extreme Catholic 

 
When did it start?

Are any of you amateur cultural anthropologists and can pin done when "ya know" became part of the language?

It is irritating to hear as every 5th word: "ya know" or its long form "do you know what I'm saying?"

I know what's it supposed to be: a pause for affirmation of what's just been said.

When did "ya' know" become a linguistic plague?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:53 PM   Permalink  

 

Rev. Billy Graham Invites All New Yorkers To Attend Crusade The Reverend Billy Graham spoke out at a news conference in Manhattan Tuesday in advance of his scheduled weekend sermons, in what he says will be his last crusade to the city. The 86-year-old Graham will hold sermons in Queens Friday through Sunday. The event will be Graham's eighth crusade in New York and his final in America. He suffers from symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, including hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, and organizers say it could be his last major gathering. You can click on the video link. It's clear that Billy Graham is not very strong and I can't imagine him giving the type of preaching that he could in the 1950's for hours. I should be able to turn off the AC and open a window and almost hear it from where I live. (2.4 miles)

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:46 PM   Permalink  

 
Made you look -- made you look!

Giant Ice Pop Melts In The Heat, Making A Mess Of Union Square: NY1 (with video link)

It seemed like a good idea; a marketing gimmick for the first day of summer.

"We're here in Union Square Park trying to break the Guinness Book or World Records, and we have this kiwi-strawberry 39,000-pound ice pop," said Wendy Kaufman, otherwise known as "The Snapple Lady."

It was an ice pop so big, it took a crane to lift it into position in Union Square, where a Guinness official was on hand to judge if the pop was a record-breaker. The idea was to promote Snapple's new line of frozen desserts.

But one thing the promoters apparently forgot; a massive ice pop doesn't like 85-degree weather.

They got better publicity than they would have if they had the thing chilled with liquid nitrogen.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:18 PM   Permalink  

 
Follow-up: Rev. Ryan Erickson's Suicide

Police study priest's e-mail : St Paul Pioneer Press

Probe continues in funeral home slayings

The investigation of the 2002 deaths of two Hudson, Wis., funeral home workers awaits the nearly completed forensic review of the Rev. Ryan Erickson's computer, including deleted e-mails, Hudson Police Chief Richard Trende said Wednesday.

An open investigation.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:09 PM   Permalink  

 
Memory Hold the Door : Belmont Club

The assassin of Col. James Rowe, the "political prisoner" Danilo Continente, is scheduled to be freed from prison on June 28th after serving his maximum sentence. Philippine President Fidel Ramos refused to pardon Continente during his term of office despite representations by 'human rights organizations'. But with his sentence served, Continente will soon be a free man. The left-leaning Philippine Daily Inquirer has started a countdown to the blessed moment.

More news from the Philippines. In this article you will read of the heroism of Col. Rowe and the complicity of American students who foolishly and with treachery identified Rowe to his North Vietnam torturers.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:17 AM   Permalink  

 
Bishops Extend Policy of 1 Strike for Sex Offenders : Washington Post

CHICAGO, June 17 -- U.S. Roman Catholic bishops today affirmed their policy of zero tolerance for sex offenders, voting by a substantial majority to extend the one-strike approach for five years despite complaints from some priests and bishops that the policy is too inflexible.

The measure bans sex offenders from public church work for life, a step first taken by Catholic authorities in 2002 after hundreds of priests stood accused of sexual misdeeds. Most victims were children.

It was the bishop's discretion with sexual predators of children that got them into trouble. The abuse of their discretion when it comes to sexual sins such as pornography (including illegal child pornography), adult consensual sexual relations all of which (at the least) interfere with the ability of priests to carry on their vocation, and expose the diocese to financial liabiity and blackmail.

The bishops still have no policy with respect to censure or even fraternal correction for bishops which violate the policies.

The bishops didn't go near the problem of homosexuality in the priesthood. They basically ignored that over 80 percent of the sexual incidents we by men of boys, and the public perception that gay men are being favored by seminaries.

The bishops defeated an attempt to replace a popular part of American liturgy -- "Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again." -- with a translation from Latin.

Speaking for the bishops' liturgical committee, Bishop Donald W. Trautman of Erie, Pa., said the three lines do not connect to the congregation and come from 20th-century song lyrics with no Latin origin, unlike other acclamations.

Opponents of the changes said the words are popular and the sentiments heartfelt. Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop of New York, pointed out that other lines are not well translated and told his brethren that American Catholics should be allowed to settle into familiar prayers during a time of uncertainty in the church.

Not to do so, Egan said, could leave the impression that "everything is up for grabs."

Now that's an unfortunate phrase, how could anyone not think that everything is up for grabs?

My own Mysterium Fidei acclamation would be "Now here present on the altar is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ".

Cardinal Egan appeals to the familiar which is different from appealing to the living Sacred Tradition of the Church. In Cardinal Egan's defense, let me mention that he continues to approve the Mass of Pope St. Pius V at the Church of St. Agnes, near Grand Central Terminal.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:40 AM   Permalink  

 
Cardinal Sin: The priest who toppled a dictator: INQ7

CARDINAL Jaime Sin, who died Tuesday aged 76, rose from obscurity to become one of the most powerful figures in Philippine politics, known as the priest who stood up to dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The portly, wisecracking archbishop mastered the technique of criticizing Marcos and his regime but managing to pull back at the right time to ensure his continued personal and political well being.

An American cannot imagine the admiration that Filipinos had for this man. The closest that I can come is Archbishop John Hughes of New York (from the 1830's to 1864) who raised the Irish immigrants from being an underclass in this city while preaching the Gospel to all.

Cardinal Sin was instrumental in making the revolution to remove Marcos and his cronies non-violent.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:27 AM   Permalink  

 
Gitmo

They are being detained indefinitely because they waged war against the armed services of the United States. When this war is over, they will be released. They are the enemy.

The talking heads are talking about their "guilt" or "innocence". It's irrelevant.

If released, there is nothing stopping them from getting back to the battlefields -- either in Iraq or any other location where they can operate.

This is a throw-back to the pre-9/11 view of terrorism as a criminal problem as opposed to a miltary/political problem.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:29 PM   Permalink  

 
Romanian priest unrepentant after crucifixion of nun : AFP via USA Today

TANACU, Romania — A Romanian Orthodox priest, facing charges for ordering the crucifixion of a young nun because she was "possessed by the devil," was unrepentant Saturday as he celebrated a funeral ceremony for his alleged victim.

"God has performed a miracle for her, finally Irina is delivered from evil," Father Daniel, 29, the superior of the Holy Trinity monastery in north-eastern Romania, told an AFP reporter before celebrating a short liturgy "for the soul of the deceased", in the presence of 13 nuns who showed no visible emotion.

He's admitted to it, we can drop the alleged. The monastery near Tanacu apparently is under the authority of the Romanian Orthodox Church. I had hoped that it was a schismatic splinter group, but it was not.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:36 PM   Permalink  

 
Distracted Shepherd of Souls Dept.

Canadian diocese ordered to pay more than $8 million in land deal : AP (free reg reqd)

A Seattle-area lawyer and horse aficionado has been awarded more than $8 million from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria, British Columbia, in a five-year legal battle over a land deal.

Before setting the amount Friday, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Paula K. Casey rejected motions by lawyers for diocese to reverse the verdict, reduce the award to Joseph C. Finley or order a new trial.

After a three-week trial, a jury ruled May 27 that the diocese, which covers Vancouver Island and has 75,000 members, had breached its contract with Finley and awarded him nearly $8.2 million for breach of contract, plus $4.2 million for breach of fiduciary duty or trust.

Casey ruled that Finley is entitled only to the larger sum and scheduled hearings for July 8 on his claim for attorney fees, which his lawyer estimated at more than $1 million.

Richard Clinton, a lawyer for the diocese, said he would appeal, claiming there were "judicial and jury irregularities" and questioning the adequacy of the judge's instructions to the jury.

One juror withdrew from the case and another sent a note to the court during deliberations, matters that Casey ruled had not jeopardized the panel's ability to render a fair verdict.

Diocesan officials estimate total losses at nearly $10 million in ill-fated dealings with Finley that dated from the 1980s and involved 160 acres of land in Hawks Prairie.

According to evidence in the case, then-Bishop Remi De Roo loaned $600,000 of church money to Finley for an Arabian horse-breeding venture that failed. Finley then proposed buying, developing and selling the property to pay off his debt and accrued interest, which the diocese estimated at $3.2 million...

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:23 AM   Permalink  

 
'Blame America First' will be the theme of the 9/11 Memorial

9-11 families resist broader memorial : Newsday

Many families of those killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center plan to launch a national "Take Back the Memorial" campaign this week to get public officials to focus on the victims and what happened that day.

The families strongly oppose plans for an International Freedom Center at Ground Zero, which as discussed would have exhibits on slavery, human rights, the treatment of American Indians and other issues not directly related to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:14 AM   Permalink