Tuesday, August 27

Research begins into possible beatification of John Paul I
The Catholic Radio and Television Network: providing a way for Catholic programming to be broadcast over the Internet.
Richmond Diocese opens up cause for beatification of eight Spanish Jesuits.

Bishop Walter Sullivan of Richmond has opened the diocesan phase of the beatification process for eight Spanish Jesuits who were put to death in 1571. The cause should ascertain the martyrdom of the religious, who were killed by the Indians of a village near present-day Yorktown. Two of the victims were priests: Father Juan Bautista de Segura, vice provincial of Havana, and Father Luis de QuirĂ³s. Three were lay brothers and three were novices.

St. Blog's Drinking Game! All in one place!
Thanks to Victor for pointing out this website on Jennifer Granholm, compiled by Michigan Right to LIfe.
Kathryn Lively started the St. Blog's drinking game.

Victor Lams jumped in

Pete Vere issued some canonical threats (I think.)

My contribution: Hoist one everytime....

My husband Michael Dubruiel mentions the Florida Gators, Steve Spurrier or a racing Bodine brother. You'll be wasted by 9am.

A morning passes with only Popcak contributing to the allegedly "co-operative"HMS Blog (I can say that, since I'm one of the guilty ones...)

Eve Tushnet uses the phrase "vast post" and then does it.

Sean Gallagher mentions either his lawn or his golf game.

Welborn complains about how much work she has to do and then follows it up with about 73 blog posts.

An account from the Detroit News of the Granholm controversy

The weekend pickets will continue until at least the Nov. 5 election that pits Granholm against Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus, said George D. Stephens, 49, a Madison Heights salesman who is leading the demonstrations. "Jennifer Granholm appears at campaign stops with a Bible in her hand, but she's not following what it says," Stephens said. The archdiocese mostly has stayed out of the fray, except to issue a statement reaffirming its opposition to abortion after Our Lady of Good Counsel associate pastor the Rev. Doc Ortman wrote an Aug. 4 article in the church bulletin that defended Granholm's right to be pro-choice and Catholic. Granholm's husband, Dan Mulhern, passed out fliers to parishioners that same day apologizing for the "siege" and asking them to pray for his wife.On Sunday, Ortman apologized in the church bulletin for causing "embarrassment and hurt" and wrote that he remains opposed to abortion.

Yes, an archdiocese silent in the face of a political candidate flaunting her religion and her pro-abortion creds. Yeah. Good job.

Condoleeza Rice on her religious faith.
A fairly thorough article on controversy about the Catholic-Jewish statement on evangelization from Catholic News Service.

I suppose I still wonder.....I understand the nuances of this issue in terms of the reality of the covenant , but...if evangelization to Jews were to be considered off-limits..would the Catholic side of this dialogue tell Jesus to just cut it out?

Four Detroit-area priests charged.

Four Roman Catholic priests who formerly worked in the Archdiocese of Detroit have been charged with criminal sexual conduct in cases that date from the 1960s to the 1980s, the Wayne County prosecutor said Tuesday.The charges are unusual because the alleged crimes occurred so long ago, but prosecutor Mike Duggan said the priests can be tried because they left Michigan before the statute of limitations ran out.The charges include multiple counts of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving boys 14 and younger. The most recent case involves a 13-year-old allegedly molested in 1986 at St. Robert's in Redford Township.The priests are Harry Benjamin, 60, of Virginia; Robert Burkholder, 82, of Hawaii; Edward Oleszewski, 67, of Florida; and Jason E. Sigler, 64, of New Mexico."The magnitude of this is astonishing," Duggan said. "If they have one skill, it's manipulation."

Archbishop Milingo returning to Rome in October.

He's been in Argentina:

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, who went through a marriage ceremony presided over by Sun Myung Moon last year, will return to Italy in October, a Vatican official says. Following a year of "retreat" in Argentina which enabled him to write an autobiography, the Zambian prelate is preparing to take up his ministry in the Zagarolo center of spirituality near Rome, according to Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Archbishop Bertone revealed the news Friday to the newspaper Il Giornale and to Italian state television. He said Archbishop Milingo "is well physically, morally and spiritually," thus denying the public protests of some followers who accused the Vatican of keeping the African a "prisoner." The Vatican official said that since Oct. 10, Archbishop Milingo has been living in Argentina with a local bishop and two priests. Neither the city nor the bishop was identified

One of the more balanced articles I've seen about a parish and its accused priest, from Worcester, Mass where, if you recall, the priest is accused of multiple strange and abusive acts - before his ordination.

So I asked Mr. Delisle why no diocesan leader, including Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, has stepped forward to urge these misguided parishioners to knock it off. To let the system work and end the divisiveness. To stop causing distress to those now telling allegedly difficult details of their past relationship with the popular priest. “There have been conversations between the bishop and the people of St. John's,” Mr. Delisle said. “I don't know that he hasn't been having these conversations privately.” I do know -- and he hasn't. John R. Sharry, originally one of the most vocal and public supporters of Rev. Coonan, has met with the bishop twice -- once privately, and once with other supporters. At no time did the bishop suggest that supporters back off, or tone down their support, he said. Mr. Sharry, apparently, has tempered his support on his own. Recently, he decided to call one of Rev. Coonan's alleged victims. The men spoke on the phone for about 15 minutes, he said. “He was very articulate and credible,” said Mr. Sharry, a former Worcester County commissioner. “He didn't strike me as someone who was trying to profit from the scandal. He seemed like he wanted the truth as he knows it to be known.” Earlier this month, an emotional Mr. Sharry gave an impassioned speech in support of Rev. Coonan, rousing parishioners to fight for his return. Yesterday, he acknowledged that his outlook has changed. “I've switched gears from blind loyalty to Father Coonan to a commitment to keeping the parish healthy,” Mr. Sharry said. “I'm not suggesting anymore that things didn't happen ... Father Coonan denies it. Do I believe him? I don't know. In the beginning I was caught up in the emotion of the situation, but it's become apparent to me that my focus should be in maintaining St. John's parish. There is a good possibility that St. John's will need to survive without Father Coonan.”

Another, slightly more colorful account than I've posted before, of the turf battle raging on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

At 11:40 a.m. Saturday, a 72-year-old Egyptian priest walked out onto the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher carrying a wooden chair. Limping heavily, the Reverend Abdel Mallek walked to a wall in the shade of a tree mysteriously rooted in the ancient stone and sat down near a cluster of Ethiopian monks, gazing at nothing in particular.Exactly 15 minutes later, he gathered his chair and walked back into the Coptic monastery.It was the most prosaic of scenes, except that Mallek was closely guarded by an Israeli policeman, and three others stood guard. From the windows of the Egyptian monastery on one side, someone recorded the scene with a video camera, while several Ethiopian monks peered over the wall of their ancient compound on the other side.Only a few weeks earlier, the position of the old priest's chair had provoked a vicious fight between Ethiopians and Egyptians, which resulted in the hospitalization of 11 monks. Since then, while trying to mediate a cease-fire, Israel has sent armed guards daily to accompany Mallek on his daily sit-down.
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2 DC priests accused of abuse dismissed

The priests are the Rev. Paul E. Lavin, who was pastor of a well-known Capitol Hill parish, and Monsignor Russell L. Dillard, who was pastor of the historic St. Augustine Church in Northwest. Both had been on suspension since allegations were made against them earlier this year....According to a spokeswoman for the Washington Archdiocese, allegations against the two priests were heard by a panel named by the cardinal to determine the credibility of the allegations and whether they came under the bishops' new policy. Under the policy, any priest who has sexually abused a minor, no matter how long ago, must be removed permanently from the ministry.
Details of the Washington panel's deliberations, which apparently began this month, could not be learned. Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, emphasized last night that church leaders regarded McCarrick's action, taken within the past two weeks, as an "interim step" under church procedures. She said both priests have the right to appeal their dismissals to the Vatican.



The terms for the investigation of Archbishop Pell have been released:

THE inquiry into sex abuse allegations against Sydney Catholic Archbishop George Pell will be held behind closed doors, according to the terms of reference released today.The co-chairmen of the Catholic Church's National Committee for Professional Standards, Archbishop Philip Wilson and Brother Michael Hill, today said all hearings would be held in camera....The terms of reference for the inquiry say information obtained during the hearings will not (not) be released by the commissioner without the written consent of both parties, unless he is compelled by law to do so.It also says the chairmen may make public all or part of the commissioner's report if they consider it appropriate.A statement released by the Catholic Church with the terms of reference today said the hearings would be conducted in Melbourne "as soon as possible"....

Today, of course, is the feast of St. Monica, with tomorrow being the day we remember her son.

Here's a piece I wrote about them both last year.

Lane Core has good observations on what he calls the "scorched-Dreher" reactions of the last few days.

Frankly, I am astonished — and I am appalled — at the reaction by many Catholics to Dreher's article. Mostly because vitriolic personal judgements have been levelled at him for daring to criticize the prudential judgements of a reigning pontiff. He is accused of grandstanding, of not thinking with the Tradition, and of being the seat of monstrous pride.No matter what else they do, these inexcusable personal attacks will provide boatloads of ammunition to any anti-Catholic bigot who is paying attention.....

The Boston Herald is running an investigative report on the Archdiocese of Boston's assets, particularly unused property. The main story is here.

But using figures from the assessor's office in each of the 144 communities, the Herald found $159,393,996 in property unrelated to the operation of any active church, school, cemetery or hospital owned by the archdiocese.
Selling off that property, even at assessed value alone, plus the estimated $40 million in insurance money church officials have said is available would easily cover the Geoghan settlement and provide enough money for the estimated 400 remaining victims without affecting active parishes, said experts.

The question being, therefore, is it lawful or moral for the Archdiocese to threaten bankruptcy in the the face of large settlements when it has unused land of this value in its possession?

Other article are here, here, and here.

Of course, the issue of property is a complicated one, even for a Catholic diocese. Today's unused property might prove to be very useful two decades down the line. In growth areas, the Church actually does well to try to look ahead, predict demographic change, and buy property in anticipation of needs for churches and schools. But the extent of unused properties these articles document is problematic and probably unnecessary.

The statement of the Boston Beer Company's president on the Opie and Andy stunt

By the way, if you are boycotting Sam Adams beer because of this, be sure to let the company know. Contact information is at the website linked above.

Here's an article from the Globe about the apology and some efforts to put pressure on the company:

Koch said he had heard complaints from at least two local accounts that want to stop serving Sam Adams products. One was Michael Sheehan, owner of Jimmy O'Keefe's in Boston's Financial District. Sheehan said he's been in contact with about a dozen other local restaurants in an effort to organize a protest.Describing himself as Catholic father who is ''trying to bring his kids up right,'' Sheehan said he was ''deeply offended'' by the Opie and Anthony promotion. Sheehan confirmed that Koch had called him to make a personal apology, and Sheehan said he pressed Koch to take out newspaper ads to make his contrition more public.''He told me he'd think about it,'' Sheehan said.