Friday, February 13, 2004

Pray the Passion

New book by Paul Thigpen that relates to the upcoming Mel Gibson movie and more importantly the subject of the movie...the passion of Jesus...

Thursday, February 12, 2004

University of Notre Dame to Host Gay Film Fest

Comfortable sending your child to a Catholic school to get a good Catholic education? Willing to spend your life savings to finance their indoctrination to all things not Catholic?



Why is it that the religious orders that run these campuses are incapable of seeing the damage they are doing to young impressionable minds.



From Yahoo! News - At Notre Dame, gay film fest a first:



"'You have to understand what a breakthrough this is,' said Richard Friedman, a fifth-year student participating in the event. 'The university's administration had even barred gay groups from advertising in the student newspaper.'



On many campuses, eyebrows wouldn't be raised by a gay film series featuring titles such as 'Jim in Bold,' which kicks off the series Wednesday.

During freshman orientation at state schools and secular colleges, it is commonplace to see the information booth of a gay-and-lesbian group.

But that is not the case at universities affiliated with a religious denomination that considers homosexuality sinful.



Yet even at some such schools, things are changing quickly, given society's increasing acceptance of alternative lifestyles. Deans and presidents are feeling the pressure of gay and lesbian students, newly determined to have an accepted place on campus.



'The landscape has changed,' said Nicholas Sakurai, an official of the United States Student Association, which is preparing a guide to forming homosexual campus organizations. 'Young people have been coming out in droves in high school since the '90s. They're now in college and challenging administrators who would deny them a place in campus life.'



For instance, Boston College, a Catholic university run by Jesuit priests, extended official recognition to a gay group last May, after many years of denying previous requests.



'This film fest is our way of forcing people to recognize there is an active gay community here,' said Liam Dacey, a Notre Dame senior. 'There's been a fear on this campus to come out.' "

Alleged Kerry Infidelity Predicted to Ruin His Campaign

Breaking news from theDRUDGE REPORT 2004

Eucharist to be the theme of this Fall's Synod

From the Vatican Information Service:



The Holy Father has announced that the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place

in the Vatican from October 2 to 29, 2005 on the theme. “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church.”

Why the Bishop of Springfield, MA Resigned

And why it was accepted immediately on a Wednesday...



From Boston.com:



In a press release and a press conference, the diocese said that Dupre had resigned because of failing health and that he had requested permission to resign last November and was only informed of the pope's decision yesterday.



But in a series of interviews late yesterday, a diocesan spokesman and Monsignor Richard S. Sniezyk, who was named yesterday as the diocese's interim administrator, confirmed that Dupre had been made aware Tuesday of allegations made against him by the mother of one of two men who say Dupre abused them about 25 years ago when he was a priest and they were boys in Holyoke.



The allegations were contained in a series of questions submitted to the bishop Tuesday by The Republican newspaper in Springfield. The newspaper reported last night that the mother of one alleged victim, who it described as a longtime diocesan school worker, had written to the bishop about the allegations last year. The newspaper reported that weeks after the woman said she wrote to the bishop, Dupre told the newspaper last spring he was considering early retirement because of a heart condition and other health problems.



Mark E. Dupont, a spokesman for the diocese, said he understood that the timing of Dupre's resignation was coincidental. He said Dupre, 70, had told him in either late November or early December that he had requested the pope's permission to resign five years before the mandatory retirement age of 75 because of his declining health. Dupont said Dupre checked himself into a hospital Tuesday after receiving a copy of the questions about the allegations and left without issuing a denial or any other statement.

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

A Shocker--Monsignor Andrew Cussack has Died

Msgr. Cussack was the leader and founder of a conference for the continuing formation of priests to which Father Benedict Groeschel was headed to in January when he was struck by a car. It seems that Monsignor Cussack died a week later.



From The Ashbury Park Press:



Family and parishioners, as well as friends from across the country, paid their respects yesterday to Monsignor Thomas Andrew Cusack, 71, who died Tuesday at his home in Brick. Cusack was remembered as a kind and gentle man whose words touched the hearts of churchgoers and helped give meaning to their lives.



"He was the most caring, intelligent, spiritual priest I have ever known," Brick resident Ann Scrudato said at O'Brien Funeral Home, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. "His homily always seemed to be a message just for you. Whenever he spoke, his words reached inside of you and warmed your soul. He was always fond of saying, 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery and today is love.' I will never forget those words."



Cusack served as a weekend celebrant for Masses at St. Dominic's Roman Catholic Church in Brick from 1984 until his death. He was a member of American Catholic's "Who's Who" and received an award for outstanding achievement from the Graduate School of Pastoral Counseling of Iona College.



According to his obituary, Cusack appeared on national television shows and produced a 13-week series called "Living Life Fully." He lectured to clergy throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Ireland, England, Scotland, Italy, Central America, west Africa and Turkey.

Update on Father Benedict

From Father Glenn's Letter 2/10/02:



"Well today, the breathing doctor allowed Father to breathe on his own - and without his 'training wheels'! Guess how long he did it? One hour! And he didn't fall once! So, let's not forget to thank Jesus and pray, if the doctor allows, that Father will ride on his own tomorrow for two hours!



Today we also had a speech therapist and an assistant come in to help Father Benedict communicate. The assistant is deaf and obviously adept at reading lips; while the therapist knows how to use sign language! Well, 'the best laid plans of mice and men' - Father was somewhat 'out of it' due to the pain medication. After about fifteen minutes it was evident to everyone that this wasn't the best time. I was disappointed, but am hopeful for round two. "