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10:58pm | Do you remember your first dance? |
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10:58pm |
Posted a tweet on Twitter.
New blog post: Do you remember your first dance? http://tinyurl.com/5sng9a
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11:55pm |
Scrobbled 14 songs on Last.fm. (Show Details)
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1:00pm | Put on a happy ecumenical face (not) |
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1:00pm |
Posted a tweet on Twitter.
New blog post: Put on a happy ecumenical face (not) http://tinyurl.com/5e7bvn
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4:16pm | Who is shadow casting whom |
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4:16pm |
Posted a tweet on Twitter.
New blog post: Who is shadow casting whom http://tinyurl.com/6xfjb8
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4:35pm | November 26 – St. Asterius of Amasea from the Sermons of Asterius |
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4:35pm |
Posted a tweet on Twitter.
New blog post: November 26 – St. Asterius of Amasea from the Sermons of Asterius http://tinyurl.com/6k9r2r
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From the USCCB website: Polish National Catholic-Roman Catholic Dialogue Explores Transfer of Clergy, Doctrinal Statement
WASHINGTON—”The Polish National Catholic (PNCC)-Roman Catholic Dialogue explored the transfer of clergy and a doctrinal statement at their fall meeting, that took place in Baltimore, November 6-7. Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo and Bishop Anthony Mikovsky of the PNCC Central Diocese in Scranton, Pennsylvania, presided.
The meeting began with a progress report from the Roman Catholic members on a proposal to ask the Holy See if the PNCC could be considered to be in the same position as the Orthodox on two matters. First, PNCC faithful would be allowed to act as godparents at Roman Catholic baptisms in addition to a Roman Catholic. Second, mixed marriages performed in the PNCC without a dispensation from canonical form, even if not lawful, would be considered valid by the Roman Catholic Church. This proposal is under consideration by USCCB committees.
Dialogue members also discussed recommendations to both churches on how to handle cases of clergy transferring from one church to the other. A first draft of such recommendations that draws upon a parallel agreement that already exists in Germany was examined. The draft will be revised on the basis of the discussion and considered once again at the next meeting.
The dialogue also discussed at some length The Declaration of Scranton that was issued by the PNCC bishops last April 28. This text, which was to clarify the PNCC’s position on issues for groups that seek to come into full communion with the PNCC, raised questions for the Roman Catholics that were outlined by Msgr. John Strynkowski, Ph.D., a pastor from the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. The Declaration highlighted divergences between the two churches regarding the teaching authority of the pope, and pointed to a need for further consideration by the dialogue of the Roman Catholic teachings about the Blessed Virgin Mary. The meeting concluded with a discussion of misunderstandings at the local level between the two churches and the best way to deal with them.
Members decided to meet once in 2009 in a longer session than usual, slated for September 28-30.
As such statements go, they attempt to put a happy face on a situation, a situation this writer opines, is going no where. A sure sign is the decrease in the frequency of these meetings.
The reality is that we, along with the Orthodox and Oriental Churches have a far different opinion on the Bishop of Rome, synodality, Roman pronouncements concerning Marian doctrine, (and you can throw in the filioque and the man-made discipline of celibacy for good measure). Once the downward spiral begins, occasioned by the intractable position of the Romans (positions they cannot abrogate without a redefinition of the role of the Bishop of Rome, denouncing that bishop’s full, immediate, and universal jurisdiction, and admitting an error in proclaiming the Marian doctrines that flowed from the “exercise” of said “authority”), then the issues, going beyond core issues, can be piled on as well.
Further, do we need to spend meeting time “discussing” Rome’s opinions on Marian doctrine or the Papacy? Does any Catholic Church need an explanation on this? Does Rome really think that it will win Churches over by demonstrating its arguments — arguments it has promulgated by itself. Does Rome expect anyone to sit there, listening to this, while wistfully gazing at them. We, in the PNCC, know scripture, and the Fathers, and the Councils. For the Roman Church it may make for a fun day of symposia, giving cover for travel, expense accounts, and meals with like minded gents in black suits, but otherwise it isn’t worth the trip. These doctrines are well known, written upon, theologized over, and discussed at ecumenical meetings ad nauseam. In business its called spending time spinning your wheels.
To be plain, the PNCC is the Church. It is Christ’s Church in the manner and style of our Savior who called His people to love one another. The commandment of love lives in the Church, is its teaching, and has Christ as its center. We cannot place our focus, our central focus, on a far off bishop. We cannot bifrucate our love, making love dependent on man-made laws and man-made discipline that bears no relationship to the furtherance of our climb up to Christ, that bears no resemblance to the humanity Christ came to save. Is unity in love to be based on glorification of one bishop over unity itself?
While we are obligated to pray to the Father, with our Lord and Savior, for the unity that seems to elude us, such prayer does not occasion a caving on core issues. If that were so we would not be Church, we would be politicians and businessmen. Prayer occasions action and that action includes our duty to speak truth to power. May God bless our witness, may He endow us with the gift of love.
Do you feel upset when you drop a plate or a pot, and it smashes into tiny pieces on the ground? Do you feel anxious when a strong wind is blowing, and you can hear the tiles on your roof coming loose? Do you feel worried about the crops in your field when it rains so hard that the ground is flooded? Do you feel frightened at night when you hear a door click or squeak, wondering if robbers have come to steal your goods? To feel those things is quite normal. Yet the challenge of our faith is that we become so indifferent to material possessions that nothing of this kind can concern us. Of course while we remain on this earth, we must have plates on which to serve our food, roofs above our heads to keep us dry, crops growing in the fields to feed us, and some basic pieces of furniture in our homes. But if we work hard day by day to the best of our abilities, we can be sure that God will provide what we need. And if something is broken, lost, or stolen, God will decide if and when to replace it.
The Cosmopolitan Review is a new journal from the organizers and alumni of the Poland in the Rockies program. I encourage you to check it out. The following is a quote from the introduction to the first edition:
People tend to unite at times of crisis. We just have to look at the high voter turnout for the last American elections and Barack Obama’s landslide victory for proof. Poles are no exception to this paradigm of uniting during times of crisis, and our history is telling of that.
The idea for the cosmopolitan review came at a time of questioning whether the Poland in the Rockies program would continue existing. Organizers and certain alumni alike wondered whether such immense organizational efforts could be sustained without deeper alumni involvement. Spending 11 days in the Canadian Rockies learning about Polish history, culture and politics is great, but what next? How could we keep the spirit of Poland in the Rockies alive between installments of the program?
As I brainstormed ideas with Irene Tomaszewski, program director of Poland in the Rockies, and Judith Browne, a 2008 alumna, we realized that PitR alumni are actually doing a lot. But since we are spread out all over North America and Europe, it can be challenging to keep up with all of this motion. The idea of a newsletter, which then evolved into a review, was thus born.
From Chicago, Montreal, to Toronto, Edmonton and Halifax, PitR alumni are keeping busy organizing movie screening tours, plays, conferences, as well as radio and television interviews related to things Polish. the cosmopolitan review will not only keep you up-to-date on these events, it will also feature book reviews, news analysis, interviews with academics and commentary from a Polish-American and Polish-Canadian perspective.
What made PitR so special was not only the high caliber of speakers, but also the quality and diversity of students and young professionals attending the program. They are leaders in their respective professional and academic fields of activities, and some of them are introduced in this first issue of the cosmopolitan review: emerging musician Nina Jankowicz from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; Halifax-based filmmaker Eric Bednarski; Dominic Roszak from Ottawa, an actor in Canadian politics; South African writer Judith Browne; Jodi Greig, a polonophile studying in Krakow; Justine Jabłońska, editor-in-chief & project manager of som.com, Marek Broniewski, an Albertan currently studying at the London School of Economics; Agnieszka Macoch, a history graduate from Chicago; Patrycja Romanowska, a columnist from Edmonton; and Vincent Chesney, a Philadelphia-based psychologist. Let’s not forget about Antoni and Jan Kowalczewski from Edmonton: without them, CR wouldn’t be online.
These individuals are part of a valuable and growing network of dynamic individuals. Such a network is not an option in a globalized world, but a necessity.
In this first edition, we also have the pleasure of featuring an account by historian Norman Davies, a comment by former foreign correspondent and editor for Newsweek and current director of public policy of the EastWest Institute Andrew Nagorski, and a portion of an interview with Polish-English translator Bill Johnston, all three Poland in the Rockies speakers; as well as an interview with Timothy Snyder, an American professor of history at Yale specializing in Central and Eastern Europe, whom we’d love to have at the program in the future.
As Snyder told me during an interview after a lecture at the College of Europe in Natolin, Warsaw, there is currently a great opportunity for Poland to turn Polish historical scholarship and historical consciousness into European historical consciousness and scholarship. Poland would win a great victory if Polish history could be integrated in European history. I will add: to North American history as well.
So, how are you going to integrate your roots and your history into your mainstream North American and European lives?
The PitR alumni network is yours. So is the cosmopolitan review. Take advantage of it. Expand it beyond the borders of PitR: contributions won’t be limited to its participants.
I believe in education and I believe in the value of programs like Poland in the Rockies. CR is a reflection of that. It was born in times of double crisis: one of identity, one of economics. In face of these crises, let’s unite. Let’s cultivate our network, and take advantage of it…
In my estimation this effort goes far beyond ‘identity politics’ to identity. In a world of competing influences, competing intellectual, political, and religious allegiances, we need programs, journals, and intellectual exploration such as that presented in The Cosmopolitan Review. These efforts ground us. They are a touchstone in a sea of confusion, a touchstone that Bishop Hodur would easily recognize. We are one people as a diamond is one. We are multifaceted as is the diamond. Those facets bring out the brilliance that is within. Those facets are the cultures of the world and particularly those that espouse humanity – the humanity we all long for.