tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239975772024-03-13T09:04:32.979-05:00Stella Borealis Catholic RoundtableJust recently, a 6-yr-old said: “Daddy, why in the English Mass does the priest have his back to Jesus the whole time?”[Ex ore infantium… – Fr. Z]Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.comBlogger4436125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-87959811186896897272013-06-15T11:11:00.001-05:002013-06-15T13:38:40.655-05:00Remembering Chaplain Vincent Capodanno: R.S.V.P. September 14, 1967<a href="http://themoynihanletters.com/" target="_blank">Moynihan Letters No. 74</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><b><i>June 14, 2013,
Friday </i>-- Remembering Father Capodanno</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><i>"Stay quiet marine. You
will be ok. God is with us all this day."</i> —<b><i> Father Vincent
Capodanno, last words, speaking to a wounded marine on a battlefield in Vietnam
46 years ago in 1967. A few seconds later, Capodanno was shot and killed. Today
in Vietnam, not far from the spot where he died, a Mass was celebrated in his
memory. (See note on these words at the end of the story
below)</i></b><br /><br />Today, June 14, something extraordinary happend in
Vietnam.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><img align="left" src="http://staticapp.icpsc.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/305005/3c4fd228f6c56d92a0eae5ec2af00d39/image/jpeg" style="border-bottom: #000000 0px solid; border-left: #000000 0px solid; border-right: #000000 0px solid; border-top: #000000 0px solid; float: left; margin: 0px 12px 0px 0px;" />A
Mass was celebrated by a Vietnamese bishop in memory of an American Marine
chaplain, Father <b>Vince Capodanno</b> (<i>photo</i>), who was
killed in Vietnam on September 4, 1967, at the age of 38. Capodanno was ordained
a priest on June 14, 1957, so this Mass today was celebrated in commemoration of
the 56th anniversary of his ordination.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">And so, in a sense, the Mass,
attended by Americans and Vietnamese Catholics, was a sign of peace, and perhaps
also of healing, nearly a half century after the end of the Vietnam
War.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">The Mass was largely the result
of an effort by an old friend, Captain Edward "Ted" Bronson, a career Navy
officer, now retired, who believes Capodanno was a holy man who died a holy
death, administering the last rites to wounded soldiers on the battlefield, and
so ought to be canonized by the Church as a saint.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">(<i>This photo shows Navy
Captain Edward "Ted" Bronson and EWTN journalist Joan Lewis flanking Bishop Tri,
with the choir that sang at the Father Capodanno Commemorative Mass in
Vietnam</i>)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Here are excerpts from an email
Bronson just sent to me:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><i>From: efbronson
</i><br /><i>To: moynihanreport </i><br /><i>Sent: Fri, Jun 14, 2013 6:37
pm</i><br /><i><i>Subject: Re: capodanno mass da nang 14
jun</i></i><br /><br />Bob,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">All went well. As magnificent
and spiritual a Mass as you could pray for. About 500 attended. The bishop sat
on the side, after opening remarks re Father Vincent Capodanno. Then came the
procession of 15 celebrants. A high school choir of 38 "rang out" with English
hymns.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">(<i>A view of the church where
the Mass today was celebrated; Photo by Joan Lewis</i>)</span></span></div>
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<img height="300" src="http://staticapp.icpsc.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/305005/1a37706edaead071b4ae10f50219ee83/image/jpeg" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">I
did the first reading.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">(<i>Photo of those attending
the Mass, by Joan Lewis)</i></span></span></div>
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<img height="300" src="http://staticapp.icpsc.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/305005/34a5edcb4bf014edf3bd7965d932076c/image/jpeg" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">A
reception followed for all, a Vietnamese food feast. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Among the 500 were two bus
loads of Que Chau villagers from two hours south. We had a special Mass in a
home there on Wednesday for 83. They exude pure, intense, single focus faith. It
seems as if, were they asked to give up their faith, instead they would join the
earlier "martyrs of Vietnam."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">This village Mass site was 2 km
from the Que Son valley battlefield where Father Capodanno died with his fellow
marines on the opening day of "Operation Swift" on 4 september 1967. It was the
worst casualty day for our Marines in the war, as they were outnumbered 500 to
2000.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Father Capodanno's death
occurred 15 seconds after telling a wounded marine, "Stay calm marine. Some one
will be with you shortly. God is with us this day."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">He then went to the side of a
corpsman who cried out for help and both were machine gunned to
death.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Father Capodanno was a true
"Grunt Padre."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Danang Bishop Joseph Tri told
us afterwards, he will make this an annual 14 June Mass for the repose of the
soul of Father Capodanno. The date is the anniversary of his ordination to the
Maryknolls by Cardinal Spellman 55 years ago today.<br /><br />'Twas magic, Bob, and
it was all your challenge at dinner after the Mass at Santa Susanna, Rome 21
May, 2012. I started with a blank piece of paper and went from there... with a
measure of help from my guardian angel and Bishop Tri. Delighted to have
participated.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Now in Saigon; fly out at 5 am;
into DAC at 5:45 pm. Thank you for your friendship and 'till we meet again, very
best. Ted</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">==================================<br /><br /><i><b>Note
on Father Capodanno's last words</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><i>I received the following
note about Father Capodanno's last words, which are reproduced above in two
different forms.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Bob,<br /><br />Thank you for
covering this historic Mass. Several Marines heard these words from Fr.
Capodanno, though versions vary slightly with each telling. From the biography,
the quote reads:<br /><br />"<i>Stay quiet, Marine. You will be OK. Someone will be
here to help you soon. God is with us all this day</i>." The reference is
found on page 133 of <i>The Grunt Padre</i> by Fr. Daniel Mode, as recalled by
Operation Swift veteran Corporal Ray Harton.<br /><br />Thank you for all you do to
make known Fr. Capodanno. It is an important and timely Cause to be
sure.<br /><br />God bless,</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><i>Judy L.
McCloskey</i><br /><i><i>Founder</i><br /><i>Mission
Capodanno</i><br /><i>MissionCapodanno@gmail.com</i><br /><i>www.MissionCapodanno.org</i><br /><i>www.VincentCapodanno.org</i></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">============================</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><b>"AND THE LORD WAS WITH
US THIS DAY"</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><i>Also present at the Mass
was another old friend, the Rome correspondent for EWTN Catholic television,
Joan Lewis. She flew to Vietnam specifically to attend this historic Mass, and
wrote a report today on her blog, "Joan's Rome." Here are
excerpts:</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><b>Friday, June 14,
2013</b></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">By Joan
Lewis</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">As I write these words, it is 9
am on a hot Friday morning in DaNang and I am in the courtyard of Sacred Heart
Cathedral where the gates have been opened to welcome the bus loads of pilgrims
from nearby and from far villages who have come today for Mass at 10 that Bishop
Joseph Tri has organized to celebrate Servant of God Fr. Vincent
Capodanno.<br /><br />June 14th was the day, 55 years ago, that Vincent Capodanno
was ordained to the priesthood in the Maryknoll order, a missionary order that
sent him abroad during his short life as a priest. Eventually he became a
chaplain and died giving the last rites to solders in Vietnam, not far from
DaNang.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">The courtyard is huge but I
know it will soon be filled by scores of motorbikes and bicycles in addition to
the buses -- probably not a single car! I am sitting on a stone bench next to a
lovely sculpture of the Holy Family, listening to the hustle and bustle and
horns of DaNang traffic outside the complex that comprises the cathedral,
bishop’s residence, school rooms, church halls and the convent.<br /><br />I have
just been joined by a young priest – the brother of our driver these past days.
He is from the DaNang diocese and is also a scout leader. We are having a good
conversation about many things involving the Church in Vietnam – as well as
scouting – but now have to go into the church to prepare for Mass. I will video
the Mass and take photos and Father is one of the concelebrants.<br /><br />More
later…..</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">It is much later now and I am
writing from Ho Chi Minh City, from one of the most famous hotels in this part
of the world, the Rex Hotel. I am luxuriating in an amazing room in the new wing
of the Rex and enjoying, as the expression goes, “champagne tastes on a beer
budget.” The Rex opened in 1961 and its first guests were 400 U.S. Army
soldiers. They stayed here a week as their tents were being set up in Saigon and
Quy Nhon.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">During the Vietnam War (called
the American War in some guidebooks), the Rex became especially famous for
hosting the daily military press conference which the journalists who resided in
the Rex cynically called “The Five O’Clock Follies.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><i>(photos of the
Mass)</i></span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Following Mass, the cathedral
offered a buffet lunch for about 400-500 people. It was astonishing hospitality
and prepared by a group of women in the parish!! It was a ton of fun and I could
have stayed and spoken to the people for hours, especially the wonderful,
joyful, enthusiastic young people! I wanted to charter a plane and bring them to
Rome!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">(<i>In this photo, Joan Lewis
dines with some of the vibrant young Vietnamese Catholics who attended the
Father Capodanno Mass today in Vietnam</i>)</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<img height="300" src="http://staticapp.icpsc.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/305005/1c3789897956a68c303d0913cf4b3453/image/jpeg" width="400" /></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Once again, as always happens
on these trips, it is late and I am overdue for dinner so will close this
chronicle of June 14, 2013, a celebration of the life of Servant of God Fr.
Vincent Capodanno. The bishops spoke about him this morning but it was all
naturally in Vietnamese and the only words I understood were Vincent
Capodanno!</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">To get a feel for the day’s
events and people, go to my many Youtube videos of this occasion. I know my
Vietnamese friends in Rome and the U.S. will enjoy hearing Mass in their
language – though the youth choir sang in English for the occasion and they were
superb!</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">God sit on your shoulders, dear
friends in DaNang.</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Before I close, I wish America
and Americans Happy Flag Day!</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Write to Joan at:
joansrome@ewtn.com</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Link: <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=55307583&msgid=692536&act=JG98&c=305005&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ewtn.com%2Fnews%2Fblog.asp%3Fblog_id%3D1" style="color: #0000ff !important;">http://www.ewtn.com/news/blog.asp?blog_id=1</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">=======================================</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><b>Semper
Fi</b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><i>The example of Father
Capodanno, in his life and in his death, shows us the meaning of the Marine
Corps motto, "</i>Semper Fi<i>" ("</i>Semper Fidelis<i>," Always Faithful.)
Here is an article written two years ago which well describes Capodanno's life
and death:</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><b>Father Vincent
Capodanno and the Meaning of “Sacrifice”</b></span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><b>May 16,
2011</b></span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><b>By Beth
Crumley</b><br />If you have never visited <i>Semper Fidelis</i> Memorial
Chapel on the grounds of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, you have
missed visiting a truly inspirational place. It is a breathtakingly beautiful
building, an edifice of stone, rich wood and soaring glass that derives much of
its beauty from the surrounding landscape. It is also breathtakingly simple.
Nestled in the woods, it was designed to pay homage to the improvised chapels
found in the field, attended by those who bear the burden of war.<br /><br />Last
Wednesday was nothing short of a glorious spring day in Virginia. The skies were
crystal clear, without a cloud, and vibrant blue. A warm breeze stirred the air.
Springtime had brought the grounds surrounding the chapel to life. I was struck
by how green the trees were, and by the sound of birds singing. And on this
glorious spring day, several people had gathered for a private ceremony to
dedicate the “Sacrifice” window in memory of Navy chaplain, and Medal of Honor
recipient, Father Vincent Capodanno.<br /><br />As a former theology student, and a
Marine Corps historian, I have long had an interest in those chaplains who have
chosen to serve with the Fleet Marine Force. Of particular interest to me were
those who served in Vietnam. It was many years ago that I first heard of the
“Grunt Padre,” Father Capodanno.<br /><br />The son of an Italian immigrant, Vincent
Capodanno was the youngest of ten children. He attended night classes at Fordham
University and in 1949, confided to a close friend that he had felt a calling to
the priesthood. He had read <i>The Field Afar</i>, a magazine published by the
Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, also known as the Maryknolls. Their
training was different… in addition to traditional seminary courses of study, a
Maryknoll’s training also included emergency medical care, basic sanitation and
agrarian methods and survival tactics. Capodanno relished the challenges of the
Maryknoll education and was ordained on 7 June 1957.<br /><br />After serving in
Taiwan and Hong Kong, Father Capodanno requested permission to join the Navy
Chaplain Corps and serve the growing number of Marines arriving in Vietnam.
Commissioned a lieutenant on 28 December 1965, Capodanno arrived in country in
April 1966, assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. Asked by a reporter why he
had chosen to volunteer for service in Vietnam, Capodanno simply said, “I think
I am needed here as are many more chaplains. I’m glad to help in any way I
can.”<br /><br />The Reverend Daniel Lawrence Mode, author of <i>The Grunt
Padre</i> described this most extraordinary man of God and his service to the
Marines in his spiritual care: “Known for a remarkable courage and tenacity, the
grunts could hardly be prepared for the horrible realities of war they routinely
saw each day -- deaths, brutal woundings, endless loneliness and depression,
temptation to despair. To combat the darkness of the combatant, the light of
Christ needed to be lit and carried. Such was the job of the Christian chaplain
in a war zone… Father Capodanno chose to be more than just a priest assigned to
minister to the tragedies of war. He became a spiritual comrade by removing all
distinctions and obstacles between his grunts and himself in the way he had
learned in his Maryknoll training and ministry. He lived, ate, and slept as the
men did… Grunts recall in vivid detail their padre keeping company with them
through an entire night, isolated in distant and dangerous jungle outposts.
Others recall the Grunt Padre leaping out of a helicopter in the midst of
battle, blessing the troops, serving the Eucharist to the Catholics, and then
leaping into a chopper heading off to another corner of active conflict… He
remained at the side of the dying, present until the end, rather than let any
man die alone, and then he sought to offer solid grounding and hope to the
buddies who grieved at the loss of friends.”<br /><br />While serving as the
battalion chaplain with the 1st Medical Battalion, Father Capodanno requested an
extension to his tour of duty. That extension granted, he continued to work
tirelessly in his new assignment with the 3d Battalion, 5th Marines.<br /><br />In
September 1967, the 2d NVA Division moved into the Que Son Basin, south of Da
Nang, in a planned effort to disrupt elections in the area. Operation Swift
began when elements of the 5th Marines were attacked in the early morning hours
of 4 September, southwest of Thang Binh. Father Capodanno had been travelling
with the command post of Company M, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines. First Platoon
came under heavy enemy fire. Second Platoon was ordered to assist. While
crossing a small knoll they came under withering fire and radioed they were in
danger of being overrun.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Father Capodanno left the
relative safety of the command post and as his Medal of Honor citation
describes, “ran through an open area raked with fire, directly to the
beleaguered platoon. Disregarding the intense enemy small-arms, automatic
weapons, and mortar fire, he moved about the battlefield administering
last-rites to the dying and giving medical aid to the wounded. When an exploding
mortar round inflicted painful multiple wounds to his arms and legs, and severed
a portion of his right hand, he steadfastly refused all medical
aid.”<br /><br />Father Capodanno moved to the side of Sergeant Lawrence Peters. He
recited the Lord’s Prayer with him. After Peters had died, he moved to comfort
Corporal Ray Harton. He cradled the young corporal’s head, blessed the wounded
Marine with his left hand, saying, “God is here with us, Marine, and help is on
the way.”<br /><br />As the fighting raged, Father Capodanno saw a young lance
corporal giving aid to a wounded corpsman who was in danger of bleeding to death
from a thigh wound. As the priest moved toward the wounded man, an enemy machine
gunner set up his weapon no further than 15 meters away. Father Capodanno
gathered the corpsman in his arms, and used his own body to shield the wounded
man from enemy fire. He was struck and killed instantly, 27 bullets piercing his
body. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.<br /><br />The day after his
death, a letter written by Father Capodanno was delivered to the regimental
commander. In the letter, the fallen priest had written, “I am due to go home in
late November or early December. I humbly request that I stay over Christmas and
New Year’s with my men. I am willing to relinquish my thirty days
leave….”<br /><br />Forty-four years later, we sat in <i>Semper Fidelis</i>
Memorial Chapel, reflecting on the service of this extraordinary Servant of God,
a title bestowed upon him by the Catholic Church. We contemplated the meaning of
“sacrifice,” and pondered both his life and his death. Said one Marine, “He
radiated the love of God. He was, in fact, the presence of God in our midst… He
was an oasis in the midst of a very difficult situation. He was always willing
to take on our burdens, to share in our sufferings and anxieties. Whenever I
heard him speak I had a feeling of peace. If we were worried and anxious, he
took our fears and burdens.”<br /><br />In the closing moments of the dedication
ceremony, Lieutenant General Ron Christmas reminded those gathered that we were
in the <i>Semper Fidelis</i> Memorial Chapel -- “Always
Faithful.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">“Have faith,” he said, “in
those young men and women who wear the uniform. Have faith in your God, have
faith in this great country, and have faith in our Corps.”<br /><br />And let us
remember the sacrifices of so many, and the sacrifice of Father Vincent
Capodanno.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Link: <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=55307583&msgid=692536&act=JG98&c=305005&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mca-marines.org%2Fblog%2Fbeth-crumley%2F2011%2F05%2F16%2Ffather-vincent-capodanno-and-meaning-%25E2%2580%259Csacrifice%25E2%2580%259D" style="color: #0000ff !important;">http://www.mca-marines.org/blog/beth-crumley/2011/05/16/father-vincent-capodanno-and-meaning-“sacrifice”</a></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-70537983882452974862013-06-01T16:30:00.000-05:002013-06-01T16:31:45.923-05:00Abstinence Education Downplayed as Method of Combating America’s STD Epidemic<br />
<div>
<span class="937461518-01062013"><span style="color: navy;">These folks, often in
positions of incredible influence, are absolutely sure that human beings are
nothing but animals and can do nothing at all to change their behavior. They
are absolutely at the mercy of the stimulus-response model that was ceated in
the forlorn hope that social scientists could reduce human behavior to a
mathematical formula: <br />"<b>If <i><span style="font-size: large;">x</span></i></b>,
<b>therefore <i><span style="font-size: large;">y</span></i></b>")</span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="937461518-01062013"><b>“The current priority is on
teen-pregnancy prevention, which is only sexual-risk reduction at best. The
purpose is no longer to provide teens the information and skills to avoid
<i>all</i> sexual risk by waiting for sex <span style="color: navy;">[abstention,
continence, chastity]</span> — the purpose is merely to reduce the risk of
pregnancy by encouraging teens to use contraception when they have
sex.”<br /><br />
<b>Real prevention wasn’t discussed at all by Bolan, <span class="937461518-01062013"><span style="color: navy;">[Mary Beth]</span>
</span>Bonacci <span class="937461518-01062013">[ <a href="http://www.reallove.net/index2.asp?CID=1">Real Love Incorporated</a> ]
</span>noted. “The CDC’s main recommendations, aside from ‘open and honest
discussion’ and ‘speaking out against shame and stigma,’ seem to revolve around
testing and screening for diseases that are already present,” said Bonacci,
“which isn’t prevention at all. It might lead to earlier treatment, but it won’t
prevent infection, except perhaps in a future partner who may learn of the
diagnosis and elect not to have sex with the infected individual. But, then,
that goes back to that ‘abstinence’ thing.”</b></b></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<span class="937461518-01062013"><span style="color: navy;">http://is.gd/9qy8gx Nat'l Catholic Register <span class="937461518-01062013"><span style="color: black;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span class="937461518-01062013">
</span>
<h1 class="headline">
<span class="937461518-01062013">
Abstinence Education Downplayed as Method of Combating
America’s STD Epidemic <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1103)</span></span></h1>
<span class="937461518-01062013">
<h2 class="subhead">
A key federal health official’s CNN commentary claims such
diseases are ‘totally preventable,’ but omits any mention of chaste behavior as
a solution.</h2>
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<cite class="byline">by CELESTE
MCGOVERN</cite> <i class="info">05/31/2013 <span class="comments-count">Comments <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/abstinence-education-downplayed-as-method-of-combating-americas-std-epidemi/#blogComments">(2)</a></span></i>
</div>
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<img alt="" height="192" src="http://www.ncregister.com/images/sized/images/uploads/CDC_logo-255x192.png" width="255" /> </div>
<div id="article-body-contents">
ATLANTA — Sexually transmitted disease is rampant in America: Across the
country, at any given time, 110 million people are afflicted with chlamydia,
genital herpes, genital warts, syphilis and other sometimes silent, sometimes
painfully obvious, damaging diseases.<br />
That means that one in two Americans will be infected by an STD at some point
in their life.<br />
But despite this evidence of a comprehensive failure in existing strategies
to control the spread of STDs, the nation’s public-health establishment
continues to give short shrift to promoting sexual abstinence before marriage
and fidelity within marriage as a primary means of prevention.<br />
According to <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/STI-Estimates-Fact-Sheet-Feb-2013.pdf">the
latest data</a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released in
February, there are 19.7 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections in
America every year.<br />
Half of the cases are among young people, aged 15 to 24. And one in four
American teenagers is infected every year — worse odds than a game of Russian
roulette.<br />
The CDC estimates the total direct medical costs of this epidemic to be about
$16 billion per year. But the life-altering costs of the diseases that cause
pain, shame, declined school performance, increased poverty, infertility,
difficult pregnancies, genital and cervical cancer and neonatal transmissions of
infections are incalculable.<br />
In <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/26/opinion/bolan-sexual-health">a
commentary</a> for CNN in April, describing “How Sexually Active Young People
Can Stay Safe,” Gail Bolan, the director of the CDC’s STD prevention division,
said the health and economic toll of sex-related disease was “totally
preventable. “<br />
“With increased awareness, prevention, testing and treatment, we can bring
this hidden epidemic into the spotlight and safeguard the health of young
people, while saving the nation billions of dollars in the process,” she
said.<br />
Yet absent from the entire article was the idea of preventing disease by
waiting to have sex until marriage and then faithful monogamy — the message of
so-called “abstinence education.”<br />
<br />
<b>Funding Cut</b><br />
And financially, too, abstinence education has been seriously set back under
the Obama administration.<br />
In April, the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) issued <a href="http://www.abstinenceassociation.org/newsroom/presidents_budget_eliminates_sra_funding.html">an
alert</a> after President Obama advised the Department of Health and Human
Services to redistribute a portion of Title V funding, which allocates $50
million to the states for abstinence education, to programs that focus on
contraceptive use instead.<br />
“Current federal sex-education policy has a staggering 16:1 disparity in
funding against the sexual-risk avoidance — commonly known as abstinence
education,” Valerie Huber, president of NAEA told the Register. <b>“The
current priority is on teen-pregnancy prevention, which is only
sexual-risk reduction at best. The purpose is no longer to provide teens the
information and skills to avoid <i>all</i> sexual risk by waiting for sex —
the purpose is merely to reduce the risk of pregnancy by encouraging teens to
use contraception when they have sex.” </b><br />
And they do so even though most teens are not sexually active, and two-thirds
of those who are wish they had waited.<br />
Regarding Bolan’s remarks on CNN, Huber said, “The CDC revealed that one in
four teen girls has at least one STD. Of the four most prevalent STDs among
teens, two of the four [HPV and chlamydia] can be easily transmissible — even
with the use of a condom. This should cause pause among those interested in the
optimal health for youth.”<br />
“Authentic and fail-safe avoidance is only possible with sexual delay,” added
Huber, who said that parents of all political persuasions prefer the
abstinence-based approach.<br />
<br />
<b>Real Prevention Not Discussed</b><br />
Catholic author and speaker Mary Beth Bonacci, whose organization <a href="http://www.reallove.net/index2.asp?CID=1">Real Love Incorporated</a>
promotes an integrated understanding of sexuality, love and chastity among young
people, also had trouble with Bolan’s remarks.<br />
“Her article says that all STIs [sexually transmitted infections] are
preventable, which is true,” said Bonacci. “But it fails to mention <i>how</i>
they are prevented.”<br />
<b>Real prevention wasn’t discussed at all by Bolan, Bonacci noted. “The
CDC’s main recommendations, aside from ‘open and honest discussion’ and
‘speaking out against shame and stigma,’ seem to revolve around testing and
screening for diseases that are already present,” said Bonacci, “which isn’t
prevention at all. It might lead to earlier treatment, but it won’t prevent
infection, except perhaps in a future partner who may learn of the diagnosis and
elect not to have sex with the infected individual. But, then, that goes back to
that ‘abstinence’ thing.”</b><br />
Although Bolan was not available to say why abstinence was not mentioned in
the outline of CDC tactics to reduce infection, CDC spokesperson Nikki Mayes
qualified her statements later to the Register.<br />
“To effectively reduce the burden of STIs among our nation’s youth, we must
use all of the prevention options at our fingertips — no single prevention
strategy will completely protect you against all STI,” said Mayes. “Abstinence
is the most reliable way to avoid infection with any STI. However, for those who
are sexually active, mutual monogamy with an uninfected partner, reduced numbers
of partners, condoms, STI testing and vaccination against HPV have all been
proven effective to reduce the risk of infection.”<br />
Mayes added that the current STD-prevention approach of the CDC was working,
and she pointed to the “near-historic low” incidence of gonorrhea, “and we’re
beginning to reverse a decade of increases in the nation’s syphilis rates.”<br />
But back before the current philosophy of “sex education” and STD prevention
took root, gonorrhea and syphilis were the only two STDs of significance in
America.<br />
Today, there are more than 25 infectious diseases of concern. And, while
gonorrhea may be historically low now, in April, scientists were warning that
new, antibiotic-resistant versions of the disease are making gains in the
population and could make the disease “untreatable by 2015.”<br />
<br />
<b>Catholic Teaching</b><br />
In this scenario and in the current epidemic of STDs, Catholic teaching on
sexuality appears to make medical and scientific sense.<br />
It teaches sexuality is a life-giving gift that unifies a husband and a wife
and is not shame-based, but, rather, calls youth, as well as older individuals,
to a higher sexual fulfillment in chastity and purity (married or not).<br />
<a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm">The
Catechism of the Catholic Church states</a>, “Chastity means the successful
integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in
his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man’s belonging to the
bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when
it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete
and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman” (2337).<br />
“When educating on the great questions of affectivity and sexuality,” <a href="http://visnews-en.blogspot.ca/2010/01/support-for-families-and-young-people.html">Pope
Benedict XVI explained</a> in 2010, “we must avoid showing adolescents and young
people ways that tend to devalue these fundamental dimensions of human
existence. To this end, the Church calls for everyone to collaborate, especially
those who work in schools, to educate the young to a lofty vision of human love
and sexuality.”<br />
<div align="right">
<i>Celeste McGovern writes from
Scotland.</i></div>
</div>
</div>
</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-73293100506360934132013-05-30T20:58:00.003-05:002013-05-30T21:27:33.366-05:00Anglican Bishop of Salisbury falied to mention that popes were condemning slavery long before Wilberforce<h1 class="entry-title">
<span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #0b5394;"></span><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">http://is.gd/7XZYdK </span></span></u></span></span></span></h1>
<div class="article-intro">
The Bishop of Salisbury is wrong to say that until William Wilberforce’s abolition campaign, Christians saw slavery as Biblical </div>
<div class="date">
By <span class="poster_name"><a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/author/fr-alexander-lucie-smith/" rel="author" title="Posts by Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith">Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith</a></span> on Thursday, 30 May 2013</div>
<div class="related">
<br />
<div class="author-info">
<h2>
About the author</h2>
<img alt="Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith" class="photo" height="39" src="http://d2jkk5z9de9jwi.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/userphoto/38.thumbnail.jpg" width="50" /> <br />
<h3>
<a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/author/fr-alexander-lucie-smith/" rel="author" title="Posts by Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith">Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith</a></h3>
Alexander Lucie-Smith is a Catholic priest and a doctor of moral theology. On Twitter he is <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/aluciesmith">@ALucieSmith</a> </div>
</div>
<div class="post-img">
<img alt="Bishop of Salisbury Photo: PA" class="attachment-thumbnail-440 wp-post-image" height="320" src="http://d2jkk5z9de9jwi.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Bishy.jpg" width="213" /><br />
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Bishop of Salisbury Photo: PA</div>
<div class="image-caption image-caption-wide">
<br /></div>
</div>
The Anglican Bishop of Salisbury has written a letter in the Daily Telegraph about gay marriage, which can be read <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/10087889/A-letter-from-the-Bishop-of-Salisbury-to-Lord-Alli-of-Norbury.html">here</a> if you feel you really want to. Embedded in the letter the Bishop has this to say:<br />
<br />
<i>“For example, before Wilberforce, Christians saw slavery as Biblical and part of the God-given ordering of Creation.”</i><br />
Interesting, eh? Wilberforce, one assumes he means William
Wilberforce, was born in 1759 and died in 1833. So, for seventeen
centuries all was darkness until Wilberforce came along and put us all
right on the matter.<br />
<br />
This will come as major news to Pope Pius II who condemned slavery as
a great crime and who died in 1464. The same is true of Popes Paul III,
Urban VIII, and Benedict XIV, all of whom long predated the English
reformer, not to mention the founders and members of the Mercedarian and
Trinitarian Orders, which were dedicated to the redemption of slaves.
In fact the history of Christian anti-slavery is a long one, as this
useful <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/julyweb-only/7-14-53.0.html">article</a> makes clear.<br />
<br />
Perhaps we should not expect the Bishop of Salisbury to know much
about any of the people above; after all, they were all Roman Catholics
and foreigners, and thus, one assumes, beneath his notice. But when
someone makes such an ignorant remark, whoever he may be, it is worth
protesting, simply because if such ignorant remarks go unchallenged,
then they may well pass into the mainstream and poison the minds of
future generations.<br />
<br />
Slavery is a great evil, but it is simplistic, misleading and
dangerous to see it as something that flourished because of the Bible or
because Christians approved it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-6187879994807105622013-05-23T20:58:00.000-05:002013-05-23T20:58:33.095-05:00Evangelizing the Evangelicals<div>
<span style="color: navy;">
<h2 class="entry-title">
<strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">As Weigel explains in a recent
</span></strong><a href="http://www.firstthings.com/article/2013/02/evangelical-catholicism" target="_blank"><i><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">First
Things</span></strong></i></a><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> essay,
“Evangelical Catholicism is a Spirit-led development reflecting the cultural
contingencies of history, like other such evolutions over the past two
millennia,” of which we could identify (1) the Patristic Church, (2) the
Medieval Church, and (3) the Counter-Reformation Church. Each was necessary for
the demands of its time, each was in keeping with the abiding truth, and each
gave way to a new form. The Patristic church, a roughly thousand-year
development between the primitive and medieval Church, produced the Creeds, gave
us the Fathers, and evangelized the pagans. The 500 years of medieval
Catholicism gave us the Cathedrals, systematic theologies, and major religious
orders before splintering. In roughly the same length of time—500 years—the
Counter-Reformation—“the Church in which anyone over sixty today was
raised”—“converted much of the Western Hemisphere … withstood the onslaught of
the French Revolution … met the challenges of twentieth-century
totalitarianism,” and much else besides.<br /></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><strong>And yet, “its time has passed.” Led
by the Spirit, the Church moves to a “new evolution in … self-understanding and
self-expression,” even though, of course, the way the Church expresses and lives
itself out never fundamentally alters the “enduring marks” of the Church,
namely, “unity, holiness, catholicity, and
apostolicity.”</strong> </span></span><a class="entry-title-link" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CrisisMagazine/~3/khb9fLZtJiA/evangelizing-the-evangelicals" target="_blank"><span class="296534412-21052013"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></span></a></h2>
</span><h2 class="entry-title">
</h2>
<h2 class="entry-title">
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</span></h2>
<h2 class="entry-title">
<span class="entry-source-title-parent">from <a class="entry-source-title" href="http://www.google.com/reader/view/feed/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crisismagazine.com%2Ffeed" target="_blank">Crisis Magazine</a></span> <span class="entry-author-parent">by
<span class="entry-author-name">R. J. Snell</span></span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<div class="entry-body">
<div>
<div class="item-body">
<div>
<strong>In his new <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Evangelical-Catholicism-Reform-21st-Century-Church/dp/0465027687/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368729012&sr=8-1&keywords=evangelical+catholicism" target="_blank">book</a>, George Weigel explicates</strong> the historical
development of Evangelical Catholicism, a reform begun by Pope Leo XIII
(1878-1903), developed by the renewals of the early twentieth-century,
formalized by Vatican II, and authoritatively interpreted by John Paul II and
Benedict XVI, and now expressed with particular aplomb by Pope Francis.<br />
<br />
It’s a stunning account, and, for a recent convert like myself, a mark of the
ability of Catholicism to retain the abiding and unchanging truths of faith
while allowing new expressions—ever ancient, ever new.<br />
<br />
<strong>As Weigel explains in a recent </strong><a href="http://www.firstthings.com/article/2013/02/evangelical-catholicism" target="_blank"><i><strong>First Things</strong></i></a><strong> essay,
“Evangelical Catholicism is a Spirit-led development reflecting the cultural
contingencies of history, like other such evolutions over the past two
millennia,” of which we could identify (1) the Patristic Church, (2) the
Medieval Church, and (3) the Counter-Reformation Church. Each was necessary for
the demands of its time, each was in keeping with the abiding truth, and each
gave way to a new form. The Patristic church, a roughly thousand-year
development between the primitive and medieval Church, produced the Creeds, gave
us the Fathers, and evangelized the pagans. The 500 years of medieval
Catholicism gave us the Cathedrals, systematic theologies, and major religious
orders before splintering. In roughly the same length of time—500 years—the
Counter-Reformation—“the Church in which anyone over sixty today was
raised”—“converted much of the Western Hemisphere … withstood the onslaught of
the French Revolution … met the challenges of twentieth-century
totalitarianism,” and much else besides.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>And yet, “its time has passed.” Led by the Spirit, the Church moves
to a “new evolution in … self-understanding and self-expression,” even though,
of course, the way the Church expresses and lives itself out never fundamentally
alters the “enduring marks” of the Church, namely, “unity, holiness,
catholicity, and apostolicity.”</strong> Despite the constancy of essentials,
the new expression and life is, at times, quite dramatically different in feel
and language, although nothing <i>really</i> changed. It is the same Church
proclaiming the same Faith in the same Lord.<br />
<br />
It also presents, I’d suggest, a genuine opportunity to reach out to
evangelical Protestants, which, until Palm Sunday, I was.<br />
<br />
“Roman fever” is a well-documented Protestant phenomenon, perhaps especially
among academics and college students, prompting the common question “Why are so
many evangelicals going to Rome?” A good deal of this results from the fact that
reason alone is insufficient, always requiring tradition, and as evangelicals
look to recover tradition they discover the Tradition. While recovering the
past, they also find the sheer enormity and depth of the Catholic intellectual
heritage, including its music, art, literature, and poetry, all providing a
place to dwell rather than the furious scuttling about of constant
reinvention.<br />
<br />
While suspicions are not as deep as they once were, in part because of
ecumenical cooperation on issues such as abortion and marriage, still many
evangelicals have hesitations (to put it mildly) about Roman Catholicism,
largely in four categories: (1) the status of the Bible, and how that relates to
doctrines about Mary, the Saints, and Purgatory; (2) Papal infallibility
(however much this repeats the previous issue); (3) justification and
faith/works, and (4) the Catholic thing—statues, mumbled prayers, fish, the
Rosary, Swiss Guards, noisy kids in the Mass, an odd inability to sing, and so
on.<br />
<br />
Don’t underestimate the fourth category. At the evangelical college where I
teach, most students have given me a respectful berth about my
conversion—everybody knew, no one was surprised, no one asked very much—but
before one Honors class a student hesitantly asked if I could explain Marian
doctrine, then another question was asked and another, for about an hour. The
<i>vast</i> majority of questions related to the fourth category: “What’s the
deal with Catholics and drinking?” “Why are people so inattentive during Mass?”
“Bingo … what’s with that?” “Why not spontaneous prayers?” “Why are homilies so
short?” and so on. <i>Not a single question</i>, <i>not one</i>, about
justification, even though in a survey of concerns they would list that
objection, but largely because they know they’re supposed to, not because they
really are bothered by it.<br />
<br />
Given the history, how could that be? First, the evangelical Protestant world
is a mish-mash of theologies, a good many of which are not remotely linked to
the magisterial Reformers on justification, which is why there is so much <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Good-News-Anxious-Christians-Practical/dp/1587432854/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368819332&sr=8-1&keywords=good+new+for+anxious+christians" target="_blank">discussion</a> about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Justification-Gods-Plan-Pauls-Vision/dp/0830838635/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368819378&sr=1-1&keywords=nt+wright+justification" target="_blank">it</a>, sometimes <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Future-Justification-Response-Wright/dp/1581349645/ref=pd_sim_b_1" target="_blank">heated</a>, and a good many evangelicals are not <a href="http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/16-teensnext-gen/94-a-new-generation-expresses-its-skepticism-and-frustration-with-christianity" target="_blank">overly</a> tied to Scriptural authority <a href="http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/21-transformation/252-barna-survey-examines-changes-in-worldview-among-christians-over-the-past-13-years" target="_blank">anyway</a>. Second, most people in the pews are not theologians or
Church historians, and evangelicals are perhaps particularly concerned to not be
<a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/" target="_blank">bogged</a> down by the
past and so not overly worried to distinguish <i>sola fide</i> from <i>sola
gratia</i>. Third, young evangelicals are decent people, and many are more
concerned with care of the poor then with the finer points of sixteenth-century
theological disputes. In other words, I’m proposing that while all would list
the four categories of objections, the most alienating and troubling for many is
the fourth—Catholicism just seems weird and foreign to the most salient aspect
of evangelicalism, which is a committed, personal, meaningful relationship with
Jesus. And from the perspective of a young evangelical, Catholics just don’t get
this.<br />
<br />
One of my students, to use a representative anecdote, was seriously exploring
Catholicism. He was attending Mass, was in conversation with a local priest I
had recommended, and was hard at work reading the <i>Catechism</i> and some
theologians. And he loved what he was reading. Eventually, however, he went to a
Presbyterian congregation because, in his words, “the people at Mass were so
uninterested and it was a serious challenge to my faith.” On the one hand, this
reveals a cultural difference on the point of going to services; I go to Mass,
<i>primarily</i>, to receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Everything else is a
bonus, but when I was a young evangelical, I was taught that if I didn’t have an
experience of God something was wrong, and so I had to express my enthusiasm as
proof of my experience. One pastor once told me to “worship hard”—meaning with
visible emotion and zeal—so to help others have a similar experience. If this is
your expectation, the mumbled prayers, sometimes uninspired homilies and music
(oh dear, the music of some parishes! I’ll admit it delayed my own conversion)
can be seen as a mark that this is dead, a religion without spirit. Of course,
this misunderstands the Mass and is an imperialism of expectations, but
culturally it’s a <i>big</i> deal.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, it’s also why Evangelical Catholicism has such great
missionary potential for drawing in younger evangelical Protestants. I had read
Aquinas and Augustine and Athanasius, I had studied with the Jesuits, I had
learned the ancient music, I knew the art, I encountered the saints, I was
impressed with the commitment to the poor, but until I met Evangelical Catholics
for whom, as Weigel puts it, friendship with Jesus Christ was the main thing, I
wasn’t convinced. What Weigel describes makes sense to evangelicals, and coupled
with the markers of unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity is precisely
what a good many of them/us are searching for: “in friendship with Jesus Christ,
we come to know the face of the merciful Father, for whoever experiences the
Son’s power to forgive sins sees the merciful Father, who welcomes home the
prodigals and reclothes them with the garments of integrity.”<br />
<br />
The Great Commission continues, and as we experience the ongoing contraction
of Christendom, the Oneness of the Church will be especially important.
Welcoming home those who left will be an enormous task, requiring patience and
charity. If I’m right, though, a good deal of this work could be accomplished if
we just did what we should be doing anyway, if we just were who we should
be—friends with Jesus.<br />
<br />
A Church without Christ is not worth having, but a Christocentric Church will
bring home its separated brothers and sisters; it will evangelize those who
already have faith but wait for its fullness.<br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-63530463526224254392013-05-23T20:51:00.006-05:002013-05-23T20:51:54.363-05:00Off the Rails - Was Vatican II Hijacke<br />
<div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span class="031403522-22052013">This is a four year old
article that does an excellent job of explaining just what happened, or didn't
happen, that caused the Second Vatican Council to become so controversial, even
50 years later.</span></span></b></div>
<div>
<span class="031403522-22052013"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: navy;">
<span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Was </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Vatican</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> II
Hijacked?<br /></span></b></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">The key reason
why postconciliar "renewal" often went wrong is the almost incredible fact that
the hierarchy in the early 1960s made almost no systematic effort to catechize
the faithful (including priests and religious) on the meaning of the council –
something about which many bishops themselves seemed confused. "Renewal experts"
sprang up everywhere, and the most contradictory explanations of the council
were offered to Catholics thirsting for guidance. Bishops rarely offered their
flocks authoritative teaching and instead fell into the habit of simply trusting
certified "experts" in every area of Church life. . .
.<br /></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">The partisans of
<em>aggiornamento<span style="color: #990000;"> </span></em></span><span style="color: #990000;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;">[“updating”]</span></em></span><span style="color: black;"> became the first theologians in the history of the Church to make
systematic use of the mass media, entering into a working alliance with
journalists who could scarcely even understand the concept of
<em>ressourcement</em> </span><span style="color: #990000;">[“back to the
sources”]</span><span style="color: black;"> but eagerly promoted an agenda that
required the Church to accommodate itself to the secular culture. Strangely
enough, some theologians, along with their propagandist allies, actually denied
the Church the right to remain faithful to its authentic identity and announced
a moral obligation to repudiate as much of that identity as possible. "Renewal"
came to be identified with dissent and infidelity, and Catholics who remained
faithful to the Church were denounced as enemies of </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Vatican</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> II. . .
.<br /><br />Nothing had a more devastating effect on postconciliar Catholic life
than the sexual revolution, as believers began to engage in behavior not
measurably different from that of non-believers. Priests and religious
repudiated their vows in order to marry, and many of those who remained in
religious life ceased to regard celibacy as desirable. Catholics divorced almost
as frequently as non-Catholics. Church teachings about contraception,
homosexuality, and even abortion were widely disregarded, with every moral
absolute treated as merely another wall needing to be breached. . .
.<br /></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Ultimately the
single best explanation of what happened to deflect the council's decrees from
their intended direction is the fact that as soon as the assembly ended, the
worldwide cultural phenomenon known as the "the Sixties" began. It was nothing
less than a frontal assault on all forms of authority. . . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="color: #990000;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #990000;">[Actually
the release of the Envoid birth control pill, the inaugural event of “the
Sixties”, came in July of 1961.]<br /></span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/hitchcock/06475.html">http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/hitchcock/06475.html</a><span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
<h1 style="margin: auto 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><br />Off the Rails - Was
Vatican II Hijacked?</span></h1>
<span style="color: black;"><cite>by James Hitchcock</cite> - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">July 16, 2009</span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><em>Reprinted with permission from our good friends
at</em> </span><a href="http://www.insidecatholic.com/">InsideCatholic.com</a><span style="color: black;">, <em>the leading online journal of Catholic faith, culture, and
politics</em>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Most Catholics in 1959 probably didn't even know what an
ecumenical council was. And yet, here it was. Pope John XXIII announced that the
goals of the Second Vatican Council would be "the renewal of the spirit of the
Gospel in the hearts of people everywhere and the adjustment of Christian
discipline to modern-day living" – a proclamation that was on the face of it
ambiguous. How was authentic renewal to be achieved? How should essential
discipline be adjusted to modern culture?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">John was a relentless optimist, inclined always to look
for good in the world, disinclined to scold, and deeply convinced that he had
been called to help bring about a new Pentecost in the Church. He further
believed that the Counter-Reformation era, characterized both by defensiveness
inside the Church and aggressiveness toward those on the outside, was over. The
council made only an oblique reference to the fact that the 20th century had
already seen a persecution of Christians more severe than any in the entire
history of Catholicism.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">The Church was apparently flourishing during John's
pontificate. By contrast with what would come later, its members were unusually
serious, devout, and moral. But such a Church could be criticized as fostering
formalism, a neglect of social justice, and an overly narrow piety, and it's
likely that John XXIII thought that a new Pentecost could build on this
foundation to reach still higher levels.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">In his opening address to the council, John affirmed the
infallibility of the Church but called on it to take account of the "errors,
requirements, and opportunities" of the age. He regretted that some Catholics
("prophets of gloom") seemed unable to see any good in the modern world and
regarded it as the worst of all historical periods. The dogmas of the Church
were settled and "known to all," so the conciliar task was to explore new ways
of presenting them to the modern world.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">The preparatory commissions for the council were
dominated by members of the Curia, who were inclined toward precisely such a
pessimistic view. When the council opened, there were objections to those
commissions, with the result that the council fathers were allowed to approve
new schema prepared by some of their own. In some ways this procedural squabble
was the most decisive event of the entire council, and it represented a crucial
victory for what was now called the "liberal" or "optimistic" party,
guaranteeing that the council as a whole would look on its work as more than a
mere restatement of accepted truths. There was an officially endorsed spirit of
optimism in which even legitimate questions about the wisdom of certain ideas
were treated as evidence of lack of faith.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">The intellectual leadership of the council came mainly
from Western Europe, the most influential prelates being
Bernard Alfrink of the
Netherlands, Leo
Jozef Suenens of
Belgium, Achille
Lienart of
France, Julius
Doepfner and Joseph Frings of
Germany, and
Franz Koenig of
Austria. Those
five countries, along with the rest of Europe, possessed
an ancient tradition of Catholicism, and they had nourished a vigorous and
sophisticated Catholic intellectual life.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br />As theological questions arose, the
council fathers almost automatically deferred to the opinions of these European
prelates, who were in turn influenced by men recognized as the most accomplished
theologians of the age – Henri DeLubac, Jean Danielou, and Yves Congar in
France; Edward
Schillebeeckx in the
Netherlands;
Karl Rahner and Joseph Ratzinger in
Germany.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">But in many respects the Church in those five nations –
with the possible exception of the
Netherlands –
appeared less than robust (judging, for example, by rates of church attendance
and religious vocations). Indeed, the vigorous intellectual life of those
countries was colored by a certain sense of crisis – the need to make the Faith
credible to modern men. By contrast, the Church in the British
Isles, Southern Europe, and the
United States,
to say nothing of the Third World, lacked dazzling
intellectual achievements but appeared to be relatively hearty.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Most council fathers therefore seemed to have felt little
urgency about most of the questions that came before them. For many, the
discussions involved issues that, before now, hadn't even been considered, such
as making the liturgy and religious life more "relevant." But an unquestioned
faith that the Church would always be preserved from error, along with the
leadership of John XXIII and Paul VI, led most of the delegates to support the
schema that were finally forged from the debate. No decree of the council
provoked more than a small number of dissenting votes. Ironically, in view of
the later claim that the council brought about the democratization of the
Church, deference to authority was a major factor in determining how most of the
fathers voted.</span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: black;">Creating Radicals</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">John XXIII announced Vatican II as a "pastoral" assembly,
but there were growing differences of opinion as to what exactly that meant.
Pious, instinctively conservative prelates might think of encouraging Marian
devotions or kindling zeal for the foreign missions. The dominant group,
however, moved the council toward dialogue with the modern world, translating
the Church's message into a language modern men understood.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">The council fathers always strove to remain balanced. To
take what are now the most fiercely debated issues, they imagined no revisions
in Catholic moral teaching about sexuality, referring instead to "the plague of
divorce" and to the "abominable crime" of abortion. Deliberately childless
marriages were deemed a tragedy, and the faithful were reminded of the Church's
condemnation of artificial birth control.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">At the same time, the fact that practically every aspect
of Catholic belief seemed to be under discussion had results that John XXIII
probably didn't intend. Famously, at one point he removed the subject of
contraception from the floor of the council and announced that he was appointing
a special commission to study the issue – an action that naturally led some to
believe the teaching would indeed be revised. When Paul VI issued <em>Humanae
Vitae</em> in 1968, liberals were outraged that he rejected the commission's
recommendation to permit some forms of birth control and accused him of
betraying the council.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">The council fathers each had <em>periti</em>, or
advisers, on matters of theology and canon law, and some of them were very
influential, both in shaping the thought of the prelates whom they advised and
in working behind the scenes with like-minded delegates and other
<em>periti</em>. In explaining the theological revolution that occurred almost
immediately after the council, some orthodox Catholics speculate that a
well-organized minority intended from the beginning to sabotage the council and
that they successfully planted theological time bombs in the conciliar decrees –
doctrinal statements whose implications were deliberately left vague, to be
activated later. But there's little evidence of this.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">It's characteristic of revolutions that they are rarely
planned ahead of time. Rather, they arise from the sudden acceleration of
historical change, caused by the flow of events and the way in which people
relate to those events. There is no evidence that anyone came to the council
with a radical agenda, in part because such an agenda would have been considered
hopelessly unrealistic. (Some liberals actually feared that the council would
prove to be a retrogressive gathering.)</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">A major factor in the postconciliar dynamic was the
reformers' own heady experience of swift and unexpected change. For example, in
1960 no one would have predicted – and few would have advocated – the virtual
abandonment of the Latin liturgy. But once reformers realized that the council
fathers supported change, it became an irresistible temptation to continue
pushing farther and faster. What had been thought of as stone walls of
resistance turned out to be papier-mâché.<br /></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">The council itself proved to be a "radicalizing"
experience, during which men who had never met before, and who in some cases had
probably given little thought to the questions now set before them, began
quickly to change their minds on major issues<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. (For example, Archbishop – later Cardinal
– John F. Dearden of </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Detroit</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, who was considered quite rigid before the
council, returned home as an uncritical advocate of every kind of change.)</b>
When the council was over, some of those present – both <em>periti</em> and
bishops – were prepared to go beyond what the council had in fact intended or
authorized, using the conciliar texts as justification when possible, ignoring
them when not (as recounted, for example, by </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Archbishop </span><span style="color: #993300;">Annibale Bugnini</span><span style="color: black;">, who was in
charge of liturgical reform after the council, in his book <em>The Reform of the
Liturgy</em></span></b><span style="color: black;">). <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Aware that the council didn't support their
agenda, they quickly got into the habit of speaking of the "spirit" of the
council, which was said to transcend its actual statements and even in some
cases to contradict them.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: black;">The Role of the Media</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">While the council
was still in session, it occurred to some that it was less important what that
body actually said and did than what people <em>thought</em> it said and did.
Thus as early as the first session, in 1962, there was an orchestrated
propaganda campaign to present the deliberations and define the issues in
particular ways and to enlist the sympathies of the public on behalf of a
particular agenda.</b> Certain key journalists became "participant-observers,"
meaning that they reported the events and at the same time sought to influence
them – the chief practitioners being "Xavier Rynne" (the pen name of the
Redemptorist historian Francis X. Murphy), who wrote "Letter from Vatican City"
for the <em>New Yorker</em> magazine, and Robert Blair Kaiser, who reported for
<em>Time</em>.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Such reports were written for a largely non-Catholic
audience, many of whom were unsympathetic to the Faith, and the thrust of the
reporting was to assure such readers that the Church was at long last admitting
its many errors and coming to terms with secular culture. Most Catholics
probably relied on these same sources for their understanding of the council and
so received the same message.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The key reason
why postconciliar "renewal" often went wrong is the almost incredible fact that
the hierarchy in the early 1960s made almost no systematic effort to catechize
the faithful (including priests and religious) on the meaning of the council –
something about which many bishops themselves seemed confused. "Renewal experts"
sprang up everywhere, and the most contradictory explanations of the council
were offered to Catholics thirsting for guidance. Bishops rarely offered their
flocks authoritative teaching and instead fell into the habit of simply trusting
certified "experts" in every area of Church life.</b> Indeed, before the council
was even over, several fallacious interpretations were planted that still
flourish today.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Even the best journalistic accounts were forced to
simplify the often subtle and complex deliberations of the council fathers. But
there was also deliberate oversimplification for the purpose of creating a
particular public impression. The media thus divided the council fathers into
heroes and villains – otherwise known as liberals and conservatives. In this
way, the conciliar battles were presented as morality plays in which
open-minded, warm-hearted, highly intelligent innovators (Cardinal Alfrink, for
example) were able repeatedly to thwart plots by Machiavellian reactionaries
(Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani of the Holy Office). It was a morality play that
appealed to the prejudices of many Westerners of the mid-20th century. It also
had a real if immeasurable influence on many bishops, who soon discovered that
being viewed as "progressive" would gain them a favorable press, while the
opposite would make them into public villains.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For
understandable reasons, vastly disproportionate attention was lavished by the
media on such things as the vernacular liturgy and the end of mandatory Friday
abstinence, since concrete practices could be easily dealt with journalistically
and such practices had long helped to define the differences between Catholics
and others.</b> Catholics who understood almost nothing of the theological
issues of the council came to understand that its "real" purpose was repealing
rules that had become burdensome and old-fashioned.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">But in another sense the attention lavished on such
things was not disproportionate, because in a sacramental Church "externals" are
the doorways to the spirit. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In theory it
perhaps ought not to have mattered whether nuns wore habits, but in practice the
modification, then the total abandonment, of those habits marked the beginning
of the end of religious life as it had existed for centuries. For many people
the distinction between essentials and nonessentials was almost meaningless. If
Catholics were no longer forbidden to eat meat on Fridays, why could they not
get divorced, <em>especially</em> given the widespread conviction that the
purpose of the council and of "Good Pope John" was to make people comfortable
with their faith?</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Many of the council fathers, after they returned to their
dioceses, seemed themselves to be in a state of confusion over what they'd done.
Only a relatively few – some orthodox, others less so – had a clear and
consistent understanding. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For most, the
postconciliar period proved to be a time of rudderless experimentation, as
Catholics groped to understand what the council had mandated. For many people
the one sure thing, amid all the postconciliar uncertainty, was the fact of
change itself; in an odd way it seemed safest to do or believe almost the
opposite of what Catholics had previously been taught.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: black;">The Scars of Renewal</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Underlying the council were two different approaches to
reform – approaches that were not contradictory but that required serious
intellectual effort to reconcile. <br /></span><span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">One was <em>ressourcement</em> <span style="color: #990000;">("back to
the sources")</span>, a program of renewing the Church by returning to its scriptural
and patristic roots (DeLubac, Danielou, and Hans Urs Von Balthasar all held to
this). <br /><br />The other was <em>aggiornamento</em> <span style="color: #990000;">("updating")</span>, by which the
supposed demands of contemporary culture were the chief concern (Hans Küng,
Schillebeeckx, and to some extent Rahner, were all proponents). </b><br />Kept
in balance during the council itself, these two movements increasingly pulled
apart afterward and resulted in the deep conflicts that continue to the
present.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">A prime example of the postconciliar dynamic at work was
the "renewal" of religious life. Cardinal Suenens wrote the influential book
<em>The Nun in the World</em>, enjoining sisters to come out of their cloisters
and accept the challenges of modern life. Whatever might be thought about them
as theological principles, such recipes for "renewal" also promised that those
who adopted them would experience phenomenal revitalization, including dramatic
numerical growth, and for a few years after the council the official spirit of
naive optimism won out over the "prophets of gloom."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">The most famous instance of such renewal in the
United States
was that of the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Los Angeles. Their program of
<em>aggiornamento</em> had all the ingredients required at the time – intense
publicity from an overwhelmingly favorable media, a prestigious secular "expert"
(the psychologist Carl Rogers), picturesque experiments with nontraditional
behavior (encounter groups), and a reactionary villain (James Cardinal McIntyre)
portrayed as the only obstacle to progress. Not until it was too late did anyone
ask whether the IHM Sisters, along with countless others, were simply abandoning
their vocations completely</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">. </span><span style="color: #333399;">[ Wiki - By 1970, 90% of the
sisters were dispensed from their vows.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><a href="http://is.gd/Vt83ep">http://is.gd/Vt83ep</a><span style="color: black;">
]</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">A tragic dimension of the conciliar period was precisely
the irrelevance and ultimate failure of the exciting intellectual programs that
emanated from what were then the five most influential Catholic nations. For a
very brief period, Dutch Catholicism made a bid to give the universal Church a
working model of renewal, before "the
Dutch
Church" imploded and sank into
oblivion. Rates of church attendance and religious vocations may have been
worrisomely low in
Belgium,
France, and
Germany in 1960,
but the bishops of those countries probably couldn't imagine how much lower they
would fall. In ways not recognized 40 years ago, it's now clear that the
strategy of countering secularism by moving closer to the secular culture just
doesn't work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The partisans of
<em>aggiornamento</em> became the first theologians in the history of the Church
to make systematic use of the mass media, entering into a working alliance with
journalists who could scarcely even understand the concept of
<em>ressourcement</em> but eagerly promoted an agenda that required the Church
to accommodate itself to the secular culture. Strangely enough, some
theologians, along with their propagandist allies, actually denied the Church
the right to remain faithful to its authentic identity and announced a moral
obligation to repudiate as much of that identity as possible. "Renewal" came to
be identified with dissent and infidelity, and Catholics who remained faithful
to the Church were denounced as enemies of </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Vatican</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> II.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">This occurred at the most fundamental level, so that the
authority of the council itself was soon relativized. The notion that a council
would claim for itself final authority in matters of belief came to be viewed by
liberals as reactionary. Vatican II was thus treated as merely a major
historical epiphany – a moment in the unfolding history of the Church and of
human consciousness when profound new insights were discovered. According to
this view, the council's function was not to make authoritative pronouncements
but merely to facilitate the movement of the Church into the next stage of its
historical development. (For example, the Jesuit historian John W. O'Malley in
1971 proposed that certain conciliar texts could be legitimately ignored as
merely reflective of intellectual immaturity, timidity, and confusion on the
part of the council fathers.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">After the council, the concept of "the People of God" was
reduced to a crude form of democracy – doctrine as determined by opinion polls.
The liturgy ceased to be a divine action and became a communal celebration, and
the supernatural vocations of priests and religious were deemed to be obstacles
to their service to the world.</span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Nothing had a
more devastating effect on postconciliar Catholic life than the sexual
revolution, as believers began to engage in behavior not measurably different
from that of non-believers. Priests and religious repudiated their vows in order
to marry, and many of those who remained in religious life ceased to regard
celibacy as desirable. Catholics divorced almost as frequently as non-Catholics.
Church teachings about contraception, homosexuality, and even abortion were
widely disregarded, with every moral absolute treated as merely another wall
needing to be breached.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: black;">Off the Rails</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Ultimately the
single best explanation of what happened to deflect the council's decrees from
their intended direction is the fact that as soon as the assembly ended, the
worldwide cultural phenomenon known as the "the Sixties" began. It was nothing
less than a frontal assault on all forms of authority.</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Bereft of catechesis, confused by the conciliar changes,
and unable to grasp the subtle theology of the conciliar decrees, many Catholics
simply translated the conciliar reforms into the terms of the counterculture,
which was essentially the demand for "liberation" from all restraint on personal
freedom. Even as late as 1965 almost no one anticipated this great cultural
upheaval. The measured judgments of <em>Gaudium et Spes</em>, the council's
highly influential decree on the Church and the modern world, shows not a hint
of it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Had the council met a decade earlier, during the
relatively stable 1950s, it's possible that there could have been an orderly and
untroubled transition. But after 1965 the spirit of the age was quite different,
and by then many Catholics were eager to break out of what they considered their
religious prison. Given the deliberately fostered popular impression that the
Church was surrendering in its perennial struggle with the world, it was
inevitable that the prevailing understanding of reform would be filtered through
the glass of a hedonistic popular culture. Under such conditions it would
require remarkable steadfastness of purpose to adhere to an authentic program of
renewal.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">The postconciliar crisis has moved far beyond issues like
the language of the liturgy or nuns' habits – even beyond sexual morality or
gender identities. Today the theological frontier is nothing less than the stark
question of whether there is indeed only one God and Jesus is His only-begotten
Son. It is a question that the council fathers didn't foresee as imminent and,
predictably, the council's dicta about non-Christian religions are now cited to
justify various kinds of religious syncretism. The resources for resolving this
issue are present in the conciliar decrees themselves, but it's by no means
certain that Church leaders have the will to interpret them in final and
authoritative ways. Forty years after the council, serious Catholics have good
reason to think they've been left to wander the theological
wilderness.</span><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">James Hitchcock
is professor of history at </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">St. Louis</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">University</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
<h1 style="margin: auto 0in;">
<a href="http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/1989/jun1989p17_640.html"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">How the liturgy fell apart:
the enigma of Archbishop Bugnini</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Michael
Davies</span></span></h1>
</b></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-16813074280000796262013-05-23T20:40:00.000-05:002013-05-23T20:40:10.684-05:00Here is the full text of Minnesota State Senator Dan Hall's speech on the Senate floor opposing Same Sex Marriage: 5-13-13<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here is the full text
of Senator Dan Hall's speech on the Senate floor </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5-13-13</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There’s a lot of celebrating going on today but there’s also a
lot of grieving going on today. Grieving because there are many people in the
state who do not believe this is the right thing to do. I sometimes call this
the divine tension. Our constitution has protections for religious freedom—not
to protect the government from religion.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have six key points I’d like to state.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First off, marriage exists to bring a man and a woman together
as husband and wife, to be the father and mother to any children their union
produces.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Second, marriage is based on truth that men and women are
complementary. The biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a
woman, the reality that children need both a father and a mother—which one
would you not have wanted. Marriage is society’s least restrictive means of
assuring the well-being of children. Marital breakdown weakens civil society.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Government recognizes marriage because it benefits society in a
way that no other relationship does. Government can treat people equally and
with respect and respect their liberty without redefining marriage. Redefining
marriage would further distance marriage from the needs of children and deny
the importance of mothers and fathers. It weakens monogamy, exclusivity and
permanency, the norms to which marriage in our society [inaudible] and it will
threaten religious liberty.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I know that, Madam President, you do not allow us to pray in the
name of Jesus or the holy spirit while we’re up there, but I ask that the holy
spirit be with all of us today in this capitol around </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Minnesota</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> during this vote. Today we may
be changing the course of freedom for our children and our grandchildren in </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Minnesota</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. We may be forced to not just
listen to someone else’s view—but to accept and then legislate and next, I
believe, we will be forced to believe what we don’t.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have been accused of attacking same-sex marriage because I
disagree with the lifestyle. When has disagreeing become an attack? When has
taking a stand against something you believe in become a personal attack?
Freedom can only be free if we keep our moral compass. If we resolve to
strengthen marriage instead of dismantling it. Without strong morals, that
which we believe is right or wrong, we lose our freedoms.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Redefining marriage, which has many restrictions—you can’t get
married if you’re under 18 without parents’ permission; only two people can get
married, not three, not more—is opening that Pandora’s box. If you think
marriage, the way it is now, is discriminating, why not add another group?
That’s what we’ve done, we’re still discriminating, if that’s what you believe,
unless we open it up to all.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But they’ll call me a bigot, they’ll call me a hater, they’ll spit
in my face, like they did a friend of mine last Thursday. There are things in
life, members, that are worth standing up for, even to be persecuted for.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many have said to me, ‘Sen. Hall, you don’t understand. You’re
married, live in a nice suburb, you’ve got kids, live in a nice house, two-car
garage, you’re well educated.’</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Most of you don’t know I grew up in the southeast projects, 71
Saint Marys [Avenue] by the U of M. Many of my relatives were addicts,
criminals, two sent to prison, more than one child molester. Those that my
mother tried to keep us away from were relatives. My mother raised four
children in the projects but had an alcoholic husband that she divorced when I
was six years old.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Two years later, she married another, my stepfather who
also was a drunk. When he was home, we tried not to be. When I was 12 my mother
told him, “You either get on your knees and accept Jesus and have him take over
your life and stop drinking or there’s the door, don’t ever come back.’ He did
that that day, our life changed, that was a turning point in my history. My
father did this 48 years ago today. He’s now in a nursing home, my mother still
lives on </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lake</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nokomis</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But the change of history is like what we’re doing today.
It will forever change the fate of family.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have family members on both sides of this issue. All of us are
not perfect and all of us carry baggage from the past and our families. All
have sinned, all have faults, I certainly do. I sin every day. This is not
about that. It’s about what’s good for children. The children here in </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Minnesota</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. It’s about making the right
choice for children’s future. The question is: Are homosexual marriages good
for children? Are we as members in this chamber going to change the course of
history? As to what the adults, we the caretakers, the public policy holders,
leaders of </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Minnesota</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—what we think is right for
children.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Back to marriage. Marriage is about giving, not taking. It’s
about being willing to serve another, giving your affection to no other and,
spiritually, marriage is about two becoming one in God’s eyes. A civil union is
having a contract to protect yourself from the other that may take advantage of
you and legally securing the government and civil benefits that have been
reserved for marriage. There are consequences to everything. There will be
unintended and, I believe, intended consequences.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Members, God has written his word on your hearts: Don’t
legislate what you think personally is wrong. Choose life and life abundantly.
Dismantling marriage will bring hurt, shame, confrontation and more
indoctrination. Forcing others to give you your rights will never end well. It
won’t give you the recognition you desire. That which is right can easily be
seen by all. Let me say that again: That which is right can easily be seen by
all.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is this easy for you? Most people know this is not right. You
asked for this job, members, when you ran for office. Leading is not easy. Are
you still looking for an excuse to vote for it? I’m not giving you that today.
I’m here to affirm true beliefs that come from your relationship to your
creator.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you really want what </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Europe</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> has? They’re on the verge of
civil disaster. Some have said, ‘But don’t you want to be on the right side of
history?’ The truth is I’m more concerned about being on the right side of
eternity.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In conclusion, let me say this: My desire today is to bring more
peace, more justice to all of </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Minnesota</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. I propose that we vote “No” on
this bill and that we propose a more loving document that will more clearly and
more distinctly allow the freedom that both communities would desire.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t fool yourself today and think voting yes on this bill ends
the conversation. The great people of </span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Minnesota</span></i><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> deserve better than this. This
document will bring civil disobedience.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This document will split our schools, our churches, our towns,
our counties, our state. It will hurt businesses and confuse children. More
than any single issue has ever done since the civil war.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This bill needs to be crafted in such a way that it will not push
civil rights back 50 years but bring our communities together. Please think
about the devastating repercussions this vote will have on our communities. We
must not pass this bill but, rather, we must take one more time to craft a
truly bipartisan bill that respects the values of all Minnesotans and where no
one feels they’re being shoved into an unwanted world, no one feels their
religious liberties are being taken away.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; margin-bottom: 8.55pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Members, today you must choose who you will serve. May God help
us.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.15pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://northfield.patch.com/articles/minnesota-senate-next-hurdle-for-gay-marriage-bill"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #0044aa; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The measure passed 37-30. </span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #0044aa; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Senator Hall represents parts of Bloomington and Burnsville in the Minnesota State Senate , District 63</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-36166725172420454322013-05-23T20:26:00.003-05:002013-05-23T20:26:55.976-05:00 Some upcoming Catholic-related events of interest in the Twin Cities area. May-June 2013<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;">Below are listed some upcoming Catholic-related events of interest in the Twin
Cities area. See links or attached PDF flyers for more details. Hope you can
attend and/or help spread the word to your friends, family, your parish
community, etc.<br />*****************************************<br /><br /><i>Tues.,
May, 28</i>: Argument Club for Women (new group starting!), St. Michael
Church, Stillwater, 6-9PM. $10. See: <a href="http://www.sccff.net/the-inaugural-meeting-of-the-argument-club-for-women" moz-do-not-send="true">www.sccff.net</a><a href="http://www.sccff.net/the-inaugural-meeting-of-the-argument-club-for-women" moz-do-not-send="true"> </a> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><br /><i>Wed., May 29</i>: Film screening, <b>War on the
Vendee</b>, Holy Family Church, St. Louis Park, 7PM</span><br /><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: Cambria;">It is the
story of Catholic Martyrs of the French Revolution. This is a 90 minute G-rated
film (no blood shed) starring a cast of 256 Catholic youth (most are homeschooled) by Navis Pictures. You can
watch a trailer at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.navispictures.com" moz-do-not-send="true"> </a><a href="cid:part4.00020409.00040606@comcast.net" moz-do-not-send="true">www.navispictures.com</a>.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">Jim Morlino, founder of Navis Pictures, will host
an informal Q & A session afterwards<b> </b> and on June
3<b>.
</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Another film
screening will be on
Mon.,
June
3 </span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria;">at St. John
</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Baptist, New Brighton,
7PM</span><b><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>Sun., June 2</i>: Monthly Holy Hour for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty at St. Raphael,
Crystal, 2:30PM (flyer
attached)</span><i>Sun.,</i> <i>J</i><i>une 30</i> at 4PM<br /><br /><i>Tues., June 11</i>: <a href="http://www.prenatalpartnersforlife.org/" moz-do-not-send="true">Prenatal
Partners for Life</a> annual benefit dinner with <b>Matt Birk!</b> U of St.
Thomas, Anderson Center, </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">6PM
</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">(flyer
attached)<br /></span><big><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Sat</i><i>., June 22</i>: <b>Save the date! </b>
Religious Freedom Forum, Church of St. Peter, Mendota, 8AM-NOON,
held during the U.S. Bishops sponsored <a href="http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/index.cfm" moz-do-not-send="true">Fortnight for Freedom</a>, June 21-July 4. (flyer
attached) <span style="color: #cc0000;">HatTip to Cathy Deeds</span></span><big> <br /> </big></span></big>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-62580585704461123752013-05-23T20:18:00.000-05:002013-05-23T20:18:38.127-05:00New Gravestones of 64 Pioneer Priests to be Blessed on Memorial Day at Two Catholic Cemeteries<div>
<span class="359090501-24052013"><strong>For Immediate Release from
</strong></span></div>
<div>
<span class="359090501-24052013"><strong>the Archdiocese of St. Paul and
Minneapolis</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">New Gravestones of <span class="359090501-24052013">64</span> Pioneer Priests to be Blessed on Memorial Day
at Two Catholic Cemeteries</span></strong></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Saint Paul, MN, May 20, 2013—On Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, The Catholic
Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis’ Adopt-a-Marker
campaign will culminate with the blessing of 64 new headstones during the annual
10 a.m. Memorial Day Masses at Calvary Cemetery, 753 Front Ave., Saint Paul and
St. Mary’s Cemetery, 4403 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The Adopt-a-Marker campaign to replace the gravestones of 64 priests who
served this local Church as far back as the mid-1800’s began in 2011. At the
time, St. Paul’s Phil Jungwirth—whose uncle was a victim of the 1918 influenza
epidemic while a priest in nearby Sleepy Eye—mentioned to Rev. Kevin McDonough
that he needed help in locating his uncle’s grave every time he went to visit it
at Calvary Cemetery. “It got to the point where I had to go to the cemetery
office to get its exact location,” Jungwirth lamented.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
McDonough, pastor of the Church of St. Peter Claver in Saint Paul, and
Sagrado Corazon de Jesus and Incarnation in Minneapolis, brought this up with
Catholic Cemetery officials. As a result, it was determined that 42 priests’
headstones at Calvary and 22 at St. Mary’s needed replacement. “I realized we
were losing something very important, as these men are a vital link to passing
on the Catholic faith from generation to generation,” he commented. McDonough
spearheaded the Adopt-a- Marker campaign to raise $27,000 to replace the
illegible markers. In all, more than 30 parishes, 40 individuals, the University
of Saint Thomas and three local Knights of Columbus councils made significant
contributions; two free-will offerings at last year’s Memorial Day Masses also
helped in this fundraising effort.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Among the new markers are those of Marcellin Peyragrosse, who arrived in
St. Paul on July 2,</div>
<div>
1851 with the newly-appointed first bishop of St. Paul, Most Rev. Joseph
Cretin. Nearly four years<span class="359090501-24052013"> </span>later, Fr.
Peyragrosse was the first priest to pass away in the diocese; he was ordained in
1851. Another is that of Rev. James J. Conry, who is remembered for his effort
to save Fairbault’s Immaculate Conception Catholic School. Passions ran so high
regarding the so-called Fairbault School Plan that complaints were taken to Pope
Leo XIII in Rome.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The gravestones of two former St. Thomas College presidents, Rev. John F.
Dolphin and Rev. Thomas E. Cullen, have also been replaced. Dolphin, a former
army chaplain, led St. Thomas between 1899 and 1903, and had hopes of starting a
military training program at the college.<br />However, he had to resign due to
poor health before moving to Portland, OR, where he lived and ministered until
1919. He returned to St. Paul that summer and passed away in January 1920. At
age 24, Rev. Cullen moved to Minnesota from Prince Edward Island in 1898 to
study theology at the St. Paul Seminary. Following his ordination in 1901, he
served 19 years as pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Minneapolis, while
also leading the effort to complete the Basilica of St. Mary. He was named
rector of St. Thomas in 1921, and died suddenly on September 30, 1940.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The family of Fr. Joseph Goiffon was very active in having his gravestone
replaced. Born in France in 1824, he came to St. Paul where he met Archbishop
Ireland in seminary in 1857. Fr. Goiffon was a central figure in the parishes of
Little Canada, Centerville, White Bear Lake and Lino Lakes<span class="359090501-24052013"> </span>while serving the diocese for 53 years. His
great-great-great nephew, Duane Thein of White Bear Lake had difficulty praying
at his relative’s grave over the years, as “the gravestone was getting harder
and harder to read. I told my family members several times that I’d like to
replace it,” he said. Thein called Catholic Cemeteries and learned of the
Adopt-a-Marker campaign; in short order,<span class="359090501-24052013">
</span>enough family members made contributions which allowed them to adopt his
marker along with some<span class="359090501-24052013"> </span>others. “He was
certainly the most famous person in our family," Thein went on to say.</div>
<div>
<br />For Phil Jungwirth, the response to the project he helped launch has
been gratifying. “These men played a central role in so many people’s lives and
left an important legacy,” he said. “I’m so glad my uncle and all of these
priests will be remembered with new markers that will last for
generations.”</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-57432642324844480032013-05-07T21:23:00.000-05:002013-05-07T21:23:38.126-05:00The Nuns Not on the Bus<h1>
The Nuns Not on the Bus<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/10/26/the-nuns-not-on-the-bus/</span></span></h1>
<div class="postTime">
By <a href="http://religionandpolitics.org/author/mark_oppenheimer/" rel="author" title="Posts by Mark Oppenheimer">Mark Oppenheimer</a> | October 26, 2012</div>
<div class="smArticle">
<br /></div>
<div class="fullArticle" id="post_detail_section">
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_3517" style="width: 560px;">
<a href="http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/10/26/the-nuns-not-on-the-bus/ap070411037339-1-550-x-358/" rel="attachment wp-att-3517"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-3517" height="358" src="http://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AP070411037339-1-550-x-358.jpg" title="American Nuns" width="550" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">
(AP Photo/John Russell)</div>
</div>
<span class="init-cap">L</span>ast April, the Vatican issued an
8-page document addressed to the Leadership Conference of Women
Religious, the major association of American nuns. The “doctrinal
assessment” accused the nuns of “radical feminism,” of agitating for
women’s ordination, and of remaining silent in “the lively public debate
about abortion and euthanasia in the United States.” As a remedy, the
Vatican ordered a five-year rehabilitation, during which the nuns would
be supervised by a committee of three bishops. The nuns were not well
pleased; they fought back. In June, five nuns from Network, a
progressive Catholic lobby criticized in the Vatican assessment,
launched the “Nuns on the Bus” tour, traveling through nine states from
Iowa to Washington, D.C. The nuns attended Masses, held press
conferences, and protested at the offices of conservative congressmen,
like John Boehner; all the while they attacked the Paul Ryan budget for
hurting struggling Americans. Their leader, <a href="http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/08/16/memo-to-ryan-life-issues-go-beyond-abortion/" target="_blank">Simone Campbell</a>,
spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August. In September,
they gathered two hundred sisters to ride the Staten Island Ferry for a “<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/10/nuns-on-the-ferry.html" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">Nuns on a Ferry</a>” rally. They are currently organizing protest bus tours around the country, from <a href="http://ncronline.org/news/politics/nuns-bus-take-message-about-ryan-budget-road-missouri" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">Missouri</a> to Ohio.<br />
The Vatican, under the current conservative pope, is not irrational
to fear these nuns and their progressive ways. Among its many reforms,
the Second Vatican Council, which ran from 1962 to 1965 and celebrates
its 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary this month, gave more autonomy to nuns.
After it ended, many nuns doffed their habits and resumed their given
names. They developed activist ministries, focused on war or poverty.
Today, many nuns are feminists who prefer Catholic teaching on social
justice to its teaching about sexual morality; they spend less time in
communal prayer and more in the neighborhood.<br />
If the stereotypical nun was once the parochial-school teacher in a
wimple, today it might be the elderly woman in a well-worn sweater,
running a job-training program and reading liberal theology at night.
They have moved far to the left of the male Catholic hierarchy in Rome.
Their disloyalty is not imaginary, not entirely.<br />
But this fight is about more than the Leadership Conference of Women
Religious. About 20 percent of American nuns belong to a rival
organization, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, which
split off in 1992. These sisters still wear habits, and many take new
names in the convent. They are more loyal to the church hierarchy. In
general, they are more interested in stopping abortion than in bringing
the troops home from Afghanistan, and they worry more about Obamacare’s
health insurance mandate than about the Ryan budget’s cuts to Medicaid.<br />
The conservative convents are not getting more new members than their
liberal counterparts: each wing of American sisterhood counts about 500
women in the multi-year process of becoming nuns. But sisters joining
liberal convents are much older, often second-career types, sometimes
with a marriage and children in their past. By contrast, a majority of
women joining convents in the conservative splinter group are in their
twenties. Some traditionalist convents are getting ten or twenty new
postulants (first-year nuns) a year. And this is significant: In 2010,
there were only 56,000 nuns in the United States, less than a third of
their 1965 total. The average age of nuns is rising quickly, and many
convents are becoming nursing homes for their members.<br />
The small renaissance of American nuns is occurring among sisters who
look like nuns from 1960 and, in their deference to the church, act
like nuns from 1960. That model is compelling to a young generation of
devout women who are more interested in purity than in the messy
intellectual complexity, and frequent dissent, that their elders
embraced. The Vatican is doubling down on this old-fashioned model of
sisterhood—no matter the offense taken by thousands of older nuns who
have spent their lives poor, single and childless, all for love of God,
if not always the church.<br /><br />
<strong>FIFTY YEARS AGO,</strong> the Dominican Sisters of St.
Cecilia, based in Nashville, was lucky to get four or five postulants a
year. But in the past 20 years its population has doubled, from 145
sisters in 1990 to 284 sisters today. And the newbies are overwhelmingly
young: this summer, 21 postulants entered the community, ranging in age
from 19 to 32.<br />
In July, I visited this congregation, which belongs to the
conservative Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious. I was met
at the airport by two young women in white robes and black veils,
standing beside a sedan in the short-term parking area. I got in beside
Sister Anna, and our conversation, which began on the drive back,
continued in a stately sitting room at the convent, where we drank iced
tea as Pope Benedict XVI looked down from the wall. Sister Anna was 32
years old and grew up in the wealthy New York suburb of New Canaan,
Connecticut. She was fair, with a few blond hairs escaping her veil. She
looked like about six girls from my prep school’s lacrosse team. I
asked why she became a nun.<br />
“I went to public school, so I wasn’t taught by nuns,” Sister Anna
said. “I was raised Catholic, but I wasn’t by any definition zealous. I
was raised as a cultural Catholic.” After graduating from New Canaan
High School, Andrea Wray — as she was then known — attended Catholic
University, in Washington, D.C. There, she happened one day upon a
Dominican friar in his robes. “I followed him to ask who are you and why
are you wearing that.” They talked, and she began attending Mass at the
Dominican House near campus. Under the Dominicans’ tutelage, she got
the instruction in doctrine and piety missing from her childhood
Catholicism. “It was the Lord giving me what I needed when I was ready
to receive it,” she said. “I would have spit it back as an adolescent.”<br />
As a collegian, Wray drank it down. The Dominican monks directed her
to the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, a teaching congregation that
sends sisters to work in 34 primary and secondary schools, from
Nashville to Australia. It felt right. Immediately after graduation, in
2002, she moved to Nashville to become a postulant.<br />
Sister Anna had recently finished three years teaching at a nearby
Dominican high school, per the decision of her superior, and she was
about to return to Catholic University to finish a master’s
degree — also per her superior’s orders. She may visit her family only
once a year; they stay in touch by mail. She and the other sisters eat
breakfast and dinner in silence, although one sister reads to the rest:
sometimes the Vatican newspaper, often a biography of St. Dominic.
Sister Anna is chatty and gregarious, very not-contemplative-seeming —
she would be the captain of that lacrosse team — but she insists that
all this structure liberates her.<br />
“When we talk about sacrifices, we are talking about things that make
us more free,” Sister Anna said. “We are not radically independent,”
she said. “We’re not 280 women who happen to be living together. We live
a common life. As the world becomes more and more focused on the
individual, on self-sufficiency, on being an expert in your own field,
that can bring down a community.” The Dominicans make a countercultural
statement: against individualism, against modernity.<br />
Afterward, Sister Catherine Marie, who was the vocation director from
1990 to 2005, and so oversaw the congregation’s boom, gave me a tour of
the Motherhouse, or convent, a large 1862 brick building that
originally operated as a boarding school for girls. “There’s no
recruiting,” Sister Catherine Marie told me. Curious women, including
many college students, stay with the Dominicans for short retreats;
otherwise, the sisters’ outreach is just existing, publicly. “It’s about
being visible and available,” she said. “We usually get two master’s
degrees, one in theology and one in the field of education. So we have a
lot of contact with young people.”<br />
After a sit-down lunch with three sisters, 32 women filed into our
small private dining room, in the basement. Nineteen were novices and
thirteen wore the garb of postulants. One had a guitar, another had a
violin. They introduced themselves by name and hometown: Cincinnati,
Oklahoma City, Melbourne. Then they sang two songs: an original
composition they had written about St. Cecilia, and “Prodigal Son,” by
country star and Nashville resident Dirks Bentley. They were as
exuberant as a collegiate a cappella group, if not quite as tuneful.<br />
After lunch I sat in a living room and talked with about a dozen
young sisters. They resisted my insinuation that they cared only about
the church’s “conservative” positions. “If you don’t care about the
dignity of the human person, it makes no sense to talk about education
or war in Iraq,” said Sister Hannah, an African-American woman who
majored in philosophy at Notre Dame. “So pro-life is foundational that
way. But we do care about other issues.”<br />
They got animated when I asked about the habit. “At the hospital, I
can’t tell you how many times I’ve been approached,” said Sister
Catherine Marie. “A woman once asked me, ‘My mother just died. Will you
pray over her body?’ They unzipped the body bag right there. If I
weren’t wearing the habit, that wouldn’t happen.”<br />
But what of their cloistered existence, their regimented prayer life,
their periods of mandatory silence, their jobs chosen for them?<br />
“Kids today have a thousand friends on Facebook, and they feel
totally isolated,” said Sister Ann Dominic, who was completing her
second, or novice, year, a year spent of no interaction with outsiders.
“I’ve been cloistered all year, and I’ve never felt freer.”<br /><br />
<strong>THE SAME WEEK I WENT</strong> to Nashville, I visited the
Sisters of St. Joseph, in Holyoke, Mass., a congregation that belongs to
the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. They had arranged for me a
program almost identical to the Dominican treatment: a tour, lunch,
casual chats. These women were as articulate as the Dominicans, as
mirthful, as indifferent to worldly goods. Their simple, sensible-shoe,
old-lady garb was, in its way, more modest than the bright white habits
of the Dominicans. Many of these sisters were teachers, too, although
they were permitted other careers, and some worked in parish houses, in
charities, or as social workers. There are 257 Sisters of St. Joseph,
about as many sisters as in Nashville.<br />
But the Sisters of St. Joseph were old: they range in age from 53 to
100. This summer brought one new member, a once-divorced, once-widowed
woman of 54. The halls of their home, Mont Marie, are filled with
walkers, wheelchairs and canes, congregating in loose formation outside
the chapel, the living rooms, the dining hall.<br />
Over lunch, I talked with a group including Sister Maxine Snyder, the
current president. She joined the congregation in 1960, right after
graduating from a Sisters of St. Joseph high school in North Adams,
Mass. Four years later, her twin sisters also joined — her parents gave
all three of their daughters, and any hope of grandchildren, to the
Sisters of St. Joseph.<br />
When Sister Maxine talks about her decision to become a nun, she
still sounds enraptured, just like the young Dominicans. It was the
example of her high school teachers, she told me. “My mindset was, ‘I
cannot imagine doing anything more meaningful, or more compelling, than
what I’m choosing to do,” Sister Maxine said. “I’ve seen in people here
this energy, this joy, this wide perspective.”<br />
When Vatican II called on sisters worldwide to “renew” their
religious lives, every congregation began internal evaluations to
consider which traditions they should keep and which they might discard.
These were arduous deliberations, taking years. Thousands of nuns left
their orders. Some congregations emerged fairly unchanged, like the
Nashville Dominicans. Others changed a lot, seizing what seemed an
opportunity to become real citizens of the 1960s, with all that era
promised. The Sisters of St. Joseph developed a consensus model of
leadership; most of them began to dress in civilian clothes, identifying
themselves only by a cross worn on the breast or around the neck; and
many took jobs outside of education, their traditional field. They
became more mobile, and prayer lives became less regular and less rigid.
These changes allowed them, among other advantages, to move more easily
among the people.<br />
The Vatican’s doctrinal assessment, Sister Maxine noted, tells the
nuns to spend more time fighting abortion even as it “contains nothing
about the Gospels.” But if you read the Gospels, Sister Maxine said, “so
many times Jesus Christ says the poor will always be with you, and
there are so many stories about Jesus’ ministry to the poor.” Sister
Maxine was implying, quite clearly, that the Vatican’s emphasis on
certain hot-button political issues, at the expense of more general
concern for the least among us, is a distortion of the Gospels.<br />
That is also the view, I suspect, of Sister Jane Morrissey, a Sister
of St. Joseph whom I met in her office at Homework House, several miles
away in Holyoke. Sister Jane became a nun in 1964, and in 2005, she
founded Homework House, an after-school program and summer camp for the
mostly poor, mostly Puerto Rican kids of Holyoke. I asked her why young
women were attracted to conservative congregations, rather than
congregations like hers.<br />
“For the same reason women were attracted to our order when it was
like that!” Sister Jane said, then referred me to the Bible: “John says
that it’s easier to love the God we do not see than the neighbor we do. I
understand that. When I was young I wanted to go into a contemplative
order. There was a kind of safety and solace in the silence…. It’s
tougher to live in the North End of Springfield and be awakened by
mopeds. I have no doubt that I was called to do this—but I wouldn’t have
known that when I was 18.”<br />
The freedoms of Vatican II permitted Sister Jane a more varied life
than she could have predicted. Several years ago, she spent a summer as
an intern at Shakespeare & Co., the famous theater in the
Berkshires. The Dominican sisters tend to limit their reading to
Catholic texts, I was told, but Sister Jane just finished Solzhenitsyn’s
“Cancer Ward.” For fun she memorizes Emily Dickinson. In the small,
cushion-filled room on the third floor of her group home in Springfield,
where she and four other sisters pray every morning, I saw copies of
“The Te of Piglet” and works by the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Han, in
addition to Francis of Assisi.<br />
The Vatican looks at Sister Anna, the Dominican, and sees the future;
it looks at Sister Jane, and her fellow Sisters of St. Joseph, and
figures their only hope is to emulate the Dominicans. The Vatican is
right, up to a point: the liberal, more elderly congregations are dying.
But then again, so are the vast majority of conservative groups. Five
or ten youthful, growing congregations will not reverse the geriatric,
and ultimately mortal, trend. And forcing some liberal groups to become
more conservative won’t necessarily increase the number of women
interested in being nuns. Church conservatives “want to give you the
sense that if all groups went back into the habit, they’d all have the
success the Nashville Dominicans are having,” Patricia Wittberg, a nun
who teaches sociology at Purdue University, in Indianapolis, told me.
“Not true!” A few young women “would just all be flowing into more
orders. It’s a very small pie.”<br />
For the Dominicans, Catholicism functions as a boat, one with high
walls that protects and carries you, while for the Sisters of St.
Joseph, the church is a life jacket, something that travels easily and
lets you look around. But although they use their religion in different
ways, the nuns were all among the best people I had met in a long time.
They were smart, cheerful, and authentic, not vain.<br />
And brave. Sisters in both congregations told me their parents were
shocked by their decisions—even those who became nuns back in 1960, when
all good Catholics were supposed to want to give a daughter or a son to
the church. At least for a middle-class girl from a proper New England
town, whether Sister Jane or Sister Anna, it was always unusual to
commit so much to the church. It was never an ordinary calling. Even
those nuns who eschew left-wing politics are radicals indeed, for in our
age it has always been a bit radical to be a nun.<br />
<em>Mark Oppenheimer writes the Beliefs column for </em>The New York Times<em>. He is the author of a new e-book about the life of sex columnist Dan Savage, available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Savage-First-Celebrity-ebook/dp/B009LPVBRQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351103337&sr=1-1&keywords=mark+oppenheimer+dan+savage" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">here</a>. His website is <a href="http://markoppenheimer.com/" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">markoppenheimer.com</a>, and he can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/markopp1" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">@markopp1</a>.</em><br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-49483569192200853212013-04-24T11:09:00.003-05:002013-04-24T11:09:16.311-05:00Why does the Church hate Science?<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">When somebody babbles about the Church's "War on Science
and Reason" and prates about the persecution of Galileo, ask, "And what other
scientists were persecuted?" It's fun to watch their mouths open and close while
nothing comes out.</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 24pt;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-size: 24pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/intellect-worship-vs.-intellect-use"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/intellect-worship-vs.-intellect-use</span></a></span></div>
<h1 style="margin: auto 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Intellect Worship vs. Intellect Use
</span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><cite>by Mark Shea</cite> <i>Sunday, April 21, 2013</i><i> </i><i>11:59 PM</i><i> <span class="comments-count">Comments <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/intellect-worship-vs.-intellect-use/#blogComments">(0)</a></span></i>
</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">When
somebody babbles about the Church's "War on Science and Reason" and prates about
the persecution of Galileo, ask, "And what other scientists were persecuted?"
It's fun to watch their mouths open and close while nothing comes out.</b>
Sometimes, if they are half-educated they might manage to scrape up something
about Hypatia and the Library of Alexandria. If they do, </span><a href="http://tofspot.blogspot.com/search/label/hypatia"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">here is how to make them fully educated about how
ignorant they are.</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> If they are really
super half-educated, they might be familiar with the name of Giordano Bruno. The
main problem is that Bruno, though burned for heresy, was not burned because of
his scientific views, </span><a href="http://m-francis.livejournal.com/101929.html?thread=1020201"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">because he wasn't a scientist</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> but...</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">a
mystic of the Pythagorean sort. The translator of his <em>Ash Wednesday
Supper</em> commented wryly that, if they had ever bothered to read it, the
<em>Copernicans</em> would have burned Bruno. Time and again he shows that he
did not understand astronomy, but rather tried to fit it into his wacky
worldview. Even so, keep in mind that for seven years the inquisitors and his
brother Dominicans argued and debated with him to get him to change his mind. He
was the L.Ron Hubbard of his day.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And if they are the sort total ignoramus who
gets all their knowledge of the Catholic War on Science[TM] from Dan Brown, they
might hold forth on the condemnation and murder of Copernicus by the
Evil
Church. The reply to this is that
devotees of reason should really exercise a bit of that "critical intellect"
they pride themselves on and stop getting their historical knowledge from books
drafted in crayon. </span><a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/catholic_church_lets_copernicus_out_of_hell"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Turns out Copernicus-- a priest--died of natural causes
with honors heaped on his work by Popes and bishops and was buried with honors
beneath the floor of a Church.</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And that is pretty much all she wrote for the
myth of the Catholic Church's Centuries-Long War on Science[TM]. <em>Myth
</em>is, by the way, the exact term for this. Indeed, the War on Science[TM] and
the lonely contribution of Galileo to it is a Creation Myth of the
Enlightenment, invented to justify the Enlightenment's loathing of the Church
and believed by suckers, liars, and bigots ever since. It's right up there with
the ignorant claim that everybody thought the world was flat in the Middle Ages
(hint: read the <em>Divine Comedy </em>by the greatest poet of the High Middle
Ages, Dante--it's the original Journey to the Center of the Earth).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Here's reality: if any age deserves to be called
the Age of Reason it's the High Middle Ages. The greatest philosopher of that
time, St. Thomas Aquinas, is so rational that most post-moderns--who live in the
Age of Credulity--have almost no ability to read him. They prefer
<em>Jersey</em><em>
</em><em>Shore</em>, <em>The
View</em>, Talk Radio, Ancient Aliens on the History Channel and Something I
Heard on the Web for their mental formation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Meanwhile as Gregor Mendel, Louis Pasteur and
Fr. George Lemaitre, attest along with St.
Thomas, the Church is actually the patron of the sciences
and of reason. Faith does not contradict but completes human reason. It was
they who gave us (respectively) genetics, huge advances in medicine, and the Big
Bang theory. And they weren't alone. Here's </span><a href="http://m-francis.livejournal.com/101929.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Mike Flynn again</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">,
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: navy;">[20 pages
more]</span></b> responding to the ignorant claim that, "When Christianity took
over Europe, scientific and engineering advancement
virtually stopped."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: navy;">[Christians designed, invented or created:]</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In no particular order: watermills,
windmills, camshafts, toothed wheels, transmission shafts, mechanical clocks,
pendant clocks, eye glasses, four-wheeled wagons, wheeled moldboard plows with
shares and coulters, three-field crop rotation, blast furnaces, laws of
magnetism, steam blowers, treadles, stirrups, armored cavalry, the elliptical
arch, the fraction and arithmetic of fractions, the plus sign, preservation of
antiquity, “Gresham’s” law, the mean speed theorem, distilled liquor, use of
letters to indicate quantities in al jabr [Arabic for algebra], discovery of the
Canary Islands, the Vivaldi expedition, cranks, overhead springs, latitudo et
longitudo, coiled springs, laws of war and non-combatants, modal logic, capital
letters and punctuation marks, hydraulic hammers, definition of uniform motion,
of uniformly accelerated motion, of instantaneous motion, explanation of the
rainbow, counterpoint and harmony, screw-jacks, screw-presses, horse collars,
gunpowder and pots de fer, that there may be a vacuum, that there may be other
Worlds, that the earth may turn in a diurnal motion, that to overthrow a tyrant
is the right of the multitude, the two-masted cog, infinitesimals, open and
closed sets, verge-and-foliot escapements, magnetic compasses, portolan charts,
the true keel, natural law, human rights, international law, universities,
corporations, freedom of inquiry, separation of church and state, “Smith’s” law
of marketplaces, fossilization, geological erosion and uplift, anaerobic salting
of fatty fish (“pickled herring”), double entry bookkeeping, and... the printing
press. (Yeah, some of the innovations are political and economic.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sin darkens the intellect and the sin of pride
particularly does this. The doom of the prideful intellect worshiper is that he
appears drawn like a moth to flame in his eager urgent need to abandon the use
of his intellect in his rush to believe the content-free myth of the Church's
War on Science[TM].</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-45869245936057092912013-04-24T09:31:00.001-05:002013-04-24T09:31:13.301-05:00Vatican Cardinal: ‘Individual bishops’, not just conferences must fight culture of death<div>
<span style="color: navy;">
<strong><span style="color: black;">Warning against some of the bureaucratic trends
of “truth by committee” in the Church’s organisation, Cardinal Burke said,
“Simply by the way these conferences work, it can be years before some kind of
effective direction is given, and then oftentimes because this direction is
discussed and debated, it can get very watered down.” </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;">He emphasized that the involvement of the bishops
should be constant, and not merely a matter of issuing a statement once. “We’re
not writing term papers here where you make reference to an earlier document and
that’s sufficient.” In public life, he said, the message has to be stated and
re-stated and kept up to date.</span></strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: navy;"><br /><span class="543331902-24042013"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: navy;"><span class="543331902-24042013"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: navy;"><span class="543331902-24042013"></span></span><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Vatican Cardinal:
‘Individual bishops’, not just conferences must fight culture of death
(exclusive)</span></strong></div>
<div>
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by <a alt="Hilary White, Rome Correspondent" href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/author/hwhite/">Hilary White, Rome Correspondent</a></div>
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<li>Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:00 EST
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ROME, April 23, 2013 (<a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/">LifeSiteNews.com</a>) – The bishops of the
world must, as individuals, take the lead in combating the Culture of Death, and
not wait for the national conferences, Cardinal Raymond Burke told
LifeSiteNews.com in an interview yesterday.<span class="543331902-24042013">
<span style="color: navy;"><strong>Cdl. Burke, a Wisconsin priest, is the former Bishop
of LaCrosse and the former Archbishop of St. Louis.</strong></span></span><br />
“It should be emphasized that the individual bishop has a responsibility in
this matter. Sometimes what happens is the individual bishops are unwilling to
do anything because they wait for the national bishops’ conference to take the
lead.”<br />
<div class="photo-right clear" id="image_wrapper3" style="width: 240px;">
<img alt="" class="article-img" height="240" src="http://www.lifesitenews.com/images/sized/images/news/cardinal-burke-240x240.jpg" width="240" />
<div class="article-img-caption">
Cardinal Burke</div>
</div>
<strong>Warning against some of the bureaucratic trends of “truth by
committee” in the Church’s organisation, Cardinal Burke said, “Simply by the way
these conferences work, it can be years before some kind of effective direction
is given, and then oftentimes because this direction is discussed and debated,
it can get very watered down.” </strong><br />
<strong>He emphasized that the involvement of the bishops should be constant,
and not merely a matter of issuing a statement once. “We’re not writing term
papers here where you make reference to an earlier document and that’s
sufficient.” In public life, he said, the message has to be stated and re-stated
and kept up to date.</strong><br />
And statements, he said, are only one part of it. “Its another thing to
encourage people to actively manifest their desire that the moral law be
respected,” he said. Even in a “pluralistic” society the moral law is universal
and can and must be expressed in law, he explained.<br />
The head of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s supreme court, spoke with
LSN in the lead-up to the Marcia per la Vita (March for Life) Nazionale in Rome,
set for May 12<sup>th</sup> in Rome. The Cardinal is known around the world as
one of the strongest voices in the Vatican’s Curia for the Church’s teaching on
the sacredness of human life at all its stages. He said that the growth of the
marches for life, starting in the US, is indicating a shift in opinion on
abortion in many countries of the western world, particularly among younger
people.<br />
Cardinal Burke said that abortion is the premier social justice issue, even
if some in the hierarchy, even in the Vatican, don’t seem to act that way. The
lack of enthusiasm for combating abortion as a priority among some of the upper
echelons of the Church administration, he said, “is something that needs to be
addressed”.<br />
He said that overall, “there is a concern” about abortion among the
cardinals. “How they see it practically being witnessed is another thing,
however.”<br />
“I think in some places there’s a great hesitation among prelates to be
involved in public manifestations. Many see it as some kind of political
activity that isn’t proper for a cleric.”<br />
But Burke said he does not hesitate to participate, “because to me, it’s a
question of the common good. Giving witness for the common good. It’s not a
political rally in the sense that they’re rallying for this or that candidate,
it’s not partisan, it’s a good across the board.”<br />
Citing the encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI <a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive//ldn/2009/jul/09070710">Caritas
in Veritate</a>, he said that abortion, as well as the widespread use of
artificial contraception, must be made priorities: “It seems to me it’s the
first issue of social justice, the right to life.”<br />
Remarking on the marches springing up in ultra-liberal European centres like
Brussels and Paris, as well as the leap for the Italian national march from 1000
to 15,000 participants in one year, the cardinal said, “I think especially among
the younger people there’s a great interest. People realise that the culture is
really bankrupt and they’re trying their best to respond to the situation.”<br />
He said that there is a visible increase in interest by bishops, particularly
at the March in Washington. He also said that the media blackout has been unable
to stop the personal witness of the marches. “I believe it has a great impact,”
he said.<br />
He urged the upcoming generation of younger pro-life leaders to bring the
life issues up with their clergy.<br />
“I think the lay faithful in the parishes and in the dioceses need to go to
their bishops and priests and urge them to give that pastoral leadership that
they’re called to give on this very critical issue. Yes the laity have their
part, a very significant part in all the various areas of public life to give
witness to the Gospel but they depend upon their priests and bishops to give
that teaching and example, how to confront the situation.”<br />
“They need leadership. That’s what it’s all about.” <br />
The marches in Italy are only three years old, and have already grown from a
small gathering in an out-of-the-way town in the north, to 15,000 last year in
the capital. Organisers are hoping to jumpstart a public debate which has not
occurred since Italy’s abortion law was passed in 1978.<br />
While it is true that the Italian abortion rate is relatively low and few
doctors are willing to participate in abortion – with overall about 70 per cent
in the country refusing and as many as 86 per cent in Lazio, the region of Rome
– the abortion rate has numbered in the millions since legalisation. The latest
statistics available estimate that about 115,517 abortions in 2010 out of a
total Italian population of 60.77 million and a national rate of 8.5 abortions
per 1000 women between 18 and 49.<br />
In 2009, the notorious abortion drug regimen, RU-486, was approved for use in
early pregnancies. Italian ambivalence about abortion was demonstrated in 1981
when a national referendum to repeal the law was rejected by nearly 68 per cent
of voters and another, that would have removed legal restrictions was rejected
by 88.4 per cent.<br />
Marcia per la Vita, Roma organizers have asked for help with advertising
expenses. In a media release today, organizers explained that radio spots,
posters and newspaper ads have cost a total of around 10,000 Euros. “We ask you
to help us according to your abilities, to give our event the biggest impact
possible,” they said.<br />
“The life of a human being is priceless and we will be in the streets to join
our voices in defense of innocent human life that is suppressed every day, every
minute, in the world and also in Italy!”<br />
Visit the <a href="http://www.marciaperlavita.it/">Marcia per la Vita
website</a> for more details on how to donate.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-9908352938578216862013-04-24T09:22:00.001-05:002013-04-24T09:22:18.017-05:00Fifty Years Later–Vatican II’s Unfinished Business<div>
<span style="color: navy;">http://www.hprweb.com/2013/04/fifty-years-later-vatican-iis-unfinished-business/<a href="http://www.hprweb.com/2013/04/fifty-years-later-vatican-iis-unfinished-business/">Fifty Years Later, Vatican II's Unfinished Business</a></span></div>
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<div class="post-5712 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-articles tag-cardinal-bernadin tag-catholic-common-ground-project tag-non-ex-cathedra-teaching tag-the-spirit-of-vatican-ii tag-featured tag-humanae-vitae tag-lumen-gentium tag-second-vatican-council">
<h1 class="entry-title">
Fifty Years Later–Vatican II’s Unfinished Business</h1>
<div class="post-info">
<span class="date published time" title="2013-04-22T13:18:43+00:00">April 22, 2013</span> By <span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><a class="fn n" href="http://www.hprweb.com/author/fr-regis-scanlon/" rel="author" title="Fr. Regis Scanlon, O.F.M. Cap.">Fr. Regis
Scanlon, O.F.M. Cap.</a></span></span> <span class="post-comments"><a href="http://www.hprweb.com/2013/04/fifty-years-later-vatican-iis-unfinished-business/#comments">20
Comments</a></span> </div>
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<strong>Today, 50 years after the opening of Vatican II, the
misinterpretation of one of its most salient documents, <em>Lumen Gentium</em>,
continues to drive a number of Catholics in the United States into one of two
camps, the “right” or the “left.”</strong><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><a href="http://www.hprweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Vatican-II-collage.jpg"><img alt="" height="205" src="http://www.hprweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Vatican-II-collage.jpg" title="Vatican II collage" width="577" /></a></strong></div>
<strong>Fifty years after the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the
Church in the United States is in the throes of a struggle. Loyal Catholics are
showing renewed vigor and vitality, and are helping the Church to move forward
in unity. At the same time, the Church is also being exhausted and drained from
within by a vocal movement of other Catholics who continue to dissent from
Church teachings, particularly the teachings of the Second Vatican
Council.</strong><br />
<strong>Dissent is entrenched in the Church in the U.S.<br /><br />For most
American Catholics over 50, it is an accepted fact that dissent from the
magisterium of the Church is widespread, tolerated, and, in some quarters, even
welcomed. The breaking point, of course, was Paul VI’s 1968 prophetic
encyclical, <em>Humanae Vitae</em>, which condemned contraception as
“intrinsically disordered.”</strong> The encyclical became one of the most
controversial documents of the century, if not many centuries. The widespread
dissent by Catholics was led with enthusiasm by huge numbers of Catholic
theologians, professors and intellectuals. The onslaught of bright, articulate
academics turning on the Pope encouraged many Catholics in the pews to do the
same.<br />
Why would so many educated Catholics—who should have been ready and able to
defend the teaching authority of the Church—turn against the Pope with such
force? How could they justify it?<br />
The most popular argument was that permission to dissent had been given by
none other than the Second Vatican Council. <strong>The dissenters claimed that
“the spirit of Vatican II,” along with theological perspectives of the Council,
supported their argument that individual Catholics have a right to dissent from
“non-infallible” Church teachings</strong>—even authoritative encyclicals like
Paul VI’s “<em>Humanae Vitae</em>”—if they felt they had a good enough
reason.<br />
<strong>Unfortunately, this false notion was unwittingly given a boost by
none other than the bishops of the United States. On November 15, 1968, a few
months after the promulgation of Humanae Vitae, the bishops issued their
pastoral letter, “Human Life in Our Day,” to help Catholics interpret the Pope’s
encyclical. The bishops said in no. 51 of that document that in some cases, a
Catholic could dissent from “non-infallible authentic doctrine” of the
magisterium.</strong> They explained: “The expression of theological dissent
from the magisterium is in order only if the reasons are serious and
well-founded, if the manner of the dissent does not question or impugn the
teaching authority of the Church, and is such as not to give scandal.”<br />
So, the bishops did approve of limited dissent from papal teaching in faith
and morals.<br />
This position was given even more credence later by the powerful and widely
quoted Cardinal Bernardin when he was Archbishop of Chicago. Shortly before his
death in 1996, Cardinal Bernardin initiated his Catholic Common Ground Project,
to bring factions of the church together in “dialogue.” <strong>According to a
Nov. 14, 1996, article in Origins (pp. 353-356), the axis of Cardinal
Bernardin’s legacy was the belief that “limited and occasional dissent” from the
magisterium of the Church was “legitimate.”</strong><br />
<strong>But what did Vatican II really teach?</strong>So, the
intellectual community and even the high-ranking Church leaders were reinforcing
the idea that dissent from Church teachings was to be expected, even
welcomed—and that permission to do so came straight from Vatican II.<br />
However, had they really read the documents of Vatican II?<br />
<strong>The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (<em>Lumen Gentium</em>)<em>,
</em>no. 25, presents a far different answer from the dissenters. This carefully
reasoned Vatican II document states that, even though the bishops of the
Catholic Church are not individually infallible, they do teach infallibly the
Church’s doctrines of faith and morals “when, gathered together in an ecumenical
council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal
Church, whose definitions must be adhered to with the submission of
faith.”</strong><br />
What could be clearer? <em>Lumen Gentium</em>, no. 25, explicitly states that
one such case of the bishops teaching infallibly is when they teach a matter of
faith and morals in “an ecumenical council.” Vatican II was “an ecumenical
Council.” The Council also taught in no. 25 of <em>Lumen Gentium</em> that these
definitions of the bishops on matters of faith and morals must be held with a
“religious assent.” Furthermore: “This religious submission of mind and will
must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman
Pontiff, even when he is not speaking <em>ex cathedra</em> …”<br />
The Council goes on to explain this required assent to the Pope’s non-<em>ex
cathedra</em> teaching: “…that is, it must be shown in such a way that his
supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him
are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will.” But how does
one know the Pope’s “manifest mind and will?” Again, the Council clarifies it by
saying that: “… His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the
character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine,
or from his manner of speaking.”<br />
<strong>Clearly according to the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council there
is no room for dissent from even the non-ex-cathedra or “non-infallible”
decisions of the Pope on matters of faith and morals—not even “limited and
occasional” dissent.</strong> This means that there is no room for dissent from
the Pope’s teaching on contraception in <em>Humanae Vitae</em>. A Catholic,
therefore, who would maintain that one could dissent from a non-<em>ex
cathedra</em> or non-infallible decision of a pope, would be implicitly
dissenting from Lumen Gentium no. 25 and the Second Vatican Council itself.<br />
<strong>The occasion for the misunderstanding</strong>Although <em>Lumen
Gentium</em>, no. 25, speaks clearly, it should not come as a surprise that it
was misinterpreted. Part of the confusion arose from an interpretation of Paul
VI’s statement about the authority of the decisions of the Council. As found in
vol. 11 of The Pope Speaks, Paul VI stated in “After the Council: New
Tasks,”<br />
<blockquote>
In view of the pastoral nature of the Council, it avoided any extraordinary
statement of dogmas that would be endowed with the note of infallibility, but it
still provided its teaching with the authority of the supreme ordinary
magisterium. This ordinary magisterium, which is so obviously official, has to
be accepted with docility and sincerity by all the faithful, in accordance with
the mind of the Council on the nature and aims of the individual
documents.</blockquote>
For the dissenters, the Pope’s careful parsing of the Council’s mission—to
avoid “any extraordinary statement of dogmas that would be endowed with the note
of infallibility”—was apparently just enough of a loophole to keep the fires of
their argument alive.<br />
However, note that the Council titled <em>Lumen Gentium</em>, as the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Dogmatic</span> Constitution on the Church.
That indicates that the “nature” of <em>Lumen Gentium</em> is “dogmatic” per
se<em>,</em> and its “aim” is to point out to Catholics those dogmas of divine
faith which have always been part of the belief of the Church!<br />
So, while there are no “extraordinary” dogmas in Vatican II, there are
ordinary dogmas which are drawn from Scripture, Tradition, or previous teachings
of the magisterium. Thus, even though the Pope and the Council did not exercise
their infallible authority to teach <em>Lumen Gentium</em>, the contents
(teachings) in <em>Lumen Gentium</em> are, by their very sources, clearly
dogmatic. Thus, each Catholic must accept no. 25 of <em>Lumen Gentium</em> as a
<strong><em>matter</em></strong> of faith, even though the form of the document
itself is not infallible.<br />
Of course, the fact remains that none of the documents of Vatican II are
taught<em> ex cathedra</em>. Therefore, none of the teachings of Vatican II are
formally pronounced as dogmas by the Second Vatican Council itself. So, very
strictly speaking, a person can dissent from Vatican II <em>i</em><em>t</em>self
without being a formal heretic. However, to dissent from an ecumenical council
is no small matter. To put it informally, one may avoid being a heretic, but
still may be a “bad” Catholic.<br />
<strong>Ordinary counciliar self-verification is not enough</strong>How
did this confusion take root? It can best be explained as rising from the
concept of conciliar self-verification. In other words, the Second Vatican
Council teaches that the fathers at an “ecumenical council” are teachers of
faith and morals, and their “definitions must be adhered to with the submission
of faith.” The problem is, the ecumenical council making this statement is
itself an ecumenical council—and, therefore, is making statements about itself
and not making it with the highest authority, i.e., <em>ex cathedra</em>.<br />
In other words, one might say this is the conciliar version of chasing one’s
own theological tail. The fallout has been that, for several generations of
Catholics, from academics and Church leaders to the laity in the pews, the
lasting impression is, “Vatican II said it was okay to disagree with the
Pope.”<br />
Thus began the era of “taking sides.” It was as if the Catholic faith became
no more than a grand game—Pope and established Church teachings versus the
dissenters—and individual Catholics could simply pick which team to root for.
Some called themselves liberals (the “left”) while others called themselves
conservatives (the “right.”) Each group dissented from Vatican II, but for
different reasons.<br />
Many liberal nuns in the U.S., for example, continue to sympathize with
anti-life groups that claim they are helping the poor by promoting the poor’s
right to funds for abortion and contraception. They claim to be supporting
social justice by defending, or, at least, sympathizing with, the gay agenda.
They are especially vocal in demanding that the Church ordain women to the
priesthood—even after John Paul II informed them that the Church teaching on an
all male priesthood is infallible and, therefore, cannot be changed.<br />
On the other hand, the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel
Lefebvre, continues to err on the side of utter conservative rigidity. They
reject the Second Vatican Council as a movement of the Holy Spirit, and cling to
the minutiae of 500-year-old rituals as necessary, for their own sake. The
change of the liturgy from Latin to English, or the vernacular of each
particular country, is their most well-known objection.<br />
Therefore, today, 50 years after the opening of Vatican II, the
misinterpretation of one of its most salient documents, <em>Lumen Gentium</em>,
continues to drive a number of Catholics in the United States into one of two
camps, the “right” or the “left.”<br />
However, the age of confusion may be coming to an end. According to a July,
2012, article in Catholic World Report, the widespread errors that had grown up
about papal authority was addressed head-on by Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller,
the newly-appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith.<br />
“We also have the problem of groups—of the right and the left, as is usually
said—which take up much of our time and our attention,” Archbishop Müller was
quoted as saying. “Here, the danger easily arises of losing sight of our main
task, which is to proclaim the Gospel and to explain concretely the doctrine of
the Church.”<br />
The archbishop was clear: dissenters do not belong solely to one camp or the
other, despite the fact that each one would claim it to be so. Rather,
dissenting Catholics on both the “right” and on the “left” are soaking up the
energy of the Church by demanding attention to grievances and stifling the
apostolate.<br />
<strong>A clear path ahead</strong>One way out of this dilemma is clear
and simple. Obviously, the Second Vatican Council’s self-verification of
<em>Lumen Gentium,</em> no. 25, was not sufficient to bring about the hoped for
unity in faith and morals in the Church.<br />
Therefore, <em>Lumen Gentium</em>, no. 25, should be verified outside of the
Second Vatican Council. This could come either by the Pope, using his infallible
authority to define <em>Lumen Gentium,</em> no. 25, as ex cathedra, or by
another ecumenical council doing so. Given the deep, lasting errors which
inadvertently took root after Vatican II—clearly, a great Council which has been
unfairly besmirched by controversy—is it too much to think that the solution may
be another, clarifying Council, perhaps Vatican III?<br />
Some may argue that requiring all Catholics, even theologians, to make an
absolute assent to <em>Lumen Gentium,</em> no.25, to remain in the Church would
be severe. It would be a retreat from the spirit of John XXIII’s promise, which
he made when he opened Vatican II in 1962, that the worldwide Council would use
“the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.” In other words, the
Church would guide her flock without condemnations”—known in earlier centuries
as the much dreaded “<em>anathema sit</em>” (“let him be excommunicated”).<br />
However, if this confusion is faced, either through a ringing papal document,
or the dramatic convening of a new Council, the outcome will absolutely follow
Pope John XXIII’s call for “mercy rather than severity.”<br />
Consider that it is Mercy itself for the Church to clearly proclaim her true
nature and teaching authority. If she puts an end to the confusion of several
generations, she can turn her entire strength and authority to attract people to
the Catholic faith. And by doing so, how can we not say that she will be
extending the Mercy of Christ himself?<br />
As Christ said, “The Truth will set you free”—and what greater act of mercy
is there, than to free those enslaved by error? Finally, dissenters on both the
“right” and the “left” will have the Truth clearly presented to them, so that
they can freely decide whether or not they are going to join the Church’s
mission into the future.<br />
The beauty of this approach is that no one needs to be explicitly condemned.
The proclamation would be equivalent to the definition of “papal infallibility”
or the “Immaculate Conception” or the “Assumption.” It would be a dogma defining
the Church. A person who could not assent to <em>Lumen Gentium</em>, no. 25,
would finally know—clearly and without equivocation—that they are no longer
Catholic. The decision would be theirs.<br />
Will this happen? <strong>We have reason to hope. Perhaps, the first inklings
of a definitive move by the Church came in the words of Archbishop Gerhard
Ludwig Müller, the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith. Asked by an interviewer, “What do you think of the discussions with the
<em>Lefebvrists,</em> and with the religious sisters of the United States?” The
archbishop replied: “There are no negotiations on the Word of God, and one
cannot “believe and not believe” at the same time. One cannot pronounce the
three religious vows, and then not take them seriously. I cannot make reference
to the tradition of the Church, and then accept it only in some of its
parts.”</strong><br />
The Archbishop went on to say: “The path of the Church leads ahead, and all
are invited not to enclose themselves in a self-referential way of thinking, but
rather to accept the full life and the full faith of the Church.”<br />
In the archbishop’s words are the seeds of rebirth, a rooting out of error,
and the beginning of a new era of faith.<br />
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<div>
<img alt="avatar" class="avatar avatar-80 avatar-default" height="80" src="http://www.hprweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/FatherRegisScanlon2.jpg" style="height: 80px; width: 80px;" width="80" /> <strong>About Fr. Regis Scanlon, O.F.M. Cap.</strong><br />
Fr. Regis Scanlon, O.F.M.Cap., was ordained in Aug. 26, 1972. He is currently
in the process of developing the Julia Greeley shelter for homeless,
unaccompanied women in metro Denver. He is spiritual director and chaplain for
Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity in Denver, as well as being
one of the spiritual directors for the Missionaries of Charity in the western
United States. He was director of prison ministry for the Archdiocese of Denver,
from 1999 to 2010; a chaplain for Missionaries of Charity at their now-closed
AIDS hospice, Seton House, and at Gift of Mary homeless shelter for women in
Denver from 1989 to 2008; and in 1997, he was sent by Mother Teresa to instruct
Missionaries of Charity in Madagascar and South Africa on the subject of the
Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist . His articles have been published in
Homiletic & Pastoral Review, The Catholic Faith, Soul Magazine, Pastoral
Life, and The Priest. He has also made two series for Mother Angelica's EWTN:
“Crucial Questions,” “Catholic Answers,” and “What Did Vatican II Really
Teach?”</div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-76794273750374723432013-03-06T19:26:00.000-06:002013-03-06T19:28:32.321-06:00Chaplain Fr. Emil Kapaun: The Good Thief [Servant of God].<br />
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><span class="small">
By Lawrence P. Grayson </span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="left" border="0" class="article_image_box_left">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img align="left" alt="Fr. Emil Kapaun" src="http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/images/stories/articles/emil_kapaun1.jpg" title="Fr. Emil Kapaun" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fr. Emil Kapuan, a decorated<br />
war hero, was declared a<br />
Servant of God.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<a href="http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/politically-incorrect/hall-of-heroes/father-emil-kapaun-military-chaplain.html"><b>On Easter morning</b></a>, March 25, 1951, the Catholic priest
mounted the steps of a partially destroyed church, and turned to face
his congregation, some 60 men – gaunt, foul-smelling, in tattered
clothing. <br />
<br />
Fr. Emil Kapaun raised a small, homemade, wooden
cross to begin a prayer service, led the men in the Rosary, heard the
confessions of the Catholics, and performed a Baptism. Then, he wept
because there was no bread or wine to consecrate so that the men could
receive the Eucharist.<br />
<br />
The U.S. Army chaplain, with a patch
covering his injured eye and supported by a crudely-made cane, may have
been broken in body, but was strong in spirit.<br />
<br />
The following
Sunday, Fr. Kapaun collapsed. His condition was serious – a blood clot,
severe vein inflammation, malnutrition – but the Chinese guards in the
North Korean prison camp would allow no medical treatment, not even
painkillers. After languishing for several weeks, he died on May 23 and
was buried in a mass grave.<br />
<br />
Emil Kapaun was born on April 16,
1916 to a poor, but faith-filled farm family on the prairies of eastern
Kansas. Life was hard and even children had to learn to be resourceful
as mechanics and carpenters and to care for the animals during bitter
winters and brutally hot summers. With a strong desire to become a
priest, he attended Benedictine Conception Abbey to complete high school
and college, continued his studies at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis,
and was ordained in 1940.<br />
<br />
<b>Heroic Chaplain</b><br />
<br />
<table align="right" border="0" class="article_image_box_right">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img align="right" alt="Fr. Emil Kapaun" src="http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/images/stories/articles/emil_kapaun_mass.jpg" title="Fr. Emil Kapaun" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fr. Kapaun celebrates a field<br />
Mass on the hood of a jeep.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
When the United States entered World War II, he asked to become a
military chaplain. His bishop initially refused, but later relented.
Fr. Kapaun enlisted in 1944 in the Army, served for two years in Burma
and India, then returned to civilian life. Two years later, he
reenlisted and was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan.<br />
<br />
In
June 1950, a North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel, and advanced
quickly toward Seoul, South Korea. The U.S. intervened militarily, with
the 1st Cavalry Division executing an amphibious landing to block the
advancing army. The enemy onslaught was severe and the U.S. units soon
were in retreat. Fighting was intense. Fr. Kapaun, with his
soldier-parishioners in danger, was tireless. He moved among the GIs,
ignoring enemy fire, comforting the wounded, administering the last
rites, burying the dead, and offering Mass whenever and wherever he
could. On one occasion, he went in front of the U.S. lines, in spite of
intense fire, to rescue a wounded soldier.<br />
<br />
By August, the U.S.
troops had been pushed to the southern end of Korea, near the port of
Pusan. Then, on September 15, 1950, the war took a radical turn when
U.S. troops landed at Inchon behind the invading army. The North Korean
forces fled northward, with the Americans in pursuit. Within a few
weeks, the 1st Cavalry Division had crossed the 38th parallel. Unknown
to them, China, which had secretly moved a huge army into North Korea,
was about to enter the war.<br />
<br />
<b>
<table align="left" border="0" class="article_image_box_left">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img align="left" alt="Fr. Emil Kapaun" src="http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/images/stories/articles/emil_kapaun_with_pipe2.jpg" title="Fr. Emil Kapaun" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fr. Kapaun holding a pipe shot<br />
out of his mouth by an enemy<br />
sniper.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Fearless in Danger </b><br />
<br />
The night of November 1 was quiet.
Fr. Kapaun’s battalion, having suffered some 400 casualties among its
roster of 700 soldiers, was placed in a reserve position. Chinese
troops, however, had infiltrated to within a short distance of them.
Suddenly, just before midnight, there was a cacophony of bugles, horns
and whistles, as the enemy attacked from all sides.<br />
<br />
Fr. Kapaun
scrambled among foxholes, sharing a prayer with one soldier, saying a
comforting word to another. He assembled many wounded in an abandoned
log dugout. All the next day, he scanned the battlefield and, some 15
times, when he spotted a wounded soldier would crawl out and drag the
man back to the battalion’s position. By day’s end, the defensive
perimeter was drawn so tightly that the log hut and the wounded it
contained were outside of it. As evening came and another attack was
imminent, the chaplain left the main force for the shelter so that he
could be with the wounded. It was soon overrun, and Fr. Kapaun pleaded
for the safety of the injured. Approximately three-quarters of the men
in the battalion had been killed or captured.<br />
<br />
<b>Admirable Self-Sacrifice </b><br />
<br />
Hundreds
of U.S. prisoners were marched northward over snow-covered crests.
Whenever the column paused, Fr. Kapaun hurried up and down the line,
encouraging the men to pray, exhorting them not to give up. When a man
had to be carried or be left to die, Fr. Kapaun, although suffering from
frostbite himself, set the example by helping to carry a makeshift
stretcher. Finally, they reached their destination, a frigid,
mountainous area near the Chinese border. The poorly dressed prisoners
were given so little to eat that they were starving to death.<br />
<br />
For
the men to survive they would have to steal food from their captors.
So, praying to St. Dismas, the “Good Thief,” Fr. Kapaun would sneak out
of his hut in the middle of the night, often coming back with a sack of
grain, potatoes or corn. He volunteered for details to gather wood
because the route passed the compound where the enlisted men were kept,
and he could encourage them with a prayer, and sometimes slip out of
line to visit the sick and wounded. He also undertook tasks that
repulsed others, such as cleaning latrines and washing the soiled
clothing of men with dysentery.<br />
<br />
<b>Unwavering Faith </b><br />
<br />
<table align="left" border="0" class="article_image_box_left">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img align="right" alt="Fr. Emil Kapaun" src="http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/images/stories/articles/emil_kapaun_helping_soldier.jpg" style="float: right;" title="Fr. Emil Kapaun" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fr. Kapaun (right) helping a wounded soldier.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Fr. Kapaun’s faith never wavered. While he was willing to forgive
the failings of prisoners toward their captors, he allowed no leeway in
regard to the doctrines of the Church. He continually reminded
prisoners to pray, assuring them that in spite of their difficulties,
Our Lord would take care of them. As a result of his example, some 15
of his fellow prisoners converted to the Catholic Faith.<br />
<br />
Fr.
Kapaun’s practice of sharing his meager rations with others who were
weaker, lowered his resistance to disease, and eventually to his death.
For his heroic behavior, he received many posthumous honors, including
the Distinguished Service Cross and Legion of Merit, had buildings,
chapels, a high school, and several Knights of Columbus councils named
in his honor, and is currently being considered for the <a href="http://www.cmohs.org/">Medal of Honor</a>. In 1993, the Pope declared Fr. Kapaun a “Servant of God,” and his cause for canonization is pending.<br /><br /><span style="color: orange;"><b>It was announced in February of 2013 that Father Kapaun will be receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor, posthumously, in April of 2013.</b></span><br />
<br />
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a class="l vst" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEmil_Kapaun&ei=muc3UbDYNcTdyAH6_YHwBw&usg=AFQjCNGncd-RPuI98AC0d6VDBmDv4iPhEA&sig2=Q_hGnNVrvNf4axlnzOHxSg">Emil <i>Kapaun</i> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a><a class="l" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&ved=0CIABEBYwCw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.angelusonline.org%2Findex.php%3Fsection%3Darticles%26subsection%3Dshow_article%26article_id%3D2688&ei=muc3UbDYNcTdyAH6_YHwBw&usg=AFQjCNEfKV3Pk_3SgWtfnLIUZmHqWw1obw&sig2=ioZY-aeS6aLHFQ9yKwvPAA">The Ordeal of <i>Chaplain</i> Father <i>Kapaun</i> - The Angelus Online |</a><span class="wrc0" style="height: 16px; padding-right: 16px; width: 16px;"></span></span></h3>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a class="l" href="http://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/father-kapaun-cause/merchandise">Father <i>Kapaun</i> Cause - Catholic Diocese of Wichita</a><span class="wrc0" style="height: 16px; padding-right: 16px; width: 16px;"></span></span></h3>
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<a class="l vst" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEmil_Kapaun&ei=muc3UbDYNcTdyAH6_YHwBw&usg=AFQjCNGncd-RPuI98AC0d6VDBmDv4iPhEA&sig2=Q_hGnNVrvNf4axlnzOHxSg"><br /></a></h3>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-85460964960046882632013-03-03T07:32:00.000-06:002013-03-03T07:32:01.697-06:00The Three Absolvers and Cardinal Arinze on Examinations of Conscience.<br />
<b> Updated again on March 3, 2013</b><br />
<br />
<b>Don't believe in Mortal Sin? Francis Cardinal Arinze would like to chat with you, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ8CDmXYugw&feature=player_embedded">NOW!</a></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Updated a third time on December 20, 2011</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="color: #000099; font-size: 130%;">Sr. Mary Ann Walsh with the USCCB has <a href="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/07/usccb-media-blog-10-points-in-favor-of-going-to-confession/">ten good, practical reasons</a> for going to Confession regularly, with one really important reason added by Fr. Z!</span><br /><br /><br />First Posted on December 9, 2008</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 130%;"><a href="http://catholicparents.org/oxcart/examinationchild2.html"><br /><br />Commandments of the Church</a></span><a href="http://catholicparents.org/oxcart/examinationchild2.html"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">III. To confess our sins to a priest, at least once a year.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> IV. To receive Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist at least once a year during Easter Season.</span></span></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8bNbVCw0OVmCLAN-YrN3oLUc1wD3gLgmCLnxRyaMNWs1vigeJUG09SMV0h5nVWDB2bir16To2GhzYEMDNEKMoH30nGbQNSaHh_0JYZLVXcZ-HivRXTNiBhifhJ4acvPRLWST/s1600/Confession.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596358287426141938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8bNbVCw0OVmCLAN-YrN3oLUc1wD3gLgmCLnxRyaMNWs1vigeJUG09SMV0h5nVWDB2bir16To2GhzYEMDNEKMoH30nGbQNSaHh_0JYZLVXcZ-HivRXTNiBhifhJ4acvPRLWST/s320/Confession.jpeg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;">Father John Zuhlsdorf, <a href="http://wdtprs.com/">"Father Z, renowned blogger</a></span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><a href="http://wdtprs.com/" style="color: #000099;">"</a><span style="color: #000099;">, has </span><a href="http://wdtprs.com/blog/fr-zs-20-tips-for-making-a-good-confession/" style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">20 Tips for Making A Good Confession</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.oursaviournyc.org/pastor-s-corner" style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Father George Rutler</span></a><span style="color: #000099;">, author, preacher and pastor of the Church of Our Savior in Manhattan, has ten pages on</span><a href="http://www.oursaviournyc.org/how-to-make-a-good-confession" style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> "How to Make a Good Confession."</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.catholicparents.org/fraltier.html"><span style="color: #000099; font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;">Father Robert Altier</span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://www.catholicparents.org/fraltier.html">,</a> preacher and chaplain in Hastings, MN, has a wonderful</span></span><span style="color: #000099; font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://catholicparents.org/oxcart/Examination%20of%20Conscience.pdf">"Examination of Conscience"</a> </span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: #000099;">for you. "Keep custody of those eyes!"<br /><br />and<br /><br /><a href="http://wdtprs.com/blog/" style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Father John Zuhlsdorf</span> [Fr. Z.] </a>on <a href="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/04/quaeritur-i-havent-been-to-confession-for-10-years-i-dont-know-what-to-do-2/">"I haven't been to Confession for ten years; I don't know what to do!</a>Fr. Z, again: </span></span><a href="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/12/why-i-still-have-this-blog-a-readers-testimony/#comments"><span style="font-size: 130%;">Why I still have this blog: a reader’s testimony</span></a> <br />
<h1 class="entry-title">
<span style="color: #000099; font-size: 130%;">And here are two more useful Examinations for children:</span></h1>
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 130%;"><a href="http://catholicparents.org/oxcart/examinationchild.html">Click Here for an Examination of Conscience for Children</a></span><a href="http://catholicparents.org/oxcart/examinationchild.html"><span id="formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class=" down" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link"><img alt="Link" border="0" class="gl_link" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /></span></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 130%;"><a href="http://catholicparents.org/oxcart/examinationchild2.html">Click Here for another Examination for Elementary School Children</a><a href="http://www.catholicparents.org/"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Tip O' the Hat to Catholic Parents OnLine</span></a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">You say that you think that you prefer to confess your sins directly to God? You don't need to do it to a priest? <a href="http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2011/in-the-time-of-my-confession.html">Read what Francis J. Beckwith</a>, </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><i style="color: #3333ff; font-family: arial;">Professor
of Philosophy and Church-State Studies at Baylor University, former
President of the protestant Evangelical Theological Society, </i><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: arial;">and a convert in April 2007 to the Catholic Church has to say on the matter.</span></span><i><br /></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 130%;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-11432865041893964912013-03-03T07:17:00.000-06:002013-03-27T04:21:30.183-05:00If you live here you really don't have an excuse for not going to Confession [Bumped].<br />
Updated on March 26, 2013<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000;">[Originally posted August 22, 2008]</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1v_ojoQSokrb3-Bq2UoW2fun4TsXQnm3yaBCXrTc5bssyS3Whkw7Rte48cbBAKz1dFDRLgYhmC8Ytb_nZbSOq1IE9olMClV98Qp4VlH0DQR5_nSiddrI_yETXgsE8i9vuOKdw/s1600/woman_in_confession-278x400.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596358790237932242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1v_ojoQSokrb3-Bq2UoW2fun4TsXQnm3yaBCXrTc5bssyS3Whkw7Rte48cbBAKz1dFDRLgYhmC8Ytb_nZbSOq1IE9olMClV98Qp4VlH0DQR5_nSiddrI_yETXgsE8i9vuOKdw/s320/woman_in_confession-278x400.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 320px; width: 222px;" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #000099; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;">.</span></span><br />Two of this area's most prolific and respected bloggers, <a href="http://adorotedevote.blogspot.com/2008/08/presenting-ourselves-for-holy-communion.html">Adoro </a>and <a href="http://terry58.stblogs.com/2008/08/22/confessors/">Terry</a>, coincidentally posted recently on difficulties in finding a place to go to Confession. Jeepers, you'd think with 230 parishes in our archdiocese, that should be no problem.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-weight: bold;">Well, the problem is that most parishes seem to make it available on Saturday afternoons between 3:00 and 5:00, before the Vigil Mass. In days of yore, the kids went to confession on Friday afternoons, I believe, and the grown ups lined up on Saturday mornings or during parish missions or Holy Week. Maybe the problem is that we don't see many lines any more so pastors aren't offering it more often.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099;">But a major logistical problem with sin is that it just does not happen only on Friday nights. Sin is a 24/7 event, sadly, for most of us. Therefore, it is great when we can get dash on over to the morning Confessional line, encounter only a few ahead of us and get shriven of our sins so we can face the day with joy.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #000099;">Therefor the Official Minnesota Catholic Directory (a two year old edition) was scoured for those parishes that offer Confession on a daily basis (bold type) or at other times than Saturday afternoons.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #000099;">Tape this to your refrigerator along with the kids homework, your workout schedule or your weight loss stats. Isn't your spiritual health as important as other important parts of your life?</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" str="" style="border-collapse: collapse; height: 1189px; width: 485px;"><colgroup><col style="width: 63pt;" width="84"></col> <col style="width: 91pt;" width="121"></col> <col style="width: 140pt;" width="187"></col> </colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; width: 63pt;" width="84">Anoka</td> <td style="width: 91pt;" width="121">St. Stephen</td> <td style="width: 140pt;" width="187">Thursdays 7:00 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Blaine</td> <td>St. Timothy</td> <td>Saturday 6:00 pm</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Burnsville</td> <td>MMOTC</td> <td>Saturday 9-10 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Carver</td> <td>St. Nicholas</td> <td>Saturday 6-6:30 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Coon Rapids</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">Epiphany</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">After M-F Masses; 9-10:00 am Sat</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Corcoran</td> <td str="St. Thomas ">St. Thomas </td> <td>Sun: 7:30 a.m.; Thurs: 11:30 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Crystal</td> <td>St. Raphael</td> <td>Saturday: 7:30-8:30 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Delano</td> <td>St. Joseph</td> <td>Thursday: After 8:30 a.m. Mass</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Eagan</td> <td>St. John Neumann</td> <td>Wednesday: 7:00 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Edina</td> <td>Our Lady of Grace</td> <td>Saturday: 9:30-10:30 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Edina</td> <td>St. Patrick</td> <td>Saturday: 1:00 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Excelsior</td> <td>John the Baptist</td> <td>Sunday: 7:30-7:50; 9:30-9:50</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Faribault</td> <td>Divine Mercy</td> <td>Saturday: 8-8:30; 9-9:30;<br />
Weds & Fri: 8:00 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Forest Lake</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. Peter</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">M-F: After 8:30 a.m. Mass</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Ham Lake</td> <td>St. Paul</td> <td>Mon: 8:15 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Hastings</td> <td style="font-weight: bold;">St Elizabeth Seton</td> <td style="font-weight: bold;">M-F: 6:45 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Hopkins</td> <td>John the Evangelist</td> <td>Saturday: 8:45 a.m</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Medina</td> <td>Holy Name</td> <td>Saturday: 8:30 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Minneapolis</td> <td>Holy Rosary</td> <td>Sun: 8:45-9:15; Sun: 10:30-11:00 (Spanish)</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Minneapolis</td> <td>OL of Lourdes</td> <td>30 min. before weekend Masses</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Minneapolis</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. Joseph Hien</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">30 minutes before all Masses</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Minneapolis</td> <td>St Anthony/Padua</td> <td>Saturday: 7:45-8:15</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Minneapolis</td> <td>St. Helena</td> <td>Saturday 2:45-3:15</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Minneapolis</td> <td>St. Lawrence/Newman</td> <td>Saturday 9:30-10:00</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Minneapolis</td> <td>St. Leonard</td> <td>Saturday: After 8:00 Mass</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Minneapolis</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. Olaf</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">M-F after a.m. Mass;<br />
TThSa after noon Mass</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Northfield</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. Dominic</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">M-F: 4:45 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Norwood/YA</td> <td>Ascension</td> <td>7:30-8:15 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Ramsey</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">Katherine Drexel</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">30 minutes before all Masses</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Robbinsdale</td> <td style="font-weight: bold;">Sacred Heart</td> <td style="font-weight: bold;">Tues-Sat: 7:30-7:50 am <span style="color: #000099;">[change]</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Anthony</td> <td>Charles Borromeo</td> <td>Sat: 8:30-9 am; Weds: 5:20 pm</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Bonnie</td> <td>St. Boniface</td> <td>Tues-Weds: 7:45-8:00 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Louis Pk</td> <td>Holy Family</td> <td>Sunday: 8:00-8:50 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul<br />
St. Paul</td> <td>Holy Childhood<br />
Assumption</td> <td>Sunday: 9:30-10:00 <span style="font-weight: bold;">[new]</span><br />
M-F: 11:30-11:55</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td>Bl. Sacrament</td> <td>Saturday: 2:30-3:30</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td style="font-weight: bold;">Cathedral</td> <td style="font-weight: bold;">M-F: 4:00-5:05 p.m. <span style="color: #000099;">[change]</span><br />
Lent 2010: March 20, Communal<br />
March 29, 30, 31: 3-5 & 7-8:30 [new]<br />
<br /></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">Nativity</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">M-F: 7:45 & 4:30</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td>St. Agnes</td> <td>Sat: 7:30-9:00 a.m.;<br />
after Tuesday devotions</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td>St. Bernard</td> <td>Monday: after 8:15 Mass</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td>Francis de Sales</td> <td>Saturday: 2:30-3:30</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td>St. James</td> <td>Tuesday: 8:30 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. John</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">Before every Mass</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St Louis</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">M-F:6:30, 9:30; also 6:30; 9:30 & 11:30 Mon<br />
6:45 & 11:30 Tues - Fri<br />
Sat: 6:30, 11:30<br />
except Holy Days & Holidays <span style="color: #134f5c;">[New</span>]</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td>Thomas More</td> <td>Tuesday: 7:00 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td>St. Matthew</td> <td>Tuesday: 7:15 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td>St. Stanislaus</td> <td>Saturday: 2:30-3:00</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="color: black; height: 12.75pt;">St. Paul</td> <td style="color: black;">SVDP (Hmong)</td> <td style="color: black;"><br />
Sunday: 8:00-8:45 a.m.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
<br /></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">St Paul<br />
St. Paul<br />
Savage</td> <td>UST, St Thomas Chapel<br />
St. Andrew<br />
John the Baptist</td> <td>M-F 3:15 - 4:15 <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">(NEW)</span></span><br />
Sat: 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. <span style="color: #cc0000; font-weight: bold;"> (NEW)</span><br />
Saturday: 8:30-9:30 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Shakopee</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. Mary</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">15 minutes before Masses</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Shoreview</td> <td>St. Odilia</td> <td>Saturday: 9:00 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">S. St. Paul</td> <td>St. Augustine</td> <td>Saturday: 7:30-8:30 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Stillwater</td> <td>St. Mary</td> <td>Saturday: 8:00 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Stillwater</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. Michael</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">M-F: 5:05-5:25 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Taylors Falls</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. Joseph</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">After all Masses</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Victoria</td> <td>St. Victoria</td> <td>Saturday: 6:00 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Watertown</td> <td>Imm. Conception</td> <td>Friday: 7:00-7:30 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="font-weight: bold; height: 12.75pt;">Waverly</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">St. Mary</td> <td class="xl24" style="font-weight: bold;">Before daily Mass</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">W. St. Paul</td> <td>St. Joseph</td> <td>Saturday: 8:30-9:30 a.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">W. St. Paul</td> <td>St. Michael</td> <td>Saturday: 7:00-8:00 p.m.</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">White Bear</td> <td>St. Mary/Lake</td> <td>Saturday: 9:00 a.m.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-72520471874905844942013-02-28T22:03:00.003-06:002013-03-01T09:06:28.767-06:00Sede Vacante<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here in full, <a href="http://en.radiovaticana.va/index.asp" target="_blank"><i>Vatican Radio</i></a>'s English translation of the text of His Holiness's farewell message to the College of Cardinals:</span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #282828; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">Dear beloved brothers,<br /><br />I welcome you all with great joy and cordially greet each one of you. I thank Cardinal Angelo Sodano [dean of the college], who as always, has been able to convey the sentiments of the College, <i>Cor ad cor loquitur</i> [heart speaking to heart]. Thank you, Your Eminence, from my heart.<br /><br />And
referring to the disciples of Emmaus, I would like to say to you all
that it has also been a joy for me to walk with you over the years in
light of the presence of the Risen Lord. As I said yesterday, in front
of thousands of people who filled St. Peter's Square, your closeness,
your advice, have been a great help to me in my ministry. In these 8
years we have experienced in faith beautiful moments of radiant light in
the Churches’ journey along with times when clouds have darkened the
sky. We have tried to serve Christ and his Church with deep and total
love which is the soul of our ministry. We have gifted hope that comes
from Christ alone, and which alone can illuminate our path. Together we
can thank the Lord who has helped us grow in communion, to pray to
together, to help you to continue to grow in this deep unity so that the
College of Cardinals is like an orchestra, where diversity, an
expression of the universal Church, always contributes to a superior
harmony of concord. I would like to leave you with a simple thought that
is close to my heart, a thought on the Church, Her mystery, which is
for all of us, we can say, the reason and the passion of our lives. I am
helped by an expression of Romano Guardini’s, written in the year in
which the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council approved the
Constitution <i>Lumen Gentium</i>, his last with a personal dedication to me, so the words of this book are particularly dear to me.<br /><br />Guardini
says: "The Church is not an institution devised and built at table,
but a living reality. She lives along the course of time by
transforming Herself, like any living being, yet Her nature remains
the same. At Her heart is Christ. "<br /><br />This was our experience
yesterday, I think, in the square. We could see that the Church is a
living body, animated by the Holy Spirit, and truly lives by the power
of God, She is in the world but not of the world. She is of God, of
Christ, of the Spirit, as we saw yesterday. This is why another
eloquent expression of Guardini’s is also true: "The Church is
awakening in souls." The Church lives, grows and awakens in those souls
which like the Virgin Mary accept and conceive the Word of God by the
power of the Holy Spirit. They offer to God their flesh and in their
own poverty and humility become capable of giving birth to Christ in
the world today. Through the Church the mystery of the Incarnation
remains present forever. Christ continues to walk through all times in
all places. Let us remain united, dear brothers, to this mystery, in
prayer, especially in daily Eucharist, and thus serve the Church and
all humanity. This is our joy that no one can take from us.<br /><br />Prior
to bidding farewell to each of you personally, I want to tell you that
I will continue to be close to you in prayer, especially in the next
few days, so that you may all be fully docile to the action of the Holy
Spirit in the election of the new Pope. May the Lord show you what is
willed by Him. And among you, among the College of Cardinals, there is
also the future Pope, to whom, here to today, I already promise my
unconditional reverence and obedience. For all this, with affection and
gratitude, I cordially impart upon you my Apostolic Blessing.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">As
previously noted, Benedict will depart the Vatican by chopper just
before 5pm Rome time, and is expected to greet those on hand at Castel
Gandolfo from the villa's balcony shortly after his arrival.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Around three hours later, at 8pm, the Swiss Guard detail guarding Benedict there will leave, marking the <i>sede vacante</i> and the lack of a Pope.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">At the same time, in keeping with <a href="http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-curtain-falls.html" target="_blank">centuries of tradition,</a> the papal apartment will be sealed until the next pontiff takes possession of it.</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-16704747993782935302013-02-09T09:24:00.001-06:002013-02-11T03:30:55.436-06:00Fish Fries and Lenten Dinners from the Catholic Spirit<span style="color: #990000;"><b>If you have particular recommendations, let me know in the comments and I will highlight them.</b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fish Fries and Lenten Dinners </b></span><br />
<br />
The following is a list of parishes and schools hosting fish fries or dinners during the Lenten season.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b> February 8:
</b></span><br />
<b>St. Timothy, Blaine</b> — February 8: 5 to 7 p.m. at 707 89th Ave N.E.
<br />
<b>St. Michael, Pine Island </b>— February 8: 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 451 Fifth St. S.W.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>February 14 (Thursday):
</b></span><br />
<b>St. Jerome, Maplewood </b>— soup supper follows Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>February 15: </b></span><br />
<b>St. Peter School, North St. Paul</b> — 4 to 7 p.m. at 2620 N. Margaret St.
<br />
<b>Guardian Angels, Chaska</b> — 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 217 Second St.
<br />
<b>Holy Cross, Minneapolis </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. at 1621 University Ave. N.E.<br />
<b>St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St.<br />
<b>Holy Family Maronite Church, Mendota Heights </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>includes many delicious Lebanese side dishes 'bread at [side refills yes!]</b></span> 1960 Lexington Ave. S.<br />
<b>St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings </b>— 3:45 to 5 p.m. and 5:15 to 7 p.m. at 600 Tyler St.
<br />
<b>St. Matthew, St. Paul</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at 510 Hall Ave.
<br />
<b>St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of E. 29th Street and 32nd Avenue S. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Excellent Reputation in Years Past. </b></span><br />
<b>St. Peter, Forest Lake</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1250 S. Shore Drive.<br />
<b>Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale </b>— 4:30 to 7 p.m., <span style="color: #990000;"><b>spaghetti & Mac 'n Cheez options, excellent reputation</b></span>, at 4087 W. Broadway Ave.
<br />
<b>St. Michael, Pine Island </b>— 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 451 Fifth St. S.W.
<br />
<b>St. Timothy, Blaine </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. at 707 89th Ave N.E.
<br />
<b>Our Lady of Guadalupe, </b>St. Paul — Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen)
<br />
<b>Good Shepherd,</b> Golden Valley — 5 to 7 p.m. at 145 Jersey Ave. S.
<br />
<b>St. Bernard, St. Paul </b>— 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.
<br />
<b>St. Michael, Prior Lake</b> – 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 16311 Duluth Ave. Menu also includes macaroni and cheese.
<br />
<b>Knights of Columbus, Faribault</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 N.E. Third St.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>February 20 (Wednesday): </b></span><br />
<b>Holy Cross, Minneapolis </b>— soup supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kolbe Center on 17th Avenue and 14th Street N.E.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>February 21 (Thursday):
</b></span><br />
<b>St. Jerome, Maplewood</b> — soup supper follows Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>February 22: </b></span><br />
<b>Holy Cross, Minneapolis</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1621 University Ave. N.E.
<br />
<b>St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St.
<br />
<b>Holy Family Maronite Church, Mendota Heights </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>includes many delicious Lebanese side dishes 'bread at [side refills yes!]</b></span> at 1960 Lexington Ave. S.
<br />
<b>St. Matthew, St. Paul</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at 510 Hall Ave.
<br />
<b>St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of E. 29th Street and 32nd Avenue S.<span style="color: #990000;"><b> Excellent Reputation in Years Past.
</b></span><br />
<b>St. Peter, Forest Lake</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1250 S. Shore Drive.
<br />
<b>Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>spaghetti & Mac 'n Cheez options, excellent reputation</b></span>, at 4087 W. Broadway Ave.
<br />
<b>St. Michael, Pine Island</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 451 Fifth St. S.W.
<br />
<b>St. Timothy, Blaine</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 707 89th Ave N.E.
<br />
<b>Our Lady of Guadalupe,</b> St. Paul — Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen)
<br />
<b>St. Peter, Mendota</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1405 Highway 13.
<br />
<b>St. Bernard, St. Paul </b>— 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.
<br />
<b>St. Anne, Hamel </b>— 4 to 7 p.m. At 200 Hamel Road.
<br />
<b>Knights of Columbus, Faribault</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 N.E. Third St.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>February 27 (Wednesday)</b>: </span><br />
<b>Holy Cross, Minneapolis</b> — soup supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kolbe Center on 17th Avenue and 14th Street N.E.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>February 28 (Thursday): </b></span><br />
<b>St. Jerome, Maplewood </b>— soup supper follows Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>March 1:
</b></span><br />
<b>St. Peter School, North St. Paul </b>— 4 to 7 p.m. at 2620 N. Margaret St.
<br />
<b>St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St.
<br />
<b>Holy Cross, Minneapolis</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1621 University Ave. N.E.
<br />
<b>Holy Family Maronite Church, Mendota Heights </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>includes many delicious Lebanese side dishes 'bread at [side refills yes!]</b></span> at 1960 Lexington Ave. S.
<br />
<b>St. Matthew, St. Paul </b>— 4 to 7:30 p.m. at 510 Hall Ave.
<br />
<b>St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of E. 29th Street and 32nd Avenue S. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Excellent Reputation in Years Past.
</b></span><br />
<b>Mary, Queen of Peace, Rogers</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 21304 Church Ave.
<br />
<b>St. Peter, Forest Lake</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1250 S. Shore Drive.
<br />
<b>Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale </b>— 4:30 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>spaghetti & Mac 'n Cheez options, excellent reputation</b></span>, at 4087 W. Broadway Ave.
<br />
<b>Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul </b>— Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen)
<br />
<b>St. Bernard, St. Paul</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.
<br />
<b>St. Michael, Prior Lake </b>– 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 16311 Duluth Ave. Menu also includes macaroni and cheese.
<br />
<b>Knights of Columbus, Faribault</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 N.E. Third St.
<br />
<b>Nativity of Mary, Bloomington </b>— 5 to 8 p.m. at 9900 Lyndale Ave. S.
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 6 (Wednesday):
</span><br />Holy Cross, Minneapolis </b>— soup supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kolbe Center on 17th Avenue and 14th Street N.E.
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 7 (Thursday):</span>
<br />St. Jerome, Maplewood</b> — soup supper follows Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 8:
</span><br />Holy Cross, Minneapolis </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. at 1621 University Ave. N.E.
<br />
<b>St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St.
<br />
<b>Holy Family Maronite Church, Mendota Heights </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>includes many delicious Lebanese side dishes 'bread at [side refills yes!]</b></span> at 1960 Lexington Ave. S.
<br />
<b>St. Matthew, St. Paul</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at 510 Hall Ave.
<br />
<b>St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of E. 29th Street and 32nd Avenue S. <b> <span style="color: #990000;">Excellent Reputation in Years Past.
</span><br />St. Peter, Forest Lake </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. at 1250 S. Shore Drive.
<br />
<b>Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale</b> — 4:30 to 7p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>spaghetti & Mac 'n Cheez options, excellent reputation</b></span>, at 4087 W. Broadway Ave.
<br />
<b>Our Lady of Guadalupe,</b> St. Paul — Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen)
<br />
<b>St. Bernard, St. Paul </b>— 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.
<br />
<b>Knights of Columbus, Faribault</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 N.E. Third St.
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 13 (Wednesday):
</span><br />Holy Cross, Minneapolis </b>— soup supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kolbe Center on 17th Avenue and 14th Street N.E.
<br />
<b><br /><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 14 (Thursday):
</span><br />St. Jerome, Maplewood</b> — soup supper follows Stations of theCross at 5:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 15:
</span><br />St. Peter School, North St. Paul</b> — 4 to 7 p.m. at 2620 N. Margaret St.
<br />
<b>Holy Cross, Minneapolis </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. at 1621 University Ave. N.E.
<br />
<b>St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St.
<br />
<b>Holy Family Maronite Church, Mendota Heights </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>includes many delicious Lebanese side dishes 'bread at [side refills yes!]</b></span> at 1960 Lexington Ave. S.
<br />
<b>St. Matthew, St. Paul</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at 510 Hall Ave.
<br />
<b>St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis</b> — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of E. 29th Street and 32nd Avenue S.<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Excellent Reputation in Years Past.
</span><br />St. Peter, Forest Lake</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1250 S. Shore Drive.
<br />
<b>Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>spaghetti & Mac 'n Cheez options, excellent reputation</b></span>, at 4087 W. Broadway Ave.
<br />
<b>Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul </b>— Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen)
<br />
<b>St. Bernard, St. Paul </b>— 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.
<br />
<b>St. Michael, Prior Lake</b> – 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 16311 Duluth Ave. Menu also includes macaroni and cheese.
<br />
<b>Knights of Columbus, Faribault</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 N.E. Third St.
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 20 (Wednesday):
</span><br />Holy Cross, Minneapolis</b> — soup supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kolbe Center on 17th Avenue and 14th Street N.E.
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 21 (Thursday):
</span><br />St. Jerome, Maplewood</b> — soup supper follows Stations of theCross at 5:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">March 22:
</span><br />St. Peter School, North St. Paul </b>— 4 to 7 p.m. at 2620 N. Margaret St.
<br />
<b>St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul </b>— 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St.
<br />
<b>Holy Family Maronite Church, Mendota Heights</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>includes many delicious Lebanese side dishes 'bread at [side refills yes!]</b></span> at 1960 Lexington Ave. S.
<br />
<b>St. Jerome, Maplewood </b>— 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.
<br />
<b>St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis </b>— 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of E. 29th Street and 32nd Avenue S. <b><span style="color: #990000;">Excellent Reputation in Years Past.
</span><br />Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. <span style="color: #990000;"><b>spaghetti & Mac 'n Cheez options, excellent reputation</b></span>, at 4087 W. Broadway Ave.
<br />
<b>Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul </b>— Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen)
<br />
<b>Good Shepherd, Golden Valley </b>— 5 to 7 p.m. at 145 Jersey Ave. S.
<br />
<b>St. Bernard, St. Paul</b> — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.
<br />
<b>Knights of Columbus, Faribault</b> — 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 N.E. Third St.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>March 29: </b></span><br />
<b>Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul</b> — Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen)
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-28583579124368819962013-02-01T22:09:00.000-06:002013-02-01T22:13:10.003-06:00Minnesota’s bishops raise concerns about "end of life" medical treatment form<br />
<img alt="signature" br="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-32024" height="212" src="http://thecatholicspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/signature.jpg" width="320" />
Among the most difficult medical decisions are those that must be
made when patients can no longer speak for themselves. For that reason,
more people are turning to various forms of “advance directives” to
outline their wishes regarding medical treatment ahead of time.<br />
<br />
Minnesota’s bishops, however, recently issued a new pastoral
statement raising ethical concerns about an end-of-life medical care
form known as “Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment,” or POLST.<br />
<br />
“We believe that there are sufficient and significant ethical
concerns that argue against its use for advance-care planning,” the
bishops said in a statement titled “<a href="http://www.mncc.org/stewards-of-the-gift-of-life/" target="_blank">Stewards of the Gift of Life</a>.”<br />
<br />
Like advance directives, POLST forms aim to help ensure a patient’s
wishes for medical care are carried out in the final stages of life.
But, while advance directives allow patients to state treatment
preferences, POLST forms constitute standing medical orders signed by a
physician or another health care practitioner who can issue such orders.<br />
<br />
POLST forms are increasingly being used around the country and were
endorsed by the Minnesota Medical Association in 2009. Many hospitals
and long-term care facilities — including Catholic health care providers
— are using them.<br />
<b><br />Various concerns</b><br />
<br />
A joint study committee composed of members of the Minnesota Catholic
Conference, the public policy voice of the state’s bishops, and the
Catholic Health Association of Minnesota studied the issue in depth for
more than a year to give the bishops guidance on the issue, said Jason
Adkins, MCC executive director. Committee members included doctors,
nurses, ethicists, lawyers and health care providers.<br />
<br />
The archdiocesan Commission on Biomedical Ethics was also consulted on the issue, he said.<br />
<br />
One concern the bishops have about POLST forms is that they fail to
acknowledge that patients can’t truly give informed consent for
treatments when the variables surrounding a future medical condition are
unknown.<br />
<br />
“From a Catholic perspective, making a morally sound decision
regarding end-of-life care calls for informed consent based on
information related to the actual circumstances and medical conditions
at a particular moment,” the bishops said.<br />
<br />
“For both patients and providers, it is difficult to determine in
advance whether specific medical treatments will be absolutely necessary
or optional,” they note. “Though we have some ability to determine a
person’s course of illness, we do not have absolute certainty.
Therefore, any tool created to guide medical management must take these
predictive limitations into consideration.”<br />
<br />
POLST forms risk oversimplifying the medical-decision making process, the bishops said.<br />
<br />
“Decisions depending upon factors such as the benefits, expected
outcomes, and the risks or burdens of the treatment are oversimplified
by ‘one-size-fits-all’ checkboxes, without the benefit of clinical
context,” they said. “As a result, using POLST bears the risk that an
indication may be made to withhold treatment that, under certain
unforeseen circumstances, the patient would want to receive.”<br />
<br />
Teresa Tawil, a gerontological nurse practitioner working in the Twin
Cities, said the biggest problem with a POLST form from her perspective
is the potential for it not to be current with a patient’s changing
health care status.<br />
<br />
“This is why a prewritten document has its limitations,” said Tawil,
who served on the MCC-CHA study committee and is a member of St. Raphael
in Crystal. “A designated power of attorney who acts out of Christian
love for the patient and is educated in the patent’s current medical
situation and . . . the overall burden of illness is crucial to guiding
morally sound care.”<br />
<br />
The bishops’ statement raises additional concerns about POLST. Among them are:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The forms might be used for patients who are not terminally ill as a form of assisted suicide or euthanasia.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The form permits but does not require a patient’s signature (or the
signature of a legally designated health care agent), and thus raises
concerns about having a patient’s true informed consent for important
decisions.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>POLST lacks a conscience clause for health care professionals who
may have concerns about medical orders they are asked to fulfill.</li>
</ul>
<b>Alternatives available</b><br />
<br />
In discouraging the use of POLST forms by Catholics and Catholic
health care providers, Minnesota’s bishops point to better alternatives,
including the Minnesota Catholic Health Care directive and accompanying
guide. The directive meets the state’s legal requirements and reflects
the Church’s teachings on end-of-life care. (The form and guide can be
accessed at <a href="http://www.mncc.org/resources/mn-catholic-healthcare-directive-2" rel="nofollow">http://www.mncc.org/resources/mn-catholic-healthcare-directive-2</a>.)<br />
<br />
In “Stewards of the Gift of Life,” the bishops also support the
appointment of a health care agent who can speak for a patient and act
in his or her best interests. And they call for “renewed efforts to
educate the Catholic community and other interested persons in the rich
tradition of our Catholic teaching on end-of-life care.”<br />
<br />
“We need to start having these conversations with our family members,
with our loved ones, as uncomfortable as they may be,” Adkins said. “We
need to express our own wishes and make sure that when we are pursuing
end-of-life care that it is consistent with our own Catholic faith and
objective moral norms.<br />
<br />
“And,” he added, “we need to look for people in our lives who can
help us make those decisions. Otherwise, we leave our families in a
difficult position of trying to discern what our wishes might be or how
to handle these things.”<br />
<br />
The MCC said a future goal is to develop a resource that lays out in
“a more substantive and developed way” a Catholic perspective on
end-of-life care that helps people understand the various resources
available to them.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-12005808300289488862013-01-30T05:32:00.001-06:002013-01-31T20:57:23.620-06:00Another Upper Midwest Bishop Gets Promoted<div>
<span class="500365013-29012013"><span style="color: navy;">Bishop John Vlazny of
Portland, OR, formerly Bishop of Winona, 1987-1997, has retired at age
76.</span></span><br />
/>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="500365013-29012013"><span style="color: navy;">Bishop Alexander Sample
of Marquette, who was the youngest bishop in the country when he was appointed
as bishop there in 2005, has been appointed Archbishop of
Portland, now as the youngest archbishop in the country.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="500365013-29012013"><span style="color: navy;">See articles on the appointment of Archbishop Sample by <a href="http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2013/01/go-west-young-man-for-portland-pontifex.html">Whispers' Rocco Palmo</a> and <a href="http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=49544&wf=rsscol">Deacon Keith Fournier of Catholic Online</a> in California. </span></span><br />
<span class="500365013-29012013"><span style="color: navy;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="500365013-29012013"><span style="color: navy;">This just a few months
after Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo was appointed as Archbishop of
Denver.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="500365013-29012013"><span style="color: navy;"><br />Other upper midwest
bishops with recent promotions are: Bishop Dennis Schnurr of Duluth as Archbishop of
Cincinnati, Bishop Robert Carlson, Auxiliary in StP-M, as Archbishop of St.
Louis, Bishop Frederick Campbell, Auxiliary in StP-M to Bishop of Columbus, OH,
Bishop Richard Pates, Auxiliary in StP-M as Bishop of Des Moines, Bishop David
Zubik from Green Bay to Pittsburgh, and of course, Bishop Daniel Di Nardo of Sioux City, IA, to Houston-Galveston as a Cardinal and Bishop Raymond Burke first to
LaCrosse and then St. Louis and now a Cardinal in Rome.</span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span class="500365013-29012013"><span style="color: navy;"><br />There are two local
vacancies to be filled this year: Fargo and St. Cloud (Bishop Kinney has
submitted his retirement letter). Any nominations pass on to the Papal Nuncio
in Washington DC.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-55763403943442596072013-01-28T16:26:00.000-06:002013-01-28T16:26:23.492-06:0040 Years of the Culture of Death: A Pastoral Letter on the Occasion of the Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade<span id="content9723"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="NewsHeadlinesLarge"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<em><span class="NewsHeadlinesLarge"><strong></strong></span>by Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila | January 22, 2013</em></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong>[<a href="http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/9764">Leer la carta en español</a>] [Archbishop Aquila is the former Bishop of Fargo and was appointed to Denver last year.]<br />
<br />
[<a href="http://www.archden.org/repository/Documents/ArchbishopAquila/40YearsoftheCultureofDeath_Aquila_1.22.2013.pdf">view letter as PDF</a>]</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,</div>
<br />
I went to college in 1968 with the idea of becoming a doctor, like my
father. College campuses in the late ‘60’s and throughout the 70’s were
places of turmoil. I didn’t practice my faith much in the first three
years of college and I certainly never imagined that the Lord would one
day make me a bishop.<br />
<br />
I spent my first three years of college working as a hospital orderly
and assisting in the emergency room, at a university student health
center and in a hospital in California during summer break. <br />
<br />
When I began the job, I hadn’t thought much about human suffering, or about human dignity.<br />
<br />
But during my employment in hospitals, something changed. At that time,
some states had approved abortion laws that I wasn’t even aware of.
Because of those laws, when I was in college I witnessed the results of
two abortions.<br />
<br />
The first was in a surgical unit. I walked into an outer room and in
the sink, unattended, was the body of small unborn child who had been
aborted. I remember being stunned. I remember thinking that I had to
baptize that child.<br />
The second abortion was more shocking. A young woman came into the
emergency room screaming. She explained that she had had an abortion
already. When the doctor sent her home, he told her she would pass the
remains naturally. She was bleeding as the doctor, her boyfriend, the
nurse and I placed her on a table.<br />
<br />
I held a basin as the doctor retrieved a tiny arm, a tiny leg and then
the rest of the broken body of a tiny unborn child. I was shocked. I was
saddened for the mother and child, for the doctor and the nurse. None
of us would have participated in such a thing were it not an emergency. I
witnessed a tiny human being destroyed by violence.<br />
<br />
The memory haunts me. I will never forget that I stood witness to acts
of unspeakable brutality. In the abortions I witnessed, powerful people
made decisions that ended the lives of small, powerless, children.
Through lies and manipulation, children were seen as objects. Women and
families were convinced that ending a life would be painless, and
forgettable. Experts made seemingly convincing arguments that the unborn
were not people at all, that they could not feel pain, and were better
off dead.<br />
<br />
I witnessed the death of two small people who never had the chance to
take a breath. I can never forget that. And I have never been the same.
My faith was weak at the time. But I knew by reason, and by what I saw,
that a human life was destroyed. My conscience awakened to the truth of
the dignity of the human being from the moment of conception. I became
pro-life and eventually returned to my faith.<br />
<br />
I learned what human dignity was when I saw it callously disregarded. I
know, without a doubt, that abortion is a violent act of murder and
exploitation. And I know that our responsibility is to work and pray
without ceasing for its end.<br />
<u> </u><br />
<b><u>Repentance, Prayer, Renewal</u></b><br /><br />
At each Mass, before we receive the Eucharist, the Church instructs us
to consider and confess our sinfulness. When we pray the <em>Confiteor</em> at Mass we proclaim the sins of “what I have done, and what I have failed to do.”<br />
<br />
We ask the Lord for mercy. We ask one another for prayers.<br />
<br />
At the Penitential Act, we recognize the times we have chosen
sinfulness, and also the times we have chosen to do nothing in the face
of the evil of this world. Our sins of omission permit evil. They permit
injustice. At the Penitential Act, I sometimes think about the
abortions I witnessed and my heart still experiences sadness. I beg
forgiveness for the doctors, nurses, politicians, and others who so
ardently support abortion and pray for their conversion. <br />
<br />
Today we recognize the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade—we recognize 40
years of sanctioned killing in our nation. Today we recognize the
impact of those 40 years. Tolerating abortion for 40 years has coarsened
us. We’ve learned to see people as problems and objects. In the four
decades since Roe vs. Wade, our nation has found new ways to weaken the
family, to marginalize the poor, the homeless, the mentally ill—we’ve
found new ways to exploit and abuse.<br />
Today we must recognize that 40 years of sanctioned killing has given
the culture of death a firm footing and foundation in our nation.<br />
<br />
We must also recognize our sinfulness. When we survey the damage
abortion has caused in our culture, we must repent for our sins of
omission. We Christians bear some responsibility for our national shame.
Some of us have supported pro-choice positions. Many of us have failed
to change minds or win hearts. We’ve failed to convince the culture that
all life has dignity. In the prospect of unspeakable evil, we’ve done
too little, for too long, with tragic results.<br />
<br />
Today is a day to repent. But with repentance comes resolve to start
anew. The 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade is a day to commit to a
culture of life. Today the Lord is calling us to stand up.<br />
<br />
When I worked in hospitals in college, I didn’t know or understand what
the Church taught about human life. I learned by experience that a
human life is destroyed in every abortion. But I was unprepared to
defend life—unprepared to even see real human dignity, let alone
proclaim it. I pray that none of you, dear brothers and sisters, will
ever find yourselves in the position I was in so many years ago. I pray
that you are prepared to defend the truth about human life.<br />
<u> </u><br />
<b><u>Life is a Gift From God</u></b><br /><br />
The Church’s teaching on the dignity of human life is clear. “Human life” states the <em>Catechism of the Catholic Church</em>,
“must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of
conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must
be recognized as having the rights of a person—among which is the
inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">[1]</a><br />
<br />
The inviolable right to life is taught in Scripture, Sacred Tradition,
and witnessed to in natural moral law. The Church believes that life is a
God-given right, and a gift. Our very being is an expression of the
love God has for us—the Lord literally loves us into existence, and his
love speaks to the worth of the human person. We take the gift of life
seriously because each human being is a unique creation of God the
Father.<br />
<br />
At the moment of conception we receive the gift of life, and lay claim
to the right of life. “Before I formed you in the womb,” says the Lord
to the prophet Jeremiah, “I knew you. Before you were born, I
consecrated you.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title="">[2]</a><br />
<br />
Human dignity begins with the divine gift of life. But our dignity is
enriched because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, chose to live among us as
a human being. Because of the Incarnation, all humans can share not
only human dignity, but divine dignity. Our human life allows us to
share in God’s own life—to share the inner life of the Trinity. “Life is
sacred” the Church teaches, “because… it remains forever in a special
relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title="">[3]</a><br />
<br />
The dignity and sacredness of human life have very clear moral
implications: innocent human life is absolutely inviolable. “The direct
and voluntary killing of an innocent human being,” teaches the Church,
“is always gravely immoral.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title="">[4]</a><br />
<br />
“It makes no difference,” Blessed John Paul II taught in 1993, “whether
one is the master of the world or the ‘poorest of the poor’ on the face
of the earth. Before the demands of morality we are all absolutely
equal”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title="">[5]</a>.
The Church unequivocally condemns abortion, euthanasia,
embryo-destructive experimentation, and the targeting of civilians in
war.<br />
<br />
The Church takes human dignity so seriously that she even teaches that
in all but “cases of absolute necessity” capital punishment is immoral.<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title="">[6]</a><br />
Unjust killing is a rejection of the gift of God.<br />
<u> </u><br />
<b><u>Abortion is always wrong</u></b><br /><br />
This letter wishes to reflect particularly on the Church’s teaching regarding abortion.<br />
<br />
In 1974, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reflected that
“in the course of history, the Fathers of the Church, her Pastors and
her Doctors have taught the same doctrine,” namely that abortion is an
“objectively grave fault.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title="">[7]</a> In 1972, Pope Paul VI declared that “this doctrine has not changed and is unchangeable.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title="">[8]</a><br />
<br />
Today many Catholics seem to believe that while abortion is
unfortunate, it is not always a moral evil. Secular arguments to justify
abortion abound. New life often represents difficulty. When pregnancy
seems to threaten health or life, or poverty, or when a child may be
born with grave disabilities, abortion is often the secular solution.<br />
<br />
But, as the Holy See noted in 1974, “none of these reasons can ever
objectively confer the right to dispose of another's life, even when
that life is only beginning. With regard to the future unhappiness of
the child, no one, not even the father or mother, can act as its
substitute… to choose in the child's name, life or death…Life is too
fundamental a value to be weighed against even very serious
disadvantages.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title="">[9]</a><br />
<br />
Though abortion is never a justifiable action, the response of the
Church to women who have undergone abortions should be one of
compassion, of solidarity, and of mercy. Abortion is a sinful act, and a
tragedy. The fathers and mothers of aborted children are beloved by
God, and in need of the mercy and healing of Jesus Christ. Programs like
Project Rachel exist to help women who have had abortions encounter the
merciful and forgiving love of God, our Father.<br />
<u> </u><br />
<b><u>Just Law Protects All Life</u></b><br /><br />
Because life is a fundamental value, we have a duty to proclaim its
goodness, and its dignity. We also have a duty to protect it in law. The
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith observed in 1987 that “the
inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by
civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend
neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a
concession made by society and the State: they pertain to human nature
and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which
the person took his or her origin.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title="">[10]</a><br />
<br />
Clearly, just laws should respect the dignity of the unborn, and their
right to life. Laws which fail to do so should be defeated. And it is
the vocation of all Catholics, most especially lay Catholics, to work to
change unjust laws which allow for the destruction of human life. The
Second Vatican Council decreed that “since laity are tightly bound up in
all types of temporal affairs, it is their special task to order and to
throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into
being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise of
the Creator and the Redeemer.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title="">[11]</a><br />
<br />
Despite the clear teaching of the Church, many Catholics, and
especially Catholic politicians, maintain that their personal opposition
to abortion should not affect their participation in civic life. These
arguments are unreasonable, and disingenuous. No one, especially a
person in public office, is exempt from the duty to defend the common
good. And the first and indispensable condition for the common good is
respect for the right to life. Our <em>Declaration of Independence</em> begins with an argument that all men should protect the inalienable rights granted them by God—among them, the right to life.<br />
<br />
At the basis of arguments which recognize abortion’s immorality, but
support its legal protection, is relativism, and cowardice: a refusal to
stand for basic and fundamental truth. Law does nothing more important
than protect the right to life.<br />
<br />
The fathers of the Second Vatican Council reminded Catholics, “Nor,…are
they [the faithful] any less wide of the mark who think that religion
consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral
obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly
affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced
from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess
and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious
errors of our age. …Therefore, let there be no false opposition between
professional and social activities on the one part, and religious life
on the other. The Christian who neglects his temporal duties, neglects
his duties toward his neighbor and even God, and jeopardizes his eternal
salvation”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" title="">[12]</a><br />
<br />
This statement resonates even more true today, as many Catholics have
withdrawn their faith from the world and public square. <br />
<br />
In 1987, Blessed John Paul II said to Americans that “every human
person -- no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or
how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how
useful or productive for society -- is a being of inestimable worth,
created in the image and likeness of God. This is the dignity of
America, the reason she exists, the condition for her survival -- yes
the ultimate test of her greatness -- to respect every human person,
especially the weakest and the most defenseless ones, those as yet
unborn.” <a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" title="">[13]</a><br />
<br />
The legacy of America is respect for human dignity—most especially respect for the innocent, vulnerable, and marginalized.<br />
<br />
Catholic political leaders who claim that they can separate the truths
of faith from their political lives are choosing to separate themselves
from truth, from Christ, and from the communion of the Catholic Church.<br />
<br />
On the contrary, Catholic political leaders who truly understand the
teachings of the Church and who use their creativity and initiative to
develop new and creative ways to end the legal protection for abortion
deserve the praise and support of the Church, and of the lay faithful.
All of us must put our energy and effort into ending the legal
protection for abortion. It is, and must be, the primary political
objective of American Catholics—it is difficult to imagine any political
issue with the same significance as the sanctioned killing of children.<br />
<u> </u><br />
<b><u>Building a Culture of Life</u></b><br /><br />
Protecting life is our duty as Catholics, and ending legal protection
for abortion is imperative. 40 years have passed and still we have not
found a successful strategy to end the legally protected killing of the
unborn. But we have also failed to win public opinion. Polling today
suggests that 63% of Americans support legal protection for abortion.<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" title="">[14]</a> This is where change must begin.<br />
<br />
Although we must continue legal efforts, we must also recognize that
law follows culture—when we live in a culture which respects the dignity
of all human life, we will easily pass laws which do the same.<br />
<br />
Our task, said Blessed John Paul II in 1995, is “to love and honor the
life of every man and woman and to work with perseverance and courage so
that our time, marked by all too many signs of death, may at last
witness the establishment of a new culture of life, the fruit of the
culture of truth and of love.”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" title="">[15]</a><br />
<br />
A culture of life, quite simply, is one which joyfully receives and
celebrates the divine gift of life. A culture of life recognizes human
dignity not as an academic or theological concept, but as an animating
principle—as a measure of the activity of the family and the community. A
culture of life supports most especially the life of the family. It
supports and celebrates the dignity of the disabled, the unborn, and the
aged. A culture of life seeks to live in gratitude for the gift of life
God has given us.<br />
<br />
If we want to build a culture of life, we need to begin with charity.
Social charity, or solidarity, is the hallmark of a culture of life and a
civilization of love. It allows us to see one another through the eyes
of God, and therefore to see the unique and personal worth of one
another. Charity allows us to treat one another with justice not because
of our obligations, but because of our desire to love as God loves.<br />
<br />
This charity must begin in the family. Our families are the first place
where those who are marginalized, and whose dignity is forgotten, can
be supported. To build a culture of life we must commit to strengthening
our own families, and to supporting the families of our community.
Strong families beget the strong ties which allow us to love those most
in danger of being lost to the culture of death.<br />
The charity of the culture of life also supports works of mercy,
apostolates of social justice and support. Families impacted by the
culture of death are often broken. Supporting adoption, marriage,
responsible programs of social welfare and healthcare, and responsible
immigration policy all speak to a culture which embraces and supports
the dignity of life.<br />
<br />
A true culture of life is infectious. The joy which comes from living
in gratitude for the gift of life—and treating all life as gift—effects
change. When Christians begin to live with real regard for human
dignity, our nation will awaken to the tragedy of abortion, and she will
begin to change.<br />
<br />
Finally, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to remind you of the power
of prayer. Our prayer and sacrifice for an end to abortion, united with
Christ on the cross, will transform hearts and renew minds. In prayer we
entrust our nation to Jesus Christ. In doing so, we can be assured of
his victory.<br />
<br />
Today I ask you to join me in a new resolve to build a culture which
sees with the eyes of God—which sees the dignity of the unborn, of women
and men, of the poor, the elderly, the mentally ill and the disabled.<br />
<br />
Our forefathers saw with the eyes of God when they recognized in the <em>Declaration of Independence</em>
that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”<br />
<br />
I ask you, dear brothers and sisters, to join me in building a culture
of life which ends the brutal killing of the unborn—the smallest and
least among us. There is no greater task we can undertake. I pray that
the words of Scripture may burn within our hearts, “You formed my inmost
being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am
wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!”<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" title="">[16]</a><br />
<br />
Sincerely yours in Christ,<br />
Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, STL<br />
Archbishop of Denver<br />
<div>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title="">[1]</a> CCC 2270<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title="">[2]</a> Jeremiah 1:5<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title="">[3]</a> CCC 2278<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title="">[4]</a> <em>Evangelium Vitae</em>, 57.<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title="">[5]</a> <em>Veritatis</em> <em>Splendor</em>, 97<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title="">[6]</a> <em>Evangelium</em> <em>Vitae</em>, 56<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title="">[7]</a> Declaration on Procured Abortion, Congregation of the Doctrine for the Faith, 1974.<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title="">[8]</a> "Salutiamo con paterna effusione," December 9, 1972, AAS 64 (1972), p. 737.<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title="">[9]</a> Declaration on Procured Abortion, Congregation of the Doctrine for the Faith, 1974.<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title="">[10]</a>
Instruction on respect for human life in its origin and on the dignity
of procreation., Congregation of the Doctrine for the Faith, 1987.<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" title="">[11]</a> <em>Lumen Gentium</em>, 31.<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn12">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" title="">[12]</a> <em>Gaudium et Spes</em>, 43.<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn13">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" title="">[13]</a> John Paul II, Farewell Ceremony, Apostolic Visit to the United States and Canada, September 19, 1987<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn14">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" title="">[14]</a> <em>Roe v. Wade at 40: Most Oppose Overturning Abortion Decision</em>, Pew Research Center, 2013<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn15">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" title="">[15]</a> <em>Evangelium Vitae</em>, 77.<br />
</div>
<div id="ftn16">
<a href="http://www.archden.org/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteCategories.edit&ipageContentCategoryID=9025&dup=1#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" title="">[16]</a> Psalm 139: 13-14<br />
</div>
</div>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-31062716267910503712012-10-19T21:20:00.000-05:002012-10-19T21:22:16.475-05:00St. Thomas fundraising campaign raises more than $500 million for projects and an endowment<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">October 17, 2012</span><a href="http://thecatholicspirit.com/author/the-catholic-spirit/" rel="author" title="Posts by The Catholic Spirit"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">The Catholic Spirit</span></a></h1>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">A tremendous achievement, Congratulations Tommies! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local/st-thomas-campaign-raises-more-than-500-million/attachment/web-ust-logo/" rel="attachment wp-att-29914"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-29914" height="228" src="http://thecatholicspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/WEB-UST-logo.jpg" title="WEB-UST logo" width="300" /></a> </div>
<br />
The
University of St. Thomas has announced the completion of the most
successful fundraising campaign of any private institution of higher
education in Minnesota and its four neighboring states.<br />
Gifts and pledges totaling $515,104,773 have been generated in the
university’s “Opening Doors” capital campaign, Father Dennis Dease, the
school’s president, told a dinner audience Oct. 17 in the Anderson
Athletic and Recreation Complex.<br />
“The campaign transformed our campus with stunning new facilities.
But most significant was our single-largest goal, raising $142 million
for financial aid that will open the doors to a St. Thomas education for
future generations of students from all economic and cultural
backgrounds,” Father Dease said.<br />
The university’s board of trustees approved a $500 million goal and the campaign was announced publicly in October 2007.<br />
“The 43,539 alumni and friends who made contributions were key to our
success,” Father Dease said. “That is nearly twice as many donors as
our previous campaign and a demonstration of the depth of feeling for
St. Thomas on the part of a tremendous number of people. It was truly a
community effort.”<br />
The campaign benefited from three gifts of more than $50 million each
— two of them made anonymously — and from two large challenge grants.
An anonymous donor made one challenge grant in 2010 for $25 million, and
St. Thomas trustees made a second challenge grant for $20 million
earlier this year. When matched, the challenge grants collectively added
$90 million to the campaign and pushed the total beyond the $500
million goal.<br />
<h4>
True to its roots</h4>
Opening Doors was launched with news of a $60 million gift from St.
Thomas trustee Lee Anderson and his wife, Penny. The gift helped
underwrite three major construction projects on the St. Paul campus: the
2012 Anderson Student Center, the 2010 Anderson Athletic and Recreation
Complex and the 2009 Anderson Parking Facility.<br />
The campaign was co-chaired by two longtime St. Thomas trustees and
their wives, John and Susan Morrison and Richard and Maureen Schulze.<br />
“Creating that pool of scholarship and financial-aid resources for
students of diverse backgrounds speaks to our deepest roots,” Father
Dease said. “Archbishop Ireland founded St. Thomas, in large measure, to
serve Minnesota’s growing immigrant community.”<br />
Mark Dienhart, executive vice president and chief operating officer
of St. Thomas and director of the campaign, thanked students, faculty
and staff for their contributions.<br />
“It’s inspiring that more than 3,300 students contributed to the
campaign, and we know they don’t have money to spare,” Dienhart said.
“Faculty and staff also pitched in and did so at record levels. Their
participation rate jumped from 15 percent to 58 percent during the
course of the campaign. That’s impressive.”<br />
<h4>
Access, excellence and Catholic identity</h4>
Opening Doors’ priorities addressed the campaign’s three themes:
access, excellence and Catholic identity. St. Thomas raised nearly $254
million for financial aid and academic programs and another $176 million
for construction and renovations. It also raised $52 million in other
restricted gifts and $32 million for the Annual Fund.<br />
<br />
Funds raised for construction projects include:<br />
<br />
• $58.7 million for the Anderson Student Center.<br />
• $52.9 million for the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.<br />
• $15 million for the Anderson Parking Facility.<br />
• $4.6 million to expand Sitzmann Hall, home of the Center for Catholic Studies.<br />
• $2.6 million to expand the Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna.<br />
• $1.1 million to renovate the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas.<br />
<br />
Funds raised for financial aid and academic programs include:<br />
• $142.5 million for financial aid ($106.5 million for undergraduates and $36 million for graduate students).<br />
• $51.8 million for 19 endowed chairs and professorships.<br />
• $35.1 million for deanships and strategic funds.<br />
• $8.6 million for the School of Law.<br />
• $5 million for the Norris Institute.<br />
• $3.9 million for the Center for Ethical Business Cultures.<br />
• $3.4 million for the Center for Catholic Studies.<br />
• $2.5 million for the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law and Public Policy.<br />
• $1 million for the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning.<br />
<h4>
Serving future generations</h4>
The most visible signs of Opening Doors are the three new Anderson
structures. Along with their construction came an enlarged lower
quadrangle with a fountain and new plaza that links the quadrangle to
the entrance of O’Shaughnessy Stadium.<br />
The three facilities had been on St. Thomas’ wish list for years, the
school said in an Oct. 17 press release. The student and athletic
centers replaced outdated facilities designed for a much smaller student
population. The parking structure has eased parking problems and was
essential because the new student center was built on what had been a
400-space surface lot, the school said.<br />
While those facilities will serve students for many generations, so
will funds raised for scholarships and professorships. Opening Doors,
for example, created 309 newly endowed scholarships, each valued at
$50,000 or higher. The number of endowed chairs and professorships,
meanwhile, will increase from 17 to 36.<br />
The university honored the four Opening Doors co-chairs at the Oct.
17 dinner. John Morrison and Richard Schulze received the Archbishop
John Ireland Award for contributions to higher education. Susan Morrison
and Maureen Schulze received honorary doctor of humane letters degrees.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-14352850100897836802012-09-27T22:36:00.000-05:002012-09-27T22:36:01.123-05:00St. Paul Cathedral gala aims to re-create fundraising history.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRLWTHWH-TLXnkgOIQlG1zThqT_z6cxRmAV2C1HXeFMGUkRnitt2DHfEgwuHQ7AovRqqSSKCU271QAklciM27uERvdhEMjPTDafnUSEhf3yoXxTSKzKE6VVTV3UW5A0sNQnwj/s1600/St+Paul+Cathedral+1914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRLWTHWH-TLXnkgOIQlG1zThqT_z6cxRmAV2C1HXeFMGUkRnitt2DHfEgwuHQ7AovRqqSSKCU271QAklciM27uERvdhEMjPTDafnUSEhf3yoXxTSKzKE6VVTV3UW5A0sNQnwj/s320/St+Paul+Cathedral+1914.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
.<br />This photo shows the Cathedral exterior, with granite facade over the front doors, completed in 1914. All photos are courtesy of the Cathedral of St. Paul Archives.
As the first walls of the Cathedral [and now also National Shrine] of St. Paul began to form more than 100 years ago, church leaders envisioned a grand building that would define St. Paul. But money dried up before they could put on a dome.
<br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />On Sept. 19, 1912, more than 40 civic leaders -- of all faiths -- sat for lunch at the St. Paul Hotel. By the end of the meal, the state's biggest movers and shakers decided to pay for the dome themselves, said Eric Hansen, who wrote the biography of the Cathedral of St. Paul.
<br /><br />On Friday, Sept. 28, the Cathedral Heritage Foundation will gather at the same hotel to celebrate the historic landmark, and to raise money for its upkeep. The foundation owes more than $6 million for its renovation, said cathedral rector, the Rev. John Ubel.
At Friday's gala, they hope to recapture the civic fortitude that built the church.<br /><br />
Those gathered at that meeting in 1912 in many ways built St. Paul, including Louis Hill, the son of railroad baron James J. Hill, and bank owner Otto Bremer.
They wanted to see Archbishop John Ireland's vision for the cathedral completed. But efforts to raise money were falling short, Hansen said.
<br /><br />Coined the Bremer meeting, the gathering included members of the Cathedral's executive building committee. Otto Bremer was the first to get up and enthusiastically say it was up to them to raise the money, Hansen said.
"What was merely supposed to be a discussion got everybody so enthused that they began to make pledges," Hansen said.
They raised $100,000, the amount to pay for the dome.
That amount would be about $2.33 million today, according to several inflation calculators.
<br /><br />
"I've never seen a city like St. Paul, that has such affection with the people," Hansen said. "This building was more than just a Catholic shrine. It was for all people, a symbol of all races and nations."
<br /><br />
Every donation from $1 to $1,000 was recorded in a book that is available to the public to see, said Celeste Raspanti, cathedral archivist.
"I've seen the name of my great-grandfather who gave $25 in the book," Ubel said. <br /><br />His hope is to pay off the renovation debt before the cathedral turns 100 in 2015.
Friday's gala is sold out, with 275 people expected, Ubel said. <br /><br />The church is still paying off the $35 million restoration of its signature dome done in 2000-2002. And a number of other projects remain, such as interior repairs caused by previous leaks.
"There's a whole list of things that could be done," Ubel said. "Right now, my primary goal is to finish paying for what's already been done."<a href="http://www.twincities.com/stpaul/ci_21648477/st-paul-cathedral-gala-aims-re-create-fundraising"><br /></a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-54515640662698243812012-09-27T06:14:00.000-05:002012-09-27T06:14:27.069-05:00Annual Candlelight Rosary Procession <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OeEWGUeHzw0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.mncc.org/archdiocesan-candlelight-rosary-procession/"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Archdiocesan Candlelight Rosary Procession with Danielle Rose – Friday, October 5</span></i></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';"></span></span> </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Gathering at the
State Capitol ~ 6:00 p.m.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Procession begins ~
7:00 p.m.</span></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-50516862936853261132012-09-27T06:00:00.000-05:002012-09-27T06:22:17.007-05:00Minn. Catholic Conference: Take Action For Marriage.<br />
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<td><span style="color: #626161; font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small;"><b>MCC Action Alert: 5
Ways to Support Marriage between Now and November 6</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Warm
greetings!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">As we
get closer to the election (November 6), the Minnesota Catholic Conference would
like to share some important ways you and your family can support
marriage.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">We’re
asking for your help, to participate in as many of the following activities as
possible, between now and November 6. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">PRAY</span></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Archdiocesan
Candlelight Rosary Procession with Danielle Rose – Friday, October
5</span></i></b></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
</div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Gathering at the
State Capitol ~ 6:00 p.m.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Procession begins ~
7:00 p.m.</span></div>
<div style="background: white;">
</div>
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">For more details,
please visit MCC’s events page: </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/mncc/utr/1/ATAXSDPKQV/HBGGSDPPXT/8750116956"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">http://www.mncc.org/archdiocesan-candlelight-rosary-procession/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">EDUCATE
YOURSELF</span></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Canada Day –
Monday, October 8</span></i></b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Join us
for a series of panel discussions: “What the Future Looks Like if Marriage in
Minnesota is Redefined—A Canadian Perspective,” with the Most Rev. Terrence
Prendergast, Archbishop of Ottawa, Ontario and other Canadians who will discuss
the harrowing impact marriage redefinition has had on Canadians, especially
Catholics. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">From 9:30 a.m. to
11:45 a.m. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">University of St.
Thomas Law School Atrium</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">1000 LaSalle Ave.,
Minneapolis, MN</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">RSVP
is REQUIRED to attend this important and informative event. </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">To RSVP and/or ask
questions, please email </span><a href="mailto:rhuray@mncc.org"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">rhuray@mncc.org</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">. </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">VOLUNTEER</span></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Volunteer to phone
bank, help “Get out the vote,” make a donation </span></i></b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Minnesota for
Marriage is a pro-marriage amendment campaign created by a diverse coalition of
faith and non-faith based leaders and groups to pass the marriage amendment.
</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Volunteers are
needed to staff phone banks at the Minnesota for Marriage office and other
locations. It’s very easy, and no debate skills are required! The coalition also
needs help in the coming weeks for our “Get out the vote” effort, which will
include everything from voter registration to canvassing neighborhoods and going
door-to-door.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"> ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">To volunteer, visit
the Minnesota for Marriage website (<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/mncc/utr/1/ATAXSDPKQV/OIKWSDPPXU/8750116956">www.minnesotaformarriage.com</a></span>)
or call (612) 788-4675.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"> ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">To donate, click
here: </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/mncc/utr/1/ATAXSDPKQV/DEEXSDPPXV/8750116956"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">https://donate.minnesotaformarriage.com/contribute.php</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">HAVE A
CONVERSATION</span></span></b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;"></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Be sure
you understand what marriage is in the public square and how to explain the
Church’s involvement in this important social issue. Pray for the courage to
talk to a loved one or neighbor who may misunderstand the issue. Visit our
</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/mncc/utr/1/ATAXSDPKQV/KPFFSDPPXW/8750116956"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">marriage amendment
resource page</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> or read our
</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/mncc/utr/1/ATAXSDPKQV/KKSOSDPPXX/8750116956"><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Unique for a
Reason: Why Marriage Matters</span></i></a></span> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">blog to help you
find ways to articulate what the Church <b><i>is</i></b><i> </i>and
<b><i>isn’t</i></b><i> </i>saying about marriage, and our brothers and sisters
with same-sex attraction: </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"> ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Responding to
Common Accusations and Fallacies</span></i></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"></span></i></b> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/mncc/utr/1/ATAXSDPKQV/JOZHSDPPXY/8750116956"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">http://marriagematters.mncc.org/2012/04/responding-to-common-accusations-and-fallacies/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"> ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">To My “Catholic
Voting No” Neighbor </span></i></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"></span></i></b>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/mncc/utr/1/ATAXSDPKQV/OOGASDPPXZ/8750116956"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">http://marriagematters.mncc.org/2012/09/to-my-catholic-voting-no-neighbor/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"> ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Just “Live and Let
Live”: A Conversation </span></i></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"></span></i></b>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/mncc/utr/1/ATAXSDPKQV/LMDQSDPPYA/8750116956"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">http://marriagematters.mncc.org/2012/09/just-live-and-let-live/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">VOTE YES – Get
to the polls on November 6!</span></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The
Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment reads:</span><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;"></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Shall the Minnesota
constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman
shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Spread the word to
<b>VOTE YES</b>. And remember, a non-vote is counted as a “no” vote!
</span></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23997577.post-73334107796599771442012-09-09T22:04:00.000-05:002012-09-09T22:04:34.227-05:00Basilica of St. Stan's: A church built from hard work by Winona’s Polish community.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwoVYv8yO09UMDrX95aWpR5NAAGBjmLeM04HtmjtXZi7W_JTWMIDWaMUkd-teafyMYy20TlWyYyPojZ-xH-Y5k1VMit75Wi5-Q7Cgn_o02c4gn6rTtWLWtZjphxlgDJipyt54X/s1600/St.+Stan%27s+Winona+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwoVYv8yO09UMDrX95aWpR5NAAGBjmLeM04HtmjtXZi7W_JTWMIDWaMUkd-teafyMYy20TlWyYyPojZ-xH-Y5k1VMit75Wi5-Q7Cgn_o02c4gn6rTtWLWtZjphxlgDJipyt54X/s400/St.+Stan%27s+Winona+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
The
Mass of Elevation for the Basilica of St. Stanislaus Kostka is today,
Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Winona. The original church was built in 1895.<b> <a href="http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_78150a88-fa34-11e1-ab10-0019bb2963f4.html">Winona Daily News)</a></b><br />
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<a class="blox-comment expand-comments" href="http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_78150a88-fa34-11e1-ab10-0019bb2963f4.html#comments" id="comment_78150a88-fa34-11e1-ab10-0019bb2963f4"><span class="ui-icon ui-icon-comment"></span><span class="count">(2)</span> Comments</a></div>
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Today the parish church built with the nickels, dimes and
faith of lumber workers and packing house men becomes one of the pope’s
very own.<br />
Long known locally as the Polish Cathedral, for more
than a century, the Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka has stood as
testimony in brick and stone to the faith and pride of the Polish
immigrants to Winona, and of their children and grandchildren.<br />
These
were the people Cardinal John Krol — the first Polish-American priest
to become a cardinal — spoke of when he addressed the Winona Polish
Heritage Society in 1978: “The Polish people have an independent spirit.
... The Polish people are long suffering. ... They have been
instrumental in handing down their Polish heritage — traditionally God
first and then country, not forgetting their roots.<br />
“We have inherited this culture.”<br />
God
first. The two things an immigrant Pole looked for when he arrived in
his new home was a job and a Catholic Church. The first Poles to arrive
in Winona sought a spiritual home at St. Joseph’s Church. St. Joseph’s
was a German parish, and, as most of the Polish immigrants to Winona
were Kashubian, a region of Poland that had been incorporated into
Prussia, most also spoke German — although the sounds of the German
language, rather than making them feel at home, was a reminder of an
often painful past.<br />
In 1871, the Rev. Alois Plut,<br />
pastor of
St. Joseph’s, helped his Polish parishioners organize a new parish of
their own. About 100 families made up the new parish — designated by the
Vatican as a national church for Polish-speaking Catholics. They raised
$350 to buy two lots at the corner of Fourth and Carimona streets, and
then raised $950 more to build a simple, wood-frame church. The church
was completed in September 1872 and incorporated as the Church of Saint
Stanislaus Kostka — though a shortage of Polish-speaking priests meant
they would wait until 1873, and the arrival of Rev. Joseph Juszkiewicz,
for St. Stan’s to have its first resident pastor.<br />
Over the next 20
years the Polish community grew, filling and overfilling the church,
forcing a decision on the part of the community — split into two
parishes or build a new church big enough to hold them all.<br />
They chose to build, and the Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka is the result.<br />
“They
wanted to make a statement with this church,” the Rev. Robert Meyer
said during St. Stan’s centennial celebration. “They came from beautiful
European structures, and they wanted something that reminded them of
home.”<br />
But in Europe, the great and beautiful churches were built
by the fortunes of counts, dukes and barons. In Winona, it was the
sacrifice and dedication of the parishioners that raised the $85,000 —
the equivalent of $2.2 million today — to pay for a church of their own.
Four thousand people stood in the rain to watch Bishop Cotter bless the
cornerstone, and even more crowded the streets and filled the pews for
the dedication just a year later — appropriately enough, Thanksgiving
Day, 1895.<br />
Seating 1,800, with more than 17,000 square feet of
floor space, St. Stan’s challenged the bluffs for domination of the
Winona skyline — its brilliant white dome, topped by a 13-foot-tall
statue of its patron, rising 172 feet above the street.<br />
“It’s
probably one of the best known churches in the Midwest and certainly
among the most beautiful,” Meyer said, from his 100-year vantage point,
“You can no longer put a price on it.”<br />
Still, a church, however
priceless, is not meant to be a museum but the spiritual home for the
people it serves, and like any home, its décor and furnishings change
with the time — and not always by choice.<br />
On June 5, 1966, a bolt
of lighting struck the dome. Fire did extensive damage to the dome, and
the force of the bolt shattered two of the supporting pillars and smoke
and water ravaged the interior. Disaster was met with resolve, and just
six months later, on Dec. 11, Mass was again celebrated at the altar.<br />
The Rev. Thomas Hargesheimer, rector of the basilica, sees a dynamic and growing parish with deep roots in its community.<br />
“We
have a lot more kids now,” he said. The surrounding neighborhood and
the city as a whole is changing, bringing new people into the parish and
the community. “We’re more diverse throughout the city,” he said, “and
the parish has gotten larger and younger.”<br />
Still, pride in being
Polish is deeply rooted in the people of St. Stan’s. Many of the family
names have been on the parish roster for well over a century.<br />
“That pride is kept alive,” Hargesheimer said, “about the history … about the heritage … that we’re Polish.”<br />
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<a href="http://www.winonadailynews.com/article_980e6442-fa34-11e1-bf0d-0019bb2963f4.html" title="Who was St. Stanislaus Kostka?">Who was St. Stanislaus Kostka?</a></h4>
St. Stanislaus was a defiant, rebellious teen who qualified for sainthood before his 19th birthday. Stanislaus was born to a noble Polish family in 1550, the second son of Jan Kostka, lord of Zakroczym in east central Poland.<br /><br />
Stanislaus was an exceptionally studious, pious lad. Sent to the
Jesuit college in Vienna at 14, he was led by visions to attempt to
enter the Jesuit order — a decision strongly opposed by his father.
Determined and unbowed, Stanislaus persisted, eventually finding his way
to Rome, where he was accepted as a novice by the Jesuit superior
general. However, barely 10 months into his novitiate, Stanislaus
sickened and died Aug. 15, 1568 — the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.<br />
<br />He was beatified in 1605 and declared a saint Dec. 31, 1726.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332138030182107580noreply@blogger.com0