R.I.P. Fr. Hinds

A priest in Chattham Borough, New Jersey was found dead Friday morning after he failed to appear for the 8:00 AM Mass at his parish. A parishioner found him "in a pool of blood" on the floor of the rectory kitchen. He was found in his cassock and Roman collar.

Further investigation by local police determined the attacker to be the parish janitor, who decided it meritorious to stab the pastor and grade-school supervisor 32 times front and back. Fr. Hinds bore defensive wounds on his hands.

It has been concluded that the argument was over employment.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

What is the defintion of a "Traditonal Catholic"?

I found this on the net quite awhile ago and it seemed pretty comprehensive, so I decided to post it. I can't remember where I found it.


It's a very good question that is hard to answer. Broadly speaking, it's a Catholic who goes to the Tridentine Latin Mass-- abbreviated here and elsewhere as the TLM. But it's really more than that, it's a cultural and theological point of view that goes hand-in-hand with the TLM but is not the same as a TLM-goer.

At this point, I'd like to make a note of capitalization: I refer here to traditional Catholics. It's an adjective. Tradition with a "Capital-T" is the magisterial teaching of the Church and, though important, is not the subject of this post. If you use a Capital-T to write Traditional Catholics, you've created a whole new religion. Which does not apply to traditional Catholics. People who are are traditional Catholics are 100% Roman Catholics, just like any other Roman Catholics. These little things matter-- there's a huge difference between being orthodox and Orthodox.

A traditional Catholic is not a person who "prefers" the old Latin Mass. Neither are they people who simply passed Catechism class.

They are people who adhere to a type of spirituality that is largely lost in the 21st Century Catholic Church.

Truthfully, it's easier to describe their outward signs than their character: the old Latin Mass is the biggest identifier... though there are certainly traditional Catholics who are marooned in Novus Ordoland; there are likewise non-traditional Catholics who go to the TLM.

Trads are people who listen to Catholic Radio... skeptically. They might have a blog. They can list their "top-five" favorite Ecumenical Councils... none of which will rhyme with "Attican Shoe". Their friends think they're fuddy-duddys. They've got Holy Water fonts in all the bedrooms and by the front door. They quote the Douay Rheims bible. They have an opinion on offering Mass in baroque vestments while in a gothic chapel. They're tired of tinfoil hat jokes. They may not like Bishop Williamson, but concede that sometimes he's right, and when he's right, he's really right. They can tell you about Assisi. When they're at a Novus Ordo Mass, they've got their hands folded like a Catholic during the Our Father. The women have an extra mantilla in the van-- just in case. The men have an opinion on the best type of pipe tobacco for any occasion. The boys have their own cassock and surplice hanging in the closet. The girls know how to play Dies Irae on the organ. They wear a t-shirt while they go swimming so their brown scapular doesn't float away. They're willing to drive an hour to go to Mass... every Sunday. They know the confession times of at least 4 churches. They invite priests over to play cards and smoke cigars. They pray to saints that you think may not really exist. They ask you to finish the sentence when you say "John Paul the Great"... the great what? They might own a live chicken. When they're at a Novus Ordo Mass, everyone watches them to figure out why they're hitting themselves during the "Lamb of God". They're kneel after Mass to pray... and miss out on the fun glad handing with Father by the parish gift shop. They cross themselves when they pass a Catholic church. They mutter something about the "poor souls" when they pass a cemetery. They mutter something about St. Michael when an ambulance passes them. Their girls' first names are Mary. Their boys' middle names are Mary. Cappa Magna doesn't sound like a drink at Starbucks to them. They'll tell you at length why being "charitable" isn't always being nice and friendly.

It's complicated. Trads are not easily defined. You just kind of know them when you see them.
A traditional Catholic is someone that views the traditions of the Church not just as an optional extra to Catholicism but praciticing our faith and living our lives with the wisom passed on from our fathers in faith is a necessary and intrinsic part of Catholicism.

Of course, falling away from the infallible teachings of the Church is worse than falling away from the practices of the Church, but there is the idea that being a Catholic is not just about believing as the Church has believed but is also about worshipping God in the way the Church has passed down to us.

Tradition is a living thing that evoles, the way we practice our faith evolves but this evolution must take place with respect to what has gone before us and must build on it.

It's Official

The Latin Mass has captured my heart. I have been warned without ceasing by friends, coworkers, family and even some clergy that I should "not become too enamored with the 'old ways.'" Well, I held this close to my now Latin-ized heart for some time, and only when I began encounter the numerous liberal dens of "progressive liturgy" did I begin to consider that, perhaps, I should begin to open myself up to these vilified "old ways." I started to do just such a thing about five years ago, and thought "wow, there's some real substance (no pun intended) to this." Well, five years later I have been thoroughly claimed for Truth, Tradition, and Tridentine Splendour.

This is not to say that I have turned my back (pun intended) on the Novus Ordo. No, it's a beautiful "version" of the Mass. However, I have noted several things: 1. The Old Mass is readily available to me, should my schedule permit, 2. My experiences of late with the New Mass have been, if not overtly heterodox, not as uplifting as they could be, and 3. There is no room for irreverence or abuse of the Blessed Sacrament in the Old Mass. None. Sure, the priest may rush, the people may be distant, the servers may be poorly trained and the choir inept. However, there is no room for scantily-clad ballerinas flitting around the sanctuary for the sake of diversity. Nor is there any room for poiliticking, i.e. removal of masculine pronouns, militant feminism and gay pride etc . . .

For me, the absolute and paramount goal of the liturgy is, for the laity, to prayerfully contemplate the Divine Mystery made manifest so humbly and gracefully at the words of the priest. To do this without reverence is to demean the gift of God Himself, made present upon the altar. Reverence is the most absolute key to the liturgy from a psychological and human dimension. That's why people have flocked from parishes like St. Anne and Spiritus Christi and have adopted new parishes such as Our Lady of Victory and the Latin Mass Community. These people, these fortunate exiles who have the ability to easily leave a parish in the throws of indecency, realize this fact.

But where does reverence come from?

It comes from humility.That's it. The priest says prayers audible only to himself, the odd server or two and God. He approaches God as one of us, the created. He is not guaranteed the "right" to charismatically bring the Mass to the people. He is commanded by God and His Church to relive the most noble sacrifice of Calvary. He faces God, not the people who are mere "images of God." He looks into the eyes of Our Lord on the crucifix, uniting his entire being to Our Lord in an act of absolute and undeniable humility.

Where is the humility in lay preaching, where people who have read an occasional prayer book have, in their eyes, the right to preach to the priest? Where is the humility in strumming away on a guitar in lieu of the humble simplicity of chant? Where is the humility in dancing through the sanctuary for the sake of "rejoicing?" There was no glee and vibrance at the Last Supper, save the vibrancy of Christ Himself, True God and True Man. Even then, his vibrancy was a glowing of deity, not of human revelry.

The true source to which we must look, as Catholics, in regards to Truth is Christ's ministry and the Traditions instilled by that into the lives of the Apostles. People who demonize and attack the Old Mass saying, "It's not what happened at the Last Supper." These people have a talent for stating the obvious. Of course it's not the same, for the Last Supper was a Seder dinner, a celebration of the Feast of Passover. However, at this Seder of Seders Our Lord gave us a new covenant in His Blood. How can we do His will if we cling naively and ignorantly to the Traditions, no matter how blessed they may be, which He Himself made unnecessary. As Catholics, we follow the "New and Everlasting Covenant." Thus, at the Last Supper, we have the end of one world and the beginning of another.

Those who continuosly dissuade others from "becoming too Tridentine" lack a true understanding of Truth. The Mass traces itself back to the actions of the Apostles themselves, albeit in a very simplified form. However, this is where Tradition plays a role. The manner in which the New Covenant is sacrificed and acknowledged is continuously "tweaked" by the Holy Spirit. It is not tweaked by liberal nuns and gay priests in the course of forty years of trial and error. (Emphasis on error.)

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved and worshiped for all eternity in all the tabernacles of the world, and venerated with humility and undeniable love in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

Bishop Sheen - Part 3

On October 26, 1966, Pope Paul VI officially named Fulton Sheen bishop of Rochester. It was shocking, front-page news. Sheen was 71 and lacked parish and administrative experience. He was now to leave the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, where he had been a striking success.

Cardinal Spellman had ended the more than ten years of intense personal struggle by finally banishing his famous adversary from the Archdiocese of New York. Rochester was the revenge that Spellman had promised all those years ago. Once Vatican II was over, Spellman began to think seriously about evening the score.

Spellman knew that removing his antagonist would not be easy. Fulton was highly popular with Vatican Propagation officials due to his fund-raising abilities, and he was know to be on excellent terms with Pope Paul VI.

SO MANY CHOICES FOR SHEEN

Sheen was summoned to Rome and there was given his choice of several positions. He later told a priest he was offered two archdioceses and five dioceses. He selected Rochester, no doubt because of its close proximity to New York City.

Rochester was a good choice because it was ripe for change. Bishop James E. Kearney was nearly eighty-two years old and had led the diocese since 1937. To pave the way for Sheen, Spellman quietly had the Vatican, on March 9 (a month before Fulton was summoned to Rome), transfer the auxiliary bishop of Rochester, Lawrence Casey to Paterson, New Jersey. Bishop John Joseph Boardman, who had accepted the position in Paterson three days earlier, found the offer retracted. Spellman had a long acquaintance with both Kearney and Casey, and knew that Kearney was highly dependent upon his young auxiliary. Once Casey was gone, Kearney would retire willingly.

Just over two weeks after Spellman announced is own continuation in office, he called a press conference at his residence to announce Sheen's appointment to Rochester. Spellman declared, "Just as every priest looks forward to the day when he can be a pastor, so I am sure, every bishop dreams of having a diocese of his own- not because of worldly ambition, but simply because a bishop by calling is a shepherd, and a shepherd seeks a flock." Fulton claimed he had first learned of the appointment two days earlier, saying, "I am a soldier in the army of the church. The general has told me to go to Rochester and I love it." He added, "I am a lover of souls, and in Rochester I will be even closer to priests and people."

MORE BLARNEY

Fulton fed the media more blarney about his new position, claiming that Spellman told him he had not known of the appointment beforehand. Sheen promised to implement the reforms of Vatican II quickly. "It will be a pastoral administration," Fulton said, prompting the reporter to add that the bishop was "apparently all set to remold Rochester into a demonstration diocese of his church in America."

Spellman, the auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese, and nearly 3,000 worshipers were at St. Patrick's Cathedral on December 11 to hear Sheen give his farewell sermons. Whatever bitterness he felt was thoroughly disguised. Nothing of the rancor between the two men surfaced in the media. But Msgr. George A. Kelly, who had worked closely with Spellman for many years, said later that it was common knowledge among insiders that the cardinal had pulled the strings to get Sheen sent to Rochester in order to prevent the bishop from becoming his successor.

BISHOP KEARNEY

Bishop James Kearney, who had guided the diocese through World War II, the peak of the Cold War, and now into the revolutionary 1960s, was much beloved. He was a good speaker with a lively Irish wit, a genial civic leader, a spiritual guide intensely devoted to Mary, and a skilled brick-and-mortar man. Between 1950 and 1965 he established 22 new parishes. By the end of 1966, the diocese had 13 diocesan or private high schools within its boundaries, with 10,350 students.

Another change affecting the diocese was a shift in the area's ethnic composition. Blacks and Puerto Ricans had been moving into the area in sizable numbers since the 1950s. In April of 1964, a census showed 33,492 non-whites in Monroe County, almost all of them living in the city of Rochester. St. Bernard's Seminary had no black students. The number of black Catholics was small. Sensitive to the civil rights movement, a Catholic Interracial Council (CIC) of Rochester, a lay organization, was created in 1960, to uphold the condemnation of racial discrimination issued by the American bishops in 1958.

The majority of the Puerto Ricans were Catholic, and as early as 1954 the diocese had begun taking steps to assist them. In 1963, a Catholic family opened the St. Martin de Porres Center to do settlement work among Puerto Ricans, in cooperation with Rochester Catholic Charities. Two Spanish-speaking priests were hired, and several diocesan priests and seminarians learned Spanish.

Still, the diocese as a whole was know widely to be conservative and self-satisfied. St. Bernard's Seminary was known as "the Rock," one of the strictest, most intellectually demanding, and most conservative seminaries anywhere.

Sheen's formal arrival was on December 14, 1966. He said, "I have an ardent desire to spend myself and to be spent, to get my arms around Rochester." Sheen spent his first evening in the dicoese at St. Bernard's Seminary with the students. He told them, the roots of the diocese were in its seminary. One student, Joe Hart, later remembered how Sheen paused and started "for perhaps found seconds, that seemed like forever" when you were being introduced. It was as though he were looking through you, Hart said later.

To be continued with the installation. I hope you all are enjoying these installments.

ARRRGGGHHHH!

I thought I had seen most liturgical abuse videos, but this one I hadn't.

Where do you start with the insanity of these supposed Catholic people sitting in the congregation and thinking these abuses are just okay. I guess 45 years of mush that passes for the Catholic faith and in this video is what you get.

The priest in the Halloween Mass should be, if he has a good bishop, be taken in and severely reprimanded. Assuming his bishop is orthodox. This is all crazy. If immediately after the Second Vatican Council, this is what people experienced, there would have been a revolt against these innovations.

In the African Puppet Mass, at about 10:00, you just imagine the Precious Blood of Our Lord spilling all over the place from the "glass" chalice.

In the agenda-driven Women "Priests" Mass, how obvious the agenda against male pronouns. And just like, Bishop Clark, the point is made by saying "women and men", it used to be "men and women" . Small point I know, but it is so insidiously inserted in his vocabulary. Clark was trained, by whom I don't know, to put "women" instead of "men" first. It reminds me again how Bishop Clark changed his one time episcopal motto from "His Love Endures Forever" to "God's Love Endures Forever". What a pawn.

A little Catholic humor again :)

I'm trying to work on my next installment about Bishop Sheen, but I've been reading some Catholic jokes I thought I would pass along. I'll get back to working on Sheen asap.

Lost on a rainy Friday night, a priest stumbles into a monastery and requests shelter there. Fortunately, he's just in time for dinner and was treated to the best fish and chips he's ever had.

After dinner, he goes into the kitchen to thank the chefs. He is met by two brothers, "Hello, I'm Brother Michael, and this is Brother Francis."

"I'm very pleased to meet you. I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I've ever tasted. Out of curiosity, who cooked what?"

Brother Charles replied, "Well, I'm the fish friar."

Father turns to the other brother and says, "Then you must be...."

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm the chip monk..."

--------------
A little boy was listening to a long and excessively boring sermon in church. Suddenly his eye caught the red sanctuary lamp. Tugging his father's sleeve, he said, "Daddy, when the light turns green can we go?"
--------------
The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching."

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples.
-----------------

---

A man walks into a monastery and says “I want to be monk.”
The abbot replies “Great! But you realize we are not allowed to talk except every ten years.”
The man replies “Fine.”
Ten years go by and the man goes into the abbot’s office. The abbot asks, “Well my son what have you to say.
The man replies “Bed’s hard.”
The abbot remarks, “Is that it?”
The man says, “Yes”.
Another ten years go by and the man goes into the abbot’s office and says, “Food stinks!”
The abbot asks, “Is that it?”
And the man says “Yes.”
Another ten years goes by and the man goes into the abbot’s office and says “Water’s cold. I quit!”
And the abbot replies, “Figures! You’ve been complaining ever since you got here!"
----------------------

D.N Jesu Christi Regis

Just to remind you that this Sunday, October 25th, there will be a High Mass celebrated at the beautiful Saint Stanislaus Catholic Church at the corner of Hudson Avenue and Norton Street. Mass will start at 1:30 p.m. This Sunday is the Feast of Christ the King in the traditional ordo.

There will be Solemn Benediction after Mass along with the Consecration to Christ the King.

The choir will sing the "O Magnum Mysterium" Mass by Spanish Renaissance composer Tomas Luis deVictoria.

In late December of 1925, Pope Pius XI, promulgated this feast through the encyclical "Quas Primas". As long as individuals and states refuse to submit to the rule of our Saviour, there will be no hope of lasting peace among nations. Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ.

Here is some further reading about the Feast of Christ the King. http://www.catholicapologetics.info/modernproblems/americanism/king.htm
If you have any questions, I will be glad to answer them. Leave questions in the comment box!

See you all at the Communion rail with your friends and family. We all need the reign of Christ the King in our society, especially today's immoral society. Vivo Christo Re!!!

Well, Call Me A Schismatic and Crown Me Pope

Evidently, having an icon which is built into the edifice of St. Peter's in Rome is proof enough that we're reveling in "ultra right wing cookiness."

Look down towards the end of her post.

My crozier tingles.

(Nod of the miter to Vickie Purcell for letting us know.)

Ecclesiastical Bling

Nod of the Miter, Smack of the Crozier - October 22, 2009

Primarily, I wish to apologize for not having kept up a steady stream of YouTube videos. As I said a while back, my movie making program is less-than-sufficient. Regardless, until I can resume weekly Nod/Smack segments, I'll do a less frequent segment in text here, like when it originally started.
_______________

So here we go!

A nod of the miter goes to the conservative voices at the New Oxford Review for their ad entitled, "Join the Vast Right-Wing Catholic Conspiracy." I don't I need to say anything but "I already have." Here is a snippet of the subsequent text:

"Meanwhile, liberal nay-saying Catholics, who haven’t had an innovative idea since the Sixties, sit in their overstuffed tenured chairs, their bureaucratic sinecures, and their gourmet restaurants."

A smack of the crozier goes to doctorate-holders who don't know what a "Jesuit" institution is. Example: "Yes, he graduated from a Jesuit college." "Um, what's that mean?"

A nod of the miter goes to upstate New York gamers who developed a Diocese of Rochester version of a sci-fi board game. A short list of "nations" which was facebooked to me includes "Swieckians," "Surplicians" (i.e. "surplice"), "Antinarellians," "Sobaalans," and "Cementubulars" (i.e. the cement tube at St. John the Evangelist in Greece). Behold the dangers of students with too much time and high GPA's.

A smack of the crozier goes to Halloween Masses. No, we haven't been invited to any with costumes, but it's only a matter of time. Bishop Clark, on that note, I would like a Superhero Mass.

Another smack of the crozier goes to these "choir robe" combinations. (Click here) I'll stick with the tried and true black and white, thank you very much. A tad more tasteful, no? Then again, in the words of a priest whom we all love and adore, "In matters of taste, there can be no argument."

A nod of the miter goes to the St. John Neumann Shrine for their masterful renovation. See below:

BEFORE



AFTER

Who is going to save our Church?

I firmly believe this is the reason for this blog -- to save our Church!
Isn't this what we are trying to do in this blog? Isn't this what Vatican II wanted the people to do -- get involved with their Church. Well, we're involved and they don't like it. Tough!

Read, think, meditate and pray on this.

How Not to Spread the Faith

International Socialist Organization from RIT

This post came to my email from 40 Days for Life in Rochester.

We had an eventful Midpoint Procession last Saturday.

For those who weren't there, a group of RIT students from the International Socialist Organization (they actually admit it) decided to protest our procession. They were very loud and irreverent, but some of them actually engaged in some meaningful discussions with the pro-life side and ended taking some pro-life literature and DVDs back with them. Please pray that the Holy Spirit enlighten them. Wouldn't it be great to see some of them on the opposite side next time.

There are now less than two weeks left in the campaign. If you haven't participated yet and have been meaning to get around to it, there's not much time left. Please visit our on-line schedule at http://www.vigilcalendar.com/rochester/login/login_page to sign up or reply to this email to let me know when you'd like to attend the vigil.

Victory Celebration/Gathering
To wind up the campaign we will be having a Victory Celebration on Saturday, October 31st. The schedule for this event is as follows:

1:00 Blessing by Fr. Bush in the sanctuary of Ss. Peter and Paul Coptic Church, 720 W. Main St.

1:00 - 1:30 March for Life to Susan B. Anthony Square on Madison St.
1:30 - 2:30 Christian music/refreshments
2:30 - 3:00 Yaweh Ballet will perform "Destinies Lost"
3:00 - 3:45 Witness talks from Silent No More Awareness Campaign members.

Please try to attend this powerful pro-life event. Spread the word!

Pro -Life Mass this Saturday
There will be a pro-life 11 am Mass at the Focus Pregnancy Help Center at 86 University Avenue on October 24. The celebrant will be Father Frederick Bush. Please bring a snack/refreshment to share.

Postures and Gestures at Mass

This post, hopefully, will help you understand the postures and gestures used at Mass. For many older Catholics, these were a normal part of Catholic life and culture. They were used almost everyday and grew out of the Tridentine Mass, most of these gestures can be used also in the Novus Ordo Mass. It will add reverence to either form of Mass.

Bow of the head

How: Very slightly lower your chin toward your throat and hold a moment

When: Any time you hear the Name "Jesus" whether in English or Latin. Men should remove their hats and bow their heads when passing a church or when His Name is spoken; this practice is for both inside and outside of Mass.

Cross yourself and bow the head when the priest and the Crucifer walk down the aisle before and after Mass. After Mass, as the priest leaves the Altar, it is also customary to pray for him. At the Gloria Patri (Glory Be) also.

Striking of the Breast

How: With either a fist or with the tips of the fingers, held close together, strike your chest over the heart to express regret and sorrow.

When: At Mass at during each "mea culpa" during the Confiteor; at the Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus (priest); three times during the Agnus Dei; and three times during the Domine, Non Sum Dignus.

Bow at the waist (or "profound bow")

How: A 30 degree forward bow from the waist.

When: At the Asperges before Mass when the priest sprinkles the congregation with Holy Water. When the altarboy incenses the congregation during Mass. Cross yourself and make a profound bow when and if the priest and crucifer walk down the aisle before and after Mass. when greeting a hierarch who doesn't have jurisdiction over you (e.g., the Bishop of a diocese other than one in which you live). As you bow, kiss the hierarch's ring. This bow and ring-kissing are only done if the Pope is not present.

Genuflection on Left Knee

How: Kneel on your left knee for a moment, bringing the left knee all the way to the floor and keeping the back straight. Hold for a moment, then stand.

When: When greeting or leaving the Pope or other hierarchs with the rank of Bishop or above and who have jurisdiction over you (only when the Pope is not present) -- e.g., to the Bishop or Archbishop of your diocese, not of a neighboring diocese. During the left-knee genuflection, a kiss is given to the hierarch's ring. Then stand. We would do this to Bishop Clark, but only in his diocese.

Genuflection on Right Knee

How: Looking at what you are genuflecting toward, kneel on your right knee for a moment, bringing the right knee all the way to the floor, close to the heel of the left foot, keeping the back and neck erect. Hold for a moment, then stand.

When: Genuflect toward the Tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, and each time you pass in front of it (except when you're in procession, such as standing in line for Communion, or returning to your seat afterward). While this should, on one level, be a matter of habit, it shouldn't be done thoughtlessly. Remind yourself when genuflecting toward the Tabernacle that you are kneeling before God. Praying mentally, "My Lord and My God" is a good habit to get into while genuflecting on the right knee.

Kneeling (Double Genuflection)

How: Kneel on both knees

When: Any time the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, to show adoration and humility. During the Mass at the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar (this only during the Tridentine Mass), at the Sanctus, after the Agnus Dei, at the Communion rail (only Tridentine here too), and at the Last Blessing.

Bishop Sheen - Part 2

FEUDS WITH CARDINAL SPELLMAN

Francis Cardinal Spellman was a long-time personal friend of Pope Pius XII and the head of the richest diocese in the world. He was a man accustomed to getting his way. Those who crossed him often paid the price. Father Edwin Broderick served as secretary to Spellman for a decade, claims the major difference between Spellman and Sheen was the cardinal could be talked out of a rash and erroneous decision, but when Sheen made up his mind, that was the end of it. Broderick recalled, both men had extremely strong egos and iron wills; they were "very human." Sheen had a considerable amount of authority of his own, he refused any longer to be bullied and ordered about by a man he considered his intellectual inferior.

There were two major incidents that provided a flash-point the in the relationship. In 1955, the US government gave, free of charge, surplus food to the Catholic Relief Services, for people in war-torn European countries. The 256,540,754 pounds of foods, valued at more than $68 million, were dispersed. Spellman thought this was a good tool for proselytizing, and feared that Protestant missionaries might get a share of the goods if they did not accelerate the distribution.

Spellman wants Sheen to provide additional funds for this from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Sheen rejected this idea for unknown reasons. Spellman met with Sheen and, again, Sheen refused, saying he (Sheen) will do what his superiors in Rome tell him to do. Spellman wrote to a Society official in Rome criticizing Sheen for his obduracy. The Society sided with Sheen. Spellman was furious. A few months later Spellman goes to see the ailing Pope Pius XII to persuade the Pope to replace Sheen as head of the Society and name himself as successor. Pius XII refused.


ANOTHER CLASH BETWEEN THE TWO PRELATES

In 1957, the two clashed again.

For years, the federal government had been giving the Church surplus goods, largely powdered milk. Spellman turned these good over to the Society (Sheen's group) to distribute to the world's poor. Spellman demanded payment; Sheen refused, pointing out they had been donated free of charge.

Spellman was again furious. Sheen appealed to Rome, but couldn't reach the ailing Pope. Spellman offered his antagonist a wealthy New York parish in exchange for his resignation from the Society, but Sheen declined. The cardinal launched three investigations into Sheen's life, but nothing incriminating came out. Eventually both men appeared before Pius XII, each presenting his case. Fulton's claim was documented; Spellman had not been charged for the surplus food. That meant that Spellman had lied to Pius XII and to Sheen. The Pope sided with Fulton, who remained in charge of the local Society funds.

One can imagine the cardinal's rage. He reportedly said to Sheen, "I will get even with you. It may take six months or ten years, but everyone will know what you're like."

SHEEN RETIRES FROM TELEVISION

In October 1957, Sheen "retired" from television. Inside rumors was that Cardinal Spellman had him taken off the air. Sheen had now lost his major platform for raising funds and enjoying his celebrity status. He lived daily with Spellman's wrath hovering over him. The speaking invitations declined and the fund-raising efforts became more difficult. Personal opportunities for advancement in the Church were minimal at best. Spellman's staff members privately referred to him as "Full-Tone Jay" Sheen.

Sheen was by no means entirely out of the spotlight during his years of disfavor with Spellman. Sheen still had his newspaper column and Society literature. His Life of Christ is largely a commentary on the scriptural accounts on the life and times of Jesus Christ.

(to be continued)

Photo Caption Contest #5

Have fun. As usual, the winning caption will receive five Cleansing Fire prayer cards.

Will Rome and Canterbury Soon be Reunited?

I think perhaps. Of course, this doesn't mean that I'd like to see Rome capitulate or cede one inch of ground. (It won't.) I should like to see a turn-around in the Anglican Communion, where the left-wing progressives stay in their "Church" while the loyal Anglicans (oxymoron, I know) come back to Rome. A friend of mine once said, "Why on Earth would someone profess to be of a Church which, instead of springing forth from Our Lord's pierced side, sprang forth from a syphilitic's royal loins?"

Here's the story as reported by Yahoo!'s news department:

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican announced a stunning decision Tuesday to make it easier for Anglicans to convert, reaching out to those who are disaffected by the election of women and gay bishops to join the Catholic Church's conservative ranks.

Pope Benedict XVI approved a new church provision that will allow Anglicans to join the Catholic Church while maintaining many of their distinctive spiritual and liturgical traditions, including having married priests.

Cardinal William Levada, the Vatican's chief doctrinal official, announced the new provision at a new conference.

In the past, such exemptions had only been granted in a few cases in certain countries. The new church provision is designed to allow Anglicans around the world to access a new church entity if they want to convert.

The decision immediately raised questions about how the new provision would be received within the 77-million strong Anglican Communion, the global Anglican church, which has been on the verge of a schism over divisions within its membership about women bishops, an openly gay bishop and the blessing of same-sex unions.

The Anglican's spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, downplayed the significance of the new provision and said it wasn't a Vatican commentary on Anglican problems.

"It has no negative impact on the relations of the communion as a whole to the Roman Catholic church as a whole," he said in London.

Conservative Party lawmaker Ann Widdecombe, who left the Church of England because of its policies for the Catholic Church, welcomed the Vatican's decision.

"I'm delighted if it does become easier, because when we had the last big exodus in 1992 over the ordination of women, the Catholic Church was not ready," she said in London. "There were enormous discrepancies up and down the country, and the direction from the Vatican came late in the day."

The new Catholic church entities, called personal ordinariates, will be units of faithful established within local Catholic Churches, headed by former Anglican prelates who will provide spiritual care for Anglicans who wish to be Catholic.

They would most closely resemble Catholic military ordinariates, special units of the church established in most countries to provide spiritual care for the members of the armed forces and their dependents.

"(This will) facilitate a kind of corporate reunion of Anglican groups" into the Catholic Church, Levada said.

Anglicans split with Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment.

The new canonical provision is a response to the many requests from Anglo-Catholics who want to come back, increasingly disillusioned with the progressive bent of the Anglican Communion. Many have already left and consider themselves Catholic but have not found an official home in the 1.1-billion strong Catholic Church.

By welcoming them in with their own special provision, Benedict has confirmed the increasingly conservative bent of his church. The decision follows his recent move to rehabilitate four excommunicated ultra-conservative bishops, including one who denied the full extent of the Holocaust, in a bid to bring their faithful back under the Vatican's wing.

Levada declined to give figures on the number of requests that have come to the Vatican, or on the anticipated number of Anglicans who might take advantage of the new structure.

One group, known as the Traditional Anglican Communion, has made its bid to join the Catholic Church known. The fellowship, which split from the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1990, says it has spread to 41 countries and has 400,000 members, although only about half are regular churchgoers.

The new canonical provision allows married Anglican priests and even seminarians to become ordained Catholic priests — much the same way that Eastern rite priests who are in communion with Rome are allowed to be married. However, married Anglicans couldn't become Catholic bishops.

The Vatican announcement immediately raised questions about how the Vatican's long-standing dialogue with the Archbishop of Canterbury could continue. Noticeably, no one from the Vatican's ecumenical office on relations with Anglicans attended the news conference; Levada said he had invited representatives to attend but they said they were all away from Rome.

Just last week, the Vatican's top ecumenical official, Cardinal Walter Kasper, told reporters: "We are not fishing in the Anglican pond," when asked about the Vatican's negotiations with would-be converts.

Levada stressed that ecumenical dialogue with the global Anglican church would remain a priority. But he said the goal of that dialogue for 40 years had been to achieve "full visible unity."

To downplay suggestions of poaching, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster and Williams, the Anglican leader, issued a joint statement saying the decision "brings an end to a period of uncertainty" for Anglicans wishing to join the Catholic Church.

And at a press conference in London, Williams tried to put the best face on the decision.

"It has no negative impact on the relations of the communion as a whole to the Roman Catholic church as a whole," he said.

But Williams' representative in Rome, the Very Rev. David Richardson, called the Vatican's decision "surprising," given that the Catholic Church in the past had welcomed individual Anglicans in without creating what he called "parallel structures" for entire groups of converts.

"The two questions I would want to ask are 'why this and why now,'" he told The Associated Press. "Why the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has decided to embrace that particular method remains unclear to me."

Also unclear, he said, was the Vatican's target audience: those Anglicans who have already left the Anglican Communion, or current members. Levada said it covered both.

"If it's for former Anglicans, then it's not about our present difficulties, then it's people who have already left," Richardson said. If it's current Anglicans, "There is in my mind an uncertainty for whom it is intended."

The Anglican Communion has been roiled for years over disagreement on the role of women. But the long-standing divisions over how Anglicans should interpret the Bible erupted in 2003 when the Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Williams has struggled ever since to keep the church from splitting, frustrated by moves by churches in the United States, Canada and elsewhere to bless gay relationships.

At least four conservative U.S. dioceses and dozens of individual Episcopal parishes have voted to leave the national denomination since 2003, with many affiliating themselves instead with like-minded Anglican leaders in African and elsewhere.

The Vatican announcement was kept under wraps until the last moment: The Vatican only announced Levada's briefing Monday night, and Levada only flew back to Rome at midnight after briefing Catholic bishops and Williams about the decision.

"Come home, England! Come home!"

Now That's Just Cold

I was recently speaking with a friend about how the traditional movement in the diocese is typically prayerful, in good humor and in the background. Basically, we don't force it on those who are not open to it. We then started talking about how the use of prayer and of reverence in the Mass is often frowned upon by those in authority who see such things as the rosary and kneeling as "admirable, but not a must." She then related to me the following:

I was at a local adoration chapel, and on each decade of the rosary that a group of us was saying we could voice an intention. On one decade, I was able to voice a petition, and I did so for the parish of St. John of Rochester, that it may someday re-embrace Tradition in a fuller sense. The priest who was overseeing the adoration and rosary quietly got up and left. Once out of the main chapel, he turned the heat off on us. Geeze, you'd think we just asked to have a Latin Mass right there!

(This was a day last week when the high was in the 40's.)

Wake Up People!!! Do Something and Pray

The Catholic Church seems like it's the only organization that promotes family values and morality. For the past few decades our Western Civilization has been circling the toilet drain. We need always to pray, pray and pray more and more. We also need to stop Obama. Keep abreast of all the issues (there are many, many issues) and let your Congressman/woman know what you think. Call or write them. Then call back again a few days later and keep pestering them. They work for us; tell them you will not vote for them until and unless they vote against abortion, gay marriages, etc. They must vote pro-family. We are losing our country; this is absolutely not the country I grew up in in the 1950s. God did bless America; but now I believe He is letting us drift into a socialist state.

For those of you who were at the 40Days for Life protest at Planned Parenthood on Saturday. The pro-death side hired a group of RIT students from the International Socialist Organization, an on-campus group. It's right in your face. How much more do you need to have explained to you. DO SOMETHING and always, always pray.

Do not forget that this country is NOT a democracy. It is a constitutional republic.
As such we need moral and virtuous people to get involved to keep it "One Nation Under God."

Dismantle the USCCB and throw the bums out!