News

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – A pair of identical twins were ordained as priests in the Green Bay Catholic Diocese over the weekend.

James Sember says he couldn’t get his sons Ben and Joel "to apply any place else or do anything else, that what’s they decided they wanted to do."

Although both twins will serve in the Green Bay diocese, they say their ministries will be different.

Joel says though they have the same background and the same genes they have "a different approach to things."

And his brother Ben adds: "I hope we don’t ever get assigned to the same parish, not for our sake but for the people, it would be very confusing."

Since one has a mustache and a beard and the other doesn’t, it wouldn’t be that confusing.

Last year there was Gary and Todd Koenigsknecht in St. Paul, Minn , James and Joseph Campbell of Erie. and the twin sons of Catholic apologist Marcellino D’Ambrosio.

Here is a interesting story about a group of nuns leaving their schismatic community to form a new one in communion with the Church. It is good news that these 15 nuns have done so, it will be better news when they all have. And as Carl Olson noted "Say a prayer for all involved."

As a couple of readers have informed me Pope Benedict has issued a Motu Propro today. Though before you get excited the one released changes conclave legislation. As Fr. Z spells it out.

The Motu Proprio is called Constitutione apostolica.

John Paul II had changed the legislation to permit "simple election". Under the legislation of Pope John Paul II, if there were a certain number of ballots, which required a 2/3 majority for an election, that did not in fact produce an election, it was then possible to pass to an election by a simple majority. Benedict XVI has abolished this and returned to the earlier form. Now it will require 2/3 majority of electors no matter how many ballots it takes.

So, if the Cardinals become deadlocked and cannot get an election, they are to have a day of prayer and dialogue. After that, the two Cardinals at the top of the last balloting are the only candidates for election (and they may not vote – they have only a vox passiva) but the number required for a valid election will continue to be 2/3 majority rather than the simple majority established by John Paul II in 1996.

This in interesting in a couple of ways. Some such as John Allen Jr. in his later book on Pope Benedict believes that it was partly the change made by Pope John Paul II that helped lead to Cardinal Ratzinger’s election. The contention is that once he had the majority of votes others switched their votes to him because with a deadlock resulting in his election by a simple majority that it became inevitable that he would be elected.

Now how true this was in the last election is pretty much impossible to determine, but no doubt having the possibility of a simple majority does change the dynamics of the voting. The irony is of course if that if the 2/3 rule had remained in place it might have been more difficult for him to be elected in the first place, though considering that he was planning on retiring to a quite academic life this was an outcome he would have preferred.

What I can say is I certainly hope it will be a long time till the next conclave. Long live Pope Benedict XVI!

Here is a cool business just started by Carmelite Monks called Mystic Monk Coffee.

Our Rule explains that as monks we need to earn our keep by the work of our hands. We were praying about what sort of product most people utilize on a daily basis, and it came to us that everyone needs coffee to start the day. On our side of things, roasting coffee can be very contemplative. It only takes one monk to run the roaster and bag the coffee, so it is very complimentary to our life.

All the brothers have worked together to perfect the Mystic Monk roasts, from the selection of beans, to the creation of special blends, to the final roasting. We will have many types and flavors of coffee, all available in full one-pound bags. Our selection will include Columbian, Dark Roast, Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Sumatran, Ethiopian, Mexican, Breakfast Blend, Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Irish Cream, Carmel, Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Raspberry, and Royal Rum Pecan.

Mystic Monk Coffee
The double-handed mug is our special Carmelite mug that we use in the refectory. It is an old custom in Carmel that we drink using two hands as a sign of gratitude for the gifts of food that God provides from our benefactors. Similar mugs, complete with the Mystic Monk logo, will also be available for purchase.

They have the order form on their site. [Via NLM]

Now this being a Carmelite order and the esteem we hold for Elijah I do wish they had a Zarepath blend. One where the bag of coffee beans never runs out like the flour and oil of the widow of Zarepath, but I guess that wouldn’t be a wise business decision. Or possibly a blend based on the brown scapular, though it would be always out of St. Simon Stock.

I am really interested in the Carmel blend they have. Unfortunately they don’t have a decaf version, which of course should be called Carmel Light.

Deep in the hearts of these monks there is a profound loyalty to the Magisterium of the Church. Like their holy parents, St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, they wish to always remain "loyal sons of the Church." They firmly embrace and accept each and every definition that has been set forth and declared by the unerring Magisterium of the Holy Catholic Church. They will forever remain firmly united to the Holy Father, the Supreme Pontiff and Shepherd of the Church of Jesus Christ, and the Bishops united to him. They are also determined to always remain in loyal obedience to their immediate shepherd, the Bishop of Cheyenne.

You just got to love Monks that put the above on their site.

Trinity Communications which is involved in the excellent and reliable Catholic Culture site now has started Catholic Reference.

They have created a Catholic dictionary based on the late Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.’s Modern Catholic Dictionary. I constantly use the paperback version of Fr. Hardon’s dictionary and I love the exactness of the definitions and of course the fact that so many terms used in philosophy, theological, liturgy, etc are available.

June 5, 2007

Letters to the Editor

U.S.Catholic
205 W. Monroe St.
Chicago, IL 60606

Dear Editor,

I would like to respond to the article in your June edition entitled "A Betrothal Proposal" by Michael G. Lawler and Gail S. Risch.

The teaching of the Catholic Church about fornication is clear and unambiguous: it is always objectively a serious sin (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church #1755, #1852, #2353). Couples who live together without marriage do in fact live in sin objectively.

Because the position of the authors is contrary to Church teaching about the intrinsic evil of fornication, I have disassociated the Omaha Archdiocese from the Center for Marriage and Family at Creighton University.

Neither Lawler nor Risch are reliable teachers of Catholic moral theology, and certainly are not spokespeople for the Church regarding human sexuality and sacramental marriage.

I remain sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Elden Francis Curtiss

Archbishop of Omaha

This letter is via Rich Leonardi’s blog and Rich has a few comments on his own experience with those going through RCIA and fornication. It is so nice so read such a clear and unambiguous letter from a Bishop that is backed up by action. Archbishop Chaput’s response was also quite good.

Via A Catholic Mom in Hawaii I found a link to a new effort called Catholic Tube. It looks basically like a categorized source for Catholic related YouTube videos.

They have categorized it into several channels such as apologetics, EWTN, The Catholic Show / Rosary Army Channel, etc. Also the home page has a video of the day.

Nicely they do have an RSS feed.

This is a real good idea and I hope it becomes a comprehensive source for good quality Catholic related videos. It would be nice to see a section devoted to vocations and another one for comedy since there have been some rather funny Catholic produced videos.

In related YouTube news Deacon John has been producing some apologetics videos specifically for YouTube.

Archbishop Chaput responds to that wacky U.S. Catholic article on cohabitation that I had posted on before.

…I believe in the intelligence and good will of the authors. I also believe that their argument is bafflingly naïve. If the Church, in her reflection on the Gospel, has always taught that sex outside marriage is morally wrong, then for the Church to now bless “nuptial cohabiters” amounts to colluding in sin. Ritualizing a sinful behavior, or calling it a nicer name, does not change its substance. The very last thing we need in a society already awash in confused sexuality is a strategy for accommodating it.

The greatest irony of the U.S. Catholic article comes in a comment by the authors that many young adults “cite confusion about Church teaching because Church leaders send mixed messages about sex, contraception, and divorce/annulment.” I very much agree. And one of the sources of that confusion might be Catholic publications, theologians and researchers who help feed it.

We need more support for marriage in society and the Church, not alternative arrangements. Cohabiting couples deserve the understanding and patience of the Catholic community, but above all they need to hear the Christian truth, persuasively offered, about the nature of marriage, the meaning of their sexuality and the importance of the family. We waste words and time when we focus on anything else.

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., called Pope Benedict XVI a leader who maintains a great sense of the continuity of tradition within the Catholic church and its original teachings, and who seeks to “preserve and apply” those teachings through his papal role, at a lecture on the “Ecclesiology of Pope Benedict XVI,” held June 2, on the Rose Hill campus.

Cardinal Dulles said that Pope Benedict XVI views the church as universal, deriving its spiritual authority, or essence, from Christ’s ascension and the original 12 disciples.

“[Pope Benedict XIV believes] the church is not a product of human creativity,” Cardinal Dulles said, “She does not become whatever the leaders and members wish to make of her. The church is prior to all human initiative. Ours is not to innovate, but to preserve and apply the church teachings.”

Orlando, Jun 14, 2007 (CNA).- To say that a woman cannot be a priest in no way detracts from her human dignity and her equality with men, says Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando.

The bishop addressed the ongoing debate on the status of women in the Church in a letter to the faithful yesterday.

“Too often, proponents of a ‘feminist narrative’ allege that Church teachings harbor an anti-woman bias,” he wrote, referring to the proposal that the all-male ordained priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church is the result of such a bias.

The bishop argued that Catholicism is far from being anti-woman and has “raised the dignity of women wherever it took root.”

He noted that pagans mocked Christians “precisely because women were treated as equals to men.”

“Pagan societies were hardly ‘pro-women’ – and this was true of civilizations of high culture like that of the Greeks and Romans as well,” he said. “Where the Gospel took root, however, the status of women improved.”

“That the Church only ordains men to the priesthood is not a comment on the status or state of women but a statement on the nature of the priesthood as instituted by Jesus Christ,” he stated, citing Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.