"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.

I was reading Eve Tushnet's blog and clicked on the Peanuts strip she was sent. Once there I found the Oct. 30th strip featuring Linus in the pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Linus is the strip's theologian and this strip is a great display of prayer reflecting the anguish and impatience we sometimes feel in this "vale of tears".

Officials Believe 'Azzam' Is Gadahn

When people talk about Azzam the American or Johnny Walker the American taliban they always sound incredulous. They simply cannot believe how a young American could possibly hate America or Americans, or wish evil on its people. I don't understand how anyone can be surprised by this. In the 34 years I have been on this planet I have met very few Americans that were decent human beings. In the places I have worked I have met a few nice people while the majority of them have been two-faced, lying, conniving, greedy, selfish, prejudice, racist, violent people. I have seen people lie to get people fired, I have seen people hate others just for the way they looked, I have heard people express hate with impunity. If it were not for my recently re-discovered faith, I don't think I could have handled all this. As it stands now, my faith keeps me from hating my fellow Americans with the fury that these islamic converts do. Make no mistake, I love this country and doubt if I lived elsewhere the people would be much better, but it does make me wonder how anyone can be truly surprised that some who grew up here are so bitter.

Another Mepham -type football incident?

"Three Lindenhurst high school football players were charged with gang assault this week after beating up two former students last Saturday, Suffolk police said. Police and school officials identified them as Dan Doerler, John Pensa and Thomas O'Hanlon, all 17-year-old seniors."

"Doerler, of 329 N. Hamilton Ave., and Pensa, of 822 N. Greene Ave., were arrested on Oct. 27. O'Hanlon, of 320 Newark St., was arrested Oct. 28. All three were arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on second-degree gang assault and released on $1,500 bail. Two of the suspects have been suspended from school, and one has been kicked off the football team, Lederer said, declining to provide specifics."


I just got home and noticed this story on the web. Interestingly I had dinner with my girlfriend near Lindenhurst and talked to her about how I felt jocks get special treatment and tend to be violent people. I am very surprised one of these monsters got kicked off the team because usually the coaches, families, school and community all support football players accused of rape, murder, violence, etc... Perhaps the Mepham football rapists - Ken Carney, Phil Sofia, and Thomas Diasparra have changed things on Long Island by their getting caught and convicted.

On Sunday I attended Mass at another parish, St. Christopher's in Baldwin. During my returning to the Church process a few years ago, I attempted to find a nice Church in a nice parish with a nice priest celebrating a nice Mass. Actually I don't mean nice, I mean Catholic, meaning orthodox. I kept track of my parish-hopping and stopped after about 38 parishes, realizing that the one I grew up in was the best I was going to do. I occasionally will try other parishes along with the traditional latin Mass in order to "spice up" my Sunday. Going to St. Christopher's (again) turned out to be a good thing- the Church was traditional looking, with no side pews around the sanctuary, and the tabernacle was in the center on a high altar behind the "regular" altar. On either side of the sanctuary were Mary and Joseph, each in a beautiful side alcove. There was even a large, wooden baldacchino over the altar, with angels on top and saints (I think) lining the sides. This parish is to be commended for keeping their Church both Catholic and beautiful with no wreckovation in sight. The choir loft was (shockingly) used by the choir, who sounded good. The priest, Fr. McQuade, celebrated Mass just the way I likes it - reverently with no clowning. Prayers were offered for Bishop Christopher Cardone, a local son who was just assigned to be Bishop of Auki, Solomon Islands.

"The shooting deaths of a young couple in Queens — an apparent murder-suicide — may have been sparked by the woman aborting her boyfriend's child, his relatives said yesterday. "

Last night Bishop Murphy spoke to the Faith on Tap group I attend. He went around the room before speaking and shook hands with everyone, a big smile on his face. I have seen him do this before - he impressed everyone with his friendliness, humor, and down to earth manner. He did take some questions from the group but his answers were a bit general. For example, my question was about what the Church's response to attacks from muslims should be and he really skirted the issue. (Within two weeks of his installation here, 400 members of his flock were murdered by muslims.) Nevertheless, his talk was good and I suspect that he will have a good impact on the diocese over the long run. It is truly sad to see such an intelligent, orthodox and Christ-centered guy so vilified by the press, VOF, bigoted columnists, etc... For this long- suffering diocese, it is good to have a decent bishop for once.

As a Mets fan, and therefore a Yankee hater, I am very pleased to find Boston winning!!!! Nice to see those Bronx Boors shot down, and I hope that Boston finally wins the World Series. I like to think my support helped - I took a trip to Boston this summer where I got to see a game at Fenway, got beer spilled down my back, and participated in a "Yankees Suck" chant. Anyway, I hope this year will make up for the last 86 years, especially 1986 when my Mets beat the Sox in the most amazing World Series game ever.

Hartman pledges $4.4M for Parkinson's research

"Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, with a pledge from Msgr. Thomas Hartman's Foundation of $4.4 million over five years, is launching a research initiative focused on developing treatments for Parkinson's disease."

"None of the funding will be used for research involving stem cells derived from embryos, Hartman said. The Catholic Church is opposed to use of such cells, because an embryo is destroyed in the process. Stem cells taken from adult bone marrow or umbilical cords may hold potential, he said, and part of the research is exploring their value."

Secret Agent Man pointed me to Jimmy Akin's smackdown of the latest Bob Keeler article in Newsday. I read this of course, but never blogged about it because it was just the same ol' same ol'. Every day I read Newsday (I don't buy, just read it at work) and they always have an article, comment, editorial, or letter to the editor that is either anti-Catholic or an attempt to push a liberal agenda of Catholic Lite. Bill Donohue calls it the most anti-Catholic newspaper in the country, which is amazing. As far as reporters go (Carol Eisenberg for example) their articles usually contain an agenda, a slam, or a comment that shows the distain they have for the Church, the Pope, and the teachings. With editorials: Paul Vitello, Marie Cocco, Sheryl McCarthy are liberals who only like Catholicism when it suites their purpose (death penalty for example) but who display an ignorance and prejudice that is astounding (particularly McCarthy who is just plain dumb). The writer Ed Lowe is your typical "recovering Irish Catholic", in other words, the Church was just a place to go for rituals (baptisms, weddings etc..) but the Church should never actually teach the faith or even worse, expect people to live it. Jimmy Breslin is in a whole different category: he is an outright liar and bigot and should not be employed by a newspaper. (The fact that his writing is past its prime goes without saying.) Occasionally there is an article by Dick Ryan, an old and angry Catholic writer who spouts typical Catholic Lite stuff. Dick Ryan is more sad than anything else.

Which brings me to Bob Keeler. Keeler is the most knowledgeable of the Newsday staff regarding Catholicism, and he is a liberal Catholic, not lapsed as far as I know. His writing is typical of the America, Commonweal, and National Catholic Reporter variety. The fact that his writings shows up in Newsday is due to the fact that he is on their editorial board. A few years ago, he wrote a long series of articles on St. Brigid's in Westbury that covered the typical parish happenings over the course of the year. The fact that it cleverly pushed his agenda for the Church did not take away from the fact that it was a very good series. It was good enough writing that Keeler won a pulitzer and turned the series into a book. I believe that Keeler is on the Newsday editorial board for one reason: to serve as the token practicing Catholic on the staff. His rise to the editorial board coincided with his increasingly strident attacks on the Church, especially the orthodox wing. He sold his soul for a cushy spot on the board and that is why his writing bothers me more than a bigot like Breslin. Keeler is the Uncle Tom of Newsday for us Catholics. It is embarrassing and pathetic to see his writing.

Pure Evil, again in my hometown

"Prosecutors say Arena gave Glenn Brockwell Valium the day of his murder. After he passed out, Arena allegedly injected Brockwell with two lethal shots of heroin while her daughter and new boyfriend held him down. Brockwell's body was then dumped at the Massapequa preserve."

This was done on Good Friday, in the Jubilee Year.

It must have hurt the bigots at Newsday to print this article but there was no way for them to spin it:

Murphy needs no translation

"The Hispanic community at St. Hugh of Lincoln Roman Catholic Church in Huntington Station has been holding a Dia de La Raza (Day of the Race) Mass for 30 years, but yesterday was the first time they got a bishop to celebrate it.

Bishop William Murphy got what was probably one of the warmest receptions he's received since taking over the reins of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 2001, prompting two standing ovations and shouts of "Viva!" when another priest called out his name."

I bought DishNetwork in August of 2001 specifically so I could see EWTN. It has been a wonderful investment, especially since weeks after I got it all the local television stations were knocked out by fundamentalist muslims. My girlfriend has Cablevision which includes Telecare, the television station for the Diocese of Rockville Centre and a local public access station. I just happened to see an interesting show about the bias of Newsday on the local public access station. (We never see anything interesting on Telecare - it is mostly secular humanist type shows with almost no real Catholic content. I consider the network a complete waste of money and am glad it is not my money being wasted.) The interesting public access show was done by the American Family Association of New York, the local affiliate of the American Family Association. Several good Catholics that I have heard about but never met such as Frank Russo and Tom Dennelly were discussing the horrible anti-Catholic bias of Newsday. One thing they mentioned was that the former editor of the letters to the editor section (I don't remember her name) was very good at balancing letters in response to various articles and columns. She would make sure the letters were both pro and con and also that they represented a cross section of readers. Since she retired, the paper routinely publishes letters that backs up the paper's anti-Catholic and liberal bias. I have noticed that some of the most biased things I have ever read were letters to the editor - including the person who wrote in a major NY paper that he wanted Mel Gibson to "go away and take your piety with you!". Contrast this to the excellent discussions you can read in First Things. The Letters section is one of my favorite because whatever the letters say they are well written, respectful and cogent. (Yeeeeah I used cogent in a sentence!) The author of the article that prompted the letter is always given a chance to respond and this makes for an interesting discussion. I find that the letters sections of papers and magazines are sometimes the part I look most forward to reading. This is the closest thing to blogging in the "old media".

I just noticed that the Therese movie has grossed over $566,000 and is expanding to more theaters tommorrow. If you are able to see it - go for it! Although I was hoping it would be a better film, at least the movie is faithful and not horrible. Also, perhaps if we support this film, others may see potential profit to be made by making movies on Catholic themes.

10/19/04- Update: The gross is now $826,578.

Harasser of Mel Gibson is jailed for defiance

No, unfortunately this does not refer to Abraham Foxman or James Carroll. And speaking of Mel Gibson, he recently donated $10 million to two children's medical facilities. I wonder how those who attacked him will spin that one?

A car dealership blew up tonight, probably due to a natural gas leak. Finally I can link to an inspiring story from Long Island:

"It was inspiring, witnesses said, how people didn't run away after the explosion to save themselves.Instead they ran toward it to save others."

I wavered about posting on this silly article by a self-hating Irish guy, but Amy Welborn thinks it is important to discuss ...

A new anti-Semitism
By James Carroll

"new"???

"THE ORIGINAL sin of the Christian church, and the culture that derives from it, is contempt for Jews, a disorder that continues to infect religious belief and popular attitudes."

I attended Catholic schools my whole life and never experienced this disorder or this type of popular attitude. I have lived on Long Island my whole life, in a heavily Catholic/Jewish town and have never experienced this either.

"Discussions of the contemporary resurgence of anti-Semitism focus on such phenomena as the anti-Jewish bigotry of many Muslim preachers or the ready leap from criticism of Israeli policies toward Palestinians to an undermining of the entire project of the Jewish state."

That sentence is true: none of the discussions of the contemporary resurgence of anti-Semitism revolve around Catholics or Catholicism. Catholics are not, to my knowledge, strapping bombs to their chest to kill Jews. Nor are they blaming the Jews for September 11th as a leader of the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury did.

"But this year, a startling manifestation of foundational hatred of the Jewish people has occurred in the very heart of well-intentioned Christian faith"

I am beginning to think this guy lives on a different planet than I do, or that he wrote this while drunk. Based on my experiences with the Boston Irish, I am guessing the latter.

"When the blockbuster DVD of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" was released a few weeks ago, the astounding appeal of an already hugely successful film was made clearer than ever. For many, this portrait of the suffering and death of Jesus is a powerful religious experience, despite its hyper-violence and despite a blatant portrayal of "the Jews" as Satan's allies in the murder of one revered as the Son of God"

It is hard to believe the huge success of the movie despite all that isn't it? Unless of course people did not see the portrayal this writer did. I would guess most people saw a state execution of a man and not "the Jews" working with Satan to murder someone. Then again, maybe most viewers were drunk when they watched the film?

"The film exacerbated problems already adhering in anti-Jewish Gospel texts by drawing on eccentric anti-Jewish "visions" attributed to a 19th century German mystic named Sister Anna Katharina Emmerich (1774-1824)."

So some parts of the Gospels are anti-Jewish? And I didn't know the anti-Jewish visions were attributed to Emmerich? I thought they were attributed to Brentano?? Maybe I was drunk when I read that somewhere?

"When the film was released last spring, Gibson's Braveheart sensibility, imposed on the memory of Jesus, was what disturbed, but now the question moves to the huge population of those who affirm that sensibility as their own. This is the background for the extremely worrying event last week, when, at Vatican ceremonies, Sister Emmerich was "beatified," brought to the threshold of sainthood."

Actually when the movie was released last spring most critics were disturbed by supposed anti-semitism but threw in concern about the violence for good measure.

"The nun is associated with "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ," a text out of the problematic Passion Play tradition, and the acknowledged source of some of Gibson's most lurid denigrations of Jews. ("The high priests were transformed into priests of Satan, for no one could look upon their countenances without beholding there, portrayed in vivid colors, the evil passions with which their souls were filled -- deceit, infernal cunning, and a raging anxiety to carry out that most tremendous of crimes, the death of their Lord and Savior.")"
"According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the "cause" of the canonization of this woman was initiated according to standard church procedures by the bishop of Munster in 1892. Why is the Roman Catholic Church promoting her to the status of "blessed" only now? Is the timing mere coincidence?

From what I understand, the cause was stopped because of questions about the writings and whether they were all her doing. I also understand there have been other causes that were stopped and then restarted recently. This Pope tends to push canonizations quite aggressively.

"More explicitly, why is the Vatican, in honoring this nun, affirming some of the most un-Christian aspects of the Gibson film?"

But that is not what they are doing. Or is this one of those questions that is really a statement? I don't remember any un-Christian aspects of the film anyway.

"Indeed, how can this beatification not be taken as a kind of post-facto imprimatur for "The Passion of the Christ?"

Well, it was explicitly said that her writings had nothing to do with her beatification, so I guess that is how. But if the Church is giving its unofficial okeedokey to the film, then good!

"And given Gibson's open disregard for Vatican II, with its firm repudiation of the "Christ-killer" charge, how can the church embrace this rejection of one of its own most important contemporary teachings?"

Gibson is a traditionalist so he must see Jews as "Christ-killers"???????????????????? He must find it very difficult to work in Hollywood!

"A reading of history suggests an unpleasant answer to these questions. In the 19th century, when the age of revolutions had alienated large numbers of Catholics from the church, many priests and bishops openly embraced the popular anti-Semitism of the day as a way of reconnecting with believers the church had lost. The most notorious instance of this was the Dreyfus affair, when the French church and many French people found common cause against a common enemy."

I don't see any connection ......?

"Reports had it last spring that the pope had approved the Gibson film, but those reports were disputed, and mainly the Vatican kept its distance, a detachment most bishops emulated."

The Pope "approved the Gibson film"? Is this guy really a reporter?

"In thus remaining marginal, alas, the Catholic church missed a major teaching moment, since "The Passion of the Christ" amounts to the most successful project of religious instruction in history. "

Correct! This is the second correct thing this guy has written!

"Instruction in a dark mistake."

Oooooook...

"But the beatification of Sister Emmerich suggests that Catholic leaders are taking an opposite tack now, replacing detachment with embrace."

No it doesn't, but if it did so what?

"Mel Gibson has made the visions associated with Emmerich a world phenomenon, and millions have experienced them as the height of piety"

Thanks be to God! I never thought I would ever see the day when Catholic things would be so widely experienced by people!

"Ignoring the potentially lethal consequences of such visions, are the leaders of an ever more defensive church attaching themselves to this perverse pop-culture success for their own parochial reasons? Does the beleaguered church glimpse its future in Mel Gibson?"

"Potentially lethal consequences" - This is what has been said for years now and the body count due to the film is still ZERO. (But as one commenter said, it is doubling every day). And the answers to those two questions are NO and NO. At most, this action by the Pope can be seen as yet another small olive branch thrown to traditionalists.


"This whole sad story suggests that we Christians -- we Catholics -- have barely begun to uproot anti-Semitism from our tradition. "

This is not a sad story and that sentence is a lie. And what do you mean "we" cowboy?

"And make no mistake, anti-Semitism begins here. Who could have imagined that, returning to square one of the reform, we would have to be insisting again that the "Christ-killer" charge against the Jewish people is a lie?"

We don't have to be doing that, only old, tired, drunk, self-hating morons like James Carroll are doing this.

Cops: Boy fatally stabs mom

Fight about girlfriend prompts attack after which 15-year-old takes her car, gun and digs grave for body.

A horrible story from our screwed up culture -the girlfriend is 19 - the argument was because she had spent the night. No word yet on whether they were having sex and if so - will the girlfriend will be charged with statutory rape?

I just added Sodakmonk and Crowhill.net to the bloglist. I have always tried to limit the list so I don't spend too much time reading blogs. I am already spending way too much time online.

Malverne resident mourns loss of fellow quadriplegic Christopher Reeve

"Malverne resident Steven McDonald visited Reeve in the hospital just days after the actor was injured. McDonald has lived as a quadriplegic for nearly 20 years; he was shot while on duty for the NYPD and has since forgiven his shooter.

McDonald says that those who may have lost hope found it in Reeve. And like Reeve, McDonald travels the world pushing others to live their fullest. One difference between the two, however, is that McDonald would prefer to see research only on adult stem cells, rather than embryonic stem cells, to help those with debilitating conditions."

"Would a 50-year-old “Prophet of God” Have Sex with a 9-year-old Girl? "

"YES" according to this fatwa issued by Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Center of North America. The questioner is "...trying to confuse his readers as if the Prophet was not married to this girl or married her against her will."

"Her maturity, knowledge, intelligence, and contributions during the life of the Prophet and afterwards all indicate that she was either an exceptional nine-year-old or must have been older than that. Whatever the case may be about her age, one thing is certain: she was a most compatible spouse of Prophet Muhammad."

We “orthodox” Catholics had better slow down! Catholics are starting schools meant to be thoroughly Catholic to combat the “Universities Formerly Known As Catholic”syndrome. This is a great thing, in theory and I am all for it, being the product of a University that was supposed to be Catholic. But I am noticing a trend, is anyone else? Fr. Fessio is booted from the University of San Francisco because he was too Catholic for the Jesuits. He starts Campion College right across the street to show them how Catholic education is done. It folds. Thomas Monaghan starts Ave Maria College and Ave Maria Law School in Michigan. The law school seems to be a success but the college has troubles. The Catholic philanthropist moves the college to Naples Florida but the people left behind in Michigan are not happy with the way the move was handled. Meanwhile, in Florida Fessio and Monaghan plan for a Church that looks more like a greenhouse. Catholics remember elementary science and realize greenhouse + Florida Sun = Baked Catholic Worshippers. Fessio announces the greenhouse plan was a mistake and it is back to the drawing board. Traditionalists in Pennsylvania try to start St. Justin Martyr but run into trouble when the sponsoring community of priests is exposed as corrupt. Meanwhile, Dr. Thomas Droleskey is planning Christ the King College (while driving around the country in his RV) because none of the existing schools are traditional enough. I want to see good Catholic schools succeed. I want to see them grow and become enough of a threat to the existing “Catholic” schools that they are forced to revert to being Catholic. But good intentions and lots of dough are not enough. These schools need to be good, academically and administratively. Please lets get our orthodox act together! This post was prompted by a fund raising letter packet I received today from Ave Maria University. The brochure is slick, and features idealized pictures of fully habited nuns, beautiful buildings and smiling students. I want to support Ave Maria and any other authentically Catholic schools but I am worried that these mistakes are going to be repeated. I hope things work out for the “new Notre Dame” so it will truly become as good as it could be.

Muslim Fundamentalists Attack Catholics Near Jakarta

What is it going to take to wake the world up to the nightmare of muslim fundamentalism?

Bad Priests, Bad Men


At Off the Record, there is mention of a Jesuit who died. He is quoted in his obit as saying that "The only thing wrong with that bloody Turk (who shot Pope John Paul II) was that he couldn't shoot straight". What a horrible, evil, nasty, hateful, vile, disgusting, cold, immature, and childish man. This reminds me of a priest of my diocese, still alive, who a couple of years ago publicly said he "can't wait for Mother Angelica to die". When I emailed him about this he admitted it was perhaps an overreaction, but quickly added that she overreacts to things too. This "priest" occupies a powerful position in this diocese. He belongs on the same ash heap as Kung, Shanley, Geoghan, Ritter, McBrien, and this dead Jesuit.

Therese and Ground Zero

Therese was no The Passion of The Christ. The movie makers wanted to capitalize on the appeal of The Passion and its "grassroots" way of marketing. They were smart to do this, but first they should have made sure to make a excellent film like The Passion. The music was nice, some of the scenes were beautifully shot, and some of the acting was good. People afterwards mentioned they would have liked to have seen her visions in the film. My girlfriend, who has a special devotion to St. Therese had this reaction: If she did not already know alot about St. Therese and had not read books on her, then she would have left this film wondering why she was a saint. I added that you wouldn't have a clue why she was a doctor of the Church either. I was glad to see a decent crowd in the theater in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, and I wished the story had been a little better. Highlights would be the scene of Therese escorting an elderly nun down a hallway while listening to music in her head, the nuns putting together the Joan of Arc play, and the finale of the film which left some people moved. Overall, not bad but I wish the filmakers would follow the advice offered on the blog Church of The Masses: Make good films that would appeal to everyone! When I was leaving the movie theater I couldn't help but think: Catholics have the greatest and the most number of stories to tell. We could be pumping out dozens of great movies just on the Saints alone. We need to be able to tell our stories on film in a way that will appeal to anyone who likes a good story. Therese was a start, but only that.

After the film we stood in the lobby wondering whether to eat first or go to Ground Zero. We were by a giant window on the fourth floor when I noticed to our right was Ground Zero. We did not realize it, but the movie theatre was in the Embassy Suites building that had been damaged on September 11th and reopened in the middle of 2002. Since it was closer than we thought we walked over the pedastrian bridge and to one of the viewing areas. It is not as big as you might imagine. People were taking pictures like tourists and that made us feel a little uneasy. So did the tables with merchandise picturing the twin towers, etc.. I expected it to be like a giant memorial or something, but it is actually just a construction site. Just a big hole with trailers, dirt, and some steel and concrete. The giant ramp that descends into the pit is what I recognized first. There is an information booth with pamphlets and drawings of the future of the site which people were studying with interest. I don't find anything particulary good or interesting about the future site design. On the fence are pictures of the history of the twin towers and the attacks of September 11th. There is also the names of everyone who died at Ground Zero that day. The Cross at Ground Zero looked small but was the only thing that made me feel like this was a place of tragedy. The buildings around Ground Zero bore testimony to the day in a more real way. One giant building, probably 40 stories high, was completely covered in black netting. ( I just looked it up on the internet and this was the Bankers Trust building and was exactly 40 stories high- I found information on the area buildings by going into the Ground Zero Interactive Map at this site.) I just hope that when they rebuild the site, they will make sure to create a place where people can come to cry, to remember and to pray.

I will probably be going to see the movie Therese in Manhattan today. I am not expecting it to be great based on the reviews and trailer. Christians in the arts should take Barbara Nicolosi's exhortations to heart. Anyway, since we will be near Ground Zero I will go there - something I have avoided for 3 years.

I learned from Open Book that Toronto's new poet laureate is also a priest. I then found some of his poems - check out :

The Priest

The Science Masquerade

and especially Male Rage Poem

I love the internet (and St. Blog's) because I find stuff like this out there! In a way, I wish I had the internet in high school or college, but then again, I might have never left my room.

What does this mean: I like raunchy comedy –done correctly. I always thought Benny Hill was hilarious, was once a huge Howard Stern fan (now find him old and pathetic but still tune in), and I thought American Pie was a classic.

Am I immature?

A hopeless product of my culture?

A sinner who just can’t be good enough?

Stupid?

All of the above? Why do I find this stuff so funny?

Michael Davies, RIP

According to Kevin Tierney at Restore the Church, Michael Davies has passed away. I heard Mr. Davies speak at the last Latin Mass Magazine conference in Montvale, New Jersey. I purchased two of his books, Lead Kindly Light and Saint John Fisher which have mostly gone unread. He was sick at the time of the conference and I felt awkward having him sign my books but he graciously did it - although my polish surname was quite the job for him. I feel blessed to have met him and grateful for the work he did for the Church. I am still conflicted with regards to traditionalism, the Novus Ordo, etc.. but have been grateful for all traditionalists and what they have taught me.

Priest sues over hospital firing

"A Catholic priest dismissed as chaplain from Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola has filed a $12-million lawsuit against a patient's widow, Winthrop, the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre and Newsday.The lawsuit says the priest, Rev. Cajetan Uchendu, was fired unfairly after a patient's family accused the priest of refusing to administer last rites to Charles Miller, a leukemia patient at the hospital in March 2003. "

I personally know that this priest had previously gotten into trouble with the politically correct hospital chaplain staff for his being "rigid". It is too bad the Diocese did not back him up because, like most African priests he was orthodox, strong and manly. I believe him when he says he gave this man last rites.

The following letter to the editor appeared in today's Newsday (the anti-Catholic, circulation-inflating, dishonest newspaper). It was a response to yet another silly article by Dick Ryan, a dissenting Catholic wannabe:

"Dick Ryan ["LI Catholics hold the key to reforming the church," Opinion, Sept. 14] has entered the world of frenzied fantasy with his latest attack on Bishop William F. Murphy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and other church leaders. Ryan thinks the bishop should sit down with a group - Voice of the Faithful - whose specific objectives include ousting the bishop and strangling the diocese and the parishes with it by denying financial support. That's like asking President George W. Bush to invite the Taliban into the White House.

Like all other Catholic associations, Voice of the Faithful has a right to exist and to express its views. But the notion that this group speaks for a large number of Catholics on Long Island is fanciful. If these people really want to talk to the bishop, they should put away their cudgels and acknowledge that their demand that the bishop resign and their call to parishioners to suspend all contributions to the diocese were mistaken. Acts of war do not generate an attitude of trust." [emphasis mine]

Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton

Editor's note: The writer is pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Lindenhurst


Tell us how you really feel Msgr! I am proud to say I served Mass as an altar boy for Msgr. Hamilton when he was living at our parish and working as the editor of The Long Island Catholic. Sometimes he would say a private Mass right after the 8 am Mass before he would go to work. We called him Superman because his face, jet black hair and black glasses made him a dead ringer for Clark Kent. Although he now has white hair he is still a super man, and frequently writes letters to Newsday and The Long Island Catholic. Msgr. Hamilton is one of the few great priests of this Diocese and should serve as a role model to the Young Fogeys here.

Gen X Long Islanders might want to check out the Faith on Tap session on Monday night. It is held at The Wantagh Inn starting at 7 PM. The topic will be "21st Century Women - Exploring the Prospects of Christian Feminism". Here is the poster for Monday night -

Sometimes I check out the SiteMeter to see who is linking to my site or what searches bring people to my blog. I found two articles from searches-

Someone searched for "catholic+church+in+saudi+arabia" and it helped me find this article on muslim persecution of Catholics.

Someone searched for "school scandals chaminade" and I found this National Review article from 2002 that mentions 3 of the priests and brothers that educated me!

"The Passion of the Christ," Jewish Pain, and Christian Responsibility:
A Response to Mel Gibson's Film

This thing just drives me crazy:

"Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ,” has now been released in DVD and video format for private use. This occasions deep concern among us...."

Why would there be concern when the movie became one of the most successful movies of all time? Suddenly there will be riots??

"we also acknowledge that many who see the film are honestly unaware of its anti-Jewish elements."

The writers of that sentence must be honestly unaware of the arrogance and condescension they have towards us stupid moviergoers.

" We do not mean to attack Mr. Gibson personally or to call into question any viewer’s faith. "

Which would set these people apart from many who previously attacked the movie.

"Passion plays have had a painful and violent impact on Jewish communities from medieval times into our own. "

I get the first part of this sentence, but when have Passion plays had an impact in our own times?? Have people been killed by anyone coming out of a Passion play lately??

"we must express our continuing concern about the effects of this film"..."Simply noting that antisemitic violence has not occurred gives us minimal comfort"

Well at least they admit antisemitic violence that many predicted did not happen. So why are they so concerned?? Are Christians blowing themselves up in order to kill Jewish people? Are Christians hijacking airplanes to kill people who support Israel? Are Christians listening to clerics denounce Jews from the pulpits? Are Christians teaching children that Jews are apes and monkeys? Are Christians making the news almost daily for killing those of other faiths? Are Christians taking children hostage and then killing them in order to create a Christian state?

Honestly it just gets tiresome to see such "concern" about what might happen to Christians who watch this movie when there is REAL antisemitism in the world. I can't stand it anymore - perhaps I need to go on retreat and do some T’ai Chi Chih or get some polarity therapy. Anyway the Catholic League responds to this garbage here.

From a reader (yes I have one!):

Holistic Fair

"At Our Lady of Grace Center in Manhasset on September 29, almost a hundred people treated their bodies, minds and souls to a Holistic Spirituality and Wellness Fair which featured almost 20 workshops led by professionals of massage, T’ai Chi Chih, reflexology, polarity therapy, nutritional counseling, yoga, and Pilates, among others."

"Although the center has been a retreat house since 1980, it wasn’t until five years ago that the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary decided to give it a more holistic flavor. “We realized that we have bodies as well as spirits,” said Sister Mary Dawson, a staff member at the center. “This is the adventure of the times: we are whole persons.”

Requiescat in Pace

NYPD Detective Patrick Rafferty, 39

NYPD Detective Robert Parker, 43

"The partners were slain when a career criminal allegedly grabbed Parker's gun and shot them in the chest in East Flatbush. "

Police find man they say carjacked vehicle in Massapequa with toddler inside

This is very close to home.

Newsday Drops Bomb, Falls To 18th Among Dailies

"Prepare for more surprises. Tribune's new figures for Newsday and Hoy regard the circulation numbers for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2003 and the six-month period ending March 31, 2004. But the Press investigation suggests the fraud goes back more than a decade and that the newspapers' final circulation revision will eclipse even Tribune's most recent restatement. "

The Long Island Press is enjoying exposing the dishonesty and corruption at Newsday. I am enjoying this also. This paper is incredibly anti-Catholic and I am glad to see them fall. The only reason Newsday has the circulation it has is because it is a monopoly here on Long Island. There is no other daily paper and this island has a population of 2 million well-educated readers.

You know you are a Catholic Nerd when you spend 30 minutes on the elliptical machine at the gym because the TV in front of it is showing Robert George on CSPAN II. He was giving a speech at Ave Maria Law School and it was difficult to hear him over the booming music, but the speech was on politics and the Catholic Church. He is now doing Q & A.

HOLY OUTRAGE

"Under a new clause added to handbooks distributed last week at the archdiocese's 289 schools in Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island and upstate, students and parents must agree to not sue the archdiocese, their parish or school over disciplinary and academic measures such as expulsion or being held back."

This is much ado about nothing. At my Catholic high school students and parents have to sign a statement saying they read the student handbook. The handbook is sent to every student every year and unless they have that signed card the first day, the student would not be allowed to take classes.

A Catholic Blog for Lovers has an amazing picture of Notre Dame cathedral, freshly washed.

Grieving a fallen Marine

"In a homily during a funeral at St. Agnes Cathedral, in Rockville Centre, the Rev. James Williams lauded Winchester as a "real man," who demonstrated moral courage by backing up his convictions with actions, and not just empty promises."

"I liken his sacrifice to that of Jesus," said Williams, Chaminade's president, who was Winchester's religion teacher during the Marine's first year in high school."

"Those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say."

Pope John Paul II, September 12th, 2001

Muslims love to kill people don't they?

"In a chilling parallel to the Madrid train bombings, Muslim fanatics linked to al Qaeda set off a huge car bomb yesterday outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, killing nine people and wounding 182."

Palestinians: 15 killed in airstrike

"Israeli helicopters fired four rockets at a camp in Gaza City where they believed Palestinian militants were training, killing at least 15 people, Palestinian medical sources told CNN."

I used to support the Palestinians and still consider Israel to be illegally taking the land they lived on for centuries. However, when Palestinians danced in the streets on September 11th, any support I had for them disappeared completely. Now, I consider them to be just like any other muslims terrorists.

Stunned Russians observe day of mourning

"On Sunday, Channel One showed the detainee looking frightened as he was manhandled by masked law enforcement officers and swearing to Allah that he didn't shoot women and children."

Doesn't matter dude, even though I am sure he is lying. The death penalty is justifiable in this case and hope that it is painful and broadcast to all the muslim nations.

"Interfax said the alleged leader of the hostage-takers, an ethnic Ingush named Magomed Yevloyev, had not been found among the dead. Yevloyev is believed to be the leader of the strict Wahhabi sect of Muslims in Ingushetia."

The press is finally admitting this was the work of muslims. I don't think it would have taken so long for the press to give the religion of children-killers if they were Christians. Of course, Christians don't kill children in the name of Christ, or blow people up in the name of Christ, or hijack airplanes in the name of Christ, or rape 15 year olds in the name of Christ, or behead people in the name of Christ, or do suicide bombings in the name of Christ, or kill Olympic athletes in the name of Christ, or slaughter guys in wheelchairs in the name of Christ, or mail anthrax to people in the name of Christ.

Lt. Ronald Winchester, RIP

"A Long Island Marine who was a star football player at Chaminade HS and the Naval Academy was killed by a roadside bomb while guarding convoys in Iraq, his family said yesterday.
Lt. Ronald Winchester, 25, who had 93 people under his command, was only eight days into his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed Friday, his father said. "

It is almost that time of the year again when we remember when followers of the heresy of islam slaughtered thousands of innocent people in this country. Hopefully it will not be difficult to find a Catholic Mass offered for the hundreds of Catholics killed on September 11th.

Finally, a newspaper publishes the truth about terrorism in today's world:

"It is a certain fact that not all Muslims are terrorists, but it is equally certain, and exceptionally painful, that almost all terrorists are Muslims."

"The hostage-takers of children in Beslan, North Ossetia, were Muslims. The other hostage-takers and subsequent murderers of the Nepalese chefs and workers in Iraq were also Muslims. Those involved in rape and murder in Darfur, Sudan, are Muslims, with other Muslims chosen to be their victims.
Those responsible for the attacks on residential towers in Riyadh and Khobar were Muslims. The two women who crashed two airliners last week were also Muslims.
Bin Laden is a Muslim. The majority of those who manned the suicide bombings against buses, vehicles, schools, houses and buildings, all over the world, were Muslim."


This writing must be from a right-wing Christian paper right? No, it is from the pan-Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.

Cleric supports targeting children

"An extremist Islamic cleric based in Britain said yesterday that he would support hostage-taking at British schools if carried out by terrorists with a just cause."

Does this surprise anyone? Just a reminder: you can read all about islam in the great Hilaire Belloc book: The Great Heresies

The BBC can't figure out whether the terrorists who killed hundreds of children were muslim or not???

The Dawn Patrol, A Saintly Salmagundi and Michelle Malkin.com are just 3 blogs that note the inability of the press to call the terrorists who killed hundreds of children what they are :

MUSLIM EXTREMISTS

Jihad Watch links to an AP story that finally admits the whole children-killing episode is a muslim push to do away with the infidels, just as they have been doing for 1500 years:

"Rebels linked to the school hostage-taking seek independence from Russia and most want to make Chechnya a sovereign Muslim nation."

This is the same thing that is happening in Nigeria, Sudan, the Phillipines, and it won't stop until the whole idea of a "muslim nation" is totally destroyed in everyone's mind.

WHEN THE KILLERS COME FOR THE KIDS

Good article by Ralph Peters.

"Those Muslims who preach Jihad against the West decided years ago that killing Jewish or Christian children is not only acceptable, but pleasing to their god when done by "martyrs."
It isn't politically correct to say this, of course. We're supposed to pretend that Islam is a "religion of peace."

3 YEARS AGO

Report: More than 200 dead after troops storm school

Once again the religion of peace is treated differently by the press. Most stories about these fundamentalist muslims killing children either do not mention they are fundamentalist muslims or downplay it. The above link to the CNN report mentions the word muslim only once - "rebels have been fighting Russia and demanding independence for the Muslim-majority republic." The violent and inhumane people who would not even allow food or drink for the children are never described as muslims, they are described as "hostage-takers", "armed militants", "rebels", "terrorists", and "suicide bombers". Perhaps these terms are more accurate than "devout muslims" but if these horrible, evil people had been Catholic or Christian then you can be sure there would be mention of the Pope, Jerry Falwell, and the words "fundamentalist Christian" about a dozen times. There is only a hint of the connection to the 1500 years of violent muslim behavior in this section:

"Valery Andreyev, head of the local branch of the FSB intelligence service, said 10 of the dead hostage-takers were from Arab countries, after Russian troops stormed the school earlier Friday."

Many the souls of the children and adults killed because of these islamicist monsters rest in peace.

UPDATE: the number of dead is now up to 322

After seeing so many stories for so many years about Muslims killing, torturing, kidnapping, blowing up, hijacking, slitting throats, and beheading, it is nice to see a story like this:

NEPALESE RIOT VS. MUSLIMS

"Crowds stormed the main mosque in Katmandu and charged through the streets chanting, "Down with Islam" in protest yesterday against the murders of 12 Nepalese in Iraq.
Protesters attacked the mosque, set furniture and carpets on fire and tore up a copy of the Koran before police drove them out."

22-0

For a Mets fan those are beautiful numbers!

'Passion'-ate Day One DVD Sales

"Other accolades accorded The Passion of The Christ include: It is the #1 R-rated film in history; the #1 February release in history; the #1 non-English film ever released in the United States; the #1 independently distributed film in history; the #1 film in the U.S. for the first 23 days after its release; the #1 5-day per screen average ($41,295) and it tied for 5th fastest film to get to $100 million. "

Why does Notre Dame want Tariq Ramadan to teach at their school?

Daniel Pipes points out:


He has praised the brutal Islamist policies of the Sudanese politician Hassan Al-Turabi. Mr. Turabi in turn called Mr. Ramadan the "future of Islam."

Mr. Ramadan was banned from entering France in 1996 on suspicion of having links with an Algerian Islamist who had recently initiated a terrorist campaign in Paris.

Ahmed Brahim, an Algerian indicted for Al-Qaeda activities, had "routine contacts" with Mr. Ramadan, according to a Spanish judge (Baltasar Garzón) in 1999.

Djamel Beghal, leader of a group accused of planning to attack the American embassy in Paris, stated in his 2001 trial that he had studied with Mr. Ramadan.

Along with nearly all Islamists, Mr. Ramadan has denied that there is "any certain proof" that Bin Laden was behind 9/11.

He publicly refers to the Islamist atrocities of 9/11, Bali, and Madrid as "interventions," minimizing them to the point of near-endorsement.

Intelligence agencies suspect that Mr. Ramadan (along with his brother Hani) coordinated a meeting at the Hôtel Penta in Geneva for Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy head of Al-Qaeda, and Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind sheikh, now in a Minnesota prison.

Mr. Ramadan's address appears in a register of Al Taqwa Bank, an organization the State Department accuses of supporting Islamist terrorism.

Check out the THE CASE FOR CATHOLIC RESETTLEMENT discussion at El Camino Real.

Then, for a change of pace, check out the hilarious Campaign Trail posts on Catholic Ragemonkey.

MSGR. GEORGE A. KELLEY, RIP

"Msgr. George A. Kelly, one of the founders of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, and a longtime critic of dissent in the church, died Aug. 13 after a yearlong bout with cancer. "

Msgr. Kelly wrote The Battle for the American Church and many articles in solid magazines. I saw him speak at Nassau Community College where he started his talk with the line "Sometime, after Vatican II, the Church went to hell" with perfect timing. He was at St. John's University in Queens for many years which should cut his time in purgatory considerably. Requescat In Pace.

If we have St. Blog's awards again this year I believe Sal Ravilla at Catholic Light will have the best parent-related and/or toast- related categories all wrapped up in this gem.

Sex-charge principal on the run

"The assistant principal accused of molesting teenage boys at a Manhattan high school has jumped bail and fled the country as more charges stack up against him, prosecutors said yesterday."

Robert David Lion Gardiner (of Gardiner's Island), 93 died yesterday RIP

I missed my chance to become the 14th Lord of the Manor!! This guy was eccentric, extremely rich, owner an island, saw his wife only occasionally, and had his own wing at his church. Typical Episcopalian :)

Muslim scholar denied U.S. visa

"Acting at the request of the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. government has revoked the work visa of a Muslim scholar who had been scheduled to teach at the University of Notre Dame this fall. Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss citizen who has been criticized for links to Islamic militants and for remarks branded anti-Semitic, was supposed to begin teaching on Tuesday, the first day of the fall semester."

So Notre Dame wants to spend its money by hiring an anti-semitic Muslim scholar? I am just glad it is not a Catholic school or this would be a scandal!

Yesterday I attended Mass at my local parish. I had considered going to the traditional Latin Mass but decided against it because I wanted to stay closer to home due to a family situation. There were two things I noticed that made me think I made a bad choice:

1) The Opening Prayer - one thing I love about the prayers of the traditional Mass is that they are so concise and pack a lot of theology into them. They are amazingly relevant to my life and the life of anyone struggling in this world. Instead, the opening prayer at Mass was weird and actually made me think that there was nothing Catholic about it -

"Father, help us to seek the values that will bring us lasting joy in this changing world. In our desire for what you promise make us one in mind and heart. Grant this through..."

With the exception of "Father" is there anything in this prayer that could not or would not be said at a Unitarian meeting or the United Nations?

2) The Voice of the Faithful have new tactics - they put a handwritten sign up in their windshield and park so everyone going into Church can see it. Also, the lectors for the past two weeks have been wearing their VOF button. It has a symbol with sort of a cross on it. They wear it like a political badge as they process up to the altar.

It is things like this that keep me wondering why do I go back? There is nothing like this at the traditional Mass, just prayer, very Catholic prayers.

Saudi Arabia launching campaign to improve image in the United States

Let's face it: America had more reason to bomb Saudi Arabia than to bomb Iraq. They looked the other way for years while Al Qaeda was built up, they have taught hatred and racism in their schools for years, they allow no freedom of religion, women are second class citizens who cannot drive cars alone or vote. 15 of the 19 September 11th hijackers were Saudis. The wonderful writer and researcher Daniel Pipes can fill in more details about the Saudis -

The Saudis' Covert PR Campaign

Khobar Massacre: "Don't be afraid, we won't kill Muslims"

Make The Saudis' Pay for Terror



And some of my own research:

Saudi Arabia's religious police stopped schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress (15 girls died in the fire)

The US State Department's Report on Saudi Arabia's Freedom of Religion (or lack thereof)

Who could forget- Saudi Religious Police Say Barbie Is a Moral Threat (This is real, not from The Onion)

But don't take it from me - check out the blog of The Religious Policeman from Saudi Arabia

I saw Neil Simon's Rumors at Hofstra University Friday night. I don't do theater much but this was fun and I may have to go more often.

Since I am in a Long Island state of mind - I searched for other blogs from Long Islanders:

Lenndevours (I eat. I drink. You read.) This blog focuses on food and wine, two of my favorite things. Long Island has some great wineries "out east", many of which offer tours and tastings. (If you want a good fruity wine for the summer try Pindar's Summer Blush)


Don't bother me with trifles - great name, apparently a Long Island mother.

The Same Boy You've Always Known - heavy on music.


That is about it - I don't blogroll local bloggers because Gen X Revert is really about Catholic stuff but occasionally I like to read and post about Long Island. If there are any other Long Island bloggers out there, let me know.

Update: I just found Long Island Scene which is not a blog but a resource center for Long Island stuff.

Billy Joel: The Downeaster Alexa

I was a bayman like my father was before
Can't make a living as a bayman anymore
There ain't much future for a man who works the sea
But there ain't no island left for islanders like me


News12 Long Island is doing a series on why young people are increasingly leaving Long Island. The easy answer is this: HIGH COST OF LIVING. Even an educated, successful person can find it difficult to live here. The houses are too expensive, taxes too high, and the price of everything from milk to gas to car repair is higher than most other places. Besides the economic factors, Long Island used to be a great suburb to grow up in, with low crime, ample parklands, and pretty towns, but increasingly is nothing more than a collection of ugly stripmalls and Uber-Marts. We used to snobbily look down our noses at Queens and Brooklyn for more than just their high crime rates. They also had constant traffic, noise, limited parking, and streets lined with garbage blowing in the wind. With the exception of crime, which is still very low on Long Island, we can't claim those other things are "city problems" anymore. Much of Long Island is starting to resemble the city with graffiti everywhere and constant traffic. So many Long Islanders are moving to Florida for the lower cost of living and better landscape. I see myself someday moving elsewhere as I just don't see the Island as being as unique and special as it once was. I actually grew up across the street from a small farm - it was sold and two houses were built when I was young. I loved to drive around when I was 18 and just got my driver's license but today I find driving here a chore I avoid. We don't have too many nice villages either and it is too difficult to get to the ones that exist, such as Huntington. Many people moved here from Brooklyn and Queens to escape the problems of citylife but now Long Island is not the promised land anymore. One can only move east to a certain point before one ends up in the ocean. I hope Long Island can stem the tide long enough to redevelop and plan its growth out so it remains a good place to live. Ironically NYC can show us some ways, since it has turned around in many positive ways.

Bishop Murphy Announces Marianists Will Direct St. Martin De Porres Elementary School

Wow, this was a surprise! I have mentioned this community of religious brothers and priests several times on this blog as they educated me at Chaminade High School. I am sure they will infuse new life into this elementary school but hope their community is not being stretched too thin. It will be interesting to see if the falling enrollment will be reversed as a result of the brothers running this school, as this is what happened when they took over a diocesan high school and created Kellenberg High.

Ted Kennedy's name was on the No-Fly List in error. I guess it should have been on the No-Drive List instead.

It's My Blog And I'll Link To Myself If I Want To....

Suit says Tassone cut 178 checks to pay about $1.1M in bills and, as arrest loomed, tried to hide $300G

This is the latest on the Roslyn school district chief who embezzled millions. Since this blog is mostly about Catholic stuff, I refer readers to my previous post on this scandal and the similiarities with the Catholic Church's scandals.

Cool! I did not know this but Dappled Things mentions the Blogger Navbar that is suddenly at the top of all blogs. It seems the search box is tied to the current blog so you can search for something on Gen X Revert, i.e. if you put in "Jimmy Breslin", three previous posts regarding this bigot will be displayed. Note the correct spelling is "Breslin" not "Old Drunk".

I need to go to confession.

America's top party schools named

Where are Steubenville? Christendom? Thomas Aquinas? Are these not the ultimate party type schools?

I have added e-skojec and Catholic Ragemonkey to my blogroll.

Mother Angelica celebrates 60th Anniversary of entering religious life

Julie of The Theoscope enters religious life

Music for The Passion of The Christ via Church of The Masses

"The album features newly recorded original songs sparked by the experience of seeing the film, andfeatures the diverse lineup which includes tracks by Steven Curtis Chapman,MercyMe, Third Day, Kirk Franklin featuring Yolanda Adams, Charlotte Church, former Creed singer Scott Stapp; Lauryn Hill; P.O.D.; Brad Paisley& Sara Evans; Third Day - MxPx featuring Mark Hoppus and others."

I had no idea Scott Stapp had left Creed -why is it that good bands always seem to break up? Anyway, the CD sounds good and you can hear Stapp's song from it on his website. The lyrics are especially interesting. Notice the attitudes of the artists that this movie has inspired are not of the anti-semitic type envisioned by the movie's ranting critics?

Bob Murphy memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral

"A man who said the movie "The Passion of the Christ" prompted him to confess to strangling his girlfriend pleaded guilty Wednesday."

One arrogant and nasty blogger who has bashed the Passion movie and its "supporters" once posted about this man when he originally went to court and pleaded innocent. Since said blogger believes the movie is dangerous and will lead to violence, the idea that the movie had only positive effects blew his fragile mind. Therefore when the guy pleaded innocent in court the blogger implied that this meant the movie did not really affect this person, and the movie's supporters were all wet. Of course, pleading innocent is a standard defense move - if a defendant does not plead the judge will usually enter his plea as innocent. I wonder if this blogger will print this latest development. I doubt it. This blogger once posted a clergyman's criticism of the Passion movie months after it was written in which the clergyman predicted violence. I commented that posting this prediction months after the movie was out just made the prediction look more foolish. After all, there was no violence associated with The Passion of The Christ. This comment vanished from the site.

(I think the Catholic League should update their Body Count - it is now 6 months after the Passion and the body count is : 0)

Culture of What?

"In a particularly chilling revelation, Peterson told Frey he never wanted children of his own and planned to get a vasectomy, Frey said. "

IRS to scrutinize pay of charities' execs

"The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday some 2,000 charities will be reviewed under a new IRS enforcement effort to see if they're overpaying their executives. "

I support any review of how charities operate but I don't understand exactly how the IRS can say a charity is overpaying their executives? How much is too much? I suspect this will lead to a media expose on the pay of charity execs and possibly even resignations. I recently happened to be checking out some things on Guidestar and was amazed at how much a leader of one Catholic organization made. Even though this leader does an excellent job, the salary may still raise eyebrows among even the group's most supportive supporters. I also fear such a high salary, even if justified, may leak out to the press and just plain look bad.

Fr. Groeschel on EWTN tommorrow

EWTN Global Catholic Network has announced that Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, will be a special guest of Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, host of EWTN Live, on his next program, airing Wednesday, August 11th. Father Groeschel will appear on the program via satellite from his residence in Larchmont, NY.

A New Era of Christian Persecution

If it were another group being slaughtered rather than Christians, then the media would be covering it extensively.

Archbishop serves up passionate defense of faith

This story, discovered via Seattle Catholic, is about Archbishop Dolan speaking at Theology on Tap in Milwaukee. He sounds like he is perfect for this type of event:

"I’m here (at the pub) all the time anyway … now I can write it off on my taxes"

And

"If our faith was in priests, we wouldn’t have survived Holy Thursday. Less than a couple hours after Jesus ordained the first priests, one of them sold him for 30 pieces of silver. One betrayed him three times. And eight ran off when he needed them most ... one of the first 12 stuck with him. That ain’t a good rate … less than 8 percent, less than two hours after the church began."

Our local version of this type of thing is Faith on Tap and it has been going well. Our next session is August 30th at 7 PM and is about everybody's favorite novel: "Decoding the DaVinci Code" with speaker Dr. Jane Gilroy. We also hope to have our Bishop Murphy speak this year. I think he will come across well just like Archbishop Dolan.

Cacciaguida linked to this Newsday article:

"Conservative Catholic groups share reverence for doctrinal orthodoxy"

He is right to say the article is surprisingly better than it might seem from the headline. But there was this jawdrop from a "theologian" Paul Lakeland:

"With the Latin Mass, you had people praying rosaries and reading about the saints because they couldn't follow along," said Paul Lakeland, a theologian at Fairfield College in Connecticut. "The new Mass was created for participation -- to keep people's focus on the Eucharist."

I have attended the traditional Latin Mass many times and have never seen people praying rosaries or reading about the saints during the Mass, but I have seen this before the Mass or afterwards. Perhaps things were different before the 60's but I doubt that things were as bad as some say they were. I have noticed people reading the parish bulletin during the novus ordo Mass which I think is worse than praying a Rosary or reading about the Saints. The next part of this quote is something traditionalists would jump on and with good reason: "The new Mass was created for participation". I thought the Mass could be developed naturally over centuries but that no one, not even the Pope had the right to "create" a Mass? And if the Mass was created to "keep people's focus on the Eucharist" then so far it has failed miserably. I don't like to nitpick one quote from somebody but a Google search will quickly show what Lakeland's agenda is:

"keynote speaker Paul Lakeland, professor of religious studies at Connecticut's Fairfield University, told the Newton gathering that Catholics were "suffocating from structural oppression" and advocated the abolition of the College of Cardinals, the ordination of women as deacons and lay participation in the election of bishops.
And, Lakeland predicted, future priests would consist of "some married, some not; some straight, some gay, some women, some not."

Shame on me!

I have had the pleasure of attending several events run by Dr. Joseph Varacalli and his Center for Catholic Studies at Nassau Community College. He does an excellent job running a Catholic studies program at a secular college. I have failed to mention two published articles of his-

The Pertinacious Papist summarizes his article "Policy Suggestions for the Church" taken from the June 2004 Homeletic and Pastoral Review which is not online.

The talk he gave at the local Faith on Tap group is available online at the top notch website Catholic Educator's Resource Center - "The Cultural and Political Impotence of Catholics in Contemporary American Life"

Some reason from Reason Magazine:

"The world has never been overpopulated with humans in any meaningful sense. It seems, though, that it is overpopulated with theoretical fears of overpopulation."

CIA Asks Bush To Discontinue Blog

I was glad to read El Camino Real and see that I am not alone in finding it hard to get upset over illegal immigration. I find most immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean are good people (and very Catholic) and just looking for work. If we are going to push to deport people, lets try to make it these types of people. Meanwhile some sort of legalization, such as a worker program is needed. Reading this article was great:

"When about 60 Peruvian immigrant victims of human trafficking were discovered in three Suffolk County houses earlier this summer, the Church on Long Island responded.

"Catholic Charities arranged for them to have medical examinations, mental health counseling, and provided items like clothing. While federal officials were doing background checks, we needed to find temporary housing for them,” Mrs. Maquilon said. She found great openness among families and institutions, including the seminary."

“In June, I received a call from Catholic Charities to ask if we would take some of the refugees,” said Msgr. Francis Schneider, rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary. “I replied that we would do the best we could to help as many as we could.” They took in 23 men for three weeks.“Each one had a private room and we had a lounge area set up for them where they could watch TV and talk,” Msgr. Schneider said. “They joined us in the dining hall for meals, eating with the seminarians, students in the master’s degree program, and the seminary faculty and staff.

“Many of them also joined us for daily Mass,” Msgr. Schneider said."

From the Long Island Press:

Newsday Writes Tribute On Judge Who Will Hear Its Case

Newsday wrote a real nice piece on Leonard Wexler who got a purple heart 60 years after he was wounded. This is all good, however:

"What Newsday's story failed to mention, however, is that Wexler is the judge set to preside over the $600 million lawsuit filed against the paper on behalf of advertisers claiming circulation fraud. Wexler's name is clearly stated on the first page of the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court. The document is available to the public. Newsday's editorial staff, which is conducting its own investigation into the paper's circulation misdeeds, almost certainly has a copy. "


This is why Long Island needs another daily newspaper - Newsday is anti-Catholic, biased in its reporting, and can't be trusted. But if you want to know what is going on here, you have no choice, and when Newsday is good, it is real good. I am a reader, and the other NY papers just don't cut it. They have more pictures of Britney Spears than informative articles. The Long Island Press is a free Village Voice wannabe that occasionally has some great stories, but is generally a paper for finding out what local band is playing in what local watering hole. Hopefully it will grow to become real competition for Newsday. Bill Donohue lays the smackdown on the paper in a recent press release: NEWSDAY SCANDAL REVEALS HYPOCRISY . Awesome thing is that much of it sounds like it could have been written by the bigot Jimmy Breslin (although unlike his writing this stuff is true):

"Here’s the way they do business at Newsday: they count dead people as subscribers; they deliver papers to burned down houses; they drop off bulk copies to dealers who have said they don’t want them; they cook their internal corporate reports; and they even alter affidavits by distributors to pump circulation figures. The extent of corruption is so common that they have even developed their own jargon: ‘Code 51’ means to continue delivering newspapers to customers who have cancelled their subscriptions or have stopped paying.

“The person in charge of the business side of Newsday, Ray Jansen, has been forced to retire early. James Klurfeld, editor of the editorial page, said today of Jansen that ‘nothing missed his gaze.’ Nothing? It gets better. Klurfeld then says of Jansen that ‘His power of observation was almost uncanny, as if he had X-ray vision.’ To make matters worse, Klurfeld tells us that Jansen ‘rose through the ranks of the advertising department’ and that his ‘talent was on the business side.’ He obviously doesn’t connect the dots—he has just indicted Jansen. "

**I dropped my subscription to Newsday months ago, but continued to receive the paper every Friday free of charge for a time.

Update: I just saw on Drudge that the Dallas Morning News also inflated their circulation and an executive there has resigned.

JIMMY BRESLIN'S DAUGHTER IS DEAD AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT

Jimmy Breslin: Caught in a lie again

Muchas gracias to commenter AZ, who gave me the above link about the anti-Catholic, bigoted, angry, foul-mouthed, drunk, childish Breslin and his horrible writing. I recently posted about Breslin's lies when he was caught printing something about what a minister said, only to have it publicly admitted by Newsday that the minister had not said such a thing. I first posted about Breslin the first week of blogging when I stumbled upon an old story about him calling an Asian woman a "yellow, slant-eyed c---". Nice guy huh? The interesting thing in the current article is that Breslin brings up the recent death of his daughter. I posted about the death of his daughter recently also because I found it ironic that the man who called an Asian "yellow slant-eyed c---" would have a daughter who received a degree in Asian studies. I heard a priest say (and this is true, not made up) that Breslin was upset with the Church back when his first wife died, and the priest prayed the prayer at the funeral, "forgive her her sins". Obviously, he can't deal with death, first his wife, now his daughter. How exactly the Catholic Church is to blame for these deaths, I don't know. But no Jimmy, people will not leave you the "----" alone as you ask, because you are a bigot and just because you aren't mature enough to handle the fact that people die, does not mean you can lie. Deal with it. In the meantime, perhaps your current wife (the one you use to drive you around since you can't drive) would also help you write since you can't seem to get things straight.

Vatican Sets Up Sports Department

If their baseball team were made up of all Cardinals over 80, they could still beat the Mets.

Scandal, what scandal?

"Investigators - using cell-phone records and stakeouts - also uncovered 17 inappropriate relationships between students and school staffers, up from 13 the year before."

RIP

Mets announcer Bob Murphy died - I have great childhood memories of summer ball games on the radio with Murphy's "It's a beautiful day for baseball!". He was a great radio announcer who actually described the game rather than spout out opinions like many of the announcers do today.

The Statue of Liberty opened for the first time since the September 11th attacks, but you can only go as high as her feet.

Diogenes at Off the Record has been posting an interesting series regarding Catholics and their charitable giving. This time, he/she posts about the head of a Marianist University and what she did with $1,500. I think it is a good time to remind readers that the Marianist community that operates Chaminade High School and Kellenberg High School here on Long Island, broke away from the New York province in 1976 and formed their own province. I believe they did this to remain focused on operating schools locally. I don't know all the details but I do know that their community has flourished since then. Vocations have been steady and they remain a young, vibrant community. They still focus on operating schools and they do this well. The schools are solidly Catholic, although the most hard core traditionalists might not appreciate them entirely. Their ability to break away from the Marianist structure and still remain Marianists helped to inspire the founders of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, who attempted to do the same type of thing without luck. The Friars ended up having to form a completely separate community and today they have a good relationship with the Long Island Marianists.

German leader acknowledges Polish suffering

"Schroeder became the first German chancellor to attend an anniversary of the two-month uprising, which ended with 200,000 Warsaw residents dead and most of the city systematically destroyed by the Nazis.
He bowed on the steps of the Warsaw Uprising Memorial as a lone trumpeter played taps. Just before, sirens sounded across Warsaw at 5 p.m., the hour the uprising began on Aug. 1, 1944. "

Muslim fundamentalists take note - what you do today, such as attacking Churches, will haunt your granchildren 60 years from now.

Clerical Family Ties

One of the great shows of the 80's was Family Ties. The original concept was brilliant: married hippies end up with a son who is supremely conservative. The parents and son, Alex P. Keaton, have a love for each other that transcends their ideology. Their different outlook on life lent itself to comedy -(when the show got serious it bombed - remember Alex's torment over the death of a friend that had never been mentioned before?) Well, perhaps the time has come for a similiar show based on the situation in rectories today. (See the article A New Breed of Priest (via ut unum sint), or the classic Young Fogies by old priest Fr. Greeley)
The show would take place at a suburban rectory and show what happens when a recently ordained 20-something is assigned to a parish with an aging ex-hippie type priest. Look at how each deal with engaged couples, Liturgy, busybody parishioners, finances, politics, etc.. This show could have potential if it were done correctly - both priests would have to be stereotypes but still be good guys. They couldn't hate each other but simply see things differently, and each would learn a bit from each other.