Category: Culture

The Portsmouth Institute announces inaugural conference “The Catholic William F. Buckley Jr.”

On the feast of Saint Scholastica (February 10th), The Portsmouth Institute was launched.

 

“The Portsmouth Institute is a summer conference, study, recreation and retreat center for Catholic intellectuals, scholars and all those who are interested in questions pertaining to Catholic leadership, life and service in the 21st century.”

 


Portsmouth abbey school.jpgWhat is labeled as “America‘s Premiere Catholic Boarding School” a center for summer study has been founded to explore the relevant matters pertaining to Catholic life in 21st century. Akin to what Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Msgr. Luigi Giussani and Pope Benedict XVI and other like-minded intellectuals would say: faith broadens reason. This Institute envisions a comprehensive look at Catholicism from many vantage points that will appeal to scholars interested in Catholic faith and life. As you would expect, the Institute will engage faith and reason by engaging experts in the fields of spirituality, theology, history, science, the arts, politics, sociology as well as other aspects of contemporary society.

 


Portsmouth Abbey.jpgThe Institute’s webpage indicates that

 

Initial funding for The Portsmouth Institute has been established with generous contributions from National Review Institute, the William E. Simon Foundation, the Healey Family Foundation and other generous alumni and friends.  Accepting the role of director is Jamie MacGuire, Senior Development Officer of the Portsmouth Abbey School and 1970 graduate of The Portsmouth Abbey School.

 

The Portsmouth Institute will feature leadership and participation by Portsmouth Abbey’s resident Benedictine monks and faculty of the Portsmouth Abbey School. Institute programs are designed to offer attendees frequent opportunities for informal discussion, as well as access to recreational opportunities on the School’s campus at Carnegie Abbey, and in nearby Newport.  In keeping with its mission, the Institute’s yearly sessions will also provide opportunities for attendance at Mass, the Divine Office and “mini-Retreat” sessions centered around the Abbey’s landmark Church of St. Gregory the Great.

 

The Institute’s inaugural conference will be “The Catholic William F. Buckley Jr.: In Gratitude” June 18-21, 2009 at the Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Study Latin in Oxford

Oxford Street.jpgAn intensive Ecclesiastical Latin Course is now available in Oxford, England. The Tutor, Penny Cookson, has experience of preparing seminarians (and others) for beginning their studies in Roman Universities. What better place to study than Oxford during an English summer!

 

Information is available at www.stbedeshall.org.

Religious film posters exhibit chronicled in NYC


Solome.jpg
“None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands. A glimmer of that feeling has shone so often in your eyes when–like the artists of every age–captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes, you have admired the work of your inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God, the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you” (John Paul II, Letter to Artists, 1). With this in mind, I think of the various ways the arts of engaged my sense of beauty, how good art has expressed my relationship with God and how impoverished (even oppressive) life would be without the work of artists.

 

Honestly, I rarely think with any degree of seriousness on how religious posters have demonstrated the genius of human creativity much less how this medium has impacted the our sense of living in tension with the Divine. But I believe this is what we have here. The exhibit, “Reel Religion: A Century of the Bible and Film” gives us a strong indication of this impact and what has transpired since the 19th century.

 

The posters belong are a part of Dominican Father Michael Morris‘ (and look here) collection. Morris is a professor of art and religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California .

Besides posters there are other memorabilia such as Charlton Heston’s tunic and cape from the 1959 award-winning Ben-Hur and correspondence from directors.

The “Reel Religion” exhibit opened February 6th and will close on May 17th.

 

See a video clip on the subject. 

 

“The Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA) brings to the public an interpretation of art through the lens of biblical religions and an understanding of religion through its artistic manifestations.”

 

A version of this exhibit was seen at St. Louis University’s MOCRA last year.

Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture, at Fordham Univ


Abp Demetrios.jpgThe President of Fordham University, Fr. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. announced Tuesday Feb. 17, a Jaharis Family Foundation gift establishing the Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture as part of the Orthodox Christian Studies Program of this renowned Roman-Catholic Jesuit University.

 

The announcement came at the conclusion of the Sixth Annual Orthodoxy in America Lecture given this year by Fr. Stanley Harakas, ThD, who is the Archbishop Iakovos Professor of Orthodox Theology Emeritus at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Fr. Harakas’ topic “The Future of Orthodox Christianity in America: A Normative Approach” captivated his diverse audience of academics, clergymen, students and laymen. He outlined the threats and pitfalls but also the opportunities of the social and cultural reality in America and suggested ways of what we need to do and ought to do, as Orthodox.

 

Following the lecture President McShane announced the establishment of the Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture through a generous donation of two million dollars by the Jaharis Family Foundation. Fr. McShane welcomed Michael and Mary Jaharis as he expressed his great joy and gratitude. He further said that naming the chair after Archbishop Demetrios is a most deserving honor and that the University was “thrilled that his name (the Archbishop’s) and the name of the Jaharis family will forever be associated with Fordham.”

 

Newman Guide Profiles of Catholic Colleges Now Online

A new independent report on college costs published by The Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education–the research division of The Cardinal Newman Society–reveals that some of the most faithful Catholic colleges and universities in the United States also offer students significant cost savings.

Among the study’s key findings:

· Average tuition for students at the recommended faithful Catholic colleges is about $3,000 less than at other Catholic colleges and about $1,000 less than the average private college.

· The Newman Guide colleges provide students a larger portion of institutional aid (39%) than the average private college (29%).

· Students at the recommended Catholic colleges graduate with fewer loans and less debt–on average, about $2,000 less than at private colleges and $1,400 less than other Catholic colleges.

The study was conducted by Andrew Gillen, Ph.D., a leading expert on college affordability issues and the research director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. The study is available online at TheNewmanGuide.com.

In order to help families learn more about the Newman Guide’s recommended faithful and affordable colleges, beginning today their campus profiles are available online for the first time at TheNewmanGuide.com.

The recommended Newman Guide colleges are Ave Maria University, Aquinas College (Tenn.), Belmont Abbey College, Benedictine College, The Catholic University of America, Christendom College, The College of Saint Thomas More (Texas), DeSales University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Holy Apostles College & Seminary, John Paul the Great Catholic University, Magdalen College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, St. Gregory’s University, Southern Catholic College, Thomas Aquinas College, The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (N.H.), University of Dallas, University of St. Thomas (Texas), and Wyoming Catholic College.

Is he sorry?

a-rod.jpgTonight’s evening news had an update on the A-Rod drug scandal. What I find amazing is that a man would admit to taking steroids, citing pressure, to enhance his performance to play a high profile sport and get paid $275 million (by all accounts a record). A-Rod must think everybody is looking the other way and stupid. His defense was that as 25 year old he made some stupid decisions.

 

Fair enough, we all do things we regret. No one, except the Savior of mankind and the BVM can claim otherwise. Original Sin has deeply affected our lives. As a Catholic, I can testify to the beauty of the Catholic faith by the mercy experienced when you ask for the mercy of God (forgiveness!) through the sacrament of Confession, make amends with your brothers and sisters AND you change your life. I don’t know A-Rod’s faith life but something seems out of whack here in that he still has a job playing baseball and he’s still being looked upon as a hero. Not telling the truth is a serious offence. If the news caught A-Rod expressing his sorrow by saying “I am sorry” to the public, it wasn’t aired. I wonder if he said those 3 words. Personally, I think the Yankees should fire the man AND go to confession. But that’s me.

 

Moreover, a 9 year old child told a report that what A-Rod did “wasn’t wrong but he should not have used drugs.” Not wrong? WHAT???? I suppose the child’s moral formation is still in flux at the moment but this is crazy. I’d like to know what the parents teach this young man. What moral formation does this child get in school, in church, in the Boy Scouts?

Music can proclaim Christ


music.jpg“Music, like art, can be a particularly great way to proclaim Christ because it is able to eloquently render more perceptible the mystery of the faith.” Music can “help us contemplate the intense and arcane mystery of Christian faith.”

 

(Pope Benedict XVI spoke after a concert given Our Lady’s Choral Society of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland on the occasion of the 80th anniv. Vatican City State, 13 Feb 2009)

Cardinal Bertone speaks about the role of the family and culture today


TBertone.jpgThe Cardinal Secretary of State to His Holiness, Tarcisio Bertone was in Mexico from January 15 to 19 to preside over the 6th World Meeting of Families. While in Mexico the cardinal met with Mexico‘s president, Felipe Calderon Hinojosa and with representatives of culture.

Bertone was interviewed by Carlo Di Cicco, deputy director of the Vatican newspaper, and Roberto Piermarini, director of the news service of the papal radio.

 

One of the relevant questions was on the family and culture why the cardinal gave substantial attention to these topics. What is good to keep before our eyes is the witness that BOTH family and culture can have for work in the Kingdom of God. In answer to this query, Cardinal Bertone said:

 

Because in reality, the family is the first transmitter of values and culture for the new generations; for children and young people growing up, the family is the transmitter of values. This is a proven fact in the experience of family life, despite all the difficulties that mark the way, not only in Europe but also in Latin America.

I recall a conference, a debate, that took place here in Rome, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, with Professor Barbiellini Amidei, precisely about the family, regarding its capacity or incapacity to address other instances of socialization in the task of transmitting values.

In the end we agreed that the family is the first instance of the transmission of values — and this is also the conviction of the Popes: of John Paul II and, particularly, Pope Benedict, as taken up in the two messages addressed to Mexico — the family is the first instance of human and Christian formation.

It transmits the identity, the family’s own identity, and the cultural and spiritual identity of a people.

Then the state is born thanks to the grouping, the communion among families, that is why the state should have the mission to strengthen the identity of a people grounded in its roots, in its origins, which later determine the development of both the political and ecclesial community.

 

Regarding Culture the cardinal was asked:  In the meeting with [people of] the world of culture and education you emphasized the limited success that Mexican culture had during the last century. Is it not a rather harsh judgment for a Church that suffered persecution, including a bloody one?
 
Cardinal Bertone: It is, in fact, a question of harsh judgment. I literally quoted an author, Gabriel Zaid, who remembers his meeting with a European bishop who asked him: “Is a Catholic culture possible in Mexico? Can the Catholic Church have some cultural influence in the country?”  

When this European bishop, more precisely this Dutch bishop, asked him what could be expected of Mexico, Zaid, desolate, said: “I couldn’t give him any hope.

“In Mexico, beyond the vestiges of better times and popular culture, Catholic culture has ended” — you must realize that we were in the 70s — it remained on the margin, in one of the most notable centuries of Mexican culture: the 20th century. How could that happen? — Zaid replied — “I’m still asking myself that!”

This diagnosis is certainly pessimistic: I have taken it up again precisely because there have been incentives, highly significant positive aspects, so that it would be very unjust to stress the negative and subscribe fully to this diagnosis.

Nevertheless, the writer’s observation and the bishop’s question require an answer; they are stimulating.

That culture is necessary in the work of the Church, and even more so in humanity itself, was affirmed by Pope John Paul II, in his great address in UNESCO, when he cried out: “The future of man depends on culture! The peace of the world depends on the primacy of the Spirit! The peaceful future of humanity depends on love!” Thus he related peace, culture and love.

For the Church, cultural promotion is an innate reality, written in her DNA, in her history: It is an urgent and necessary imperative.

By the very fact that the Gospel is itself creator of culture, the proclamation of the Gospel is cultural creation.
 
The truth is that the Church in Mexico was persecuted and gave many martyrs. I received and venerated the relics of a 15-year-old boy, who looked much more mature than his age, José Sánchez del Río, who took part in a cultural circle of Catholic Action.

Despite his young age, he was arrested, and after his capture he was killed. Before dying, he wrote “Long Live Christ the King,” which was the cry of Mexican martyrs.

That is why Mexico‘s Church is certainly a martyr Church, but also because of this she has been marginalized. This Church has always practiced a great religion of worship, very significant, source of her fidelity to Christ and of her enthusiasm for the faith, but somewhat resigned from the cultural point of view. That is why it was and is necessary to re-launch the whole of cultural promotion that — as I said — is innate to the mission of the Church, particularly in Mexico.

The faith-based initiative of the Admin

dubois.jpgA Presidential insider takes up the work of faith-based initiatives for the Obama administration, it was announced on February 5th. The 26 year old Princeton grad, Joshua DuBois (also a BU alum) will lead a restructured office which got its sea legs in the Bush administration but had its antecedants in prior administrations of government. He is a Pentecostal pastor. Known to be charismatic and bright, DuBois will be assisting faith groups navigate federal funding policies while having the ear of the President. According to the White House Press Office,

“The Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will focus on four key priorities, to be carried out by working closely with the President’s Cabinet Secretaries and each of the eleven agency offices for faith-based and neighborhood partnerships:



-The Office’s top priority will be making community groups an integral part of our economic recovery and poverty a burden fewer have to bear when recovery is complete.

-It will be one voice among several in the administration that will look at how we support women and children, address teenage pregnancy, and reduce the need for abortion.

-The Office will strive to support fathers who stand by their families, which involves working to get young men off the streets and into well-paying jobs, and encouraging responsible fatherhood.

-Finally, beyond American shores this Office will work with the National Security Council to foster interfaith dialogue with leaders and scholars around the world.

“The Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will include a new President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, composed of religious and secular leaders and scholars from different backgrounds. There will be 25 members of the Council, appointed to 1-year terms.

Members of the Council include:

Judith N. Vredenburgh

, President and Chief Executive Officer, Big Brothers / Big Sisters of America
Philadelphia, PA

Rabbi David N. Saperstein

, Director & Counsel, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and noted church/state expert
Washington, DC

Dr. Frank S. Page

, President emeritus, Southern Baptist Convention
Taylors, SC

Father Larry J. Snyder

, President, Catholic Charities USA
Alexandria, VA

Rev. Otis Moss, Jr.

, Pastor emeritus, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church
Cleveland, OH

Eboo S. Patel

, Founder & Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Corps
Chicago, IL

Fred Davie

, President, Public / Private Ventures, a secular non-profit intermediary
New York, NY

Dr. William J. Shaw

, President, National Baptist Convention, USA
Philadelphia, PA

Melissa Rogers

, Director, Wake Forest School of Divinity Center for Religion and Public Affairs and expert on church/state issues
Winston-Salem, NC

Pastor Joel C. Hunter

, Senior Pastor, Northland, a Church Distributed
Lakeland, FL

Dr. Arturo Chavez

, Ph.D., President & CEO, Mexican American Cultural Center
San Antonio, TX

Rev. Jim Wallis

, President & Executive Director, Sojourners
Washington, DC

Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie

, Presiding Bishop, 13th Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church
Knoxville, TN

Diane Baillargeon

, President & CEO, Seedco, a secular national operating intermediary
New York, NY

Richard Stearns

, President, World Vision
Bellevue, WA

All are interesting choices and all seem to be leaders in their respective faith traditions or organizations. I wonder if this group can work with the faith groups across the spectra and not just the people who follow their particular brand of faith. Two members of the Council are Catholics (one being a priest) and they are seemingly on the left side of the Church. THE common thread which unites this group is experience in community organizing, just like the President. I look forward to seeing the fruit of their labors. Dealing with the secularists is not going to be easy even for the theologically left of center people chosen for the Council.

Regarding the mandate to “address teenage pregnancy, and reduce the need for abortion” I wonder just how this goal is going to be accomplished. It sounds fishy to me as I don’t trust the double-speak of President Obama when it comes to protecting life. He certainly has not demonstrated that pro-life matters are part of his makeup. In fact, the opposite is true: Obama has stepped on the pro-life efforts of reasonable people of all faiths.