Reflections from the pastoral ministry of an Evangelical Catholic Priest.
28 February, 2014
27 February, 2014
26 February, 2014
25 February, 2014
24 February, 2014
23 February, 2014
22 February, 2014
21 February, 2014
Council of Cardinals Presents Proposals to Pope | Daily News | NCRegister.com
The group of eight cardinals heard presentations from two separate commissions devoted to Curia reform and the Vatican Bank and passed their recommendations on to Pope Francis.
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/council-of-cardinals-presents-proposals-to-pope#ixzz2txnO5bPC
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/council-of-cardinals-presents-proposals-to-pope#ixzz2txnO5bPC
20 February, 2014
19 February, 2014
18 February, 2014
17 February, 2014
The Reason for Our Hope: Setting Us Up for Success - A meditation from + Smith of Edmonton
The Reason for Our Hope: Setting Us Up for Success: This is an expression I learned from our Catholic school teachers. Regularly, they strive to "set their students up for success" b...
16 February, 2014
Ten Thousand Places: Thinking About Not Thinking
Ten Thousand Places: Thinking About Not Thinking: You dream of a hermitage. But you already have your hermitage, here and now! Sit still and call out: ‘Lord have mercy.’ When you...
15 February, 2014
Fr. Pat Tait, Diocese of Pembroke R.I.P.
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Fr. Pat Tait |
I ask you please to take a moment today and pray for the soul of Fr. Pat Tait, latterly pastor of Our Lady of Grace and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parishes of our diocese. Fr. Pat died this morning after a short battle with cancer. He was 66 years of age.
Fr. Pat had been the rector of St. Columbkille's Cathedral in Pembroke for many years and served as Diocesan Administrator during the months before the ordination of Bishop M. Mulhall as our local ordinary. His body will lay in state in the Cathedral on Wednesday February 19th from 3 pm til 7 pm and from 9:30 am to 10:30 am on Thursday February 20th. His funeral mass will then be celebrated at 11 am with +Mulhall presiding.
The Pembroke diocese has lost a great priest and brother of the presbyterate. May God grant him eternal rest in peace from his good labours.
14 February, 2014
Bishop Fred Henry (Calgary): Unclear language clouds push for euthanasia
"Many people of my vintage developed in high school a working knowledge of basic Latin grammar, and we read and translated classical texts such as Cicero’s De Oratore.
“Just as some women are said to be handsomer when unadorned — this very lack of ornament becomes them — so the plain style gives pleasure when unembellished ... All noticeable ornament, pearls as it were, will be excluded; not even curling irons will be used. All cosmetics, artificial white and red, will be rejected. Only elegance and neatness will remain. The language will be pure Latin, plain and clear; propriety will always be the chief aim.”
Despite Cicero’s own linguistic elegance, he encouraged speech or writing that was simple, direct, clear, brief, sincere and unambiguous. Cicero would not be pleased with our modern day over-usage and misusage of euphemisms, e.g. “infected obstetrics” (botched abortion), “misstatement” (lie), “program misuse” (fraud), “collateral damage” (civilian death), and “gaming” (gambling).
These usages of language are the opposite of “calling a spade a spade” or simply speaking the truth. They can cover up, mask, soften, smooth over important facts, and lessen responsibility. Euphemisms can be used deceptively and misleadingly to hide the truth. “Spin” is becoming a large part of modern-day life and we can even hire “spin doctors” to aid us in massaging “the truth.”
A classic illustration of such abuse can be seen in the Quebec government’s proposed Bill 52 — An Act Respecting End-of-Life Care.
“End-of-life care” is defined as “palliative care provided to persons at the end of their lives, including terminal palliative sedation, and medical aid in dying.”
This definition changes what is meant by palliative care. The terms “terminal palliative sedation” and “medical aid in dying” are purposefully misleading. They are euphemisms for euthanasia. We need some plain speech.
Euthanasia is the intentional killing of someone, with or without his or her consent, either by act or omission. By killing the person, one seeks to eliminate all aspects of that person’s life including pain, suffering or humiliation of being in need of help. The person who commits euthanasia must intend, for whatever reason, to kill the other and must cause their death."
“Just as some women are said to be handsomer when unadorned — this very lack of ornament becomes them — so the plain style gives pleasure when unembellished ... All noticeable ornament, pearls as it were, will be excluded; not even curling irons will be used. All cosmetics, artificial white and red, will be rejected. Only elegance and neatness will remain. The language will be pure Latin, plain and clear; propriety will always be the chief aim.”
Despite Cicero’s own linguistic elegance, he encouraged speech or writing that was simple, direct, clear, brief, sincere and unambiguous. Cicero would not be pleased with our modern day over-usage and misusage of euphemisms, e.g. “infected obstetrics” (botched abortion), “misstatement” (lie), “program misuse” (fraud), “collateral damage” (civilian death), and “gaming” (gambling).
These usages of language are the opposite of “calling a spade a spade” or simply speaking the truth. They can cover up, mask, soften, smooth over important facts, and lessen responsibility. Euphemisms can be used deceptively and misleadingly to hide the truth. “Spin” is becoming a large part of modern-day life and we can even hire “spin doctors” to aid us in massaging “the truth.”
A classic illustration of such abuse can be seen in the Quebec government’s proposed Bill 52 — An Act Respecting End-of-Life Care.
“End-of-life care” is defined as “palliative care provided to persons at the end of their lives, including terminal palliative sedation, and medical aid in dying.”
This definition changes what is meant by palliative care. The terms “terminal palliative sedation” and “medical aid in dying” are purposefully misleading. They are euphemisms for euthanasia. We need some plain speech.
Euthanasia is the intentional killing of someone, with or without his or her consent, either by act or omission. By killing the person, one seeks to eliminate all aspects of that person’s life including pain, suffering or humiliation of being in need of help. The person who commits euthanasia must intend, for whatever reason, to kill the other and must cause their death."
13 February, 2014
12 February, 2014
11 February, 2014
10 February, 2014
09 February, 2014
08 February, 2014
What is a priest who has been convicted of a crime entitled to from his diocese?
In the wake of the tragic number of clergy who have been found guilty of crimes in recent years, a visitor to the blog sent me a question about what support such priests were entitled to receive from the Church after their conviction.
In looking for the answer to that question I found a couple of articles that shed light on canon 281 of the Code of Canon Law which reads as follows:
A Bum Rap | America Magazine
The second is taken from a commentary on the Code and is more explicit in its detail. Again the link is directly below:
http://www.jgray.org/docs/remuneration.html
In summary, these articles explain that a suspended or convicted cleric is entitled to sufficient support such as is necessary to live. This can include providing accommodations for said priest if he is unable to afford it on his own. There seems therefore to be some 'wiggle room' or latitude that a Bishop can employ in determining what salary and/or support that a suspended cleric is entitled to receive so long as he remains within the clerical state. The situation changes if this same priest is expelled from Holy Orders as punishment following a Church trial. (Note: Such trials are now mandatory in all cases where a cleric has been credibly found guilty by a civil court, a procedure set in place by Pope B16 and which continues under the reign of Pope Francis.)
In looking for the answer to that question I found a couple of articles that shed light on canon 281 of the Code of Canon Law which reads as follows:
The first is an article from 'America Magazine'. The link is listed directly below:
Can. 281 §1. Since clerics dedicate themselves to ecclesiastical ministry, they deserve remuneration which is consistent with their condition, taking into account the nature of their function and the conditions of places and times, and by which they can provide for the necessities of their life as well as for the equitable payment of those whose services they need.
§2. Provision must also be made so that they possess that social assistance which provides for their needs suitably if they suffer from illness, incapacity, or old age.
§3. Married deacons who devote themselves completely to ecclesiastical ministry deserve remuneration by which they are able to provide for the support of themselves and their families. Those who receive remuneration by reason of a civil profession which they exercise or have exercised, however, are to take care of the needs of themselves and their families from the income derived from it.
A Bum Rap | America Magazine
The second is taken from a commentary on the Code and is more explicit in its detail. Again the link is directly below:
http://www.jgray.org/docs/remuneration.html
In summary, these articles explain that a suspended or convicted cleric is entitled to sufficient support such as is necessary to live. This can include providing accommodations for said priest if he is unable to afford it on his own. There seems therefore to be some 'wiggle room' or latitude that a Bishop can employ in determining what salary and/or support that a suspended cleric is entitled to receive so long as he remains within the clerical state. The situation changes if this same priest is expelled from Holy Orders as punishment following a Church trial. (Note: Such trials are now mandatory in all cases where a cleric has been credibly found guilty by a civil court, a procedure set in place by Pope B16 and which continues under the reign of Pope Francis.)
Professor Grayson’s Crusade | Web Exclusives | First Things
J. Paul Grayson, a sociology professor at York University in Toronto, received a request from a male student asking to be excused from participating in a group assignment, in which the student would have been obliged to converse with female students.
Grayson said no to the student but decided to use his request to test York University’s administration—beginning with his Dean—to see how they would deal with it. The administrators in fact decided that since no rights of female students were being withheld, the student’s request could be accommodated.
At that point, Grayson seized the opportunity that the administration’s response afforded him and leaked the details of this case to the media, dragging half of Canada into a proverbial tempest in a teapot that centered on the looming supposed dangers of religious accommodation.
The Quebec government—which is in the throes of proposing legislation intended to prevent people who wear religiously significant clothing from working in the public sector—was absolutely delighted. As reported by Toronto’s Globe and Mail , Grayson had already tipped off secularists when he came out in support of Quebec’s so-called Charter of Values. An affront to religious freedom , this Charter is designed to bully minorities, and especially Muslim immigrants, into assimilation in Canada’s mostly French-speaking, largely lapsed Catholic province.Click link below to read rest of article:
What to make of this bewildering feeding frenzy? Three things, to start with.
Professor Grayson’s Crusade | Web Exclusives | First Things
07 February, 2014
Pope pressured to act on abuse after UN rebuke
Click link below to read entire article:
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis came under new pressure Wednesday to punish bishops who covered up for pedophile priests when a U.N. human rights panel accused the Vatican of systematically protecting its reputation instead of looking out for the safety of children.
In a scathing report that thrilled victims and stunned the Vatican, the United Nations committee said the Holy See maintained a "code of silence" that enabled priests to sexually abuse tens of thousands of children worldwide over decades with impunity.
Among other things, the panel called on the Vatican to immediately remove all priests known or suspected to be child molesters, open its archives on abusers and the bishops who covered up for them, and turn the abuse cases over to law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution.
The committee largely brushed aside the Vatican's claims that it has already instituted new safeguards, and it accused the Roman Catholic Church of still harboring criminals.
CadillacNews.com
06 February, 2014
Ten Thousand Places: What It's Really All About - A reflection on a teaching from Catherine de Hueck Doherty
Click the link below to read the entire article:I think we should jump into God’s mercy, so to speak, as if it is a bottomless sea. It is not necessarily unpainful, because there is a mercy there, which I don’t even try to fathom, but it comes to me every time, because I am a Russian and his mercy means so much to me. But at the same time, every time I plunge into that mercy, somehow, somewhere, someplace, I find justice.The mercy always unbinds the hands of the justice, but the justice is there, and you kind of realize without realizing the depth of this mercy because it can untie the hands of his justice. It comes from the depths of his heart! Because if we were judged by his justice, we wouldn’t have a chance, let’s face it! But he unbinds the hands of his justice, like Peguy says, and opens the hands of his mercy, and you go deeper and deeper and it is bottomless, and somewhere the justice is going to show his mercy and the two will show his infinite love.And you kind of go into both and you stand there and thus know... a hope springs into you like a sort of - or from you, or passes through you, or gets at you - with such a power that you almost begin to sense what it is, because hope is a very elusive virtue. It might be a theological one, but it is awfully difficult... But when you’re touched by it, you kind of see that this mercy is bottomless, that there is no bottom to it, and that always it binds the hands of his justice and things fall into the rhythm of love.And as years go by, God’s love overwhelms you, and that is what seems to call forth from you the most incredible hope that you can be a saint. I think that is the biggest hope for us to really think about... anyhow for me it is.Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Unpublished talk, March 3, 1970
Ten Thousand Places: What It's Really All About
05 February, 2014
03 February, 2014
01 February, 2014
Ten Thousand Places: On the Virtues of Being Snowed In - a little something from Fr. Denis Lemieux which I post in honor of my sister
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A road gets plowed in my sister's neighborhood after a recent storm. The gentleman on the bottom is 6'1" and that lady up top is 5'9". THANK GOD I don't live where she does!! |
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