FLOWERS BLOOM - LEAVES FALL

 

A lovely blossom from one of our camellia bushes. The wind blew strong, and Grandpère held the flower still.

 

We think the vine is called Yellow Jessamine, but we're not sure. Whatever it's name, the vine grows wild, and the vine, and now the flowers, cover the bare fence boards.

 

All of our oaks look bare, since many of their leaves have fallen.

 

The fallen oak leaves cover the ground.

 

Diana and Grandpère play Diana's favorite game, pull the towel. I tried to play, but my grip is no match for Diana's toothy grip. Away the towel went with Diana quickly, without the least struggle on her part.

"MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION" ON HEALTH CARE

From the National Catholic Reporter:

Twenty-five pro-life Catholic theologians and Evangelical leaders yesterday sent letters to members of Congress urging them not to let misleading information about abortion provisions in the Senate health care bill block passage of sorely-needed reform.

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, a Washington-based advocacy group, said that the Senate health bill upholds abortion funding restrictions and supports pregnant women.
The letter included a page by page analysis of the Senate bill as it pertains to abortion.
The group asked members of Congress “to make an informed decision about this legislation based on careful deliberation guided by facts.”

“We believe that the provisions below provide extensive evidence that longstanding restrictions on federal funding of abortion have been maintained. Furthermore, this bill provides new and important supports for vulnerable pregnant women,” the letter states.

From the letter:

Dear Member of Congress,

As Christians committed to a consistent ethic of life, and deeply concerned with the health and well-being of all people, we want to see health care reform enacted. Our nation has a rare and historic opportunity to expand coverage to tens of millions of people, make coverage more affordable for all families, and crack down on many of the most harmful practices of the health insurance industry.
We are writing because of our concern about the lack of clear and accurate information regarding abortion provisions in the health care reform bill passed by the Senate on December 24, 2009.

Read the rest of the letter and see the names of the signatories at the NCR.

I believe that the letter is a big deal, especially coming from pro-life group leaders, both in contributing to an accurate understanding of what's in the bill regarding abortion and in countering misinformation that is promulgated by Republicans and others who do not want to see a health reform bill pass. Also, I'd hope that the letter would be helpful to the members of Congress to make an informed moral choice to support a bill that will help so many people and save lives.

JAMES THEODORE HOLLY BISHOP OF HAITI AND DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

 

The First African American Bishop in the Episcopal Church & Bishop of Haiti. He was an African-American minister and abolitionist.

Born in 1829 in Washington, DC, James Theodore Holly was the descendent of freed slaves. Great Great Grandfather James Theodore Holly was a Scotsman in Maryland. He was master of several Holly slaves whom he freed in 1772, including his son and namesake James Theodore Holly. This son married the daughter of an Irish Catholic whose last name was Butler, and they were the Great Grand Parents of Bishop James Theodore Holly. Their son Rueben was Bishop Holly's Grandfather.

Holly was baptized and raised a Catholic yet gradually he moved away from the Catholic Church. He spent his early years in Washington, D. C. and Brooklyn, NY where he connected with Frederick Douglass and other Black abolitionists. He was active in anti-slavery conventions in the free states, participating in abolitionist activities.

Bishop Holly left the Roman Catholic Church over a dispute about ordaining local black clergy and joined the Episcopal Church in 1852. He was a shoemaker, then a teacher and school principal before his own ordination at the age of 27. He served as rector at St Luke’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut and was one of the founders of the Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting the Extension of the Church Among Colored People (a forerunner of UBE) in 1856. This group challenged the Church to take a position against slavery at General Convention.

In 1861 he left the United States with his family and a group of African Americans to settle in Haiti---the world’s first black republic. In July 1863 Holly organized the Holy Trinity Church. He lost his family and other settlers to disease and poor living conditions but was successful in establishing schools and building the Church. He trained young priests and started congregations and medical programs in the countryside. During this time Haiti was split with the Vatican and most men of Haiti supported their religious sentiment through the symbolism and observance of the Masonic Lodge. As an experienced Masonic leader and scholar, Holly visited the Masonic temples and made friends among their exclusive members. He was also willing to perform Masonic burial services.

In 1874 he was ordained bishop at Grace Church, New York City, not by the mainstream Episcopal Church, who refused to ordain a black missionary bishop, but by the American Church Missionary Society, an Evangelical Episcopal branch of the Church. He was named Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Episcopal Church of Haiti. He attended the Lambeth Convention as a bishop of the Church. Bishop Holly was also given charge of the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic from 1897-1911. He died in Haiti in on March 13, 1911.

From Satucket.

No doubt, Bishop James intercedes with Our Lord for his suffering people in Haiti. We join the bishop in prayer for his people. May we also rededicate ourselves to serving the people of Haiti with help and support as best we can. I support Episcopal Relief and Development. ERD has very low overhead costs, and the donations go directly to the people and the church in Haiti.

Readings:

Psalm 86:11-17
Deuteronomy 6:20-25
Acts 8:26-39
John 4:31-38


PRAYER

Most gracious God, by the calling of your servant James Theodore Holly, you gave us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led your people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom you call from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A brief autobiography of Bishop Holly and a history of the Episcopal Mission during Bishop Holly's tenure in Haiti may be found at Anglican History, from which site I copied the portrait.

QUESTIONS FOR ANGLICANS/EPISCOPALIANS

Will the recent child abuse scandal out of Germany, which moves closer to Pope Benedict XVI, affect the anticipated stampede of disaffected Anglicans and Episcopalians to the Roman Catholic ordinariates?

Will Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams now concern himself less with the response/reaction of the Vatican to decisions by churches in the Anglican Communion?

How will Rome's scandal affect the deliberations on the Anglican Covenant, by which certain members of the Anglican Communion seek to centralize authority in the Anglican Communion?

REMEMBERING ERIC - 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH

Eric is the son of Monica and John Iliff. Monica and John told the story in their own words of Eric's life and death here at Wounded Bird last year on the 2nd anniversary of Eric's death. On this 3rd anniversary of Eric's death, I ask you to join with me to pray for John and Monica and their family and friends and with Eric's friends to ask God's blessing upon them. May God give them comfort and consolation and the peace that passes understanding to keep their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.





UPDATE: From John, Eric's father:

Below is one of my & Eric's favorite prayers, and coincidently by an Eastern, though not strictly an Orthodox, saint. john

What is the merciful heart? It is the heart on fire for the whole of creation, for humanity, for the birds, for the animals, for demons, and for all that exists. By the recollection of them the eyes of the merciful pour forth abundant tears. By the strong and violent mercy that grips their hearts, and by such great compassion, their hearts are humbled and they cannot bear to hear or to see any injury or sorrow in all of creation. For this reason, the merciful ones offer up tearful prayer continually ... even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the truth, and for those who harm them; that their adversaries be protected and may receive mercy.

an excerpt from the 71st Homily of St. Isaac of Nineveh (the Syrian)

To which I can only say, "Amen!"

STILL BEATING....

From the New York Times:

A widening child sexual abuse inquiry in Europe has landed at the doorstep of Pope Benedict XVI, as a senior church official acknowledged Friday that a German archdiocese made “serious mistakes” in handling an abuse case while the pope served as its archbishop.

The archdiocese said that a priest accused of molesting boys was given therapy in 1980 and later allowed to resume pastoral duties, before committing further abuses and being prosecuted. Pope Benedict, who at the time headed the archdiocese of Munich and Freising, approved the priest’s transfer for therapy. A subordinate took full responsibility for allowing the priest to later resume pastoral work, the archdiocese said in a statement.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said he had no comment beyond the statement by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which he said showed the “nonresponsibility” of the pope in the matter. (My emphasis)

And we are to take the statement by the Rev. Lombardi at face value? Not if we attend to the words of Fr Thomas P Doyle.

The priest from Essen, “despite allegations of sexual abuse, and in spite of a conviction — was repeatedly assigned work in the sphere of pastoral care by the then-Vicar General Gerhard Gruber,” who worked under Benedict, at the time Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger.
....

But Mr. Gruber took full responsibility for the decision to reinstate the priest to pastoral work. “I deeply regret that this decision resulted in offenses against youths and apologize to all who were harmed by it,” Mr. Gruber, according to a statement posted on the archdiocese Web site.

There was immediate skepticism that Benedict, as archbishop, would not have known of the details of the case.

Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, who once worked at the Vatican Embassy in Washington and became an early and well-known whistle-blower on sexual abuse in the church, said the vicar general’s claim was not credible.

“Nonsense,” said Father Doyle, who has served as an expert witness in sexual abuse lawsuits. “Pope Benedict is a micro-manager. He’s the old style. Anything like that would necessarily have been brought to his attention. Tell the vicar general to find a better line. What he’s trying to do, obviously, is protect the pope.”

I take no pleasure in writing this post. In fact, I feel sick. I'm no admirer of Benedict XVI, and I never was. I remember him as Cardinal Ratzinger in his role as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, or the Enforcer, as he was known in the US. The theologians, presidents, and professors in the Roman Catholic universities, and certain bishops dreaded his periodic visits to the US to assure that all were following the orthodox line. The list is long of the great thinkers and teachers in the RCC who were silenced or otherwise disciplined by Cardinal Ratzinger. Although I had been out of the RCC for nearly 10 years, my heart sank low when he was elected pope. He was not an unknown. My heart sank for the sake of my many family members and friends who are still part of the church.

As pope his policies and practices have been even worse than I expected. I think of him declaring just last year that married couples in which one partner is HIV positive are forbidden to use condoms.

From CNN:

Pope Benedict XVI refused Wednesday to soften the Vatican's ban on condom use as he arrived in Africa for his first visit to the continent as pope.

He landed in Cameroon, the first stop on a trip that will also take him to Angola.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit harder by AIDS and HIV than any other region of the world, according to the United Nations and World Health Organization. There has been fierce debate between those who advocate the use of condoms to help stop the spread of the epidemic and those who oppose it.

The pontiff reiterated the Vatican's policy on condom use as he flew from Rome to Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, CNN Vatican analyst John Allen said.

Pope Benedict has always made it clear he intends to uphold the traditional Catholic teaching on artificial contraception -- a "clear moral prohibition" -- Allen said. But his remarks Tuesday were among the first times he stated the policy explicitly since he became pope nearly four years ago.

The world and the Roman Catholic Church would be better off if the pope resigned. There I've said it.

Other recent posts on child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church at Wounded Bird are here, here, here, and here.

"KOREAN MAN MARRIES PILLOW"

 

From UKMetro:

Lee Jin-gyu fell for his 'dakimakura' - a kind of large, huggable pillow from Japan, often with a picture of a popular anime character printed on the side.
In Lee's case, his beloved pillow has an image of Fate Testarossa, from the 'magical girl' anime series Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha.

Now the 28-year-old otaku (a Japanese term that roughly translates to somewhere between 'obsessive' and 'nerd') has wed the pillow in a special ceremony, after fitting it out with a wedding dress for the service in front of a local priest. Their nuptials were eagerly chronicled by the local media.


Could it be? Is the story proof that the slippery slope argument against gay marriage is right? (Irony alert!)

Thanks to Lapin for the link.

HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE!

From The Lead:

GayUganda reports on another hate campaign supported from the US, this one in Kenya. Terrifying and possibly illegal websites from the U.S. call for death to gays and lesbians. They provide posters with photos and addresses of people to target. One of the Americans behind this is an anti-gay and anti-abortion activist and sometime candidate for governor of Georgia.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center:

At first glance, Neal Horsley appears to be the merry old uncle of his neighborhood on a cul-de-sac in a middle-class Atlanta suburb.
Irreverent, amusing and animated, Horsley seems for all the world a warm and faithful husband, a friend to children, an iconoclastic conversationalist and wry commentator on the state of the world.
....

A second look reveals an entirely different Horsley — the implacable enemy of homosexuals who promises regularly to "arrest faggots," a man who proposes to use nuclear weapons in a bid for Southern secession, the Scripture-quoting theocrat who wants to force his version of Bible law on American society.

This is the Horsley that rails on about "desecration," "pagans," "lust" and "perverted tolerance."

Read the entire article by Ann Fontaine at The Lead, which includes links to further information on the despicable and quite dangerous anti-gay campaign.

UPDATE: From Box Turtle Bulletin:

A Georgia man who was arrested for making terroristic threats against Elton John this week is also behind a web site inciting violence and murder of gay Kenyans.

The Associated Press is reporting that Neal Horsley, 65, was arrested early Wednesday in Carrollton, Georgia for making a terroristic threat. Atlanta Police Sgt. Curtis Davenport would not say who Horsley is accused of threatening, but it is believed that the charges are in connection with a February 28 YouTube video in which Horsley held up a sign reading “Elton John Must Die” in front of a building where he said John has a condo. In the video, Horsley is heard saying, “We’re here today to remind Elton John that he has to die.”

Horsley is not only calling for Elton John’s death, but we have learned that he is also the operator of a Kenyan site known as ProjectSEE. That web site is responsible for placing posters written in Swahili in parts of Kenya containing photos and identifying information for LGBT people, and encouraging Kenyans to follow the Levitical law calling for their death.

Horsley is a dangerous man. His actions must be stopped.

Thanks to Ann for the update.

NOT TO BEAT THE SUBJECT TO DEATH....

Yesterday, I resolved not to write more about celibacy and the Roman Catholic Church, but I received more than one email message with links to articles in various media outlets on the statement by Archbishop Schonborn, of Vienna, on celibacy and child abuse in the the RC church, and I decided to post on the subject one more time.

From the Guardian:

The Archbishop of Vienna today said priestly celibacy could be one of the causes of the sex abuse scandals to hit the Catholic church.

In an article for Thema Kirche, his diocesan magazine, Christoph Schonborn became the most senior figure in the Catholic hierarchy to make the connection between the two and called for an "unflinching examination" of the possible reasons for paedophilia.

He wrote: "These include the issue of priest training, as well as the question of what happened in the so-called sexual revolution.

"It also includes the issue of priest celibacy and the issue of personality development. It requires a great deal of honesty, both on the part of the church and of society as a whole."

Schonborn is not the first person to suggest a link between celibacy and paedophilia – the theologian Hans Kung has made the same assertion.

A spokesman clarified the archbishop's words, insisting he was "in no way" seeking to question the celibacy rule or call for its abolition.

Archbishop Schonborn is, indeed, not the first person to suggest a link, nor is Fr Hans Kung, because I, and a good many others, suggested a link when the revelations of abuse first became public a good many years ago. Of course, our questions did not make the leap to the media.

What I don't understand is the statement by a spokesman that "in no way" was the archbishop questioning the celibacy rule. If you believe there may be a link between celibacy and child abuse, why would you rule out questioning the wisdom of the celibacy rule? If the intention is to conduct an "unflinching investigation" of the reasons for child abuse by RC clergy, why cut off what seems a logical component of an open and honest way forward in the investigation?

Who is the spokesman who clarified the archbishop's statement? Was the spokesman from the Vatican?

The Guardian continues:

Writing in L'Osservatore Romano (the Vatican newspaper), Lucetta Scaraffia said women might have helped remove the "veil of secrecy" surrounding the abuse.

She used the word "omerta" – the Mafia code of silence – to describe the conspiracy involved in hiding the offences.

"We can hypothesise that a greater female presence, not at a subordinate level, would have been able to rip the veil of masculine secrecy that in the past often covered the denunciation of these misdeeds with silence," she said. (My emphasis)

Brava, Lucetta Scaraffia! The all-male, patriarchal culture of the of the clergy in the RCC could, indeed, have contributed to the conspiracy to cover-up the misdeeds, rather than deal with the abuse openly and honestly, which would have meant that many cases of abuse could have been prevented, rather than allowed to continue for decades.

Note that Scaraffia says "a female presence, not at a subordinate level". My question then is, what would the female presence "not at a subordinate level" look like? For instance, what would be the equivalent non-subordinate, female presence to a cardinal?

In the comments, Paul (A.) suggests the picture below in answer to my question just above.

TRUE LOVE

An elderly senior couple were invited to an old friend's home for dinner one evening.

The elderly woman was impressed by the way her lady friend preceded every request to her husband with endearing terms such as: Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, etc.

The couple had been married almost 70 years and, clearly, they were still very much in love.

While the husband was in the living room, the woman leaned over to her host to say, 'I think it's wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your husband all those loving pet names'.

The host hung her head. 'I have to tell you the truth,' she said, 'his name slipped my mind about 10 years ago, and I'm scared to death to ask the old crank what his name is.'


Don't blame me. Blame Doug. And I do blame Doug, because he often sends me jokes about old people. Does Doug think that I need to be reminded that I'm old?