Pope Benedict XVI: Tighten up Annulment Criteria

I am extremely pleased to read that Pope Benedict XVI has called for Vatican Judges to tighten up the criteria in granting annulments. This follows a report that states 69 annulments were granted in 2005 for truly insufficient reasons including husbands being too attached to their mothers! For those new to the term, an "annulment" is declaring a marriage null and void.

In the Gospel of St. Luke 16:18, Christ tells us that anyone who puts away his wife and marries another, commits adultery!

Unfortunately, the number of annulments from 1952 to 1956 number 359 worldwide. Following Vatican II in 1968, there were 450 in the US alone! In 1997, there were more than 73,000 annulments worldwide! This is outrageous!

Annulments have since Vatican II become the "Get Out of Marriage" Free Card. It's a travesty. 

Read more >>

New Bishop Appointments: Garcia & Murry

The Most Rev. Richard J. Garcia has been installed the new Bishop of the Diocese of Monterey yesterday, January 30, 2007. His appointment was previously announced in December 2006. In his homily at the installation, Bishop Garcia said, "I dream of a diocese where we can pray together, can celebrate together, can open doors to new hopes and dreams, can accept all immigrants as God accepts us all, can reach out and love the victimized and those hurt by our church or its ministries ... and where we can see each child as a gift of God and end abortion." (Santa Cruz)

Also on Tuesday, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown welcomed its fifth Bishop in its history: Bishop George V. Murry. He will be serving the diocese, which consists of 216,000 Catholics. Murry will be installed in Youngstown March 28. Bishop Murry said, ‘‘I am honored to accept the holy father’s appointment to serve as bishop of Youngstown, and I look forward to meeting and working with the priests, deacons, religious and laity of the diocese." (Tribune Chronicle)

Read more >>

Feast of St. John Bosco

Today is the Feastday of St. John Bosco. I strongly encourage people to read about his life and the miracles he worked. His dreams are truly inspiring. Read my post from last year.

Read more >>

Words of Inspiration: January 31, 2007

St. Padre Pio:

"I have no desire except to die or to love God; either death or love, since life without this love is worse than death and for me it would be more unbearable than it is at present."

St. Teresa of Avila:

"It should be observed that perfect love of God consists not in those delights, tears, and sentiments of devotion that we generally seek, but in a strong determination and keen desire to please God in all things, and to promote His glory."

Read more >>

The Vatican has a Court System?

Did you know that the Vatican has it's own ecclessial court system? It does. This recent photo is of Pope Benedict XVI with the Sacra Rota Romama, the second highest court. The only court that is higher is the Apostolic Signatura.

Photo Source: AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, HO

Read more >>

Bendigo Cathedral will stay the way it is!

After comments from Traditional and Faithful Catholics, liberal activists will not see the magnificent architecture of Bendigo Cathedral altered. I found this post on Marty's, a very good blog that I have just recently found. The article:

Altar to stay says bishop

From the Bendigo Weekly:

THE internal layout of the Sacred Heart Cathedral will not be altered.Head of the Sandhurst Diocese, Bishop Joe Grech, has no plans to move the altar from the sanctuary to the area in front of the pews, nor remove the altar rails. However, he said the idea was raised during a discussion on how to encourage a closer relationship between the clergy and parishioners."At the cathedral parish, we are always looking at how we can do things a bit better, how we can involve people in what we do," he said."

We said maybe we need to do something about the altar because it still feels as if there’s a gap between the people and the sanctuary." You talk about these things, part of our mission is how to get closer." But the structure itself of the cathedral is what we have at the moment, we will work with that and that’s the important thing." If the idea was on the agenda, Bishop Grech said he would have discussed such a move with his parishioners." If there were plans, I would have done it different, I would have presented it to the people for debate firstly, for discussion," he said." You have ideas about so many things in life and then you come to make a decision, you see whether it’s practical, or good or not so good and you work that way." Suggested changes to the altar have prompted a heated community debate between traditional Catholics and those who support change. The debate has centred on liturgical and historical arguments, along with sentiment and emotion. Bishop Grech believes every person is entitled to express their beliefs on any issue, but urges others to remember that regardless of the issue, there is a need for sensitivity."Any change is difficult," Bishop Grech said. "Some people feel with change there is a loss of something, that’s why you have to be sensitive, you have to be practical in life." It’s good for people to have freedom to think and be able to express it." Faith is something of the heart."

Read more >>

Fr. Drinan Has Died

Fr. Robert Drinan, 86, the first Catholic priest to become a voting member of Congress, has died. He was an example of what a priest should not represent. Not only did he support contraception, but he also strongly supported the horror of abortion! What a scandelous man, who was supposed to be serving the Flock of Jesus Christ! He even openly supported Clinton's veto of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. A priest is called to lay down his life so that others may have life. However, Fr. Drinan supported the murder of millions of innocent, unborn children. He is a disgrace to the Holy Catholic Church.

Saint John Chrysostom said: "Few bishops are saved and many priests are damned". Let's pray for the soul of Fr. Drinan; may he have repented from his grave errors before his death.

Read more >>

Avoid Gossip

Saint Philip Neri once gave a lady who gossiped the following penance:

"Go to the market, buy a chicken, and pluck it on your way back here, scattering the feathers as you walk. When you give me the plucked chicken, I'll tell you the rest of your penance." 

The woman was baffled did as she was told. After she handed the plucked chicken to the saint, St. Neri said, "Now that you've spread those feathers about, go pick them up." 

"But, Father! It's impossible to know where they've all gone!" 

"Just like the words of your gossip," he said.

Read more >>

Fr. Frank Pavone's Homily from January 18, 2007

I'd like to share an excerpt of Fr. Frank Pavone's Homily from Thursday, Week II, in Ordinary Time.

Here is the excerpt that I liked:

There’s one way to peace in the world. Jesus Christ our High Priest is our peace. Peace is not simply when bombs stop being dropped or guns cease their fire. Or troops are withdrawn. Neither is peace identical with troops being deployed. It is beyond all that. Peace comes when we are reconciled with Almighty God. And when through that reconciliation, we respect the human rights and dignity — the inherent human rights and dignity, of every person. That is when peace comes. Peace is not lost when the first gun is fired or the first bomb is dropped or the first tank rolls in. That is not when peace is lost. Peace is lost whenever an injustice is committed against a human being. That is when peace is lost. It can happen in the quiet silence of an apparently peaceful city. But if human lives in any way are being oppressed or downtrodden, peace has already been lost. Lets not have a superficial understanding of what peace is or what the way to peace might be.

Read more >>

Book Recommendations for Lent

With Lent only three weeks away, it's time to start thinking about Lent. Not only should we fast, abstain, and give up something during Lent, but also we should do spiritual reading. The Rule of St. Benedict stipulated that monks must read one spiritual book during Lent. We could find great benefit in imitating their example.

'"A willow tree,' says Pope St. Gregory the Great, 'bears no fruit, but by supporting as it does the vine together with its grapes, it makes these its own by supporting what is not its own.' In like manner, he who warmly recommends a book calculated to do much good makes his own all the good that is done by the book" (Father Michael Mueller in The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass)

Here are some Lenten Book Recommendations:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.
• Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Father Alban Goodier
• Suffering With Christ by Abbot Marmion
• Why the Cross? by Father Edward Leen
• Seven Words on the Cross by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
• The Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting & Abstinence by Matthew Plese
• School of Jesus Christ Crucified by Fr. Ignatius
• Daily Lenten Meditation by St. Thomas Aquinas

Read more >>