Film Festival Honors JP2

"A new film about Fatima, a history-spanning documentary featuring George Weigel and Robert George, and a film on the life of a woman close to Pope John Paul II are among the films selected for the inaugural John Paul II International Film Festival in Miami, running Oct. 29 - Nov. 7.

Organized by three Florida Catholics, the John Paul II International Film Festival “John Paul II International Film Festival.,” is intended to highlight less-noticed films that celebrate themes of human dignity, forgiveness and hope.

Rafael Anrrich, a social worker, and Laura Alvarado and Frank William Brennan cite the teaching and spirit of Pope John Paul II as their inspiration, but have solicited film submissions from both Catholics and non-Catholics, and hope to draw audiences from all backgrounds. "

Via The National Catholic Register

Priest found slain in N.J. church rectory

10/24 - it was the parish janitor.

Credit Unions

I received the newsletter today from Oceanside Christopher, my credit union and this quote was included on the front page:

"If love is wise, it can find ways of working in accordance with provident and just expediency, as is illustrated in a significant way by much of the experience of credit unions."

The quote is from "Caritas in Veritate", Pope Benedict's most recent encyclical. I am happy with Oceanside Christopher and would recommend it for Catholics here on Long Island. Right now there are only 2 locations: Oceanside and Seaford, with the Seaford location moving shortly to a beautiful, bigger building that used to house a bank. However, members can also use other credit unions to access their accounts. With all of the problems in banking recently, the idea of credit unions is looking better and better. It did not help when the government bailouts simply made the biggest banks even bigger. This is one area of economics where 'distributism' can really be done. It is truly unique to be able to do banking in a place with a crucifix right on the wall to your side and truly nice people behind the counter.

Center for Catholic Studies thrives at NCC

"Since it started in 2000, the center has hosted nationally known Catholic figures, including Cardinal Avery Dulles, George Weigel, and Michael Novak, as well as such notable local figures as Bishop William Murphy and former Nassau District Attorney Denis Dillon."

This is truly a great thing to have here on Long Island. It is sad there are not more of these type of centers at colleges and universities.

Pope approves document on Anglicans joining church

"The Vatican said on Tuesday that the document, known as an "apostolic constitution," would provide a structure for Anglicans who want to join Catholicism, either individually or in groups, while maintaining some of their own traditions.
The move was announced at simultaneous news conferences in Rome and London."

Via The Deacon's Bench

Although this is good news, it is decades late. Anglicans were asking for this type of thing decades ago but were put off by the Vatican who didn't like the idea of 'conservatives' coming into the Church. I think Msgr. Hamilton's lecture couldn't be more timely, in fact, I bet he will have to add to his presentation now.

UPDATE: New Liturgical Movement has the full text of the Vatican statement with all the details. It sounds like this is just a world wide expansion of the situation some Anglicans in the USA have had since 1982. Like I said, this is decades late.

SSPX Talks Scheduled

"The first meeting of talks between the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei and the Society of St. Pius X will take place in the morning of Monday 26th October, the Vatican announced today.

The talks are taking place to consider the doctrinal issues that separate the traditionalist society from full unity with the Church. "

I don't hold out much hope for these talks but hopefully it will bear fruit. The people in the SSPX are for the most part more committed to the Gospel than many Catholics.

Albania to India: Give us back Mother Teresa

"(CNN) -- "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world."

"That's how Mother Teresa chose to describe herself in life. In death, however, her words will probably do little to settle a diplomatic squabble over her remains.
The Albanian government wants her back, before her 100th birthday next year."

New maternity home a labor of love

From the The Long Island Catholic, a nice story about the latest pro-life project in the DRVC -

"MERRICK — Mary’s Residence, a new transitional living facility for young single mothers, was dedicated here October 6 after a nine-month renovation process that was described as “a miracle every step of the way.” The home will allow Catholic Charities to provide additional services for young women who graduate from Regina Residence, which has been offering housing and support to mothers for 40 years."

"Kathy Ryan, program administrator for Regina Residence, explained that the “miracles” came in the form of community members who helped make Mary’s Residence possible. First, the Foley family which owned the house next door to Regina Residence agreed to sell it to Catholic Charities well below market value, in memory of the uncle who had lived there and was a devout man who supported the neighboring residence.

Next, a donor who wishes to remain anonymous gave $100,000 for the project. “Then, we were unbelievably blessed by the Marianist family’s involvement,” said Ryan. The Society of Mary, or Marianists, is the order of priests and brothers who run Kellenberg Memorial and Chaminade high schools and the St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in the diocese. The local Meribah province decided to “adopt” Mary’s Residence and provided all the interior renovations, including materials and labor, which would easily have equaled $150,000 according to Catholic Charities’ estimate. At the dedication ceremony, Bishop Murphy announced that the diocese would match the generous donations already given, by pledging another $250,000 to support Mary’s Residence."

LI diocese: Now in full compliance with sex abuse rules

Here are some snippets from an article in today's Newsday with my thoughts in red:

"The Diocese of Rockville Centre is now in full compliance with nationwide Roman Catholic Church regulations aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse, following its failure last year when it was audited on those rules."

[Actually there are no such 'nationwide rules' in the Catholic Church, just guidelines - bishops rule their own dioceses and can follow or ignore these guidelines at will.]

"Last year an audit found that, while the diocese passed virtually every aspect of the 13-article audit, it failed in one part of one article. Of five parishes audited, one did not take sufficient action to train church volunteers in "safe environments" - or at least did not produce proper documentation showing it did so, church officials said.
That problem has been cleared up, according to the latest audit, conducted by The Gavin Group, an outside organization that audits dioceses throughout the country."

[I wonder if auditing only 5 parishes in a diocese of 133 parishes is really enough? I am afraid the errant parish may have been St. Martin of Tours in Amityville, as they only had their volunteers go through Virtus this past year. I don't see why every parish can't have this Virtus thing in force without any slipups.]

"Some 84,000 people in the diocese including bishops, priests, deacons and lay people, have completed "Virtus" training to help them recognize the signs and symptoms of abuse and instruct them on how to act to keep children safe, the diocese said in a statement."

[84,000 is an astonishing number. I think it is great that many people have been through this training as any type of raising awareness is good. It is also astonishing to think that many people volunteer or work within the Church or Church related entities here on Long Island.]

This is a fun rant from Matthew Archibold at Creative Minority Report -

I'm Making Lutheran Priestesses Here

Anglicans Looking to Rome: 1570 - Present

Lecture by Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton

Friday, November 6th, 2009 @ 7:30 PM

College Center Building, Rooms 252-253

Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY

Free, registration required

I hope to be able to attend this event, another program offered by the Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies.

Mother's milk a sour point

"A security guard at a Medicaid office in Midtown ignored the state's breast-feeding-friendly laws and demanded that a mother stop nursing her baby, according to the mom and her lawyer.

Susana Aldanondo, 33, a mother of three, isn't seeking a dime -- but in a letter to the city's Human Resources Administration, her lawyer, WABC Radio personality Ron Kuby, is demanding an apology and a commitment to train workers.

Aldanondo was at the West 34th Street office on Sept. 24. She said she was discreet in nursing her 3-month-old son, Nicholas, making sure the baby was tucked under her shirt.

"That's when this officer said I couldn't do that there. I just looked at him," Aldanondo said.

"He said, 'Get up, turn the chair around and face the wall.' "

When Aldanondo whipped out her cellphone and pretended she was calling her lawyer, the guard walked off, she said.

An HRA spokeswoman said, "HRA will continue to fully comply with the law as it relates to this issue."


Finally Ron Kuby is doing something worthwhile - let's hope this raises some awareness. Related link: La Leche League

Mom and her teens care for dad with early onset Alzheimer's

This heartbreaking story is today's offering in a Newsday series on Alzheimer's. The Mom in the story blogs at Follow You, Follow Me: Our Journey.

The Human Experience, a new documentary from Grassroots Films, has won Best Documentary at the Long Island Film Festival.

Pope canonizes 5 new saints, including priest who helped leprosy patients in Hawaii

"VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints Sunday, including a 19th century priest whose work with leprosy patients on a Hawaiian island has been hailed by U.S. President Barack Obama as inspiring those helping AIDS sufferers in today's world.

Among the pilgrims packing St. Peter's Basilica was Hawaii resident Audrey Toguchi, an 80-year-old retired teacher whose recovery from lung cancer a decade ago was called miraculous by the Vatican.

She had prayed to Belgium-born Jozef De Veuster, more commonly known as Father Damien, who himself died from leprosy in 1889 after contracting the disease while working with leprosy patients who were living in isolation on Molokai island.

Toguchi and her doctor, Walter Chang, joined a procession of faithful bringing relics of the new saints to Benedict at the central altar of the basilica."


As usual The Deacon's Bench points out an article with more interesting details:

"Sitting in the front row at St. Peter's Basilica facing the pope were 11 of the last remaining Hawai'i residents sent to Kalaupapa after being diagnosed with Hansen's disease when the state still imposed quarantine restrictions on those with the sickness.

Today, those patients are mostly in their 70s and 80s.

At the ceremony, many of them wept.

Kalaupapa resident Elroy Makia Malo said Father Damien is his hero."He caught the disease and he died," Malo said. "To have given his life for what he believed in. Oh, it makes me feel small."

Why Catholic churches are like shabby department stores

This latest post by Damian Thompson is good - a snip is below, go read the entire thing. Thompson is a writer for the Catholic Herald across the pond.

"Visitors to Catholic churches before the Second Vatican Council used to comment on how strange they found the experience. Their reactions weren’t necessarily positive and one can understand why the late 20th-century Church wanted to stop creeping people out, as the Americans say. But at least Protestants knew they were entering the sacred space of a religion with the self-confidence to welcome visitors on its own terms, to confront them with a culture nourished by the blood of martyrs and ambitious in the demands it made on the faithful. To experience that feeling now, you would have to visit a mosque."

URGENT APPEAL

Just about the only people who still use the US Postal Service on a regular basis are charities asking for money. Because I subscribe or have subscribed to various Catholic publications I am on several mailing lists. The appeals for donations are all the same, they use the same marketing companies that print up several page documents using bold type, highlighted words, and underlined words that make the appeal seem urgent. Apparently there is a lot of danger out there for Catholics: If I do not donate to one organization Catholic youth will lose their faith at World Youth Day, if I do not donate to another group babies will be killed with impunity. I have lived in my current home for over 3 years and yet I still receive a pile of junk mail at my previous address. (Memo to the Catholic Bishop of Alaska - it might be time to stop sending me letters asking for money as you have the past 10 years - I would never donate to anyone that keeps such horrible records that they do not purge their mailing lists after no response for 10 years.) Usually I rip these various appeals up without reading them, but yesterday I received a mailing from "America Needs Fatima" that I decided to read. The (typical) multi-page letter had words that were highlighted or underlined to show how important their work was. The letter stated that they sent me a "deeply spiritual" picture of Our Lady of Fatima and that since it was "holy" they urgently wanted me to notify them to indicate that it arrived in good shape. My BS detector immediately went off. Of course, it would be great if I sent a "gift" along with the notice about the picture's condition for their important work. I really get uneasy about the use of religious pictures and objects in appealing for money so I ripped up the picture and the letter and threw it out. I then needed to get scissors to open the next piece of junk mail: a box from Food for the Poor, which although it has no affliliation with the Catholic Church, regularly sends Catholic items geared at eliciting money from Catholics. I received a Rosary with a nice white pouch to keep it in, with my name printed on a metal attached to the pouch. This was a step up from the usual mailing labels and writing paper - Food for the Poor obviously has a lot of money to use in its marketing. They regularly take out full page ads and even color brochure inserts of some Catholic publications. I actually considered keeping the Rosary and pouch and nameplate for a second, then threw it in the garbage with the rest of the pile. Now that I think about it, I should have taken the Rosary, pouch and nameplate and put it back in the box, rewrapped it and sent it to America Needs Fatima as my "gift".

Although the constant appeals for money give me some entertainment, they get very tiring. Some thoughts on giving:

• *I just think many of the URGENT APPEALS are phony and the use of Catholic stuff is sleazy. "Send us money and we will pray for you" - how about if I need someone to pray for me I will ask a Christian who will do it for nothing?

• *I feel bad for those elderly souls out there who I know fall prey to these appeals, writing checks out thinking they are doing some good, even though they could probably use that money themselves. I know there are those who feel guilty about not donating, or about throwing out these pictures, rosaries and prayer cards.

• *Unfortunately, I have seen too many examples of corrupt people, especially priests, to trust sending money to any organization that I do not have first hand experience with. I would suggest to Catholics to stick to donating to charities that they know first hand do good work.

• *I would also suggest donating to organizations that are well managed and focused. If I get an appeal from a charity that says they must have X amount of money by a certain time or they will fold, then I have to assume they are not well run and should fold.

• *It is a sad fact that many of the organizations out there exist to do work that should be done by local parishes, dioceses and religious groups but are not being done. For example, Catholics United for the Faith, Coming Home Network, and the Cardinal Newman Society are each doing good work that is not done well by most dioceses.

• *The sheer number of Catholic and non-Catholic charities out there is overwhelming so donor fatigue can occur. Although there are really good charities out there it is still necessary to limit your giving to what you can afford, and to do enough research to know what your money will be used for. Never forget the scandals of Covenant House, the Legion of Christ, etc.. I worked a second job at a telemarketing company once. They solicited magazine subscriptions by phone and made it sound like they were raising money for the Special Olympics. What was not mentioned was this telemarketing company was a subsidiary of a major publication company, it was essentially the marketing department selling their magazines. Many people assumed they were simply giving to charity, which was not entirely true, although it was somewhat true - the Special Olympics really did receive money for each subscription sold. I lasted there a week until my conscience took control.

• *For the record the only charity I currently give money to is my alma mater Chaminade High School. This could easily change if I feel the school loses its way. My parish also gets a weekly donation as well.

We're # 4! We're #4!

Name of Diocese -- Catholic Total

Los Angeles, CA -- 4 ,176,296

New York, NY-- 2,576,800

Chicago, IL -- 2,338,000

Rockville Centre, NY -- 1,493,528

Boston, MA -- 1,484,661

Of course, this is not the number of practicing Catholics, which I imagine would be much lower.

Tradition

I recently went to a religious ceremony where most of the language used was an ancient one with only some english interspersed. I had to follow the prayers and readings in the prayer book where there were english translations on one page. The two men leading the service occasionally turned and faced the wall, with their backs to us. Many of the prayers used in this ceremony go back centuries. A box of head coverings was kept at the entrance for anyone wishing to wear them, and most did. The stained glass windows showed a vivid history of the revelation of God, and some people walked around admiring them before the start of the ceremony. The readings from the Bible were small fragments, not long passages. This ceremony was a bat mizvah, and I am glad there were no liturgists around to complain about all those things they would have considered 'wrong'.

DA: Hofstra student lied about rape; 4 released

"The Hofstra University student who told police that she had been tied up in a college dormitory stall Sunday and gang-raped by five men - one of them a student - told prosecutors late Wednesday that she lied about the incident, Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement. "

So this "woman" is a liar like Tawana Brawley and Crystal Gail Mangum who both falsely accused men of rape. Hopefully, unlike in those cases, this liar will be prosecuted.