Public Relations Director Defends Georgetown University Against Canon Law Petition

Rachel Pugh

Georgetown University has responded to the canon law petition submitted last week to Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.'s Cardinal Donald Wuerl by William Peter Blatty, author of "The Exorcist," calling for the University to comply with canon law or be stripped of its right to describe itself as a Catholic institution.

"Our Catholic and Jesuit identity on campus has never been stronger," Rachel Pugh, director of communications told the student newspaper The Hoya.  

"Academically, we remain committed to the Catholic intellectual tradition. We are proud of the countless ways that our students put their faith into action through service and justice programs."

Link (here) to the Catholic Education Daily

Chris Matthews Did Not Interview Pope Francis

I recently received a chain email about an alleged interview with Pope Francis prior to the papal conclave by Chris Matthews of MSNBC fame. The email contains the compelling and well written interview, yet is completely fictitious. 

Here is a sample.

REPORTER: Welcome Cardinal.

BERGOGLIO: Thank you. Happy to speak with you.

REPORTER: Well, let me get into it directly. Last conclave, you were almost elected Pope. Can this happen again?

BERGOGLIO: What? That I will almost be the Pope, again?

REPORTER: No. Will you be the next Pope?

BERGOGLIO: Friend, I’m only jesting with you. I understand the question. I will not be the next Pope.

REPORTER: Why not?

BERGOGLIO: I chose not to. God has someone else in mind I’m certain.

REPORTER: But you would take the job if it were offered.

BERGOGLIO: I think not.

REPORTER: Why not.

BERGOGLIO: I believe I’m too embroiled in the secular fiasco. It is a spiritual job and I’m a soldier. Look at the nature of power. In Europe first and now in America, elected men have taken it upon themselves to indebt their people to create an atmosphere of dependency. And why? For their own selfish need to increase their own personal power. I’ve been a keen observer of the effect this has on the people, especially the poor. They are very good at creating poverty where there is no reason to explain it. My job is try to alleviate poverty and if that means to oppose the ‘cause then I will not be Pope.

REPORTER: But you are worried you would be a spend thrift pope? 

BERGOGLIO: Friend. Where did you go to school?

REPORTER: La Salle College High School in Pennsylvania and….

BERGOGLIO: And after that?

REPORTER: College of the Holy Cross.

BERGOGLIO: They told me you were Catholic. Once elected the Pope is by virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope is preserved from the possibility of error. God would change any spend thrift politician into a responsible Pope. I’m just saying I’m not that man.

REPORTER: So what is your job?

BERGOGLIO: My job is to ask you, “why are men creating poverty?”

REPORTER: What do you mean?

BERGOGLIO: I mean that poverty is part of the natural condition and that is bad enough. But my task is to prevent the aggravation of this condition. The ideology that adds to the poverty must be denounced. I have and this is the reason I will not be Pope. I have a saying for myself, “No more poverty than God originally intended in the fall from Grace.”

REPORTER: Oh.

BERGOGLIO: It is a spiritual choice and I’m a political person. I’m sorry. I know you will make more money from this interview if I’m Pope. Or want to be Pope. But I’m sorry. I can’t help you. God has already chosen someone anyway. Right? You learned this in school? 

Link (here) to the full fictitious piece

This is an except from a website entitled, Truth or Fiction

TruthOrFiction.Com has found no evidence of this being true. A search of the MSNBC website found no such interview in the archives and inquiries sent to Matthews have yet to be responded.  According to a March 24, 2013 article in London's Telegraph, the transcript of the interview was published on the website of the Roman Catholic diocese in Salford but was later taken down because it could not be verified. Salford is a city in England that is East of Manchester. There are indications in the transcript that this may be a hoax.
Matthews is a Roman Catholic as well as a professional interviewer. A professional would not have begun an interview by addressing a Catholic Cardinal with "Welcome Cardinal." The correct protocol when addressing a Catholic Cardinal is "Your Eminence," according to "How to Address Church Officials" found posted on the website Catholiceducation.org. Cardinals may also be addressed by "Your Lordship" but it would be considered bad form to say "Welcome Cardinal" without including the clergyman's last name. Another clue that this could possibly be a hoax is that the spelling of Matthew's name is incorrect in the transcript of the forwarded email.

Link (here)

16 Jesuits Priests Recieve Holy Orders

Nearly three months after the historic election of the first Jesuit Pope, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the largest order of priests and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church, will ordain 16 new priests this month in the United States. Ordination ceremonies are being held in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Chicago. At Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y., the Most Rev. Thomas Donato, Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, N.J., will preside. At Holy Name of Jesus Church in New Orleans, the Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans, will preside. At Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Los Angeles, the Most Reverend John C. Wester, Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, will preside. At Madonna della Strada Chapel at Loyola University Chicago, the Most Rev. George V. Murry, S.J., Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, will preside. Before entering the Society of Jesus, the ordinands worked in nonprofit community service, higher education, state government, documentary film production and biomedical research, and several taught in high schools and colleges. A diverse group, the ordinands range in age from 32 to 53 and hail from Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.

The Most Rev. Thomas H. Smolich, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference, said, “This is a joyful time for both the Society of Jesus and the Catholic Church as we welcome 16 new brothers being ordained this month. Their call to priestly ministry is as varied as their hometowns and former occupations, but they have one thing in common: a desire to dedicate themselves to the Jesuit mission of serving the Church where the need is greatest.”

Those called to Catholic priesthood in the Society of Jesus undergo extensive training – from the moment novices enter the Society until they’re ordained -- a process that can take anywhere from eight to 12 years. Following ordination, the new priests will serve in parishes and teach in Jesuit high schools and universities, among other assignments.

The 16 Jesuit priests being ordained this year can be found (here) at the Digital Journal

Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., "Have You Ever Met Anybody Who Would Agree With That?"

Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J.

In an August  5, 2010 video interview with NonprofitNews Jesuit Fr. Greg Boyle was asked about the overturning of the referendum to ban homosexual ‘marriage’ Proposition 8.  

Fr. Boyle replied:

These things are actually easier than people make them out to be it seems to me. I think it’s always important to kind of say, ‘how does God see sexual orientation.’ Does God feel like that same-sex marriage could happen? I don’t think anybody who has a connection to God and God’s understanding and depth of compassion who’s gonna say no. And this is contrary to the party line.”

Fr. Boyle returned to the question later in the interview, speaking of opposing same-sex ‘marriage’ as “demonizing people.”  He said, “You cannot demonize people [whom] you know. It obliterates that forever. So, that’s important in all these issues, gay marriage, etc. All you need to know is the gay couple who have kids, and that obliterates forever anybody’s inclination to say this is wrong. “ Fr. Boyle also ridiculed the Catholic Church’s refusal to ordain women to the priesthood.  “You know the Vatican just said that the ordination of women is a grave sin,” he said. “Have you ever met anybody who would agree with that, I mean my 85-year-old mother doesn’t…”

Link (here) to Lifesite News

Link (here) to read about the new scientific study of identical twins on the "born this way" topic debunking DNA links to sodomy.

Arizona Jesuit Alumni, Men And Women For Others

Bishop Thomas Paprocki

Bishop Thomas Paprocki faced a hostile Jesuit alumni group during a May talk on the Church's teachings on homosexuality, reports LifeSiteNews. 

Two thousand members of the Jesuit Alumni in Arizona - graduates of 28 Jesuit universities and 47 Jesuit high schools, now living in Arizona - sponsored the event at Phoenix's Shadow Rock United Church of Christ. It featured talks by Bishop Paprocki and dissenting New Ways Ministry leader Sister Jeannine Gramick. Bishop Paprocki defended the Church's teachings on homosexuality before a hostile crowd, and shared that his own secretary had been murdered by a homosexual activist. 

During his talk, which argued in favor of traditional marriage, Bishop Paprocki received heckling and insults from the crowd. While the event was titled "Two Catholic Views on Marriage," Bishop Paprocki corrected that error. "There is only one authentic Catholic view," said Bishop Paprocki. "There are two views being presented here tonight by two people who are baptized Catholics, but only one of those views, the one I will present, is consistent with Catholic teaching, while the other view clearly dissents from Catholic teaching." Bishop Paprocki began by telling the crowd how his secretary, a mother of four, had been murdered by a homosexual man after she suggested that he change his lifestyle.

Said Bishop Paprocki:

A Google search on the Internet for the name 'Matthew Shepard' at one time produced 11,900,000 results. Matthew Shepard was a 21-year-old college student who was savagely beaten to death in 1998 in Wyoming. His murder has been called a hate crime because Shepard was gay. A similar search on the Internet for the name “Mary Stachowicz” yielded 26,800 results. In 2002, Mary Stachowicz was also brutally murdered, but the circumstances were quite different. Mary, the gentle, devout 51-year-old Catholic mother of four urged her co-worker, Nicholas Gutierrez, 19, to change his gay lifestyle. Infuriated by this, as he later told police, he allegedly beat, stabbed and strangled her to death and then stuffed her mangled body in a crawl space in his apartment, located above a Chicago funeral home, where they both worked. I know about Mary Stachowicz, not from the Internet, but personally, because Mary was my secretary at the parish where I was pastor before I was named a Bishop. She worked part time at the funeral home and part time at the parish. One afternoon, she didn’t show up at her usual starting time. This was unusual because she was always on time. A call to the funeral home disclosed that her car was still in their parking lot and her purse with her car keys was still at her desk, but there was no sign of Mary. As Mary’s family and friends prayed and worried about her disappearance, Gutierrez prayed with them. Three days later, her mutilated body was discovered in a crawl space in his apartment. Both murders were senseless and brutal, and I condemn them both unequivocally. However, the fact that there are over eleven and a half million more Internet stories about Matthew Shepard than Mary Stachowicz indicates where popular sentiment lies today on the question of same-sex relationships. Shepard’s story has received such widespread attention because his homosexuality was the chief motive for his murder. Mary’s murder was widely ignored by the media, despite the fact that she died as a martyr for her faith.

"The Church’s teaching on homosexuality and marriage is Catholic because it is true, not true because it is Catholic," said Bishop Paprocki. Bishop Paprocki’s full address is available here.
Link (here) to Catholic Education Daily

New TV Jesuit

Discovery en Español announced June 4, a new investigative series, “Misterios De La Fe” – “Mysteries of the Faith,” which will take viewers through the analysis of the scientific evidence behind 16 possible miracles. Hosts Gabriela Calzada and Jesuit Father Juan Carlos Henríquez, travel to Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico taking in the real life accounts of these alleged miracles.From a rain of blood, and images that cry real tears, to people who experience the Stigmata, Calzada, an investigative journalist, and Father Henríquez visit the places where these miracles are alleged to have occurred. Taking into account the moving human stories that surround developments that the faithful consider to be miraculous, the eight-part series explores some of the most fascinating phenomena in the world of religion.

Do miracles truly exist?: Discovery en Español investigates

Photo credit: 

Courtesy of Discovery en Español

The mysteries examined in the series include:

• Rain of Blood (Colombia)
• The Miracle of the Virgin of Juquila (Mexico)
• Stigmata (Mexico and Brazil)
• The Miracles of La Santa Muerte, or Holy Death (Argentina)

In each case, Calzada and Henríquez try to put together the pieces of the puzzle, aided by interviews with specialists and scientists. They speak to the locals to get their version of the story and analyze the personal and social issues behind these unusual cases. “Misterios De La Fe” will premiere on Discovery en Español at 9 p.m. on June 13.

Link (here) 

Fr. George Belgarde, S.J. Defending The Faith

Fr. George Belgarde, S.J. Blessing with Holy Water at a Sunday Mass

A worker at a Buddhist temple near Albany sued a Catholic shrine next door, asking it to remove a log barrier from a shared access road, and an apology for the inconvenience. The road closure is "unauthorized" and contrary to the doctrine of "love your neighbor," Yik Cheng claims in a pro se complaint in Montgomery County Supreme Court. Cheng, a religious worker at the Western Supreme Buddha Temple in Fultonville, about an hour west of Albany, sued the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs Inc., Father George Belgarde, a Jesuit who is director of the shrine, and Larry Steiger, superintendent of buildings and grounds. Cheng claims the defendants blocked the access road with tree trunks. The shrine was once the Mohawk Indian village of Ossernenon, where three Jesuit missionaries were martyred in the 1640s, according to the group's website. The village was the birthplace of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be made a Catholic saint.

Established in 1885, the 400-acre shrine includes five chapels, two museums and a Jesuit cemetery. It is a site for pilgrimages and masses, and last year hosted thousands who came to celebrate Tekakwitha's canonization in October. The Western Supreme Buddha Temple is in the shrine's former retreat house, which an affiliated group, the American Sports Committee, bought from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany in 2005.

According to The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, the American Sports Committee, a group of Chinese Buddhist missionaries who teach yoga, paid $500,000 for the three-story retreat house and 76 acres of land.
According to the complaint, the blocked road is the primary access to the temple, although a narrow stone road the Buddhists built to the south also leads there. The Gazette, which reported on the barrier in April, said the stone road is best used with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The newspaper said a letter sent to the Buddhists indicated that shrine officials were concerned the shared road was deteriorating, and so would limit use to shrine visitors. The tree trunks were laid across the road April 1, according to the complaint, along with a "Closed" sign. Other signs and yellow tape were added the next week. "Father Belgarde personally confronted the plaintiff and another member of the organization, who did not know the road was blocked, and reacted angrily when we tried to enter the shrine from our accustomed route, and spoke angrily when we approached him to inquire about the situation," Cheng says in the complaint.

"Father Belgarde took an openly hostile stance toward our temple and our members, and refused to discuss or consider a compromise like his predecessors," Cheng adds.

Belgarde became director of the shrine in 2011, according to the shrine's website. Cheng claims the road closure violates First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and public assembly. "Freedom of religion inevitably includes the access to a place for the purpose of worship," the complaint states. It claims the "Closed" sign at the barrier will confuse tourists who may think the temple is closed, and will discourage shrine pilgrims who might want to visit the temple, too. "The barricade erected by Father Belgarde and Larry Steiger will both physically and symbolically cut off our interaction with the visitors and pilgrims who come to the shrine and leave both sides more isolated," the complaint states. Cheng wants the defendants ordered to remove the signs and barrier, and a permanent injunction to prohibit a future road closing. Cheng also seeks court costs, legal fees, and an apology.

Link (here)

Jeff Mirus, " The Renewal Of The Jesuits, For Obvious Reasons, Is Of The Highest Importance For The Renewal Of The Church"

Convicted and now former Jesuit Donald McGuire

In the wake of the abuse scandal, when the Vatican reiterated in no uncertain terms that men with same-sex begun to pay out immense funds, for such a small group of men, to settle claims of sexual abuse. Few doubt that this is the tip of a very large iceberg. Nonetheless, one of the greatest scandals is that the Jesuits still tend to set the tone for Catholic higher education in many parts of the world. For this reason, their influence among Catholic intellectuals, social leaders and politicians is far more pervasive than it should be, and the formation received at a good many wayward Jesuit schools enables such leaders to claim to be fully Catholic while actually denying the Faith. For this reason, I have long been an advocate of suppressing and then reconstituting the Order with those members who are willing to make a public commitment to the founding charism, including absolute obedience to the Pope. But there may now be another way.

attraction were not to be admitted to the priesthood, the Jesuits were among the loudest in denunciation and resistance. This surprised nobody, as anecdotal evidence of intense sympathy for the gay lifestyle, and even the protection of pedophiles among their own members, was already the stuff of legend. Now the Order has

We must remember that there are still Jesuits, including a few youngish recruits, who have remained uninfected by the related diseases of secularism and Modernism. Up to now they have been held in severe check. Because corrupt superiors in a religious order can make things very difficult for members who wish to be faithful to the Church (as Pope Francis himself has experienced), and because this state of affairs invariably discourages deeply committed and orthodox young men from entering the order, renewal from the top down becomes very important.

In other words, somebody somehow has to open up avenues of preferment to those who are sound—by which I mean not only intelligent but doctrinally and morally faithful to Christ. The leadership of the Society has been notoriously difficult to penetrate, but when—ecclesiastically speaking—the highest and most influential Jesuits are demonstrably outside the Order’s internal governing structure, interesting opportunities may well emerge. I am not yet making fresh predictions. But the key question is this: How can the Church bring herself to the point at which she can effectively guide the Jesuits once again? That is why the election of Pope Francis, and even the appointment of Fr. Ryan, are so interesting. We should watch for similar moves elsewhere, and take careful note of what happens over the next few years. The renewal of the Jesuits, for obvious reasons, is of the highest importance for the renewal of the Church.

Link (here) to the full and lengthy piece by Jeff Mirus at Catholic Culture

Pere Marquette, Was Reburied On June 8, 1677

Pere Marquette Memorial Shrine in Ludington, MI

Father Jacques Marquette, better known as Pere Marquette, was reburied on June 8, 1677, according to American-Indian funeral customs. The French-born Jesuit priest — who explored the Mississippi River and the shores of Lake Michigan, founded St. Ignace and ministered to Indians — died somewhere along the Lake Michigan coast at age 37 on May 18, 1675, and was buried there. However, two years later, Kiskakons and Iroquois disinterred him and put his cleaned bones in the sun to dry before putting them in a birch-bark box. They transported Marquette’s remains in a convoy of 30 canoes to St. Ignace, where two priests rowed out to meet them. The pair asked the Native Americans to confirm it was Marquette, and then they recited the “De Profundis” psalm, according to Reuben Gold Thwaites’ book, “Father Marquette.” After the funeral rites, Marquette was lowered into a small vault in the middle of the church, the book says, “where it rests as the guardian angel of our (Ottawas) mission, The savages often come to pray over his tomb.” The small church was destroyed in a fire in 1700 and nobody knew where the beloved priest was buried until 177 years later, when the then-parish priest happened upon bone fragments with pieces of a birch-bark box.

Link (here) to the Detroit Free Press

I Was In St. Louis To Explore Becoming A Priest

Former Jesuit Tino Paz

Lynn Casmier-Paz and Augustine (who goes by Tino) Paz met in 1981 at St. Louis University, where he was

studying philosophy with the intention of becoming a Jesuit priest. They have been married 30 years and live in central Florida, where she is an associate professor of English and he has worked with various social service organizations. The couple has three adult children. A condensed and edited version of our conversation follows:

How did you meet?

Tino: Through her brother Stephen, who was a dorm mate of mine. Stephen invited me to spend time with his family at Thanksgiving. We’re both from large families, so I fit in quite well. And he had three beautiful sisters, so that was a bonus.

Lynn: The first time I met Tino was when I’d come home to St. Louis for Christmas from Loyola University in Chicago and went to visit my brother in the dorm. I walked in and there was this guy with a scruffy beard, having this intense debate with Stephen and holding his own. I immediately respected his courage.

Was the attraction immediate?

Lynn: There is no doubt I was attracted. He was a strange character. He came from Florida and he would wear a heavy jacket and flip-flops. His face and feet were really tan even in the middle of winter. He was also the only Cuban-American I had met.

Tino: I found her very interesting and good looking, but I was in St. Louis to explore becoming a priest. We had great conversations, but it really gradually developed into a romantic relationship. Stephen and Lynn and I really just hung out a lot until he left to study abroad in France.

Had you always wanted to be a priest?

Tino: No, I was studying to become a chemical engineer in Florida when my grandmother, who was a very spiritual person and a great influence on me, died. I decided that if I didn’t do something to make her proud I would be throwing my life away. I told my dad I was changing my major and he didn’t speak to me for weeks. But I needed a change of scenery and a good friend’s father had graduated from St. Louis University. Philosophy was my declared major.

How did the relationship evolve?

Lynn: Tino had come to become a priest. I respected that. But when my brother left for France, we were still in St. Louis together; we were able to share things with each other and speak more intimately. We were always together on campus.

When did it feel like more than a friendship?

Tino: We had all our meals together on campus and we hung out all the time, but I think the first date was the first time I decided to kiss Lynn. We spent a lot of time just talking; all very platonic, but at one point we were talking outside the dorm and I just kissed her; that was a big turning point for me.

Lynn: We went to the St. Louis arch because he had never been. We were together all day and night; had dinner and went to our separate dorms at 2 a.m. and that was the first date, the turning point. I had so much fun.

How did that affect your path to the priesthood?

Tino: When I had my introduction with the seminary director, one of the things he asked me was if I was dating and had I dated. I told him I had, but was not currently, and he encouraged me not to withdraw from romantic relationships at this point. That created room for possibility for me; kissing her wasn’t going to decide things one way or the other and I could explore my relationship with her. Toward the end of college it became clear that my options were to go into the priesthood or marry Lynn — and I wanted to marry Lynn. I wanted to make a life commitment.

The proposal?

Lynn: We were walking back to the dorms, laughing about something, and he said, “I want to marry you.” He looked me right in the face and I said, “Hell, no.” I didn’t take it seriously. This was early in the fall of ’82 and we just kept going, but that’s when things got more intensely romantic.

Tino: It was awkward. I realized that I wanted to do it, but I presented it in a way like she almost didn’t have a choice; she didn’t take me seriously and I didn’t argue. We continued our relationship and I wasn’t going anywhere. Eventually she would come around. It was probably a couple of months at most.

How did your families feel?

Lynn: He told my mother, who was very religious. Tino had a special, pious relationship with her. I think she knew better than to question his leaving the path to priesthood. She’d seen him with me all the time, but I think also didn’t feel it was her position to ask.

Tino: The biggest issue was that Lynn is African-American. I knew that wouldn’t go over well with my family. My father felt that I was subjecting myself to racism. That was the one thing that made me think about whether or not they would welcome and embrace Lynn. Father John Kavanagh at the university was the one who helped me to understand that they may not, but that if this was the person I loved and I was not with her I would have bigger regrets. They were resistant until we set a date; then they knew this was serious and they all came to my wedding. Stephen was surprised; he didn’t know until we were engaged that our relationship had evolved.

And leaving the path to priesthood?

Tino: I realized that I could still work in service and continue to be spiritually grounded without becoming a formal cleric. We are all called to serve on different levels.

The wedding?

Lynn: Tino graduated in the spring and we got married July 23, 1983. It was so low budget and it was so hot, like 103 degrees. We had the reception at my mother’s house with a boom box in the backyard. It was catered by our postman. 

Link (here) to the full interview at the NYT

Fordham Univerity Property Swap

A majestic Gold Coast mansion St. Ignatius Jesuit Retreat House in Manhasset used as a retreat house by

Jesuit priests for the last half-century is close to being sold, and a rare chapel inside where a future pope once prayed will be saved and given to Fordham University, the Roman Catholic order said Friday. The 87-room medieval-style mansion in Manhasset, considered one of the grandest on Long Island, went into contract about two months...

Link (here)

Archbishop John Nienstedt, "I Have Been Impressed With His Scholarship, His Teaching Abilities And His Organizational Skills.”

Archbishop John Nienstedt

Jesuit Father Peter Ryan has been named the new executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Doctrine and Canonical Affairs. The selection of a Jesuit spiritual director, teacher and scholar, who has defended Church teaching in his academic work, will draw renewed scrutiny of the U.S. bishops’ efforts to address problematic theological texts, while also recruiting academics to help advance the New Evangelization. Father Ryan’s primary responsibility is to serve the USCCB doctrine committee, which provoked a furor among some American theologians after it issued a 2011 statement strongly criticizing a popular undergraduate textbook written by Sister of St. Joseph Elizabeth Johnson, a theologian at Fordham University and the former president of the Catholic Theological Society. The USCCB announced on May 28 that Father Ryan would replace Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, who had signaled his decision to resign earlier this year.

Archbishop John Nienstedt of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the chairman of the doctrine committee, told the Register that Father Ryan first came to his attention “eight years ago, when we worked on the Vatican seminary visitation together. I have been impressed with his scholarship, his teaching abilities and his organizational skills.”

Archbishop Nienstedt also underscored the distinctive mission of the committee: “Unlike other USCCB committees, doctrine is less pro-active in terms of initiatives, serving, rather, as a resource to the bishops in clarifying doctrinal issues.” However, the committee has also reached out to scholars, organizing a March 2013 exchange between bishops and academics that addressed the need to promote the New Evangelization and focused on potential areas of collaboration.

“Father Ryan’s work as a moral theologian will prepare him for his duties as the director of the committee on doctrine of the USCCB. Much of the committee’s work will deal with questions emerging from the field of moral theology,” Brian Benestad, a professor of theology at the University of Scranton, told the Register.

“He is a very fair person who will listen carefully to what theologians have to say about their approach to theology and to the various theological issues that are being discussed today. Thinking with the Church will always be an important source of guidance for Father Ryan,” added Benestad, who has served with the Jesuit on the executive board of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.

Link (here) to the National Catholic Register

Fr. Nawras Sammour, S.J. "We Need To Step Back And Realize That We Went Too Far,"

Fr. Nawras Sammour, S.J.

For Jesuit Father Nawras Sammour, the ongoing conflict in Syria is a professional challenge and a personal "have all left." Tens of thousands of Syrians have died and millions have been displaced in more than two years of fighting between President Bashar Assad's government and rebels seeking his resignation. "Sometimes I can't believe we Syrians have reached that level of violence," Father Sammour said. "I'm shocked. Shocked. "We need to step back and realize that we went too far," he told Catholic News Service May 31 during an interview at JRS headquarters near the Vatican. In a situation that is so tense and so divided, particularly among different Muslim groups, Father Sammour said Syria's small Christian communities may be frightened. But with Christian aid programs and partnerships with others providing assistance, they also enjoy a certain respect as non-partisans looking only to help others. Father Sammour is Jesuit Refugee Service's regional director for the Middle East and lives in Damascus, Syria. He was born in Aleppo, and his mother, brother and sister still live there, but his nieces and nephews

Link (here) to CNS 
Link (here) to watch a video documentary of the violence and destruction in Aleppo

Fr. Michael J. Watson, S.J. "Each Human Being Has An Angel To Stand Ever By His Side"

Each human being has an Angel to stand ever by his side and help him to resist temptation and win the Kingdom of Heaven. How much we owe our Guardian Angels! They preserve us from many unknown dangers to soul and body. They defend us against the demons. They breathe holy thoughts into our soul; they prompt us to deeds, even heroic deeds, of virtue, in the Divine service, and they fling their mighty strength around us when we are dying and so save us from the last attacks of our spiritual foes. Full of zeal and jealous are they for God's honour, for the interest of those committed to their care, and for the innocence of the young. "Beware," says Our Saviour, "of giving scandal to those little ones; for their Angels always behold the face of My Father who is in heaven." Saint Bernard tells us that we owe our Angels profound respect for their presence, and confidence in their love and power to protect us, as well as gratitude for the great benefits, which they confer. The heavenly spirits look upon themselves as our elder brothers; nay, to speak in our human way, they are passionate lovers of all whom God has charged them to guard.

Saint Paul says: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14). And in the 90th Psalm of the Vulgate (or Psalm 91 in the Hebrew), the Holy Ghost declares: "No evil shall approach unto you, neither shall the scourge come nigh your dwelling. For He has given His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways: in their hands they shall bear you up, lest haply you dash your foot against a stone." 

Through this angelic guardianship, "you shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk; the lion and the dragon shall you trample under foot." Thus do they watch over each individual soul, even if that soul is in a state of sin, and they act as protectors to hamlets, cities and kingdoms. In the Book of Exodus (13:21) we see how, in the desert, an Angel of God went before the people to show the way by day in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire, that he might be the guide of their journey at both times. We may, indeed, say that this earth of ours is full of innumerable spirits to defend all who are specially dear to God. When an army, with horses and chariots, beset the city of Samaria to slay the prophet Eliseus (Elisha), and the prophet's servant cried out in terror, Eliseus prayed: "Lord, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw, and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Eliseus. And the prophet said: "Fear not, for, as you see, there are more with us than with them." (2 Kings, chapter 6. The Vulgate calls the book ‘4 Kings’.). 

Link (here) to read the full piece on angels entitled, The Holy Angels of God, by Fr. Michael J. Watson, S.J.

Georgetown Hardly Reflects That St. Ignatius Who Stood Preaching In The Pouring Rains Of Paris To Stop Young Men From Losing Their Souls For The Sake Of Carnality,”

Academy Award winner William Peter Blatty, whose best-selling book and blockbuster film The Exorcist were situated at his alma mater, Georgetown University, announced today that he has delivered a “Petition” on behalf of more than 1200 alumni, students, parents, teachers, and other laity from around the world. The “Petition” prays that the Catholic Church will grant several remedies, including, if made necessary, the removal or suspension of top-ranked Georgetown’s right to call itself Catholic and Jesuit in its fundraising and representations to applicants. The Petition cites a Vatican Decree issued on July 11, 2012, at the request of the Archbishop of Lima, that ordered the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, a very prominent Latin American university, to cease calling itself “Catholic” and “Pontifical” while declaring that it continued to be ecclesiastical property and subject to the requirements of Church law. On the order of Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, based the decision on the university’s failure to comply with Ex corde Ecclesiae, the 1990 Apostolic Constitution for Catholic Universities and that the University of Lima persists “in continuing to orient its institutional initiatives according to standards that are inconsistent with the norms and morality of the Church.”

Georgetown University is, likewise, Church property legally entrusted to the Society of Jesus nearly 200 years ago and to a civil corporation that administers it. Georgetown also received a pontifical charter that has never been abrogated.

The Georgetown effort was first announced two months before the Peru decree, on the heels of an unprecedented rebuke of Georgetown and its first lay president by His Eminence, Donald Cardinal Wuerl, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington, over Georgetown’s invitation to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to be a graduation ceremony speaker in may 2013. 

Despite this and two petitions collecting almost 60,000 voices, Georgetown did not relent. The editors of the Archdiocesan newspaper wrote in an editorial then regarding Georgetown: “When the vision guiding university choices does not clearly reflect the light of the Gospel and authentic Catholic teaching, there are, of course, disappointing results.” The Father Kings Society’s Canon Law action, based on Georgetown’s failure for more than two decades to comply with the requirements of Ex corde Ecclesiae, was being planned even before the Sebelius scandal. 

“The Scandals that Georgetown has given to the faithful are too many to count, and too many to ignore any longer,” Blatty said. “Today Georgetown is the Borgia university, reflecting more the spirit of Alexander VI, than of Archbishop John Carroll, John Henry Cardinal Newman, or Pope John Paul II. Georgetown hardly reflects that St. Ignatius who stood preaching in the pouring rains of Paris to stop young men from losing their souls for the sake of carnality,” Blatty said. 

Link (here) to The Father King Society to read the full release.

Radicalization Of Islam In The Region

Middle East expert Jesuit Father Samir Khalil Samir, who teaches at the University of Beirut. "Many people in Lebanon are concerned because the conflict in Syria is becoming more like a conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. These are the two main currents in Islam. In Lebanon, it is also noticeable that the Shiite Hezbollah behave more aggressively than before towards the Sunni Lebanese. 

In the north of Lebanon - that is, in the city of Tripoli - there are already skirmishes every day leaving people dead. Also in the south of Beirut, there are acts of violence. These are all signs that are to be taken seriously. "the wave of violence in Syria is not just for the neighbours of Lebanon and Syria a problem, says Father Samir Khalil.  

"In the Arab world, there are more divisions and conflicts than ever before. This is due to the radicalization of Islam in the region. This is the basic problem in the Arab world, which one has to actually tackle. It is not important whether one is in Iraq, Egypt or Syria. This radicalization has its roots in the attitude of Israel and its Western allies, for example in relation to occupied territories, such as the Golan Heights, which actually by international law belong to Syria. " 

Link (here) to the preeminent European Catholic blogger Christopher Gillibrand , his full post is at Cathcon

Fr. John H. Reinke, S.J. "Fr. Donald McGuire, S.J. Positively Destructive And Corrosive."

Fr. John H. Reinke, S.J.

A 1970 letter written by the Rev. John H. Reinke, then-president of Loyola Academy in Wilmette, described "positively destructive and corrosive."

While the settlement doesn't name any priests accused of abusing minors who have not been previously disclosed to the public, it did name a number of Jesuit superiors who kept Fr. McGuire's crimes a secret and, the victims' attorneys said, which enabled him to abuse more young men. 

"Jesuits made choices time and time again that demonstrated willful indifference," said Jeff Anderson, the plaintiffs' attorney. "Not one Jesuit official has yet to be prosecuted for their complicity in these crimes." To date, lawyers have identified 28 men who have alleged abuse by Fr. McGuire from the 1960s until 2004. Eight have filed lawsuits.
Fr. McGuire's presence at the school as
Link (here) to Catholic Education Daily

Grade Inflation At Georgetown University Law Center

Georgetown University Law Center adjusted its grading policy in 2009.
Prior to the change, 10% of law students received an A, 15% received an A-, 15% received a B-, and 5% received a C+ or below.
Now, 12% get an A, 19% get an A-, and only 5-10% get a B- or below.
It puts failure that much further out of reach.

Link (here) to Business Insider

Fr. Peter Ryan, S.J. Was A Former Board Member Of The Cardinal Newman Society

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have named Fr. Peter Ryan, S.J., as executive director for the secretariat of doctrine and canonical affairs. The announcement was made May 29. Fr. Ryan will assume the responsibilities in August. Fr. Ryan is a former member of The Cardinal Newman Society's board of directors. He is replacing Fr. Thomas Weinandy, who is retiring. Fr. Ryan is a member of the Maryland province of the Society of Jesus, and has been director of spiritual formation at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. In 2011, the National Catholic Reporter asserted that a Theological Studies article defending the prohibition of divorce and remarriage, written by Fr. Peter Ryan and Dr. Germain Grisez, was "unedited" and did not undergo the "normal peer review" process. The Vatican asked that the article be published in the journal.

Link (here) to the Cardinal Newman Society

Jesuits Impose Dress Code At The Basilica Of Bom Gesu In Goa, India

Fr. Savio Barreto, S.J.

The authorities at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa have begun loaning shawls to visitors at the Basilica who are dressed inappropriately and wish to see the interiors of the 16th century baroque-styled monument. Church authorities or volunteers have now begun screening tourists before they enter the Basilica and those who are found dressed inappropriately are given a shawl which they will have to wear and return once they conclude their visit to the Jesuit monument housing the sacred relics of Jesuit saint and patron of the missions ~ St Francis Xavier.

The rule applies for both men and women, given that it was found that it was not only women who dress scantily but men too saunter in wearing singlet and are made to either wear a shirt if they have one or a shawl. 

Speaking to Herald, Rector of the Basilica Fr Savio Barreto, S.J. said that the move was a result of a decision taken ‘long ago’ following complaints from the faithful that it was unacceptable and portrayed a complete lack of respect and decorum on the part of the tourists, both in their attire as well as their talk as it was not in keeping with the decorum of the place. 

“This was something we had said we would do and would put up boards that all tourists should be dressed appropriately if they wish to enter the Basilica. Many people had complained that the tourists were not dressing properly and were offended by it,” 

Fr Barreto said adding that the shawls were being handed over by the volunteers at the Basilica. 

More than a year ago, the church authorities had installed a signboard asking tourists to dress appropriately and maintain decorum. However, the written directions did not work, bringing about the need to give shawls to the tourists. Tourists are sometimes attired in beachwear since they come to the basilica as part of all Goa sightseeing tours that cover several locations including beaches in a single day. Many of these tours coincide with religious services that are conducted at the churches.
Link (here)

Fr. Gary Uhlenkott, S.J. Is Now On Leave, As The Federal Investigation Continue

Fr. Gary Uhlenkott, S.J,

What’s wrong with this picture? Federal agents raid a Catholic university in the state of Washington, and find a trove of child pornography, purchased with the credit card of a professor—who happens to be a Jesuit priest.

Father Gary Uhlenkott, S.J. is now on leave, as the federal investigation continues. We don’t know all the details, but federal officials say that more than $1,600 of porn was ordered with his credit-card account and shipped to his physical and/or internet address.

Horrifying? Certainly. A scandal? No doubt. But let me take a different perspective on this wretched affair. Leave aside, for now, the question of Father Uhlenkott’s guilt or innocence. Here’s what I want to know: How could he (or someone using his identity) spend $1,600 on videos of any description, without attracting someone’s attention? Can you, dear reader, spend $1,600 on your own entertainment—even assuming it’s healthy, licit entertainment—without prompting questions from your spouse, your boss, your parents, your colleagues, or your accountant? I certainly can’t. And unlike Father Uhlenkott, I haven’t taken a vow of poverty.

Link (here) to Catholic Culture to read Phil Lawler's full piece

 

 

Fr. Peter Ryan, S.J. "New Doctrinal Watchdog At USCCB

Fr. Peter Ryan, S.J.

The U.S. bishops' conference has named a Jesuit known for conventional views on marriage and sexuality as its new doctrinal watchdog, replacing a key staffer behind several controversial criticisms of theologians in recent years. Fr. Peter Ryan, S.J. will become executive director of the bishops' secretariat of doctrine and canonical affairs in August, the conference announced Wednesday. 

The appointment, which comes as the bishops' conference prepares a change in its top leadership in the fall, may be a sign of what stance the bishops will take toward those who hold more progressive viewpoints under the new pontificate of Pope Francis. 

Ryan, a member of his order's Maryland province, had been director of spiritual formation at the St. Louis archdiocese's Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. He will replace Capuchin Fr. Thomas Weinandy at the doctrinal office.

Link (here) to The Fishwrap

Fr. Clarence Gallagher, S.J. "Possibly The Most Outstanding British Jesuit Of His Generation"

Fr. Clarence Gallagher, S.J. with Pope John Paul II

A PRIEST from Mossend who once hosted regular working lunches for Pope John Paul II has died aged 83 after a period of ill health. Fr Clarence Gallagher SJ was described by one Vatican observer as ‘possibly the most outstanding British Jesuit of his generation’ A former pupil of Holy Family Primary School and Our Lady’s High School, Motherwell, Fr Clarence had for some years lived at the Corpus Christi Jesuit retirement community in Boscombe, near Bournemouth. His funeral mass was celebrated there and a memorial service will be held at Holy Family Church in Mossend on Monday, June 3, at 7pm. Fr Gallagher’s sister, Mary, a retired doctor, still lives in Mossend. Fr Clarence studied for the priesthood in Rome, but rather than be ordained for the new Diocese of Motherwell in 1948 he joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) after completing a three-year course in philosophy. Later he took degrees in classics and education at Oxford before, aged 33, being ordained a Jesuit priest. He then studied the church’s Canon Law, excelling in the subject and teaching it in Rome. During a spell back in Scotland, he was parish priest at St Aloysius in Glasgow, headmaster at the Jesuits College and a judge in the Scottish National Marriage Tribunal.

In 1985 Fr Gallagher was recalled to Rome and appointed lecturer in Canon Law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute which involved working with the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches which were then in full communion with Rome.

In 1990 Pope John Paul II named him rector of the institute. The following year Fr Gallagher founded Centro Aletti, a centre for study and research aligned with the mission of the Society of Jesus at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. It was for scholars and artists with a Christian perspective from Central and Eastern Europe, giving them the chance to meet with their Western colleagues. Its aim, in Pope John Paul II’s words at the official opening, is to ‘create privileged opportunities for meetings and exchanges on the subject of Christianity in East Europe’. Working lunches involving the pope were a regular occurrence at this time. Fr Gallagher was principal adviser to the Vatican’s team of prelates during fruitful negotiations with the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church on the vexed question of inter-church marriages. 

After his five-year stint as rector of the POI, he moved to Oxford and began teaching Roman Catholic Canon Law at Heythrop College, part of the University of London. He then wrote an acclaimed book ‘Church Law and Church Order in Rome and Byzantium: A Comparative Study’.

In 1998 Fr Clarence declined Rome’s invitation to head a visitation of the Catholic Churches in India. However, he was in a delegation to Bulgaria ahead of Pope John Paul II’s successful visit to the former communist country.

Link (here) to Motherwell Times

"The Old Mass Is Not To Be Touched, The Jesuit Pope Wrong-foots Everyone"

Pope Francis in a traditional fiddleback

The Bishops of the region of Tavoliere met recently with Pope Francis on an ad limina visit. On their return Il Foglio, in the article: La messa antica non si tocca, il Papa gesuita spiazza ancora tutti ("The old mass is not to be touched, the Jesuit Pope wrong-foots everyone")
home, one has given a fascinating glimpse of the attitude of Pope Francis to those who are seeking to use the opportunity of his papacy to attack the traditional Mass. This is reported in the Italian paper

Here is my translation of the relevant part of the article which tells of other bishops raising concerns with the Holy Father and goes on to speak of the intervention concerning the old Mass:

Then it was the turn of the bishop of Conversano and Monopoli, Domenico Padovano, who recounted to the clergy of his diocese how the priority of the bishops of the region of Tavoliere had been that of explaining to the Pope that the mass in the old rite was creating great divisions within the Church. The underlying message: Summorum Pontificum should be cancelled, or at least strongly limited. But Francis said no.

Mgr Padovano explained that Francis replied to them saying that they should be vigilant over the extremism of certain traditionalist groups but also suggesting that they should treasure tradition and create the necessary conditions so that tradition might be able to live alongside innovation.

This is not really a surprise (did anyone expect that Pope Francis would somehow "repeal" Summorum Pontificum?) but it is a welcome confirmation of what we would all expect.

Link (here) to read the full story at The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Teología Del Pueblo Is Not Teología De La Liberación

Fr. Juan Carlos Scannone, S.J.

Getting back to liberation theology, does Bergoglio reject holus-bolus everything about liberation theology?El Jesuita, Bergoglio says liberation theology had its pros and cons: the “pro” being its expression of what’s called the “preferential option for the poor,” the “con” being its “ideological deviations.” Well, that’s very close to the assessment expressed in the two “Instructions on Liberation Theology” published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1984 and 1986.
In the interview-book

And who is the Argentine Jesuit that our NYT friends have in mind? In all probability (because there’s really no other candidate), the reference is to Juan Carlos Scannone, S.J., who taught Bergoglio Greek and literature in the seminary.

The difficulty with the Times’ claim, however, is that Scannone isn’t much of a liberation theologian. In fact Scannone has written papers emphasizing where his thought differs from the liberationists. In a 2011 interview, for example, Scannone himself said: “Myself, I‘ve never had anything to do with Marxism.” Scannone specifies that the primary difference between his thought and that of the liberationists is, to use his words, his theology “has neither used Marxist methodology for analyzing reality nor categories taken from Marxism.” Instead, Scannone is best known in Argentina for developing what’s called a teología del pueblo (theology of the people) — something, he says, that is viewed positively by Rome and which Bergoglio has praised on numerous occasions. It’s a theology that takes seriously the popular spirituality and often deeply traditional piety of ordinary people — the kind of thing that’s often the subject of much condescending commentary by your average German progressive theologian but which was also regarded by liberationists such as the late Fr. Juan Luis Segundo, S.J. as a mass phenomenon incapable of fostering revolutionary change, making it an obstacle to “progress.”

But the teología del pueblo, Scannone specifies, also draws considerable inspiration from Paul VI’s 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi. In that sense, Scannone argues, the theology of the people represents “a journey of return between Latin America and Rome.” Here it’s worth noting that Evangelii Nuntiandi firmly rejected — over and over and over again — politicized concepts of Christian liberation and underscored that the Church “refuses to replace the proclamation of the kingdom by the proclamation of forms of human liberation.”

Practically speaking, the teología del pueblo that’s alive and well in Argentina tends to be translated into bottom-up and locally based approaches to poverty. It also rejects calls for class struggle and Sandinista-style revolution. And while adherents of teología del pueblo in Argentina certainly insist on a great deal of government intervention, they also firmly reject top-down paternalism — something no doubt reinforced by the populist and statist policies pursued by the Krichners that have wreaked havoc upon Argentina’s economy over the past ten years. But if you want to get a sense of where Francis may take the Catholic Church regarding social and economic issues, you needn’t waste your energy toiling through texts like Boff’s Church: Charism and Power. Instead, pick up a copy of the concluding document of the Fifth General Conference of the Consejo Episcopal Latino Americano held at Aparecida in 2007.

Link (here) to The National Review