Rev. Robert P. Buchmeier (Holy Cross Church)

 

 This notice has also hit the local media outlets.

 

 

 

The Magdala Apostolate: Educating the Women Disciples of the Lord

McLean, VA (November 20, 2012): Recognizing the dramatic decline of women religious teachers in Catholic schools over the past few decades, the Institute of Catholic Culture is launching the Magdala Apostolate, an outreach project dedicated to providing sound doctrinal formation—both initial and ongoing—for women religious and novices. This is in response to the Church’s call for a new evangelization. It is also inherent in the mission of the Institute of Catholic Culture: to offer educational programs structured upon classical liberal arts.
 
Over a generation ago, faithful religious sisters were dedicated to teaching the orthodox faith to the next generation. However, the presence of teaching nuns has declined by more than 90 percent since 1965. This has resulted in a catechetical crisis in the Catholic classrooms.
 
While theologians may debate why this decline has occurred, one fact does emerge: the direct correlation between the decline in quality of the education that these women received in formation and their rapid decline in numbers. According to a recent release from the Vatican: “The formation programs among several communities…did not have significant doctrinal content…..”
 
In response to the Church’s directives to use new media techniques to communicate the saving truths of the Catholic Faith, the Magdala Apostolate will employ the latest in web conferencing tools to create a virtual classroom setting where students (the sisters) and professors can communicate in a live educational setting.
 
Note that Magdala is the Galilean hometown of Mary Magdalen, one of the women who faithfully followed Christ and ministered to him. Today, the historic reputation of Saint Mary of Magdala, like the reputation of our devoted sisters, is under attack. What we do know, however, about Saint Mary Magdalene from Sacred Scripture reveals that she was healed by our Lord, and that she, along with other women, faithfully followed him and the Apostles and “provided for them out of their own means.”


For more information about this important apostolate and to make contributions to its continuance, please contact the Institute of Catholic Culture at its website: http://www.instituteofcatholicculture.org

Restless Heart: The Confessions of St. Augustine

October 28 (Reston, Virginia): As Catholics celebrate the start of the Year of Faith as decreed by Pope Benedict XVI, the release of the movie, Restless Heart: The Confessions of St. Augustine, will hearten the faithful: God awaits us all, saint and sinner alike. Recently released nationwide, the film is being shown at Reston’s Bow Tie Cinema in Reston Town Center. On October 28, the 2 p.m. showing of Restless Heart (PG-13) is being sponsored by St. Veronica Catholic Church with discounted tickets available at the parish office.

Portraying the life of one of Christianity’s most beloved Saints, the Restless Heart traces how St. Augustine of Hippo struggled through life searching for eternal truths. Set in the era when the Roman Empire began its descent, about 400 A.D., the film portrays the life of St. Augustine of Hippo from his days as a reckless and dissolute youth who became a gifted orator. Born in Algeria in 354 A.D., Augustine was raised as a Christian but soon succumbed to the lure of a profligate life style. He eventually converted to Manicheaism, a philosophy of moral dualism, St. Augustine entered his middle years continued in his immoral ways while bathed in riches and power. Throughout these years, his mother, St. Monica, prayed continually for his true conversion to Christianity.

St. Augustine’s life changed forever when he was called to serve at court in Milan, with the specific goal of opposing the then Bishop Ambrose. Rather than confronting the Bishop, St. Augustine became his follower, and taking to heart his philosophical and religious discourses, converted eventually to Christianity. Finally fully familiar with Christian doctrines, St. Augustine set out to serve Jesus Christ with total conviction, eventually becoming the Bishop of Hippo in 430 A.D.

The Holy Father himself has described St. Augustine as a man impassioned with finding truth. "St. Augustine was a man driven by a tireless desire to find the truth, to find out what life is, to know how to live, to know man. And precisely because of his passion for the human being, he necessarily sought God, because it is only in the light of God that the greatness of the human being and the beauty of the adventure of being human can fully appear."

To purchase tickets for the special showing, contact St. Veronica, 703-773-2000. Tickets cost $10 each, and may be picked up at the parish office, 3460 Centreville Rd., Chantilly every weekday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the church vestibule every evening until the 28th. Tickets are also available after the 5 p.m. Mass on the 27th and the morning of the 28th. Hurry: these will sell out quickly.

Pillar of Truth: The Church & the Modern Moral Cris

 Presenter: His Excellency Paul S. Loverde, DD, Bishop of Arlington

Time: Tuesday, September 18  @ 7:30 p.m. EST

 Location: St. James Catholic Church – Heller Hall

 Address: 905 Park Avenue, Falls Church, VA 22046

The Nature of Beauty and the Catholic Church

News Release from the Institute of Catholic Culture

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Fairfax County, Va. (July 15, 2012)—With an unusual five-part series that takes guests to various settings in Northern Virginia, the Institute of Catholic Culture demonstrates how the Catholic Church captures God’s beauty in natural settings as well as through music, architecture, and music.


On Saturday, July 21, Professor Mark Wunsch, Ph. D., will discuss God in nature at the Great Falls Park, at 10 a.m., 9200 Old Dominion Dr., McLean. On Sunday, July 29, guests will join Denis McNamara, Ph. D., to learn about beauty and the sacred architecture at 6 p.m., St. James Catholic Church, 905 Park Ave., Falls Church. One week later, on Sunday, August 5, George Harne, Ph. D., will discuss the connection between beauty and the sacred. To conclude the series, David Clayton will speak on Friday, August 10 and Sunday, August 12, at 7:30 p.m. on beauty and sacred art at St. Ambrose Church, 3901 Woodburn Rd., Annandale.


Join the Institute of Catholic Culture for this remarkable series on how so many aspects of the Catholic Church and its approach to transmitting God’s love and beauty through so many forms is so readily accessible to mankind. Free admission, and no reservations required. For more information, please visit www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org or call 540-635-7155.

Standard of Truth: Natural Law and the National Moral Crisis

Correction:

Annandale, Va. (June 1, 2012)—On Saturday, June 16, the Institute of Catholic Culture presents a timely program with Bishop Robert C. Morlino, STD, discussing how the collapse of moral church teachings has yielded a secular, materialistic society in the United States. (MORE)


His Excellency, Robert Morlino, is a native of Pennsylvania. He entered the seminary for the Maryland Society for the Province of Jesus. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 1974. Bishop Morlino subsequently went on to obtain several prestigious and advanced degrees, including a Doctorate of Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome.


Join the Institute of Catholic Culture and Bishop Morlino for a reflection on how today’s secular society and absence of moral teachings have evolved. The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose Catholic Church Hall, 3901 Woodburn Rd., Annandale, Virginia. Free admission, and no reservations required. For more information, please visit www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org or call 540-635-7155.

Laetare Sunday: Solemn Evensong and Benediction at St. Rita's

Alexandria, Va. (March 1, 2012)— On Sunday, March 18, the Institute of Catholic Culture in conjunction with Reverend Eric Bergman and the Saint Thomas of Canterbury Choir presents a holy celebration of Laetare Sunday at St. Rita Catholic Church in Alexandria. Celebrated on the Sunday midway through Lent, Laetare Sunday is a day of joy spent in anticipation of the rejoicing of Easter. In Christian history, as this special Sunday ended at sunset, Christians would gather in prayer to thank God for the gift of Easter.

Join the Institute of Catholic Culture and the Saint Thomas of Canterbury Society as we experience the ancient Lenten service of Vespers in the English Catholic tradition. The service begins at 7:30 p.m. Free admission, and no reservations required. St. Rita Catholic Church, 3815 Russell Rd., Alexandria, Va.

For more information, please visit www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org or call 540-635-7155.

The Real Presence Of Christ: A Study of St. John’s Book of Signs

Annandale, VA (December 28, 2011)—The Institute of Catholic Culture is presenting a three-part Bible study series—January 12, 19, and 26—entitled The Real Presence of Christ: A Study of St. John’s Book of Signs. Led by Dr. Timothy O’Donnell, the lectures will consider the first part of the Gospel of Saint John and introduce attendees to the great mystery of God's presence among us.

President of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, Dr. O’Donnell is the first layman to receive both his licentiate and doctoral degrees in Ascetical and Mystical Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. Dr. O’Donnell has taught at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California and at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. He is a Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and he is a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Family.

Join Dr. O’Donnell and the Institute of Catholic Culture at 7:30 p.m. for this series of talks, held at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 3829 Woodburn Rd., Annandale, VA.

All are welcome. No reservations required. Free admission. For more information, please visit www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org or call 540-635-7155.

An Update - Illegal Alien indicted in Death of Nun

The illegal immigrant accused of killing a Benedictine nun in a drunken driving crash in Prince William County has been indicted for murder.

Carlos A. Martinelly Montano, 23, now faces a charge of felony murder, court records show, for the Aug. 1 crash that killed Sister Denise Mosier, 66.
Authorities allege that Montano was drunk when a Subaru Outback he was driving struck a guardrail then collided head-on with a car carrying Mosier and two other nuns on Bristow Road near Wright Lane.

Montano was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, drunken driving, and driving on a revoked license.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Illegal-immigrant-indicted-for-murder-in-nun_s-death-785596-102473089.html#ixzz0z2TFUgd1

Catholic Standard Story Update

In an earlier weekly update of the Catholic Standard, I commented upon the story (pulled from Catholic News Service) about the death of a nun due to a drunk driver - an illegal alien. The story stated that this simply a matter of a drunk driver and that people were using this against those here illegally.

However, there was no mention was made in the original story that the illegal alien was being assisted by the Hogar Immigrant Services, an arm of Catholic Charities in Arlington County.

You can read the rest of the story in the Richmond Times Dispatch dated Aug. 12th.

Condolences...

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my condolences to the family of Fr. Michael C. Kelly, who died on Wednesday morning. He was with the Diocese of Arlington VA.

Father Kelly was en route to the funeral of another priest, when he stopped on to remove a fallen tree blocking the road. While doing so, another tree fell, struck him and apparently killed him instantly.

In addition, I would like to also offer my condolences to his brother priests and the parishioners at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Purcellville, VA.

May eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.

Amen.

Homosexuality and the Diocese of Arlington

I received from my friends over at Les Femmes, The Truth last week their e-letter.

At issue is the influence of homosexual priests in the Diocese of Arlington. (This was an issue that has been in the back of my mind as a possible blog posting or two -- only here in the Archdiocese of Washington DC.)

Although very long, I have reproduced most of it here. If you wish to read it the entire letter, please click on the link above, and go to that section.

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It's been almost seven years since Fr. Haley was booted from the St. Mary's rectory in Fredericksburg and forced into a nomadic life on the road for giving Bishop Loverde unwanted evidence of rampant sexual immorality in several Church rectories. It's almost four and a half years since the tribunal, headed by Bishop Thomas Doran, met in Philadelphia to decide Fr. Haley's fate. There is something seriously wrong when a bishop can throw out a faithful priest on a trumped up charge and leave him in limbo for seven years. Justice delayed is justice denied. Such a delay is incomprehensible. (Unless, as one individual suggested, it ensures the statute of limitations will prevent any action in civil court.)

How many good priests have experienced the heavy hand of retaliation for exposing homosexual immorality? Some have resigned; few have shown the perseverance of Fr. Haley. A short list of persecuted priests who blew the whistle on the gay problem in the Church includes: Fr. Michael Madden, Fr. James Foster, Fr. John Nesbella, Fr. Seamus MacCormack, Fr. Phillip Saylor, and Fr. Andrew Dowgiert. These men got the lash from their bishops and are gone. Meanwhile, can anyone doubt there are still homosexual priests running parishes? (To be clear, I define the term homosexual as the Church does: "those who practice homosexuality, show profoundly deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture.")

A number of years ago a young Arlington priest (not named above) told my husband and me over dinner that his pastor's "boyfriend", (who spent beaucoup time at the rectory) "doesn't like me." I wasn't surprised; my young friend was very handsome, movie-star handsome in fact. I'm sure the pastor's "significant other" was as jealous as a teenage girl thinking about such eye-candy in the rectory. To make a long story short, my friend ended up at St. Luke's for depression; his pastor got a bigger parish with a school. The homosexual is still there; my friend, an exemplary priest, is long gone, one more casualty of the lavender brotherhood. Did the bishop (Keating) know? Yes, a friend and I met with him and Fr. Robert Rippy (chancellor at the time) in April of 1997 to discuss Father's troubling lifestyle which included spending most of the week away from the parish at his nearby condo, living beyond his means, and being in the constant company of his "special friend." The bishop asked for proof; I told him he could get it from the priests who had lived with him. The result? Nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. My young friend left the priesthood. It was rumored that the day before he died, Bishop Keating who was in Rome for his ad limina visit, asked in a meeting what he should do about "his homosexual priest problem." Whatever he learned, the bishop never had the chance to implement it.

Who knows how many other homosexual priests are closeted in rectories entertaining their buddies with private porn collections and lavish dinner parties paid for from parish collections? The short answer: the priests who've live with them, priests, like Fr. Haley. But how many priests will say anything after witnessing what has happened to their brothers who present evidence to their bishops? Silence is safer even though it may endanger others both spiritually and physically. That's one reason the laity absolutely must speak up. We are less subject to retaliation from the bishops. I am finally speaking publicly about this situation in less veiled language because I know if anything ever happens to a child in that parish I will blame myself for keeping silent. I am not publicly exposing the priest. Rather, I wish to put the chancery on notice. Fr. Rippy knows who he is and he certainly should have briefed Bishop Loverde on the potential problem when the bishop arrived in the diocese. Additionally, unless they were deliberately destroyed, there are several letters on file at the chancery which I sent return receipt requested. If this priest ever injures a child or young adult, I will volunteer to testify for the prosecution that the chancery knew of his immoral homosexual lifestyle.


The bishops would like us to believe the homosexual problem in the Church is over. The news tells a different story. There may be fewer child molestations, but the cases of lewd conduct, embezzlement, etc. continue to appear. While soliciting sex in the park is less vile than raping children, such activities make a man unfit for the priesthood and he should be removed immediately when it happens. Bishops who knowingly assign homosexual priests to parishes are unfit to be guardians of the Church. Read Leon Podles book, Sacrilege. You may not be able to stomach the descriptions (sworn court testimony) of the sodomite rape of youngsters. I had to skip over some of the graphic parts. But what's also sickening is the sympathy of bishops, not for the ravaged children, but for the poor rapists whose priesthood was threatened by exposure. And so they allowed them to rape, and rape, and rape again. A little outrage over such bishops escaping justice (think Cardinal Law) is definitely appropriate. The homosexual priest is a threat to our children or grandchildren even if he selects "age-appropriate" partners for his lust or just fantasizes with his porn collection. The bishop who knows about his predilection and allows him to continue in a parish is irresponsible and, ultimately, an enabler of his immorality.

One of the saddest parts of this cultural meltdown is the damage to the priesthood in general. Every priest who entertains a child with a magic trick or a silly song is now a suspect. Tousling a child's hair or saying, like Jesus, "Let the children come to me," raises a red flag. What a horrendous injustice to good men who have devoted their lives to Christ; and there are many. We must pray and fast, both for the removal of homosexuals from the priesthood and for the protection of good priests who are one false accusation away from destruction. We can never lose hope, but neither should we be complacent.

There are many Judases in the Church. No surprise. One out of twelve of Jesus' closest friends was a traitor who betrayed his Master with a kiss. Was that percentage prophetic? Will we be fortunate if the traitors number only one out of twelve in the U.S. Church? Remember, two thirds of the bishops engaged in the cover-up. Most of those men are still running dioceses driving out good priests like Fr. Haley who dare to speak up about the homosexual cliques in the Church. His continuous exile warns the faithful that the cover-up continues.

There's an old political saying, "If we can't have honest politicians, let's at least have nervous ones." It's a good slogan for the bishops as well. We know there are a lot of dishonest bishops in the U.S. Church. One day they will stand before Jesus and answer for their betrayal. Let us pray that reflecting on that reality makes them nervous. They should be.