Editor: a poem from Pius Blog:
UPDATED CHURCH
Latin's gone,
Peace is too,
Singin' and shoutin'
From every pew.
Altar's turned round,
Priest is too,
Commentator's shoutin'
Page twenty-two.
Communion rail's gone,
Stand up straight,
Kneeling suddenly
Went out of date.
Processions are forming
In every aisle,
Salvation organized
Single file.
Rosary's out,
Psalms are in,
Hardly ever hear
A word against sin.
Listen to the Lector,
Hear how he reads.
Please stop rattlin'
Those Rosary beads!
Father's looking puzzled,
Doesn't know his part,
Used to know the whole Mass
In Latin by heart.
I hope all the changes
Are just about done,
And that they won't drop Bingo
Before I've won.
I found this poem printed in a book on the history of Sacred Heart Parish in Aberdeen, SD. The editor comments, "This ditty, composed by some anonymous bard, came to our attention recently. While we may not agree with its contents, we feel that it does have a message that is pertinent to our time."
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Conversion Diary: Interview with an exorcist, Part II
Conversion Diary: Interview with an exorcist, Part II: "You asked, Fr. Thomas Euteneuer answers! Here's Part II to our interview about exorcism and his new book, Exorcism and the Church Militant. ..."
Communist Newspaper Editor Converts to Catholicism
On the feast of the Assumption on Sunday, let me relate the story of Douglas Hyde, a statesman, who was a dedicated communist and former editor of Britain’s communist paper.
Douglas Hyde was converted to Catholicism through the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
* * *
As the editor of their communist paper, he began to read all about the Catholic Church with the avowed intention of tearing it down in his writings.
But something happened as he tried to gather more weapons to destroy the church. The more he read, the more intellectually convinced he became of its truthfulness and origin as a divine institution.
* * *
But he could not yet bring himself to believe. Something was holding him back.
Link to Word Alive...
Douglas Hyde was converted to Catholicism through the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
* * *
As the editor of their communist paper, he began to read all about the Catholic Church with the avowed intention of tearing it down in his writings.
But something happened as he tried to gather more weapons to destroy the church. The more he read, the more intellectually convinced he became of its truthfulness and origin as a divine institution.
* * *
But he could not yet bring himself to believe. Something was holding him back.
Link to Word Alive...
Vicar Plans to Marry Another Man, UK
Elderly American Journalist Tells Irish Church What to Do
After surviving 800 years of English occupation, the Irish are undergoing another form of oppression.
The journalist and writer, 80 year old American, Blair Kaiser, who once admitted to having illicit dreams about Father Malachi Martin, is telling the Bishops of Ireland what to do. Since writing his novel entitled, "Cardinal Mahony" about a Cardinal who's kidnapped by liberation theologians, tried and sentenced to enjoy life and becomes an advocate for liberation theology, he's insisted on writing about Church affairs. It's hard to see why this book hasn't become a best seller since it has endorsements from Cardinal Bernardin shill, Eugene Kennedy and trendy tabletista, Robert Mickens.
Blair Kaiser, an American who lives in New York is still very liberal with his advice to Ireland:
Read at Irish Independent, here...
The journalist and writer, 80 year old American, Blair Kaiser, who once admitted to having illicit dreams about Father Malachi Martin, is telling the Bishops of Ireland what to do. Since writing his novel entitled, "Cardinal Mahony" about a Cardinal who's kidnapped by liberation theologians, tried and sentenced to enjoy life and becomes an advocate for liberation theology, he's insisted on writing about Church affairs. It's hard to see why this book hasn't become a best seller since it has endorsements from Cardinal Bernardin shill, Eugene Kennedy and trendy tabletista, Robert Mickens.
Blair Kaiser, an American who lives in New York is still very liberal with his advice to Ireland:
"I have every reason to believe that you can take back your church -- your church, not the Pope's church, your church -- not the bishops' church", said Mr Blair Kaiser who recommended that Irish Catholics create a "autochthonous" or local and from-the-ground-up church.
Read at Irish Independent, here...
Claimant to the Russian Throne Sues to Get Kremlin Back
(Aug. 18) -- Descendants of Russia's first ruling dynasty have gone to court to reclaim their ancestral lands – specifically, the Kremlin.
On Monday, the Moscow Arbitration Court decided the case will be heard Oct. 18. The plaintiff is the Princes' Foundation for the Advancement of Religious and National Consensus, founded in May 2009 by Valery Kubarev, who traces his lineage to the Rurik dynasty. It was under the reign of Rurik grand princes, Kubarev claims, that the Kremlin was constructed.
According to its website, the foundation seeks "usage rights" to the Kremlin "in perpetuity."
A descendant of the Rurik dynasty is suing for "usage rights" to the Kremlin, saying his ancestors built the historic complex.
Although the foundation's audacious claim seems to have little chance of succeeding, the suit arises as the Russian government is returning numerous buildings and other property to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Read Further...
On Monday, the Moscow Arbitration Court decided the case will be heard Oct. 18. The plaintiff is the Princes' Foundation for the Advancement of Religious and National Consensus, founded in May 2009 by Valery Kubarev, who traces his lineage to the Rurik dynasty. It was under the reign of Rurik grand princes, Kubarev claims, that the Kremlin was constructed.
According to its website, the foundation seeks "usage rights" to the Kremlin "in perpetuity."
A descendant of the Rurik dynasty is suing for "usage rights" to the Kremlin, saying his ancestors built the historic complex.
Although the foundation's audacious claim seems to have little chance of succeeding, the suit arises as the Russian government is returning numerous buildings and other property to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Read Further...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Commemoration of Solovki Concentration Campi
Moscow, August 22, Interfax - A prayerful standing will take place in Moscow near the Solovki Stone this Sunday at 6 p.m. on the eve of the Solovki New Martyrs and Confessors feast, organizers told an Interfax-Religion correspondent.
This year it has been 90 years since the Arkhangelsk Province Executive Committee on May 26, 1920, set up a concentration camp of the province subjection in the Solovki Islands, the forerunner of the notorious SLON. The great Russian shrine became a terrible place of sufferings and executions for many years.
Participants in the action urge the authorities to allow them setting up a Solovki cross on Lubyanka Square and building a memorial church-chapel to commemorate dozens of thousands Solovki victims killed in years of repression.
Interfax....
This year it has been 90 years since the Arkhangelsk Province Executive Committee on May 26, 1920, set up a concentration camp of the province subjection in the Solovki Islands, the forerunner of the notorious SLON. The great Russian shrine became a terrible place of sufferings and executions for many years.
Participants in the action urge the authorities to allow them setting up a Solovki cross on Lubyanka Square and building a memorial church-chapel to commemorate dozens of thousands Solovki victims killed in years of repression.
Interfax....
St. Petersburg Priest Decorated for His Fidelity to Duty
20 August 2010, 14:13
St. Petersburg priest decorated with war order for his fidelity to duty in "hot spots"
St. Petersburg, August 20, Interfax - Troops Commander of the Leningrad military district Lieutenant General Nikolay Bogdanovsky decorated priest Dmitry Vasilenkov and his assistant Alexander Nazarov with Orders of Courage.
Since 2005 Father Dmitry and Nazarov have visited these regions ten times and with risk to their lives conducted spiritual work among soldiers of special divisions.
Fr. Dmitry, in spite of the received wound, in future is not going to refuse trips to the North Caucasus, where he baptized over 800 soldiers and officers.
Interfax...
St. Petersburg priest decorated with war order for his fidelity to duty in "hot spots"
St. Petersburg, August 20, Interfax - Troops Commander of the Leningrad military district Lieutenant General Nikolay Bogdanovsky decorated priest Dmitry Vasilenkov and his assistant Alexander Nazarov with Orders of Courage.
Since 2005 Father Dmitry and Nazarov have visited these regions ten times and with risk to their lives conducted spiritual work among soldiers of special divisions.
Fr. Dmitry, in spite of the received wound, in future is not going to refuse trips to the North Caucasus, where he baptized over 800 soldiers and officers.
Interfax...
Milwaukee Graduating Seminary Class Large
By Sarah J. Worthman
Church officials are hoping an increase in the number of priests graduating from the Milwaukee Archdiocese’s St. Francis de Sales Seminary will help slow Milwaukee’s growing priest shortage. But it might not be enough as priests ordained during the 1960s and 1970s, when the church experienced tremendous growth, begin to retire.
The Archdiocese, which spans 210 parishes in ten counties in Southeastern Wisconsin, greeted the ordination of six seminary graduates last year as the sudden reversal of a long drought. It was the largest class to graduate in 17 years. Previous classes produced just one or even no new priests.
This year, the seminary ordained almost as many new clergy for the Archdiocese. Five graduates were ordained. Father Don Hying, seminary rector, says he expects six ordinations next year, then five and potentially a record seven in 2013. They would be arriving just in time, as retirements continue to drive down the ranks of clergy in Milwaukee and around the country.
Link to original...
Church officials are hoping an increase in the number of priests graduating from the Milwaukee Archdiocese’s St. Francis de Sales Seminary will help slow Milwaukee’s growing priest shortage. But it might not be enough as priests ordained during the 1960s and 1970s, when the church experienced tremendous growth, begin to retire.
The Archdiocese, which spans 210 parishes in ten counties in Southeastern Wisconsin, greeted the ordination of six seminary graduates last year as the sudden reversal of a long drought. It was the largest class to graduate in 17 years. Previous classes produced just one or even no new priests.
This year, the seminary ordained almost as many new clergy for the Archdiocese. Five graduates were ordained. Father Don Hying, seminary rector, says he expects six ordinations next year, then five and potentially a record seven in 2013. They would be arriving just in time, as retirements continue to drive down the ranks of clergy in Milwaukee and around the country.
Link to original...
Hungarian Priest Skateboards in Robe
A priest from Hungary is a good skater -- and is presenting the good news to the yout and You-tube users.
Redics [kath.net] A Hungarian Priest puts on his skateboard-arts for the attention of children, youth and recently Youtube Users. Report from news.at.
[Father] Zoltan Lendvai from Redics is shown in the video, as he spun around in Talar in front of a group of youth. He began with the sign of the cross and described visually to them what he was doing -- what he was saying is not apparent in the video, but it may have well involved a subject filled with spiritual content.
Redics [kath.net] A Hungarian Priest puts on his skateboard-arts for the attention of children, youth and recently Youtube Users. Report from news.at.
[Father] Zoltan Lendvai from Redics is shown in the video, as he spun around in Talar in front of a group of youth. He began with the sign of the cross and described visually to them what he was doing -- what he was saying is not apparent in the video, but it may have well involved a subject filled with spiritual content.
USCCB Approves New Translations
U.S. Adaptations to Mass Prayers Also Approved
Parish Education Efforts Urged To Precede Implementation
Resources Available Through USCCB
WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has announced that the full text of the English-language translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, has been issued for the dioceses of the United States of America.
The text was approved by the Vatican, and the approval was accompanied by a June 23 letter from Cardinal Llovera Antonio Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The Congregation also provided guidelines for publication.
In addition, on July 24, the Vatican gave approval for several adaptations, including additional prayers for the Penitential Act at Mass and the Renewal of Baptismal Promises on Easter Sunday. Also approved are texts of prayers for feasts specific to the United States such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day and the observances of feasts for saints such as Damien of Molokai, Katharine Drexel, and Elizabeth Ann Seton. The Vatican also approved the Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, which can be celebrated on January 22.
Read further at USCCB...
Parish Education Efforts Urged To Precede Implementation
Resources Available Through USCCB
WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has announced that the full text of the English-language translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, has been issued for the dioceses of the United States of America.
The text was approved by the Vatican, and the approval was accompanied by a June 23 letter from Cardinal Llovera Antonio Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The Congregation also provided guidelines for publication.
In addition, on July 24, the Vatican gave approval for several adaptations, including additional prayers for the Penitential Act at Mass and the Renewal of Baptismal Promises on Easter Sunday. Also approved are texts of prayers for feasts specific to the United States such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day and the observances of feasts for saints such as Damien of Molokai, Katharine Drexel, and Elizabeth Ann Seton. The Vatican also approved the Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, which can be celebrated on January 22.
Read further at USCCB...
Duke of Parma-Bourbon Has Died
Editor: We try as best we can to grieve with Catholic Spain at the loss of one of its sons, whose troubled history has come to an end as he goes to his particular judgement like all men must.
The Duke is a claimant to the throne of Spain now held by King Juan Carlos. Like Prince Norodom Sihanouk, he was one of those quixotic legitimist leaders who sided with the Communists. After reading his life story, you can come to understand the grudge that is held by many Traditionalists against Franco for choosing a man for King who had neither the legitimate birth-rite, nor the requisite devotion to Dios, Fueros, Patria y Rey! (God, Property, Country and King)
After Franco rejected his claims to the Spanish Throne and instead chose Juan Carlos as his successor, he then sided with the Titois Maoists and broke away from the Traditional Carlism supported by his mother and brother, Don Henry Sixto.
His funeral Mass will be at the Basilica Magistrale Costantiniana della Steccata in Parma
Here is the official statement of the Traditionalist Communion (from which he split by joining with the Communists) courtesy of Embajador as follows:
1. Don Carlos Hugo became, in the 60s, a real hope for many Spanish Carlist. But that hope was thwarted when Don Carlos Hugo, adopting a political position incompatible with orthodoxy Carlist condensed in the motto "God - Country - Charters - King, led a major ideological shift that he never wanted to rectify. This fact, together with others who would be complex to summarize, provoked a serious crisis in the Carlismo that began to be surpassed in 1986, thanks to the reconstitution of the Carlist Traditionalist Communion. At present there is no political link between the Carlist Communion and organized in this family Bourbon Parma.
2. At the time of death there is no opponents. The political distance as described above does not prevent the Carlist, personally, and under some emotional, join the Bourbon-Parma family in pain for this loss by raising prayers for the repose of the deceased.
3. Being responsible for the Traditionalist Communion reaffirm, once again, our beliefs monarchical and loyalists. We believe that the traditional Catholic monarchy is the political regime is best for Spain. But we can not recognize the legitimacy of those who have manipulated the institution of monarchy by putting it in the service of revolution. Consequently, the current dynastic orphans suffer along with all the Spanish does not relieve us of the duty to work for a traditional society, so that one day, when God wills, it is possible a traditional king. A social and political task call all the Spanish of goodwill.
Facade and belfry of Parma Cathedral. Photo Creative Commons License poluz.
Photo of Hugo Bourbon, Embajador en El Enfierno.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
England: Prayer Marathon For the Pope
Many people in England have decided to undertake a great project, to prepare for the Pope's visit with prayer.
London [kath.net] Bad premonitions and threats against the upcoming papal visit have proven enough on the English side: some want to make provocative gifts to him like imprisonment or law suits.
But there is naturally also another side of joyful expectation for Benedict, as Radio Vatican reports. Many people in England have proposed an enormous project. Initiated by "Aid to the Church in Need" (ACN), the English branch of "Church in Need". A chain reaction of the spiritual preparation one might say. ACN speaker Terry Murphy:
"It appears to be a common spirit, that the people pray and expect great things. It will be often said, that there is a lot of antipathy against the Pope's visit. But in my opinion, I haven't seen any of that. I have only seen great anticipation."
The preparation project for the Pope's visit will include a Rosary "prayer marathon" an countless Eucharistic holy hours.
London [kath.net] Bad premonitions and threats against the upcoming papal visit have proven enough on the English side: some want to make provocative gifts to him like imprisonment or law suits.
But there is naturally also another side of joyful expectation for Benedict, as Radio Vatican reports. Many people in England have proposed an enormous project. Initiated by "Aid to the Church in Need" (ACN), the English branch of "Church in Need". A chain reaction of the spiritual preparation one might say. ACN speaker Terry Murphy:
"It appears to be a common spirit, that the people pray and expect great things. It will be often said, that there is a lot of antipathy against the Pope's visit. But in my opinion, I haven't seen any of that. I have only seen great anticipation."
The preparation project for the Pope's visit will include a Rosary "prayer marathon" an countless Eucharistic holy hours.
Support the Remnant and Latin Mass Magazine
Author: Michael J. Matt POSTED: Thursday Aug. 12, 2010
Editor, The Remnant
______________________
Dear Fellow Catholic:
With each passing day the vindication of the traditionalist cause becomes abundantly obvious to more Catholics around the world. At the same time laws and prejudices against traditional Catholicism are taking a toll on the ability of Catholic publishers to freely defend Church teaching in the public square, while frequent hikes in the cost of postage and newsprint have already rendered many publishers incapable of keeping their doors open.
Now more than ever, Catholics must come to the aid of the Catholic press so as to keep the Catholic voice strong and outspoken in the war against secularism and militant Christophobia. But this last line of defense is in danger of disappearing altogether in the not too distant future, especially as a “free” Internet presents a wide range of temporary alternatives.
That the Internet will remain free of government regulation in the days to come is highly unlikely. We are already being silenced! The RemnantOnline, like many other pro-life and pro-family websites, is being blocked in libraries and work places all across the country and in Europe because its uncompromising defense of Catholic moral teaching has caused it to be flagged a “hate site.” And this is only the beginning.
http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/2010-0731-latin-mass-magazine-remnant-campaign.htm
Editor, The Remnant
______________________
Dear Fellow Catholic:
With each passing day the vindication of the traditionalist cause becomes abundantly obvious to more Catholics around the world. At the same time laws and prejudices against traditional Catholicism are taking a toll on the ability of Catholic publishers to freely defend Church teaching in the public square, while frequent hikes in the cost of postage and newsprint have already rendered many publishers incapable of keeping their doors open.
Now more than ever, Catholics must come to the aid of the Catholic press so as to keep the Catholic voice strong and outspoken in the war against secularism and militant Christophobia. But this last line of defense is in danger of disappearing altogether in the not too distant future, especially as a “free” Internet presents a wide range of temporary alternatives.
That the Internet will remain free of government regulation in the days to come is highly unlikely. We are already being silenced! The RemnantOnline, like many other pro-life and pro-family websites, is being blocked in libraries and work places all across the country and in Europe because its uncompromising defense of Catholic moral teaching has caused it to be flagged a “hate site.” And this is only the beginning.
http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/2010-0731-latin-mass-magazine-remnant-campaign.htm
Mexican Clergy Being Trained to Perform Exorcisms
MEXICO CITY – Mexico's Catholic Church is training clerics and believers to be exorcists so that they will not fall victim to evil, as well as to be therapists so they can treat people with neuroses and depression.
Mexico's City's auxiliary archbishop, Florencio Armando Colin, told Efe that the training is being carried out in response to the existing demand in church parishes from people who believe that they are possessed or are feeling the symptoms of depression.
"Many believers come to the parishes who seem to be possessed, but they are not. They simply come with that harmful burden that pervades their personal, psychological, moral (and religious) life," he said.
Read fruther:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=363620&CategoryId=14091
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Mexico's City's auxiliary archbishop, Florencio Armando Colin, told Efe that the training is being carried out in response to the existing demand in church parishes from people who believe that they are possessed or are feeling the symptoms of depression.
"Many believers come to the parishes who seem to be possessed, but they are not. They simply come with that harmful burden that pervades their personal, psychological, moral (and religious) life," he said.
Read fruther:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=363620&CategoryId=14091
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Vodnjan priest has expelled 6,000 scantily-clad tourists - General News - Croatian Times Online News - English Newspaper
Editor: there are few who will see the "me" in this ruling. The clothing is the extension of the self, and it's understandable that those who wear immodest dress would feel accused and affronted in the deepest part of their beings.
Vodnjan priest has expelled 6,000 scantily-clad tourists - General News - Croatian Times Online News - English Newspaper
Vodnjan priest has expelled 6,000 scantily-clad tourists - General News - Croatian Times Online News - English Newspaper
The Soutane is A Sign of the Avant-garde of the New Clergy
Editor: The Soutane is a prayer.
An outer sign of the inner decay of the Presbyterium
Father Hendrick Jole in Interview: The Soutane is the sure sign of the avant-garde of the new clergy.
[kreuz.net] "I decided some years ago to wear the soutane," says the Mainz Priest, Father Hendrick Jolie, on Monday in an interview with Linz website, 'kath.net'.
Father Jolie sees the priestly robe in connection with Benedict XVI's approach to the "hermeneutic of continuity":
"The Pope maintains with this formula that there are not "two Churches" -- one before and one after the Council, rather one Roman Catholic Church."
That is also the reason, according to Father Jolie, why Benedict XVI. has rehabilitated the Old Mass and has explained the Council in the light of Tradition.
He quotes the Pope: "What was holy to previous generations, remains for Holy and great for us as well."
Father Jolie forsees the conclusion in that: "In the sense of the Hermeneutic of the continuity the Soutane is neither pre- or post-Conciliar."
One must take insults in stride
The Soutane is much more suitable -- "and it is shown itself to be very practical" -- to afford the opportunity, to make the spiritual stand out visibly in public.
It makes the man also more concerned, that the Priest is "other":
"That is often lumped together as being "reactionary" or "conservative", and I take that in stride."
Actually: "Priests, who observe with Pope Benedict the hermeneutic of continuity are neither conservative nor progressive."
Father Jolie sees in them the avant-garde of the new clergy.
A sad sign of disobedience
The Clergyman points out that the law of the Church requires that a priest is obligated (duty bound) to wear priestly clothing:
"For that reason there is a sad sign of disobedience and the disunity of the clergy, if the priest ignores this duty."
That is for Father Jolie an outer sign of the decay of the presbyterium.
For: "Wherever priests are not in unity with each other, they fail also to be united with their flocks.
Original, krez.net...here
© Photo: Nick in exsilio, CC
Boston Archdiocese Blocks Catholic Blog
Something seems to be going on in the Boston Archdiocese that ought to be concerning to all Catholics (Boston-area and beyond), anyone who values freedom of speech, and Catholic bloggers across the country. Maybe it is all coincidence. You can decide for yourself. Things have been pretty predictable on this Catholic blog since we started it in June. Traffic has grown by leaps and bounds, but we started noticing something unusual for the first time late last week. Daytime traffic to the blog and visits from the Archdiocese of Boston in Braintree suddenly plummeted, and evening traffic from random ISPs suddenly picked up. It happened shortly after we published "Caritas Coincidences" which revealed an array of additional conflicts of interest and coincidental political contributions–all publicly available information–that would cause even more people to start questioning the deal to sell Caritas Christi to Cerberus. (That transaction is undergoing review by the Attorney General, and public participation–including offering input–has been invited by the state and is a protected right).
By coincidence, at about the same time, we started getting reports from multiple sources and channels that the Archdiocese had blocked access to the Boston Catholic Insider blog from within the Pastoral Center. We published Caritas Coincidences: Part 2–with more information readily available to the general public–and got more confirmations that the site was being blocked.
What exactly is going on? Here is what we can tell you beyond those reports. A number of local people go to 12:05pm Mass at the Pastoral Center, and coincidentally, the other day a faithful Catholic was there in Braintree for Mass and went on one of the public Internet terminals in the lobby to catch-up on the latest from Boston Catholic Insider. (We are flattered that the blog is daily reading for many people around the Archdiocese and beyond).
They got back a message from an Internet content filter saying the following: "Content blocked by your organization. Reason: This Websense category is filtered." They brought a friend back for Mass yesterday and by coincidence, when they were trying to get their daily fix of Boston Catholic Insider, they got the same message. Click on the picture to the right to see the message.
Read more:
http://bostoncatholicinsider.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/boston-archdiocese-blocks-catholic-blog/#comments
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Pelosi Wants NY Mosque Opponents Investigated
In an op/ed piece by Penny Young Nance of FoxNews.com, she reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for an investigation into those who oppose a mosque to be built at Ground Zero. As Nance puts it, "For Ms. Pelosi it seems there is nothing the government shouldn't investigate, control or inject itself into as long as it serves the interests of liberal elites."
Never mind that the overwhelming majority of 9/11 victim families opposes building the mosque so close to such hallowed ground. Ms. Pelosi evidently believes these families have formed some kind of vast right wing conspiracy to inflict sensitivity upon those who would kow-tow to a controversial Muslim cleric.
Read further:
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-raleigh/pelosi-calls-for-investigating-those-opposition-to-the-mosque-at-ground-zero
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Conference About the Future of Thomism in Poland
By Fr. Bernhard Blankenhorn, OP
DSPT Alumnus, 2006
The Thomist tradition that lies at the heart of the DSPT identity is over 700 years old. The vibrancy of this age-old school of thought was evident in Warsaw, Poland in early July. Over seventy Dominican friars gathered there for a three-day conference, entitled Dominicans and the Challenge of Thomism xlink. The brethren, most of them young, came from Canada, the USA, Nigeria, Ireland, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Poland, Australia, Vietnam and Taiwan. Four DSPT professors and two alumni (pictured below) were among the participants: Fr. Richard Schenk, OP, Fr. Michael Sherwin, OP, Fr. Anselm Ramelow, OP, Fr. Michael Dodds, OP, Fr. Bernhard Blankenhorn, OP, and Fr. Bryan Kromholtz, OP.
DSPT Professors and Alumni at Dominicans and the Challenge of Thomism conference, Warsaw, Poland
Read further...
DSPT Alumnus, 2006
The Thomist tradition that lies at the heart of the DSPT identity is over 700 years old. The vibrancy of this age-old school of thought was evident in Warsaw, Poland in early July. Over seventy Dominican friars gathered there for a three-day conference, entitled Dominicans and the Challenge of Thomism xlink. The brethren, most of them young, came from Canada, the USA, Nigeria, Ireland, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Poland, Australia, Vietnam and Taiwan. Four DSPT professors and two alumni (pictured below) were among the participants: Fr. Richard Schenk, OP, Fr. Michael Sherwin, OP, Fr. Anselm Ramelow, OP, Fr. Michael Dodds, OP, Fr. Bernhard Blankenhorn, OP, and Fr. Bryan Kromholtz, OP.
DSPT Professors and Alumni at Dominicans and the Challenge of Thomism conference, Warsaw, Poland
Read further...
Business Interests Are Often the Vanguard of An Advancing Army: Afghanistan
Afghan, Tajik and Pakistani Leaders Meet in Russia
Read further...
MOSCOW — Twenty years after the last Russian soldier walked out of Afghanistan, Moscow is gingerly pushing its way back into the country with business deals and diplomacy, and promises of closer ties to come.
Russia is eager to cooperate on economic matters in part by reviving Soviet-era public works, its president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, said Wednesday during a summit meeting with the leaders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan, the second such four-way meeting organized by Russia in the past year.
In fact, Russia has already begun a broad push into Afghan deal-making, negotiating to refurbish more than 140 Soviet-era installations, like hydroelectric stations, bridges, wells and irrigation systems, in deals that could be worth more than $1 billion. A Russian helicopter company, Vertikal-T, has contracts with NATO and the Afghan government to fly Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopters throughout the country.
Read further...
Future of Russia is impossible without renewal of national self-identification - Patriarch Kirill
Pskov, August 18, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia believes the future of Russia depends on solid national self-identification based on Orthodox tradition.
"Today it's impossible for our Motherland to move further without renewal of our faith, our national self-identification, renewal of our shared spiritual system of values and shared responsibility of people for the country, Motherland, our children, for the future," the Patriarch said on Wednesday speaking to five thousand Pskov residents gathered at the Oktyabrskaya Square in the city center.
He stressed that foundation of Russian solidarity is not an ideology, but the Orthodox faith that "besides high and saving spiritual ideas, brings powerful ethic norms forming national character."
Read further...
"Today it's impossible for our Motherland to move further without renewal of our faith, our national self-identification, renewal of our shared spiritual system of values and shared responsibility of people for the country, Motherland, our children, for the future," the Patriarch said on Wednesday speaking to five thousand Pskov residents gathered at the Oktyabrskaya Square in the city center.
He stressed that foundation of Russian solidarity is not an ideology, but the Orthodox faith that "besides high and saving spiritual ideas, brings powerful ethic norms forming national character."
Read further...
Mexican Judges Bribed for Homosexual Ruling
GUADALAJARA, August 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Guadalajara yesterday told reporters that the Cardinal Archbishop of that city has proof to back up his contention that the justices of the Supreme Court were in some way "fed" by backers of homosexual "marriage" and adoption in order to gain their votes in favor of the policies.
Responding to threats from Mexico City Governor Marcel Ebrard to file charges against Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez for "moral damage," archdiocesan spokesman Antonio Gutiérrez Montaño expressed little concern, and said that the archbishop would prove his charges if necessary.
"Mr. Ebrard has the liberty to proceed as he wishes," said Gutiérrez Montaño to the Mexican newspaper Milenio, reportedly adding that if a lawsuit were filed, the cardinal would reveal the proof he has for his statement, and "will not retract nor apologize" for what he has said.
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Responding to threats from Mexico City Governor Marcel Ebrard to file charges against Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez for "moral damage," archdiocesan spokesman Antonio Gutiérrez Montaño expressed little concern, and said that the archbishop would prove his charges if necessary.
"Mr. Ebrard has the liberty to proceed as he wishes," said Gutiérrez Montaño to the Mexican newspaper Milenio, reportedly adding that if a lawsuit were filed, the cardinal would reveal the proof he has for his statement, and "will not retract nor apologize" for what he has said.
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Being a Polish missionary in Scandinavia
[Sunday Catholic Weekly] Rev. Msgr. Ireneusz Skubis talks to Fr Leszek Kapusta, CSsR, a Redemptorist working in Denmark.
Rev. Msgr Ireneusz Skubis: – You have been realising your priesthood in special missions...
Fr Leszek Kapusta, CSsR: – For over 23 years I worked mostly in South America; I worked 15 years in Bolivia. I finished my studies in moral theology in Madrid. For almost five years I have been working in Copenhagen, Denmark, at first ministering among Spanish-speaking people and for three years working with Poles.
– What is the Polish community like in Denmark and how have you been working with them?
– Denmark is relatively close to us because we are neighbours through the Baltic Sea and that’s why there are numerous Polish people there. They came to Denmark in various times: at the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 21st century; after World War II, during the ‘Solidarity’ times; the recent Polish immigrants came to work here. Today there are over 20,000 Poles in Denmark, most of them living in Copenhagen and in the vicinity as well as in other big cities like Odense or Aalborg. This is my first ministry among the Polish people and I am satisfied with this work very much.
Read further here...
Rev. Msgr Ireneusz Skubis: – You have been realising your priesthood in special missions...
Fr Leszek Kapusta, CSsR: – For over 23 years I worked mostly in South America; I worked 15 years in Bolivia. I finished my studies in moral theology in Madrid. For almost five years I have been working in Copenhagen, Denmark, at first ministering among Spanish-speaking people and for three years working with Poles.
– What is the Polish community like in Denmark and how have you been working with them?
– Denmark is relatively close to us because we are neighbours through the Baltic Sea and that’s why there are numerous Polish people there. They came to Denmark in various times: at the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 21st century; after World War II, during the ‘Solidarity’ times; the recent Polish immigrants came to work here. Today there are over 20,000 Poles in Denmark, most of them living in Copenhagen and in the vicinity as well as in other big cities like Odense or Aalborg. This is my first ministry among the Polish people and I am satisfied with this work very much.
Read further here...
Baptist's Relics Deliver Jump in Church Attendance in Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, clerics and government officials have high religious—and economic—hopes for a recent discovery: fragments of what some believe to be the remains of John the Baptist.
By Joe Parkinson SOZOPOL, Bulgaria—Archaeologists and clerics here say they have unearthed bones belonging to John the Baptist, an itinerant preacher revered by many Christians as the last of the Old Testament prophets. Bulgaria's government is looking to the discovery for salvation—of a financial sort.
The remains, including a skull fragment and a tooth, were uncovered last month during the excavation of a fourth-century monastery on St. Ivan Island, off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. They were in a sealed reliquary buried next to a tiny urn inscribed with St. John's name and his birth date.
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http://mobile2.wsj.com/device/article.php?CALL_URL=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704216804575423673016971944.html?
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By Joe Parkinson SOZOPOL, Bulgaria—Archaeologists and clerics here say they have unearthed bones belonging to John the Baptist, an itinerant preacher revered by many Christians as the last of the Old Testament prophets. Bulgaria's government is looking to the discovery for salvation—of a financial sort.
The remains, including a skull fragment and a tooth, were uncovered last month during the excavation of a fourth-century monastery on St. Ivan Island, off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. They were in a sealed reliquary buried next to a tiny urn inscribed with St. John's name and his birth date.
Read further:
http://mobile2.wsj.com/device/article.php?CALL_URL=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704216804575423673016971944.html?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Dominicans accept first vows from novices in biggest class in decades
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Statistics show a drastic fall in the number of people entering religious life since the 1960s, yet, the Dominican Province of St. Joseph accepted first vows Aug. 7 from 21 novices -- the province's largest novitiate class since 1966. Father Bill Garrot is the province's outgoing vocations director -- and the man who the current vocations director appointed this summer, Father Benedict Croell, said played a key role in the "harvest" that yielded the 21 novices. In response to dismal novitiate numbers, in 2003 the province decided to hire Father Garrot as a full-time vocations director to engage in more rigorous recruitment efforts than a part-time director could. Before Father Garrot was hired, the province had suffered through "chaotic period" from 1993 to 2002, where the province transitioned between three or four different vocations directors and novitiate numbers were about five per year. "This kind of woke everybody up," Father Garrot said in an interview with Catholic News Service in Washington at the New York-based province's House of Studies. Father Garrot said those numbers rose to about eight to 10 a year during his time at the province, from 2003 to 2010. The 2009 novice class had 11 men in it, a total almost doubled in 2010. "Stability in a vocation program does matter. I was appointed as a full-time vocations director, but not many diocese or religious orders seem to have the luxury of appointing a man to do full-time recruitment work," he said.
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Pious Russians Pray For Rain: Dramatic Storms End Draught
Editor: Since praying for rain for the last few weeks, the terrible drought and wildfires will be brought to a close, none too late for the people of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Hopefully, it will help save at least part of Russia's harvest which will be severely hurt by this summer's meterological extremes.
Read further at interfax, here...
Read the rest here, at Pravda...
Read further at interfax, here...
Russia 's record-breaking heatwave looks set to come to a dramatic end, with a severe storm now heading for Moscow after battering St Petersburg.
[Pravda] Nearly 100,000 people around St Petersburg were left without power, rail services were halted and trees felled amid high winds and heavy rains. Moscow is expected to be hit later. Temperatures there dropped to 25C on Monday after nearing 40C for weeks, BBC News says.
The storms yesterday in four regions, including the Leningrad region around St. Petersburg, packed winds as high as 30 meters per second (67 mph), the Emergency Situations Ministry said on its website today. Almost 79,000 people still had no electricity at 6 a.m. local time, and all customers should have power back by 8 p.m., the ministry said.
Read the rest here, at Pravda...
Fallout Continues from ELCA’s Gay Clergy Decision as Lutheran Churches Leave
CHICAGO, August 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The departure of several more congregations in central Illinois from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has once again highlighted how the denomination’s decision to approve active homosexual clergy has triggered a slow, steady bleeding of congregations.
One year ago this month at its national convention, the ELCA voted "to open the ministry of the church to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers living in committed relationships."
The policy change was decided by more than 100 votes – 559 in favor to 451 against; but since the vote the ELCA has both dropped in members and congregations.
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One year ago this month at its national convention, the ELCA voted "to open the ministry of the church to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers living in committed relationships."
The policy change was decided by more than 100 votes – 559 in favor to 451 against; but since the vote the ELCA has both dropped in members and congregations.
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Bishop Richard Josef Werberberger Has Passed
+Werberberger was a Benedictine of Kremsmunster and Bishop of the Diocese Barreiras in Brazil.
Linz [kath.net/pm] The Benedictine Bishop Richard Josef Weberberger was born on September 5, 1939 in Bad Leonfelden, grew in Gaspoltshofen, and attendex the Gynasium Kremsmunster, left the Stift and went to Salzburg and Rome. AFter his preistly ordination in 1964 he was the cooperator in Kremsunster and Sattledt, Chaplain of the Benedictine Sisters in Steinerkirchen and religious and philosophy instructor at the Gymnasium in Kremsunster and in Schlierbach.
P. Rochard Weberberger OSB left for Brazil in 1974 and was a pastor in the city of Barrereis. In May 1979 he was the Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Barreiras and on 11 July 1979 he entered the office as the first Bishop of Barreiras. For 12 years he was the member and standing advisor of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference (CNBB) and from 1998 to 2003 President of the regional Bishops' Conference of the Northeast.
He was an honorary citizen of several cities and of the State of Bahia. In 1999 he was honored in the Land of Upper Austria with its human rights prize. In 2009 Bishop Weberberger celebrated in Stift Kremsunster his 30 year Bishop's anniversary and received a great golden plaque with a star for service to the Republic of Austria. In May 2010 he became seriously ill and was hospitalized in Linz.
Link to kath.net...
Linz [kath.net/pm] The Benedictine Bishop Richard Josef Weberberger was born on September 5, 1939 in Bad Leonfelden, grew in Gaspoltshofen, and attendex the Gynasium Kremsmunster, left the Stift and went to Salzburg and Rome. AFter his preistly ordination in 1964 he was the cooperator in Kremsunster and Sattledt, Chaplain of the Benedictine Sisters in Steinerkirchen and religious and philosophy instructor at the Gymnasium in Kremsunster and in Schlierbach.
P. Rochard Weberberger OSB left for Brazil in 1974 and was a pastor in the city of Barrereis. In May 1979 he was the Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Barreiras and on 11 July 1979 he entered the office as the first Bishop of Barreiras. For 12 years he was the member and standing advisor of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference (CNBB) and from 1998 to 2003 President of the regional Bishops' Conference of the Northeast.
He was an honorary citizen of several cities and of the State of Bahia. In 1999 he was honored in the Land of Upper Austria with its human rights prize. In 2009 Bishop Weberberger celebrated in Stift Kremsunster his 30 year Bishop's anniversary and received a great golden plaque with a star for service to the Republic of Austria. In May 2010 he became seriously ill and was hospitalized in Linz.
Link to kath.net...
Guidance; When a Priest Engages in Public Sin
ROME, AUG. 17, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.Q: May you please help me to answer these delicate questions? When a priest is in grave sin and publicly known to be in mortal sin (drunk often; with women, etc.) and the bishop allows him to say Mass publicly, what does canon law say about this? Or, if a priest has even impregnated a woman and then encouraged her to get an abortion (a reality for us here), shouldn't that priest have sanctions put on him rather than letting him celebrate Mass publicly? If the bishop says he is not to judge the priests, then who should? -- K.G., Sudan
A: These are indeed delicate questions and sad ones to answer. I am not a canonist and so cannot answer regarding the intricacies of the canonical process. However, I can offer some moral pointers with respect to the sacraments.
A priest who falls into grave sin, just like any member of the faithful, should seek sacramental reconciliation as soon as possible. Meanwhile, he should abstain as far as possible from celebrating the sacraments.
Read further... Zenit...
A: These are indeed delicate questions and sad ones to answer. I am not a canonist and so cannot answer regarding the intricacies of the canonical process. However, I can offer some moral pointers with respect to the sacraments.
A priest who falls into grave sin, just like any member of the faithful, should seek sacramental reconciliation as soon as possible. Meanwhile, he should abstain as far as possible from celebrating the sacraments.
Read further... Zenit...
Liberal Nuns Cash in on Disintegration of Catholic Education
Sisters who sold Loretto High for $7.75 million can begin spending, appellate court rules
[California Catholic Daily] Attorneys for the Diocese of Sacramento and seven donors to the now defunct Loretto High School are mulling whether to appeal an unfavorable ruling in a dispute over $7.75 million the sisters of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary received when they sold the campus last year.
Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto joined seven other plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an order of women religious that ran Loretto High School for 54 years before announcing that the girls’ college-prep school would close its doors for good in June 2009. The sisters cited declining enrollment and financial hardship.
At issue is an estimated $4.5 million donated to the school from a 2001-2002 fundraising drive. The money was used to double the size of the campus, construct a new science building, a performing arts center, visual arts studios, a swimming complex, an athletic field, additional parking and for renovations of some of the already existing school buildings.
Read further at California Catholic Daily ...
Texas Priest Father Rodriguez Does a Great Job on ABC TV
Father Michael Rodriguez of San Juan Bautista Church thoroughly answers charges related to his strident, but necessary teaching on homosexual, with clarity and charity. It's impossible not to see this man speak and not be convinced of his genuine concern for the salvation of souls and his love for the Church.
See it here, link to ABC.
El Paso article, here.
h/t to TC at FE.
See it here, link to ABC.
El Paso article, here.
h/t to TC at FE.
San Salvador's Archbishop Thinks Archbishop Romero to be Beatified
The Archbishop of San Salvador wants to avoid instrumentalizing or politicizing the deceased, in order to make the beatification process of the current Congregation in Rome easier.
The Archbishop of San Salvator, Jose Luis Escobar Alas, awaits an upcoming beatification of the murdered Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero (1917-1980). The Archbishop said this on Sunday in San Salvador at a Press conference on the 93rd Birthday of his predecessor murdered 30 years ago. Archbishop Escobar wants to avoid instrumentaliziing or politicizing the death, in order to make the job of the current Congregation in Rome more difficult. [Hence why it stalled out the first time.] "We will pray to God, that Archbishop Romero will soon be beatified," said ++Escobar to the website "Terra".
Romero was murdered in 1980 during a service. For his protest against oppression and exploitation and as a voice of the poor, he was well-known throughout Central America. The back ground of the murder is still not widely known today. The suspected wire puller was never apprehended.
According to reports from an independent "truth commission", which attempted to uncover crimes committed during the Civil War in El Salvador, Robert D'Aubuisson, Major of the Salvadoran Army and Chief of the suspected death squads, was the primary instigator of the murder. Later he founded the conservative right "ARENA" -Party and ran unsuccessfully for the office of President. He died in 1992 of cancer. Pope John Paul II. visited Romero's grave in the Cathedral of San Salvador.
The advocates for this will want to de-emphasize the political and military nature of ++Romero's activities which led to his assassination, but it's unavoidable that his motives were not the defense of the Catholic Faith, but in defense of a political programme being promoted by the Soviet Union.
In any event, even John Paul II stopped short of beatifying or honoring the Archbishop owing to the controversial nature of this prelate in his own country, by members of the Church who viewed Romero's meddling in politics as unproductive and even supportive of the Marxists who were building "base communities" and pushing for greater centralization of the economy (against the best interests of the country as it turned out).
Of course, US Catholic is wild about +Romero's beatification, as they probably feel it will give more fuel for their social-justice and anti-Church initiatives.
Cardinal Schönborn Praises Medjugorje, Again
A Morsel For the Stupid Neoconservatives
Austria. [kreuz.net] This Sunday Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna praised the false Marian apparition site, Medjugorje in the boulevard magazine 'Krone'. The Cardinal recalled his then meeting with the youth that are there every summer. The young people could not see much in the village besides the stony ground and supposed poverty. But they sense: "Mary is near them".
Link to original...
The Krone's late editor, Hans Dichant, and the publication itself has been very ++Schönborn friendly, despite its advertisements for prostitutes and pornographic content. The Cardinal eulogized him at his funeral and presided over the Mass.
It's a very evil magazine, see for yourself. It has an entire section featuring extremely indecent pinup photos.
Also, Cardinal Schönborn will be attending this years Ratzinger Schulkreis as reported by Dici to discuss the "hermeneutic of continuity.
H/t: Tom
Monday, August 16, 2010
It Was the Rosary: Mainz Priest Talks About Vocation
The mixed marriage of parents of the well-known Mainz Priest, Father Hendrick Jolie, produced an alienation from religion in his family. But suddenly, everything changed and nothing was the same as it was.
[kreuz.net] I was not "unpious" as a young person, explained the well-known Mainz Priest, Father Hendrick Jolie, in an interview today with the Linz site 'kath.net'.
The clergyman came from a mixed marriage. "It created a kind of distance from the Church," according to him.
Then suddenly came the change: "the transformation of my Father's conversion in the 80s had deeply influenced me."
The future priest started to pose new questions: "how can a man, who is the business manager of a large convenience store chain standing in the middle of the profane world, suddenly become so pious? Why did he pray the rosary and go to Holy Mass [sic] so often?"
The example of the Father spurred the son: "I began in any case, to regularly pray the Rosary."
Because of that the life of the future Priest changed in a few months "fundamentally":
"I gave up my original career plans and entered the seminary in 1985."
Fr. Jolie didn't have a doubt: "Today I am absolutely sure, that I have the Rosary to thank for my vocation."
Read original, here....
The Relics of St. John the Baptist Are Authentic
[Standart, Bulgaria] The relics of John the Baptist recently discovered in the Black Sea town of Sozopol are authentic, declared Vatican expert Michael Hesseman, according to Minister of Diaspora historian Bozhidar Dimitrov. Mayor of Sozopol, Dr. of History Panayot Reizi handed over the reliquary to Father Ivan of the local St. George church. Yesterday, thousands of laymen gathered in town to see the valuable reliquary encased in gold and silver, a gift from PM Boyko Borisov. The relics of John the Baptist were moved to the reliquary lined with red velvet and further on will be kept in it.
“The relics have already worked the first miracle – they made Finance Minister Simeon Djankov to allot money for further research and excavations on the Sveti Ivan and Sveti Kirik islands near Sozopol,” Minister Dimitrov jokingly commented. He added that he was sure the investment would pay off as crowds of pilgrims were expected in Sozopol.
Elena Dimitrova
Link to original...
“The relics have already worked the first miracle – they made Finance Minister Simeon Djankov to allot money for further research and excavations on the Sveti Ivan and Sveti Kirik islands near Sozopol,” Minister Dimitrov jokingly commented. He added that he was sure the investment would pay off as crowds of pilgrims were expected in Sozopol.
Elena Dimitrova
Link to original...
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Healing From God's Herb Garden: Nuns Work With Pharmaceutical Experts
For many centuries Monastic medicine was the only hope for the sick -- today modern researchers are tapping the old knowledge.
Plants from the herb book of Leonhart Fuchs from the year 1545. The representation is of high quality botanically speaking.
The powerful towers of the Church of St. Michael reach into the sky. They overlook the cloister garden of the Oberzeller Franciscans. Sister Leandra Ulsamer grows lavender, sage and hyssop. The herbs grow faster in the hot summer weeks than at other times so that the Franciscans have all their hands full to bring in the rich harvest.
"Primroses and lemon balm are ripe in the early part of the year for our herb trees", reported Sister Leandra. "We have harvested enormous quantities of St. John's Wort, mullen, peppermint and sage."
The Sisters started this garden 21 years ago with a small corner. The sisters will plant the herbs for their evening tea. Today their herb garden in Oberzell by Wurzburg with around 100 different types of herb is one of the largest in Germany. "And every year we add four, five plants onto it," said Sister Leandra. Right now she has introduced the new fine leafed olive herb that helps with indigestion.
Sister Leandra went to another patch and cut some twigs out. "The hyssop will bloom in a bit a very beautiful blue, its oil is an ideal treatment for bronchitis and dry cough", she declared. The herb belongs to the mysterious plants of the ages. Already in a prescription at the medicine school of Salerno in the year 1066 it reads: "Blue hyssop clears the chest of harmful mucus."
Modern science is also interested in the medicinal knowledge of the monks. The historian of medicine Johannes G. Mayer has worked for 10 years together with Sister Leandra. His "Cloister Medicine Research Group" at the University of Wurzburg has systematically harvested its way through the medieval sources.
Are there any surprising discoveries? "That is the important discovery, that they used penicillin-like stuff in the cloister medicine, he said. "With a mixture of moldy cheese, honey and portions of sheep dung was put together and applied directly to the wound. Unfortunately, we could not reconstitute this, to discover what cheese was used."
For the astonishing prescription comes from the Lorscher Arzneibuch (Lorsch Medical Book), which dates from the time of Charlemagne in the year 795. This valuable Codex was first rediscovered in 1989. A donation of the Pharmacy Company Boehringer Ingelheim made possible the translation and scientific research.
The existing work from the Imperial Abbey Lorsch at Worms contains around 150 pages and 500 prescriptions, which astonishingly comes in part from Antiquity. The unknown author made the admonition from biblical texts, the duty to help the sick by means of God-given healing plants.
The so-called cloister medicine had its flowering between the 8th and 13th Centuries. The art had been lost through the chaotic upheavals: the migrations, in the final collapse of the Roman Empire (476) and the plague of the time of Justinian, which came from Egypt to wide parts of the Mediterranean and European homelands. Up to a quarter of the population died by the ravaging epidemic, which broke out again in 770. People lived in the most primitive of circumstances.
Early Christianity perceived in the fury of the plague, war and the migrations the unmistakable hand of God. The ancient healing arts were lost in great part during these dark times. [Obviously, if he was copying the herbology texts, they must not have been lost. Most historians view the Dark Ages as an indeterminate period starting not long before St. Benedict's birth and ending around the millennium.] It was the monk, Benedict of Nursia (480-547), in whom the flames of knowledge burned again. At Monte Casino near Naples he founded a Cloister (Monastery) where he established his revolutionary [sic] rule.
Most Europeans were incapable of reading and writing. The monks however were obliged by Benedict to read and copy the old writings, to which also belonged the pre-Christian works of Medicine. Benedict rejected the old Christian teaching [Where that teaching is, this author doesn't say.], that all sickness is sent from God. "The care for the sick is a duty for everyone; one should serve them, as though they were Christ Himself," wrote the founder of the Benedictine Order. He established with this the foundation of cloister medicine.
Pope Gregory I, called "The Great" (540-604), was very impressed with Benedict's Rule, that he declared it binding for the entire Roman Church. Gregory I even turned his parents Villa on Monte Celio near Rome into a Benedictine Cloister.
Already there were healing herb gardens in all of the Cloisters of Europe, which increased even more the healing capabilities of the monks in the infirmaries. The Emperor Charlemagne the Great (747-814) undertook the mission to care for the sick in his Empire and ordered the foundation of herb gardens for his cities.
The last great medicinal author of the high middle ages was the mystic, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), Abbess of the Benedictine Cloister on the Rupertsberg by Bingen on the Rhine. Her work "Physica" (Natural History) and "Casae et Curae" (Cause and Cures) have been discovered in recent years. Critics doubt in any case, that the writings are authentic, there is nothing original from her time.
After Hildegard the Cloister slowly lost its monopoly in the healing arts. Worldly Universities like the school at Salerno were founded, which contains the legend that it was founded by a Greek, a Latin, an Arab and a Jew.
At the University of Wurzburg, Mayer and his team of chemists, pharmacists and doctors have identified around 600 healing plants of cloister medicine. "What then can be taken away from this is for the manufacturer to decide", he said. The Research Group for Cloister Medicine has been financially supporter by Pharmaceutical Company GlaxoSmithKline and the Martin Bauer Group, who want to supply the herbs and extracts for other producers.
"Germany is the worldwide leader in the analysis of the contents of medicinal plants", says Medicinal Historian Mayer. That corresponds with the good reputation of the plants' healing properties in the country. Since 2004 a few cases have been filed against St. John's Wort in cases of depression. Otherwise the past year has seen, according to IMS Pharma Scope, a value of 796 Million Euro sold in Pharmacy Phytopharmaka alone, which was in large part the result of private business. They were distributed to Drug stores, Reform homes and supermarkets. The most popular are the cough and cold remedies, heart medicine and cancer as well as stomach and digestion.
"For the most part it is still not clear which stuff is exactly responsible for the effect, sometimes there are in any case, several," said Mayer. There has been great progress, however, with valerian and hops. "With valerian it is the roots, with hops the umbels, which produce a completely valuable mixture of materials."
The ligands in the valerian have an effect similar to caffeine or nicotine, they effect like the hormonal material adenosin, explained Mayer. "A person can drive a car with it and take a test, if one is very upset. That is the ideal remedy, to calm down." One can sleep better, but it doesn't have the side effects like many other synthetic sleep tablets, which can paralyze the organism.
"A harmless sleep", says Mayer, "is very important, especially for cell regeneration and for the assimilation of the experiences of the day. Valerian does not afterward disturb these important bodily functions." When you actually compare hops and passion flowers, then these sleep and calming remedies are clearly superior to synthetic drugs.
While modern medicine can isolate individual substances, nature offers an entire concert of ingredients in place of single instruments, Mayer insists. We almost know that from the everyday. Caffeine operates completely differently when it is applied as a single isolated substance, than as Coffee, Tea or consuming a Guarana plant. "We believe it is senseless to isolate a material which then, often does not have the complex effect which the complete plants have, as clinical studies show.
Sage slows the building of neurotransmitter acetylcholin, so the patient with Alzheimers or Dementia could profit. In any case, there are still more precise studies of the dosage which have yet to follow, sage also contains the nerve poison thujon. [An ingredient in absinthe, yum, yum] The saying, "whatever is effective has side-effects" doesn't just apply to synthetic medications, but also some medicinal plants have poisonous ingredients.
For this reason before the healing of sickness it is always the healthy lifestyle which is important. And here also Mayer has learned from the Rule of Benedict of Nursia -- whose attribution one finds in the English word for "nurse".
"Ora et labora et lege -- pray, work and read", the motto of the Benedictine order is also for the Wurzburger Medicine Historian of greatest importance. "That comes from an actual relationship between sleep and waking, from work and rest, it is important also for nourishment, from which imbalance I can be easily effected by illnesses," said Mayer. The mid-day nap is a central component of life in a Cloister, whose positive effect for modern sleep research has been established, "that's definitely been frowned upon, but after a little nap you are clearly more alert and capable."
One can also read this in the advice of the Middle Ages as from a modern Fitness expert, explained Mayer. "Don't eat too late. Meat of mammals like pork or beef were only intended for Feast Days and sickness. Otherwise one ate fish and poultry."
Even alcohol was allowed in small quantities, as Mayer reports, in the rule of the Benedictines it says that the Abbott should take care, that every monk gets one roman measure of wine per day, which is about 0.27 Liters thus about a quarter Liter. That is the exact quantity which is recommended by modern medicine as foreseeable tolerable.
But for a swallow of wine it is in these days too early. Sister Leandra takes a swallow of wine after lunch, prays an hour and finishes with by taking a nap.
Now there are waiting in the garden around 40 white-haired visitors. These also she shows her blooming glory, St, John's Wort, the healing herb and powerful blooming stripped blossoms. "it is beautiful that there are always more people taking interest in what good the herbs can do", says Sister Leandra.
And perhaps she will betray her recipe for overeating, to bring the life's spirits back into swing again: "For that you need some stems of rosemary in the best Bordeaux wine, leave to set for a few days and take a little glass with every meal." Get well.
Original, here...
Anti-Christian Film Cancelled in Lebanon
Lebanon, In Lebanon a historically inaccurate film, produced in Iran, about Christ has been cancelled. The film denines the Crucifiction of Christ and portrays the Son of God as a mere prophet. Christians protested successfully against the program. The Maronite Bishop Béchara Raï (70) of Byblos is pleased with a statement urging the cancellation of the series. The film would have seriously libeled Christ and His Church.
Link to kreuz.net...
Link to kreuz.net...
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The Pope Took a Spontaneous Tour in the Mini-Popemobile
Italy. [kreuz.net] One Wednesday the Pope Benedict XVI together with his brother, Prelate Gerog Ratzinger, took a spontaneous ride in the Mini-Popemobile for around 150 Meters. Carbineri on the scene were surprised according to reports by the Roman daily 'Il Messaggero'. On the coming Sunday, on the feast of the Assumption, the faithful expect the Pope as usual for Mass in his Parish Church.
link to source, kreuz.net...
link to source, kreuz.net...
Turkey: Nationalist Protest Against Divine Liturgy on Assumption
Several thousand Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey arrive on Sunday at the Sumela-Cloister in the East of the Land. There the Nationalists hope to protest against the Christians.
Constantinople (kath.net/KAP)
Several thousand Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey will arrive according to their Patriarch Bartholomeos I on the this Sunda as "Peace Ambassadors" to the Sumela Cloister in the East of the Land. The Christians have waited for a long time for this day, said the Patriarch of Constantinople in an interview for the daily "Sabah" (Friday Edition). In view of protests by Turkish Nationalists against the Liturgy on the Feast of the "Assumption" said the honorary head of around 300 Million Orthodox Christians in the world, that he trusts in the security measures of the authorities.
The ancient Sumela Cloister in the south Black Sea city of Trebizond is the sanctuary location for a Marian Ikon, which was painted according to legend by St. Luke. After the exile of the Greeks by the Turkish-Greek population exchange in the 1920s the Cloister was abandoned and declared a museum. The Orthodox Christians struggled for years to get permission for a Liturgy to be celebrated in the Cloister. Bartholomaios I thanked the Culture Ministry for this, that this is the first time such an event is taking place.
Right leaning local politicians in Trebizond have been protesting in the past days. They accuse the Christians of using the Liturgy on the 15th of August to summon a restoration of the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans conquered the then Byzantine Trebizond in 1461 on August 15th which is also the beginning of the uprising of the Kurdish PKK-Rebels against the Turkish State. For this reason, the Liturgy will become a demonstration of "revenge", according to the right national newspaper "Yenicag".
The Police in Trebizond, a bastion of National Rightists, took a local politican and a local journalist into protective custody. The Patriarch has said, that he has no doubt that the security forces will take every necessary precaution.
Link to original, kath.net...
Photo taken from Kara Lahana, Turkish travel site...
Priest Doesn't Show up for a Wedding, In Austria: Cardinal Schönborn Saves the Day!
The coupe was ready and dressed, the guess assembled in the church and the muicians were ready to play -- only the Priest wasn't there: The horror scenario happened to two betrothed in the Viennese neighborhood of Floridorf.
The pastor had completely forgotten the marriage. The 30 year old Iris and her 27 Year old partner [sic] were so angry after 8 months of planning and expectation that they threatened to leave the Church. Now the Archdiocese has promised to compensate the couple for the wedding, inclusive the blooming bridal bouquet, organist and church rent.
The abandoned couple estimate the costs of the Church wedding with 150 invited guests to be 2000 Euro says the Austrian daily "Heute". In order to prevent them from leaving the Church, Cardinal Schönborn is going to save the day by personally presiding at their wedding.
Original, here...
The pastor had completely forgotten the marriage. The 30 year old Iris and her 27 Year old partner [sic] were so angry after 8 months of planning and expectation that they threatened to leave the Church. Now the Archdiocese has promised to compensate the couple for the wedding, inclusive the blooming bridal bouquet, organist and church rent.
The abandoned couple estimate the costs of the Church wedding with 150 invited guests to be 2000 Euro says the Austrian daily "Heute". In order to prevent them from leaving the Church, Cardinal Schönborn is going to save the day by personally presiding at their wedding.
Original, here...
Now we have real evidence – sexual abuse is not a ‘Catholic problem’ | CatholicHerald.co.uk
When the Nazis were engaged in attempting to use the alleged sex abuse by priests to push the Catholic Church in Germany out of education and public life, its was actually the Brown Shirts where it was dangerous for a child's innocence in that regard.
The following article brings a study which indicates that sexual abuse is much more common outside of the priesthood than within it, but it proves something else that we knew all along, that this media campaign has been launched by shadowy and nefarious figures at the New York Times and at the hands of ACLU Attorney, Jeff Anderson, who's clearly sold his soul.
This was never about the victims. It is about attacking the Church's teachings, which arouse such contempt and hatred in the modern world.
Now we have real evidence – sexual abuse is not a ‘Catholic problem’ | CatholicHerald.co.uk
The following article brings a study which indicates that sexual abuse is much more common outside of the priesthood than within it, but it proves something else that we knew all along, that this media campaign has been launched by shadowy and nefarious figures at the New York Times and at the hands of ACLU Attorney, Jeff Anderson, who's clearly sold his soul.
This was never about the victims. It is about attacking the Church's teachings, which arouse such contempt and hatred in the modern world.
Now we have real evidence – sexual abuse is not a ‘Catholic problem’ | CatholicHerald.co.uk
Louisville Man Comes Back to the Church After 80 Years
In the annals of people who returned to their childhood faith after a time of alienation, few have had a longer sojourn than James O'Bryan.
The Louisville native has reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church after being away from it for more than 80 years.
In the end, O'Bryan reconciled with the church because of the actions of a priest — the same reason he said he left in the first place.
O'Bryan, now 89 and living in northern California, was one of three plaintiffs who sued the Vatican in 2004, alleging that the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church had orchestrated a cover-up of sexual abuse through centuries of secret policies. He said he was sexually abused by a Louisville priest in 1928.
Read further...
The Louisville native has reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church after being away from it for more than 80 years.
In the end, O'Bryan reconciled with the church because of the actions of a priest — the same reason he said he left in the first place.
O'Bryan, now 89 and living in northern California, was one of three plaintiffs who sued the Vatican in 2004, alleging that the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church had orchestrated a cover-up of sexual abuse through centuries of secret policies. He said he was sexually abused by a Louisville priest in 1928.
Read further...
French Clerics Refuse to Baptise Muslims
Rome (AsiaNews) - A group of Christians and Muslims from Algeria, Morocco and France have planned a pilgrimage in the footsteps of Saint Augustine, their countryman, that will lead them to Milan and Pavia, where the remains of the North African saint of Hippo lie. There are several Muslim converts to Christianity among the group, some for over 40 years, others for just over a year.
It is the first time that Christians of North Africa have ever organized a similar pilgrimage. It will take them from August 26 to 28 to Milan, where Augustine was baptized by Ambrose in 387, to Pavia and the basilica of san Pietro in Ciel d’Oro (see photo), which houses his remains in time to take part in local celebrations, the feast of the saint on August 28.
The group has long desired to make this pilgrimage and had also wanted to include an audience with the pope. Among the pilgrims, 17 are of North African origin, 14 are converts from Islam and two are catechumens. There is also a future seminarian; the other 10 are of French origin, all accompanied by Fr Alexis Doucet, S.J.
Read further...
It is the first time that Christians of North Africa have ever organized a similar pilgrimage. It will take them from August 26 to 28 to Milan, where Augustine was baptized by Ambrose in 387, to Pavia and the basilica of san Pietro in Ciel d’Oro (see photo), which houses his remains in time to take part in local celebrations, the feast of the saint on August 28.
The group has long desired to make this pilgrimage and had also wanted to include an audience with the pope. Among the pilgrims, 17 are of North African origin, 14 are converts from Islam and two are catechumens. There is also a future seminarian; the other 10 are of French origin, all accompanied by Fr Alexis Doucet, S.J.
Read further...
Friday, August 13, 2010
More Proof: Only Catholic Monasteries Showing Growth
There's a blog out there from a Monastery which has traded in its Romanesque and Gothic medievalism for the brutalist architecture, conjuring up distopic miseries and visions of Hiroshima, or the post-modern world in which most of these Monastics spend their time. Actually, the blog is a lot like a women's fashion magazine about overly simplified religious subjects; a kind of writer's workshop at a vanity press. It's the way the author of the article goes on about the Monk's possession of cell phone and keys that's so disturbing, wistfully embarking upon an article which really ignores the ugly truth as to why Heiligenkreuz is so successful at winning vocations, nearly doubling its numbers to 88, despite its presence in one of the most anti-clerical countries in Europe with one of the worst Primate Cardinals. So, the whys and wherefores should be obvious, even to those who reside in the confusion of modernism and indifferentism which reigns supreme at Collegeville.
What they're doing now, in lieu of making an authentic monastic witness, is attempting to explain away the success of other monasteries in attracting vocations by appeals to beautiful music and simplicity. Could it be the order and purity of this Cistercian community's monastic witness that we see, clearly, why young people are willing to sacrifice their lives? One of the posters tries to explain it this way, and it's the typical response:
Critical mass, no, it's authenticity. These men have a mission. As the following video shows, that's why anywhere you go in the world, from France, to Germanyand the United States that Religious Communities which have either restored or maintained authentic Monasticism are prospering and conversely while those who do not, are dying.
Just to illustrate this point, there are two videos. The one for one for Heilegenkreuz in the Vienna Wood in Austria, above the ancient battlefield where the Turks who were then menacing Europe were driven back in 1683, the monks are young, orderly, simple. The vestments worn are baroque and at least one of the liturgies depicted in the video is being celebrated ad orientem (Mass facing God in the Tabernacle) with a reverence never seen at the Monastery from which 'Pray, Tell' originates. The video has more than a half-a-million hits on youtube. Is it any wonder they've got so many new vocations, leaving the old liberals at Collegeville to remark with scorn that they don't believe they'll make it...
Now, it was hard to find videos about Collegeville, but there is this one which shows a Monk who is supposedly on restriction for molesting among others, a 9 year old child, stalking a victim.
Here they are, burying a credibly accused homosexual predator, Father Bruce Wolmering:
We'll just leave you with more scenes from Heilegenkreuz. A truly beautiful and Catholic place in the heart of old Europe. They've even got black, baroque vestments
What they're doing now, in lieu of making an authentic monastic witness, is attempting to explain away the success of other monasteries in attracting vocations by appeals to beautiful music and simplicity. Could it be the order and purity of this Cistercian community's monastic witness that we see, clearly, why young people are willing to sacrifice their lives? One of the posters tries to explain it this way, and it's the typical response:
Sociologically speaking, there is the issue of “critical mass” – both the Heiligenkreuz and Nashville religious have it. It allows them to attract members easily and isn’t necessarily tied to their ecclesial vision. Critical mass isn’t something American parishes or religious have figured out I think in terms of applying it to institutional management and planning.
Critical mass, no, it's authenticity. These men have a mission. As the following video shows, that's why anywhere you go in the world, from France, to Germanyand the United States that Religious Communities which have either restored or maintained authentic Monasticism are prospering and conversely while those who do not, are dying.
Just to illustrate this point, there are two videos. The one for one for Heilegenkreuz in the Vienna Wood in Austria, above the ancient battlefield where the Turks who were then menacing Europe were driven back in 1683, the monks are young, orderly, simple. The vestments worn are baroque and at least one of the liturgies depicted in the video is being celebrated ad orientem (Mass facing God in the Tabernacle) with a reverence never seen at the Monastery from which 'Pray, Tell' originates. The video has more than a half-a-million hits on youtube. Is it any wonder they've got so many new vocations, leaving the old liberals at Collegeville to remark with scorn that they don't believe they'll make it...
Now, it was hard to find videos about Collegeville, but there is this one which shows a Monk who is supposedly on restriction for molesting among others, a 9 year old child, stalking a victim.
Here they are, burying a credibly accused homosexual predator, Father Bruce Wolmering:
We'll just leave you with more scenes from Heilegenkreuz. A truly beautiful and Catholic place in the heart of old Europe. They've even got black, baroque vestments
Catholic Diocesan Employees Using Birth Control Will Be Termed in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wisconsin, August 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Diocese of Madison says they will abide by Wisconsin law requiring them to offer insurance coverage for artificial birth control – but they are making absolutely clear that they will fire any employee who willfully uses it in defiance of Catholic teaching against contraception.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the diocese, which is headed by Bishop Robert Morlino, made the decision after discovering that the financial costs to become self-insured were too high.
A new state provision that went into effect January 1 requires health insurance companies to include contraceptive services as a “mandated benefit.” Only self-insured groups are exempted, such as the La Crosse and Superior dioceses.
Link to read further at Lifesite...
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the diocese, which is headed by Bishop Robert Morlino, made the decision after discovering that the financial costs to become self-insured were too high.
A new state provision that went into effect January 1 requires health insurance companies to include contraceptive services as a “mandated benefit.” Only self-insured groups are exempted, such as the La Crosse and Superior dioceses.
Link to read further at Lifesite...
No Murderers as Co-Workers
Russia. [Kreuz.net] The Milk Bottler, 'Russia Moloko' wants its employees to be subject to a Moral Catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the future no mothers will be hired, who have murdered a chid. "We don't want to work with murderers" -- exclaimed the Chief of Russkoe Moloko, Wassili Boiko-Weliki, yesterday to radio 'Moscow Echo'. Consequently, employees will be dismissed, who are in a wild marriage or only recognized by the state and are found to be living together. By the middle of October such employees must be married in the Church.
Kreuz.net Reports...
Of course, the AP picked it up and here's the story by the Toronto Sun, you get a real sense that they are shell shocked by the story and don't exactly know how to respond to it, that a Plant Manager would fire one of his employees for having an abortion. That's a sacrament and a rite of passage in the modern west.
Kreuz.net Reports...
Of course, the AP picked it up and here's the story by the Toronto Sun, you get a real sense that they are shell shocked by the story and don't exactly know how to respond to it, that a Plant Manager would fire one of his employees for having an abortion. That's a sacrament and a rite of passage in the modern west.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Germany: SSPX Not a Significant Factor in Church Departures in 2009
Editor: In response to the author of the piece at kath.net, it can only be said that they should strive for accuracy in honest in this as they do in other things: The Traditionalists never left the Catholic Church, and it's Bishop Williamson who hasn't denied the Holocaust in Germany where it's a crime to speak one's mind. In any event, these figures for the Church are promising and show that the German people can, as many of them always have, think for themselves.
This should also put a bit of a stopper on those Austrian Statistics indicating 100,000 departures. You look at this, after lifting of excommunications, the German Church was still growing.
Germany: Church Departures Only Climbed Slightly in 2009
This should also put a bit of a stopper on those Austrian Statistics indicating 100,000 departures. You look at this, after lifting of excommunications, the German Church was still growing.
Germany: Church Departures Only Climbed Slightly in 2009
The numbers in departures are climbing only lightly despite the conflict concerning the SSPX: According to the Bishops' Conference, 123,681 Catholics left their Church; in the previous year (2008) there were 121.155.
Berlin (kath.net/KAP) The German Bishops' Conference have published the numbers of those leaving the Church for the year (2009). The numbers have climbed only lightly, despite the conflict with the SSPX: According to the Bishops' Conference 123,681 Catholics left their Church in the previous year; in that year (2008) there were 121,155. The number of Catholics are estimated at 24,9 Million, which is 30,5 % of the population.
The appearance of the debate about the readmission of the Traditionalists in the Catholic Church and the scandal surrounding Holocaust denier [Bishop] Richard Williamson has demonstrated hardly any measurable effect on the number of Catholics in Germany.
A small decline is shown in the number of baptisms: In 2008 there were still 185,600 people baptized, while there were around 179,000 in 2009. At the same time there were in 27 German Diocese 4,009 entrants in the Catholic Church and around 8,649 returning to the Church. In 2008 there were 4,388 entrances and 9546 returning to the Church.
According to the available "basic data of the Church's life" the number of regular Mass attendees sank from 13,4 to 13,0 percent. The number of secular priests was given at 13,158 while those in religious orders stands at 2,209. The orders in Germany were numbered at 4,609 Monks and 21,982 Religious Sisters and Nuns. Additionally, there are 1,906 men and women belonging to secular institutes.
Original, here...
Christians in North Korea, Three Executed
Seoul (AsiaNews) – North Korea’s Stalinist regime has discovered some underground Christians in a house church in Pyongan Province. All 23 who met to celebrate a religious function were arrested. Three were tried and given the death penalty, which was swiftly executed, sources told AsiaNews. Confirmation about the incident also came from the North Korea Intellectual Solidarity, a group of North Korean exiles.
According to the sources, the arrests and executions were carried out in mid-May. “At that time, right after the disastrous currency reform, police discovered 23 Christians in Kuwal-dong, Pyungsung County, in Pyongan Province, who met at an underground church. After their arrest, they were interrogated at length. Eventually, the group’s “ringleaders” were sentenced to death and executed. The others were sent to Kwan-li-so (Penal labour colony) No 15 in Yodŏk.”
These North Koreans discovered underground Christianity when some of them travelled to mainland China for work.
Read further, Asia News...
According to the sources, the arrests and executions were carried out in mid-May. “At that time, right after the disastrous currency reform, police discovered 23 Christians in Kuwal-dong, Pyungsung County, in Pyongan Province, who met at an underground church. After their arrest, they were interrogated at length. Eventually, the group’s “ringleaders” were sentenced to death and executed. The others were sent to Kwan-li-so (Penal labour colony) No 15 in Yodŏk.”
These North Koreans discovered underground Christianity when some of them travelled to mainland China for work.
Read further, Asia News...
Episcopalian Consecration at OLG Catholic Church Cancelled in Alaska
Archbishop Schwietz has moved Episcopalian "consecration" out of OLG Catholic Church, here.
Catholic Government: Mike Voris is not a Republican
Who knew? From looking at him, you might think he was Joe College Republican, but NO!
h/t: Ut Unum Sint
h/t: Ut Unum Sint
German Chicanery Against Catholics: The Kulturkampf Against Germany’s Catholics Continues
The Kulturkampf Against Germany’s Catholics Continues
We'd already talked about this a few months ago and as we predicted it then, the School (Realschule) owned by the Don Bosco Schulverein and the German Province of the SSPX will not be able to continue operating thanks to the flimsy pretexts of the German authorities.
The Society of Pius X is going to lose a dormitory to a harmless error in filing out a form. Anti-clerical hate for the Church from judges have an opportunity to grab hold by the tuft.
[kreuz.net, Saarbrücken] The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X must close their School in Saarbrücken because their dorm will finally be closed.
This is according to the news agency 'DPA'.
The owners of the Dorm, the School and a Grade School in Saarbrücken is the Dom Bosco Educuational Society of SSPX.
The Upper Court Authority in Saarland has an appeal against the Society which is against the appeal to dismiss the closing.
The judgement is not revocable.
The Church-Hate is what decides in National Socialist Germany
Already in April the Social Ministry of Saarland withdrew the permission of operation for the school.
The pretense: In the dormitory there were more children housed than what were approved in 2007.
The reason: The Society renovated the Dormitories since 2007 according to the prescriptions of the Youth Office. They did this in order to make more living space.
The completed rooms were used by the dormitory, however were not reported to the authorities.
Because of this form error it was made known in April, it was found that the Dormitory had concealed too many children.
The Society made an appeal against the closing. As has been shown today, in vain.
In May the judicial authorities decided, that the Dormitory may only be opened till the summer vacation.
The Pedophile-Odenwaldschule was still opened though
In the most recent judgement the upper court determined that the closing will take place immediately.
The anti-clerical court has swelled the laughable form mistake into a "systematic deception" of the number of dormitory spaces.
The school operators have "deprived the children of State control" and "illegally operated" the dormitory -- so went the escalating accusations of the Judge.
For that reason the court refused the proposal of the owners of the School.
It goes without saying that the Society of Pius X can not operate the School without the dormitory can't continue to maintain the School.
Original article, kreuz.net...
Monks Making Caskets Getting Sued by Government in Louisiana
by Tim Drake Thursday, August 12, 2010 6:39 AM
Can the government restrict the monks of St. Joseph's Abbey in Saint Benedict, La., from building boxes? Yes, says the state, if those boxes are for the deceased.In 2007, the monks at St. Joseph's Abbey started St. Joseph Woodworks for the purpose of building simple wooden caskets as a means of supporting themselves. Monks in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota have been in the casket-making business for years.Before they were able to sell even a single casket, the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors told them that their sale of caskets violated state law, which says that you cannot sell "funeral merchandise" unless you're a licensed funeral director. Were the monks to sell their caskets, they would risk both fines and imprisonment.
In order to sell caskets legally, the monks would have to apprentice at a licensed funeral home for a year, take a funeral industry test, and convert their monastery into a "funeral establishment," installing equipment for embalming."We are not a wealthy monastery, and we want to sell our plain wooden caskets to pay for food, health care, and the education of our monks, said Abbot Justin Brown.
This morning, the Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Justice is holding a press conference on the front steps of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on behalf of the monks. They are announcing a federal lawsuit to fight against the state funeral board's attempt to shut down their casket-making business.
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/state-goes-after-monks-for-the-sin-of-selling-caskets?utm_source=NCRegister.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5cabccafc8-RSS_DAILY_EMAIL#When:11:39:08Z
Can the government restrict the monks of St. Joseph's Abbey in Saint Benedict, La., from building boxes? Yes, says the state, if those boxes are for the deceased.In 2007, the monks at St. Joseph's Abbey started St. Joseph Woodworks for the purpose of building simple wooden caskets as a means of supporting themselves. Monks in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota have been in the casket-making business for years.Before they were able to sell even a single casket, the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors told them that their sale of caskets violated state law, which says that you cannot sell "funeral merchandise" unless you're a licensed funeral director. Were the monks to sell their caskets, they would risk both fines and imprisonment.
In order to sell caskets legally, the monks would have to apprentice at a licensed funeral home for a year, take a funeral industry test, and convert their monastery into a "funeral establishment," installing equipment for embalming."We are not a wealthy monastery, and we want to sell our plain wooden caskets to pay for food, health care, and the education of our monks, said Abbot Justin Brown.
This morning, the Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Justice is holding a press conference on the front steps of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on behalf of the monks. They are announcing a federal lawsuit to fight against the state funeral board's attempt to shut down their casket-making business.
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/state-goes-after-monks-for-the-sin-of-selling-caskets?utm_source=NCRegister.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5cabccafc8-RSS_DAILY_EMAIL#When:11:39:08Z
Uzbekistan Cracks down on Heretical Sects
OSLO, Norway (ABP) -- Authorities in Uzbekistan continue to repress worship in unregistered churches, according to a new report by an international news service that monitors religious freedom.
Police in the Mirzo-Ulugbek District of the capital province of Tashkent raided a group of Baptists from an unregistered church gathered at a home July 28 to celebrate the "spiritual birthday" of a member of the congregation, Norwegian-based Forum 18 reported Aug. 5.
Twenty-three people -- some of them young children -- were taken to district police headquarters and detained. Ten were released the following evening, nearly 24 hours after the 9 p.m. raid.
Read further...
Police in the Mirzo-Ulugbek District of the capital province of Tashkent raided a group of Baptists from an unregistered church gathered at a home July 28 to celebrate the "spiritual birthday" of a member of the congregation, Norwegian-based Forum 18 reported Aug. 5.
Twenty-three people -- some of them young children -- were taken to district police headquarters and detained. Ten were released the following evening, nearly 24 hours after the 9 p.m. raid.
Read further...
Students Oppose Appointment of Moral Philosopher
Students at St Andrews University have voiced concern over the academic appointment of a high- profile British philosopher.
Professor Roger Scruton has been named quarter-time professorial fellow in moral philosophy and is due to take up his new role at St Andrews in the spring.
But the decision has been criticised by the students’ association who claim his views on homosexuality could create an “uncomfortable” atmosphere for gay students.
Read further...
Professor Roger Scruton has been named quarter-time professorial fellow in moral philosophy and is due to take up his new role at St Andrews in the spring.
But the decision has been criticised by the students’ association who claim his views on homosexuality could create an “uncomfortable” atmosphere for gay students.
Read further...
ACLU Paladin Jeff Anderson Vows to Continue His Dark Crusade Against the Church
Jeff Anderson says this isn't for the faint of heart. He's intent on continuing his own quest for whatever it is he's questing for, in his office, replete with ecclesiastical furniture, and shrines to civil rights battles of the past, and it seems to be clear that he's intent upon winning another one.
The ACLU member and Democratic Party supporter is not deterred by the recent collapse of the Kentucky case. There are dark and powerful forces on his side which have collaborated with those powers within the Church, to destroy the Church.
Ultimately, this isn't about justice for the boys who were preyed on by cruising homosexuals, this is about destroying the Church, disolving what remains of its steadfast and intransigent moral claims, as Jeff Anderson reveals his hand, it should become clear when he says:
The ACLU member and Democratic Party supporter is not deterred by the recent collapse of the Kentucky case. There are dark and powerful forces on his side which have collaborated with those powers within the Church, to destroy the Church.
Ultimately, this isn't about justice for the boys who were preyed on by cruising homosexuals, this is about destroying the Church, disolving what remains of its steadfast and intransigent moral claims, as Jeff Anderson reveals his hand, it should become clear when he says:
For decades the strange practice of treating the Catholic Church as a state has been bad for women's equality, gay rights and reproductive freedom. The Holy See's fictive statehood allows it to promote its retrograde views on gender and sex in diplomatic settings and during treaty negotiations.
Now, the unfolding sexual abuse scandal reveals another dark side of the Holy See's claim to statehood: the extraordinary immunities claimed by the pope in the face of conspiracy accusations that span the globe.
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