Filum Romanum - A Thread for the Catholic Church

The question is, is this Malicious Misnaming or Accidental Misnaming?

The question is, "Does it matter?" This is OTC, remember.

It was accidental. And Mads is right, lets return to the topic.

From the comment pages of the Catholic Herald:

• ISIS is seeking to bully the world. A Catholic perspective on the rise of Islamic State from Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith.^* "In the land of the Islamic State (IS), terror is once again the order of the day. The filmed murders of numerous innocents, culminating with the murders of two American hostages, is calculated to inspire fear [...] This is an attempt to intimidate the West. [...] it is an attempt to terrorise the entire world, to make us all compliant.
• Dawkins can't see my sister's humanity. By Madeleine Teahan, discussing her sister's struggle with Down's and Dawkins's recent twitter spat, where he urged a pregnant woman whose foetus had been diagnosed with Down's to "abort it and try again."^* "Dawkins’s savage utilitarianism is shocking, but not surprising. He is merely stating the logical conclusion of society’s rationale for justifying abortion up to birth on the grounds of disability. Ask the average Briton and they will argue that, aside from alleviating the burden on the parents, aborting a baby with Down’s is an act of mercy."
• How the sign of peace disturbs me. By Tim Stanley. He argues that the sign of peace is getting a bit...unpeaceful.^* "Isn’t ironic that the bit of the Mass where we exchange a “sign of peace” is the least peaceful bit of all? [...] It breaks up the Mass and, when conveyed with zealotry, transforms it into something it’s really not supposed to be: part hippie love fest, part election campaign (there’s always one fellow who dashes through the pews, clasping hands like he’s chasing votes). I don’t like it."

And something else:

• Pope Francis has become the first Pope and head of state to do a Google Hangout with students from five continents. A video embed is in the link.

And to listen to:

• "Bogurodzica", the oldest hymn of Poland and that nation's carmen patrium ("Hymn of the motherland"). It's quite lovely, though one does realize why they picked the "Mazurek Dabrowskiego" over it to be national anthem.

Have thoughts.

edited 6th Sep '14 3:56:07 AM by Achaemenid

I'm not sure I agree with that article on the sign of peace.

When I went to a youth group I was a little weirded out when the Sign of Peace brought the entire mass to a grinding halt so everybody could mill around the room hugging everybody else. That does seem excessive.

I don't see what's so disruptive about a small handshake or a little wave, though. It always struck me as kind of nice.

That's my least favorite part too.

My congregation (UCC) does something similar to the Sign of Peace, with a reminder in the program to respect other people's touching boundaries. My hometown congregation tried it a couple of times, but it's mostly older rural Minnesotans who are uncomfortable with touchy-feely, so went back to handshakes in the foyer after the service.

I'm all too familiar with the "Peace be with you!" when I'm responding "And, also with you!" while thinking "...ewwww: get offa me! Hand my hand back now, please! No, no kissing! Did I say I wanted kissed?".

One of the bits Anglicanism hasn't got rid of, either. <_<

edited 6th Sep '14 9:06:13 AM by Euodiachloris

In my country, some places still practice it, while others skip that part.

I never saw a big problem with it. However, I do get a bit nervous.

I was never very fond of it either, blame it on the lack of fondness for physical contact.

I'm a hug person. I like it.

Same here. I just don't get why people avoid physical contact in general.

Some of it is just cultural conditioning. Other people have a horror of close physical contact because of trauma—and since we can't tell which is which, we need to respect a person's desire not to be hugged or touched in ways that make them uncomfortable.

Back on topic, gay Irish-Americans will now be allowed to march under their own banners in NYC's St. Patrick's Day parade. The rainbow includes the color green, after all.

They were never prevented from being able to march in the first place. They were just denied special treatment. Now they're getting it.

That's also only very vaguely related to the topic. The NYC St Pat's Day parade is not a function of the Catholic Church. It's run by a completely independent organization.

Seriously, as long as nobody's doing steamy makeouts or groping, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Mass is not a picture frame for solitary prayer or a time to dress up and look like you might be listening to a priest drone on about readings you've heard several times before. It's a gathering of living, breathing people that are presumably a family of sorts to celebrate something that brings them together as much as it brings them to God.

I never had too much of a problem with overly feely folks. If I don't want to shake hands (like if I have a cold), I just fold my arms and nod at everybody who looks at me. Maybe that's a demographic thing?

My church everyone just shakes hands with those right around them.

Pretend I have a cold! Now why didnt I think of that?

I shake hands. I have no problem with it.

I guess I could see why the Sign of Peace might bother some people (cause under the right or wrong circumstances, anything can legitimately bother anyone).

@ Achaemenid

What about the Magdalene Asylums?

You are free to discuss the Magdalene Asylums, as far as I am aware.

edited 15th Sep '14 1:59:51 AM by Achaemenid

Okay then, here's my question: Any reason why the Catholic Church refuses to pay for compensation in regards to how things were inside said institutions?

Because the Vatican wasn't involved in them directly?

Or because it was the work of a few, and most of the facilities actually helped them?

Or because the situation was no worse than many other factories and such of the eras, which also often paid workers in company money that could only be used within the facility?

All of the above?

One more: Outside of Ireland, there's a statute of limitations on this kind of thing. There's not a lot of people to pay compensation to (and Ireland's government is paying compensation).

But yeah, usually these were groups of state-sponsored private citizens engaged in kidnapping and forced labor, not an official arm of the Holy See or even attached to the bishops.