Top Ten Catholic Stories of 2006

I thought it'd be good to review 2006 and touch upon what I believe to be the top 10 Catholic stories of the year. Primarily, I am going to focus on world and U.S. Catholic events, but I also want to point out my top 5 Catholic stories of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in KS. So, here we go.

#10 THE ENCYCLICAL DEUS CARITAS EST: Benedict XVI releases his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, a reflection on the nature of divine love and the role of charity in the life of the Church.

#9 VATICAN STATEMENT ON PURIFICATION OF SACRED VESSELS: New directives issued from the Vatican state that sacred vessels can only be purified by clergy or instituted acolytes. This causes some dissention in parishes, especially those which are large or use numerous vessels. Alternately, the expected announcement of the revival of the Latin Mass does not come.

#8 POPE BENEDICT NAMES 15 NEW CARDINALS: The pope names his first group of cardinals, including the former Archbishop of San Francisco who is now the Prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith, William Joseph Levada, and the former secretary to Pope John Paul II who is now the Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, Stanislaw Dziwisz.

#7 FALL USCCB CONFERENCE ISSUES A NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS: At the fall USCCB conference, bishops issue statements on worthiness to receive Communion, on marital love and artificial contraception, and on pastoral care of those with a homosexual tendency.

#6 LOS ANGELES REACHES FIRST SETTLEMENT WITH SEX ABUSE VICTIMS: Los Angeles Archdiocese reaches $60 million settlement with 45 clergy sex abuse victims. The $60 million settlement in Los Angeles this December is just the beginning, however, as these represent less than 10 percent of the 500-plus claimants still seeking compensation.

• KCK #5: Archbishop Naumann begins podcasting his weekly Leaven article: Each week Archbishop Naumann has an article in the Leaven. Beginning in March, these articles were recorded and placed on The Leaven web site as podcasts. Each week, when the commentary written by Archbishop Naumann is printed in the archdiocesan newspaper, the archbishop also records an audio format of his article, which is then posted.

#5 SOME DIOCESES FORCED TO FILE BANKRUPTCY: Dioceses deal with financial difficulties as a result of sex abuse claims. Portland, who had filed for bankruptcy in late 2005, reached an agreement in court to pay out tens of millions of dollars to victims. The Davenport Diocese filed for bankruptcy in October. The diocese of Spokane, Wash is also in bankruptcy proceedings.

• KCK #4: Lil' old me ordained to the transitional diaconate: On May 27, 2006, I was ordained to the transitional diaconate in preparation for my priesthood ordination on May 26, 2007.

#4 MARRIAGE AMENDMENTS PASSED IN MANY STATES: Marriage amendments defining marriage as being between a man and a woman passed in numerous states in the November elections including: Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. (Typical of the liberal media, they did not focus on these states, but on Arizona where the amendment was defeated - the first state to defeat it.)

• KCK #3: Rich Warsnak and Greg Hammes ordained to the transitional diaconate: On Nov. 18, 2006, Both are 4th Year seminarians at the Mundelein Theological Seminary north of Chicago, IL. Greg Hammes and Rich Warsnak were ordained to the transitional diaconate at Cure of Ars parish by Archbishop Naumann. Both of them and I will be ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 2007.

#3 THE CULTURE OF LIFE HAS A MIXED YEAR: There were many advancements and some setbacks in the Culture of Life this year: President Bush used his first veto to halt legislation that would have expanded embryonic stem-cell research. The U.S. agreed to hear arguments on permantently banning Partial Birth Abortion. Unfortunately, Missouri Amendment 2 passed permitting any embryonic stem-cell research in the state. Lastly, voters, in November, put pro-abortion Democrats in many key positions.

• KCK #2: Anthony Ouellette and Brandon Farrar ordained to the priesthood. On June 24, 2006, Anthony and Brandon were ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City. Both are now associate pastors in the archdiocese.

#2 POPE BENEDICT SPEECH ANGERS MUSLIMS: Pope Benedict gives a controversial speech that was meant as a challenge those who used faith, specifically Islam, as a means of violence. Many Islamic leaders, however, took it as an affront to Islam. (Ironically, Muslim reactions to his speech, mainly violent attacks by Islamic zealots, actually emphasized and proved the Holy Father’s argument.)

• KCK #1: The archdiocese begins assessing parishes: At the request of Archbishop Naumann, the archdiocese began a region-by-region analysis of the pastoral needs of the region and resources available to meet those needs. Recommendations are then forwarded to the archbishop. The assessments recommend mostly assigning priest to multiple parishes, although there will be some parishes that will be combined to better meet pastoral needs.

#1 POPE BENEDICT'S TRIP TO TURKEY: Pope embarks on a four-day trip to Turkey to visit with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and seeks to improve both Catholic-Orthodox and Catholic-Muslim relations. Originally planned as an ecumenical encounter with the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, the trip took on new purpose as the fallout from the Pope's speech in Germany that stirred Islamic anger. Lastly, the trip was a chance for the government of Turkey to press for Vatican support of its bid to join the European Union.

These are my top 10 Catholic stories of 2006 and my top 5 Catholic stories of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. I want to wish my readers a happy and safe New Year's Eve. I hope everyone has a blessed and joyous New Year and a prayerful Mary, Mother of God solemnity tomorrow. Until next year...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 17:44 | link | comments |
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Amendment 2 is not a done deal

Although Missouri Amendment 2 passed on election day this past November - but only 51.2 to 48.8% - it isn't written in stone nor is the battle over. Lawmakers in Missouri contend that the wording is deceptive. The Kansas City Star said:

The two Republican lawmakers said their 46-word amendment would give Missouri voters an unambiguous choice on whether to ban human cloning. The Nov. 7 vote, they said, showed that Missourians support such a ban. But the initiative’s deceptive wording actually allows humans to be cloned, they said. "In an open and fair debate, I believe we will prevail," Bartle said. "You shouldn’t need a law degree to understand what you’re voting on."

Unfortunately, the new proposal by these lawmakers doesn't revoke the amendment. What it does do, however, is alter the wording to specifically ban cloning. One of the lawmakers, Matt Bartle said, "I absolutely disagree with the statement that (Amendment 2) bans human cloning," Bartle said. "What it does is ban the implantation of an embryo that has already been cloned."

Of course, proponents of the amendment are outraged. I find it interesting what people said regarding this proposal. Sandra Aust, the treasurer for the amendment, said: "We want to make certain that a small group of people doesn’t thwart the will of the people," He "small group of people" is 48.8% of the voters in Missouri. I wouldn't call that a small group of people. What proponents are actually afraid of is the fact that those opposing the amendment increased opposition to it by 14% in just six weeks prior to the November election. If it is shown that the wording was deceptives, that could give the needed ammunition to overturn the whole amendment.

One of the proponents stated that they found it outrageous that the amendment would be re-considered and that the notion of it is unheard of. Obviously, this person has never followed politics. Proposed legislation is reconsidered all the time. Look how many times the Truman Sports Complex approvements proposal came before voters before they approved it. What at Amendment 19 of the U.S. Constitutional establishing prohibition, which was later repealed.

Whenever I get down about attacks on life, I always remember this: The Culture of Life WILL win and we know this because God will prevail. A blessed Christmas season to you and until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 14:56 | link | comments |
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O Holy Night...

Just two days from now we celebrate the most important single moment in history - the birth of Jesus Christ. In that single moment, all of history was forever changed. In that instant, the downfall of man from that first moment of sin was replaced by the salvation of man in that first moment of birth. The first moment of sin brought death to the world. This first moment of birth brings everlasting life to the world.

In our society today, we rarely slow down from the hustle and bustle of the day. We almost never stop everything and simply ponder on the moment. We have cliches such as, live in the moment, but we hardly ever follow its advice. We are always looking toward what we have to do next, toward tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year. We rarely focus on the here and now...on this minute...on this single moment in time. Maybe that's why so many have forgotten what Christmas truly is. The hustle and bustle of the season (and believe me there is TREMENDOUS hustle and bustle...just go into a store) overshadows the focus of Christmas.

As we enter into this holy and faith-filled Christmas I have a gift for my readers. My gift to you is this: sometime on Christmas Day - in between the opening of gifts and the bustle of preparing Christmas dinner - stop and reflect for a minute on that one moment, over 2000 years ago in a tiny manger in Bethlehem, when God entered into human history...when our lives were forever changed and our salvation began. In that calming moment of pause I pray that you find the peace and truth of EVERY moment in our lives and indeed in all of history...that every moment in history flows from Christ and every moment returns to Christ. Nothing else matters.

This will be my last post until Dec. 27th, so I want to wish all my readers a joyful next few days. May you find God in every moment of your activities and celebrations in these next few days. May the peace of Christ be with you. Until next time...a merry, holy and blessed Christmas and God bless.

posted by: crossman at 19:28 | link | comments |
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Entering the multimedia world...

You all may think that my finals killed me since I haven't blogged in a week. While finals did drain me, they didn't kill me. But, I haven't simply been sitting around these past few days. I've been preparing to take the blog into the multimedia world.

I have established a podcast for the blog site. These podcasts will contain the audio of the Catechism 101 presentation. I will also have video of the Catechism 101 presentation in both iPod and wmv format. These files will be less than 5 MB.

To access these files, do the following: for the podcasts simply click on the RSS button and subscribe to the podcast. For the wmv and iPod files, right-click on the appropriate button and choose Save Target As... If you have any problems with downloading these files, please post a comment explaining the trouble and I will seek to fix it.

I have reposted the first Catechism 101 presentation on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass below. You will see that there is and RSS feed link and a Video download link to the right of the presentation. You will see these whenever a blog entry has podcast and iPod/wmv files attached.

I hope this helps to make the blog more accessible for those who prefer audio or video data. I would welcome input on this endeavor. Lastly, don't expect every entry to have an associated podcast and iPod file. These will be mostly reserved for my Catechism 101 presentations. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 23:12 | link | comments |
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REPOST: The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Part 1

WHAT THIS SACRAMENT IS CALLED

Before we begin studying the Mass, we need to understand just what the Mass is. The word 'Mass' is actually a part of a longer name: "The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass." Other names for the sacrament are: The Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, the Holy and Divine Liturgy, Holy Communion and the Memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection. Each of these names is correct and yet each highlights a particular aspect of the sacrament (Catechism of the Catholic Church, ¶1328 - 1332).

 

THE MASS IS A SACRIFICE

It seems that "The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass" best describes this sacrament. If we break down this title, we can better understand this sacrament. The words 'The Most Holy' give us insight into the importance of the Mass. The Catechism states: the Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life" (CCC ¶1324). When we use the term Eucharist here, we are referring to the actual consecrated bread and wine that are the Body and Blood of Christ himself and not to the name of the sacrament. Everything in our Catholic faith is oriented toward the Eucharist. Everything in our faith flows from the Eucharist.

 

The most important word in this title, however, is the word 'sacrifice.' The Mass cannot be understood whatsoever without realizing that it is a Sacrifice. This is not a symbolic sacrifice. It is not simply a reminder of something long ago. At Mass we participate in and are a part of a true sacrifice, very real and very present here and now!!! It is a true and present sacrifice because Jesus commanded that His bloody sacrifice on the Cross be renewed daily by an unbloody sacrifice of His Body and Blood in the We are not re-sacrificing Christ at the Mass however. Christ died once for all. We are making that sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross present here and now in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

 

If we begin to understand that the Mass is a real and true sacrifice that makes present the one Sacrifice of the Cross, we begin to see that the Mass is not simply another event in our day or just one of the many activities of the Church. Rather, the Mass renews that moment in time when Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross, bringing us freedom, salvation and delivering us from damnation. Because the Mass makes that one, complete, ultimate Sacrifice of Christ present today, it is easy to understand why it is "the source and summit of our Christian life."

posted by: crossman at 23:11 | link | comments |
catechism 101

UPDATE: Decisions, decisions...

On October 16th, I posted a blog entry announcing the beginning of a series titled The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I posted a single entry and then it kind of fell to the wayside. I very much want to revive and continue this series and so below is an updated game plan for this series:

I think it is very important to continue this series on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I believe strongly that this is something VITAL for all Catholic to understand because beyond simple catechizing it is the absolute center and undeniable focus of our faith.

I will resume my posts for this series beginning as a part of the Catechism 101 project. I am not going to create a set schedule becaused that seems to establish deadlines that I cannot always meet. The entries will be posted both in text and in audio format, which will be downloadable as a podcast. These will be two to three minute podcasts. I would really appreciate your feedback on the series and any suggestions or comments you may have.

With that in mind, I will post the next part of the series this Friday, December 15th both in standard text and as a mp3 podcast file. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 08:14 | link | comments (1) |
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Not dead...just studying

Just so my readers do not think I am dead, I wanted to put up a quick post. Its crunch time here at the seminary and papers, projects and finals are coming in the next week. As such, I will probably only post two or three times in the next week or so. When classes have ended on Dec. 16th, I'll return to my nearly daily blogging routine.

I will have some time this weekend and will try to blog at least once and maybe twice then. Thanks for understanding and pray for me and all the students that we complete our finals and at the same time retain our sanity. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 22:55 | link | comments (2) |
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Weathering the storm...

The title of my blog has a two-fold meaning. First, it refers to the physical snowstorm that just blanketed the Midwest yesterday. Secondly, I refer to the continuing saga of the sex scandal within the Catholic Church.

Regarding the snowstorm, much of the Midwest got dumped on with a wintery mix of snow and ice. My parents in Northeast Kansas received approximately 14 inches of snow. We here in St. Louis, on the other hand, only received 2 or 3 inches of snow. Unfortunately, that was on top of over an inch of ice that literally closed down interstates, snapped trees and downed power lines. This morning, the local Fox news station reported that St. Louis has 450,000 people without power and temperatures of only 20 degrees. We had to evacuate Kenrick Seminary because there was no power, no heat and the water lines were in danger of freezing. Because there are so many windows in the seminary, the temperatures were dropping to near freezing in the halls. Since we didn't have the basic necessities to live, we all went to other places for the weekend. I went to the Cathedral since I have a room there and would have been coming here this afternoon anyway. As of 3pm, it does seem that the seminary has power again.

I bring up the sex scandal because the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has just reached a settlement for $60 million for 45 abuse claims. Fox News said that these 45 claims were against 22 priests, but claims that over 200 priests from as far back as 1930 have been accused of sexual abuse. Surprisingly, the news story, taken from the Associated Press wire, is fairly unbiased and neutral in its wording.

What was more surprising to me was that the organization SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) was not mentioned in the article. I have many difficulties with SNAP. It is an orgainzation that COULD be extremely helpful to those abused by priests, but who unfortunately tends to focus that bulk of its time and effort on bashing ALL priests and the Catholic Church as a whole rather than focusing on the abusers and elements of the Church who have hindered or covered up abuses. Quite sad, really. As I said above we are still "weathering the storm." Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 15:40 | link | comments (1) |
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