Rosary Garden: The newly-fixed fountain in the foreground. St. Mary’s, Malaga, NJ
Julie hawking shirts: Julie selling St Marys Feast of the Assumption t-shirts after mass.
A more complicated scandal that reverses some of the standard good guy/bad guy assumptions.
Clergy sexual abuse is taking place across the theological spectrum. Yes, there was a spike in abuse of children, but especially teen-aged boys, soon after Vatican II and that may have had something to do with the fact that many priests left to get married, contributing to the creation of what insiders have called a gay subculture in seminaries. And, yes, the whole liberated atmosphere of the ’60s and ’70s may have played a role. But those realities hid the larger truth, he said. There were conservative Catholics with dark secrets to hide and they were especially open to blackmail threats. There was also an incentive to enthusiastically preach conservatism, in an era of conservative leaders, while living a secret life that contradicted one’s sermons.
In the NYTimes:
Nowhere in the letter did Benedict address the responsibility of the Vatican itself. Many victims’ groups have criticized the Vatican for not recognizing the depth and scope of the abuse crisis sooner. Nor did he use the term punishment, or spell out any consequences for clergy or bishops who had not upheld canon or civil law. Indeed, he laid blame firmly with Irish Catholic leaders.
It’s hard to believe anyone’s sorry and anything’s changed while people like Boston’s former Cardinal Law are given cushy jobs in Rome. How many people have lost their faith? And how many churches have been sold off to cover the lawsuits and settlements? Hasn’t the Vatican learned anything?
A new website opposed to Diocesan church-and-school closures. From their description:
A Group dedicated to ensuring that quality Catholic school education is available to Cape May County families, and endeavoring to save Wildwood Catholic and its traditions for the children.
They have two Facebook groups: SaveWildwoodCatholic and Keep Wildwood Catholic High School Alive. Here’s some pictures from a recent rally:
The Diocese of Pittsburgh should be ashamed of itself, plans to sell of very historic church to billboard company. This is the same church they tried to sell to jailed conman Raffaello Follieri, friend of Camden’s Bishop Galante.
Lamar plans to buy historic St. Nicholas Church in Troy Hill
Yes, this is a real pitch by the Diocese of Brooklyn. Does Bishop DiMarzio really think this will bring the youngsters into the Catholic Church? This is brought to you by the same Los Angeles ad agency that uses the devil to promote Catholic television:
The campaign [for NET, the Diocese’s cable TV channel], by Cesario Migliozzi in Los Angeles, features an unusual spokesman for religious television: the Devil. “We could have easily said, ‘Net is the network you’ve been praying for,’ but we need to get eyeballs,” said Michael Migliozzi, partner and creative director at Cesario Migliozzi. “The idea of having a little devil telling you not to do it would be a lot of fun.”
The Times reports that the”fun” devil ad cost the Diocese of Brooklyn about $200,000. “Father Vic,” who we’d guess is an under-employed L.A. actor, must have lightened the collection plates of a few more hundred thousand dollars.
In totally unrelated news, the Diocese of Brooklyn recently announced the closings of over a dozen schools as part of it’s “Preserving the Vision” campaign (where do they come up with these names?), citing budget deficits that approached a million dollars a year. Getting out the calculator, the average shuttered school would be responsible for $70,000 in annual deficit. Two $200,000 ads represents 5.7 closed schools and thousands of students.
Ah, but “Father Vic” is pretty darn cute, don’t you agree? I bet he got a lot of “View Again” clicks in the Rectory offices.
HT to Scott Wells
"Finally I’d like to mention something I’ve noticed about my generation. If they catch a whiff of hypocrisy, they’re outta there. They want to live their lives authentically—in whatever way that may be to them. They dislike people and organizations, be they religious or secular, that say one thing and do another. This is why—at least in part—we see such personal devastation when someone representing the church behaves so badly. It stinks of both inauthenticity and hypocrisy. It’s just yucky."
“The cloud of speculation over Martino’s future first appeared in June after the 63 year-old prelate was spotted in Rome, where, according to multiple reports, he met with officials at the Congregation for Bishops after the dicastery’s intervention was sought.”
Nathan Schneider writes in the NYTimes:
Modern arguments and evangelists and New Atheists have duped us into thinking that the interesting question is whether God exists; no, what mattered for Anselm was how we think about God and about one another.
The answer I found in his proof is no answer at all, no truly abstract, autonomous assurance that I can have all to myself. I have to stitch it out of memories, hopes and loved ones, as he did. It is no self-thinking thought; it’s a pleasure built out of language and sharing.
Italian Tribune: ‘Labor of Love’ in 1922, St. Mary’s Slated for Closing.
My wife’s Julie’s church was a feature article in the Italian Tribune. I pretty sure the pictures come from the Save St Mary’s campaign and it’s Diocese of Camden watchdog site (eagle-eyed fans will spot Theo at the bottom!).
No one has a devotion to the Catholic faith like Italians. When the first immigrants came to the United States, they brought with them their religious dedication. Churches were built by Italians so they could have their own parishes where they could congregate and worship as a group. St. Mary’s Church in Malaga, New Jersey is one of these churches, built by its devoted Italian founders. However, Bishop Joseph Galante of Camden Diocese wants to close the church, and parishioners are trying to keep it open.
Pope2you: The Pope meets you on Facebook. Yes, it seems like something from The Onion but it appears legit:
The application Pope2You for Facebook, lets you receive the messages of Pope Benedict XVI through the most important social network of the world. So you can meet the Pope on Facebook, listen to his words, see his pictures, receive his messages of congratulations through “virtual postcards”.
