New Prefect of the Congregation of Clergy

Brazil gets a place in the curia...

And other matters...from the Vatican Information Service:

- Accepted the resignation from the office of Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, presented by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

- Accepted the resignation from the office of archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, presented by Cardinal Francesco Marchisano. He is succeeded by his coadjutor, Archbishop Angelo Comastri, prelate emeritus of Loreto, Italy, vicar general for Vatican City State, president of the Fabric of St Peter's.

- Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of New York, U.S.A., presented by Bishop Robert A. Brucato, upon having reached the age limit.

Huh? There Has to Be More to This Story...

From The Globe and Mail:

First, Rev. Raymond Gravel had to get permission from the Vatican to run in a federal by-election. Now, the former prostitute who used to work in gay leather bars has to convince the voters of Repentigny riding that he is the right man to represent them.

And:

Mr. Gravel gave up prostitution after being so severely beaten by a client that he ended up in hospital.

His tenure as a priest has not been low key, either. An outspoken advocate, Mr. Gravel has publicly decried the Roman Catholic Church's position on same-sex marriage. He also received a disciplinary letter from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope Benedict XVI.

Mr. Gravel was also one of 19 priests who created a tempest in February when they signed an open letter criticizing the church's position on same-sex marriage and its opposition to ordaining gays.

"I would say that 50 per cent of the priests in Quebec are gay, but if I became a priest, it's because I'm a believer and I believe in the message of Christ," he said in an interview last year with Fugues, a gay magazine.

Words of Angelus in Latin on Big Screens at St. Peter's

So everyone can pray the prayer with the pope. Great idea and needed since so few actually know the prayer in Latin. Read the pope's commentary on the Gospel before you head out to Mass.

From Asia News Italy:

In St Peter’s Square, on a sunny day reminiscent of summer, the Latin text of the Angelus prayer was shown on maxi screens for the first time, to enable the faithful present to pray the words together with the Pope. Among the crowd of 50,000 pilgrims, there was a large yellow and blue arch with the word “Loreto”, put up by youth delegates from all the regions of Italy. They are currently meeting in Rome to implement a three-yearly project of the Italian church entitled “Agorà of youth”. Greeting them after the Marian prayer, Benedict XVI publicly announced his intention of going next year to the city that hosts a famous Marian shrine. “Dear friends,” he told them. “I bless your journey and I await you in large numbers for the meeting of young Italians scheduled for 1 and 2 September 2007 in Loreto.” He added: “Near that beloved Marian shrine, we will live a moment of grace together, in the joy of faith and perspective of mission, not least in preparation for the World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008.”

An unusual group present in the square today was composed of hundreds of motorcyclists of the Motorcyclists Association of the police force, who thundered down Via Conciliazione.

Before the Angelus, leaning out of the window of his study in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the pope spoke about the Gospel reading, stressing that the “decisive moment was the personal, direct encounter between the Lord and that suffering man. They face each other: God with his desire to heal and the man with his desire to be healed. Two freedoms, two converging desires: ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ asks the Lord. ‘Let me see again,’ responds the blind man. ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ With these words, a miracle takes place; the joy of God, the joy of man. And Bartimaeus, who has come to the light, ‘followed him on the way’, according the Gospel. Thus he becomes his disciple and goes with the Teacher to Jerusalem, to participate with Him in the great mystery of salvation."

The pope continued: “This account, with the essentiality of its passages, evokes the route of the Catechumen towards the sacrament of Baptism, which in the ancient Church was also called ‘Enlightenment’. Faith is a journey of enlightenment: it departs from the humility of recognizing that we are in need of salvation and reaches personal encounter with Christ, who invites all to follow him along the road of love. It is on this model that the itineraries of Christian initiation are based, as they prepare for the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation (or Cresima) and the Eucharist. In places of ancient evangelization, where the baptism of children is widespread, opportunities of catechesis and spirituality are offered to youth and adults, to enable them to follow a path of rediscovery of their faith in a mature and conscious way, to consequently assume a coherent commitment of bearing witness. How important the work of pastors and catechists in this field is! The rediscovery of values of one’s Baptism is at the basis of the missionary commitment of each Christian, because we see in the Gospel that those who allow themselves to be fascinated by Christ cannot but testify to the joy of following his footsteps. In this month of October, especially dedicated to mission, we understand even more that, precisely due to the strength of Baptism, we possess an innate missionary vocation.”

He added: “Let us invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that missionaries of the Gospel may multiply. Intimately united with the Lord, may every person who has been baptized feel called to announce the love of God to all, with the witness of his own life.”

California Bishops Release Guidelines for Voters

In California and with issues on that state's ballot. Most of the issues are predictable, but I found this one rather lame (to be frank about it) and given the current problems that several of the California dioceses are dealing with that relates to this issue almost an indictment against them...

How should one vote on this issue according to them on this proposition?

From The Tidings:

Proposition 83: Sex Offenders. Sexually Violent Predators. Punishment, Residence Restrictions and Monitoring. Initiative Statute.
Proposition 83 will increase penalties for violent and habitual sex offenders and child molesters, prohibit residence near schools and parks, and require GPS monitoring of registered sex offenders. Fiscal Impact: Proposition 83 would increase Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) prison operating costs (longer sentences and purchase of GPS equipment)-possibly hundreds of millions of dollars; however, GPS monitoring may reduce recidivism among offenders.
A reflection on Catholic teaching:
"We are guided by the paradoxical Catholic teaching on crime and punishment: We will not tolerate the crime and violence that threatens the lives and dignity of our sisters and brothers, and we will not give up on those who have lost their way... We seek both justice and mercy. Working together, we believe our faith calls us to protect public safety, promote the common good, and restore community. We believe a Catholic ethic of responsibility, rehabilitation, and restoration can become the foundation for the necessary reform of our broken criminal justice system."
-Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration, U.S. Bishops, 2000

Is there a failure here to recognize the human condition? What about the church's teachings on original sin? Jesus teaching on scandalizing the little ones? Is there anything wrong with carrying around the "Mark of Cain--a GPS device" when even God chose that method of rehabilitation in Genesis? I think here is an example where the shepherds have lost their moral voice and are more worried about defending their past acts of irresponsibility then speaking up for those who are abused by the powerful...and the abusers need to be marginalized for their own salvattion sake. We can't continue to live in a world that doesn't deal with the reality of sin and violence--the church's teaching on penance for sins needs to be revived.

"Jesus" Takes on Michael J. Fox in Response Ad

Jim Caviezel played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ...from LifeSiteNews:

In the one minute response ad Caviezel is joined by celebrities that include Cardinal’s pitcher Jeff Suppan and Patricia Heaton, star of the TV comedy Everybody Loves Raymond and honorary chair for Feminists for Life. After explaining the facts of the issue they in turn state, “Don’t be tricked”, Don’t be deceived”, Don’t be fooled”, with Caviezel ending the ad telling Missouri voters, “You know now. Don’t do it. Vote no on (Amendment) 2”, the ballot initiative that would permit research using human embryos in the state.

The election campaign in Missouri centers on the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative (Amendment 2). While the amendment claims to ban “human cloning,” in fact it would only ban a human clone from being implanted in a woman. Creating a human clone and then killing it for research purposes would be permitted.

New Auxiliary for Archdiocese of Detroit

From the Archdiocese of Detroit:

A priest of the Corpus Christi diocese, Msgr. Daniel Flores, is named auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit. Cardinal Maida says he's delighted that the bishop-elect "is now part of our team," and indicates the new bishop's ministry will include a special focus on Hispanic concerns in the Detroit archdiocese. For his part, Bishop-elect Flores says he is "humbled" by Pope Benedict XVI's expression of confidence in him, and "looks forward to learning and serving in my new home."

Also in Detroit, Church to be converted to Mosque:

After 83 years, the church will celebrate its final Mass on Sunday and become the first church in the Archdiocese of Detroit sold to a mosque. It will cater to a new crop of immigrants -- from Bangladesh, primarily.

"It's going to hurt," said Rice, 68. "There are a lot of memories there. But you've got to go with the times."

The Islamic Center of North Detroit has a purchase agreement with the Archdiocese of Detroit for Our Lady Help of Christians' five buildings, which tentatively are planned to be used for an Islamic community center, larger worship space and possibly a school.

The conversion of the Detroit buildings, on the Hamtramck border, from church to Muslim center underscores how much the community's makeup has changed. Long-entrenched Catholic churches have had to downsize as their congregations moved to the suburbs and other immigrant groups moved in.

Pope Begins New Catechesis

Starts with St. Paul today...

From Asia News Italy:

Benedict XVI today announced a new cycle of catechesis to 25,000 people
gathered for the general audience, since he has completed his depiction of the
12 apostles. Starting with Paul of Tarsus, he will now tackle “men and even women who dedicated their lives to the Gospel and to the Lord”.
After Jesus, recalled the pope, Paul “is the person from the beginning about who we are most informed”, both from the Acts of the Apostles as well as his letters that allow us to get to know him “without intermediaries”. “A diaspora Jew, Paul lived in
the city of Tarsus between Anatolia and Syria”, a persecutor of Christians until
struck by the light of Christ. Described by Chrysostom as “superior to angels
and archangels” and by Dante as “vase of election”, which means, the pope explained, “an instrument chosen by God”, Paul knew the first disciples of
Christ, “who put not a religion but the person of Jesus at the centre, and to
him was linked the remission of sins”. But his “enlightenment and true vocation
came when he encountered the Risen Lord”. For this reason, Paul “describes himself explicitly as an apostle by vocation or an apostle by the will of God”.
Benedict XVI said: “From that moment, he dispensed all his energies for Jesus
Christ and for his Gospel”. From here is drawn the foremost teaching of Paul,
that “what counts is putting Jesus Christ at the centre of our lives, and that
in the light of Christianity, every other value is found or even, if necessary,
purified from possible impure matter.”