Rod Dreher: Pope To Commemorate Reformation

When I was a child back in the Sixties, I loved to watch reruns of a 1950's television program, The Life of Riley, starring William Bendix, a sitcom about a hapless fool who was forever screwing everything up and who would proclaim at some point, "what a revolting development this is!"  Riley had the wisdom to recognize his mistakes, but other than that, the resemblance to "the Pope" is striking.

 

From The American Conservative
By Rod Dreher

Not The Onion:

Nearly 500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a German church, beginning the Protestant Reformation that led millions to break with the Roman Catholic Church and ushered in more than a century of conflict and war.

On Monday, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis will participate in a joint Lutheran-Catholic worship service in Sweden this October, kicking off a series of events planned for 2017 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

The effort to mend relations with Protestants has been on the agenda of many popes before Francis, but it is a delicate endeavor. The worship service in Sweden was billed by its sponsors, the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation, as a “commemoration,” not as a “celebration,” in order to avoid any inappropriate note of triumphalism. Some Catholics have criticized the notion of a pope celebrating the anniversary of a schism.

Ya think? This is insane — just as insane as if Lutheran leaders showed up at a worship service to “commemorate” the Counter Reformation. I’m all for efforts to make peace among our broken Christian communions as best we can, in part because we need each other more than ever.  I don’t begrudge Protestants celebrating the Reformation at all, though I think it was a terrible tragedy (as was the Great Schism separating the Roman and the Eastern churches). It is appropriate for Protestants to celebrate throwing off the yoke of Rome. But why on earth would a Pope join in an official event marking that celebration? And he really thinks calling it a “commemoration” for the sake of diplomacy matters? Send the Lutherans your regards, offer them your prayers, but good grief, man, you are the Roman pontiff! 

Lenten Observance At Allegheny College

From The American Conservative

By Rod Dreher

Ford Memorial Chapel, Allegheny College

 Oh, Dreherbait, must you be so succulent, so raw ^[1]?:

Allegheny College’s Ford Memorial Chapel was transformed into a boudoir of sorts Wednesday night, as professional sex educators advised students in attendance how best to touch themselves and their partners to reach orgasm in what was billed as an educational seminar.

The chapel, built and dedicated in 1902, is where Catholic mass and non-denominational services are conducted every week at the private liberal arts college in northwestern Pennsylvania. But all that took a back pew to Wednesday’s festivities, dubbed “I Heart the Female Orgasm” and hosted by a variety of student groups on campus.

The two sex educators, Marshall Miller and Kate Weinberg, talked students through a variety of masturbation techniques during the event.

But the young scholars received Scriptural exegesis in the chapel during the Lenten event:

But Weinberg said she believes that because Biblical scholars debate the exact meanings of many portions of the Bible, it permits a wide variety of sexual activity.

“A lot of Bible scholars say that’s the primary anti-masturbation story, but I don’t really see it,” she continued. “Onan wasn’t struck dead for masturbating. He was struck down for not sleeping with his brother’s wife. So the masturbation wasn’t the sin. So obviously, you know, the Bible is something that is interpreted in a lot of different ways.”

Who were the pervs who staged this scene?:

The event was hosted by Allegheny’s student government and Allegheny College’s Reproductive Health Coalition, along with Young Feminists and Queers and Allies. It was funded by student activities fees.

The best part:

Chaplain Jane Ellen Nickel, who conducts non-denominational Christian services each Sunday and manages the office of Spiritual and Religious Life, said in an email to The College Fix that she saw nothing wrong with the event, and hoped students would feel comfortable attending a religious service there later.

“I don’t have a problem with it being held in the chapel. The program advocates responsible, respectful decision-making regarding sexual behavior, and includes the option waiting for marriage, a message that resonates with many students of faith. While the name may have some shock value, the event itself is consistent with our policy of opening the building to campus groups. We would love it if students at such an event experience the chapel as a welcoming space, and then feel encouraged to attend a religious service or program.”

Another campus administrator told The College Fix he had no problem with the event’s location.

“They have a great message about caring relationships,” said Dean of Students Joe DiChristina in an e-mail. “I appreciated their approach.”

Joe DiChristina and Jane Ellen Nickel may one day realize that their purpose in life is to serve as a negative example. You kind of expect college students to be horny nitwits. But you also expect grown-ups to be grown-ups. Not necessarily at Allegheny College ^[2], where “2,100 students with unusual combinations ^[3] of interests, skills, and talents” just added another set of unusual techniques to their skill set, thanks to their school, which costs $48,000 a year ^[4]to attend.

“Look, Mom, I can detect oppression narratives in 19th-century New England literature while bringing myself to orgasm atop a pogo stick!” the Allegheny liberal arts graduate can say, from the comfort of her parents’ basement.