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. "