Congratulatons Msgr. Ranieri! Ad Multos Annos!

After two years of college seminary, Joseph Ranieri learned the Archdiocese of New York would not allow him to become a priest. The reason: New York had “too many priests.” 

Ranieri was informed that — as the child of a broken home — he did not “make the cut” for the see’s major seminary.

Just as his road to the priesthood seemed to come to a dead-end in New York, God opened a new path. And for the past 60 years, Msgr. Ranieri, 86, has served as a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington instead.

“But that was God’s providence,” he told the Register, his New York accent as strong as ever. “I would not have traded my ministry in Washington for anything in the world.”

More than 65 years after New York thought he would not make much of a priest, Msgr. Joseph Ranieri received a different letter from the current archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan. This time, Msgr. Ranieri was asked to accept a 2018 “People of Life” award from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to give national recognition to his 10 years of priestly ministry with Project Rachel, a post-abortion-healing ministry.

To read the full story, please go to NCR.

In these trying times, we need a little laugh...

I have a Peanuts calendar on my desk.  

This came up over a month ago, and thought that a little "Peanuts Humor" is what we need, in the midst of all of the darkness.   

Peanuts always makes me smile.

I have never seen so many "ordinary Catholics"-who usually never follow or hear about Church news-as deeply troubled as I have seen them in response to the recent revelations about the retired archbishop of Washington, DC.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was asked by the pope to resign from his membership in the College of Cardinals and ordered to live in seclusion until a canonical trial can be held to verify the validity of charges of sexual abuse and harassment made against him. After the first brave person came forward (whose accusations were found credible by the Archdiocese of New York Review Board), more and more followed. The climate of fear among many of our clergy-the fear of being punished or marginalized if they report sexual immorality among their fellow clergy or leaders-is starting to break. Cardinal McCarrick is now known as Archbishop McCarrick.

What has been so disturbing to so many people is the fact that there had been numerous warnings to various church officials that he was a homosexual predator, harassing many seminarians, priests, and young boys, for many years, but nothing had ever been done about it, and he was continually promoted. Even after a delegation of priests and lay people went to Rome to warn the Vatican about the situation, he was promoted. Even after a leading Dominican priest wrote a letter to Cardinal O'Malley, nothing was done. Even after lawsuits accusing him of homosexual sexual harassment in two of his previous dioceses had been settled with financial awards, he was still promoted. And not only that, he became a key advisor to Pope Francis and offered advice on whom to appoint as bishops in the United States! 

 

To read the rest of this letter from go to A Letter from Ralph Martin

 

 

I do not believe that Cardinal Wuerl did not know about what happened in Trenton, Metuchen, and Newark

I do not believe that Cardinal Wuerl did not know of the settlements.  

He may not have seen the settlement documents and the paper trail, but he knew.  The story has been around for years.

And, you shouldn't believe him either.   

Let's send a message: NO CCHD!

+++++

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 30, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Cardinal Donald Wuerl knew nothing of the abuse settlements paid to sex abuse victims of his predecessor Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, according to a letter sent to priests of the Archdiocese of Washington.

The letter, which came from Archdiocesan Vicar General Monsignor Charles Antonicelli, informed priests in the Archdiocese: “Neither the Archdiocese of Washington nor Cardinal Wuerl knew about these confidential settlements until this most recent credible and substantiated allegation against Cardinal McCarrick was made public.”

For the complete LifeSiteNews story, go here. 

Catholic Relief Services is a major funder of contraception lobbyists

July 23, 2018 (Lepanto Institute) – The majority of the largest international aid and development agencies are all intertwined, like a big net, so it is not uncommon for an investigation of one part of this net to provide leads for new investigations.  While researching the involvement of Catholic organizations in the Sphere Project, the Lepanto Institute discovered three Catholic agencies identified as dues-paying members of an organization that strongly and openly pushes contraception.

For the complete story, go to:  LifeSite News.

Funeral Wakes -- Back Then...

The incident in Southern Maryland, once again, has led me to think about funeral wakes, when I was a child and now.  I have thought about this a great deal over the last few years.  As someone who has attended a number of wakes, I have noticed a much more relaxed atmosphere (almost like you were going to a party) in what people wear and how they behave.

When I was a child, many years ago...

• Men wore black or dark blue or navy suits.  Some wore dark grey, but never light grey.  Those who wore grey, were usually guys who worked in offices as managers, or a profession, like accounting.  However, almost everyone adult male I knew, had at least one black or dark blue suit.  You wore it to funerals, to weddings, to first Communions, etc.
• Men also wore white shirts with black ties.  Some of the blue collar guys I knew, would wear a light blue shirt -- but without any sort of design.  Just a simple blue shirt.  If they did not have a black tie, then it was usually dark blue or navy blue. Sometimes the tie had a little design -- small dots or diamonds.  But never anything with too much color.
• Men wore black shoes, with black socks. No brown, no boat shoes, etc.
• The only time I remember men not wearing a suit, was if they stopped at the funeral parlor during work or immediately after work, knowing that they could not make it home to change and back in time.  They were truck drivers, electricians, plumbers, etc.  Everyone understood that these were working men and appreciated the fact that they came to pay their respects.
• Women usually wore black dresses, especially both immediate and distant relatives.  If they did not wear black, they usually wore something dark.  Of course, dark shoes (black, navy blue) were the norm.
• Boys (usually up to the age of 11 or so) wore white collar shirts, dark pants (usually navy) and shoes.  Sometimes a tie, which usually lasted only part of the way through the wake, esp. if it was summer.  No shorts, no jeans, no t-shirts, no sneakers, etc.  
• And to be honest, I cannot remember what little girls wore.  I don't recall seeing many at funeral wakes.

At the funeral parlor...

• Wakes were held at a funeral home or parlor.  The only time a wake was held in a church, was for a priest.  
• A male member of the family, usually greeted those who had come to pay their respects, at the entrance of the wake.  Sometimes, they would bring the person(s) up to the other members of the family and introduce them. The spouse and female children usually sat in the front row of the wake, and thanked people for coming.  
• People talked in hushed tones. There was no laughter or joking.  That was reserved for outside of the funeral home.  And if there was any of that inside where the viewing was taking place, all heads would turn at the offender.
• Most of the time, people sat in silence.  
•  Crying and at times, in a loud voice, someone (usually the parent or surviving spouse) calling out as to why this person had to go so soon. 
• Wakes were typically two days (at least two evening and one afternoon viewing, as they were called).
• Always, a priest showed up about 8pm to say the Rosary for the deceased.