Blogging Around

Stephen Colbert Reads Flannery O'Connor

Only on PRI's podcast of Selected Shorts, because it's a long story, Colbert reads The Enduring Chill.
Via Brandywine Books.

The Promise of God by Michael F. Flynn

An excellent short story that is on Michael Flynn's story preview spot for a limited time. The inspiration for the story may be found at The TOF Spot (Michael Flynn's blog).

This story was inspired by, of all people, Orson Scott Card. He was GoH at Lunacon one year and gave a presentation called IIRC "One hundred ideas per hour." It was a mass brainstorming session by which he sought to elicit story ideas from the attendees to show how simple it was to generate such ideas. It was quite an interactive session. After deciding on fantasy and a female protagonist and a few other things, he proposed that magic, like an action in physics, elicits a reaction. One such reaction, which he discarded, was that every time a magician casts a spell, he loses part of his soul. (He was getting multiple ideas at each stage of brainstorming.)

TOF was in the back of the room and when this idea was suggested he said, "Oh!" and this story was conceived. ...

Pro-Life Means Pro-Risk

We need to get over this bourgeois bohemian obsession with order and plans, and open ourselves up to risk in many ways.

Maybe today's youth are too responsible, says Tristyn Bloom, and then goes on to examine the pro-life culture through that lens. Via Darwin Catholic, who adds some solid comments of his own.

Year of Mercy: Pope Francis to Allow All Priests to Grant Absolution for Abortion

I was surprised at what a big deal people thought this was, until I read this Wall Street Journal article which explained that there is an automatic excommunication accompanying abortion which only the bishop can rescind. I knew nothing of this.

Turns out that is because this is an area the U.S. has already handled because many American bishops have already allowed this for priests in their diocese. So this is an area where our local Church has been doing something different than the global Church. Interesting.

According to Nicholas Cafardi, a professor of law at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, the concession won’t have a large practical effect in the U.S., because many American bishops have already delegated their authority. In other dioceses, he added, “many priests go looking for reasons why the automatic excommunication doesn’t apply.”

The Curt Jester has commentary about media coverage on this story, with which I agree, as well as some good links. The Deacon's Bench's coverage of this issue includes the Catechism reading on abortion.

Vatican Says "No" to Transsexual Godparents"

Pity the poor bishop who had to take this one to the home office. But their answer makes sense when you read the whole thing. The money quote:

In the Vatican’s full response – which the bishop provided in his statement – the congregation explained that transsexual behavior “reveals in a public way an attitude opposite to the moral imperative of solving the problem of sexual identity according to the truth of one's own sexuality.”

“Therefore it is evident that this person does not possess the requirement of leading a life according to the faith and in the position of godfather and is therefore unable to be admitted to the position of godfather or godmother,” they said, referring to canon 874 §3 in the Code of Canon Law.

However, the congregation stressed that there is “no discrimination toward (Alex), but only the recognition of an objective lack of the requirements, which by their nature are necessary to assume the ecclesial responsibility of being a godfather.”

Via The Deacon's Bench.