Fortnight For Freedom
Last week saw the end of the Fortnight for Freedom, the two week period of prayer for religious liberty here in the United States. I can't say that we did much at St. Anthony's beyond saying a special prayer at the end of the intercessions everyday. I did include the theme in my sermons, but I'd been doing that anyway. One of our organists, who also plays at a couple of other parishes, told me that we were the only place she goes to that did anything special to observe the Fortnight. It's sad, but all too predictable.
Many of our clergy have heeded liberation theology's call to become a partisan church. While I'm not sure Gustavo Gutierrez meant the phrase to be taken exactly this way, there are many who identify Catholic social teaching with the platform of the Democratic Party, and would be against anything that would seem to contradict the policies of the present administration. Catholics who identify as conservatives can be accused of the same thing in regards to the Republican platform. We are called, not to be a partisan Church, no matter how you defign it, but a prophetic one. We can only function prophetically when we can step back and call out both sides when necessary, something we can't do when we're cheering from on one or the others bleachers.
Beyond the politicizing of the Church's mission, the apparent apathy toward the Fortnight demonstrates the rift between the bishops and their clergy, and between the hierarchy and theologians. Until we can all come together the Church's mission will be hindered. The bishops are not perfect, but neither were their predecessors, the Apostles. But they have been given a particular role to teach and govern, from Christ himself. The work of the pastors, clergy and theologians is to aide them in that role, not be in competition with them. As I've consistently said to my parishioners, we should not exaggerate the threats to our religious freedoms, but we should not be naive about it either. It is only united that we can witness to Christ and His Gospel in an age turning more secular and, in some corners, more hostile to our Lord's message.
Fr. Pavone
While my activity at the Ax has been curtailed a bit do to pastoral obligations, which has led quite understandably to less traffic, I have noticed a spike in visits to my posts on Fr. Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life. I did some digging and as I suspected there was some movement on the story. A Vatican decree, issued in May but only made public at the end of June, allows Fr. Pavone to minister outside his home diocese of Amarillo, where he was incardinated in 2005. He must still get permission on a case by case basis from his ordinary, Bishop Patrick J. Zurek. Priests for Life are declaring a victory, the bishop is a bit more guarded, and as Phil Lawler points out there are still more questions to be answered. I was critical of Fr. Pavone's handling of the situation, not because I'm against his work, but because I saw it as another case of a priest publicly defying his superior, thus leading to greater scandal. On the surface it seems like both sides got a little of what they want. I pray for peace and concord in Amarillo, and that the continued struggle to defend the unborn can go on unhindered.
The Amazing Spider Man in IMAX-3D
I liked director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002), and like most people was confused as to why the franchise needed to be rebooted only five years after Spider-Man 3. Actors move on or out grow a role, we get that. James Bonds and Batmans are switched out all the time without necessarily having to start from scratch. When we do decide to go back and show our hero's origin story it's decades after the series began, not simply a few years. The Bond franchise, for example, had gotten tired after 45 years and 2006's Casino Royale was a welcomed updating. But Spider-Man? It seemed like he was just coming into his own and now we're back to square one.
The good news is The Amazing Spider-Man is a very good movie, in some ways better that the original. I recommend it as a pure summer entertainment, but I agree with some critics I read who felt that going back and retelling the origin story, even with its few new tweaks, bogs down the first part of the movie. The 3-D is actually a bit understated; it enhances the movie without being a distraction. The I-MAX, while more expensive, does add to the fun. All the same, I have no doubt it it would work just as well on a standard screen.
Many critics noted how deep the relationships are developed in this move, unusual for the comic genre. What I saw was how the traditional Spider-Man theme of responsibility (with great power comes great responsibility) is fleshed out. Comics usually take profundities and turn them into cliches. While it's still a comic book tale, the idea of using your talents and ability to serve others isn't simply presented as the throw away line.
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