Papal Election Brings End to Worldwide Unsupervised-Catholic Sin Binge

Funny stuff from The Onion again.

I should have mentioned earlier that the Therese movie is now showing in Babylon and Franklin Square.

In German town, Benedict XVI known for love of cats, conversation

"It was full of cats, and when he went out, they all ran to him. They knew him and loved him. He stood there, petting some and talking to them, for quite a long time. He visited the cats whenever he visited the church. His love for cats is quite famous."

Reaction to the election of Pope Benedict XVI -

"what I and many other liberal Catholics are smelling with this election are the rotting corpses of Africa's children who have been given a fresh death sentence with this conservative stitch-up."

This was in the comments of a post on Dr. Blosser's blog . I would suggest the commentator switch to decaf.

Someone came here searching for "hans kung fan club"???? You'd better watch yourself, haven't you been reading all the news about our new Pope? Between the Grand Inquisitor Pope and Opus Dei you might want to hide out where they can't find you.

PS - I don't think there is a Hans Kung Fan Club, sorry.

I am certainly getting a lot of hits here for "laying the smackdown on heresy since 1981". That of course is the slogan of the Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club.

Long Island Media cover Ratzinger, I mean, Pope Benedict XVI

"If there was shock on some people's faces, even as most rejoiced, that's because Ratzinger's conservatism has alienated some Catholics."

Can you guess which Long Island newspaper had a news story that included that line? Feel free to take 2 guesses and I will give a hint - it wasn't The Long Island Press.

Ignatius Press has a problem! How to handle the crush of orders they are receiving since they are the primary publisher of Cardinal Ratzinger's (now Pope Benedict XVI) books in English. This is wonderful to see - for those who are not familiar with this incredible publishing company - check it out. It was founded by Fr. Fessio, a Jesuit priest who studied under Ratzinger. He is an orthodox Jesuit and has not been treated very well by the order. He is currently working on creating Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida.

Habemus Papam

For most people of my age or younger we have known no other Pope. And the Pope we knew was one of the few to be known as "the Great". The past two weeks have been simply amazing to witness in the Church. The sickness, the vigil, the death, and funeral of Pope John Paul the Great are a blur of incredible and beautiful images one after the other. For me, the election of Cardinal Ratzinger does not yet seem real - it is hard to digest. I was 8 when Pope John Paul II was elected. I know Cardinal Ratzinger as Ratzinger, not as Pope Benedict XVI, so this will take some getting used to. (I even have a beer stein with his picture on it)

I was just able to catch a few minutes of television this evening and saw Mark Shea and Kathy Shaidle on MSNBC. They were great - Kathy was asked about ordination of women and said she "wished those who discussed this would stop fighting the battles of the 70's and 80's and do what they always want the Church to do - move into the 21st Century!" . Just a few minutes ago I was able to watch the replay of the events on EWTN starting with the white smoke and now the first blessing of the new Pope. The drama was great. When Ratzinger's name was said, Fr. Neuhaus and Raymond Arroyo were obviously delighted -I heard Neuhaus exclaim "Oh my God" kind of in the background... and sounding like he broke up -he was not heard from for a few minutes. Two more images -

This is what I imagine some Catholics felt when seeing Ratzinger elected -

But as someone mentioned on another blog, it is not time to gloat, it is time to pray - for any Catholics dismayed at Pope Benedict's election, and for the Pope himself.

And -

Thanks to Christopher Blosser for all the work he has done over the past few years with The Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club. His intelligence, humor, and insight have introduced many of us Catholics to this great Churchman. His site is currently a living testimony to Yogi Berra's saying -"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded".

( I was just able to get on the site now after a few tries)

Guess which Catholic figure this is about:

"In 1993 he won the feature of the year award from the Black Journalist Association for a series he wrote and produced on Malcolm X"


4/18/05 -- The answer was given by John M in comments -

Raymond Arroyo!

The only place I found this was here. I tried to verify it but couldn't find any other mention of it. It was surprising to me because I didn't know he was a reporter before EWTN and I associate him with that network so much I find it hard to picture him doing general news. I was also surprised to see he was a graduate of NYU.

The Amityville Horror

There is a new movie out that will once again exploit this real life tragedy. The actual story of what happened when Ronald DeFeo murdered his entire family can be found at The Amityville Murders website, done by an author of a book about the Amityville thing. Since this is a Catholic blog I will point out the Catholic Church and The Hoax section. The priest involved in this story "dropped out of sight" according to my diocese in a 2002 letter to the author. That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence in the way the Diocese tracked priests in the 1970's and 1980's but there it is. One thing about this story - please don't come to Amityville to gawk at the house as people have done in the past. The house doesn't have those weird windows anymore, the address was changed, and no one has ever reported any weird things going on since the book and movie came out the first time. Amityville is a nice little town and doesn't need more traffic. Thanks.

Where's the Media Outrage?

"In the fourth sordid case involving city teachers this week, a Queens English instructor is under investigation for having sex with two female students, the Daily News has learned."


Throughout 2002 the papers splashed stories about priestly pedophilia on the front pages, relentlessly. This was not a bad thing and really helped to purge our Church. But why is there no equal sense of outrage at the teacher pedophilia scandal? Where are the calls for a national survey to investigate how many cases of teacher abuse has occured in schools from 1950-today?? I am seriously asking this question because I think if people were exposed to the same relentless media stories on teachers as they were on priests there would be a true purge of this problem.

I was watching Aaron Brown on CNN last night which was all about the conclave - I think Brown is smart and has done a decent job covering the Pope's sickness and death. One report showed a screenshot of The Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club and I was delighted to see this. Unfortunately the report was on the push for Cardinals to become Pope and people might have gotten the impression the Fan Club was a site pushing for this. Christopher Blosser has done a great job with this intelligent and humorous site and now has directed the press to the FAQ to help dispel this notion. Be sure to check out the Links Page though because it is top notch, not to mention the blog. It has been wonderful to hear the praises for the "Panzerkardinal" and his excellent homily in the media. The Fan Club has probably become more well known in the past week than it has been since it started in 2000. This is great, but if there is a run on Cardinal Ratzinger Beer Steins, don't bother trying to buy mine - no matter how high the price you will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.

I don't see it online but the headline of today's two Newsday reports from Rome was:

PAPAL CHOICE MAY TURN BACK THE CLOCK

This was over an article on how JPII centralized power in the Church and how the next Papacy will change this. Part of this is true - JPII's stature, intellect, and sheer force caused Rome to be more the focus of attention than it sometimes is meant to be. Of course since the Church was falling apart over the past 30 years a strong Papacy is just what we needed. The other "report" was about how Opus Dei may influence the election of the next Pope and how weird and secretive, rich and scary this group is. Of course mention is made of the use of mortification of the flesh. Sometimes I think Newsday should just change its name to the Anti-Papist Times.

Fixing what's broken


"Campus ministry is broken, Father Brian Barr says, and he’s determined to fix it. "

Run for your lives! The John Paul II priests are exhibiting signs of piety!!

Rally Supports 3 Fired Nuns

These 3 nuns did not have their contracts renewed because the Diocese is trying to inject the New Evangelization into the campus ministry. It is unfortunate that people do not understand the mess this diocese and the Church has been in for 30 years and what needs to be done to turn things around. I don't like the idea of anyone losing their job, but these 3 nuns will not be out on the street - one of the sisters belongs to the Dominicans of Amityville. They just put up their mansion in the Hamptons for sale at $25 million. As far as the sisters feeling unappreciated in the Church, I have a suggestion:

Check out these sisters!

And these sisters!

And these sisters!

And these sisters!

These sisters are very appreciated in the Church and their communities are growing. Perhaps the fired sisters should learn from this.

Good Priest - Bad Priest

Guide to Chinese Food at Angry Twins

Public Editor coming for Newsday

"Speaking at a meeting of the Long Island Association, Timothy P. Knight said it was critical for Newsday to create the position of ombudsman or reader's representative. "

"But sources said a leading candidate is editorial writer Bob Keeler, a veteran Newsday journalist who wrote a book about the paper's history. In 1996, he won the Pulitzer Prize for stories about a Catholic parish in Westbury."

Newsday is still suffering from the fallout from its massive circulation fraud. Having lost most of its longtime columnists and editor, the paper is still trying to repair the damage to its prestige. This paper, which has a monopoly on Long Island, has a pretty obvious liberal bias and an ombudsman would be a good move. More importantly for this blog's concerns, the paper is simply one of the most anti-Catholic in the nation. Hopefully an ombudsman would help remedy this. But if Keeler is chosen, then this will amount to placing a tissue on the top of a huge pile of horse manure. Keeler is a member of the paper's editorial board and a longtime employee. The ombudsman should be from the outside and neutral. As far as the anti-Catholicism of the paper, Keeler is a Voice of the Faithful-Call to Action-National Catholic Reporter type of Catholic so I doubt he would change anything.

The Rogito of Pope John Paul II placed in his coffin can be read at EWTN.

It begins: "In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on April 2 of the year of the Lord 2005, at 9:37 p.m., as Saturday was coming to an end, and we had already entered the day of the Lord, octave of Easter and Sunday of Divine Mercy, the beloved pastor of the Church, John Paul II, passed from this world to the Father. The whole Church, in prayer, accompanied him in his passing."

UPDATE: They had this on Cultural Catholic but took it down, so I linked to EWTN instead.

"The German-born cardinal choked with emotion. "Santo! Santo!" the crowd responded, waving banners reading "Santo Subito - Immediate Sainthood."

Did cigar-boy Bill Clinton really say this about the Pope?

"He's like all of us - he may have a mixed legacy"

If so, then mark your calendars because this may be the stupidest thing ever said by a human being.

John Paul the Great

"Italy appealed to pilgrims to stay away from central Rome on Wednesday, saying it was already saturated with millions of faithful desperate to see Pope John Paul's body ahead of Friday's funeral. "


This is beautiful to see. Now remind me again, who is this Hans Kung? Who is this Richard McBrien? Charles Curran?

John Paul the Great
I have heard people call him John Paul the Great for years now. This article discusses this title and notes correctly that it is not an official designation, but a popular one. I think it would be great for the next Pope, or some other official, to wait until World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne to ask the crowds of young people if they wish for John Paul II to be forever know as "The Great". Let the "official" decision be made by the people so close to this Pope.

This article focuses on reflections on the Pope from a few young religious from the Province of Meribah (Marianists) on Long Island. This community runs Chaminade and Kellenberg High Schools. Mentioned are Brothers Stephen Ries 20, Ryan Sheehan 27, and Daniel Griffin 20.

CNBC's money guy Laurence Kudlow has a blog and has a post on Pope John Paul II that is beautiful. In the post, Kudlow talks about his 1997 conversion to the Catholic Church - it is well worth a read.

POPE JOHN PAUL II 264th Pontiff - October 16, 1978 to April 2, 2005


Summary of his life can be found on Cultural Catholic.

I decided to change my template after 2 years. I guess I picked a really stupid day to do this. Anyway, I have to add all the links and blogs, and comments.

Good info on what happens now at EWTN

John Paul II Dies at 84

Newsday continues to reap what it has sowed:

Gossip Queen at Odds with Newsday
Liz Smith Says Daily Giant Unfairly Ended Contract

The reason this anti-Catholic rag is getting rid of most of its long-time columnists is that it is still hurting from the exposure of its massive circulation fraud. Advertisers must be paid back for all the money they overpaid, lawsuits have to be defended, and on top of all this, its actual circulation has gone down. So besides Liz Smith, who I think is a good soul who always tries to be positive about people, they dumped the horrible bigot Jimmy Breslin, the great writer but "recovering" Catholic Ed Lowe, and who knows how many others. Bill Donohue has called this paper the most anti-Catholic in the nation.

I heard the report on the radio on my lunch hour that Reuters reported the Pope had died. Of course, it is now 6:24 PM and he is still alive, although near the very end. I just saw on MSNBC a live shot of St. Peter's Square where people are gathered in vigil. What an incredible end to an incredible reign.

Fr. Michael Hunt recommends the play Doubt which I heard about this morning on NPR. The play is about a New York priest who is accused of molestation and a nun who confronts him. It does sound interesting - here is Terry Teachout writing a little about the play.

Terri Schindler-Schiavo, RIP

Relief sweeps across the land
The pain and discomfort are gone
Now back to the mundane, the painless
Now back to music and tv
And forget about sickness and death

What made them so uneasy?
What made them so eager for death to come?
Was it fear that it could have been them?
Doubt about the value of their own lives?

Death brings relief to those tired of life.

The Newsday columnist Paul Vitello is as biased as they come against Catholics, Republicans, Evangelicals, etc.. So when he showed his support in the Schiavo situation I knew something was different. Today he reveals the issue hit home with him in My daughter may dance.

This was my last day of vacation - I take off Holy Week each year. I spent part of the day in the bookstore reading "Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother Scott Peterson Is Guilty". The author is the biological sister of Peterson - his mother put two kids up for adoption and raised two kids. She met Scott about 5 years before the murder and for most of the book believed he was not guilty. The denial she had was bad, but not as bad as Peterson's mother Jackie. There are just a few chilling notes on the murderer who stayed in the author's house just before his arrest. The author notes Scott added hard core porno channels to his tv just after Laci's disappearance, he did not seem interested in the police search for her, and he became loud when seeing the police searching the bay where she was eventually found. She recounts several lies Peterson told and the partying he did while there was an ongoing search for his wife. He hit on her babysitter in a very obvious way just before his arrest. The author seems completely perplexed by Scott's evil - why would he kill his wife and his baby? why would he lie? How can someone plainly not care about his wife and baby's murder? The book is interesting because it shows on a large scale the type of thing we see in people everyday. Although most people we run into are not murderers, they do evil things that sometimes makes no sense.


I also spent part of today updating my Catholic Blog Directory - there was some discussion on Bett.net about creating an official blog directory and several people volunteered to help. I love the St. Blog's webring but many of the links are dead and there is no easy way to surf since the list is random. I like to have a list in alphabetical order and if others have technical skills I would like to see the list be able to be sorted by location and/or category also. Hopefully a directory can be made with lots of features and I will gladly hand over my list and volunteer to help keep it updated.

The sisters being removed from campus ministry are being discussed at Open Book. Years ago, even before reverting, I would read books on the Church and learn about scandalous things. I used to read about crazy stuff going on and thought things were a little better here in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Then the Suffolk County grand jury report came out and I read the whole thing and realized things here were pretty bad. McGann is dead and can't answer (to us) for what he did and didn't do here. His would-be successor Bishop Wcela wrote an article in America or Commonweal entitled "What Did I Miss?". I think his reflection was not entirely sincere though since "conservatives" had been telling him for years what was going on and he ignored them. Dr. Drolesky points out just some of the silly stuff that went on during Bishop McGann's time. My point is, things here were pretty bad and Bishop Murphy is trying to clean up McGann's Mess. The introduction of the New Evangelization to campus ministry is just a part of this. The Bishop living on the grounds of the Cathedral instead of a $950,000 house a couple of miles away from it is part of this too. Perhaps the Bishop's residence on the top floor of a parish building could have been made a little simpler, but criticism of this residence is over the top. The introduction of a weekly traditional latin Mass is also part of the cleanup, as is inviting Fr. Benedict Groeschel to speak to the priests of the Diocese. (McGann had invited Fr. Richard McBrien) Changes made at the seminary over the past few years also have helped, the number of seminarians here has doubled in the past two years. The nuns whose contracts were not renewed, the Voice of the Faithful, and many commentators of St. Blog's need to understand just how much of a mess there is to clean up. This Diocese needs evangelization and real Catholic teachings, in campus ministry, the seminary, and the parishes.

A nun in habit walks in a park and gets called a child molester. Religious should expect this but it is extra sad that nuns have to put up with this nonsense. Sr. Lorraine is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul - an excellent order.

Update: Sister emailed to thank me for this mention and it turns out she is a native born Long Islander!

DR. SCOTT HAHN LECTURE

This will be Dr. Hahn's first speaking engagement on Long Island. There will be 3 consecutive one-hour lectures:

Hail Holy Queen

The Lamb's Supper

Scripture Matters

Reception and refreshments to follow

Saint Kilian R.C. Church
485 Conklin Street
Farmingdale, NY 11735

Tickets are $10 for parishioners, $15 for non-parishioners
Respond by March 31st
Call 516-249-0127

For any locals reading this blog, check out this page for other Catholic type events happening on Long Island.

At tonight's Faith on Tap we had John Zmirak speak and he was excellent. (I asked him why he doesn't update his blog more often, he said he uses it to post stuff he has already been paid to write - writing for free was not for him. Now I know why he went to Yale and I didn't) His talk was on movies and popular culture and the Catholic Church. He made the point that Barbara Nicolosi has made - that art should be good and not just simplistic, pious dreck. He also recommended some films (The Third Miracle, Sweet Nothing) and authors (Percy, Mauriac). He was funny and an exciting speaker. At the end of his talk, he read this great article to us -

"I Am Michael Schiavo"

LI landmark in right-to-die battle

Chaminade's court battle 25 years ago was one of the nation’s first; it set a precedent that still stands today

I am glad to see this article and Newsday did a good job reporting the facts. The Brother Fox case was an important one - when Gov. Pataki signed a law regarding family-rights in these cases, he invited Fr. Eichner to attend the signing ceremony. Equally important to note is that Fr. Eichner recognizes that the Schiavo case is "quite different" from the Fox case. He is quoted as saying "Let her parents take care of her. It's an iffy case, and in those situations you always go on the side of life." It is also important to note that Dennis Dillon is one of the most Pro-Life Catholics in public office in the United States, and the Eichner Vs. Dillon case was a case of a great Catholic hero vs. another great Catholic hero. For more details on the Brother Fox case see here.

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends, standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,
that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God,
the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin
to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night when the pillar of fire
destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is the night when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin
and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ
broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave
you gave away your Son.

O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights, chosen by God
to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night
dispels all evil, washes guilt away,
restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

I started this blog because I wanted to share my experiences and thoughts on being a "revert" to the Catholic Church. I had pretty good experiences growing up Catholic and wanted to make that known, since so many people seem to have a problem with Catholicism and/or the Church. I never thought this little corner of the internet would see me rolling in freebies. Well, actually there have only been two, but it was nice to be noticed. The first was an invitation to a free screening of the movie Millions by Fox Searchlight. The film features a young Catholic school boy who finds money and wants to spend it by helping people. During the film he has conversations with various saints. Here is the review at Decent Films. The film is by Danny Boyle who did Trainspotting and it looks good. The opportunity to view a film before it opens, a film that has Catholic things running through it, in Manhattan, for free was too good to ignore. The weather was not cooperative however and I didn't get to attend. I would like to see this film though and perhaps I will see it within the next week.

The other thing I received was a copy of Swimming with Scapulars: True Confessions of a Young Catholic by Matthew Lickona. It is a memoir by a tradition-minded Catholic. He works as a wine reviewer, has four children and attended Thomas Aquinas College. The book is good and I think many young Catholics would recognize themselves in the book. There are a few surprises, including an encounter with a pervert priest that did not manage to shake Lickona's faith. Check out the author's website which (surprise!) includes a blog.

Nice to see a couple of things in this culture that present Catholicism in a positive light. Now I am thinking of starting a blog about wine or food to see if I get any freebies....

No humanity in starvation

This is a strong editorial by Cathy Cleaver Ruse of the USCCB printed in Newsday.

And here is a succinct and powerful piece from a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal that never mentions Terri Schiavo by name.

"The drama which we recall this Holy Week is being lived out today – and everyone is present in the praetorium. Let us pray that this time God protects the innocent from injustice and strengthens those in authority so that by the grace of God, Pilate’s choice may not be repeated."

A STATEMENT FROM BISHOP WILLIAM MURPHY

Catholic moral teaching and Terry Schiavo

Nun won't turn the other cheek in firing

"Riordan said she always kept an open mind when she counseled students of all religions and many nonbelievers on tough issues such as abortion, gay rights and premarital sex.
The nun fears her replacements will be less available to students and that the young clerics' more conservative views could turn troubled students away."

In the Long Island Catholic the story is presented as an attempt to make campus ministry part of the New Evangelization. Fr. Brian Barr talks of "dynamic Catholicism and dynamic orthodoxy" being a goal so this all sounds good.

I missed the Jews and The Church conference this weekend due to a death in the family, but Karen Hanley points me to some pictures at the With Issue blog.

I spent part of my lunch hour listening to an interview of Gene Wilder on NPR. Wilder had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which is what my Dad had when he died. Wilder was lucky as he was able to get treatment with stem cells. He carefully pointed out they were not embryonic stem cells though, they were his own. His blood was taken through a hose, stem cells were taken out, and then the blood pumped back into him. Just another example of the usefulness of adult stem cells.

The next sessions of Faith on Tap will feature John Zmirak of Godspy (March) and Bill Donohue from the Catholic League (April). I think these will be our best talks yet:

Think Colin Powell had to do this?

I don't think this is true -

According to Newsday, Fr. Tom Hartman built Telecare into the "nation's largest producer of original Catholic television programming". I would think that would be EWTN. Much of what is on Telecare, the Diocese of Rockville Centre's television station, is not specifically Catholic. For example, weatherman Dr. Frank Field hosts a health show. There is a show on Judaism and one on Islam. There are several community and values based shows that you can find on other stations. They also show local high school sports and usually have EWTN programming overnight. If you check out the "about Telecare" link on the station's website, it does not mention "Catholic" at all, just "ecumenical programming".

K Lo at Chaminade and no one told me?

A "virtuous pagan" looks at the priesthood

The author, daughter of a Catholic priest, interviews the daughter of a man who applied to become an Episcopal priest. I found this via Crowhill.net and found the interview interesting. The one thing that amazed me though was the sense of incredulity from the person being interviewed that any "religious" people would actually be normal. I have read this in other places, usually written by people who sound like they have never left the island of Manhattan. This type of bigotry is so common today but it always stuns me.

"I was amazed when the bishop of Indianapolis said, "Of course the church messes up. We have to mess up or else we would have to believe the Inquisition was a good thing." I had thought that the church, any church, was an absolutist organization, and it's not. Religion is constantly evolving, and I think that's a cool thing about it. Not all of them, and the ones that's aren't are either favored for that or in trouble for that, but there's a tremendous diversity. I was surprised at how open and thoughtful and considerate people were, because I had this idea that they were fanatics, and fanatics don't change their opinions. I don't think anyone said anything that shocked me in a negative way. I don't think anybody said anything hateful. " [emphasis mine]

Can you imagine someone being shocked, shocked! that the "religious" people are not wacko fanatics?? They were found to be nice!

Amy Welborn put out a call for her computer fund and the goal was exceeded in just 7 hours. This was her first bleg for donations and I am glad to see people support her blog. She does great work with Open Book and deserves better than a 1998 Gateway and a dial-up.

This is great news-

The Passion Recut - starts tommorrow! The movie has been edited to be a little less gory which is great!

Newsday's Dick Ryan

After admitting to massive fraud that included inflating their circulation to increase advertisement rates, one would think Newsday would wise up. This opinion piece proves they will not. First, I neglected to blog something that struck me as weird - a couple of weeks ago I noticed a little news blurb on the Long Island Voice of the Faithful's upcoming convention. The thing that was weird was that it seemed like a straight advertisement for the event, complete with phone numbers, cost, etc.. I knew the paper supports VOF so I dismissed it as typical Newsday garbage, but then the other day there was yet another news blurb on the event, again reading as if it was written by a VOF staffer. These were in the news section not the advertisement section. Now Newsday is giving this event prime advertisement space as Dick Ryan promotes this "convention" on the op-ed page.

The title screams that Bishop Murphy is "silent" and yet he has been speaking about the problems in this Diocese from when he first got here. Dick claims VOF should invite the Bishop to this conference. He amazingly claims "Murphy is not very good at public appearances". I have seen the Bishop speak several times now and he comes across as very warm, friendly and funny. When he speaks he also comes across as very intelligent and honest. Dick claims that there was a "pre-Vatican II commandment to "pray, pay and obey". This is nonsense although that attitude might have existed in some Irish families like Dick's. Dick also wants to hear from the Bishop about the "shrinking number of priests and vocations"? Is Dick deaf? The Bishop has been talking vocations and the priest shortage since day one. In fact, Dick should know the number of seminarians here has doubled in the past two years - mostly due to some good changes in the seminary. Dick claims Bishop Murphy "remains aloof, out of sight and, yes, out of touch"? I have personally seen the Bishop at least four times at events and at each one he goes out of his way to personally greet everyone he can and listen and talk to them. He seems to be everywhere in the Diocese and I don't see how he is at all out of touch. He has been working hard to clean up the mess left behind by Bishop McGann. Dick seems to think if people don't pay attention to VOF or show up at their little meetings at the local Unitarian hall, then they are out of sight or aloof. That is crazy. I care very much about the Church on Long Island but I don't care at all about VOF. My advice to my fellow Catholics here is: don't be a Dick. And check out The Long Island Press, where an excellent letter to the editor defends Bishop Murphy. Although the Long Island Press is new and not perfect, at least you can trust its balance more than Newsday. As well as its circulation figures!

This conference sounds great -


Jews and the Church

The Role of Judaism in Salvation History
A two-day Catholic conference in New York City

Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20, 2005

The speakers include Roy Schoeman, Ronda Chervin, Fr. Joseph Koterski, S.J., and David Moss and they are honoring the wonderful Dr. Alice Von Hildebrand. Plus there will be live Klezmer music which I have always enjoyed.

Hat tip to St. Blog's "flame-haired" commentator KH!

Diocesan Day of Reconciliation

"On this second day of Holy Week, each of the 133 churches in the diocese will have priests available to hear confessions from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. This day is in addition to the regularly scheduled days and times the sacrament is available at each parish. "

This is the 6th year the Diocese has done this and it is an excellent idea. Anyone can stop in at any parish after work, or after dinner. It makes it easy for people to get there and to confess to a priest that does not know you from Adam.

Alright I'll play too:

10 things I have done that my reader's probably haven't-

10. Been quoted in a book on Catholic young people
9. Been teased by Fr. Mitch Pacwa about my Long Island (Lawn Guyland) accent
8. Fainted while serving Mass – right at the Kiss of Peace
7. Drank Rolling Rock and shot pool in a Monastery
6. Got completely lost hiking in the woods, along with my entire Boy Scout troop
5. Been offered drugs in the hallway of a former Episcopal Church (Limelight Club)
4. Delivered a Pennysaver (free paper) to Jerry Seinfeld
3. Helped Fr. Benedict Groeschel unload stuff from his car twice
2. Accidently made Congressman Peter King spill coffee all over his hand
1. Had lunch a few times with a serial killer (Joel Rifkin)

I finally read that article on "52 Funniest Things About The Upcoming Death of the Pope" from some NY paper I have never heard of before. I guess it was supposed to be funny but it was not funny at all, just really stupid and not even worth getting outraged over. For a decent satirical look at the current situation in Rome check out: Cocky Pope Hopeful Ready to Make Some Changes Around Vatican

These two obviously forgot their catechism

"Two former employees of Holy Family Parish and School in Hicksville are accused of taking more than a half-million dollars by giving themselves unauthorized paychecks and ringing up charges on the parish's credit card, police said Friday.

Joseph Cavaco, of Wading River, and Anthony Fusaro, of Hampton Bays, both 61, were arrested on charges of grand larceny."

The article does not mention it, but the pastor Msgr. Robert Batule had just recently arrived at this parish in October 2004. This parish is not a wealthy one and could use that $500,000 to beautify their Church, which is the single most bizarre one I have ever seen. It looks like a renovated barn with a bunch of doors down one side, and the sanctuary in the corner of an "L". Msgr. Batule is a pleasant, orthodox priest and this parish is lucky to have him as their pastor. It is good to see the Diocese doing its job and auditing the parishes for stuff like this.

More snow!!

My girlfriend: "I'm sick of this weather! I wanna go someplace where there is no weather"

Me: "I believe that would be the moon honey"

My girlfriend: "Perfect! "

Long Island Woman Murdered For Not Getting An Abortion

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

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

The Firefighter Seen 'Round the World

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pregnant Woman Shot to Death by Baby's Father

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

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

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

$25 donation per person includes breakfast, lunch and conferences

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

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

The world we live in -

Teen Accused of Parent's Murder

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

Joan of Arcadia: An Interview With Its Catholic Producer

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

I can explain."

via Cultural Catholic

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

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

A decent article from Newsweek.

Ex-Priest Shanley Gets 12-15 Years for Rape

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




Seven NAMBLA Members Busted in Sex Sting


Beautiful.

Woman Speaks Again After 20 Years

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

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



Best Blog by a Long Islander

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


1st Place - Against the Grain (98 votes)

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

3rd Place - Gen X Revert (1 vote)

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

Radio station offers free divorce as Valentine's Day gift

Eden in Exile

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

via Relapsed Catholic

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

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

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

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

via Seattle Catholic

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

SHANLEY GUILTY

Deo Gratias

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

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

Liberal Catholics stuck in the 1960's

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

Shanley jury gets case

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

PAPAL TERM LIMITS

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

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

This is not what Title IX was about -

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

Someone sent me this email, perhaps someone can help:

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

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

Ken Carney

Tom Diasparra

Phil Sofia

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

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

Bon Jovi

The Pope

Ronald Reagan

The A-Team

Rap

Run DMC/Aerosmith's Walk This Way

Johnny Depp's acting career

The Fox Network

The Simpsons (time to end series though)

U2

Michael Jackson's music (only his music)

The Golden Girls

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

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

Hillary Clinton on Abortion:

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

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

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

LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW

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


Updated: 12 inches of snow!

For the Blame Celibacy Crowd -

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

Cop suspended for sex with minor

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

Dietrich Von Hildebrand Legacy Project

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

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

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

Happy Blogoversary to Me, Happy Blogoversary to Me

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

A HATE CRIME IN JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS

via Michelle Malkin

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

Nigeria is the new Ireland.


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