CT on Emmaus Ministries

Christianity Today writes about Emmaus Ministries, and its outreach to male prostitutes in Chicago (and Houston).

December 1

Happy birthday to me.

Church and State in Finland

There is a reason we have the First Amendment, which prohibits an established church–freedom. It’s what Finland does not have, as this story illustrates. A pastor was convicted of “criminal discrimination” for refusing to celebrate communion with a female pastor. He was fined 20 days salary. Two members were found guilty for not stopping him.
Johan [...]

Benedict XVI on Hope

On the eve of the season of Advent, Pope Benedict XVI has released his second encyclical: Spe salvi (”Saved by Hope”).
The season of Advent is a season of hope, looking for and expecting the coming of Christ–celebrated in the context of anticipation of Christmas, but looking beyond to the second Advent of Christ, as is [...]

“Familia”–a Regnum Christi Story

Many Catholic churches use “Familia,” which is for many people an entry into the Regnum Christi movement. Here’s a story about how the movement sought to drive out the founders of that apostolate, Paul and Libbie Sellors. They wrote the materials before it was adopted by the movement, and sought to retain access to them. [...]

The Legionaries Market a Film

The Legionaries of Christ and their Regnum Christi movement have produced a film, “Bella,” and are pulling out all stops to promote it.
Barbara Nicolosi was surprised by the whirlwind–and by the vehemence of the advocates. Via Life-after-RC blog.

Legionary Newspaper Cries Foul

The National Catholic Register, a newspaper owned by the Legionaries of Christ, is complaining. It sees a difference in the number of papers who reported sexual abuse by priests vs. those who published a recent article about sexual abuse by teachers. It thinks someone is picking on the church.
I’m reading another book about sexual [...]

“The Golden Compass”

Pr. Greg Brothers has some thoughts.  The Golden Compass is, he suggests,
essentially Paradise Lost retold from the view of Satan (as channeled by Jean-Jacque Rosseau), i.e. God is a senile pretender and any rebellion against Him is a Very Good Thing.
He enjoyed the first book, but never could force himself to finish the other two–they [...]

Caught

Catholic blogger Rocco Palmo has had his hand slapped by the Houston Chronicle for pilfering their photos without permission.

12 Days of Christmas

Memo
To: radio station managers, sales managers, newspaper reporters, and whoever else.
Re: 12 Days of Christmas
Please note: The 12 Days of Christmas are December 25-January 5. Not December 6-21, not December 12-24, not any other combination of days I’ve seen in ads and promos.
We are not in the Christmas season now. As of this weekend, we [...]

Giuliani’s Pedophile Priest Pal

Andrew Sullivan draws attention (again) to a member of the Giuliani camp who the mainstream media is continuing to ignore–Msgr. Alan Placa. He links to a commentary by Deal Hudson (and an update from Deal).
Since 2002, Msgr. Alan Placa has worked for Rudy Giuliani as a consultant at Giuliani Partners. In 2003 a grand jury [...]

Ten Gallon (Red) Hat

Smiley Pool of the Houston Chronicle has a picture of a hat given to Cardinardo by Fr. David Noble–a red cowboy hat with tassles. You’ve got to know David to really appreciate this. He and his twin brother, Bruce, are Aussies; David is a hospital chaplain, as was Bruce, before being named pastor of Our [...]

An Evangelical Perspective on Mary

J. I. Packer, Mary: Mother and Disciple of Christ Jesus the Lord, at First Things.
This essay is a plain Bible study focusing on the first two chapters of Luke’s gospel (the annunciation, Elizabeth’s welcome, Mary’s song, the birth narrative, the circumcision narrative, and Jesus in the Temple at age 12), plus Luke 8:19–21 (Jesus’ spiritual [...]

Buying Your Own Gifts

My daughter went to the mall the other day with a friend; before she left, she asked me for money so that she could get me a birthday present. Nothing like having to pay for your own gifts.
That’s what the cardinals experienced in Rome. They had to buy the biretta and zucchetto they received from [...]

Lest We Forget

Holocaust Museum Houston has a new permanent exhibit–a Danish fishing boat, like the ones used to transport Denmark’s Jews to safety.
Exhibits like this put the lie to the claim that “silence was golden.” Danish Christian leaders spoke up, and Danes courageously acted, and 7,200 Danish Jews were saved.
The current special exhibit, Medical Ethics and the [...]

Medical Ethics and the Holocaust

Exhibit at Holocaust Museum Houston and speaker series (November 27 through January 17).

Religious Freedom and the Catholic Right

Catholic “Traditionalism,” especially in the form of the SSPX, doesn’t believe in religious liberty. This was one of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s major objections to Vatican II. See his book, Religious Liberty Questioned (Kansas City, MO: Angelus Press, 2002).
Gerald Augustinus posts a translation of an article which relates the thoughts of Fr. Franz Schmidberger, who succeeded [...]

Sacrilege–Preliminary Thoughts

I’ve been reading Leon Podles’ book, Sacrilege, this weekend. I’m not done, and so this isn’t my review, but I need to vent a little. What I’m reading has made me angry–reminding me of people I knew and trusted, and of the institution I once trusted.
I’ve just read a portion recounting the number of high [...]

“Lord of the Rings”?

Rocco said it.

Poland Remembers Luther

Polish Adventists join other Protestants in denouncing posters attacking Luther.
Protestant leaders in one of Poland’s largest cities have condemned a poster campaign denouncing Martin Luther, the 16th century German Protestant leader, as a blasphemer and heretic, a November 7 news release by Ecumenical News International reported.

“What would happen if someone hung [...]

Men and Church

Why Orthodox Men Love Church, by Frederica Mathewes-Green. Among the reasons: challenges, clear disciplines, a goal, no sentimentality … and more.

Vincent Arong in the Scarlet Shadow

Vincent Arong, seminarian in Rome (and friend of yours truly and his brother, Jim), found a place at Cardinardo’s side.

Preaching the Lectionary

Ryan Bell, pastor of Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church, has some thoughts about The Grace of Preaching the Lectionary, particularly in the upcoming season of Advent.

Rick Steves’ “European Christmas”

Catch Rick Steves’ “European Christmas” on PBS–or order the DVD, CD, and book directly from Rick for only $29.95. A beautiful overview of how Christmas is celebrated across Europe.
Update: They shipped it November 28 and it arrived December 4. The book contains photos and additional info from the show, including all the recipes.

Lincoln’s Thanksgiving

Though we most often associate Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims, it didn’t become a national celebration until 1863, when, in the middle of a war, President Abraham Lincoln called for a national day of Thanksgiving to be held on the last Thursday of November.
That year had been a bloody one: Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga—the three bloodiest battles [...]

Racism and the Dutch Christmas

Sinterklaas and Zwart Piet.

Dale Fushek Goes Freelance

Msgr. Dale Fushek was a star in the Catholic world. He was pastor of St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Mesa, vicar general of the diocese of Phoenix, and founder of LifeTeen, a popular program for teenagers used by Catholic churches around the nation.
He’s been suspended from ministry for two years because of accusations of sexual [...]

Chilton’s Children

Chilton’s Children–A webpage devoted to the descendants of James Chilton, passenger on the Mayflower, through his daughters Mary (also on the Mayflower) and Isabella. And here’s a painting depicting the family legend that Mary (my 9th-great-grandmother) was the first female ashore.

The College of Cardinals

Cardinal Taricisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, writes to John Allen to respond to his analysis of the college of cardinals.
Allen had observed, “Two-thirds of the cardinals come from the global North, while two-thirds of the Catholic people live in the South.”
Bertone responds with a “so what?”
“The pope is free in a sovereign [...]

Secularizing Thanksiving

Erin Manning reflects on attempts to write “thanks giving [to God]” out of the narrative of the first Thanksgiving.
It is clear that the colonists did indeed celebrate a harvest festival, but it is equally clear that the purpose of this festival was to thank the good God for having provided them with so abundant an [...]