Regina Caeli, End of Marian Month & Cyprus Trip

End of Marian Month:





Pope Benedict XVI smiles to a child at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens at the end of the celebration of a mass for the closing of the Marian month on May 31, 2010. (Daylife-Getty Images)





Pictures courtesy of Daylife

Trinity Sunday:



Regina Caeli:



Cyprus Trip:



Irish Clerical Abuse Investigation:



Pope's June Papal Intentions:





German Abuse Investigation:



Related Links:

Memorial of St. Justin, martyr

St. Justin

As Christians flee in great numbers from Iran, for both political and religious reasons, the country's Christian community is at real risk of extinction, says journalist and observer of Middle Eastern Churches, Camille Eid

The traditional procession marking the end of the month of May took place yesterday at 8:00pm in the Vatican Gardens. As the rosary was recited, the procession wound from the Church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians to the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

Pope Benedict XVI will make an apostolic visit to Cyprus from 4 to 6 June during which the Instrumentum Laboris of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, will be published

The Vatican today announced the names of the nine bishops, priests and religious who will conduct an apostolic visitation of dioceses in Ireland, the Irish seminaries and religious orders

Archbishop Chrysostomos II — the head of the Orthodox Cypriots who, together with the President of the Republic, Demetris Christofias, invited the Pope — has urged his brother bishops to show respect to their important guest and has threatened sanctions if they don’t. Chrysostomos II has reminded them that the majority of the Synod approved of inviting the Pope

Glenn Beck engages in counter-factual Catholic bashing, AGAIN

Crucifix Ruling: These States, all of which are supporting Italy in the desire to overturn last November's decision, include: Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, San-Marino, Romania, and The Russian Federation

Worse than Obama? UPDATE: Levin Responds

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I categorically and unequivocally disagree with this assessment of Glenn Beck.

On the principal issues of the war on terror such as the prosecutions of CIA officers, missile defense in the Czech Republic and Poland, backing of the state of Israel, supporting freedom in Cuba, Honduras and Latin America, McCain is and would have been 100% spot on.

On the domestic front, I believe Gov. Palin's presence would have tempered his views, although for the record we would have gotten constitutionalist judges, a culture of life agenda and a pro-growth programs in terms of tax cuts and spending.

Beck should do well to alter his criticisms of the great Theodore Roosevelt, as well, who for all his faults is on Mount Rushmore and served the Republic in the most gallant form imaginable.

Update 1:

Mark Levin rebuts:

Beck’s opinion elicited a fierce and angry response from right-wing radio host Mark Levin yesterday. “To say [McCain] would be worse is mindless, mindless, incoherent as a matter of fact,” Levin said on his radio show. He then suggested Beck is playing politics: “I don’t know who people are playing to. I don’t know why they’re playing to certain people.”

Levin never mentions Beck by name (he refers to Beck as “the 5 pm’er” because Beck’s show airs at 5 pm on Fox News). He concluded with this final dig at Beck:

I think there’s enormous confusion and positioning and pandering. It may be entertaining, but from my perspective, it’s not. It’s pathetic.

Beck is causing consternation for many right wingers these days. Peter Wehner, a former political adviser to President Bush, recently wrote that Beck is “harmful to the conservative movement” because he’s “erratic,” “bizarre,” and is too interested in “conspiracy theories.” And Rush Limbaugh recently suggested to Politico that Beck’s role in promoting the 9/12 protest was “cheap and disingenuous.”

Raw Story notes that, this morning, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough expressed disdain for Fox News’ Glenn Beck. “You cannot preach hatred. You cannot say the president is racist. You cannot say things that have very deadly consequences. I was in Congress in 1995. I know where this can end,” said Scarborough.