Sunday, September 15

Sad tale of two parish closings in Nashua, NH, including the first Catholic church built in the city.

The two churches sit in working-class neighborhoods.St. Casimir Church, built by recent Irish immigrants, was the first Catholic church in the city. The gothic church, opened in 1857, is relatively small, but for Catholics in a predominately Protestant community at the time, it was home.It became a parish to serve the Lithuanian Catholic community when the Irish later moved to St. Patrick Church on Spring Street.
Last week, Lithuanian parishioners prayed for the last time in their Baltic language. Worshippers turned on video recorders to record lasting memories.St. Stanislaus hides its mosaics and barrel ceiling behind a simple exterior. It became the center for Polish Catholics after a petition drive in the early 1900s convinced the bishop that they needed a church of their own. Early church members cleared the land, then on the outskirts of town, to open Pulaski Park and St. Stanislaus Hall on Pine Hill Road.

A profile of Fr. Virgilio Elizondo of San Antonio, Notre Dame, and other places.

Widely known today as Father Virgil, Elizondo went on to become a Catholic priest, theologian and one of San Antonio's most recognized and revered figures. The creator of Catholic Television of San Antonio and co-founder of the Mexican-American Cultural Center, Elizondo overcame the entrenched prejudice of his youth by celebrating every culture as a gift from God, a message he has spread to world leaders and humble churchgoers for much of the past 40 years. An instructor of Latino spirituality at the University of Notre Dame during the week, Elizondo, 67, returns to San Antonio on weekends to create a variety of television programs as executive producer of Catholic Television. He also is associate pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church on the Southwest Side....."Father is like the Johnny Appleseed of the Hispanic community," she said. "He sows seeds, develops these little 'plants,' helps them grow and lets them develop on their own to become what he and God envision for that person."


A mess in Argentina
Trying to make history, a prolife Democrat is running for Congress in Maine.

“Just look at the history. Maine has never sent a pro-lifer to Congress either in the House or the Senate. I’m not taking sides on the issue, that’s just the way it is,” Davis said. “So Michaud is trying to break new ground. Our polling shows the district is pro-choice.”

A Predator Blessed With Charm: the story of Laurence Brett, the fugitive abuser that no one could find...except some newspaper reporters.
A creepy priest in Dayton.

No reported sexual abuse, but a history of intense, completely inappropriate contact with boys.

This year, one parent at Alter was so concerned about her 17-year-old son's relationship with Kuhn that she insisted on, and received, a letter from the archdiocese ordering Kuhn to stay away from the boy. The mother has asked that she and her son not be identified.

The Feb. 6, 2002, letter is addressed to Kuhn and signed by the chancellor and legal chief of the archdiocese, the Rev. Christopher R. Armstrong. It states in part: "On or about January 17, 2002, you were at your home watching movie with (the Alter student) without any other adults being present. This is a clear violation of the provision of the (archdiocesan) Decree on Child Protection. (The youth's mother) also noted that you allowed (the youth) to use your car without (her) permission."

Armstrong's letter to Kuhn concluded by saying, "Therefore, you are to have no contact whatsoever with (the youth). If you have any questions about this, do not hesitate to contact me. You remain in my prayers."

Prior to the letter being issued by the archdiocese, the mother said, Kuhn had lent her son the use of his SUV and gas credit card for a six-day period, leaving the keys for him in Alter's front office. Kuhn never informed her of the loan to her son, his mother said. In fact, she said, Kuhn had never introduced himself either to her or to the boy's father.

The mother said she had no idea of her son's relationship with Kuhn until she found a message from Kuhn to her son one evening on the family's answering machine. She called Kuhn's house and discovered that her 17-year-old son was there alone with the priest."I said to (Kuhn), 'Is my son there?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Can I talk to him?' He put the phone down and I could hear him shout, 'Do you want to talk to your mother?' "The youth came to the phone and told his mother he was watching a movie with Kuhn. The mother told her son to leave the house. He later did.

The mother became more concerned about her son's contact with Kuhn after she went out of town with her son the following weekend and Kuhn called the home several times to ask where her son was. "He was almost frantic with my husband," she said.

From the WaPost:An ousted priest contemplates his future.

Pretty much the definition of "he said - she said." Or more like "he said - she said - she said."