Friday, April 30, 2004

Archbishop O'Malley Offers Apology to Women

From Boston Archbishop O'Malley Offers Apology to Women for Feminism Comments, Foot-Washing Rite - from TBO.com:



"O'Malley, in a letter published in Friday's edition of The Pilot, the archdiocesan newspaper, praised what he termed 'Christian feminism,' and affirmed his support for the contributions of women in the church.



He also pledged to seek guidance on whether he should wash women's feet when he visits the Vatican in August.



'I am sorry if this controversy has been upsetting to our Catholic women, and I hope that these reflections will help you to understand that I more than value the gifts and contributions that women make to our church and to my own faith life,' he wrote.



The controversy erupted on April 6 when during a homily, O'Malley said of the Baby Boom generation, 'they are heirs to Woodstock, the drug culture, the sexual revolution, feminism, the breakdown of authority, and divorce.'



Two days later, O'Malley washed the feet of 12 men on Holy Thursday, breaking with the tradition of his predecessor, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who washed the feet of men and women. "

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Cal Thomas on Kerry's Catholic Problem

From Kerry's Catholic problem - The Washington Times: Commentary - April 28, 2004:



"Is the state the issue, or the church? If a Catholic politician, or one of any other faith, sees an injustice and acquires the power to right it, should he then be excused for behaving like Judas and selling his soul for political coinage? Doesn't such a 'faith' lead one to conclude that person might be agnostic, and religion, for him, is merely a tool for hoodwinking the unsophisticated?



Put it another way: Suppose a hospital board decides the hospital should perform abortions. The pro-life administrator and several nurses protest to no avail. Doesn't their belief in the sanctity of life take precedence over their jobs? Would not God, or conscience, require them to resign instead of denying God or conscience and participating in an act they regard as immoral for the sake of a paycheck?



When Mr. Kerry and other Catholic politicians say they accept church teaching but selectively deny it when it comes to abortion, they place the state above the church and man above God. They mortgage their consciences to convenience and principle to pragmatism. Should such a person lead this nation?

Speaker Uninvited for Abortion Comments

A Fort Wayne Story in the Baltimore Sun...



From baltimoresun.com - Speaker Uninvited for Abortion Comments:



"The University of St. Francis has told former ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman that it no longer wants her as commencement speaker because of comments she made about abortion seven years ago.



In a letter faxed Tuesday to Snyderman, the Roman Catholic university's president cited comments Snyderman made on ABC's 'Good Morning America' in 1997 as its reason for rescinding her invitation to speak Saturday to the graduating class."

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

50,000 Expected To Greet Medjugordje Visionary in Alabama

From nbc13.com - News - More Than 50,000 Expected At Lunetti Visit:



" A woman who claims to see apparitions of the Virgin Mary and who has attracted thousands of people to a field in Shelby County, is coming back to Alabama.



In previous visits, an estimated 50,000 people turned out to pray with Marija Lunetti off County Road 43. With the Bruno's golf event going on just a few miles away this weekend, many businesses on Highway 280 are anticipating doing banner business.



Lunetti is returning to Caritas of Birmingham for her first public visit there in three years.



'There is an excitement, a joy, an anticipation we didn't feel in '99, so it could be very big,' said Ruth McDonald, of Caritas.



Lunetti claims to be one of six people who started seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, more than 20 years ago. She came to Birmingham to donate a kidney to her brother in 1988 and had a vision here. Since then, she's visited every few years, with the largest crowd gathering in 1999.



With six months advance notice of this upcoming visit, Caritas officials have sent out 80,000 packets of information. They believe crowds could top 50,000 this week.



'Right now, we average three to five people on our phones at all times,' McDonald said."

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Amy in The Tennessean

See More books on market set out to debunk 'Da Vinci Code' - Saturday, 04/24/04:



"A Vanderbilt University graduate, Amy Wellborn, has also written De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of the Da Vinci Code."

Dan Brown, Theologian

Amy on Belief.net...Dan Brown, Theologian -- Beliefnet.com: "Dan Brown, Theologian

People who take The Da Vinci Code's claims seriously need to crack open a Good Book. "

Satanic Worship Involved in Murder of Nun by Priest

The article below specifies "bizarre rituals", CBS news did a story on this last night and reported that it was a "satanic ritual".



FromOhio News Network:



"Authorities say they decided to re-examine the case after a woman accused Roman Catholic priests of sexually abusing her during bizarre rituals.



The 66-year-old Robinson wore a brown jail jumpsuit and stood silently during the hearing, his arms at his sides and hands folded.



A preliminary hearing is set for next Monday. "