Serra's 70th International Convention: Pictures

I just returned to Chicago from Providence two days ago and have been resting up after a long week. I would like to share some of the photos taken at the convention.

I have also included the slide show of the presentation I gave.

Tomatoes are Rotten

Reposted from Sancte Pater....a popular Islamic Association is warning of the dangers of tomatoes...particularly their Christian-ness.

By Angie Nassar 

(Now Lebanon) A Salafist group called the Popular Egyptian Islamic Association has come under fire after sending out a warning on Facebook urging its followers not to eat tomatoes because the vegetable (or fruit) is a Christian food.

The group posted a photo on its page of a tomato - which appears to reveal the shape of a cross after being cut in half – along with the message: “Eating tomatoes is forbidden because they are Christian. [The tomato] praises the cross instead of Allah and says that Allah is three (a reference to the Trinity). 

[God help us]. I implore you to spread this photo because there is a sister from Palestine who saw the prophet of Allah [Mohammad] in a vision and he was crying, warning his nation against eating them [tomatoes]. If you don’t spread this [message], know that it is the devil who stopped you...”

In that case....eat more tomatoes!

Eastern Muslims might not be very happy about this either since in Pakistan tomatoes are a common ingredient to the food.  

Prominent Atheist Blogger Converts

The famous atheist blogger, Leah Libresco, announced on her blog at Patheos last week that she has joined RCIA classes to become Catholic. Her post entitled "This is my last post for the Patheos Atheist Portal" sent a shockwave through the online secular community and prompted various angry articles written in response. It starts out:

For several years, a lot of my friends have been telling me I had an inconsistent and unsustainable philosophy.  ”A virtue ethicist atheist whose transhumanism seems to be rooted in dualism?  Who won’t shut up about moral lapses as wounds to the souland keeps trying to convince us it’s better to be sinned against than sinning?  Who has started talking about mortifying her pride and keeps pulling out Lewis and Chesterton quotes?  C’mon, convert already.”

And what played a major part? Yep you guessed it. Or maybe you didn't: McIntyre's virtue ethics which is rooted in Thomistic/Aristotelian teleology.

I hold to my thesis. If Aristotle were better understood (he or his terminology is not evaluated beyond empirical/ logical positivist criterion) by students....then so many wouldn't be so logically lead to agnosticism, which would be the logical conclusion in a world without teleology. 

Theme Song for the LCWR Investigation

Many religious communities in the United States are killing any vocations that they might have with their disobedience.

Want to learn more about why the people above act like they are in these pictures? Voris, sparing nothing as usual, summed it up well in this video:

Vatican to Parents: Don't Block Vocations

New Vatican Guidelines: Parents Should Be Careful Not To Block Vocations

(http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=25177)

VATICAN CITY, June 25 (CNA/EWTN News) .- Parents should be careful not to block their son's calling to the priesthood, new Vatican guidelines on promoting vocations say.

"Even though a sense of respect for the figure of the priest is cultivated in Christian families, it is still noticeable, especially in the West, that they have a certain difficulty in accepting that their child may have a vocation to the priesthood," said the document launched by Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, head of the Congregation for Catholic Education, at the Vatican June 25.

However, "if families are animated by a spirit of faith, charity and piety they become, as it were, an 'initial seminary' and they continue to offer favorable conditions for the birth of vocations."

The 29-page document, entitled "Pastoral Guidelines for Fostering Vocations to the Priestly Ministry," is the culmination of four years of work by the Congregation for Catholic Education. It draws together the responses received to a questionnaire issued to the universal Church in 2008.

The guidelines call on parishes to help parents become more aware of their role as "educators in the faith so as to develop in the heart of the family the human and supernatural conditions that make possible the discovery of a priestly vocation."

While the Church around the world is seeing an overall rise in seminarians in recent years - including in North America - Europe continues to show a slow but steady decline.

The new guidelines also identify other stumbling blocks to discerning a priestly vocation. It points to the spread of secularism, the marginalization of the priest in social life "with consequent loss of his relevance in the public square," a lack of appreciation of priestly celibacy, including by some Catholics, the fallout from Church scandals, and the bad example of some priests who exist in a "whirlpool of exaggerated activism" that can "weaken the shine of priestly witness."

As for fostering new vocations, the document highlights the fruitfulness of families, schools, parishes and movements rooted in prayer.

"The experience of many local Churches is that young men, in large numbers, sense the call to the ministerial priesthood, especially where prayer is a constant and profound dimension of the community's life," it says.

As well as the family, Catholic parishes are emphasized as "the place par excellence where the Gospel of the Christian vocation is proclaimed" and "where the ideal of priestly ministry is presented."

In this setting, priests are "crucial for openly suggesting priestly vocation to boys and young men" with the help of "a well -founded and effective educational program" that raises the question.

This role of openly suggesting a priestly vocation can also be undertaken by others in the parish and by current seminarians, since "no-one is better suited to evangelize young people than young people themselves."

Interestingly, the document suggests that a vocation to the priesthood should not be suggested "to persons who, even though they are praiseworthy in their journey of conversion, show signs of being profoundly fragile personalities."

In terms of priestly celibacy, it states that those considering the priesthood "should see with clarity the commitments he will have to take on" and that any discernment process should contribute "to healing any individual deviations from his vocation."

Teachers in schools can also play a crucial role as they "can extend the family's educational role by broadening cultural horizons."

Meanwhile, the document observes that a young man's college years are increasingly "becoming a fruitful period for young people with regard their life choices."

Among its many other recommendations, the guidelines note that numerous priests were "part of the group of altar boys and have served at the altar" before going to seminary. It therefore suggests that "vocation ministry for priesthood gives special attention to altar boys" when promoting the priesthood.

Modernist Chaplain at Yale

Remember the post about the difference between modernism and integrism? Well take a look at this perfect example of modernism in action

Yale Catholic Chaplain: Sister Farley’s “Teaching” Could Be Official Church “Position” in a Century

Father Robert L. Beloin, the Catholic chaplain of Yale University, used the occasion of his Corpus Christi sermon to put forth a defense of Sister Margaret Farley, an emerita Yale professor, who recently was notified by Rome that her book Just Love contradicts Church teaching.

“Margaret Farley and the Mystery of Human Sexuality” is the title of Father Beloin’s sermon, as reproduced on America magazine’s “The Good Word” blog, which is devoted to scripture and preaching.

In it, Father Beloin reportedly says:

The “notification,” signed by Cardinal Levada, pointed out that some conclusions that she holds are contrary to the official teaching of the Church. That is true. But, in her statement, she points out that she did not set out to write a book about Catholic moral theology.

(It’s like if I sat down and wrote a homily for a wedding and someone came along and said “well, that’s not an appropriate homily for a funeral.” I didn’t set out to write a homily for a funeral.)

Well, Margaret did not set out to write a book reiterating Catholic positions on some contemporary moral issues. She set out to explore some moral issues from the starting point of Scripture, Tradition, anthropology and human experience. She brings a different methodology to the table.

Father Beloin relies on a novel interpretation of the Catholic idea of the development of doctrine to come up with this rather shocking idea:

And so maybe Margaret is right and what she is teaching will be the official position of the Church in a hundred years. And maybe she is wrong and further research will prove that.

Father Beloin apparently believes that the development of doctrine, an important Catholic idea, includes the ditching or complete reversal of doctrine, which is what it would take for Sister Margaret’s “teaching” ever to become the “official position” of the Church.

It is worth mentioning that Sister Margaret’s work contradicts the Church, according to the notification, on the issues of masturbation, homosexual acts, homosexual unions, the indissolubility of marriage, and the authority of the pope and Magisterium.

Undaunted, Father Beloin declares himself “excited by the challenges before us” as regards the development of doctrine.

Deposing Bishops-- 1 in 12?

Sandro Magister has a very interesting piece on corruption at the highest levels.

VATICAN CITY, June 15, 2012 – The old-timers of the curia remember a quip that one cardinal loved to repeat: “Among the apostles one out of twelve betrayed, and today among the successors of the apostles the average is certainly no better.” 

Today, without counting the other Christian denominations, the Catholic bishops who are the heirs of the apostles number about 5200, and so by applying to them this “evangelical” proportion, there should be more than 400 emulators of Judas Iscariot in the Church of Rome. A figure that may be too optimistic in the eyes of the Lefebvrists, or from the opposite perspective, of the progressive ecclesial galaxy, but certainly much higher than the number of prelates who in various ways have been punished in recent years by the only person who has this power, the pope.

There are no complete statistics in this regard, in part because beyond the most spectacular cases, it normally happens that a bishop who is asked to leave the leadership of a diocese for doctrinal or moral reasons, or because of ecclesiastical or administrative mismanagement, is convinced to hand in his resignation to the pope before reaching the retirement age of 75, on the basis of paragraph 2 of canon 401 of the code of canon law, which states: “A diocesan bishop who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office.” And the pope accepts his resignation very quickly.

Normally, this paragraph 2 of canon 401 concerns churchmen afflicted by physical or psychological “ill health,” but there is no lack of cases of “other grave cause.” 

So recently, on June 7 came the early resignation of the auxiliary bishop of Canberra in Australia, Patrick Percival Power, 70, known for his progressive positions. 

While on January 4 came the announcement of the resignation of the auxiliary of Los Angeles, Gabino Zavala, 61, because he is the father of two children. It is not known whether next year his name will still be listed in the Annuario Pontificio. 

In the past, in fact, the names of bishops who have left their posts in order to get married have been more or less promptly expunged from the thick red book that details each year the organizational structure of the Catholic Church. 

Without digging back up the cases of the Argentine Jeronimo Podestà and the American James Patrick Shannon, which concern the pontificate of Paul VI, one can recall a few relatively more recent cases, like those of the Irish bishop of Galway, Eamon Casey, who resigned at the age of 65 in 1992 and disappeared from the Annuario in 1997; of the Swiss bishop of Basel, Hansjoerg Vogel, who resigned at the age of 44 in 1995 and disappeared from the Annuario in 1997; of the Scottish bishop of Argill, Roderick Wright, who resigned at the age of 56 in 1996 and was also removed in 1997; of the Canadian bishop of Gaspé, Raymond Dumais, who resigned at the age of 51 in 2001 and disappeared from the Annuario in 2003. 

From the Annuario Pontificio of this year has also disappeared the name of the bishop of Pointe-Noire in Congo, Jean-Claude Makaya Loembe, whom the pope “relieved” of his duties on March 31, 2011. 

In fact, in the case in which a bishop, in spite of being urged to do so, does not accept to present his resignation, it is the pope himself who “relieves” him of his duties. Which happens rather rarely. But it happens. 

Last May 19, for example, the Italian bishop of Trapani, Francesco Micciché, 69, was “relieved” over administrative problems. 

While on May 2, 2011, for doctrinal reasons, the Australian bishop of Toowoomba, William M. Morris, was “relieved.” 

In 1995, however, the French bishop of Evreux, Jacques Gaillot, 60, also for doctrinal reasons, was not “relieved” but was transferred to the titular see of Partenia. 

Morris and Gaillot were removed because they were extremely progressive. But there is no lack of examples on the other front. 

Former Bishop William Morris 

In 2003, for example, the resignation of the Thai bishop of Ratchaburi, John Bosco Manat Chuabsamai, 67, was accepted after he had gotten too close, perhaps, to the world of the Lefebvrists. 

While in March of 2009, the pope “exempted” Monsignor Gerhard Wagner from accepting the position of auxiliary bishop of Linz, to which he had been appointed at the end of January. In Austria, Wagner had been subjected to a formidable line of fire on the part of the progressives, because of his traditionalist positions. 

Other bishops who have been removed from the Annuario Pontificio are those who have been reduced to the lay state. By authority, as in the famous case of Emmanuel Milingo in 2009, or at the request of the interested party, as happened in 2008 with the president-elect of Paraguay and former bishop of San Pedro, Fernando Lugo. 

It is foreseeable that another name that will disappear from the Annuario is that of the Canadian bishop emeritus of Antigonish, Raymond Lahey, who was removed from the clerical state one month ago after a civil sentence for possession of child pornography. 

Without a doubt, the majority of the “grave reasons” that lead to the early resignation of bishops concern moral questions. 

The list is rather long. In addition to the cases already mentioned are those of the U.S. archbishops of Atlanta in 1990 and of Santa Fe in 1993; of the archbishop of La Serena, Chile in 1997; of two bishops of Palm Beach in the U.S. in 1998 and 2002; of the bishop of Santa Rosa in the U.S. in 1999; of the Polish bishop of Poznan in 2002; of the archbishop of Milwaukee in the U.S. in 2002; of Lexington, also in the U.S., in 2002; of the Argentine archbishop of Santa Fe in 2002; of the Filipino bishop of Novaliches in 2003; of the Argentine bishop of Santiago del Estero in 2005; of the bishop of Zamora, Mexico in 2006; of the Hungarian military ordinariate in 2007; of the central African bishops of Bangui and Bossangoa in 2009; of the Brazilian bishop of Minas in 2009; of the Dutch bishop of Ngong in Kenya in 2009; of the Irish bishop of Benin City in Nigeria in 2010.

Particular media attention went to the cases of the Belgian bishop of Bruges in 2010 and of theGerman bishop of Trondheim, Norway in 2009. The cardinal of Vienna, Hans Hermann Groer, accused of molestation, resigned his post after reaching the age of 75 and without ever having admitted guilt. 

A different case is that of bishops who have had to resign early not because they committed gravely immoral acts, but under the accusation of having covered up the actions of their priests.

The priesthood is made up of men, not saints. We hope that one day all will be saints. To expect perfection is foolish but to strive for perfection is Christian. 

10 Day Blog Pause--Serra's 70th International Convention--Providence RI USA

This week from the 21-23 June 2012 Serra will hold its 70th Annual Convention in Providence Rhode Island.  The preparations are taking most of my time at this point and, rather than leave everyone hanging, I decided I will just pause posting for about a week so that I can focus on my primary obligations.

If anyone is interested in attending the convention, just fill out a registration form, pay the fee and come on over!

Thursday 21 June 2012

6:00 p.m.Opening Mass in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul

Principal Celebrant Most Reverend Thomas J. Tobin Bishop of Providence

Friday 22 June 2012

9:00 a.m.State of Serra President Thomas A. Wong

10:15 a m.Concurrent Workshops in Two Locations

12:05 p.m.Mass in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul

Principal Celebrant Most Reverend Felix Alaba Job Archbishop of Ibadan in Nigeria

2:45 p.m. General Session Most Reverend Thomas J. Tobin

4:00 p.m. General Session Reverend Father Joseph Scerbo, S.A. Thousand Oaks Mission in California

5:15 p.m. Concurrent Workshops in Two Locations

7:00 p.m. Holy Hour for Vocations Most Reverend Robert Evans and Benediction Auxiliary Bishop of Providence

Saturday 23 June 2012

8:30 a.m.Keynote Address

His Eminence Justin Cardinal Rigali, Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia

10:00 a.m.General Session Delegates’ Meeting

1:45 p.m.General Session Mr. David Ranghelli Director of “The Calling”

3:15 p.m.General SessionSerra around the World

5:00 p.m.Closing Mass in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul Principal Celebrant His Eminence Justin Cardinal Rigali

6:30 p.m.Reception and Annual Banquet Hilton Providence

Sunday 24 June 2012

10:00 a.m.Traveler’s Mass in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul

Principal Celebrant Reverend Father Ethelbert Ukpabi Archdiocese of Lagos in Nigeria

Still On the Verge...

Just to review the situation, last fall the Holy See proposed a doctrinal preamble for SSPX to agree upon for re-entry canonically into the Church. This past April, SSPX submitted a version with a few minor proposed changes. Since then, the CDF and the Holy Father studied the modification and the head of the CDF met with the head of the society Bishop Fellay yesterday.

Today's communique suggests that an agreement has more or less been reached, we are just waiting for a signature from Bishops Fellay. Here is the press release:

Vatican City, 14 June 2012 (VIS) – “On the afternoon of Wednesday 13 June, Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and president of the Pontifical Commission ‘Ecclesia Dei’, met with Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X who was accompanied by an assistant. Also present at the encounter were Archbishop Luis Ladaria S.J., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the Pontifical Commission ‘Ecclesia Dei’”, according to a communique released today by the Holy See Press Office. 

“The purpose of the meeting was to present the Holy See’s evaluation of the text submitted in April by the Society of St. Pius X in response to the Doctrinal Preamble which the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith had presented to the Society on 14 September 2011. The subsequent discussion offered an opportunity the provide the appropriate explanations and clarifications. For his part, Bishop Fellay illustrated the current situation of the Society of St. Pius X and promised to make his response known within a reasonable lapse of time.  

“Also during the meeting, a draft document was submitted proposing a Personal Prelature as the most appropriate instrument for any future canonical recognition of the Society. 

“As was stated in the communique released on 16 May 2012, the situation of the other three bishops of the Society of St. Pius X will be dealt with separately and singularly. 

“At the end of the meeting the hope was expressed that this additional opportunity for reflection would also contribute to reaching full communion between the Society of St. Pius X and the Apostolic See”.

Most suggest that a final response/signature from Fellay would take place after their general chapter coming up this July in Switzerland. What a drawn out process! 

To steal a line from a another blogger: Pope Benedict XVI is the pope of Christian Unity. 

Vatican Wants Control of Internet Domain ".catholic"

This would be revolutionary in a practical way because institutions would either seek to acquire their approval....or not...

I doubt the LCWR or Georgetown would be among the first applicants.

From Catholic News Service with my emphasis:

Vatican set to control new 'catholic' Internet domain

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican is in line to control the new Internet address extension ".catholic" and decide who is allowed to use it.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit corporation that coordinates the assignment of Internet domain names and addresses around the world, announced the Vatican's formal application June 13 in London.

The corporation is overseeing a huge expansion in the number of Internet extensions beyond the standard .com, .org., .edu and .gov. The extensions formally are known as generic top-level domains. The assignment of country-code top-level domains, like the Vatican's own .va, will not be affected by the change.

Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, told Catholic News Service that the Vatican's application to control the top-level domain .catholic "is a recognition of how important the digital space is for the church."

Controlling the top-level domain "will be a way to authenticate the Catholic presence online," Msgr. Tighe said. The Vatican plans to allow "institutions and communities that have canonical recognition" to use the extension, "so people online -- Catholics and non-Catholics -- will know a site is authentically Catholic." [There is the key. The Church is with this officially mirroring itself online.]

The Vatican does not plan to allow individual bloggers or private Catholics to use ".catholic," Msgr. Tighe said. Use of the domain would be limited to those with a formal canonical recognition: dioceses, parishes and other territorial church jurisdictions; religious orders and other canonically recognized communities; and Catholic institutions such as universities, schools and hospitals.

The Vatican filed four separate applications for new domain names, seeking to control ".catholic" and its equivalent in other languages using Latin letters, as well as the equivalent of the word "Catholic" in the Cyrillic, Arabic and Chinese alphabets.

The fee for each application was $185,000, which Msgr. Tighe said "is a lot of money, but if you think of the money you have to spend to maintain a church structure," and then consider how important the structure of the Catholic presence on the Internet is, it was a good investment. [That's nothing...but I'm sure there will be some secularist or modernist Catholics going on about how the Church doesn't feed enough poor people even though it single handedly feeds more impoverished than any other organization...]

Controlling the domain name will promote "a more cohesive and organized presence" of the church online, "so the recognized structure of the church can be mirrored in the digital space."

In addition to the fee, the Vatican and other applicants for new generic top-level domains had to fill out complicated forms and must submit to background checks to ensure they are the best representative of the name they chose and to prove they have the financial, technical and institutional stability to run the domain, are not involved in criminal activity and have no history of "cyber-squatting" -- registering a name more properly associated with someone else and trying to sell it at an inflated price.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has set up a process for resolving conflicting claims to the same or very similar names, although an auction of some extensions is possible. It said that of the 1,930 applications received, "there are 230 domain names for which at least two applications were submitted, involving a total of 751 applications."

The corporation did not announce any claim to .catholic besides that of the Vatican.

The vetting process is ongoing and even entities that appear to have a right to the name and the ability to run the new domain are unlikely to have anything online before spring 2013, according to the corporation.

When the Internet corporation began accepting applications in January for new Internet extensions, there were about two dozen approved generic top-level domains, including .info, which was added in 2000, and .travel, which was added in 2004.

The current expansion of top domains will be the largest in Internet history and is likely to include the names of large companies as well as cities and popular interests: for example, .nyc, .london, and .music all were expected to be among the new domains.

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

This is the first time I've heard a good idea come out of the Vatican with internet technology. This is a really good idea.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if somehow their application is rejected. Also, does anyone know how the name is secured into the future?

Until Battle for the Core gets canonical recognition there will be no Battleforthecore.catholic.  Looks strange at first....but I'm sure we'd get used to it.

Georgetown.catholic  I'm sure won't be applied for until some more time and other issues pass....

UPDATED: Vatican Holding the Course with U.S. Nuns

UPDATE 13/06/2012: Head of the CDF comments on the meeting with the LCWR.

Cardinal Levada on LCWR: “Dialogue of the Deaf” Not Acceptable

While striking a note of hope, Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, leaves no doubt that Holy See means business in its current effort to reform the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).

Speaking to the National Catholic Reporter shortly after a meeting in Rome between representatives of LCWR and Vatican officials closed, Cardinal Levada was unusually blunt, even suggesting that the LCWR—many of whose members play a role in Catholic higher education—could be decertified by the Vatican:

In the wake of Tuesday’s meeting with representatives of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Vatican official responsible for a recent crackdown said he still believes the relationship can work, but also warned of a possible “dialogue of the deaf,” reflected in what he sees as a lack of movement on the Vatican’s concerns.

Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, floated the possibility that should the LCWR not accept the reforms outlined in an April 18 assessment, the result could be decertifying it in favor of a new organization for women’s religious leaders in America more faithful to church teaching.

That a cardinal would even speak publicly about such a drastic step is an indication that matters may be reaching a crucial point. Cardinal Levada notes that the current series of talks between the Vatican and LCWR have been going on for four years. He does not seem pleased by some of LCWR’s actions during this period:

Specifically, Levada cited publication of an interview with Fr. Charles Curran, a moral theologian censured by the Vatican in the 1980s for his views on sexual morality, in a recent issue of the group’s Occasional Papersas well as decisions to invite Barbara Marx Hubbard, often described as a “New Age leader,” to address the upcoming August assembly meeting and to bestow an award on Immaculate Heart Sr. Sandra Schneiders, another theologian sometimes critical of Vatican policy.

Levada acknowledged he had given LCWR the go-ahead to proceed with its August assembly, but said he wasn’t aware at the time of the choice of speakers or honorees, and that “I wish they hadn’t made these choices.”

“Too many people crossing the LCWR screen, who are supposedly representing the Catholic church, aren’t representing the church with any reasonable sense of product identity,” Levada said.

Levada said while church officials cannot force LCWR to change course, if things come to an impasse, they can withdraw official recognition.

“What we can do, and what we’d have to do, is to say to them, ‘We will substitute a functioning group for yours,’ ” he said.

Cardinal Levada did not say whether, if this happens, the Vatican would turn to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, a group formed in 1992 in response to what U.S. nuns loyal to Rome regarded as LCWR’s problematical direction, or a new group would be founded.

Meanwhile, LCWR wasn’t giving much away:

After Tuesday’s meeting, [LCWR President Sister Pat] Farrell and [LCWR Executive Director Sister Janet] Mock released a statement describing the session as “open” and saying LCWR would ponder its further response in upcoming regional meetings and at an August national assembly. They declined to comment beyond the statement.

But Cardinal Levada’s remarks should have the nuns wondering if the time for endless dialogue is drawing to an end.

11/06/2012: The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith this morning had something to say about the Women's Leadership Conference of Women Religious's meeting which took place today.

STATEMENT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE CONCERNING THE MEETING AT THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH ABOUT THE DOCTRINAL ASSESSMENT OF THE LCWR

Today the Superiors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith met with the President and Executive Director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the United States of America. Most Rev. Peter J. Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle and the Holy See’s Delegate for the doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR, also participated in the meeting.

The meeting provided the opportunity for the Congregation and the LCWR officers to discuss the issues and concerns raised by the doctrinal Assessment in an atmosphere of openness and cordiality.

According to Canon Law, a Conference of Major Superiors such as the LCWR is constituted by and remains under the supreme direction of the Holy See in order to promote common efforts among the individual member Institutes and cooperation with the Holy See and the local Conference of Bishops (Cf. Code of Canon Law, cann. 708-709). The purpose of the doctrinal Assessment is to assist the LCWR in this important mission by promoting a vision of ecclesial communion founded on faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church as faithfully taught through the ages under the guidance of the Magisterium. [Source]

This statement stopped just short of using the dreaded work...."obedience." The Vatican is starting to lose the 'beating around the bush' type statements of the past 40 years in favor of getting the job done.  I like it. Why? Think about it...

In the military and in war the course of the world and lives in harms way are put at stake. They are taken from loved ones and that's why they take so seriously efficiency, virtue/strength and obedience. If those aspects go missing, people die - there is no screwing around because that will hurt the team. Souls of members of the Church and of the world die and go to hell. It's a fact that they are under attack (if you believe all this Christian 'rubbish'--yes Christ himself said it) by the prince of darkness why would you not take obedience and efficiency and leadership for eternal matters even more seriously?

Consider the words of Pope Pius XII at the opening of the North American College in Rome 

Related news: 
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=119772

UPDATED: Religious Freedom With A New Twist In Chicago

There's always one, isn't there...

Update: 12/06/2012 For photos from the religious freedom rallies, check out Catholic Vote.

Jack, Cadman, and Bridget F. in Minneapolis, MN

Music to start the religious freedom rally here in Chicago.

Setting up in San Francisco, CA. From Luis C.

Fr. Leonard Klein speaks in Wilmington, DE

From David F. in Pittsburgh, PA

From David F. in Pittsburgh, PA

Pro-life speaker Jill Stanek addresses the religious freedom rally in Chicago.

Huge crowd in Chicago, IL

NARAL holds a counter-protest at Chicago religious freedom rally.

More than 100 people, mostly women, gather the outside Charles R. Jonas Federal Building in Charlotte, NC. From Kimberly B.

From Marie H. in Traverse City, MI

From Bri M. in Denver, CO

From Angela P. in Valparaiso, IN

From Angela P. in Valparaiso, IN

Msgr. Deputla, Diocese of Peoria speaking at the County Courthouse in Peoria, IL. From Kevin N.

From Lilly H. in Sacramento, CA

From Jeremy M. in Lincoln, NE

From Vince T. in Pensacola, FL

The Most Rev. John Lavoir, bishop of New Ulm, MN, speaks in front of the federal courthouse in Minneapolis, MN. From Paul S.

From Margaret P. in Washington, DC

From John V. in Minneapolis, MN

From Luis C. in San Francisco, CA

From Karen W. in Santa Ana, CA

From Karen W. in Santa Ana, CA

At the rally in San Francisco, CA

At the rally in San Francisco, CA, all the speakers sing "God Bless America"

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, CA

Big crowd in San Francisco, CA

Sean, Paddy, and Brener in Chicago, IL. From Julie B.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.

Chicago, IL. From the Cantius Brothers.