Over the past couple weeks I've come across some interesting stories involving the Catholic Church, and in particular priests, religious, and especially bishops. Today I thought I would mention ten of them, with links for you to find "the rest of the story."

(1) Welcome, But Not Honored

Archbishop Dolan of New York firmly yet pastorally advises that pro-abortion Catholic politicians will not receive honors at events such as the annual Al Smith dinner under his watch. This could easily come into play, not only with national figures such as Vice President Biden and Speaker Pelosi, but even more likely with New York Governor David Paterson, a pro-abortion Catholic. 

(2) Baby Bishops

The Vatican just appointed Msgr. Joseph Bambera as the new Bishop of Scranton, PA, and Fr. Terry LaValley as the new Bishop of Ogdensburg, NY. Both have been serving as the administrator of their respective dioceses pending the appointment of new bishops. This leaves only three dioceses without a bishop right now (Springfield, IL; LaCrosse, WI; and Harrisburg, PA)--an unusually low number--and there are four additional dioceses where the bishop has already reached retirement age.

(3) Cardinal George Addresses Mormons

What a brilliant prelate. Excellent presentation on religious freedom, drawing on many points of agreement between Catholics and Mormons that should unite us in our efforts to build a more just, life-affirming society.

(4) Way to Go, NC Bishops!

Bishop Jugis of Charlotte and Bishop Burbidge of Raleigh led the charge in getting the state of North Carolina to alter its new civics curriculum that compared pro-life laws to pro-segregation laws, calling both examples of "oppressive government."

(5) More on Oprah and the Nuns

In a previous post I mentioned that the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist were appearing on Oprah. The linked story tells about the sisters' giving Oprah a Rosary and the conversation that ensued. That program has had a wide-reaching effect. Here in Kansas City, for example, Archbishop Naumann wrote about that program in his weekly column for The Leaven, the archdiocesan paper.

(6) Courageous Dutch Priest (not a misprint!)

The priest informed the openly homosexual "prince" for a town carnival that he would not be able to receive Holy Communion. Many in the town revolted against this decision and decided to stage a protest of sorts during Sunday Mass. The priest held his ground, and on that Sunday he did not give out Communion at all, so as to avoid the very real possibility of sacrilege.

(7) Bishop Vasa

Bishop Vasa's columns are always excellent. Scroll down on the linked page for a wealth of great teaching. I especially liked this Lenten column, including his reflection on the phrase from Ash Wednesday: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." 

(8) Archbishop Chaput

Ditto for Archbishop Chaput of Denver. The linked column is but the first in a series of powerful reflections on Pope Benedict's Lenten Message.

(9) Call No Man "Father"

Our Lord says in today's Gospel to call no man "father." Yet I call my pastor "Father." Heck, I refer to myself as a "father." So what does Our Lord mean? I answer that question in the linked article.

(10) Don't Call Him "Teacher," Either

We don't get as worked up about this one (not a Catholic-Protestant thing), but still, Our Lord does tell us to call no one "teacher." I comment on that particular teaching of Christ in the linked article.

Well, that's it. Did I leave out a compelling story? Would you like to see more posts like this?

My favorite Lenten hymn is “The Glory of These Forty Days.” What I like so much about it is its simple melody coupled with lyrics attributed to St. Gregory the Great that clearly teach us--or at least remind us--what Lent is all about.

The glory of these forty days
We celebrate with songs of praise;
For Christ, by whom all things were made,
Himself has fasted and has prayed. More...

I remember well my first Lent in a religious community in the 1980s. Most of us seminarians, like many people out in the world, gave up sweets for 40 days. The one time that this penance really came into play was during the afternoon coffee break. The nearby Au Bon Pain restaurant donated day-old pastries to the seminary, and these were typically brought out to give us a little sugar high to get us through metaphysics and epistemology.

So, while the rest of us were wistfully looking at the full tray of Au Bon Pain goodies, one delightfully chubby seminarian walked up and started munching on a big chocolate croissant. In between bites (barely) he told me, “This year I decided to do positive penance, so I’m just going to be charitable.”

The seminarian was joking, but this did illustrate how our image of ”Lenten penance” can become skewed. With Ash Wednesday coming this week, I thought I would point out four approaches to Lent that seem a little disordered. More...