DALLAS STORY

Diogenes, there was an interesting assertion in that Dallas Morning News story: "A lawyer wrote the bishop in 1993 to say that Father Richard had been sexually harassing several boys at a Dallas Catholic high school and a Plano church. Sworn statements from three boys followed, describing...

Re-Visitation

VERY interesting, Diogenes. I was in the seminary during the last round of Visitations in the mid-1980s. We did have the right to present ourselves to a member of the Visitation team if we wished. But the Team was composed of a bishop chairman (+Friend of Shreveport) and several faculty of...

WRONG DISCUSSION

"When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.' Edwards made the unprecedented campaign promises during 30-minute speech at Newton High School gym in Newton, Iowa..." (AP) Yes. We've been having the wrong discussion. If John...

RAMPAGING CHRISTIANITY

"During a speech to high school students in Tehran six months ago, Shiite cleric Hasan Mohammadi from the Ministry of Education declared, “Unfortunately, on average every day, 50 Iranian girls and boys convert secretly to Christian denominations in our country.” After the speech, which was...

Praying For Your Supper

This sounds like something the Sisters of Loreto would put on their website. Anglicans across England are being encouraged to "pray for their dinner" -- literally, "sticking a theological toe in the Ganges," as one lay commentator caustically observed. Apparently, grace before meals is to...

REVENGE -2-

Bad link. I try again or you can cut/paste. Allahu...

REVENGE OF THE MOORS

Of all the countries to be even thinking of this... the Socialist government of Spain has already determined to confront the Church, wrest away from her the last remnants of her special status in Spanish society, remove the crucifix from classrooms, etc. But now a controversy has erupted over the...

IN THE CROSSHAIRS: The Pill

A report that there is a new wave of sentiment against that great American institution, the birth control...

JOHN KERRY COMES TO STEUBENVILLE

I doubt he stopped for souvenirs. A friend writes -- "John Kerry came to Fort Steuben (on 3rd Street) in Steubenville Ohio today to campaign for president. Just under HALF the crowd were protestors (I can get digital photographic evidence in a few days for you if you need). It occurred...

RENEWAL

One of those hopeful signs for which one is so grateful nowadays. The Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls is to be given to a new, young, growing monastic religious community, the Fraternity of Jesus. One watches these new Religious Orders with great expectation. The Holy Spirit is at...

HIDDEN SAINTS

The hidden saints. They're important -- far more important than the scandals which often preoccupy us. Among the devout Jews, who must have a MINYAN, a quorum of ten men present for public worship, there is a pious belief that at every moment there is a minyan of ten truly pious, devout men, known...

a modest proposal

Here is an inspired idea which I humbly and helpfully submit to Archbishop O'Malley as a fundraiser to possibly offset the closing of the next sixty or seventy parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston. The nude parish calendar. This has all kinds of possibilities. A Church of England Vicar...

Fr Euteneuer -2-

I should clarify that Fr Euteneuer is President of Human Life...

BRAVO FATHER EUTENEUER

Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer to Congresswoman Nancy Pelossi: "Thank you for clarifying for all U.S. Catholics the meaning of the word "apostasy." Saturday, June 26, 2004 By Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer - www.hli.org June, 2004 Dear Congresswoman Pelosi, Thank you for clarifying for all...

KUDOS to the DMN!

Breaking news indicates that the government of Samoa is preparing to deport Fr Frank Klep, a Salesian who failed to disclose a previous conviction for child molestation, as a result of the current Dallas Morning News series on clergy sexual abusers hiding abroad. The Samoans are also reviewing...

DMN: THE SHAME

Check out the Dallas Morning News series on how the international rach of the Church has been used to protect sexual offenders in the priesthood. The series is in its second day, with two articles and a template offering more specific instances of the sheltering of abusers. Carefully done, and...

A bit of real Renewal...

Well, this is interesting, and hopeful. The Catholic Herald (U.K.) is reporting signs that the Holy See is preparing to broaden the conditions under which priests and people can avail themselves of the permission to use the traditional Mass. Growing up when I did -- the late 1960s/early 1970s,...

The DMN SERIES

As is well known by now in Catholic blogdom, we are waiting for the Sunday commencement of a series in the Dallas Morning News on the latest investigations into a hitherto unexplored facet of the clergy sexual abuse scandal. This morning, DMN reporter Brooks Egerton was featured on National...

Oh, my

The poor dears are in...

My observation on Cardinal George's comments

[Editor's note: We have moved Father Wilson's comments, as informative and enlightening as they are, to "Phil's Forum." Please post any new Sound Off comments...

AWESOME

The statement of Mr. David Pence, and his "Ushers of the Eucharist," who knelt in the aisle of St Paul's Cathedral in Archbishop Harry Flynn's Archdiocese to prevent the Rainbow Sash-ayers from approaching for Communion. "Pentecost Sunday and the Ushers of the Eucharist We are Catholic...

COR UNUM ET ANIMA UNA

The "Rainbow Sash Movement" will be entering Catholic churches in different places this coming Sunday -- Pentecost. Wearing the, um, gaily-colored sashes that are the symbol of their advocacy of active homosexual practice, they intend to present themselves for Communion. Cardinal George of...

LOGJAM KICKED LOOSE

At a meeting in Chicago on Monday, a committee of the bishops and the National Review Board reportedly agreed on a framework for continued audits of the dioceses to insure their vigilance in protecting children from child abuse. Justice Anne Burke pronounces herself 'very happy' that this...

interfaith note

Hmm. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles Religious Education Congress suddenly seems a bit more mainstream, now that I have found out about snot from the nose of the Great Buddha. Now, of course, Diogenes will rise to the challenge and immediately post a photo of Cardinal Mahony blessing the...

THEY DID THIS TO THEMSELVES

Associated Press is reporting that Leon Pannetta, who was appointed by the leadership of the Bishops' Conference to the National Review Board, is interested in taking things quite a bit further. "SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - The Roman Catholic Church should be subject to scrutiny that goes...

IF I HAD A TOMATO...

I'd know what to do with...

IN THE MIRROR WE SEE... OURSELVES

Kudos to David Morrison, whose blog "Sed Contra" has this excellent reflection on the horrific abuse of the Iraqi prisoners....

OUCH!!!

Long before dawn, the deed was done; pausing at the open window, one leg over the sill, Diogenes looked back with satisfaction on the shadows of the dark staff lounge of the American Life League. 'They'll enjoy their coffee this morning," he chuckled grimly as he nimbly swung over the sill and...

The companion cometh

Father Richard John Neuhaus, in 'The Public Square' of FIRST THINGS, May 2004 (not yet online), notes appreciatively signs that the eschaton is, literally, right around the corner -- from his NYC office. It is no little thing when one Sunday's church bulletin can reflect the innumerable wonders...

SHUCKS. GUESS THIS MAKES THEM 'HISTORY.'

Anne Burke and three other members are resigning from the bishops' National Review Board, the group charged with reviewing the Church's sex abuse crisis and its response. "We are a start-up board on a project that has never been done before," Chiles said. "The resignations are moving us out...

SENESCENT ADOLESCENCE

When the bishop falls in love. I don't know what appals me more: the thought of a wedding ceremony lasting two hours, or the thought of marrying a bishop. These two loons deserve each other; the article is worth a...

GAUDIUM ET SPES

Despite the dire tones of the doomsday prophets here and elsewhere who often seem fixated on the notion that Church and State are both going to hell in a handbasket, there actually are signs of the prophesied Renewal. A wave of Eucharistic piety is sweeping the ranks of the Congress of the United...

MASS -2-

Something is wrong with that link. Trying again ; otherwise, cut and...

CHECK OUT THE MASS

Here's something intriguing. Allegedly, the draft text of the next edition of the English language altar missal has been leaked to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Interesting text; I think it has a great deal to commend it. I can't predict how it will be received....

REDEMPTIONIS SACRAMENTUM

"Father: What do you really think about the new liturgy guidelines? I assume you are aware of them. Are they good, will they work, will they make a difference. Of course, I know there are no liturgical abuses in the Diocese of Brooklyn, under your watchful eye, nor are there any in New York,...

THE CATHOLIC CANDIDATE FROM MASSACHUSETTS

The ironic comment from Amy Welborn

CHAPUT FIRES FIRST VOLLEY ON PRO-ABORT POLS

The Archbishop of Denver has written an article admonishing politicians who claim to be Catholic while their votes dissent from Catholic teaching. Indications are this is just his first move in a forthcoming...

HELP IS ON THE WAY

A tip of the biretta to Father Bryce Sibley whose blogsite advises us that help is on the way: SMMMHDH or, if you will, The Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas, the twin reincarnations of Ray Repp. You could make a lot of money in Catholic music publishing...

NEWSDAY on Father Murr

NEWSDAY, the Long Island-based newspaper, has a story in tomorrow's edition about the resignation of Father Charles Murr as pastor of St Francis de Sales. One detail the story does not bring out is most disturbing: Fr Murr acted in consultation with the Archdiocese. His decision not to renew...

THE PASTOR RESIGNS

The Pastor of Saint Francis de Sales Church in NYC passed out a letter to his congregation last Sunday explaining why he had resigned his pastorate two days before. The letter is fascinating: undoubtedly we'll be hearing more of this story. But as Father Murr tells his side of the story, his...

Wall-papering the Gulag

Bishop O'Brien is offering the Court the opportunity to moderate its Auschwitzian provisions for his probation. He wants 'travel time' deducted from his hours of community service. It seems to have escaped him that having his Excellency behind the wheel of a car can in no way be construed as...

MEETING A FELT NEED

Turns out the Bishop O'Brien hotline in Phoenix meets a felt need of the people. At least, of that portion of the people who need to yell at the...

getting along -2-

You know, Diogenes, one of the things that has struck me about these conversations about "Why are you folks so angry" is that they often don't do justice to what people are so upset about. As a priest, I find it painful to hear from parents, for example, who find their own teaching and their...

GIRM Warfare

Check out "GIRM Warfare" on Barbara Nicolosi's excellent "Church of the Masses" blogsite. She has a perfectly plausible, chilling account of the maddening experience of attending Mass in Los Angeles now that the new General Instruction on the Roman Missal has been implemented. Apparently, it...

Sauce for the Gander

A New York Times editorial. Am I correct in thinking that the only Bishop who has suggested that there need to be consequences for Bishops who were part of the cover-up of this mess is Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Brooklyn? I remember him at the Dallas meeting, stepping up to the mike...

The Sound of a Shoe Dropping

Prosecutors plan to pursue charges against retired Bishop Dupre of Springfield, MA, for sexual abuse....

MOVE ON, FOLKS. NOTHING TO SEE HERE...

Bishop Gregory announces that the Situation or Crisis or whatever is... over. He also seems to be announcing a new pogrom against selfish seminarians. Or something....

a day of news coverage

I've watched several times today as Bishop Wilton Gregory boldly announced on TV that the release of these sexual abuse figures is a "benchmark' for our Church. One marvels at the performance. As he speaks, we're coming out of weeks of bad headlines about bishops. The Bishop of Albany is...

not a single expression of outrage

"Both reports are highly critical of the bishops and church officials, and the Review Board's report singles out a few by name. Among them are Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who resigned his post as archbishop of Boston as a result of the scandal; Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York for failing in his...

oops!

They Did Good Ministry

I can only think that the Boston Globe is misrepresenting the views of the new administrator of the Springfield Diocese. If that is not the case -- if, in his position, in that diocese, at this time, he really said this... well, I can hardly say, "we're really in trouble," can I? We knew it...

BISHOP MURPHY'S REPLY

Bishop Murphy of Rockville Centre replies to Ms Ahearn in a statement asserting that she has consistently mixed him up with another Boston priest, Fr William Murphy. Newsday asserts that its examination of the Boston documents showed numerous cases in which Bishop Murphy, not his subordinate,...

Our Lady's University

Here you can read about the forthcoming Lesbian and Gay Film Festival at Notre Dame University, South Bend....

Homage to Old Mother Damnable, the CofE

THE SONG OF THE MAGETTES With a deep bow to the Church of England – jfw “The Three Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus may not have been particularly wise and could have been women, the Church of England has ruled. We Dumb Chicks from Orient...

Hmm. Newsday

Don't know why that link did not work: trying again with backup...

TEAM PLAYERS -2-

Here is Newsday's report on Bishop Murphy. It has been pointed out that he had defended himself months ago in the furor over the Boston case by asserting that another priest named Murphy had been assigned to deal with sexual abuse allegations. If this Newsday report is correct, Laura Ahearn,...

TEAM PLAYERS

Sigh. This is not being a good month for our bishops, including Murphy of Rockville Centre, sometime aide to Cardinal...

PRO-ACTIVE VOCATION RECRUITING

I have developed a new, pro-active vocation recruiting strategy. It involves carefully reading through the news each day, identifying certain potential candidates and properly placing them according to their gifts. This guy gets to be the next Bishop of Phoenix. Anyone have the phone number of...

HMM. I ALWAYS FOUND THURSDAY ANNOYING, MYSELF...

Anglican news is always more interesting than ours. Part of this is that you never know what the Anglican Bishops will come up with next. The other part is that, by the time our Bishops have come up with whatever they're coming up with, you've lost interest and wandered away. Anyway, the...

THE PASTOR'S POT

Well, when I was growing up, back in the Golden Age of the Church (strains of "Blowin' in the Wind" can still make me get all tingly-eucharistic), the "Pastor's Pot" meant the personal corporation made all the more evident by the purple sash of his soutane (we were all Temples of the Holy Ghost,...

PROLIFE PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE

Well, it didn't make it into the State of the Union Address, but at least the eight thousand gathered at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception last night for the Prolife Mass heard a strong prolife message from the President and the First...

ROD DREHER'S TAKE

Rod weighs in on the same subject....

DID HE OR DIDN'T HE?

Word was that the Holy Father had seen the Mel Gibson movie on the Passion, was moved by it, and had said, "It is as it was." Then, an unnamed Vatican official denied that. But the story was repeated, so the Pope's personal secretary now denies it. Yet apparently, the Gibson people had an...

FALLOUT

The Most Rev. William Murphy, was a Boston priest, aide to Cardinal Law and ultimately auxiliary bishop of Boston when he was appointed IV Bishop of Rockville Centre, N.Y., the diocese comprising the eastern three-fifths of Long Island. The wake of the clergy sexual abuse crisis and other...

THE WHISTLE BLOWER

If a priest became suspicious about the activities of his pastor with regard to young people, he could turn to his superiors and confide his concerns to them with complete confidence. Right? "But newly unsealed court documents show that long after Aylward admitted having touched boys for...

CHECKING OUT VOTF

Danny DeBruin joined the Long Island chapter of Voice of the Faithful. He participated, even filling an office, and watched, and pondered. And now he has written a very fine article about the experience. Nicely...

THE AUDIT IN PERSPECTIVE

The Dallas Morning News has a superb editorial on the newly released audit of the dioceses....

"AND EVERYTHING YOU KNOW, WE KNOW"

Cardinal McCarrick responds to the Washington Times report of a D.C. clergy sex ring....

Accountability in Dallas

"Accountability" has come to be a word much heard in Church discourse in the last couple of years. It means different things to different people; among some groups pressing for change in the Church, it seems to be a code word for the introduction of democratic decision-making structures in the...

BIG BROTHER: SETTING YOUR BREVIARY RIBBONS FOR YOU

This poor fellow in Essex, England, has to get PLANNING PERMISSION before he can meditate on his own land....

PORTABLE INTERCHANGEABLE PRIESTLY UNITS

My thoughts on the last Sunday of Father Paul Weinberger at Blessed Sacrament Church, and on contemporary clergy transfer policies, are at...

Dallas. There is nothing else. Dallas. There is nothing else. Dallas. There is nothing else...

The correspondence between Father Weinberger and his bishop is online. Go here, and then click on "Parish...

DALLAS MORNING NEWS: on Father Weinberger

The Dallas daily takes note of a sad day for the people of God in Dallas....

GOOD BYE, FATHER WEINBERGER

Rod Dreher was present at Blessed Sacrament Church in Dallas for the final Mass of Father Paul...

MAYBE AN EPIPHANY MIRACLE?

Mark Shea has blogged my letter to the Apostolic Nuncio on the Father Weinberger situation....

A LITTLE CHURCH THAT NEEDS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

Rod Dreher has a wonderful Sunday morning column in the Dallas Morning News about the plight of Father Paul Weinberger and the parish of Blessed Sacrament in Dallas. A bit more background on this frustrating situation comes out in comments made on Rod's article on Amy Welborn's blog. It is...

Incarnation

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt amongst...

FAITH-BASED PRISON?

Well, here's a different idea: a faith-based penal institution, a prison to which convicts are transferred who want an environnment offering them opportunities to practice, study, strengthen their faith....

LANGUAGE MATTERS

'The faith of Death Sentence is a sentence of two words: Language matters. Bear in mind, Watson writes, 'that if we deface the War Memorial or rampage through St Paul's with a sledgehammer we will be locked up as criminals or lunatics . . . Yet every day we vandalise the language, which is the...

FROM THE WEB-ELVES

I like the Web Elves a great deal. That's what the intrepid and unfailingly cheerful souls behind the CaNN, the "Classical Anglican Net News," call themselves. Weblogging out of Canada, they're a crew who have caught the joy of the Gospel and witness to orthodox Faith in a world that derides such...

A TIP OF THE BIRETTA

A most willing tip of the biretta to Joanna Jepson. She is a female priest of the Church of England -- which in and of itself, frankly, doesn't ordinarily elicit even a ruffling of my biretta pompon -- but she seems to be a thoroughly Good Thing and a lady of great integrity. Ms Jepson has...

ANGLICAN UPDATE

I like the Anglican Bishops of Uganda. They know how to write a letter, like this one to USA Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, written in the wake of his having consecrated an openly practicing, divorced, homosexual Bishop: "Considering those things, we were shocked to receive a letter...

DIAGNOSIS

If wishful thinking had the power to transform reality into something more palatable than it often is, I suppose we'd all be grateful, Diogenes. But it doesn't. Some months ago, I recall a "parishioner of St Blogs" recounting how he had just returned from a church convocation. It was large,...

NETWORKING

Cardinal Martino's people need to call the Iraqi Foreign Minister's people....

UNPACKING MARTINO'S COMMENTS

The best I've seen so far for thought-provoking assessments of the Cardinal's...

NO DOG IN THIS FIGHT

Okay. Now, I'm not planning to conduct a whole campaign on this blog, honestly. But my email box is flooded with letters from good, faithful people especially from Dallas -- older folk for whom Blessed Sacrament Church is a joy, young parents who delight in bringing kids there. But I especially...

ONTOLOGICALLY NICKLE-AND-DIME-ING IT

The Diocese of Dallas' Answer to the Cappadocian Fathers calls for renewal of Seminary Formation. The Following was taken from the Texas Catholic, Dallas, TX Date of the edition in which this piece ran: March 15, 2002 Page 8, in the section known as: Opinions Editorial "Another...

The Deplorable Diocese of Dallas

This is an excerpt from a letter written by a layman to Deacon Bronson Havard, spokesman of the Bishop of Dallas. It is a letter following up a phone conversation of Wednesday. The layman had read my article on the plight of Father Paul Weinberger and phoned Deacon Havard to inquire as to why Fr...

MORE ON THE RUMOR

On the Archbishop of Seattle's comment that an Episcopal diocese is looking to enter the Catholic Church, Auburn Traycik, editor of the Christian Challenge, says this: This morning, I queried FIF-NA President, Fr. David Moyer, and with FIF-UK Director Stephen Parkinson, about the following...

ONE BISHOP TO ANOTHER

Here's an example of Bishop Frank Griswold's mailbag. It's really a lovely, grace-filled and charitable letter, and I found its witness to the Lord Jesus quite moving, and reminding me of what I was privileged to see of Anglicanism at its best. November 12, 2003-12-03 The Most Revd Frank T....

ANGLICAN UPDATE

The preceding entry reminds me that we haven't done an update on the Anglican situation in the wake of the consecration of openly homosexual (and divorced with two daughters but living with his guy) Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. For observers, this has been an impressive disaster of...

A WHOLE DIOCESE ASKING TO ENTER THE CATHOLIC CHURCH??

Here's a fascinating tidbit -- has an Episcopal Diocese made overtures abour being received into the full Communion of the Catholic...

HOPEFUL SIGN?

Unfortunately it is not (yet) online, something I'll look into to see if it can be done, but in the Nov 20th Wanderer Paul Likoudis has an interesting and hopeful article on the November bishops' meeting. "The Conference," he writes, "is clearly seeking to repair the damages the Church in the...

DUE PROCESS IN DALLAS

Michael Rose's CruxNews has just posted an overviiew of Fr Paul Weinberger's plight, which I think you'll find interesting. On a canon law blogsite recently, a canonist made a very sensible comment in reply to another who had contended that a diocesan bishop, being responsible for worship,...

OF CANONS, RIGHTS, AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES

"...in order that the mutual relations of the Faithful may be regulated according to justice based on charity, with the rights of individuals guaranteed and well defined..." -Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution "Sacrae Disciplinae Leges," promulgating the new Code of Canon Law. On...

VISITING BLESSED SACRAMENT CHURCH, Dallas TX

Interesting; I checked the link to the account Rod Dreher wrote of his visit to Blessed Sacrament Church in Dallas, and where it had worked, it doesn't -- and there's no reason not to post the text here: ________________________ “Just got in a few minutes ago from Dallas, where we were...

THE CORNFLAKES DISPENSATION

Elsewhere I have written about the lovely Blessed Sacrament Parish in Dallas, TX., an inner-city parish ably shepherded by Fr Paul Weinberger. Journalst Rod Dreher wrote movingly of his first visit to Blessed Sacrament, an account I included in an article on the Liturgy. By coincidence I just...

Excellent: A Clear Voice

The Massachusetts bishops are now speaking with one clear...

DALLAS

It is always worthwhile, whenever someone in authority in the Diocese of Dallas says something, to stop and pay attention. It's like an achingly irritating soap opera to which one has become addicted. The Diocese of Dallas is highly incensed over an editorial commenting on a question...

The Smell of Napalm in the Morning

I suspect this rather ruined breakfast....

SHERLOCK ARISING

The Bishop of Dallas seems to have fallen asleep some time before last June; apparently someone has just woken him up. "Changes in church law that took effect early this year forbid U.S. Catholic bishops from accepting any priest who ever has sexually abused a minor. "Do we all have to do...

NOVEMBER: THE MONTH OF THE DEAD

Yes, Diogenes, I love November too. Such a suspenseful month, isn't it? Shall we have to control our rising curiousity until the end of the week, or will they tell us what they think about salmon fishing in the Columbia River right away? About sixteen months ago, I wrote this in the Wanderer....

MEN AT WORK

quote of the day: "Bishop Lynch of St. Petersburg is publicly seeking Terri's death. In a homily recently, for which he received a standing ovation, he publicly said her parents should let her go to God. But Terri isn't dying so the only way she can go to God is by deliberate dehydration and...

Turmoil. Scandal. Constitutional Issues.

My goodness... This could jeopardize his succeeding his Mum as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Of course, he could always get consecrated a Bishop, though. God provides. Fr Wilson NYT NEWSROOM TURMOIL OVER PRINCE CHARLES GAY RUMOR Fri Nov 07 2003 16:45:11...

WHAT'S MISSING...

The problem is not, as so many cynically assume, the bishops. The problem is that we do not have a prime minister to bring clarity to theological discussions. Tony Blair weighs in on gay...

HOW DO HOME-SCHOOLED CHILDREN DO LATER ON??

Well, a study has just been released that says: Quite well! "For nearly 20 years, critics and the curious have been asking about the homeschooled: But how will they do in the "real world" of adulthood? As a corollary, they have also asked: What about socialization?," said Ray. The study...

The Book of Divine Worship

Below is the text of a circular from Our Lady of the Atonement Church in San Antonio, TX., regarding the forthcoming publication of the Anglican Use Liturgy of the Catholic Church. The BDW will contain not just the texts for the celebration of Mass in the Anglican Use, but also the texts for...

The Man for the Job

Alvaro Corrada del Ro, S.J., is a good man. He is the Bishop of Tyler in East Texas. A few years ago (when he was auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C.), he fell afoul of some potentates in the NCCB when he protested that sexual abuse cases were not being handled properly and the problem was not...

Prager on Mel Gibson's 'Passion'

Here's a fine thoughtful piece which tries to do justice to two points of view, and sheds a bit of light as well....

His highly-developed staff

One hopes and prays that the tragic situation of Terri Schiavo down in Florida leads to much good. Hundreds of thousands of people have gotten involved by letting the state of Florida know of their concern. Priests have weighed in on this and other life issues from the pulpit. And the issues...

they said....

Okay, okay. People are saying, "Huh? What'd they say?" Even life-long speakers of Anglikaans need this translated, judging from my email box. As a public service therefore, stepping nobly into the breech: They said, (a) we all feel much better now. (b) the bible study was really...

he new batch of fudge is ready

Oh, well. Here's the Anglican primates (an excerpt from their full statement). A commission, to report in twelve months... Veddy Anglican. They are going to lose a lot of faithful people over this. The sad thing is, our bishops are in no way ready to seize this moment, or even to allow members...

The rise of the evangelicals

One of the reasons I follow this story about the Anglican crisis with such interest is that it is the story of the 'rise of the Evangelicals,' which personally I never expected to see. In the religious and political landscape of our country, the Evangelicals have been a factor in public...

All fluff, no stuff??

Well, the jury has to be out regarding the Anglican primates' meeting in London, because they are sequestered. But the primate of All Ireland, Robin Eames, gave a press conference which my friend David Virtue, the journalist, found chilling. Eames explained that the bishops were "sharing their...

Cracks in liberal Anglican facade

It appears, on the eve of the London meeting of 38 primates of the Anglican provinces, that the progressives in America and Canada are about to be dealt a withering rejection. Journalist David Virtue covers the matter thoroughly in these links, but basically Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold has...

...status

In my diocese (Brooklyn), the vicar general makes a huge effort to see to it that he knows where priests "released from diocesan assignment" are, and that contact is kept up with them. Years ago, there were 150 Brooklyn priests in that status -- some teaching, some serving in dioceses elsewhere,...

The Letter from Cardinal Ratzinger

From Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Prefect of the congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Vatican, on behalf of Pope John Paul II I hasten to assure you of my heartfelt prayers for all those taking part in this convocation. The significance of your meeting is sensed far beyond Plano,...

A Noble Moment

A phone message from a close friend and Episcopal Priest at the conservatives' meeting in Plano said that a "long, heartening and supportive letter" from Cardinal Ratzinger to the assembly, read to them this evening (Wed), brought the whole assembly to their feet in thunderous applause. Nice...

Canterbury archbishop shaken

It is reported that the Archbishop of Canterbury was shaken by his interviews with Pope John Paul II but especially with Cardinal Kasper last week. If this marks the dawning of a new, more realistic era in ecumenism, then I think it should be welcomed. As the bureaucracies of various...

raised questions

This editorial from the Washington Times raises interesting questions. When the bishops set up the National Review Board, dismay was expressed over the inclusion of figures such as Leon Panetta and Robert Bennett (how, exactly, does one square the appointment of pro-abortionists to a board...

No Room for the 'In'

The situation developing in St Augustine, FL is actually quite humorous. As I noted before, the Bishop of St Augustine, Victor Galeone, has rescinded the invitation to the Episcopal Diocese of Florida to conduct the consecration of their new coadjutor bishop in one of the larger Catholic Church...

A Stand of Conscience

Kudos to the Bishop of St Augustine, Florida. Reading about the inane comments of Frank Griswold, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, on the current turmoil within his denomination over the toleration of blessings of homosexual unions and the election of a homosexual bishop, he decided...

Brooklyn Lawsuit Announced

As expected, attorney Michael Dowd today announced a lawsuit charging twenty-four priests of the Diocese of Brooklyn with sexual abuse, according to Newsday. The announcement comes just two days before the installation of the seventh Bishop of Brooklyn, Nicholas DiMarzio....

YOIKS!!! AVAUNT!!! WE ARE UNDONE!!!

The fiendish plot of the Polish Pope to assume the mantle of Holy Roman Emperor of Europe has been undone by a particularly astute example of British intuitive analysis of Catholicism appearing in the U.K. Spectator. We must not fear! It is still not too late!! But having been uncovered, we...

Papal Diplomat

If this story is true, how to explain it? A papal diplomat enjoyed steady promotions and served until very recently as the second in command at the Nunciature in India despite the fact that his archdiocese (Cincinnati), archbishop (Pilarczyk), the Secretariat of State AND the head of the Papal...

RENEWAL WATCH

Sobering figures on vocations from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which had 276 priests in 2002, projects that in 2015 it will have 138. That's a 47% drop over the next twelve years. We recently got an informational mailing from our clergy personnel office in...

celibacy

One hundred sixty Milwaukee priests signed a statement supporting optional celibacy in the Roman Rite. I wonder if people realize how clerical life would be revolutionized by that change. For one thing, Catholics would need to get used to their priests living off-campus (in the Northeast at...

effective delegating

Delegating is an essential management tool. If your chancery's Secret Archives Staff could use a quick review of how it works, a Workshop could easily by arranged with a facilitator who's tanned, rested, ready and knows the subject backwards and...

MCJ

This Midwestern Conservative Journal guy really needs to -- actually, we really need him to get our of the Episcopal Church and become a Catholic. And we need to resettle him in Los Angeles, in the shadow of the new cathedral, during the next L.A. Religious Ed Congress, with a pair of binoculars...

Um, er -- no comment

An evil consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. "Exactly how this will play out in church situations is unclear, judging from a press conference Wednesday in Minneapolis. There, Wendy Griffith, a reporter with the Christian Broadcasting Network, asked presiding Episcopal Bishop Frank...

The Minneapolis Creed

There are lots of things I love about Anglicans, but the one thing I'd never do without is their humor. -FrW --------------------------------- Subject: THE MINNEAPOLIS CREED by Eric Zolner THE MINNEAPOLIS CREED As with all the major councils of the church, this one needs its...

...what makes a tapeworm...

Yes, Diogenes, you're quite right. Bull's-eye. But of course, it's important to remember that some of the tapeworms are quite innocent. They don't even realize that they were trained to be tapeworms. A few months ago I had a call from a gentleman who had been dismissed (by Rockville Centre...

a gay bishop, a sad moment

Tonight's confirmation of the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson as the first open, practicing homosexual to be elected a Bishop of the Episcopal Church is a sad moment. As I write this, traditionalist Episcopal bishops and clergy and lay delegates to their General Convention are gathered in a prayer...

The big picture

Thanks to DIOCESE REPORT for an interesting piece published by Catholic Citizens of Illinois. "The Massachusetts Department of Social Services has reported that in the year 2000 alone, there were 62,506 cases of child abuse and neglect reported, a sad statistic that is routinely ignored when...

a rare agreement -2-

Phil, it seems to me that among the things revealed in the unfolding of the sexual abuse scandal and its aftermath is that, in the minds of many bishops, the episcopate functions in a kind of parallel universe. A diocese reaches a $100,000.00 settlement with a married, male diocesan employee over...

The previously unbloody Sacrifice of the Altar

There has been a spate of recent stories which made me wish I had the faculty of bi- or trilocation, because I wanted to see what was actually going on and get a sense of the personalities involved. One involved the priest in Houston who was sent on leave after suddenly reverting to the...

Well, it's certainly Holistic

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles certainly has a thorough screeening process in place for seminarians, to judge from its archdiocesan newspaper. Anyone involved in seminary formation or in screening candidates has a heavy responsibility, especially today. But I must say, reading through this...

O'Malley to Boston?

Associated Press is reporting that National Catholic Reporter's Rome correspondent John Allen has told various news outlets that his sources indicate that the next Archbishop of Boston will be appointed this week, and will be Capuchin Bishop Sean O'Malley. Personally, I think this would be...

Can't resist this one.

From associated Press we get the story that while Arnold Schwarzenegger might have married into the Kennedy clan,. he will NOT have patriarch Ted Kennedy's endorsement if he runs for office. In one respect, the Senator's comments are intriguing. For years, Catholics have complained that...

"Please, Bishop..."

Three prominent Dallas Catholics present their request in a calm, considered opinion...

Dallas Catholics Unite -2-

That Dallas Morning News link is dead, which this story is far from being. Try this...

Dallas Catholics Organize

The Dallas Morning News is reporting on an effort led by several prominent Dallas Catholics to invite others to join together and request the resignation of the Bishop of Dallas, Charles Grahmann, for the good of the...

statute of limitations

The Supreme Court also ruled, in a case which has direct implications on clergy sex abuse cases, that the statute of limitations cannot be retroactively erased or tampered with by the government. Victims of sexual abuse and their advocates are deeply disappointed. This decision renders null a...

A lift for the heart

A neat story about a dedicated Christian lady who expresses her love for the Lord Jesus by undertaking the commitment of a consecrated virgin in the Church, an ancient vocation revived by Pope Paul VI. What a lovely witness to the love of Christ, of His Church, and to the fuyllness of life to...

doughnuts, huh??

Well MAY Dunkin' Donuts emphasize bagels now. The bagel is the worthiest of breakfast foods. With all respect to doughnuts, or to Dunkin's "Donuts" even... ah. the Bagel. When I was in seminary in Dallas, the saddest mornings were the ones where they had "bagels" for breakfast. "Bagels." In...

Paul Elie

Paul Elie, whose most recent work on Merton, Dorothy Day, Flannery O'Connor and Walker Percy, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," has been widely appreciated recently, has a thought-provoking and worthwhile op/ed in the New York Times on the disappointments of the past...

Ecclesia de Eucharistia

In the latest edition of the Wanderer I offer a few reflections on the Holy Father's most recent encyclical on the Eucharist, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, a radiantly beautiful document which one hopes will be widely read and...

A light dawns

Word from St Louis today is that yesterday's session of the bishops' meeting was devoted to identifying problems in the Church's life which have been disclosed by the turmoil of these months. They focused on such matters as the decline in Mass attendance and coinfession, the "confused" sense of...

Governor Keating

A dignified statement by Governor Keating on the op/ed page of The New York Times, setting forth his reasons for his resignation and his view of the situation at present. It is a forceful, clear, and hopeful statement....

The Circle Dance of Dispossession

I had mentioned to someone, a writer, how odd it was that Bishop O'Brien of Phoenix had asked the Judge at his arraignment to let him attend the bishops' meeting in St Louis. She replied with this vignette: "I'm betting he wants to be there for the liturgical dance vote. What I chiefly...

Canada will Legalize Homosexual Marriage

The social revolution continues apace: the Washington Post reports that the Canadian Government plans to introduce legally recognized homosexual marriage. The secularization of Canadian society has gone much further and faster than here, with dire effects on the Catholic Church and others. A...

Does the heart good...

This article from the Phoenix paper focuses on the reaction of area Cathlics to the situation with their Bishop, and it's good to see that Phoenix citizens (Phoenixians??) will be reading this kind of balanced, charitable reaction from Catholic people. Nothing said here denies the seriousness of...

The Booking of the Bishop

The Dallas Morning News story of the booking of the Bishop of Phoenix. It's a commonplace that "Rome thinks in centuries," "We look back over two thousand years, and forward to eternity." These kind of thoughts about the Church we've always regarded as one of her great strengths, and...

Bishop O'Brien of Phoenix

The first thought that struck me when I heard of the arrest of O'Brien regarding a hit-and-run incident was something Steve Brady of The Roman Catholic Faithful wrote to two top priest aides to Bishop Ryan of Springfield after his removal: In fact, I feel very sorry for the bishop who had no...

Inspiring confidence

The chairman of the independent, lay National Review Board, Governor Frank Keating, has announced his resignation after he had provoked a firestorm by publicly charging that some bishops were not being forthcoming with his committee's review of the problem of sexual abuse in the...

of Donald Trautperson

Diogenes, dearest, these l'il details are important. His championing of inclusive liturgical lingo earned Donald Trautman, even among the bishops (a rare surfacing of wit amongst them), the nickname, Trautperson. He should be able to keep...

A varied picture

Interesting, from the New York Times, is this article portraying the variety of responses of different bishops and dioceses to the call for greater transparency in light of the Dallas meeting last year. It makes sense, I suppose, given that the charter vote was rushed, with only hurried debate,...

Los Angeles Times on Governor Keating

Here's a brief, interesting bit of background on Governor Keating's penchant for controversy. To be fair, one wonders if it is really possible for a National Review Board to do its job? It has to establish itself as a credible, independent lay voice or it loses all credibility with the...

Anglican Use

While I'm on the subject of the Anglican Use, New Yorkers and those in the tristate area might be interested to know that at 2PM on Trinity Sunday the Anglican Use liturgy will be celebrated (for the first time in NYC, I believe) in St Vincent Ferrer Church on Lexington Ave. A group is gathering...

An Interesting Development

The "Book of Divine Worship" is soon to be published. This contains the liturgy used by Anglican Use Congregations in the Catholic Church: it is substantially the rite of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer with alterations conforming its usages to the Roman Liturgy. It will contain the Order of Mass...

Mahony turns up the rhetoric

Well Cardinal Mahony has had enough of Governor Keating and the National Review Board. And Keating's comments about the bishops were "off the wall". And Bishop Wilton Gregory shouldn't have just appointed Keating; he should have appointed a committee to find someone to head the board. And at the...

the bloom off the rose

Is it my imagination -- or are the bishops and their National Review board having relationship issues?? I mean, Governor Keating comparing some of the bishops to La Cosa Nostra -- well, maybe he really, really LIKES the Sopranos, but...

jumpstarting your spiritual life

Yes, I know exactly where you're coming from. Life is simply too busy. You seem to jump from thing to thing, project to project, your whole life guided by responsibilities and directed by obligations. No time to pause and ponder, to reflect, to meditate, to focus, to encounter the Scriptures, to...

Louisville

The New York Times today has a story about the anticipated devastating effects on the charitable work of the Archdiocese of Louisville of the settlement it reached yesterday. ' A day after the Archdiocese of Louisville struck one of the largest settlements stemming from sexual abuse...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

In a couple of hours the NY Times will be online, and you can go there and read an article in which the spokesguy for Cardinal Egan completely contradicts what he said the day before about the Cardinal's disclosure policy re: The Scandal: "Cardinal Edward M. Egan announced yesterday that he...

Bernardin

Cardinal Bernardin definitely took care of his own. Under him, when he was General Secretary of the USCC, was working Thomas Kelly and Michael Sheehan. It was when Michael Sheehan was rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas that Rudy Kos applied for admission -- for the SECOND time -- having...

+Kelly of Louisville

Thomas Kelly has had a deep impact on the Church in this country; one hopes that history doesn't forget him. It was he who, while at the old USCC, granted the bogus annulment to Rudy Kos which got him into the seminary of Dallas... and started the balls rolling, as it were. Some things just...

Phoenix Again

You know, I honestly don't understand this. I am a parish Priest. At the moment it becomes clear that my continuing to serve here is detrimental to this parish, I am OUT OF HERE. My continued presence becomes, not pointless, but harmful. Period. I was sent here for the good of the parish, I...

something wonderful

If you want to see something absolutely wonderful and inspiring, check out the Tyburn Convent site. As you navigate the site, there are several downloads, but it is well, well worth it -- a glimpse at a glorious past and a moment to realize anew what a gift our Catholic Faith really is. I was...

They've learned nothing

Fr Andrew Greeley's column today suggests that the bishops of this country have learned nothing in the past year at all, and even speculates that they may very well gut their Dallas charter. This strikes me as common sense. Even after the past eighteen months, we still have in place a system...

How're they doin??

Mayor Ed Koch of NYC, in his first term, used that as his trademark question; people on the street would recognize him, and he'd stop and call out, "HOW'M I DOIN'??" Well, the Dallas Morning News has a few thoughts on how the bishops are doing regarding fulfilling the promises they made at...

England yet again

Yes, it is getting worse for the Anglicans. Here's from the London Times: "THE Anglican Church has been plunged into its most serious crisis since the ordination of women priests as traditionalist and evangelical clergy united in protest at same-sex blessings and the choice of two gay men to...

More on the English

Here's another charming story about English life. Where do they get the people who think up these things?? "CHILDREN as young as 10 are being shown how to use condoms as part of sex education lessons in primary schools. The lessons, run by Southeast Sheffield Education Action Zone, include a...

Equal Rights for British Gay Couples

The social experiment steamroller rolls on, according to the London Times, which reports that: "GAY and lesbian couples are to get the same legal rights as husbands and wives under government plans due to be published this month. Ministers will propose homosexuals should get the same tax,...

Clowns

Your posting on clowns interests me, Leila. I had never thought much about the subject at all. I think I was at the circus once in my life. Clowns were not on my radar (Barnum & Bailey, I mean; USCCB is another matter). It was only after ordination that I discovered that there are people who...

the lavender ceiling

Well, 'tis done. This morning, a special convention of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire elected The Rev. Gene Robinson to be the next Bishop. 'So what,' says you? "Gene enjoys entertaining and cooking, gardening, music, and running. The father of two grown daughters, Jamee and...

Phoenix yet again

Today's Dallas Morning News has a particularly fine editorial on the situation in Phoenix, and the troubling constitutional implications of the deal cut by the county attorney with the Bishop. While maintaining that he has sufficient evidence to indict Bishop O'Brien for obstruction of justice,...

Religion and the University

I did not realize that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the nation's oldest institution of higher learing, but apparently it is. This is an interesting reflection on the marginalizing of Religion in the University's life, specifically the targeting of Religious student groups...

hitting a snag

Well, it's like this. On October ninth, a priest of the Church of England, Canon Jeffrey John, is to be consecrated Bishop of Reading. Traditionalists are infuriated because Canon John allegedly is a homosexual sympathizer. But he is a friend of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, who assured trads...

St Joseph's, Cudahy, WI R.I.P.

It is always a sad moment when a parish church closes. Sometimes, both in cities and rural areas, it has to be; changing demographics make it necessary. I remember about nine years ago wandering around Saint Leonard's in Brooklyn, an eerie experience. Fifty years before, this vast place (seated...

Welcome, welcome

From UPI comes the very welcome news that Pastor Leonard Klein, a clergyman of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has announced that will be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church. Pastor Klein, currently pastor of Christ Church in York PA, was for years editor of...

What the meaning of "is" is

If you're in the market, I know a bishop who has a bridge to sell you....

Mississippi

It is good to get away from the dreary subjects of Boston and Dallas and Phoenix. Let us turn our gaze to the proud pearl of the South, Mississippi, which I refer to as "the Nietzsche State" only because every time I have to spell it I have to look it up. We get to Mississippi and we find-- oh,...

afterthought

Diogenes, ole' palomine, I agree with you here: "And this makes sense. In spite of our extreme exasperation in face of child abuse, we really don't want a state that imprisons our fellow citizens on the grounds of incompetence, cowardice, or sloth." But it occurs to me that we have an even...

episcocratic inertia

The Washington Post has an article today on how, contrary to the expectations of many a year ago, the bishops of various dioceses which were hot spots in the Scandal have managed to dodge any personal legal consequences. Near as I can figure it out, this is because, most of the time, they haven't...

The cross in the pocket of the business suit

It's absolutely sickening. Among the details of the Arizona Republic story is this little chestnut: "Bishop Manuel D. Moreno of Tucson, a close friend of O'Brien, was one of the seven who stepped down. He resigned in March at age 72, citing serious health issues, including prostate problems and...

The Anglican Communion and Sexuality

As was previously noted, a meeting of the primates of the member churches of the Anglican Communion unanimously voted to issue a statement that they could not countenance the blessing of same-sex unions (because there is no consensus on the issue in the Communion). This issue has the potential to...

Villaroya and the Dallas Diocese

Whatever one might think of the situation in the Dallas Diocese, it's very difficult for me to imagine anyone arguing with the statement that the chancery there badly needs a few sensible staff persons. The team of Bronson Havard and Mary Edlund is disastrous. This from the Dallas Morning...

Ah... the Voice of the Faithful...

The Dallas Morning News' letters column makes for cheery reading this morning -- for anyone interested in the active participation of the...

VOICE OF THE ORDAINED

More from the Diocese of Brooklyn. The NY Daily News tells of the efforts of the "Voice Of The Ordained," a group formed during the past year. It is composed of active, laicized and renegade priests who are determined that things must change. For starters, they want a say in who is going to be the...

Plenty of Room at the Inn

The GOOD news is that there will be plenty of elbow room at the seminary of the Archdiocese of Boston in the Fall. Claustrophobics need not fear; no danger of overcrowding. The bad news, however -- well, numbers aren't everything. "BOSTON (AP) There are no first-year seminarians scheduled to...

PERHAPS more alarming

From "The Tablet," the pravda of my diocese, Brooklyn NY: "The number of available, active priests in the Brooklyn diocese has declined 46% since 1979. Perhaps more alarming, nearly a quarter of those priests will reach retirement age in the next five years, 42% within the next ten, and 81%...

More Dallas thoughts

These are a few thoughts on the Bronson Havard editorial we referenced earlier, regarding the turmoil in the Dallas Diocese in the wake of the assigning of a priest with a 'past.' People in that Diocese have pointed out that Msgr. Villaroya is far from being the only priest currently active...

Oh, wonderful. Just wonderful

So. Father is one of the big four Experts on sexual abuse in the bishops' stable. Indeed, he co-authored the Dallas sexual abuse policy. Now they can apply it to HIM. 'The Rev. Gregory Ingels, who also is a church lawyer, is scheduled to appear Wednesday in Marin County Superior Court on...

EarthSpirit

In our parish, we were going to have the Forty Hours Devotion, but that just seemed so, well, DONE, you know? And "forty," well, so limiting. Then we discovered the Earthspirit conference and we're sure this will be a MUCH more memorable occasion for us to invite Father Mankowski for his first...

Dallas, Dallas Everywhere

The Diocese of Dallas is starting to scare me. It's beginning to make the Archdiocese of Boston in the glory days of Cardinal Law look like Clairvaux under Saint Bernard. Deacon Bronson Havard, the editor of the Texas Catholic and de facto spokesman of the diocese, has graced us with an...

A Magnum o'Pus from Bishop Grahmann

What could one possibly say that could be bad enough about this piece by Bishop Grahmann in the Dallas Morning News? The Bishop's decisions flowed from the purest evangelical motivations, but, sadly, are being obstructed by a mob of unconverted, judgmental, stone-lugging Laity. Not a WORD about...

A Vigorous Defense

Victims and their advocates are dismayed by the vigorous tactics employed by dioceses and their attorneys faced with lawsuits over clergy sexual abuse; defenders of the bishops say that this reaction is unreasonable....

The Governor and Masonry

Interesting. It appears the Governor of New York has decided to decline the invitation to become a...

More on El Pointy Sombrero in Dallas

Well, God be praised, finally Bishop Grahmann's natural constituency, the 61% of the Diocese of Dallas who are Latino, are rallying. Of course, they're FURIOUS with him. People certainly get touchy nowadays over clergy assignments, have you noticed??...