Top 10 Catholic Events of 2005

Happy New Year and Mary, Mother of God Solemnity!!!

As promised, below is my Top 10 list of Catholic Events in 2005. These are a mix of Catholic events in the Universal Church and events in the local Church (U.S. dioceses). I have included a brief description of why I chose each event. So let's take a look:

#10: On Priesthood and Those With Homosexual Tendencies - the only reason I have included this on the list is because of the media hype regarding this document. As far as Vatican documents go, this isn't anything new or extraordinary.

#9: Portland, Oregon diocese files for bankruptcy - This event is notable because it is the first time a diocese filed bankfuptcy to protect itself from massive financial loss, mostly due to lawsuits from priest scandals.

#8: Appointment of Archbishop Leveda as head of the Congregation for the Faith - I mention this because his appointment is the highest position held by a U.S. prelate in the history of the United States.

#7: St. Stanislaus struggle in St. Louis Archdiocese - For those unfamiliar with this situation, this parish is in a struggle with Archbishop Raymond Burke over who should rightly have jurisdiction over the parish finances and assets. Canon Law is soundly on the side of the archbishop, but the parish has refused to back down leading to an eventual confrontation in the near future.

#6: Supreme Court appointments - The importance of these appointments is that their outcome could have major influence on many issues vital to the Catholic Church - most notably abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty.

#5: World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany - The first major event of Pope Benedict's papacy, this gathering of hundreds of thousands of young Catholics shows the future of the Church and their devotion to Benedict very similiar to John Paul II.

#4: Retirement of Archbishop James P. Keheler and succession of Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann - This is a local event of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in KS, but an important one. Co-Adjutor for jsut over a year, Archbishop Naumann took the reigns of the KC in KS Church on January 15, 2005 and had a difficult but productive first year as archbishop.

#3: Terri Schiavo struggle for life and end-of-life debate - A heartbreaking event, the struggle to preserve the life of Terri had tragic results, but it opened the eyes of many people to the question and morality of euthanasia. Following on the footsteps of her murder was the death of John Paul II, who showed the world that one could die with dignity and honor in a natural way.

#2: Election of Pope Benedict XVI - I chose to place this extremely important event second because without the death of John Paul II, the event would have never taken place.

#1: Death of Pope John Paul II - After 26+ years as pope, JPII's death was the first pope to die in their lifetime for many people. The contributions to the World and the Catholic Church are way too numerous to list here, but one of his most important contributions to the world may have been the honor he gave to the process of growing old and to dying with dignity. May John Paul II rest in eternal peace.

While all may not agree with the ordering of these 10 events, I think most everyone can agree that each of these events were pivotal to the Catholic Church and give us much to think about as we enter this new year.

Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 00:22 | link | comments |
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