Three hundred years before the first crusade, Muslim jihad invaded Spain and held on for eight hundred years ... they have never apologized

José María Aznar, prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004, speaking in Washington, D.C., on September 22, pointed out that Muslims have never apologized for their jihad against Spain, or for any jihad, but still demand apologies whenever they feel offended by remarks by non-Muslims. “It's absurd,” Aznar said.

Click HERE to read one article.

Click HERE to read another.

"Anglicanism at the Crossroads"

Information from the "Pontifications" blog

The Anglican leaders of the Southern hemisphere have just published a statement communicating their own reshaping of the worldwide Anglican community, whether or not they have the Archbishop of Canterbury on their side. "They will no longer tolerate theological revisionism."

Also this month, twenty-one Episcopalian/Anglican bishops have gathered in Texas and now published a statement "that they are Anglicans first, Episcopalians second." (Episcopalian membership has taken a nosedive ever since the 2003 election of an openly gay man as a bishop.)

The "Pontifications" blog has links to the two published statements.

About 2,000 in Madrid rallied today for the Pope

The Spaniards know what jihad is. The Muslims invaded Spain in A.D. 711, driving the Christians into the northern mountain ranges. Spain was not free of the jihad for the next 800 years.

Translations of some of the placards at the rally today

EVERYONE WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI
WE ARE ALL THE POPE
THE SPANIARDS ARE WITH YOU

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION NOW



GOD IS CHARITY

LONG LIVE THE POPE

Help Joee put the Catholic view on the BBC!

Last Sunday, he blogged his photos of the "jihad" that took place outside the London cathedral.

With your support, he may have a chance to speak on the BBC-- where the Catholic perspective needs a chance to be heard.

Visit his blog and leave a comment!

ISLAM WILL CONQUER ROME ... POPE GO TO HELL ... ALLAH CURSE THE POPE

Mr. Some is out of touch.

Colbert on the Pope and Muslims

The Memorial of the Martyrs of Valencia, September 22

In Spain, historically one of Europe’s most staunchly Catholic countries, large numbers of Catholics were butchered during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War solely for being Catholic. Unlike the martyrdoms in most parts of the world, whole sectors of the religious community were liquidated. More than 6,800 bishops, priests, male and female members of religious were martyred. Many were tortured and mutilated before execution. Entire convents were raped. Devout Catholic lay men and women also suffered horrendously. In the 20th century, probably no country witnessed so much bloodshed among its clergy and religious as Spain.

Today is the Church's memorial of the 233 martyrs in Valencia alone.

In the city of Barbastro, Huesca Province, a young student of the Benedictine monks of El Pueyo was imprisoned with the monks. He was later released, but the monks were slaughtered.

El Pueyo Benedictine Monastery

Here is his eyewitness account of the events in Barbastro leading up to the martrydom of the Benedictine monks of El Pueyo in 1936.

A new convent in San Diego!

In my church neighborhood!


Visit their website.

U.S. Muslims raise money to rebuild churches

Though Palestinian Muslims have reacted violently to recent remarks by Pope Benedict XVI, Muslims in the United States are raising money to help rebuild churches damaged in the protests....

In Tampa, a branch of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations gave $5,000 to help repair the churches in the West Bank and Gaza. Council officials said it was the first gift in a national fundraising campaign. CAIR has criticized the pope's Sept. 12 speech at Regensburg University in Germany, but it has also condemned the violent protests.

Excerpted from the Washington Post. Read the complete article online.

NBC is STILL considering a broadcast of Madonna mocking Christ

UPDATE. It seems our protests have worked massively. NBC now seems to be backing down after they were flooded with objections. Click HERE to read about it. Lonelymans.blogspot.com alerted me. I suppose if we still lodge some protests NBC will know just how unacceptable we all find any such future planned offenses.

When she performed her crucifixion in Rome, only two miles from the Vatican, she included background video in which she mixed images of Pope Benedict XVI with those of Hitler and Mussolini.

We can still do something about it.

My Daily Meanderings

The American Papist

Amy Welborn's Open Book

Cosmos, Liturgy, Sex

The Curt Jester

Fanatholic

Gerald Naus Says "The Cafeteria Is Closed"

A Happy Catholic Woman

Ignatius Insights

Jimmy Akin

Mark Shea Is Catholic & Enjoying It

Matthew Lickona Blogs GodsBody

Pontifications

The Shrine of the Holy Whapping

Father Jonathan Morris gives his outline of the Pope's Regensburg lecture

1. Human reason is capable of apprehending the truth about God and man, even if in an imperfect manner. Reason and faith are not at odds.

2. God himself is bound by truth and goodness. Theology that insists on God's absolute “transcendence” or “otherness” sets the stage for sophistry, where zealots can make him say or do whatever they want.

3. If we divorce faith from reason (as some philosophers of the “Enlightenment” tried to do) or reason from faith (fundamentalism of all types), there is no foundation for intercultural dialogue.

4. Excluding religion and morality from intellectual discourse and public life (as Europe has done and America is imitating) is seen by other cultures (Islam) as “an attack on their most profound convictions”. In other words, when Muslims see Western immorality and decadence it is easier for them to “justify” irrational behavior.

Read the rest of Father Jonathan's article.

A Muslim leader says today Muslims offer only "TV beheadings and barbaric killings of innocent people in the name of our great religion"

"As a moderate Muslim living amongst Muslims, Christians, and Jews, I am asking myself what have we, Muslims, brought forth to today's civilizations that would appeal to other religions and prompt them to imitate us or praise us? We have but TV beheadings and barbaric killings of innocent people in the name of our great religion. Are we then surprised to hear other religious people with followers all around the world ask us, through factual history, why we are so violent?
The words of Pope Benedict should not be examined with scorn but with scrutiny."

-- Farid N. Ghadry, President of the Reform Party of Syria.
September 21 in The Washington Times.
Read the complete editorial online.

Now ... to lighten up, watch this!

Saying "cheese" won't help. Just make sure you don't blink!

[I first posted this on August 5]


I saw it in "The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen".

I see the resemblance

A fully-veiled Palestinian on her way to Islamic Friday prayers in Jerusalem’s Old City passes through a checkpoint where an Israeli policewoman inspects her photo I.D.

From "The View from the Core"

Housekeeper says Ratzinger “never made any of his staff feel inferior”

Recollections from Pope's former housekeeper


[Sister Agapita, of the Sisters of Mercy convent in Munich, was a housekeeper to Cardinal Ratzinger, was one of three nuns who looked after the household of Cardinal Ratzinger until he was called to Rome. She says that she was impressed by the dignity and faith that radiated from him.]


We spent many joyful moments together.

… he really involved us in his daily life and we also used to pray together.

I was sent to look after his household in 1972 at the archdiocese, and was very much in awe of him and my new position. So I hoped he was not going to be there when I first arrived, to give me some time to adjust to the new situation and learn everything around the household. I was lucky, because for the first week of my taking up my new post, he was away at a Bishop's conference and so I had a chance to familiarize myself with my new tasks. But I need not have worried, because he was a very humble person who never made any of his staff feel inferior. On the contrary, he always made us feel like we were important to him and that we were all one big family in the face of the Lord.

[The German board game "Mensch ärgere Dich nicht"] was one of his favorite games, and it means, translated, "don't get annoyed" because you can be in the process of winning and at the last moment be booted out by your opponent. When playing this game, I found out that Cardinal Ratzinger had a wonderful sense of humor and we laughed a lot together.

[When Pope John Paul II was shot, Cardinal Ratzinger immediately] gathered all of us around to say the rosary together with him for the Pope's recovery. I thought it was really significant that he had asked his staff to join him in prayer, fostering among us the feeling of community and union.


Excerpted from the Independent Catholic News

Memorial of 103 Korean Martyrs, September 20

In 1784, the first known baptism of a Korean took place in Beijing, China. He returned to Korea, and, though not a priest, he began to catechize and baptize other Koreans. Korean laypeople continued to catechize and baptize. The first time a Catholic priest entered Korea was fifty-two years later, in 1836. He found a catechized community of baptized Catholics. The priest was beheaded three years later. Over ten thousand Korean faithful suffered martyrdom. Today's memorial honors about 103 whose names are known, and who died between 1839 and 1867.

To this day, lay Korean catechists are extremely well-trained and exercise prominent leadership in the Korean Catholic Church.

Read more.

"Eve, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Adam."

I came across it at fanatholic.com

The Pope's condolence telegram for the murder of Sister Leonella

[Note from Fr. Stephanos, O.S.B. The Italian original is in “telegramese”. I’ve translated it into English telegramese.]


TELEGRAM OF CONDOLENCE OF THE HOLY FATHER FOR THE DEATH OF SISTER LEONELLA SGORBATI, 19.09.2006

We immediately publish the telegram of condolence for the death of Sister Leonella Sgorbati, killed last Sunday at Mogadishu, sent by the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Superior General of the Missionaries of the Consolata, through the Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone:

TELEGRAM OF THE HOLY FATHER

REVEREND MOTHER GABRIELLA BONO
SUPERIOR GENERAL MISSIONARIES OF THE CONSOLATA
VIA CASSIA KM 37—BIVIO UMILTA
01036 NEPI

INFORMED OF THE TRAGIC DEATH OF SISTER LEONELLA SGORBATI BARBAROUSLY KILLED AT MOGADISHU
SUPREME PONTIFF DESIRES TO CONVEY EXPRESSION OF HIS CLOSENESS TO THIS MISSIONARY INSTITUTE AS WELL AS TO THE RELATIVES.
COMPASSIONATE RELIGIOUS WHO CARRIED OUT WITH JOY PRECIOUS LABOR IN SERVICE TO SOMALI POPULATIONS ESPECIALLY IN FAVOR OF NEWBORN LIFE AND IN THE SPHERE OF HEALTH TRAINING.
WHILE REAFFIRMING FIRM DEPLORATION OF EVERY FORM OF VIOLENCE HIS HOLINESS HOPES THE BLOOD SHED BY SO FAITHFUL A DISCIPLE OF THE GOSPEL MAY BECOME SEED OF HOPE TO CONSTRUCT AUTHENTIC BROTHERHOOD AMONG PEOPLES IN MUTUAL RESPECT RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS OF EACH AND WHILE HE RAISES FERVENT PRAYERS OF SUFFRAGE FOR THE WELL-DESERVING MISSIONARY HE IMPARTS COMFORTING APOSTOLIC BLESSING TO THE SISTERS, RELATIVES AND ALL WHO MOURN HER VIOLENT PASSING.

CARDINAL TARCISIO BERTONE
SECRETARY OF STATE OF HIS HOLINESS


[The Italian original is on the Vatican website.]

My Junior High Outline of the Pope's Regensburg University Lecture

FAITH, REASON AND THE UNIVERSITY
Memories and Reflections

[1.0] Believing and Reasoning are compatible.

[2.0] Some persons have made Believing and Reasoning falsely incompatible.
Those persons come from the three biggest groups that are interacting to shape the world today.
Those groups are the following.

[2.1] Some past and present Christians.

[2.2] Some past and present Muslims.

[2.3] Some past and present secular Westerners.

[3.0] Would all three groups now please sit down together and talk about the real compatibility of Believing and Reasoning?

Jihad PROTECTING a Catholic church!

Palestinian militants from Islamic Jihad stand as protectors outside a Roman Catholic church in the northern West Bank village of Al-Zababedah near Jenin town, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

Members of the militant Islamic group in the village claimed that they would prevent anyone from vandalising Christian sites in the area.

Dear Visitors and Commenters!

[Updated with additional observations]


The lands washed by the Mediterranean Sea were Christian.

Then Islam happened, wiping out most traces of Christianity in the lands on the Southern, Eastern and Northeastern Shores of the Mediterranean ...
... before the Crusades ...
... provoking the Crusades ...
... causing the start of Crusades as defensive responses.

From North Africa, the Muslims invaded Spain in A.D. 711, exterminating, driving the Christians to flee to the northern extremes of Spain. Spain would fight for nearly eight hundred years to retake its land.

From Spain, the Muslim armies advanced into France, reaching as far as Tours and Poitiers in the middle of France. They were, however, defeated there in 732.

The first crusade was not launched until 1095. The last Medieval crusade ended with the defeat of Christian forces about 1290.

I do not say that all the Crusades were justified. I do not approve of the historical Crusades such as they were. However, I do believe in self-defense and protection of the innocent.

In 1453, the Muslims smashed the Christian kingdom at Constantinople, the heart of Eastern Christianity.

In 1571, Christian Europe united to defeat yet another Muslim invasion at Lepanto.

Muslim attempts at invasion continued, and in 1683 their attempt to take Vienna, Austria, failed.

So:
several hundred years of Muslim invasions before the Crusades,
and several hundred years of Muslim invasions after the Crusades.

The history of Islam in the West IS violent aggression from the very beginning.

[By the way ... click on: an atheist’s SUPERB EXPLANATION of the Pope’s controversial lecture.]

One of you, my visitors, has submitted a comment more than once containing a title that "religion is the opposite of truth, wisdom, and justice." I ask you please to write also of the twentieth-century Communist attempts to eradicate religion, resulting in the very "opposite of truth, wisdom, and justice" that you assign to religion. Since your comment implicitly censors that from the historical record, I have chosen not to allow your comment to appear on my blog. Yes, my choice is censorship-- as was yours. My blog, not yours!

To All My Visitors and Commenters,
Again, yes, I screen the items submitted to me as comments, and I decide which comments I allow to appear. This is my blog. If you don't have your own, you can start one at no cost.

Help is on the way

With your rod and your staff and your spear you comfort me....



Ready! Aim! Friar!
And from the rifle's butt to yours....



The Sisters of Charity and Justice

A MOST EXCELLENT explanation of the Pope ... by an atheist!

As you know, a firestorm has erupted over the Pope's September 12 lecture at the University of Regensburg.

Very few in the media-- or in the churches and mosques-- seem to be able to understand the lecture itself.

Here is a link to an atheist's essay that clearly and effectively gives a breakdown of the lecture. The writer has his own political agenda, however he is spot on in his understanding of the Pope's lecture.

I highly recommend you read the explanatory essay, link to it on your blogs and pass it on to anyone who might be interested in discussing the Pope's lecture with you.

An atheist's well-done explanation....

Sister Leonella Sgorbati, of the Institute of Consolata Missionaries

She was born in 1940.
She entered the religious order in 1963.
She worked training nurses at a children's hospital in Mogadishu.
Men gunned her down outside the hospital this Sunday.
Her last words before dying: "I forgive, I forgive."


Here's an online article with more details.

ISLAM WILL CONQUER ROME ... POPE GO TO HELL ... ALLAH CURSE THE POPE.

OUTSIDE THE LONDON CATHEDRAL DURING MASS TODAY

Click on the photo to see it larger.



A London Catholic has posted his experience and more photos on his blog.

Message of the Pope, 12:02 P.M. on Sunday 17 September at Castel Gandolfo, Italy

". . . intensely sorry . . ."

I listened to an Italian video of the message, and wrote it down. It is his official, personal, public "apology" in which he expresses lively sorrow for the reactions to his words about Islam.

Click HERE if you wish to view the video.

I give first the Italian, and then my translation.

UPDATE. I had originally taken down the Italian as "rammaricato che le reazioni". I have listened to the video again, and I must correct myself. It is "rammaricato per le reazioni". I have accordingly corrected my translation to "sorry for the reactions"-- replacing the incorrect "sorry that the reactions".

- - -

Desidero solo aggiungere che sono vivamente rammaricato per le reazioni suscitate da un breve passo del mio discorso nell’Università di Regensburg, ritenuto offensivo per la sensibilità dei credenti musulmani, mentre si trattava di una citazione di un testo medioevale che non esprime in nessun modo il mio pensiero personale.

Ieri, il Signore Cardinale Segretario di Stato ha reso pubblico a questo proposito in cui ha spiegato il senso autentico delle mie parole.

Spero che questo valga a placare gli animi e a chiarire il vero significato del mio discorso il quale nella sua totalità era ed è un invito al dialogo franco e sincero con grande rispetto reciproco.

- - -

My Translation

I desire only to add that I am intensely sorry for the reactions brought on by a brief passage in my discourse at the University of Regensburg, [a passage] deemed offensive to the feelings of Muslim believers, which [i.e., the brief passage] dealt with a citation from a Medieval text that does not express in any fashion my personal thought.

Yesterday the Lord Cardinal Secretary of State published this intention in which he explained the authentic sense of my words.

I hope that this is able to ease spirits and clarify the true meaning of my discourse that in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue with great reciprocal respect.

- - -

I inserted the [bracketed] words in italics in my translation to make clear the sense contained in the structure of the original Italian.

Most interesting: when the Pope said “Medieval text” some in the crowd began to cheer.

Vatican to unveil necropolis discovered in parking lot dig

The Vatican has said the necropolis is only second in importance to the one underneath St. Peter's Basilica.

The Church was made manifest to reveal Christ

1076 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

From time to time we may come across a reference to Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. However, CCC 1076 speaks of Pentecost as the day the Church was made manifest, not born.

The Church is more than the apostles empowered by the Spirit to be "born" from the Eucharistic chamber through the intercession of the Mother of Jesus.

The Church is also Christ. Christ the Head ... in himself ... and in his members, his body.

The Church began with the Incarnation of the Son of God-- by the power of the Holy Spirit-- in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

That "scandal"-- that is, the human incarnation of the eternal Son of God-- by the power of the Holy Spirit-- is infinitely deepened by the miserable, criminal's death on the cross that the Son of God personally underwent. This deepening of the scandal also is "by the power of the Holy Spirit."

how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? [Hebrews 9:14]

His bodily resurrection is a scandal to those who do not have faith. The scandal of the resurrection is also "by the power of the Holy Spirit".

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. [John 20:21-22]

In light of the scandal of the Incarnation-Cross-Resurrection, the scandal of the Church is a bare and "faded" scandal. Yet, it is also a perpetuation of the scandal that is Christ himself.

The making manifest of the Church beginning at Pentecost continues the manifestation, the revelation of scandal that is Christ.

It is a revelation that continues exactly as it was first made manifest at Pentecost:

... from the Eucharistic Chamber that is the Mass...

... through the intercession of the apostolic communion of saints united in prayer together with Mary the mother of Jesus ...

... and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

------------
I posted this earlier on the Catholic Catechism Dialogue Blog