The video of the speech mentioned below is available here. Upon listening to what he said I found his speech to be both good and prudent. It wasn’t aimed as an attack on the people in the schools, but was much more general on the subject of selfishness and true joy. Warning: The comments from the audience contain foul language at times, though they are quite instructive. Especially silly was one person calling him a bigot. Any moral criticism is not considered bigotry.
A reader sent me the following story:
A University of St. Thomas honors graduate who scolded his fellow seniors at Saturday’s commencement ceremony for being "selfish" apologized Monday for offending people during his politically charged speech.
Ben Kessler, an academic All-America football player who plans to become a priest, chastised students for using birth control, criticized them for a recent food fight and upheld the St. Paul university’s controversial policy against allowing unmarried faculty and staff members in romantic relationships to room together on school trips that involve students.
"Then he got into other failures of society, and one of my classmates next to me stood up and left," said Daphne Ho, a graduating senior whose family traveled from Hong Kong for the celebration.
In a prepared statement released Monday by St. Thomas, Kessler said that he had tried in his speech to look back at some issues faced by the university and society and then look ahead.
"Instead of providing hope for all, I offended some by my words," Kessler said. "I sincerely apologize to each person I offended."
…"Dozens of students literally started walking out when he brought up birth control issues and, at one point, I thought a riot would break out," Mileski said. "I give him credit because he kept on going when everyone started booing and heckling.
Well a graduation speech is probably not a prudent place to bring up this subject. But to me it seems something is seriously wrong with people graduation from a Catholic school crying when the issue of birth control is brought up. The subject of selfishness and the contraceptive attitude that goes with it should should be something already familiar in a Catholic school. Though the issue of the student body using contraception should go hand and hand with also chastising about fornicating in the first place. I also wonder about how talking about contraception, food fights, a faculty cohabitation would be considered a politically charged speech. Theologically charged perhaps. But it does have to be one of the strange combinations for a graduation speech I have heard of.
Sony Pictures Entertainment vice-chairman Jeff Blake has revealed the studio is already looking at Angels and Demons, Brown’s third novel, which is about secret society the Illuminati, the Vatican and a quest for the world’s most powerful energy source.
Blake says, "We are very interested in filming Angels and Demons. We hope that the relationship with Dan Brown will be a long one. That could be the next project."
Boy, Sony has really been on a roll this year. Earlier they released copy protected CDs that installed a root-kit on your machine that could hide the software and provided an easy foothold for hackers to infect and take over you machine. Now they have the media form of a root-kit. Under the guise of entertainment they are trying to install theological messages to try to infect the movie goer with theological garbage. Not that this is their purpose, just the result.
If they do go ahead I at least hope they can get Ron Howard and company to do this one also.
In May of last year, an episode of BBC2’s religious "reality" series The Monastery beat ITV’s Celebrity Love Island in the ratings. Having pushed the boundaries with food, sex, and sport, it was only a matter of time before producers gave faith the reality treatment as well.
The Convent, which begins on BBC2 next month, follows four women from different walks of life as they spend six weeks with a closed community of nuns. It’s an approach that appeals to society’s obsession with the make-over; instead of plastic surgery and home improvements we’re being sold the possibility of spiritual transformation.
The Monastery was reported to be very good and that it greatly affected the life of the four participants including one man who is now a former sex film actor. It will be interesting to hear if the same happens with the new series. You can easily guess that it will take place in a more traditional convent. T.V. shows and movies always know what traditional is suppose to look like.
Here is an article with a little more information on Bishop David Walker, from the Diocese of Broken Bay, idea of a celibate ministry of lay people working for the diocese. The concentration is mostly on women, but it is also open to men. They candidates first make a one year commitment, then three, and after that for five years at a time. During this they will receive a stipend and further education. The Bishop does have some good things to say about celibacy.
"They’d be able to do anything that is available to the lay faithful," Bishop Walker said. "The difference is it would be a full-time commitment and the whole way of life would be geared to service."
Those who take up the vocation would be required to take a vow of celibacy, but not poverty.
"Celibacy is really a single way of life that’s directed towards living the gospel and living a way of life," Bishop Walker said.
"People can only get so much done because of family or other commitments."
Of course the usual suspects such as a Catholic author and historian and a Catholic women’s group see this as a step first to a female deaconate and finally women priest. But then again they see almost every sign in this way. I would certainly hope that the Bishop weeded out candidates with such silly beliefs. When I posted about this program earlier the majority of my commenters were quite skeptical about this. I must admit to the same skepticism, though I think it merits some consideration if done fully within the context of Church teaching.
I found the headline of the article pretty funny, "New role for Catholic women…with a catch." Celibacy equated as a catch. Though many would see it this way. On one hand they say that people want to give themselves fully to the Church in ministry, but balk when it comes to the fully part.
Earlier today I saw a bulletin board advertisement for the United Methodist Church that I thought quite odd.
"If You Can Wish, You Can Believe"
Yeah sure, faith is just like a wish. Not about receiving the gift of faith you know. Just need wishful thinking.
As is ususually the case Thomas of American Papist has an excellent roundup. This time on the case of Fr. Maciel the founder of the Legionnaires of Christ. My question though is he is being silenced shouldn’t his name be changed to Marciel Marceau? Okay bad mime pun on a serious subject, but his full name really is Marcial Maciel Degollado so that is pretty close.
Dawn Eden sent me a story by Time.com on the subject that included the following:
By punishing a powerful conservative ally accused of decades of
pedophilia, Pope Benedict XVI has proven that the Vatican’s oft-stated
commitment to crack down on abusive priests has real teeth. And that in
turn, makes Catholic returnees to Mass look a little smarter.
You would think that a reporter might actually take the time to find out what the alleged charges actually are. Not pedophilia unless they actually happen to have pre-pubescent boys in the seminary now. The charges involved abuse of Legionnaire seminarians and that he had absolved them in the confessional. This is just lazy boilerplate for journalists that any priestly abuse must fall into this one category.
Now as to this making returning Catholic looking smarter this is also silly logic. Though of course this bit of logic is all to prevalent since you sometimes hear of Catholic who left the Church in the wake of the scandals. There will always be Judas’ and tares among the wheat and to point this out as a reason to leave the Church shows no understanding of the nature of the Church. Good luck on finding the sinless church, or at least until you die.
Egan took issue with a U.S. News & World Report magazine story on a controversial new book called "The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity," by a religious studies professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
The book by James Tabor claims that Jesus was the son of a Roman soldier and that he wanted to establish a worldwide dynasty led by 12 tribal leaders, with his brother James, rather than Peter, as its leader.
Tabor also takes issue with a translation of an original Greek text, released recently, in which Judas is depicted not as a traitor, but as acting on a request by Jesus to hand him over to the Romans.
Egan didn’t mince words in offering his opinion of Tabor’s book.
"What he has to say is science fiction out of control," the cardinal said.
And, "The one about Judas that has gotten so much attention – I laugh at that one," he said.
Via Speculative Catholic
Well I am not exact sure how this would be science fiction. Theological fiction perhaps or alternate history fiction.
The speech struck a chord with Vince Kastor of Fanwood, N.J., who attends Mass at St. Patrick’s every year with his family.
"Cardinal Egan was in rare form today. This is the first time since I’ve gotten here that he’s talked about current events," said Kastor, adding that he was happy Egan was "leading the flock."
But stances such as Egan’s have turned off Marybeth Sullivan, 35, a saleswoman from Manhattan who was waiting to attend the noon Mass.
"They denied the Gospel of Mary and now they’re trying to debunk the Gospel of Judas," said Sullivan. "Every time current events gives [the church] a chance to reflect and move forward, they’ve made the wrong decision."
Yeah sure Gnostic gospels written long after the death of Jesus are current events. That is if you lived in the third century or so.
Bishop David Walker of the Sydney Diocese of Broken Bay has recently announced that he is creating a new full-time ministry for celibate, ecclesial women.
He told the ABC’s Religion Report yesterday that celibacy would be essential to this ministry but unlike religious life, this group of people would not take a vow of poverty.
He says celibacy will help people in this ministry "to be at the service of others in a radical way".
The Bishop also said that while the idea applies equally to men, the focus on a women ministry is to help "draw them to a greater degree into the life and leadership of the church."
He said that he is unsure whether or not this ministry will "appease" women who want a "priestly style of life", but made it clear that the move is not meant to be a "back door" approach to women’s ordination.
Bishop Walker says that he is not aware of similar models elsewhere and that he is responding to the demands of the local Church.
"What I’m trying to do is to focus on the diocese, the local church itself," he said.
"Religious, for example, belongs to their religious congregation and they’re quite independent of the diocese in their way of life. What I’m trying to do is to establish a group of ministers who will serve within the local church, and be part of the ministry of the Bishop."
He said that as committed people, these ministers will be able to "fit into many of the works of our diocese, any of our agencies, thinking of schools or of Centacare, working in our parish in a number of pastoral areas."
Sounds like a diocesan religious order. There have been religious orders started by a diocese like the Sisters of Life, but this sounds different in that they remain under diocesan control. It will be interesting to hear the actual details about this. What the heck is an ecclesial women? Is is a modern term for a church lady, just full time? Could be an interesting idea depending on how it is implemented.
San Antonio announces largest ordination class in years.
Eleven new priests for Denver, largest ordination class in 40 years.
Los Angeles’ St. John’s Seminary once again produces a large ordination class.
Okay the last one is a joke. Obviously good things continue to happen under Archbishop Chaput and his previous Auxiliary Bishop José H. Gomez now in San Antonio.