Sister Edith O.S.B., a Professor of Sociology at the College of St Scholastica in Duluth and of Blogology in St Blog's Parish at Monastic Musings, is sharing some ideas her students learned this semester. I don't think she will be giving credit to go through these papers, but many may take home some value.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Sociology 2433: Family and Society - A Free University Course For You!
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Sister Edith O.S.B., a Professor of Sociology at the College of St Scholastica in Duluth and of Blogology in St Blog's Parish at Monastic Musings, is sharing some ideas her students learned this semester. I don't think she will be giving credit to go through these papers, but many may take home some value.
Sister Edith O.S.B., a Professor of Sociology at the College of St Scholastica in Duluth and of Blogology in St Blog's Parish at Monastic Musings, is sharing some ideas her students learned this semester. I don't think she will be giving credit to go through these papers, but many may take home some value.
All the News That's Fit to Report (from Father "Z")
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Thank goodness we have Father "Z", WDTPRS, somewhat idle in Rome with the "Boss" out of town this week, parse our news feeds so we can determine just what is important.
Thank goodness we have Father "Z", WDTPRS, somewhat idle in Rome with the "Boss" out of town this week, parse our news feeds so we can determine just what is important.
In a Brazilian stadium the Holy Father met with thousands of young people chanting "Yes to Life! No to abortion!" while they were waiting for his arrival.
The New York Times covered the event on page A10.
On A1 you find, however, a riveting story on roadside debris in California.
On A25 there is a story about Rudi Giuliani’s abortion position, with nary a mention of the dust up over the Holy Father’s comments concerning Catholic pro-abortion politicians. Hmmmm…
In the meantime, in the Op-Ed section there is a piece entitled "Sowing the Substance of Life".
While this title applies nicely to what the Pope is doing in Brazil, it actually concerns a supernova 240 million lightyears from Earth – nearly as far as the editors of the NYT are from what counts.
Bishop Trautman of Erie Still Fights For Dumbed Down English in the Liturgy
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From Rocco at Whispers in the Loggia
Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, PA, head of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, whose death was incorrectly reported (perhaps wishfully?) by L'Osservatore Romano a few weeks ago has been in the vanguard of those fighting the Vatican and the Pope who want the English translation of the Liturgy to be faithful to the Latin original. The Bishop apparently wants the translation to be understandable to Catholics with fourth grade reading comprehension.
The chair of the US bishops' Committee on the Liturgy and (concurrently) first critic of the Holy See's increased interest in the mechanics of English-language worship over recent years, Trautman -- who already released one such prominent critique this year in the pages of The Tablet -- launches his most blistering salvo to date on the revised renderings of the Roman Missal in tomorrow's edition of America.
Here's but a sampling:
From Rocco at Whispers in the Loggia
Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, PA, head of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, whose death was incorrectly reported (perhaps wishfully?) by L'Osservatore Romano a few weeks ago has been in the vanguard of those fighting the Vatican and the Pope who want the English translation of the Liturgy to be faithful to the Latin original. The Bishop apparently wants the translation to be understandable to Catholics with fourth grade reading comprehension.
The chair of the US bishops' Committee on the Liturgy and (concurrently) first critic of the Holy See's increased interest in the mechanics of English-language worship over recent years, Trautman -- who already released one such prominent critique this year in the pages of The Tablet -- launches his most blistering salvo to date on the revised renderings of the Roman Missal in tomorrow's edition of America.
Here's but a sampling:
What will the person in the pew hear and comprehend? Will the words “prefiguring sacrifices of the Fathers” and “born ineffably of the inviolate Virgin,” for example, resonate with John and Mary Catholic? [How 'bout Juan and Maria, for that matter, too?] Is this prayer intelligible, proclaimable, reflective of a vocabulary and linguistic style from the contemporary mainstream of U.S. Catholics? [All contemporary Catholics, or just the 50% or so who bother to go to Church?] Is the liturgical language accessible to the average Catholic and our youth? Does this translated text lead to full, conscious and active participation? [Are there Liturgical Dance instructions in the G.I.R.M?] I think not.
This prayer is not an isolated example. While the latest ICEL [International Commission on English in the Liturgy.] translations for the proper of the saints and the commons are improved, we still encounter the following: “O God, who suffused blessed John with the spirit of mercy” (Collect for March 8) and “Cyril, an unvanquished champion of the divine motherhood” (Collect for June 27) and odd expressions like “What you have charged us to believe will taste sweet to the heart” (Collect for April 21). Does the heart “taste?”
All liturgy is pastoral. If translated texts are to be the authentic prayer of the people, they must be owned by the people and expressed in the contemporary language of their culture. [Do the "people" get to vote? How 'bout voting for bishops?] To what extent are the new prayers of the Missal truly pastoral? Do these new texts communicate in the living language of the worshiping assembly?... [Is this "worshiping assembly" the one that is addicted to "The Simpsons", "The Sopranos" and "American Idol" or the one that is found in Perpetual Adoration Chapels once or more a week?]
Will the priest and people understand the words of Eucharistic Prayer 2: “Make holy these gifts, we pray, by the dew of your Spirit”? [He has this obsession that American Catholics will leave in droves when confronted with the three letter word, "dew."] This translation was among the top 10 texts that the U.S. bishops in their consultation considered most problematic, but still ICEL did not change it.
In the new missal you will hear awkward phrases like “We pray you bid.” [Also you find there "Our Father, Who art in Heaven" and "Hail Mary, full of grace"] This is not American English. Ponder these concrete examples and judge for yourself.
What happened to the liturgical principles of the “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy”? The council fathers of Vatican II stated: “Texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify; the Christian people, as far as possible, should be able to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively and as it befits a community” (No. 21). Note the words “with ease.” This is the norm, the expressed wish in the constitution. This is a prerequisite that calls not just for the accuracy of translated texts but for the easy understanding of those texts.....
[Let's see; how 'bout: "Dad in Heaven, you are holy; long live your rule; we will obey your laws on earth and in Heaven; give us our food, forgive our mistakes when we forgive people who hurt us, don't be a bad example for us and protect us from bad people. I guess that's about it." That should be clear enough for the fourth graders in the pew.]
Liturgical translations must communicate. If liturgical language is divorced from the reality of culture, communication is impossible. [Boy, that's a lot of four and five syllable words. And just what does "liturgical" mean, any?]
What is missing in the present moment, unfortunately, is the voice of liturgical scholars and the voice of the laity, the assembly.
If the language of the liturgy is inaccessible, how can liturgy catechize and convey the reality of the living, risen Son of God in the Eucharist? If the language of the liturgy is a stumbling block to intelligibility and proclaimability, then the principle lex orandi, lex credendi is severely compromised. If the language of the liturgy does not communicate, how can people fall in love with the greatest gift of God, the Eucharist?
[Speaking as one from the pew, up near the Pharisees, I wonder why we send priests to school for 8 or more years of study of Philosophy and Theology? Do you suppose it might be so that they can impart to us "intelligibility and proclaimability?"]
Church of God, judge for yourselves. Speak up, speak up! [Woof, Woof!]
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Holy Communion via the Internet?
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Brazil's Roman Catholic bishops are at loggerheads with the Pope over plans to use the internet to reach out to a younger generation.
Brazil's Roman Catholic bishops are at loggerheads with the Pope over plans to use the internet to reach out to a younger generation.
As Benedict XVI addressed 40,000 youths in Sao Paolo yesterday on the first day of his tour of Brazil, the country's Catholic leaders said that the Church had to embrace new technology to win back worshippers from the burgeoning evangelical movement.
They want remote communities and younger worshippers to be able celebrate Mass live over the internet. Celebrants would take communion by placing unleavened bread in front of their computer monitors to be consecrated. [...Ayyyy yaaaiiiiiii yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!] Whether it be "celebrants" or "communicants", in this uneducated blogger's opinion, it wouldn't be even remotely licit. Of course it might work in the Anglican "church", the birthplace of most 20th century modernist heresies.
However, the Pope has already dismissed the idea. In Sacrementum [sic] Caritatis, a document on the Eucharist which he issued in February, Benedict insisted that communion over the internet, or any other media, had "no spiritual value".
The Vatican said yesterday that internet Mass was "no substitute" for going to church, but seemed prepared to turn a blind eye to the practice.
"I am sure internet Mass already exists," said Father Federico Lombardi, the papal spokesman. "I believe it is a way of involving more people, but it is obviously important to keep going to church and to personally participate. This is part of church life and the internet cannot replace it."
The Vatican is aware of the need for the Church to embrace new ways of engaging worshippers and the Pontifical Council for Social Communication has instructed priests not to "shy away" from using the internet as a means of communication. Vatican Radio now offers podcasts and gave Benedict an iPod to listen to them.
[....Snip] UK Telegraph
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Father Z's Insider's Report (from Rome?) on the St Agnes Successful Campaign
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Read it here at his blog What Does The Prayer Really Say?
Pioneer Press version
StarTribune Version
The Catholic Spirit Version
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Read it here at his blog What Does The Prayer Really Say?
Pioneer Press version
StarTribune Version
The Catholic Spirit Version
One assumes that there were some
happy boys at St Agnes H.S.
yesterday, too.
happy boys at St Agnes H.S.
yesterday, too.
Imperial Catholics Pick and Choose (and Omit) the Peace and Justice Agenda For Us
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More and more often on Catholic campuses, left-wing Catholics are hiding their own ideological preferences behind the mantra “Catholic social thought.” To listen to them, you would think that the Catholic social ethic has four main emphatic tenets and five great silences. The four emphases are: (1) pacifism and nonviolence; (2) legal limits on the income of the rich; (3) the extension of the social welfare state for the poorest 12 percent of the American population (about forty million people), until all are lifted by government grants above the poverty line; and (4) the elimination of the death penalty in the thirty-some states that still allow it.
More and more often on Catholic campuses, left-wing Catholics are hiding their own ideological preferences behind the mantra “Catholic social thought.” To listen to them, you would think that the Catholic social ethic has four main emphatic tenets and five great silences. The four emphases are: (1) pacifism and nonviolence; (2) legal limits on the income of the rich; (3) the extension of the social welfare state for the poorest 12 percent of the American population (about forty million people), until all are lifted by government grants above the poverty line; and (4) the elimination of the death penalty in the thirty-some states that still allow it.
Merely on the terrain of social ethics, this creed is notable for (a) its silence about ending abortion (forty-eight million since 1973); (b) its silence about federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and cloning; (c) its silence about the fourfold increase in violent crime since 1965—committed disproportionately against the poor; (d) its silence about the sixfold increase in father-abandoned families (chiefly among the poor); and (e) its silence about the horrific oppression of Muslim peoples around the world, including the daily assaults on their dignity by secret police, and the normal, regular abuse of their individual rights. We might call these the five silences. But there are others, too. Michael Novak at First Things
Bible Readings for May 9
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"Daily Bread" from the Dominican "Preachers' Exchange"
"Daily Bread" from the Dominican "Preachers' Exchange"
Wed., May 9: Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
For the next three days we will hear about one of the first dissensions in the church, resolved at what is called the Council of Jerusalem. The question concerned the necessary requirements for a Gentile to become a Christian. Should they, in fact, first be Jews — that is circumcised and bound to the old law? This was a major fork in the road for the early church and it would be interesting to fantasize what would have happened had the Apostles taken the other road. There are perhaps such significant questions before our church today. I am thinking of divorced people who seek entrance into the church, the question of married priests, the question of the role of women. All of these are questions of “cult meets culture” and require discernment, humility, and courage. For the church and the leaders of the church as we discern the path that will lead us all to the kingdom of God.Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Hosannas Ring Throughout Frogtown; St Agnes Raises $3 Million and adds 67 students!
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An uncertain future for St. Agnes High School in St. Paul has been transformed into the bedrock of a better tomorrow, school and archdiocese officials said this afternoon.
Father Z's Full Report from May 9
An uncertain future for St. Agnes High School in St. Paul has been transformed into the bedrock of a better tomorrow, school and archdiocese officials said this afternoon.
In the 19 days since school officials told their community that the future of the high school was in doubt because of mounting debt and declining enrollment, the school has raised more than $3 million and added 67 new students.
To the raucous cheers and screams of a packed gymnasium, the Rev. John Ubel said St. Agnes' future is secure for next year and "hopefully many, many more." StarTribune
Father Z's Full Report from May 9
Monday, May 7, 2007
Catholic Higher Education Commencement Speakers Dramatically Becoming More Orthodox
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No Catholic Schools in Minnesota or its neighboring dioceses received "unfavorable mention" this year from the Cardinal Newman Society.
The number of scandalous commencement speakers and honorees on Catholic campuses this spring appears to have declined dramatically compared to previous years, the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) announced today.
For the past nine years CNS research has identified invited commencement speakers or honorees at Catholic colleges who have taken public positions contrary to Catholic values or teaching.
In 2006, CNS research uncovered problems at 24 colleges with speakers or honorees who publicly advocated for abortion rights, embryonic stem-cell research, physician-assisted suicide, homosexual marriage, women's ordination or other issues contrary to Catholic values.
By contrast, this year CNS has so far only had to alert the presidents of 11 Catholic colleges to problems with 12 commencement speakers or honorees. CNS also commended 14 colleges for honoring Vatican leaders, bishops and leading Catholic thinkers including University of Notre Dame philosopher Ralph McInerny and Rev. Richard John Neuhaus of First Things.
CNS is urging the presidents of the 11 colleges to withdraw the invitations their schools have extended to honorees who have publicly advocated positions contrary to Catholic values. Already Bishop Salvatore Matano of Burlington, Vermont, has assured CNS that he will not attend commencement ceremonies at nearby St. Michael's College, which will honor journalist Cokie Roberts and Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas on May 17.
The CNS research department has identified the speakers and honorees at most U.S. Catholic colleges, and CNS researchers are confident the final tally of problematic invitations will be significantly reduced from previous years as most of the colleges that have not yet announced speakers and honorees have not had problems in the past.
"This is a very hopeful sign that more Catholic college leaders are embracing Pope John Paul II's vision for faithful Catholic higher education," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of the Cardinal Newman Society. "What a fitting legacy for this likely saint!"
The Cardinal Newman Society has been working for 14 years toward the renewal of Catholic colleges and universities according to Ex corde Ecclesiae, the 1990 Catholic higher education guidelines issued by the late Pope John Paul II.
In June 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the statement "Catholics in Political Life," which mandated: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."
In 2005, CNS identified 19 problematic commencement speakers and honorees, including two contenders for U.S. President in 2008. The protest led Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, which hosted Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as its commencement speaker and honoree, to declare itself no longer Catholic. It also prompted Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore to refuse to attend Loyola College's commencement ceremony featuring former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
2007 Colleges and Problematic Commencement Speakers/Honorees (to date)
College of Mount Saint Joseph (Ohio): Hamilton County Coroner O'Dell Owens (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 12
Owens is a pioneer and nationally known expert of in vitro fertilization, a practice opposed by Catholic teaching. Owens established an infertility program at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he achieved Cincinnati's first pregnancy from a frozen embryo and first conception and delivery through in vitro fertilization.
College of Saint Mary (Nebraska): Roberta Wilhelm, Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Omaha (commencement speaker), May 20
Girls Inc. supports "a woman's freedom of choice" and opposes "restrictions of reproductive choice." As part of its "health and sexuality' core education program for girls, the organization argues that "girls need and have a right to…effective methods of contraception."
Loyola University New Orleans (Louisiana): NAACP Chairman Julian Bond (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 12
In 2004, when the Catholic University of America rejected a campus NAACP affiliate because of the national organization's support for abortion rights, Bond declared: "[W]e are pleased to join those insisting on a woman's right to control her own body." On behalf of Planned Parenthood, Bond has deplored efforts "to deny Americans their constitutional right to freedom of choice." He marched in a 2004 abortion-rights demonstration in Washington, D.C., declaring that the NAACP has supported the pro-choice movement since 1968.
Marian Court College (Massachusetts): U.S. Rep. John Tierney (commencement speaker), May 12
Tierney has received a 100 percent rating from NARAL, indicating a consistent pro-abortion voting record. He opposed a ban on homosexual "marriages."
Marquette University (Wisconsin): Former Wisconsin Secretary of State Vel Phillips (honorary degree), May 20
Last year Phillips was a leading opponent of a proposed constitutional amendment to prevent recognition of homosexual "marriage." She chaired the 2004 campaign of pro-abortion U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and helped her secure substantial funding from EMILY's List, which supports pro-abortion female candidates.
Ohio Dominican University (Ohio): Boston College theology professor Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J. (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 12
Hollenbach has acted shamefully as a Catholic theology professor, publicly opposing the U.S. bishops' implementation of the mandatum, a Canon Law requirement that theologians pledge to teach authentic Catholic doctrine. Hollenbach has publicly questioned Catholic teaching that abortion is always sinful, wrongly comparing judgments about abortion to prudential judgments about war and the death penalty. Last year he rejected concerns about Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's pro-abortion views while leading a protest against her Boston College commencement speech because of her support for the Iraq War. In 1991, Hollenbach defended Georgetown University's official support for a student pro-abortion club, despite vocal opposition by Cardinal James Hickey of Washington.
Regis College (Massachusetts): Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 20
Coakley publicly supports homosexual "marriage" and abortion rights. An advocate of embryonic stem cell research, she has opposed a state regulation barring the creation of embryos solely for research.
Saint Michael's College (Vermont): Journalist Cokie Roberts (commencement speaker & honorary degree), Vermont Governor Jim Douglas (honorary degree), May 17
Cokie Roberts, political commentator for ABC News and National Public Radio, has publicly attacked Pope Benedict XVI as "really lacking in the theological virtue of charity," "an extremely controversial choice" and "the most conservative voice of Catholicism." In her syndicated column with husband Steve Roberts, she has espoused abortion rights and ridiculed pro-lifers as "extremists." The Robertses characterized the federal ban on partial-birth abortion as "off the track" and "cynical games-playing" by pro-life activists. They have argued that the authority of the Catholic bishops has been significantly weakened, in part because of their teaching on homosexuality and contraception: "It's as if they are asking to be ignored."
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas campaigned in all three elections for abortion rights. In March 2006 he signed a law allowing drug stores to sell the "emergency contraception" Plan B pill to minors without a prescription or parental notification.
The Graduate School, University of Notre Dame, (Indiana): Mary Sue Coleman, President of the University of Michigan (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 19
Coleman has been a vocal advocate for embryonic stem cell research. She launched the University of Michigan's center for stem cell research, called on Michigan's state legislature to reconsider a ban on cloning and argued that creating stem cell lines from unwanted embryos is "highly ethical." She refused to cancel a course at the university teaching students "How to Be Gay" despite protests and efforts of the state legislature to cut university funding.
Villanova University (Pennsylvania): Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball With Chris Matthews (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 20
In his television commentary and newspaper columns, Matthews has publicly
supported abortion rights, even suggesting the validity of partial-birth abortion for severely handicapped babies.
Walsh University (Ohio): Rabbi John Spitzer (commencement speaker), April 29
Rabbi Spitzer, who is Director of Walsh University's Jewish-Catholic Institute, publicly announced support for homosexual unions and has made himself available to perform homosexual "commitment" ceremonies until such marriages are legal.
2007 Commended Colleges & Commencement Speakers/Honorees (to date)
Assumption College (Massachusetts): Ralph McInerny, Philosopher, University of Notre Dame
Ave Maria University (Florida): Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, Editor, First Things
Canisius College (New York): Bishop Edward Kmiec of Buffalo
Christendom College (Virginia): Rev. George Rutler, author & lecturer
Fordham University (New York): Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Apostolic Nuncio to United Nations
Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio): Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee
Mount St. Mary's University (Maryland): Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to United States
St. Ambrose University (Ohio): Bishop Martin Amos of Davenport
St. Mary's College of California: retired Bishop John Cummins of Oakland
Seton Hall University (New Jersey): Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez of Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Spring Hill College (Alabama): Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb of Mobile
Thomas Aquinas College (California): Archbishop Albert Ranjith, Congregation for Divine Worship
Univ. of Portland (Oregon): Archbishop John Foley, Pontifical Council for Social Communications
University of St. Francis (Indiana): Bishop John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend
No Catholic Schools in Minnesota or its neighboring dioceses received "unfavorable mention" this year from the Cardinal Newman Society.
The number of scandalous commencement speakers and honorees on Catholic campuses this spring appears to have declined dramatically compared to previous years, the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) announced today.
For the past nine years CNS research has identified invited commencement speakers or honorees at Catholic colleges who have taken public positions contrary to Catholic values or teaching.
In 2006, CNS research uncovered problems at 24 colleges with speakers or honorees who publicly advocated for abortion rights, embryonic stem-cell research, physician-assisted suicide, homosexual marriage, women's ordination or other issues contrary to Catholic values.
By contrast, this year CNS has so far only had to alert the presidents of 11 Catholic colleges to problems with 12 commencement speakers or honorees. CNS also commended 14 colleges for honoring Vatican leaders, bishops and leading Catholic thinkers including University of Notre Dame philosopher Ralph McInerny and Rev. Richard John Neuhaus of First Things.
CNS is urging the presidents of the 11 colleges to withdraw the invitations their schools have extended to honorees who have publicly advocated positions contrary to Catholic values. Already Bishop Salvatore Matano of Burlington, Vermont, has assured CNS that he will not attend commencement ceremonies at nearby St. Michael's College, which will honor journalist Cokie Roberts and Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas on May 17.
The CNS research department has identified the speakers and honorees at most U.S. Catholic colleges, and CNS researchers are confident the final tally of problematic invitations will be significantly reduced from previous years as most of the colleges that have not yet announced speakers and honorees have not had problems in the past.
"This is a very hopeful sign that more Catholic college leaders are embracing Pope John Paul II's vision for faithful Catholic higher education," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of the Cardinal Newman Society. "What a fitting legacy for this likely saint!"
The Cardinal Newman Society has been working for 14 years toward the renewal of Catholic colleges and universities according to Ex corde Ecclesiae, the 1990 Catholic higher education guidelines issued by the late Pope John Paul II.
In June 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the statement "Catholics in Political Life," which mandated: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."
In 2005, CNS identified 19 problematic commencement speakers and honorees, including two contenders for U.S. President in 2008. The protest led Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, which hosted Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as its commencement speaker and honoree, to declare itself no longer Catholic. It also prompted Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore to refuse to attend Loyola College's commencement ceremony featuring former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
2007 Colleges and Problematic Commencement Speakers/Honorees (to date)
College of Mount Saint Joseph (Ohio): Hamilton County Coroner O'Dell Owens (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 12
Owens is a pioneer and nationally known expert of in vitro fertilization, a practice opposed by Catholic teaching. Owens established an infertility program at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he achieved Cincinnati's first pregnancy from a frozen embryo and first conception and delivery through in vitro fertilization.
College of Saint Mary (Nebraska): Roberta Wilhelm, Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Omaha (commencement speaker), May 20
Girls Inc. supports "a woman's freedom of choice" and opposes "restrictions of reproductive choice." As part of its "health and sexuality' core education program for girls, the organization argues that "girls need and have a right to…effective methods of contraception."
Loyola University New Orleans (Louisiana): NAACP Chairman Julian Bond (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 12
In 2004, when the Catholic University of America rejected a campus NAACP affiliate because of the national organization's support for abortion rights, Bond declared: "[W]e are pleased to join those insisting on a woman's right to control her own body." On behalf of Planned Parenthood, Bond has deplored efforts "to deny Americans their constitutional right to freedom of choice." He marched in a 2004 abortion-rights demonstration in Washington, D.C., declaring that the NAACP has supported the pro-choice movement since 1968.
Marian Court College (Massachusetts): U.S. Rep. John Tierney (commencement speaker), May 12
Tierney has received a 100 percent rating from NARAL, indicating a consistent pro-abortion voting record. He opposed a ban on homosexual "marriages."
Marquette University (Wisconsin): Former Wisconsin Secretary of State Vel Phillips (honorary degree), May 20
Last year Phillips was a leading opponent of a proposed constitutional amendment to prevent recognition of homosexual "marriage." She chaired the 2004 campaign of pro-abortion U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and helped her secure substantial funding from EMILY's List, which supports pro-abortion female candidates.
Ohio Dominican University (Ohio): Boston College theology professor Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J. (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 12
Hollenbach has acted shamefully as a Catholic theology professor, publicly opposing the U.S. bishops' implementation of the mandatum, a Canon Law requirement that theologians pledge to teach authentic Catholic doctrine. Hollenbach has publicly questioned Catholic teaching that abortion is always sinful, wrongly comparing judgments about abortion to prudential judgments about war and the death penalty. Last year he rejected concerns about Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's pro-abortion views while leading a protest against her Boston College commencement speech because of her support for the Iraq War. In 1991, Hollenbach defended Georgetown University's official support for a student pro-abortion club, despite vocal opposition by Cardinal James Hickey of Washington.
Regis College (Massachusetts): Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 20
Coakley publicly supports homosexual "marriage" and abortion rights. An advocate of embryonic stem cell research, she has opposed a state regulation barring the creation of embryos solely for research.
Saint Michael's College (Vermont): Journalist Cokie Roberts (commencement speaker & honorary degree), Vermont Governor Jim Douglas (honorary degree), May 17
Cokie Roberts, political commentator for ABC News and National Public Radio, has publicly attacked Pope Benedict XVI as "really lacking in the theological virtue of charity," "an extremely controversial choice" and "the most conservative voice of Catholicism." In her syndicated column with husband Steve Roberts, she has espoused abortion rights and ridiculed pro-lifers as "extremists." The Robertses characterized the federal ban on partial-birth abortion as "off the track" and "cynical games-playing" by pro-life activists. They have argued that the authority of the Catholic bishops has been significantly weakened, in part because of their teaching on homosexuality and contraception: "It's as if they are asking to be ignored."
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas campaigned in all three elections for abortion rights. In March 2006 he signed a law allowing drug stores to sell the "emergency contraception" Plan B pill to minors without a prescription or parental notification.
The Graduate School, University of Notre Dame, (Indiana): Mary Sue Coleman, President of the University of Michigan (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 19
Coleman has been a vocal advocate for embryonic stem cell research. She launched the University of Michigan's center for stem cell research, called on Michigan's state legislature to reconsider a ban on cloning and argued that creating stem cell lines from unwanted embryos is "highly ethical." She refused to cancel a course at the university teaching students "How to Be Gay" despite protests and efforts of the state legislature to cut university funding.
Villanova University (Pennsylvania): Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball With Chris Matthews (commencement speaker & honorary degree), May 20
In his television commentary and newspaper columns, Matthews has publicly
supported abortion rights, even suggesting the validity of partial-birth abortion for severely handicapped babies.
Walsh University (Ohio): Rabbi John Spitzer (commencement speaker), April 29
Rabbi Spitzer, who is Director of Walsh University's Jewish-Catholic Institute, publicly announced support for homosexual unions and has made himself available to perform homosexual "commitment" ceremonies until such marriages are legal.
2007 Commended Colleges & Commencement Speakers/Honorees (to date)
Assumption College (Massachusetts): Ralph McInerny, Philosopher, University of Notre Dame
Ave Maria University (Florida): Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, Editor, First Things
Canisius College (New York): Bishop Edward Kmiec of Buffalo
Christendom College (Virginia): Rev. George Rutler, author & lecturer
Fordham University (New York): Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Apostolic Nuncio to United Nations
Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio): Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee
Mount St. Mary's University (Maryland): Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to United States
St. Ambrose University (Ohio): Bishop Martin Amos of Davenport
St. Mary's College of California: retired Bishop John Cummins of Oakland
Seton Hall University (New Jersey): Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez of Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Spring Hill College (Alabama): Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb of Mobile
Thomas Aquinas College (California): Archbishop Albert Ranjith, Congregation for Divine Worship
Univ. of Portland (Oregon): Archbishop John Foley, Pontifical Council for Social Communications
University of St. Francis (Indiana): Bishop John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Pat Phillips of Catholic Defense League Responds to Winona Catholic-Baiter
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Pat Phillips, President of the Catholic Defense League located in Minnesota, watches out for incidents of people attacking Catholics or the Church and is always at the ready for our defense. Recently, a regular letter writer to the Winona Daily News attacked and Pat's response was printed yesterday:
Rupkey distorts Catholic teaching to promote his brand of religion
In America, at least, one can call oneself anything, Catholic, Buddhist, or whatever.
What distinguishes a Christian from others is a belief that Christ is God. What distinguishes Catholics from other Christians is a belief that Christ established a Church and gave that Church authority to speak in his name. Further, Christ guaranteed the Church that, in matters of faith and morals, its teaching would be free from error. I quote from a speech by the newly appointed coadjutor for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Rev. John Nienstedt.
“… The church’s own understanding of herself as being authoritatively charged under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to teach in the name of Jesus on matters of faith and morals.”
[...Snip]
The second error about Catholicism by John Rupkey has to do with homosexuality. The Church’s position regarding people afflicted with same sex attraction is crystal clear. All people, including those with homosexual attraction, are to be treated with love and respect. See the catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 2357-2359.
[...Snip] Read it all at the Winona Daily News
Pat Phillips, President of the Catholic Defense League located in Minnesota, watches out for incidents of people attacking Catholics or the Church and is always at the ready for our defense. Recently, a regular letter writer to the Winona Daily News attacked and Pat's response was printed yesterday:
Rupkey distorts Catholic teaching to promote his brand of religion
In America, at least, one can call oneself anything, Catholic, Buddhist, or whatever.
What distinguishes a Christian from others is a belief that Christ is God. What distinguishes Catholics from other Christians is a belief that Christ established a Church and gave that Church authority to speak in his name. Further, Christ guaranteed the Church that, in matters of faith and morals, its teaching would be free from error. I quote from a speech by the newly appointed coadjutor for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Rev. John Nienstedt.
“… The church’s own understanding of herself as being authoritatively charged under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to teach in the name of Jesus on matters of faith and morals.”
[...Snip]
The second error about Catholicism by John Rupkey has to do with homosexuality. The Church’s position regarding people afflicted with same sex attraction is crystal clear. All people, including those with homosexual attraction, are to be treated with love and respect. See the catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 2357-2359.
[...Snip] Read it all at the Winona Daily News
PPD: Twin Cities Catholics expect changes under "doctrinaire" archbishop
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Bishop John Nienstedt was in a tough spot. Someone in his diocese had asked him to comment on a theology book co-edited by his predecessor, the late Raymond Lucker.
Lucker had served as a beloved bishop for 25 years in New Ulm, Minn., before his death in 2001. In the book's introduction, he wrote about "changing formulations of church teaching." Lucker believed Catholics should have a dialogue about the ordination of women and married priests and should review the church's stance on the morality of same-sex unions.
Nienstedt's brand of theology had little room for such dissent. Writing in the diocesan newsletter two and a half years after Lucker's death, he denounced the late bishop's views and warned that questioning church authority places a person "spiritually in peril of losing eternal life."
"It was a really unnecessary and deep insult to a man who had recently died, a man who had given his life to the church," recalled Thomas Roberts, editor in chief of the National Catholic Reporter ["Spokespaper" for American Catholic Dissidents]. "Just months after a person has died and you come into a diocese and declare him theologically suspect?" [How long should you wait, then?]
As members of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are sure to discover in the months and years ahead, Nienstedt is direct. Last month, the 60-year-old Detroit native was named coadjutor archbishop, meaning he will succeed Archbishop Harry Flynn when Flynn retires next year.
Those who knew Nienstedt in New Ulm, where he was named bishop in 2001, describe him in terms ranging from "a good administrator" to "a micromanager," from "a consummate man of the church" to someone who tolerates little dissent when it comes to questions about the church's authority.
Nearly everyone agrees he is intelligent and ambitious. "I can see him appointed a cardinal," said a former lay employee of the Diocese of New Ulm.
Those familiar with the Catholic Church believe Nienstedt's selection by the Vatican is part of a trend toward more conservative leadership. After the Second Vatican Council ended in 1965, some believe the church became more tolerant of progressive or liberal approaches to some Catholic orthodoxy.
The pendulum now seems to be swinging the other way, and some see the appointment of archbishops like Nienstedt as part of that.
"Based solely on Bishop Nienstedt's record in New Ulm, I believe there is a contingent of Catholics who are hoping that he will really crack down on dissenting parishes, theologians and priests in this archdiocese. There are some people who believe Archbishop Flynn hasn't been strong enough in that regard," said Janice Lynn LaDuke, a lay member of the archdiocese who writes a blog called "The Recovering Dissident Catholic."
But some priests in the archdiocese already are unhappy with the appointment.
"He's so self-righteous," said the Rev. Michael Tegeder, pastor of the Church of St. Edward in Bloomington ["Spokespriest" of the diocesan "geezer-progressive dissident" priest faction. These are the priests who for forty years have believed that future was married priests, female priests, clown priests and extemporizing priests. It really hurts them to realize that everything they stood for and preached during their entire careers, is being rejected].
"It's what (Popes) John Paul and Benedict want to see - a smaller church, a more militant church, a less-open church, a church of followers. 'Just march in step and we'll lead you to the Promised Land,' " Tegeder said. "This man is a bully, he's a spiritual bully. It's going to be that constant hectoring, and we're going to have so many demoralized people, and we're going to have so many people leaving."
Since the April 24 announcement of his appointment, the archdiocese has said, Nienstedt (pronounced NINE-stet) has been too busy for media interviews. This week, he has been in Rome.
But in an interview published Thursday in the Catholic Spirit, the archdiocese's paper, Nienstedt said he didn't view himself as a "hard-liner."
"I believe what the church believes," he was quoted as saying. "And unfortunately, in this day and age where there is such pluralism and individualism in our society, a person who believes in a creed as we do as Catholics, is somehow considered hard-line or a fanatic - a zealot, if you will - because they believe what they believe, they believe what the church believes."
OUTSPOKEN AND CONSERVATIVE
Biographical information about Nienstedt can be gleaned from his own writings and previous articles. The basics: John Clayton Nienstedt was born in Detroit, has two brothers and three sisters and says he's known since the fourth grade that he wanted to be a priest.
He has held numerous positions in the Catholic Church, spent more than 10 years at the Vatican and was an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Detroit. He likes to ski (he once wrote about inviting then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, to go skiing), and likes hockey.
He's written that he's been "fascinated with Barbara Streisand and her musical (not political) abilities" ever since he saw her in "Funny Girl."
Friends say he's athletic and was a good basketball player as a seminarian.
"If you were under the boards with him, I'd say be very careful. He was a good shot," said Monsignor Aloysius Callaghan, rector of St. Paul's Seminary School of Divinity at the University of St. Thomas.
Nienstedt has spoken out about a number of issues, and while he has said he tries to avoid political labels like "liberal" or "conservative," most of his views can be described as conservative.
He doesn't need much prompting to express those views, either. For example, at the news conference where he was introduced as the coadjutor archbishop, a reporter asked him about the future of Catholic schools in the archdiocese.
Nienstedt said he needed to study the situation locally, then attacked what he called "the contraceptive mentality in this country." If church members want to keep parochial schools in the archdiocese open, he said, "Go home and tell your children and your grandchildren to have babies."
Elsewhere, he has written that society is "on a slide toward moral corruption," and he's said homosexuality is a disorder, a view not shared by mainstream science or medicine. He's been a leader in the campaign to get the Legislature to prohibit same-sex unions.
In his diocese paper, the Prairie Spirit, he has admonished Catholics to not see the movies "The DaVinci Code" and "Brokeback Mountain." He wrote approvingly of "The Lord of the Rings."
PASTORAL SKILLS A CHALLENGE
Some Catholics in New Ulm and locally believe Nienstedt's views stand in greater relief because he has followed Lucker and now Flynn, both considered to have taken a heavily pastoral approach to leadership.
"His conservative nature is not a problem. It is how you act that out in your life," said Paula Marti, who was editor of the Prairie Wind under Lucker.
"It's that pastoral nature, how you communicate with people and how you build relationships with people," Marti said. "That will be a huge transition for him. It's going to be very challenging for him."
She said members of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis "will be looking for his administrative skills, which I think are top-notch. His pastoral skills will need to be developing."
Some Catholics in New Ulm believe the urban Nienstedt never fully adjusted to their largely rural diocese of 68,000 Catholics. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has 646,000.
"When I first met him, my first impression was, he's not a man who belongs in rural Minnesota," Vernell Wabasha, an American Indian parishioner at St. John's in Morton, Minn., said of Nienstedt. "Bishop Lucker was such a down-to-earth man. He was right with us."
Nienstedt "didn't seem to be on our level," she said.
Lucker had worked to reach out to the American Indian community in the diocese, she said. He'd often drop by the house to visit, and he participated in Indian ceremonies and rituals. Nienstedt "hasn't made the same attempts to reach out," she said.
Nienstedt will be doing double-duty for a time. While serving as coadjutor archbishop, he also will be the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of New Ulm until a new bishop is appointed. Some of the priests in the Diocese of New Ulm declined to be interviewed about him, and some who spoke on the record seemed measured in their comments.
"He does an excellent confirmation," said the Rev. James Devorak, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Montevideo. "His homilies have been very good. He's been quite instrumental in furthering the clustering of parishes into areas. That has gone well. He's shown leadership there. He certainly is decisive."
He was decisive in dealing with Lucker's book, even going so far as to ask the Doctrine Committee of the United States Bishops' Conference to issue a statement on its theology. (The committee had someone review the book, and the review decided that while some passages lacked nuance, there were no major theological problems with the book.) [Probably a mistake. The bureaucracy of the USCCB is not my first choice for an expert on determining orthodoxy in the Catholic Church].
Nienstedt wrote in a September 2003 column that while dissent may be acceptable in a democracy, "We run into problems ... when dissent is applied to a religious creed that is divinely revealed."
And because "truth is revealed by Christ, only he can change it," he wrote in the column. Only the Catholic Church "teaches that truth in its fullness," he said.
"I believe the Roman Catholic Church is the one true church of Jesus Christ," he told the Catholic Spirit in the interview published Thursday. "I wouldn't have given up my life, I wouldn't have given up a family and a wife, if I didn't believe that." PioneerPress
Sunday, May 6, 2007
More on Dr. Giancarlo Rastelli, Mayo Clinic Heart Surgeon, who may be be a Saint
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Terry-of-the-Many-Blogs but mainly at Abbey-Roads2, who is on a first name basis with 93% of the members of the Communion of Saints, also seems to be pretty familiar with those on the applicant's list.
The other day I posted on three potential saints with Minnesota connections and Terry dashed off an encyclopedic post for us on one of them, Dr. Giancarlo Rastelli.
Italian site in English
Terry-of-the-Many-Blogs but mainly at Abbey-Roads2, who is on a first name basis with 93% of the members of the Communion of Saints, also seems to be pretty familiar with those on the applicant's list.
The other day I posted on three potential saints with Minnesota connections and Terry dashed off an encyclopedic post for us on one of them, Dr. Giancarlo Rastelli.
Italian site in English
Not In My Backyard You Won't - Neighbors in Maplewood Opposed to Nun's Proposal
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Tranquil Maplewood, is again (Round 3,439) the site of controversy at City Hall.
For more than 40 years, scores of Benedictine nuns lived a quiet monastic existence in Maplewood largely unnoticed -- until they recently decided to downsize.
Tranquil Maplewood, is again (Round 3,439) the site of controversy at City Hall.
For more than 40 years, scores of Benedictine nuns lived a quiet monastic existence in Maplewood largely unnoticed -- until they recently decided to downsize.
Now neighbors are raising a ruckus over the nuns' plans to move out of St. Paul's Monastery, which is too big for their dwindling numbers, and make way for an emergency shelter for women and children and affordable housing for seniors and families. A standing-room crowd jammed a Maplewood Planning Commission meeting on the issue in March, and city officials expect an even larger crowd to square off in the Community Center Theater before a scheduled City Council vote on Monday.
About 100 residents have submitted a petition opposing the development, saying they are concerned that the project will result in increasing traffic, decreasing property values and rising crime.
Organizers of the opposition didn't return phone calls, but their petition points out that 1,000 students are enrolled in the nearby Hill-Murray School and that the neighborhood includes "young and not so young women who enjoy walking in the evening or early morning."How responsible will you feel on the day we learn that one of us, a student or neighbor, has become a victim[?]," the petition asks. [...Snip] StarTribune
Saturday, May 5, 2007
There is Beauty in Chaos
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I don't often visit the Me Monk, Me Meander blog of Father Stephanos O.S.B. very often but I was there tonight and received a message worth sharing. Somebody posted:
I was being distracted once at Sunday mass and I prayed that I wish it could be like the daily mass I attend. God told me to quit being so bigoted and find the beauty in the what I perceived to be chaos.
It doesn't matter much what they were posting about.
I don't often visit the Me Monk, Me Meander blog of Father Stephanos O.S.B. very often but I was there tonight and received a message worth sharing. Somebody posted:
I was being distracted once at Sunday mass and I prayed that I wish it could be like the daily mass I attend. God told me to quit being so bigoted and find the beauty in the what I perceived to be chaos.
It doesn't matter much what they were posting about.
The Mayo Clinic Has Another Saint in the Works: Dr. Giancarlo Rastelli
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He was born in Italy, of course. Those Italians may have lost their hold on the Papacy, but they still seem to control the votes in the Communion of Saints!
Last August, I blogged on St Riccardo Pampuri, an Italian medical doctor who served for a time at the Mayo Clinic Now, I see that the cause for the canonization of another Italian, Dr. Giancarlo Rastelli, who served at the Mayo Clinic as a pioneer pediatric heart surgeon until his death in 1969 from Hodgkin's Disease, has been opened in Italy.
Giancarlo Rastelli, M.D., a Mayo Clinic physician who developed a cardiac procedure for congenital heart disease among children, is being considered for beatification, the first step toward sainthood.
He was born in Italy, of course. Those Italians may have lost their hold on the Papacy, but they still seem to control the votes in the Communion of Saints!
Last August, I blogged on St Riccardo Pampuri, an Italian medical doctor who served for a time at the Mayo Clinic Now, I see that the cause for the canonization of another Italian, Dr. Giancarlo Rastelli, who served at the Mayo Clinic as a pioneer pediatric heart surgeon until his death in 1969 from Hodgkin's Disease, has been opened in Italy.
Giancarlo Rastelli, M.D., a Mayo Clinic physician who developed a cardiac procedure for congenital heart disease among children, is being considered for beatification, the first step toward sainthood.
 |
In an article appearing in the official diocese newspaper, Diocese of Winona Bishop Bernard Harrington wrote that Dr. Rastelli's efforts allowed "thousands of children to live who would probably not have survived." Bishop Silvio Bonicelli of Parma, Italy, is leading the effort to have Dr. Rastelli canonized. A proven miracle must be recognized for beatification. To be a saint, a second proven miracle must be presented and verified. [...Snip] Mayo Clinic
All Celebrate a Blossoming Hispanic Culture in Sioux Falls
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Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday. But in the Sioux Falls celebrations, South and Reta-Castillo got the equivalent of St. Patrick's Day, where everybody is Irish. Identification with their country of origin predominates among Sioux Falls' Spanish-speaking residents, say many involved with them. But in their enthusiasm for the Cinco de Mayo events, "The people I talk to are just happy to have a celebration with some kind of Latino food and music," says Sister Janet Horstman, a Presentation Sister who works with immigrants in Sioux Falls. [...snip] Argus Leader
Father Justin Wachs became vicar of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic parish two years ago, armed with a remembered phrase from a high school Spanish class in Aberdeen 17 years before: "I have a date with Anita at 8:30."
It was meager preparation, both for him and for the estimated 500 or so families who make up the parish, most of whom originally came from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Colombia.
"They were very patient and kind to me with my Spanish," he says.
A week ago, Wachs celebrated first communion Masses, alternating easily between Spanish and English with the readings and delivering his sermon twice, once in each language. Afterward, he posed for photos with the communicants: girls in dazzling white dresses and boys in suits.
The occasion offered a glimpse of the way the growing Hispanic community and a dominant South Dakota culture have worked through pronounced differences and blended.
Today, that community will be featured in a Cinco de Mayo parade and festival in Sioux Falls.
Emily South, who owns Sign-A-Rama on East 10th Street, was at the 2006 St. Patrick's Day parade where she ran into Lorenzo Reta-Castillo, who first slipped into this country illegally at age 14, moved to Sioux Falls in 1996, became a citizen in 2001 and with his wife, Michelle, owns Nikki's La Mexicana, next door to Sign-A-Rama.
Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday. But in the Sioux Falls celebrations, South and Reta-Castillo got the equivalent of St. Patrick's Day, where everybody is Irish. Identification with their country of origin predominates among Sioux Falls' Spanish-speaking residents, say many involved with them. But in their enthusiasm for the Cinco de Mayo events, "The people I talk to are just happy to have a celebration with some kind of Latino food and music," says Sister Janet Horstman, a Presentation Sister who works with immigrants in Sioux Falls. [...snip] Argus Leader
Nothing is Unbelievable Anymore: Animal Rights Beings Want Chimp Declared to be a "Person"
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In a case that could set a global legal precedent for granting basic rights to apes, animal rights advocates are seeking to get the 26- year-old male chimpanzee legally declared a "person." If you really want to. . . .
In a case that could set a global legal precedent for granting basic rights to apes, animal rights advocates are seeking to get the 26- year-old male chimpanzee legally declared a "person." If you really want to. . . .
"Rocco the Insufferable" Pays Tribute to Abp Ireland and His "Twin Cathedrals"
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Rocco Palmo, who gossips on the Church from his seat at "Whispers in the Loggia", pays tribute today to Archbishop John Ireland, Minnesota's "Consecrated Blizzard of the Northwest", who, with his over-achieving abilities and personality was responsible for the virtually simultaneous construction of the Cathedral of St Paul and its Co-Cathedral in Minneapolis, now the Basilica of St Mary, the Immaculate Conception. More Here
The Cathedral begins its centennial celebration of the cornerstone laying on June 1 and details are beginning to be posted in The Catholic Spirit. The Basilica will begin its centennial celebrations at its annual fundraising Block Party on July 6 and 7.
Rocco, for a layperson in his early twenties, is fluent in Italian and has a remarkable amount of knowledge about Church personalities and is more often right than wrong with his facts and predictions.
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Rocco Palmo, who gossips on the Church from his seat at "Whispers in the Loggia", pays tribute today to Archbishop John Ireland, Minnesota's "Consecrated Blizzard of the Northwest", who, with his over-achieving abilities and personality was responsible for the virtually simultaneous construction of the Cathedral of St Paul and its Co-Cathedral in Minneapolis, now the Basilica of St Mary, the Immaculate Conception. More Here
The Cathedral begins its centennial celebration of the cornerstone laying on June 1 and details are beginning to be posted in The Catholic Spirit. The Basilica will begin its centennial celebrations at its annual fundraising Block Party on July 6 and 7.
Rocco, for a layperson in his early twenties, is fluent in Italian and has a remarkable amount of knowledge about Church personalities and is more often right than wrong with his facts and predictions.
Friday, May 4, 2007
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