Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Devastation

"One will be taken, one will be left"







Trees and a few houses remain after devastating fires pass through this neighborhood in San Diego, CA.

Monday, October 27, 2003

Fires in California Terrorism or Just the Usual???

From USATODAY.com - FBI: al-Qaeda detainee spoke of fire plot:



"The FBI alerted law enforcement agencies last month that an al-Qaeda terrorist now in detention had talked of masterminding a plot to set a series of devastating forest fires around the western United States.



Rose Davis, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, told The Associated Press that officials there took note of the warning but didn't see a need to act further on it.



The contents of the June 25 memo from the FBI's Denver office were reported Friday by The Arizona Republic. Davis declined to share a copy of the memo and an FBI spokeswoman in Denver didn't immediately return a telephone call.



The Republic reported that the detainee, who was not identified, said the plan involved three or four people setting wildfires using timed devices in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming that would detonate in forests and grasslands after the operatives had left the country. "

China Arrests Priests, Seminarians and Demolishes Church

Pray for them, and write your congressperson to complain about our support in any way of such a country!



From Channelnewsasia.com:



" Police in northeast China raided a religious retreat and arrested about a dozen Roman Catholic clergymen while a church in the vicinity was demolished, a US-based religious rights group said.



The 12 priests and seminarians were attending a retreat on October 20 in Gaocheng county, in Hebei province's Shijiazhuang city, when police swooped and took everyone into custody, the Connecticut-based Cardinal Kung Foundation said in a statement.



The gathering was not sponsored by the government-sanctioned 'Patriotic Association,' which oversees all state-approved churches in China, the foundation said.



The clergymen are being held in a detention house in Gaocheng county."

Marlin Manager Gives Thanks at the Latin Mass on Sunday

Thanks to Steve M. who comments below:



I was at the game on Saturday night with my son (also a Michael), and missed everything after the tag on Posada for the final out. But on my way to St. Agnes Church in Manhattan the next day, I passed Jack McKeon smoking a cigar as he stood on 42nd St. ouside the Grand Hyatt. Thanks to Mayor Blooberg's smoking ban, I got a chance to shake his had and congratulate him---he had a warm \"thank you\" in reply. An hour later, as I recounted on Amy's blog, I saw him at the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Agnes. Apparently he will sometimes take in a good Gregorian chat after a good victory smoke. Running into him was consoling, which may have been my guardian angel's idea in having me be at the right place for these two encounters.



St. Agnes Church

143 East 43rd St.

New York, NY 10017-4065

Msgr. Eugene Clark

(212) 682-5722

Sun 11 a.m.

Terri Schiavo Updates

From Father Rob Johansen, who traveled from Michigan to learn first hand what is really going on down there and why only one member of the local clergy is present. Read all about it at Thrown Back



Peter Vere continues his fine posting on the situation at the Envoy Blog and asks "Is the Media Trying to Kill Terri?"

Strong Words for the Week

Times Against Humanity provides his usual survey of blogdom's strongest "words" of the week. Give it a read at:



Times Against Humanity

Sunday, October 26, 2003

Virginia Cyr--A Saint for Our Times

Our Sunday Visitor will release a book in March of 2004 based on the diaries of Virginia Cyr. For those who would like a sneak peak check out Dr. Quentin Colgan's web site devoted to her atVirginia Cyr.



Virginia Cyr could turn out to be the U.S.'s Little Flower. Her life was short, but one graced with a remarkable faith in the midst of just about every imaginable type of suffering one soul could endure--including sexual abuse from a drunken priest. But perhaps the worst abuse she suffered was being turned down by every contemplative community she sought to enter--I live in the area of the country where many of these communities once stood and I firmly believe that their ruins are a testimony of God's judgment upon them for refusing the "least of his brethren" and forgetting their call.



Virginia died a young woman, visit the site read some of her writings and see in this new religious communty that Amy mentions a sign of hope for people of faith like Virginia.