Saturday, July 17, 2004

Idiots
 
Television network admits it lied about unauthorized biography
 
"The Sci Fi Channel admitted that it lied last month in claiming it was at odds with filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and was making an unauthorized biography about his "buried secret."
 
This article does not say if M. Night was in on the hoax.  There was a great Crisis magazine article about the Catholic element in Shyamalan's films but I can't find it, but he is my favorite movie maker around today.   And of course, he is a Gen-Xer!
WOW   
 
Blogger has added some nice features to the basic blogspot!  Now I can choose different colors, change the font, or pick a different size!      
 
 
Scandal Time
 
1)  Roman Catholic Faithful strikes again - a priest they exposed has finally been removed from his parish.  (Link via Open Book)  Once again RCF has done a great service to the Church and once again, they have had to fight against bishops and parishioners in order to accomplish this service. 
 
2)  The Catholic Church's Abu Ghraib   (Warning:  graphic and disgusting pictures that would make Howard Stern puke) - Michael S. Rose has once again been proven right - seminaries do have a serious problem with corruption.
 
3)  Investigators charge father flimflam spent money on luxuries
 
4)  Charges vs. priest grow  - a priest in Scranton accused of sleeping with a teenage boy, again from Open Book.
 
The priesthood needs to be completely gutted to make sure to get rid of these corrupt, evil men.  The Bishops such as John Steinbock, Kurt Krenn, and Reggie Cawcutt should be the first to go.  It is not enough to throw these men out of the priesthood, they need to be completely removed from any financial support from any diocese.  Let them avail themselves of the Church's many soup kitchens and thrift shops and halfway houses and live out the rest of their lives in true poverty.  Mercy can be shown but so can tough love! 


Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Nab L.I. man in beating of Sikh

"A Long Island man who emerged from his daughter's christening party to allegedly taunt and beat a Sikh priest was arrested yesterday in what police say was a bias attack.

"Yesterday, Maceli was defended by his stepfather, Vic Cosentino, who said the Sikh men were "defiant and arrogant."

Cosentino, 58, said about 180 people had attended the party for Maceli's 3-month-old daughter's christening. As guests spilled out, Cosentino said, one tipsy guest slurred the Sikh pair, prompting an angry retort. Maceli, who was still inside the hall, was told there was a confrontation and went running outside."



Here is my take: Many of the people I have met in my life who call themselves Christian are not real Christians. They are cultural people whose Christianity is as deep as a puddle. The desire to be connected to a culture with rituals such as Baptisms, Weddings, etc.. is so great that they go for the parties but the religious aspect is not even an afterthought. Although this may spiritually and theologically incorrect, I sometimes think the Church would just be better off without these people. It is hard to belong to a Church with phonies and dopes in it, but as the saying goes: The Catholic Church is for sinners and saints, for respectable people the Episcopal church will do.
More on Anti-Catholic Newsday

"Newsday was hit with a one-two punch yesterday, when it was publicly censured by an industry watchdog for inflating figures and slapped with additional allegations of fraud in a lawsuit by angry advertisers."


Read all about Newsday in my archived post.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Answered Prayer?

There was an insert in the Sunday bulletin at my parish that informed us the sanctuary was basically falling apart. Our small country Church had been given a much needed expansion and renovation in 1981 and the sanctuary was made of plywood covered by carpet. The pastor has wisely decided to solicit suggestions as to what else could be done with the Church. There is a survey to fill out and I intend to make the following points:

1) The sculpture of the risen Christ should be replaced with a crucifix.

2)The tabernacle should be moved to the center in back of the altar and placed on an altar instead of a wood stand.

3)The carpet should not be replaced but a floor of marble or some good material should be put down.

4)The two blank white walls on either side of the tabernacle would be perfect to have artwork depicting Mary and Joseph. Mary is currently relegated to a side alcove and Joseph is nowhere to be found.

5)Artwork depicting saints should be placed along the (bare) walls of the Church.

6)Our parish had 9 members killed on September 11th. Some form of appropriate artwork should be installed in the Church to encourage prayers while remembering these attacks.

7)The sanctuary should be unmistakeable Catholic and also beautiful. No expense should be spared to make it so (if this had been done the last time, this current work would not be necessary).

Years ago my brother was married in a "old-fashioned" Church in Pittsburgh. My relatives attended from various states, and to this day will comment on how beautiful the Church was. My sister was married years before my brother and her wedding was in my parish Church. To this day no one has ever commented on the Church. It is not as bad as some wreckovations but it is not particularly Catholic and not at all beautiful or inspiring. I hope that this new renovation works out well!

Sunday, July 11, 2004

Hamilton vs. Burr (again)

Rival clans to relive Hamilton-Burr duel
How Then Shall We Live?: One

Excellent post at man with black hat. Read the whole thing which ends with a question about the Catholic town and University being planned in Florida.

"Would a banker be willing to see a bricklayer as his neighbor? Or will Ave Maria simply become a suburban retirement village (This is Florida, remember?) for 20,000 frustrated Republicans, who want to drive their SUVs a few blocks to daily Mass?"

Update: I just read the rest of the blog and this is the first installment in a series on Ave Maria. I find the idea of building a town revolving around Catholicism to be fascinating. There was of course the disaster of the traditionalist project in Shohola, PA where the Society of St. John tried to build a Catholic hamlet. A good Catholic Long Islander, Vincent Cioci, was originally involved in the planning of this town until he found out about financial improprieties. Then it turned out the priests behind this project were child molesters. Now, there are questions about Ave Maria from good, orthodox Catholic such as Janet Smith and Michael S. Rose. The whole fiasco with the Giant Greenhouse/Church shows that even good intentions do not always equal good results. Still, the idea of putting Catholic principles into action is one that excites the imagination and heart. Perhaps it is just as well to think of the entire Church as a city. We have to treat each other as neighbors, resolve disputes, and strengthen our various apostolates, while still making sure the roofs don't leak.