After Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced Jan. 20 that the mandate for non-profit groups to provide health care that violates its conscience would not be rescinded, Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan said President Obama "has drawn a line in the sand." Here's the archbishop's complete statement http://bcove.me/ob5itz9v

The president considers himself a shrewd politician, but I wouldn't bet against Cardinal-designate Dolan on this one. Notice in his statement that he isn't merely addressing Catholics; his words are designed to appeal to a wider range of Americans concerned about freedom of conscience and religious liberty. The cardinal-designate might be assembling more troops for this battle than the president anticipated.

St. Paul would be proud: Here's a sample from Pittsburgh of how one bishop is reacting to the Obama decision http://diopitt.org/hhs-delays-rule-contraceptive-coverage. Expect that tone to be echoed by other bishops.

The Obama Administration has handed the U.S. bishops an issue on which they could – and should! – get Catholics fired up about their faith; I mean, really fired up – an Easter Vigil fire in their souls. This is an opportunity for the bishops to demonstrate apostolic fervor and to continue rebuilding the credibility that was shattered when the sexual abuse scandal broke in 2002. As they say at the ballpark, it's time to make some noise.

Sports as religion:  You can pontificate all you want about Prince Fielder's $214 million, nine-year  contract being immoral and sinful, but if you buy tickets to Major League Baseball games -- and I do -- you can't gripe. Once we decide to stop going to the ballpark and watching it on TV, the salaries will decrease. Until then, we'll have to accept the fact that we are paying athletes and their agents what they consider a "living wage."

Historic day: Yes, today is the Feast of SS. Timothy and Titus, but it is also the 50th anniversary of an action that took place in the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y. On this date, Bishop Joseph Burke deemed "The Twist" by Chubby Checker as being "impure" and banned it from all Catholic schools. However, there is no truth to the rumor that, in 1972, a dissident nun broke the ban and was forever known as Twisted Sister. C'mon, you didn't see that one coming?

Comment (0)

Grief counselors and bartenders must have been doing a great business yesterday and today throughout Wisconsin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNnurmyiv7E

Speaking of football, interesting email from Wisconsin Right to Life last week in which they provided recipients with a website http://www.wrtl.org/mask/index.aspx from which one could download a Tim Tebow mask to show support for the pro-life advocate.

Oh, regarding the QB whose success annoys John Elway, it might have been a foreshadowing that the Broncos wouldn't make it to the Super Bowl when last week I received an email from AthletePromotions, an agency that books athletes and other celebrities for appearances. It read, "Now is the time to book talent and entertainment for Super Bowl XVLI...." Tebow was on the list. As I mentioned in my last entry, he receives $50K-$70K per appearance. No wonder he keeps praising and thanking Jesus. 

Red hat: No surprise the morning of Jan. 6 when we learned that Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan is going to be Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan come Feb. 18. And that talk of him being the first American pope? PaddyPower, http://www.paddypower.com/bet/current-affairs/the-next-pope?ev_oc_grp_ids=967, has his odds of becoming the next pope at 80-1. Among cardinals residing in the U.S., Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, has the best odds at 25-1. The other resident American on the list is Cardinal Francis George of Chicago at 125-1. Today is also his 75th birthday.
Two Americans working in the Vatican -- Cardinal Raymond Burke and Cardinal William Levada -- are listed at 20-1 and 25-1 respectively.

Red Milwaukee: Two former Milwaukee archbishops, Samuel Stritch and Albert Meyer, were elevated to the College Cardinals while serving as archbishops of Chicago. The former received the honor in 1946; the latter in 1959 -- the same consistory in which Bishop Aloysius Muench, like Cardinal Meyer, a Milwaukee native and former Saint Francis Seminary rector, was made a cardinal.

Red ink: Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, who had already put the archbishop's residence on the market, had the unenviable task of announcing last week that the archdiocese is closing four high schools and 44 elementary schools. In response to those upset by his decision to close "our schools," he wrote, "No family can run on nostalgia and red ink." Every bishop in the U.S. might want to share those words with the people he shepherds.

Comment (0)

   Christmas. Yes, it's still the Christmas season, which goes through the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord on Jan. 9. The church makes this season last while retailers can't end it soon enough. Although meteorologists might talk about unseasonable weather, it is still seasonably Christmas.

Who'd have thought we'd go through one season (Advent) and into another (Christmas), and still not have snow? I'm not complaining; I'm just saying it doesn't happen too often. Can you imagine what Lent might be like? Or Easter?

And with your spirit: The new translation of the Roman Missal hasn't shaken the foundation of the church like some of the uninformed thought it would. We made it from Latin to English in 1965; we'll survive these few changes in wording, too. And a whole generation of Catholics will come to know the meaning of "consubstantial."

It pays to be Christian: Tim Tebow is garnering a lot of coverage for openly giving glory to God. In the off-season, expect Tebow to parlay that openness into lucrative speaking engagements. According to the people who book Tebow  for talks, the "going rate is $50,000 to $70,000" per appearance for the Denver QB. Give glory to God, and give the check to Tebow's agent.

I like Tebow's proclamation of faith, and I like that he had the Broncos winning. The former is welcome because we don't hear enough of it from athletes and because it drives sports writers and sportscasters crazy; the latter is welcome because it pains team president John Elway to see a QB he doesn't like doing so well.

Nothing dull about January: Sure, a lot of people are concerned about post-holiday depression, but how can you be depressed during National Polka Music Month?

May the grace of God be yours throughout all of 2012.

Comment (0)

The introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal didn't prove as traumatic as some predicted and as some have reported. Yes, a lot of mixed responses from congregants as they learn to say “And with your spirit” instead of “And also with you.”  Celebrants and worshipers will adapt. At least it’s English to English.

Full-course, pre-Thanksgiving liturgy: Every celebration of the Mass should evoke a "wow" from us, but never have I experienced a Thanksgiving Day-related Mass like the one I did on Wednesday, Nov. 23, at my boyhood parish, St. Matthias, Milwaukee. Come to think of it, rarely have I experienced a liturgy so celebratory from beginning to end. This one included the adult choir, children’s choir, bell choir and instrumentation. Add the sung Eucharistic Prayer and there was no doubt this was a celebration.

Would that every celebration of the Mass could be so uplifting. And – this is really something – I didn’t see anyone leave early, even though the celebration lasted an hour and 15 minutes.

Make that the Catholic Crystal Cathedral: The Diocese of Orange is now the proud owner of the building formerly known as the Crystal Cathedral. The diocese allegedly got a bargain at $57.5 million. The deal includes the 31-acre campus in Garden Grove, Calif.

Nice to see the Catholic Church buy something that was built for another purpose instead of selling one of its own buildings. Drive around Milwaukee County and you see buildings in which Catholics used to worship, e.g., St. Joseph, St. Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in West Allis, being used by other denominations. Makes one wonder whether that would have happened had we done a better job of evangelizing.

Hello, Bucks; goodbye parking spaces: The return of the NBA season means that when the Bucks start working out on Dec. 9, there will be less parking behind the Cousins Center. When the media arrive, they will park anywhere and everywhere and, based on observation, if the Bucks are serving food, more media will be in attendance.

As far as favorite professional sports teams in this market are concerned, I rank the Bucks behind the Packers, Brewers, Wave and Admirals – the latter two being in a tie for third. My disinterest in the Bucks stems from how arrogant people in their ticket office were in the late ‘80s, and how indifferent they were toward potential ticket-buyers. Not sure if things have changed; don't care to find out, either.

Worth celebrating: Maybe it's no coincidence that Spiritual Literacy Month begins this Thursday. With the revised translation of the Roman Missal and Advent upon us, it's a great time to become spiritually literate.


 

Comment (0)

The Holy See announced Nov. 21 that Cardinal Bernard F. Law, former archbishop of Boston, has been replaced as archpriest of the Rome Basilica of St. Mary Major, by Spanish Archbishop Santos Abril Castello. Cardinal Law turned 80 Nov. 4, at which time he stopped being a member of Roman Curia agencies and is no longer eligible to attend the conclaves that elect popes. Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Law to the position in May 2004, about two years after he resigned as Boston's archbishop amid criticism of his handling of clerical sexual abuse cases in the archdiocese.

When the sex abuse scandal broke at Penn State Nov. 5, I couldn't help but think that if there was a "Cardinal Law" in the university's midst, his name was Joe Paterno. I was a diocesan communications director when the church sex abuse scandal broke in 2002. At a meeting in May of that year I asked one of the bishops present, "Why doesn't Cardinal Law resign?"

Without hesitation, he responded, "The only bishop in this country who doesn't think Cardinal Law should resign is Cardinal Law."

Penn State didn't wait for Paterno to get the message; they fired him.

Is anyone listening? At least a year has been devoted to preparing people in the pews for the revised translation of the Roman Missal that goes into effect this Sunday, Nov. 27, and people are still asking, "Why?" Everyone should get that figured out by the time the fourth edition of the Roman Missal is published. In the meantime, you can read more about it here http://chnonline.org/news/local/10802-roman-missal.html.

By the way, those who have been calling it "the new Roman Missal" are incorrect, according to Dean Daniels, coordinator of the office of worship for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He told me during a recent interview, "There is nothing new about it. The Roman Missal is the Roman Missal."

Comment (0) Read More...

If the rash of "Hail Mary pass" references wasn't bad enough after the Wisconsin-Michigan State game, the litany following the Badgers' loss to Ohio State means sports writers and announcers are either full of faith or out of clichés. If Wisconsin loses the same way to Purdue Saturday, will a writer or announcer term the Badgers' streak the start of a sorrowful mystery?

Clarification: In my last posting, I noted that the "Hail Mary pass" reference dates to Nov. 23, 1984 when Doug Flutie's last second pass led Boston College to victory over Miami. Now, I learn, it was a staunch Catholic, Roger Staubach, who made the phrase part of sports lexicon. Following an NFL playoff game on Dec. 28, 1975, in which he threw a last second, game-winning pass to Drew Pearson, the QB was asked about the play. He responded, "I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary." And the sports media haven't been able to come up with a less offensive description of a desperation pass in nearly 36 years.

Mary, Queen of Victory: This has nothing to do with football, but during a children's Halloween costume party held at a public school in suburban Washington, D.C. on Saturday, a 10-year-old girl dressed as the Blessed Mother was one of the winners. Even the super heroes and heroines couldn't top that.  Sports as religion: It is interesting that Marquette has supposedly been talking to the "Catholic" members of the Big East about their future conference plans. Fifty years ago, half of Marquette's schedule was against "Catholic" schools, i.e., Loyola, De Paul, Saint Louis, Xavier, Detroit and Creighton.

Aside from Xavier, and maybe De Paul, none of the others have the drawing power today of Georgetown, Villanova and St. John's. Thus, unless the athletic directors and marketing people can figure out how it would make their schools a lot of money, don't expect to see a "Catholic" conference in your basketball future. 

What the bell was going on out there? I was glad to read that the historic bell stolen from the grounds of St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco on Oct. 23 was recovered Oct. 26 in West Oakland. According to Catholic News Service, the 5,330-pound bell is 80 percent copper. Oh, the price for scrap copper is $1.50 per pound; more than $2.50 in some parts of the country. Much more than "The Gong Show" prize money, but evidence that some crooks have had their bells rung if they would stoop so low as to steal a church bell.

Something to celebrate: All Saints Day – a celebration for those in heaven and on earth – is a great way to start National Inspirational Role Models Month. And this heads-up for our aforementioned sports media friends: Wednesday, Nov. 3 is Cliché Day.

Comment (0)

The Center for Sports Cliché Control reported an outbreak of "Hail Mary pass" this past weekend following the Wisconsin-Michigan State game. Writers and sportscasters, locally and nationwide, overwhelmed readers and audiences with the most offensive, religion-related sports cliché ever as they described the conclusion of the Badgers-Spartans contest.

The CSCC noted that the sight and sound of the "Hail Mary pass" cliché follows no pattern other than to be written or broadcast when a long, desperation pass results in a game-changing touchdown. While it strikes the college and professional games numerous times every season, there is no vaccine to combat it. With more than half of their respective seasons remaining, "Hail Mary pass" cliché users could have several opportunities in which to infect even larger populations of sports fans.

While studies are inconclusive, CSCC studies indicate that treatment is untested and that there is no cure for the sports media's addiction to the "Hail Mary pass" cliché. Thus, it is expected that practitioners in the sports media field will continue their cliché-ridden ways when it comes to describing the aforementioned football occurrence.

Sports historians cannot agree on the origins of the term, but many attribute it to the Boston College-Miami game on Nov. 23, 1984, when, with no time remaining, BC quarterback Doug Flutie completed a 49-yard touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan and defeated the Hurricanes 47-45 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ykWbu2Gl0.

While Catholic leadership has not spoken officially or publicly about the term, individual Catholics are encouraged to remember the importance of the words "Hail Mary" in their history, and to say them prayerfully, especially for sports writers and announcers who perpetuate the "Hail Mary pass" cliché and who are in need of divine help in order to recover from it.

Comment (0)

This past Sunday, the only thing I heard people say more than "Peace be with you" was "Go, Brewers!" Combine sunshine with colorful leaves, add three Bob Uecker home run calls, two Wayne Larrivee touchdown calls, and Brewer and Packer victories, and one just experienced some heaven. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjb_6Yo1z-U&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL75B745B947DCC1D2.

New package, same message: The U.S. bishops issued their quadrennial political responsibility statement last week. If you read, understood and put into practice what they wrote in 2007, then all you need to do is read what Catholic News Service described as "the brief Introductory Note" that accompanies the reissued "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship."

Like previous political responsibility statements -- the bishops have been issuing them since the 1976 election, readers will take what they want from this one to justify their views. And the bishops will spend much of September and October 2012 explaining what they really mean. And, hopefully, all of the bishops will be "on message," as the politicians' handlers spin the bishops' words to their respective candidates' benefit.

Collecting warmth: The annual Caps4Kids collection is underway. Begun by your Catholic Herald in cooperation with the St. Vincent de Paul Society in 2005, its partners now include the Pallottine Priests and Brothers and Big Buck Country 106.9. It's all about warmth -- warmth for the heads and hands of children in need.

On Saturday, Nov. 12, 10-noon, there will be a Caps4Kids weigh-in at St. Vincent Pallotti Church, 201 N. 76th St., Milwaukee. Bishop Don Hying will be there, as will Cindy Huber, from Big Buck Country, to help weigh all the NEW caps, gloves and mittens we collect. It may be sunny now, but remember, there's no such thing as a mild winter. For more information, call (414) 462-7837, Ext. 104.

Speaking of winter not being mild, this is National Chestnut Week. In the colder days to come, those will be roasting on an open fire. Listen to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ1PCP6B0 and then call the number above.

Comment (0)

I didn't hear if Packers head coach Mike McCarthy had a response to Randall Cobb's explanation of why he didn't down a kickoff eight yards deep in the end zone on the opening night of the season. Cobb explained the decision, which resulted in a 108-yard return for a touchdown, this way:

"I was just trusting in God. He told me to bring it out. I'm not supposed to bring that out - I'm not. Some things are logical and some things are just the power of God, and that definitely was the power of God telling me to bring that out. He gave me great teammates to help me block down field and we just made it happen."

If special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum's playbook now includes a "God formation" on kickoffs, look for more scoring. Note to God: Please talk to the defense about those 34 points and 477 yards they allowed.

Brotherly words from the Archdiocese of Brotherly Love: In the homily at the Mass during which he was installed as archbishop of Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles Chaput said, "My dear brother bishops, it’s crucial for those of us who are bishops not simply to look like bishops but to truly be bishops."
During his "Saturday Night Live" days, Billy Crystal, as Fernando, might have countered, "But you know, bishops, it's not only who you are, but how you look, and you look mahvelous."

Next week to Godliness: National Clean Hands Week begins Sunday, Sept. 18.

Comment (0)

... Daughters Grow Up to be Servers" might become a selection in the hymnal at SS. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix. That's because the rector, Fr. John Lankeit, has determined that only boys can be altar servers. You can read the story at http://www.chnonline.org/news/nation-world/10605-phoenix-cathedrals-policy-change-on-altar-servers-ignites-discussion.html. I take it Fr. Lankeit isn't on his diocese's evangelization committee.

New doctor to be in the house: Pope Benedict XVI announced Aug. 20 that he will name St. John of Avila as the 34th doctor of the church on a yet-to-be-determined date.  This is the second "of Avila" person to reach doctor status. St. Teresa was so designated in 1970, and was the first woman to receive that honor.

Bishops, Brewers & Brats: When he signed on last March to help your Catholic Herald host its tailgate party, he was Fr. Don Hying. Thanks to Pope Benedict XVI, he became a bishop, and in the meantime Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki got on board with the promotion and thus, "Bishops, Brewers & Brats," the name given to the event by my brother, Daryl -- was born. More than 200 Catholic Herald readers participated and helped the younger bishop celebrate his 48th birthday, which was duly noted on the Miller Park scoreboard during the Brewers' 5-1 loss to the Dodgers on Aug. 18.

Do you remember? It was 33 years ago tomorrow, Aug. 26, that Cardinal Albino Luciani was elected Pope John Paul I.
 

Comment (0)