Protestants Changing the Papacy

On September 26, 2005, the Bunn Intercultural Center of Georgetown University hosted the 30th Anniversary Woodstock Forum. The forum, convened by the Woodstock Theological Center to mark the 30th anniversary of its founding at Georgetown, was titled Re-envisioning the Papacy, and addressed “the issue of what the papacy could or should become.”

Monitored by Dr. Monika K. Hellwig, former president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, the forum panel included Rev. John J. Burkhard (acting president of the Washington Theological Union and author of Apostolicity Then and Now: An Ecumenical Church in a Post-Modern World), Rt. Rev. Mark J. Dyer (professor of systematic theology at Virginia Theological Seminary and a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania), Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko (dean emeritus of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and former member of the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission), Rev. Dr. Scott Ickert (pastor of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Arlington, Virginia and member of the U.S. Lutheran Catholic Dialogue) and Dr. Ann K. Riggs serves (a Quaker and associate general secretary for the National Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission, with a doctorate in theology from The Catholic University of America).

According to its organizers, the forum was convoked in response to the invitation issued in 1995 by the late Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical Letter Ut Unum Sint to address the question of the Pope’s “ministry of unity.” Because the late pontiff was “aware that for many the papal ministry has proven to be an obstacle to unity” and, therefore, “showed himself willing to rethink” the Papacy, they say, other churches must “propose innovative ways by which the Petrine ministry might fulfill its specific charge.”

Comment: It is never the individual’s fault, is it? If a priest has a problem with celibacy, than celibacy is to blame. If a married person tires of his spouse, then the institution of marriage is to blame. And if heretics and schismatics refuse to acknowledge the Vicar of Christ and Successor of St. Peter, then there must be something wrong with the “papal ministry.” One wonders what St. Thomas More would have said about this. It seems that he could have saved himself an awful lot of grief had he been able to reconfigure the parameters of his fidelity to the Pope.

No, the Papacy was good enough for St. Thomas, not to mention St. Francis of Assisi, St. Therese of Lisieux, and – all the rest. But, wait! In our blessed age, a Protestant, an Orthodox, a Lutheran, a Quaker and a couple of Catholics are now going to tell us something that was hidden from the great Saints, Martyrs and Mystics – namely, “the issue of what the papacy could or should become.” And what have they decreed? According to the Catholic News Service (Sept. 27, 2005), here is the outpouring of their occult wisdom:

“Hierarchy without conciliarity is tyranny. ... Conciliarity without hierarchy is anarchy,” said Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko.  Deep!

“Lay people should have a place at the table .... a universal primacy requires universal synodality at every level,” offered Episcopal Bishop Mark Dyer. A Protestant wants more of the laity running the Catholic Church. We can see how well that philosophy has served Protestantism over the centuries, with new sects appearing every week. What’s the latest count?

“The one thing necessary, from the Lutheran point of view, is that papal primacy be so structured and interpreted that it clearly serve the Gospel and the unity of the church of Christ, and that its exercise of power not subvert Christian freedom.” That’s from the Lutheran Rev. Scott Ickert, whose religion is named after a man who was more beast than human. Luther’s freedom was the freedom to “sin mightily.”

Conventual Franciscan Father John J. Burkhard said that the Church needs “regular meetings of the pope with the patriarchs of the Orthodox world,” “a broader process of electing the bishop of Rome” and a “strengthening the teaching authority of bishops' conferences and giving them authority over things such as the adaptation of the liturgy to their culture.” In other words, further destruction of the liturgy and ecumenical free-for-all conclaves. That should set things right and restore the Sensus Catholicus.

"The conceptual traditions of the Catholic Church are almost incomprehensible" to members of those churches, said Quaker Anne K. Riggs, while bemoaning the fact that the “sacrament like quality of the church" is alien to Baptists and Reformed Christians. She wants the Bishop of Rome to “act in ways that help the churches talk about and do mission together.” Translation: Forget about all that doctrinal stuff. Who cares what we teach? Let’s do mission!

Hopefully, these panelists felt important for an afternoon, and got it off their chests.

Cherokee Tribal Council Votes to Display Ten Commandments

The Smokey Mountain News reports (week of Sept. 21, 2005) that the tribal council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of western North Carolina is making plans to mount a copy of the Ten Commandments in the council house where government meetings are held, and possibly display them throughout other public buildings in the Cherokee Nation of western North Carolina.  The idea was introduced by Councilwoman Angela Kephart, who believes that the tribe should display the Ten Commandments out of respect and devotion to God. The motion passed unanimously.

"We aren't saying you have to abide by the Ten Commandments," said Kephart. "We are simply displaying God's Ten Commandments. That's what He expects from each and every individual. If you break that, it is between you and God. It is not between you and the tribal council; it is between you and God." Although acknowledging the negative effects of the gambling industry, Kephart feels that God has “blessed” the tribe, which operates on a budget of over $200 million as a result of its gaming enterprise. “I don’t think God would have that be His first choice as an enterprise for us,” she admitted. “But I feel like He could take a good thing away from us if we don’t manage it correctly. So I think the least we could do was to show respect to Him.”

After Councilwoman Kephart introduced the idea, Councilwoman Mary Thompsan suggested making more Ten Commandment displays while they were at it and hanging them in other tribal buildings as well, such as the hospital and senior home.

Elsewhere in the country, when governments post the Ten Commandments or Christian symbols, they avoid lawsuits by allowing other religious displays, too, be it Jewish, Hindu or Wiccan. But Kephart does not support the idea of opening up the council house walls to other religious displays. “I think just the Ten Commandments. That has always been a tradition over the years,” she said.

Because the U.S. Constitution does not apply to the Cherokee tribe (or to any other Native American tribes), there is no First Amendment issue involved in this case. David Nash, attorney general for the Eastern Band, explained that the Constitution does not apply to Indian tribes because they were here before the United States, preceding the United States laws and are, therefore, considered sovereign nations. “We are a sovereign nation and we can pretty much post anything we want in our council chambers,” said Councilwoman Kephart. “For once the federal government is not going to tell us what to do. We can feel good about it because we are standing up for God. The more it becomes controversial, the more we need to stand firm.”

Comment: Cherokee tribal member Hugh Lambert, who complained about this in a letter to the editor of the Cherokee newspaper, The Cherokee One Feather, believes that the motion is mere “election-time posturing,” a “show of piety [that] is no substitute for substantive governing.” Noting that there are also Jews, Muslims, those who follow traditional native spiritual beliefs and atheists in the Cherokee Nation, Lambert referred to the posting of the Ten Commandments as “an attempt to enforce religious beliefs on those who don’t necessarily believe in it,” and he remarked that he “can’t think of a reason why anyone would want to do anything that violates the Constitution in principle, whether we have to abide by it or not.”

Such statements beg the question: If there is, indeed, such a contingent of Cherokees who profess beliefs other than Christianity, what manner of “election-time posturing” would deliberately alienate these constituents? While Lambert could be right, such a “political” maneuver on the part of the Councilwoman doesn’t make sense, particularly in today’s “inclusive” social climate.

Although the U.S. Constitution does not apply to the Cherokee Nation, tribes are required to abide by the 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act passed by Congress to protect basic civil rights of tribal members, who are also considered citizens of the United States. It is interesting to compare the wording of this Act with that of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights declares that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Indian Civil Rights Act states that “No Indian tribe in exercising powers of self-government shall make or enforce any law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.”

The wording of the Bill of Rights is more hostile, and no wonder, since, under the guise of religious freedom, its only purpose was the handcuffing of the dreaded beast, Roman Catholicism. Under the wording of the Indian Civil Rights Act, the posting of the Ten Commandments should not be a cause for contention. David Nash placed the situation in commonsense terms. Noting that the posting of the Ten Commandments will not prevent others from practicing their religion: "Anybody can practice any religion they want to practice.”

 “For once the federal government is not going to tell us what to do,” said Councilwoman Kephart. At one time, such a statement would have been hailed as an expression of “the American spirit.” However, the very same people who never tire of lauding the American Founding Fathers for their battle to “shake off the yolk of British tyranny” seem overly eager to allow the present government to legislate the nation into the dazed stupor of a communal neurosis. Kephart’s declaration is truly refreshing.

"White Father" Wins UNESCO Prize for Arab Culture

Zenit reports that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) awarded the Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture to Father Michel Lagarde, of the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, for his work on improving relations between Christianity and Islam.

Born in 1939, Fr. Lagarde belongs to the Society of Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers), and teaches in Rome at the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies. A professor of Arabic and an expert on classical commentaries of the Koran, he has published an analysis of the monumental 32-volume work, the "Great Commentary" of Fahr al-Din al-Razi, Persian author of the year 1200, which can be described as an encyclopedia of Arab Medieval thought. He is also known for his translation of the complete work of the 19th century warrior and Sufi mystic Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri, known as "Kitab al-Mawaquif." He has also done missionary work in Mali.

Fr. Lagarde shares the Sharjah Prize with Algerian journalist Tahar Ouettar, one of the leading figures of Arabic-language letters in Algeria. Tahar has published novels, taken part in the creation of two magazines, Al-Jamahir and Al Ahar, and is the editor of the cultural supplement of the daily Al-Chaab.

An international jury recommended Fr. Lagarde for the Prize because "he has dedicated his life, teaching and an important work to the Arab language and the study of the Islamic religion. His works on relations between Christianity and Islam have contributed to mutual respect and the rapprochement of the two cultures." In addition, UNESCO stated that the missionary has "contributed strongly to the intercultural dialogue thanks to his profound knowledge of the Arab and Islamic culture through his numerous stays in the Arab and Islamic countries."

As recipients of the Sharjah Prize, Fr. Lagarde and Tahar Ouettar each received a monetary award of $25,000. Donations for the Prize money are made by the authorities of the United Arab Emirates (the Government of Sharjah) and other donors.

Comment: According to the Statutes of the Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture, “the purpose of the Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture is to reward the efforts of a national of an Arab country and a national of any other country who have contributed, through their artistic, intellectual or promotional work, to the development and diffusion of Arab culture in the world.”

Far from there being anything wrong with the study of ancient cultures, it is a laudable enterprise. The past is part of our legacy and the Catholic Church recognizes this fact.  In 2001, the Taliban destroyed two colossal ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan, priceless artifacts dating from the 3rd-5th centuries AD.   The Vatican, on the other hand, preserves the art of the past, just as it has preserved and studied pre-Christian philosophy and literature. Among the “Vatican Museums,” one can find the Egyptian Museum, the Gregorian Museum of Etruscan Art, the Antiquarium Romanum and the Gregorian Museum of Profane Art (which houses pre-Christian works of art, including Roman copies of Greek originals, Roman sculptures of the republican and early imperial periods and later Roman sculptures).

Because a man is ordained to the priesthood doesn’t mean that he automatically shuts off his intellectual curiosity. The lure of ancient cultures will naturally beat strong in the heart of someone schooled in the Sacred Scriptures. But at what point does intellectual curiosity presume to overtake its proper subservient role to the spreading of the Gospel? Jesus Christ gave specific instructions to his priests: preach the Gospel, baptize in the name of the Blessed Trinity, celebrate the Mass, forgive sins in His name, save souls.

The Canadian Martyr, Fr. Jean de Brebeuf (1593-1649) was the first Jesuit Missionary to arrive in Huronia in 1626. A master of the Indian language, he compiled the first Huron-French dictionary, wrote a catechism in Huron and composed Canada's first Christmas carol, the Huron Carol, where he tried to incarnate the mystery of 'God-dwelling-among-us' in Native terms. His advice to new missionaries, worthy of St. Paul himself, embodied the perfect blending of respect for the traditions of his flock with a thirst for their salvation:

If I were asked to advise anyone who was beginning to work among the Indians, I would tell them frankly what I think they will themselves learn by experience, that is that they must be very careful not to condemn outright a thousand things that are part of Indian customs and which are often offensive to people trained and used to another way of life. It is easy to treat as “irreligious” what is mere ignorance and to see the devil's intervention in what is merely human. Remember that it is difficult to see all in one day, and time is the most reliable teacher that one can consult.

Martyred most cruelly by the Iroquois at age fifty-six, Fr. Brebeuf’s missionary credo was simply, “You must love these Hurons, ransomed by the blood of the Son of God, as brothers.” This was the belief of the scholar who mastered the Huron language and compiled the first Huron-French dictionary. Apparently, the concepts of “rapprochement of the two cultures" and “intercultural dialogue” had quite a different meaning to the great missionary than they have to his modern counterparts.

With all due respect to Fr. Lagarde’s prodigious and important scholarly accomplishments, in the end, what does a pat on the head by the United Nations and a life dedicated to “the study of the Islamic religion” amount to, if the defense of Truth, the good of souls, the glory of Jesus Christ and the exaltation of the Roman Catholic Faith are not the motivating forces? “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

How would Fr. Brebeuf have answered?

Ancient Christian Home Found in Caesarea

The Jerusalem Post reports (Sept. 19, 2005) that “the remains of a lavish Byzantine mansion with pictorial mosaic flooring and a rare table with gold-encrusted glass platelets have been uncovered in the coastal city of Caesarea during an archaeological excavation” carried out by Israel’s Antiquities Authority.

The epicenter of the site is an impressive open-air mosaic paved courtyard, which is composed of a series of animals, including lions, panthers, wild boars, dogs, elephants, antelopes and bulls, all enclosing 120 medallions, each of which contains a single bird, causing archaeologists to dub it "the bird mosaic." The 16 X 14.5 meter rectangular colorful mosaic – part of the main central courtyard of the palace – located just off the shorelines of the Mediterranean Sea, had been buried under sand dunes for the past 50 years, since 1950, when an Israeli army unit undergoing training in the area accidentally stumbled on a section of the impressive mosaic flooring when digging trenches.

According to the excavation director, Dr. Yosef Porat, the 6th century A.D. mansion likely belonged to one of the richest Christian families in Caesarea, possibly the aristocracy, although no inscriptions have been found at the site to date it. The palace was destroyed by fire near the end of the Byzantine Period (324-638 A.D.) when the Arabs conquered the strategic harbor city, and set fire to any building outside the city walls.

During the excavations surrounding the central courtyard, archaeologists uncovered a unique table inlaid with a checkerboard pattern of gold-encrusted glass platelets in various shapes. Each square glass platelet in the table, which was found lying upside-down on the pavement, bears a flower or cross stamped into the platelet after its production was completed, an unusual process that required reheating the glass. With its unique decorative glass design, the table – deemed "priceless" by Antiquities Authority conservation specialist, Jacques Neguer – is thought to be the only one its kind found in the excavation of a late Byzantine structure.