Speaking of the latest Long Island Catholic edition, Kathleen Gallagher writes about the New York State Catholic Conference making a video to educate people about (former) Gov. Eliot Spitzer's radical Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act. This act would require Catholic hospitals to provide abortions by making abortion a "fundamental right". The video was produced by Telecare (good job!) and put on You Tube. Gallagher's article mentions what she calls the "viral effect" of the blogosphere as the You Tube video was posted or linked to on the blogs (here is the link). She says:

"In less than a week, our video had enjoyed more than 8,000 views, or “hits” as they are known in the business. We received phone calls and e-mails from all over the country about our video, from Catholics and non-Catholics alike. We were written up in The New York Times and the Daily News. The original message of our video spread like wildfire, far beyond the borders of the Church’s typical communication methods. I had never experienced the “viral effect” of the Internet quite like that before."

We Catholic bloggers have experienced this effect for years but preferred to call it "releasing the power of the blogs" a term which I believe is attributed to Mark Shea, who is one of the most popular Catholic bloggers. The Catholic blogs have had some impact in concrete ways and the NYS Catholic Conference was very wise to tap into this great communications tool. "St. Blogs Parish" has been a great tool for Catholics to spread the word as well as spread The Word since 2002. Some examples of what the article calls the 'viral effect' would be:
removing pro-abortion links from a Jesuit University
linking to a video of a Bishop in California treat a woman rudely for kneeling for communion
pointing out the anti-Catholic nature of the movie The Golden Compass
pointing out the USCCB's positive review of the Golden Compass and Brokeback Mountain
spreading the word about a movie Mel Gibson was making about Christ's Passion a year ahead of its release
spreading the word about Summorum Pontificum a year ahead of its release

There were many more I cannot remember and I am too lazy to link to any of these right now. But the Church is wise to use "St. Blog's" because it has proven to be a good way to spread good or bad news.

Here is another blog by a Catholic on Long Island:

Tales From The Bonny Blue House

The author is Mary Ellen Barrett who writes a column for The Long Island Catholic.

Governor Eliot Spitzer (aka Client 9) has been caught in a prostitution sting:

"The meeting apparently lasted from 9:36 p.m. ET, when Kristen arrived, until 12:02 a.m.
Kristen collected $4,300 from Client 9, according to the FBI affidavit."

You have to feel for his wife and 3 teenage daughters, and prayers for the entire family would be appropriate. The very pro-choice governor might want to consider some other ways to spend 2.5 hours and $4,300.

Spitzer could have:

Donated $1,400 to Birthright
Donated $1,400 to Momma's House
Donated $1,500 to Life Center of Long Island

Plus he could have spent 1 hour volunteering at Momma's House in Jericho perhaps doing some work around the house, and then another 1 hour and a half at the Life Center of Long Island doing various things to help women in need.

Long Islander quote of the year:

"I have a general disgust for Catholic architecture since the 1950s,” he said recently."

-Brother Gary Creegan, Principal of St. Anthony's High School

This quote comes to you via this NY Times article regarding St. Anthony's new chapel that is being built. I found this via New Liturgical Movement. There are many of us that share Brother's digust. I am glad to see this chapel being built and hope this serves as an example for many other schools and parishes.

Click to Enlarge

Can anybody tell me what the deal is with the drawing? It appears to be a Last Supper-like depiction, but with all girls? It is strange to me - especially because it is a First Holy Communion Remembrance certificate from 1933!

More info: This Remembrance certificate is by the Edward O'Toole Co. in NY which was a successful Catholic goods business. There is now a Theresa & Edward O’Toole Foundation that was apparently started with this company's profits.

UPDATE: This is not a photo as I first wrote, but a drawing.

A new local Lutheran church is being started to try to attract younger, more diverse and unchurched people.

From Newsday:

Lutheran Church's Ablaze! to attract members

"Instead of robes and vestments, Harmon said, "We'll wear a jacket and polo shirt. We'll probably have more of a band, music that is more in tune with what people are hearing today."

"We want to tear down barriers that unchurched people feel keep them from coming to church."

"There are more and more congregations that will see their Sunday morning and their other activities during the week populated by people who are not just old white guys."

In the interest of ecumenical dialogue I would like to point out that if you want to attract people other than "old white guys", wearing polo shirts and jackets is.....probably not the best idea. That sounds like the official uniform of old white guys. Churches that are "diverse" tend to have congregations that dress in suits and dresses. Also, having a band to provide music that is 'in tune with what people are hearing today' would be quite interesting, considering some of the songs on the pop charts today. I don't want to put the people behind this effort down, but whenever I hear about efforts to attract younger, more diverse people to Church, it tends to be a bit off.

Anthony, a reader of this blog, kindly emailed me to advise Bishop Murphy would be coming to the Traditional Latin Mass in Uniondale on March 9th. I was reminded of his email when I spotted it on the Bishop's schedule in The Long Island Catholic. He will be there to confer the honor of Msgr. on Fr. James Pereda.

UPDATE: I just spotted this same news on Creative Minority Report, with the added note:

"On June 15, 2008 at St. Agnes Cathedral the Most Reverend William Murphy, Bishop of Rockville Centre, will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation according to the Traditional Form."

More Blogs by Catholics on Long Island

Alice Gunther, who writes a column for The Long Island Catholic, has a blog called Cottage Blessings.

MacBeth's Opinion is written by a Catholic homeschooling Mom.

CATHOLICS COME HOME.ORG

I found this site via Charlotte Was Both and it looks good. I particularly liked the Epic and Movies videos. This group is involved in the New Evangelization and attempts to create more of us "Reverts". I wish them luck and hope Dioceses will take avantage of this apostolate. If Catholics are the largest group of Christians in the US, then the second largest group would have to be lapsed or former Catholics.

Found via Ten Reasons -

This report of the National Council of Churches shows the 25 largest Christian denominations in the US. The Catholic Church is the largest Christian Church and grew by .87 percent. The report also states:

"Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, regarded by many Christians as cults, reported the largest membership increases in a year, according to the National Council of Churches' 2008".

The Mormons (Latter Day Saints) have large families so that would probably explain their growth. The Jehovah's Witnesses however simply do the evangelical work that Christians are called to do. It is easy to make fun of them for their door to door work, (see Barats & Bereta video The Good Word) but apparently it does work. Around here they are very successful with evangelizing minorities. At the train station my wife and I sometimes use there is usually a nice, elderly gentleman handing out Watchtowers. It is too bad their theology is so unorthodox. The Catholic Church has a long way to go with evangelizing, and in most cases, "re-evangelizing". Meanwhile, growth is not happening in some Christian groups:

"The greatest losses in membership were reported by The Episcopal Church, which dropped 4.15 percent in members, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which decreased by 2.36 percent. Both denominations are currently wracked by theological differences and the issue of homosexuality."

5 Year Blogiversary

I forgot that January 18th, 2008 was my 5 year blogiversary. As I said last year - "Any moron can have a blog, it takes a special one to keep it going for 5 years!"

Here are my previous Blogiversary posts.

I once expressed mild disappointment on my blog that the days of the large stadium Masses celebrated by a Pope were not over. During John Paul the Great's reign there were ceremonies that raised eyebrows on those of us concerned with the dignity of the Liturgy and Papacy. My post caused an anonymous commenter to say:

"I think you come across a little arrogant and disrespectful in being "holier" than the Pope regarding the sacredness of an outdoor mass."

Well, that anonymous commenter might be interested to learn that the Pope appears to "holier" than the Pope as well -

Benedict XVI on vast, outdoor Masses: “there is a problem”

"How do we reconcile the treasure of the liturgy in all its solemnity and with the sentiment, emotion and excitment of masses of young people called to participate in it?"
Benedict XVI responded immediately that, in effect, there is a problem: "Liturgy in which masses of people participate", he said, "is a big problem."

The American Papist explains better than I can regarding why many of us, including Pope Benedict XVI, may have no problem with large outdoor Masses in some cases, but want to ensure that they are dignified and maintain the proper Liturgical atmosphere. I am glad to see the Pope and Marini II are doing what they can to restore reverence in Papal Liturgies.

The Voice of the Faithful Long Island continue to live in their own world:

This is a Most Important Year in the Life of LIVOTF!

Changes are already here…
Our Catholic world is changing before our eyes…
The Pope is coming to the United States…
Nothing will be the same…
We must prepare ourselves for what is coming…
We must be ready to take charge!!!

Fr. Mason, pastor for 31 years at Our Lady of Lourdes in Massapequa Park, is retiring. There are Catholics outside its boundaries who go to OLL as well as Catholics within its borders who go elsewhere. I know good Catholics on both sides of this divide and do not know much of the details about what went on at this parish, but I know years ago there was quite a divided battle there. Hopefully, the new pastor will be able to bring all sides together somehow.

UPDATE: In reading the bulletin, OLL is having the Legionaries of Christ give a Lenten evening of reconciliation this year. I have seen a couple of events by the Legionaries of Christ recently in DRVC. This is new because this growing religious community was (I believe) banned under Bishop McGann. I have long thought it would be great to have the LOC take over a parish here on Long Island. They would no doubt gain seminarians for their order, as well as inspire men to the priesthood for the Diocese. They are headquartered in CT. just a couple of hours away, and have a huge place in Westchester, even closer. Perhaps OLL can become a LOC parish? This would be great for the Legion as well as the Diocese.

This is the time of year when those who attend Sunday Mass faithfully each week get bombarded with appeals for money for the Diocese of Rockville Centre. While the various budget lines of the DRVC include some important things, I don't understand why the importance of the fund raising campaign has to be emphasized every year. At every Mass. By every priest. Since the people who bother to show up for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass each week hear this appeal every year I really do not see how running down the list of things the Diocese does will help bring in more money. Here is what I would say if I were a priest at one Mass per year:

"The Diocese is having its annual appeal for funds to run its various programs. Please give if you can, as the Diocese needs money to run the Tribunal, Seminary, and other Church necessities. See the bulletin for details. Whether you give or not will not affect your eternal salvation one bit, however, and since I was ordained to the Holy Priesthood to care for immortal souls, I will not spend any more time on this. Thank you"

This would be followed by thunderous applause, which I would discourage of course, and then approximiately 5 minutes after Mass I would be sent off to some mission in Alaska or something.

Karl Ehrhardt, 'Sign man' of Shea Stadium, dead at 83

Patrick Archibold at Creative Minority Report has posted excerpts from two of Fr. McCartney's columns in the bulletin of St. Matthew's Church in Dix Hills.

In this column, Fr. McCartney he takes on people who do not provide funerals for their Church-going relatives:

"However, as pastor, I will refuse any request for a priest to go to a funeral home and do a small prayer service instead of a funeral Mass. It is simply wrong to manipulate religion like that. The Catholic Church cannot force people to have funeral Masses, but at St. Matthew’s any funeral service outside of Mass will only be done as the Church intends: by bringing the body to the church and conducting the prayer service there. Let the non-practicing family sit in God’s house, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and stare into the darkness of their own unbelief. If I am the one to throw some Catholic sand in the secular eye, I am only too happy to oblige."

And in this one, he takes on parents' lack of understanding of the importance of religious education:

"[Note to enraged parents: A voicemail in an hysterical tone of voice beginning “I am absolutely furious at you . . .” does not improve the likelihood of your call being returned.]

One parent called me to say she objected to her child being assigned a Confirmation name. I told her that we do not assign Confirmation names at St. Matthew’s, nor in any Catholic Church, for that matter. She insisted. It went on and on. After investigation, it turned out that the 7th Grade students had been asked to write a report on some assigned saint whose life they had to research. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Confirmation name, but still took several hours to unravel. And no apology.

More often, I find, are the truly bizarre complaints: “Why does my child have to memorize the Act of Contrition?” “I don’t want my child to have to do any homework from religious education; he’s too busy already.” “You don’t really expect us to come every week, do you?” “My child doesn’t have to go to confession, she hasn’t committed any sins.” “What’s the big deal if he got a zero on the test, it’s not like it’s the S.A.T. or something.” I am not joking here. These are actual questions posed to me by some St. Matthew’s parents. The purpose of our Catholic Faith is to help people get to Heaven. Its purpose is not to allow people to have nice parties after Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation.

At the end of our lives we will all face an exam. Each and every one of us will be judged personally by Jesus Christ on the practice of our Catholic Faith and the actions of our lives. Believe me, that test is going to be much more important than the S.A.T."

Fr. McCartney's purpose in these columns is to focus on "what it means to be a “practicing Catholic,” and we have seen how secularism, its attitudes and its apathy, has been creeping into the Church." Patrick Archibold comments in reading the obnoxious things some parents have said and done it would be hard for him to have the patience to be a priest and deal with this stuff. I concur, and would add that priests are in a no-win situation with many parents regarding religious formation and the sacraments. They have to battle the secular attitudes of many people who use Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, and Matrimony as excuses to party with no regard for their religious nature. But they must provide these sacraments none the less. The Church needs priests strong enough to do battle with these people without losing patience and by insisting that the religious nature of these sacraments are taken seriously. Often the priests who do this will be labeled "intolerant" or "mean". If you read the columns by Fr. McCartney, you will notice an intelligent, firm, but loving approach that is both reasoned and blunt.

Father Bill Brisotti, Long Island's Daniel Berrigan

This was a nice profile of Fr. Brisotti, a liberal priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The only two things I did not like: 1) Brisotti was arrested for protesting the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant. There are plenty of things to use civil disobedience for but I think the opening of a Nuclear power plant, even if ill advised, is not one of them. 2) Bill Donohue was quoted making a dumb statement about Fr. Brisotti's trips to Cuba:
"He added that traveling to and assisting "fascist" Cuba "calls into serious question what kind of moral compass that person is working with."

Donohue should realize that Pope John Paul II also visited Cuba and making a humanitarian visit to a country does not mean necessarily supporting its facist government.

From the blog WTF Over -

An article on the talk that chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Peter Pace gave to the student body at Chaminade High in Mineola:

"Marine Gen. Peter Pace came to this Catholic school to honor Lance Corporal Farinaro, the first Marine to die following 2nd Lt. Peter Pace’s orders. The four-star general keeps a picture of the young lance corporal under the glass on his desk in the Pentagon to remind him of the sacrifices young servicemembers make.

Rev. James C. Williams, the president of the school, invited Pace to address the 1,700 students of the all-male school.

“This is selfish on my part to want to come here to Chaminade,” Pace told the students. “I’ve been invited to several Gold Star Masses and have not been able to attend. I did not want to leave active duty without coming to the place from which the single most influential military person in my life graduated.”

The lance corporal’s death also had a profound impact on the young lieutenant. “We were on patrol one day outside Da Nang, and Guido was killed by a sniper,” Pace said. “As I stayed with him, a sense of rage came through me, and as the platoon leader, I started calling an artillery strike on the village where the round had been fired.

“My platoon sergeant, who was my age – 21 or 22 -- didn’t say anything at all,” Pace said. “He just looked at me. And I knew in the look that he gave me that what I was doing was wrong.”

Pace called off the strike and led the platoon to do what he should have done in the first place – a dismounted sweep of the village. “We found nothing but women and children,” he said. “Had that artillery strike been conducted, I do not know how I could have possibly lived with myself.”

The lesson for Pace was immediate. “Regardless what you do in your life, hold on to your moral compass,” he said. “When you are emotionally least capable of defending yourself is when the biggest challenge will come. If you don’t have an idea of what you will let yourself do and what you will not let yourself do, you may find that you have done something that you would never believe yourself capable of doing.”

He said his epiphany came in combat, but it doesn’t have to. “I learned that day, to think through what was going to be happening each day thereafter, and to think through what I would allow myself to do and not do,” he said.

It could come in a meeting, a test, a temptation, whatever. “If you have thought through who you want to be at the end of each day, you will see that person,” he said. “But, if you have not, you may not like the person you end up being.”

Faith intact after Wyandanch church fire

"Smoke had blackened every pew in his church, flames had devoured all the food he'd gathered for charity, and hose water had drowned his kitchen. But the 65-year-old Wyandanch priest remained undaunted yesterday.

"We're going to rebuild here," said a red-eyed Rev. Bill Brisotti as he surveyed damage to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Roman Catholic Church. "Out of bad things, good things come."

The apparently accidental fire injured no one but caused as much as $1 million in damage to the church and its related buildings on Straight Path late Sunday. It also destroyed an outreach center that church officials said provides around 1,000 homeless and low-income residents with food, clothing and fuel each month. The congregation will worship in the parish hall, which was undamaged."

The John White case

Racism and Justice on Long Island

A rumor spreads that a black man threatened to rape a white girl, the rumor is untrue. A crowd of angry white men drive to the black man's house with a baseball bat in the car, they scream racial epithets at the black man and his father, and threaten him. Does this sound like a story from the 1920's or 1940's somewhere in the South? It actually happened on Long Island in 2007!

Any Long Islander with a brain knows that if a mob of angry black men showed up at the house of a white man in Suffolk County and screamed and threatened him, the police would immediately arrest the black men. So, the question is being asked, by Al Sharpton among others, why weren't the members of the white mob arrested? Sharpton is as right in this case as he was wrong in the Tawana Brawley case.

Having grown up on Long Island I know all too well the racist attitudes of many people, both black and white. I have heard a white women scream at a black woman in an office - "Black people were told to overpopulate the world by their black preachers!!" I have seen in that same office in Garden City a black woman get debited for being 1 minute late, punching in at 9:01 AM and having her paycheck docked for that minute. The white Italian man who sat next to her routinely showed up late and his latenesses were "squashed" by the assistant director of this department. In other words, his punch times were altered to take away latenesses so he was not always debited for latenesses which sometimes were as much as 25 minutes. I have heard racist statements by enough white people here in my lifetime to not be fooled by those who scream that "race is not a factor in this case".

Happy New Year!

The Diocese of Rockville Centre, God willing, will see 9 men ordained to the priesthood in June of 2008.

Two locals bloggers are back!

Aristotle at The Recovering Choir Director, who has also created the website: The New Pro-Life Strategy

Patrick at Extreme Catholic

Merry Christmas!!

Prayers were answered for Leticia's daughter who was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve.

I was glad to spend a 4 day weekend with family. I was also glad for gifts which included these great books:

Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI

Christians in China A.D. 600 - 2000

Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has entered the Catholic Church

Open Book has a roundup of reactions, most focusing on his record on Life Issues as a politician. I like former Anglican, now Catholic priest Fr. Dwight Longenecker's opinion:

"I don't think it's fair to take easy pot shots at Blair because of his previous views on abortion, gay rights etc. We should give everyone the benefit of the doubt and give him a warm welcome. People do change their minds about certain issues, and instead of criticizing we should give converts time and space."

In today's Newsday I was surprised to read two Letters to the Editor referring to a column by Rabbi Marc Gellman on "cafeteria Catholicism". (Rabbi Gellman now writes the God Squad column exclusively due to Msgr. Hartman's Parkinsons, although he has left his friend's name on the byline). The column is here:

God Squad: 'Cafeteria Catholicism' doesn't work

A snip: "Here are the reasons why Cafeteria Catholicism has no future and is a bad idea: First, in the cafeteria, you could leave behind the beliefs you most need to move closer to Christ and to the Church. You've actually done that in your selections. Abortion, for example, which you've left off your plate, is wrong not just because it's condemned by Catholic teachings. It's wrong because it is the taking of a human life, and that life is sacred; its claim trumps even the most agonizing sacrifices of the mother in helping bring a child into the world."

The first letter writer praises the column and notes the irony of someone outside the faith understanding the failings of cafeteria Catholicism better than many within the faith. The second letter is by Deacon Don Zirkel, who seems to totally misunderstand the term "cafeteria Catholic" and proclaims he is one:

"I feel blessed to be a Catholic and to recognize the generous service of many Christians, although I am troubled by some treatment of women and gays, and the attempted cover-up of the sexual abuse crisis."

Deacon Zirkel does not seem to realize the Rabbi was pointing out the folly of picking and choosing teachings, which has nothing to do with failings of individual Church members. The sex abuse crisis for instance can be condemned harshly by Catholics who fully accept the Church's teachings and doctrine. As a member of the clergy, Deacon Zirkel should more carefully read something before responding.

Zenit summarizes the recent Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

'Missionary Mandate of the Church is to Evangelize'

"3. Today there is "a growing confusion" about the Church's missionary mandate. Some think "that any attempt to convince others on religious matters is a limitation of their freedom,"

Anyone who reads books written by Catholic converts or who browses Catholic blogs, has read stories of people asking for help in converting only to be told they can stay in whatever church they are currently attending or being discouraged by misinformation or ignorance, or worse. The 70's and 80's were low points in apologetics and evangelization but many protestants, including many clergy, converted starting in the 80's and have been a notable force in renewing apologetics and evangelization. They are a big influence and inspiration to many cradle Catholics. I recently purchased Nothing But the Truth by Karl Keating and he writes about all of these things. The lack of apologetics and evangelization by Catholics was part of the sad shape of the Church over the past 35 years, although this too has changed for the better recently.

Related: an article in The Long Island Catholic about Evangelization in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

"The Church also can look at practices like the rosary or eucharistic adoration that seem old to people who grew up a generation or more ago in the Church, Bastien said, but are novel to younger people. “Of course, the way they do it today might be different, not as quiet.”
Smith pointed out that XLT, a form of eucharistic adoration that includes lively music, has a great deal of appeal for teens. “The music is important in a lot of what we do for young people.”

Voice of the Faithful Long Island continue to show their complete ignorance by inviting clueless speakers such as Paul Lakeland. Here is some of his "wisdom" he imparted to the foolish old folks of VOTF:

"Demand access to the Eucharist, for it is your right! Do not participate in para-liturgies in the absence of a priest."

"The single best thing that we could do for the Church would be to remove the Bishops and replace them with well trained Sisters. "

"He feels that VOTF’s aim to keep away from doctrinal issues is naïve. "

I have a better idea: VOTF should accept all the doctrines of the Catholic Church, the liberal bishops should be replaced by orthodox ones, and people should attend Masses on all Sundays and Holy Days, even it means traveling to overcrowded Churches. Here is another idea: Instead of spending $6,000 on a full page ad in Newsday, VOTF should donate all that money to the Sisters of Life, or the Franciscans Friars of the Renewal, or Aid to the Church in Need. But the most interesting part of Lakeland's talk had to be this statement:

"By way of introduction, he reviewed problems plaguing the Church: the sexual scandal, shortage of priests, financial problems and poor ecclesiastical leadership. Recent news from Rome such as more frequent celebration of the Latin Mass is hardly encouraging."

HUH?! Why is the celebration of the Latin Mass hardly encouraging with regard to the problems of the Church. More reverence in the Liturgies, more holiness in priests, and more of a traditional understanding of Catholicism is exactly what is needed. Lakeland, and VOTF just do not get it.

The Golden Compass

Apparently the author of the books that spawned the movie The Golden Compass is an anti-Catholic bigot and a subversive atheist. The movie reviewers at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops gave the movie a positive review despite the author's publicly stated intention:

"He told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003, for example, that "my books are about killing God," and that he was amused that American Christians have been more critical of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books than His Dark Materials.
"I've been flying under the radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything old Harry has said," Mr. Pullman said.
He has stated a number of times that he wrote His Dark Materials in part to counter the Christian themes and values woven into C.S. Lewis' literary children's classic, The Chronicles of Narnia."

American Papist has been following the story and reports that the USCCB has now withdrawn the movie review. This is yet another story that confirms that pressure from people (The Catholic League, bloggers, etc..) is still needed to get the Bishops to do the right things. Both Thomas Peters at American Papist and Amy Welborn at Charlotte Was Both have asked whether the USCCB needs to have a movie reviewer, and both have mentioned that Stephen Gredanus already does a better job than the people paid by the USCCB.

Rite of Dedication of St. Therese of Lisieux, Montauk, NY

The above link takes you to a 30 minute YouTube video from WVVH-TV Hamptons Television® showing clips of the Dedication Mass of the new Church in Montauk. The parish Church was originally built in 1935 and closed in 1995 due to damage from salt air and harsh winds of the nearby Atlantic Ocean. It took several years to build the new Church due to those same harsh conditions. Shortly after the dedication Mass, the pastor of the parish Msgr. Peter A. Libasci became a bishop.

My post on the two corrupt priests who tried to get out of serving their jail time by claiming to be too sick caused "Mr. T" to lash out again on this blog in the comment section. This time he accused me of being ignorant about things in the Church, a gossip, and of using slander. I deny all three and post a lengthy reply below. Mr. T. is representative of certain Catholics, mostly of an older generation, who are full of fear whenever younger Catholics speak of tradition. My advice to all these Catholics: remember the words of a President of your generation: You have nothing to fear but fear itself. For those who are appreciative of the cleaning out of the corruption and dissent in the Church, who love the renewed sense of tradition on display everywhere: remember the words of a President of my generation: You ain't seen nothing yet!

Mr. T's comments in italics, my response below:

"12/4 - you say I have no faith in the USCCB"

Wrong – I said “Although I don't put much faith in the USCCB, I wish Bishop Murphy the best in this responsibility” Seems like you are simply seeing what you want to see…Everything you write next does not change the fact that I have little faith (which is different from none) in the UCCB

“I trust that is base on personal, direct experience. Did you know that in the United States, but for the American Bishops, there would be significantly less lower and middle income (affordable) housing. That post Katrina, US Catholic Charities distirbuted more DIRECT aid and faster than any agency other than FEMA.”

Yes, I don’t put much faith in the USCCB since for years it was run by the “liberal” faction of bishops, for lack of a better word. This organization put out positive reviews of Brokeback Mountain and The Golden Compass, but mild and weak statements of policy, and watered down theology. The things you mention are wonderful, but nothing I have ever said on this blog has anything to do with this stuff. I post mostly on liturgical and criminal matters, as well as education and vocational stuff. Also, is Catholic Charities run by the USCCB? - I thought it was an independent charity. Still do not see slander or gossip…

“That there voice has been the only leading voice for the unborn and the elderly.”

That is hard to believe – the ONLY leading voice?? What about Priests for Life? What about Operation Rescue? American Life League? Feminists for Life? Still do not see slander or gossip…


“They failed to deal appropriately with the sexual abuse crisis, but again I believe they felt constrained by Canon Lawyer and its protection of the clergy. They have been more aggressive since in dealing with a horrible disorder that affected a limited number of priests. However, one is too many.”

I am one of those rare people who care less about the Bishop’s handling of priest abusers than the abusers themselves. I really object to your term “horrible disorder” to describe grown men who molest young boys and girls or teen. I see it as sin, not a disorder – although some of the men may have been sick. Still, my blog focuses mostly on the corrupt (such as Michael Jude Fay) or perverts (such as Paul Shanley) not the sick types who were truly contrite. You should also notice my blog focuses a lot on crime and corruption in general – I have posted more about the Mepham High rapes and the Roslyn school district scandals than most places on the net. So, if you weren’t so angry you might notice a pattern of hating crime and injustice, not of bias against priests. Still do not see slander or gossip…

106 "typical of Bishop Wcela's "smug and condesending attitude toward tradition" When was the last time you engaged in personal, face to face dialgoue with Emil Wcela who many and I mean many would say is one of the simplest, holiestm gentlest priests on Long Island.”

When was the last time you engaged me in personal face to face dialogue? Everything I have read by Bishop Wcela on traditional Catholicism has been smug and condescending. If Bishop Wcela writes publicly in America Magazine I can write on this blog criticizing what he writes. Just as you can criticize what I write. This is not slander, I am commenting on his writing. Why do I need to have spoken to him in person? I met him once, and heard him speak and along with other younger people was not that impressed. Still, I was grateful he gave the talk he did. I am sure if he wanted to talk about Church stuff we would have a nice conversation. I would want him to know how much younger people want tradition that was thrown overboard in the 70’s and how that is a good thing, not a bad thing. I am sure we would agree on some things and disagree on others. I am sure he could teach me a lot on scripture. I have never commented on his personal holiness. Still do not see slander or gossip…

"11/17 - sidebar comment in church to your wife about "child molesting priests" causing the emptiness in pews.”

This was in response to a pastor (of a parish where 3 priests have been removed) saying ‘that there were less people coming to Mass these days, less people giving money, and he didn't think there was anyone to blame for this’ I mean come on, do you have to have a crystal ball to see why so many would be hesitant to give money? This was the purpose of the priest’s talk by the way, it was not the homily. Still do not see slander or gossip…

"As a parent, practicing Catholic, a sinner, I would rather paint myself with the brush of sin than some broad statement about a whole class of people.”

Are you the same Mr. T. who said “you and your kind”????? As in “Oh yes, the restoration of the Tidentine Mass will heal all your woes. If you and your kind are fruits of that, the future is far worse than the past.” Still do not see slander or gossip…

"Would you care for more comments on what I consdier ignorant and slander?”

I would settle for just 1 example because so far… Still do not see slander or gossip…

"Contribute to the healing, not the pain.”

From what most people tell me that is what I am doing, now why don’t you take your own advice instead of ranting against the traditional Mass? Still do not see slander or gossip…

"Some priests caused scandal. Most did not.”

We are in complete agreement here. Still do not see slander or gossip…

"Highlight in your blog a priest (other than one simply saying a beatiful Tridentine Mass) bearing the heat of the day...like Fr.Frank Pizzarelli caring for 1,000's of kids, Fr. John Cervini giving his life and health to the missions in the Dominican Republic,Fr. Gene Murphy caring for the sick at Winthrop Hospital for decades,or the late Fr. Larry Penzes who served his country in the military, minististered to all with kindness and gave his life as he celebrated holy mass...the novus ordo holy mass.”

I have mentioned good priests and good things in this Diocese, but your anger seems to blind you from seeing them. Please click on the category on the right that says: Diocese of Rockville Centre and you will see some of them. Still do not see slander or gossip…

"Who cares about the Pope's MC and what vestments B16 is wearing. The gospel focuses on action and the men I mentioned have lived the gospel.”

Many Catholics care, because they understand the importance of taste and tradition. Still do not see slander or gossip…

"And, as I have told you in the past tens of thousands of people would completely find offense in your assessment of the ministry of one John McGann, whom I am certain you never spent five seconds speaking to or praying with.”


You are wrong, I served Mass for Bishop McGann and was confirmed by him. So, I have spent more than 5 seconds speaking to him and praying with him. I am always uncertain of people that are so certain of things.

I can’t understand why anyone would be offended by my assessment of Bishop McGann’s leadership of this Diocese. Catholics are not mindless sheep you know, we can disagree with priests, nuns, bishops and even the Pope on simple matters. I disagree with the direction he and his staff took. I do not believe his actions helped foster vocations, or orthodoxy on this island, but I do not find him to be unusual in that regard. Nor do I think that made him a bad person. Nor would I list him as one of the country’s worst bishops in any regard. I like the direction Bishop Murphy is taking this Diocese, but I am not offended when people criticize him. Criticism is not something that offends me, unless it is mean or ignorant.

I do get offended by priests who rape children, or spend other people’s money on their lovers. I find offense in violent criminals and liars. I find offense in people that lie or steal. I find offense in killing and raping. I simply do not understand why anyone would be offended by someone’s opinion, unless it was evil or hateful, which this blog has never been. I do not slander or gossip, nor do I lie. I am always careful of what I say, even when I criticize, which I do not do often. Recently I upgraded my blog and was able to tag each post with a label to put them all into categories. Doing this enabled me to read old posts that I had forgotten about. The ones that were angry posts were always about a bigot (like Jimmy Breslin) or about a violent criminal (like the Mepham High rapists) or a jerk (like Roslyn School District thief Pamela Gluckin). And yes, many were on corrupt priests or bishops, that is to be expected from someone who loves the Church and whose blog concentrates on Catholicism. I guess I have a high sense of justice, or a low tolerance for evil. The only posts I have ever thought of deleting or changing while labeling all the posts were the ones on islam. I reread them while organizing the categories and thought they may have come close to the line from righteous anger to hate a few times, but this has never been true of my posts on any Church stuff.

Conclusion – I do not see gossip or slander on my blog, but if you want a place where corruption in the Church is ignored or tradition is disparaged, then you are not going to like it here.

Judge sentences Darien priest to just over three years in prison

The above link refers to the priest Michael Jude Fay from Connecticut, who stole money from a parish and spent it lavishly with his gay lover. He tried the same trick to get out of prison that a priest of the Diocese or Brooklyn tried: claiming he is close to death from terminal cancer.

"I beg for your mercy not to send me to prison, Fay told the judge. I am already in prison and I beg you to let me die with the medical dignity my doctors and nurses provide."

Fortunately, this judge was smart enough to ignore this trick. Check out this quote from an article about Fay:

"Fay learned he had prostate cancer, but Patafio and other parishioners said he cited problems from the cancer to avoid duties he disliked. He called it playing his "cancer card" they said."

This is exactly what another priest Barry Ryan tried to pull - See my post here. Ryan claimed in 2004 he was too sick from terminal cancer to go to jail, and then ended up moving to Missouri in 2007, resulting in a warrant for his arrest. He finally began serving his jail time in Oct. 2007:

"Ryan, 58, was formally sentenced in 2004 after pleading guilty to criminal sexual act charges. But because he was in the advanced stages of terminal liver cancer, Suffolk County Court Judge Ralph Gazzillo agreed to put off sending Ryan to jail for seven months."

Three years later, Ryan was still alive and his illness had stabilized, but Ryan had moved to Missouri, according to prosecutors."

Ryan appeared frail and gaunt when he was brought into the Riverhead courtroom in a wheelchair Monday. But while informing Gazzillo of the various medications he required, Ryan spoke far more clearly than the whisper he used three years ago at his sentencing."

From Catholic.org:

A nice story on a former Long Islander who is bringing a Mexican art to Churches in the US.

"A self-described handyman who built his own house on Long Island and said he knows “all the trades,” Donaldson is focused today on transforming religious pictures into magnificently painted tile scenes, eight of which are mounted on and around the courtyard walls of Santa Cruz Parish at 6th Avenue and 22nd Street in Tucson."

Bishop Murphy Elected Chair of USCCB Domestic Policy Committee

"The Domestic Policy Committee is a standing committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It coordinates the USCCB's policy development and advocacy on major national issues including: health care, welfare reform, violence and the death penalty, poverty, civil rights, housing, homelessness, hunger, rural life, economic justice, labor and employment. It has oversight of the USCCB Department of Social Development and World Peace with regard to these issues. "

Although I don't put much faith in the USCCB, I wish Bishop Murphy the best in this responsibility. Perhaps a good tool he can use for this work is the Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy.

The Curt Jester has a great post on the media coverage of the Pope's new encyclical Spe Salvi. First, he lists headlines that seem like they are typical Curt Jester spoofs, but they are real headlines he is listing. Then, he quotes Tom at Disputations who spoke about the Ginger factor:

"The Ginger Factor, named for a well-known "Far Side" cartoon, is a measure of the ratio of words said to words understood. A dog named Ginger, for example, only understands the word "Ginger" in the sentence, "Okay, Ginger, if you get into the garbage one more time, you'll be spending the night outside." I think most people, not just benighted reporters, experience a high Ginger Factor with most papal encyclicals"

Speaking of the Long Island Catholic, they have an announcement that there will be a new Q & A column starting after the New Year, written by Msgr. Francis Maniscalco. This made me realize they are thankfully not running the awful Q & A column by Fr. John Deitzen any longer.

From the Long Island Catholic:

Dan Schutte, former Jesuit and composer of the songs “Here I Am, Lord,” “Table of Plenty” and “City of God" recently spoke at Good Shepherd Parish in Holbrook. I wish I had known he was coming to Long Island so I could have driven the 20 minutes to Holbrook, went to the talk, and taken the opportunity to throw up on Mr. Schutte's shoes. Payback for all those times his music at Mass made me cringe and think unChristian thoughts.

"The Gospel image of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples is the perfect example for all liturgical ministers, according to Schutte, who asked the participants to think about how they would prepare for a dinner party.

“As good hosts we think about those who are coming and their needs,” he said. “As people of hospitality, as the Body of Christ, we have to think about the same things when we plan the eucharistic celebration.”


(Ok, ok, full disclosure: I sort of liked "Here I am Lord" when I used to hear it in high school sung by the choir)

Summorum Pontificum on Long Island update:

1) My friend Aristotle is back to blogging at The Recovering Choir Director after a long absence. He is the organist for the 9 AM Mass at St. Matthew's in Dix Hills and he reports:

"In three consecutive weeks, three of the priests that minister to St. Matthew’s parish (including the pastor) have now publicly celebrated the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite."

2) I have not heard about the traditional Mass in Cutchogue which is currently held once a month. This was going to be made weekly when it was possible, perhaps someone could fill me in on when or if that will happen. [UPDATE: Anthony in combox indicates Msgr. McDonald, the rector of the seminary, has been celebrating it the past few Sundays]

3) I did hear that Our Lady of Lourdes in Massapequa Park was going to be starting a Mass in the Extraordinary Form. I do not see anything in their bulletin regarding this, could someone please verify this?

UPDATE: In the combox, Anthony pointed out what I missed in the OLL bulletin:

"We received over 400 signatures requesting a Latin Mass. Therefore, we have decided to have a Latin Mass every Wednesday at 8am and one on Sunday. The Sunday Mass will begin on Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 8:15 am. It will rotate each week to 9:30-10:45 & 12 noon, so that all who requested will have an opportunity to attend. We hope this meets with everyone’s approval."

This is excellent! A traditional Mass in the Church on Sunday as part of the regular schedule.

This also means the number of weekly Sunday traditional Masses in the Diocese of Rockville Centre went from 1 before SP, to 4 after SP! The number of weekday traditional Masses went from 0 to 1. Unfortunately, the number of Novus Ordo Masses with latin and chant went from 1 to 0 so hopefully this can be fixed soon.

4) Finally, the main celebrant of the traditional Mass at St. Pius X Chapel in Uniondale, Fr. James Pereda has been made a Monsignor! This is a well deserved honor.

Ever hear a homily that claimed Jesus did not really perform the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes? I did once, and Mark Shea brilliantly summarizes everything wrong with this at InsideCatholic:

Lying About the Loaves and Fish

"Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and the crowd, so moved at his warm fuzziness, started to share their own lunches with each other and sing, "Wind Beneath My Wings."

"In countless parishes all over the United States this Thanksgiving, some variation on this rubbish will be the theme of the homily as, once again, this tired naturalistic exegesis is trotted out to bore parishioners, confuse the young, irritate the theologically informed, and insult the ancient Jews it so casually caricatures."

Pope Elevates 23 New Cardinals

The above links to the Associated Press story on the consistory held in St. Peter's Basilica. Important highlights are:

The first Cardinal in the south of the USA (Dinardo of Houston) which reflects the growing population of Catholics down there.

The first Cardinal in Iraq (Emmanuel III Delly), which reflects the suffering of the people of Iraq, especially Christians who are being slaughtered almost out of existence.

Less important, but very good to hear, is the description of the vestments worn by the Pope:

"Wearing resplendent golden robes and a 19th century gilded bishop's hat once worn by Pope Pius IX"

"Benedict's vestments were particularly ornate: He donned a long, golden silk cape, embroidered with scenes from the life of the saints that was held up by two altar servers as he processed down the main aisle."

This is the another sign that the era of "Marini I" is over, and the era of "Marini II" begins. For those not familiar with the background of this Good Marini/ Bad Marini stuff, click here to read about it on JimmyAkin.org.

Or to put it simply:

Marini I -

Marini II -

I just added RealChoice to the blogroll, after finding it while searching for more info on Francisco Leonardo Fletes Sanchez. The most information seems to be in this article:

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE A RECURRENT PROBLEM IN RURAL NICARAGUA

Man Behind Effort to Legalize Abortion in Nicaragua Gets 30 Years for Step-Daughter's Rape

"MANAGUA, November 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Francisco Fletes Sanchez, who covered up his sexual abuse of his stepdaughter "Rosita" in 2003 with the help of international pro-abortion organizations, has received the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for his crimes."

"Fletes achieved notoriety in 2003 when he cooperated with a coalition of pro-abortion feminist groups in Nicaragua to secure an abortion for his nine year old stepdaughter, whom he falsely claimed had been impregnated by a Costa Rican neighbor while the family was living and working in that country."

"The abortion prevented authorities from identifying Fletes as the perpetrator."

"Fletes continued to rape his daughter for four more years, and ultimately fathered a second child, who was not aborted. When the media discovered the child, Fletes confessed to the rape, resulting ultimately in today's sentence."

From Lifesite via The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Just when we are giving thanks, another thing to be thankful for regarding Msgr. Eugene Costa of the Diocese of Springfield:

Springfield's Monsignor Kicked Out Of Priesthood
Move Made Directly By Pope Benedict XVI Over Sexual Misconduct Claims

"Costa was once chancellor of the Springfield diocese. His problems began when he was beaten by two young men in a park in December of 2004. It was later alleged that he had solicited the two for sex.

Subsequent investigations by the diocese and the U.S. Attorney's office revealed a pattern of sexual misconduct. "

News accounts do not mention Roman Catholic Faithful and its leader Stephen Brady, who is recovering from a motorcycle accident. Brady and RCF have been exposing the corruption of the Springfield Diocese for years. The Diocese was one of the most corrupt in the USA, and its former bishop Daniel Ryan was exposed by RCF for paying teenage male prostitutes.

10/24 update: Questions remain: Does Daniel Ryan still get some sort of pension money from the Diocese? How exactly did Costa become a Monsignor, and who was involved in getting him that honor? Who else in the Diocese covered up for Ryan, Costa, and the other perverts? Do any of these men have anything to do with the unsolved murder of Fr. Kunz, who was helping RCF expose corruption? Have the people who attacked Stephen Brady and RCF in the past apologized and admitted RCF was right?

Great news from Newsday:

Stem Cell Breakthrough Defuses Debate

"Scientists have created the equivalent of embryonic stem cells from ordinary skin cells, a breakthrough that could someday produce new treatments for disease without the explosive moral questions of embyro cloning.

Research teams in the United States and Japan showed that a simple lab technique can rival the complex and highly controversial idea of extracting stem cells from cloned embryos.

It was a landmark achievement on all fronts, defusing one of the most divisive debates in modern medicine and religion. It was lauded by scientists, ethicists and religious groups."

The best line in this very positive story is this:

"An official of one group fiercely opposed to destroying embryos saw things differently, saying scientists should thank "pro-life voices" for pushing them to find alternatives."

Just check out the archives of LifeSite regarding stem cells to see how true this is.

Please Don’t Pray at Mass!

Fr. Vin, the pastor of Our Lady of Grace in West Babylon wrote this in this week's bulletin, and it is published online at the parish's website. The main point he makes is an good one:

"Please don’t “pray at Mass”; instead, Pray the Mass."

Unfortunately, to make his point he does the "tradition bashing" that has been so common for 35 years:

"People who grew up with the Mass in Latin couldn’t “pray the Mass”: It was incomprehensible. So instead, we were encouraged to “pray at Mass.” The priest “did his thing” with his back to the people, murmuring (as instructed – people weren’t supposed to hear some of the prayers) in a foreign language. Rather than be bored silly, lay people brought things to do – rosary beads to pray with, booklets of devotions, English-language “missals” that had translations to follow. And well-meaning instructors told people to conduct their own private devotions in the context of the time they spent at Mass – not a good solution, but the best that the times allowed."

I was not around to experience any of this first hand, but many Catholics have said that the general thrust of this argument is incorrect or exaggerated. I do know a few things however: That at the couple of dozen traditional latin Masses I have attended, none of the things described above occurred. In fact, I have found that those attending the Mass in the "extraordinary form" tended to be more prayerfully following and yes, praying the Mass than the seemingly bored people at the local parish Masses. Many at local parishes do not pray any of the prayers aloud. I have also found that the traditional Mass is very comprehensible, and the more I attend the more I learn.


I also know this: that when I attend the traditional Mass I use my Dad's 1943 Missal that I found in a box in the attic. The very first printed words in the Missal are: Pray the Mass. I remember seeing this for the first time and thinking it was stunning. Somehow I did not imagine that phrase being used in 1943 but there it was. I think that for those who want Catholics to pray the Mass today, in either form, it is better to point out positive things rather than talk about how bad things were years ago. For example, I learned by attending the traditional Mass that we genuflect during the Incarnation lines in the Creed: "By the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary and became man." The present rubric is to bow during those three lines, which I started to do only after attending the traditional Mass, and I found it to be better than genuflecting. So, this is a positive change that is found in the Mass today. If things were really as bad as some say up until 1970, and the new Mass revisions were so wonderful, then there would be no reason for the huge drop in the numbers of Catholics who attend Sunday Mass from before 1970 to today. People would be flocking to parishes in order to attend a Mass they can understand, to see a priest face the people, to pray in their own language, to join together in prayer. This is simply not what happened, in fact the opposite occurred. So, although I totally agree with Fr. Vin's commentary and hope Catholics "Pray the Mass" either in the normative or extraordinary form, I think his reliance on the old argument of "things were bad before the changes" does not help the case at all. And now, here are some scans of my father's 1943 Missal, please note the first page:
- Click to enlarge

"And then there were these three woodsmen...but only one of them talked"

Karen Hall at Some Have Hats mentioned the TV show Newhart which I enjoyed. She reveals her ex-husband was one of the creators of the characters "Larry, Daryl and Daryl". This caused me to remember the show's final episode. Forget the Soprano's fade to black,the final episode of Newhart was the best finale to a show ever!

From Newsday:

Charles Wang, formerly of Computer Associates and current owner of the NY Islanders, has submitted his revised plan for the development of what is called the Nassau Hub.

"Will its residents embrace a new vision of development that accepts urban scale and density on the promise that it will deliver vibrant, walkable communities where the next generation can afford to live?

Or will they see it as just another attempt to jam too many buildings onto too small a piece of land, with too much traffic and not enough parking?

The hockey team, The Islanders, play in a pretty run down arena called the Nassau Veterans Coliseum. This needs to be replaced, and Wang proposes not just replacing it, but building an entire development around the new coliseum. Some of the pictures and ideas of this "Lighthouse at Long Island" are intriguing, such as the waterways and the promise of "walkability". But the original plans for this area were scaled down after Long Islanders complained of the project "looking like Queens". This is the common complaint of all of us who grew up here, the place is starting to become more like the city - too many buildings, cars, and people and not enough space to put them all. This "Nassau Hub" area already has way too much traffic. I am concerned about this project not having enough parking spaces, and including too many new buildings for conferences and hotels. I have to give them credit however, this project is not just more strip malls and box stores. My preference: scale it down some more - just rebuild the coliseum with extra rinks and waterways, add some nice stores and restaurants for people to go to after events, and leave the place looking like Long Island.

100,000

The person who came to this blog from Manchester, New Hampshire at 9:10 AM this morning was visitor #100,000. Thanks for visiting, and sorry but you do not win anything.

*Sigh*

It is now confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium and National Stadium when he visits the US in April. I had hoped the era of the Mega-Masses were over. At least with the new Master of Ceremonies, we can hope the silliness of previous years will not be repeated. The Pope will also visit Ground Zero, Dunwoodie, and the UN.

Amy Welborn, who is not blogging as much as she used to, still manages to find interesting Catholic related links. At Charlotte Was Both, she points out a great piece-

Give Garry Wills that old-time religion

This is an op-ed in the LA Times by St. Blog's own Gregory Popcak. Mr. Popcak, who I met at the blogging conference at St. John's Law School, responds to a previous editorial by Garry Wills where Mr. Wills tried to say abortion was not a religious issue. In the editorial, Mr. Popcak mentions both Peter Singer and James Watson, both people I have written about recently on this blog.

From Newsday -

Navy chaplain Capodanno set on road to sainthood

"His story was told Friday in a presentation following a Mass for the football team at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington. The presentation was given by Vietnam veteran John Scafidi, who was at the battle where Capodanno died."

The official website for the canonization of Fr. Vincent Capodanno is http://www.vincentcapodanno.org/

From the where do they find these people files:

Priest accused of stalking Conan O'Brien

Interesting discussion going on over at Catholic Matriarch in My Domestic Church aka Catholic Mom on Catholic Schools. I am interested in the discussion of CCD programs and how they are treated at parishes, especially parishes with Catholic schools. The blogger mentions a parish school installing smart boards in classrooms and not allowing them to be used for CCD. Here on Long Island, the number of students in CCD classes is greater than the number of students in Catholic schools so we should be making sure the CCD programs are top notch. Are parishes and the Diocese doing enough for these programs?

Cool

From the Long Island Catholic:

"Bishop William Murphy, flanked by Msgr. Robert Morrissey, left, and Deacon John Coughlin, faces the altar as he celebrates Mass at St. Mary Major Basilica"

The Diocese of Rockville Centre is sponsoring a golden jubilee pilgrimage to Rome. Click here to see a picture of Bishop Murphy celebrating Mass "ad orientem".

John Paul II Named Patron for Youth Day '08

"World Youth Day organizers say that Servant of God Pope John Paul II was a natural choice as one of the event's 10 patrons, since the Polish Pontiff invented the gatherings."

President Bush nominates Mary Ann Glendon as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican

Fr. Francis Mary Stone of EWTN's Life on the Rock show has taken time off to "discern" after becoming close to a woman he was counseling.

Update: The reaction throughout St. Blog's Parish has been one of sadness with many offering prayers for Fr. Francis. A few have expressed anger and noted that the time to discern is before ordination not after. I would agree with this and also add that traditionally priests have always had to be careful not to become too close to someone they are counseling or teaching. Still, prayers for Fr. Francis and this widow are the best response.

Steelers first in local market brand strength

"The Pittsburgh Steelers are more than just a good football team. They're also a powerful brand.
The franchise was named the strongest team brand in its local market compared with scores of other professional sports teams across the country in a new consumer survey"

Anyone that has been to Pittsburgh can vouch for this. I have seen the Steelers logo painted on a side street, I have seen busloads of fans pulling up to a hotel the weekend of a game, and I have seen Pittsburgh fans gathered around a tv watching the game with an intensity of generals at war.

Come Here Watson, I need you

Now that James Watson has resigned from Cold Spring Harbor Lab after making racist comments, Newsday has published an article entitled An Echo of the past which mentions the racism of the first head of the lab. Per the Scientific American blog, Cold Spring Harbor was once the center of eugenics studies in America and although there are many great things the Lab has done, and is doing, it is important to remember how even good intentions can lead to bad science and bad things. This is especially important to remember considering James Watson's on the record stance against the Catholic Church for its teaching on (embryonic, not adult) stem cell research. Consider:

Edwin Black, author of IBM and the Holocaust, wrote a book about Eugenics called War Against the Weak Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race

The website for the book says: It began on Long Island and Ended at Auschwitz.....and yet it never really stopped. Here is a quote from an interview the author did with the Dallas Morning News:

"Question: All this happened 60 or more years ago. What's the lesson now?

Answer: First, it's important to understand that the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Institute and Planned Parenthood were completely cooperative. We should not judge these organizations today by how they were 50 or 90 years ago. These organizations publicly regret the involvement of their originators.
The "take away" is how easy it is to mask racism and prejudice in science. How easy it is to be deluded by credentials and academic titles. Remember, eugenics in the U.S. and in Nazi Germany was based on "settled science." The eugenicists all agreed on it.

Question: You mentioned that, universally, the Catholic Church spoke against eugenics. Why didn't it work? Is there a lesson there for organized religion, in terms of preventing something like this in the future?

Answer: But it did work. Where the Catholic Church was strong – parts of Illinois or Massachusetts, for instance – eugenics measures were not enacted. The problem was that organized religion failed to project itself beyond its small sphere of influence. If there had been a more universal approach, had the Catholic Church and other churches ... been far more aggressive in defending human rights during the 12-year Hitler era, things might have been different. But, you have to understand, eugenics never acted in the name of an organized religion. Eugenics held itself out to be its own religion.

Question: Is there a religious issue here?

Answer: Sanctity of life is a religious issue. The devaluation of human life is a religious issue. Once you say, "I want to improve society by doing away with someone else, or someone else's family," you're into genocide. No matter how pure your heart is.

The recent paper delivered by Peter J. Colosi on Pope John Paul II vs. Peter Singer at the conference of Catholic Social Scientists has a foonote I found very quotable. Singer's decision to supply his ailing mother with aides, rather than kill her, completely contradicted his philosophical beliefs and his work in ethics. A footnote in Colosi's paper quotes Peter Berkowitz in the New Republic Jan. 10, 2000 :

"The ethicist's innocence, at this late date in his career, of the most elemental features of his subject matter boggles the mind. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more stunning rebuke to the well-heeled and well-ensconced academic discipline of practical ethics than that its most controversial and influential star, at the peak of his discipline, after an Oxford education, after twenty-five years as a university professor, and after the publication of thousands of pages laying down clear-cut rules on life-and-death issues, should reveal, only as the result of a reporter's prodding, and only in the battle with his own elderly mother's suffering, that he has just begun to appreciate that the moral life is complex."

Hereditary, My Dear Watson?

James Watson, formerly of Cold Spring Harbor Lab made racist comments recently that made the news . Check out Dawn Eden's description of her meeting with him.

Then, please see this article which includes this telling quote:

"James Watson would have aborted his son if a genetic test had been available at the time warning that his child would be born with severe epilepsy.

"Any time you can prevent a seriously sick child from being born, it is good for everyone," Dr Watson told The Sunday Age. "Most mothers wouldn't want to have dwarfs."

Or:

"For instance, he believes abortions are acceptable where a foetus is found to be genetically inclined to homosexuality."

Then there is the whole question of how much credit should have gone to Rosalind Franklin for the discovery of DNA's Double Helix:

From Wikipedia:

"Watson's original title was to have been "Honest Jim," in part to raise the ethical questions of bypassing Franklin to gain access to her X-ray diffraction data before they were published. Watson seems to have never been particularly bothered by the way things turned out. If all that mattered was beating Pauling to the structure of DNA, then Franklin's cautious approach to analysis of the X-ray data was simply an obstacle that Watson needed to run around."

Or from Jewish Virtual Library.org:

" In fact, many scientists believe Franklin played a larger role than previously acknowledged in the research that led to the 1962 Nobel Prize that was awarded to Maruice Wilkins, Francis Crick, and James Watson for the discovery of DNA's double helix.
Wilkins shared Franklin's data, without her knowledge, with Watson and Crick, at Cambridge University, and they pulled ahead in the race, ultimately publishing the proposed structure of DNA in March 1953."

Is this a trend here on Long Island? First St. John the Evangelist parish and now Cure of Ars in Merrick?

"The church was re-opened in early October after an extensive renovation. Some generous parishioners took on the cost of the renovation which included having the tabernacle moved to the center of the church behind the altar."

From The Long Island Catholic

Special Report: Are they inventing their own Mass in Holland?

"In Nijmegen, Holland, in the church of the Augustinian friars, each Sunday the Mass is concelebrated by a Protestant and a Catholic, with one presiding over the liturgy of the Word and the sermon, and the other over the liturgy of the Eucharist, in alternation. The Catholic is almost always a layperson, and is often a woman. For the Eucharistic prayer, the texts of the missal are passed over in favor of texts composed by the former Jesuit Huub Oosterhuis. The bread and wine are shared by all."

This story by Sandro Magister was found on Catholic Online . In the land of the murder of Theo Van Gogh, it appears Christianity is on its way out.

THE SOCIETY OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL SCIENTISTS

The 15TH ANNUAL MEETING at St. John's University Law School

Post IV

Professor Joseph Varacalli, the founder of the Center for Catholic Studies at Nassau Community College, asked me if I could put together a panel on Catholic blogging and I was intimidated but very honored. I knew there were a some local bloggers around and asked Leticia Velasquez of Causa Nostrae Laetitiae and Dawn Eden of The Dawn Patrol first. I knew there were others in the NY area I could ask but both of these women said yes so there was our panel. We would each speak for 15 minutes and then there would be a question and answer period. Later, Elizabeth Andrew, a local blogger I was not familiar with, was added to the panel so we had a 4 person panel. I was exciting to talk about Catholic blogging since I have been very interested in them since I started reading some of the blogs on Gerard Serafin's "List of Some Catholic Blogs". When Gerard died I created the Catholic Blog Directory to continue this valuable resource of having a list of blogs of interest to Catholics. I wanted in my talk to give a background/history of Catholic blogging and to point out the importance of blogs to Catholics, and hope I did some justice to this. In hindsight, I wish I had gone over some ideas on blogging that I would have liked to stress, but because of time constraints and nervousness I left them out or mentioned them briefly. I also would have liked to gone into some criticisms of blogs but we did not as a panel do this. Overall though, the panel went fine. Next, I will post my basic talk for the panel and fill in some of the stuff I left out in the talk.

THE SOCIETY OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL SCIENTISTS

The 15TH ANNUAL MEETING at St. John's University Law School

Post III

After the great panel on Pius XII, I skipped the expensive lunch and went across the street to the Fame Diner and had a turkey burger. Then I met up with Leticia and we went to the room where the blog conference was being held to see if we could get our blogs put up on the screen in the "smart classroom" (we figured it out somehow). Before our blog conference in this same room was a panel on The Legacy of Pope John Paul II Continues so I stayed. The discussant was Brian Scarnecchia, Chair of Humanities and Professor of Catholic Social Thought at Franciscan University. He introduced Peter Colosi of the Franciscan U. Gaming, Austria campus, who delivered a paper on "John Paul II and Christian Personalism vs. Peter Singer and Utilitarianism: Philosophical Reflections on the Foundations of Ethics".

Colosi began his talk by mentioning Peter Singer's decision to hire people to take of his elderly mother who was suffering from dementia. This was a shock to me. After all, this is quite a strange thing to do for a guy who has spent years telling people killing disabled, sick, elderly, and newborn people is morally okey-dokey. Colosi said Singer could not bring himself to do what his philosophical beliefs would have him do, because he loved his mother. He contrasted Singer's philosophy with that of Pope John Paul II's and it is quite a contrast. Colosi gave a deep and interesting talk and I can't wait to read the paper, which he gave out to all in attendance.

Following Colosi, was Jose David Lapuz, UNESCO Commissioner and Executive Vice-President, Philippine Council on Foreign Relations. He spoke on "The Inspired Thoughts of Pope John Paul II and UNESCO: Why Human Rights and Reduction of Poverty is Quintessentially a Catholic Concern". Professor Lapuz spoke fondly of his encounters with Pope John Paul II and of the Pontiff's interest in the work of UNESCO in fighting poverty and in championing human rights. Later, at the wine and cheese reception, I found Professor Lapuz to be very charming and humble in describing to me his encounters with the Pope.

After this conference was the conference on Catholic blogs, which I will write about shortly...

I went to see the movie Bella today with my wife and my mother. The movie was very good, I would encourage all to go see it. I am a bit leery about movies that are touted as pro-life, or Catholic or Christian as they can be cheesy. Bella was not, it was very well done. On the way out of the theater, who did I run into? My fellow blog panelist Leticia. I still have to write about the rest of the Conference at St. John's Law School, including the blog panel. More to come...

Pius XII and The Catholic Church during World War II

THE SOCIETY OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL SCIENTISTS
THE 15TH ANNUAL MEETING at St. John's University Law School

Post II

I was able to attend Panel # 39 at the conference of The Society of Catholic Social Scientists yesterday. This panel was "The Pius Wars and Sister Margherita Marchione" Sister did not speak, except to mention 1 interesting fact, but at the lunch following the panel she was given an award for her work on Pope Pius XII and World War II.

The panel was moderated by Fr. Edward Krause of Gannon University. First, Kenneth Whitehead, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, gave a review of several books written about Pius XII that refuted the charges of anti-semitism and non-action during WWII. These included:

The Pius War: Responses to the Critics of Pius XII

The Myth of Hitler's Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis

Pius XII, the Holocaust, and the Revisionists

Consensus & Controversy: Defending Pope Pius XII

Did Pius XII Help the Jews?

Righteous Gentiles: How Pius XII and the Catholic Church Save Half a Million Jews from the Nazis

Inside the Vatican of Pius XII: The Memoir of an American Diplomat during World War II

Mr. Whitehead gave an overall summary of the job many people, including those on the panel, have done in showing the charges that Pius XII was silent at the plight of the Jews during WWII was incorrect.

Next, Ronald Rychlak, author of Righteous Gentiles: How Pius XII and the Catholic Church Save Half a Million Jews from the Nazis, gave a talk that mentioned some more details in the fight to correct the perception of Pius XII. He spoke of the sudden attacks on Pius XII that started about 8 years ago and asked why all of a sudden was this an issue? His answer: the chattering classes saw the end of Pope John Paul II's reign approaching and wanted to influence the Church in a different direction. For example, Rychlak mentioned that the last chapter of "Hitler's Pope" was all about Pope John Paul II! Also, the last chapter of "Constantine's Sword" was about the need for a Vatican III. Interestingly, Rychlak pointed out the play The Deputy, the first attack on Pius XII's character, was produced at a time when Pope John XIII was expected to die. (In 1963 he died and the play was first staged). When Rychlak was discussing John Cornwall, Sr. Marchione mentioned that Cornwall has now recanted his thesis of "Hitler's Pope"! Another interesting fact, but the panel pointed out how the damage was already done.


Bill Doino, a Catholic columnist spoke next on "Pius XII: An International Perspective". He mentioned the collection of people, mostly those on the panel, who had been doing important work around the world to correct the errors that are now commonly held about Pius XII. This whole panel was held in the St. John's Law School Moot Court Room, and the verdict was overwhelming against those that had defamed the character of the holy Pope Pius XII. Thanks to these scholars, and to the Catholic League, (Bill Donohue was in the room also listening to the panel) the truth about Pius XII and the Catholic Church during WWII is being told.

Around St. Blog's

I have been enjoying reading The Deacon's Bench by Deacon Greg Kandra, from Queens.

I have also enjoyed reading The Cafeteria Is Closed with Gerard Augustinus' reaction to the fast pace of Manhattan, and to his experience with NYC cab rides.

I also enjoyed checking out the pics at Hallowed Ground.