What a public relations nightmare...seems dealing with this silently would have made more sense.
From East Valley Tribune | Daily Arizona news for Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale:
"A marriage ceremony over the holidays, performed outside of the Catholic Church and without a priest, violated church law and has led to the firing of the diocese's Child and Youth Protection Advocate --the person responsible for ensuring sexual misconduct by church personnel doesn't occur again in the diocese.
Jenny O'Connor, 47, said she was dismissed Saturday after acknowledging to the Rev. Fred Adamson, a vicargeneral, that she and her boyfriend married without the sanctity of a Catholic wedding because he is dying from cancer and they did not believe there was time to plan for and hold a church wedding.
'They asked me to come in and just asked me why I got married, and I told them,' O'Connor said Tuesday from her Tempe home. 'They said it was outside the boundaries of being a good Catholic, and I explained all the reasons why.'
'They didn't seem to think that any of that is important, and that was it,' O'Connor said. She said she was first asked to resign, but when she declined, she was terminated. "
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
A Book Review of The Power of the Cross
For a copy of the book click on the cover image posted in the right hand column.
Thanks to Monsignor Vincent Haut, Pastor of Resurection Parish in Jacksonville, FL:
Thanks to Monsignor Vincent Haut, Pastor of Resurection Parish in Jacksonville, FL:
I knew Michael Dubruiel when he and I were much younger. In those days he was determined to do his best to preach the Gospel. He was a fiery preacher and relentless searcher for authentic faith. Reading his book is like hearing him speak again. He speaks with a desire for Christ and a passion for the Gospel that has become more refined and more insistent over the years.
This will be a good Lenten book for many people because it is divided into 42 short chapters, each of which provides a scriptural passage, some incisvive reflection, and a set of steps to take one day at a time. Whether you use it as a Lenten devotional or simply as a book of reflections, you will sense some of the author's fire and rediscover the hope that comes from the Cross.
I like this sort of book because it fits my life. Breaking things into short manageable segments is the best way to move through a book about Christ's passion. We discover what Christ means for us by following the recurring pattern set up for us in Michael Dubruiel's new book.
One Year Ago Today
From Father Benedict:
On January 11, I have an anniversary. It’s one that I never particularly wanted to have, or look forward to, but nonetheless it’s coming around. As I was thinking of this anniversary, I decided not to make it the anniversary of the day I almost died, but rather the anniversary of the day I came back from the dead.
I’m very grateful to God to be back and to be able to work and especially to have the use of my brain and mind. Just why I have this is quite mysterious and can be attributed only to God. Your brain cannot last for more than three or four minutes without oxygen; then it begins to deteriorate. Apparently I went twenty-seven minutes without oxygen or any vital signs, including blood pressure. No one can explain it, or at least nobody can explain it in medical terms.
I had several close calls in the first week, one just as close as the night of the accident, but the Lord obviously wanted me remain here and get some things done. How do you feel about life when you’re in such a situation? It’s very simple: You’re not looking for or desiring anything special, you just want to get your work done peacefully and as best you can and get going on the next step of the spiritual journey, which for most of us is that mysterious reality called Purgatory. Having trusted God all these years and looking forward over the edge of death, I have to say that Purgatory doesn’t scare me at all. It can’t be any worse than being on a respirator for nine weeks, at least I don’t think it can be.
I’ve learned over the past year to be very grateful to God that I have life and that I know how to use it well from the holy Gospel. I’m grateful to the Church for all the friends and brothers and sisters that it gives me. I’m grateful to my family and my immediate friends for all the support they gave me. I’m very grateful to my community of brothers and sisters who stood by me in this terrible time. I’m grateful for so many people, friends and relatives. I’m grateful to you who have cared about me, prayed for me, and watched this little website to see how we’re all doing.
Let’s celebrate together. Let’s say a prayer.
On January 11, I have an anniversary. It’s one that I never particularly wanted to have, or look forward to, but nonetheless it’s coming around. As I was thinking of this anniversary, I decided not to make it the anniversary of the day I almost died, but rather the anniversary of the day I came back from the dead.
I’m very grateful to God to be back and to be able to work and especially to have the use of my brain and mind. Just why I have this is quite mysterious and can be attributed only to God. Your brain cannot last for more than three or four minutes without oxygen; then it begins to deteriorate. Apparently I went twenty-seven minutes without oxygen or any vital signs, including blood pressure. No one can explain it, or at least nobody can explain it in medical terms.
I had several close calls in the first week, one just as close as the night of the accident, but the Lord obviously wanted me remain here and get some things done. How do you feel about life when you’re in such a situation? It’s very simple: You’re not looking for or desiring anything special, you just want to get your work done peacefully and as best you can and get going on the next step of the spiritual journey, which for most of us is that mysterious reality called Purgatory. Having trusted God all these years and looking forward over the edge of death, I have to say that Purgatory doesn’t scare me at all. It can’t be any worse than being on a respirator for nine weeks, at least I don’t think it can be.
I’ve learned over the past year to be very grateful to God that I have life and that I know how to use it well from the holy Gospel. I’m grateful to the Church for all the friends and brothers and sisters that it gives me. I’m grateful to my family and my immediate friends for all the support they gave me. I’m very grateful to my community of brothers and sisters who stood by me in this terrible time. I’m grateful for so many people, friends and relatives. I’m grateful to you who have cared about me, prayed for me, and watched this little website to see how we’re all doing.
Let’s celebrate together. Let’s say a prayer.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Biggest Non-story of the Day
I listen to sports radio normally on my way to work. This morning all the talk was about Randy Moss and his "mooning" of the Green Bay crowd, comparing it to Janet Jackson's stunt at the Super Bowl last year. What all of these people have failed to mention is that he didn't actually moon anyone. He pretended. Until I read the piece below I thought I had missed what I actually saw when the event happened on live TV.
From 24-Hour Sports News - Vikings upset Packers, move on to Philly - sacbee.com:
"Meanwhile Moss - whose reputation is still smarting for skulking off the field with 2 seconds left in a loss in Washington last week - pretended to pull down his pants and moon the crowd after scoring.
'Just having a little fun with the boys a little bit,' he told FOX. 'I hope I don't get in trouble by it, but if I do I'll take the heat.'
The Packers were feeling good after winning nine of their last 11 and drawing the Vikings, who had lost 20 of their last 22 games outside of domes.
You never would have guessed."
From 24-Hour Sports News - Vikings upset Packers, move on to Philly - sacbee.com:
"Meanwhile Moss - whose reputation is still smarting for skulking off the field with 2 seconds left in a loss in Washington last week - pretended to pull down his pants and moon the crowd after scoring.
'Just having a little fun with the boys a little bit,' he told FOX. 'I hope I don't get in trouble by it, but if I do I'll take the heat.'
The Packers were feeling good after winning nine of their last 11 and drawing the Vikings, who had lost 20 of their last 22 games outside of domes.
You never would have guessed."
Sunday, January 9, 2005
Where is God?
I have been preparing for a series of talks that I am to give to a group of Christian ministers of various denominations later this month on the subject of "finding God where you are". When I agreed to the task I felt that I it would be a simple matter, then the magnitude of this Asian dissaster and the incessant chanting of the crowd "Where is God?" has made it clear that my task will be more difficult...or will it?
It struck me this morning that if I believed in the God of the philosophers as Abraham Joshua Heschel used to term the god that most people argue with than this would indeed be the case. But the God of the Scriptures, "the God of Old" as one modern Jewish author has termed God is not a distant God and as a Christian that is the God that I worship this Sunday.
Start with the cross. Then think God and you'll see that all your distant god arguments start to dwindle. The Nancy Grifth song "From a Distance"..."God is watching us from a distance" while beautiful is actually heretical. Try this is on for size...
Philip says to Jesus: "Show us the Father."
Jesus tells Philip:"He who sees me (Jesus) has seen the Father."
Elie Wiesel told a story that I quote in my Praying in the Presence of Our Lord with Fulton Sheen book about a young boy being hung on the gallows between two older men in the concentration camp. The old men shout political slogans as they quickly die. The young innocent lingers on and says nothing. The inmates of the camp are forced to watch the whole ordeal as they march back and forth in front of the gallows. Someone in the crowd cries out, "Where is God now?" Wiesel tells of watching the young childs eyes as he slowly dies. "Where is God now?" the person screams again. Wiesel says something that Christians immediately recognize differently than the meaning that Wiesel has in saying them: "There he is hanging on that gallows." I think that for Wiesel that in the death of this child any hope that God existed was extinguished. But for the Christian there is an immediate recognition of the child as a Christ figure who like the early followers of Jesus the Son of God all met cruel deaths that were similar to the death of their Lord. In the young man God was being hung.
Chistianity in its good moments does not keep God at a distance. It recognizes God has come to dwell with us. It also remembers that the Lord said that the Kingdom suffers violence so it is not surprised when the innocent suffer--in fact I think it might be fair to say that we should be more surprised when we don't suffer.
In the end Jesus told his disciples that there would be two groups of people that all of humanity would be divided into the sheep and the goats. The difference between the two groups would be that one recognized God in the face of the hungry, thirsty, stranger, the naked, the imprisoned, the infirmed while the other group did not. The surprise of the other group is marked no doubt by their search for God in the distance, "When did we see you Lord?"
It is good that in response to this disaster that so many are responding with heartfelt generousity to help those who have suffered. In doing so we are helping God who is not off in the distance plotting the next disaster but clings to the wood of the cross as the storm seeks to destroy him yet again.
It struck me this morning that if I believed in the God of the philosophers as Abraham Joshua Heschel used to term the god that most people argue with than this would indeed be the case. But the God of the Scriptures, "the God of Old" as one modern Jewish author has termed God is not a distant God and as a Christian that is the God that I worship this Sunday.
Start with the cross. Then think God and you'll see that all your distant god arguments start to dwindle. The Nancy Grifth song "From a Distance"..."God is watching us from a distance" while beautiful is actually heretical. Try this is on for size...
Philip says to Jesus: "Show us the Father."
Jesus tells Philip:"He who sees me (Jesus) has seen the Father."
Elie Wiesel told a story that I quote in my Praying in the Presence of Our Lord with Fulton Sheen book about a young boy being hung on the gallows between two older men in the concentration camp. The old men shout political slogans as they quickly die. The young innocent lingers on and says nothing. The inmates of the camp are forced to watch the whole ordeal as they march back and forth in front of the gallows. Someone in the crowd cries out, "Where is God now?" Wiesel tells of watching the young childs eyes as he slowly dies. "Where is God now?" the person screams again. Wiesel says something that Christians immediately recognize differently than the meaning that Wiesel has in saying them: "There he is hanging on that gallows." I think that for Wiesel that in the death of this child any hope that God existed was extinguished. But for the Christian there is an immediate recognition of the child as a Christ figure who like the early followers of Jesus the Son of God all met cruel deaths that were similar to the death of their Lord. In the young man God was being hung.
Chistianity in its good moments does not keep God at a distance. It recognizes God has come to dwell with us. It also remembers that the Lord said that the Kingdom suffers violence so it is not surprised when the innocent suffer--in fact I think it might be fair to say that we should be more surprised when we don't suffer.
In the end Jesus told his disciples that there would be two groups of people that all of humanity would be divided into the sheep and the goats. The difference between the two groups would be that one recognized God in the face of the hungry, thirsty, stranger, the naked, the imprisoned, the infirmed while the other group did not. The surprise of the other group is marked no doubt by their search for God in the distance, "When did we see you Lord?"
It is good that in response to this disaster that so many are responding with heartfelt generousity to help those who have suffered. In doing so we are helping God who is not off in the distance plotting the next disaster but clings to the wood of the cross as the storm seeks to destroy him yet again.
Saturday, January 8, 2005
Vatican Lists 15 Missionaries Who Suffered Violent Deaths in 2004
From Zenit.org:
This was the list of slain missionaries:
-- Brother Ignacio García Alonso, headmaster of the College of the Brothers of Christian Schools, in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, was killed with a machete in his office Feb. 6.
The 63-year-old Spanish religious had spent more than 40 years as a missionary in Morocco, Niger and Burkina Faso.
-- Father César Darío Peña Garcia, 43, a parish priest at Raudal in Valdivia, Colombia, was kidnapped March 16 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). On July 30 the diocesan vicar of Santa Rosa de Osos affirmed that the local Church was certain that the priest had been killed while in captivity.
-- Comboni Father Luciano Fulvi, 76, was found dead with a stab wound March 31 in his room at the Catholic Mission of Layibi, in the outskirts of Gulu, Uganda.
The Italian missionary had been in Uganda from 1956 to 1964 and then since 1990. He was mainly involved in education and more recently in vocation work.
-- Javed Anjum, a 19-year-old Catholic Pakistani student from Quetta, died May 2 in a hospital from 26 stab wounds inflicted by a Muslim teacher and group of students from the Jamia Hassan bin Almurtaza School of Islam near Islamabad. They had tried to force him to convert to Islam.
On April 17 the students abducted Javed and tortured him for five days. They then took him to the police station and reported that he had been caught stealing. The police took Anjum to the hospital where he died of his wounds 10 days later.
-- Samuel Masih, a Catholic Pakistani youth arrested and accused of blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed in August 2003, died in hospital on May 28. He had been treated for months for injuries suffered in prison at the hands of Islamic fundamentalist prison guards.
The youth was charged with blasphemy after the owner of bookshop told the police that he saw him depositing garbage near the walls of a mosque in Lahore.
-- Father Ramon Navarrete Islas, a 56-year-old Mexican priest, was found dead in the house next to the parish church where he was serving at Ciudad Juarez.
His body was found July 6 with numerous stab wounds in the chest. Police said the murderer or murderers were robbers.
-- Servite Father Faustino Gazziero, 69, was stabbed to death July 24 at the end of evening Mass in the cathedral of Santiago, Chile.
The Italian-born priest was attacked and stabbed by a young man as the priest was returning to the sacristy. Father Gazziero went on mission to Chile in 1960. He held various duties and for some years had been president of the Santa Teresa Foundation which ran several schools in Chile.
-- Father Eusebio Manuel Sazo Urbina, 45, parish priest at the Divine Savior of the World Church in the suburbs of Guatemala City, was killed July 31.
The Guatemalan priest had been en route to the home of a sick person he was attacked by a gunman who apparently tried to steal his mobile telephone. The priest died of his wounds at a hospital.
-- Nasir Masih, Pakistani Catholic aged 26, was abducted from his home Aug. 16 in the district of Baldia Siekhupoura, 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Lahore, by a group of fundamentalist Muslims who accused him of stealing.
A few hours later the police informed the family that Masih was under arrest. Three days later the police said he had died in prison. His body showed numerous wounds and bruises.
-- Father Job Chittilappilly, 71, was found dead with numerous stab wounds Aug. 28 in his home next to the parish church of Our Lady of Grace in the village of Thuruthiparambu, Kerala, India.
The Indian priest was attacked and murdered while reciting the rosary before Mass. The Syro-Malabar rite priest had received threats and warnings to stop "proselytizing."
-- Father Gerard Fitzsimons, 63, was found dead Oct. 2 at his home next to the Church of St. Mary and St. Joseph in Colesberg, South Africa. The British priest had been on mission in South Africa for seven years and was involved in assisting the poor and people with HIV/AIDS.
-- Father Macrino Nájera Cisneros, a 42-year-old parish priest at Jilotlan, Mexico, was slain Oct. 18 during a reception following a first-Communion Mass.
He was defending a 15-year-old girl from a molester who insisted on dancing with her. The molester left the reception and returned with a gun. He shot the priest and two other people dead and wounded another girl.
-- Father Gerard Nzeyimana, 65, episcopal vicar of the Diocese of Bururi, in Burundi, was killed Oct. 19 while traveling with other people in a car from Bururi to Bujumbura.
A group of gunmen stopped the car and told the occupants to hand over money and valuables. After carefully examining the priest's identity papers they killed him in cold blood with a few shots in the head, leaving the other passengers beaten and bleeding on the roadside.
Father Nzeyimana was known for promoting peace and denouncing violence against civilians.
-- Father John Hannon, 65, a Missionary of the Society of African Missions, was found dead Nov. 25 at St. Barnaba Parish at Matasia, in the Diocese of Ngong, near Nairobi, Kenya.
According to the police a gang of men entered the parish complex around midnight after tying up the watchman. The intruders probably aimed to steal and ended up attacking and murdering the Irish-born priest, police said.
-- Father Kazimir Viseticki, 66, was killed during the night of Nov. 17. His body was found the next day bound and covered in blood in the house next to the parish where he was parish priest, St. Roko in Bosanska Gradiska, northern Bosnia Herzegovina, close to the Croatian border.
The priest was probably killed by thieves who struck him with an iron rod when they were discovered.
-- Father Javier Francisco Montoya, 45, from the Diocese of Istmina-Tado, was taken hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Dec. 8 while on his way to the town of Novita. In the region at the time there was fighting between guerrillas and paramilitary troops.
The Colombian priest was involved in pastoral work with rural and indigenous peoples in the region of Choco. On Dec. 24 the bishop of the diocese was told the priest had been executed and buried.
-- Sister Christiane Philippon, 58, regional superior of the Congregation of Notre Dame des Apôtres, was killed early Dec. 26 in Chad, on the road from Ba Hilli to N'Djamena.
Sister Christiane was traveling with three other women religious to the capital to attend in a meeting of her congregation. The car was assaulted by bandits who opened fire and shot Sister Christiane dead and wounded the other three religious.
French-born Sister Christiane had been in Chad for 20 years and for the last five had been involved in family pastoral work in the Diocese of Sahr. A year ago she was elected president of the diocesan association of women religious.
This was the list of slain missionaries:
-- Brother Ignacio García Alonso, headmaster of the College of the Brothers of Christian Schools, in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, was killed with a machete in his office Feb. 6.
The 63-year-old Spanish religious had spent more than 40 years as a missionary in Morocco, Niger and Burkina Faso.
-- Father César Darío Peña Garcia, 43, a parish priest at Raudal in Valdivia, Colombia, was kidnapped March 16 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). On July 30 the diocesan vicar of Santa Rosa de Osos affirmed that the local Church was certain that the priest had been killed while in captivity.
-- Comboni Father Luciano Fulvi, 76, was found dead with a stab wound March 31 in his room at the Catholic Mission of Layibi, in the outskirts of Gulu, Uganda.
The Italian missionary had been in Uganda from 1956 to 1964 and then since 1990. He was mainly involved in education and more recently in vocation work.
-- Javed Anjum, a 19-year-old Catholic Pakistani student from Quetta, died May 2 in a hospital from 26 stab wounds inflicted by a Muslim teacher and group of students from the Jamia Hassan bin Almurtaza School of Islam near Islamabad. They had tried to force him to convert to Islam.
On April 17 the students abducted Javed and tortured him for five days. They then took him to the police station and reported that he had been caught stealing. The police took Anjum to the hospital where he died of his wounds 10 days later.
-- Samuel Masih, a Catholic Pakistani youth arrested and accused of blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed in August 2003, died in hospital on May 28. He had been treated for months for injuries suffered in prison at the hands of Islamic fundamentalist prison guards.
The youth was charged with blasphemy after the owner of bookshop told the police that he saw him depositing garbage near the walls of a mosque in Lahore.
-- Father Ramon Navarrete Islas, a 56-year-old Mexican priest, was found dead in the house next to the parish church where he was serving at Ciudad Juarez.
His body was found July 6 with numerous stab wounds in the chest. Police said the murderer or murderers were robbers.
-- Servite Father Faustino Gazziero, 69, was stabbed to death July 24 at the end of evening Mass in the cathedral of Santiago, Chile.
The Italian-born priest was attacked and stabbed by a young man as the priest was returning to the sacristy. Father Gazziero went on mission to Chile in 1960. He held various duties and for some years had been president of the Santa Teresa Foundation which ran several schools in Chile.
-- Father Eusebio Manuel Sazo Urbina, 45, parish priest at the Divine Savior of the World Church in the suburbs of Guatemala City, was killed July 31.
The Guatemalan priest had been en route to the home of a sick person he was attacked by a gunman who apparently tried to steal his mobile telephone. The priest died of his wounds at a hospital.
-- Nasir Masih, Pakistani Catholic aged 26, was abducted from his home Aug. 16 in the district of Baldia Siekhupoura, 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Lahore, by a group of fundamentalist Muslims who accused him of stealing.
A few hours later the police informed the family that Masih was under arrest. Three days later the police said he had died in prison. His body showed numerous wounds and bruises.
-- Father Job Chittilappilly, 71, was found dead with numerous stab wounds Aug. 28 in his home next to the parish church of Our Lady of Grace in the village of Thuruthiparambu, Kerala, India.
The Indian priest was attacked and murdered while reciting the rosary before Mass. The Syro-Malabar rite priest had received threats and warnings to stop "proselytizing."
-- Father Gerard Fitzsimons, 63, was found dead Oct. 2 at his home next to the Church of St. Mary and St. Joseph in Colesberg, South Africa. The British priest had been on mission in South Africa for seven years and was involved in assisting the poor and people with HIV/AIDS.
-- Father Macrino Nájera Cisneros, a 42-year-old parish priest at Jilotlan, Mexico, was slain Oct. 18 during a reception following a first-Communion Mass.
He was defending a 15-year-old girl from a molester who insisted on dancing with her. The molester left the reception and returned with a gun. He shot the priest and two other people dead and wounded another girl.
-- Father Gerard Nzeyimana, 65, episcopal vicar of the Diocese of Bururi, in Burundi, was killed Oct. 19 while traveling with other people in a car from Bururi to Bujumbura.
A group of gunmen stopped the car and told the occupants to hand over money and valuables. After carefully examining the priest's identity papers they killed him in cold blood with a few shots in the head, leaving the other passengers beaten and bleeding on the roadside.
Father Nzeyimana was known for promoting peace and denouncing violence against civilians.
-- Father John Hannon, 65, a Missionary of the Society of African Missions, was found dead Nov. 25 at St. Barnaba Parish at Matasia, in the Diocese of Ngong, near Nairobi, Kenya.
According to the police a gang of men entered the parish complex around midnight after tying up the watchman. The intruders probably aimed to steal and ended up attacking and murdering the Irish-born priest, police said.
-- Father Kazimir Viseticki, 66, was killed during the night of Nov. 17. His body was found the next day bound and covered in blood in the house next to the parish where he was parish priest, St. Roko in Bosanska Gradiska, northern Bosnia Herzegovina, close to the Croatian border.
The priest was probably killed by thieves who struck him with an iron rod when they were discovered.
-- Father Javier Francisco Montoya, 45, from the Diocese of Istmina-Tado, was taken hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Dec. 8 while on his way to the town of Novita. In the region at the time there was fighting between guerrillas and paramilitary troops.
The Colombian priest was involved in pastoral work with rural and indigenous peoples in the region of Choco. On Dec. 24 the bishop of the diocese was told the priest had been executed and buried.
-- Sister Christiane Philippon, 58, regional superior of the Congregation of Notre Dame des Apôtres, was killed early Dec. 26 in Chad, on the road from Ba Hilli to N'Djamena.
Sister Christiane was traveling with three other women religious to the capital to attend in a meeting of her congregation. The car was assaulted by bandits who opened fire and shot Sister Christiane dead and wounded the other three religious.
French-born Sister Christiane had been in Chad for 20 years and for the last five had been involved in family pastoral work in the Diocese of Sahr. A year ago she was elected president of the diocesan association of women religious.
Friday, January 7, 2005
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