REMINDER -

Catholicism and Economics:
Democratic Socialist, Democratic Capitalist, and Distributist Options

When: Saturday, April 4th, 2009.

Where: College Center Building of Nassau Community College, Garden City, N.Y.

Who: All are invited, free of any charge, but registration is required.

What: A conference on the topic of the compatibility of the Catholic vision with three economic systems: "democratic socialism," "democratic capitalism," and "distributism." The conference features scholarly presentations, intellectual exchanges, and summary statements on the three systems and a final reflection on the conference from the perspective of Heinrich Pesch and Solidarism.

All attendees must register with Nassau Community College, Office of Lifelong Learning, One Education Drive, Garden City, New York, 11530 (phone 1-516-572-7472). A parking permit will be mailed to you. Attendees should be aware that failure to display a permit on the inside window ledge of your vehicle or otherwise parking illegally could result in a parking ticket being issued to you.

Program

11:30 A.M. Luncheon

12:30 P.M. Tributes to the Catholic scholarship of the late Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., of Fordham University by Monsignor Robert Batule of Immaculate Conception Seminary and of the late Monsignor Michael Wrenn of Dunwoodie Seminary by Monsignor George P. Graham, President, NY Metropolitan Chapter of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists.

1 P.M. Presentations. Exchanges, and Summary Statements-

Democratic Socialism - Charles M.A. Clark of St. John's University
Democratic Capitalism - Michael Novak of the American Enterprise Institute
Distributism - Thomas Storck of the Society for Distributism
Final Reflection - Stephen Krason of Franciscan University from the perspective of Heinrich Pesch ("Solidarism").

Conference concludes by 4:30 P.M.

I plan to attend and to see if the 'Democratic Capitalism' option includes much discussion of Libertarianism.

From the Long Island Catholic:

Watch your language

"My advice to my pro-life friends is the same advice my mother offered to me as a child: Watch your language. Calling people “baby killers” or the “anti-Christ” probably isn’t going to persuade them of the rightness of our position. Instead, it makes them less likely to listen and weakens our credibility as pro-life ambassadors. Be conscious of your words. Are they angry, vindictive, mean-spirited? Remember that if you send them out in an e-mail they will travel quickly all over the globe and reach people you don’t even know. Is this the face you want others to see? "



This column by Kathleen Gallagher points out some of the weird and discouraging things I have read within the Catholic blogosphere over the past year. I have enjoyed reading and commenting and blogging for over 6 years now but temporarily lost almost all interest due to the incessant political commentary that made me wonder about St. Blog's. I have read on Catholic blogs that Barack Obama is a "terrorist", a "baby killer", and a "communist". I have seen him imagined as another Hitler and another Castro and even the Anti-Christ. I think this Column hits the nail on the head. If I, a pro-life, orthodox Catholic who is very much a Catholic blogosphere 'fan' am weirded out by the shrill tone of the writing, how do you think others with different outlooks perceive the writing?

Diocese Announces First Catholic Men’s Conference


"ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. 19 March 19, 2009 (Solemnity of St. Joseph) – The Diocese of Rockville Centre announced today an exciting new initiative in its 51-year history, a day-long prayerful gathering of men: The Catholic Men’s Conference. The purpose of the Men’s Conference is to gather Catholic men together for an opportunity to reinforce to them, that the Lord recognizes each of these men, his good and faithful servants in whom he is well pleased.

Held on Saturday, April 25th, 2009, men from across Long Island are invited to Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, Hicksville, NY for a day of prayer, motivational speakers, fellowship and receipt of the Sacraments"

"Guest speakers featured include Brother Louis Leonelli, CFR, Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, with his inspiring story of conversion; former St. John’s University Basketball Coach, Lou Carnesecca; New York Police Department Detective Steven McDonald, with his experience of forgiveness; retired New York Giants’ All-Star tight end, Mark Bavaro and Msgr. Jim Lisante, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes parish, Massapequa Park. The Most Reverend William Murphy, Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre will celebrate Mass at 4:30 p.m."

This sounds like a good thing, the conference has a website here.

Bishop Guglielmone

I got home from the gym and caught just the end of the Mass on Telecare at which Msgr. Guglielmone was ordained and installed as Bishop of Charleston, SC. The Mass was live streamed over the internet on the Diocese of Charleston's website. There was a 'Benedictine' arrangement on the Altar (6 candles and a crucifix in the middle), so called because Pope Benedict started this recently as a way to bring about 'interior ad orientem'. There was some beautiful sounding chants while the new Bishop walked around and blessed those within the Cathedral. Too bad I did not see the ordination.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan to NY?

The rumor is once again being spread that Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee, who had to clean up the mess left behind by disgraced Archbishop Rembert Weakland, will be the next Archbishop of NY. He was long considered a candidate for NY and he may need to clean up a bit of a mess in NY also, although nothing to do with payoffs to gay loves as in Weakland's case. Cardinal Egan was never popular with his priests or his employees who saw him as a 'Dr. House' type, with little social skills. He was sent to NY because his administrative skills, something the great Cardinal O'Connor did not possess, were sorely needed. So now it appears the time is right for Dolan, who is a very warm and caring guy and would probably help the morale of priests in NY.

2/23/09 UPDATE: it is official now

Beautiful Churches on Long Island (2/21/09 update - scroll down)

I have mentioned before that the Church I was married in - St. Martin of Tours in Amityville - is one of the most beautiful Churches in the DRVC. I keep meaning to take some pictures of the Church and post them to show why I believe this.
I would like to know if anyone else knows of beautiful parish Churches on Long Island. Please let me know!

12/14 UPDATE - moved to top, From the comments we have:

St. Kilian's, Farmingdale (yes!)
St. Patrick's Bay Shore
St. Aloysius, Great Neck
St. Agnes, Rockville Centre


I have not been to St. Patrick's or St. Aloysius so I will have to check them out. St. Agnes, I am not sure of, the outside is beautiful, but the inside is kinda plain?

12/21 UPDATE from the comments -

Infant Jesus, Port Jefferson
St. Patrick's, Glen Cove (the oldest parish in the DRVC)
St. Ignatius, Hicksville
Cure of Ars, Merrick
St. Isidore, Riverhead
St. Joseph's, Garden City
Sacred Hearts Jesus and Mary, Southampton

I would also add St. Therese of Liseux in Montauk and St. Raphael's in East Meadow, which are both newer Churches.

2/21/09 Update -

I have been to Mass at St. Patrick's in Bay Shore, and it does have a very nice sanctuary. Unfortunately, the sanctuary is not used as they have moved the altar to almost the middle of the Church, I suppose in an effort to allow more people to see the priest. (This actually doesn't work at least from I sat, it was hard to see the priest and the lector). I went to an evening Mass so it was dark and I would have liked to see the Church with sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows in the high dome in the center of the Church. The Church is similiar to St. Joseph's in Babylon and has a very old feel to it.

I also attended a lecture at St. Joseph's in Garden City and peeked into the Church before the lecture started. It was very beautiful with a big baldachino (?) over the altar. I will have to get there for Mass some day.

Michael Dubriel, RIP

I recently starting using Facebook and have many Catholic bloggers as friends there. I logged on last night and immediately saw notice of Michael's death. He was Amy Welborn's husband and collapsed at the gym. This is a big tragedy for Amy and her children. She has asked for people to buy his books, particularly The How-To Book of The Mass.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon him. May the souls of the faithful departed,through the mercy of God,rest in peace. Amen.

The Episcopal Church

2008 was the year that the situation in the Episcopal church finally reached a boiling point. Episcopalians have been in decline for decades especially starting in the 1970’s when they began to ordain women as priests. With the creation Gene Robinson, a man who left his wife for another man, as bishop of New Hampshire, the church really began to unravel. For some years now, groups of Anglo-Episcopalians have been separating from the official Episcopal organization in the US, but now entire dioceses have officially announced their separation: Forth Worth, Pittsburgh and Quincy.

Perhaps the most severe break was in Pittsburgh: “Approximately 27 congregations, or about 40% of the Pittsburgh Diocese prior to the October separation, remain active in the life of the Episcopal Church.”

It is important for Catholics to keep an eye on this since many Episcopalians, including some clergy have come into the Catholic Church where they should be welcomed home. Also, the movement within the Episcopal church can provide a glimpse of what will happen, and has happened within the Catholic Church if certain ideas take hold. The ordination of women is sometimes seen as inevitable and somehow ‘liberating’ to women. Forgetting the faulty theology for a minute, the ordination of women is also seen as the solution to the vocations crisis. Here is where the situation of the Episcopalians is instructive. The ordination of women in the Episcopal Church has not increased the membership in the church nor has it meant an overflow of clergy. The ordination of actively gay men has not helped either. In fact, Episcopalians are hemorrhaging members as the number of defections within the US grows.

For examples close to home, the Episcopal church in Levittown closed down some years ago and one congregation in Queens completely left the Diocese. The two churches around my childhood hometown of Massapequa do not have resident priests.

The reactions of Episcopalians to the situation (denial) is also instructive and I believe mirrors the reactions of many Catholics, particularly religious, to the loss of active Mass going members in the Catholic Church. One thing many Catholics and Episcopalians share is absolute denial of the negative effects of straying from the path of orthodoxy. As the number of both Church going Catholics and the number of religious declined incredibly from 1960-1980, there were and are many Catholics who say anything but the truth: orthodox theology, teaching, and living attracts people, heterodoxy and giving in to whatever is popular at the time does not attract worshipping,

My wife and I went to see Gran Torino yesterday and we both loved it. It was funny, heartbreaking, exciting, interesting and uplifting. I was expecting a more dramatic scene between the priest and the Clint Eastwood character but it went in a different direction from what I was expecting. The contrast between the immigrant family and Eastwood's family was portrayed nicely. This was an excellent film that was worth seeing in the theatre instead of waiting to Netflix.

Creative Minority Report is being linked to all over the Catholic blogosphere due to this notice:

"It is being reported in an Australian Catholic weekly that the CDF is prepared to recommend that the Traditional Anglican Communion, a group of continuing Anglicans seeking unity with Rome, be granted the status of a Personal Prelature."

This hopeful news follows the lifting of the excommunication of the 4 SSPX bishops which is a major step to dialogue that may regularize their status. This is quite a good way to followup on the week of Christian Unity and the Year of St. Paul.

From Whispers in the Loggia comes this news:

"This morning, Benedict XVI appointed Msgr Robert Guglielmone, rector of St Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, as the 13th bishop of Charleston, one of the nation's eight oldest dioceses. In the post shepherding the Palmetto State's 185,000 Catholics, the 63 year-old pick succeeds Bishop Robert Baker, who was transferred to the diocese of Birmingham in August 2007."

It is nice to see the Diocese of Rockville Centre exporting a priest to become a Bishop, something I do recall seeing before. I know Bishop Cardone of the Solomon Islands (brother of Fr. Thomas Cardone of Kellenberg) is a native Long Islander but don't know of any other LI bishops serving elsewhere. Telecare will broadcast Bishop Murphy introducing Msgr. Guglielmone at 11 AM tomorrow. Best of luck to Msgr. Guglielmone!

Excommunications of the SSPX Bishops Lifted

This is great news. The Church is taking good steps toward getting the SSPX into full reconciliation. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the SSPX for keeping tradition alive over the past 35 years. Let's hope the SSPX will take some action against Richard Williamson to help smooth the process.

I have already seen some bloggers mention this conference on Catholicism and Economics at the Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies, so I wanted to post it also:

Catholicism and Economics:
Democratic Socialist, Democratic Capitalist, and Distributist Options

What: A conference on the topic of the compatibility of the Catholic vision with three economic systems: "democratic socialism," "democratic capitalism," and "distributism." The conference features scholarly presentations, intellectual exchanges, and summary statements on the three systems and a final reflection on the conference from the perspective of Heinrich Pesch and Solidarism.

When: Saturday, April 4th, 2009.
Where: College Center Building of Nassau Community College, Garden City, N.Y.

Who: All are invited, free of any charge, but registration is required.

All attendees must register with Nassau Community College, Office of Lifelong Learning, One Education Drive, Garden City, New York, 11530 (phone 1-516-572-7472). A parking permit will be mailed to you. Attendees should be aware that failure to display a permit on the inside window ledge of your vehicle or otherwise parking illegally could result in a parking ticket being issued to you.

Program

11:30 A.M. Luncheon

12:30 P.M. Tributes to the Catholic scholarship of the late Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., of Fordham University by Monsignor Robert Batule of Immaculate Conception Seminary and of the late Monsignor Michael Wrenn of Dunwoodie Seminary by Monsignor George P. Graham, President, NY Metropolitan Chapter of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists.

1 P.M. Presentations. Exchanges, and Summary Statements-

Democratic Socialism - Charles M.A. Clark of St. John's University
Democratic Capitalism - Michael Novak of the American Enterprise Institute
Distributism - Thomas Storck of the Society for Distributism
Final Reflection - Stephen Krason of Franciscan University from the perspective of Heinrich Pesch ("Solidarism").

Conference concludes by 4:30 P.M.

If you would like to financially support the programs of the N.C.C. Center for Catholic Studies, please write out a tax-deductible check made out to the "Center for Catholic Studies-Nassau Foundation" and send it to Vice-President Joseph Buckheit, Nassau Foundation, One Education Drive, Garden City, N.Y. 11530. The Nassau Foundation will send you a letter acknowledging your financial contribution for your tax records.

Gen X Revert

6 year Blogiversary

1/18/03 - 1/18/09

My thoughts on turning 6


This blog is now six years old, which in blog years is really 97. Times sure have changed. When I started this blog Long Island was just a collection of strip malls, traffic jams, and fast food joints - now it is soooo much more! There were only 7,254 Starbucks on the Island then but now the chain is finally taking off. In 2003 Newsday was relentlessly publishing anti-Catholic content and today it hardly publishes any content at all. People never dreamed back then we would put a man on the moon, or find piles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. And gas back then was only $.20 per gallon and milk was free!

I started out blogging as a fresh faced idealistic kid who never dreamed someday I would own a wife and marry a cat. Back then I would spend countless minutes crafting posts that delved into the very core of issues affecting our Church, our Long Island, and our souls. Today, I simply link to The Deacons Bench and Wikipedia. Over the course of the past 6 years I have grown to have 3 readers and quite frankly, that is too much pressure. But today is a day for celebrating - 6 years of blogging. Now some would say it is time to move on and pass the torch to a new generation, but those people are not me.

So, may this blog live long and prosper, or at least not be the subject of a lawsuit.

Ben at this is an adventure posts a nice account of Father Richard Neuhaus' wake and funeral, complete with a great picture of him enjoying his brandy and cigar. My favorite part was this:

"The church was packed to the brim and every New York Catholic of note was there, it seemed like, interspersed with people who just knew him as “Father Richard, who baptized my son or my daughter,” and had no knowledge of his other work. They seemed amazed to learn what he had achieved."

Another police department has learned from the Marty Tankleff case:

Nassau to videotape interrogations in some cases

Anniversary is coming:

January 18th in history:

336 - Saint Mark elected Catholic Pope

474 - Leo II briefly becomes Byzantine emperor.

1562 - Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.

1896 - The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time.

1996 Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson in NY

2003 - Gen X Revert blog is started

From Fr. Z comes word that the long awaited report is out on the 2005-2006 visitation of all US seminaries. The visitation was one result of the public outrage over priestly molestation of young people (85% were boys). The word is that the situation in the seminaries has improved, something all of us know, but that there are still problems such as:

"an atmosphere that discourages traditional acts of Catholic piety – which begs the question as to whether the faculty’s ideas of spirituality are consonant with Church teaching and tradition.”

And:

"Other points of Church teaching, such as ordination being restricted to men alone, are also questioned. Such a lack of sentire cum Ecclesia is often not overt, but the students receive the message clearly nevertheless. In a few seminaries, and particularly in some some schools of theology run by religious, dissent is widespread.”

Both of these statements should not surprise Catholics who have followed Church stuff over the past couple of decades. The good thing is that as the situation improves, the increase in vocations can be seen, which then has the effect of encouraging more vocations. Fidelity to Church teachings means growth and success, heterodoxy means decline and death. This simple lesson was lost on many over the past 25 years, and even today there are those who dispute it.

George Weigel remembers Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, whose funeral was today, in Newsweek.

Bernard Madoff still free, outraging alleged victims

"A federal judge is refusing to revoke Bernard Madoff’s bail and send the accused Wall Street swindler to jail - angering many of the man’s alleged victims.

“People are outraged because they see Bernie Madoff as the economic equivalent of Adolf Hitler,” said Boston lawyer David Apfel, who represents some of those who lost money in Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

New York attorney Stephen Weiss, who also represents Madoff investors, said he sees “a thirst for blood. . . . There is a feeling (that) folks like Bernard Madoff get a different brand of justice than the guy in the street.”

Feds probe Suffolk hate crimes

"The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that three federal agencies have formally opened a joint investigation into what critics contend were hate crimes against Suffolk County Latinos that never were investigated or were mishandled by police.

The Justice Department's civil rights division, the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District have started the inquiry, said Scot Montrey, a spokesman for the Justice Department's civil rights division."

Better late than never I guess. Now if the feds would get involved with the Marty Tankleff case, maybe Suffolk County would start to become something more than a joke.

Fr. Z asks: How Large is the 'fallen away Catholic' denomination?

The comments section has some interesting thoughts on why people fall away from the Catholic Church, an area of interest of mine. I will list some of the things mentioned there:

the Church's 'rules' on divorce and re-marriage

Touchy-feely watered down liturgy, with touchy-feely false teaching got us into this mess

Poor liturgy, apathetic laity, priests that don’t understand their own ordained powers, poor formation, the constant battering of the liberal media, political correctness, even fear of being open about our beloved Faith

sense of sin has evaporated, nothing matters, ‘everybody is right, you are a good person, I’m a good person’

It wasn’t apathy or the lure of the outside world that drove us away from the Church, it was the behavior and the attitude of the clergy and the religious themselves.

The #1 reason may be the overwhelming sense that God is missing in the life of most parishes/Catholic schools.

Lack of attention to transcendence

The comments section has some good thoughts on how to get people to return, some of which may be right or wrong, but the important thing is that Catholics (especially priests) make the attempt. I think the cleansing of the priesthood that really began in 2002 and hopefully is continuing, will help, as well as the reforming of seminaries. The religious communities that are faithful also can inspire Catholics to deepen their faith and practice. Although many people still try to deny it, orthodox thinking, preaching and living is what attracts people and there is plenty of proof of this for those who have ears and eyes.

And to answer the original post's question, inactive or 'former' Catholics make up the second largest 'denomination' in the USA, right behind Catholics.

5 Somali pirates drown with ransom money

"MOGADISHU, Somalia - Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said Saturday."



There has to be a lesson in there somewhere......

Cops: Waiter fired for playing Arabic tape at Jewish wedding

"A waiter at a Jewish wedding who is considering converting to Islam interrupted the celebration's final prayers with recorded Arabic chants of "God is great," sparking fear among the 700 guests of a terrorist attack, Nassau County police said Friday.

Stephen Buttafuoco, who police say was fired "on the spot" from the catering service at the Woodbury Jewish Center, had attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Manhattan opposing the Israeli campaign last weekend, where he made the recording on his cell phone."

The wedding guests early Jan. 4 couldn't at first decipher the angry-sounding chants blaring over the public address system shortly after 1 a.m. But when they heard "Allahu akbar" -- Arabic for "God is great" -- the guests became worried.


Of course, after doing something stupid like this, the man had to set the record straight:

"Police said Buttafuoco told detectives that he is not related to Joey Buttafuoco, the man involved in a notorious love triangle in the 1990s with Amy Fisher."

Fr. Richard Neuhaus, R. I. P

Prayers go out for the former Lutheran pastor, Catholic convert, founder of First Things and the Institute On Religion And Public Life, conservative intellectual, author and Catholic priest who essentially was considered by many to be the godfather of Catholic blogging via his column "The Public Square".

Drunk Driving

Tonight 60 Minutes ran their story on Nassau D.A. Kathleen Rice's campaign for harsher sentences for drunk drivers who kill people. The story revolved around the horrible wedding day crash that killed a limo driver (Stanley Rabinowitz) and an 7 year old flower girl (Katie Flynn). The drunk driver, Martin Heidgen received 18 years to life. During the broadcast, a detail was mentioned by Katie Flynn's father that I forgot about: Flynn's father, who was also severly injured in the accident, received last rites by Msgr. Costello, a priest who later would be killed by a drunk driver.

Another Revert speaks:

"But my story, because it is a return, requires a departure. And that departure, to be candid, does not speak well of the early post-Vatican II American Church. That Church was littered with dioceses, parishes, and schools that did not adequately catechize their young people with a clear and defensible presentation of the Catholic faith. Things, of course, have changed, and swaths of the American Church seem to be ridding themselves of the vestiges of that unfortunate era. The inspiring pontificates of John Paul II (1978–2005) and Benedict XVI (2005– ) have resulted in a new evangelism within the Catholic Church, especially in the United States. Those entering the priesthood seem more serious and theologically orthodox than the priests I remember from the late 1960s and 1970s."

This is an excerpt from the introduction to Return to Rome Confessions of An Evangelical Catholic by Francis Beckworth. Beckworth was the President of the Evangelical Theological Society and his reversion made some news.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May God bless all the readers of my blog in 2009!

A Criminal Injustice

This new book is about the fight to free Marty Tankleff from jail over 17 years and the attempt to bring to justice the people who murdered his parents. For the interesting and infuriating details of the Tankleff case, see Marty Tankleff's website.

Presidential Pardons

President Bush pardoned and then revoked the pardon of con man Isaac Toussie. Whether Toussie's father's sudden donations to the Republican party sealed the deal, or the president did not really know the extent of his crimes involving poor people, it was obvious that the pardon was a major goof. Some have been reminded of President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich which outraged even Clinton supporters. It would be good for more discussions on the need for pardons to be given out as acts of mercy for those who could use some mercy. This would be a much better use of this power than giving last minute, lame duck pardons of those who have strong lobbies pushing for them, or those who are wealthy or politically connected. Pardons, if used correctly, could assist justice, not work against it.

Donald DeMarco on the Relationship Between Mercy and Justice

"King Frederick William I (1688–1740). This German king once visited a prison where he listened intently to a number of pleas for pardon from prisoners who claimed to be victims of injustice. All swore they had suffered imprisonment on account of prejudiced judges, perjured witnesses, and unscrupulous lawyers. From cell to cell, allegations of wronged innocence and false imprisonment continued until the king came to the door of a cell occupied by a surly inmate who said nothing.
Surprised at his silence, Frederick remarked, somewhat sarcastically, “Well I suppose you are innocent too.” “No, your Majesty,” came the startling response. “I am guilty and richly deserve all that I get.” “Here, turnkey,” thundered Frederick, “come and get rid of this rascal quick, before he corrupts this fine lot of innocent people that you are responsible for.”

"Mercy must honor justice. It can be dispensed rightly only when the validity of justice is acknowledged. Similarly, forgiveness can be granted only when a transgression is acknowledged.
Mercy “does not destroy justice,” as Aquinas noted, “but is a certain kind of fulfillment of justice.” “Mercy without justice, he added, “is the mother of dissolution.”

I just got home from dinner where we had heard a thud and felt a vibration, followed by many fire trucks speeding down a street. Apparently this is what happened -

Officials: Gas explosion levels Amityville house

Prayers go out in case anyone was home.....

UPDATE: I just saw on the 10 PM news that the family smelled gas and got out of the home before it blew up!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

My present to readers is this link to The Deacon Bench's Homily for Midnight Mass.

Gregory Shemitz, whose photos often appear in the Long Island Catholic, notified me that his website has just been redesigned. The site looks very sharp and contains slideshows including the Funeral Mass for Cardinal Dulles and the recent ordination of transitional deacons. Check it out!

2008

Although we are in the Season of Advent and the Christmas Season is approaching, the end of the calendar year is coming up so it is time to look back at 2008 in the Diocese of Rockville Centre:


Ordinations


There were 26 men ordained in the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 2008 as follows:


Nine men ordained to diocesan priesthood June 14


13 men ordained to permanent diaconate


4 men ordained transitional deacons




Catholic schools


St. Joseph's in Brentwood - it was announced this school is closing due to low enrollment



St. Anthony's in Huntington - the school opened its new chapel featuring a traditional style



St. Pius X in Uniondale - The Diocese seems to be getting ready to sell off this property although there has not been an official announcement. This school closed in 1983 but the building was being used to house retired priests, a health care clinic and was the site of the weekly traditional latin Mass.

Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington - Archbishop Demetrios, patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in the U.S. spoke on St. Paul for the Pauline Year at the sixth annual Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua Lecture on Pastoral Theology

Voice of the Faithful


A Long Islander became the national head of the organization, which makes less and less news as it focuses even more on the same tired old ideas already done to death by Future Church and Call To Action. VOTF Long Island held their annual convention and it did not even register a blip on anyone's radar.

Diocese HQ

The Diocese created a Pastoral Council

Bishop Murphy issued a pastoral letter 'Do This In Memory Of Me' in which he called for an end to weekday communion services held in place of Mass.

Of interest to Catholics on Long Island:

Catholics in New York 1808 - 1946 Exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York ran from May to December

The murder of Marcello Lucero made international news and put the spotlight once again on Long Island's treatment of the (mostly Catholic) Latino immigrant community.

From the New York Times:

Cardinal Avery Dulles, Theologian, Is Dead at 90

"Cardinal Avery Dulles, a scion of diplomats and Presbyterians who converted to Roman Catholicism, rose to pre-eminence in Catholic theology and became the only American theologian ever appointed to the College of Cardinals, died today died Friday morning at Fordham University in the Bronx. He was 90. His death, at the Jesuit infirmary at the university, was confirmed by the New York Province of the Society of Jesus in Manhattan."

Cardinal Dulles, a professor of religion at Fordham University for the last 20 years, was a prolific author and lecturer and an elder statesman of Catholic theology in America. He was also the son of John Foster Dulles, the secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the nephew of Allen Dulles, who guided European espionage during World War II and later directed the Central Intelligence Agency.



For more about Cardinal Dulles, see the Ratzinger Fan Club's Dulles page.

Transitional deacons ordained at seminary

"Taking a major step in their journey toward the priesthood, seminarians Michael Bartholomew, Janusz Mocarski and Harold Noviello were ordained transitional deacons by Bishop William Murphy during a special Mass Dec. 8 at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington. Auxiliary Bishop Peter Libasci of Rockville Centre and Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros of Brooklyn were among the concelebrants at the liturgy. The ordination of transitional deacons is traditionally held at the seminary on the Marian feast of the Immaculate Conception. "

A fourth seminarian, Gregory Rannazzisi, was ordained in St. Peter's Basilica, so God willing there will be 4 men ordained priests in June for the DRVC.

Former Episcopal priest (now Catholic priest) Fr. Dwight Longenecker writes on his blog of his parish school reviving the medieval custom of boy Bishop for the Feast of St. Nicholas.

Mastic man gets 19 years in deadly home invasion


"A Mastic man sentenced to 19 years to life in prison Friday for a deadly home invasion asked a judge why he was charged with murder when his fellow burglars had actually done the shooting.

"How come I have to take their fall?" Edwin Frazier, 20, asked Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson in Riverhead. "I know I'm guilty of entering a home without permission, I know I'm guilty of holding a gun. I'm not guilty of killing anybody. Why couldn't I plead to a burglary charge?"

Frazier pleaded guilty Oct. 23 to second-degree murder in connection with a botched burglary that left three people dead in a Medford home last year. When certain kinds of felonies result in death, New York State law holds all who took part in the crime equally responsible." [emphasis mine]

It is good he will go to jail but sad that his sentence is a little longer than Eric Calace's sentence when Calace is the one who set the entire robbery up in the first place. Calace should have to serve more time, he will be out while still in his 30's and able to do more harm to society. What I find very interesting is that this NYS law is not being applied in the case of the murder of Marcello Lucero. Not all 7 are being charged with his murder. Anybody want to explain why?

Rerum Novarum excerpt IX -


22. Therefore, those whom fortune favors are warned that riches do not bring freedom from sorrow and are of no avail for eternal happiness, but rather are obstacles;(9) that the rich should tremble at the threatenings of Jesus Christ - threatenings so unwonted in the mouth of our Lord(10) - and that a most strict account must be given to the Supreme Judge for all we possess. The chief and most excellent rule for the right use of money is one the heathen philosophers hinted at, but which the Church has traced out clearly, and has not only made known to men's minds, but has impressed upon their lives. It rests on the principle that it is one thing to have a right to the possession of money and another to have a right to use money as one wills. Private ownership, as we have seen, is the natural right of man, and to exercise that right, especially as members of society, is not only lawful, but absolutely necessary. "It is lawful," says St. Thomas Aquinas, "for a man to hold private property; and it is also necessary for the carrying on of human existence."" But if the question be asked: How must one's possessions be used? - the Church replies without hesitation in the words of the same holy Doctor: "Man should not consider his material possessions as his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need. Whence the Apostle with, ‘Command the rich of this world... to offer with no stint, to apportion largely.’"(12) True, no one is commanded to distribute to others that which is required for his own needs and those of his household; nor even to give away what is reasonably required to keep up becomingly his condition in life, "for no one ought to live other than becomingly."(13) But, when what necessity demands has been supplied, and one's standing fairly taken thought for, it becomes a duty to give to the indigent out of what remains over. "Of that which remaineth, give alms."(14) It is a duty, not of justice (save in extreme cases), but of Christian charity - a duty not enforced by human law. But the laws and judgments of men must yield place to the laws and judgments of Christ the true God, who in many ways urges on His followers the practice of almsgiving - ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive";(15) and who will count a kindness done or refused to the poor as done or refused to Himself - "As long as you did it to one of My least brethren you did it to Me."(16) To sum up, then, what has been said: Whoever has received from the divine bounty a large share of temporal blessings, whether they be external and material, or gifts of the mind, has received them for the purpose of using them for the perfecting of his own nature, and, at the same time, that he may employ them, as the steward of God's providence, for the benefit of others. "He that hath a talent," said St. Gregory the Great, "let him see that he hide it not; he that hath abundance, let him quicken himself to mercy and generosity; he that hath art and skill, let him do his best to share the use and the utility hereof with his neighbor."(17)

9). Matt. 19:23-24.
10). Luke 6:24-Z5.
11). Summa theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. lxvi, art. 2, Answer.
12). Ibid.
13). Ibid., q. xxxii, a. 6, Answer.
14). Luke 11:41.
15). Acts 20:35.
16). Matt.25:40.
17). Hom. in Evang., 9, n. 7 (PL 76, 1109B).

The Nun Vs. The Priest
In 'Doubt,' faith is put to a wrenching test of wills.

From Newsweek, a short interview with some people involved in the movie version of the play Doubt, including Meryl Streep. This sounded like a great play which I missed when it was showing in NY. Some snips:

"STREEP: You're a part of that team—the uniform of a nun is like a team jersey—and we all like that. I also found it interesting because it's sort of the second female boss I've played in a short time. People talk to me about "The Devil Wears Prada" and about the stern editor, and now I'm the stern headmaster. We have a very, I think, ambivalent attitude about women in power."

DAVIS: For me, Catholicism was such a sense of community and belonging and identity. I had nothing growing up. We were the first black family in our Rhode Island town. We were on the periphery. And to see all my friends in their white little first communion dresses, looking so cute and going to catechism—it was fabulous to me.

SHANLEY: Now the Catholic Church has its faults, but these dioceses, these church schools, these centers, provided a gravity which kept people from flying off into outer space. And we haven't really yet come up with a great substitute. The best we have is the Internet, that's the new community.

New Grand Rapids wireless cafe, the Catholic Information Center, seeks faithful customers

"GRAND RAPIDS --The coffee bar gleams and offers a variety of goodies. The chairs are inviting, and floor-to-ceiling windows allow plenty of natural light for reading.

Everyone is welcome to this latest entry into the wireless cafe world which offers what commercial places don't -- things that are free and low-key faith information.

The Catholic Information Center, on the second floor of Cathedral Square, doesn't charge anything for the coffee, the goodies, or the Internet service. It also offers -- but doesn't force on people -- reading materials on the Catholic faith. "

I found this story on Whispers in the Loggia. The Info Center looks very nice, just what is needed here on Long Island. I hope someone will run with this here. I know the idea was floated around the DRVC with the intention of locating it in a mall. I have hundreds of good quality books that would be great for a center. The Catholic Information Center in Washington D.C. would be a good model to follow. A place for orthodox faith, for apologetics, socialization, discussion, coffee, music, etc.. is just what we need here. I do not think the coffee and food would have to be free however - as the mobster Barzini said in the Godfather: "After all, we are not communists".

Be on the Watch: Advent and the Coming(s) of the Lord

For the first Sunday of Advent I went to Mass at a local parish. There was no procession at the start of Mass, the priest and deacon just took their seats in the sanctuary before Mass, joking and talking to each other, and then the Opening Hymn started. What possible reason could a priest have for skipping an opening procession?

Global AIDS crisis overblown? Some dare to say so

I am glad to see this article in Newsweek as I have thought this for some years now. The political correct police have insisted for years that AIDS was a disease that affected everyone and everyone was at risk to get it, yet many more people are affected by cancer. Although the situation in Africa is still bad, the truth is other problems are worse than AIDS, and the excessive funding of AIDS means money is not going to other real problems. Some snips from the article:

"(LONDON) As World AIDS Day is marked on Monday, some experts are growing more outspoken in complaining that AIDS is eating up funding at the expense of more pressing health needs.

They argue that the world has entered a post-AIDS era in which the disease's spread has largely been curbed in much of the world, Africa excepted.

Roger England of Health Systems Workshop, a think tank based in the Caribbean island of Grenada, goes further. He argues that UNAIDS, the U.N. agency leading the fight against the disease, has outlived its purpose and should be disbanded.

By 2006, AIDS funding accounted for 80 percent of all American aid for health and population issues, according to the Global Health Council.

In a 2006 report, Rwandan officials noted a "gross misallocation of resources" in health: $47 million went to HIV, $18 million went to malaria, the country's biggest killer, and $1 million went to childhood illnesses.

AIDS advocates say their projects do more than curb the virus; their efforts strengthen other health programs by providing basic health services.
But across Africa, about 1.5 million doctors and nurses are still needed, and hospitals regularly run out of basic medicines"

I recently read "The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS" and probably came to the exact opposite opinion than what the author had hoped for: AIDS funding is not as needed as much as funding for other diseases, and it does not affect as wide a range of people as the p.c. crowd would have us believe.

Culture of Death on Long Island

Worker dies in crush of shoppers at Green Acres Mall

"According to detectives, Queens resident Jdimytai Damour suffered an undetermined death when shoppers knocked him to the ground of the Wal-Mart. The man was transported to the hospital where he died around 6 a.m. His exact cause of death will be determined by a medical examiner."

"Police describe the scene as "utter chaos." When fellow Wal-Mart workers tried to help Damour, they were shoved and pushed by customers, as were police when they arrived. "

"Police say a 28-year-old pregnant woman, as well as three other shoppers, were injured at the mall and taken to hospitals."


I pray for the day when Long Island will make national news for something good but I will not hold my breath. I would never go anywhere near this Mall, which was the site of a Christmas Eve shooting in a movie in which one person was killed, to list just one of many crimes that have occured there. Imagine the kind of life these people must live to line up at 4 AM to charge into a Wal-Mart for so called bargains.

The muslims continue to be violent, as they have since the days of their perverted founder:

Cardinal of Mumbai: 'Criminal Acts Against a Courageous City'

"Sorrow for the terrible attack which has devastated the city and the nation, and condemnation of the folly of this “senseless logic of violence”, fed by “brainwashing” that is provoked by ideologies: this is how Card. Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai reacts to the terrorist attack in an interview with AsiaNews. "


Actually Cardinal, these people are evil and follow a false religion.


Thousands of Muslims Attack Coptic Church in Cairo

"Several thousand Muslims have attacked the Coptic church of the Virgin Mary in West Ain Shams, in the suburbs of Cairo. 800 faithful attending the first liturgy remained barricaded inside the church. "

Rerum Novarum excerpt VIII -

After discussing the duties that both working class and the rich have towards each other:

"21. But the Church, with Jesus Christ as her Master and Guide, aims higher still. She lays down precepts yet more perfect, and tries to bind class to class in friendliness and good feeling. The things of earth cannot be understood or valued aright without taking into consideration the life to come, the life that will know no death. Exclude the idea of futurity, and forthwith the very notion of what is good and right would perish; nay, the whole scheme of the universe would become a dark and unfathomable mystery. The great truth which we learn from nature herself is also the grand Christian dogma on which religion rests as on its foundation - that, when we have given up this present life, then shall we really begin to live. God has not created us for the perishable and transitory things of earth, but for things heavenly and everlasting; He has given us this world as a place of exile, and not as our abiding place. As for riches and the other things which men call good and desirable, whether we have them in abundance, or are lacking in them-so far as eternal happiness is concerned - it makes no difference; the only important thing is to use them aright. Jesus Christ, when He redeemed us with plentiful redemption, took not away the pains and sorrows which in such large proportion are woven together in the web of our mortal life. He transformed them into motives of virtue and occasions of merit; and no man can hope for eternal reward unless he follow in the blood-stained footprints of his Saviour. "If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him."(7) Christ's labors and sufferings, accepted of His own free will, have marvellously sweetened all suffering and all labor. And not only by His example, but by His grace and by the hope held forth of everlasting recompense, has He made pain and grief more easy to endure; "for that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory."(8)

7). 2 Tim. 2:12.
8). 2 Cor. 4:17.

Proof that white trash are too stupid to learn:

Police: Youths harass Hispanic men in Patchogue

The amazing thing about the Marcello Lucero murder case is how many of the Patchogue and Medford teens seem annoyed at the idea that their friends are racists. They all seem to be saying: Hey they like to mug people, violently attack them for fun, and beat people that are weak in society, but they are not racist God forbid! This NY Times article quotes some of them and also adds this:

"Mr. Conroy was the best known of the defendants and, according to prosecutors, the leader of the group. He was on the school’s lacrosse and wrestling teams, according to his friends, and his lawyer, William J. Keahon, said he had received “a number” of offers of college athletic scholarships."

I would like to know what colleges offered this punk scholarships? Have these offers now been rescinded? I think that if colleges offer scholarships to jocks, at the expense of scholars, then they should have to explain themselves.

Former Southold charity director gets prison for thefts

In the above article from Newsday this criminal's lawyer claims it is the Catholic Church's fault that his client stole money:

"Winterbottom's attorney, William Goggins of Mattituck, blamed the diocese for his client's legal problems. He said Winterbottom was hired to run the center though she had no experience running a business, "lacks a formal education and had a gambling addiction."

"The problem with this case is that the Catholic Church has failed to take responsibility for its malfeasance," he said in a statement to Newsday. " . . . [The church] waited five years before performing an audit."

Rerum Novarum excerpt VII -
On the duties the rich and working class have towards each other:

"20. Of these duties, the following bind the proletarian and the worker: fully and faithfully to perform the work which has been freely and equitably agreed upon; never to injure the property, nor to outrage the person, of an employer; never to resort to violence in defending their own cause, nor to engage in riot or disorder; and to have nothing to do with men of evil principles, who work upon the people with artful promises of great results, and excite foolish hopes which usually end in useless regrets and grievous loss. The following duties bind the wealthy owner and the employer: not to look upon their work people as their bondsmen, but to respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character. They are reminded that, according to natural reason and Christian philosophy, working for gain is creditable, not shameful, to a man, since it enables him to earn an honorable livelihood; but to misuse men as though they were things in the pursuit of gain, or to value them solely for their physical powers - that is truly shameful and inhuman. Again justice demands that, in dealing with the working man, religion and the good of his soul must be kept in mind. Hence, the employer is bound to see that the worker has time for his religious duties; that he be not exposed to corrupting influences and dangerous occasions; and that he be not led away to neglect his home and family, or to squander his earnings. Furthermore, the employer must never tax his work people beyond their strength, or employ them in work unsuited to their sex and age. His great and principal duty is to give every one what is just. Doubtless, before deciding whether wages axe fair, many things have to be considered; but wealthy owners and all masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sake of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and divine. To defraud any one of wages that are his due is a great crime which cries to the avenging anger of Heaven. "Behold, the hire of the laborers... which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth."(6) Lastly, the rich must religiously refrain from cutting down the workmen's earnings, whether by force, by fraud, or by usurious dealing; and with all the greater reason because the laboring man is, as a rule, weak and unprotected, and because his slender means should in proportion to their scantiness be accounted sacred. Were these precepts carefully obeyed and followed out, would they not be sufficient of themselves to keep under all strife and all its causes?"

The murder of Marcello Lucero continues to shake things up here in Suffolk County:

"Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said yesterday that he wasn't getting the information he needed from former Fifth Precinct Commander Salvatore Manno so he stripped him of his command."

It had to do with the whole issue of getting the information, the proper information that I needed in a timely manner," said Dormer, who on Monday replaced Manno with Insp. Aristides Mojica. "I was getting different stories at different times. I wanted to get a handle on this stuff.

"Dormer said he selected Mojica because he is Hispanic, adding that the appointment "clearly sends a strong [message] to the community that I have taken the incidents that occurred in Patchogue very seriously."

Hopefully, this will be just the first step to improving the Suffolk County Police Department's record on violence against latinos. Violence in this county is out of control as it is and the police need to get to work.

Scores killed in Mumbai rampage

It looks like Westerners were targeted meaning it is most likely the work of muslims. However, India is the site of the worst anti-Christian violence around the globe right now. Hopefully, this latest violence will force India to take action against both muslims and hindus until the violence stops. Meanwhile, I hope no westerners go to India for a few years and I hope that any US businesses who use call centers in India will immediately stop using them. Think about it, some of the people who answer the phone when you dial a 1-800 number may be behind the anti-Christian violence.

India church: 50,000 flee anti-Christian clashes

100 die in anti-Christian attacks in India

From Newsday:

Judge: Thefts by ex-leader of charity 'an abomination'

"It was a losing bet.

And the final payout came down Wednesday for Pauline Winterbottom in a Riverhead courtroom."

"The former director of a Catholic charity was sentenced to 3-to-9 years in state prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $700,000 for stealing money from the church-administered program to buy lottery tickets.

"This case is an abomination," Suffolk County Court Judge Ralph Gazzillo said in handing out the sentence in his Riverhead courtroom. "You stole from a charity."

I am glad to see she will serve prison time. Now I would love to see a full investigation into how someone could take $700,000 from this organization. The least this organization could do is write up a full investigation into how this happened and what measures they will take to make sure it never happens again. This full report should be printed up in The Long Island. I also hope this woman has some assets that could be seized so the $700,000 could be paid back.

I was reading The Long Island Press this morning at the bagel shop and appreciated their guide to local businesses -KIOLA (Keep It On Long Island). I was surprised to see a full page ad by Tony Alamo blaming the One World Government and the Catholic Church (which I believe he sees as the same thing) for his recent arrest on child rape charges. Anyone who has ever heard of this anti-Catholic bigot should be glad he is finally under serious charges that may land him in jail for the rest of his life. For more info on this whacko, please see here.

I have not posted about Faith on Tap lately, here is Monday's session:

Monday, November 24, 2008

Conscience: Form it and Follow it

Speaker: Fr. Joseph Koterski, S.J., Fordham U. Professor , Department of Philosophy

Wantagh Inn - across from the Wantagh RR Station.
7 to 9 pm

Free Admission!

Deacon Anthony Giambalvo RIP

"Anthony Giambalvo, a dentist who helped found a dental clinic treating AIDS/HIV patients at the height of the AIDS epidemic, died Tuesday of cancer at Christa House, a hospice in West Babylon. He was 75 and had lived in Commack.

A Roman Catholic deacon since 1979, he was asked by Catholic Charities to start the AIDS clinic in their Freeport offices in 1986. When he left seven years later, the clinic, now in a newly constructed wing, was named after him.

Laura A. Cassell, chief executive of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Rockville Centre, said, "Tony had the genuine compassion to see the need in the HIV population and the rare courage to respond when no one else would."

Denise Giambalvo, 42, of Portland, Ore., one of his six children, said that some in her father's profession actually shunned him for his work.
"At that time, people thought you could get AIDS by touching someone, and dentists didn't want to treat AIDS patients," she said, even as others "respected him a great deal and learned from him."

Rerum Novarum excerpt VI -

on class conflict

19. The great mistake made in regard to the matter now under consideration is to take up with the notion that class is naturally hostile to class, and that the wealthy and the working men are intended by nature to live in mutual conflict. So irrational and so false is this view that the direct contrary is the truth. Just as the symmetry of the human frame is the result of the suitable arrangement of the different parts of the body, so in a State is it ordained by nature that these two classes should dwell in harmony and agreement, so as to maintain the balance of the body politic. Each needs the other: capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital. Mutual agreement results in the beauty of good order, while perpetual conflict necessarily produces confusion and savage barbarity. Now, in preventing such strife as this, and in uprooting it, the efficacy of Christian institutions is marvellous and manifold. First of all, there is no intermediary more powerful than religion (whereof the Church is the interpreter and guardian) in drawing the rich and the working class together, by reminding each of its duties to the other, and especially of the obligations of justice.

Rerum Novarum excerpt V:

"17. It must be first of all recognized that the condition of things inherent in human affairs must be borne with, for it is impossible to reduce civil society to one dead level. Socialists may in that intent do their utmost, but all striving against nature is in vain. There naturally exist among mankind manifold differences of the most important kind; people differ in capacity, skill, health, strength; and unequal fortune is a necessary result of unequal condition. Such unequality is far from being disadvantageous either to individuals or to the community. Social and public life can only be maintained by means of various kinds of capacity for business and the playing of many parts; and each man, as a rule, chooses the part which suits his own peculiar domestic condition. As regards bodily labor, even had man never fallen from the state of innocence, he would not have remained wholly idle; but that which would then have been his free choice and his delight became afterwards compulsory, and the painful expiation for his disobedience. "Cursed be the earth in thy work; in thy labor thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life."(5)

18. In like manner, the other pains and hardships of life will have no end or cessation on earth; for the consequences of sin are bitter and hard to bear, and they must accompany man so long as life lasts. To suffer and to endure, therefore, is the lot of humanity; let them strive as they may, no strength and no artifice will ever succeed in banishing from human life the ills and troubles which beset it. If any there are who pretend differently - who hold out to a hard-pressed people the boon of freedom from pain and trouble, an undisturbed repose, and constant enjoyment - they delude the people and impose upon them, and their lying promises will only one day bring forth evils worse than the present. Nothing is more useful than to look upon the world as it really is, and at the same time to seek elsewhere, as We have said, for the solace to its troubles.

5). Gen. 3:17.

Charge in hate-slay upgraded to murder
Teens attacked another Hispanic man before Marcelo Lucero was stabbed to death, according to indictment

This is a positive development in this awful, violent hate crime. However, the reaction of some of the community of Patchogue-Medford has been the typical 'blame the media' that was seen when the Mempham High football players were exposed for raping younger players.

State: Patchogue-Medford wrong to force reporter out

Often, people (particularly uneducated ones) react to the media spotlight negatively with little to no regard for the importance of educating the wider public about serious matters. This situation should be a wake-up call for people who may not realize what their young people are doing with their time. Parents, educators and community leaders should insist that this incident will be a major focus of attention for years so that something like this (or the Mepham rapes) will never occur again. Instead of having a Newsday reporter removed from a meeting, the community should invite anyone to ask questions and seek the truth.

Rerum Novarum excerpt IV -
continuing on the idea of government control of families and takover of land:

"15. And in addition to injustice, it is only too evident what an upset and disturbance there would be in all classes, and to how intolerable and hateful a slavery citizens would be subjected. The door would be thrown open to envy, to mutual invective, and to discord; the sources of wealth themselves would run dry, for no one would have any interest in exerting his talents or his industry; and that ideal equality about which they entertain pleasant dreams would be in reality the levelling down of all to a like condition of misery and degradation. Hence, it is clear that the main tenet of socialism, community of goods, must be utterly rejected, since it only injures those whom it would seem meant to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights of mankind, and would introduce confusion and disorder into the commonweal. The first and most fundamental principle, therefore, if one would undertake to alleviate the condition of the masses, must be the inviolability of private property. This being established, we proceed to show where the remedy sought for must be found. "

"16. We approach the subject with confidence, and in the exercise of the rights which manifestly appertain to Us, for no practical solution of this question will be found apart from the intervention of religion and of the Church. It is We who are the chief guardian of religion and the chief dispenser of what pertains to the Church; and by keeping silence we would seem to neglect the duty incumbent on us. Doubtless, this most serious question demands the attention and the efforts of others besides ourselves - to wit, of the rulers of States, of employers of labor, of the wealthy, aye, of the working classes themselves, for whom We are pleading. But We affirm without hesitation that all the striving of men will be vain if they leave out the Church. It is the Church that insists, on the authority of the Gospel, upon those teachings whereby the conflict can be brought to an end, or rendered, at least, far less bitter; the Church uses her efforts not only to enlighten the mind, but to direct by her precepts the life and conduct of each and all; the Church improves and betters the condition of the working man by means of numerous organizations; does her best to enlist the services of all classes in discussing and endeavoring to further in the most practical way, the interests of the working classes; and considers that for this purpose recourse should be had, in due measure and degree, to the intervention of the law and of State authority. "

Catholic blog comment of the year award goes to Fr. Phillip Neri Powell, O.P. for his response to this post at Mark Shea's Catholic and Enjoying It! -

"A reader writes:

I just got home after a disheartening experience at a work function. A nun railed on me about not voting for Obama, then my views on abortion, and then the Catechism of the Catholic Church (read: it's "outdated" and "needs to be reformed"). I respected her tremendously and am disappointed beyond belief. To make matters worse, a co-worker who is vehemently anti-Catholic, started in on me too, because, you know, I don't think women should be priests, etc. etc. She's the same co-worker who, offended at our practice of closed communion, referred to the Eucharist as "just a hunk of bread."

I tried to be civil, and attempted to end a futile conversation with, "Well, we're just going to have to disagree", after it became obviously clear all of my arguments were being dismissed as "outdated." But they persisted, so I left the function early and went for a long walk in the cold night air.

I need prayers now, for the strength to face these people again, for the souls of both the nun and my co-worker who are clearly misguided, and as I being a much-needed job search to find something a little less obviously hostile to my beliefs.

If you and your readers could do that, I'd be grateful. 2008 has come to a spectacularly disasterous end and I'm pretty much fed up with everything."


The workplace referred to was a Catholic women's college.

Fr. Powell's comment was:
"I've had to note many times lately to my readers that I've taken vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
There ain't no %$#@ vow of nice.
I think the time for "being sweet" to the enemy is last past..."

On the way home from work I heard about this from NPR - YET ANOTHER stem cell breakthrough:

Woman Gets New Windpipe Using Her Own Stem Cells

"- A Spanish woman made medical history recently by receiving a new windpipe which had been grown from her own stem cells. The announcement has brought tremendous excitement among the pro-life as well as medical communities. The former group cited this as additional evidence that adult stem cell research, which is in complete accord with catholic social teaching, is producing real results. "


Day after day I am seeing breakthroughs that are actually helping people NOW using adult stem cells, and yet all we hear are calls for embryonic stem cell research.

Rerum Novarum excerpt III -
On the family

"11. With reason, then, the common opinion of mankind, little affected by the few dissentients who have contended for the opposite view, has found in the careful study of nature, and in the laws of nature, the foundations of the division of property, and the practice of all ages has consecrated the principle of private ownership, as being pre-eminently in conformity with human nature, and as conducing in the most unmistakable manner to the peace and tranquillity of human existence. The same principle is confirmed and enforced by the civil laws-laws which, so long as they are just, derive from the law of nature their binding force. The authority of the divine law adds its sanction, forbidding us in severest terms even to covet that which is another's: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife; nor his house, nor his field, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his."(2)

12. The rights here spoken of, belonging to each individual man, are seen in much stronger light when considered in relation to man's social and domestic obligations. In choosing a state of life, it is indisputable that all are at full liberty to follow the counsel of Jesus Christ as to observing virginity, or to bind themselves by the marriage tie. No human law can abolish the natural and original right of marriage, nor in any way limit the chief and principal purpose of marriage ordained by God's authority from the beginning: "Increase and multiply."(3) Hence we have the family, the "society" of a man's house - a society very small, one must admit, but none the less a true society, and one older than any State. Consequently, it has rights and duties peculiar to itself which are quite independent of the State.


13. That right to property, therefore, which has been proved to belong naturally to individual persons, must in like wise belong to a man in his capacity of head of a family; nay, that right is all the stronger in proportion as the human person receives a wider extension in the family group. It is a most sacred law of nature that a father should provide food and all necessaries for those whom he has begotten; and, similarly, it is natural that he should wish that his children, who carry on, so to speak, and continue his personality, should be by him provided with all that is needful to enable them to keep themselves decently from want and misery amid the uncertainties of this mortal life. Now, in no other way can a father effect this except by the ownership of productive property, which he can transmit to his children by inheritance. A family, no less than a State, is, as We have said, a true society, governed by an authority peculiar to itself, that is to say, by the authority of the father. Provided, therefore, the limits which are prescribed by the very purposes for which it exists be not transgressed, the family has at least equal rights with the State in the choice and pursuit of the things needful to its preservation and its just liberty. We say, "at least equal rights"; for, inasmuch as the domestic household is antecedent, as well in idea as in fact, to the gathering of men into a community, the family must necessarily have rights and duties which are prior to those of the community, and founded more immediately in nature. If the citizens, if the families on entering into association and fellowship, were to experience hindrance in a commonwealth instead of help, and were to find their rights attacked instead of being upheld, society would rightly be an object of detestation rather than of desire.

14. The contention, then, that the civil government should at its option intrude into and exercise intimate control over the family and the household is a great and pernicious error. True, if a family finds itself in exceeding distress, utterly deprived of the counsel of friends, and without any prospect of extricating itself, it is right that extreme necessity be met by public aid, since each family is a part of the commonwealth. In like manner, if within the precincts of the household there occur grave disturbance of mutual rights, public authority should intervene to force each party to yield to the other its proper due; for this is not to deprive citizens of their rights, but justly and properly to safeguard and strengthen them. But the rulers of the commonwealth must go no further; here, nature bids them stop. Paternal authority can be neither abolished nor absorbed by the State; for it has the same source as human life itself. "The child belongs to the father," and is, as it were, the continuation of the father's personality; and speaking strictly, the child takes its place in civil society, not of its own right, but in its quality as member of the family in which it is born. And for the very reason that "the child belongs to the father" it is, as St. Thomas Aquinas says, "before it attains the use of free will, under the power and the charge of its parents."(4) The socialists, therefore, in setting aside the parent and setting up a State supervision, act against natural justice, and destroy the structure of the home. "

2). Deut. 5:21.
3). Gen. 1:28.
4). Summa theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. x, art. 12, Answer.

Rerum Novarum excerpt II -
On private property

"7. This becomes still more clearly evident if man's nature be considered a little more deeply. For man, fathoming by his faculty of reason matters without number, linking the future with the present, and being master of his own acts, guides his ways under the eternal law and the power of God, whose providence governs all things. Wherefore, it is in his power to exercise his choice not only as to matters that regard his present welfare, but also about those which he deems may be for his advantage in time yet to come. Hence, man not only should possess the fruits of the earth, but also the very soil, inasmuch as from the produce of the earth he has to lay by provision for the future. Man's needs do not die out, but forever recur; although satisfied today, they demand fresh supplies for tomorrow. Nature accordingly must have given to man a source that is stable and remaining always with him, from which he might look to draw continual supplies. And this stable condition of things he finds solely in the earth and its fruits. There is no need to bring in the State. Man precedes the State, and possesses, prior to the formation of any State, the right of providing for the substance of his body.

8. The fact that God has given the earth for the use and enjoyment of the whole human race can in no way be a bar to the owning of private property. For God has granted the earth to mankind in general, not in the sense that all without distinction can deal with it as they like, but rather that no part of it was assigned to any one in particular, and that the limits of private possession have been left to be fixed by man's own industry, and by the laws of individual races. Moreover, the earth, even though apportioned among private owners, ceases not thereby to minister to the needs of all, inasmuch as there is not one who does not sustain life from what the land produces. Those who do not possess the soil contribute their labor; hence, it may truly be said that all human subsistence is derived either from labor on one's own land, or from some toil, some calling, which is paid for either in the produce of the land itself, or in that which is exchanged for what the land brings forth.

9. Here, again, we have further proof that private ownership is in accordance with the law of nature. Truly, that which is required for the preservation of life, and for life's well-being, is produced in great abundance from the soil, but not until man has brought it into cultivation and expended upon it his solicitude and skill. Now, when man thus turns the activity of his mind and the strength of his body toward procuring the fruits of nature, by such act he makes his own that portion of nature's field which he cultivates - that portion on which he leaves, as it were, the impress of his personality; and it cannot but be just that he should possess that portion as his very own, and have a right to hold it without any one being justified in violating that right.

10. So strong and convincing are these arguments that it seems amazing that some should now be setting up anew certain obsolete opinions in opposition to what is here laid down. They assert that it is right for private persons to have the use of the soil and its various fruits, but that it is unjust for any one to possess outright either the land on which he has built or the estate which he has brought under cultivation. But those who deny these rights do not perceive that they are defrauding man of what his own labor has produced. For the soil which is tilled and cultivated with toil and skill utterly changes its condition; it was wild before, now it is fruitful; was barren, but now brings forth in abundance. That which has thus altered and improved the land becomes so truly part of itself as to be in great measure indistinguishable and inseparable from it. Is it just that the fruit of a man's own sweat and labor should be possessed and enjoyed by any one else? As effects follow their cause, so is it just and right that the results of labor should belong to those who have bestowed their labor.

Yesterday at Mass one of the prayers of the faithful was for Marcelo Lucero. Bishop Murphy asked all parishes to include this prayer in the Masses yesterday. Also, Lucero was remembered at Masses in Patchogue, Riverhead, and Ecuador: (from Newsday)

A message of unity in Long Island's Catholic churches

"Inside St. Francis De Sales Church Sunday, where more than 400 people flocked to hear Sunday Mass celebrated in Marcelo Lucero's name, his brother, Joselo, sat alone in a front pew, a single red rose in his hand."

"Christ went through the same thing," said Lucero, 40, Marcelo's sister. "He was punished and killed for an unjust reason."



At immigrants' Mass, a call for forgiveness amid sorrow

"Hundreds of immigrants gathered for an annual Mass celebrating their contributions to America were urged to summon forgiveness amid mourning the death of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorean killed in Patchogue a week earlier in what police have termed a crime of hate.The Rev. John Dunne, auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre, called upon the "great grace of the immigrants here on Long Island" as he delivered the message during the Diocese of Rockville Centre's annual "Immigrants of Yesterday and Today" liturgy at Bishop McGann Mercy Diocesan High School in Riverhead. About 500 people from 60 countries attended."


Lucero's family hosts Mass at home he helped build

"GUALACEO, ECUADOR - Close to 300 people gathered for a Mass on the cobblestone street in front of the house Marcelo Lucero built for his mother and was promising to move to after 15 years away from his homeland."

Rerum Novarum Excerpt I -
This part talks about socialism and why the socialist way is not correct:

"4. To remedy these wrongs the socialists, working on the poor man's envy of the rich, are striving to do away with private property, and contend that individual possessions should become the common property of all, to be administered by the State or by municipal bodies. They hold that by thus transferring property from private individuals to the community, the present mischievous state of things will be set to rights, inasmuch as each citizen will then get his fair share of whatever there is to enjoy. But their contentions are so clearly powerless to end the controversy that were they carried into effect the working man himself would be among the first to suffer. They are, moreover, emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the State, and create utter confusion in the community.

5. It is surely undeniable that, when a man engages in remunerative labor, the impelling reason and motive of his work is to obtain property, and thereafter to hold it as his very own. If one man hires out to another his strength or skill, he does so for the purpose of receiving in return what is necessary for the satisfaction of his needs; he therefore expressly intends to acquire a right full and real, not only to the remuneration, but also to the disposal of such remuneration, just as he pleases. Thus, if he lives sparingly, saves money, and, for greater security, invests his savings in land, the land, in such case, is only his wages under another form; and, consequently, a working man's little estate thus purchased should be as completely at his full disposal as are the wages he receives for his labor. But it is precisely in such power of disposal that ownership obtains, whether the property consist of land or chattels. Socialists, therefore, by endeavoring to transfer the possessions of individuals to the community at large, strike at the interests of every wage-earner, since they would deprive him of the liberty of disposing of his wages, and thereby of all hope and possibility of increasing his resources and of bettering his condition in life.

6. What is of far greater moment, however, is the fact that the remedy they propose is manifestly against justice. For, every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own. This is one of the chief points of distinction between man and the animal creation, for the brute has no power of self direction, but is governed by two main instincts, which keep his powers on the alert, impel him to develop them in a fitting manner, and stimulate and determine him to action without any power of choice. One of these instincts is self preservation, the other the propagation of the species. Both can attain their purpose by means of things which lie within range; beyond their verge the brute creation cannot go, for they are moved to action by their senses only, and in the special direction which these suggest. But with man it is wholly different. He possesses, on the one hand, the full perfection of the animal being, and hence enjoys at least as much as the rest of the animal kind, the fruition of things material. But animal nature, however perfect, is far from representing the human being in its completeness, and is in truth but humanity's humble handmaid, made to serve and to obey. It is the mind, or reason, which is the predominant element in us who are human creatures; it is this which renders a human being human, and distinguishes him essentially from the brute. And on this very account - that man alone among the animal creation is endowed with reason - it must be within his right to possess things not merely for temporary and momentary use, as other living things do, but to have and to hold them in stable and permanent possession; he must have not only things that perish in the use, but those also which, though they have been reduced into use, continue for further use in after time. "

Rerum Novarum Intro

I first read Rerum Novarum a couple of years ago and meant to list some excerpts from it but have decided to do so now for the following reasons: 1) The economy is a mess 2) The murder of Marcello Lucero reminds me that people are still suffering trying to make a simple living 3) I enjoy reading the Encyclicals from past centuries as the writing is so clear and interesting 4) I just starting reading Autobiography of a Campaigner for Christ by David Goldstein, a Catholic convert and former socialist.

So here is the introductory part of Rerum Novarum, the entire thing can be read here.

"That the spirit of revolutionary change, which has long been disturbing the nations of the world, should have passed beyond the sphere of politics and made its influence felt in the cognate sphere of practical economics is not surprising. The elements of the conflict now raging are unmistakable, in the vast expansion of industrial pursuits and the marvellous discoveries of science; in the changed relations between masters and workmen; in the enormous fortunes of some few individuals, and the utter poverty of the masses; the increased self reliance and closer mutual combination of the working classes; as also, finally, in the prevailing moral degeneracy. The momentous gravity of the state of things now obtaining fills every mind with painful apprehension; wise men are discussing it; practical men are proposing schemes; popular meetings, legislatures, and rulers of nations are all busied with it - actually there is no question which has taken deeper hold on the public mind."

"2. Therefore, venerable brethren, as on former occasions when it seemed opportune to refute false teaching, We have addressed you in the interests of the Church and of the common weal, and have issued letters bearing on political power, human liberty, the Christian constitution of the State, and like matters, so have We thought it expedient now to speak on the condition of the working classes.(1) It is a subject on which We have already touched more than once, incidentally. But in the present letter, the responsibility of the apostolic office urges Us to treat the question of set purpose and in detail, in order that no misapprehension may exist as to the principles which truth and justice dictate for its settlement. The discussion is not easy, nor is it void of danger. It is no easy matter to define the relative rights and mutual duties of the rich and of the poor, of capital and of labor. And the danger lies in this, that crafty agitators are intent on making use of these differences of opinion to pervert men's judgments and to stir up the people to revolt."

3. In any case we clearly see, and on this there is general agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class: for the ancient workingmen's guilds were abolished in the last century, and no other protective organization took their place. Public institutions and the laws set aside the ancient religion. Hence, by degrees it has come to pass that working men have been surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition. The mischief has been increased by rapacious usury, which, although more than once condemned by the Church, is nevertheless, under a different guise, but with like injustice, still practiced by covetous and grasping men. To this must be added that the hiring of labor and the conduct of trade are concentrated in the hands of comparatively few; so that a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself. "

REFERENCES:
1). The title sometimes given to this encyclical, On the Condiction of the Working Classes, is therefore perfectly justified. A few lines after this sentence, the Pope gives a more comprehensive definition of the subject of Rerum novarum. We are using it as a title.