The AmP "Huh?!" story of the week

Dale Price, via Amy:

Terry McAuliffe, (former DNC chair) unapologetic defender of partial birth abortion, is about to be honored for his selfless devotion to and efforts on behalf of the Catholic Faith by being admitted to the Knights of Malta. [Read the fully story at Amy's.]

McAuliffe, according to Wikipedia, "will be a strategist for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential election." How this guy merits admission to the KoM is beyond me. Seriously, I hope for some sort of official response.

Update: LifeSiteNews adds more:

LifeSiteNews called the Knights of Malta office in Washington, where it was confirmed that Terry McAuliffe has indeed submitted an application to the Knights of Malta, which is currently under review. A director told LifeSiteNews that the Knights have no control over whom submits an application, but do make the decision whether a candidate fulfills all the requirements to join their ranks.

... Currently, the fault lies not with the Knights of Malta, but with McAullife's two sponsors and pastor, who "to avoid possible embarrassment" have the responsibility to make sure that the applicant satisfies the criteria for admission.

[LifeSiteNews includes more contact information and a full news story here.]

Update 2:

Fresh from Amy: "...from a source with, er...knowledge. Terry McAuliffe's application for the Knights of Malta was "withdrawn." The Knights office in DC was flooded with emails and calls - and, I'd expect, many of them from the good Knights and Dames themselves."

There we go.

Embryonic research cartoon

— "I died while waiting for a cure to be found by research on embryonic stem cells, and you?"

— "I was that embryo!"

[thanks go to my father for forwarding me this.]

Youngstown gets its bishop!

Tuesdays are "new bishop" day, and today the diocese of Youngstown (the second-longest vacancy in the U.S.) received its new bishop from a rather exotic source.

The Vatican Information Service release:

[The Holy Father] Appointed Bishop George V. Murry S.J., of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands, U.S.A., as bishop of Youngstown (area 8,813, population 1,220,447, Catholics 233,999, priests 173, permanent deacons 66, religious 242), U.S.A.

BettNet notes the many dioceses that are still vacant:

... the other vacant sees at the moment (and the date they became vacant) are Lake Charles, Louisiana (March 2005); Birmingham, Alabama (May 2005); Pittsburgh (May 2006); Little Rock, Arkansas (May 2006); Great Falls/Billings, Montana (July 2006); and Shreveport, Louisiana (December 2006). Eleven other bishops are serving past their retirement age.

Amy provides a press release with some background on the bishop-elect.

Rocco gives us his information.

Not surprisingly, the Diocese of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, has a rather sparse website. Wikipedia adds a little more in the history department here, including a map of the diocese.

And finally, on a personal note, I attended college with a gentleman who is now a priest of the diocese of Youngstown (and still the most recent ordinand of the diocese, I believe). If you want extended coverage of this event, YouTube has a video of his ordination, celebrated by Carl Mengling, the (serving past his retirement date) bishop of my diocese, Lansing.

It's a small papist world, isn't it?

"Repeated Defiance of Rome: Cardinal Martini Defies Pope; Sabotages Church’s Teaching on Life"

LifeSiteNews:

ROME, January 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The retired Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, has struck another subversive blow to the clearly defined teachings of the Catholic Church on life, reports Vatican expert Sandro Magister in the Italian journal Chiesa, who says "the real clash is between Martini and the Pope."

Just nine months previously, Martini, a high profile leader in the Catholic Church, exposed his public dissent from the Church’s life teachings on artificial insemination, embryos, abortion, and euthanasia published in the Italian weekly L'espresso in what Magister wrote was a "bombshell manifesto of opposition to the reigning pope."

Back then, Martini contradicted Church teaching on euthanasia saying, "The pursuit of physical human life is not, in itself, the first and absolute principle. Above this stands the principle of human dignity."

In the January 21 Sunday edition front page of Il Sole 24 Ore, the leading economics and finance newspaper in Italy, and one of the most influential in Europe, appears Martini’s elaborated dissent entitled "Welby, Death, and Me." The piece comes in the wake of the death of Piergiorgio Welby last Christmas; a man who became a cause célèbre of the "right-to-die" movement after an Italian doctor removed his ventilator on his request.

...

Although nine months ago leading Church officials had avoided replying in public to Martini’s previous shocking dissent, this time Church officials have been quicker to respond to Martini’s departures, although remain hesitant to enter into an open confrontation by naming him directly.

A decisive response came from Elio Sgreccia, titular bishop of Zama, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life and for years the most authoritative representative of the Church’s official positions in the area of bioethics in "Corriere della Sera," the major newspaper of Milan, Martini’s former archdiocese. Citing John Paul II’s encyclical "Evangelium Vitae", Sgreccia wrote that euthanasia is still the same offense against life even when it is "exclusionary," or when it omits "an effective and rightful therapy, the withholding of which intentionally causes death."

Sgreccia also reiterated that the doctor, not the patient, must evaluate the "proportionality" of the medical treatment and must not be "a simple executor of [a patient’s] wishes" and is bound to object conscientiously if a patient groundlessly refuses medical treatment. [full article.]

A more extended explication of the story is given by Sandro Magister here.

"Domino's Pizza founder tosses money, influence to Sen. Brownback"

An interesting confluence of people and subjects:

WASHINGTON - The passion of Tom Monaghan: Pizza. God. Sam Brownback.

The Domino's pizza founder, one of the nation's richest and most controversial Roman Catholic philanthropists, is putting his money and influence into making Brownback, the Republican Kansas senator, the next president of the United States.

The former pizza magnate is advising the 2008 presidential exploratory committee for Brownback, a longtime social conservative who converted to Catholicism a few years ago. Monaghan, who declined an interview request, is expected to play a lead role in "Catholics for Brownback."

More important, his support is likely to be a big help to Brownback's fundraising, which is currently regarded as the weakest part of Brownback's candidacy.

"He brings to the table recognition in the Catholic community," said Marlene Elwell, a Michigan political activist who used to work for Monaghan. "It's always positive to have a leader in a community endorse you."

But the extent of Monaghan's religious fervor could raise eyebrows among more secular voters. [full article.]

CNA: "Pope reemphasizes relationship between faith and reason, cites example of St. Thomas Aquinas"

Hardly surprising, but always gratifying:

Pope Benedict XVI used this week's Angelus to return to one of his favorite topics: the relation of Faith and Reason. Citing the example of St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast day was Sunday, Benedict urged the faithful to remember that faith and reason are not exclusionary principles.

[especially interesting:]

St. Thomas Aquinas was able to bring Arab and Jewish thought together in a very fruitful way, the Pope continued, and he presents us with a synthesis of faith and reason that serves as a model of inter-cultural dialogue between the East and the West.

The Pope concluded the Angelus with a prayer for all Christians, especially those "working in academic and cultural spheres," so that they may express the reasonableness of their faith and give witness to it in dialogue inspired by love. [full story from CNA.]

Catholic Carnival 104 Call for Submissions

From Jay:

It's time for the next Catholic Carnival. The Carnival is a great way to attract new Catholic readers and/or highlight a special post from your blog.

This week's Carnival will be held back at Living Catholicism (http://www.livingcatholicism.com). To enter is easy, just email the information below to jay@livingcatholicism.com by 10:00 PM EST on Monday evening.

Blog name
Blog URL
Post name
Post URL
Post description

Video: Leo XIII, Pius XI & More!

Fr. Nicholas Schofield has found three amazing videos.

I picked my phone...

... and here it is:

I did not end up going with Charity Mobile, though I did take the opportunity to purchase a wallpaper from catholicmobile.com as one of the first things I did when I got it. Nothing beats flipping open your phone to see the Pantokrator Himself. A good reminder not to gossip when calling people? I sure hope so!

Meme: 5 Random Things About Me

I've been tagged by the Roman Sacristan. Here goes:

• I was an avid chess player in high school and much of college. I won my grade level for three years running when I lived in San Diego. My specialty is "lightning chess" (under 2 minute time limit).
• I'm related to Dick Van Dyke.
• I was allergic to shrimp when I was a kid.
• One of my most ambitious summers of reading (I think when I was 12) included the complete Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Hardy Boys, The Time Quartet, The Dark is Rising series, and, oddly enough, as many of the Janes Fighting Ships I could convince my local library to order from the main branch.
• I have to admit that I'm rather addicted to Arrested Development.

Feel free to join in this meme, just link back to me so that I can stop by and read yours.

In other news, I've finally moved over to the new version of blogger. So now I have tags. Yay.

Police hunt priest in sex assault case

Breaking news... and very sad:

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Police officers were searching for a Roman Catholic priest they believe may have sexually assaulted and struck a woman at a Las Vegas, Nevada, church.

Authorities said they were called to Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church on Friday evening by someone who heard a woman in the church cry for help.

Officers found a church employee who said she had been assaulted and hit in the head with an object by a priest. Investigators consider the Rev. George Chaanine a person of interest, police spokesman Bill Cassell said.

Police closed the grounds of the church, which is about four miles west of the Las Vegas Strip, for about an hour while they searched for Chaanine.

They believe the priest is driving a cream-colored Buick LeSabre.

The victim was treated at University Medical Center and released.

LifeSiteNews headlines, Jan. 26th

LifeSiteNews:

• First Things' Fr. Neuhaus Criticizes Archbishop Wuerl on Pro-Abortion Politicians Fiasco
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012501.html
• Bishop and Priest Hasten to Apologize to Pro-Abortion Politician for Homily Calling Him to Account
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012502.html
• Historically Catholic Santa Cruz Self-Declared “Pro-Choice” City
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012506.html
• “Roe v. Wade Week” at Yale Features Do It Yourself Abortions
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012503.html

$100 cell phone credit for Charity Mobile

For anyone interested in the services of Charity Mobile after my recent post, I found the following code which, when entered, gives you a $100 credit to put towards purchasing a phone along with one of their plans (some restrictions apply, I'm sure): OSVAFP12.

And while my mind is on the topic: here's how to give your current cell phone a "Catholic makeover"!

Your PPOTD! Thursday, January 25th

As pope, it can be challenging to sneak up on people. Someone always notices you.

[photo: REUTERS/Dario Pignatelli]

(the real story behind the picture.)

Dodging the Kerry bullet

Thanks be to God:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Sen. John Kerry, who fell 118,601 Ohio votes short of the White House in 2004, said Wednesday he will not run for president in 2008. [More...]

Meanwhile we're left with: "The presumed frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, [Hillary] Clinton has a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood. The same can be said of Democratic Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois, John Kerry of Massachusetts [now out of the race], Joseph Biden of Delaware and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards -- all of whom are expected to challenge Clinton for the nomination." [More...]

It's going to be a long road.

From the VIS: protecting children from media

From today's VIS:

VATICAN CITY, JAN 24, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today, Feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists, was Benedict XVI's Message for the World Day of Social Communications, which this year is due to be celebrated on May 20, on the theme: "Children and the Media: A Challenge for Education."

...

"Media education should be positive. Children exposed to what is aesthetically and morally excellent are helped to develop appreciation, prudence and the skills of discernment. Here it is important to recognize the fundamental value of parents' example and the benefits of introducing young people to children's classics in literature, to the fine arts and to uplifting music. While popular literature will always have its place in culture, the temptation to sensationalize should not be passively accepted in places of learning."

"Like education in general, media education requires formation in the exercise of freedom. This is a demanding task. So often freedom is presented as a relentless search for pleasure or new experiences. Yet this is a condemnation not a liberation! True freedom could never condemn the individual - especially a child - to an insatiable quest for novelty. In the light of truth, authentic freedom is experienced as a definitive response to God's 'yes' to humanity, calling us to choose, not indiscriminately but deliberately, all that is good, true and beautiful. Parents, then, as the guardians of that freedom, while gradually giving their children greater freedom, introduce them to the profound joy of life.

...

"Any trend to produce programs and products - including animated films and video games - which in the name of entertainment exalt violence and portray anti-social behavior or the trivialization of human sexuality is a perversion, all the more repulsive when these programs are directed at children and adolescents. How could one explain this 'entertainment' to the countless innocent young people who actually suffer violence, exploitation and abuse?"

[read the whole message.]

I can't remember having seen a pope address by name the problems plaguing many video games nowadays. This is an excellent development for a contemporary and widespread dilemma.

Papist Wallpaper: B is for Biretta

From Jeff the Curt Jester:

"Galea Salutis has a poster which is a parody of V is for Vendetta. I do hope he makes a trailer to go with it."

(and here's a copy the original poster so you can see how clever this version is. Bravo!)

Conference: 40 Years of Amazing Grace (Feb. 16-18)

Clear your calendar because this upcoming conference in Detroit shows alot of promise:

Fr. Cantalamessa (preacher to the papal household) will be their keynote speaker and homilist!

Other speakers include Fr. Francis Martin, Ralph Martin & Bishop Sam Jacobs (I've heard each of them give presentations before and they are all top-notch). The schedule includes many presentations, awesome praise & worship, Mass, etc.

... and ... me! (planning to wander around the conference, that is).

Read more here. And post below if you will be attending! And as you can see, the upper-left AmP corner will be dedicated to this event for the next few weeks. I'll be posting on this event again as I learn more about it, so stay tuned!

Catholic Carnival 103

This week's Catholic Carnival is now up.

Anyone use "Charity Mobile"?

It looks like I'll soon be giving into the constant pleas of my friends and purchasing a cell phone. Has anyone come across or used Charity Mobile's services by any chance?

Should "papist" be a banned word?

I got a kick out of this:

"Hello!

There are a bunch of Catholics on my IRC channel called _____ on the _____ IRC network, who would like me to ban the word "PAPIST".. and someone found your website, and so I thought you might want to join the channel one day and identify yourself, and tell them to just chill out!

I'll have to consider it...

Appearing on Lino Rulli "The Catholic Guy" this Thursday

I'll be on at 4:40 EST. Learn more here.

Video: D.C. Dominican Friars at the March for Life

From the inbox:

"The Dominican Friars in D.C. put together a video (about 18 min. long) at the March for Life yesterday.

The video was shot on the ground inside the moving crowd. It includes the testimony of Dominican Friars and Sisters, CFR's, Renewal Sisters, pastors, campus ministers, college students, and youth.

For example, Br. Dominic Legge, OP describes how the March affects people inside the Supreme Court.

The video gives a sense of what it is like to go on the March."

Blogging resumes in earnest...

Today (after I catch some sleep).

This is post #1,500 by the way. And I think I have at least another 1,500 in me...

Guy Ritchie's Revolver - almost a bullseye.

I saw the movie 2005 Revolver recently and it took me quite by surprise. In fact (to fire off an obvious pun) ... it blew me away. And not just because I like chess, either.

Sure it's directed by Guy Ritchie, a man crazy enough to marry Madonna. Sure, the movie is violent, vulgar, generally pretentious and contains a few flaws - but it also tries to fry the biggest fish of them all - and that's what surprised me: I think it actually does.

Now, I'm not necessarily recommending you go out and rent it. The violence, language and nudity is somewhere in the vicinity of Goodfellas, so it requires some thick skin and maturity to view. It's your typical modern gangster film, and all that that implies.

However, I think the movie is a powerful piece of art which, when understood, offers an amazing and startling insight. The crucial phrase is of course "when understood", and a quick look at the reviews the movie has received would suggest that the movie's message was almost completely missed by the critics. No surprise there. As a gangster movie it's merely decent, but as a moral tale - nay, even a modern mystery play with a bit of psychological flavor - it's quite good.

I'm keeping mum about the point of the movie because doing otherwise would ruin the experience of letting the movie unfold itself. Perhaps this post will prompt a little combox discussion that determines if anyone else thinks this is a sleeper film, and maybe a few brave souls will go out and rent it. You could do alot worse nowadays.

Nigeria, Voting & Communion

The story de jour:

A Catholic bishop in Nigeria has instructed parishioners to show they have registered to vote in elections this April or be banned from communion, a newspaper This Day reported on Tuesday.

Bishop Francis Okobo, who oversees the diocese of Nsukka in the southeastern state of Enugu, authorised the circulation of a bulletin in Catholic churches on Sunday telling the faithful that they had to make their vote count in this year's elections.

...

"Whoever has not collected the voter's card after February 7 has automatically alienated himself or herself from the community, the Church, the nation and will not be allowed to receive the holy communion," the bulletin said according to This Day. [full story.]

Ed Peters makes a few clarifying points about the situation here.

Obama...?

Anyone know anything about him?

Amy has a post with some helpful comments. No great shakes, it seems.

More Wuerl Controversy

A long post at Amy's. Worth the read if it interests you.

Your PPOTD! Friday, January 12th

Vatican protocols being what they are, the mayor was lucky to have the use of a microphone.

[photo: AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, Pool]

Papa Benny one-ups Beckham again

Beckham may be poised to conquer U.S. soccer, but Papa Benny has his sights set on the world.

[photo: AP Photo/Osservatore Romano]

Lawsuit naming Vatican as sole defendant proceeds

In the words of my friend who alerted me to the news story: "Crazy federal judges letting people sue the Vatican!":

A federal judge in Louisville issued a "historic" decision yesterday by refusing to dismiss a lawsuit against the Vatican that alleges a cover-up to protect priests who molested American children.

...

If U.S. District Judge John Heyburn II's decision stands, it could open the door for attorneys to take depositions of Vatican officials -- including Pope Benedict XVI -- obtain copies of church records and documents and ultimately determine "what prompted all of the bishops to keep quiet, hide these pedophiles and refuse to report child abusers," McMurry said. He called the decision "historic." [More...]

Dom sums up this situation nicely.

CWNews has its coverage here. And C-L-S finds a little silver lining.

Rocco got his hands on the 18-page decision, and posts some excerpts here.

As for me, I pretty much agree with my friend. Crazy judges.

Dante lovers unite!

This is the coolest:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Rome monsignor has composed an extravagant musical version of "The Divine Comedy," featuring symphonic music in heaven, Gregorian chant in purgatory and hard rock in hell.

That's not a value judgment on rock music -- it just seemed to fit the spirit of rebellion in Dante's description of the inferno, Msgr. Marco Frisina told Vatican Radio Jan. 4.

Msgr. Frisina, a liturgy official for the Diocese of Rome and a well-known composer of religious music, said the new work, "The Divine Comedy: The Opera," will use a 100-piece orchestra, 50 dancers and singers, and more than 250 costumes.

According to the opera's production company, Nova Ars, the set will be one of the biggest ever used for an operatic work and will be designed to allow audience interaction in some of the scenes.

The priest has dedicated the opera's musical score to Pope Benedict XVI and said he hopes the pontiff will attend the premiere in Rome next fall. The production is expected to tour Europe.

Msgr. Frisina already has stirred up controversy by saying he will put rock, punk and heavy metal music in hell.

"I'm simply using the music and sounds of rock to communicate that sense of laceration, drama and deep rebellion that rock music can express so well," he said.

"I needed rock music for the sounds in the city of Dis (the lowest part of hell), for the most violent part of Dante's inferno. But this is not a judgment about rock," he said.

The second half of the opera portrays the pilgrim's path through purgatory to paradise, and the music no longer expresses passion or desperation, but a "desire of the absolute," Msgr. Frisina said. Gregorian chant and symphonic harmony were the appropriate musical choices, he said.

Dante Alighieri's medieval poem, considered one of the masterpieces of world literature, imagines a journey through the three realms of the dead.

Casting for the musical production was to be completed in late January, according to Nova Ars.

Via Amy.

Catholics most numerous faith in 100th U.S. Congress

Seen at PowerBlog!:

Roman Catholics are the largest single U.S. religious denomination among members of the new U.S. Congress which also includes two Buddhists and a Muslim.

A survey published by Americans for Religious Liberty finds Baptists the second most common faith, followed by Methodists, Presbyterians and Jews.

The breakdown for the 535 members of the 110th Congress being sworn in Thursday: Catholic 155; Baptist 67; Methodist 61; Presbyterian 44; Jewish 43; Episcopal 37; Protestant nondenominational 26; Christian nondenominational 18; Lutheran 17; Mormon 15; United Church of Christ 7.

Eastern Orthodox 5; Christian Science 5; Assemblies of God 4; Unitarian Universalist 2; African Methodist Episcopal 2; Buddhists 2; Evangelical 2; Seventh Day Adventists 2; Christian Reformed 2; Disciples of Christ 2; Church of Christ 2; Congregational Baptist 1; Anglican 1.Reorganized Mormon 1; Quaker 1; Church of God 1; Muslim 1; Evangelical Lutheran 1; Church of the Nazarene 1; Evangelical Methodist 1.No affiliation 6.

Update: Gerald, who found this from Amy, adds: "In case you're wondering: Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to vote or run for office (their own rule)." Hmm, I did not know that.

"Spokane Diocese settles sex abuse claims" - AP

The AP reports:

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Catholic Diocese has agreed to pay at least $48 million to people molested by priests as a part of a deal to emerge from bankruptcy, a federal mediator announced Thursday.

The proposed reorganization plan was filed in federal bankruptcy court in Spokane. It still must be approved by victims and another bankruptcy judge.

The settlement would be financed by $20 million from six insurance carriers; another $18 million from the sale of the bishop‘s office building and other assets and contributions from Catholic entities; and $10 million from the diocese‘s 82 parishes, Zive said.

...

The settlement requires Spokane Bishop William Skylstad to publicly support eliminating statutes of limitations on child sex crimes and to personally visit each parish where children were abused to urge parishioners to come forward with reports of abuse, according to court documents.

...

Other [previous] large settlements include $100 million paid to 87 claimants in 2005 by the Diocese of Orange County, Calif., and $85 million paid to 552 claimants in 2003 by the Archdiocese of Boston.

A glance at B16's 2007 schedule

Get the goods over at Jimmy's. He's talking about this CNS article.

Some highlights from that article:

The pope will make at least two foreign trips, including his first intercontinental journey, and sometime during the year is likely to name another batch of new cardinals. (...By the end of February, he'll have at least 10 vacancies among the 120 cardinal-electors, and by June he'll have at least 14 openings.)

...

The year 2007 will see "ad limina" visits by bishops from places on four continents, including Italy, Ukraine, Slovakia, Portugal, Serbia, Kenya, Togo, Benin, Gabon, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Korea and Laos.

...

Pope Benedict plans to travel to Brazil in mid-May to open a meeting of the Latin American bishops' council, or CELAM, and to Austria in September for a Marian pilgrimage. The Brazil trip is his first across an ocean, and Vatican planners are doing all they can to keep it short and sweet.

There's also a chance the pope may visit the United Nations. An informal invitation has been floated and the pope is said to be considering it -- the most likely hypothesis would be a visit in late September to address the opening of the U.N. General Assembly.

[More on cardinals:] "Candidates for the red hat include heads of major archdioceses like Dublin, Paris, Washington, Toronto and Warsaw, as well as a handful of Vatican officials. But some believe the pope may look particularly to Africa, in an effort for more geographical balance, and to Brazil -- the country with the world's largest Catholic population but with only three cardinal-electors."

It's shaping up to be an exciting year!

Pelosi gets her "celebration tour" Mass, despite pro-life resistance

From The Evening Bulletin:

Despite the appeals from a conservative pro-life group to prevent Speaker of the House-elect Nancy Pelosi from making a political appearance at a Mass at Trinity Washington College, Archbishop Donald Wuerl permitted the pro-abortion Democrat to use the Mass as a centerpiece of her "celebration" tour.

In an effort to celebrate the Democratic takeover of Congress last November and to soften her image as a West Coast liberal, Pelosi launched a "celebration" tour this week. This tour is the first in a number of events leading up to Pelosi's inauguration as the first female ever to be Speaker of the House.

...

"It is shameful," stated Judie Brown, President of American Life League, "that Trinity College, a supposedly Catholic institution, has turned a blind eye to the heretical views Pelosi embraces."Pelosi went to college at the all-female Catholic college and returned yesterday to celebrate a Mass at the university's chapel.

The Mass is being celebrated to remember the children of Darfur and Katrina, but Brown argues that Pelosi should be remembering the 50,000,000 unborn children that have perished because of America's legalization of abortion. [More...]

Your PPOTD! Thursday, Jan. 4th

Sure it was a bit unorthodox, but "Tag: You're the Pope!" had unmistakable crowd appeal.

[photo: AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito]

Elvis Presley's "Miracle of the Rosary" Song

If you've got a minute or so, go ahead and turn up your speakers (but not too far), and click this link for a little-known song by Elvis Presley entitled "The Miracle of the Rosary".

The same page includes lyrics as well as a brief history of the song's recording.

A beautiful find - thanks to the family members who forwarded me the link!