Thank God. It's about time. But why stop there? Kick that liberal fruitcake out of the priesthood. Get rid of the pansies impersonating priests.
I hope this new guy will be better but I am not so sure.
Catholic ping!
"The cafeteria is closed."
"Giving both sides of the debate" in this context can also be defined as "giving both the teaching of the Catholic Church and heresies against that teaching."
Thank God. It's about time. But why stop there? Kick that liberal fruitcake out of the priesthood. Get rid of the pansies impersonating priests.
What's the betting line that he'll be on the AP payroll within a week?
I thought the Jesuits were the most fiercely loyal subjects (for lack of a better word) of the Pope. I also thought they had a great deal of autonomy. Now, both assumptions are in doubt.
"Reese is based in New York where the magazine is edited. He was in Rome for the election of Benedict, who had enforced a hard line on church doctrine and silenced theologians who diverged from it in his 24 years as Pope John Paul II's orthodoxy watchdog."
We have all watched with dismay as the Jesuit Order has slithered into the more liberal realms of church teaching. However, one star that shines brightly in the order is ....
Fr. Mitch Pacwa
Jesuit priest and popular television host of several EWTN (www.ewtn.com) television and radio programs, including EWTN Live,The Holy Rosary in the Holy Land , and currently Threshold of Hope, Fr Mitch has a dynamic and engaging presence. An accomplished biblical scholar and apologist, Fr Mitch holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology from University of Detroit (summa cum laude), a Master of Divinity and S.T.B. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Loyola University (magna cum laude), and Phd in Old Testament from Vanderbilt University. He speaks 12 languages, some of which include; Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Koine Greek, and has taught courses in Old Testament, New Testament in high schools, seminaries, and universities, including Loyola University (Chicago) and University of Dallas. Fr Mitch is also a seasoned world-traveler, particularly to the Holy Land , where he has visited no fewer than 44 times.
Fr. Mitch is author of Catholics and the New Age, Forgive Me Father, for I am Frustrated, and Some Heard Thunder, Some Heard God. He is founder of Ignatius Productions, under the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus -- a multi-media teaching apostolate that features his books, tapes, and video productions. He is contributing author to several Catholic publications, including; This Rock Magazine.
Bi-ritual in the Maronite rite, Pacwa is a frequent visitor to the homes of Lebanese parishioners in Birmingham.
A Roman Catholic may attend Divine Liturgy at any Eastern Catholic Church and fulfill their Sunday obligation.
The Catholic Church is both Western and Eastern. As most of us realize, the Church began in the East. Our Lord lived and died and resurrected in the Holy Land. The Church spread from Jerusalem throughout the known world. As the Church spread, it encountered different cultures and adapted, retaining from each culture what was consistent with the Gospel. In the city of Alexandria, the Church became very Egyptian; in Antioch it remained very Jewish; in Rome it took on an Italian appearance and in the Constantinople it took on the trappings of the Roman imperial court. All the churches which developed this way were Eastern, except Rome. Most Catholics in the United States have their roots in Western Europe where the Roman rite predominated. It has been said that the Eastern Catholic Churches are "the best kept secret in the Catholic Church."
The Vatican II Council declared that "all should realize it is of supreme importance to understand, venerate, preserve, and foster the exceedingly rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern churches, in order faithfully to preserve the fullness of Christian tradition" (Unitatis Redintegrato, 15). Pope John Paul II said that "the Catholic Church is both Eastern and Western."
Check your local community at the following link and look into attending an Eastern Catholic Liturgy (not to be confused with the Orthodox Church).
Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.
The Eastern Catholic Rites retain the rich heritage of our church, without the "novelties" introduced into the Novus Ordo liturgy. Incense is used throughout.
I attend a Maronite Catholic Church. The Consecration is in Aramaic, using the words and language of our Lord at the Last Supper. Communion is ONLY distributed by the priest. It is by intinction (the priest dips the consecrated host into the Precious Blood) and is ONLY received on the tongue. The priest administers communion with the words: "Receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of sin and eternal salvation".
A Roman Catholic may attend the Divine Liturgy at any Eastern Catholic Church. You can learn more about the 22 different liturgies at this link:
Posted Friday, May 6, 2005 at 4:15 p.m. CST
National Catholic Reporter has posted the following breaking news story on its Web site, NCRonline.org.
Editor of Jesuit's America magazine forced to resign under Vatican pressure
By Tom Roberts and John L. Allen, Jr.
Kansas City, Mo. and Rome
Jesuit Fr. Thomas J. Reese, editor for the past seven years of America magazine, a premier publication of Catholic thought and opinion, has resigned at the request of his order following years of pressure for his ouster from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The resignation caps five years of tensions and exchanges among the congregation, which was headed at the time by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, the Jesuits and Reese, according to sources close to the magazine who asked not to be identified.
A release from the magazine May 6, which did not mention the forced ouster, announced that the new editor is Jesuit Fr. Drew Christiansen, who has served as associate editor.
Ironically, Reese received the news that the Jesuits found the debate "unwinnable," according to one source, when he returned to the magazine's New York headquarters from Rome, where he had covered the conclave that elected Ratzinger as pope.
Contacted on background, a Vatican official said he could not discuss the case.
Over the course of a five-year exchange between the doctrinal congregation and the Jesuits, the Vatican congregation had raised objections to various editorial choices at America under Reese's leadership, including:
a.. An essay exploring moral arguments for the approval of condoms in the context of HIV/AIDS;
b.. Several critical analyses of the doctrinal congregation's September 2000 document Dominus Iesus, on religious pluralism;
c.. An editorial criticizing what America called a lack of due process in the congregation's procedures for the investigation of theologians;
d.. An essay about homosexual priests;
e.. A guest essay from U.S. Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, challenging suggestions that the church should refuse Communion to Catholic politicians who do not vote as a number of bishops believe they should vote.
In every instance, however, the pieces represented just a portion of coverage of the subject in America, which always published opposing points of view.
According to one source, the communication about Reese's fate was carried on between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the superior general of the Jesuits, Dutch Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, with the content then relayed to Reese's Jesuit superiors in the United States. Although critics of Reese both in the United States and Rome have occasionally accused him of an anti-hierarchical mentality, supporters noted in their responses to the congregation that over his seven years as editor, America routinely published weighty pieces by prominent members of the hierarchy, at one stage including Ratzinger himself.
In February 2002, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith proposed creating a three-member commission of censors for the magazine, though the idea was never implemented. According to sources, the congregation told the Jesuits that the action was in response to concern from bishops in the United States.
Sources said no bishops were identified by name and that Reese was never directly contacted. According to a source close to the magazine, Jesuit superiors said some bishops were upset that Reese often commented on church matters for general media and that such commentary should be solely the province of bishops.
Reese often made himself available to media during the bishops' meetings and other special church events to explain aspects of church life and the intricacies of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is the author of three highly respected studies of the Catholic hierarchy: Archbishop, Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church;A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church.
The entire matter of his disciplining was handled "by chain of command, and the Jesuits were able to hold off for five years, but in the end, saw it as unwinnable. It was either Reese goes or they would appoint a board of censors," said one source.
America, though clearly left-leaning in some of its editorial stances, was widely viewed as a moderate publication that gave vent to a wide spectrum of views. Among its contributors were top theologians, a number of bishops, and, in one instance, Ratzinger himself in an article published in dialogue with Cardinal Walter Kasper, another German cardinal. Over the years, the magazine has also published dozens of articles by noted conservative Cardinal Avery Dulles.
Though pressure for Reese's ouster clearly came from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to what degree Ratzinger was personally involved in the decision is not known.
In the May 6 release, Reese said, "I am proud of what my colleagues and I did with the magazine, and I am grateful to them, our readers and our benefactors for the support they gave me. I look forward to taking a sabbatical while my provincial and I determine the next phase of my Jesuit ministry."
Christiansen, an accomplished educator, writer and editor, previously was a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. He was director of the Office of International Justice and Peace for the United States Catholic Conference from 1991 to 1998 and served as counselor for international affairs for the bishops until December 2004.
"I know I am speaking for all the editors in saying that we are sorry to see Tom go," said Christiansen in the May 6 release. "Fr. Reese greatly improved the magazine, adding news coverage, color and the Web edition. . By inviting articles that covered different sides of disputed issues, Fr. Reese helped make America a forum for intelligent discussion of questions facing the church and the country today."
ping
Hmm . . . lots of evangelizing to be done on the Left Coast, I suppose.
11 Jesuit leaders in the United States? Huh? I don't think there are 11 provinces in the US. Who are these 11 leaders?
Not at it's independence, but at it's willfullness in the matter of teaching ERROR to Catholics all over the world. It was Jesuits who told Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry and their ilk that they could still consider themselves good Catholics by publicly stating that they were 'personally opposed' to abortion all the while supporting it in legislation.
Check out this really crappy "poem" from their 2004 poetry contest. I'd post it here, but in addition to exhibiting non-existent writing ability, it also has a bit of discomforting imagery. It's a discredit to poetry in general and anti-war poetry in particular. Needless to say, it took the top prize of $1000(!).
During the conclave, I saw Thomas Reese on (I think) MSNBC as an "analyst". I wanted to whack him upside the head. He is just too smarmy.
It's not the first time I've seen him on television, and not the first time I wished I could whack him upside the head.