Digital Areopagus

Benedict says that "now with the collapse of big banks we see that money disappears, is nothing and all these things that appear real are in fact of secondary importance." He urges those who build their lives "only on things that are visible, such as success, career, money" to keep that in mind.

The pontiff was speaking Monday as he opened the works of a meeting of 253 bishops at the Vatican.

Benedict says "the only solid reality is the word of God."

He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick--no food, no sack, no money in their belts.They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.

This is a very good video by Father Barron who does "The Word on Fire" show that can be heard on Relevant Radio. It's in response to Bill Maher's "Religulous" movie that came out this weekend. I recently saw Bill Maher on "Larry King Live" and the guy hates religion and you can tell that all he wants to do is tear people down and doesn't even care to have an open mind to people of faith. The best thing you can do for people like this is to pray for them...

The approved “Order for the Blessing on the Fifteenth Birthday,” the quinceañera ritual, will be published Sept. 19.

Communities can celebrate this bilingual ritual both within and outside of Mass. The Mexican-American Cultural Center in San Antonio developed the original text of the rite in 1999. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops acquired the rights to the text in 2007 and has collaborated with the Secretariat of Divine Worship in completing the final text.

Jesuit Father Allan Deck, executive director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity, said the quinceañera ritual will be one of “many resources Latinos can use to preserve both Catholic and cultural identity.”

The quinceañera ritual can help young Catholics “learn more about the importance of upholding one’s baptismal commitment in a spirit of thanksgiving,” said Msgr. Anthony Sherman, executive director of the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship, because the ritual allows baptismal godparents or other couples serving as sponsors the option of presenting religious articles.

USCCB Publishing

As was reported the USCCB released a statement yesterday about Sen. Biden's foot-in-mouth incident on "Meet the Press" this weekend. What has been more interesting is that the media has seemed to let this one pass it by.

Thomas over at American Papist who has been one of the main hubs of information about Pelosi and Biden-gate was the first to bring this to my attention. Outside the Catholic and religious blogs it doesn't seem that any mainstream press is going to touch this one. While the reactions to Sen. Biden's statement have been swift from some Bishops, it might be time to send our local Bishops an e-mail to see if they are going to chime in on this like they did with Nancy Pelosi.

This is a great video...please pass it on

WASHINGTON-Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman, U.S. Bishops Committee on Doctrine, issued the following statement:
Recently we had a duty to clarify the Catholic Church’s constant teaching against abortion, to correct misrepresentations of that teaching by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on “Meet the Press” (see www.usccb.org/prolife/whatsnew.shtml). On September 7, again on “Meet the Press,” Senator Joseph Biden made some statements about that teaching that also deserve a response.
Senator Biden did not claim that Catholic teaching allows or has ever allowed abortion. He said rightly that human life begins “at the moment of conception,” and that Catholics and others who recognize this should not be required by others to pay for abortions with their taxes.
However, the Senator’s claim that the beginning of human life is a “personal and private” matter of religious faith, one which cannot be “imposed” on others, does not reflect Catholic teaching. The Church teaches that the obligation to protect unborn human life rests on the answer to two questions, neither of which is private or specifically religious.
The first is a biological question: When does a new human life begin? When is there a new living organism of the human species, distinct from mother and father and ready to develop and mature if given a nurturing environment? While ancient thinkers had little verifiable knowledge to help them answer this question, today embryology textbooks confirm that a new human life begins at conception (see www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/bioethic/fact298.shtml). The Catholic Church does not teach this as a matter of faith; it acknowledges it as a matter of objective fact.
The second is a moral question, with legal and political consequences: Which living members of the human species should be seen as having fundamental human rights, such as a right not to be killed? The Catholic Church’s answer is: Everybody. No human being should be treated as lacking human rights, and we have no business dividing humanity into those who are valuable enough to warrant protection and those who are not. Even this is not solely a Catholic teaching, but a principle of natural law accessible to all people of good will. The framers of the Declaration of Independence pointed to the same basic truth by speaking of inalienable rights, bestowed on all members of the human race not by any human power, but by their Creator. Those who hold a narrower and more exclusionary view have the burden of explaining why we should divide humanity into the moral “haves” and “have-nots,” and why their particular choice of where to draw that line can be sustained in a pluralistic society. Such views pose a serious threat to the dignity and rights of other poor and vulnerable members of the human family who need and deserve our respect and protection.
While in past centuries biological knowledge was often inaccurate, modern science leaves no excuse for anyone to deny the humanity of the unborn child. Protection of innocent human life is not an imposition of personal religious conviction but a demand of justice.

Seems like Mr. Biden missed out on a very poignant homily at the installment of his new Bishop. Let's take a look.

In early discussions, Bishop Saltarelli and I both agreed that this Feast Day of the Nativity of Mary would be a wonderfully appropriate day for the installation. Mary’s mother, St. Anne, carried a very special life in her womb which serves as a vivid reminder that every life is special. We will continue to stress the constant eaching of the Church that each person must respect every life from conception to natural death. And we will continue to seek the intercession of Saint Thomas More for Statesmen, Politicians, Supreme Court Justices, Judges and Lawyers—that they may be courageous and effective in defending and promoting the sanctity of human life, the foundation of every human right, the foundation of our love for the poor.

First Nancy Pelosi claims to be an "ardent and practicing" Catholic and slams her foot straight into her mouth. Now Joe Biden has followed suit on the same show no less!

Thomas over at American Papist who has been covering these issues has a write-up on this latest incident.

Also make some time to listen to Bishop Robert Morlino's homily on this topic, it is powerful.

God Bless you all!

Father Z over at WDTPRS has posted Bishop Niederauer's response to Nancy Pelosi's foot-in-mouth event on "Meet the Press" and added his own comments.

Rome, Sep 2, 2008 (CNA).- In an interview with Vatican Radio, the Archbishop of Ranchi in India, Cardinal Telesforo Placidus Toppo, said that the Catholic Church’s defense of the sacredness of the human person and its opposition to the caste system are what is fueling the violence against Christian minorities in India.

“In the caste system, equality doesn’t exist. That is why the Church’s commitment to overcome the caste system is not accepted. For us the person is sacred,” Cardinal Toppo said.

Hat Tip to American Papist:

The associated press and Drudge Report have picked up this latest article about Pelosi-gate and the backlash that it's caused.

Thomas over at American Papist has done a write-up on it so I'll let you all check out what he has to say about it.

Funny thing about all of this and I was telling my wife last night. Never let it be said that God can not use something like Nancy Pelosi's foot in mouth discussion about abortion for good.

Hat Tip to Thomas at American Papist for keeping up with Pelosi-gate.

Bishops of Colorado Springs & Pittsburgh respond to Pelosi

Don't forget to write your local Bishop asking for them to use this teaching moment for their own flock. Also write the Bishops that have already spoken out about Pelosi to thank them for speaking out.

From FoxNews:

Archbishop of Washington Chides Pelosi; Denver Archbishop Warns Biden to Skip Communion

Irked by pro-choice Democrats who tout their Catholicism, the archbishop of Washington is chiding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for misstating church history and the archbishop of Denver is warning vice presidential hopeful Joe Biden not to take Communion.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ignorant statements about abortion and Church teachings have cause huge waves in the Catholic community. We need to all keep pushing our Bishops to take a public stand and finally root-out these so-called "Catholic" politicians.

Pelosi Gate

This is from over at Father Trigilio blog...

The Confraternity of Catholic
Clergy (a national association of 600 priests & deacons) respond to the
sacrilegious and blasphemous desecration of the Holy Eucharist by asking for
public reparation. We ask all Catholics of Minnesota and of the entire nation to
join in a day of prayer and fasting that such offenses never happen again.
(suggested: one Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament and one whole day of
fasting on Friday, August 1st, Feast of St. Alphonsus Ligouri)

This come to us courtesy of the American Papist.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has received approval (recognitio) from the Holy See’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for the new English-language translation of the Order of Mass (Ordo Missae).

This is the first section of the translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal. It includes most of the texts used in every celebration of the Mass, including the responses that will be said by the people.

In its letter, the Congregation pointed out that while the texts are binding, the approval “does not intend that these texts are to be put into use immediately.”

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation, explained the reasons for providing the text at this time. The purpose is to provide “time for the pastoral preparation of priests, deacons and for appropriate catechesis of the lay faithful. It will likewise facilitate the devising of musical settings for parts of the Mass.”

I used to wonder if such a thing as Spiritual Warfare existed. After coming back to the Church and listening to a lot of Father Corapi, you better believe I believe in spiritual warfare.

The reason I bring this up is because of a couple of stories that have been in the news and the Catholic blogosphere over the past couple of weeks.

The first being the story of PZ Myers and his plot to desecrate the Eucharist. The second being the "ordination" of three women in Boston, all of this in the middle of World Youth Day. If you think about it, it's Satan's counterweight to the things that are going on in Australia. I watched and read about all the things that were going on at WYD and how many of the young people were on fire for the faith. These are the leaders of tomorrow and if they fight the good fight, finish the course and keep the faith, the Church is in good hands.

As for the PZ Myers and "ordained" Catholic priest of the world...these too will pass.

San Antonio, Texas will host it's own version of World Youth Day on July 19th.

San Antonio youths who can't attend World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia,
will have the chance to celebrate the event closer to home this year.

For the first time, the Alamo City will host its own World Youth Day, on
July 19. The daylong event outside San Fernando Cathedral will feature speakers
and live entertainment from well-known Christian performers, as well as poetry,
drama and musical performances.

“We knew a lot of people from San Antonio were going to go, and a lot of
those churches were pulling out from going because of the rising prices,” Vance
said. “We thought, ‘Why don't we do a one-day version of it here?'”

The event has been in the planning stages for about eight months, and
Cooley said San Antonio might be the only city in the nation to have a
celebration of this size. Organizers are unsure how many people will attend, but
they expect youth groups from Austin, Houston and Corpus Christi.