David Ancell's Virtual Home

New Translation Approved

  /   Friday, June 16, 2006   /   Comments(0)

Finally, it appears that the U.S. Bishops have approved a new translation of the Liturgy that was long overdue. Pretty soon, we’ll be saying “and with your Spirit” instead of “and also with you.” Well, at least I hope we will.

Of course, we aren’t out of the water yet. It’s hard to say what adaptations the Bishops have proposed. Also, it may take a couple of years to get the translation into effect. Finally, there will no doubt be many nay-sayers among the clergy and the “experts” that may affect the attitude of the average person in the pew. Those of us who understand the reasons for the change need to get the word out to everyone before those guys ruin it for them.

Hopefully, the Vatican will have a line-item veto. For example, I would not want to see “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” as an option. It’s not in the original Latin, and it has the potential to confuse people when we are addressing someone who is now present on the altar in the third person. The other memorial acclamations don’t do this. I’m also hoping for some strong statements against changing the approved text for “inclusive language” purposes. With the proper approval, it will be a dramatic improvement in our worship of the living God.

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Lay Person vs. Bishop

  /   Thursday, June 15, 2006   /   Comments(0)

It’s a sad day when a layperson has to defend the Church’s teachings against one of her own bishops. Yet, I just found out that this is exactly what happened when Patrick Madrid had a debate with Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. Madrid was having to defend the Church’s recent document about the ordination of people with a homosexual orientation to the priesthood. I haven’t heard it yet, but I hope to before long.

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Theology of the Body Manuscript Discovered

  /   Wednesday, June 14, 2006   /   Comments(0)

Often, when I hear of manuscripts having been discovered, I think of ancient documents. Well, in this case, the manuscript that was discovered was none other than the original Polish manuscript of Theology of the Body. It appears that Pope John Paul II had the text before he had become pope, complete with the original headings that explained the structure of it. It seems to me like he planned to publish this, but, for some reason that isn’t clear to me, decided to use this as a series of audiences instead.

A new translation will be available in September. I think I’ll wait for this to come out before I start thinking about reading the entire text. I’ve already placed an order for the new translation.

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Immigration Again

  /   Saturday, June 10, 2006   /   Comments(0)

Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernadino, CA gave this interview on immigration policy with Zenit.org. It’s well worth reading.

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They Published It

  /   Monday, June 05, 2006   /   Comments(0)

Well, I updated this post on my letter to the Commercial Appeal. They published it today. I’ve already had two supportive responses. I’m just waiting for the responses talking about what kind of nutcase I am. Bring them on. By the way, the letter can be read on this page.

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Next . . . Seamless Garment

  /   Sunday, June 04, 2006   /   Comments(0)

I’m on some kind of roll today. I’m hoping to also get a podcast posted soon about how the Church has indeed been attentive to the Holy Spirit. Maybe the fire of Pentecost is somehow getting to me in this way.

I think next time I go to a presentation where the speaker mentions the “seamless garment” theory, I’ll ask where in the Cathechism it can be found. Well, really, it isn’t anywhere in the Catechism. Now, before I say anything else, I do want to mention that this term gets used in ways that are perfectly legitimate. However, the origin of the theory and how it was initiall presented has some problems.

Certainly, the Church supports living wage, affordable housing, etc. Certainly, the use of the death penalty should be limited to where it is strictly necessary (which is quite likely never, especially in a developed nation). Certainly we can work to change many of the conditions that contributed to women having abortions and reach out to those who have fallen into the hands of an abortionist. However, all of these rights have as their foundation the right to be born. Without this, it’s kind of silly to argue about what kind of housing the people should have. After all, in this case, one is holding the view that some don’t have the right to live.

By the way, here is an article by Charles Rice that tells of the origins and the problems with the “seamless garment.”

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Always Our Children

  /   Sunday, June 04, 2006   /   Comments(0)

Having just seen some copies of Always Our Children in the narthex of a church that I was in, I thought I’d see what Catholic Culture had on it. I was hoping for an official Vatican statement, but I guess there isn’t one. I still found this document by Bishop Bruskewitz, and I suspect that he is telling the truth on this one.

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Speaking of the Morning After

  /   Thursday, June 01, 2006   /   Comments(0)

Speaking of the morning-after pill, take a look at this article by the president of the Memphis Regional Planned Parenthood that says that there is no reason not to make the morning-after pill available without a prescription. It seems that this article relies almost entirely on emotion, and it was quite irresponsible of them to publish it. I wrote this letter to the Commercial Appeal in response. You can see what they printed here.

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to the May 16th guest column of Barry Chase, president of Memphis Regional Planned Parenthood. In it, he claims that there is not a good reason that the “emergency contraceptive” named Plan B is not available without a prescription in every pharmacy in the nation. As a pro-life pharmacist, I can think of a number of good reasons why it should not be made available.

Mr. Chase states that Plan B will reduce the number of abortions. However, Plan B can work by making it difficult for the newly conceived embryo to implant. Therefore, by destroying an already-conceived and developing life, the drug is causing an early abortion. A 2002 article published in Annals of Pharmacotherapy suggested that this can happen when Plan B is used any time during a woman’s menstrual cycle. By the way, the package insert of many, if not all, oral contraceptives list this as a possible way in which they work.

Plan B provides absolutely no protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Allowing women to receive this without seeing a physician may increase the risk of complications from undiagnosed STDs that could have been treated if the woman had sought medical care. Also, having Plan B easily available as a kind of safety net will at least provide an easier opportunity to engage in more high-risk behavior. While Mr. Chase asserts that Plan B is safe, the long-term effects of repeated use of it are not known.

As Mr. Chase said, we need to recognize the reality of sexuality and reproductive health. However, the solution is not more birth control. Recognition of the reality of sexuality requires that one recognize that sex brings with it the possibility of new life that must be respected.

David Ancell, Pharm.D.

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Further Down the Slippery Slope

  /   Thursday, June 01, 2006   /   Comments(0)

I just read this article, and it made me sick. I’ve blogged before about Governor Blagojevich’s executive order requiring pharmacists to distribute the “morning after” pill. However, he is now taking his agenda to a new low. He wants pharmacies to post signs telling consumers of their “right” to receive the abortifacient with contact information in case they have trouble getting it. From what I understand, his order also covers contraceptives. His bio page lists “fighting to protect Illinois women’s access to birth control” as one of his priorities.

I hope the voters of Illinois throw his rear end out of office in this year’s election. I also hope that a lawsuit causes his executive order to be flushed down the toilet. This is simply intolerable.

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