Archbishop Urges Gov. To Refrain from Communion

Archbishop Joseph Naumann wrote an op-ed today in the Leaven declaring that Governor Sebelius of Kansas is not eligible to receive Communion.

Having made every effort to inform and to persuade Governor Sebelius and after consultation with Bishop Ron Gilmore (Dodge City), Bishop Paul Coakley (Salina) and Bishop Michael Jackels (Wichita), I wrote the Governor last August requesting that she refrain from presenting herself for reception of the Eucharist until she had acknowledged the error of her past positions, made a worthy sacramental confession and taken the necessary steps for amendment of her life which would include a public repudiation of her previous efforts and actions in support of laws and policies sanctioning abortion.

Recently, it came to my attention that the Governor had received Holy Communion at one of our parishes. I have written to her again asking her to respect my previous request and not require from me any additional pastoral actions.

The Governor has spoken to me on more than one occasion about her obligation to uphold state and federal laws and court decisions. I have asked her to show a similar sense of obligation to honor divine law and the laws, teaching and legitimate authority within the Church.

I have not made lightly this request of Governor Sebelius, but only after much prayer and reflection. The spiritually lethal message, communicated by our Governor, as well as many other high profile Catholics in public life, has been in effect: “The Church’s teaching on abortion is optional!”

I reissue my request of the Faithful of the Archdiocese to pray for Governor Sebelius. I hope that my request of the Governor, not to present herself for Holy Communion, will provoke her to reconsider the serious spiritual and moral consequences of her past and present actions. At the same time, I pray this pastoral action on my part will help alert other Catholics to the moral gravity of participating in and/or cooperating with the performance of abortions.

This is pretty amazing stuff. Will update later.

Cardinal Criticizes Rudy Taking Communion

New York Cardinal Edward Egan says Rudy Giuliani should not have received Holy Communion during the pope's visit. Egan said he had "an understanding" with the former presidential candidate and New York mayor that he is not to receive the Eucharist. Giuliani is pro-choice, never mind he didn't receive an annulment for his second marriage.

"The Catholic Church clearly teaches that abortion is a grave offense against the will of God," Egan said. "Throughout my years as Archbishop of New York, I have repeated this teaching in sermons, articles, addresses, and interviews without hesitation or compromise of any kind."

"Thus it was that I had an understanding with Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, when I became Archbishop of New York and he was serving as Mayor of New York, that he was not to receive the Eucharist because of his well-known support of abortion," Cardinal Egan explained.

"I deeply regret that Mr. Giuliani received the Eucharist during the Papal visit here in New York, and I will be seeking a meeting with him to insist that he abide by our understanding," the Catholic leader added.

Giuliani's spokeswoman told the media late Monday that he is available to meet with the Catholic official. She said he says his faith "is a deeply personal matter and should remain confidential."

You've gotta love that. He takes Communion at an internationally televised Mass with the Pope and then he turns around and says its private. Shameless.

Cardinal: No Communion in the Hand!

It is rare that I find good news in the The Tablet (aka the bitter pill). They do however try to make the worst of a a good situation.

The Tablet reports that Peruvian Cardinal Cardinal Luis Cipriani Thorne has banned communion in the hand in his diocese.

[Cue sinister music] Opus Dei Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne told Petrus: "I maintain that the best way to administer Communion is on the tongue, so much so that in my diocese I have forbidden the host in the hand."[/Cue sinister music]

The cardinal, who is Archbishop of Lima and a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said that "the relaxed attitude of many priests" was to blame for a decline in reverence for the Eucharist among the faithful. "In Masses with great attendance, in the past we even found hosts thrown on to the pavement of the church," he added.

A missionary priest working in Lima told The Tablet the ban "would only apply to his jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Lima". "The remainder of the dioceses around Lima would not go for such a practice," he said.

Thanks to the Tablet for including an anonymous quote from a missionary priest that the surrounding dioceses would not go for this. Who cares?!? The Cardinal, apparently unlike the anonymous priest, has the courage of his convictions.

I think that a return to communion on the tongue received kneeling would be a wonderful change in the Church that would be a tremendous boon to belief in the real presence. I for one hope that this is the beginning of a trend.

ht to NLM.

Wanted: Ash Ministers

I went to receive ashes the other night and a funny thing struck me. There were no lay ministers smudging people's foreheads and telling them they'd return to dust. Now, the church was at least as filled as a regular Sunday but everyone still got their ashes within ten minutes or so from the two priests on the altar.

And then compare this with Communion which occured about ten minutes later. Just before communion a stampede of Eucharistic Ministers stormed the altar "to help out."

Us regular folk, we positively zoomed up towards the altar and had Jesus all but thrown at us by any number of "eucharistic ministers." I literally hardly got out my "Amen" before the man in a sweater vest threw the eucharist in my hand.

If I were just someone who showed up at Church for the first time I would've thought those ashes were extraordinarily sacred while the piece of bread was something we all found a tad boring.

SO we either need to start getting lots and lots of "Ash ministers" or maybe...just maybe we could show a little reverence for the Eucharist.

Tabernacle Back Where It Belongs

Renovations at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo North Dakota include moving the tabernacle back from the side altar to the center of the sanctuary and adding a communion rail.

“In my mind, we’re putting the blessed sacrament back where it should have been in the first place,” said John Herlick, vice chairman of the St. Mary’s parish council.

Many churches moved their tabernacles to a side location or a separate chapel after the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. Now some are moving it back.

Carpenters, painters and electricians are currently hard at work on the renovation project of the altar area. The changes include a new pulpit and railings in front, an extension of the marble floor by the altar, moving the tabernacle to the center of the rear wall behind the altar and moving the bishop’s chair to the left side of the altar.

Of the tabernacle movement, Rev. Chad Wilhelm, rector of St. Mary’s said: “It’s the center of our faith,” said the . “I’ve had nothing but people very, very overjoyed about (moving it to the center).”

Total costs will be about $200,000, Wilhelm said. It’s paid for out of a renovation fund started from the estate of Cardinal Aloisius Muench, who was bishop of the diocese from 1935 to 1946.

The construction completes an extensive refurbishing done in 1996. It also is a prelude to further renovations on the south side of the 108-year-old cathedral in the next five years.

Wilhelm said this project will create a more accessible entrance, with an improved elevator and bathrooms on the main floor. The project may also include adding a chapel for perpetual adoration of the Eucharist.

“It brings pride to the people when things are kept up and clean and cared for,” Wilhelm said. “It’s God’s temple, but it’s their church home.”

Remember the Eucharist?

It's good to see a discussion of refocusing the Church on the Eucharist.

According to Zenit, Catholics will be encouraged to rediscover the central place of the Blessed Sacrament in Christian life, said Archbishop Luigi Ventura about the upcoming Eucharistic Congress in Quebec.

Archbishop Ventura, the apostolic nuncio to Canada, said this in his traditional address at the opening of the annual general meeting of the Canadian Catholic Bishops' Conference in Cornwall yesterday.

Also in his opening remarks about the congress, Archbishop Ventura said: "The celebrations that surround the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, and consequently the arrival of the Catholic faith to this part of the world, enrich themselves through openness to the spiritual dimension...The faithful will thus have another opportunity to rediscover the central place of the Eucharist in Christian life and the fundamental role that it has played and can play again in the building of a better society."

I do believe that our reverence for the eucharist is indicative of how vibrant the faith is. It's so good to see some taking it seriously. Hopefully, Archbishop Ventura's fervor will be contagious.

San Fran Church Publishes Queer Letter in Bulletin

Just three days after Archbishop George Niederauer issued a public apology for giving communion to two “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” at Most Holy Redeemer church in San Francisco, the parish bulletin published a thank-you note from a member of the “leading order of queer nuns” who attended the Mass, says the California Catholic Daily.

What is wrong with this church?

The Oct. 14 parish bulletin contains the thank-you note on page 1, entitled “An Email from One of Those Attending Mass,” written by “Sister Delta Goodhand.”

In the message, “Sister Delta Goodhand” writes:

To all the Folks at Most Holy Redeemer,

Just a quick note to recognize the wonderful Mass yesterday at your Church to welcome Archbishop Niederauer. Your entire congregation was so welcoming and it was great to be able to participate in the Mass. The service was absolutely beautiful and I know that I personally walked away very inspired by both the Archbishop’s message and the angelic voices of your choir ringing in my ears! Amazing!

Afterwards, one of the parishioners offered us a blue “MHRC: An Inclusive Catholic Church” pin that I was proud to wear through the Castro Fair. You are a wonderfully inclusive church!

This kind of thing just continues to scandalize the church. Essentially this church is allowing these guys to come in and put a "kick me" sign on our backs and we're laughing right along with them so we can be called "inclusive" while they go on kicking.

The one good thing about this is that millions of Catholics now think their parish isn't that bad.

No Reverence for Eucharist?

This was a letter in Newsday to the "God Squad" that astounded me. Notice the self righteousness.

I'd like to get your opinion about a very strict priest I encountered during my nephew's first Communion. It was recommended that we be at church an hour before the Mass. With about half an hour to go, the pews were nearly full. Our two rows were filled with family members from around the country, most of whom had not seen each other in years. It seemed reasonable to think we could all talk to each other. Members of the whole congregation were also engrossed in conversations. During this time, the priest came out to tell us we were all in the presence of Christ and needed to be reverent. He said we were breaking the First Commandment that we should have no other Gods before us, and because we were not being silent, we were putting chit-chat before Christ. He told us we were sinning and were only to speak if it was absolutely necessary, adding that we were setting a bad example for the children. Then, he hastily walked away. As soon as he left, the talking resumed. The priest returned and stared at everyone. When they quieted down, he repeated the same things as before. I'd think that Jesus would love to see families gathered at church for such special occasions. Do you think this priest was out of line? Did we really violate the First Commandment? The priest from my hometown encourages parishioners to greet the people around them before Mass. - S., via e-mail

Notice he calls him a "very strict priest." You gotta' love how this guy says proudly how everyone went back to talking as soon as the priest walked out. What kind of people are these? But then comes the rationalization that Jesus loves to see us talking to each other.

Is there really this little awe and reverence of the Eucharist? Or is it simply no belief?

Father Tom Hartman responded that perhaps the priest had been too severe but added:

The treating of holy spaces as if they were corner bars is a growing problem, and the priest was right to say something to you and your family about proper decorum in church. Your family had plenty of time to catch up on things after Mass.

The communion rails are gone. We run through Communion like it's just "Drive-Thru Jesus." We receive from Eucharistic Ministers in sneakers and shorts. We hide the tabernacle in a closet. We can't really be shocked that the people show no reverence towards the Eucharist when too often the Church has ignored Jesus.

No Priests? Fine. Women and Gays Can Celebrate Eucharist

The leaders of the Catholic Dominican order on Tuesday censured Dutch members who said unordained ministers, including gays and women, should be able celebrate the Eucharist if priests were not available, according to IOL.

A booklet sent to parishes in the Netherlands earlier this month sent shock waves through the Church by making a radical proposal to deal with the shortage of Roman Catholic priests. It said unordained ministers chosen by their priestless congregations should be allowed to celebrate the Eucharist.

The booklet said:

"Whether they are women or men, homo or hetero, married or single, makes no difference. What is important is an infectious attitude of faith."

An infectious attitude of faith? There's something infectious here, that's for sure.

Underscoring its concern, the Vatican distributed a statement by the Rome headquarters of the Dominicans saying the solution by the Dutch Dominicans was not acceptable. "While we share their concern about the availability of the Eucharist and priestly ministry, we believe this concern must be responded to in careful theological and pastoral reflection...," it said.

That's the way-too-nice way of saying, "Are you out of your minds?"

The Dutch Dominicans' booklet based its argument on the traditions of early Christianity when priests were able to marry. Does that means they're also celebrating the Latin Mass? I doubt it.