Thursday, June 30, 2011
NY Bishops Fight Back Against Passage of Sam-Sex "Marriage" Bill
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn said the move is “intended as a protest of the corrupt political process in New York State.”
“More than half of all New Yorkers oppose this legislation,” he wrote in a statement. “Yet, the governor and the state legislature have demonized people of faith, whether they be Muslims, Jews, or Christians, and identified them as bigots and prejudiced, and voted in favor of same-sex ‘marriage.’”
The bishop’s announcement comes as influential canon lawyer Dr. Edward Peters of Detroit’s Sacred Heart Major Seminary has renewed his call for the state’s bishops to deny Communion to Catholic Gov. Cuomo, due to his persistent campaign for same-sex “marriage,” in addition to his public cohabitation with girlfriend Sandra Lee, a host on the Food Network.
Gov. Cuomo signed the same-sex “marriage” bill Friday night, scarcely an hour after it had passed the Senate in a 33-29 vote.
Dr. Peters says Cuomo’s efforts to secure same-sex “marriage” were “even more brazen” than his “public concubinage.” He noted that while his cohabitation “gives prominent bad example against marriage,” “his official actions in regard to ‘gay marriage’ have changed the very definition of marriage in the populous state under his care.”
“Cuomo’s long pattern of conduct in regard to ‘gay marriage’ triggers, in my opinion, an obligation on his part to refrain from approaching for holy Communion per Canon 916 and, should he approach anyway, upon ministers of holy Communion to withhold that august sacrament from ‘those obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin’ per Canon 915,” the canonist, who was recently appointed as a consultant to the Vatican’s Apostolic Signatura (the Church’s highest court), wrote on his blog June 26.
In the same-sex “marriage” campaign “no one played a more important, and indeed a constitutionally essential, role” than Gov. Cuomo, said Peters. “Without Cuomo’s long-standing and vigorous public support for ‘gay marriage’, without his unswerving political efforts to advance that project and, most specifically, without his signature on the bill (placed there with obvious enthusiasm and much self-satisfaction), New York would not have legalized ‘gay marriage’ on June 24.”
Peters suggested New York’s bishops issue a “public announcement” that Cuomo is barred from Communion, saying this “befits the markedly public character of Cuomo’s conduct and responds better to the danger of scandal presented to the faithful by his actions.”
The bishops’ response, he noted, “will undoubtedly serve as an example to other bishops confronting Catholic complicity in the push to grant the legal status of marriage to same sex unions in their territories.”
Peters also said he believes the governor’s conduct warrants a canonical investigation under Canon 1717, which applies a “just penalty” to those who “in a public show or speech, published writings, or in other uses of the instruments of social communications … gravely injure[d] good morals.”
In his statement, Bishop DiMarzio said Gov. Cuomo and the state legislature “have deconstructed the single most important institution in human history,” adding that the bill “will undermine our families and as a consequence, our society.”
“With this vote, Governor Cuomo has opened a new front in the culture wars that are tearing at the fabric of our nation,” he continued. “At a time when so many New Yorkers are struggling to stay in their homes and find jobs, we should be working together to solve these problems.”
The bishop insisted that political leaders “do not believe their own rhetoric.” “If they did, how in good conscience could they carve out any exemption for institutions that would be proponents of bigotry and prejudice?” he asked.
Today on Kresta - June 30, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 30
4:00 – Feast of the First Martyrs of the Church
Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church as it pays tribute and remembers the countless followers of Christ who gave up their lives while standing by their faith during the early years at a time of intense Christian persecution. Pope Clement I, an early Church father said, “the blood of the first martyrs, Christians martyred in the city of Rome during Emperor Nero’s persecution in 64 A.D., has always been and will always be, the seed of Christianity.” Steve Ray is here to focus in on these heroes of the Faith.
4:40 – Ministering in the Countries of East Africa
For the last 10 years Noelle Gornik has been active in various ministries in the Catholic Church around the world. From serving at her local Catholic church, to doing reconciliation work in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to serving at an orphanage run by nuns in Mexico, to a year of service across Europe, and a year of serving the poor in Detroit This past year she has been living and working mainly in Uganda, but also working with the Church in 4 countries in Eastern Africa. She joins is to talk about her work in Africa and her intention to continue to work in Uganda for the next 5 years.
5:00 – The Future of Catholic Press in America
Veteran journalist Greg Erlandson, president and publisher of Our Sunday Visitor, has been elected president of the Catholic Press Association. The Association just held its annual Convention in Pittsburgh last week and Greg is here to discuss the future of the Catholic Press in America.
5:20 – The Four Causes of the US Financial Crisis
Over the last 6-9 months we have conducted a series intended to fully explore the practical, political, moral and philosophical underpinnings of the financial meltdown of 2008. Our guide has been Dr. Max Torres and each segment we used, as a base of discussion, one book written on an aspect of the financial crisis. Today, we wrap up the series with a look at the 4 main causes of the US financial crisis – lessons learned and not learned from the evens of 2008.
4:00 – Feast of the First Martyrs of the Church
Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church as it pays tribute and remembers the countless followers of Christ who gave up their lives while standing by their faith during the early years at a time of intense Christian persecution. Pope Clement I, an early Church father said, “the blood of the first martyrs, Christians martyred in the city of Rome during Emperor Nero’s persecution in 64 A.D., has always been and will always be, the seed of Christianity.” Steve Ray is here to focus in on these heroes of the Faith.
4:40 – Ministering in the Countries of East Africa
For the last 10 years Noelle Gornik has been active in various ministries in the Catholic Church around the world. From serving at her local Catholic church, to doing reconciliation work in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to serving at an orphanage run by nuns in Mexico, to a year of service across Europe, and a year of serving the poor in Detroit This past year she has been living and working mainly in Uganda, but also working with the Church in 4 countries in Eastern Africa. She joins is to talk about her work in Africa and her intention to continue to work in Uganda for the next 5 years.
5:00 – The Future of Catholic Press in America
Veteran journalist Greg Erlandson, president and publisher of Our Sunday Visitor, has been elected president of the Catholic Press Association. The Association just held its annual Convention in Pittsburgh last week and Greg is here to discuss the future of the Catholic Press in America.
5:20 – The Four Causes of the US Financial Crisis
Over the last 6-9 months we have conducted a series intended to fully explore the practical, political, moral and philosophical underpinnings of the financial meltdown of 2008. Our guide has been Dr. Max Torres and each segment we used, as a base of discussion, one book written on an aspect of the financial crisis. Today, we wrap up the series with a look at the 4 main causes of the US financial crisis – lessons learned and not learned from the evens of 2008.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Miss Politically Correct 2011
Last Sunday, a judge at the Miss USA pageant asked Miss Tennessee, Ashley Durham, whether the First Amendment protects the burning of religious articles, as it does the burning of the American flag. Durham replied, “Absolutely not. I know that some people view it as a freedom of speech. However, burning the American flag is not patriotic at all. . . . You should also respect other religions. I am a Christian. I’m a faithful person. I would not appreciate someone burning the Bible.”
That answer angered pageant judge Penn Jillette, a libertarian atheist. He said Durham should not have advocated taking away freedoms. He went on to post of Twitter, “She negated the whole First Amendment. . . . Glad to help her lose.”
The moment was reminiscent of the 2009 Miss USA pageant, when gay gossip blogger Perez Hilton criticized Miss California, Carrie Prejean, for saying that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Hilton said, “She gave the worst answer in pageant history. . . . Miss California lost because she’s a dumb [expletive].”
Both women said their opinions about politically loaded questions hurt them. Prejean said her answer “cost me my crown. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I said what I feel. I stated an opinion that was true to myself and that’s all I can do.”
Durham fired back in a statement issued yesterday, saying Jillette should not delight in shooting down her dreams: “I understand and am grateful for the protections we enjoy under the U.S. Constitution. . . . Due to my strong Christian beliefs, and my respect for the convictions of others, I personally feel that burning sacred texts goes too far.”
Same Sex Marriage, Cancer, and Fig Leaves
By Marvin Olasky
Joy, joy, joy! Just before midnight on June 24 the New York Senate passed and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. At 5:30 this morning the Associated Press reported, “Champagne corks popped, rainbow flags flapped and crowds embraced and danced in the streets of Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.”
The article quoted nine people, all ecstatic about the new gay right. Queens teacher Eugene Lovendusky was typical: “I am spellbound. I’m so exhausted and so proud that the New York State Senate finally stood on the right side of history.” Reporter Karen Zraick even quoted one official saying the new law is “good news” for city tourism.
But what about the AP’s “Statement of Ethical Principles”? The first sentence under the heading “Integrity” states, “The newspaper should strive for impartial treatment of issues and dispassionate handling of controversial subjects.” Impartiality and dispassionate handling were nowhere in evidence yesterday and today, but that’s not surprising on this or other controversial issues where all reasonable people know what the right side of history is—right?
This coverage showed once again that worldviews typically direct the reporting of controversial issues. Most liberals see same-sex marriage as a human right and opposition to such as ethical cancer. We cheer medical advances that fight particular kinds of cancer, and no one sees the need to balance out anti-cancer viewpoints with pro-cancer ones.
Was AP coverage improved by its follow-up report at 9:03 a.m., which stuck on—like a fig leaf—brief sentences by opponents of same-sex marriage? (Maybe someone remembered AP’s ethics code.) Not really, because the story did not even mention the past few days of State Senate negotiations concerning what will become the new battle in New York: What happens to the religious freedom of those who want to uphold biblical standards concerning marriage?
Marvin Olasky is the editor-in-chief of WORLD Magazine.
This Fourth of July: Confirm Thy Soul in Self-Control
This Fourth of July: Confirm Thy Soul in Self-Control
By Dr. Paul KengorI encourage you to set aside the burgers and dogs and soda and beer for a moment this Fourth of July and contemplate something decidedly different, maybe even as you gaze upward at the flash of fireworks. Here it is: Confirm thy soul in self-control.
What do I mean by that? Let me explain.
The founders of this remarkable republic often thought and wrote about the practice of virtue generally and self-control specifically, two things long lost in this modern American culture of self. Thomas Jefferson couldn’t avoid a reference to one of the cardinal virtues—prudence—in our nation’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence, which, incidentally, ought to be a must-read for every American every Fourth of July (it’s only 1,800 words). Our first president and ultimate Founding Father, George Washington, knew the necessity of governing one’s self before a nation’s people were capable of self-governance. As Washington stated in his classic Farewell Address, “’Tis substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.”
A forgotten philosopher who had an important influence on the American Founders was the Frenchman, Charles Montesquieu, whose work included the seminal book, The Spirit of the Laws (1748). Montesquieu considered various forms of government. In a tyrannical system, people are prompted not by freedom of choice or any expression of public virtue but, instead, by the sheer coercive power of the state, whether by decree of an individual despot or an unaccountable rogue regime. That’s no way for human beings to live. There’s life under such a system, yes, but not much liberty or pursuit of happiness; even life itself is threatened.
Montesquieu concluded that the best form of government is a self-governing one, and yet it is also the most difficult to maintain because it demands a virtuous populace. As noted by John Howard—the outstanding senior fellow at the Howard Center for Family, Religion, & Society—Montesquieu noted that each citizen in a self-governing state must voluntarily abide by certain essential standards of conduct: lawfulness, truthfulness, honesty, fairness, respect for the rights and well-being of others, obligation to one’s spouse and children, to name a few.
“Each new generation must be trained to be responsible citizens … to be virtuous and conscientious,” writes Howard in The St. Croix Review. “Once the free society is well-established, the daily life of the family and the society is such that becoming virtuous is not a monstrous chore for the young people.”
Sadly, becoming virtuous has indeed become a monstrous chore in a society not only lacking virtue but eschewing virtue—fleeing virtue like a vampire fleeing a cross. Living life in a good way—what Benedict Groeschel calls “The Virtue Driven Life”—becomes so alien that the people prefer darkness over light. When virtues are not taught—whether at home, at school, or by America’s educator-in-chief, the TV set—they become unknown and ignored and unfulfilled, desiccated and dead upon the national landscape.
And perhaps saddest of all, as John Howard notes, virtue is something that can be acquired, like learning to speak a culture’s language. Once inculcated, however, it needs to be continuously reinforced by the cultural elements of the society. Virtue needs nourished, like fruitful plants need water and sunlight. Says Howard emphatically: “I want to repeat…. Virtue must be continuously reinforced by the culture.”
We Americans might not think about this much, but we actually sing it fairly often, even if the words don’t sink in. Consider this line from one of our sacred political hymns, America, the Beautiful:
America, America,
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.
That’s the ticket: Confirm thy soul in self-control. Our liberty is enshrined in our laws, but liberty should not be license for opportunities for the flesh. Our liberties, protected and permitted as they are, should not be exploited to do anything and everything we want, including things harmful to oneself, to one’s family, to one’s neighbors, to one’s culture, to one’s country. That misunderstanding and abuse of freedom is what Pope Benedict XVI calls a “confused ideology of freedom,” one that can engender “the self-destruction of freedom” for others.
In truth, a genuine freedom requires responsibility. As the song says—and as Washington and Montesquieu intimated—we must successfully govern ourselves in order to successfully govern our nation.
It’s a timeless concept worth remembering this Fourth of July and every day going forward.
Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of political science at Grove City College and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values. His books include The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.
Do women need Planned Parenthood?
The Obama Administration is bullying Indiana, threatening to cut billions in Medicaid care for the elderly and low-income, because Indiana's decided to cut funding to abortion providers.
Abortion giant Planned Parenthood serves less than 1% of Medicaid patients in Indiana, but performs over 52% of all abortions.
Stand with Indiana against the political bullying in their decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood.
LiveAction.org
IStandWithIndiana.com
Abortion giant Planned Parenthood serves less than 1% of Medicaid patients in Indiana, but performs over 52% of all abortions.
Stand with Indiana against the political bullying in their decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood.
LiveAction.org
IStandWithIndiana.com
Fr. John Corapi, Canon Law and the Process for Priests Accused of Abuse
In light of the Fr. John Corapi Scandal, a bright shining spotlight has been shone on the "process" of what happens when a priest is accused of abuse or impropriety. Canon lawyer Michael Dunnigan discusses the "process" and the role that canon law plays.
The World's Debt to the Catholic Church
I'll be speaking on the World's Debt to the Catholic Church at the Sacred Heart Radio's Tenth Anniversary Celebration this weekend. Carl Olsen has a column entitled "Is this the most ridiculous, arrogant Huff-and-Puff Post piece ever penned?" at Ignatius Insight which discusses some elements I will be discussing Saturday. Carl writes a great piece, a portion of which is below.
Is this the most ridiculous, arrogant Huff-and-Puff Post piece ever penned?
Granted, the competition is tough and the candidates are legion. But I think that Victor Stenger—"Physicist, PhD, bestselling author"!—has thrown down the Gray Gauntlet of Lumpish Twaddle, and has done so in the span of just six paragraphs! Best be sitting down and not eating or drinking before taking this in:
Continue reading here...
Is this the most ridiculous, arrogant Huff-and-Puff Post piece ever penned?
Granted, the competition is tough and the candidates are legion. But I think that Victor Stenger—"Physicist, PhD, bestselling author"!—has thrown down the Gray Gauntlet of Lumpish Twaddle, and has done so in the span of just six paragraphs! Best be sitting down and not eating or drinking before taking this in:
Many historians and sociologists have denied the there ever was a war between science and religion. Some have even claimed that Christianity was responsible for science! But they have ignored the most important historical facts. Greece and Rome were well on the way to modern science when Christianity interrupted its development for a thousand years.Nevermind that the Romans didn't even figure out how to engineer a drafting chimney. Oh well; I'm sure they were only a few years from splitting the atom when the barbarians overwhelmed them. Which is not to make light of Roman and Greek achievements. By the way, didn't the Romans and Greeks believe in multiple gods? So how is that Romans and Greeks were scientifically brilliant while being religious but Christians were/are decidedly anti-scientific because they are religious? Huh?
Continue reading here...
Today on Kresta - June 29, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 29
The Best of Kresta in the Afternoon
4:00 – Meditations on the Priesthood
Following the events of the last 5 days, we take time to look at the theology, the history, and the glory of the Catholic priesthood. At ordination, a priest becomes another person, commissioned not simply to act in the name of Christ, but to be another Christ, an alter Christus. This teaching was not an original insight of the Second Vatican Council. It is the traditional teaching of the Church. In his book, Meditations on the Catholic Priesthood, Father Charles Connor helps the priest to see once again, in fresh terms, that this is truly the essence of the priesthood. He shows how, in the Eucharist the priest finds his raison d'être for being a priest, the source of all his strength in the ministry, the summit of all his prayers. The role of the Cross and suffering in the life of a priest is one of the highlights of this book. Yet the suffering of a priest is tinged with joy because he suffers along with Christ, bolstered by Jesus himself. Fr. Connor joins us.
5:00 – Challenging the Modern World
Samuel Gregg provides an insightful, cogent, and thorough analysis of the issues surrounding developments in Catholic social teaching during the pontificate of John Paul II. He compares the treatment in John Paul's social encyclicals of three topics-industrial relations, capitalism, and the relations between developed and developing countries-with the handling of these matters in the social teachings of the Second Vatican Council and Paul VI. He is here with us.
5:40 – The Ruth Institute: Making Marriage Cool
Jennifer Roback Morse founded the Ruth Institute with a vision of making marriage cool in modern society. She joins us with her director of programming, Nicole Kay, to look at Marriage as the proper context for sex and childrearing; Respect for the contributions of men to the family marriage as a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman; lifelong spousal cooperation as a solution to women’s aspirations for career and family and cooperation, not competition, between men and women.
The Best of Kresta in the Afternoon
4:00 – Meditations on the Priesthood
Following the events of the last 5 days, we take time to look at the theology, the history, and the glory of the Catholic priesthood. At ordination, a priest becomes another person, commissioned not simply to act in the name of Christ, but to be another Christ, an alter Christus. This teaching was not an original insight of the Second Vatican Council. It is the traditional teaching of the Church. In his book, Meditations on the Catholic Priesthood, Father Charles Connor helps the priest to see once again, in fresh terms, that this is truly the essence of the priesthood. He shows how, in the Eucharist the priest finds his raison d'être for being a priest, the source of all his strength in the ministry, the summit of all his prayers. The role of the Cross and suffering in the life of a priest is one of the highlights of this book. Yet the suffering of a priest is tinged with joy because he suffers along with Christ, bolstered by Jesus himself. Fr. Connor joins us.
5:00 – Challenging the Modern World
Samuel Gregg provides an insightful, cogent, and thorough analysis of the issues surrounding developments in Catholic social teaching during the pontificate of John Paul II. He compares the treatment in John Paul's social encyclicals of three topics-industrial relations, capitalism, and the relations between developed and developing countries-with the handling of these matters in the social teachings of the Second Vatican Council and Paul VI. He is here with us.
5:40 – The Ruth Institute: Making Marriage Cool
Jennifer Roback Morse founded the Ruth Institute with a vision of making marriage cool in modern society. She joins us with her director of programming, Nicole Kay, to look at Marriage as the proper context for sex and childrearing; Respect for the contributions of men to the family marriage as a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman; lifelong spousal cooperation as a solution to women’s aspirations for career and family and cooperation, not competition, between men and women.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Today on Kresta - June 28, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 28
4:00 - 6:00: Direct to My Desk
Today we have 2 hour of opportunity for you to set the agenda with your calls. Ask the questions and raise the issues that matter most to you. We will have a few topics to throw out as usual, but callers drive the show. Be prepared to call 877-573-7825.
4:00 - 6:00: Direct to My Desk
Today we have 2 hour of opportunity for you to set the agenda with your calls. Ask the questions and raise the issues that matter most to you. We will have a few topics to throw out as usual, but callers drive the show. Be prepared to call 877-573-7825.
Monday, June 27, 2011
OJ "will admit he killed Nicole in self-defence as she pulled a knife on him"
The talk show host made headlines recently saying that one of her regrets was never having got the shamed former sportsman to confess to the killing.
And it appears her wish may well have come true with reports Simpson has already told one of her producers in an interview from jail that he knifed ex-wife Nicole in self-defence - a confession he will now repeat to the talk show queen during a spectacular televised sit down interview.
The chat, which would be held in prison, would be a huge coup for Oprah, whose network, OWN, has suffered a massive hit in ratings recently.
Simpson is currently serving a nine-year sentence at Nevada’s Lovelock Correctional Centre, after he was convicted of robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas in October 2008 after a botched heist to retrieve his memorabilia he said was stolen by dealers.
Coup: Will Oprah finally get the confession from O.J. Simpson that she is said to have been pining for?
He was famously acquitted in October 1995 of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman despite huge amounts of evidence against him.
According to the National Enquirer, the interview is set to be filmed after Simpson confessed he killed the pair in self-defence to a producer from inside prison.
'Oprah has been in touch with O.J. for the past year,' a source told the magazine. She contacted him in prison to explore the possibility that he might give her an interview.
'He has always been a big fan of hers, but for a long time he was reluctant to say he did the crime or give the details of how it happened.'
According to the insider, Simpson recently decided to go through with the confession after he was contacted again by one of Oprah's producers.
'He told the producer: "Tell Oprah that yes, I did it. I killed Nicole, but it was in self-defence. She pulled a knife on me and I had to defend myself",' the insider was quoted as saying.
He reportedly then went on to give a full account of what happened on the night of the murders on June 12 1994.
Read more here...
Where Gay "Marriage" is Headed
Whenever the American people have had a chance to approve gay marriage, they have rejected it. In the more than 30 states that have put this issue to a vote, homosexuals have never won. The only arenas they have been able to score a victory are in some state legislatures and courts. In other words, this is a classic case of the people vs. the elites.
Ultimately, this issue will not be resolved in the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court: it will be decided by a constitutional amendment. Though the Federal Marriage Amendment prevailed in the House in 2006 by a margin of 236-187, it failed to achieve the necessary 290 votes required to pass a constitutional amendment; two-thirds of both chambers of Congress, and three-fourths of the states (38), are needed.
Standing in the way of a constitutional amendment is the legitimate reluctance on the part of federal lawmakers to decide what many believe to be a matter for the states. But given that we are left with the scenario of the people vs. the elites, we are quickly reaching a tipping point, and when that happens, chances are good that this issue will be resolved by a constitutional amendment.
Currently, 30 states have constitutional language defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. At the federal level, the Defense of Marriage Act also defines marriage in the traditional sense. But unless there is a constitutional amendment, we will continue to have an uneven playing field, one that is ripe for further exploitation. Once marriage is separated from procreation, and Tom and Dick are allowed to marry, there is no principled reason why Tom, Dick and Harry can't do so. After all, wouldn't it be discrimination to say no to Harry?
Today on Kresta - June 27, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 27
4:00 – Brutal beheading: Afghan terror advances ahead of President Obama’s pullout plan
Afghans are warning of dire consequences for the country’s tiny Christian population should American forces leave Afghanistan, as President Barack Obama announced last week. “If U.S. troops are not in Afghanistan the Taliban will come to power,” said Obaid S. Christ, an Afghan Christian exiled to India. “We will have the same situation we had in the 1990s when the Russians left Afghanistan, when we had civil war and millions killed.” Mindy Belz has been reporting on Afghanistan for WORLD Magazine and is here to discuss Christians in Afghanistan.
4:20 – The Fight is On: Planned Parenthood Files Lawsuit to Open Abortion Clinic
Planned Parenthood of Mid-and South Michigan has filed a law suit in Oakland County, MI to challenge the deed restriction that has thus far thwarted the abortion provider’s plans to open a 17,000 square-foot clinic in Auburn Hills, MI. When the owners of an adjacent hotel discovered that the real purchaser of the property was Planned Parenthood and that the building would become an abortion clinic—they sought to enforce the deed restriction—a restriction that was originally designed to protect their own property investment. Monica Miller is here to fill us in on the details.
4:40 – “Leonie”
In late 1800s France, Leonie Martin is a young bourgeoisie woman with a difficult nature who causes great emotional stress and suffering for her mother Zelie. Leonie wreaks havoc with the religious superiors in the monasteries she tries in vain to enter. Her extreme emotional outbursts and stubborn nature begin to ease when she meets and befriends a caring younger nun Sister Jeanne Marguerite. It’s the story of the sister of St. Therese and is now a feature film. Executive Director Barb Middleton is here to discuss it.
5:00 – Canon Law and the Process for Priests Accused of Abuse
In the last 10 days, a bright shining spotlight has been shone on the “process” of what happens when a priest is accused of abuse or impropriety. Canon lawyer Michael Dunnigan is here to discuss the “process” and the role that canon law plays.
5:40 – Cardinal Newman Society and Mount St. Mary’s University: Partner to Promote Renewal of Catholic Campuses
Effective July 1, the Center for the Advancement of Catholic Higher Education, a division of The Cardinal Newman Society, will relocate to Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, under the leadership of Rev. Msgr. Stuart Swetland. Established in 2008, the Center supports mission-centered teaching, policies and programs at Catholic colleges and universities, according to the Vatican constitution, Ex corde Ecclesiae. The Center’s recent projects include Assessing Catholic Identity, a handbook to help college leaders evaluate their institutions, as well as several studies helping colleges defend against threats to their religious liberty. We talk with Msgr. Swetland.
5:50 – EWTN Family Celebration
Take a weekend off to spend time with your EWTN family at the EWTN Family Celebration in Birmingham, Alabama! This year, on July 23rd and 24th, you’ll have the chance to meet your favorite hosts and Friars at the Family Corner, visit your favorite Catholic authors, AND kids can have a blast at EWTN’s Faith Factory! Michael Warsaw is here to discuss the details.
4:00 – Brutal beheading: Afghan terror advances ahead of President Obama’s pullout plan
Afghans are warning of dire consequences for the country’s tiny Christian population should American forces leave Afghanistan, as President Barack Obama announced last week. “If U.S. troops are not in Afghanistan the Taliban will come to power,” said Obaid S. Christ, an Afghan Christian exiled to India. “We will have the same situation we had in the 1990s when the Russians left Afghanistan, when we had civil war and millions killed.” Mindy Belz has been reporting on Afghanistan for WORLD Magazine and is here to discuss Christians in Afghanistan.
4:20 – The Fight is On: Planned Parenthood Files Lawsuit to Open Abortion Clinic
Planned Parenthood of Mid-and South Michigan has filed a law suit in Oakland County, MI to challenge the deed restriction that has thus far thwarted the abortion provider’s plans to open a 17,000 square-foot clinic in Auburn Hills, MI. When the owners of an adjacent hotel discovered that the real purchaser of the property was Planned Parenthood and that the building would become an abortion clinic—they sought to enforce the deed restriction—a restriction that was originally designed to protect their own property investment. Monica Miller is here to fill us in on the details.
4:40 – “Leonie”
In late 1800s France, Leonie Martin is a young bourgeoisie woman with a difficult nature who causes great emotional stress and suffering for her mother Zelie. Leonie wreaks havoc with the religious superiors in the monasteries she tries in vain to enter. Her extreme emotional outbursts and stubborn nature begin to ease when she meets and befriends a caring younger nun Sister Jeanne Marguerite. It’s the story of the sister of St. Therese and is now a feature film. Executive Director Barb Middleton is here to discuss it.
5:00 – Canon Law and the Process for Priests Accused of Abuse
In the last 10 days, a bright shining spotlight has been shone on the “process” of what happens when a priest is accused of abuse or impropriety. Canon lawyer Michael Dunnigan is here to discuss the “process” and the role that canon law plays.
5:40 – Cardinal Newman Society and Mount St. Mary’s University: Partner to Promote Renewal of Catholic Campuses
Effective July 1, the Center for the Advancement of Catholic Higher Education, a division of The Cardinal Newman Society, will relocate to Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, under the leadership of Rev. Msgr. Stuart Swetland. Established in 2008, the Center supports mission-centered teaching, policies and programs at Catholic colleges and universities, according to the Vatican constitution, Ex corde Ecclesiae. The Center’s recent projects include Assessing Catholic Identity, a handbook to help college leaders evaluate their institutions, as well as several studies helping colleges defend against threats to their religious liberty. We talk with Msgr. Swetland.
5:50 – EWTN Family Celebration
Take a weekend off to spend time with your EWTN family at the EWTN Family Celebration in Birmingham, Alabama! This year, on July 23rd and 24th, you’ll have the chance to meet your favorite hosts and Friars at the Family Corner, visit your favorite Catholic authors, AND kids can have a blast at EWTN’s Faith Factory! Michael Warsaw is here to discuss the details.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Today on Kresta - June 23, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 23
4:00 – The Man Who Rebuilt Steubenville and Inspired a New Orthodoxy in US Catholic Higher Education
Father Michael Scanlan’s name has become so closely linked to Steubenville, Ohio, that it’s a bit surprising to learn that he grew up in midtown Manhattan. The Third Order Regular Franciscan has spent 42 of his 47 years as a priest at Franciscan University of Steubenville and played a large part in bringing the college back from near death. This summer, though, Father Scanlan, 79, is retiring from his post as chancellor, a position he has held for the past 11 years. Before that, he spent 26 years as the university’s president. We talk with Fr. Scanlan about his 42 years at the school known simply as Steubie-U.
4:40 – Kresta Comments
5:00 – Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile
When 1999 turned into 2000, a lot of people asked, “Who was the Man of the Century?” And many answered, “Solzhenitsyn.” That was a very solid choice. Born in 1918, Alezander Solzhenitsyn became the voice and conscience of the Russian people. There was no greater or more effective foe of Communism, or of totalitarianism in general. His Gulag Archipelago was a crushing blow to the Soviet Union — after its publication in the mid-1970s, the USSR had no standing, morally. The book was effective because it was true. He passed away in 2008 at age 89. We talk with his biographer, Joseph Pearce, who has just updated and re-released Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile
4:00 – The Man Who Rebuilt Steubenville and Inspired a New Orthodoxy in US Catholic Higher Education
Father Michael Scanlan’s name has become so closely linked to Steubenville, Ohio, that it’s a bit surprising to learn that he grew up in midtown Manhattan. The Third Order Regular Franciscan has spent 42 of his 47 years as a priest at Franciscan University of Steubenville and played a large part in bringing the college back from near death. This summer, though, Father Scanlan, 79, is retiring from his post as chancellor, a position he has held for the past 11 years. Before that, he spent 26 years as the university’s president. We talk with Fr. Scanlan about his 42 years at the school known simply as Steubie-U.
4:40 – Kresta Comments
5:00 – Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile
When 1999 turned into 2000, a lot of people asked, “Who was the Man of the Century?” And many answered, “Solzhenitsyn.” That was a very solid choice. Born in 1918, Alezander Solzhenitsyn became the voice and conscience of the Russian people. There was no greater or more effective foe of Communism, or of totalitarianism in general. His Gulag Archipelago was a crushing blow to the Soviet Union — after its publication in the mid-1970s, the USSR had no standing, morally. The book was effective because it was true. He passed away in 2008 at age 89. We talk with his biographer, Joseph Pearce, who has just updated and re-released Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
10 rules for handling disagreement like a Christian
Thanks to Diane Korzeniewski at Te Deum Laudamus for digging up this letter from Archbishop Allen Vigneron, now of Detroit. It was written when he was Bishop of Oakland, CA. Pretty appropriate to think about this week.
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10 rules for handling disagreement like a Christian
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
When I began my term as the rector of the major seminary in Detroit a little over 10 years ago, one of the problems I had to help my students deal with was the often-sharp differences of opinion that we find within the Church.
The seminarians looked to me as the pastor of that community to help them navigate through the contentious expression of differing viewpoints. To fulfill my responsibilities as the father of that seminary family I composed what I called “Ten Rules for Handling Disagreement Like a Christian.”
Whether or not the clash of opinions within the Catholic community in the U.S. has grown stronger or weakened over the last decade I couldn’t say; however, I do know that with some frequency we still find ourselves at odds over what we think and where we want to head.
With that in mind, I thought that I, now serving as pastor of the family of the Oakland Diocese, could profitably share these “Ten Rules” with all of you. So, here they are, along with my own brief commentary on each.
1. The Rule of Charity: “Charity is primary.”
This has to be the place to start whenever we disagree with one another: with love. St. Paul said: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1). No matter how wise my insights or astute my plans, they count for nothing if I do not offer them with love.
Now, that charity is the first and fundamental requirement for all authentic Christian speech does not mean that such speaking can only be weak, but it does mean that whatever is said ought always to be offered respectfully and for the genuine service of others, especially my hearers. In fact, all of St. Paul’s sage advice in the “Hymn to Charity” in 1 Cor. 13 spells out eloquently this “Rule.”
2. The Rule of Publicity: “Think with the mind of the Church.”
This rule is simply a translation of the Latin axiom “Sentire cum Ecclesia.” This means that, when we disagree, the final measure for judging what’s on target and what’s off the mark is what the Church thinks, not, ultimately, what you think or what I think – not private opinion, but what the Church has said to all to know.
This is the reason I call this the “The Rule of Publicity.” The criterion for our deciding our disagreements is not one’s own private opinions, but the mind of the People of God, what the Church thinks.
In order to apply this rule effectively, we need to use a corollary: “Measure everything against the authoritative documents of the Magisterium.”
The logical question to follow any call for us to “think with the mind of the Church” is: How do I know what that is?
The answer is: “Look in the places where the Church has expressed her mind with authority.” Look in the writings of the Councils and the popes, in the Church’s laws, and in the teachings of her Fathers and Doctors. Any survey or poll, no matter how extensive or accurate, if it contradicts the Magisterium, is not the Church’s mind.
3. The Rule of Legitimate Freedom: “What the Church allows is not to be disallowed.”
This rule means that in situations where the Church says that a variety of views or opinions is legitimate, I should not impose my option as a mandate on others. For example: we can receive Holy Communion in the hand or on the tongue. Either one is acceptable.
4. The Rule of Catholic Freedom: “There’s something for everybody, but not everything is for everybody.”
This fourth rule is an extension of the one above. It applies the same sort of respect for diversity to the wider spheres of our common life. This rule is based on the recognition that “It’s a big Church.” God has given gifts of grace in an almost dizzying variety. Some folks are attracted to the Carmelite Third Order, others gather for charismatic prayer. Nobody has to live the Christian life exactly the way I do.
Remember: “Think (and act) with the mind of the Church.” We need to respect every practice or approach that has a legitimate place in the life of the Church, and we cannot make our favorite practice or approach mandatory for others if the Church has not.
5. The Rule of Modesty: “Not all of my causes are God’s causes.”
Yes, it’s true that in many cases we invest our heart’s devotion because that’s what God commands for all his people. But that’s not necessarily so in every instance. Some of my agendas are mine. It’s right to embark on projects with a zealous desire to give God glory, but I have to remember that while it may be his will for me to take this on, there are cases when it’s not his will for everyone else to join me.
6. The Rule of Integrity: “To do evil in order to accomplish good is really to do evil.”
Breaking one of God’s commandments is not the way to advance his Kingdom, ever. If, in the service of Christ, I act in an un-Christian way, I become a highly effective ally of the very forces I set out to combat. (Among those who are big “Star War” fans, this rule is sometimes referred to as the “Darth Vader Axiom.”)
7. The Rule of Realism: “Remember that Satan is eager to corrupt my efforts to build up the Kingdom, and he’s smart enough to figure out a way to do it.
This rule is strong statement about the need for each of us in our disagreements to practice that form of realism, for which the more common name is “humility.” My cause may be right or my view may be true, but I have to watch that their goodness is not corrupted by my infidelity.
8. The Rule of Mystery: “Not all the habits and attitudes which belong to a society governed by a representative democracy are appropriate in the Church.”
In every age there is a tendency – often unconscious – to shape the life of the Church after the pattern of the secular order of the day. In the Middle Ages, the governance of the Church was often configured to the feudal system of the times, sometimes with very harmful consequences. For example, bishops and abbots were identified with the barons of the nobility.
In our own day, we could make a similar sort of mistake: thinking that the responsibility and authority of the Church’s pastors are of the same sort as that of our elected officials. In such mistaken identifications, what is at work is a forgetting that while the Church is, yes, a human reality, she is also a divine reality, a mystery, unlike any other community every known in the history of the world.
The Church is neither a democracy nor a monarchy. She is the Church, the Lord’s own creation, constituted according to his will and plan.
9. The Petrine Rule: “Nobody ever built up the Church by tearing down the pope.”
This rule follows quite logically from the one immediately above. The Holy Father’s leadership is part of the Church’s constitution from Christ. Because the pope is not the sort of democratic leader we are accustomed to in civil society, there is a tendency by some observers to characterize his office as a “throwback” to times that we have surpassed, a “burden” for the Catholic people that we would well be freed from. Not so.
The pastoral care we receive from the Holy Father is a great grace, St. Peter’s own service of his fellow disciples continuing to this very day. A great pope makes us a better Church.
10. The Eschatological Rule: “The victory is assured; my job is to run out the clock with style.”
Christ is risen – truly, body and soul risen and in glory at the Father’s right. He has conquered sin and death and all the forces that threaten us. Whatever is at stake in our trials or conflicts, the certainty of Christ’s victory is not in doubt.
And he promised he would be with us always, until the end of time (cf. Mat. 28:20). He will never leave his Church, and his victory will be ours as long as we abide with him in his Mystical Body.
This rule, of course, is not an excuse for giving less than our full effort to spread the Kingdom; that would be a kind of presumption. However, this rule is a call to remember that there is one Savior, and it’s not you or me. Our mission is to serve the Lord in fidelity and hope, and be ready for him to act, for he surely will.
Bishop Allen Vigneron
Sept. 19, 2005
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
When I began my term as the rector of the major seminary in Detroit a little over 10 years ago, one of the problems I had to help my students deal with was the often-sharp differences of opinion that we find within the Church.
The seminarians looked to me as the pastor of that community to help them navigate through the contentious expression of differing viewpoints. To fulfill my responsibilities as the father of that seminary family I composed what I called “Ten Rules for Handling Disagreement Like a Christian.”
Whether or not the clash of opinions within the Catholic community in the U.S. has grown stronger or weakened over the last decade I couldn’t say; however, I do know that with some frequency we still find ourselves at odds over what we think and where we want to head.
With that in mind, I thought that I, now serving as pastor of the family of the Oakland Diocese, could profitably share these “Ten Rules” with all of you. So, here they are, along with my own brief commentary on each.
1. The Rule of Charity: “Charity is primary.”
This has to be the place to start whenever we disagree with one another: with love. St. Paul said: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1). No matter how wise my insights or astute my plans, they count for nothing if I do not offer them with love.
Now, that charity is the first and fundamental requirement for all authentic Christian speech does not mean that such speaking can only be weak, but it does mean that whatever is said ought always to be offered respectfully and for the genuine service of others, especially my hearers. In fact, all of St. Paul’s sage advice in the “Hymn to Charity” in 1 Cor. 13 spells out eloquently this “Rule.”
2. The Rule of Publicity: “Think with the mind of the Church.”
This rule is simply a translation of the Latin axiom “Sentire cum Ecclesia.” This means that, when we disagree, the final measure for judging what’s on target and what’s off the mark is what the Church thinks, not, ultimately, what you think or what I think – not private opinion, but what the Church has said to all to know.
This is the reason I call this the “The Rule of Publicity.” The criterion for our deciding our disagreements is not one’s own private opinions, but the mind of the People of God, what the Church thinks.
In order to apply this rule effectively, we need to use a corollary: “Measure everything against the authoritative documents of the Magisterium.”
The logical question to follow any call for us to “think with the mind of the Church” is: How do I know what that is?
The answer is: “Look in the places where the Church has expressed her mind with authority.” Look in the writings of the Councils and the popes, in the Church’s laws, and in the teachings of her Fathers and Doctors. Any survey or poll, no matter how extensive or accurate, if it contradicts the Magisterium, is not the Church’s mind.
3. The Rule of Legitimate Freedom: “What the Church allows is not to be disallowed.”
This rule means that in situations where the Church says that a variety of views or opinions is legitimate, I should not impose my option as a mandate on others. For example: we can receive Holy Communion in the hand or on the tongue. Either one is acceptable.
4. The Rule of Catholic Freedom: “There’s something for everybody, but not everything is for everybody.”
This fourth rule is an extension of the one above. It applies the same sort of respect for diversity to the wider spheres of our common life. This rule is based on the recognition that “It’s a big Church.” God has given gifts of grace in an almost dizzying variety. Some folks are attracted to the Carmelite Third Order, others gather for charismatic prayer. Nobody has to live the Christian life exactly the way I do.
Remember: “Think (and act) with the mind of the Church.” We need to respect every practice or approach that has a legitimate place in the life of the Church, and we cannot make our favorite practice or approach mandatory for others if the Church has not.
5. The Rule of Modesty: “Not all of my causes are God’s causes.”
Yes, it’s true that in many cases we invest our heart’s devotion because that’s what God commands for all his people. But that’s not necessarily so in every instance. Some of my agendas are mine. It’s right to embark on projects with a zealous desire to give God glory, but I have to remember that while it may be his will for me to take this on, there are cases when it’s not his will for everyone else to join me.
6. The Rule of Integrity: “To do evil in order to accomplish good is really to do evil.”
Breaking one of God’s commandments is not the way to advance his Kingdom, ever. If, in the service of Christ, I act in an un-Christian way, I become a highly effective ally of the very forces I set out to combat. (Among those who are big “Star War” fans, this rule is sometimes referred to as the “Darth Vader Axiom.”)
7. The Rule of Realism: “Remember that Satan is eager to corrupt my efforts to build up the Kingdom, and he’s smart enough to figure out a way to do it.
This rule is strong statement about the need for each of us in our disagreements to practice that form of realism, for which the more common name is “humility.” My cause may be right or my view may be true, but I have to watch that their goodness is not corrupted by my infidelity.
8. The Rule of Mystery: “Not all the habits and attitudes which belong to a society governed by a representative democracy are appropriate in the Church.”
In every age there is a tendency – often unconscious – to shape the life of the Church after the pattern of the secular order of the day. In the Middle Ages, the governance of the Church was often configured to the feudal system of the times, sometimes with very harmful consequences. For example, bishops and abbots were identified with the barons of the nobility.
In our own day, we could make a similar sort of mistake: thinking that the responsibility and authority of the Church’s pastors are of the same sort as that of our elected officials. In such mistaken identifications, what is at work is a forgetting that while the Church is, yes, a human reality, she is also a divine reality, a mystery, unlike any other community every known in the history of the world.
The Church is neither a democracy nor a monarchy. She is the Church, the Lord’s own creation, constituted according to his will and plan.
9. The Petrine Rule: “Nobody ever built up the Church by tearing down the pope.”
This rule follows quite logically from the one immediately above. The Holy Father’s leadership is part of the Church’s constitution from Christ. Because the pope is not the sort of democratic leader we are accustomed to in civil society, there is a tendency by some observers to characterize his office as a “throwback” to times that we have surpassed, a “burden” for the Catholic people that we would well be freed from. Not so.
The pastoral care we receive from the Holy Father is a great grace, St. Peter’s own service of his fellow disciples continuing to this very day. A great pope makes us a better Church.
10. The Eschatological Rule: “The victory is assured; my job is to run out the clock with style.”
Christ is risen – truly, body and soul risen and in glory at the Father’s right. He has conquered sin and death and all the forces that threaten us. Whatever is at stake in our trials or conflicts, the certainty of Christ’s victory is not in doubt.
And he promised he would be with us always, until the end of time (cf. Mat. 28:20). He will never leave his Church, and his victory will be ours as long as we abide with him in his Mystical Body.
This rule, of course, is not an excuse for giving less than our full effort to spread the Kingdom; that would be a kind of presumption. However, this rule is a call to remember that there is one Savior, and it’s not you or me. Our mission is to serve the Lord in fidelity and hope, and be ready for him to act, for he surely will.
Bishop Allen Vigneron
Sept. 19, 2005
Today on Kresta - June 22, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 22
4:00 - Kresta Comments – Every Sheepdog Needs a Shepherd
4:20 – “Leonie”
In late 1800s France, Leonie Martin is a young bourgeoisie woman with a difficult nature who causes great emotional stress and suffering for her mother Zelie. Leonie wreaks havoc with the religious superiors in the monasteries she tries in vain to enter. Her extreme emotional outbursts and stubborn nature begin to ease when she meets and befriends a caring younger nun Sister Jeanne Marguerite. It’s the story of the sister of St. Therese and is now a feature film. Executive Director Barb Middleton is here to discuss it.
4:20 – The Future of Catholic Press in America
Just two weeks after his election as the president of the Catholic Press Association for the next two years, Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) president and publisher, Gregory Erlandson, was officially introduced this week in his new post at the Association's annual meeting in Pittsburgh. Greg joins us from the convention to discuss these challenging times for the Catholic press, many of whom are diocesan newspapers seeing budgetary pressures force staff cuts, reduction of publication frequency, and in some cases, complete closing of their doors. But, Greg says, where there's a challenge, there's also an opportunity for a rethinking of Catholic communications strategies, in which print continues to play an important part - even if not the exclusive one it has enjoyed for many decades."
5:00 – Meditations on the Priesthood
Following the events of the last 5 days, we take time to look at the theology, the history, and the glory of the Catholic priesthood. At ordination, a priest becomes another person, commissioned not simply to act in the name of Christ, but to be another Christ, an alter Christus. This teaching was not an original insight of the Second Vatican Council. It is the traditional teaching of the Church. In his book, Meditations on the Catholic Priesthood, Father Charles Connor helps the priest to see once again, in fresh terms, that this is truly the essence of the priesthood. He shows how, in the Eucharist the priest finds his raison d'être for being a priest, the source of all his strength in the ministry, the summit of all his prayers. The role of the Cross and suffering in the life of a priest is one of the highlights of this book. Yet the suffering of a priest is tinged with joy because he suffers along with Christ, bolstered by Jesus himself. Fr. Connor joins us.
4:00 - Kresta Comments – Every Sheepdog Needs a Shepherd
4:20 – “Leonie”
In late 1800s France, Leonie Martin is a young bourgeoisie woman with a difficult nature who causes great emotional stress and suffering for her mother Zelie. Leonie wreaks havoc with the religious superiors in the monasteries she tries in vain to enter. Her extreme emotional outbursts and stubborn nature begin to ease when she meets and befriends a caring younger nun Sister Jeanne Marguerite. It’s the story of the sister of St. Therese and is now a feature film. Executive Director Barb Middleton is here to discuss it.
4:20 – The Future of Catholic Press in America
Just two weeks after his election as the president of the Catholic Press Association for the next two years, Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) president and publisher, Gregory Erlandson, was officially introduced this week in his new post at the Association's annual meeting in Pittsburgh. Greg joins us from the convention to discuss these challenging times for the Catholic press, many of whom are diocesan newspapers seeing budgetary pressures force staff cuts, reduction of publication frequency, and in some cases, complete closing of their doors. But, Greg says, where there's a challenge, there's also an opportunity for a rethinking of Catholic communications strategies, in which print continues to play an important part - even if not the exclusive one it has enjoyed for many decades."
5:00 – Meditations on the Priesthood
Following the events of the last 5 days, we take time to look at the theology, the history, and the glory of the Catholic priesthood. At ordination, a priest becomes another person, commissioned not simply to act in the name of Christ, but to be another Christ, an alter Christus. This teaching was not an original insight of the Second Vatican Council. It is the traditional teaching of the Church. In his book, Meditations on the Catholic Priesthood, Father Charles Connor helps the priest to see once again, in fresh terms, that this is truly the essence of the priesthood. He shows how, in the Eucharist the priest finds his raison d'être for being a priest, the source of all his strength in the ministry, the summit of all his prayers. The role of the Cross and suffering in the life of a priest is one of the highlights of this book. Yet the suffering of a priest is tinged with joy because he suffers along with Christ, bolstered by Jesus himself. Fr. Connor joins us.
Kresta Commentary
Imitate Christ or Imitate the blacksheepdog, the priest formerly known as Fr. Corapi ?
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This is the new John Corapi, the black sheepdog logo.
Prelude: John Corapi chose to deal with these matters in a public way and this invites our responding to him publicly. If he hadn’t made a big melodramatic public announcement, then I wouldn’t be making any public comment about it. I didn't say a word about the allegations when they first came to light months ago. But this is a different moment, a teaching moment and a prayerful moment. Also, there are complex juridical and canonical matters here as retired Bishop Gracida has so candidly pointed out. One last point, John Corapi is free to follow his conscience. We are free to respond to his newly crafted public image and the public statements he makes.
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John Corapi has been one of the most effective communicators of what some have been calling “dynamic orthodoxy”. It’s really just basic Catholicism. But the truth has power and many people have been built up by Fr. Corapi preaching that truth. Others have returned to full communion with the Church, still others have come to know Christ for the first time.
So three months ago when a former employee alleged that he had behaved in a manner contrary to his priestly calling and his religious association removed him from active public ministry, dynamically orthodox Catholics grew dismayed. He may well be as innocent as he maintains. People do lodge false accusations. Children lie, women lie, men lie. He says he may soon release audio of this woman demonstrating her instability. I’m not looking forward to this trial by public opinion with only John Corapi providing the evidence. But only three months into the investigation, he claims that the process was stacked against him; that certain key figures had it out for him. And so he has resigned from active public priestly ministry and wants to be known as “the blacksheepdog” John Corapi. He says “My canon lawyer and my civil lawyers have concluded that I cannot receive a fair and just hearing under the Church’s present process.”
I am deeply disappointed. If imitatio Christi means renouncing worldly ambition and seeking salvation by deeds of private virtue, imitatio black sheepdog means
• splitting from communion with one’s confreres and brother priests.
• abandoning the canonical disciplinary process to injustice and incompetence so that others will be left to correct or be victimized by it.
• announcing that your "fans" (his word) can now stay in touch with you through social media and, BTW, offering one’s catechetical materials in a fire sale for fifty percent off.
I don’t see a renunciation of worldly ambition nor do I see the longsuffering that characterizes the saints. One thinks here of Padre Pio who was also subject to false accusations which he endured and for which we now call him St. Padre Pio. Rather, I see someone who, by Corapi’s own admission, is trying to expand his audience and the range of topics he will address. What is lacking is submission to the dying and rising that is the pattern of the Christian life. Where are his statements about joining his sufferings with those of Christ? I don’t see them.
It may be true that he has been wronged by the system. Many of us have watched and/or been the victim of diocesan administrative bungles. But even if sheepdog Corapi has been done wrong by the system, then, I think, he still bears responsibility for correcting it. We play the hand we’re dealt. We don’t fold and leave the table. Tossing over the chessboard is not a praiseworthy move in chess.
He claims that: “In the final analysis I have only one of only two viable choices:
1. I can quietly lie down and die, or
2. I can go on in ways that I am able to go on.”
No, the third viable choice is to stand firm, resist the evil one by submitting to the duly authorized authorities and trust God for the outcome. If necessary wouldn’t he do more for the life of the world by offering the holy sacrifice of the Mass as a penitent priest in some obscure monastery? Is talk radio or television more efficacious than the Mass? Perhaps this is too idealistic. However, we become followers of Christ in order to have our lives conformed to his so that his destiny becomes our destiny. This requires the passion. No crown without the cross. Thomas More knew this, Padre Pio knew this, Jesus Christ knew this.
I thought John Corapi knew this. Looking at his testimony story, he has overcome much greater hurdles than clerical incompetence. If John Corapi is anything, he is a survivor. His brother priest, Charles Murphy knew how to enter into the “humiliation of Christ”, as St. Thomas More puts it.
The first time Fr. Murphy was cleared of accusations that he improperly touched a minor girl, 25 years earlier, everyone who ever met him said they had never doubted his innocence. It was 2006. Finally, the archdiocese ruled the allegations lacked substance. The woman dropped her suit on the eve of the trial. He returned to ministry amidst great joy. Four years later, the lawyer who had lodged the first unfounded complaint brought another. It involved a male and went back forty years. This time it took nearly six months before the review board cleared him and Cardinal Sean O’Malley restored him as senior pastor. But this time the spark had died. He couldn’t bring himself to preach. He just deteriorated. Eventually, they brought Murphy to a hospice a couple of weeks ago after doctors determined there was nothing left to be done. There was no cancer, no apparent physical disease, just a broken 77-year-old heart that refused to mend.
And that’s where he died a week before John Corapi’s announcement, a wisp of the man he once was.* He died broken, clinging to his cross but vindicated and awaiting glory. He refused to climb down from his cross.
Corapi’s gifts and talents no doubt exceed those of Fr. Murphy but this is no reason to lay down the cross. As Kevin Tierney pointed out in a blog comment: “Implicit (and sometimes explicit) in many defenses of Fr. Corapi is that the Church needs his ministry, so much so that he is required to disobey. Many of his defenders would be horrified if anyone else said their priesthood wasn't that important to their life. Yet Fr. Corapi said precisely that.” What I just learned from John Corapi is that the way to solve the problem of obedience is to resign. If there is no ecclesiastical authority, there is no problem of obedience. Yes, I know that it is within his rights, but is it right? The priesthood is not about justice, it’s about love. This is what I find so disorienting in the former Fr., now John, Corapi’s actions. Men of great ministry hold it lightly because they know that doing Christ’s work can replace becoming Christlike. St. Ignatius of Loyola said he would fret all of 5 minutes if the Pope suppressed the Jesuits. This was a man whose priorities were properly ordered.
And to make matters worse: John Corapi has now insured that he will never be exonerated by any official tribunal. Once he leaves the jurisdiction of the Church, the investigation is not only moot- it’s probably over. Murphy died broken but exonerated; the black sheepdog is unleashed but the skies are still cloudy.
Comparisons are invidious but it’s just hard to see Fulton Sheen or Mother Angelica going off shelving the exercise of their office or charism, and inventing some new media identity say as “The Black Irishmen” or “Risible Rita the Righteous.” Both these great communicators had painful run-ins with the hierarchy. They fought it out. I feel as though I’ve seen a hideous mutation, a man-creature transmogrify from priest into entertainer.
His strange cold embrace of self-pity and self-reliance leaves the rest of us without the familiar warm hug of a priest many of us looked to as a model of imitating Christ. Now he’s the one who has given us the best reason to dismiss him with “yesterday’s garbage” as he puts it: he’s broken faith with the bishops, the successors to the apostles; he’s broken faith with his religious community; he’s broken faith with the imitation of Christ. When asked what the Church needed after the abuse crisis was revealed, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus said, “Fidelity. Fidelity. Fidelity.” This story seems to lack that theme. Many who have worked with John Corapi say that he’s always been a lone wolf so, I suppose, being the black sheepdog won’t be nearly the painful transition that he would have us believe. I may be wrong, I hope I’m wrong but the black sheepdog seems off on his own. Pray for him. Sheepdogs are only effective when they are in tandem with a Shepherd.
*The Fr. Murphy story is taken from Brian McGrory’s column, “Collateral Damage” in the Boston Globe (of all places) June 15, 2011.
Prelude: John Corapi chose to deal with these matters in a public way and this invites our responding to him publicly. If he hadn’t made a big melodramatic public announcement, then I wouldn’t be making any public comment about it. I didn't say a word about the allegations when they first came to light months ago. But this is a different moment, a teaching moment and a prayerful moment. Also, there are complex juridical and canonical matters here as retired Bishop Gracida has so candidly pointed out. One last point, John Corapi is free to follow his conscience. We are free to respond to his newly crafted public image and the public statements he makes.
**********************************************************************
John Corapi has been one of the most effective communicators of what some have been calling “dynamic orthodoxy”. It’s really just basic Catholicism. But the truth has power and many people have been built up by Fr. Corapi preaching that truth. Others have returned to full communion with the Church, still others have come to know Christ for the first time.
So three months ago when a former employee alleged that he had behaved in a manner contrary to his priestly calling and his religious association removed him from active public ministry, dynamically orthodox Catholics grew dismayed. He may well be as innocent as he maintains. People do lodge false accusations. Children lie, women lie, men lie. He says he may soon release audio of this woman demonstrating her instability. I’m not looking forward to this trial by public opinion with only John Corapi providing the evidence. But only three months into the investigation, he claims that the process was stacked against him; that certain key figures had it out for him. And so he has resigned from active public priestly ministry and wants to be known as “the blacksheepdog” John Corapi. He says “My canon lawyer and my civil lawyers have concluded that I cannot receive a fair and just hearing under the Church’s present process.”
I am deeply disappointed. If imitatio Christi means renouncing worldly ambition and seeking salvation by deeds of private virtue, imitatio black sheepdog means
• splitting from communion with one’s confreres and brother priests.
• abandoning the canonical disciplinary process to injustice and incompetence so that others will be left to correct or be victimized by it.
• announcing that your "fans" (his word) can now stay in touch with you through social media and, BTW, offering one’s catechetical materials in a fire sale for fifty percent off.
I don’t see a renunciation of worldly ambition nor do I see the longsuffering that characterizes the saints. One thinks here of Padre Pio who was also subject to false accusations which he endured and for which we now call him St. Padre Pio. Rather, I see someone who, by Corapi’s own admission, is trying to expand his audience and the range of topics he will address. What is lacking is submission to the dying and rising that is the pattern of the Christian life. Where are his statements about joining his sufferings with those of Christ? I don’t see them.
It may be true that he has been wronged by the system. Many of us have watched and/or been the victim of diocesan administrative bungles. But even if sheepdog Corapi has been done wrong by the system, then, I think, he still bears responsibility for correcting it. We play the hand we’re dealt. We don’t fold and leave the table. Tossing over the chessboard is not a praiseworthy move in chess.
He claims that: “In the final analysis I have only one of only two viable choices:
1. I can quietly lie down and die, or
2. I can go on in ways that I am able to go on.”
No, the third viable choice is to stand firm, resist the evil one by submitting to the duly authorized authorities and trust God for the outcome. If necessary wouldn’t he do more for the life of the world by offering the holy sacrifice of the Mass as a penitent priest in some obscure monastery? Is talk radio or television more efficacious than the Mass? Perhaps this is too idealistic. However, we become followers of Christ in order to have our lives conformed to his so that his destiny becomes our destiny. This requires the passion. No crown without the cross. Thomas More knew this, Padre Pio knew this, Jesus Christ knew this.
I thought John Corapi knew this. Looking at his testimony story, he has overcome much greater hurdles than clerical incompetence. If John Corapi is anything, he is a survivor. His brother priest, Charles Murphy knew how to enter into the “humiliation of Christ”, as St. Thomas More puts it.
The first time Fr. Murphy was cleared of accusations that he improperly touched a minor girl, 25 years earlier, everyone who ever met him said they had never doubted his innocence. It was 2006. Finally, the archdiocese ruled the allegations lacked substance. The woman dropped her suit on the eve of the trial. He returned to ministry amidst great joy. Four years later, the lawyer who had lodged the first unfounded complaint brought another. It involved a male and went back forty years. This time it took nearly six months before the review board cleared him and Cardinal Sean O’Malley restored him as senior pastor. But this time the spark had died. He couldn’t bring himself to preach. He just deteriorated. Eventually, they brought Murphy to a hospice a couple of weeks ago after doctors determined there was nothing left to be done. There was no cancer, no apparent physical disease, just a broken 77-year-old heart that refused to mend.
And that’s where he died a week before John Corapi’s announcement, a wisp of the man he once was.* He died broken, clinging to his cross but vindicated and awaiting glory. He refused to climb down from his cross.
Corapi’s gifts and talents no doubt exceed those of Fr. Murphy but this is no reason to lay down the cross. As Kevin Tierney pointed out in a blog comment: “Implicit (and sometimes explicit) in many defenses of Fr. Corapi is that the Church needs his ministry, so much so that he is required to disobey. Many of his defenders would be horrified if anyone else said their priesthood wasn't that important to their life. Yet Fr. Corapi said precisely that.” What I just learned from John Corapi is that the way to solve the problem of obedience is to resign. If there is no ecclesiastical authority, there is no problem of obedience. Yes, I know that it is within his rights, but is it right? The priesthood is not about justice, it’s about love. This is what I find so disorienting in the former Fr., now John, Corapi’s actions. Men of great ministry hold it lightly because they know that doing Christ’s work can replace becoming Christlike. St. Ignatius of Loyola said he would fret all of 5 minutes if the Pope suppressed the Jesuits. This was a man whose priorities were properly ordered.
And to make matters worse: John Corapi has now insured that he will never be exonerated by any official tribunal. Once he leaves the jurisdiction of the Church, the investigation is not only moot- it’s probably over. Murphy died broken but exonerated; the black sheepdog is unleashed but the skies are still cloudy.
Comparisons are invidious but it’s just hard to see Fulton Sheen or Mother Angelica going off shelving the exercise of their office or charism, and inventing some new media identity say as “The Black Irishmen” or “Risible Rita the Righteous.” Both these great communicators had painful run-ins with the hierarchy. They fought it out. I feel as though I’ve seen a hideous mutation, a man-creature transmogrify from priest into entertainer.
His strange cold embrace of self-pity and self-reliance leaves the rest of us without the familiar warm hug of a priest many of us looked to as a model of imitating Christ. Now he’s the one who has given us the best reason to dismiss him with “yesterday’s garbage” as he puts it: he’s broken faith with the bishops, the successors to the apostles; he’s broken faith with his religious community; he’s broken faith with the imitation of Christ. When asked what the Church needed after the abuse crisis was revealed, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus said, “Fidelity. Fidelity. Fidelity.” This story seems to lack that theme. Many who have worked with John Corapi say that he’s always been a lone wolf so, I suppose, being the black sheepdog won’t be nearly the painful transition that he would have us believe. I may be wrong, I hope I’m wrong but the black sheepdog seems off on his own. Pray for him. Sheepdogs are only effective when they are in tandem with a Shepherd.
*The Fr. Murphy story is taken from Brian McGrory’s column, “Collateral Damage” in the Boston Globe (of all places) June 15, 2011.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Roman basilica uses quiet iPods to replace noisy tour guides
It will even lend you one for free to try to prove its point.
From a tiny booth in the back of St. John in Lateran, the Holy See's pilgrim agency has been quietly asking tourists if they want to tour Rome's oldest basilica with an iPod in hand loaded with an app specially designed to access the place's art, architecture and Christian history.
It's a bid to cut down on the noise as well as to raise appeal to the young, not your typical pilgrim, the Rev. Caesar Atuire, CEO of the pilgrim agency, said Tuesday.
"It is designed to appeal to wider audience than the usual churchgoer," Atuire told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the Holy Land.
The Vatican will formally unveil the experiment on Wednesday. But a visit Tuesday found curious tourists exploring the cavernous basilica with specially adapted iPods in hand.
"It's fantastic. I really appreciate it," said Agustin Valverde, a Spaniard visiting the basilica with his family, including his eight-month-old son and namesake, who looked wide-eyed at the iPod. "You can see a lot (more) beauty this way."
Atuire suggested that, with a tap of the finger, tourists can zoom in on high-resolution images of artistic details, like the starry blue canopy above the towering high altar, or decorating vaulted ceilings. The apps user also can refer to images from the Vatican Library not usually available to the public to enrich their understanding of their basilica tour.
As Atuire spoke, Americans following an English-speaking tour guide near a side chapel that myth says was gilded with gold from Cleopatra's warships craned their necks to try to see. Trying not to disturb others, the guide was lecturing barely above a whisper, practically out of earshot to those not closest to her.
The iPod audio has a chatty format, with some narration by "characters" in history, such as Constantine, the Roman emperor who converted to Christianity.
The multi-lingual audio also offers a conversational description of the battle of the Milvian Bridge spanning the Tiber, won in 312 by Constantine, who saw a flaming cross in the sky. Legend says Constantine lugged soil to the site of what was to become St. John in Lateran, the first basilica within Rome's ancient walls and sometimes dubbed "the first Vatican."
Pilgrim agency workers lending the iPods say teenagers often press their parents to take the device, and show the older generation how it works.
Twelve-year-old Jakob Rhein, from Pope Benedict XVI's native Bavaria region of Germany, chewed on his gum and pronounced the audiovisual aid "very cool. It is in an iPod." His mother Ulrike Rein called it "quite intuitive to use."
Said Valverde's mother-in-law, Berta Evangelista, a Roman: "All you need is to be a bit comfortable with a touch screen telephone to use it well."
"Basically, we have taken an iPod, we've filled it with plenty of content, with history, with everything you need to know about the basilica" said Rosa Maria Mancini, a spokeswoman for the Vatican pilgrim agency Opera Roman Pellegrinaggi. With the device, "you can discover it piece by piece," she said.
There are audio devices positioned around the basilica that tourists can sit next to and listen to explanations through an old-fashioned telephone-type receiver.But they tether the tourist to one spot. The iPod can be used in the basilica's cloister, letting users better appreciate this island of tranquility as their headphones shut out the chatter of tourists.
There's no charge, although users are told they can leave a donation if they like. Users must leave a document, like a passport or driver's license, as security.
After the experiment ends in December, the Vatican will decide whether to expand the iPod app to other Rome basilicas, although there are no immediate plans to use them for St. Peter's Basilica or Square, Atuire said.
Catholic university professors undermine bishops' work against euthanasia
Even as the nation’s bishops react with alarm to a recent Montana Supreme Court ruling allowing physician-assisted suicide, their efforts are being undermined by ethics and law professors at several Jesuit universities.
Last week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a statement describing assisted suicide as “a terrible tragedy, one that a compassionate society should work to prevent”:
With expanded funding from wealthy donors, assisted suicide proponents have renewed their aggressive nationwide campaign through legislation, litigation and public advertising, targeting states they see as most susceptible to their message. If they succeed, society will undergo a radical change.But as with so many moral issues, the bishops need look no further than our Catholic institutions to find that the “nationwide campaign” in opposition to Church teaching has been ongoing for many years.
Suicide’s legalization has been advocated by prominent professors in Catholic universities including Georgetown, Marquette, Santa Clara, and Boston College. It is a particular irony that the bishops’ statement comes this year, even as the bishops are quietly reviewing the implementation of Vatican guidelines for Catholic higher education in the 1990 constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae.
The professors’ efforts came to light during a Cardinal Newman Society investigation in 2005, following news reports of a legal brief filed by 55 bioethicists in opposition to “Terri’s Law,” a Florida measure that empowered Gov. Jeb Bush to ensure that the comatose Terri Schiavo received water and nutrition. As reported in “Teaching Euthanasia,” an exclusive report in the June 2005 issue of Crisis, multiple professors at Catholic universities had taken positions on end-of-life issues that seemed to conflict with Vatican teaching.
Today, some of those professors are no longer teaching at Catholic universities, but others remain perched in Jesuit law schools and theology and philosophy departments.
Tom Beauchamp is professor of philosophy at Georgetown University and a senior research scholar at the university’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics. He is a superstar in the ethics community, and in May he was honored with the Hastings Center’s Research Ethics Award for “a lifetime contribution to ethics and the life sciences.”
Beauchamp also received Georgetown’s Career Recognition Award in 2003 — even while he was serving on the board of directors of the Compassion in Dying Federation, which advocated Oregon’s “death with dignity” law and has fought prohibitions against assisted suicide in other states. He served on the board from 1999 until 2005, when the organization merged with End-of-Life Choices (the renamed Hemlock Society) to form Compassion and Choices.
The latter entity was singled out by the U.S. bishops last week for particular criticism: “Plain speaking is needed to strip away this veneer and uncover what is at stake, for this agenda promotes neither free choice nor compassion,” the bishops wrote.
Even in its prior incarnation, the Compassion in Dying Federation was significantly at odds with the Church. For instance, in 2004, it joined with the pro-abortion National Women’s Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, Catholics for a Free Choice, NARAL, and other groups to demand that religiously sponsored hospitals notify patients whether they will honor patients’ refusal of artificial nutrition and hydration and requests for removal of life support.
Barbara Coombs Lee, president of Compassion in Dying and now its successor Compassion and Choices, has long described her battles as “autonomy” versus “dogma.” Autonomy is the mantra of the ethicists who support physician-assisted suicide — like Beauchamp, whose 2006 article in the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy celebrates “the right to die… [as] an impressive example of the triumph of autonomy in bioethics.” Describing Oregon’s legalization of suicide as the “latest stage” in this process, he predicts “it will take another thirty years to get matters settled in the other forty-nine states.”
Beauchamp’s Principles of Biomedical Ethics — first published in 1979 with co-author James Childress, and now in its sixth edition — has become a classic work that is used in many college-level ethics courses. It is also cited by the Compassion and Choices amicus brief to the Montana Supreme Court in support of its legalization of assisted suicide: “If a person freely authorizes death and makes an autonomous judgment that cessation of pain and suffering through death constitutes a personal benefit rather than a setback to his or her interests, then active aid-in-dying at the person’s request involves neither harming nor wrongdoing,” argue Beauchamp and Childress.
Beauchamp also organized the amicus brief signed by 42 bioethicists in Gonzales v. Oregon, arguing for Oregon’s Death with Dignity Law.
Continue reading here...
Deacons should preach less at Mass, Michigan bishop says
Bishop Sample’s 19-page letter, titled “The Deacon: Icon of Jesus Christ the Servant,” cited the principle that the one who presides at a liturgical service or who is the principal celebrant at Mass should also give the homily.
“This should be the ordinary practice,” he said.
Deacons should preach the homily at Mass “for some identifiable advantage for the faithful in the congregation, but not on a regular basis,” the bishop wrote.
He said deacons have the opportunity to preach in other contexts, such as at wake services, funeral and wedding liturgies outside of Mass, baptisms, liturgies of the Word, during the Liturgy of the Hours and during Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest.
Bishop Sample noted that a deacon also “preaches” through “the witness of his life, especially in his marriage and family life,” as well as in his secular work and his role as a teacher.
The deacon’s ministry in the liturgy is not the “heart” of his service. Rather, he is called especially to serve the bishop by caring for the many works of charity “especially suited” to him, most often under the direction of his local pastor.
Although the deacon is ordained to teach and preach the Word of God, “the most effective preaching he does is through the witness of his life in loving service to the most needy among us,” Bishop Sample wrote in a column summarizing the pastoral letter.
The Bishop of Marquette had stopped accepting new deacon candidates until a study of their role had been completed.
In his letter, he announced that a man will not be ordained simply to “be the deacon” at a particular parish or mission. Instead, there must be “a specifically identified need in the community” recognized by the bishop in consultation with the local pastor. This follows the scriptural example of the early Church, where the Apostles chose deacons to minister to the needs of widows so that the Apostles would be free to pray and preach the Word of God.
In the Diocese of Marquette the prospective deacon will now need to have “a particular service ministry” for which he will be ordained, such as service as a catechist or in care for the poor, the sick, the elderly or the imprisoned.
This change will reflect the fact that a deacon’s primary ministry is “not in the sanctuary but in the service of charity.”
“I express my deep gratitude to my deacon brothers for their selfless service to God’s people in the image of Christ the Servant,” Bishop Sample said. “Let us pray for them and support them as they care for the special children of God among us.”
Today on Kresta - June 21, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 21
4:00 – Pressing into Thin Places: Encouraging the Heart toward God
Pressing into Thin Places is a collection of stories from Margaret Wills’ personal experiences, punctuated by her poetry and infused with biblical verses and rich truths. Wills offers insight for bringing biblical truth to life, wisdom to cultivate a listening heart, encouragement for the downhearted, reassuring words for the faltering, and comfort and rest for those in any stage of their journey.
4:40 – Great American Catholic Eulogies
Eulogies have a long and important history in remembering and commemorating the dead. As Thomas Lynch notes, eulogies are meant "to speak for the ages, to bring homage and appreciation, the final appraisal, the last word and first draft of all future biography." In Great American Catholic Eulogies, Carol DeChant has compiled fifty of the most memorable and instructive eulogies, In Memoriam printed tributes, and elegiac poetry of Catholics in America.
5:00 – More Cracks in the Golden Dome
In 2001, the University of Notre Dame hired George O'Leary as its football coach: a position regarded by some alums, boosters, and board members as only slightly less significant than that held by the university's president, and by others as of undoubtedly greater importance. Shortly after the hire, the Manchester Union Leader disclosed that O'Leary had engaged in some serious résumé padding, including claims for a master's degree he had not earned from a university that did not exist. O'Leary's tenure as head coach of the Fighting Irish ended three weeks after it began. It now seems that, over the ensuing decade, Notre Dame didn't learn much about due diligence, even as its leaders forgot a few more things about integrity and honesty. George Weigel is here to look at the University of Notre Dame’s ongoing confusion.
5:30 – A Saint for Boston?
An engineer who became one of the first three priests of Opus Dei could become Boston's first canonized saint. This month, the archdiocese opened the cause of Father Joseph Muzquiz, a Spaniard who brought Opus Dei to the U.S. in 1949. His biographer, John Coverdale, describes the heroic fidelity, humility, and charity that made this quiet priest an especially apt model for our times.
4:00 – Pressing into Thin Places: Encouraging the Heart toward God
Pressing into Thin Places is a collection of stories from Margaret Wills’ personal experiences, punctuated by her poetry and infused with biblical verses and rich truths. Wills offers insight for bringing biblical truth to life, wisdom to cultivate a listening heart, encouragement for the downhearted, reassuring words for the faltering, and comfort and rest for those in any stage of their journey.
4:40 – Great American Catholic Eulogies
Eulogies have a long and important history in remembering and commemorating the dead. As Thomas Lynch notes, eulogies are meant "to speak for the ages, to bring homage and appreciation, the final appraisal, the last word and first draft of all future biography." In Great American Catholic Eulogies, Carol DeChant has compiled fifty of the most memorable and instructive eulogies, In Memoriam printed tributes, and elegiac poetry of Catholics in America.
5:00 – More Cracks in the Golden Dome
In 2001, the University of Notre Dame hired George O'Leary as its football coach: a position regarded by some alums, boosters, and board members as only slightly less significant than that held by the university's president, and by others as of undoubtedly greater importance. Shortly after the hire, the Manchester Union Leader disclosed that O'Leary had engaged in some serious résumé padding, including claims for a master's degree he had not earned from a university that did not exist. O'Leary's tenure as head coach of the Fighting Irish ended three weeks after it began. It now seems that, over the ensuing decade, Notre Dame didn't learn much about due diligence, even as its leaders forgot a few more things about integrity and honesty. George Weigel is here to look at the University of Notre Dame’s ongoing confusion.
5:30 – A Saint for Boston?
An engineer who became one of the first three priests of Opus Dei could become Boston's first canonized saint. This month, the archdiocese opened the cause of Father Joseph Muzquiz, a Spaniard who brought Opus Dei to the U.S. in 1949. His biographer, John Coverdale, describes the heroic fidelity, humility, and charity that made this quiet priest an especially apt model for our times.
Monday, June 20, 2011
The stories don't square
Most people will not pay attention to the differences in detail here but the two versions don't add up.
John Corapi has said "I did not start this process, the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas ordered my superiors against their will and better judgment to do it....
"My canon lawyer and my civil lawyers have concluded that I cannot receive a fair and just hearing under the Church’s present process. The Church will conclude that I am not cooperating with the process because I refuse to give up all of my civil and human rights in order to hold harmless anyone who chooses to say defamatory and actionable things against me with no downside to them. The case may be on hold indefinitely, but my life cannot be. "
But according to his superiors: "On 16 March 2011, the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the SOLT received a complaint against Fr. John Corapi, SOLT. As is normal procedure and due to the gravity of the accusation alleging conduct not in concert with the priestly state or his promises as a member of an society of apostolic of diocesan right, Fr. Corapi was suspended from active ministry (put on administrative leave) until such a time that the complaint could be fully investigated and due process given to Fr. Corapi. In the midst of the investigation, the SOLT received a letter from Fr. Corapi, dated June 3, 2011, indicating that, because of the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years, he could no longer continue to function as a priest or a member of the SOLT. Although the investigation was in progress, the SOLT had not arrived at any conclusion as to the credibility of the allegations under investigation.
"At the onset, the Bishop of Corpus Christi advised the SOLT to not only proceed with the policies outlined in their own constitution, but also with the proper canonical procedures to determine the credibility of the allegations against Fr. Corapi. We reiterate that Fr. Corapi had not been determined guilty of any canonical or civil crimes. If the allegations had been found to be credible, the proper canonical due process would have been offered to Fr. Corapi, including his right to defense, to know his accuser and the complaint lodged, and a fair canonical trial with the right of recourse to the Holy See. On June 17, 2011, Fr. John Corapi issued a public statement indicating that he has chosen to cease functioning as a priest and a member of the SOLT."
I should also point out that had this gone to the Holy See, Cardinal Burke, a man one can easily imagine in sympathy with Fr. Corapi's ministry, and a man known for punctillious attention to detail in procedure would have insured due process.
Al
John Corapi has said "I did not start this process, the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas ordered my superiors against their will and better judgment to do it....
"My canon lawyer and my civil lawyers have concluded that I cannot receive a fair and just hearing under the Church’s present process. The Church will conclude that I am not cooperating with the process because I refuse to give up all of my civil and human rights in order to hold harmless anyone who chooses to say defamatory and actionable things against me with no downside to them. The case may be on hold indefinitely, but my life cannot be. "
But according to his superiors: "On 16 March 2011, the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the SOLT received a complaint against Fr. John Corapi, SOLT. As is normal procedure and due to the gravity of the accusation alleging conduct not in concert with the priestly state or his promises as a member of an society of apostolic of diocesan right, Fr. Corapi was suspended from active ministry (put on administrative leave) until such a time that the complaint could be fully investigated and due process given to Fr. Corapi. In the midst of the investigation, the SOLT received a letter from Fr. Corapi, dated June 3, 2011, indicating that, because of the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years, he could no longer continue to function as a priest or a member of the SOLT. Although the investigation was in progress, the SOLT had not arrived at any conclusion as to the credibility of the allegations under investigation.
"At the onset, the Bishop of Corpus Christi advised the SOLT to not only proceed with the policies outlined in their own constitution, but also with the proper canonical procedures to determine the credibility of the allegations against Fr. Corapi. We reiterate that Fr. Corapi had not been determined guilty of any canonical or civil crimes. If the allegations had been found to be credible, the proper canonical due process would have been offered to Fr. Corapi, including his right to defense, to know his accuser and the complaint lodged, and a fair canonical trial with the right of recourse to the Holy See. On June 17, 2011, Fr. John Corapi issued a public statement indicating that he has chosen to cease functioning as a priest and a member of the SOLT."
I should also point out that had this gone to the Holy See, Cardinal Burke, a man one can easily imagine in sympathy with Fr. Corapi's ministry, and a man known for punctillious attention to detail in procedure would have insured due process.
Al
Official SOLT Statement Regarding Fr John Corapi
As the Regional Priest Servant of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), I issue the following statement on behalf of the Society.
On 16 March 2011, the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the SOLT received a complaint against Fr. John Corapi, SOLT. As is normal procedure and due to the gravity of the accusation alleging conduct not in concert with the priestly state or his promises as a member of an society of apostolic of diocesan right, Fr. Corapi was suspended from active ministry (put on administrative leave) until such a time that the complaint could be fully investigated and due process given to Fr. Corapi. In the midst of the investigation, the SOLT received a letter from Fr. Corapi, dated June 3, 2011, indicating that, because of the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years, he could no longer continue to function as a priest or a member of the SOLT. Although the investigation was in progress, the SOLT had not arrived at any conclusion as to the credibility of the allegations under investigation.
At the onset, the Bishop of Corpus Christi advised the SOLT to not only proceed with the policies outlined in their own constitution, but also with the proper canonical procedures to determine the credibility of the allegations against Fr. Corapi. We reiterate that Fr. Corapi had not been determined guilty of any canonical or civil crimes. If the allegations had been found to be credible, the proper canonical due process would have been offered to Fr. Corapi, including his right to defense, to know his accuser and the complaint lodged, and a fair canonical trial with the right of recourse to the Holy See. On June 17, 2011, Fr. John Corapi issued a public statement indicating that he has chosen to cease functioning as a priest and a member of the SOLT.
The SOLT is deeply saddened that Fr. Corapi is suffering distress. The SOLT is further saddened by Fr. Corapi’s response to these allegations. The SOLT will do all within its power to assist Fr. Corapi if he desires to seek a dispensation from his rights and obligations as a priest and as a professed member of the SOLT. We request your prayers and the intercession of the Blessed Mother for the healing of Fr. Corapi and for any who have been negatively affected by Fr. Corapi’s decision to end his ministry as a priest and a member of the SOLT.
Fr Gerrard Sheehan, SOLT
Regional Priest Servant
On 16 March 2011, the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the SOLT received a complaint against Fr. John Corapi, SOLT. As is normal procedure and due to the gravity of the accusation alleging conduct not in concert with the priestly state or his promises as a member of an society of apostolic of diocesan right, Fr. Corapi was suspended from active ministry (put on administrative leave) until such a time that the complaint could be fully investigated and due process given to Fr. Corapi. In the midst of the investigation, the SOLT received a letter from Fr. Corapi, dated June 3, 2011, indicating that, because of the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years, he could no longer continue to function as a priest or a member of the SOLT. Although the investigation was in progress, the SOLT had not arrived at any conclusion as to the credibility of the allegations under investigation.
At the onset, the Bishop of Corpus Christi advised the SOLT to not only proceed with the policies outlined in their own constitution, but also with the proper canonical procedures to determine the credibility of the allegations against Fr. Corapi. We reiterate that Fr. Corapi had not been determined guilty of any canonical or civil crimes. If the allegations had been found to be credible, the proper canonical due process would have been offered to Fr. Corapi, including his right to defense, to know his accuser and the complaint lodged, and a fair canonical trial with the right of recourse to the Holy See. On June 17, 2011, Fr. John Corapi issued a public statement indicating that he has chosen to cease functioning as a priest and a member of the SOLT.
The SOLT is deeply saddened that Fr. Corapi is suffering distress. The SOLT is further saddened by Fr. Corapi’s response to these allegations. The SOLT will do all within its power to assist Fr. Corapi if he desires to seek a dispensation from his rights and obligations as a priest and as a professed member of the SOLT. We request your prayers and the intercession of the Blessed Mother for the healing of Fr. Corapi and for any who have been negatively affected by Fr. Corapi’s decision to end his ministry as a priest and a member of the SOLT.
Fr Gerrard Sheehan, SOLT
Regional Priest Servant
Today on Kresta - June 20, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 20
4:00 – Kresta Comments - Imitate Christ or Imitate the blacksheepdog, the priest formerly known as Fr. Corapi?
4:20 – Trinity Sunday: The Theology of Trinity and How Other World Religions View God
The revelation of God as Trinity reveals Who God is and what God does. The Trinity is the core of all Christian beliefs, as the well-known tri-fold structure of the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed illustrates. In the light of yesterday’s feast of the Trinity, we look at a theology of Trinity and learn about how other world religions view God. Dr. John Love is our guide.
5:00 – Father Corapi’s Bombshell
Father John Corapi, the popular Catholic evangelist, announced late Friday that he would leave the priesthood and begin a new endeavor outside Church control — called “Black Sheep Dog” — focused on a “broader” message and more interaction with his “fans.” Three months have passed since Father Corapi, a priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), was removed from public ministry by his order while it investigated allegations of misconduct leveled by one of his former employees. We talk with Joan Frawley Desmond the journalist who wrote the feature article on the announcement for the National Catholic Register.
5:20 – Kresta Comments - Imitate Christ or Imitate the blacksheepdog, the priest formerly known as Fr. Corapi?
4:00 – Kresta Comments - Imitate Christ or Imitate the blacksheepdog, the priest formerly known as Fr. Corapi?
4:20 – Trinity Sunday: The Theology of Trinity and How Other World Religions View God
The revelation of God as Trinity reveals Who God is and what God does. The Trinity is the core of all Christian beliefs, as the well-known tri-fold structure of the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed illustrates. In the light of yesterday’s feast of the Trinity, we look at a theology of Trinity and learn about how other world religions view God. Dr. John Love is our guide.
5:00 – Father Corapi’s Bombshell
Father John Corapi, the popular Catholic evangelist, announced late Friday that he would leave the priesthood and begin a new endeavor outside Church control — called “Black Sheep Dog” — focused on a “broader” message and more interaction with his “fans.” Three months have passed since Father Corapi, a priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), was removed from public ministry by his order while it investigated allegations of misconduct leveled by one of his former employees. We talk with Joan Frawley Desmond the journalist who wrote the feature article on the announcement for the National Catholic Register.
5:20 – Kresta Comments - Imitate Christ or Imitate the blacksheepdog, the priest formerly known as Fr. Corapi?
Imitate Christ or Imitate the blacksheepdog, the priest formerly known as Fr. Corapi
This is the new John Corapi as the black sheepdog logo. I kid you not.
John Corapi choose to deal with these matters in a public way and this invites our responding to him publicly. If he hadn’t made a big melodramatic public announcement, then I wouldn’t be making any public comment about it. I didn't say a word about the allegations when they first came to light months ago. But this is a different moment, a teaching moment and a prayerful moment.
If imitatio Christi means renouncing worldly ambition and seeking salvation by deeds of private virtue, imitatio black sheepdog means
• splitting from communion with one’s confreres and brother priests,
• abandoning the canonical disciplinary process to injustice and incompetence so that others will be left to correct it or be victimized by it
• announcing that your "fans" (his word) can now stay in touch with you through social media and, BTW, offering one’s materials in a fire sale for fifty percent off.
I don’t see a renunciation of worldly ambition nor do I see the longsuffering that characterizes the saints, in particular, Padre Pio. Rather, I see someone who, by his own admission, is trying to expand his audience and the range of topics he will address. What is lacking is submission to the dying and rising that is the pattern of the Christian life. Where are his statements about joining his sufferings with those of Christ. I don’t see them.
It may be true that he has been wronged by the system. Many of us have watched and or been the victim of diocesan administrative bungles. But even if sheepdog Corapi has been done wrong by the system, then he still bears responsibility for correcting it.
To give him, the greatest benefit of the doubt, this is his moment to use his remarkable gifts to challenge incompetence and injustice. But rather he resembles the rape victim who won’t testify in spite of the fact that her words might save other women from being raped. Her refusal to subject herself to the system leaves other women imperiled. His flight from the process hardly seems to consider the lives of those who will be subjected to future injustice at the hands of incompetent investigators and jurists.
This is giving him the greatest benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he is ill and erratic. Perhaps he is fighting a losing battle against self-pity. Perhaps he is cynically playing the system himself through civil law suits intended to silence his accusers. I don't know.
It’s just hard to see Fulton Sheen or Mother Angelica going off licking their wounds and, essentially, shelving the exercise of their office or charism, while they go off to invent some new media identity as the black Irishmen or risible Rita the righteous…
His cold embrace of self-pity and self-reliance leaves the rest of us without the warm hug of a priest many of us looked to as a model of imitating Christ. Now he’s the one who has given us the best reason to dismiss him with “yesterday’s garbage” as he puts it: he’s broken faith with the bishops, the successors to the apostles; he’s broken faith with his religious community; he’s broken faith with the imitation of Christ. Many who have worked with him say that he’s always been a lone wolf so, I suppose, being the black sheepdog won’t be nearly the painful transition that he would have us believe.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Spanking Now Illegal?
Judge has harsh words for Mom before sentencing her for spanking her kid
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A judge in Corpus Christi, Texas some harsh words for a mother charged with spanking her own child, before sentencing her to probation.
"You don't spank children today," said Judge Jose Longoria. "In the old days, maybe we got spanked, but there was a different quarrel. You don't spank children."
Rosalina Gonzales had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of injury to a child for what prosecutors had described as a "pretty simple, straightforward spanking case." They noted she didn't use a belt or leave any bruises, just some red marks.
As part of the plea deal, Gonzales will serve five years probation, during which tiume she'll have to take parenting classes, follow CPS guidelines, and make a $50 payment to the Children's Advocacy Center.
She was arrested back in December after the child's paternal grandmother noticed red marks on the child's rear end. The grandmother took the girl, who was two years-old at the time, to the hospital to be checked out.
Gonzales doesn't have custody of the child or her other two children. She is trying to get them back, but until CPS feels she is ready the kids are living with their paternal grandmother.
"You don't spank children today," said Judge Jose Longoria. "In the old days, maybe we got spanked, but there was a different quarrel. You don't spank children."
Rosalina Gonzales had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of injury to a child for what prosecutors had described as a "pretty simple, straightforward spanking case." They noted she didn't use a belt or leave any bruises, just some red marks.
As part of the plea deal, Gonzales will serve five years probation, during which tiume she'll have to take parenting classes, follow CPS guidelines, and make a $50 payment to the Children's Advocacy Center.
She was arrested back in December after the child's paternal grandmother noticed red marks on the child's rear end. The grandmother took the girl, who was two years-old at the time, to the hospital to be checked out.
Gonzales doesn't have custody of the child or her other two children. She is trying to get them back, but until CPS feels she is ready the kids are living with their paternal grandmother.
Victims' Gropus Oppose Rights for Priests
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the three most prominent so-called victims' groups:
BishopAccountability, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and the National Survivors Advocates Coalition (NSAC) are so consumed with their agenda that they are ready to throw the constitutional rights of accused priests overboard.
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Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz expressed his concerns this week that unscrupulous lawyers may try to plunder the bishops' conference for making commitments on how best to handle accused priests. For merely raising this concern, SNAP urged Catholics in his diocese to stop making contributions. Last month, when a case against the Louisville diocese was thrown out, SNAP lashed out at the judge for dismissing it on the basis of a technicality. The technicality? The First Amendment.
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BishopAccountability said this week that priests should be removed from ministry before the accusation is investigated. Similarly, SNAP said this week, "We strongly and repeatedly beg people to call authorities—police and prosecutors—with any information or suspicions no matter how small or seemingly insufficient." Here's a good one: after typing "rights of priests" in the search engine of NSAC, the first article to appear calls for the suspension of rights for accused priests.
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When an innocent Jesuit priest was recently nominated to be the House Chaplain, both SNAP and NSAC opposed him simply because some accused priests belong to his religious order.
BishopAccountability openly admits that it does not verify allegations made against priests before listing information on its website. That includes Father Charles Murphy, who died last weekend after being victimized by two bogus lawsuits against him that went nowhere. Worse, after NSAC ripped a columnist who pointed out what a travesty the Murphy case is, it concluded, "Perhaps Rev. Murphy was an innocent man, poorly treated." It just doesn't get much lower than this.
BishopAccountability, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and the National Survivors Advocates Coalition (NSAC) are so consumed with their agenda that they are ready to throw the constitutional rights of accused priests overboard.
BishopAccountability said this week that priests should be removed from ministry before the accusation is investigated. Similarly, SNAP said this week, "We strongly and repeatedly beg people to call authorities—police and prosecutors—with any information or suspicions no matter how small or seemingly insufficient." Here's a good one: after typing "rights of priests" in the search engine of NSAC, the first article to appear calls for the suspension of rights for accused priests.
BishopAccountability openly admits that it does not verify allegations made against priests before listing information on its website. That includes Father Charles Murphy, who died last weekend after being victimized by two bogus lawsuits against him that went nowhere. Worse, after NSAC ripped a columnist who pointed out what a travesty the Murphy case is, it concluded, "Perhaps Rev. Murphy was an innocent man, poorly treated." It just doesn't get much lower than this.
Study Links Education to Responsible Fatherhood
Only 13 percent of fathers with at least a bachelor’s degree had children outside marriage, compared with 51 percent of those with high school diplomas and 65 percent of those who didn’t finish high school.
The divide also exists along ethnic lines. Black and Hispanic fathers were more likely to have children out of wedlock—72 percent and 59 percent, respectively—compared to 37 percent for white men.
Pew also concluded that men with a college education spend more time with their children, about 6.5 hours a week, but some less-educated fathers who struggle to provide for their families are more likely to become estranged.
Among fathers who live away from their children, 27 percent report that they didn’t see them at all in the past year. Almost one-third communicated by phone or email with their children less than once a month. “As a result, many women now raise children outside of marriage or without a father figure,” said Appalachian State University professor Beth Latshaw.
The number of U.S. households with married couples fell below 50 percent for the first time. Sociologists say younger people across all spectra are increasingly delaying marriage, choosing instead to live together as they struggle to find work, and resisting long-term commitments