Chris of Maine Catholic and Beyond is having a poll to determine the "Catholic of the Year". (scroll down to the bottom for the poll). The poll's exact wording is:

"Which of the following people would you consider the Catholic who had the most impact on the Faith in 2003?"

And the nominees are :

Cardinal Francis Arinze
Bishop Raymond L. Burke
Bishop Timothy Dolan
Mel Gibson
Fr. Benedict Groeschel
Scott Hahn
Peggy Noonan
Archbishop Sean O'Malley
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
Mark Shea
Cardinal Angelo Soldano
George Weigel


I won't tell you who is in the lead or anything but after the voting is over I will discuss my nomination and vote.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown round about them. And they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them: Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill toward men.

... That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

In Mexico, a Very Slow Build
Cathedral Nears Finish After 106 Years of Tumult


"Zamora, Mexico - On a festive day in 1898, workers laid the cornerstone for the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Guadalupe, boasting that their little strawberry-growing town in central Mexico would soon have a towering neo-Gothic cathedral to rival the grandest in Europe.

Nearly 106 years later workmen are still cutting stone and hauling mortar, saying that within two years they will finally finish a project that has soared and suffered through a century of Mexico's tumultuous relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. "

Eve Tushnet links to Godspy's interview with Barbara Nicolosi of Church of the Masses. Great interview, just go and read the whole thing.

"When I was watching The Passion I thought, in this particular moment, where we're coming out of the priest sex scandal and all the rest, the Church in a slumber -we've negotiated terms with the world in every quadrant, we've just settled in. We're not leaven in the dough, we are the dough. We're mostly indistinguishable from "the world" in so many places, in every profession. All of a sudden this movie comes out. It's going to rank with some of the greatest works of devout art that the Church has ever produced. I have absolutely no problem saying that. It's right up there with the other masters of their art forms. We don't deserve this film."

Ken Carney, Phil Sofia and Tom Diasparra are the names of 3 men who raped and tortured teenage boys. Some of the very disturbing details can be found in this article. The story of the Mepham High School football rapes is a local story that drew some national headlines, most recently in Sports Illustrated. Even worse than the rapes and torture was the fact that the Mepham High coaches and administrators were slow to cooperate with investigators. The district even tried to seal the records of the civil cases brought by the victims. Even worse than that is the fact that this type of brutal violence had gone on for years as shown in this article.

Here is another quote from a Call to Action conference, this one from 1997:

"The majority of us here represent a generation that's been wandering around almost 40 years since the Council, but what about the next generation? Could it be that our concerns have no relevance for the Boomers and Generation X? They don't seem turned on by our debates about who's to be ordained, what gender is needed for marriages, and whether or not we use inclusive language. As we keep insisting on these issues, could we just be the new conservators of a vision of church that doesn't speak to them in their search? Could this be the Spirit's invitation for us to probe more deeply who we are and what will ground us?"

--Michael Crosby, O.F.M. Cap

To answer this question---YES! You are the conservators of a corrupt Church that gave us disgusting priests who raped children! You are the conservators of a Church that left behind the Gospel of Jesus Christ! As another Franciscan priest, Fr. Groeschel said: "I'm not a conservative, I want to blow the whole thing up!"

"In Vatican II, Luther and the Modernists would find a home for many of their ideas."

--Anthony Padovano, speaker at the 2000 Call to Action conference

Is he right? And if so, can a Catholic then accept this council in its entirety?

I just found this: a father and son, both firefighters, both died in the World Trade Center. Another son lived-he carried Fr. Judge's body out of the WTC.

Anyone have any knowledge of theology? Is it true to say that there were other immaculate conceptions in history (Adam and Eve, John the Baptist for example) but that Mary is the Immaculate Conception?

At Catholic and Enjoying It! there is a discussion on The Perennial Santa Question-what to teach the kiddies re Santa. I have always enjoyed Andy Edelstein's column on fathering and this week he happens to touch on a similiar thing with Tooth Shall Set Ye Free .

U.S. Diplomats, Families Urged to Leave Saudi Arabia

"We remain fully confident that Saudi authorities are doing everything they can to protect their citizens and foreign nationals in the kingdom against terrorist attacks," department spokesman Lou Fintor said."

Saudi Arabia Bans Dolls, Stuffed Animals

I am so proud to be from Massapequa! Joey Buttafuoco, convicted rapist, has been arrested again, this time for fraud.

Among cities with more than 1 million residents, New York was the safest by far - with a crime rate nearly four times lower than in Dallas, three times lower than in Phoenix and roughly half as high as in Philadelphia or Los Angeles.

New York City continues to have a lower than expected crime rate. This has been the case for several years now and hopefully it will continue. I never thought of Phoenix or Dallas having high crime rates at all.

I went to an Advent Evening of Recollection tonight with the priest at the center of this story:

Priest: Former Bishop Ignored Abuse Reports
Statement links McGann to church cover-up in 1980s

He was an awesome preacher-one of the best I have ever heard.

The Catholic League is on the job and Bill Donohue is in top form:

"What both of these cases have in common is the tendency of well-educated people to engage in thought control. The cultural fascists in the U.S. are more likely to be found in salons than in saloons; more likely to be intoxicated with ideology than booze. Given a choice between dealing with old-fashioned rednecks and the Multicultural Gestapo, I'll take the former any day- at least they're capable of sobering up once and a while."

I think the St. Blog's award for Best Comment of the Year in the category of humor goes to Victor Lams commenting on E-Pression. Read Zorak's post, and then Victor's comment.

The December 2003 issue of The Catholic World Report contains a sampling of quotes on the health of Pope John Paul II that include:


"Once again the Pope's health is a matter of interest and concern, and that, in turn, raises the issue of papal succession. The Holy Father has fallen twice in recent months, breaking first his arm and then his hip." -Rev. Richard McBrien (National Catholic Reporter)

"With the obvious signs of the Pope's failing health, there is much speculation about what the issues will be in the minds of the cardinals when they go into a conclave to elect the next pontiff." -Rev. Andrew Greeley (National Catholic Reporter)

"...(T)he new building...could well be used for the next conclave. The building will be ready in 1996. Is this a clue?" -(the late) Peter Hebblethwaite (National Catholic Reporter)

"I have just been through the greatest period of agony-and of growth-in my life....I am not the same man. And so this is the person who will go into the conclave." -the late) Cardinal Joseph Bernardin (New York Times Magazine)

Interestingly, all the above quotes are from 1994.

Nice story about a guy who is from my parish

"Johnny, 19, also wanted “them rosaries.” Johnny said he was a member of the Latin Kings gang, dealt drugs and had been on probation for robbery and assault. His surrogate parents, an aunt and uncle (a drug dealer) turned him out of the house.
At the prayer group, Johnny said he finally found “people who really care and they are not even related to me.” His life, like Will’s, has changed. He plans to be baptized on December 8"

No wonder this guy has thousands of readers:

Mark Shea on professional environmentalists: "I apologize to the Earth for needing to exhale and keep warm. Can we move on now?"