Tuesday, November 30, 2010

A ‘crisis of life or death’: Des Moines Bishop Pates throws down gauntlet to late-term abortionist Carhart

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Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines [former Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis] has not taken lightly the news that a notorious late-term abortionist is seeking to move into his backyard.

The Iowa prelate has issued a call-to-arms to local Catholics against plans by abortionist Leroy Carhart to move his business to the area.

Carhart left his longtime abortion location in Bellevue, Nebraska after the state passed a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks’ gestation. He has since aroused widespread indignation from Iowa pro-lifers with his plans to resume aborting late-term children in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Although about 300 pro-life advocates in a city council meeting this week cheered when the council voted unanimously to ensure that a vacant lot eyed by Carhart would remain unavailable, city officials said the abortionist would likely have little trouble locating his facility elsewhere in the area, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

Bishop Pates responded to the news by urging his flock to respond with vigor against the “unspeakable possibility” of Carhart’s business flourishing nearby, recalling the worldwide Vigil for Nascent Human Life led by Pope Benedict XVI last weekend.

“This commemoration takes on special focus for the people in the city of Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County this year insofar as late term abortionist, Leroy Carhart, has indicated his intention to set-up shop in the area to practice the taking of life of young people at a vulnerable stage,” wrote Pates.

“The good citizens of Iowa must recognize this assault on the life of our younger brothers and sisters as a crisis of life or death, for that is truly what it is. No ambiguous terminology, no word has the power to change the reality of things.”

Pates encouraged “each member of our congregations” to speak out against Carhart to the local government “in order to exercise our public responsibility of protecting the lives of the most vulnerable in our society.” He noted that parish leaders are already gathering contact information for city, county, and state officials for that purpose.

The bishop emphasized the need to support women in difficult pregnancies, including counseling and adoption services through Catholic Charities, and Gabriel’s Corner, a pregnancy counseling center in Council Bluffs. LifeSiteNew.com

Monday, November 29, 2010

Pro-lifer asks pro-abort NYC Council members: “Excuse me, who is targeting whom?”

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Gerard Nadal of the Coming Home blog told [pro life blogger Jill Stanek] about an amazing exchange he had with pro-abort New York City Council members during a hearing they held November 16 on a bill to force pregnancy care centers to post signage that they do not commit abortions.

Jerry said he set aside his written testimony after listening to ludicrous pro-abort accusations.

[Jill Stanek] asked Gerard to write a post on what he said. Here is Part I

Guest post by Dr. Gerard Nadal

Two weeks ago I joined many other pro-life leaders in testifying before the New York City Council on why their proposed legislation to restrict free speech at crisis pregnancy centers (aka pregnancy resource centers) is a very dangerous idea.

The proposed legislation would force CPCs to post signs at their front doors and in their waiting roms stating that the center does not commit abortions or provide FDA-approved contraceptives. It is, in effect, designed to drive women away and into the arms of the abortionists.

Councilwoman Jessica Lappin (pictured left), the sponsor of the bill, claimed the bill is meant to promote “truth in advertising.” She also expressed the hope that the NYC bill would go statewide under our new attorney general.

Pro-aborts from NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the rest of the abortion industry accused us of “targeting minorities,” “preying upon women,” and “endangering women’s right to choose.” They expressed outrage that we open our clinics in the same buildings as they operate in.

So with that in mind, I asked the Council who was targeting whom, who was preying upon whom, as I shared the following numbers from the Summary of Vital Statistics, The City of New York, Table 29a:

Between 1999-2008 there were 922,272 abortions in New York City. Of these:

50,382 (5.5%) were Asian

101, 856 (11%) were White

296,330 (32.1%) were Hispanic

430,515 (46.7%) were Black

79% of all abortions in New York City in that 10-yr period – 726,845 babies – were Black and Hispanic.

Again, I asked, who is targeting whom?

I continued, telling them that according to New York State’s Vital Statistics (2008):

Whites have 512 induced abortions per 1,000 live births.

Hispanics have 686.9 abortions per 1,000 live births.

Blacks have 1,259.7 abortions per 1,000 live births.

I added:

  • According to Dr. La Verne Tolbert, former NYC Planned Parenthood board member, Planned Parenthood targets black babies, and there have been 20 million aborted Black babies in the U.S. since 1973.

Again, I asked, who is targeting whom?

I then left the Council members with these words:

This is indeed slow motion genocide. It represents an abortion industry feeding on the poverty and fear of our neediest daughters.

The legislation before this body would muzzle the very resource centers who offer the hope and assistance that the abortion industry fails to furnish. This legislation is designed to preempt our offer of hope, to confirm the hopelessness of women who often lack any resource for hope in their lives; and it will railroad even greater numbers of minorities to their deaths. JillStanek.com


When Does a Soldier Become Expendable?

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How much is the life of an American soldier worth? When does a soldier become expendable? Those are the questions we need to ask in the coming days.

A wounded soldier in Afghanistan will find himself airlifted half way around the world for treatment within hours. In this, we see the admirable care and great value given to American lives.

However, such solicitude on the battleground is not shown off the battlefield. It seems there are times where the American solider becomes expendable.

Of course, we are referring to the raging debate over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy inside the military. Everything is centered on a December 1 report which the military will release analyzing the impact of the repeal on the Armed Forces.

The results of this “analysis” can be guessed. It seems almost senseless to go through the trouble to release it. Everything seems to indicate that it will discuss how to repeal, not if we should repeal, the ban on homosexuality in the military. It will conclude that inclusion of open homosexuals in the military will not have significant adverse effects. It will conclude that the soldier is expendable. He can be used for social experiments. He can be penalized for the religious values he holds. He can be deprived of the very freedom for which he fights.

The findings will be completely politically correct because a higher command than the Joint Chiefs of Staff has decreed that the American soldier is expendable.

Judges, liberal pundits and legislators are all clamoring for the repeal with an urgency that defies the imagination. A single judge assumes almost dictatorial powers. Advocates cannot even wait for the December 1 “study” to validate their opinions. They must have the repeal now even if it appears to be rammed down the throats of the American people…even if it means making the American solider expendable.

One might argue that it has not been proven that the entry of open homosexuals (which also includes bisexuals and the “transgendered”) into the military would make soldiers expendable. That is not the point right now. It is proven the advocates of repeal simply do not care to know one way or the other. They cannot even wait for a report to rubberstamp a decision that has already been made.

At the same time, there is no doubt that it will affect the military. That military profession that demands decisiveness in action must now open its doors to the ambiguous bisexual and “transgendered” soldier. There are reports that higher military authorities have already informed officers that they must accept the decision or be labeled bigots and face expulsion. Added to the stress of combat, our soldiers will soon be forced to take extreme care to avoid any act, gesture or comment that might be construed to be “discrimatory” toward the new privileged class of homosexuals who will enter the military ready to report any “bigotry.” Chaplains face major problems since they must deal with the sin of homosexual acts. The service generals have all expressed major reservations about the move and its effect on morale.

All of this to accommodate a tiny sliver of a minute minority that demands entry into the military. All of this treats honor, tradition, and distinctions between virtue and vice; truth and error; good and evil, so inherent to the military condition, as if they are irrelevant.

Even the more practical matter of the danger of introducing into the battlefield a major category of men who cannot donate blood because of the risks of disease does not move repeal advocates.

The mixture of bloods on the battlefield does endanger the lives of soldiers. That soldier, that is taken with so much care off the battleground in Afghanistan to our hospitals in Germany, now runs the danger of being infected by his own comrades in arms by judicial and legislative fiat.

No life is threatened by keeping the ban. As long as one soldier feels threatened by the climate created by repealing the ban, as long as one life might be at risk by tainted blood, as long as the soldier maintains a sense of honor, we should keep the ban.

Indeed we must ask: When does a soldier become expendable? TFP

Catholic Charities' Year-end Fundraising Campaign

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Minnesota charities are ramping up their year-end fundraising campaigns.

Twin Cities Catholic Charities serves about 37,000 people each year on average -- with 1.2 million meals and 400,000 nights of shelter. The group says it's working to increase donations for the holidays.

Catholic Charities hopes to raise more than $8 million of its $36 million budget from individuals, corporations and foundations. Spokeswoman Rebecca Lentz says this is a crucial time of year for fundraising because demand for services is up.

"In some ways we get hit twice -- one, because our donors are impacted by the economy; and two, because of the increased volume and demand for our services."

Lentz says people most need basic items like socks, pajamas, and coats. Catholic Charities is also seeking volunteers to help with outreach. Minnesota Public Radio

How 'bout writing them a check this Christmas?


What's up with EWTN?

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Michael Warsaw, president and CEO of EWTN-TV (Eternal World Television Network), Mother Angelica's world-wide broadcasting network based in Birmingham, AL, was interviewed by the National Catholic Register. Here are two of his comments:

. . . What is the biggest change you’ve seen since you started working at EWTN?

When I first came to work at EWTN in 1991, the network consisted of the one U.S. TV channel only; radio had not yet begun, and, of course, there were no websites or digital media at that time. There were no more than 50 employees total, and most were local to Alabama.

Today, we have about 325 employees in the U.S. and 25 regional offices around the world in places like Rome, Madrid, London, Buenos Aires, Manila and in Cameroon.

EWTN now operates 10 separate television channels in multiple languages around the globe; we transmit multiple radio feeds that are heard in hundreds of millions of homes here in the U.S. and internationally, and we have a website that attracts tens of millions of visitors each year. You can find EWTN content on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and across the Internet.

So, I would say that one of the biggest changes really has been the scope of what EWTN does and the reach that we have around the world. And while the size, scope and reach of EWTN has changed dramatically, our mission remains unchanged from the first day. . . .

How is Mother Angelica doing today?

Mother Angelica is resting comfortably at her monastery in Hanceville, Ala., surrounded by her sisters. She is now 87 years old, and although her 2001 stroke left her with little ability to speak, she is alert and remains in great spirits.

I saw her several weeks ago, and she looks wonderful. She continues to offer her sufferings and her prayers for EWTN, its mission and for her EWTN family around the world. I think she is doing her most important work for EWTN now.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Cardinal Burke emphasizes: Catholic teaching on condoms has not changed

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Catholic teaching on the immorality of the use of condoms has not changed, Cardinal Raymond Burke said in an interview with the National Catholic Register. The prefect of the Apostolic Signatura stated:

I don’t see any change in the Church’s teaching. What [Pope Benedict] is commenting on — in fact, he makes the statement very clearly that the Church does not regard the use of condoms as a real or a moral solution — but what he’s talking about in the point he makes about the male prostitute is about a certain conversion process taking place in an individual’s life.

He’s simply making the comment that if a person who is given to prostitution at least considers using a condom to prevent giving the disease to another person — even though the effectiveness of this is very questionable — this could be a sign of someone who is having a certain moral awakening.

But in no way does it mean that prostitution is morally acceptable, nor does it mean that the use of condoms is morally acceptable.

The point the Pope is making is about a certain growth in freedom, an overcoming of an enslavement to a sexual activity that is morally repugnant [unacceptable] so that this concern to use a condom in order not to infect a sexual partner could at least be a sign of some moral awakening in the individual, which one hopes would lead the individual to understand that his activity is a trivialization of human sexuality and needs to be changed …

The text itself makes it very clear that he says the Church does not regard it as a real or moral solution. And when he says that it could be a first step in a movement toward a different, more human way of living sexuality, that doesn’t mean in any sense that he’s saying the use of condoms is a good thing.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Justice Scalia slams high court for inventing ‘living constitution,’ right to abortion

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Scalia made his remarks last Friday during a University of Richmond luncheon lecture entitled “Do Words Matter?” The event was covered both by the Associated Press.

“The Constitution says what it says and it doesn’t say anything more,” said Scalia to an audience of 250 people, most of them legal professionals and academics.

The 74-year-old jurist, appointed to the high court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, warned that government by judges is inevitable when the original meaning of legal language in laws and constitutions is not respected. This attitude, he said, allows “five out of nine hotshot lawyers to run the country.”

“Under the guise of interpreting the Constitution and under the banner of a living Constitution, judges, especially those on the Supreme Court, now wield an enormous amount of political power,” continued Scalia, “because they don’t just apply the rules that have been written, they create new rules.”

Scalia pointed out that the high court distorted the meaning of “due process” (referring to legal procedure) in the 14th Amendment to invent new rights under a “made up” concept of “substantial due process.” That has allowed the 14th Amendment to become the gateway to legal abortion and other behaviors, which the constitutional authors never intended and viewed as criminal.

“The due process clause has been distorted so it’s no longer a guarantee of process but a guarantee of liberty,” Scalia expounded. “But some of the liberties the Supreme Court has found to be protected by that word - liberty - nobody thought constituted a liberty when the 14th Amendment was adopted. Homosexual sodomy? It was criminal in all the states. Abortion? It was criminal in all the states.”

He also commented on the modern confirmation process of Supreme Court justices, saying it was akin to a “mini-constitutional convention” because Senators are fighting about how a justice will interpret words.

“The way to change the Constitution is through amendments approved by the people, not by judges altering the meaning of its words,” he added.

The AP reports that after the lecture, Scalia signed copies of his new book, “Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges,” and was going to lecture a class on the constitution’s separation of powers at UR’s law school.

Justice Scalia, along with Justice Clarence Thomas, are the high court’s two jurists that firmly embrace an “originalist” doctrine - abiding by the original intent and context of legal language - when it comes to interpreting the U.S. Constitution and federal laws.

Scalia has criticized the high court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision as an “improper” ruling, saying the founding charter of the U.S. federal government had nothing to do either with abortion or even things like homosexual activity.

If the U.S. Supreme Court reversed its position on Roe, abortion would once again become a criminal matter for the states to decide how to regulate or prohibit. LifeSiteNews.com


Related Articles

Bishop John Steinbock of Fresno, CA: “In critical condition in the intensive care unit”

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Fresno Bishop John Steinbock battling lung cancer, blood clots

Bishop John Steinbock remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno after complaining weeks ago of shortness of breath and flagging energy.

Bishop Steinbock, 73, was diagnosed with lung cancer in August. Various press accounts, citing a diocesan spokesman and hospital officials, said the bishop had developed blood clots in his legs and lungs. One report described his condition as "guarded."

The bishop’s condition is so serious that his physicians have advised that he have virtually no visitors because his condition requires uninterrupted rest. He has been at St. Agnes for more than two weeks.

Bishop Steinbock became leader of the Fresno diocese in 1991. Since his cancer diagnosis, he has written about his illness on the diocesan website, writing on Oct. 1, “Cancer of itself is not a gift, but the grace to accept it, embrace it, and give thanks for it, is the greater gift of God within me, so that Jesus may continue his passion in me, so that Jesus may continue to glorify His Father in me, so Jesus may testify to His great love in my life, so that we may realize that a greater life awaits us.”

Diocesan spokesman Rev. Jesse Avila told the Fresno Bee that get well cards for the bishop can be mailed to the chancery at 1550 N. Fresno St., Fresno, CA 93703.

In an email yesterday to California Catholic Daily, Charles Culbreth of the Office for Music and Worship in Visalia wrote, “From our pastor, as well as some published news sources: Bishop John's blood clotting issues have both presented in his legs, but more urgently in his lungs. By what was said, I infer he is not intubated, but is receiving oxygen constantly in the ICU via mask delivery. He cannot receive any visitations, apparently even from our Vicar General. When we all have a moment… prayer… Through Christ, our Lord, Amen.”

Sources said the bishop remains upbeat and confident that he will come out of this current hospitalization.

To read Bishop Steinbock’s reflections about his illness, “The Affliction of Cancer -- An Essay On A Christian Perspective,” Click Here

Cancer of itself is not a gift, but the grace to accept it, embrace it, and give thanks for it, is the greater gift of God within me, so that Jesus may continue his passion in me, so that Jesus may continue to glorify His Father in me, so Jesus may testify to His great love in my life, so that we may realize that a greater life awaits us. .—J.T.S.


This is my brother's bishop.


Monday, November 22, 2010

Galtier Society is seeking volunteers to serve as hosts at the Cathedral for PROJECT HOME

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The Galtier Society is seeking volunteers to serve as hosts at the Cathedral for PROJECT HOME. Project Home is a program of the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches. It provides shelter for families temporarily without housing after the Ramsey County Family Service Center in Maplewood is at capacity. The Cathedral is scheduled to host families in need of overnight shelter during the month of January. The Galtier Society will be hosts on Saturday, January 8th and is in need of several shifts of volunteers:

~5:30-8:30 pm serving light snacks, playing with children, visiting with adults
~8:30 pm-6:30 am overnight
~6:30-9:30 am serving breakfast and light clean up

Since the majority of the guests are children, this is a wonderful opportunity for your older children to participate with you.

In order to be a participant, adults (over 18) must have completed VIRTUS training and submit to a background check. For information on when training sessions are being held, visit www.archspm.org
Please contact Vicki Sheaffer vsheaffer@hotmail.com by November 29th with volunteer interest and to receive an application for the background check.

George Weigel on the Pope's "Change" with respect to condoms

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George Weigel, in an article in the National Review, makes three strong points as to why the Pope's comments on the use of condoms in a recent book-length interview with a journalist are not a "change" in Catholic doctrine.

. . .This latest example of pack journalism was a disservice in itself, and it also highlighted several false assumptions that continually bedevil coverage of the Catholic Church and the Vatican and one specific media obsession that is, to be brutally frank, lethal in its consequences.

The first false assumption beneath the latest round of media condomania is that the Church’s settled teaching on sexual morality is a policy or a position that can change, as tax rates can be changed or one’s position on whether India should be a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council can change. To be sure, the theological articulation of the Catholic ethic of sexual love has been refined over centuries; it has come to an interesting point of explication in recent years in John Paul II’s “theology of the body.” But it has not changed and it will not change because it cannot be changed. And it cannot change or be changed because the Catholic ethic of sexual love is an expression of fundamental moral truths that can be known by reason and are illuminated by revelation.

The second false assumption beneath the condom story is that all papal statements of whatever sort are equal, such that an interview is an exercise of the papal teaching magisterium. That wasn’t true of John Paul II’s international bestseller, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, in which the late pope replied to questions posed by Italian journalist Vittorio Messori. It wasn’t true of the first volume of Benedict XVI’s Jesus of Nazareth, in which the pope made clear at the outset that he was speaking personally as a theologian and biblical scholar, not as the authoritative teacher of the Church. And it isn’t true of Light of the World. Reporters who insist on parsing every papal utterance as if each were equally authoritative — and who often do so in pursuit of a gotcha moment — do no good service to their readers.

The third false assumption was a “historic change” of Catholic teaching of the sort that was misreported to have taken place would be announced through the medium of an interview. It will perhaps come as a blow to the self-esteem of the fourth estate to recognize an elementary fact of Catholic life, but the truth of the matter is that no pope with his wits about him would use the vehicle of an interview with a journalist to discuss a new initiative, lay out a pastoral program, or explicate a development of doctrine. Light of the World is chock-full of interesting material, explaining this or that facet of Catholic faith, reflecting on the successes, challenges, and communications errors of the pontificate to date, even pondering personal questions such as the possibility of a papal retirement. But such interviews never are going to be used for the most serious exercises of papal authority. . . .

Sunday, November 21, 2010

John Allen of NCReporter on CNN discusses the Pope's interview regarding condom use

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Pope ‘does not object’ to Communion in the hand, but . . . .

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“This is not just some social ritual in which we can take part if we want to.”

Pope Benedict has said in a new book that he is not opposed to the practice of receiving Communion in the hand. However he goes on to explain that he wants to encourage the reception of Communion on the tongue, kneeling, out of respect for the Real Presence in the Sacrament.

In a long interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, which is being published in a new book: ‘Light of the World’, out this Tuesday, the Holy Father says: “I am not opposed in principle to Communion in the hand; I have both administered and received Communion in this way myself.”

But, he explains: “The idea behind my current practice of having people kneel to receive Communion on the tongue was to send a signal and to underscore the Real Presence with an exclamation point. One important reason is that there is a great danger of superficiality precisely in the kinds of Mass events we hold at Saint Peter’s, both in the Basilica and in the Square. I have heard of people who, after receiving Communion, stick the Host in their wallet to take home as a kind of souvenir.

“In this context, where people think that everyone is just automatically supposed to receive Communion — everyone else is going up, so I will, too—I wanted to send a clear signal. I wanted it to be clear: Something quite special is going on here! He is here, the One before whom we fall on our knees! Pay attention!

“This is not just some social ritual in which we can take part if we want to.”

For more information on The Light of the World, see Here:

Pope Benedict XVI discusses condoms and the spread of HIV

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Catholic World Report: An excerpt from Light of the World, Peter Seewald’s book-length interview with Pope Benedict XVI

From Chapter 11, "The Journeys of a Shepherd," pages 117-119:

Q- On the occasion of your trip to Africa in March 2009, the Vatican’s policy on AIDs once again became the target of media criticism.Twenty-five percent of all AIDs victims around the world today are treated in Catholic facilities. In some countries, such as Lesotho, for example, the statistic is 40 percent. In Africa you stated that the Church’s traditional teaching has proven to be the only sure way to stop the spread of HIV. Critics, including critics from the Church’s own ranks, object that it is madness to forbid a high-risk population to use condoms.

Pope Benedict- The media coverage completely ignored the rest of the trip to Africa on account of a single statement. Someone had asked me why the Catholic Church adopts an unrealistic and ineffective position on AIDs. At that point, I really felt that I was being provoked, because the Church does more than anyone else. And I stand by that claim. Because she is the only institution that assists people up close and concretely, with prevention, education, help, counsel, and accompaniment. And because she is second to none in treating so many AIDs victims, especially children with AIDs.

I had the chance to visit one of these wards and to speak with the patients. That was the real answer: The Church does more than anyone else, because she does not speak from the tribunal of the newspapers, but helps her brothers and sisters where they are actually suffering. In my remarks I was not making a general statement about the condom issue, but merely said, and this is what caused such great offense, that we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms. Much more needs to be done. We must stand close to the people, we must guide and help them; and we must do this both before and after they contract the disease.

As a matter of fact, you know, people can get condoms when they want them anyway. But this just goes to show that condoms alone do not resolve the question itself. More needs to happen. Meanwhile, the secular realm itself has developed the so-called ABC Theory: Abstinence-Be Faithful-Condom, where the condom is understood only as a last resort, when the other two points fail to work. This means that the sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality, which, after all, is precisely the dangerous source of the attitude of no longer seeing sexuality as the expression of love, but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves. This is why the fight against the banalization of sexuality is also a part of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is treated as a positive value and to enable it to have a positive effect on the whole of man’s being.

There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.

Q- Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?

Pope Benedict- She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Fr. Robert Altier: Did The Power To Forgive Sin Die With The Apostles?

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Or Did Christ Confer Power To His Apostles Down Through The Ages.


Fr. Robert Altier-Throughout history, people have denied that the Church can forgive sin, that is, they have rejected and denied the reality of this sacrament. The reformers said that sin is forgiven only through baptism. The Montanists and the Donatists said that the Church could forgive venial sin but could not forgive mortal sin. Interestingly, the Church teaches us that the only sins which absolutely must be confessed are the mortal sins. You have some people saying that the Church does not have the authority to forgive serious sin. The spiritual backing for this comes from a couple of different places. We can look, for instance, at Matthew 16 where Jesus says, You are Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church; whatever you hold bound on earth will be held bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then in Matthew 18, Jesus also extends the ability to forgive sin to all of the apostles, not just to Peter with the binding and loosing, but all the apostles. Most clearly, in John 20 after the Resurrection, Jesus breathes on the apostles and says, Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you hold bound are held bound. There is the authority for both, to forgive or to refuse forgiveness. We see that God Himself is the One telling us that whatever you hold bound or forgive on earth will be held bound or forgiven in heaven. Therefore, we see that Our Lord Himself invested the apostles with the authority to forgive sins, but again it can also be used to refuse forgiveness. We will address why that would happen further on.

We see that this conferral of power to forgive sins is not a personal gift to the apostles, but rather we believe it was transferred through them to the Church as a permanent institution. All you have to do is think about it and say, “If Jesus gave the apostles authority to forgive sin but that authority died with the apostles, the rest of us are up a creek because it means there is no forgiveness of sin.” Unless sin ended with the death of the last apostle, there would be no more need to forgive anybody; and we know that is not the case, because we know that we live in the most sinful society the world has ever known. God also said, Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. [Romans 5:20] So we know that His will to forgive and the grace of forgiveness is available to us, but it is a matter of availing ourselves of that grace. The power, then, was transmitted by the apostles to their successors in the same way that the power to say Mass and to preach was passed on to their successors. And it is obvious why. Sin is going to continue for all time; therefore, the forgiveness of sin is necessary for all time.

One of the tricks of the devil, and it works very well, is that he tries to shame you with it. He brings things up in front of you and says, “Look at what you did. You rotten thing, you, look at this sin! Can you believe you are such a disgusting creature as to do something like this?” Then we start falling into the self-pity and all the other stuff. Do not play his game. The thing to do is very simple; just say, “I have already confessed it and God has forgiven me.” If it has not been confessed, then say, “Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I will confess it next time I go to confession.” Either way, you pull the rug out from underneath him. In the first one, you are acknowledging that you did it. What he wants is for you to either say, “I never did it,” or to say, “God hasn’t forgiven me.” So you are acknowledging both: “I have already confessed it and God has forgiven me.” I always like to add: “You lose, Satan.” You do not have to do that if you do not want to, but it is the truth. With the other one, it pulls the rug out from under him. He is trying to shame you with something, so if you stick it right back in his face and say, “Thank you. I will confess that as soon as I can,” what is he going to do? His attempt to shame you has failed because you took it and made it into something positive instead of the negative thing that he wanted to do with it. That is the way to handle it.

Do not play his game. The more we play around with the devil, the worse trouble we get ourselves into. So recognize how he works and tell him to get lost. Since his name is Lucifer, I like to call him “Loser-fer” because he is the ultimate loser. He has chosen against God and he is spending eternity in hell. That is what a loser is all about. As Mother Teresa said, the only ones who are a success in this life are the ones who succeed in getting to heaven, and the only ones who are a failure in this life are the ones who fail to get to heaven. It does not matter if you die with ten billion dollars. If you go to hell, what difference does it make? What profit is there for a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process? What good does it do? The only thing that matters is getting to heaven, so do not play footsie with the devil. It does not do us any good at all.

P.S. – Would you do Courageous Priest a favor and share this info with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or Email right now? It will just take a second by clicking one of the buttons below. We truly appreciate it. Courageous Priest.com

The Pope in his own words

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In an extraordinarily candid interview with Peter Seewald, Benedict XVI discusses the scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church, papal fallibility, the saints he calls friends, and a fondness for old films

. . .You are now the most powerful Pope of all time. Never before has the Catholic Church had more believers, never before such extension, literally to the ends of the earth.

Naturally, these statistics are important. They indicate how widespread the Church is and how large this communion is, which encompasses races and peoples, continents, cultures, and people of every kind. But the Pope does not have power because of these numbers.

Why not?

Communion with the Pope is something of a different sort, as is membership in the Church, of course. Among those 1.2 billion Catholics are many who inwardly are not there. Saint Augustine said there are many outside who seem to be inside, and there are many inside who seem to be outside.

In a matter like faith – like membership in the Catholic Church – inside and outside are mysteriously intertwined with each other. Stalin was right in saying that the Pope has no divisions and cannot issue commands. Nor does he have a big business in which all the faithful of the Church are his employees or his subordinates. In that respect, the Pope is, on the one hand, a completely powerless man. On the other hand, he bears a great responsibility.

He is to a certain extent the leader, the representative, and at the same time the one responsible for making sure that the faith that keeps people together is believed, that it remains alive, and that its identity is inviolate. But only the Lord himself has the power to keep people in the faith as well. . . .

The Pope on... dealing with scandals within the church

Right now, in the midst of the scandals, we have experienced what it means to be very stunned by how wretched the Church is, by how much her members fail to follow Christ. That is the one side, which we are forced to experience for our humiliation, for our real humility. The other side is that, in spite of everything, he does not release his grip on the Church. In spite of the weakness of the people in whom he shows himself, he keeps the Church in his grasp, he raises up saints in her, and makes himself present through them. I believe that these two feelings belong together: the deep shock over the wretchedness, the sinfulness of the Church – and the deep shock over the fact that he doesn’t drop this instrument, but that he works with it; that he never ceases to show himself through and in the Church.

The Pope on... drugs

Many, many bishops, above all from Latin America, tell me that wherever the road of drug production and trafficking passes – and that includes large sectors of these countries – it is as if an evil monster had its hand on the country and had corrupted the people. I believe we do not always have an adequate idea of the power of this serpent of drug trafficking and consumption that spans the globe. It destroys youth, it destroys families, it leads to violence and endangers the future of entire nations.

This, too, is one of the terrible responsibilities of the West: that it uses drugs and that it thereby creates countries that have to supply it, which in the end exhausts and destroys them. A craving for happiness has developed that cannot content itself with things as they are. And that then flees into the devil’s paradise, if you will, and destroys people all around.

And then there is a further problem. The destruction that sex tourism wreaks on our young people, the bishops say, is something we cannot even begin to imagine. The destructive processes at work in that are extraordinary and are born from the arrogance and the boredom and the false freedom of the Western world.

You see, man strives for eternal joy; he would like pleasure in the extreme, would like what is eternal. But when there is no God, it is not granted to him and it cannot be. Then he himself must now create something that is fictitious, a false eternity. . . .

You can read the entire interview at The UK Telegraph

Pope says in new book that use of condoms can be justified in case of male prostitutes

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I don't know that it can be considered a "stunning" change, as no procreation is possible for male prostitutes engaging in sex with males.

"There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility," Benedict said.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI says in a new book that condoms can be justified for male prostitutes seeking to stop HIV, a stunning turnaround for a church that has long opposed condoms and a pontiff who has blamed them for making the AIDS crisis worse.

The pontiff made the comments in a book-length interview with a German journalist, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," which is being released Tuesday. The Vatican newspaper ran excerpts on Saturday.

Church teaching has opposed condoms because they're a form of artificial contraception although it has never released an explicit policy about condoms and HIV. The Vatican has been harshly criticized in light of the AIDS crisis.

Benedict said that for male prostitutes — for whom contraception isn't the central issue — condoms are not a moral solution. But he said they could be justified "in the intention of reducing the risk of infection."

He called it "a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way of living sexuality."

Benedict drew the wrath of the United Nations, European governments and AIDS activisits when he told reporters en route to Africa in 2009 that the AIDS problem on the continent couldn't be resolved by distributing condoms.

"On the contrary, it increases the problem," he said then.

Journalist Peter Seewald, who interviewed Benedict over the course of six days this ummer, revisited those comments and asked Benedict if it wasn't "madness" for the Vatican to forbid a high risk population to use condoms.

"There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility," Benedict said.

But he stressed that it wasn't the way to deal with the evil of HIV, noting the church's position that abstinence and marital fidelity is the only sure way.

"There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility," Benedict said.

But he stressed that it wasn't the way to deal with the evil of HIV, and elsewhere in the book reaffirmed church teaching on contraception and abortion, saying: "How many children are killed who might one day have been geniuses, who could have given humanity something new, who could have given us a new Mozart or some new technical discovery?"

He reiterated the church's position that abstinence and marital fidelity is the only sure way to prevent HIV.

Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, the Vatican's longtime top official on bioethics and sexuality, elaborated on the pontiff's comments, stressing that it was imperative to "make certain that this is the only way to save a life." Sgreccia told the Italian news agency ANSA that that is why the pope on the condom issue "dealt with it in the realm of ecceptionality."

The condom question was one that "needed an answer for a long time," Sgreccia was quoted as saying. "If Benedict XVI raised the question of exceptions, this expection must be accepted ... and it must be verified that this is the only way to save life. This must be demonstrated," Sgreccia said.

Christian Weisner, of the pro-reform group We Are Church in the pope's native Germany, said the pope's comments were "surprising, and if that's the case one can be happy about the pope's ability to learn."

William Portier, a Catholic theologian at the University of Dayton, a Marianist school in Ohio, said he had not read the report in the Vatican newspaper, but he said it would be wrong to conclude that the comments mean the pope has made a fundamental, broad change in church teaching on artificial contraception.

"He's not going to do that in an offhand remark to a journalist in an interview," Portier said.

In other comments, Benedict said:

_ If a pope is no longer physically, psychologically or spiritually capable of doing his job, then he has the "right, and under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign."

_ On Islam, in Europe, he declined to endorse such moves as France's banning the burqa or Switzerland's citizen referendum to forbid topping mosques with minarets.

"Christians are tolerant, and in that respect they also allow others to have their self-image," Benedict replied when asked if Christians should be "glad" about such initiatives. "As for the burqa, I can see no reason for a general ban."

_ He was surprised by the scale of clerical sex abuse in his native Germany and acknowledged that the Vatican could have better communicated its response. "One can always wonder whether the pope should not speak more often."

_ On Pope Pius XII, the wartime pontiff accused by some Jewish groups of staying publicly silent on the Holocaust: Some historians have asked the Vatican to put Pius' sainthood process on hold until the Holy See opens up its archives from his papacy. But Benedict said an internal "inspection" of those unpublished documents failed to support "negative" allegations against Pius.

"It is perfectly clear that as soon as he protested publicly, the Germans would have ceased to respect" Vatican extraterritoriality of convents and monasteries who were sheltering Jews from the Nazi occupiers in Rome. "The thousands who had found a safe haven ... would have been surely deported," Benedict argued.

In the book, Benedict also offers insights into his private life, saying he enjoys watching TV at home in the evenings with his secretaries and the four women who take care of his apartment, preferring the evening news and an Italian TV show from decades ago "Don Camillo and Peppone" about a parish priest and his bumbling assistant.

He said he always wears his white cassock, never a sweater, and wears an old Junghans watch that was left to him by his sister when she died. When he prays, he said, he prays to the Lord as well as the saints and considers himself good friends with Sts. Augustine, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas. Star Tribune

Cardinal Raymond Burke

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Raymond Leo Burke, born Richland Center, Wisconsin (1948), Priest of the Diocese of La Crosse (1975-94), Bishop of La Crosse (1994-2003), Archbishop of St. Louis (2003-08), and now Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura of the Roman Catholic Church, is now a Cardinal.

The Apostolic Signatura is the "supreme court" of the Church, and Cardinal Burke is its head. He is also a member of the Congregation for Bishops, giving him a say in the appointment of most bishops, particularly American bishops.

The Catholic Times of the Diocese of La Cross has a 20 page pdf insert that you might like to view on this most holy day in the life of Cardinal Burke.

Two merging archdiocesan parishes win some changes on appeal

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Sixteen others will proceed with the reorganization as the archdiocese planned and now can appeal to the Vatican.

Two of the 18 Catholic parishes appealing their mergers with other parishes were granted some changes, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis officials announced Friday. The other 16 mergers will proceed as planned.

The announcement paves the way for the largest reorganization in the archdiocese's nearly 160-year history, barring any successful appeals to the Vatican.

The two parishes that appealed successfully will still merge, but in a more palatable way.

St. Thomas Church in the south metro community of St. Thomas was initially set to merge with St. Wenceslaus in New Prague as part of the reorganization plan. The archdiocese granted its request to merge with St. Anne of Le Sueur instead.

At Holy Cross in northeast Minneapolis, Archbishop John Nienstedt confirmed the initial decision, with significant differences. Holy Cross will merge with St. Anthony of Padua, St. Clement and St. Hedwig. But the name of the combined parish community will be Holy Cross, and the merger will take place after the retirement of the Rev. Earl Simonson as pastor of St. Clement, which will happen by July 1, 2013.

Considering another appeal

Nienstedt's decision to affirm the 16 other mergers was greeted with dismay.

"We're disappointed," said Gene Mach, a church trustee with St. Canice in Kilkenny, which is set to merge with Most Holy Redeemer in Montgomery. Mach said St. Canice preferred to remain in a "cluster" with Most Holy Redeemer, which means the two parishes share a priest.

"We're still talking about preparing something to appeal it further," Mach said. "We just have to exercise our options. We probably won't make a decision until at least after the weekend masses so everyone is notified. I was hopeful we could have remained in a cluster instead of merging. We still would have had our own identity, our own parish."

The Rev. Kevin Clinton, pastor at St. Thomas church and other nearby parishes, applauded the archbishop for allowing St. Thomas to merge with St. Anne of LeSueur instead of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague. He said St. Anne is geographically closer to St. Thomas and "socially [St. Thomas parishioners] are more tied to LeSueur than New Prague. They shop in LeSueur, and they have more friends and connections to that community."

Stay strong, archbishop asks

As in other metro areas across the country, the Twin Cities archdiocese is facing a projected priest shortage, tighter budgets and shifting demographics. The reorganization plan was released last month, after more than a year of study. In addition to the mergers, 33 parishes will join new cluster configurations in which one pastor will lead two or more parishes. Nearly 25 percent of the archdiocese's current 213 parishes already share a pastor.

With the revisions announced Friday, 21 parishes are now scheduled to merge into 15 receiving parishes. After the mergers are implemented, there will be a total of 192 parishes. Archdiocesan officials say structural changes won't begin before January and will take place over several years.

"Despite the challenges involved, especially for those affected by the mergers proposed, I ask our Catholic faithful to remain strong in the practice of their faith and equally strong in their resolve to continue building the new parish communities that will begin to unfold," Nienstedt said in a released statement.

Parishioners affected by the Holy Cross and St. Thomas changes have until Nov. 29 to file a written appeal to the archbishop. Parishioners affected by the mergers confirmed by the archbishop may appeal to the Vatican.

Just how many church buildings may close as a result of the mergers remains unclear. Archdiocese officials say those decisions will be made by local leaders in consultation with the archbishop and a representative body of priests.

Even though St. Thomas' appeal succeeded, there's still pain involved in giving up a parish built in the 1880s.

"People at St. Thomas are generally understanding of what's happened," Clinton said. "But there are some very strong feelings here. They're having to say goodbye to something that's been in their own personal lives and in the lives of their parents and grandparents. We're talking about feelings connected to three generations of people." Star Tribune


Friday, November 19, 2010

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Archbishop modifies two of 14 original mergers

As result of petitions, combined parish community in northeast Minneapolis to be named Holy Cross; St. Thomas to merge with St. Anne in LeSueur

In response to petitions sent by parishioners to reconsider parish merger decisions, Archbishop Nienstedt modified the merger of Holy Cross, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Clement and St. Hedwig in Minneapolis.

A new decree of merger for the four parishes includes making the name of the combined parish Holy Cross.

Second, the effective date of the merger will take place upon the retirement of Father Earl Simonson as pastor of St. Clement parish, no later than July 1, 2013.

Third, the archbishop reaffirmed the Polish nature of the combined parish community, including the continued offering of Mass in Polish. He added that Mass will continue to be offered onsite to residents of Catholic Eldercare facilities, which are adjacent to the church buildings of St. Anthony of Padua and St. Hedwig.

In the New Prague area merger involving St. Benedict, St. John the Evangelist, St. Joseph, St. Scholastica, St. Thomas and St. Wenceslaus, St. Thomas is removed from the merger and will, instead, merge with St. Anne in LeSueur. The other details of the St. Wenceslaus merger remain the same: the remaining four parishes will merge into St. Wenceslaus, and the St. John the Evangelist, St. Scholastica, and St. Wenceslaus buildings are identified to remain open. New decrees for the New Prague area merger and the new merger of St. Thomas and St. Anne were issued.

With these revisions to parish mergers, 21 parishes are scheduled to merge into 15 receiving parishes, bringing the total number of parishes to 192, compared to the current 213 parishes.

A merger does not necessarily mean that the merging parish’s church building will close. Decisions regarding the church buildings of the newly combined parish community will be made by local leaders in consultation with Archbishop Nienstedt and the presbyteral council, a representative body of priests.

Parishioners at parishes affected by the new decrees of merger who believe they are negatively impacted by a decision have until Monday, Nov. 29, to request in writing that the archbishop reconsider the decision.

Parishioners affected by the 12 mergers confirmed by the archbishop may appeal the archbishop’s appeal response to the Vatican.

More information about the appeal of a parish merger may be found at http://planning.archspm.org/wp-content/uploads/Appendix-A.pdf

Pending appeals, the first round of mergers will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, with further changes continuing over the following months and years.

The archdiocesan strategic plan is the result of 20 months of study and consultation, which includes the input of pastors and other clergy, parish and Catholic school leaders and staff, parishioners and Catholic school families.

The entire strategic plan is available at http://planning.archspm.org. Catholic Spirit

Archbishop modifies two of 14 original mergers

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As result of petitions, combined parish community in northeast Minneapolis to be named Holy Cross; St. Thomas to merge with St. Anne in LeSueur

In response to petitions sent by parishioners to reconsider parish merger decisions, Archbishop Nienstedt modified the merger of Holy Cross, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Clement and St. Hedwig in Minneapolis.

A new decree of merger for the four parishes includes making the name of the combined parish Holy Cross.

Second, the effective date of the merger will take place upon the retirement of Father Earl Simonson as pastor of St. Clement parish, no later than July 1, 2013.

Third, the archbishop reaffirmed the Polish nature of the combined parish community, including the continued offering of Mass in Polish. He added that Mass will continue to be offered onsite to residents of Catholic Eldercare facilities, which are adjacent to the church buildings of St. Anthony of Padua and St. Hedwig.

In the New Prague area merger involving St. Benedict, St. John the Evangelist, St. Joseph, St. Scholastica, St. Thomas and St. Wenceslaus, St. Thomas is removed from the merger and will, instead, merge with St. Anne in LeSueur. The other details of the St. Wenceslaus merger remain the same: the remaining four parishes will merge into St. Wenceslaus, and the St. John the Evangelist, St. Scholastica, and St. Wenceslaus buildings are identified to remain open. New decrees for the New Prague area merger and the new merger of St. Thomas and St. Anne were issued.

With these revisions to parish mergers, 21 parishes are scheduled to merge into 15 receiving parishes, bringing the total number of parishes to 192, compared to the current 213 parishes.

A merger does not necessarily mean that the merging parish’s church building will close. Decisions regarding the church buildings of the newly combined parish community will be made by local leaders in consultation with Archbishop Nienstedt and the presbyteral council, a representative body of priests.

Parishioners at parishes affected by the new decrees of merger who believe they are negatively impacted by a decision have until Monday, Nov. 29, to request in writing that the archbishop reconsider the decision.

Parishioners affected by the 12 mergers confirmed by the archbishop may appeal the archbishop’s appeal response to the Vatican.

More information about the appeal of a parish merger may be found Here

Pending appeals, the first round of mergers will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, with further changes continuing over the following months and years.

The archdiocesan strategic plan is the result of 20 months of study and consultation, which includes the input of pastors and other clergy, parish and Catholic school leaders and staff, parishioners and Catholic school families.

The entire strategic plan is available Here
Catholic Spirit

New facility at St. Odilia to offer care at end of life

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A new facility will bring eight chronically or terminally-ill people to St. Odilia in Shoreview for end-of-life care in the next few months.

A 6,000-square-foot facility named Saint Therese at St. Odilia is scheduled to open in January. The building, formerly the priory of the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, currently is being renovated to accommodate up to eight residents at a cost of $700,000. . . .

Eventually, the parish decided to use one of the buildings for a rectory for priests and another for staff offices to free up space in the church and school building for a new pre-school program. That left the priory, which the committee continued to address.

[They decided to open ] a facility designed to offer end-of-life care, including hospice, in a setting that feels homey for both residents and their families.

Residents will have their own rooms, with space for family and friends to gather around them. Also, they will be in close proximity to both the parish and school, which will mean regular contact with parish staff, parishioners and students at the school. . . . Read more at the Catholic Spirit

Western metro nonprofit spotlights rising suburban poverty

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On the outside, Beth’s life looked like the American dream: She lived in a beautiful house near Lake Minnetonka, and her husband’s career allowed her to stay home to raise her two young sons. It was a comfortable —?even enviable — life for a woman in her late 20s.

But that was the facade. On the inside, Beth had endured emotional abuse from her husband since the beginning of their marriage. And when she tried to leave the marriage for the sake of her sons, the abuse turned physically violent.

Beth, who requested that her last name not be used, left her husband in 2007 and obtained a divorce, but it cost her nearly everything.

Because her husband failed to pay bills, she and her boys lost their home and moved in with Beth’s father. Although Beth, now 35, worked in management and sales prior to her marriage, she didn’t have a college degree, so finding a good job was difficult. When she realized that she had exhausted her own re­sources, she turned to Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners, a nonprofit serving eight western metro suburbs.

Several Catholic parishes are part of the effort.

When people think of poverty, most don’t think of Twin Cities suburbs — especially those around Lake Minnetonka, where big boats and bigger houses reign supreme. Yet, Beth and her sons are among 4,495 individuals from 1,469 households IOCP helped in fiscal year 2009-2010. And, suburban poverty is on the rise. Since 2004, IOCP’s housing assists have increased by 38 percent. . . .

St. Anne in Hamel, Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, St. Bartholomew in Wayzata, and St. George in Long Lake are among 24 area faith congregations that support IOCP. The outreach grew out of St. Bartholomew in the late 1970s. . . . Read more at the Catholic Spirit


Most Photogenic Church in Minnesota Contest Winners

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Tim Alms of Red Wing took first place with this photo of St. Columbkill Catholic Church in Belle Creek.

Most photogenic Catholic church is postcard-perfect winner

154 Runners-Up Can Be Seen On-Line

Tim Alms of Red Wing is the winner of The Catholic Spirit’s latest photo contest for his colorful picture of St. Columbkill church in Belle Creek. [Interestingly, St. Columbkill is one of the parishes in the archdiocese selcted by the Archdiocesan Plan for merger into nearby Holy Trinity parish].

Judges from The Catholic Spirit photo staff proclaimed Alms’ shot “clearly a winner” among 154 en­tries in the “Minnesota’s Most Pho­to­genic Catholic Church” photo contest, sponsored by Lifetouch, pro­ducers of parish pictorial directories. Alms wins the $100 top prize.

The judges noted, “This photo incorporates a beautiful blue sky and white puffy clouds against the warm-colored brick of this gorgeous church. A simple composition, yet very effective. Taken at exactly the right time of day, it looks like a postcard. Well done!”

When he entered this photograph, Alms noted, “I was married in this church 22 years ago. We have just found today that the church will be closing and merged with Holy Trinity in Goodhue. This was the 150th anniversary of the church; very bittersweet.”

Second place went to Nick Werner of Hastings for his aerial photo of St. John the Baptist church in Ver­mil­lion, where he said he’s been a member since he was born.

The judges said, “This aerial view is unique, creative and dramatic. The beauty of this church really stands out against the green foliage, with a dark vignette adding a nice touch and enhancing the view of the church.”

Werner pointed out that he digitally enhanced the shot “to make it look as if it were a painting of the church.” His efforts earned the second-place prize money, $50.

“I was able to capture this image by going flying with my uncle on a mid-summer night around 7 p.m.,” Werner explained. “I caught this image quickly since we really couldn’t stop, and just love how it turned out.”

Two third-place winners

There was a tie for third place, with the $25 prize going to both entrants.

While a number of photographers sent in photos of St. Mary church in New Trier, judges said the best was by Brenda Beissel of Hastings. They commented: “This simple, yet effective composition captures the beauty of this rural church, highly visible to those who drive through New Trier. The positioning of the elegant front of the church and the surrounding elements of trees, sky and clouds is wonderfully done. And, the lighting makes the colors rich and vibrant.”

Also a third-place winner was Mary Spychala of Rice for her photo of St. Patrick church in rural Sauk Rapids in Minden Township in the St. Cloud diocese.

“Another well-done aerial view,” the judges said. “This photo in­cludes the broad, rural landscape that surrounds the church. Its simple, unspoiled beauty makes you want to pay this church a visit.”

Spychala’s entry explained that the shot came about because of more than a bit of luck.

“My grandmother, Caroline Neu­mann, was married (at St. Patrick) and is buried in the cemetery. My parents, Rose and Al Jackels, were married here. I took this picture from a hot air balloon ride that I won in a contest. I use a 35mm zoom camera. This was very exciting as in a balloon ride you go where the wind takes you, so to be where we spent summers as children and my mother grew up was a very happy day.”

All 154 entries can be viewed on TheCatholicSpirit.com HERE.

In addition, the best of the entries will be showcased on the web soon in a multimedia production, also on TheCatholicSpirit.com. A photo of the winner and a Lifetouch representative will appear in the Dec. issue.

Award winners
Tim Alms of Red Wing took first place with this photo of St. Columbkill Catholic Church in Belle Creek.
Nick Werner of Hastings digitally enhanced this photo of St. John the Baptist in Vermillion to take second place.

Brenda Beissel of Hastings captured just the right light when she snapped this shot of St. Mary in New Trier to garner a tie for third place.

John Allen: The press and the sex abuse crisis of 2010

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John Allen [Nat'l Catholic Reporter] and George Weigel consider the Vatican's response to sex abuse charges in Europe

Under the best of circumstances, the Vatican and the secular media struggle to understand each other, and the first half of 2010 was hardly the best of times. As a new wave of the sexual abuse crisis swept across Europe and raised critical questions about Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican officials accused the press of bias, while news reports and editorial pages blasted the Vatican for dishonesty and denial.

Now that the dust has begun to settle, thoughtful figures on both sides realize the need to take a dispassionate look back. Many in the news business want to know if they got the story right, and at least some in Rome — not to mention frustrated Catholics elsewhere — wonder if the Vatican's crisis management strategy, such as it was, backfired.

On Monday, I was in Miami Beach for a gathering of journalists from mainstream secular outlets, sponsored by the "Faith Angle" project of the Washington, D.C.-based Ethics and Public Policy Center. Papal biographer George Weigel and I were asked to lead a discussion of coverage of the crisis, especially its most recent wave.

Among the 20 or so reporters on hand was Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times, whose pieces digging into Benedict's record have been both widely read and controversial. Critics include American Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who called a March 24 story by Goodstein on the Vatican's handling of the case of a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting deaf children "deficient by any reasonable standards of fairness."

The conversation in Miami didn't produce an artificial consensus — and it wasn't designed to — but it did have a lot to say about where things stand vis-à-vis the church and the fourth estate.

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Weigel said that in his view, coverage of the American sexual abuse crisis of 2002 largely got the story right, forcing the church to confront a reality that had been "ignored or downplayed" for too long. By way of contrast, he argued, the coverage in 2010, which focused more on the Vatican and the pope, was marred by "errors in reporting and editorial bias."

Weigel laid out what he called seven "flawed assumptions" which, in his view, ran through much of the 2010 coverage.

Assumption One: The "Omni-Competence of the Papacy"

Weigel said the pope is often styled as an absolute monarch, wielding total control over Catholic life. That's not true either in theory or practice, Weigel insisted. In theory, a pope's power is limited by all sorts of things: church tradition, the Code of Canon Law, the sacramental system, even the rules of logic.

In reality, Weigel said, a pope's influence is also limited by factors such as the competence of his aides and his own shrewdness in diagnosing situations and making appointments. He added that the latter point is part of the dynamic of the papacy of Benedict XVI — this "world-class theological mind," Weigel said, doesn't always seem to have an aptitude for picking subordinates.

Assumption Two: The "World-Class Competence of the Roman Curia"

Weigel said people often succumb to the notion that Vatican officials must be the cream of the Catholic crop, including the notion that they operate "the world's best intelligence service." In reality, Weigel said, the quality of heads of Vatican offices is not notably higher than other systems with which he's familiar — say, the governments of the United States or the United Kingdom — and in some cases it's "much lower."

As an illustration, Weigel claimed that Pope John Paul II was four months behind the news when the sexual abuse crisis broke out in the United States during spring 2002, because of the poor quality of information reaching him through Vatican channels. In general, Weigel argued, the small circle of senior Vatican officials who wield real power, probably no more than 20, do not live in the same "24/7 media universe" as the rest of us.

Assumption Three: A "General Hermeneutic of Suspicion"

Outsiders sometimes conclude, Weigel said, that "there is a will to deceive at the highest levels" of the Vatican. In reality, he said, much of what looks like deception is actually bungling — bred by naiveté, misinformation, or just plain being in over one's head.

A hermeneutic of suspicion, Weigel argued, breeds contorted conspiracy theories, thereby missing "the simplest and truest explanation, which is that these guys were blindsided and scrambled to respond."

Assumption Four: "Institutionalized Hypocrisy"

Many people already don't like the sexual teachings of the Catholic church, Weigel argued, and when violations of that teaching by clergy are not immediately met by draconian penalties, it fuels "gotcha" reporting.

When hypocrisy is presumed to be the root of everything, he said, important bits of context are overlooked. Weigel offered three examples:

  • A 1983 revision of the Code of Canon Law was designed to protect priests from arbitrary abuses of power by bishops, but it also made it harder for bishops to discipline abuser priests.

  • In debates over laicization (popularly known as "defrocking"), some experts caution against it on the grounds that once the church cuts ties with a priest, it loses any ability to monitor and control him.

  • Weigel also criticized attempts to link the crisis to priestly celibacy, asserting that 50 to 60 percent of the sexual abuse of children occurs in the family — and is therefore committed by people who have never taken vows of celibacy.

Assumption Five: Sex abuse is "a distinctively Catholic problem, and an institutional Catholic problem."

That may be true of Ireland, Weigel said, but it's not in the United States, where data suggests the incidence of abuse among Catholic priests is no higher than among comparable professional groups such as public school teachers — even though sex abuse in other environments doesn't draw anything like the same saturation coverage.

In 2010, Weigel argued, "the Catholic church is arguably the safest environment for young people and adolescents in the country," but there remain other "non-safe environments" that will not be exposed so long as public perceptions treat the sexual exploitation of children as a "Catholic problem."

Assumption Six: "A lack of skill in reading church statements and documents"

The inability of some observers to adequately decode Vatican-speak, Weigel said, sometimes leads to "missing the real stories." He cited Pope Benedict's letter to the Catholics of Ireland, which Weigel said, for the first time begins to "dig into real problems of ecclesiastical culture" underneath the crisis. That point was missed, he said, amid sensational but often ill-informed commentary from the likes of Sinead O'Connor.

Assumption Seven: Confusion about who's a reliable source

Weigel complained that in some news coverage, critics of Benedict XVI have been presented as seemingly neutral "experts." He complained, for example, that victims' attorney Jeffrey Anderson is routinely cited without mention of his "direct financial interest" in sex abuse litigation. He also offered the example of Italian Catholic writer and scholar Alberto Melloni, an exponent of a school of interpretation of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) rejected by Benedict XVI. To present Melloni as an objective source, Weigel argued, is a distortion.

More broadly, Weigel warned against relying too much on alleged Roman insiders — who, he said, are often "low-level munchkins who have no idea what's going on, but are happy to talk over a free cappuccino or a Campari and soda."

* * *

All of that, Weigel argued, illustrates the need for "serious reform in press coverage of the Catholic church."

On the church's side of the ledger, Weigel argued that two chronic problems have to be addressed: 1) What he called "the Vatican's communications debacle," and 2) the lack of "a mechanism for dealing with manifest incompetence, or worse, from bishops." Weigel said that many "serious Catholics," including regular church-goers and big-time donors, have deep reservations these days about the competence of some local bishops. He called the inability to get rid of problem bishops in a timely fashion the church's "single biggest management problem."

Both issues, he said, will have to be faced the next time the cardinals gather in a conclave to elect a pope, because it's not realistic to expect they will be resolved under Benedict XVI.

* * *

In my [John Allen] comments, I raised what has long struck me as the central puzzle about the crisis of 2010: How is it that Pope Benedict XVI, whom insiders regard as the great reformer on the sex abuse issue, somehow became the global symbol of the problem?

I laid out my reading of Benedict's record, which is that then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger underwent a sort of conversion experience around 2001, when the sex abuse crisis was dumped in his lap by John Paul II. His willingness to face what he once memorably called the "filth in the church" was fueled by studying case files from all over the world, including the testimony of victims, and by listening to his deputies who met with victims. The story as I know it boils down to this: before 2001, Ratzinger was essentially another cardinal in denial; afterwards, he became the leading force inside the Vatican for a more aggressive response.

Measured not against the sweeping programs for reform that some critics of the church have advanced, but against what was realistically possible, Ratzinger moved the ball farther and faster than most people anticipated, often against strong internal opposition.

If that's so, then why did a handful of cases from decades ago, which came to light earlier this year, cause such an earthquake in public perceptions?

In addition to the flawed assumptions flagged by Weigel, I suggested two other factors — both of which, I think, impeded the Vatican from making a more effective case on the pope's behalf.

First, I argued, the Vatican drew a bad hand, in that the first case to come to light was also the most serious. It involved Peter Hullermann, a German priest who came into the Munich archdiocese for therapy, while facing charges of abuse, when then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was in charge. Hullermann ended up in a Munich parish where he committed other acts of abuse, for which he was eventually convicted criminally.

When the story broke in early March, the immediate response in church circles, both in Munich and in Rome, was to try to insulate Benedict from blame — insisting that the decision to assign Hullermann to a parish was made at lower levels, without the future pope's knowledge. Whether true or not, that response rang hollow for many people, because a bishop still has to take responsibility for decisions made in his name.

Benedict could have said something like, "I'm heartsick over what happened, and with the benefit of hindsight it's clear I should have been more vigilant. I intend to reach out to Hullermann's victims to apologize, and this terrible tragedy illustrates the importance of the reforms we've put into place." Had that been the tone, outsiders might have been more inclined to listen to a defense of the pope on other cases — especially because in the handful of other instances which have drawn coverage, his role was often minor and after-the-fact. Instead, an impression of blanket denial was created, which became the prism for everything else.

More deeply, I also speculated that the Vatican has been hampered in defending Benedict's record because it would imply indicting other senior Vatican officials, and perhaps ultimately tainting the memory of Pope John Paul II. That's a psychological and cultural bridge, I said, that many in the Vatican aren't ready to cross.

Weigel was asked to comment on whether the crisis indeed represents a stain on John Paul's legacy. He conceded the crisis wasn't handled well, especially towards the end when John Paul was already in decline. At the same time, Weigel argued, that breakdown has to be seen in the context of John Paul's broader renewal of the priesthood. Both John Paul and Benedict XVI, Weigel said, have inspired a new generation committed to a "heroic ideal of the priesthood," which, he said, suggests there will be few incidents of abuse down the line.

* * *

Understandably, Goodstein wanted to join the conversation. She said that when she began reporting on the latest wave of the crisis, she largely accepted the claim of "Ratzinger the Reformer," based partly on things that I and others had written.

Yet, she said, the 2010 stories upended that narrative, which placed the responsibility entirely on bishops for the failure to report and remove abusers. This year we learned of one case after another, she said, in which bishops were pleading urgently with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Ratzinger to laicize a known molester, and the CDF rejected those requests. And, she added, we were always told that the CDF had nothing to do with these cases until 2001, but that turned out to be false also. In fact, they were handling them all along.

As a footnote, Goodstein said that much of the reporting was based on documents — though she didn't add this herself, usually documents obtained from victims' lawyers. Those documents, she said, are the most revelatory evidence we have. The documents come from attorneys, she said, because the church sure is not handing them over.

Goodstein's question thus was: Didn't the reporting of 2010 add something to what we thought we knew?

I said that for me, the reporting fleshed out the picture, but didn't fundamentally alter it.

First, it's still true that pre-2001, most sex abuse cases never reached Rome because bishops relied on informal remedies rather than laicization (which requires Vatican approval, and was seen by many bishops as a cumbersome, expensive, and uncertain process). We already knew that before 2001, Ratzinger's approach to the few cases which reached his desk wasn't notably different from other senior Vatican personnel. Thus to produce a 1985 letter in which he urges caution in laicizing Stephen Kiesle of Oakland, for example, is certainly interesting, but not a paradigm-changer.

That go-slow approach in the 1980s and 1990s, I argued, still has to be balanced against expedited handling of hundreds of cases beginning in 2003, when Ratzinger obtained "special faculties" from John Paul II allowing him to waive a canonical trial and to remove an abuser from the priesthood more efficiently.

One can certainly argue that his awakening came late, and that not enough has yet been done — perhaps especially in terms of matching the new accountability for priests with similar accountability for bishops. The fact remains, however, that the Vatican is today more committed to a "zero tolerance" policy because of Ratzinger's impact, both before and after his election.

If that point sometimes got lost earlier this year, it's probably one part a media failure to keep the whole picture in focus, and one part the Vatican's inability to project a different narrative.

Weigel threw in a couple of interesting footnotes. In terms of the response to the crisis under John Paul II, Weigel said that during the late pope's long illness, there was effectively no one in charge — on sex abuse or almost anything else. The then-Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano, was either "unprepared or unwilling," Weigel said, "to become a sort of prime minister as the king was dying."

Weigel also asserted that another element in understanding Vatican culture vis-à-vis the crisis is "the odd influence of the Latin American mind," which he described as "riddled with conspiracy theories." He was likely referring to suggestions from a few Latin American cardinals that media reporting on the crisis, especially in the United States, was calculated to stifle the church's advocacy on issues such as support for a Palestinian homeland.

* * *

We spent a fair bit of time in Miami doing some basic exercises in Vaticanology, which prompts a warning about relations between the Vatican and the media.

Several people, for instance, asked why there never seem to be consequences when somebody in Rome obviously screws up. To take one example, Sodano explosively compared criticism of the pope on the crisis to "petty gossip" during the 2010 Easter Sunday Mass, and yet he continues merrily along as dean of the College of Cardinals. (When Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Austria, later criticized Sodano, he actually got his knuckles rapped.)

I explained that in the culture of the Vatican, the way they typically signal disapproval of a statement from someone at Sodano's level isn't by overtly repudiating it, but rather by not repeating it. Insiders know that silence speaks volumes, although the outside world usually concludes that the guy got away scot free.

Two reactions from reporters are worth recording.

One said that while such insider scoop is interesting, it's of limited journalistic value. Editors won't tolerate sticking in four paragraphs of "Vatican context" into stories to explain every statement or decision that comes down the pike, this reporter said, because it smacks too much of apologetics — i.e., trying to get the Vatican off the hook.

Another reporter made the point that when it comes to the crisis, media outlets have a limited appetite for nuance, because of the stark moral nature of the underlying issue — the sexual exploitation of vulnerable children. In that regard, this reporter said, the media can be as "unchanging and relentless as the church."

The take-away seemed to be that unless the Vatican wants a perpetual war with the press, it needs to become more adept at translating its internal culture for the outside world.