I noticed that Dontrell Willis of the Florida Marlins was wearing one around his neck as he pitched Sunday against the Detroit Tigers (a game that Amy and I were at). I mentioned it to her and wondered if it had a devotional aspect to it, turns out it probably doesn't, but it is the time to use this as an evangelization tool not an opportunity to blast the half wits who don't know what it means....
From USATODAY.com - Rosary's second coming:
"Rosary beads as a style statement, not a prayer ritual, are hot with stars. 'It has come back again,' celebrity stylist Charlie Altuna says.
In the mid-1980s, Madonna, who was raised Catholic, raised eyebrows and launched a fashion craze by wearing crucifixes and rosaries with corsets. Eventually, the look became 'cheesy' and faded away, Altuna says.
But, like many '80s trends, rosaries 'are cool again' with celebs. It's highly unlikely, however, that the pope will bless the trend this time around, either. Altuna suggests the new fad has roots in the Britney Spears/Madonna connection. "
Friday, June 18, 2004
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Vatican Moves to Quell New Age
An illustration of how slow the church moves...it has decided that the "new age" movement presents a threat. Problem is that it has taken them so long to recognize this is that most of the proponents of the new age are now in thier old age.
From Vatican moves to quell 'alternatives' - (United Press International):
"A week-long summit at the Vatican is trying to devise a plan to deal with the rise of 'New Age' religions and fads, The Independent reported Wednesday.
The closed-door conference includes priests and lay people from 25 countries, focusing on a Vatican report on New Age sects last year.
Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, one of the authors of the report, said the greatest challenge may be in England and North America 'where the New Age began ... and where it has become such a part of everyday life that we don't notice it.' That makes it harder to attack, he says: 'Where one sees a threat, it's easier to battle it.'"
From Vatican moves to quell 'alternatives' - (United Press International):
"A week-long summit at the Vatican is trying to devise a plan to deal with the rise of 'New Age' religions and fads, The Independent reported Wednesday.
The closed-door conference includes priests and lay people from 25 countries, focusing on a Vatican report on New Age sects last year.
Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, one of the authors of the report, said the greatest challenge may be in England and North America 'where the New Age began ... and where it has become such a part of everyday life that we don't notice it.' That makes it harder to attack, he says: 'Where one sees a threat, it's easier to battle it.'"
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Coming in September!
In time for the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross!
Because...
God's ways are not ours,
and our plans often are thwarted...
"announcing your plans is a sure way to hear God laugh"
Because...
God's ways are not ours,
and our plans often are thwarted...
"announcing your plans is a sure way to hear God laugh"
Diocese Threatens Bankruptcy
From Diocese of Tucson weighs bankruptcy | The Arizona Daily Star :
"Lawyers for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson say Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas is making plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
If the diocese follows through on what its attorneys say is 'the only viable' way to financially resolve pending lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy, it will be the first U.S. Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. Under bankruptcy protection, local Catholic parishioners would be in the unprecedented position of being part of a church whose purse strings are monitored by the courts.
Chapter 11 falls under the federal bankruptcy code and is a way for insolvent corporations and others to reorganize debt. Kicanas predicted Tuesday that filing for Chapter 11 could allow the operations of the diocese and its 74 parishes to carry on normally while it makes a plan to pay costs related to the abuse claims.
He compared the scenario to the way United Airlines has continued to fly its planes since filing for bankruptcy protection in December 2002.
Major business decisions would need the approval of bankruptcy court. "
"Lawyers for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson say Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas is making plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
If the diocese follows through on what its attorneys say is 'the only viable' way to financially resolve pending lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy, it will be the first U.S. Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. Under bankruptcy protection, local Catholic parishioners would be in the unprecedented position of being part of a church whose purse strings are monitored by the courts.
Chapter 11 falls under the federal bankruptcy code and is a way for insolvent corporations and others to reorganize debt. Kicanas predicted Tuesday that filing for Chapter 11 could allow the operations of the diocese and its 74 parishes to carry on normally while it makes a plan to pay costs related to the abuse claims.
He compared the scenario to the way United Airlines has continued to fly its planes since filing for bankruptcy protection in December 2002.
Major business decisions would need the approval of bankruptcy court. "
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Blackout Hits Major Web Sites
From Blackout hits major Web sites | CNET News.com:
"A domain name outage Tuesday morning left many popular Web sites such as Yahoo, Google, Microsoft.com and Apple.com temporarily inaccessible, according to a Web research company.
For just more than two hours--from 5:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. PDT--many of the world's most popular sites suffered from widespread outages, according to Keynote Systems, which compiles statistics related to Web surfing. On a typical day, the top 40 sites measured by Keynote rarely dip below 99 percent availability. On Tuesday, however, Keynote saw availability drop to 81 percent. "
"A domain name outage Tuesday morning left many popular Web sites such as Yahoo, Google, Microsoft.com and Apple.com temporarily inaccessible, according to a Web research company.
For just more than two hours--from 5:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. PDT--many of the world's most popular sites suffered from widespread outages, according to Keynote Systems, which compiles statistics related to Web surfing. On a typical day, the top 40 sites measured by Keynote rarely dip below 99 percent availability. On Tuesday, however, Keynote saw availability drop to 81 percent. "
Acts of Inquisition Symposium Released
From The Vatican Information Service:
"In public opinion," writes the Pope, "the image of the Inquisition represents in some way the symbol of this counter-witness and scandal. In what measure is this image faithful to reality? Before asking for forgiveness, it is necessary to know exactly what are the facts and to recognize the shortcomings with respect to the evangelical needs in appropriate cases. This is why the Committee referred to historians whose scientific competence is universally recognized."
John Paul II recalls that on March 12, 2000, a Day of Forgiveness was celebrated and forgiveness was asked "for the errors committed in the service of the truth when unethical methods were used." This petition for forgiveness "is also valid for the drama related to the Inquisition as well as the wounds that are its consequence. ... This volume," he concludes, "is written in the spirit of this petition for forgiveness."
Cardinal Cottier indicated that the fact that the volume has been published so late is not due "to opposition to its publication. I would like to make that clear. The delay is due to a series of health problems."
Referring to the symposium, in which thirty speakers and experts from Italy, France, Portugal, Malta, England, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, the United States and Canada participated, Prof. Borromeo said they discussed "the events that led to the Inquisition in the 13th century, the activity in the main places in which heresy flourished (especially France and Italy) and its procedures. When dealing with the modern history of this institution," added Borromeo, "the reports were divided into two categories. One was predominantly geographic (Spain and Portugal with their respective imperial colonies; Italy, with special reference to the Congregation of the Holy Office, the Netherlands and England). The other was mainly thematic: (the repression of the heresies with Jewish and Islamic tendencies, Protestantism and witchcraft were discussed, as well as the battle against circulating prohibited literary and scientific books and Bibles in the vernacular and the historical context in which the abolition of courts took place)."
The acts of the symposium, said Borromeo, "are a point of reference for studies on the Inquisition; in the first place, for the scientific rigor of the reports, exempt from controversy or an apologetic nature which is typical of recent historiography; in the second place, for the richness of the information laid out which allows us to look at many places so widespread among non-specialists (the use of torture and the death penalty were not as frequent as once believed); in the third place, due to the amplitude of the volume, it is a reason to hope that intellectual debate on the theme is sparked and that there is stimulus for new research."
"In public opinion," writes the Pope, "the image of the Inquisition represents in some way the symbol of this counter-witness and scandal. In what measure is this image faithful to reality? Before asking for forgiveness, it is necessary to know exactly what are the facts and to recognize the shortcomings with respect to the evangelical needs in appropriate cases. This is why the Committee referred to historians whose scientific competence is universally recognized."
John Paul II recalls that on March 12, 2000, a Day of Forgiveness was celebrated and forgiveness was asked "for the errors committed in the service of the truth when unethical methods were used." This petition for forgiveness "is also valid for the drama related to the Inquisition as well as the wounds that are its consequence. ... This volume," he concludes, "is written in the spirit of this petition for forgiveness."
Cardinal Cottier indicated that the fact that the volume has been published so late is not due "to opposition to its publication. I would like to make that clear. The delay is due to a series of health problems."
Referring to the symposium, in which thirty speakers and experts from Italy, France, Portugal, Malta, England, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, the United States and Canada participated, Prof. Borromeo said they discussed "the events that led to the Inquisition in the 13th century, the activity in the main places in which heresy flourished (especially France and Italy) and its procedures. When dealing with the modern history of this institution," added Borromeo, "the reports were divided into two categories. One was predominantly geographic (Spain and Portugal with their respective imperial colonies; Italy, with special reference to the Congregation of the Holy Office, the Netherlands and England). The other was mainly thematic: (the repression of the heresies with Jewish and Islamic tendencies, Protestantism and witchcraft were discussed, as well as the battle against circulating prohibited literary and scientific books and Bibles in the vernacular and the historical context in which the abolition of courts took place)."
The acts of the symposium, said Borromeo, "are a point of reference for studies on the Inquisition; in the first place, for the scientific rigor of the reports, exempt from controversy or an apologetic nature which is typical of recent historiography; in the second place, for the richness of the information laid out which allows us to look at many places so widespread among non-specialists (the use of torture and the death penalty were not as frequent as once believed); in the third place, due to the amplitude of the volume, it is a reason to hope that intellectual debate on the theme is sparked and that there is stimulus for new research."
Monday, June 14, 2004
Pope Stayed in Nursing Home While in Switzerland
From Fr. Terry Morgan:
Lost in the recent media crush of D-Day’s sixtieth anniversary celebrations, and the week-long mourning of President Ronald Reagan, was a “minor detail” about Pope John Paul’s accommodations for his single night in Bern, Switzerland. Ordinarily, when the Pope visits a foreign country, he stays at the (appropriately ample) residence of his representative to that nation, his “Nuncio.” For days, sometimes weeks, the Nuncio’s staff spiffs up the guest suite, prepares the official dining room (ample in its own right), and, in general, makes sure that the place is suitable for the Vicar of Christ on Earth.
On this particular visit, though, the Vicar of Christ spent the night in a local nursing home. This change in venue wasn’t due to the Pope’s Parkinson’s Disease or any of his other ailments. And at John Paul’s express command, Vatican media representatives had no special statement for the news outlets of the world.
But this Pope – who in his vigorous younger days bounded up steps and with great gusto encouraged the masses, especially the youth of the world, with his constant, “Be not afraid!” – brought his message to his peers, not by his speech or his energy, but by simply being at their side.
I suspect that John Paul’s “overnighters” in Nuncios’ residences are things of the past, now that he has discovered new out-of-town quarters and new out-of-town friends with whom to spend the night.
Is he giving up? Hardly. He is simply giving in to God’s special gifts to him at this special time of his life. Most of us would look on the Pope’s impediments – of speech, mobility, even breathing – as roadblocks to ministry, roadblocks to life. But John Paul sees these facts of life as gifts, given to him in his twilight, so that he can continue to empty himself and minister to us in ways that no “healthy” younger man could.
Lost in the recent media crush of D-Day’s sixtieth anniversary celebrations, and the week-long mourning of President Ronald Reagan, was a “minor detail” about Pope John Paul’s accommodations for his single night in Bern, Switzerland. Ordinarily, when the Pope visits a foreign country, he stays at the (appropriately ample) residence of his representative to that nation, his “Nuncio.” For days, sometimes weeks, the Nuncio’s staff spiffs up the guest suite, prepares the official dining room (ample in its own right), and, in general, makes sure that the place is suitable for the Vicar of Christ on Earth.
On this particular visit, though, the Vicar of Christ spent the night in a local nursing home. This change in venue wasn’t due to the Pope’s Parkinson’s Disease or any of his other ailments. And at John Paul’s express command, Vatican media representatives had no special statement for the news outlets of the world.
But this Pope – who in his vigorous younger days bounded up steps and with great gusto encouraged the masses, especially the youth of the world, with his constant, “Be not afraid!” – brought his message to his peers, not by his speech or his energy, but by simply being at their side.
I suspect that John Paul’s “overnighters” in Nuncios’ residences are things of the past, now that he has discovered new out-of-town quarters and new out-of-town friends with whom to spend the night.
Is he giving up? Hardly. He is simply giving in to God’s special gifts to him at this special time of his life. Most of us would look on the Pope’s impediments – of speech, mobility, even breathing – as roadblocks to ministry, roadblocks to life. But John Paul sees these facts of life as gifts, given to him in his twilight, so that he can continue to empty himself and minister to us in ways that no “healthy” younger man could.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)