Long Island Woman Murdered For Not Getting An Abortion

"She had a love for life and even more love for children," Napolitano said. "We believe it was this love of life, of her refusal to get an abortion, that compelled her killer ... " to murder her."

Remember President Bush at Ground Zero on top of the crushed fire truck speaking on a bullhorn? The workers couldn't hear him at all and one of them shouted out "We can't hear you George", prompting the famous "I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of us...real soon") This article is about Bob Beckwith, the retired firefighter standing with Bush -

The Firefighter Seen 'Round the World

This post at Heart, Strength, Mind links to an article saying a new galaxy was discovered. So I click on the link and read:

"Astronomers have discovered an invisible galaxy that could be the first of many that will help unravel one of the universe's greatest mysteries.
The object appears to be made mostly of "dark matter" material of an unknown nature that can't be seen. "

This is why history and literature were my best subjects and not science. How can anyone discover something invisible? How did they find this sucker and how can we prove someone didn't just make this up, you know to impress a boyfriend or girlfriend?

"I just discovered a galaxy honey"
"Really, where?"
"Oh, you can't see it"

These astronomers are the same people who named a planet Uranus and then tried to change the pronounciation to avoid embarassing questions like - how many rings does Uranus have? Can we really trust them?

Update: I just discovered a planet made of dark matter. Now I just have to come up with a name...

Pregnant Woman Shot to Death by Baby's Father

"A Long Island man shot and killed his brother's ex-wife to keep her from revealing she was pregnant with his child, a law enforcement official said Thursday."

In 1996 a local group called Friends of EWTN invited Mother Angelica to Long Island and over 3,000 EWTN supporters showed up. The group is now hosting an event on Saturday April 2nd that will feature talks by EWTN host Fr. Mitch Pacwa and Fr. Walter Quinn from Priests for Life. This will take place at Kellenberg High School and include:

8:30 am - 9:30 am Pick up breakfast and registration
9:30 am - 12:15 pm 3 conferences + Mass of the day
Lunch & time to visit with Fr. Pacwa & Fr. Quinn

$25 donation per person includes breakfast, lunch and conferences

I intend to go to this event so if any locals are interested please let me know. I can provide the information as to how to register.

New blog by a priest affiliated with Opus Dei: The Truth Will Make You Free

The world we live in -

Teen Accused of Parent's Murder

A 16 year old girl is on trial for murdering her parents. Apparently the motive given for the murder is that the parents wanted to press charges against the girl's 19 year old boyfriend, for statutory rape. At her trial, the prosecutors don't want to bring up the statutory rape since it might mess up their murder case. The rapist is also an illegal immigrant, possible gang member and faces drug charges as well.

Joan of Arcadia: An Interview With Its Catholic Producer

"What will you say to God at the pearly gates?

I can explain."

via Cultural Catholic

After shoveling out 4 more inches of snow I headed to Dunkin Donuts to get some caffeine for even more shoveling. My Congressman Peter King came in and I shook his hand and told him he does a great job. He told me I made his day, which is cool.

The pope's condition is deteriorating, for all to see, and he's becoming a potent symbol for his message: that life is sacred, no matter how painful

A decent article from Newsweek.

Ex-Priest Shanley Gets 12-15 Years for Rape

"Shanley became a focal point of the scandal after plaintiffs' attorneys forced the church to release internal records about him. Among the records were documents indicating that he was transferred from parish to parish after allegations surfaced, and that he had attended a forum with other people who later went on to form the North American Man-Boy Love Association, or NAMBLA."




Seven NAMBLA Members Busted in Sex Sting


Beautiful.

Woman Speaks Again After 20 Years

You Don't Like Me! You Really Don't Like Me!!!

The Catholic Blogs Awards voting has ended -congrats to the winners. I hope next year I see Eve Tushnet, Envoy Encore, Heart Strength and Mind, Sed Contra nominated as they are all excellent. I am sure there are other excellent blogs that were not nominated as well. There has been some talk of "voting irregularities" and I hope the Supreme Court won't have to get involved. Perhaps we could ask Jimmy Carter to monitor the thing next year - he is Baptist so I am sure he would be impartial. Anyway, Gen X Revert has been shut out for two straight years but that is just a technicality having to do with the high quality of other blogs and the low quality of this one. I would however like to rectify this outrage by having my own award: Best Blog by a Long Islander. I am nominating two bloggers from Queens even though we all know Long Island does not include Brooklyn or Queens - I don't care what your map says. So, without further ado:



Best Blog by a Long Islander

Extreme Catholic Against the GrainGen X RevertConfessions of a Recovering Choir Director
The voting was opened from 6:55am- 7:00 am on Saturday, Feb. 12th and the results are:


1st Place - Against the Grain (98 votes)

2nd Place - (tie) Confessions of a Recovering Choir Director (84 votes)Extreme Catholic (84 votes)

3rd Place - Gen X Revert (1 vote)

I knew I should have voted for myself instead of that Ratzinger guy! Well anyway thanks Mom, it is all just a popularity contest anyway.

Radio station offers free divorce as Valentine's Day gift

Eden in Exile

This is the story of Dawn Eden being fired from the New York Post. I wish Ms. Eden the best.

via Relapsed Catholic

Dom at Bettnet.com has proposed putting together a St. Blog's Directory that he could host. This is something I have wanted since Gerard died and I created my List of Catholic Blogs. Now perhaps those with more technical skills can create a directory that could be sorted by name, location, or category. Especially important is that the list include only active blogs and not dead ones. I have volunteered my database of 315 blogs with names and locations. Quite frankly, the work of maintaining and updating the directory quickly became a bit too much. I already have a dozen blogs that I should add, and just don't feel like doing so right now. The St. Blog's webring is the best starting point, but it includes many dead links and is not in any order that would be good to use for surfing.

"A Warren County elementary teacher has been charged with having a sexual relationship with one of her students, a 13-year-old boy"

We Catholics have learned that child molesters are like weeds - just when you take one out, another pops up. The trick is to keep taking them out faster and faster without stopping until they become rare. Perhaps it would be useful to check out the soil (culture) we have too, just to find out why there are so many of them.

Everything you wanted to know about Paul Shanley can be found here.

via Seattle Catholic

The above link includes letters and documents showing that Shanley advocated sex between men and boys - he called the boys the seducers.

SHANLEY GUILTY

Deo Gratias

"Shanley, 74, could get life in prison for two counts each of child rape and indecent assault and battery on a child when he is sentenced Feb. 15. His bail was revoked and he was immediately led off to jail."

"The scandal intensified later in 2002 when the church released Shanley's 800-page personnel file. Despite church teachings, he argued for acceptance of homosexuality and pushed for gay rights. He called himself a "sexual expert" and advertised his counseling services in the alternative press."

Liberal Catholics stuck in the 1960's

For most Gen X Catholics this is a topic of particular concern/angst/humor. Diogenes once again hits the nail squarely on the head with excellent writing. I voted for Off the Record for one of the Catholic Blog Awards but don't remember if it was Most Insightful or Best Overall, but the blog is well worth reading for the interesting, insightful and funny posts.

Shanley jury gets case

I have not been watching much TV lately so this news shocked me. Paul Shanley's trial is over already? It is sad that the case against him boiled down to just one person -what happened to all those he is supposed to have molested? Shanley represents the worst of the priest-molesters as he was so public in advocating man-boy sex. It would be great to see him spend the rest of his life in jail and I wish the case involved several victims testifying against him.

PAPAL TERM LIMITS

"Future popes will be required to retire at a fixed age, according to secret plans being discussed because of the recurring health woes of John Paul II, it was reported today. "

This keeps being reported over and again but I wonder if there is any truth to it?

This is not what Title IX was about -

"A fight broke out in the stands of a girls' high school basketball game, prompting police to fire Tasers to stop it and clear the gym, authorities said. Eleven people face charges. "

Someone sent me this email, perhaps someone can help:

"I am not Catholic, but have married into a Catholic family. I am a creative writer and have an idea for a story that deals in a favorable but human way about a priest who has served faithfully and without fanfare for fifty years. I would like to correspond with someone who has retired from parish life, has broad experiences/ and was raised in Ireland. The world needs to know not every priest was hiding a molesteror was one."

Has anyone heard of where the Mepham High School rapists are?? Last I heard they were sent to a boot camp in Pennsylvania but I have no idea if they are out yet. The media seems to have forgotten about them so if anyone knows whether they are free or in jail or whatever please let me know -

Ken Carney

Tom Diasparra

Phil Sofia

The civil trial, which will hopefully drain these three families of all their assets, may begin in February. Let's hope the coaches, the other players, the rapists, and the school district pay dearly.

Things from the 1980's that have stood the test of time:

Bon Jovi

The Pope

Ronald Reagan

The A-Team

Rap

Run DMC/Aerosmith's Walk This Way

Johnny Depp's acting career

The Fox Network

The Simpsons (time to end series though)

U2

Michael Jackson's music (only his music)

The Golden Girls

Question for readers: What do you do when someone you work with (say, an assistant) wants your job and will do anything to get it - lying, conniving, etc.. What do you do when you have thick bosses who fail to see this, or don't care as long as this person does not take their jobs? I have seen articles online about what to do but they all give the standard - put everything in writing, talk to your bosses, etc.. and these things have either been done or are of no use.

My directory of Catholic blogs has now reached 300! I am trying to keep them updated but have already fallen behind in adding new ones as well as cutting inactive blogs. Any help would be welcome.

Hillary Clinton on Abortion:

"Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Monday that the opposing sides in the divisive debate over abortion should find "common ground" to prevent unwanted pregnancies and ultimately reduce abortions, which she called a "sad, even tragic choice to many, many women."

"...she quickly shifted gears, offering warm words to opponents of legalized abortion and praising the influence of "religious and moral values" on delaying teenage girls from becoming sexually active. "

I know people are thinking this is just politics pure and simple. But Clinton's speech, meant to reach out to pro-lifers, combined with recent comments by John Kerry and a move to have a pro-life Democratic leader should only make pro-lifers happy. This just goes to show that the pro-life, and therefore the active Catholic vote, influenced the election in ways that are breaking the pro-choice grip on the Democratic Party. Historically, the Democratic Party was the party for Catholics so any move to bring it closer to the pro-life cause is a step in the right direction. In the same way, the Republican Party seems to be the choice of Catholics today so any move to get it more in line with Catholic values (in the areas of war, family and business) is a step in the right direction. Although I don't think Catholics will jump on the Clinton bandwagon by hearing this type of talk, overall it seems the pro-life movement is as strong as ever.

LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW

I'm "stuck" inside with relative visiting for the weekend including my 5 year old niece and 3 year old nephew. Outside is a good 8 inches of snow and it is still falling fast. This has been a fun weekend so far - I got to play lots of fun games - my niece beat me at Go Fish 4 times.


Updated: 12 inches of snow!

For the Blame Celibacy Crowd -

Cop accused of taking porn pix of rocker's brutalized kin

Cop suspended for sex with minor

A 40-year-old Arvada woman who police say wanted to be seen as a, "cool mom", is suspected of supplying drugs and alcohol to high school boys, and having sex with them.

Dietrich Von Hildebrand Legacy Project

"The Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project was founded by John Henry Crosby in 2004 to promote the thought and spirit of Dietrich von Hildebrand by preserving his memory and disseminating his writings, especially in the English-speaking world. "

I just saw Dr. Alice Von Hildebrand on EWTN Live and she mentioned this new project. The website describes the work in more detail and also lists a very impressive Advisory Council that includes Cardinal Ratzinger, Rocco Buttiglione, Otto von Hapsburg, Michael Novak, and Rhonda Chervin. One of the goals is to translate into English Von Hildebrand's writings - including his sixty anti-Nazi tracts that made him a marked man and caused him to flee to America. You can read about Dietrich Von Hildebrand and his work here. This is a very worthy project to say the least.

I just updated my list of Catholic Blogs. If anyone has any additions, corrections or suggestions please let me know.

Happy Blogoversary to Me, Happy Blogoversary to Me

January 18th, 2003 was the date I published my first post, so today would be my 2 year blogoversary. Looking at my first days' posts, the topics of interest to me were Catholic education, the lack of solid instruction in the faith for my generation, and the anti-Catholic Newsday. These continue to be my main areas of interest and I hope to hear from people who care to comment on these things in the future. In the past two years blogging has come a long way baby - just ask Dan Rather. While not bringing down any major MSM figures Gen X Revert did point out errors in a horrible article by Roger Friedman from Foxnews.com. The article was on The Passion of The Christ and included this statement:

"The theaters they have chosen in Jewish areas are minimal — none, for example, on Long Island near Valley Stream and the Five Towns or Great Neck and Roslyn — but screens in more friendly places like Merrick, Lynbrook and Seaford."

Using the latest sophisticated computer technology (ok Mapquest) I made the following observations:

Towns where the movies is showing compared to the towns he cites:

Lynbrook is 12 minutes (4.77 miles) from the Five Towns area
Lynbrook is 5 minutes (2.20 miles) from Valley Stream
Port Washington is 17 minutes (5.28 miles) from Great Neck
Port Washington is 13 minutes (4.38 miles) from Roslyn

And: The movie is showing in Seaford, which is in between Massapequa and Bellmore, both of which have large Jewish populations. Also, Merrick is both heavily Jewish and upscale.


Surprisingly, this impressive research did not result in a deluge of job offers, book deals, or even congratulatory phone calls from Woodward/Bernstein. We bloggers will never be fully appreciated for our efforts.

I have never cared about the blog being read by many people but I would like to see more local Catholics discover this blog. Perhaps it could be a place of discussion for Long Island Catholics. I have witnessed some good things over the past two years in this Diocese that should give all Catholics reason for hope. For example, all priests who were accused of molesting someone were removed from ministry. Even better, the number of seminarians for our diocese has doubled in the past two years. I have also noted a few changes in the Diocese and in the seminary that are positive and are probably directly related to the increase in vocations. I became involved in the local version of Theology on Tap (called Faith on Tap) and that is going well. So there are some signs of hope on this island for Catholics and I hope Gen X Revert will be the place to point them out.

I just caught the last 10 minutes of Bill Donohue on EWTN's World Over. He was asked if he thought Bill O'Reilly was Catholic by a caller who thought O'Reilly sounded more like a Mason. Donohue said yes, O'Reilly is a Catholic and went to a good Catholic school on Long Island - Chaminade, but that O'Reilly liked to play the contrarian. Donohue then mentioned that the chairman of the board of directors of the Catholic League was Fr. Eichner and what a great job Eichner has done with Chaminade and Kellenberg High Schools. It was nice to hear the schools mentioned with praise on EWTN. Perhaps priests and brothers from the religious community that runs these schools would make good guests for the EWTN Live or Life on the Rock programs?

A HATE CRIME IN JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS

via Michelle Malkin

An entire family of four had their throats slit in Jersey City!!!! The father of the family was an outspoken Egyptian Christian who criticized Islamists. One of the young daughters, only 15 years old, was also slit on the wrist where she had a tatoo of a cross. Why is this not front page news every single day? Where is the outrage? This is worse than the murder of Theo Van Gogh.

Nigeria is the new Ireland.


At least for the Catholic Church. We now see a wave of Nigerian priests/nuns working in our country just as years ago there were the Irish priests/nuns. They are amazing people - strong, intelligent, orthodox, and truly Christian. I am always glad to see an African priest at a parish and more often than not, they will be from Nigeria. I know the homily will not be fluff, the priest will be a real man, and the Mass will be celebrated correctly.

Voice of the Faithful says Diocese is too rich

"Voice of the Faithful, an organization of lay Catholics seeking more accountability from church leaders, is releasing an analysis today that finds the diocese is sitting on excess cash reserves of about $180 million."

"The group's audit was done by H. Richard Grafer, a retired partner in the Arthur Andersen accounting firm and a Voice of the Faithful member."

Arthur Anderson is the auditing firm that was indicted for obstruction of justice in the Enron scandal. The Diocesan Finance Council issued a letter saying that Grafer has his facts wrong and questioning why these charges are being made at the start of the Diocesan Annual Appeal. I want the Diocese to be financially stable and don't believe for an organization of this size, it has "too much" money sitting around. However, I must agree with those who want to see Catholic school teachers get better salaries and benefits. We Catholics sh0uldn't have to constantly beg, borrow and plead for money for good apostolates or for religious nuns in retirement. I would like to know more about the Diocese and its finances and how we can be stronger financially. If VOTF is putting some pressure on people to accomplish this, then I have to say they are doing the right thing. I just don't think always pushing against what the Diocese is doing, or against Bishop Murphy personally is going to do much. I too believe the Diocese could spend its money wisely, such as cutting Telecare's budget and showing more EWTN. I would love to see the parishes in good shape but question some of VOTF's social services-heavy suggestions. Although I am not one to stick up for this Diocese and its staffers I must respond to this paragraph:

"The group's suggestions for additional spending include bolstering educational resources for Catholic schools, including increasing salaries for teachers; creating schools for new immigrants that would teach English and job skills; contributing to affordable housing in the region; and improving the care and living conditions for retired nuns."

The Diocese is already starting an endowment fund for Catholic schools and Bishop Murphy mentioned his goal of increasing teacher salaries when he first came to Long Island. The idea of creating schools to teach english and job skills to immigrants is a waste of money - we are already doing that in parishes, homes and through Catholic Charities. The Diocese helped build lots of affordable housing on Long Island under Bishop McGann and the Catholics who supported the Church for years have been heard to complain that that housing does not help them when they need it- they get put on waiting lists like everyone else. Social services are nice, but this Diocese needs to focus on teaching the faith, vocations, and saving souls first and foremost. The Diocese was one of the first to take up a collection to assist retired religious and it helped serve as a model for the national collection/fund that came years later. The VOTF just seems too quick to push against the Church rather than assist it as they claim to want to do. I would love to get behind them when they have good ideas that would help the Church but frankly, I don't think a group that spent about $2,000 to pay a clown like Fr. Richard McBrien to speak is a group that should be giving advice on how to spend money wisely.

PRIEST SCAMMED OUT OF $31G

I don't know about this story- I understand the priest thought he was trying to help someone but to give money several times to someone you never see in person seems crazy. And why help a stranger over the phone with an Irish name when you have a parish that is mostly low income Latino? Surely there are those in the parish that have needs? This story is a good example of the need for prudence.

Did everyone buy a copy of Young and Catholic The Face of Tomorrow's Church by Tim Drake? Mine just arrived today and a certain revert is quoted at the beginning of the chapter The Faith Online. Not a great quote, but the chapter discusses St. Blog's Parish.

"A year after Janet Jackson's breast brought a crackdown on indecency, Fox has rejected an ad for the Super Bowl offering a rare view of another celeb: Mickey Rooney's backside."

Not that I think we need to see 84 year old Mickey Rooney's butt, however, perhaps things have gotten a little too puritan these days.

With LI man's help, Vatican to loan ancient texts to Israel

"Because of efforts from a Long Island Jewish man, the Vatican will loan the work of one of Judaism's most celebrated rabbis and sages to Israel this year in a gesture meant to improve relations between Catholics and Jews.

Jewish community leaders said they are ecstatic to have the opportunity to study the work of Moses Maimonides, and at least three other medieval manuscripts."

Kids of Gay Parents Shouldn't Suffer

"There are two issues here—one is a matter of principal and the other is a matter of prudence. There is a moral principle, expressed in Judeo-Christian thought, that the innocent should not be punished for the transgressions of the guilty. To be more specific, the prophet Ezekiel taught that it was wrong for children to suffer for the sins of their father. Applied in this instance, we can amend that to ‘fathers.’

“On a prudential level, it makes no sense to single out kids for retribution whose parents are gay. What should be done about kids who were born out-of-wedlock? What about those kids who have a father or a mother who is the town philanderer? Should we expel kids whose parents are cohabiting? Or are known adulterers?"


Good job by the Catholic League on this one, and Greg Popcak at Heart, Mind & Strength adds: "Incidentally, this example highlights perfectly the difference between conservative Catholics (the parishioners) , and orthodox Catholics (the pastor and Bill Donohue)."

Blog Readership Surged 58 Percent in 2004

Ayuda, por favor

The Mass that I have attended for the past two Sundays (Novus Ordo mostly in latin) is in a chapel that has missalettes with Spanish and English readings. (The chapel also has Adoremus Hymnals) In scanning the misselette I noticed the phrase "en aquel tiempo" comes up frequently in the readings for several Sundays. I know this is some kind of an idiom and that it means something like "at the time" but can anyone tell me why it is in so many of the readings? How come the phrase is not in the english or am I totally misreading the spanish?

The Long Island Press continues to point out Newsday's arrogance in this cover story.

Pope Frontrunner?

That is one of the headlines on the Drudge Report and it is right underneath a picture of Cardinal Ratzinger. The link is to a silly Time magazine article written by someone who does not have a clue but still manages to spit out the ol' standbys:

• "Arch-Conservative" Ratzinger is behind the Pope's "traditionalist moral policy"

• Ratzinger's ways have been "tempered" lately clearing the way for him to become Pope.

• And of course, "panzerkardinal"

The best part was this anonymous quote : "The Ratzinger solution is definitely on," said a well-placed Vatican insider." Who in the Vatican speaks like that??

2004-------------------->2005

CHURCH

As far as the Catholic Church goes 2004 was another good year in the sense that the priesthood continued to be purified of corrupt men. For those in the know, it looked at one time that there was no way for the corruption to be rooted out at all, much less that a time would come when literally hundreds of priests would be tossed out en masse. As the years go on it becomes more clear that people like Roman Catholic Faithful were prophets and deserved to be supported. The so-called second greatest scandal in the Church, involving financial improprieties continues and hopefully will be dealt with throughout 2005.

LONG ISLAND

Locally, the story of 2004 was the criminal activity and fraud exposed at Newsday! This anti-Catholic paper was exposed inflating its circulation and overcharging advertisers for years. The result has been firings, layoffs, and buyouts. Longtime "recovering Catholic" Ed Lowe left for the Long Island Press and that Archie Bunker-like, angry, bitter, lying, fat, drunk bigot Jimmy Breslin retired. Ed Lowe can now be read for free and not seeing Breslin's rants makes up for every Dick Ryan article the paper can spit out. This is going to be a good year for a news-junkie like me.

NATION

Nationally, the nation is embroiled in a mess in Iraq and the sooner we get out the better. I don't care about the status of democracy in the middle east, just as the middle easterners did not care about Long Island on September 11th. I hope 2005 will be a strong year for our war on terror. Death to Islamofacism in 2005!! The election result was a joy for all pro-lifers as was the resulting whining of anti-Christian bigots.

GEN X REVERT

Personally, 2004 was the year I fell in love so that changed a lot of things for the better. I wish I could find a job where I did not have to deal with white trash, uneducated, selfish, lying scum but at least I am employed. I am trying to become a better Christian but as anyone reading this blog can tell, there is anger that does not want to go away. Feedback, suggestions, and criticism are all welcome. I wish all (even Breslin and the lying, conniving co-worker) a healthy New Year!

On order from Amazon.com:

Please Don't Drink the Holy Water!

Young and Catholic: The Face of Tommorrow's Church

Jerry Orbach dies of cancer at 69

Nobody was better at playing a sarcastic Noo Yurk cop than Orbach.

"We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

--President George Bush speaking to a joint session of Congress, September 21st, 2001

10 Die As Militants, Saudi Police Clash

Me thinks the Saudis made the wrong choice many years ago.

Police continue search for mother of newborn baby found dead in Amityville

Safe Haven law may have saved Amityville newborn

"After a lot of lobbying from groups like Long Island’s AMT Children of Hope Foundation, 47 states now have some form of the Safe Haven law, including New York. Under the law, birth mothers have five days to hand over an unharmed newborn to someone at a hospital, fire department or police station. The birth mothers are not required to ask questions or give their names. There is no criminal punishment involved."



AMT Children of Hope Foundation

Man charged with murder after pregnant woman's fetus dies

"A man who was arrested for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in San Jose is being held on a murder charge.

Police say the 25-year-old woman was 18 weeks pregnant when the male fetus was delivered dead yesterday." (emphasis mine)

"An autopsy will be conducted to determine why the fetus died."

"You call this a happy family? Why do we have to have all these kids?"

-George Bailey

"One man's life touches so many others, when he's not there it leaves an awfully big hole. "

-Clarence

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I attended the Christmas Concert and 8 PM Mass at St. Martin of Tours Church in Amityville . There was a choir and full orchestra- the music director is a graduate of Julliard. The music was terrific - easily the best quality music at any Mass I have ever attended. If my friend Aristotle, of Confessions of a Recovering Choir Director was there he would have been able to name the arrangements. The Gloria, Agnus Dei and Our Father were particularly beautiful. This was a great way to begin the Christmas Season.

"An Israeli antiquities collector who claimed he discovered the burial box of Jesus' brother James will be charged with forgery next week, a Justice Ministry spokesman said Thursday."

New Catholic Blog!

Seattle Catholic has a link to Glendalough: A Catholic Writer's Blog by Matthew Anger. I have seen his writing in Latin Mass magazine. He links to a new book by Susan Lloyd (who also writes for Latin Mass) called "Please Don't Drink the Holy Water! Homeschool Days, Rosary Nights, and Other Near Occasions of Sin". The book sounds very funny. Isn't it cool how traditional Catholics with large families can joke around and enjoy their children, their faith, and their life while others see children, faith and life as burdens?

"Laying the Smackdown on Heresy Since 1981"


I just noticed that Ignatius Insight has an interview with Christopher Blosser of The Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club.

John Cornwall is now backing away from his claim that Pope Pius XII was anti-semitic. Who cares? The damage is done and Cornwall has made his money. Perhaps he figures he will sell more copies of his book on JPII if he comes across as open minded?

"Devil's advocates were supposed to be fair-minded, and in the past Mr Cornwell, a prolific writer on Catholic matters, has at times been anything but. As he admits, “Hitler's Pope” (1999), his biography of Pope Pius XII, lacked balance. “I would now argue,” he says, “in the light of the debates and evidence following ‘Hitler's Pope', that Pius XII had so little scope of action that it is impossible to judge the motives for his silence during the war, while Rome was under the heel of Mussolini and later occupied by the Germans.”


Cornwall had already been "outed" as a liar by The Catholic League when he published his trash:

"Crucial to his self-promotion is Cornwell’s claim to have been a good, practicing Catholic who set out to defend his Church. His earlier books, however, were marketed as having been written by someone who had left the Church. According to a 1989 report in the Washington Post, Cornwell "was once a seminarian at the English College in Rome and knows the Vatican terrain, [but] he has long since left the seminary and the Catholic faith, and thus writes with that astringent, cool, jaundiced view of the Vatican that only ex-Catholics familiar with Rome seem to have mastered." At that time Cornwell described himself as a "lapsed Catholic for more that 20 years."

The Bishop of Myra knew how to do "wreckovation"!


"The most supreme deity of the pantheon of Myra was Artemis and her temple was the most stunningly beautiful and impressive structure in all Lycia. Nicholas attacked this temple with great might and vigor, causing its total destruction. So complete was its fall that the foundation stones were on top and the pinnacle was driven into the ground. The evil demons then fled, inspiring the people's awe of God."

via Saint Nicholas: Discovering the Truth About Santa Claus

From Seattle Catholic comes news that the White House snubbed Rocco Buttiglione possibly to please "old Europe" on behalf of the State Department. Although this may just be Robert Novak's conjecture, it is worrisome. The EU is doing everything it can to forget its Christian heritage and to push the religion of secular humanism.

We Catholics should hope Malta can continue to fight the good fight within the EU. The small island nation is mostly Catholic and abortion is illegal. This does not sit well with the "old Europe types" in the EU but Malta so far has been able to stick up for itself. Hopefully, "new Europe" countries such as Poland will be able to remind the EU of the Catholicism that is at the heart of its history.

For the locals: Ed Lowe joins the Long Island Press.

This weekend was spent getting a Christmas tree, shopping, and wrapping. Fortunately, it ended on a high note: a performance of the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah at St. Ignatius Martyr Church in Long Beach. One of the tenors was none other than the Recovering Choir Director. A special treat was a performance of Bach's Magnificat in D major and needless to say, there were no backing tracks used at this concert.

Bishop Trautmann has been named the head of USCCB Liturgy Committee which is bad news for anyone concerned about true Catholic Liturgy. Amy Welborn at Open Book has listed the committee Trautmann has put together and it includes Bishop Emil Wcela of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Bishop Wcela is a typical liberal bishop who considers "inclusive language" to be a main issue facing the Church over the past twenty years. He has pushed his liberal agenda for years, while ignoring corrupt priests, which by his own admission included a couple of his close friends. (His article published in America magazine - "The Abuse Scandal: What Did I Miss?- March 15th, 2004 is not available online for free.) How this man can be trusted with something as important as Liturgy is beyond me. It was rumored that Bishop McGann, the bishop who ignored the priest-molesters for over twenty years, wanted Wcela to be his successor. Thankfully the Vatican had other ideas and went off Long Island to find more orthodox bishops. So now there is one last chance for Wcela to have some influence in the Church - which is bad.

December 7th,1941

September 11th, 2001

Never forget these two dates and what they mean. Never forget the people who were murdered on these two dates. Ever.

Pete Vere was quoted in the NY Post today (credited as a "Maple Leafer") in a small blurb about the pro-Bush supporters in Canada. It was actually the beginning of this article from the Weekly Standard.

Report: LI, Fla. dioceses settle sex abuse suit

"Rockville Centre sent Fitzgerald to Florida in 1989, purportedly because of his allergies, without disclosing multiple complaints against him.

On Long Island, Fitzgerald served in the Westbury parish, where another priest had complained that Fitzgerald was fondling young boys. Fitzgerald eventually was transferred to Dix Hills, where he was placed in charge of that parish's youth ministry."


FYI - that "other priest" who complained about Fitzgerald is an orthodox priest who is now at perhaps the most conservative parish we have. He was put in Westbury right out of the seminary and also complained when yet another priest at a different parish he served was molesting boys. Because of his experiences he went on leave for a year and lived at his parents' house- many pastors would not take him in because he was labeled a "trouble maker". It must have been hell to be an orthodox priest in this diocese in the days of Bishop McGann. Thankfully things have changed significantly.

I have been working on updating my St. Blog's Directory (check it out) and hope to have a database of the blogs that I can put into columns for easier searching. I am learning more about Catholic bloggers out there. For instance, Steve Ray of Defenders of the Catholic Faith in addition to being a top notch apologist, is also the founder and owner of a huge office maintenance company.

I have a fascination with the locations of varous parishioners of St. Blog's. I hope to be able to put the directory in a chart form that can be searched or sorted by location. I try to get the info from the blogs so if any info is incorrect please let me know. I am not done adding locations to the directory but surprisely, so far, the state that has the most Catholic bloggers is........ (Howard Dean screaming voice)


CALIFORNIA!!!
A voice from eden - San Francisco
Ad Altare Dei - Santa Barbara
Basia me, Catholica Sum
Between Heaven and Hell
Catholic L.A. - Los Angeles
Church of The Masses - Hollywood
Converted Journey - Brentwood
El Camino Real
Erik's Rants and Recipes
Lex Communis - Fresno
Philothea Rose at Home
Revolution of Love
The New Gasparian - Newark
Veritas. Quid est veritas? - San Francisco

Yesterday I went to Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral and then to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. It was a nice way to start off Advent.

Diocese plans for future of Catholic elementary schools

Catholic elementary school enrollment is down, while Catholic High School enrollment has risen. This is simply due to the high cost of Catholic schools. Many people send their children to public elementary schools (most of which are very good here on Long Island) because it is just too much to live here and pay for Catholic schooling. There will probably be more closings and consolidations of elementary schools which makes sense. The second collection and foundation are good steps and hopefully the school situation here will stabilize. Meanwhile, everything should be done to make the parish religious education system top notch.

You scored as Catholic. Welcome to the One, Holy, CATHOLIC, and Apostolic Church! You my Friend are a Catholic. You have a strong sense of something outside of yourself and feel drawn to answer profound questions to satisfy your desires. You recognize that truth isn't self-centered or about inventing something new, but rather following the road map of your heart to a bigger picture. You are probably baptized. Catholic 100% Christian 80% Jewish 45% Cult 40% Anarchist 20% Buddhist 15% Religion created with QuizFarm.com

Woohoo!

My Directory of Catholic Blogs

By creating this directory, I have found some Catholic blogs I had never seen before and am once again amazed at the variety at St. Blog's. For example, Our Homeschool was just added today and the blogger bio reads:

"In my teens I was a liberal Democrat, a practicing Wiccan, and fiercly pro-choice. Wicca went first when I began a relationship with Christ. After experiencing an abortion I began looking into the pro-life side. I found the argument persuasive, and since then have read more and more that has led me to the conclusion that it is wrong to murder the pre-born. Then I began looking at all sorts of issues more conservatively, especially when I had a family of my own. I have come from the other side, and am usually unimpressed with the arguments. I used to use them myself, and have found that most of them don't hold up under scrutiny. I do love a good debate though."

"Now I am a faithful Catholic, and a happy wife and homeschooling mom."

These type of conversion stories abound in St. Blog's and they are all inspirational to a cradle Catholic like me.

Amazing

I kept the right ones out
And let the wrong ones in
Had an angel of mercy to see me
Through all my sins

There were times in my life
When I was goin insane
Tryin to walk through the pain
When I lost my grip

And I hit the floor
Yeah, I thought I could leave
But couldn't get out the door
I was so sick and tired
Of livin a lie
I was wishin that I would die
It's amazin
With the blink of an eye
You finally see the light
It's amazin
When the moment arrives
That you know you'll be alright
And I'm sayin a prayer
For the desperate hearts tonight

That one last shot's a permanent vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings?
Life's a journey, not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow will bring

You have to learn to crawl
Before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't listen to
All that righteous talk
I was out on the street just tryin to survive
Scratchin to stay alive

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Tim Drake's new book "Young and Catholic" sounds interesting. I think a long time ago he asked for young Catholics to email him their stories and thoughts and I think I did. I can personally attest to the accuracy of the book's premise and look forward to some uplifting reading.

Gerard Serafin's death made me realize how grateful I am for his wonderful list of blogs. I used this list to surf St. Blog's and appreciated the fact that I continually could find new blogs here. (The St. Blog's webring list is random and some blogs are not updated) Although I have my favorites on my blogroll, I occasionally would try to find a blog I had never seen before and found some gems thanks to Gerard. I have always wished it was in alphabetical order so I could find things easier. I have now done this and put it on a separate blog. I took out some blogs that were not updated recently or that I could not get into, and also added some more. If anyone knows any Catholic blogs out there please let me know so I can add them. I have been using this list to surf around lately and if it works out I will continue to use and add to the list.

I just got home from Book Revue, the largest independently owned bookstore on Long Island. I heard Nelson Demille talk about his just published book Night Fall and my girlfriend had her copy signed by him. He is a fellow Long Islander and Night Fall is a novel based on the Flight 800 crash that occurred off the Long Island coast in 1996. About 200 witnesses claimed they saw a light, like a missile, shooting up towards the plane but the government agencies all concluded it was a spark in the main fuel tank that caused the explosion. Some people are still not convinced and believe it was terrorism, with the intended target being the El-Al flight that was right behind Flight 800's path.

I have never read his stuff, but my girlfriend is a big fan and she must have great taste right? Anyway, an interesting thing about the book is that some local people who donated enough money to certain charities were able to be characters in the book. This is a cool way to help raise money for good causes, including my alma mater, Chaminade High School.

Cardinal Arinze on the Eucharist, the Priest and the Laity

"Arinze said his home diocese in Nigeria has a combined 300 men in preparation for the priesthood in philosophy (pre-theology studies in the minor seminary) and theology (major seminary studies), a comment that drew nods and smiles from the Nigerian nuns sitting in the front row.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre has doubled the number of men it has in formation for the priesthood, Bishop William Murphy said in his closing comments.

"In 2002, we had 17 men in formation for the priesthood," Murphy said. "Just two years later, we have 34."

Check out this interesting correction in today's Newsday:

"A Tuesday story on new warnings about side effects of Mifeprex or RU-486, an abortion pill, incorrectly described the drug as a way to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse. The pill is actually designed to end a pregnancy by causing physiological reaction that causes a non-surgical abortion."

Kathryn Lively's APPLICATION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER is great.

Gerard Serafin, RIP

I was stunned to read that Gerard of A Catholic Blog for Lovers has died. From his writing on his blog he seemed to be a good, gentle, positive soul. He was the one most responsible for my entering the world of St. Blog's since I first discovered Catholic blogs through his List of Catholic Blogs. His history showed that people can be weak but still manage to repent and contribute positively to the Body of Christ. I liked his positive attitude and his love of beauty. I should try to imitate it more on this blog. His blog did not tilt right or left but upward! God Bless him!

Reason # 15,265 why I do not give money to my alma mater, St. John's University:

"A former St. John's University student testified yesterday that he was struck 100 times with a wooden paddle during a fraternity initiation held in Kissena Park in Queens late one night.Brian Chambers, testifying in State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens on his 22nd birthday yesterday, calmly told a jury about a series of beatings in 2003, the last of which prosecutors said led him to suffer kidney failure."

Reason #1 was that while I was there several dumb jocks gang raped a woman and they were supported by many students. Don't believe for one second that this University is even close to being Catholic. St. John's = school for morons, violent thugs, and rapists.

Theo van Gogh and] "Education By Murder" in Holland



" It took 3,000 deaths to wake up Americans, or at least to wake up the half of them who are conservative. Likewise, it took hundreds of deaths in the Bali explosion to semi-wake up Australians; it took the Madrid assault for Spaniards, and the Beslan atrocity for Russians. Twelve workers beheaded in Iraq awoke the Nepalese.
But it took just one death to wake up many Dutch."

Newsday Fraud Report

"For the audit period, ABC found that Newsday overstated its daily circulation by 16.9%, Saturday's circulation by 5.8%, and Sunday's by 14.5%. "

Tragic Accident in Manhattan

"An 80-year-old Roman Catholic nun died tragically yesterday when she was run over by a 221/2-ton flatbed truck while walking with her cane across a busy Manhattan intersection, cops said. "

BOOK REVIEW

The Church Confronts Modernity

Catholic Intellectuals in the Progressive Era
(Thomas E. Woods, Jr. - Columbia University Press)
reviewed by Walter M. Hudson

I saw Thomas Woods give a talk based on his research for this book at a Catholic Studies Center event at Nassau Community College. The talk was interesting enough that I am going to buy the book and next time I see Dr. Woods I will get it autographed.

Here is another positive review of the book.

November 15th, 2000

My Dad died exactly 4 years ago today. He was a typical man of the greatest generation: quiet, unassuming although he did amazing things in his lifetime, family-oriented, good, masculine, decent, loving, selfless, and kind. He worked for a bank for 35 years, collected stamps, read more history books than most people, and absolutely lived for his family. He was simply the most decent man I have ever known and sometimes it feels like the world went to hell after he died. He faced evil in the world without ever becoming mean, nasty or angry and I wish I could learn how he did that. His whole life was his family and I could never be as selfless as he was. The eight months he had cancer were some of the most grace-filled times of my life. He died with as much class as he lived. I hope before I die I can be half as good a man as he was. Rest in Peace, I love you.

"A naked visitor to the Bronx Zoo leaped into a pool of fierce reptiles yesterday - and to the horror of onlookers reached out to touch one of them."

Just for the record, I was nowhere near the Bronx yesterday, so this was not me.

A few weeks ago I attended Mass in a parish that had a beautiful Church. The only negative in this experience was the woman who, before Mass began, invited all to turn to someone nearby and introduce yourself to them. This is not at all necessary and embarrassing to those of us who are (delightfully) introverted and even anti-social. While this is not a Liturgical abuse, I thought of something to do the next time this happens. I will look directly into the eyes of the person introducing themselves to me, warmly smile, grasp their hands and say "Hi, I'm Lucifer, pleased to meet you". I will then return to gazing at my missalette.

"The diversity of opinion, the diversity of voices, the sheer tumult and rough-and-tumble of some of the interactions are a constant source of inspiration, and, oddly enough, a kind of joy."

Steven Riddle on St. Blog's

"As usual, I felt a lot like a lion in a Christian suit."

Eve Tushnet on speaking at a conference on traditional marriage.

The website for the Diocese of Rockville Centre has a good resource center for the Year of the Eucharist. It includes the Mass schedule for all parishes as well as a schedule for Eucharistic Adoration.

A reader and fellow Long Islander writes:

Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 9:17 AM

"An update from my brother who is stationed in Tikrit:

All, Hope you are well. Things heating up here somewhat. The Fallujah operation is going on now and we have one battalion down there. The battalion, 2-2 Infantry, is doing well but the fight is much harder than the one we did in Samarra last month. The Marines and Army troops are well supported and will be mopping up in a day or so. The hard core 3,000 insurgents down there deserve to get it, as Fallujah is ground zero for beheadings and vehicle-bombs.

We have had some incoming here but not too much over the past week. A few mortars were dropped in but again, no one was hurt. We did lose a few of our Iraqi workers the other day. The tailor who sews on patches, including the ones on the uniform I'm wearing, and his family had all worked here supporting us with their little business. The insurgents followed them home the other day and drove them off the road. They questioned our workers, starting with the wife. She told them that she gave massages to our troops so they cut off her arms. The tailor was next refused to tell so they cut out his tounge. When his helper told them that they were tailors, they cut off both their hands. The helper,the wife, and tailor were then shot in the head on the side of the road.These are the people we're fighting against.

Ramadan ends soon. The final days are called the 'days of power' so we expect a rise in attacks as the martyrs rush to Allah. This may be the most dangerous part of the whole year. Amazingly, we still have a lot of Iraqi National Guard and police working with us. Two police stations were attacked in our area and both times the police fought off the attackers, perhaps knowing that their lives depended on it.

Many of these people hope that we bomb Fallujah into the stone age and be done with them, but that's not an option. With Bush's victory the enemy knows that we are not going to back out soon. The biggest question is still the elections -- can the Iraqis actually pull them off. We'll see. Thanks again for the notes and cards. Sorry to be writing about the gruesomness here.

--Mike"

UNBELIEVABLE!
With Federal Agents and The Long Island Press Hot On The Trail, Newsday Continues Its Circulation Frauds

"Unbelievably, with so much at stake, Newsday is still printing up excess copies of its products and taking them straight to recycling centers and landfills. Last week, Long Island Press reporters witnessed a worker fill up a car at Newsday's Hicksville depot and drive it straight to the nearest recycling plant—several times—without even making a pretense of delivery. "


The anti-Catholic newspaper is still committing fraud and of course, the innocent will suffer- layouts will be announced within the next couple of weeks. With Jimmy Breslin thankfully gone, perhaps Newsday should actually consider dropping the bias and the bigotry, particularly against Catholics. We make up the single largest group of potential readers on Long Island. I have a love-hate relationship with the paper Bill Donohue calls the most anti-Catholic in the nation. The paper is far superior to the NY Daily News and the Post when it comes to well written articles and the amount of reading material in each issue. I try not to buy the paper because of the anti-Catholicism but I enjoy reading other people's copies each day. If Newsday would at least try to drop the anti-Catholicism they could easily pick up another 100,000 readers.

Why Dilbert is so true

Things I have heard from people in the workplace:

“The Catholic Church gave an award to John Gotti”

“I think the Pope molested children”

“Look at how many witches were burned at the stake in Massachusetts by the Catholic Church”

“The organist probably got a kick-back from the Church”

“The priest actually DROVE A CAR” (person was astonished that priests could own cars)

“I do clergical work” -she meant clerical work

“President Clinton was not impeached”

“I only care about myself”

“Black people were told to overpopulate the world by their ministers”

“Republicans are evil”

“Hispanic people beat their wives”

“You don’t need to be married to have children”

“The guy on the other team was scoring all kind of points, so when everyone lined up at the end of the game to shake hands, I punched the guy in the face”

“Irregardless” - he meant to say “regardless”

“Immigrants and blacks get all the good jobs and scholarships” - spoken by someone from Levittown- a town that originally did not allow African-Americans to buy houses and still is mostly white.

I had to blog this experience I just had but I can't decide on a post title -

Tell me again why the traditionalists are so off base...?
or
Maybe islamofacism isn't so bad after all....
or
St. Fido's Mass...
or
God help us all...


I attended Mass today not at my regular parish but one that is actually closer to me. During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the priest asked to hear some "good news" from people. Someone mentioned it was their dog's birthday a few days ago and people applauded. This was just before we were asked to recall our sins so luckily I was able to ask for forgiveness for the various thoughts I was having.

Pro-choicers face reality of ultrasound pix

"Today's ultrasound photos come in 3-D and color. At 18 weeks you can easily discern fingers and facial features. At seven months, you have a fully recognizable human baby. It's so clear that even a man can see it."

Jihad This!


"As for the Muslims? they are merely doing their thing, in the footsteps of their prophet. There were no turbulent filmmakers in Muhammad's time, but there were poets, and some of them gave him as much grief as van Gogh apparently did to the young Moroccan. After the battle of Badr, as Muhammad scrutinized his prisoners, his eye fell fiercely on one al-Nadr whom he had never forgiven for captivating the audiences in Mecca with more entertaining tales. He was beheaded on the spot. In Medina Muhammad ordered the murder of Asma bint Marwan, a poetess who made fun of him in verse. Anticipating Henry II's outburst, Muhammad exclaimed, "Will no one rid me of this daughter of Marwan?" One of his followers duly did, that same night, stabbing her as she nursed her youngest child. One Abu Afak, supposedly over a hundred years old, criticized Muhammad in verse. The latter simply commented, "Who will deal with this rascal for me?" Abu Afak did not see the morning. The hatred of artistically inspired detractors was obsessive with Muhammad, and reflected in the Kuranic verdict that poets are inspired by Satan and have gone astray, possessed and no better than soothsayers."


Let's see if I can earn a fatwa:

The heresy of islam is disgusting, backward, evil, violent, anti-woman. Muhommad was a pervert who had sex with a 9 year old girl. Women in muslim countries are routinely beaten, molested, raped, and killed and the men who do these things go unpunished. Western countries should not allow any immigration from muslim countries if they want peace. Theo Van Gogh's murder is just the latest in centuries long violence committed by muslims. Muhommad was a violent, sick, child molester and no one in their right mind would follow him or his violent, disgusting writings.

"Van Gogh — an award-winning filmmaker, television producer and newspaper columnist — once mocked a prominent Dutch Jew, referred to Jesus as "the rotten fish" of Nazareth and called a radical Muslim politician "Allah's pimp."

So this guy insults Christians, Jews and muslims.... and guess who killed him?

"Dutch police have arrested eight suspected Islamic radicals as part of the investigation into the brutal slaying of outspoken filmmaker Theo van Gogh, prosecutors said Wednesday."

"This is Jimmy Breslin's last regular column for Newsday. He will write from time to time. "


Good riddance. Any talent this old drunk may have had did not last past the Carter administration. He was recently chastised by his editor for lying about what a minister said and his columns are some of the most bigoted I have ever read. It is too bad that he will still write from time to time (perhaps when he sobers up?) as I would have preferred never to have to see his angry, tired writing again. He hated Long Island and usually only wrote about NYC so there was no reason for Newsday to carry his column. I know Asian people will rejoice since Breslin was so racist he once called an Asian reporter a "yellow slant-eyed c---". Shame on Newsday for ever hiring this Archie Bunker type loser. Now he can spend the remaining years he has on this planet being angry at the Catholic Church, which he seems to blames for the death of his first wife and his daughter. I hope he gets whatever hatred he has out of him before he dies, but I also hope that it doesn't take too long.