A touch of class...

It seems that every time I find myself getting too cynical about the world someone steps up and simply does the right thing and makes me feel better about people. The latest such instance for me was hearing of the young woman who finished the Kentucky High School State Championship Golf Tournament five shots ahead of her nearest competitor and then had herself disqualified.
After the final round of the tourney, Emma Talley noticed that she had signed an incorrect scorecard which understated her round by a single stroke. Her coach recalled “I think it was only her and her family who actually knew about it. If she had kept her mouth shut, she would have won the trophy. But she's not like that.” Instead, Emma reported the error to the officials and was therefore automatically disqualified.
The second place finisher, Lindsay Gahm offered the trophy to Emma who declined it. “Lindsay didn't do anything wrong,” Talley said. “She's my friend, and she felt as bad as anybody else. I'm glad she kept it. She deserved it.”
I'd like to think that I would have done the same thing, but I will never really know. I do know however that Emma Talley has won my respect... but a state championship is still a better prize.
Story here.

Debunking the debunker

Last week it was widely reported in the press that Italian scientist Luigi Garlaschelli claimed to have reproduced the Shroud of Turin with materials and techniques available in the middle ages. Garlaschelli concludes therefore that the shroud to is a fake.
In response Barrie M. Schwortz, documenting photographer of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) which has spent thousands of hours studying the shroud itself, derides the reports as "science by press release". Noting that the work of scientists is normally submitted for peer review, which was not done in this case, a quick reading of the press release indicates that "...it is apparent immediately that the author knows very little about the actual Shroud of Turin." He further notes that a detailed scientific response to this press release is being drafted by the online Shroud Science Group.
The Catholic Church never has formally asserted that the shroud is the actual burial cloth of Christ but recognizes that it serves as a valuable reminder of the passion of Jesus. However it appears that, in this year when the shroud is again to be publicly displayed, opponents of the shroud feel compelled to try to undermine claims of authenticity and are willing to misrepresent science to accomplish that end.

A bit premature don't you think?

I was gabberflasted this morning to wake to the news that our president has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is the same man whose body of work was deemed insufficient for Arizona State University to award him an honorary degree even as they hosted him as a commencement speaker. Furthermore, nominations were due before Obama had finished even two weeks in office.
I have great hopes for Obama's presidency in spite of my opposition to his positions on life issues. By the end of his term of office may President Obama prove himself worthy of the honor he is being awarded this year. If he does, we certainly will have cause to celebrate.

A motorcycle club with style...

I was intrigued by the Jewish Motorcycle club touring Germany as a means of celebrating the 19th anniversary of the reunification of East and West Germany. The name of the club? The Hillel's Angels.

Those who call the street "Home"

As a board member of Emmaus Ministries which has as its mission outreach to men caught up in prostitution I often find myself struggling as I try to explain that ministry to friends and associates. How refreshing, and surprising, to see that an Archbishop in the Vatican offered a reflection that clearly addresses what Emmaus is about. The reflection states in part:

"Jesus meets people on the way, on the side of the road, in crowds and when he is alone," he said. "[...] The road is thus the place of encounter and transformation. It is the place of proclamation and evangelization, of healing and witness. In many ways it could be said that the road, the street, was both his home and pulpit."

This special significance continues today, the prelate observed, for those "who work in the service of the Gospel." The road, he suggested, "continues to be a place of both proclamation and witness and transformation and healing."

"It is the place where Christ may still be encountered," the archbishop affirmed, "where his words and life may given, through gestures and actions, where the Church may through its various apostolates channel the grace of God."

It is nice to see that somebody actually gets it.

A "Debaptism" movement...

I was struck by a story I saw regarding a "Debaptism" movement which apparently is being pushed in England as sponsored by the National Secular Society (which is apparently willing to sell individuals certificates of Debaptism).
The certificate declares:

I ________ having been subjected to the Rite of Christian Baptism in infancy (before reaching an age of consent), hereby publicly revoke any implications of that Rite and renounce the Church that carried it out. In the name of human reason, I reject all its Creeds and all other such superstition in particular, the perfidious belief that any baby needs to be cleansed by Baptism of alleged ORIGINAL SIN, and the evil power of supposed demons. I wish to be excluded henceforth from enhanced claims of church membership numbers based on past baptismal statistics used, for example, for the purpose of securing legislative privilege.”

I respect the right of people to make their own choices however ill-informed and naive those choices may be. It is apparent that those who choose to go the route of "debaptism" have never benefited from being educated about the faith into which they were baptized, or from witnessing their parents living out that faith. In baptism these people may have been born into life of the Spirit, but alas it appears it was a spiritual still-birth as that new life was never nourished.
What further struck me was that I came across this story just minutes after sharing a discussion about the tragic death of a Chicago high school student who was beaten to death in a street fight. That beating death was described as an evil act demonstrating once again the need for the rediscovery of morality in our secular society. I can't help but wonder if prayer in our schools might help our young people find moral footing amidst the evils of the world around them.

Pius XII Proposed as Righteous among the nations

Information released from the Vatican archives in recent years is succeeding in making more and more people aware of the Pius XII's efforts to save Jews during the second World War. Though in the years immediately following WWII the efforts of the pope toward this end seemed to be fairly widely acknowledged; for the past decade following the publication of the poorly researched and biased Hitler's Pope by British author John Cornwell, the reputation of the late pontiff has been much maligned.
For this reason I find it encouraging that the Pave the Way Foundation has announced a petition to recognize Pope Pius XII as Righteous Among the Nations at Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. (story here)