New Book by Father Benedict

It is now public...will be available May 13th.



"There Are No Accidents: In All Things Trust in God"









To pre-order a copy

click here

Catholic Bestseller's List for This Month

#5 for Amy and I and #10 for Amy alone...



From CBPA Catholic Book Publishers Association:

"Paperback



1. A Guide to the Passion 100 Questions About Mel Gibson¹s The Passion of The Christ

Pinto, D¹Ambrosio, Shea, Thigpen, Allen, Ascension Press (193264542X)



2. Catechism of the Catholic Church

Doubleday (0385479670)

Our Sunday Visitor (0879739762)

USCCB Publishing (1574551108)



3. The Life You Save May Be Your Own

Paul Elie, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (0374529213)



4. Return of the Prodigal Son

Henri J. M. Nouwen, Doubleday (0385473079)



5. Praying the Rosary

Dubruiel & Welborn, Our Sunday Visitor (1592760376)



6. The Cathedral

Michael Downey, Liturgical Press (0814628923)



7. Life of the Beloved

Henri J. M. Nouwen, Crossroad (0824519868)



8. Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart

Cavins, Pinto, Armstrong, Ascension Press (0965922871)



9. Not By Bread Alone

Peter Feldmeier, Liturgical Press (0814627528)



10. De-coding DaVinci

Amy Welborn, Our Sunday Visitor (1592761011)"





To order your own copy of either book...

Passion Success Good for Therese Movie

From Leonardo Defilippis on Thérèse on National Review Online:



"The making of the movie has a story behind it just as interesting as The Passion's. In the four years since we started production, we've raised a multimillion-dollar budget from the donations of individuals. From substantial grants to flower sales organized by school children, from one family's donation of $25,000 in retirement savings to a widow's gift of $10,000 from her late husband's estate, there are hundreds of stories of ordinary people sacrificing to see this story told. Pope John Paul II himself saw Thérèse last summer, and has given his blessing not just to the film, but also to all who view it. The popularity of the film's website, www.theresemovie.com reflects the huge anticipation by followers of the saint for the release of Thérèse.



Why is Thérèse so popular, and why the flood of support for a film on her life? Thérèse Martin's short life as a 19th-century French nun might have been buried in obscurity if she hadn't written down her story and her spiritual philosophy before her premature death from tuberculosis at age 24. Her sister, who was also the mother superior of the monastery, asked her to write down her childhood reminiscences, and out of obedience Therese complied. What followed was not just a charming story of her early life, but also a clear explanation of her 'little way' to get to Heaven. This little book spread like wildfire throughout the world, because of the simple ideas that Saint Thérèse presented: how ordinary people can grow close to God through the day-to-day tasks in their lives. After her death in 1897, miracles attributed to the young nun's intercession began to be documented almost immediately, and the Carmelite nun was put on the fast track to sainthood and canonized in 1925. "

Patriarch Accepts Pope's Apology

Christus Resurrexit! Alleluia



From Patriarch accepts pope's apology over Constantinople:



"Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, has accepted an apology from Pope John Paul II for Roman Catholic involvement in the sacking of Constantinople 800 years ago.



During a visit to Greece in 2001, John Paul apologized for the attack on the city, today's Istanbul, which was looted by Catholic Crusaders. The apology had long been sought by Orthodox.



In a speech Tuesday - the 800th anniversary of the city's capture - Bartholomew formally accepted the apology.



'The spirit of reconciliation is stronger than hatred,' Bartholomew said during a liturgy, attended by Philippe Barbarin, the Archbishop of Lyon, France. 'We receive with gratitude and respect your cordial gesture for the tragic events of the Fourth Crusade.' "

Frances Kissling Agrees That Abortion is an Abominable Crime

I saw the latter part of this interview on Scarborough Country on Monday night but missed this part of it...



From MSNBC - 'Scarborough Country' for April 12:



"KISSLING: Oh, I thought we were going to talk about whether we were going to burn Kerry at the stake, never mind whether he should have received communion.

DONAHUE: Well, you have survived, haven't you? They didn't burn you yet.

BUCHANAN: Here it is, Francis from Vatican II: "Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception. Abortion is an abominable crime."

KISSLING: Right.

Taxes

Bush paid $268,719, Kerry paid $90,575...no wonder Bush wants to cut taxes and Kerry thinks the rich aren't paying enough...he obviously has a better accountant!

Malachi Martin’s Status as Life Long Priest

One of the best manuscripts that I have ever read and had to reject for fear of the lawsuits it would spur was a book written by a good bishop who exposed Malachi Martin's deceptions from first hand knowledge. Something of this account appeared yesterday and makes reference to the "accusation" that actually was leveled by the husband of the woman that then Jesuit Father Martin was accused of being involved with...the bishop who was not a Jesuit but like Martin was priest in Rome at the time made a very convincing case for the reality of the accusation.



Now as to whether Martin was ever laicized, I do not know and if he didn't want to be, he probably wasn't and what the Jesuit is claiming is no doubt the truth but I don't think this exonerates him from the other charges.



Personnally, I always enjoyed his views but at the same time thought he was a little crazy, but then I think that about a lot of people.



From High Ranking Jesuit Confirms Malachi Martin’s Status as Life Long Priest by William H. Kennedy:



"In a stunning reversal of past policy Father Vincent O’Keefe SJ, former Vicar General of the Society of Jesus and a past President of Fordham University, affirmed that Malachi Martin was in fact granted a dispensation from all his vows in the Jesuit order except for chastity. This dispels decades of rumors that Father Martin was defrocked for having had an affair with the wife of a famous journalist. This was the false lie spread by past Jesuits to discredit Father Martin. Martin requested and received a special dispensation by Pope Paul VI to remain a Catholic priest and say Mass in private.



Ever since Father Martin’s scathing review of his former order The Jesuits: The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church (1988) rumors were spread by members of this order claiming Martin was defrocked and expelled from the Church of Rome. Martin denied this charge until his death in 1999. Father Mitchell Pacwa – chief spokesman at the Catholic run EWTN would regularly hang up on callers who inquired about Martin on his live call in show. "

Pope Doesn't Read Address Today

Understandable after the grueling schedule he has kept over the past two weeks. It would tire a young man. let alone a man in his 80's suffering from Parkinson's disease.



From Channelnewsasia.com:

"On the advice of his doctor, Pope John Paul II will not read out his prepared speech at his weekly audience, the Vatican's spokesman said.



'He accepted the advice of his personal doctor after his punishing schedule during Easter week and will not today personally read the text of his speech for the weekly audience,' spokesman Joaquin Naravrro-Valles told reporters at the Vatican on Wednesday."

New Face Found on Turin Shroud

From The Telegraph:



Hidden beneath a piece of Holland cloth that was sewn by nuns in 1534, after a fire had blackened parts of it, the reverse side of the shroud was fully scrutinised for the first time in 2002, when the 14ft linen was unstitched from the Holland cloth. The back surface of the shroud was photographed in detail.



"When I saw the pictures, I was caught by the perception of a faint image on the back surface of the shroud. I thought that perhaps there was more that wasn't visible to the naked eye," said Prof Fanti.



"Though the image is very faint, features such as nose, eyes, hair, beard and moustache are visible."



However, the enhancing procedure did not uncover the full body image as it appears on the front side.

A Great Testimonial to a Great Book for Spiritual Reading

A book that will change your life! Here is what Queenie Cleaver has written about Virginia Cyr and the new book:



Something wonderful has happened. Our Indiana friends, the O'Neills, sent us a book just published: GOD'S LITTLE HOBO, the Life of Virginia Cyr. Virginia had cerebral palsy and her mother couldn’t bear to be near her, so she abandoned Virginia and her brother Jimmy when they were very young. The CP began to manifest itself when she was 4 years old. She lived a tragic life, by many's standards, but not hers. She died at their home on Feb. 3, 1967, at the age of 24.



She was full of joy, yet lived with unbearable pain. She is the only person I’ve felt so sure was a Saint, with a capital S. Because Virginia had no mother (to speak of) she claimed Mother Mary as her mother, and wrote almost daily to her. This collection of letters makes up the book. It is truly beautiful, and will move your soul.



Virginia wanted so desperately to join the convent, ANY convent! But none would take her because of her handicap. She finally gave her life as a co-missionary for Fr. Keith Hosey, hence our connection. Keith used to bring her to Elwood for visits from Kokomo where she was living. She loved being in our Charles de Foucauld Fraternity meetings, though she had a hard time talking. Her body jerked with spasms, and she couldn't lie down. She sat propped up in a corner of the room (wherever she was) or in her wheelchair, and slept in a recliner, though she slept very little because of the pain.



We met Virginia through Keith, and had her at our home many times for short 2 or 3 day visits. Dave was two years old at that time, and Virginia wanted so badly to hug him. But if she got a hold of him she couldn't control her arms and would end up squeezing him in a spasm so tightly that he would scream to get free. This broke her heart, and ours, too.



Anyway, she went often to the Benedictine Monastery at St. Meinrad, and there met Brother Quentin, who put this book together. The monks there were so good to her, and made her little pine coffin that she wanted, and brought it to Ted and Ruth's for her to see and approve.



Virginia never had a "home". She was God's little hobo, and went wherever someone took her. She had great joy in her wracked little body, and we always had a great time when we had her with us. If she got to laughing too hard, she would go into a terrible muscle spasm and scare us to death.





She was in Mercy Hospital in 1966, seriously ill, and Ted and Ruth offered her a home. She was fading away and only had a few months. She had a room downstairs, and many visitors. A little altar was at the foot of her bed, where many priests said Mass. There is a sweet picture in the book of Ruth and Fr. Keith with Virginia during those last months. The Kiefer family was very good to her, and she loved being there in all that confusion and noise.



As Brother Quentin said, when Virginia died he did not pray for the repose of her soul. He prayed TO her. That's the way all of us felt. I have no idea if Virginia will ever be formally canonized by the church, nor is it important. Those of us who knew her, knew we were being touched by an Angel, and our lives were changed forever.



I read the first few pages in bed last night to Dick, and cried so hard I couldn't go on. I think it's her sweetness that gets you, and my memories of her being with me, and sharing in our life. And her total abandonment to God's will. How wonderful for Keith that he has such a patron saint. Reading Virginia's life in her own words is beautiful.



And if you're wondering how anyone so totally disabled could write lengthy letters, she did them on a typewriter that was rigged specially for her. I can't even imagine how long

it would have taken her to type a letter, but of course, 'time' for Virginia was different. She was in control of nothing, owned nothing, was able to do nothing but sit and lean, but she gave herself to God 100%, and to whatever His plan was for her.



You'll enjoy this book.





Virginia Cyr, God's Little Hobo

Noted Hagiographer Ann Ball's Web Site

Check out AnnBall.com - Ann's Friends

Kerry Ignores Reproaches of Some Bishops

The description of the Church is the New York Times take, but it is interesting that they describe it as "a kind of New Age church"...





From The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Kerry Ignores Reproaches of Some Bishops:



"Rejecting the admonitions of several national Roman Catholic leaders, Senator John Kerry received communion at Easter services today at the Paulist Center here, a kind of New Age church that describes itself as 'a worship community of Christians in the Roman Catholic tradition' and that attracts people drawn to its dedication to 'family religious education and social justice.'



Mr. Kerry's decision to receive communion represented a challenge to several prominent Catholic bishops, who have become increasingly exasperated with politicians who are Catholic but who deviate from Catholic teaching."

Push Amy's New Book to #1 on Amazon.com!

de-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of the Da Vinci Code

Have a Happy and Blessed Easter!

Saint Peter Chrysologus "golden-worded" was known for his clear and simple style of preaching. About the Resurrection of Christ and the angel's appearance at the tomb he preached:



"Pray that the angel would descend now and roll away all the hardness of our hearts and open up our closed senses and declare to our minds that Christ has risen, for just as the heart in which Christ lives and reigns is heaven, so also in the heart in which Christ remains dead and buried is a grave."

Lexington Bishop Cleans House

From Lexington bishop dismisses 5 top officials:



"Lexington Bishop Ronald Gainer is dismissing five high-ranking Catholic officials, four of them women, as part of a 'departmental reconfiguration.'



The director of pastoral services, Sister Helen Garvey; the parish leadership director, Sister Elizabeth Wendeln; educational ministries secretary Margaret Ralph; the director of ministry formation, Sister Iris Ann Ledden; and chief financial officer Stuart E. Duba are losing their jobs.



The firings stunned some of the diocese's 46,000 Catholics.



'I guess my first reaction was total shock and a deep, deep sadness,' said Sister Robbie Pentecost, executive director of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia. 'I know people are just heartsick all over the diocese.'



The dismissals are part of a reorganization that will be completed by July 1, the diocese said in a statement.



Gainer, Lexington's bishop since February 2003, announced the dismissals Friday in a letter to diocesan staff. "

You Did What?

I'm always reminded of people's horror stories of confessing to a priest who was hard of hearing, not that the pope is hard of hearing but that was the image that came to mind.



From MSNBC - Pope John Paul hearsGood Friday confessions:



"At the Vatican, the frail 83-year-old pontiff was wheeled into the basilica by aides and into a mahogany confessional booth near the main altar. He spent about an hour there, hearing the confessions of five men and six women of various nationalities.



In a taxing Holy Week schedule, John Paul, dressed in red vestments, presided over a late afternoon service in the basilica. The service commemorated the passion and death of Christ."

Father Benedict's Good Friday Thought

From Letter 4/9/04:



"'Behold the wood of the cross.' All around you people are experiencing their personal Calvary. But when you think of it, this is true in any neighborhood, any family, any place where human beings gather. Even working in a business office there are people going through their personal Calvary or, unfortunately, their personal hell. And this is why the great message of Good Friday is charity. God so loved the world that He sent His Son, and His Son brought us salvation and the hope of eternal life. Even the criminals and sadists who led Christ to Calvary were included in His prayer: 'Father, forgive them.'"

Eucharist Necessary to Remain Attached to The Vine--Jesus

From Pope John Paul II's Holy Thursday Homily:



To remain faithful to this request, to remain in him as shoots united to the vine, to love as he loved, it is necessary to nourish oneself with his Body and Blood. Saying to the apostles: "Do this in memory of me," the Lord has united the Church to the living memorial of his Pasch. Although he is the unique Priest of the New Covenant, he wished to have men, consecrated by the Holy Spirit, act in profound union with his Person in distributing the food of life.

Flights Banned Over Vatican

From Bloomberg.com: Europe:



"Italy has imposed a no-fly zone over Rome and boosted security against a possible terrorist attack as tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists arrive in the Vatican City for Easter, Corriere della Sera reported, citing police.



Non-commercial flights will be banned from taking off or landing around Rome on Easter Sunday and Monday, the paper said. Streets around the Vatican City and St. Peter's square will be closed to traffic.



About 12,000 police and 4,000 military are being deployed through Monday, including snipers placed in strategic points and surveillance helicopters, Il Messaggero reported yesterday. Pope John Paul II will conduct Easter Mass on Sunday to a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter's square. "

Last Days of My Lenten Meditations

They can be accessed by clicking on the gate to the right. These have been a rough draft of a book that I am working on that will be available before next Lent. The last posting will be on Easter Sunday.

No Travel Time Credit For Bishop O'Brien

From KPHO Phoenix - No Travel Time Credit For Bishop O'Brien:



"No break from the Judge for retired Bishop Thomas O'Brien regarding his probation!



You'll remember the Bishop was convicted and sentenced to a thousand hours of community service in the run and run death of pedestrian Jim Reed last year.



We told you Monday O'Brien requested that his travel time be included in his community service requirement.



Late Wednesday night the Judge ruled O'Brien will receive NO credit for the time he must travel to his counseling appointments."

De-Coding Da Vinci--Amy's Zenit Interview

From Zenit News Agency - The World Seen From Rome:



Q: What are the most important assertions about Christian origins that author Dan Brown makes in this novel? What seems to be disturbing people the most?



Welborn: Brown makes several assertions, none of which would be taken seriously by real, as opposed to fictional scholars.



The basis of the book is that Jesus, a mortal teacher of wisdom, was intent on reintroducing the notion of the "sacred feminine" back into human consciousness and experience. He drew followers, and was married to Mary Magdalene, whom he designated as the leader of his movement.



This was opposed by another party -- the "Peter party" -- which worked to suppress the truth, which was ultimately achieved through the actions of Emperor Constantine who "divinized" Jesus at the Council of Nicaea in 325.



It is this suggestion that the Christian Church has been engaged in a destructive cover-up of the truth that has disturbed readers, as well as the idea -- propped up by Brown's assertions that "historians believe" -- that Jesus was not experienced as divine by his earliest followers.



de-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of the Da Vinci Code

Maybe the Pope was Right about Iraq!

Sad that we probably will lose a pro-life president because he surrounded himself with horrible advisors.

Albany Priest's Death Ruled Suicide

From The Record:



"After more than three months of examination, autopsy results reveal that Minkler did commit suicide just days after allegations surfaced that he wrote a 1995 letter to the late Cardinal John O'Conner condemning Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard and other priests for having alleged homosexual relations.



Coroner Herman Thomas confirmed Tuesday by telephone from his home that it was a suicide, but made no official statement on the case. "

If Your Eye Offends You...

I remember Father Dick Teal telling the story of a University of Florida student doing the same thing (over twenty years ago)...

Amy, there is good Flannerish story to be told here.



WorldNetDaily: Man plucks out own eye, quotes Bible:



"A murder suspect in Grayson County, Texas, quoted a Bible verse after using his hand to pluck out his own right eye.



According to the Sherman Herald Democrat, confessed killer Andre Thomas was in a county jail cell directly across from the book-in station Friday when he turned his back on the jail staff. After hearing a scream, personnel saw Thomas turn around with his eyeball in his hand.



Thomas is no stranger to mutilation. Police say he killed his wife, son and wife's daughter in the woman's apartment, mutilating each victim. According to the report, Thomas turned himself into police the day the bodies were discovered, having cut himself with a knife. After undergoing surgery, Thomas was transferred to the Grayson County Jail and placed on 'suicide watch.' "

O'Malley--U.S. Like Babylon

And of course since we now occupy the historical Babylon as well, i.e. Iraq.



From TheBostonChannel.com - News - O'Malley: America Hostile To Catholics:



"Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley said American culture is inhospitable to Roman Catholic teaching, and likened preaching to Americans to a form of martyrdom.



'Today, our challenge is simple: to resist the temptation to conform to the culture of death, to consumerism, hedonism, individualism,' O'Malley told about 500 priests and 600 parishioners on Tuesday during Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The Mass, which included the blessing of sacred oils, was part of Holy Week, which culminates with Easter Sunday.



O'Malley compared the Catholic Church in the United States to 'exiles in the midst of Babylon.' He said Catholics 'find themselves in a hostile, alien environment where the overriding temptation is to assimilate, the cultural pull is to conform to a dominant cultural influence that is incongruous with our faith and our destiny.'



A Franciscan Capuchin friar, O'Malley spoke at length about the importance of preaching, which was a major preoccupation of St. Francis."

'Jesus and Paul'

I watched about ten minutes of this an it made my head spin. Christian hard rock music and constant flashing between art images and scenes from the modern middle east made it unwatchable in my estimation.



From Charlotte Allen on the ABC special, 'Jesus and Paul' -- Beliefnet.com:



"In 2000, ABC's Peter Jennings gave us 'The Search for Jesus,' a television special in which for the most part channeled the Jesus Seminar—that coven of iconoclastic New Testament scholars who contend that Jesus of Nazareth didn't say or do many of the things reported in the Gospels. Jenning's new 'Jesus and Paul: The Word and the Witness,' shows Jesus and Paul, but also a Jennings chastened perhaps by the criticism he got four years ago for leaning so heavily on skeptics: 'Jesus and Paul' is far more balanced, and more respectful of traditional beliefs, about the man whom Christians call savior."

Kerry Presents Himself for Communion

At an AME church...



They should have refused him, because he isn't in "communion" with them--but I think it shows what he thinks of anyone's religious tradition.



From Politics News Article | Reuters.com:



"After surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right shoulder, Democrat John Kerry eased back onto the campaign trail Sunday, shaking hands at first with his left arm but forgoing the political traditions of back-slapping and baby-hoisting.



Despite his doctor's estimate that it would be 'a week or two' until he could shake hands in the normal fashion, Kerry appeared to be in no pain as he used his right arm later to greet churchgoers in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood.



A Catholic, Kerry marked Palm Sunday and the start of Easter week at the Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church where he was given a hero's welcome.



'We're thankful that there's going to be a revolution in this country ... a new movement,' declared pastor Gregory Groover. '



And we say, God, bring him on, the next president of the United States.'



Kerry, who has worshiped at the predominantly black church at least twice before, and his wife Teresa both took communion. "



For more on this issue, see my previous post on plans by the Kerry campaign to find a priest who'll refuse him--read the comments if you are with the Kerry campaign, Father Brian has posted his contact info (including confession times)!

deja vue

Shortly after our arrival at the hotel in Cincinnati the power went out. A couple of hours this time and in not in the middle of the summer. In fact the forecast for last night and today is for snow.

Last Week of Lenten Meditations

They continue to be posted at the right, click on the gate-->

"Moment of Difficulty is a Time of Hope"

Pope's Address to the American Bishops



From the Vatican Information Service:



"Our meetings," the Pope said, "are taking place at a difficult time in the history of the Church in the United States. Many of you have already spoken to me of the pain caused by the sexual abuse scandal of the past two years and the urgent need for rebuilding confidence and promoting healing between Bishops, priests and the laity in your country. I am confident that the willingness which you have shown in acknowledging and addressing past mistakes and failures, while at the same time seeking to learn from them, will contribute greatly to this work of reconciliation and renewal."



He added that "the history of the Church demonstrates that there can be no effective reform without interior renewal" for individuals, groups and institutions. For a bishop, "the challenge of interior renewal must involve an integral understanding of his service as 'pastor gregis'." To be effective, the Bishop's "apostolic authority must be seen first and foremost as a religious witness to the Risen Lord, to the truth of the Gospel and to the mystery of salvation present and at work in the Church. ... The renewal of the Church is thus closely linked to the renewal of the episcopal office. The Bishop ... must be the first to conform his life to Christ in holiness and constant conversion."



"Dear Brothers," continued John Paul, "I wish to reaffirm my confidence in the Church in America, my appreciation of the deep faith of America's Catholics and my gratitude for their many contributions to American society and to the life of the Church throughout the world. Viewed with the eyes of faith, the present moment of difficulty is also a moment of hope, that hope which 'does not disappoint' (Rom 5:5), because it is rooted in the Holy Spirit, who constantly raises up new energies, callings and missions within the Body of Christ."



"The Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, celebrated in the wake of the epochal events of September 11, 2001, rightly noted that the Bishop is called to be a prophet, witness and servant of hope to the world ... because he makes that hope present through his pastoral ministry, centered as it is on the three 'munera' of sanctifying, teaching and governing. The exercise of this prophetic witness in contemporary American society has, as many of you have pointed out, been made increasingly difficult by the aftermath of the recent scandal and the outspoken hostility to the Gospel in certain sectors of public opinion, yet it cannot be evaded or delegated to others. Precisely because American society is confronted by a disturbing loss of the sense of the transcendent and the affirmation of a culture of the material and the ephemeral, it desperately needs such a witness of hope."



"For this reason," the Holy Father concluded, "I pray that our meetings will not only strengthen the hierarchical communion which unites the Successor of Peter with his Brother Bishops in the United States, but will bear abundant fruit for the growth of your own local Churches in unity and in missionary zeal for the spread of the Gospel."

Kerry to Bait Priest into Refusing Him Communion

Quite frankly, I fail to see how this would win him any support from those who don't support him presently. The pro-life crowd would love the priest and applaud the action as heroic, those who don't know about Kerry's position would be made aware of it and there could be some who don't even know that he's Catholic.



From The American Spectator:



"The Kerry campaign was said to be surprised at the coverage their candidate received for attending Mass while on vacation in Idaho. 'You saw conservatives all up in arms that he was receiving communion, when most American Catholics do the same thing and live a life very similar to the senator's: divorced, pro-choice, etcetera,' says the Kerry adviser. 'It just highlights how out of touch the right wing is with America, and we can play to that.'



To that end, according to other sources inside the Kerry camp, aides are attempting to identify a Catholic diocese, and perhaps even a specific priest and church, where Kerry could attend a Mass with reporters present, and be turned away at the altar attempting to receive communion. "

Update on Father Groeschel

From Letter 3/31/04:



"Fr. Benedict is recovering slowly but surely. He's taken 28 steps on one occasion. For a short time he had to return to the hospital from the nursing home for what could have been a dangerous situation. Thank God that the test produced that his functioning was of a healthy body. In this regard he asked for your continued prayer especially in the next few weeks, his walking and movement will be determined. Of course he continues to ask for our prayers."

New Bishop of Richmond

Pope John Paul II has named Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, who has headed the Diocese of Honolulu for the past 10 years, to be bishop of Richmond, Va.



He succeeds Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, who retired last September.

Update on Terri Schiavo

From Father Rob Johansen 's blog Thrown Back:



"And, unfortunately, the news isn't good.



Yesterday, Judge George Greer handed down a ruling denying a motion filed by Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri's parents. The motion requested that Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband and guardian, be held in Contempt of Court for failing to comply with a 1996 order issued by another judge. That order required Michael to keep Bob and Mary apprised of Terri's medical condition. "

Pope Urges Weekly Confession

From Pope urges weekly Confession:



"Pope John Paul II has called attention to the importance of sacramental Confession in the spiritual lives of all Catholics, especially priests.



The Holy Father recommended the practice of weekly confession, which he follows himself. He said that 'those who go to Confession frequently, and do so with the desire to make process' will notice the strides that they make in their spiritual lives.



'It would be an illusion to seek after holiness, according to the vocation one has received from God, without partaking frequently of this sacrament of conversion and reconciliation,' he said.



He said it provides spiritual assistance other than the remission of sins. Penance, he said, 'involves purification, in both the act of the penitent, who lays bare his conscience because of the deep need to be pardoned and reborn.' "

Amy in the Orlando Sentinel

From OrlandoSentinel.com: Lifestyle:



"'Readers are naturally intrigued by codes and puzzles and conspiracy,' said Amy Welborn, author of April's de-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code, one of several new or forthcoming books about the novel and its controversial plot.



'I treat issues of Christian origins, but I also take a look at questions about Leonardo, the Priory of Sion, the Holy Grail, the sacred feminine and Opus Dei,' she said. 'It's really a handbook for understanding the claims made in the novel.'



The Da Vinci Code is on its way to the big screen, with Ron Howard as director. It already has been the subject of a prime-time TV special on ABC."



The book comes out tomorrow...



de-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of the Da Vinci Code

Why Would an Episcopal Female Priest Become a Catholic?

Why would Lutheran female ministers convert to a church that doesn't ordain women? In all fourteen well educated women tell their stories in the most remarkable "convert" book ever.



Available now...







The Catholic Mystique: Fourteen Women Find Fulfillment in the Catholic Church

U.S. Ad limina Visits with Pope Continue

The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:



- Six prelates from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on their "ad limina" visit:



- Archbishop John Clement Favalora of Miami, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Felipe de Jesus Estevez.



- Bishop John Kevin Boland of Savannah.



- Bishop Norbert M. Dorsey, C.P., of Orlando, accompanied by Coadjutor Bishop Thomas Gerard Wenski.



- Bishop Gerald Michael Barbarito of Palm Beach.



- Bishop-elect Alberto Ricardo da Silva of Dili, East Timor.

Defiant Kerry to Archbishop Burke...

From TIME.com: A Test of Kerry's Faith:



"If anything, the church is getting tougher. The Vatican issued last year a 'doctrinal note' warning Catholic lawmakers that they have a 'grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them.' When Kerry campaigned in Missouri in February, St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke publicly warned him 'not to present himself for Communion'—an ostracism that Canon Law 915 reserves for 'those who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin.' Kerry was scheduled to be in St. Louis last Sunday, and told TIME, 'I certainly intend to take Communion and continue to go to Mass as a Catholic.' "

Man Disturbs Mass to Defend Gay Marriage

Writes for NCR...while I disagree with what he did, I do agree with one statement that he makes in this piece...as a Catholic he is free to attend any Mass--its what makes us Catholics...



From Yahoo! News - Man Disturbs Mass to Defend Gay Marriage:



"'I just found it to be such a scurrilous, scandalous piece of misinformation,' Colbert said. 'For me to sit there and take it is out of the question.'



Colbert is a freelance writer who contributes stories to the National Catholic Reporter, an independent weekly newspaper that has endorsed same-sex marriage.



'My life is very similar to the people in there,' Colbert told New England Cable News outside the church. 'I want to be married, I have a wonderful partner, we're building a life together, it in no way threatens anyone else.'



Archdiocese spokesman the Rev. Christopher Coyne said it was appropriate to show the video and said only Colbert objected.



'He's not even a member of that parish,' he said. 'He doesn't even worship in Canton. He was obviously alerted and decided to disrupt that Mass.' "

American Ad Limina Visits Began Today

The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:



- Six prelates from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on their "ad limina" visit:



- Archbishop John Francis Donoghue of Atlanta.



- Bishop Robert Joseph Baker of Charleston, accompanied by Bishop emeritus David Bernard Thompson.



- Bishop Peter Joseph Jugis of Charlotte, accompanied by Bishop emeritus William George Curlin.



- Bishop Francis Joseph Gossman of Raleigh.

Saginaw Bishop Dies

Although a liberal, he was a likeable man. I attended a Day of Recollection that he gave some years ago, his most impressive feat besides having a wooden leg and walking relatively normal was that he memorized the Gospel for every Mass. Please offer your prayers for him...



From Saginaw bishop dies from complications with leukemia - 3/28/04:



"The Rev. Kenneth E. Untener, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw since 1980, died Saturday, March 27, 2004, from complications with leukemia, the diocese said. He was 66.

A native Detroiter, Rev. Untener died at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Infirmary in Monroe.



Cardinal Adam Maida, Detroit's archbishop, released a statement Saturday night saying Rev. Untener will be fondly remembered.



"Priests in Michigan, and around the country, are familiar with Ken Untener's writings, his retreats, his theological and pastoral talks," Maida said. "My brother bishop had a fervor for ministry. His smile and sense of humor will be deeply missed by us all. "

Archbishop, "No More Letter Writing Campaigns"

The early draft of the liturgy abuse document referred to below had a provision for writing the bishop or Vatican to report abuse, but I guess you won't be able to do that in St. Paul. While being sympathetic to the Archbishop, how can you disregard your flock?



From Archbishop urges group to halt e-mails:



"For several years, Catholic Parents Online, a group that says it promotes the church's 'Absolute Truth,' has filled the e-mail box of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis with messages from members imploring Archbishop Harry Flynn to address certain church issues.



The group is particularly concerned about acceptance of gays and lesbians in some parishes, which it opposes.



It says it succeeded in getting his ear in at least two cases.

But that apparently changed Tuesday when the group's president, Colleen Perfect, received a letter from Flynn asking that the 'assault' on his office be stopped. Included in the mailing were copies of 34 e-mails he recently received from group members.



'From now on I am sending to you all the letters which assault my office because of communications which you have made,' Flynn wrote. 'I must remind you that I am the archbishop and choose to influence in a different manner than you and many of the people who would write to me. I think it is totally unfair of you to engage others in these letter writing, e-mail campaigns. So, since it is you who have contacted these people, you are the one who will receive all of their responses.'"

Liturgical Abuse Document Signed by Pope

Will be released next month...



From CNS STORY: VATICAN LETTER Mar-26-2004 (770 words) Backgrounder. xxxi:



"A long-awaited Vatican document on liturgical abuse has been signed by Pope John Paul II and is expected to be published after Easter.



The Latin text is being translated into various languages, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said in late March. Other Vatican sources said the document probably would be ready for release toward the end of April."

Oil is Seeping from Icon in Bethlehem, PA

From mcall.com - Believers say oil is seeping from icon in Bethlehem:



"The metropolitan said the oil would serve to draw attention to the cross and its meaning. He did not call it a miracle, though some in this church of 700 families are inclined to believe it is one.



''What message is trying to send us?'' wondered Varvarelis's wife, Maria, discerning a divine hand at work behind the oil. ''Sometimes a little sign like this makes you nervous, because you don't know what might happen. But we are excited about it.''



Christian history is rich with accounts of icons and statues bleeding or weeping, communion hosts defying gravity, dried saint's blood liquefying on holy days.



Some have been debunked as natural occurrences -- condensation, for example -- or outright hoaxes. Others are unexplained.



This month, at a Roman Catholic church in Medford, Mass., parishioners reported seeing a statue of the Virgin Mary shedding tears."

Sheen Cause Continues to Advance

I am a big supporter of this cause and have free holy cards available to those who desire them. For more info click here.



From Northwest Indiana News: nwitimes.com - News:



"Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, an Illinois native, is one step closer to becoming the first American-born male saint in the Catholic Church. Roman church officials have renewed formal contact with the nonprofit Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation and its local co-founder, Gregg Ladd of Highland.



In a Jan. 23 letter, Roman Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, wrote that the Vatican's internal inquisition regarding Sheen's vices and virtues has been given holy confirmation to proceed to the next step.

'Exploring his background, we find him excellent ...' Martins wrote.



Ladd, lay director of Sheen's cause, said he's been in contact with sources close to the Vatican informing him that the cause is moving at a faster pace than expected.



'This is a giant step,' said Ladd, who's dedicated himself the past eight years to getting Sheen canonized."

Oh, Oh

I guess that would mean no more NFL or Sunday night television...



From Yahoo! News - Pope says Sundays for God, not sports:



"Pope John Paul (news - web sites) says Sunday should be a day for God, not for secular diversions like entertainment and sports.



'When Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes subordinate to a secular concept of 'weekend' dominated by such things as entertainment and sport, people stay locked within a horizon so narrow that they can no longer see the heavens,' the pontiff said in a speech to Australian bishops.



John Paul criticised the 'culture of the 'here and now'', urging Church leaders to 'lead men and women from the shadows of moral confusion and ambiguous thinking'. "

Diocese Sued By Devout Catholic

Injured while playing Bingo, threatened with excommunication if she sued...who can make this stuff up?



From Diocese Sued By Devout Catholic - from TBO.com:



"Robert was attending a night bingo session at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pinellas Park on June 11, 2003, when, according to the lawsuit, she was seriously injured by a negligently maintained bathroom stall that collapsed on her as she was leaving the restroom.



About six weeks later, Robert received a telephone call from a man who identified himself as a ``monsignor from the chancery,'' the lawsuit states. The caller warned her not to file a lawsuit or otherwise seek compensation for her injuries, and threatened her with excommunication if she did, the lawsuit states.



``Due to the monsignor's threat of excommunication from her lifelong devotion to the Catholic Church, [Robert] was caused to receive severe emotional distress that has caused angina attacks and a series of minor strokes with a serious concern for a major stroke which may be life threatening,'' the lawsuit states.



Robert is a sensitive woman and a witness to her end of the telephone exchange can verify that it left her very upset, her attorney, Thomas M. Woodruff, said Wednesday. "

Former Vocation Director of Syracuse Discloses He's Gay

I have a good friend who is a priest in this diocese, Fred Daley was his vocation director-I've met him a few times and I doubt anyone is surprised by this announcement.



From Rev. Daley discloses he's gay:



"The Rev. Fred Daley, longtime pastor at St. Francis DeSales Church on Eagle Street, trusts the community will continue to accept him after his acknowledgment that he is gay.



He made the disclosure during an interview with the Observer-Dispatch Thursday. The interview was in advance of Daley's 'Real Hero' award, which he accepted from the United Way of the Greater Utica Area Thursday evening. The award was in recognition of his social ministry on Hospitality Row, where many of Utica's poor are served.



'I'm the same person today as I was yesterday,' he said. 'My expectation and prayer is that people will continue to love and respect me.'

Daley said he shared this information with the bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse as well as a few close friends and family members.

Celibacy is a 'charism,' or a gift for some people, he said.



'I myself am gay, and I am committed to living a celibate life,' he said.



Despite a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety about coming out publicly, Daley said he feels called by God to do so and is ready to accept whatever 'rejection or misunderstanding surrounding this.' "