Bishop Jenky Homily

A campus controversy has developed at Notre Dame over Bishop Daniel Jenky's recent homily in which he said, "Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care.

In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path." Bishop Jenky, C.S.C. is the local ordinary of the Diocese of Peoria, IL and sits on Notre Dame's Board of Fellows; you can read the full text of his homily here. In response, scores of Notre Dame faculty denounced Bishop Jenky and demanded that he either retract his statement or resign from Notre Dame's Board. You can read the faculty letter to the Observer, addressed to Rev. John Jenkins and Richard Notebaert, Board Chairman, here. A number of Catholic scholars have responded to the Notre Dame faculty, including Michael Pakaluk, Chairman of the Philosophy Department at Ave Maria University, in his piece, "Incendiary Educators." For background on the controversy surrounded President Obama's visit to Notre Dame in 2009 when he was awarded an honorary degree as commencement speaker, read the National Catholic Register's interview with Rev. Bill Miscamble, C.S.C.

'Beyond Ignorance and Dogma' by Christian Smith

Notre Dame Sociology Professor Christian Smith gave sociologists who deride religion a dressing down in the most recent issue of the American Sociological Association's journal. In "Beyond Ignorance and Dogma: On Taking Religion Seriously," Prof. Smith says,

"The time has come for American sociology to stop being so ignorant and dogmatic about religion. As someone who knows something about the real history, cultures, and organizations of religious traditions, I am regularly appalled by the illiterate prejudices about religion that are routinely expressed by sociologist colleagues. It is embarrassing for our discipline and galling to those who know better."

Read the full article on page 14 here.

Bishop Lori responds to America editors

In their March 5 editorial "Policy not Liberty," the editors of America magazine lambasted the American bishops for rejection President Obama's "accommodation" on the HHS mandate as inadequate. Bishop Lori, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, has responded to their editorial. An excerpt:

" Oh, and as Detective Colombo used to say: “Just one more thing.” It’s the comment in the editorial about when we bishops are at our best. Evidently, it’s when we speak generalities softly and go along to get along, even though for the first time in history the federal government is forcing church entities to provide for things that contradict church teaching. Maybe Moses wasn’t at his best when he confronted Pharaoh. Maybe the Good Shepherd was a bit off his game when he confronted the rulers of his day.

But those are just details." 

Read his full piece here.

" Oh, and as Detective Colombo used to say: “Just one more thing.” It’s the comment in the editorial about when we bishops are at our best. Evidently, it’s when we speak generalities softly and go along to get along, even though for the first time in history the federal government is forcing church entities to provide for things that contradict church teaching. Maybe Moses wasn’t at his best when he confronted Pharaoh. Maybe the Good Shepherd was a bit off his game when he confronted the rulers of his day.

But those are just details."

'My Brother the Pope'

Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope Benedict XVI,  revealed intimate moments of their childhood and his relationship with his brother.  Michael Hesemann's week-long interview with the Pope's brother provides the material for their book, "My Brother the Pope."  Ratzinger speaks in great detail about their Catholic upbringing which included attending daily mass, family prayer, and celebrations of the great Christian feasts.

"In our family, though, it was not only Christmas that was marked by the deep faith of our parents and the religious customs of our homeland. From our parents we learned what it means to have a firm grasp of faith in God. Every day we prayed together, and in fact before and after each meal (we ate our breakfast, dinner and supper together)."

Ratzinger attributes the faith of him and his brother to their parents devotion and piety. The practice of daily prayer and devotion was instrumental in creating the deep faith of the Ratzingers.  It is this daily commitment to faith that Ratzinger feels is lacking in many Christian families.
 
"I am convinced that the lack of this traditional piety in many families is also a reason why there are too few priestly vocations today. Many people in our time practice a form of atheism rather than the Christian faith. In some respects, they may maintain a sort of vestigial religiosity; perhaps they still go to Mass on the major feast days, but this rudimentary faith long ago ceased to permeate their lives, and it has no bearing on their everyday routine."

Faith is not only reserved for Sundays or feast days.  The Christian life calls each person to live out their faith daily in their actions, their words, and in prayer.  Faith needs to become a part of everyday routine.


To read more on Ratzinger's childhood in the Huffington Post, click here, and to read more of Michael Hesemann's reflections on the interview, click here.

Here We Are

Prof. Helen Alvare of George Mason University has written a letter in response to Nancy Pelosi's charge that women do not support the Church's teaching on contraception. Her letter was signed by hundreds of other women and published by National Review Online. View the text with signatures here. This is the text of her letter:

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA, SECRETARY SEBELIUS AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

DON'T CLAIM TO SPEAK FOR ALL WOMEN

We are women who support the competing voice offered by Catholic institutions on matters of sex, marriage and family life. Most of us are Catholic, but some are not. We are Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Many, at some point in our careers, have worked for a Catholic institution. We are proud to have been part of the religious mission of that school, or hospital, or social service organization. We are proud to have been associated not only with the work Catholic institutions perform in the community – particularly for the most vulnerable -- but also with the shared sense of purpose found among colleagues who chose their job because, in a religious institution, a job is always also a vocation.

Those currently invoking "women's health" in an attempt to shout down anyone who disagrees with forcing religious institutions or individuals to violate deeply held beliefs are more than a little mistaken, and more than a little dishonest. Even setting aside their simplistic equation of "costless" birth control with "equality," note that they have never responded to the large body of scholarly research indicating that many forms of contraception have serious side effects, or that some forms act at some times to destroy embryos, or that government contraceptive programs inevitably change the sex, dating and marriage markets in ways that lead to more empty sex, more non-marital births and more abortions. It is women who suffer disproportionately when these things happen.

No one speaks for all women on these issues. Those who purport to do so are simply attempting to deflect attention from the serious religious liberty issues currently at stake. Each of us, Catholic or not, is proud to stand with the Catholic Church and its rich, life-affirming teachings on sex, marriage and family life. We call on President Obama and our Representatives in Congress to allow religious institutions and individuals to continue to witness to their faiths in all their fullness.

Helen M. Alvaré JD Associate Professor of Law George Mason University (VA)*

Kim Daniels JD Former Counsel Thomas More Law Center (MD)  (*Affiliations are listed for identification purposes only. They do not indicate institutional support.)

Why the Pill is not good for women

Erika Bachiochi, a speaker at Notre Dame's recent Edith Stein Project, co-authored an article with Catherine Pakaluk on why "The Pill is Not Good for Women" for the National Review Online today. An excerpt:

"The Pill, together with abortion as backup, appeared to provide full insurance against pregnancy risks. But as economists well know, full insurance tends to induce greater risk-taking: As people perceive sex to be safer, they pursue more of it. This applies especially to people who would otherwise be most vulnerable to the risks of unwanted pregnancy: the young, the unmarried, and those unable to care for a child."

Read the full article here.

EWTN Files Suite to Block Contraception Mandate

EWTN filed a law suite today in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, AL seeking to declare the federal government's contraception mandate as unconstitutional.   EWTN is the first lay Catholic organization to challenge the HHS mandate.  

"'We had no other option but to take this to the courts,' said [Michael]Warsaw, [EWTN's president]. 'Under the HHS mandate, EWTN is being forced by the government to make a choice: Either we provide employees coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and violate our conscience or offer our employees and their families no health-insurance coverage at all. Neither of those choices is acceptable.'"

Read more in the National Catholic Register

Carter Snead in WSJ

Future Director of the Center for Ethics and Culture Carter Snead, of Notre Dame's Law School, and Princeton University Professor Robert P. George have written an article that was published in today's Wall Street Journal. They analyze last week's struggle over funding between the Komen foundation and Planned Parenthood. An excerpt:

"The reality is that Planned Parenthood—with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion—does little in the way of screening for breast cancer. But the organization is very much in the business of selling abortions—more than 300,000 in 2010, according to Planned Parenthood. At an average cost of $500, according to various sources including Planned Parenthood's website, that translates to about $164 million of revenue per year.

So how did Planned Parenthood and its loyal allies in politics and the media react to Komen's efforts to be neutral in the controversy over abortion?

Faced with even the tiniest depletion in the massive river of funds Planned Parenthood receives yearly, the behemoth mobilized its enormous cultural, media, financial and political apparatus to attack the Komen Foundation in the press, on TV and through social media.

The organization's allies demonized the charity, attempting to depict the nation's most prominent anti-breast cancer organization as a bedfellow of religious extremists. A Facebook page was set up to "Defund the Komen Foundation." In short, Planned Parenthood took breast-cancer victims as hostages."

Read the full article here.

The Best Thing in Life Was Unplanned

This Friday Ryan Bomberger will be giving a talk at Notre Dame on life issues in the black community at 4 p.m. in the Geddes Hall auditorium.  Ryan Bomberger is a pro-life activist who founded the Radiance Foundation to spread the light and beauty of life.  This Christmas season, Bomberger used the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ to honor the joy of all life.  As he so aptly puts its, the circumstances in which Jesus was born reflected the difficulties many experience in facing unplanned pregnancies:  "An unplanned pregnancy. A courageous teenage mother. A father who chose adoption over abandonment. This is Christmas. Without this scenario, we wouldn’t be honoring the most history-altering moment for humanity."

Even though Christmas is long past, the Holy Family and their decisions in light of less than ideal circumstances stands as a true testament to the wonderful gift of life.

To read more of Bomberger's article on Life News, click here.

Komen Foundation Defunds Planned Parenthood

The breast cancer research foundation Susan G. Komen for the Cure has announced that it will no longer provide grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings services. The Komen foundation had been providing Planned Parenthood, an abortion provider, with significant grants since 2005. The grants have been rescinded due to a new rule the Komen foundation adopted preventing them from funding organizations under congressional investigation. Planned Parenthood is currently under investigation for how it spends and reports money. Read the full story here in the New York Times. You can thank the Komen foundation for the work they do to promote women's health in a way that no longer supports the destructive work of Planned Parenthood by emailing news@komen.org.

MLK's legacy

A few weeks ago America celebrated the legacy of one of its greatest heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a champion for civil rights.  As the nation remembers this great historical figures, various political thinkers claim his legacy in support of their cause.  Unfortunately, many have distorted the true philosophical and theological foundations of King's worldviews.  According to University of Missouri's political science professor Justin Dyer, "Those who praise the modern civil rights movement, but who also want to keep morality and theology absent from public discourse, seldom mention King’s reliance on natural law in his justly famous letter".

Visit the Witherspoon Institute's Public Discourse discussion to read more about the true roots of King's political thoughts.

Responses to Sebelius' decision on contraception

Catholic leaders nationwide have vocally responded to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius' decision that religious institutions will have to provide contraception coverage in health plans for employees, a decision which violates the rights of conscience of many religious institutions and especially affects the Catholic Church. Here are some of their notable responses:

Cardinal-designate Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB, said “In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences.”

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairmen of the USCCB committee on pro-life activities said, “Although this new rule gives the agency the discretion to authorize a ‘religious’ exemption, it is so narrow as to exclude most Catholic social service agencies and healthcare providers. For example, under the new rule our institutions would be free to act in accord with Catholic teaching on life and procreation only if they were to stop hiring and serving non-Catholics. Could the federal government possibly intend to pressure Catholic institutions to cease providing health care, education and charitable services to the general public?Health care reform should expand access to basic health care for all, not undermine that goal.”

Notre Dame President John I. Jenkins, CSC, said  “I am deeply disappointed in a decision by the administration that will place many religious organizations of all faiths in an untenable position. This unnecessary intervention by the government into religion disregards our nation’s commitment to the rights of conscience and the longstanding work of religious groups to help build a more compassionate society and vibrant democracy. I find that profoundly troubling on many levels. Moving forward, we call for a national dialogue among religious groups, government and the American people to reaffirm our country’s historic respect for freedom of conscience and defense of religious liberty.”


Robbie George, law professor at Princeton, said, "The Obama administration's abortifacient and contraception mandate is appalling, but I cannot claim to be surprised by it. In fact, I would have been surprised---indeed stunned---had the administration done anything significant to honor or protect the rights of Catholics and others on whose consciences the mandate will impose. In every area touching the sanctity of human life and issues of sexual morality, the Obama administration is aggressively prosecuting the agenda its critics predicted and its most ardent left-wing supporters hoped for. Those who are driving the train, including key administration officials who self-identify as members of the Catholic Church, have no regard for the ethical beliefs of Catholics and others when they are in conflict with left-liberal orthodoxy.  Their task, as they perceive it, is to fortify and expand the "right to abortion" and "sexual freedom" wherever they can.  They pursue this agenda with a religious zeal because, in fact, the ideology in which abortion is a "right" and "sexual freedom" is a core value is their religion. These beliefs are integral to their worldview. If, like Kathleen Sebelius, they happen to be Catholics, you can be assured that it won't be Catholic teaching, or the Judaeo-Christian ethic, that shapes their policies on issues of life and death and marriage and sexual morality; it will be liberal ideology---pure and simple---that does the shaping."

HHS refuses to expand religious exemption to contraception mandate

Earlier this year, Fr. Jenkins, President of Notre Dame, wrote a letter to Kathleen Sebilius, Health and Human Services Secretary for the Obama administration, making a plea for a wider religious exemption from the new laws requiring all employers to cover contraception in their health insurance plans for employees. That plea has fallen on deaf ears. The Obama administration has refused to modify its new rule requiring Notre Dame and religious educational institutions like it to provide coverage of contraceptives in all its health insurance plans. Religious institutions are being given until Aug. 1, 2013 to comply fully with the new mandate. Here is the full statement from the HHS:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 20, 2012

Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343

A statement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

In August 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services issued an interim final rule that will require most health insurance plans to cover preventive services for women including recommended contraceptive services without charging a co-pay, co-insurance or a deductible.  The rule allows certain non-profit religious employers that offer insurance to their employees the choice of whether or not to cover contraceptive services. Today the department is announcing that the final rule on preventive health services will ensure that women with health insurance coverage will have access to the full range of the Institute of Medicine’s recommended preventive services, including all FDA -approved forms of contraception.  Women will not have to forego these services because of expensive co-pays or deductibles, or because an insurance plan doesn’t include contraceptive services. This rule is consistent with the laws in a majority of states which already require contraception coverage in health plans, and includes the exemption in the interim final rule allowing certain religious organizations not to provide contraception coverage. Beginning August 1, 2012, most new and renewed health plans will be required to cover these services without cost sharing for women across the country. 

After evaluating comments, we have decided to add an additional element to the final rule. Nonprofit employers who, based on religious beliefs, do not currently provide contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan, will be provided an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the new law. Employers wishing to take advantage of the additional year must certify that they qualify for the delayed implementation. This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule.  We intend to require employers that do not offer coverage of contraceptive services to provide notice to employees, which will also state that contraceptive services are available at sites such as community health centers, public clinics, and hospitals with income-based support.  We will continue to work closely with religious groups during this transitional period to discuss their concerns.

Scientists have abundant evidence that birth control has significant health benefits for women and their families, it is documented to significantly reduce health costs, and is the most commonly taken drug in America by young and middle-aged women. This rule will provide women with greater access to contraception by requiring coverage and by prohibiting cost sharing.

This decision was made after very careful consideration, including the important concerns some have raised about religious liberty. I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services. The administration remains fully committed to its partnerships with faith-based organizations, which promote healthy communities and serve the common good.  And this final rule will have no impact on the protections that existing conscience laws and regulations give to health care providers.

Pope Participates in Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Pope Benedict XVI commemorated Christian Unity Week by praying for union among believers and reminding Catholics of their ecumenical responsibilities. He said that ecumenism is the responsibility of all faithful Christians, not just a few, and that “the unity we strive for cannot result merely from our own efforts." but instead  “it is a gift we receive and must constantly invoke from on high.” read more at the National Catholic Register.