Your PPOTD! Monday, April 30th

"I know she is the Stella Maris, but that doesn't mean she needs to be in a fish tank!"

[photo: REUTERS/Ettore Ferrari/Pool]

"Motu Proprio in May" attributed to Pope Benedict

Update: Clearly I haven't been following the reports since this has, in fact, already been reported several other places. At any rate, I guess what this adds is that she's sticking with her story. :-)

I haven't been following the news and rumors relating to the Motu Proprio lately, but I did come into the possession of a fairly hot tip while attending this weekend's Call to Holiness conference (thoughts to follow on that one) that I thought I'd toss into the mix.

This is what I was told:

Pope Benedict, during a recent meeting with Alice von Hildebrand, told her that the Motu Proprio would be released in May. This from von Hildebrand. Bishop Bruskewitz agreed that May 5th sounded like a reasonable release date (as do many others) [slightly edited - AmP].

So there you are, maybe this is old news, I just thought I'd share.

The Call to Holiness conference talks that I was able to attend were wonderful. Look for future posts relating to that event soon.

A little thought on this years' American Cardinals Dinner

Why, exactly, is it being held in Las Vegas? And not only that, but "fabulous Las Vegas"?

The things that make Las Vegas "fabulous", at least in the minds of most Americans, don't strike me as necessarily being all that fabulous.

Hopefully the Cardinals actually met at "urgently-needs-to-be-evangelized Las Vegas."

There, that has a better ring to it.

Just because I stopped bugging...

... doesn't mean I don't feel all warm-and-fuzzy when I see some new votes for me each day. Grazie mille!

Notice: Retired Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit Walter Schoenherr passed away

Thanks to reader Tim for providing a link to the notice at the Archdiocese of Detroit website:

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Walter J. Schoenherr, 87, dies of natural causes. Ordained a priest for the Detroit archdiocese in 1945, he was named an auxiliary bishop in 1968. He served in a number of parish assignments, including as pastor of St. Aloysius and Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, both in Detroit. Commenting on the life and ministry of Bishop Schoenherr, Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of Detroit, notes that "he made the pastoral care of his brother priests his highest priority. Losing Bishop Schoenherr," the cardinal continues, "feels like losing a good friend, someone you could always count on for down-to-earth wisdom and spiritual encouragement." [more...]

Related links:

• News Release (PDF)
• Biography of Bishop Schoenherr (PDF)
• Michigan Catholic: 'He's a very humble person, very spiritual'
• Bishop Schoenherr on CTND
• Maida sent this letter to the priests of the AOD (PDF)
• Bishop Schoenherr's Catholic Heirarchy Page
• Detroit News coverage
• Detroit Free Press coverage

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him!

Last minute notice!

The Call to Holiness conference is tomorrow!

DETAILS HERE.

Carl Mengeling, Bishop of Lansing, undergoes emergency surgery

Heard through the grapevine today, but confirmed in the Lansing State Journal:

Bishop Carl Mengeling was hospitalized Thursday for bladder surgery.

The 76-year-old leader of the 10-county, 250,000-member Catholic Diocese of Lansing has canceled public appearances for the next two months or so, said Michael Diebold, director of communications for the diocese.

Diebold said surgeons were able to remove about half of a large tumor they found on Mengeling's bladder. Further tests are scheduled for next week.

Mengeling's doctors have asked that he not receive visitors or phone calls. People may send him cards or letters to: 300 W. Ottawa St., Lansing MI 48933.

Prayers are requested, as well, of course. Bishop Mengeling is my Ordinary. He is currently serving past the age of retirement, and this medical complication might accelerate the appointment of a successor. He's been very public about the fact that he feels he is too old to continue serving the diocese.

Prayers also, in that case, for the next bishop of Lansing.

Local front: Michigan residents oppose cloning, destroying embryos

CNA reports:

A statewide poll, commissioned by the Michigan Catholic Conference, demonstrates that Michigan residents are overwhelmingly opposed to measures that would clone and destroy human embryos for research.

Draft legislation, recently introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives, seeks to amend Public Act 368 of 1978, which prohibits the destruction of human embryos for research purposes.

The bill would allow researchers to clone and destroy human embryos in the process know as therapeutic cloning. No treatments or cures have resulted from therapeutic cloning to date.

Encouraging news.

CONFIRMED: Pope Benedict to visit United Nations

The Australian papers had it first by my count:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Pope Benedict XVI has accepted his invitation to visit UN headquarters "at a mutually convenient time".

Mr Ban said today he had extended the invitation to the pope during his recent visit to Rome.

"I'm very much happy that he accepted my invitation to visit the United Nations," said Mr Ban after returning from a tour of Italy, Switzerland, Qatar and Syria.

The pope's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, visited UN headquarters in 1979 and in 1995 for the 40th anniversary of the institution.

This is big news. It means the Pope is coming to U.S. soil as early as next year.

Update: Thanks to Marketa (who by the way, wins the contest for coolest MySpace profile picture):

Thomas, it's official, look at first post of Teresa Benedetta:

VATICAN CITY, April 26 (APcom) - The Vatican confirms that Pope Benedict XVI has made himself 'available' an has in fact accepted the invitation of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moom to visit United Nations headquarters in New York.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press Office, confirmed today the Holy Father's acceptance but said a date has yet to be set.

He added, "It is not foreseeable in 2007, because no other foreign trips are planned this year."

There you have it!

Pope Benedict, climate change & Cardinal Martino.

Reuters ran a story today entitled, "Pope should talk climate change with Bush: cardinal".

I realize this is a sensitive issue with many people, but it's important and I'm interested.

Going on what the article says, Cardinal Martino said that he "believes the Pontiff should raise the dangers of climate change and global warming with U.S. President George W. Bush when the two meet in June."

Admittedly, Martino was careful with his remarks, saying "It's not for me to say what the Pope and President Bush should discuss but certainly they will discuss current issues and therefore I imagine and I hope they will (discuss climate change)," [continuing:] "It certainly merits it."

Martino's council for justice and peace is hosting a conference on "climate change and development" this weekend, which prompted the Reuters story as well as a message from the Pope, in which he said that he hoped studies could lead to "lifestyles and production and consumer methods that aim to respect creation and (aim for) sustainable progress." All very fine and good.

Of course, I'd like to see his full message (and this is the cue for industrious readers to pop me an email or drop a link in the combox!) so I can see whether the Pope actually came out and said anything about "manmade global warming." My understanding is that to this point he has not.

Martino went on to claim that willfull damage to the environment is a sin. Now, I have no problem with this statement, as long as it is specified. Burning down trees needlessly or contaminating drinking water can be wrong, but I've often seen the concept of good stewardship twisted into some sort of moral imperative that we all (to randomly pick an example, but not an extreme one) use halogen lightbulbs or buy electric cars.

And I get especially nervous when Martino says that (according to the Reuters article) "all religious groups should be involved in environmental causes and raise awareness about global warming." I also don't feel comfortable when he makes comments like this:

"We have to start at the level of elementary schools, to make sure children are taught to respect nature and be aware of the problems of the world. We can't wait until they are older. This has to be done naturally in religion classes, in religious groups everywhere," Martino said.

In a perfect world we could educate children about anything and everything. But I think that in practice, especially in elementary school, the lion's share of time in religion class should be spent on, well, God, the Sacraments, the Saints, Virtues, Commandments, and the list goes on for quite awhile. Nevertheless, we'd all count ourselves successful if kids manage to receive even an entry-level formation in those areas.

I'm not saying that Cardinal Martino is suggesting global warming and ecology replace these subjects, but I do think that in elementary education, Cardinal Martino's set of issues are actually far down on the list of objective priorities, especially in religion class.

Let the parents spend their time fighting about global warming and CO2 emissions.

I'm sure this isn't my last post on this topic, so we'll leave it here for now.

Update: From Gabe in the comments:

I think Cardinal Pell's comments on global warming in which he calls global warming "superstition," "nonsense," and "semi-religious" make a lot more sense than Cardinal Martino's comments.

I'm glad I just got finished saying in another post that it is "always well worth listening to Cardinal Pell", because it just came true again. And I knew I had heard someone else credible (and episcopal) describe the enthusiasm of global-warming advocates as being "semi-religious."

Update 2: Zenit has released some partial coverage of the conference here.

[photo: Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters]

Cardinal Pell on the VA shootings

It is always well worth listening to Cardinal Pell.

Sydney, Apr 25, 2007 / 11:06 am (CNA).- The tragedy at Virginia Tech demonstrates the human need for others and the devastating effect of isolation and loneliness in contemporary society, said Cardinal George Pell in his weekly column in the Sunday Telegraph. [More...]

Pope Benedict says "thanks!"

CNA:

The Vatican has included a link on its website with a short message of thanks written by Archbishop Leonardo Sandi, Substitute of the Secretariat of State, on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI to all those who sent greetings for his birthday, anniversary, and Easter.

Oddly-enough: "Taiwan: woman baptized at age 114"

It's never too late!

Taiwan's Hsing Chu diocese welcomed a 114-year-old woman into the Church at Easter, the Fides news service reports. [More at CWNews.]

More on Burke Being Backbonely

My Father, a native St. Louisan, adds his comments here at In the Light of the Law.

Update: CWNews has some concise coverage. Many, many people have been discussing this topic so I'd recommend perusing CatholicBlogs for more.

YouTube of Burke:



More once I sort through it.

Papist Quote of the Day

Archbishop Raymond Burke, on submitting his resignation as chairman of the board for a foundation that invited pro-abortion activist Sheryl Crow to sing at their fundraiser: "It's very painful for me, but I have to answer to God for the responsibility I have as archbishop."

Get the full (AP version of the) story here.

The Moralities of House (3x20, "House Training")

"Loss of free will. I like it. Maybe we can get Thomas Aquinas in for a consult."

Seriously, can a character have a better opening line than that? House opened with this zinger last night ... on the Fox network! Sometimes I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

Anyway, I explained last week that I intend to write a short summary of the moral issues in House, M.D. for the remaining episodes in the season. Last week I did 3x19 "Act Your Age."

First things first - *spoiler warning*. I'm writing with the presumption that readers are either familiar with the show, have seen the episode in question, or are not worried about having plot arc points given away. Also, House treats of fairly explicit themes often ("viewer discretion advised"), so be warned. Enough said ...

3x20, "House Training"

Here's the TV preview spot for this episode:



PoliteDissent provides a weekly plot recap of each episode, and then (helpfully) evaluates the medical claims made by the show. Too bad they didn't do the bubble test!

The Moralities:

This week's episode was rather disappointing. Certainly below-par for what I've come to expect from the House writers. It focused on Foreman, and his personal drama, leaving pretty much everything else on hold, except for a little development on the Wilson/Cuddy unfolding saga. My random thoughts on a fairly random episode:

1) Cuddy and Wilson continue to play their little game. It's inconceivable that they both don't realize on some level that they're relationship together has no future. Simultaneous self-denial is a dangerous thing.

2) Chase continues his slow approach with Cameron, who seems unable to handle Chase's more mature, even chivalrous manner. Good on ya, Chase! This situation better get some closure by season end, I must say.

3) House seemed oddly caring, oddly involved and oddly unworried about losing a patient this week. This is distressing since so much of his character integrity involves these exact traits. Is he slipping? The show can't really tolerate him changing because his antagonism provides much of the show's drama!

4) Foreman showed some good human development this episode, especially with regard to the relationship he has with his mother. I think the show leaves us with an inkling that he has discovered how a true exchange of love can exist between him and his alzheimers-stricken mother, even with her mental impairment.

5) Sadly, I think the patient of the week (POTW) only served the purpose of bringing some emotional/personal revelations out of Foreman. Even her death just served the purpose of developing his character. Sorry, potw, we never loved you like we should. Perhaps that consult with Thomas Aquinas shouldn't have been dismissed so quickly.

All in all, this was a very promising episode, with the coolest House opening line to date, that really failed to deliver. Oh well, it makes sense to air a weak episode now before the four week countdown to season finale begins.

Here's what some other blogs are saying about this week's episode:

• Cinemablend
• TV Fodder
• BuzzSugar

Here's the TV preview spot for next week's episode:


More House resources:

• If you want to catch up on House, Amazon has the First and Second seasons on DVD.
• The official House website at Fox.
• Wikipedia page for House, with brief episode summaries.

Papist nod this week goes to The Whapsters, whose schedule for "Holy Whapping Television Network (HWTN)" this week includes ... *drumroll*:

8:00 PM. House, O.P. - Mangy maverick novice-master Fr. Gregory House, embittered from years of suspicion from his superiors (“never trust a skinny Dominican”), ferrets out obscure heresies on the campus of the Catholic University of America. This week: fears of an outbreak of Montanism paralyze the Dominican House of Studies after unaccounted-for stockpiles of cheese are discovered in the basement by Sister Allison.

Tres clever. I hope the department of diagnostic medicine at Plainsboro hospital got a kick out of it as well:

Well, give them some time to work it out. :P

Legalize: All pictures copyright FOX and found here.

Paparazzi of Papa Ratzi

Whispers has a new stash.

Your PPOTD! Wednesday, April 25th

Amy called it....

Tip #36: When people start losing focus in your fundamentals of orthodoxy class, try switching to scary campfire stories of liturgical abuse. They'll soon be all ears again.

[photo: AP Photo/Plinio Lepri]

(Pardon the slow blog day, I have a french reading exam to take in about an hour.)

Exceeded Expectations!

Dedicated papists can do alot when they get together! In addition to surpassing that "radically inclusive" blog I mentioned yesterday (and the Episcopalian one before it), AmericanPapist has actually managed to knock the annoying atheist blog off the front page of the Blogger's Choice Awards. The front page is now stacked top-to-bottom with orthodox Catholic blogs. Fr. Stephanos should be happy. After this, anything else is just gravy.

Thanks for your votes, my fellow papists!

The Onion is still good for a laugh sometimes

[source.]

Photo finish: abortion bill passes in Mexico City

"Pro-choice activists dressed as Roman Catholic clergy celebrate outside of the City Leislature in Mexico City, Tuesday April 24, 2007. Mexico City lawmakers voted 46-19 to legalize abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Opponents have vowed to challenge the new law before the Supreme Court." (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

My coverage of this sad story here, and a bit more background here.

An exercise in bad poetry, and worse ideology...

... skillfully shredded by Gabe @ Social Foundations. Seriously, it is profoundly embarrassing (and indeed, offensive) that VT invited this lady to mourn over the dead with this awful, narcissistic, woefully-inadequate text.

Newsweek's take on the Limbo Story

I'll just give you the bookends. The article by Matthew Philips begins:

In the world of Vatican reversals, it’s a big one. According to a 41-page report released last week by the Roman Catholic Church’s International Theological Commission, limbo—a celestial middle ground between Heaven and Hell—is no longer necessary. That means that babies who die unbaptized are now free to go to heaven rather than being consigned to limbo, where for the last 800 years they’ve been forced to await the End of Days, unable to share in the beatific vision of God and Jesus Christ with their Roman Catholic brethren.

And here is how it ends:

"With the Vatican report, all those anxieties about babies that have been part of growing up Catholic can finally be put to rest."

Okay, so, this is pretty bad. Now, the mid-section really isn't so bad. But apparently you have to stick the most offensive jabs in the first paragraph (because many people read no farther), and for those who do stick around and read the entirety of the article, you have to end with a snappy dig about "all those anxieties" that are just, golly-gee, "part of growing up Catholic."

Oh, and who is Saint Augustine? "The fifth-century theologian who believed that the souls of the unbaptized went to hell". Why you might ask did St. Augustine believe that? "Since original sin was seen as being indelibly tied to the act of sex, and since babies were the natural result of that act, Augustine reasoned that they must carry sin. Ergo, those who die without having that sin removed must necessarily go to hell."

Goodness! With summaries of Church tradition like that, it's no wonder that we have to fight anti-Catholic prejudice on a daily basis. I wouldn't have much patience for the Church if that's all she really was.

President Bush to have first meeting with Pope Benedict on June 9

Just saw this come across the wire:

President George W Bush will meet Pope Benedict XVI for the first time and will visit three East European NATO countries on a European tour in June, according to statement issued by the White House .... On June 9, Bush will meet the German-born pope, the White House added. [source.]

Tres interessant.

Climate change and the USCCB

I'm trying to figure out what the relationship status is between the USCCB and the various global warming lobbies. This article by CNS, "Nuncio says by living simply Catholics can help protect the earth", I think may provide some clues. Unfortunately, I have a very busy afternoon and won't be able to add my comments until later.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear yours.

Your PPOTD! Tuesday, April 24th

People might be surprised to find out that the Vatican's

"dance of diplomacy" really does involve, well, a dance.

(if you want to know how it went, you should check CWNews or CNS)

[photos: AP Photo/Tony Gentile, Pool]

New Co-Adjutor of Minneapolis has ties to Detroit

Update Day 2: Amy links to the Northland Catholic blog, and Rocco has his coverage up now (including a beautiful picture of Neidstedt).

Update: Via Jeff, a very informative post by Thomas A. Szyszkiewicz @ Epiphany.

Also, the Associated Press has come out with its coverage, with some nice quotes from Bp. Nienstedt.

Original post:

Archbishop Harry Flynn is one year from retirement, and today Pope Benedict provided a successor for him in Minneapolis. From today's Vatican Information Service:

"[The Holy Father appointed:] Bishop John Clayton Nienstedt of New Ulm, U.S.A., as coadjutor archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (area 17,225, population 3,027,000, Catholics 837,000, priests 514, permanent deacons 221, religious 1,206), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in Detroit, U.S.A., in 1947, he was ordained a priest in 1974, and consecrated a bishop in 1996."
Bishop Nienstedt was ordained a priest of Detroit, and made an auxiliary there in 1996 (consecrated by Maida, Szoka & Hickey). He has been the bishop of New Ulm since 2001.

Of course, in providing for Minneapolis' upcoming vacancy with a Bishop who already has charge of a diocese, that means New Ulm must now be provided for eventually. That makes eight U.S. diocese that are vacant, not to mention the eleven bishops that are serving past their 75th birthday (the mandatory age for submitting their resignation), as Dom reminds us.

Included among the bishops serving beyond their retirement age is my own, Carl Mengling of Lansing (76 & 1/2) and also our local Archbishop, Cardinal Maida (Over 77).

Fr. Brian Stanley has an informative post on Amy's comment page:

The Church of St. Paul-Minneapolis is very blessed to receive such a fine bishop. Bishop Nienstedt was the "founding" rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, when Cardinal Szoka charged him with the responsibility for taking over the college seminary and adding a graduate program for theology. Bishop Nienstedt has a doctorate in moral theology, and I recall that his thesis was on in vitro fertilization.

No doubt there are more than a few Detroiters who are pleased with this appointment, but for diverse reasons. Bp. Nienstedt's orthodox friends are pleased to see his administrative skills put to use in a significant see; others, less concerned about orthodoxy or orthopraxis, are pleased because it takes him out of the running to succeed Cardinal Maida in Detroit. Someone else will be charged with that task, a mission right up there with cleaning the Augean stables.

As always, there's a fun mix of rumors, experiences, hopes and gripes in Amy's combox.

More Links:

• The Diocese of Ulm website has a very good page for Neidstedt, far better than what you'll typically find on the websites of most larger diocese for their Ordinary
• There's no word of this appointment on the Archdiocese of Minneapolis website yet.

More on Mexico and the "landmark" abortion vote

Update: Zenit provides more information regarding Pope Benedict's "intervention." Mexico City legislators did indeed legalize abortion in the capitol, by a vote of 46-19. More here. Reuters has updated its story here.

The reports are still casting this vote as a showdown between progressive Mexican lawmakers in Mexico City and the direct interventions of Pope Benedict:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico City lawmakers will vote on Tuesday on whether to legalize abortion in the capital of the world's second-largest Roman Catholic country in direct defiance of the pope.

...

The abortion law, likely to be passed by the city's leftist-dominated assembly, would apply only to the capital and limit the termination of pregnancies to the first trimester.

Mexico City lawmakers have recently stirred up controversy by allowing gay civil unions and considering a euthanasia law.

The abortion issue has split Mexico, even inspiring a letter last week from Pope Benedict urging Mexican bishops to oppose it.

[an interesting bit at the end:]

Opponents may challenge the abortion law in the courts.

"It's very likely that this will get bogged down in the Supreme Court," said political commentator Hector Zagal.

"For me, this is more about the issue of male responsibility in a macho society where there is a large number of single mothers. What they should be debating is how to educate males."

[Full article here.]

I agree with that last part. And what about Segunda familia?

I blogged this story yesterday. (And I'm surprised not to see it more covered?)

"Radically inclusive"? Does that include evil?

Because of your votes AmericanPapist continues to climb the rankings in the Blogger's Choice Awards!

The "radically inclusive Christian blog" slightly ahead of me is run by a fellow who calls himself "Madpriest" and encourages people to vote for him with headlines such as these (I've included my reactions in parenthesis):

• "Flip the bird at boring church" (it's that kind of solution that ends up "flipping" yourself.)
• "Together we are beautiful" (unity in anything besides truth is slavery of the worst sort.)
• "Free your mind and God will follow" (God gave us a mind to follow Him. That's freedom.)

So today I've decided to give "MadPriest" himself the task of convincing folks why they should register and then vote for AmericanPapist and other fine Catholic blogs out there (it's very fast and easy to get setup).

After all, we at least hold to the principle that the only "radical inclusivity" is that of God's love, a love which is always lived according to the Truth (and yes, even if that truth includes "boring Church" sometimes).

Now that's truly beautiful.

Update: With the radically inclusive blog far in the dust, AmP actually has a chance of knocking the Athiest blog off the front page! Good job, folks!

The terrified folks at The Trumpet sound the alarm (again)

The Trumpet, which I've blogged about before, is sounding the alarm again. This time they are intrepidly reporting that Pope Benedict is trying to gain a power foothold in England (using his trustworthy general Archbishop Nichols) as the next step in the Vatican's ongoing plans for world domination. I kid you not.

Here's the last paragraph of The Trumpet's article:

In any case, watch for the Vatican to get much more aggressive in its attempts to realize its goal for England in the future. There are already signs that the Roman Catholic Church under Benedict xvi is on course to revert to tactics used during centuries past to convert peoples to its cause.

(!!!) Oh dear, they really are onto us!

Shhh, now remember, my fellow papists, make sure they don't hear about .... Plan IX!!

*ominous music plays*
*screen fades to black*

Brownback and Dodd square-off at Boston College

Dom had the drop on this and the Associated Press has some tepid coverage. Of course, the story here is that Dodd (left) and Brownback (right) are both Catholics, with Brownback being orthodox and practicing while Dodd is marginal at best.

The AP tossed out a red herring about the fact that both men "used modest tones to suggest that Democrats and Republicans could bridge such gaps with more tolerance for their opponents' positions."

Okay, that's nice. I'm pleased to hear that they engaged in a charitable debate. But what actually happened?

The debate was broadcast live here and will be rebroadcast on C-Span. This post over at race2008.com has alot of good material related to these issues, and I would recommend perusing it. The Boston Globe published a story yesterday setting out a bit more of the debate's backdrop, in the BG's typically heavy-handed manner.

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for the C-Span link. I will be too, but it pays to delegate sometimes.

[photo: AP Photo/Steven Senne]

Absolutely love it.

Sometimes Fr. Stephanos can't quite manage to cover up his enthusiasm...

A little thought about "that" cartoon

Taking a look at that cartoon again, a part of me can't help but gleefully observe the lost and distressed expressions of the four dissenting judges on the bench. I know, it's bad of me.

More Ireland demographics

CWNews must have an active correspondent in Ireland or something:

Dublin, Apr. 23, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Most young Irish couples lived together before marriage, according to a survey made public by Accord, the Irish bishops' agency for supporting marriage.

Bishop Willie Walsh of Killaloe, the president of Accord, said that the overall results of the survey were "clearly good news about marriage." He cited the strong majority of couples indicating that they were very happy with their marriages (77%), that the marital bond had strengthened their relationships (63%), and that they would recommend marriage to other couples (90%).

However the survey showed evidence that many couples took a casual attitude toward Church teachings on marriage. Some 58% of the couples surveyed had cohabited before they were married. And 7% of the children born to the survey respondents arrived before the marriage took place. About one-fourth of those surveyed said that they were "not at all" religious.

The survey also uncovered some concern about public policies regarding the family, with only 7% saying that the government currently does enough to support marriage.

The survey covered 712 couples-- 1,424 individuals-- who had been married within the last 7 years. Only 7% of the survey respondents had seriously considered divorce, but couples who were already divorced were not included in the polling.

And if you're wondering how Catholic statistics reflect the nation as a whole, well, Catholics make up 88% of the population.

Odd then, wouldn't you think, that "Irish church-state initiative begins with government meeting Protestant leaders" (emphasis mine):

Dublin, Apr. 23, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Irish government has formally inaugurated an initiative of collaboration with religious leaders, meeting first with representatives of the Church of Ireland.

Prime Minister Bertie Ahern met with the Church of Ireland Archbishops Alan Harper of Armagh and John Neill of Dublin on May 23.

The Church of Ireland, a branch of the worldwide Anglican communion, represents just under 3% of Ireland's population, making it the second-largest religious body in the country. The Catholic Church forms an overwhelming majority, with over 88% of the nation's people. Irish government leaders will meet later with Catholic Church leaders.

I guess this is another proof that I'll never understand politics. :-)

Amato gets feisty (+commentary)

Update 3: So does LifeSiteNews.

Update 2: CWNews has coverage.

Sure, the Reuters reporting is slanted, but reading between the lines you can pick up that Amato wasn't pulling any punches. Good for him.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of "terrorism with a human face."

The attack by Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was the latest in a string of speeches made by either Pope Benedict or other Vatican officials as Italy considers giving more rights to gays. [More...]

Update: This story is getting picked-up by many places it seems. I'd like to see the original text ... anyone have it handy? Thanks.

Update 2: I guess what surprises me about this story is that it tries to give the impression that these positions taken by Amato are new (they're not) and that the Catholic Church in Rome is this huge political propaganda machine:

Italy's Roman Catholic Church, set up on diocesan and parish levels, has the organizational machinery to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people. A huge turnout, which is expected, could be a major embarrassment for Prodi's government.

The church is more than a union, and being "set up on a diocesan and parish levels" isn't for the sake of political activism. This kind of structure is employed by the worldwide Church, after all.

So, let's step back for a moment and see how the various sides in this debate are portrayed:

In the one corner we have the Roman Catholic Church, with its "organization machinery" to "mobilize" "a huge turnout" causing "major embarassment" to its enemies, and led by the deadly-duo of Pope Benedict and Cardinal Angelo Amato (grainy file photo featured in this article ... because they're movements are shadowy and it's difficult to pin-down their whereabouts at any given time):


In the other corner you have - I kid you not - from the photo that accompanies this article, "Members of gay and lesbian associations throw[ing] flowers as they demonstrate on St. Peter's square at the Vatican":


Who do you sympathize with? Which side is clearly in the right? The vitriolic organizers of a geopolitical highly-organized machine? Or the gents tossing flowers in tuxedos?

[photo 1 source: The Daily Telegraph]

[photo 2 source: Dario Pignatelli/Reuters]

Sticky: AmP coverage of the Pope's pastoral visit to Vigevano and Pavia

Your one-stop place for news related to Pope Benedict's pastoral visit to Vigevano and Pavia!

• Overview of the Pope's activities + links
• Excerpts from the Pope's speeches this weekend
• Photos: Pope in Pavia!

This post will be stickied for the rest of the day, please link here for coverage. Thanks!

Other important recent posts:

• Remember that Papist cartoon? Some people do.
• Mexico about to legalize abortion; Catholics protest (news/commentary)
• Thanks for blogrolling AmericanPapist! (edited: link fixed)
• Your PPOTD! Saturday, April 21st
• Video: The Transformation of an Altar
• The Moralities of House (3x19, "Act Your Age")

Stage 1 complete, now to Stage 2!

My thanks to everyone who heeded my call and brought this dangerous state of affairs yesterday....

.... to this (far more desirable) situation today:
Truly, progress is being made! :-)

At the same time, however, there are still a couple unseemly competitors that need to be answered in some form. Whether it be me or others who do that answering, is not for me to say. Luckily, I have a master plan for the next stage, which I now reveal toyou, my closest allies, here (that's right "radically inclusive Christian blog", you're next). Armed with this sure plan for victory, you can join the Papist Army right here and do your part!

(and, oh yes, if any of this isn't making much sense to you please click here.)

Update: Yes, the numbers are a bit out-of-date, but you can still get the gist of the matter.

Update 2: Seven votes away. Good on ya, mates!

Update 3: Two votes. woot! =)

Remember that Papist Cartoon? Some people do.

Amy pointed out this cartoon, which I also posted, and will display again to make it easy:

Apparently we haven't heard the end of this. As LifeSiteNews reports:

Pro-Life Group Blasts Philadelphia Inquirer's Anti-Catholic Abortion Cartoon

The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper is coming under fire for a cartoon it ran following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the federal partial-birth abortion ban. The cartoon entitled “Church and State” features the five Catholic members of the high court wearing bishop miters.

Joseph Cella, the head of Fidelis, a leading Catholic pro-life group, says the newspaper, "has breached the line of reasonable editorial commentary. This cartoon is venomous, terribly misleading and, blatantly anti-Catholic." [More...]

Some intelligent comments from my readers posted to the original post might enlighten further:

IRONICALLY, no newspaper would ever dare depict the Supremes as Jewish Rabbis nor as Muslim Imams, yet they can get away with the Catholic Bishop look (vis-a-vis the miter) and with impugnity. I'd rather see halos over those who are pro-life and horns on those who support abortion. - Fr John Trigilio Jr Homepage

I hope Bill Donahue & Co. step on [Tony] Auth's neck (rhetorically speaking) and call him out for what we know he is: a strident anti-Catholic. - Paul Stokell Homepage

Actually, Paul definitely called that one, because Donahue did address this cartoon as well as the cartoonist, Tony Auth (who is also an Athiest blogger? Here's a pic of him.):

"[Donahue:] Tony Auth is a Pulitzer Prize-winning bigot for the Philadelphia Inquirer. His cartoon today—which is also posted in the New York Times online—shows the five Catholic judges wearing a papal hat. He evidently forgot to put a yarmulke on Ginsburg and Breyer." [source/more.]

Well, some people are taking action against the last commonly-acceptable prejudice in modern-day America: faithful Catholics.

Mexico about to legalize abortion; Catholics protest (news/commentary)

Update: CNA has more on the Pope's letter.

Reuters reports [my comments in brackets]:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans marched on Sunday against plans to legalize abortion in Mexico City, a move that has split opinion in the world's second-largest Roman Catholic country and drawn fire from the Pope.

[drawn fire? Amen, as well it should. Still, Benedict doesn't spout fire, he flash-freezes with cool logic.]

The bells of Mexico City's vast cathedral welcomed some 1,000 Roman Catholics, including families dressed in white, who packed it for Mass after carrying anti-abortion placards and images of the revered Virgin of Guadalupe through the streets.

Mexico City's local legislature, controlled by the leftist opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, is expected to approve a bill on Tuesday allowing abortions in the capital during the first three months of pregnancy.

While the proposal is popular with many residents of liberal-minded Mexico City, it has also angered Catholics across the country, enraged clergy who helped organize Sunday's march and brought Pope Benedict himself into the dispute.

[Catholics are "angry", clergy are "engaged", Pope Benedict "himself" is called in to the fray .. who would ever guess that reason is on their side, that their position is consistent, and that pro-life advocates are some of the most mild-mannered individuals you'll ever come across in political activism?]

In a letter to Mexican bishops, the Pope said Christ's victory over death was a reason to defend everyone's right to life "from the first moment of their conception."

[I still don't see how this is direct involvement. Rather, Pope Benedict merely seems to be upholding Church teaching. NB: can anyone find and send me a link to this document? Thanks.]

"They are committing genocide, no-one has the right to take away life," said Maria Morales, a housewife who had traveled south from the state of Hidalgo to attend the rally.

Women seeking abortions in Mexico have to use clandestine clinics. The poorest rely on back-street practitioners working out of unhygienic premises. Some 2,000 die annually, the bill's supporters say.

[This statistic is challenged by the National Pro-Life Committee in Mexico, which says the actual number is 96 (source - the supporters of the bill can't decide on a claimed number, alternately citing 1600)]

While anti-abortion activists hung a banner outside the cathedral showing gory images of aborted fetuses, a small group of PRD supporters shouted slogans supporting the bill.

[I'd be extremely surprised if this is an accurate and objective one-sentence summary of the situation.]

"We want abortion legalized to stop more women dying," said PRD activist Cecilia Martinez.

The PRD, which also runs the capital's city hall, has angered religious groups by trying to swiftly pass liberal reforms. The assembly approved gay civil unions in November despite protests and is now considering a euthanasia law.

[one-by-one the pillars of a healthy Christian society fall.]

Special laws in Mexico City already permit abortion when a mother's life is threatened, but the rest of the country allows it only in case of rape.

The church has threatened to excommunicate legislators who support the abortion bill. Lawmakers have countered by accusing the church of meddling in politics, which is forbidden under Mexico's constitution.

CNA has some coverage.

CWNews adds more about attempts to stop this from happening:

Mexico City, Apr. 20, 2007 (CWNews.com) - With lawmakers in Mexico City poised to vote on a government proposal that would allow legal abortion through the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, Church leaders are pressing for a popular referendum on the issue.

A vote on the bid to legalize abortion in the Mexico City district is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24. But Catholic leaders-- who have led opposition to the measure-- are now urging lawmakers to postpone action until the public can vote on the issue.

Catholic leaders report that they have already collected 32,000 signatures on a petition asking for a referendum. Their goal is to amass 36,900 signatures. If they reach that goal, lawmakers will be required by law to consider the request, but not obligated to grant it. Local government leaders say that they are committed to pressing for an April 24 vote, regardless of the petitions.

Church spokesman Armando Martinez conceded, in speaking to reporters, "In the end, the assembly is going to have the last word on this, with or without a referendum." He added, however, that "with a referendum they would be listening to the people."

I'd say from what I've briefly read that there isn't much hope of an 11th-hour stay of execution here. Mexico seems to be going the way of Portugal and several other traditionally-Catholic countries on the issue of abortion. We need to keep this whole situation in our close prayers. I'll be posting more on this topic as I find it.

Photos: Pope in Pavia!

Greeting students at the University of Pavia.
Meeting a professor at the Univesity of Pavia.
San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro basilica, before the remains of St. Augustine.
Cute Pope.
His speech at the University of Pavia.

(Curt Jester has a hilarious caption for this photo here.)

Pope Benedict praying before the remains of St. Augustine.

[photos: Photo/Antonio Calanni]

The Pope is Busy in Pavia This Weekend

Pope Benedict is in Pavia, northwestern Italy (south of Milan) this weekend, visiting the relics of St. Augustine and doing several other things. Sadly, I haven't found too much coverage of the trip around St. Blogs. So, let's fill-in the gap!

CWNews has a short summary of his trip. Here's what he's doing today:

On Sunday morning, April 22, the Holy Father will visit a medical clinic in Pavia, speaking to patients and staff there. He will celebrate Mass, and meet with university students and faculty before going to the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro ("St. Peter in the Golden Sky"). Late in the afternoon he will return by helicopter to Milan, and from there by plane to Rome, arriving Sunday evening.

CNA adds a bit more:

Soon after his election to the pontificate on April 19, 2005, Benedict XVI was invited by Fr. Robert Prevost, Prior General of the Augustinian order, to come and venerate the remains of St. Augustine which are conserved in the Basilica of San Pietro in Cieldoro, in Pavia. Having accepted invitation, the Holy Father will visit the Basilica where he will light a votive candle before the Saint's casket in perennial memory of his visit.

The Pope will also bless the corner stone of the planned Augustinian cultural center, which the Order intends to dedicate to Benedict XVI, in honor of the strong spiritual and theological ties binding the Holy Father and the great Doctor of the Church.

Zenit's coverage here.

More relevant links:

• The texts of the Holy Father's speeches and address will be posted on the Vatican website here. They also promise pictures eventually.
• Blog-by-the-sea has a good post on this trip. She also has links to video coverage.
• The Papa Ratzinger Forum is doing a great job providing translations of the Pope's texts (scroll-down to find the ones from Pavia).
• Ignatius Insight has a very informative post on St. Augustine/Pope Benedict.

Update 3 (Monday headlines):

• Amy: Pope in Pavia
• Whispers in the Loggia: B16 in Pavia: Two Saints, Two Popes
• CWNews: Papal pilgrimage focuses on St. Augustine
• CNA: Benedict examines St. Augustine's path of conversion
• CWNews: On trip to Pavia, Pope underlines respect for life
• CNS: Pope calls St. Augustine 'model of conversion' for all Christians

Update 2: Zenit's coverage is now available:

• On Benedict XVI and St. Augustine - Interview With Father Rovert Prevost
• Augustine a Model of Conversion, Says Pontiff, Visits Tomb of Doctor of the Church
• Pope: Science Needs to Respect Life, Encourages Hospital Staff and Ill to Promote Values

Update: MSM coverage of his visit:

• AP: Pope: Medical advances must respect life
• AP: Pope Presses Campaign for Family

Here's an odd one ... Pope visits Italy's "Shoe City", gets 15,001 pairs - Reuters:

VIGEVANO, Italy (Reuters) - Pope Benedict got 15,001 pairs of shoes on Saturday.

During a visit to this northern city known as Italy's shoe capital, a local consortium gave one pair for himself and 15,000 more pairs for the needy around the world.

The Pope was given red loafers designed and manufactured by the Moreschi firm and made from kangaroo hide. [that shouldn't please the Italian animal-rights group that want Pope Benedict to give up his ermine-trimmed red velvet cape and papal hat - Zadok has more on that.]

Those destined for the poor include boots and other types of footwear. Local industrialists are due to send them directly to charities chosen by the
Vatican. [More...]

[photo: Photo/Andrew Medichini]

Excerpts from the Pope's speeches in Pavia

Some highlights that I've taken from the texts made available by the Papa Ratzinger Forum.

"From the remarks given by the Holy Father to the people of Vigevano, particularly the youth and the sick, from the balcony of the Bishop's Palace shortly after his arrival this afternoon":

... I am happy to be among you and I thank you for your heartwarming and festive welcome. Getting off the helicopter, I could almost hear the echo of all the bells that rung in unison at noon in all your churches as a greeting to me, and I thank you for that gesture of affection.

... Here at Vigevano, the only Lombard diocese not visited by my venerated predecessor John Paul II, I wished to begin my pastoral pilgrimage in Italy. It is like taking up where he left off in proclaiming to the men and women of our beloved Italy the news, ancient but ever new, that resounds with particular vigor during this Easter season: Christ is risen! Christ lives! Christ is with us today for always!

... I address a special thought to the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament whom I met shortly before arriving here - their prayerful presence constitutes for the entire diocese a perennial reminder to increasingly consider the importance of the Eucharist, center and summit of the life of the Church. To these dear sisters who have consecrated all their existence to the Lord, I send my encouragement and my appreciation.

...In a short while, when we shall all be reunited around the altar for the solemn Eucharistic concelebration, let us pray that the Risen Lord grant that this visit by the Successor of Peter may inspire in every member of your diocesan community a renewed spiritual fervor.

"From the homily delivered by the Holy Father during the Mass at Vigevano's Piazza Ducale" [this is a wondrous reflection on today's Gospel of John 21, obviously, I'm just pulling highpoints, I urge you to read it all!]:

... This time, he [Jesus] meets them at sea, a place that brings to mind the difficulties and tribulations of life. He meets them there as day breaks after futile work during the whole night. Their net was empty. In some way, this appears like the sum total of their experience with Jesus: they came to know Him, they were beside Him, and He had promised them so many things. And now, here they were with no fish in their net. But Jesus comes at dawn to meet them, although they do not recognize Him right away. The 'dawn' in the Bible often indicates a moment of extraordinary intervention by God.

... Dear brothers and sisters, may the Church in Vigevano repeat with John's enthusiasm: Jesus Christ "is the Lord' and may your diocesan commnity listen to the Lord who, through me, repeats to you: "Cast the net, church of Vigevano, and you will find." Indeed I have come among you to encourage you, above all, to be ardent witnesses for Christ. It is faithful adherence to His words that makes your pastoral efforts fruitful. Whenever the work in the vineyard of the Lord seems to be in vain, as was the nocturnal effort of the Apostles, you must not forget that Jesus can change everything in a moment. The Gospel page that we have heard reminds us, on the one hand, that we should commit ourselves totally to pastoral activities as though the outcome depended completely on our efforts. On the other hand, it makes us understand that the true success of our mission is totally a gift of grace. In the mysterious deisgns of His wisdom, God knows when He must intervene. Thus, just as obedient compliance to the words of the Lord filled their net with fish, so also, in all times, even ours, the Spoirit of the Lord can make the mission of the Church effective in the world.

... Obviously, I cannot omit expressing an affectionate thought for the seminarians who are the hope of the Diocese.

...Never extinguish in your hearts that missionary enthusiasm inspired in your diocesan commuinity by those providential sessions which had ardently hoped for a papal visit to Vigevano. Following the fundamental orientations of the Synod and the directives of your present Bishop, remain united among yourselves and open up to the vast horizons of evangelization.

... Finally, what must we say about the family? It is the fundamental element of social life, and only by working in the interests of the family can we renew the fabric of the ecclesiastical community and civic society itself. [All the newspaper reports say that the Pope's words on the family were greeted wieth great applause, which made him add, "I see that we are in agreement!"]

"The Holy Father arrived by helicopter in Pavia at 8 PM and proceeded to the Piazza del Duomo for a meeting with the diocesan youth. After welcome speeches by Mayor Piera CAPitelli and Justice Minister Clemente Mastella, who represented the Italian government, the Pope delivered this address, translated here":

... I come tonight to renew to you the news that is always fresh, to entrust to you a message which, when received, changes our existence, renews it and fills it. The Church proclaims this message with particular joy in this Easter period: Christ is risen and lives among us!

How many persons of your age, dear young people, have met Him and become His friends in the course of history. They followed Him faithfully and many gave witness of their love with their own lives!

Do not therefore be afraid to give your life to Christ: He never disappoints our expectations because He knows what is in our hearts.

"At 9 a.m. today, the Holy Father left the Bishop's Palace to visit the St. Matthew Polyclinic in Pavia, where he met with hospital officials, medical personnel adn patients in the internal courtyard. After a welcome from the hospital director and a representative of the patients, the Holy Father delivered the following remarks, translated here" [this speech has been receiving the most MSM attention, of course]:

... A hospital is a place which we could say is in some way 'sacred' - where one experiences the fragility of the human being, but also the enormous potential and ingenious resources of man and of technology in the service of life. The life of man! This great gift, no matter how much it has been explored, remains always a mystery.

... My sincere wish is that necessary scientific and technological progress be constantly accompanied by the awareness of promoting - along with the good of the patient - also those fundamental values like respect for and defense of life at every stage, on which the authentically human quality of any life depends.

[photo: AP Photo/Antonio Calanni]

Your PPOTD! Saturday, April 21st

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"Why, I love that picture of the cardinals you have up there!"

"How could I have not noticed it before? It's wooooonderful!"

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[photo: AP Photo/Antonio Calanni]

(additional postings will be posted below this one just for today, so please scroll-down.)

Thanks for blogrolling AmericanPapist!

I'd like to take a moment to thank and give a link to the many people who have recently blogrolled AmericanPapist. Blogrolling is the surest way of making me aware of your work and giving me a chance to drop by and see what you have been publishing!

• Fiat Lux (en Portuguese, I believe) - I like how I'm blogrolled simply as "Papist"
• For the Greater Glory - He says AmericanPapist is one of the sites he likes to "steal from for his blog." Hopefully I can make into his list of sites that "suck away much of his life."
• Life in a(n Irish) Bubble - My friend from college Brendan, who is now a seminarian for the diocese of Grand Rapids, MI. He's also very Irish.
• Overheard in the Sacristy - A priest for the diocese of Phoenix. I have a good friend by the name of Mr. Haley working in that diocese, perhaps he knows him. Anyway, AmP made this priest's "linkage."
• Catholic and Loving It (.co.uk) - AmericanPapist is one of the "Romans" listed.
• Echoes of Creation - The blog of a friend of mine when I was growing up in California. She has a delightful site, is a very talented artist, and her family would probably make Rod Dreher proud.
• The Hound of Ulster - Edited: Not a UK, but an Irish blog, as "Father Berry" himself clarifies: "[the name] is based on the legends of Cuchulain, who was known as The Hound Of Ulster in Irish mythology." Cool stuff! Thanks for the clarification.
• Is my Phylactery Showing? - Which, clearly, wins the competition for most inventive name this time.
• Update: Scorpion Stalking Duck - My, people do have fun with their blog titles.
• Update: V is for Veritas - Do see her lovely illustrations and cartoons. This is my favorite.
• Update: Sitting on the Rock, Staring at the Sky - Checkout his post on Nightcrawler, Catholic mutant!
• Update: This Burning Fire - AmericanPapist tops her list, but then again, it's alphabetical.
• Update: Servant and Steward - The blog of a parochial vicar in Effingham, IL.
• Update: Aggie Catholic - A fun blog. Take a gander at "The Liturginator."
• Update: God Spede ye Plough - A fun blog with a great deal of variety.
• Update: A Catholic iPod - A fledgling blog but already some good content.
• Update Day 2: Büschelmännerhaus - A delightful little blog run (I believe) by siblings.
• Update Day 2: Saginaw Seminarians - How could I forget this awesome blog? Probably because I know it so well I forgot it was technically "new" on the blogroll.
• Update Day 2: Raining on my Parade - An MA theology student blogs on her stresses. =)
• Update Day 3: Verbum
• Update Day 3: Social Foundations

That's all I was able to spot recently, but if I've missed yours drop me a line and I'll be happy to add you to the list (after hobnobbing around your pages for a bit, of course).

Update: Really, I have to say how surprised (and pleased!) I am at how many blogs keep cropping up that have blogrolled AmericanPapist. St. Blog's has many fine new stars added to its constellation of contributors.

Update 2: Next time I do a site overhaul (probably in a week or so), I'll be adding these blogs to my sidebar blogroll. Thanks and keep notifying me if I've missed yours by chance!

I'm neck-and-neck with an Episcopalian!

Today's update:

As St. Paul tells us:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. (1 Cor. 9:24).

Well, my friends, the race is fierce on the second page of the Best Religion Blog. I'm just barely outpacing the Episcopalian blog behind me. So, put on the armor of truth, witness and honor and go vote for AmericanPapist and other Catholic blogs!

(I'd also recommend voting for the Shrine of the Holy Whappings, which is trying to dethrone the athiest blog from 5th place, and The New Liturgical Movement, which is to keep the "radically inclusive Christian blog" off the front page.)

I think it would be fun if St. Blogs manage to claim the top 10 spots for Best Religion blog, as a testament to the vibrant discussion, community and evangelization that occurs the year round.

Update: I can't figure out myself how to register (I can't find any "submit" button once you fill out the fields). Oh well, I sent them an email and I'll update this post when I get a response.

Update 2: After a little experimenting, I found that checking and unchecking the three boxes on the right seemed to reveal the rest of the page that includes the "submit" button (I also had the rest of the fields filled out correctly). So fiddle with it if you have problems at first and it should work. Still, how annoying.

Update 3: Anyone else having trouble accessing the site?

Sad news: Blue Angel pilot dies during airshow

This is very sad news. Growing up in California I was able to see the Blue Angels perform many times. They would practice their formations and routines over the backyard of one of my good friends. Of course it is very dangerous and (for that reason) impressive flying. We should pray that the pilot had a provided death.

(CNN) -- A jet flying in formation with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels precision flying team crashed into a Beaufort, South Carolina, neighborhood, causing an "enormous fireball" during an air show, authorities said.

The Navy aviator was killed Beaufort County Coroner Curt Copeland said. The F/A-18's pilot is the only known fatality.

Fred Yelinek told CNN he saw the crash occur about a mile from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, which was holding the two-day show. He said the jet came down about 100 yards from him.

Yelinek said the jet struck a stand of pine trees, and pieces of the plane hit homes, but he didn't see any catch fire. The pieces were "as big as a hand but no larger," he said.

Pieces of a tree and the plane crashed into the home of a neighbor, Yelinek said, but she was uninjured. Pieces also hit other houses and smashed car windshields, he said. [More...]

Three news highlights

To be noted:

• CNS: Portland Archdiocese ends bankruptcy with $75 million settlement
• CWNews: Turkish media report torture of Christian murder victims
• LSN: One in Thirty “Seriously Handicapped” Children Survive Chemical Abortion in UK

Good news in Oz, bad news in Eire for Young Catholics

Taking the bad first:

Dublin, Apr. 20, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Irish residents showed a remarkable lack of basic knowledge about the Catholic faith in a recent national poll, the Iona Institute reports.

The most striking ignorance was displayed by respondents between the ages of 19 and 24, who consistently scored well below the general population in the survey, conducted by the Lansdowne market research firm.

Respondents over the age of 65 yielded above-average results on the poll, suggesting that the level of religious education in Ireland was significantly better in earlier years.

A minority of respondents between 19 and 24 could name the three Persons of the Trinity. Just 47% of the young people answered that question correctly, while 76% of those over 64% gave the proper answer, and 66% of the overall poll sample.
Similarly, only 38% of the young respondents could provide the number of Gospels in the New Testament, and another 38% could give the number of Catholic sacraments. Among those over 65 years old, 65% answered the former question correctly, and 63% the latter question.

And then the good:

SYDNEY, Australia (Catholic Online) – A revivial of interest in religion is taking place among the young and adults, despite reports that the church is in decline, said an Australian cardinal [Pell].

“A revival of religious interest is occurring among many young Australians who are drawing the unsurprising conclusion that money, materialism and self-seeking do not bring meaning or peace of mind,” he said.

“What is surprising about teenagers today is not the percentage who are hostile to institutions, but the larger percentage who will listen to the Christian message spoken from any agency with conviction and sympathy,” Cardinal Pell added.

...

The cardinal archbishop of Sydney claimed that there is today “an openness to the gospel which was not there even 25 years ago in Australia,” while noting that no one should be under any illusions of the challenges to Christianity and to the faithful.

Video: The Transformation of an Altar

Fr. Z has an amazing find that I'd like to share with my readers. As he explains it:

This is a 5:25 length video of the transformation of a typical modernistic free-standing altar into a very beautiful ad orientem altar. The setting is a church in France where the FSSP are able to work. The French text says the transformation took 15 minutes. The video is accelerated. This could be VERY instructive for priests in parishes. VERY instructive. I recommend you make this little video known and loved.

The video, at the very least, shows the stark contrast between the modernist and traditional aesthetic and perhaps gives some hope of reclaiming beauty to those currently worshiping in desacralized churches.

Isn't that wonderful? The only thing I could hope for would be that the pews shown at the end of the video were chock full of the faithful. Oh well, in time.

Katie Holmes wants daughter Suri in Catholic school

Horribly, horribly tabloid of me, but here goes:

Los Angeles (eCanadaNow) - Katie Holmes reportedly wants to enrol daughter Suri into "kiddie Catholicism" classes - even though husband Tom Cruise is a devout Scientologist. [that's an odd use of "devout", wouldn't you say?]

The actress who was raised a Catholic, gave up her religion and embraced the bizarre sci-fi cult when she met in Tom in 2005.

But Katie has now allegedly been secretly talking to pastors about her child’s upbringing, and wants to enrol one-year-old Suri into some classes when she is older to learn about the faith, according to Life and Style magazine.

Blogger's Choice Awards update

Since my non-too-subtle post yesterday the total number of votes for AmP in the Blogger's Choice Awards has almost doubled (now at 50). Muchas gratias!

Looking through the top 24 candidates for Best Religion Blog I'm struck by several things:

• 21 out of the top 24 blogs are Catholic. Way to represent, St. Blogs!
• The Athiest blog is mostly angry, and simply shouldn't be in the religion category.
• The "radically inclusive Christian blog" is just angry. And coarse. And a waste of time.
• The Episcopal blog is trying to rally readers so a non-Catholic blog can get some standing.

So, tell your friends to vote for Catholic blogs! And continue the intellectual/evangelizing/living-your-faith tradition of Catholic blogging!

A good Papist cartoon

Amy has more.

Update: Sure, the cartoon implies that the Catholic members of the supreme court voted their faith and not their reason. Guess what, reason alone says that partial-birth abortion is still gravely wrong.

Update 2: Thanks to reader Greg for helping fix the picture source.

Why is the Limbo story so popular?

I sometimes drop by the Yahoo! News "most popular" page to see what people are reading these days. Today, the Reuters and AP stories on Limbo are topping the charts.

Are people really that interested?

Exclusive: new interim president for Ohio Dominican U.

A source at Ohio Dominican University sent me this message:

"Hopefully this is an answer to much prayer and fasting done by us here at my school.

Our former president recently resigned, after making such moves as having Joan Chittister speak at commencement last year. [It's true, he did.] Needless to say, we're happy he is gone.

This is the only Catholic college in the Columbus diocese, and has much potential.

I attached the press release." [Read that document here.]

When ODU announced the Chittister invite, the Cardinal Newman Society protested. SperoNews has that story. Here's the relevant part on Chittister:

On May 13, women's ordination activist Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, will give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio. Chittister -"described by ODU as 'one of the Church's key visionary voices and spiritual leaders" - is a leading dissident from the Church's infallible teaching on male ordination.

Inviting someone like Chittister as the commencement speaker is not an isolated episode of poor judgement and bad taste, it reveals the character, goals and viewpoint of the administration that invites her. It's not hard to see why many people at ODU have been praying and fasting.

As another example, the ODU President's recent response to two incidents of vandalism back in August was to require that all students take a "multiculturalism class" beginning this fall. [source.]

The incoming interim president, the Most Reverend James A. Griffin (retired Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus - picture), seems like a breath of fresh air in comparison. [Read the University's press release about him here.]

Does anyone else have information about ODU to add? Please post below in the combox or email me.

Also, thanks to the reader who sent in this tip. I'm always eager to publish credible, objective news that would interest my readers. For instance, this story I take to be an example of positive renewal in Catholic higher education, and I know that it is not an isolated event. Drop me a line!

Prepare for Limbo fallout

Amy notes that the International Theological Commission's report on Limbo has been released.

CNS has very good coverage:

After several years of study, the Vatican's International Theological Commission said there are good reasons to hope that babies who die without being baptized go to heaven.

In a document published April 20, the commission said the traditional concept of limbo -- as a place where unbaptized infants spend eternity but without communion with God -- seemed to reflect an "unduly restrictive view of salvation."

The church continues to teach that, because of original sin, baptism is the ordinary way of salvation for all people and urges parents to baptize infants, the document said.

But there is greater theological awareness today that God is merciful and "wants all human beings to be saved," it said. Grace has priority over sin, and the exclusion of innocent babies from heaven does not seem to reflect Christ's special love for "the little ones," it said.

"Our conclusion is that the many factors that we have considered ... give serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptized infants who die will be saved and enjoy the beatific vision," the document said."We emphasize that these are reasons for prayerful hope, rather than grounds for sure knowledge," it added. [More...]

The entire article is well worth the read for those who are interested.

Zadok (who I can't believe fell off my blogroll for awhile - he's back now) has this to say:

"We cannot expect intelligent reporting of this in the secular press. Expect headlines to speak of the 'Pope' or 'the Vatican' 'abolishing Limbo'.What we actually seem to have is a rather measured document which does not declare the automatic salvation of the unbaptized and does not totally dismiss limbo as being an unsupportable theological position. The report suggests that it does not obscure the genuine difficulty of the question and insists on the necessity and obligation of baptism."

To be fair, the Reuters treatment isn't so bad at all. In fact, the article quotes CNS's coverage twice. It seems that Philip Pullella, the author of the Reuters coverage, stuck very close to what CNS said on the topic. What somewhat puzzles me is why Pullella decided to throw in a reference to Dante at the end of his piece. Now, don't get me wrong, I dearly love Dante and his Divine Comedy, but Dante wasn't a priest, and the Divine Comedy has practically nothing to do with this new ITC document. Maybe Pullella thought the article needed some spice?

The Associated Press coverage is a bit closer to what Zadok predicted, but still very decent. Again, I think this is so because it references the CNS coverage and clearly stays close to what it says. The only line that irks me in the AP coverage is this one, the opening line: "Pope Benedict XVI has revised traditional Roman Catholic teaching on so-called "limbo," approving a church report released Friday that said there was reason to hope that babies who die without baptism can go to heaven." (underlining added.) I guess if you have a little dig to make, it *has* to go in the first line, because that's the one that most people will read.

Well, I have yet to see what the New York Times and the UK tabloids do to this news. Nonetheless, I can't really fault the AP or Reuters on their take. If I have anything to tell the MSM writers, it's this: keep reading CNS! Your coverage will benefit and your reputation among knowledgeable Catholic readers might improve.

Your PPOTD! Friday, April 20th

Pope Benedict appreciated the thought,

but had no intention of cremating his cat.

[picture: REUTERS/Plinio Lepri/Pool]

Some quick AmP B.C.A. statistics

Subito:

• Current number of votes for Amp in the Blogger's Choice Awards: 27.
• Number of additional votes needed to reach the first page of the category: 39.
• Percentage of voters needed to reach this goal: 3% of AmP's visitors yesterday!

Here's where.

And no worries - you can vote for as many blogs as you want in each category!

We now return to your regularly-scheduled content.... thanks! :)

Update: Thanks to everyone who has voted for me in the past 24 hours .... moving up! I'd love to knock the athiest blog off the front page. So please vote for other good Catholic blogs as well.

Yes, today's the day!

Today is the 2nd anniversary (3rd year) of Pope Benedict's glorious ascendency to the Papacy.

Amy is ground-zero for remininscing, remembering, links to videos, and suchlike.

And here, for those of you who remember it, is the Habemus Papam Techno song in MP3 format, and a link to the video version that is hosted by Google (almost 7,000 views so far, I'm happy to add). Good times for sure.

Ad multos annos, carissime Papa!

P.S. Fr. Z. adds a fun little trivia modicum.

This pic should wet your appetite!

Pope Benedict officially invited to New York and UN

CWNews puts it briefly:

Pope Benedict XVI met on April 18 with Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the UN, who invited him to visit the New York headquarters of the international body.

In a brief statement about the Wednesday-evening meeting, the Vatican said that the 20-minute conversation had focused on cooperation between the Church and the UN. The Vatican statement acknowledged the UN official's invitation for a papal visit to headquarters in New York, but did not indicate the Pontiff's response.

Ban Ki-moon, a South Korean diplomat who succeeded Kofi Annan in January 2007 as Secretary General, was meeting with the Pope for the first time. He was accompanied by his wife.

CNA adds more.

Papa Benny looked very happy throughout the meeting so perhaps it went well:

Or maybe the birthday boy is just in a good mood.

Either way, if he's happy, we're happy.

[photo: REUTERS/Ettore Ferrari/Pool (VATICAN)]

Magister on "why the real war is in[side] Islam"

Haven't had a chance to read this yet (exams must come first), but I want to notify interested readers in the meantime:

Why the Real War Is Inside Islam

by Sandro Mafister

Shiites against Sunnis, and Sunnis in conflict with each other: totalitarians against mystics. The enemies are not only the Christians. The analysis of a great Muslim expert: Khaled Fouad Allam

Supreme court decision follow-up

First off, the LifeSiteNews analysis:

• Partial Birth Abortion Ban Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court - A Pro-Life Legacy for Bush Established
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07041801.html

Diogenes adds his thoughts.

Mark Shea takes takes a look at the political party breakdown on the issue.

Update: the California Bishop's Conference issued a good statement on the decision.

Interesting cartoon

Update: Blogger is being difficult today, just go see the original here.

The Moralities of House (3x19, "Act Your Age")

I've noticed that several members of the Catholic blogosphere will often post reflections on their favorite primetime shows each week (here I'm thinking of Julie D. in particular, though Amy Welborn will do so as well for a noteworthy episode).

Well, I've noticed that no one seems to be talking about House M.D., with the exception of the "Fetal Position" episode that I briefly posted about last week, which garnered some scattered attention for its pro-life elements.

As I've admitted before, I'm fairly addicted to House. It's the only television show I currently make time for, and I've managed to see the entirety of its previous seasons over the past couple months. So I think I'm fairly well situated to start commenting on it. The show is primarily about medical, interpersonal and business-place ethics - prime fodder for discussion. From what I've heard, House has been renewed for a fourth season (in its 3rd now) and is currently Fox's top-rated scripted drama. This means that it will probably be around for awhile longer, and in the meantime, plenty of people (almost 20m) will be watching it each week. Finally, the title character of Dr. House is played by Hugh Laurie, one of my all-time favorite British actors, ever since he was the Bertie Wooster of Jeeves & Wooster. I hope that's a satisfactory account of the contributing factors to my addiction.

First things first - *spoiler warning*. I'm writing with the presumption that readers are either familiar with the show, have scene the episode in question, or are not worried about having plot arc points given away. Also, House treats of fairly explicit themes often ("viewer discretion advised"), so be warned. Enough said....

3x19 - "Act Your Age"

Here's the TV preview spot for this episode:



PoliteDissent provides a weekly plot recap of each episode, and then (helpfully) evaluates the medical claims made by the show. They actually gave this week's episode a failing grade, which I'd agree with given even I found the final diagnosis to be contradictory with the preceding symptoms. Oh well, you can't win them all.

The Moralities:

This week focused less on Dr. House and allowed some of the secondary characters to develop.

Chase and Cameron remain tense after breaking off their inane "friends-with-benefits/sex-without-strings" relationship. At least the writers of House are willing to show that such an arrangement is foolish and unnatural between humans. Interestingly, Chase is coming off the better of the two in this situation. Typically he is the office playboy, and its good to see him being given some credit (i.e., being unsatisfied with Cameron's desire to keep their relationship only physical). His gift of flowers to her in the end at least has the surface plausibility of being disinterested, and that's more than we'd expect from him given his past tendency to self-serve.

Cameron's decision to enter the "relationship" (and end it when Chase voices his dissatisfaction) remains unintelligible to me. It doesn't make sense objectively, or even within the context of the show where Cameron is normally the most "moral" of the four doctors. Classically she's the one pointing out how a physical procedure has emotional, psychological and moral dimensions that can't be ignored for the sake of utility. And yet, she initiates this deal with Chase which positively reeks of physical utility at the expense and danger of emotional, psychological and moral considerations. I guess that is probably the irony of her choice, but we'll see where the writers take it.

The emerging love triangle between Wilson, Cuddy and House has nothing except disaster written all over it. Sure, it might keep people interested, but the pathological inability to maintain relationships evidenced by Wilson and House's personal demons aren't going to be overcome by Cuddy's late-middle-age-professional-style desperation to find a partner. At least it won't be overcome for longer than an awkward one-night-stand or two somewhere near the end of this season to keep the ratings up. Which, I'd imagine, is the same reason the Chase/Cameron relationship started-up early season - following the disappointing trend in almost every major TV drama where most of the main characters need to be sleeping with each other by the end of the second season (early third if you're lucky, never if you're Mulder and Scully).

In terms of the episode-specific character, I think the lesson taught was good. The father's decision to begin a relationship with the caretaker of his children, so soon after his wife's death, is definitely given a critical treatment. The fact that this caretaker is much younger than him, and that his third-party solution to his impotence problems are the direct cause of his children's sufferings only highlight the inappropriateness of his choice. The four doctors even suspect him of child abuse for a good portion of the episode because of his failures in duty. If I could put the message to the father curtly: "Keep it in your pants, and take care of your kids, dude." Or as House puts it: "A guy gets a little somethin'-somethin' and a couple of kids have to die... it's the circle of life."

More House resources:

• If you want to catch up on House, Amazon has the First and Second seasons on DVD.
• The official House website at Fox.
• Wikipedia page for House, with brief episode summaries.

Conclusion:

I've penned this rather hastily rather than waiting to give it more attention, and subsequently having it slip through the cracks. I'd be he happy to hear your thoughts in the combox below or via email. Hopefully I will have time next week (around finals!) to pen another review if this sort of thing is useful and/or interesting to folks.

Here is the preview for next episode, 3x20 - "House Training." House airs Tuesdays, 9/8 central.

Legalize: pictures (except for top) ©2007 FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY Credit: Isabella Vosmikova/FOX.

"Clergy" tops Most Satisfying Jobs survey

LifeScience reports:

Here are the Top 10 most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job:

• Clergy—87 percent percent
• Firefighters—80 percent percent
• Physical therapists—78 percent percent
• Authors—74 percent
• Special education teachers—70 percent
• Teachers—69 percent
• Education administrators—68 percent
• Painters and sculptors—67 percent
• Psychologists—67 percent
• Security and financial services salespersons—65 percent
• Operating engineers—64 percent
• Office supervisors—61 percent

People who scored high on the happiness scale had the following jobs:

• Clergy
• Firefighters
• Transportation ticket and reservation agents
• Housekeepers and butlers
• Hardware/building supplies salespersons
• Architects
• Mechanics and repairers
• Special education teachers
• Actors and directors
• Science technicians

The gentlemen I study with at Sacred Heart Major Seminary can take some solace that in addition to storing up great treasures in heaven, they might have some reward here on earth. Nonetheless, ad majorem Dei gloriam!

Your PPOTD! Wednesday, April 18th

"Actually, my dear friends, I really had something different in mind when I called upon Christians to rediscover the sweetness of their faith. But this will do for now."

[photo: AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano]

Ongoing post: Supreme Court Backs Ban on Partial-birth abortion

Update 2: Something to watch on this issue is how the various presidentical candidates react to the decision. Drudge has been assembling some of them:

• HILLARY: 'Erosion of our constitutional rights'...
• GIULIANI: 'I agree with it'...
• OBAMA: 'I strongly disagree'...
• ROMNEY: 'A step forward'...
• MCCAIN: I'm very happy...
• EDWARDS: 'I could not disagree more strongly'...

And there you have it.

Original story: From the Associated Press:

The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure Wednesday, handing abortion opponents the long- awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench.

The 5-4 ruling said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.

The opponents of the act "have not demonstrated that the Act would be unconstitutional in a large fraction of relevant cases," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion.

The decision pitted the court's conservatives against its liberals, with President Bush's two appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, siding with the majority.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia also were in the majority.
It was the first time the court banned a specific procedure in a case over how—not whether—to perform an abortion.

... The law bans a method of ending a pregnancy, rather than limiting when an abortion can be performed. [my emphasis]

[More...]

Via the law blokes at Fumare, more details can be found here at Scotusblog.

More:

Bettnet: "Is this the beginning of the end of legalized abortion or just a blip on the rocket-sled ride to the bottom? Only time will tell."

CWNews: "The decision announced on April 18 was the first major test for the Supreme Court on the abortion issue since the appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Both new members of the court voted with the majority, along with Justices Kennedy, Scalia, and Thomas. "

CNA: "The court accepted arguments on behalf of the legislation which claimed that the procedure, which involves partially removing the child then crushing or cutting its skull, qualifies as infanticide and not as abortion."

"All five of the majority-voting Justices are Catholic."

(CNA has very good coverage of the story and I recommend reading it.)

Amy links this post at MOJ by Rob Vischer and a longer one by Rick Garnett.

Pope to receive president Bush, called Curia meeting, visits St. Augustine

Pope Benedict's noteworthy activities over the last few days:

• CNA: Pope to meet with President Bush and Iranian President Mohamed Jatami
• CWNews: Pope meets privately with Curia leaders
• CNA: Pope to visit tomb of St. Augustine

Who says life at 80 has to slow down?

Benedict conveys condolences to victims at VT

Thanks to Rocco for the text:

DEEPLY SADDENED BY NEWS OF THE SHOOTING AT VIRGINIA TECH, HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS ASKED ME TO CONVEY THE ASSURANCE OF HIS HEARTFELT PRAYERS FOR THE VICTIMS, THEIR FAMILIES AND FOR THE ENTIRE SCHOOL COMMUNITY. IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS SENSELESS TRAGEDY HE ASKS GOD OUR FATHER TO CONSOLE ALL THOSE WHO MOURN AND TO GRANT THEM THAT SPIRITUAL STRENGTH WHICH TRIUMPHS OVER VIOLENCE BY THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS, HOPE AND RECONCILING LOVE.

CARDINAL TARCISIO BERTONESECRETARY OF STATE.

More reports:

• CNA: Pope Benedict prays that God will send consolation and spiritual strength to all involved in Virginia Tech killings
• CNS: Pope saddened by massacre at Virginia Tech

AmP nominated for the Blogger's Choice Awards

My thanks go out to "Lznd" who nominated this blog for the 2007 Blogger's Choice Awards, and for the other people who have since voted for me.

Early this week I got an email saying that an atheist blog was winning the "Best Religion blog" category, but happily it has now fallen to fifth place, behind four solid Catholic blogs.

Much better!

Prayers for the victims at Virginia Tech

Update, 12:30am - CNS reports on the Catholic response to the tragedy.

To get an idea about how close this event is to many St. Blog's members, Amy Welborn's own son graduated from VT, and currently works on campus. Thanks be to God he is safe. So many others this night, however, are not, and we should continue praying for them, as well as their friends and family.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy On and Keep Them!

Update, 8:42pm - reading Drudge, there's beginning to emerge the frightening probability that this was a premeditated attack. 33 people have been wounded and at least 29 more injured.
-----

Original post - There has been a massacre at Virginia Tech, with at least 29 students dead from a shooting attack.

More here. AP News coverage here. Ongoing coverage at Drudge Report.

We should all offer up prayers for the victims.

Happy 80th Birthday of Pope Benedict Day!

April 16th is Pope Benedict's birthday.

Christopher Blosser of the Pope Benedict XVI Fanclub has a fine round-up to start your celebrations.

Gerard Augustinus actually attended the Papal Mass yesterday.

Via Amy, you can wish the Pope a happy birthday right here.

As for me, I think you can guess what I'm going to try to have for breakfast today. :-)

Viva Il Papa! - Long live the Pope!

[photo: AFP/Filippo Monteforte]

Out of town this weekend

As I mentioned before, I'll be out of town until Sunday afternoon for the ISI conference. Cheers!

Update: The conference went wonderfully, and I hope to post my reactions and thoughts soon.

Schonborn Sighting!

From this morning's VIS:

"The Holy Father yesterday received in audience Cardinal Christoph Schonborn O.P., archbishop of Vienna, Austria."

Tom Heneghan, religion editor for Reuters, recently published this article reexamining the status of Benedict and Schonborn on the evolution debate.

The article says Cardinal Schonborn just published a book on the topic of evolution. I believe what is being referred to is really a collection of his ongoing homilies on creation that he has been delivering in Vienna (some of which are available at the Schonborn Site, which will hopefully be updated soon).

Your PPOTD! Thursday, April 12th

When sending a letter to God, two things are essential:

a really big envelope and a stamp that is sure to catch His attention.

[photo: REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader]

Pontificial Biblical Commission to focus on bible and morals!

Exciting, exciting news everybody:

VATICAN CITY, APR 12, 2007 (VIS) - The Pontifical Biblical Commission is due to celebrate its annual plenary assembly in the Vatican's "Domus Sanctae Marthae" from April 16 to 20.

The assembly will be presided by Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the work sessions will be directed by Fr. Klemens Stock S.J., secretary general of the commission. The meetings will concentrate on the theme of the relationship between the Bible and morals.

I chose my MA concentrations to be biblical studies and moral theology for precisely the reason that I hope to see these disciplines work together more closely, as called for by Vatican II. It's one of the projects closest to my heart because I think it is of great importance.

I will be eagerly watching to see what comes out of this session.

CWNews: "Full schedule set for Pope's Brazil trip"

From CWNews:

Apr. 11, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican has released the full schedule for the pastoral visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Brazil on May 9- 14. [click here for it.]

Looks like it's just Brazil and back again. No visits to Central America or (although it was obviously a stretch) to the U.S.

I will be attending this conference over the weekend

I'll be attending the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's spring leadership conference on "Russell Kirk and the Prospects for Conservatism" this weekend in Indianapolis.

To prepare for the conference, I've been reading Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind, and if I find the time, the book of another presenter, Rod Dreher's (Crunchy Cons). A quick disclaimer: I'm neither a "crunchy con" nor a conservative at this point (though I clearly lean conservative if you've read these pages at any length). Anyway, this weekend is primarily an educational experience for me. Political identities aside, I believe these people are doing fine work and I'm eager to learn more about them and support their endeavors.

(aside: if anyone is looking for a really fantastic Austrian-economics master's level program taught by conservative and thomistic-formed professors, shoot me an email. I'm sitting on a hot tip.)

Here is the conference summary:

"Russell Kirk has long been considered the father of the conservative intellectual movement in America. The publication of The Conservative Mind in 1953 identified a coherent strain of conservative sentiment and ideas that could be traced to America's founding, and that found its roots ultimately in the British statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke. As historian, political theorist, literary critic, and novelist, Kirk reminded an ever-changing world that true progress depends on a grounding in a community's traditional prudence and wisdom.

ISI will convene a one-day conference at the historic Columbia Club in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, to reflect on Kirk's life, thought, and prescriptions for a diverse and often fragmented movement. Participants will also be lead to consider broader questions about the future of conservatism in America.

Join ISI's best and brightest students and faculty in this day-long networking and leadership conference. Seating is limited."

The conference schedule is available here (in that annoying PDF format).

So, if anyone is planning on attending, please drop me a line. I always love meeting my awesome readers!

National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

The 4th Annual Catholic Prayer Breakfast will be held in Washington, D.C. this weekend (April 12-14th), with a keynote address by Abp. Wuerl on "Christianity and Our National Identity." President Bush has attended past NCPB's but that's not gauranteed this time (and probably won't happen).

In addition, Scott Hahn, and Richard John Neuhaus will be giving talks.

Unfortunately, I'll be unable to attend this year (for reasons I'll explain in my next post). I would have been especially interested in the bioethics panel scheduled for Friday afternoon. Another fascinating panel is on the topic of "Catholics in Entertainment and the New Evangelization", with the producers of Passion of the Christ and Bella (which I've mega-posted about here), and the excellent Fishers of Men vocation video.

One slightly distressing topic to an AmericanPapist like myself is Neuhaus on "Why I Am Not an American Catholic." I'd be interested to see where he takes that. I'm sure his speech will be made available either on their website or elsewhere after it is delivered.

Ticket sales have closed for this year's event it says on the NCPB's website (outside of email invitations), but it's still good to be aware of it and what has occurred in past sessions.

Catholic Carnival 114

Catholic Carnival 114 is up.

This week's categories include an Easter theme, newsworthy, and resources/books.

LifeSiteNews headlines, April 11th

LifeSiteNews:

• Catholic School Libraries Stock Gay Promoting Books and Videos Warns Pro-Marriage Group
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07041005.html
• Portugal Legalizes Abortion as President Silva Approves Legislation
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07041001.html
• Golf Masters’ Champion Thanks Christ for Easter Win
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07041003.html
• Catholic Priest Found Not Guilty of Blocking Access to Abortion Clinic
  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07041007.html

Sad news about the legalization of abortion in Portugal, a topic I've covered in the past and one that has unfortunately progressed as was predicted.

As an aside, I'm beginning to kick around the idea of visiting Portugal and Spain this summer. I've always wanted to visit Oporto and Barcelona. To that end I'm going to try to study up on the situation of the Catholic church in these two countries before I visit, with an aim towards visiting some of the important Catholic destinations. I've heard that Fatima is rather difficult to visit? Any experiences?

S.E. Michigan theology on tap this week

I might be attending this local theology-on-tap this week. I've been to a couple of these events before and found them very enjoyable (and even a little educational):

Theology on Tap: Back by popular demand! For young adults!

Thursday, April 12th, 2007 8:00pm - 11:00pm

The topic will be RESURRECTION! THE FRUITS OF THE CROSS IN DAILY WORK. Topic to be presented by Sr. John Dominic Rasmussen O.P., Co-Founder of Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.

Event will be held at Box Bar 777 W. Ann Arbor Trail Plymouth, MI 48170.

Contact Jeremy Priest for further information at 231-392-2652 or at jpriest@madonna.edu

Must be 21 with I.D. to be served alcohol.

Abp. Dolan goes into high gear

Dom takes a look at Archbishop Dolan's recent upswing in public activity in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Read about it here.

Dom takes some of his information from Dad29.

I have very high hopes for what Dolan can do for Milwaukee. One of the goals he has set for the diocese is a 20% increase in Mass attendance.

Click through the links to see how he is attempting to reach this and other goals. That's right. The tried-and-true teaching, sanctifying and governing.

Urbi et Orbi Message for Easter 2007 and some thoughts

The full text from the Vatican website:

Dear Brothers and Sisters throughout the world, Men and women of good will!

Christ is risen! Peace to you! Today we celebrate the great mystery, the foundation of Christian faith and hope: Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One, has risen from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. We listen today with renewed emotion to the announcement proclaimed by the angels on the dawn of the first day after the Sabbath, to Mary of Magdala and to the women at the sepulchre: “Why do you search among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here, he is risen!” (Lk 24:5-6).

It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of these women at that moment: feelings of sadness and dismay at the death of their Lord, feelings of disbelief and amazement before a fact too astonishing to be true. But the tomb was open and empty: the body was no longer there. Peter and John, having been informed of this by the women, ran to the sepulchre and found that they were right. The faith of the Apostles in Jesus, the expected Messiah, had been submitted to a severe trial by the scandal of the cross. At his arrest, his condemnation and death, they were dispersed. Now they are together again, perplexed and bewildered. But the Risen One himself comes in response to their thirst for greater certainty. This encounter was not a dream or an illusion or a subjective imagination; it was a real experience, even if unexpected, and all the more striking for that reason. “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘peace be with you!’” (Jn 20:19).

At these words their faith, which was almost spent within them, was re-kindled. The Apostles told Thomas who had been absent from that first extraordinary encounter: Yes, the Lord has fulfilled all that he foretold; he is truly risen and we have seen and touched him! Thomas however remained doubtful and perplexed. When Jesus came for a second time, eight days later in the Upper Room, he said to him: “put your finger here and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing!” The Apostle’s response is a moving profession of faith: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:27-28).

“My Lord and my God!” We too renew that profession of faith of Thomas. I have chosen these words for my Easter greetings this year, because humanity today expects from Christians a renewed witness to the resurrection of Christ; it needs to encounter him and to know him as true God and true man. If we can recognize in this Apostle the doubts and uncertainties of so many Christians today, the fears and disappointments of many of our contemporaries, with him we can also rediscover with renewed conviction, faith in Christ dead and risen for us. This faith, handed down through the centuries by the successors of the Apostles, continues on because the Risen Lord dies no more. He lives in the Church and guides it firmly towards the fulfilment of his eternal design of salvation.

We may all be tempted by the disbelief of Thomas. Suffering, evil, injustice, death, especially when it strikes the innocent such as children who are victims of war and terrorism, of sickness and hunger, does not all of this put our faith to the test? Paradoxically the disbelief of Thomas is most valuable to us in these cases because it helps to purify all false concepts of God and leads us to discover his true face: the face of a God who, in Christ, has taken upon himself the wounds of injured humanity. Thomas has received from the Lord, and has in turn transmitted to the Church, the gift of a faith put to the test by the passion and death of Jesus and confirmed by meeting him risen. His faith was almost dead but was born again thanks to his touching the wounds of Christ, those wounds that the Risen One did not hide but showed, and continues to point out to us in the trials and sufferings of every human being.

“By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pt 2:24). This is the message Peter addressed to the early converts. Those wounds that, in the beginning were an obstacle for Thomas’s faith, being a sign of Jesus’ apparent failure, those same wounds have become in his encounter with the Risen One, signs of a victorious love. These wounds that Christ has received for love of us help us to understand who God is and to repeat: “My Lord and my God!” Only a God who loves us to the extent of taking upon himself our wounds and our pain, especially innocent suffering, is worthy of faith.

How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world! Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking. My thoughts go to recent events in Madagascar, in the Solomon Islands, in Latin America and in other regions of the world. I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons. I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa. In Darfur and in the neighbouring countries there is a catastrophic, and sadly to say underestimated, humanitarian situation. In Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the violence and looting of the past weeks raises fears for the future of the Congolese democratic process and the reconstruction of the country. In Somalia the renewed fighting has driven away the prospect of peace and worsened a regional crisis, especially with regard to the displacement of populations and the traffic of arms. Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis and for this reason the Bishops of that country in a recent document indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward.

Likewise the population of East Timor stands in need of reconciliation and peace as it prepares to hold important elections. Elsewhere too, peace is sorely needed: in Sri Lanka only a negotiated solution can put an end to the conflict that causes so much bloodshed; Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability; In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees. In Lebanon the paralysis of the country’s political institutions threatens the role that the country is called to play in the Middle East and puts its future seriously in jeopardy. Finally, I cannot forget the difficulties faced daily by the Christian communities and the exodus of Christians from that blessed Land which is the cradle of our faith. I affectionately renew to these populations the expression of my spiritual closeness.

Dear Brothers and sisters, through the wounds of the Risen Christ we can see the evils which afflict humanity with the eyes of hope. In fact, by his rising the Lord has not taken away suffering and evil from the world but has vanquished them at their roots by the superabundance of his grace. He has countered the arrogance of evil with the supremacy of his love. He has left us the love that does not fear death, as the way to peace and joy. “Even as I have loved you – he said to his disciples before his death – so you must also love one another” (cf. Jn 13:34).

Brothers and sisters in faith, who are listening to me from every part of the world! Christ is risen and he is alive among us. It is he who is the hope of a better future. As we say with Thomas: “My Lord and my God!”, may we hear again in our hearts the beautiful yet demanding words of the Lord: “If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honour him” (Jn 12:26). United to him and ready to offer our lives for our brothers (cf. 1 Jn 3:16), let us become apostles of peace, messengers of a joy that does not fear pain – the joy of the Resurrection. May Mary, Mother of the Risen Christ, obtain for us this Easter gift. Happy Easter to you all.

This year I attended Easter Vigil Mass with my family at their parish, St. Thomas the Apostle, where appropriately enough, the pastor spoke at length about St. Thomas's confession of faith.

Seeing Pope Benedict recontextualize these words of St. Thomas for a global scope after hearing my pastor refer to them on a personal level was very enlightening. One of the primary consequences of our personal experience of the risen Christ and of our faith in him is to bring the Light of the World to the world.

On a somewhat related note, one of the fruits of my biblical studies this semester was a fuller appreciation of what Christ's means when he proclaims "peace!" to the Apostles after his resurrection. The concept of "peace" (Shalom) for Jewish people in the Old Covenant did not mean merely the "absence of conflict" that we tend to associate with the word, but instead it means having the "full presence of everything that should be present to the relationship." This is the reason Christ proclaims "peace" (Shalom) to his disciples after his resurrection: his Paschal mystery has brought about the wonderful presence of his saving grace to our relationship with God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the task for Christians in the world is not merely to bring about an absence of conflict between the world's powers, but rather the positive presence of everything that should be present to those politicial and ethnic relationships. This represents a higher and harder task, but one far more worthy in the end.

Mary, Mother of the Risen Christ, obtain for us this Easter gift!

[photo: (Osservatore Romano/Reuters)]

Blogging over Triduum will be sparse

Between friends, family and liturgies, I will probably be very occupied this weekend.

A very happy and blessed Triduum to all my readers!

NYT on the challenges facing modern girls

I found this an interesting read: a New York Times piece entitled "For Girls, It’s Be Yourself, and Be Perfect, Too."

The article describes the insane number of activities college-bound kids (and apparently girls especially) are taking on in order to pad their resumes, get into the "right" school, and find fulfillment in the world's terms. Competition is fierce, it seems, and is getting worse every year, with no real end in sight.

Short take: these girls are being stretched way past their limits. And that's not even reading between the lines - they admit it themselves.

Especially note the (NYT-style) mention of spirituality, "anorexia of the soul" and related problems. Even the author is aware of these dangers.

In other words, if these girls, who are overachieving in the fields that supposedly yield human fulfillment, are still unhappy, what does that say about the standards for success in today's world?

There, I just went and asked the question the article so deftly avoids. Just the facts, Max.

The New Yorker's hilariously bad article on B16

Carl Olson takes one for the team and reads through (with commentary) a hilariously bad article on Pope Benedict that recently appeared in The New Yorker.

Really, you just have to laugh at these people. Hopefully they'll eventually get embarassed enough to do a little research before they start rehashing the same old and tired prejudices.

The Pro-Life episode of House

As I've mentioned recently, I'm nursing an addiction to House. Because I'm a purist, I've been watching the episodes in sequence, beginning with the first season (I'm just starting season three now).

However, I might have to jump ahead on Amy's news and After abortion's confirmation that there was an incredible episode last night with a strong pro-life message.

Amy has more:

"I gather (and correct me) that the plot involved a situation in which a late-term abortion was being advised by House who referred to the child throughout as a fetus, tadpole, thing, etc...and then in crisis, with pre-natal surgery being attempted, the tadpole grabs House's finger..."

There's a bit more to it than that.

Right now I'm trying to figure out a cheap/easy/legal way to get my hands on the episode, since none of my friends have Tivo. (Please post any suggestions in the combox.)

As for House, I'm waiting till I've caught up to the current season to write a longish post detailing my thoughts about the show.

Update: Impatient as always, I decided to see what the secular news/blogs were saying about the pro-life moment. I found a couple treatments:

• Buzzsugar: "Luckily, House is free to come back to the hospital for a nutso surgery that involves delivering the baby, fixing him, and putting him back in the womb. In the middle of the surgery, the baby's little hand reaches up and grabs House's finger, and even though they're whacking us over the head with the "House realizes it's a person!" moment, it's disturbingly cute.
  After the surgery, Emma and baby are fine, and House even uses the word "baby," though he quickly reverts to "that thing that tried to kill you." [And apparently the infant isn't very cute, in the blogger's opinion.]
• EW.com doesn't do much analysis but touches off a long comment thread. Good to get a feel for what the average person is saying.

I'm more interested than ever. Amazing that this aired on primetime telivision.

And now that I think about it, readers who haven't seen any episodes of House shouldn't be overly shocked by House's comments about "that thing" or a "tadpole." One of House's character trademarks is extreme rudeness and shock language, so don't read too much into it.

A couple youth-related headlines

From CNA:

• Thousands of young Catholics pray at tomb of Pope John Paul II: "But," the prelate [Cardinal Dziwisz] asked, "what does John Paul II say to the youth today? Perhaps the same as he said on the first day of his papacy: 'you are the hope of the Church, you are my hope.' Today he tells you, be Benedict XVI's hope. Be the hope of the Church!"
• Be ready to follow wherever Jesus leads you, Pope tells youth, all Christians: The Eucharistic liturgy was attended by 50,000 pilgrims, the majority of them young people from Rome and other dioceses currently celebrating 22nd World Youth Day, which has as its theme this year: "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."

Your PPOTD! Tuesday, April 3rd

Preparations for the Papal Easter Magic show were ahead of schedule:

Il Papa was already well beyond revealing bunnies and flowers.

[photo:REUTERS/Osservatore Romano]