Bill Buckley: R.I.P.

The Wall Street remembers Bill Buckley:

The "Jesuit Oath" Debunked

It must be true: I read it on the internet.

One of the more infamous bits of anti-Catholic bigotry circulating over the last century or two is the so-called "Jesuit Oath," sometimes in the form of the "Knights of Columbus Oath." As a third degree Knight, I can testify that we take no such oath. Needless this say, it has found its way onto the internet and even You Tube. Read about how this vile lie got itself into the Congressional Record and the Library of Congress in The Jesuit Oath Debunked.

The new Jesuit Superior General,Fr. Adolfo Nicolás S.J

Is the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite a "New Rite"

Is the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite a "New Rite?" Reading the following paragraph in the English translation of Benedict's letter to the bishops accompanying the motu proprio, you might conclude that:

"There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place. Needless to say, in order to experience full communion, the priests of the communities adhering to the former usage cannot, as a matter of principle, exclude celebrating according to the new books. The total exclusion of the new rite would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness."

That is not how I read the German, which I assume is the controlling text:

"Es gibt keinen Widerspruch zwischen der einen und der anderen Ausgabe des Missale Romanum. In der Liturgiegeschichte gibt es Wachstum und Fortschritt, aber keinen Bruch. Was früheren Generationen heilig war, bleibt auch uns heilig und groß; es kann nicht plötzlich rundum verboten oder gar schädlich sein. Es tut uns allen gut, die Reichtümer zu wahren, die im Glauben und Beten der Kirche gewachsen sind und ihnen ihren rechten Ort zu geben. Um die volle communio zu leben, können die Priester, die den Gemeinschaften des alten Usus zugehören, selbstverständlich die Zelebration nach den neuen liturgischen Büchern im Prinzip nicht ausschließen. Ein völliger Ausschluß wäre nämlich nicht in Übereinstimmung mit der Anerkennung des Wertes und der Heiligkeit des Ritus in seiner erneuerten Form."

Jérôme Kerviel Is A Folk Hero in France

Charles Brenner in his blog posting tells us "The lawyers for Jérôme Kerviel, France's super-trader, say that he is stunned by his unwanted celebrity." Ladies wear T-Shirts proclaiming they are "Jérôme Kerviel's girlfriend." Finance was never such fun!

McCain and the Supreme Court

Steven G. Calabresi and John O. McGinnis who teach at Northwestern University Law School and whose hearts are in the right place, write in today's Wall Street Journal that they "believe that the nomination of John McCain is the best option to preserve the ongoing restoration of constitutional government. He is by far the most electable Republican candidate remaining in the race, and based on his record is as likely to appoint judges committed to constitutionalism as Mitt Romney, a candidate for whom we also have great respect."

Furthermore they warn: "Others are concerned that Mr. McCain was a member of the "Gang of 14," opposing the attempt to end filibusters of judicial nominations. We believe that Mr. McCain's views about the institutional dynamics of the Senate are a poor guide to his performance as president. In any event, the agreement of the Gang of 14 had its costs, but it played an important role in ensuring that Samuel Alito faced no Senate filibuster. It also led to the confirmation of Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and Bill Pryor, three of President George W. Bush's best judicial appointees to the lower federal courts.

"Conservative complaints about Mr. McCain's role as a member of the Gang of 14 seem to encapsulate all that is wrong in general with conservative carping over his candidacy. It makes the perfect the enemy of the very good results that have been achieved, thanks in no small part to Mr. McCain, and to the very likely prospect of further good results that might come from his election as president."

Read the whole article.

I know you all do not see eye to eye with me on McCain, but it would be a delicious irony to have his first appointee to be the deciding vote that strikes McCain Feingold down.

I will vote for him Saturday in our Kansas caucus.

-Sr.