Some more recent news highlights...
* A Cincinnati cemetery containing the graves of several of the diocese's first bishops was vandalized over the weekend. The damage is said to total at least $250K. The bishops' graves themselves were not vandalized
* The new Coadjutor Bishop of Trenton (NJ) said it took "about two seconds" for him to come up with his Episcopal motto, "Ministrare non Ministrari" (Latin for "to serve and not to be served"). He said, "This is how I want to live out my life as a bishop and how I hope to exercise that responsibility." The new bishop has asked for prayers
* Reportedly, BBC staff may "black out live coverage of the Pope's [September 2010] visit to Britain in a row over pension cuts". It is claimed the plan may "ruin the papal trip for many British Catholics"
* An 83 year-old priest has been tortured and killed in Mexico. A motive of robbery has not been ruled out, but the case remains under investigation. Parishioners reportedly found his body in his office after the murder
* The U.K.'s 'Daily Mail' is reporting that a British soldier in Afghanistan believes he was saved by his rosary. Apparently, the rosary fell to the ground and the soldier discovered he was on a land mine as he bent over to retrieve it. As a result, he was able to survive the incident. Reportedly, his great-grandfather was similarly saved by a rosary while serving in WWII
* A suspected drunk driver with previous DUI's has been charged in connection with a head-on auto collision that killed one nun and critically injured two other nuns in Virginia. The 23 year-old suspect, an illegal alien, had two previous DUI's in the past five years and was driving at the time with a revoked license. He was reportedly awaiting deportation at the time of the collision
* As if it wasn't bad enough: The president of the CBS television network has apologized for the station's "low rating" regarding the amount of programming classified as "LGBT-inclusive." The network is reportedly "disappointed" by the "low rating" and will "try to do better" in the future
* Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz called same sex 'marriages' an "aberration", noting that such 'marriages' "are a mistaken path that is not one of happiness, of a home formed by a father and a mother with many children"
* A Louisiana priest has admitted to abusing more than 30 boys. The abusive priest claims he was himself abused as a boy by a seminary professor
* The cloistered French nuns who recently signed a record deal to sing Gregorian chant have received death threats via a web page. They have reported the threats to the police and have asked them to keep a "closer watch" on the convent
* Fr. Barry Fischer, Pontifical Commissary to Miles Jesu recently released a statement affirming that the founder of the institute "presented erratic behaviors that were totally beyond the scope of the powers given to him. Some members have identified wounds caused by the inappropriate exercise of authority under his leadership. The mistaken sense of allegiance and obedience instilled in the membership facilitated his behavior, which was totally unacceptable and not in accord with the discipline of the Church nor supportable in any way by a healthy sense of consecrated life"
* More than fifty thousand altar servers from over a dozen countries are expected to attend an altar server pilgrimage in Rome in early August. The majority of the participants are expected to come from European countries for the anticipated "record turnout"
* The president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, has strongly condemned the FDA's decision to permit Geron Corp. to proceed with embryonic stem cell testing, referring to the plan as a "sacrifice" of human beings and "a crime" [Note: The Church condemns use of embryonic stem cells that require destruction of human life, whereas the Church supports use of adult stem cells since their use does not require the destruction of human life]
* No obligation to obey just laws? No concern for American victims? No duty to defend one's borders? Mexican bishops have issued a "message of solidarity" expressing their "profound sorrow" regarding Arizona's new immigration law and they have lamented the "profound suffering experienced by our fellow countrymen and our Latin American brothers and sisters in the United States in general." They called on God to "move the hearts of all those who because they do not know the Father of all have not been able to find brotherliness, tolerance and mercy within themselves." Comment: Perhaps the Mexican bishops should be reminded of these papal statements...
"To despise legitimate authority, in whomsoever vested, is unlawful, as a rebellion against the divine will, and whoever resists that, rushes willfully to destruction. 'He that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation.' To cast aside obedience, and by popular violence to incite to revolt, is therefore treason, not against man only, but against God." (Pope Leo XIII, "Immortale Dei", 1885)
"Take pains to impress on the Christian people a due obedience and subjection to rulers and governments. Do this by teaching, in accordance with the warning of the Apostle, that all authority comes from God. Whoever resists authority resists the ordering made by God Himself, consequently achieving his own condemnation; disobeying authority is always sinful except when an order is given which is opposed to the laws of God and the Church." (Pope Pius IX, "Qui Pluribus", 1846)
"Therefore, warn your faithful that the very nature of human society obligates its members to obey its lawfully established authority; nothing in the precepts of the Lord on this subject, which are proclaimed in holy scripture, can be altered. For it is written: 'Be subject to every human institution for God's sake, to the king as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish wrongdoers and to praise those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing right, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Be as free men, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but be as servants of God' (I Pt. 2:13f). And again: 'Let ever soul be subject to the higher authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, he who resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur their own condemnation' (Rom. 13:1f)." (Pope Pius IX, "Nostis et Nobiscum", 1849)
* That should help building fund collections: A recent decision of the Apostolic Signatura affirming that bishops can close any parish - even if it is financially viable - "for the good of the diocese" and despite parishioners' objections was the subject of a recent article on the U.S. bishops' news service website. The article quoted a member of a group of "committed concerned Catholics formed to support parishes subject to closure" who said that "no parish is safe" and that parishes have "become expendable"
Commentary: While "the good of the diocese" should be synonymous with "the good of souls", who doubts this ruling may translate into "the good of the bishop"? How exactly does closing beloved parishes help souls or dioceses - especially when parishes to be closed are financially viable? How does cutting down the number of sacraments, potentially alienating faithful Catholics, and turning churches into museums or apartments or mosques benefit the diocese? Perhaps the closure & sale of churches may help with abuse settlements in the short term, but then what? Don't such actions risk turning the Catholics who lovingly built, supported & maintained 'seized & sold' parishes into "victims", so to speak? Does it seem just that Catholics are frequently expected to help purchase assets for a parish and are then given no voice whatsoever concerning their subsequent disposal? Doesn't this ruling especially jeopardize 'high value' parishes (e.g. older parishes with much valuable land)? And does anyone who has been paying attention for the last 40 years doubt that liberal bishops will take advantage of this ruling to close 'nuisance' parishes (e.g. ones that foster tradition, have TLM's, etc.)? Furthermore, doesn't the ruling risk harming parishioners' loyalty as the faithful grasp the possible impermanence of their parishes? Might it not also spark competition rather than cooperation among parishes as each 'competes' to be the one to stay open? Does it not seem likely that the fate of churches will be treated as if the closure of a parish was merely a 'business decision' rather than an action which will have serious consequences on priceless eternal souls? In any event, it seems that only in crazy times like these would the closure of any of our churches be considered as being for the "good" of a diocese.
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