Jumping Without A Chute

Lay Movements Must Accept Authority of Hierarchy

From CWN

In a message to the leaders of new lay movements, Pope Benedict XVI has saluted the groups for their "missionary commitment, for your increasing formative efforts among Christian families, and for the promotion of vocations to the priestly ministry and to consecrated life." At the same time, the Holy Father strongly cautioned that the new movements have a duty to accept the hierarchical authority of the Church.

The Pope's message, dated May 22, was made public by the Vatican press office on May 31, as 300 leaders of new lay movements gathered outside Rome for the 2nd World Meeting of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities.

In his lengthy message, written in Italian, the Pontiff remarks that the Christian faith has always been "communicated and spread thanks to the novelty of the lives of individuals and communities who were capable of providing an incisive witness of love, unity and happiness." Today, he said, new movements can give the Church the same new vigor and enthusiasm that will spread the Gospel.

Pope Benedict urged the movements to act as "schools of communion," building up the Body of Christ and encouraging unity among the faithful. Above all, he said, they should spread the Word of God. "Carry the light of Christ into all the social and cultural environments in which you live," he urged them. "Illuminate the darkness of a world confused by the contradictory messages of ideologies."

Continue reading the story

Memorial Day

   The following are remarks I made today at the Franklin, NJ Township Memorial Day Commemoration:

GOOD MORNING.

TO OUR HONORED GUESTS, FELLOW CITIZENS, AND ESPECIALLY, MY FELLOW VETERANS, ON BEHALF OF MG GLENN K RIETH THE ADJUTANT GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU COUNCILMAN UNGER FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY.

65 YEARS AGO OUR NATION WAS CELEBRATING THE END OF WORLD WAR II. PLACES THAT ONLY 5 YEARSPREVIOUSLY HAD NEVER BEEN HEARD OF WERE NOW ENGRAVED ON THE NATIONAL CONSCIENCE.

GUADALCANAL, NORMANDY, IWO JIMA, BASTOGNE, ARNHEM, OKINAWATHESE NAMES EVOKE IMAGES OF BRAVERY AND OF SACRIFICE.

OUR NATION AND OUR STATE ALSO MOURNED THOSE IT HAD LOST. NOT TOO FAR FROM HERE IS THE TOWN OF RARITAN, NJ. HOME OF GYSGT JOHN BASILONE WHO WAS AWARDED THE MEDAL OF HONOR AT GUADALCANAL AND THEN GAVE HIS LIFE AT IWO JIMA.

.

SINCE THEN OTHER PLACES AND NAMES HAVE BECOME HISTORY LESSONS. PORK CHOP HILL, INCHON, KHE SANH, LANG VEI, A SHAU, LEBANON, GRENADA, PANAMA, KAFFJI, MOGADISHU. MORE NAMES BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH VALOR: ROY BENEVIDEZ, RANDY SHUGGART, GARY GORDON, AND PAUL SMITH, THEIR NAMES AND DEEDS ARE THE FOOTPRINTS LEFT BEHIND BY HEROES.

IN EVERY WAR IN WHICH OUR NATION HAS BEEN ENGAGED, NEW JERSEY’S SONS AND DAUGHTERS HAVE ANSWERED THE CALL. SOME HAVE MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE. WE HONOR THEIR MEMORIES TODAY, THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM HAS ADDED NEW BATTLES TO OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORY: KABUL, SHAHIKHOT, KANDAHAR, BAGHDAD, FALLUJAH, TIKRIT. THESE ARE THE LATEST PLACES WHERE WE HAVE FOUGHT IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY AND FREEDOM.

AND THOSE OF OUR STATE HAVE AGAIN MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE SGT HUMBERTO TIMOTEO, SPC RYAN DOLTZ, SPC CHRISTOPHER DUFFY, AND SGT FRANK CARVILL. THESE BRAVE MEN OF THE NEW JERSEY ARMY NATIONAL GUARD’S 3-112^TH FIELD ARTILLERY REGIMENT HAVE JOINED THE RANKS OF THOSE WHO STAND UPON FIDDLERS GREEN AND AWAIT THE NEXT BUGLE CALL.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE REMEMBER THEIR SACRIFICE AND THE SACRIFICES MADE BY ALL OF THOSE, LIVING AND DEAD, WHO HAVE ANSWERED OURNATIONS CALL.

I AM OFTEN ASKED HOW THE LOSS OF OUR FELLOW SOLDIERS AFFECTS ME. THE SHORT ANSWER IS, DEEPLY. AS A NON-COMMISIONED OFFICER, I AND MY FELLOW NCOS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TRAINING AND DAY TO DAY WELFARE OF OUR SOLDIERS. WE ARE ENTRUSTED WITH THE CARE AND TRAINING OF YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS, HUSBANDS AND WIVES, YOUR GRANDSONS AND GRANDDAUGHTERS. THIS IS A SACRED TRUST AND ONE WHICH WE HOLD MORE DEAR THAN ANY OTHER. AS MANY OF YOU WERE GIVEN THIS SACRED TRUST IN OTHER WARS, SO WE HOLD IT TODAY.

AND SO, AS FELLOW SOLDIERS MOVE BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE WORLD, MANY OF YOU SEE US AND ASK US, HOW’S IT REALLY GOING? ARE WE REALLY MAKING A DIFFERENCE? I AM HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU, YES!

REPEATEDLY ON THE NEWS, WE HEAR OF SETBACKS, QUAGMIRE, AND IMMINENT DEFEAT. WHILE OUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF HAS RECENTLY ADMITTED TO SETBACKS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER AN OLD ADAGE I LEARNED EARLY ON AS A YOUNG INFANTRYMAN: NO PLAN SURVIVES THE FIRST CONTACT INTACT. THE ANALYSIS AND JUDGEMENTS OF THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR ON TERROR IS THE WORK OF FUTURE HISTORIANS AND LEADERS. NOW, I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME FACTS THAT AREN'T COMMONLY KNOWN.

IN IRAQ, MORE PEOPLE HAVE POWER AND ELECTRICITY THAN EVER DID UNDER THE REGIME OF SADAAM HUSSEIN. MORE NEWSPAPERS ARE AVAILABLE IN THAN EVER BEFORE. SOME ARE PRO-AMERICAN AND SOME ARE DECIDEDLY NOT. THAT IS AS IT SHOULD BE.

THE INSURGENCY THAT DOMINATES OUR TV SCREENS NIGHT AFTER NIGHT IS ONLY PART OF THE STORY. THE MAJORITY OF IRAQIS ARE NOT BAATHISTS HOLD OUTS, OR PEOPLE FULL OF HATE WHO HIDE BEHIND RELIGION, NOR ARE THEY PART OF A CRIMINAL ELEMENT THAT ALLIES ITSELF WITH WHATEVER MOST LIKELY SEEMS PROFITABLE. THESE SMALL, ALBEIT VIOLENT ELEMENTS ARE WHAT MAKE UP THE INSURGENCY.

THE AVERAGE IRAQI IS A LOT LIKE YOU AND I. THE AVERAGE IRAQI WANTS SECURITY AND STABILITY, A JOB, FOOD ON THE TABLE, AND EDUCATION TO ENSURE A FUTURE FOR THEIR CHILDREN. THE PURPLE TIPPED INDEX FINGERS OF MILLIONS OF IRAQIS ON ELECTION DAY SHOWS THE DESIRE OF THE MAJORITY OF THE IRAQI PEOPLE. THAT DESIRE IS FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM.

IN AFGHANISTAN, MADRASAS THAT TAUGHT A GENERATION OF YOUNG BOYS TO HATE ARE NOW EMPTY. CLASSROOMS THAT WERE ONCE FORBIDDEN TO GIRLS AND WOMEN ARE NOW FILLED TO OVERFLOWING.

WOMEN NO LONGER LIVE IN FEAR OF BEING BEATEN, RAPED, OR KILLED BASED ON A SEXIST AND CRUEL INTERPRETATION OF A FAITH THAT IN ITS TRUE FORM IS NEITHER. THERE ARE ALSO OBSTACLES AND GROWING PAINS. THE POPPY FIELDS ARE AGAIN GROWING AND WITH THEM COMES THE SCOURGE OF DRUGS. WHAT IS ALSO GROWING THOUGH IS HOPE AND BELIEF IN THE FUTURE. IT IS THIS HOPE AND THIS BELIEF THAT WILL REDUCE POPPIES TO NOTHING MORE THAN  WEEDS CHOKED BY CROPS THAT WILL HELP TO FEED A NATION.

THE ARCHITECHTS OF THE HORROR THAT WAS THE TALIBAN REGIME HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO THEIR ORIGINAL STATE. THEY LAUNCH COWARDLY ATTACKS FROM THE ROCKS AND SHADOWS IN AN ATTEMPT TO AGAIN INTRODUCE FEAR INTO THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN. THE PEOPLE HAVE ANSWERED THEM. LIGHT CAUSES SHADOWS TO SHRINK AND LABOR REDUCES ROCKS TO DUST. THE LIGHT IS A GOVERNMENT THAT IS MAKING STRIDES TOWARD FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND EQUALITY OF GENDER. THE LABOR IS THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN THEMSELVES WHO, AFTER NEARLY 30 YEARS OF CONSTANT WAR, ARE TURNING ROCKS AND RUBBLE INTO BRICKS AND MORTAR.

IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN,SLOWLY BUT SURELY SOCIETIES ARE BEING BUILT WHERE DISAGREEMENT IS SOLVED NOT WITH BULLETS BUT, WITH DEBATE. RELATIONSHIPS ARE FORGED NOT ONLY UPON SHARED BELIEFS OR ORIGINS BUT, UPON SHARED HUMANITY. THESE SOCIETIES HAVE A DESIRE THAT EVENTUALLY, THAT WHEN AN IRAQI OR AFGHANI GOES TO SLEEP, THE LAST THING THEY HEAR IS NOT A GUNSHOT BUT, THE SOFT WHISPERED GOOD NIGHT OF A LOVED ONE.

THAT IS WHAT IS HAPPENING. THAT IS WHAT THE SACRIFICE MADE BY OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM HAS EARNED.

  TODAY WE HONOR THEM AND WE HONOR THAT SACRIFICE. THERE WERE PROTESTS YESTERDAY AND THERE WILL BE PROTESTS TOMORROW. IN OUR SOCIETY THIS IS A GOOD THING, IT GIVES THE NEWLY EMERGING NATIONS AN EXAMPLE FROM WHICH TO LEARN. WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THOUGH THAT UNDERSTANDING IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH INTELLIGENT DEBATE AND PATIENT EXCHANGE OF IDEAS, NOT THROUGH ANGRY WORDS, OR IMPASSIONED RHETORIC.

TODAY IS A TIME FOR QUIET REFLECTION. WHILE IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THOSE THAT HAVE FALLEN, IT IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THEY LIVED. THAT IS OUR DUTY.  WE OWE THEM AT LEAST THAT MUCH, WE OWE THEM SO MUCH MORE. THANK YOU, AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS THE  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

.

This Weekend

   I hope you are all well. I will be giving a speech tomorrow at a Memorial Day Commemoration, I'll be posting my remarks here afterwards. Don't forget to take time to remember those who have fallen. It's amazing how quickly so many people forget...

An Interesting Interview

From Sandro Magister who talks with an Islamic Professor in Bangladesh. Professor Kazi nurul Islam is Department head of the religion department at the university of Dhaka. Here world religion classes are taught by practicioners of each religion.

Read it here.

Arinze To Skylstad: Pull Your Head Out Of Your Fourth Point Of Contact

From CWN

In a letter to the president of the US bishops' conference, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship has strongly underlined the importance of proper translations for liturgical texts.

Cardinal Francis Arinze warned Bishop William Skylstad that his office could not approve new translations unless they conform to the principles set forth in Liturgiam Authenticam, the Vatican instruction of March 2001. The cardinal also said that existing texts must be brought into conformity with Liturgiam Authenticam, and the US bishops will not receive permission to continue using defective texts.

The letter from Cardinal Arinze, of which CWN has obtained a copy, refers to conversations the cardinal had with Bishop Skylstad and other representatives of the US bishops' conference in April 2006. Those conversations evidently referred to the June 2006 meeting of at which the US bishops will vote on new translations of liturgical texts.

In light of serious divisions among the US bishops on questions of and the prospect of a tense debate on the proposed new texts, Cardinal Arinze's letter reminds Bishop Skylstad that Liturgiam Authenticam sets forth the authoritative principles of translation. "Both this congregation and the bishops' conferences are bound to follow its directives," the cardinal says.

Continue reading the story

I wonder how the Progressive Mafia of Skylstad, Trautman, Mahony, Lynch, Flynn, Hubbard, et. al, will worm their way out of this one. I almost wish that the wolves in shepherds clothing would just go ahead and become schismatic in fact rather than just in mentality; at least then we would have a Church true to itself and not a vast sociological experiment in ecumenism, dilution, and secularism.

Pope Calls For Reform In Religious Life

From CWN

In a strongly worded statement to about 1,500 leaders of religious orders, Pope Benedict XVI called for strong leadership initiatives, to help men and women religious survive in "uneasy times characterized by multiple snares."

In an "ever more disoriented and confused world," the Pope warned, religious are vulnerable, and "a secularized culture has penetrated the hearts and minds" of too many religious. Moreover, he continued, many religious have fallen into the "the trap of mediocrity and of consumer mentality."

To correct these problems, the Holy Father exhorted the religious superiors to make "courageous decisions," renewing dedication and discipline within their communities. The core of consecrated life, he said, must always be found in prayer and particularly in daily devotion to the Eucharist.

Consecrated life entails a commitment to celibacy, the Pope reminded his audience; it also requires a "sober and humble way of life." He called attention to the distinctive clothing that religious men and women should wear, bearing testimony to their simple and reserved way of life.

Continue reading the story

This of course will lead to much confusion among many orders in the United States who were under the impression that a habit was something closely related to the little people of Tolkien's Middle Earth. As for "mediocrity and a consumer mentality" all one needs to do is visit a parish office on a weekday or listen to what some religious are saying in their off time. There are Priests and Deacons who get their homilies from the internet. There are female religious who spend their time writing creative heretical "liturgies" that allow them to play the part of celebrant. More religious can tell you what happened in last week's finale of "Will and Grace" than can tell you what today's Office of the Readings were. In addition to the heads of religious communities, the Holy Father's comments should be read and listened to by many of our Bishops.

Strangest church I've Ever Seen

   This weekend we visited State College, PA to see my wife's Alma Mater, Penn State. This morning before we left, we attended mass at Our Lady of Victory in State College, PA. I was unnerved by the appearance of the Chruch from the outside, Super Church In The Round. there was also a bench dedicated to Oscar Romero. At this point, my liberal-meter was going nuts. We get inside and this is what we see...

The altar and sanctuary. The egg shaped thing "floating" in upper left corner is the tabernacle.

A Close up

and finally, behind a huge stone wall that stabs out into the church like the Wailing Wall

I can't figure out what it's for. The only thing I've determined is that perhaps this is where the Jedi Council gathers. (The adorable child in the foreground is our daughter.)

Even more strange is that there were many women there wearing head coverings, books by Fr. Groeschel were on display, the HUGE pipe organ was played with vigor and beauty, and one of the Masses being held during the week was for "The Women of Opus Dei."

I'm still scratching my head...

Gone For The Weekend

   We're off to State College, PA home of my wife's alma mater. I guess she wants to initiate our daughter into the cult of Paterno early. Have a great weekend.

Whatever Happened To The Silent Movie?

Actor in DVC says Bible is Fiction:

Actor  Ian McKellen while in Cannes for the preview of the DaVinci Code on the Bible: "Well, I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction. I mean, walking on water, it takes an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie. Not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story. And I think audiences are clever enough and bright enough to separate out fact and fiction, and discuss the thing after they've seen it."

   Ironically enough, I believe that most actors should wear a disclaimer around their neck that says:

   WARNING: The fact that I may portray people on film or stage of substance and intelligence in no way, shape, or form is indicative of my personally possessing any of those attributes.

What Ever Happened To True Penance

May. 16 (CWNews.com) - An Irish archbishop has received an apology from Augustinian priests who invited a Protestant minister to "concelebrate" an Easter Sunday Mass. No disciplinary action was announced for the priests involved.

Continue reading the story

   Now who remembers the story of Pope Gregory VII who excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and didn't lift it until he performed penance by dressing in sackcloth and kneeling outside the Papal Palace in midwinter? These morons decide to launch their own mini-reformation (and manage to defile two momentous occassions, the Ressurection and the Easter Uprising), and all they have to do is apologize. I'm all for loving and forgiveness but, not without atonement. Apologies like that are akin to a child who apologizes not out of guilt, sorrow, or regret but, only because they got caught. I predict that no good is going to come from this, only more problems.