An Austrian man who prayed for deliverance when he was trapped in an elevator, and then went to a Viennese parish to thank God after his prayer was answered, was crushed to death when a stone altar fell on him. “He seems to have embraced a stone pillar on which the stone altar was perched and it fell on him, killing him instantly,” said a police spokesman.
It's real but it reads like a rejected Twilight Zone script.
Where did the idea of "positive rights" enforceable by law become popular with the Catholic Church?
It takes some capital and labor to provide health care, education, clothing, food, shelter. These are essential for all, and the purpose of alms is to make a provision for people unable to purchase from their own wealth to obtain them.
I can understand committed socialists like Obama to advocate nationalization of health care as consistent with federal control of the economic life and liberty on the installment plan -- but why has the Church been so enthusiastic to embrace a federal bureaucracy -- one committed to promoting abortion, euthanasia, cloning, and rationing of health care.
I know ACORN is funded by the Campaign for Human Development which in turn is funded by donations collected at Mass from Church-going Catholics, but that's not even a significant part of the Church. Yet it seems all of the agencies of the Church with involvement in health care and the alleviation of poverty are on board with Obamacare and "positive rights".
Christian Today: and Medieval News:
Performance Art
The post also uses the correct word "celebrate" for this Mass.
Also: University of York
It's not religion -- connecting man to God -- it's archeology -- connecting man to the physical artifacts of his past.
PhD student Eleanor McCullough pieced together the Mass used in York churches in the 14th Century based on manuscripts from the period held by York Minster and the Bodleian Library.
This may well be the first time that a York Lady Mass has been reconstructed and performed from the medieval manuscripts here in York since the Reformation.
It will be used in a special ceremony on Saturday 18 July at All Saints Church North Street, in York, to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of North Street.
George Marlin, New York Post
IN MAY 2000, when Pope John Paul II had to decide on a successor to the late John Cardinal O'Connor, the pontiff rejected Vatican recommendations and plucked from the ranks a man who had served him well as a canon lawyer in Rome and who had proven himself an able shepherd in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., the Most Rev. Edward M. Egan, D.D., J.C.D.
I wish Cardinal Egan well in whatever assignment he receives from the Pope. It is ironic that he is getting the greatest amount of local television coverage now at his exit. This wasn't true with his three predecessors during my life. Cardinal Egan was the master of his ecclesial domain and confronting the culture of death was a secondary concern for him. It will take the perspective of history to judge if he left the Church in New York in better condition than he found it.
As I blogged earlier the Cardinal made himself a prisoner of precedent and invited candidate Obama to the Al Smith dinner on the basis that while he was pro-abortion, he wasn't Catholic, and therefore not subject to the Church's "discipline".
Best wishes as well for Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
My focus
In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults last year, down from 43 percent in 1990.
We Catholics are now reaping what we have sewn:
On the other hand, I think someone who has given serious thought to the existence of God and rejected it at least is giving it the time to think. Perhaps, at the hour of death, an atheist may open up his heart to God. That's a worthy prayer intention for Lent.
It's time to cash in on Catholic guilt.
At least that's what some parishioners think is happening at St. Luke's Church in Whitestone, Queens, where detailed breakdowns of members' weekly donations have begun appearing in the weekly bulletin.
Catholics are cheap. That's the old news. Catholics are so cheap they contribute whatever they contributed when they were 20 years old without regard to the fact there were 20 years old -- 40 years ago. That's the new news.
Here is what I added to the comment box:
Let me comment on the article: Each parish also publishes a financial statement of where the money goes (i.e. expenses) which includes the salaries for the priests, religious orders, and staff who are neither. Only members of religious orders take vows of poverty. A diocesan priest has a modest salary. In a financial statement you see a big number being the sum total of all the sources of income. I think it is very helpful to see the breakdown of donations so that one gets an idea of what the gap is between the expenses of the parish and its income. If this parish has to close, how many of those dollar-a-week or five-dollars-a-week parishioners will be complaining to the bishop?
It's always fascinating to read how fascinated the New York Times reporters are with expressions of religious faith. Here's the latest quaint dispatch from the Times on those Catholics.
New York Times: Bishops’ Reinstatement a Relief for Some Catholics
A Roman Catholic Mass was held Sunday in Midtown Manhattan that seemed to be from another time. The women covered their heads with delicate lace veils and the priest said the Mass in Latin with his back to the congregation.
Their missals, or booklets, were dated 1962, the year that the Second Vatican Council began ushering modernization and openness into the Catholic Church, changes that the worshipers at Sunday’s Mass reject.
Newsday: 10 NY Catholic high schools to be independent
NEW YORK - Ten Catholic high schools in New York City and Westchester will become independently operating schools run by local boards of directors.
As "independent", of course, there is no commitment to maintaining a Catholic identity and a Catholic character to the schools.
These schools were built with the donations of hundreds of thousands of Catholics in the pews over a century. Now they are to be "gifted" to lay local boards of directors.
Let's look at this in 10 years and see if these schools remain "Catholic" in any sense.
LISBON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Portugal's Cardinal Jose
Policarpo has warned young women
in the predominantly Catholic
nation against marrying Muslims.
"The advice that I
give to young Portuguese girls is -- be
careful with relationships, think twice about
marrying Muslims,"
the patriarch of Lisbon said.
"It is getting into a pile of
troubles, that not even Allah
knows where would end."
Policarpo made the
statement at a gathering on Tuesday
evening in a well-known casino that
organizes meetings of public
figures with paying guests. His comments were repeated
on
several television stations on Wednesday.
There are about 40,000 Muslims
in Portugal, which like
neighboring Spain was once ruled by Muslims from north
Africa,
where many Muslim immigrants come from.
The country's biggest Islamic
organization said it was upset
by the comments.
"We were in a way hurt by the
choice of words by the
patriarch of Lisbon about our community and about the
dialogue
that we have sought with all religious denominations, and
especially
with the Christian religions," the Islamic Community
of Lisbon said in a statement.
The Vatican discourages Catholic women from marrying Muslims
and Policarpo
echoed that position in blunt terms.
"I know that if a young European
of Christian background
marries a Muslim, as soon as they go to his country,
they'll be
subject to the regime of Muslim women," Policarpo said.
"Just
imagine it."
Policarpo, a leading cardinal who was tipped as a contender
in the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict, also said
dialogue with Muslims
was not easy in Portugal.
"It is only possible to dialogue with those who want
to have
dialogue, for example with our Muslim brothers
dialogue is very
difficult," he said.
Bloomberg: Ponzi Scheme Targeted Catholics, Priests, U.S. Says
U.S. prosecutors and market regulators accused a Buffalo, New York-area investment adviser of operating a Ponzi scheme that targeted Catholics, including priests.
Richard Piccoli, 82, was charged with mail fraud at federal court in Buffalo, U.S. Attorney Terrance Flynn said today in a statement. Piccoli placed advertisements in Catholic newspapers across the country while raising at least $17 million since 2004, according to the statement.
I wish that priests, religious orders, etc. all sought the advice of independent and skeptical financial advisers and invest in insured institutions rather than hedge funds or unregistered fund managers. Mathematically, Madoff's fraud was about 3,000 times greater.
Officials of the Diocese of Brooklyn said someone stole the Social Security number and birth date of its bishop and used the information to apply for credit cards.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio's credit card company called to notify the cleric that someone was trying to open a new account in his name sometime during the Christmas holidays. Diocese spokesman the Rev. Kieran Harrington said the bishop called police.
Harrington says the bishop was lucky because no money was taken and no cards were actually obtained.
I am entirely in sympathy with the bishop. My name is rather common, and along the way linked in some databases to some deadbeats, so I get someone else's collection notices often.
It will be interesting to see how much schadenfreude it engenders on the net.
So this is the new tolerance.
The Catholic League thinks a share of the blame for this outrage goes to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for ignoring the routine insults the Catholic Church has in the public life of San Francisco.
When vandalism like this happens, there's a tendency to hush it up, lest others get ideas of their own and Churches get targeted more frequently.
In preparation for the Pope's visit I contacted Catholic Answers and through their generosity obtained 1,000 copies of their booklet We have a Pope. It would be my job to distribute them.
Friday
I went to St. Malachy's, even before arriving I helped some Franciscan Friars of the Renewal who were given an incorrect address to the Church to get to the church. I met up with some members of the Catholic Evidence Guild and they distributed them to mostly indifferent New Yorkers. The first wave were my fellow New Yorkers on their way from the office to the subway or bus terminal. The second wave were people on their way to Friday night Broadway musicals and plays. St. Malachy's is also known as The Actor's Chapel. People would wave at us from the tour buses and cab riders and drivers would hold out their hand and accept one.
As time passed some more Franciscan Friars and Sisters of Life arrived along with their young lay volunteers to distribute prayer cards and greet people in the name of the Church.
I shared with them Fr. Groeschel's joke on the difference between New York and Los Angeles. In L.A. people smile but don't know why they are smiling but they do. In New York people wear a frown and they know why they frown.
We were all drawn there to pray to God, in thanks for the Pope and to pray for the success of his mission here. It was publicized in many places to the sort of people who get updated on Catholic life here in New York. This notice is from GodSpy
We had adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We had Evening Prayer (vespers). This is the first time I heard Fr. Richard Baker liturgically sing. He has a wonderful voice. I was sitting in the front but could see the church fill. Remarkably, tourists gave up a Friday night in New York City to be in church. Even a Evangelical minister and his staying in a nearby hotel attended. Two (hopefully) future priests attended, my son and a friend from Cathedral Prep.
As planned, we processed quite rapidly from Eight Avenue and West 49th Street (St. Malachy's Way) to the residence of the Vatican United Nations observer. at 20 East 72nd Street. About 2 miles (from: 239 west 49th street to: 20 east 72nd street, new york, ny) We took the Madison Ave route so we walked past St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Along the way, we were praying, a friar had a guitar and was singing and my little group was handing out tracts to people. At this time and place we mostly encountering tourists.
We began to pass some elegant restaurants who because of the unseasonably warm weather who were really alarmed as the cloud of witnesses to Jesus were singing, praying, and praising on their way to meet his vicar.
Upon arrival we could see a large crowd gathering and waiting. We joined them. About 300 feet away there was a commotion and then we were told that His Holiness came down to the street to greet and bless the crowd. And it was time to go home.
Saturday
Today's plan was to distribute 600 copies of "We Have a Pope."
I arrived as the Mass was in progress. A small number of people were admitted to a secured zone near the Cathedral at 50th Street and even a smaller group admitted to the Mass. I would work the multitudes above 57th Street.
My progress as an evangelist. Smiling helps. I began to realize that bad seed was being spread: anti-Catholic tracts (i.e. the Pope is the Anti-Christ) and something called "Bayside - the facts revealed" (the "rad-trads"). Then I saw the vendors selling flags, pennants, and t-shirts. So I shouted "Free! We have a Pope. It's all about the Pope. It's pro-Catholic. It's pro-Pope. And best of all it's free." When people saw one being given out with no money changing hands, they descended upon me This was huge group that was hard to characterize: it consisted of nearby New Yorkers, the simply curious; the tourists who were there because it was the place to be in New York on this day; visitors who might be called pilgrims with banners like "Communion and Liberation" and the "Neo-Catechumical Way." No one had a bad thing to say about the Pope.
I saw an Associated Press cameraman-reporter doing an interview and boldly volunteered to be interviewed. I was asked "why are people here?" I answered "To celebrate their Catholic identity. The vicar of Christ has come to our city and we want to welcome him. It's a good day to be Catholic." I was asked what about the scandal "I believe that Pope has acknowledged the crimes and mistakes in a very forceful way, but that's not the reason for his visit. He comes to bring us the hope that is Christ." I was asked "What's your overall impression?" I said "Like today's weather, it's a new springtime for the Church in America." If not me, please let some positive person's interview get aired. The reporter smiled.
The mood of the crowd in a word "bored" because people were under the impression that he would be traveling from the Cathedral to the residence at the end of the Mass (or 11:30am), the Pope made the trip nearly two hours later. But the moment came and the crowd went wild and I had distributed 1,000 copies of "We Have a Pope".
WABC
WCBS-TV
New York Daily News
The parish St. Mary Help of Christians, is the neighbor of my own. The 650 pound bell was cast for the old church in 1888, moved into the new, and then recently removed to be part of a commons.
The scrap value is about $1,000. A replacement could could $6,000 to $10,000 if they chose to replace it.
I believe in Christian and Catholic exceptionalism: Only the Catholic Church possess the fullness of truth in God's revelation. The search is over. Jesus has called us to the way, the truth, and the life.
Any other way is at at least partially false or incomplete.Those that "reconsider Christian practices" do so at the peril of their immortal soul.
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Woodside (Queens, New York) has burned down.
This church was the oldest in Woodside, built in 1874.
Times Ledger
1010 WINS
ABC 7 New York
NY1
WNBC Television
I kept waking up last night hearing strange noises. It turns out to have been from this fire a few blocks away. Some neighbors tell me the church is a total loss. I will see how it looks tomorrow as I go to work. At 6 AM, any picture I take will be quite dark.
