VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is hosting two hours of eucharistic adoration “in reparation for abuses committed by priests and for the healing of this wound within the church.”
The service in St. Peter’s Basilica this Saturday will feature an hour of silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, an hour of prayer and meditation, and a solemn blessing at the end.
The unusual initiative was organized by Catholic university students in Rome. Sources said the event was originally planned for the small Church of St. Anne inside Vatican City, but that it was moved to St. Peter’s at the suggestion of Cardinal Angelo Comastri, who is archpriest of the basilica.
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Thursday, May 27, 2010
Pope compares Moral Crisis to the Economic One
EDUCATION: HELPING NEW GENERATIONS RELATE TO THE WORLD
VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican's Synod Hall, the Holy Father met with participants in the general assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), who are meeting from 24 to 28 May to consider their general pastoral guidelines for the period 2010 - 2020.
"The Holy Spirit guides the Church in the world and in history", said the Pope. "Thanks to this gift from the Risen One, the Lord remains present in midst of historical events. It is through the Spirit that we can recognise the meaning of human vicissitudes in Christ".
"Supported by the Spirit and continuing down the path shown us by Vatican Council II, in particular with the pastoral guidelines of the last decade, you have chosen to adopt education as the principal theme for the next ten years. This temporal horizon is proportioned to the importance and breadth of educational requirements, which call on us to take responsibility for the new generations with a united, integral and harmonious witness which helps us to think, propose and live the truth, beauty and goodness of the Christian experience".
Benedict XVI went on to speak of modern culture, where sometimes "the dignity of the person, the value of life, and the very meaning of truth and goodness" are placed in doubt, and where "nothing beyond the individual is recognised as definitive". In this situation "it becomes arduous and difficult to present new generations with the 'bread' of truth' for which it is worth spending one's life and accepting, when necessary, the rigour of discipline and the fatigue of commitment.
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VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican's Synod Hall, the Holy Father met with participants in the general assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), who are meeting from 24 to 28 May to consider their general pastoral guidelines for the period 2010 - 2020.
"The Holy Spirit guides the Church in the world and in history", said the Pope. "Thanks to this gift from the Risen One, the Lord remains present in midst of historical events. It is through the Spirit that we can recognise the meaning of human vicissitudes in Christ".
"Supported by the Spirit and continuing down the path shown us by Vatican Council II, in particular with the pastoral guidelines of the last decade, you have chosen to adopt education as the principal theme for the next ten years. This temporal horizon is proportioned to the importance and breadth of educational requirements, which call on us to take responsibility for the new generations with a united, integral and harmonious witness which helps us to think, propose and live the truth, beauty and goodness of the Christian experience".
Benedict XVI went on to speak of modern culture, where sometimes "the dignity of the person, the value of life, and the very meaning of truth and goodness" are placed in doubt, and where "nothing beyond the individual is recognised as definitive". In this situation "it becomes arduous and difficult to present new generations with the 'bread' of truth' for which it is worth spending one's life and accepting, when necessary, the rigour of discipline and the fatigue of commitment.
Read further...
Immodest Italian Women want Celibacy Laws to Change
It's one of those situations where a certain kind of man will shrug his shoulders and say something crass, even deliberately crass to offend the sensibility of an antagonistic leftist female.
What had Berlusconi done to arouse the ire of some leftists in Italian society who've made the issue into a cause célèbre? Well, he accused a certain woman of being more beautiful than intelligent, "hey, did I say something wrong?" This happened in 2009 and Berlusconi wasn't too noticeably effected and has been more popular than ever.
About 97,000 Italian women have signed the "Women offended by the premier" appeal after Berlusconi told the matronly, bespectacled leftist Rosy Bindi that she was "more beautiful than intelligent" in a swipe at both her looks and brains.
Facebook girly protest notwithstanding, Berlusconi is still in power.
Feminist political agendas are waged with greater zeal when their object is conservative. Many people were eager to believe Anita Hill who'd accused the black and conservative Catholic, Justice Clarance Thomas of sexually harassing her, but those same women who "believed Anita Hill" were mysteriously silent as the que of Bill Clinton's accusers grew.
It brings to mind a similar but unrelated legal ruling in Italy when female politicians protested outside Parliament with Jeans on in 1999, including Benito Mussolini's granddaughter. The defense was subsequently overturned, but there's definitely a change in Italian society, here. I can't help but feel that the Jeans defense for alleged rapists was somehow the Italian legal system's attempt to punish bad attire.
There are women who are easily offended, especially women of left sensibilities of which there is never a shortage, alas, and leftists are sure to bank on this, because women are a very important economic and moral force in Italian society, any society, but often, women expend their efforts on causes that raise an eyebrow with a hint of sauciness, but have a certain questionable validity, and even more questionable outcomes. The following Guardian Report that tells of a facebook group of former mistresses of priests who are urging the Church to changes its rules on celibacy.
Now, aside from the prurient interest, is this really newsworthy? More importantly, does it help us see women in a positive light?
Dozens of Italian women who have had relationships with Roman Catholic priests or lay monks have endorsed an open letter to the pope that calls for the abolition of the celibacy rule. The letter, thought by one signatory to be unprecedented, argues that a priest "needs to live with his fellow human beings, experience feelings, love and be loved".
It also pleads for understanding of those who "live out in secrecy those few moments the priest manages to grant [us] and experience on a daily basis the doubts, fears and insecurities of our men".
You should notice also that none of their arguments are based on actuality. They're based exclusively on sentiment, and perhaps a hint of malice and prurience.
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Two of the offensive parties have facebook accounts, like this one here:
Photo Credit: Reuters
The Waltz of the Cardinal: ++Schönborn's fickle Allegiance
The Italian journalist Bruno Volpe has commentated on the most recent clarifications by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna about his predecessor, Hans-Herman Cardinal Groër (+2003)
Volpe is the producer of the famous Italian website, 'pontifex.roma.it".
On the end of march Cardinal Schönborn attacked the former Secretary of State Cardinal Sodano and implicated him in preventing an investigative commission on accusations against Cardinal Groër which then Cardinal Ratzinger was to have had undertaken.
Indeed, Volpe has brought "a few clarifications" on this situation.
He recalled on an activity of the Congregation of the Faith that occurred at Castle Laxenburg near Vienna, at the end of 1989.
Cardinal Ratzinger explained this opportunity to journalists, that the naming of Cardinal Groër as Archbishop of Vienna had been "very well considered".
Pope John Paul II named the Benedictine in July 1986 as Archbishop of Vienna and in June h1988 he made him Cardinal.
Volpe knows still more.
in March 1995 the supposed abuse-afflicted and socially maligned Joseph Hartman attacked the former Cardinal of Vienna in the scandal magazine 'profil'.
He accused the Cardinal of sexual abuse, which he was supposed to have committed in the years 1972 and 1976.
Volpe then explained that many defended Cardinal Groër. The journalist named the then Bishop of Sankt Polten, Msgr Kurt Krenn, the former Chairman of the 'Freedom Party', Jorg Haider, and the former Viennese Auxiliary Bishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn.
Volpe also made the comparison of "the attack against Groër with a Church persecution, which would be similar to the Nazi Regime."
Volpe points out, that Msgr Schönborn altered his tactics once Cardinal Groër had fallen from grace. He suddenly made aggressively critical statements in public.
The Guild of journalists: "Cardinal Schönborn has a line on the day, which stands in the best tradition of Viennese waltzers."
Because: "First Cardinal Groër was a victim of anti-Catholic Fascism, then he was accused and perhaps even discovered:
Where here the truth is, might the Bishop of Vienna explain. We will be very thankful and say God Bless you" - said Volpe.
Link to original...
Volpe is the producer of the famous Italian website, 'pontifex.roma.it".
On the end of march Cardinal Schönborn attacked the former Secretary of State Cardinal Sodano and implicated him in preventing an investigative commission on accusations against Cardinal Groër which then Cardinal Ratzinger was to have had undertaken.
Indeed, Volpe has brought "a few clarifications" on this situation.
He recalled on an activity of the Congregation of the Faith that occurred at Castle Laxenburg near Vienna, at the end of 1989.
Cardinal Ratzinger explained this opportunity to journalists, that the naming of Cardinal Groër as Archbishop of Vienna had been "very well considered".
Pope John Paul II named the Benedictine in July 1986 as Archbishop of Vienna and in June h1988 he made him Cardinal.
Volpe knows still more.
in March 1995 the supposed abuse-afflicted and socially maligned Joseph Hartman attacked the former Cardinal of Vienna in the scandal magazine 'profil'.
He accused the Cardinal of sexual abuse, which he was supposed to have committed in the years 1972 and 1976.
Volpe then explained that many defended Cardinal Groër. The journalist named the then Bishop of Sankt Polten, Msgr Kurt Krenn, the former Chairman of the 'Freedom Party', Jorg Haider, and the former Viennese Auxiliary Bishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn.
Volpe also made the comparison of "the attack against Groër with a Church persecution, which would be similar to the Nazi Regime."
Volpe points out, that Msgr Schönborn altered his tactics once Cardinal Groër had fallen from grace. He suddenly made aggressively critical statements in public.
The Guild of journalists: "Cardinal Schönborn has a line on the day, which stands in the best tradition of Viennese waltzers."
Because: "First Cardinal Groër was a victim of anti-Catholic Fascism, then he was accused and perhaps even discovered:
Where here the truth is, might the Bishop of Vienna explain. We will be very thankful and say God Bless you" - said Volpe.
Link to original...
South African Anglican Bishops engage in Pro-Homosexual Activism
The Bishops of the Anglican Church in South Africa are calling on President Jacob Zuma and South African government to take measures to secure the release of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, a gay couple who were recently sentenced to 14 years’ hard labour after they staged a traditional engagement ceremony.
“We urge them to press for the swift release of these two individuals, who have committed no act of violence or harm against anyone; for the quashing of the sentence against them; and for the repeal of this repressive legislation,” the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa said in a May 26 statement made available to Nyasa Times.
Monjeza and Chimbalanga were given the maximum sentence following a May 20 verdict from a Magistrates’ Court in Malawi, where same-sex relationships are illegal. The two men were arrested on December 28 after their engagement ceremony.
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“We urge them to press for the swift release of these two individuals, who have committed no act of violence or harm against anyone; for the quashing of the sentence against them; and for the repeal of this repressive legislation,” the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa said in a May 26 statement made available to Nyasa Times.
Monjeza and Chimbalanga were given the maximum sentence following a May 20 verdict from a Magistrates’ Court in Malawi, where same-sex relationships are illegal. The two men were arrested on December 28 after their engagement ceremony.
Read further...
New Legal Venues for ACLU Legal Activist
He's on his way to change the way the Catholic Church works by attacking it with lawsuits. In the meantime, he's found a new potentially lucrative venue. By suing the multiple users of child pornography on the internet, he stands to keep his warchest full as he Crusades against the Catholic Church.
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ST. PAUL — An attorney who has spent years going after priests accused of sexual abuse is now taking on people who download child pornography.
Jeffrey Anderson filed a lawsuit today in federal court that he says will help track people who make, download or possess abusive images..
The lawsuit is filed on behalf of a boy who was 9 when images of him were taken.
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Nungate Continues: Will Leftist Poser Nuns be held Accountable at Last?
Progressive Adrian Nuns under Vatican Scrutiny
They've taught legions of Detroit-area Catholics. They've taken on major corporations. They are watchdog nuns who have urged U.S. companies to be socially responsible.
But to the Vatican, the Adrian Dominican congregation of 850 progressive nuns may be a problem, especially under the conservative papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.
For five days this spring, a Vatican-backed team studied the Adrian Dominicans at their motherhouse in Lenawee County. They are among at least 19 sister congregations being investigated under a process called the Apostolic Visitation.
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Thousands attend Ceremony for next Cardinal
They came from everywhere: cardinals in red skullcaps from the Vatican and Philadelphia, priests and parishioners from Newbury Park, Camarillo and Ventura who battled motion sickness on commuter trains or prayed for parking.
Juan Cano, a 27-year-old Camarillo seminarian, stood outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday, his tie rippling in the breeze, for the same reason as the 4,000 others:
History.
He came to watch Coadjutor Archbishop José H. Gomez welcomed to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in a ritual-filled Mass that marked the beginning of a path that will make him the leader of the nation’s largest archdiocese.
Gomez, 58, will succeed Cardinal Roger Mahony, who will retire Feb. 27 on his 75th birthday after more than 25 years as the archdiocese’s leader. Until then, Gomez will serve as second-in-command.
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Juan Cano, a 27-year-old Camarillo seminarian, stood outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday, his tie rippling in the breeze, for the same reason as the 4,000 others:
History.
He came to watch Coadjutor Archbishop José H. Gomez welcomed to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in a ritual-filled Mass that marked the beginning of a path that will make him the leader of the nation’s largest archdiocese.
Gomez, 58, will succeed Cardinal Roger Mahony, who will retire Feb. 27 on his 75th birthday after more than 25 years as the archdiocese’s leader. Until then, Gomez will serve as second-in-command.
Read further...
Homosexuals are Three Times More Likely to Commit Sexual Assualt in Military
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An analysis of publicly available documents indicates that homosexuals in the military are three times more likely to commit sexual assaults than heterosexuals, relative to their numbers, announced the Family Research Council Wednesday.
The release comes on the heels of news that Democrat U.S. senators on the Armed Services Committee seek to attach a repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule banning open homosexuals from the military to an essential defense spending bill. Although Pentagon officials had begun a year-long review of the possible repercussions of repealing the ban, homosexual activists hope to squeeze the controversial overturn through before November elections - when several Democrats are expected to lose their seats - before the results of the Pentagon study are in.
The FRC analysis released Wednesday demonstrates one of the main causes of alarm for supporters of the ban: a review of the "case synopses" of all 1,643 reports of sexual assault reported by the four branches of the military for Fiscal Year 2009 (October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009) found that over eight percent (8.2%) of all military sexual assault cases were homosexual in nature. Yet homosexual activist groups themselves have stated that less than three percent of Americans (2.8% of men and 1.4% of women) are homosexual or bisexual.
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The release comes on the heels of news that Democrat U.S. senators on the Armed Services Committee seek to attach a repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule banning open homosexuals from the military to an essential defense spending bill. Although Pentagon officials had begun a year-long review of the possible repercussions of repealing the ban, homosexual activists hope to squeeze the controversial overturn through before November elections - when several Democrats are expected to lose their seats - before the results of the Pentagon study are in.
The FRC analysis released Wednesday demonstrates one of the main causes of alarm for supporters of the ban: a review of the "case synopses" of all 1,643 reports of sexual assault reported by the four branches of the military for Fiscal Year 2009 (October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009) found that over eight percent (8.2%) of all military sexual assault cases were homosexual in nature. Yet homosexual activist groups themselves have stated that less than three percent of Americans (2.8% of men and 1.4% of women) are homosexual or bisexual.
Read further...
Catholic Hospital Closings Plague the Northeast
NEW YORK CITY – On April 30, the third oldest hospital in New York City closed its doors after 160 years of service.
As the result of years of financial struggle, St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection leaving not a single Catholic medical center in the area.
Only two years ago, in March 2008, Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan, also closed and then filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in July 2009.
The list of Catholic hospital closings expands into boroughs of Manhattan.
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Marquette Faculty shows Church who's Boss
By James Tillman
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, May 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- An uproar among homosexualist forces has ensued after Marquette University President Father Robert Wild withdrew a job offered to an openly lesbian professor, citing her academic writings' sexually explicit content as out of line with Catholic teaching. According to some reports, Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki's input on the matter was a key influence his decision to withdraw the offer.
Jodi O'Brien, who is currently a Sociology professor at Seattle University, which is also a Jesuit Catholic Institution, had been offered the job of dean of the Marquette College of Arts and Sciences, before Marquette University rescinded the offer Thursday.
An examination of O'Brien's writings - with such titles as "Wrestling the Angel of Contradiction: Queer Christian Identities" - quickly reveals matierial in dramatic conflict with the Catholic character of a Jesuit university.
In her 1996 article "Changing the Subject," published in Woman and Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory, O'Brien discusses multiple sexual encounters, such as a lesbian who uses a sex toy to have sex with a gay man, in obscene detail. "What have they just done?" she goes on to wonder. "Is she having sex as a woman with a man? Is she having sex as a woman-man with a man-woman?"
Link to original...
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, May 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- An uproar among homosexualist forces has ensued after Marquette University President Father Robert Wild withdrew a job offered to an openly lesbian professor, citing her academic writings' sexually explicit content as out of line with Catholic teaching. According to some reports, Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki's input on the matter was a key influence his decision to withdraw the offer.
Jodi O'Brien, who is currently a Sociology professor at Seattle University, which is also a Jesuit Catholic Institution, had been offered the job of dean of the Marquette College of Arts and Sciences, before Marquette University rescinded the offer Thursday.
An examination of O'Brien's writings - with such titles as "Wrestling the Angel of Contradiction: Queer Christian Identities" - quickly reveals matierial in dramatic conflict with the Catholic character of a Jesuit university.
In her 1996 article "Changing the Subject," published in Woman and Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory, O'Brien discusses multiple sexual encounters, such as a lesbian who uses a sex toy to have sex with a gay man, in obscene detail. "What have they just done?" she goes on to wonder. "Is she having sex as a woman with a man? Is she having sex as a woman-man with a man-woman?"
Link to original...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Baptist Minister Murdered in St. Petersburg
In St. Petersburg, Russia, friends and family are mourning the loss of Pastor Yuri Golovin after he was beaten to death, reports MNN.
Slavic Gospel Association and the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (UECB) reported that 76-year-old Golovin was on his way to pay a visit to an elderly church member when unknown assailants attacked the Central Baptist Church pastor outside the home.
After the attack, Golovin was able to get the attention of the church member, who called an ambulance. However, Golovin later died at the hospital from his injuries.
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Slavic Gospel Association and the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (UECB) reported that 76-year-old Golovin was on his way to pay a visit to an elderly church member when unknown assailants attacked the Central Baptist Church pastor outside the home.
After the attack, Golovin was able to get the attention of the church member, who called an ambulance. However, Golovin later died at the hospital from his injuries.
Read further...
Archbishop Chaput says it's too hard to correct Abuses
He hopes people will believe him when he says that he does what he has to do, and that he just can't correct every single abuse out there, much less those that happen in other Archdiocese. What is meant to sound reasonable actually comes off as shirking.
We can see how the Archbishop would think that he really has limited options, since so many of the people he's allowed to be appointed aren't demonstrably Catholic-- why would it surprise him when they aren't pliable to direction. Since his own record in this regard of dealing with abuses and scandals has been a bit spotty, like when he allowed a Mass to be said in his own See for the benefit of the Pro-Abortion Governor, here.
But there are even still some people who will remember the Archbishop's endorsement of Stations of the Cross like these, here, when a woman took the part of Christ in a very strange portrayal of the Stations of the Cross indeed.
In the organizational structure of the Catholic Church in America, the Province of Denver includes the dioceses of Pueblo and Colorado Springs in Colorado, the Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming, and the province’s metropolitan (or senior) see, the Archdiocese of Denver. That makes Denver’s bishop an archbishop. As that archbishop, I rarely see a year go by without at least two or three unhappy parishioners assuming I have the authority to “straighten out” their liturgists and principals and pastors or some other problem in their local parish—within the province but outside my own diocese.
They tend to get even more annoyed when they learn that I have neither the authority nor the foolishness to meddle in the life of a sister diocese. Nor will I intrude on the ministry of a brother bishop. The title archbishop does entail some rights and duties in the life of a province, but these are strictly limited.
In reality, each diocese is a separate, autonomous community of believers. Each bishop in a province is an equal. Each is a successor of the apostles. And each is the chief teaching and governing authority in his own local church. Of course, the bishop of Rome, who is also the pope, is uniquely different: He is first among brothers, and yet he also has real authority as pastor of the whole Church. But he is not a global CEO, and Catholic bishops are not—and never have been—his agents or employees.
We can see how the Archbishop would think that he really has limited options, since so many of the people he's allowed to be appointed aren't demonstrably Catholic-- why would it surprise him when they aren't pliable to direction. Since his own record in this regard of dealing with abuses and scandals has been a bit spotty, like when he allowed a Mass to be said in his own See for the benefit of the Pro-Abortion Governor, here.
But there are even still some people who will remember the Archbishop's endorsement of Stations of the Cross like these, here, when a woman took the part of Christ in a very strange portrayal of the Stations of the Cross indeed.
Pope Denounces Abuses of Authority, even those by a Pope Himself
(26 May 10 – RV) “Not even the Pope can do what he wants, on the contrary the Pope is the guardian of obedience to Christ, to his Word" who " must precede in obedience to Christ and his Church. " "Outside of a clearly and explicitly supernatural vision the priests own duty to govern is incomprehensible. Instead it is supported by true love for the salvation of every believer, it is particularly precious and necessary in our time".
This was Pope Benedict XVI’s message at the heart of his Wednesday audience delivered to thousands in St Peter’s Square. With little over two week to the conclusion of the Year for Priests (June 11th) the Holy Father delivered the third in a series of lessons on the duties of the priestly ministry. The first two were dedicated to the priests duty to educate and sanctify the People of God, the third task, as outlined by the Pope, is to exercise authority in the Lord’s name:
“Authority, in the Christian understanding, is a service to the true, ultimate good of the person, which is our salvation in Christ; exercised in the Lord’s name, it is an expression of the constant presence and care of the Good Shepherd. The spiritual authority conferred in Holy Orders should be matched by the priest’s interior fidelity to his pastoral mission and his personal readiness to follow obediently the lead of Christ. Understood in the light of faith, this authority, while involving the exercise of power, remains a service to the building up of the Church in holiness, unity and truth. Christ’s power was expressed in the washing of feet, and his kingship by the wood of the Cross; so too, the priestly ministry of governance must be expressed in pastoral charity.”
.Read further..
This was Pope Benedict XVI’s message at the heart of his Wednesday audience delivered to thousands in St Peter’s Square. With little over two week to the conclusion of the Year for Priests (June 11th) the Holy Father delivered the third in a series of lessons on the duties of the priestly ministry. The first two were dedicated to the priests duty to educate and sanctify the People of God, the third task, as outlined by the Pope, is to exercise authority in the Lord’s name:
“Authority, in the Christian understanding, is a service to the true, ultimate good of the person, which is our salvation in Christ; exercised in the Lord’s name, it is an expression of the constant presence and care of the Good Shepherd. The spiritual authority conferred in Holy Orders should be matched by the priest’s interior fidelity to his pastoral mission and his personal readiness to follow obediently the lead of Christ. Understood in the light of faith, this authority, while involving the exercise of power, remains a service to the building up of the Church in holiness, unity and truth. Christ’s power was expressed in the washing of feet, and his kingship by the wood of the Cross; so too, the priestly ministry of governance must be expressed in pastoral charity.”
.Read further..
Priest who opposed Papal teaching arrested for Sex Abuse
It's not really the people who accept the truth of the Catholic Church's teachings, believe in the moral law, fear the judgements of God who are the problem.
It's liberals you have to watch out for, and liberals who are clever enough to pretend to be real Catholics.
Link here...
It's liberals you have to watch out for, and liberals who are clever enough to pretend to be real Catholics.
Of course, the recent John Jay misinformation study, made up of analytically-challenged dataticians with a predetermined agenda, has enlightened us that there is no convincing evidence that sexual abuse of boys is a predominately homosexual crime.
Much as I am disgusted by so many abuse cases involving priests, and I usually avoid reporting them, there is another study that, in their determination to blacklist the Catholic priesthood, is ignored completely by the anti-Catholic media. Mind you, these analysts had no predetermined agenda other than identifying behavioral abnormalities of teachers. Clip: “But according to Charol Shakeshaft, the researcher of a little-remembered 2004 study prepared for the U.S. Department of Education, ‘the physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.’” (my emphasis)
Catholic Culture reports: A 73-year-old Italian priest who has long been a critic of Catholic teaching that homosexual inclinations are objectively disordered was arrested on May 24 on charges of abusing a teenage boy. Father Domenico Pezzini, who has led gay Catholic organizations, is also a medievalist and translator who recently retired from his faculty position at the University of Verona. More here.
Link here...
No Homosexual Parade in Moscow this Year Either
MOSCOW, May 25, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - For the fifth year in a row, the government of the city of Moscow has defied the international homosexual lobby and has refused to issue a permit for a "gay pride" parade.
Nokolai Alexeiv, the organizer of the event, said that the permit had been denied because of risks to public order, as well as security concerns.
Gay pride marches are often scenes of public lewdness, in which participants violate nudity laws and engage in simulated and even real sex acts in public. The mayor's office has denounced homosexual behavior as "satanic" and said that it spreads disease.
Read further...
Related article, here.
Signals of closer relations between Rome and Moscow, here.
Nokolai Alexeiv, the organizer of the event, said that the permit had been denied because of risks to public order, as well as security concerns.
Gay pride marches are often scenes of public lewdness, in which participants violate nudity laws and engage in simulated and even real sex acts in public. The mayor's office has denounced homosexual behavior as "satanic" and said that it spreads disease.
Read further...
Related article, here.
Signals of closer relations between Rome and Moscow, here.
An outpouring of Support and Love for Cardinal Ouellet
OTTAWA, Ontario, May 25, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite the beating he took in the Quebec and national media last week, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec City and primate of Canada, is “buoyant, joyful, brimming with love,” reports journalist Deborah Gyapong.
Cardinal Ouellet was attacked by the mainstream press, politicians, and even some clergy after he made comments just over a week ago in which he affirmed the teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion in all cases, including rape.
“The child is not responsible for how he was conceived, it is the aggressor who is responsible,” he told reporters. “We can see him (the child) as another victim.”
Link to original...
Cardinal Ouellet was attacked by the mainstream press, politicians, and even some clergy after he made comments just over a week ago in which he affirmed the teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion in all cases, including rape.
“The child is not responsible for how he was conceived, it is the aggressor who is responsible,” he told reporters. “We can see him (the child) as another victim.”
Link to original...
Heretical Jesuit Pretends to be Physicist and gets Owned
Jesuits are great pretenders.
Read full article, here.
[First Thoughts] Catholic World News reports that Fr. Michael Kelly, S.J. the CEO of the Asian Catholic News agency, finds the Catholic doctrine of “transubstantiation” meaningless in this “post-Newtonian world of quantum physics”. Since I use quantum mechanics every day in my work, I think I can match my understanding of this post-Newtonian world of quantum physics against Fr. Kelly’s, and I do not find the doctrine “meaningless”.
Read full article, here.
Deacon arrested for Simony in Greece
ATHENS, Greece -- Police arrested an orthodox deacon on Monday (May 24th) who allegedly sold human bones to a Swiss man, claiming they are holy relics. The priest, 24, was detained in the town of Sidirokastro, near the Bulgarian border. A total of 505 human bone fragments, 15 skulls, icons and Byzantine coins were found in his home. The bones were labelled with the names of various saints. Police also arrested the Swiss national, Stephan Meyer, 43, at the airport in Thessaloniki from where he was awaiting a flight to Germany. Skulls and nearly 200 bone fragments in his luggage were allegedly to be delivered to a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Germany. (AP, Telegraph - 24/05/10)
Link, here.
Link, here.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Culture and Civilzation at War
Alice von Hildebrand
God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. This mission was confided to them, not to let it become stale but to make it bear fruit. They were called to take care of it, to tend it, and to develop it. Nature was the material, and man was to foster its development and to beautify it. If one compares a virgin forest with a Tuscan or Umbrian landscape, it is obvious that men have taken this mission seriously and fulfilled it lovingly.
Man's intervention can take two different forms: Following my late husband Dietrich's terminology, I will call one of them "civilization" and the other "culture."
By civilization, I mean human achievements aimed at making life easier, more practical, and more convenient. Transportation comes to mind: It is a field in which technology has worked "miracles." Walking has -- in due time -- been replaced by buggies, which, in turn, have been replaced by bicycles, cars, ships, and airplanes. Man can now crisscross the world in a matter of hours, whereas at the time of Columbus, reaching the American continent was a slow and dangerous enterprise. We have even landed on the moon, and soon we can hope to conquer other planets.
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God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. This mission was confided to them, not to let it become stale but to make it bear fruit. They were called to take care of it, to tend it, and to develop it. Nature was the material, and man was to foster its development and to beautify it. If one compares a virgin forest with a Tuscan or Umbrian landscape, it is obvious that men have taken this mission seriously and fulfilled it lovingly.
Man's intervention can take two different forms: Following my late husband Dietrich's terminology, I will call one of them "civilization" and the other "culture."
By civilization, I mean human achievements aimed at making life easier, more practical, and more convenient. Transportation comes to mind: It is a field in which technology has worked "miracles." Walking has -- in due time -- been replaced by buggies, which, in turn, have been replaced by bicycles, cars, ships, and airplanes. Man can now crisscross the world in a matter of hours, whereas at the time of Columbus, reaching the American continent was a slow and dangerous enterprise. We have even landed on the moon, and soon we can hope to conquer other planets.
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Cardinal Newman's Legacy is at Brompton Oratory where there's Trouble
No doubt, there's already a lot of rumpus about just how much a strong advocate the great Cardinal Newman was to the cause of belle lettres and literary genius. A Los Angeles Priest has tried to do his part to exonerate the beleaguered cause of Sainthood. Cardinal Newman's contemporaries weren't quite as keen about his Orthodoxy as are Cardinal Newman's latter day would-be hagiographers. Even Lord Acton, whose liberal Catholicism the Cardinal stood in good stead, found his personal orthodoxy suspect, perhaps even, distasteful.
Even a mix-up at Brompton Oratory won't put a damper on this.
Can a man about whom, for those who really know anything about him, be described as anything but catty, vengeful and petty? Many people look at Cardinal Newman as a herald of Vatican II. He certainly set an example for others of his Liberal set; we've got too many of his type already in the clerical state and we need more Cardinal Mannings.
Just how much will get out about the Cardinal's personal Orthodoxy remains to be seen, but perhaps there is something to the genius of the Papacy that perceives things as they are but not as they seem. Cardinal Newman, his literary genius notwithstanding, might not have been the most friendly and gregarious of men, but perhaps he was more than that, a Saint perhaps?
Hopefully, the Cardinal will have better defenders than he has opponents, because he really needs strong advocates to defend his honor and the honor of the Church.
So far, owing to the prurient interest of our modern world, the question of Cardinal Newman's sexuality far outweighs any considerations of his orthodoxy.
Even a mix-up at Brompton Oratory won't put a damper on this.
Can a man about whom, for those who really know anything about him, be described as anything but catty, vengeful and petty? Many people look at Cardinal Newman as a herald of Vatican II. He certainly set an example for others of his Liberal set; we've got too many of his type already in the clerical state and we need more Cardinal Mannings.
Just how much will get out about the Cardinal's personal Orthodoxy remains to be seen, but perhaps there is something to the genius of the Papacy that perceives things as they are but not as they seem. Cardinal Newman, his literary genius notwithstanding, might not have been the most friendly and gregarious of men, but perhaps he was more than that, a Saint perhaps?
Hopefully, the Cardinal will have better defenders than he has opponents, because he really needs strong advocates to defend his honor and the honor of the Church.
So far, owing to the prurient interest of our modern world, the question of Cardinal Newman's sexuality far outweighs any considerations of his orthodoxy.
Franciscan University Graduates its Fourth Largest Class Ever
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STEUBENVILLE, OH—Franciscan University of Steubenville sent the largest graduating class in the University's history into the world on Saturday, May 8, at the 62nd commencement exercises.
The 707 graduates of the Class of 2010 represent 11 countries and 46 states, with Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Virginia, and New York leading the way. This year's class also included the first-ever graduates from the sacred music and international business programs.
"Congratulations on graduating from one of the finest Catholic universities, not only in the United States, but in the world," His Eminence John Cardinal Foley told the graduates gathered in Finnegan Fieldhouse for the Baccalaureate Mass on Friday, May 7.
Delivering his homily "from the chair," Cardinal Foley linked the graduates to centuries of Catholic tradition while exhorting them to take the fervor of their faith with them into the world.
About Franciscan
ACLU attacks Sheriff for Refusing to Drive someone to Abortion
By James Tillman
WEATHERFORD, Texas, May 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has threatened legal action against a Texas sheriff, claiming he violated an inmate's constitutional "right" to an abortion by refusing to transport her to an abortion clinic.
Sheriff Larry Fowler, however, said he would not use taxpayer funds to facilitate the deed.
"My personal feeling is I don't feel like the taxpayers of Parker County would think much of their sheriff spending taxpayer money to take people to abortion clinics," Fowler told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"I don't think they would want me to even entertain that notion."
Read further...
WEATHERFORD, Texas, May 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has threatened legal action against a Texas sheriff, claiming he violated an inmate's constitutional "right" to an abortion by refusing to transport her to an abortion clinic.
Sheriff Larry Fowler, however, said he would not use taxpayer funds to facilitate the deed.
"My personal feeling is I don't feel like the taxpayers of Parker County would think much of their sheriff spending taxpayer money to take people to abortion clinics," Fowler told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"I don't think they would want me to even entertain that notion."
Read further...
Anxieties over the Papal visit to Britain
Damian cites one person's concern that Susan Boyle's singing is intended to "keep bums on seats". The concern is that not enough people will show up.
Anxieties over the Papal visit to Britain
Anxieties over the Papal visit to Britain
Dispute over Prague Cathedral Ends
[Czechia/Kreuz], The Church has capitulated in its year-long legal battle over the Cathedral which was robbed by the Communists in 1953. On Monday President Vaclav Klaus and Archbishop Dominic Duka (67) signed the agreement. The Church therein repudiates its rights of ownership. Msgr Duka is in his first month in office. His predecessor Miloslav Cardinal Vlk, wanted to make a constitutional appeal and if necessary to go before the European Human Rights Court, against the refusal to return the Cathedral.
Since the Cathedral had been stolen from the Church by the Communists, many years have come and gone.
[Czech News]Klaus said the disputes about the cathedral had thereby ended and that the state and the Catholic Church would take care of the cathedral jointly.
Under the agreement, the Prague Castle Administration is to provide the real estate, two buildings in the Castle complex, necessary for the church to use the cathedral and the Prague Castle will keep looking after the real estate.
"The court dispute about the cathedral and some other real estate at Prague Castle has been terminated by the declaration we have just signed. As it has been for long past centuries, the state and the Catholic Church will by joint forces take care of the cathedral that they together consider an exceptional national symbol in its historical, spiritual and cultural sense," Klaus said after signing the declaration this afternoon.
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New Chaldean Archbishop in Iraq
The Chaldean Diocese of Erbil (Iraq) has a new bishop. The new bishop, who will replace Msgr. Rabban Alqas who since 2007 held the patriarchal diocese as administrator is, as rumored since the last synod of the Chaldean church, Father Bashar Warda CSsR, rector of St. Peter Chaldean Seminary in Ankawa.
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Where did She go Wrong?
At Notre Dame I majored in theology and held an office in the campus prolife group. As a student there I had my world expanded exponentially, albeit still within the Catholic bubble. At Notre Dame I came across more permutations of Catholicity than I had ever imagined existed. On or near or passing through campus was a dizzying array of personalities and schools of thought and service groups and periodicals. Focolare, Opus Dei, Lawrence Cunningham, Jean Porter, Richard McBrien, Michael Buckley, Alasdair MacIntyre, Michael Waldstein, CILA, the Thomas More Society, Crisis, NCR, the National Catholic Register, Commonweal, Lefebvrists, Marianists, millenialists, Lonerganians, Thomists, Balthasarians, the Theology of the Body, Feminists for Life, Comunione e Liberazione, Community of Sant’Egidio, Holy Cross Associates, High Mass in the Basilica, Wednesday night Masses in the chapel of Farley Hall...like I said, dizzying. One Thursday night I would be out to a fondue dinner with a friend and her father and a conference-attending Joseph Fessio, SJ (who fixed his traditionalist gaze on me and said, “So, just how bad is the Theology Department these days?”). The next morning might find me crashing a professional conference on medical ethics—sitting in the back row, taking it all in—before heading off to hear a speaker on liberation theology over at the Center for Social Concerns. During my time at Notre Dame a professor I asked to be my confessor steadily tried to bring me along from a stunted spirituality centered on self-discipline (I was very, very good at that) to a more expansive and far more challenging spirituality centered on the daunting gospel command to love—really love—God and neighbor. I left campus with my diploma and a handful of awards, one of them for being the top theology student. I hated leaving, and told everyone I felt like I had just started getting to the good stuff.
After a couple of weeks I drove my fondue friend to an order of female hermits in New York whom she was considering joining, and headed to the L’Arche community in Toronto, Canada, to live and work among the developmentally disabled. Daily Mass was again part of the mix, this time with Henri Nouwen as celebrant. When Henri was gone a few of us tried our hand at lay preaching. I’d like to think I did a passable job. After two years at L’Arche, not able to shake that “but I was just getting to the good stuff” feeling, I requested a deferral of admission to law school in order to continue theology studies. Fellowship in hand, I relocated to Boston and found my intellectual home in the work of Karl Rahner. Two years of studying theology and nothing but theology—and getting paid for it!—well, that was as sweet a deal as I had ever come across.
During my years in Boston I dated a couple of guys, one of them a former seminarian and fellow theology student. He and I attended a talk by Andrew Sullivan, then the editor of the New Republic and an out gay Catholic. I sat and listened, and knew for the first time with a semblance of peace what I had come to know in recent years in more conflicted fashion: that I was, and would always be, a gay Catholic.
I met my future partner some years later at a party thrown by a priest. The months that followed were excruciatingly difficult. It is one thing to be a gay Catholic, another to take the step of dating. I realized I would never have an answer for those who say, “God will give you the strength to bear whatever burden you have. He will give you the grace to be a faithful, celibate, gay woman. You need only pray and fast.” If I protest and say that I have prayed, I did fast (every Wednesday, for years!), my continued existence as an unrepentant gay Catholic simply provides them with their own ready answer: “You need only pray and fast more.” And who can disagree with that? I am reminded of the words of Rahner as he pondered embarking on the writing of his massive tome Foundations of Christian Faith:
Link to Commonweal...
Another Heretical Jesuit denies Transubstantiation
[Catholic Culture] Stating that “Catholics can become fanatical about one form of the Body of Christ in the bread of the Eucharist as the REAL presence of Christ,” Father Michael Kelly, the Jesuit CEO of the Asian Catholic news agency UCA News, criticized the doctrine of transubstantiation in a May 24 column.
In his column-- a critique of the new, more accurate liturgical translations that reflect the content and dignity of the original Latin-- Father Kelly writes:
Link to Catholic Culture...
In his column-- a critique of the new, more accurate liturgical translations that reflect the content and dignity of the original Latin-- Father Kelly writes:
Regrettably, all too frequently, the only Presence focused on is Christ’s presence in the elements of bread and wine. Inadequately described as the change of the “substance” (not the “accidents”) of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, the mystery of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist carries the intellectual baggage of a physics no one accepts. Aristotelian physics makes such nice, however implausible and now unintelligible, distinctions. They are meaningless in the post-Newtonian world of quantum physics, which is the scientific context we live in today.
Link to Catholic Culture...
Monday, May 24, 2010
Obama Administration Attempting to Protect the Vatican
[Catholic Culture] The Obama administration has weighed in strongly against efforts by abuse victims to bring suit against the Vatican.
In a brief filed with the US Supreme Court, the Justice Department asked for a reversal of a federal district court ruling that allowed the Vatican to be listed as a defendant in an Oregon case.
The brief does not directly address the questions that have been raised in a more recent case in Kentucky, in which plaintiffs argue that American bishops are in effect employees of the Holy See. In the Oregon case the Solicitor General argues that the plaintiffs have failed to match the standards required for bringing suit in US courts against another sovereign power.
Link to Catholic Culture...
Spokane Diocese To Hold C.C.H.D. Collection Despite Funding Of Pro-Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage Groups
Monday, May 24, 2010
Note the parallel between the U.S. Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. Both of these so-called Catholic organizations fund groups which promote ideologies that contradict Catholic teaching. Both of them receive money from diocesan collections in their respective countries.
MEDIA RELEASE
http://all.org/article.php?id=12782
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 May 2010
CONTACT: Katie Walker
540.659.4942 kwalker@all.org
Read further at Milites Veritatis...
Note the parallel between the U.S. Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. Both of these so-called Catholic organizations fund groups which promote ideologies that contradict Catholic teaching. Both of them receive money from diocesan collections in their respective countries.
MEDIA RELEASE
http://all.org/article.php?id=12782
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 May 2010
CONTACT: Katie Walker
540.659.4942 kwalker@all.org
Read further at Milites Veritatis...
Catholic Priest rejects Pope, 2,000 Years of Catholicism: Examiner slams Liberal Priest
In a paper not known for its friendliness to Catholicism, the San Francisco Examiner, Kevin Whiteman takes a liberal priest to task for liberal honesty and makes some interesting but oft omitted citations when it comes to liberal news media reporting.
Catholic Priest rejects Pope, 2,000 Years of Catholicism
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According to 'Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: The Church Since Vatican II' by Kenneth C. Jones, here are just a few examples of the grand and sweeping changes that have come about since the Second Vatican Council;
* Mass Attendence. In A 1958 Gallup Poll reported that 75% of Catholics attended church on Sundays. A recent study by the University of Notre Dame found that only 25% now attend.
* Priests. While the number of priests in the United States more than doubled to 58,000, between 1930 and 1965, since then that number has fallen to 45,000. By 2020, there will be only 31,000 priests left, and more than half of these priests will be over 70.
* Ordinations. In 1965, 1,575 new priests were ordained in the United States. In 2002, the number was 450. In 1965, only 1% of U.S. parishes were without a priest. Today, there are 3,000 priestless parishes, 15% of all U.S. parishes.
* Nuns. In 1965, there were 104,000 teaching nuns. Today, there are 8,200, a decline of 94% since the end of Vatican II.
Catholic Priest rejects Pope, 2,000 Years of Catholicism
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FSSP Priestly Ordinations
From Una Voce Carmel:
On the 22nd of May in the year of Our Lord 2010 at 10:00 am at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln Nebraska. His Ecellency Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln, will confer Priestly Ordinations for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. The following Deacons will be ordained to the Sacred Priesthood.
Rev. Mr. Peter Bauknect, FSSP
Rev. Mr. Simon Harkins, FSSP
Rev. Mr. Garrick Huang, FSSP
Rev. Mr. Rhone Lillard, FSSP
Rev. Mr. John Rickert, FSSP
Rev. Mr. John Shannon, FSSP
Please pray for the Deacons as they ascend to the Altar of Our Lord.
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Ordinations in Scotland and Ireland, here.
Here's the FSSP homepage, not seeing any photos, but keep checking back, here.
Check out Our Lady of Guadalupe website, the photos are here.
A Holy Alliance between Rome and Moscow
A Holy Alliance between Rome and Moscow Is Born
The common objective: the "new evangelization" of Europe. A delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church visits the Vatican, which publishes an anthology of the patriarch's writings. A meeting between Kirill and Benedict XVI keeps getting closer
by Sandro Magister, here.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Cardinal George Denies Rainbow Sashers Communion
By Peter J. Smith
CHICAGO, May 18, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Homosexualist activists belonging to the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) are planning to demonstrate at Catholic Cathedrals and parishes across the United States this Sunday. They have targeted particularly Cardinal Francis George of the Chicago Archdiocese, since he is the head of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has publically engaged in promoting and preserving the natural definition of marriage and family in civil law.
The RSM is an organization of activists that link together and coordinate through the internet. Ordinarily they wear a 2-inch wide ribbon of rainbow colors across their shoulders, and on Pentecost Sunday they present themselves to receive Holy Communion in Cathedrals and parishes across the nation while wearing the sash.
The protest challenges the Church's teaching that engaging in homosexual behavior is harmful and constitutes a “mortal sin.” Under Church teaching, a Catholic cannot receive Holy Communion while in a state of mortal sin, and must first repent of the sin and confess it to a priest before he can be re-admitted to the sacrament.
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A priest speaks on the situation of Christians in Iraq
The following is an interview by Katholische Nachrichten Agentur about the situation in Iraq.
Translation by staff translator: MD
"Europeans do not know who we are"
Saturday, 22. Mai 2010 um 08:19
There are few Christians in Baghdad. Saad Sirop Hanna (45) is one of the last priests in the Iraqi capital. He heads the Chaldean Catholic community of St. Joseph. Hanna, who himself comes from Baghdad, has decided after studying aeronautical engineering to theology and the priesthood. In the interview, the Catholic News Agency (KNA) Hanna reports on the life of the last Christians in Baghdad.(Image: Flag of the Chaldean Catholic Church)
KNA: What is the situation in your community here in Baghdad?
Hanna: We are Chaldeans, our church was built in 1959 and is the largest church in Baghdad. Because of emigration are now living in our community still about 400 to 500 families. Previously we had up to 1,500 families. As you saw, our churches are under police protection. The officials in front of the church are Christians in the police service.
KNA: When you decided in 1995 to become a priest, it was a very difficult time for Iraq.
Hanna: Yes, yes, we lived under a ban. But in terms of safety, it was better then than now. Since 2003, there is unfortunately no security in Baghdad, nor in most other cities of Iraq. There was bad and even worse years since then. 2004 and 2005, it was not as bad as 2006 and 2007, for example. 2008 there was again a bit better because the government campaigned for reconciliation. But it is still difficult. There are so many fanatical Muslims who now live completely different from our Muslim brothers and friends from the past. They think differently and they behave differently towards us Christians.
KNA: Why this change? What happened?
Hanna: After 2003 there is a misconception among the Muslims about the identity of Christian community here in Iraq. Many Muslims consider us as people from the West because we are Christians. It will bring us to the Americans and British in connection, because this way we are Christians. But we are different, and we constantly try to make that clear. Yes, we Christians like the Americans and Brits are, but we are Iraqis. Christianity in Iraq dates back to the first Century back, it is 1900 years old. The other issue is the political conflict between the Iraqi parties. A reconciliation between the Sunnis and Shiites is hard and we are in between.
KNA: Does the lack of knowledge about the Christians in Iraq to do with lack of education?
Hanna: I can only agree to a lack of education, humanitarian education. How to evaluate a person as a person and not whether he's Christian or Muslim. In general, the educational situation is very bad in Iraq. There is a lack of good schools, good teachers and good textbooks. In this respect things must necessarily change.
KNA: Many Christians have been threatened, kidnapped, killed. Have you had bad personal experience?
Hanna: Yes, I was on 15 August 2006 kidnapped. I was the first priest in Baghdad who was abducted. 28 days I was in the hands of a fanatical Muslim group. In that time I have learned a lot about myself and about the relationship between the religions. 2008 I came back to Baghdad, because I love Baghdad. , I love Iraq and I love my people, so I wanted to continue working here as a priest. I also have a lot of Muslim friends here.
KNA: Do you feel sometimes forgotten by the Christians in Europe?
Hanna: Sometimes yes, even if we have a few priests and organizations, especially from Germany really good relationship. For example "the Church in Need helps many people here in Iraq and has also helped me. But sometimes I get the impression that in Europe does not understand the history of Christians in Iraq. The Europeans do not know who we are, how we live here, what we do here, they know our church does not, they do not know how to pray. It is so important to exchange ideas in order to understand how faith has been implemented in different societies. (By Karin Leukefeld - CBA)
Interview from KNA cited on the Angelus Press German Site of the SSPX.
Similar article from the Tablet, UK, which claims that a younger priest of the same name was murdered last year. Father Hanna was kidnapped, but released by his captors, thank God.
Russia establishes new religious Holiday
As Patrick Hall has said, Obama's made June, National Perversion Month, so why can't Russia do something contrary?
Does the ACLU have any offices in Russia?
"Day of the Baptism of Russia" will be celebrated on the 28th of July
Original, here.
(C) 2010 KNA Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur GmbH.
Does the ACLU have any offices in Russia?
"Day of the Baptism of Russia" will be celebrated on the 28th of July
Moscow (www.kathnet/KNA) The Russian Parliament has raised the annual celebration of the Baptism of the Land to a National Holiday. 422 of 450 of the delegates voted yes, that the State celebrate "Day of the Baptism of Russia" effective 28th July as a Feast Day.
The celebrations on "Day of the Baptism of Russia" are financed by law according to the State. The Holiday goes back to a corresponding initiative launched by the Russian-Orthodox Church in 2008. They concluded with President Dmitri Medvedev and Minister President Vladimir Putin.
The Grand Duke of Kiev, Vladimir, was baptised on the 28th of July according to the Byzantine Rite and declared Christianity the state religion of Russia. The Kievian Rus is the predecessor of Russia, the Ukraine and White Russia. The tradition of the orthodox Church accorded St. Vladimir as the occasion of his marriage to Princess Anne of Byzantium. The Ukraine has celebrated the anniversary of Christianising as a legal Holiday since 2008.
Original, here.
(C) 2010 KNA Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur GmbH.
New Vocation a Tribute to the Work of Msgr Bandas of St. Agnes
It's a great time of celebration for the Parish of St. Agnes whose Slovene, Austrian and Hungarian descendants have held out in a time of religious rebellion and urban decline. It's not popular in certain circles to point out the sorry state of things as they were in the late 60s when Msgr Bandas, a Peritus at the Second Vatican Council, who predicted all the bad things that happened, and yet, had the foresight to put something in place that would survive him and yield fruit in the coming years. The few post-conciliar years left to him were bitter and hard; a desert for a man who was reviled in his own land by his brother priests and superiors.
It's a tribute to the man that he built a bulwark against the Liberalism that surrounded him on all sides and made it so that new flowers could grow and flourish in time. St. Agnes Parish has produced many vocations over the years and accounts for about 10% of the Archdiocese's seminarians at any time.
It shouldn't surprise any one that there are no altar girls at this historic edifice.
Raised Lutheran, Deacon Doug Pierce considered careers in chemistry, classics, math and music. He thought about getting married and having a big family.
dcnpierce_2009_011.jpg
Deacon Doug Pierce
Age: 26
Hometown: Princeton
Home parish: St. Agnes, St. Paul
Parents: Todd and Patricia
Education: Two years at St. Olaf College in Northfield, bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of St. Thomas, 2006
Former job: I worked as an organist at my Lutheran churches for a number of years before college
Teaching parish: St. Bernard in St. Paul
Pastoral internship experiences: Clinical pastoral experience at Minneapolis VA Medical Center, summer diaconate placement at Divine Mercy, Faribault
Hobbies: Playing organ and piano, listening to music, drawing and painting, running, swimming, weightlifting, reading, camping, horseback riding
Favorite seminary class: “Eucharist” with Father Andrew Cozzens
Favorite book: Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities.”
Favorite movie: Alfred Hitchcock’s “I Confess.”
Volunteer work: Little Sisters of the Poor and St. Mary’s Home, St. Pau
Thanksgiving Masses:
» 10 a.m. Sunday, May 30 at St. Agnes, St. Paul
» 10 a.m. and noon (Spanish), Sunday, June 6 at Divine Mercy, Faribault
» 10:30 a.m., Sunday, June 13, St. Bernard, St. Paul
But after he became Catholic in 2002, Deacon Pierce felt called to priesthood.
“I decided that I wanted to be able to live a celibate life,” he said, “because in that way, I’d be able to serve God in a unique way that I wouldn’t be able to if I had a family.”
Deacon Pierce was an undergraduate student at St. Olaf College in Northfield when he decided to convert. Amid the college life, he went to daily Mass and adoration, and discerned his vocation.
“As I was beginning to think about it, people would mention that, ‘Maybe that’s what God is calling you to,’” he said, “even without me asking about it.”
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Photos from Orbis Catholicus.
Teachers in Trouble for Sprinkling Holy Water on Atheist
POMPANO BEACH — Two teachers accused of sprinkling holy water onto an avowed atheist colleague have been removed from the classroom, and may be fired.
The teacher who was allegedly sprinkled filed a complaint with the Broward County school district, which is investigating the incident as an act of bullying.
At the center of the investigation are Blanche Ely High School reading teachers Leslie Rainer and Djuna Robinson, who profess that they are Christians. They are accused of sprinkling holy water onto fellow teacher Schandra Tompkinsel Rodriguez.
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The teacher who was allegedly sprinkled filed a complaint with the Broward County school district, which is investigating the incident as an act of bullying.
At the center of the investigation are Blanche Ely High School reading teachers Leslie Rainer and Djuna Robinson, who profess that they are Christians. They are accused of sprinkling holy water onto fellow teacher Schandra Tompkinsel Rodriguez.
Read further...
Liberal Catholicism is Dead
[Time] He may not have been thinking about it at the time, but Pope Benedict, in the course of his recent U.S. visit may have dealt a knockout blow to the liberal American Catholicism that has challenged Rome since the early 1960s. He did so by speaking frankly and forcefully of his "deep shame" during his meeting with victims of the Church's sex-abuse scandal. By demonstrating that he "gets" this most visceral of issues, the pontiff may have successfully mollified a good many alienated believers — and in the process, neutralized the last great rallying point for what was once a feisty and optimistic style of progressivism.
The liberal rebellion in American Catholicism has dogged Benedict and his predecessors since the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65. "Vatican II," which overhauled much of Catholic teaching and ritual, had a revolutionary impact on the Church as a whole. It enabled people to hear the Mass in their own languages; embraced the principle of religious freedom; rejected anti-Semitism; and permitted Catholic scholars to grapple with modernity.
But Vatican II meant even more to a generation of devout but restless young people in the U.S. Rather than a course correction, Terrence Tilley, now head of the Fordham University's theology department, wrote recently, his generation perceived "an interruption of history, a divine typhoon that left only the keel and structure of the church unchanged." They discerned in the Council a call to greater church democracy, and an assertion of individual conscience that could stand up to the authority of even the Pope. So, they battled the Vatican's birth-control ban, its rejection of female priests and insistence on celibacy, and its authoritarianism.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1737323,00.html#ixzz0omkvqiOp
The liberal rebellion in American Catholicism has dogged Benedict and his predecessors since the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65. "Vatican II," which overhauled much of Catholic teaching and ritual, had a revolutionary impact on the Church as a whole. It enabled people to hear the Mass in their own languages; embraced the principle of religious freedom; rejected anti-Semitism; and permitted Catholic scholars to grapple with modernity.
But Vatican II meant even more to a generation of devout but restless young people in the U.S. Rather than a course correction, Terrence Tilley, now head of the Fordham University's theology department, wrote recently, his generation perceived "an interruption of history, a divine typhoon that left only the keel and structure of the church unchanged." They discerned in the Council a call to greater church democracy, and an assertion of individual conscience that could stand up to the authority of even the Pope. So, they battled the Vatican's birth-control ban, its rejection of female priests and insistence on celibacy, and its authoritarianism.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1737323,00.html#ixzz0omkvqiOp
Malta's Doing it Right: Cohabiting Couples may not receive Holy Communion
Cohabiting couples should not receive Holy Communion, the bishops said in a statement yesterday.
The bishops said the Church does not impose this sanction as a punishment, but because "the way of life" of such people violated the sacrament of marriage.
The Church would continue to offer such couples spiritual help and encouraged them to go to Mass, Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said.
"However, the Catholic Church insists that couples who live together without being married should not receive Holy Communion," they said.
The statement was released in the wake of comments made by Fr George Dalli who said he was prepared to administer the sacra-ment of the Holy Communion to cohabiting couples.
Read further...
The bishops said the Church does not impose this sanction as a punishment, but because "the way of life" of such people violated the sacrament of marriage.
The Church would continue to offer such couples spiritual help and encouraged them to go to Mass, Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said.
"However, the Catholic Church insists that couples who live together without being married should not receive Holy Communion," they said.
The statement was released in the wake of comments made by Fr George Dalli who said he was prepared to administer the sacra-ment of the Holy Communion to cohabiting couples.
Read further...
Bryan Hehir Exposed: Exposing the words and deeds of Fr. J. Bryan
by Joe Sacerdo
May 22, 2010
The storyline on this whole Catholic schools fracas in the Archdiocese of Boston just keeps getting more full of contradictions when you look at what Cardinal Sean O’Malley published on Wednesday, what Fr. Bryan Hehir said on Thursday, what The Pilot published Friday, and what Fr. Rafferty just disclosed has happened to his parish. Readers, we have a major crisis here in Boston, so it is urgent that readers Take Action this weekend.
On Wednesday, Cardinal Sean O’Malley said “we have never had categories of people who were excluded” (a factually true statement reflecting the past), but he also said we have to maintain our responsibility to teach the truths of our faith on sexual morality and marriage “courageously.” He also said Boston should look to the precedent set by the Archdiocse of Denver (which does not allow children of same-sex couples): “…their positions and rationale must be seriously considered” as Boston works on our policy.
On Thursday, Fr. Bryan Hehir–who the Cardinal recently described as “strategic advisor” with “vast understanding of the important place our Church has in society” who brings “fidelity to the work of the Church” and whose “voice brings clarity to our message and mission in serving the Catholic community in Boston”–obfuscated, overshadowed, and contradicted the Cardinal with a message on WBUR that admitting kids of gay couples is a done deal already and what happened in Denver in reality doesn’t matter at all to the Cardinal. People I know in the business world say publicly undermining or correcting the boss on an issue of international visibiliy like this and making it clear that either one or the other is lying should get Hehir fired immediately....
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May 22, 2010
The storyline on this whole Catholic schools fracas in the Archdiocese of Boston just keeps getting more full of contradictions when you look at what Cardinal Sean O’Malley published on Wednesday, what Fr. Bryan Hehir said on Thursday, what The Pilot published Friday, and what Fr. Rafferty just disclosed has happened to his parish. Readers, we have a major crisis here in Boston, so it is urgent that readers Take Action this weekend.
On Wednesday, Cardinal Sean O’Malley said “we have never had categories of people who were excluded” (a factually true statement reflecting the past), but he also said we have to maintain our responsibility to teach the truths of our faith on sexual morality and marriage “courageously.” He also said Boston should look to the precedent set by the Archdiocse of Denver (which does not allow children of same-sex couples): “…their positions and rationale must be seriously considered” as Boston works on our policy.
On Thursday, Fr. Bryan Hehir–who the Cardinal recently described as “strategic advisor” with “vast understanding of the important place our Church has in society” who brings “fidelity to the work of the Church” and whose “voice brings clarity to our message and mission in serving the Catholic community in Boston”–obfuscated, overshadowed, and contradicted the Cardinal with a message on WBUR that admitting kids of gay couples is a done deal already and what happened in Denver in reality doesn’t matter at all to the Cardinal. People I know in the business world say publicly undermining or correcting the boss on an issue of international visibiliy like this and making it clear that either one or the other is lying should get Hehir fired immediately....
Read further...
Bishop Fellay echoes Church's Canon against ordaining Homosexuals
As a consequence of the abuse scandals in the Church, the traditionalist Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (FSSPX) of the deceased opponent of the council Archbishop Marcel Lefebrve demands that homosexuals must be excluded from the priesthood. Bishop Bernard Fellay spoke to the German news magazine Der Spiegel, saying the victims of sexual abuse have been "almost without exception sexually mature teenage boys". Fellay sees that as proof that it isn't celibacy that is a problem in the Church, but that it is instead homosexuality. "If you want to prevent abuse, then you must exclude homosexuals from the priesthood", says Fellay.
This demand is in agreement with the offical position of the Vatican. In 2005, in the first year of Pope Benedicts XVIs pontificate, in the midst of the abuse scandals then current in the USA, the Congregation for Catholic Education issued an instruction that homosexuals may not be ordained to the priesthood; stating literally "the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in this condition, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called "gay culture".
Translation by wsxyz, here.
This demand is in agreement with the offical position of the Vatican. In 2005, in the first year of Pope Benedicts XVIs pontificate, in the midst of the abuse scandals then current in the USA, the Congregation for Catholic Education issued an instruction that homosexuals may not be ordained to the priesthood; stating literally "the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in this condition, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called "gay culture".
Translation by wsxyz, here.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Pentecost on Mount Athos
Going to Mount Athos is probably the closest anyone can come to moving back to the Middle Ages and have a sense of what it might have been like to walk many miles before you sleep and put your exhausted head down on a bed provided by a religious house.
The near absence of careening motorcars and overhead passing jets, the sounds of nature and the occasional howls of wolves brings one to a kind of material solitude that doesn't come easily to the desensitized modern soul.
One simply must "retreat" from the world for a time and re-order the soul, come back into contact with the baptismal child in order to see the true proportion of one's life in the lines of eternity. Mount Athos is a place you can do that.
Please excuse that this link will take you to New Liturgical Movement, enjoy the journey to Sandro Magister's wonderful essay.
Pentecost on Mount Athos
The near absence of careening motorcars and overhead passing jets, the sounds of nature and the occasional howls of wolves brings one to a kind of material solitude that doesn't come easily to the desensitized modern soul.
One simply must "retreat" from the world for a time and re-order the soul, come back into contact with the baptismal child in order to see the true proportion of one's life in the lines of eternity. Mount Athos is a place you can do that.
Please excuse that this link will take you to New Liturgical Movement, enjoy the journey to Sandro Magister's wonderful essay.
Pentecost on Mount Athos
Father Eutener responds to Heretical Jesuit
by Matt C. Abbott
Father James Martin, S.J., sent me an e-mail in response to my May 20 column.
I replied: "Thank you for the response, Father. I guess my only question for you, if I may be blunt, is: Do you assent to the Church's teaching on the intrinsic immorality of homosexual activity?"
No answer as of yet.
Also, Father Tom Euteneuer, whom I quoted in my previous column, has provided me with the following additional response to Father Martin (slightly edited):
"Father Martin writes for the Catholic-challenged Jesuit magazine America, and therefore the double-speak and 'nuance' about strategy that he employs is understandable and predictable. He wants to de-link same sex-marriage and abortion, claiming they are two different issues and our 'credibility' in the public forum is at stake if we talk about them in the same speech, or even the same sentence, as Pope Benedict did. Credibility with whom? — is the real question.
"Pandering to audiences of academics and liberal Catholics (about the only ones who read America any more) is a formula for nullifying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which the Jesuits have done for decades now. Pope Benedict doesn't do that. Nor do serious, orthodox Catholics. Our credibility is based on our conformity with the truth of Christ, including its expression by the Holy Father, not worldly esteem.
"To say that same sex marriage may be a moral issue but not a life issue is to overlook an obvious fact: Homosexual men have a life expectancy that is on the average 20 years shorter than heterosexual men. Why? Death-dealing, sterile sex. What is the connection to abortion in this? Simply: death-dealing, contraceptive sex that becomes fertile 'by accident' and drives millions into abortion clinics because they have idolized sterile sex and sold procreation down the road. Father Martin may want to do a little research in order to become more 'credible' in his opinions about the optimum culture war strategy."
Link to Renew America...
Father James Martin, S.J., sent me an e-mail in response to my May 20 column.
"I read your comments ... and thought I'd send along my response, particularly since I was called 'revolting,' 'dishonest' and, worst of all, seeking to embarrass Pope Benedict," Father Martin said (slightly edited).
"In any event, it's my response to Carl Olson at the Ignatius Press blog, who raised some of the same objections that you did. In short, my reaction to what the pope said had more do with the linking of two things — same-sex marriage and abortion — which, I believe, are simply not equivalent in terms of any detriment to the common good. One is clearly about the taking of life, the other is not. In any event, here is my response, which I would appreciate your posting in some way so as to clarify things and help people understand what I was saying. Please accept my prayers for all the good work you do for the church."
I replied: "Thank you for the response, Father. I guess my only question for you, if I may be blunt, is: Do you assent to the Church's teaching on the intrinsic immorality of homosexual activity?"
No answer as of yet.
Also, Father Tom Euteneuer, whom I quoted in my previous column, has provided me with the following additional response to Father Martin (slightly edited):
"Father Martin writes for the Catholic-challenged Jesuit magazine America, and therefore the double-speak and 'nuance' about strategy that he employs is understandable and predictable. He wants to de-link same sex-marriage and abortion, claiming they are two different issues and our 'credibility' in the public forum is at stake if we talk about them in the same speech, or even the same sentence, as Pope Benedict did. Credibility with whom? — is the real question.
"Pandering to audiences of academics and liberal Catholics (about the only ones who read America any more) is a formula for nullifying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which the Jesuits have done for decades now. Pope Benedict doesn't do that. Nor do serious, orthodox Catholics. Our credibility is based on our conformity with the truth of Christ, including its expression by the Holy Father, not worldly esteem.
"To say that same sex marriage may be a moral issue but not a life issue is to overlook an obvious fact: Homosexual men have a life expectancy that is on the average 20 years shorter than heterosexual men. Why? Death-dealing, sterile sex. What is the connection to abortion in this? Simply: death-dealing, contraceptive sex that becomes fertile 'by accident' and drives millions into abortion clinics because they have idolized sterile sex and sold procreation down the road. Father Martin may want to do a little research in order to become more 'credible' in his opinions about the optimum culture war strategy."
Link to Renew America...
Catholic Church in Scotland Celebrates Protestant Revolt
[News.scotsman.com] • Delegates arrive for the opening of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland at New College on the Mound, Edinburgh. Picture: Neil Hanna
The two faiths, historically divided along sectarian lines, have taken what the Kirk has described as "a monumental step in inter-church links" by creating a "joint-liturgy" for the reaffirmation of baptismal vows.
As a result, Scotland has the first Protestant church in the world to form such a bond with the Catholic Church. The two churches will also join together to mark the 450th anniversary of the Reformation later this year.
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The two faiths, historically divided along sectarian lines, have taken what the Kirk has described as "a monumental step in inter-church links" by creating a "joint-liturgy" for the reaffirmation of baptismal vows.
As a result, Scotland has the first Protestant church in the world to form such a bond with the Catholic Church. The two churches will also join together to mark the 450th anniversary of the Reformation later this year.
Read further...
The Bitter Pill wouldn't stoop to settling scores, would it?
The worst sexual predators are liturgical and theological revolutionaries.
The Bitter Pill wouldn't stoop to settling scores, would it?
The Bitter Pill wouldn't stoop to settling scores, would it?
More "News" from the AP: Copernicus
Astronomer Copernicus to be reburied as hero
Link...
FROMBORK, Poland — Nicolaus Copernicus, the 16th-century astronomer whose work was condemned by the Catholic Church as heretical, will be reburied by Polish priests as a hero on Saturday, nearly 500 years after he was laid to rest in an unmarked grave.
His burial in a tomb in the cathedral where he once served as a church canon and doctor indicates how far the church has come in making peace with the scientist whose revolutionary theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun helped usher in the modern scientific age.
Copernicus, who lived from 1473 to 1543, died as a little-known astronomer working in what is now Poland, far from Europe's centers of learning. He had spent years laboring in his free time developing his theory, which was later condemned as heretical by the church because it removed Earth and humanity from their central position in the universe.
Link...
Germany and EU to Legalize Pedophilia and with it, Child Pornography as well!
There is some graphic content in the following story, lamentably necessary we feel to demonstrate the depravity of this democratically elected German government.
We'd already posted the story about German Justice Minister, Ms. Rosemary Will, who has advocated child abuse herself, despite attacking the Catholic Church for the same crime.
The following article was way back in 2009:
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The article goes on to cite LifeSiteNews with its original article, here, from 2007.
More articles and discussion of the New Totalitarianism by Michael O'Brien, here.
h/t to Rach
We'd already posted the story about German Justice Minister, Ms. Rosemary Will, who has advocated child abuse herself, despite attacking the Catholic Church for the same crime.
The following article was way back in 2009:
Booklets from a subsidiary of the German government’s Ministry for Family Affairs encourage parents to sexually massage their children as young as 1 to 3 years of age. Two 40-page booklets entitled “Love, Body and Playing Doctor” by the German Federal Health Education Center (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung – BZgA) are aimed at parents – the first addressing children from 1-3 and the other children from 4-6 years of age.
“Fathers do not devote enough attention to the clitoris and vagina of their daughters. Their caresses too seldom pertain to these regions, while this is the only way the girls can develop a sense of pride in their sex,” reads the booklet regarding 1-3 year olds. The authors rationalize, “The child touches all parts of their father’s body, sometimes arousing him. The father should do the same.”
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The article goes on to cite LifeSiteNews with its original article, here, from 2007.
More articles and discussion of the New Totalitarianism by Michael O'Brien, here.
h/t to Rach
Anglican Bishop takes part in Pagan Ceremony
Here is an article that provides some more information about the Native American "smudging" ceremony you will see at the beginning of the liturgy.
Link to short article and video of the event which includes Anglican Bishop, here.
In any case, smudging is a ceremony that must be done with care. We are entering into a relationship with the unseen powers of these plants, and with the spirits of the ceremony. As with all good relationships, there has to be respect and honor if the relationship is to work...more
Link to short article and video of the event which includes Anglican Bishop, here.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Moscow Patriarchate Signals New Interest In Unity With Rome
Monday, May 17, 2010
By Paul Goble
A senior Russian hierarch close to Patriarch Kirill said in Rome last week that “the time has come to take decisive steps in the direction of full unity” between Russian Orthodoxy and the Roman Catholic Church, the latest indication that Kirill wants at a minimum far closer ties with the Vatican than did any of his predecessors.
Speaking to a meeting of Orthodox and Catholic hierarchs and activists, Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal exarch of Belarus, said that the “commonality of views” of the two churches “on many questions” means that “the time has come to take decisive steps toward full unity.”
Filaret’s words were reported by the Vatican and reproduced in the Russian-language “Sibirskaya Katolicheskaya gazeta” which focused on his call for taking “joint steps toward unity” and reported as well that he hopes Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI will meet soon (sibcatholic.ru/2010/05/07/nastalo-vremya-predprinyat-sovmestnye-shagi-k-edinstvu/).
Read further...
By Paul Goble
A senior Russian hierarch close to Patriarch Kirill said in Rome last week that “the time has come to take decisive steps in the direction of full unity” between Russian Orthodoxy and the Roman Catholic Church, the latest indication that Kirill wants at a minimum far closer ties with the Vatican than did any of his predecessors.
Speaking to a meeting of Orthodox and Catholic hierarchs and activists, Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal exarch of Belarus, said that the “commonality of views” of the two churches “on many questions” means that “the time has come to take decisive steps toward full unity.”
Filaret’s words were reported by the Vatican and reproduced in the Russian-language “Sibirskaya Katolicheskaya gazeta” which focused on his call for taking “joint steps toward unity” and reported as well that he hopes Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI will meet soon (sibcatholic.ru/2010/05/07/nastalo-vremya-predprinyat-sovmestnye-shagi-k-edinstvu/).
Read further...
Bulgarian Prime Minister coming to Vatican
From May 21 till May 24, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will make an official visit to Rome and the Vatican.
During the first day of his visit in Rome, Borisov will have a working lunch with his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi returning the visit as Berlusconi was in Sofia in the fall of 2009 becoming the first foreign leader to visit Bulgaria after the Borisov government took office in the summer.
Friday afternoon, the Bulgarian PM is taking part in the ceremony for the opening of the monument of Bulgarian writer and poet Ivan Vazov in Rome.
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During the first day of his visit in Rome, Borisov will have a working lunch with his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi returning the visit as Berlusconi was in Sofia in the fall of 2009 becoming the first foreign leader to visit Bulgaria after the Borisov government took office in the summer.
Friday afternoon, the Bulgarian PM is taking part in the ceremony for the opening of the monument of Bulgarian writer and poet Ivan Vazov in Rome.
Read further...
Polish Priest to be Beatified: Martyred by Soviets in 1984
Polish Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who was murdered by communist police agents in 1984, will be beatified in Warsaw June 6. About 400,000 people attended his funeral, and his murder was widely credited with helping discredit and undermine communist rule. (CNS file)
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SSPX Superior in France criticizes French Bishops
On Thursday, March 4, 2010, Fr. Régis de Cacqueray, Superior of the Society of St. Pius X’s district of France, published an letter entitled: “The Bishops: Guardians of the Faith or Proselytes Protecting Other Cults?”
Fr. de Cacqueray reflects on the role of the bishop, guardian of the flock and preacher of the faith, “successor of the Apostles and martyrs”. Doubtless there have always been good and bad bishops, “there have been heroic bishops and there have been weak bishops. There have been Hilaries of Poitier and Bossuets. There have been Cauchons and Talleyrands. But never before has a nation, formerly so Christian, seen such a confusion touching so closely the Faith. Today, our bishops stand by silent while Christ is attacked. They keep the churches closed to us. And at the very same time they open mosques. They concelebrate with Protestant pastors. They grant diplomas to imams and invite rabbis to preach in their cathedrals. In a word, they comfort souls in their remoteness from Christ and from the Church He founded.
Read further....
Fr. de Cacqueray reflects on the role of the bishop, guardian of the flock and preacher of the faith, “successor of the Apostles and martyrs”. Doubtless there have always been good and bad bishops, “there have been heroic bishops and there have been weak bishops. There have been Hilaries of Poitier and Bossuets. There have been Cauchons and Talleyrands. But never before has a nation, formerly so Christian, seen such a confusion touching so closely the Faith. Today, our bishops stand by silent while Christ is attacked. They keep the churches closed to us. And at the very same time they open mosques. They concelebrate with Protestant pastors. They grant diplomas to imams and invite rabbis to preach in their cathedrals. In a word, they comfort souls in their remoteness from Christ and from the Church He founded.
Read further....
Politics Daily backs down on Papal Nuncio: throws victim in bad light
We said that Archbishop Sambi had been Nuncio in England. This is inaccurate. Archbishop Sambi has worked all over the world in some very interesting and sensitive posts:
He was transferred to the Apostolic Nunciature in Jerusalem on July 19, 1971, and subsequently to the Apostolic Nunciatures in Cuba in 1974, in Algeria in 1978, in Nicaragua in 1979, in Belgium in 1981, and then in India in May, 1984 with the rank of Counselor.
Archbishop Sambi was consecrated as Bishop and made Titular Archbishop of Belcastro on November 9, 1985.
He was nominated Pro-Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi on October 10, 1985, Pro-Apostolic Nuncio in Indonesia on November 28, 1991, and Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and Cyprus, and Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine on June 6, 1998.
It should incline you to believe the truth of the report from the Daily more now than before. They don't give much of a rationale for thinking that besides the fact that they had misgivings. Unfortunately, they insist on overshadowing Mr. Wojnowski's claims with slurs on his mental health, suggesting perhaps, that he is being ungrateful in spurning the offers of counseling. It's a dirty, smarmy article.
Look, he's a man who'd give most Holy Communion to a public sinner and phony Catholic like John Kerry is either a coward or a fool.
But what of Archbishop Sambi? Well, this offers an opportunity to criticize ++Sambi and throw a spotlight on some of his other acts which show him to be the kind of man who's willing to do his homework, but perhaps has a different agenda when it comes to episcopal appointments. You might ask, what does +Sambi's all-too-professional acts as Nuncio have to do with treating an alleged sex abuse victim with contempt? What does it have to do with the accusations that he made those insulting and contemptible comments in the first place? As Nuncio, he is responsible for selecting good men for the Episcopate. He provides the Holy Father with three candidates, but the Holy Father may choose someone else, as he most certainly did when he chose Father Wagner of Linz to the chagrin of the Austrian Bishop's Conference. Well anyway, we're concerned with a bully Archbishop because there's a certain type and set behaviors with churchmen, and human beings in general, when they're confronted by something they can't control but throws light on what they truly are -- wolves. How many times have laymen come to Bishops asking for bread and they've gotten snakes and contemptuous officialese sneers?
Archbishop Sambi's appointments in the past do not inspire much faith in report from Politics Daily, that he is "charitable". What kind of a man would preside over such deplorable appointments as these? He gave us Archbishop Wuerl, but he also presided over the appointment of Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, who contemned women's foot washing and yoga. He also gave us Bishop Pates of Des Moines, whose church wreckovation is legendary with definitive contacts to homosexual activists with the Call to Action and James Moudry. And he gave us another very bad Bishop Frederick Campbell, Ph.D. whose heretical opinions against evangelizing the Jews and the Jewish question are as legendary as they are condescending. Did he give more of an ear of compassion to delators who reported on the bad behavior and un-Catholic acts of the men he chooses to appoint? Well, Arcbishop Sambi has done un-Catholic things himself, so who can fault him?
Of course, he's no ++Jadot who gave us such poor performers as +Gumbleton, +O'Brien, +Maida and +Hubbard, but the American Episcopacy still suffers from the poor harvests of seminarians in the 70s and 80s.
From the look of his non-clerical attire, his many poor episcopal appointments, we expect a man on parade who's incapable of treating a angry Pole with some equanimity and respect. Condescending to offer him the services of a psychologist is just what we'd expect from such a man, such an administration, so faultlessly showing a face of sleek conformity and kindness to the world and snarling like a ravening wolf when there seem to be no repercussions.
Politics Daily expresses regret, removes article incriminating US apostolic nuncio :: EWTN News
No future for Europe without return to Christian roots, says Cardinal Kasper :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
Vatican City, May 20, 2010 / 10:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During a recent symposium in Rome on the Orthodox and Catholic Churches of Europe, the no-nonsense president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Kasper, reflected briefly on the future of Europe. With his characteristic frankness, he said, "If Europe wants to have a future again, it must first and foremost renew its Christian roots."
The symposium “Orthodox and Catholics in Europe today. The Christian roots and the common cultural heritage of the East and West” took place Wednesday afternoon at the Rome's Russian Orthodox parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria. It one of a number of events during the "Days of Russian Culture and Spirituality in the Vatican," running from May 19-20.
Speaking of ecumenism and the goal of achieving full communion between Christians, Cardinal Kasper noted the necessity of using dialogue in efforts and not force or submission, according to SIR news.
No future for Europe without return to Christian roots, says Cardinal Kasper :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
The symposium “Orthodox and Catholics in Europe today. The Christian roots and the common cultural heritage of the East and West” took place Wednesday afternoon at the Rome's Russian Orthodox parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria. It one of a number of events during the "Days of Russian Culture and Spirituality in the Vatican," running from May 19-20.
Speaking of ecumenism and the goal of achieving full communion between Christians, Cardinal Kasper noted the necessity of using dialogue in efforts and not force or submission, according to SIR news.
No future for Europe without return to Christian roots, says Cardinal Kasper :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Holy Father entrusts Clergy to Our Lady
Immaculate Mother, in this place of grace, called together by the love of your Son Jesus the Eternal High Priest, we, sons in the Son and His priests, consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart, in order to carry out faithfully the Father’s Will.
We are mindful that, without Jesus, we can do nothing good (cf. Jn 15:5) and that only through Him, with Him and in Him, will we be instruments of salvation for the world.
Bride of the Holy Spirit, obtain for us the inestimable gift of transformation in Christ. Through the same power of the Spirit that overshadowed you, making you the Mother of the Saviour, help us to bring Christ your Son to birth in ourselves too. May the Church be thus renewed by priests who are holy, priests transfigured by the grace of Him who makes all things new.
Holy Father entrusts Clergy to Our Lady
We are mindful that, without Jesus, we can do nothing good (cf. Jn 15:5) and that only through Him, with Him and in Him, will we be instruments of salvation for the world.
Bride of the Holy Spirit, obtain for us the inestimable gift of transformation in Christ. Through the same power of the Spirit that overshadowed you, making you the Mother of the Saviour, help us to bring Christ your Son to birth in ourselves too. May the Church be thus renewed by priests who are holy, priests transfigured by the grace of Him who makes all things new.
Holy Father entrusts Clergy to Our Lady
Bishop Hubbard's Albany Diocese priest admits abusing 2 boys | boys, albany - Local News - WRGB CBS 6 Albany
When Bishop Hubbard and his priests aren't promoting needle exchange, promoting liberation theology or covering up sex abuse crimes by forcing affidavits from whistle-blower priests, and generally being one of the worst Catholic Dicoese in the world, they're doing this stuff:
Albany Diocese priest admits abusing 2 boys | boys, albany - Local News - WRGB CBS 6 Albany
ALBANY -- An Albany Diocese priest who previously served in Capital District churches has admitted to abusing two young boys in Delaware County.
The Middletown Town Court said 64-year-old James McDevitt pleaded guilty last week to two misdemeanor counts of forcible touching in connection with the abuse of two boys who were around 11 years old at the time.
McDevitt will face six years of probation when he is sentenced July 8.
Albany Diocese priest admits abusing 2 boys | boys, albany - Local News - WRGB CBS 6 Albany
Pagan Altar prooves Modernism is as Old as the Pyramids
The discovery of this pagan altar should give cause to the Israel Antiquities Authority's claim that the graves recently exhumed at Ashkelon were indeed pagan. Here is their press release: Israel Antiquities Authority: The find further corroborates the assertion that this place is a pagan cemetery The development work for the construction of a fortified emergency room at [...]
http://biblicalpaths.wordpress.com/
http://biblicalpaths.wordpress.com/
Cypriot Orthodox Archbishop says those who criticize Pope outside Church
It's just a matter of time before the fruition of these efforts come about. The Cypriots have had a long history of collaboration with the Latin West.
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In a stern warning, the Orthodox Archbishop in Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, has said that critics of the Pope’s visit to the island in June are placing themselves outside the Church. There appears to be some very real problems there:
Link to Biblical Paths blog, here.
Link to original story...
12:46 pm / VATICAN CITY, May 20, 2010 (CNA/EWTN News).- Wrapping up a two-day initiative for the promotion of Russian culture and spirituality at the Holy See, a concert featuring Russian and Italian music will be offered for the Pope. The event marks the culmination of events which have exhibited an increased warmth of relations between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Churches and could lead to an encounter between their leaders.
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In a stern warning, the Orthodox Archbishop in Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, has said that critics of the Pope’s visit to the island in June are placing themselves outside the Church. There appears to be some very real problems there:
A group, calling itself the ‘Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Motherland Traditions’, has been circulating a booklet entitled Pope: The Cause Of Evil. “Unfortunately there are in Cyprus too, the mindless who go against the decisions of the official Church,” Archbishop Chrysostomos II said. He warned that these people were placing themselves outside the Church.
The Archbishop said the Pontiff had been officially invited to Cyprus by the government with the Church’s agreement and “as the official Church we will welcome him with love and respect.” Chrysostomos II said there will not be any talks between the Church and Pope. “We will exchange views and I believe his visit will be positive and beneficial for our country and our people,” Chrysostomos II said.
He urged those who opposed the visit to “come round” and listen to the official church…
Link to Biblical Paths blog, here.
Link to original story...
Archbishop meets With Cuba's President
Cuban president meets with church leader
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ (AP)
HAVANA — President Raul Castro has held a rare sit-down with Cuba's Roman Catholic cardinal and another top cleric, discussing many issues including a recent crackdown against dissidents that ended only after the mediation of the church.
The meeting with Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Archbishop Dionisio Garcia was a sign of the church's growing influence on the island. The talks went on for more than four hours, Garcia told The Associated Press on Thursday. Garcia, the archbishop of Santiago, is also leader of the Conference of Bishops of Cuba.
It was the first time the head of the Conference of Bishops has met with the country's leader in five years, when Fidel Castro was still in charge. Fidel stepped down formally in 2008, turning leadership over to his brother.
Link to original...
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ (AP)
HAVANA — President Raul Castro has held a rare sit-down with Cuba's Roman Catholic cardinal and another top cleric, discussing many issues including a recent crackdown against dissidents that ended only after the mediation of the church.
The meeting with Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Archbishop Dionisio Garcia was a sign of the church's growing influence on the island. The talks went on for more than four hours, Garcia told The Associated Press on Thursday. Garcia, the archbishop of Santiago, is also leader of the Conference of Bishops of Cuba.
It was the first time the head of the Conference of Bishops has met with the country's leader in five years, when Fidel Castro was still in charge. Fidel stepped down formally in 2008, turning leadership over to his brother.
Link to original...
USCCB withdraws from Pro-Abortion, Homosexualist, Civil Rights Coalition
By Kathleen Gilbert
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has pulled out of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition that lobbies against pro-life and pro-family legislation and boasts top pro-abortion and homosexualist groups among its members.
The break was confirmed in a release sent to LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) by Sister Mary Ann Walsh, USCCB Director of Media Relations, on Wednesday afternoon.
The release stated that the bishops withdrew following the group's published support for the pro-abortion and homosexualist Supreme Court nominee, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, which was pointed out earlier this week by Deal Hudson of Catholic Advocate and reported by LSN Tuesday.
In withdrawing from the coalition, the USCCB "reiterated its commitment to oppose discrimination based on race, religion, sex, ethnicity, disabling condition, or age, and said that these are grave injustices and affronts to human dignity."
"In light of recent events, it has become increasingly clear that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ continued membership in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights is not possible because of the LCCR’s expanded and broadened agenda," stated Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre NY, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Peace, as quoted in the release.
"The interests of the Leadership Conference and those of the USCCB have diverged as the LCCR has moved beyond advocacy of traditional civil rights to advocacy of positions which do not reflect the principles and policies of the bishops’ Conference."
Murphy did not address explicitly the pro-abortion and homosexualist activities of the coalition, instead saying only that the bishops ended their relationship because LCCHR in recent years "has joined others in advocating or opposing nominees for the Supreme Court, a practice which clearly contradicts USCCB policy and compromises the principled positions of the bishops."
"The USCCB deeply regrets this action has become necessary and pledges to continue our ongoing work on civil rights, racial and ethnic justice, and the protection of human life and dignity," said Murphy.
Deal Hudson told LSN following the release that, "It's a sad fact of politics that organizations originally founded for one purpose undergo changes over time that affect their mission."
"With the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop removing itself from the Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights, the bishops have recognized, as Bishop William Murphy put it, 'the LCCR has moved beyond advocacy of traditional civil rights to advocacy of positions which do not reflect the principles and policies of the bishops’ Conference.'"
Hudson concluded: "No one will doubt the ongoing commitment of the Catholic bishops to upholding civil and human rights, but this action was necessary to avoid any confusion about its protection of the most basic human right, the right to life of the not-yet-born."
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has pulled out of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition that lobbies against pro-life and pro-family legislation and boasts top pro-abortion and homosexualist groups among its members.
The break was confirmed in a release sent to LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) by Sister Mary Ann Walsh, USCCB Director of Media Relations, on Wednesday afternoon.
The release stated that the bishops withdrew following the group's published support for the pro-abortion and homosexualist Supreme Court nominee, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, which was pointed out earlier this week by Deal Hudson of Catholic Advocate and reported by LSN Tuesday.
In withdrawing from the coalition, the USCCB "reiterated its commitment to oppose discrimination based on race, religion, sex, ethnicity, disabling condition, or age, and said that these are grave injustices and affronts to human dignity."
"In light of recent events, it has become increasingly clear that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ continued membership in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights is not possible because of the LCCR’s expanded and broadened agenda," stated Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre NY, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Peace, as quoted in the release.
"The interests of the Leadership Conference and those of the USCCB have diverged as the LCCR has moved beyond advocacy of traditional civil rights to advocacy of positions which do not reflect the principles and policies of the bishops’ Conference."
Murphy did not address explicitly the pro-abortion and homosexualist activities of the coalition, instead saying only that the bishops ended their relationship because LCCHR in recent years "has joined others in advocating or opposing nominees for the Supreme Court, a practice which clearly contradicts USCCB policy and compromises the principled positions of the bishops."
"The USCCB deeply regrets this action has become necessary and pledges to continue our ongoing work on civil rights, racial and ethnic justice, and the protection of human life and dignity," said Murphy.
Deal Hudson told LSN following the release that, "It's a sad fact of politics that organizations originally founded for one purpose undergo changes over time that affect their mission."
"With the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop removing itself from the Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights, the bishops have recognized, as Bishop William Murphy put it, 'the LCCR has moved beyond advocacy of traditional civil rights to advocacy of positions which do not reflect the principles and policies of the bishops’ Conference.'"
Hudson concluded: "No one will doubt the ongoing commitment of the Catholic bishops to upholding civil and human rights, but this action was necessary to avoid any confusion about its protection of the most basic human right, the right to life of the not-yet-born."
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