Christopher West is coming to Long Island again to give his Created and Redeemed Seminar - an introduction to John Paul II's Theology of the Body. My wife and I attended this seminar at Kellenberg High School before we were married and it was quite good. West is one of the few speakers who could give a 10 1/2 hour seminar and pull it off without boring everyone to death. He is quite funny, entertaining, interesting and informative, especially if you are a child of the 80's and can get all the references he makes to 80's music. Here he speaks of giving his book to Bono and hearing the Theology of the Body in one of U2's songs.

The seminar will be at Cure of Ars parish in Merrick (where the heart of St. John Vianney was venerated)

Friday, April 20th 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Saturday, April 21st 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Info is here (PDF file)

Catholic Church stuff -

• The Pope issued an apostolic exhortation called Sacramentum Caritatis which focuses on Liturgy. Good commentary on it can be found at What Does the Prayer Really Say? The Pope writes about using latin and chant, keeping the tabernacle in a prominent place, etc..

• There have been rumors for months now about a motu proprio from Pope Benedict allowing greater use of the traditional latin Mass.

• And of course, a more accurate translation of the Mass into English is on its way....

All of these things should make a Liturgy nut like me happy, the Reform of the Reform is gathering steam! But my reaction to these recent developments has been very muted. I can't help but feel that this has all been said before, all promised before, and no matter how many in the Vatican, including the Pope express the desire for reverence, tradition, etc.. it never seems to trickle down to the parish level. The motu proprio, if it ever actually comes, will be ignored by many bishops. The exhortation will be ignored. The new translation will be ignored. I am very cynical about this because at the parish level the understanding of tradition is almost non-existent.

Speaking of Liturgy, anyone on Long Island know of a parish where the Easter Vigil is 'done up real good'? I would love to go to a parish this year where the Vigil is done well. It doesn't have to be in latin, or with a huge choir, or with chant, at this point I have minimal standards. I have been to my own home parish, as well as my new parish so I would like to try somewhere different this year.

Bishop Murphy, recently appointed to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, will once again speak at Faith on Tap. I believe this is his third time speaking for the group. This time, however, it will not be at its normal venue, The Wantagh Inn, but next door at Mulcahy's Pub.

The Topic: "The Legacy of Pope John Paul II"

Faith on Tap website

Monday, March 26th 7-9 PM

Teacher pleads guilty to kiddie porn charges


"Michael Kelly Reiner, a longtime teacher at the Long Island School for the Gifted in Huntington Station, was arrested last September and was fired from the school, where he had taught for 18 years."

A Tale of Two Surburbs


Newsday reports on a study that shows Long Islanders pay higher taxes but do not get better service than a similar area of northern Virginia.

"The reason, according to the study, lies in Long Island's 439 units of local government, school districts and special districts. In Fairfax and Loudoun counties -- Washington, D.C., suburbs with about half Long Island's population -- there are 17 such districts."

It is well past the time for Long Island to consolidate its school districts, fire districts, and other services. Nassau and Suffolk could get by with 1 school district each, broken down by region, or perhaps even 5 school districts each. This would make things more efficient without affecting the excellent quality of most public schools here.

One thing I noticed in the article is that while Newsday reports that spending for fire departments "excluding personnel" is twice as high on Long Island, the volunteer fire personnel actually bring the overall cost below northern Virginia. The only thing to be done with the fire departments is to consolidate the fire districts, and watch their spending, as these arrests show.

The report, as well as many other info for Long Islanders can be found on the Long Island Index.

Nassau DA says several factors went into decision to not prosecute Islander for vicious hit

What could those factors be?

1) That Chris Simon is white?

2) That Chris Simon is a jock?

3) That Nassau County police get free tickets to Islander games?

4) That the owner of the Islanders is BILLIONAIRE Charles Wang?

5) That hockey is the last sport where white men can pretend to be athletic, and we wouldn't want to tarnish the sport?

6) That the thousands of people who witnesses this assault were too drunk to be reliable witnesses?

7) That charging Chris Simon might set a dangerous precedent of actually expecting white men to obey the law?

Newsday printed an article today on Chaminade and how it teaches sacrifice, focusing on the 3 Chaminade graduates who have died in Iraq - Ronald Winchester, Michael LiCalzi, and James Regan RIP.

"Anchored in faith, and unrelenting in its academic demands on its 1,600 students, Chaminade could easily shape young men for Wall Street, not for war. And yet in just less than three years, three young graduates have died in Iraq and about 70 more have done military duty there."

Betty Hutton, 86, died on March 11th.

"But her personal life was rocky at times, including four failed marriages, financial problems and difficulties between her and her three daughters. In a 1980 AP interview, Hutton said she had kicked a 20-year addiction to pills. "Uppers, downers, inners, outers, I took everything I could get my hands on," she said.

She credited a Rhode Island priest, the Rev. Peter Maguire, with befriending her and turning her life around. She converted to Roman Catholicism. In 1986, she earned a liberal arts degree from Salve Regina College, in Newport, Rhode Island, commenting that she liked college because "the kids studying there accepted me as one of them."

Francis Porretto at Eternity Road is some writer! I especially enjoy his Sunday Ruminations -

"The Long Island "coot" is a hardy species, and over time can be educated to the hazards of his style of shopping. This specimen was from Connecticut, where they're frailer, slower, and apparently have no convenience stores.

GRRR! By the time I'd paid for my newspaper and was back in my car, I was ready to declare war on the whole world. At least on Connecticut, which has deserved it for a long time now.

This is not the way I like to feel upon returning from Mass. "

Do go read the whole thing.

Simon says "Racism"

So, a man is caught in Nassau County on video tape giving a "vicious two-handed stick attack to the face" to someone. There were plenty of witnesses and the man's address is well known. This was on Saturday but no arrest has been made?

"A spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Friday that "no decision has been reached" about whether to bring charges against Simon.

"We are going to review the tape," spokesman Eric Phillips said."

Why the delay in bringing charges? Could it be.......that the attacker was white? That he was a jock? That hockey is a sport very popular amoung white people such as cops and fireman, who often get free tickets to Islander games?

In the Light of the Law blog points out a very serious error in one of the God's Squad's answers. Since this involves a strictly Catholic issue of Holy Communion, all the blame goes to Msgr. Thomas Hartman. A "Eucharistic Minister" (sic) claimed an Alzheimers patient couldn't be given communion because communion "depends on a cognitive understanding of what is being received."

Msgr. Hartman agrees with this "Eucharistic Minister" and Ed Peters points out just how wrong Hartman is, from a canon law standpoint. Holy Communion does not depend on an understanding of what is being received, and it is sad that Msgr. Hartman's column for years has given people incorrect answers. (This column was not yet printed in Newsday, where the God Squad column appears locally.)

If you missed Dawn Eden at Faith on Tap last month, you can see her at the Faith and Reason Bookstore in my hometown - Massapequa! Directions are here.

Dawn will give a talk and sign books from 1-2 PM.

Rudy says it's a family affair

Rudy Giuliani has been married three times, and very publicly cheated on his wife. He apparently has strained relationships with his son and daughter. People outside of New York do not realize how strained his support was just before 9/11, despite his success as mayor. Like most Long Islanders I respected what he did to make the city a better place, but was anxious to see him go towards the end because he just seem to implode into this horrible jerk. He then redeemed himself with his heroic leadership on and after 9/11.

While I have always applauded his fight against the mafia, his attacks on crime in NYC, his stance against anti-Catholic bigotry, and his actions on and after September 11th, I cannot see supporting his run for President. He is 100% pro-choice, and lead a very questionable life. Catholics should be careful not to equate conservative or republican politics with the faith. Although the right wing has been much more hospitable to Christian people and values than the left, it still worships the same god as the left: power.

The Long Island Catholic has a new editor - Rick Hinshaw. Let's hope he uses The National Catholic Register as a model for how a Catholic paper should teach the faith, inform, enlighten, and inspire.

Double Whammy!

I got to hear Dawn Eden at Faith on Tap tonight, who gave an excellent talk on her book The Thrill of The Chaste. The crowd loved her - especially her recounting the experience of getting fired from the NY Post and when she read excerpts from her book. It was a decent crowd of about 50 people, although there would have been more if the weather had been better. Dawn had to catch a train and the Mrs. and I wanted to get home, so there wasn't much time to talk, but we will meet again.

I also got to meet Leticia of causa nostrae laetitia which was a great surprise. She picked me out of the crowd because she claimed my wife and I "looked like newlyweds" which amused us greatly. She shared some good news about films that are coming out and are family friendly, you can read about one here. Again, there wasn't much time to talk but I am sure our paths will cross again.

UPDATE 3/2 - Leticia has a good description of Dawn's talk at her blog here.

The Baby Who's Not Supposed to Be Alive

Great story about the youngest premature baby to survive, at 21 weeks and six days old. The doctor who delivered the baby is quoted in this Newsweek article:

"Sometimes you just can't explain these things," Lievano said. "Science only takes us so far. There are a lot of us who think God helped us out here, that this is a miracle. Somehow we were allowed to do something that was bigger than all of us."

Biking militants die when bomb explodes prematurely


"Three Islamic militants died in eastern Pakistan when a powerful bomb they were transporting by bicycle accidentally exploded Saturday near a bustling cattle market, police said."

Enough with Anna Nicole Smith already. She was a self-important, greedy, stupid, uneducated, white trash, gold-digging, drug-taking, boob-enhancing, shallow, egotistical, failed actress, failed model, silly, superficial jackass.

And Howard K. Stern is even worse.

AP IMPACT: Records show tremendous growth in teacher sex cases

"An internal state Education Department report obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Law shows "tremendous growth" in so-called moral conduct cases against teachers over five years. "

--Printed in Newsday

Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I would think the number of such cases against Catholic priests has greatly decreased over the past 5 years. It seems to me most (but not all) Catholic priest-perverts have been fired and Catholics have made great strides in fighting perverts in their Church. Yet lawsuits that accuse dead priests of abuse 50 years ago are allowed to go to court? Shouldn't people then be able to sue school districts accusing dead teachers from 50 years ago? Or would that be stupid and unfair?

And along the same lines, shouldn't Newsday and The New York Times be running stories of teacher abuse over the past 50 years every day on the front page for a year?

Anyway, here is a link to the Abuse Scandal 5 Years Later Update at NPR (National Public Radio, not National Catholic Register or National Catholic Reporter) One major glaring omission from this 5 year update is in the Where Are They Now story - there is no mention of Paul R. Shanley, a major figure in the scandals in Boston.

Monday, February 26th, 7-9 PM

Guest Speaker - Dawn Eden, author of The Thrill of The Chaste

Faith on Tap is held upstairs at The Wantagh Inn, located right next to Mulcahy's, across from the Wantagh Railroad Station. The talk will start around 7:30 PM.

Long Island crime news

There were four men who robbed the family home of a young father named Dane Aulak in Medford. Dane Aulak's brother managed to get a gun from one of the robbers and shot two of them. Both of them died. One of the robbers shot Dane Aulak to death.

According to police, Dane Aulak was a drug dealer and one of the men who broke into his home was a customer of his. This man is Eric Calace, the grandson of wealthy Long Island developer Arthur Calace.

So, a drug dealer is dead. Two armed robbers are dead. Two men are going to be charged with burglary and second-degree murder. A young child has no father.

I hate it when that happens.


Man Returns From Visit, Trips on Corpse

Vincent Cioci, RIP

My mother knew him when he ran the Neighborhood Network in Massapequa and said he was the nicest guy. Vincent was a traditional Catholic who helped expose the corruption of the Society of St. John in Shohola, Pennsylvania. He moved upstate but was still involved in his Fuel Consumers Group, which helped keep the cost of home heating oil down for Long Islanders. It is a shame that he died so young.

A decent column by Fr. DeGrocco is in this week's edition of The Long Island Catholic. He writes about the Introductory Rites and I hope every parish takes note of these two important points:

"Notice, however, that the entrance hymn is definitely not supposed to be a greeting for the priest presider! An instruction such as, “Please stand and greet our celebrant by singing …” is entirely inappropriate."

AND


"....secular or casual greetings that emphasize a mere human exchange (such as “good morning”) are inappropriate."

Crisis Magazine published a study ranking Dioceses in the USA according to various criteria. The Diocese of Rockville Centre came in second to last. But the largest dioceses all did poorly according to this report, which makes me wonder how the size was factored into the figuring. I would also like to have seen Mass attendance, number or percentage of fallen away Catholics, and number of baptisms and weddings counted as well. I think it is possible to know the "health" of a Diocese and I would not consider DRVC to be less healthy than Rochester. I also think DRVC is a lot healthier today than it was 10 years ago, but it would be hard to prove it with statistics. Overall, the report did not interest me much at all.

More letters have been published regarding Fr. Dietzen's column in the Long Island Catholic. I will simply refer readers to this post, which sums up my feeling on Dietzen's writing.

St. John’s Officials Nix Controversial Play

Eve Ensler's infamous play will not be performed at St. John's University in Queens, of which I am a graduate. This is good, and surprising, news.

"The Rev. James Maher, vice president of student affairs at the Jamaica Estates campus, said the university took great care in weighing the issues, “and concluded that the performance, by its very nature, was unsuitable subject matter in keeping with Catholic teachings and our Vincentian mission.”

Despite turning down the play, Maher said St. John’s supports raising awareness and education about violence against women “and we will continue to provide resources to this end with programs and services each year.”

In God's Image On Long Island

Another Catholic blog from the DRVC.

The great Dawn Eden is coming to Faith on Tap! She will be speaking on her book "The Thrill of The Chaste" . Faith on Tap is held at The Wantagh Inn, right across from the Wantagh Railroad Station.

February 26th, 7-9 PM

Free Admission!

Check out their website (which I created) at Faith on Tap

You are a 100% traditional Catholic!

Congratulations! You are more knowlegeable than most modern theologians! You have achieved mastery over the most important doctrines of the Catholic Faith! You should share your incredible understanding with others!

Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism?
Make Your Own Quiz

This was a surprise result! Leticia Velasquez from causa nostrae laetitia created this Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism quiz. This was a great quiz and I honestly did not expect to do this well.

(And I happen to think giving wine to the thirsty is a kind of corporal work of mercy!)

I read a little blurb in the latest National Catholic Register that Ron Hansen was ordained a deacon. He is the author of Hitler's Niece and Mariette In Ecstasy, the latter was made into a film but apparently not released in the US. Hansen also wrote a book that was adapted for film that will be out soon, starring Brad Pitt as Jesse James.

Duke faculty failed its accused students by rushing to condemn, but their high schools wisely waited for truth

A fellow Chaminade graduate wrote this editorial that was published in Newsday about the lacrosse players accused of raping a stripper. His point is that Duke University and its faculty seem to rush to judgement against the players, while the private high schools the students attended, Delbarton and Chaminade, supported the players and expressed faith in them as good people. I know Chaminade is supportive of its alumni and truly cares about its students, but I want to comment on two things in the article.

First, I happen to agree with the Duke University President who is quoted from the 60 Minutes story:

"From our point of view, this was an evening of highly unacceptable behavior whether or not the rape took place."

I agree.

Also, the article does not mention the previous assault charge against one of the players. What this stripper did was horrible and obviously she is a very messed up person, but the party should never have involved strippers in the first place. Hopefully, the DA down there will be disbarred, the stripper will be arrested for filing a false complaint, and the lacrosse players will learn valuable lessons.

Mass today was at St. Luke's since I spent the weekend in the Poconos. The Mass was being filmed so if you watch the Sunday Mass in the Diocese of Scranton (PA) you may have seen me receiving communion. After unpacking and sitting down to unwind after the long drive home, I turned on the television and caught part of the Mass from St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre. The red on Bishop Murphy and concelebrants reminded me they are celebrating the Mass for the feast of St. Agnes today in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Diocese.

"Bishop Murphy has encouraged all parishes to celebrate the Feast of St. Agnes at their own parish Sunday Masses on January 21. Normally, the feast of a saint that falls on a Sunday is not observed so that the liturgy can focus on the regular Sunday lectionary readings."

St. Agnes was an early martyr of the Catholic Church and her name is mentioned in the Roman Canon. I love hearing the names of the early saints and martyrs when this prayer is used. St. Agnes of Rome was only around 12 or 13 when she was killed for refusing to give up her virginity.

The National Catholic Register has been doing an ongoing series on the US Dioceses with the most Catholic elementary students to see how their textbooks conform to the Bishops' standards. When the series started they mentioned the Diocese of Rockville Centre would be looked at and the article has finally appeared:

"Even though the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s textbook policy requiring materials in conformity with the Catechism has only been in effect since Sept. 1, 2005, every parish or school checked by the National Catholic Register was found to be in compliance. "

The article is a little disappointing since it lumps DRVC in with the Archdiocese of NY and is a little light on facts. What parishes were checked, what schools? What textbooks were in use? How was the change to conformity with the Cathechism perceived by teachers and parents? The only person quoted is the director of catechesis for the Diocese. I would have liked some quotes from teachers, parents, etc.. Anyway, it is good to know the elementary schools are using approved textbooks. The high schools don't have to yet as there are not enough texts on the Bishops' list yet. Any move to orthodoxy is good for all. If any readers can enlighten me about what books are used in schools on Long Island please comment here.

4 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY

Any moron can have a blog, it takes a special one to keep it going for 4 years!

This blog started on 1/18/03 with the following post:

Please allow me to introduce myself, I am a 32 year old cradle Catholic who "reverted" about 3 years ago. I have enjoyed reading the many Catholic blogs and figured I would try it out. Let me start by thanking those bloggers who have educated me, enlightened me, infuriated me, made me laugh and reminded me how awesome it is to be Catholic ( even now). Thanks:

Catholic Blog For Lovers

Catholic and Enjoying It

In Between Naps

Flos Carmeli

man with black hat

Eve Tushnet

Come On, Get Lively

Ad Orientem

Swimming the Tiber

Mysterium Crucis

6 of those 10 are still active, a few have different names and addresses. This blog was Gen X Revert for most of the time, I changed the name only recently to focus more on Long Island, after having pretty much said everything I have to say on the "revert" and Gen X things. I started this blog after discovering Catholic blogging through Gerard Serafin (Bugge)'s list of blogs. After Gerard died, I tried to replicate his list and that Catholic Blog Directory is currently maintained by Andrea out in California.

Catholic blogs took off during the priest sex scandals because Catholics needed to vent, correct the record, and comment. I enjoyed commenting at various blogs and felt I wanted to share some more with people by creating my own blog. I had 16 years of Catholic school under my belt and it was a very good experience so I wanted to share that with people as well. When I rediscovered Catholicism I found a whole world of ideas and I wanted to share my new "discovery" with others. The breadth, scope, and depth of Catholicism is not obvious to those who only know of what goes on in the Church by reading the mainstream media.

In these four years I fell in love, married, and got a new job. I am very happy to say the least, and hopefully I can say the same thing four years from now!

Mohamad Bazzi wrote an article in today's Newsday with the headline:

"Decapitation of Saddam's half-brother could increase tensions"

So, some arabs get upset over the decapitation of an evil man who is responsible for the deaths of thousands? Why don't they get upset over the decapitation of innocent man Nick Berg? Or how about the 3 Christian girls beheaded in Indonesia as "Ramadan trophies". Or, how about the beheading of Mr. Sobero in the Philippines done by muslims? Or how about the beheading of Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl? I doubt they would, since that perverted "prophet" muhammad actually supported beheading (non-muslims of course):

"According to Muhammad’s sacralized biography by Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad himself sanctioned the massacre of the Qurayza, a vanquished Jewish tribe. He appointed an "arbiter" who soon rendered this concise verdict: the men were to be put to death, the women and children sold into slavery, the spoils to be divided among the Muslims. Muhammad ratified this judgment stating that it was a decree of God pronounced from above the Seven Heavens. Thus some 600 to 900 men from the Qurayza were lead on Muhammad’s order to the Market of Medina. Trenches were dug and the men were beheaded, and their decapitated corpses buried in the trenches while Muhammad watched in attendance. Women and children were sold into slavery, a number of them being distributed as gifts among Muhammad’s companions, and Muhammad chose one of the Qurayza women (Rayhana) for himself."

For more on the islamic tradition of beheading read "Beheading in the Name of Islam" at the Middle East Forum. Here is the conclusion:

"Islamic civilization is not a historical anomaly in its sanction of decapitation.[36] The Roman Empire beheaded citizens (such as the Christian Saint Paul) while they crucified noncitizens (such as Jesus Christ). French revolutionaries employed the guillotine to decapitate opponents. Nevertheless, Islam is the only major world religion today that is cited by both state and non-state actors to legitimize beheadings. And two major aspects of decapitation in an Islamic context should be noted: first, the practice has both Qur'anic and historical sanction. It is not the product of a fabricated tradition. Second, in contradiction to the assertions of apologists, both Muslim and non-Muslim, these beheadings are not simply a brutal method of drawing attention to the Islamist political agenda and weakening opponents' will to fight. Zarqawi and other Islamists who practice decapitation believe that God has ordained them to obliterate their enemies in this manner. Islam is, for this determined minority of Muslims, anything but a "religion of peace." It is, rather, a religion of the sword with the blade forever at the throat of the unbeliever."

Official: Top leader of Somalia's Islamic militia arrested

The History of Catholicism on Long Island:

Glaciers cover the island.

Glaciers recede leaving behind tons of potato farms.

The entire population of Brooklyn moves to Long Island and procede to:

1. Pour concrete on everything
2. Talk about the old neighborhood and how much better it was in the old days, even though "we were poor"
3. create the Diocese of Rockville Centre

Then, on January 18th, 2003 a blog named Gen X Revert was created, ushering in the era known as "Pax Reverticana". All this is my way of advising:

My 4th Blogiversary will soon be here.

Entenmann's Bakery is downsizing at their Bay Shore plant. The cookies and crumb cakes will be made elsewhere. Entenmann's is a great Long Island business, their french-filled crumb cake is the greatest. You can't blame them for wanting to do business elsewhere, it is just simply too expensive here. The Entenmann family started out in Brooklyn and sold the business years ago.

Top Al Qaeda suspect killed in U.S. airstrike

I like what I see in Somalia, the Islamists are driven out the US can go in and kill Al Qaeda.

A choral group from Yale was attacked in San Francisco and not a single arrest has been made?

Mepham High School Football Rape -- 4 Years Later

Where are they now?

I am referring to the rapists from the Mepham High Football Team -

Ken Carney (the ringleader whose father died right after his son was exposed)

Phil Sofia

Tom Diasparra

Rich Guccione

These four monsters should be registered as sex offenders but don't have to because they were underage when they raped young boys as a football camp. This story focuses on the ringleader, Ken Carney, who was a typical white trash bully from Bellmore, but it also points out the problem with the attitudes of so many sports-minded people:

"Sometimes it’s hard to tell what bothers the people of Bellmore and Merrick more—allegations of sodomy or the abrupt end of football season. At a school-board meeting on October 1, packed with camera crews and angry parents, Superintendent Caramore tries to explain that hazing simply doesn’t happen at Mepham—that football was canceled not because of what the boys allegedly did but because their teammates never reported it. That hasn’t satisfied parents who complain about the lost scholarships, the deflated homecoming celebration, and the fund-raisers for other sports, all of which depend on football and are now ruined, they’re saying, because of a couple of messed-up kids."

Elizabeth Fox Genovese, RIP

Feminist, Writer, Scholar, Pro-Lifer, and Catholic convert

Link is via The Dawn Patrol

The East Meadow School District has refused to let a deaf student enter school with his service dog. It looks like the school district is breaking the law.

From Newsday:

"East Meadow School District officials appeared to dig in their heels after the state Division of Human Rights began an investigation into the district's refusal to allow John Cave, 14, to bring the dog, Simba, to W. Tresper Clarke High School. John, who has limited hearing with the aid of cochlear implants, was rebuffed yesterday for the fourth consecutive school day."

In other disability related news the big story is the "Ashley Treatment":

Parents halt growth of severely disabled girl (From The Seattle Times)

The parents have a website to give their side of the story, but it appears they have taken action to keep their girl small so they can more easily care for her.

"The girl's treatment has involved a hysterectomy, surgery to remove her breast buds and subsequent high doses of estrogen.

High-dose estrogen was used occasionally in the 1950s and '60s, mostly on teenage girls whose parents were concerned about the social stigma of being tall. The drugs could stop a 5-9 girl from becoming, say, 6 feet tall.

As that stigma has gone out of fashion, so has the treatment, medical ethicists say."

Sometimes Diogenes is so spot on that it is amazing! He is referring to Fr. Donald Cozzens but tell me this does not describe priests you have seen:

"We're all familiar with Cozzens's attitude, though perhaps most of us meet it in the celebrant at Mass. It's not as if they're obviously bored or perfunctory, but somehow they communicate the feeling that the real business takes place somewhere else. They seem bewildered, not by the meaning of Calvary exactly, but that the faithful would find it important. They don't understand genuflections or silences or prayers said kneeling. They're embarrassed by awe. Their breeziness at the altar as well as the velcro on their vestments shows that, for them, the whole golgotha/sacrifice/wine-into-blood thing is No Big Deal.


Their priesthood means something different to them than it does, say, to the faithful that show up at Mass during the week, whose eyes tend to focus on host and chalice. It's a priesthood in which the gift shop and the altar are simply two ways of reaching out to spiritual needs. It's a priesthood in which there's no damnation from which souls need to be rescued, a priesthood in which acceptance of self is more urgent than contrition. Small wonder if, for Cozzens's generation of priests, asceticism in general -- and celibacy in particular -- is hard to make sense of. "


Wow.

Oprah Winfrey has started a school for girls in South Africa which is awesome. More celebrities should use their wealth to make the world a better place as she does.

Speaking of Africa, a Long Islander originally from Rwanda has written a book on her experiences with the Rwanda Genocide.

Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

Immaculee Ilibagiza is from Elmont and writes about surviving in a small bathroom of a pastor's house with seven other women. I will have to buy the book soon as my mother says it is an incredible story. Immaculee was featured on 60 Minutes also and it was amazing to see her speak about forgiving the man who killed her family members. Her Left To Tell Charitable Fund attempts to help the orphans of the Rwanda Genocide.

A new Church management consultant group promises a more faithful response to the problems of the Church

From the National Catholic Register

This article features Deal Hudson, former editor of Crisis Magazine, who has just founded the Church Resource Institute to assist Bishops in management. This Institute is meant to counter the National Leadership Roundtable started by Geoffrey Boisi, which some considered to be too liberal. I welcome lay people who are experts in business management, fund raising and finance offering assistance to the Bishops. I don't think Deal Hudson, who left Crisis after being exposed as a sleazebag should be seen as any more faithful to Catholic teaching than the Roundtable's group. I hope both groups can provide help as we all know the Bishops need it. Priests are overwhelmed today trying to run all aspects of parishes and they should not have to be. Rather than be another area of liberal vs. conservative, progressive vs orthodox, dissenters vs. faithful, these groups should both be able to prevent the Church from suffering from mis-management the way She has over the past 40 years.

A New Catholic Church in Town! (Lindenhurst)

"The Ukrainian Catholic Church, which is in full communion with the Latin-rite Catholic Church, is one of several Eastern churches that maintain their own form of worship, tradition, and hierarchy while remaining under the pope’s authority."


The Church moved from West Islip as it had outgrown the building there. I hope I can get to a Mass at this Church some day.

A local parish bulletin has a weekly page dedicated to "Adult Faith Formation". There has been a cry for adult faith formation from both sides of the ideological spectrum in the Church for years. This page reprinted the old false tale of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song being a secret way to teach the faith to Catholics in England during the persecution. This is sad on so many levels. How many more people are now going to believe this? It would only take a little knowledge of history and a little common sense to realize that this is a myth. To have this published in a parish bulletin, under the context of teaching adults, is a sign of just how bad things are. Anyway, to set the record straight:

Snopes Urban Legend Page on the 12 Days of Christmas

Tommorrow there will be a Mass for the Celebration of the Feast of Mary Mother of God and the Anniversary of the Independence of Haiti. It will be offered at St. Boniface Church in Elmont in the French and Haitian Creole languages. Haiti is a very Catholic country and many Haitians are on Long Island. Haiti was the first country founded via a slave revolt.

In today's Newsday:


Two of the Franciscan Brothers who run St. Anthony's High School in Huntington died within a day of each other.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Also a story on St. John Antiochian Orthodox Church in Levittown that is home to Christian Palestinians. The story focuses on how the congregation tries to keep their culture alive here and how so many have fled the middle east since the founding of Israel. There is not much about their religious traditions specifically, but still an interesting read.

And finally, Suffolk County has always had terrible public tranportation, and the situation for disabled people is particularly bad. A lawsuit filed on behalf of disabled riders was settled and it looks like there will be some improvement.

Voice of the Faithful has a Long Island chapter in case anyone cares. I occasionally check out their website to see if there is anything of interest. The minutes of their November 15th regional meeting (held at a Universalist Unitarian place) had an interesting sentence that caught my eye. The guest speaker was a writer named Thomas Cahill who wrote "Mysteries of the Middle Ages The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe". The minutes list some good things he says about the Middle Ages and I am glad to read that yet another author is attempting to correct the record of this age as the "dark ages". I don't know if the minutes accurately reflect what he said but the VOTF minute taker records:

"With regard to the structure of our Church, he reminded us that Jesus did not ordain anyone. It is safe to assume that neither did He envision the pyramidal organization as we have today. " [emphasis mine]

Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein executed

This is good.

Islamists kicked out of Mogadishu

This is even better.

About 4,000 people, mostly militants, have died in 2006, the bloodiest period in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

This is the best news so far.

Let's hope the New Year will see American troops leave Iraq, where they are not needed, and moved to Afghanistan and Pakistan where they are very much needed. I hope 2007 will be the year when we finally see real progress in the war on terror. Remember to follow all the news by reading Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch. And consider buying the new book from Robert Spencer:

The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion

Unruly Passenger Slaps Federal Air Marshal

"A US Airways passenger faced charges of interfering with a flight crew Thursday after he apparently unknowingly slapped an undercover federal air marshal, said an official familiar with the case.
The man, who'd been drinking liquor, threw a mid-air temper tantrum Wednesday night after attendants refused to serve him any more alcohol during his flight from Washington's Reagan National Airport to Fort Myers, Florida, the official said. "

People this pathetic should be banned from flying any airlines, put in jail for a year, and fined very heavily. After 9/11, there should be mandatory prison terms for unruly flight behavior.

Since this blog sometimes focuses on Long Island stuff having nothing to do with Catholicism, I suppose posting about the Rosie O'Donnell VS. Donald Trump battle is in order. After all, Rosie is from Commack and Donald hails from Lattington. Their hometowns are approx. 30 miles apart physically but economically, the two towns are light years apart. The battling between them is doing nothing to enhance Long Islanders' reputation, although I am not sure people think of Trump as a Long Islander. I don't care for either one of them so let's hope the battle ends soon, as it is annoying.

I went to Mass last night at St. Martin of Tours in Amityville. I have been attending the 8 PM Christmas Eve Mass there for a few years. It is a well kept secret of the Diocese of Rockville Centre as it happens to have some of the best music on Long Island. At 7 PM a choir came out and sang some Christmas carols. Then at 7:30 the choir is joined by an orchestra and plays another 30 minutes of songs. At 8 PM, the Mass begins and the choir and orchestra play the music throughout the Mass. It is all done very well, although at times the music is a bit drawn out, a bit too dramatic. I wish I knew music because I would love to post what settings were used. The Gloria and Agnus Dei were both in latin. The orchestra sounded great, and the Church is always beautiful, even more so at Chistmas time. The closing hymn was the Alleluia Chorus!! I would encourage Long Islanders to go at least once to this Mass.

Merry Christmas!!

This is why I love traditional Catholicism! This is an excerpt from the Baltimore Catechism that I found:

"Q. 1311. What are rash judgment, backbiting, slander and detraction?

A. Rash judgment is believing a person guilty of sin without a sufficient cause.

Backbiting is saying evil things of another in his absence.

Slander is telling lies about another with the intention of injuring him. Detraction is revealing the sins of another without necessity."

Can you imagine if this stuff was still taught?? This is what almost every Catholic I have ever met on Long Island needs to learn.

Another One Bites The Dust!

"A top Taliban military commander described as a close associate of Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar was killed in an airstrike this week close to the border with Pakistan, the U.S. military said Saturday."

The rape charges against the Duke lacrosse jocks were dropped.

Native Long Islander Dan at the Shrine of the Holy Whapping points out that St. Anthony's High School is planning a great new chapel. This is great news! I also fully agree with his statement:

"Hopefully more high schools with dated 60's buildings and chapels (like St. Anthony's has at present) will take the initiative and center their fundraising campaigns on the important things".

[emphasis entirely mine]


My hometown parish St. William the Abbot has just renovated the Church due to a sanctuary that had to be rebuilt. This is the second major renovation of the Church in my lifetime, which probably means I am getting old. The original small country Church from my childhood was expanded and renovated in 1981, and I was an altar boy at the consecration of the new Church. (I was also present when Bishop Murphy consecrated the new altar this year.) The Church badly needed renovation then, it was simply way too small for the large parish, and the building was falling apart. Most of the Masses I remember from my youth were in the school gym, because the Church capacity was about a third of what the parish needed. But the '81 renovation included many silly aspects of the time, such as replacing a crucifix with a "risen Christ", and carpeting covering the floors. The Church had mostly blank, white walls and was overall uninspiring.

The recent renovation was also spurred by practical considerations. The sanctuary was falling apart and therefore unsafe. But the changes that were done ended up correcting some of the previous mistakes. The risen Christ sculpture that had always bothered me was taken away from the sanctuary and replaced with a striking crucifix, which is now the main focal point. The risen Christ sculpture is now on the front right side on what had been previously a blank white wall, where I find it to be perfectly fine. To balance this out, the left side now has a brand new wall sculpture of the Last Supper. So, to me the problem of not having enough artwork has now been solved. The Marian shrine had some symbols of Mary added to it, and now features part of the original marble high altar from the original sanctuary in the Church. The carpeting is gone, replaced by a wood sanctuary floor and tile floors. Overall, this was a great improvement to the Church. The next phase of renovation will be to expand the narthex, to increase the size of the choir loft. This is being done to make room for an antique pipe organ, replacing the electronic organ that is currently being used. This is all a great improvement to the Church although I doubt it will win any "traditional Catholic architecture" awards. Still, although it is no longer my parish I am grateful to see it improve.

This year there will be a Traditional Latin Mass on Christmas at the St. Pius Chapel in Uniondale. This is good news for all. Hopefully, we will soon see the long awaited document from the Pope making it easier for priests to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass. Perhaps 2007 will finally see the Mass moved to parishes where it belongs, one for Nassau and one for Suffolk would be nice.

Interesting stories in this week's Long Island Catholic:

Diocese enjoys surge in priestly vocations

"Last Friday 11 men preparing for the priesthood for the Brooklyn and Rockville Centre Dioceses were ordained as deacons at Immaculate Conception Seminary here.

“This was the most that either diocese has had in years,” noted Father Thomas Coogan, vocation director for the Rockville Centre Diocese."

Although vocations still have a long way to go, this is an encouraging sign. There are about 40 seminarians today as opposed to 17 in 2002. Those who are aware of the changes made in this Diocese over the past few years would not be surprised that vocations are up.

3,000 Kellenberg and St. Martin de Porres students went to see The Nativity Story movie for Advent.

Kellenberg is the school that sent most students to see The Passion of the Christ movie also. I just received mail today from St. Martin de Porres that indicated that when the Marianists took over the school in 2004, the enrollment was at 120, and today there are 419 students there. So, the Diocese continues to see some good signs.

The former Newsday Publisher was sentenced to 15 months in jail for child porn. One of the people who wrote to the judge asking for lenient sentencing was the head of the editorial board, James Klurfield. Those who know about Newsday's anti-Catholic history will be somewhat bemused by all of this. In fairness, I should point out that despite its anti-Catholic history the paper did do a good job reporting on the sex scandals involving Catholic priests over the years.

In a related note, the Bishop of Arlington, VA wrote a pastoral letter warning about pornography.

I want to point readers to two local blog posts:

Eternity Road's Sunday Ruminations

Be Not Afraid on The Black Madonna

I just got back from NYC, from a trip to the Whitney Museum of Art where we saw exhibits on Edward Hopper and Picasso. Hopper seemed to be unhappy and Picasso was just damn weird. I took a pamphet on the big exhibit of Kiki Smith but we did not go to that exhibit due to time constraints. After we had left the museum I read the booklet on Smith and found many references to Catholicism, so I figured I would have to go back another time. After reading Maureen Mullarkey's review of this exhibit however, maybe we didn't miss much. Overall, a very nice trip, topped off with some great pasta at Simply Pasta.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre by the numbers:

"The diocese serves approximately 1.4 million Catholics (total population in both counties is approximately 3.3 million). There are 134 parishes in 115 towns. Last year over 20,000 baptisms, 18,000 confirmations, 20,000 first communions and 5,000 marriages took place in the diocese. There are 2,137 students in Catholic kindergarten, 23,825 in primary or elementary school, 12,628 in secondary school and 3,300 in higher institutions. There are 76 Catholic elementary and high schools and one Catholic college in the diocese. "

---From the DRVC website

This is the standard blurb put under all the press releases but I had never noticed that it states one Catholic college. Since there is Molloy and St. Joseph's I wonder which one is not considered Catholic?

People are getting sick after eating at Taco Bell? Is this really new?

Letitia post an excellent essay on the new pastor of St. Matthew's in Dix Hills, Fr. John McCartney. I know that I was at the Mass at St. James in Seaford when the pastor announced that Fr. McCartney would be leaving to become pastor of St. Matthew's and a few people were heard sighing.

Commuter discovers dead newborn on Hicksville train platform

From News12 Long Island

"Police report the umbilical cord was still attached and there was no obvious cause of death. They say an autopsy will commence shortly to determine if the boy was stillborn or killed after birth. "

There is no reason for this to ever occur. Years ago, a local gentlemen named Tim Jaccard, who is an EMT, founded the AMT Children of Hope Foundation to put an end to this tragic stuff. Like many EMTs he grew weary of finding dead newborns and started the Foundation to pay for funerals of newborns the Nassau Police found. He soon shifted the focus to trying to prevent the need for funerals at all. Due to this work, "New York was the first state to enact a "Safe Haven" law with allows a birth mother to relinquish custody in a safe manner, and not be criminally liable for abandonment. Although most states have their version of this law, the idea of giving up your unwanted baby instead of causing it's death gives those in desperation another option."

Tim is a Knight of Columbus from the Council I used to belong to and has done a great job with this Foundation, please spread the word about the AMT Children of Hope and if your state does not have a Safe Haven Law, get started on getting a law passed.

I will pray for two things regarding Pope Benedict's trip to Turkey:

1. That muslims will not kill him, which is a very good possibility since muslims are very intolerant and violent
2. That if muslims do kill him, that this will begin a great turning away from the false religion of islam throughout the middle east.

Cardinal Arinze has declared that Pro Multis must be translated as "for many" instead of "for all". In most languages this has always been so, but in English the translation was "for all" and from what I have read, the mis-translation was deliberate. So now that the correction was finally made, after almost 40 years, we can once again thank the traditionalist Catholics for making this an issue when so many others would have just ignored it. This is a nice first step - one thing corrected, about 35,000 more things to be done. Of course, if the words of the consecration were prayed in latin, none of this would have ever been an issue.

Fr. Thomas Saloy, a priest at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Roosevelt, was arrested

From News12 Long Island

"The FBI arrested a Roosevelt Catholic priest at his home Friday, charging him with possessing more than 1,300 pictures and videos of underage boys.
Thomas Saloy was serving at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary when investigators say they found child pornography on his personal computer. "

Roman Catholic priest
child pornography
teenage boys

Why are these 3 phrases so connected, so many times?? Let's hope this man is locked away for a long time, and defrocked, and not put on priest welfare like so many others.

Just last Sunday we had gone to Mass at Our Lady of Grace in West Babylon. We usually don't go to this parish, but at this Mass, instead of the priest giving the homily, the pastor, Fr. Vin came out and spent a good 10 minutes talking about how people need to give more money to the parish. He said the financial report was in the bulletin and it was not a good picture. He spoke about how people need to get over their hurt, their anger, because it does no good spiritually. He said that there were less people coming to Mass these days, less people giving, and he didn't think there was anyone to blame for this. I muttered "How about child molesting priests" which earned me a wicked stare and shutup look from Mrs. Gen X Revert. I tend to mutter a bit too loud sometimes, but I couldn't believe this man said he couldn't find anyone to blame for the situation in the Church today.

As we were getting in the car my wife asked me what happened in this parish as it sounded like a big deal, and I replied probably some child molesting priest used to be there. I looked it up, and sure enough there were two former priests of this parish on the Bishop Accountability website , Fr. Angelo Ditta and Fr. Andrew Millar. And now, we can add a third priest formerly of Our Lady of Grace - Fr. Thomas Saloy. So, if the pastor still can't find anyone to blame for the empty pews, the anger, the hurt, and the lack of support, perhaps he should look a little harder.

A parish in Sound Beach got swastikas painted on their doors. This type of vandalism is not uncommon in white trash suburbia unfortunately, but the blogger at Eternity Road has a long post that wonders about a lot more than just this vandalism.

Do go read Fran’s Sunday Ruminations: Prophets, Jesters, And Destroyers

Will The Pope Relax The Condom Ban

Newsday pubished yet another article about the Catholic Church that is just plain stupid. Most of their anti-Catholic loser columnists were let go after the paper was exposed inflating circulation figures, causing millions to be paid out to advertisers that were victims of the fraud, but the paper still can publish crap. Jimmy Breslin is semi-retired, meaning he occasionally will sober up long enough to put pen to paper, mostly to complain about George Bush, something NO other writer does. Ed Lowe is now writing for local papers that have smaller readerships combined than most major blogs. Paul Vitello is writing for the NY Times, working out of Garden City, where he has lunch in the basement of an office building in Garden City looking as haggard as ever. Marie Cocco fell off the face of the earth, while the former editor of Newsday has been convicted of child porn charges. Anyway, the column is just bad, and written by a, wait for it, ..."former religious brother". The actual argument in theology for condom use in marraige or to stop the spread of aids is a serious one, that deserves real writing. This column is just garbage. The opening sentence is straight from the 70's:

"The Catholic Church laid down a tough, absolute law in the 1968 encyclical "Humanae Vitae": no condoms, no abortion, no contraceptives. Never."

The rest of the column is just as silly, stupid, and predictable. At least if they are going to continue to give a forum to people who don't like the Church or her teachings, they should find writers like those in American or Commonweal, who can at least present their arguments intelligently.

causa nostrae laetitia

A Catholic blog by a fellow Long Islander!! Leticia Velasquez, a frequent letter writer to the Long Island Catholic, Newsday, and commenter on this blog, has a great blog with a great name - it means Cause of Our Joy. She also has pictures of the Heart of St. John Vianney at Cure of Ars as well as Dr. Alveda King at Nassau Community College.

So far, the Catholic bloggers on Long Island I know about are:

Fac ut Gaudeam

causa nostrae laetitia

Eternity Road

HEADLESS STATUE IN GODLESS CATHEDRAL!

I am so proud of myself for thinking of that headline. HeeHeeHee. For those who don't get the reference, a little NY Post history.

I just finished watching Munich, the story of the Israeli hunt of the terrorists who killed the athletes at the 1972 Olympics. The first half was excellent, a stirring depiction of the "unofficial" team that took out 5 terrorists. The second half was an attempt to show internal moral conflict which official accounts say the team did not actually struggle with.

The Long Island Catholic is one of many Catholics newspapers that carry Fr. John Dietzen's column of questions and answers. I find Fr. Dietzen's answers infuriating, and I don't seem to be the only one based on the letters to the editor the LIC has published. I have also found some other letters written in response to his column on the internet, here for example. In the Amazon reviews for his book of Q & A, a couple of reviewers, including Rich Leonardi of Ten Reasons, spell out why I can't stand his column. They say it better than I could:

"There is something rather weak and unsatisfactory about it. One cannot say that he is unorthodox exactly. Rather, there is something half-hearted in his presentation of the more controversial teachings of the Church. One gets the impression that he is uncomfortable answering certain questions." - S. M. Barr

"This book is 500 pages of unenthusiastic, incomplete, often erroneous explanations of the Catholic faith. For starters, Dietzen frequently begins sentences with 'Catholics believe' or 'the Church teaches', especially when he is presenting a truth of the faith deemed controversial. "
-Rich Leonardi

Every answer he gives that I have seen in the Long Island Catholic is so lukewarm, so weak, that it just makes me want to yell, say what you really believe!! This is the kind of thing that is not attractive to so many young people. I know that harsh and unbending people in the Church can also turn people away, but it is more likely the Fr. Dietzens that have done the most damage over the past 40 years.

Gerald at The Cafeteria Is Closed links to Miss Kelly, who is parish-hopping. I did this for awhile when I was first reverting. I was looking for a Church that looked like a Church, a priest that was reverent and a parish that really reflected Catholicism. I attended Mass at 40 different parishes and found some of the same things that Kelly and Gerald found. The nice thing about the Diocese of Rockville Centre is that there are literally dozens of parishes within a 30-40 minute drive. I did end up going mostly to my own childhood parish, which I came to appreciate more, and now I attend my wife's parish, even though we don't live in its boundaries.

The worst experience I had in parish-hopping was at one parish where the priest would process down the aisle during the opening hymn, then instead of beginning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, he would ask if anyone was celebrating a birthday or anniversary. People would shout out their answer and then everyone would applaud. It was juvenile, and totally inappropriate, I felt like I was in the 2nd grade. I also was in a couple of parishes where instead of a homily, a priest would talk about the annual fund raising appeal or a particular group in the parish. This is sometimes necessary, but it should never replace a homily totally. I am very picky when it comes to Liturgy and don't see why it is so hard for parishes to make it reverent and prayerful.

My wife and I went to see Les Miserables last night. I am not much of a broadway musical person, but when PBS first broadcast the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert I became hooked. This concert featured the "dream cast" including the original Jean Valjean - Colm Wilkinson, Michael Ball's Marius and Lea Salonga as Eponine. Last night I got to see one of the dream cast - Jenny Galloway is reprising her role as Madame Thenadier. As I said, I am not a musical type of person, but I have listened to the CD and watched the video so many times I know all the words. It is a great story, awesome music, and a pretty Catholic theme of grace and mercy to boot. I never got to see Les Miz while it was on Broadway so when I saw they were bringing it back for six months, I knew I had to get tickets. Daphne Rubin-Vega's performance as Fantine was the only negative, her voice is just not right for the part. The whole night was awesome though.

The Wikipedia link on Les Miserables is quite comprehensive, but I found one error-

The first high school in the United States to perform the school version of Les Miserables was Holy Trinity High School right here in Hicksville, Long Island. Cameron Mackintosh chose the school and was there for the premiere performance. Holy Trinity is known for its extensive performance arts program.

For our honeymoon we took a cruise to the southern Caribbean. One of our favorites islands was the colorful island of Curacao. On the trolley tour we took there was a stop at the Pietermaai Cathedral. I took a picture of the statue of Dr. Hernandez, a Venezuelan considered a saint by locals, with some attributing miracles to him.



Click on the picture to enlarge.

Amy Welborn wrote a great post regarding Joseph Bottum's piece in First Things on Catholic Culture in America. The post and the piece are both excellent and should be read entirely. To focus on just one thing mentioned - the removal of the Friday fast (abstaining from meat) was called a mistake. Welborn says it was "an important touchstone for Catholics" and Sandra Miesel comments that there is "no reason why Catholics can't do it voluntarily". This is true - I don't eat meat on Friday, and also don't take communion in the hand. I receive communion only from priests and deacons and I always bow during the incarnation lines in the Creed. Unfortunately these things are not done by most Catholics and so there is no sign of unity there. Not eating meat Friday may not seem like a big deal, but the point is that it was a sign of unity, and the ending of the fast was a part of the collapse of Catholic culture.

I found another Catholic blogger from Long Island - Francis Porretto blogging at Eternity Road where he writes about politics but occasionally religion.

I lived my whole life in Nassau County, home of such sleazy people as Joey Buttafuoco, the Mepham High School rapists (Ken Carney, Phil Sofia and Phil Diasparra), and the Roslyn School District crooks (Pamela Gluckin, her neice and son, and Frank Tassone and his lover . But when I married I moved further east to Suffolk County, home of some of the worst, most sleazy politicians ever. This place just had to rename an airport terminal because it had the name of a crook on it (Peter McGowan). The former Republican Party chairman here (John Powell) was arrested in a stolen car chop shop racket. Today, Newsday reports on the latest aspect of the Smithtown Town Supervisor scandal. (This kind of reporting is why I love Newsday despite its history of anti-Catholic bigotry)

From Newsday:

"Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio's son -- who was fired from the Suffolk County Water Authority last summer after an inquiry blamed him for a costly E.coli panic on Fire Island -- is not the only family member who was able to land and hang onto a patronage job despite a troubled work history, records show.

Bernadine Kinder, who is married to Vecchio, was caught stealing early in her tenure at Suffolk Off-Track Betting, according to OTB records. She not only kept her position, that same year she was promoted to branch manager, a job where she handles thousands of dollars a day. And she got the job in OTB in 1998 despite having been fired from a secretarial job in Suffolk District Court for excessive absences and unsatisfactory job performance, court personnel records show."

Talk about SLEAZY. She stole money and then gets promoted! How do these criminals get away with this stuff? Oh, that's right, they are white so it is ok. If these were black people or immigrants that would be another story. Or perhaps we on Long Island have to work so hard to keep up with the incredibly high taxes we don't have the time to notice or care? Please also notice that Kinder and Vecchio Jr. both failed to graduate from college?

Bizarre followup to the heart of St. John Vianney at Cure of Ars Church in Merrick:

Homosexuality pamphlet pulled from Church shelves

The pamphlet in question was from the Catholic Medical Association and can be read online here. My suggestion to the pastor Fr. Charles Mangano would be to order some pamphlets from Courage as replacements.

Traditional Catholics on Long Island

There is yet more talk of the Pope giving more freedom to Catholic priests to celebrate the traditional (Tridentine) Mass. Amy Welborn is looking to define the terms correctly as the media can be unreliable when reporting on such 'inside stuff' in the Church. Here on Long Island, if priests were given the ability to celebrate the traditional Mass I am sure there would be a couple of (probably younger) priests who would jump at the chance but only a couple. Most Catholics approve of the changes in the Mass and simply want more reverence and dignity, as well as a return to tradition in hymns, sermons, architecture, and devotions. As a service to Long Island Catholics, let me point out some facts about the traditional latin Mass here on Long Island. (Note: I have attended the traditional latin Mass perhaps a couple of dozen times, but most Sundays attend a local parish and assist at a "Novus Ordo" Mass.)

The Mass is celebrated every Sunday at 11 am at St. Pius X Chapel in Uniondale. This is located at 1220 Front St. in Uniondale, right off Merrick Avenue. Booklets are provided that have all the prayers of the Mass in Latin and English so you can follow along. The first and third Sundays of the month are low Masses and the second and fourth Sundays are high (sung) Masses. After the low Masses there are some refreshments served in the cafeteria next to the chapel. Most of the Masses are offered by Fr. James Pereda, although other priests have filled in for him on occasion. The only priests that I know have celebrated the traditional Mass on Long Island are Fr. Pereda, Fr. Robert Hewes, Msgr. George Graham and Fr. Steven Scarmozzino. The Mass at St. Pius X Chapel is the only approved traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. There are chapels and independent Catholic priests who celebrate the Mass but this is the only Mass approved by the Diocese. I hope that the Mass will be moved to a parish some day so that more people may be exposed to it, and those who wish to have traditional baptisms, weddings and funerals may do so. A traditional parish with both traditional and Novus Ordo Masses would be great, ala St. John Cantius in Chicago.

The fact is, Long Island is steeped in history when it comes to traditionalism. Fr. Gommar DePauw was probably the first Catholic priest in the country or world to start a traditionalist movement, even before Vatican II was over. He started the Ave Maria Chapel in Westbury for traditional Catholics. He died in 2005 and I don't know if there is a Mass at the chapel today.

The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), the organization started by Archbishop Lefebvre, has a chapel in Farmingville called St. Michael the Archangel, which opened in 1983. In fact, the original headquarters of the SSPX in America was in Oyster Bay Cove.

The priest who led things there, Fr. Clarence Kelly, was expelled from the SSPX and founded the SSPV, which is now headquarted in Oyster Bay Cove.

There are also a couple of independent priests who offer the traditional Mass around the island as well. Again, the only Diocese of Rockville Centre-approved traditional Mass is the one at the St. Pius Chapel in Uniondale. There used to be one held in Cutchogue also when the traditional Mass was only twice a month, but I am not sure if that Mass is still there. My hope for the traditional Mass would be:

• The Diocese of Rockville Centre allows this Mass to be moved to a parish, where it would part of the regular Mass schedule on Sunday.

• The Diocese also allow traditional Sacraments for those who desire them.

• Those who wish to attend a "Novus Ordo" Mass with chant propers, some latin prayers and a traditional atmosphere have a place to do this.

• The Vatican and SSPX work to some sort of reconciliation, such as the proposed personal prelature idea.

• The so-called Reform of the Reform continue so Catholics can pray the "Novus Ordo" Mass in a more traditional way.

UPDATE 10/23/06: Per the comments, the traditional Latin Mass is also offered on the first Sunday of the month at Sacred Heart Church, Main Rd in Cutchogue

Lazyboy's Rest Stop

The above link is a great find of mine: an anti-Catholic treasure! Here is the author's description of Catholicism, which all of us can instantly recognize:

"Roman Catholicism is a religion of dominance. It maintains control over its one billion subjects through a system of promises and threats. Those who adhere closely to the multitude of rules governing every aspect of religious belief and practice are rewarded with the favor of the RCC ruling class, dispensed in the form of grace, doled out as one gives a treat to a well-trained pet. Failure to live according to Rome's stringent and ever transmuting laws can result in sanctions ranging from repeating a few canned prayers through denial of admission to the church's sacraments to confiscation of property, torture and death, depending upon the severity of the failure and the degree of temporal power enjoyed by the RCC.

It astonishes me that anyone under submission to the Romish potentate would fail to diligently strive to learn all the rules and ways of the RCC so that he might avoid running afoul of her judicial process. "

Welcome to the 300 millionth American! Or perhaps I should say Bienvenido!

I watched the 60 Minutes piece last night on the Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a stripper. The piece made it hard to believe they were guilty, and it sounded like the stipper was making the story up. One of the players is quoted in Newsday:

"I was naive, I was young, I was sheltered," he said. "And I made a terrible judgment. In five months, I've learned more than I did in 22 years about life."

Basically those life lessons should be: 1) don't ever host or attend a party with strippers. 2) If you are a rich, white guy in a college or university, understand that there will be many people who will hate you for that. All college educated people should be very careful in dealing with people, and realize a degree will automatically make you hated by many people. 3) Don't ever get into altercations in bars, as two of the accused did in the past. 4) If you are on a sports team, understand that sometimes the "group" will act with a group mentality, and avoid this at all costs. 5) Don't ever underestimate the shallowness of politicans, including DAs.

After almost 4 years of blogging, I have changed the name of the blog from Gen X Revert to A Long Island Catholic. I started blogging about my return to the Church but have said pretty much all I have to say about that. I would like to use this space to write more about what goes on within the Diocese of Rockville Centre. I will also be adding more local links as well.

Of interest to Long Island Catholics:

The Catholic Underground is coming to Long Island.

Saturday, October 21, 2006, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

St. Thomas the Apostle Mission Chapel in West Hempstead (Hempstead Avenue and Nassau Boulevard)

"A Catholic Underground evening has two components: prayer and performance. Prayer is in the context of Eucharistic Adoration. The prayers performed include Vespers (evening prayer), Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and Compline (night prayer), which ends the night. The performance element includes coffee and conversation among participants after Eucharistic Adoration, which then leads into performances that are meant to showcase different methods for new evangelization."

The Long Island Catholic story on the veneration of the heart of St. John Vianney is here.

I went to venerate the heart of St. John Marie Vianney today at Cure of Ars Church in Merrick. I waited for about 30 minutes on a long line that wrapped around the front and side of the Church. Someone then said they were closing the doors and a Mass would begin and veneration would stop for about 90 minutes. I decided to go to the Mass but the Church was filled, so I watched it on a large screen in an adjacent auditorium. There was also a large white tent set up that was also filled. Since I waited in front of the Church for the procession, I was able to take a couple of pictures and venerate the heart in front of the Church instead of inside.

Click on the pics to enlarge.


The pictures above do not really show how many people were there since the line wrapped around bushes and the side of the Church. The crowd was huge!
Bishop DiMarzio from Brooklyn was the principal celebrant. The Bishop of Ars, France who brought the heart here concelebrated. In his homily, Bishop DeMarzio asked everyone to pray for two intentions, that holiness be increased in priests and that the use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation be increased amoung the laity. He quoted St. John Vianney as saying he only gave out small penances and would perform the rest of the penance himself on behalf of the sinner.


Fr. Mangano, the pastor of Cure of Ars.





The Catholic Heart website created for the occasion

Cure of Ars parish website

Fr. Charles and Laurie Mangano Music website

St. John Marie Baptist Vianney info

A local pastor lists 27 things to do to "get more out of Mass". I can agree with all but #12 is something I have never understood and I have heard it many times:

"12. During the readings, look at the reader; don’t use a missalette unless you have a problem with your hearing."

I try to read the readings before Mass but I also follow along while they are proclaimed for a couple of reasons. Although the lectors are quite good at the parish I currently attend, in my old parish they made an awful lot of mistakes, sometimes changing the whole meaning of a sentence. I can also really understand and follow the reading when I read along, it would not be the same if I just listened. I will continue to read along for this reason, and don't understand why some people make such a big deal out of this.

Today's Newsday article on the heart of St. John Vianney being venerated at Cure of Ars Church in Merrick. Today is for parishioners only, tommorrow is for clergy, so Tuesday or Wednesday I will try to make it there.

I just found a website for St. Pius X High School in Uniondale. This was the prep seminary school in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, closed in 1984. The nice website advises:

"With approximately 100 in the total freshman class each year (and a mere 300 in the entire student body) only about 2000 students in total ever attended St Pius in its 20-year history. Only about 1200 managed to make it from freshman year to graduation."

"With the closing of St Pius in 1984, alumni were placed on the endangered species list. For this reason any loss over the years is taken that much more to heart. On 9/11 three were taken from our small ranks."

The site mentions about 60 alumni gathered for a reunion last year which is a great percentage considering how many total graduates there are. Since my Catholic High School, Chaminade, has a huge and active alumni base, I am always aware of how cool it is to have a connection to so many other people. When a school is unique and tough to get through, it creates a bond between graduates that stretches across generations. I like to see reunions of students from Catholic schools that have closed and am glad to see the St. Pius X reunion will be held at Kellenberg, so the men can see good Catholic education continuing on Long Island.

One more quote from the site:

"As a prep seminary St Pius was producing a disappointing number of priests, certainly a factor in determining the school closure. But St Pius never disappointed in producing good people. Good guys. Christi simus non nostri."

Nicely put. Perhaps a graduate can translate the latin phrase?

Paul Rusesabagina, the real life hero at the center of the film Hotel Rwanda gave a lecture at Molloy College in Rockville Centre.