Where the Rubber Hits the Road

It's a sad day for the Archdioceses of New York and Philadelphia as employees are charged with stealing millions from the Church to maintain their  lifestyle. The New York Times writes about a woman who accomplished the undertaking to maintain her daily New York life. The Philadelphia Inquirer posts an article about another who bilked another million covering losses she ran up at casinos. I am not surprised people steal. No one who hears confessions for a living, be they priests, bartenders or barbers, would be shocked by such news. But there is something particularly odious about stealing from a Church. Whether it's emptying the poor box of coins or bank accounts with fraudulent bills, it's all stealing from monies given with the goal of helping the poor and educating the young. We sadly often applaud those who steal from the rich to give to the poor; from Robin Hood of film and legend to today's 'Anonymous' Movement  who hack computers to do the same. W...

Here is an exchange of letters between one of the rioters in Vancouver (after the Canucks lost to the Bruins) and an Emergency Room nurse. I post it as an example of the truth that sins do not only effect the sinner but many others as well. It is a lesson worth reflecting upon. A Letter of Apology to Vancouver and Family and Friends Hey Everyone ! The status is : I Turned myself in to the VPD today at 12pm I am now being charged on 4 counts. I am Truly Sorry for what i have done !!! I have no excuse for my actions during the Riot. To my Friends, Family, Coworkers, and of course all of Vancouver and BC i am SORRY for what i have done. I would like to say on my behalf that I LOVE VANCOUVER ! I’ve been Born n Raised here all my life !! and that This Town means everything to me !!! again i understand that my actions caused did not show any of that ! But i hope you one day see that i do care about this town and my friends n family and this is NOT like me !! I am ashamed at what i have ...

“ Another one bite's the dust .” The rock super-group Queen probably never intended to provide a theme song for Christian leaders – but in the wake of the continuing sex abuse scandals among priests, ministers and religious leaders, the lyric seems to be an appropriate mantra for believers. The latest leader to fall is Fr. Tom Eutreneuer, former executive director of HLI (Human Life International) and a Catholic priest of the Palm Beach Diocese in Florida. He has had to step down from his position and has had his religious faculties suspended after he admitted to inappropriate sexual activities with a woman who came to him for an exorcism. HLI is one of the largest pro-life Catholic organizations in North America and has been considered to be among the most fervent and outspoken voices promulgating the call to chastity and obedience to Roman Catholic sexual ethics. This phenomena is not unique to the Catholic faith. Church leaders from Ted Haggart to Jim Baker and Jimmy Swag...

This one really makes you stop and think. God's grace is truly unmerited. God's Grace It is a shame but this message is very true. Hope you are all as blessed as I was by this story. I wonder how many people will delete this without reading it because of the title. There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak.... "I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?" "Just some old birds," came the reply. "What are you going to do with them?" I asked. "Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. ...

Click here to visit the "Acts of Apostasy" blog. It's a Catholic, Trekkies delight!

The Haitian earthquake has brought to the floor a discussion about the role of evil in the world. The musings of Pat Robertson claiming that the death and destruction of that impoverished nation come from a "pact with the devil" should and has been opposed. ( Click here to read Rex Murphy's contribution or click here to read what is most likely the best response to date ) There is however one small grain of truth in his malicious claim: evil (sin) is indeed responsible for death and destruction, but this evil was wrought by human hands. Consider if you will this column from David Brooks (NY Times) in which he points out that when an earthquake of the same magnitude struck San Francisco (1989) it resulted in the death of just over 60 people. Yet the same strength event resulted in over 50,000 deaths in Haiti. What was the cause of this horrific difference? Poverty, unenforced building codes, and lack of civil services. Each of these causes can clearly be laid upon hu...

One cannot open a newspaper or watch TV without witnessing the unimaginable horror that is Haiti today. As the images of death and destruction assail us, questions about the goodness and love of God comes to the fore for any believer. Many people are using this tragedy to denounce people of faith as being fools. After all, if we believe that God is all powerful and loving, how could he permit such death and destruction? Aside from the easy response of challenging such people with the question as to whether they are willing to grant to God the responsibility for all that is good in the world as they logically must if they are going to hold him liable for all that evil, it is essential that we understand that we too are the ones responsible for the role of evil in this life. It is mankind that is as responsible for what has befallen Haiti as God. I say categorically that we are responsible for what has transpired in Haiti because it is our own participation in sin that permits evil...

Friends, One of the most difficult issues that I have ever had to deal with as a pastor was when our local funeral director became addicted to major drugs and descended into a personal hell - a hell he sadly inflicted upon others in a very personal and horrific way when he started to "kite" human remains the way that one might do with a cheque. The end result was the need to disinter quite a few buried remains and their transfer them to their proper graves, a process that wounded many families in our town and parish. W5, a CTV news program has completed a 30 minute story on this tragedy which will air this weekend. I recommend it to anyone who would want to understand the effects of sin upon others, as well as how a community can respond to its' members who suffer such a personal and intimate wound. The program will air at 7 pm on Saturday and again on Sunday at noon. The Mattawa piece will be aired in the 2nd half of the program.