The Last Vestige of Rome?

Pentecost on Mount Athos
by Sandro Magister

MOUNT ATHOS – When you see the summit of Athos emerge through the mist of the Aegean, stop the clocks. Because things are on another schedule there. The calendar is the Julian one, 13 days behind the Latin calendar that spread throughout the rest of the world. The hours are counted not from midnight, but from sunset. And it is not under the noon-day sun but in the dark of night that Athos is most alive and pulsating. In songs, lights, and mysteries.

US: The stop at the UN

Magister has the complete speech.

US: The Nationals Park Mass

I missed it. Yes, I had an appointment this morning and I was not able to watch. But perhaps God spared me from what I have read on the blogs this afternoon after getting home from my appointment. (I'm deaf, but that was a joke anyway...)

Father Z:
1. Benedict XVI’s sermon at Nationals Stadium
2. A comment on the Holy Father’s Mass at Nationals Stadium
3. Blogs I look at react to the Washington D.C. Mass
4. NLM on the Papal Mass at Nationals Stadium

USCCB Papal Visit Blog: Mass at Nationals Park
This entry has come under fire from Father Z for its deletion of negative comments regarding the Mass this morning.

The New Liturgical Movement:
1. Papal Mass, Nationals Park, Washington [Comments re-opened]
2. Music for the D.C. Mass: The End of an Era, and the Beginning of Something New

After all that, the end conclusion is that the Mass was a travesty and that it is possibly a kind of death-knell for post-Vatican II musical efforts. Time will tell.

US: Benedict's First Mass

People came just to be close...

The papal address as provided by the USCCB.

Neil has revised his list

I have linked to and reproduced here at the blog the papabili list at Neil's Film Lounge for several years now. I was checking tonight just to see if it was updated. Lo and behold, it has been updated and given the last consistory, we have some interesting names.

1. Angelo Comastri (1943) Italy
Comastri was included on the list a long time ago, but then he fell off the list and apparently out of favor after a consistory went by and he didn't get the red hat. All that has changed now it seems after the last consistory and His Eminence is now number one to succeed Benedict XVI (whom we pray will lead us for many years to come).

The next few simply moved down a notch.

2. Norberto Rivera Carrera (1942) Mexico
3. Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne (1943) Peru
4. Angelo Scola (1941) Italy

And the newcomer to the list is:

5. Angelo Bagnasco (1943) Italy

The cardinal-archbishop of Genoa is the recently appointed president of the Italian bishops' conference, succeeding Cardinal Ruini who soldiers on as vicar of Rome for the Holy Father. Cardinal Bagnasco was chosen for the red hat this last time as well.

US: Yep, it's about what I expected

The speech to the bishops...

It was pretty cool, the first third or half of it. Then at 6 pm local time, CNN cut away for Lou Dobbs. So I switched over to EWTN and yeah, no captions. So right now he's still talking and answering questions, but all I can do is /watch/ him talk. It's entertaining for about five minutes...

The first half of the speech was a general statement on the bishops' role as guides in the secular culture of the US public square. The Holy Father touched upon several points. His point about immigration was a good one: we should welcome immigrants. I agree. He didn't say anything about illegal immigrants, etc. The much anticipated words on the sex abuse scandal must have been in the second half.

Cardinal George's opening remarks were also interesting themselves. I got the distinct impression that he and his fellows were trying hard to look faithful to the pope on national TV before the speech came down upon them.

There, now they seem to be done. Time to go look for a transcript.

EDIT (6:40 PM CDT): NCRegister has excerpts.
EDIT (7:03 PM CDT): The prepared speech and the Q&A at the USCCB.

US: The Holy Father's remarks at the White House

Father Z has the full speech interspersed with his comments and emphasized points. I would suggest reading it first and skipping Father Z's points and then reading it a second time along with the comments for a deeper appreciation of what's going on in the speech. The Holy Father's command of US history is impressive. But hey, we all knew he was brilliant before today.

US: I'm disappointed

This image is from Reuters. Yesterday when President and Mrs. Bush greeted the pope out at Andrews Air Force Base, both the first lady and the first daughter were wearing black, quite appropriate. Today though, Mrs, Bush went for off-white...

Anyone remember Mrs. Blair's faux pas?


Catholic Press Photo
The text of the remarks delivered will be posted later.

US: The Pope Has Landed

The Holy Father, President Bush, one of the Bush twins, Mrs. Bush
{Reuters)
I was at therapy, so I missed it. I'll catch the replay later tonight. I caught some of CNN though. Talk talk talk talk talk! Blah! Did anyone catch anything on CBS? Has their reporting lived up to the promise of the press release?

Benedict retires to the nunciature for the rest of the day. More tomorrow.

US: Oops...

Today's VIS press release:

VATICAN CITY, 15 APR 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport. Following a flight of more than 7,000 kilometres, his plane is due to land at 4 p.m. local time (10 p.m. in Rome) at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington D.C. This is the Benedict XVI's eighth apostolic trip outside Italy and his first to the U.S.A. as Pope.

U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife Nancy will welcome the Pope as he descends from his aircraft. No speeches are scheduled for this first meeting and the welcome ceremony proper will take place tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. local time (4.30 p.m. in Rome) at the White House, official residence of the U.S. president.

After landing, Benedict XVI will travel by car to the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C where he will spend the rest of the day.

Tomorrow, 16 April, is the Pope's 81st birthday, and Saturday 19 April, will mark the third anniversary of his election to the pontifical throne.

I could have sworn her name was Laura... :D

US: From the Inbox

I found this in my inbox just a little while ago. It is totally unexpected. Please note, I include it here just so you all can read it as well. It's not an endorsement of CBS News' planned coverage of the visit of the Holy Father. Watch CBS... Or don't. That's up to you.

I'll be watching the coverage with the least amount of hack commentary and the most reliable closed captioning.

--------------------

Hi - my name is [removed] and I work for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. I have been reading your blog and wanted to let you know of the coverage we have on air, on the radio, and on line at CBS News has this week, in case you wanted to inform your blog readers. Below is a press release and please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you.

[removed]
CBS Evening News
[removed]@cbsnews.com


CBS NEWS PLANS COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF POPE BENEDICT XVI'S VISIT TO THE U.S., INCLUDING LIVE COVERAGE OF HIS WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL, AND REPORTS ON THE "CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COUIC" AND "THE EARLY SHOW" THROUGHOUT THE WEEK

CBSNews.com and CBS Radio News to Carry Live Coverage of the Pope's Public Events, From Arrival to Departure


CBS News will offer comprehensive coverage of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States from his arrival in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday (15), through his departure from New York City on Sunday (20). CBS News' coverage will include carrying the Pontiff's arrival at the White House on Wednesday (16) live, along with reports on the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC (6:30-7:00 PM, ET/PT) and THE EARLY SHOW (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT). CBSNews.com and CBS Radio News will add to the coverage, providing live reports on public events during the Pope's trip.

National Correspondent Byron Pitts will travel with the Pope through the duration of his U.S. visit and will report for the CBS EVENING NEWS on the state of the Catholic Church, the Pope's role in U.S. politics, religious tolerance and any breaking news regarding the Pontiff's daily activities. Tonight, Correspondent Bob Orr will report on preparations by U.S. law enforcement and Secret Service to protect the Pope as he moves throughout the Northeast, often in large open venues.

Coverage on THE EARLY SHOW will include live reports and live West Coast updates of many of the historic events taking place during the Pope's visit. On Tuesday (15), correspondent Jeff Glor will be live from Andrews Air Force Base awaiting the arrival of Pope Benedict. On Wednesday (16), co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez will be live at the White House to cover the Pope's arrival ceremony with President Bush live for the West coast. On Thursday (17), Rodriguez will co-anchor from Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., before the Pope celebrates Mass there later in the day. Glor and Rodriguez will continue to cover the Pope's arrival in New York City for THE EARLY SHOW on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

CBSNews.com will provide live Webcast coverage of all public events during the Pope's visit and an online library of on-demand video clips from the trip and from Benedict's papacy as a whole. The site will also have a number of interactive elements, including a timeline of the Pope's itinerary in the U.S. and his life in pictures, his thoughts on major world issues and a timeline of milestones in his life, which can be viewed here: Pope Benedict in America .

CBS Radio News will provide reports on the Papal trip, including those from National Correspondent Dan Raviv, White House Correspondent Peter Maer and Correspondents Cami McCormick and Steve Kathan. CBS News Radio plans to air live coverage and special reports of the major public events in the Pope's schedule.

Coverage of Pope Benedict's arrival began with a SUNDAY MORNING piece on April 13 by Martha Teichner exploring how many U.S. citizens know who he is and how everyone from children to adults are preparing for the Pontiff's arrival, which can be seen here: Who Is Benedict XVI? .

Ranjith Gone?

Rorate Caeli quotes a rumor that's been around awhile, but has its first public airing in an Italian newsplayer: Motu Proprio wars in the Roman Curia Ranjith off to Sri Lanka?

Part of the article:

Ranjith probably pays [the price] for having exposed himself with great emphasis (interviews, declarations, publication of articles) in favor of the papal Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum", with which the Mass in Latin according to the ancient rite revised by Pope John XXIII in 1962 was liberalized. It seems that, due to his repeated interventions, part of the Roman Curia may have explicitly asked Bertone, by way of a letter, that he should not become Prefect of a Congregation with such delicate tasks.And Bertone, [after] the due calculations were made, seems to have endorsed the signers of the letter. Signers who, two years ago, when Ranjith was nominated Secretary of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, did not accept well his arrival and the subsequent removal of Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino [previous Secretary] to the diocese of Assisi. The tally, however, must still be closed by Benedict XVI.

If the curial forces prove too much and lead to Ranjith's self-imposed exile to Colombo, it will be a sad day. Despite the direness of such a departure by so vocal an advocate of the Holy Father's agenda, I still have hope that Benedict will see things through.

Freedom of Speech? Not so much...

Ed Morrissey:

After publisher Ezra Levant finally prevailed against a bogus complaint about “hate speech” for expressing his views about radical Islam at Canada’s Human Rights Commission, he expected the battle to continue in civil courts. Sure enough, he got sued by Richard Warman, a CHRC investigator — who included a number of Canada’s conservative bloggers as well.

Kathy Shaidle:

Richard Warman used to work for the notorious Human Rights Commission, which runs the "kangaroo courts" who’ve charged Mark Steyn with "flagrant Islamophobia."

Ezra Levant:

Today I was sued by Richard Warman, Canada’s most prolific – and profitable – user of section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. As readers of this site know, Warman isn’t just a happy customer of section 13 and its 100% conviction rate, he’s a former CHRC employee, an investigator of section 13 thought crimes himself. In fact, he was often both a customer and an investigator at the same time.

I bring this up because the bishop of Calgary has come under fire from Canada's 'thought police' (if you'll all allow me the use of that term) before for making remarks in homilies on the sinfulness of homosexual acts. This is a big deal in that it touches upon Canadians' rights of free expression and the free exercise of their religion. Their rights in those areas are not as ironclad as down in the US for a variety of constitutional reasons.

A new facility

IC Press-Citizen: St. Patrick's to break ground two years after tornado

In case you don't remember, two years ago, St. Patrick's here in IC was damaged beyond repair by a tornado on Holy Thursday. The parish is relocating to the east side of Iowa City. It's a good move, even if it was brought about by sad reasons. The quotes in the article are interesting though.

The article describes how the new building's construction makes use of various methods that will make it 'greener' and all that.

"It is an opportunity to build a state-of-the-art facility that can carry the church in the 22th century," said [redacted], a member of St. Patrick's since 1996.

"It will be a gathering place for families young and old. It will be a place to develop and deepen relationships," he said.

It's nice that it will be a gathering space and will help deepen relationships for the young and old...

[The pastor] agreed.

"Our dream has been to build a type of facility where youth could be comforted, where we could meet the needs of our parish to prosper and to serve our neighbor," he said.

A 'facility' where youth may be comforted, that allows the parish to prosper and where the parish can serve their neighbors...

No offense, but they're building a church, not a multi-purpose community center. When does the worship of God through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass come in?

Islam (what else is there?)

A few articles and thoughts on each...

Reuters: Muslims more numerous than Catholics: Vatican

This article is kind of misleading. While Catholics have in the past made up the largest single Christian group in the world and the largest single group of any religion, this headline compares /all/ Muslims to just Catholics. I'd like to see the breakdown between Catholics versus Sunnis or Shi'ites or whatever. Comparing an entire religion to just us Catholics is nice for us Catholics, but the downbeat headline is not representative of a real, valid comparison.

Pakistan Christian Post: Saudi Arabia: No churches unless prophet Mohammed recognised, says expert (from Rorate Caeli)

Yeah, yeah, some expert toots his horn and spouts off his hard line rhetoric... Big deal.

Magister's latest essay on the general situation.

This essay by Magister is rather interesting in that he reveals his thoughts on the idea that the true focus of relations lately has shifted to the king of Saudi Arabia. An example:

This is to say: precisely while the accusations were erupting against Benedict XVI over Allam's baptism, the Saudi king not only ignored the accusations, but he expressed himself in diametrically opposite tones.

There's more. Check it all out.

CDW and CDF

Father Z quotes Andrea Tornielli who relates rumors that when Arinze goes, Amato, the secretary at CDF, will take over at CDW.

Tornielli:

The change of the guard foreseen at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Vatican’s "liturgy ministry": Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze (who turned 75 last November) could soon leave his post, and in his post could arrive (and the conditional is important) the Salesian Archbishop Angelo Amato, 70 next June, presently Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The later’s post would be freed up for Bishop Rino Fisichella, the well-regarded Rector of the Lateran University.

The post goes on to relate how this is odd given that the current secretary at CDW, Archbishop Ranjith, has been so prominent in promoting the current pontiff's initiatives. A commenter at Father Z notes that it is precisely because of this support that it's possible Ranjith will be passed over at Divine Worship in favor of Amato from Doctrine of the Faith.

Perhaps that's possible. It's noted as well that it's customary for the secretary at one dicastery, if he moves up, to not take over the same dicastery. Personally, I wouldn't hold to custom in this instance. Ranjith has proven himself time and again a true supporter of the pope's program and it just seems to be totally bizarre to appoint Amato to succeed Arinze.

It would be funny though. The secretariat has supposedly dominated curial affairs for years. With Sodano gone and if this rumor proves true, the secretariat, CDF and CDW would be all headed by Ratzinger/CDF alums.

Magdi Cristiano Allam

Magister has up an essay on the reception of Magdi Cristiano Allam into the Catholic Church this past Easter Vigil. He has up various letters written by Allam and from Islamic scholars and from the Vatican in reply to the event and in reply to the replies. It's a pretty comprehensive summary of all that's flying around out there.

One passage caught my eye that Magister wrote himself:

But nothing intimidates Benedict XVI. At the Easter vigil, on Saturday, March 22, the pope baptized at the basilica of Saint Peter, together with six other men and women from four continents, a convert from Islam, Magdi Allam, 56, an Egyptian by birth, a famous writer and journalist and the vice director of the leading Italian daily, "Corriere della Sera," and the author of important books, the latest one entitled "Viva Israele [Long Live Israel]."

Bolding is my own. What I think people are starting to realize when it comes to His Holiness is that he is not only old school, he is /old school/ in that he is not afraid because he believes. Sure, everyone assumes that the pope is probably going to believe in God and all that, but I think that Benedict is willing to seriously engage Islam and risk all the consequences precisely because he believes in two things.

In the end the Church will prevail.
Martyrdom is not only noble and holy, but it is also not obsolete.

Leave it to the Daily Iowan

This at DailyIowan.com started off as a decent story about patterns and how these things play out. Then of course, it descended into blaming it on religiou... Bolding is mine.

People who commit these slayings usually suffer some sort of immense public embarrassment and often impose a choice, albeit an irrational one, on themselves, Black [a University of Iowa psych professor] said. Is my family better off dead or alive and left to suffer from public shame?

"It reflects a very distorted view of the future," said Michael O'Hara, a UI professor of psychology.

Though contradictory, Black said, many of these episodes can ultimately be tied to religion. Christian doctrine may explicitly forbid killing - and for Catholics, suicide as well - but such killers are frequently Christian white males.

According to these religious teachings, "they wouldn't get to heaven," Black said. "It's just part of the irrational person who sees his life as completely bleak and hopeless. So an afterlife may seem preferable."

Black said, however, that individuals such as Sueppel are more often white just because whites so heavily outnumber other ethnicities in Iowa.

Nice, huh. He forgot the part about it being a religion that is also about forgiveness. But then of course, that doesn't go along with the 'pattern'. :P In the last sentence, the professor adds that individuals are more likely to be white males because there just happens to be so many of them in Iowa. (Blogger's disclosure: I am a white male Catholic.) Couldn't the same conclusion be reached about this case since I would say that the majority of 'white males' may also be Christian?

A tragedy

As you all know, I live here in IC and the Sueppel case is dominating the news. I attend the same parish as the family, though I did not know them at all. Please pray for Sheryl Sueppel and her children: Eleanor, Seth, Ethan and Mira. Pray as well for the troubled soul of Steven Sueppel himself. Doctor Peters has a post regarding if Mr. Sueppel should be granted an ecclesiastical funeral. An excerpt:

One of the reasons we have rules is to help us guide our decision-making when circumstances make it difficult to think clearly. The horrific murder of the Sueppel family by their husband-father Steven, who then finally succeeded in killing himself, is nothing if not a difficult circumstance. My read, in any case, of 1983 CIC 1184.1.3, in light of the gruesome facts of this case, leads me to conclude that Steven Sueppel should be denied ecclesiastical funeral rites.

...
Requiescat in pace.

Best Potpourri of Popery

After taking a look thanks to a link at Father Z's blog, I saw that The Crescat is taking nominations for a variety of categories and I am gratified to see that this humble endeavor has been nominated in the 'Popery' category. It is always nice to be associated with the Romish cult in a positive way. ;)