Well the reporter got the first one to be published in the story...
From Greeley Tribune:
"Though it is popular, not all of the reviews are positive. Some religious scholars were angered by Brown's suggestion of a Catholic conspiracy to cover up the truth about Jesus and his claim that Mary Magdalene's status as a prostitute was a case of mistaken identity. At least one book has been published in response to it -- 'De-coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code.'"
Monday, May 31, 2004
Gay-Rights Activists Denied Communion
Since the sash is a symbolic way of claiming publicly that you are not in communion with the church this makes perfect sense to me.
From Yahoo! News - Gay-Rights Activists Denied Communion:
"Priests at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago refused to give the Eucharist to about 10 people wearing the sashes at Sunday Mass. One priest shook each person's hand; another made the sign of the cross on their foreheads.
'The priest told me you cannot receive communion if you're wearing a sash, as per the Cardinal's direction,' said James Luxton, a Chicago member of the Rainbow Sash Movement, an organization of Catholic gay-rights supporters with chapters around the country.
An internal memo from Chicago Cardinal Francis George that became public last week instructed priests not to give communion to people wearing the sashes, which the group's members wear every year for Pentecost. The memo says the sashes are a symbol of opposition to the church's doctrine on homosexuality and exploit the communion ritual. "
From Yahoo! News - Gay-Rights Activists Denied Communion:
"Priests at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago refused to give the Eucharist to about 10 people wearing the sashes at Sunday Mass. One priest shook each person's hand; another made the sign of the cross on their foreheads.
'The priest told me you cannot receive communion if you're wearing a sash, as per the Cardinal's direction,' said James Luxton, a Chicago member of the Rainbow Sash Movement, an organization of Catholic gay-rights supporters with chapters around the country.
An internal memo from Chicago Cardinal Francis George that became public last week instructed priests not to give communion to people wearing the sashes, which the group's members wear every year for Pentecost. The memo says the sashes are a symbol of opposition to the church's doctrine on homosexuality and exploit the communion ritual. "
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Mystic Who Inspired Gibson's Passion to be Beatified in October
From Catholic Online - International News -:
"The German mystic whose recorded visions helped inspire 'The Passion of the Christ' will be beatified Oct. 3.
Anna Katharina Emmerick (1774-1824) will be beatified at the Vatican along with Karl I (1887-1922), emperor of Austria and king of Hungary.
The Vatican Secretariat of State communicated the news of Emmerick's beatification to the Muenster Diocese.
Emmerick, an Augustinian religious and a native of Westphalia, 'bore the stigmata of the Lord's Passion and received extraordinary charisms that she used for the consolation of numerous visitors,' said Cardinal Jos? Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, when reading the decree of recognition of a miracle last July. "
"The German mystic whose recorded visions helped inspire 'The Passion of the Christ' will be beatified Oct. 3.
Anna Katharina Emmerick (1774-1824) will be beatified at the Vatican along with Karl I (1887-1922), emperor of Austria and king of Hungary.
The Vatican Secretariat of State communicated the news of Emmerick's beatification to the Muenster Diocese.
Emmerick, an Augustinian religious and a native of Westphalia, 'bore the stigmata of the Lord's Passion and received extraordinary charisms that she used for the consolation of numerous visitors,' said Cardinal Jos? Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, when reading the decree of recognition of a miracle last July. "
Saturday, May 29, 2004
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."
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."
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. "
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. "
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