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In a May 10, 2004 letter to Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, 48 pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians, including the ever-puerile Nancy Pelosi, wrote, "If Catholic legislators are scorned and held out for ridicule by Church leaders on the basis of a single issue, the Church will lose strong advocates on a wide range of issues that relate to the core of important Catholic social teaching." This infamous letter came to mind in light of the current debates over "health care reform" and the seeming lack of proper instruction by some Catholic bishops in their communications with these pro-abortion "Catholics" and other supposedly Catholic public figures. If one examines statements such as Pelosi's recent erroneous claims or the statements in this 2004 letter, it is obvious that something has gone awry in such individuals' thought process.
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It is hard to image a less appropriate image than Archbishop Weakland depicted as a protector of children. Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org) will hold a sidewalk news conference on the steps of Milwaukee's Catholic Cathedral urging newly installed archbishop Jerome Listecki to explain why disgraced former archbishop Rembert Weakland is being honored next Tuesday, January 12th, with giving the keynote address at the Cathedral on the renovation of St. John's...
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Archbishop Jerome Listecki was installed on January 4 as the 11th Archbishop of Milwaukee at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, filling the seat left vacant by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who was appointed to New York. In his first homily, the new archbishop called on his flock to "sacrifice for the truth. There are many bishops and priests more intelligent, more talented and more deserving of this position than me," said Archbishop Listecki lightheartedly on Monday. "I say this not with a false sense of humility but merely as fact." The prelate continued to say however, that Pope Benedict XVI, "has made his selection and I accept his decision as God's will. Please note that I will use every ounce of my being to serve this great Archdiocese of Milwaukee."
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Last month's passage of a sweeping ban on federal funding for abortion in the House healthcare bill caught most of Washington by surprise. The Democratic House leadership is closely aligned with the party's pro-abortion rights base, which alleged the ban would roll back abortion access for many women by keeping coverage for the procedure out of federally subsidized healthcare plans. And for abortion rights activists, the central role of the Roman Catholic bishops in pressing House leaders to allow a vote on the ban, known as the Stupak-Pitts amendment-and in helping prod 64 Democratic congressmen to support it-was as galling as the ban itself. "It is extremely unfortunate," Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said at the time, "that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and antichoice opponents were able to hijack the healthcare reform bill in their dedicated attempt to ban all legal abortion in the United States."
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Philip F. Lawler, founder and editor of Catholic World News, the first English-language Catholic news service on the internet. Born an raised in Boston, he attended Harvard College and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He was the first layman to edit The Pilot, the Boston archdiocesan newspaper. He was editor of Catholic World Report from 1993 to 2005. He is the author of five books and numerous editorial columns. The subject: The Faithful Departed & the Collapse of Boston's Catholic Culture, the title of his latest book. CCI's monthly luncheon forums are held on the second Friday of every month, from 11:45 AM To 01:30 PM, at a new location, the Union League Club 65 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, 60604 - (312) 427-7800. Ticket price includes for a full course meal, and are $30.00. Reservations required. Call Maureen at 708-352-5834. The public is welcome.
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This past Monday I reported that the USCCB Department of Communications is listed as a "principal partner" on the "So We Might See" Web site. So We Might See is a coalition of religious groups that is petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to investigate "hate speech." Since the page on the organization's Web site displaying the petition also contained specific allegations that Rush Limbaugh incited violence against two Mexican men in 2006, I reported that the USCCB was also supporting an investigation of Limbaugh. Helen Osman, Secretary of Communications for the USCCB, responded to my article in a series of e-mails, denying that the USCCB was "participating in any campaign to censor any news organization, program, or commentator."
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American Life League's Judie Brown, a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, issued the following statement on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' national campaign mobilizing every parish to oppose abortion in health care reform and demand conscience protections for health care workers. "We applaud the USCCB's unprecedented action in its national campaign to mobilize parishes against the current versions of the health care bill. It has taken an important first step in activating Catholics to take back our health care system and our country from the radical pro-aborts in the legislature and sometimes even in the pulpits. We proudly stand with the USCCB in its statement: "Health care reform should be about saving lives, not destroying them."
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This is a good news/bad news story. First the good news: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) cut off all funding to ACORN at some point in 2008, after revelations of the embezzlement of nearly $1 million dollars by the brother of Wade Rathke, the founder of ACORN. Rathke, who is also a powerful figure in the SEIU, is a veteran of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) who went on to bigger and better things--from a leftist standpoint--in union and community organizing. You can read about his background here, as well as this summary of his outrageous and certainly criminal decisions regarding his brother's embezzlement of ACORN funds (his brother also held financial positions for unions): The New York Times reported on July 9, 2008, that Dale Rathke, the brother of ACORN's founder Wade Rathke, was found to have embezzled $948,607.50 from the group and affiliated charitable organizations back in 1999 and 2000. ACORN executives decided to handle it as an internal matter, and did not inform most of the board members or law enforcement, and instead signed an enforceable restitution agreement with the Rathke family to repay the amount of the embezzlement. Wade Rathke told the Times, "the decision to keep the matter secret was not made to protect his brother but because word of the embezzlement would have put a 'weapon' into the hands of enemies of Acorn, a liberal group that is a frequent target of conservatives who object to ACORN's often strident advocacy on behalf of low- and moderate-income families and workers." A whistleblower revealed the embezzlement in 2008. On June 2, 2008, Dale Rathke was dismissed, and Wade stepped down as ACORN's chief organizer, but he remains chief organizer for Acorn International L.L.C.
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RenewAmerica readers who have followed the column of my colleague Matt C. Abbott are well aware of the spiritual travails afflicting what Abbott has rightfully called "one of the worst - if not the worst - archdiocese in terms of the presence of non-celibate homosexual clergy." I thought of titling this article, "Call for a Catholic Tea Party." For precisely what the Church in America needs is for Catholics, and all concerned Christian conservatives, to make their voices heard, to demonstrate and to petition for the removal of spiritually negligent pastors, especially the bishops. There are ways to do this without degenerating into schism or affiliating with "irregular" factions of the Catholic far-right. For those who have not been following the tawdry saga, let me take the time to recapitulate it. In 2004, a group of concerned lay Catholics of the Miami Archdiocese constituted themselves a lay "watchdog" organization, under the name Christifidelis. They were moved to do so by what they have alleged is a gay superculture running the archdiocese.
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Federal immigration officials on Thursday awarded a Dallas group and 12 other organizations around the country $1.2 million in grants to help legal residents become U.S. citizens. Citizenship and Immigration Services awarded $100,000 to Catholic Charities Immigration and Legal Services. It wasn't immediately clear how much money was awarded to the other groups, but the agency said they could apply for up to $100,000. The announcement coincided with Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The agency said the money goes to increase the number of people served by programs that help green card holders improve their English skills, learn about U.S. history and government, and prepare for the naturalization process. The funds can only be used to provide direct services to immigrants with legal status in the country.
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As Obama prepares to address the nation Wednesday on his health care plan, American Life League challenged the nation's Catholic bishops to be prepared to shut down Catholic health care and make it clear that they prefer this action to compromising with the intrinsic evils currently contained in various Obama care proposals. "Obama speaks tonight. Christ speaks always. When it comes to health care reform which road will our Catholic bishops take?" the group asked in a Washington Times ad. The ad highlighted six principled positions Catholic-supported health care must include: opposition to abortion, contraception, sterilization, human embryonic stem cell therapy, euthanasia and assisted suicide. Judie Brown, president of American Life League, the country's largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization, said the ad addressed a critical question from the nation's lay Catholic faithful: Why are the bishops largely remaining silent in opposition to the deadly provisions contained in Obamacare proposals?
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Human Life International president Rev. Tom Euteneuer has fired back at Politics Daily writer David Gibson for his column disparaging the pro-life leadership of Scranton's former bishop, Joseph Martino, following his retirement earlier this week. Euteneuer said that Martino's insistence upon fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and his subsequent early retirement, symbolized if anything that "the battle for orthodoxy is literally ferocious in today's Church, and it will be the dividing point between the sheep and the goats." Martino, 63, announced Monday that he would leave his post because of "crippling" insomnia and fatigue caused by stress over the lack of "a clear consensus" among members of his diocese on his initiatives.
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For suddenly departing politicians and CEOs, the standard line is to "spend time with family." Now the Catholic Church may have its own version of this unconvincing, stock answer. On Aug. 31, Joseph Martino, the controversial bishop from Scranton, Pa., stunned longtime church watchers by announcing that he was resigning his post because of problems with insomnia and fatigue. The Catholic leader, who has gained national prominence for his outspoken pro-life advocacy and aggressive criticism of pro-choice Democratic politicians, is still more than a decade away from reaching the church's automatic retirement age of 75. Martino's abrupt resignation, along with the fact that he was not reassigned to another position within the church, has some church insiders suggesting that the highly unusual move was far from voluntary - and quite possibly the work of a Vatican that has been decidedly less openly critical of the Obama Administration.
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The latest prelate who flunked the test between standing up to a powerful media-centric Irish Democratic family and doing was is right, issued a statement yesterday trying to justify himself. Like a few other prelates and so-called princes of the Church, Sean Cardinal O'Malley thinks he can bluff us, aided by the pro-abortion Boston Globe with ran his statement approvingly. Given Ted Kennedy's long hostility to supporting the cause of life...his support of the horrendous partial birth abortion procedure...and his advocacy of gay rights and embryonic stem cell "research"-and given the precedents the Church is supposed to follow about burying publicly unrepentant heretics-O'Malley, like some other archbishops who seek to justify their pragmatism, issued a statement on his blog full of parsing-parsing-parsing which has become the strategy of choice for evasive clerical apologists when their spines turn to spaghetti when confronted by political power, liberal media and big dough-in the case of the powerful Kennedys all three.
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Cardinal O'Malley posted a blog entry September 2nd "explaining" his involvement in the Kennedy funeral. It begs the question. People were not so much concerned about his presence, but about a public showcase funeral being allowed for a man who "obstinately persist[ed] in manifest grave sin" (Canon 915) who never publicly repented. With help from a prince of the Church, Ted Kennedy was allowed to scandalize to the end. Sadly, Cardinal O'Malley shifted the argument to an ad hominem attack on those who criticized the event. At times, even in the Church, zeal can lead people to issue harsh judgments and impute the worst motives to one another. These attitudes and practices do irreparable damage to the communion of the Church. If any cause is motivated by judgment, anger or vindictiveness, it will be doomed to marginalization and failure.
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The old Catholic Manual of Prayers for the use of the Catholic Laity says one can aid and abet sin in nine ways. No 8 on the list is this: "by silence." That same manual teaches that one of the seven spiritual works of mercy is to admonish the sinner." Once upon a time, performing the spiritual works of mercy was considered a duty, especially for Catholic priests and bishops. As the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia explains it, "That there is, upon occasion and with due regard to circumstances, an obligation to administer fraternal correction there can be no doubt. ... Given a sufficiently grave condition of spiritual distress calling for succor in this way, this commandment may exact fulfillment under pain of mortal sin." Again, Kennedy was buried in the Church. We shouldn't presume to know what happened in his last few days and whether he died in the good graces of the Church. But neither can we exonerate American prelates of naked cowardice in permitting Kennedy to bring shame upon his family and the Church for 40 years with no apparent correction. They, not he, will answer for this mortal sin of omission.
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The funeral of Sen. Edward Kennedy gave us all the opportunity to see up close once again the political malleability and human failings of the Roman Catholic church (which I passionately love and believe in). It was Robert Novak who told me that upon studying the Church he was convinced it is, in fact, identical with what the ancient Fathers said: born from the side of the Savior on the cross like a new Eve. Having founded the Church with his blood, Christ immeasurably strengthened it on Pentecost and inspired it with a sense of mission to preach the gospel to all nations... That assurance doesn't exempt me from criticizing-where deserved--the often very human vessels which serve as ostensibly supportive auxiliary shepherds to Jesus Christ. What bothers me most is this: There are Catholics who confuse the often weak auxiliary shepherds with Christ Himself and thereby regard it as heresy if any criticism were to come to them. They develop a sycophantic state of mind, cherishing the sight of miter and crosier, wishing with their trembling fingers to touch the hem of the embroidered gold-threaded vestments as political hangers-on do to shake hands with and ingratiate themselves with high government officials.
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At the gravesite of Senator Edward Kennedy on Saturday, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Washington, shared a private letter that the deceased Senator wrote to the Pope. The Cardinal also read what he described as a response from the Pontiff. This marvelous bit of political theatre (as so much of Senator Kennedy's funeral was), should not escape attention. That moment in particular revealed a great deal. First of all, it must be recalled that Cardinal McCarrick has a rather unfortunate history involving the delivery of letters, particularly those from a certain Vatican official by the name of Ratzinger. In 2004, when the Bishops of the US were anguishing over whether to allow communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion laws, Cardinal McCarrick concealed a letter from his brother bishops. The missive was from the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then Cardinal (now Pope) Joseph Ratzinger.
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a Web page promoting its support of "truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity." The page, www.usccb.org/healthcare, includes letters from bishops to Congress, videos, facts and statistics, frequently asked questions, and links for contacting members of Congress. Letters to Congress include an August 11 letter by Cardinal Justin Rigali, the bishops' Pro-Life chairman, criticizing abortion provisions in the House version of health care legislation and a July 17 letter from Bishop William Murphy, the bishops' Domestic Social Justice chairman, outlining the bishops concerns and priorities for health care reform as a whole.
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As members of Congress head home for their August recess, we now have a better picture of where everyone stands on health care reform. While the U.S. bishops support genuine health care reform, there is a clear line in the sand between our bishops and some congressional leaders. On July 17, Bishop William Murphy, Chairman of the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, wrote to Congress saying: "The USCCB looks forward to working with you to reform health care successfully in a manner that offers accessible, affordable and quality health care that protects and respects the life and dignity of all people from conception until natural death." Then Bishop Murphy drew a line, declaring that "no health care reform plan should compel us or others to pay for the destruction of human life, whether through government funding or mandatory coverage of abortion." (CCI NOTES: It remains to be seen whether there we EVER be any consequences to pro-abortion 'catholic' pols who ratify pro-abortion bills with impunity.)
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"Genuine health care reform that protects the life and dignity of all is a moral imperative and a vital national obligation," said Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., as he outlined the policy priorities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the issue of health care in a July 17 letter to Congress. The letter supported efforts to pass health care reform, but warned against inclusion of abortion. Writing on behalf of the bishops as chairman of their Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Bishop Murphy said the bishops have advocated comprehensive health care reform for decades and recommended four criteria for fair and just health care reform: respect for human life and dignity, access for all, pluralism and equitable costs.
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"In recent years, the place of the tabernacle in our churches has become a source of controversy. This should not be. The Eucharist, whether we are referring to its celebration or to the place of reservation, should always be a means of unity and communion, and never of division. The place of the tabernacle in our church should reflect our faith in the real presence of Christ, and should always be guided by church documents. My experience is that our people, with their instinct of faith, have always desired that the tabernacle be central and visible. They find it confusing when the tabernacle in their churches is not visible, and if possible, central."
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The increasing number of Catholics who have been calling for the Vatican to exert more influence on the Catholic Church in the U.S. are about to get their wish. No sooner had the ink dried on our May 2009 New Oxford Note "Song of the Boo-Birds" about the now-underway apostolic visitation of U.S. women's religious orders that it was announced that the Holy See is preparing an additional investigation of consecrated women in the U.S. As detailed in that New Oxford Note, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) was directed by Pope Benedict XVI to "look into the quality of life" at the general and provincial houses and centers of initial formation of women religious in the U.S. This visitation, led by the Rev. Mother Mary Claire Millea, will take an estimated two years to complete.
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. has backed off his plan to investigate wrongdoing by the liberal activist group ACORN, saying "powers that be" put the kibosh on the idea. Mr. Conyers, Michigan Democrat, earlier bucked his party leaders by calling for hearings on accusations the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) has committed crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style "protection" racket. "The powers that be decided against it," Mr. Conyers told The Washington Times. The chairman declined to elaborate, shrugging off questions about who told him how to run his committee and give the Democrat-allied group a pass.
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Since 2003, American Life League has taken out a full-page ad in USA Today, to send a message to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at its annual spring three-day conference. The ads call on the bishops to obey Canon 915 by denying Holy Communion to pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians and other public figures. This year's ad, titled "A Message of Salvation for the Shepherds of the Catholic Church," displays a 3-D ultrasound image of a preborn baby next to a quote from the Gospel of Matthew: "Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me." The ad can be viewed here: http://www.all.org/pdf/LeastOfTheseAdUSAtoday.pdf.
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During their spring General Assembly, June 17-19, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed their solidarity for Bishop John M. D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., in particular for his care and concern for the University of Notre Dame, which resides in his diocese. The bishops made this show of support during executive session, but released the following statement: "The bishops of the United States express our appreciation and support for our brother bishop, the Most Reverend John D'Arcy. We affirm his pastoral concern for Notre Dame University, his solicitude for its Catholic identity, and his loving care for all those the Lord has given him to sanctify, to teach and to shepherd."
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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is meeting this week in San Antonio, today called for immigration reform. The statement from Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, who is the president of the bishops' conference: "On behalf of the United States Catholic Bishops, gathered in San Antonio, Texas, at our annual spring meeting, I would ask President Barack Obama and congressional leaders of both parties to work together to fashion and enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation before the end of the year. It has been clear for years that the United States immigration system requires repair and that reform legislation should not be delayed.
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Two bishops questioned on the U.S. prelates' response to the Notre Dame scandal have suggested that the correct attitude to pro-abortion politicans at Catholic universities is unclear, and agreed with University president Fr. John Jenkins' emphasis on the paramount need for "dialogue." Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry of Los Angeles told John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter during the USCCB's spring meeting that he suspected the bishops would bring up the unprecedented controversy that stemmed from the University of Notre Dame's invitation of President Obama to offer the commencement speech and receive an honorary degree May 17. Over 360,000 petitioning individuals and 80 active U.S. bishops opposed the event, which was boycotted by Notre Dame's own Bishop John D'Arcy.
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Saying the immigration crisis is "a test of our humanity," Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput on Saturday told an open forum on immigration reform that Catholics must not ignore immigrants in need and cannot remain silent about flawed immigration policy. He also noted that Catholics' commitment to the immigrant arises from the same source as Catholics' commitment to the unborn. The archbishop spoke at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in the Denver suburb of Northglenn on Saturday afternoon. He was joined by Congressmen Jared Polis (D-CO) and Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL). Archbishop Chaput opened with a prayer asking God to help man "build a culture of life" and to "live the Gospel."
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There are one million more Catholics in the United States than the previous year, the 2009 Official Catholic Directory statistics indicate. A press release from the U.S. Catholic bishops' conference affirmed Wednesday that the total number of Catholics in the country equals 68,115,001, or 22% of the population. The directory, compiled from information collected from the dioceses, notes 41,489 priests in the country, both diocesan and religious. The 189 seminaries nationwide are training 4,973 students.
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Dear friends, Thank you for coming together for this second annual Gospel of Life Convention, co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. It is a privilege to welcome you and greet you this morning. I am grateful for the encouragement of your presence and - as a Bishop it is my solemn and joyful duty to do all I can to fortify you in your own faith. But as I speak a word of encouragement today I also want to tell you soberly, dear friends, "We are at war!"... Our battle is ultimately a spiritual battle for the eternal salvation of souls - our own and those of other people. We are not engaged in physical battles in the same way military soldiers defend with material weapons. We need not - we must not - initiate violence against other persons to accomplish something good, even something as significant as the protection of human life.
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The prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature issued an apology to his fellow U.S. bishops March 26 for how comments he made in a videotaped interview were used. The videotape was released to the press in Washington a day earlier by anti-abortion activist Randall Terry. In the videotaped interview, U.S. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke told Mr. Terry that bishops, priests, deacons and extraordinary ministers of holy Communion should refuse Communion to Catholic politicians who insist on supporting legislation to keep abortion legal, and said U.S. President Barack Obama "could be an agent of death."
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There are reportedly 67.1 million Catholics in the U.S., according to The Official Catholic Directory 2008. Compared to the 2007 number of 67.5, that's about a 400,000 decrease in one year. And the Pew Forum found that approximately a third of its survey respondents who were raised in the Roman Catholic Church no longer attend the church. What drove the decision to close parishes in Cleveland were population shifts to outlying areas, financial strains that have 42 percent of parishes "operating in the red" and priest shortages, diocese spokesman Robert Tayek explained. The bishop, he said, is trying to find "an equitable solution." But the announcement has raised many questions. Among them: What happens to the struggling neighborhoods that have come to rely on outreach and programs offered by some of these inner-city parishes?
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Charles Chaput has become one of the most outspoken advocates for American Catholics in the last few years, but now he trains his rhetorical and teaching skills on the church itself and its members. Chaput decries the state of Catholic education that has allowed people to fundamentally misunderstand their own faith, and scolds the church for allowing itself to become more concerned with membership than truth. The consequences of the failure can be seen all around us, Chaput says: Having been asked to examine what November 2008 and its aftermath can teach Catholics about American culture, the state of American Catholicism and the kind of Pauline discipleship necessary today, Archbishop Chaput said:"November showed us that 40 years of American Catholic complacency and poor formation are bearing exactly the fruit we should have expected. Or to put it more discreetly, the November elections confirmed a trend, rather than created a new moment, in American culture."
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Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput delivered a speech on Saturday reflecting on the significance of the November 2008 election. Warning that media "narratives" should not obscure truth, he blamed the indifference and complacency of many U.S. Catholics for the country's failures on abortion, poverty and immigration issues. He also advised Catholics to "master the language of popular culture" and to refuse to be afraid, saying "fear is the disease of our age." The archbishop's comments were delivered in his keynote address at the Hands-On Conference Celebrating the Year of St. Paul, which was hosted at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
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Randall Terry, Operation Rescue Founder, led a delegation of nine pro-life leaders in an unprecedented series of meetings with Vatican officials from March 2-6 in Rome. (Names below.) The reactions ranged from shock to heartfelt agreement. The purpose was to beg Vatican officials to intervene decisively in the American Catholic Church. Vatican officials were presented with irrefutable evidence that a majority of US bishops refuse to uphold key teachings of the Church.
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Seven U.S. bishops have joined the Catholic Leadership Institute's Episcopal Advisory Board, the institute announced on Thursday. The Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) aims to train people in leadership skills to help them become Catholic leaders and Christian witnesses in their families, workplaces, communities and Church. According to a press release from the Institute, The new board members include Archbishop of Boston Seán Cardinal O'Malley, Bishop of Austin Gregory M. Aymond, Bishop of Orlando, Florida Thomas Wenski, and Bishop of Pittsburgh David Zubik. Other new board members are Bishop of Springfield, Illinois George Lucas, Bishop of Sacramento Jaime Soto, and Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia Daniel Thomas.
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Recently, a Charleston Catholic diocesan pastor, Father Jay Scott Newman, JCL, wrote a column to his flock which he published within his November 9, 2008 St. Mary's Catholic parish bulletin. [1] In it, Fr. Newman advised: "Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ's Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation." Everyone who is in good standing with the Catholic Faith would automatically agree with Father's statement and applaud his pastoral action. And they should. Fr. Newman holds graduate degrees in Sacred Theology and Canon Law and knows whereof he speaks. [2]
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Several pro-life groups held a candlelight vigil Nov. 11 near the Baltimore hotel where the U.S. bishops were conducting their fall general assembly, protesting statements made by some Catholic leaders who called the victorious campaign of President-elect Barack Obama a step forward in stamping out racism. About 25 candle-holding activists braved the cold night air along Baltimore's waterfront to tell the bishops that Obama's support for legal abortion was more critical than any other qualities he might bring to the presidency. They also called on the bishops to use their political clout in an effort to outlaw abortion in the U.S., shut down Planned Parenthood and rid all American schools of sex education.
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We meet amidst enormous challenges to our Church, our country and our ministry, but that is, to some extent, always the case. Sometimes I've been tempted to think that bishops should be given, at their consecration, not crosiers but mops! What we are given before the crosier, if you recall, is the Word of God in written form, held above our head so that it may permeate our spirit. With you, I pray that all the topics we consider in our meeting now and all we do in the difficult days to come will be done together in the charity of Christ, who is the source of our unity and our strength. In so governing, in calling all to join us in listening to the incarnate Word of God from within his body, the Church, what we do now will have consequences for eternity; and we will be good shepherds to our people, good servants in our society and good disciples of Our Lord.
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In a few days, the American bishops of the Catholic Church will be holding their annual fall meeting in Baltimore. High on the agenda is how Catholic bishops can better communicate Catholic teaching on social justice both in the Church and in the public square. It is understood that the priority issue of social justice is the protection of innocent human life-from the entrance gates of life to the exit gates, and at every step along life's way. The most massive and brutal violation of justice is the killing of millions of children in the womb. In recent months, an unusually large number of bishops have been assertive, articulate, and even bold, in their public affirmation of the demands of moral reason and the Church's teaching. Some estimate the number of such bishops to be over a hundred. Critics of these bishops, including Catholic fronts for the Obama campaign, claim that bishops have only spoken out because prominent Democrats stepped on their toes by egregiously misrepresenting Catholic teaching. Why only? It is the most particular duty of bishops to see that the authentic teaching of the Church is safeguarded and honestly communicated.
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There must be a lot of disappointed Catholic bishops this morning -- dozens of them issued statements over the last few weeks suggesting that abortion should be the primary issue for Catholic voters, and yet it appears that a majority of Catholic voters opted for the abortion-rights supporting candidate in the race, Barack Obama, and helped him win the presidency. Obama's running mate, Joseph Biden, will become the first Catholic vice-president, but he, too, is a supporter of abortion rights. The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, last night e-mailed his analysis, saying, "Catholic voters ignored the instructions of a group of vocal bishops and delivered 54% of their vote for Barack Obama as president of the United States." He cited a number of factors -- the importance of the economy, the endorsement of Obama by a few highly visible anti-abortion lay Catholic intellectuals, the presence of Biden on the Democratic ticket, and Obama's support for abortion reduction..."
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There's a new wind blowing in the college of bishops, and it's strong and courageous, says the director of Human Life International. Father Thomas Euteneuer drew attention to the more than 50 bishops who have issued pro-life voting guidelines in this election year in his weekly newsletter, published Friday. "Faithful Catholics in the United States have been both stunned and gratified by the recent show of episcopal strength in dealing with the heretical nonsense of 'Catholics' in public life who clearly misrepresent the Church's teaching on vital issues," he said. "The trend is truly heartening. Let's pray that it continues." Father Euteneuer made special mention in his letter of two California bishops: Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, and Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Diego.
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The leading Catholic official in New York is coming down hard on Fordham University officials for bestowing an award on pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. A protest against the Catholic college began earlier this month and saw more than 1,100 Fordham University alumni and students upset. Fordham is scheduled to present its Fordham-Stein Ethics Prize to Justice Breyer at a dinner in New York City on Wednesday. In addition to the thousands from the Fordham community who have complained, a spokesman for the New York Archdiocese says Cardinal Edward Egan was upset to learn Breyer would get an award.
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With only days remaining before the November 4 U.S. election, a tally has shown that over a quarter of America's bishops have published articles, issued statements or given interviews where they have declared that the most important issue for voters in their choice of a new president is the candidate's stance on abortion. The tally was put together by well-known Catholic journalist and blogger Rocco Palmo, and published in The Tablet, a Catholic periodical (See Rocco's article here: http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/12189). Catholics across the nation have taken the message pro-life to heart, as their pastors have repeatedly called on them to make the right to life the defining issue and to vote accordingly.
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Both opposing evil and doing good are moral requirements in the abortion issue, and the "Catholic approach" does not allow for choosing just one or the other, clarified two U.S. bishops' officials. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, respectively the chair of the episcopal conference's Committee on Pro-Life Activities and the chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, clarified Church teaching on fighting abortion in a Tuesday statement. "Unfortunately, there seem to be efforts and voter education materials designed to persuade Catholics that they need only choose one approach: either opposing evil or doing good. This is not an authentically Catholic approach," the prelates affirmed.
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Almost every day, it seems, another Catholic bishop is reminding his flock which way to vote depending on where the candidate stands on abortion. Here is a link to Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali's Oct. 23 column. "Our role is to teach and form consciences," he said. Obviously the prelates fear a cascade of pro-abortion legislation should Sen. Barack Obama get elected. Also, Paterson, N.J. Bishop Arthur Serratelli wrote on the same day about the Freedom of Choice Act, a draconian piece of legislation codifying Roe vs. Wade that would become law should Mr. Obama be elected. (He has promised to sign it). Then there is this from the bishop of Lansing, Mich. and this from the bishop of Honolulu.
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In a recent interview, Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the diocese of Tucson made some interesting comments that deserve public scrutiny. He discussed the upcoming November Presidential election, as well as the upcoming November United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' plenary meeting. It is clear the bishop confuses the already confused Catholic reader. LifeSite.com recently wrote: "Bishop Gerald Kicanas is among that cadre of US bishops who is himself well liked in Democrat and liberal Catholic communities for his vocal support for left wing and "progressive" peace and justice issues. Bishop Kicanas was praised by the aggressively abortion-supporting Governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, for his 'softer' approach to pro-abortion politicians using Catholic venues to publicize their positions."
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Bishop Robert Morlino rarely criticizes politicians by name from his pulpit in Madison, Wis., but he was "worked up" about what he saw on an episode of NBC's "Meet the Press" in early September. Sen. Joe Biden, a Catholic Democrat, had explained why he opposes outlawing abortion and said there is a "debate in our church" on the issue, citing St. Thomas Aquinas for support. Two weeks earlier, on the same program, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made similar comments and cited St. Augustine. Morlino said he was forced to respond. "Sen. Biden and Speaker Pelosi are Catholics ... and they're violating the separation of church and state by confusing people I have an obligation to teach," the bishop said in his homily at St. Patrick's Church. "They're stepping on the pope's turf - and mine."
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Roman Catholics in the Diocese of Scranton will hear a political message at all Masses this weekend. The bishop is telling churchgoers that "pro-life" is the most important issue in this election year. Bishop Joseph Martino has a message to be read in all churches in the diocese, telling Catholics voting pro-life is more important than any other political issue. The normal homily will be replaced by the reading of a pro-life letter from the bishop. "This year he's asked that the letter be read at all the Masses because there's been a lot of confusion with people misrepresenting Catholic teaching regarding the life issue," said diocese spokesperson Bill Genello. The bishop's letter coincides with Respect for Life weekend. It tells Catholics that voting against candidates who favor abortion rights must come above all other issues like the economy, Iraq, heathcare and more.
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For nearly forty years, The Wanderer has followed the Catholic Campaign for Human Development's funding of radical, left-wing political organizations, many of them carrying the brand of Saul Alinsky. The Wanderer also covered the first Call to Action conference - the months of "hearings" leading up to it, its orchestrated structure and contrived demands - and our reporters commented on the Alinskyian nature of it, not merely in its tactics but in its outcomes. In hindsight, we can see that organized dissent in the Church was a product of organized parishes, filled with Alinskyian-trained laity. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is responsible for that...
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Today, the Catholic Bishops of Illinois released the statement Our Conscience and Our Vote, to help prepare Catholics for the upcoming election and further participation in the political process. The statement is signed by all the Bishops in the Province of Illinois including Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., as well as Bishops from the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy and the Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago. The statement is consistent with the themes embodied in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, a document published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. However, "the bishops in Illinois wanted to issue a unique statement referencing some challenges specific to Illinois," said Catholic Conference Director, Robert Gilligan.
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During the funding period of 1992-1995, CHD gave significant grants to community organizing efforts that implement many of the organizational techniques recommended by Saul Alinsky. Many community organizations patterned after Alinsky's recommendations recruit their membership either entirely or partially by institution. Included among this class of grantees are four national organizations: the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), Gamaliel, Pacific Institute for Community Organizing (PICO), and Direct Action and Research Training Center (DART). The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) which is also patterned on Alinsky's organizational recommendations, recruits individual members. These five national organizations alone account for approximately 33% of current CHD expenditures annually. For purposes of illustration, it will be useful to note here some aspects of the operation of ACORN and the IAF.
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America's Catholic bishops have a few thoughts on politics, and this year they want to share them directly with the candidates. For the first time in recent memory, leaders of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops have invited the two presidential candidates to meet with them before the election. Neither Republican John McCain nor Democrat Barack Obama have replied to the invitations offered last month, said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the conference. A spokeswoman for the McCain campaign said the senator wants to accept, but does not yet know if such a meeting will fit into his schedule. A spokesman for the Obama campaign could not be reached for comment.
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Since Nancy Pelosi made her outrageous comments on national TV, there has been a growing list of Bishops that have written to their dioceses in correction of her obvious and scandalous errors. Here is the complete list of American bishops who have responded to Nancy Pelosi's misguided and utterly incorrect comments so far...
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In an interview with Bob Krebs, the Communications Director for the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, to which Senator Joseph Biden belongs, Krebs confirmed that Biden's Bishop will not permit the Senator even if elected Vice President of the United States of America to speak at Catholic schools. When asked for the Bishop's take on Senator Biden and his stand in favor of abortion, Krebs directed LifeSiteNews.com to Bishop Michael Saltarelli's 2004 statement on 'Catholics in Political Life' which, said Krebs, "very plainly states Bishop's position in this matter." In that document Bishop Saltarelli notes that, in line with the US Bishops Conference policy, "Our Catholic institutions will not honor Catholic politicians who take pro-abortion legislative positions or invite them to speak at our functions or schools."
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Who is going to pay all those bonds when they are due? You, your children and grandchildren. Debt service, i. e., the repaying of the bonds runs about 19% of the Federal budget each year. It will increase as the larger deficit bonds come due. This is like you paying 19% of your income on paying off your credit cards, but the amount you borrow each year increases. So if you net $30,000 per year, you are then paying $5,700 to credit cards with no end in sight. This also means that you buy substantially more than $30,000 in stuff each year. If this in very imprudent for a citizen, why should it be permissible for the government to do it?
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Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, announced Aug. 23 as Sen. Barack Obama's choice as his running mate for the White House, puts on the Democratic ticket a Catholic who supports legal abortion but on other issues has been an ally for the church's public policy interests. Biden, 65, has come in for his share of conflicts with some in the church over his legislative support for keeping abortion legal. The National Right to Life Committee gives him a rating of 0 for his positions on select issues, including federal abortion funding and stem cell research as well as some relating to lobbying by groups like the National Right to Life Committee. But he's no darling of the "pro-choice" view, either, earning a score of 36 percent from NARAL Pro-Choice America for his votes on their select issues. Obama has a score of 100 percent from NARAL. (CCI NOTES: Biden has a 0% rating from pro-life groups. Why would a USCCB news report ignore those ratings, and instead post NARAL's? For a look at Sen. Biden's voting record on Catholic issus CLICK HERE)
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The Democrat National Convention of the pro-abortion party of the United States will take place within the Archdiocese of Denver from Saturday, August 23, with the official Welcoming Celebration, through Friday, August 29, 2008. More than 50,000 persons, including Democrat Party elected politicians, party members, delegates, and media, are expected for the weeklong event at various venues throughout the city. Many of these visiting folks will be pro-abortion Catholics - or Catholics in name only. Ironically, the 'Freedom from Religion Foundation' is posting a billboard near the Convention Center that says, 'Keep Religion Out of Politics.' Many are wondering if Archbishop Charles Chaput of the Archdiocese of Denver is prepared spiritually to take advantage of such a momentous teaching moment? Here's why....
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CCI NOTES: This exchange between writer Robert Kumpel and Monsignor John Brenkle, pastor of St. Helena Catholic Church is simply incredible. Kumpel's parish is frequented by none other than outspoken abortion and homosexual rights "Catholic" Congr. Nancy Peolosi. We've reported on many occassions about the complete breakdown in discipline in the clergy and American Catholic Church hierarchy. This is yet another example. With priests like this - and the Bishops who allow them to thrive - is it any wonder "Catholics" have voting for pro-abortion politicians in droves? Read this and say a Rosary for the American Catholic Church...
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The Times' handling of the very delicate and complex challenge of voting also failed to represent the full scope of the Bishops' instructions. The statement goes into great detail to emphasize that not all issues carry the same moral weight, and that "opposing intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on our consciences and our actions" (Section 37). The document further cautions against the "moral equivalence that makes no ethical distinctions between different kinds of issues involving human life and dignity. The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed" (Section 28).
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On November 14, 2007, the USCCB let loose with "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility.." It can be read here. It is horrible. Read sections 25-29, and see how things go downhill at section 29. Section 29 appears to be a sanctimonious screed designed to scold those who focus on the life issues, as Pope John Paul II exhorted us to do in Evangelium Vitae. At section 42, we see displayed the confused (and perhaps dissident) thinking of powers-that-be at the USCCB. It proclaims that "as Catholics we are not single issue voters". Oh yes we are, if that single issue involves the right to life. It gets worse when it states that "yet a candidate's position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil , such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support." Notice what is in italics. That is prima facae evidence that some at the USCCB hold racism and abortion to be of equal weight. Granted, they are both evil, but the horrors of abortion far outweigh those of racism.
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Weighing each candidate's view on the entire spectrum of social issues -- including the war in Iraq, health care, housing, the plight of immigrants, as well as abortion -- is in. "This is the most prickly point," said the Rev. Ronald J. Cioffi, director of the Office of Social Concerns for the Diocese of Trenton. "You may vote for a person who is pro-choice if you feel you have a moral reason to support the candidate for his stand on other issues." This is a change from four years ago, said Cioffi, who noted some Catholics believed former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry shouldn't take Communion because of his abortion rights stand.
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CCI NOTES: On June 17th, 2008 the USCCB released a statement praising Tim Russert 4 days after his death (Mr. Russert passed away on June 13th). Today is July 18th, 6 days after the passing of Tony Snow on July 12th. There is still has been no statement issued by the USCCB Office of Media Relations on the death of this praiseworthy journalist and witness to Catholicism. For an inspiring essay on death and dying written by Tony Snow and obviously animated by his faith in God as a Roman Catholic, CLICK HERE
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The nation's Catholic bishops have rejected a new translation of Mass prayers, a rare instance of U.S. prelates denying a Vatican-ordered liturgical change. While ballots are still coming in, it's clear they won't add up to the 166 needed to pass the new translation, said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A two-thirds majority of the USCCB's Latin rite bishops is required for approval. Walsh said she could not recall another instance in which the U.S. bishops have rejected a full document of Vatican translations, though they have at times tinkered with individual phrases and words.
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Every priest in the Diocese of Arlington knows of Father James Haley. And the Rev. Joseph Clark. What both priests have in common is that their careers have been destroyed by one man - Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde. Bishop Loverde was not amused when, starting in 1999, Father Haley began supplying him with names of adulterous priests, homosexual clergy and priests with a predilection for child porn. Instead of immediately removing these clergymen, the bishop on Oct. 23, 2001, gave Father Haley four hours to move out of his rectory and suspended him from all priestly functions.
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At their meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 12-13, the U.S. bishops failed to approve or reject a new translation into English of the Roman Missal. A two-thirds (166 vote) majority of all 250 U.S. Latin rite bishops was necessary to approve the translation; but only 178 bishops were present for the meeting, and the "yes" votes fell short of the two-thirds margin. To settle the matter of the approval of the new translation, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, the conference's president, announced that the absent bishops will receive ballots by mail.
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Today the U.S. bishops are gathering to discuss current issues relating to the American Catholic Church at the spring meeting of the United States Conference of Bishops. In addition, CARA, a Georgetown-based research center will present findings from its study, "Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice Among U.S. Catholics." Over the course of their two day meeting in Orlando, the bishops will discuss a variety of pertinent topics to the American Catholic Church such as embryonic stem cell research, updates on the sexual abuse scandal, and the new translation of the Proper of the Seasons of the Roman Missal.
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Perhaps it was a bad omen when at the installation Mass for the new Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl last June, pro-abortion Democratic Senator John Kerry was given Holy Communion and caught on camera in the act. During the entrance procession, Archbishop Wuerl shook hands with Kerry and Senator Ted Kennedy. (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062605.html) Now, Archbishop Wuerl, who replaced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, has said publicly that he would not discipline or direct priests to deny communion to pro-abortion Catholic politician Nancy Pelosi who was just made speaker of the House of Representatives.
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The international aid organisation of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has come under scrutiny for its policies on giving "full and accurate" information on the correct uses of condoms for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. In December 2007, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) issued its policy paper for affiliated organisations on the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV in which, according to a prominent Catholic moral theologian, it tacitly encourages the use of condoms. CRS draws a fine line between "promoting" condoms and "giving information" about them. The document says, "Promoting condoms means suggesting, encouraging or urging people to use a condom during sexual intercourse to prevent HIV transmission; providing full and accurate information means giving the fact [sic] about condom use including the benefits, risks and failure rates."
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Brian Rooney, attorney and spokesman for the Thomas More Law Center (which crafted the language of the bill), testified at the hearings; he told me that he was very concerned about the impact of the bishops' opposition. "It's one thing not to support it, and another to oppose it. I think this is going to weaken and divide Georgia's pro-life community and harm, especially, the relationship between Catholics and Evangelicals." Sitting next to Rooney in the hearing was the president of the Georgia Baptist Convention, who also testified in favor of the amendment. Evangelicals who had worked together with Catholics in the pro-life movement for decades could not understand why these two Catholic bishops would not support their effort to overturn Roe v. Wade through a constitutional amendment.
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The two Catholic bishops of the state of Georgia have refused to support efforts to implement a "human life" amendment to the state constitution. Supporters of the effort, however, say that a constitutional amendment would protect the unborn, the disabled, the elderly and vulnerable patients and "guarantee their constitutional right to life" and offer a step towards overturning Roe v. Wade. "We do not support the passage of [House Resolution] 536" said a written statement signed by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, Archdiocese of Atlanta and Bishop J. Kevin Boland, Diocese of Savannah. The bishops continue, "We have come to the conclusion that the approach taken by HR 536 to amend the state constitution does not provide a realistic opportunity for ending or reducing abortion in Georgia."
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#5 Roman Catholic bishops agree to allow emergency contraception to be offered to rape victims at Catholic hospitals
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In late September every year for the past 24 years, the city of San Francisco has been host to the Folsom Street Fair. Darryl Flick, the President of Folsom Street Events, calls the Fair 'the 'granddaddy of leather' extravaganzas' (San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 26, 2005). The Folsom Street Fair is essentially the public displaying of some of the most deviant and grotesque aspects of homosexuality, featuring not only 'leather-clad minions,' but also 'fully nude street revelers,' 'dominants and submissives,' and 'the usual enthusiasts in San Francisco's leather-clad S&M [sadomasochist] and gay community....' The Fair 'receives the full support of the city.' The Castro Street Fair takes place in San Francisco's notorious Castro District (long known as the world's 'gay mecca'), usually within a week or two of the Folsom Street Fair, and features much of the same cast of misfits. The Castro Street Fair, which was founded by 'gay' icon Harvey Milk as a political statement for 'gay' rights, is also sanctioned by the city. This year, the 34th annual Castro Street Fair took place on Sunday, October 7.
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At a "hospitality suite" hosted by the Catholic Media Coalition at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, where the U.S. bishops held their plenary meeting, Bishop Robert Vasa gave an update on the educational program he is developing to assist parents in raising and protecting their children. The Catholic Media Coalition, a coalition of orthodox lay activists and independent journalists from across the country, were at the bishops' meeting distributing cards to the bishops, urging them to spread devotion to Our Lady of America, enforce Canon Law 915, along the lines proposed by St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke concerning the reception of Communion by pro-abortion politicians, and reject the adminstration of the Plan B abortifacient in Catholic hospitals.
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On Thursday the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released their document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. The document on political responsibility has been in the works for many months and was heavily debated at the bishops annual meeting in Baltimore this week. LifeSiteNews thought it appropriate to interview Judy Brown, head of the American Life League for her response to the Forming Consciences. Brown has been the most vocal US pro-life leader encouraging the Catholic bishops to end the many years long scandal of prominent, actively pro-abortion and pro-homosexual Catholic politicians consistently being welcomed to receive communion at Catholic masses. Brown had hoped that at this most recent meeting the bishops would finally take a firm stand to honor Church law on this issue as required by Canon Law 915 and that they would follow the specific direction given by Pope Benedict, Canon law expert Archbishop Burke and other Church authorities to deny the sacraments to these public figures.
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Proclaiming a sense of new energy and empowerment, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops on Wednesday issued instructions to Catholic voters that their eternal salvation could be at stake when they cast ballots. Bishops emphasized that voters must consider the church's teachings on abortion and other moral issues when they select a candidate for the White House or any other office. If they don't, bishops said, it's not clergy who will judge them but God. "It is important to be clear that the political choices faced by citizens have an impact on general peace and prosperity and also the individual's salvation," the bishops said in the document, titled "Faithful Citizenship." "Similarly, the kinds of laws and policies supported by public officials affect their spiritual well-being."
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When the nation's Roman Catholic bishops gather this week in Baltimore, they will likely elect Chicago's archbishop, Cardinal Francis George, to provide the voice for the church in America. Former presidents of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have led the group to speak out to the nation on topics as far-ranging as nuclear war and abortion, while representing rank-and-file American clergy at the Vatican. But George, 70, is poised to become president of the bishops' conference at a precarious time. Massive budget and staff cutbacks have diminished the group's influence, even as it struggles to regain credibility amid the continuing sexual abuse crisis.
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Worcester's Catholic bishop, Bishop Robert J. McManus, has issued a frank condemnation of the decision by the local Jesuit-run College of the Holy Cross to rent their facilities for a conference featuring NARAL and Planned Parenthood workshops. Bishop McManus has issued a scathing statement confirming that he has requested that college President, Rev. Michael C. McFarland rescind the invitation based on the conference's fundamental differences with Catholic moral teaching. As previously reported by LifeSiteNews.com, the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy is scheduled to use the conference facilities at the Catholic college for their annual Teen Pregnancy Institute on October 24. The conference schedule includes workshops featuring a Planned Parenthood representative discussing "protection methods" and a similar NARAL update on initiatives to provide teen access to "low-cost, confidential health services and Emergency Contraception." Pro-abortion Governor Patrick Deval will be honored with a leadership award at the conference.
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Kathy Saile, who once gave a speech on promoting liberalism at a conference held by a pro-abortion group, has been named Director of Domestic Policy for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Previous to the appointment, Saile was Associate Director of Public Policy for Lutheran Services in America (USA), an organization that serves the extremely liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), which recently declared that their "clergy" were free to participate in homosexual relationships. In her official capacity as Associate Director of Public Policy for the group, Saile gave a speech at a conference held by the organization "WIN", which describes itself as "Washington's premier professional, political, and social network dedicated to empowering young, Democratic, pro-choice women." The topic of the discussion was "Did the Left Cede Heaven? The Intersection of Faith and Politics."
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The Eucharist is the most important reality for the Catholic Church, and it shouldn't be used as a means of intimidation, Bishop David Zubik said Friday. Zubik, who was installed on Dec. 12 as head of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, will meet with other U.S. bishops Monday in Colorado for their semi-annual meeting. While it is essentially a prayer session that is not open to the media, some business will be discussed, he said. That will include recent calls by some bishops to withhold communion from Catholic politicians who vote against the church's teachings on abortion.
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Pope Benedict XVI has changed the rules for electing a new pope, returning to the traditional requirement that two-thirds of the cardinals in the conclave agree on a candidate, the Vatican said Tuesday. Pope John Paul II had altered the voting process in 1996, allowing the pope to be chosen by an absolute majority if the cardinals were unable to agree after several days of balloting in which a two-thirds majority was needed. In a document released Tuesday, Benedict said he was returning to the traditional voting norm, essentially reversing John Paul's reform of the centuries-old process.
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The fact is that Patrick Kennedy and political opportunists like him want to pose as faithful Catholics while being faithless and the Pope cannot pretend that's acceptable, because it results in sacrilege and public scandal. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Speaking out is not enough. Enforcing canon law is necessary too. Who do you think understands Catholic theology better, Pope Benedict XVI or Ted Kennedy's son, Patrick? The answer should be obvious, even to the Kennedy family... The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.
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The nation's Catholic bishops have responded to the 18 pro-abortion Catholic politicians who issued a statement last week blasting Pope Benedict XVI. The lawmakers took issue with his comments that pro-abortion elected officials have automatically excommunicated themselves and shouldn't receive communion. The bishops said the members of Congress both misrepresented the Pope's remarks and defied freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Sister Mary Ann Walsh, the media director for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, made the comments in a statement emailed to LifeNews.com.
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Roman Catholic Bishop John Nienstedt of New Ulm, Minn., a theological conservative who has taken on Hollywood, stem-cell research and people who make too much noise in church, was named Tuesday to succeed Archbishop Harry Flynn. The announcement by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that Nienstedt, 60, had been named "coadjutor archbishop" ended months of speculation over who would succeed Flynn, who will step down when he turns 75 next year. Flynn, who has been archbishop since 1996, introduced Nienstedt at the archdiocese's chancery in St. Paul. He called Nienstedt "such a capable bishop" and said he had "broad experience that will serve him well."
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Pop singer Sheryl Crow is coming to St. Louis on Saturday to perform at the Fox Theater in a benefit concert for the Bob Costas Cancer Center at Cardinal Glennon Childrens Medical Center. St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who is chairman of the board of governors of the Cardinal Glennon Childrens Foundation (which raises money for the Medical Center), has resigned from the board in protest of Crows participation in this event. Because Crow is an abortion-rights supporter, and because the other members of the board would not accede to his request to cancel her appearance, Burke felt that he could not in good conscience remain on the board.
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Two years into his reign, Pope Benedict XVI is finally poised to make a major mark on American Catholicism with a string of key bishop appointments and important decisions about the future of U.S. seminaries and bishops' involvement in politics. Benedict's election on April 19, 2005, shook liberals and comforted conservatives who expected a doctrinal hard-liner. So far, they have found an easier hand - and someone who has not made the United States much of a priority. When Benedict has gained attention, it has mostly been on the world stage, focusing on the re-Christianization of Europe, Islam and mending relations with Orthodox Christians. He also has stressed universal themes of faith and reason.
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AS: Yes, I just want to ask you, how is it that last year we had Father Timothy Radcliffe asking people to go see Brokeback Mountain and read gay novels and make gay friends, and you were sitting right there. Why would a priest be allowed to say that right on the stage here in the arena during his keynote speech? Mahoney: Well, why are you asking me? Ask him. AS: Well, don't you have anything to say about him telling Catholics to do those things? Mahoney: Well, ask him. AS: Why don't you ask him? You were right there on the stage with him. It's terrible that he did that. It's terrible that a priest would come into this religious education congress and tell people to go see a homosexual movie. Why would you invite somebody to speak that would say that to the faithful?
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Over the last four years American Life League has sought, through advertising, public commentary, personal communications, and other means to invite the Catholic bishops of our nation to enforce a particular Church law that deals with the protection of Christ who is truly present in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. It is our position that (Canon Law 915) should apply to any public figure, whether a television personality, a politician, a Hollywood star or an otherwise well-known individual who claims to be Catholic while at the same time supporting abortion either by vote, public statement or financial support. Thus we have simply asked each bishop, priest, deacon and Eucharistic minister to enforce this church law.
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In an interview with KCBS radio in San Francisco aired Sunday, was asked sensitive questions about communion for pro-abortion politicians, ordination of homosexuals and homosexual adoption. While the Catholic Church's official teachings on the issues are very clear and direct, the Archbishop was described as having taken "great pains to avoid direct answers." The California Daily Catholic, which transcribed portions of the interview, also said that the Archbishop of San Francisco "resisted every opportunity to make a clear statement about what the Church teaches."
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CCI NOTES: On January 20th, CCI reported on the naming of Bishop Thomas Collins in Canada under the headline '"The Pope's Man?" New Archbishop in Toronto Thomas Collins hostile to Opus Dei, opposes Tridentine Masses, and won't interfere with heterodox editors at local Catholic press. With "conservative" bishops like this, who needs liberals?' Our friend Shawn at NLM pointed out that The Globe and Mail article noted the hostilities to tradition were held by the prior cardinal, Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozic. We apologive to Bishop Collins for this mistake, and look forward to seeing the fruits of his orthodoxy and Catholic leadership.
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If anyone wants to see the sad state of the American Catholic Church on the issue of abortion, let him look to the parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Buffalo, where a courageous deacon named Thomas McDonnell stood up for his faith only to be betrayed by precisely those who were supposed to lead him into battle. Instead of receiving complete support, as he deserved, McDonnell was criticized by both Church leadership and enough clueless congregants to make one wonder just what passes for Catholicism in this country... The American Catholic Church is quickly becoming a sea of compromise, appeasement, surrender and even betrayal of core Catholic beliefs and doctrine, like a moral Titanic sinking under the weight of its own ambivalent doctrinal inconsistency and rampant political correctness. It has hit the iceberg of a society's watered-down moral chaos, and is taking on water from all sides.
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Perhaps it was a bad omen when at the installation Mass for the new Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl last June, pro-abortion Democratic Senator John Kerry was given Holy Communion and caught on camera in the act. During the entrance procession, Archbishop Wuerl shook hands with Kerry and Senator Ted Kennedy. (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06062605.html ) Now, Archbishop Wuerl, who replaced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, has said publicly that he would not discipline or direct priests to deny communion to pro-abortion Catholic politician Nancy Pelosi who was just made speaker of the House of Representatives.
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A flash from the Religious News Service today -- stop the presses! Catholic liturgical tsars and tsarinas are angry that for the first time since the Novus Ordo was instituted in the 1960's, the Mass will be translated into English. For those of you who aren't Roman Catholic, the Latin text had been folded, spindled, and mutilated, stretched like bubble gum, amputated here and there, diluted everywhere, phrases lopped off, others twisted out of joint, in general to bring the Father down to earth where he belongs. Italians say that every traduttore is a traditore, meaning that every translator is a traitor; but that treachery can never be laid to the charge of the people who brought us the Novus Ordo in Anguish, because they never really bothered to translate in the first place.
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Pro-abortion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful Catholic in Congress is recasting her image as a Italian Catholic mother, despite her stark defiance of the Catholic Church's teachings opposing abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage. The Speaker publicized well in advance her visits to St. Leo the Great church in Baltimore and attendance of a special Mass at Trinity University offered for victims of hurricane Katrina and of the Darfur genocide, as part of her plan to propel the image of a good Roman Catholic mother and grandmother at home in the Democratic party.
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It was Conway's previous senior management experience at national and international associations, and his ability to leverage new technologies for the benefit of those associations' members, that impressed the search committee, which was given about 40 resumes of potential candidates by an executive search firm it had hired. "We need to understand that our members are in the midst of a seismic shift in how our industry is working, and even how the communications field is working. I've been beating this drum before," said Helen Osman, editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Diocese of Austin, Texas, and chair of the CPA's board of directors.
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Some churches and dioceses rely on clergy who learn on the job. Others tap retirees with business backgrounds or volunteers with varying levels of specialty. That can lead to wasted money. Boston College professor Thomas Groome, who came up with the BC graduate program, recalled the example of a small Southern diocese that greatly overpaid for insurance coverage because it didn't know it could save money by banding with other local dioceses. "The U.S. Catholic community does an estimated $100 billion in business a year," said Mr. Groome, who directs the Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry. "Is this being managed according to the best practices of good management? I don't think anybody would say the answer to that is 'yes.'?"
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Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of the Diocese of Lincoln Nebraska will be the featured speaker at Catholic Citizens Annual Dinner on Thurday, October 19th. Bishop Bruskewitz has become a hero to faithful Catholics around the country for his strong defense of the Catholic Faith, disciplining of dissenters, promotion of vocations and many areas of diocesan life. Tickets are $60 each, or a table of ten for $500. For more information about reservations, CLICK HERE
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The Washington-based group of Roman Catholic bishops urged the fast-food company to work with the Florida agricultural industry and the farmworker advocacy group, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, to reach an agreement similar to the one reached last year with Louisville-based Yum! Brands Inc., the parent of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC fast-food chains, after a four-year boycott.
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No, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops does not have any authority over individual bishops. Only the Bishop of Rome, the pope, has such authority. Bishops' conferences are not law-making nor law enforcement authorities in the Catholic Church. There are, however, a small and limited number of matters about which such conferences have authority in Church Law (such as the vernacular translations of the language of the sacred liturgy), but even in those matters the conferences' actions have no effect without the subsequent approval ("recognitio") of the Holy See, and the conferences must carry out their work in accordance with the directives of the Holy See.
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How many ways do bad bishops punish good priests? Take your pick: exile, silencing, mandatory evaluation at pseudo-psychiatric facilities like St. Luke's, frequent reassignment, making them permanent parochial vicars with no hope of becoming pastors, marginalization, driving them out (to other dioceses or the military vicariate), whispering campaigns that designate them "mentally unstable" or "unfit for ministry," etc. The ultimate punishment, the bishop's sword of Damocles, so to speak, is suspension. It hangs over the head of a good priest who knows his "spiritual father" will use it. How many orthodox priests hear variations of the threat, "You have no idea what I can do to you!" But the good priests do know. They've seen the sword fall on their brothers.
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The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has recommended criminal charges be filed against Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh for failing to timely report evidence of sexual abuse by a Sonoma priest who has since fled the country. "Based upon our investigation, the evidence indicates that this case is worthy of district attorney review," Lt. Dave Edmonds said in a written statement released Friday.
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Once Pope Benedict returns to Vatican City from a trip to his native Germany next month, he faces important decisions that will affect millions of Catholics: how to fill archbishop vacancies in Detroit and Baltimore, where archbishops traditionally become cardinals. New Jersey's Catholics have good reason to follow his decisions: Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, the highest-ranked Catholic clergyman in the state since 2001, is rumored to be the favorite for Detroit's opening.
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Last week the U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved changes to the wording of the Mass that will significantly affect how Roman Catholics pray. Instead of an expected split vote, the bishops deliberated for only 20 minutes before deciding 173-23 in favor of a new English translation of the Latin Order of the Mass.
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Los Angles, CA (LifeNews.com) -- The nation's Catholic bishops ended a long debate about whether pro-abortion politicians who attend a Catholic church should be allowed to receive communion. Referring back to a policy statement it adopted in 2004, the bishops said local bishops will make the decisions in their own diocese about how to handle each case.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The country's most media-hungry bishop couldn't let his retirement get in the way of some last-minute destruction to the Church. As the U.S. Senate rejected a constitutional amendment on June 7 prohibiting homosexual "marriage," Theodore Cardinal McCarrick took to the airwaves to promote homosexual civil unions.
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A Connecticut parish is in uproar this week as a controversy involving two Irish-American priests continues to grow. One priest is under investigation for the alleged large-scale embezzlement of church funds. But some parishioners are also complaining that a second, more junior priest has been punished by the local bishop for his efforts to expose wrongdoing.
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We have always urged obedience to our bishops as they adhere to Vatican rule and always will. Obedience is greater than sacrifice (says the Good Book) -- and we have always held that dear. We urge it for everyone. But these are distressing times, and we are often forced to report unpleasant trends. One of them is what seems like growing dissatisfaction on the part of the faithful with how chanceries are run.
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Bishop J. Peter Sartain of Little Rock, Ark., discusses the challenges ahead May 16 at St. Charles Borromeo Pastoral Center in Romeoville. He is slated to be installed as the bishop of the Joliet Diocese June 27 at the Cathedral of St. Raymond in Joliet.
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Bishop Donald Wuerl of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has been named archbishop of Washington D.C., the Vatican announced this morning. "The decision of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to transfer me to the Archdiocese of Washington is one I embrace in the context of faith in God's providential care," Bishop Wuerl said in a statement this morning.
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Father George Welzbacher, pastor of the Church of Saint Agnes, has issued a statement regarding the unexpected reassignments of both himself and Father Robert Altier. Sometime in mid-June, Father Welzbacher will be leaving Saint Agnes parish at his own request and move to an unspecified location. But the biggest surprise is Archbishop Harry Flynn's shocking decision to remove Father Altier from Saint Agnes and appoint him as assistant chaplain of a nursing home in an outlying district 30 miles southeast of Saint Paul-Minneapolis.
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A revolution is happening in the Kansas City/St. Joseph, Missouri. Bishop Robert Finn was first appointed coadjutor for the diocese in 2004, but on May 24, 2005, he succeeded Bishop Raymond Boland as ordinary. He immediately began making changes in appointments and in budget allocations in a general reshaping of the diocese. Friends who have forwarded the article to me expressed a wish that we could clone more bishops like Bishop Finn. Read on!Perhaps nowhere in America has the transition from a church focused on social engagement and lay empowerment to one more concerned with Catholic identity and evangelization been more dramatic, or in some ways more wrenching, than in the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese since the appointment of Bishop Robert Finn.
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This week was quieter than the previous 10 or 12 weeks, which is not to say that it was a quiet week, but at least it was comparatively quieter. Part of the reason for this was that it was the week of the annual clergy retreat of the diocese and so I spent most of the week at Mount Angel Abbey. This, of course, entailed making the short drive over Santiam Pass in order to get to the monastery but, realistically, that was the only travel for the week.
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As yet, it's no large movement. In no region of North America has it come to dominate. It remains off the table at national bishops' conferences -- at least in open session. But in various parts of the U.S. laymen as well as a number of priests have risen vocally against local ordinaries in a way that if unaddressed could turn ominous. The tone has been startlingly direct in a Church known for a strict pecking order and used to unequivocal obedience.
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Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick said yesterday that he expects to retire soon as archbishop of Washington, a post in which he has been a prolific fundraiser, helped shape the church's response to the sex abuse crisis and taken a nonconfrontational approach to Roman Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.
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The head of the Washington, D.C., Archdiocese on Monday criticized immigration reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives because it would hinder the Catholic Church's ability to help the needy, he said. "The difficulty was that it made all these people who are illegal, criminals," Cardinal Theodore McCarrick told Cybercast News Service at a protest on the National Mall in Washington. "There's a big difference between being illegal and being criminal."
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WASHINGTON, United States, March 31, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S. bishops and the Vatican are discussing disciplinary action against bishops who moved priests accused of child abuse from parish to parish. The bishops have often been criticized for failing to include disciplinary action against bishops who move priests around in their child sex abuse prevention policies. Under church law, however, only the pope can discipline a bishop.
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After Bill Clinton pardoned drug trafficker Carlos Vignali and controversy broke out, James Carville, appearing on Meet the Press in March 2001, sought cover by saying, "I don't know all the facts, but I do know the cardinal of Los Angeles supported this." Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony had written a note to Clinton asking him to consider clemency for the cocaine dealer. But it turned out in the scandalous aftermath that Mahony hadn't even met the felon.
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LINCOLN, April 3, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Patricia O'Donnell Ewers, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection (OCYP), recommended March 30 that the US bishops use "strong fraternal correction" to one of their members who has refused to comply with an annual audit of compliance with national guidelines on sex-abuse programs.
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While it is always necessary to work to reduce the number of abortions by providing alternatives and help to vulnerable parents and children, Catholic teaching calls all Catholics to work actively to restrain, restrict and bring to an end the destruction of unborn human life. As the Church carries out its central responsibility to teach clearly and to help form consciences, and as Catholic legislators seek to act in accord with their own consciences, it is essential to remember that conscience must be consistent with fundamental moral principles. As members of the Church, all Catholics are obliged to shape our consciences in accord with the moral teaching of the Church.
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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A woman has filed a claim that she was sexually abused more than 40 years ago by Bishop William Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops and leader of the Spokane Diocese. Skylstad issued a statement Wednesday categorically denying the accusation, saying he has not violated the vow of celibacy he took 47 years ago.
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HOLYOKE - The St. Patrick's Parade Committee will suspend its long-standing tradition of having the Roman Catholic bishop present its highest award after learning that the honoree supports abortion rights. Thomas J. Ridge, who served from 2001 to 2005 as the nation's first chief of homeland security, still is slated to receive this year's John F. Kennedy Award, which honors someone of Irish heritage for distinguished achievement.
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Not even the Chicago Sun-Times' religion reporter Cathleen Falsani could get from Cardinal Francis George what he and Pope Benedict XVI discussed in a private meeting they had in October -- and Falsani, almost every year, sits down with the Chicago archbishop "for a kind of spiritual-state-of-the-union chat." As usual, said Falsani in a January 16 article, George was discreet. But Cardinal George, it seems, felt no compunction "a few minutes later" when he told Falsani of the American bishops' attempt to stall the Vatican's publication of the instruction that forbids the ordination of men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies."
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We live in an age which places a very strong emphasis on tolerance, mutuality, and acceptance. I have heard repeatedly over the years that "Jesus never judged, condemned or excluded anyone." I wonder if Peter would agree as the words of Jesus, "Get behind me you Satan," rang in his ears. I wonder if the Scribes and the Pharisees would agree as they rankled at being called whitened sepulchers or broods of vipers. I wonder if those who heard Jesus say, "Whoever leads one of these little ones astray, it would be better if he had a millstone tied around his neck and be cast into the sea," nodded approval and said, "He is so tolerant and accepting." This verse is included, virtually verbatim, in each of the three Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke.
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Joliet Diocese Bishop Joseph Imesch said he is "deeply hurt" by Southtown columnist and priest sex abuse victim Tim Placher's assertion that the diocese cannot move beyond its history of sexual abuse with Imesch at the helm. Imesch for years has been attacked by victims' advocates who say he has had a slow and cold-hearted response to dozens of sexual abuse allegations in the diocese. He also transferred several priests accused of sexual abuse to new ministries where they had opportunities to molest more children.
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BAKER Oregon, February 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Robert Vasa, the Catholic bishop of the Oregon diocese of Baker, has written a letter to his diocesan newspaper clearly identifying the so-called "pro-choice" position among Catholics as a "heresy". For decades, many Catholics have argued that "primacy of conscience" allows them to dissent from basic Church teaching, including the right to life, and still consider themselves "good Catholics."
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TORONTO, Canada (The Catholic Register) - If the laity aren't doing their job, bishops have a share of the blame, said Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops President Archbishop Andre Gaumond going into the 34th annual meeting of bishops of the Americas here Feb. 14-15. At the annual, closed door, two-day meeting of bishops from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the combined conferences of Latin American bishops, known as CELAM, and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the bishops discussed three papers concerning the role of the laity.
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DETROIT, Illinois, January 26, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, who is known as an activist for homosexuality in the Church, has handed in his resignation to the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI is expected to announce the resignation today. Bishop Gumbleton resisted mandatory retirement last year when he reached the age of 75, asking to continue on as Auxiliary Bishop to Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida. His request, given to the head of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Giovanni Re, was denied.
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Breaking ranks with his peers, a Roman Catholic bishop called yesterday for state legislatures to temporarily remove the time limits that have prevented many victims of sex abuse from suing the church. In making that extraordinary appeal, Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit also unburdened himself of a secret. As a teenager 60 years ago, he said, he was "inappropriately touched" by a priest.
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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - One of the Vatican's highest officials gave a legal deposition behind closed doors on Monday in the priest sex scandal that prompted the Catholic archdiocese in Portland, Oregon, to declare bankruptcy. William Levada, the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcer, was Archbishop of Portland from 1986-1995, and it is in that capacity he was subpoenaed to provide testimony on sex abuses of children by priests. "We expect to find out what he knows and when he knew it," Michael Morey, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, told reporters as he headed into a deposition by lawyers, which could last all day.
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In multiple interviews the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said that "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" are equivalent to "deep-seated heterosexual" tendencies. Spokane Bishop William S. Skylstad made the remarks to the Washington Post and the Catholic News Service in discussing the recent Vatican instruction that addresses whether or not homosexual men should be ordained.
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November 30, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After last week's leak of the long-awaited Vatican document on homosexuals and the priesthood, LifeSiteNews.com reported that the anticipated ban was prompting dissenters to reveal themselves publicly. Now that the document has been officially released and Vatican officials have clarified that indeed the intention is to bar those with serious and persistent homosexual temptations from ordination, reports are coming in of bishops and other Catholic clergy openly or subtly dissenting. The reaction is further revealing the deep rift that has long been observable between much of the US episcopate and the teachings and disciplines of the Catholic Church.
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A Catholic theologian who opposes Church teaching on divorce and supports creating a betrothal ceremony for cohabitating couples just led a colloquium to assist US bishops with writing a pastoral letter on marriage. The colloquium, which ended yesterday (10/25/05), was sponsored by the US Bishops' Committee on Marriage and Family and hosted by the Center for Marriage and Family at Creighton University in Omaha. It featured theologians and social scientist and had as its theme, "Promoting and Sustaining Marriage as a Community of Life and Love." According to a press release, the colloquium was a "major step" toward developing "a pastoral letter on marriage" and was "intended for the current and incoming members and advisors of the Marriage and Family Committee."
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When the U.S. bishops meet in November, major items on their agenda will include decisions on a statement about lay ecclesial ministry, a new text of Scripture readings for Masses with children and a new statement calling for an end to the use of the death penalty in the United States. The annual fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will be held in Washington Nov. 14-17.
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Fr. Joseph Fessio SJ the next archbishop of San Francisco? Veteran religion writer Gerald Renner reports it as a possibility in the (London) Tablet. It would put Fr. F's fellow Jesuits "on suicide watch," says U. of San Francisco philosophy professor Raymond Dennehy, a Fessio supporter. Fr. F has been a thorn in Jesuits' sides since returning from Europe a born-again conservative in the mold of then theology professor Joseph Ratzinger, who had become his mentor. Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, and he are this/close, as columnists would say.
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Goldman Sachs, the global investment banking firm, and O'Meara, Ferguson and Kearns (OFK), a small advisory company headed by a former seminarian, have targeted the financial power of a potentially huge new player in the securities markets - the nation's 195 Catholic dioceses. It's an ambitious plan aimed at nothing less than "creating a new financial paradigm for the church in the United States," Goldman vice president Kerry Rudy told Bishop Carl Mengeling of Lansing, Mich., in a July 2004 letter.
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Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput's name is being churned in the rumor mill as the next archbishop of Washington, D.C. - and the noise is so loud that even Chaput is acknowledging it. "Every other day I hear it from people who like to speculate," Chaput said Wednesday, calling the buzz 'ecclesiastical gossip.' "I'm very, very happy where I am, and I hope I'm effective here," he said. "I hope I stay here, and that's not posturing." Chaput's name has been floated before - in 2003 as the next archbishop of St. Louis and a year earlier as possible successor to Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston.
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Monsignor Kevin Vann, former pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, has been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to serve as the next bishop of Fort Worth, Texas. "With the help of God, I welcome this," Vann, 54, said in a phone interview from Springfield's Blessed Sacrament Church, where he serves as pastor. "I embrace it as a further call on my life as a priest." Vann will first serve as coadjutor bishop, a helper to current Bishop Joseph P. Delaney. He will take over the diocese when Delaney retires.
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Instead of adopting Pope Benedict XVI's Guidelines on Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion, the USCCB disregarded canon law and issued a fundamentally flawed statement leaving the decision on whether or not to enforce Canon 915 to each bishop to deal with as he chose. So much for uniformity. Unfortunately, the USCCB and many bishops continue to defy canon law instead of to deny the notorious, nominally Catholic pro-abortion politicians.
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The Archbishop of Washington says he's interested in retiring when he turns 75 this summer. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick tells The Washington Times he'll be writing his retirement letter to the pope before his 75th birthday in July. McCarrick says he can think of a "thousand things" to do. Retirement, however, isn't his decision. It's up to the pope.
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Soon after Archbishop Raymond Burke arrived in St. Louis, the new prelate from rural Wisconsin found himself headed toward big-city controversy - this one having to do with voting and sin. He found himself in the spotlight in January last year, when he said he would deny holy Communion to Sen. John Kerry, a Catholic and likely presidential candidate. Then in June, Burke made news by saying it was a grave sin for Catholics to vote for politicians who support abortion rights.
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Readers might wish to print this picture from a recent LA "teen Mass" and caption and send it to one or more Vatican officials with a query as to why this man Roger Mahony is allowed to continue to govern the mega-Archdiocese of Los Angeles. We would suggest sending it to Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Piazza del S. Uffizio 11, 00193 Rome, Italy. To view and print the image click here: MAHONEYDIVA (Seated in middle: Cardinal "Puff Daddy" Mahoney)
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Time was when the poor widow in the pew gave her mite, assured that she was helping someone even more vulnerable than she was. That is no longer true, as the money being given may or may not end up feeding the poor, clothing the naked, etc. Two of the "Catholic" charities sanctioned by the bishops have become circuitous routes leading to unexpected ends. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, as tracked by Stephanie Block in her scholarly article, "Shooting Ourselves in the Feet: How One of the Most Potent Weapons Serving the 'Culture of Death' Lies in the Pockets of Catholic Donors"
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Bishop Patrick J. McGrath presides over the Catholic diocese of San Jose, California, located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. This is, arguably, one of the most liberal areas in the United States. Thus, one would presuppose that a faithful Catholic bishop in this locale would be kept very busy speaking out on the great moral conflicts dividing our country and infecting the spiritual lives of Catholics. The violations of the natural law in this area such as abortion, homosexual "marriage," and the gruesome experimentation on human embryos and aborted babies, including the euphemistically mislabeled "Stem Cell research" are notorious. The local political and media establishments regularly engage in the justification of these evils. Thus, one would believe the bishop of the San Jose diocese would have ample opportunity to publicly exercise his teaching office on these matters. But then comes AMCHURCH...
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(CCI NOTES: We regret that we were not able to 'bliss out' at the LA conference...) "...many young people today find liturgy inaccessible, because of celebrations that are boring, lackadaisical and barely relevant to their lives. Good liturgy --- "living liturgy" --- strengthens faith, he said. Young people need experiences of well-planned liturgies that are joyful, vibrant and challenging by including effective preaching, music, singing, prayer, silence and offering opportunities for social justice.
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"We urge all Catholics to stop giving money to the world's most scandalous Cardinal," says Kenneth Fisher, Founder and Chairman of Concerned Roman Catholics of America, Inc. (CRCOA). "20 years of homosexual, pedophile and heresy scandals is enough! It's time for Cdl. Roger Mahony to resign." The Catholic activist group is launching a "collection basket strike" aimed at pressuring Cdl. Mahony out of office. "For years the Cardinal has turned a deaf ear to anguished complaints from lay people and even priests," Fisher stated. "So the people in the pews are now talking in a language he understands-MONEY."
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Spence Publishing announced it had acquired the rights to publish Michael S. Rose's THE LAVENDER MAFIA according to a report today in the "Publishers Marketplace." Author of the GOODBYE, GOOD MEN Michael S. Rose's THE LAVENDER MAFIA, is an account of the inner workings of a far-reaching network of gay clerics and their allies in the Catholic Church that has promoted its own, intimidated its enemies, and paved the way for the current sex abuse scandals. Spence Publishing has set Spring of 2006 as the release date.
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The most effective means to fight abortion and other threats to life is prayer, said Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis. The archbishop of St. Louis issued this call to prayer and recounted his experience at the National March for Life in the latest issue of the diocesan newspaper, the St. Louis Review. Prior to the march, the archbishop met with the parents and two siblings of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, the Florida woman who has been severely mentally and physically disabled for more than a decade. She lives free of life support but is fed through a tube.
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John Paul II concluded a series of meetings with U.S. bishops with an exhortation to proclaim Christ and to be faithful to the Church's teaching authority. Over the past eight months the Pope has met with groups of U.S. bishops on their five-yearly visits to Rome. Today he received the prelates of the ecclesiastical provinces of Minnesota, and of North and South Dakota, after having read the reports they presented on their dioceses.
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The American Catholic Church must recognize its failings in the priestly sexual abuse scandal and rise up again with determination to heal the deep wounds, Pope John Paul told U.S. bishops on Friday. The 84-year-old Pope, addressing a group of bishops from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, said the leaders of the United States Catholic Church had to first renew themselves spiritually in order to truly renew their Church.
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been part of the problem instead of the solution, because it has tolerated the heresy that a Catholic politician can support a civil "right" to abortion if he or she professes to be personally opposed to abortion and allowed pro-abortion, nominally Catholic politicians to use Communion as a photo opportunity instead of officially declaring that such persons have excommunicated themselves and need to repent.
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The presidential race is full of religious ironies, pitting a Protestant who quotes the Pope against a Catholic who rejects the Pope. The Protestant -- campaigning on opposition to abortion and homosexual marriage -- will likely get the Catholic vote. The Catholic -- campaigning on embryo-destruction, partial-birth abortion, and the alternative lifestyles of pagan antiquity -- will get the mainline Protestant vote.
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The following document is provided by the USCCB Office of General Counsel in order to assist (arch)dioceses, parishes, and other Catholic organizations ("Catholic organizations") that are exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") in distinguishing activities that are permitted during election campaigns from activities that are prohibited. This guidance focuses primarily on section 501(c)(3) of the IRC, because it contains a prohibition, which has been interpreted as absolute, against participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate, as a condition of maintaining federal income tax exemption.
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My recent essay entitled "Denying Holy Communion, A Case Study" has prompted a number of people to suggest that the procedure which I followed in issuing a decree of Interdiction forbidding the reception of Holy Communion by a pro-abortion Texas State Representative is outdated. Some have suggested that such was fitting for 1994 but that it is no longer appropriate for 2004. They say that the times have changed. I agree that the times have changed - for the worse!
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A senior U.S. Catholic leader is being accused by critics of misleading his brother bishops and misrepresenting Vatican guidance on the question of how the church should treat Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. The charge against Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick dates back to June, when the U.S. bishops met for six days behind closed doors. In presenting the recommendations of a task force he leads, the Washington cardinal, it is alleged, soft-pedaled advice from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and hid from view a Ratzinger memo lest the bishops' conference reject McCarrick's moderate approach to the who-should-be-denied Communion question.
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CCI NOTES: Archbishop Harry Flynn begins a recent column bashing his critics with the title "Self-righteousness is destructive and uncharitable." If anyone should know, it would be Flynn. A long time apologist for the seemless garment, and a devoted friend of those seeking to homosexualize the Catholic clergy and laity, Bishop Flynn has become the poster boy for liberal Catholicism in the absence of more media savvy liberals like now deceased Cardinal Bernardin. Flynn bashes conservatives for the unpleasantness of their tone, and lack of charity. Well Bishop, as it is true that the highest form of charity is leading people to the truth, we're sad to say, we're with Barb on this one...
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The Presidential Questionnaire from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is dead. But do not mourn. Its death is a good thing, and is important not just for Catholics but for all who were concerned that candidate Kerry was about to get official Church cover for his pro-abortion position. The questionnaire is presented every four years by the USCCB to the major party candidates. It is supposed to help Catholic voters determine which candidate best reflects the teachings of the Church. What has happened is that, through it, some candidates have been able to show that even though they support abortion they still merit the votes of faithful Catholics because they happen to be good - that is to say liberal - on gun control, the environment, immigration, and the minimum wage.
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In response to secular news reports saying that a recent letter of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger allows Catholics to vote for pro-choice candidates, Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, who was himself an Official at the Vatican, said this morning that Cardinal Ratzinger's letter is being misquoted, and that the faith of millions of people is being abused as a cover for violence. "Cardinal Ratzinger explicitly states the opposite of what some are saying, namely, that we can elect pro-abortion candidates just because we like their other positions."
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A leading Catholic priest is taking the media and supporters of presidential candidate John Kerry to task for misusing a comment by a Vatican official to make it appear that Catholics can vote for pro-abortion candidates without violating important church teachings. With headlines such as "Catholic Voters Given Leeway on Abortion Rights Issue," and "Catholics Allowed Some Discretion on Abortion Rights," media outlets nationwide have been saying Catholic leaders are sanctioning voting for candidates that back abortion.
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"In a letter released to the US Bishops on Friday, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of Government Liaison announced they have withdrawn the Presidential Questionnaire which had been delivered weeks ago to the Bush and Kerry campaigns. At this moment the press office of the USCCB has no statement prepared but we are told by diocesan sources that at least one of the campaigns did not return the questionnaire by deadline."
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CCI NOTES: After repeated requests to the USCCB were ignored, then denied, CCI has obtained a copy of the USCCB political candidates questionaire from the Knights of Columbus. We join the many orthodox Catholic groups who have protested the tenor of this survey, which amounts to a softball lobbed at pro-abortion, gay rights candidates in both the Republican and the Democratic parties. Until the USCCB gets serious about insisting that Catholic moral theology be followed by politicians, people in the pews won't take it seriously either.
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The bishop of Charleston-Wheeling Catholic diocese, Bernard Schmitt, has written an editorial for the local paper in which he distances himself and his diocese from the actions of one of his priests who gave the invocation at a rally for John Kerry. Rev. Lawrence Dorsch, rector of St. Joseph Cathedral offered the invocation as representative of a local charitable association, said the bishop.
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In the wake of controversy surrounding a presidential candidate questionnaire produced by the lay staff of the United States conference of Catholic Bishops, many Catholics have embraced an alternative voting uide issued by a Catholic apologetics organization. Though the USCCB has discouraged use of this new guide, it has been circulated by at least one major archdiocese and thousands of parishes, according to the publisher.
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Demonstrating once again its commitment to full disclosure, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has refused repeated requests to release to the Catholic laity a copy of the much maligned questionnaire directed at political candidates for office. Based on the amount of flack the document is getting, it is clear that copies have already made it to the public domain, but any efforts to identify exactly what questions were actually on the document have been quashed by what has become signature stonewalling by the USCCB.
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Members of the Coalition of Concerned Catholics in the Albany Diocese released a report Wednesday criticizing attorney Mary Jo White's investigation that found "no merit" in charges of sexual misconduct against Bishop Howard Hubbard. CCCAD members gathered at the Century House in Latham to discuss the findings of their 13-page report that called White's investigation "false," labeled the lie detector tests conducted on Hubbard and others a sham and criticized the bishop for being friendly to homosexuals.
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...many of the questions take what are traditionally associated with policy positions of the Democratic Party. Robert Royal, president of the Faith and Reason Institute, said that many of the questions, such as those calling for more gun control and public funding of health care, are written in such a way as to endorse the Democratic Party approach. He says this gives the appearance of bias and therefore undermines the usefulness of the questionnaire. Royal said, "Even if it is not intended to be biased, it gives the impression of bias. Some Catholics may just reject the whole thing out of hand."
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...we declare that Catholics serving in public life espousing positions contrary to the teaching of the Church on the sanctity and inviolability of human life, especially those running for or elected to public office are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in any Catholic church within our jurisdictions: the Archdiocese of Atlanta, the Dioceses of Charleston and Charlotte. Only after reconciliation with the Church has occurred, with the knowledge and consent of the local bishop, and public disavowal of former support for procured abortion, will the individual be permitted to approach the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
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Once again, the bishops conference has mixed up prudential issues (like the particular points of broadcast law) with hard moral absolutes (like the ban on abortion). In doing so, they've given ardently pro-abortion candidates political cover. Hopefully, when they eventually release the results of the questionnaire, the conference will include some kind of commentary that assigns real weight to the life issues. Without that, this document is simply deceptive.
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U.S. bishops expressed disappointment that the Senate failed to allow a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment, saying that the institution of matrimony "is sadly in need of protection." Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopal conference, articulated that view in a statement after the Senate on Wednesday failed to invoke cloture on the debate on the marriage amendment. Cloture would have ended the debate and permitted the Senate to vote on the amendment.
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In the wake of the United States Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Joseph Francis Rummel, Archbishop of New Orleans, began planning the integration of the archdiocese's schools. It would take eight years, several court battles and the excommunication of three prominent Catholic political figures for Rummel to achieve his goal.
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Remarkable. If Kerry believes life begins at conception, he must concede that each time he has voted to fund abortions, he has voted to fund the killing of human beings. And voting to uphold Clinton's veto of the partial-birth abortion ban, Kerry voted against sparing tiny human beings from an excruciating form of execution. How does John Kerry reconcile this? "I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist," says Kerry.
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In April, the Vatican's leading prelate on the Sacraments, Cardinal Francis Arinze, declared unequivocally that unambiguously pro-abortion politicians should be denied Holy Communion. Over the weekend it was revealed that Cardinal Ratzinger, who heads the most important congregation in the Vatican, told U.S. bishops in a letter that pro-abortion politicians, who will not alter their stand or abstain from communion after being instructed by church leaders, "must" be refused communion... Cardinal McCarrick, who heads the U.S. Bishops task-force, looking into the issue of Catholics in political life, has recently, on two separate occasions, defended statements which seem to contradict or at least confuse what Vatican authorities have actually said on the issue of communion and Catholics who publicly support abortion.
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Here we are today, the pro-life Catholics who have devoted 31 long and frustrating years of their time, talent and treasure to battle the atrocity of abortion, sharing the Holy Eucharist with pro-abortion legislators and pro-abortion Catholics. These people, with their civic voting privileges, have undermined the efforts of so many sitting next to them in church pews. Our bishops have decided that to deny pro-abortion Catholics Communion would be imprudent, even though Canon Law allows such sanctions. Conclusion: It is a far worse sin to embarrass pro-abortion Catholics than to offend God.
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Some view it as a call to conversion. Some see it as conscience-crushing edict. A letter sent to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith describes it as a misguided "litmus test for orthodoxy" that verges on "paranoia." Its author, Bishop Robert F. Vasa of Baker, Ore., says it is a straightforward way for him to carry out his duties as a shepherd and teacher -- and to obtain "assurance that those who serve in official capacities hold interior positions consistent with church teachings."
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Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was clear with Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, archbishop of Washington and the head of the "domestic policy" commission of the U.S. Catholic bishops' conference. He was more than clear, he set it down in writing: no eucharistic communion for the politicians who systematically campaign for abortion. Read: no communion for the Democratic candidate for the White House, the Catholic John F. Kerry. Ratzinger's memorandum is presented in its entirety below.
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On the eve of his trip to the Vatican to receive an official cloak symbolizing his episcopal authority as archbishop of St. Louis, Raymond L. Burke once again found himself in the spotlight with statements about politics and Communion. In a radio interview with Charlie Brennan on KMOX Thursday, Burke clarified his position that Roman Catholics in his archdiocese who vote for candidates supportive of abortion rights should confess their sin in order to receive Communion.
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Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has written to all Catholic bishops asking them to personally urge their Senators to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. The first vote on the proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which has become popularly known as the Federal Marriage Amendment, is expected to occur in the Senate as early as mid-July. The measure, introduced as S.J. Res. 30 by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), reads as follows...
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops met recently in Denver for their June plenary conference. This year's meeting, originally said to be a retreat, was held behind closed doors. The usual visitors and observers were not invited. Each bishop was warned not to respond to reporter's requests to give interviews. It is well known that a large number of Catholic faithful have petitioned their bishops to address the scandal of sacrilegious reception of the Eucharist by manifest sinners who obstinately persist in their grave sin. They asked why c. 915 of the Code of Canon Law is not being enforced in all dioceses.
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"The American bishops have failed," said American Life League president Judie Brown. "The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had an opportunity to provide strong leadership on the question of Catholic public figures who favor legal abortion. However, their statement misses the mark on several points. As a result, election year politics has trumped the right to life of the innocent and the protection of Christ from sacrilege."
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"Given the wide range of circumstances involved in arriving at a prudential judgment on a matter of this seriousness, we recognize that such decisions rest with the individual bishop in accord with the established canonical and pastoral principles. Bishops can legitimately make different judgments on the most prudent course of pastoral action. Nevertheless, we all share an unequivocal commitment to protect human life and dignity and to preach the Gospel in difficult times."
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The American bishops are winding up their conference in Denver which was called to determine if they should obey Canon Law and deny Holy Communion to Catholic pro-abortion politicians, such as John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for the presidency. Why the conference had to be called in the first place is mind boggling, as it is written in black and white - Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law reads: ". . .those who (like Senator Kerry and many others in Congress) obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion."
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American Catholic bishops, seeking to avoid a political collision within their ranks, voted overwhelmingly on Friday to allow each diocese to decide for itself on whether to refuse communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. The decision comes five months before Americans vote in national elections in November and appears to be a compromise between conservative bishops who have said they will refuse communion to politicians who support abortion rights and others who say the best way to counter abortion is through persuasion.
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"There are many, many people of both major parties, Republicans and Democrats, who work for the Church in Colorado. The Church is never partisan. Here in Denver, both of my senior legislative advisers are active Democrats. More than 80 percent of our state lobbying efforts and the vast majority of our Church's financial and personnel resources go to social issues that have nothing to do with abortion. But that doesn't change the fact that abortion is the central social issue of this moment in our national history - not the only issue, but the foundational issue; the pivotal issue. For Catholics to ignore it or downplay it or "contextualize" it would be an act of cowardice."
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Few believers wish to think of themselves as being disrespecters of God. Sen. Kerry, however, may not care that much since he promises to block Pro-Life nominations to the Supreme Court. On the other hand he has not yet been asked to break the proposition. All things above considered, it is clear that the Catholic Church is not playing politics with Kerry and equally clear that the American bishops need to support the unifying "Respect God" approach as they emerge from retreat in June, especially if they use Canons. Failure for them will be to ignore "Respect God" and then use canons -- or to avoid both.
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"During his June 4 visit, Bush asked the Vatican to push the American Catholic bishops to be more aggressive politically on family and life issues, especially a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman," writes Allen. The Rome correspondent goes on to quote an unnamed "Vatican official" who said that in his meeting with Cardinal Angelo Sodano and other Vatican officials, Bush said, "Not all the American bishops are with me" on the cultural issues.
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In a private retreat this week, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops will discuss some internal church rifts that have become uncomfortably public over the clergy sex abuse crisis and, separately, Holy Communion and politics.Bishops disagree on whether Catholic lawmakers at odds with church teaching should receive the sacrament. They've sparked a national debate on the issue as a Catholic who supports abortion rights John Kerry is poised to become the Democratic nominee for president.
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Leaders of the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) expressed their deep disappointment that Chicago's archbishop, Francis Cardinal George, OMI, sent a memo to his priests telling them to deny Communion to anyone wearing the rainbow sash as a sign of their disagreement with Church teaching on homosexuality. But the same leaders praised Los Angeles' Roger Cardinal Mahony, who informed the Rainbow Sash Movement that all members of the Catholic family are welcome to receive Communion in his cathedral.
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Unfortunately, the events we are now witnessing in the Church, provoke extensive public criticism of the Catholic bishops, a good part of it justified. Sadly, these attacks extend to the clergy and even to the laity. Often they are made by people who hate the Church and wish to undermine her credibility and weaken or eliminate her moral authority. By their inaction or their covert actions and their loss of respectability in their communities, our bishops have given succor to the enemy - intentional or not.
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will gather in a special assembly June 14-19, 2004, in Englewood, Colorado. Every five years, instead of a spring business meeting, the U.S. Catholic bishops hold a special assembly that allows them an extended period of time for prayer and reflection. These special assemblies are prepared for by ad hoc committees appointed several years in advance to develop the program.
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CCI NOTES: The Diocese of Rochester, New York has devolved into one of the most de-Catholicized and homosexually influenced Catholic diocese in the nation. After 25 years of dramatic decline in vocations and authentic Catholic spirituality, Bishop Matthew Clarke, has no remorse. "Every day when I finish my work, I try to go to sleep in peace. I don't feel restless or guilty about the ways I've responded," said the Bishop in an interview with the Democrat Chronicle. And just whose work is that you are finishing?
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When the nation's Catholic bishops initially agreed to meet here next week for a "spiritual retreat," they didn't plan on long working hours or unexpected guests like Pat Colfer. Colfer will be hovering around the bishops when their retreat begins Monday at the Inverness Hotel. She won't be alone. Several hundred Catholics representing various causes are planning activities before and during the bishops' meeting - a reflection of the church's own embrace of activism and the fallout from lingering and newly stirred controversies.
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"On Tuesday Bishop Matthew Clark gave his first interview since the 25th anniversary of his being ordained Bishop of Rochester. He sat down with NEWS 10NBC's Ray Levato and says despite some recent heart problems he feels fit, and has the energy to continue as the spiritual leader of 350,000 area Catholics."
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As a young priest who studied in Rome while the Second Vatican Council was redefining Catholicism, John J. Myers began his clerical career in the late 1960's as part of a progressive wave of clergymen determined to modernize the church's rigid doctrines. Yet today, Archbishop Myers is one of a handful of outspoken bishops whose conservatism has become controversial, even in a church which has for a generation been moving toward a stricter adherence to doctrine under the prodding and direction of Pope John Paul II.
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If church discipline of a public figure takes the form of denying him Communion, it is only a recognition of a disconnect that already exists. In a culture that emulates celebrities, high-profile individualism, when it goes unopposed, suggests to the rank and file that anything goes. Church leaders owe it to both the body of Christ and the body politic to help form the consciences of their members-including, and especially, politicians.
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There is no eternal value in seeking human respect, particularly when it involves denial of the fundamental obligations that are inherent in the very identity of an ordained bishop of the Catholic Church. The bishops, of course, are in our prayers. But in the end, there is no defense for wimping out... The brew that some of these bishops have concocted is toxic. It must be exposed for what it is. It is a recipe designed to please the polltakers, not the Lord.
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Cardinal Theodore McCarrick speculates that many U.S. bishops would not like to see the Eucharist used as a sanction against pro-abortion politicians. "I think that many bishops among us think that such persons should have canonical censures," the cardinal told 30 Giorni magazine. "But I also think that many bishops would not like the possibility of receiving the Eucharist to be a part of these sanctions."
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"...there are two ways to view Monsignor Fay's response. He may very well have meant to convey the support of the bishops for the FMA at the meeting, as he says in his letter. The fact that at least three people in attendance didn't get that impression, however, should signal to Fay and others at the bishops' conference that they need to be very careful to make sure they drive this point home. People are watching them closely on this matter, and it's crucial that they not allow themselves to be misunderstood."
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Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted on Wednesday released a copy of his "personal and confidential" letter to priests asking them to remove their names from a pro-gay statement. In addition, the Roman Catholic leader published the second of three columns on homosexuality, in which he writes, "Do not support any group such as No Longer Silent that fails to uphold clearly the teachings of the Bible and the church."
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I suppose I should be grateful that at least some bishops, at long last, have found their spines. You have to start somewhere. But rather than plucking the speck from John Kerry's eye, it would be better for the bishops to examine critically their own records as pastors and teachers. How is it that only one in three American Catholics accept church teaching on abortion? How is it that only the same miserable percentage has the foggiest idea what the Eucharist really is? John Kerry, whatever his sins, didn't cause this to happen.
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Catholic Citizens of Illinois commends the American Life League's Crusade for the Defense of our Catholic Church , which has launched the first in a new multi-ad campaign that will engage members of the Catholic Church's hierarchy who have said they will not take steps to ensure that pro-abortion Catholic politicians are barred from receiving Holy Communion. "Pope John Paul II has made clear that 'in cases of outward conduct which is seriously, clearly and steadfastly contrary to the moral norm,' Catholics should not receive Holy Communion. Why, then, has Cardinal McCarrick declined to follow the pontiff's teaching in this critical matter?" asks ALL President Judie Brown.
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A Roman Catholic antiabortion group launched an advertising campaign against Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington yesterday, attacking him for saying he is not comfortable denying Communion to Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and other Catholic members of Congress who support abortion rights. The Virginia-based American Life League said the advertisements are the beginning of a $500,000 print ad campaign targeting bishops who are reluctant to punish Catholic politicians for taking policy positions that defy the church. The first ad shows Jesus in agony on the cross and asks: "Cardinal McCarrick: Are you comfortable now?"
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The American Life League launched an ad campaign Thursday aimed at Catholic leaders who will not bar pro-abortion rights politicians from taking communion.The group says its first ad is a response to Washington Theodore Cardinal McCarrick's recent statement that he was not yet "comfortable" denying the right to participate in the Holy Sacraments to pro-abortion rights political leaders like Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass. (For more info see www.ALL.org)
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Bowing to pressure from New Jersey's increasingly outspoken Roman Catholic bishops, Gov. James E. McGreevey said Wednesday that he would no longer receive holy communion during Mass because his support for abortion rights and other social causes contradicts church doctrine. During the past month, bishops of Camden and Trenton have stepped forward to declare that Mr. McGreevey, a former altar boy who attends services at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Princeton, is not a devout Catholic because of his stance on several political causes that are opposed by the church, including domestic partnership for gay couples, abortion rights and the use of human stem cells in medical research. The Camden bishop said he would refuse to give Mr. McGreevey communion.
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4/21/04 CCI Editorial - Are the US Bishops being blackmailed? Extorted? Muscled-under? Politically hard-balled? It's hard to make sweeping judgements. In the case of hard left bishops like Mahoney in Los Angeles, it's difficult picturing pro-abortion and gay rights "Catholic" politicians being shut out of the Eucharist or more importantly, the Cardinal's fund raisers. But in Chicago, it is sad and painful to watch Cardinal George's indecisiveness on the issue of pro-abortion politicians being denied the Eucharist, as if his post graduate theology studies never touched on Canon 915, and how to effectively deal with grave public scandal.
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If every cardinal, bishop, priest, and layman submitted to the authority of the Pope, as they are obligated to do, the Catholic church would not be suffering its current great infirmity...we might even say, its schismata. I refer to the reality that the Pope cannot make his cardinals and bishops obey; the cardinals and bishops cannot make their priests obey; the priests cannot make their laymen obey. Too bad the Pope doesn't have prisons. But if you want to help take out the trash, please go to DENUNCIATION where you will find clear, specific details to prepare and file a 'generic denunciation package' with any U.S. bishop as prepared by Chuck Wilson, Executive Director of St. Joseph Foundation, San Antonio, TX...
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Prompted largely by the Catholic sex-abuse scandal, the Vatican is calling on ranking archbishops to monitor their regions actively for mishandling of abuse cases or other matters. The directive, contained in a pending updated manual of bishops' duties, promotes the hierarchical custom of "fraternal correction." It urges prelates known as metropolitan archbishops to confront bishops of smaller neighboring dioceses about any "abuses and errors" and report the cases to Rome.
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A task force set up the U.S. bishops' conference will discuss the reception of sacraments by Catholics whose political advocacy directly contradicts Church teaching. Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the episcopal conference, announced the task force in the wake of a Vatican press conference last week in which Cardinal Francis Arinze said that politicians who support abortion must not go to Communion. He also said that priests must deny such politicians the sacrament.
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That priests and bishops are within bounds in withholding Communion from such persons is beyond question. It's in the rules: Canon Law, in this case. Canon 915 says those "who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to communion." Abortion, the Church says, is gravely evil, adding that "formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense."
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John Paul II received key members of the U.S. bishops' conference in audience. No details of today's meeting were immediately released by the Vatican. Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the conference; Bishop William Skylstad, secretary; and Monsignor William Fay, secretary-general were received in audience by the Pope.
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CCI encourages our readers to protest pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, and heretical self described Catholic politicians by protesting to the Bishop. The letter below is just an example. Customize it as you see fit, but don't delay in sending your letter. The scandal of "catholic-in-name-only" threatens to destroy the very foundation of the faith in the United States by removing accountability from our leaders for their scandalous behavior.
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Dear Archbishop Flynn: Please tell us - what are the faithful to do when disgraceful events take place at our parishes and no one will listen or seems to care? I'm talking about the most recent situation where a gentleman from Guardian Angels parish in Lake Elmo, MN contacted you by phone, after his pastor ignored his plea. He voiced his grave concern about an upcoming event being sponsored by a new group called "Inclusive Catholics". You requested the information that was printed in his church bulletin, and explained that you would ask Bishop Pates to look into this situation.
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Why is the liturgical practice of the archdiocese of Los Angeles different than in the rest of the United States? Monsignor William Smith, academic dean of St. Joseph's Seminary in the archdiocese of New York, thought the explanation for not kneeling at the customary times during Mass might be seismic. "The danger of earthquakes," he opined. "They want to be able to run out of church if one strikes during Mass."
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For several years, Catholic Parents Online, a group that says it promotes the church's "Absolute Truth," has filled the e-mail box of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis with messages from members imploring Archbishop Harry Flynn to address certain church issues. The group is particularly concerned about acceptance of gays and lesbians in some parishes, which it opposes. It says it succeeded in getting his ear in at least two cases. But that apparently changed Tuesday when the group's president, Colleen Perfect, received a letter from Flynn asking that the "assault" on his office be stopped. Included in the mailing were copies of 34 e-mails he recently received from group members.
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Bishop Paul S. Loverde is hot under the collar. This week, the leader of the Arlington diocese in northern Virginia is exerting his wrath on a priest he finds particularly troublesome. Fr. James R. Haley was summoned before an ecclesiastical tribunal in Philadelphia on Wednesday to answer to five charges brought against him by his own bishop. If found guilty, these charges could lead to the priest's "defrocking," a penalty that would effectively reduce Fr. Haley to the lay state. -
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Bishop Gourion is a Jewish convert. Unfortunately, he shares much in common with the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger. Both are Jewish converts and in fact the two are friends - fine so far - but both deny that the Jews are under any obligation to convert to Catholicism. "For me, Christianity and Judaism are the same," the new bishop said shortly after his appointment. "I didn't have to leave Judaism to come to Christianity. The Jew and the Christian form the same body."
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Without commenting directly on the film, which he says he has not seen, the bishop wrote, "While the primary source material of the film is attributed to the four gospels, these sacred books are not historical accounts of the historical events that they narrate. They are theological reflections upon the events that form the core of Christian faith and belief." Bishop McGrath's statement that the Gospel accounts of the Passion of Christ are mere "theological reflections" contradicts Church teaching. (CCI NOTES: Lifesite.com is obviously not aware that fidelity to Church teaching is optional in the "modern" Catholic Church.)
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"Brady then began speaking about Fr. Minkler. Minkler called Brady on January 8, 2001. He told him that he had done a report on abuses in the Albany diocese. The report was done at the request of Cardinal O'Connor. O'Connor was frustrated with the situation in Albany, and was concerened that Rome wouldn't do anything about it. Brady then looked around the room, and told everyone that after all they had heard about the coverups in other dioceses, "you know they will never find the report" that Minkler had filed."
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"The National Centre for Padre Pio, which was ordered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Allentown to cease holding Masses, will appeal the decision to the Vatican. The diocese cited unspecified violations of church law by the center, which is named for the mystical Italian monk who was canonized by Pope John Paul II in June 2002. The center has celebrated Masses since 1992 but was ordered to stop Jan. 1. Every year, more than 25,000 people from all corners of the world travel to the small borough of Barto to visit the center and pray to Padre Pio." (CCI NOTES: Thanks to Bishop Cullen, these modern day pilgrims will be denied the Eucharist. Rest assured, pro-abortion politicians in Cullen's diocese will get better treatment.)
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The Catholic Church consistently teaches that Catholics who are in the state of grave sin should not receive Holy Communion, for this itself is a grave sin and a sign of grave contradiction. St. Paul teaches this in 1 Cor. 11:27-29, as does the CCC (1385, 1415). Even in the parish Missalettes throughout the U.S., Catholics who are in grave sin are warned not to receive the Eucharist (11/29/99 NCCB). St. Thomas Aquinas answers, "A distinction must be made among sinners: some are secret; others are notorious, either from evidence of the fact, as public usurers, or public robbers or from being denounced as evil men by some ecclesiastical or civil tribunal. Therefore Holy Communion ought not to be given to open sinners when they ask for it" (STh, III:q 80: art 6).
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CCI NOTES: During a conversation with attorneys representing the Padre Pio Center, we were directed to this press release, issued in response to Bishop Cullen's media release announcing a suspension of Masses. The Padre Pio Center, a 501c3 private charity not affiliated with the diocese, became embroiled in a dispute with Cullen after they rejected his demands for increased control over the assets and affairs of the Center. We wish the Padre Pio Center well in their appeal. The idea of a St. Padre Pio shrine without a Mass is a preposterous travesty.
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The bishop of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Most Reverend Edward P. Cullen, has withdrawn permission for the Padre Pio Centre in Barto, Pennsylvania, to celebrate Mass and other sacraments at the center, which the bishop says "is not a shrine and has never been recognized as such by the Catholic Church." In a letter to officials at the center, Bishop Cullen "explained that central to this decision is the Centre's failure to conform to canonical mandates," according to a release issued by the diocesan press office. Effective this month, the bishop has directed that enrollment in the Padre Pio Association of Poor Souls at the center also be discontinued.
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Some forty years ago, as the dramatic events of the Second Vatican Council unfolded, a spotlight was trained on the Catholic Church. It was, commentators said, a revolutionary time. The Church fathers broadened the canons of scriptural interpretation, invited other churches and denominations to engage in friendly dialogue, and attempted to understand the strengths of the modern world. They defended religious freedom, condemned anti-Semitism, and recalled the traditional notion that the Church was made up not just of its clerical hierarchy but also of its laity. They approved the translation of the liturgy into vernacular texts. Although in actual practice the reforms were only modest attempts at housekeeping, made by moderate men who had no intention of destabilizing the Church, they nevertheless contradicted the Church's traditional attitude toward reform-that the Church had not changed, would not change, and could not change. In that regard any reform at all was indeed remarkable.
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Catholics rightly complain when bishops either misuse their governing authority to discipline the wrong people and/or fail to discipline those who are truly deserving of warnings and punishments. We thus have an obligation to commend a bishop when he exercises his duties as the king of his flock with firmness. It will be very difficult, although not impossible, I realize, for Bishop Burke's eventual successor to reverse the edict announced on January 8, 2004.
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CHICAGO -- Five of Illinois' six Catholic dioceses are doing all that church officials and outside investigators have recommended to prevent the sexual abuse of children by priests, according to church audits released Tuesday. Only the Diocese of Peoria failed to comply with one of its audit's recommendations under a new national policy set up by the Catholic Church in the wake of a wave of sexual abuse allegations against priests. Officials there said they were working to correct the issue.
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America's Roman Catholic bishops are following the reforms they adopted to prevent further sex abuse by clergy, but those policies have flaws that limit their effectiveness, an audit overseen by former FBI officials said Tuesday. The study recommended changes that victims have been advocating for years, including improved monitoring of guilty priests and a survey of victims asking how bishops should respond when an abuse claim is made.
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WASHINGTON (December 29, 2003) -- The "Report on the Implementation of the `Charter for the Protection of Children and your People'" will be released at 10 AM January 6, 2004 at a press conference at the National Press Club, Washington, DC. The Office of Child and Youth Protection of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is issuing this Report based on an audit of U.S. dioceses and eparchies (dioceses of the Eastern Catholic Churches) to assess their compliance with the "Charter." The compliance audit was performed by the Gavin Group, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts.
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In the 1960s the Catholic University of Louvain broke up into two branches: One kept the old buildings in the beautiful Flemish town of Leuven; its courses are taught in Flemish, and it is called Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. The second one, of French expression, "emigrated" to the French-speaking part of the country, south of Brussels, and is called Universite Catholique de Louvain. Godfried Cardinal Danneels, Primate of Belgium, is Chancellor of both branches of the University. The question I wish to address is this: Does the University of Louvain still deserve the title "Catholic"? (For the complete essay by Alice von Hildebrand, see CRUX NEWS.)
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"Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has ordered Catholics to stand throughout the Communion rite -- at variance with the US norm of kneeling after the Agnus Dei and optional kneeling after reception of Communion. Several other bishops have issued similar statements in recent months... His letter does not allude to the fact that most bishops will continue the customary practices of kneeling; nor does it comment on the repeated clarifications of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stressing that it is not the intention of the GIRM to rigidly regulate the posture of the people at every point of the Mass, nor to abolish kneeling where it is customary."
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The USCCB cited multiple reasons against making emergency contraceptives available over-the-counter, pointing out the serious ramifications of allowing unmonitored access to emergency contraception, most notably among adolescent girls. For instance, changing its status to an over-the-counter drug prevents any medical oversight that otherwise would be provided for by doctors and sends "the message that the drug is not medically or morally controversial."
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Lumping opposition to capital punishment alongside the true Culture of Death issues of contraception, abortion, homosexuality, and euthanasia is scandelous and wrong. It also demonstrates an example of how the demise of Catholicism in America is due, at least in part, to Bishops more concerned with preaching politics than the Gospel truth.
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Dozens of Catholic protestors surprised worshippers this morning with a boisterous protest outside St. Mary's Cathedral in Lansing, Michigan. Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller, a professor at Ave Maria University and the protest's organizer said the event "was organized to urge Bishop Carl Mengeling to discipline our "Catholc" governor, Jennifer Granholm." Bishop Mengeling has drawn mountains of criticism for his cozy relationships with pro-abortion Catholic politicians, and his refusal to hold them accountable for their anti-Catholic voting and support of the culture of death.
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"Bishop Raymond Burke, appointed Archbishop of St. Louis on December 2, 2003, privately and publicly proclaimed boldly in August, 2003, that pro abort Catholic politicians, if they persist in their evil activities and if they are outside the Catholic Church, should not present themselves to receive the Holy Eucharist because they would not be Catholics in good standing. Many national pro life groups have been energized by this statement, sending Archbishop Burke their good wishes and encouragement. Sounds good, but is it really?"
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"In "Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility," published October 13, 2003, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops provided the latest evidence that they won't rest until every person is clothed in the coarse fabric of their "seamless garment" theology. And by every person they mean every person. No sentimental exceptions made-not even for those persons who happen to be living in their mothers' wombs."
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The church is regaining the trust of Catholics in the pews, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops president Wilton Gregory contended at the group’s semiannual meeting. Nearly two years after allegations of serial sexual abuse and high-level hierarchical cover-ups rocked the Boston archdiocese and brought the issue of clerical exploitation of minors back into the national spotlight, the church has “turned the corner,” said Gregory, though it has not yet “crossed the finish line.”
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"The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a summary of the Church's practice in regard to Eucharistic concelebration. They do not constitute new liturgical law, but enjoy the authority of the law cited. These guidelines may be adapted by diocesan Bishops within the parameters of liturgical law. This document is limited to questions directly pertaining to Eucharistic concelebration."
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For over two decades, Bernardin's flawed quality of life theory has provided 'cover' for countless pro abort politicians to falsely claim they're pro life (Cuomoism) and has enabled Catholic University academics to support abortion. Still today, Bernardin's theory lures perhaps tens of thousands of Catholics at each election to support and vote for the pro abortion candidates of their choice. Bernardin is still in control of the direction of the 'American Church.'
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The USCCB needs to make these bishops accountable for their actions. When they commit evil or betray the Faith, they need to be punished. Making them truly accountable will probably require amending canon law, but that should be done anyway. The Church ought to adopt what could be called the Judas principle: the recognition that some of her apostles betray her. It wouldn't have to be nearly as prominent as the principle of collegiality in Church documents, but it ought to be at least acknowledged. As one archdiocesan official said of the USCCB, speaking on condition of anonymity, "That's one of the great questions for the Church: accountability. The priests are independent and the bishops are decentralized."
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I saw one bishop standing off by himself with a priest and I went up and offered him the letter which he took. I told him we pray for our bishops. "We need you to be shepherds. We need you to teach the faith. I'm a mother of five and grandmother of seven. We're losing our families." He said, "we're trying" and reminded me that Jesus promised the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church. My only regret is that I didn't reply, "Your Excellency, you're not trying hard enough."
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"The bishops can no longer control the urge to deconstruct our heritage, to change something, or outlaw something ... anything. For example, they recently banned a ritual that is only nominally practiced these days - kneeling for Holy Communion. In the midst of the most serious crisis since the Reformation, a crisis which threatens the very foundation of the Church, the dutiful fathers focus their attention on what? A ban on kneeling for Holy Communion. At a time when the faithful in the pews yearn for unity, stability, confidence and hope, our leaders busy themselves seizing upon one of the truly diabolical threats to the Church-kneeling."
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"We commend the President for his action, and we pledge our prayers and support to see that this brutal procedure remains prohibited by law and intolerable to the American people. We also thank the millions of our fellow-Catholics and other people of good will throughout the country who have worked for many years to see this achievement. Their hard work and their prayers are responsible in large measure for this day of celebration."
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Catholic bishops gave millions of dollars to organizations that oppose everything Catholic, to ACORN, to IAF, to CMF but not a cent to struggling pro-life operations like Joe Schiedler's Pro-life Action League or Conrad Wojnar's Womens Center. Both of these devout Catholic men endured great legal and financial difficulties when NOW sued them in federal court for "racketeering".
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""Terri's Law," contested by numerous 'right to kill' groups, will be a hard battle to win; we can't do it without you. We all will be affected by the legislation's outcome, sooner or later. There's more to being a bishop than broad fringes and wide phylacteries. We implore you to make the necessary, frequent admonitions and statements and courageously defend "Terri's Law," defend Terri Schiavo and defend the disabled and elderly who are in harm's way. Your Excellencies, will you join us in the battle?"
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"Call to Action, one of the country's largest and oldest Catholic reform organizations, will launch a nationwide petition and education campaign in support of optional celibacy for priests at its convention in Milwaukee next week... Illinois Appeals Court Justice Anne Burke, acting chairwoman of the National Review Board that the U.S. bishops established to oversee the cleanup of clergy sexual abuse, will speak on those efforts."
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Catholic activists fed up with the indifference shown to pro-abortion 'Catholic' politicians are planning a FACE THE TRUTH demonstration on Monday, November 10 from 4-6 PM at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave, NW near Capitol Hill to be held in conjunction with the National Catholic Bishops semi-annual meeting.
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NCR says, "A poll last May in The Boston Globe found that 39 percent of Catholics in the Boston area would support the creation of an American Catholic church independent of the Vatican. The news is actually worse, because among Catholics ages 18-39, the proposal for cutting ties with Rome rises to 50.9 percent. Granted that attitudes in Boston are undoubtedly sharper than elsewhere, this finding nevertheless has to be alarming for anyone concerned with the communion that should exist between American Catholicism and the universal church, as embodied by the Holy See." Considering the fact that NCR has been furiously working to drive a wedge between Roman orthodoxy and American heterodoxy, this gives new meaning to 'self-serving editorializing.'
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CCI NOTES: Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney has never been known for orthodoxy, but sending his media director out in favor of "pro-choice" Catholics like Gray Davis may finally earn him a ticket to early retirement, or at least let's pray that it does. Pro-life Catholics like Judie Brown are suffering all over the country with pro-choice bishops and priests like Mahoney, who turn a blind eye toward Catholics who support abortion. This is a new low for the American bishops.
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"As you must realize by now, we've developed a kind of connoisseur's interest in the American College of Louvain (ACL) seminary in Belgium. Our interest started when Crisis magazine chose to defend the liberal ACL from Michael S. Rose's five-page critique of the ACL in his book Goodbye, Good Men. In that five-page section, Rose told the story of Joseph Kellenyi, who spoke of a homosexual clique at the ACL and how he was the victim of sexual harassment. Without Crisis's defense of the ACL, we would have paid no attention to that seminary.""Rose rebutted Crisis in the December 2002 NOR, with Crisis responding to that in its own pages, and with Rose making mincemeat of Crisis's follow-up article in our June 2003 issue. (In the above New Oxford Note, we cited a promotional campaign from Crisis indicating that it has repositioned itself so as to appeal to dummies. We've got to wonder if the dumbing down hasn't also affected the editors, for Crisis's two defenses of the liberal ACL were so inept that they only drew more negative publicity to the troubled seminary Crisis was trying so hard to defend.)" Read about just what kind of man the ACL was looking for when they needed someone to recruit candidates for the Belgium based college. You may be - or you may not be - surprised by the horrible story of Fr. Michael Nash.
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"Our time, in fact, with its own problems, is characterized by loss of direction and uncertainties," the Vatican said in announcing John Paul II's apostolic exhortatiuon due out in October. "Even many Christians seem disoriented and without hope. In this context, we pastors are called to proclaim the Gospel and to be witnesses of hope, with our gaze directed toward the cross, to the mystery of the triumph and fecundity of Christ crucified." CCI hopes the bishops will not only listen, but act on the Holy Father's exhortations.
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Anyway, the response from the bishops and the cardinal was not clear to me. They did not refer to any of my points in their remarks afterward. When the meeting ended I tried to find Cardinal McCarrick to speak with him, but he was gone. I don't imagine any of the laymen left the meeting with a feeling that great progress had been made in any area. I left with a feeling that some progress may have been made in some area, but I couldn't say what area or why. I did not come away angry, as some have, or depressed. I came away satisfied that I'd said what I thought needed saying, somewhat sad and perplexed. Why would this be happening? What does God want us to do? And how can flawed and ridiculous people like us help?
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Several attendees of the sit down with Wilton Gregory on September 8, 2003 have concluded that the US Catholic Bishops are wimps: hopelessly frozen in the headlights, too scared and ignorant to get out of the way of the oncoming truckload of pagan culture set to turn them, and the Catholic Church, into road kill. Forty Catholics were invited by CRISIS magazine publisher Deal Hudson to meet with USCCB President Wilton Gregory and four other bishops in Washington DC. Attendees were especially critical of the pro-abortion Catholics like Leon Panetta who had been appointed to the National Review Board (NRB) investigating sexual abuse reforms. While attendees agreed that the meeting was productive, attendees willing to speak were not optimistic about the future of the Catholic Church regarding disciplining dissenters or improving the state of the Church. Whether or not any productive, long term changes come as a result of the meeting is questonable. "Nothing will change," said attendee Leon Podles. But if the Catholic faith is anything, it is about faith, and hope, both of which inspire us to charitable thoughts and actions. St. Theresa inspires all of us to take on the world in a little way, and if Catholics follow her example, millions of little ways to holiness can quickly add up to a lot of good grace - hopefully, enough to confront the difficulties besetting the church in America and the rest of the world.
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"In the end, I wasn't satisfied with everything the bishops said. But nor was I dissatisfied. They were there to listen, and they did so (providing some very good comments along the way). The point of our meeting was a simple one: We wanted to be heard. Too often, we complain that faithful Catholics get the short end of the stick. This is true. But if we give up the opportunity to speak to the leaders of the Church when we're given the chance, we lose the right to complain that we're ignored," said Deal Hudson in an email today.
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The Religious Forum at www.freerepublic.com is home to a bunch of fiesty orthodox Catholics who recently developed a "TOP TEN" list of questions they would like to see answered by the USCCB when they sit down with Deal Hudson this week. Normally, members of a religous organzition are welcome to ask questions, and ususally, leadership goes to reasonable efforts to answer those questions. If and when these questions ever get answered, the USCCB's response will be posted.The Number One Question... Will you use the remedy of excommunication for pro-abortion politicians and others so as to strengthen the faithful and remove the scandals that these people cause to others? IF not, why not? IF so, when? 2. What steps are being taken to ensure that the Truths of the Church are taught in every diocese in an unambiguous and forthright manner with fortitude, strength, zeal and conviction (ie, with a backbone) as required by your office within the Church and for the salvation of souls entrusted to your care?
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The Tribune reports, "The Roman Catholic Church will intensify its efforts to prevent legalization of same-sex marriage, the president of the nation's Catholic bishops said Friday. Bishop Wilton Gregory said the bishops could endorse a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as only heterosexual, though he stopped short of making such an endorsement himself." Huh? Given the track record the US Bishops have demonstrated with their 'opposition' to abortion, homosexuality and moral decline, Roman Catholics are advised to pray that God has mercy on our once great nation, and that He grants us Catholic leaders who can effectively defend the faith and our culture from the onslaught of paganisn and apostacy.
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"Conservative lay Roman Catholics say they'll gather for an unusual private meeting on the clerical sex abuse crisis and the future of the church that will include at least two top American bishops. The session follows one in July that conservatives felt was dominated by liberals. Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington are among those expected to attend the latest summit, set for Sept. 8 in Washington."
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"Conservative lay Roman Catholics plan to gather Sept. 8 in Washington for an unusual private meeting on the clerical sex abuse crisis and the future of the church that will include at least two top American bishops. The session follows one in July that conservatives felt was dominated by liberals."
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"That Denver Archbishop Chaput is not only willing to speak out but to name names represents a new chapter in the life of the hierarchy in the United States. Now if only they will be sure that they handle their sex scandals and the cover-ups in such a way that when they do speak out, they will be taken seriously." (CCI Editors Note: This week Illinois Bishops Lucas, George, Paprocki, and Gregory have all spoken out against phony Catholic politicians as well as anti-Catholic bigotry with a forcefullness not heard in these parts for many decades. They are to be supported and thanked. See this sight under "press" or "issues" for more coverage.)
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"Crimen sollicitationis, a forty-year-old document of the former Holy Office (now, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), issued March 16, 1962, is being portrayed by some in and outside the media as a "smoking gun" allegedly proving that there was a "ground plan" for "covering up" the crime of sexual abuse of minors by clerics. The essential point in response to those making this claim is that they are taking the document entirely out of context and therefore distorting it completely." USCCB
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Crisis Editor Deal Hudson, also a CCI advisory board member, asks, "Why on earth would high-ranking bishops -- including the president of the USCCB, Bishop Wilton Gregory -- entertain a meeting with such known liberals and dissenters...and do it in private?" Could it be that the real source of dissent in this country is not dissenting groups but the numerous dissenting Bishops who support Call to Action, Voice of the Faithful, and their efforts to Protestantize the Church, yet are silent on issues of abortion, gay rights, and the de-Christianization of America?
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"The Catholic Church teaches, in agreement with other faith traditions and with what were once the norms generally accepted by society, that sexual activity belongs to the marital relationship between one man and one woman in fidelity to each other. This relationship is the basis of the family which is the basic unit of society. Respect for the purpose of human sexuality and the family needs to be reaffirmed in our society; and anything which reduces respect for them – such as yesterday's Supreme Court decision – is to be deplored."
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"Disgusted by the bishops' refusal to live by their own rules, Keating told the Los Angeles Times, "I think there are a number of bishops -- and I put Cardinal Mahony in that category -- who listen too much to his lawyer and not enough to his heart. To act like La Cosa Nostra [the mafia] and hide and suppress, I think, is very unhealthy.... Eventually it will all come out." "
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"Seventeen years ago, the Vatican dispatched a 53-year-old New York priest named Harry J. Flynn to take over as bishop in a Louisiana diocese. His assignment was to rescue the faith of the Roman Catholics there whose children had been sexually violated by the Rev. Gilbert Gauthe, in the first nationally notorious case of a pedophile priest. The bishop could not fix everything in Lafayette, La., but in eight years he helped repair the damage. Today, as Archbishop Flynn, he closed the spring meeting of the nation's bishops with a progress report on the "monumental effort" they have undertaken to adopt new policies to prevent sexual abuse."
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After days of outside criticism of their commitment to ridding the church of sexual abusers, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops insist their reform plan remains on track. And they got a strategic boost from prominent Washington, D.C. attorney Robert Bennett, a member of the National Review Board, a lay monitoring panel whose chairman quit in disgust Monday.
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Deeply frustrated by perceptions among critics that the U.S. Catholic Church has done little to combat a sexual abuse crisis, American bishops meeting here Thursday heatedly defended their response to the scandal. "People are saying a lot of things. Is there no attempt to judge whether this is a fair statement or an accurate statement or not?" Cardinal Francis George of Chicago asked reporters. "The facts are the bishops have moved, and moved dramatically, in ways that no other group has moved."
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