Lowry’s entire column, point-by-point, establishes that Judge Bolton’s ruling is absurd, both within the framework of current laws, and according to the simple dictates of prudence and reason. Judge Bolton has taken a situation of lawlessness and injected an ideological and personal rational to further erode the rule of law. And in a misguided effort to see that illegal immigrants are treated fairly, Bishop Wester has decided to support a decision that only creates more drastic inequalities in our society.

Update: Francis Cardinal George has a very balanced reflection on the immigration debate which was published last week. I can’t see him praising a decision that vitiates our laws further.

Washington insider website Politico with an article describing pro-abortion groups being caught off-guard by the latest skirmish over abortion funding in the new high-risk health care pools:

Anti-abortion groups leapt into action last month when the National Right to Life Committee warned that elective abortions would be covered under a Pennsylvania insurance program created by the health care reform law.

The Susan B. Anthony List and the Family Research Council blasted the news to the media and supporters. NRLC began scouring other state plans for similar provisions. Top congressional Republicans sent a letter of protest to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

And within a day, the anti-abortion groups got what they wanted: a nationwide ban on coverage for most elective abortions in the so-called high-risk insurance pools, a position reaffirmed in a Health and Human Services regulation released on Thursday.

Abortion rights advocates were caught completely off-guard. 

People said at the election of Barack Obama that pro-lifers would become discouraged. People said after the passage of the health care legislation that we had lost. The unflappable energy of the pro-life movement, however, tells a very different story – a hopeful one. May we all continue to work tirelessly on behalf of the unborn!

This was sent in to me by a reader this week and it seemed too fantastic not to be true:

My father was in a private audience with Pope Pius XII. He asked where my father was from (New York City) and the Holy Father then asked: “how are the Yankees doing?”

I don’t know, but it looks like the Holy Father’s (holy) hands could throw a mean slider!

Papist baseball fans will also appreciate this (verified) story:

“During a USO tour by a number of players in 1944, [Baseball Hall of Famer Joe] Medwick was among several individuals given an audience by Pope Pius XII. Upon being asked by the Pope what his vocation was, Medwick replied, “Your Holiness, I’m Joe Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal.” (source)

Hot off the press…. (underlining mine):

An instructor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — dismissed after a student called his explanation of Roman Catholic teaching on homosexuality “hate speech” — is being offered his teaching job back, the university said today.

Kenneth Howell was barred last month from teaching two courses in the university’s Religion Department after explaining during class and in an e-mail why the church believes homosexual behavior violates natural moral law.

His case has been taken up by First Amendment advocates and others, and his supporters have created a Facebook page with more than 2,600 people supporting him.

The university released a statement today saying that Howell’s appointment as an adjunct instructor in the Religion Department — teaching Religion 127, Introduction to Catholicism — will be continued for the fall.

A review of whether Howell’s firing by the Religion Department violated his academic freedom  is continuing, the university said.

In making the move, the university also announced it will now pay those teaching Catholic-related courses rather than have them paid by a church group. (Chicago breaking news)

Thank you to everyone who lobbied the University on behalf of Dr. Ken after following the news here on AmP. I am awaiting a statement from Dr. Ken himself, the Diocese of Peoria and the Newman Center, which I will post once I am provided with them.

This is a victory for freedom of speech, and for the freedom of Catholics to teach what the Church teaches in our public square.

UPDATE: David at Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex sounds a warning note that all may not be well yet:

On the one hand, this is positive news. The commission of the faculty senate has put the lie to the claims by LAS that teaching about the Catholic faith in a class about Catholicism is hate speech. Nevertheless, the good fruit is laced with poison.

The offer seems to be exactly what I was afraid of. The prohibition against Dr. Howell’s association with the Newman Center is another violation of his academic freedom and it is likewise a violation of his freedom of religion. How many other adjuncts or part time faculty are prevented from working for an organization associated with their faith as a condition of employment?

The U of I appears to be making an economically untenable offer with the intent of voiding a 90+ year relationship with the Newman Center. I suspect that they are banking on the fact that since Dr. Howell cannot work for the Newman Center, which paid him a full professor’s salary, he will not be able to afford to take the position. The U of I is offering him perhaps a little more than a quarter of his Newman Center salary. 

Apparently we must remain vigilant and continue to ensure that Dr. Ken is in fact being treated fairly.

Pope Benedict uses his cleverly-disguised Kindle to catch up on some papist news.

(Yes, it could be true.)

Photo: AFP/HO

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be attending this year’s Catholic New Media Celebration in Boston, August 6-7th.

I will be hosting a section at CNMC’s new feature this year: the blogging track. Other notable presenters include Lino Rulli, Fr. Roderick Vonhogen (of European podcasting fame), Mac and Katherine Barron (Catholic in a Small Town), Lisa Hendey and well, the list goes on and on. I’m especially excited for a panel discussion I will be having along with Jimmy Akin and Mark Shea. We will also receive remarks from the Archdiocese of Boston’s Sean Cardinal O’Malley.

Registration is full but sponsorships are still available. CatholicVote is a proud sponsor of CNMC 2010. If you are unable to attend you may follow the events on the CNMC Ustream and join the live chat room here (what else would you expect from a group of web-savvy papists?). Get your twitter decks ready, too!

I look forward to seeing you in Boston!

A tragic (and probably criminal) occurance:

A shocking incident occurred in the village of Mihaileny of Rishcansky district of Moldova with a boy named Laurentiu, who was born six weeks ago in the family of 24-year-old Ludmila and Dmitry Gaydeu.

.. Approximately twenty of the closest relatives and friends came to the church at 4:30PM. Father Valentin began the baptism ceremony.

“He dipped the baby in the water without even covering the baby’s mouth with his hand to prevent him from drowning,” recalls Dmitry Gaydeu, the father of the six weeks-old Laurentiu. “He put his hand on his stomach and dipped him in the water three times.”

The Godparents saw that the boy was not well and warned father Valentine. He answered it was not the first time that he was conducting the ceremony and knew what he was doing. When they saw that the child showed no signs of life, he was immediately taken to the district hospital. (Pravda.ru)

I do not mean to take away at all from the sadness of the story, but the parents may find some small solace that this child surely died in a state of grace.

UPDATE: I’ve received a great deal of feedback and criticism for my initial wording of this post’s introduction. I did not mean to be insensitive to the traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches (or, as some correctly pointed out, the universal tradition of the Church beginning at the earliest Apostolic times). My theology professors would be mortified to see me guilty of such imprecision.

I love and appreciate the beauty and sacramental symbolism of full immersion, and I would agree that this fatality referenced above is more the fault of the priest conducting the baptism, than the intrinsic nature of the liturgical form used.

It’s no defense, but I wrote this post in a hurried fashion at first, and while I paused before publishing it because I realized the theological issues raised with my introduction, I believed they would be passed over in the interest of the actual story. My discerning readers, of course, miss nothing! And I am grateful especially for the charitable rebukes I have received which have caused me to remove the problematic introduction. My humble apologies.

This is a breaking story.

Miles Jesu has communities in the United States in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Diocese of Phoenix, and also operates in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In England the group operates in the Diocese of Westminster. It is a community of both consecrated men and lay associates (”Vinculum”).

Yesterday they issued a statement on the homepage of their website. Evidently they have just finished completing an Apostolic Visitation. The situation affords many parallels with the recent visitation undergone by the Legionaries of Christ. Here is the most important part of thecommuniqué:

In a Decree issued on March 25, 2009, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the Pope’s Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, named me, Fr. Barry Fischer, C.PP.S., as Commissary for Miles Jesu invested with full authority. The mandate is to write a new Constitution which defines the charism, spirituality, and apostolic nature of the Institute; to develop adequate vocational discernment and formation policies (ratio formationis); to review the financial policies, and in general to completely revise all its practices and customs.

During the past seventeen months, I have worked closely with the membership in pursuit of this mandate, as well as with former members who have left during or after the Apostolic Visitation. In time it has become clear and undeniable, that the Founder, Fr. Alfonso Durán, presented erratic behaviors that were totally beyond the scope of the powers given to him. Some members have identified wounds caused by the inappropriate exercise of authority under his leadership. The mistaken sense of allegiance and obedience instilled in the membership facilitated his behavior, which was totally unacceptable and not in accord with the discipline of the Church nor supportable in any way by a healthy sense of consecrated life.

Members who challenged his actions or behavior were often ostracized. The internal discipline and customs of the Institute provided protection for the Founder. It must be said in justice, that most of the members had no idea of the improper conduct of the Founder. Some of the allegations against Fr. Duran are hearsay and have not been verified. However, many are factual. It is important for all that the truth be disclosed, which is the reason for this public statement.

I have several quick observations to make:

• In sharp contrast with the situation of the Legionaries, it does not appear that Fr. Alfonso Duran, founder of Miles Jesu, was guilty of grave sexual sin. Rather, his infraction was “authoritarian” in nature. In other words, he considered himself above some of the laws of the Church, and used this false sense of authority to the detriment of those in consecrated life.
• As in the case of the Legion, Milus Jesu struggles with an accurately-defined charism, proper discernment techniques and practices, possible financial misdealings, and lack of competent oversight concerning its practices and customs.
• These failings have resulted in many members of the religious community leaving the order.
• As with the Legion, many in Milus Jesu live worthy lives dedicated to pursuing the will of God. The purpose of the visitation has been to free them of the harmful practices that are keeping them from living their vocation fully.
• On behalf of the Church, the visitator (Fr. Barry Fischer, CPPS): has “expressed [his] deep concern for all those members, former members and family members who may have been hurt in the past due to the manner in which authority was exercised.” He is also thankful for the courage of those who made the problems within the order known to the Holy See.

The final paragraph of the communiqué is instructive:

Though this communication may come as a surprise and be painful to many members, Vinculum members, and friends of Miles Jesu, the truth cannot be hidden. Only in truth can a better and healthier future for Miles Jesu be achieved. The work of renewal is already in progress and there is enthusiasm for the future that the members are building together. United in prayer and in fraternal love, and assured of the Church’s motherly care, we will get through this time of difficulty and come to the dawning of a new day. We walk towards that day in hope and trust in God’s loving care and protection.

Would that the Legionaries of Christ, for instance, had operated under the principle that the truth cannot be hidden, and that only in the truth can a better and healthier future be achieved.

The Milus Jesu website states, “All our members will be very grateful for your prayerful support in this time of renewal.” 

They can be assured of my prayers personally, and I would ask the AmP community to join in this prayer.

Remember that story I did last month on the iPad application for celebrating Mass? Jeff Miller actually found a real-life instance of it being used.

I think it makes an appropriate subject for a papist photo caption call:

I should make clear (because this has caused issues before) that I am certainly not taking this as an opportunity to make fun of the Mass, but rather to make fun of the humorous human elements in the situation … so have at it … respectfully!

This story serves as a sad reminder that there really are crazies out there who wish to banish the Church back into the catechombs.

Tim Graham at Newsbusters calls this out for what it is:

“For all the daily talk on the Daily Kos that conservatives are dictatorial, their cast of bloggers isn’t without grand designs for social control. Take this post: “Time to begin working for the death of religion (a rant).” The diarist “BlueMoon” expressed no attempt to disrupt free speech, but the “end of organized religion” must be attempted.” [Read more at NewsBusters.]

I can’t even begin to imagine the waves that would be generated if a church said that legal action should be pursued to eliminate the expression of progressive-liberalism. That’s because Christians believe in free speech, and in freedom in general.

More to the point, we believe in religious freedom, which this writer in the Daily Kos clearly does not.

Jack Smith points out an awkward example of cognative dissonance (or blindness) from USCCB Director of Media Relations Sister Mary Ann Walsh.

Now, to be fair, I love most of what Sr. Mary Ann writes, and I believe she has been a strong defender of the Church in the public square.

But in this case, maybe Sister should cast the net of criticism a bit wider.