Michigan Catholic

2007-07-29T16:38:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted to this blog in a bit. I've got two now! With Blogger it is much more difficult to link videos and other content than in some other formats. However, I intend to keep both and link them together in some way. This one is good for local news, some pictures and text.

For the other blog, which has video content, go to:
http://swmichigancatholic.stblogs.com/

2007-03-22T21:06:00.000-04:00

Attention! Traditional Mass Workshop For Priests!

Una Voce is offering a workshop for priests who want to learn to say the Traditional Latin Mass in union with the Church!

For more information, here is the link.

2007-03-06T22:22:00.000-05:00

Announced by the Holy See today---The long-awaited Apostolic Exhortation will be released next Tuesday, March 13th, about noon, Rome time. This means about 6AM our time.

From the Vatican website:

"PRESENTATION OF POST-SYNODAL DOCUMENT ON THE EUCHARIST VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2007 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 13, the presentation will take place of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis" on the Eucharist, source and summit of the life and mission of the Church. Participating in the press conference will be Cardinal Angelo Scola, patriarch of Venice, Italy, relator general of the 11th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which was held in October 2005, and Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops.OP/APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION/...VIS 070306 (100)"

This document has been expected for some time but was delayed because of the death of Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory. It's expected to contain some instructions on the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

It is not known at this time whether the much-mentioned Motu Proprio concerning freedom for the Missal of Paul V will be included in this document or will follow by some interval.

We are also waiting for the new translations of the Mass, but they are yet a bit down the road--1 to 2 years.

Incidentally, I have been informed that under the old calendar, March 13th was the feast day of St. Benedict. I don't think this is a coincidence.

2007-02-24T11:13:00.000-05:00

CD players in Church

Generally the first response to something like this is to invoke moral and social standards and then to yell "hate crime," a term which I detest. It's McLanguage, missing 90% of the content but capturing lots of attention--the intent of those who use it, I'm convinced.

What's really going on is much more complex. The culture in the US and most of Europe is post-Christian--has been for quite a while, but more openly now. Only the vestiges remain with many, maybe most, people. Enter the Christmas Catholic and the Ash Wednesday/Palm Sunday phenomenon; enter the political candidate who is nominally Christian but attempting to use it as a party platform while mis-quoting scripture and endorsing abortions.

Over and above all the grousing, the genuine response of Christians (and there are some remaining), the response thought about privately, is to wonder what, indeed if anything, delineates the boundaries of Christianity in this post-Christian world. We want to reach out, we have been told we must, but it's strange to be used, charicatured and abused. Where is the "line of intrusion?" Is there one? What is complicity and when does it exist?

The Churches, in their grand tradition which spans centuries, have been public buildings free for all to enter as long as anyone can remember. It's part of the Christian way, and has been for a great long time, to admit all comers. But then, all comers were steeped in the regard for the faith, and for social values such as peace and respect and they were willing to abide by (at least) cultural behaviors in the Church. This same dynamic was shown in the public forum--in matters of communication, social discourse, politics, family and so on. It's what everyone has been used to. It's what we expect as a people. But, as you can see in this news story and the lack of response socially, there is a period of erosion now. And it can be remarked, it's everywhere now, not just in this story. This is just a particularly blatant instance of something often seen. Many Christians believe that the situation is "broken" but often are not able to tell "broken" in exactly what way or how long this has been going on; many non-Christians are mildy interested or mildly disapprove the rudeness; some non-Christians approve intrusions like this, especially if they have impressions of being intruded upon themselves (or told what to do) and are seeking revenge, of a sort.

To really understand what has happened, it's necessary to look 2000 years to the birth of the Church. In the first centuries after the Resurrection, Christianity was illegal in many places, including Rome and its colonies, where one could be punished with death for being a Christian. This only made the Church grow, for the "blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church," as is often written. One must remember that pre-Christian Europe was a place of murder for sport, slavery, constant warfare and much hardship. Women, children, foreigners and others of low position were chattel. Pagan societies, then as now, tend to be run by the powerful at the expense of the less powerful, for obvious reasons. What compelling reason do they have to be otherwise? In such an atmosphere, a religion of rationality, peace and justice, with a strong emphasis on love as relationship to God and others, flourished. However, needless to say, our places of worship were not open to all comers without a good long look at who they were and what they were about. It was simply too dangerous. Old commentaries on the morality of "martyrdom" in various circumstances of volition exist to attest to these decisions, made on the part of the Christian community of Rome. And Christ himself who was martyred (although that is not the only significance of the cross) is our model, of course. Very old customs about house churches, burial practices and escorting catechumens out before the Eucharist date from this period.

Then came the legalization of Christianity and its miraculous spread throughout the world, but primarily in the fertile conversion fields of Europe. Christianity took hold in Europe and revolutionized the cultures and paradigms of Britian, Gaul and the Northern tribal lands, laying the foundations for social, political growth and material growth that has continued up to the present. The origins of Western government--the foundational pieces--were laid by the first Christian kings of Gaul, Britain, Spain and the Germanic lands and later elaborated under Christian rule. The foundations of science and art, which are now posited to be so inimical to faith, were laid in the most religious of ages, the 12th & 13th centuries! Even the limits of faith, invoked by many pragmatists and agnostics in this age, were formally written down by an errant Franciscan friar of the 12th century, William of Ockam, who found himself in a peck of trouble for using them rebelliously. (There truly is nothing new under the sun.) The phenomena brought about by these changes were so dynamic and wide-stretching that many people have forgotten their origin and have attributed these advances to themselves and perhaps to their own genetic stock or tribal culture--a horrendous mistake, one still being made by individuals and organizations (the UN, for one).

Parallel to all this, the Church grew and developed. Due to the legalization of Christianity, its widespread adoption by those seeking to initiate or restore order in Europe, and its essential character which held deep within it the seeds of truth which could drive development such as the world had never seen, it assumed a central position in culture. On top of the houses of martyrs, great public buildings--churches and basilicas--were taken over, decorated and built, first in Rome and the holy land, and then throughout the western world, and finally to the non-western world. The Church transformed from a sect in Rome and a few scattered colonies--tiny communities hiding their worship by necessity--into a public forum all were free to enter. Indeed, the oldest public churches are remodeled markets (ancient basilicas were a type of public building for shopping and public works) with doors open wide onto public squares. The essential questions around public and private worship, which had always been studied, were developed and probed. The face of the church in the public forum was developed. Out of this discipline has come the modern face of the Vatican in public affairs, and the notion of Christian citizenship and responsibility, as well as the public status of Churches in general community life of which we are all familiar, particularly in the west.

In the 16th century, the Protestant reformation attempted to strip away centuries of development (and some decadence) to return to the origins, but the question was how does one take the Church without taking the Church. Protestants still struggle with this dynamic, when they are serious about history. The extent to which the reformation, and the ensuing anti-reformation, damaged the Church we will never know. However, the trajectory of development did change in a noticeable way, for better or ill. Protestantism did tend to privatize theology while publicizing evangelization and has gone offline politically to some degree.

400 years later--now--in the west, we have undergone a breakdown in culture of which most people are aware. There are many ideas about how long it has lasted and what has caused it, but even though many people are complicit in it and some even revel in it, few will dispute that it has happened. There are a wide variety of attitudes toward it, from "ho-hum" to genuine alarm. However, most people have fallen prey to regarding the advances of culture as social phenomena without religious origin and so they are confused. In the most blatant situations, modern westerners simply can't understand why others "can't behave," not realizing what they have unconsciously "breathed" that others have not. Christians are confused as well, because even though some (but only some) are aware of the larger situation of the place of the Church in culture, they don't know how to handle the ancient issues surrounding the place of the Church in the world, and they don't know how to interact with those around them.

I am convinced that this situation of confusion stretches all the way to the top of the Church, in various degrees of depth and in various ways of exerting itself. We have never come to terms with some of these issues, it seems. Vatican II was implicitly about this struggle and added much smoke to the situation but not much light. Pope Paul VI's fears and posturings dealt most largely with these problems of the Church in the world but did little good. In fact, many believe they did much damage (ie Humanae Vitae). Perhaps, all this is part of the Christian struggle and we will never solve these problems. History says this is a real possibility seeing as how Christianity is as much about liberty of the individual soul as about peace and justice.

Confusion abounds, and what we currently have is a situation with the Church reaching out to the world, sometimes overreaching to the point of showing her knickers, while the world attributes her advances to some special "foo-foo dust" that they have concocted in a manner they know not how to duplicate, while staring in mixed consternation and amusement at Youtube and Ebay, simultaneously trying to avoid talk about impending clashes. We have division across the hierarchy and indeed, it's even as if we don't know how to start the discussion of what is wrong. Pope Benedict XVI is more certain of what is wrong, I believe, but he's not really being heard and he's not really saying so much.

Meanwhile, paganism in all its softer forms comes upon us. It is worthwhile to remember that paganism is a cruel mistress for all who are prey to her because of their lack of belief. She looks like a seductress but she has fangs which will appear soon enough. Every Christian with a sense of history knows that.

2007-02-24T10:52:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I've posted. What's happened?

a blizzard, no kidding, and lots of informal wondering about the weather these days
lots of work (new position, same job), but only a little knitting & far too little personal reading
a sore tooth
a bit of news from Rome, but no Motu Proprio or Apostolic Exhortation
not much in the diocese of Kalamazoo

Speaking of the Motu Proprio, there is a Latin Mass at St. Mary's in Paw Paw on the third Sunday of each month at 1PM (Ecclesia Dei). I went last week. It's pretty, but also very sad. Sad because it's been polarized too, just like the new Mass but in an opposite direction (although thankfully, in a more subtle way). Oh, when are we going to stop this nonsense and get on with worshipping God?

Updates:

Motu Proprio news => fastest clearest updates: Fr. Zuhlsdorf in Rome and Rorate Coeli

Apostolic Exhortation news => CWN **Said to be "imminent"**

Department of Legislative Texts in Rome Overhauled => EWTN

Very Recent Interview with Archbishop Malcom Ranjith, Secretary for the Congregation for Divine Worship, on Liturgy => Inside the Vatican

Church Sign Funnies => Kansas City Catholic (Follow the links at the bottom. There's more!)

Helps to Keep Your Sense of Humor Dept => Conversi Ad Dominum

Beautiful Basilicas => WDTPRS (Fr. Zuhlsdorf), Rome of the West (St. Louis)

ACK! In my absence, Google ATE Blogger! I have to update. I have no choice. On the other hand, it does update faster......

2007-02-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

But I don't want to go to New Blogger. Old Blogger is bad enough! :/

2006-12-05T08:34:00.000-05:00

Christmas Meme

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Both, but not together. Rum helps.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrap them, wait a minute, I’m Santa around here!
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored, blinking, not too many.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. I’m not sneakin’ up on anybody. Sorry.
5. When do you put your decorations up? About the 10th.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Turkey, stuffing, gravy…..yum.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Going to my grandma’s.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? At about 7, the sheer improbability of the whole thing just snowballed.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? You mean a material gift, like a present? Nope.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Quickly.
11. Snow? Love it or Dread it? Dread it. Hate driving in it.
12. Can you ice skate? Yeah, but I can’t stop and I can’t turn, so it’s sort of a self-limiting deal. Don’t stand too close--you could get hurt.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Yes, Christ, the best Christmas gift ever.
14. What's the most exciting thing about the Holidays for you? Seeing my grandkids discover it.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Chocolate. Of course. Any way, shape or form. Absolutely.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Midnight Mass, no question. It’s the centerpiece of Christmas for me.
17. What tops your tree? An angel in white with sparkles.
18. Which do you prefer - giving or receiving? Both.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming, but only when it's sung by a choir who knows what they're doing. Ergo, not in church.
20. Candy canes? Not at all. Those are decorations, my dear. I don’t eat decorations.

If you read this, TAG YOU'RE IT!

2006-12-03T22:29:00.000-05:00

The Pope visits Washington and President Bush takes him for a ride down the Potomac on the presidential yacht. They're enjoying themselves when a gust of wind blows the Pope's hat (zucchetto) off and out onto the water. The Secret Service begins to launch a boat but Bush waves them off saying, "Wait. I'll take care of this."Bush steps off the yacht onto the surface of the water, walks out a ways and picks up the hat. Back on board, he hands the hat to the Pope amid stunned silence.The next morning the Washington Post carries the story complete with photos under the heading BUSH CAN'T SWIM.

Blogger credit to Happy Catholic.

2006-12-02T12:52:00.000-05:00

I've changed my "home page"--you know, that page first seen when entering the web? I've faithfully used Yahoo for 11 years. Yes, ELEVEN, ever since I first emerged online in 1995. But I've just had it.

First Yahoo starts putting all manner of jiggling, wiggling things on that page so it loads slowly. Then when I go online today, front and center, there's a photo of what can only be a "gender mistake." Like a guy in a dress with bad hair. Ack. I'm not all about it. So now I'm at Google and lovin' it.

2006-12-02T11:52:00.000-05:00

Occasionally I use the back page of my blog as a mirror site for eyewitness reports and the like, sort of like a citizen news action. I think that the internet enables citizens to provide a powerful way to "get the news out" when the national media has one of their oh-too-PC-idiot attacks. Keeps the files from conveniently *disappearing* like they used to. So here goes, with a mirror of a file at Pajamas Media:

Alternate Site

Blogger will not let me upload the .pdf police report file. Please search for it on the net or go to Pajamas Media for the original if you can get in. Right now their server is overloaded and it can take a long time to get in.

On the same issue.

2006-11-26T11:52:00.000-05:00

Over at "Off the Record," an enlightening article about one of the chief translators of the Mass into English in 1969. Check out the link too.

Also, a little poking around leads to this saga. Weird, no?

2006-11-23T00:45:00.000-05:00

"Permission for the US bishops to extend the practice of allowing extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to purify sacred vessels after Mass has been officially denied by the Holy See, so that the practice of the Church in the United States is to conform to the general law of the Latin Church......

When the indult expired in March 2005, the USCCB requested an extension; however, at that time Pope John Paul II was near death, and the election of Pope Benedict XVI took place less than a month later, and no action was taken on the expired indult. In March, the USCCB repeated the request.
Cardinal Arinze’s letter explained that he had consulted the Holy Father in June, and that the request was denied."

See Adoremus for more detail and some definitions.

2006-11-19T17:09:00.000-05:00

Changes, Changes, Changes--But Good Ones Now!
(photo taken at the Jesu in Rome, November, 2006--credit to Fr. John Zuhlsdorf)

Rediscovered--the ICEL text of the new translation of the Mass. It had appeared on a website in Australia ever so briefly in 2004. Here it is again in another locality.

There have been some minor changes, I am told. Since this was first printed to the Net, it's been approved in England, Canada and requests for exceptions to it have been sent from the USA to Rome, as usual for some problem child members of the USCCB who are always looking for exceptions. :p

Also there has been one late breaking change which can be reported: the use of "for many" instead of "for all" as a translation for "pro multis." See the following news items on this.

The USCCB, and by extension your bishop, have received the following from Cdl Arinze at the Congregation for Worship and the Sacraments:

[To their Eminences /Excellencies, Presidents of the National Episcopal Conferences]
CONGREGATIO DE CULTU DIVINO ET DISCIPLINA SACRAMENTORUM

Prot. n. 467/05/L

Rome, 17 October 2006

Your Eminence / Your Excellency,

In July 2005 this Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, by agreement with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote to all Presidents of Conferences of Bishops to ask their considered opinion regarding the translation into the various vernaculars of the expression pro multis in the formula for the consecration of the Precious Blood during the celebration of Holy Mass (ref. Prot. n. 467/05/L of 9 July 2005).

The replies received from the Bishops’ Conferences were studied by the two Congregations and a report was made to the Holy Father. At his direction, this Congregation now writes to Your Eminence / Your Excellency in the following terms:

1. A text corresponding to the words pro multis, handed down by the Church, constitutes the formula that has been in use in the Roman Rite in Latin from the earliest centuries. In the past 30 years or so, some approved vernacular texts have carried the interpretive translation “for all”, “per tutti”, or equivalents.

2. There is no doubt whatsoever regarding the validity of Masses celebrated with the use of a duly approved formula containing a formula equivalent to “for all”, as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has already declared (cf. Sacra Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei, Declaratio de sensu tribuendo adprobationi versionum formularum sacramentalium, 25 Ianuarii 1974, AAS 66 [1974], 661). Indeed, the formula “for all” would undoubtedly correspond to a correct interpretation of the Lord’s intention expressed in the text. It is a dogma of faith that Christ died on the Cross for all men and women (cf. John 11:52; 2 Corinthians 5,14-15; Titus 2,11; 1 John 2,2).

3. There are, however, many arguments in favour of a more precise rendering of the traditional formula pro multis:
a. The Synoptic Gospels (Mt 26,28; Mk 14,24) make specific reference to “many” ([Greek word transliterated as polloin])) for whom the Lord is offering the Sacrifice, and this wording has been emphasized by some biblical scholars in connection with the words of the prophet Isaiah (53, 11-12). It would have been entirely possible in the Gospel texts to have said “for all” (for example, cf. Luke 12,41); instead, the formula given in the institution narrative is “for many”, and the words have been faithfully translated thus in most modern biblical versions. b. The Roman Rite in Latin has always said pro multis and never pro omnibus in the consecration of the chalice. c. The anaphoras of the various Oriental Rites, whether in Greek, Syriac, Armenian, the Slavic languages, etc., contain the verbal equivalent of the Latin pro multis in their respective languages. d. “For many” is a faithful translation of pro multis, whereas “for all” is rather an explanation of the sort that belongs properly to catechesis. e. The expression “for many”, while remaining open to the inclusion of each human person, is reflective also of the fact that this salvation is not brought about in some mechanistic way, without one’s willing or participation; rather, the believer is invited to accept in faith the gift that is being offered and to receive the supernatural life that is given to those who participate in this mystery, living it out in their lives as well so as to be numbered among the “many” to whom the text refers. f. In line with the Instruction Liturgiam authenticam, effort should be made to be more faithful to the Latin texts in the typical editions.

4. The Bishops’ Conferences of those countries where the formula “for all” or its equivalent is currently in use are therefore requested to undertake the necessary catechesis of the faithful on this matter in the next one or two years to prepare them for the introduction of a precise vernacular translation of the formula pro multis (e.g, “for many”, “per molti”, etc.) in the next translation of the Roman Missal that the Bishops and the Holy See will approve for use in their country.

With the expression of my high esteem and respect, I remain, Your Eminence/Your Excellency,
Devotedly Yours in Christ,

Francis Card. Arinze
Prefect

2006-11-12T00:56:00.000-05:00

Pray the rosary with Cardinal Rigali online.

2006-11-09T18:57:00.000-05:00

U-tube or You-tube?
Here's the storey, oops, story.

2006-11-09T18:40:00.000-05:00

Bravo for Bishop Morlino!

Being aware that there are some dissident clergy in his diocese, he required that they deliver a taped message regarding the sinfulness of same-sex relationships to their congregations the Sunday before the elections.

See an article here.

You might remember that Bishop Morlino is originally from Kalamazoo diocese. We are very proud of his fidelity to Catholic teaching and his superior sense of responsibility to the Gospel.

2006-11-09T17:29:00.000-05:00

The diocese of Orange in California finally gets a point from me. Why? For truth in advertising, of all things. See the cartoon for an explanation.

Orange County Diocese is where this video was made (Corpus Christi Parish).

This is also the diocese of St. Mary by the Sea, where it is supposedly (according to the pastor) a mortal sin to kneel in Church. Yeah, you read it right. Look here.

Instead of this:

We should see this:

2006-11-05T13:55:00.000-05:00

American Nuns’ Group Voter’s Guide Favours Abortion, Homosexuality
NCAN is the name of the American Nuns' group. It is NOT recognized by the Catholic Church as a legitimate organization. It is in constant dissident difficulty and there have been multiple calls by this group to encourage laypeople to defy Church teaching. Below are a few of the many links online to articles about this organization.

here
here (catch the links at the bottom !?)
here
and here

And there's lots more online. Use a search engine and get an eyeful.

You'll find them hooked up with CTA, New Ways Ministry (condemned by the Vatican), the Women's Ordination Coalition, and all kinds of other dissent organizations. The associations overlap and change names intentionally to deceive. We have suffered at the hands of these people for a long time now.

The funniest organizational hookup I've found yet is that in Michigan, CTA and VOTF have joint meetings--same time, same place, same people, same refreshments. I kid you not. They're the same organization in Michigan. This mess is actually small but very powerful. They know a lot of people, are deeply entrenched and make a lot of noise--much of it duplicated over multiple storefronts--multiple associations which are the same thing but make the clatter they're trying to advance look bigger. It's the "blowsnake principle."

They give us a bad name. Most Catholics are good moral people and we're not this crazy as a group, frankly.

For a partial list of dissenting organizations, published in the interest of clarity, go here.

2006-11-05T00:21:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday, All Saint's Day, the most amazing thing happened at the parish I attend.

The parish I'm going to tell you a bit about is, in most ways, a fairly normal Novus Ordo parish. It's in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, a small diocese in southern Michigan. All Saint's Day, as you remember, was on Wednesday. Mass was at 7PM and about 100 or so of the sort of practicing Catholic that shows up at midweek holyday masses (probably on the way home from work) were present. Not the uninvested in the Church, you understand.

Absent were the usual "music ministry" folks. A few familiar hymns had been picked out and we were to sing them plus the service music--the music common to all masses. We started out quietly--a bit weak and wobbly--but that's usual when we're by ourselves like that. Anyway, we got to the Holy, Holy, and then it happened.

We wobbled about 2 bars out and got stuck. And again. Then we started and veered off into some other similar-sounding song a couple of times. And then we just stood and stared at Father--for several minutes. It was stunning. We had simply forgotten--all 100 of us!

The priest, a well-educated and kind man from Poland, simply sang gently and clearly the "Sanctus, Sanctus" in Latin, which some of us remembered then, but could not sing all the way through. It was poignant because we had forgotten everything but this.

At the end of Mass, Father was heard to say sadly to a few people how much Latin was needed to prevent these kinds of things.

The problem is that:
a) There are so many versions of the service music in English, most of them attempts to be trendy, that there is no one we can all remember at once. (In fact, the newest versions are also very dependent on upbeat piano playing--ala jazz lounge at the bowling alley, etc.)
b) The service music has been dumbed down so badly we can't tell it from other tunes and therefore we got totally sidetracked and couldn't pick out the right tune. And without the tune, we couldn't even resurrect the words.
c) The usual treatment when the "music ministry" is around is so loud, aggressive and obnoxious that it overpowers us. We don't sing for the most part because we don't have to. Mind you, the scorn of the "music ministry" folks over our "non-performance" gives us no incentive to sing. It only makes the whole thing worse.

So what we have is earnest Catholic laypeople who can't seem to remember how to sing the mass. Sad, isn't it?

This is where the mistake was made 40 years ago. It was then supposed that if the differences between the behavior of the secular world and the Church were erased that the Church would prevail over the secular world. However, so many people were confused that the opposite has nearly happened. It's time to revive the Latin and also time to institute some reverent and familiar non-trendy music that people can remember whenever they need it. That music should be known by heart and embedded deep in the soul--one version, one set of words, in our very bones. It is our heritage and our right.

2006-10-23T21:34:00.000-04:00

Still more rumors about the Latin Mass. We'll see.

Patience is the province of the traditional. It goes with the territory. We'll get to a better translation AND it will have lots of Latin in it--mark my words.

2006-06-18T12:48:00.000-04:00

I collect books, among them old liturgical books. It's a longstanding hobby. I have a whole series which spans from before Vatican II, through the changes and into contemporary years. The changes were remarkable. I think one has to see the books side by side to realize just how deeply the alterations Catholics endured were.

Have you ever seen an older translation of the Latin (linguistic, not ideological) beside the current missal? I don't think many younger people have......

Here's a copy of the Latin mass with English translation. You know the contemporary one. Compare.

2006-06-18T12:20:00.000-04:00

The blogosphere is buzzing with details of the alterations voted upon by the USCCB before sending the translation off to Rome. It must be remembered that the Holy See can do what it needs to do with these alterations. We wait to see what will happen. I'm very interested in this so I will be updating with those as they slowly roll out......

Meantime, here's the text of Cdl Arinze's letter to Bishop Skylstad, originally published by Diogenes, (CWN ) and moving around the internet:

2 May 2006

The Most Reverend William Skylstad
Bishop of Spokane
President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Prot. n. 499/06/L

Your Excellency,

With reference to the conversation between yourself, the Vice President and General Secretary of the Conference of Bishops of which you are President, together with me and other Superiors and Officials when you kindly visited our Congregation on 27 April 2006, I wish to recall the following:

The Instruction Liturgiam authenticam is the latest document of the Holy See which guides translations from the original-language liturgical texts into the various modern languages in the Latin Church. Both this Congregation and the Bishops’ Conferences are bound to follow its directives. This Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is therefore not competent to grant the recognitio for translations that do not conform to the directives of Liturgiam authenticam. If, however, there are difficulties regarding the translation of a particular part of a text, then this Congregation is always open to dialogue in view of some mutually agreeable solution, still keeping in mind, however, that Liturgiam authenticam remains the guiding norm.

The attention of your Bishops’ Conference was also recalled to the fact that Liturgiam authenticam was issued at the directive of the Holy Father at the time, Pope John Paul II, to guide new translations as well as the revision of all translations done in the last forty years, to bring them into greater fidelity to the original-language official liturgical texts. For this reason it is not acceptable to maintain that people have become accustomed to a certain translation for the past thirty or forty years, and therefore that it is pastorally advisable to make no changes. Where there are good and strong reasons for a change, as has been determined by this Dicastery in regard to the entire translation of the Missale Romanum as well as other important texts, then the revised text should make the needed changes. The attitudes of Bishops and Priests will certainly influence the acceptance of the texts by the lay faithful as well.

Requesting Your Excellency to share these reflections with the Bishops of your Conference I assure you of the continued collaboration of this Congregation and express my religious esteem,

Devotedly yours in Christ,

+Francis Card. Arinze

Prefect, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

I think the Holy See is tired of messing around. ;)

2006-06-18T12:19:00.000-04:00

Check out the Address to the USCCB by the Right Reverend Arthur RocheBishop of LeedsChairman of ICEL on June 15, 2006

It's filled with information about the stance the Holy See is now taking on translation....

Examples......
I noticed that in the early stages of our consultation on the Order of Mass, voices were raised in the South objecting to the use of ‘you all’ in the priest’s greeting because of the way in which those words are used in the South. Later, this objection was not heard, presumably because one linguistic area cannot determine the language of the whole country: ‘you all’ is not used in American Standard English as it is used in the South and, as far as I am aware, nobody suggested that the South should have its own separate Missal.

And principles....
"Dynamic equivalence has become an outmoded idea...." (with examples)

A wonderfully refreshing read for those who care about the liturgy.

2006-06-15T22:09:00.000-04:00

USCCB Votes to Adopt the New Translation of the Mass...

It's being reported by AP and the New York Times online tonight that the USCCB has voted to accept the new English translations of the Mass. They have already been accepted by several other English speaking countries including Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.

They also voted to send 60 adaptations on to Rome, which Rome may allow or not, depending on their discretion.

Both sets of items must receive the recognitio in Rome before they can be used here in the US. The Mass will; some or all of the adaptations may not. We will see.

On a private note, I will be so glad to get rid of "and also with you." Every time I hear it, I remember the first time I ever saw Star Wars. At the line, "The force be with you," about 1/2 the audience there in the dark said, "And also with you" pretty much automatically, followed by chortled giggling all around. The other 1/2 of the audience had no idea what had just happened.........

Seriously, who in their right mind could ever think that "Et cum spiritu tuo," would translate as "And also with you?"

2006-06-07T13:51:00.000-04:00

Recently I saw a group photo of the clergy of the Kalamazoo, and Fr. Werra was in it. As an update, here's the news item of the final disposition of the difficulty over at St. John Bosco.

Priest sentenced for embezzling money from local churches

I hate to publish these sorts of things, but it is necessary for the laity to keep track of these things as a sort of solicitious preventative. It cannot be allowed to happen again.

2006-04-13T15:37:00.000-04:00

It is the afternoon of Holy Thursday here. There has been no word from Rome on the Mass. But it will come, in its own good time.

Meanwhile, we turn to the matter at hand--The Triduum! And tomorrow is Good Friday!

Actually, Good Friday is all about the transcendence of Christ over the evils of this world. I have heard a great many people explain this in my life but it took a very long time for me to understand it. (Hey, I told you I was now Catholic. I didn't tell you I was a fast-learner. I'm not, especially on the topic of religion.) But now I finally understand.

If Christ had not lived, if God didn't exist, if Good Friday had not occurred, the evil in my life, both from within me and around me would have destroyed me, everything and everyone around me, long ago. I have seen evil and I am no stranger to its power. There is objective destruction in this world and it's not an inconvenience or a fanciful tale. I can name it in a half dozen everyday ways that sear my soul and mind every morning that I live: my failings, memories, battles, fears, realizations are infested with it.

I disavow evil because I know it for evil, and yet, I am unwittingly enmeshed in its snares in every aspect of my life because I am human in this imperfect world and unable to rid myself of its wiles. I struggle to stay free.

How can I believe that I can stay free when I am so entangled? It is because God has taken the burden upon himself that the world can exist and that I might live. He has done the work that I cannot do, out of love for me. And you. And everyone he created who will accept his help. So I accept his help. I allow him to take the burden because he can and he will gladly. He accepted the consequences--did the heavy work so that I might be free. He even did it in a way that I could point to and remember--a graphic and disastrous way so that I would never forget, never feel as though completely alone in my distress because I am never alone.

As long as I cling to Christ who carries my burden, though evil may be all around me and even touch me, I need never succumb to it. So the day evil appears to rule is only one day in all of eternity, a day of appearances, a day of debts paid, a day that breaks my heart but saves my soul. This is the meaning of Good Friday.

Three days hence, by biblical reckoning, will be the day of new life--Easter. Easter which we celebrate every Sunday, Easter which is the prefigure of eternity, Easter which is the simulaneous reality of the defeat of evil and the loving power of God.

I can't wait. ;)

2006-04-09T12:56:00.000-04:00

From Inside the Vatican:

Prominent Historian Urges Church: "Speak the Truth in a Time of Evil"

2006-04-09T01:08:00.000-04:00

Code: ZE06040709
Date: 2006-04-07

French Bishops Open to Lefebvre's Followers
Will Do "Everything Possible" to Achieve Full Communion

LOURDES, France, APRIL 7, 2006 (ZENIT.org).- The bishops of France expressed their willingness to receive Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's followers, once they are reconciled with the Holy See.

In a note issued today, at the end of their four-day plenary assembly, members of the French episcopal conference said: "We know that Benedict XVI is concerned about" relations with the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Lefebvre.

"In the forthcoming weeks or months, he should give directives to facilitate the way towards a possible return to full communion," they said......

Read the rest: Zenit

Meanwhile, no denials of the document rumors.......

2006-04-08T10:15:00.000-04:00

Big Rumors for the Liturgy!

For the last several years, and intensifying in the last couple of months, there have been high level meetings at the Vatican on the possibility of allowing a more reverent form of mass, particularly the Rite of Pius V, the Tridentine. We may be seeing a moto proprio concerning changes in the current status of the Mass emerge soon! It is rumored that since the Easter letter to priests is not being published this year, that this moto proprio will be published instead.

See these sites for more details:

Catholic News Agency
Archivum Liturgicum (Italian)
ACI Prensa (Spanish)
The New Liturgical Movement

There is a lot of information out there, which I will not duplicate here, but I will only say that removing the Ecclesia Dei indult to allow the free use of the Tridentine would solve a lot of problems about which Benedict XVI is concerned.
1. Forms of mass which are reverent, beautiful and doctrinally intact are to be preferred over those which are inferior in those regards.
2. We have had far too much polarization around this issue and it is about time the Church recognized her own tradition. Western culture is engaged in an orgy of self-denunciation and self-destruction; the Church should not be involved in that. This is a rite greater than 200 years old and as such, is protected against abrogation by canon law. There is no reason it cannot be celebrated alongside the other forms of legitimate liturgy--the Divine Liturgy of St. John Crysostum and so on.
3. Liberation of the rite of Pius V would help to make the return of many people to the church start to be possible. Approximately half of the practicing Catholics in France are traditionalists who seek out the Tridentine rather than the French vernacular mass. The issue is huge in Europe.
4. Liturgy in Latin internationalizes the Mass, making it comprehensible and easily employed anywhere in the world, even in mission areas with rare languages.

Three cheers for Pope Benedict XVI!!!
And three for Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos!!!

2006-03-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

15 new cardinals this weekend. Great coverage at:
Roaming Roman
Zadok the Roman

News includes details about the preparation, the Mass itself and the receptions but also the conclave that will occur afterwards where it is expected that four big topics will be discussed:

2006-03-20T15:44:00.000-05:00

Just reprinted: Interview with Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the famous exorcist.
This interview originally appeared in 30 Giorni, the Italian magazine of Church and Public Affairs.

2006-03-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

It’s Sunset Boulevard for the Cardinal Secretary of State

And the curial shakeup in Rome has begun, as reported by CWN.

Blogger credit to Domenico Bettinelli at Bettnet.

2006-01-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

For an account of the current sentiments in Rome, see the Chiesa Online article: Vatican Storylines: Those Who Are Resisting Benedict XVI

See the other recent articles Here

2006-01-29T22:41:00.000-05:00

I just realized that next Friday is the feast of St. Blase, one of my favorite feast days! I ask you: How many people can say that? Anyway, it's the 21st anniversary of my first Holy Communion and there is a special significance with several other events also. =) How about that? I hope throats are blessed next weekend. I'll have to call and check.

2006-01-29T21:29:00.000-05:00

The first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI: Deus Caritas Est

2006-01-29T14:16:00.000-05:00

Why John Paul II Didn't Resign

To Avoid a "Dangerous Precedent," Says Cardinal

Zenit-The World Seen from Rome
See article Code: ZE06012703, Date: 2006-01-27

2006-01-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

Vatican orders Aux. Bishop Gumbleton to Retire

Last year, at age 75, he submitted his obligatory letter of resignation but also opined in that letter that he would prefer to stay on in Detroit. He was turned down and ordered to resign this week by the head of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Giovanni Re.

Aux. Bp. Gumbleton has been a long-time promoter of homosexual causes in the Church, and he caused a recent scuffle by comments pertaining to supposed abuse in his own youth, implying contradictions to church teaching on the topic.

2006-01-24T23:23:00.000-05:00

An especially good homily this last Sunday in Kalamazoo--so good I'm still thinking about it on Tuesday night. It was about Catholic spirituality actually, a rather unusual topic in these parts, all told. But there it was.

Father started out quoting the definition of freedom from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which goes like this:

"1731 Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude."

And then he proceeded to tell us about the fact we were born for heaven--it's what our lives are all about. And how our freedom was given us to help us make the choices for love in order to arrive there--in beatitude with God. It was quite beautiful, but in a very plain and lovely way.

And then he talked about how to know when we have freedom, by testing our attachments to things of this world--and how to increase our freedom by detaching ourselves from things that are not helpful to attaining our proper destination--heaven and beatitude.

Remarkable. Simple, sound and right as rain.

2006-01-17T22:48:00.000-05:00

Cardinal George in the Chicago Sun-Times--on the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the "homosexuality instruction," the Catholic Church in Chicago and the Scandal:

Here

I don't want to say it's over, because it's not. But even if it were, I shouldn't be the one to say it. I have no credibility saying that; it would be defensive.
"I would say, on the basis of what the statisticians tell me, is that it's contained. It's not over, but it's contained. It will never be over for the victims, even with healing. And I've talked to a lot of them," he says, quietly. "And if it's not over for them, it's not over for us."

2006-01-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

Lay group mobilizes against Monologues on Catholic campus

Catholic World News article

2006-01-15T16:05:00.000-05:00

Long hiatus finished.

I just completed reading "Mother Angelica" by Raymond Arroyo. It's a fascinating book, telling all we knew about Mother Angelica's life and the founding of EWTN and much more. I recommend it heartily.

Details?
*More on her background and the early years of the convent. What is she like?
*Much more on what propelled her into the media business. Do you ever wonder what it might be like for God to ask to do something for Him? And then do it? Includes the $600,000 phone call.
*Much more on the manipulations of the USCCB to shut her up. And how exactly that worked.......
*And much more detail on her support by the Vatican. And how that worked......fascinating background detail.

As Pope John Paul II once said of her "strong woman." May God bless her now.

Leave a prayer for her at the EWTN site: Here

Get tickets for their 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EVENTS!

2006-01-15T15:29:00.000-05:00

Theology of the Church, Franciscan University. Dr. Regis Martin.

One very fine class, enjoyed immensely. But part of the reason for the hiatus. ;)

Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio

2005-08-15T15:48:00.000-04:00

World Youth Day Items

Cologne cardinal says WYD for youth, not aging dissidents
World Youth Day Photos

Just look for this symbol:

2005-08-15T14:55:00.000-04:00

10,000 People March at Eucharistic Procession in Grant Park, Chicago--Led by Cardinal George

First of its kind in 5 years in Chicago. See the links:
Flyer from Archdiocese of Chicago
News Item on Archdiocesan Site (scroll down to center of page)
Pix from the Knights of Columbus

2005-08-09T17:49:00.000-04:00

During a Eucharistic Congress, a number of priests from different orders are gathered in a church for Vespers. While they are praying, a fuse blows and all the lights go out.

The Benedictines continue praying from memory, without missing a beat.

The Jesuits begin to discuss whether the blown fuse means they are dispensed from the obligation to pray Vespers.

The Franciscans compose a song of praise for God's gift of darkness.

The Dominicans revisit their ongoing debate on light as a signification of the transmission of divine knowledge.

The Carmelites fall into silence and slow, steady breathing.

The parish priest, who is hosting the others, goes to the basement and replaces the fuse.

Blogger Credit to Catholic Fire Blog

2005-08-09T17:05:00.000-04:00

Some very good (mostly Franciscan) websites:

Life of St. Francis Especially check out the pictures of St. Francis--available from links on the bottoms of some of the pages inside the site.

The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Start Yet Another Convent. These are nuns from Mother Angelica's foundation in Hanceville, Alabama, starting another house in the desert of the USA.

And the CFRs in the Bronx are growing.

HERE you can hear Padre Pio's voice.

And HERE you can hear the voice of Mother Theresa of Calcutta. [Okay, okay, she's not really a Franciscan, but she loved God with all her heart and worked with the poor.]

This website has an entire class about Franciscan history from the OFMs in Malta.

2005-08-09T15:45:00.000-04:00

Websites worth looking at:

Sr. Bernadette in Rome Good photos of Catholic places in Rome

How a medieval manuscript was made from the Fitzwilliam Museum in the UK

2005-07-30T12:11:00.000-04:00

The Pope Opens Up to the Priests of a Small Mountain Diocese
Benedict XVI's surprising question and answer session with the priests of Aosta. On the West‘s weariness of God, Christianity in Africa, parishes without priests, communion for divorced and remarried persons...

At Chiesa Online, July 30, 2005.

2005-04-30T20:16:00.000-04:00

"The “Reform of the Reform” Has Already Begun"
See Chiesa Online.

2005-04-24T10:47:00.000-04:00

Very fine article that has it right about the new papacy--from Fr. John Neuhaus of First Things. (Yes, the Fr. John Neuhaus that was online with Raymond Arroyo of EWTN during the Interregnum.) Excerpts:

"Within the continuing tradition, the Second Vatican Council is an extraordinary moment of development and refinement. Among the many achievements of the pontificate of John Paul II, some would say the most important achievement, was to secure the hermeneutic for the interpretation of that great council.

Read the whole article here. April 21st entry. Not to be missed if you want to understand Pope Benedict XVI and what he is about.

2005-04-24T10:34:00.000-04:00

Sandro Magister's (Chiesa) take on the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.

2005-04-24T10:13:00.000-04:00

Article on a paper detailing the state of the Church. According to the Italian press (caution), this paper was instrumental in helping the cardinals make their decision. It's at La Stampa.

Be aware, it's in Italian. It's the hot European rumor at present, but there does not appear to be an English translation on that site. There is also a summary in French at Nouvelobs.com.

A short take on the paper is this: The problems of the Church are detailed in such a way as to be an echo (or the originating document) of the comments given by (the then) Cardinal Ratzinger at the Good Friday Stations of the Cross in Rome.

Blog credit to Mark Cameron and Amy Welborn. Link.

2005-04-20T00:53:00.000-04:00

HABEMUS PAPAM!

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been elected in this evening's election (Rome time). He has taken as his papal name Pope Benedict XVI. Thanks be to GOD! Long may he live!

See EWTN for more information.

2005-04-15T00:05:00.000-04:00

Check out the new articles on Chiesa Online:

Progressives, Moderates, Neocons: Notes Before the Conclave --Excellent article.

2005-04-10T14:37:00.000-04:00

"In comments from cardinals ahead of the media blackout, it was clear that they had differing views on the priorities facing the Church and that there was no obvious front runner.
"As far as I can see, there are no clear favorites and probably no firmly fixed alliances," German Cardinal Karl Lehmann told the Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

Reuters, Sunday, April 10. Read the whole article HERE.

Two cardinals, Jaime Sin of the Philippines, and Alfonso Antonio Suarez Rivera of Mexico, are eligible to vote but have notified the Vatican that they are too ill to participate. Sin is one of three cardinals who participated in the two conclaves of 1978. The two absences leave European cardinals with a majority in the conclave.

Chicago Tribune, Sunday, April 10. Read the whole article HERE.

2005-04-10T14:16:00.000-04:00

A STUNNING REVELATION buzzed throughout Italy last week. According to two Italian newspapers, German government officials had found proof that the Soviet Union ordered the May 13, 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. The recently discovered documents--which are mainly correspondences between East German Stasi spies and their Bulgarian counterparts--reportedly discuss the Soviet assassination order as well as efforts to cover-up any traces of involvement by Bulgaria's spooks.

If the documents are as advertised, then they put an end to one of the great whodunits of the 20th century. The U.S. media has all but ignored this incredible story; which isn't, actually, much of a surprise.

Indeed, the elite media in this country never wanted to investigate the threads of evidence pointing to Bulgarian, and thus Soviet, involvement. What is surprising, however, is that in one of the greatest U.S. intelligence failures of all-time, neither did the CIA.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

2005-04-10T11:32:00.000-04:00

According to an interview with Terri Schiavo's family by FoxNews (4/8/05):
1) Her bone scan showed that she had suffered "a broken femur, broken back, broken vertebrae, broken knees and broken ankles," according to the radiologist, but none of which her birth family knew about.
2)The heart attack she was supposed to have had was unsubstantiated by laboratory results.
3)There are three stories about the night Terri first became ill, all told by her ex-husband.
4)The death scene was staged to match a pre-determined scenario and her family and the attending priest were thrown out just before her death.

Read the entire article HERE.

2005-04-10T09:50:00.001-04:00

In his homily, Cardinal Marchisano offered his personal memories of the Holy Father, stressing the paternal instinct and the great humanity of John Paul II. He went on to say that the late Pontiff had deliberately set out to blaze a trail that later Popes might follow, and said that the next Pope would do well to pursue that trail.

The members of the College of Cardinals have agreed that they will not speak to the media in the days leading up to the conclave-- a policy that was announced earlier in the day by the Vatican press office. The remarks by Cardinal Marchisano do not fall under the ban because they were made in the course of a liturgical celebration.

Can you think of anything funnier than the news media listening carefully to homilies to pick up clues.... =D

Blog credit to Catholic World News (CWN). Read the rest of the article HERE.

2005-04-10T08:20:00.000-04:00

There are pages on the Vatican webpage that allow you to see pictures of all the cardinals, including those in the conclave. Most of the pictures are linked to biographical sketches. It's worth a scan. The link is here.

Front runners in the press are considered to be:

1) Dionigi Tettamanzi from Milan, an Italian. He may be looked at first, because there is some deliberation about an Italian compromise candidate. He may not be able to be a compromise candidate, however, because of his progressive views. Among other things, he has a somewhat nuanced view of homosexuality, viewing it as just another form of sin, rather than definitionally different than heterosexual sex, which may not be an acceptable stance given the recent problems of the Church. That said, he is not wildly progressive and will follow along with most of the views of Popes John Paul II and Paul VI. If he is elected, we would not see a lot of change, I imagine. Expect Romanita. The trick is whether he has the personal magnetism and teaching ability to which we have become accustomed. My guess is no.

According to John Allen, the blocs are these (without putting his spin on them necessarily): a) Catholic identity and practice, b) Vatican II implementation, c) Social justice and peace, d) Protecting and incorporating Catholic moral views in laws and cultures. Also according to John Allen, the topics of most concern now in Rome are: a) internal governance, b) concern about growing secularization, c) relations with Islam. Cdl Tettamanzi's scorecard on these measures is that he is mildly b) in terms of the blocs, mildly b) in terms of concerns. Not a good enough score.

Progressives would be initially happy with this man; traditionalists would be moderately happy with him over the long haul (thanks to the Holy Spirit's gag order), I suspect, much like previous popes. Moderately happy, although the living out the hard line on doctrinal issues (sexuality issues, end-of-life issues), vis a vis the culture, might end up in the "laity's court" like it has fundamentally been since Vatican II. I say this because, event though Pope John Paul II wrote wonderful documents on such issues, these things were not effectively taught on a regional basis, and we get no help from most of our clergy, frankly, because they have not been policed or trained well enough. The seminaries are still a shambles, due to disobedience and lack of Christian management. Such an Italian choice would not address some of the imperatives of the time--the larger issues, I believe which will be played out in this conclave. Cardinal Tettamanzi, if elected, would be a place-holder. Maybe this is important.....

2) Claudio Hummes, from Brazil, a Franciscan (OFM). This man is very progressive and represents the Third World concern for the poor. Also he represents the huge number of Catholics in Latin America. He is influential and capable, having been on several congregations in Rome. However, he is from this hemisphere. He is also likely to be seen as a one-issue candidate, not a compromise candidate. I believe that there are blocs in the conclave that will necessitate a compromise candidate, as there were in the last two conclaves. So unless this man is an outstanding communicator and bigger-than-life, I don't expect this man to be elected.

According to the "John Allen" scorecard detailed above, this man is c) and maybe b) on the bloc score; and has no score, or even a negative score on the issues. Not good enough. Perhaps the press is just blowing this one around because of the huge number of South Americans in the Church. You know, regional representation and all that political stuff to which they are accustomed. I actually think his location is a minus. There has never been a pope from this hemisphere and regardless of talk, I don't think Rome is ready. I think that they'd sooner see an African pope--we've had African popes before, you remember.

I will not be happy with the conclave if Cdl Hummes is elected.

Incidentally, there are several papabile from this hemisphere and some being mentioned in the lay buzz (Ouellet (Canada), Sandoval (Mexico), George (USA)). I think this regional bias against this hemisphere applies to all of them, except perhaps those spending most of their time in Rome.

3) Joseph Ratzinger, from Germany, famous from his job at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). This man is a nuanced traditionalist--by this I mean that he is doctrinally traditional but socially progressive. He could be seen as a compromise candidate but for one thing--his history in the CDF. He has offended too many people, I believe. I will be happy if he is elected, since his basic thrust is to upshore Catholic identity and doctrine and manage the Church well. I don't expect it to happen.

Cdl Ratzinger's score on the "John Allen" scorecard looks like this--a) and d) and perhaps some b) on the blocs; a) and b) on the issues. A better score, but it should be tempered with the public perception from his history, remember.

I, like many traditionalists, would be rather happy with Cdl Ratzinger. He's not perfect but would be a good choice to clean up the Church and make clear her stands morally (ie Terri Schiavo issues, etc), I believe. But I don't expect his election to happen.

Therefore we find ourselves out of the major three being touted by the press. I could be wrong, but I don't think so........

So, who has the physical strength and personal charisma to become a bigger-than-life pope, who can be the object of a compromise drive among the cardinals, who is not too young? He need not be one of the noted front-runners. It is likely the press is not talking about this man now, in fact. Perhaps Lustiger or Barbarin from France? Or Gantin or Arinze from Africa? Or who else?

I do know that there is an old saying: Enter the conclave a Pope, come out a Cardinal. With good reason--a most-discussed man has many expectations riding on him and cannot rule in liberty. For once in my life, I am cheering the media on when they ruminate (loudly) about what they want. Go, Koppel, go. Eliminate all the ones you like. =)

2005-04-10T07:58:00.000-04:00

New articles on Chiesa Online:

John Paul II, 1978-2005: The Last Anti-modern Pope, a survey article and interview with Giovanni Maria Vian from Rome's La Sapienza University.

After Wojtyla: A “Papal Revolution” for the Third Millennium, an article by Sandro Magister about the consideration of where we go from here.

2005-04-10T07:40:00.000-04:00

Incredible events this week. For me, they've been too overwhelming to write about. You see, I'm not a professional writer or editor, so writing on the Church is not a by-product of my work. Rather, I write because I love the Church. I write because I'm a philosopher and there are things that need writing about. I write because I am concerned about the state of the world. I write because I'm a convert and it helps me understand.

The funeral for Pope John Paul II was the largest ever recorded. The population of Rome more than doubled--going from about 2 million to over 4 million. I would have gone, but there were no hotel rooms and I am too old to sleep in the street. I had seen him over the years several times anyway--in Detroit and in Rome--and have personal memories. I would rather go later and visit his tomb. I know right where it is by the description--in the crypt beneath the main altar, just across the walk from the "jogged" marker, below which rests Peter.

The news media has been overwhelmed as well, but in a different way, almost reminiscent of the Reagan years. They have been astonished at the turn out, the display of affection for the Holy Father and the display of faith, not only in Rome but around the world. It has caused them to scramble to compete for coverage and clean up their act a *little bit* because in the last analysis they fear the public. But there have been plenty of idiotic statements, nevertheless--CNN's moronic commentary by a well-known female commentator being a good example. Will someone tell these people that this is not about politics? Will someone tell this woman she sounds like a washing machine with a bad transmission, droning on with her fake Euro-trash accent? (Washing machines I do know about--that's my real job.)

EWTN had better coverage and I am fortunate enough to have that. Fr. John Newhouse and Raymond Arroyo did the commentary on that channel--much better than the public channels, fundamentally because they know what they're talking about. At one point, I had to laugh, they were talking about the whole effect of the funeral at the end, and Fr. Newhouse said it made him proud to be a Catholic, and he laughed, because since Vatican II that's been a no-no. I laughed too, because it's true. There's joy in seeing the Church in all her beauty. There may well be converts. It was possible to see, through this week, that Catholicism is not *just* another religion in any real sense, not just another sect of Christianity, not just another nagging thing after your attention. It's ever-present and genuine, the ground underneath our feet, so to speak, the substrate upon which we live, the truth in visible form--no matter how much we like it, dislike it or seek to ignore it.

For me, I have mixed feelings as always, I suppose, about the late Holy Father. I am amazed at how I miss him. In life, I loved him. But also I was dismayed sometimes at his refusal to govern the Church. Perhaps he believed that laying out the choices that the world has and allowing people to have their head in choosing is all a pope can do. There is a very strong element of truth to that, prima facie. But the world also isn't that simple. However, the totality of his witness included, at the end, the substance of his writings. This is true teaching and perhaps somehow he knew it would come to this.

There is so much here to think about--the teachings of the late Pope, the medical ethics issues so broadly displayed in the last month, the reaction of the crowds, the huge display of Catholicism in the public eye, the conclave, the (coincidence of?) the Pope's death on Mercy Sunday, the changes to come.

On the one hand, I am like Fr. Newhouse, proud of the Church and wouldn't be anywhere else. On the other, I can't shake the perhaps morbid gut-feeling that the last week looked shockingly like Palm Sunday. We will see.

Who will "Gloriae Oliviae" be? I have no idea, but will be thinking as I listen. I do know that the cardinals will have been influenced by the hordes in Rome and perhaps their take-away will be that they need a large personality. I am hoping that they have the sense to realize that this is not about their little political views. It is much bigger. If you are still reading any of this, please heed my plea here. Pray that the college of cardinals elects above all a holy man, a prayerful man, one who loves all of humankind. We can have no less as Holy Father, the vicar of Christ. God will take care of the rest.

2005-04-09T09:39:00.000-04:00

"I bear a special love for Poland and if she will be obedient to My Will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming" (St. Faustina's Diary 1732)

What does this mean?

2005-04-03T11:31:00.000-04:00

From Yahoo News:

"The pope died while he was staring out his window, which looked out over the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square, a Polish priest told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. According to the newspaper, Rev. Jarek Cielecki said the pope raised his right hand as if to offer a blessing to those reciting the rosary in the square.
"Once the faithfuls' prayer ended the pope made a huge effort and pronounced the word 'Amen,'" he said. "An instant later he died."

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen. Thank you, Holy Father Pope John Paul II. Goodbye for now.

2005-03-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter!

2005-03-16T11:53:00.000-05:00

Check this out--VOTF gone corporate uptown. Think it can't get worse? Think again.

"Roman Catholic lay leaders announced the formation of an organization that would offer professional guidance to America's bishops on how to run the church.

As its first act, the nonprofit National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management issued an 80-page "Report of the Church in America Leadership Roundtable 2004," with 48 recommendations to overhaul administration, personnel policies, finances and governance. "

link

2005-03-08T04:21:00.000-05:00

Liberal and weak clergy blamed for empty pews

CHURCHGOING is in freefall in Britain because clergy and ministers are failing to stand up for moral values and treasured beliefs, a new survey has found.
Churches are being “silent” and “lukewarm” in the face of moral and social collapse, according to the £20,000, year-long study of 14,000 British churchgoers and those who have left the Church.

Researchers found “a widespread sense of anger and frustration” at what was happening to churches in the UK and Ireland. The 42-page report is an indictment of modern preaching and worship, illustrating how excessive liberalism and lack of conviction are driving worshippers from the pews.....

......The report says: “This has resulted in a growing number of people being left with the false impression that there are no strong reasons for Christian belief. Ultimately they abandon churchgoing and are mystified that Christianity continues to grow elsewhere in the world.”

The report blames the contemporary practice of teaching the universal nature of God’s love. Because people believe God will continue to love them no matter what they do, they no longer see any need to go to church to confess their sins or seek guidance on how to change their lives. The aim was to explore the reasons why Christianity is in decline in Britain and Ireland but thrives in other parts of the world, including prosperous countries such as the US.

Read the rest of the article.....

Could this end up happening here?

2005-03-06T15:17:00.000-05:00

NOTE: Al in Amy Welborn's blog has pointed out, aptly, that there may be some bias involved in John Allen's classification names. His points?

"Integrist" does not equal "Integralist," although they sound like the same thing.
Classifying the first group as a "Border Patrol" group might be as simplistic as calling them the "Seige mentality," according to the commenter, Al.

This may well be the case, but I think the groups are still more or less visible there. Perhaps the classification lines are not precisely along John Allen's lines. This is completely possible. It's open to discussion, at this point though.

It's also entirely possible he just likes those groups because he belongs to one or both of them, and doesn't like the group(s) John Allen tends to.

2005-03-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

Article from Sandro Magister (Chiesa Online) about the Pope's new book, "Memory and Identity," not yet available in English editions.

The article details a discussion, not with the Pope, but between Sandro Magister and two other individuals--Sartori, a secularist who is frequently critical of the Pope's views, and Ferrarri, a Catholic professor from Louvain. However, the pope's assertions on the views shown by the groups above are reflected in this article.

Pope John Paul II has largely been "Integrist" on the topics of abortion, stem cell and gay marriage. In other words, he has fought hard to integrate natural law precepts (with Catholic interpretations) into the various codes of secular law. That's really what much of this discussion, as well as the book, seems to be about {from what I've been able to see}. Moreover, the notion that this is imperative--for the whole world--recalls the "everybody is a member of the church" business of Vatican II.

Sandro Magister's article is a summary of the thrusts of this papacy, as relayed in many books, not least of all this last one. So now, using John Allen's descriptions of the groups present in the Vatican (see 2 posts down), let's have a look at this with respect to where we're going and where we've been. What is the next papacy likely to be like?

What we have in Sandro's article is a combination of groups 2 & 4, which have really been important for this papacy. Yes, of course, there have been nods to 1 & 3, since everyone has a "take" on all 4 topics, but 2 & 4 have been predominant. Food for thought--everyone has thoughts on these four topics. The groups in the Vatican (see 2 posts below) have a particular slant on the topics, such that selected topics have become the most important for them. In making a topic one's dominant view, however, there are consequences for the other topics.

I expect, as does John Allen, that 2 & 4, the Pope's favorites, will not be predominant, in just this mixture, the next time around.

What possibilities are there?

Pure 1, 2, 3 or 4 of course (see the post below) -- examples of the proponents of each group are listed 2 posts below. But pure candidates and views require more strength than any particular party has at this time.

1 & 2-- "Border Patrol" and "Reform"--put together:
"Border Patrol"--concerned with maintaining the Christian identity; fear cultural assimilation; want to "police" boundaries more strictly.
"Reform"--want to move forward with the reforms of Vatican II; liturgical reform, collegiality, the role of the laity.

Parties to such a compromise: Cdls Ratzinger, Egan & Rigali, Cdls Mahoney, Keeler, Lehmann and Kasper.
Ability to handle the 3 issues: internal church governance = troubled; growing secularism = incompatible; relations between Christianity and Islam = incompatible.
In such a scenario, the church turns inward on itself which it cannot do according to Vatican II, unless of course we say one thing and do another. This is the "Church as a society unto itself." Not an unusual thing for Catholics to do, unfortunately. This would inevitably produce some strife and confusion, however. Would produce a true compromise Pope without much power.

1 & 3 --"Border Patrol" and "Social Justice"--put together:
"Border Patrol"--concerned with maintaining the Christian identity; fear cultural assimilation; want to "police" boundaries more strictly.
"Social Justice"--globalization, economic reform, racial relations, the fight against AIDS; seek to promote mutual understanding between groups.

Parties to such a compromise: Cdls Ratzinger, Egan & Rigali, Cdls McCarrick, Sandoval, Hummes & Maradiaga
Ability to handle the 3 issues: internal church governance = possible; growing secularism = possible; relations between Christianity and Islam = troubled.
This is the big "we're telling you" scenario where the Church works for the world by being itself. It may be workable in this formulation, although obnoxious-looking to some. There is some conflict between "police boundaries more strictly" and "mutual understanding between groups" which might be a problem. (Note on the third issue--this is the only way Islam will accept us, and they will contend with us no matter what we do.) Would require a steady, alert and strong Pope.

1 & 4 --"Border Patrol" and "Integrist"--put together:
"Border Patrol"--concerned with maintaining the Christian identity; fear cultural assimilation; want to "police" boundaries more strictly.
"Integrists"--want to see Church views integrated into civil law on topics like abortion, stem cell research and gay marriage.

Parties to such a compromise: Cdls Ratzinger, Egan & Rigali, Cdls Trujillo, Cipriani, Schola, Burke & Chaput
Ability to handle the 3 issues: internal church governance = possible but troubled; growing secularism = strong; relations between Christianity & Islam = troubled.
This is the "Neo-Conservative's Dream Ticket," as well as the compromise most likely to fracture the church socially, in terms of defections from those who identify with Catholicism but who are not following church teaching. Need I say, the Holy See may be paranoid on this topic. Would require a strong Pope, with legislative skill.

2 & 3 --"Reform" and "Social Justice"--put together:
"Reform"--want to move forward with the reforms of Vatican II; liturgical reform, collegiality, the role of the laity.
"Social Justice"--globalization, economic reform, racial relations, the fight against AIDS; seek to promote mutual understanding between groups.

Parties to such a compromise: Cdls Mahoney, Keeler, Lehmann and Kasper, Cdls McCarrick, Sandoval, Hummes & Maradiaga
Ability to handle the 3 issues: internal church governance =troubled; growing secularism = very weak; relations between Christianity & Islam = illusory only, avoidance of conflict
This is the "Progressive Dream Ticket," as well as the compromise most likely to fracture the church historically and theologically . Would invariably have consequences in church teaching that are incompatible with historical teachings. Would require a true peacemaker and pacificationist. Would produce a weak papacy and a period of decline reminiscent of the Anglican decline.

2 & 4 --which we've see here

3 & 4 --"Social Justice" and "Integrist"--put together:
"Social Justice"--globalization, economic reform, racial relations, the fight against AIDS; seek to promote mutual understanding between groups.
"Integrists"--want to see Church views integrated into civil law on topics like abortion, stem cell research and gay marriage.

Parties to such a compromise: Cdls McCarrick, Sandoval, Hummes & Maradiaga, Cdls Trujillo, Cipriani, Schola, Burke & Chaput
Ability to handle the 3 issues: internal church governance = troubled; growing secularism = troubled; relations between Christianity & Islam = troubled.
This is the "Church as Political Force" scenario. Theology actually could get lost in the rough-&-tumble of trying to win the vote, since it is in no way clear how to "promote understanding between groups" and also integrate natural law into civil law. Could bring about a very confusing and contradictory period in Church history, with many defections. Again the Holy See is paranoid about such things. Would require a strong Pope with legislative skill. Actually this compromise, if you look closely, is rather similar to the "2 & 4" option. It's possible that it will be perceived as "more of the same," which I'm becoming more and more convinced we're not going to get.

In addition to these, there is always the remote possiblity of a surprise agenda or a surprise issue. There are 3-way compromises as well, but only a few of them, producing weak papacies because of the number of contradictions between the groups. But if John Allen is correct on his lists, and there are largely 2-way interactions, something like the above-listed scenario is what it will look like.

Oh, and it is "conventional wisdom" that an older candidate--a compromise candidate--is next because of fatigue after such a long, contentious papacy. However, the press (the internet, the Muslim world, the university, etc) are watching. I cannot imagine this one won't be contentious also, even if it is short. Pope John Paul I comes to mind. I'm not sure "running in place" for an entire papacy is an option and history teaches it can never be counted upon, in any case.

2005-03-06T10:48:00.000-05:00

It's easy to get discouraged and think we haven't come a long way towards cleaning up the liturgical mess out there. Things still aren't what they should be in most places, *but* progress has been made. To see that one only needs to listen to those who still think Vatican II didn't go far enough.....

For example, Bishop Lynch to FDLC: "Enough already" {And interestingly enough, if you read the whole page, you'll discover one of the many reasons why this is so--Cardinal Arinze, actively working to help in the clean-up.}

2005-03-05T13:17:00.000-05:00

I realize it's a bit premature to be talking about this, but with no disrespect to the Pope and no ill wishes for him, there is an interesting article--indeed a substantive one--about the future of the Church, online today.

In an address to the 2005 Religious Education Congress this last February, journalist John Allen (NCR), outlined the key issues and parties that will be involved in the next conclave. It is worth noting that although John Allen is a progressive working for a progressive paper, he is also considered, across the spectrum, to be very well-informed about what occurs in Rome. He's worth listening to for information no matter what your take on that information might be.

John lists the following issues as the most important, as perceived in Rome:

internal church governance (current weak spot)
growing secularization (current weak spot)
relations between Christianity and Islam (developing issue, particularly in Europe)

(I'm not sure which order their priority lies in, so I haven't numbered them; the article has them listed in this order.) Likely strong candidates will be assessed on their perceived abilities to provide leadership on these issues.

John lists the following as the parties that exist among the cardinals which will be the electors in the next conclave:

"Border Patrol"--concerned with maintaining the Christian identity; fear cultural assimilation; want to "police" boundaries more strictly. Members of this group--Cdls Ratzinger, Egan & Rigali, among others.
"Reform"--want to move forward with the reforms of Vatican II; liturgical reform, collegiality, the role of the laity. Members of this group--Cdls Mahoney, Keeler, Lehmann and Kasper.
"Social Justice"--globalization, economic reform, racial relations, the fight against AIDS; seek to promote mutual understanding between groups. Members of this party--Cdls McCarrick, Sandoval, Hummes & Maradiaga.
"Integrists"--want to see Church views integrated into civil law on topics like abortion, stem cell research and gay marriage. Members of this party--Cdls Trujillo, Cipriani, Schola, Burke & Chaput.

The largest group, as reported by John Allen, is the Social Justice group, but no one of the four currently has enough clout to elect a Pope by itself. Likely are partnerships between groups--say the 1st and 4th or the 2nd and 3rd. Other configurations are imaginable. Indeed, we may end up with a compromise candidate.

Read the article for yourself.

He says we're going to be surprised. No doubt, but will it be a good surprise or a bad one? No one knows but God. We can only guess.

John Allen ends his article with an appeal for the progressives in his audience to contact their cardinals. What do you think of that?

**************************

My take-away? Those who know something about Islam will discern that the stance of the "Social Justice" group involves some glaring deficiencies with respect to Islam. Specifically, the "Social Justice" inclination to encourage "dialogue, predominantly" will run head-on into the historical and still-present religious intolerance of Islam, with disastrous consequences. This issue is not a simple one and needs to be handled with great care. Yes, cooperation of some sort with Muslims is necessary; no, one cannot allow cultural and religious boundaries to be compromised in rigor, largely because Islamicists will not permit it! One of Islam's best definitions of its practitioners is that they are "not us"--"us" being the "Great Satan of the West." Muslims correctly perceive that for us to bring down our boundaries enough to enter theirs is to bring about their destruction as an entity, along with ours. This destruction of ours is desirable to them, but not if it costs theirs. It will not be permitted and we will hear about it if we try to breach it with cultural or institutional influence.

Thus, we find here the seeds of failure from the beginning for the understandings of this "Social Justice" group. The whole "Social Justice" idea is couched in Western culture and will not translate globally. Unlike the entire Gospel, which does. If the "Social Justice" party prevails, we may find ourselves in another maddening period of talking "X" and doing "not X." Something like what we have experienced in the last few years. One can only hope that those cardinals with some practical experience of Islam can educate the more theoretical and uniformed of the cardinals on this issue.

Also, and perhaps I am just being American about this, but two of the groups cited by Allen seem to be largely internally directed (2 & 3) and two largely boundary directed (1 & 4). This is rather interesting because the issues listed are boundary issues, in essence. (Even though the first can be seen either way, depending on one's group.) This is so although some of the boundaries have been eroded til there is sizeable encroachment into the population of the Catholic Church, as most people would define it with reference to themselves (ie. am I in or out). Our boundaries are loose indeed, most are not even sure where they are and the issues are real.

The years ahead could be very challenging. We will see.

2005-03-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

Last December, according to this article, US embassy officials formally served the Vatican with an abuse lawsuit. This lawsuit was the one referenced in the appeal by the Vatican to Condoleezza Rice recently.

To my knowledge, this is the first time this has happened over one of these abuse lawsuits.

2005-03-01T21:45:00.000-05:00

From Fr. John Sistare's Blog, the 'Not So Quiet' Catholic Corner

"Why reveal dissent in the Church?

Sexual abuse was hidden for years and leadership in many cases remained quiet. The result...thousands of children were abused and hurt.
Spiritual abuse continues to go on (dissent from official Church teaching on faith, morals, liturgical laws, etc...) and there is still silence in many cases. What will be the result...many people led astray and perhaps salvation of souls in jeopardy...THUS, we are obligated to speak up and stop spiritual abuse of the faithful, lest we be guilty of the sins of omission!"

2005-02-24T20:08:00.000-05:00

Pope John Paul II is once again in the hospital. Please say a prayer for him tonight.

2005-02-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

Okay, you've got to see the Superpope Anime......

2005-02-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

Today's prize for the most understatements in a single sentence: "Replacing such an outspoken voice of the church is a huge challenge, but Carlson is no stranger to the news media."

Bishop Carlson is the new bishop of Saginaw, Michigan. Read more here.

2005-02-20T11:45:00.000-05:00

Great (Weird) Book Titles
"The Romance of Proctology" by Charles Elton Blanchard, M.D.
"How to Avoid Huge Ships" by John W. Trimmer
"Bomb Proof Your Horse" by Rick Pelicano, Lauren Tjaden
"Flattened Fauna" by Roger Knutson
"Nuclear War: What's in it for You?" by the Ground Zero War Foundation
"Practical Taxidermy, and Home Decoration" by Joseph H. Batty
"How to Defend Yourself Against Alien Abduction" by Ann Druffel
Check out a used bookstore online for these and more.....

2005-02-13T00:45:00.000-05:00

Gibson to re-release Passion of the Christ

Hollywood, Feb. 11, 2005 (CNA) - On March 11th, Mel Gibson and New Market Films plan to release The Passion Recut to 500-750 movie screens around the country.....continue reading.

No word yet on which theaters in Michigan will be showing the film.

2005-02-13T00:30:00.000-05:00

Lent in the Vatican: The Pope, the Curia, and the Conclave--From Chiesa magazine, Rome

Sickness is not preventing John Paul II from fighting out his last battle. But in the meantime, maneuvers over his succession are underway. The contenders are Ratzinger, three Italians, and one outsider.....continue reading.

2005-02-13T00:23:00.000-05:00

ND sponsorship of festival conflicts with church teachings
Article by Bishop John M. D'Arcy, Bishop of South Bend, Indiana.

For the second time, the University of Notre Dame is sponsoring, through six of its departments, a seminar and film festival under the title Queer Film Festival. The presenters who have been scheduled have a history of not supporting, and indeed openly opposing, church teaching concerning the morality of homosexual acts.......
continue reading.

2005-02-08T23:02:00.000-05:00

Recent events:

--Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, 2005.

--Pope John Paul II is in the hospital and improving. Please pray for him.

--Vatican moves to clarify annulment rules.

--Paul Shanley, defrocked priest from Boston, declared guilty in court; sentencing is next Tuesday....

--Cincinnati is in an uproar over clear contradictions in testimonies by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk.

--Jesuit Roger Haight forbidden by the Vatican to teach theology because of his heterodox writings. Fr. Haight has been barred from teaching at the Weston School of Theology since 2000, pending this decision from the Vatican.

--The USCCB is talking about spending millions of dollars to figure out why the scandal happened. I thought the John Jay study did that, and at considerable cost, I might add. So, are they stalling or didn't they like those answers and want different ones, or what??
This is the group of men who cancelled a study on the Bible during their last big meeting--because it cost too much.

--Resigned Bishop Thomas Dupre from Springfield has gone missing. Dupre was the first US bishop indicted on sex abuse charges but he was dismissed because the statute of limitations had run out....So where is he? Not around your kids, I hope.

Icon link from Women for Faith & Family, a great group of faithful Catholics.

CLICK HERE..... More Beautiful Greek Orthodox Easter Chant

2005-02-08T10:55:00.000-05:00

New Articles from Chiesa Magazine:

A Philosopher, a Mystic, and a Theologian Sound an Alarm for the Church

Bad History, Bad Guide. The Strange Liturgy of the Neocatechumenals

All the Secrets of the Vatican Secret Archives

2005-01-25T20:10:00.000-05:00

From Chiesa Magazine, Goodbye, King Pope. The Progressivists' Plan at the Conclave by Sandro Magister.

"A book published recently in Italy has made public, for the first time, a program for the reform of Church governance delivered in August of 1978 to the cardinals taking part in the two conclaves of that year: a program that, according to the intentions of its authors, should be equally valid for the next conclave.
The book, edited by Giuseppe Alberigo, is entitled "L’officina bolognese [The Bologna Workshop], 1953-2003."

Actually, this is NOT the first time in print, I believe. This information, almost exactly in this same form--indeed nearly in the same words--was relayed in one of Malachi Martin's books, called The Final Conclave.

2005-01-24T21:26:00.000-05:00

Update on the last summer's problem at St. John Bosco, Mattawan....

2005-01-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

Cardinal Arinze denies he approved U.S. Archbishop giving sash wearing "gays" Holy Communion

Yet..."Remarkably, on December 14, 2004, CNS published an article entitled "Archbishop speaks to Vatican officials about Rainbow Sash protests."

CNS is owned and operated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB]." (which maybe explains why they can't get their story together?)

For more, see Barbara Kralis' article.....

Blog credit to Carrie Tomko.

2005-01-04T19:21:00.000-05:00

Retirement Watch 2005: Bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignations to the Holy See on their 75th birthday. Twenty-three (23!) American bishops, including 3 cardinals, turn 75 this year. There may be a small delay in refilling the positions, but we're about ready to get a whole new bunch. Maybe it will get better--it can hardly get worse than it's been. Here is the list of 75th birthdays:

--Cardinal Edmund Szoka, in Vatican service, Sept. 14, 2002
--Cardinal Adam Maida, Detroit MI, March 18, 2005
--Cardinal McCarrick, Baltimore MD, July 7, 2005
--Ruthenian Bishop Andrew Pataki, Passaic, NJ, August 30, 2002
--Bishop Manuel Batakian, Armenian Catholic Exarchate of U.S.A. & Canada, Nov. 5, 2004.
--Auxiliary Bishop John P. Boles, Boston MA, Jan. 21, 2005
--Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, Detroit MI, Jan. 26, 2005
--Bishop David E. Foley, Birmingham AL, Feb. 3, 2005
--Bishop Robert E. Mulvee, Providence RI, Feb. 15, 2005
--Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan, Brooklyn NY, Mar. 23, 2005
--Bishop F. Joseph Gossman, Raleigh NC, Apr. 1, 2005
--Bishop William E. Franklin, Davenport IA, May 3, 2005
--Ukrainian Bishop Basil H. Losten, Stamford CT, May 11, 2005
--Auxiliary Bishop William J. Winter, Pittsburgh PA, May 20, 2005
--Bishop Kenneth A. Angell, Burlington VT, Aug. 3, 2005
--Bishop John J. Leibrecht, Springfield-Cape Girardeau MO, Aug. 8, 2005
--Auxiliary Bishop Rene A. Valero, Brooklyn NY, Aug. 15, 2005
--Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger, Worcester MA, Sept. 3, 2005
--Bishop Sylvester D. Ryan, Monterey CA, Sept. 3, 2005
--Bishop Carl F. Mengeling, Lansing MI, Oct. 22, 2005
--Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Flanagan, San Antonio TX, Oct. 23, 2005
--Bishop Raphael M. Fliss, Superior WI, Oct. 25, 2005
--Auxiliary Bishop Dominic Carmon, New Orleans LA, Dec. 13, 2005
AND the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Jan. 27, 2005.

In 2003, 33 American bishops turned 75. By my count, 17 retired in 2004.

Soon to retire:
2006
--Archbishop Joseph Anthony Fiorenza, Galveston-Houston TX, Jan. 25, 2006
--Auxiliary Bishop Robert William Donnelly, Toledo OH, Mar. 22, 2006
--Auxiliary Bishop Emil Aloysius Wcela, Rockville Ctr NY, May 1, 2006
--Bishop Joseph Leopold Imesch, Joliet IL, Jun. 21, 2006
--Archbishop Thomas Cajetan Kelly, O.P., Louisville KY, Jul. 14, 2006
--Bishop Charles Victor Grahmann, Dallas TX, Jul. 15, 2006
--Archbishop James Patrick Keleher, Kansas City KS, Jul. 31, 2006
--Auxiliary Bishop Robert Anthony Brucato, New York NY, Aug. 14, 2006
--Auxiliary Bishop Vincent Michael Rizzotto, Galveston-Houston, Sept. 9, 2006
--Archbishop Oscar Hugh Lipscomb, Mobile AL, Sept. 21, 2006
--Bishop Victor Herman Balke, Crookston MN, Sept. 29, 2006
--Bishop John Walter Yanta, Amarillo TX, Oct. 2, 2006
--Bishop William Benedict Friend, Shreveport LA, Oct. 22, 2006
--Bishop James Henry Garland, Marquette MI, Dec. 13, 2006
2007
--Bishop John Joseph Nevins, Venice FL, Jan. 19, 2007
--Bishop Raymond James Boland, Kansas City-St. Joseph, Feb. 8, 2007
--Cardinal Edward Michael Egan, New York NY, Apr. 2, 2007
--Auxiliary Bishop Alexander James Quinn, Cleveland OH, Apr. 8, 2007
--Auxiliary Bishop John Martin Dougherty, Scranton PA, Apr. 29, 2007
--Auxiliary Bishop Gilbert Espinosa Chávez, San Diego CA, May 9, 2007
--Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss, Omaha NB, Jun. 16, 2007
--Bishop James Albert Murray, Kalamazoo MI, Jul. 5, 2007
--Bishop James Michael Moynihan, Syracuse NY, Jul. 16, 2007
--Bishop John Michael D'Arcy, Fort Wayne-South Bend IN, Aug. 18, 2007
--Bishop Anthony Michael Milone, Great Falls-Billings MT, Sept 24, 2007
--Bishop Anthony Michael Pilla, Cleveland OH, Nov. 12, 2007
--Archbishop Alfred Clifton Hughes, New Orleans LA, Dec. 2, 2007
2008
--Bishop Michael Angelo Saltarelli, Wilmington DE, Jan. 17, 2008
--Bishop Arthur Nicholas Tafoya, Pueblo NM, Mar. 2, 2008
--Bishop Edward Peter Cullen, Allentown PA, Mar. 15, 2008
--Bishop Philip Francis Straling, San Bernardino CA, Apr. 25, 2008
--Archbishop Harry Joseph Flynn, St. Paul-Minneapolis MI, May 2, 2008
--Bishop Aloysius John Wycislo, Green Bay WI, Jun 17, 2008
--Bishop William Leo Higi, Lafayette IN, Aug. 29, 2008
--Auxiliary Bishop George Edward Rueger, Worcester MA, Sept. 3, 2008
--Bishop Bernard Joseph Harrington, Winona MN, Sept. 6, 2008
--Auxiliary Bishop Robert Patrick Maginnis, Philadelphia PA, Dec. 22, 2008
2009
--Auxiliary Bishop Francis Xavier Irwin, Boston MA, Jan. 9, 2009
--Bishop Edmond Carmody, Corpus Christi TX, Jan. 12, 2009
--Archbishop Alexander Joseph Brunett, Seattle WA, Jan. 17, 2009
--Bishop Raymundo Joseph Peña, Brownsville TX, Feb. 19, 2009
--Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Chung Wang, San Francisco CA, Feb. 27, 2009
--Bishop William Stephen Skylstad, Spokane WA, Mar 2, 2009
--Bishop Patrick Ronald Cooney, Gaylord MI, Mar. 10, 2009
--Auxiliary Bishop Robert Joseph Hermann, St. Louis MO, Aug. 12, 2009
--Archbishop Daniel Edward Pilarczyk, Cincinnati OH, Aug. 12, 2009
--Bishop Joseph Patrick Delaney, Fort Worth TX, Aug. 29, 2009
--Archbishop Eusebius Joseph Beltran, Oklahoma City OK, Aug. 31, 2009
--Bishop John Jeremiah McRaith, Owensborough KY, Dec. 6, 2009

FYI, there are normally about 260 active bishops in the United States.

Statistical Information from Catholic Hierarchy and The St. Joseph Foundation.

2005-01-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

New feature-- FYI:Where are They Now?
Fr. John Shea, author, seminary professor, former secretary of ICEL. John Shea no longer has priestly faculties. He is on the Leadership Council of Contemporary Catholic, an outfit with some interesting verbiage and equally interesting "Affiliate Organizations," to use their terminology. Among them are:
*non-denominational wedding ministries
*We Are Church, UK
*Catholics for a Changing Church, UK
*various Old Catholic and autocephalous churches and more.
Check it out.

Blogger credit to Carrie Tomko.

2005-01-02T22:50:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Click here. If you have a slow connection, please be patient. It's worth it. =)

Blogger Credit to Carrie Tomko, whose site Still Running Off at the Keyboard is always interesting.

2004-12-19T03:25:00.000-05:00

The local Nazarene church has a "drive through live nativity." Now I've heard of everything. I cracked up when I saw the sign. Like we're too much on the fast track to get out of the SUV and look at it? At least no one has decided to make a "live drive through nativity and carwash." That'll be next year. ;) Anyway, check it out on the net--there's a huge number of these around, apparently.

2004-12-13T01:08:00.000-05:00

Church women in Battle Creek try calendar in the buff as unusual fund-raiser

Heh. This is at least as scary as it is scandalous. Remember the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live???

Thank God in His infinite wisdom that this is not a Catholic fund-raising endeavor. It's only the Episcopalians trying to be lewd again. There are 14 ladies on the calendar, aged 56 to 82, according to the church website.

2004-12-08T23:19:00.000-05:00

Good conversation about liturgy over at Pontifications..... Some of the commenters are Episcopalian, some Roman Rite Catholics, some other rite Catholics, a few Orthodox, etc. Fascinating, civil and literate--always a good thing. Interesting that they are getting past some of the cliches.......

2004-12-07T23:37:00.000-05:00

I don't know... Money just comes and we spend it. It's never been gone before.

[The Diocese of Portland has just been the 3rd diocese in the country to file for bankruptcy. No one quite knows how it will play out--read the article at CruxNews.]

2004-12-01T22:16:00.000-05:00

Adding a newly found blog to my sidebar: Musings of a Pertinaceous Papist. Found as a link from another page. I like what I read so far...

2004-11-25T02:32:00.000-05:00

The Fifth Catholic Carnival is up at Living Catholicism.

Here's the Fourth at Dunmoose, the Third at Living Catholicism, the Second at Curt Jester and the First at Living Catholicism.

The next one, the Sixth, will be over at Happy Catholic soon.

2004-10-24T10:21:00.000-04:00

The Disgrace of the SSJ--Nazareth Farm and Nazareth
Center for Eco-Spirituality, 3629 Gull Rd, Kalamazoo

Text from http://www.ncrlc.com/communities_database01.html

Celebrations include Equinox and Solstice events, Earth Day celebrations and a wide range of educational offerings on creation mystics, on reconnecting with nature in various seasons and other eco-spiritual offerings through Transformations:SSJ Spirituality Center. The charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth emphasizes oneness , unity and reconciliation. They seek to help the human community recognize and experience a greater sense of oneness (relationship) with all that is and to help the human community become reconciled with the Earth community by fostering sustainable living. [2004]

Nazareth Center for Eco-Spirituality consists of 55 acres of woods. wetland , fields and nature trails and includes a Resource Center for public use, including a special relationship with a local public school adjacent to the property.

Sacred Trees and all.

And they're still engaging in this pagan ritual....
Tuesday, December 21
Winter Solstice - Celebrating the Light
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm $10 Suggested Donation
Eco-Spirituality Center
Ginny Jones, SSJ
Come and celebrate the arrival of winter and our turning toward the light during this season of peace, love and joy. Bring your bells, drums and rattles to enliven the ritual, song, and holiday joy. Bring your compassionate heart to join in prayer.

And that would be what kind of ritual?? Using drums and rattles, yet. It wouldn't be a drumming ritual, would it??

This is PANTHEISTIC BALONEY and it's PAGAN.

2004-10-24T09:12:00.000-04:00

More funnies out at the Transformation Center at Nazareth:

Sage Carpenter, Medical Intuitive The Therapeutic Mania at its finest hour.

Spiritual Eldering and Sage-ing Has nothing to do with stuffing, has everything to do with turkeys.

Dear old ladies--this is all about getting the pedagogical media confused with the message. All gung-ho and completely missing the point! You know full well what I mean. Most of you used to be elementary school teachers--you and I both know that (regardless of your connections and your airs and what-not). Whatever happened to the Christian way of doing things with you? What did you think you were professing all those years ago?? *What are you professing now??*

2004-10-10T01:36:00.000-04:00

Good news--Fr. Benedict Groeschel is going to be doing a new program on EWTN on Sunday nights at 7PM, starting October 24th. It will be a live call-in show, and should be GREAT. Fr. Groeschel is an accomplished speaker, spiritual director, psychologist and co-founder of the Capuchins for the Renewal (CFR) in New York City.

EWTN is carried by DishNetwork. You can get it from the website and not even pay for the hardware! It's available anywhere in Michigan, even way out in the country, because it's satellite, not cable.

2004-10-10T01:21:00.000-04:00

Kerry's campaign ejected 25 Roman Catholic seminarians from the debate in St. Louis who had tickets. They were afraid of genuine Catholic witness.

More pictures....

And more.

Blogger credit to Amy Welborn.

2004-10-04T13:33:00.000-04:00

Could local priest return to church? Leroy White

The article says:

"The Diocese of Kalamazoo says the allegations still have clout, but that Rome has told them White can't be fully restricted from the priesthood with one exception: He cannot serve in the Kalamazoo area.

The next step in this process is that White has to be allowed by the Diocese of Lansing -- which oversees Genesee County -- to return to serving here in the area."

SO:
1) The diocese of Kalamazoo has done its job. Thank you, Bishop Murray. This man is not to substitute, appear, officiate at any Masses in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. You see him, you scream bloody murder.
2) Lansing, the ball is in your court. Watch this guy--he could cost you.

BTW, I'm confused. If the abuse prevents him from serving in Kazoo diocese, why on earth doesn't it prevent him from serving in Lansing diocese? Why do they think just moving him around is going to help anything?

2004-09-18T16:22:00.000-04:00

Silly, but I like it anyway. Which one is yours?
Or is yours the alternative?

Blog credit to the Saintly Salmagundi.

2004-09-03T21:11:00.000-04:00

EWTN to televise Tridentine Mass celebrated by Archbishop Raymond Burke

GATE OF HEAVEN: THE SOLEMN CONSECRATION OF ST. MARY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC ORATORY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

On May 31st, 2003, this Solemn Consecration was performed by the Most Rev. Bishop of LaCrosse, Raymond L. Burke. The ceremony is shown in all its parts: (1) The purification & dedication of the Church; (2) The translocation of the relics; (3) the Consecration of the Church; and, (4) Celebration of the first pontifical high mass, using the traditional Latin rite of the Liturgy.

Wednesday, October 6, 2004, 10:00 PM
Saturday, October 9, 2004, 1:00 PM
Sunday, October 10, 2004, 10:00 AM