News

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI chose two women religious from the United States to be consultants to the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization: Sister Sara Butler, who teaches theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago; and Sister Mary Lou Wirtz, the Rome-based president of the International Union of Superiors General.

Glad to see Sister Butler’s appointment. She has been part of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission. In 1978, she headed a task force of the Catholic Theological Society of America that came out in support of female priests. Later though further study she realized the errors of her previous support of women’s ordination and wrote a book called The Catholic Priesthood and Women: A Guide to the Teaching of the Church. I was impressed favorably with her book that went point by point against all the arguments in favor of women’s ordination and refuted them quite well.

On Friday Taylor Marshall posted this pitcher of Sitting Bull.

People usually don’t see this picture of Sitting Bull wearing a crucifix since the photo is often cropped.

Now I had heard before that Sitting Bull was Catholic convert, but an article I saw today casts doubt on that. Mark Armstrong writing for Catholic Lane notes that this is not known for sure and while Father Pierre De Smet and Bishop Martin Marty were people Sitting Bull trusted and were also men who had baptized Indians in the thousands we have no baptismal records to verify.

His conversion into possibly becoming a Catholic makes a small headline in the New York Times from a story on September 27, 1883, “An unforeseen obstacle to his (Sitting Bull’s) reception has been met in the shape of two wives, neither of whom Sitting Bull can make up his mind to part with.” The article concludes, “Until the red man brings himself to put aside one or the other of his marital companions he will be debarred entrance.”

Thus, he still wasn’t a Catholic in late 1883 according to the NY Times article, which references Bishop Marty’s efforts to convert him as well: “[T]he famous warrior’s reception into the church, will be delayed for a time, it ever takes place. Sitting Bull is at Fort Yates where he has been under the instruction of Bishop Marty for a long time.

The whole article has some in depth historical background and also addresses the deathbed conversion of Buffalo Bill Cody to the Catholic Church. The problem with Sitting Bull’s two wives was apparently never resolved and so it is unlikely he was ever officially received into the Catholic Church, though he might have been baptized.

The Vatican is inviting Internet bloggers to Rome next month for an unprecedented meeting to foster “informal exchange and contact.”

The May 2 event aims to take advantage of the influx of international bloggers coming to Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II a day earlier.

While all are invited to apply, only a limited number of blogging attendees will receive a formal invitation. The objective of the Vatican departments organizing the event is to fill the 150-seat St. Pius X auditorium with a group representing the diversity of the “blogosphere.”
Participants will be selected with reference to the timeliness of request, blog subject and the language and geographical location of the blogger. Attention will also be given to the nature of blogs as institutional or private, multi-voice or personal.

The encounter marks a first for the Church, which has put emphasis on opening up channels with new media platforms through a series initiatives in recent years.

The Vatican has only gradually entered social networks, setting up YouTube and Facebook accounts for the Pope and even promoting John Paul II’s May 1 beatification through Twitter.

The Holy See’s relationship with blogs, however, has been a little more prickly. During a press conference to present Pope Benedict XVI’s message for World Social Communication’s Day last January, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli decried “aggressive blog sites that excommunicate and don’t have a Christian style of presence.”

While it was not clear to which Church-themed blogs he referred, he said that Internet users needed to approach blogs with an eye on “to what point they are truly Catholic.”

But the May 2 event aims give bloggers and Church representatives a chance to move beyond the relatively impersonal medium of the Internet and establish a more personal connection.

According to an April 7 statement from the two Vatican departments in charge, the objective is “to allow for a dialogue between bloggers and Church representatives, to listen to the experiences of those who are actively involved in this arena, and to achieve a greater understanding of the needs of that community.”

Cool, though I was disappointed to find there was a signup list. I was hoping for a Golden Ticket and an all expense paid trip. Really though my first thought was to look in my email spam folder for an invite from the Vatican. Or maybe a fancy envelop in the mail. Don’t they know who I am? Or maybe they do and thus no invite.

Seriously though I wish I could go to Rome for such a meeting, a Catholic bloggers dream.

Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan Archbishop of Santa Fe has issued a pastorally letter on cohabitation and I say bravo. This is a subject rarely brought up and this is rather odd considering how rampant this is. The good bishop takes an excellent pastoral approach and contrary to what some think pastoral does not mean not calling a sin a sin. Besides condemning cohabitation he also talks about the remedies for the particular situations.

We have three groups of people who are living contrary to the Gospel teaching on marriage: those who cohabit; those who have a merely civil union with no previous marriage; and those who have a civil union who were married before. These people are objectively living in a state of mortal sin and may not receive Holy Communion. They are in great spiritual danger. At the best – and this is, sadly, often the case – they are ignorant of God’s plan for man and woman. At the worst, they are contemptuous of God’s commandments and His sacraments.

It is amazing how many terms we now use to describe cohabitation to make it sound better. Shacking up, living together, etc. I guess fornication and adultery don’t sound as nice. Many see this as a dress rehearsal for married life, when usually it is just an undressed rehearsal which if it actually leads to marriage most often leads to a failed marriage since they have a higher divorce rate than couples who don’t cohabit.

This might pick up some media attention and likely they will distort this. The part about “merely civil unions” applies only to Catholics which of course are the audience for this pastoral letter. Non-Catholics can be validly married in a civil ceremony, but Catholics much follow the form of Marriage as outlined by Canon law. At least this is how I think the bishop is using the term “civil union”.

WASHINGTON (March 30, 2011)—The U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine authorized a statement March 24, critiquing Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God, a book by a Fordham University Professor, Sister Elizabeth A. Johnson, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, New York.

In the statement, the Committee asserts that the “basic problem with Quest for the Living God as a work of Catholic theology is that the book does not take the faith of the Church as its starting point. Instead, the author employs standards from outside the faith to criticize and to revise in a radical fashion the conception of God revealed in Scripture and taught by the Magisterium.”

The statement notes that Sister Johnson attempts to justify her revisions of traditional Catholic theology by arguing that this tradition has become contaminated by ideas from Enlightenment thinkers, who are responsible for the conception of God in what she calls “modern theism.”

USCCB Statement

The other day Jack from the Catholic Key blog tweeted: “When I saw Elizabeth Johnson’s book condemned by USCCB, I felt certain it must have won a Catholic Press Association award – Sure enough” and also “A friend of mine said of CPA book awards – “CPA in the Spring, CDF in the Fall” – works almost every time.”

Father Z posts her response to the USCCB which has the typical why was I not consulted. Well it seems she didn’t consult the Church since the book does not have a nihil obstat which would be required for a book of theology.

An unfortunate side effect is the book is now at the top of the bestsellers list for theology at Amazon.

Here is a worthwhile new family business that specializes in making dolls of sisters with habits from specific orders.

While I am partial to the Carmelites as shown above  they also currently have Sisters of Life, Holy Spirit Adoration Sister, Apostolic Sister of St. John, and Sister of the Visitation.  Personally I would also like to see a doll for the Dominican Sisters of Mary.

Saintly Sisters

Since this is a family business faithful to the magisterium you won’t see nuns dressed in polyester pant suits with sensible shoes.

VATICAN CITY, 18 MAR 2011 (VIS) – In the Holy See Press Office at midday today, the presentation took place of the “Courtyard of the Gentiles”, an initiative by the Pontifical Council for Culture which will involve two days of meeting and dialogue between believers and non-believers in Paris, France, on 24 and 25 March.

Participating in today’s press conference were Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Fr. Jean-Marie Laurent Mazas F.S.J., executive director of the “Courtyard of the Gentiles”, and Stanislas de Laboulaye, French ambassador to the Holy See.

Cardinal Ravasi explained that “at the request of Benedict XVI the Church has decided to embark on a new stage of dialogue, exchange and joint activity among believers and non-believers. This has been entrusted to the Pontifical Council for Culture”.

The name “Courtyard of the Gentiles” evokes “the image of the vast area near the Temple of Jerusalem reserved for debates between Jews and non-Jews”, the cardinal said. “It complements inter-religious dialogue which has been going on for some decades and represents a long-term commitment of the Church which will interest many people in the world, believers and non-believers alike”.

“The aim”, Cardinal Ravasi continued, “is to help to ensure that the great questions about human existence, especially the spiritual questions, are borne in mind and discussed in our societies, using our common reason”.

Simply this is awesome and of course part of the engagement that the Church and especially Pope Benedict XVI represent. Not really for the so-called “New Atheists”, but for men of good will seeking the truth.

The president of the pontifical council went on: “That symbol of apartheid and sacral separation which was the wall of the ‘Courtyard of the Gentiles’ was cancelled by Christ. He wished to eliminate barriers so as to ensure a harmonious meeting between the two peoples. … Believers and non-believers stand on different ground, but they must not close themselves in a sacral or secular isolationism, ignoring one another or, worse still, launching taunts or accusations as do fundamentalists on one side and the other. Of course, differences must not be skimmed over, contradictory ideas must not be dismissed, or discordances ignored, … but thoughts and words, deeds and decisions can be confronted, and even come together”, he said.

Relations between Christians and Gentiles “can follow the paradigm of a duel”, the cardinal concluded, “but what the ‘Courtyard of the Gentiles’ wishes to propose is, by contrast, a duet. A duet in which the sound of the voices may be at antipodes – such as a bass and a soprano – yet manage to create a harmony without renouncing their own identity; in other words, … without fading away into a vague ideological syncretism”.

A duet not a duel – I love that.

The inaugural session of the “Courtyard of the Gentiles” will take place on the afternoon of 24 March at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, presided by Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO, and attended by diplomats and representatives of the world of culture

[Vatican Information Service]

Anna Arco of the Catholic Herald.

The Pope has honoured three former Anglican bishops, the first members of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, with the title of monsignor.

Fr Keith Newton, the leader of the Ordinariate who has most of the functions of a bishop, and Fr John Broadhurst, the former Bishop of Fulham, have been granted the papal award of Apostolic Pronotary, the highest ecclesial title for non-bishops. Fr Andrew Burnham, the former Bishop of Ebbsfleet, has been granted the papal award

I use to be a Bishop and now I only have purple socks.

Truly though I especially love people who give up something for the love of truth. That even though Anglican orders are invalid, they had to get passed that fact – which could not have be easy. The same goes for anybody that has to give up their job to become Catholic or face hurdles such as opposition by a spouse, family, or friends.

Via Father Z

Rumors that deceased Pope John Paul II is joining Facebok have been confirmed by the Vatican.

The Facebook page for the late pope will be unveiled by the Vatican in an effort to promote his beautification.

Monsignor Paul Tighe, one of the Vatican’s top two in the social media department, said “What we found is that Facebook doesn’t just share information, it creates community.”

It has been reported that the page will link to video highlights of John Paul’s 27-year papal run.

The church will also expand its media focus to include a Vatican news portal, to begin on Easter. The Vatican’s first message reads:

“That interactivity — and the potential it brings to the church’s evangelization mission — is behind the Vatican’s new social media push, the culmination of which will be launched at Easter with a new Vatican information web portal whose contents are specifically designed to be tweeted, posted and blogged.” [Source]

Well if the story is true, it seems like a pretty Catholic idea to me to have a dead person with a Facebook page.  The Communion of Saints is a reality, though you don’t need a Facebook account to friend these friends of God.  The Wall will be more like the Wailing Wall where people will post notes for intercessory requests.  Just remember chat is fully functional with the Communion of Saints, but not Facebook chat and don’t expect to play “Words with Friends” with him.