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Vatican decries abortion-ban repeal

01 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul's wish for the Corinthians is that they be free of anxiety. President Obama may have wished for the same as he quietly ended the ban this past Friday on federal funding for international groups that perform or provide information about abortions. Vatican officials, however, reacted quickly. Last Sunday's edition of L'Osservatore Romano featured a front-page headline describing Obama's decision as "very disappointing. That same day, a top Vatican official lashed out at the new U.S. President. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, told the newspaper that the repeal of the abortion-funding ban was done with the "arrogance of those who, having power, think they can decide between life and death. . . . What happens in the U.S. influences other parts of the world. . . . [Its leaders] must be capable of listening, having humility, and maybe even asking others for help." President Ronald Reagan established the ban in 1984, and it has been overturned and reinstated each time the White House changes parties. * An article by Jeff Israely for Time.

barack obama pontifical academy for life archbishop rino fisichella losservatore romano abortion funding
An unexpected “thumbs up”

17 May 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday's reading from the First Letter of John encourages its hearers to love one another. There was no love lost between many in the Catholic Church and the producers of the 2006 film The Da Vinci Code, which suggested Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children. But Vatican reviewers gave a surprisingly positive assessment to Angels and Demons, the movie adaptation of another novel by Code author Dan Brown. L'Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper, described the Ron Howard film, which opens this Friday, as being filled with historical inaccuracies but also said it offers "more than two hours of harmless entertainment, which hardly affects the genius and mystery of Christianity." It characterized the movie as "a videogame that first of all sparks curiosity and is also, maybe, a bit of fun." The reviewers suggested the church should consider rethinking the way it presents itself in the media rather than regarding the success of Brown's works as a threat: "It would probably be an exaggeration to consider the books an alarm bell. But maybe they should be a stimulus to rethink and refresh the way the church uses the media to explain its positions on today's burning issues." In Angels and Demons Harvard academic Robert Langdon--played by Tom Hanks in both films--comes to the aid of the church when it is threatened by an ancient cult. "The theme is always the same: a sect versus the church," said L'Osservatore. "This time, the church is on the side of the good guys." Source: Articles by BBC News and Ariel David for The Huffington Post

losservatore romano da vinci code angels and demons catholic church media dan brown
Blessed be the Simpsons

24 Oct 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

From the “humble shall be exalted” side of the gospel equation comes news that bumbling, beloved Homer Simpson is being claimed as family by none other than L’Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper. The paper declared that the beer-swilling, doughnut-loving Homer and his family are Catholic--and what’s more, it says that parents should not be afraid to let their children watch “the adventures of the little guys in yellow.” “Few people know it, and he does everything to hide it. But it’s true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic”, the paper said in an article on Sunday headlined “Homer and Bart are Catholics.” The paper cited a study by a Jesuit priest of a 2005 episode of the show called “The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star,” which concluded that “The Simpsons” is “among the few TV programs for kids in which Christian faith, religion, and questions about God are recurrent themes.” The Simpsons pray before meals, and the family, “in its own way, believes in the beyond,” the newspaper quoted the Jesuit study as saying. It’s the second time the animated television series, which is broadcast in 90 countries, has been praised by L’Osservatore. Last December the paper described the show as a “tender and irreverent, scandalous and ironic, boisterous and profound, philosophical and sometimes even theological, nutty synthesis of pop culture and of the lukewarm and nihilistic American middle class.” But the show’s executive producer Al Jean told Entertainment Weekly he was in “shock and awe” at the latest assertion, adding that the Simpsons attend the “Presbylutheran” First Church of Springfield. “We’ve pretty clearly shown that Homer is not Catholic,” Jean said. “I really don’t think he could go without eating meat on Fridays--for even an hour.” Source: Articles by Nick Squires for Telegraph.co.uk and by Reuters

losservatore romano homer simpson the simpsons
Pope’s condom comment creates controversy

28 Nov 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

With the hour of salvation nearing, the reading from the Letter to the Romans this Sunday suggests we should “make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” An excerpt from a book-length interview with Pope Benedict XVI has created a stir this week with publication of comments that appeared to nuance, if not shift, the Vatican’s blanket opposition to condom use. On Saturday the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published excerpts of Light of the World, a lengthy interview between Benedict and German journalist Peter Seewald. In one excerpt Benedict says that there may be certain situations in which the use of a condom might be appropriate to lessen the risk of transmission of HIV infection. Benedict's comments have drawn tremendous attention, in part because he's received criticism in the past for upholding the Catholic Church's anti-condom stance even in the face of the worldwide AIDS epidemic. On his way to hard-hit Africa last year, for example, the pope said that condom use did not prevent the spread of AIDS; only fidelity and abstinence did. In the excerpt from Light of the World, Benedict is quoted saying that condoms were not a "real or moral solution” to the AIDS epidemic, adding that that “can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.” But he added that “there may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility.” The pope also referred the need to reduce “the risk of infection” as a factor to be considered. AIDS activists called the pope’s comments a breakthrough, while some members of the church hierarchy and Catholic commentators said the pope's remarks have been misconstrued. The Vatican played down Benedict’s words, or at least contextualized them, noting that the pope was not changing church doctrine banning contraception or justifying condom use but only acknowledging it as a lesser evil than spreading a life-threatening illness. Source: Articles by Alex Eichler for The Atlantic Wire, Jeannine Nuss for Associated Press, Rachel Donadio and Laurie Goodstein for the New York Times, Father Raymond J. de Souza for NationalPost.com (Canada), the USCCB Media Blog, and Telegraph.co.uk

benedict xvi losservatore romano aids hiv condoms light of the world