In Mexico, a Very Slow Build
Cathedral Nears Finish After 106 Years of Tumult


"Zamora, Mexico - On a festive day in 1898, workers laid the cornerstone for the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Guadalupe, boasting that their little strawberry-growing town in central Mexico would soon have a towering neo-Gothic cathedral to rival the grandest in Europe.

Nearly 106 years later workmen are still cutting stone and hauling mortar, saying that within two years they will finally finish a project that has soared and suffered through a century of Mexico's tumultuous relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. "

Eve Tushnet links to Godspy's interview with Barbara Nicolosi of Church of the Masses. Great interview, just go and read the whole thing.

"When I was watching The Passion I thought, in this particular moment, where we're coming out of the priest sex scandal and all the rest, the Church in a slumber -we've negotiated terms with the world in every quadrant, we've just settled in. We're not leaven in the dough, we are the dough. We're mostly indistinguishable from "the world" in so many places, in every profession. All of a sudden this movie comes out. It's going to rank with some of the greatest works of devout art that the Church has ever produced. I have absolutely no problem saying that. It's right up there with the other masters of their art forms. We don't deserve this film."

Ken Carney, Phil Sofia and Tom Diasparra are the names of 3 men who raped and tortured teenage boys. Some of the very disturbing details can be found in this article. The story of the Mepham High School football rapes is a local story that drew some national headlines, most recently in Sports Illustrated. Even worse than the rapes and torture was the fact that the Mepham High coaches and administrators were slow to cooperate with investigators. The district even tried to seal the records of the civil cases brought by the victims. Even worse than that is the fact that this type of brutal violence had gone on for years as shown in this article.

Here is another quote from a Call to Action conference, this one from 1997:

"The majority of us here represent a generation that's been wandering around almost 40 years since the Council, but what about the next generation? Could it be that our concerns have no relevance for the Boomers and Generation X? They don't seem turned on by our debates about who's to be ordained, what gender is needed for marriages, and whether or not we use inclusive language. As we keep insisting on these issues, could we just be the new conservators of a vision of church that doesn't speak to them in their search? Could this be the Spirit's invitation for us to probe more deeply who we are and what will ground us?"

--Michael Crosby, O.F.M. Cap

To answer this question---YES! You are the conservators of a corrupt Church that gave us disgusting priests who raped children! You are the conservators of a Church that left behind the Gospel of Jesus Christ! As another Franciscan priest, Fr. Groeschel said: "I'm not a conservative, I want to blow the whole thing up!"

"In Vatican II, Luther and the Modernists would find a home for many of their ideas."

--Anthony Padovano, speaker at the 2000 Call to Action conference

Is he right? And if so, can a Catholic then accept this council in its entirety?

I just found this: a father and son, both firefighters, both died in the World Trade Center. Another son lived-he carried Fr. Judge's body out of the WTC.

Anyone have any knowledge of theology? Is it true to say that there were other immaculate conceptions in history (Adam and Eve, John the Baptist for example) but that Mary is the Immaculate Conception?

At Catholic and Enjoying It! there is a discussion on The Perennial Santa Question-what to teach the kiddies re Santa. I have always enjoyed Andy Edelstein's column on fathering and this week he happens to touch on a similiar thing with Tooth Shall Set Ye Free .

U.S. Diplomats, Families Urged to Leave Saudi Arabia

"We remain fully confident that Saudi authorities are doing everything they can to protect their citizens and foreign nationals in the kingdom against terrorist attacks," department spokesman Lou Fintor said."

Saudi Arabia Bans Dolls, Stuffed Animals

I am so proud to be from Massapequa! Joey Buttafuoco, convicted rapist, has been arrested again, this time for fraud.

Among cities with more than 1 million residents, New York was the safest by far - with a crime rate nearly four times lower than in Dallas, three times lower than in Phoenix and roughly half as high as in Philadelphia or Los Angeles.

New York City continues to have a lower than expected crime rate. This has been the case for several years now and hopefully it will continue. I never thought of Phoenix or Dallas having high crime rates at all.

I went to an Advent Evening of Recollection tonight with the priest at the center of this story:

Priest: Former Bishop Ignored Abuse Reports
Statement links McGann to church cover-up in 1980s

He was an awesome preacher-one of the best I have ever heard.

The Catholic League is on the job and Bill Donohue is in top form:

"What both of these cases have in common is the tendency of well-educated people to engage in thought control. The cultural fascists in the U.S. are more likely to be found in salons than in saloons; more likely to be intoxicated with ideology than booze. Given a choice between dealing with old-fashioned rednecks and the Multicultural Gestapo, I'll take the former any day- at least they're capable of sobering up once and a while."

I think the St. Blog's award for Best Comment of the Year in the category of humor goes to Victor Lams commenting on E-Pression. Read Zorak's post, and then Victor's comment.

The December 2003 issue of The Catholic World Report contains a sampling of quotes on the health of Pope John Paul II that include:


"Once again the Pope's health is a matter of interest and concern, and that, in turn, raises the issue of papal succession. The Holy Father has fallen twice in recent months, breaking first his arm and then his hip." -Rev. Richard McBrien (National Catholic Reporter)

"With the obvious signs of the Pope's failing health, there is much speculation about what the issues will be in the minds of the cardinals when they go into a conclave to elect the next pontiff." -Rev. Andrew Greeley (National Catholic Reporter)

"...(T)he new building...could well be used for the next conclave. The building will be ready in 1996. Is this a clue?" -(the late) Peter Hebblethwaite (National Catholic Reporter)

"I have just been through the greatest period of agony-and of growth-in my life....I am not the same man. And so this is the person who will go into the conclave." -the late) Cardinal Joseph Bernardin (New York Times Magazine)

Interestingly, all the above quotes are from 1994.

Nice story about a guy who is from my parish

"Johnny, 19, also wanted “them rosaries.” Johnny said he was a member of the Latin Kings gang, dealt drugs and had been on probation for robbery and assault. His surrogate parents, an aunt and uncle (a drug dealer) turned him out of the house.
At the prayer group, Johnny said he finally found “people who really care and they are not even related to me.” His life, like Will’s, has changed. He plans to be baptized on December 8"

No wonder this guy has thousands of readers:

Mark Shea on professional environmentalists: "I apologize to the Earth for needing to exhale and keep warm. Can we move on now?"

Fr. Benedict Groeschel will be speaking and offering Mass at Kellenberg High School on Sunday December 14th, from 1-5 pm. All are welcome!

Driver Hit While on Radio Call-in Show

A Jesuit's Jesuit

"So in this time when reports of Jesuits dying of AIDS and rampant homosexuality in the ranks, the term "a Jesuit's Jesuit" has taken a whole new meaning. But in the original meaning of the term, Joseph Fessio is indeed a Jesuit's Jesuit and a real priest. We have not heard the last of him."

The Diocese of Rockville Centre (from website 12/7/03)

*1.5 million Catholics
*19 seminarians

The Diocese of Lincoln (from website 12/7/03)

*89,412 Catholics
*34 seminarians

I have heard of a "Dear John" letter but today I received a "Dear Akbar" email.

"I am Dr. Useni Ibrahim, a member of the contract award and review committee set up by the government of the federation for the awarding and reviewing of new and transpired contracts. I was mandated by team of my colleagues to contact you."

You know the rest, we have $10 million dollars and want to transfer it to your account, etc... I have received a few of these emails but they don't normally start with Dear Akbar...and just what is the "government of the federation"?? (BTW-my name is not Akbar)

The National Catholic Register has been featuring the cartoon Umbert the Unborn since 2001. This cartoon is very good and now the paper's parent company is publishing an Umbert book. It is called Umbert the Unborn A Womb With A View and can be pre-ordered by calling 1-800-356-9916 ext. 3809

Update: The Register article is now online

I am not the type who goes ballistic over people putting up Christmas decorations too early or stores making a big deal out of the holiday. I love Christmas and all its trappings. One thing that is annoying this year is the giant (6ft.) blowup, lighted Santa Clauses, reindeer and snowmen on lawns. These are totally tacky.

Nicole, at her beautiful blog Notes to Myself has broken down the gender of St. Blog parishioners! Now I would like to see someone break down the locations of bloggers although that would be harder to do.

This is sad:

Philippines reintroduces hanging

"Christmas is a time when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ"


-Bart Simpson

YO MOMA!

I have been listening to NPR lately, which makes me a bit "crunchy" I guess. Anyway, at lunch today I caught a bit of an interview with two people discussing "Hidden God: Film and Faith" which is a film festival and a publication both based at MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art). I only caught about 5 -10 minutes of the interview but it sounded very interesting. Babette's Feast is one of the films being shown. I first heard about this film from the "50 Best Catholic Movies of All Time". Also, both Groundhog Day and Crimes and Misdemeanors are listed. These two films were discussed in an epilogue to The Church and The Culture War: Secular Anarchy or Sacred Order by Joyce Little. I blogged about this excellent book a long time ago. The discussion of these two films is worth the price of the book itself.

Next Month in Crisis:

"In parishes across the country, Catholics are joining local chapters of Voice of the Faithful (VOTF). While critics and some bishops accuse the group of being a front for dissenters, VOTF leadership denies the charges. Who's right? Danny DeBruin knows. Six months ago, he joined the Long Island VOTF. Next month, he'll tell you what he discovered..."

I can't wait for this, it will in the January 2004 issue!

A St. Blog's family discovers Tradition

I have nothing but respect for traditional Catholics -they are partly responsible for my reverting to the faith. This includes Catholics who attend "indult" Masses and those who attend SSPX chapels. I find many of their criticisms, ideas and questions right on and no refutations I have read have convinced me otherwise. All the reading I have done (The Great Facade, etc..) has not convinced me to attend the traditional latin Mass exclusively however. I am lucky as we have an weekly "indult" Mass within a 20 minute drive. I wish my diocese and others were more traditional and orthodox and people really understood the severity of the crisis in the Church. I hope and pray the SSPX will be "reconnected" or "regularized" with the Church or whatever so that good Catholics like the Inmans will not have to fret over decisions on how to find true Catholicism in a parish setting. The idea of an apostolic administration is a good one, and the growth of the traditional Mass and traditional orders is positive. Hopefully there will be less parishes that offend Catholics and send them fleeing to the SSPX chapels but for now I think the traditional groups of all types will continue to grow, and with good reason.

RELIC FROM TILMA OF TEPEYAC COMING TO ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL IN NEW YORK

I am not going to miss this.

Update: I missed this.

Favorite Cheesy 80’s Songs:

The Humpty Dance
Walk This Way (Run DMC and Aerosmith version)
Billie Jean (MJ was good 17 faces ago)
The Curly Shuffle
Hungry Like the Wolf
Uptown Girl

The most recent Latin Mass Magazine came in with a renewal reminder notice. I did not have to think much about renewing especially after glancing at the variety of articles. A few years ago I began subscribing to Catholic magazines with zeal, perhaps too much zeal, and have recently let a few lapse. First, Homiletic and Pastoral Review because it is geared more towards priests and was a little boring. Second, Faith and Family, although beautiful, is expensive and geared more towards families and women. Crisis was almost next because I object to their attitude towards Michael S. Rose. Printing two articles against him, which he refuted, made me wonder whether Crisis was getting off track. I ended up renewing due to their great variety of articles on music, art, prayer, politics, and culture. This magazine is the only one that comes close to Latin Mass Magazine. The Fall 2003 edition of Latin Mass contains a great but sad editorial by Editor-In-Chief Fr. James McLucas. He describes the fatigue of many priests who have come up against the entrenched bureaucracy of parish committees, parish workers and volunteers who have their own vision for the parish that leaves no room for any traditional Catholicism. Although he is describing priests who long to celebrate the traditional latin mass, I think this problem is seen in many priests who just want more devotion and orthodoxy in the Church. This quote could be said about many priests, not just those who would be called “traditionalists”:

“There are good men within the Holy See who understand why an increasing number of priests, mostly in their 30’s and 40’s, are conscience-seared and conflicted about serving an increasingly secularized ecclesiastical structure which prevents the Church from being a certain trumpet. These priests have endured being bullied into submission by the use of tactics that include employing the virtue of obedience as a weapon, and by circumventing canon law so as to neutralize the protections that is supposedly offered the priest (future grist for another day).”

Perhaps not coincidently, one of the talks at the next Latin Mass magazine conference in Montvale, New Jersey will be on “Obedience: Wielding a Virtue as a Weapon”. The details for this third annual conference are in the edition also, and I will attend as I enjoyed the first two. Michael Davies, an Englishman who is a legend in traditional Catholic circles will also give a talk. Some articles from this issue I can’t wait to jump into are:

Vatican II Renewal: Myth or Reality? By Kenneth Jones
Building Goddess Paganism by Donna Steichen
The Incarnation and Western Civilization by Thaddeus Kozinski
The Monks and Civilization by Thomas Woods
Saint for the Season: The Disconcerting Sanctity of Thomas Becket by Diane Moczar
Architecture: Treasures of Tradition in the World’s Most Tragic City by Michael Rose
Visible Man: The Story of H.G. Wells by Matthew Anger and Edward Lengel
General Sherman’s Relentless Battle by Steve O’Brien
Alfred Hitchcock: Spiritual Director? By James Bemis

If Catholics were more aware of our great spiritual, artistic, cultural and theological heritage, much of the garbage of the past 35 years would never have been able to penetrate the Church. Latin Mass and Crisis magazines are doing a great job in teaching Catholics about their heritage.

4 kids 4 and under here. I never realized how many great games were on the sesame street and Nick Jr. websites

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Since checking the Ratzinger Fan Club site again after posting above, I noticed in the Guestbook my praise of the site is in between: "he is a prat who has sent my religion back to the dark ages" and "Ratzinger, you are truly the AntiChrist and have brought a return to a stale and empty Pre-Vatican II church. I know God will judge you accordingly for leading so many Catholics astray."

Una Voce International Meets in Rome

This meeting was very upbeat due to the incredible strides made this year by those "attached" to the traditional latin Mass. But to me, the highlight of the article was this:

"Christopher Haehnel, who had accompanied his father to Rome, dearly wished to meet Cardinal Ratzinger, to have his photograph taken with him, and to present him with a Tee-Shirt from the "Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club". Mr. Davies presented the Tee Shirt during the private audience, and it was accepted by the Cardinal with great good humour. "Very true," he remarked apropos the words : "Truth is not decided by a majority vote."

Too bad they didn't give him the "Laying the smackdown on heresy since 1981" mug.

I am the third of three children so this from Envoy Encore explains an awful lot...

Turkey's Mosques to Preach Anti-Terror


"The Rev. Ian Sherwood, the British consulate chaplain in Istanbul, said not enough Islamic leaders have condemned the attacks.
"I'm appalled that I've not received any statements from a Muslim teacher anywhere in the world to express sorrow or reconciliation. It's a real weakness that has to be addressed," he said after the service. "

The NY Daily News has published the names of 3 of the Mepham High School rapists and pictures of 2 of them. The said they did this even though the rapists are juveniles because of "the horrific nature of the crime". I think this may be a good thing as people should know the names and faces of dangerous criminals in their neighborhood. I have known the 3 names for weeks now and even published a "memo" to the 3 using just their last names on this site but after a couple of days I took it down because I wasn't sure if this was right. I think, but am not sure, the Daily News did the right thing. Without being charged as adults, these rapists will practically get away scot free. Now hopefully the other two involved in the rapes will be charged. I also hope that this will send a very strong message to every high school sports team in the country.

Update: Newsday has an article online about the Daily News printing the names and photos of the rapists. Seems the lawyer for one of the jocks complained about it, but the article contains some half-truths. The article states the "identities had only been whispered house to house in Bellmore". Actually, the names of the 3 rapists involved in the attack could be found on the News12 Long Island Sound Off message board. Also, someone created a website (Mepham.us) that contains a message board where the 3 names of the attackers were given, then confirmed and spelling corrected by students from Mepham weeks ago. This board also contains the names of the two other attackers, both of whom have not yet been charged. Is this another example of the "new media" topping the "old media"?

TRANSUBSTANTIATING THE CULTURE: ANDY WARHOL'S SECRET

Cool article about Warhol, a complicated and contradictory Catholic. From Godspy.

I almost forgot re: my Chris Farley post:

Tommy Boy= Best Film Ever!

Mepham players accused of sex assault reportedly admit guilt in PA court

Voice of the Faithful to Begin Vigils

*Sigh* So many of the VOF types here are good Catholics who want to do the right thing. Why can't they forget about being able to meet on Church grounds? Is it that they want the stamp of approval so badly? I wish they would concentrate on working in the diocese to reform it and make it rival Lincoln, Nebraska as one of the "best" dioceses in the country. I just can't help but think that they are wasting a lot of energy that could be very useful to the Church here.

Priests for Life Offers $50,000 Reward


"Priests for Life, the Catholic association which assists clergy of all denominations to address the abortion issue, announced today that it is offering $50,000 to anyone providing authorities with information leading to the capture of fugitives wanted for abortion clinic shootings."

This was a great idea and apparently they have had some criticism of it. To read about it click on the link and scroll down to the Commentary.

Dead comedian’s brother brings a ‘live’ message about addiction

I was (am) a big fan of Chris Farley's wacky comedy. I didn't know he named his motivational speaker character after a priest. Like most of SNL the bit was overplayed and overdone but the first sketch with this character is still one of the funniest bits ever from that tired old show. Farley's death was really a tragedy-too bad his faith couldn't reach deep enough or whatever so he could overcome his problems.

Chris Farley Foundation

Heart, Mind & Strength links to an article about some people blaming the television show ER for the nursing shortage. I heard this on NPR on the way home from work and laughed out loud. The nursing shortage has been a problem in this country for years now and it is real serious. I saw how great nurses are when my dad had cancer-it was the nurses who were there in the home with the patient day after day. Nursing is a very noble profession and although I think it is a bit silly to blame ER for a situation that existed before the show was on the air, I hope that this group's campaign will raise awareness. With the baby boomers getting older the health care industry is going to become even larger and the problems in the field must be dealt with now. I would hope that government, universities and private industries could create scholarships and programs to encourage more people to become nurses. I think the fact that it is an industry traditionally dominated by women is keeping many men from considering the field. And the fact that nurses are overworked and underappreciated keeps the turnover rate high. Hopefully the field will see nurses paid better and treated better so their ranks grow.

Mepham Letter Warns of Execution

The story of the Mepham High School rapes just keeps getting worse. There are many other stories regarding Mepham located here.

Guard Sentenced For Art Theft

Jailguards on Riker's Island stole a Salvador Dali sketch of the Crucifixion and replaced it with a copy. One of them destroyed the original to get rid of the evidence.

Well, I wanted to post about today's NY Post article regarding Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ movie. I read it first thing this morning and immediately noticed that the only "non-professional" in the group liked the movie. The priest, professor, rabbi, and film reviewer all criticized the movie based mostly on it's depiction of jews. But since I came home and read a few blogs, I noticed that Amy Welborn and Envoy Encore have already posted this and received several comments. I am not the only one who noticed that people basically saw what they wanted to see. Also, I noticed others commented on the violence in the movie, which is my only concern. I don't know if I can stand watching 2 hours of torture and death.

Brutal Hazing Charges Nothing New at Mepham High

Puttin' on my top hat...

Tonight I am off to the Faith on Tap Coffee House featuring music, coffee, and the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Hopefully I will see the Recovering Choir Director there.

Eve Tushnet found the Time Magazine Cover archives - her birthday cover was "Search for a Pope" (1978!). So I looked up mine and it was "The Catholic Exodus: Why Priests and Nuns are Quitting". (My exact birthday is Feb. 28th-for those thinking of gifts I like solid gold bars.)

The cover features James Shannon and Anita Caspary. James Shannon was apparently a bishop who left the priesthood and married. Ralph McInerny just wrote about him in Crisis Magazine. Anita Caspary was Mother General of the Immaculate Heart Sisters from 1963 to 1969 when a huge group of nuns left the Catholic Church. So the Time cover on the day I was born was about the confusing upheaval in the Church and Eve's was about the search for a Pope who would become JPII-interesting.

One great thing about St. Blog's is that I find myself constantly visiting 2 types of blogs. The first type is the most common, the ones where I find myself agreeing with most posts and it gives me a positive feeling. The bloggers are much smarter than me and express my thoughts much better than I ever could. I read these blogs to laugh, be inspired, be informed, and be uplifted. I have learned a huge amount of stuff from these “orthodox” blogs. The second type of blog is the type that makes me nuts. These blogs are the more “liberal” blogs, or at least blogs that will post things I might very much disagree with. I like to read these blogs because they challenge me and even if they infuriate me, I like to see how others think about the Church. Sometimes, by reading a post that I totally disagree with, but which is written with intelligence, thoughtfulness, and most especially love, then I can’t help but appreciate the poster, if not the position of the poster. Recently, Todd, who has infuriated me with his comments on various blogs, started his own blog, Catholic Sensibility. I found myself liking this blog right from the start. He and I probably have somewhat opposing views of traditional Catholic liturgy but I bet we would agree on more than we disagree (maybe). I just found Matt Zemek’s Wellstone Cornerstone (via Veritas) and it is self-described as “Paul Wellstone progressivism for conservatives and people of faith (and dispirited liberals, too!)”. I found myself cringing when reading about how women should be priests and how the “institutional Church” has caused problems for people, but I admire the blogger’s attempt to reach atheists and the unchurched. It is another nice site with a good tone that will appeal to many. Bill Cork of ut unum sint drives me mad often but I keep going back for more. His site is contrarian, not really "liberal" or "progressive" and will contain some posts I agree 100% with, and many that I think are off base, such as his take on Mel Gibson’s Passion of Christ film.


My biggest concern with some “progressive” Catholics is that they sometimes present the Church as: all wrong for 1960 years and now we are pushing it forward into the next century. This attitude comes through, perhaps inadvertently, from some bloggers. I also don’t understand the contempt (or fear or both?)some feel toward traditional Catholics and traditional Catholicism, especially when you consider the mess the Church is in today. I do love St. Blogs for having such a great variety of Catholic bloggers!

Wheaton College lifts 143-year dance ban

Someone should make a movie about this, a small rural community of people forbidden to dance due to fundie Christian beliefs....maybe have Kevin Bacon play one of the students.

New "apostles" bring varied gifts to life at the seminary


I knew this would happen--now that our diocese is no longer in the hands of dissenters, as it was for 20 years, the seminary is attracting vocations. I understand the woman gatekeeper who would keep out orthodox candidates was recently replaced. These 12 will need all the prayers they can get, as the seminary and diocese are still not totally cleansed.

"The “12 apostles” are the largest incoming class in the past 10 years, said Father Coogan. The seminarians will follow a five-year program which includes four years of study and one year working in a parish setting."

Update: 10 of the 12 are seminarians for the Diocese of Rockville Centre

Art Carney, RIP

Many of the obits contain classic Honeymooners lines, but none I have seen had the one where Ralph was summoned to the local tax office because of a problem with his return:

Norton: "When you go in there, stand on the 18th Amendment"

Ralph: "You mean the 5th amendment!! The 18th Amendment was for prohibition!! "

Norton: "That's what I mean, tell 'em you were drunk when you did your taxes"

Mepham Teens To Be Tried As Juveniles

This is not good, but I expected it. The judge was considered very unlikely to be swayed by any media or public outcry, and the conditions to charge juveniles as adults were difficult to meet. I just hope that the victims' families get some form of justice.


A reasonably good column about Mepham High by Ed Lowe- How Alive Is Their Pride?

Final Score: 61.5


This is the first quiz thing I have put on Gen X Revert (found it via A Saintly Salmagundi). I have to say I did not have cable so no MTV, just Friday Night Videos and some UHF station that showed videos for about a month.

The Guidebook of a Lifetime - The Next One
Anthony DeStefano believes he has a bead on the afterlife. Good news! It’s the heaven of your dreams.

This article features a weird sounding book written by a Long Islander who also works as head of Priests for Life. The priest who reviewed it for the diocese is Msgr. George Graham, who I know to be orthodox and intelligent. Here is a little about the author from the Priests for Life website.

"The book received an imprimatur from the Diocese of Rockville Centre, which means that nothing is in conflict with the church's teachings. "You're not saying that the bishop agrees with everything in the book, but only that it's not in conflict with Catholic teaching," says Msgr. George Graham, who was assigned by Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre to read DeStefano's book and decide whether it qualified for an imprimatur. "We have a great deal of freedom in the Catholic Church. This is an imaginative exercise. 'If I were God, what would I make heaven like?' I think that's what Anthony has done here."

One of the Mepham High School rapists will testify against the other two. In case anyone forgot these football players will be charged with:

*Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse- Felony 1st Degree
* Aggravated Assault- Felony 1st Degree
* Kidnapping- Felony First Degree
* Unlawful Restraint- Felony 2nd Degree
* False Imprisonment- Felony 2nd Degree
* Terroristic Threats- Misdemeanor 1st Degree
* Criminal Coercion- Misdemeanor 2nd Degree
* Simple Assault- Misdemeanor 2nd Degree
* Reckless Endangering of Another Person- Misdemeanor 2nd Degree
* Ethnic Intimmidation- Misdemeanor 3rd Degree
* And multiple counts of Criminal Conspiracy to commit many of the above crimes

Check out the beautiful blog Notes to Myself... The picture of Mary holding Jesus was haunting. I right clicked on it to get the properties and followed the link to the Biblia Vivida page which contains many art galleries (scroll down). For some reason I have always liked modern depictions of Jesus and Mary as well as icons.

I added Summa Mamas to the blogroll on the right. One of the summa mamas -Smockmomma- has a great homepage as well.

6,000 LONG ISLAND CATHOLICS SIGN PETITION IN SUPPORT OF BISHOP MURPHY

That's funny, I don't remember seeing this is Newsday...

I have read several columns attempting to justify it but I don't see why we should give $87 billion to Iraq rather than loan the money out, to be paid back when the oil is pumping. If we have this kind of money available to give away, how about giving it to Americans, or even to other countries in this hemisphere?

Gen X Revert is now listed on blogs4God.

Mepham Coaches Urged to Resign
District warns Mepham football coaches they may lose jobs

What took them so long????? The important thing is that the principal should be fired. It is fact that he knew one of the players was violent before the camping trip and still allowed him to play football, still allowed him to go on this trip.

Go to Church of the Masses and read the post on priests who insist on being called "Joe" or such. This is another generation gap thing in the Church. Fr. Todd Reitmeyer comments in this post about being given slack for insisting on being called Father. I don't want to call a priest Larry or Bud or Nancy. The post by Barbara Nicolosi is so good I want to quote it all but I will stick with:

"When Mary Magdalen recognized him Easter morning and called him “Rabboni!” he didn’t say, “Hey Mary, chill. Everybody calls me Jesus."

and

"You are a priest, and that dignity supercedes your Joe-ness."

Some more vacation reading:

It's Getting Better All The Time 100 Greatest Trends of the Last 100 Years--
I took this out at the library to thumb through and make me feel good. Basically, according to the Cato Institute, most things in life are better today than they were in 1900. For instance, infant mortality rates are lower than ever, people are living longer, less people are smoking, more people have high school and college education, and perhaps most importantly, more people take a bath or shower daily than ever before. This was my feel-good book.

Disco Bloodbath A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland--

I am not including this link because this book was written by a monster about a monster. It is about Michael Alig, a clubkid who killed and dismembered a drug dealer. Macaulay Caulkin played him in the movie Party Monster. I read stuff like this once in awhile for cheap thrills and to be reminded of just how messed up people can become.

The Habit: A History of the Clothing of Catholic Nuns--

Some interesting history and nice photos, it was a pleasant look at Nuns through the ages.

Christians Arrested in Egyptian Crackdown on Converts

Link via Catholic and Enjoying It!

More tyranny and torture from the "Religion of Peace". I hope that Christians the world over will figure out how to assist our brothers and sisters in the Sudan, Phillipines, Egypt, Indonesia, and elsewhere who are being persecuted by Muslims. I am in the middle of reading 1000 Years for Revenge International Terrorism and The FBI, The Untold Story by Peter Lance. One of the things this author contends is that "al Qaeda, with the exception of Osama bin Laden himself, who is a Saudi of Yemeni origin, is dominated completely by radical Egyptians". See this interview.

The Long Island Catholic has an article on Sister Mary Gabriel from the Sisters of Life. Sister was one of the organizers of the young adult retreat I attended.

"Along with vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Sisters of Life take a vow to protect all human life, especially mothers, children and the unborn. Among other ministries, they counsel women who have had abortions and women who are at risk for an abortion. They also share one of their residences, Sacred Heart of Jesus in New York City, with mothers who choose to keep their babies. They direct the Family Life/Respect Life Office for the Archdiocese of New York and evangelize locally and nationally. They have four residences, two in the Bronx, one in New York City and the fourth in Yonkers. The congregation will host a “Come and See” at Our Lady of New York in the Bronx on November 28-30. For more information call vocation director Sister of Life Veronica Mary at 718-863-2264."

I was listening to Howard Stern a little this morning (I know, I know) and Quentin Tarantino was asked his opinion on Roman Polanski getting an oscar. Tarantino's response was: well he isn't really a rapist and the 13 year old girl was "into it". Good for Stern and Robin for pointing out the absurdity of this whole argument. I guess Hollywood has no room for zero tolerance when it comes to Michael Jackson, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul Reubens, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski and Victor Salva.

I read a book review in America Magazine that contained this stunning paragraph:

"The Inner Experience is a significant addition to Thomas Merton’s (1915-68) books in print. In this text Merton, the most prolific and widely read Christian spiritual author of the 20th century, gives an orderly approach to his thought on contemplation available in no other text. Further, the first four chapters are a superb general introduction to Christian spirituality—amazing, since the text was written in 1959, several years before the spiritual renewal prompted by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)."

Whaaaa??? it is amazing that someone wrote a superb general introduction to Christian spirituality in 1959????? Before a supposed "spiritual renewal"??? What planet is this reviewer living on? I have not read America for years and after reading through several recent issues at the library, I see I have not missed much.

Speaking of the jocks/rapists at Mepham High--can we please get priests to stop mentioning sports at Mass? I don't mean during their homily, I mean at the beginning of Mass or at the end. The priests know if they make a joke about the Yankees, Jets or Notre Dame they can get a cheap laugh from some of the people and it just seems dumb. It seems this occurs more frequently and it is like nails on a chalkboard to me. It just seems to be a case of the priests being desperate to prove they are regular guys, but I don't think it is appropriate at Mass.

Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies

On Friday afternoon, November 7th, 2003 from 3:30 PM to about 5:30 PM, Mr. Rick Hinshaw will lecture on the topic: The Prudential Application of Catholic Social Thought: Welfare, Health Care, and Drug Law Reform. The lecture will take place at Nassau Community College in Rooms 252-3 of the College Center Building. There will be a period for audience questions. Coffee and cookies at 3 P.M. All are invited, free of any charge. Mr. Hinshaw currently serves as the Communications Director for the Nassau County District Attorney's office and is a regular columnist for the Long Island Catholic newspaper. He formerly was a staff member for both the New York State Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. If more information is needed, feel free to contact the Director of the Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies, Dr. Joseph A. Varacalli, at varacaj@ncc.edu

I met another blogger at the Faith on Tap meeting last night! Aristotle from Confessions of a Recovering Choir Director stopped in to say hi before heading to a meeting. I am sure we will meet again-St. Blog's is a heckova parish! The meeting itself was good-Fr. Harvey was no nonsense and refreshingly blunt. I thought he did better in the Q & A segment than in the lecture itself. He answered some touchy questions with compassion. I wish there was more time for Q & A because many people had questions on the difficult topic of homosexuality and the Church. Father had to catch a train back to Manhattan so he had to leave at 9:30 sharp. He did mention Beyond Gay, the book by another blogger David Morrison at Sed Contra.

This article proves everything I have believed about the situation involving the brutal rapists at Mepham High School. I blogged about the large and growing Jewish population in the area, and how they use the schools for education instead of bullying, and how the coach and principal have known about violence from the dumb jocks before the trip to camp. I hope people don't forget this incident and it haunts the people of Mepham High and Bellmore for decades to come.

I love the Curt Jester's slogans for the Catholic Church. My favorite is "2000 years of annoying people". I think I mentioned before that one of the professional writers in St. Blog's should write a book containing various posts from different blogs, perhaps grouped together by topic. There is a large variety of personalities and viewpoints in this parish and some great writing. Humor would be a large chapter!

In case anyone is wondering why I am blogging during the day, I am actually on vacation. I was supposed to be on a great cruise put together by St. Raphael's Catholic Singles, but it was cancelled. They never said why, but I suspect they did not have enough paying customers. I was given a full refund but I never got around to making other plans for the week. I can't stand it, I just can't stand it! Later tonight I will be at Faith on Tap at the Wantagh Inn. Fr. Harvey, founder of Courage, will speak on the Church and Homosexual people-I hope the Baptist Church from Topeka Kansas don't show up to protest.

We're not in Kansas anymore

Members of a Baptist Church from Topeka Kansas (actually just the minister's family) protested at Mepham High School today. This is the school where at least 5 football players raped and tortured smaller, younger players at a camp. Dozens of other jocks stood around and watched. These wacky protesters should go back to Kansas and stop calling themselves Christian. The reaction of some Mepham people are just as wacky though:

"Parents of students at the school said they were also outraged by the protest and felt the constant attention was stalling effort to move on. 'It's a terrible incident and it happened and we have to deal with it,' said Nancy Sheridan, whose daughter is a senior at the high school, 'but it is already October and we haven't moved forward yet."

Seems many "just want to move on already". People, this was a MAJOR crime and is the latest in a long line of crimes committed by jocks --remember the 5 Glen Ridge High School football players who gangraped a mentally challenged teen? Remember the 5 lacrosse players at St. John's University who gang raped a student?? Remember the jocks at Columbine High School who harrassed and assaulted the 2 students who later went on a shooting spree??? After the public exposure of this horrible crime, people have been threatened not to talk, police have been ignored, school officials were slow to act. Before anyone "moves on" we need to stop this behavior and people need to be punished severely. The coaches and principal should be fired for allowing a known violent thug to attend an overnight camp and to continue playing football. School districts all over the country need to stop giving jocks special treatment and all violence in all schools needs to end. Then we can move on.

I visited some relatives over the weekend and went to a lovely Church with many paintings and statues. The outside of the Church had a cornerstone with the date 1915 but the inside looked brand new. The whole interior was restored and had a great high altar, paintings on the ceiling, detailed stations of the cross. The liturgical "experts" would say all this would distract people from the action of the Mass but this was not true. The art lifted my spirit up while the true distractions were the cantor's style and the sloppiness of the altar boys--sneakers and jeans and wrinkled garb.

More on the retreat --

First, please pray for a young man who attended who feels a call to the priesthood. Also, prayers would be appreciated for a man who is torn over his beliefs. He was raised Catholic, became a Baptist in his 20's and now feels pulled towards the Church. He told me he attends his Baptist church on Sunday, but a Catholic Church during the week. He was very sincere and searching, and thankfully, he spent a lot of time talking with a couple of the Friars and the Sister of Life. He was very impressed with them and hopefully they were a help to him.

The retreat was filled with charismatic-type elements--the music was praise and worship, many of the young people raised their hands when singing or praying, and many more sat on the floor during Adoration or even prostrated themselves before the Blessed Sacrament. At first I did not know what to make of this, my friend said she watched me during the first song at the beginning of the retreat to see my reaction. Honestly, I like some of the praise and worship stuff, and some of the songs were quite inspiring. I also have to say that I like sitting on the floor of the chapel for Adoration more than in the chairs. Overall, the retreat made a great impression on me and many others so regardless of style or personal preference, the retreat was a success. The Friars have a knack for balancing enthusiastic praise with traditional devotions and it worked!

Two years ago I went to a Latin Mass Magazine conference in New Jersey for the first time. I remember telling people of all the interesting people I met there. One of the people I sat next to at dinner advised me he was a Jewish convert who sent a manuscript to Ignatius Press called Salvation Is From The Jews. I had pretty much forgotten about this until I received the Fall/Winter catalog today and saw that this was one of the newly published books.

Another former youth minister at a Catholic parish arrested for sodomizing a teenage boy!!

This guy is my age and from my hometown-the great cleansing continues!

Legatus comes to Long Island!

Someone did a search for Timothy and Thomas Haskell in google. These were 2 brothers lost on September 11th, 2001 who happened to be from my parish, St. William the Abbott. Rest in Peace. +

Check out the first hand account of Mother Theresa's Beatification at Shrine of the Holy Whapping

Where to begin on the weekend’s retreat…First, it was for Catholics in their 20’s and 30’s and put together by a couple of people from a Frassati group in the Bronx. I met people from Jersey, Westchester, the Bronx, Long Island-about 50 people attended. The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal were there and they were great. Sr. Mary Gabriel from the Sisters of Life was one of the organizers also. There was Adoration for the entire weekend, except of course during Mass. People signed up for every hour during the night. The music was “praise and worship” which I normally do not like for Mass, but it was fine when sung before each talk. Some of the songs were very good, and it was great to have high energy songs sung by everyone. Let the record show that Gen X Revert actually clapped his hands during a couple of upbeat numbers. It was a very devout group which is wonderful to experience. There were about 7 Friars but not all at the same time, some were in the seminary and had tests to take on Saturday. Fr. Marius Koch celebrated Mass on Sunday. On Saturday night they had the Eucharistic procession where each person was blessed with the monstrance- that was quite powerful. The Benedictine nuns from Huntington visited that night. Another group of nuns were there but I was not sure who they were. It was nice to see so many nuns and Friars in habits! While the procession was going on, there were 2 Friars and 2 diocese priests hearing confession. I went to confession to one of the Friars face to face (another amazing thing for me to do), and it was very good. With the bushy beard and caring demeanor, it was like going to a rabbi.

A priest gave the talk on Saturday morning- He was very impressed with the group, and of course is very familiar with the Friars. He started out by saying how great it was to see so many young people serious about their faith. He mentioned a "listening session" at a parish. Apparently it was mostly older people, VOF of course, and many were asking “where are the young people?”. Father told us he sat in the back, smiled, and said nothing, but thought to himself –"They are in front of the Eucharist praying for your salvation!!”.

Just got back from a weekend retreat. Very tired. Will blog later. Awesome retreat.

This column gives more background about the Mepham High School rape case-it was already known that the principal and head dumb jock, er, I mean coach, knew at least one of the animals on the football team was violent before the camping trip. And yet nothing was done to prevent this monster from going on the overnight trip. Is this the same football player who was suspended for behavioral problems before the trip? Why hasn't the principal or coach been fired yet????? You would think after Columbine High School, another situation involving violent dumb jocks, that so called authorities would take more steps to fight the bad people in schools.

From the email about Mel Gibson's Passion, now called Passion of Christ:

Thanks to the many supporters of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ"!

Visit our websites for the latest news articles and FAQ's for Mel Gibson's film. In effort to reach even more people, the website has now also been translated into Portuguese and Russian, with even more languages coming soon.

Here are just a few news items we wanted to mention:

1) The official title of the movie has changed to "The Passion of Christ".

2) Although the film is still struggling for a distribitur, the goal is to release the film in US theaters on February 25, 2004. (Hopefully, we will not have to wait much longer).

3) We had previously stated on our website that "James Horner" was the composer for the film's soundtrack. He is NOT, and we apologize for this mis-information. On a related note, it is rumored that the lead singer of the pop rock group, The Cranberries, is singing a song in Latin for the soundtrack.

As many of you know, the film still struggles to get a US distributor for the film, but there are some prospects. (Please see the NEWS section of the website for more details). Your support continues to be outstanding. Just in the past month, there has been an overwhelming response of supporters. We wish to share with you how your support is beneficial. The following link will show you the popular areas of interest based on the information you provide us on the website. This information could prove to be useful to those considering distributing the film. In particular, note the increased areas of concentration in just the past month:

http://www.passion-movie.com/promote/index.html

When a certain area has a high concentration of interest, there is an increased likelihood that "The Passion of Christ" will be shown in theaters in that area. Distributors are meeting with Icon Productions in the following weeks and months, so you and your friends' support is crucial at this time.

Also, many of you have asked if there are more ways to promote Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ". Simply talking to others about the movie helps. You can pray that the film be made available to those who want to see it and that it touches the hearts of its' viewers. Also, if you know of anyone who would be interested in this movie, please let them know about it and ask them to visit the website.

We have received many requests that we adjust our online petition, the "Support Passion" section, so that people can sign the petition without an email address. We have made this adjustment. Now, when you sign the petition, simply UNCHECK the box that says "Please send me news and announcements" and you can sign the petition without an email address. This is especially helpful for those who have circulated a petition and collected names without email addresses. Those names can now be submitted to us on our petition:

http://www.passion-movie.com/english/support.html

For those who have e-newsletters or a website with an audience that would have an interest in the movie, we have provided text and images that you can use to link to our website:

http://www.passion-movie.com/promote/banner.html

The New York Post editorial section is worth the price of the paper. The rest of the paper is tabloid sleeze. Today I was able to read 3 great columns-

George F. Will on the irrelevant Episcopal Church in America

Michelle Malkin on how a NY Times writer described Bobby Jindal, candidate for Louisiana governor and pro-lifer, as "dark skinned".

Maggie Gallagher on Pope John Paul the Great's 25 years, the best writing on this I have seen. Favorite part:

"Both here and abroad, hopes for a new Catholic Church dedicated to contraception, abortion, divorce, homosexuality and female priests were cruelly dashed. After 25 years, what has also been dashed is the myth that these steps represent irresistible "progress." We have seen the future, and it is not Episcopalian. "

Eve Tushnet linked to this great news about Peanuts. ALL the comic strips will be printed in books over the next 12 1/2 years in chronological order! I was an avid collector of Peanuts comic books when I was a kid, actually I still have all the books in my closet. Peanuts is still the best cartoon series ever, the only ones to come close was Bloom County and of course Calvin and Hobbes.

I was so offended by yesterday's reading at Mass. Our parish obviously does not use gender-neutral texts. Therefore I have rewritten the selection from the Book of Wisdom so it is gender neutral:

Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

I preferred Wisdom to scepter and throne, And deemed riches nothing in comparison with him/her/it,

nor did I liken any priceless gem to Wisdom; Because all gold, in view of Wisdom, is a little sand, and before Wisdom, silver is to be accounted mire.

Beyond health and comeliness I loved him/her/it, And I chose to have Wisdom rather than the light, because the splendor of Wisdom never yields to sleep.

Yet all good things together came to me in Wisdom's company, and countless riches at Wisdom's hands;

And I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader, though I had not known that Wisdom is the parental unit of these.

Simply I learned about Wisdom, and ungrudgingly do I share- Wisdom's riches I do not hide away


I am sure that ICEL would be proud.

WooHoo!! It's Monday morning and I am not at work. Thank you Christopher Columbus.

Today's Newsday has an article from Bob Keeler on the Pope's Legacy. At least that is what the title suggests the article is about. It is actually another forum for Keeler, a rigidly liberal Catholic, to spout his anger and hate for the Pope who refuses to get with the times and do whatever Keeler and his ilk want. Like most older dissenters, Keeler is bitter about the Church not changing to become the great social services agency he wants it to be. This is why he is on the Newsday editorial board, so they can use him as their token Catholic to push their agenda. This is the same writer who uses his space in Newsday to call for lay people to give the "sermons" at Mass. Also the same writer who was personal friends with one of the child molesting priests removed from ministry here by Bishop Murphy. He is nothing more than Newsday's water boy who pushes their anti-Catholic agenda for them.

This is sad. In searching for info on Reiki and the Eastern Orthodox, I found the website of the Evensong by the Sea retreat center. Check out their staff- former priests who just can't give it up entirely. Former Fr. Jim is "a member of CORPUS, an association for an inclusive priesthood, the Women's Ordination Conference, and Call to Action". This is where false teachings and faulty theology lead to, people who are outside the Church but still clinging to the shell of its spirituality and traditions.

I received an email that asks "Is REIKI considered an occult practice, or demonology, in the Eastern Orthodox Church?". I have no idea, and could not find anything on the internet. Does anyone know?

I LOVE BEING CATHOLIC

I just had an urge to say that.

STATEMENT OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DENIS DILLON TO NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE ON MANDATORY REPORTING OF ABUSE OF MINORS


The Legislature wants to pass a bill to make clergy mandatory reporters but the district attorney argues, fine, but let's expand it to include other professionals that have contact with children. Go read this now, Denis Dillon is great. In fact, I will put the whole thing here:

"I come before you today to publicly ask you, Ms. Jacobs, to allow the entire Legislature to debate and vote on the proposed amendment to Local Law 5-2002 requested by me as District Attorney and introduced by Minority Leader Peter Schmitt almost a year ago. To date, you have refused to even refer this proposal to Committee for discussion and a possible vote -- even though, if my information is correct, it has the support of a majority of the members of the legislature. If that is the case, your blocking debate and a vote by the people’s elected representatives is all that prevents this very necessary amendment from being enacted into law. What is it you fear?
The County’s current reporting law exclusively targets clergy: priests, rabbis, ministers, and muslim clergy. Statistical data, however, provide no evidence that abuse of minors is more prevalent among clergy than among other professions that deal with minors. Certainly, the experience of my office or just a glance at the daily headlines confirms that such abuse occurs among virtually all groups that work with young people: teachers and other school personnel, sports coaches, scout leaders, school bus drivers, camp counselors, even police officers.
Despite this, current reporting requirements in New York State law are limited only to suspected abuse by parents or guardians. This points up the glaring need to do more to protect all vulnerable youth against abuse by any adult -- not just a parent or clergyperson. This amendment would help to do so, by providing that all adults who in their professional capacities become aware of possible abuse of a minor by any adult must report it to an appropriate law enforcement agency. Why do you fear this?
In your letter to me of March 18, you characterized this proposal as "primarily" designed "to expand the list of mandated reporters to include ‘abortion providers.’" This is inaccurate. As I just made clear, my bill does not single out any one group. In opposing it, however, you have singled out one group for special protection. "This Democratic Majority unanimously supports a woman’s right to choose," you wrote to me last March; and any legislation, even that bearing on the reporting of sexual abuse of minors, must "comport with our expressed ideology on this issue."
My proposal, on the other hand, simply includes abortion providers among a list of more than 30 groups of professionals who must report information regarding sexual abuse of minors. And with good reason. I’ve seen shocking and deeply disturbing data regarding the sexual exploitation of teen and even pre-teen girls by adult males. According to one study, "among girls 15 and under who become pregnant, between 60 and 80 percent are impregnated by adult males!"
Under New York State law, this constitutes the crime of rape. One group of professionals in a unique position to learn of such crimes are abortion providers. It is therefore essential that they be included as required reporters, along with all the other professionals listed in this amendment.
Why do you fear this? Why protect rapists? Why do you refuse to protect all vulnerable children?
Rather than address these issues, you accused me of crossing "the line between [my] personal beliefs and upholding the law." You did not discuss whether you would assist me in "upholding the law" by seeing that all professionals with information about sexual abuse of minors be required to report it. Instead, in the words of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, you came dangerously close to suggesting that my Catholicism is getting in the way of my professional duties.
In fact, the changes I am proposing in the County law are designed precisely to assist me in fulfilling my professional duties. We need to broaden the reporting requirements to include not just clergy, but all adult professionals who work with minors, so that we may better protect all youngsters against abuse by any adults. And we also need to specify exactly what information must be reported, so that we can better enforce compliance with the statute, and more effectively investigate and prosecute those who prey on minors. This amendment would accomplish that goal as well. Why would you oppose such a bill? What do you fear? Why are you protecting sexual predators?
I implore you, Ms. Jacobs, to stop blocking this bill from coming to the floor for a vote. I urge you not to let your ideology on a single issue blind you to the urgent need to do all we can to protect our children from sexual exploitation and abuse. And I urge the Democratic members of this Legislature to do all you can to persuade your majority leader to allow you to deliberate and vote on this vital legislation.
Why would you oppose it? What do you fear? Why protect rapists? Why refuse to pass a law that would help protect vulnerable children?"