Signs of the Times [UPDATED]

You may have noticed a red and pink equal sign floating around on social network sites today signifying support for so-called "marriage equality" (i.e. redefining marriage). Whatever.

I prefer these signs:

UPDATE

Pope Francis "Re-Gifts" Icon to Pope Emeritus Benedict

That beautiful icon of Our Lady of Humility that Pope Francis gave to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during their historic meeting at Castel Gandolfo? Well, turns out that it just may be the most high-profile instance of "re-gifting" since Jerry's dentist gave him a label maker.

Robert Moynihan has the story:

... In the same report, she noted: “Francis also brought a gift for Benedict, an icon of the Madonna. ‘They told me it’s the Madonna of Humility,’ Francis told Benedict. ‘Let me say one thing: When they told me that, I immediately thought of you, at the many marvelous examples of humility and gentleness that you gave us during your pontificate.’ Benedict replied: ‘Grazie, grazie.’”

But who were the “they” who told Francis that the icon was the Madonna of Humility?

“They” were… the people who gave the icon to him. But who were those people?

Well… they were representatives of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, who sent the icon to Pope Francis as a gift, and who handed it to Francis three days ago, on March 20.

How do I know this?

Because a few minutes ago I received an unexpected email from Metropolitan Hilarion, 46, an old friend who is also the “Foreign Minister” (the term isn’t quite accurate, but it suggests the importance of his work and position) of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Moscow Patriarchate, so, the right-hand of Patriarch Kirill. He wrote:

Here is the photo of the icon of the Madonna of Humility which
Pope Francis gave today as a gift to Emeritus Pope Benedict

“Pope Francis presented to Pope emeritus Benedict the icon which had been presented to Pope Francis by Metropolitan Hilarion on behalf of Patriarch Kirill [the head of the Russian Orthodox Church] after the private audience [with the new Pope] on 20 March. Отправлено с iPhone [Sent from iPhone]“ So the icon was the Russian icon Hilarion gave to Francis three days ago!

I wrote back: “Amazing. Are you pleased, or upset?”

I added: “It is reported here: ‘They spent 45 minutes talking alone. Pope Francis gave Pope Benedict an icon of Our Lady of Humility, saying that when he received it, he immediately thought of giving it to Pope Benedict.’”

Hilarion wrote back: “Very pleased and touched.”

Pope Francis and Evangelical Catholicism

George Weigel, has written a book titled Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church, which one reviewer called a "masterpiece of Catholic history and thought" and a "possible guide for the Church’s mission in the centuries ahead" that he would have, if he could have gained access to the conclave, "smuggle[d] in enough copies ... to place one on the chair of each elector".

Weigel's Evangelical Catholicism is held out as a way of moving beyond what he refers to as the "Counter-Reformation Catholicism" that has shaped the Church's practice and devotions for the last 500 years. Weigel starts from this premise:

“In the catechetical-devotional Catholicism of the Counter-Reformation Church, the Catholic learned about Jesus Christ through brief catechism formulas that aptly summed up the Church’s doctrine about the Son of God who became the son of Mary. Evangelical Catholicism begins not with knowing about Jesus, but with knowing Jesus.”

In essence, building the Church of the 21st Century and beyond begins exactly where it began 2000 years ago - with a personal relationship and knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh who continues to dwell among us and continues to offer us salvation:

“Evangelical Catholicism proclaims the great gift of friendship with Jesus Christ, not as one attractive possibility in a supermarket of spiritualities, but as the God-given and unique means of salvation for everyone.”

Now, I know that in many Catholic quarters - among both traditionalists and so-called "progressives", the phrase "personal relationship with Jesus" sets off alarms. It calls to mind those pesky protestant evangelicals that many in both traditional and progressive circles see as having had a pernicious influence on the direction that American Catholicism, in particular, has taken in the last couple of decades, including (in their analysis, but not mine) such ecumenical efforts as Evangelicals and Catholics Together.

But Weigel states that the Catholic Church being influenced by and acting like protestants is not what he is referring to:

"Evangelical Catholicism is not a way of being Catholic that adapts certain catechetical practices and modes of worship from evangelical, fundamentalist and Pentecostalist Protestantism."

Rather, it is an acknowledgment that Catholicism is uniquely qualified to spread the Gospel message that offers each and every individual a friendship with Jesus Christ, or, if you will, a "personal relationship with Jesus". And I don't think Catholics should shy away from using that admittedly protestant terminology to spread what is an essentially Catholic message. Because THAT IS THE GOSPEL. That the Catholic Church is the means by which the human person can have friendship and a personal relationship with his Savior. For that personal relationship is a Eucharistic one in which our Lord continues to come to us and feed us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. That is what each soul craves - to have that God-shaped hole filled, literally, with the One who loves us so much that he died for us. I can think of no more personal relationship with Jesus than to have him physically enter into us and fill us with Himself through the Eucharist.

So, if the thrust of the Catholic Church's Gospel message in the 21st Century and beyond lies with moving people toward personal knowledge of and friendship with Jesus, I say "Amen!"

And, in a piece yesterday at National Review, Weigel writes that, in Pope Francis, the Church has found just the man to lead the way:

The election of Pope Francis completes the Church’s turn from the Counter-Reformation Catholicism that brought the Gospel to America — and eventually produced Catholicism’s first American pope — to the Evangelical Catholicism that must replant the Gospel in those parts of the world that have grown spiritually bored, while planting it afresh in new fields of mission around the globe. In our May 2012 conversation, the man who would become pope discussed at some length the importance of the Latin American bishops’ 2007 “Aparecida Document,” the fruit of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. The essential message of that revolutionary statement (in which there was not the least bit of whining about Protestant “sheep-stealing” but rather a clear acknowledgment of Catholicism’s own evangelical deficiencies in Latin America) can be gleaned from this brief passage, which I adopted as one of the epigraphs for my book, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church:

The Church is called to a deep and profound rethinking of its mission. . . . It cannot retreat in response to those who see only confusion, dangers, and threats. . . . What is required is confirming, renewing, and revitalizing the newness of the Gospel . . . out of a personal and community encounter with Jesus Christ that raises up disciples and missionaries. . . . 

A Catholic faith reduced to mere baggage, to a collection of rules and prohibitions, to fragmented devotional practices, to selective and partial adherence to the truths of faith, to occasional participation in some sacraments, to the repetition of doctrinal principles, to bland or nervous moralizing, that does not convert the life of the baptized would not withstand the trials of time. . . . We must all start again from Christ, recognizing [with Pope Benedict XVI] that “being Christian is . . . the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”

Here, in a statement that then-cardinal Bergoglio had a significant hand in drafting, is what John Paul II and Benedict XVI have called the “New Evangelization” in synthetic microcosm:

• The Church of the 21st century cannot rely on the ambient public culture, or on folk memories of traditional Catholic culture, to transmit the Gospel in a way that transforms individual lives, cultures, and societies. Something more, something deeper, is needed.

• That “something” is radical personal conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ and an embrace of the friendship he offers every human being: a friendship in which we both see the face of the Father of Mercies (who calls us out of our prodigality into the full dignity of our humanity) and learn the deep truth about our humanity (that it is in making our lives into a gift for others, as life itself is to each of us, that we come into human fulfillment).

• This conversion of minds and hearts builds a community that is unlike any other: a “communion” of disciples in mission, who understand that faith is increased as it is offered and given away to others.

• That communion-community best embodies the truth of the human condition if each individual member of it, and the Church itself, fully embraces the entire symphony of Catholic truth, and in doing so, lives the moral life as a life of growth in beatitude, in compassion for others, and in evangelical charity.

• Finally, this communion-community lives “ahead of time,” because it knows, through the Easter faith the Church will celebrate in a few weeks, the truth about how the human adventure will end: God’s purposes in creation and redemption will be vindicated, as history and the cosmos are fulfilled in the New Jerusalem, in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, where death will be no more and every tear will be wiped away (Rev. 21:2–4).

That is the message that Pope Francis will take to the world: Gospel-centered Catholicism, which challenges the post-mod cynics, the metaphysically bored, and the spiritually dry to discover (or rediscover) the tremendous human adventure of living “inside” the Biblical narrative of history.

[Read the whole thing]

"Hoarders"? "Real Housewives"? "Pawn Stars"? "The Kardashians"? "Jersey Shore"? "Swamp People"?

Really? Watching dumbasses doing dumbassed things is REALLY how people want to spend their time? Read a book or play a boardgame, dammit!

I weep for our culture.

Spot. On.

Yeah, what Bill Simmons said about the season finale of "The Killing":

... I will leave you with four thoughts. First, Sunday night shows have a built-in competitive advantage because the best HBO shows (Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, etc.) got us into the groove of watching the best possible television every Sunday night, then AMC kept the momentum going with Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and somewhere along the line, that became our Smart Television Night and it doesn't really matter what's on anymore, as long as it feels like a good show. We never cared if Walking Dead or The Killing were great, just that they were good enough to keep us interested on Sunday nights, because that's the night we like to watch well-acted shows with well-developed characters that creep along from week to week and keep us guessing. So really, we're to blame for letting The Killing happen — we always knew it sucked, but we didn't care. We allowed this catastrophe to happen.

Second, The Killing is destined to become the first example anyone brings up when the subject is, "What show did something that made its fans hate it the most?" It's not like other shows haven't antagonized their fans before: The Sopranos cutting to black on its final episode, Seinfeld and his buddies getting arrested, and Dallas executing a retroactive "everything you just watched never happened" season-long dream sequence are the three most famous examples. But has a TV show ever willfully misled its viewers like this, to the point that it made you hate yourself for ever watching the show? No. Never. We made history here.

Third, I always judge television shows by the dueling metrics, "If I could travel back in time and tell myself to either watch or NOT watch this show, what would I say?" and "If I could have done the MJ's Final Shot in 1998 with a TV show and gotten out at the perfect time, then never watched another episode, when would that time be?" A good example: Lost. I would absolutely watch that show again, only I would tell myself to stop watching right before the final season started. Or Seinfeld. I'd keep watching right until George's fiancée dies from licking the envelopes, then I'd be done.

With The Killing? I would beg March 2011 Me to not watch a single second of the show. So there's that.

Fourth and most important, I can't remember a single show damaging a network's brand this severely, to the point that AMC either needs to apologize, offer the entire Breaking Bad series on DVD for 85 percent off, or even publicly distance itself from the show the same way a sports team distances itself from a star player who does something horrible. That's how bad this was. AMC had won our trust over the past few years; because of that trust, we endured The Killing because we trusted AMC enough that we assumed they wouldn't screw us. It's unfathomable that none of the people running such a seemingly intelligent network said, "We better leak to Tim Goodman or Alan Sepinwall that they're not wrapping things up in one season, we don't want people to be pissed off." Nope. The ratings mattered more than the viewers.

And yeah, that's happened before in television … but not like this. The Killing turned out to be aptly named: AMC just killed any "most creative network" momentum it had. People will not forget what happened. I know I won't. And in case you were wondering, hell will freeze over before I watch Season 2.

[Read the whole thing]

My Comments:
About 45 minutes into the season finale, I said to myself "These bastards are going to leave us hanging, aren't they?"

Yep. Bastards.


NB: By the way, I was perfectly fine with the leftist, holier-than-thou, do-gooder, hypocrite of a city councilman being the murderer. But they couldn't just leave well enough alone. Bastards.

Food for Thought

Two years ago, if I had asked you to name the two most popular athletes in the world, the answer would probably have been Tiger Woods and LeBron James.

An Open Letter to Dodge

"Makes you almost want to have kids ... almost"

Dear Dodge,

I am a loyal Dodge customer whose 2 most recent vehicle purchases were Dodge Grand Caravans, including one in 2010. I recently viewed with horror your ad that depicts having children as something to be avoided. Just who do you think buys minivans anyway (clue: people with children). Which raises the question of why you feel the need to go out of your way to insult them? Is it going to help you sell these family vehicles by making families feel like personae non gratae?

Do you REALLY believe the childless and cynical Daily Show “smart set” to whom the commercial was obviously geared is going to buy a vehicle that averages around 20 mpg? Does it make you feel better about selling a vehicle that gets comparatively crummy gas mileage and thereby pollutes the environment more than other cars if you can make common cause with the sorts of people who view children as just another pollutant with a set of carbon footprints? Although the “smart set” may concur with the sentiment of the ad, they’ll be laughing on their way to buying a Prius.

Meanwhile, you’ve just angered a loyal customer who, although considering buying a Sienna last year, instead relied on my good experience with the Grand Caravan I purchased in 2002 (and still drive) and decided to buy another one. In making that decision, my wife and I took our kids with us to the dealership – they, like the children you disparage in the ad, crawled in and out and all over the interior of the vehicle (and, gasp, may have been a little loud), but I’m sure the salesperson and the dealership were more than happy to have sold the vehicle, which we bought due in no small part to our kids’ enthusiasm for it.

Well, I won’t be making that mistake again, unless I receive a written formal apology and Dodge makes a public statement of regret for running this abysmal ad. Believe me when I tell you that I am NOT the only parent who feels this way. You WILL lose customers over this unless you act to repair the damage you have done by gratuitously insulting those most likely to buy a Dodge minivan.

Yours truly,
James T. “Jay” Anderson
Norwalk, OH

Miley Cyrus Hates Rick Santorum, Hearts Same-Sex Nuptials

I'm no fan (at least not anymore) of Rick Santorum, but this is just pathetic:

Even Miley Cyrus is getting in on the 2012 action. In a reaction to a recent controversy over retailer Urban Outfitters allegedly copying jewelry designs, Cryus last night aired her criticism of UO President Richard Hayne’s campaign contributions to former Senator Rick Santorum.

“IF WE ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE NEXT THING U KNOW PEOPLE WILL BE MARRYING GOLD FISH’ – Rick Santorum UO contributed $13,000 to this mans campaign” the singer and Hannah Montana star tweeted, in an apparent reference to the former Senator’s famous “man on dog” remark. Santorum is known for his conservative and often controversial opinions on same-sex marriage...

My Comments:
Awwww. Isn't that sweet. Now that she's too old for her younger Disney audience, Achey Breaky's offshpring knows which Divah-worshipping cohort it is that's going to be buttering her bread. Can you say FAAAAAAAABULOUS?!?!

Yeah, whatever, Hannah Montana. You're only one or two more "Hey, look at me!" titty shots and an alcohol-induced binge away from being as completly irrelevant as your Disney predecessor, Lindsay Lohan.

Hat tip: Creative Minority Report

Steven Greydanus: "True Grit and the Grace of God"

Stop what you're doing and go read Steven Greydanus' excellent review of the Coen Brothers' remake of "True Grit" at National Catholic Register.

And don't stop with Steven's review. Read the comments (both at the bottom of Part 1 of the review and Part 2 of the review - there are 2 sets of comments), especially the very enlightening one from Nick Milne.

I am kicking myself for not having already gone to see this film and for thinking that it couldn't possibly measure up to The Duke's original. And I simply must re-read the novel, which I read many, many years ago back when I was in high school.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
True Grit?

True Grit?

I'm torn on this. On the one hand, this is exactly the sort of movie I would ordinarily look forward to seeing:



But, on the other hand, some things are just so iconic that they shouldn't be messed with:

At Father's Urging, Estevez Makes Film He Sees as Metaphor for Life

Catholic News Service reports on the latest movie-making venture of actor-director Emilio Estevez, taken on at the urging of his father, Martin Sheen:

TORONTO (CNS) -- Actor and director Emilio Estevez reluctantly went to Spain to tell a story about how faith, hope and walking are all part of the American way of overcoming hard times.

The movie has "no nudity. There are no explosions. There are no car chases," said Estevez. "It's about people. It's about this community of broken souls. And there's a ton of humor in it."

Estevez told The Catholic Register, a Canadian weekly, that his new film "The Way" is about American spirituality. The story follows four characters walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, or the Way of St. James, through Spain.

"Americans are searching for something. The Camino serves as the ultimate metaphor for life," said Estevez.

The movie premieres Sept. 10 at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Estevez will be seeking a North American distribution deal. The film is to be distributed outside North America by Icon Productions.

It was Estevez's father, Martin Sheen, who first proposed making a film about the Camino seven years ago. During a break in filming "The West Wing," Sheen had attended a family reunion in Ireland, then headed for Spain to walk the Camino. But Sheen had to be back in the United States and did not have the six to eight weeks it takes to walk the pilgrim's path to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of St. James the Greater can be found.

Sheen, his grandson and a family friend did most of the route by Mercedes, but walked part of the way.

The veteran film actor came back and insisted his son had to make a movie about the Camino. At first, Estevez said no.

"It's the old dilemma," said Estevez. "You can't say no to your father."

[Read the whole thing]

(Hat tip: A Catholic View)


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Martin Sheen ... Pro-Life

A New Play About the Founder of the Knights of Columbus

From the blog of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph:

The Knights of Columbus recently asked Father Peter John Cameron O.P., to direct a play about their founder, Father Michael J. McGivney. The Catholic Transcript interviews Father Cameron about his own vocation.

"Author, editor, journalist, playwright, theatrical artistic director, professor of homiletics, preacher, retreat master - the list of Father Cameron's titles, interests and vocational activities is extensive. The common thread is his vocation. "My priesthood and my evangelizing ... my preaching is first," he said in an interview with The Catholic Transcript. "I'm a priest so that others can meet Jesus Christ," he said. "I met him and I realized that life doesn't make sense without him. Every need and longing of our heart has an answer, and he's the answer. When Christ gazes at you, your life changes. His gaze is on everyone, just waiting for our answer.""

Read the full article here.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Father Michael J. McGivney: A Saint for America

Decree on Heroic Virtues of Fr. Michael McGivney, Founder of Knights of Columbus

What if Roman Polanski Were a Catholic Priest?

Al Kresta notes an interesting bit of hypocrisy in the left's (and that includes the media) attitudes toward two events involving sexual misconduct with children - the priest sex-abuse scandal and Roman Polanski's drugging and then forcibly sodomizing a 13-year-old girl:

Here’s a maxim for Left-wing luvvies: let’s treat the Pope like a rapist, and treat a rapist like the Pope.

[...]

But in the eyes of Lefty luvvies from Hollywood to Hampstead, the only real difference between the Pope and Polanski is that the latter is an artist. That, you see, erases a multitude of sins – yes, even the rape of a 13-year-old girl. The same people who are viciously denouncing Benedict even though he has not been convicted of any crime defend Polanski despite his conviction because he’s “one of us”. In their eyes, directing The Pianist and Rosemary’s Baby has somehow cleansed the stain of shame from this repulsive little man.

Here is the bad news: the luvvies have won. Their man has been let off – to cries of relief from the arty set, the Swiss authorities have refused the America its request for extradition. The Pope, meanwhile, continues to be publicly reviled by bohemians who think he should be arrested for crimes he neither committed nor concealed. And they dare attack the Church for hypocrisy!

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Movie Producer Weinstein: "Hollywood Has the Best Moral Compass"

"Age and ability in the arts or anything else, in my opinion, does not excuse a crime"

Reminder: Roman Polanski Raped a Child [UPDATED]

Washington Post Profile of Catholic Father of 6 Running for Congress

The Washington Post has a profile of Real World alum (and husband of Real World alumna Rachel Campos-Duffy), Sean Duffy, who is running for the congressional seat in Wisconsin being vacated by David Obey: "Will Sean Duffy of 'The Real World' be picked to serve in the House?"

... Duffy minimizes the effect that "The Real World" has had on his political career. On the campaign trail, he plays up the outlines of his life now, which is much more sedate. He is a champion lumberjack, and at one point he held the world-record time for pole climbing. He and Rachel, who has been a recurring guest host of "The View" and recently wrote a book about being a happy stay-at-home mom, have six children. In the beginning, the run for Congress was a protest against big government and Washington excesses, he said.

"Most people told me I was crazy," said Duffy, a self-described "pro-life, pro-traditional-marriage, pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment" candidate in a district that President Obama won by 14 points and that has consistently backed Obey.

Against big odds, Duffy had a few good turns -- including lots of national ink when Sarah Palin endorsed him on the anniversary of the passage of the $787 billion federal stimulus package, of which Obey was the lead author. The lumberjack looked prescient rather than crazy when Obey decided last month not to run for reelection, saying he was "bone tired." Now Duffy finds himself in a race rated by political arbiters as a tossup...

Here's Duffy's campaign website, if you're interested in making a contribution.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Rachel Campos-Duffy: "Have We Become Too Casual? Why I Dress My Kids Up for Church"

Catholic Father of 6 Running for Congress Accused by Opponent of Being "Too Busy" With Kids to be Effective Representative

Rachel Campos Duffy: A Real Housewife of Wisconsin

Rachel Living in the Real World; The View Hags, Not So Much [UPDATED]

Vatican Newspaper Refers to "Blues Brothers" as "Catholic Classic"

L'Osservatore Romano has referred to "The Blues Brothers" as a "Catholic classic":

Jake and Elwood Blues as the Catholic Church's newest saints? Not quite. But 30 years after comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd -- a.k.a. "The Blues Brothers" -- let us know they were on "a mission from God," the pope's newspaper has given the John Landis cult film two thumbs up, and then some.

"A Catholic Film" was the title of a commentary by the top editor of L'Osservatore Romano, Gian Maria Vian, who has turned the once staid broadsheet into an often trendy and topical must-read.

The plot of the film -- which grew out of a "Saturday Night Live" skit popularized by Aykroyd and Belushi (who died of a drug overdose in 1982) -- revolves around Jake and Elwood's mission to raise money to save St. Helen of the Blessed
Shroud Orphanage, where they were raised, from foreclosure. Jake (Belushi) has just been released from prison, and the stern head of the orphanage, a scary nun played by the inimitable Kathleen Freeman, tells the brothers they must save the home.

Jake and Elwood (Aykroyd) then see the light (literally) in a spiritual revival show led by James Brown, and the movie duo are off on a rollicking ride to redemption, and jail.

L'Osservatore Romano's fulsome coverage in its Wednesday edition featured five articles and several photos, including a front-page piece titled "On a Mission from God (and for cinema)" that said the film should be recommended viewing for Catholics everywhere. The newspaper notes that Elwood even passes up a chance for a one-night stand with a woman played by Twiggy in order to fulfill the higher calling.

[...]

In his editorial, Vian wrote that the evidence of the film's Catholic and spiritual heft "is not lacking in a work where details certainly are not casual." There was a "framed picture of a young and strong John Paul II in a boarding house," Vian said, and St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud Orphanage was "governed by the mean, but affectionate in her own way, Sister Mary Stigmata, a.k.a. The Penguin."

[More]

Citizens Against Religious Bigotry Protests Comedy Central Cartoon About Jesus

Ed Morrissey reports:

Earlier this morning, I joined a conference call staged by Citizens Against Religious Bigotry (CARB), which is protesting a decision by Comedy Central to air a new series titled JC, a satire of Jesus Christ and Christianity. Speakers included:

Brent Bozell – Media Research Center president

Tony Perkins – Family Research Council president

Michael Medved – Nationally syndicated talk radio host

Bill Donohue – Catholic League president

Tim Winter – Parents Television Council president

Rabbi Daniel Lapin – The American Alliance of Jews and Christians

Bozell talked about a “glaring double standard” at Comedy Central. The outlet refuses to air any satirical content that targets Islam, but has no problem airing criticisms of Christianity, Judaism, and other religions. Bozell says JC is “designed to be offensive to Christians. … “We know they are jumping up and down with glee” at the publicity CARB has created, but they feel the need to speak out regardless. Eighty-three percent of Americans consider themselves Christian, “but you don’t have to be Christian to be offended” by anti-Christian bigotry, Bozell said. No “decent” company will want to sponsor this show, and they plan to make that clear to their list of sponsors.

Medved spoke briefly on the double standard issue. Should Christians get punished, Medved argued, for not being murderous lunatics? After all, CC only backed down on South Park’s episodes after threats of violence from adherents of Islam. Even without the threats, Medved says that CC wouldn’t air an analogous series called The Big Mo because it would be perceived as mean and demeaning. Neither would they air a series called The Greedy Goldbergs, for obvious reasons. Why should they repeatedly air shows that attack Christianity?

Donahue offered a caveat to Medved’s remarks by quoting his frequent critics Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who said that Christians would get their way if they only followed the Muslim example. “I don’t get involved in boycotts unless I think I can win,” Donahue said, citing his success against Wal-Mart. He also took credit for the poor showing of The Golden Compass after he initiated a protest movement against the anti-religion movie.

[...]

Bozell says that CARB is not endorsing a boycott, although Donahue called for one. Their intent was to reach out to the advertising community and make them aware of the anger over CC’s programming. Individual member organizations may have their own boycotts, but that won’t be the position of the group as a whole.

[...]

This is an interesting coalition. Bill Donahue seemed ready to go to war, but most of the rest of the people on this call tried to cast this issue in calmer ways. They want to get people on the record as either supporting religious bigotry or opposing it...

(emphasis added)

Actor Jeremy Irons: “One Always Returns to the Fact That There Are Just Too Many of Us”

Guy with 7 mansions and a pink castle rants about "consumption", "sustainability" and "overpopulation":

The world is becoming so overpopulated that nature will one day wreak its revenge, claims Jeremy Irons, the actor.

Launching himself as a green campaigner, Irons has revealed plans to make a documentary about sustainability and waste disposal, likening himself to Michael Moore, the controversial film maker, although “not as silly”.

The increasing global population would put an intolerable strain on the world’s resources, Irons said, and the gulf between developing countries and westerners living a bountiful “pie-in-the-sky” existence must be addressed.

“One always returns to the fact that there are just too many of us, the population continues to rise and it’s unsustainable,” [ED.: "One" does, huh?] he said in an interview with The Sunday Times. “I think we have to find ways where we’re not having to scrap our effluent junk and are a really sustainable planet.”

[...]

In a film on the website 1billionhungry.org, Irons declares: “People around the world suffer hunger — 1 billion. Now that’s bad, worse than bad, that’s crazy! We’ve got to get mad. I want you to get mad. I want you to get up right now, stick your head out of the window and yell, ‘I’m mad as hell’.”

Irons, who owns seven houses, including a pink castle in Co Cork, Ireland, believes a new economic vision is needed in the wake of the global financial crisis. “We are facing an economic revolution,” he said. “I don’t think things can ever be the same again. The next generation will have to think laterally and find ways to cope with this.”

He dismissed the idea that a recovery in consumption would help Britain out of recession: “You walk down the high street and it’s just clothes, clothes, clothes. How many clothes do people need? [ED.: Asks the guy with 7 houses and a pink castle. "One" might very well ask: "How many houses do self-important, bloviating, pseudo-sophisticate actors need?] We’re on a hiding to nothing with that.

“We’ve always known the City was a bubble. We can’t continue to divide the world between people who live a pie-in-the-sky life [ED.: You mean, for instance, like some guy owning 7 mansions and a pink castle?] and people who are starving.”

Irons, who says he runs “very old motor cars” including a 13-year-old Range Rover, also launched an attack on today’s throwaway society. “Why does it make sense for us all to be buying a lot of motor cars [ED.: or houses?], selling our old ones and scrapping them? [ED.: Ah, I get it. You're not selling or scrapping your houses; you're accumulating on to them.] Why don’t we make cars that last for 40 years? We could,” he said.

[More]

(emphasis and editorial commentary added)

My Comments:
Actors ... is there anything they don't know?

An Ecumenicism I Can Support

Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Shintoist, Wiccan, Animist, whatever. Fine is fine, and fit is fit.

And make no mistake: the new Miss USA, Rima Fakih, is smokin' hot, notwithstanding whatever her religion may be. In this instance, I'm ALL for ecumenicism.

The Anchoress has more.

(Hat tip: Opinionated Catholic)

Pro-Life Search Videos

Thanks to my old friend the Regular Guy for sending along these great pro-life Google "SearchStories" videos:

Rachel Campos Duffy: A Real Housewife of Wisconsin

At National Review, Kathryn Lopez interviews "Real World" alumna Rachel Campos Duffy, a Catholic mom of 6 kids and the wife of Sean Duffy, a Wisconsin GOP candidate for the House of Representatives seat currently held by retiring Democrat David Obey:

... a book like Stay Home, Stay Happy: 10 Secrets to Loving At-Home Motherhood, by Rachel Campos-Duffy — which will wind up in the self-help section, if we’re lucky — is so welcome. The author is looking to preserve that which many prominent women — and men — ran away from for all too long, and have paid a price for losing. And she is living, breathing credibility: a young, Catholic, Hispanic mother of six. Who — for a pop-culture reality check — was once on MTV’s The Real World (she and her husband met at a Real World reunion, as it happens) and was almost a co-host of The View (she has been a guest co-host). And she may also be spending time in Washington come January, when her husband, Sean, hopes to be sworn in to the seat of Rep. David Obey, an appropriations powerhouse who has been in office since 1969 (longer than Duffy has been alive). Obey is now retiring, Duffy having run him out of the race.

KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ: When did you decide to become “a self-described advocate and cheerleader for at-home moms”?

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY: I was a finalist for co-host of ABC’s The View twice. The second time I narrowly lost out in the competition, it occurred to me that I was already doing what God was calling me to do — being home, taking care of my kids. Before that, I sort of thought I was “between gigs,” waiting for my next big break. My oldest was five at that time, and I was starting to see the fruits of my time at home with them — their manners and sense of compassion, the things that happen when you parent well. As I began to appreciate what I was doing as a mom, I simultaneously became aware of how little the culture values it. I’m grateful that Sean verbalizes his appreciation for my choice to be home, but so many other women don’t get that validation. Even if we feel good about our days and choices, we still crave that outside validation. I guess I hoped that by writing this book I might in a small way help elevate this noble profession.

LOPEZ: Isn’t it a betrayal of the women’s movement to announce that a woman can stay home and be happy?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Absolutely not! I’ve heard old-school feminists refer to the trend toward at-home motherhood as the “recolonization of women back into the home.” It’s so patronizing. They say our education and degrees are wasted on our children. The truth is that, despite the hard work and long hours, there are many pleasurable aspects of motherhood, and women derive very real satisfaction from feeling like they are doing it well. I think there’s a certain type of feminist who finds that truth threatening to the movement. It’s silly. I have made a choice to fully enjoy my kids and this particular season of my life. It’s a very conscious, powerful decision. In some ways, it takes more guts to buck the financial rewards and adulation that come from a professional career to pursue something so culturally undervalued as at-home motherhood.

[...]

LOPEZ: How often do you run into fellow thirtysomethings with six children? And how often do people say inappropriate things about the fact that you have them?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Not too many thirtysomethings with six kids these days. People always wonder how we do it. I don’t know how we do it. It’s our normal. I do know people who have been chastised by strangers for their big brood and yes, sometimes I worry about environmental fundamentalism and its propensity to see and treat children of large families as environmental “terrorists” guilty of violating some arbitrary carbon-footprint quota. Look no further than the Internet comments on the Duggar family. The vitriol hurled at them is off the charts.

My sister has four kids, and we both find that kids from small families love to come to our houses. One little girl, an only child who was playing at my sister’s house, didn’t want to leave when her mommy came to pick her up. When her mom insisted she get her shoes on, she said, “No, I want to be one of them!”

LOPEZ: You were on a totally different track — Los Angeles and glamour. How did you wind up in Wisconsin and Walmart, and when did you realize you were happy with that life?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: I have MTV to thank for that. Only on The Real World would a conservative Latina from Arizona meet an Irish-American lumberjack attorney from rural Wisconsin. We fell in love and married while I was auditioning for The View. The deal we made was if I got the job, we’d move to New York City. If I didn’t, I would move to Hayward, Wisconsin, his hometown. I didn’t get the job, and I moved from Beverly Hills to rural Wisconsin. I have fallen in love with the people of Wisconsin for the same reasons I fell in love with Sean. They are kind, unassuming, good-natured, and honest. In a nutshell — so not L.A. There is truly no better place to raise kids. As for Wal-Mart, well, I’m not above admitting that most of my date nights with Sean end with a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up diapers and anything else I need. Shopping sans kids is a luxury for me these days!

[...]

LOPEZ: You spend a good amount of time talking about the dad’s role in the life of the at-home mom. Has the feminist movement been damaging to the life of the husband and wife at home? Beyond academic arguments, is it impossible not to see damage that has been done even in fairly conservative family life?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: In some ways, feminism has helped. 1950s dads rarely “partnered” with their wives in matters of home and kids. Boomer dads talked the talk, but ultimately, their wives were “super moms” who ended up burnt out from the double shift. Gen X husbands like Sean walk the walk. Sean’s as comfortable in the courtroom or wielding an ax as he is changing a diaper. He may not always know what I want or need, but he’s genuinely open to being a partner in the relationship and in the division of labor in our home. Clearly, there are some gender differences. For example, Sean splits the wood to heat our home, and in the winter, he also brings it in from the porch every morning and evening. He’s better suited to doing that, and frankly, I don’t want to do it. I’d rather stay in and cook. And that’s okay too. I think today’s men are a big reason why being a wife and mom is getting better. In many ways, men are better. I guess we have their moms to thank for that.

LOPEZ: What’s been the importance of prayer in your life? How do you even do it with kids running around, a busy husband, and your various projects? Isn’t it one of those things that could easily find itself getting dropped?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: I need prayer for sustenance. As a busy mom, I can’t get picky about when or where it happens. I take the moments when and as they come. My prayers include short appeals to God to get me through a difficult “toddler moment,” or our chihuahua peeing on the carpet . . . again! I also learned to count the time I spend with my kids or in service of my family as prayers. We’re driving a lot these days for Sean’s campaign events, and those are perfect times to pop in a CD of the rosary and pray together as a family. It’s easy to let your prayer life fall by the wayside, and sometimes it does. But again, the secret is to remind yourself of the benefits. When I take excellent care of myself from the inside out, I have more to give to my family.

[...]

LOPEZ: Your husband, Sean, is running for Congress. How can that possibly work with six children?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: It’s very tough, and there have been some serious sacrifices. Sean’s a very hands-on dad, and the kids miss him a lot. Sean hits the trail by himself so I can stay home and try to keep things as normal as possible for the kids. In many ways I’m operating like a single mom, and I’ve gained a new respect for at-home moms. . . . Parenting is definitely meant to be a two-person job, and I believe I’m a better parent when he’s around. I hope that as the weather gets warmer, we’ll be able to do more events together as a family. Right now, the kids are looking forward to parade season this summer. I figure they’ll either start to enjoy the campaign more, or they’ll start to hate parades.

[Read the whole thing]

My Comments:
I find myself torn on Sean Duffy's election prospects. On the one hand, I hope he wins because we need more young, strong Christian family men leading our nation, and the Duffy family would be an excellent example to our country of a young Catholic family who walks the walk. On the other hand, Washington corrupts whatever it touches, and I'd hate to see this beautiful family taken from the Midwestern lifestyle that is so obviously serving them well and placed inside the Beltway cesspool.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Rachel Living in the Real World; The View Hags, Not So Much [UPDATED]