Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Papal resignation puts Vatican LCWR mandate in | National Catholic Reporter

According to the Vatican mandate, LCWR has been placed under the authority of Seattle Archbishop Peter Sartain, who officially serves as "archbishop delegate" for the group. Turns out Sartain, beginning tomorrow, has no one to report to. The mandate Sartain received from the congregation came from a CDF under the pontificate of Benedict. That pontificate is ending…

his Apostolic Constitution promulgated in 1996, late pope John Paul II decreed that all senior leaders of the Roman Curia—effectively the government of the Catholic Church—has to resign when the pope steps down.

Among those resigning will be Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state—effectively the Vatican’s number two job. He will remain only as Camerlengo (Chamberlain).

The Camerlengo has traditionally had the role of officially certifying the death of a pope—he used to do so by striking the pontiff’s forehead on his deathbed with a special silver hammer and calling out the words “Holy Father”.

He is also the Vatican official charged with destroying the pontiff’s “Fisherman’s Ring”—….

 

Click on the following for more details;  Papal resignation puts Vatican LCWR mandate in question | National Catholic Reporter

Weekend Collections for the week of February 24, 2013

 

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No change in amount pledged.

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Cardinal George Pell: "... significant reforms are needed within the Vatican bureaucracy." | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views

 

Cardinal Pell, who read the full article, said: "I know nothing of the content of the report but whatever it contains it is clear that significant reforms are needed within the Vatican bureaucracy."

He praised Benedict for his "courage for commissioning such a report".

Click on the following for more details:  Cardinal George Pell: "... significant reforms are needed within the Vatican bureaucracy." | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views

Timothy Cardinal Dolan to Provide Daily Reports from Vatican for The Catholic... -- NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

 

Starting Feb. 27 Cardinal Dolan and other clergy and Catholic Channel staff will offer daily commentary leading up to the start of the conclave
Reports will air hourly on The Catholic Channel, SiriusXM 129
Catholic Channel's Father Dave Dwyer, CSP, and Lino Rulli will also be live in Rome to cover the announcement of new Holy Father

Click on the following for more details:  Timothy Cardinal Dolan to Provide Daily Reports from Vatican for The Catholic... -- NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Sunday, February 24, 2013

What the new pope should do. Association of Catholic Priests of Ireland

 

What the new pope should do

To restore the credibility of the Catholic Church for alienated Catholics and the wider society, a new Pope should :

1 . Decentralise the absolutism and creeping infallibility within the papacy in favour of national bishops’ conferences, who should exercise co-responsibility with the Pope, with the Roman Curia reformed to become an administrative arm of the Church .

2. Establish that unity through diversity rather than uniformity be a guiding principle in all areas of Church governance and theological reflection.

3  Ensure that respect for the human rights of all the people of God should be foundational in the exercise of power within the Church.

4. Make all ministries within the Church  open to women.

5. Oversee democratic structures being developed in the selection of all church offices.

6. Establish a revitalised theology of sexuality (especially on homosexuality) based on the dignity of the human person rather than on natural law.

7. See the creation of a more inclusive Church community where everyone is welcomed into full communion of our Church

8. Give a renewed impetus towards full Christian unity to eliminate the scandal of Christian division.

The above is taken from :  What the new pope should do. Association of Catholic Priests

Friday, February 22, 2013

Did a Cross-Dressing Priest Sex Ring Bring Down Benedict XVI? - Yahoo! News

 

priests, it seems, are allegedly being blackmailed by a network of male prostitutes who worked at a sauna in Rome’s Quarto Miglio district, a health spa in the city center, and a private residence once entrusted to a prominent archbishop. The evidence reportedly includes compromising photos and videos of the prelates—sometimes caught on film in drag, and, in some cases, caught “in the act.”

Click on the following for more details:  Did a Cross-Dressing Priest Sex Ring Bring Down Benedict XVI? - Yahoo! News

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Hello from San Giovanni Rotondo - Fr. Thomas Refermat and Fr. Brian Geary - YouTube

 

Father Geary visits Padre Pio’s shrine at San  Giovanni Rotondo

Click on the video and listen to Father Geary’s thoughts regarding his recent visit to the shrine.

Padre Pio is today considered a saint however he was very controversial during much of his life.  Allegedly he had the stigmata.   In 2002  he was declared a saint by Pope John Paul II.  See the biography and commentary by Wikipedia which follows.

Pio of Pietrelcina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap

Priest, Religious, Stigmatic and Confessor

Born
(1887-05-25)May 25, 1887
Pietrelcina, Benevento, Italy

Died
September 23, 1968(1968-09-23) (aged 81)
San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy

Honored in
Roman Catholic Church

Beatified
May 2, 1999, Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II

Canonized
June 16, 2002, Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II

Major shrine
San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy (where he lived and is now buried)

Feast
September 23

Patronage
civil defense volunteers, Catholic adolescents,

Saint Pio (Pius) of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap., (May 25, 1887 – September 23, 1968) was a Capuchin Catholic priest from Italy who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was born Francesco Forgione, and given the name Pius (Italian: Pio) when he joined the Capuchins, thus he was popularly known as Padre Pio. He became famous for bearing the stigmata. On 16 June 2002, he was canonized by Pope John Paul II.

Early life

Francesco Forgione was born to Grazio Mario Forgione (1860–1946) and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio Forgione (1859–1929) on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, a farming town in the southern Italian region of Campania.[1] His parents made a living as peasant farmers.[2] He was baptized in the nearby Santa Anna Chapel, which stands upon the walls of a castle.[3] He later served as an altar boy in this same chapel. Restoration work on this chapel was later undertaken by the Padre Pio Foundation of America based in Cromwell, Connecticut.[4] His siblings were an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters, Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia (who was later to become a Bridgettine nun).[2] His parents had two other children who died in infancy.[1] When he was baptized, he was given the name Francesco, which was the name of one of these two.[3] He stated that by the time he was five years old he had already made the decision to dedicate his entire life to God.[1][3] He also began inflicting penances on himself and was chided on one occasion by his mother for using a stone as a pillow and sleeping on the stone floor.[5] He worked on the land up to the age of 10, looking after the small flock of sheep the family owned.[6] This delayed his education to some extent.[5]

Pietrelcina was a highly religious town (feast days of saints were celebrated throughout the year), and religion had a profound influence on the Forgione family. The members of the family attended daily Mass, prayed the Rosary nightly, and abstained from meat three days a week in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.[3] Although Francesco's parents and grandparents were illiterate, they memorized the Scriptures and narrated Bible stories to their children. His mother said Francesco was able to see and speak with Jesus, the Virgin Mary and his guardian angel, and that as a child, he assumed that all people could do so.[7]

As a youth Francesco reported that he had experienced heavenly visions and ecstasies.[1] In 1897, after he had completed three years at the public school, Francesco was drawn to the life of a friar after listening to a young Capuchin friar who was, at that time, seeking donations in the countryside. When he expressed his desire to his parents, they made a trip to Morcone, a community 13 miles (21 km) north of Pietrelcina, to find out if their son was eligible to enter the Capuchin Order. The Friars there informed them that they were interested in accepting Francesco into their community, but he needed more educational qualifications.[3]

Francesco's father went to the United States in search of work to pay for private tutoring for his son, so that he might meet the academic requirements to enter the Capuchin Order.[1][6] It was in this period that Francesco received the sacrament of Confirmation on 27 September 1899.[3] He underwent private tutoring and passed the stipulated academic requirements. On January 6, 1903, at the age of 15, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at Morcone where, on January 22, he took the Franciscan habit and the name of Fra (Friar) Pio, in honor of Pope St. Pius V, the patron saint of Pietrelcina.[3] He took the simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.[1]

[edit] Priesthood

To commence his six-year study for priesthood and to grow in community life, he traveled to the friary of St. Francis of Assisi by oxcart.[3] Three years later on January 27, 1907, he made his solemn profession. In 1910, Brother Pio was ordained a priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. Four days later, he offered his first Mass at the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels. His health being precarious, he was permitted to remain with his family until early 1916 while still retaining the Capuchin habit.[5]

On September 4, 1916, Father Pio was ordered to return to his community life. Thus he was moved to an agricultural community, Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary, located in the Gargano Mountains in San Giovanni Rotondo in Foggia. At that time with Father Pius, the community numbered seven friars. He stayed at San Giovanni Rotondo until his death, except for his military service.

A strong believer in Christian meditation, Padre Pio stated: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him".[8]

When World War I started, four friars from this community were selected for military service.[9] At that time, Padre Pio was a teacher at the seminary and a spiritual director.[9] When one more friar was called into service, Padre Pio was put in charge of the community.[9] Then, in the month of August 1917, Padre Pio was also called to military service.[9] Although not in good health, he was assigned to the 4th Platoon of the 100th Company of the Italian Medical Corps.[9] Although hospitalized by mid-October, he was not discharged until March 1918, whereupon he returned to San Giovanni Rotondo and was assigned to work at Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels) in Pietrelcina.[9] Later, in response to his growing reputation as a worker of miracles, his superiors assigned him to the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo.[9] In all, his military service lasted 182 days.[9]

Padre Pio then became a spiritual director, guiding many spiritually, considering them his spiritual daughters and sons. He had five rules for spiritual growth, namely: weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of conscience.[9]

He compared weekly confession to dusting a room weekly, and recommended the performance of meditation and self-examination twice daily: once in the morning, as preparation to face the day, and once again in the evening, as retrospection. His advice on the practical application of theology he often summed up in his now famous quote, "Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry". He directed Christians to recognize God in all things and to desire above all things to do the will of God.[9]

Poor health

According to the diary of Father Agostino da San Marco, his spiritual director in San Marco in Lamis, the young Francesco Forgione was afflicted with a number of illnesses. At six he suffered from a grave gastroenteritis, which kept him bedridden for a long time. At ten he caught typhoid fever. At 17, he suddenly fell ill, complaining of loss of appetite, insomnia, exhaustion, fainting spells, and terrible migraines. He vomited frequently and could absorb only milk and cheese.

The hagiographers say that it was during this time, together with his physical illness, that inexplicable phenomena began to occur. According to their stories, one could hear strange noises coming from his room at night – sometimes screams or roars. During prayer, brother Pio remained in a stupor, as if he were absent. One of Pio's fellow friars claims to have seen him in ecstasy, levitating above the ground.[10]

In June 1905, Padre Pio's health was so weak that his superiors decided to send him to a mountain convent, in the hope that the change of air would do him some good. His health got worse, however, and doctors advised that he return to his home town. But, even there, his health continued to worsen.

In addition to his childhood illnesses, throughout his life Padre Pio suffered from "asthmatic bronchitis". He also had a large kidney stone, with frequent abdominal pains. He further suffered from a chronic gastritis, which later turned into an ulcer. He also suffered from inflammations of the eye, of the nose, of the ear and of the throat, and eventually formed rhinitis and chronic otitis.

In the summer of 1915, in spite of poor health, he was drafted into the army. But after 30 days he was sent home on leave because of bad health. He returned to military service, and was put on leave again, this time for six months at a friary in a mountain village, San Giovanni Rotondo, where the weather was relatively cool, even in the summer. After six months in this friary he returned to military service, but was sent home again two months later. On his return he was declared fit for service, and sent to the Sales barracks in Naples, where he remained until March 1917, at which time he was found to have pulmonary tuberculosis, certified by a radiological exam. He was then discharged from the army.

In 1925, Padre Pio was operated on for an inguinal hernia, and shortly after this a large cyst formed on his neck and which had to be surgically removed. Another surgery was required to remove a malignant tumor on his ear. After this operation Padre Pio was subjected to radiological treatment, which was successful, it seems, after only two treatments.[11]

In 1956, he came down with a serious case of "exudative pleuritis". The diagnosis was certified by Professor Cataldo Cassano, who personally extracted the serous liquid from the body of Padre Pio. He remained bedridden for four consecutive months.

In his old age Padre Pio was tormented by arthritis.

Spiritual suffering

Padre Pio believed the love of God is inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God is the way for the soul to reach God.[6] He felt that his soul was lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if he were in the deepest pit of hell. During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually.[6] His followers also believe that the Devil used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio's torments. These included apparitions as an "angel of light" and the alteration or destruction of letters to and from his spiritual directors. Padre Augustine confirmed this when he said:

The Devil appeared as young girls that danced naked without any clothes on, as Christ Crucified, as a young friend of the friars, as the Spiritual Father or as the Provincial Father; as Pope Pius X, a Guardian Angel, as St. Francis and as Our Lady.[12]

Now, twenty-two days have passed since Jesus allowed the devils to vent their anger on me. My Father, my whole body is bruised from the beatings that I have received to the present time by our enemies. Several times, they have even torn off my shirt so that they could strike my exposed flesh.[12]

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, senior exorcist of Vatican City stated in an interview that Padre Pio was able to distinguish between real apparitions of Jesus, Mary and the Saints and the illusions created by the Devil by carefully analysing the state of his mind and the feelings produced in him during the apparitions. In one of Padre Pio's letters, he states that he remained patient in the midst of his trials because of his firm belief that Jesus, Mary, his Guardian Angel, St. Joseph and St. Francis were always with him and helped him always.[12]

Transverberation and visible stigmata

Based on Padre Pio's correspondence, even early in his priesthood he experienced less obvious indications of the visible stigmata for which he would later become famous.[13] In a 1911 letter, Padre Pio wrote to his spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis, describing something he had been experiencing for a year:

Then last night something happened which I can neither explain nor understand. In the middle of the palms of my hands a red mark appeared, about the size of a penny, accompanied by acute pain in the middle of the red marks. The pain was more pronounced in the middle of the left hand, so much so that I can still feel it. Also under my feet I can feel some pain.[13]

His close friend Padre Agostino wrote to him in 1915, asking specific questions such as when he first experienced visions, whether he had been granted the stigmata, and whether he felt the pains of the Passion of Christ, namely the crowning of thorns and the scourging. Padre Pio replied that he had been favoured with visions since his novitiate period (1903 to 1904). He wrote that although he had been granted the stigmata, he had been so terrified by the phenomenon he begged the Lord to withdraw them. He did not wish the pain to be removed, only the visible wounds, since at the time he considered them to be an indescribable and almost unbearable humiliation.[13] The visible wounds disappeared at that point, but reappeared in September 1918.[13] He reported, however, that the pain remained and was more acute on specific days and under certain circumstances. He also said that he was indeed experiencing the pain of the crown of thorns and the scourging. He was not able to clearly indicate the frequency of this experience, but said that he had been suffering from them at least once weekly for some years.[13]

These experiences are alleged to have caused his health to fail, for which reason he was permitted to stay at home. To maintain his religious life as a friar while away from the community, he said Mass daily and taught at school.

St. John of the Cross describes the phenomenon of transverberation as follows:

The soul being inflamed with the love of God which is interiorly attacked by a Seraph, who pierces it through with a fiery dart. This leaves the soul wounded, which causes it to suffer from the overflowing of divine love.[2]

World War I was still going on, and in July 1918, Pope Benedict XV, who had termed the World War "the suicide of Europe," appealed to all Christians urging them to pray for an end to the World War. On 27 July of the same year, Padre Pio offered himself as a victim for the end of the war. Days passed and between 5 August and 7 August, Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ appeared and pierced his side.[2][9] As a result of this experience, Padre Pio had a physical wound in his side. This occurrence is considered as a "transverberation" or piercing of the heart indicating the union of love with God. (On 8 August, the Allies began the Hundred Days Offensive, which led to the armistice with Germany and the end of the war.)

As a side-note, a first-class relic of Padre Pio, which consists of a large framed square of linen bearing a bloodstain from "the wound of the transverberation of the heart" in Padre Pio's side, is exposed for public veneration at the St. John Cantius Church in Chicago.[14]

With his transverberation began another seven-week long period of spiritual unrest for Padre Pio. One of his Capuchin brothers said this of his state during that period:

During this time his entire appearance looked altered as if he had died. He was constantly weeping and sighing, saying that God had forsaken him.[2]

In a letter from Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, dated 21 August 1918, Padre Pio writes of his experiences during the transverberation:

While I was hearing the boys’ confessions on the evening of the 5th [August] I was suddenly terrorized by the sight of a celestial person who presented himself to my mind’s eye. He had in his hand a sort of weapon like a very long sharp-pointed steel blade which seemed to emit fire. At the very instant that I saw all this, I saw that person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. I cried out with difficulty and felt I was dying. I asked the boy to leave because I felt ill and no longer had the strength to continue. This agony lasted uninterruptedly until the morning of the 7th. I cannot tell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my entrails were torn and ruptured by the weapon, and nothing was spared. From that day on I have been mortally wounded. I feel in the depths of my soul a wound that is always open and which causes me continual agony.[14]

On 20 September 1918, accounts state that the pains of the transverberation had ceased and Padre Pio was in "profound peace."[2] On that day, as Padre Pio was engaged in prayer in the choir loft in the Church of Our Lady of Grace, the same Being who had appeared to him and given him the transverberation, and who is believed to be the Wounded Christ, appeared again and Padre Pio had another experience of religious ecstasy.[9] When the ecstasy ended, Padre Pio had received the Visible Stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. This time, however, the stigmata were permanent and would stay on him for the next fifty years of his life.[2][9]

In a letter from St. Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, his superior and spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis dated October 22, 1918, Padre Pio describes his experience of receiving the Stigmata as follows:

On the morning of the 20th of last month, in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. [...] I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of 5 August. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday. Dear Father, I am dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul. I am afraid I shall bleed to death if the Lord does not hear my heartfelt supplication to relieve me of this condition. Will Jesus, who is so good, grant me this grace? Will he at least free me from the embarrassment caused by these outward signs? I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation.[14]

He quoted, "the pain was so intense that I began to feel as if I were dying on the cross."

Though Padre Pio would have preferred to suffer in secret, by early 1919, news about the stigmatic friar began to spread in the secular world. Padre Pio’s wounds were examined by many people, including physicians.[2] People who had started rebuilding their lives after World War I, began to see in Padre Pio a symbol of hope.[9] Those close to him attest that he began to manifest several spiritual gifts including the gifts of healing, bilocation, levitation, prophecy, miracles, extraordinary abstinence from both sleep and nourishment (one account states that Padre Agostino recorded one instance in which Padre Pio was able to subsist for at least 20 days at Verafeno on only the Eucharist without any other nourishment), the ability to read hearts, the gift of tongues, the gift of conversions, and the fragrance from his wounds.[6][9]

[edit] Controversies

It is claimed that no more than Anecdotal evidence supports Pio’s alleged mystical abilities. Some of his bilocations are consistent with hallucinations and the supposed odor of sanctity was purported to be Eau de Cologne. He was never watched continually to ensure that chemicals like carbolic acid or iodine were not used to prevent wounds from healing, as has been claimed. Pio over many years wore fingerless gloves which concealed his wounds or prevented him having to tend to the wounds. Near his death Pio avoided covering his hands and there was no sign of injury.[15][16][17][unreliable source?]

The founder of Milan's Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, friar, physician and psychologist Agostino Gemelli, who met Padre Pio once, for a few minutes, but was unable to examine his stigmata,[18] concluded Padre Pio was "an ignorant and self-mutilating psychopath who exploited people's credulity."[19] In short, he was accused of infractions against all three of his monastic vows: poverty, chastity and obedience.[20][unreliable source?] Agostino Gemelli also speculated that Padre Pio kept his wounds open with carbolic acid. As a result of the Gemelli assessment, the wounds were wrapped in cloth. According to believers, the bleeding continued for some 50 years until they closed within hours of his death.[20]

On 29 July 1960, an Italian monsignore, Carlo Maccari, who later became the archbishop of Ancona, began yet another investigation on behalf of Pope John XXIII and the Holy Office. The 200-page report he compiled, though never published in full, is said to be devastatingly critical. Vatican gossip long had it that the “Maccari dossier” was an insuperable obstacle to Padre Pio’s sainthood. According to official Capuchin literature, however, Maccari later recanted and prayed to Padre Pio on his deathbed.[20]

In 1940, Padre Pio began plans to open a hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, to be named the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza or "Home to Relieve Suffering". The hospital opened in 1956.[9][21] Barbara Ward, a British humanitarian and journalist on assignment in Italy, played a major role in obtaining for this project a grant of $325,000 from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). In order that Padre Pio might directly supervise this project, Pope Pius XII, in 1957 granted him dispensation from his vow of poverty.[22][23] Padre Pio's detractors used this project as another weapon to attack him, charging him with misappropriation of funds.[22]

Padre Pio was subject to numerous investigations.[21][22] Fearing local riots, a plan to transfer Padre Pio to another friary was dropped and a second plan was aborted when a riot almost happened.[20] In the period from 1924 to 1931 the Holy See made various statements denying that the happenings in the life of Padre Pio were due to any divine cause.[9][21] At one point, he was prevented from publicly performing his priestly duties, such as hearing confessions and saying Mass.[21]

By 1933, the tide began to turn, with Pope Pius XI ordering the Holy See to reverse its ban on Padre Pio’s public celebration of Mass. The Pope said, "I have not been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been badly informed."[9] In 1934, he was again allowed to hear confessions. He was also given honorary permission to preach despite never having taken the exam for the preaching licence.[9] Pope Pius XII, who assumed the papacy in 1939, encouraged devotees to visit Padre Pio. According to a recent book, Pope John XXIII (1958–1963) apparently did not espouse the outlook of his predecessors, and wrote in 1960 of Padre Pio’s “immense deception."[24] However, it was John XXIII's successor, Pope Paul VI, who, in the mid-1960s, firmly dismissed all accusations against Padre Pio.[20][22]

Death

The deterioration of Padre Pio's health started during the 1960s and in spite of this, he continued his spiritual works. On September 21, 1968, the day after the 50th anniversary of his receiving the Stigmata, Padre Pio experienced great tiredness.[25] The next day, on 22 September 1968, Padre Pio was supposed to offer a Solemn High Mass, but feeling weak and fearing that he might be too ill to complete the Mass, he asked his superior if he might say a Low Mass instead, just as he had done daily for years. Due to the large number of pilgrims present for the Mass, Padre Pio's superior decided the Solemn High Mass must proceed, and so Padre Pio, in the spirit of obedience to his superior, went on to celebrate the Solemn High Mass. While celebrating the Solemn High Mass, he appeared extremely weak and in a fragile state. His voice was weak when he said the Mass and after the Mass had concluded, he was so weakened that he almost collapsed as he was descending the altar steps. He needed help from a great many of his Capuchin confreres. This would be Padre Pio's last celebration of the Mass.

Early in the morning of September 23, 1968, Padre Pio made his last confession and renewed his Franciscan vows.[9] As was customary, he had his rosary in his hands, though he did not have the strength to say the Hail Marys aloud.[25] Till the end, he repeated the words "Gesù, Maria" (Jesus, Mary). At around 2:30am, he said, "I see two mothers" (taken to mean his mother and Mary).[25] At 2:30 a.m. he died in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo with his last breath whispering, "Maria!"[1]

His body was buried on September 26 in a crypt in the Church of Our Lady of Grace. His Requiem Mass was attended by over 100,000 people. He was often heard to say, "After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death."[25] The accounts of those who stayed with Padre Pio till the end, state that the stigmata had completely disappeared without even leaving a scar. Only a red mark "as if drawn by a red pencil" remained on his side which then disappeared.[25]

St. Pio of Pietrelcina is currently known as the patron saint of civil defense volunteers, after a group of 160 of them petitioned the Italian Bishops’ conference. The Bishops forwarded the request to the Vatican, which gave its approval to the designation.[26] He is also “less officially” known as the patron saint of stress relief and the “January blues,” after the Catholic Enquiry Office in London proclaimed him as such. They designated the most depressing day of the year, identified as January 22, as Don’t Worry Be Happy day, in honor of Padre Pio’s famous advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”[27]

Reported supernatural phenomena

Padre Pio celebrating mass. His Mass would often last hours, as the mystic received visions and experienced sufferings. Note the coverings worn on his hands to cover his stigmata.

Padre Pio was said to have had the gift of reading souls, the ability to bilocate (according to eyewitness accounts), among other supernatural phenomena.[28] The reports of supernatural phenomena surrounding Padre Pio attracted fame and legend. Even the Vatican was initially skeptical.

In 1947, Father Karol Józef Wojtyła, a young Polish priest who was studying in Rome at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum and who would later go on to become Pope John Paul II, visited Padre Pio, who heard his confession. Austrian Cardinal Alfons Stickler reported that Wojtyła confided to him that during this meeting Padre Pio told him he would one day ascend to "the highest post in the Church though further confirmation is needed."[29] Cardinal Stickler further went on to say that Wojtyła believed that the prophecy was fulfilled when he became a Cardinal, not Pope, as has been reported in works of piety.[30] (John Paul's secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, denies the prediction,[31] while George Weigel's biography Witness to Hope, which contains an account of the same visit, does not mention it.) According to oral tradition[32] Bishop Wojtyła wrote to Padre Pio in 1962 to ask him to pray for Dr. Wanda Poltawska, a friend in Poland who was suffering from cancer. Later, Dr. Poltawska's cancer was found to be in spontaneous remission; medical professionals were unable to offer an explanation for the phenomenon.[33]

Because of the unusual abilities Padre Pio claimed to possess, the Holy See twice instituted investigations of the stories surrounding him.[citation needed] However, the Church has since formally approved his veneration with his canonization by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

In the 1999 book, Padre Pio: The Wonder Worker, a segment by Irish priest Malachy Gerard Carroll describes the story of Gemma de Giorgi, a Sicilian girl whose blindness was believed to have been cured during a visit to Padre Pio.[34] Gemma, who was brought to San Giovanni Rotondo in 1947 by her grandmother, was born without pupils.[34] During her trip to see Padre Pio, the little girl began to see objects including a steamboat and the sea.[34][35] Gemma's grandmother did not believe the child had been healed.[34] After Gemma forgot to ask Padre Pio for grace during her confession, her grandmother implored the priest to ask God to restore her sight.[34] Padre Pio told her, "The child must not weep and neither must you for the child sees and you know she sees."[34] Oculists were unable to determine how she gained vision.[34]

Padre Pio is said to have engaged in physical combat with Satan and his minions, similar to incidents described concerning St. John Vianney, from which Padre Pio is said to have sustained extensive bruising. He was said to communicate with angels and worked favors and healings before they were requested of him.

On the day of Padre Pio's death, mystic and Servant of God Maria Esperanza de Bianchini from Venezuela reported that he appeared to her in a vision and said, "I have come to say good-bye. My time has come. It is your turn."[36][37][38] Her husband then watched as his wife's face transfigured into that of Padre Pio.[36][37][38] On the following day, they heard of the death of Padre Pio.[36][37][38] Witnesses say they later saw Esperanza herself levitating during Mass and engaging in bilocation[38] Padre Domenico da Cese, a fellow Capuchin stigmatist, reported that on Sunday, September 22, 1968 he saw Padre Pio kneeling in prayer before the Holy Face of Manoppello, although it was known that Padre Pio hadn't left his room.[39]

[edit] Stigmata

Padre Pio showing the stigmata

On 20 September 1918, while hearing confessions, Padre Pio had his first occurrence of the stigmata: bodily marks, pain, and bleeding in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. This phenomenon continued for fifty years, until the end of his life. The blood flowing from the stigmata smelled of perfume or flowers, a phenomenon mentioned in stories of the lives of several saints and often referred to as the odour of sanctity.

His stigmata, regarded as evidence of holiness, was studied by physicians whose independence from the Church is not known.[21][22] The observations were unexplainable and the wounds never became infected.[21][22][40] His wounds healed once but reappeared.[41] They were examined by Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the City Hospital of Barletta, for about one year. Dr. Giorgio Festa, a private practitioner, also examined them in 1920 and 1925. Professor Giuseppe Bastianelli, physician to Pope Benedict XV, agreed that the wounds existed but made no other comment. Pathologist Dr. Amico Bignami of the University of Rome also observed the wounds but could make no diagnosis.[42] Both Bignami and Dr. Giuseppe Sala commented on the unusually smooth edges of the wounds and lack of edema. Dr. Alberto Caserta took X-rays of Padre Pio's hands in 1954 and found no abnormality in the bone structure.[43]

However, this condition is said to have caused him great embarrassment, and most photographs show him with red mittens or black coverings on his hands and feet where the bleeding occurred.[22] At the time of Padre Pio's death, his body appeared unwounded, with no sign of scarring. There was a report that doctors who examined his body found it empty of all blood.[44]

Those, both religious and non-religious, who have accused Padre Pio of faking his stigmata, say Padre Pio used carbolic acid to self-inflict the wounds. The sole piece of evidence for this is a single document found in the Vatican's archive — the report of pharmacist Maria De Vito, from whom he requested 4 grams of the acid. This letter was among the material gathered by those who disputed Padre Pio's stigmata at the time. According to De Vito, Padre Pio asked her to keep the order secret, saying it was to sterilize needles (he also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles).[45][46] The document was examined but dismissed by the Catholic Church during Padre Pio's beatification process.[45] A 2007 book by Sergio Luzzatto contended that Padre Pio faked his wounds was dismissed by the Catholic Anti-Defamation League, which said Luzzatto was spreading "anti-Catholic libel."[45]

One commentator expressed the belief that the Church likely dismissed the claims based on witnesses who stated the acid was in fact used for sterilization. "The boys had needed injections to fight the Spanish Flu which was raging at that time. Due to a shortage of doctors, Padres Paolino and Pio administered the shots, using carbolic acid as a sterilizing agent.”[45][47]

Sainthood and later recognition

In 1982, the Holy See authorized the Archbishop of Manfredonia to open an investigation to determine whether Padre Pio should be considered a saint. The investigation went on for seven years, and in 1990 Padre Pio was declared a Servant of God, the first step in the progression to canonization.

Beginning in 1990, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints debated how heroically Padre Pio had lived his life, and in 1997 Pope John Paul II declared him venerable. A discussion of the effects of his life on others followed, including the cure of an Italian woman, Consiglia de Martino, which had been associated with Padre Pio's intercession. In 1999, on the advice of the Congregation, John Paul II declared Padre Pio blessed.

After further consideration of Padre Pio's virtues and ability to do good even after his death, including discussion of another healing attributed to his intercession, the Pope declared Padre Pio a saint on June 16, 2002.[30] An estimated 300,000 people attended the canonization ceremony.[30]

Padre Pio is one of only two saints who were priests living after the Second Vatican Council; the other being Saint Josemaria Escriva. Both priests had permission from the Pope to offer the traditional Latin Mass without any of the liturgical reforms that stemmed from the Council.

On July 1, 2004, Pope John Paul II dedicated the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church in San Giovanni Rotondo to the memory of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.[48] A statue of Saint Pio in Messina, Sicily attracted attention in 2002 when it wept tears of blood.[49]

Padre Pio has become one of the world's most popular saints. There are more than 3,000 "Padre Pio Prayer Groups" worldwide, with three million members. There are parishes dedicated to Padre Pio in Vineland and Lavallette, New Jersey and Sydney, Australia, and there is a St. Padre Pio Shrine in Buena, New Jersey. A 2006 survey by the magazine Famiglia Cristiana found that more Italian Catholics pray for the intercession Padre Pio than to any other figure. (This prayer, more properly understood as a request that the saint intercede to God, is not to be confused with worship which the Catholic Church teaches is due only to God himself.)[50]

A statue of Padre Pio will be built on a hill near the town of San Giovanni Rotondo in the southern province of Puglia, Italy, close to the town where he is commemorated. The project will cost several million pounds, with the money to be raised from his devotees around the world. The statue will be coated in a special photovoltaic paint which will enable it to trap the sun's heat and produce solar energy, making it an "ecological" religious icon.[51]

The body of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.

On 3 March 2008, the body of Saint Pio was exhumed from his crypt, 40 years after his death, so that his remains could be prepared for display. A church statement described the body as being in "fair condition". Archbishop Domenico D'Ambrosio, Papal legate to the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo, stated "the top part of the skull is partly skeletal but the chin is perfect and the rest of the body is well preserved".[52] Archbishop D’Ambrosio also confirmed in a communiqué that “the stigmata are not visible.”[53] He went on to say that St. Pio's hands "looked like they had just undergone a manicure". It was hoped that morticians would be able to restore the face so that it will be recognizable. However, because of its deterioration, his face was covered with a lifelike silicone mask.[54]

Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, celebrated Mass for 15,000 devotees on April 24 at the Shrine of Holy Mary of Grace, San Giovanni Rotondo, before the body went on display in a crystal, marble, and silver sepulcher in the crypt of the monastery.[55] Padre Pio is wearing his brown Capuchin habit with a white silk stole embroidered with crystals and gold thread. His hands hold a large wooden cross. Eight hundred thousand pilgrims worldwide, mostly from Italy, made reservations to view the body up to December 2008, but only 7,200 people a day were able to file past the crystal coffin.[56][57][58] Officials extended the display through September, 2009.[59]

Saint Pio's remains were placed in the church of Saint Pio, which is beside San GiovanniRotondo. In April 2010 they were moved to a special golden "Cripta".[60]

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Cardinal Dolan Is Deposed in Milwaukee Archdiocese Abuse Lawsuits - NYTimes.com

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: February 20, 2013

was questioned in Manhattan for three hours on Wednesday behind closed doors in a legal deposition concerning the sexual abuse of children by priests.

when Cardinal Dolan, as archbishop of Milwaukee, learned of allegations against certain priests, and how quickly he made those allegations public.

Lawyers for the victims argue that previous archbishops, including Cardinal Dolan, intentionally stalled and kept allegations quiet so that the cases would fall beyond the statute.

Click on the following for more details: Cardinal Dolan Is Deposed in Milwaukee Archdiocese Abuse Lawsuits - NYTimes.com

Weekly Collections for the weekend of February 17, 2013

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No change in pledges.

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Will Father Geary’s new letter bring in the needed pledges?

 

The following letter appears to have been sent to the entire parish.

Click on the photocopy to enlarge.

Fr. Geary's letter of 2-12-2013

Cardinal George heading to Rome for final meeting with Pope Benedict | abc7chicago.com

By Ross Weidner

February 18, 2013 ( CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Chicago's Francis Cardinal George will head to Rome on February 26th to prepare for the conclave that will choose the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church. …

  After mass at Chicago's St. Bride church Sunday, Cardinal George told reporters that he'll join Pope Benedict XVI and other cardinals at the Vatican for a final meeting with the aging pontiff on the morning of Pope Benedict XVI's last day as Pope. …

Cardinal George says a specific date for the start of the conclave will not be available until after Pope Benedict steps down. But, he expects a period of time for the world's cardinals to meet and discuss viable Papal candidates before the conclave begins.

Click on the following for more details:  Cardinal George heading to Rome for final meeting with Pope Benedict | abc7chicago.com

Saturday, February 16, 2013

LA Cardinal to Be Deposed in Abuse Lawsuit - ABC News

 

the parties agreed to a four-hour deposition with no limitations on the line of questioning.

Mahony has been deposed in civil clergy abuse lawsuits multiple times over the years. Next week's deposition, however, would be the first since the archdiocese released thousands of pages under court order from the confidential personnel files of more than 120 priests accused of sex abuse

Click on the following for more details:  LA Cardinal to Be Deposed in Abuse Lawsuit - ABC News

Friday, February 15, 2013

Engaging Differences


Engaging Differences
As LCWR continues to respond
to the process of the doctrinal
assessment, I have frequently
called to mind Einstein’s assertion
that it is impossible to solve any
problem with the same mindset that
created it. That thought carries a challenge.
First of all, our own mindsets are
usually quite invisible to us. How do
we personally and collectively touch
into and live from a new consciousness
capable of transcending our blind spots?
This moment in history calls us to
stretch in that direction, for the sake of the church and
world. I imagine that you, like I, want to offer the best
of ourselves in response. One thing is clear to me. It is
God who opens new spaces within and among us as we
surrender in contemplation towards gratuitous grace.
What often seems to lead us to that surrender is finding
ourselves really not knowing what to do.
Constance Fitzgerald, OCD, in “Impasse and Dark
Night” says: “The experience of impasse can be a source
of creative growth and transformation if it is fully appropriated
within one’s heart and flesh with consciousness
and consent; if the limitations of one’s humanity
and human condition are squarely faced and the sorrow
of finitude allowed to invade the human spirit with real
existential powerlessness; if the ego does not demand
understanding in the name of control and predictability
but is willing to admit the mystery of its own being
and surrender itself to this mystery; if the path into
the unknown, into the uncontrolled and unpredictable
margins of life, is freely taken when the path of deadly
clarity fades.”
What often seems to lead us to that surrender
is finding ourselves
really not knowing what to do.
What if transformation most frequently happens
when differences come into
uncomfortable contact with each other,
inviting mutual re-shaping?
Personally, I’m quite fond of clarity,
though it seems to be increasingly
elusive these days. Differing viewpoints
and perspectives abound in ways that
often seem to clash and muddy the waters.
But what if muddiness is the most
direct way forward? What if transformation
most frequently happens when
differences come into uncomfortable
contact with each other, inviting mutual
re-shaping? What if the encounters that
disturb and confuse us are privileged
pathways to a new consciousness otherwise
difficult to access?
Margaret Wheatley tells us that “change always starts
with confusion; cherished interpretations must dissolve
to make way for the new… Curiosity is what we need.
We don’t have to let go of what we believe, but we do
need to be curious about what someone else believes.
We do need to acknowledge that their way of interpreting
the world might be essential to our survival.”
I recently had an experience of proposing something to
a group in my congregation, certain that there would be
very broad, if not unanimous agreement. There wasn’t.
I was surprised. However, an important awareness
arose in me as a result. Bumping up against assumptions
about what my colleagues thought led me to a
new curiosity about their ideas and experience. Deeper
conversation resulted, leading to a richly expanded
view of the issue at hand. The affirmation of like-minded
peers is the more comfortable path. But engaging
differences may be the more direct route to bringing
our assumptions and invisible mindsets into awareness,
making them more available for transformation.

The above is from:  https://lcwr.org/publications/february-2013

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Cardinal Dolan a Dark Horse to Succeed Pope - NYTimes.com

By SHARON OTTERMAN
Published: February 12, 2013

The likelihood of Cardinal Dolan’s becoming the next pope is low, many religious scholars say. “I would put him in the — what’s less than a dark horse?”  category, said Christopher M. Bellitto, a papal historian at Kean University in New Jersey.

“He is arguably going to be, if he is not already, the voice and face of the American church, though whether he can translate that to higher office is another matter,” Professor Bellitto said.

The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, put Cardinal Dolan’s odds at “100 to 1.” But, he added, “Anything can happen.”

Click on the following for more details:  Cardinal Dolan a Dark Horse to Succeed Pope - NYTimes.com

Monday, February 11, 2013

Mixed reviews on pope's actions on sex abuse scandal

 

In 2001, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, his name before he became pope in 2005, urged Pope John Paul II to create a central system to further the Vatican's investigations of sexual abuse under priests. He shifted control of the disposition of the cases from the Congregation for the Clergy, where little action had been taken, to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Ratzinger then headed.

And every week he examined the grueling cases -- coming chiefly from the USA.

Read more by clicking on the following:  Mixed reviews on pope's actions on sex abuse scandal

Pope Benedict stepping down, cites poor health - Yahoo! News

 

Pope Benedict shocked the world on Monday by saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to cope with his ministry, in an announcement that left his aides "incredulous" and will make him the first pontiff to step down since the Middle Ages.

The German-born Pope, 85, hailed as a hero by conservative Roman Catholics and viewed with suspicion by liberals, told cardinals in Latin that his strength had deteriorated recently. He will step down on February 28 and the Vatican expects a new Pope to be chosen by the end of March.

Pope Benedict stepping down, cites poor health - Yahoo! News

St. James’ website has some of the preliminary plans available

The following pictures are available at:  http://stjamesbelvidere.org/parish-life/building-on-our-faith-campaign.html

Many of the slides presented on the Tuesday, January 22, 2013 meeting are available at:  http://stjamesbelvidere.org/images/stories/presentation.pdf

The site plan is available at: http://stjamesbelvidere.org/images/stories/site_real.pdf

Below is one of the three site plan slides.

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The preliminary interior plans are available at:  http://stjamesbelvidere.org/images/stories/interior_real.pdf

Below is one of the five slides.

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The exterior views are now available at:  http://www.stjamesbelvidere.org/images/stories/exterior.pdf

Below is one of the views.

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Friday, February 8, 2013

Information regarding the new plans for St. James coming soon?

 

This week’s The Observer has a front page article on the “New Expansion Proposed for Belvidere Parish”.  The end of the article says: “For more information or to contribute go to www.stjamesbelvidere.org” as of yet there is no additional information on the parish website.

Website as of today, shown below:

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The observer had little new information but it did have the site plan shown below.  Note the unique method of expanding the space for the side/main entrance—extend out into the street.

2013 site plan

2013 site plan