Archive for July 7th, 2007
Catering To The Masses
There is some concern from the Jewish community on the return of pre-Vatican II prayers that beseech for the salvation of all Jews.
That being said, I have to tell you that my heart is overwhelmed at the depth, breadth, and compassion of Pope Benedict XVI’s wisdom. Take time to read the Pope’s letter and explanation to the Bishops at the bottom of the post.
As someone who remembers the Latin masses as a young child, and I loved them. I loved the ritual, the mysticism, the awe, and I loved when I knew in my heart and in my soul when Jesus was on the altar. As a struggling Catholic through my young adulthood, as Vatican II changes kept appearing, it became harder and harder to understand the changes and accept them. The pastor’s explanation was often terse, unsatisfying, and dismissive. If one by one, the Catholic rituals of the past that I knew and loved were not real, what else was not real?
The decree met with mixed reaction from Catholics, ranging from concern among liberal lay groups to a wary welcome from schismatic traditionalists. Two cardinals who had warned about restoring the old rite supported the way the Pope had done it.
One prominent Jewish leader criticized the revival of a prayer for the conversion of Jews, saying the old text was “insensitive … insulting” and said it could set back the historic reconciliation between Catholics and Jews.
In a letter to bishops, the German-born Pontiff rejected criticism within the Church that his long-awaited move could split Catholics and turn back the clock on reforms introduced in the 1960s, which are opposed by many traditionalists.
The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) replaced Latin with local languages in the liturgy, reached out to other religions and struck out texts that Jews found particularly offensive.
“This fear is unfounded,” the Pope wrote. “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.”
Catholics around the world will have the Pope’s blessing to ask priests to celebrate mass in Latin or get baptized or married according to the old rite. However, the new rights will continue to be the norm, and few are expected to want to return to the formal old rite in a language they do not speak.
Somebody tell poor Ryan.
Read Pope Benedict XVI’s Decree.
Read Pope Benedict XVI”s Letter To The Bishops.
Reading the Pope’s explanation, I found myself saying “yes” and agreeing with each of his charges. His decree is a Solomonic solution. I feel strangely comforted to find that once explained to like a father to a child at their knee, my heart agrees. Now I am eager for the Pope to continue, do it again: raise another issue, find more catholic solutions.
I want to come back.
CNN trackbacks to Sma’ Talk Wi’ T.
Are You Up For A New Job?
Australia company looking for real-life condom testers.
Hard to imagine, huh?
Oh, That Al Gore!
This is why psychics and bookies never win the lottery.
50 Irish bettors win their bet that the next celebrity to be arrested would be Al Gore.
In fact, they were right. Unfortunately for the bookie he forgot to specify which Al Gore would be arrested. So when his son, Al Gore III committed his crimes, the Irish turned in their bets to be honoured. Pay up time!
Live Earth Concert Barely Attended
Live Earth concert goers decided to save more energy and prevent global warming by staying home than listening to Al Gore’s hot air. In fact, 350 young adults attended Fred Thompson’s Young Republican conference and speech than the the 200 green crowd in Washington concert.
Not even Garth Brooks and Trish Young could get the country-western fans out to support the faux cause. I would have thought there would have been more.
Democrats: The Party Of Despair
Fred Thompson impresses Florida’s Young Republicans, calls the Democrats the Party of Despair.
Chants of “Fred” and “Run, Fred, Run,” greeted the actor and former GOP senator from Tennessee from many among the 350 people at the Young Republicans National Convention. The crowd interrupted his nine-minute speech with wild applause and mobbed him when he left.
What Planet Are They Trying To Save?
I love it… Brits want to know what planet Al Gore and Madonna are trying to save? Faux green environmentalism at the expense of the gullible.
Dr Collins estimates that the global audience for Live Earth will generate some 1,025 tonnes of waste. An extraordinary one million people are expected at the free concert at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, featuring Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray and Pharrell Williams.
Other venues including the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg – where Joss Stone is performing – will cater for audiences of tens of thousands.
Live Earth say that they will recycle much of the waste generated. Fine talk, but in fact some of the concert venues are struggling to keep up with their commitments.
A spokesman for Wembley says they only have the capacity to recycle around a third of waste produced – the rest will go into landfill sites.
Travel forms the vast majority of the ‘carbon footprint’ talked of by ecological campaigners – contributing up to 90 per cent of the environmental ‘cost’.
Collins says: “It is patently absurd to claim that travel of this nature doesn’t have an impact. Each person attending the event will have to make a return journey to the venue, be it by air, rail, bus or car. This burns fossil fuel – precisely what we are trying to reduce. “There is also the environmental cost of these artists flying around the world – that is absolutely huge.”
Indeed, an audit of the lifestyles of the A-list performers appearing at Live Earth, reveals that they are among the worst individual polluters in the world, as their world tours and private jets billow thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. One hour in a Gulfstream jet burns as much fuel as driving a family car for a year.
The Daily Mail has found that five of the top performing acts together have an
annual output of almost 2,000 carbon tonnes. Madonna alone has an annual carbon
footprint of 1,018 tonnes, according to John Buckley.Remember, the average Briton produces just ten tonnes.
Artic Monkeys Decry Hypocrisy of Live Earth Concert.
Another example of environmental hypocrisy that highlights the intelligence of the next generation who knows “the emperor doesn’t have any clothes on.” Who is fooling who?
Rock group Arctic Monkeys have become the latest music industry stars to question whether the performers taking part in Live Earth on Saturday are suitable climate change activists.
“It’s a bit patronising for us 21 year olds to try to start to change the world,” said Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, explaining why the group is not on the bill at any of Al Gore’s charity concerts.
“Especially when we’re using enough power for 10 houses just for (stage) lighting. It’d be a bit hypocritical,” he told AFP in an interview before a concert in Paris. Bass player Nick O’Malley chimes in: “And we’re always jetting off on aeroplanes!” Large parts of the band’s hometown of Sheffield were flooded at the end of last month after a deluge of mid-summer rain that some blamed on global warming. Two people were killed.
But the band wonder why anyone would be interested in the opinion of rock stars on a complex scientific issue like climate change.
“Someone asked us to give a quote about what was happening in Sheffield and it’s like ‘who cares what we think about what’s happening’?” added Helders.
“There’s more important people who can have an opinion. Why does it make us have an opinion because we’re in a band?”
The group, whose first record was the fastest-selling debut album in British history, will clock up thousands of air miles — in normal airliners not private jets, they say — during their tour to Asia and Australia in the next few months.
They are not the only stars to take a cynical view of Live Earth, which aims to raise awareness about global warming but which will require many longhaul flights and thousands of car journeys to and from the music venues.
Many of the biggest acts have questionable environmental credentials — the car-loving rapper Snoop Dogg appeared in a Chrysler commercial last year — and there are doubts about the ability of pop stars to galvanise the world into action.
Bob Geldof, the architect of Live Aid and Live 8, the two biggest awareness-raising concerts in history, had a public spat with Al Gore about the need for the event. “Why is he (Gore) actually organising them?” Geldof said in an interview with a Dutch newspaper in May, adding that everyone was already aware of global warming and the event needed firm commitments from politicians and polluters. Roger Daltrey, singer from 1970s British rock band The Who, told British newspaper The Sun in May that “the last thing the planet needs is a rock concert.”
And the singer from 80s pop sensations The Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant, attacked the arrogance of pop stars who put themselves forward as role-models. “I’ve always been against the idea of rock stars lecturing people as if they know something the rest of us don’t,” he was reported as saying by British music magazine NME.
[…]”Live Earth is going to bring together a massive audience around the world to take action against the climate crisis,” says Live Earth organiser Yusef Robb.
“Some may say that rock stars tend to be conspicuous consumers, but if we can get those people to turn the corner then we’re happy to do so.”
Of course, they’re happy to do so, they will make a huge profit off of environmental engenues who feel guilty about the crass devastation of previous generations.
Sma' Talk Wi' T 
