Hey, my 9th grade religion teacher is on CNN.com! This story is still making the rounds of the MSM and the blogosphere and it is facilitating some interesting discussion. The CNN article says the Kellenberg Principal sent the letter out announcing the cancelling of the prom, but actually the letter was a response to a parent's inquiry. It was co-signed by Brother Hoagland and Fr. Eichner, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of this quiet little organization.

I went to see the Long Island Philharmonic at St. Agnes Cathedral. They were performing Faure's Requiem in honor of Pope John Paul the Great on the anniversary of his election. The concert was to honor JPII's commitment to interfaith and ecumenical dialogue.

Kellenberg High will not host a senior prom this year -

I first posted this story when I read it in Newsday and The Curt Jester, Open Book and Relapsed Catholic picked up on it and gave it a boost. The story deserves wide circulation. Ray Keating from Newsday writes about it here. I saw mostly positive reactions to this decision in print, and in the blogosphere, including from a couple of high school students, one a Kellenberg student. I think if the school can host a prom alternative it would be best, but overall you have to love the leadership for their, well, leadership. The prom culture is sick and as Amy Welborn pointed out, the jock culture should be examined next. The letter the school posts on their website is in PDF form and since it is a must read, here it is in regular old, html form. Note, the school already addressed the jock culture as it no longer sponsored a hockey team either. Some good excerpts:

• "Long Island, known in some circles as Wrong Island, is an alcohol culture. It starts
  early and never ends. Because of our affluence and arrogance everything has to be
  exaggerated bigger, better, more, over the top. Our students do not learn how to drink
  socially. Their goal is to get roaring drunk as quickly as possible and boast about it the
  next day. The incidence of binge drinking is rising on college campuses. Long Island has
  more than its share of what is an American flaw we eschew moderation. Here is the
  irony: we decided some years ago that a youth reached “majority” at eighteen years of
  age for everything (marriage, contracts, etc.) except for drinking! He and she can get
  married, buy a home, have a child, but legally cannot have a drink at their own wedding.
  Europe does not have that adolescent problem of drinking. Why can’t we be moderate?"

• "Vanity of vanities and all is vanity, say the Scriptures."

• "Wealth is a wonderful thing. It is a sharing in the fmits of God’s creation. Becoming
  a millionaire can be a spiritually enriching experience, provided you answer two
  questions correctly: how did you get it, and what are you doing with it."

• "Our Lordship over all creation is not without moral consequences. As with time, so with wealth we will be called to account for how we have used them. The current culture of the prom on Long Island does not represent to us a proper Christian use of wealth."

It is good to see a school taking a stand against the prom culture, drinking culture, jock culture, vanity culture that are all out of control, and not just here on Long Island. There is a good news story from a local ABC affiliate that is available on video here. Click Eyewitness News Video under the sidebar. The entire text of the letter is also available on the sidebar also.

"If you don't go see Bono, the terrorists win"

Review of U2's opening night at Madison Square Garden in today's Newsday. I was there, just as I was there at opening night in Jersey a few months ago. With all the talk of a bombing plot for New York City subways I ventured out on a LIRR train and ate a nice leisurely dinner at Houlihans in Penn Station. Vertigo was played twice in Jersey and was a show highlight for me, since I was never much of a fan of U2 at the time and didn't know too many songs. This time, Vertigo was played once, and it wasn't anything special. The show opener Friday was City of Blinding Lights and it rocked. They also did Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, with a faster, funkier beat. The whole crowd sung most of the song, and it felt like a revival. Stuck in A Moment was dedicated to that guy from INXS who killed himself, Michael Hutchens (sp?). They did Miss Sarejevo which I am told they rarely do, and it sounded good. Highlights for me were Pride (In the Name of Love) and Elevation. I have been converted to a U2 fan!

"The Complete Calvin and Hobbes - a 1,456-page art-book epic of every panel ever published"

List of Islamic Terror Attacks since September 11th, 2001

via Little Green Footballs

"No evidence suggests that the deadly earthquake that rocked Pakistan on Saturday injured or killed the world's top terror leader, Osama bin Laden.

The quake shook the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where bin Laden is believed to be hiding. However, authorities at this point have no information indicating he's been injured or killed, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the information's sensitivity."


I certainly hope the US has not slacked off in hunting down Bin Laden and associates. I have read that Bin Laden's capture is not a priority because he is so isolated, but he still is responsible for killing thousands of my neighbors.

LI Philharmonic to honor Pope John Paul II at Oct. 16 concert

"In celebration and memory of Pope John Paul II’s life, the Long Island Philharmonic will perform a free concert on October 16 at St. Agnes Cathedral here at 7:30 p.m.

One hundred musicians — an orchestra and chorus — will perform Requiem composed by Gabriel Fauré, a French composer who lived from 1845 to 1924."

Very nice, I will try to be there.

A Catholic school here on Long Island will not be having a senior prom this year -

"School administrators, reacting to what they called a "sick" prom culture that was out of control, announced in a letter this month to parents that senior prom was canceled.

"Basically, it has become an event in American culture that has all the trappings of excess," said school principal Brother Kenneth Hoagland. "It is not consistent with our philosophy as a Catholic school."

Last year, the school appealed to parents and stopped 46 Kellenberg seniors from spending $20,000 to rent a house for a post-prom weekend in the Hamptons"

"Hoagland said they have invited students to come up with alternate ideas for a school-sponsored event that are consistent with the goals of a Christian education."


--(Brother Hoagland was my 9th grade religion teacher at a different high school.) I hope the school can come up with a different end of the year event and perhaps start a trend. Proms have become ridiculous affairs here on Long Island and maybe this is a good first step to changing things for the better. The school, Kellenberg, has links to the text of two prom letters on their homepage.

Go read the letters the school sent out as they contain a good amount of detail (Adobe required). The September letter is a must read!!

Pope Benedict had Hans Kung for dinner!

Evil people are everywhere unfortunately. After all the hurricane related scams people should be extra careful in dealing with emails and phone calls that seem authentic. I just got an email from "support @ paypal" that says my account may be suspended unless I go through a series of identity verification pages. Of course, I have never had a paypal account. Dante would have to add an exta layer of Hell for email scammers and spammers.

Update: Went to Paypal's site and found you can forward them scams to spoof@paypal.com

Don't forget to check out Catholicmatch! I got an email saying someone had purchased a membership after going there from here. I decided to put up the ad for them after being invited to do so. After all, this is the site where I met the future Mrs. Revert (that is not us in the picture below)

Just as I did with Louisiana bloggers in St. Blog's, I compiled this list of Texas blogs:

A Glass of Chianti, Sarah
Dressing with Dignity , Colleen Hammond
Fiat Lux!, Flambeaux
Happy Catholic , Julie D.
I Am the Lizard Queen, The LQ
Minivan Mom, Epiphany
Nosce Te Ipsvm, Tracy Fennell
Scattershot Direct M. Lynn Booker
Shades of Gray (Umbrae Canarum), Phil
ShadowMage's Domain, Hugo
So Let It Be Written…, Darren Cary
Summa Mommas - Micki, Terry
Texas Catholic Blog, Texas Catholic online
Ticonderoga Sailor , Jonathan Carpenter
Tischreden , Bill Cork

We had John Zmirak speak at Faith on Tap this past March and I have been looking forward to the release of "The Bad Catholics Guide to Good Living" ever since. I do the website for Faith on Tap so please check it
out and if you are local, come to the next session this Monday night.

Saturday, October 22nd

"Staying the Course with Benedict XVI in a Post John Paul II Church"

The Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies presents a conference celebrating the intellectual , moral, and religious accomplishments of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Starts at 9:30 AM in the Multipurpose Room of the College Center Building , Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY

10:00 AM - Avery Cardinal Dulles, S. J. will speak on "The Legacy of John Paul II"

1:15 PM - Fr. Joseph Fessio, S. J. will speak on "The Accomplishments of His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger"

2:15 PM - Mr. Kenneth Whitehead will speak on "The Prospects of a Benedict XVI Pontificate"

Student Arrested After Pilot Uniform Found

"A university student from Egypt was ordered held without bond after prosecutors said they found a pilot's uniform, chart of Memphis International Airport and a DVD titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act" in his apartment.

The FBI is investigating whether Mahmoud Maawad, 29, had any connection to terrorists. He is awaiting trial on charges of wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number.

Maawad, who is in the United States illegally, told the judge during a hearing Thursday that he is studying science and economics at the University of Memphis."


Why isn't this story being given greater coverage? How soon we forget September 11th.

Priest Pricks Children With Pin

"The Catholic Diocese of Austin is investigating after a priest called about 15 children to come forward during evening Mass so he could prick them with an unsterilized pin to demonstrate the pain Jesus suffered during crucifixion. "

"What I was trying to teach them is that suffering is a part of life," said the Rev. Arthur Michalka, 78, on Friday. "

This priest needs to be removed immediately under the Charter provisions. Talk about inappropriate behavior with children! And during the Mass? I really think there is something seriously wrong with this man - this is not just a lapse in judgement, this is sick. I wonder if this priest had to take one of those courses all Church volunteers are taking?

Raymond Arroyo's new book on Mother Angelica is now # 88 on Amazon's Top Seller List. Amazon has it for only $15.80 which is an incredible price for such a good book.

The new Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is a fellow parishioner of mine. I hope he remembers I "made his day" when I bumped into him at Dunkin Donuts!

Remember the fuss over Michael S. Rose's Goodbye, Good Men!? It seems that the bestseller was read by some important people because the questions of the visitation of the seminaries seem like they are in line with the book's premise. Via Rocco at Whispers in the Loggia. I especially like the part that says all priest-graduates of the past three years are to be interviewed. These priests may be more open to telling the whole truth if they don't have to worry about getting to graduation.

Oh God - Matty Molnar, a seminarian at Mundelein was killed last night.

From strivingforholiness in my comment box - "One of the seminarians you linked to several weeks ago, Matty Molnar, was killed in a car accident last night..three other seminarians were also hurt, one in critical condition. Please pray for Matty's soul, his family and friends and the other young men who were injured..."

The comments on Matty's blog mention this tragic news. I can't find a news story on it, but the seminarian blogs linked to on Matty's blog mention this horrible story. For all those who came here who knew Matty I am so sorry.

The media seems to have forgotten about Ken Carney, Tom Diasparra, and Phil Sofia, the 3 jocks from Mepham High School who abused other boys in a football camp. There has been no reports on the status of their "punishment", whether they are free, or whether they are back on Long Island. Here is a copy of the Grand Jury report that describes in detail what they did while other football players watched and laughed. DO NOT click if you have a weak stomach!!

Here is the Newsday archive of Mepham High School stories, although Newsday does not print the names of the 3 . My concern is not just where are these guys but has anything really changed?? Do schools monitor anything better than they did before this incident? Will the next football players to sodomize or beat get the community support as these jocks did (at first) or will the town actually see them as criminals to be punished? Do coaches get supervised any better today, either here on Long Island or elsewhere? Are there still people out there that see (men's) sports as so important that it takes precedence over education?

Here is some good commentary from Don McPherson who leads the Sports Leadership Institute:

"...Long Islanders are far too familiar with the case of three boys being sodomized by their teammates at Mepham High School in what people continue to call a "hazing" ritual. The fact is, these boys were not being "hazed," they were being sodomized. However, this difficult word and our inability to confront the "football machine" have distracted us from dealing with the reality of the problem."

More thoughts on Mother Angelica, EWTN, and Catholic broadcasting from my reading of Raymond Arroyo's new book-

Mother Angelica fought hard to keep the bishops from controlling EWTN. For awhile the bishops and EWTN tried to work together, with the bishops producing programming and EWTN airing them, but EWTN rejected much of what the bishops had to offer. The bishop's conference wants to make ecumenical programming, and programming that presents all sides of an issue of Catholicism. The result is watered down and pretty much useless for anyone wanting to learn Catholicism, or for anyone wanting to devote their life to becoming a saint. EWTN wants to present Catholicism to those who wish to learn and those who want the whole teaching without dissent or question. You can argue with style and approach to Catholic programming, but I can see what the bishops would have done to EWTN had they had their way because of the local television station of this Diocese, Telecare. Telecare bills itself as "ecumenical programming" and they don't show too many Catholic programs. It does have local Mass, including Masses in Spanish, which are important. But overall, the network does not see its mission as teaching, defending or promoting Catholicism. I don't like any of their programming and when I see Frank Field, a local weatherman, doing a show on health, I wonder why Telecare is airing this?? Basically I see Telecare as a waste of money and I think it would be better for the diocese to produce a few hours of weekly programming that is Catholic and of local interest and show EWTN the rest of the time. Show the spanish Mass, the Mass from St. Agnes, Bishop Murphy's show, the Good News show that highlights stuff around the Diocese and leave the rest to EWTN.

Welcome to whoever searched for "yankee hater mets fan"!!! Let's Go Mets!

I have been using Hello to post pictures on my blog for awhile, but I just noticed there is a button to post pics right from blogger.

Relax Guys!

The hits I am receiving for "Caterina Bonci" are amazing. This is the Catholic school religion teacher claiming she was fired for being too sexy. I posted about this because I thought it would be funny to paraphrase the "I'm too sexy" song. I didn't think it would result in dozens of hits every day. Geez, guys get a grip - follow the link for a pic and get over it already.

Rebecca at Doxology asks for blogs of reverts (yah!) and converts. Thanks to my Catholic Blog Directory I can list some converts - additions and corrections welcome:

A Grateful Catholic, Grateful Catholic
Against the Grain , Christopher Blosser
Ales Rarus , Eric Williams
An Aid to Memory, David Bennett
Ancient and Future Catholic Musings , Jonathan
Bocca della Verita', Jennifer
Cartago Delenda Est, Matteo
Catholic and Enjoying It! , Mark Shea
Conversio, Catherine the Moody
Converted Journey , Woody Hughes
Cor ad cor loquitur , David Armstrong
Defender of the Catholic Faith , Steve Ray
doxology, Rebecca
Duc in Altum, David Ward
Eutychus Fell: Becoming Catholic , Eutychus Fell
Eve Tushnet , Eve Tushnet
feminine-genius, Genevieve Kineke
Fonticulus Fides, Sparki
Happy Catholic , Julie Davis
Land of Hope and Glory , Charles Everson
Laudem Gloriae , Christine
Luminous Miseries, saintos
Meet Joe Convert , Sean Herriott
Musings of a Catholic convert , Andy McNutt
My Journey to Rome, Rich Maffeo
Pontifications, Al Kimel
Quo Vadis , Nathan Nelson
Quo Vadis? , Chris McAnall
So Let It Be Written…, Darren Cary
sotto sotto, jmh
Southern Catholic Convert, Anastasia
The Cafeteria is Closed, Gerald Augustinus
The Dawn Patrol, Dawn Eden
The History Buff's Traditional Catholic Blog, Rachel
The Sleepless Eye, Kenny Ignatius Augustine
Ut Unum Sint , Bill Cork
Vita Brevis, Gregg
With Issue, Janjan
Young and Catholic, Tim Drake

Updated 9/12/05 - missed three of my favorites:

martha, martha… - Penni
Fructus Ventris - Alicia
The Curt Jester - Jeff Miller

Yesterday I went to the Friends of EWTN conference at Kellenberg Memorial High School. Fr. Pacwa and Fr. Mullady each gave a talk. Then Fr. Pacwa spoke a bit on Mother Angelica and EWTN. He had a galley (sp?) copy of Raymond Arroyo's new book - Mother Angelica The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles and talked about much that was in the book. It was so interested that I stopped at Barnes & Noble on the way home and purchased a copy. Some interesting things from reading some of the book, not all:

• I read the first two chapters on Mother A's early childhood. The writing is good but there is not much detail because she was so solitary a figure there doesn't seem to be many people who knew her enough to be interviewed.
• She knew pain and hurt well, which probably helped her spiritually and makes her much more down to earth and real than many of her critics.
• She was one of the first drum majorettes in her high school!! There is even a picture to prove it!
• Her father was a womanizer and all around jerk and her mother was not stable to say the least. Mother A. had to be the adult in the house from the age of 11 on.
• Bishop Foley had a good relationship with the network until his inexplicable rule that Mass could not be said ad orientem, later amended to say Mass could not be televised ad orientem. This hurt the relationship between the bishop and the network, and Mass at the Shrine is still said Ad Orientem for the nuns, and not televised.
• The bishops wanted to have their own network and there was some competition between EWTN and the bishops' network. The two entities worked together in an uneasy partnership that ended when EWTN rejected the style and substance of the bishops' programming. EWTN fought the good fight against bland, watered down, and dissenting content and ultimately won.
• Deacon Bill Steltemeier was a wealthy lawyer who is as crafty as a fox, and helped the network immensely.
• The Sister Servants of the Eternal Word were co-founded by Mother A. but somehow ended up completely estranged from her and EWTN and the Poor Clare Sisters. Either I skimmed this part too quickly or the author really doesn't explain this too much. He said the Sister Servants refused to be interviewed for the book. There seems to be more to this story. Their website doesn't even mention Mother A. even though she saw this community as the hands-on extension of her comtemplative order that could do the work of assisting the network.
• The Cardinal Mahony affair shows what Fr. Pacwa said in his talk: Mother A. was wrong to say what she said, according to canon law. But it was a 17 second comment, off the cuff, and typical of her style of speaking. Mahony became OBSESSED with Mother A. and how she dared to question his authority. He really comes across as a creep and it is interesting to read Raymond Arroyo's repeated attempts to interview him for his side of the story. All requests were ignored so when he saw him in person he asked him about it, and Mahony simply brushed past him saying "That's all ancient history now". Wasn't that the bishop's general attitude to the scandals of the priesthood also? "It's all ancient history now?"

"Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et in tota anima tua, et in tota mente tua."

I went to the traditional latin Mass today, and the Gospel was "the greatest commandment" quoted above. The Gospel at the N.O. Masses today was "Forgive thy enemies", both of these messages were tough ones for September 11th.

Sept. 11: Four Years Later
In 2003 I blogged a list of Long Islanders killed on September 11th. My all those killed by terrorists rest in peace.

Small protest greets ‘M*A*S*H’ star, Catholic Foundation

All hail the return of King Shea of Blogdom.

Yeah Me!

I received Holy Communion at a local parish while kneeling this Sunday. The Extraordinary Minister came over to the first row and I was able to receive on my tongue on the kneeler, albeit not from the priest.

I will be attending a talk by Fr. Mitch Pacwa and Fr. Andrew Apostoli this Saturday. This will be at a conference put together by Friends of EWTN. This conference was supposed to happen in April but had to be cancelled at the time due to Pope John Paul the Great's sickness and death.

My blog has had a surge in visitors, apparently due to searches for "caterina bonci", the Catholic religion teacher who claims she was fired for being too sexy.

Peggy Noonan, Lee Iacocca, Nicholas Sparks, George Weigel, Jim Cavaziel, and Thomas Monaghan all have printed blurbs praising Raymond Arroyo's new book on Mother Angelica. As if that is not enough, the Angry Twins are calling it awesome! I have to get this book to add to my library. I also can't wait to see the book reviewed in the National Catholic (sic) Reporter

It's Payback Time

"More than 300 New York firefighters joined the battle yesterday as raging infernos broke out across this nearly empty city, straining an already exhausted New Orleans Fire Department."

"FDNY teams said helping New Orleans was the least they could do.
I know there was a bunch of them up there for us on 9/11," said Brett Asher of Engine 96 in the Bronx. "

The wedding planning is going well - maybe because I am in the middle of the planning I found this article by a priest to be the funniest thing ever written:

An Aesthetic Argument Against "Same Sex Marriage"

Is this guy really a priest? This is worthy of The Onion.

I'm too sexy for my job, too sexy for my job, what do you think about that?

"Caterina Bonci said Church authorities decided she was just too attractive and dressed too sexy to teach religion after 14 years on the job."

A Good Sign

The Long Island Catholic has long accepted ads from a local Jesuit retreat house that holds zen sittings. The paper has even printed an article on the practice of zen. Since that article was published on July 13th Catholics have been writing (and the paper to their credit has been printing) many dissenting letters that question the wisdom of promoting zen. It is good to see there are those who can see the problem with promoting non-Catholic prayer methods while a majority of Catholics don't even bother to pray the Mass on Sundays.

Let me say this: nothing that is going on in New Orleans surprises me one bit, not the rapes, the murders, the stealing, or the heroic rescues and sacrifices. There are good people doing all they can to help, and bad people doing all they can to hurt. This is the way people are in everyday life, but perhaps people are seeing that more clearly as they watch the news.


A full page in the NY Daily News encourages New Yorkers to give all they can to help by pointing out:

"[After September 11th]....residents of the Gulf region reponded immediately, sending aid from corporations and schoolchildren alike. In fact, Louisiana's 'Bucks for Fire Trucks' campaign was the first to provide New York City with a new fire truck - The Spirit of Louisiana- in December, 2001"

CNN is reporting that Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died, RIP.

"Though one might be tempted to say that we have lost everything, we have not. Instead we have rediscovered the depth of our friends love and been reminded that family, children and life are all that is really important and necessary.

I have received countless e-mails and voice messages at the network inquiring about our safety, and I want to assure you that we are fine. Dear Mother Angelica and her sisters in their kindness allowed us to stay in the guesthouse at her monastery in Hanceville, Alabama when we could find no rooms elsewhere."

From RaymondArroyo.com

Knights of Columbus donate $2.5 million for Katrina relief

via Dom at Bettnet, who was recently married and promoted to editor of Catholic World Report! Double congrats.

Many people are comparing and contrasting the recovery efforts in NYC for Sept. 11th and the current ones in New Orleans. I have to say while the contrast is pretty severe, the destruction in the south is much worse than in NYC. We are talking about a whole city being wiped out plus many other coastal towns. Still, the response has been slow and ineffective so far. Many of us will NEVER forget that the Knights of Columbus pledged a million dollars for the families of firemen and policemen who perished on 9/11 and the checks were delivered (mostly by hand via insurance agents) sooner than almost any other aid.

"Pope Benedict XVI told Catholics to have more babies "for the good of society," saying that some countries were being sapped of energy because of low birth rates."

World leaders pay tribute to Poland's Solidarity

"The movement's leader, Lech Walesa, has often credited John Paul with inspiring the birth of the movement with his historic 1979 visit to his homeland, during which he celebrated Masses that electrified the nation and subtly criticized the communist regime."

Blog For Relief Day at The Truth Laid Bear

Help out your fellow Americans and donate to Catholic Charities. Long Island Catholics can donate at Church this Sunday. Instapundit has a list of charities that are worth donating to. Technorati has a round up of posts on Katrina Blog Relief Day:
flood aid

Bishop Murphy Authorizes Special Collection To Aid Victims of Hurricane Katrina

Welcome to Sam from Sedes Sapientiae who just moved to NYC.

Update to my list of Catholic bloggers in Louisiana - Humanae Vitae by Grant, a seminarian who was evacuated from New Orleans. Then there is GBN from Old Taylor Outlook who is in Mississippi which is also being hit.

Goodbye to Quodibeta -

"Due to a new seminary policy, I will no longer be able to maintain the blog."


Same goes to Cor ad Cor Loquens. I don't know the reason behind the seminary prohibiting seminarians from writing for publications, including blogs, but I suppose it may be a sensible policy. I do like to read blogging seminarians though so here is a current list from The Catholic Blog Directory:

Holy Marshmallow Mattys, Matty Molnar, Illinois
Humanae Vitae, Grant, Louisiana
Life of a College Seminarian, Anthony Urban, Minnesota
Matthew 12:37, Jeff Geerling, Missouri
Proud Member of the JPII Generation, Cory Sticha, Montana (on hiatus)
the road to emmaus, Christopher Decker, Louisiana
Thessaloniciens 1:1, Silvain, Canada
Veritatis Visio, Joey G., Pennsylvania
vita mea, Dennis, Indiana
You Duped Me Lord, Mark Massa, Massachusetts

Boston Globe article: The Cardinal Newman Society is bad...blah blah blah, they are conservative, blah blah blah...they raise a lot of money and scare us...blah blah blah.

Hurricane Katrina

Prayers go out to all those in New Orleans. Catholic blogs from Louisiana from my Catholic Blog Directory are:

Full Circle
Iluminated Obscurity, Jaymen & Julie, Shreveport
Notes to myself , Nicole M. DesOrmeaux, Lafayette
Stand Up And Be Catholic, Fred, Houma (Not updates recently)
the road to emmaus, Christopher Decker, Baton Rouge
Victim of Love, little one, N/A
You Duped Me Lord, Mark Massa SJ, New Orleans (UPDATE: blogger now in Massachusetts)

8/29/05: Update: A Sacerdotal Blog , Fr. Kenneth Allen, LaPlace

Hiroshima

Once again, props go to The National Catholic Register for its intelligent and informative content. This is the best national Catholic paper by far. First, Tim Drake's writing on World Youth Day, available on Young and Catholic, is printed in the paper making it available to many who don't regularly read blogs. Second, an article on Nick Cannon's video about his mother reconsidering abortion brings that powerful story to people who don't regularly watch MTV or follow the Rap/Hip Hop scene. Third, the paper printed an article on Hiroshima that provoked some angry and disturbed responses from readers. The current editorial points out the condemnations of the dropping of the atomic bombs from such orthodox Catholics as Fulton Sheen, JP II and Paul VI. Writings that condemn American action as immoral and unacceptable would be expected from liberal rags such as Commonweal and NCReporter. The National Catholic Register spells out some hard truths that don't sit easy with many of the paper's readers and since it is fully orthodox and somewhat conservative, writings that condemn American action cut more deeply. The paper has always had the best columnists and editorials around and I am glad to see the NCR is continuing its mission of teaching the faith, even when it upsets those who support the paper.

President orders ban on lip synching

Normally I am for little government regulation, but hey if it stops the scourge of talentless teen tarts....

From an email:

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Very profound, thanks to whoever sent it.

More scandal stuff -

A prominent Argentine Roman Catholic bishop has resigned amid media reports that he was involved sexually with a young man, the latest in a series of such scandals involving church officials.

The purge continues thanks be to God. Meanwhile here in the USA, all U. S. seminaries will be evaluated starting next month. I have more faith unfortunately, in the media spotlight than in any evaluation process.

Pope Urges More Muslims to Fight Terror

Excellent. Hopefully more world leaders will do this also, and Muslims will follow through.

Church plan draws parents’ ire

The parish wants to rent space for 12 disabled adults for one year. Some parents claim they were not told of this plan, but it is clear in the article that there were two meetings and an announcement in the parish bulletin.

I received a giant catalog from Eighth Day Books. What a collection they have!

I just updated my Catholic Blog Directory after some time of neglect. I apologize to all who emailed requests to be added. My wish is for this process to be automated. There are several lists of Catholic Blogs out there, all with some good qualities. St. Blog's needs to get together and create a master list that is totally up to date and can be updated by many people. Check out some of the Catholic Blogs from outside the USA:


Aqui Estamos, Argentina
entre Mendoza y Filadelfia, Argentina
esperando nacer , Argentina
Vita est Militia, Argentina
Credibility, Australia
Dreadnought, Australia
Life in Australia , Australia
One Bread, One Body, Australia
Purcell's Chicken Voluntary , Australia
Winterr's words, Australia
Lumen de Lumine, Austria
http://www.ibetyourememberme.blogspot.com/, Canada
Benedictus qui venit , Canada
Dialogue, Canada
doxology, Canada
Dunmoose the Ageless, Protomonk, Canada
Fiat Mihi, Canada
In the Breaking of the Bread" Luke 24:35, Canada
LAMland, Canada
Mere Catholics, Canada
mirabilis.ca , Canada
North Western Winds, Canada
Relapsed Catholic , Canada
Spinsterish Musings, Canada
The Dusty Choir Loft, Canada
Thessaloniciens 1:1, Canada
Upper Canada Catholic, Canada
Waiting in Joyful Hope , Canada
The Mission , Dominican Republic
Catholic and Loving It! , Great Britian
Catholic Blogic, Great Britian
In Nomine Patris, Great Britian
Sheep-ish, Great Britian
WeathersWeb, Great Britian
Jesuvera, India
Guard Me With Your Glory, Ireland
Mystery Achievement, Italy
The Commonplace Book of Zadok the Roman, Italy
The Antipodean, New Zealand
Contemplata aliis Tradere, Phillipines
FRM Disciple Blogzone, Phillipines
Gloria Olivae, Phillipines
Mouse and Keys, Phillipines
laodicea, Scotland
Catholic+Linux+Monkey, Singapore
Life's Crosses, Singapore
Little Catholic Home, Singapore
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Singapore
The Sleepless Eye, Singapore
Katolik Shinja , South Korea
Musings of an orthodox Korean Catholic, South Korea
Cara a Cara, Spain
mar adentro, Spain
The ChesterBelloc Mandate, Spain
FideCogitActio, Taiwan

Brother Roger, RIP


BROTHER Roger, one of the 20th century's leading ecumenical figures, was stabbed to death by a woman during a service at the Taize community he founded in eastern France, local police said.

"In an extraordinary display of mercy, a Long Island woman nearly killed by a turkey tossed at her windshield embraced and comforted the teen prankster behind the sick stunt."

I wish I had this capacity to forgive.

Nun upstages star Hanks

I have a relative who is dying of cancer. A nun, a priest, and local parishioners bring him Holy Communion. Local Knights of Columbus have been doing chores, bringing food and visiting almost daily. Other people are pitching in to assist the spouse.

Meanwhile, Msgr. Eugene Clark is checking in and out of a hotel with his Daisy-Dukes wearing secretary. He owns a house in the Hamptons. Think about how many Catholics are dying right now in the Archdiocese of New York - how many could Clark have been visiting if he were not busy traveling to St. Bart's and the Hamptons with his secretary? How many elderly and naive Catholics have donated money to St. Patrick's Cathedral thinking it actually would go towards something worthwhile??

God Bless to all who are heading to Germany for World Youth Day - Aristotle at Confessions of A Recovering Choir Director, Sean at Fac ut Gaudeam, Andrew at Angry Twins, and Antonia at Catholic+Linux+ Monkey. I am sure there are others I don't know about. I am hoping you are all asked to declare Pope John Paul II officially John Paul the Great.

SHE SAID YES!

I am officially engaged to a wonderful woman. The planning was already underway and the wedding will be next summer. Since she wants to take my name, that will make her Mrs. Gen X Revert.

Good Choice

Bishop Murphy is one of 10 Bishops chosen to lead catechetical sessions at World Youth Day.

via Heart, Strength, and Mind

"John Paul II Day" Instituted in Poland

"On one occasion I had Fr. Solanus and Mother Teresa annoyed at me."

Cops Probe London Suspects' Saudi Ties

What a shock. Instead of holding the hands of Saudi leaders, shouldn't President Bush be calling for their heads?

She’s the 4th generation down 1 aisle

An article in Newsday about a wedding in my parish.

I have a suggestion for the British - send all those arrested in the bombing attempts to Guantanamo Bay.

The Province of Meribah (founded 1976) now has a website. These are the brothers that attempted to educate me. This page has photos of some of the "Men In Black" - OK, their habits may not be overly POD, but these are good men.

Dr. Thomas Woods Jr. is younger than I am. Ugh.

Rudolph gets life for Birmingham clinic attack

Thank God this terrorist will never be free.

Cops are shot at church
2 officers catch Qns. madman defacing
statue of Virgin Mary and her mother

Thank God a nurse happened to be coming by and was able to assist the cops!

Jihad Watch

I went to Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Copaigue today. It was a small Church with an ethnically diverse (and friendly) congregation. The music was nice (no Haas, Haagen, etc..) and the priest from India was good. The new pastor gave the homily to introduce himself and he seems like a good man. The altar servers were in black cassocks and surplices and seemed trained in the lost art of processing - as opposed to running up the aisle as fast as possible which most do. Overall a very nice experience. The parish has Masses in Polish and Spanish so I hope to get back there some day to attend one of those.

Reaching out to African church

"Archbishop Michael Courtney was driving down a road in Burundi in a four-wheel-drive jeep in December 2003 when guerrillas ambushed him and shot him to death.

The next day, on Long Island, Bishop William Murphy received a Christmas card mailed earlier by Courtney, a native of Ireland who enjoyed a long friendship with the leader of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

The death of the papal envoy to Burundi was devastating to Murphy, but also underscored his ties to the region, he said. Today, Murphy is leaving on a 12-day mission to Africa during which he will visit three nations marred by mass violence and civil war the past 15 years and ride down the same road where his friend was killed."


Bishop Murphy continues to impress me. He is truly a warm and friendly person, intelligent, and the most orthodox bishop we have had here. Long Island is lucky to have him - his critics look more small minded every day.

New blog called Seize the Dei, discovered via Some Have Hats. Check out my Catholic Blog Directory for a good list of up to date Catholic blogs. Please email me with any corrections or updates.

Gen X Revert Sells Out, Starts Referring to Self in Third Person (developing)

You may notice the new ad to the right for CatholicMatch.com. I received an email inviting me to become an affiliate and did not delete this one as I normally do all emails offers. This is because I joined CatholicMatch when it was St. Raphael's and found it to be a good service. In fact, I found my girlfriend on this site. I figure I could stick a link on my site, and if anyone joins and I make some dough, that is all well and good. So, keep in mind CatholicMatch for all your courtin' needs. That name again, CatholicMatch.

Former Newsday publisher Robert Johnson charged with possessing child porn

I watched most of the Mass in Phoenix today to welcome the Poor Clares from Mother Angelica's community. It was not the type of Mass you normally see on EWTN, and in fact was produced by the Diocese of Phoenix. There was no latin in the Mass, and altar girls were used, which was not exactly "pastoral" considering Mother A's strong feelings against altar girls. The homily by Bishop Olmstead was uninspiring, and the music, which included plenty of string instruments and good voices, was typical of today's dreck. You can tell the Diocese tried to do their best, but it was jarring to see the Mass on EWTN. The Church it was held in did not seem to have a tabernacle, a crucifix, or much artwork in the sanctuary. During communion, some men, I think some of the brothers, chanted the Salve Regina, which made an interesting contrast. I felt uneasy watching the sisters, who for years have experienced the beauty of the monastery in Alabama, praying at this Mass. I felt for them, as if they were pioneers in unchartered territory. This is a Diocese after all, where the former Bishop is in jail for killing a man, and later lying about his actions. With the return of the traditional Latin mass, and the welcoming of the Poor Clares, this Diocese is hopefully on its way to a revival. Hopefully, the Mass celebrating the Desert Nuns' 10th anniversary in Arizona will be truly inspirational.

P Diddy a Catholic school boy?

According to his spokesperson, he has fond memories of his time at Mount Saint Michael Academy. How you love that?

More info on Puffy -

"His father Melvin was murdered before Sean's fourth birthday and Puffy's mother Janice moved the family to Mount Vernon in upstate New York, working three jobs to send her two children to private Catholic schools. An altar boy at Mount St Michael Academy, Sean sang in the church choir and performed in the school's theatre productions."

It turns out his buddy Biggie Smalls was also a Catholic schooler as well as the members of Run-DMC.

Catholic priest calls police onto parishioners

I hope it was because they were attempting to sing Marty Haugen songs! Actually, it is a weird story and written in what looks to be a lefty paper so take this with a grain of salt. The story also mentions a Ted Kennedy but not the one we all know. Perhaps some of the bloggers from Down Under can give us a better perspective on this situation?


Credibility - Credo, Melbourne
Dreadnought - John Heard, Melbourne
Life in Australia - Ron Van Wegen, N/A
One Bread, One Body - Jeff Tan, Melbourne
Purcell's Chicken Voluntary - LYL, Adelaide

Today I went to St. Ignatius Church in Hicksville. Once again, there were altar boys in cassocks and surplices. This is starting to resember a trend. When I was an altar boy we wore silly looking white albs that were always wrinkled, and ropes tied around our waist. The albs were ours and we were responsible for bringing them home, and they were always too short since boys were constantly growing. Some years ago, someone changed them all to black cassocks and white surplices and it looked great. This was around the time I stopped going to Church but the few times I did I always thought that the altar servers (now including girls) looked better than in "my day". The black cassocks seemed to fit better and if they were wrinkled you did not see the wrinkles as much. Someone, I think a parish priest, wrote a letter in the parish bulletin saying that the altar servers were not vested properly since cassocks and surplices were from the middle ages and worn by those who would become priests. So they had to be changed - to silly looking white albs, this time a better quality, complete with hoods and no rope. This priest later dissappeared due to sudden health reasons, and went back to living with his fomer religious community. Anyway, our parish now has the white albs but I always like seeing Mass with altar servers in black (or red) cassocks and white surplices. Not only is it more traditional, but it actually seems to make more sense on a practical level. It just looks better!

Whadda Ya Know...

The Pope wants to make the Liturgies at St. Peter's more Catholic.

The German Pope is efficient.

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!