Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

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Divine Mercy website

Swiss Guard Ceremony

New recruits of the Vatican's elite Swiss Guard stand during the swearing in ceremony at Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican May 6, 2010. The Swiss Guard, founded in 1506 and consisting of 100 volunteers who must be Swiss, Catholic, single, at least 174 centimetres tall and beardless, celebrate their 502nd anniversary this year. New recruits are sworn in every year on May 6, commemorating the date in which 147 Swiss soldiers died defending the Pope during an attack on Rome on May 6, 1527. There are 33 new recruits sworn in for this year. (Daylife-Reuters)





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Apparition of St. Michael:

It is evident from Holy Scripture that God is pleased to make frequent use of the ministry of the heavenly spirits in the dispensations of His providence in this world. The Angels are all pure spirits; by a property of their nature they are immortal, as is every spirit. They have the power of moving or conveying themselves at will from place to place, and such is their activity that it is not easy for us to conceive of it. Among the holy Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are particularly distinguished in the Scriptures.

Saint Michael, whose name means Who is like unto God?, is the prince of the faithful Angels who opposed Lucifer and his followers in their revolt against God. Since the devil is the sworn enemy of God’s holy Church, Saint Michael is given to it by God as its special protector against the demon’s assaults and stratagems.

Various apparitions of this powerful Angel have proved the protection of Saint Michael over the Church. We may mention his apparition in Rome, where Saint Gregory the Great saw him in the air sheathing his sword, to signal the cessation of a pestilence and the appeasement of God’s wrath. Another apparition to Saint Ausbert, bishop of Avranches in France, led to the construction of Mont-Saint-Michel in the sea, a famous pilgrimage site.

May 8th, however, is destined to recall another no less marvelous apparition, occurring near Monte Gargano in the Kingdom of Naples.

In the year 492 a man named Gargan was pasturing his large herds in the countryside. One day a bull fled to the mountain, where it could not be found. When its refuge in a cave was discovered, an arrow was shot into the cave, but the arrow returned to wound the one who had sent it. Faced with this mysterious occurrence, the persons concerned decided to consult the bishop of the region. He ordered three days of fasting and prayers.

After three days, the Archangel Michael appeared to the bishop and declared that the cavern where the bull had taken refuge was under his protection, and that God wanted it to be consecrated under his name and in honor of all the Holy Angels.

Accompanied by his clergy and people, the pontiff went to that cavern, which he found already disposed in the form of a church. The divine mysteries were celebrated there, and there arose in this same place a magnificent temple where the divine Power has wrought great miracles. To thank God’s adorable goodness for the protection of the holy Archangel, the effect of His merciful Providence, this feast day was instituted by the Church in his honor.

It is said of this special guardian and protector of the Church that, during the final persecution of Antichrist, he will powerfully defend it: “At that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince who protects the children of thy people.”

Via Monsignor Sotto Voce:

In Poland, true patriotism is united to the Catholic faith, as shown by Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who was assassinated by Communist secret service agents and will be beatified June 6.

Read more here.

Castel Gandolfo Regina Caeli, Sexual Abuse Updates

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St. Martin was born in Todi, Italy. He was elected pope in 649 during the period of the last christological controversy. For his defense of Christ as true God and true man, he was exiled by the Byzantine emperor Constans II to Crimea where he died, broken by his sufferings

"Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and pedophilia. But many others have demonstrated, I have been told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and pedophilia. That is true. That is the problem." Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone

Why did I greet his successor, Pope Benedict, with relief? Well, rarely in the history of the Church have two men so extraordinarily different in style, origins, tastes and even outlooks toward the future ascended back-to-back to the papacy. Yet they were close friends and collaborators in the preservation and proclamation of the faith

The Holy See released a document today outlining the procedures used by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to respond to legitimate reports of sexual abuse

Dawn Johnsen has withdrawn her bid to head the White House´s Office of Legal Counsel, throwing in the towel after interminable delays and bipartisan opposition in the Senate, in part due to some of her radical pro-abortion views

Ignatius Press founder Fr. Fessio took on additional inaccuracies in the AP story, stressing that the 1985 letter from Cardinal Ratzinger regarding the removal of Fr. Kiesle from the priesthood concerned the issue of dispensing him from his vows, not punishing him for sexual misconduct

A jury in the Brazilian city of Belém has sentenced a rancher to 30 years in prison for the murder of an American-born nun, news agencies reported

Pope Benedict XVI will meet with victims of sexual abuse by priests, but away from the media spotlight, the Vatican said Tuesday

Pope will NOT be intimidated by socialist thugs in the UK

Vicious attack against Pope's baptismal home

Polish first lady is returned to her homeland

"Nine Days That Changed The World" movie

Pope Benedict, both before he became Pope and since, has done a great deal to confront the issue. He changed the policy that kept allegations of abuse within the authority of local bishops (Alan Dershowitz's defense of B16)

A review of this pontificate demonstrates this Pope´s effort to lead Europe to a future which embraces its Christian roots in order to flourish

B16 Commiserates With Poland, New Vatican Blog

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - APRIL 11: A faithful holds a Polish flag at St. Peter's Square as Pope Benedict XVI delivers his Regina Coeli Prayer from his summer residence on April 11, 2010 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pontiff expressed his 'profound sorrow' for the 96 victims of the air disaster, that claimed the lives of most of the Polish leadership. (Daylife Photos)




Pontiff grieves with Poland:

After the Regina Coeli prayer on Sunday, the Holy Father repeated his condolences to the "beloved Polish nation" for the deaths of President Lech Kaczynski and so many others in a plane crash on Saturday. The Pope assured the country of his prayers and entrusted the victims to the "merciful Lord of life."

"As we all know, yesterday saw the tragic airplane accident in Smolensk (Russia) in which the President of Poland, Mr. Lech Kaczynski, his wife, various high authorities of the Polish State and all of the delegation, including the Military Ordinary Archbishop perished," the Pope said.

"In expressing my profound condolences, I assure my heartfelt prayer of homage for the victims and of support for the beloved Polish nation," he added.

The Polish leader and delegation were on their way to the village of Katyn to commemorate, in a ceremony with Russian officials, the 70th anniversary of the assassination of more than 20,000 Polish military officers in World War II.

It was confirmed on Sunday that 97 people died in the crash.

In his individual language greetings to pilgrims, the Pope said, in Polish, that it was "with deep sorrow" that he found out about the accident. Remembering the victims and the reason for their visit to Russia, he entrusted "all to the merciful Lord of life."

"I do it," he told the audience, "uniting myself with the pilgrims gathered from the Sanctuary of Lagiewniki and with all those devoted to the Mercy of God in the entire world."

Citizens of Poland observed two minutes of silence on Sunday to remember the victims.

In Defense of Pope Benedict, Ross Douthat:

But there’s another story to be told about John Paul II and his besieged successor. The last pope was a great man, but he was also a weak administrator, a poor delegator, and sometimes a dreadful judge of character.

The church’s dilatory response to the sex abuse scandals was a testament to these weaknesses. So was John Paul’s friendship with the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ. The last pope loved him and defended him. But we know now that Father Maciel was a sexually voracious sociopath. And thanks to a recent exposé by The National Catholic Reporter’s Jason Berry, we know the secret of Maciel’s Vatican success: He was an extraordinary fund-raiser, and those funds often flowed to members of John Paul’s inner circle.

Only one churchman comes out of Berry’s story looking good: Joseph Ratzinger. Berry recounts how Ratzinger lectured to a group of Legionary priests, and was subsequently handed an envelope of money “for his charitable use.” The cardinal “was tough as nails in a very cordial way,” a witness said, and turned the money down.

This isn’t an isolated case. In the 1990s, it was Ratzinger who pushed for a full investigation of Hans Hermann Groer, the Vienna cardinal accused of pedophilia, only to have his efforts blocked in the Vatican. It was Ratzinger who persuaded John Paul, in 2001, to centralize the church’s haphazard system for handling sex abuse allegations in his office. It was Ratzinger who re-opened the long-dormant investigation into Maciel’s conduct in 2004, just days after John Paul II had honored the Legionaries in a Vatican ceremony. It was Ratzinger, as Pope Benedict, who banished Maciel to a monastery and ordered a comprehensive inquiry into his order.

So the high-flying John Paul let scandals spread beneath his feet, and the uncharismatic Ratzinger was left to clean them up. This pattern extends to other fraught issues that the last pope tended to avoid — the debasement of the Catholic liturgy, or the rise of Islam in once-Christian Europe. And it extends to the caliber of the church’s bishops, where Benedict’s appointments are widely viewed as an improvement over the choices John Paul made. It isn’t a coincidence that some of the most forthright ecclesiastical responses to the abuse scandal have come from friends and protégés of the current pope.

Has Benedict done enough to clean house and show contrition? Alas, no. Has his Vatican responded to the latest swirl of scandal with retrenchment, resentment, and an un-Christian dose of self-pity? Absolutely. Can this pontiff regain the kind of trust and admiration, for himself and for his office, that John Paul II enjoyed? Not a chance.

But as unlikely as it seems today, Benedict may yet deserve to be remembered as the better pope.

Though I do not concur with some of Douthat's assumptions and conclusions, I do believe that Cardinal Ratzinger, as he denotes, was a strident and a passionate counter-availing force against the "filth" which descended upon the Church, via the rampant and ubiquitous sexual abuse.

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The Jewish former mayor of New York is affirming that "continuing attacks" by the media on the Church and Benedict XVI have become "manifestations of anti-Catholicism."

New Vatican blog (H/T: Rorate Caeli)

Vatican now blogging

Feast of St. Julius, a Roman who was chosen Pope on the 6th of February in 337. He ruled the Church until 352 and received the appeal from St. Athanasius, whom he defended against his Arian accusers

Benedict XVI says the mission of the Church is to bring to all people the "joyous reality" of God's merciful love

The appointment of Archbishop José Gomez as coadjutor and successor to Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles signals the decisive role Hispanic leaders will increasingly play in the Church throughout the country

The first public exposition of the Shroud since 2000 offers a "path of faith and prayer" for the more than 1.5 million pilgrims and visitors that will see it, according to the Cardinal Archbishop of Turin, Severino Poletto

Voices in the media tell us that Pope Benedict is presiding over an unprecedented disaster. The truth is that he’s presiding over the greatest success story of all time: The grace of the sacraments and the power of the Resurrection are reaching a billion Catholics worldwide under his pastoral care

The Vatican on Monday posted new instructions on dealing with paedophile priests, making it mandatory for cases to be reported to the police

UN Judge calls for Pope's arrest in England

Mgr Charles Scicluna knows the Pope personally and is one of the most senior figures in the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith at the Vatican, which deals with cases of sexual abuse involving priests. He talks to Steve Mallia about Benedict XVI and the controversy engulfing the Church

Following his Saturday matinee viewing of a fictional film about Pius XII, the Holy Father commented that such films can be "useful and stimulating" in remembering the past which might otherwise be forgotten. Calling the late-Pontiff the Pope of charity and love, Benedict XVI underscored the role of Pius XII as the "father of all," especially during the Second World War

The Holy Father proposed charity as the “key of reading” the film, “in the light of the genuine witness of that great teacher of faith, of hope and of charity that was Pope Pius XII.”

It is "ridiculous" to state that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger covered up the wrongdoings of the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Marcial Maciel, as it was precisely the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who promoted the canonical investigation against him

L’Osservatore Romano's Vian argued that part of the Vatican’s “communications problem” is created by trends in the modern media. He pointed to the decline of traditional media, the speed at which reporting and analysis today happens, and the “aggressive” character of the blogosphere, “with everyone on one side or the other

On the rock of Peter our Church is built. To him and his successors — Christ’s vicars — have been entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of heaven. The pope is the visible foundation of the Church. Christ prayed for him that his faith might not fail, that he might strengthen his brethren

At a time when the Maltese people celebrate with particular joy the 1950th anniversary of Saint Paul’s arrival on their shores, the Holy Father commends all of you to the intercession of that great apostle and missionary, who tirelessly proclaimed the good news of the crucified and risen

More truths & facts about the Oakland case

Oakland story exposed as media continues defamation campaign

Update 1:

Father Robert Barron:

"I'm just back from St. Peter's square, where I witnessed Pope Benedict's Sunday Angelus broadcast on large screens from Castel Gondolfo. The pontiff has spent the past week there, recovering from his grueling Holy Week schedule- and undoubtedly from the massively unfair press coverage he has been receiving of late. As I listen to the endless reportage dealing with the Holy Father's supposed negligence in matters of priestly sex abuse, I can only shake my head.

I want to say, "don't they realize that they are going after the one man in the world who can do the most to solve this problem?" No one in the world understands the gravity of the situation more fully or has taken more practical steps to solve it as Joseph Ratzinger. On numerous occassions, he has stated how disgusted he is by the "filth" (his word) that has found its way into the ranks of the priesthood, and time and time again, he has taken firm steps to remove abusers and to chastise those who protected them.

I would recommend to anyone who doubts Pope Benedict's resolve to read his recent statement to the Irish church.

5 Year Anniversary of Pope John Paul II's Death

Poles Mark Remembrance:

WARSAW, Poland -- Predominantly Catholic Poland is marking the fifth anniversary of the death of its native son, Pope John Paul II, along with the traditional Good Friday processions and reenactments of Christ's death.

The Archbishop of Krakow, Stanislaw Dziwisz, noted the emotional symbolism of the anniversary falling on the day when the Catholic church remembers Christ's death. Dziwisz, formerly John Paul's private secretary, spoke at a Way of the Cross procession in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a pilgrimage site.

A similar procession will be held in Warsaw in the evening.

Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz said that John Paul's 26-year pontificate will always be remembered as exceptionally significant for Europe and Poland.

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Cardinal Edmund Szoka recalls fellow Pole

John Paul II The Great Memorial Mass

Pope Benedict XVI (L) leads the mass in memory of John Paul II on the anniversary of his death in Saint Peter's Basilic at the Vatican March 29, 2010. (Daylife-Reuters)
Venerated Brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood:

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

We are gathered around the altar, near the tomb of the Apostle Peter, to offer the Eucharistic sacrifice for the eternal repose of the chosen soul of Venerable John Paul II, on the fifth anniversary of his death. We do so a few days early, because this year April 2 is Good Friday. We are, in any case, in Holy Week -- a context that is much more propitious for recollection and prayer, in which the Liturgy makes us relive more intensely the last days of Jesus' earthly life.

I wish to express my gratitude to all of you who are taking part in this Mass. I greet cordially the cardinals -- in a special way Archbishop Stanislao Dziwisz -- the bishops, priests, men and women religious, as well as the pilgrims gathered purposely from Poland, and so many young people and numerous faithful who did not want to miss this celebration.

In the first biblical reading that was proclaimed, the prophet Isaiah presents the figure of a "servant of God," who is at the same time his chosen one, in whom he is well pleased. The servant will act with unbreakable firmness, with an energy that does not fail until he has realized the task that was assigned to him. However, he will not have at his disposition those human means that seem indispensable to act on such a grandiose plane.

He will present himself with the force of conviction, and it will be the Spirit that God has put in him that will give him the capacity to act with meekness and strength, assuring him of final success.

That which the inspired prophet says of the servant, we can apply to our beloved John Paul II: the Lord called him to his service and, in entrusting to him tasks of ever greater responsibility, also accompanied him with his grace and his continual assistance. During his long Pontificate, he spent himself in proclaiming the law with firmness, without weakness or hesitation, above all when he had to face resistance, hostility and rejection.
He knew he was taken by the hand of the Lord, and this enabled him to exercise a very fecund ministry, for which, once again, we give fervid thanks to God.

The Gospel just proclaimed takes us to Bethany, where, as the evangelist notes, Lazarus, Martha and Mary offered a supper to the Master (John 12:1). This banquet in the home of three friends of Jesus is characterized by presentiments of imminent death: the six days before Passover, the suggestion of the traitor Judas, Jesus' reply that recalls one of the pious acts of burial anticipated by Mary, the hint that they will not always have him with them, the intention to eliminate Lazarus, in which is reflected the will to kill Jesus.

In this evangelical account, there is a gesture to which I wish to draw your attention: Mary of Bethany "took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair" (12:3). Mary's gesture is the expression of great faith and love toward the Lord: for her it was not enough to wash the feet of the Master with water, but she spreads them with a great quantity of precious perfume that -- as Judas will argue -- could have been sold for three hundred denari; she does not, thus, anoint the head, as was the custom, but the feet: Mary offers Jesus all that she has that is most precious and with a gesture of profound devotion.

Love does not calculate, does not measure, is not concerned about expenses, puts no barriers, but is able to give with joy, seeks only the other's good, overcomes stinginess, miserliness, resentment, the narrow-mindedness that man bears at times in his heart.

Mary places herself at Jesus' feet in a humble attitude of service, as the Master himself will do in the Last Supper, when -- the fourth Gospel tells us -- he "rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples feet" (John 13:4-5), because, he says, "you also should do as I have done to you" (v. 15): the rule of Jesus' community is that of love that is able to serve to the point of giving one's life.

And the perfume spreads: "and the house was filled," notes the evangelist, "with the fragrance of the ointment" (John 12:3). The meaning of Mary's gesture, which is a response to the infinite love of God, is diffused among all the guests; every gesture of charity and of genuine devotion to Christ does not remain a personal event, does not concern only the relationship between the individual and the Lord, but concerns the whole body of the Church, it is contagious: It infuses love, joy, light.

"He came to his own home, and his own people received him not" (John 1:11): Contrasted with Mary's act are the words and attitude of Judas that, under the pretext of the help to be given to the poor, hides egoism and the falsehood of the man shut-in on himself, chained by the greed of possession, who does not let himself be enveloped by the good perfume of divine love.

Judas calculates where one cannot calculate, he enters with a mean spirit where the space is one of love, of gift, of total dedication. And Jesus, who up to that moment has been silent, intervenes in favor of Mary's gesture: "Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial" (John 12:7).

Jesus understands that Mary intuited the love of God and indicates that now his "hour" is drawing close, the "hour" in which Love will find its supreme expression on the wood of the cross: the Son of God gives himself, so that man can have life, he descends into the abyss of death to take man to the heights of God, he is not afraid to humble himself "and become obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). In the sermon in which he comments on this evangelical passage, St. Augustine addresses to each one of us, with pressing words, the invitation to enter into this circuit of love, imitating Mary's gesture and putting ourselves concretely in the following of Jesus.

Augustine writes: "Every soul that wishes to be faithful, unites itself to Mary to anoint with precious perfume the feet of the Lord. [...] Anoint the feet of Jesus: Follow the footprints of the Lord by leading a worthy life. Dry his feet with your hair: If there is something superfluous, give it to the poor, and you will have dried the feet of the Lord" (In Ioh. evang., 50, 6).

Dear brothers and sisters! The whole life of the Venerable John Paul II unfolded in the sign of this charity, of this capacity to give himself in a generous way, without reservations, without measure, without calculation. What moved him was love for Christ, to whom he had consecrated his life, a superabundant and unconditional love. It is precisely because he drew ever closer to God in love, that he was able to make himself a fellow wayfarer with the man of today, spreading in the world the perfume of the love of God.

Whoever had the joy of knowing and frequenting him, was able to touch with the hand how alive was in him the certainty "of contemplating the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living," as we heard in the Responsorial Psalm (26/27:13); a certainty that accompanied him in the course of his existence and that, in a particular way, was manifested during the last period of his pilgrimage on this earth: the progressive physical weakness, in fact, never affected his rock-like faith, his luminous hope, his fervent charity. He let himself be consumed by Christ, for the Church, for the whole world: his was a suffering lived to the end for love and with love.

In the homily for the 25th anniversary of his Pontificate, he confided having felt strongly in his heart, at the moment of the election, Jesus' question to Peter: "Do you love me? Do you love me more than these ...? " (John 21:15-16); and he adds: "Every day within my heart the same dialogue takes place between Jesus and Peter. In spirit, I fix my gaze on the benevolent look of the Risen Christ. He, however, aware of my human frailty, encourages me to respond with trust as Peter: "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you" (John 21:17).

And then he invites me to assume the responsibility that He himself has entrusted to me" (Oct. 16, 2003). They are words charged with faith and love, love of God, who conquers all."

[In Polish, he said:]

Finally I wish to greet the Poles here present. Many of you have gathered around the tomb of the Venerable Servant of God with a special sentiment, as daughters and sons of the same land, raised in the same culture and spiritual tradition. The life and work of John Paul II, great Pole, can be a reason for pride for you.

However, it is necessary for you to remember that this is also a great call to be faithful witnesses of the faith, the hope and the love, that he taught us uninterruptedly. Through the intercession of John Paul II, may the Lord's blessing always sustain you.

[He continued in Italian]

While we continue the Eucharistic celebration, being on the point of living the glorious days of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord, let us entrust ourselves with confidence -- following the example of the Venerable John Paul II -- to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, so that she will sustain us in the commitment to be, in every circumstance, tireless apostles of her divine Son and of his merciful Love. Amen!

Papal Holy Week Agenda:



A Response to the New York Times-Father De Souza:

The New York Times on March 25 accused Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, of intervening to prevent a priest, Fr. Lawrence Murphy, from facing penalties for cases of sexual abuse of minors.

The story is false. It is unsupported by its own documentation. Indeed, it gives every indication of being part of a coordinated campaign against Pope Benedict, rather than responsible journalism.

Before addressing the false substance of the story, the following circumstances are worthy of note:

• The New York Times story had two sources. First, lawyers who currently have a civil suit pending against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. One of the lawyers, Jeffrey Anderson, also has cases in the United States Supreme Court pending against the Holy See. He has a direct financial interest in the matter being reported.

• The second source was Archbishop Rembert Weakland, retired archbishop of Milwaukee. He is the most discredited and disgraced bishop in the United States, widely known for mishandling sexual-abuse cases during his tenure, and guilty of using $450,000 of archdiocesan funds to pay hush money to a former homosexual lover who was blackmailing him. Archbishop Weakland had responsibility for the Father Murphy case between 1977 and 1998, when Father Murphy died. He has long been embittered that his maladministration of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee earned him the disfavor of Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, long before it was revealed that he had used parishioners’ money to pay off his clandestine lover. He is prima facie not a reliable source.

• Laurie Goodstein, the author of the New York Times story, has a recent history with Archbishop Weakland. Last year, upon the release of the disgraced archbishop’s autobiography, she wrote an unusually sympathetic story that buried all the most serious allegations against him (New York Times, May 14, 2009).

• A demonstration took place in Rome on Friday, coinciding with the publication of the New York Times story. One might ask how American activists would happen to be in Rome distributing the very documents referred to that day in the New York Times. The appearance here is one of a coordinated campaign, rather than disinterested reporting.

It’s possible that bad sources could still provide the truth. But compromised sources scream out for greater scrutiny. Instead of greater scrutiny of the original story, however, news editors the world over simply parroted the New York Times piece. Which leads us the more fundamental problem: The story is not true, according to its own documentation.

The New York Times made available on its own website the supporting documentation for the story. In those documents, Cardinal Ratzinger himself does not take any of the decisions that allegedly frustrated the trial. Letters are addressed to him; responses come from his deputy. Even leaving that aside, though, the gravamen of the charge — that Cardinal Ratzinger’s office impeded some investigation — is proven utterly false.

The documents show that the canonical trial or penal process against Father Murphy was never stopped by anyone. In fact, it was only abandoned days before Father Murphy died. Cardinal Ratzinger never took a decision in the case, according to the documents. His deputy, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, suggested, given that Father Murphy was in failing health and a canonical trial is a complicated matter, that more expeditious means be used to remove him from all ministry.

To repeat: The charge that Cardinal Ratzinger did anything wrong is unsupported by the documentation on which the story was based. He does not appear in the record as taking any decision. His office, in the person of his deputy, Archbishop Bertone, agreed that there should be full canonical trial. When it became apparent that Father Murphy was in failing health, Archbishop Bertone suggested more expeditious means of removing him from any ministry.

Furthermore, under canon law at the time, the principal responsibility for sexual-abuse cases lay with the local bishop. Archbishop Weakland had from 1977 onwards the responsibility of administering penalties to Father Murphy. He did nothing until 1996. It was at that point that Cardinal Ratzinger’s office became involved, and it subsequently did nothing to impede the local process.

The New York Times flatly got the story wrong, according to its own evidence. Readers may want to speculate on why.

Here is the relevant timeline, drawn from the documents the New York Times posted on its own website.

15 May 1974

Abuse by Fr. Lawrence Murphy is alleged by a former student at St. John’s School for the Deaf in Milwaukee. In fact, accusations against Father Murphy go back more than a decade.

12 September 1974

Father Murphy is granted an official “temporary sick leave” from St. John’s School for the Deaf. He leaves Milwaukee and moves to northern Wisconsin, in the Diocese of Superior, where he lives in a family home with his mother. He has no official assignment from this point until his death in 1998. He does not return to live in Milwaukee. No canonical penalties are pursued against him.

9 July 1980

Officials in the Diocese of Superior write to officials in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee about what ministry Father Murphy might undertake in Superior. Archbishop Rembert Weakland, archbishop of Milwaukee since 1977, has been consulted and says it would be unwise to have Father Murphy return to ministry with the deaf community. There is no indication that Archbishop Weakland foresees any other measures to be taken in the case.

17 July 1996

More than 20 years after the original abuse allegations, Archbishop Weakland writes to Cardinal Ratzinger, claiming that he has only just discovered that Father Murphy’s sexual abuse involved the sacrament of confession — a still more serious canonical crime. The allegations about the abuse of the sacrament of confession were in the original 1974 allegations. Weakland has been archbishop of Milwaukee by this point for 19 years.

It should be noted that for sexual-abuse charges, Archbishop Weakland could have proceeded against Father Murphy at any time. The matter of solicitation in the sacrament of confession required notifying Rome, but that too could have been done as early as the 1970s.

10 September 1996

Father Murphy is notified that a canonical trial will proceed against him. Until 2001, the local bishop had authority to proceed in such trials. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is now beginning the trial. It is noteworthy that at this point, no reply has been received from Rome indicating that Archbishop Weakland knew he had that authority to proceed.

24 March 1997

Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, Cardinal Ratzinger’s deputy at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, advises a canonical trial against Father Murphy.

14 May 1997

Archbishop Weakland writes to Archbishop Bertone to say that the penal process against Father Murphy has been launched, and notes that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has advised him to proceed even though the statute of limitations has expired. In fact, there is no statute of limitations for solicitation in the sacrament of confession.

Throughout the rest of 1997 the preparatory phases of penal process or canonical trial is underway. On 5 January 1998 the Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee says that an expedited trial should be concluded within a few months.

12 January 1998

Father Murphy, now less than eight months away from his death, appeals to Cardinal Ratzinger that, given his frail health, he be allowed to live out his days in peace.

6 April 1998

Archbishop Bertone, noting the frail health of Father Murphy and that there have been no new charges in almost 25 years, recommends using pastoral measures to ensure Father Murphy has no ministry, but without the full burden of a penal process. It is only a suggestion, as the local bishop retains control.

13 May 1998

The Bishop of Superior, where the process has been transferred to and where Father Murphy has lived since 1974, rejects the suggestion for pastoral measures. Formal pre-trial proceedings begin on 15 May 1998, continuing the process already begun with the notification that had been issued in September 1996.

30 May 1998

Archbishop Weakland, who is in Rome, meets with officials at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, including Archbishop Bertone but not including Cardinal Ratzinger, to discuss the case. The penal process is ongoing. No decision taken to stop it, but given the difficulties of a trial after 25 years, other options are explored that would more quickly remove Father Murphy from ministry.

19 August 1998

Archbishop Weakland writes that he has halted the canonical trial and penal process against Father Murphy and has immediately begun the process to remove him from ministry — a quicker option.

21 August 1998

Father Murphy dies. His family defies the orders of Archbishop Weakland for a discreet funeral.

Father Rolheiser via Deacon Kandra:

"To be connected with the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers and hypocrites of every description.

It also, at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul of every time, country, race, and gender.

To be a member of the church is to carry the mantle of both the worst sin and the finest heroism of soul because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves."

Related Links:

The Anchoress provides a panoply of links of Papal defense

Pope John Paul II was a model of untiring love for God and for all men and women

The Vatican and other church officials have amplified their defense of Pope Benedict XVI

Archbishop Dolan of New York stridently defends the Pope

Metro bombings in Moscow almost kill Catholic parishioners

Jan Pawel II:



JP2's Belongings:



GOING FOR THE VATICAN JUGULAR:

Recent accusations against the Vatican deserve a response.

• Fr. Lawrence Murphy apparently began his predatory behavior inWisconsin in the 1950s, yet the victims' families never contacted the police until the mid-1970s.

After an investigation, thecase was dropped.

• The Vatican did not learn of the case until 1996.

• Cardinal Ratzinger, now the pope, was the head of the office that was contacted. There is no evidence that he knew of it. But even if he did, he would have had to allow for an investigation. While the inquiry was proceeding, Murphy died.

• The Times questions why Murphy was never defrocked. But only the Vatican can do that, and since it never learned of the case until he was dying, it was never a realistic option.

• The Times says the Vatican's canonical inquiry was done in secret. Correct. The proceedings of internal investigations—even in organizations like the Times—are never shown on C-SPAN.

• The Times says repeatedly that Church officials did not report accusations of abuse to the police. The common response of all organizations, secular as well as religious, was to access therapy and reinstate the patient (I prefer the term offender). Today it is obvious that a more hard-line approach is necessary, though therapy is still popular in many quarters.

• The Times continues to editorialize about the "pedophilia crisis," when all along it's been a homosexual crisis. Eighty percent of the victims of priestly sexual abuse are male and most of them are post-pubescent. While homosexuality does not cause predatory behavior, and most gay priests are not molesters, most of the molesters have been gay.

Here's what's really going on. The Times has teamed up with Jeffrey Anderson, a radical lawyer who has made millions suing the Church (and greasing professional victims' groups like SNAP), so they can weaken its moral authority. Why? Because of issues like abortion, gay marriage and women's ordination. That's what's really driving them mad, and that's why they are on the hunt.

Those who doubt this to be true need to ask why the debt-ridden Times does not spend the same resources looking for dirt in other institutions that occurred a half-century ago.


Archbishop of Toronto-Thomas Collins:

"As we look to the continuing painful purification of the Church, we all need in a particular way to give thanks to God for the leadership of Joseph Ratzinger, as Cardinal and Pope, who has acted decisively, fairly, consistently, and courageously to purify the priesthood and to make the Church a safe place for everyone. Anyone with any knowledge of this terrible reality realizes that Pope Benedict has led the way in confronting this evil."

Pope John Paul II Remembrance Mass 29 March, Full Holy Week Schedule

JP2 Tribute:



JP2's barber:



JP2's chanting Pater Noster, 1986:



VATICAN CITY, 23 MAR 2010 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. on Monday 29 March, the Monday of Holy Week, Benedict XVI will preside at a celebration of the Eucharist in the Vatican Basilica to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Venerable Servant of God John Paul II (2 April 2005)

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will preside next week at a Mass marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II.

The Mass will be held March 29 instead of the actual date of the Pope's death, the Vatican reported, because April 2 falls on Good Friday.

During the prayers of the faithful, this petition will be offered in Polish: "For the Venerable Pope John Paul II, who served the Church to the limit of his strength: So that from heaven he intercedes to spread the hope that is realized by fully participating in the glory of the resurrection."

In German, a petition will be offered for Benedict XVI, "so that he follows in the steps of Peter, carrying out his ministry with docile and firm perseverance to sustain the faithful."

A petition in Spanish will pray for "those here united to remember Pope John Paul II: So that we know to love and serve the Church as he loved and served, giving testimony in the faith of God and offering his love to all."

Papal Schedule for Holy Week:

World Youth Day - St. Peter’s Square
Thursday March 25, 2:00pm ET (In Italian), 8:00pm ET (In English)

Pope Benedict XVI gathers with the youth of Rome to hear their stories, answer their questions, lead a meditation, and encourage them on their Christian journey. This year the Holy Father also helps the young people of Rome prepare for the international World Youth Day gathering that will happen in Madrid in 2011. Salt + Light brings you full coverage.

Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord - St. Peter’s Square
Sunday March 28, 3:30am ET, 12:30am PT

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Palm Sunday liturgy with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. The liturgy includes a procession recalling Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem and the blessing of the palms.

Mass in memory of John Paul II – St. Peter’s Square
Monday March 29, 12:00pm ET, 9:00am PT

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a mass marking the fifth anniversary of the death of John Paul II. The late Pope John Paul II died April 2, 2005 at the age of 84. Because this year April 2 is Good Friday the Holy See has anticipated the Mass of Suffrage.

Mass of the Lord’s Supper - Basilica of St. John Lateran
Thursday April 1, 11:30am ET 8:30am PT

Pope Benedict XVI goes to the Cathedral of Rome, the Basilica of St. John Lateran to begin the Easter Triduum by celebrating the Mass of the Lord’s Supper with the traditional washing of the feet.

Good Friday-Celebration of the Lord's Passion- St. Peter's Basilica
Friday April 2, 11:00 am ET

Pope Benedict XVI leads the Good Friday service commemorating the Christ's passion and death.

Good Friday Way of the Cross – Roman Coliseum
Friday April 2, 3:15 pm ET 12:15pm PT

A Roman Good Friday tradition, the Holy Father presides over the Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross at the Roman Coliseum. Join with the faithful of Rome in following the Holy Father on the solemn Way of the Cross.

Holy Saturday Easter Vigil - St. Peter’s Basilica
Saturday April 3 , 3:00pm ET

Pope Benedict XVI presides over the Easter Vigil celebrating the resurrection of the Lord. During the mass the Holy Father will also administer the sacraments of initiation to those who are being received into the church.

Easter Sunday – St. Peter’s Square
Sunday April 4
Mass at 4:15 am ET 1:15am PT
Urbi et Orbi Blessing 6:00am ET 3:00am PT

Conclave Expected for Later This Year:

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Two cardinals turned 80 last week, bringing the total number of cardinals eligible to vote in a possible conclave to 109.

Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida, the retired archbishop of Detroit, turned 80 on March 18, and New Zealand's Cardinal Thomas Stafford Williams, the retired archbishop of Wellington, turned 80 on Saturday.

The College of Cardinals is currently made up of 182 members, with 73 of them being 80 years old or older, and thus ineligible to vote in a conclave.

By the end of the month, the College of Cardinals will have only 108 electors, and 74 non-electors.

Spanish Cardinal Julián Herranz will celebrate his 80th birthday on March 31. Cardinal Herranz is the retired president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

The next consistory of cardinals, which is expected to take place this fall, could allow for the creation of some 27 new cardinals. That number would increase the number of cardinals beyond the maximum of 120, but would also take into account 16 other forthcoming birthdays.

Seven more cardinals will turn 80 this year: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in July; Cardinal Paul Poupard in August; Cardinals Salvatore De Giorgi, Ignace Moussa I Daoud, and Michele Giordano in September; Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi in October; and Cardinal Janis Pujats in November.

In 2011, nine more cardinals will be 80: Cardinal Bernard Louis Panafieu in January; Cardinals Ricardo Jamin Vidal, Agustín García-Gasco y Vicente, and Camillo Ruini in February; Cardinal William Keeler in March; Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani in April; Cardinals Bernard Law and Adrianus Johannes Simonis in November; and Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-Suk in December.

NEW-EWTN News Service:

Pope Benedict will celebrate a Mass on Monday, March 29, marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Venerable John Paul II. The late Pope's death, at the age of 84, occurred on April 2, 2005 after battling Parkinson's disease.

Just over one month after John Paul II's death, his cause for beatification was formally opened. The near immediate initiation of his cause was made possible by Pope Benedict XVI waiving the five-year waiting period the Church law normally requires before beginning the sainthood process.

In April 2007, the diocesan phase of the cause of beatification was concluded, as all of the testimony on the life of the late Pontiff had been gathered together. Then, last December, Benedict XVI signed a decree recognizing JPII's life of heroic virtue, giving him the title, “Venerable.”

Last month, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was John Paul II’s personal secretary for 40 years, told participants at a Colombian conference that the late-Pope's beatification process “is practically finished.”

“In order for the beatification to take place,” he added, “it is important that the Church recognizes a miracle in which he has interceded. There is a case that is currently being investigated and it is of the miraculous healing of a French nun suffering from Parkinson’s.”

The date of Pope John Paul II's beatification is not yet determined.

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CNA & EWTN launch news site

The Holy Father officially accepted the resignation of Bishop John Magee of the Diocese of Cloyne, Ireland

Amsterdam 1345 miracle

Catholic TV goes 3D

Dutch abuse scandal details

WYD turns 25:

"A Blessing To One Another"-JP2 & Jewish People

Catholic-Jewish Collaboration For Proper WW2 Burials

Click here for a National Geographic report regarding the atrocities perpetrated by Hitler's bloody Einsatzgruppen thugs in Russia & Eastern Europe.

Second photo above is of the Holocaust Memorial sculpture in Miami Beach.

Polish Anti-Communist Martyr, Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko

Today we recall the 25th Anniversary of this courageous and valiant priest, a Polish freedom fighter, who died serving the Lord. Read more about his amazing story at Father Leake's blog here.

H/T: Da Mihi Animas

St. Faustina Kowalska-Poland

St. Faustina Kowalska, Virgin:

Saint Faustina was born in the 20th century, and canonized in the year 2000. Jesus chose her to deliver to the modern world a message as old as eternity. It is the message of his love for all people, especially sinners. Jesus said to Faustina, "Today I am sending you with my mercy to the people of the whole world." It is his desire to heal the aching world, to draw all people into his merciful heart of love.

On February 22, 1931, Jesus appeared to Faustina as the King of Divine Mercy. He asked her to have a picture painted of him as she saw him — clothed in white, with red and white rays of light streaming from his heart. The rays represent the blood and water that flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross. Under the image are the words, "Jesus, I trust in you."

Many people did not believe Faustina at first. The sisters in her own convent thought that Jesus could not possibly have selected her for this great favor. After all, she was an uneducated peasant girl. Her superiors often refused to give her permission to carry out Jesus' requests. Church theologians, too, doubted her word. Jesus told Faustina that he loved her obedience and that his will would be done in the end.

In June 1934 an artist completed the painting of the Divine Mercy according to her instructions; and it soon became a focus for devotion. Faustina continued to record in her diary the appearances of Jesus. The diary was translated into English and published in 1987 with the title Divine Mercy in My Soul.

Faustina, baptized Helena, had grown up in a poor Polish family of 10 children. When she was 15 years old, she quit school in order to work as a housemaid to help support her family. By the time she was 18, she was sure that God was calling her to a religious life, but her parents objected. So she tried to put it out of her mind. But one night, while the lively polka music was playing at a village dance, Helena saw Jesus, sad and suffering. The very next day she packed a small bag and went to the capital city of Warsaw to join the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. There she received the name Sister Mary Faustina.

About 10 years later, Faustina contracted tuberculosis. Soon she was too weak to manage the heavy gardening assigned to her. So she was given the job of gatekeeper. She was able to show mercy to the poor people who came to the convent looking for food. Once Jesus came to the door as a poor young man. After he had eaten the soup and bread Faustina gave him, she recognized him. Jesus told her he had come to experience with great joy her tender love and mercy.

Faustina was canonized by the first Polish pope, John Paul II, on April 30, 2000. The first Sunday after Easter was declared Divine Mercy Sunday.

APOSTLE OF DIVINE MERCY:

Feast: October 5

Information:

Feast Day: October 5

Born: 25 August 1905, Głogowiec, Poland

Died: October 5, 1938, Kraków, Poland

Canonized: 30 April 2000, Pope John Paul II

Major Shrine: Shrine of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki, Kraków, Poland

Patron of: World Youth Day

St Mary Faustina Kowalska was born on 25 August 1905 in Glogowiec, Poland, to a poor, religious family of peasants, the third of 10 children. She was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of Swinice Warckle. From a very tender age she stood out because of her love of prayer, work, obedience and her sensitivity to the poor. At the age of nine she made her First Holy Communion and attended school for three years. At the age of 16 she left home and went to work as a housekeeper in Aleksandrow, Lodz and Ostrowek in order to support herself and to help her parents.
At the age of seven she had already felt the first stirrings of a religious vocation. After finishing school, she wanted to enter the convent but her parents would not give her permission. Called during a vision of the suffering Christ, on 1 August 1925 she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and took the name Sr Mary Faustina. She lived in the congregation for 13 years, residing in Krakow, Plock and Vilnius, where she worked as a cook, gardener and porter.

Externally, nothing revealed her rich mystical interior life. She zealously performed her tasks and faithfully observed the rule of religious life. She was recollected, yet very natural, serene and full of kindness and disinterested love for her neighbour. Although her life was apparently insignificant and monotonous, she hid within herself an extraordinary union with God.

It is the mystery of God's mercy, which she contemplated in the word of God as well as in her everyday activities, that forms the basis of her spirituality. The process of contemplating and getting to know the mystery of God's mercy helped to develop within Sr Mary Faustina the attitude of childlike trust in God and of mercy towards her neighbour. "0 my Jesus, each of your saints reflects one of your virtues; I desire to reflect your compassionate heart, full of mercy; I want to glorify it. Let your mercy, 0 Jesus, be impressed upon my heart and soul like a seal, and this will be my badge in this and the future life" (Diary 1242). Sr Faustina was a faithful daughter of the Church. Conscious of her role in the Church, she cooperated with God's mercy in the task of saving lost souls. At the specific request of the Lord Jesus and following his example, she made a sacrifice of her own life for this very goal. Her spiritual life was also distinguished by a love of the Eucharist and a deep devotion to the Mother of Mercy.

The years she spent in the convent were filled with extraordinary gifts, such as revelations, visions, hidden stigmata, participation in the Passion of the Lord, bilocation, the reading of human souls, prophecy and the rare gift of mystical espousal and marriage. Her living relationship with God, the Blessed Mother, the angels, the saints, the souls in purgatory—with the entire supernatural world—was as real for her as the world she perceived with the senses. In spite of being so richly endowed with extraordinary graces, Sr Mary Faustina knew that they do not in fact constitute sanctity. In her Diary she wrote: "Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God" (Diary 1107).

The Lord Jesus chose Sr Mary Faustina as the apostle and "secretary" of his mercy, so that she could tell the world about his great message. "In the Old Covenant", he said to her, "I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to my people. Today I am sending you with my mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful Heart" (Diary 1588).

The mission of Sr Mary Faustina consists in three tasks:

—reminding the world of the truth of our faith revealed in the Holy Scripture about the merciful love of God towards every human being;

—entreating God's mercy for the whole world and particularly for sinners, among others through the practice of new forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy presented by the Lord Jesus, such as: the veneration of the image of the Divine Mercy with the inscription: "Jesus, I trust in you"; the feast of the Divine Mercy celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter; chaplet to the Divine Mercy and prayer at the Hour of Mercy (3 p.m.). The Lord Jesus attached great promises to the above forms of devotion, provided one entrusted one's life to God and practised active love of neighbour;

—initiating the apostolic movement of the Divine Mercy, whose task is to proclaim and entreat God's mercy for the world and to strive for Christian perfection, following the precepts laid down by Sr Mary Faustina. The precepts in question require the faithful to have an attitude of childlike trust in God, expressed in fulfilling his will, and an attitude of mercy toward one's neighbour. Today millions of people throughout the world are involved in this Church movement: it includes religious congregations, lay institutes, religious, confraternities, associations, various communities of apostles of the Divine Mercy, as well as individuals who take up the tasks which the Lord Jesus communicated to them through Sr Mary Faustina.

Sr Mary Faustina's mission was recorded in her Diary, which she kept at the specific request of the Lord Jesus and her confessors. In it she faithfully wrote down all of the Lord's wishes and described the encounters between her soul and him. "Secretary of my most profound mystery", the Lord said to Sr Faustina, "know that your task is to write down everything that I make known to you about my mercy, for the benefit of those who by reading these things will be comforted in their souls and will have the courage to approach me" (Diary 1693). Sr Mary Faustina's work sheds light on the mystery of the Divine Mercy. It delights not only simple, uneducated people, but also scholars, who look upon it as an additional source of theological research.

Sr Mary Faustina, consumed by tuberculosis and innumerable sufferings, which she accepted as a voluntary sacrifice for sinners, died in Krakow at the age of 33 on 5 October 1938, with a reputation for spiritual maturity and a mystical union with God. Her reputation for holiness grew, as did the devotion to the Divine Mercy and the graces received from God through her intercession. Pope John Paul II beatified Sr Faustina on 18 April 1993. Her mortal remains rest at the Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Krakow-Lagiewniki.