From Sotto Voce:

Did he do all that he could have done, all that he should have done?

Controversy over the conduct of Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust has raged for over 40 years.

Pius's once sterling reputation for having done what he could behind the scenes for persecuted Jews first came under sustained attack in 1963, when Rolf Hochhuth's play The Deputy cast his failure to publicly denounce the Nazi genocide in an anti-Semitic light.

...

Would German Catholics have stopped the entire genocide machine in its tracks, or would open enmity have simply caused the Nazis to turn their murderous impulses on the Vatican or on Catholics in general, while doing nothing for Jews?

An interesting post follows.

Labels: history, Vatican

This is weird and just doesn't sit well with me. From CNA:

Over a week ago, Bishop Donald Pelotte of the Diocese of Gallup was taken to the hospital after sustaining severe head injuries in a fall. However, when he arrived at the emergency room, the doctor on call noted that his injuries were not consistent with a fall and called the police.

According to Deacon Timoteo Lujan, Pelotte's assistant and the chancellor of the diocese, the severity of Pelotte's injuries caused the emergency room physician to wonder if the 62-year-old bishop had possibly been a victim of a violent assault.

However, according to the Gallup Independent, Bishop Pelotte has insisted that he was not assaulted by anyone and that his injuries are the result of a fall down a staircase at his home. The Bishop remains in the intensive care unit at the John C. Lincoln Hospital in Phoenix.

The Bishop’s accident was discovered by Lujan on Monday afternoon when Pelotte failed to show for a 2 p.m. appointment at work, causing a concerned Lujan to drive to the bishop’s home. Lujan had a key to the house and let himself in. When he entered he discovered blood on the tile floor at the bottom of the carpeted stairway, which leads up to Pelotte's bedroom, and became alarmed.

When Lujan went upstairs and unlocked the bishop's bedroom door, he found him severely injured.

The police report says Lujan found Pelotte "heavily bruised across the face, along the chest area, both arms, the knuckles, the legs, and the feet." Lujan suspected someone may have assaulted the bishop, but a conscious Pelotte told Lujan that was not the case.

The Gallup Police Department reports that currently the incident is not under investigation because of Pelotte's insistence that a fall caused his injuries. However, an investigation could be launched if new information indicated it was warranted.

Although Deacon Lujan admitted he has his own questions about what caused the bishop's injuries, he does know that the house was secure when he entered it. "Nothing is missing," he said. "I can tell you nobody broke in," he added.

And even though the bishop has insisted he was not assaulted, Lujan said a number of people have questioned the bishop's claim. "He looks like he got beat up," Lujan admitted.

The Vicar General, Fr. Walker, who has been administering the diocese, released the following statement today:

"I know that many are concerned about the bishop’s condition and there is much speculation as to what happened to cause Bishop’s injuries."

"There are certain things we know about what happened: Bishop was alone in his home and there were no signs of a struggle, forced entry, presence of another person, or missing items from the bishop’s home. Bishop has responded repeatedly, when ask about what happened, merely that he fell. Bishop’s injuries, although extensive, are consistent with injuries sustained by falling down a staircase, with a ceramic tile floor. He hit the wall.

"I am careful about speculation that might be unwarranted. “Our immediate focus is to pray for the Bishop’s full and speedy recovery."

"I visited with Bishop earlier today, and he continues to make reasonable progress."

The Bishop is a native of Maine and a member of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on John Courtney Murray and the American experience that later went on to be published by Paulist Press. He has been in Gallup since being appointed Coadjutor in 1986 and he succeeded in 1990. His motto is "Strengthen One Another."

His congregation's founder is Saint Peter Julian Eymard whose feast day is Thursday. Perhaps we can all remember the bishop in our prayers this week.

Links:
Diocese of Gallup
Catholic Hierarchy
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

Labels: U.S. Bishops

Msgr. Ganswein

Gerald has translated a fantastic interview with the Pope's private secretary. It is long but well worth a read. It gives us a glimpse into the mundane details of the papal apartment, but also a bird's-eye view of Benedict's mind and perspective. Don't miss this. It is a translation from the German.


Origins of the Miter?

Drew at Holy Whapping is wondering where the miter came from. I had never really thought about it but his post got me to wondering. For those of you interested in ecclesiastical vesture (and who isn't?) you might just check it out. If you do, be sure to read the combox because there's some interesting insights there.


NAB not for me

For the relatively uninitiated to the scene, the NAB is rather controversial. It is the required biblical translation for Mass texts in the United States. Fr. Neuhaus has a brief analysis of the situation for those who are interested.


Hymn Parodies

Mere Comments is looking for hymn parodies. Here's one they posted.

Our Community's Stated Purpose

(Sung to the tune of "The Church's [sic] One [sic] Foundation [sic]")

Our community's stated purpose
Is gracious mass-appeal,
It's in our Mission Statement
Reflecting how we feel:
No "lifestyle choice" appalls us,
C'mon you're welcome here!
Throw out that moral compass,
There's no one here to steer.

Hogwarts' IT Director

Via Mere Comments: This is very nerdy and technical in terms of the computer language, but even those of us who have no clue can still get a laugh. This is the Hogwarts' IT Director's letter of resignation addressed to the Headmaster. For Harry Potter fans, it's a must-read! (Note: there are no plot specific references just generally Hogwarts lore).


Harrisburg Cathedral Renovation

Found a blog entry on the renovations of the cathedral in Harrisburg, done by the wonderful Bishop Rhoades. This entry includes pictures and is worth a quick look. I was at Bishop Rhoades' ordination and I liked the cathedral, but these pictures are beautiful. For Bishop Rhoades fans, it's a nice validation.


Controversy in Barrington, RI

Fr. Matt Glover at Saint Luke's in Barrington has stirred up quite a controversy. His homily on Sunday was an honest assessment of the state of underage drinking in the town after the death of a 17-year-old in an alcohol-related accident. He talked about how we can't expect kids not to drink when they watch their parents routinely get drunk. This has started quite a row... in fact a colleague of mine belongs there and she was telling me about it a few minutes ago. Then as I was surfing the net, I found a bunch of links about it. Until then, I hadn't heard about it. This will be interesting for the locals, so I'm posting it here.

Various Links:
The reverend says what needs to be said by Bob Kerr
Providence Journal article quotes from his homily
Saint Luke's Parish
Homily as an mp3 file
Short CNA summary


Feast of Good Saint Anne

Happy feast day to me! Here are some links for those who are celebrating with me today.

Saint Anne's in Fall River resources
Litany
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Protoevangelium of James


Preparing for Sunday

My call yesterday went largely unheard. Can anyone share some insights? What are you guys all preaching about this weekend? I have some ideas but little time to commit them to writing. If anyone can help, that'd be great!


Prayer Intentions

Please remember my program in your prayers today since we're having our Commitment Mass tonight. Also, my home parish, the great Shrine of Good Saint Anne, needs lots of prayers.


Until tomorrow, then...

Saint James the Greater

This is what Pope Benedict had to say in a General Audience he devoted to James on June 21, 2006:

Consequently, we can learn much from St James: promptness in accepting the Lord's call even when he asks us to leave the "boat" of our human securities, enthusiasm in following him on the paths that he indicates to us over and above any deceptive presumption of our own, readiness to witness to him with courage, if necessary to the point of making the supreme sacrifice of life.

Thus James the Greater stands before us as an eloquent example of generous adherence to Christ. He, who initially had requested, through his mother, to be seated with his brother next to the Master in his Kingdom, was precisely the first to drink the chalice of the passion and to share martyrdom with the Apostles.

Other James' links:

Catholic Encyclopedia
Mike Aquilina

World Youth Day

Pope Benedict has registered as Pilgrim #1 for World Youth Day next year in Sydney, Australia just a week after releasing his message to the participants to prepare for next year's event. The English translation has been released. I have not read it just yet, though I plan to come up with some activities my students can do to heed whatever the Holy Father is asking of them. There are 357 days to go!

WYD Links:
Catholic News Agency coverage
World Youth Day Official Site

Partial-Birth Abortion Decision

I read a great article in America about the partial-birth abortion decision. Ellen Boegel says that the five-member majority, even though they are Catholic, did not write their decision based on their faith, but on solid legal precedent (and she should know, she's a law professor). She also talks about the importance of getting straight in our country the role of faith in public life. She makes a great (albeit brief) case at the end that portrays the attempt at erasing religion's effect from public life an absolute folly. Overall good article and it's available to non-subscribers. It could be useful in a school setting or in parish adult education programs. It's good because it's short and accessible.

Looking Ahead to Sunday

If I had a new year's resolution, it would be to sit down every Monday and read the following Sunday's readings and reflect on them all week leading up to the Lord's Day. Well, I don't do that very often. This week I did it on Tuesday.

I can imagine I'll hear plenty of superficial homilies on the Gospel of this week. I'm hoping that someone will give a deep and clear insight into this reading that's pretty familiar. I'm not looking for another, "You should really bug God and be persistent in prayer." Yeah, yeah, I know.

But I'm highly disappointed in myself regarding the first reading. It is one of the few Old Testament readings outside the usual "Bible stories" that I can remember from when I was a kid. Since it fell in the daily cycle a few weeks back, I remember the priest giving a great homily on it and saying something profound about the reading that I had never heard before. So I said to myself that I should write that down so I don't forget it and I'll remember it in two years when I hear it again. Well, lo and behold, here it is again so soon, and since I didn't bother to write it down, I can't remember it!!

So I've read three commentaries/homilies on these readings tonight and I can't stand any of them. I'll try a few more tomorrow if I get a chance, but with all the the priests, deacons, and seminarians who read this blog, can we get a discussion going on insights, stories, thoughts, and ideas about these readings?


Saint Anne

It's hard to believe her feast day is almost here. Even though I'm crazy busy finishing up coursework this week, I'll be sure to post something (though I can't actually make any promises!).

It only took about 12 hours, but I just read the last page. It was amazing. I hope everyone enjoys the last installment of the Harry Potter series as much as I did!

Labels: Harry Potter

From AsiaNews:

Israel’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour Eli Yishai threatened to fine bookstores holding special sale events on Saturday for the launch of the final instalment in the Harry Potter series. The release of the new book is scheduled for midnight (London time), but will take place simultaneously around the world. Till then no libraries are allowed to sell it.

In Israel bookstores announced that they will start selling the English version as of 2:01 am Saturday morning. Thousands are expected to attend the events.

According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahnoroth, the minister wants the release to be pushed back to Friday morning or forward until after Shabbat.

“We must put a limit on the desire to imitate other countries. It is inconceivable that numerous employees will be brought in to allow these events to take place and damage the spirit of Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest). I plan to file charges and fine anyone who violates the Hours of Work and Rest Law,” Yishai said.

Labels: Harry Potter

From CNA:

A 108-year-old sister is preparing to celebrate her 90th anniversary of religious life this month.

Sr. Claude Feldner of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes will join 45 other sisters on July 15 as they celebrate their jubilee anniversaries at Holy Family Sacred Heart Church in Fond du Lac.

Sr. Feldner told The Fond du Lac Reporter that she is living this time as one of gratitude and surprise.

"They didn't think I would live this long," she told the newspaper. "I was threatened with tuberculosis as a young woman and was sent to Kansas to heal. At that time, they thought a dryer climate would help a person. It must have worked because here I am at 108 years old ready to enjoy a party."

Sr. Feldner made her first profession in 1917. Over the years, she taught music in grade schools and college. She continues to play the piano almost daily. She served for many years as a formator for the congregation, preparing young women for religious life.

The congregation serves in the fields of education, health care, social work and pastoral ministry in the United States and Latin America.

Labels: vocations

...with Bishop Kevin!

A news release from the Diocese of Harrisburg boasts of some great news:

In a 30-minute presentation on promoting vocations, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades told the bishops of the United States at their special assembly in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M, that "an enthusiasm, commitment and excitement for promoting vocations – in ourselves and in our dioceses – is an essential component of the new evangelization." The special assembly, focused on the USCCB’s priorities for the next few years: faith formation, marriage and family life, vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and human life.

In his June 21 presentation, Bishop Rhoades offered his fellow bishops a number of methods for fostering vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. He encouraged the bishops to "promote what John Paul II called ‘a vocational culture in the broadest sense.’ He added, "I am convinced that to overcome the vocation crisis, we must help each child to understand and become excited about the fact that God has a plan for his or her entire life, a unique role to play in building up the kingdom and carrying out the allembracing divine plan of salvation" he said.

...

Fifteen men have recently been accepted by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades as candidates for seminary study. They are graduates from Penn State University, Messiah College in Grantham and Trinity High School in Camp Hill, as well as students from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and Alvernia College in Reading, Pa.

Coupled with the number of men already in priestly formation for the diocese, the group of 15 brings the total of men in the program to 25. "Twenty-five total is a high and excellent number for us, and 15 men in one year is extraordinary," said Father LaVoie.

...

The third annual Quo Vadis Days – a time of prayer, discussion and fellowship – is set for July 8-12 at Mount St. Mary’s University and Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. The program will offer nearly 100 young men ages 15-25 an opportunity to pray to God and learn about vocation discernment. Participants spend time with peers, seminarians and priests in a week that includes prayer, presentations, discussion, recreation and a Mass celebrated by Bishop Rhoades. The first year the camp was offered 53 young men attended. The second year of the camp in 2006 saw 93 attend. This year it is expected that the attendees will max out the facilities at 100 participants.

Wow! I've made no secret of my admiration for the good bishop. When I was at the Mount he was really a priest after the heart of Christ. It's no wonder young men want to join up! So bishops of the USA?? (h/t to H of C)

Labels: U.S. Church, vocations

A glimpse of the Pope's private Mass. (h/t H of C):

Labels: liturgy, Pope Benedict

After last week's letter to the Catholics of China and tomorrow's Motu Proprio, it looks like we'll have more to read next Tuesday [h/t Rorate Caeli]:

Andrea Tornielli reports today in Il Giornale that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is about to release a Doctrinal Document stating in definitive and clear terms the interpretation of the Lumen Gentium passage according to which, "Haec ...unica Christi Ecclesia ... in hoc mundo ut societas constituta et ordinata, subsistit in Ecclesia catholica" ("this ...one Church of Christ ... constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church")

Rorate Caeli has an actual translation with more background that you can check out.

Labels: dissent, doctrine, Vatican

From CNA:

Seventy-five people, including teachers and students as young as eight years old, picketed the NEA convention in Philadelphia July 1.

Many NEA delegates openly expressed disbelief, skepticism and shock at the revelation that their union was involved in pro-abortion advocacy.

They seemed unaware of NEA's longstanding Family Planning Resolution, which supports "reproductive freedom" and "all methods of family planning", including abortion. They also seemed unaware that NEA is one of Planned Parenthood's primary advocates and had co-sponsored large pro-abortion rallies in Washington in 2004, 1992, and 1989.

Some delegates berated the pro-lifers and accused them of lying. Others thanked the demonstrators for underlining the issue. Others still, said they would raise the issue on the Convention floor and attempt to persuade NEA to abandon its pro-abortion agenda and activism.

"We joined NEA for collective bargaining representation; not to be misrepresented on socio-political or moral issues like abortion, homosexuality, or who to vote for,” said Bob Pawson, national coordinator of PLEAS and an NEA member. He requested that NEA totally disengage from the abortion issue in respect for the diversity of its 3.2 million members.

"Babies are our business,” he continued. “For NEA to condone, much less promote, killing babies in their wombs is not only a moral outrage; it's economic suicide. Abortion costs us our jobs."

The two-hour demonstration closed with prayer shortly after 3 p.m.

Labels: education

Il Giornale is reporting that Archbishop Marini will be named the President of the Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. Fr. Z. has the scoop.

Labels: Vatican

From Catholic News Agency:

Several Catholic websites that are housed in mainland China were forced by the government to remove the Pope’s letter to the Catholics in China from their website, reports UCA News.

As of today, some sites still have the full 19,763 Chinese character text, but these are mostly all run by Catholics that are “underground.”

At 6:00 p.m. Beijing time on the day that the letter was issued, several mainland Catholic websites had already been forced to substitute a simplified version of the letter for the full length one they had published only hours earlier.

Labels: international

IC tells us some more reasons to be Catholic:

20. The chrism oil smells sooooo good. It almost makes you want to get baptized again, but then you'd be Baptist.

See numbers 19-11.


Kathy tells us why we can't sing "On Eagle's Wings" at a funeral:

"Exactly. But that song makes promises from God--and they aren't the same promises that God makes in the Bible. They are made-up promises. When Jesus says that you will shine like the sun, he is promising that only to people who are good. Not just because you trust him, but because you act like you trust him. And the Bible never says God will 'bear you on the breath of dawn.'"

dotCommonweal has a discussion going on whether or not we should sing patriotic songs at Mass.

Labels: music

Robert Miller takes issue with the Ten Commandments of Driving over at First Things. Can anyone justify the writing of this document? I have yet to read one explanation that helps this to make any sense and show how this is going to assist anyone in the world.

What we have here, in fact, is a bureaucracy wildly out of control. It’s as if some ecclesiastical Dr. Frankenstein patched together a high school drivers-ed manual and the Compendium of Catholic Social Thought to produce some raving intellectual monstrosity let loose on the world to announce most solemnly the most absurd banalities decorated with irrelevant quotations from Scripture and the Second Vatican Council. Or, rather, it’s worse than that, but I don’t really know how to express it. It’s the kind thing that can’t be expressed but can only be experienced. Go look at the document for yourself.

Now, about two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, assumed human nature and was born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, and on the third day he rose again in glory, redeeming the human race from sin, opening the gates of heaven, and completely transforming human history. In his final words to his apostles, he commanded them to go forth and teach all nations and to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In thus sending forth the apostles, our Blessed Lord saw no need to add, “Drive safely!” For wisdom of that order, we had wait for Cardinal Martino.

Labels: Vatican

There's a Mass on campus tomorrow and I volunteered to write the intercessions. This is what I came up with. You might use them between tomorrow and Wednesday to help come up with other ideas. Enjoy!

For missionaries, that like Saint Thomas, they may preach the Good News of Jesus Christ courageously as they travel to the ends of the earth, we pray to the Lord.

For scientists, that inspired by the example of Saint Thomas, their inquiry may lead them to a deeper examination of the Truth, we pray to the Lord.

For all those who are traveling, that God may guide and protect them in this time of leisure and return them safely home after the holiday, we pray to the Lord.

For our armed forces fighting overseas, that their diligence and sacrifice may lead to a more just and peaceful world, we pray to the Lord.

For those who have died, especially those who have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we now enjoy, we pray to the Lord.

Labels: liturgy

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Like the Sacred Wounds of Jesus, His Precious Blood deserves special honor because of its close relation to the Sacred Passion. That honor was given to it from the beginning by the Apostles who praised its redeeming power. (Rom. 5:9 "we are justified by His blood"; Heb. 13:12 "and so Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people by His blood, suffered outside the gate"; 1 John 1:7 "and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.")

In recent times the devotion has been encouraged by Blessed Gaspar Buffalo, founder of the Congregation of the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. When Pope Pius IX was in exile from Rome in 1849, he had as his companion Don Giovanni Merlini, the third general of that Congregation. This saintly priest suggested to the pope that he make a vow to give the feast of the Precious Blood to the entire church, if he should regain the papal territory. Without binding himself by the vow, the pope immediately extended the feast to the whole Church. On the old calendar it was celebrated on July 1, but Catholics may still continue this tradition by increasing their devotion to the most precious Blood throughout the entire month of July.

- The Prayer Book, by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954.

Pope Benedict's Monthly Prayer Intentions

General: That all citizens, individually and in groups, may be enabled to participate actively in the life and management of the common good.

Missionary: That, aware of their own missionary duty, all Christians may actively help all those engaged in the evangelization of peoples.


July Notes

The month of July is typically a quiet one liturgically. While many people enjoy time to relax and go on vacation, those who are responsible for the planning and execution of the liturgy have the obligation to remind people that the Church’s life of prayer takes no vacation. One way to illustrate this point would be to publicize the website www.masstimes.org, reminding parishioners that the Mass is celebrated anywhere they may travel.

There is a lack of major celebrations during this month. There are no days dedicated to Mary other than the optional celebration on Saturdays (which one might be celebrated three times this month) and the memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

There is an opportunity to shed light on several saints of the early Church who actually knew Christ personally: Thomas, James, Mary Magdalene, Martha, and Joachim and Anne. This month also features three very important saints in the history of the Church: Benedict, Bonaventure, and Ignatius of Loyola. In the United States, we commemorate the memorials of the two blesseds, Junipero Serra and Kateri Tekakwitha. For the youth of the Church, we are given the memorial of Maria Goretti, also keeping in mind that Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, although he is not celebrated universally, could be remembered on the day of his death, July 4. An opportunity for catechesis exists in the celebration of St. Sharbel Makhluf, drawing the attention of Latin Rite Catholics to the beauty of the Eastern tradition. Of course, some of these commemorations fall on a Sunday this year and are not celebrated, but their memory can still be recalled in other ways.

In the United States, Independence Day offers us the opportunity to pray for our country and its leaders.


More information and my daily almanac for the month.

Labels: Daily Almanac, liturgy