Document Banning Homosexuals to Priesthood Still in the Works

As usual a good report from John Allen who also gives us the ways that bishops who want to ordain homosexuals will get around the document.



From John Allen and The Word From Rome May 28, 2004:



"In fact, however, the document is far from dead.



'The Holy Father wants it, so there will have to be a document,' a senior Vatican official told NCR in late May. This official offered no prediction, however, as to when the document might appear.



As to content, the official said the document would to some extent repeat the norms contained in a 1961 instruction of the Congregation for Religious, titled Religiosorum institution, which stated: 'Those affected by the perverse inclination to homosexuality or pederasty should be excluded from religious vows and ordination.'



One key is what exactly the term 'homosexuality' means. At one pole, a single same-sex attraction experienced years ago and never acted upon might mark someone as 'homosexual.' The other pole might restrict the definition of 'homosexuality' to active and on-going sexual behavior. Most people would probably reject the former as overly strict, and the latter as overly loose. The question, then, is where to fall in between.



The senior Vatican official told NCR the document would likely not settle this question.



'It's not reasonable to expect the Holy See to get into those details,' the official said. 'That's something that almost has to be determined on a case-by-case basis.'



It seems therefore probable that bishops will retain some flexibility in deciding how to apply whatever standards are set out in the document. Dioceses that have a strict policy against the admission of homosexuals will continue, but those who emphasize a candidate's capacity for celibacy, rather than sexual orientation in se, could argue that such a candidate is not 'homosexual' in the sense intended under the norms.



It's possible, therefore, that the thunderclap the document will cause in the press will not be matched by change."

Scranton Seminary Closes

I still think that the Bishops should focus on closing many of these regional seminaries and then send students to two or three large seminaries where the best priest educators could be located. But given the level of agreement on anything I doubt that is possible.



From Scranton Times Tribune:



"Citing a shortage of priests and the lack of those interested in becoming priests, Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph F. Martino announced Thursday the shutting of St. Pius X Seminary.



The 41-year-old seminary, which has trained more than 1,100 graduates, will officially close Sunday as the academic year culminates with graduation ceremonies at the University of Scranton."

+RIP

I worked for Mike Trainor when I taught at Jesuit High School in Tampa, FL. He was a good man and I was shocked to hear of his death when I was in Cincinnati this past week. Please remember him in your prayers.



From The Cincinnati Post:



"Nationally known educator Mike Trainor, who helped build St. Xavier High School into one of the nation's best college preparatory schools, died Tuesday evening at his home in Dayton.



Mr. Trainor, 59, served as principal for the Jesuit, all-boys school in Finneytown from 1978 to 1993, and hired many who still teach at the school today, current principal Dave Mueller said.



'I think in many ways he was considered to be the dean of high school principals in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,' Mueller said.

Friends remembered Mr. Trainor as a big man, an Ernest Hemingway look-alike, who could dominate a room with his intellect, personality and Irish wit. "

Pope About Soul-less U.S.

From Yahoo! News - Pope Worries About 'Soulless' U.S. Life:



"The American church 'is called to respond to the profound religious needs and aspirations of a society increasingly in danger of forgetting its spiritual roots and yielding to a purely materialistic and soulless vision of the world,' John Paul said.



'Taking up this challenge, however, will require a realistic and comprehensive reading of the 'signs of the times,' in order to develop a persuasive presentation of the Catholic faith and prepare young people especially to dialogue with their contemporaries about the Christian message and its relevance to the building of a more just, humane and peaceful world.' "

Cardinal Law Given Job

From Tuscaloosa News:



Pope John Paul II on Thursday gave Cardinal Bernard F. Law an official position in Rome, naming the former Boston archbishop who resigned in the sex abuse scandal as head of a basilica.



Law will have the title archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica, a largely ceremonial post often given to retired prelates.



The 72-year-old Law resigned Dec. 13, 2002, to quell an outcry over his handling of sex abuse cases.



He moved from Boston and became resident chaplain at a convent in Maryland, although he retained his membership on nine Vatican congregations and councils, traveling frequently to Rome. He attended a number of the events during celebrations for John Paul's 25th anniversary as pontiff in October.

Meet 'God's little hobo'

From Meet 'God's little hobo' - The Catholic Moment:



"Disabled, abandoned, institutionalized and molested.



Who would fault Virginia Cyr if she had become bitter toward life and angry at God?



She was neither.



Friends marveled how Virginia was full of love and joy, known for her wide smile and rich deep faith, despite the cerebral palsy that kept her in a wheelchair, and despite her mother abandoning her as a little girl.



In her quietest of times, Virginia poured out her heart in daily "letters to Mother" -- to Mary, the Mother of Jesus.



"Mother, here at last I may be with you. I just love typing letters to you, seeing your sweet smile, cuddling close to your heart, being with you in the silence of God. Thank you for being always here to embrace all that is heaven, and earth, in me," she once typed.



Mary became the mother Virginia never had.



In her letters from 1962-66, before Virginia's death on Feb. 3, 1967, at age 24, Virginia reveals her love to the Blessed Mother, along with her prayers, hopes and dreams to join a religious order.

Life as a sister was never meant to be."

New Father Groeschel Book

There Are No Accidents: In All Things Trust in God