Friday, September 6

Michael Rose gets some prime NY Times real estate. (LRR)
Johannesburg summit declared pro-life victory

¨ As the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa drew to a close this week, pro-life/pro-family delegates were satisfied with the outcome document, and some even expressed guarded optimism that their opponents may now be lowering their own expectations for such UN meetings, or even moderating their positions. For instance, population control was left off of the agenda, a point noted by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the world's largest abortion provider. According to IPPF, this was because a new consensus is beginning to emerge that population growth is not the root cause of development problems...

Ho Chi Minh City gets its first Catholic medical clinic
Mel's got his Jesus movie all ready to go.

Gibson has decided on actor Jim Caviezel to play the role of Jesus. Caviezel, also a Catholic, is acclaimed for his roles in "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "High Crimes." The Spanish newspaper La Razón reported that the filming will begin in mid-September, coinciding with the Roman fall, which in Gibson's words will bring "the right light to re-create the particular atmosphere I want."

A guide to all of the RC Cardinals created since 1903.

Various ways of categorizing the cardinals


In case you're interested.

Were you looking for a list of great Catholic scientists today? Thought so.

Here it is!

A look at 9/11 memorials planned in Chicago, including a most unusual one sponsored by a Catholic Church:

Where's the last place you'd want to be on Sept. 11? How about the top of the Sears Tower? No way, right? Well, that's where 300 parishioners from St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church in Chicago's Auburn-Gresham community plan to be Wednesday evening. The parish has reserved the tower's Sky Deck to pray, sing and read Scripture.
"The terrorists seemingly sought to paralyze this country with their fear," the Rev. Michael Pfleger, St. Sabina's pastor, said Thursday. "Faith is what overcomes fear. . . . We're a people of faith, and so we should take an action of faith that day rather than just doing a concert of something."


Here's a nice apologetics site that concentrates on issues of science and religion.
Where's the next "Harry Potter?"

She's still writing the book," says Chris Moran, director of publicity for Scholastic Books, the U.S. publisher of the Potter series. Although June 2003 is now being widely touted on Internet sites as the date for "Phoenix," Moran says no publication date has been set."There's no sinister plot. There's no evil corporate empire behind this," says Diane Roback, children's book editor for the trade magazine Publishers Weekly....Rowling herself has given almost no interviews since the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" last year; she has said, however, that she never considered the summer of 2002 to be a deadline."There was speculation with book four ["Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"] that she was rushing to make a publication date," says Roback. "And there were some logistical errors found in that book. She said 'never again.' She was going to write at her own pace."

Beyond the LA Times:

the New Times LA goes to the dedication

But one thing the counterprotesters did understand was that they were there to drown out the likes of Catholic Worker members. Outside the chain-link fence at Hill and Temple, Jeff Dietrich, who for 32 years has worked with the lay organization for the poor and homeless, said: "We're here protesting the scandalous priorities of the Catholic church in L.A. Thirty percent cuts in church ministries, 30 percent cuts in Catholic schools and $200 million on a cathedral. That's a scandal!" The counterdemonstrators started yelling at him, trying to disrupt his conversation with The Finger (who was seemingly the only reporter in town covering the anti-Mahony protest). "As you can see," he said, "the cardinal can organize as many people as he wants to come and drown out our voices." Then the, uh, fun started. A man wearing a giant Mahony cartoon head walked up, and the screaming counterprotesters began hitting him with their signs. "They've been following me around all day and hitting the head, but it's not going to stop me," vowed the man inside the costume, Chris Fuentes, between bops. "The mainstream media's given Cardinal Mahony a free pass. He's got this $200 million new toy, and for the last couple of months he's been a media darling in the L.A. Times, and there's been little mention of the scandal. The important thing in all this is that he's...been running a virtual underground railroad for pedophiles. Mahony's the Harriet Tubman of the predator-priest movement. Then he hires PR people. That's why I call him Cardinal Spin on my sign, which says, as you can see, "Cardinal Spin: Lie, Deny, Get By.'"

A long, interesting article about former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin's conversion to Christianity
More on the whistle-blowing principal from Queens

A Queens priest accused of stealing from a parish school to support a gay live-in lover is trying to cut a plea deal that would keep him out of jail, sources familiar with the negotiations said yesterday.The Rev. John Thompson, who was suspended in June after the sex allegations surfaced, is considering pleading guilty to embezzlement in exchange for probation, the sources said.A spokesman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown declined to comment about a possible plea deal, but said a grand jury probe is continuing. Thompson's attorney, Roland Riopelle, declined to comment about the talks.In another development yesterday, Thompson's chief accuser said she plans to expand her suit against the Diocese of Brooklyn.Barbara Samide, who is on upaid leave as principal of St. Elizabeth School in Ozone Park, accused the diocese of putting her on unpaid leave for blowing the whistle on Thompson's exploits.

A study's been done concerning which side mothers favor when cradling their babies.

It's the left, and all sorts of theories are posited, except one:

Most women are right-handed, and cradling the baby on the left leaves the right hand free to do stuff. Eat, write - tap on the computer like I'm doing right this second with a baby head on my left forearm - lift a glass to your lips, change the channel, hold a book. If you're right handed, of course you want that hand free to do all those things. Right?

Diocese, ex-priest hurl accusations

–– The Diocese of Peoria and a former priest have accused each other of lying in statements to the media regarding a defamation lawsuit the priest filed after he was accused of sexually abusing girls.Edward Bush, 71, was one of seven priests asked to step down in April amid the allegations. He is suing for more than $50,000 in damages, though he says he wants only to clear his name.Among other things, Bush complained in the suit filed Wednesday that he was never told of the allegations or given the opportunity to defend himself, and that the victims suffer from repressed memories.Bishop Daniel Jenky and Vice Chancellor Patricia Gibson said in a statement Thursday that they discussed the charges with Bush and that he never denied them. They also said he agreed to resign from active ministry.