Author

Jeffrey Miller

Cancelled

by Jeffrey Miller February 3, 2008

Last week in the bulletin for the St.
Augustine Church which is the
Catholic Student Center for the University of Florida.

MAGDALENE PLAY AT ST. AUGUSTINE!!
St. Augustine is pleased to sponsor a very special theater presentation
on the first Friday of Lent, February 8, 2008. This will be
an original play providing a perspective on Jesus life, death, and
resurrection as seen through the eyes of Mary Magdalene. In
the play, an angel appears to tell Mary Magdalene her life on earth is
near its end, and she offers her reflections on what she has come to
know of Jesus and the early Christian community. It is a
one-woman production by Thelma Ann Jones who has traveled across the
United States and Europe. Read more about the production on
the bulletin board across from the office. Tickets are on
sale in the parish office for $5.00 per person. This will be
one night
only, and promises to be a unique way to begin our Lenten
season! Buy your tickets now! Child care will be
provided in the main nursery.

This week this blog reports that
in
the
bulletin is a notice from my bishop Victor Galeone.

Bishop Galeone has decided that the
Magdelene Play should be canceled. In his opinion, certain lines of
the monologue call into question the Churchs position on two
sacraments. Accordingly, such a performance in a Catholic setting would
be a counter-witness to important Church teaching.

I don’t know what exactly what was in the
script since there is really no information available about this play,
but you can probably guess since the hosting parish is not exactly
known for orthodoxy and their celebration on the feast day of St. Mary
Magdelene is a hotbed of women’s ordination supporters. Regardless
thanks to Bishop Galeone for stepping in.

February 3, 2008 27 comments

Humor

Soda Pope

by Jeffrey Miller February 1, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

Winston Churchill made no secret of his
love of brandy and cigars; Margaret Thatcher was bereft without her
handbag, and Pope Benedict XVI, I can reveal, has Fanta.

When the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, visited the Vatican this
week, he gave the Holy See a case of Holy Grail beer, brewed in North
Yorkshire. The Pope, however, opted instead for the orange stuff.

“He doesn’t normally drink,” Catholic priest Fr Tim Finigan tells Spy.
“He prefers Fanta. I’m not really sure why, perhaps because it was
originally created in Germany.”

And what does Fanta make of its most famous customer?

“We’re very flattered,” says a spokesman for Coca-Cola, which produces
the fizzy drink.

So might the Pope be fronting its next campaign? “I don’t think so,” he
adds. “He’s not quite right for our target audience.”

Well the Pope is right for all target
audiences, but I don’t think we
want to see him with Fantanas saying “Don’t You Wanta Fanta? “

Fr. Finigan who was quoted maintains an excellent blog here.

February 1, 2008 18 comments

Pro-life

Right to kill

by Jeffrey Miller February 1, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

From a column in
the NY Sun

The Spitzer bill S.5829 is
euphemistically
called the Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act. It would
raise abortion to the level of a fundamental right, like the freedom of
speech, and would therefore prohibit virtually any restrictions at all.
According to an urgent “news & action update” released by the
New York State Catholic Conference and distributed at all masses last
week, the act would force doctors to perform abortions; force Catholic
hospitals to perform abortions; force health care insurance plans to
cover them; force employers to purchase abortion coverage; authorize
non physicians to perform abortions, and undermine parental involvement
in the life decisions of their children.

In addition, the Conference warns that the state’s civil rights laws
protecting doctors and nurses who do not wish to be involved in
abortions would be in serious jeopardy. The state’s funding to abortion
alternative programs and agencies would be required to cover abortions.
Many regard this proposed law as ultra radical and beyond the pale, but
when it comes to abortion, Mr. Spitzer has consistently been loyal to
the abortion advocates who’ve helped fund his political career.

One of the first actions Mr. Spitzer took after narrowly winning the
attorney general race against Dennis Vacco in 1998 was to target the
crisis pregnancy clinics that rival abortion providers like Planned
Parenthood. In a speech at a NARAL luncheon in January 1999, he
announced that he would be establishing a reproductive rights unit
within the Bureau of Civil Rights. Ostensibly, the unit was to prevent
acts of violence and, Spitzer said, “the murder of doctors who simply
seek to fulfill their professional oath.” Now I wonder what oath he was
talking about, because the classical Hippocratic oath included a
commitment not to cause abortions. That oath, of course, has been
modified to meet the declining relevance of morality in the practice of
modern medicine involving reproductive rights.

February 1, 2008 17 comments

Liturgy

Two words that don't belong together

by Jeffrey Miller January 30, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

A reader sent me information about St.
George Parish in Baton
Rouge and Dexter. Now you might ask who is Dexter?

Puppet Mass 1

You guessed it. Dexter is the
lovable Puppet Dog that is used to explain the Mass and they stop the
Mass for Dexter to weigh in.

Puppet Mass 2

The Children’s puppet Masses (two words I
hate putting together) are suppose to be so popular that for one
weekend all Masses will include Dexter the Puppet Dog – at least I
think it is a dog. Do not give what is holy to dogs, unless they are a puppet dog. But hey it must be alright because he has
a cool 12 on his shirt which is so scripturally based. Now
maybe in some wild way you can attempt to justify this for a children’s
Mass, but for all Masses during a weekend? Hey let us get
purple dinosaurs as altar-dinos because wow wouldn’t that be fun and
the children would love it. They could sing little songs
explaining what they are doing. Besides what’s the limit as
long as children are learning something? Besides isn’t the
combination of Mass and puppet – Muppet.

Now puppets used as a teaching tool are
probably a great idea if used in for example the parish hall, but
puppetry and Calvary are a non-starter. Now I grew up in
children’s theater and my father was both an actor and a puppeteer and
I got to help him out at times. So I don’t have
puppetphobia and think in the right setting an explanation of the Mass
using puppets for children could be useful, but not during Mass.
Tommorow is the feast day for Saint John Bosco who was a
juggler, magician, and acrobat and used these skills in his
evangelization effort with children – but does anybody seriously think
that he would ever have considred doing this during Mass? I
think the is more likely have turned his dog Grigio on any puppets
trying to appear at Mass.

My reader informs me that they
have it on good authority that the Bishop of Baton Rouge knows about
this and has no problem with its continued use.

I am starting to wonder if Louisiana is
now the headquarters of the Puppet Mass since a Fr. Sweet in Shreveport
is a ventriloquist who does Mass with his puppet Charlie. I
assume In Persona Puppet.

Update via a commenter:
You say “the Bishop of Baton Rouge knows about this and has no problem with its continued use”. But in fact the pastor was told the day after this occurred (some weeks ago, well before advent) by the chancery that it was not okay, and that it was never to happen again…the bishop’s office was NOT okay with it. Apparently this was the idea of a lay ministry coordinator who doesn’t know much about liturgy at all. The pastor and associate pastor (not to mention most of the parishioners, who were quite properly aghast) were very uncomfortable with it.

Update: People who defend this are blind. First, as a parishioner at this particular parish I’d like to correct some facts. Fr. Mike, our pastor, came to us in November of 2005 so he just celebrated his second anniversary as Pastor. Also, this puppet mass never happened before Fr. Mike was pastor. Last year was the first year this ocurred and this year was the second. It was after this year’s Mass that it was announced that all Masses on one weekend would be puppet masses because of the “popularity.” While some of us are truly outraged to make it look like this has been going on for many years and that the Pastor is trying to weed this stuff out is false. Such things as this, liturgical dance, and other abuses continue to be a problem in our parish and it seems that everyone wants to turn a blind eye.

January 30, 2008 48 comments

News

I am very serious

by Jeffrey Miller January 30, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

Denver, Jan 29, 2008 (CNA).- At a press
conference today on the Popes Lenten Message, Cardinal Paul Josef
Cordes offered his support for Archbishop Charles Chaputs recent stand
against a potential Colorado law. The bill would eradicate Catholic
Charities ability to ensure its employees follow Catholic beliefs when
working on state funded projects.

Last week, Chaput objected to a proposed measure before the Colorado
legislature which would bar charitable agencies that receive state
funding from discrimination on the basis of religion in personnel
policies. Chaput argued that such a measure would compromise the
Catholic identity of church-run charities, and that he would rather see
those charities stop delivering services rather than comply.

This is not idle talk, Chaput added. I am very serious.

According to the National Catholic Reporter, this morning in Rome,
Cardinal Cordes expressed support for Chaputs position. In response to
a reporters question, Cordes stated: This bishop is doing the right
thing.

The president of the papal charity Cor Unum continued, saying,
Theologically, charitable activity and the good deeds of the faithful
are always connected to the proclamation of the Word. Jesus performed
his works because he was moved by mercy, but also to proclaim the
gospel. Service is always tied to testimony to the Word of God, and no
one must break this connection.

This points to a great contemporary problem. Thanks to the generosity
of many donors, the charitable agencies of the church are able to do
their work. But this carries a risk that the spirit of a Catholic
agency can become secularized, doing only what the donor has in view.

I hadn’t heard that Archbishop Chaput had said this. Once
again it proves what a great bishop he is and in this instance is
following the footsteps of Cardinal O’Connor who threatened much the
same thing in response to interference. Cardinal O’Connor won
out against the city and let us pray the same for Archbishop Chaput.

January 30, 2008 13 comments

Punditry

Bragging about disobedience

by Jeffrey Miller January 30, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

In spite of Bishop Frank
Dewane’s ban on Fr. Charles Curran speaking on
Catholic property, Curran will be hosted by VOTF of SWFL as a guest
speaker in their 6th Annual Speakers Forum. Currans topic will be his
recent memoir, Loyal Dissent. Curran, one of the most influential
Catholic
theologians in America is a priest of the Diocese of Rochester NY. In
its
review of the book Commonweal stated “For an intellectually gifted young
man like Curran, there could be no going back to a time when theologians
simply submitted to ecclesiastical censorship. Whether one
ultimately
agrees with Curran or not, his story is a reminder that when ideas lose
their intrinsic power to command assent, authority can only do so much.”

The presentation will take place at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church,
7100 Airport-Pulling Rd. N., Naples, FL, at 7:00 PM. An open
Q & A
session and a book signing will follow his lecture.

VOTF of SWFL’s next speaker will be Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend who will
speak on her latest book, Failing America’s Faithful. Kennedy-Townsend
will speak on February 28, 2008, at 7:00 PM at a venue that is yet to be
announced. For more information call Peg Clark @ 239- 417- 3077.

Last spring, Dr. Anthony Padovano was the first Speakers
Forum guest to
be banned in the history VOTF of SWFL’s then 5 year history.
The Diocese
of Venice’s new bishop now vets every speaker invited to speak on
Catholic
property in the diocese.

All are welcome to listen and learn from our renowned Catholic
speakers. A
free will donation will be collected.

Peg Clark, President of VOTF of SWFL

Wow bravo to Bishop Frank
Dewane for vetting speakers in his diocese! The choice of a Greek
Orthodox Church as the venue is appropriate since VOTF is virtually in
schism. One of the most ironically named organizations
continues to display what a joke they are by bragging about defying
their bishop and by inviting Fr. Curran who questions the
Church’s teaching premarital sex, masturbation, contraception,
abortion, homosexual acts, divorce, euthanasia and a politician like
Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend who supports abortion, same-sex marriage, and
embryonic stem-cell research.

Yes promoting acts that are intrinsically
evil is really the act of the faithful.

January 30, 2008 21 comments

Vocations

"The priesthood is better than that"

by Jeffrey Miller January 30, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

Rich Leonardi posts on a Cincinnati
television station which reports on
the diocese there uptick in vocations. He has links to a
video and a transcript which are well done and quite positive.
The Archdiocese has really put a lot of emphasis on their
vocations program and Fr. Kyle Schnippel is an excellent vocations
director.

Fr. Kyle Schnippel also has a blog which I
follow called Called by Name.

January 30, 2008 2 comments

Politics

Not Rudy Tuesday

by Jeffrey Miller January 29, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

All I can say is whoever sold Mayor
Giuliani on the Florida strategy or whether it was his own idea – good
job! Anything that keeps a culture of death Republican from being the
nominee is for me a good strategy. I do wish though that the
reason he failed was that he was not personally opposed to abortion and
was not any kind of social conservative. Though I think that
was part of it, but most of the Republican establishment was not all
that worried about breaking a pro-life precedence just as long as he
promised to do what they want on national security and gave assurances
about his judicial picks. The only talk show I have listened to that
was actually worried about Rudy splitting the party and ending the
Republican party as the party of life was Laura Ingraham.

As a critique of a campaign strategy and
it easy to say now – what a maroon! It seems to me that if
you are going to run for President you need to run as president in all
fifty states because even if you don’t win the primaries at least you
will have already set up networks and contacts when it comes to the
general election. Skipping states and concentrating on ones
later on in the primary cycle also keeps you from getting all of the
free press coverage and keeps your name out of the news. I am just glad
in Rudy’s case that he decided to put all of his eggs in one basket.

As a side issue it is also nice that we
won’t have a cafeteria Catholic being a nominee this time around.
We won’t have the Communion wars as we did with Sen. Kerry
since reportedly the Mayor does not go to Communion because of his
current “marriage.”

January 29, 2008 4 comments

Humor

Who left the sign on?

by Jeffrey Miller January 29, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

When meeting the pope it is
customary to offer him a gift, and Benedict XVI has amassed many tokens
of esteem. Former British prime minister Tony Blair gave him a painting
of the Catholic convert Cardinal Newman and Saudi Arabia’s King
Abdullah presented him with a jeweled scimitar.

When the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, met the pontiff he gave him
the Holy Grail, a beer brewed in Masham, North Yorkshire.

It was the highlight of the archbishop’s first trip to Rome to
celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and to cement cordial
relations between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches.

Following their 15-minute chat in the Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le
Mura, believed to be the burial place of St Paul, Sentamu said: “I told
the brewery I was meeting the pope and they made a special brew for
him. I heard he’d been given some Black Sheep ale and liked it. So I
brought that and the Holy Grail.”

The gifts pleased the pope, who is Bavarian by birth and prefers beer
to wine and water. That the tipple was a one-off would have also suited
a pontiff with designer flourishes. During a two-hour service, which
was peppered with incense, chanting, coughing and ringtones, his
ruby-red Prada loafers peeped out from under his ivory robes.

“I was very impressed by the pope,” Sentamu said. “He cares about human
beings. He is such a deep theologian, it drives him to compassion. He
is not a starchy person, but people look at his writings, they are very
precise, and think he is like that … but he is very warm.”

Holy Grail Beer This
is the beer given which includes the motto “Tempered over burning
witches.” Which prompts the question “What is the speed of
the unladen sparrow and are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not
one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. “

January 29, 2008 7 comments

Punditry

Wow – let's get on the bandwagon

by Jeffrey Miller January 29, 2008

written by Jeffrey Miller

Sen. Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama cracks
me up

“And since that time, I have marveled
at his grit and his grace as he
traveled this country and inspired record turnouts of people of all
ages, of all races, of all genders, of all parties, of all faiths to
get fired up and ready to go,”

Wow,
all genders! Imagine a candidate that can bring both men and
women to vote for him. And I thought it couldn’t be done. Wow
and all faiths also. I though I saw signs that said
“Zoroastrians for Obama” and “Pagans for Obama.” People of
all ages is also quite amazing I didn’t know that the world’s oldest
person supported Obama or that babies in the crib were rooting for him
also, at least the ones born alive and not allowed to be killed due to
Obama’s support of infanticide.

Though it does make me wonder if Sen. Kennedy would endorse his own brother today considering JFK’s tax cutting, and strong foreign policy with a military arm, and opposition to abortion.

January 29, 2008 5 comments

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