“A US district court judge in western Pennsylvania has ruled a lawsuit filed by the Seneca Hardwood Lumber Company against the HHS mandate may proceed. The for-profit company is owned by a Catholic family.

Judge Joy Flowers Conti, appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, also dismissed a suit filed by Geneva College because the case was not yet ripe. The Protestant college, affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, said in a legal filing that it believes that “the procurement, participation in, facilitation of, or payment for abortion violates the Commandment against murder.”

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=17277&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CatholicWorldNewsFeatureStories+%28Catholic+World+News+%28on+CatholicCulture.org%29%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/postmodernconservative/2013/03/08/sean-omalley-for-pope/

Please see chapter and verse on the Cardinal’s failures and laxity in Boston:

Are you referring to Bucer?

workingclass artist on March 11, 2013 at 10:45 AM

No, The Index, as a direct consequence of Luther’s actions, changed the way the Church behaved, becoming more political in determining “correctness” of thought.

The point being that the Church became more dictatorial in the way every day life should be led, but can change again – in the opposite direction.

For a faith/belief to be unassailable it needs to be constant.

OldEnglish on March 11, 2013 at 10:57 AM

I don’t think the Church became any more dictatorial towards individuals then the Protestants under Luther or Calvin’s doctrines.

The period was brutal to all and the resulting upheaval eventually contributed to the foundation of this country with it’s Constitutional Protections.

If an American Pope is picked, it will be in part for the same reason Karol Józef Wojtyla was chosen back in 1978 — because the Church is trying to reach out past the government of the new Pope’s home country to Catholics in that country.
jon1979 on March 11, 2013 at 11:13 AM

It is striking to consider.

I read a quote from a Cardinal that the Holy Spirit has chosen the next Pope and we have to discover him.

OldEnglish on March 11, 2013 at 11:43 AM

Apologies…I came in at the tale of your discussion and assumed when Mary was brought up that it was the usual anti-Marian doctrine battle I see so often on these threads. Sorry. *butting out now* :*)

pannw on March 11, 2013 at 11:33 AM

And in the Church of England – which was my point?

JimLennon on March 11, 2013 at 11:27 AM

Yep. I only see him mentioned on orthodox sites like Canterbury Tales, ChurchMilitantTV, etc…and in the comment sections on other sites like this. Even when talking about Catholic Cardinals from America that aren’t considered ‘pababile’ ones, even +Mahoney is mentioned, but never Raymond Cardinal Burke. At least that I’ve seen. Curious…

No, no, I was referring to doctrinal beliefs, not the actions of a syphilitic nut-case. The attitude towards Mary comes to mind as one example.

OldEnglish on March 11, 2013 at 11:00 AM

This was not a change of doctrine but a clarification of belief. Mary has always been held in very high esteem within the Church. She is the Mother of God, after all.

“We are deeply grieved at thy delay in strengthening us by thy addresses and consolations. If thy absence be prolonged, it will disappoint many of us. Hasten then to come, for we believe that it is expedient. There are also many of our women here, who are desirous to see Mary [the mother] of Jesus, and wish day by day to run off from us to you, that they may meet with her, and touch those breasts of hers which nourished the Lord Jesus, and may inquire of her respecting some rather secret matters. But Salome also, [the daughter of Anna,] whom thou lovest, who stayed with her five months at Jerusalem, and some other well-known persons, relate that she is full of all graces and all virtues, after the manner of a virgin, fruitful in virtue and grace. And, as they report, she is cheerful in persecutions and afflictions, free from murmuring in the midst of penury and want, grateful to those that injure her, and rejoices when exposed to troubles: she sympathizes with the wretched and the afflicted as sharing in their afflictions, and is not slow to come to their assistance. Moreover, she shines forth gloriously as contending in the fight of faith against the pernicious conflicts of vicious principles or conduct. She is the lady of our new religion and repentance, and the handmaid among the faithful of all works of piety. She is indeed devoted to the humble, and she humbles herself more devotedly than the devoted, and is wonderfully magnified by all, while at the same time she suffers detraction from the Scribes and Pharisees. Besides these points, many relate to us numerous other things regarding her. We do not, however, go so far as to believe all in every particular; nor do we mention such to thee. But, as we are informed by those who are worthy of credit, there is in Mary the mother of Jesus an angelic purity of nature allied with the nature of humanity. And such reports as these have greatly excited our emotions, and urge us eagerly to desire a sight of this (if it be lawful so to speak) heavenly prodigy and most sacred marvel. But do thou in haste comply with this our desire; and fare thou well. Amen.” ~ Epistle to St. John the Apostle from St. Ignatius of Antioch 1st century A.D.

There is only one American I care to see step out onto that balcony, and his name is conspicuously absent from EVERY normal media outlet post, including HotAir.

pannw on March 11, 2013 at 11:14 AM

Are you talking about Raymond Cardinal Burke? He’s the one American cardinal who I see mentioned on Catholic news outlets (EWTN, Relevant Radio, etc.), but almost never on mainstream news.

We can talk about what great guys Cardinal Dolan and Cardinal O’Malley are, but where have they been while ‘Catholic’ politicians in their dioceses have brought horrific scandal to the faithful? Why did Ted Kennedy get a public Catholic funeral worthy of a saint in the Diocese of Boston under Cardinal O’Malley? Why did Cardinal O’Malley allow the horrifically pro-abortion president to eulogize Teddy during the Funeral Mass, not only because he is anti-Catholic, but also because eulogies are not to be permitted during a Funeral Mass!? Please no to +O’Malley, and may The Holy Spirit fill him with greater courage and wisdom than he has so far shown.

So Cardinal Dolan? Well, why is Andrew Cuomo, who may currently reside in the governor’s mansion in a different diocese, but is a permanent resident of the Archdiocese of NY, still receiving the Eucharist? Why did +Dolan not fight whole heartedly for the TRUTH during the passage of Same-sex ‘marriage’ in New York? Yes, he has spoken out forcefully against it’s passage after the fact, but why didn’t he ‘pull out the stops’ before hand? He says it is because he was assured that the bill wasn’t going anywhere and the conscientious objection of the Church would be protected. WHAT? So you ‘keep your ammo dry’ when evil is being proposed? NO, you always, always fight for the TRUTH! So at the very least, I’d say he fails the ‘wise as serpents’ test even if he might be ‘simple as doves’.

No more scandal!!!!! We need a just man, bold as a lion, who will be without dread in the battles that are coming/here!

God have mercy on your Church and send the Holy Spirit into the hearts and minds of the cardinal electors. Please…

Well of course the administration can win. Stupid Catholics voted in droves for the rat-eared wonder despite his clearly anti-Catholic anti-religious freedom policies. Letters were read from the pulpit standing against the HHS mandate. Yet “the faithful” still came out to vote in favor of abortion, government mandated contraception for all, and all the other stuff that Catholics supposedly reject as heresy.

Happy Nomad on March 11, 2013 at 10:07 AM

If an American Pope is picked, it will be in part for the same reason Karol Józef Wojtyla was chosen back in 1978 — because the Church is trying to reach out past the government of the new Pope’s home country to Catholics in that country.

The Cardinals aren’t picking a Pontiff from the United States, if they do so, to become a validator for the current White House’s stances on birth control, abortion or (coming soon to a courthouse near you) civil rights issues over same sex marriage. If they name one, it will be both a direct challenge to the big government demands of the current administration, and a message to U.S. Catholics that you can be on one side or the other, but not both, as many try to do now (and the media and Hollywood negative reaction to the Church and the new Pope would end up forcing the issue even more, since Catholics will be asked to either agree with the demonization of their faith or reject those pushing that message).

workingclass artist on March 11, 2013 at 10:53 AM

No, no, I was referring to doctrinal beliefs, not the actions of a syphilitic nut-case. The attitude towards Mary comes to mind as one example.

Are you referring to Bucer?

workingclass artist on March 11, 2013 at 10:45 AM

No, The Index, as a direct consequence of Luther’s actions, changed the way the Church behaved, becoming more political in determining “correctness” of thought.

The point being that the Church became more dictatorial in the way every day life should be led, but can change again – in the opposite direction.

For a faith/belief to be unassailable it needs to be constant.

workingclass artist on March 11, 2013 at 9:52 AM

Yes, I am well aware of the history involved, yet, apart from some squabbling over details, don’t both Churches follow the same source material?

OldEnglish on March 11, 2013 at 10:08 AM

I wouldn’t describe the Dissolution of the Monasteries as squabbling over details anymore than I would describe the current occupation of the Hagia Sophia by Mohammedians as a cultural squabble over real estate.

The Church is independent of Kings…and Prime Ministers…and Fascists…

workingclass artist on March 11, 2013 at 10:34 AM

And yet it changed in 1530 and 1557.

OldEnglish on March 11, 2013 at 10:36 AM

Are you referring to Bucer?

If an American Pope is picked, I recommend the first episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher” after his ascension as the template for what’s to come.

jon1979 on March 11, 2013 at 10:00 AM

Given that Maher’s views on Catholicism are virtually indistinguishable from a 1920′s Klansman, thank you but I think I’ll read the transcripts instead. ;-)

workingclass artist on March 11, 2013 at 10:23 AM

I have read both versions (King James and Douay) and, on matters of core teaching, they differ little in essence.

Both, for example, make matters clear with regard to women and homosexuals, yet the two Churches have come to different conclusions in practice.

It would be a shame if the Catholic Church, with its many members, were to follow suit.

OldEnglish on March 11, 2013 at 10:35 AM

Most modern editions of the King James Bible omit the apocrypha texts.

For Catholics Maccabees in the apocrypha is foundational to Church Teaching.

The Church is independent of Kings…and Prime Ministers…and Fascists…

workingclass artist on March 11, 2013 at 10:34 AM

And yet it changed in 1530 and 1557.

So doctrine can change?

OldEnglish on March 11, 2013 at 10:21 AM

Absolutely.

workingclass artist on March 11, 2013 at 10:23 AM

I have read both versions (King James and Douay) and, on matters of core teaching, they differ little in essence.

Both, for example, make matters clear with regard to women and homosexuals, yet the two Churches have come to different conclusions in practice.

It would be a shame if the Catholic Church, with its many members, were to follow suit.

Happy Nomad on March 11, 2013 at 10:15 AM

So doctrine can change?

OldEnglish on March 11, 2013 at 10:21 AM

No.

To alter doctrine under political/social pressure is a grave error and leads to schism.

This is why Pope Benedict XVI said “We will be a smaller and purer church.” He wasn’t just speaking about continuing the reform of the Priest scandals…but of Liturgical abuses and the continuity of Catholic Teaching in response to the modern world. Enrollment in Seminaries by conservatives is up as a result.

There has always been tension between Church and State.

The Pagans tried to force the Jews to change their doctrine.

The Pagan Romans & the Jews tried to force the Christians to change their doctrine.

Kings have tried to force the Bishops to change their doctrine and undermine Papal Authority.

This has happened time and again in the long history of the Church.

The Church is independent of Kings…and Prime Ministers…and Fascists…