Excellent NCR Article about Pope Benedict and the Sexual Abuse Crisis in Germany

This National Catholic Reporter article by John L. Allen, Jr., "Will Ratzinger's past trump Benedict's present" is a very extensive analysis of the history of the sexual abuse scandal in the Church and how the Vatican has reacted to the scandal in the past and the present. I think it is a fair article and an important one. It begins:

"Gino Burresi may sound like the name of a shortstop from the '50s, but among Vatican insiders, it marks a watershed in the sexual abuse crisis. For those with eyes to see, the fall from grace of Burresi, a charismatic Italian priest and founder of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, shortly after the election of Pope Benedict XVI, was taken as a signal that the days of lethargy and cover-up were over.

Burresi, 73 at the time, was barred from public ministry in May 2005, just one month after the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the church's top job. While the decree cited abuses of confession and spiritual direction, Vatican sources were clear that accusations of sexual abuse involving Burresi and seminarians, dating to the 1970s and '80s,were a principal motive for the action against him....."

I would like to have your comments on this article...

Canon 1251 and Friday's Solemnity of St. Joseph

Can Catholics of this diocese eat meat on Friday, March 19th, the Solemnity of St. Joseph?

Here is the canon that speaks to this question:

Canon 1251 Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless (nisi) they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Focusing on the Liturgy

The National Catholic Reporter is focusing on the Liturgy this week. This is a very important series by Tom Roberts that should not be missed. The series began Monday with the article titled: "Battle lines in the liturgy wars"...

Subsequent articles are the following:

Tuesday: The new spin on Vatican II
Wednesday: Pope aims to 'propose' practices
Thursday: Our brains are wired for liturgy
Friday: The hermeneutic of dysfunction, an NCR editorial

Please note: I have no link to the last three articles since they will be published on the days given. Those articles will be easy enough to find by going to one of the links and scrolling down to the bottom of the article.

These Stone Walls

If you have never visited this blog, you are in for a spiritual journey. These Stone Walls contains a weekly column written by a priest who was falsely accused. He is serving a 67-year sentence. You can read his story and what has happened to him after refusing a deal to plead guilty.

If you are looking for spiritual reading for Lent, this is it! I pray for him every day...

Sullivan Conference 2010 “Source and Summit: The Mass as Catechesis”

Don't miss this conference scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 18-19, 2010 at two locations in the Diocese of Richmond. The locations are

Church of the Redeemer, Mechanicsville, Virginia
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Salem, Virginia

Here is the theme of the conference taken from the brochure:

"Source and Summit: The Mass as Catechesis. To assist us in our appreciation for and engagement with the liturgy, Rev. Paul Turner will gather with us to reflect on the critical link between liturgy, catechesis, and life. His four keynote presentations will help to prepare us for the coming revisions to the Roman Missal. Breakout sessions led by presenters from around the diocese will further equip pastoral ministers to lead others to deepen their understanding and experience of the liturgy."

Here are the brochures from the East location: Mechanicsville

And the brochure for the West Location: Salem

And here is where to register online: Registration

There are scholarships available.

Bishop Williamson Back in the News

Spiegel Online International had a 3-page article today about Bishop Williamson of the SSPX and his continuing denial of the Holocaust. Here is the article: Bishop Williamson Unrepentant in Holocaust Denial.

It appears from the article that the Bishop is not going to change his tune. This could certainly have reprecussions on the dialogue that is going on at the Vatican with the representatives of the SSPX.

You know I am not a traditional Catholic; however, I firmly believe that the Church can hold all of us, as long as there is good will and tolerance among us.

What say you?

The Reform of the Reform - OR...

Katie Beaumont suggested discussion of this article from Catholic News Service, Papal liturgist endorses 'reform of the reform' of the liturgy (CNS, Jan. 7, 2010).


Please go to the link and read the CNS article taken from an interview with Msgr. Guido Marini, billed as "the pope's chief liturgist." I am not allowed to copy the article to this blog; though I would have liked to place the entire article here for you to read.

What say you? I expect to see many nods of approval. I can also hear sighs and groans from many of us who feel that Pope Benedict's "reform of the reform" is not necessarily heading in the right direction.


As always, I ask that you keep your comments civil. Did I really need to say that? Probably not!