extreme Catholic 

Knight-Ridder: Priest reprimanded for allowing accused clergyman to lead worship

FORT WORTH, Texas - (KRT) - An Arlington priest was reprimanded by the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese for allowing a friend and fellow clergyman once accused of sexual misconduct to lead worship at his church.

But a national victims group says Fort Worth Bishop Joseph Delaney should take more substantial action against the Rev. Allan Hawkins of St. Mary the Virgin Catholic Church in Arlington.

For more than a year, Hawkins allowed a Pennsylvania priest to lead Mass and perform other duties at his church. Hawkins failed to inform the diocese or the bishop of the priest's presence, in violation of diocese policy.

No one other than Fr. Wilson is going on the record on this one. It's a disturbing matter all around. I am also bothered that documentation that Fr. Hawkins claimed to possess supporting Fr. Clay's permission to have a priestly ministry in Scranton was not made public.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:22 PM   Permalink  

Check out the list of the political blogs of St. Blogs parish

The change here is that I weigh the score to the size of the blog. You won't get a high score merely by archiving every month.

To get a position on this list you have to have updated your blog in the last 10 days.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:16 AM   Permalink  

Thanks to Kate O'Beirne of National Review we have a focus on the speakers at the convention here in New York a few blocks away:

• Pataki
• Giuliani
• McCain
• Schwarzenegger

She calls the "Rockefeller" label not a perfect fit. I call them sane on defense and taxes and liberal on social policy.

This window-dressing for the political unengaged (i.e. the stupid voter) who needs some reassurance that the face of the Republican party is not Cheney, Rumsfeld, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, etc.

I believe there's a hard politican calculation on the part of the convention planners that showing speakers who actually support the President's agenda on all fronts.

This is Dick Morris triangulation -- moving to the center to win over the undecideds.

There's no winning with the media - I predict they will call this a obvious bait and switch. That master of hypocrisy, Andrew Sullivan, sees hypocrisy in this. (I don't know about you, but when the subject is not Iraq, anything that can annoy Andrew Sullivan is something that's got something to be said for it.)

Here's my rationalization for

• Pataki (partly gratitude and partly ceremonial, the convention in his state)
• Giuliani (a national hero: in line to take on Hillary in 2006 for Senate and again for President in 2008)
• McCain (the media love him (ugh!))
• Schwarzenegge (the people love him)

Here's my personal political statement:

• Politicians need to be fully Catholic.
• Catholics need to be fully politically engaged.
• The goal is to reverse Roe, Doe, etc.
• Reversing Roe requires a Supreme Court majority.
• We need to elect a president committed to appointing judges who believe that the Court should not and cannot legislate.
• We need to elect a senate that can confirm those SC nominations.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:43 AM   Permalink  

Former Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato yesterday called on President Bush to dump Dick Cheney from the GOP ticket.

D'Amato described Cheney as a "decent, honorable and patriotic American," but urged Bush to "add a bold and farsighted dimension to his ticket."

A day after John Kerry picked Sen. John Edwards to be his vice-presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket, D'Amato suggested Bush consider "first and foremost" adding Secretary of State Colin Powell as his No. 2. If not Powell, he recommends Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

So Al grabs a headline.

I wonder where Al crossed Cheney in the past?

The joke is that D'Amato didn't mention the more obvious VP choice -- former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani -- with whom Al has had a 20 year old feud.

Cheney is staying on the ticket. And we can get back to ignoring lobbyist Al.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:33 PM   Permalink  

Wayne Barrett With Special Reporting by Ben Shestakofsky

Cardinal Edward Egan faces a defining moment in the 2004 race for the White House

Judas received communion at the Last Supper from Christ himself, no less but in some Catholic dioceses across America, John Kerry can't. The first pro-choice Catholic to ever become the presidential candidate of a major party, and the only Catholic nominee since John Kennedy 44 years ago, Kerry is held to a higher standard by the hierarchy, and that's made the communion rail a political danger zone for him.

It's not at all clear that Judas received communion as he left the table before the meal had been completed (see John 13:30) It is only in Luke where the betrayal prophecy follows the breaking of bread.

The article is interesting for its focus on the Al Smith dinner in October and the history of not inviting some politicans who were enemies of the various cardinals.

There's a lot of stuff I agree with and a lot of stuff that is simply wrong in the linked article. I agree with the bottom line: Egan will either invite both or neither with the probable outcome being that he will invite both.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:10 PM   Permalink  

The Chicago Tribune and ABC News sued for information that had been sealed in custody agreements in the Jack and Jeri Ryan (not the divorce agreements) -- over the objections of the parties involved.

CT and ABC apparently didn't know what they were going to find there. But the discovery was that Jack Ryan had asked wife Jeri to have intercourse with him (no problem there), but in public at a sex club (legal, but immoral)

Jack Ryan was asked by the Republican party to withdraw from the Illinois senate election.

The Republicans are still scrambling to find a candidate before the deadline. (AP story)

Senator John Kerry divorced his first wife Julia Stimson Thorne in 1988 after a six year separation.

On the record, Kerry has only stated that he sought an annulment not that it was granted. In some web sites, the authors assume that it was granted, because Kerry does receive Holy Communion at Mass.

Given the fact that the Archdiocese is fully beholden to the Kennedy's and Kerry's, there's no way those records can be obtained. However, the state court records are a subject for a lawsuit although the precedent in Illinois doesn't apply to Massachusetts.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:23 PM   Permalink  

BBC: Scans uncover secrets of the womb Scans uncover secrets of the womb A new type of ultrasound scan has produced vivid pictures of a 12 week-old foetus "walking" in the womb. The new images also show foetuses apparently yawning and rubbing its eyes. The scans, pioneered by Professor Stuart Campbell at London's Create Health Clinic, are much more detailed than conventional ultrasound. Professor Campbell has previously released images of unborn babies appearing to smile. He has compiled a book of the images called Watch Me Grow. BBC: Europe rejects foetal rights bid pregnant woman The case centred on the unborn baby's right to life A woman whose pregnancy was wrongly terminated in a French hospital has lost her fight at the European Court to enshrine a foetus' right to life. Mrs Thi-Nho Vo went to the court after French courts said the doctor could not be prosecuted for homicide as the foetus did not have the right to life. She said it had that right under the European Convention on Human Rights. But the Court of Human Rights ruled against her, and involuntary abortion did not constitute manslaughter. The ruling sets a precedent on the legal status of unborn babies that will be applied across European countries

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 5:28 PM   Permalink  

Washington Times: Freed Gitmo detainees back in rebel ranks, officials say

Several detainees released by the U.S. military from the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have rejoined their former comrades-in-arms and taken part in fresh attacks on American troops, according to Defense Department officials and a senior Republican lawmaker.

"We've already had instances where we know that people who have been released from our detention have gone back and have become combatants again," said Rep. Porter J. Goss, Florida Republican, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

"It's the military Willie Horton," he said, referring to the murderer who absconded on a furlough granted by then-Gov. Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts in 1987. The freed Horton pistol-whipped a Maryland man and raped his fiancee, and the case became an issue when Mr. Dukakis, a Democrat, ran for president in 1988.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:44 PM   Permalink  

(1) Will the "real owners" stand up?

It will be interesting to see if parishes and schools and other Catholic instiutions which were not counted in the assets of the Archdiocese discover who the "real owners" are and then these "real owners" make decisions regarding the disposition of property without the involvement of the archbishop.

This could lead to all sorts of mischief.

(2) It was a "voluntary" bankruptcy

A lot of the challenges that a bankrupt petitioner makes to the court for privacy purposes can only be made when the action is "involuntary".

A voluntary bankruptcy is generally considered to be an act where there is a high degree of cooperation between the petitioner and creditors and the demands for financial records will not be contested.

I suspect that the creditors will not be satisifed with the the disclosures and petition the court for a trustee to be given physical custody of the records as well as access to the accounts held at financial institutions.

My guess the first request from the creditors will be a full accounting of all asset transfers and sales that have taken place since the civil action for the sexual abuse cases were filed.

(3) What privacy?

As far as I can tell. Bankruptcy courts have never permitted a non-profit corporation to assert a privacy right.

In the spectacular failure of Hale House Lorraine Hale attempted to conceal transactions made by the non-profit corporation under a privacy claim. She and her husband were convicted and sentenced to five years probation.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:27 AM   Permalink  

Philippines Sun Star: RP blocks workers going to Iraq after abduction

President Arroyo announced measures Thursday to stop any more Filipinos going to Iraq to work after an Arabic television station reported that a Filipino worker had been taken hostage there.

Arroyo had ordered the labor department to "completely stop the processing of workers bound for Iraq," spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a radio interview.

Is there any other concession that the terrorists want from Gloria Arroyo? Go ahead, abduct another Filipino.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:17 AM   Permalink  

One day after the Archdiocese of Portland became the first archdiocese in the nation to file for bankruptcy protection because of the large sums it is being asked to pay in sexual-abuse claims, Catholics in this city expressed anxiety over what the move will mean and wondered about questions as simple as what to do with the offerings this Sunday.

The answer to the collection-plate question, church officials say, is: nothing different, at least until federal bankruptcy court says otherwise ...

David Slader, a Portland lawyer representing about a dozen plaintiffs with claims against the church, including James Devereaux, who filed a claim for $25 million, called this position a "fraud on the bankruptcy court" because parishes are simply geographical divisions of the larger diocese.

Mr. Slader said that if the assets of the diocese were tallied under secular law rather than canon law, counting the parishes' assets as part of the total diocese assets, the figure would be closer to a half-billion dollars.

"Canon law has absolutely nothing to do with the State of Oregon," Mr. Slader said.

Bud Bunce, director of communications for the archdiocese, dismissed the suggestion that the church was perpetrating a fraud.

"I would say that David Slader is not a church lawyer and leave it at that," he said. "We believe that the parish assets belong to the parishes." Mr. Bunce would not provide an estimate of the total parish assets within the archdiocese's geographical area.

While Mr. Slader said precedents, including a decision by the United States Supreme Court decision, show that canon law is not the controlling law in this case, Mr. Bunce said the question would have to be tested.

"This is totally uncharted waters," he said. "No one has ever made these kinds of decisions yet. That's part of the process we're going to go through."

Great attitude there, Bud. That arrogant "leave it at that" goes a long way to influencing the sympathy of the plantiffs and the bankruptcy bureaucracy that you now report to.

Do you think the bankruptcy judge is going to kiss the ring and show the homage to Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny as if there were under canon law?

Again, the "director of communications" speaks and not the archbishop himself.

If the bishop doesn't own and control parish property, if the "real owners" were to sell it off, would the bishop have a problem with that?

If you looked at the Canon Law on church property the term "alienation" appears. This is term that covers all the possible losses of ownership: sale, gift, seizure, destruction, etc.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:50 AM   Permalink  

In a private memorandum, top Vatican prelate Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told American bishops that Communion must be denied to Catholic politicians who support legal abortion.

ROMA - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was clear with Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, archbishop of Washington and the head of the "domestic policy" commission of the U.S. Catholic bishops' conference. He was more than clear, he set it down in writing: no eucharistic communion for the politicians who systematically campaign for abortion. Read: no communion for the Democratic candidate for the White House, the Catholic John F. Kerry. Ratzinger's memorandum is presented in [the linked article]. It was sent as a confidential letter, during the first half of June, to cardinal McCarrick and to the president of the bishops' conference, Wilton Gregory.

Cardinal McCarrick's nuanced speech during the meeting from June 14 to 19 paraphrased the Ratzinger letter to say that the Vatican had left the issue of Communion in the hands of the U.S. bishops.

Catholic News Service: Cardinal McCarrick says leaked Ratzinger memo is not whole story

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington said July 6 that the leaked text of a recent memo he received from a top Vatican official, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on Catholic politicians and abortion appeared to be "an incomplete and partial leak" not reflecting "the full message I received."

The Catholic News Service never fails to disappoint. They accept on its face the statement released by "communications officer" Susan Gibbs. I would think a Cardinal could be his own "communications officer". This article doesn't address the obvious fact that McCarrick has misreprented Ratzinger's position in order to make his own position seem to be in accord with it -- when the positions are contradictory on the essential point. This is a journalistic crime.

I think this is not a mere policy matter any more, but Cardinal McCarrick's lack of integirty exposed for all to see.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:23 AM   Permalink  

People are using this list of recently updated blogs with a word score for "Religion" and "Politics".

Some of you are even linking to it from your blog, very cool.

I was asked for examples of religion keywords. I picked obvious ones: Vatican, pope, bishop, sacrament, Holy Eucharist...

For political keywords: Bush, Kerry, Senate, Senators, Congress...

It's a raw count not adjusted to the overall word count of the blog.

It's great for trying something new in St. Blogs Parish. I never would have discovered the funny Ales Rarus without creating this list.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:43 PM   Permalink  

The Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese in the nation to seek such relief in response to mounting claims by victims of sexually abusive priests.

The archdiocese announced its intention to file for bankruptcy just as jury selection was to begin in a civil trial. The archdiocese is being sued for negligence by a man who says it failed to remove a priest accused of having abused more than 50 boys from the 1950's to the 1980's.

The BBC prepared this article: BBC: Q&A: Archdiocese bankruptcy

Some questions:

• Why was the filing made before the actual financial liability was determined?
• Why is bankruptcy the best or only way to work out payments to creditors?
• Did the diocese actually obtain Vatican permission to do so?
• Is the diocese attempting to pay pennies on the dollar?
• If the expectation of the diocese in the civil case was so poor that they anticipated a probable verdict for the plantiff, why didn't they work out an out-of-court settlement?
• Is the diocese going to increase its financial disclosure to the Catholic faithful as as a consequence of the bankruptcy filing?
• Is the diocese going to claim that parishes, schools, agencies, and trusts are separate non-profit corporations? Archbishop Vlazny said in his statement: "Under canon law, parish assets belong to the parish. I have no authority to seize parish property." This statement is strange for two reasons: under canon law, parish assets "belong" to the bishop (Canons 1273-1298) and canon law is totally irrelevant to how the creditors and courts will deal with the bankruptcy in civil law.

This introduces that big issue that I have been discussing: the Church's loss of financial privacy in a bankruptcy filing: U.S. Treasury Report on Bankruptcy and Privacy

It will be interesting to see if the court decides to view that diocese as a non-profit corporation or a human person (and therefore entitled to a greater degree of privacy)

The purse and patrimony of Peter have been handed over to Caesar's men in green eye shades.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 5:16 PM   Permalink  

This photograph is originally from The New York Times and was reproduced in Empire Statesman, the Rise and Redemption of Al Smith.

Smith and the Cardinals on the steps of city hall in NYC in 1926; Al is in the center. He had absolutely no sense of the problems this photo would cause him.

Al Smith is one of my favorites from the 20th century. It was a blessing that he lost to Hoover in 1928.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:52 PM   Permalink  

The Church Triumphant: The Catholic Church by Trimuphalists

I started a new list on the subject of Catholic triumphalism.

What is Triumphalism?

The Pope explained it in Redemptor Hominis

Undoubtedly one of the tendencies it displayed was to overcome what has been called triumphalism, about which there was frequent discussion during the Council.

My definition? It's the "in your face" (i.e. boastful and proud) attitude that the Catholic Church is the best and every other religion is defective.

The truth of the Catholic Church needs to be explained in a way that does not alienate the audience.

Suggestions on books to add to the list will be accepted.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:24 PM   Permalink  

The Top 25 Weirdest Items You Can Buy on Amazon

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 5:37 PM   Permalink  

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland Archdiocese said Tuesday that it will file for bankruptcy, becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese in the nation to seek bankruptcy court relief in the face of accusations of sexual abuse.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy action, planned for Tuesday afternoon, puts an immediate halt to a priest abuse case scheduled to begin in Portland on Tuesday. It involves the Rev. Maurice Grammond, who was accused of molesting more than 50 boys in the 1980s.

Plaintiffs in two lawsuits involving Grammond have sought a total of more than $160 million.

The archdiocese and its insurers already have paid more than $53 million to settle more than 130 claims by people who say they were abused by priests.

Dozens of other claims are pending, and at Tuesday's news conference, church officials said they "could not afford what the plaintiffs are asking."

"The pot of gold is pretty much empty right now," Archbishop John Vlazny said.

James Devereaux, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that had been scheduled to go to trial Tuesday, vowed that in spite of the announcement, "We will continue our fight to finally get the archdiocese to accept the sin of its crimes."

No other U.S. diocese has ever declared bankruptcy, according to Fred J. Naffziger, a business law professor at Indiana University.

Tom Stilley, the attorney handling the archdiocese's bankruptcy filing, also said it was the first such case, but said other dioceses are considering the same step. Chapter 11 bankruptcy frees an organization from the threat of creditors' lawsuits while it reorganizes.

The Archdiocese of Boston, which was flooded with civil lawsuits after the clergy sex abuse crisis erupted there, considered bankruptcy, but opted to sell church real estate worth millions to settle the claims. The Diocese of Tucson, Ariz., last month said it was considering filing for bankruptcy to resolve pending lawsuits.

In the 1990s, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., was brought to the brink of bankruptcy, and had to borrow from parish savings accounts to pay millions of dollars in abuse cases.

Only a handful of priest abuse lawsuits have actually gone to trial in the United States; most settle beforehand in an effort to avoid a public airing of testimony.

In the case involving Grammond, Vlazny said, the diocese made "every effort to settle the cases fairly. I am committed to just compensation. These (plaintiffs') demands go beyond compensation. With 60 other claims pending, I cannot in justice and prudence pay the demands of these two plaintiffs."

Grammond died in 2002. In a deposition taken before his death, Grammond said, "I'd say these children abused me. They'd dive in my lap to get sexual excitement."

I'll believe this when I read that it has been filed. The degree to which the court and the creditors themselves can examine the financial records of income/expenses and assets/liabilties is almost unlimited.

We'll be seeing individual Visa® and Mastercard® statements before this is all over.

Slate had a good article on this from 2002 when Boston was contemplating it.

The bankruptcy trustee will be appointed by the court -- he or she will answer to the court and not to the Church (or to God) -- and will control the records, income, and assets of the Church during what is called "reorganization".

Every account number, key, file, password, data base, etc. is under the trustee's control. Separation of Church and State? No way -- this is a voluntary submission of Peter's purse and patrimony to Caesar's men in green eyshades.

Can the Vatican approve that?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:35 PM   Permalink  

"I oppose abortion, personally," he told the newspaper. "I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception. But I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist ... who doesn't share it. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America."

Kerry would not be the favorite politician of the pro-abortion advocacy groups that he is if he had been making this claim for years.

It is, of course, of lie. What makes it an especially purposeless lie is that pro-abortion avocates and pro-life advocates don't believe it. Are there any people so ill-informed and unengaged from politics that they see this as an accurate reflection of his views all along?

So today Kerry is less heroicially a pro-abortion advocate. Some of the extreme pro-abortion advocates will complain, but not too loudly, at this as a cave-in, a concession.

It doesn't move Kerry an inch off the road to hell.

The question that no one has the guts to ask John "life begins at conception" Kerry is "If life begins at conception for you, in your personal view, then there would be no difference between abortion and the murder of an infant. In your political life, why do you support the murder of unborn children?"

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:36 PM   Permalink  

The Battle Cry of Freedom Words and music by George F. Root

Oh, we'll rally 'round the flag boys, we'll rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom;
We will rally from the hillside, we'll gather from the plain,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom.

Chorus
The Union forever, Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitor, up with the star;
While we rally 'round the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom.

We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
And we'll fill the vacant ranks with a million freemen more,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom.

Chorus
The Union forever, Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitor, up with the star;
While we rally 'round the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom.

We well welcome to our numbers the loyal, true, and brave,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
And although they may be poor not a man shall be a slave,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom.

Chorus
The Union forever, Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitor, up with the star;
While we rally 'round the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom.

So we're springing to the call from the East and from the West,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
And we'll hurl the Rebel crew from the land we love the best,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom.

Chorus
The Union forever, Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitor, up with the star;
While we rally 'round the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:06 PM   Permalink