Pro-Taliban Cleric Killed in Karachi

"Gunmen killed a senior pro-Taliban (search) cleric on Sunday, sparking riots across this southern Pakistani city by his Sunni Muslim supporters who ransacked shops, banks and a police station."

I believe in President Bush's speech to the joint session of Congress right after the 9/11 attacks, he said we were going to "turn the terrorists against each other". If the CIA was not involved in this killing, then they should have been. This is what we need to see more of: the terrorists fighting and killing each other rather than us.

Beasts and Men
Playboy Celebrates 50 years

This good article by Long Island Catholic Thomas Woods Jr. makes a few great points. In mentioning the star-studded celebration of the magazine's anniversary he notes:

"Half a century ago a celebrity so deranged as to celebrate such a thing – and publicly, no less – would have spent the rest of his life a pariah. Today, by contrast, the only thing that earns the reproach of our cultural censors is making a film about Christ’s Passion."

Dr. Woods' humor is as cutting as usual:

"Exactly what it is we are expected to celebrate about 50 years of Playboy is far from clear. Am I supposed to be impressed that Hugh Hefner correctly predicted that men would purchase pictures of nude women? Are our standards of entrepreneurial genius really so low?"

And finally, more examples of "traditional" Catholics understanding today's world better than most:

"Hef continues to age, but his female entourage does not. And there, notwithstanding the fevered denials of the magazine’s supporters, is what Playboy and its progeny are all about: the idea that women are things to be enjoyed and then discarded, for a new crop of them is always available."

"the teen Masses and other toothless schlock that the bishops offer to the young only confirm the kids’ dumb prejudices about the irrelevance of the Church. The young are spiritually disarmed before an onslaught whose sheer ubiquity leaves a rather more distinct impression on them than the schmaltzy music and hand-holding around the altar that greet them on those Sundays when they bother to show up for Mass."

12 killed, hostages held in Saudi

Saudi Arabia, the homeland of Osama Bin Laden and most of the 9/11 hijackers, continues to have problems with Islamic militants. What is that expression about chickens coming home to roost?

I have not blogged recently because I have taken two trips (Pittsburgh and Boston) and have acquired a nasty cold. Also, I have not been feeling up to writing or following much news lately.

Bittersweet Tribute for WWII Veterans

Today is the dedication for the WWII monument in Washington, D.C. This monument is long overdue and it is a shame we have not had a major monument in D.C. until over 50 years after the end of the war. My father was a merchant marine during WWII and several of my uncles were also vets. One of them kept a secret for decades after the war. He was a part of Operation Tiger, a practice for D-Day that was top secret. 749 US servicemen lost their lives in this operation gone wrong. Basic information can found here. Some more details can be found here.

Forgive me Father, it has been 102 years since my last confession...

"A Belarussian woman who worked on a collective farm until she was 95 celebrated her 116th birthday with two wishes: for a bigger pension and a chance to go to a Catholic church for confession."

I am back from vacation - let's see - what happened while I was gone?

"Two 17-year-old Massapequa teenagers were arrested earlier this week for a drive-by paintball shooting in which a 10-year-old boy attending a first Communion party was injured when he was struck in the eye, Nassau police said."

Have I mentioned I live on an island filled with stupid trailer-trash morons? Well I do. The article says one of the teens arrested was a student at Kellenberg Memorial High School, but I am sure he was tossed out of that school before the ink was dry on this news story. The good brothers there have thrown people out for much, much less.

I just went to post and noticed blogger has changed a bit. I don't have time to check out the changes but for some reason my blog is upside down - the new posts are at the bottom and the old ones at the top. Anyone know how to change this? Anyway, I will on vacation so won't be blogging for a few days. Be good!

Accused priest to return

This is not good news at all.

Paul Shanley, the central figure (or one who should be the central figure) in the "Scandals", was defrocked along with Ronald Paquin.

"Once known for his street ministry to gay and troubled youth, Shanley became a focal point of the clergy sex abuse scandal after plaintiffs' attorneys forced the church to release internal church records showing complaints about Shanley.
Among the records were documents indicating that Shanley had attended a forum with other people who later went on to form the North American Man-Boy Love Association. "


Bettnet points out that "Sister" Jeannine Gramick is a friend of Shanley and links to the article that quotes this dissident as saying:

"But Sister Jeanine Gramick, a Shanley friend and Washington-area nun renown for her ministry to gays and lesbians, called the removal process `grossly unfair'.''

It amazes me that Shanley continues to have supporters, some of whom even bailed him out of jail. I hope people will come to realize that those who supported Shanley, Weakland, etc... are part of the problem in the Church.

Oregon Man Arrested in Spain Bombings Probe

"He converted to Islam in 1989, she said, and attends a mosque in nearby Beaverton."

Quote of the day comes from e-skojec.com:

"And Hugh Hefner, he must be about 140 now, and he keeps parading these bunnies around."
-Dr. Regis Martin, On the Absurdities of Hedonism

I love Regis Martin on EWTN's Franciscan University Presents" show. And I can't think of anyone who looks more ridiculous than Hefner.

The Long Island Catholic Men's Conference

"The Long Island Catholic Men’s Conference was established to spread the word of God through fellowship and gathering. The idea has its roots in the men’s conference at The Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. This national conference inspired a group of faithful men from St. Margaret’s R.C. church to organize and plan a day of worship and celebration of our Lord in a local, convenient location."

This looks promising. If it is charismatic then it might go either way but if they keep it orthodox then it will be good. The Diocese of Rockville Centre needs stuff like this so I will keep my finger crossed and if possible, will attend.

Good News!

Amy Welborn at Open Book liked to this story about Iona College gettin' religion. Good to see a positive story at a "Catholic" college for once. Please note the positive reactions of students and administrators.

"We are mindful that Princeton, Harvard and others began as religious institutions and lost their sense of identity," Hughes said. "We don't want to lose it. Crucifixes are not a source of proselytizing, but a part of our identity. We are welcoming to everyone."

THE OTTAVIANI INTERVENTION

Confessions of a Recovering Choir Director once linked to this letter from Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci. I had heard of the Ottaviani intervention but never actually read any details. In reading over the letter, it is amazing how correct these churchmen were:

“Recent reforms have amply demonstrated that fresh changes in the liturgy could lead to nothing but complete bewilderment on the part of the faithful who are already showing signs of restiveness and of an indubitable lessening of faith.”

And

“The definition of the Mass is thus limited to that of the "supper", and this term is found constantly repeated (nos. 8, 48, 55d, 56). This supper is further characterised as an assembly presided over by the priest and held as a memorial of the Lord, recalling what He did on the first Maundy Thursday. None of this in the very least implies either the Real Presence, or the reality of sacrifice, or the Sacramental function of the consecrating priest, or the intrinsic value of the Eucharistic Sacrifice independently of the people's presence. It does not, in a word, imply any of the essential dogmatic values of the Mass which together provide its true definition. Here, the deliberate omission of these dogmatic values amounts to their having been superseded and therefore, at least in practice, to their denial.”



And

“The priest's position is minimised, changed and falsified. Firstly in relation to the people for whom he is, for the most part, a mere president, or brother, instead of the consecrated minister celebrating in persona Christi.”

“the very strange and dubious eschatologism whereby the communication of supernatural grace, a reality which is permanent and eternal, is brought down to the dimensions of time: we hear of a people on the march, a pilgrim Church - no longer militant - against the Powers of Darkness - looking towards a future which having lost its line with eternity is conceived in purely temporal terms.”


“The unity of the Church is gravely compromised by the wholly intolerable omission from the entire Ordo, including the three new Prayers, of the names of the Apostles Peter and Paul, Founders of the Church of Rome, and the names of the other Apostles, foundation and mark of the one and universal Church, the only remaining mention being in the Communicantes of the Roman Canon.”

“The process of desacralisation is completed thanks to the new procedures for the offering: the reference to ordinary not unleavened bread; altar-servers (and lay people at Communion sub utraque specie) being allowed to handle sacred vessels (no. 244d); the distracting atmosphere created by the ceaseless coming and going of the priest, deacon, subdeacon, psalmist, commentator (the priest becomes commentator himself from his constantly being required to 'explain' what he is about to accomplish) - of readings (men and women), of servers or laymen welcoming people at the door and escorting them to their places whilst others carry and sort offerings.”


“Of Cannon II it has been well said, among other things, that it could be recited with perfect tranquillity of conscience by a priest who no longer believes either in Transubstantiation or in the sacrificial character of the Mass - hence even by a Protestant minister.”

“From the outset therefore the New Rite is launched as pluralistic and experimental, bound to time and place. Unity of worship, thus swept away for good and all, what will become of that unity of faith that went with it, and which, we were always told, was to be defended without compromise?”


“Moreover in abandoning its unmistakable and immemorial Roman character, the Novus Ordo lost what was spiritually precious of its own. Its place has been taken by elements which bring it closer only to certain other reformed liturgies (not even those closest to Catholicism) and which debase it at the same time. The East will be ever more alienated, as it already has been by the preceding liturgical reforms.”


"To try to bring the Church's worship back at all cost to ancient practices by refashioning, artificially and with that "unhealthy archeologism" so roundly condemned by Pius XII, what in earlier times had the grace of original spontaneity means as we see today only too clearly - to dismantle all the theological ramparts erected for the protection of the Rite and to take away all the beauty by which it was enriched over the centuries.”

“Today, division and schism are officially acknowledged to exist not only outside of but within the Church. Her unity is not only threatened but already tragically compromised. Errors against the Faith are not so much insinuated but rather an inevitable consequence of liturgical abuses and aberrations which have been given equal recognition.”

Rome, September 25th, 1969

It is obvious these men were absolutely right. The question I am asking myself more frequently is: Was Archbishop Lefebvre right as well?

It is great to see Karen Hall, formerly of Disordered Affections, back blogging at Some Have Hats.

Catholic Light has posted some excerpts from a leaked copy of the new English translation of the Mass. Some of this looks great, such as the return of "We praise you, we bless you, we worship you, we glorify you" in the Gloria. Also, I like "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed." I don't care for a few things, such as the Creed where the line "by the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man" was changed to "and by the Holy Spirit became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man". Still, I hope this is the correct translation and that I will be able to pray this way at Mass soon! Some of the prayers are closer to the english translation in my father's 1943 missal that I use when attending the traditional latin Mass. Some of the translations are gender neutral, such as "for us and our salvation" in the creed. If that makes the gender neutral crowd happy, then so much the better. Perhaps with this improved translation, we Catholics will finally be able to "just all get along".

Is Newsday Anti-Catholic?

Why is that even a question? Of course it is, but the Catholic League is asking people to vote on their website so please go here and vote.

My post about the parish on Long Island holding a seder was mentioned on Blogs4god. The poster could not understand why learning about the seder was troubling to me, as does the commenter on my post. I should explain more because nothing bothers me about learning about a seder or any other tradition. What bothers me is that a Catholic parish would be learning about another religion's traditions rather than its own. I just don't see the point. How about the parish gathering together to participate in some Catholic tradition? The reason this is a touchy thing with me is not because there is anything wrong with having a seder, but that the one time I read about 200 Catholics "learning tradition" in a parish, it is not a Catholic tradition. If I had been taught any kind of Catholic tradition in my parish, then I would not find it so weird, and if this parish already does emphasize Catholic traditions, then fine. But it is disheartening to want to learn and experience Catholicism and not being fed. Meanwhile, at many local retreat houses, there is Reiki, Zen meditation, and praying to the four winds, all of which might be fine and dandy, but not truly part of our tradition. In fact, the seder makes more sense for a Catholic parish to have than any of these things. I also obviously have a problem with Fr. Papa being a pastor when he was caught with porno sites on his computer. He admitted to viewing them, but denied viewing the child porn sites that were found, he claimed they just popped up. This parish supports him because he is very liberal and supports Voice of the Faithful, etc.. I don't think Fr. Papa should be leading a parish at all, but if he is, how about leading them in some Catholic traditions, in addition to the Jewish ones? Is that so much to ask?

Jim Post, president of the Voice of the Faithful dissident group spoke on Long Island recently:

"Consider the tone and tenor of the challenges we face today as Catholic citizens.

The Passion of the Christ. Has this movie become the new teaching of Christ's life and message?
The institutional attack on gay marriage, court rulings, legislative proposals, and, in some instances, all homosexual people.
The issuance of instructions that ban altar girls.
The decision of some Bishops not to wash the feet of women on Holy Thursday (for fear it would encourage the faithful to believe that women have a priestly calling).
Overt challenges to the right of some Catholic citizens (politicians) to receive communion. This is politicization of the sacraments.
Requiring new rituals to separate the laity from the ordained.
These actions are mean-spirited and range from attacks on innocent people whose sexual orientation is not a matter of choice, to pettiness (rather like the "petty apartheid" that prevailed in South Africa 25 years ago) designed to ignore, shun, and humiliate people our Church leaders do not like."

Based on this quote, not only is Post a dissident, but a complete moron as well.

Mel Gibson can’t be the only Catholic who can take Catholic stories, imagery, etc.. and turn them into excellent movies. I hope there will be others who take up that particular apostolate. I can supply one idea towards this:

Action/Suspense- A movie set far into the future which revolves around a man, perhaps played by James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, or Harrison Ford, who appears to be a leader of some type. He comes across as dignified, weary, but strong. The movie will hint cleverly at the identity of this man but not spell it out. Many will think it is the President of the USA or some sort of rebel leader. The movie plot would be a group of this man’s supporters trying to get this man to a destination. It would be clear that many want this man dead, that he is some sort of leader, that he leads people who have been severely oppressed and that things are turning their way. His leadership will be a turning point for the people, if he can get to where he has to go. He would travel clandestinely and secretly with help from many underground supporters. Only at the end of the film (a la The Sixth Sense) would filmgoers find out his identity. The various clues throughout the film would have to be difficult to pick out at first viewing. There would also be things that might throw the viewer off. This man would be the newly elected Pope, in sometime in the distant future, and his destination would be Rome.

HAD RELATIONSHIP WITH TEEN
Jail time for ex-teacher

I don't subscribe to the horribly anti-Catholic newspaper Newsday but occasionally I can read it at work. This headline jumped out at me - "HAD RELATIONSHIP WITH TEEN". Interesting way to headline an article about a teacher who sexually abused a 16 year old boy. Priests have raped, molested, and preyed, but apparently this guy just "had a relationship with teen".

"It was indeed illegal for his client, Joseph Acosta, 38, to have a sexual relationship with a 16- year-old boy, the Central Islip attorney said. And as a once-respected Spanish teacher at Bellport Middle School with two master's degrees, Acosta should have known better."

"Despite letters of support from parents and co-workers, Acosta cannot be employed as a teacher because of his registered sex offender status, and he has been working as a busboy, Naiburg said. " (emphasis mine)

Wow, you mean to tell me there are parents and teachers who actually believe a child molester should continue teaching?????? Have people learned NOTHING from the Catholic Church's problems??

What is wrong with the Church today is summed up nicely in a letter to the Long Island Catholic today. The letter writer describes almost 200 people gathering in a parish Church basement, and the letter is titled "Learning Tradition". Sounds good, but the tradition these Catholics were learning was the Jewish tradition of Passover. It was planned by the pastor, Fr. Charles Papa, who was recently caught with pornography site cookies on his computer and admitted to viewing them. So we have a troubled pastor leading Catholics in learning traditions of another faith rather than our own traditions. And people wonder why young Catholics flock to the latin Mass?

The Long Island Catholic has an article on police work and Catholicism that features John Moreno. He wrote Spirituality for Police Officers and runs retreats and nights of recollections that are quite good.

"Police officers “experience all that is bad in society and we do so over and over; we can wind up seeing only the bad in people, expecting the worst from them,” said Mr. Moreno, 74, who worked at Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamaica for 13 years and is now the director of adult programs at the Emmanuel Retreat House at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale."

Basia Me, Catholica Sum

This is a new blog by an 18 year old Christendom student.

TWO MONTHS AFTER “THE PASSION”:
BODY COUNT—ZERO

"Two months have elapsed since the film was released and no Jew has been killed. Not only have there been no pogroms, there have been no reported beatings, and no reported acts of vandalism associated with the film. This is true not only in the U.S.; it is true all over the world. By now the movie has played in literally scores of countries, all without violence. "

"Those who predicted that the movie would generate violence need to explain themselves."

I will personally blog every single written apology from any of The Passion's public critics right here. I hope I have enough space for all them.

HOLY TURF WARS

Good article by Ralph Peters.

"As a student of history alert to ugly surprises, my fear is that Islamic extremists may arouse passions dormant in the West. Muslim terrorists might do well to recall that there are far more Christian holy places in the Arab world than there are Muslim vestiges in Europe.

Suppose the Christians of tomorrow were provoked to demand the return of the apostolic churches of Asia minor? Or the vast lands of Orthodox Byzantium? Of historical Armenia? Or of Alexandria, the city that dominated early Christian thought? Before Mohammed's triumph, even Mecca had a Christian minority - and Jews had a vital presence in Medina. "

BISHOP SICK OF LOCAL CHURCH SCENE

"Don't get me wrong—I still care about everyone's eternal soul," Boland added. "I care deeply, but I must admit that the congregations have sorta become one big blur of blue-haired old ladies. Lately, when I get the question about whether so-and-so's cats are waiting for her in heaven, I just fall back on a stock answer."

"Cardinal Roger Mahony said he was not surprised by Boland's attitude.
"Bishop Boland is going through a temporary period of dissatisfaction, similar to those experienced by many of his colleagues," Mahony said. "As a cardinal, I'm forced to listen to that same complaint again and again. It's getting really old. If he's so unhappy, he's more than welcome to quit the Church and go work at a Taco Bell."

Why is it that one of the most refreshing comments I have read by a Cardinal had to be a made up one from The Onion??

Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas

Many members of St. Blog's are signed up already for this, I just sent in an email to join. Woudn't it be great if this movement spread? Picture thousands of protesters across the country outside parishes, chanting "2-4-6-8, Gregorian Chant is really great!". It could really happen man!

I recently heard two talks given by Catholics. One was at a local Faith on Tap event by Dr. Joseph Varacalli. The talk he gave is available at the Catholic Social Scientists website: The Cultural And Political Impotence of Catholics In Contemporary American Life. A quote:

"...herein lies one important incongruity between an orthodox understanding of the faith and the vision of secularists and most present day Catholic “liberationist” and “progressivist” thinkers for whom an all-consuming this-worldly political involvement represents a be-all and end-all of human existence. To the contrary, the reconstruction of society along authentic Christian principles and lines at least compatible with Catholic social thought, while a good in and by itself, nonetheless is not the raison d’etre of the Catholic faith. Rather it is a lesser good; it is both secondary to and derivative of the primary mission of assisting individuals in the quest for eternal salvation. "

The other lecture was on Friday night, and was by Dr. William Donohue of the Catholic League. The speaker who introduced him said "I hope he comes out of his shell and tells us how he really feels" which got a good laugh from the crowd. He spoke on the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ. He did an excellent job in pointing out the anti-Catholic nature of most of the criticism. He recounted some of the worst examples and then reviewed some of the stories of people, who as a result of viewing the film, turned themselves in for crimes they committed . He did raise the issue of Mel's traditional Catholicism and how that affected some of the controversy. This was something I had hoped would be raised. He also stated he never asked what Mel's exact situation with the Church was. People were able to write questions down after the talk and Dr. Varacalli, who moderated the discussion, then chose the most critical questions for Donohue to answer. I thought the questions were fair and Dr. Donohue did a decent job responding to the questions, although there were time constraints that made it impossible for full, complete answers. Some of the questions and concerns raised by people showed the vast gulf between those Christians and Jews who watched the film, and seemed to see totally different things.

I enjoyed reading the correction in today's Newsday regarding Jimmy Breslin. I could not find it online but Extreme Catholic links to it on the NY Newsday site.

"Breslin said he erred in not referring to the 1995 column before writing his April 7, 2004, column. Instead, he drew the quotes from memory. The result is that the quotes attributed to Sheldon in the April 7 column were incorrect and not Sheldon's precise words. Breslin maintains, however, that they were an accurate reflection of the essence of the reverend's views on homosexuality in the 1992 interview." (emphasis mine)

"the column did not adhere to Newsday's standard of publishing only direct quotations that are accurate and precise."

Good to know that they have this policy but hopefully they will expand it to include not just direct quotes, but all printed facts. When it comes to the Catholic Church Newsday has printed some incredibly incorrect things, which indicates an extreme bigotry. Their commentary is bigoted also, but that is always opinion, news reporting should be unbiased and correct.

In reference to a post below from April 7th, on the Palm Sunday Gospel and my parish's weird way of reading the Gospel, a reader writes:

"I came late to the discussion on the reading of the Passion (your Apr. 7 post). Perhaps I can shed a little more light on the changes.

I am a musician at my parish. Beginning about 10 years ago I began hearing and reading about a minor movement to take away the people's parts in the reading of the Passion where they are the voice of the crowd, including the chant, "Crucify Him!" The thinking, obviously by liberals or progressives or whatever one wants to call them, was that it was somehow not appropriate for us to be the ones calling for the death of Christ. It looks like some of the "worship aid" publishers bought into this. Our missalettes* always used to have the crowd parts in bold type, indicated as "All." About four years ago the company removed the bold type and began indicating the crowd parts as "Chorus," not in bold type, hinting that the people should not be saying these parts. I read comments by various liturgy "experts" encouraging the use of short acclamations throughout the Passion in order to give the people a part in it. We actually did this at our parish for a couple of years, using the sung Lenten gospel acclamations "Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ" or "Praise and honor to you...." Of course the people had to be instructed in the new procedure, and I never liked it since it seemed too forced. This year we went back to having the people do the crowd parts. After the many accusations of anti-Semitism in "TPOTC" by the media, it was made abundantly clear that WE are truly the ones who caused the death of Jesus, so why should we not act the part in the reading of the Passion? (Sometimes I reflect that if I had lived in Jesus' time, I might have been one of those failing to see Him as Messiah and calling for Him to be crucified!)

(*Be aware that "missalette" is a trademark of the J. S. Paluch Company, and they get testy when people use the word to describe "worship aids" published by other companies. I use it here because Paluch is our music supplier.)"

Thanks for the email! The strange thing is that the missalette (or whatever) at our parish still prints the Gospel with the parts, and we all say the crowd parts out loud anyway. Also, I wonder if part of this thing is an attempt to stop the priest from reading the part of Christ exclusively.

Here is where I will be on Friday night--

The Controversy over Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ"

Panel discussion led by sociologist William Donohue, Ph.D., President, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Friday, April 16th, 2004, Nassau Community College, Building K, Ballroom, 7-9 PM, to be followed by questions from the audience

Here is a story on Long Islanders coming into the Catholic Church tonight at Easter Vigil. I will be at the Easter Vigil tonight, something I have done for several years now. It is a beautiful finish to the Easter Triduum and I hope that all those entering the Church are enthusiastically welcomed by Catholics.

"One made a promise to become a Catholic if his back surgery was successful. Another was baptized a Lutheran but says she was not raised in a very religious household. A third, an emigrant from Japan, says he realized Catholicism reflects his own values.

Saturday, on the eve of Easter, they will be among 548 people who join the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Rockville Centre and 150,000 in parishes nationwide."

Jeff Sharlet of The Revealer posts a discussion at BloggerCon on religion and blogger.

"So what do religion blogs mean to traditional media, religious and secular?"

For me, correction. Media (especially Newsday) is so anti-religion and especially anti-Christian that I will turn to St. Blog's to get the correct information on current news. The errors I see daily add up to an incredibly ignorant understanding of the Church and Christianity in general. St. Blog's will often have people who are behind the scenes or who can give 1st hand info on what is going on in the Church.

"Are they bringing belief more visibly into the public sphere?"

For St. Blog's, no, I think it is an "in-house" thing that does not necessarily appeal to a wider audience, although the best few blogs might.

"Do they threaten traditional religious hierachies?"

Ha!, no, but they treaten the lunkheads who have infested the hierachies for the past 30 years, since they expose their doings to the light. I don't think Fr. Paul Shanley could have gotten away with what he did if blogs were around in the 80's.

"Do they tend toward the politicization of religious beleif?"(sic)

I hope not, but this might be a chicken or the egg thing. Do they politicize religious belief, or are they manifestations of politics within religion?

"How do belief blogs relate to the real world -- as lay ministry, as rebellion, as outsider critique?"

Again, as far as St. Blog's goes, I think the blogs are mostly outsider critique, in the sense that most orthodox Catholics are outside of the parish/diocese power structure. We blog about the way we would like to see dioceses and parishes run because we are not the ones running them. Very few blogs would be lay ministry, although there are some apologetic blogs. Overall, most of us could do a better job of making blogging more of a ministry.

"Are they a force for change within religious institutions? Journalistic institutions?"

I could hope!

Alicia of Fructis Ventris will be at BloggerCon and it looks like it should be interesting.

I just did the optical image thing at A Catholic Blog for Lovers and it works. We Gen-Xers are famous for being cynical but this is cool!

I went to the Chrism Mass this morning and it was good. I have never been to this before. Five bishops, hundreds of priests and deacons, hundreds of lay people, and a good choir made the Mass quite inspirational. A liturgical highlight was at the Our Father- the organist played only a few notes at the beginning and then the rest was sung, chanted really, a capella by everyone present.

Jimmy Breslin Accused of Faking Interview

JIMMY BRESLIN IS A LYING BIGOT admits Les Payne.

"Newsday's New York editor, Les Payne, said Breslin should have made it clear in Wednesday's column that the quotes he attributed to Sheldon came from a 1992 interview. "Our readers should have been let in on the time frame," Payne said. "

I heard a priest say that Breslin became angry at the Catholic Church because at the funeral of his first wife, the priest read the prayer that includes the line "forgive her her sins". Breslin was insulted because you see, he believes his wife was perfect. Which is why he has a problem with the Church, because the Church knows all people are sinners. That is why Mother Theresa went to confession often. Since Breslin is a child in many ways, he never could get over the death of his first wife, and a lot of anger and bigotry is hurled at the Church. But a bigot is a bigot, and Catholics are not the only ones who are his targets--

"It was a Friday afternoon in May 1990. Ji-Yeon Yuh, then a journalist at Newsday’s Queens bureau in New York City, came home to discover more than a dozen messages waiting on her answering machine. She soon learned why.

Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist Jimmy Breslin had called her a “yellow cur” and “slant-eyed” during an angry outburst in Newsday’s Manhattan office after he read Yuh’s e-mail message in response to one of his columns, which she had criticized as being sexist. "

This is from the Northwestern University magazine. But this article left out one of the things he called the woman, so I link to this article by Nat Hentoff that reminds people Breslin also called her something the "The New York Times demurely called "an obscene anatomical reference. . . .". He adds:

"In that soliloquy, which will dog him the rest of his days, Breslin also railed at her for having the nerve to send him a computer message that called a column of his "sexist." She had no right, he more than implied, to criticize him, because she was inferior, in more ways than one. She did not deserve free speech."

These were just some of the articles I had on file about the bigotry of Jimmy Breslin because a long time ago someone came to this blog after doing a google search for "jimmy breslin slant-eyed". I had mentioned this bigot on my very first week of blogging.

Brother Juniper

I don't know where it came from, but since I was a child there was a cartoon book in our house called More Brother Juniper. It featured a round faced franciscan who was child-like and it quite humorous. Today I found some information on this cartoon, which I was shocked to find out ran until 1989!

The Brother Juniper story

The creator Fred McCarthy is still alive but no longer a priest

Sample cartoons

I took off from work for Holy Week, something I have done for the past 4 years. For a Liturgy nerd there is nothing better than the Easter Triduum. Even the horrible liturgists can't seem to mess that up entirely. However, one thing that I would love explained to me is why on Palm Sunday and during Holy Week, the Passion Gospel is not read in parts anymore. The priest used to read the parts marked Christ, a lector would read the narrator parts, and everyone in the pews would read the crowd part. Now, the lectors and the priest simply take turns reading sections of the Gospel, with no regard to different parts, including the words of Christ. The reading is also stopped a few times for the singer to sing "Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom", which I don't mind since it is a beautiful refrain.

Change of Heart: Sister Butler Explains Why She No Longer Backs Women Priests

"Sister Sara Butler, a Missionary Servant of the Most Blessed Trinity, is a theologian who in the 1960s and 1970s was one of the leading proponents for women’s ordination. But she now embraces and defends the teachings of the magisterium on the priesthood with conviction and expertise. "

It is always comforting to see women defend the tradition of an all male priesthood. Although this is solid Catholic tradition and I have never understood how people can see this in terms of equality and power, I have always felt it is difficult for me, as a guy, to defend it without sounding sexist. The best is when former clergy convert, such as Linda Poindexter, a former "episcopal priest". Jennifer Ferrara and Patricia Ireland, former Lutheran ministers who are now Catholic, wrote a book entitled The Catholic Mystique, which tells the story of women converts.

I added a Passion of The Christ gross tracker to the right. It is supposed to automatically update itself. I enjoy seeing the success of the movie because of all the bigotry surrounding it. I wonder if Roger Friedman from the Foxnews website has ever printed a retraction of the lies he wrote about the movie not being distributed widely, or in Jewish or wealthy neighborhoods. In case anyone forgot here is the original article, here is a second, and a sampling of what he wrote:

"When the film — which some critics are calling anti-Semitic and inflammatory — opens on Feb. 25, it will be in very select theatres only. "
(emphasis mine)

"Theater-goers will also be hard-pressed to find "The Passion of the Christ" in Nassau County, Long Island on either the south or north shore, or in affluent Westchester County, New York."

Funny, I only know of a few people who have not seen the movie, all by choice, none because they had trouble finding it.

"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. "

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.


As David Poland wrote here and here, Roger Friedman should be fired for this bigotry. For such a hard to find movie, it is amazing The Passion of The Christ is one of the 10 most successful movies of all time!

I thought I had seen all the stupidity possible in critiques of The Passion of The Christ, but Tom Beaudoin takes the cake. Writing in the non-Catholic National Catholic Reporter, he claims the movie is anti-Christian. It is writing like this that makes me so glad to see the box office numbers climb higher and higher.

Olympus to leave LI, take 840 jobs

I worked for this company once, when serial killer Joel Rifkin was there as a temp. Although I am sorry for the many good people who will lose their jobs, there were some people who, if they are still there, might consider this an important lesson in life. But they probably won't.

Total as of April 5th, 2004: $332,148,696

The Passion of The Christ is now the 10th most successful movie in US history. Some are saying it will get an extra bump during Holy Week, and I know I am planning on seeing it again during that time.

To the mattresses

This new blog by a convert looks promising - it combines two of my favorite things: Catholicism and Godfatherism. I found it via Come On, Get Lively.

letters to a young Catholic (The Art of Mentoring) by George Weigel

I am almost done reading this book and I should have taken notes because there are many great thoughts in it that could be blogged. Weigel takes the reader on a tour of the Catholic world and he is a fascinating tour guide.

Faith on Tap

Last night was another Faith on Tap event, with the speaker, Dr. Joseph Varacalli speaking on "Catholic Political Impotence". His energetic talk focused on what we in the Church need to do to have the influence we should in this country. Dr. Varacalli is the author of a great book -Bright Promise, Failed Community: Catholics and the American Public Order. He is the co-founder of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists based at Franciscan University, and is a Board of Directors member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. He is an orthodox Catholic who has successfully accomplished good things and is not afraid to speak his mind. The love he has for the Church came through very clearly in the talk.

The Weight of the Mass: A Tale of Faith by Josephine Nobisso


The author of this book (and several other children's books) will be in Massapequa on Saturday. Any locals might want to go to Faith and Reason Catholic Shop at 742 N. Broadway for the booksigning. She will be there from 11 am to 12 pm.

Brothers share message of forgiveness

"One brother was abused by a priest when he was a child; the other is a priest who asked himself how he could continue to wear his Roman collar when he learned of his brother’s traumatic experience."

The presentation Mr. Nohs does on the Shroud of Turin is excellent, although when I saw it he did not discuss his abuse by a priest. I believe the article describes the first time he has ever spoken of this. More info on the Shroud presentation can be found at The Holy Face of Jesus.

Total as of March 28th, 2004: $315,020,000

ONE MONTH AFTER “THE PASSION”: BODY COUNT—ZERO

"Last summer, Boston University professor Paula Fredriksen predicted, with no uncertainty, that ‘when violence breaks out’ (following the opening of ‘The Passion of the Christ’) Mel Gibson will have some explaining to do."

The movie now has the chance to enter the top 10 domestic grossing movies of all time!

Do you think Mary Boys, Bill Cork, Paula Fredickson or Abraham Foxman, etc.. will admit that The Passion of The Christ has not killed any Jews but has caused people to confess to crimes???? Don't hold your breath, these are the type of people that never allow facts to get in the way of their stupid opinions.

Robber turns himself in after watching film

Christ movie moves Texan to murder confession

Updated: Johnny Olsen, a notorious convicted killer and neo-Nazi, has confessed to two bombings in Oslo in the 90s. Olsen, 41, decided to purge his guilty conscience after viewing Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ, newspaper Dagbladet reports.

You know, after seeing stories like these, and hearing a few stories of people being positively influenced by the movie, I wonder why so many were so against this movie. You really have to wonder what drove these people to so vehemently blast both the movie and Mel Gibson. I also am wondering whether Mel Gibson's traditionalism is a wake up call to the Church.

The talk around St. Blog's has been on Liturgical abuses, sparked by this post on Church of The Masses. Amy Welborn has shut down the comments at her blog to cool people off because she does not like the tone of the comments. People are wondering why people are so angry and bitter and the best explanation has been at Off the Record. When people speak of Liturgical abuse, it really does mean abuse. And, just as the anger and bitterness of some people was brought out by the sexual abuse stories in the Church, the Liturgical abuse stories raise bitterness and anger as well. For Catholics, it is simply too difficult today to find a parish where the Mass is offered in a way that is conducive to good prayer, and where the atmosphere of the parish is truly Catholic. This explains why so many are turning to traditional latin Masses, whether indult or in unapproved chapels. This is a very serious and important issue and the anger and bitterness should not be met with attitudes of "get a life" or "why so angry?" or "is it really so bad after all?". I honestly don't think there is a more serious issue in the Church today than the lack of properly celebrated, reverent, traditional , and inspirational Masses.

The Passion of The Christ (again)


On Tuesday night I attended a night of recollection that included a lecture on the biblical themes in the movie. It was given by Fr. Edward Seagriff, a great speaker and real hero in this diocese. The crowd of 80 was maximum capacity and the talk was excellent. Fr. Seagriff was funny and inspiring enough to remind me of Fr. Benedict Groeschel. The people there were regular Church goers who usually attend lectures such as these and I think they were impressed by this priest.

Tonight, I went to my parish where there must have been 200 people in the Church meeting room to hear a talk by another priest on the spirituality of The Passion of The Christ. The sliding wall partition had to be opened and another rack of chairs had to be brought out so everyone could be seated. The movie has generated great interest and it is sad to see how some of that interest is wasted. Tonight's talk was done by a priest, dressed in civies, who teaches at a nominally Catholic college. He could barely disguise his disgust at the movie and Mel Gibson's failure to "study the Bible not just read it". Many of the people at the talk were parents who I think are required to attend a couple of talks a year in order for their children to be confirmed, or to attend the school or something. Basically there might have been many semi-Churched people who just might have been reached had the talk been evangelical. The priest's point seemed to be that each Gospel writer had a different point to make and the movie could not show all of them. He made it clear that the Gospels are not to be read to provide historical facts and that it would be a mistake to try to investigate what historians of the time said about the Gospel events. Also, he said that there are many pious legends surrounding Christianity and that Jesus did not get as severe a beating as the movie depicted. I just think that this attitude of cynicism and academic pooh-poohing of "pious legends" is not exactly going to influence people who may or may not go to Church to deepen their faith. This is where the Church loses people.

A man who bashed Mother Angelica, EWTN and the traditional latin Mass now has a website for writing on various things. Do what I did, email him to tell him just how welcome he is on the web.

Old Oligarch's post on The Passion of The Christ - excellent read.

March 22nd was a great day for justice:

Joey Buttafuoco Gets Year in Jail for Insurance Fraud

Hamas Founder Killed in Israeli Strike

Pelosi to face charges in Ammon murder

Reputed mobster admits role in killings

Travel agents indicted for arranging `sex tours'

Four More Suspects Charged in Madrid Blasts

Nichols State Trial Gets Under Way

W.W.J.K: Who Would Jesus Kill?

This is the second time I've linked to Ann Coulter and both times were articles mentioning The Passion of The Christ. Again, too many great quotes, a must read!

"Like Timothy McVeigh, the Columbine killers and the editorial board of The New York Times, Hitler detested Christians."

Interesting point- I have seen McVeigh mentioned as a "Christian" even though he was on public record as an atheist.

"Hitler denounced Christianity as an "invention of the Jew" and vowed that the "organized lie (of Christianity) must be smashed" so that the state would "remain the absolute master." Interestingly, this was the approach of all the great mass murderers of the last century -- all of whom were atheists: Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot."

The column also mentioned that the movie The Sum of All Fears changed the bad guys from muslim terrorists (as they were in the book) to neo-nazis. I liked this movie and remember how everybody I saw it with agreed that the neo-nazi thing made no sense. It was unrealistic.

Total as of March 21st, 2004: $295,507,244

Soon, The Passion of The Christ will become the most successful R rated movie in US history and it will also enter the top 20 for domestic grosses. Yeaahh!

UPDATE: 24 hours after I wrote the above line, The Passion of the Christ is now the most successful R rated movie of all time, and the 18th most successful domestic grossing film of all time. And still no attacks on Jewish people. At what point do you think the arrogant bigots who said the film will cause violence will admit they were wrong??

FAITH, TERROR AND MARTYRDOM IN ALGERIA: THE MONKS OF TIBHIRINE

"But in the 1980s and 1990s, Algeria, like many other countries with large Muslim populations, began to feel the pressure of fundamentalist Islamic groups that were springing up around the world. "


Yet another story about the killing of Christians by muslims. My local representative and fellow parishioner Peter King has been getting slack from muslims over statements he made. He has written a novel, Vale of Tears, in which muslim terrorists attack in Nassau County. When he spoke on Sean Hannity he said that 85% of the mosques in the USA have extremist leadership. Of course, muslim leaders did not like hearing this. Oddly, you never hear statements from these muslims about the slaughter their people, their "religion", their culture causes. The local leader of the muslim mosque in Westbury was quoted by Paul Vitello in Newsday as saying that Israel might have been behind the September 11th attacks. Can you imagine the constant reporting Newsday would have done if this statement was said by a Catholic leader instead of a follower of the heresy of mohammed? In order for the slaughter to stop we need strong people like Peter King.

What Will Follow Gibson's Passion?


"Abraham Foxman, executive director of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League, predicts that if Gibson dramatizes either Jewish rebellion, "we'll lose."

"He'll write his own history," Foxman says. "I would prefer to leave the fate of Jewish history and Hollywood to Steven Spielberg. The Maccabees and Bar Kochba are our sacred history.

"The way he treats history - with a cherry picker of that which fits his ideology or view - is not the way I would like the world to learn about the heroism of the Maccabees or Bar Kochba. So, thanks but no thanks."


---So now Foxman is saying Mel Gibson can't even make a movie on this topic. His ADL just lost a $12 million ruling because they FALSELY accused a couple of anti-semitism. He is a bigot. And notice he says it is "our history", whose history is the Passion???

Abe Foxman and the ADL will have to pay $12 million to people they falsely accused of anti-semitism.

Via Protocols

Jon Voight criticized The Passion of The Christ because there were some scenes in the movie that were not in the Gospels. He was on The O'Reilly Factor complaining about the movie. I would boycott Voight's movies but I don't know any of them.

"a word to the wise to the young artists - without spiritual guidance too much freedom can lead to spiritual decline"

Above quote is not from Pope John Paul II, but from Prince.

Good questions by Jo in the comments re The Passion of The Christ---

Is the movie just preaching to the choir? Is it deepening or changing the faith of Christians who see it? Is it converting those nonChristians who see it?

What do we make of the fact that it is well attended by young men? Has Gibson, as many say, finally given us a manly image of Jesus, to counter the goofy, hippy, peace and love Jesus their parents' generation grew up with? If so, what affect is it having on this group of viewers.

One article I read this morning implied that 11% of the population has seen it out of 34% who plan to see it. Does this mean it could gross over $750M?


I think some of these questions were discussed on Amy Welborn's Open Book and other blogs, especially the ability of the film to convert. I don't think the film is having any effect on non-Christians who see it - I think it is mostly meant for the choir. The film presents perhaps the only manly Jesus many young men have ever seen and this may make the faith more acceptable to them in the future. The best effect so far has been the amount of discussion about Jesus Christ this film has caused. I am not so convinced of the power of the film to change people but I could be wrong. As far as grossing $750 million, I can hope! I can't wait to see how it does in Latin America.

Thanks to The Curt Jester for pointing out a new blog that should make Commonweal happy! Thoroughly Modern Mary is "An enlightened weblog from from the paradigm of religious community. Sister Mary Biko PhD guides you along the way of traditional deconstruction".

Forgetting Mel Gibson for a minute...Brian Lamb is the man! There is an article in today's paper about him and C-Span. I was not aware he founded C-Span but Booknotes is one of my favorite interview shows, he really knows how to do impartial and fair. The article stangely says he "was born into a Catholic home in Lafayette, Ind., two months before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor". I was surprised to see this since he comes across as the ultimate W.A.S.P. Like Charlie Rose he is a great interviewer and if you enjoy books his show is the best.

Pope John Paul II is now the 3rd longest serving Pope in history, with only St. Peter and Pius IX having served longer!

I have been angered by the attacks on Mel Gibson and his film because the anti-Christian bias is quite extreme and obvious. I have pointed out some of the worst examples on this blog. But today I found the type of anti-Passion of the Christ stuff I can happily read and enjoy:

Mel Gibson’s Film “The Passion of the Christ”
AN INTERNATIONAL HOAX

“The Passion of the Christ” is a thoroughly Satanic production, and occultists worldwide know exactly what Mel Gibson meant by “‘sinistra’ or sinister hand” as well as many other esoteric signs attending, not only this film, but the entire genre of occult films that are inundating movie theaters. Satanists, who despise Jesus Christ, and their Dark Lord, who has fond memories of the Crucifixion, will no doubt love “The Passion of the Christ”.

Yes...it is all starting to make sense to me now... still, if that worries you, this same website will calm you down by informing you:

"Although the implantable microchip may be used to track and control people during the Tribulation, there are three important sources which prove the computer chip does not fulfill the Scriptural requirements for the Mark of the Beast."


I will sleep better tonight, knowing this information.

Jesus Gil at Santificarnos has blogged first hand accounts of the situation in Madrid. Reading it and seeing the coverage on the news made me instantly recall the atmosphere around here post 9-11.

Revisionism takes on ‘The Passion’

In the "ecumenical" spirit I offer this article from a Baptist on The Passion of The Christ.

"What must the critics do with the Jesus depicted in the Passion movie? Deconstruct!
If the content of the movie is so powerful, then deconstruct Gibson."

Millions Take to the Streets in Spain

I hope the effort to destroy terrorism will gather steam. I am still waiting for the USA to really go after the supporters of Al Queda, such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan, etc..

This very angry sounding blog has the following comments about The Passion of The Christ:

"The Passion's ticket sales numbers are bogus."

"The next thing you know, instead of a Gideon's bible in your hotel room, there will be a bloody, violent, jew-hate inciting copy of Mel Gibson's "Passion" in the bureau drawer. "

"I'm going to a multiplex, buying a ticket to another movie, then going in to see the vile piece of right wing, toxic, anti-semitic crap, which, from what I hear, is much like the midieval Passion Plays that set towns to attacking Jews."

"Most people do not know the real facts of the bible, or how Gibson has twisted and distorted them, or only shown a one-sided aspect, and they will be moved to become more anti "not-christian."

"This movie shows the anger and hate inside YOU, Mel."

"He chose to make a bloody, ugly, massively violent snapshot of a part o Christ's life that will inspire anger, hate and cruelty. People in the movie business reading this, Movie Companies reading this, you can be sure that I am not the only person who has vowed not to buy a ticket for a Mel Gibson film again."

Wondering what color the sky is in this man's world?

President Bush to visit Long Island as part of re-election campaign tour

"In the afternoon, President Bush will go to Eisenhower Park in East Meadow to participate in a 9/11 memorial groundbreaking ceremony. The president has kept the police shield of George Howard, a port authority officer from Long Island who perished in the terror attacks, as a reminder of all those who lost their lives in the 9/11 tragedy. George Howard's mother Arlene, who is from Hicksville, will be present at the ceremony."

For more about George Howard visit this site.

For more about the Nassau September 11th memorial visit this site.

St. Blog's Church
America's most vibrant parish?

This article by Rachelle Linner is in the Feb. 27th, 2004 edition of Commonweal and mentions Gen X Revert. One interesting thing mentioned is that, while there are priests and brothers blogging, there is not one woman religious. I would love to see one of the nuns in a good, vibrant order blogging (Dominicans of Nashville, Daughters of St. Paul, Mother Angelica's order, etc... The closest we have is Barbara Nicolosi of Church of the Masses as she was with the Daughters of St. Paul for awhile. The modern nuns of course are too busy smearing blood on missile sites and praying to the Four Winds. Perhaps the Curt Jester might create a "blog by a modern sister"!

My first thought on reading this column was that I had read it before. It had the standard notion of blogs being tilted toward the "conservative", rather than "orthodox", but either way it is true. The author gives the standard line: blogs are "conservative" or "traditionalist" and therefore "cynical", "judgmental" and "corrosive". This type of thinking is why Commonweal does not have the growing readership that First Things, Crisis, etc.. have. "Liberal" Catholicism is truly a dead end road, offering nothing different from liberal secularism. The few blogs that offer this are reactionary and simply contrarian to the dominant blog outlook. Any new idea or reform is shot down by those who fear a return to "the pre-Vatican II" way. This article is simply the latest in a tiring litany of writings by people whining of the "traditionalism" of Catholics today. Mel's movie brought this stuff to a fever pitch. The attempt by Catholic bloggers and other Catholics to reconnect with their tradition and culture is a positive thing that has been trampled on by too many within the Church. The author of the article ends with a quote from Flannery O'Connor that is meant for the "conservative" or "traditionalist" bloggers but which applies equally to the author and the Commonweal readers:

"Human nature is so faulty that it can resist any amount of grace and most of the time it does"

I would suggest that many a grace has been resisted by Catholics over the past 30 years - including those who equate "traditionalist" with negative and corrosive.

Total as of March 11th, 2004: $232,379,231

On the all time domestic gross list, the movie is now #38

Man Killed During Initiation at Masonic Lodge

"PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — A man was killed during a Masonic initiation ceremony when another member fired a gun loaded with real bullets instead of the expected blanks and shot him in the face, police said Tuesday."

At the exact time this man was being initiated into the Masons, I was entering the Knights of Columbus.

Heyyyy Now!

Thanks to Come On, Get Lively I found The Catholic Book Collector blog. Thanks to this new blog I found out George Weigel has a new book out: Letters to A Young Catholic (Art of Mentoring). This is the latest in a series of "Letters to A Young" books and it looks great.

Seamless Garment idea debated


"Jesuit Father John Conley opened Molloy College's spring lecture series Feb. 26 with a critique of the seamless garment of life, a concept developed by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago."

Against the Grain pointed to a funny post from a good blog called Protocols. Protocols in turn pointed to Jewsweek and their obsessive coverage of TPOTC. The author of this article from Jewsweek seems to understand some things many people do not:

"Foxman's actions were also ill-advised because they have managed to alienate many Christian friends of the Jewish people along the way. In repeatedly characterizing a film that is based on the literal Gospels as anti-Semitic, Foxman has unavoidably also implied that the Gospels are anti-Semitic. Whether or not this is fair or true, it was bound to be hurtful to many Christians. And what useful purpose at this point in history is served by characterizing the Gospels as anti-Semitic? In addition, many find it jarring to hear Foxman presuming to tell them how Christian doctrine requires them to act in respect of the movie. Imagine the Jewish reaction if Christians started telling the Foxman that his organization's positions were not consistent with Jewish doctrine, for example on abortion rights (liberal) and gay marriage rights (pro)."

This is good stuff. The author of this article, Daniel Barenholtz seems most focused on the free publicity that Foxman gave the film. The title of the article is "How not to choose your battles". My hope is that Bill Donohue and the Catholic League will read and learn from this article. They tend to do the same as Foxman whever an anti-Catholic movie comes out.

A. O. Scott in the New York Times:

"The convergence of ancient religious traditions and postmodern pop culture challenges some of the most basic assumptions that many of us who write about popular culture bring to our work. ."

I wonder what those assumptions would be and whether having them would be the same thing as being prejudiced.

You can take what the critics have been doing and turn it around as well:

Was Jami Bernard's 1 star review in the NY Daily News an honest criticism or was it the result of some prejudice? I am not claiming she is anti-Christian, just that her review might be. All the attacks on Gibson, his film, and its fans could feed into the very anti-Christian culture we live in. If any violence breaks out against Christians by anti-Christians, as it did during the French Revolution, World War II, or in the Soviet Union, then the blood will be on Jami Bernard's hands. See how easy it is to do this? Also, note the examples I give of anti-Christian violence are much more recent, by centuries, than the ones given by Foxman, Hikand, Cork, Friedman, Boys, etc... The truth is that now that I have seen the movie I can understand how people might not enjoy the film. I can understand some of the negative reviews, the ones that talk of character development, violence, etc.. But most reviews have not been like that- most talk about the Bible, the controversy, etc.. I really do believe this is the result of anti-Christian bias on the part of many people.

You can read the Dolorous Passion of Christ online. If you want to read the book get it from Tan Books and Publishers. Also, Ignatius Press is offering The Ultimate Passion Book Set. The set includes On the Passion of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, A guide to the Passion: 100 questions about Mel Gibson's Passion of The Christ, and The Passion: Photography from the movie.

Another bigot can see into the future and claims people will be killed as a direct result of Mel Gibson's movie:

"Sometime later this year, perhaps next, we will hear news reports of Jews being killed by angry young men. It may be in France, Germany, perhaps in the former WARSAW countries. The killers will have recently seen Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. And their defense will be vengeance, because after all, Jesus himself blamed it on the Jews. They just heard it with their own ears."

The stupidity is overwhelming in the post. One thing that is mentioned, and incorrectly, is the scene where Jesus is building a table "for a rich man". Before I saw the movie I read about many scenes on the internet including this one. People commented that it reminded them of an altar. Therefore, when I saw this scene I thought of that. The scene is shown from inside the house and table is arranged as an altar would be in a Church. Jesus shows Mary how people might eat at the table with chairs but since he has not made them yet, he crouches a little and puts his arms on the table. This gesture is familiar to anyone who attends the traditional Mass, or even if priests are traditionally minded. Right at the words of consecration, the priest leans on the altar in a similiar way to Jesus. Mary does this too, but at the side of the table, Jesus is in the middle as a priest would be. She also brings him water so he can wash his hands. It is a little foreshadowing that is done well.

The Passion of The Christ

Well tonight I got to see it- my first impression is that I think I expected too much. With all the stuff I read about people being very moved and "experiencing" the movie, I just did not come out of the theater feeling especially moved. This might be due to the fact that I turned away at many violent parts and may have missed some things. (I pretty much fast forwarded through Braveheart and Gladiator). Also, I have never been especially emotional in regards the Passion or spiritual things. The movie was well done and Jim Cavaziel was excellent as Jesus. The violence was a bit much at times, but not as wild as some critics made it seem. I could have done with less slow-motion and less subtitles. The ending seemed tacked on and I did not think it was done to the best effect. Overall though, the movie was very well done and I think I will see it again to see if I can get "into it" more the second time. Thank you Mel Gibson!

Random Thoughts:

The thing that annoyed me the most about the hype of the movie was that it really brought out the fact that many people are very anti-Christian. The letters to the editor in the major papers, some movie critics, the "professional" scholars, and some activists all seemed angry that a devout Catholic would dare to make a film. I have seen angry letters and columns bashing Christianity, Mel Gibson personally, the Gospels, etc.. At times it is amazing how far people would go to try to try to justify their own hatred and bigotry. One person wrote "Go away Mel Gibson and take your piety with you". I am glad The Passion of The Christ is doing so well because Gibson deserves a success after all that he has been through. The one thing that people agreed after seeing the film tonight is that people who claim the movie is anti-semitic or that it will lead to violence are just way off base. No one could think of why it would be seen as anti-semitic at all, but all agreed it was very anti-Roman in a way. Even there, it is not truly anti-Roman because it showed sadistic Roman soldiers, as everyone knows those guys were brutes and it does not follow that all Romans were brutes. I think some people who made accusations about the film are living on a different planet or in a different century or something. Now that I have seen the film it will be even more interesting to see the columns and the letters to the editor, etc..

I thought my occasional (recently more frequent) attendance at the traditional latin Mass would help me to understand a few phrases from the movie. Of course, the parts of the film that would have been in the Mass were in aramaic not latin. Oh well. I did notice that the subtitle translated the line as "for many" not "for all", which is a big argument in some places.


Contrary to Roger Friedman's claim that it would be hard for me to find the movie, since I live on the south shore of Nassau County, it only took me about 11.0 minutes to get to the theater. And this one was not the closest theater showing the movie! And this was in incredibly thick fog as well!!

By the time I post again I will have seen The Passion of The Christ. I am very glad the film has provoked discussion and that it is doing well. I hope that it will help in my Lenten journey but am not sure I will be able to get past the blood and violence. I hope it is as good as people say it is.

New Blog!

I never seem to find a Catholic blog before anyone else so this may be a first? Nicole, a recent "revert" started Reversion 2.0 and in the first post she asked for guidance. If you can offer any please stop by her site. Reverting Rocks!! Ugh I can't believe I just wrote that.

Chris is asking me to name the top 3 lies told by the critics of Mel Gibson's movie that have me acting like a pit bull on crack. (Those are my words not his/her) As requested here are the top three:

1) That the movie will cause violence- if you want examples of anti-semitism and violence check out the middle east. Devout Catholics ain't blowing up people and such. Some quotes of people claiming the movie WILL cause violence (I skipped the many, many quotes of people who slyly questioned IF the movie could cause violence):

"When violence breaks out, Mel Gibson will have a much higher authority than professors and bishops to answer to." [emphasis added] The New Republic, July 28, 2003 - August 4, 2003, "Mad Mel," by Paula Fredriksen

"More people will see this film in three months than ever saw the passion plays in Europe through all the centuries. We know those plays rationalized anti-Semitic behavior. We fear this will, too." Detroit Free Press, February 7, 2004; Abraham Foxman

"Of great concern to the Anti-Defamation League [with regard to the film] is the possibility that individuals are more likely to be targets of attack, simply because they are 'different." Seattle Times, February 6, 2004; ADL Fundraising Mailer, quoted by David Klinghoffer

"In an interview about the film, Foxman added, '[Gibson is] hawking it on a commercial crusade to the churches of this country. That's what makes it dangerous." Los Angeles Times, January 23, 2004; Abraham Foxman

"We have good reason to be seriously concerned about Gibson's plans to retell the Passion. Historically, the Passion—the story of the killing of Jesus—has resulted in the death of Jews." New York Post, June 21, 2003; Letter, Ken Jacobson

All of the above quotes came from the Catholic League website. Unfortunately letters to the editors of the major New York papers that I read are not available online and I don't have to time to look for them anyway. However, I remember reading one letter that said "I am SURE this movie will cause bloodshed" and many others have been just as bad. The smarter critics have backtracked from what they originally have said also. Now many are saying the film may not cause bloodshed but may contribute to anti-semitism.

2) That the movie is anti-semitic. This is of course open to interpretation but that is not what many have said. They have flat out called it anti-semitic. Check the same Catholic League website for plenty of quotes on this also.


3) That the movie was not distributed in Jewish or upscale neighborhoods, and would be hard to find in Nassau County. Once again the Catholic League proves this false, but I also pointed out the lies involving Long Island here and here. Since I live here and know what I am talking about, this is the easiest lie to refute. You have to wonder how people can print stuff that is simply not true and never even print a correction.

The above does not mention the attacks on Mel Gibson personally, including the recent rant that he liked to tell jokes, that he "rejects Vatican II teachings" whatever the heck that means, that he dares to kill cattle on his ranch, that he won't discuss his father's big mouth and nuttiness so he must agree with him, that he has the nerve to want to make money on his film, etc.. People have also written extensively how this movie is setting back Jewish-Christian relations, whatever that means, even though it is the actions and words of the movie's critics themselves that is causing harm. Also, people keep claiming that the movie is not 100% scripturally accurate but I don't see where it was claimed to be. Gibson has said from the beginning that he based some of it on Emmerich's writings.

Some small lies:

"The Passion" is now the most expensive vanity production in history." -Roger Friedman again, Please see this article and this one to see how much garbage was packed into Friedman's articles.

"Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of World War II."--Jami Bernard in the Daily News

As I have pointed out on my blog, the reactions of people indicate a lot of anti-Christian bias. Paul Vitello started interviewing people who watched the film but then stopped because their answers did not conform to any of the preconceived notions he had. People have come out of this film not hating, not doing violence, etc.. And it is very easy to find the film on the north and south shore of Nassau County contrary to Roger Friedman's lies, but it is not easy to get a ticket since it is so popular. I tried once and could not get in, but now I have tickets for tommorrow night. I will go and while I may not "enjoy" the movie, maybe even miss half of it because I can't stand seeing violence, I will be glad to support a Catholic who poured his heart into creating a work of art. I will also be glad to know I am pissing off so many anti-Christian bigots just by making this movie so successful.

I usually don't pay much attention to people that are too partisan. However, partisan politics aside, Ann Coulter wrote one of the best articles yet on The Passion Of The Christ. Her slash and burn style can be tiresome when she is bashing liberals or even anyone who might believe helping some people might just be a good thing, but here it is absolutely perfect!

Just some of the great lines:


"In fact, Jesus' distinctive message was: People are sinful and need to be redeemed, and this is your lucky day because I'm here to redeem you even though you don't deserve it, and I have to get the crap kicked out of me to do it. That is the reason He is called "Christ the Redeemer" rather than "Christ the Moron Driving Around in a Volvo With a 'Be Nice to People' Bumper Sticker on It."

"The other complaint from the know-nothing crowd is that "The Passion" will inspire anti-Semitic violence. If nothing else comes out of this movie, at least we finally have liberals on record opposing anti-Semitic violence. Perhaps they should broach that topic with their Muslim friends."

And now for something a little different: (humor-impaired Christians should not click this)

Jesus Demands Creative Control Over Next Movie

"I never should have given Mel Gibson so much license," said Christ, the Son of God. "I don't like to criticize a member of the flock, but that close-up of the nails being pounded into My wrists—that was just bad."

From The Onion of course

Believe it or not there are some non-Mel Gibson related things going on in the Catholic world:

Firstly, KH, who lurks in the St. Blog's comments (in a good way) introduced me to The Children First Foundation. This group promotes adoption and is working to get Choose Life license plates approved in New York and New Jersey. These plates are already on the road in 10 states and they help raise money for pro-life causes such as crisis pregnancy centers. More info at Choose-Life. The establishment of thousands of prolife centers around the world is the best thing that could have happened to the prolife movement. This is a positive agenda that will not involve damaging lawsuits, arrests, etc... Of course, it should be controversy free, who doesn’t want to help pregnant women? A couple of years ago the NY attorney general Elliot Spitzer tried to attack prolife centers at the behest of pro-choice groups but backed down. Prolife centers should be professional, fully staffed and financially strong. Right now there is a need to get sonograms in as many as possible. Adoption should be a major priority of all Catholics. Deal Hudson of Crisis magazine wrote an article describing he and his wife’s experience. Unfortunately, they found the local Catholic Charities unhelpful and bureaucratic. A friend suggested a local Baptist agency and they were great. Catholics should take the pro-choicers at their word and make it an easy choice by providing enough services and support that no woman would ever feel pressured to “choose” abortion.

Secondly, there will be a Life Fest on Saturday, April 3rd at Fordham University. Click on the link and see the impressive list of speakers and events. This looks like it will be huge!

Thirdly, Dr. William Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, will be speaking on "The Controversy Over Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ" for the Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies on Friday evening, April 16th, 2004 from 7 to about 9 P.M. in Building K, ballroom, at Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York. Coffee and cake at 6:30 PM All are invited, free of any charge.
Oops that last one was Mel Gibson related but it should be great.

The Passion of The Christ is the #1 movie today!

"Mel Gibson's (search) gamble on "The Passion of the Christ" (search) paid off enormously, riding a storm of religious debate to a $117.5 million haul in its first five days, according to studio estimates Sunday."

I have not seen it yet but everyone I heard from who has seen it can barely describe what an incredible experience it is.

So, in my lifetime I have seen the Chant album hit number one, and now a movie shot in Latin. What was that the Liturgists have been telling us for years..oh yeah, chant and latin is out because people need to have things brought down to their level.

Zev Chafets, in the NY Daily News writes a column on The Passion of The Christ that contains lots of common sense:

'Passion' is really pro-Israel

"But I'm a Jew, not a Christian. And despite what many Jewish critics seem to believe, "The Passion" wasn't made for us. Or about us.

Judging from the reactions I see on TV, a lot of Christians - Protestant and Catholic alike - come out of the theater deeply moved by Gibson's movie. This reaction infuriates some Jewish scholars and activists. Gibson's distorting history, they charge. He lets the Romans off too easily. He puts the blame on the Jews. By which, of course, they mean: on us.

These Jews need to relax.

Gibson is telling a 2,000-year-old story. Most Christians are smart enough and reasonable enough to understand the distinction between Caiaphas and Jerry Seinfeld. It is insulting to suggest otherwise."

I wonder if his Daily News colleague Jami Bernard read this column. She said the Passion movie "is the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of World War II."

Jami Bernard, the movie reviewer in the NY Daily News:

"In 18 years as a professional movie critic, I've never gotten the response that I had this week to my one-star review of "The Passion of the Christ."

She writes about some of the hate mail she has received, which I am sure is nothing compared to what the Catholic League has received. She also writes this interesting line:

"What interests me as a movie critic is the profusion of people who do not understand or care how to evaluate a movie."

But read her original review and see how she evaluated the movie. Did she evaluate it as a movie or as a religious statement that she did not like? Many of the reviews I have read have not focused at all on the acting, lighting, music, story development, all of which are fair game. They have focused on the controversy of a devout Catholic making a filmed Passion. Her review was probably the most extreme example of this.

More terrorism in the Phillippines:

"The Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf (search) claimed responsibility Sunday for a ferry explosion and fire that killed at least two people, though 180 more were missing, according to a radio report."

Pray for our Catholic brothers and sisters in the Phillipines, who have had to deal with this terrorism for years. And while you are at it, pray for our Catholic brothers and sisters in Haiti - President Aristide fled the country today.

Victims break their silence-

"Capturing the Friedmans" may win Oscar

"In 1987, Gregory was one of the 17 boys who told Nassau law enforcement officials that they had been abused at the Friedmans' home on Piccadilly Road. Of these, 13 would later testify before a grand jury to substantiate criminal charges against Jesse Friedman, his father, Arnold, and another teenager, Ross Goldstein, 17. As their separate trials approached in 1988, father and son both changed their pleas from not guilty to guilty. So did Goldstein.

Now, in a turn of events none of the young men who testified would have foreseen, "Capturing the Friedmans," a controversial documentary about the case that has already won critical and commercial acclaim, makes them feel as if they're portrayed as liars."


Zero Tolerance for child sex abuse does not apply in Hollywood you see...