Tell Me About It

Nuns Playing Basketball

 I wish I could figure out how to imbed this.....the commentary is hilarious.


https://wdtprs.com/2020/04/lighter-fare-4/

Here it is without Marv Albert, Shaq, and Charles Barkley.

Shopping With Bishops

Stay Well, Then Go To Hell

Denver Newsroom, Apr 23, 2020 / 12:24 am MT (CNA).- While a New Jersey state senator has launched a petition seeking the “thoughtful” resumption of religious services with “reasonable precautions,” the Archdiocese of Newark has stressed the wisdom of statewide restrictions on gatherings given the prevalence of the novel coronavirus in the region.

 “As the New Jersey region unfortunately has the highest number of reported Covid-19 cases in the nation, with increasing reported deaths, it is prudent to continue compliance with statewide mandates for social distancing protocols at this time,” Maria Margiotta, director of communications and public relations for the archdiocese, told CNA April 22.


Margiotta, the Newark archdiocese spokeswoman, did not address the petition directly. However, she said Catholic churches would reopen only with the decision of the local bishop.

“The process of how and when to reopen churches will be determined by the ordinary and his diocesan staff,” she said. “The well-being and safety of our clergy, staff, and parishioners remain a priority, and the archdiocese will continue to review guidance from federal and state officials as plans to reopen are considered. Although church buildings remain closed, our prayers and celebration of Mass continue via livestream so that we may remain united as one Church and one people amid this ongoing pandemic.”

Spiritual well-being?  Irrelevant!

That's the Kind of Courage That Got Them Through the Blitz!

CNA Staff, Apr 23, 2020 / 03:00 pm MT (CNA).- English Catholics must avoid “any sense of self-pity” over church closures, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said at a Mass honoring workers in hospitals and care homes.

Speaking via livestream from an empty Westminster Cathedral in London April 23, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who is Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, paid tribute to the “quiet heroes” on the front line of the coronavirus crisis. 

“For most of us, our part in this effort is so different,” the cardinal said. “Yes, deprivations are placed on us, including not being able, as yet, to return to our churches and sacraments, a deprivation we feel very deeply indeed. Yet we beware of any sense of self-pity as we play our part in these life-saving disciplines.”
 ." “We must have eyes to see Him in every place, in every moment."

Except in Church, of course, where God actually IS.

Bishops With Chests

CNA Staff, Apr 23, 2020 / 08:45 pm MT (CNA).- Three Catholic dioceses have announced this week they will resume public celebration of Mass, subject to the requirements of public health orders and social distancing.

The Montana dioceses of Great Falls-Billings and Helena both announced the re-openings on Thursday, April 23, one day after the bishop of Lubbock, Texas told his priests to prepare to restore access to Communion for Catholics in the diocese.

Bishop Austin Vetter of Helena. Credit: Diocese of Helena/YouTube

The public celebration of Mass has been prohibited in dioceses across the United States for over a month as part of efforts to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The decisions come one week after Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces, New Mexico, became the first bishop in the United States to lift the ban on public celebration of Mass in his diocese.

Straight White Americans Need Not Apply

A group of pioneer pastors, farmers, and businessmen in Rice, Dakota, and Goodhue counties, under the leadership of the Rev. Bernt Julius Muus, the Rev. N.A. Quammen, and Harald Thorson, laid the groundwork for the college’s founding in 1874. The purpose of the school, then as now, was to offer a program of liberal studies to students preparing for careers in business, politics, the clergy, and other professions.
 
In choosing a name for the institution, the founders responded to strong Norwegian national and religious symbolism celebrating the splendor of the Nordic middle ages. They named the school for Olav II Haraldsson (spelled “Olaf” in the 19th century), king of Norway from 1016 until 1030. His martyrdom on July 29, 1030, at the Battle of Stiklestad, close to Pastor Muus’s own place of birth, made him Norway’s patron saint and eternal king and secured a national monarchy and the position of the Christian church in that country.

St. Olaf’s School was operated as an academy until 1886, when a college department was added. The name was changed to St. Olaf College in 1889, and the first college class graduated in 1890. Affiliated with the Lutheran Church throughout its history, St. Olaf remains a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Nice of the Lutherans to name their school after a Catholic. What has the school been up to recently?

St. Olaf College in Minnesota plans to host three virtual graduation ceremonies for different groups of minority students, while others must wait until next year to celebrate their completion of college.
“Self-identified domestic students of color, international students and LGBTQIA+ students” at the Minnesota school will receive their own virtual graduation ceremonies at the conclusion of this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, per an administrative email. Meanwhile, graduation for the rest of the class of 2020 has been “rescheduled for a date in late May/early June of 2021,” according to the school's website. 

“This event acknowledges the value and uniqueness of students’ experience..."    Tweet This

The three virtual graduation ceremonies for students in minority groups were announced by and will be hosted through the Taylor Center for Equity and Inclusion. This project of the school exists to help “students of color," “LBGTQIA+” and international students “celebrate” their “awesomeness factor,” per the center’s website.

It's Essential!

CNA Staff, Apr 14, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- A federal judge said on Easter Sunday that the state of Alabama cannot move to limit abortion procedures through measures intended to focus medical resources on fighting coronavirus. 

Granting a preliminary injunction on Sunday, April 12, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson wrote that “efforts to combat COVID-19 do not outweigh the lasting harm imposed by the denial of an individual’s right to terminate her pregnancy, by an undue burden or increase in risk on patients imposed by a delayed procedure, or by the cloud of unwarranted prosecution against providers.” 

The defendants in this case were Alabama’s state health officer Scott Harris and Attorney General Steve Marshall. The case was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of Dr. Yashica Robinson. Robinson is an abortion doctor based in Huntsville, AL. 

Several other states, including Ohio, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alaska,Arkansas, and Texas, have attempted to classify elective abortions as non-essential procedures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many states have suspended medical procedures deemed non-emergency or non-essential in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus among healthcare professionals and to free up medical resources and hospital capacity. 

Good Friday Seems Right...Lots of Innocent Peoplle Have Been Put to Death on That Day

CNA Staff, Apr 11, 2020 / 02:20 pm (CNA).- Virginia’s Catholic bishops lamented a decision by the state’s governor to sign abortion legislation passed in the Virginia legislature earlier this year. The bishops said it is offensive to pro-life Christians that the governor chose Good Friday as the day to sign the legislation.

“Yesterday, Governor Northam announced that he had signed the so-called 'Reproductive Health Protection Act'(SB 733 & HB 980). We are deeply saddened and disappointed by his signature of this legislation. That he would take this action on Good Friday, one of the most solemn days for Christians, is a particular affront to all who profess the Gospel of life,” Bishops Michael Burbidge and Barry Knestout said in an April 11 statement.

The Reproductive Health Protection Act first passed the state House, and then passed Virginia’s state Senate Jan. 29, more than 11 weeks ago. 

The bill, which is now law, repeals a Virginia law mandating that only doctors can perform abortions, allowing other medical professionals, such as physicians assistants and nurse practictioners, to perform them.

Catholics for Biden

Joe Biden’s recently released “Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Equality” is a collection of ideas, gestures, and slogans that the former vice president (or his handlers) hopes will “advance” the amorphous cause of “equality” for the “LGBTQ+ community.” The plan talks a lot about “equality” — Biden promises, variously, to “resume the march for equality,” support “equality and inclusion,” and “champion global equality” — without once defining what he means by “equality,” or how society at large is supposed to know when we have achieved it.

Here's the conclusion of the article...

In a post-Christian society — a post-religious society, in truth — such moral confusion is understandable. If the Gospels are stories concocted by first-century Jews who had a hallucinatory experience after the death of their cult leader, the moral commands that the New Testament contains are — at best — quaint suggestions. At worst, they are retrograde and capricious fables with nothing to teach a Modern and enlightened people. In neither case are its commands binding, at least in the same way they are to a people who believe them to be actually — not metaphorically or accidentally — true. If there is no God, then there is no natural law, no preordained moral order whose dictates we can divine from the observable world. If we inhabit a universe of ungoverned chaos where truth and falsehood are matters of private opinion, Joe Biden’s reluctance to comport himself as though the Catholic faith he professes were true — indeed, as though there were any objective moral standards at all — should not surprise us.

From the National Newspaper of Record, the Babylon Bee

JERUSALEM—Roman authorities are investigating controversial religious leader Jesus of Nazareth for violating the Empire's clear "stay in tomb" order. After crucifying him and laying him in the tomb, Roman guards put Him under strict orders to stay there and not come back, rising victorious over sin and death.

But Jesus, answering to a higher authority, refused to stay dead and busted out of the tomb, establishing a kingdom that would never end -- again, in clear violation of the government's orders.

"Jesus is a dangerous rebel, refusing to bend the knee to Caesar and not abiding by the law of sin and death," said one Roman official. "He clearly broke the law by leaving the tomb, and we're going to be issuing a citation and placing him under mandatory quarantine for these crimes."
After coming into contact with many large groups over the course of approximately 40 days, Jesus ascended into heaven and is currently thought to be reigning on high.

Authorities are also investigating Him for planning to gather with a large multitude of every tribe, tongue, and nation. He says he currently has no plans to obey any earthly king on the matter, pressing ahead with the gathering of those who believe He died and rose again and trust Him alone for their salvation.

She's Married to a Doctor, So She MUST Know

CNA Staff, Apr 9, 2020 / 11:30 am (CNA).- The state of Kansas is limiting religious services to no more than ten people for Easter as part of measures to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued an executive order on Tuesday requiring religious institutions to abide by the state’s current prohibition on public gatherings or 10 or more people during the public health emergency.

“As Holy Week gets underway – and with Kansas rapidly approaching its projected ‘peak’ infection rate in the coming weeks – the risk for a spike in COVID-19 cases through church gatherings is especially dangerous,” Kelly said April 7.

The governor’s previous executive order on mass gatherings exempted religious institutions, although it encouraged churches to broadcast their services online and over the radio “wherever possible” in order to not have “in-person” gatherings.   

Now, religious gatherings are still allowed as “essential services” but are limited to 10 people at a time where participants must maintain “social distancing” and proper hygiene.

The spread of the virus necessitated the requirement to curtail mass religious gatherings during Holy Week, Kelly said on Tuesday.

From Wikipedia:  

Kelly was the executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association.

I'm sure this will work. Has she tried sprinkling M&Ms around buildings to keep out the Coronavirus?

 I did it to my house, and Linda and I have not contracted it - so it must work!

I See Your Shroud of Turin, and Raise You a Crown of Thorns

Paris, France, Apr 7, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- One year after the world watched the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris burn, the Archbishop of Paris will display the relic of Christ’s crown of thorns for veneration during a Good Friday broadcast.

“When Mary is at the foot of the cross, she knows that from the most absolute evil God can always draw a much greater good," Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris said in an online press conference on April 7.

“I do not see any meaning in the cathedral fire or the COVID-19 epidemic. On the other hand, I know that God can bring much greater out of the misfortune that strikes us,” he said.

The Good Friday meditation before the crown of thorns will be broadcast live from inside the Notre-Dame Cathedral from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. local time April 9, days before the first anniversary of the fire.

Thank You, Columbia, For Some Much Needed Comic Relief

The sight of a "Jesus Christ" figure on a tree trunk has led to dozens of locals breaking the coronavirus lockdown to see it just days before the Easter period. 

Footage taken in the town of Magangue in Bolivar, Colombia, shows a large group gathering around the tree.

They can be seen taking photos of it as cameraman and journalist Rafael Rodriguez says: “Dozens of people are gathered here.

“They are here to see the figure of what they say or believe is the figure of Christ, they have forgotten about coronavirus and are currently here looking at this figure.”

What appears to be a figure like Jesus can be seen on the tree trunk. The branch formation even gives the impression the figure is hanging on the cross.

Good Thinking, Bad Execution

 5 PM local time? In Turin? And where can we view it. The article does not say. They forgot the when and where.

Turin, Italy, Apr 6, 2020 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Catholics around the world will be invited to pray virtually before the Turin Shroud on Holy Saturday as the world struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Church officials have said.

The Shroud, which bears the image of a crucified man and has been venerated for centuries as Christ’s burial cloth, will be displayed via livestream at 5pm local time April 11. 

Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia will preside over a liturgy from the chapel of Turin cathedral where the Shroud is kept in a climate-controlled vault. It will be broadcast live on television and social media. 

The archbishop said he was responding to thousands of requests from people asking to venerate the Shroud amid a global crisis that has so far claimed nearly 70,000 lives. 

"Thanks to television and social networks," he said, "this time of contemplation will make available to everyone throughout the world the image of the sacred cloth, which reminds us of the Lord's passion and death, but also opens our hearts to faith in His resurrection.”

Educated by Jesuits, So I Am Concerned

Bishop-elect McGovern will succeed Bishop Edward K. Braxton as Ordinary Bishop of Belleville.Chicago, Ill. (April 3, 2020) – Pope Francis today announced that he has named Father Michael G. McGovern, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, as the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois. Pope Francis also announced that he had accepted the resignation of Bishop Edward K. Braxton, who was installed as the Bishop of Belleville in 2005. Bishop-elect McGovern, 55, is expected to begin his ministry in the Diocese of Belleville later this year. "We congratulate Bishop-elect Michael McGovern on his appointment to the diocese of Belleville,” said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago. “He has served the People of God and the Church with humility and distinction for more than 27 years. We are confident he will be a strong and compassionate leader for the Belleville diocese, and we look forward to working with him."

  Bishop-elect McGovern, a native of Evergreen Park, Illinois attended Christ the King Grammar School and St. Ignatius College Prep, both in Chicago. He graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 1986, and from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Ill., earning an S.T.B in 1993 and a M.Div. in 1994. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1994 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Bishop-elect McGovern has had several parish assignments including as Resident at Immaculate Conception Parish, Highland Park, and at St. Clement Parish and Holy Name Cathedral, both in Chicago. He was Associate Pastor at St. Juliana Parish and Queen of the Universe Parish, both in Chicago and at St. Mary Parish, Lake Forest and Pastor at St. Mary Parish, Lake Forest and St. Raphael the Archangel, Old Mill Creek. Bishop-elect McGovern has served the archdiocese as Secretary of the Archdiocesan Incardination Committee, Associate and Vice Chancellor, Archbishop's Delegate for Lay Ecclesial Movements, Archbishop's Delegate for Extern and International Priests and as the Co-Chair of the Chicago Priest Convocation. He has been a member of the Archdiocese Presbyteral Council, a Dean in two Vicariate I Deaneries and a Member of the College of Consultors. He served on the Pastor Advisory Committee for the To Teach Who Christ Is Campaign and as member of the Priests' Placement Board. He has served as the Interim Episcopal Vicar for Vicariate I since the 2019 appointment of then-Auxiliary Bishop Alberto Rojas as the Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino, California. Bishop-elect McGovern served as a Member of the Board of Trustees of St. Ignatius College Prep and is a Member Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. 

That is so cool! 

The origins of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem are generally thought to date back to the First Crusade, when the Crusade's leader, Godfrey de Bouillon, liberated Jerusalem. As a component of his reorganization of the religious, military and public bodies of the territories newly freed from Muslim control, he founded the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. According to accounts of the Crusades, the first King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, assumed the leadership of this canonical order in 1103, and reserved the right for himself and his successors (as agents of the Patriarch of Jerusalem) to appoint Knights to it, should the Patriarch be absent or unable to do so.

Bishop Braxton Announces Replacement for Reverand Andrew