Why Transsexual/Transgender Rights Matter

On June 11th, various news sources announced that Chastity Bono, the only daughter of Sonny and Cher, had begun sex change procedures earlier this year.

Although the transsexual/transgender segment of the population is very small, their fight for rights, and the attention they are receiving in the media, are a significant assault both on the traditional family, and on those religious authorities and denominations that proclaim that gender is divinely assigned.

Read about this issue in the TwoMinuteBriefing - Why Transsexual/Transgender Rights Matter.

To access the PDF file, click here.

The Catholic Church - Retrenching to Advance

In June 1988, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated 4 bishops without the consent of the Vatican. The Archbishop was the founder of the Society of St. Pius X which is still the world's largest Traditionalist Catholic priestly society.

For his actions, Archbishop Lefebvre, his co-consecrator, and the four bishops they consecrated were excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

Pope Benedict has now granted a remission of the excommunication of the four bishops.

This is significant on two counts:

1. As noted in a briefing published by TwoMinuteBriefing in July of 2007 entitled The Catholic Church - Retrenching to Advance, under the direction of Pope Benedict, the Catholic Church appears to be retrenching, becoming more conservative, in order to court its more conservative core. It's conservative core is where its' strength lies. By courting its most conservative members, the Catholic Church places itself in a better position to face the challenges of the world today, and possibly to expand into Africa, Asia, and India.
   
   
2. Causing controversy, however, is the fact that one of the four priests reinstated by this recent action is Bishop Richard Williamson who is on record as essentially denying the Holocaust. That the Vatican has looked favorably upon him in any degree, let alone reinstating him, has ired Jewish groups around the world. (Read the London Times article HERE.)
   

Extraterrestrial Brotherhood

The official Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, recently ran an article entitled, "The Extraterrestrial Is My Brother" in which Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, told the paper that it was certainly possible that life forms could exist on other worlds, and that the existence of such life would not pose a problem for those of the Catholic faith.

Funes went on to say that if intelligent life existed on those worlds, they could be considered extraterrestrial brothers and sisters.

Although the concept of intelligent lifeforms on other worlds being our spiritual brothers and sisters might seem to be a new concept, it would fit well with the teaching of the Mormon Church which has taught this principle since its foundation.

It is also worth contemplating how this statement fits in with other statements or procedural changes that have been made in recent years by the Catholic church, specifically, the return to the use of Latin in the Mass, and doing away with the concept of Limbo.

Fox News Story
Catholic News Service Story

Pope to send text messages to youth during World Youth Day

Several news services are reporting that the Catholic Church has decided to send text messages from the Pope to the estimated 225,000 youth who will participate in the World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney, Australia in July of this year.

The sending of inspirational text messages is not new. It has been possible for years to subscribe to services which would send you a daily inspirational message.

That the Catholic Church is using this technology with the specific intent of reaching out to young people is noteworthy for two reasons:

1. because it demonstrates their interest in the youth of their church, and in reaching out to that demographic, and
   
2. because is shows their willingness to adopt new technologies.
   

The prevalence of cell phones throughout the world even where landlines do not exist, and the incredibly large numbers of people that use cell phones for texting rather than voice communication makes this mode of communication worth understanding for any organization which wishes to reach out to large scattered audiences, particularly young audiences.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24501557/