The New York Times hides abortion editorial on front page

from GetReligion by Joe Carter

Yesterday after the House of Representatives voted 228 to 196 to limit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, I was surprised to find the following headline at the New York Times:

Democrats Defend Killing of Viable Fetuses to Appease Vocal Base

Only kidding, of course. As Matthew J. Franck of First Things wrote, that’s a New York Times headline we’ll never see. The real headline used exhibits the partisan editorializing we’ve come to expect from the Old Gray Lady:

G.O.P. Pushes New Abortion Limits to Appease Vocal Base

That was the title on the print version. A note says that a version of the article appeared on page A1 of the New York print edition with this headline:

Unfazed by 2012, G.O.P. Is Seeking Abortion Limits

You’ll search in vain for a label indicating the piece is “news analysis,” the fig leaf that allows editorials to be presented as news stories. Instead, the feature by Jeremy W. Peters is one long editorial sigh of frustration that a majority of Republicans are still, despite having lost the last presidential election, sticking with their pro-life agenda.

After Republicans lost the presidential election and seats in both the House and the Senate last year, many in the party offered a stern admonishment: If we want to broaden our appeal, steer clear of divisive social and cultural issues.
Yet after the high-profile murder trial of an abortion doctor in Philadelphia this spring, many Republicans in Washington and in state capitals across the country seem eager to reopen the emotional fight over a woman’s right to end a pregnancy. …
Much of the movement in recent weeks can be linked to the outcry over the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia physician who was convicted last month of first-degree murder for cutting the spines of babies after botched abortions.
His case, coming on top of successful efforts to curtail reproductive rights in several states over the last three years, has reinvigorated the anti-abortion movement to a degree not seen in years, advocates on both sides of the issue said.

If you were still wondering why it took an epic shaming by GetReligionista Mollie Hemingway to get journalists to cover the Gosnell story, there’s a hint. You can almost hear the frustration in the New York Times newsroom: “This is the type of nonsense that comes from bringing attention to Gosnell.”
But it gets better. Check out the next paragraph:

The bill stands no chance of becoming law, with Democrats in control of the Senate and the White House. Republican leaders acknowledge that its purpose is to satisfy vocal elements of their base who have renewed a push for greater restrictions on reproductive rights, even if those issues harmed the party’s reputation with women in 2012.

Which Republican leaders made the claim? Peters doesn’t say. He also doesn’t explain how — or even if — the abortion issue hurt the GOP with women in 2012. But everyone at the New York Times already knows it did, and common knowledge doesn’t need to be supported with facts, right? And there is no issue here of married women vs. single women, when it comes to voting. Right? All women support abortion rights, or so Peters would have us think:

Aware of the risks inherent in abortion politics, Republican leaders have moved to insulate themselves from Democrats’ criticism that they are opening a new front in the “war on women.”

No need for Democrats to quote their talking points when Peters is happy to do it for them. But when you want to show that Republicans — or a least one Republican — believes bringing up abortion is a bad idea (forget talking to the pro-life Democrats, by the way), it’s best to quote an actual source:

Still, the re-emergence of abortion as a driving issue among the conservative base has left some moderate Republicans baffled.
“I think it’s a stupid idea to bring this up,” said Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania. “The economy is on everybody’s minds. We’re seeing stagnant job numbers. Confidence in the institution, in government, is eroding. And now we’re going to have a debate on rape and abortion.”
Mr. Dent said the party risked opening itself up to another “Akin eruption,” a reference to Todd Akin, a Missouri congressman who was defeated last year in a Senate race after saying women’s bodies could block a pregnancy after “a legitimate rape.”

Six Republicans voted against the measure and six Democrats voted for the legislation. Once again, why were none of those Democrats quoted? Also, there were three times as many Republican women who voted for the measure as Republican men who voted against it. Why didn’t Peters inquire whether they thought they were “opening up a new front in the ‘war on women’?”
Perhaps because the answer is that they are supporting a measure that has broad appeal:

But most of the Republican rank and file and their leaders in Congress are solidly behind the bill, arguing that voters back home are clamoring to see something done after the Gosnell case.
“We’re hearing from a lot of people who are appalled,” Ms. Blackburn said, pointing to surveys showing that nearly two-thirds of the public opposes legal second-trimester abortions. “They feel like this is an appropriate step in this discussion.”
Unlike other major policy questions that Democrats and Republicans are fighting over this year, like same-sex marriage and background checks for gun buyers, Democrats do not find themselves with either overwhelming public opinion on their side or a favorable shift in sentiment.

After implying that Republicans were making a huge mistake in bringing up the issue, the Times now tells us that two-thirds of Americans completely opposes legal second-trimester abortions. The House passes a bill putting limitations on a procedure (second-trimester abortions) that most Americans think should be completely outlawed, and the headline is about the GOP appeasing their vocal base?

No one expects the Times to provide fair and balanced coverage of the abortion issue; that would require a greater allegiance to objective journalism than the paper can muster (especially in the post-Bill Keller era). But the least the Times can do is respect its readers enough to keep the editorials on the editorial page.

Andrew Brown—John Sentamu and the Church of England’s slow retreat on Same Sex marriage

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

The archbishop, John Sentamu, asked: "What do you do with people in same-sex relationships that are committed, loving and Christian? Would you rather bless a sheep and a tree, and not them? However, that is a big question, to which we are going to come. I am afraid that now is not the moment."

No. It isn't. That moment passed years ago, when civil partnerships were first brought in, and the archbishop's was one of the loudest voices demanding that the Church of England have nothing to do with them. The bishops still don't realise what damage they did then.

Read it all.

Church of England: sexual orientation of episcopal nominees is 'irrelevant'

from VirtueOnline

LONDON: Church of England: sexual orientation of episcopal nominees is 'irrelevant'

By Hilary White
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/
June 18, 2013

At the same time as it faces legislation that some say will likely force them to participate in gay "marriage," the Church of England issued a legal document last week illustrating the fine lines that must be walked by those responsible for appointing new bishops.

To be admitted to Holy Orders, the document says, a person must be "of virtuous conversation and good repute and such as to be a wholesome example and pattern to the flock of Christ." It adds, "Bishops are seen within the Anglican Communion as those who have the responsibility 'to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the whole Church'."

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

NASHOTAH, WI: ACNA approves new Anglican Diocese of Upper Midwest

from VirtueOnline

NASHOTAH, WI: ACNA approves new Anglican Diocese of Upper Midwest
New bishop elected Friday

ACNA News Release
June 18, 2013

The Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America meeting at Nashotah, WI today approved the new Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest.

The new Diocese is comprised of 29 churches with a total average Sunday attendance of over 2500 located in WI, upper IL, parts of MN and parts of Iowa.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

Archbishop Robert Duncan Addresses the 5th Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

The Bishop and a member of the Clergy of the Diocese of South Carolina are with us as observers. Will they find us the kind of Church they believe they are being called into union with? I surely hope so. Whether we keep the main thing the main thing will affect their assessment, I am sure. An observer from the Jubilee Pentecostal Fellowship of Churches is also here. That Fellowship is on the Nairobi (Canterbury) trail. Will the Anglican Church in North America be found to be the body with whom they can journey forward? Can we keep the main thing the main thing in order to find a godly, creative and Anglican way for such a union to take place? As with South Carolina, I hope so. Imagine what these two unions would say – in very different ways – about 21st century Anglicanism and about the place the Anglican Church in North America might have in the effort to re-evangelize this continent. “A biblical, missionary, and united Anglicanism.” “Reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.”

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus instructs the twelve that they are to:

Preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts…
[Matthew 10:7-9]

As it turned out, few of us got to take any gold or silver or copper… But our whole story has been that “freely [we] have received.” That’s our story as a Province.

Read it all.

Of particular relevance to pecusa

(CC Blogs) Carol Merritt—How do you close a church? When do you start having the conversations?

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

My first congregation was located in a diminishing rural area, but after a year, we were growing. We began a youth group. Families and young members began attending. More people started commuting from the larger city to attend the church.

Then the local governing body put a minimum salary in place that was 10k above what I made. I applied for a grant that got me enough money for the next three years, but a struggle at the church arose between those who wanted to “go out with a bang” and those who wanted to hold onto the little bit in the bank account. There was an idea that having money in the bank was going to keep the church alive for an eternity. So I got a better job. (And yes, it was a better job at a more stable church. I don’t want to spiritualize it too much by saying it was God’s calling.)

When I look back, I’m sad about how it all went down. Not to overblow my importance, but it was as if the church didn’t buy the prescription medicine that they needed to live well, because it would cost too much.

Read it all.

Moral Debate, Secular Correctness, and Judge Edith Jones

from First Things | On the Square by ft@firsthings.com (Stephanos Bibas )

Is moral argument, particularly morality flowing from religious beliefs, taboo in criminal justice? A recent controversy highlights how some lawyers shun the moral reasoning at the foundation of the American legal system.

In February, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones gave a controversial speech defending and endorsing the American system of capital punishment. A number of those in attendance filed an ethics complaint against her, charging her with insensitivity (and worse) on issues of race, nationality, mental retardation, and innocence in capital punishment, and dismissiveness toward pending cases that might come before her. I wasnt there and so cant comment on those allegations.

The complaint also charges her with compromising her judicial impartiality by defending capital punishment generally in religious and moral terms. As one attendee complained: Judge Jones used what I would call moral language in praising the death penalty as a means to help people come to terms with the crime they committed. . . . She talked about how the imminent prospect of execution forced the criminal to confront his deed, and she said this as justification for the death penalty." This moral and religious defense of the death penalty allegedly reflect[ed] adversely on the judges impartiality," in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

This charge misses the mark. As Canon 4 of the Code expressly states: A judge may speak, write, lecture, teach, and participate in other activities concerning the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice," so long as her comments do not compromise her impartiality, dignity, or duties. Judges thus engage in law reform all the time, advocating or opposing laws and policies based on their pros and cons. No one would dispute that a judge could oppose repealing a law or limiting legal relief because its benefits outweigh its costs.

But the complainants think this case is different because Judge Jones invoked the death penaltys biblical origins and how it may promote moral reform and atonement. They do not allege that Judge Jones ever used the Bible as a source of law or legal precedent, especially in individual cases. Rather, they object to her endorsing a secular punishment for religiously motivated reasons.

What, then, of the Quakers who introduced penitentiaries two centuries ago to induce penitence and reform their errant brethren? What of Abraham Lincoln, who quoted the Bible on retribution for the evil of slavery in his Second Inaugural Address? What about Martin Luther King, Jr., who quoted scriptural understandings of justice in support of racial equality in his I Have a Dream" speech? And what about religious opponents of capital punishment, such as Sister Helen Prejean, who cite biblical endorsements of mercy, forgiveness, and love?

If a different judge had stood up and urged her audience to support the repeal of capital punishment, citing Jesus forgiveness of the woman caught in the act of adultery, no one would have filed a complaint. But such competing moral values, often religiously inspired, underlie most Americans views on capital punishment. The critics who filed this complaint would suppress one side of an important debate.

As legal scholar Dan Kahan has shown, Americans sometimes feel pressure to justify their criminal-justice views in the detached, clinical language of deterrence and cost-benefit tradeoffs. But when researchers give them new data about capital punishment and deterrence, it barely budges their views. Capital-punishment views depend not on data, but on intuitions about retribution and expressing condemnation of wrongs. Squelching that discussion is counterproductive, driving it underground.

The solution is not to hide or repackage moral discourse, but to bring it out into the open. Americans from many religious and moral backgrounds should openly debate the importance of justice and mercy, condemnation and forgiveness, second chances and closure. Criminal laws and penalties serve a variety of goals, including morally reforming those who harm others and inducing closure. And while judges may not inject their personal or sectarian values into cases that come before them, they are free to advocate policies in terms that may resonate with other citizens. The Founders did not enact the First Amendment to banish religiously motivated viewpoints from the public square.

Stephanos Bibas, a professor of law and criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, is the author of The Machinery of Criminal Justice (Oxford 2012).

RESOURCES

Conservative judge Edith Jones up for rare review 

Complaint of Judicial Misconduct 

Stephanos Bibas, Colsons Enduring Legacy

Matthew Schmitz, Unjust Secular Justice

Stephanos Bibas, Leisure Time

Stephanos Bibas on Criminal Justice Reform

SCREWTAPE PROPOSES AN EPISCOPAL TOAST (22)

from VirtueOnline

SCREWTAPE PROPOSES AN EPISCOPAL TOAST (22)
(With apologies to C.S. Lewis)

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
June 18, 2013

My dear Wormwood,

The collective heads of the Hades High Council is positively spinning with all the news of these foolish earthlings in their desire to find peace, harmony, love and "why can't we all get along" interfaith notions.

Their compromises over pansexual behavior have to be one of the single greatest triumphs of the 21st Century. Our Father had to be dragged away from a round of bishop bashing just to hear the good news.

Now that both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have succumbed to the notion of civil partnerships while condemning gay marriage is of course the thin end of the wedge. Sodomy is sodomy. Recognizing it must have caused heartburn to the Enemy whose standards of holiness and righteousness cause vomiting fits among the High Council.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

Report from Bishop Julian Dobbs of the CANA Diocese of the East

CANA East Unanimously

Accepted as Diocese in ACNA

ACNA Fifth Provincial Council | Nashotah House

The opening day of ACNA's Fifth Provincial Council began with Morning Prayer led by Bishop Dave Bena. In his State of the Church address*, Archbishop Bob Duncan shared that Anglicans are suddenly one of the largest groups of military and institutional chaplains, thanks to the efforts of Bishop Derek Jones and the foresight of CANA. He went on to tell those assembled that he was grateful for the opportunity to spend five hours of private time last week with Archbishop Okoh, "deepening our relationship and our commitment to one another."

Later, following reports and presentations, the clergy and lay delegates representing ACNA's existing dioceses and ministry partners voted unanimously to accept CANA East as a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. Also accepted were the Missionary Dioceses of the Trinity and CANA West, as well as the Chaplains' Task Force.

Meetings of the Provincial Council continue through Wednesday, and I will stay on for meetings of the ACNA College of Bishops on Thursday and Friday. There remains much to discuss and decisions to be made. In his address today, Archbishop Duncan said, "Over our meeting must sit the vision: 'biblical, missionary and united.' Over our decisions must sit the mission: 'reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.'"

(SHNS) Terry Mattingly: A case for the common hymnal

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

There was a time when the faithful in the heavily Dutch corners of the Midwest would not have been able to sing along if the organist played the gospel classic “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.”

True, some may have recognized the hymn that Mahalia Jackson sang at the 1968 funeral of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., since this was the civil rights leader’s favorite: “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.”

But by 1987, this beloved African-American spiritual had been added to the Christian Reformed Church hymnal. A generation later, it has achieved the kind of stature that puts it in the core of the “In Death and Dying” pages of the church’s new “Lift Up Your Hearts” hymnal.

Read it all.

(CT) Jen Michel—The Feel-Good Faith of Evangelicals

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Think of how evangelicals may describe the Bible: unchanging, inerrant, authoritative, truth.

Well, "in the world we are entering, the concept of the Bible will be completely different," said David Parker, theology professor at the University of Birmingham. Speaking recently at the Hay Festival in England, Parker predicted that technology will prompt personalized digital versions of the Scripture, "like an individual copy" of the Bible.

If Parker is right, we evangelicals might have some major questions. How would this editorial control affect our faith? Could it lead to an eventual erosion of sound doctrine? Would the capacity for changing our sacred texts ultimately diminish their authority?

Read it all.

Bigots, Values and Minister Ridicule

from VirtueOnline

Bigots, Values and Minister Ridicule

By Harry M. Covert
Special to Virtueonline
www.Virtueonline.org
June 18, 2013

Dear Sage of Waterford,

Greetings in the name of political correctness. What can be better than putting the kibosh on a man of the cloth, especially if that clergyman is an aficionado of the old time religion? Let me assure you that's happening and devotees of separation of church and state have broadened its meaning. Making progress, you ask? Indeed.

It is startling the new drive out there is attempting to remove traditional Christianity and those who are followers from the list of religions and American life. The stoutest of hearts are finding it difficult to withstand the constant barrage.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

Archbishop Duncan Addresses the 5th Provincial Council of the ACNA

from VirtueOnline

Archbishop Duncan Addresses the 5th Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America

On June 18, 2013

Archbishop Duncan delivered his State of the Church address to the Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, WI. The Provincial Council is the governing body of the ACNA comprised of delegates from member dioceses and ministry partners

"Freely you have received. Freely give." [Matthew 10:8]

The opening of this 2013 Provincial Council marks the fourth anniversary of the constitution of the Anglican Church in North America. Following the Inaugural Assembly of 2009 which met at Bedford, Texas, Provincial Council first met at Toronto, Canada. Then we met at Amesbury, Massachusetts. Then we travelled to Long Beach, California. Next we gathered at Ridgecrest, North Carolina, in connection with Assembly 2012. Now we find ourselves at Nashotah, Wisconsin. What a journey it has been.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

Peter Moore—My Muslim Encounter in London

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

While listening to a fiery preacher of the gospel I observed three young men in their thirties just to my right giggling at and mocking the preacher’s insistence that Jesus was who he claimed to be. Here was my opportunity.

They were Muslims, and soon we were talking about how Jesus could be both the Son of God and at the same time one with the Father. I asked them if they had read the Injeel, the Arabic word for the Gospels, since Mohammed said that Jesus was a prophet and that God had given us the Gospels. “Ah, but the Injeel has been corrupted,” they said. “But why if God is all powerful would he have allowed his word to be corrupted?” I asked them. No answer.

Our conversation ranged on a wide variety of subjects including Jihad (they insisted that those who interpreted Jidad violently were not “real” Muslims), suicide bombers (again they were not real Muslims), and whether those who followed Jesus caused wars or believed in turning the other cheek. When I turned my cheek and asked one of them to hit me, they all smiled (as did I), but they knew I meant it.
- See more at: http://www.stmichaelschurch.net/my-muslim-encounter-in-london/#sthash.EQYEeald.dpuf

Read it all.

ACNA 5th Provincial Council underway at Nashotah House

from BabyBlueOnline by BabyBlue Anglican

Archbishop Duncan address the Provincial Council.

I am here in Wisconsin - first time in Wisconsin - for the 5th Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America.  The meeting at Adams Hall is standing room only and it's been uplifting to see so many from so far come together to share mission and ministry.  Great to see the visitors that are here as well.  Stay tuned for updates!

It is my first time in Wisconsin - growing up in the Navy did not present an opportunity to live in the Mid-West.  In fact, the only time I went to the Mid-West was when I was 12 when we moved from Charleston, South Carolina to San Diego, California and camped our way across country.  My dad's great-grandparents used to own a summer home in the northern part of Michigan which I have pictures of through the years when my dad visited as a child, but I have been in this part of the country.  Flew into Milwaukee yesterday.  The meetings are taking place at Nashotah House, an Anglican/Episcopal seminary.  It is in a lovely setting with lots of woods and lakes and fields surrounding it.  A contemplative place, it is a great environment to have a council such as this.

(Sightings) Martin Marty—Demographic Changes Impact Religious Institutions

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Today census data reveals fewer lasting marriages, fewer marriages, more interfaith (and often religiously “diluting”) families, women adding work outside of the home to their work in the home, the mobility and the rootlessness that goes with this--all of these factors at odds with the traditional, habitual, reflexive identification of a people with a religious membership or involvement.

The heirs of the dwindling white majority can complain or explain, or they can accept the changes and help re-conceive religious commitment. The trends suggest opportunities for Hispanic Catholicism, Black Protestantism, and Asian faith with whatever affiliation. As for non-Hispanic whites, the trends are a wake-up call, occasions to discern opportunities, and to pursue the paths of God, as they see these, in an ever-changing America. The response begins with showing awareness, but that’s not all. We’ll continue to document changes.

Read it all.

(C of E) Tools for the ‘S’ curve of priestly ministry

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Priests working through the ‘S curve’ of change in their ministry should seek inspiration from 20th Century poet and priest RS Thomas and the film Of Gods and Men, suggests the book Moving on in Ministry. Being launched this week at the Seventh Annual Faith in Research conference at Church House, London, the book comprises essays focusing on transition and change by respected authors in their fields*.

Realising that development can slow down then speed up in an ‘S’ shape , and can actually take place without moving to a new role, the book encourages priests to make reflective and practical responses to moving on in ministry. It begins with an essay by Tim Harle on the ‘S Curve’, to help priests identify where they are in the process of accommodating the change they are experiencing; and also to help them “live comfortably out of control”.

Mark Pryce uses the poetry metaphors for priesthood of RS Thomas to analyse change, looking particularly at the “self-in-relation to God” and the “mystery of God disclosed or hidden in others”; Thomas’s poem The Moor, for example, is quoted from: “There were no prayers said. But stillness of the heart’s passions – that was praise enough.”

Read it all.

(NY Times Op-ed) Tom Freidman—Egypt’s Perilous Drift

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Egypt needs a revolution.

Wait, isn’t that what happened two years ago? Not really. It is now clear that what happened two years ago was more musical chairs than revolution. First the army, using the energy of the youth-led protesters in Tahrir Square, ousted Mubarak, and then the Muslim Brotherhood ousted the army, and now the opposition is trying to oust the Brotherhood. Each, though, is operating on the old majoritarian politics — winners take all, losers get nothing....

“The other day,” [Ahmed el-]Droubi said, “I was standing on a main intersection in downtown Cairo, where two one-way roads meet. As I stood there, I saw cars going both ways down both one-way streets — cars were coming and going in four different directions — and other cars were double-parked. I was standing next to a shop owner watching this. ‘This is a complete mess,’ he said. ‘No one has any civic responsibility. They each only care about themselves getting to where they are going.’ ”

Read it all.

Gay Marriage: Whose Yes, Whose No?

from First Things | On the Square by ft@firsthings.com (Elizabeth Scalia )

I recently received the following message from a stranger: So basically, the 'orthodox Catholic game you all play is just that . . . a game?" It was in reference to a Catholic man with whom I am friendly, and like very much. She had apparently read on social media that this man was planning to marry another man.

My friend had never come out" to me, and-call me old-fashioned, or call me incurious-it had never occurred to me to ask, so the wedding plans were mildly surprising. But reading the email I thought, Yes, so? What does this woman want me to do? Should I now hate him? Am I supposed to 'un-friend him (that ridiculous term) or even publicly denounce him in order to demonstrate sufficiently 'orthodox Catholic bona fides for her satisfaction? Is that what she wants?"

Well, I couldnt do that. I like this man. Every exchange I have ever had with him, in person or online has been pleasant, very kind and sweet-natured. The world needs all the pleasant, kind and sweet-natured people it can get, and I wasnt going to give one up in order to prove myself to some scold I didnt even know.

On the other hand, I wondered whether I should publicly wish him happy-as I certainly do. I want everyone I know to be happy in their decisions, particularly when those decisions involve love.

And yet, I did not click over to Facebook and shower his timeline with good wishes, for three rather simple reasons:

First, I will not be held hostage to an ascendant social mood toward compulsory conformity; I will not give up my own (imperfect but free) thought and reason, whether it be to anonymous e-mailers who want me to prove my faith, or to an over-emotive era that demands that I prove my love. To the former I offer the words of Christ Jesus: Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy."

To the latter I offer a simple truth: Real love models God. God loves us unconditionally, and accepts all we are, but not all we do.

Secondly, I do not wish to surrender to the twin tyrannies of sentimentalism and relativism that overwhelm our society; within them resides neither justice nor truth. If I must not allow my dislike of a woman lead me to unfairly accuse her of error (and I certainly mustnt) then my affection for a man must not allow me to unfairly excuse his choices, either, no matter how much I might wish to. Matthew 19:12  informs my thinking, here, supported by my belief that Christ Jesus is all-Truth.

Thirdly, I did not offer my friend public felicitations because I do not wish to be misunderstood, or to further add to the diminution of the concept of agape-the God-rooted depth of friendship that we have undervalued and left under-explored. Our pop culture portrays every first kiss as leading to a sexual tumble, and our society has largely adopted that mindset and practice. To us, it seems inconceivable that any love goes unconsummated or unconditionally approved. This makes it difficult for us to believe, or even to imagine, that sometimes God has other plans for love.

In a recent interview Mother Dolores Hart, O.S.B.-a Benedictine nun who fifty years ago was a beautiful, successful actress engaged to a handsome young man-gave a hint as to the richness and depth to be found in agape. Drawn to her abbey, she broke off the engagement:

Oh, [Don Robinson] was so upset. But he said a very unexpected thing, which was, You know all love relationships dont end at the altar, and I will be faithful to you in this." Well, I thought that was a head-trip . . . I didnt see how in the world he could do that, but in effect, fifty years later, Don did stay with me.
Robinson never married, and before his death told reporters, We have grown together, like we would have in our marriage . . . She is my life."

By all accounts the depth and abiding faithfulness of love between this woman and this man was true agape; a true sharing of love of the heart, mind, and spirit, all entrusted to the will of God, whatever that might be.

Part of the Catholic Churchs charge on earth is to train us in agape; it is meant to provide the foundation and-through its richly reasoned theology and liturgical and spiritual disciplines-the means by which we continually advance and grow toward a depth of wholeness that says, I love you as God loves you, which means enough to set you free, in the hope that we will find each other again in that freedom."

This is a great mystery, because to the world, that freedom is always supposed to mean an unimpeded yes" to everything we want. In the divine economy, though, yes" is the thing we discover once we have batted away the highly-burnished, distortive, self-reflecting idols we have picked up from society or created on our own, so that we may stand before something greater than we can ever imagine.

Christ Jesus said, Let your 'yes mean 'yes and your 'no mean 'no," and warned us not to dress either answer up with rationalizations, excuses or anything that takes them out of the provenance of God.  Where we find no" is never in God, but in ourselves, and how we receive his yes."

Elizabeth Scalia is the author of Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols of Everyday Life and the managing editor of the Catholic Portal at Patheos.com, where she blogs as The Anchoress. Her previous On the Square" articles can be found here.

In Defense of the Churchs Challenging Language on Homosexuality

from First Things | On the Square by ft@firsthings.com (Daniel Mattson )

When considering the pastoral language the Church should use in speaking about homosexuality, the guiding principle must be what then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote about the subject in 1986, writing as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral."

It is here where I disagree with Wesley Hills argument in his essay On 'Bilingual Pastoral Theology," written in response to my essay Homosexual Orientation or Disorientation?" There I made the case that our divinely created complementary male and female natures are the only acceptable-and ontologically true-descriptions of mans sexuality within the Churchs anthropology. In Hills response, he makes what I find to be a strange argument: In order to be truly pastoral when speaking about same-sex attraction, the Church must speak the language of our fallen experience," and presumably accept and support whatever sexual self-identity we may choose to use about ourselves:

What I think Mattson obscures or confuses . . . is that ethics and pastoral theology needs to speak two languages, not just one. Of course we need to be able to speak the language of creation. Our embodiment as male and female is a given, and this sexually differentiated gift will be healed and redeemed, not discarded, in the eschaton . . .
But on the other hand, we must also speak the language of fallen experience. When Mattson writes that his true orientation is towards women, my true sexual complement," he is eliding the distinction between our created sexual difference and gay and lesbian peoples experience (orientation") of being attracted to the same sex.
In contrast to Hill, I believe the only purpose the Church has in speaking about fallen experience" is to speak truths that disabuse us of falsehoods. Our fallen experience is valuable insofar as it becomes a narrative that points us to the truth of the Churchs anthropology. The danger lies in getting mired in faulty narratives created by fallen man, which lead men and women to be at cross purposes with their divinely created nature.

This, I think, applies to those same-sex attracted authors who desire the Church to support them in their self-identity as gay, lesbian, or queer, or in their belief that queerness" is some sort of beautiful exceptional otherness, or suggesting that homosexuality is in anyway good. In the same document from the CDF linked to above, Ratzinger wrote in opposition to those who gave an overly benign interpretation . . . to the homosexual condition itself" as well as those who have gone so far as to call it neutral, or even good."

The collection of Catholics (and other Christians like Wesley Hill) who identify as gay but chaste" often criticize the language of the Catholic Church concerning homosexuality, because in its teaching, it uses challenging language: that our desire for members of the same sex is objectively disordered," and that sexual acts between members of the same sex are intrinsically disordered." Eve Tushnet, for example, shows great disdain for the Churchs language when she writes, the 'intrinsically disordered language sucks and is a mark of privilege, the kind of thing you only say if you dont feel it yourself or dont care about the other people who feel it" and believes that part of her mission, and of others who think like her, is to work to come up with a vastly broader and better set of vocabularies than the ridiculously, painfully limited set the Church is working with right now."

Tushnet says to other same-sex attracted men and women to not focus on the failures of the Churchs language," because by doing so, not only do you lose the opportunity . . . to improve that language, but you also lose out on everything else the Church offers." As someone who also lives with same-sex attraction, I believe that the only way to experience everything the Church offers is by humbly submitting to the Churchs teachings, in toto, about homosexuality-including her language about my disordered desires-precisely because it is the one area which impacts my life most deeply. And because its true.

Like the teaching of Christ about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, it is a hard teaching, but I choose to accept it nonetheless as part of the good news of the gospel. Far from seeing the language of the Church as ridiculously, painfully limited," or that there are any failures of the Churchs language" about homosexuality, I see the Church language as liberating and beautiful. The language honors and reveals the complete dignity of my created nature as a man, made in the image and likeness of God. By taking the sacredness of sexuality seriously enough to teach the unflinching truth about its divine nature, and mans obligations regarding it, the Church reveals the means by which sexuality will bring man the most fulfillment, as well as the way in which its misuse leads man towards chaos.

The difficult language is necessary: Sexual acts between members of the same sex are intrinsically disordered, for the reason that there is never (and can never be) any positive reordering of the sexual faculty to what is true, good, and beautiful between two members of the same sex. As a man tempted to engage in such activities, the Church loves me enough to teach me in the Catechism that under no circumstances can they be approved."

This is entirely different for a man whose disordered desires are directed toward a woman. For example, the man who is sexually active with his girlfriend is acting in a disordered way-but not intrinsically so. With the grace of God, his desire for the opposite sex, which is designed for the good of marriage, can become ordered to that end. Not so my desires for another man. The flutter of excitement I might feel at the sight of an attractive man is for me the canary in the coal mine that shows me that I am being driven by disordered desires within me, and it is the most effective tool God uses to make it clear to me that I am a stranger in a strange land."

The men I see on a daily basis who I find attractive are used by God to show me that my true happiness will never be had through any of the things of the world, and that I must abandon all things to his good pleasure if I desire to find peace and fulfillment. Here God desires for me to be transformed by the renewing of my mind," as St. Paul says in Romans. For me, the clarity of Church teaching on homosexuality-in its entirety-is a gift that points me towards heaven, and it is this searing clarity the Holy Spirit used to bring me back to the Church, even though I came back kicking and screaming the entire way.

Therefore, I take great exception with the view of Tushnet and Hill that the pastoral language of the Church is in need of modification concerning homosexuality. The stark (and admittedly difficult) reality presented to me, and to every other man or woman living with same-sex attraction, is that our desires for the same sex are objectively disordered, and that though we may never experience it in our lives, we are indeed created by God with an orientation toward the opposite sex.  This is what is true, beautiful and good, and therefore, that which is ultimately pastoral.

Daniel Mattson lives in the midwest, where he has a career in the arts. He takes great interest in the Churchs teaching on homosexuality and from time to time, he is invited to give his personal testimony to groups around the country. He blogs under a pseudonym at  LettersToChristopher.wordpress.com .

RESOURCES

Melinda Selmys, The Pastoral Response to Homosexuality "

Leonard Klein, Hope and Homosexuality "

Joshua Gonnerman, Why I Call Myself a Gay Christian "

Daniel Mattson, Why I Dont Call Myself a Gay Christian "

Joshua Gonnerman, Born That Way? "

Joshua Gonnerman, False Hope and Gay Conversion Therapy "

Wesley Hill, Once More: On the Label 'Gay Christian "

Melinda Selmys, How to Speak About Homosexuality "

Daniel Mattson, Homosexual Orientation, or Disorientation? "

Joshua Gonnerman, Catholic Teaching, Homosexuality, and Terminology "

Aaron Taylor, Called to Celibacy Unchosen "

(CT) Alexandra Kuykendall—Is Fatherhood Fading Out? A Christian response to the boom in absent dads

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

...we live in a country where too many of us have broken relationships with Dad. In America, 1 in 3 kids live apart from their biological fathers. A recent Washington Post article addressed the dad dilemma with the eye-catching title: The new F-Word – Father. In it, Kathleen Parker addresses a question being asked as we discuss the latest stats on America's female breadwinners: In the evolving 21st-century economy, "what are men good for?"

Parker concludes:

Women have become more self-sufficient (a good thing) and, given that they still do the lion's share of housework and child rearing, why, really, should they invite a man to the clutter? Because, simply, children need a father… . Deep in the marrow of every human child burbles a question far more profound than those currently occupying coffee klatches: Who is my daddy? And sadly these days, where is he?

....[and] that's unfortunately where the church often ends the conversation. We lament the shift in the family structure, express outrage at the latest statistics....[yet we cannot stop there].

Read it all.

(NC Reporter) Maureen Fiedler—Poverty, chastity, obedience: traditional vows for the 21st century

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Suppose someone wants to live a life committed to the Gospel but does not want to live the three traditional vows -- poverty, chastity and obedience -- as they have usually been interpreted. Or maybe only one or two of those vows make sense to that person. Maybe someone wants to pronounce a new vow that speaks to the heart of his or her identity and call. Or maybe she or he wants to develop a new form of committed life without vows. All of these possibilities are already happening -- and evolving.

Read it all.

Two thousand South Sudanese Anglican Christians confirmed in just eight days

from VirtueOnline

Two thousand South Sudanese Anglican Christians confirmed in just eight days
Some people walked two days to take part in the service

By Bellah Zulu
Anglican Communion News Service
June 10, 2013

More than 2000 people in the three archdeaconries of Tonj east area in Wau diocese of South Sudan were confirmed by the bishop during his recent trip around the diocese.

The Rt. Rev. Moses Deng Bol told ACNS that the confirmations were done over eight days during a tour of his diocese that covers two out of the 10 states of South Sudan and measures more than 13,000 square kilometers (8078 square miles).

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

California Court of Appeal Denies ECUSA's Writ Petition

from Anglican Curmudgeon by A. S. Haley

One of the longer-running cases brought by ECUSA in California is the Fresno lawsuit against former Episcopal Bishop John-David Schofield over the real property, bank accounts and other assets that belong to the (now) Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin. Readers who would like the full chronicle of events, and background for understanding where we are now, may consult the links on this page.

Most recently, I had written about the Fresno trial court's denial of ECUSA's motion for summary judgment / summary adjudication here, and then again here when that decision became final. Subsequently, I noted that ECUSA and its rump diocese and bishop had filed for a writ of mandate with the Fifth District Court of Appeal, whom they asked to reverse the ruling of the trial court.

Now, this morning comes word from the appellate court that it has summarily denied ECUSA's petition -- without further briefing, or hearing. This is the fate of over 90% of such petitions for extraordinary relief. The appellate court is reluctant to interfere with the process of going to trial, and will do so only when absolutely necessary to avoid having to try the case all over again.

In this case, the Court of Appeal evidently saw no harm in allowing the present case to go to trial, which is currently scheduled for January 6, 2014 in front of a jury. Stay tuned for more developments.