Drew Mariani Gave Me a Great Christmas Present!

Earlier today on the Drew Mariani Show on "Relevant" Radio, Drew discussed the movie Milk, starring Sean Penn. The movie shows someone's butt and there is some male/male kissing. Drew and his guest, Dr. Mugridge, expressed their outrage that the movie was not considered morally offensive by the U.S. Bishops movie reviewer. The movie received the next worst rating, "L - limited adult audience." They did not mention this or that there is also a separate rating for adults in general "A III - Adults." L states that some of the material is problematic. The reviewer did give the movie a good review as a whole, though. So I guess there are thinking people who work for the U.S. bishops.

An anonymous woman called the show to share stories of the all-girls Catholic school at which she works. The school has a lesbian support group which is sponsored by the guidance counselors. Lesbian couples have even come together to the school sponsored dances.

This is all great news. I wish this school could openly exhibit what they are doing, but any steps forward are good. Thank you, Drew. Thank you for reminding me that there a lot of good people in our church that are trying to make it better.

A Faithful Catholic

Winter Liturgy

In previous posts, I have stated that there should be a greater diversity in liturgy such as before the Council of Trent. Someone had asked for an example, and I believe at that time I cited the Congregation of the Great Spirit (everyone should go there at least once, especially since it could close soon with it no longer receiving any Archdiocesan support).

Well, with a good foot of snow on the ground, I thought of another example. Michael Joncas' "Table Prayer: The Winter Name of God." It is always a joy to be at any parish or chapel that is using that sung Eucharistic Prayer. I can guarantee that that Eucharistic Prayer is not liturgical by Rome's standards, but it is a beautiful prayer. I see it as the Midwest United States' form of the Eastern sung liturgy. I free sample of this prayer can be heard HERE, it's number 60.

Merry Christmas!!!

A Faithful Catholic

Bishop Morlino to do One Good Thing

Robert Morlino, bishop of Madison, WI is going to hold a Mass for the unemployed. This is in the wake of a GM plant near Madison closing 2 days before Christmas. While I applaud Morlino for actually thinking about workers at all, his track record is as a bishop is pretty poor.

Bishop Morlino is supposedly an extremely pro-life bishop. He has urged his "flock" to vote pro-life is prior elections, speaking harshly against abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia. The one contradiction in all of this is the stupendous support he gives to the School of the Americas (SOA), the U.S. sponsered terrorist training camp for Latin American soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia. He is, in fact, on "the board of visitors." Their job is to report to congress what a great job the SOA is doing. This unqualified support of the SOA is all the worse since he holds a Ph.D. in moral theology from the Gregorian University in Rome. This all makes me a bit suspicious of Bishop Morlino's intentions. This mass for the unemployed seems more like a PR stunt than a cause Morlino cares about. Morlino's past actions have never indicated a concern for the worker or the economy.

A Faithful Catholic

Benedict Asks Theologians to Not be so Practical

Following a meeting of theologians at the Vatican, Pope Benedict reminded them that the main task of theologians is to explore the truths of revelation, not necessarily their practical applications. That seems a rather odd thing to say. What is the point of theology if it cannot relate to our practical lives. The only logical explanation to this exhortation is that the practical applications of our theological truths often are at odds with hierarchical Church teaching. If the practical only agreed with hierarchical Church teaching, I do not think Benedict would be saying this. He also stressed that these expositions on the truth should lead to obedience to the faith, I agree. The meeting at which he spoke was releasing a document on natural law, the belief that all human beings have access to the basic religious and practical truths revealed by God. This would seem to have practical consequences for dialogue with other religions... I'm getting mixed messages.

A Faithful Catholic

Advent in the Midst of Wintertime

Another Church year began with the first Sunday of Advent. Snow is gently falling throughout the Milwaukee Archdiocese. That is very appropriate, considering the name of this blog, Catholic Wintertime in Milwaukee. We await new birth and new life in our world, and especially in our Church. We need a vision that is honest and genuine. That is not the case regarding the response of the Archdiocese to the upcoming child-abuse lawsuits. Every word from the Archdiocese has obviously been filtered through a lawyer to make sure that they do not say anything that will cost them money. That will not promote reconciliation, which is arguably the hallmark of Jesus' ministry.

Then there is the Archdiocesan capital campaign that is going on. All that money is flowing to a special account that will be protected from sexual abuse lawsuits. It all feels very dirty. This is one of those instances where the hierarchical magisterium seems more concerned over money than the people of the diocese, their supposed flock. So I will begin this new year hoping that we can move to a more genuine place as a Church and leave this wintertime behind us.

A Faithful Catholic