Prominent American Pro- Life Advocate to Marry Grandson of Blessed Karl and Member of Devout Austrian Royal Family Today In Latin Nuptial Mass ( Links )

UPDATE - We got pictures.!!! See the two links at the bottom at  Habsburg traditional Latin wedding

Beside the Bishop of Arlington being present you will note that the The Reverend Monsignor Charles E. Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington was the celebrant. He also has an EXCELLENT blog at the Archdiocese of D.C. web site that is a must read by many.


An interesting , fun , and unusual post that involves an Catholic American woman that is marrying into European Catholic Royalty today at a D.C. Mass.

That is Archduke Imre of Austria, oldest son of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria, will marry his American fiancée, Kathleen Walker.

There is an overview here including the fact that Miss Walker is a huge PRO -LIFER and at the time of her birth her mother was unwed. She graduated from North Kentucky State and was  formerly the Communications Director at American Life League, and most recently, the Communications Director at Catholic Charities, Arlington, VA. Here is am article on Miss Walker and her pro life activies from from 2010

According to this the Nuptial  Mass  will be at Shrine of St Mary Mother of God in Washington, DC and will be in the Extraordinary Form ( Latin). I bet on that note there is good chance that the  The New Liturgical Movement might have something on this and hopefully some pictures later on.

What is interesting about this Shrine is the very Austrian connections.  It was German and Austrian immigrants and who also brought works of art to the parish. In fact  the Shrine is dedicated to Blessed Karl of Austria,  the  great-grandfather of the groom . Much Much Much more on Blessed Karl of Austrian Emperor and King from his Canonization site !!

The couple in fact met at the special Mass for the Groom's grandfather at this Church that is held each year. Here is some pictures from the 2011 event.

Anyway is all 50 kinds of cool and I will try to update this post later if I find some reports.

Belgium Nuns Takes In Accomplice To Horrific Pedophile and Killer - Controversy and European Press

George Conger writes on  an controversial case that is has it foundation some horrific things your would expect just too see on the TV Show Criminal Minds.  See Forgiving monsters: The Dutroux Case

As he points out this is one of the most notorious criminal cases in Modern European history and with good reason.

What I find interesting , and it is a point he has touched on recently as to UK papers,  is how the diversity of  European press advocacy seems to work.

Ideology plays its part in the coverage of this story. Self-identified Catholic newspapers have stressed the theme of penitence and redemption. Some secular newspapers have objected to the intrusion of Catholic sensibilities into the parole of a “monster”, but others have advanced ethical theories of crime and punishment. No one newspaper encompasses all of these views, but collectively the debate over the parole of Michelle Martin is an example of the best of the European press.

It would be nice to have that as to the press in the USA and perhaps it would work. It seems as to the Newsprint crowd here that does not happen partly because there is no opposing paper of close relevance  . Thus no  intelligent engagement that the reader can grapple with can happen.

70th Anniversary of Dutch Catholic Bishops Letter Protesting Expulsion of the Jews ( Plus Consequences)

Rorate Caeli. has performed a great service by publishing the full English translation here at 70th anniversary of the Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of the Netherlands  on the deportation of the Jewish population .

After the translation they give the history of the dramatic awful consequences  in how the Nazis responded. Thus from that time as noted it was viewed by both Catholics and Protestants  in order to save lives such explicit condemnation about crimes against the Jewish people would have to be curtailed.

Some Austrian Catholics Will Play Game Of Pretend As To Liturgy

Dissident Austrian Catholics announced lay people will start celebrating Mass when a priest is unavailable.

PRIESTS are important but it strikes me the Laity has forgot their history. The Catholic Faith was often kept very much alive in the New World when Priests were scarce.

Of course the next question some laity should ask is if their own lives have contributed to the Priest shortage we see in certain areas of the world.

Ireland's Flagship Television Channel Gives Public Apology To Priest For Broadcasting False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse

This priest went through hell and back it appears. It appears he was removed from the active ministry of the Priesthood and after getting his reputation back is now a Priest in good standing again.

See RTÉ apologises over false allegations made against Fr Kevin Reynolds

Despite What You Read Pope Benedict's Trip To Germany Appears A Success

And who knows what "seeds" were planted. The Anchoress has a good roundup of post trip thoughts at Benedict’s Mustard Seed in Germany

Pope Benedict Loves those Lutherans ( Full Text of Speeches to Lutherans and Non Catholics )

I really love this piece because it shows the how huge the moment was yesterday. This artilce ( see it all) gets it:


...The Pope digs Luther, you see. He even digs Lutheranism. As John Allen Jr put it in his biography of Benedict, ‘The Lutherans are to Benedict what the Orthodox are to John Paul: the separated brethren he knows best, and for whom he has the greatest natural affinity.’

Benedict is German and his cultural sensibilities are therefore rather compatible with Germanic Lutheranism: he likes J S Bach and rigorous theology. In fact, as one of the world’s leading Augustinian scholars, Benedict has a natural rapport with Luther’s Augustinianis...

And it showed!! There is a lot to unpack in two talks he gave the the Lutheran,.protestants including a lot to us Catholics.

But I will do that later.

For now see the full text of the Pope's messageA at "God Will Judge Us On How We Respond to Our Neighbor" and "This Is Where Luther Was Ordained"

So It Begins- Pope Benedict Arrives in Germany ( Opening Remarks)

Pope Benedict perhaps begins what might be one of his toughest Papal trip as he goes home to Germany. What do they say about prophets and their home towns?

Benedict will not be in the friendly Catholic areas of Germany this time but in areas that are more Protestant or were part of the communist East Germany.

It's a big trip and looking at this huge agenda and schedule I our expect our 84 year old Pope to make some news to be made.

Pope Benedict has already arrived just a few hours ago and in his first remarks he says "I Have Come To Speak About God" . (Full TEXT)

Rocco has an overview of the trip at Back in Germany... and Into a Storm .

Next up the HUGE speech in front of the Parliament in which some members already are planning to protest and walk out on.

Dutch Reform In Netherlands Can Now Do the Internet

No longer a sin they say. Vatican Insider has Dutch Reformed Church says browsing will no longer be considered a sin

Priest Vestments Go Giorgio Armani

See Italian bishop turns heads with Giorgio Armani vestments'This is about wearing something beautiful to give glory to God,' says Bishop Domenico Mogavero

How Italy's Most Depised Nazi Became Catholic

Well as we near Holy Week and Holy Saturday I gin up the Convert posts for this part of the year.

This is pretty cool story that is not your typical RCIA one :) . From the always good UK Catholic Herald see The priest who converted his enemy -Mgr O’Flaherty’s duel with the Gestapo leader in Rome is legendary. What happened next was even more amazing

Pope Benedict Slams Certain European Union Voices Today - ( Ambassador of Croatia Visit )

The Pope sometimes makes some news at these accepting the credentials of Ambassasors to the Holy See events. Today was one of those days. From the Vatican Information Service we have CROATIA: DEFENDING RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL IDENTITY .

Pretty blunt. With John Paul the II's big day coming up one wonders if perhaps the Holy See is starting to rethink their enthusaism for this EU project. The English translation of the full text is not up but it should be on this page this week.

German Politicians Pressuring Church to Have Married Priests?

I must say as an American I guess I don't understand why it's a Germans politico's business if the Clergy is married or not. But the Church has different relationships with the State depending on culture so I understand not everything should be a cookie cutter of the United States. I also understand the Church is much more closer linked to the German State than here.

That being said I am not sure what competence this politicos bring to the debate . See German politicians pressure church to ordain married men.

The politicos helpfully note that if the Catholic Church can't do it for the whole Church they would be happy if it just applied to Germany! LIKE THAT WILL HAPPEN.

After I converted to the Catholic faith many moons ago it did not take me long to see the folly of the married Priest argument that is laid out. That is it is like trying to cure a brain tumor with aspirin.

It also gets the "Laity" off the hook as it were. Something those lay groups mentioned may not like to hear. If parents do a horrible job of passing down the faith, if you live in a culture of Death where Laws promote things contrary to the Gospel,if you have dismal Church attendance that has been in a free fall for decades, and if you don;t encourage vocations to the Priesthood where you get what you deserve.

It is strange but this whole debate often operates in an alternativeuUniverse it seems. In the United States we have Dioceses and schools that are producing a ton of vocations to the religious life and the Priesthood. Normally what would be done is those Dioceses would be examined to see what they are doing right.

YET, in the secular press and indeed in the Catholic press there seems almost an concerted effort not to do that. Maybe because those Dioceses are doing things that put obligations on the Lay Faithful themselves that have produced fruits. Maybe it is because what these Dioceses are doing , such as teaching a vibrant ORTHODOX Catholic faith gets in the way of other agendas. It is much easier to go LETS JUST HAVE MARRIED PRIESTS.

The problem with that is the Clergy shortage is a symptom of something a lot more serious. Putting a faulty bandage over it without applying medicine will cause more sickness in the end.

It is time people faced up to that.

Italian Catholics Might Have Really Slowed Down USA Executions

Hmm lets say this might be big news!!


The news has broken today that the sole US manufacturer of a key drug used in lethal injections will cease production because authorities in Italy, where the drug was to be made, wanted a guarantee that it wouldn't be used to put inmates to death.

Hospira Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill, had decided to switch production of the anaesthetic sodium thiopental from its North Carolina plant to Liscate, outside of Milan. But the Italian Parliament wanted the company to control the product's distribution to prevent it being used for executions. Hospira decided it couldn't make that promise and has decided to suspend production -- potentially throwing the death penalty system in the US into disarray.

But what's missing from today's reports is that behind the Italian Parliament's insistence is a lay Catholic movement dedicated -- among many other things - to the eradication of the death penalty around the world. The Rome-based Community of Sant'Egidio had been engaged in discussions with Hospira's Italian subsidiary, Hospira SL, which led to meetings with the Foreign Affairs minister, Franco Frattini, and the Ministry of Health. The result of those meetings was an agreement that the production of the drug in Italy would have to be for strictly therapeutic purposes. The company has long deplored its use in executions, and said it regretted the need to cease production.

Hospira's choice to end production because it couldn't give that guarantee was described as "highly responsible" by Sant'Egidio's spokesman, Mario Marazziti, who said: "It highlights the point that therapeutic drugs and doctors should never be used to bring about death".

Sidium thiopental is already in short supply after the British government last November also banned the UK manufacture of the drug following a campaign by the British NGO Reprieve. According to the Wall Street Journal's law blog, Hospira's decision .........

Read it all

Time For Catholic Americans To Return The Favor To Spain - World Youth Day 2011

From Florida to Louisiana to Out west they helped seed the Catholic Faith for us. I was struck my this message from the United States Bishops.

January 19, 2011
WYD Madrid 2011: Let’s Return the Favor
By Mar Muñoz Visoso
There are many good reasons to visit Madrid any time of the year: beautiful city, plenty of monuments, churches and museums to see, the kindest of people and great food! This summer there is an especially good one: World Youth Day 2011.

Those who have been at previous World Youth Days can tell you how the experience has changed their lives, how it has motivated them to seek a more profound understanding of their faith, a deeper commitment to it or, simply, how it has recharged the batteries of their spiritual life. This includes, of course, the adults and the pastors of the church who accompany the young people on their pilgrimage. Even those who went along out of curiosity or with a more ‘touristy’ mindset always seem to return home with a mix of inexplicable emotions, fascination, and sense of “camaraderie” with their fellow human beings. People who had never met before became the best of friends and kids who didn’t speak the same language understood each other
perfectly.

What we often do not hear about are the effects of these massive, though temporary, infusions of enthusiastic and faith-filled youth in the hosting cities and countries. I was not in Denver for WYD ’93 but arrived in the city shortly after. Almost two decades later people still talk about it and remember it vividly, as if it happened yesterday. Most importantly, WYD greatly increased the number of adult baptisms and conversions to the Catholic faith locally. So here is a challenge for the youth of the United States and the Americas.

Let’s return the favor! Over the centuries, Spain has given the Church many holy men and women and the New World many missionaries. Today, though, this former bastion of Catholicism seems to be moving away from its Christian identity. The Church in Spain is in a severe crisis. Mass attendance is depressing. Many self-identified Catholics no longer practice or even raise their kids in the faith.

The Spanish Church is now importing clergy instead sending, and religious vocations from other countries, even if scarce, are fast outpacing homegrown ones. Spanish society has not been immune to the secularization and materialism that have overtaken Europe. The Church there has taken to heart the call of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, for a New Evangelization of the continent.

The Spirit is awakening new movements and charisms to aid the Church in Europe and in Spain, but she can also benefit tremendously from an infusion of new blood; modern missionaries with the old-time determination of people like Junípero Serra, Alonso de Benavides, Bartolomé de las Casas or Francisco Kino. So let’s honor their legacy by returning the favor. WYD 2011 offers us the opportunity to be missionaries in Europe for a few days. Let’s us help the Spanish youth of today sing with confidence the words of St. Paul that have provided the theme for this WYD: “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith.”

For a few days, let us also be a giant loudspeaker for the Holy Father, who insistently has brought this message to ambassadors, academics, chiefs of state and even the European parliament: Europe, recognize, appreciate and don’t turn away from your Christian roots! The presence of many young Catholics from around the world in Madrid this summer will no doubt be prophetic and leave a profound mark. In person or in spirit, see you in Madrid!Mar Muñoz-Visoso is assistant director of Media Relations at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

We Now Finally Know Who Bombed the Vatican In World II

Some interesting history here.

Pope Benedict Sends Out A Powerful Statement on Liturgy

Father Z has the text and some good comments on the Pope's message at Pope Benedict speaks to Italian bishops about liturgy

Pope Benedict's Plea For Europe and Spain To Return To It's Christian Soul (Spain Papal Text)

See Apostolic Journey of Pope Benedict To Spain -Post 1 Links for more Spain Papal Links.

The Pope gave quite a homily today in Spain. Full text here at Papal Homily at Mass for Compostela Holy Year"Europe Must Open Itself to God, Must Come to Meet Him Without Fear"

Here are some parts:
For those disciples who seek to follow and imitate Christ, service of neighbour is no mere option but an essential part of their being. It is a service that is not measured by worldly standards of what is immediate, material or apparent, but one that makes present the love of God to all in every way and bears witness to him even in the simplest of actions. Proposing this new way of dealing with one another within the community, based on the logic of love and service, Jesus also addresses "the rulers of the nations" since, where self-giving to others is lacking, there arise forms of arrogance and exploitation that leave no room for an authentic integral human promotion. I would like this message to reach all young people: this core content of the Gospel shows you in particular the path by which, in renouncing a selfish and short-sighted way of thinking so common today, and taking on instead Jesus’ own way of thinking, you may attain fulfilment and become a seed of hope..............

Tragically, above all in nineteenth century Europe, the conviction grew that God is somehow man’s antagonist and an enemy of his freedom. As a result, there was an attempt to obscure the true biblical faith in the God who sent into the world his Son Jesus Christ, so that no one should perish but that all might have eternal life (cf. Jn 3:16).

The author of the Book of Wisdom, faced with a paganism in which God envied or despised humans, puts it clearly: how could God have created all things if he did not love them, he who in his infinite fullness, has need of nothing (cf. Wis 11:24-26)? Why would he have revealed himself to human beings if he did not wish to take care of them? God is the origin of our being and the foundation and apex of our freedom, not its opponent. How can mortal man build a firm foundation and how can the sinner be reconciled with himself? How can it be that there is public silence with regard to the first and essential reality of human life? How can what is most decisive in life be confined to the purely private sphere or banished to the shadows? We cannot live in darkness, without seeing the light of the sun. How is it then that God, who is the light of every mind, the power of every will and the magnet of every heart, be denied the right to propose the light that dissipates all darkness? This is why we need to hear God once again under the skies of Europe; may this holy word not be spoken in vain, and may it not be put at the service of purposes other than its own. It needs to be spoken in a holy way. And we must hear it in this way in ordinary life, in the silence of work, in brotherly love and in the difficulties that years bring on.

Europe must open itself to God, must come to meet him without fear, and work with his grace for that human dignity which was discerned by her best traditions: not only the biblical, at the basis of this order, but also the classical, the medieval and the modern, the matrix from which the great philosophical, literary, cultural and social masterpieces of Europe were born...................

Allow me here to point out the glory of man, and to indicate the threats to his dignity resulting from the privation of his essential values and richness, and the marginalization and death visited upon the weakest and the poorest. One cannot worship God without taking care of his sons and daughters; and man cannot be served without asking who his Father is and answering the question about him. The Europe of science and technology, the Europe of civilization and culture, must be at the same time a Europe open to transcendence and fraternity with other continents, and open to the living and true God, starting with the living and true man. This is what the Church wishes to contribute to Europe: to be watchful for God and for man, based on the understanding of both which is offered to us in Jesus Christ..........

Apostolic Journey of Pope Benedict To Spain -Post 1 Links

Ok time to this bay started . Another important trip that no doubt will make news. Between watching football today (Geaux Tigers) I will be updating this thread plus commenting in other posts on things that strike me

The Vatican has their page up for the visit. See Apostolic Journey
to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona
(November 6-7, 2010) which will have the English translations of this talks.

They have up right now in English :
Program
Missal for the Apostolic Journey: Santiago de Compostela
Missal for the Apostolic Journey: Barcelona
Welcoming ceremony at the International Airport of Santiago de Compostela (November 6, 2010)
Visit to the Cathedral of San tiago de Compostela (November 6, 2010)

Whispers in the Loggia will be a must stop as well as others I link.

As usual the Pope gave a Press Conference on "Papal One" en route to Spain. More details will come out but Vatican Radio has a summary here.

The Benedetto XVI Forum with their pics plus translations of article will be a must stop too. On this page we see the following article that have been posted and largely translated from Italian and Spanish press regarding the trip:
Pilgrims gather to see Pope in Santiago and Barcelona
The Pope's trip as a gift for Spain
'No alternative to Benedict XVI'
Pope blasts Spain's 'aggressive' anti-Church ways
Pope arrives in Santiago
Visiting Compostela: A childhood wish fulfilled
An emotional Pope arrives in Galicia
PAPA RATZINGER: Father of the Church by CARDINAL JULIAN HERRANZ

Here is the text of a pretty powerful homily the Pope just gave. See Papal Homily at Mass for Compostela Holy Year "Europe Must Open Itself to God, Must Come to Meet Him Without Fear"


Again more updates will be below on this post.

Catholic Europe Not Dead Yet

Inside Catholic had an interesting article up on this. See Report from the Catholic Undead