Baltimore pastor speaks his mind in homily on same-sex marriage | National Catholic Reporter

 

Baltimore's St. Vincent de Paul church, Fr. Richard T. Lawrence read a nuanced letter from Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori at all the weekend's Masses. It concluded: "Each one of us -- as Catholics and faithful citizens -- must show up on election day and do our part by voting against Question 6," the Civil Marriage Protection Act.

"The archbishop's thoughts on this question are powerful, and will be persuasive in conscience to many" and should be read and prayed over by all, said Lawrence, who has been St. Vincent's pastor for 39 years.

He then stated his own homiletic thoughts:

I cannot tell you how any of this will come out, but I will tell you that I stand in genuine awe of all those parents, native-born, naturalized, documented and undocumented, who strive with every fiber of their being to ensure that their children have more opportunities than they had.

And I will continue to stand in genuine awe of all those couples -- straight, gay and lesbian -- whose day-to-day, year-to-year, and decade-to-decade faithfulness to each other is to me a sacrament, a believable embodied sign, of the absolute faithfulness of God to us all.

Read more:  Baltimore pastor speaks his mind in homily on same-sex marriage | National Catholic Reporter

Vatican's asset manager submits to outside audit | National Catholic Reporter

 

move by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), an office of the Vatican's central bureaucracy, may represent the first such outside audit of the Vatican's coffers.

The office is charged with overseeing the Vatican's property, providing cash flow to its bureaucracy, and managing the city-state's overall financial portfolio.

Announcement of the financial review came in a statement Tuesday from the office's president, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno. The statement said the review, headed by the global consulting firm Promontory Financial Group, will "allow for greater depth and detail in the verification of the financial condition and management" of the office.

Read the entire article:  Vatican's asset manager submits to outside audit | National Catholic Reporter

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of October 27, 2013

 

 

No change in Stewardship.

Number of families pledging decreased by one.  Total pledges decreased by $900.

Gay marriage in Illinois, and the Catholic Church's opposition - Greg Hinz - Crain's Chicago Business

 

In the first, and smaller, case, the bishop of the Springfield diocese last week called in police and vowed to bar the cathedral door to anyone who showed up with a gay rainbow sash for a threatened rosary protest, in which participants would say their Hail Marys and Our Fathers in a prayer for legal gay marriage in Illinois. Such activity would constitute “blasphemy,” disputing God's word in his own house, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki declared.

To the extent anyone was going to disrupt services—I know of no evidence of that—the bishop was perfectly correct. But calling the prayer itself “blasphemy” doesn't make sense. ….

ultimatum Cardinal George issued last summer to the Illinois Coalition on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. The group mostly is known for its views on U.S. immigration reform. But, for its own reasons, its board decided to endorse the gay-marriage bill. The archdiocese reacted by threatening to cut off hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to 11 smallish community groups that are part of the coalition unless they quit the group

Read more of this article by clicking on the following:  https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/141f7a819a6d35db

North St. Paul pastor suggest “change of leadership” at St. Paul Archdiocese

The following appeared in the October 20, 2013 bulletin of Church of St. Peter in North St. Paul SEE:    http://content.seekandfind.com/bulletins/02/0151/20131020B.pdf

 

Click on photocopy to enlarge:

Here is the local paper’s coverage of Father Deziel’s letter:  http://www.startribune.com/local/east/228853201.html

Pope Francis Suspends 'Bishop of Bling' - Yahoo

 

Pope Francis today suspended the free spending German Bishop Franz Peter Tebartz-van Elst -- known derisively as Bishop Deluxe or the Bishop of Bling -- and ordered him to vacate the Diocese of Limburg, at least temporarily.

The pope, who has declined to live in the Vatican's opulent papal residence, has been urging prelates to adopt a more humble lifestyle and today's actions were the strongest yet to reenforce that message.

The pope's decision was released in a short statement from the Vatican press office stating that the actions of the bishop had created a situation "where in the present moment he cannot exercise his Episcopal ministry."

"Pending the results of this examination and the related investigations on the responsibilities in this regard, the Holy See considers it appropriate to authorize Bishop Franz -Peter Tebartz-van Elst a period of stay outside the Diocese," the statement said.

The pope's decision to expel the "Bishop of Bling" – as he has been dubbed in the international media – takes effect immediately.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Pope Francis Suspends 'Bishop of Bling' - Yahoo

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of October 20, 2013

No change in Stewardship Pledges.

Number of families pledging decreases by one; total pledges decreases by $720.  Additional details are provides namely $75,000 pledged by the diocese.  (Is that part of the $2,854,275?) And the amount of over pledged amount that was paid is revealed ($101,706.29).

Archdiocese of Milwaukee releases depositions, offender priest files in sex abuse cases - JSOnline

 

The following 45 men appear on an Archdiocese of Milwaukee list of diocesan priests removed or restricted from ministry because of substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of at least one minor.

Most have been defrocked (laicized) or fully restricted from ministry, meaning they may not celebrate the sacraments publicly or present themselves as priests. One was dismissed from ministry and one was excommunicated. Nearly half are dead.

Three priests’ files are not being released at this time — James Godin, Donald Musinski and Roger Schneider. Godin and Schneider are not being released because information could identify their victims. Musinski was added too recently for his records to be compiled.

Click on the following to see these records:  Archdiocese of Milwaukee releases depositions, offender priest files in sex abuse cases - JSOnline

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of October 13, 2013

 

Stewardship (DSP) increases $5,420 but still $16,722 from the goal of $71,559.

One additional pledge of $30.00.

St. James Church construction delayed until after Christmas

Click on the following to enlarge:

Pope Francis calls extraordinary synod for only third time in modern Church history | CatholicHerald.co.uk

 

According to the Code of Canon Law, an “extraordinary general session” of the synod is held to “deal with matters which require a speedy solution.” This will be only the third extraordinary synod since Pope Paul VI reinstituted synods in 1965, to hold periodic meetings to advise him on specific subjects.

A 1969 extraordinary session was dedicated to improving cooperation between the Holy See and national bishops’ conferences; and a 1985 extraordinary session, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council, recommended the compilation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was published seven years later.

Pope Francis had told reporters accompanying him on his plane back from Rio de Janeiro in July that the next synod would explore a “somewhat deeper pastoral care of marriage,” including the question of the eligibility of divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.

He added that at the time that Church law governing marriage annulments also “has to be reviewed, because ecclesiastical tribunals are not sufficient for this. It is complex, the problem of the pastoral care of marriage.” Such problems, he said, exemplified a general need for forgiveness in the Church today.

Click on the following to read the entire story:  Pope Francis calls extraordinary synod for only third time in modern Church history | CatholicHerald.co.uk

Francis supports the US bishops’ public stands, says Cardinal Dolan | CatholicHerald.co.uk

By Francis X Rocca

Pope Francis’s appeal for the Church not to focus exclusively on moral issues does not mean that the American bishops have to change their priorities in the public square, Cardinal Timothy Dolan has said.

Speaking to the American Catholic News Service, the president of the US bishops’ conference said: “What he’s saying is that if the perception of the Church is of a scold who’s always nagging and always negative and always fearful, we’re not going to make many converts, because nobody wants to join the Church out of fear or [join a] a paranoid group.

“If we emphasise the positive, the gracious, the embracing, the warm, inviting side of the Church, then we’re going to attract people,” he said. “And that, of course, is what Pope Francis is saying and doing on steroids.”

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Francis supports the US bishops’ public stands, says Cardinal Dolan | CatholicHerald.co.uk

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of October 6, 2013

Three additional pledges: $4,535 additional pledged.

St. James sells its pews

No heels at St. James in Belvidere

Bail Reduced For Former Priest Accused Of Sexually Assaulting An Altar Boy « CBS Philly

 

During the tenure of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, the archdiocese was notified that Brennan had sexually or inappropriately touched more than 20 boys, many from the schools or the parishes where he was assigned,” Williams said. “A serial predator is behind bars.”

Brennan has never faced criminal charges before because of all the previous accusations fell outside the legal statute of limitations.

In a statement, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia says Brennan was removed from active ministry in September 2005 and has not been permitted to function as a priest anywhere since that time.

The archdiocese also says its petition to the Vatican to officially laicize Brennan — that is, remove him from the priesthood permanently — is pending.

Click on the following to read all of the story:: Bail Reduced For Former Priest Accused Of Sexually Assaulting An Altar Boy « CBS Philly

Recent Popes complement each other, Cardinal Dolan notes :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

 

The three most recent Popes – Blessed John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis – “are all giants,” Cardinal Dolan said, and each “has particular talents.”

“John Paul II emphasized the soul,” he suggested…

“In Pope Benedict XVI we have a successor of St. Peter who emphasized the head,”

And now, Pope Francis emphasizes the heart,” he said.

“Warmth, mercy, joy, tenderness, outreach, acceptance, love,” the cardinal observed, “all flow from the heart, and those are the words most used by Pope Francis.”

Read the entire article:  Recent Popes complement each other, Cardinal Dolan notes :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Vatican: No report on cardinals' group; pope's latest interview 'accurate' | National Catholic Reporter

 

Vatican City

Pope Francis' first meeting with eight cardinals advising him on reforming the church saw the group take up a wide range of themes, including reform of the Vatican bureaucracy and the role of the laity, the Vatican said Wednesday.

The group also talked about preparing a study to improve the church's pastoral work with families, said Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi.

The spokesman made available some details of the group's meetings at a press briefing Wednesday. But Lombardi said observers should not expect too much more information about the sessions, saying they are a "council for the pope's governance."

The meetings are not meant to generate documents for review by the faithful, Lombardi said. The pope will communicate any decisions made as a result of the cardinals' advice personally, he said.

Click on the following to read more:  Vatican: No report on cardinals' group; pope's latest interview 'accurate' | National Catholic Reporter

Tentative settlement reached in lawsuit involving KC priest convicted of child pornography - KansasCity.com

 

lawsuit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court against the diocese, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan and Bishop Robert Finn by a minor girl and her parents, was resolved this week, the attorney for the girl’s family said Wednesday.

It is the third settlement involving allegations of sexual abuse by a priest in five months. The previous cases resulted in settlements totaling nearly $3 million.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Tentative settlement reached in lawsuit involving KC priest convicted of child pornography - KansasCity.com

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of September 29, 2013

 

No change in total amount pledged.