Pope Francis Meets with The World Bank President

From a reader, who works at The World Bank in Washington, DC:


ROME, October 28, 2013 - World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and His Holiness Pope Francis met today at the Vatican to discuss their mutual efforts to end extreme poverty and provide greater opportunities for the poor and vulnerable.

“I was so grateful to meet with the Holy Father and was inspired by his passion and commitment to help the poor, the sick, and the hungry,” Kim said. “We talked about ways we could work together with faith leaders to make a preferential option for the poor, so they can have greater opportunity and justice in their lives.”

To read more, go here.

Update on the John Paul II Center.

Over two years ago, I wrote about the John Paul Center.  To be honest, I was highly critical of this purchase and still am.

Here is an update from Catholic News Service.

To be honest, I am not certain how much different this is, than the original intent. 

Learning about Spreading the Good Word, in the shadows of the White House

Washington D.C., Oct 25, 2013 / 05:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).-The lay evangelization training program Catholic Voices will bring its next group training to within blocks of the White House, as it teaches Catholics how to share the message of the Catholic faith.

The next training session will take place at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C., which “hosts the closest tabernacle to the White House,” Kathryn Lopez, director of Catholic Voices USA, told CNA Oct. 23.

“Where better to gather to work to better communicate the light of faith? Heaven knows politics could use a dose of illumination, liberated from ideology and other idols, as Pope Francis might put it!”
For more information, go here. 

Redefining ‘pedophilia’ as a ‘sexual orientation’

People can classify themselves as heterosexual, homosexual, asexual, metrosexual. There are endless sexual orientations under the sun, and now, pedophilia can be added to the list.

In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V), the American Psychological Association (APA) drew a very distinct line between pedophilia and pedophilic disorder. Pedophilia refers to a sexual orientation or profession of sexual preference devoid of consummation, whereas pedophilic disorder is defined as a compulsion and is used in reference to individuals who act on their sexuality. 

To read the complete sad story, go here:  http://www.neontommy.com/news/2013/10/pedophilia-sexual-orientation

Hat tip to Fr. Z.

St. Bartholomew Church in Bethesday on CNS

Catholic New Service did a short video on Fr. Mark Knestout and St. Bartholomew parish in Bethesda, MD.  This is part of the Archdiocese of Washington.

http://youtu.be/vV1GyYmCm6o

H/T to Deacon Greg Kandra.

Georgetown Law class required to work for pro-abortion lobby

A class at Georgetown University’s law school scheduled for next semester will have students working with a pro-abortion rights advocacy organization, taught by that organization’s senior counsel, Kelli Garcia. Garcia, a radical pro-abortion rights lawyer, wrote the poem titled, “Planned Parenthood, Why Do I Love Thee?” in 2011. The poem was part of a larger effort by Garcia and her group to halt the potential defunding of Planned Parenthood, which is the nation’s largest abortion provider.

For more information, go here:  http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/georgetown-law-class-required-to-work-for-pro-abortion-lobby

++++++++++++++

There are at least two priests on the Board of Governors:  Fr. Steck, SJ, and Fr. Walsh, SJ.   Will they take a stand on this?

There are five priests on the Board of Directors?  Will they take a stand on this?

Altough Cardinal Wuerl has taken a hands off approach (as far as we can tell) with Georgetown University.  Will this continue?

Legal name changes and baptism certificates

Changed your legal name?  What to do about it in relation to your baptism certficicate?

Here is some great advice from Fr. Z.

Immaculata High School is No More.

In 1986, Immaculata High School, established by the Sisters of Providence, was closed.  

It has been torn down to make way for the American University - Washington College of Law.  

To read more, go here.

Archdiocese: Gov’t Engaged in ‘Conscious Political Strategy to Marginalize and Delegitimize’ Catholic ‘Religious Views

The Archdiocese of Washington (HOORAY!) is suing the US Government on the basis that the:  Obama administration is engaged in a “conscious political strategy to marginalize and delegitimize” Catholic “religious views on contraception by holding them up for ridicule on the national stage.”

According to the lawsuit:

The record, moreover, establishes that the mandate was part of a conscious political strategy to marginalize and delegitimize plaintiffs’ religious views on contraception by holding them up for ridicule on the national stage,” says the archdiocese’s memorandum.

“Likewise,” the memorandum continues, “the original definition of ‘preventive service’ was promulgated by an Institute of Medicine Committee that was stacked with individuals who, like Defendant Sebelius, strongly disagreed with many Catholic teachings, causing the committee’s lone dissenter to lament that the committee’s recommendation reflected the other members’ ‘subjective determinations filtered through a lens of advocacy.’”

 “This anti-religious bias,” says the memorandum, “is further confirmed by the fact that it was directly modeled on a California statute, see 77 Fed. Reg. at 8726 (explaining that the federal Mandate was modeled on state law); … whose chief legislative sponsor made clear that its purpose was to strike a blow against Catholic religious authorities: ‘59 percent of all Catholic women of childbearing age practice contraception.’ ‘[88] percent of Catholics believe . . . that someone who practices artificial birth control can still be a good Catholic. I agree with that. I think it’s time to do the right thing.’” -

- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/lawsuit-gov-t-engaged-conscious-political-strategy-marginalize-and#sthash.9bfbUioR.dpuf

 

Clericalism...

Fr. John Trigilio, a familiar face to regular EWTN viewers, but also the president of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy.  


Father Horan, OFM, is correct that clericalism is a vice, which ought to be repudiated by every pope, bishop, priest, deacon and consecrated religious. Problem is that it is unfair, unjust and inaccurate to portray clericalism as merely an indulgence of conservatives or traditionalists. I have been ordained twenty-five years and spent twelve years in seminary beforehand. Even went to high school seminary (hence, I am called a ‘lifer’). As a pastor of two parishes for more than eleven years and a parochial vicar for fourteen years in several assignments as a diocesan priest (secular clergy) and as president of a national association of 500+ priests and deacons (Confraternity of Catholic Clergy), my experience has been that all too often it is the so-called liberal and progressive priests who behave and act in such a way as to personify clericalism.

To read more of this, go to Deacon Greg's blog.  It is powerful stuff.

Teacher Aide from St. John the Evangelist (Oct. 14th Update)

For those of you who are interested, here is the most recent development according to the Maryland Judiciary Case System:

On Friday, Oct. 11th, Discovery was completed.  The next step in this process is the Pretrial Hearing set for Nov. 15th at 9:30am in Courtroom 6.

Catholics Denied Mass...Why Is Cardinal Wuerl Silent?

Father Ray Leonard serves at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia but because of the government shutdown, he wasn’t allowed to go to celebrate Mass this past weekend.

He is contracted by the Defense Department to meet the spiritual needs of Catholics, but not now. The chapel doors were locked and the sign said, “Shutdown: No Catholic service till further notice.”

Father Leonard said the following:

“This is our church, Catholics have an expectation and obligation to attend Mass and we were told, ‘No you can’t go to church this week…“ My parishioners were upset. They were angry and dismayed. They couldn’t believe that in America they’d be denied access to Mass by the government.”

Read about it here

And here

Why are out Bishops not speaking out?  A Catholic denied his First Amendment rights and we remain silent.

Cardinal Wuerl has let us down again...

According to the National Catholic Reporter (that bastion of orthodoxy -- snark, snark), Michael Winters wrote:

Perhaps the most interesting thing about yesterday’s Red Mass and brunch was the thing that was not said. Two words went unmentioned: religious liberty. There was not a whiff of culture warrior talk in the day’s proceedings, no condemnation of the Supreme Court’s decisions in the same sex marriage cases, no please for the HHS mandate to be ruled unconstitutional. Instead, modeling Pope Francis, both +Farrell and +Wuerl spoke about the Gospel and left the politics outside. It was so refreshing.


So, here was another opportunity for the Cardinal to make the point about the HHS mandate, how it is important to remember religious freedom, and he once again did nothing.  

Once again, he has let us down.

H/T to Ff. Z's Blog.

Blessed Karl of Austria Events

Monday, 21 October, 7:30 PM (Feast Day of Blessed Karl of Austria)

Pontifical Mass & Reception, St. Mary Mother of God Church,

Washington, DC

Tuesday, 22 October, 6:00 PM

Mass, Reception & Conference, John Paul II Shrine,

Washington, DC

Celebrant of Pontifical Masses:

His Excellency, Don Teodoro de Faria
Bishop Emeritus of Funchal, Madeira Islands, Portugal

Conference Speaker:

Ricardo Dumont dos Santos

Portugal Delegate of the Emperor Karl League of Prayers

His Excellency, Don Teodoro de Faria

Bishop Emeritus of Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal, author of a new book about Blessed Karl. As Bishop of the diocese in which Blessed Karl died in 1922, Bishop de Faria has long been active in his cause for sainthood, and it was he who formally presented to the Holy Father the petition to beatify Emperor Karl at the beatification ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square on 3 October 2004. A native of Madeira, Bishop de Faria was ordained in 1956 at the age of 26, consecrated bishop of Funchal in 1982, and since his retirement in 2007, has been working on his book about Blessed Karl, which he will discuss during his remarks.

Ricardo Dumont dos Santos

Portugal Delegate of the Emperor Karl League of Prayers. Mr. Dumont dos Santos is the honorary consul of the Federal Republic of Germany on the Portuguese island of Madeira. His family's connection to Blessed Karl encompasses three generations. His father, Dr. Alfredo Dumont Machado dos Santos, was leader of the Emperor Karl Prayer League in Portugal until his death in 1989. His paternal grandfather was one of the doctors called for consultation during the final illness of Emperor Karl, and it was he who signed his death certificate.

These Masses and conferences were arranged and coordinated by the following Traditional Knights of Columbus councils:

Regina Coeli Council 423, Manhattan, NY

Potomac Council 433, Washington, DC

Woodlawn Council 2161, Aliquippa, PA

Agnus Dei Council 12361, Manhattan, NY

Mater Ecclesiae Council 12833, Berlin, NJ

Additional support provided by:

The Paulus Institute for the Propagation of Sacred Liturgy

The Pittsburgh Latin Mass Community, Inc. (PLMC)

For additional information on Bl. Karl, please visit the Emperor Karl League of Prayers website.