Friday, March 29, AD 2024 1:16am

The Silencing of Sister Jane

Sister Jane Silenced

Sister Jane Dominic Laurel was tossed under the bus so frequently last week that I hope she will be able to get the tread marks out of her habit.  A vibrant teacher of Catholic orthodoxy on sexual morality based on Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, she had given lectures around the country with no controversy until she gave a presentation at the hilariously misnamed Catholic High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and some parents and their spoiled brats decided to stage a massive hissy fit.  Go here to read all about it.

The diocese of Charlotte wasted no time in cowardly apologizing for the presentation of Sister Jane.  Go here to read all about it.

Now, her own order and Aquinas College are sending her under the bus:

From Sister Mary Sarah, O.P., President of Aquinas College:

The events around the recent talk by Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, O.P. in Charlotte, NC have produced a great deal of speculation from many sides. Among the commentators, there are few who were actually present to hear the talk, which was not recorded.

It is the firm belief of Aquinas College that all men and women are created in God’s image and likeness and are made with a capacity to love and be loved. The College supports the Catholic Church’s teachings which are open to the diverse needs and desires of all, which must be considered in light of eternal truths.

We support and affirm that every man and woman, regardless of his or her state in life, deserves respect, and that the health of any culture is gauged according to the capacity of its members to uphold their own beliefs while respecting the beliefs of others. The College’s patron, St. Thomas Aquinas, was known for his ability to thoughtfully consider all things and retain what is true, regardless of the source of that truth.

We believe it is our privilege to bring the best aspects of our faith tradition to bear on the moral and cultural questions of the present age. In her presentation, Sister Jane Dominic spoke clearly on matters of faith and morals. Her deviation into realms of sociology and anthropology was beyond the scope of her expertise. Sister is a trained theologian from a Pontifical University and has the credentials to contribute to scholarly bodies of work. This she has done in the past with distinction. The unfortunate events at Charlotte Catholic High School are not representative of the quality of Sister’s academic contributions or the positive influence that she has had on her students. The students at Charlotte Catholic were unprepared, as were their parents, for the topic that Sister was asked to deliver. The consequence was a complete misrepresentation of the school’s intention to bring a message that would enlighten and bring freedom and peace.

There are no words that are able to reverse the harm that has been caused by these comments. The community of Aquinas College is saddened by this extreme outcome and wishes to reiterate that this is not something the College condones or desires to create. There is division where there should be unity. The events and discussions that have transpired over the last two weeks reflect that there is something in this that surpasses an ordinary high school assembly.

Sister Jane Dominic has cancelled her speaking engagements and, at her request, is preparing to begin a sabbatical from teaching at Aquinas College. It is our sincere hope that the community of Charlotte Catholic High School will soon begin a process of healing and renewal, and that all who have been affected by this event will be drawn into profound reconciliation as we approach this great season that commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The message from this fiasco is quite crystal clear: if you speak up in defense of traditional Catholic morality, and those who hate that morality take offense at what you say, you are on your own Jack and Jane.

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Mary De Voe
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:03am

“It is the firm belief of Aquinas College that all men and women are created in God’s image and likeness and are made with a capacity to love and be loved. The College supports the Catholic Church’s teachings which are open to the diverse needs and desires of all, which must be considered in light of eternal truths.
We support and affirm that every man and woman, regardless of his or her state in life, deserves respect, and that the health of any culture is gauged according to the capacity of its members to uphold their own beliefs while respecting the beliefs of others.”
.
“…while respecting the beliefs of others.” “Others” are respected. Not so of their beliefs. Others are respected as sovereign persons, even when their sovereignty over themselves is disrupted by irrational beliefs.
.
Consider the atheist. Religion is man’s relationship with his Creator in every freedom enumerated in the our founding principles. “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship,…” Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Church. Religion is man response to God’s gift of Faith. Worship is man’s expression in response. Whereas, the atheist disposes himself not to worship or Faith, but using his God-given free will chooses to deny his Creator, his rational, immortal human soul, his very existence as a human being.
.
I do not respect the atheist’s belief, for the atheist is corrupting our constitutional posterity, denying to all men perfect Justice, the Justice that only God, an infinite God gives.
The virtue of freedom must remain absolute, so that when the atheist acknowledges his rational, immortal human soul he may be welcomed.The beliefs of the atheist are anathema in a court of law. The atheist was told by the Supreme Court (I believe that was in Engel v. Vitelli) that “she may go her own way” until she learns better.
.
The common culture has permeated the souls of our Catholic Universities and nonsense and more nonsense issues forth. The dragon spewed water from its mouth.

Mary De Voe
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:07am

Thank you, Sister Jane Dominic Laurel for causing Aquinas College to expose itself and show its true colors of the rainbow.

fRED
fRED
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:09am

I emailed Sr. Jane’s superior, Sr. Mary Sarah (srmsarah@aquinascollege.edu)-President of Aquinas College, yesterday (Saturday) in support of Sr. Jane. To my surprise, I received a reply:

“Sister Jane Dominic has only tried to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to a world in need of healing. The Dominican Sisters and the Aquinas College community are in complete support of Sister Jane Dominic. We have concerns for Sister’s personal safety at this time. Please keep this intention in your prayers.”

It truly is a shame that the April 4th statement by Sr. Mary Sarah was released and is still posted. The Charlotte Diocese has not done her or Fr. Kauth any favors either.

I anticipate that we will see no further movement on this as the institutional Church quietly lets this pass and focuses on the ritual celebrations with the Easter season. In my opinion, this is more cowardice and only further confuses people due to the lack of any firm resolution. The “Progressive” can feel like they gained the upper hand by their crucifixion of Sr. Jane and the savaging of Fr. Kauth at the “parents” meeting. The Church has thrown the Progressives their bone.

Mary De Voe
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:10am

“There are no words that are able to reverse the harm that has been caused by these comments” –
.
“harm” indeed. Like holy water on the devil.

Mary De Voe
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:15am

“We have concerns for Sister’s personal safety at this time.”
.
Protective custody? Inside a lion’s den?

Philip
Philip
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:19am

From St. Thomas; “Obviously sins of passion are due to an excessive love for self. A man commits sins of passion because he has an excessive desire to acquire good things for himself. His excessive desire for the good things of this world shows that he loves himself more than he loves God.”
-from the beginners, The Summa Simplified for Everyone.

Question. Why couldn’t Sisters own order grow a spine and quote St. Thomas since the goal is to save souls, not “be nice.”
Jesus is allowing Sister a taste of His passion.

Philip
Philip
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:39am

For Sr. Jane. “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matt. V 3-10

Chris
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:53am

lol… yes, the Nashville Dominicans, well-known for their cowardice and heterodoxy…

Guys, this order is the complete opposite, as those at all familiar with them are well aware; there’s more going on here that meets the eye. And no, we in the blogosphere don’t have a right or a need to know what it is. Cf. St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae, Secunda Secundae, Q. 167 on the vice of curiosity.

fRED
fRED
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:53am

The shameful response of the institutional RC Church to this incident has been sad and harmful. It is a stain on orthodoxy and conservative and traditional values.

To date, the controversy has focused on the clash between conservative/orthodox values and “Progressive” “values” as well as the disastrous response by the institutional Church. However, we may be missing a bigger issue.

I am currently reading/studying “Acts of Apostles.” This morning I read Chapter 15 (i.e., “The Council of Jerusalem”) – which appears to correlate with the current situation. I strongly recommend that everyone read and contemplate Ch 15 before proceeding in further discussion. Perhaps this Word will help frame a more positive context for moving forward.

First, let me assure you that I am a firm proponent of the traditional family and sexual mores as well as the RC Church’s position on homosexuality and the like. Leaving aside whatever Sr. Jane may have said, could it be that orthodox, conservative RCs are taking the role of Pharisees in this debate? It seems clear that the Progressive view the orthodox/conservatives as strict advocates of a plethora of rituals and rules not dissimilar to the “law of Moses.”

To the Jewish Christians of that time (and also, just the Jews), the idea of admitting uncircumcised Gentiles to the Church was anathema. Granted, the RC church already has reasonable position on the participation of non-practicing homosexuals (and divorced Catholics, etc).

Nonetheless, perhaps it would be appropriate to rethink what our purpose is as well as the role of Christ. Acts 15:10-11 appear to be key, especially the issue of salvation: “We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” [Acts 15:11]. Thus, the issue is faith versus works. We need to figure out how we can be unified enough to be a light to the world for the glory of God.

I suspect that the Pope’s suggestion about shifting priorities was intended to move us towards the message of the salvation through the grace of God’s Christ and away from the pride of our works. The question is do we trust God to work his grace in us and others or do we focus on the minutia of works. There must be a middle ground. The miscommunication about this middle ground of the grace of Christ is where the leadership of the Church has fallen.

Holy Spirit guide your Church as you guided the apostles in Jerusalem. Through debate and discernment direct our Church leaders toward decisions that express your will. Fill us with faith, courage, grace and strength to be the kind of people you desire. Amen.

Chris
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 8:09am

Jesus was pretty clear about how we are to go about fraternal correction, and opining publicly prior to having complete possession of the facts was not part of the process.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 8:23am

Two disgusting aspects of this: the people going out of their way to frag this woman and the people going out of their way to excuse the bishop.

bill bannon
bill bannon
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 8:27am

” We have concerns for Sister’s personal safety at this time.”
Now finally I understand the Sabbatical. She must have received a very explicit and anonymous death threat and feels that she puts her sister nuns in jeopardy. She looks Chinese. Chinese women do not fear death for themselves ordinarily ( my wife’s name is Jinxing…the stories I could tell would make hard men tremble). North Carolina Catholicism loses her in perpetuity now. If her order needs a non order safe house /(armed protection) furnished apartment ( huge cherry desk with bookcase front…light turquoise carpet, white monkish walls throughout)..bannonwilliam65@yahoo.com. We got ya back Sisters…say the word. Broadway and Museums a ferry away….duck filled park nearby. Take a break.

Philip
Philip
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 8:28am

fRED.

I have done what you asked.
I do appreciate your spirit. Unity.

I do take comfort from verse 18; “To the Lord was his own work know from the beginning of the world.”

However the following verse speaks of “openly speaking.” The acceptance of Gentiles.

Are we to be silent in the face of Grave matter? Should we quiet ourselves as our neighbors risk the loss of their souls?

Unity yes…but in union with Truth Life and Christ.

Paul W Primavera
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 8:48am

I am absolutely disgusted with the Diocese of Charlotte where I live. Yes, Sister Jane’s words on sexual morality are very difficult to accept. So were the words of St. Paul. So were the words of Jesus Christ. Yes, it is true that we all are guilty of some sort of sexual immorality. Thank God for the Sacrament of Confession and Reconciliation. But just because we have failed the Lord and the Lord is Love does not mean that we should be confirmed in our failure! That is the opposite of love. Yes, there is controversy over what she is alleged to have said – that masturbation, pornography, divorce and single parenting “cause” homosexuality. More likely, however, what was expressed is that one form of sin or its consequences increases the susceptibility to another form of sin or its consequences. Sacred Scripture itself is replete with examples of that. I hope therefore God has mercy on our souls and brings all of us to repentance. Surely that was the Sister’s message. Her You Tube videos are certainly consistent with that theme. And it is that very message against which these oh so enlightened parents – whether Democrat or Libertarian – object. It is this message that strikes the hearts of the spoiled brats that are their children, and gives them the pangs of conscience that they would rather not face. We too have not been guiltless. But our guilt is no reason to justify us in sin so that we go to hell. Sister Jane and Father Kauth understand that. Rotten parents and spoiled brats and a weak, kneed, yellow-bellied, cowardly Episcopacy obviously refuse to. Deus miserere nobis!

Penguins Fan
Penguins Fan
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 9:02am

Paul,

Your words were fitting for me back in 2004 when John FARC Kerry was running for President. As everyone knows, Kerry married the widow of John Heinz. Teresa Kerry is a crackpot, to say the least. She inherited an estate near Pittsburgh, among other things, from her late husband. Kerry showed up for Communion in a Pittsburgh area Mass and received. Then Bishop Wuerl fully supported Kerry receiving Communion, his outspoken support for abortion notwithstanding.

There are some good bishops here in the US and elsewhere but the weak ones try to tear down everything the good bishops build up.

I am a Catholic because Jesus founded this Church and Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Weak clergy make me angry at them but they do not discourage me from being Catholic.

Jerry L.
Jerry L.
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 9:22am

For Sister Jane:
“And David said unto Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.: (1 Chronicles 28:20).

Bill Sr.
Bill Sr.
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 9:31am

The clear but unfortunate Message here is…..Today, the Church is more interested in Relativity than Martyrdom.

Chris
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 9:48am

Don, I agree with your response to me, but in this particular instance… it’s the Nashville Dominicans we’re talking about… they are among the lionesses of the Church in our country, they are a rock-solid community, fervently & vocally orthodox that’s busting at the seams with vocations and requests to send their sisters around the country & the world, and they’re doing so in the heart of the bible belt in full Dominican habits. There is no more courageous community of women religious, and hence there is absolutely no way that they are throwing Sr. Jane under the bus or silencing her because of her orthodoxy.

Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 9:48am

Two things strike me in the statement from Aquinas College

“Among the commentators, there are few who were actually present to hear the talk, which was not recorded.” From the first, I considered the failure to ensure the availability of an authentic text was a great lapse of judgment, for which the school must bear a measure of responsibility

“Her deviation into realms of sociology and anthropology was beyond the scope of her expertise…” Sutor ne ultra crepidam (cobbler, stick to your last) is a sound maxim, especially on questions where experts disagree.

Let us hope her community gives her the opportunity for a period of prayerful discernment.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 11:05am

No, it did not “strike” you, Michael, because you’ve been trafficking in the same trivia. That the college makes use of the same excuses you cook up does not make them any less spurious.

Paul Rath
Paul Rath
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 11:21am

“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Luke 12:49-53

Bring the fire, Sister!

DJ Hesselius
DJ Hesselius
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 11:43am

I am not sure why pulling in articles from Linacre Quarterly, a “reputable journal” and data from the CMA is a problem in order to explain why divorce (or homosexuality or whatever it was she said) is not a good thing. (Now, if Sister was quoting Playboy, that might be an issue.) I have often pulled up random articles on Google in order to help explain why contraception isn’t a good thing (hormones get into the water, damages amphibious and aquatic life, etc).
.
But to me, as an outsider, yes, it seems as if Sister Jane is in fact being thrown under the bus. Maybe she is, and maybe she is not, but that is what it seems to me. And what influence does that have on me as the mother of three boys? At one time, I very much wanted to have my eldest be a priest. No longer. There are articles about loneliness, about accusations about child molestation (some true, some not true.) And I’ve seen (and read articles) how good, orthodox priests are not supported by their superiors. The statement by Sister Mary of the college seems just a tad too conciliatory to those who made a fuss.

Karl
Karl
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 1:10pm

The days of darkness are upon the Catholic Church.

bill bannon
bill bannon
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 1:39pm

DJ Hesselius,
As an administrator, I think Sr. Jane’s superior went straight to the catechism after perhaps hearing from the Bishop and saw the sentence that said SSA’ genesis is largely unexplained:

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained.Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. (2333)

Romans chapter one talks very different but perhaps about normal people who become SSA through non sexual sins mainly around the issue of worshipping that which is other than God. Sr. Jane may have been oriented toward Romans chapter one ( hence her comments revolved around choices that bring on SSA) while the catechism writer may have been aware of the genetic literature as in the problem of the chimeric individual who can be really a composite of fraternal twin brother/ sister eggs which fused into one cell mass resulting in one birth but of a person who is partly of both genders.

Romans chapter one and the catechism are not at odds but they are talking about two groups of people….Romans about those who bring on their SSA by sinful choices and the Catechism talking about the
group who have SSA from genetic origins. Sr. Jane is more Romans one ( and thus offended those oriented toward genetics as source) while her superior probably felt safest checking the catechism which certainly does not address what Romans chapter one does ON the aspect of origin.

Tom M.
Tom M.
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 2:17pm

Full damage control and I get the reasons – money is at stake here. I’m sure there is fear among the bishops that teaching the truth about human sexuality will make the vast majority of American Catholics uncomfortable and affect the bottom line. But the time for wishy washy teaching is over. I’d like to see an announcement at every mass that says if you’re contracepting, self-abusing, engaging in sodomy, watching heterosexual sodomite pornography, etc. you are not to come to communion. Let the chips fall where they may.

Paul W Primavera
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 4:06pm

Folks,

I just read thru the comments again and still find it incredible that this happened not at a liberal progressive Diocese in California, New York or New England, but in the supposedly orthodox Diocese of North Carolina. If the orthodox fail us, then what hope is there? Sorry for being so pessimistic, but I am disgusted.

ANNE
ANNE
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 4:53pm

All Catholics are obliged to adhere to everything within the “CATECHISM of the CATHOLIC CHURCH, Second Edition”. Bishops, Priests and Nuns are no exception.
Regarding homosexuality please see: CCC # 2357, 2358, 2359, and 2396. In the footnotes please see the following Bible passages referenced –
Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tim 1:9-10.
______________
On the Vatican web site, please see Pope Benedict’s: “LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
ON THE PASTORAL CARE OF HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS” which includes: “15. We encourage the Bishops, then, to provide pastoral care in full accord with the teaching of the Church for homosexual persons of their dioceses. No authentic pastoral programme will include organizations in which homosexual persons associate with each other without clearly stating that homosexual activity is immoral. A truly pastoral approach will appreciate the need for homosexual persons to avoid the near occasions of sin.”
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html
__________________
Any violations must be reported to the Diocese Bishop. If that does not work, report it to the Vatican.
Code of Canon Law: ” Can. 808 Even if it is in fact Catholic, no university is to bear the title or name of Catholic university without the consent of competent ecclesiastical authority.”
” Can. 812 Those who teach theological disciplines in any institutes of higher studies whatsoever must have a mandate from the competent ecclesiastical authority.”
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM
_________________
“APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION of the SUPREME PONTIFF JOHN PAUL II on CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_15081990_ex-corde-ecclesiae_en.html
“Article 5 § 2. Each Bishop has a responsibility to promote the welfare of the Catholic Universities in his diocese and has the right and duty to watch over the preservation and strengthening of their Catholic character. If problems should arise concerning this Catholic character, the local Bishop is to take the initiatives necessary to resolve the matter, working with the competent university authorities in accordance with established procedures(52) and, if necessary, with the help of the Holy See.
_________________
Everyone should contact the office of the appropriate Diocese Bishop, and if that does not work, contact the Vatican.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 5:06pm

Anne, the diocesan bishop is part of the problem here.

Ez
Ez
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 5:12pm

Tom M- yep, it’s all about the money. And the damage control to keep it flowing in. Don’t upset the fly-by Catholic with deep pockets because the admin department might not be able to afford their Belgium chocolate biscuits at morning tea.

It’s clear that the religious education at this College is poor to begin with. Because a Catholic student, does not get a shock, when hearing the correct Catholic Doctrine in human sexuality if they have good formation.

The Church should strip this college of its “Catholic” title and give the needed funding to a college that actually follows the teaching of the institute it belongs to.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 6:10pm

It’s a high school and the diocesan bishop can close it if necessary.

Pat
Pat
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 6:40pm

First, I hope that Sister Jane and the Dominicans will be safe, sound, and strong in the practice of their faith. I believe the Lord will help His people because He knows them.

This situation of blowback reaction and disparagement of the teaching, the evidence of anger from those associated with Catholic High School students, and the lack of a firm voice referencing for all the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible to be able to avail themselves of further study combine to allow so much confusion.

The young adults may learn to discern the sounds and messages of love and hate, mercy and intolerance through this experience as they develop their reason with these perspectives on the world they enter. It is a sorrow that they cannot have higher minded ideas to be considering when defining good and bad or right and wrong.

gedda fan
gedda fan
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 6:54pm

Art Deco – tip o’ the hat to your ability to accurately put in a few brief lines the crux of the issue and probable cause.

DJ Hesselius
DJ Hesselius
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 7:03pm

@ Bill Bannon:
.
I have the CCC, 2nd edition. It notes that the copyright for the Latin edition was 1994–20 years ago. And the CCC was most likely in the works for many years before it was finally copyrighted. Ergo when the CCC says that SSA’s “psychological genesis remains largely unexplained,” the CCC may have been accurate at the time that portion was written, but more recent science may very well point to SSA coming fro, or at least being highly influenced by, a broken family/broken culture situation. (My personal thought it is that SSA is a mental disorder that arises from a combination of genetics and social environment–some people can be helped overcome it through psychotherapy and counseling, but others will not.)
.
But I don’t know what Sister Jane said, and I don’t know what articles she referred to in the Linacre Quarterly, or CMA data or whatever. All I can say, is that from where I sit, it looks like she has been thrown under the bus. She may not have been, but that is my impression based on what I’ve read on this blog, news articles elsewhere, and my own personal experience trying to defend the Church’s (God’s really) position on contraception.

bill bannon
bill bannon
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 8:19pm

DJ Hesselius,
I think there are entirely two distinct groups. Romans chapter one is from God and is not to be ignored or repealed and it says that in some cases, sodomitical activity is the result of God withdrawing from those who worshipped something other than him. With them, SSA is their fault due to ignoring God too long.
Group two are those who have SSA as the result of all these enumerated multiple possibilities….chimerism, divorce, abuse, genetics etc. The catechism stressed group two origins and only referred readers to Rom.1.
What the percentages are of the two groups…70/30…50/50….90/10??? Who knows? What they have in common is that they cannot follow the inclination just as I cannot look with desire at any woman but one.
But I think Romans one is totally relevant to modern man and his new idols that replace God and so I suspect group one is larger than most people think. Romans one is partly about the severity of God and His withdrawal of grace…which is a tough subject even for Christians who like to think it over with Christ…but it’s not over as the epistles make clear.
Romans 11:22
” See then the goodness and the severity of God: towards them indeed that are fallen, the severity; but towards thee, the goodness of God, if thou abide in goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”

Ez
Ez
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 9:18pm

Yes, clearly the Diocese Bishop is weak. You would think that the Church should appoint Bishops and Cardinals with sound management skills, just like corporations appoint managers with good management skills.

To clear the situation, why doesn’t the Bishop investigate the situation. Firstly, ask Sister Jane what exactly she spoke about- a transcript perhaps.

If all she did was reiterate aspects of the CCC then he should then hold a meeting with the parents of the students and explain that they send their children to a Catholic school and should therefore expect their children to be taught correct Church Teaching- and if they have an issue they should consider sending their children to a non-religious school.

This could all be done peacefully and with maturity.

If Sister Jane, did in fact add in her own scientific data regarding the causes of SSA and divorce, then its ok if she was reprimanded for it. The good Sister will tell the truth about the situation and she will also accept with humility some guidance for future speeches made.

The Bishop could easily take control of the situation instead of allowing the gossip and innuendo to continue, especially when it is being fuelled by rebellious and immature high school kids and their parents-who are being told second hand accounts of the speech by high schoolers, which I wouldnt be surprised, are probably exaggerated and taken out of context.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 10:22pm

If Sister Jane, did in fact add in her own scientific data regarding the causes of SSA and divorce, then its ok if she was reprimanded for it.

She would be quoting an academic or professional journal, so it’s not ‘her’ data. And no it’s not OK.

Anzlyne
Anzlyne
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 10:53pm

The silencing of sister Jane is the silencing of many others too. Esp those who have something to lose.

trackback
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 11:01pm

[…] Thuggery – J. Akin Foot Fetishes & Holy Thursday (Bp. Morlino Vindicated) – Lætificat The Silencing of Sister Jane – Don. R. McClarey JD, The American Catholic Immigration Reform Becomes a Catholic ‘Pro-Life’ […]

swabdairy
swabdairy
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 11:26pm

The letter reads
” There is division where there should be unity.”

and yet Jesus says

Luke 12
51

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

52

From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three;

53

a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

The truth will create division as Christ said.

Mariadevotee
Mariadevotee
Sunday, April 6, AD 2014 11:43pm

It does make you wonder what these students have heard in their religion classes, if this is all new to them. Seems like Sr Jane Dominic’s talk should have been a recap. Catholic Church teachings on family and human sexuality should not have been a surprise in a Catholic High School. I count about 12 religion teachers on the faculty website. What have they been teaching???

Tony H
Tony H
Monday, April 7, AD 2014 12:46am

Hmm… division or unity?
While the Scriptures clearly call for unity among the brethren, it also clearly has a place for division:
1 Cor 11:19
“No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you has God’s approval. ”
Between Sister J and her critics, I know where I’m putting my money on who has God’s approval.

Karl
Karl
Monday, April 7, AD 2014 2:39am

I truly hope this behavior is not a surprise to many. Try defending your marriage against your spouse’s adultery and the full support of the Catholic Church for adultery, in practice while not in words. Then, try asking for the local ordinary to work to help restore that valid, sacrament, as I have in the neighboring Diocese of Raleigh under Bishop Burbidge! You are ignored as if you did not exist.

If, by now, people have not come to terms with how bad things truly are in the Catholic Church, then those same people are simply a part of the darkness.

For anyone to think that “following the proper channels” is a workable circumstance in the Catholic Church I suggest finding a competant professional for help and, perhaps, medication for your delusion(s)!

Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Monday, April 7, AD 2014 4:01am

In his Prophetical Office, Bl John Henry Newman cautions, “What we need at present for our Church’s well-being, is not invention, nor originality, nor sagacity, nor even learning in our divines, at least in the first place, though all gifts of God are in a measure needed, and never can be unseasonable, when used religiously; but we need peculiarly a sound judgment, patient thought, discrimination, a comprehensive mind, an abstinence from all private fancies and caprices and personal tastes,—in a word, Divine wisdom.”

Concerning this Divine wisdom, St James teaches us that “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be intreated” – Small wonder that the Reformers were for banishing his epistle from the Canon.

Phillip
Phillip
Monday, April 7, AD 2014 4:05am

Hopefully today’s first reading at Mass does not apply to the bishop:

“They suppressed their consciences;
they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven,
and did not keep in mind just judgments.”

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Monday, April 7, AD 2014 4:20am

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Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Monday, April 7, AD 2014 4:33am

Bill Bannon

In Romans 1, St Paul would appear to be referring to cultic sodomy.

To his audience, his words would have recalled how king Asa, “put away the qdeshim [male temple prostitutes] out of the land,” how Jehosaphat put away out of the land …the remnant of the qedeshim that remained in the days of his father Asa”; and how Josiah, among his reforms, “broke down the houses or booths of the qedeshim.”

This is the obvious link between idolatry and sodomy, which, otherwise, is far from obvious.

bill bannon
bill bannon
Monday, April 7, AD 2014 5:37am

Michael PS,
So God in Romans one…makes irrelevant asides to all future Christians through the human writer just for the sake of showing His knowledge of ancient history or Paul’s irrelevant knowledge of history? So God is a pedant talking through another pedant? The other possible is that I am correct….that idolatry can happen in modern man in modern forms and can cause SSA in modern man. That would make Romans one a perenially relevant passage by God rather than an irrelevant historical, pedantic comment by God.

Ez
Ez
Monday, April 7, AD 2014 6:43am

“She would be quoting an academic or professional journal, so it’s not ‘her’ data. And no it’s not OK.”

Thanks for stating the obvious.

Its data she compiled from scientific studies she has chosen to quote. So yes it is “her” selected data. And no it’s not ok for her to quote it because the Church has not endorsed any scientific data that explains SSA or divorce.

And yes it is ok for her to be questioned on any information that stems beyond the mandatory CCC.

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