Photo: Clue #3 (final)

Okay, most of you have got it, but what besides a new look is going to debut?

Photo: Clue #2

Some of you guessed very close with the last clue, but can you guess more details now?

Photo: Clue #1

Can you guess what is happening to AmP tomorrow?

Photo: Very Clever Advertising

So clever I had to post this before offbeat Friday.

From NullWeKnow : "To promote a plastic surgeon's office, this life scale poster was placed at the entrance of his office and by the elevator in the main lobby of the hospital building."

Of course, telling people they will be "born again" through plastic surgery isn't a very Catholic message.

{Ph/t: AmP reader Charles.}

Offbeat Video: Christian Rap promotes "side hugs"

The most random, disturbing religion-related video I've seen this week:

Puritanical like it's going out of style. GetReligion reports:

Christians can do funny, goofy things. That’s why reaction to a Christian rap group’s video seemingly advocating the sexually chaste “Christian side hug” was so interesting. Apparently, the group was kidding. But that didn’t stop critics and bloggers for missing the joke and getting snarky about it.

As Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported in “Christian side hugs: The joke’s not on fundamentalist Christians”.

... [The] group may joke about the side hug, but as one Pentecostal pastor told The Roanoke Times last year in an article entitled, “The pastor’s holy hug: Divine but demure”:

“I have my politically correct hugs,” he said. He demonstrates by bending into a pronounced stoop to grasp the parishioner’s shoulders while pulling back at the waist. That way, the huggers’ midsections don’t touch.

Oh my gosh. I wonder what Christopher West would say?

... and if that doesn't spark a comment box flame war, I don't know what will. Happy Friday! ;-P

Offbeat: Is Pope Benedict XVI a secret rap lover?

The UK Daily Mail tries to make the case:

If his playlist is any indication, the Pope has the most catholic of musical tastes.

A selection posted on the Myspace website in the name of the Vatican features tracks from artists ranging from Shirley Bassey to rapper Tupac Shakur.

The list is one of several offered in a new music service from Myspace in which celebrities are asked to name their favourite songs.

... The Vatican list is far from an ecclesiastical top ten, although it does include songs from the album Music From The Vatican and Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Of course, the list was actually created by a third party, which explains the (ahem) "eclectic" picks:

The 12-strong Vatican list was put together by Father Giulio Neroni, artistic director of St Paul's Multimedia, a church publisher.

He was the man behind the recent Alma Mater album, which combined Gregorian chants and prayers with classical music and the voice of Pope Benedict speaking in five languages.

It is not known if the Pope has ever heard any of the songs.

Well let me clear up that open question - the pope doesn't listen to 2Pac. Seriously.

Now, Fleet Foxes is another matter entirely....

[Ph/t: AmP reader Ashley.]

Offbeat: Poker-playing priest has chance to win $1,000,000

This is a *classic* off-beat Catholic story....

The Aiken Standard:

Andrew Trapp's interest in becoming a priest dates back to fifth grade at St. Mary of Help of Christians School in Aiken.

He followed through on that path. Now 28, Trapp is serving as the assistant pastor at St. Michael Catholic Church in Garden City Beach.
Father Trapp has a new moniker in recent weeks - the poker-playing priest. He's good at it, too. In a tape-delayed broadcast from Los Angeles on Fox on Sunday, Trapp beat a professional poker player to win $100,000 - an unexpected prize he will donate to St. Michael's fundraising efforts for a new church building.

... But he's quick to point out to the kids that he's not advocating serious gambling. The online qualifying tournaments had no entry fee, and his trip to Los Angeles was provided expense-free.

Earlier, Trapp had gotten permission from his parish priest and bishop to pursue the poker challenge.

I think there should be a ministry dedicated to people in casinos.

I've seen poker players use sunglasses to confuse their opponents.

I wonder how the other players felt this time around about playing across from a roman collar.

... I mean, I wonder if they fell for the Trapp.

*zing!*

Photo: Spot the Page 6 error!

Can you see what the New York Post's gossip column "Page Six" got wrong?

And their fix wasn't really even any better (I mean, seriously).

Ph/t: Dawn Eden.

AmP: A diocesan resource

It's humbling to find diocesan websites linking to you, like the Catholic diocese of Spokane, WA does!

Clearly a diocese chock full of papists!

I'm also aware of several Catholic parishes that link to AmP. Does yours? ;-)

Weird: This week marked the first "Blasphemy Day"

What sad, God-haunted, people:

In his youth, Ronald Lindsey planned to enter the priesthood, so fervent was his devotion to God. But these days, Lindsay is devoted to protecting a person's right to ridicule, criticize -- even lambaste God.

You might say he is a blasphemer's savior.

The devout Catholic turned non-believer leads a movement that is all about protecting people's rights to speak irreverently about religion.

Criticizing God is an act punishable by death in several nations. In America, blasphemy laws remain on the books in six states, though they are largely arcane and not enforced.

But everywhere, it seems to Lindsay, scoffing at God is not socially acceptable. (CNN)

Yeah, we're *such* a Godly society.

Way to be daring, Ronald, in least in an oh-so-tired-and-predictable-way.

Hilarious: Dan Brown's 20 worst sentences

I've never read a Dan Brown book, but my friends claim that his novels are not very well written, and after reading this list of howlers, I can see what they mean! A sample:

10. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: Five months ago, the kaleidoscope of power had been shaken, and Aringarosa was still reeling from the blow.

(Did they hit him with the kaleidoscope?)

And that's a fairly merciful example.

Now - please - let's not have any top 20 lists of AmP gaffes appearing!

Friday off-beat: Lego my Cathedral!

I really look forward to AmP's friday offbeat news day.... I get to post stuff like this:


In Minnesota, "LEGO ambassador Roy Cook sizes up the dome of his LEGO Cathedral that he completed recently in the Ryan Room of the Cathedral of St. Paul." (The Catholic Spirit)

They even have a lego kit to create a mini Cathedral of St. Paul.

And afterwards, you can have a lick of "Immaculate Con­fection, a new Sebastian Joe’s ice cream flavor dedicated to the Basilica of St. Mary." I'm for serious.

Update: 'Waltons' actress converts Dallas Catholic church into her home

update: more and better pictures here.

(<-- unfortunately, this is the best picture I could find to accompany this story:)

'This was never intended as a habitat – except by God and Catholics," says Ronnie Claire Edwards of her offbeat residence in Old East Dallas.

"It wasn't the religion I was seeking; it was the architecture," Edwards says. "I'd always wanted to live in a church or a theater because it's a very dramatic space and unusual.

"But, you see, a theater is frightening at night."

That's why Churches have sanctuary candles ... oh right.

Wierd: Freak Tornado rips up Lutheran Conference on homosexuality

On Wednesday I noticed this Associated Press article which reports that the Lutherans - who were founded, among other things, in an attempt to "rediscover" the original meaning of the bible, are trying to dismiss the bible in a committee:

Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have agreed to disagree on homosexuality, endorsing an official statement on human sexuality that says there's room in the church for differing views on an issue that's divided other religious groups.

Delegates to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's nationwide assembly in Minneapolis on Wednesday approved a "social statement on human sexuality." The vote was a prelude to a bigger debate Friday, when delegates will tackle a proposal that would allow individual ELCA congregations to hire people in committed same-sex relationships as clergy.

The meeting was, um, interrupted by ... a tornado:

Wednesday's debate was interrupted briefly in the afternoon when severe storms and a possible tornado passed through downtown Minneapolis, damaging the steeple of an ELCA church across the street from the convention center. Delegates were allowed to remain in the convention hall, but a few jokes about God's wrath proved inevitable.

"We trust that the weather is not a commentary on our work," said the Rev. Steven Loy, who was helping oversee the convention.

To be clear, it was not a "possible tornado," it was an actual tornado. Local blogger Orate Fratres has pictures of the toppled steeple , and describes the event as one of those "things that make you go hmmm...".

I mean, I don't remember the Council of Trent being plagued by local meteorological disasters.

Offbeat: Abp. Chaput agrees with me: Eat Fish on Fridays

AmP readers will recall that I've belabored the point that Catholics ought to eat fish on Friday.

This week Abp. Chaput makes the supporting point that Catholics ought to be concerned about the environment ... because no one wants to be eating queer fish. He says:

"Human beings have a natural sense, reinforced by experience, that things like murder, cruelty, theft, adultery, lying, greed, pride and exploiting the weak are wrong. Faith and reason can walk that common moral ground of the human conscience and, if we’re serious about protecting the environment, they must walk that common ground." he stated.

To illustrate his point, Archbishop Chaput related the story of what researchers found downstream of the University of Colorado in Boulder.

"When scientists at the University of Colorado studied the trout in Boulder Creek downstream from that city’s sewer plant a few years ago, they found that, out of 123 fish, 101 were female, 12 were male, and 10 were a very strange mutation with male and female features," he recalled.

Researchers were able to trace the cause back to "antibiotics, caffeine and especially the hormones from birth control pills can seriously contaminate a region’s drinking water," the prelate said, citing several local newspaper articles. One report quoted a biologist as saying that "the water effluent he found in Boulder Creek has unintended contraceptive effects in human beings."

The scientists expected to hear an uproar from environmentalists when their findings became public but instead they heard silence. "Nobody is to blame for this, and I don’t have a solution," one well-known environmental activist said.

In contrast, Archbishop Chaput lodged his disagreement with activists, insisting with the conference attendees, we "should have a solution. A moral solution."

Any solution, he insisted, should take the form of "a response flowing from a respectful encounter of faith and reason; a response that will help us, collectively, to make the behavioral changes necessary to protect this beautiful world we share, ensuring not only its God-intended harmony, but our own well-being." (CNA)

Catholics: Pro-Life, Pro-Environment, Pro-Fish!

Map: Where The Sinners Are

These maps are tongue-in-cheek, and I found them amusing:

Geographers from Kansas State University map the spatial distribution of the seven deadly sins in the United States. These types of maps are always kind of iffy as they draw from data from various sources gathered with different methods and usually use some kind of researcher-defined metric. Still interesting though... right?

Red equals more sinful and blue equals less sinful. Democrat progaganda, I wonder? ;-)

The Catholic News Service, that venerable organization, actually wrote an article on this.

The areas of higher-sin-per-capita make perfect sense to me. Hollywood is in Los Angelas, Materialism is in New York, Liberals are in Seattle, gay parades are in San Francisco, Protestants are in the South, and hockey is in Michigan! :-P

Where is your favorite sin?

Twitter user provides followers "direct line to God"

"It's a fax from God, John!"

AmP kudos to anyone who knows the reference.

Anywhere, here's the story:

"Want to tweet God?

An Israeli university student has opened a Twitter site, twitter.com/thekotel, where prayers can be sent for placement in the crevices of Jerusalem's Western Wall, a Jewish holy site that faithful believe provides a direct line to the Almighty.

"I take their prayers, print them out and drive to Jerusalem to put them in the Western Wall," said Alon Nir, a resident of Tel Aviv.

He said he hoped his initiative on the popular Internet social networking service, where users post brief messages known as tweets, would be "beneficial to people all over the world."

Nir promises to deliver the prayers -- each no longer than a tweet's maximum 140 characters -- on a regular basis.He's placed over 1,000 rolled-up papers so far."

What's next? Twittering in your local Mass intentions? I hope not. I mean, it's pretty obvious to me that God monitors Twitter closely. And your Facebook statuses too - so be prudent.

Offbeat: Mall-Church hears confessions of shopaholics?

Catholic Femina spots a Capuchin-run Catholic chapel .... located in a Colorado Springs shopping mall.

It's not often you find directions to a chapel that include phrases like "between Burlington Coat Factory and Dillards."

I like the fact that they have confessions available during all mall open hours. Between Cinnabon and Victoria's Secret there's plenty of opportunities for some serious capital sinning.

The chapel is supported by the Knights of Columbus and local bishop Michael Sheridan.

What do you think about this idea? Is it an innovative evangelization idea? Or an inappropriate space for Sacraments? Or something else?

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Video: Missouri Nuns Chase Down Armed Robber on Foot

Goooooooooooooooooood morning AmP off-beat Friday!

A pair of sandal-clad nuns in Missouri chased down an armed robbery suspect and helped police put handcuffs on him, FOX4KC reported.

Sisters at Saint Francis of Holy Eucharist Convent in Independence, Mo., spotted a gun-toting man in their fields who turned out to be a suspect police believe is responsible for several burglaries in the area.

"We looked out the window and saw someone in the bean field. I thought it was someone hunting. He was dragging something with him," Sister Connie told FOX4KC. "He kept coming across the field...I saw he had a gun in hands, what I thought was a rifle, and he dropped it in the field."

When he realized he had been spotted the suspect set off on foot and was chased by a nun in flip-flops who goes by Sister Catrina.

She chased him behind their green house and alerted authorities and the suspect ended up in police custody. Charges have yet to be filed. (FOX4KC)

A quick note: I'm sure she doesn't "go by Sister Catrina." Her name is Sister Catrina.

And for pete's sake, could the video report have included any more bad faith puns?

"Don't mess with nuns." - okay, I agreed with that one.

Shark jumps onto fisherman's boat - AmP readers were warned

I tried to warn AmP readers that this was coming, but noooooo......

HAULOVER BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- After a day of spear fishing and lobster diving, a group of boaters got the scare of a lifetime when a shark jumped into their boat.

Michael Powers and his friends were on-board a 21 foot boat Saturday, when a shark decided to pay them an unannounced visit. "One minute it was in the air, the next minute it was in the boat just beating everything in God's creation," Micheal recalled. "It hit one of the crew members. It hit Patricia, then it went between Paul's legs and my legs in the back. We're all scattering for cover trying to get up on the deck and out of anywhere we could, just to be safe," Michael said.

Catch that? "Beating everything in God's creation." This is why we need to bring back eating fish on Fridays!

Video: Florida Quarterback shocks reporter by admitting he's a virgin

You get what you ask for:

LifeSiteNews has a story on this. Tebow is a homeschooled Christian. Quality guy. ;)

Offbeat Friday....

Indian health minister says that TV is the best contraception

Friday is offbeat news day at AmP, and the stories don't come much more offbeat than this [my comments in brackets] (ph/t Deacon Greg Kandra):

Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Health and Family Welfare Minister, has called for the country to redouble its efforts to bring electricity to all of its huge rural population.

The introduction of the electric light and television sets to those vast areas that still did not have them would discourage procreation, he argued.

“If there is electricity in every village, then people will watch TV till late at night and then fall asleep. They won’t get a chance to produce children,” Mr Azad said. “When there is no electricity there is nothing else to do but produce babies.” [Yeah, what a horrible existence.]

He added: “Don’t think that I am saying this in a lighter vein. I am serious. TV will have a great impact. It’s a great medium to tackle the problem . . . 80 per cent of population growth can be reduced through TV.” [And here we think a sex-saturated culture will only result in more intercourse. Whouda thunk it?]

Maybe that would be the way to promote a culture of life in America - cancel Monday Night Football.

It completely true that more children are conceived during black-outs. What funny people we humans are. 

Offbeat: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Donate $1 Million to (Catholic) Hospital

Friday is offbeat news day at AmP, and this one is perfect because it allows me to draw upon a story reported by US Magazine:

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and his family donated $1 million to a Missouri hospital over the weekend.

Brad's bro, Doug, announced the generous contribution to St. John's Hospital in his hometown of Springfield Saturday. The money will establish an endowment fund to pay children's cancer specialists, the Springfield News-Leader reports.

The hospital's cancer treatment unit will be renamed the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center, in honor of Brad's mom, who is passionate about children's issues.

Who are the most generous celebs?

Once completed this summer, St. John's Hospital will become one of six affiliates of the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital (one of Jennifer Aniston's favorite charities).

The endowment fund will also go toward building a new pediatric unit, a 10-bedroom hospital-based Ronald McDonald house and doubling the size of the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units.

Of course, for the more traditional among us, the Associated Press also has the news.

Following the trail begun by the official news release, one finds that Mercy St. John's hospital is part of the Sisters of Mercy Health System, which is sponsored by "Mercy Health Ministry, an entity established by the Catholic Church to oversee the healing ministry and Catholic identity of Mercy."

Ph/t: The Blog of the Courtier.

Mayor claims underwear edict "takes away freedom of choice."

Shows you just how thin the argument is:

The Brooksville city council recently approved a revised dress code as part of its effort to update existing policies.

The revision instructs employees to observe "strict personal hygiene," including the use of deodorant. It lists "the observable lack of undergarments and exposed undergarments" as "unacceptable attire."

It also prohibits clothing with foul language or messages promoting drug use, "sexually provocative" garments, halter tops and piercings anywhere except the ears.

Repeat offenders can be fired.

The city council approved the dress code 4-1. Mayor Joe Bernadini opposed the revision, saying the underwear edict "takes away freedom of choice." (AP)

I wonder if Catholic parishes could adopt this dress code for Mass?

Okay, something on a more substantial topic soon, I promise.

Study: Breastfed babies get higher grades in school

I should probably have saved this story for a "Friday off-beat" news item, but I figured some of us could use a Tuesday diversion.

Reuters Life! (honestly, I have trouble trusting news sources with exclamation points in their name) ... anyway, Reuters Life! reports:

Breastfed babies seem more likely to do well at high school and to go on to attend college than infants raised on a bottle, according to a new U.S. study.

Professors Joseph Sabia from the American University and Daniel Rees from the University of Colorado Denver based their research on 126 children from 59 families, comparing siblings who were breastfed as infants to others who were not.

By comparing siblings, the study was able to account for the influence of a variety of difficult-to-measure factors such as maternal intelligence and the quality of the home environment.

The study, published in the Journal of Human Capital, found that an additional month of breastfeeding was associated with an increase in high school grade point averages of 0.019 points and an increase in the probability of college attendance of 0.014.

Frankly, those infinitesimal gains don't impress me. They seem well within the margin of error. But hey, a study that promotes breast feeding as good thing? That's fine with me. Especially considering what passes for "health news" these days.

Photo: Papist Google Graphic

Logo WIN:
I wonder if Google will use this next April 19th?

(oh, and this graphic comes from a story published by Ars Technica)

Ph/t: AmP reader BeachPig.

Photo: A good place to change a diaper?

"A military usher suggests to a guest a better location than the crosshall of the White House to change a baby's diaper before an event in the East Room in Washington May 1, 2009." [REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque]

Friday random: Jesus is my BFF t-shirt

Friday, in case you didn't know it, is offbeat news day at AmP. This fits the bill:

Does anyone else find it incongruous that the t-shirt's avant garde artiste included a depiction of the sacred heart?! That stikes me as a little hardcore traditional (= orthodox faithful) for a shirt that is, in every othe rway, trying to be super-trendy. Or maybe the artist intentionally incorporated such a contradiction. Still, you have to wonder how many people would "get" this oddity.

Ph/t: Dawn Eden (really - who else would alert me to something as fun as this?!)

[photo credit: wet seal]

Funny Search Query

It's fascinating what sort of search queries people enter, only to still end up stumbling across AmP....

Like this one: "is obama a jesuit?"

QB Tom Brady marries supermodel girlfriend in Catholic "ceremony"

Yes, we're still in the offbeat news state of mind. More Friday oddly-enough:

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen and sidelined New England Patriots QB Tom Brady were wed in a sunset Catholic ceremony at St. Monica's Church in Santa Monica, Calif. on Thursday February 26.

The ceremony for the couple, who have been dating since 2006, was intimate and attended by less than a dozen people, mostly immediate family, insiders tell RadarOnline.com

"The reception was held at a home in Brentwood, and will be followed by a much larger party in the next few days," said a source.

Brady's 17-month old son Jonathan with actress-model Bridget Moynahan was in attendance. (Radar Online)

William Newton, who tipped me to this story, describes this with an apt Catalan phrase:

"If you pay him, St. Peter will sing..."

update: my mistake - Tom Brady was never married so does not need an annulment. This episode should teach me a lesson about the dangers of trying to last-minute blog as I run out the door to catch a plane. Apologies for the generally ill-advised nature of this post.

Offbeat: Dante's Inferno Turns Epic Poem Into Hellish Action Game

Whaaa??

On Friday's I make a special effort to find wierd, offbeat news. This one fits the bill perfectly:

Electronic Arts' upcoming game Dante's Inferno is a riff on God of War [another game] that stars a beefed-up warrior based on the author of The Divine Comedy. Seriously.

For those of us who spent our formative years sleeping through Classics lectures, Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem The Divine Comedy is largely a mystery — 14,000 lines of allegory chronicling the author's philosophical journey through hell, Purgatory and beyond [er, it's called "Heaven" - AmP]. Electronic Arts hopes to jog our collective memories a bit with Dante's Inferno, an action game adapted from the first section of the Comedy. (Wired.)

This reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger's retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Last Action Hero:

Only this is funny.

Ph/t: AmP reader Geoffrey.

As Seen On Craigslist

This is incredible funny, albeit rather inside.

Photo: the NYT's odd choice of a Dolan photo

I'm not sure why the New York Times chose a photo of a "napping" Abp. Tim Dolan for their homepage:

"What - long plane ride, Timmy?"

(I mean - can you imagine Obama getting a front-page photo like that?!)

update: FOXNews.com does it even worse!

Words of Wisdom from St. Thomas Aquinas before Lent

If you were guilty of imbibing a bit too much vino this weekend (it is, after all, the last weekend before Lent begins), just take to heart the words of St. Thomas Aquinas:

"Si quis scienter in tantum a vino abstineret ut naturam multum gravaret, a culpa immunis non esset." (ST II-II 150.1 ad 1)

"If one knowingly abstained from wine to the point of pressing nature seriously, he would not be free of guilt."

[Sent in by AmP reader Isaac.]

Pictures: Newsflash! Pope's hat flies off!

You have to love that this is news:

Pope's hat flies off
Benedict keeps speaking despite mishap

Vatican City, February 18 - The pope's hat flew off in an icy blast during Wednesday's general audience but he kept on speaking as if nothing had happened.

Benedict XVI had opened the audience by telling the faithful, gathered despite the wintry weather: ''It's cold but at least it isn't raining or snowing and we have to be thankful for that''.

The pope tried to keep hat on his head but a particularly vicious gust wrenched it from his grasp, observers said.

He was seen soon afterwards with replacement headgear the Vatican keeps ready for such accidents.

It was the second time Benedict has lost his hat in St Peter's.

In May 2006 the wind blew his hat off as he rode the Popemobile through the crowds. (Ansa.it)

Actually, I can remember it happening several other times.

Here is the freeze-frame play-by-play of today's run-away zucchetto:



Oh - the challenges of being pope!

[photos: REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico (VATICAN)]

Obama: "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being."

Sometimes irony is tragic, this from today's National Prayer Breakfast:

[Obama:] “But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.”

Really? Do you know?

I couldn't resist....

A needed moment of levity

Emails pop into my inbox almost by the minute it seems, and because I have a blackberry and can access mobile email, I'm almost always sure to find a few new messages waiting for me whenever I check my coat pocket.

This email subject line gave me a chuckle. It's from LifeNews editor Steven Ertelt:

"Obama Officials Confirm He Will Fund Foreign Abortions on Weed"

*Ahem*. Mr. Ertelt obviously meant "Wed".

And now, back to matters of substance....

Krispy Kreme Celebrates Obama with Free “Freedom of Choice” Donuts

The doughnut giant released the following statement yesterday (underlining mine):

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is honoring American's sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering a free doughnut of choice to every customer on this historic day, Jan. 20. By doing so, participating Krispy Kreme stores nationwide are making an oath to tasty goodies -- just another reminder of how oh-so-sweet "free" can be.

Commentary from ALL President Judie Brown.

Even though I walk right by a Krispy Kreme every day, I'll have readers know that AmP runs on dunkin'.

Macintosh is Catholic and MS-DOS is Protestant

An oldie but a goodie.

The seabird named after the Dominicans

Kelp Gull (Larus Dominicanus)

Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, OP, explains: "The picture above is of the Kelp Gull. Its latin scientific name is the Larus Dominicanus, which translates literally as the “Dominican Gull”. The gull was given this name because it’s black wings and white front make it look like a Dominican Friar wearing his cappa."

How many books does Pope Benedict own?

Answer? 20,000!

Aside from being a prolific author himself, Pope Benedict XVI loves books. After he was elected Pope in 2005, renovations were undertaken to the papal residence to accommodate his personal library of 20,000 books.

So it’s especially fitting that the Vatican opened a new bookstore this week dedicated to the Holy Father. Along with books, the new store offers both a stamp and a medal collection, including a new stamp printed for the occasion of the opening, Zenit reported. (NCRegister.com)

wow.

Vatican forgives Lennon. Who's next, I wonder?

Someone at L'OR must have had space to fill:

The Vatican's newspaper [L'OR] has finally forgiven John Lennon for declaring that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, calling the remark a "boast" by a young man grappling with sudden fame. (Reuters)

During the papacy of John Paul II, the Church went through an "apology stage." If this is the beginning of a "forgiveness stage" in the Church, I have some suggestions for who the Vatican should forgive next:

1. Vatican "experts" who claimed Pope Benedict XVI would be a vindictive, blood-thirsty traditionalist tyrant, single-handely ushering in a new dark ages
2. The so-called "new athiests" who have blamed the Catholic church for everything evil that has happened in the world since the Incarnation, except for natural disasters
3. The pop singer Madonna, for the past 25-or-so years (this one will be tough)

There, that should keep L'OR busy.

Playing Gods: The Board Game of Divine Domination

"The world's first satirical board game of religious warfare."

USA Today has the story.

I'm dissapointed the article doesn't contain the word "smite." Such a missed opportunity.

Photos: The Hug/Kiss/Sign of Peace

It seemed topical:

Video: Amazing Meteor in Canada

I thought this was too cool not to post:



Quote from the story:

"She said there was a flash of light, the house shook twice and it sounded like dinosaurs were walking," Evans said.

Now that's an ironic choice of metaphor.

"Don’t drink and drive, Pope Benedict XVI urges"

An interesting application of the Apostle Paul's advice to be "sober and alert":

Pope Benedict XVI urged drivers to stay “sober and alert” Sunday and prayed for those who have died in traffic accidents.

“On this third Sunday of November, we remember in a special way all those who have died as a result of traffic accidents,” Benedict said as he delivered the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I implore everyone — drivers, passengers and pedestrians — to heed carefully the words of Saint Paul in the liturgy of the word today: Stay sober and alert,” he added. (AFP)

Of course, if you have nowhere to drive....


.... well, that's another story!

AirHeadOpEd

That's the most charitable way I can describe Ann Weaver Hart's article "Catholic Bishops Sow Divison"

The one line of hers I most agree with?

"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is meeting in Baltimore this week."

She's absolutely right, they sure did!

Everything else she writes? Misinformation along these lines:

The Catholic church has adopted the attitude for centuries, that women who became pregnant in bad circumstances were suffering for their sins, and deserved whatever came their way, including, but not limited to being separated from their infants at birth, living in poverty, and enduring social stigma for either having children outside of marriage or being without them. The neoconservative movement, which tends to believe that poverty is a well-deserved punishment for sin, has agreed, and the two groups have supported “social conservative” candidates whose real agenda has been laissez-faire corporate rape of the country and its citizens.

Reading this, I can't help wonder why orthodox Catholics labor under the stigma of being "ignorant".

It just goes to prove that the only thing you can hate is a caricature of the Church, not the true Church.

Video: Colbert gives the Pope a wag of his finger!

For what you ask? Going green....



And for the record, just to be a spoil sport, Pope Benedict did not say polluting is a cardinal sin.

And I'm sure Cardinal Sin doesn't like having his name tossed around randomly.

Oh sure, take the day off why don't ya?

Judging by today's super-sparse bulletino, I guess Pope Benedict decide to start the weekend early!

Visit your Jesuit U. Spirit Shop ... at Victoria's Secret

*cringe*

Boston College in flap over lingerie ... Critics: Biz deal with Victoria’s Secret ‘disgraceful’:

BC spokesman Jack Dunn said the school was “very selective” when it agreed to let Victoria’s Secret sell BC sweatshirts, sweatpants, T-shirts and flip-flops as part of the racy chain’s youth-oriented Pink line.

“We thought it was a tasteful line of clothing that college students wear,” he said.

“We never authorized undergarments,” he said.

Yeah! Victoria's Secret wanting to sell undergarments? I'm sure that threw everyone for a loop.

Ph/t: Diogenes.

Video: NARAL tries for Hippie, arrives at Confusing

You've got to be kidding. This has to be the wierdest video I've seen in a long while. What's more, it was put together by the radical pro-abortion group NARAL. Considering it your Friday Zen Bad Trip:



This Suzy B blogger is as equally freaked out as I am.

Man's nap causes $15k in church organ damages

Friday random:

This isn't music to anyone's ears: The restoration of a church's 130-year-old organ has been delayed because four delicate pipes were damaged when a visitor napped on them.

The 18-foot pipes were among about 50 stored in the basement at First Churches in Northampton during the sanctuary's renovation.

The Rev. Peter Ives estimates the damage at close to $15,000. But he says the organ can be played without the pipes. Ives says the church will not press charges. (AP)

Oh sure, play it without some of the pipes. Who needs middle C, after all?!

Beast: Man arrested for attempting to steal Communion

It's not often my blog coverage crosses paths with The Smoking Gun, and considering the subject matter, I'm not dissapointed about this in the least [comments in brackets]:

Meet Jonathan Ricci. The Florida man was arrested Saturday morning after he allegedly tried to steal "a handful of communion wafers" from a priest at a Catholic church in Jensen Beach. Ricci, 33, sought to swipe 15 wafers valued at $1 [um, try again, Catholics value the Eucharistic presence a bit more than that] , according to a Martin County Sheriff's Office report....

During mass at around 9 AM, Ricci accepted a wafer on the Communion line, but "walked away without taking the communion into his mouth." After refusing a priest's requests to "accept" the wafer [good for the priest in not letting him get away!], Ricci "turned to the priest and grabbed a handful of the wafers from the plate and attempted to leave" St. Martin de Porres Church, according to the report.

"Due to the religious significance of the holy communion, the parishioners were very upset at his callous treatment of their holy ritual" and sought to detain him [good for those brave parishioners!]. An "enraged" Ricci then began to act "crazy" and scuffled with parishioners, two of whom (men aged 82 and 66) sustained minor injuries. [old men defending the Eucharist - good for them!] Ricci .... was charged with theft, battery, and disrupting a religious assembly.

I'm praying the man was psychologically disturbed and so not responsible for his actions.

And now for something completely different

My Italian relatives are at it again it seems (and before you ask - no - the picture to the right is not connected to the story):

... The restaurateur said he rushed to the eatery, in the village of Rutino near Salerno, in southern Italy, after hearing that the priest and nuns were causing trouble.

He told police that he got into an argument with the priest, who smashed a chair over his head. The nuns followed up by kicking him in the stomach.

Stunned passers-by were shocked to see tables and chairs being hurled around the bar and promptly called the police.

... He was taken to hospital with injuries to his neck and bruising to his abdomen.

A lawyer for the clergy disputed his version of events, noting that the nuns had "a combined age of 160".

"This establishment was being occupied illegally," said lawyer Gaetano Di Vietri. "As to the alleged aggression, I would only say that the two nuns have a combined age of about 160. For the rest, it will be up to the magistrate to clear up, but the clergy members deny the allegations."

The priest and nuns belong to a religious order, the Disciples of Santa Teresa and the Baby Jesus, which owns the lease on the premises and reportedly wants the property back. (UK Telegraph)

Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the Church apart from the mafia. ;-)

Vatican workers have to use swipe cards again

Union! Union!

For the first time since Pope John XXIII, Vatican workers from office staff to cardinals have been issued swipe cards for clocking on and off at work.

Ansa reports the Vatican City State has issued new cards to all employees from the lowest office staff to the grandest heads of departments, including priests or bishops.
The swipe cards have reportedly been received without complaint by the lay staff but some older clerics have been heard grumbling that Pope John XXII abolished timekeeping in the early 1960s.

They fondly remembered that Pope John thought that keeping staff on the clock worked against the flexibility they needed.

The clerics complain that clocking in and out is a headache when they have to leave the office on twice weekly pastoral duty.

The timekeeping scheme is part of a new meritocracy drive at the Vatican, which is set to introduce performance related pay next year. (CathNews)

A "meritocracy"?

What's next - justification through works?!

update: Bloomberg has more details (Ph/t: Fr. Z.)

Picture: Flick user plemeljr

Photo: The Onion does it again

I know, it's macabre, but I feel that's in keeping with the day....

"Fleet Of Stem-Cell Container Trucks Ready To Go If Obama Elected"

[Source: The Onion]

"If Obama Loses the Election, I'll Blame the Catholic Church"

So says one individual.

I'll be happy to share the blame, too.

For anyone who's ever had a political sign stolen

Margaret Cabaniss at IC has the story:

On Monday, [Shawn Turschak] ran wires from his house and hooked the signs into a power source for an electric pet fence. Then he mounted a surveillance camera in a nearby tree and wired it to a digital recorder.

Tuesday afternoon, the camera saw this: A neighbor trotting up with an Obama-Biden sign, grabbing a handful of volts as he touched a McCain-Palin sign, then fleeing at top 9-year-old boy speed.

Video here.

In my neighborhood here in Washington DC there is a single McCain sign among myriads of Obama signs that I walk past everyday. I think it's a wonder that it's still standing.

Picture: what do you think of this crosier?

Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich-Freising:

Here is a larger picture where the crosier is more visible.

Wikipedia's crosier entry.

Picture: Microsoft.com's clip art doesn't believe in God

AmP reader Jean writes:

I was searching online at Microsoft.com for clipart this morning and couldn't find "God" or "god" in the religion category. I got a very few results when I asked it to search in all categories (mostly Egyptian 'gods'). Trivial. But a sad commentary on our culture nonetheless.

See the results for yourself:

I got the same screen when I tried it. Try it yourself.

I knew those Microsoft engineers had to be athiests. I mean, judging by their software and design philosophy, it's quite clear to me that they attribute everything ulitimately to chance and chaos....

I'm still resisting the Apple temptation, however.

Pictures: Womanpriest in action

The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Washington DC recently hosted the "First Mass of Roman Catholic Womanpriest Janice Sevre-Duszynksa." I reported on it the day it happened.

Since then Call-to-Action associated, and self-proclaimed woman priest Bridged Mary has blogged about it.

Janice's storytime - oops, I mean "homily" - consisted of her reading an excerpt from her 1980 musical "Altar Girls" (which, wouldn't you know it, was never staged). The plot could not better fit my expectations:

"Set in 1962 during Vatican II, it is about a young girl, Bibbianna, who wants to become an altar girl. Every Saturday morning when she cleans the sanctuary and priests'sacristy with Sister Joan, she tells her about her desire to become an altar girl. As time goes by, Sister Joan decides to take on Bibbi's quest as a lark at first. Later, however, her consciousness rises and not only does she support Bibbi, but she is able to name sexism in the church. In doing so she finds herself in trouble."

It's so sad, really. Sad even beyond caricature, or trying to reason with individuals in such a state of mind. The great number of grey and white hairs present in this gathering reveal that such things are already on their way out without any assistance from us.

But the greatest danger I could see happening is that such people get away with convincing others that they have discovered truths (about the dignity of women, to name one) which are not already contained in the Catholic Church, or which somehow undermine her witness.

And yet such truths are contained in the teachings of Christ and passed onto his Church. So while prayer may be are only recourse we have for Bridged Mary and Janice Sevre-Duszynksa, they should raise our awareness of the misunderstandings that can drive other people from communion with the Church. Frankly, I think seeing the alternative can be one good deterrent.

Finally, what we must not do is condone these activities and retreat from the truth. There's a certain "Rev. Joe Irvin" mentioned in this post. There's a technical term for his involvement with women priests - "enabling."

Favorite Catholic Quotations

Eric Pavlet at Inside Catholic found some great ones:

• Bd. Teresa of Calcutta: "God does not ask us to be successful; he asks us to be faithful."
• St. Catherine of Siena: "If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire."
• St. Augustine: "If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself."
• Also St. Augustine: "Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.
• And yet again St. Augustine: "Our souls are restless, O Lord, until they rest in You."
  St. Thomas Aquinas: "Contemplate and give to others the fruit of your contemplation."

Others?

List: 10 Commandments for Bloggers

It was only a matter of time....

1. You shall not put your blog before your integrity
2. You shall not make an idol of your blog
3. You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin
4. Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog
5. Honour your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes
6. You shall not murder someone else's honour, reputation or feelings
7. You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind
8. You shall not steal another person's content
9. You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger
10. You shall not covet your neighbour's blog ranking. Be content with your own content

Adam and Eve were vegans?!

So concludes Cindy Wooden over at the CNS blog, citing as her authority the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

I'm not really sure what sort of theological import such a theory might have, but it certainly seems like biblical fundamentalism to me. For instance, couldn't one argue that because man was given dominion over animals, humans ought to authentically be allowed to slay them for a higher purpose (i.e., feeding Cain & Abel post-fall)? Why do we think Abel was a shepherd - just the milk and wool? I don't think the human race had to wait until Noah to be permitted the consumption of meat.

Some other considerations: the human organism in its current state cannot survive on a diet of roots and berries. Humans naturally have incisors which omnivores possess, not herbivores. Jesus, as a good Jew, would have eaten meat during feast days. St. Peter was told to eat (more) meat in a very famous episode. Is there any intrinsic spiritual benefit to avoiding meat besides a penitential one? I don't think so. We are only to give up good things in penance, after all, and so clearly eating meat is a good thing.

Bottom line: I'm not sure how sound an argument there is for the claim that adam and eve were vegans (I'd have to see what the PBC says), and there doesn't seem to be any real substantive argument that vegans have chosen a higher path then the rest of us mundane BBQ-lovers.

Why am I rambling on? Mostly because I intend to eat buffalo wings for lunch today. Yum.

Friday Wierd: Bees are eating Lichfield Cathedral

The Victim:

The Culprit:

The Story: Bees are eating Lichfield Cathedral (UK Times)

Video: Friday Funny

"Jesus is my friend"

And because He is, well, that's the only reason I'm not going to say anything about this.

Ph/t: Aggie Catholics.

Why you have to love World Net Daily

I mean, where else can you read stories like this?

"New experiments in genetic engineering could open the doors for the return of fearsome "giants" described in the Bible – the offspring of human women and fallen angels – warns author Thomas Horn in his best-selling book, "Nephilim Stargates: The Year 2012 and the Return of the Watchers."

In the Book of Genesis, beings of great stature called "giants" appear, which some biblical scholars believe came into existence after powerful angels known as 'Watchers' descended to earth and used women (or their biological matter) to construct bodies of flesh, which they used to "extend" themselves into the material world."

I for one welcome our new Nephilim overlords....

Cartoon: From the Anti-Papist Archives

Odd how not all that much has changed since this cartoon was drawn.

Humane Society endorses Obama, dislikes Palin

And they included these comparison pictures between Obama and Palin:


The Weekly Standard blog explains:

"All Animals Are Equal, But ... wolves are more equal than caribou, says the Humane Society in its endorsement of Barack Obama. The Humane Society Legislative Fund's president writes that the group has never before endorsed a presidential candidate, but Sarah Palin simply poses too great of a threat to animals."

Maybe they didn't hear that Obama has gone spearfishing before - and enjoyed it! McCain fishes catfish.

It's a good thing popes have never needed the endorsement of the HS because I'm fairly sure most of them have hunted live game at some point in their life. Can anyone back up my hunch (say, with a photo)?

SSPX Singles?!

Not to poke fun, but... LOL.

Curt Jester: "I can understand the reason for the site. It is annoying to advertise yourself as SSSPXWF (Single Society Saint Piux X White Female) in the local newspaper in their singles section."

Video: Palin's glasses designer likes Obama

"Plumbing the Depths of Irrelevance"

That should be the theme of the reporting team who came up with the Palin's Japanese Glasses story.

CNN stretching a story to promote Obama. What a surprise. I almost lifted an eyebrow.

Priest fined $100,000 for ringing his church's bells

So much for sacred ambiance:

An Italian priest has been ordered to pay €60,000 (£49,000) in damages because the bells of his church were too loud, and were rung for too long at "unsocial hours".

The judgement, handed down by a court in the town of Chiavari, has widespread implications for what is often seen as Europe's most Catholic nation, and perhaps the country with the highest density of churches. The case brought by a retired university teacher, Flora Leuzzi, is one of several alleging that over-enthusiastic tolling constitutes noise pollution.

Professor Leuzzi, who lives close to the Carmine church in Lavagna, near Genoa, began her campaign against its belfry 13 years ago. The judge found that the sound it emitted was louder than average. He also agreed that Leuzzi's hearing had been marginally impaired. (The UK Guardian)

Considering the average sounds one hears in an Italian city, I'd have thought the bells would help.

Report: French gay groups under surveillance ahead of papal visit

Wednesday Wierd:

French police have placed radical gay militants under surveillance ahead of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to France on September 12-15, the daily Le Figaro reported on Wednesday.

Eager to avoid a repeat of the condom shower that greeted the Pope in Sydney, Australia, in July, certain gay activist groups such as Act Up are being closely watched in the run-up to the visit. (DPA)

On a more serious note, France has an active al-Qaeda network that has made threats on the pope's life back in 2007. So let's keep his safety in our prayers.

Picture: The Pope's ... Cologne?! {updated}

{updated 12:00am - see below}


It claims - wait for it - to be the "Private Formula of Pope Pius IX." I'm not kidding.

If anything deserved to be in Pope Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors - this is it!

update: from (someone claiming to be) the actual manufacturer of the Cologne:

I make The Pope's Cologne from the private formula of PiuS IX. It is an aristocratic, Old World cologne with surprising freshness. It isn't some joke like "Pope on a Rope". It provides an interesting look into the mid 19th century, a very important time in the history of the Church.
At first I thought it strange that a pope would be wearing cologne but in my research, I found that it was very fashionable at the time for aristocrats to have their own perfumers compose colognes for them. And Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti was an aristocrat.
It is really a nice aftershave and my three sons and I all wear it.
I hope some of you readers may be able to enjoy it.
Fred Hass

Video: Tuesday Morning Wow

It sure wowed me - "Brylcreem's Effortless TV Ad":

And in case you were wondering - no special effects - one take!
See how it was made here. Talent, hard work, patience - results.

Lying man receives divine lightning reaction?

Take note, fibbers:

A Chinese man who swore to God that he didn't owe money to a neighbour was hit by lightning a minute later.

The man, named Xu, made the oath in front of a crowd of neighbours in Fuqing city, reports Southeast Express.

He vowed that he had never borrowed money from Mr Huang, who claimed Xu borrowed 500 yuan, the equivalent of £40, from him three years earlier.

"He borrowed 500 yuan three years ago from me for a friend's marriage gift, but he has denied it ever since then," said Huang, who went to Xu's home to demand payment.

"I told him that if he dared to swear to God that he didn't owe me the money, then I would waive his debt," said Huang.

Xu made the oath, but was suddenly struck by lightning a minute later.

He was immediately taken to hospital where doctors confirmed he had been hit by lightning. He is expected to make a full recovery. (Ananova)

I wonder if this also rules out lying when in a car?

Catholic priest claims cannabis field in backyard 'a gift from God'!

Good times in Bulgaria:

A catholic priest, who claims that his back yard full of cannabis plants is a gift from God, has been placed under constant surveillance by police.

Father Cyril Papudov, of Petrich, Bulgaria, has been arrested seven times but police have never caught him actually cultivating the crop.

He insists that the cannabis seeded by itself and is part of God's gift of nature and nothing to do with him. (ANI)

Where is the bishop?!

"New Green Bay bishop sings 'Drop Kick Me, Jesus'"

A very "Friday"-feeling story. A bit more content here, then here. Some video here.

"Don't take "holy" water onto pope plane" warns Vatican

Duly noted:

The Vatican has warned journalists who will travel with Pope Benedict to Lourdes next month not to put the revered water from the shrine in their hand luggage on the papal plane or it may be confiscated.

... Security measures limiting liquids allowed in carry-on baggage have been in effect since 2006 when a plot to bring down planes with liquid explosives was discovered.

How is this important enough to merit a story? It provides useful information to about 50 people, tops!

Priest to hold "online" nun beauty pageant

Someone completely missed the reason why nuns wear habits:

An Italian priest says he is organising the world's first beauty pageant for nuns to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.

Antonio Rungi says The Miss Sister Italy online contest will start on his blog in September.

"Nuns are above all women and beauty is a gift from God," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

He is asking nuns to send their photos to him, saying that internet users will then choose the winner.

Father Rungi stressed that nuns were not being invited to parade in bathing suits, saying it will be up to them whether they pose with the traditional veil or with their heads uncovered.

"This contest will be a way to show there isn't just the beauty we see on television but also a more discreet charm," the priest, who lives near the southern city of Naples, told the Corriere della Sera.

"You really think all nuns are old, stunted and sad? This isn't the case anymore," he said, pointing out that many young nuns had arrived to Italy from around the world.
He added that the idea of staging such a contest had been suggested by nuns themselves. (BBC News)

I'm all about addressing false stereotypes of nuns, but a beauty pageant isn't the best way to do it.

Picture: "And only the dead can be canonized."

I love the site "Indexed." Yesterday's entry was right up my alley...

And as usual - indexed pretty much sums it up. :)

Theology ... on a stick?!

... has almost no appeal to me. Especially when you read lines like this:

And the food for the soul will likely be more nourishing than the deep-fried Twinkies and Oreos that have been all the rage in fair food in recent years.

Hey - some of us haven't participated in this new food rage yet. Give us a chance!

"Anger at removal of Newman’s remains"

The story:

THE VATICAN’S decision to remove the earthly remains of Cardinal John Henry Newman from his grave in Rednal, Worcestershire, to a new grave at Birmingham Oratory, has aroused the wrath of campaigners who believe it to be a betrayal of the Cardinal’s last wishes — to be buried alongside his lifelong friend, who, like him, joined the Roman Cathol­ic Church, the Revd Ambrose St John.

They shared a grave and memorial stone at Rednal. Cardinal Newman wrote shortly before his death in 1890 — and had twice earlier insisted — “I wish, with all my heart, to be buried in Fr Ambrose St John’s grave — and I give this as my last, my imperative will. . . This I confirm and insist on.” (UK Church Times)

Oh please. Cardinal Newman, as a faithful son of the Church, would joyfully accept the ecclesiastical requirement to transfer his remains. After all - he has an official canonization to gain from it.

Let's remember - it's your eternal resting place that matters most.

Papist Mystery Picture of the Day

This is ....

1. A humane robotic alternative to a dolphin for entertainment purposes.

2. A sea time-capsule with editions of the world's newspapers to be sunk in the Pacific.

3. The unmanned remote-controlled submarine that helped protect Pope Benedict in Sydney.

Answer here.

"Pope Benedict prays for tornado victims in Poland"

I can't remember a pope praying for tornado victims before:

During the weekly audience for pilgrims in his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo on Wednesday, Pope Benedict addressed the Polish victims of the hurricanes and tornados that devastated large areas of Poland last week.

"Last week, Poland saw hurricanes and tornados at a scale unheard of in that part of the world. There were fatalities and injuries. Many lost their entire life savings as a result. I want to offer my spiritual closeness and prayers to every one who was affected by the elements in any way,” the Pope spoke to the Polish pilgrims in their native language.

Poland experienced extremely strong winds and tornados on Friday evening, with roofs ripped off farmhouses and barns and cars destroyed in the southern and central parts of the country, killing at least four. (Polish Radio)

Let's join our prayers with his.

I still really want to see a tornado someday (from a safe distance, of course).

Papist Sighting: Robert Downey Jr.

Actor Robert Downey Jr., who recently starred in the hit movie Iron Man and is now appearing in Ben Stiller's comedy Tropic Thunder, was spotted by AmP reader James wearing a pink John Paul II t-shirt during his interview today on Good Morning America:


Okay, so who can find out which shirt he's wearing exactly? Drop a link in the comment box!

This is an interesting choice of apparel for Robby Jr., for sure. What a refreshing alternative to the typical "cause t-shirts" hollywood actors and actresses normally sport! And, you know, he still keeps it edgy by going with pink.

update: AmP Reader Mike found a women's version of the t-shirt in red, by Cicero.

update 2: And because this story is getting a good deal of attention, and because folks seem especially interested in Robby Jr.'s relationship to Catholicism, here's an excerpt from an interview he gave to the New York Times in late 2004:

Q. Are you religious? Many people find God as part of their recovery process and there seem to be veiled references in a few of the songs.

A. I'm not above it. But like Jung said about people using religion to avoid a religious experience, I have managed handily to avoid a religious experience. I don't know where I fall. Spiritual Green Party? There were times when I was into the whole Hare Krishna thing, which is pretty far out. Now I would call myself a Jew-Bu, a Jewish-Buddhist. But there were many times when Catholicism saved my butt.

Q. You were a practicing Catholic?

A.I was in as much when I was on the B yard and they asked me, "Are you going to Catholic services or Presbyterian services?" I think I'm going to Catholic because they just give you more stuff. More candles and there's a whole calendar where this day you read this, the next day you read that. It's like a call sheet for spirituality.

So there's something.

"Activists to Benedict: Please raise animals from the dead"

Animal rights activists have made this sort of request before, but this time Carl Olson embraced it as an opportunity to have a bit of rhetorical fun:

Sure, you might try to argue that I'm misreading or misrepresenting this news story, but if you carefully read between the lines, you'll see that animal rights activists are hoping that Pope Benedict XVI might be able to bring some animals back from the dead:

Rome - Italian animal rights activists have appealed to Pope Benedict XVI to help "save the ermine" by asking him in a letter to refrain from wearing clothing trimmed with the animal's fur.

Since the ermine on the Pope's hats and robes are dead (or so I assume), I can only conclude that when the activists ask the Holy Father to "save the ermine," they are expecting a miracle. An ermine resurrection, if you will. After all, it's difficult to save animals from death once they are already dead; it would require that they come back to life, then be saved from death. I dare say my patron saint, St. Thomas Aquinas, would be hard pressed to fault my crystalline logic in this matter.

Okay, I mostly had to quote him because I respected him so much for using "ermine resurrection" in a grammatically-and-semantically-correct sentence. And he even kept his clothes on.

"Italian clergy to use inflatable church to minister to beachgoers"

Good grief:

Catholic nuns and priests in Italy have established a 98-foot-long inflatable church and a beach-convent to minister to vacationing beachgoers. Activities at the two movable venues will include opportunities to confess sins and to pray the Rosary, but not Mass.

The inflatable church will be set up on Saturday in the Molise region on the Adriatic Coast and will be staffed by priests who hear confessions, Reuters reports. (CNA)

Quote of the day material here:

The first attempt to use the church failed last month on the island of Sardinia due to strong winds.

Okay, I can't help myself. Here are more details:

A group of singers will also perform at the church late at night.

On the Mediterranean coast, nuns from a convent near Naples have moved to beach cabins to join vacationers saying the Rosary, with an adjoining altar set up under two tents.

“The concept of a beach-convent is something that is appreciated by vacationers and the nuns themselves," Father Antonio Rungi said to ANSA.

Italy’s larger cities empty in August, when Italians customarily holiday at the beach.

A related picture will constitute today's Photo Caption Call...

Typo: Vatican online document contains "she Creator"

I figure a lazy Friday afternoon is the best time to complain about typos on the Vatican website. Here's one I found in a CDF instruction:

5. Teachings of the Magisterium

... Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves "the creative action of God" (18) and it remains forever in a special relationship with she Creator, who is its sole end.

Obviously, it should read "the Creator", not "she Creator."

Okay, what's your favorite typo on the Vatican website?

Photo: Dogs are more spiritual than Cats

From the "I just can't take this seriously" files:

Survey: "Only 3 in 5 Christian Radio Listeners Tune In for Music"

Well duh, most Christian Radio music isn't that good.

:-P

Report: "Church Cancels Semiautomatic Assault Rifle Giveaway"

From the Christian blogosphere:

Sorry kids, the Windsor Hill Baptist church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA (where else?) won’t be giving away the AR-15 assault rifle it bought for that purpose.
You’ll have to wait till next year:

Church Cancels Semiautomatic Assault Rifle Giveaway

An Oklahoma City church called off plans to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle at a weekend gathering of teenagers, the church’s pastor said.

Plans called for Windsor Hills Baptist to give away the weapon as a way of encouraging attendance at the gathering but plans changed when one the event’s organizers was unable to attend, KOCO 5, Oklahoma City, reported Sunday.

... The gun giveaway has been taken down from the Web site, but Ross said the church will give the gun away next year.

I dislike all "let's trick the kids into coming to Mass/services" ploys like this one. I don't think, however, the concept is quite as innately offensive as the picture which the blog chose to accompany the story.

Fake priest infiltrates St. Peter's, faced "inquisition"

The Associated Press reports:

A fake priest was caught trying to hear confessions in St. Peter's Basilica and was tried by a Vatican tribunal, a Vatican judge said in an interview published Saturday.

Judge Gianluigi Marrone, who is a member of the court system of the independent Vatican city-state, said the man was wearing clerical garb and carried documents alleging that he was a priest.

"Some time ago I had to deal with an unusual case -- a fake priest," Marrone told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

"He was caught by surprise in the basilica while he was trying to take his place in a confessional. He was wearing clerical garb, but the expert eye of our [basilica] personnel didn't need much to sense something strange in his behavior," Marrone said without elaborating.

The man was stopped and his documents checked, and even though he had what appeared to be legitimate documents, including a Vatican pass, personnel were still suspicious, the judge recalled.

.... Last year, Italian news reports said that for the first time the Vatican court system issued a drug conviction, giving a former employee of the Holy See a four-month suspended sentence for possession of cocaine.

An interesting case, to be sure. And it looks like it was handled well. See? The inquisition has its uses. :-P

Not Your Average ... Superhero?!

Will Smith's summer blockbuster movie "Hancock" is evidently proudly billing its main character as "not your average superhero" (source).

Well, to put down rumors being spread to the contrary, even though I am indeed "not your average Catholic," I have decided not to pursue damages from Columbia pictures for logo infringement.

... yet. :P

Pope Benedict *will* appear on Italian TV

But considering they are having him read the first chapter of the book of Gensis aloud, I wouldn't consider it exactly the best use of his talents:

The pope’s appearance will kick off a six-day RAI telethon in which the entire Bible will be read by various personalities. The series is projected to conclude Oct. 11 with the 21st chapter of the Book of Revelation, to be read by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

... Corriere della Sera, Italy’s main daily newspaper, reported this morning that Benedict XVI has proposed that the broadcast be carried live, from his residence in the Apostolic Palace.

The six-day RAI broadcast, titled “The Bible, Day and Night,” will feature a series of other readers, with most located in Rome’s Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. The readings will be conducted in Italian. (John Allen)

I wonder which translation he will use?

Offbeat: "Group Asks for Divine Intervention to Ease Oil Prices"

It rather defies rational comment:

As the price of oil continues to rise, some are turning to God and prayer for an answer to their financial troubles.

The Pray at the Pump Movement, founded by Rocky Twyman, has been holding prayer vigils at gas stations across the country. On Monday, Twyman decided to take his movement from Exxon and Shell stations straight to the steps of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., hoping to encourage the oil-rich country to raise the amount of barrels they release each day from 200,000 to 1.2 million.

Twyman, who is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, spent the afternoon outside of the embassy praying and asking passersby to sign his petition for the release of more oil, which he hopes to deliver to the Saudi oil minister.

"Our people are really suffering through this crisis," Twyman told Cybercast News Service. "We need the Saudis to release at least 1.2 [million] barrels of oil per day for about the next six months until we can get everything settled in America ... (I)f they can just do that for us, than this will help us get through this crisis." (CNSNews)

Twyman has hosted pray-ins before (here's a photo). At least he has specific demands?

Weather: Season's first hurricane forms in Pacific off Mexico

iiiiiiiiiiiiiit's hurricane season!


Named Boris, it is heading towards Russia.

The latest Reality TV phenomenon? A french seminarian.

Not sure how I feel about this:

The French love of reality programmes encompasses the music talent show Star Academy, match-making for lonely rural farmers and a polite version of Wife Swap - On a echangé nos mamans. But now the French Catholic church has jumped on the bandwagon with a show about priests that has become an internet phenomenon.

The diocese of Besançon in eastern France has launched Prêtre Academy - Priest Academy - to mark its first ordination of a new local priest for three years.

In episodes available online, viewers can watch the new recruit, Franck Ruffiot, 30, demonstrate how he prays, pay a visit to trendy contemporary artist friend and explain his feelings in a diary room. Two slightly older priests, Michel and Christophe, are followed in their daily lives.

The online show began as a marketing drive to reach young people as the church struggles with declining numbers - each year 500 priests retire or die in France while only 100 recruits join the clergy. But the short episodes showing the priests' somewhat mundane local lives have become a kind of light-hearted cult viewing online, with the first two instalments netting more than150,000 hits and the final episode due this week. (UK Guardian)

Purient interest or authentic fascination?

Picture: Schroeder gets Canonized

The Presbyterian response to Catholic's St. Cecilia (patron saint of musicians):

This is an actual stained glass window.

Ph/t: Curt Jester via Stained Glass Buffalo.