The Doctor and I enjoyed a rare and special honor last week. We got to see the movie Expelled in the same theatre where it was seen by the infamous Richard Dawkins! (But I wonder which of us enjoyed the film more?) It wasn’t something I was dying to see, but we were trapped for an afternoon at the mall, and as one who used to be quite attentive to the debate about Darwinism I thought I might enjoy seeing what Ben Stein did with the topic.

Having seen it, I would neither advise others to see it nor discourage them. If you want to enjoy cheap laughs at the expense of the minions of scientism (a perfectly respectable form of entertainment in my view), you should see it. If you mainly want to get some clarity on the crazy debate surrounding Darwinism, don’t. Mind you, I’m not calling Stein a liar. His most central point — that the academic community has systematically persecuted anyone who shows the least bit of sympathy with religiously-motivated critiques of Dawinism — is surely right. His evaluation of the science may be a little fuzzy. But at the end of the day, the debate about evolution gets into some very deep metaphysical questions, and there really wasn’t much chance that they were going to get neatly sorted out in a little film like this.

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In Honor of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

May 2nd, 2008 at 6:30 PM

Presented by
The Oratory of the Sacred Heart
at
The Church of the Guardian Angel
193 Tenth Avenue at 21st Street
Manhattan

C, E trains to 23rd Street Station
M23 Bus to 10th Avenue
For information: (917) 535-2054

flier here

I don’t normally read recent scholarship in sociology (nor even in theology for that matter — most of my theological reading is restricted to the works of the long-deceased) but I was referred to William Portier’s Here Come the Evangelical Catholics by a good friend from college, and when she posted it on her blog I thought I’d take a look. Portier teaches theology at the University of Dayton, and was the dissertation advisor to my friend’s husband. I knew from her description that his article concerns Catholic culture in America, and particularly the culture of younger generations of Catholics who grew up after Vatican II. I also had the general impression that Portier was using the term ‘evangelical Catholic’ in a fairly positive sense, which was confusing; why in the world would a group of serious Catholics want to be named for evangelicals? To me it sounds like a taunt or a jab. However, I know my friend and her husband to be serious and well-educated Catholics, so I figured I’d better take a look.

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As befits a Prince of the Church, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos will be welcomed at the Cathedral west door in full cappa magna before processing to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to pray; he will then vest in the sanctuary whilst the Cathedral choir sings. Pontifical High Mass will then be celebrated at the High Altar with all the breathtaking ceremony and music integral to the Traditional Rite. Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos will also preach.

This from the website of the Latin Mass Society of England & Wales. Their excitement is palpable, I think, and no doubt it ought to be! I suppose that there are rather few Masses of this liturgical caliber in the world each year; add to that the location, and you have a very special Mass. I put into bold those parts of the text which caught my eye – notice how the fact of his preaching is almost an afterthought (‘also’) in comparison with the magnificence and splendour set to attend his entrance into the cathedral? I’m looking forward to seeing the pictures. Classy, also, I thought, how they managed to use the word ‘integral’ – wouldn’t be an integral traditionalist announcement otherwise!

Apologies for my long absence here… I was sorry to be away from the blogosphere for the exciting event of the Holy Father’s visit to America, but the Doctor and I were on a house-hunting trip and had little access to the internet. (We’re packing our bags and moving north in about six weeks. This is the life of young academics.) Since then I’ve been burning the midnight oil to finish an academic project, which I finally did. The Doctor hasbeen patiently eating a lot of takeout and fast food over the last week or so. Anyway, I have more to say about the Holy Father’s visit (and many thanks to Iosephus for covering it in a more timely fashion) but first of all I wanted to say a few words about the Solemn High Tridentine Latin Mass that our Traditional community celebrated last Sunday.

First of all: it was a full house. Packed, even. The church officially holds 450, but we filled the overflow and had people standing. For a town like Knoxville, TN — hardly the most Catholic region of America — this was an accomplishment. There were plenty who didn’t think it would ever happen, and it warmed the heart to see the skeptics proven wrong. Sadly, we don’t get to celebrate the Latin Mass in this lovely church every week, but it’s a good thing we weren’t in our usual venue for this Mass. We’d have had to turn hundreds away.

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In connection with this story I was reading at Rorate Caeli about the EU’s denial of special visa preference to Christians desirous of leaving Iraq, I thought that these comments from our regular correspondent in Turkey were interesting:

Last Sunday at Mass, I met another Iraqi family traveling through Turkey – this time on their way to the USA. I’ve met and had occasion to talk to a few dozen now. Each time I feel slightly awkward – especially when I’m inevitably asked what my profession is — wondering if they harbor any resentment. I’ve yet to come across one family with any resentment or anger toward the USA. And I don’t think they are just being polite. This particular family from last Sunday were on their way to either California or Michigan (not surprising since those are where most of the Chaldean churches are within the USA). I’ve not thought it appropriate in these situations to talk politics or inquire about their feelings. But this is a region where people have an opinion on everything and aren’t shy to share it with you. So it’s my estimation that even given all that’s happened to their communities, they don’t blame America. As the EU continues to play the politically correct game of not showing any special preference to the plight of Christian refugees over Muslim refugees, I’m glad to see the US State Department continue to expand their visa program for the Christians (predominantly Catholics) feeling Iraq.

I think that there were some nice statements in the address to the United Nations on Friday, but nothing that right now stands out in my mind. Or, to be most frank, I find the whole United Nations thing so disgusting, and all the more so because it’s mired in corruption and so very far from actually being to able to do anyone any good, you know, in the way of stopping genocide in Africa, etc. But it’s the corruption that bothers me most of all; I’m thinking in particular of the racket with the Oil-for-Food program.

At any rate, the Pope certainly said some interesting things at his address to the ecumenical gathering at St. Joseph’s Church. I had already singled these passages out to send to some of my non-Catholic family members, and I’ll put them up here, too.

Too often those who are not Christians, as they observe the splintering of Christian communities, are understandably confused about the Gospel message itself. Fundamental Christian beliefs and practices are sometimes changed within communities by so-called “prophetic actions” that are based on a hermeneutic not always consonant with the datum of Scripture and Tradition. Communities consequently give up the attempt to act as a unified body, choosing instead to function according to the idea of “local options”. Somewhere in this process the need for diachronic koinonia – communion with the Church in every age – is lost, just at the time when the world is losing its bearings and needs a persuasive common witness to the saving power of the Gospel (cf. Rom 1:18-23)….
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I didn’t get a chance to watch any video today, but I did read the Pope’s various addresses. The strongest and most interesting words from the homily at the Mass at the Nationals ballpark were these about the Sacrament of Penance – heck, even calling it the Sacrament of Penance is a strong statement in itself:

In today’s Gospel, the risen Lord bestows the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and grants them the authority to forgive sins. Through the surpassing power of Christ’s grace, entrusted to frail human ministers, the Church is constantly reborn and each of us is given the hope of a new beginning. Let us trust in the Spirit’s power to inspire conversion, to heal every wound, to overcome every division, and to inspire new life and freedom. How much we need these gifts! And how close at hand they are, particularly in the sacrament of Penance! The liberating power of this sacrament, in which our honest confession of sin is met by God’s merciful word of pardon and peace, needs to be rediscovered and reappropriated by every Catholic. To a great extent, the renewal of the Church in America depends on the renewal of the practice of Penance and the growth in holiness which that sacrament both inspires and accomplishes.

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I wanted to share some of my impressions after watching a good bit of the coverage of the first day of Pope Benedict’s visit to America. First of all, I should mention that EWTN has a nice page where you can view the various events (with the stupid Windows Media Player, unfortunately), fast forwarding, as it were, or rewinding to watch an exciting part again. :) It’s a great thing not to have to watch the coverage live because this would require listening to Raymond Arroyo and, far worse, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus.

- Thank the good Lord for Msgr. Guido Marini! At so-called “Evening Prayer” on Wednesday, the Pope wore a magnificent cope, recently restored, Arroyo said, and dating from the time of the original dedication of the shrine to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. And, as according to the story I linked in the Ephemeris a couple days ago, the beautiful and impressively large staff (is there a more proper name for it?) – it looks like the Pope could fit off the Huns single handedly with it, given its size and apparent weight – was also used.
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For any who are (or could be) in the area of Knoxville, TN, you should check out this event next Sunday afternoon. I’ll just give you the press release (removing a few superfluous paragraphs explaining what the Traditional Latin Mass is); the website doesn’t seem to be working at the moment that I’m writing this, but it is here.

As an additional attraction, one of your beloved CSGT contributors will be singing with the choir for this Mass.

Knoxville Catholics’ First Solemn Latin Mass in Decades

At 2 pm on Sunday, April 20 at Knoxville’s historic Holy Ghost Catholic Church — currently celebrating its centennial — area Catholics will enjoy the city’s first solemn Latin Mass celebrated in the four decades since the newer vernacular Mass was introduced in the years following the Second Vatican Council.

As a special feature for this festive occasion, a combined multi-parish choir and orchestra directed by Mary Frazier Garner will sing the principal choral parts of the Mass in the famous “Coronation Mass” setting composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This unique event will afford the opportunity of hearing some of the Church’s greatest sacred music presented not solely in concert but as an active part of the liturgy in a “live” church worship service.
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