Monday, January 31, 2011

Please stop and pray for a moment....

I'm home on lunch hour and I received a voicemail from a friend whose husband has had a possible stroke.  Please, in your charity, stop and say a prayer for Mike to make a full recovery from whatever it is, and for his wife and teen daughters who are waiting for answers, as well as for his other relatives.

May Our Lady hold them all close to her Immaculate Heart.

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Friday, January 28, 2011

Video from Air Maria: Amazing Time-elapsed footage of 2011 March for Life


Yesterday I shared one video from the 2011 March for Life in Washington DC.  Here is another from Air Maria.  H/T Chelsea at Reflections of a Paralytic.

This is 1 hour 31 minutes.  Just look at the people and the media considered it a non-story. While people may march on Washington DC, you just don't see numbers like this on a regular basis. This is proabably one of only a few times yearly where you will see such a large gathering.



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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Gotta see video of what mainstream media refused to treat as news...



Make sure this video gets around.  Show the mainstream media what a farce it was that they completely ignored the news of 250,000 - 400,000 people marching in Washington DC for the March for Life 2011. 


Now, we all know that had 10,000 people showed up with "save the planet" signs, it would have been the lead story. But a gathering of several hundred thousand people - mostly young people - peacefully protest for life and it didn't even earn a minute's worth of attention on any of the major networks I put on that evening.

Then some wonder why blogs have become so popular. With such sensorship, who needs the mainstream media? That's exactly what it is - censorship.

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Hooray! Blogger fixed the header-pic upload bug!

Many of us found out the hard way that when we removed a photo from the header using the design tool, we could not get our blog to upload pictures in a way that looked normal.  They were either real tiny in the corner, or they were the right size and blurred. 

I was hoping it would be a matter of days rather than weeks or months - LOL.  

There you have it.  As you can see, the new header is up and will remain until Lent. 

QUESTION:

Does anyone know how I can design my own background to upload?  I wanted something blue that would match what is in the altar dressing, but not just solid blue, and not what I have now.  I'd like to know how to do my own so I can change them in the future. 





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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

March for Life 2011: Got Pictures?

My deepest regrets that I have not had much time to blog of late.  I've been involved in something else of a time-sensitive nature, not related to blogging. 

I haven't even been updating my Twitter feed much.  I will do so now.  Yesterday, I had problems that I hope are resolved today. I could not see but a dozen tweets and there was no scroll bar. 

By now you have probably read about the March for Life elsewhere.  Coverage can be found in places like LifeSiteNews, LifeNews, CatholicVote and many others.

Got pictures?

I'm very disappointed with so little visual coverage in terms of video and photos online thus far, but then again, I haven't been able to spend much time looking. 

I would be interested in seeing some of your pictures.  Please drop links to your online albums in my combox.  If you are aware of other sources with photos from this year's event, please put them in the combox, as well. 

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
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Monday, January 24, 2011

Full Text of Bishop Schneider's Proposals for a Correct Reading of the Second Vatican Council


Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC at the 2009 Call to Holiness Conference in Royal Oak, MI
Photo: Diane M. Korzeniewski, OCDS


Many of you may have seen a partial or full text translation of a magnificent address by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC in which he proposes a syllabus to correct minsinterprations of Vatican II (note that it is not Vatican II he is suggesting condemning, but mistaken interpretations of it).

On January 14th, Italian journalist, Sandro Magister who offers his posts in multiple languages provided a partial translation of that address given by His Excellency in Rome on December 17, 2010 (link will be added at the bottom).  At roughly 7100 words, it was understandable that a full translation was not given and we were grateful for the shorter version Sandro Magister and his translator, Matthew Sherry went through to get us that much. 

In the address, Bishop Schneider proposes a syllabus that would condemn mistaken interpretations of Vatican II.  Those errors  may be obvious to some Catholics, but others continue to propogate that which is truly foreign to the documents of the Second Vatican Council.  It has affected many things: How the Mass is celebrated, how churches are built, sacred music (or lack thereof), and what is taught (or not taught) in catechism. It affects lessons in universities and water cooler discussions. People of every level are impacted from the laity to Cardinals and everyone in between.  

We need to proceed cautiously when judging others about these things. I would like to point out that only God can judge the motives of those who hold errant views.  Many clerics were malformed in earlier years when information was not as readiliy available as it is now. They trusted what they were being taught verbally soon after the Council, and others trusted them.  There was no internet for them to just "look it up" in those days.  Other people are simply misinformed - some because they really do not want to know.  A few may indeed know the truth and are wilfully distorting it to suit their desires.  We, however can only judge someone else's words and actions against objective material and leave the judging of motives to God (ref CCC #2247). 

As I read that truncated version of the address offered by Magister late last week, I wondered about the rest of the address.  I turned to Richard Chonak, who has translated a number of things from German and Italian.  His feedback was very positive soon after he began reading it. It left us all the more curious about the rest. 

As Richard worked on the translation, I worked on reaching Bishop Schneider, whom I know from his visits to Assumption Grotto - for permission to share the translated text with EWTN for the purpose of making it available online.  I wanted the broadest possible exposure for it and felt this was a much more fitting place than launching it on a blog.  Everything fell into place.  I managed to get a bonus: He provided his address on the Church Fathers and the Liturgy from the 2009 Call to Holiness, at which I took the photo at the top of this post.  This I will probably work on getting online within the next few weeks.

If you have read the partial translation (about 3 pages), I would encourage you to read the full translation, which prints nicely from the EWTN site at 13-14 pages.

Bishop Schneider, who has a doctorate in Patristics, lays a good foundation before getting to what is probably the most quoteworthy section.   Reading the first 3/4 gives greater context to what is at the end. In classic fashion, the address is loaded with references to Church documents, Scripture, the Popes and Church Fathers.

There are plans to update the text to include English next to the Latin at the EWTN page. Keep in mind, this was an address given in the presence of other priests, bishops and cardinals and one would expect them to understand the few Latin quotes offered.  You may also find some big words considering the same audience. My advice: Blow the dust off your dictionary.

I am overjoyed to see the enthusiasm on the internet with this address and the many people supportive of Bishop Schneider's proposal.  This was probably the first time that I participated directly in bringing something to the english speaking world online and had to wait several days before I myself could find time to blog it. 

The biggest thanks goes to Richard Chonak for translating the piece, to EWTN for hosting it, and to Bishop Schneider for the work itself and for granting the requested approvals.

It is my hope that people will follow copyright and fair use rules by introducing the address, excerpting parts of it if desired, and then linking directly to source page at EWTN for the full text.  This way, everyone will have the benefit of potential updates and have printing capabilities (blogs do not print well and take half a forrest worth of paper).

I have many photos of Bishop Schneider which I do not mind my fellow bloggers using, provided they are attributed with my name so the origin is known.  News organizations looking to use them in print, contact me for high resolution (see profile for email address).

Go read: Proposals for a Correct Reading of the Second Vatican Council
by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC

Reference:  A New Syllabus for the 21st Century (Sandro Magister)

Photo collections:
More photos can be found in this post of a conference he had at Assumption Grotto in 2008 in which he discussed growing up in Kazakhstan, and the current situation.  It was a most humbling experience.  In the post is also a photo of his Bishop's ring, which is simple, but interesting.

I also have a blog dedicated to the works of Bishop Schneider which will continue to evolve.  It was started soon after he visited Detroit in 2008 and was mainly focused on his book, Dominus Est.  I intend to post about this address there too - hopefully soon.  Go visit: http://bishop-schneider.blogspot.com/

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Friday, January 21, 2011

Blog Design Underway



UPDATE: I've discovered I am not alone... it is a blogger bug of some kind and it has been escalated to Google Engineering.  So, I'll just wait before adding the header pic. I'm also very short on time the last few days and do have some material coming.... soon.

If you encounter strange formatting changes here on Te Deum Laudamus, it is because.....

I am taking down my Christmas decorations and revising the theme.  There seems to be a problem with the tool which uploads header photos.  It is shrinking 980 wide photo down to - very tiny in the lower left corner.  Do you think I would have saved my template before I started tinkering with it? Of course not ...... this never happened before. 

Bear with me.  I'll get it.  However, if someone can figure out where this is in the source, I'd appreciate it.  It's like looking for a needle in the haystack.  Obviously, my pic is not coming through as a 980 or 1182 (two versions I used).

Arghhh!  This was suppose to take 10 minutes over an hour ago.

Update 11:30pm - After over 2 hours of doing what has taken me only 10 minutes in the past... I give up - I'm going to bed.  The tool is broke.  Using one option shrinks my 980 x 563 pic down to about 20% of what it should be in reality.  Using another option, to use a pic instead of pic gives me the right size, but it appears blurry (like a photo at 20% being increased to something much too large). 

I've learned that if I wait long enough, other people will report the problem and I can go in and do my thing... hopefully soon. I'll check the bulletin boards tomorrow.  I don't know enough about html to go in and look at what is happening in the source to cause this.  I do know, it has never happened before.

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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Horror: Abortionist kills newborns with scissors (video of DA discussing case)


{Updated with additional links}

People say abortions should be legal because "back alley abortions" are dangerous.  Tell that to the woman killed at the hands of an abortionist - Kermit Gosnell in Pennsylvania.

In the process of investigating the death of a 41 year old immigrant, authorities were horrified at what they found: The remains of seven infants who were born alive through induced labor and had their spines cut with scissors through the back of their necks.  For investigators to know they were born alive would mean that they have evidence the babies had a first breath.  These were babies that were viable, some up to 8+ months in gestation.  Not only was the abortionist arrested, but some staff members, were also taken into custody.

This is a story that would leave anyone in tears as it did me last night. A nation is shocked, and the case is on display for the world. While some will dismiss it as "the act of one bad man", what about the officials who ignored valid complaints as the district attorney explains below.


COMPLAINTS WENT  IGNORED FOR DECADES

This comes after decades of unresponsiveness to complaints.  Those who did not followup on the complaints should also be prosecuted. Here is what District Attorney, Seth Williams had to say at his blog:

The grand jury investigation revealed that, for over two decades, government health and licensing officials had received repeated reports about Gosnell’s dangerous practices. No action was ever taken, however, even after the agencies learned that women had died during routine abortions under Gosnell’s care.
“I am aware that abortion is a hot-button topic,” said District Attorney Williams. “But as District Attorney, my job is to carry out the law. A doctor who knowingly and systematically mistreats female patients, to the point that one of them dies in his so-called care, commits murder under the law. A doctor who cuts into the necks severing the spinal cords of living, breathing babies, who would survive with proper medical attention, is committing murder under the law.”

Watch this video in which a local Fox affiliate interviews the District Attorney. He said that the Grand Jury was outraged at the lack of oversight saying that a hair salon gets more oversight than an abortion clinic. He also says that it is likely that this man has killed thousands of babies in his career, but they can only prosecute him on those found in his clinic.



Most in the pro-life movement know what happens to women in these legal clinics. Some are maimed for life, needing hysterectomies or bowel repair, but it's a well-kept secret.

COMMON SENSE, OR LACK THEREOF

Does anyone really think that the pain those babies felt at the hands of Gosnell was greater than the pain felt by infants who are dismembered alive in the womb or birth canal in legal abortions?  This may be hard to read for the uninformed, but it is still legal in some states to deliver a baby feet first, leaving the head in the canal so she cannot draw a first breath, then puncturing her skull with a blunt object.  Does a breath of air suddenly permit the baby to feel pain that it would not feel otherwise in the womb?  Let's be realistic.  What about those babies who are burned alive chemically? 

What more compelling evidence does one need that it is not a blob of tissue when it is known that some survive chemical abortions and are put on a cold shelf to die.  Jill Stanek was a nurse who blew the whistle on the practiceGianna Jessen is a survivor of chemical abortion which left her with cerebral palsy, but not a broken spirit. Thanks to Jill, and others who testified, President Bush signed into law the requirement to give treatment to babies who survive abortions (see "Born Alive Infant Protection Act").  But make no mistake, the Gosnell case proves that just because there is a law doesn't mean it will be taken seriously and enforced.

FURTHER READING

I am glad to see that even the liberal, secular media has made the facts of this case known without holding back the gruesome details.  I leave you with a mix of resources to see for yourself. 
SUFFERING AFTER AN ABORTION?

For those suffering from the psychological effects of abortion, there are compassionate resources.  Young girls are often pushed against their will, girlfriends threatened, and people misled into believing that they are eliminating a blob of tissue.  There are sources for healing among other women who regret their abortions.


TO DEFENDERS OF ABORTION
For those who defend abortion, please know exactly what it is you are defending.  Click through some of the links on this page for photos and videos of abortions at various stages.  It's easy to defend a practice which kills someone you can't see.  Is this what we want to be remembered for in future generations? There are organizations out there that will help women with a crisis pregnancy, but some are actually abortion centers.  There are many more loving couples that would love to have your baby, and help you with expenses to bring him or her to term.  Call a local Catholic Church, which would always send you to a pro-life crisis pregnancy center.  It's not a matter of what you do with your own body, it's a matter of what you are about to do to someone else's body.

See many more resources at Priests for Life
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."  (Mother Teresa)
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EWTN announces plans to acquire National Catholic Register


On January 15th, Patrick Madrid posted  that the "About Us" section of the National Catholic Register was soon to change.

Please don't confuse this with the dissident National Catholic Reporter which is it's own "magisterium" (though it would be nice if EWTN did purchase the N.C. Reporter just to have it duly liquidated).  I digress.

Yesterday, it happened: EWTN announced it was in the process of acquiring the ailing National Catholic Register, which also has a popular website.

The Register has been run by the Legion of Christ, which saved it back in the 90's.  In addition to facing the same economic challenges that all print papers are going through with the emergence of instant web-news and declining subscriptions, there is fallout from the Macial scandal

Here is the press release by EWTN:

EWTN Acquires National Catholic Register
World’s Largest Catholic Media Network Acquires 83-Year-Old Newspaper


Irondale, AL (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network has signed a letter of intent to acquire the National Catholic Register, the nation’s leading Catholic newspaper.

“I am very pleased and excited that the Register will now be a part of the EWTN family,” said Michael P. Warsaw, the Network’s president and chief executive officer. “All of us at EWTN have great respect for the Register and the role it has played throughout its history. It’s a tremendous legacy that deserves to not only be preserved, but also to grow and to flourish.”

“I believe that EWTN will be able to provide the stability that the Register needs at this time as well as to give it a platform for its growth in the years ahead. We’re proud to be able to step in and carry on both the Register’s name and its tradition of faithful Catholic reporting on the issues of the day,” noted Warsaw.

Under the terms of the transaction, no cash will be exchanged between the parties. EWTN will take over the ongoing operational expenses of the Register and will assume the paper’s future subscription liabilities.
The acquisition of the Register is the latest in EWTN’s efforts to expand its news presence in the global Catholic digital and multimedia market. At the start of 2010, EWTN entered into a partnership with the Catholic News Agency (CNA), a Denver-based independent Catholic news media outlet with bureaus in North and South America and Europe. Under that agreement, EWTN and CNA are sharing news resources and have created a joint news service found at http://www.ewtnnews.com/. That arrangement was recently expanded to include a new original Spanish-language news service, EWTN Noticias, (http://www.ewtnnoticias.com/) launched in January 2011.

EWTN Global Catholic Network provides multimedia services to more than 140 countries and territories. The Network transmits nine separate television channels in several languages to audiences around the world. It also operates multiple radio services including a network of hundreds of AM and FM stations, a Sirius satellite radio channel, and a global shortwave radio service. EWTN’s main website, www.ewtn.com, draws more than 20 million unique visitors annually.

The National Catholic Register grew out of Denver’s Catholic Register, which began on Aug. 11, 1905. Under the leadership of Msgr. Matthew Smith, the Register System of Newspapers was developed, with the first national edition appearing on Nov. 8, 1927. It was acquired by the Legion of Christ in 1995.

You can also read an entry by Tim Drake at the National Catholic Register.   In it, he quotes Archbishop Charles Chaput:

“The service and the history of the paper are too important to simply abandon,” said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, where the newspaper originated. “The Church needs more tools of faithful communication, not fewer.” [Amen!]


Archbishop Chaput said that he doesn’t feel that the Register’s basic mission of “reporting the news and analyzing trends that are important for Catholics, from a Catholic perspective,” will change. “The means of accomplishing that mission may change quite a lot over time, but the Register’s fidelity to the Church will not.”

Finally, check out the "About Us" page.


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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Author of "Understanding Medjugorje" responds to critical review by Daniel Klimek


During Christmastide, many large Catholic news sources like Zenit and Catholic News Agency shut down completely.  Most Catholic bloggers observed a period of reduced posting, avoiding the more controversial subjects, and focusing largely on Christmas related themes. It wasn't that way on all sites. Ministry Values, which does not claim to be a Catholic website, and which seems to exist mainly to promote Medjugorje,  released three "hit-jobs" on skeptics and critics of the alleged apparition.  These came unprovoked because they focused on works that have been out there for weeks, months, or decades - puzzling indeed was the urgency that they had to come during such a solemn season.  On of these was a critical review of a book by  Donal Anthony Foley, "Understanding Medjugorje" (shown above), which was published in 2006.

I would not have known about these pieces had they not been sent to me by Steven K. Ryan, the publisher of Ministry Values.  He goaded me several times for responses, but I did not bother to follow the links because.... it was Christmastide. 

As Mary leads us to Christ, the "gospa" of Medjugorje leads devotees to herself!

The behavior of the Medjugorje devotees of Ministry Values only solidified my critical position on this basis:  Mary always leads her devotees to Christ and we would expect this all the more during the solemn season of Christmastide when all eyes should be fixed on the Infant Jesus.  In fact, the only thing I could find pertaining to Christmas itself at Ministry Values was a video of Charlie Browns Christmas Speech.  While this was a fine, religiously themed cartoon which focused on Our Lord's Nativity, that was all that I could find on the homepage which discussed the solemnity itself.

Donal Foley has decided to respond to the article written by Daniel Klimek of Ministry Values. Klimek has graduated with a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from Yale's Divinity School.  He was accepted into the PhD program at Catholic University of America in the School of Theology and Religious Studies.  We can only pray that CUA will put him through some remedial courses in Catholicism that he would not have had at Yale - a non-Catholic institution.  His writings reveal a need to better understand Catholic ecclesiology, among foundational topics in the faith.


Go read Mr. Foley's : Response to the critical article by Daniel Klimek on Understanding Medjugorje: Heavenly Visions or Religious Illusion?


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Monday, January 17, 2011

Bp Schneider calls on Pope for document condemning mistaken interpretations of Vatican II


Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC - Auxiliary Bishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan speaks at the 2009 Call to Holiness Conference in the Detroit area (photo may be used by fellow bloggers with attribution).

Veteran Vatican journalist, Sandro Magister, gives us a partial translation of an address given by Bishop Athanasius Schneider in which he asks the Holy Father to put out a document condemning certain mistaken interpretations of Vatican II (often under the guise of the "Spirit of Vatican II").  This topic is actually in the last half of a greater article worth reading in full.  The first half deals with the Holy Father's meeting announced for Assisi in October. A number of Catholics have voiced concerns that it would be a repeat of 1986 (read Magister's article for specifics on those problems).

Back to Bishop Schneider and his appeal to the Holy Father...  Many things have happened in the name of Vatican II that are not in any of the documents of that council.  Altar rails were jack-hammered out in it's name, and Latin, Gregorian chant, among other things were eliminated when those very documents called for them to have pride of place in the Liturgy.  Several times he refers to the "anthropocentric" turn (people were taught to worship in a more people-centered liturgy than one which is God-centered). Many more things happened or didn't happen due to these "mistaken interpretations". 

He goes outside of the Mass and brings up the emergence of liberation theology in the wake of Vatican II, and offers some other samplings. 

Consider, for a moment, that back in the day, priests and lay people did not have ready access to documents the way we do today, so when bishops told them to do something in the name of Vatican II, they just did it thinking they were doing the right thing.   Today, if a seminary buries documents and books that have the mind of the Church  behind books written by the "magisterium of theologians"  (Richard McBrien, et. al.), seminarians and students can easily find them on the web  (and I wouldn't doubt that a good deal of research starts there).

Bishop Schneider says, in part:

There is the need for a new Syllabus, this time directed not so much against the errors coming from outside of the Church, but against the errors circulated within the Church by supporters of the thesis of discontinuity and rupture, with its doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral application.


Such a Syllabus should consist of two parts: the part that points out the errors, and the positive part with proposals for clarification, completion, and doctrinal clarification.

Amen!

I think this is a grand idea and one that is long overdue.  Lay people and priest alike have been trained to accept these things as authentic to Vatican II which are foreign to it, and will defend them ad nauseum in parishes, in local papers and websites, and in a myriad of Catholic institutions and diocesan departments. 

In the beginning of his article, Sandro Magister discusses the Holy Father's meeting in Assisi which will take place in October.  There has been quite a dust-up online over the ecumenical meeting because of what happened in 1986. 

Let's pray that the Holy Father responds affirmatively to this request by Bishop Athanasius Schneider.  I've often wondered how long Bishop Schneider will be in Kazakhstan.  His Excellency, who has a PhD in Patristics, is a good co-worker in Truth and has just the right kind of holy boldness we laity like to see in our bishops.

Go read Sandro Magsiter: A New Syllabus for the 21st Century [Italian] [French] [Check for availability of Spanish in the sidebar later]



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Interesting Catholic Reads for January 17, 2010

From the Te Deum Laudamus Photo Archive:
The baldacchino (canopy) of the Altar at Assumption Grotto

I regret that I have not had time to blog as much as I would like of late.  I have some items of a more spiritual nature I would like to blog on and will try to bring them to you soon.  There are so many websites and blogs which cover current events in Catholicism and I would like to try to shift more into indepth writings which will offer an alternative to some of the repetitive things found in other places. 

Please do take note of what is in my Twitter Feed by clicking the link at the bottom of these posts, or by viewing the feed in my sidebar.  Check it especially when I am not blogging.  If there is anything "breaking" you will find it there.  I update it several times daily on some days.  It is a mix of news and blogposts.

I hopet to find time to update my blog design to reflect the changing of seasons, but if the Christmas theme remains up until February 2nd, it won't bust my bubble.

Interesting Catholic Reads

New Ordinariate in England and Wales
The big news out there is on the new ordinariate for England and Wales under the name of Our Lady of Walsingham.  Three former Anglican bishops were ordained Catholic priests the other day.  Further reading:


Bishop Athanasius Schneider... again
The Karaganda, Kazakhstan auxiliary bishop is asking Pope Benedict XVI to consider putting out a document which condemns mistaken interpretations of Vatican II. See my post with links...

Married Permanent Deacons - can they or can't they....?
There is a bit of a dust-up out there surrounding what is in canon law regarding permanent deacons and continued marital relations after ordination.  Can they, or can't they? Tom Peters has a good summary of the debate out there with a load of links.

National Catholic Register changing ownership
Patrick Madrid blogs on the change in ownership coming to the National Catholic Register (not to be confused with the National Catholic Reporter - often referred to as "fishwrap" because of it's dissidency). The Register was picked up by the Legionaries of Christ which are undergoing changes in the wake of the scandal brought on by the disgraced founder, Maciel.

Fatima and Third Secret Controversy
Fr. Andrew Apostolis blogs about The Controversy Over the Third Secret of Fatima: 4 Objections and Responses....  Father has written a book: Fatima For Today: The Urgent Marian Message of Hope . If you find that interesting, I would encourage you to read Some Friendly Reflections for the Clarification of a Debate by "Fatimologist" Antonio Borelli.  It addresses some claims made in the book, "The Fourth Secret of Fatima" by Antonio Socci.

Liturgy
Fr. Z blogs on A new (really old) way of thinking about the ‘Our Father’ at Mass.

Fr. Augustine Thompson, OP shows pics of the before and after of a renovation of the Dominican Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Seattle.






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Friday, January 14, 2011

Archbishop Vigneron to celebrate Mass; speak at pro-life conference on January 22


Please take note of this opportunity here in the Archdiocese of Detroit - a conference, a Mass celebrated by our archbishop, and more on January 22 = all as people prepare for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the March for Life in Washington DC.

Detroit — The Archdiocese of Detroit will mark the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision with a conference designed to revivify and deepen pro-life activism.


The 1973 decision effectively legalized abortion on demand in the United States, and its anniversary has become the focus of annual demonstrations and other events lamenting its effects and rallying supporters of unborn children’s right to life.


The Saturday, January 22, conference at Sacred Heart Major Seminary will feature speakers and workshops on the theme of “Life is a Gift – Giving Witness to the Sacredness of all Human Life.”


The conference was the idea of Archbishop Allen Vigneron, who will also be one of the day’s speakers.


“The archbishop wanted to renew the message of the Gospel of Life in our archdiocese,” said Socorro Truchan, marriage, family and pro-life coordinator for the archdiocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.


The conference will be in addition to the annual archdiocesan Mass for Life, to be celebrated the previous weekend, on Sunday, Jan. 16, at 11 a.m., at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.


Archbishop Vigneron will also be blessing buses headed to the March for Life.  Read the rest of the article: Speakers to stress that ‘Life is a Gift’ at The Michigan Catholic

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Beatification of Pope John Paul II moves forward



Just over an hour ago, it was announced that the beatification of Pope John Paul II is moving forward.  I am giving you this google translate version of the first paragraph of the notification, which was only available in Italian when I just visited (toggle the radio button in the upper right hand corner if you know Italian and follow the link).

The day January 14, 2011, the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, during the audience granted EM. Mo Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, has authorized the Congregation to promulgate the Decree on the miracle attributed to the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla). This act ends the process that precedes the rite of beatification, the date will be decided by the Holy Father.

EDIT: Here is an interview with Cardinal Amato - the Prefect for the Congregation/Saints at Vatican Radio

Watch for Catholic news sources reporting on this with more complete coverage, probably within hours of this post. 

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Archdiocese of Detroit moves into second phase of "Together in Faith"


This is not exactly the kind of news we want to be reading, but need to be aware of.  It's probably a good time remind people that if they are spending considerable time at an urban parish, such as Grotto, to become a registered parishioner.  I found Assumption Grotto in May of 2005.  I asked Fr. Perrone if I could join about two weeks later.  He suggested that I wait some months to be sure that I was going to stay.  In early June of 2005 I told him that the only way I was not going to register so soon is if he told me I could not.  The rest is history.

I'll start you out here, then follow the link to finish reading at The Michigan Catholic


Detroit — The second phase of the ongoing Detroit archdiocesan pastoral planning process, Together in Faith, has been endorsed by the Archdiocesan Presbyteral Council and will commence this month.


The process was started in 2001 as a way for parishes to best allocate their resources for ministry in the context of their communities and in relation to their neighboring parishes. It has been an ongoing process since its inception and over the past decade has played a key role in the relationships between local parishes.

Priests of the archdiocesan Presbyteral Council — a consultative body to Archbishop Allen Vigneron — received an overview of goals, objectives and timelines of the next steps of Together in Faith at a Jan. 10 meeting.


The next phase will call for pastors in the archdiocese to identify four to five lay leaders to represent their parish in regional planning groups that will meet over the course of the coming year.


Continue reading: Together in Faith planning reaches next phase at The Michigan Catholic Online - a site you might want to bookmark to learn about news affecting Catholics in the Archdiocese of Detroit.



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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Fred Phelps: A wolf in sheep's clothing, to protest funeral of 9 y/o AZ shooting victim

Photo: Reuters | People from Fred Phelp's Westboro church are well known
for their protests at American solider funerals.

In a nutshell (literally): Diabolically influenced.

You might remember the pastor and congregation that travels the country protesting at the funerals of American soldiers.  Well, he has decided to protest at the funeral of 9 year old Christina Taylor Green - the youngest victim of Jared Loughner's shooting rampage.  Arizona passed an emergency bill yesterday which creates a 300 foot buffer zone.  Real Christians are planning to create a buffer zone of their own to shield the family from this sheep in wolves clothing.

Fred Phelps has apparently omitted from his reading of Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13...

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.  So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Here is a story about compassion on the part of many Arizonans.  Watch this...


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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Parish Mission at Assumption Grotto - Jan 13-16



There will be a parish mission at Assumption Grotto (flyer and schedule above).  It begins this Thursday January 13 and ends Sunday.  These talks are always well attended.  Usually, the conferences on the first two nights are held in the parish Church (but I don't know if it will work that way this time).  On the weekends, unless there is a conflict with the school lounge, the talks will be held there.



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Sunday, January 9, 2011

First Screening opportunities for "There Be Dragons" - a movie on St. Jose Maria Escriva



A "first-screening" for There Be Dragons is coming up at Ss Cyril & Methodius in Sterling, Heights. Note that you must pre-register online at www.screenitfirst.com/dragons/events/list.  There is a list of other opportunities in other states, so scroll through that list if you do not live in this area.

From that website:

Welcome to the Exclusive There Be Dragons Leader Screening Events. Please RSVP below to the location nearest to you. A confirmation email will be sent to you confirming your RSVP.



There Be Dragons is an epic action adventure romance set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. The film is written and directed by Roland Joffe, acclaimed director of The Mission, and features a stellar cast of young actors -- Charlie Cox (Stardust), Wes Bentley (American Beauty), Rodrigo Santoro (300) and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace).


The story traces the lives of two young men, Josemaria Escriva (Cox) and Manolo Torres (Bentley), childhood friends who are separated by the political upheaval of pre-war Spain to find themselves on opposite sides as war erupts. Choosing peace, Josemaria becomes a priest and struggles to spread reconciliation by founding the movement “Opus Dei” (work of God). Manolo chooses war and becomes a spy for the fascists, committing heinous acts that will torment him until the end of his life. Only on Manolo’s deathbed will Josemaria’s message of forgiveness finally have a profound impact on him and on his estranged son, who comes to learn the truth of his father’s dark past.
This looks interesting.  I personally won't be able to make the screening since I will be at work, with a specific project for that week making it inopportune to take a half-day vacation.

Here is the website for the movie itself: http://www.therebedragonsfilm.com/ . I just watched the trailer.  It looks excellent.



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Senseless Shootings in Arizona and Saddening Political Spin


Photo: AP/Matt York
Christina Taylor Green, 9
The six people who lost their lives yesterday in a senseless shooting spree by an "unstable" 22 year old, have been identified.  Among them, District Judge John M. Roll (63) - a Catholic who went to daily Mass, a 30 year old staffer - Gabe Zimmerman who was engaged to be married, and a nine year old girl, Christina Taylor Green (right), who was just elected to her student council and recently made her First Holy Communion.  The girl, interested in politics, went there at the invitation of a neighbor who was shot four times and survived. Fox News has released an interview with the young girl's mother, and an interview with her father.  After saying that he did not want to see further restrictions put on people because of this tragedy, he goes on to tell us what he wants us to take away from it.  I suspect that we will be seeing this family working to keep their daughter's legacy alive. 

Let us pray for the repose of the souls of the dead, for their families, and for the recovery of those who have suffered such traumatic injuries. 

This may be difficult for some to understand when I say that as Christians we are also called to pray for this young man.  May he be moved to repent of his actions.  While little is known about his home life, family members of the shooter suffer a different kind of loss today.  It is a very difficult thing to have a loved one responsible for such senseless destruction of life.  Of course people will want to look for blame in his upbringing, but at the end of the day, we all have a free will and make choices.  Not all children of alcoholics become alcoholics and not all children of battering fathers become abusive.  People rise above those things all the time because they choose not to be victims.  I know people who have suffered horribly as children in previous generations and they didn't go out and commit murder.  At some point, we have to stop shifting the blame for people who make bad choices.  This young man may have some mitigating circumstances if he has true mental health problems that have gone unaddressed, but even the mentally ill are aware of the choices they make.

Congresswoman "Gabby" Giffords, amazingly, is alive after a bullet went clean through her head at point blank range.  Authorities say that she is "responding to commands" and that only one side of her brain has been damaged.  This means that, as brain injuries go, she appears to be on the high end of the scale (being able to respond to commands is much better than simply responding to a pin-prick).  The first 30 hours are the most critical.  Please keep her and her family in your prayers. Her husband, Mark Kelly is a space shuttle commander who is slated to go up this spring.  Whether he will proceed on that mission is unknown at this time.  I would imagine his first concern is his wife.

The shooter, Jared Loughner, had tried to enter the military and was rejected.  The Privacy Act prevents them from releasing the reason for the rejection. He was kicked out of college and told he could come back after he had a mental examination that proved he was not a danger to himself or others.   He has been arrested in the past and extracts from his YouTube videos show a young man that is not "together".  He described himself as a terrorist.  It's unforunate that somewhere along the line, the man was not placed under evaluation.  But, as we have seen repeatedly with people that have mental health issues, it takes murder to get them put away.  More than likely, Arizona will put him to death.

Sadly, some people are focusing on where to fix blame in a way that aligns with their political view of things, Elizabeth Scalia blogs on this at First Things.  Yesterday, I caught her comment on Twitter @TheAnchoress) which summed up my thoughts as I saw this political blame game. 

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar; and sometimes an incoherent nutcase is just an incoherent nutcase.

Exactly!  As news reports spill out about Loughner, there is evidence that this guy had no affection for the Republicans, the Tea Party, the Democrats or US government in general.  It appears he had anti-semitic views as well (Giffords was Jewish).  If the young man has aligned himself with anything, it is an anti-government group of some kind. 

We would all do well to wait for further developments and to pray, more than anything.

Edit:  Here is an interesting read from Steven Ertelt at LifeNews:

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Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar; and sometimes an incoherent nutcase is just an incoherent nutcase.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

New Book: unPLANNED by Abby Johnson (former Planned Parenthood leader)


Remember Abby Johnson - the Planned Parenthood leader who walked out of the clinic and into the arms of peaceful pro-life prayer warriors after witnessing an abortion close up?  Here is an announcement by Ignatius Press on her new book which tells the story.

Dear Friends,


There’s a big story breaking concerning a new book from Ignatius Press. I’m confident you’ll want to know about it and will want to spread the word to your friends.


Next week, former Planned Parenthood director and 2008 “employee of the year” Abby Johnson will expose what happens behind the closed doors of the abortion industry. In her blockbuster, revealing new book, Unplanned, she explains how she went from directing an abortion facility to working for the prolife cause!

And not just any abortion facility but the place at which the first 40 Days for Life campaign was launched in 2004.


“Six 40 Days for Life campaigns were conducted outside her workplace,” reports 40 Days for Life Campaign Director Shawn Carney, “before Abby experienced a profound conversion during the Fall 2009 campaign ... and literally walked into my office with deep remorse to tell me she wanted out of the abortion business.”


Unplanned tells the whole amazing, life-changing story.


Of course, Planned Parenthood didn’t take Abby’s prolife conversion lightly. They wanted to shut her up. So they filed a lawsuit against her and against Shawn to keep them both quiet.


Planned Parenthood lost the case and now Abby is telling her insider’s story. She reveals the shocking details about Planned Parenthood, and why she changed her mind and heart about abortion.


Next Tuesday, January 11, Ignatius Press is launching the book, in cooperation with our co-publishing friends at Tyndale House and Focus on the Family. We have a special Ignatius Press edition, which features an exclusive note from Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, Ignatius Press’ Founder and Editor, as well as a foreword from Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, and an introduction by 40 Days for Life National Director, David Bereit. You can preorder the special Ignatius Press edition of Unplanned here. For a limited time, Unplanned is available at Ignatius Press’ website at 35% off, the best price available on the web! For bulk orders, email webhelp@ignatius.com

Our friends at 40 Days for Life are hosting a live webcast with Abby, on the night before the book is released—on Monday, January 10, at 9 PM Eastern (8 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain, 6 PM Pacific). This will be a sneak preview of Unplanned’s “no-holds-barred revelations” about the abortion business and its victims.

Ignatius Press readers are invited to join the webcast. You can register for FREE at: http://www.unplannedwebcast.com/.

The 40 Days for Life folks tell us that during the webcast, you will discover ...
•What initially attracted Abby to volunteer and then work for Planned Parenthood -- America's largest abortion chain -- even after being raised in a faithful Christian home
•The hidden personal secret that Abby had kept buried for years
•The shocking discovery that suddenly caused Abby to question everything Planned Parenthood had told her over eight years
•Planned Parenthood's confidential plans to expand its biggest money-maker -- abortion -- all across America
•The abortion industry's furious reaction when Abby decided to quit her job and join local and national pro-life efforts
•What Abby's court battle brought to light about Planned Parenthood's REAL agenda
•The single most effective way to reduce Planned Parenthood's abortion business and change the hearts and minds of clinic workers

Don’t miss this one-time-only online event! We’re told that space is limited so register to attend NOW. Go to http://www.unplannedwebcast.com/. A FREE chapter of Unplanned is available for download when you register.


Sincerely yours in the Lord of Life,


Mark Brumley
President
Ignatius Press



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"Tigger" - the Convent Cat


"Tigger", the convent cat relaxes in the sun on a crisp morning in Detroit
 The Sisters of the Holy Cross found a kitten just over a year ago which wandered into the convent yard on the grounds of Assumption Grotto.  He soon won the affection of everyone heading to the Adoration chapel.  It didn't take long before Tigger was taken in.  Actually, he refused to leave. 

I happened to have my camera at Grotto for a photoshoot when, after getting done, I decided to head to the Adoration chapel.  There was Tigger, sunning himself as if he were on Malibu beach.  He spotted something on the tree and decided to go investigate, then used the thing for a scratching post.

Perhaps more another time on the adventures of Tigger.







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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Video Interview: Cardinal Burke discusses abortion, extraordinary form of Mass, and more...


There is an excellent interview with Cardinal Burke on a number of topics.  He starts out first discussing abortion, then it shifts into the Mass - mostly the extraordinary form (1962 Missal).  Listen carefully to all that he says.  Keep in mind that His Eminence is the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (think "supreme court" of the Church) and he is a member of 4 other congregations including the Congregation for Divine Worship (you can see a list of his assignments which I compiled some months ago here)


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