Leadership Conference of Women Religious Will Meet in St. Louis

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious will meet in St. Louis August 7th –10th with the permission of Cardinal William Levada although he regrets having given it:

Speaking of Barbara Marx Hubbard, LCWR officials have said they went ahead with their assembly in August because you gave them permission to do so. Is that accurate?

Yes, mea culpa! At the time, I hadn't been aware of who was being invited to speak or to get an award. I appreciated their concern that everything was already in place, and I said that's fine, we're OK with that. We haven't asked them to do an about-face. I feel comfortable in saying, however, that I wish they hadn't made these choices.

By that, you mean the choice to invite Hubbard?

Yes, and also to give an award to Sr. Sandra Schneiders for a view of religious life which has nothing to do with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council or the post-conciliar church.

His Eminence has evidently found it impossible to withdraw his permission but we hope this will be the last time the LCWR gives scandal this way. Archbishop Carlson so far hasn't said anything publicly about this, and we suspect he does not want to interfere with the work of the bishops assigned to assist in the renewal of the LCWR.

The Great Heresies: An Evening with Hilaire Belloc 6 PM Sunday August 26th

The Church has dealt with heresies since Pentecost: Arians denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ; the Manicheans denied His humanity; the Albigensians denied the existence of an omnipotent Creator. Although Belloc says “doctrinal Protestantism is dead” its effects remain, and so it deserves a mention among the more definite heresies. But there are today two great heresies that threaten Christendom mortally. Mr. Belloc thinks Mohammedanism is a heresy in the same way as the other ancient heresies, and he will explain why he thinks it has survived some 1,400 years and why it is a mistake to think it is not a threat. But the Mohammedan has a definite faith. Belloc will also describe what he calls The Modern Phase, wherein we experience a diffuse attack on the reasonability of faith itself, which leads straight to the HHS mandate.

Join us at 6 PM Sunday August 26^th for an evening with Hilaire Belloc, Catholic novelist, essayist, social critic, poet, and Member of Parliament at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Clayton, Missouri. Non-Members $32; Members $27; Group of 8+ $27. Free inside parking at the 7777 Bonhomme Parking Garage. The bridge from the garage to the hotel is on the Orange Level. The garage gate will be open when you leave. Register Here by Noon on Tuesday, August 21^st. First time? Other Questions?  E-mail us here and be sure to leave your phone number.

Breaking the Spiral of Silence, Promoting Religious Liberty

Spiral of Silence: A social phenomenon where, out of a desire to avoid reprisal or rejection, people go along with what they think is the popular opinion - even if they object to that opinion personally. Instead of voicing their objections, they remain silent. In cooperation with the Bishops' ongoing campaign for religious liberty, the DVD "Breaking the Spiral of Silence" will be shown,Tuesday, July 24th at 7 PM at St. Catherine Laboure followed by a Q & A session with Dr. Ed Hogan, director of Paul VI Institute in St. Louis. Free.

Governor Jay Nixon Picks His Side: Against Religious Freedom

At his press conference on 12 July, 2012, Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon announced his long-awaited decision on whether or not to sign Senate Bill 749, a measure designed to protect the religious freedom of employers to decline to pay for insurance coverage that might violate their moral and religious beliefs.  (Read, “abortion, sterilization and contraception”.)  Sadly, the Governor refused to sign the legislation.

The HHS Mandate, the Catholic Church, and Religious Liberty

Credo Advisory Board member Msgr. Michael Witt gave a presentation at St. Monica's on Tuesday 3-July titled "The HHS Mandate, the Catholic Church, and Religious Liberty". Unfortunately there is no audio recording as Msgr. Witt had some witty comments and the Q&A session was lively. Attendees had asked Msgr. Witt whether his slides would be posted on the Internet someplace, and Credo volunteered. Click here for the slides in PDF Format.

Here's a sample from Msgr. Witt's talk: the coat of arms here belong to St. Louis Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick who urged all the priests of the diocese to refuse to take the oath imposed by the Missouri Constitution of 1865 following the Civil War. The Latin Motto is Noli irritare leonem! which means "Don't irritate the lion!" It seems Catholic bishops in Missouri have a long history of opposing the depredations of government against the liberty of the Church. We must have another lecture from Msgr Witt about this episode and the history of anti-Catholicism in Missouri generally.