The Traditional Latin Mass on Long Island

Starting Sunday, November 30th, the Mass in the extraordinary form that was offered at St. Pius Chapel in Uniondale will now be moved to St. Ladislaus Church in Hempstead. The time will be changed to 9 AM. So, the 4 locations for Sunday Mass in the Extraordinary Form on Long Island are:

1. St. Ladislaus in Hempstead @ 9 AM (beginning 11/30)
2. Our Lady of Lourdes in Massapequa Park @ 1:30 PM (beginning 11/30)
3. St. Matthew's in Dix Hills @ 9 AM (in the chapel)
4. Sacred Heart in Cutchogue @ 3 PM

This is a vast improvement from the days when the Diocese offered only once a month Masses in Uniondale and Cutchogue. Now, does anyone know where I can go to Mass on Long Island in the ordinary form and hear latin, chant, solid orthodox homilies and pray a reverent Mass in a traditional Church? That would be a vast improvement also, but if anyone knows a parish that would come close to this please let me know. I am happy with the Masses where I attend but am always on the lookout for good Liturgy.

Prosecuting Johns
Why allowing Eliot Spitzer to break the law is a mistake.

This is a good opinion piece in Newsweek on the former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer. The former 'sheriff of Wall Street' and persecutor of pro-life centers was exposed buying sex with a prostitute but for some strange reason not prosecuted for this crime.

"Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned in March 2008 after it was discovered that he had used women in prostitution, a violation of New York's comprehensive anti-trafficking law. Last week, we learned that the former prosecutor will not be prosecuted for breaking the law."

"U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia's decision not to pursue criminal charges against Mr. Spitzer for buying women in prostitution is a stunning betrayal of the public trust. Citing precedent, Mr. Garcia indicated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) does not typically prosecute johns who buy women from pimps, except in cases of prostitution of children. ("In light of the policy of the Department of Justice with respect to prostitution offenses and the longstanding practice of this Office, as well as Mr. Spitzer's acceptance of responsibility for his conduct, we have concluded that the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter," he said in a statement.) The DOJ also chose not to charge Mr. Spitzer for transporting a woman across state lines for the purpose of prostitution—a violation of the Mann Act. Congress might be interested to learn that its laws are being effectively nullified by DOJ policy."

"Even when the pimps are alleged to be running a high-end, high-class call-girl service, they still sell women for sexual use and still take their cut. And those in it, like Ashley Dupré—a young woman whom Mr. Spitzer bought for sex—more often than not, have entered prostitution as a result of long-term abuse, neglect, and economic desperation; a situation that worsens disproportionately for women as the economy declines. Ms. Dupré ran away from what she has described as an abusive home, and her lawyers have confirmed she was filmed by "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis, who pleaded no contest to child abuse and prostitution charges stemming from his work, when she was 17. Ms. Dupré later met up with the pimps and johns at Emperor's Club VIP in New York, a prostitution ring that sometimes moved women from the United States to Europe on what they called "travel dates" rather than human trafficking."

The authors of this good piece are:

Melissa Farley is founder and executive director of the nonprofit group Prostitution Research and Education in San Francisco.
Norma Ramos is the coexecutive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women in New York.

Prosecutor: Teens targeted Hispanics

In Patchogue, a man was stabbed to death by 7 men. They told police they wanted to go after 'Mexicans' and ended up stabbing the victim to death.

From Newsday:

"In their own words, 'Let's go find some Mexicans to -- -- up,' " said Assistant District Attorney Nancy Clifford at First District Court in Central Islip.

"The victim, Marcello Lucero, 38, of Patchogue, was attacked and killed near the Long Island Rail Road station in Patchogue late Saturday, police said"

"Christopher Overton, the youngest of the group who is also awaiting sentencing for his involvement in a violent home invasion which left a man dead, was held on $250,000 cash bail, or $500,000 bond. The other defendants -- Kevin Shea, 17, Jordan Dasch, 17, Nicholas Hausch, 17, and Jose Pacheco, 17 -- were all held on $150,000 cash bail, or 300,000 bond. All the suspects pleaded not guilty."

What I cannot believe is that these monsters have not been charged with federal civil rights violations:

"Conroy, of 189 Jamaica Ave. in Medford, was charged with first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime.

Both James Margolin, a spokesman for the FBI in New York, and Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for Eastern District U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell, said their offices were aware of the situation, but were not actively involved in the investigation, at this time.

The U.S. attorney's office is "monitoring the situation to see if there are any potential federal civil rights violations," Nardoza said."

This Newsday article lists all their names:

Cops: Fatal stabbing of Patchogue man a hate crime

"One suspect, Jeffrey Conroy, 17, of 189 Jamaica Ave. in Medford, was charged with first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, said Fitzpatrick.

Another suspect, Christopher Overton, 16, has the same name, age and address, 9 Yacht St. in East Patchogue, as one who pleaded guilty to burglary in another fatal attack in May 2007 in which a 38-year-old East Patchogue man was shot dead when a group of teenagers robbed his home. A neighbor found the victim, Carlton Shaw, dead in his backyard, his 3-year-old son sleeping on his chest.

The others are: Jordan Dasch, 17, of 5 Lyndsie Ct., Medford; Anthony Hartford, 17, of 94 Greenport Ave., Medford; Nicholas Hausch, 17, of 36A Middle Island Ave., Medford; Jose Pacheco, 17, of 244 Hospital Rd., East Patchogue; and Kevin Shea, 17, of 301 Jamaica Ave., Medford."

In this post I mentioned the closing of the former St. Pius X High School building and wondered what would happen with the traditional Latin Mass that is now offered each Sunday in the Chapel. I found out yesterday the Mass will be moving to St. Ladislaus in Hempstead! I will post the exact time and place when I can get it confirmed.

I attended the lecture yesterday by Msgr. George Graham on "Liturgical Reform: Pluses and Minuses" at the Nassau Community Center for Catholic Studies. Msgr. Graham covered all the 'usual suspects' such as the reformers Pius X and Pius XII as well as the villians Hans Kung and Bugnini. My friend Aristotle, the Recovering Choir Director, attended also. He was smart enough to get up after the lecture to ask a question (on the musical aspects of Liturgical Reform) while I wrongly assumed there would be enough time for me to ask my question. I was interested to hear Msgr. Graham's take on the reintroduction of the traditional Mass (Extraordinary Form) and how this movement will influence the 'Reform of the Reform'. As Aristotle mentioned, there is expected to be, and has been, a 'gravitational pull' where the EF will help to bring about more reverence and tradition in the Ordinary Form. However, I wonder if we will see the OF, especially here in the Diocese of Rockville Centre infused with tradition? After all, many Catholics interested in these matters now have the EF to attend - 4 places in DRVC - so would any bother attending the OF? Is there enough interest in the 'reform of the reform' within parishes and amoung everyday (Joe and Mary?) Catholics? Interestingly, Fr. Z at What Does the Prayer Really Say? posts pictures of a very nice OF Mass offered by the great Fr. Jay Scott Newman . The comments in this post seem to indicate that even OF Masses offered with tradition will not satisfy some, and may actually lead to the exposure of the great difference between the EF and the OF. What about the DRVC where there is almost no latin, no reverence and no tradition in most parishes? Does a Catholic interested in such matters have no 'choice' but to attend one of the traditional latin Masses? I think this is an interesting topic because although interest in the EF is high in online Catholic communities, it is not as high in the average parish. I would love to see both a spreading of the EF and a real reform of the OF.

From the New York Times:

As Girls’ School Plans Closing, the Tears Flow

I was emailed by the author of this article to ask if I had any insights to offer before its publication. I advised her I did not have any real useful information or insights but appreciated being asked. After reading this and a couple of other articles on the closing I was even more aware of how sad this is: the school was open since 1856! I feel especially bad for the students there.

A snip from the article:

"Administrators of the academy, run by the Sisters of St. Joseph, said that they had been struggling with low enrollment for nearly 20 years and that aggressive fund-raising and recruitment efforts had proven insufficient. This year’s freshman class has 37 students, down from about 150 in the early 1990s."


An article in The Long Island Catholic adds:

"Brentwood — Years of dwindling enrollment have culminated in the decision to close the Academy of St. Joseph here at the end of the school year, ending a 152-year tradition and closing the only all-girls’ Catholic high school in Suffolk County.The decision has been “extremely difficult on the students and families,” said Sister of St. Joseph Jean Amore, the congregation’s president. “It is extremely difficult for the Sisters of St. Joseph as well.”

"We tried everything,” she said, to keep open the school which serves about 340 students. Grades kindergarten-eight are co-ed; the high school is all girls. The Academy of St. Joseph was founded in Brooklyn in 1856 when Sisters of St. Joseph came from Philadelphia to start a school. The original school was also the convent and, as more sisters joined the order, the convent and school moved to Queens. In 1896 they moved to the current location in Suffolk County, on a campus that also includes the order’s motherhouse.

“Although the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph has subsidized ASJ over the years, it cannot continue to do so,” read a letter sent by the school’s administration to all parents October 29. “Also, in justice, faculty salaries should be significantly improved in light of current economic pressures. In addition, the Member Board feels that a more serious concern is the difficulty of providing all options, enrichment opportunities and special programs that a diverse population needs and deserves.”

Mary Ellen Barrett of Tales From The Bonny Blue House has a new article in The Long Island Catholic on keeping holy the Sabbath:

Sacred Sunday

It is a response to the Long Island Press article I posted about here.

The Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies Presents
Liturgical Reform: Pluses and Minuses
November 8

Garden City, NY – The Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies is honored to present a lecture by Monsignor George A. Graham, Ph.D., J.C.D., on the debate surrounding liturgical reform in the Catholic Church of the United States from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Liturgical Reform: Pluses and Minuses will take place on Saturday, November 8 at 11:00 a.m. in the College Center Building.

Monsignor Graham is president of the New York Regional Chapter of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, Judicial Vicar for the Interdiocesan Court of Appeals for the eight Catholic dioceses of New York State and a member of the Liturgical Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre.

This event is free and open to the public, but requires both registration and a parking permit. To register and receive a permit, contact the NCC Office of Lifelong Learning at 516.572.7472.

I hope to be able to attend this lecture as it is my particular area of interest - Liturgical reform.

William Walsh cover-up unraveled quickly, cops say

Police reveal details about arrest of husband in Leah Walsh case



The above link is from Newsday on the sad case of a Long Island teacher of autistic students who was found murdered. Her husband was arrested and charged with her murder.

The Long Island Catholic had a short article on the Seminary program for college age men. The program is rightfully called 'one of our best kept secrets' and it should be better known:

"Douglaston — For college-age men considering a vocation to the priesthood, the Cathedral Semi-nary Residence here offers “the best of both worlds,” said Father Brian Barr, diocesan vocations director.
“They have a foot in both worlds,” Father Barr said of about 25 men from the Rockville Centre and Brooklyn dioceses who are living at Cathedral Residence while studying at St. John’s University or another local college. “They can have a normal college experience while beginning their formation for the priesthood. They can be with other guys who have that same goal,” said Father Barr, who is also director of campus ministry. Six men from the diocese are in the program here."

This is the type of program that the Dioceses (Brooklyn and Rockville Centre) should be promoting more. If the program were done well, the men could be prepared for the seminary and priesthood, and if this vocation were not for them, then they would be prepared to be Christian gentlemen. It is a win-win situation and should have a hundred young men or more.

"To find out more, contact Father Brian Barr at the diocesan vocations office at 631-424-9888, or vocations@drvc.org."

From Newsday: The Academy of St. Joseph in Brentwood is closing due to lack of enrollment.

"The only all-girls Catholic high school in Suffolk County, a hidden gem housed in majestic buildings on a lush 211-acre campus in Brentwood, is closing its doors. The Academy of St. Joseph, whose history dates back 153 years, lacks the students and money to make running it financially feasible, Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood president Sister Jean Amore said yesterday. The school will shut down in June."

This is sad news but common around the Northeast, with declining enrollment and escalating costs it is just too difficult to keep many Catholic schools open. Of course, many religious communities stopped focusing on education and orthodoxy in the 60's and 70's and that too hurt their ability to remain vital and growing, in turn affecting their apostolates, so that also has played a role.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre announced a short time ago that retired priests of the Diocese would be moved to a new residence on grounds operated by the Dominican Sisters of Amityville:

Dominican Village to Become New Residence for Retired Diocesan Priests

They currently live at the former St. Pius X High School which closed in 1983. The St. Pius alumni run a website here. The press release mentioned that the residence for priests was to close when the preists move, so I assumed the entire St. Pius property would be sold. Today, Newsday reports the health care clinic operated by Rotacare on the property was told it would have to leave so it seems the property will be sold. This all makes sense for the Diocese to sell off this property but I do wonder what will happen to the Mass in the Extraordinary Form that is currently offered in the chapel? Perhaps it will be moved to a parish which would be great.

In the past, rumors suggested Bishop Murphy would be moved to a bigger Diocese, if this does happen -

Will one of these men be the next Bishop of the Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa?

Bishop Peter Anthony Libasci


Bishop Paul Henry Walsh

Just askin'

Crime and Justice on Long Island


Marty Tankleff, who spent 17 years in jail on charges of killing his parents and then had his conviction vacated, has started the Fortress Innocence Group. The goal is to help those who are wrongly convicted, a very worthy cause.



Pamela Gluckin, the Roslyn School embezzler is up for parole after serving only 2 1/2 years of a 3 to 9 year sentence. She should not be released yet considering all she stole, another year or two would be appropriate.

I found this explanded story of Seattle nuns returning to the Catholic Church after decades as schismatics on the blog The Black Cordelias. The nuns who returned are now the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church. I had known about this situation but did not know of the role of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity:

"Last July, 15 nuns from a schismatic convent in Washington state rejoined the Catholic Church. They left the motherhouse of the Religious Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI), located on the outskirts of Spokane, to form a new congregation: the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church. They formally renounced their state of schism, made a profession of the Catholic faith, became a private association of the faithful under the care of Spokane Bishop William Skylstad, and recognized the legitimacy of the popes from Paul VI through Benedict XVI.
Their former order, which still has approximately 35 sisters, holds to the sedevacantist position that popes elected since John XXIII are invalid and that Vatican II was a heretical council. "

"In June of 2006, Sister Nirmala sent four of her sari-clad sisters to start a new foundation in Spokane and told the Missionaries of Charity novices to begin praying to Mother Teresa to help bring back the schismatic nuns of the CMRI order. There were exactly 32 Missionaries of Charity novices in the US at the time and 32 CMRI sisters stationed at the Mount. The novices’ prayers began to bear fruit.
Sister Alinda, the superior of the MC nuns in Spokane, went up to the Mount shortly after arriving. She continued to visit six more times in the first few months, after her arrival. On her last visit, the sisters at the sent her home with a large concrete statue of Our Lady of Grace for the garden of the MC convent. As she left the CMRI convent, Sister Alinda says she whispered to the Blessed Mother statue, “OK, I am taking you down the hill today, but now you have to come back here and bring the CMRI sisters down the hill with you."

Also found via the blog The Black Cordelias:

"More than 80% of the prisoners in the concentration camps are not Jews but Christians, and the best tribute to the spirit of Germany's Christians comes from a Jew and agnostic (TIME, Sept. 23) — the world's most famous scientist, Albert Einstein. Says he:

"Being a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but, no, the universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks. . . .

"Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly."

The above excerpt is from a fascinating article in Time Magazine, Monday, December 23, 1940

Good News in the Diocese of Rockville Centre

The Recovering Choir Director gives an update on Gregorian Chant classes held at St. Matthew's in Dix Hills: "The last two Wednesdays have seen the class grow from four to almost twenty willing participants."

I have to ask: How many unwilling participants are there Aristotle? Seriously, this is a great development in the continuing 'reform of the reform'. It is so good to see Vatican II being implemented concretely on Long Island.

"116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services."
--SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM

From the Long Island Catholic:

Local priests react to violence in India

"As new reports of Hindu extremists attacking Catholics reach the U.S., Indian priests serving on Long Island are hoping that U.S. Catholics and other Christians will become aware and vocal in defending their fellow Christians in India.
According to Catholic News Service reports and information from a Web site of the Indian bishops, about 60 Christians have been killed, 300 villages have been destroyed, 50,000 people are left homeless, more than 18,000 have been injured, including priests and nuns, two women were gang raped, and more than 150 churches and other church facilities have already been destroyed while still more were vandalized or desecrated.“It is terribly troubling,” said Father Augustine Fernando, associate pastor of St. Kilian’s Church in Farmingdale and a native of India. He has been in touch with priests from his home diocese and has gotten information from a Web site of the Indian bishops’ conference. He is hoping that Americans will become aware and raise their voices."

One of the causes of the violence may the fear of losing out to Christianity:

"There has been a surge of Indians who have joined the Catholic and other Christian Churches, Father Sabhasundar said, but he denies that the Catholic Church has made any special effort to draw Hindus. Rather, the Catholic Church and other Christians offer health and other services to people of all faiths.“They find dignity and equal-ity in Christianity,” Father Sabhasundar said, and many are drawn to the teachings of Jesus. This is particularly true of “outcasts,” those who are excluded from the traditional Hindu caste system."

For those who have never seen my Gen X Catholic poem ala Allen Ginsberg, here it is:

Catholic Howl

I saw the best Catholics of my generation destroyed by madness, starving
hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the streets at dawn looking for beautiful Liturgy

Coolheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the
Trinity,
Who passed through universities without ever learning Aquinas, among the scholars of Kung,
who were expelled from the seminary for questioning heterodoxy,
who cowered in rooms with no crucifixes, burning their Missals in
wastebaskets and listening to the Feminist Theology through the wall,
who got busted in their dorms reading Wojtyla,
who purgatoried their torsos night after night
with endless tales of bitter old nuns,
who chained themselves to altar rails for the timeless reception of the Eucharist,

who sank all night in submarine light of renovated Churches, listening to the
crack of doom from the folk group,
a lost battalion of Thomistic conversationalists,
screaming whispering facts and memories and
anecdotes of lecher priests, pedophiles, perverts
whole intellects who vanished into nowhere leaving a trail of missed vocations,
who wandered around and around at midnight wondering where to go for Adoration, and went, leaving no broken hearts,
who studied Newman,Stein, St. John of the Cross
because the teachers would forbid it,
who loned it through the streets of Georgetown seeking visionary angels like Fessio
who lounged hungry and lonesome through USF seeking Chesterton or Augustine or
Waugh, and followed the brilliant Spaniard to converse about Opus Dei
who disappeared into the Traditionalist groups,
who reappeared on the Florida Coast building Ave Maria
with big pacifist eyes sexy in their dark skin passing out Catholics United for the Faith leaflets,
who kneeled for communion and shrieked with delight for
committing no crime but their own desire for orthodoxy

who journeyed to Denver, who prayed With Chaput,
& waited in vain, for the New Evangelization

who fell on their knees in hopeless cathedrals praying for each other's salvation

who threw potato salad at Jesuit lecturers on Dogma and subsequently
presented themselves on the granite steps of Groeschel’s Friary with
shaven heads demanding true religious life.

II

What sphinx of cement and aluminum bashed open their skulls and ate up
their brains and imagination?
Moloch! Heterodoxy! Filth! Ugliness! Bare Churches and stupid theology! Boys sobbing childhood molestation
Moloch! Moloch! Nightmare of Moloch! Moloch the heavy judger of orthodox seminarians!
Moloch the incomprehensible dissidents! Moloch the soulless Liturgies! Moloch whose church buildings are empty!
Moloch whose love is endless questioning and changing! Moloch whose soul is America and National Catholic Reporter!

Necessary Heartbreak

Product Description

Do you believe that time heals all wounds? Michael Stewart doesn't. Twelve years later, he's still struggling with the demands of being a single father. His life revolves around his daughter Elizabeth, a precocious girl who's growing up much too fast. Michael is all too aware of time lost, and time still slipping away. But fate, or perhaps something more divine, has other plans for Michael. When he and Lizzie stumble upon a root-cellar door in the floor of an old church, they discover that it's actually a tunnel leading back in time to first century Jerusalem during the tumultuous last week of Christ's life. With the help of Leah, a newfound friend, they try desperately to escape, avoiding menacing soldiers at every turn, including one determined to make Elizabeth his own. Trapped in the past -- both literally and figuratively -- Michael comes face to face with some of his most limiting beliefs, and realizes he must open himself up to the possibility of a deeper faith in God, people, himself, and love before he can find his way home. Michael Sullivan is the author of several books for young readers. He lives on Long Island with his wife and two daughters.

I was sent a copy of this book by the author, who happens to be a fellow Long Island Catholic. I advised the author, M.J. Sullivan that I do not read fiction, something my wife, a former adjunct English Lit professor tells me I should do. I am glad he sent the book to me as I enjoyed it. This was a quick and interesting read about a Long Island father and daughter that find themselves in Israel at the time of Jesus. The story moves quickly and I found it was not easy to put the book down. The author is a sports writer who has written books for young readers about Chris Mullin (St. John's University basketball star) and Darryl Strawberry ('86 Met!) and others.