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.