St. John Paul II, Ora Pro Nobis!

We have this photo hanging in the entryway hall of our home. We bought it shortly after the death of Pope John Paul II, which occurred less than a year after we entered the Catholic Church. If it weren't for this man, I would not be Catholic. For that reason alone, I am thrilled with his canonization today.

St. John Paul II, ora pro nobis!

Habemus Papam!

White smoke already!

The "Holy See Gull" was a sign.


UPDATE:

Whoever is Elected Pope ...

... simply MUST have a seagull somewhere on his coat of arms.

Nostalgic for the Crusades?

As Brad Miner notes at The Catholic Thing, Baylor University historian Rodney Starks has a new book that makes the case in favor of the Crusades:

Pray for me, folks, because I’m nostalgic for the Crusades.

Of course a twenty-first-century fellow can’t really be nostalgic for the eleventh or twelfth centuries, since nostalgia properly means severe homesickness, a yearning for familiar conditions from a prior period in our own lives. But there’s a secondary meaning: a wistful longing for a lost dominion. I’m idealistically attracted – as perhaps I should be – to the qualities of the knight, such as honor and bravery, and incautiously suppose – as no doubt I shouldn’t – that these qualities arose in a time and in places congenial to virtue. Chivalry! The Crusades! Something to fight for! Where the heck are my sword and my steed?

If the Crusades ever evoked appreciation – and they did – that particular lost dominion took a pretty serious blow on September 16, 2001 when in an Oval Office speech George W. Bush said: “This crusade, this war on terrorism is gonna take awhile.” The press swooned and Muslim sensibilities were outraged, encouraged perhaps by the media swarf. That’s a mere eight years ago, but the Crusades – their reputation already foundering in the multicultural chop – have all but sunk into the black hole of politically correct disdain. Even “Kingdom of Heaven,” Ridley Scott’s 2005 film about the Third Crusade, failed to make the great expedition very interesting. Many saw the film as a scolding commentary on Crusader Bush.

Enter historian Rodney Stark, riding my missing horse. His new book, God’s Battalions, is actually subtitled: The Case for the Crusades. And he makes the case! With admirable frankness and flair. He writes that the prevailing wisdom about the Crusades may indeed be that “an expansionist, imperialistic Christendom brutalized, looted, and colonized a tolerant and peaceful Islam,” but Stark’s next words are telling:

“Not so.”

Professor Stark (Baylor University) emphasizes that the onset of hostilities between Christians and Muslims long pre-dated the Crusades. We too often forget that for six centuries after the Resurrection there was no Islam and much of northern Africa and what we now call the Middle East were Christian or pagan. But from the beginning of Muhammad’s public life – and especially after his death in 632 – his followers began making war on just about everybody, and within a century Islam had swallowed up most of that eastern territory and by 1095 – when the First Crusade left Europe for the Holy Land – the Byzantine Empire, Christendom’s eastern bastion, was in grave peril of conquest, which is why the emperor, Alexius Comnenus, wrote to Pope Urban II telling horror stories about Muslim atrocities against Christians and begging for military aid from Europe.

Islam, according to the historical record as Stark presents it, is a “religion of peace” mostly in the sense that it seeks to subdue and unify the people it conquers. True, the Qur’an forbids forced conversions, but in practice this has meant that “subject peoples were ‘free to choose’ conversion as an alternative to death or enslavement.” And to be fair, in some places – Spain (Al-Andalus) is a good example – Christians and Jews might live in relative peace, since the Muslim ruling class sequestered itself, paying little attention to subject people (dhimmis) except at tax time. To many in southern and eastern Europe, Muslim expansion began to seem all but unstoppable . . . until it stopped. Christians fought back. Constantinople was able to hold off its invaders in several successful sea battles. Charles Martel defeated a Muslim force in what would become France. The Reconquista began in Spain, and in 1094 the legendary El Cid defeated an Islamic army at Valencia. Islam was in retreat.

With the letter from Alexius in hand, Urban II exhorted Christians to come to the aid of their besieged and battered co-religionists in the east, and 35,000 answered the call.

[More]

Pope Greets "Hope"?

My friends at Darwin Catholic just forwarded me this sickening piece of propaganda from Catholic Democrats:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2009

Media Contacts:
media@catholicdemocrats.org
Ph: 617-817-8617


Catholic Democrats Announces "Pope Greets Hope" Campaign to Support July 10th Meeting Between President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI

Thousands of Catholics Signing Letter of Solidarity at http://www.popeandpresident.org/

Boston, Mass. - Catholic Democrats, a not-for-profit national organization advancing a public understanding of Catholic Social Teaching and its potential to help solve the challenges confronting out society, is announcing today a new Web site - http://www.popeandpresident.org/ - in support of the upcoming meeting between President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI on July 10th. The site invites Catholics to sign a Letter of Solidarity with the Pope and the President.

The letter outlines the mutual efforts of the pope and the president on a broad range of pressing issues, including:

building true understanding among nations

eliminating nuclear weapons

promoting economic justice and reducing the poverty that diminishes the dignity and potential of people across the globe

working toward the common ground of promoting the sanctity of all life [ED.: This would be laughably funny if it weren't such a pathetic misstatement of this President's intentions and if real lives weren't being lost due to his policy preferences]

encouraging the world's great religions to greater dialogue and understanding, thus promoting peace and tolerance

and supporting programs and policies that preserve God's creation

"As Catholics in America, we are gratified that you, our Pontiff, and you, our President, recognize the opportunity before you now to promote the common good. [ED.: What? The Vatican (under this Pope and previous Popes) and previous presidents didn't recognize previous opportunites to promote the common good? Only "now" this is happening? Spin, spin, spin.] You inspire our hope and call us to personal and social responsibility to help make the world a better place for our human family. We pledge to work with both of you in this effort and we pray that your meeting will lead to a new quest to establish peace, promote freedom, and enhance the dignity of all humanity," reads the Letter of Solidarity.

"By meeting in the early days of this new administration, President Obama and Pope Benedict have signaled their intent to embark on a productive collaboration," [ED.: That's a somewhat presumptuous statement regarding the Pope's intentions, is it not?] said Dr. Patrick Whelan, president of Catholic Democrats. "At a personal level, these two men share an expansive intellect and a love of learning. But the real story of this meeting is the extensive common ground shared by the Vatican and this White House [ED.: That's the "real story", huh? Or is that the spin you'd like to put on the story in order to gloss over the GLARING differences between the Church and the President on life issues?] on confronting issues ranging from the devastation of poverty due to the world economic crisis, to healing the planet and promoting peace."
The president and the pope will meet on the afternoon of July 10th at the Vatican, following the G8 Economic Summit in L'Aquila, Italy.

"When popes and presidents meet, great things can happen," said Steve Krueger, national director of Catholic Democrats. "Given the global issues before us today, arguably the most daunting in generations, as well as the anticipated papal encyclical on economic justice, this meeting takes on added significance. It presents an historic opportunity for these two pivotal leaders to provide a vision of the possibilities to address the world's challenges from the common ground they share, including the hope that shapes their lives. We urge people to join us in offering their prayers and support for the pope and the president."

//End



About Catholic Democrats
Catholic Democrats is an association of state based groups representing a Catholic voice within the Democratic Party, and advancing a public understanding of the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching and its potential to help solve the broad range of problems confronting all Americans. For more information about Catholic Democrats please go to www.catholicdemocrats.org

(emphasis and editorial commentary added)

My Comments:
And before the "tu quoque" games begin, I defy anyone to find a similar statement regarding the Pope's various meetings with the previous occumpant of the Oval Office (especially one equating George W. Bush with one of the cardinal/theological virtues ... much less designating him as the embodiment thereof) coming from a prominent group of Catholic conservatives.


UPDATE
The Cranky Conservative offers his take here: "Shameless".


UPDATE #2 (1 July 2009)
My post on the subject at First Thoughts:
President to Give Author of Spe Salvi Pointers on “Hope”
(hat tip to Christine for the idea)



Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
President Obama to Visit Vatican

Toledo Seminarian Reports on Show of Solidarity for Holy Father at St. Peter's Square

(Hat tip: Dave Hartline at The Catholic Report)

One of the Diocese of Toledo's fine seminarians blogs about the show of solidarity for the Pope at St. Peter's Square in the wake of the La Sapienza affair.

This Day in Jacobite History: 200th Anniversary of Death of Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (13 July 1807)

Henry IX and I
Henry Benedict Stuart,
Cardinal Duke of York

On this date 200 years ago - 13 July 1807, died Henry Benedict Cardinal Stuart, the last legitimate Stuart claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland.

Henry Benedict Stuart was the grandson of King James II and VII, and the second son of James Francis Edward Stuart (the Chevalier de St. George) and Maria Clementina Sobieska, daughter of Prince James Sobieski of Poland. His more famous brother was Charles Edward Stuart, known to history as "Bonnie Prince Charlie".

In addition to his royal lineage, Henry was also a Prince of the Church, taking holy orders at the age of 22 and becoming one of the longest-serving Cardinals in the history of the Catholic Church. He is perhaps best known by the title "the Cardinal Duke of York".

From his Wikipedia entry:

Henry Benedict Cardinal Stuart (March 11, 1725 – July 13, 1807) was the fourth and final Jacobite heir publicly to claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne. In January 1766 the Papacy recognised the Hanoverian dynasty as lawful rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland.

He spent his life in the Papal States serving as the Dean of the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. At the time of his death he was (and still is) one of the longest serving Cardinals in the Church's history.

In his youth Henry's father made him Duke of York (in the Jacobite peerage), and it was by this title that he was best known. Upon the death of his brother in 1788 Henry became known by Jacobites, and within his personal entourage, as Henry IX & I, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, although publicly he referred to himself as Cardinal-Duke of York nuncupatus.

Notwithstanding his claim to the throne, Henry was in general a peaceable man, attentive to his duties, well respected and a generous host in Rome to many English and Scottish visitors, both Roman Catholic and Protestant.

***
Henry Benedict, his brother, his father and his mother are buried in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. There is a monument to the Royal Stuarts designed by Antonio Canova in the basilica to their memory on one of the columns in the basilica proper. This was restored within living memory at the expense of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

[More]

Links:
Henry Benedict Maria Clement Stuart, Catholic Encyclopedia article
Henry IX and I, The Jacobite Heritage

Henry Benedict Stuart, English Monarchs - The Jacobite Succession
Heraldry for the Cardinal Duke of York, Andrew Cusack
'Henry IX' 1807-2007, Fr. Nicholas Schofield
Portraits of Henry Benedict Maria Clement Stuart, Cardinal York (1725-1807), National Portrait Gallery
The Last Stuart and Royal Hospital Chelsea Commemoration of the Bicentenary of the death of Henry Benedict Stuart, July 2007, Young Fogey


Tombstone of Henry Benedict Stuart
Now located in the Pontifical Scots College, Rome

Tomb of the Royal Stuarts
Crypt of St. Peter's Basilica, The Vatican, Rome

Royal Stuart Monument, The Vatican, Rome
Inscription translation:
To James III,
son of James II, King of Great Britain,
to Charles Edward,
and to Henry, Dean of the Cardinal Fathers,
sons of James III,
the last of the Royal House of Stuart.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
This Day in Jacobite History: Mary Queen of Scots Deposed - 24 July 1567

This Day in Jacobite History: The Battle of Killiecrankie - 27 July 1689

This Day in Jacobite History: Death of Queen Anne; George, Elector of Hanover, Becomes King - 1 August 1714

This Day in Jacobite History: Proscription Act Introduced, Banning Tartan and Carrying of Weapons - 1 August 1747

This Day in Jacobite History: Latin Mass Outlawed in Scotland - 11 August 1560

This Day in Jacobite History: Raising of the Jacobite Standard at Glenfinnan - 19 August 1745

This Day in Jacobite History: Marriage Ceremony of James Francis Edward Stuart and Princess Maria Clementina Sobieska - 1 September 1719

This Day in Jacobite History: Death of King James II and VII - 16 September 1701

This Day in Jacobite History: Charles Edward Stuart Arrives in Edinburgh, Proclaims His Father Rightful King - 17 September 1745

This Day in Jacobite History: Lochaber No More - 20 September 1746

This Day in Jacobite History: Charlie Stuart's Finest Hour, the Battle of Prestonpans - 21 September 1745

This Day in Jacobite History: Birth of King James II and VII - 14 October 1633

This Day in Jacobite History: Charles Edward Stuart's Entry into Derby, England - 4 December 1745

This Day in Jacobite History: Jacobite Retreat from Derby - 6 December 1745

This Day in Jacobite History: Charles Edward Stuart Born in Rome - 31 December 1720

This Day in Jacobite History: Martyrdom of Mary, Queen of Scots - 8 February 1587

This Day in Jacobite History: The Acts of Union - 1 May 1707

Pope Rebukes Blair, Speaks of "True Conversion"

Maybe we should count the Holy Father among those not convinced by Tony Blair's talk of converting to Catholicism:

The Pope spoke yesterday of the need for “true” conversions to Catholicism a day after rebuking Tony Blair over the war in Iraq and legislation passed during his years in power on abortion, gay adoption, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research.

The Vatican said that there had been a “frank exchange” on “delicate subjects” during Saturday’s meeting between Benedict XVI and Mr Blair, who is thought to be close to converting to Catholicism. Vatican sources said that the formula used was “the nearest the Vatican comes to referring to a row without using the word”.

Yesterday, as he addressed English-speaking pilgrims in St Peter’s Square, the Pope said: “Today, as the Church celebrates the birth of St John the Baptist, let us ask for the gift of true conversion and growth in holiness, so that our lives will prepare a way for the Lord and hasten the coming of His Kingdom.”

This could be read as a papal reminder of the need for those considering conversion — even a world figure like Mr Blair — to do so away from publicity.

The Pope wished Mr Blair well on his plans to work for Middle East peace and inter-faith dialogue. The two met privately for 25 minutes and then — in an unusual gesture — were joined by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

The Papal statement also referred to the Pope’s disappointment over Mr Blair’s failure to back the Vatican’s campaign to have a reference to Europe’s Christian roots and values inserted into the EU constitution.

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
Don't you love how all the media outlets are trying to make the Pope's criticism of Blair all about the Iraq War? Don't get me wrong: I realize that the Holy Father is not pleased with the initial decision to go into Iraq, nor with how things have gone since the invasion began.

But if Iraq were really the sum total of what was bugging the Holy Father, wouldn't the communiques coming from the Vatican following the Pope's meeting with President Bush last week have been equally, if not more, harsh? In fact, Pope Benedict, while sternly criticizing the President on Iraq, had strong words of praise for the President on his record of promoting a culture of life and defending the traditional family. (Instead, all the MSM had to focus on was the President's alleged faux pas in referring to the Pope as "sir".)

No, the Vatican doesn't seem chiefly concerned with Iraq where Tony Blair is concerned. Rather, the Pope seems to be taking issue with the incongruity of Blair's quite public intimations of a conversion to Catholicism while the Blair government has had such a horrendous record, both domestic and international, on matters of import to the Church. (In fact, I would guess that the Holy Father was expressing more concern with the new U.K. Sexual Orientation Regulations and their potential effect on the Church in Britain than he was about Iraq.)

See also the American Papist for the Pope's comments about miracles being "hard to come by in Britain" here and here.

Pope Benedict Tells Faithful That May the Month of Mary Gives Us Hope to Spread the Gospel

(Hat tip: Dave Hartline at Catholic Report)

The Holy Father, citing the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, encourages the faithful in the fundamental task of spreading the Gospel:

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – May, the Marian month, an opportunity to rediscover, with the early Church, the fundamental task of the Christian: courageously announcing and bearing witness to the Gospel. This was the recommendation of Benedict XVI for Catholics on the eve of a journey he will undertake this month to Latin America, from 9 to 15 May. He will be going to Brazil chiefly to preside over the opening of the fifth assembly of that continent’s episcopate, which covers nearly half the global Catholic population.

After the recital of the Regina Caeli, the pope greeted around 40,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square on this beautiful spring morning...

Before the recital of the Marian prayer, the pope addressed all those present, describing May as the “Marian month par excellence”. “After Vatican Council II, which underlined the role of the Most Holy Mary in the Church and in the history of salvation, the Marian cult underwent a profound renewal. And the month of May, coinciding at least in part with the Easter season, is highly propitious to illustrate the figure of Mary as a Mother who accompanies the Community of disciples gathered in unanimous prayer, waiting for the Holy Spirit (cfr Acts 1: 12-14). This month, therefore, could be an opportunity to return to the faith of the early Church, and together with Mary, to understand that today too, our mission is to announce and testify with courage and joy to the crucified and risen Christ, the hope of mankind.”

To Mary, Mother of the Church, the Pope entrusted his journey to Brazil and especially the Assembly of the Latin American Bishops...

Saddam's Right-Hand Man to Seek Asylum in Rome

Tareq Aziz to seek asylum in Rome:

dubai • Iraqi former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz wants to live in Rome after his release from jail, believing he will be welcomed in the Italian capital, an Arab newspaper reported yesterday.

Aziz’s plans were revealed by his lawyer in Baghdad last week, the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al Awsat said.

“I want to live in Rome. The Pope and Italian officials welcomed me,” Aziz said in answer to a question about his future hopes delivered via his lawyer.

Aziz was the only Christian member of Saddam Hussein’s cabinet and frequently met Pope John Paul II and his close advisers, the last time in mid-February 2003, barely a month before the beginning of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The 71 year old surrendered to US troops in Iraq in April 2003. Since then he has been imprisoned at Camp Cropper, a holding centre near Baghdad international airport.

Aziz is suspected of involvement in the execution of dozens of members of the former Baath regime in 1979 and mass killings of Shi’ites and Kurds in 1991, but his legal representatives say he has yet to be charged.

[More]

Beware ...

... the Ides of March.

Auntie Joanna in the Eternal City

Joanna Bogle has returned from her trip to Rome.