I have two thoughts on this.  First, Deo gratias!  Second, it’s about time!  We need our priests, and they need our prayers, and that reciprocal need has not been so keenly felt in a long, long time.  The full announcement from the Vatican is here.

Benedict XVI highlighted the “indispensable struggle for moral perfection which must dwell in every truly priestly heart. In order to favour this tendency of priests towards spiritual perfection, upon which the effectiveness of their ministry principally depends, I have”, he said, “decided to call a special ‘Year for Priests’ which will run from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010″. This year marks “the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly ‘Cure of Ars’, Jean Marie Vianney, a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ’s flock”.

This comes immediately on the heels of the Year of St. Paul.  I think that makes a very interesting compare and contrast exercise, but even more so that it strengthens different parts of the priestly identity.  Thank you, Holy Father.  Let us always pray for our Priests!

Just on the heels of the wretched news day that was yesterday we now hear that the bill to strip the Catholic Church of her ability to govern herself by her own methods in the state of Connecticut has been withdrawn.  Deo gratias! May we not see its ilk again in any form.

Update: AmP lets us know that the planned rally is still on.  Be there if you can!

When I first heard about this story I figured it had to be a misunderstanding.  Nobody could be so dense.  But then, we’re dealing with professional politicians here – density needs a whole new scale for that conversation.  In case you’ve been under a rock the past couple of days, in short, two Connecticut legislators have introduced a bill that would essentially establish the goals of VOTF as law for the Catholic Church in the state – to destroy the Apostolic nature of the Church and legally require it to be run as just any other company.  CNA has the full scoop.

“If this bill were to be enacted, your bishop, would have virtually, virtually no real relationship with the 87 parishes…they could go off independently, some of them could break off from the Church if they wished, and go their own way as has happened, for example, with the Episcopal Church. And the pastors would be figureheads, simply working for a board of trustees,” Bishop Lori explained at a meeting of Catholic school principals.

Let us pause briefly to remember that only a few months ago Connecticut was the scene of a vigorous battle over same-sex “marriage”.  Those in power in the state have some vendettas still to be fulfilled.  How does that tie in to a bill ostensibly intended to improve fiscal oversight in the aftermath of two cases where priests embezzled large amounts of Church funds for their own purposes?  How?

Both lawmakers, who are prominent homosexuals, have been vociferous advocates of same-sex marriage in Connecticut and have spoken out against the Catholic Church’s opposition to both civil unions and same-sex marriage.

That’s how.  This is nothing more than penny-ante tit-for-tat, but on a scale so large it dwarfs the two legislators who started this whole ball rolling.  The Church does not, indeed cannot, operate under such conditions.  That the Catholic Church is explicitly called out in this proposed legislation cannot go unnoticed.  I’ll close with the same quote from Philip Lacovara as CNA in their piece:

“You now have before your Committee a bill that tests your fidelity to your constitutional duty. The bill is No. 1098, which candidly announces that its purpose is to ‘revise the corporate governance provisions [of the Connecticut Statutes] applicable to the Roman Catholic Church.’”

“In more than forty years as a constitutional law teacher and practitioner,” writes Lacovara, “I cannot recall a single piece of proposed legislation at any level of government that more patently runs afoul of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment that does this bill.”

Connecticut, once my home.  Step away from the abyss of untethered secularism and rampant illiberal liberalism.  The state known for the vigorous defense of Constitutional ideals by her citizens – so beloved as to earn the name “The Constitution State” – do not in such haste throw away all that merely to appease the wanton desires of a few.  May that great oak once again grow straight and strong, wrap her limbs around the Constitution as she once protected her colonial charter and protect it from destruction!

I’m a little late on this, but that’s no reason not to post them anyway.  They’re particularly good this month:

Pope Benedict’s general prayer intention for March is: “That the role of women may be more appreciated and used to good advantage in every country in the world”.

His mission intention is: “That, in the light of the Letter addressed to them by Pope Benedict XVI, the bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the Popular Republic of China may commit themselves to being the sign and instrument of unity, communion and peace”

There’s an awful lot packed in there.

Congratulations are in order for the Diocese of Biloxi, MI and her newly appointed Bishop.  Bp. Roger Paul Morin, formerly Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans has been appointed to take over this Diocese after her previous Bishop was named Bishop of Mobile, AL.  CNA has the full story.

Archbishop Thomas Rodi, the previous bishop of Biloxi, spoke of the skills and gifts that Bishop Morin will bring to his new flock. “I have known Bishop Morin for years and have consistently been impressed by his dedication and talents. He brings to the Diocese of Biloxi his extensive experience as a priest.” I am confident that, with God’s help, he will powerfully proclaim the Word of God, join the people of Mississippi in praising God, and lead in making the love of God visible to the poor through the charitable efforts of the Church,” Archbishop Rodi said in a statement.

In a statement, the bishop-elect explained that “the trials and tribulations of disastrous storms have not weakened my faith but have instead strengthened it. The experience of personal losses has not deprived me of hope because hope has been deepened by the experience of bounteous blessings brought by so many who have offered assistance in a loving and caring manner. With my own experiences of stormy weather and personal losses, I greet with open arms, the opportunity to meet with God’s help, the challenges remaining ahead of us. May God bless us all.”

Bishop-elect Morin will be installed as the third Bishop of Biloxi on Monday, April 27th, in Biloxi’s Cathedral of The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at 2:00 p.m.  Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., and the Metropolitan Archbishop of Mobile, Thomas J. Rodi, will preside at the ceremony.

I offer my hearty congratulations both to Archbishop Timothy Dolan and the Archdiocese of New York, and profound thanks for what certainly looks to be a very good decision by Pope Benedict.  In case you missed it, Abp. Dolan was appointed the next Archibishop of the Archdiocese of New York – to be, as Pope John Paul II said, “Bishop of Capital of the World” (he was making a slightly tongue-in-cheek comparison between “the Bishop of Rome” and the bishop of, as some would say, the “modern” Rome).  He has a tremendous amount of work ahead of him but I think, with the help of the Holy Spirit, he will be more than up to the task.

Rocco also has some good coverage, starting here and going back.

A couple of weeks ago during our RCIA sessions a question came up as to why priests wear the color black.  It’s a seemingly simple question, but one that gets right to the nut of why so many other seemingly simple questions about the Church aren’t clear – they simply have a long and involved pedigree and even then have disparate applications at times.  It’s a sure recipe for confusion.  So … to set it at rights, I’m going to lay out what I’ve been able to dig up so far on this seemingly simple question.

CNS has the story:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has asked the former head of the Vatican’s worship and sacraments congregation, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, to lead his 2009 Lenten retreat.

During the March 1-7 retreat, the 76-year-old cardinal will focus on the theme “The Priest Encounters Jesus and Follows Him.”

I do find the trailing comment in the story regarding Cdl. Arinze’s position on inculturation rather interesting in light of his other remarks suggesting that a false inculturation is indeed damaging both to Catholicism and the person it is intended to attract.  Am I missing something here or does that seem out of place?

Fr. Z pointed out the below story, carried by LifeSiteNews.  I think it’s very important to realize that not all Jewish reaction to the controversy surrounding SSPX Bishop Williamson and the Pope’s lifting of the excommunications fo the SSPX Bishops.  We must never allow ourselves to believe there is only one side to a story and remember, in media stat virtus.

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ROME, February 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The dissident, leftist movement in the Catholic Church over the last forty years has severely undermined the teaching of the Catholic Church on the moral teachings on life and family, a prominent US Orthodox rabbi told LifeSiteNews.com. Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the head of a group of 800 Orthodox rabbis in the US and Canada, also dismissed the accusations that the Holy See had not sufficiently distanced itself from the comments made by Bishop Richard Williamson of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) on the Holocaust.

“I support this move” to reconcile the traditionalist faction in the Church, he said, “because I understand the big picture, which is that the Catholic Church has a problem. There is a strong left wing of the Church that is doing immeasurable harm to the faith.”

Rabbi Levin said that he understands “perfectly” why the reconciliation is vital to the fight against abortion and the homosexualist movement.

“I understand that it is very important to fill the pews of the Catholic Church not with cultural Catholics and left-wingers who are helping to destroy the Catholic Church and corrupt the values of the Catholic Church.” This corruption, he said, “has a trickle-down effect to every single religious community in the world.”

“What’s the Pope doing? He’s trying to bring the traditionalists back in because they have a lot of very important things to contribute the commonweal of Catholicism.

“Now, if in the process, he inadvertently includes someone who is prominent in the traditionalist movement who happens to say very strange things about the Holocaust, is that a reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater and start to condemn Pope Benedict? Absolutely not.”

During a visit to Rome at the end of January, Rabbi Levin told LifeSiteNews.com that he believes the media furore over the lifting of the excommunications of the four bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X is a red herring. He called “ridiculous” the accusations that in doing so Pope Benedict VXI or the Catholic Church are anti-Semitic and described as “very strong” the statements distancing the Holy See and the Pope from Williamson’s comments.

Rabbi Levin was in Rome holding meetings with high level Vatican officials to propose what he called a “new stream of thinking” for the Church’s inter-religious dialogue, one based on commonly held moral teachings, particularly on the right to life and the sanctity of natural marriage.

“The most important issue,” he said,  is the work the Church is doing “to save babies from abortion, and save children’s minds, and young people’s minds, helping them to know right and wrong on the life and family issues.”

“That’s where ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue has to go.”

Although numbers are difficult to determine, it is estimated that the Society of St. Pius X has over a million followers worldwide. The traditionalist movement in the Catholic Church is noted for doctrinal orthodoxy and enthusiasm not only for old-fashioned devotional practices, but for the Church’s moral teachings and opposition to post-modern secularist sexual mores. Liberals in the Church, particularly in Europe, have bitterly opposed all overtures to the SSPX and other traditionalists, particularly the Pope’s recent permission to revive the traditional Latin Mass.

The Vatican announced in early January that, as part of ongoing efforts to reconcile the breakaway group, the 1988 decree of excommunication against the Society had been rescinded. Later that month, a Swedish television station aired an interview, recorded in November 2008, in which Bishop Richard Williamson, one of the four leaders of the Society, said that he did not believe that six million Jews were killed in the Nazi death camps during World War II.

At that time, the media erupted with protests and accusations that the Catholic Church, and especially Pope Benedict XVI, are anti-Semitic.

Rabbi Levin particularly defended Pope Benedict, saying he is the genius behind the moves of the late Pope John Paul II to reconcile the Church with the Jewish community.

“Anyone who understands and follows Vatican history knows that in the last three decades, one of the moral and intellectual underpinnings of the papacy of Pope John Paul II, was Cardinal Ratzinger.

“And therefore, a lot of the things that Pope John Paul did vis-à-vis the Holocaust, he [Benedict] might have done himself, whether it was visiting Auschwitz or visiting and speaking in the synagogues or asking forgiveness. A lot of this had direct input from Cardinal Ratzinger. Whoever doesn’t understand this doesn’t realise that this man, Pope Benedict XVI, has a decades-long track record of anti-Nazism and sympathy for the Jews.”

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I’ve been mulling over the whole issue of the revelations about the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Fr. Marcial Maciel.  By now you have most likely read the news that it has been discovered he not only had a mistress but even fathered a child with her and quite possibly even redirected Legion money to them.  The further stunning implication is that it is nearly impossible that at least some members of the Legion leadership were not in some way enabling this double life.  Such terrible duplicity at the heart of the order makes seeing an easy way forward for them nearly impossible.  My heart is broken for not only those direct victims of Fr. Maciel’s actions but those who found in the Legion or its lay arm, Regnum Christi, something that was right about the Church only now to find out how very wrong things were at the same time.

So, what to do?  First, this is not a situation to jump into with both feet and start zipping off directives in every direction.  An investigation must be made at all levels of the hierarchy including, I think, those involved in the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life as the reports suggest members of the Congregation did not process the revelations of Fr. Maciel’s actions appropriately.  The investigation must be performed, as George Weigel states, by someone hand-picked by and reporting only to the Pope himself.  The person must be, as near as possible in this fallen world, beyond reproach.  Further the selected person must understand not only religious life but also have experience in dealing with handling situations of sexual impropriety (to put it nicely) and helping organizations to straighten out after these experiences.  I don’t expect to see this name pop up, but someone much in the mold of Sean Cardinal O’Malley of Boston fits much of the bill of what I would hope to see.

Is it possible for the LC/RC to recover from this debacle intact?  Frankly I don’t see how, but my field of vision is far more limited than God’s so perhaps there is something out there I do not yet see.  When one takes into account all the good the LC/RC have done for the Church and the world it becomes hard to argue that there is not something there that is a core around which some kind of order and/or apostolate can be formed.  Yes, there is much regarding the secrecy in the LC/RC rules that needs to go away, and quite possibly even a good number of the membership who could not be trusted to lead a new order but there is clearly much there which is good.  We must restrain ourselves, however, from deciding the potential future fate of the LC/RC or any derivative thereof until a full and proper investigation is concluded.  Making those decisions now would be akin to driving without a map or surgery without the proper diagnostic information.  As painful as it is, patience is called for here.

Finally, what should we all do?  The answer comes as no surprise.  Pray.  Pray for the direct victims of Fr. Maciel’s actions, for those in LC/RC who are forced to come to grips with these revelations, for those who left LC/RC because of what they learned.  May God find a way to, out of this tremendous pile of pain, grow a rose of hope for the future.  With God, all things are possible.  Oremus!