… at Starbucks.
This year we have three – count em- three Catholic awards going on at the same time.
The Catholic Blog Awards this year is now the Catholic New Media Awards and compasses Blogs, Podcasts, and Catholic web sites. Nomination will be taken during the month of May. The categories have been streamlined. The addition of podcasts to the awards this year brings the awards up a notch. Some Catholic podcasts have done quite well and even won in the secular podcast awards. I listen to plenty of Catholic podcasts and there is a lot of talent out there.
One of the problems with blog awards in general is that pretty much the sites with the heaviest traffic are the same one that are going to win their category. The more readers you have of course make it more likely that will win. The problem is that the same people pretty much dominate the same categories year after year. Though the fact that all the nominees are listed also gives attention to plenty of other fine blogs that people might not be aware of. The purpose of the various awards is not to stroke egos, but to bring to attention Catholic media and hopefully introduce people to much of the fine work being done in new media.
That being said the 2nd year of the Cannonball Awards is now in the voting phase. This award pokes a bit of fun at the main Catholic awards, but also introduces people to blogs they might not be familiar with to a higher extent. Great categories and great blogs. Vote (and view nominations) by clicking on the categories in the sidebar.
Another set of awards also in its 2nd year is the Eastern Christian New Media Awards. Too often the Eastern rites of the Church are forgotten. They are currently taking nominations and voting will start in June.
WMR) — According to sources with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Army, and the White House, a number of members of violent pro-life groups are streaming into South Bend in anticipation of protests during the commencement address of President Barack Obama at Notre Dame. Obama is scheduled to give his address at Notre Dame on May 17.
In anticipation of Obama’s address and his being awarded an honorary degree from Notre Dame, a number of right-wing groups, including Catholic anti-abortion and anti-stem cell research groups, are ratcheting up tensions in South Bend, according to our sources.
WMR has learned from FEMA sources that the city of South Bend has indicated that due to its severe financial situation, it is unable to provide the necessary police security for Obama’s speech. Notre Dame campus security has apparently accepted responsibility for Obama’s security during his visit to the campus, although primary presidential security will be in the hands of the Secret Service.
What is worrying to some federal law enforcement and emergency preparedness officials is the violent groups that will be present both within South Bend and on the campus of Notre Dame during the president’s address to graduating students. And these groups are being egged on by well-financed conservative groups, including the Cardinal Newman Society and Brent Bozell’s Media Research Center. However, the real fear of federal security agencies is the rhetoric being voiced by professional troublemaker Randall Terry and perennial political candidate Alan Keyes. Terry and Keyes are both right-wing Catholics.[reference]
Surely you remember the violent wave that occurs wherever these two men speak. Oh wait. While I am not really a Randall Terry fan because he becomes the focus of events and upstages the real message – this kind of reporting is insane. What will be really happening is quite different. American Papist posted the following video from ndresponse.com.
Bishop Joseph F. Martino said today that the decision by King’s College to have Sen. Robert Casey serve as commencement speaker on May 17 is, in view of his affirmative vote for Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, an affront to all who value the sanctity of life. Previously, the Bishop had asked Sen. Casey to reflect on his oft-stated pro-life beliefs and oppose the nomination of Gov. Sebelius who as a Catholic has been a committed advocate of abortion while she served as governor of Kansas. It is the Bishop’s position that his vote on April 28 demonstrates that Sen. Casey is a reliable vote for President Barack Obama’s aggressive pro-abortion agenda, one which pro-life advocates claim is promoting the “culture of death” in the United States.
“Sen. Casey’s appearance at King’s graduation ceremony is sad and disappointing in view of his recent alignment with anti-life forces in the Senate and the highest offices of our government,” Bishop Martino said. “I do not believe he has the moral stature to stand before the graduates of a Catholic college to address them about their futures and the challenges they will face when on the most important issue of the day–the sanctity of human life–he cannot muster the courage to oppose the pro-abortion agenda which is currently being promoted in Washington.”
Bishop Martino acknowledges that the decision to invite Sen. Casey was made by King’s College prior to the vote on Gov. Sebelius and prior to his vote to rescind the Mexico City Policy which allows taxpayer funds to be used abroad by Planned Parenthood and other organizations to promote abortion and contraception. At the time of the Senator’s selection to deliver the commencement address, he had no objection to the invitation. “Now, however,” the Bishop said, “it is truly unfortunate that this Catholic institution will be seen as providing a forum for a politician who is steadily distancing himself from pro-life principles and, sadly, from his father’s legacy as a statesman who championed the rights of the unborn. As Bishop, I will continue to challenge Sen. Casey whenever he fails to cast a vote or advance a position that will protect the most vulnerable in our society.”[reference]
Senator Brownback also needs a response by his bishop on his support of Gov. Sebelius.
Brent Bozell in his Towhhall column today “Opie Gets Ugly” referenced my Ron Howard Parody.
Lifted from Patrick Madrid
We do get so much bad news out of Notre Dame, especially out of the administration. It is a good reminder to remember that all is not lost at Notre Dame in any way despite Fr. Jenkins. Here is a wonderful photo essay of the 5th year of the Eucharistic Procession at Notre Dame.
Today being the feast day of the great saint and Doctor of the Church St. Catherine of Siena I remembered something I once pondered while driving. When behind a family van that had those sticker indicating parents. kids. and dogs and cats I wondered what would have happened if St. Catherine’s family lived in modern times? St. Catherine herself was the last of 25 children to the same mother. Here is how I envision their family transportation.
My own bishop responds:
JACKSONVILLE, Florida, April 22, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop Victor Galeone of the diocese of St. Augustine is the 43rd bishop to publicly condemn the University of Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama to deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary law degree on May 17.
“I am standing with my brother bishops,” said Galeone, in a statement released by the diocesan communications office.
In Bishop Galeone’s brief letter to Fr. Jenkins, dated March 21, he stated: “I find it impossible to comprehend how a prestigious Catholic University like Notre Dame would bestow such an honor on President Obama, given his unmitigated support for policies and laws that flagrantly contradict fundamental Catholic teaching on life and marriage.”
Like several other U.S. bishops, including Notre Dame’s own Bishop D’Arcy and U.S. Bishops Conference (USCCB) president Cardinal Francis George, Bishop Galeone affirmed that the University’s action “is clearly a direct violation” of USCCB policy.
The document “Catholics in Political Life,” issued by the USCCB in 2004, states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
“I plead with you, Father Jenkins, to rescind this egregious error in judgment,” concluded Galeone’s letter.
“May the Lord grant you the courage to do so!”
The bishop sent a copy of the letter to Jenkins to the Papal Nuncio in Washington, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, with a cover letter that stated: “The letter needs no explanation. It merely expresses the feelings of dismay and outrage from many of my parishioners, who continue to ask me to do something about this unconscionable action on the part of Father Jenkins.
“Coupled with the performance of the quasi pornographic play, ‘The Vagina Monologues,’ which continues to appear annually on the Notre Dame campus, this most recent decision raises serious doubts about Fr. Jenkins’ qualifications for continuing to serve as president of one of the foremost Catholic universities in the nation,” Bishop Galeone concluded.[reference]
One note: The students of Notre Dame this year have decided not to perform VM this time around. Though the administration would have had no objectiopn if they did.
I always like to see one of my quips see life at the hands of others. From Lolsaints.com to this time a picture from the talented Alive and Young.