William F. Buckley Jr. on Monsignor Clark

At William F. Buckley Jr. on Monsignor Clark on National Review Online

Amy in the New York Times

Well done, of course...



New York Times Op-Ed The Sins of the Seminaries

No Publication Date for Seminarian Document

According to National Catholic Reporter quoting Vatican "officials".

Feast of St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Padre Pio...

From the Canonization Homily by Pope John Paul II:

"But may I never boast except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6,14).

Is it not, precisely, the "glory of the Cross" that shines above all in Padre Pio? How timely is the spirituality of the Cross lived by the humble Capuchin of Pietrelcina. Our time needs to rediscover the value of the Cross in order to open the heart to hope.

Throughout his life, he always sought greater conformity with the Crucified, since he was very conscious of having been called to collaborate in a special way in the work of redemption. His holiness cannot be understood without this constant reference to the Cross.

In God's plan, the Cross constitutes the true instrument of salvation for the whole of humanity and the way clearly offered by the Lord to those who wish to follow him (cf. Mk 16,24). The Holy Franciscan of the Gargano understood this well, when on the Feast of the Assumption in 1914, he wrote: "In order to succeed in reaching our ultimate end we must follow the divine Head, who does not wish to lead the chosen soul on any way other than the one he followed; by that, I say, of abnegation and the Cross" (Epistolario II, p. 155).

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Power of St. Rita of Cascia's Intercession

From a commentor on the Huricane post below:

The professor of history and Moral Theology at the Seminary I attendeed for two years is a brilliant priest named Father Juan-Carlos Iscara, from Argentina. He was having problems with his visa my first year, and thought he might have to be deported. The summer between my first and second year, either his passport or his visa expired (I can't remember) and he was still in America. Whatever it was, not only was he facing certain deportation, but also maybe jail time, due to the laws in Argentina.

Father has a great devotion to St. Rita of Cassia, and prayed a novena to her to fix the problem. So he went to the Argentine embassy to sort it out. Normally, that means he went to turn himself in.

After a long wait in line, he went up to the counter, and the lady behind the counter asked Father if he would say a Mass for her mother in honor of St. Rita. She then told him how devoted she was to St. Rita and was very grateful, because American priests were so reticent to do such a thing. So Father said, "That's wonderful. But what about the visa/passport?" She said, "I'm in charge here. Your visa/passport has been approved. Have a nice day, Father." That was it, thanks to St. Rita.

Let's ask St. Rita to beg God to spare eastern Texas. St. Rita, pray for us.

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Expected Vatican Ban Roils American Church

Father Benedict Groeschel often points out that to refer to oneself as "gay" is a further step beyond identifying oneself as a homosexual--to be gay is to be a part of subculture that in and of itself is oriented against what the Catholic Church teaches about sexuality. Herein I think lies the problem with even celibate "gays" being ordained or for that matter celibate "straights"...for someone who is celibate to be identifying themselves by their sexual orientation, is a pretty good indication that they face an uphill battle. A celibates shoulld be toward celibacy not toward having sex with men or women.

I have known genuine celibates who would not be married if they weren't priests or religious, neither would they be cavorting with other men. They are celibate...people who see themselves as sexually oriented are doomed to live a celibate vocation--faithfully anyways.

For what its worth...interesting that from a British paper this is seen as a problem for the Catholic Church in the U.S.

From Guardian Unlimited World Latest Expected Vatican Ban Roils American Church:

A gay American priest, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared
reprisals from church leaders, said he and other gay clergy and seminarians felt
``absolute horror'' when they heard about the anticipated ban.

``I've spoken to gay priests who feel demoralized. I've heard straight priests say that they're embarrassed by it. I've heard priests both straight and gay seriously
considering leaving,'' he said. ``They couldn't believe that after centuries of
either explicit or implicit welcoming of celibate gay clergy that the church
would turn its back on them.''