American Papist: Not Your Average Catholic!: February 2006

Some Papist Wear I Missed

Reader Laura gave me a heads-up today about L-Z-Tees. Not only do they offer cool Papist stuff, but you get to donate 10% of your purchase to the Catholic association of your choice!

Here's one of their cool t-shirts, the "Ratz Pack":

And speaking of shirts, looks like you can now show your support for Cardinal George in public:

Cute Kid. Cute Pope.

[source]

Some Papist News:

New bishop ordained for Nashville

Pope, Roman Curia mark beginning of Lent with annual spiritual retreat

The Supreme Court rules that pro-life demonstrations cannot be banned

Sydney Watch - Pope Benedict's Message for the 21st World Youth Day

Read CNA's summary article.

or

Read the message in full.

Excerpt about WYD 2008 in Sydney:

Dear friends, at the 21st World Youth Day that we will celebrate on 9 April next, Palm Sunday, we will set out, in our hearts, on a pilgrimage towards the world encounter with young people that will take place in Sydney in July 2008. We will prepare for that great appointment reflecting together on the theme The Holy Spirit and the mission in successive stages. This year our attention will focus on the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, who reveals Christ to us, the Word made flesh, opening the heart of each one to the Word of salvation that leads to the fullness of Truth. Next year, 2007, we will meditate on a verse from the Gospel of John: "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another" (13:34). We will discover more about the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Love, who infuses divine charity within us and makes us aware of the material and spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters. We will finally reach the world meeting of 2008 and its theme will be: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8).

Mel Gibson to do movie on Medjugorje?!

Update: This rumor did indeed turn out to be false. (but I'm still hoping for a movie on the Maccabees!)

Mark Shea reports that the "Medjugorje Message" Blog is claiming that Mel Gibson is going to be doing a movie related to Medjugorje sometime soon.

... well, it looks like they've taken down their post already and now say "An update will be posted later today."

Personally, I doubt this is going to happen. Mel Gibson has been rumored to be doing several projects after the blockbuster success of The Passion - from a film on Pope John Paul II to one on the Maccabees brothers (which would be awesome) but so far the only movie he's officially announced is Apocalypto (which also looks very interesting, I might add).

There is a blog, Apocalyto Watch, that is keeping track of the scant news available on it (so far it looks like the only thing that is really available is a teaser trailer, and yes, Mel Gibson still has his sense of humor it seems.)

Archimandrite Sees Need for Catholic-Orthodox Unity

Okay, I'll admit that the only reason I'm mentioning this Zenit article is because I wanted an excuse to talk about one of the coolest words in Christianity - Archimandrite.

"Archimandrite", according to the Wikapedia entry:

"...derives from the Greek aρχι (archi-) meaning "highest" and μάνδρα (mandra) meaning "enclosure", or "pen" to denote "monastery."

It is a "title in the Eastern Orthodox Church for a superior abbot who has the supervision of several abbots and monasteries appointed by a bishop. The title has been in use since the 5th century, with some evidence of the 4th century usage."

If you ever get the chance to meet an Archimandrite (which I haven't - yet), one "who is not the abbot of a monastery is styled "The Very Reverend Archimandrite" and one who is an abbot is styled "The Right Reverend Archimandrite"."

I could deal with being greeted that way!

Read the Catholic Encyclopedia entry for "Archimandrite."

And for some pictures (update: per Neri in the combox, not all these are actually Archimandrites - I don't know the differentiating marks for sure...):

Here is a picture of an Archimandrite looking very Archimandrite-ish. (Probably a Bishop?)

Here is an icon of an Archimandrite looking superbly Archimandrite-like. (This one looks pretty sure, however.)

And - *wow* - here is photo gallery of a whole Archimandrite-arch-gathering. (At least one of these is an Archimandrite...)

Finally, here is an Archimandrite-in-training (center). (Darn, just a glorified altar boy.)

Pope Benedict's Triple Monday-Morning Punch

Pope Benedict is rocking and rolling today!

[source]

And since it is a new day... a second amazing video

Once again I thought I was done posting for the night - only to be proven wrong.

It's quite an incredible performance of Mozart's Queen of the Night aria from Die Zauberflote... though I must say, it seems a little bit cruel to have a kid that age singing this kind of part.

Still, he pulls it off amazingly well - those redoubtable Austrians...

And the best video you'll see today..

As always - watch it to the end.

(even for those of you who don't normally watch sports.)

(H/T to Greg via Danny.)

On the other side of the fence... Orthodox in trouble?

Looks like the Orthodox Church in America is in hot water over the misappropriation of funds:

Accusations of Misused Money Roil Orthodox Church
Allegations of financial misconduct are rocking the Orthodox Church in America, whose former treasurer says top officials misappropriated millions of dollars in donations from agribusiness titan Dwayne Andreas, U.S. military chaplains and ordinary parishioners across the country.
The highest officers of the 400,000-member denomination, an offshoot of the Russian Orthodox Church, are accused of using the money to cover personal credit card bills, pay sexual blackmail, support family members and make up shortfalls in various church accounts.
[continued]

King Kong ... re-enacted by bunnies.

I never get tired of these.

Theology on Tap covered by the Washington Post

Get Religion points to this good article about "Theology of Tap" sessions.

Never having been to one, I only know what I've heard (and now read).

If anyone has been to one of these you are welcome to comment...

[by the way, a nice little joke from the combox: "Wherever you have four Lutherans, you also have a fifth."]

Ghana's elusive Cardinal-elect Dery...

I've finally found a picture for the most elusive (and eldest - 87) of the new Cardinals-elect: the Archbishop Emeritus of Tamale, Ghana - Peter Poreku Dery.

[view the other Cardinals-elect over 80]

News in Ghana reports:

Pope Benedict XVI has elevated the Most Reverend Peter Poreku Dery, former Archbishop of Tamale, to the rank of Cardinal, Most Reverend George Kochery, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, announced yesterday, Wednesday.
Most Reverend Dery is the first African to be elevated among 15 others worldwide by the Pope, said the Most Reverend George Kochery, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana.
Announcing the elevation at a ceremony in Tamale, attended by Archbishop Dery himself, Rev. Kochery said it was in recognition of his untiring and meritorious services to the Catholic Church in Ghana. "Dear people of Ghana, here you have another Prince of the Church. Your Eminence, Cardinal-Elect Dery, my hearty congratulations and felicitations for this great honour bestowed upon you by the Supreme Pontiff," Rev Kochery said, adding that he was the architect of the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province.
Most Rev. Kochery said Rev Dery would join the others for the official ceremony of elevation on March 24 2006.
Cardinal-Elect Dery, who walked with difficulty, gave thanks to God. "God is great and wonderful and I thank him." He however added, "but I am now sick. When you announced my elevation, my sickness started again".
[hopefully he will be able to travel to Rome for his elevation...]
The Cardinal-Elect then asked the Bishops and Priests of the Tamale Archdiocese of the Catholic Church who were present at the ceremony to sing 'This is the day that the Lord told me we would be rejoicing.' The Catholic Archbishop of Tamale, the Most Rev. Gregory Kpiebaya said: "Nobody points at an elephant to a child. Cardinal-Elect Dery deserves the elevation. This is only good enough to justify the good works of him."
[A great quote - I presume it means that someone of Cardinal-elect Dery's reputation in Ghana requires no introduction.]
Most Reverend Lucas Abadamloora, President of the Ghana Bishops' Conference, who is also Bishop of Navrongo/ Bolgatanga Diocese, said: "It is a great honour for Ghana to have two Cardinals. The Lord would use him to bless the country."
[the other is Cardinal Turkson]
Archbishop Dery, who holds a Doctorate in Divinity, was born on May 10, 1918 at Nandom Kuo in the Upper West Region. He was ordained a priest in May, 1951 and made Bishop of Wa on May 8, 1960.
He became Archbishop of Tamale in November 1977 and retired in 1994.
Archbishop Dery was President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference from 1982-88.
Present at the ceremony were Most Rev. Philip Naameh, Bishop of Damongo, Most Rev. Vincent Boi-Nai, Bishop of Yendi and a large number of Catholic faithfuls.

Your PPOTD! (Papist-Picture-of-the-Day) - Sun, Feb. 26

Pope Benedict: "I would like to also extend a special word of welcome to the Statue of Liberty's younger sister - who shall be assigned the important task of guarding the north gate."

"And now an unrelated message for the youth of Rome: Just try to take another joy ride in my new wheels..."

[source]

(apologies for the light blogging - midterms this week!)

South Dakota moving closer to abortion ban

Legislation in South Dakota against procured abortions (except where the mother's life is in danger...) takes another step:

"The House passed the bill 50 to 18 on Friday, and the Senate approved it 23 to 12 earlier this week. If signed, it will become law July 1."
"Under the measure, an illegal abortion could mean a prison sentence of up to five years for a physician"

Planned Parenthood is currently the only abortion provider in the state, but needless to say, legislation prohibiting abortion in even one state is a good sign.

I've especially enjoyed some of the AP's coverage of the story (underlining mine):

The ban, including in cases of rape or incest, was approved Friday by South Dakota lawmakers, setting up a deliberate frontal assault on Roe v. Wade at a time when some activists see the U.S. Supreme as more willing than ever to overturn the 33-year-old decision.

"deliberate frontal assault" - that's objective journalism for you...

As usual, pro-abortion folks are claiming that the legislation would impact rape victims and poor women:

If a rape victim becomes pregnant and bears a child, the rapist could have the same parental rights as the mother, said Krista Heeren-Graber, executive director of the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault.
"The idea the rapist could be in the child's life ... makes the woman very, very fearful. Sometimes they need to have choice," Heeren-Graber said.

The president of the local abortion-alternative counseling center responded:

...most [abortions] do not stem from rape or even failed contraception, but are simply "conveniences."
Unruh said she believes most South Dakota women want the state to ban abortion, and many who have had abortions "wish someone would have stopped them."

Now, here's a suprising (for me) and encouraging aspect of the story. Normally, it always seems that abortion-advocates have the big bucks - well, at least we're making a somewhat decent showing this time:

But even before the bill has a signature, money to defend it poured in. Lawmakers were told during the debate that an anonymous donor pledged $1 million to defend the ban, and the Legislature was setting up a special account to accept donations.
"We've had people stopping in our office trying to drop off checks to promote the defense of this legislation already," Rounds [the Governor] said.

Even though I'm sure a million bucks is a drop in the bucket for Planned Parenthood, it's still good to see both grassroots supporters and individuals of means promoting the culture of life at crucial times - and it's also gratifying to finally see some elected officials [in this case, Mike Rounds] demonstrate the courage of their convictions:

"I've indicated I'm pro-life and I do believe abortion is wrong and that we should do everything we can to save lives. If this bill accomplishes that, then I am inclined to sign the bill into law," he said.

Needless to say, I suggest reading about this development - I'll see if I can find any websites lending more information on the topic. This one seems to have come out of the blue in many ways... oh well - aren't the best things normally unlooked-for?

Cutest, funniest video you will see today

Thought I was done blogging for the night - but then I came across this video.

You'll be laughing in seconds. How beautiful...

H/T to The Anchoress.

Vatican to Muslims: Practice What You Preach

The Drudge Report is pointing to an article by Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor for Rueters entitled "Vatican to Muslims: practice what you preach."

While the general point is about the Vatican moving from a neutral "let's tolerate other religions" stance on the cartoon riots to a "hey, Muslims - this means you tolerate other religions" stance ... several quotes from the story are particularly noteworthy:

"Enough now with this turning the other cheek! It's our duty to protect ourselves," Monsignor Velasio De Paolis, secretary of the Vatican's supreme court, thundered in the daily La Stampa... "The West has had relations with the Arab countries for half a century, mostly for oil, and has not been able to get the slightest concession on human rights," he said.

And this one:

Bishop Rino Fisichella, head of one of the Roman universities that train young priests from around the world, told Corriere della Sera the Vatican should speak out more.

"Let's drop this diplomatic silence," said the rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. "We should put pressure on international organizations to make the societies and states in majority Muslim countries face up to their responsibilities."

Even Cardinal Sodano is getting pretty frank:

"If we tell our people they have no right to offend, we have to tell the others they have no right to destroy us," Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State (prime minister), told journalists in Rome.

(all underlining is mine of course).

It's interesting to see guys in fairly high positions start to heighten their rhetoric.

The whole article is a decent read, and since it's being highlighted on Drudge I'm sure it is getting bombed with readers now.

Your CPOTD! (Cardinal-Picture-of-the-Day)

" New cardinal-elect Caffarra (left) reads a statement in support of Italian sparking water, while Professor Andreoli (right), a closet Perrier drinker, folds his arms in disdain."

[source]

Ain't this snazzy?

Second!

The results of the 2006 Catholic Blog Awards have been finalized (and I've decided that I'm not going to ask for a recount - hehe). My gratitude to everyone who voted for me - you rock!

Congratulations to Gerald Augustinus @ Closed Cafeteria for taking first. Gerald has lived in no fewer than three of the same cities as I have - so perhaps something about these locales creates atmospheric conditions favorable to blogging? Who knows? Either way, I'm still waiting for a video podcast of him kayaking the San Diego river.

Congratulations also to Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex for taking third - a very deserving blog in my opinion. They have a fine panel of contributors on very important topics. My collaboration with David on the Cardinal George Fanclub has been a very pleasant and productive experience.

And of course, thanks to Josh at CyberCatholics for hosting/running the awards.

Finally, there is now a forum where people can post reactions and suggestions about the CBA.

[NB: I promise this is the last you'll hear about the CBA for awhile - back to the blogging!]

ACLU opposes creation of Ave Maria Town

An interesting situation is developing down south...

ACLU opposes creation of 'Catholic town'
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is opposed to the efforts of Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan to build a Catholic town, named Ave Maria, in Florida.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, host of “The Situation,” Florida ACLU executive director Howard Simon insisted that his organization’s opposition has nothing to do with anti-Catholicism. Rather, he said: “It’s a story about any religious group trying to exercise governmental power.”
“You’ve to make a distinction between just encouraging like-minded people to come and live in the same place with a town organized on religious principles, in which the religious group is given governmental authority,” said Simon.
About a year ago, Monaghan indicated that he would own all the commercial real estate, residents would not be able to buy pornography or contraception, and the town would determine what cable system it would have.
Read the rest at CNA.

Newsweek & MSNBC (with video) are also covering the story.

A blog entitled "Whose AMSOL?" is covering this and related news...