Philly's Front Page

Buona domenica a tutti, snowflakes.

Our paper of record -- which has been hitting hard on the continuing drip of sex-abuse stories -- covers an angle usually forgotten in this morning's edition: what becomes of the laicized priest?

As the canonists among us know, this is a sticky area. Once a suspension is brought down, even though an accused priest is removed from active ministry, the law's obligation of providing for his welfare remains (within limits, of course). Yet when the dismissal from the clerical state is granted (whether forcibly or by request), all demands upon the local church or order into which he was incardinated cease.

This from Jim Remsen at the Inquirer:

The church had already suspended the clerics after finding the child-abuse allegations against them to be credible. Now, as it defrocks them, expelling them from the priesthood, the men are quietly reentering civilian life with only the barest notice to the public, and no ongoing oversight by the church.

Nor is law enforcement certain to be watching them.

In most instances, the statute of limitations in their cases expired years ago. This means they face no prospect of prosecution for past sex offenses.

"As a citizen, I would be concerned and would want to know if such an individual was living on my block," said Capt. John Darby, head of the Philadelphia police Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes.

But only convicted sex offenders' names appear on "Megan's Law" public registries checkable by neighbors, Darby said - and few of the defrocked priests were ever charged or convicted.

And the public revelation of something known inside the walls for months:

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has set up a residence for suspended priests at the annex to Villa St. Joseph, its residence for retired priests, in Darby. They agree to live there instead of being defrocked, and undergo "a supervised life of prayer and penance," with their activities monitored, according to the archdiocese.

Ten other suspended priests, over 75 and infirm, live in the main Villa St. Joseph retirement building, where they, too, are watched and counseled, the archdiocese said.

When priests are defrocked and leave its oversight, the archdiocese said, it does not notify civil authorities or maintain contact with the men.

This is a thorny issue which requires cooperation between the canons and civil law, and it's one the bench of bishops hasn't touched in a substantive way. Here's hoping they get crackin' on it.

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Sandro the Prolific

Capping a week of mind-blowing flow, Magister rides again with a piece on Monday's encounter with the priests at Introd.

Of the addresses delivered until now by Benedict XVI, one stands out as entirely special. The pope did not write it, but improvised it, speaking off the cuff. He made his remarks behind closed doors during his vacation in the Alps, at the little church of Introd, in the presence of the bishop and priests of the diocese of Aosta. It was not released by the Vatican press office, but appeared two days later, on July 27, in "L'Osservatore Romano" and on the website of the Holy See, exclusively in Italian, in a transcript from the tape recording.

It is an address of great interest, because it permits getting a live reading on some of the questions closest to the heart of Joseph Ratzinger. They are the questions on which his reflections emerge spontaneously, on which his vision is clear, with startling features. And there are questions for which he admits to not having definitive answers.

As for the last part, let us remember the sage words, "Il Papa non e' un oracolo" -- and don't dare render the last word as "prophet."

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Some Want Weapons

Karen Hall on liturgical dancers:

Have I mentioned that liturgical dancers always make me wish I had a beebee gun? I think I have.

Welcome to NewChurch, worse than the old church.

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Frist Backs Stem Cells, Right-Wing Flips Out

From the Washington Post:

A dozen religious leaders and conservative advocacy groups, in blistering language, attacked Frist for abandoning the Bush policy.

"It certainly gives one pause in trusting his commitment to the sanctity of life," said Lanier Swann, government relations director of Concerned Women for America.

The Christian Defense Coalition said Frist should not expect its support in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, while the Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania took the opportunity to issue a pointed reminder that the church views embryonic stem cell research as "morally unacceptable."

Catholic League President William Donohue called Frist "Dr. Duplicity." An editorial in the conservative Weekly Standard magazine said: "The incoherence of Frist's position is staggering," while the National Pro-Life Action Center lambasted what it called Frist's "sell-out."

Aides said Frist informed the president of his decision in a phone call Thursday evening, and McClellan said Bush told the majority leader to "vote your conscience."

So will Bush be seen as going softy too, now? Whatever the case, it beats an examination by videotape.

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Scribes and Cardinal-Haters

From the "And They'll Know that We Are Catholics By our Anger" Desk, this week's award goes to those bullhorns of little faith on CWNews.

Uncle Ted -- who isn't going anywhere just yet, I'm told -- wants to establish an archdiocesan community of women religious in The District, a la Uncle Jack's Sisters of Life or the diocesan communities that That Fabe is establishing in Lincoln. And the reaction from the world's looniest comment boards?

I'll admit it, I do get discouraged. A REAL shot in the arm for me would be to hear that Card. McCarricks resignation has been accepted. Also, would be good to learn that the "diocesan sisterhood" has begun, and is flourishing in love & orthodoxy in service to the Church in Wash., DC... and it's new Cardinal Archbishop.

I'm still waiting for the verification that Pope Benedict has accepted Cardinal McCarricks retirement papers and for the name of his successor.

There are more princesses on those boards than in your average Middle Eastern sultanate. Why does that first one get discouraged? Sure ain't the Good Cardinal's fault.... I am reminded of the recent words of another smart, trusted prelate: "I am amazed at the insecurity that surrounds the faith of so many. A relationship which engenders insecurity, anxiety, and fear is not the Christian relationship of faith in God."

For my part, I just love the delicious irony -- absolutely sumptuous -- that the insecure people who love banging others on the head with terms such as "Cafeteria's closed," "The church is not a democracy," and howling their Trojan-horse "Magisteriummmm" act as if the cafeteria's wide open (for them), the church is a democracy (for them) and that the interpretation of their beloved word belongs to them and not the competent authority which they feel free to accept or dismiss on a whim. And Fascism will come to America disguised as 100% Americanism.

You couldn't find such high-grade hypocrisy if you paid for it.

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Caption Call

Uncle G sends along this delightful shot from the mountains.... Somebody's got to come up with a good tagline for it. (Photo: AP)

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Preparing for Senatorial Armageddon

Amy the Fair had this first, but as I'm the one who actually gets to vote in Casey-Santorum (even if I've succeeded Navarro-Valls by November '06), this deserves some treatment from a native Pennsylvanian writing from the River City of the Pharaohs, and William Penn too.

Bob Casey -- the Democratic nominee for Senate against Sick Rick -- gave an interview to Ignatius Insight. Shrewd move on Bob's part; those cats once had the temerity to question my credentials because I didn't view Archbishop Levada as the Devil.

Bill makes the Legionaries tremble. And I should be scared? Please.

For its part, Insight's interview sounds more like it's being given by Ed Gillespie or Karl Rove (or even that thing Deal Hudson) than an outlet which claims some kind of balance. The impression is more GOP Butterscotch Stallion than "Insight." And we should be surprised, snowflakes? But oh well.

Here are some noteworthy excerpts:

IgnatiusInsight.com: As a Catholic, does your faith shape your positions and actions? If so, in what ways?

Casey: Yes. My Catholic faith and the values reflected in that faith have always had a profound impact on me as a person and as a public official. I try to live up to the teachings of my faith in my personal life and in my public life.

IgnatiusInsight.com: Sen. Santorum has criticized you for your support of the judicial filibuster that he says is used solely to enforce compliance with Roe v. Wade. Could you comment on that?

Casey: The filibuster is one of the only mechanisms available in the Senate that forces more bipartisanship. We need more common ground and cooperation in Washington. My opponent has filibustered Democratic nominees. He’s trying to have it both ways....

IgnatiusInsight.com: You are described as a pro-life Democrat. Would you explain your stance on the death penalty, abortion, and embryonic stem cell research and human cloning?... How do your positions differ from those of your opponent?

Casey: I believe that being pro-life means the right to a decent life for a mother and her child before and after birth.

I am and I have always been pro-life....

As a U.S. Senator, I will strongly support funding for stem cell research that doesn’t destroy an embryo. There are many promising techniques under development that don’t require destroying the embryo and there’s good reason to hope that soon we’ll be able to remove the politics from this issue.

I also strongly support increased federal funding for research on stem cells derived from adult cells, bone marrow and placentas — areas where tremendous progress has already been made.

Wow. The Boy has neutralized the Republicans -- even on guns, which is HUGE in this biggest state in terms of NRA membership.... And he's pro-social justice, in favor of helping the underprivileged as opposed to voodoo tax cuts. Un vero catolico!

This is going to be the greatest Senate race in American history. And I'll get to vote in it. For Casey.

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End of the Innocence?

Traditional Catholic Reflections & Reports ponders the state of mandatory celibacy.... Stephen writes:

I think [the end is near]. It is a matter of time. But while it is something we pray for and expect, it is not in any way a matter of dissent or rebellion on our part. God forbid. And it will only strengthen the higher calling of a more freely chosen celibacy from whose holy ranks the bishops will be drawn, as in the east.

I hope it is sooner than later, so that we can widen the pool of good candidates to guarantee our churches the Eucharist and other sacraments in the difficult and challenging days to come. For a long time now, married priest-converts from other denominations have been allowed into Catholic priesthood. Allowing married candidates who present themselves for seminary and priesthood is something we must reconsider, whether 'in economia' or along other theological lines.

This is worth a discussion.

For my part, I concur with the discipline in place -- the twin demands of priesthood and family are too great, and one inevitably has to give -- but if someone voices the right argument (not "Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene"), I'm open to a rethinking.

Let's get talkin', people. Contributions from worthy permoids are especially welcome.

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Selling the Priesthood

Greetings from Starbucks again, snowflakes. Goregous day here in the River City of the Pharaohs, a beautiful dusk visible outside the picture windows of my favorite coffeehouse.

I've been thinking a lot lately -- especially in light of B16's comments about "the hope of social promotion" -- about priesthood and how to best promote it given the context of the post-modern world in which we live. There are some recent examples of note in this realm.

The archdiocese of Indianapolis, headed by the well-regarded catechesis supremo of the USCCB, Dan Buechlein of St. Meinrad's, has approached it by doing a Matrix-esque campaign. I'm not one for that approach -- it strikes me as being as intelligent and sophisticated as Keanu Reeves, himself -- but if it works, and actually arouses interest in guys of substance as opposed to Dungeons and Dragons devotees and tribal-chief wannabes, then as Benelli once said, "It's OK. We go. We do." (And if someone can send Jacob the Vatican Watcher one of those posters, I'm sure he'd be very grateful.)

The archdiocese of Denver -- home of the rustling wind -- recently introduced a new vocations site as well. It says nothing about being a tribal chief and everything about giving one's life in service. This pure, back-to-basics strategy should not be surprising, but the tribal-chief bit is, sadly, not a foreign one to our shores. That said, using it in recruitment is as unthinkable as comparing Marcel Maciel to Jesus and Levada to Pilate.

Oh, wait. That happened, too.

A couple years back, one prominent diocese dropped seven figures (that's $1million-plus, people) on a multimedia campaign to show off how beautiful priesthood was by... showing off aesthetically pleasing priests. Genius, right? Well, it was sure a triumph for bella figura.

In reality, it was a disaster, and the diocese in question actually had fewer candidates entering the seminary than the year before the boys started appearing on TV screens and billboards, answering once and for all (as if there was a question) that symbolism without the substantive witness of priesthoods of service does not a vocations crisis unmake.

Has anyone seen the movie "Zoolander"? A brief primer for those who haven't: Ben Stiller plays a top-tier male supermodel who's been moved to the sidelines by a blond, long-locked wonder called Hansel (played by the Butterscotch Stallion himself, Owen Wilson). Every time Hansel walks into a room, a house-style soundtrack resounds which keeps groaning his name and the A-list designer Mugatu (Will Ferrell) remarks, "Hansel. So hot right now."

Which brings me to my approach, and an assist from the Pope's athletic/photogenic/other adjective here secretary. Could Georg Fabulous be the man to save us?

I'm envisioning a poster with a poster with Georg -- just Georg -- looking at the camera as he tends to do. And the caption running along the bottom is simple and to the point:

PRIESTHOOD. So hot right now.

Call me crazy, but I think I'm onto something.

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Fuma Lei, Santità?

My molto-beloved Tablet has posted its editorial synopsis of the First 100 Days. But it contains a curious intimation...

Benedict’s personal style as Pope has been good-humoured, even making self-effacing jokes about being German. On one occasion he wore a white baseball cap; he smokes, plays the piano and likes cats.

He smokes?! I sure haven't heard that one.... This is a good place to note that in the last revision of the Legge Fondamentale, the legal code of the Vatican City State, smoking was banned in the entirety of Vatican City, indoors and out. Se e' vero, this might explain why Papa Bear slips out of the Office so much. Don't forget that felines, too, are banned within the walls.

I'm still waiting for Joe Fessio to release the "Pope Speaks to Cats" CD. Beats JP saying the Rosary... When it comes out, I will back a truck into Ignatius' loading dock and stock up.

Elsewhere in the World's Best Catholic Paper, we have a review of a new book on the papal gravy train: Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy, by Cambridge don John Pollard. He seems to uncover that The Tab had something to do with the resurrection of Peter's Pence, a revelation which should shut up the ideologues who call it a liberal publication.

Pollard only covers the period of 1850-1950. It gets much more interesting after that time -- enter Chink, Calvi and a golf course in Arizona.... And it would be another 15 years before The Pro (he who is "amazing" with money and monied people) would arrive in Rome. The place would never be the same again.

Would love to get the book and critique it, but it's $85 and my two donors have given too much already. Now if the guitar case were a bit fuller....

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World Spice Day

John Allen announces that Pell and Sydney will host WYD 2008.

The news sent world lace production soaring by about 23%.

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Waiting at the Tomb

From CNS -- the people who turned an oracle into a prophet -- comes this take on the scene in the Vatican Grottoes, four months hence:

The line takes visitors around the outside of St. Peter's Basilica, directly into the underground grotto, past the tomb and outside again. Those who want to visit the church must then get into a short, quick line....

Only a lucky, persistent few have a chance to pray before the tomb.

With the long lines and, especially, pilgrimage groups wanting to see the tomb, the basilica's ushers rather brusquely keep the lines moving.

Visitors who look like they are about to take a photograph of the tomb are asked to refrain. Those who sneak in a shot are snapped at.

Knowing the Romans, everyone's probably kicking and screaming their way down the ropeline. Hands in faces, you name it -- full-contact queueing, as nobody can do like Italians.

Big Sis -- in Rome on special mission -- has gotten requests to bring intentions to be touched to the Tomb. And the guards know better not to mess with her. She's gotten the job done on several occasions and gotten relatively lengthy time to stay and pray. (Pic courtesy of her.)

But the handling of all this leads one to believe that it is not a permanent solution.

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Gossip, et. al.

While I spend the evening banging away on the continuation of my series of reflections on the journey (Part I -- Part II), here are some noteworthy things to see until Part III appears:

One of my favorite Angelenos, Clayton over at The Weight of Glory, muses on Tom Cruise and the things we say, for good or ill.

Someone on the comment boards has compared Marcel Maciel to Jesus and Levada to Pilate. In case that didn't process the first time, I repeat: someone on the comment boards has compared Marcel Maciel to Jesus and Levada to Pilate.

Talk about raising your middle finger heavenward. Not to mention a compliment to Pilate -- first time that's happened in a long time, eh?

And, lastly, the future of the church (if all this catfighting and Mahony-Bernardin-USCCB Hatred keeps up) was explored on the cover of this morning's NYTimes in a piece on the culture of Midwestern steel-cage fighting. As the enlightened reader who e.mailed a copy of it around said in his subject line, "You straights sure present good role models for us intrinsically disordered folks."

Exactly why I'm not normally one for the company of my fellow straight men. As I always say, I have not been sent to save the race -- if I were, it'd be so much more than a full-time job and there'd be no energy left for this.

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The Top 15 List

ZENIT has a "Best of the First 100 Days" compilation of excerpts from the speeches of the B16. Definitely worth a long look.... Here are a few.

Ecumenism: "With full awareness, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers" -- first message from the Sistine Chapel, April 20.

Interreligious dialogue and dialogue with non-believers: "Aware of this, I address everyone, including the followers of other religions, or those who are simply seeking an answer to the fundamental questions of life and have not yet found it. I address all with simplicity and affection, to assure them that the Church wants to continue to weave an open and sincere dialogue with them, in the search for the true good of the human being and of society" -- first message from the Sistine Chapel, April 20.

Human rights and the defense of life: "The freedom to kill is not true freedom, but a tyranny that reduces the human being to slavery" -- homily during the Mass to take possession of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, May 7.

Family: "The Church cannot cease to proclaim that in accordance with God's plans (cf. Matthew 19:3-9), marriage and the family are irreplaceable and permit no other alternatives" -- letter to Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, May 17.

Relativism: "Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of educating is the massive presence in our society and culture of that relativism which, recognizing nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires. And under the semblance of freedom it becomes a prison for each one, for it separates people from one another, locking each person into his or her own 'ego'" -- address to participants in the ecclesial congress of the Diocese of Rome, June 6.

Solidarity: "To make a concrete response to the appeal of our brothers and sisters in humanity, we must come to grips with the first of these challenges: solidarity among generations, solidarity between countries and entire continents, so that all human beings may share more equitably in the riches of our planet. This is one of the essential services that people of good will must render to humanity. The earth, in fact, can produce enough to nourish all its inhabitants, on the condition that the rich countries do not keep for themselves what belongs to all" -- audience to seven new ambassadors to the Holy See, June 16.

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Magister and Prophet

Look at this headline... I'm putting it in bold:

THE FIRST SENTENCE FROM PREFECT LEVADA MAKES THE LEGION TREMBLE

Wonderful. Fabulous. That alone is sufficient....

Go on, Sandy -- he's on fire this week:

As a decree issued against the founder of a religious order on the basis of accusations going back decades for sexual abuse carried out against his followers, the decree against Fr. Burresi recalls an analogous case, but one of much greater significance. It, too, is being examined by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: the case of Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legionaries of Christ.

And it is not out of the question that the severity adopted against Fr. Burresi is the prelude to similarly rigorous actions against Fr. Maciel.

Score 18 for CDF. And there's still more:

What is certain is that the preliminary investigation in the Maciel case has moved forward since the pseudo-denial of May 20, with the accumulation of more testimonies and documents. And it is on the basis of this investigation that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – not the secretariat of state – will make its decision on the canonical process against the founder of the Legionaries of Christ.

The Burresi case teaches a lesson. It seemed to have been definitively filed away after the favorable sentence handed down on May 10, 2002. But it was reopened, and a much more severe conclusion was reached – with the presiding judge being Ratzinger, who has since become pope.

Score another 12 for CDF... Don't even ask about State.

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Even More Ingrid

The sweetest comment appeared in the boxes this morning. A "CBM" writes:

By the way...I met Ingrid Stampa on 28 June on the Borgo Pio. She was very friendly and smiles broadly. She is NOT a member of Schoenstatt nor does she wear a veil. She was dressed in a SLEEVELESS white summer dress and sandals. God bless her, it was 100 degrees!

So Georg's wearing pants and Ingrid's wearing sandals. God Bless them both. To reprise what I said this morning, and we could make it a slogan: "Benedict XVI: Bringing the Papacy into Reality, One Less Mantilla at a Time."

We know Ingrid doesn't wear a veil, nor does she wear a habit -- even though her ensemble at the Installation bore a strong resemblance to some kind of cowl. Yet as she supervises the renovations of the papal apartments at the Apostolic Palace which are currently underway, it seems that the question of her affiliation with the Schoenstatt community is lingering.

After the election, the wire services reported that she was a "member of the Schoenstatt Sisters" -- an inaccuracy. My own sources have clarified that she is a lay affiliate. The Times of London went so far as to call her "Sister" in early May, and as recently as two weeks ago, Sandro Magister wrote the following:

Benedict XVI loves to write by hand, in German, in a miniscule script that is perfectly legible to his trusted secretaries, Ingrid Stampa and Birgit Wansing, both of whom are German and belong to the spiritual movement of Schönstatt, which was started in 1914 in a small Marian sanctuary in the Rhine valley and today is found in eighty countries throughout the world.

So, barring a first-hand statement to the contrary, I'm sticking with the "lay affiliate" line.

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Chicago Digest

From the "When Fran Speaks, We Listen" Desk, the Chitown prelate hits the press... again. This time at a symposium at Medill; tip to Ichiban....

Cardinal George said the late Pope John Paul II had expressed high ideals for the press in his speeches and encyclicals, talking about the media's role in creating a town square and helping transform the world into a "global village."

He said the media, particularly in the last century, has even come to see itself as an "ersatz" church at times, solving society's ills.

"If anyone doesn't believe that, take a look at the Tribune Tower," he quipped, eliciting laughter from the audience packed into the McCormick Tribune Center Forum.

He admitted, though, that the media's "in-built" penchant for finding conflict in stories "drives religious people to be frustrated with the media."

Cardinal George said stories on Catholic funding problems focused on the closing of schools -- sometimes inaccurately fanning concerns -- rather than on what the church was doing to manage the crisis.

You already have a newspaper to tell people what the church is doing, or has The New World been forgotten so quickly? Don't blame the Tribune because the spin falls flat.

Similarly, on the sexual abuse scandal involving priests, the media necessarily reported the story about the abuses, which Cardinal George called "deeply perverse" and a "betrayal" to church members.

He said some rumors, though, were accepted as true, and the great efforts of the Roman Catholic church to help victims often went unreported....

To McClory's question that the church isn't always forthcoming with journalists, Cardinal George said the church's role is "keeping people together; that's our job."

Hmm... I'm just fascinated by the "keeping people together; that's our job" statement. That approach can cover all manner of sins, no? As we've spent three years learning all too painfully, gut-wrenchingly, day in and day out, it already has... all manner of crimes, too. And what of teaching, sanctifying, healing, consoling, nourishing, elevating the soul? Those aren't the church's jobs? As long as everybody's in the tent, everything's OK?

Dear Eminence, if we're really going to be forthcoming, can't we just say "Bella figura; that's our job"?

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Encore! Encore!

Even though I posted them last night, a particular section of the remarks of the Pope at Introd is noteworthy for its blunt, provacative commentary on the vocations crisis.

Especially considering the American situation -- where Cinderella stories abound, even to our present day -- these words deserve a re-airing. Here goes:

In these last weeks, I have had "Ad limina" visits with the bishops of Sri Lanka and from part of South Africa. Here vocations are growing, even so much so that they are not able to build enough seminaries to accommodate the young people who want to become priests. Naturally this joy also brings with it a certain sadness, since part of this, at least, comes from the hope of social promotion. In making themselves priests, they become sort of tribal chiefs, they are naturally privileged, they have another form of life, and so forth. Thus weeds and wheat come together in this beautiful growth of vocations, and the bishops have to be very attentive in discernment and not be simply content to have many future priests, but to see how many are real vocations, to distinguish the good grain from the chaff....

Note the words "in making themselves priests" -- "Facendosi sacerdoti," nell'italiano -- implying that the traditional belief that God makes a priest is, in these cases of VINO (Vocation In Name Only), not applicable.

Ergo, this line of thinking leads, the case for dismissal from the clerical state is made easier as the disposition of the one receiving the sacrament was fundamentally lacking at the time of its conferral.

Hmmmm.... Talk about fascinating.

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The JPII Mosaic

Well, this week's "Highlights for Catholics" -- The Catholic Standard & Times -- has been posted, and there's a really nifty idea that's sprouting out there. Check it:

The late Pope John Paul II had a profound impact on the world’s youth. For that reason, the World Youth Day on-line team wanted to do something – something big – to give young adult Catholics a way to express their gratitude to the saintly man who acknowledged them as the present and future of the Church.

That witness inspired the World Youth Day on-line team to create the world’s largest mosaic of Pope John Paul II, made with individual photos of millions of young people from around the world — the very people JPII called to gather once again for the 20th WYD in Cologne this year.

Each person who e-mails a photo will receive information showing where his or her photo has been placed in the giant mosaic.

The monumental undertaking has been funded by Fuji Film, Dom Radio Koln and other partners, and is scheduled to be complete by the time WYD begins in August.

Article and link info for the mosaic here.

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Lost in Translation

From the "Translation is a Thorny Process" desk, we have something very interesting....

In the Pope's remarks to the clergy at Introd the other day, he said these words:

Vorrei, brevemente in quanto posso, rispondere alle parole di Sua Eccellenza, ma vorrei anche dire che il Papa non è un oracolo, è infallibile in situazioni rarissime, come sappiamo. Quindi condivido con voi queste domande, queste questioni. Soffro anch'io. Ma tutti insieme vogliamo, da una parte, soffrire su questi problemi e anche soffrendo trasformare i problemi, perché proprio la sofferenza è la via della trasformazione e senza sofferenza non si trasforma niente.

The curious word there is "oracolo" -- translated, it says, "...but I want also to say that the Pope is not an oracle, that he is infallible in only the rarest of situations, as we know." The whole paragraph in English reads (translation courtesy ICEL):

I would like as briefly as I can to respond to the words of His Excellency, but I want also to say that the Pope is not an oracle, that he is infallible in only the rarest of situations, as we know. Therefore, I share with you these questions, these issues. And I suffer too. But all of us together want, on the one hand, to suffer from the problems and also by suffering to transform the problems, because suffering is precisely the way of transformation and without suffering nothing is transformed.

CNS, in their piece the other day, rendered "oracolo" as "prophet." That's not a literal translation as the Italian for the latter is "propheta."

I have to ask: Is the Pope using the word "oracle" so bad that it has to be "cleaned up" for him? I'm reminded of a story from when John XXIII came to office. Even until that time -- and remember that, until 1958, visitors didn't just kiss the Pope's ring but his shoes as well -- L'Osservatore Romano would cite the papal remarks using such ostentation as, "The Pope illumined his listeners with these words..." "In an enlightened discourse, the faithful were exhorted..." and other such hysteria.

John, noting this, summoned the editor of the Vatican newspaper and told him, "Just say 'The Pope said...'"

Seems we're back to square one. And if people start kissing shoes again, it's all over.

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A Little Too Magnificent

Georg, stop looking at the camera!

The papal secretary and breakout star of the pontificate has been widely acclaimed for his looks... but he seems to have some kind of wild radar on any camera pointed at him, because no matter if it's in the Square, the Apartment or on vacation, he's always looking straight into the lens. It is very unusual.

And, yes, Georg's wearing pants in this picture, too. A heretofore-unheard of thing in the presence of the Pope. Then again -- and Communioni can correct me if I'm wrong -- the members of Memores Domini don't wear veils, and neither do the Schoenstatts.... There goes the "cover everybody up in black" rule.

This Pope wants to bring his office deeper into the real world, one less mantilla at a time.

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A Must-See Video

Patrick sends along the following comment that is too good to remain hidden downstream:

The rather sacreligious clown mass was actually done at Trinity Church, Wall Street. Click on the link and go to the video cast about 40-45 minutes into it where during the fraction rite, the clown-celebrant breaks the bread, the cymbals clash, and the inmates greet the fraction with kazoos and noisemakers.

http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/news/article_clowns.shtml

I'm fairly confident that the LA Cathedral would not do this.

I just watched it, and I've never seen anything quite like it in my life. And that's saying something.

To witness the fraction, speed the video to about 48:30 and watch the magic. Comments are especially welcome on this one.

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Passing Through The Tunnel

The Pope's Address to the Priests of Aosta went on so long the other day that even he confessed, "I have gone on too long."

But here are some really striking nuggets. Translations courtesy of Don Giorgio.

*******************

In the past week we've heard two or three times, it seems to me, this parable of the sower which is really a parable of consolation in a different situation, but in a certain sense also a situation similar to ours.

The work of the Lord had begun with great enthusiasm. They saw the sick healed, everyone hearing with joy the message: "The Kingdom of God is near." It seemed that truly the changing of the world and coming of the Kingdom of God was something that was imminent; that, finally, the sadness of the people of God would be changed into joy. There was an expectation of a messenger of God who would be able to take in hand the rudder that would guide history. But afterwards they saw that, yes, the sick had been healed, the demons cast out, the Gospel proclaimed but, for the rest, the world remained as it had been. Nothing changed. The Romans still dominated. Life was difficult every day, despite these miracles, these beautiful words. And thus, the enthusiasm flickered out and, finally, as we learn in the sixth chapter of John, even the disciples abandoned this Preacher who had preached, but who had not changed the world.

What is this message? What is this Prophet of God getting at? All are finally asking. The Lord speaks of the sower who sows in the field of the world. And the seed seems like his Word, like those healings, a truly small thing when confronted with historical and political reality. Like the seed it is small, negligible, so also the Word.

Nevertheless, it is said that in the seed the future is present, because the seed carries within itself the bread of tomorrow, the life of tomorrow. The seed appears as if it is nothing, nevertheless the seed is the presence of the future, and the promise - already present - today. And thus with this parable he says: we are in the time of sowing, the Word of God seems a single word, as nothing. But have courage! This Word carries in itself life! And it bears fruit! The parable also says that the greater part of the seed does not bear fruit because it falls on the path, on dry ground, and so forth. But the part that falls on good soil bears fruit thirty, sixty, a hundredfold....

In the last weeks I have had "Ad limina" visits with the bishops of Sri Lanka and from part of South Africa. Here vocations are growing, even so much so that they are not able to build enough seminaries to accommodate the young people who want to become priests. Naturally this joy also brings with it a certain sadness, since part of this, at least, comes from hope of social promotion. Making themselves priests, they become sort of tribal chiefs, they are naturally privileged, they have another form of life, and so forth. Thus weeds and wheat come together in this beautiful growth of vocations, and the bishops have to be very attentive in discernment and not be simply content to have many future priests, but to see how many are real vocations, to distinguish the good grain from the chaff....

The Catholic Church is not in as bad shape as the great historical Protestant Churches, but naturally shares the problem of our historical moment. I don't think there is a system for a rapid change. We ought to go forward, to pass through this tunnel with patience in the assurance that Christ is the answer and that in the end his light will appear anew.

So the first answer is patience in the certainty that without God the world is not able to live, the God of Revelation - and not just any God: we see how dangerous a cruel God is, an untrue God - the God who has shone his Face in Jesus Christ. This Face which has suffered for us, the Face of love that transforms the world, in the way of the grain of wheat that falls to the ground.

How sweet it is to have a fluid, lyrical Pope. The book-length encyclical -- in which we're bound to see a lot of this very material -- is shaping up to be such an enjoyable read.

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Rock Recommends....

OK, I have to give a shout to anyone who cites me for "assembling a page this week that approximates art in its incisive, witty minimalistic style and writing (don't try this on your blog at home!)"

Art? Me? I've never intellectualized the craft. I just throw myself to the four winds, do it and watch cons cry as I tear the wings off butterflies while listening to Jeff Buckley or Joni Mitchell and lighting matches just to light matches.... but I digress.

Grazie, pace e bono to Stephen Hand and the crew over at Traditional Catholic Reflections & Reports, a genuinely Catholic news outlet. They prove that there's no such thing as a valid correlation between decibel levels and real news.

Check 'em out if you haven't already -- Magister and John Allen are fellow tifose grandi.

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Cento Giorni Benedetti

Another great shot of our guy getting his rest on.

And, as if it wasn't obvious before, he ain't just sittin' pretty:

Mainstream churches in the West appear to be dying as societies that are increasingly secular see less need for God, Pope Benedict said in comments published on Wednesday.

His outlook was even glummer than that of his predecessor John Paul, who lamented the decline of faith in the developed world and said it explained the Catholic Church's struggle with falling attendance in the West in recent years.

Benedict said many developing countries were, by contrast, enjoying a "a springtime for faith."

"It is different in the Western world, a world which is tired of its own culture, a world which is at the point where there's no longer evidence for a need of God, even less of Christ...."

It's intriguing that he's been very uninhibited in the statements he's made on vacation, much more free-flowing and provacative than he's been in the addresses we've been hearing in Rome.

Ratzinger has always used his summer holidays for symposia, conferences, and other free-wheeling speaking engagements -- the interviews for the Messori book and the Seewald books were done over the summer months as well, if memory serves.

To the priests the other day at Introd, B16 said the following (translation courtesy of ICEL):

"For a Pope there is always the danger of being a little removed from real life, from the reality of every day, and above all from the priests who are working on the front lines, indeed here in Val (d'Osta), and in so many parishes and right now... with the lack of vocations, in conditions that demand special physical strength.

"So for me it is a grace to be able to meet, here in this beautiful church, the priests and the presbyterate of this Val (d'Osta). And I want to say thank you for having come - because for you, this is vacation time, too! To see you gathered together, and thus to see myself united with you, to be close to the priests who work day by day for the Lord as the sowers of the Word, is for me a comfort and a joy."

What a joyous hundred days it's been.

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The Pope on Divorce

*EXCLUSIVE*

In the name of clarity, while the CNS story posted earlier was a good brief, this might be a bit more helpful for everyone....

I've gotten a copy of the fulltext of the Pope's remarks on the topic, given in a Q&A session with priests at Aosta. Here's a working translation of the majority of the remarks, hope it helps... Will have the completed English of the question up soon, but this is about 80% of it.

Enjoy, comments welcome.

**************************************

We all know that this is a particularly painful problem for those who are living in situations where they are excluded from Eucharistic communion, and naturally for the priests who wants to help these people to love the Church and love Christ. This presents a problem.

No one among us has a cure-all solution, because the situations are always different. For my part, I’d say that particularly painful is the situation of many married in the church who did not really believe and did it for reasons of tradition, then entered into a new, invalid marriage, found the faith and yet were excluded from the Sacraments. This is, in reality, a great suffering, and when I was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I invited the various Episcopal conferences and specialists to study this problem: a sacrament celebrated without faith. I won’t dare say if it’s really possible to find a moment of invalidity because of the lack of a fundamental dimension. I’ve personally thought that, but from my discussions I understood that the problem is extremely difficult and must be explored further. But given the situation of the suffering of these people, it becomes an even deeper question.

I won’t attempt to give a response now, but in each case two aspects seem very important. First: although they may not receive sacramental communion, they are not excluded from the love of the Church and the love of Christ. A Eucharist without immediate sacramental communion is certainly incomplete, lacking an essential element. Yet it’s also true that participating in the Eucharist without Eucharistic communion is better than doing nothing, as it is always linked to the mystery of the Cross and the resurrection of Christ. It is always a participation at the great Sacrament in the spiritual and pneumatic dimensions; in the ecclesial dimension and not strictly a sacramental one.

Given that it is the Sacrament of Christ’s Passion, the suffering Christ embraces these people in a particular way and communicates with them in another way, that they may feel embraced by the crucified Lord who came to earth and suffered and died for them, with them. It is necessary to make understood, therefore, that although they may lack a fundamental element, they are not excluded from the great mystery of the Eucharist, from the love of Christ here present. This is so important, and as it is important for the pastor and the parish community to, on the one part, respect the indissolubility of the Sacrament, on the other hand we must love these people who suffer also. And we must also suffer with them, because they give an important testimony, because we know that in the moment in which we give in out of love, the same Sacrament is twisted and its indissolubility appears less real, less true....

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*Honk Honk* Amen

The e.mail that came with this shot says it all....

"No, it is not the Los Angeles Cathedral; it is Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City."

Apparently, Guadalupe Basilica has a liturgy every year where circus performers come to pay homage to the tilma.

I think this is wonderful and very sweet, but for anyone who has ever griped about the LA clown mass (and you know who you are), this is your chance to show your objectivity, as opposed to ax-grinding bias. Notes of complaint may be sent to Su Eminenza Senor el Cardenal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Arzobispado, Ciudad de Mexico. Cc Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Don't blame Mahony, he had nothing to do with it.

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Not Just Independent Contractors

People, take a break from your Mahony hate and check out Cardinal Pell's legal strategy:

[T]he church argues it cannot be held liable for any damages claim because Duggan was not employed by the Sydney Archdiocese. Rather, priests have "a contract with God" and not with their employer.

Oh, wait... Pell -- who cultivated the vocations of the Melbourne clique known as the "Spice Girls" -- wants to bring the church back to 1958. You lot like that.... So you'll just keep trashing Mahony and let Mama Spice off the hook.

But "a contract with God" makes Ed Egan's "independent contractors" defense of abuse cases in Bridgeport look downright pedestrian.

Hat tip to the newly-promoted Archbishop Ichiban Jim.

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Le Divorce, Part Deux

First report posted here yesterday.... From CNS today:

"The pope is not a prophet," he told the priests. "He is infallible in very rare circumstances, as we all know."

Therefore, he said, in trying to find ways to spread the Gospel, to strengthen the faith of Catholics and to help the suffering, "I share your questions. I, too, suffer."

Asked specifically about ministry to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, Pope Benedict told the priests, "None of us has a ready-made solution, including because each person's situation is different."

"I would say that a particularly painful situation is that of those who were married in the church, but were not really believers and did so just for tradition, and then finding themselves in a new, nonvalid marriage, convert, find the faith and feel excluded from the sacrament," he said.

Pope Benedict said that when he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith he asked several bishops' conferences and experts to study the problem, which in effect was "a sacrament celebrated without faith."

Fascinating. I will have something else in this vein within the hour. Stay tuned.

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The Cardinal in the Public Square

Whenever Francis George speaks, American Catholics would be wise to start taking note.

Ever since he was the shock choice to succeed Bernardin (who is still being villified a decade after his death by some kookie-kookies with too much time and anger on their hands), Fran has of course been the head of the nation's second-largest diocese with a major bully pulpit. But now, as the de facto head of the USCCB (don't let that pesky "vice-" prefix fool you) and The Pope's Man in America, the church he wants to see is the church that US Catholics will see -- and Rome will not put up a fight.

So of particular interest are George's recent comments on politicians and their religious identity, something the good cardinal can speak about with the secular cred of an academic with a sterling background in social psychology. (As an aside, he preached about George Herbert Mead -- the founder of the discipline -- in his installation homily.)

The column, bearing the attention-grabbing title, "A Lenin in America, 2005" is reprinted in today's Denver Catholic Register. The following paragraph particularly struck me.

It strikes me that our approach to pluralism in race and culture furnishes the paradigm for approaching religion in public life. If someone suggested that an African-American had to keep his race confined to his house and wear white face in public, the suggestion would be immediately condemned as racist and bigoted. A healthy public life welcomes diversity in public and then figures out ways to share differences among peoples so as to enrich everyone. The question of religion is more complicated, of course, because religion is a way of life with moral demands, and moral demands overlap with law and politics. But the solution is not to put religion in a private closet, because that imperils the freedom of everyone. American “separation” of church and state is supposed to encourage the practice of religion as part of the common good, respecting every difference and oppressing none.

Comments, anyone?

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The Curial Earthquake Pregame Show

Keeping with the armchair quarterback vein of last post, CWNews runs a story on plate-shifting at the Mothership. Effective 1 August, the faculty of dismissal from the clerical state will be transferred to Clergy from Divine Worship, ending an arrangement which was always an awkward fit -- one devised in Pastor Bonus.

Now, according to bureaucratic theory, if the amount of one's responsibilities is equal to one's clout, this is a slight to St. Francis Arinze, patron of ecclesiastical refrigerators and waterparks in the boonies.

The new state of affairs allows CDW to get back to what they do best -- bizarre translations and debacles like the whole "Et, elevatis manibus, benedixit eos" woodcarving....

Congrats to Arinze and family. Many happy returns.

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Life in a Sports-Mad City

For the football fans among us, I found something amusing enough to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming.

As some might know, Ricky Williams -- who bolted the NFL last year because he couldn't kick his pot habit -- returned to the Dolphins' training camp this week. Observant sportsnuts will remember vividly that Donovan McNabb was viciously booed by the famously-civil Philly fans when the Eagles drafted him over Williams back in '99.

What d'ya want? We're a tough crowd.

Not to be outdone, the Philadelphia Daily News (one of my major writing influences) had a full-sheet picture of Williams on its back page yesterday with this memorable headline:

A NEW LEAF

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Say It Ain't So

The Fair Amy on hiatus?! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Fear not, Snowflakes. Seems she's got something good on tap -- and we take A at her word here -- so keep her in your thoughts as she gets crackin'.... As long as nothing stops her audience with me next week, it's all good.

To help our communal Open Book withdrawl, this little hallway of Blogdom will be open and rockin'. So feel free to come, stay a while, read, comment, have a drink, scream at me, call me a "gay whale," whatever. And I love e.mails, so if you're keen enough to drop me a line, I'd love it.

Come on, people, do a little Mark Shea-style screaming.

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Georg the Magnificent

So who is this Georg Ganswein?

It's one of the top questions I get -- and every day, about 15 or 20 people Googling his name come and stay here awhile.

As it's the Pope's 100 Days, it's an opportune time to get up to speed on the breakout star of this pontificate.

Just as John Paul II had the famous "Polish Mafia" of friends and collaborators around him (Dziwisz, Jaworski, Rylko, Stryczen, et. al.), the 48 year-old Ganswein -- commonly called "Don Giorgio" -- shares the German origins of Benedict XVI, as, of course, do the towering figures of Ingrid, Clemens and Birgit.

Despite having worked in the CDF, his background isn't so much in theology as it is in canon law, making him the first canonist papal secretary since Pasquale Macchi in the days of Paul VI. It's Pure Ratzi to have a canonist on hand to counterbalance and supplement his theological aecumen, another example of the telling quality this Pope has of bringing the best and brightest around him, reflecting his strong prefererence for an exchange of ideas which might just change or refine his mind to a gaggle of voiceless aides.

Ganswein taught the canons at the University of the Holy Cross, the Opus Dei Institute in Rome, and it's said he exhorted his students to "Never judge on the basis of prejudices or appearances -- always be reflective." It's a good quality in a segretario particolare.

Georg was brought into the lower ranks in the CDF in the late '90s. At the elevation of Cardinal Ratzinger's beloved right-hand aide of 24 years, Mons. Josef Clemens, to the episcopacy and the secretary's post at the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Ganswein got the nod to succeed him as head of the Prefect's inner office. In this capacity, he operated on several occasions as Ratzinger's media spokesman, most prominently in the aftermath of the October 2003 Bunte article when the latter was quoted as saying John Paul II was "in a bad way" -- a line which led Dziwisz to severely rebuke Ratzinger, causing the cardinal to weep.

In his downtime, I'm told, the secretary enjoys skiing, tennis, other athletic pursuits, and he's known around Rome as quite the sociable dinner guest. That the secretary has a life of his own by no means clashes with the Pope's mentality of work. Under B16, the demands of the job, while still great, aren't what they were with John Paul. Benedict XVI enjoys diving into the details of things which Wojtyla routinely left to Don Stanislaw or others.

Moreover, the secretary's requisite presence at dinner is no more -- the Pope prefers to dine alone (often at home), leaving the work behind at the office. He sees relaxation and fun not as luxuries, but a necessary component in maintaining a healthy sense of life, a "work hard, play hard" sense of balance he encourages in the people around him.

The laid-back approach which the Germans have brought to the Apartment has already yielded significant dividends, but the next hundred days are promising to be more tumultuous than the first. Stay tuned.

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Santità? E' vero?

For some comic relief -- albeit with a more conservative bent than its alter ego, himself -- check this, with my high recommendation... Should make for a good laugh.

Even "The Pope" is blogging now..... Has the craft jumped the shark?

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Inland Empire?

San Bernardino's new auxiliary got a little press yesterday morning, and more today....

For the first time, the bishop and auxiliary of a diocese are both of Hispanic origin. Trivia buffs, take note.

But what amazes me is that the San Bernardino diocese counts 1.2 million Catholics. That's huge. Newark, Philly, Rockville Centre-huge -- it's the third-largest non-archdiocese after Brooklyn and The House That Murphy Renovated (after the nuns got kicked out). And they're only getting one auxiliary? We have 1.5 mil here in Philly, and we've got four. Miami has around 950K and they've got two.

Gerry Barnes said yesterday that he submitted his terna in late 2003 -- this holds to the new (i.e. post-Scandal) working timetable that, from first request until appointment, dioceses are told to wait an unprecedented 18 months or more for a new bishop or auxiliary. Sioux City is still hanging, and it's been vacant since 16 January 04 -- a monumental lag now in its 19th month.

I am really led to believe something in the process is awry. Somebody get The Pro on the case.

Bishop-elect seems to be a nice guy, though -- he likes to shoot pool with sems and composed handwritten notes to each member of his parish staff, thanking them for their goodness to him.

As we've seen with the Pope, a little bit of kindness and respect goes a long way, no?

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A Difference of Style

Today is the 100th day of the pontificate of Benedict XVI. My take on the first 100 will be posted later in the day -- come back for it -- but, in the meantime, here's a tease....

Now it can be told that, on one of John Paul II's early American trips, a top adviser played a prominent role in a papal liturgy, standing at close range to the late Pope. Something seemed to get Wojtyla's wheels turning, because at one point, he gestured to the altar party, pointed toward the crowd and said, "All these people -- for me."

B16, by contrast, sees his role in a much less high-profile light. He had another press conference on Monday. Being Italian, the media pack kicks, pushes -- and asks innumerable questions. So they were taking advantage of the opportunity to query a Pope who doesn't just talk to reporters when he's locked in a tube with them 35,000 feet above land when, I'm told, he put up his arms and said, "We're not going to save the world in the middle of summer vacation."

Some change, indeed.

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More Ingrid

Last week, I was sent this piece from the 19th July Berliner Zeitung in its original language with the message, "I hope you read German."

Regrettably, I don't -- but that's what the Secretariat of State is for. So with thanks to a Lady of the Papal Family and the Latin and German desks, I'm pleased to post a really beautiful English translation.

And to remind those who haven't yet seen it, I wrote much of this a long time ago....