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Callers hear a soothing male voice welcoming them to “The Line of the Lord” at a cost of 31 pence a minute.

“For advice on confessing, press one. To confess, press two. To listen to some confessions, press three,” it says.

“In case of serious or mortal sins – that is, sins that have cut you off from Christ our Lord, it is indispensable to confide in a priest,”

The site was set up this month at the beginning of Lent by a group of Catholics working for AABAS, a small Paris company that provides telephone messaging services.

But the Conference of French Bishops, has warned in a statement that the line had “no approval from the Catholic Church in France.”

It does not offer absolution for sins, which only a priest can provide, said the creator, Camille, who asked for her second name not be cited because she had received threats about the service.

“The idea is to confess sins which are not capital sins, but minor sins, directly to God,” she said, adding that the line received about 300 calls in its first week. [reference]

Well I like for the most part their explanation of mortal sin – but of course the whole thing could easily confuse those who do no realize that Sacraments can only be received in person.  The listening to others confessions option shows thoughthat this was not some service made it with good intentions by mistaken Catholics.  Ever since the telephone was invented, people wondered about this possibility and it seems to be brought up once agan with every new communication technology.  Though if confession could be done via the phone – charging for the service would I guess be eSimony.

Her talking about confessing sins “directly to God” via the telephone is problematic if you don’t have the area code for Heaven.  Though surely the area code for Hell is 666.

She thought she might get off with a few Hail Marys. Instead, she got three years in prison.

The 27-year-old New Jersey woman who cried rape and put away an innocent man had no idea what coming clean would cost her when she stepped into a confessional a year ago and told her priest everything.

“She was going to confess this was her sin and that was it,” said a source familiar with the shocking recantation of Biurny Peguero Gonzalez, who on Tuesday was sentenced to one to three years in prison for falsely accusing William McCaffrey of a violent sexual assault in 2005.

McCaffrey, whom Gonzalez had accused of raping her on a deserted Inwood street, served nearly four years of a 20-year sentence. The Bronx man, now 33, was exonerated in December after Gonzalez, a mother of two, admitted concocting the tale to gain sympathy from friends.

Although Gonzalez desperately wanted McCaffrey freed, “I don’t think she felt that it was going to go beyond that confession. She just happened to pick a priest who said, ‘Oh, no, no, no . . .’ ”

The priest, the Rev. Zeljko Guberovic of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Union City, made it clear to her that her obligation didn’t end with admitting the lie.[reference]

By some reports this might also have been her first confession. A rather interesting case regarding sacramental confession in that besides confessing your sins that sometimes restitution is involved.  A robber could not simply confess that he had stollen, but would need to pay back what was stolen.  Though this need not be done in a public way. I remember one priest speaking on EWTN saying that in some cases he would receive the stolen money and return it to the person robbed, while of course making no mention of who the thief was.  In this specific case I don’t see how restitution could be done without the person exposing herself publicly to recant her false rape charge.  The inviolability of confession certainly means that the priest could never have brought this up – though it present in odd situation when the penitent brings it up and specifically mentions what when on in confession including the penance given.

It is an unusual situation when the penitent discloses the contents of a confession publicly. Though the priest is still bound to not reveal anything said in confession.  Prudentially though I think it would have been better if she had not mentioned what spurned her conversion since I think this will confuse people about the nature of the priest-penitent privilege in sacramental confession. Though certainly there are no canonical penalties for her doing so.

Tweets are the new Barks! Ever wonder what your pup is doing while you’re away? Well, now you can get the 411 with text messages from Puppy Tweets! Whenever your dog moves, barks (or just naps), the tag knows it and sends a WiFi signal to your computer which then sends you a Tweet via Twitter. Simply set up a Twitter page for your dog and your Puppy Tweets tag starts generating Tweets. Puppy Tweets comes pre-loaded with over 500 phrases that put a humorous or insightful spin on your dog’s daily activity. For example, a bark may generate a Tweet of: “I bark because I miss you. There I said it. Now hurry home.” A quick run through the house could produce: “I finally caught that tail I’ve been chasing and…OOUUUCHH!” Invite your friends and family to follow your pet on Twitter and help your dog follow his or her favorite puppy pals or celebrities. Puppy Twitter lets you connect with your pet over the Internet. It’s a great way to brighten your day ‘cause a Tweet from your pooch is a virtual smooch! [reference]

I think I will design a similar device for cats.  Though there will only be 3 not 500 possible messages.  The messages would be 1. Sleeping, 2. Ignoring you,  3. Feed me now.

Or possibly for Benedictine Monks which would only have two messages 1) Praying 2) Working ala Ora et labora.

Saint Paul would have been even simpler with only one message 1) Praying since he said to pray continuously.

HAVERSTRAW (WABC) — The parents of a high school student from Rockland County are demanding answers after their ninth grader was suspended for wearing rosary beads to school.

He was suspended even though the school doesn’t even have a policy banning them. So did the principal go too far? Jason Laguna is a former altar boy and proud Catholic. He got his rosary beads as a gift, thinks they look cool and sometimes wears them under his shirt at school. But last Friday, right before dismissal, he pulled them out on his way out. He was given a one-day suspension from Fieldstone Secondary School. His mother calls the punishment extreme, considering the 14-year-old is a member of student government and, according to his last report card, “is a pleasure to have in class.” Laguna says she was told the school has an unwritten policy regarding beads because they could be used to show gang affiliation. The principal claims it was insubordination, saying Laguna’s actions, “endangered the safety, health, morals or welfare of himself or others.” Jason was supposed to stay home Friday, but late Thursday the district superintendent put that on hold pending further investigation. It may not be divine intervention, but his mother has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union as she continues to fight the suspension.

Well contacting the ACLU is probably not the smartest thing to do. Though sometimes they actually do protect civic liberties.

So what is suppose to happen when you violate an unwritten policy – go go an unbuilt prison for an unspecified term? Though this suspension is not the first of it’s kind since other schools have done the same. These types of reactions though show the stupidity of the bureaucratic one punishment fits all where thinking about a situation is never part of the official reaction. If gangs started using belts as a gang symbol would they ban belts to?

Pope Benedict XVI has again shown just how necessary and effective it can be to speak out in the face of unjust legislation against the Church.

The British government today backed down from pursuing parts of its Equality Bill, legislation which would have removed the Church’s right to refuse employing certain lay staff including, for instance, the right of a Catholic school to employ a Catholic as a head teacher. The government’s decision came after a furore in Britain following the Holy Father’s remarks to the bishops of England and Wales over such legislation.

According to The Times newspaper: “Ministers were astonished on Monday when the Pope said that the Bill violated “natural justice” and urged bishops to fight it. But that attack, along with the strength of opposition in the Lords and the limited time left to get Bills passed before the election, has sapped the Government’s enthusiasm to continue the fight.”

The Times also reports that although Harriet Harman, the minister responsible for the legislation, made no mention of the Pope’s visit to Britain this year, “it is understood that the Government did not want the dispute to overshadow preparations.”

On Monday, the Pope told the bishops that the Bill and other types of similar legislation would “impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.” The Pope added: “I urge you as Pastors to ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended.” [reference]

As a top prospect for the Oakland Athletics, outfielder Grant Desme might’ve gotten the call every minor leaguer wants this spring.

Instead, he believed he had another, higher calling.

Desme announced Friday that he was leaving baseball to enter the priesthood, walking away after a breakout season in which he became MVP of the Arizona Fall League.

“I was doing well at ball. But I really had to get down to the bottom of things,” the 23-year-old Desme said. “I wasn’t at peace with where I was at.”

A lifelong Catholic, Desme thought about becoming a priest for about a year and a half. He kept his path quiet within the sports world, and his plan to enter a seminary this summer startled the A’s when he told them Thursday night.

General manager Billy Beane “was understanding and supportive,” Desme said, but the decision “sort of knocked him off his horse.” After the talk, Desme felt “a great amount of peace.”

“I love the game, but I aspire to higher things,” he said. “I know I have no regrets. [reference]

He hit a Rome Run!

I would now like to make an appeal regarding the dramatic situation in Haiti. My thoughts go out in particular to the people severely afflicted, just a few hours ago, by a devastating earthquake that has caused massive loss of human life, left a great number of people homeless, and left widespread tremendous material devastation. I invite everyone to unite themselves to my prayer to the Lord for the victims of this catastrophe and for those who mourn the dead. Be assured of my spiritual closeness to those who have lost their homes and to all people suffering in any way from this grave calamity, as I ask God to grant them consolation and relief amidst their suffering. I call upon the generosity of all so that our brothers and sisters living in this time of need and pain may not lack our concrete solidarity and the effective support of the International Community. The Catholic Church will not fail to take immediate action through her charitable institutions to meet the most pressing needs of the people. — Pope Benedict XVI

Washington D.C., Dec 4, 2009 / 10:43 (CNA).- Conservative blogs were buzzing on Friday with the discovery that a member of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on Catholic Health Care is an active homosexual and gay rights activist. However, though Mary Kay Henry’s bio states that she is a labor adviser to the U.S. bishops, the USCCB communications director told CNA “she is not a consultant.”

Henry, the international executive vice president for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was recently named one of the nation’s “Top 25 Women in Healthcare” for 2009 by Modern Healthcare. Her biography at the SEIU website explains that “Her faith and values as a practicing Roman Catholic led her to pursue union organizing as a vocation.”

“Mary Kay is also active in the fight for immigration reform and gay and lesbian rights. She is a founding member of SEIU’s gay and lesbian Lavender Caucus,” her description continues.

According to SEIU, “The Lavender Caucus is the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/ Transgender (L/G/B/T) Caucus of the Service Employees International Union whose purpose is to facilitate open and respectful communication between the L/G/B/T community and the labor movement.”

The last line of Henry’s SEIU bio reads, “She and her partner, Paula Macchello, have been together for 20 years.”

Henry is listed on the USCCB website as a member of the Subcommittee on Justice, Peace, and Human Development who helped produce the working paper, “A Fair and Just Workplace: Principles and Practices for Catholic Health Care.”

ModernHealthCare.com also mentions that Henry is a labor adviser to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Catholic Health Care & Work Subcommittee.

However, in an email asking to confirm Henry’s advisory role at the USCCB, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, the conference media director simply told CNA, “She is not a consultant.”

CNA spoke with another woman in the Justice, Peace and Human Development office at the USCCB who said a press release on the topic would be available on Friday afternoon.

But by Friday night, no press release had been posted on the USCCB’s website.

Similarly, a call from CNA to Henry was not returned.

So if not a consultant exactly what is her capacity within the USCCB? Seems once more like bureaucratic double-speak. She has worked on multiple sub-committees which submitted recommendations which were accepted within the USCCB. So maybe not technically used as an consultant but it is obvious her opinions were sought after. Or are we to believe her job in these subcommittees were to make coffee?

This is just more effects of the relationships of staff at the USCCB and left leaning organizations and unions. This relationship has always turned up strange bedfellows. The USCCB has continuously sought advice from Catholics less than faithful to the Church. When the National Review Board in response to priestly abuse was established they included a couple of problematic Catholics including Bob Bennett the pro-abortion lawyer who worked for Bill Clinton.

A couple of months ago the coalition “So We Might See” which the Office of Communications of the USCCB belongs to issued a petition to investigate Rush Limbaugh. The USCCB later denied supporting the petition of the group they still belong to.

Plus with the scandals within CCHD it just goes to show that the bureaucracy within the staff of the USCCB has been heavily compromised in some departments. Light though will continue to shine on these problems and the rapid dissemination of such information will help to some degree reform this.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – The acting bishop of Basra held Catholic Mass here Nov. 7 in honor of the service members and civilians working toward a safer, more secure Iraq.

Bishop Imad Al Banna, a Chaldean priest, spoke Aramaic, an ancient language spoken in Palestine 2,000 years ago and still spoken in parts of Iraq to this day.

Al Banna began his sermon with a message of peaceful coexistence.

“Peace can be achieved only by respecting other people’s opinions,” said Al Banna. “All nations who respect themselves take care of all of their citizens. National must also learn from each other and work together to achieve peace.”

Addressing the men and women in the congregation serving in the military, Al Banna extended his praise and gratitude.

“I would like to say thank you to every person who is assisting and helping,” said Al Banna. “You have come overseas so we can have a government that can take care of its citizens.”

Al Banna, who is officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as acting bishop of Basra, said he is concerned with all citizens, not only Christians.

The acting bishop of Basra, Imad Al Banna, poses for one last photo before departing Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, Nov. 7. Al Banna was on the base to hold Catholic Mass for those serving at COB Adder. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matthew E. Jones)

“I try, from my religious position, to help all people of southern Iraq,” he said. “The church is very open and has services to help all people.”

Spc. Eric Jackson, Altoona, Pa., a chaplain assistant in the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, Pennsylvania National Guard, especially appreciated the Bishop’s message.

“I really like what he had to say. He is a very humble man,” said Jackson. “If you don’t have humility, you don’t have God.” [Reference Sgt.
Matthew E. Jonest]

Yes the Church is under A TAC once again. Thanks be to God this time it is the Traditional Anglican Communion coming to full communion with the Church. Te Deum!!!

“In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony.”

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