It is great to see Karen Hall, formerly of Disordered Affections, back blogging at Some Have Hats.

Catholic Light has posted some excerpts from a leaked copy of the new English translation of the Mass. Some of this looks great, such as the return of "We praise you, we bless you, we worship you, we glorify you" in the Gloria. Also, I like "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed." I don't care for a few things, such as the Creed where the line "by the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man" was changed to "and by the Holy Spirit became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man". Still, I hope this is the correct translation and that I will be able to pray this way at Mass soon! Some of the prayers are closer to the english translation in my father's 1943 missal that I use when attending the traditional latin Mass. Some of the translations are gender neutral, such as "for us and our salvation" in the creed. If that makes the gender neutral crowd happy, then so much the better. Perhaps with this improved translation, we Catholics will finally be able to "just all get along".

Is Newsday Anti-Catholic?

Why is that even a question? Of course it is, but the Catholic League is asking people to vote on their website so please go here and vote.

My post about the parish on Long Island holding a seder was mentioned on Blogs4god. The poster could not understand why learning about the seder was troubling to me, as does the commenter on my post. I should explain more because nothing bothers me about learning about a seder or any other tradition. What bothers me is that a Catholic parish would be learning about another religion's traditions rather than its own. I just don't see the point. How about the parish gathering together to participate in some Catholic tradition? The reason this is a touchy thing with me is not because there is anything wrong with having a seder, but that the one time I read about 200 Catholics "learning tradition" in a parish, it is not a Catholic tradition. If I had been taught any kind of Catholic tradition in my parish, then I would not find it so weird, and if this parish already does emphasize Catholic traditions, then fine. But it is disheartening to want to learn and experience Catholicism and not being fed. Meanwhile, at many local retreat houses, there is Reiki, Zen meditation, and praying to the four winds, all of which might be fine and dandy, but not truly part of our tradition. In fact, the seder makes more sense for a Catholic parish to have than any of these things. I also obviously have a problem with Fr. Papa being a pastor when he was caught with porno sites on his computer. He admitted to viewing them, but denied viewing the child porn sites that were found, he claimed they just popped up. This parish supports him because he is very liberal and supports Voice of the Faithful, etc.. I don't think Fr. Papa should be leading a parish at all, but if he is, how about leading them in some Catholic traditions, in addition to the Jewish ones? Is that so much to ask?

Jim Post, president of the Voice of the Faithful dissident group spoke on Long Island recently:

"Consider the tone and tenor of the challenges we face today as Catholic citizens.

The Passion of the Christ. Has this movie become the new teaching of Christ's life and message?
The institutional attack on gay marriage, court rulings, legislative proposals, and, in some instances, all homosexual people.
The issuance of instructions that ban altar girls.
The decision of some Bishops not to wash the feet of women on Holy Thursday (for fear it would encourage the faithful to believe that women have a priestly calling).
Overt challenges to the right of some Catholic citizens (politicians) to receive communion. This is politicization of the sacraments.
Requiring new rituals to separate the laity from the ordained.
These actions are mean-spirited and range from attacks on innocent people whose sexual orientation is not a matter of choice, to pettiness (rather like the "petty apartheid" that prevailed in South Africa 25 years ago) designed to ignore, shun, and humiliate people our Church leaders do not like."

Based on this quote, not only is Post a dissident, but a complete moron as well.

Mel Gibson can’t be the only Catholic who can take Catholic stories, imagery, etc.. and turn them into excellent movies. I hope there will be others who take up that particular apostolate. I can supply one idea towards this:

Action/Suspense- A movie set far into the future which revolves around a man, perhaps played by James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, or Harrison Ford, who appears to be a leader of some type. He comes across as dignified, weary, but strong. The movie will hint cleverly at the identity of this man but not spell it out. Many will think it is the President of the USA or some sort of rebel leader. The movie plot would be a group of this man’s supporters trying to get this man to a destination. It would be clear that many want this man dead, that he is some sort of leader, that he leads people who have been severely oppressed and that things are turning their way. His leadership will be a turning point for the people, if he can get to where he has to go. He would travel clandestinely and secretly with help from many underground supporters. Only at the end of the film (a la The Sixth Sense) would filmgoers find out his identity. The various clues throughout the film would have to be difficult to pick out at first viewing. There would also be things that might throw the viewer off. This man would be the newly elected Pope, in sometime in the distant future, and his destination would be Rome.

HAD RELATIONSHIP WITH TEEN
Jail time for ex-teacher

I don't subscribe to the horribly anti-Catholic newspaper Newsday but occasionally I can read it at work. This headline jumped out at me - "HAD RELATIONSHIP WITH TEEN". Interesting way to headline an article about a teacher who sexually abused a 16 year old boy. Priests have raped, molested, and preyed, but apparently this guy just "had a relationship with teen".

"It was indeed illegal for his client, Joseph Acosta, 38, to have a sexual relationship with a 16- year-old boy, the Central Islip attorney said. And as a once-respected Spanish teacher at Bellport Middle School with two master's degrees, Acosta should have known better."

"Despite letters of support from parents and co-workers, Acosta cannot be employed as a teacher because of his registered sex offender status, and he has been working as a busboy, Naiburg said. " (emphasis mine)

Wow, you mean to tell me there are parents and teachers who actually believe a child molester should continue teaching?????? Have people learned NOTHING from the Catholic Church's problems??

What is wrong with the Church today is summed up nicely in a letter to the Long Island Catholic today. The letter writer describes almost 200 people gathering in a parish Church basement, and the letter is titled "Learning Tradition". Sounds good, but the tradition these Catholics were learning was the Jewish tradition of Passover. It was planned by the pastor, Fr. Charles Papa, who was recently caught with pornography site cookies on his computer and admitted to viewing them. So we have a troubled pastor leading Catholics in learning traditions of another faith rather than our own traditions. And people wonder why young Catholics flock to the latin Mass?

The Long Island Catholic has an article on police work and Catholicism that features John Moreno. He wrote Spirituality for Police Officers and runs retreats and nights of recollections that are quite good.

"Police officers “experience all that is bad in society and we do so over and over; we can wind up seeing only the bad in people, expecting the worst from them,” said Mr. Moreno, 74, who worked at Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamaica for 13 years and is now the director of adult programs at the Emmanuel Retreat House at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale."

Basia Me, Catholica Sum

This is a new blog by an 18 year old Christendom student.

TWO MONTHS AFTER “THE PASSION”:
BODY COUNT—ZERO

"Two months have elapsed since the film was released and no Jew has been killed. Not only have there been no pogroms, there have been no reported beatings, and no reported acts of vandalism associated with the film. This is true not only in the U.S.; it is true all over the world. By now the movie has played in literally scores of countries, all without violence. "

"Those who predicted that the movie would generate violence need to explain themselves."

I will personally blog every single written apology from any of The Passion's public critics right here. I hope I have enough space for all them.

HOLY TURF WARS

Good article by Ralph Peters.

"As a student of history alert to ugly surprises, my fear is that Islamic extremists may arouse passions dormant in the West. Muslim terrorists might do well to recall that there are far more Christian holy places in the Arab world than there are Muslim vestiges in Europe.

Suppose the Christians of tomorrow were provoked to demand the return of the apostolic churches of Asia minor? Or the vast lands of Orthodox Byzantium? Of historical Armenia? Or of Alexandria, the city that dominated early Christian thought? Before Mohammed's triumph, even Mecca had a Christian minority - and Jews had a vital presence in Medina. "

BISHOP SICK OF LOCAL CHURCH SCENE

"Don't get me wrong—I still care about everyone's eternal soul," Boland added. "I care deeply, but I must admit that the congregations have sorta become one big blur of blue-haired old ladies. Lately, when I get the question about whether so-and-so's cats are waiting for her in heaven, I just fall back on a stock answer."

"Cardinal Roger Mahony said he was not surprised by Boland's attitude.
"Bishop Boland is going through a temporary period of dissatisfaction, similar to those experienced by many of his colleagues," Mahony said. "As a cardinal, I'm forced to listen to that same complaint again and again. It's getting really old. If he's so unhappy, he's more than welcome to quit the Church and go work at a Taco Bell."

Why is it that one of the most refreshing comments I have read by a Cardinal had to be a made up one from The Onion??

Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas

Many members of St. Blog's are signed up already for this, I just sent in an email to join. Woudn't it be great if this movement spread? Picture thousands of protesters across the country outside parishes, chanting "2-4-6-8, Gregorian Chant is really great!". It could really happen man!

I recently heard two talks given by Catholics. One was at a local Faith on Tap event by Dr. Joseph Varacalli. The talk he gave is available at the Catholic Social Scientists website: The Cultural And Political Impotence of Catholics In Contemporary American Life. A quote:

"...herein lies one important incongruity between an orthodox understanding of the faith and the vision of secularists and most present day Catholic “liberationist” and “progressivist” thinkers for whom an all-consuming this-worldly political involvement represents a be-all and end-all of human existence. To the contrary, the reconstruction of society along authentic Christian principles and lines at least compatible with Catholic social thought, while a good in and by itself, nonetheless is not the raison d’etre of the Catholic faith. Rather it is a lesser good; it is both secondary to and derivative of the primary mission of assisting individuals in the quest for eternal salvation. "

The other lecture was on Friday night, and was by Dr. William Donohue of the Catholic League. The speaker who introduced him said "I hope he comes out of his shell and tells us how he really feels" which got a good laugh from the crowd. He spoke on the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ. He did an excellent job in pointing out the anti-Catholic nature of most of the criticism. He recounted some of the worst examples and then reviewed some of the stories of people, who as a result of viewing the film, turned themselves in for crimes they committed . He did raise the issue of Mel's traditional Catholicism and how that affected some of the controversy. This was something I had hoped would be raised. He also stated he never asked what Mel's exact situation with the Church was. People were able to write questions down after the talk and Dr. Varacalli, who moderated the discussion, then chose the most critical questions for Donohue to answer. I thought the questions were fair and Dr. Donohue did a decent job responding to the questions, although there were time constraints that made it impossible for full, complete answers. Some of the questions and concerns raised by people showed the vast gulf between those Christians and Jews who watched the film, and seemed to see totally different things.

I enjoyed reading the correction in today's Newsday regarding Jimmy Breslin. I could not find it online but Extreme Catholic links to it on the NY Newsday site.

"Breslin said he erred in not referring to the 1995 column before writing his April 7, 2004, column. Instead, he drew the quotes from memory. The result is that the quotes attributed to Sheldon in the April 7 column were incorrect and not Sheldon's precise words. Breslin maintains, however, that they were an accurate reflection of the essence of the reverend's views on homosexuality in the 1992 interview." (emphasis mine)

"the column did not adhere to Newsday's standard of publishing only direct quotations that are accurate and precise."

Good to know that they have this policy but hopefully they will expand it to include not just direct quotes, but all printed facts. When it comes to the Catholic Church Newsday has printed some incredibly incorrect things, which indicates an extreme bigotry. Their commentary is bigoted also, but that is always opinion, news reporting should be unbiased and correct.

In reference to a post below from April 7th, on the Palm Sunday Gospel and my parish's weird way of reading the Gospel, a reader writes:

"I came late to the discussion on the reading of the Passion (your Apr. 7 post). Perhaps I can shed a little more light on the changes.

I am a musician at my parish. Beginning about 10 years ago I began hearing and reading about a minor movement to take away the people's parts in the reading of the Passion where they are the voice of the crowd, including the chant, "Crucify Him!" The thinking, obviously by liberals or progressives or whatever one wants to call them, was that it was somehow not appropriate for us to be the ones calling for the death of Christ. It looks like some of the "worship aid" publishers bought into this. Our missalettes* always used to have the crowd parts in bold type, indicated as "All." About four years ago the company removed the bold type and began indicating the crowd parts as "Chorus," not in bold type, hinting that the people should not be saying these parts. I read comments by various liturgy "experts" encouraging the use of short acclamations throughout the Passion in order to give the people a part in it. We actually did this at our parish for a couple of years, using the sung Lenten gospel acclamations "Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ" or "Praise and honor to you...." Of course the people had to be instructed in the new procedure, and I never liked it since it seemed too forced. This year we went back to having the people do the crowd parts. After the many accusations of anti-Semitism in "TPOTC" by the media, it was made abundantly clear that WE are truly the ones who caused the death of Jesus, so why should we not act the part in the reading of the Passion? (Sometimes I reflect that if I had lived in Jesus' time, I might have been one of those failing to see Him as Messiah and calling for Him to be crucified!)

(*Be aware that "missalette" is a trademark of the J. S. Paluch Company, and they get testy when people use the word to describe "worship aids" published by other companies. I use it here because Paluch is our music supplier.)"

Thanks for the email! The strange thing is that the missalette (or whatever) at our parish still prints the Gospel with the parts, and we all say the crowd parts out loud anyway. Also, I wonder if part of this thing is an attempt to stop the priest from reading the part of Christ exclusively.

Here is where I will be on Friday night--

The Controversy over Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ"

Panel discussion led by sociologist William Donohue, Ph.D., President, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Friday, April 16th, 2004, Nassau Community College, Building K, Ballroom, 7-9 PM, to be followed by questions from the audience

Here is a story on Long Islanders coming into the Catholic Church tonight at Easter Vigil. I will be at the Easter Vigil tonight, something I have done for several years now. It is a beautiful finish to the Easter Triduum and I hope that all those entering the Church are enthusiastically welcomed by Catholics.

"One made a promise to become a Catholic if his back surgery was successful. Another was baptized a Lutheran but says she was not raised in a very religious household. A third, an emigrant from Japan, says he realized Catholicism reflects his own values.

Saturday, on the eve of Easter, they will be among 548 people who join the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Rockville Centre and 150,000 in parishes nationwide."

Jeff Sharlet of The Revealer posts a discussion at BloggerCon on religion and blogger.

"So what do religion blogs mean to traditional media, religious and secular?"

For me, correction. Media (especially Newsday) is so anti-religion and especially anti-Christian that I will turn to St. Blog's to get the correct information on current news. The errors I see daily add up to an incredibly ignorant understanding of the Church and Christianity in general. St. Blog's will often have people who are behind the scenes or who can give 1st hand info on what is going on in the Church.

"Are they bringing belief more visibly into the public sphere?"

For St. Blog's, no, I think it is an "in-house" thing that does not necessarily appeal to a wider audience, although the best few blogs might.

"Do they threaten traditional religious hierachies?"

Ha!, no, but they treaten the lunkheads who have infested the hierachies for the past 30 years, since they expose their doings to the light. I don't think Fr. Paul Shanley could have gotten away with what he did if blogs were around in the 80's.

"Do they tend toward the politicization of religious beleif?"(sic)

I hope not, but this might be a chicken or the egg thing. Do they politicize religious belief, or are they manifestations of politics within religion?

"How do belief blogs relate to the real world -- as lay ministry, as rebellion, as outsider critique?"

Again, as far as St. Blog's goes, I think the blogs are mostly outsider critique, in the sense that most orthodox Catholics are outside of the parish/diocese power structure. We blog about the way we would like to see dioceses and parishes run because we are not the ones running them. Very few blogs would be lay ministry, although there are some apologetic blogs. Overall, most of us could do a better job of making blogging more of a ministry.

"Are they a force for change within religious institutions? Journalistic institutions?"

I could hope!

Alicia of Fructis Ventris will be at BloggerCon and it looks like it should be interesting.