News

This is the ad that was pulled at request of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. My own opinion is that it is a somewhat clever ad (quality more YouTubish than polished) that certainly was not meant to be disrespectful and a good way to advertise the Papal Mass. I did like the Pontiff and Driver magazine the man was reading. With so much media that actually engages in Catholic bashing it seems silly to me to get upset over an ad such as this. I am more upset that the bobblehead doll doesn’t look much like the Pope and is wearing the wrong color of vestments.

American Papist first covered the story here.

A NUN saved a burning man from death by jumping on him – then smothering the flames with her habit.

Brave Sister Donatella Ciucciumei, 51, saw the elderly man douse himself in petrol in a street in San Severino Marche, in Italy.

She ran towards the 71-year-old as he raised a lit match to his body.

And as he was engulfed in flames, she jumped on top of him, spreading her habit to douse the flames.

The nun was unhurt and the man is recovering after sustaining second degree burns to most of his body.

Sister Donatella has visited daily to offer him counselling. Police said he was depressed because his wife left him.

Good thing this wasn’t a modern nun that did this or else besides severe burns he would have melted polyester pantsuit coating him to boot.

Catholic Fire

LONDON (Billboard) – It’s a pretty safe
bet that very few musical groups count Pope Benedict XVI among their
fans.

But the pontiff is a definite admirer of the latest boys in the hood(s)
to sign globally to Universal Classics U.K. It’s a choir of Austrian
monks from Stift Heiligenkreuz — the Abbey of the Holy Cross — a
monastery in the heart of the Vienna woods.

Benedict XVI declared himself impressed by the brothers’ vocal talents
when visiting the monastery last September. Their new status, however,
owes little to papal favor or even divine intervention; rather, it came
via a lengthy search by Universal through ads in British religious
publications for a choir performing Gregorian chants.

After the pope’s visit, the monastery posted a videoclip featuring the
monks’ 15-strong choir (and a performance of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on
the Water”) on YouTube. It quickly began attracting buzz online and has
generated more than 82,000 views.

One monk says they were subsequently encouraged to submit the clip to
Universal by “a friend from the media business in London.”

Despite competition from some 100 choirs, Heiligenkreuz’s monks were
the clear winner, London-based Universal Classics executive Tom Lewis
says. “They are, quite simply, the best Gregorian singers we have
heard. They make a magical, evocative sound, which is both immediately
calming and deeply moving.”.

Article

Well the Pope does like boy bands – just
as long as they come from Vienna.

Now I really wish I could find the video
of the monks singing Deep Purples “Smoke on the Water.” Maybe they just
made that up. But there are videos of their chanting that have
attracted a large number views.   This one
has attracted close to 87,000 and is quite beautiful.

I found some of the comments at YouTube to
be quite interesting especially this one.

First,, I’m atheist…. Second,, I cant
understand nothing of this Gregorian Chant,, but sounds amazing,,, no
matter what is the inspiration for this. Just enjoy it.

THE removal of a popular Roman Catholic
priest who church officials
said used money from his parish in White Plains to feed a gambling
habit came as a surprise to many parishioners when they learned about
it last week.

The Rev. Patrick Dunne, who had been pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows
Church since 1991, is undergoing counseling for addiction in a
rehabilitation center, church officials said.

and

MAHA, Neb. � A Roman Catholic nun
accused of stealing from the Omaha Archdiocese and gambling much of the
money away has pleaded guilty to theft.

An attorney says Sister Barbara Markey pleaded Monday to theft of more
than $1,500. Defense attorney J. William Gallup says she also agreed to
pay $125,000 in restitution.
Tools

Markey faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced in July.

Markey is an internationally known speaker. She was fired in 2006 as
director of the archdiocese’s family life office after an audit found
irregularities.

The audit found that Markey spent $307,545 for her own use or without
documentation. Prosecutors say Markey used the money to cover gambling
forays, gifts and trips.

Proof that it is not a good idea to take Gestas
as a confirmation name.

Deal
Hudson met with Rev. John Hagee in connection with
anti-Catholic statements he has made in the past and posts on what is
the first of meetings that they will have.  Rev. Hagee does
seem to be truly perplexed in being called an anti-Catholic and these
meetings are quite a positive development.  It does
appear that he was rather tone-deaf towards the concerns of Catholic
more than being venomently anti-Catholic. On interesting fact
that came out was the John Hagee had helped support a group of Ursuline
Sisters in San Antonio for several years.

Inside Catholic has a letter signed by 300 employees of
the World Bank,  International Monetary Fund, and
other organizations to Pope Benedict XVI, in anticipation of his
upcoming trip.  Not what you might expect and really pretty
awesome and not any kind of prank.

Pope forms Congregation
for Internet Evangelization.

NEW YORK –Ted Turner formed a $200
million partnership Tuesday with
Lutherans and Methodists to fight malaria, apologizing for his past
criticism of religion as he announced the effort.
Turner, 69, said he had only made a few disparaging comments a long
time ago and that he is “always developing” his thinking as he grows
older.

“I regret anything I said about religion that was negative,” he said in
a brief interview with The Associated Press.

Years ago, the CNN founder called Christianity a “religion for losers.”
He also wrote his own version of the 10 Commandments and asked CNN
employees who commemorated Ash Wednesday whether they were “Jesus
freaks,” saying they should work for Fox. He apologized at the time.

Turner now says he does not considering himself agnostic or atheist, as
he had sometimes described himself previously. He prays for sick
friends because “it doesn’t hurt,” he said, and maintains several
churches on his properties for his employees and others who live nearby.

He said he has attended the churches a few times, but isn’t a regular.

“I find it really hard to believe I’m going to hell,” Turner said.

I thought for sure this must have been
an April Fools joke story when I first saw the headline.

Gerald
and  Mike Aqualina have been reporting
on the six sermons by St. Augustine recently discovered in Erfurt
Germany.  I do hope that Pope Benedict does not hear about it
for a couple of more weeks.  Considering his love of St.
Augustine he might cancel his trip to the United States so that he can
pore over them or at the minimum being deep distracted considering them.

Rich
Leonardi has a great story published in this weeks edition of
this week’s Catholic Telegraph that features a story about ten
prisoners baptized by Archbishop Pilarczyk last weekend.