Obama: Babies can live without him

As we prepare for the coronation tonight, let’s keep this in mind.

Debunk the conspiracy theories

This coming Tuesday, August 26, will mark the 30th anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul I, who brief reign lasted only one month before his untimely death. Yet for all the brevity of his papacy, the controversy surrounding his death has lived on in the intervening decades. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that the pope either murdered or even committed suicide, all of which is nonsense. Nevertheless, that has not prevented hucksters from advancing their claims. The most prominent book on the subject is by David Yallop, called In God’s Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I, first published in 1984 and released in a new edition in 2007. The infamous John Cornwall, author of the execrable Hitler’s Pope, has also weighed in with his tome.

Meanwhile, Lori Pieper, who blogs at “Lori’s Pilgrimage”, has been investigating John Paul I’s death for almost as long, even writing an as-yet unpublished manuscript. So now she is publishing her refutations of the conspiracy theories on her blog in time for the anniversary. The first part is online at Was Pope John Paul I Murdered? (Part I)

Many of the people who were close to Pope John Paul I have always been reluctant to talk about the controversy surrounding his death. This is not because they want to conceal anything, but rather because they are weary of being questioned on the subject. They wonder why there is so much interest in the theory that the Pope was murdered and so little in his life. They feel betrayed by those who have distorted the facts they have provided in order to write scandalous books, and angry because those who read these books seem to be more interested in sensationalism than they are in the truth. When I spoke with the Pope’s brother and sister-in-law and his secretaries, Father Lorenzi and Father Senigaglia, about his death back in 1985, they told me that they were afraid that attempting to refute these lies would only add to the furor, and that no one cared about the truth anyway.

It’s time to reclaim the truth about Pope John Paul I, né Albano Luciano, Servant of God who cause for beatification is ongoing. The life of holiness of the Pope should be what we remember, not this other silliness.

Photo is in the public domain. Via Wikimedia.

Catholics Against Joe Biden

Hot of the web presses, so to speak, we find Catholics Against Joe Biden, a new blog by Stephen Dillard, Chris Blosser, and Jay Anderson. Following on the successful Catholics against Rudy (Guiliani) blog, this is a non-partisan effort to point out reasons why Catholics should not vote for Catholic politicians who openly and flagrantly cause scandal because of their dissent from non-negotiable Church teachings that intersect with public policy. In most cases, but not all, this means abortion.

Now that Biden is the vice-presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, it is time for faithful Catholics to stand up and say that we will not be pandered to, that the act of choosing someone who may sit in a pew in a Catholic church on Sunday, regardless of his public beliefs and actions, should convince us to vote for him. Likewise, I would fully expect that if John McCain chose a dissenting Catholic for his VP spot, they would get the same treatment. Neither does it mean that a non-Catholic with the same beliefs would be more palatable.

But when it’s a fellow Catholic and we’re being told that this makes it okay, then we need to stand up and say it is not. I encourage you to bookmark the site, save the RSS feed in your feed reader, link to it, and put a banner on your site, if you have one.

Biden: pro-abortion Catholic running mate

I don’t understand why reporters are so clueless about Barack Obama’s selection of Sen. Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate, vis a vis Biden’s attraction to Catholic voters because himself is Catholic. Did they learn nothing from 2004 and John Kerry?

Steven Waldman, the editor-in-chief of Beliefnet, writes on The Huffington Post that Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, a pro-choice Catholic, is a smart pick by Barack Obama in terms of religious politics.

Obama, he writes, “desperately needs to retain his lead among Catholics,” many of whom are still upset at John McCain for his fleeting embrace of John Hagee, the Catholic-bashing televangelist from San Antonio.

I doubt Hagee’s anti-Catholicism will outweigh Biden’s pro-abortion stance. For those whose self-identification as Catholic affects the way they vote, which is the group they’re so hot to capture, the selection of a reliable pro-abort—which Biden is, even if he’s not as rabidly bloodthirsty as Obama—is still not going to endear him to Catholics. While Waldman writes that the selection could backfire because it will keep the question of whether pro-abortion Catholic politicians should receive Communion front and center throughout the campaign, he seems to want to ignore the problem, as if wishing it away will work.

In other words, he’s Catholic enough to appeal to Catholics, pro-life enough to avoid some Church attacks, and pro-choice enough to satisfy Hillary voters.

That’s a load of malarkey that only someone who is being willfully blind could believe. What we will see is that instead of being palatable to all, he will be palatable to none. If he’s pro-choice enough to satisfy the Moloch-bloc of the Democratic Party, then there’s no way he can be described as pro-life.

And speaking of the Communion controversy, Ed Peters weighs in early with his take on Biden in relation to the canon laws on reception of Communion. Specifically, he approaches the question of whether the strictures of canons 915 and 916 apply to Biden.

In regard to the Catholic Joseph Biden’s eligibility to receive holy Communion, then, the right questions will seek to answer whether certain of his public actions (chiefly legislative actions and public advocacy efforts) constitute obstinate perseverance in manifest grave sin. Answering those questions well will require (1) accurate assemblage of the facts (an area for which expert lay Catholic observers of American politics should be consulted), and (2) accurate inquiry into the requirements of Church law and moral teaching (an area for which bishops are chiefly responsible).

I have little hope that the secular media will engage in due diligence in this area and we’ll be subject to the same nonsensical reporting on the Catholic faith’s relation to politics that we saw in 2004. Still, it’s up to Catholics of all kinds to keep approaching this subject rationally and in good faith and not let politics be the only concern here. For at least Biden, but also for those who might support him, the questions have an eternal consequence.

Photo: Official US Congress photo in the public domain.

Liberals wrestle with conscience over conservative artists

With the advent of blogs and Twitter and other avenues for personal expression online, it has become ever easier for public figures (and private ones as well) to make known their personal opinions on all manner of subjects unrelated to their cause for fame. What’s interesting is that when some fans find their favorite author/actor/artist/what-have-you espousing ideas they find repugnant they have an existential crisis.

Now, to be sure, this is nothing new for most conservative and/or traditionally religious people. The ranks of the cultural elites are filled with those who espouse all kinds of liberal notions that are the opposite of our own cherished beliefs, even going so far as to express disgust for that to which we hold fast. We’ve become accustomed to that actor in our favorite show/movie or this author of our favorite book giving us pause. And with these celebrities venturing onto the Internet where they can make their opinions even more transparent, this becomes a more common occurrence.

What’s interesting is that liberal fans are now dealing with this problem. I’ve seen this crop up most recently with regard to Orson Scott Card, the author of the sci-fi classic “Ender’s Game” and a devout Mormon who espouses social conservative political views. Card has been a newspaper columnist and commentator for some time, but recently he’s been very vocal about the travesty of courts redefining marriage as well as giving free rein to abortion.

Continue reading...

Unto you a child will be born, the Son of Promise

If you’re creating a new messiah, then you’ve got to have the requisite hagiography/infancy narrative. The Obama Messiah blog points us to this children’s biography of Obama, designed to indoctrinate the younglings early: “Obama: "Son of Promise, Child of Hope"”. (Check out the whole tongue-in-check blog to see the very disturbing imagery often used by those who imagine Obama as a secular savior, not the least of whom are the journalists who are supposed to be objective!)

Witness the way in which Obama is portrayed in this summary of the book. Note how “Hope” is capitalized the way we would capitalize “Holy Spirit”, i.e. as a Person. Note how he is lifted onto a pedestal as being unlike the rest of us mere mortals.

Ever since Barack Obama was young, Hope has lived inside him. From the beaches of Hawaii to the streets of Chicago, from the jungles of Indonesia to the plains of Kenya, he has held on to Hope. Even as a boy, Barack knew he wasn’t quite like anybody else, but through his journeys he found the ability to listen to Hope and become what he was meant to be: a bridge to bring people together.

I have no problem with someone being an ordinary political supporter, even an ardent supporter, but this sort of thing—and the rest of it chronicled at that blog—goes far beyond support to personality cult or religion. And that’s what scares me about Obama—more so than any other recent presidential political candidate.

Let me be even more pointed. I don’t believe that Obama is the Antichrist of fundamentalist Protestant nightmares, but if you were trying to create the appearance of being the Antichrist and scaring the “fundies” you couldn’t do a much more complete job than this.

The new iPod touch software changes everything

A few months ago, I purchased an iPod touch to replace my old broken iPod. What sets the touch apart is the applications it can run next to the music functions. In fact, it was essentially an iPhone without the phone or built-in camera and it was indeed quite spiffy.

But when the new iPhone 3G was released in mid-July, Apple also released an update to the operating system that runs the older iPhone and iPod touch too. Among the improvements, the biggest was the opening of the device to third-party applications. Suddenly there was a whole world of new functionality available. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it’s like a whole new device. Let me give you some examples, based on programs I’ve downloaded from the store. I will point out that a very large proportion of what’s available in Apple’s iTunes AppStore is free and of the apps I’ve purchased, most have been less than $5 and only one was $19.

The app of most interest to my Catholic readers would be the Universalis Catholic Calendar. From the fine folks who brought you the Universalis web site, which gives you the Mass readings and Divine Office readings every day, the Catholic Calendar is a free app that tells you the feast or memorial of the day, and a brief biography of the saint or saints for the day. Apart from offering customization for the English-speaking country you live in, as well as any provincial peculiarities, that’s about it. Nice, but not earth-shattering.

However, if you’re willing to pony up $32.99, then you can get the full Universalis app, which gives you all the Mass readings, all the Liturgies of the Hours, all the Offices of Readings, everything! If you’ve ever seen the multi-volume breviary plus a daily Missal, then you know how compact this is. Plus, they do all the organizing of the different sections for you, so there’s no more page-flipping, back and forth, and no more rushing out to buy the little calendar update at the end of the year. While $33 may sound like a lot for an iPhone app, I may be working this into my budget in the future.

Helping me get things done

Another indispensable app on my iPod is Omnifocus. This is a companion to the desktop version of the productivity and task management software based on the principles of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” book. Some reviewers have called it complex, but I’ve been able to fit it into my workflow. The nice thing about the iPod app is that it synchronizes with the desktop app over wifi, which means it happens on a regular schedule, not just when I connect the iPod’s cable.

Now, if I had an iPhone it would have another amazing ability: location-awareness. One of the principles of GTD is that when you record your “next-actions”, you put them in a context, which is the place or situation you need to do them. For example, office, home, grocery store, client A, client B, and so on. The theory is that when you’re in a particular context you can do all the appropriate next-actions, regardless of the project they’re attached to. Since the iPhone has a built-in GPS, it knows where you are. You can imagine the possibilities for that! Imagine going into the grocery store and Omnifocus presenting you with your grocery list. Or you’re at the mall, and it shows you the five items you needed in three different stores. Or you go to your doctor’s office for a check-up and it presents a list of all the questions you’ve been meaning to ask him.

While the iPod touch doesn’t have GPS, Apple’s iPhone OS can triangulate location based on known Wifi hotspots as well. It does pretty well for my home and office so that’s nice. Plus, I can now record new tasks and projects right into my Omnifocus as they occur to me; I don’t have to be sitting at my computer.

Another “like magic” set of apps are those that provide streaming music. While iPods have always let you carry your music around with you, now with an Internet connection (always-on for iPhones or when around WiFi networks for iPod touches) you can get streaming music from a variety of sources. The free Pandora Radio connects you to the excellent Pandora web application that plays music for you based on how you train it regarding your likes and dislikes. The iPhone app will play that same music for you without requiring a computer. Who needs a radio?

Streaming music

And if you want to hear the music you’ve already purchased on CD or via online music stores, there’s the awesome Simplify Media (also free). First, you download the free desktop client from the Simplify Media site (available for Mac, PC, and Linux). Then you launch it, create a free account, and point it at your iTunes software. Then on the iPhone/iPod launch the client and enter your account info and your entire iTunes library appears. This is great for me since I only have an 8GB iPod, while my music library is over 31GB. Now, when I’m near an open WiFi hotspot, I can listen to anything in my library, not just what I’ve fit on the iPod.

I haven’t even touched on Simplify Media’s other function, which is that it will let you listen to streaming iTunes music from up to 30 of your friends as well!

I could go on and on—I haven’t even touched on the fun, little games to keep me occupied, for example, while waiting in line—but you get the idea. What the new iPhone and iPod capabilities show is that this is no mere PDA or smartphone, but a whole, new computer platform that opens up a whole world of possibilities. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Protestants discovering NFP

More and more Protestants are turning to natural family planning not just for medical reasons, but also for spiritual reasons. While some are using NFP as a form of contraception, as opposed to the Catholic sense of the openness to life, most of the Protestants interviewed for the article in the Austin American-Statesman say they’ve rejected artificial contraception because they believe it doesn’t show complete trust in God and they’d rather work with the way God created women’s fertility, rather than impose upon it.

It is gratifying to see that the reporter did her homework and got most of the Catholic teaching right, and did at least as well as any other secular story I’ve read. Not perfect, but not bad either.

Natural family planning is frequently dismissed by Protestants as an outmoded Catholic practice that most Catholics don’t even follow anymore. But 40 years after Pope Paul VI released Humanae Vitae, the document outlining the church’s position on marital sex and procreation, the method and the theology behind it are earning respect among some young Protestants, according to Christian scholars.

The 1968 papal encyclical explains the church’s interpretation of the moral and natural laws, which includes a prohibition against artificial contraception but allows couples who want to plan their children to “take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse … during those times that are infertile.”

This approach, for years known as the rhythm method because it relied on a calendar to track a woman’s ovulation based on past cycles, underwent improvements over the years, becoming a more reliable system known as natural family planning.

In seeking balance in the story, the reporter also found a Protestant couple who had tried NFP, but then gave up on it, although I found the reasoning to be curious.

Though the book said that natural family planning only involved a short period of abstinence, the couple wrote that they didn’t know that during breast-feeding cycles it often involves month-long periods of abstinence and what they called intense stress. “During such times (as well as during menopause and stressful life seasons), strict NFP reaches a point where it is more harmful for a marriage than good,” they wrote.

I was baffled by the reference to a month-long periods of abstinence during breastfeeding, especially since we know that if your child is exclusively nursing, the mom’s fertility does not return for some months. Yes, we learned that breastfeeding does throw off the usual charting method, but Melanie took a supplemental class that taught a way to compensate. (Frankly, we just wing it anyway, which is probably why Melanie gets pregnant almost as soon as fertility returns.)

Of course, Melanie points out to me that the Archdiocese of Boston’s Family Life Office actually created its own curriculum for teaching NFP and that it’s exceptionally complete, whereas much of what’s out there is not as good. I suppose that there might be others teaching NFP who won’t go into the more complex charting during breastfeeding and just cop out with a blanket abstention.

In any case, it’s gratifying to see Protestants re-discovering more of their Catholic patrimony. I’ve seen anecdotal evidence in recent years of Protestants re-discovering devotion to Mary and the Rosary; the importance of Lent and Advent and Ash Wednesday; the value of rituals and ceremonies; and the Catholic teaching on human sexuality and the dignity of life.

Example chart from Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University.

The man behind great cinema

Today marks the launch of yet another George Lucas Star Wars film, this time an animated feature called Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and I’m disappointed to say that most of the reviews I’ve seen, from both professional film critics and average Joes, report that the Star Wars dynasty has sunk yet another step. One such negative review comes from TJ who recounts the decline of the Star Wars brand over time. (Warning: Strong language and a minor spoiler. And I don’t buy into everything he writes, but then I haven’t see the latest movie yet.)

TJ points out what was so good about Star Wars: A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, compared to the other four (and now, five) movies in the saga. What was wrong with the Prequels, he posits, is that they were written for six-year-olds, as witnessed by the silly droid army which was given lines like “Roger, roger,” not to mention, Jar-Jar Binks, the most hated sci-fi character since Wesley Crusher strode the bridge of the Enterprise.

And what did Lucas did well in his movies? Battle scenes.

The good parts of the second-trilogy is quite simply the battle scenes. Lucas does them well. It’s why the Death Star invasion at the end of the 1977 movie was so good, why the Hoth battle and Luke-vs-Vader in Empire was so good, and why the best parts of ROTJ were the battle scenes.

In the second-trilogy, we get a multitude of light-saber battles, including Darth Maul, whose lightsaber battle with Qui Gon and Obi-Wan is by far the best part of The Phantom Menace, and why the Jedi battles are the best parts of the next two.

And yet, I think there’s something more that made Star Wars so good. Something that made that aforementioned lightsaber duel in The Phantom Menace so thrilling: John Williams’ score. In fact, it’s hard to imagine Star Wars without the rising crescendo. Go to the StarWars.com site and listen to it and tell me it doesn’t bring it all back. When I first saw Star Wars in 1977 as a 9-year-old boy, all I could articulate as we drove away from theater and I tried to process what I’d just experienced was the (inaccurate) statement: “I love classical music,” (by which I meant, orchestral music, of course. Cut me some slack; I was nine.)

It was the music that defined the sensory experience more than anything. What was the defining emotional moment in The Phantom Menace? That battle between Darth Maul and the Jedi, but it was Williams’ “Duel of the Fates” that got your heart pumping and brought all your senses to bear.

And if you think about it, John Williams’ music has probably done more to define the great cinematic experiences of the past forty years than any one individual. When you look at the the most popular and the highest-grossing movies in that time period, you consistently see one name attached to all of them: Jaws, E.T., Close Encounters, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter.

When he wasn’t composing the scores, Williams was there as the unseen influence on the composers’ shoulder. You can hear echoes of Williams’ work in movies like The Lord of the Rings (James Horner Howard Shore), Titanic (James Horner), the Pirates of the Caribbean, and so on.

I wonder if, hundreds of years from now as historians look back, they will see this as the John Williams era as far as the performing arts go: movies and TV. Perhaps he and Steven Spielberg will be held up as the exemplars of the coming of age of the motion picture arts. I hope so.

But I also wish there was more appreciation of the man and his influence on the cinema today. I’m surprised I don’t see this discussed more often in fact.

Photo of John Williams used under Creative Commons license via Wikimedia. Poster art from StarWars.com.

Catholic World News enters a new era

Catholic World News is dead. Long live Catholic World News… as the all new Catholic Culture project! A couple of years ago Trinity Communications, the company behind Catholic Culture—and longtime provider of CWN’s technical infrastructure—purchased Catholic World News from Philip Lawler, editor and publisher. And now, they’re taking CWN to the next level by incorporating it into Catholic Culture.

This has particular significance for me since I was there at the beginning of CWN and worked alongside Phil for 9 years. I even created the first iteration of CWN’s web site back in 1997! But now CWN is no more, except as a header for a section on the Catholic Culture site.

But that’s okay, because the new Catholic Culture site is great! Phil and Trinity have taken the best part of CWN—the insightful and knowledgeable commentary—and expanded it while preserving the parts no one else was doing as well, including breaking Catholic news and providing links to the breadth and depth of coverage of issues and news of interest to Catholics.

Under the News section are Feature Stories, which is the original reporting CWN is known for, and NewsPlus Stories (the old “NewsBytes”), now with added commentary to give context for other media outlets’ coverage. Under Commentary, you’ll find commentary and analysis by Phil, Jeff Mirus, and others; the Catholic Culture blog, where Phil and Jeff write brief bits; Off the Record, where our old friend Diogenes continues to hold court; Catholic Culture Insights, the archives of Jeff’s weekly email newsletter; Letters to the Editor; and Sound Off, which is the combox for the various articles. The Culture section holds most of what was the old Catholic Culture site, including reviews, information on the liturgical year, the text of the Catechism, the Catholic dictionary, and so on. Best of all there are a bunch of new RSS feeds for keeping track of all this great information.

Keep in mind that the site is still in beta, so there will be occasional glitches, but I’m excited by the promise we see here. Oh, and did I mention that the former pay service is now free, although they are now donor supported. Which means you better feel a moral obligation to support this excellent apostolate if you receive benefit from it, just as much as you would if it were still a mandatory subscription.

I’m happy to see CWN grow and expand into a whole new and promising form of Catholic news and analysis site. Bravo to Phil, Jeff, Peter, and the whole gang at Trinity!

Tom Brady gets some perspective on God’s values

Looks like Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, is finally getting some perspective on his life after the personal and professional turmoil of the last couple of years. He tells Esquire that his value in the eyes of God is not as a quarterback.

Look at the attention I get: It’s because I throw a football. But that’s what society values. That’s not what God values,” Brady said. “He didn’t invent the game. We did. I have some eye-hand coordination, and I can throw the ball. I don’t think that matters to God.”

Incidentally, Brady’s dad is a Catholic deacon. I met him a couple of years ago when he spoke at Proud2BCatholic. Nice guy dealing firsthand with a son whose fame comes with a price.

Anyway, I hope Brady Jr. continues on his spiritual journey.

Yearning for the Eucharist

Yesterday was the Proud2BCatholic Family Festival, the eighth annual one, and it was lots of fun as usual. And as usual I was grateful to meet several of you there, both and new and old faces (Not that I’m calling any of you “old” old, if you know what I mean.) Melanie has a lot more to write about the day, but I wanted to pull out one it that deserves special attention, because it engendered some thoughts and conversation. What she describes occurred during Communion at Mass, which was celebrated by Cardinal Sean O’Malley from the main stage, overlooking the field of people gathered.

After communion I’m kneeling, cradling my now awake but still drowsy baby, when I notice a slight commotion in the communion line nearest me. A mother has just received and turns back to her daughter who stands before the priest. They were the last two people in that line. The little girl stands several feet back from the priest, her hands pressed to the sides of her face— like Munch’s painting of The Scream— fearful. As I watch, I begin to suspect she has Down syndrome. She stand there, trembling, yearning. Her eyes pool with tears and her whole body seems filled with conflict. Afraid to approach and yet unable to turn away. Her mother beckons. The priest takes a hesitant step forward, hand outstretched in welcome, benediction. The girl jumps back like a nervous cat, startled, stumbling, afraid. And yet she stares so longingly. They remain in tension. The priest moves again, the girl tries to move and can’t, tearful, fearful. Finally, the mother turns and begins to walk away and after another moment the priest lifts his hand, blesses her with the sign of the cross, and then also turns, reluctant but acknowledging the impasse. And the girl crumbles to the ground in abject anguish as her mother rushes to console her. Tears roll down my face and my heart yearns toward her, praying. She stumbles away, cradled in her mother’s arms. Tears. Anguish. Raw.

Later Dom articulates what my heart understood but my mind couldn’t quite grasp: In her you could see what we all should be at this moment— the fear and awe of the presence of God that made it impossible for her to approach, the hunger that made it impossible for her to leave. She seemed to see, more clearly than any of us, Him Who is Present there.

There was something about the reaction of this girl with Down syndrome that really struck home. It was as if she saw clearly the reality that we see only darkly. If we only saw as truly Who we are approaching in the Eucharist, maybe we would stand frozen in awe too. And yet something in us would draw us forward, unable to resist His Presence and His call, His offer of a divine intimacy. Something to meditate on.

Faithful Traveler introduces you to Catholic shrines

In the breezy, hip style of travel shows on PBS and the Travel Channel, a new Catholic DVD series, The Faithful Traveler, takes you on a visit to Catholic shrines and places of pilgrimage. Well, so far they take you to the Miraculous Medal Shrine in Philadelphia, but they promise to introduce us to more. (They also have video about St. Katharine Drexel Shrine and the National Shrines of St. Rita of Cascia, also in the Philly area, in the works.)

The show is edited, written, and hosted by Diana von Glahn—an attractive and engaging young woman—and directed and shot by her husband David. (I’d compliment him too, but he never appears on-screen.) With Diana’s youth and energy complemented by a soundtrack of both contemporary Catholic music and classic chant, the DVD is an interesting and engaging introduction to a treasure of devotion and Catholic art in our own backyard. In fact, the United States is overflowing with such shrines and pilgrimage sites. Here in the Archdiocese of Boston, there’s at least a half-dozen, probably more, all beautiful locations where you can pray in peace and experience natural and man-made beauty.

I’ve seen guidebooks to America’s Catholic holy places, but a video is much more interesting, because it reveals a lot more than a couple of pages and tiny photos in a book. And it would only be good for more Catholics to discover shrines and visit them.

For the moment, if you’re in Philadelphia, plan to visit, or just want to learn more about some Catholic shrines and devotions (great for families!), check our their site and DVDs.You’ll find that they’re not just travelogues because they take the time to inform you of the saints and devotions behind the shrines themselves.

Incidentally, a nice feature of their site is the “Locations” page, an interactive map of the US that gives you links and information about Catholic shrines throughout the country. Nice.

Meeting Pier Giorgio Frassati in Sydney

My friend Steve Colella, co-director of the Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults of the Archdiocese of Boston, led a major part of the pilgrimage from Boston to Sydney, Australia, for World Youth Day. Part of the celebration of WYD was the unprecedented journey of the relics of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati from Turin, Italy, to Sydney. Frassati was a patron of WYD and the promoters of his cause and Australian WYD organizers wanted to bring him there so pilgrims could venerate and pray for his intercession.

So Steve went to the church where the relics were placed and took some very nice photos of the exhibition, which gives a brief glimpse of his life and thoughts and deeds, as well as the place of veneration and his casket.

I really wish I could have been there, even just for that experience. Wow.

Proud2bCatholic is next weelend

Attention all New England Catholics! We’re one week away, August 9, from the 2008 Proud2BCatholic Music Festival. This year it’s not just the eighth annual event, but also the ‘official Youth event for the Bicentennial of the Archdiocese of Boston.

This is a fun all-day event, centrally located in Framingham, Massachusetts, just off the Mass. Turnpike at the Marist Center, which is run by the Marist Fathers order. Cardinal Sean O’Malley will be celebrating Mass. The musicians include Tony Melendez, Martin Doman, Kelly Pease, Zealou, and others. There’s Adoration all-day, as well as Confession; an International food court; talks by speakers for the whole family; folks selling all kinds of cool Catholic stuff.

Tickets this year are a reduced price of $15 and children under 12 are free with adult admission. Religious and clergy get in free.

My brother-in-law Pete Campbell is the organizer, visionary, and driving force behind these events and every year it’s a great time that all too few people take advantage of. Really, what are you doing next weekend that’s better than hanging out with your family, with friends, with hundreds of other excited Catholics, sitting in a beautiful field under sunny skies (we pray!), listening to music, and then worshipping God in the Eucharist with Cardinal O’Malley. Come on!

And if you do plan on going, look for me or drop me an email and we’ll get together and say Hi. I love seeing you guys there every year.