WobLog: Church News Archives

April 3, 2010

Χριστός Ανέστη! Αληθώς Ανέστη!

Christ is Risen. He is truly Risen.

Alleluia.

Posted by Don Roberts at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 27, 2010

Entering Holy Week

Today is Lazarus Saturday in the Orthodox Church and the Byzantine Catholic Rite. In preparation for Holy Week, this is well worth a listen. Byzantine Chant is awesome.

Posted by Don Roberts at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 8, 2010

Brit Hume, evangelist

Somewhat old news now, but Brit Hume is still in hot water for his remarks a few days ago during the panel discussion on Fox News Sunday inviting Tiger Woods to a personal conversion:

Way to go, Brit!

Peter Wehner has more to say in a thoughtful piece on National Review Online, including reference to an exchange between William F. Buckley, Jr. and Malcolm Muggeridge on living/sharing one's faith.

UPDATE: You can view the exchange between Buckley and Muggeridge here.

Posted by Don Roberts at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 17, 2009

American Thanksgiving in Gricigliano

The American website of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has a story (with pictures!) of last month's celebration of American Thanksgiving at the Institute's seminary near Florence, Italy. As the number of American seminarians grows, this feast becomes a bigger celebration each year, helping the international cadre of future priests learn something about the U.S. and our traditions.

Parenthetically, we've had two of the young men in the picture above over to our house for dinner, and I can vouch that they're solid guys and will, God-willing, someday be good, holy priests.

Posted by Don Roberts at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 10, 2009

Sound familiar?

Compare this:

"I expect political hardball on any legislation as important as the health care bill. I just didn't expect it from the United States Council [sic, it's "Conference"] of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Who elected them to Congress? [They] seemed to dictate the finer points [of the Stupak ammendment, and] managed to bully members of Congress to vote for added restrictions on a perfectly legal surgical procedure. The IRS is less restrictive about church involvement in efforts to influence legislation than it is about involvement in campaigns and elections. Given the political behavior of USCCB in this case, maybe it shouldn't be."

Representative Lynn Woolsey (D., Calif.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, attacking the bishops in a Politico op-ed.

And this:

"It is an attempt to establish a theocracy to take charge of our politics and our legislation. It is an attempt to make the legislative power of this country subordinate to the church. It is not only to unite Church and State, but it is to put the State in subordination to the dictates of the church."

Senator Stephen A. Douglas (D., Ill.), on March 14, 1854. He was talking about an anti-slavery petition.

HT The Corner.

Posted by Don Roberts at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 23, 2009

Bishop Cordileone Celebrates Solemn Pontifical Mass in Oakland

Fellow parishioner Jay Balza has posted photos and video of Bishop Salvatore Cordileone's Solemn Pontifical Mass at St. Margaret Mary's Church in Oakland, CA. The Holy Mass was offered on September 20, 2009 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Oakland. Head over to Jay's blog, Veritatem Facientes in Caritate, for all the details.

Posted by Don Roberts at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 2, 2009

Tale of Two Kennedys

The other day, Ross Douthat wrote a compelling piece contrasting the two scions of the Kennedy clan who died in the past month: Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sen. Ted Kenndedy. Here's the meat of the piece:

Liberalism's most important legislator probably merited a more extended send-off than his sister. But there's a sense in which his life's work and Eunice's deserve to be remembered together -- for what their legacies had in common, and for what ultimately separated them.

What the siblings shared -- in addition to the grace, rare among Kennedys, of a ripe old age and a peaceful death -- was a passionate liberalism and an abiding Roman Catholic faith. These two commitments were intertwined: Ted Kennedy's tireless efforts on issues like health care, education and immigration were explicitly rooted in Catholic social teaching, and so was his sister's lifelong labor on behalf of the physically and mentally impaired.

What separated them was abortion.
[...]
For abortion opponents, cruel ironies abounded in this sibling disagreement. Because of Eunice Shriver's work with the developmentally disabled, a group of Americans who had once been marginalized and hidden away -- or lobotomized, like her sister Rosemary -- was ushered closer to full participation in ordinary human life. But because of laws that her brother unstintingly supported, that same group was ushered out again: the abortion rate for fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome, for instance, is estimated to be as high as 90 percent.

At a time when the prospects for a child born with Down Syndrome have never been better, it's tragic that so many never even get the chance. The Downs kids we know are the lucky ones.

Posted by Don Roberts at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 17, 2009

Congratulations Canon Apple

Congratulations to Canon Jason Apple, who was ordained a priest on Thursday, 2 July 2009 (the Feast of the Visitation in the old calendar). As a seminarian, then-Abbe Apple served several times in our parish. Our family, our kids especially, became quite fond of him (Sarah in particular, since Jason's family had horses).

The photo shows the newly ordained Canon Apple giving his priestly blessing to our own Bishop of Oakland, Msgr. Salvatore Cordileone, who attended the priestly ordinations in Florence in choro.

If you'd like to give your French a workout, you can view more images from the ordinations at the Institute of Christ the King website.

Posted by Don Roberts at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 23, 2009

Steubenville Bishop restores Friday abstinence

Word today that the Most Reverend R. Daniel Conlon, Bishop of Steubenville, OH, has restored Friday abstinence from meat in his diocese throughout the year. Father Z. has details and observations here, and Amy Welborn has thoughts and historical background here.

This is very hopeful news! Practices like Friday abstinence from meat are very helpful in weaving Christian virtues into one's daily life. Let's hope the practice spreads as bishops in other dioceses follow Bishop Conlon's lead.

As Fr. Z says, "brick by brick..."

Posted by Don Roberts at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 23, 2009

Habemus episcopum!

Ever since then-Bishop Vigneron was appointed Archbishop of Detroit, we've been praying for a new bishop, and speculating amongst friends about who the new bishop might be. Among our fellow parishioners, one name clearly stood out. Well, lo and behold...

From today's Vatican Information Service Bulletin:

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAR 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, auxiliary of San Diego, U.S.A., as bishop of Oakland (area 3,798, population 2,466,692, Catholics 406,947, priests 433, permanent deacons 112, religious 843), U.S.A.

Here's a news release with more details:

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, 52, as the Fourth Bishop of Oakland. Bishop Cordileone until now has been Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. His installation as Bishop of Oakland will take place at noon on May 5, 2009 at Oakland's Cathedral of Christ the Light.

On January 5, 2009, Oakland's Bishop Allen Vigneron was appointed Archbishop of Detroit and was installed in that office on January 28. At that time priests in Oakland's College of Consultors elected Fr. Daniel E. Danielson as Diocesan Administrator, to manage day-to-day business of the Diocese until a new bishop was named.

Fr. Danielson will introduce Bishop Salvatore Cordileone at a news conference on Monday, March 23, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of Christ the Light. Media should enter through the main conference center entrance at 2121 Harrison Street, Oakland.

Bishop Salvatore Cordileone

Bishop Cordileone was born in 1956 in San Diego, California, where he and his family were members of Blessed Sacrament Parish. He entered the seminary in San Diego in 1975, received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of San Diego in 1978 and went on for theology studies in Rome at the Pontifical North American College. He received the Bachelor's Degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1981.

After being ordained a priest in 1982, Bishop Cordileone served as associate pastor in La Mesa, California before again returning to study in Rome. He received the Doctoral Degree in Canon Law from Gregorian University in 1989. Returning to San Diego he held various diocesan positions and from 1991 served as pastor at a parish in Calexico, California until 1995 when he returned to Rome.

For the next seven years Bishop Cordileone served as an assistant at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest judicial court. On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him as Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of San Diego and he was installed by Bishop Robert Brom the following month.

The Diocese of Oakland

As Bishop of Oakland, Bishop Cordileone will be the chief shepherd for over 550,000 Catholics who reside in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The Diocese of Oakland was created in 1962 and is comprised of 84 parishes within Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The First Bishop of Oakland was the Most Reverend Floyd Begin who served from 1962 until his death in 1977. He was succeeded by Bishop John Cummins who retired in 2003 and was succeeded by Bishop Vigneron. Bishop Vigneron was appointed Archbishop of Detroit in January of this year and Fr. Daniel Danielson has been acting as Diocesan Administrator since that time.

More info on Bishop Cordileone can be found here, here, and here (Bishop Cordileone celebrated a Novus Ordo Mass in the newly inaugurated TAC Chapel ad orientem in Latin).

Posted by Don Roberts at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)