Saint Joseph School

Every now and then, we have a conversation about in-game Catholicism (or, more specifically, the beliefs of the Order of Cupertino) and the beliefs of real-world Catholicism. So, I am starting this thread to keep track of both to a certain degree.

This thread is not for discussion. Discussion and debate of any issues in- or out- of game with Catholicism should be posted somewhere else, and the results of those discussions and debates will make their way into this thread. This thread is a collection of information out of which we base our canon.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Aliens, extra-dimensionals and God.

There was big news in Catholicism this month, but I only heard about it today. It's actually why I started this thread: it gave me the idea to collect religious stuff for SJS into one place, since we talk about it kinda regularly.

On May 14th, Reverend José Gabriel Funes, the Vatican's chief astronomer and scientific adviser to the Pope, announced that there was no contradiction between the Catholic faith and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. That's big news. Find the story here.

What does this mean for SJS? Well, good news-- Kheldians have souls! The Vatican is finally in line with what the Order of Cupertino has been saying for years: that God's divine power of creation is not confined to the terrestrial sphere. However, this opens up some new questions: did alien races fall from grace? Reverend Funes says it's possible that they didn't. It's fully possible that they "remained in full friendship with their creator," he said. But if they did fall from grace, as humanity did? Well, then Christ's sacrifice forgave them, as it applies to all sentient life in the universe.

But what about the multiverse? The Vatican has still not made an official determination, but for our purposes, I think it's safe to assume that God can create as many universes as God likes, and watch over them all. To assume otherwise puts a limit on God's creative power. Further, there is no "alternate God" in other dimensions. That means that the Rikti have souls as well, as far as the Order of Cupertino is concerned. However, the Rikti (so far, anyway) seem to be atheists.

Homosexuality and the Catholic Faith.

I'm not opening the can of worms of an SG discussion on this subject just yet. I just thought that everyone is entitled to take a look at the actual documents that presents the most current Vatican standpoint. It's worth noting the letter to the Bishops is from 1986, but it was sent by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger himself. The Catechism is updated fairly regularly. Right or wrong, and regardless of personal viewpoint, this is the Vatican's position.

So, if you're so inclined, take a look at the Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons.

And from the Catechism (the Constitution of the Catholic Church), Homosexuality, 2357-59.

Women can't be Priests, but might be Saints.

This isn't exactly "news," but the Vatican reaffirmed this week its absolute opposition to ordaining women as clergy in the Church. The consequences of any such ordination would be the automatic excommunication of anyone involved, including the woman herself. In the past six years, the Roman Catholic Womenpriests organization has ordained more than 50 women and some men as priests and deacons in North America and Europe. The Vatican started excommunicating members of the organization in 2002.

You can read the New York Times article here.

In other news, the Vatican has launched a judicial inquiry into the case of an Australian woman who claims to have been cured of inoperable lung cancer in 1993 through the intercession of saint-in-waiting Mary MacKillop. Two doctors will examine the case for evidence of a second miracle needed for sainthood. MacKillop was beatified in 1995 Pope John Paul after the cure of another woman of leukemia in 1961 was confirmed by a Vatican investigation.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald article here.

Get ready for... Saint Damien?

Pope Benedict this week declared that a Honolulu woman, who recovered from lung cancer after praying to a Belgian priest, was a miracle-- and it has cleared the way for the canonization of Rev. Damien de Veuster. Oddly, the soon-to-be Saint Damien has been dead for over 100 years. Curing the woman's lung cancer was performed posthumously by the priest, who responded to the woman's prayers in 1999, 110 years after Reverend de Veuster died in Hawaii after decades of service to the leprosy patients on the remote Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai island.

It's a long story. Read about it here.

In other news, an American archbishop, Archbishop William Levada, has been tapped by the Holy Father to sit at the head of the Vatican Supreme Court. This is interesting news for two reasons: first, no American has ever held the position. Second, the court is traditionally led by a cardinal, and Levada is only an archbishop. A little snapshot of how Vatican politics works.

Read the full story here.

G'day, Pope!

The Holy Father is in Australia this week, part of his world tour. Mostly, observations of this visit are being compared with Pope John Paul II who visited the country in 1995 to beatify Mary MacKillop.

So far, the most interesting thing that's come out of this trip was that Pope Benedict gave a speech about the environment: he urged Catholics, and especially young Catholics, to find "a way of living, a style of life that eases the problems caused to the environment". He went on to say, "We need to rediscover our earth in the face of our God and creator and to re-find our responsibilities in front of our maker and the creatures of the earth he has placed in our hands in trust."

Read the Sydney Morning Herald article here.

Saints and Heretics

A divisive priest in St. Louis is getting some more media attention. After inviting divorcees and homosexuals into his congregation, and supporting the movement to ordain women, Rev. Marek Bozek is now under the shadow of a lawsuit filed by the archdiocese to restore certain powers dating back to 1891, if successful, would allow it to regain the power to assign the church's pastor and approve its board members.

While Bozek is a spiritual progressive, his private life is more worldly-- in a contract renegotiation last year with the board, Bozek successfully sought to have his salary doubled and given the right to leave the rectory and move into an apartment in downtown St. Louis. In a move that has raised some eyebrows, Bozek now leased a new BMW to commute.

He's a complicated figure, no matter how you look at him. But he's certainly interesting.

Read the Saint Louis Post Dispatch article here