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Let's be honest: Patrick Reilly has been beating the same dead horse for a decade now. The "Cardinal Newman Society" involves neither Cardinals, nor Newman, nor even a Society. It does, however, include as its "President" the enlightened fellow who wrote this piece. If there are other employees (not his wife, mind you), one wonders what exactly they do in this "Society." Yes, you're right, the most important issue Pope Benedict should address is what kind of plays twentysomething girls propose for staid college campuses. You get the feeling ol' Pat might have some issues with sex? Maybe it was just me. The Pope didn't seem too concerned.

to Patrick Reilly:

Now I know why no one takes you seriously.

I think I will found my own Cardinal Newman Society and make a website listing all the supposedely "Catholic" colleges and universities that have pro-war speakers at commencements, bring in individuals or receive donations from corporations/entities that contribute to environmental degradation, aka the destruction of God's creation for personal profit, anyone who supports unbridled capitalism which impoverishes God's flock, etc, etc.

Focusing obssessively on sexual morality was a hallmark of the JPII era which has now ended. Those who only focus on sexual morality and ignore the Church's teachings on just war, the death penalty, and the environment are just as much "cafeteria catholics" as anyone else.

to Patrick Reilly:

Now I know why no one takes you seriously.

I think I will found my own Cardinal Newman Society and make a website listing all the supposedely "Catholic" colleges and universities that have pro-war speakers at commencements, bring in individuals or receive donations from corporations/entities that contribute to environmental degradation, aka the destruction of God's creation for personal profit, anyone who supports unbridled capitalism which impoverishes God's flock, etc, etc.

Focusing obssessively on sexual morality was a hallmark of the JPII era which has now ended. Those who only focus on sexual morality and ignore the Church's teachings on just war, the death penalty, and the environment are just as much "cafeteria catholics" as anyone else.

So, Patrick Reilly founded the Cardinal Newman Society. What an irony. A great scholar and educator, John Cardinal Newman would not support the narrow Catholicism professed by Patrick Reilly. He was always under suspicion by the conservative wing of the Church of his day. An example of Newman at his best? Read his monumental A Grammar of Assent. William Taylor

Catholic "truths" that can be defended? Philosophers gave up on the possibility of constructing irrefutable arguments proving the existence or non-existence of God, first causes, what it means to exist and other subjects of metaphysics the late 19th century. Today serious philosophers confine themselves to elucidating the long history of philosophy, explaining its methods, various schools, etc. and logic. We know no truths. All we have is our experience and that of others, that scientific evidence. We can collect experiential data to prove theories that are based on a few unproven fundamental assumptions, i.e., our proof of a truth is based on a priori accepted truths that are unproven. All there is is belief. The frenzy of the Catholic Church to prove the unprovable and not rest its truths on faith alone is what leads to cynicism and loss of faith.

At the great Catholic universities, they are coming go grips with the reality of the historic Jesus. In ten years, these universities will be Catholic in name only.

A synopsis of 200 years of historic Jesus studies :

Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/ simple preacher man who suffered from hallucinations and who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a mamzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). Analyses of Jesus’ life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, On Faith panelists) via the NT and related documents have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.

The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hittites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics. earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html

For added "pizzazz", Catholic/Christian theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".

Luther, Calvin, Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley et al, founders of Christian-based religions, also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingie thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immaculate conceptions).

Pat,

I thought your essay was a bit wordy, so I've condensed it for you:

Oh noes!!! The Vagina Monologues! Icky girl parts gross me out! I'm a sad little man!

Cheers.

" By choosing honorees, lecturers and commencement speakers who are public abortion-rights advocates, some Catholic educators flagrantly disregard the U.S. bishops’ 2004 mandate against such honors"

but pro iraq invasion speakers are fine?

yuck
No wonder so many have left the church.

If Bene had any backbone, he'd publicly chastise the white house

So, let me get this straight. All that is needed to improve Catholic colleges and universities is to restrict academic freedom, eliminate freedom of speech and elevate theology over scientific evidence. That is one of the most intellectually and morally bankrupt essays I've read in a long time.