Hope for Philadelphia?

I know, I know, it's all just Catholic blogosphere buzz.... but... does any one else think that Archbishop Chaput would look great in red?

I do!

In fact, that would make my whole day!

Sadie Frown of the Week: The Philippine's "Reproductive Health" Bill

I hadn't heard much about the "reproductive health" bills being pushed through in the Philippines these last couple of months. This article from NCR gives us an update. And it doesn't look good. Hopefully the Philippine's aren't going to be following in China's footsteps with their "reproductive health" policies. I don't find the wording the be reassuring, however:

MANILA — When Philippine lawmakers return on July 25 for the second session of the 15th Congress, they will continue debates on two reproductive-health bills that would undermine the Catholic culture of the populous Asian nation.

Similar in content, both the House and Senate bills seek to mandate government counseling on artificial contraceptives and promote sexual education for children as early as fifth grade.

Backed by powerful international population-control groups, the bills also recommend two children per family as a way to reduce poverty and foster economic development. The Philippines has a population of more than 90 million, about 82% of whom are Catholic...

Read the entire article here.

I'm just wondering how far they're willing to go to enforce that "recommendation." And while the president claims that people should be able to make that decision for themselves, be also says:

Yet, he also stated:

“In a situation where couples, especially the poor and disadvantaged ones, are in no position to make an informed judgment, the state has the responsibility to so provide.”

I'm afraid that makes his other statements less reassuring... And if you make it to the last paragraph you probably won't be surprised to see who's funding the whole drive for this bill...

The Father Corapi/SOLT Situation

Does anyone else feel as if this whole Father Corapi debacle just can't get any uglier... until they wake up each morning and read the latest update and then the update response and then the response to the response and realize that that their earlier conclusion (about things not being able to get any uglier than they already were) was horribly wrong? And then you wonder if it can get any worse and you wince a little because it can and, since the whole thing seems to be steaming along at a nice little pace in a downhill direction, it seems that it's likely to.

First there was this from SOLT (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity). There was also this from the National Catholic Register, confirming that that earlier link was in fact a genuine SOLT statement (wouldn't it have been lovely if it wasn't?).

We all probably could have guessed what would happen then. A portion of the Catholic blogosphere would not be able to refrain from pointing out how they knew he was guilty, how his stupid cult followers were just going to fall apart now, and how anyone with a bit of sense could have seen this coming from a mile away. A reader might be left wondering when perusing these posts, exactly what happened to love and charity and sorrow when confronted with grave evil (because if this is true it's pretty serious). Instead we find a lot of "I told you so's" and comparisons with a certain president who had a strained relationship with the truth.

I'd waited for Father Corapi's response with a sinking heart. You see, I knew after the latest round of bashing, that the truth was buried so far beneath the lies, that we could never really know if he did or didn't do whatever the letter to the Bishops said, unless he came forward and confessed and everyone's stories suddenly fell into line (which seems unlikely). The response came today.

The entire situation is sorrowful and has the fingerprints of Satan all over it. Someone (or multiple people) is lying. Someone (again... or multiple people) is telling the truth (or a closer version of it). And, as we tear each other apart in the comments sections of various blogs and news outlets, and in actual blogs as well, I'm pretty sure Satan is laughing at the discord that has been sown.

We should pray for Father Corapi and the priests of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. We should pray for the Bishops. And we should pray that we, as Catholics can come together rather than being torn apart by this whole horrible situation.

Maybe we also should realize that we don't need to know everything, a hard realization to come to in an age of instant online news, where everyone promises to keep us updated on everything we could possibly want to know.

God will judge those who have caused this scandal (and I really wouldn't want to be trying to explain that at judgement if I hadn't made a really, really good confession...) just as He will judge all of us.

Most of all I hope that the scandal caused by these lies (because, one way or another, someone is lying) doesn't cause any of the faithful to lose faith in the Church that was established by Christ to guide us.

I'll end with a few Saint Quotes. Because... we all could use a little saintly wisdom at the moment...

"Not the goods of the world, but God. Not riches, but God. Not honors, but God. Not distinction, but God. Not dignities, but God. Not advancement, but God. God always and in everything."

-- St. Vincent Pallotti

"Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?"

-- St. Gerard Majella

"Charity unites us to God... There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect."

-- Pope St. Clement I

"Those who commit these types of scandals are guility of the spiritual equivalent of murder, but I', here among you to prevent something far worst for you. While those who give scandal are guilty of the spiritual equivalent of murder, those who take scandal- who allow scandals to destroy faith- are guilty of spiritual suicide."

-- St. Francis de Sales

Sadie Frown of the Week: Catholic Coverage of Father Corapi

As an avid Catholic News follower, it’s hard to escape the coverage of Father Corapi and the drama that has played out over the last, rather short span, of days. There was the initial onslaught when he announced the accusations that had been brought against him, in which many bloggers that I usually enjoy reading were suddenly transformed into, well… less than charitable versions of themselves (see the Vortex take on the spectacle here)… while the rest of us prayed that it would be resolved quickly and that Father Corapi would be proven innocent of any wrong doing and would be back to work in a matter of weeks.

I knew that the dream was unrealistic, but still, hope isn’t easy to squash, and so I clung to it and waited for news, which was really all that any of us could do.

I’ll admit, I tend to be skeptical when I hear accusations, until proof is presented. I’ve seen too many addicts (meth is what’s popular in my area) think that they could make a quick buck by accusing an innocent, hard working citizen in a community of something evil, to give too much credit to any accuser before the accused has their day in court (and have learned that an addict’s lies usually fall apart in depositions… because… well… the brain cells required to keep lies straight don’t usually survive and addiction very well…).

Then came Fr. Corapi’s latest (major) announcement. I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure exactly how to take his words. I was reeling when I posted the link so that any of you who hadn’t heard the news could read it for yourselves and make of it what you would. There was one thing that I did know, however. I knew that the same bloggers who were so ready to throw Fr. Corapi under the bus when this all began, were going to be more than ready to continue their earlier work. In fact I had an inkling that they were salivating over the latest announcement.

The way many of the Catholic-media articles I read spoke of Fr. Corapi lacked charity altogether. The way they spoke of people who learned from him was nearly as disturbing. It was as if they thought enjoying Fr. Corapi’s programs, or learning something from them, was some sort of horrible character flaw, and that those who watched his programs regularly were mindless drones.

I understand that his style of speaking may not suite everyone and that’s fine. We all learn in different ways. But the outright condemnation and the onslaught of “I always knew there was something wrong with him and the masses who listened to him…” comments said far more about the writers who typed the words than they ever did about the man of which they spoke.

My heart ached for him when I heard his latest announcement, and I’ll admit that I was torn when I read his words. Paul told me that I should blog about it, but I just didn’t feel ready to put my thoughts into words. And besides, what do I know? What can I say? I’m not in Father Corapi’s shoes. And I pray that I’m never in a situation when the basic pieces of my vocation are torn from me.

So here are my somewhat scattered thoughts.

My initial reaction, after reading and hearing Fr. Corapi’s words, was that I wished he had reacted a bit differently. Paul pointed out that saints are saints, but that they still often reacted to the situations that they were in according to their personalities, and that this was very much in keeping with Father Corapi’s personality.

I responded that I just wished he could have waited longer before making this announcement in which he no longer referred to himself as “Father” and that he had bore the accusations as Saint Gerard Majella and Saint Padre Pio had, silently, despite the unfairness of the accusations made against them.

Yet I couldn’t really say those words with much conviction… because, while I know what I “think” is the right thing for a priest in this situation to do (because of what the saints in the past have done) I’m not sure I could remain silent if my name was being dragged through the mud and slandered. Actually, I’m pretty sure I would be protesting that I was innocent at the top of my lungs and would tell anyone who would listen the story of the injustice done against me.

The life that Father Corapi had is over. Are the decisions he’s making the right ones? I honestly don’t know. But I do know that the answers aren’t as cut and dry as they’ve been made out to be.

Maybe the writers who are condemning Corapi are so incredibly advanced in their journey towards sainthood that they’re able to easily make the decision to bear any burden without so much as wincing… or maybe their just fortunate that they’ve never been tested (or seen a loved one tested) in such a painful way, and as a result they lack the compassion and empathy that we should have for everyone involved in this awful situation.

Whatever the reason, the reactions that many have had to this situation aren’t reactions I can imagine any of the saints I can think of having.

I guess we all have a little more work to do on our own paths towards sainthood…

Saint Gerard of Majella, pray for everyone involved in this situation that they may be drawn closer to God.

Father Corapi Update

This makes me very sad.

May Saint Gerard of Majella pray for him.

I've updated the update with a few of my thoughts here.

Diocese Okays Pro-Abortion Speaker But Won't Allow Michael Voris to Speak on Church Property...

I would be pretty upset if the bishop of my diocese allowed a pro-abortion speaker to come to my area to speak, but forbid a faithful Catholic who has helped many understand the faith from doing the exact same thing. That was one of the thoughts that came to mind when I first began reading about Real Catholic TV's Michael Voris being told last week that he couldn't speak in Scranton...

I've been following this story and had been thinking a bit about posting on it. However Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV has responded to the situation though and offers and explanation here:



Sometimes it just seems like the world has gone crazy...

Dominican Nuns to Open Priory in Loomis

It's always wonderful to hear about increasing vocations! And it's especially thrilling to hear that there are so many vocations that a group has to build more priories!

You may be thinking, what could be better, so I will add the unsurprising fact that they do in fact wear habits (I think that's true of every growing group I read about!).

"...With the extraordinary rate of vocations coming to the Dominican Sisters of Mary, the building of a new priory is a timely response and a tremendous opportunity to expand the teaching apostolate of the community,” says a statement on ‘Our California Expansion’ on the order’s website..."

"...The Motherhouse of the order in Ann Arbor, Michigan, “is now filled to capacity,” says the order’s website. “In order to provide housing and adequate formation to the young women seeking to give their lives to Christ, the Sisters hope to establish priories in California and Texas, as well as a House of Studies.”

The order was established on February 9, 1997, “when John Cardinal O’Connor of New York canonically established the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist as a community of religious women,” says the order’s homepage. Since then, the order has grown from four sisters to more than 100. The average age of a Dominican Sister of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist is 28, and the average age of women entering the order is 21, according to the website.

“In a world permeated by the culture of death, the Dominican Sisters of Mary seek to restore the dignity of the human person and work to build up a culture of life through how we live, what we teach, in participating in the annual March for Life in Washington D.C., the Walk for Life in San Francisco and pro-life events in other parts of the country, supporting and encouraging families and most especially through our daily fidelity to the consecrated life and our prayers,” says one entry on the order’s homepage..."

Read the entire article here.

In related vocations news while there was a decrease in the "relative superabundance" of priests in North America and Europe (the article compares the percentage of Catholics that were in these areas in the past when compared with the percentage of Catholics in the world) and in priests who are members of religious orders, there has been an overall increase of 5,600 priests between 1999 and 2009! More wonderful news!