Saturday, October 17, 2009

SSPX Talks Scheduled

"The first meeting of talks between the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei and the Society of St. Pius X will take place in the morning of Monday 26th October, the Vatican announced today.

The talks are taking place to consider the doctrinal issues that separate the traditionalist society from full unity with the Church. "

I don't hold out much hope for these talks but hopefully it will bear fruit. The people in the SSPX are for the most part more committed to the Gospel than many Catholics.
Albania to India: Give us back Mother Teresa

"(CNN) -- "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world."

"That's how Mother Teresa chose to describe herself in life. In death, however, her words will probably do little to settle a diplomatic squabble over her remains.
The Albanian government wants her back, before her 100th birthday next year."

Friday, October 16, 2009

New maternity home a labor of love

From the The Long Island Catholic, a nice story about the latest pro-life project in the DRVC -

"MERRICK — Mary’s Residence, a new transitional living facility for young single mothers, was dedicated here October 6 after a nine-month renovation process that was described as “a miracle every step of the way.” The home will allow Catholic Charities to provide additional services for young women who graduate from Regina Residence, which has been offering housing and support to mothers for 40 years."

"Kathy Ryan, program administrator for Regina Residence, explained that the “miracles” came in the form of community members who helped make Mary’s Residence possible. First, the Foley family which owned the house next door to Regina Residence agreed to sell it to Catholic Charities well below market value, in memory of the uncle who had lived there and was a devout man who supported the neighboring residence.

Next, a donor who wishes to remain anonymous gave $100,000 for the project. “Then, we were unbelievably blessed by the Marianist family’s involvement,” said Ryan. The Society of Mary, or Marianists, is the order of priests and brothers who run Kellenberg Memorial and Chaminade high schools and the St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in the diocese. The local Meribah province decided to “adopt” Mary’s Residence and provided all the interior renovations, including materials and labor, which would easily have equaled $150,000 according to Catholic Charities’ estimate. At the dedication ceremony, Bishop Murphy announced that the diocese would match the generous donations already given, by pledging another $250,000 to support Mary’s Residence."
LI diocese: Now in full compliance with sex abuse rules

Here are some snippets from an article in today's Newsday with my thoughts in red:

"The Diocese of Rockville Centre is now in full compliance with nationwide Roman Catholic Church regulations aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse, following its failure last year when it was audited on those rules."

[Actually there are no such 'nationwide rules' in the Catholic Church, just guidelines - bishops rule their own dioceses and can follow or ignore these guidelines at will.]

"Last year an audit found that, while the diocese passed virtually every aspect of the 13-article audit, it failed in one part of one article. Of five parishes audited, one did not take sufficient action to train church volunteers in "safe environments" - or at least did not produce proper documentation showing it did so, church officials said.
That problem has been cleared up, according to the latest audit, conducted by The Gavin Group, an outside organization that audits dioceses throughout the country."


[I wonder if auditing only 5 parishes in a diocese of 133 parishes is really enough? I am afraid the errant parish may have been St. Martin of Tours in Amityville, as they only had their volunteers go through Virtus this past year. I don't see why every parish can't have this Virtus thing in force without any slipups.]

"Some 84,000 people in the diocese including bishops, priests, deacons and lay people, have completed "Virtus" training to help them recognize the signs and symptoms of abuse and instruct them on how to act to keep children safe, the diocese said in a statement."

[84,000 is an astonishing number. I think it is great that many people have been through this training as any type of raising awareness is good. It is also astonishing to think that many people volunteer or work within the Church or Church related entities here on Long Island.]
This is a fun rant from Matthew Archibold at Creative Minority Report -

I'm Making Lutheran Priestesses Here

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Anglicans Looking to Rome: 1570 - Present
Lecture by Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton

Friday, November 6th, 2009 @ 7:30 PM
College Center Building, Rooms 252-253
Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY
Free, registration required

I hope to be able to attend this event, another program offered by the Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Mother's milk a sour point

"A security guard at a Medicaid office in Midtown ignored the state's breast-feeding-friendly laws and demanded that a mother stop nursing her baby, according to the mom and her lawyer.

Susana Aldanondo, 33, a mother of three, isn't seeking a dime -- but in a letter to the city's Human Resources Administration, her lawyer, WABC Radio personality Ron Kuby, is demanding an apology and a commitment to train workers.

Aldanondo was at the West 34th Street office on Sept. 24. She said she was discreet in nursing her 3-month-old son, Nicholas, making sure the baby was tucked under her shirt.

"That's when this officer said I couldn't do that there. I just looked at him," Aldanondo said.


"He said, 'Get up, turn the chair around and face the wall.' "

When Aldanondo whipped out her cellphone and pretended she was calling her lawyer, the guard walked off, she said.

An HRA spokeswoman said, "HRA will continue to fully comply with the law as it relates to this issue."


Finally Ron Kuby is doing something worthwhile - let's hope this raises some awareness. Related link: La Leche League

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Mom and her teens care for dad with early onset Alzheimer's

This heartbreaking story is today's offering in a Newsday series on Alzheimer's. The Mom in the story blogs at Follow You, Follow Me: Our Journey.
The Human Experience, a new documentary from Grassroots Films, has won Best Documentary at the Long Island Film Festival.
Pope canonizes 5 new saints, including priest who helped leprosy patients in Hawaii

"VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints Sunday, including a 19th century priest whose work with leprosy patients on a Hawaiian island has been hailed by U.S. President Barack Obama as inspiring those helping AIDS sufferers in today's world.

Among the pilgrims packing St. Peter's Basilica was Hawaii resident Audrey Toguchi, an 80-year-old retired teacher whose recovery from lung cancer a decade ago was called miraculous by the Vatican.

She had prayed to Belgium-born Jozef De Veuster, more commonly known as Father Damien, who himself died from leprosy in 1889 after contracting the disease while working with leprosy patients who were living in isolation on Molokai island.

Toguchi and her doctor, Walter Chang, joined a procession of faithful bringing relics of the new saints to Benedict at the central altar of the basilica."


As usual The Deacon's Bench points out an article with more interesting details:

"Sitting in the front row at St. Peter's Basilica facing the pope were 11 of the last remaining Hawai'i residents sent to Kalaupapa after being diagnosed with Hansen's disease when the state still imposed quarantine restrictions on those with the sickness.

Today, those patients are mostly in their 70s and 80s.

At the ceremony, many of them wept.

Kalaupapa resident Elroy Makia Malo said Father Damien is his hero."He caught the disease and he died," Malo said. "To have given his life for what he believed in. Oh, it makes me feel small."