Attend SARC Hearing with Religious Leaders on August 5

Well, this should be interesting. I have received the following circular email from Rob Ward, Victorian State Director of the Australian Christian Lobby. He is informing us of the upcoming schedule for the public hearing of the Scrutiny of Acts & Regulations Committee into the proposed review of the exceptions in the Equal Opportunity Act here in Victoria, to be held in the Legislative Council Committee Room at Parliament House.

It is an impressive line up! (For the full list of groups making submissions to the hearing, see here.)

Dear David ,

Are you able to take a couple of hours to stand for religious freedom?

This coming Wednesday 5th August, the Scrutiny of Acts & Regulations Committee will be hearing from a number of faith leaders as they respond to the direct attack on religious freedom that is the SARC review of the exceptions in the Equal Opportunity Act. These long standing exceptions allow faith based groups to choose staff and volunteers who share their faith & ethos. It is proposed that they be removed.

I believe we need to fill/overfill the Legislative Committee room with people who like us, are deeply concerned with protecting religious freedom.

Below is a timetable for the Wednesday. If you can come along for all or part of the day, if your denomination/tradition has clerical garb, please wear it.

I must say that the room is small and we cannot guarantee you or anyone a spot. But even if you are turned away, if lots of leaders are turned away, we still make the point. Freedom matters to us!

10:10am Catholic Bishops of Victoria Bishop Christopher Prowse DD , Bishop of the Diocese of Sale
10:30am Catholic Social Services Denis Fitzgerald, Executive Director, Catholic Social Services Victoria.
10:45am Anglican Church of Australia The Most Reverend Dr Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne, The Rev’d Dr Mark Durie,
11:10am Presbyterian Church Rev. David Palmer, Convener
11:30am Islamic Council of Victoria
11:50am Sikh Interfaith Council Gurdarshan Singh Gill, Chairperson
12:15pm B’nai B’rith Deborah Stone, Research Director
1:15pm Mt Evelyn Christian School Dr. Gerry Beimers (Administration Manager), Martin Hanscamp (Principal)
1:35pm Christian Schools Australia Stephen Doherty, CEO (National), Jeanette Woods, State Executive Officer
1:55pm Australian Christian Lobby Rob Ward, Victorian State Director, Mark Sneddon, Member State Council
2:20pm Catholic Education Office Bishop Timothy Costelloe, Chairman, Nancy Bicchieri, Deputy Director, Stephen Elder, Director

If you cannot come, could you encourage others to come. Of course prayer for all those standing for freedom is a must!

Regards,

Robert Ward
Victorian State Director
Mob: 0408 348 352
Office: (03) 9018 1782
Fax: (03) 9011 9731
PO Box 455, Flinders Lane 8009

School Students reject “Politician’s Republic”

George Bougias addresses the students at the Western Region Constitutional Convention

An aquaintance of mine, George Bougias, who belongs to Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy (an organisation which I myself have not joined – not because I do not agree with their ideals but because, as I think I have said before, I am not by nature a “joiner”), sent around an email report of schools “Constitutional Convention” held recently in which he participated as a speaker. This is his report:

Dear all

Just to let you know that, this month, I once again participated in the ‘Western Region Constitutional Convention’ (in Melbourne) where students from 3 schools get to hear 2 speakers (for and against a politicians’ republic).

There were also other speakers including from local government, the AEC etc.

Student groups are divided into ‘States’ and then vote on whether they want Australia to remain a Constitutional Monarchy or become a Presidential Republic

In a mirror result to last year, our Constitutional Monarchy was victorious with NO State voting for a politicians’ republic and the referendum question being massively defeated in a landslide.

The main arguments for rejecting a politicians’ republic by the students were:

1. Australia functions well at the moment and there is no reason to change; and
2. There are serious questions over whether a President be trusted.

I note that the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) conducted the formal vote (so republicans cannot complain about any ‘rigging’ etc etc etc)!!!

I attach some photos from my presentation.

God Save the Queen!

George

Interesting, no? Two questions (which I will put back to George also):

1) What precisely does he mean when he says that the students rejected “a politician’s republic”? I assume he means one where the politicians do the appointing. Were the students open to some other kind of republic?

2) Why was “trust” an issue with a proposed president? Surely whether or not any “president” can be trusted will depend on what powers the President is given?

Of course, in my own model (see sidebar), the Elected Monarch has only the power of appointing the person whom the Premier/Prime Minster chooses as Governor/Governor General, so the issue of “trust” doesn’t come into it. Also my model changes nothing at all about how Australia functions except to have a resident Australian Citizen as Head of State. (I remind readers as I have before, that my own preference is to retain the Monarch of Great Britain as the Monarch of Australia.)

Father James Bacik

Fr James Bacik will be a guest of the Archbishop’s Office of Evangelisation here in Melbourne for a few days. Here are the events where you can catch up with him if you are in Melbourne. To book, contact the AOFE on 9926 5761 or office@evangelisation.org:

Help My Unbelief: Searching for the Mystery of God in an age of doubt
A dinner conversation for priests, pastoral associates and lay parish leadership.

Fr James Bacik, in conversation with Marcelle Mogg, will discuss today’s struggle to believe in a culture of doubt. The evening is an opportunity to hear and discuss ways of reaching out to the alienated and searching in our parish communities and beyond.

Fr James Bacik is one of North America’s finest, most insightful theologians renowned for his remarkable capacity for clear writing and effective teaching. He has a gift for bringing Theology to the masses and is passionate about combining the academic study of theology and the pastoral work he has been doing for many years.

Marcelle Mogg is the Director of Mission at St Vincent’s Public Hospital and is the former editor of Eureka Street magazine.

Venue: Marcellin College 160 Bulleen Road, Bulleen

This is a free event but bookings are essential as places are limited! Contact the AOFE to reserve places for your parish team.
________

Is there really a God? Searching for mystery in a culture of doubt

Age journalist Martin Flanagan in conversation with Fr James Bacik

Venue: The Oratory, Newman College 887 Swanston St Parkville

Martin Flanagan is a well-known journalist with The Age newspaper. Martin is widely respected for his writing on sport, indigenous issues and the spiritual journey.

Father James J. Bacik is one of North America’s finest, most insightful theologians. He is renowned for his remarkable capacity for clear writing and effective teaching. He has a gift for bringing Theology to the masses and is passionate about combining the academic study of theology and the pastoral work he has been doing for many years.

Both look like really interesting sessions, but unfortunately I am not a parish leader and on Monday night I will be teaching my Anima Education course Apocalypse Now (to which you are all welcome if you don’t go to hear Fr Bacik).

Glen Bolas on Piper on Wright

Glen Bolas at Hwaet! has an excellent post on John Piper’s criticism of Tom Wright’s doctrine of Justification. I will comment further on this when I am at greater liberty. HT to Kiran for letting me know about this.

Update: I found this youtube video in which Wright discusses his response to Piper.

Events at Caroline Chisholm Library

I received this email from Anna Krohn, who is, among other things, the librarian of the Caroline Chisholm Library. You might be interested if you are in town.

Dear Friends,

Just to remind you of three events at the Caroline Chisholm Library programme over the next weeks-

1) The fascinating scholar Dr Anna Silvas speaks of her visits to ancient Asia Minor, once called simply the ‘Christian land’,today Turkey. After briefly outlining the character of St Basil the Great, she reports on her search for the location of St Basil’s retreat, which was eventful and wonderfully successful. In St Basil the Great: Voyage of Discovery. 1-2pm Wednesday July 29th, 2009.

2) Fr Anthony Denton the Director of the Melbourne Archdiocese’s Vocation Office will speak with and present Bishop Julian Porteous (Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney) new book After the Heart of God (Connor Court Press, 2009) in which the Bishop addresses the question of the mission of the priest in contemporary times. Book Launch: Friday 7th August,6.30 pm (with refreshments)

3) The widely recognised and popular English Catholic journalist: Joanna Bogle will be present at the launch of her most recent book: A Yearbook of Feasts and Seasons (Gracewing Press, 2009) on 6.30 pm Friday 17th August. (Book signing and refreshments)

All are welcome.
Best wishes: AMK

Caroline Chisholm Library
3rd Floor/ 358 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne email: cclbookmarks@gmail.com

“Exorcism” at South Australian Lutheran Camp

Did you catch this news story a few weeks ago? I only caught up with it through reading the LCA President’s comments on his page here.

I know none of the details, but it did remind me of the Vollmer case refered to in the news report above. I had close second-hand experience of that one, due to the fact that one of the men who was charged and served a three month sentence in relation to it was married to my cousin. I remember at the time being terribly frightened by the inept actions of these amateur “exorcists”.

The Catholic Church not only believes in exorcism, but has trained exorcists (always priests) who are licenced by their local bishop. So my problem is not with the idea of exorcism. I am terrified that amateurs might take into their own hands both the diagnosis and the cure. Both the cases refered to in this post were misdiagnoses. That’s bad enough. But, worse still, God help anyone who attempted an “exorcism” on a real demon without the expertise and experience required.

The Miracle of Sharing?

I was a little dismayed this morning when our pastor preached on the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes using the “exegesis” that goes: one boy came forward willing to share his lunch, and after the disciples got everyone to sit down and Jesus blessed the boy’s lunch and started handing it out, then everyone realised that there would be enough to go around if only they too shared what they had brought…

Two questions:

1) Do you think this interpretetion “spoils” the miracle by downgrading it to a pot-luck dinner?
2) Did your pastor use this idea?

The Writing Under the Table Cloth

You may know the story about Luther’s debate with Zwingli on the Lord’s Supper in 1529 – how he dramatically whipped back the tablecloth to reveal the words he had chalked there at the beginning of the debate: “hoc est corpus meum”, and how he declared that “The Word stands there too mightily!” for him to deny it.

Walter Brandmüller, the President of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences and (from 1970 to 1997) the professor of Church History at the University of Augsburg in Germany, makes the following comment in his new book “Light and Shadows: Church History amid Faith, Fact and Legend” (Ignatius Press) on page 154:

The true Church of Jesus Christ…is and remains uninterruptedly, through the millenia, through all the inadequacies and failures of her members and her pastors and through all historical changes, one and the same foundation of Jesus Christ, regardless of the fact that at any moment in history her nature could and should be more authentically realised than will ever actually occur in this age.

Since Martin Luther disputed this and regarded this same Church as degenerate, as the Babylonian Whore, not just because of the sins of her members but as a result of a fundamental defection from the Gospel, we must say to him, with reference to the above-cited words of Sacred Scripture [Matt 16:18, John 16:13, Matt 28:30, 1 Tim 3:15, Rom 11:29 etc.], what he himself had replied to Zwingli in Marburg in 1529: “The word stands there too mightily!” And just as he then took chalk and wrote on the table “This is my body, this is my blood”, so too in this case the Catholic must take his chalk and write on the table what Michelangelo wrote along the rim of the cupola of Saint Peter’s in Rome: “The Gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” This word, too, stands there too mightily for anyone to overlook it.

Which is rather nice. BUT…

But it is rather like engaging with someone on a debate about the Real Presence (to carry on the analogy) on the basis of John 6, when that someone denies that John 6 is even talking about the Eucharist. For, as Past Elder (a one-time frequent guest and interlocutor on these pages – remember him?) never tired of pointing out for us, Luther would simply have denied that the Roman Pope and the Bishops and all who regard themselves as being in communion with them is the Church to which Matt 16:18 refers.

Nevertheless, I like Brandmüller’s point.

Master Theologian

Sarah

Welcome to Master Theologian! Tonight’s contestant will be faced with the challenge of his theological career. He must demonstrate to the whole world – to bishops, priests, deacons, men and women religious, the lay faithful and ALL people of good will – why he deserves the title “Master Theologian”.

Gary

A Master Theologian must demonstrate competance that sets him head and shoulders above the competition. He must show an all-round mastery of a wide range of different subject matters.

George

And yet at the same he has to be able to pull it off in his own particular style that sets him apart from the rest of the flock.

 

 

Sarah

Here is tonight’s challenge. The Contestant will be given a mystery theme and a list of 20 set ingredients. He must incorporate all the set ingredients into the mystery theme.

Matt

And yet, as always, there is a catch. We want to see something of our contestants own particular style and character in what he finally serves up. Don’t bore us with just any old rehash of an old recipe. We want something ORIGINAL, which shows that tonight’s contestant really is deserving of the title “Master Theologian”.

 

 

Sarah

Introducing tonight’s contestant: Pope Benedict XVI!

 

 

 

Pope Benedict

[Wild Applause]

Gary

Pope Benedict. Are you ready for this?

Pope Benedict

Yes, I believe so. I think the time is right.

George

Are you nervous?

 

 

 

 

Pope Benedict

No, no. I have prepared long and hard for this. I believe it is within my competancy, that I have the authority to teach, and that the voice of the Church, expert in humanity, needs to be heard.

Matt

You sound pretty sure of yourself. Maybe you won’t be when you hear the list of ingredients. George?

 

 

 

 

George

Pope Benedict: Here is the list of your set ingredients:

Employment and labour, Life ethics, Development programs, Original sin, Globalisation, Political authority, Civil society, Business ethics, Creation, Economics, Marriage and family, Human nature, Subsidiarity and solidarity, Technology, Finance, Population growth, the Environment, Immigration, Education and Human rights.

Gary

Given that list of ingredients, Pope Benedict, can you guess what the mystery theme might be?

Pope Benedict

Yes, I think I can.

Gary

Are you nervous now?

 

 

 

 

Pope Benedict

Perhaps just a little.

 

 

 

 

 

Matt

Pope Benedict, you have your twenty set ingredients. You will be given 5 minutes in the pantry to chose out four additional ingredients to add to these so that you can give your own particular flavour and style to the task. Before we reveal the mystery theme, tell us what four ingredients you think you will add?

Pope Benedict

That is fairly simple. I will chose Charity and Truth, Faith and Reason.

Gary

Given your earlier form, that’s fairly predictable. But don’t you think that might just be a little outside the theme that seems to be developing here?

Pope Benedict

No, I have always found I work best when I write from the heart. These four ingredients express a lot of who I am and what I am about. I am fairly confident the final result will reflect this.

Sarah

Pope Benedict, once your time begins, you will have two and half hours to come up with the final product using all the set ingredients. Matt will now reveal for you the mystery theme.

 

 

 

Matt

Your mystery theme tonight is… The Social Encyclical!

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah

Pope Benedict, your time starts now.

 

 

 

 

Pope Benedict

“Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity…

Local girl’s comments on CIV (Caritas in Veritate)

In case you haven’t seen this yet, this is from here.

Tracey Rowland:

The intellectual center of this encyclical is that “A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism.” It rests a notion of authentic human development upon the principle enshrined in Gaudium et Spes 22, that the human person only has self-understanding to the extent that he or she knows Christ and participates in the Trinitarian communion of love. As the Pope says, “Life in Christ is the first and principle factor of development.” The whole document is a plea to understand the limitations of a secularist notion of development. Behind secularism lies the error of Pelagius which in contemporary times takes the form of trust in education and institutions without reference to God or the interior dynamics of the human soul. A purely secularist notion of development reduces the human person to a kind of economic machine somehow designed for the accumulation of wealth.

Such a truncated concept of development has fostered government policies hostile to the more spiritual elements of human life, including relationships of reciprocal self-giving in love. Abortion is encouraged, couples are persecuted for having more than one child, and international aid is linked to the acceptance of contraceptives. The questions covered in Humanae Vitae are thus not merely those of purely individual morality, but indicate a strong link between life ethics and social ethics. The concept which links the two is that of a “human ecology.”

Secularist notions of development also fail to comprehend the root cause of drug addiction and depression which is the malnutrition of the human soul, made for communion with God but imprisoned within a materialist universe. When cultures no longer serve the deepest needs of human nature and actually narrow the spiritual horizons of people, people don’t know who they are and feel depressed.

The remedy for this pandemic in contemporary Western culture is to grasp the fact that truth is something which is given to us as a gift: “In every cognitive process, truth is not something that we produce, it is always found, or better, received. Truth, like love, ‘is neither planned nor willed, but somehow imposes itself upon human beings’” (34).

Caritas in Veritate is a masterful synthesis of the Trinitarian anthropology of Gaudium et Spes and the subsequent insights of Paul VI and John Paul II, applied to the contemporary context. The core theological ideas were all present in Ratzinger’s essay on the notion of human dignity in Gaudium et Spes, written in the late 1960s.

At the more practical level this encyclical is exciting in that it calls for a reform of the United Nations and the economic institutions of international finance. It is clear that the general tendency of such institutions to equate human development with the success of capitalism and democracy or material progress is utterly inadequate when measured against the Gospel’s standard.

Here on SCE, we always barack for the home team. (Tracey Rowland is Dean of the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, Australia). Good on ya, Tracey.