Be fruitful and multiply

ABC NEWS online - Pope Benedict XVI has told Catholics to have more babies "for the good of society," saying that some countries were being sapped of energy because of low birth rates.

L.A. dance fever

Young woman performs liturgical dance inside renovated Holy Trinity Church in San Pedro during rededication Mass Oct. 13, 2002.


TIDINGS photo by Sister Nancy Munro, CSJ

Students from Mount St. Mary's College Doheny campus perform liturgical dance at the Mass of Holy Spirit in October, 2003.


TIDINGS photo

John West, director of the Valyermo Dancers, will lead an Oct. 30 [2004] workshop of prayer and dance designed to enrich one's spiritual and artistic life. The day will include biblical reflection, personal prayer and directed dance, movement and celebration.


TIDINGS photo by Mike Nelson

Liturgical dancers incense the new worship space.


TIDINGS photo by Sr. Nancy Munro, CSJ

RITUAL SCENTS -- Liturgical dancers waft incense toward the statue of the Virgin Mary during the rite of dedication.


TIDINGS photo by Jennifer C. Vergara

Everybody's favorite.


from the L.A. Religious Education Congress 2005

World's finest

"The world's finest metropolitan cathedral in terms of 220-volt outlets and freeway access!"-- DIOGENES

Requiescet in pace

VENTURA COUNTY STAR -- Monsignor Patrick J. O'Brien, an Irish immigrant who advocated for the poor and led the San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura for nearly a quarter-century, has died at the age of 74.

Go HERE for the VENTURA COUNTY STAR report.

By all accounts Monsignor O'Brien was a good priest who served the Church faithfully. There has been an indult Mass at the Mission for many years thanks, in large part, to the good Monsignor. I hope it will continue now that a change in the pastoral administration of the mission parish is on the horizon.

May his soul and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace!

Katrina

Truth Laid Bear blog is a great source of information about Hurricane Katrina and how people can help.

Who says Pope Benedict isn't warm and cuddly?

In nomine Domini answers the naysayers.

El Exorcista

Mexico City, Aug. 30, 2005 (CNA) - At the recent National Congress of Exorcists held at the headquarters of the Bishops’ Conference of Mexico, organizers revealed that up to five exorcisms per day are taking place in the country.

The number of daily exorcisms has been climbing since the 1960s, according to researchers. In the central Federal District of Mexico alone there are eight priests authorized by the Holy See to perform exorcisms in order to expel demons in the name of Jesus according to the rites and norms of the Catholic Church.

Click HERE for full report.

Father Messenger's message

In the most recent LOS ANGELES CATHOLIC LAY CATHOLIC MISSION, John Eck has written an informative piece about Father "Bill" Messenger, the former chaplain at the USC-Our Savior Parish. Go HERE for the article.

Messenger was placed on administrative leave following an allegation that he had inappropriately touched an adult, male student. Messenger denied the charge but nonetheless decided a few weeks later to step down as pastor of the university parish.

While chaplain for over 10 years, Messenger would use the now defunct USC Catholic Community website as a platform to promote his heterodox views.

On the topic of celibacy, for instance, he wrote:

"I, for one, did not choose celibacy. I chose priesthood and accepted celibacy because there was no choice. I do not consider myself to have been free. There was simply no other way to be ordained."

"We must face the truth that celibacy in the diocesan clergy is abnormal. As in any abnormal situation, the individual must seek compensation."

Out-of-the-box

It was "out-of-the-box" thinking that inspired architect Rafael Moneo and his patron, Cardinal Mahony, to create LA's cathedral.



Not a bad likeness, don't you think?

L.A. real estate

Diogenes has a very funny spoof about L.A. churches and, of course, Mahony's cathedral.

Enjoy!

Mahony's spiritual rhinestones *

Diogenes offers an incisive comparison between the richness and beauty of the teaching contained in today's Angelus address by Pope Benedict XVI and the blandness and superficiality of Cardinal Mahony's WYD catechesis.

* rhine·stone - A colorless artificial gem of paste or glass, often with facets that sparkle in imitation of a diamond.

Mahony's tabernacle

Regarding the Tabernacle in Mahony's Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, one anonymous blogger wrote:

I laughed until I read what it was. Then I wanted to cry.

Mahony's cathedral

A view from the Hollywood Freeway.

Mahony's WYD catechesis

As usual, Clayton has insightful commentary on Cardinal Roger Mahony's catechesis to the young people in Cologne.

Go to THE WEIGHT OF GLORY.

Whacky women we-ligious

Blue-haired Benedictines, leisure-suited Loretos, and muumuu clad Mercies were among the 1400 participants at the annual Leadership Conference of Women Religious Assembly held in Anaheim this past weekend.

Here are two popular L.A. Catholic posts regarding this most "we-cent whacky women we-ligious" convention. It would be funny if it weren't true. But alas, they are dead serious.

Twisted Sisters in Fantasyland.

LCWR meets in Anaheim.

And here are two related posts from fellow bloggers in Christ.

How gross

Long, long ago ...

L.A. Masses

Mass is supposed to be "heaven on earth."


WYD JUVENTUTEM PHOTO

But sometimes it is "hell."


TIDINGS PHOTO

How was Mass in your parish this Sunday?

Up or down? Heaven or hell?

L.A. Cathedral

A view of the pews.

Ruling makes all diocesan assets vulnerable in clergy abuse claims

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES reports ...

SEATTLE — Handing a major legal victory to victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, a Federal bankruptcy judge said Friday that churches, parochial schools and other assets belonged to a diocese — not individual parishes or trusts — and thus could be liquidated if necessary to pay victims.

The ruling applied specifically to the bankrupt Diocese of Spokane, Wash., which is facing settlement of lawsuits brought by 58 people who said they were sexually abused by priests ...

For the full report, click HERE.

Spokane bishop, William S. Skylstad, who is also president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced that he will appeal the ruling.

According to the LOS ANGELES TIMES report, the attorney for the Cardinal Roger Mahony said that the Los Angeles Archdiocese would not file bankruptcy. He was also confident that the ruling would be overturned on appeal.

We shall see.

Twisted Sisters in Fantasyland

As reported in an earlier post, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious held its annual "assembly" this past week across the street from "Fantasyland" in Anaheim, California.

Huddled together in the squalid setting of the 5 star Anaheim Hilton Hotel and Resort, the graying pack of recusant religious emoted over their prophetic stance on behalf of the poor and the marginalized.


One of the pools at the Hilton Anaheim

Sporting a diverse array of nouveau habits -- pant suits, muumuus, faded Vote for Kerry-Edwards T-shirt-and-jeans ensembles -- they celebrated their "connectedness" with like-minded women scattered throughout their "small, small world."

Addressing the group, LCWR president Sister Christine Vladimiroff, OSB, stated, “Our foremothers and founders have shown us the way through the past. Now it is our time, the only time we have — the present. The future of religious life is in our hands to shape for those who will follow us."



Truth be told, if the many saintly and even sainted foundresses and founders of the religious congregations represented at the conference were to come back from the grave, they would most certainly have a few choice words for their wacky and wayward "spiritual" daughters.

Sister Vladimiroff's claim that the "future of religious life is in our hands to shape for those who will follow us" is patently false.

First and fortuitously, these poor deluded women have no one following them since they have virtually no vocations (at least in this country).

Second, the future of religious life is in the hands of the religous orders and congregations that belong to the Rome approved Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR), an outgrowth of the now disbanded Consortium Pefectae Caritatis (CPC). These are religious orders and congregations which are getting vocations because they are faithful to the Magisterium and to the authentic reform of religious life as taught by Vatican Council II. A sampling of these groups would include: the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, the Nashville Dominicans, Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, and the Missionaries of Charity.

The LCWR considers CMSWR a "splinter group" when in fact the opposite is true. CMSWR aims at fidelity to the Church's Magisterium. LCWR actively works against the Church and Her teachings.

Map of priest/parish decline in U.S. since 1990

The number of priests in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has decreased by 20 per cent since 1990. In California, only San Francisco and Stockton suffered greater losses, but keep in mind that they are small dioceses. Los Angeles, in contrast, is the MOST POPULOUS ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION in the nation.

Way to go, Roger! Another stunning statistic for your memoirs. Better start writing. 2011 is just around the corner. If you need a pen that will write and not get weary, I heartily recommend THIS ONE.

Cardinal Mahony became archbishop of L.A. in 1985.

Click HERE for the USA Today map.

One million evangelicals in L.A.

"When determining which metropolitan area has the greatest number of evangelical adults, the outcome [of a recent survey] will shock many people: Los Angeles," TBG (The Barna Group) noted. "The city that produces the media often criticized or boycotted by evangelicals is also home to nearly one million of those deeply devout Christians. In fact, there are more evangelical adults in the Los Angeles market than there are in the New York, Chicago and Boston metropolitan areas -- combined!"

Read the full report HERE.

I wonder how many of those one million evangelicals are ex-Catholics.

Levada to wear another big hat at the Vatican

TIDINGS photo

Vatican, Aug. 24 (CWNews.com) - Archbishop William Levada, the incoming prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has also been named a member of the Congregation for Bishops.

The American archbishop, who will take up his new responsibilities at the Vatican on September 1, will have enormous influence as the head of the Vatican's doctrinal agency, where he take the post vacated by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he was elected to the papacy. As a member of the Congregation for Bishops, he will also have a hand in the selection of diocesan leaders thoughout the Catholic world.

Go HERE for full report.

L.A. Cathedral 'sacred' vessels

LCWR meets in Anaheim

Blue-haired Benedictines, leisure-suited Loretos, and muumuu clad Mercies were among the 1400 participants at the annual Leadership Conference of Women Religious Assembly held in Anaheim this past weekend.

This pitiable group of aging religious women remains in inexplicable denial about the abysmal failure of its, dare I say it, "vision" for the Church. It is difficult to imagine a group of Catholics more out of touch with reality. The Barque of Peter is surging forward with Pope Benedict XVI at the helm while these poor women are still stuck in the 60s.

How striking the contrast between this largely geriatric "assembly" of "nuns" in Anaheim and the nearly simultaneous gathering of 1.2 million young Catholics in Cologne for WYD.

You can read all about the LCWR's 2005 assembly HERE. But then again, why bother? This is a group without a future. And I predict that within the span of 10 to 15 years (or fewer), there will no longer be a LCWR because most of them will have "gone the way of all the earth."

I truly feel sorry for these women who presumably at one point freely and lovingly answered the call of God to the consecrated life but, sadly, somewhere along the way got lost.

What the heck is it?

Hint #1 You will find it inside LA's cathedral.
Hint #2 You will not find it easily, however.
Hint #3 It is not a reliquary containing the lungs of the "Marlboro Man" (who, incidentally, is NOT buried in the LA cathedral mausoleum).

What the heck is it?

Go HERE for the answer.

'Gay' coffee

Starbucks promotes the "gay" agenda. See the BPNews report HERE.

Benedict's 'quiet charisma'

Reuters

Pope Benedict's disarming presence, his undisputed humility, the beauty and precision of his words and the gentleness of his demeanor continue to win him new admirers. Have you noticed how even the critics in the media are finding it increasingly difficult not to say positive things about Benedict XVI?

From THE TELEGRAPH ...

By attracting a million people to his open-air Mass outside Cologne - and effortlessly holding their attention - Pope Benedict XVI has passed the first big test of his pontificate. But this public relations triumph probably matters far less to him than the task of internal reform that lies ahead.

He knows how stage-managed these events are - and he has no intention of attending as many of them as John Paul II. Underlying this pope's quiet charisma is a determination to rejuvenate an institution that, throughout the west, has been gravely damaged by sexual scandal, episcopal incompetence, ugly services and falling Mass attendance.

Hence his admission at a prayer vigil on Saturday night that there was "much that could be criticised" in the Church. "We know this and the Lord himself told us so: it is a net with good and bad fish," he said.

Adoration: mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

'ad-oratio'

"The Latin word for adoration is ad-oratio – mouth to mouth contact, a kiss, an embrace, and hence ultimately love."

No charisma? Not as warm as JPII?

Yeah, right.

What the heck is it?

The first in an LA Catholic series of posts entitled, "What the heck is it?"



Hint #1: It is found inside the L.A. Cathedral.
Hint #2: This is not where visitors leave their pets while they tour the building.
Hint #3: Those doors do not provide access to utility rooms.

Give up? Click HERE for the answer.

L.A. bright spot

Thomas Aquinas plans its 35th convocation

"Thomas Aquinas College's 35th convocation takes place Monday with Bishop Robert Francis Vasa of the Diocese of Baker, Ore., presiding over the event.

This year's convocation marks the first time the school will reach its maximum enrollment with 350 students.

... Thomas Aquinas College is a four-year Catholic liberal arts school that uses discussion in the study of the Great Books. It is located at 10000 North Ojai Road in Santa Paula."

From the VENTURA COUNTY STAR.

Holy Mary, Queen of Los Angeles, intercede for us!

Holy Virgin Mother of God, L.A. is your city! Pray for us!

L.A. Masses

St. Lawrence Martyr, Redondo Beach

How was Mass in your parish this weekend?

Love the pope!

"You must love, venerate, pray and mortify yourself for the Pope, and do so with greater affection each day. For he is the foundation stone of the Church and, throughout the centuries, right to the end of time, he carries out among men that task of sanctifying and governing which Jesus entrusted to Peter."

Pope Benedict: you are awesome!

More of Roger's Angels

Figures of bizzare creatures like the one of above are mounted on the walls throughout Mahony's cathedral in Los Angeles. We are told that they are angels. One would assume that they are of the fallen variety.

A Tale of Two Cathedrals

Cologne

Los Angeles

Reliquary of the Magi

(Courtesy of Catholic Church Conservation)

.

The address of Pope Benedict XVI upon his arrival in Cologne, Germany:

The city of Cologne would not be what it is without the Magi, who have had so great an impact on its history, its culture and its faith. Here, in some sense, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany every day of the year! And so, before addressing you in the presence of this magnificent Cathedral, I paused for a moment of prayer before the reliquary of the three Magi and gave thanks to God for their witness of faith, hope and love ... In honour of the Magi the inhabitants of Cologne produced the most exquisite reliquary of the whole Christian world and, as if that were not sufficient, they raised above it an even greater reliquary, this stupendous Gothic Cathedral which, after the ravages of war, once more stands before visitors in all the splendour of its beauty.

Da Vinci Code vs. Da Nun

"Heresy - desecration - even simony ... this is how a Catholic nun is describing the latest project by Tom Hanks - who's using Lincoln Cathedral as a film set for his version of the controversial best seller, The Da Vinci code.

Go to British news video report HERE.