Who Could be New York's Next Archbishop?

Cardinal Egan retires on April 2nd.

From the New York Magazine:

1. Edwin O’Brien, 67Archbishop of the Military Services of the United States O’Brien was passed over in 2000 in favor of Egan, but his name frequently surfaces as a possible successor. A native New Yorker, he is now head of the military vicariate, the nonterritorial archdiocese that serves the spiritual needs of Catholic U.S. service personnel stationed around the world. While not an over-the-top presence, O’Brien has extensive seminary experience and powerful connections in Rome.

2. Timothy Dolan, 56Archbishop of Milwaukee Dolan is a mediagenic defender of orthodoxy who tows the Vatican line but doesn’t come off as stern. He’s long been considered a favorite for New York, owing to his Irish heritage and his experience as head of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. With connections to powerful prelates from the Tiber to the Hudson, Dolan is a something of an Establishment candidate.

3. Gerald Walsh, 64, and Dennis Sullivan, 61 New York auxiliary bishops The clubhouse favorites among local priests. Both are New Yorkers from Irish working-class stock and have done their time in the vineyard of parish work rather than the libraries of Rome. Walsh, the son of Irish immigrants, served for many years in the same Washington Heights parish where he grew up. Sullivan, the Bronx-born son of a cabdriver, toiled in the Bronx and Lower East Side. He knows how to lead a flock and manage a big operation; he oversaw the parish-reorganization effort for Egan. Both are considered long shots—auxiliary bishops are rarely promoted to cardinals in the same city.

4. Henry Mansell, 69Archbishop of Hartford The former auxiliary to O’Connor was reportedly on the terna last time around, while he was bishop of Buffalo, but instead was sent to Hartford in 2003. A New Yorker by birth, Mansell is popular with the clergy and is seen as a safe choice.

5. Roberto Octavio González Nieves, 56Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico While the Catholic hierarchy is sorely in need of Latinos to minister to a flock that’s becoming steadily more Spanish-speaking, González—a New Jersey native—may also be tapped for the Southwest, where the need is greater. What’s more, Catholic power and money in New York still derive from the Church’s Irish roots; in 200 years, New York Catholics have had only one leader who was not of Irish stock, an ill-fated Frenchman in the early nineteenth century.

Pope: St. Thomas Aquinas Model of Dialogue

From Asia News Italy:

The Pope made an appeal today against violence in Lebanon and Gaza, for leprosy patients on World Day of Leprosy, but above all to scientists and men and women of culture “not to be afraid” of the dialogue between faith and reason so that we can avoid the risk of “schizophrenia”, irrationality, and the conflict with cultures in the south of the world.

To talk again about the issue of “faith and reason”, which he so skilfully addressed in Regensburg, the Holy Father used as his starting point today’s saint, the philosopher and theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas, “a compelling model of harmony between reason and faith, dimensions of the human spirit, that are fully realised in their meeting and dialogue.”

“The relationship between faith and reason,” the Pope stressed, “represents a great challenge to the Western world’s prevailing culture and for this reason, the beloved John Paul II devoted an encyclical to the issue titled just that: Fides et ratio – Faith and Reason. I, too, recently took up the issue in my address at Regensburg University.”

The problem is that today man often reduces himself “to think only about material and experimental objects and shuts himself off from the main questions about life, himself and God” and therefore “becomes poorer”. Benedict XVI calls this situation, “schizophrenia”.

“In reality,” he said,” modern scientific development brings innumerable positive effects and this must be acknowledged. At the same time however, we must admit that the tendency to consider true only what can be demonstrated experimentally represents a limitation of human reason and causes a terrible schizophrenia in which rationalism, materialism, hyper-technology and unrestrained instinctiveness” live side by side.

From this comes the Pope’s appeal to “rediscover in new ways human rationality that is open to the light of the divine Logos and its perfect revelation Jesus Christ, Son of God made man. When the Christian faith is true it does not mortify freedom and human reason. If so, why then should faith and reason fear each other when meeting and engaging in dialogue can enable them to express what is best in each other? Faith supposes reason and perfects it, and reason, enlightened by faith finds the strength to rise to the knowledge of God and spiritual reality. Human reason loses nothing by opening up to the contents of faith; on the contrary, the latter need its free and conscious adherence.”

Referring to Saint Thomas Aquinas, who in the 13th century was able to achieve a synthesis of Christian, Islamic and Jewish cultures, Benedict XVI noted that by rediscovering reason open to faith it is possible to engage in dialogue with non European cultures which view with concern and fear the atheistic culture of the West.

“With far-sighted wisdom,” the Pontiff explained, “Saint Thomas Aquinas was able to fruitfully relate to the Arab and Jewish ideas of his time so much so that he can always be considered a relevant teacher of dialogue between cultures and religions. He was able to achieve that admirable Christian synthesis between reason and faith which represents a precious heritage upon which Western civilization can draw and which can be used effectively to engage in dialogue the other great cultural and religious traditions of the East and the South of the world.”

The Pope ended saying: “Let us pray that Christians, especially those that operate in the world of academe and culture, can express the reasonableness of their faith and bear witness to it in a dialogue inspired by love. Let us ask the Lord for this gift by the intercession of Saint Thomas Aquinas and especially of Mary, Seat of Wisdom.”

Pope's Latinist: "He Won't Do It!"

Extend the use of the Tridentine liturgy...

From the much loved Carmelite Fr. Reginald Foster, as recorded in the Telegraph:

"He is not going to do it," Fr Foster said. "He had trouble with Regensberg, and then trouble in Warsaw, and if he does this, all hell will break loose." In any case, he added: "It is a useless mass and the whole mentality is stupid. The idea of it is that things were better in the old days. It makes the Vatican look medieval."

Right Now its Snowing in Winchester, NH

How do I know? The Weather Channel's new interactive map lets you zoom in to anywhere in the world. A fascinating way of connecting two technologies!

Martini's Annunciation

Christians are “too silent” in Bearing Witness to the World

Pope Benedict's message to close the week for Christian Unity. The address as remarkable as any this Pope gives raises interesting questions about the ecumenical movement in this country. Have we joined forces to speak out against politicians who continue to support abortion--or have we chosen to observe a polite silence--that is impolite to the many lifes destroyed by the policies of those who support abortion.
Have we joined forces with those who reject war and violence?
Have we raised our voice with those who stress forgiveness to the penitent?
Have we ?

From Asia News Italy:

Christians must ask themselves if they “have become too silent” and “lost the courage to speak and bear witness”. The Pope raised these questions in his address today during vespers on the Feast Day of the Conversion of Saint Paul, apostle, which is the traditional event that marks the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Rome’s Basilica.

In addition to the need to pray, engage others in dialogue, ask for God’s help and better know our fellows in the faith, the Holy Father laid emphasis on the need to “bear witness” and of doing so together.

And:

“But the seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit (cf Mt 13, 22). We must ask ourselves: Have we Christians perhaps become too silent? Have we lost the courage to speak and bear witness?”

“Our world needs this witness. It is especially waiting for Christians to bear witness together. Hence listening to God who speaks requires us to listen to others and to the other Churches. An honest and loyal dialogue represents the typical and essential means to seek unity. The Decree on Ecumenism by the Second Vatican Council II emphasised that if Christians do not know each other progress towards communion is unimaginable. In dialogue we listen and communicate, we compare and, with God’s grace, converge around his Word, accepting its demands, which are valid for all.”

Silence Makes a Return at Catholic School

So teachers can hear if a student is choking...

From the International Tribune:

Alarmed by three recent incidents of choking in the cafeteria, a Catholic
school set a new rule this week: Silence at lunch.

All three students are fine, but "if the lunch room is loud we cannot
hear if a child is choking," school Jeannine Fuller, principal of St. Rose of
Lima School, said in a letter to parents.

Any child who breaks the rule will be put in lunch detention the
following day, Fuller's letter said.

Pope Benedict Condemns Violent Video Games for Children

Theme: "Children and the Media: A Challenge for Education":

While affirming the belief that many people involved in social communications want to do what is right (cf. Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Ethics in Communications, 4), we must also recognize that those who work in this field confront "special psychological pressures and ethical dilemmas" (Aetatis Novae, 19) which at times see commercial competitiveness compelling communicators to lower standards. Any trend to produce programmes and products - including animated films and video games - which in the name of entertainment exalt violence and portray anti-social behaviour or the trivialization of human sexuality is a perversion, all the more repulsive when these programmes are directed at children and adolescents. How could one explain this ‘entertainment’ to the countless innocent young people who actually suffer violence, exploitation and abuse? In this regard, all would do well to reflect on the contrast between Christ who “put his arms around [the children] laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing” (Mk 10:16) and the one who “leads astray … these little ones” for whom "it would be better … if a millstone were hung round his neck" (Lk 17:2). Again I appeal to the leaders of the media industry to educate and encourage producers to safeguard the common good, to uphold the truth, to protect individual human dignity and promote respect for the needs of the family.

Seminary students welcome sacrifices

Interesting story, I include a few snippets--but go to the link to read the whole thing. This seminary in South Florida was not all that long ago surrounded by farm land (mostly eggplant fields), now it is surrounded by activity. I taught there for two years in the early 90's--the student enrollment was double what it is now.

From Fortwayne.com:

The men of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary know many Americans think their choice is unconventional. But they think they represent a Catholic revival: a youthful, conservative, energetic, in-your-face love of God and the gospels.
"I want to be the coolest priest possible," said seminarian Michael Nixon, 24, who calls his life before seminary "wild and crazy."
The future priests know about the financial scandals, pedophilia accusations, girlfriends on the side and other lurid accusations that plague the church. Still, they are drawn to Jesus, the rhythm and majesty of Mass, the sacraments and the social work that they believe can change the world.
Parishes in Florida and across the country are in desperate need of these men. While the number of American priests has fallen from about 58,000 to about 42,000 over the past 40 years, the Roman Catholic Church has added almost 1,000 parishes. More than 3,000 churches lack a resident priest, according to Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

And further down:

St. Vincent de Paul's five-year graduate program, with 64 students, is designed for men who attended college but still need the theological grounding and real-world experience to minister to a parish. Owned by the seven dioceses of Florida, the 43-year-old seminary, surrounded by shopping centers and housing developments on Military Trail, offers theology courses, spiritual direction, retreats and community internships to its future priests.
Because of the shortage, the church has welcomed older men it may not have sought to recruit in years past. The average age at ordination has risen from 32 in 1984 to 38 in 2006.

Global Warming in the Desert

Tuscon, AZ (looks a little bit like here--minus the cactus)

Cardinal George: Second Vatican Council Did Not Intend to Make Catholics Protestants

From The Catholic New World:

There are many good people whose path to holiness is shaped by religious
individualism and private interpretation of what God has revealed. They are,
however, called Protestants. When an informed and committed group of Catholics,
such as the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, comes up with an agenda for
discussion that is, historically, Protestant, an important point is being made.
Catholics assimilated to American culture, which is historically Protestant, are
now living with great tension between how their culture shapes them and what
their Catholic faith tells them to hold.
This is not surprising. Many writers who claim to be Catholic make names for themselves by attacking truths basic to our faith. Without the personal integrity that would bring them to admit they have simply lost the faith that comes to us from the Apostles, they reconstruct it on a purely subjective, individualistic basis and call it renewal. The Second Vatican Council wasn’t called to turn Catholics into
Protestants. It was called to ask God to bring all Christ’s followers into unity
of faith so that the world would believe who Christ is and live with him in his
Body, the Church. The de-programming of Catholics, even in some of our schools
and religious education and liturgical programs, has brought us to a moment
clearly recognized by the bishops in the Synod of 1985 (when the Catechism of
the Catholic Church was proposed as a partial solution to confusion about the
central mysteries of faith) and acknowledged by many others today.
This issue of the Catholic New World is devoted to faith in education and to
celebrating our Catholic schools. They make us proud and grateful. Dr. Nicholas
Wolsonovich and others have placed Catholic identity and the handing on of the
apostolic faith at the core of his reform efforts for our schools. Discussions
about the identity of Catholic colleges and universities continue despite
opposition by some and lethargy by others. The nature of Catholic health care
has been well worked out on paper, but finds practical implementation difficult
for many reasons. We could go on with cases from every Catholic institution,
including parishes and dioceses themselves. The Church is and should be a very
big tent. But the posts are firmly planted in divine revelation and the Church’s
response to God’s self-revelation over two thousand years. It’s a communal
response; the individual and his or her self-expression are never normative.
That’s a hard saying in a culture shaped by Protestantism and the later Age of
Enlightenment.

The Next Book

Available in March....

Exclusive from Poland: Who Was Spying on Karol Wojtyla

Will make his canonization easier...had the devil's advocate working while he was alive.

From Sandro Magister:

“Wojdyla,” that’s how it’s written. In 1949, the future pope was a misspelled name in the reports sent to the secret police by a turncoat priest in the Krakow curia. But they would get to know him very well – and how to spell his name – over the next forty years, until the death of the regime, while his life was bugged, filmed, followed, and analyzed “24/7.” Day and night. Everywhere. In Poland, and in Rome. In the airports, and on the trains. It was an extensive network that involved, in an unbroken relay, dozens and dozens of agents, moles, priests, journalists, intellectuals, blue and white-collar workers, secretaries, administrators. They included acquaintances, neighbors, and even some friends who came with him to Italy.

This was already known, because it couldn’t have been otherwise. But now there is proof of the spider’s web spun around the seminarian, then the priest, then the bishop, then the cardinal, and then the pope, thanks to documents found among the 90 kilometers of papers in the Polish Institute of National Memory. This is the same institute that produced the dossier that forced the resignation, last January 7, of the newly named archbishop of Warsaw, archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus. Wielgus, 67, was forced out under charges of collaborating with the communist authorities. The institute’s documents have also led the Polish Church to dig into the past of all its prelates.

And this nugget:

It is estimated that 2,600 priests were collaborating with the communist government by the end of the 1970’s – that’s around 15 percent of the clergy in Poland. The curia of Krakow was truly a crossroads for spies, whether in clerical garb or not.

Grossman and Ex-Gators All the Rage

From the best sports writer out there Mike Bianchi (although I did start to rethink this title when he doubted that Florida belonged in the BCS game):

It had to be this way.

Even though Rex Grossman, one of the most castigated quarterbacks in the NFL, faced Drew Brees, one of the most celebrated quarterbacks in the NFL, you knew this is how it would end.

Even though Brees completed 16 more passes for 210 more yards, you just knew.

Even when Grossman was on his way to a subpar 11-of-26 passing day, you just knew.

You see, perceptions and statistics and reputations don't matter in today's sports world, where Gators karma supersedes all else. You know it, we know it, even Grossman knew it before leading the Chicago Bears to a 39-14 annihilation of the New Orleans Saints in the NFC title game Sunday.

When asked before the game about the massive amount of University of Florida kismet and karma currently enveloping the sports world, Rex grinned a giddy Gators grin.

"Yeah, I'd love to tap into it," said Grossman, the first UF quarterback to ever take his team to the Super Bowl. "There's a lot of good things happening with the Gators. We [Gators] have the No. 1 football team and the No. 1 basketball team. I'm excited about being affiliated with that university."

Lions and Tigers and Bears -- and Gators. Oh my. No matter what we try to do to escape the infinite, incessant, imperishable Gators lovefest, we just can't. Baseball, basketball, football -- they're everywhere. The entire sports world is crawling with Gators -- chomping, chanting, chiding Gators.

The football team won the national championship.

The basketball team won the national championship.

UF alumnus David Eckstein won the World Series MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Former Gators Udonis Haslem and Jason Williams were integral parts of the Miami Heat's march to the NBA championship. Even Gators grad Emmitt Smith won Dancing with the Stars.

I don't know about you, but my money is on Gators golfer Chris DiMarco to win the Masters. And if Bull Gator Bob Graham decides to un-retire and run for president, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama don't stand a chance.

"It's unbelievable," said Bears defensive end Alex Brown, who played at -- yep, you guessed it -- the University of Florida. "If you're a Gator, chances are something good is going to happen to you."

Grossman may be the most unlikely Gators success story of them all. Less than a month ago, Chicago fans booed him unmercifully and the Chicago media called for Bears Coach Lovie Smith to bench him.

"Blind Faith in Rex Will Cost Lovie," blared one newspaper headline.

"Hey, Lovie, Quit the Pampering, Dump Rex," bellowed another.

"Grossman Must Go," shrieked yet another.

Wrote one Chicago columnist: "To say he (Grossman) looks like a deer in the headlights would be an insult to the deer." Brown, Grossman's friend since college, laughs now at the many Rex revilers.

"Rex is taking us to the Super Bowl," he told a group of reporters in a jubilant post-game locker room. "What bad things are you guys going to write about him now?"

His teammates have rallied around Rex; his coaches have stuck by him. Lovie Smith has been around the league a long time and says he's never seen a quarterback savaged in the media like Grossman.

It's true. When you think about it, has there ever been more criticism heaped upon a young quarterback who led his team to an NFC-best 13-3 record? Even though Grossman is in his fourth year, he is a rookie in many ways. He was injured for most of his first three years and this is first full season.

"Redemption?" Grossman said when asked the inevitable question about answering his critics. "That's for you guys to write about. It doesn't get any better than this right now. It feels great to be NFC champions. This is huge." No, this is inevitable.

This is incredible.

This is unavoidable.

This is just the way it is in a sports world that has utterly and completely gone Gator.

Abbe Pierre Dies

From Yahoo News:

The frail priest, who spent most of his life protecting people dumped on the margins of Western life, was little known outside France but was cherished at home as a modern-day saint.

"Abbe Pierre represented the spirit of rebellion against misery, suffering, injustice and the strength of solidarity," Chirac's statement said.

Born in 1912, Henri-Antoine Groues was the fifth child of a silk merchant but gave up his comfortable life to become a monk.

He took his nickname Abbe Pierre -- "abbe" is a traditional title for priests -- as a resistance chaplain during World War Two, when he forged ID papers to smuggle refugees out of France.

He began campaigning for the homeless in 1949 and shot to fame in 1954 when he went on air to demand shelter for thousands of people threatened with death during a bitterly cold winter.

His appeal set off a wave of sympathy, and his Emmaus chain of hostels for the homeless now covers 41 countries.

Most outside of France are likely to concentrate on his odd public confession late in life and his promotion of married and female priests.

Day of Penance and Prayer

From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life. The Mass “For Peace and Justice” (no. 22 of the “Masses for Various Needs”) should be celebrated with violet vestments as an appropriate liturgical observance for this day.

Roe's 34th year sees a new Washington

From The Washington Times:

The pro-life community -- participating in the annual March for Life today
-- is readying itself for Democrats seeking more funding for groups that support
abortion and perhaps lifting restrictions on federal funding for abortion.
But pro-life leaders note the House will still take a pro-life stance on many issues and that President Bush will likely veto objectionable legislation.

"We just need to do all we can to make the case that abortion exploits
women and destroys children," said Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey
Republican and chairman of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.


Mr. Smith also expects some Democrats -- especially those with their eyes
on the White House -- to strike a moderate, seemingly pro-life tone on abortion.


"There may be a bogus attempt to claim common ground while money is being
given to Planned Parenthood," he said, warning pro-lifers to be skeptical.

Meanwhile, activists on both sides are awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court, expected before June, on whether to uphold a federal law banning an abortion procedure sometimes called partial-birth abortion.

Christian Unity

Subject of today's Angelus from Asia News Italy:

Christians are “heirs to past divisions,” but “Christ can do anything, he ‘makes the deaf hear and (the) mute speak’ (Mk 7, 37),” he can instil in Christian the ardent desire to listen to and communicate with one another and speak together with Him the language of mutual love.” It is with this heartfelt emphasis that Benedict XVI referred to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an annual event that will be celebrated by many Christian denominations from January 18 to the 25.

“It is my intention to comment at length on this biblical subject,” said the Pope, “next January 25, liturgical feast of the Conversion of St Paul, when, on the occasion of the end of the ‘Week of Prayer,’ I shall preside over Vespers celebrations in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, starting at 5.30 pm. I expect you to come in great numbers to that liturgical meeting since unity can be especially achieved through prayer, and the more prayer is unanimous, the more it is appreciated by God.”

John Paul to be Beatified this Fall?

According The Times the late Pope John Paul could be a Saint within 18 months...

From The Sunday Times:

This weekend the cardinal in charge of the process said he expected the
checks performed by the local dioceses on all three miracles to be complete by
April. A formal announcement is expected on April 2, the second anniversary of
John Paul's death, and senior Vatican sources expect him to be declared a saint
within 18 months.

Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Decatur, AL