Dear Friend of Catholic Answers:
At the end of each E-Letter I have been including a plug for the upcoming Catholic Answers apologetics cruise, which goes from October 2-9. There is still room, and I urge you to make a stunningly intelligent decision by making this cruise your 2004 vacation.
We will sail from Montreal to Boston. While at sea we will have presentations by three Catholic Answers apologists (Rosalind Moss, Jimmy Akin, and myself) and by guest speakers Thomas Howard and Tim Staples. New this year will be small-group break-out sessions that will allow participants to get to know the speakers in a way not possible at the regular plenary sessions.
The intellectual fare will be supplemented by invigorating and informative on-shore excursions, by daily Mass and rosary on board the ship, and by a cuisine that will end up forcing some of us to visit the tailor's shop once we get home.
If you have never been on a cruise before, I urge you to consider this one. The sailing will be gentle, the scenery will be entrancing, and the company will be more than enjoyable. For information, please visit:
www.catholicanswerscruise.com
LIKE TOPSY, THE CHURCH JUST GROW'D
"L'Osservatore Romano," the Vatican newspaper, ran a chart showing how much and where the Church has been growing in the quarter-century ending in 2002. Today there are 1.07 billion Catholics in the world, up from 757 million in 1978. The Americas count for half of the total (North and South America are not distinguished in the chart), and Europe has about half the Catholics that the Americas have. The rest of the world has about as many as Europe has.
What really is interesting is where the growth has been. The sick man has been Europe: only 5 percent growth in 25 years--not even keeping up with overall population growth. The winner is Africa, up 151 percent, from 55 million to 137 million. Next best is Asia, up 74 percent. The Americas increased by 46 percent.
So much for the laity. What about priests? Again, Africa leads, with an increase of 73 percent. Asia is second again, with an increase of 65 percent. The Americas had an increase of only 1 percent, which at least was better than Europe, which saw a decline of 19 percent. If you think priests are spread thin here, take a trip across the Atlantic.
There is a somewhat better situation regarding seminarians. Europe has seen an increase of 12 percent, which is a lot better than a decline of 19 percent! Africa leads with 76 percent more seminarians, and Asia saw a growth of 60 percent. The Americas are in third place, with 31 percent more seminarians than a decade ago.
THOSE BOMBINGS, AGAIN
A. J. Calabrese wrote about my August 3 E-Letter:
"Are you going soft in the head? ... You show no understanding of the history of WWII. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not happen in a vacuum. ... You completely overlook events perpetrated by Japan like the rape of Nanking, unprovoked attacks on U.S. and Allied territory in Asia and the Pacific, and brutal treatment and killings of POWs. ... Your wailing and gnashing of teeth of the dropping of both A-bombs reminds me of the navel-gazing priest who writes the ecumenical column for our diocesan newspaper. To him, it is all our fault and the Muslims are just great. In this case it was Japan's fault, and that is why we dropped the A-bombs. What's going on at Catholic Answers? As a contributor I'd like an answer."
What is going on is simple: I'm applying the Church's moral teaching, which unequivocally condemns the deliberate targeting of civilians during wartime. No exception is made in cases where enemy troops have been vicious or where the other side started the war. Just as it is always wrong to kill an innocent child (born or unborn), so it is always wrong to target civilians, even if something good (such as a quicker end to a war) may come from it.
THAT VOTER'S GUIDE, AGAIN
David Bourgeois seems to have a reservation or two about our "Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics":
"You are condemned to live eternity in hell. God will punish you for your guide of hatred. In the end, you will be judged on your actions, and God will strike you and punish you for your hate-filled invectives. Leave the religious hated to the Evangelical Christians, and stop smearing the Catholic Church with your bigotry."
I wonder which of the five "non-negotiables" he has particular trouble with? Or maybe he just doesn't like the fact that we take an unambiguous stand in union with the teaching of the Church?
THE CASE OF CARNIVOROUS CHICKENS
In June thirteen readers of the E-Letter joined me for the second annual absolutely unofficial Catholic Answers backpacking trip in the High Sierra. We spent four days traversing 20 miles of the Cottonwood Lakes trail, which begins at 10,000 feet on the eastern side of the Sierra, about 25 miles south of the town of Lone Pine. Our highest elevation was 12,300 feet at New Army Pass.
The most interesting locale we visited was famed Chicken Spring Lake. On the evening before our hike I explained that the lake was named for the nearly extinct Cottonwood Carnivorous Chickens, which hunt in packs and eat small animals such as squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots. I noted that there have been unconfirmed reports that the chickens occasionally go after bigger prey such as ringtails and coyotes--but never after people, fortunately.
Some of my companions seemed to believe my story, at least for a few moments.
I have uploaded 32 photos taken on our hike, and you may find them at:
http://community.webshots.com/album/171327741OIYXrT
p.s., Time is running out! If you don't sign up now, you'll miss the best
cruise of the year. Our third annual apologetics cruise will take you
from Montreal to Boston by way of the Canadian maritime provinces.
Our voyage is from October 2-9. Find out more at
www.catholicanswerscruise.com
p.s., If you have a comment about anything appearing in this E-Letter, please do
not hit your Reply button. Instead, go to Catholic Answers' new discussion
forums at http://forums.catholic.com
where you may post your comment in the forum dedicated to the E-Letter. You will find a thread devoted to this
issue of the E-Letter. Feel free to add your comment in the form of a reply
to that thread.
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