Language, language...

U.S. Bishop Mounts a Rare Public Campaign Against the Vatican

RNS's Daniel Burke covers Bishop Donald Trautman's increasingly vigorous campaign against a new translation of the Catholic Mass for American churches, which was ordered by John Paul II to bring it "more in line with the original Latin," in this week's full text article, linked above.

Quote:

In a January speech to the Catholic Academy of Liturgy, Trautman called the new translations confusing and predicted they will "contribute to a greater number of departures from the Catholic Church," according to the Rev. Keith F. Pecklers, the academy's executive director.

Pecklers, a professor of liturgy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, said Trautman challenged the liturgists to "be courageous in questioning those developments that would render the liturgy incomprehensible." He received a standing ovation after his speech.

The Immigrant Song

Pews Slow to Follow the Pulpit on Immigration Reform

RNS Daniel Burke looks at immigration reform, and the differing messages from the pulpit and the pews, in this week's full text article, linked above.

With Congress preparing to take up immigration policy in the coming weeks, a number of prominent religious leaders -- from all shades of the theological spectrum -- have called for a "comprehensive and compassionate" reform of existing laws. It's part of what they see as their biblical mandate to care for the stranger.

More than 60 percent of white evangelicals said immigrants are a "burden" to the U.S. because they take jobs, housing and health care, according to a 2006 poll conducted by the non-partisan Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Fifty-six percent of white Catholics and 51 percent of white mainline Protestants agreed, according to the survey.

Falwell Obit

Jerry Falwell, Architect of Religious Right, Dies at 73

David Mark and Adelle M. Banks author this week's full-text article (linked above), an obituary for Jerry Falwell.

Quote:

For many, Falwell represented the public face of evangelical Protestantism, particularly its involvement in politics. Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979 to lobby politicians to "reverse the politicization of immorality in our society," he said at the time.

It's the End of the World As We Know It ...

Katherine Boyle's recent story about a Florida man who (for as little as $4.99) will send your handwritten letters to your family if they're left behind after the Rapture is creating some buzz over at Richard Dawkins' atheist meet-and-greet.

Turns out the man behind the Post-Rapture Post, Joshua Witter, isn't the only one trying to cash in on the end of the world. There's this, from JesusPets.com:

Who is going to care for your pets after you are raptured into heaven? Many Christians believe that animals do not go to heaven. So when Jesus comes back and you return with him to heaven, will there be somebody to take care of your dog or cat?

And this, from raptureletters.com:

If you wish to do something now that will help your unbelieving friends and family after the rapture, you need to add those persons email address to our database. Their names will be stored indefinitely and a letter will be sent out to each of them on the first Friday after the rapture. Then they will receive another letter every friday after that.

And this, from RaptureReady.com:

What could possibly be more terrifying than to suddenly realize God has supernaturally removed his true believers from the surface of the earth, and for whatever reason, he has found you unprepared to enter into his Kingdom. The following letters were written by Christians to help instruct, encourage, and guide you through what will soon become some very difficult and dark days.



Atheist offers to send letters post-Rapture - USATODAY.com

For $4,500, a Flight With the Pope ...

Our friend John Allen, the widely respected Vatican reporter for the National Catholic Reporter, offers a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at travelling on the papal plane, this time from Rome to Brazil:

In reality, there is no “papal plane,” in the sense of a jet owned by the Vatican and used exclusively for papal travel. Instead, a regular commercial jet owned by Alitalia, the national air carrier of Italy, is set aside the day of the pope’s departure. The pilots and crew are all regular Alitalia employees. The next day, the plane returns to running Alitalia’s normal routes, with its passengers presumably unaware that they’re sitting in what was only recently the “papal plane.”

There’s also no special room on the plane for the pope, no Air Force One-esque office with a couch, desk, TV set, and wet-bar. His lone perk is that he gets a seat by himself in the front row. Behind him are the most senior officials from the Secretariat of State, beginning with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. (This seating arrangement usually means that when the flight attendants sit down for take-off, they’re directly across from the Holy Father. Watching them try not to stare is a favorite on-board pastime.)

Neither Rain, Nor Snow, Nor Rapture...

Web Site Will Deliver Letters to Those Left Behind

RNS's Katherine Boyle profiles Post-Rapture Post, a web site that promises to send letters to loved ones who didn't make it to heaven after the Rapture, in this week's full text article, linked above.

Quotes:

"Do you want to take the chance that your loved ones will have to suffer through your ascension into Heaven without knowing how you really feel in your heart?" the site asks. "Sign up for the Post-Rapture Post today to guarantee that, while you are gone, you will remain in the thoughts of those left behind."

and

"I get about 80 percent hate mail," [site founder Joshua] Witter acknowledged. The other 20 percent fall roughly into two categories: people who appreciate the satire, and fellow atheists -- offering their services as postal workers after the Rapture.

Consoler in Chief

In Times of Tragedy, Americans Turn to St. Paul for Answers

RNS' Daniel Burke explores the role of Paul in Christian responses to tragic events--and some changing views on Paul himself--in this week's full text article, linked above.

Quote:

"We turn to Job for the questions, we turn to Paul for the answers," said the Rev. Richard Cizik, the Washington director for the National Association of Evangelicals.

and

It might surprise some, however, to see Paul cast in the role of consoler. For many years, he was seen as a theological hardliner who was thought to condone anti-Semitism and misogyny.

Thomas Jefferson called Paul "the first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus." German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said he had "a genius for hatred," and playwright George Bernard Shaw said "it would have been better for the world if Paul had never been born."