Update on Notre Dame commencement

Taken from Christian Newswire:

The following text is made available to the press by Susan Norton, assistant to Mary Ann Glendon:
April 27, 2009

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., President
University of Notre Dame
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN 46556
FAX 574-631-2770

Dear Father Jenkins,

When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.

Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.

First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.

Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:

“President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”

“We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”

A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision–in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops–to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.

Yours very truly,

Mary Ann Glendon

The multisexual agenda

Newly released materials for elementary school children in California Lesson plans and educational policies are pushing the multisexual agenda. San Francisco Unified School District recently launched a new Support Services for LGBTQ Youth website.

Here’s some of the curriculum:

In kindergarten through third grade, students read My Two Uncles. A story about Elly, the young protagonist, who is anticipating her grandparents’ golden wedding celebration — and she is sad, because her grandfather will not invite her uncle’s partner. In the end, the grandfather softens a little. 
By the lesson’s end, students are taught to:

 ”Use appropriate vocabulary when discussing people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.     Realize that some families include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.”According to Christian Newswire: 

“Opponents of Prop 8 claimed that legalizing same-sex marriage would have no impact on school curriculum. But this proves that even with the traditional definition of marriage in the constitution, school curriculum uses a false definition. Homosexual activists lost at the ballot box, but now they are using schools to re-define marriage–while excluding parents,” said Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute.
 
“Parents need to know what is going on, because this has gone as far as lesson plans for kindergarteners and it is spreading across the state,” continued England. “San Francisco is fully implementing these new policies under the guise of ‘anti-bias’ laws by endorsing multisexual behavior at all grade levels.”
 
“Activists are targeting education for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. This curriculum does not allow for differing viewpoints on controversial issues like homosexuality and ‘gender changes’,” England said.

My first reaction to this was, welp I knew it! I knew what Obama opened the door for when he came into office and that the states would only follow the head. I also felt like the homosexual agenda was taking a front seat to everything else and that teaching kids about other sexualities was really a means of furthering the multisexual agenda. But after thinking about it more I realized that there are some pros. Sadly, people don’t just disagree with homosexuality, they hate homosexuals because they are different.  Some kids grow up hating people that aren’t like them because their parents don’t teach them otherwsie, instead they encourage hate. Learning to accept that people are different at a young age is necessary. However, I know that there are going to be some teachers promoting homosexuality, and even more perhaps punishing kids that disagree with  homosexuality or don’t think it’s normal. I agree,”What kindergartner isn’t going to walk away believing they are bigoted or homophobic when their teacher tells them traditional values they are taught at home are hateful?,” questioned England.

No Miss Compromise

Thank you Miss California!

 

Good to see that there are some people not afraid to stand up and not back pedal even if it costs them (take notes Rick Warren and others).

Battle?

So I posted the song from K Drama “Air Jordan on Em” and it appears there is a response from Sho Baraka “Kobe Bryant on Em”. I’m thinking oh no are Christian rappers battling too? No worry, no battle, it’s all for the glory of God.

*sigh* Only in the Church

Not to mention having a little fun

We love this game…

So I’m a fan of Christian rap, but I know many people still aren’t hip to it, if you will. Well my friend let me hear a song recently and funny enough the rapper’s choice of song hit home to me and something I was recently reflecting on.  As I was watching the Bulls against the Celtics this past weekend I was thinking you know sports is like a safe haven for Christians. When we’re not at church, Bible study, or evangelizing, (basically on our down time) basketball and football games (yeah I know there are more but let’s face it these are the best ones, unless Tiger Woods is on the green or Serena Williams has a match) are great sources of entertainment. We don’t have to witness vulgarity, sex, crime, violence, and profanity (well we see their lips moving but we can’t hear them) like we would if we watched other programs on television. So maybe in his down time, while  reflecting on the greatest player of all time K-Drama came up with this song that I wasted no time downloading!

(Disclaimer: this is not the official video and it is not  to say that MJ is our brother in Christ, but he oughta be!)

Introducing St. Mark’s Academy

Technology knows no borders with innovations surfacing globally everyday and the Internet becoming a necessity to everyday life. Well, some of those innovators are our brothers and sisters in Christ and they are not resisting the tide which is pushing almost everything, including education, to the online shore. Introducing St. Mark’s Academy opening this fall.

Why online?

According to stmarksacademy.net, ”Online education is growing at a tremendous rate due to the flexibility to learn at your own pace, and to learn in the environment you feel most comfortable.  This innovative way of education also gives parents the ability to follow their student’s progress each step of the way.  At St. Mark’s, we empower our students in ways you will find nowhere else!”

Upon discovering this news, I wondered how online education from a Christian high school would really differ from traditional home schooling? Isn’t the point of a private Christian school to provide an environment and atmosphere that promotes Christian morals and values (which is not the case in public schools), if it’s online how is the environment created?

According to the website, “We at St. Mark’s Academy understand the importance of community.  Therefore, we seek to offer students the opportunity to build relationships with classmates across the country in as many ways as possible.  In addition to live online interaction with fellow students at weekly leadership seminar meetings, many courses also offer chat capabilities for students enrolled in that course.  Want to start a club?  Go for it!  Each student is assigned a mentor.  Share your idea for a new student organization with your mentor.  Also, look for face-to-face opportunities to meet fellow students and instructors throughout the school year.”

What about the usual cons to being online, like reaching your instructor? No problem.

“At St. Mark’s, we pride ourselves in offering access to highly qualified instructors 24/7.  This ability is virtually unheard of in other online schools.  You will find your “e-instructor” to be very helpful and patient as you learn and grow.  When you request instruction from an “e-instructor,” you will be connected with an individual who has mastered the subject he/she is teaching.  The “e-instructor” will stay connected with you for as long as it takes for you to grasp the material being taught.  Your instruction is one-on-one and focused on you!  Unlike more traditional school settings, there is never a need to hire costly tutors — you have them available all the time! Appointments with individual course instructors may also be made at any time.” Stmarksacademy.net

 

 

Sexting???

I discovered a new term the other day, one that is more of a combination of two words that describe a phenomenon with increasing popularity amongst youth than an actual expression. We’ve all heard of texting, it’s what many of us (yes, I too am guilty) do in class or on our jobs when the boss isn’t around. Well in a culture where sex is glorified outside of it’s pure and institutional habitat it should come as no surprise that with every harmless innovation comes a sexualized adaptation of it.

Sexting is the latest adaptation, but parents and law enforcement are taking action.

According to Christian Newswire:

“There have been a number of cases recently with young people being hauled into court for sexting or sending nude or partially nude photos over the Internet.  We are now learning of some states including most recently Vermont, looking to make consensual sexting legal.  We also know from a new survey just released by Nielsen that teens top the texting list sending and receiving on average 17 hundred text messages a month (I’m at 1799 at the midway point geesh!).  While cell phones and the Internet are certainly needed to communicate in today’s world, something has got to give.  The situation has reached a critical point with young people and families need to understand the influence,” says best-selling Catholic author, syndicated Catholic Talk Show Host, and Media Expert Teresa Tomeo. Tomeo, who recently co-authored a series of books “All Things Girl” and “All Things Guy” says that this phenomenon should cause families to stop and think about their own media consumption especially what their children might be doing on the cell phone or computer. 

Some say prosecutors have gone too far…

Perhaps the punishments have been too severe and I think that the legal system is responding harshly to something that is a bi-product of a culture that thrives on selling sex. The solution isn’t to throw the book at kids! This issue and the R-rated nature of our society highlight the need for families of faith to get back to basics and stand up against today’s over-sexed and media saturated culture, but most importantly to instill morality in their children. We can fight the entertainment industry for among many things, allowing PG-13 movies to contain sex (yeah I was surprised by Benjamin Button, now I know what PG-13 means) and the law might be on our side, but we also must realize that darkness prevails in the secular world. With that in mind our job as believers is as Paul said, “[to] be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” STAND OUT!!!