Dear Everybody: Trenton And Newark are Different Dioceses

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Lisa Graas

Archbishop John Myers of Newark

There is a public smearing of Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark that is now ongoing because of something that occurred in the Diocese of Trenton without the approval of either Archbishop Myers or Bishop David O’Connell of Trenton. People engaged in this campaign against Archbishop Myers would do well to understand the jurisdiction of a bishop is within his own diocese and that the civil authorities are ultimately responsible in ensuring that Michael Fugee live up to the terms of his agreement with them.

Father Pius Pietrzyk does a good job of explaining that a report on the case of Michael Fugee which casts harsh blame on Archbishop Myers represents anti-Catholic media bias in that it raises no questions of the civil authorities who are responsible in this particular case. There is only one problem with Fr. Pius’ article and that is that he doesn’t acknowledge, maybe because he wasn’t aware of it when he wrote the article, that these violations occurred outside Archbishop Myers’ diocese.

Why was Fugee in the Diocese of Trenton? Was he sent there by Archbishop Myers or approved by Bishop O’Connell of the Diocese of Trenton? No. He was not sent there by Archbishop Myers nor approved by Bishop O’Connell. He was invited by a priest and two youth ministers within the Diocese of Trenton. All three of them have now resigned, but the attack on Archbishop Myers in the media continues.

Despite there being no involvement by either the Archbishop of Newark or the Bishop of Trenton in the decision to allow Fugee access to children, Archbishop Myers is being attacked as if he has done something wrong. Even some prominent Catholic bloggers are saying Archbishop Myers has failed in his duty to ensure the protection of children. Bishops and Archbishops are not omnipotent, and they don’t have the role of putting tracking devices on people like Michael Fugee. The prosecutor may have the authority to do that, but the bishops don’t.

If anyone is responsible here, it is the prosecutor and Fugee himself, along with those who have now resigned who invited Fugee to have access to children. Having said that, it isn’t clear how much they were aware of Fugee’s record when they invited him.

I grow weary of the rush to smear Catholic bishops, but especially when Catholic bloggers jump on board with it. Let’s try to use our brains more, folks. If I’m wrong about anything I’ve written here, I am happy to be corrected, but these are the facts of the situation as I understand them.

To Mock Cardinal Dolan, ‘Gay Rights’ Activists Intentionally Dirty Their Hands To Go to Mass

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Lisa Graas

Intentionally dirtied hands of “gay rights” activists at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Photo: New Civil Rights Movement

In New York City, early today, “gay rights” activists intentionally dirtied their hands before attempting to enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Holy Mass. This was an attempt to mock Cardinal Dolan for a blog post he wrote on April 25 explaining the Church’s teaching that homosexual acts are sinful. In that post, he had shared a story from his childhood about washing our hands before eating a meal.

I was so proud and happy. Freddie was welcome in our house, at our table. We both rushed in and sat down.

“Freddie, glad you’re here,” dad remarked, “but . . . looks like you and Tim better go wash your hands before you eat.”

Simple enough . . . common sense . . . you are a most welcome and respected member now of our table, our household, dad was saying, but, there are a few very natural expectations this family has. Like, wash your hands!…

So it is with the supernatural family we call the Church: all are welcome!

But, welcome to what? To a community that will love and respect you, but which has rather clear expectations defining it, revealed by God in the Bible, through His Son, Jesus, instilled in the human heart, and taught by His Church.

The activists are reporting that the NYPD barred them from entering the cathedral unless they washed their hands. They refused.

“Gay rights” activists present their intentionally dirtied hands at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Photo: New Civil Rights Movement.

How do you talk sense into people like this? Imagine, running to get your hands dirty ON PURPOSE before meeting Jesus (in the Eucharist.) Of course, no one who loves Jesus would do that. Consider the story of Martha’s sister Mary and the perfume.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist at Mass. You do not intentionally get yourself dirty before meeting Him…if you truly love Him. If you truly love Him, you will present yourself as clean in body and spirit as you possibly can.

In the end, this is why the Church is under attack on this issue of “gay rights.” They hate what they do not understand, and so they attack. They consider themselves to be holy saints even as they are intentionally dirtying themselves. St. Paul had something to say about those who believe we can make “grace abound” by intentionally committing sin (dirtying ourselves).

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin.

We are all given the grace to be able to turn from sin, and we are all expected to try to do just that. That trying is a suffering. That suffering is our “dying” that the faithful do every day for Christ. We stumble and fall, every day, but we do not glory in sin. We do not TRY to dirty ourselves and then present ourselves before Christ and demand He save us. We try NOT to sin, and we know that if we intentionally sin, we are rejecting His grace.

The idea of intentionally dirtying your hands before Mass is simply appalling to me…because I love Jesus and can’t bear to see Him treated that way. That is a failing of mine. It is the problem St. Peter had with not wanting to see Jesus treated badly. I have to work through that. We all have to work through our failings, not glory in them.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Cardinal Aviz Complains He Wasn’t Consulted on Vatican Reform of LCWR

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Lisa Graas

NOTE: This post has been updated. See the update at the end of the post.

Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, is complaining that he was not consulted in regard to the Vatican’s reform of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).

Fishwrap:

At one point the cardinal even called for wide-ranging review of structures of church power.

“We are in a moment of needing to review and revision some things,” Braz de Aviz said. “Obedience and authority must be renewed, re-visioned.”

“Authority that commands, kills,” he continued. “Obedience that becomes a copy of what the other person says, infantilizes.”

“Authority that commands, kills?”

Do you suppose that view is why he wasn’t consulted? Just a guess.

Incidentally, Cardinal Aviz’s coat of arms displays “Omnes Unum Sint” – That they may all be one. A form of the same term is the title of an encyclical by Pope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint from which I now quote:

For a whole millennium Christians were united in “a brotherly fraternal communion of faith and sacramental life … If disagreements in belief and discipline arose among them, the Roman See acted by common consent as moderator”.

In this way the primacy exercised its office of unity. When addressing the Ecumenical Patriarch His Holiness Dimitrios I, I acknowledged my awareness that “for a great variety of reasons, and against the will of all concerned, what should have been a service sometimes manifested itself in a very different light. But … it is out of a desire to obey the will of Christ truly that I recognize that as Bishop of Rome I am called to exercise that ministry … I insistently pray the Holy Spirit to shine his light upon us, enlightening all the Pastors and theologians of our Churches, that we may seek—together, of course—the forms in which this ministry may accomplish a service of love recognized by all concerned”.

This is an immense task, which we cannot refuse and which I cannot carry out by myself. Could not the real but imperfect communion existing between us persuade Church leaders and their theologians to engage with me in a patient and fraternal dialogue on this subject, a dialogue in which, leaving useless controversies behind, we could listen to one another, keeping before us only the will of Christ for his Church and allowing ourselves to be deeply moved by his plea “that they may all be one … so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21)?

It seems to me that acknowledgment of the primacy of Peter and his successors in the Chair of Peter is foundational in any dialogue with the Pope, and that there is no place for “useless controversies” in any dialogue with the Pope.

UPDATE: Vatican says its congregations collaborate, including on LCWR decision

Bishop Zubik Takes Issue with Carnegie-Mellon Student Mocking Papacy While Half Naked in Public

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Lisa Graas

To me, this is just more proof that it was the Catholic Church who built Western Civilization and is continuing to stand for civilization, and that it is the Left that is hell-bent on destroying civilization. Good luck, barbarians. You’ll need it. Barbarians never maintain control of a society for long. People grow weary of it, before long.

CBS Pittsburgh:

Students at Carnegie Mellon say it’s freedom of expression, but the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh calls it inappropriate and disrespectful.

At an annual art school parade, a female student dressed up as the pope, and was naked from the waist down while she passed out condoms.

Even more, witnesses say the woman had shaved her pubic hair in the shape of a cross.

There is a photo online showing this woman with papal costume from the waist up and naked from the waist down.

Here is a video with the statement from CMU, interviews of Bishop Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and interviews of CMU students defending this public nudity and mockery of the Pope.

Bishops and Laity Work Together in the Philippines in White Vote Movement

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Lisa Graas

It’s amazing to me to see how the Catholic bishops and laity are working together in the Philippines to promote pro-life candidates.

Read this article at Catholic San Francisco.

In February, the Diocese of Bacolod produced lists of those who supported and opposed the reproductive health legislation. The controversial lists, labeled in Filipino “Team Death” or “Team Life,” were on bright red and gray banners on the outer walls of the San Sebastian Cathedral.

The Commission on Elections ordered the diocese to take down the banners because they violated campaign poster-size limits on private property. The diocese argued it was a violation of its right to freedom of expression and filed a Supreme Court case, which is pending.

The White Vote movement’s Santiago said there was no reference to the names “Team Death” or “Team Life” in its endorsements. However, all six candidates labeled “Team Life” are backed by the White Vote. She said while the bishops’ conference gave guidelines on what kind of candidate to back, it was up to the lay organizations of the coalition to name who they would support.

Inspiring.