Jag's Wide Receiver Jimmy Smith Retiring

From USA Today:

Jimmy Smith, one of the most prolific receivers in NFL history, has decided to retire.

Smith, a five-time Pro Bowl selection who overcame several health problems and a drug addiction during his 12 seasons, scheduled a news conference at 1 p.m. ET Thursday with the Jacksonville Jaguars to announce the decision.

The 37-year-old receiver led the Jags with 70 catches for 1,023 yards and six touchdowns last season. He ranks seventh in NFL history with 862 receptions and 11th in receiving yards. He has more receptions than every receiver in the Hall of Fame, and only Marvin Harrison has more catches and yards receiving than Smith since 1996.

Toledo Priest Found Guilty of Murder

From the Toledo Blade:

Catholic priest Gerald Robinson was found guilty today of the murder 26 years ago of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.

The jury deliberated for six hours and 25 minutes yesterday and this morning before delivering its verdict.

Robinson appeared to have no reaction after the verdict was reached. He was immediately sentenced to 15 years to life in prison by Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Osowik. Robinson has 30 days to appeal.

Fired for not Practicing What You Teach

Diocese of Green Bay, in Appleton, WI. My guess is that there is more to this story, something akin to a very public dissent from Church teaching that isn't being told in the stories below:

From ABC's Good Morning America:

After five years trying to conceive, Kelly and Eric Romenesko decided to try in vitro fertilization.

Their twins, Alexandria and Allison, were born last year. It was a joyous event in the couple's life.

"They're miracles. They're precious," Kelly Romenesko said.

The couple were not prepared for what came next. When Kelly, a teacher at two Catholic schools in Wisconsin, told her bosses she had gotten pregnant through in vitro, they handed her a pink slip.

From the Local Press:

Kelly Romenesko wanted to get her story before the public, but appearing live on network TV was a little more exposure than she had anticipated.

A camera crew from ABC's "Good Morning America" was setting up at the Romenesko's house Wednesday night for a live broadcast this morning.

Oh, and Geraldo called. So did CNN.

Romenesko lost her teaching job with ACES/Xavier, the system that runs Appleton's seven Catholic schools, in 2004 for having in-vitro fertilization. The procedure violated her contract with the district, which requires teachers to act and teach in accordance with church doctrine. Unbeknownst to Romenesko, the Roman Catholic Church opposes in-vitro fertilization.

Evangelicals Using DaVinci Code as an Opportunity

To evangelize...even offering free i-pods?

From the LA Times:

Evangelical churches across the nation are launching an aggressive effort to save souls by talking about a fictional murder mystery that many regard as blasphemous.

Pastors are setting out doughnuts and sandwiches and inviting non-Christians to come discuss "The Da Vinci Code" bestseller. They're creating hip marketing campaigns to draw nonbelievers to sermons about the thriller. They're even giving away free iPods loaded with their commentary on the novel.

Amy Live Tonight on Life on the Rock (EWTN)

At 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, you can watch online if you don't have EWTN...

Understanding the Traditionalist Movement

This book will be invaluable if the rumored Indult happens:

Benedict's Catechesis on the Church Continues

From Asia News Italy:

Benedict XVI, partly improvising and reading off his prepared speech,
highlighted the role of the Church of Rome, “sign, criterion and guarantee of
the uninterrupted transmission of the apostolic faith” in the context of
apostolic succession. Although no reference, direct or indirect, was made to the
illicit Chinese ordinations, the words spoken by the pope today cannot but
appear to be a stress on bishops’ need for a relationship “with Peter”.

Benedict XVI dealt with the theme of apostolic succession, continuing
to tackle tradition in the Church. The pope said succession has a “personal
aspect”. It was started by Jesus, “gathering the Twelve, who represented the
future people of God”. After the Ascension and the “defection of Judas”, others
were “associated” with the Twelve and their ministry, so it would continue, and
Jesus himself “called” Paul. All of them, as the last expressly said, are
concerned with “passing on what I have received”. “Just as at first, there is a
calling and sending by the Risen Lord to the apostles, in the same way, the call
and sending of others, in the strength of the Spirit, by those who are already
inserted in the apostolic ministry, will be the way through which Episcopal
ministry is entrusted.”

Accuracy in the Media

Published by students of John Carroll University...

From Carroll News Online:

Books such as Darrell Bock’s "Breaking the Da Vinci Code," a book which attempts
to answer questions surrounding the novel and Amy Welson’s
"De-Coding Da Vinci," a Catholic response to the issues in the novel, are now
being published. Documentary television shows are aired to rebuttal some of the
issues Brown’s book raises.

Coming Soon!

Available September 2006!

Also look for:
A Pocket Guide to The Mass
in 2007

The Healing Priest at Ave Maria University

And a Parish Healing Service.

Poster Priest for Vocations--Known Dissident?

Such is the claim at Life Site:

The ad pictures Fr. Marcoux smiling, with the subtext "Priesthood, I love
my life."

The only problem is that Fr. Marcoux was the main signatory and in fact
one of the promoters of a letter slamming the Vatican and the U.S. bishops for
using "vile and toxic language" in addressing homosexuality.

The diocese cannot claim ignorance of Marcoux's actions since he led
the charge to write the controversial letter to the US Bishops Conference, and
the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith then and sent a copy to his bishop,
Rochester Bishop Matthew Clark. Bishop Clark has long been known to be a
sympathizer of homosexual clergy.

Top 10 Newspapers (by Circulation)

Look for Amy's op-ed in the top paper sometime within the next ten days...

From Drudge:

1. USA Today, 2,272,815, up 0.09 percent
2. The Wall Street Journal, 2,049,786, down 1 percent
3. The New York Times, 1,142,464, up 0.5 percent
4. Los Angeles Times, 851,832, down 5.4 percent
5. The Washington Post, 724,242, down 3.7 percent
6. New York Daily News, 708,477, down 3.7 percent
7. New York Post, 673,379, down 0.7 percent
8. Chicago Tribune, 579,079, up 0.9 percent
9. Houston Chronicle, 513,387, down 3.6 percent
10. The Arizona Republic, 438,722, down 2.1 percent

Opus Dei Site Affirms DaVinci Code Assertions

In fact, as you'll read on Fr. John Wauck's excellent DaVinci Code Catechism...Jesus was married (as also has been posted on this blog and look for a fuller treatment this week), the Church did create the New Testament, Sex is holy, and others.

Free Kittens...Not

From Yahoo News:

A Sphynx kitten is held before a referee while being evaluated at an international cat beauty contest in Bucharest Romania Sunday May 7, 2006. Rare breed cats sell for prices ranging from 300 to over 1,000 euros ($US380/ $US1,270). The average monthly income in Romania is around 150 euros.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...personally when I think of Romania, I think of vampires and this sure looks like a vampire to me!

Even Stranger Top 10 Barnes and Nobles Catholic List

May 7, 2006, B & N Daily Top Bestsellers in Roman Catholicism...

The surprise isn't that "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" is listed here or that it's listed twice, but rather what the #1 book is:

1.Praying the Rosary: With the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries
Michael Dubruiel, Amy Welborn / Hardcover
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $6.95

2.Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism
Douglas Brinkley, Julie Fenster, Julie M. Fenster / Hardcover
Usually ships within 24 hours
Our Price: $17.46
You Save: 30%

3.Mother Teresa: In My Own Words: 1910 - 1997
Mother Teresa / Hardcover
Usually ships within 2-3 days
Our Price: $5.99
You Save: 49%
4.Essential Rosary: With Prayers by Caryll Houselander
Caryll Houselander / Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $5.95

5.Rediscovering Catholicism: Journeying toward Our Spiritual North Star
Matthew Kelly, Matthew Kelley / Hardcover
Usually ships within 2-3 days
Our Price: $18.36
You Save: 20%

6.Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, Richard Leigh / Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $13.50
You Save: 10%

7.Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, Richard Leigh / Mass Market Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $7.99

8.Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles
Raymond Arroyo / Hardcover
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $19.16
You Save: 20%

9.Catholicism For Dummies
John Trigilio / Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $17.59
You Save: 20%

10.The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming
Henri J. M. Nouwen / Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $12.80
You Save: 20%

Amazon's Catholic Bestseller's (5/7/2006)

Always interesting, not sure how some get labeled "Catholic", anyway here it is the snapshot at 8:28 a.m on Sunday morning:

1. Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene : The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend
by Bart D. Ehrman Not Catholic

2. Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
by Libreria Editrice Vaticana

3. Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code : A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine
by Bart D. Ehrman Not Catholic

4. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You
by Michael Dubruiel

5. My Life With the Saints
by James Martin

6. Breaking the Da Vinci Code : Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking
by Darrell L. Bock Not Catholic

7. Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, And the Splendor of Truth
by Richard John Neuhaus

8. Return of the Prodigal Son
by Henri Nouwen

9. The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code
by Carl E. Olson, Sandra Miesel

10. Catechism of the Catholic Church : Second Edition
by U. S. Catholic Church, Catholic Church

Pope Ordains Priests for Rome and the Carmelites

From the homily via Asia News Italy:

In the homily, the pope highlighted some fundamental aspects of the priesthood in the image of the “Good Shepherd”.

1) The priest does not want “to personally become someone, but rather to be so for another, for Christ, and thus through Him and with Him, to be there for the men He seeks, who He wants to lead to the path of life. One enters the priesthood through the Sacrament – and this means precisely: through the total giving of self to Christ, so that He may use me, so that I may serve Him and follow his call, even if this should be in contrast with my desires of self-realisation and esteem. Entering the door, that is Christ, means knowing and loving him ever more, because our will becomes one with his and our behaviour becomes one thing with his.”

2) Celebrated each day, the Eucharist “should become for us a school of life, in which we learn to give our life. Life is not given only in the moment of death and not only in the moment of martyrdom. We must give it day after day. We must learn, day after day, that I do not possess my life for myself. Day after day, I must learn to abandon myself, to put myself at the disposal of that which He, the Lord, wants of me at that moment, even if other things appear more beautiful or important to me. Giving life, not taking it. And it is thus that we experience freedom. Freedom from ourselves, the enormity of being. It is in being useful that our life becomes important and beautiful. Only those who give their life, find it.

3) The priest must live in his intimate “relationship with Christ and through the Father, only then can we truly understand men, and then they will realise they have found a true shepherd”.

4) “The mission of Jesus regards all humanity, and so the Church is entrusted with a responsibility for all humanity, so that they may recognize God, that God who, for all of us, became man in Jesus Christ, suffered, died and rose. The Church should never be content with the line-up of those who have joined it at a certain point. It cannot withdraw comfortably within the borders of its own environment. It is entrusted with universal concern; it should concern itself about everyone. This great task must be “translated” in our respective missions. Obviously, a priest, a pastor of souls, should worry above all about those who believe and live with the Church, who seek there the path to life and who, for their part, are living stones, building the Church and thus together edifying and supporting the priest too. All the same, we must always once again – as the Lord days – go “into the roads and lanes” (Lk 14:23) to bear the invitation of God to his banquet to those men who so far have not yet heard anything, and who have not been touched inside.”

Regina Caeli Message of Pope

World Day of Prayer for Vocations...

From Asia News Italy:

The Pope told pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square: “In the message, I recalled the experience of the first apostles of Jesus who, after getting to know him at the lakeside and in the villages of Galilee, were conquered by his appeal and his love. The Christian vocation is always the renewal of this personal friendship with Jesus Christ, which gives full sense to one’s existence and makes it available for the Kingdom of God. The Church lives off such friendship, fed by the Word and the Sacraments, a sacred reality entrusted in a particular way to the ministry of Bishops, Presbyterians and Deacons, consecrated by sacrament of ordination. This is why – as I reiterated in the same message – the mission of priesthood is irreplaceable, and although in some places there is a shortage of clergy, there should be no doubt that God continues to call young people and adults to leave everything to dedicate themselves to preaching the Gospel and to pastoral ministry”.

The Pontiff also recalled “another special form of following Christ” that is “vocation to consecrated life, expressed in a poor, chaste and obedient existence completely dedicated to God, in contemplation and prayer, and at the service of one’s brothers, especially the meek and the poor”. He also emphasized that Christian marriage is a vocation in the full sense of the word, and that “the example of holy parents is the first condition that favours the flourishing of priestly and religious vocations.”

Before reciting the Easter prayer to Our Lady, the Pope called on all the faithful to invoke the “intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, for all priests and religious; let us pray so that the seeds of vocation that God sows in the hearts of the faithful may reach maturity and bear fruits of holiness in the Church and the world.”

Co-Founder of Life Teen Resigns

From East Valley Tribune:

Baniewicz, father of four, was praised Friday in a statement from the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.

“Words cannot truly express the gratitude the diocese, as well as thousands of young people around the world, has for Phil Baniewicz,” diocese spokeswoman Mary Jo West said. ”For 21 years, this dynamic leader has devoted his life to Life Teen, bringing God’s message of love and hope to those young people who are the future of our Catholic Church.”

Free Comic Book Day!

I remembered this from an article I'd read in the Indianapolis Star the other day, but didn't want to mention it to Joseph in case it wasn't being observed locally--but no fear it is...about ten free comic books later, he is very happy.

Plus he got to ride on the new carousel at the mall and won free food, tickets to a Wizard's game (Single A Minor league baseball) and other bling.