Newsday published a list of the biggest employers on Long Island today -

• Catholic Health Services was # 4 with 14,000 employees (Catholic hospitals, hospices, home health care, etc..)

• The Diocese of Rockville Centre was # 12 with 5,000 (not including clergy or Catholic Health Services

This shows how the Church needs to make sure it treats its employees with dignity as the culture within these two entities could really influence the entire culture of Long Island. Taking the social principles found within Catholicism and applying them well to this area could really make a difference. Combined, these two separate entities would be the 3rd largest employer on Long Island, behind the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and the NY state government. This does not even include the various independent Catholic organizations such as schools run by religious orders or individual Catholic entities. If the Church practices what it preaches (and I am not necessarily saying it doesn't) then the influence it has on the employer culture can be great.

Whoever found Gen X Revert while searching for Catholic retreat houses on Long Island, please check out:

Catholic Lay Preachers

Lay Preachers run retreat programs for adults at the Emmanuel Retreat House at Kellenberg High School. It is lead by retired NYC police officers and I would recommend them if you want orthodox Catholic retreats and nights of recollection.

I have been tagged for the book meme thingy by Quintero at L.A. Catholic and since he suffers greatly in that Diocese, I would not want to disappoint:

1. The total number of books I own: approx. 350. I have some history but mainly Churchy stuff, the majority acquired since my "reversion". Ignatius Press dominates, although my vast Peanuts collection would come in a strong second. I am very proud that 18 of the books are signed by the authors.



2. The last book I bought: I bought 3 books from a local store - The Cube and The Cathedral by George Weigel, Saint Josemaria Escriva by Michele Dolz, and Flannery O'Connor by Regis Martin. Just before that I ordered 4 from Amazon that took weeks to arrive- God Rides A Yamaha by Kathy Shaidle, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, The Church and The Market, and The Church Confronts Modernity all by Thomas Woods.



3. The Last Book I read: Kiss Me Like A Stranger by Gene Wilder. I read this at the library on a day off, not sure what to make of it - Wilder comes across as a bit strange, but typically artistic. Gilda Radner comes across as extremely needy and sad. I will have to get cracking on some of the newer books.



4. Five Books That Mean Alot to Me: Peanuts Classics by Charles M. Schultz (1970), Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, Raise the Titanic by Clive Cussler, Witness To Hope by George Weigel, and The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton



5. Tag 5 People: I hate to impose, but if Aristotle the Recovering Choir Director, Joanne at Daily Stitches, Sean at Republican of Irish Descent, Amy at The Roundtable, and M2 at martha, martha... have any interest please go right ahead.

EWTN 's World Over Live on June 17th lists Prof. Thomas Woods on The Church's Impact on Western society. Is this the traditional Catholic Long Islander who co-wrote The Great Facade and other books on the Church? If so, I am surprised, but pleased to see him appear on EWTN. I suppose this is because he will speak on the contribution of the Church to the world throughout history, a subject all Catholics, neo or not, can agree on and appreciate. :)

Towering figure of John Paul II

"The statue, weighing nearly 1,800 pounds, was cast in Krakow and flown to New York last week aboard a German commercial airliner. An honor guard of 20 men, all members of St. Frances de Chantal, escorted it from Kennedy Airport to the church.

"People are surprised when they see it," said Kurowski. "It is so big."

One reason for the surprise is that most people who pass it are ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are by far the largest religious group in the neighborhood. "But they know who Pope John Paul was, and so they pause to look, too," Kurowski said."

Thousands attend anti-Arroyo protest

I had no idea Raymond Arroyo was so unpopular.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre has hired a new law firm after 35 years. Sounds like a wise and necessary move.

I went to Mass at St. James in Seaford today. The pastor was assisted by a newly ordained Deacon (a convert). The lone altar server wore a black cassock, white surplice, and white gloves while carrying the processional cross. The choir sounded wonderful and the preaching was good. The only constructive criticism I would have for this parish, and I say this with all Christian love for my brothers and sisters, is to please SHUT UP before Mass. The 10 minutes before Mass was absolutely the loudest I have ever heard at a regular Sunday Mass. Do any of you ever have an unexpressed thought? Can any of you not talk for just 10 minutes? Ever heard of prayer? Do I really need to hear about the wedding you attended yesterday or the plans for the afternoon? I think the "hospitality ministers", who in my father's day were called ushers, were the worst offenders. Perhaps it was the acoustics in this modern Church but people need to learn to be quiet or whisper or something.

The Problem With Blogs at Ignatius Insight

"fever swamps and black helicopters abound"
"There are a lot of people blogging who really have nothing to say. "
"at the end of the day any halfwit can start a blog"
"There are a lot of silly bloggers out there"
"frequently give space to crackpots and weirdos,"

You are all talking about me aren't you? It's me isn't it? You ARE all out to get me!

Was Karol Wojtyla the Greatest Mass Murderer of the 20th Century?

Andrew Cusack on hip-hop types:

"Shouting to a beat and moving their arms in bodies in bizarre fashions reminiscent of the denizens of hell. Yes, that sounds more like it. Anyway, they look like a bunch of damn fools. Someone should tell them to cease and desist. "

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2005, 7:30PM
HUNTINGTON TOWNHOUSE


The Great Debate 2005

"IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A
NON-CHRISTIAN
TO ENTER HEAVEN?":
A Roman Catholic vs. Protestant Debate
on the Catholic Catechism, Paragraphs 841 & 1260

Bill Rutland Vs. James White

Misc.

I saw Star Wars - Revenge of The Sith last night. It was ok. I was never that into Star Wars but it was cool to see how everything fell into place for the first movie - which was released when I was 7. I thought the corruption of Anakin could have been done a little better, since this is really the major focus of the movie.

I am really behind in adding blogs to the Catholic Blog Directory. Please be patient if you have asked me to add your blog.

Our parish had a Eucharistic Procession yesterday, just around the inside of the Church. The Eucharist was exposed until 3 pm when there was Benediction. This was the first Corpus Christi procession I have ever seen. The priest and altar servers processed although I originally thought everyone would process around the Church. Still, it is a start to recovering our traditions and culture as Catholics.

Our Diocese will only ordain 1 man to the priesthood in June. The good news is that the number of seminarians is way up, meaning that 4-5 years from now the ordinations will include a better number of men. Hopefully this trend will continue.

Now that Fr. Sibley has shut down A Saintly Salmagundi, where are we going to go to see crazy internet stuff? A Long Island student has found something: a video of Germans disco dancing in praise of Moscow. This video is a classic - The leader is dressed like Santa and check out the guy in blue - he looks like Dr. Evil!

Warning: Germans disco dancing!

"A CUNY professor who called religious believers "moral retards" has gone on another Internet rant - calling himself a defiant "superman" and comparing religion to oppressive regimes."

"Christians claim that theirs is faith based on love, but they'll just as soon kill you," Shortell wrote in an online journal that is linked to his Web site (www.shortell.org)."


I am searching for news stories on Christians killing people in the name of Jesus but can't find any. Perhaps this bigot meant to say "Muslims"? Check out his picture on his website and you will see the face of a sick, angry, very unhappy man. Get a life, dude.

Sources (mine are more impeccable than Newsweek's) tell me our Diocese is starting an Office of Evangelization.

Bleg

I have a 401k and have not done much messin' with it for the past few years. Recently, we have had an option added where we can pay an investment company (1.05%) to manage our funds for us. They would decide which funds to put our money into on a daily basis. They check out the situation in the morning and decide whether to be into stocks, or in money market funds. I am confused about whether to do this and whether the cost, which is considerable, is worth having them take over. Any readers out there know enough about this stuff to help me with some advice?

TWENTIETH ANNUAL BALL FOR LIFE

Benefiting Good Counsel Homes which serves women and their children in crisis pregnancy situations.

HONORING Peggy Noonan and Ambassador Faith Whittlesey

Honorary Co-chairmen Larry Kudlow & Sean Hannity

Black tie

Friday, June 3, 2005
8:00 pm - 12 midnight

New York Athletic Club
180 Central Park South
New York City

Order tickets here NOW - limited space!

"Scientists have discovered comedy central in the brain -- specific tissue regulating the ability to understand sarcasm.
People with damage to the right frontal lobe, right behind the eyes, are unable to appreciate this kind of humor."

I know many people who have this problem. Until now, I just assumed they were idiots.

Dawn Eden has an article on blogging in today's NY Daily News.

This weekend I attended the ordination of my girlfriend's father as a deacon. The ordination at the cathedral was very nice. The Litany of the Saints was especially beautiful. Our Diocese has about 250 deacons and sometimes it is easy to take them forgranted. There are about 23,000 permanent deacons, with about 15,000 in the United States. They are now doing many baptisms, funerals and weddings. Since the first class of deacons were only ordained about 25 years ago, the Diocese is still finding their way with these guys. It is a blessing to have a corps of ordained men who will serve the Church however. 13 men were ordained deacons this weekend but only 1 man will be ordained a priest in June, and Bishop Murphy asked everyone present to pray for more vocations to the priesthood. I would say the restoration of the permanent deaconate was one of the best changes done in the Church in the 60's.

Good news in Harrisburg, PA

"The Latin Mass had been offered monthly in the diocese, and now begins at 10 a.m. each Sunday. "

Five people -- including a state senator, a state police sergeant and a mother -- have been named to a panel to examine the behavior of Catholic priests in the Springfield Diocese.

Of course, props should be given to Stephen Brady and Roman Catholic Faithful for their years of calling attention to the Springfield Diocese.

More garbage printed in Newsday claiming the Catholic Church is bad to women. According to the author:

• there is a "crushing shortage of priests worldwide"
• women are involved in all sorts of ministry but because they can't be ordained "their hands are tied"
• there is a sacrament called absolution
• women are forbidden to administer the sacrament of the sick to a dying Catholic

I am sure this would all be news to Alice Von Hildebrand, Pia de Solenni, Peggy Noonan, Mother Angelica, Mary Ann Glendon, etc...

If only they let Karate instructors marry...

If only they let women become cops...

I just got back from the U2 concert in Joisey! They were good, it was my first U2 concert and I will be seeing them again in October. I don't know alot of their music so I can't really give a good review. I wanted to hear Angel of Harlem and Still Haven't Found What I am Looking For but they didn't play them. They did Sunday Bloody Sunday and the crowd sang well. The new song Vertigo was great. Now for some sleep.....

Excellent post at A Conservative Blog for Peace on the late Fr. Gommar DePauw

Sex Assault On Mepham Student

Sound familiar? This is the school made famous when young men were raped and tortured by football players Ken Carney, Tom Diasparra, and Phil Sofia. There were others who stood around and cheered but they were not prosecuted. The media hype intensified until the students and town turned on their football heros (it took awhile) but we haven't heard much since.

SANTO SUBITO???

Sainthood Process for Pope John Paul II Opened

"For Thomas Suozzi, being Catholic is an important part of who he is. So is being a politician. Tuesday, he sought to find a way to be both on abortion and was solidly endorsed by his bishop."

From Newsday: Reactions to Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi's abortion proposal

Pro

"In a rare show of support from a high-ranking church official for a Catholic politician who backs abortion rights, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre Tuesday lauded Suozzi's "courageous and positive" step."

"Johanna Cervellino, education chairman of the Long Island Coalition for Life, a nonsectarian group based in Ronkonkoma, called the plan "very positive. Many women don't know the alternatives."

Con

"It sounds like something an anti-choice public official would say," said Kelli Conlin, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice New York. After reviewing the text, she said Suozzi had "almost apologetically buried" his position on abortion rights."

Newsday has stated in each article that Suozzi supports abortion rights, but he has mostly expressed his opinion that abortion is legal and will continue to be that way. The pro-life movement, through marches, pickets, education, technology, and real assistance to women in need, has succeeded enough to effect change in the political climate. The rise of pro-life clinics, homes for pregnant women, and safe-haven laws have all made inroads in the fight against abortion. Pro-lifers should be politically smart enough to show support for anyone or anything that will continue this trend.

Suozzi enters abortion debate

"Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi this morning said he wanted to bring together "intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate and religious people" on both sides of the abortion debate by spending $1 million a year for three years on homes for single mothers, programs to encourage adoption, and education to prevent unplanned pregnancies."

Text of Suozzi's Speech

Suozzi mentions Patricia Shea and Momma's House and how he helped this pro-life group, as mentioned on this blog. Suozzi is clearly in a difficult position as a Democrat who must tow the party line on abortion. His stance on pushing abortion alternatives does predate the current Hillary Clinton-led push to the middle that Democrats have adopted since the election.

Statement from Bishop Murphy on Suozzi’s plan to reduce abortions

"Over the weekend, the Catholic League website was hacked, apparently by Islamic extremists."

Great Mother's Day post at E-Pression by new mother, Zorak.

Theological Question of the Day:

I am a Mets fan, and therefore a Yankees hater. I am enjoying the current dismal performance of those darn pinstriped millionaires. The team owner, George Steinbrenner, known as "The Boss" among other four letter words, owns Bellamy Road, a favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. Is it wrong for me to want this horse to lose just because of its semi-relationship to the New York Yankees?

Great post from a Sean, who grew up in Massapequa and may be someone I know from childhood-

"I'm a bad Catholic, not because the Catholic Church is wrong. It's because I don't follow their teachings, and if I don't like it, I can find a church that will be nicer to me."

Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi will propose spending $3 million to reduce abortions. When Suozzi was mayor of Glen Cove he did assist Momma's House and is on their honorary board of trustees.

Look at what Newsday is reporting -

That image on an underpass some believed looked like Our Lady of Guadalupe was covered by someone with black shoe polish and a swastika. The state highway department considered that to be graffiti so they covered it with brown paint. People somehow removed the paint and the image is now back, intact.

The editor of the Jesuit magazine America is quitting, perhaps due to revelations of complaints filed in Rome.

Fr. Gommar DePauw, RIP

Fr. DePauw was the first Catholic priest to establish an independent chapel to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass. The Ave Maria chapel in Westbury was established in 1968. Mel Gibson worshiped there once. He sounded like a priest way ahead of his time, may he rest in peace.

Twenty-first Annual

SPIRITUALITY CONVOCATION

Date: May 21, 2005 9:00AM - 4:00 PM

Place: Auditorium of Archbishop Stepinac High School
950 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605

The Archdiocese of New York will have Fr. Benedict Groeschel speaking on The Eucharist and The Legacy of John Paul II!! As if that is not enough they will also have Dr. Scott Hahn speaking on The Lamb's Supper!!

I learned about this from St. Blog's commentator KH, who will be there representin' The Montfort Academy, an all-boys Catholic high school in Westchester.

My parish has really decorated the sanctuary this Easter with more plants and flowers than ever before. The funny thing is that right in back of the altar, in the center is an arrangement of big plants with flowers all around them. The tabernacle is to the right, as it has been since our Church was renovated. These flowers and plants with candles on either side are now the focus of attention. This arrangement has taken the place of a high altar and tabernacle, it even looks to me like a high altar or how a high altar would be decorated for Easter. Our parish sometimes puts wreaths on the walls down the center of the Church, or in Advent, banners with the “O Antiphons”. These wreaths and banners are placed between the stained glass windows kind of where statues or icons of saints would be. I once walked into a parish where the two alcoves on either side of the back wall of the sanctuary had potted plants on a shelf. These alcoves were obviously built for Mary and Joseph and it was jarring to see the plants because my mind immediately pictured Mary and Joseph. I think what happens here is that Catholics have a notion of how a Church should be setup and are decorating them in an “old-fashioned” way perhaps without even realizing it. Something tells people (probably ladies of the parish) that the main focus should be in the back center of the altar and that something should be on either side, and something should be on the walls down the center of the Church. Even though our Churches have been renovated and changed, our minds still point us to the traditional arrangements. I know my mind is telling me the tabernacle should be in the center at the back of the sanctuary on a high altar, with Mary and Joseph on either side, and saints on the walls. I wonder if the people doing the decorating think like me, or if they just do this subconsciously?

Help send Aristotle the Recovering Choir Director to World Youth Day!

cantemusdomino.net
Donate to the Juventutem/ WYD 2005 Fund Drive

Beaten Priest Prays for Attackers

THE AMAZING REVERT

I just found two posts from September 2003 that had predictions by me - both of which were amazingly accurate. The first prediction was about the Passion of the Christ movie - click here to be amazed! The second was about Pope John Paul II and I am glad I wrote my thoughts because they came absolutely true. The post is here but I will quote myself -

"Wouldn't it be great if the Pope announced he could no longer travel but invited people to visit him in Rome. And after so many years of giving so much to people, we could then visit the Pope by the millions. Imagine millions of people streaming into Vatican City, setting all kinds of records, to pay tribute to John Paul the Great. "

-Gen X Revert (September 13th, 2003)

Thomas Woods has a new book out - How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. I have heard this Long Islander speak twice and have enjoyed his writings. His output is simply amazing. He once mentioned he was working on a book about persecution of the Church from the French Revolution to present, which I am looking forward to reading. I asked him when we can expect this to come out but it sounded like other projects were taking priority, so I will buy a few of his books and wait.

Reality TV in monastery changes five lives forever

An amazing story via Angry Twins. I always thought that monasteries should have a program for college age students to live as monks while attending college. The students would do better in college due to the disciplined lifestyle, the monastery would be given workers and some fresh blood, and vocations might follow. For students that don't become monks, they would take some great lessons with them throughout life. Portsmouth Abbey has an intern program that looks good.

Sodakmonk has been shut down, apparently Father felt some readers were offended by some posts. I appreciated Sodakmonk's humor and sarcasm, just as I like the Angry Twins. Hopefully we will see more writing of this monk in the future.

Missing Bride May Still Face Charges

She had better be charged - she caused lots of pain and misery by lying! Filing a false police report is a crime and it should be prosecuted. What kind of a person puts their family through the misery of thinking she was dead for 4 days? You want to cut the stress of your upcoming wedding? Cut the guest list down from 600 and the number of bridesmaids down from 14 to 2. Geez!

"Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0" at Happy Catholic.

There has been some discussion around St. Blog's about the removal of 3 nuns from campus ministry in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. What it all boils down to is the desire to reach out to college age Catholics and make campus ministry part of the New Evangelization and the "dynamic orthodoxy" idea. This is a good thing, but it raises some important questions.

First, many have asked whether it is beyond the ability of younger people - peer ministers - to handle the tricky challenges of campus ministry. This is a good question and hopefully the program will be handled well. I believe a campus minister should be introducing students to orthodoxy, not working primarily as guidance counselors or "values clarification facilitators". Campus ministers should work for the Church and serve Catholic students first and foremost. They are not there to be psychologists but to assist students in developing a love for the Church and her teachings. Peer ministers can do this, but some guidance from more experienced people is needed and this program has that.

Second, I am all for the introduction of dynamic orthodoxy and am glad to see a new crop of JPII priests, nuns, and laypeople taking their place in the Church. I am doubly glad to see this new crop edge out the tired, old dissenters that have been running things for a few decades. However, how do we as a Church go about this and still remain a loving community of Christians? I would have no problem with kicking Fr. Richard McBrien to the curb - literally. But in cases such as these nuns, who despite my opinion about their work, are genuinely hurt that their work is "not appreciated" in the Church, how can we do what we must do without causing pain? How do we show people we must take a new direction without upsetting some people? I am convinced the priest in charge of campus ministry, Fr. Brian Barr is doing the right thing, especially after reading the quote about the one nun "keeping an open mind when speaking to students about abortion, etc..". And yet, the story will be written up time and again as "Diocese boots 3 elderly, sweet ladies in the butt". This brings up the whole question about how to run a Church as a professional entity while still remaining a loving family of believers. I do hold the Church to a higher standard when it comes to employee relations, benefits, and work environment, after all, we must practice what we preach. But how do you accomplish the critical work of evangelization in a Diocese that for 30 years has been a wasteland of heterodoxy? Can we Catholics really just have an attitude of "you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette" or do we have an obligation to find a better way? In this particular instance, I am completely happy with what has been done, and think the critics are way off base, but it does raise issues I think are important for our Church. Even as we see the "reform of the reform" and the leaderships change after many years, we must figure out how to recapture the idea of Church as community of people who truly love one another. This is not a "conservative" or "liberal" thing but one that all Catholics should be working on together.

One of our Catholic brothers has been attacked - Luis Ochoa, community activist and Eucharistic minister at St. Therese of Lisieux was attacked in a case of road rage. Story from Newsday.

"Dynamic orthodoxy" coming to Long Island

Monday evening we had a standing room only crowd at Faith on Tap to hear Bill Donohue speak on anti-Catholicism in the United States. He gave plenty of behind the scenes stuff on the talks and interviews he has been doing for the past month. His talk was well received and some people could not be let in because there was no more room. A similar thing happened at St. Kilian's in Farmingdale on Saturday:

"Scott Hahn, a Presbyterian minister turned Catholic author and lecturer, addressed 700 Long Islanders at St. Kilian's Church in Farmingdale, Saturday April 23. It was his first local appearance."

"The event organizers, the parish's adult faith formation committee, sold out and had to disappoint approximately 100 people because of the demand to to attend the lectures."

School Bus Flips Over In Queens; None of 44 Children on Board Seriously Injured

The school bus was returning kids from St. Christopher's in Baldwin where my sister used to teach. Fortunately all the kids had minor cuts and bruises. Deo Gratias.

Even for anti-Catholic Newsday publishing this letter to the editor by Thomas K. Lloyd of Massapequa represents a new low. The single most bigoted thing I think I have ever read -

"Actually, Opus Dei is worse than the portrayal in the fictional book "The DaVinci Code." It affects us locally because both our bishop and our district attorney have been mixed up in this organization, which reminds me of the SS and other fanatical groups."


Worse than a bunch of albino assassins? The SS??

Vatican City - Immediately after the imposition of the Pallium, Pope Benedict XVI turned to Cardinal Kaspar and said, "It's on now B!". He then donned a pair of sunglasses while George Thorogood's Bad to the Bone was played on loudspeakers. The Pope then announced 456 excommunications and ordered 715 priests and nuns to "see him pronto". Although entirely in latin, it was believed the list included Richard McBrien, Joan Chittister, and Hans Kung. There was some murmuring when Pope Benedict announced the first person to be made a bishop would be Christopher Blosser of Queens, NY.

Did anyone else see this today or was I dreaming?

Catholicism and Bruce Springsteen, The Simpsons, and Pro Wrestling all at Open Book

We have Bill Donohue coming to speak at Faith on Tap!

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.