Catholic church is growing outside traditional areas

Thus, Wagner and Hunter-Hall noted: "The church is ... most healthy in that region that is traditionally the least hospitable to it, and is least healthy in that region where it has the longest history, and in which are found the greatest concentration of Catholics (as a percentage of the population) and the largest number of Catholics."

Size is not always a virtue and, it seems, the first may become the last.

Small dioceses - especially in "missionary" regions - consistently attracted more converts and more new priests.

"It sounds strange, but if you're a Catholic and you want to go where the action is, you need to go to places like Alexandria (La.) Tyler (Texas) and Biloxi (Miss.)," said Wagner. "Catholics all over America are facing unique challenges. It seems that some people are handling them better than others."

I mentioned recently that our diocese (Baton Rouge) will ordain 5 priests this year. That is WAY up from the usual zero or one. So if it were for 2007 we would move WAY up the rankings ...

Here is a link to the study: The State of the Catholic Church in America, Diocese by Diocese

I love how they point out the magazine is "conservative" in the two external articles I have seen about this ... Like that somehow makes the objective results "suspect". One ought to wonder why conservative dioceses tend to fare well in rankings where conversions and ordinations are considered. It has nothing to do with the bias of the magazine .... see previous post on Solving your vocations problem.

Mardi Gras Prayer - I appreciated this post from Happy Catholic. Mardi Gras can be overwhelming around here ... Good to give it some perspective.

Vatican conference to explore authority of conscience

While recognizing the duty to respect the individual conscience, the bishop added that “conscience must be both well informed and well formed.”

Anglicans and Catholics Take "The Times" to Task, Prelates Clarify Upcoming Document Of course today this is cited more by critics of sloppy religion reporting on the part of the London Times than it was yesterday where it was a great sign of hope. Was this the same paper that indicated that the Church would be changing its tune on contraception?

Mainstream media and its sloppy treatment of religion is a significant reason why people are seeking alternative outlets for their news. Either they are out of touch or getting the facts straight is not a high priority for them. Both thoughts are disturbing to say the least.

Bella, the movie we need to see.

This looks promising. Very promising

An Introvert Stands Up for The Right to Stand Alone

For a second I thought this was some intriguing legal battle ... but its not.

I wonder if we can somehow work this into ensuring that I don't have to hold hands with people during the Our Father ... Next time that happens at your church note the awkward shifting of persons between that moment and the peace. There is a reason for it. Introverts are getting some semblance of dignity back in preparation for the peace which is most likely their least favorite part of mass. Meanwhile extroverts are preparing for the exhilarating queue of handshakes and terse exchanges to follow.

People insist that I am an extrovert because I will talk to random people in a grocery store. No ... thats just being polite. I still enjoy my time alone. In fact, I need my time alone.

You see it time and time again. Arianism here. Nestorianism there.

Nine out of ten of what we call new ideas are simply old mistakes. The Catholic Church has for one of her chief duties that of preventing people from making those old mistakes; from making them over and over again forever, as people always do if they are left to themselves. -- Why I am a Catholic by G.K. Chesterton

We welcomed home our 4th child today and we are SO glad to be here ...

I won't go into the whole birth story yet (the full story is here) ... The short version is that my wife labored as best she could moving closer and closer to the hospital as things progressed. We entered the hospital at 6:30 pm. My wife was at 7-8 cm. He was born a little over 3 hours later.

Got a little friction from the doctor because he did not have a copy of our records and was concerned about the scar from the previous section.

Successful VBAC, 10 lbs 4 oz, 21.5 cm ...

All in all we had what we consider to be a complete success. I will post later some thoughts on the whole matter.

Austrian bishop stirs passions with talk of excommunication

Renowned documentary on monastic life makes US debut

The Catholic Mass...Revealed

I look forward to exploring this site a little more. Enjoy.

but now you are not behind on my reading ...

What's so hot about fickle science?

Mirrors my own skepticism on man causing global warming (me previously on this)

Hunger strike at MIT

Guy is on hunger strike at MIT because he was denied tenure. He's a researcher who opposes embryo-destructive stem cell research. So you figure his cause is doomed.

BUT! He's also black, and is claiming the denial is due to race, not to his Incorrect Baby Killing Ideology (which I don't believe for a second).

Interesting. Which way does the PC crowd go on this one?

So, we want to have chips implanted in us right?

So a few weeks ago, 20 bazillion people descend on DC and San Francisco for the Prolife March
Kind of reminds me of the million men that showed up for the DC Promise Keepers of which I was one. The press said something like 200k. I have the pictures. I haven't seen much of a crowd that was bigger in DC. Of course those were larger than a gathering of Evangelical Christian men. I wonder how big those anti-war crowds are that keep getting headlines?

Sex of any kind can harm teens emotionally
Is this real? Did they really have the nerve to publish such inconvenient study results in this day and age of so called sexual liberation?

Al Kimel on justification

The Catholic understanding of justification is difficult to state accurately ... read more

Too many bachelors and too many grandmas

The world’s grandest social experiment has failed. And it has done so on a grand scale. But those who conducted the experiment are yet to fathom the magnitude of the crisis they will soon have to endure.

I love Mercatornet. The fruits of controlling population numbers. Bad economics.

Union Told Me to Pay Dues or Change Religion, Teacher Says

Basically it does not matter what the Church officially teaches when it comes to "conscientious objections"

The teacher's request was turned down "basically because I could not come up with proof that my individual church -- not the Catholic faith, but my individual church -- had a record of anyone having successfully fought a union," she said. "In my little parish church, no one's ever done this, and that's what threw it out."

Hate Crime and Punishment (if you cannot read it click onDominican Idaho and scroll down some) To me the most serious of these problems is highlighted by

2. The objective standard of committing a moral transgression, of committing a crime, is removed. Instead of measuring the intent of the defendant, the courts will measure the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes that are the sentiment of the day.

A doctor in the Uk recently indicated infanticide with the justification "what changes in the birth canal that makes this different than an abortion?" Good question. The danger of blurring the line between the objective crime and the subjective motivation is that sooner or later we will fix into law justifications for crimes currently agreed upon a heinous no matter the justification. We have already slipped down that slope with abortion. Once we cross the birth canal (and what difference is there really) we can start offing people and getting slaps on the wrist if our justification is good enough ...

But if it is "hate" as defined by the whimsical standards of society then the crime is worse, or rather in the future may go so far as to just retain the status of a crime.

All we are doing is saying that one murder is now LESS significant than another and in doing so giving precedent for future justification of "acceptable terminations" of children and adults. Furthermore, we have denied the dignity of those vicitms whose attributes do not fall into groups defined by hate crime legislation. So much for an "atrribute blind" society ...

Adding it back for speed issues ...

Being the amateur that I am I linked to some images off site which were taking a LONG time to load. They are now gone so the blog should load in less than 20 miuntes now ....

Hitlers Pope cooked up by KGB?

See Moscow’s Assault on the Vatican - The KGB made corrupting the Church a priority.

Can't wait to read these on Vert: Your {first} Catholic faux pax: January 28 - February 3

U.S. archbishop: Catholics need solid preaching, not feel-good fluff from HMS

I think there is a lot of assuming that people need simple and non-invasive in order to connect. I think the best preaching is the kind that appeals to all intellectual backgrounds. If a child gets something out of it AND a budding theologian gets something out of it then you have a success. That said, I am amazed at the things my 5 year old gets so the level of most homilies should consider the audience more intelligent than they currently do.

I think priests really underestimate the value of challenging the mind. It needs to be done.

Redemptive Nature of Childbirth

Seems in line with what is going on in our lives. My wife is due in a few weeks ... prayers welcome

Bishop warns against “contagious pessimism” from negative media coverage of the Church

Kinda hard when most published news is bad news ... Still, the gates of hell will not prevail. Hope.

Success for Knights pro-life billboard project

Someone locally bought a billboard space in town and used it to put a classic Madonna and Child painting. I was so thankful just for that. Imagine how this child will feel to know that a billboard saves his or her life?

“Mona Lisa” died in 1542 as religious sister, Italian expert says

Pope decries as perversion video games, films that exalt violence, trivialize sexuality

Notice he criticizes promoting violence and sexual perversion NOT video games, movies etc. Draw the line ... There wouldn't be a Vatican film list if the Pope condemned movies. Arkanoid anyone?

Vatican Astronomer: ‘Big Science’ and
‘Big Religion’ at Peace

Maybe between religious and scientists but in the minds of most people the two hate each other. I am currently reading through a chapter on science in the book "How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization" ... Mentioned in the middle of a sentence in that book is Jesuit contributions to hurricane forecasting. I have read more on that in secular works on hurricane forecasting so that isn't just pro-Church prop ... Isn't it fascinating how much supposed hatred of science somehow resulted in so much important scientific achievement?

Todays MUST READ

Cardinal George has some choice words regarding what it means to be Catholic and typical American Catholic thought ...
Schools of Spirituality


Read for later

Moscow’s Assault on the Vatican

Today you get a list of what I plan to read

Messori: Married priests no remedy for “vocations crisis”

Catholic monarch ban 'should end'

The ban on Catholics becoming the British monarch should be abolished, according to the incoming Church of Ireland primate.

Interesting indeed.

Changing how the church is perceived among U.S. blacks

What's Lost in Prenatal Testing from CWN

Divorce rates in the EU

Cyprus and Ireland have the fewest divorces (almost 13), Italy 15, Poland 25. Off the chart are the Czech Republic with 67 and Belgium with 75 of 100.

This is just interesting because, according to the Wikipedia, Cyprus is known as one of the most religious countries in the EU.

No vote, no communion, says Catholic bishop

If you think people clamoring for bishops to stand tall against pro-abort politicians are taking it too far when they say "no communion", how about a bishop that prescribes no communion for those who fail to vote?

"Fitness cost of human reproduction."

This is the creepiest suggestion I have read all day .... bothersome ... very much so. Apparently a great concern has arisen that having children is bad for mom. I am worried what kind of warped decisions on policy can come form this in countries around the world?

90's flowchart - Heh heh

Vocations Surge

A local seminarian informed me recently that our diocese will be ordaining 5 men this year. Before scoffing at that count consider that 5 would be more than the usual one or none and the most in 25 years. Even better, all indication are that they tend towards believing what the Church teaches .... of course, I cannot figure why one would become a priest if they didn't believe. I think the post Vatican-II "we can change the church in numbers" vocations are on a decline. This generation that wants to change the Church simply isn't in church. They certainly don't think they can change the Church that way.

A few odds and ends

Story of pioneering black priest reissued

Here follows a pictorial journey of my trip to Rome ... Scroll down and check out the catacomb photographs. The pictures are of an undisclosed first century catacomb. An altar in first century worship ... pretty cool.

A couple of notes ... headed out this morning .. no comments

Possible Miracle attributed to John Paul II

From Exceptional Marriages -- which you should read every day -- Oral contraceptive risks

Higher rates of blood clots in women taking the Pill and substantially higher rates of blood clots in obese women (BMI > 30) taking the Pill.

Your daily reading ...

English-speaking writers join in pleas for 1962 Missal

A group of English-speaking writers and intellectuals has joined similar groups in France, Italy, and Poland in a statement of support for Pope Benedict’s plans to broaden use of the pre-conciliar liturgy.

Lots of news surrounding this:

Polish archbishop resigns before installation

New York Times editor uncovers false reporting in Latin American abortion story -- BTW a correction was issued by the NYT today. See Corrections

I keep an eye on things in all dioceses in the state and I found an article that referenced Vatican art in New Orleans. I did a little digging and found this ....

Vatican mosaics coming to New Orleans

The New Orleans showing of "Exhibition of the Vatican Mosaic Studio," from January 28th to June first, will be the only stop outside Rome

I am SO there

A few days ago I found a blog/blogring that is specifically geared towards converts and reverts. I think this is awesome since I find, as a convert, that I like to read conversion stories. I get so excited when I meet a convert because I know that eventually the "conversion story" will come up. Now I have an online resource of nearly endless conversion stories ... I have since joined the ring. You should too.

Here is a subset of posts related to my conversion ...

First off, I have a Whirlwind conversion story that I wrote recently in response to a post on Steve Ray's Catholic Defenders forum. That gives a short summary of actions involved in my conversion process. More of the detail is included below:

My lifelong affirmation of the Real Presence
Virulent anti-Catholicism
Ignorance about Catholic teachings
Beauty
Contraception
My own struggles with the people in the pew next to me.
My struggles with incorrupt saints and relics
Easter Vigil

German birth subsidies prompt mini-baby boom

What would Jesus' Birth be like today?

INFANT DISCOVERED IN BARN, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES LAUNCH PROBE

Watched Who killed the electric car last night. Pretty interesting. If I had 92,000 dollars just lying around I would drop it on this:


Boise State!!!! won the Fiesta Bowl in what some pundits are calling the best college football game ever. Most exciting? Yes. We will let time decide the other titles this game will be given.

If you didn't see it, take the 10 minutes now and watch ...
Fiesta Bowl -- There is a VIDEO segment on the page ... Its worth watching the whole thing but if you are short for time the 4th quarter and OT are the best.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! Its been WAAAAAY too long since I have posted here ...

NFP: A Defense and an Explanation

An excellent overview of the documents of the Church pertaining to the use of NFP.

Thus I would argue that the just causes stipulated by Paul VI for the licit use of NFP would include such reasons as stress, both physical and emotional, and considerations of general bodily health, housing conditions and income.

In the US, I would think that physical and emotional considerations are by far the most likely reasons why one would choose to space children. As I have pointed out in numerous posts in the past the necessary infrastructure for raising a large family in the United States is, for the most part, non-existent (see Depression, families and lack of community support).

Aside - How NFP differs from contraception (link forthcoming)

Some quick reading ... ecclesiastical authorities doing their jobs ...

Catholic Church denies communion to two men after same-sex wedding
Vatican upholds Call to Action excommunications

While I am on that ... a quick rant ... I am convinced that there are two types of orthodox Catholics out there. Those that are thrilled every week that they get to receive Christ in the Eucharist and those that are pissed off that they are receiving it wrong. I used to get bent out of shape at every mass I went to. That wasn't the kind of Catholic I wanted to be because it angled me towards isolation and it made me miserable at the most awesome part of every week. I entered the Church with such tremendous joy and I wanted to recapture that. Today, I am blessed in that I go to a great parish. Even if I didn't I am THRILLED to be CATHOLIC. Still, I feel like if I let people know my parish is actually good that they will not believe me because everyone knows that the Catholic Church in the US is manned solely by modernists and it just simply cannot be true that there are orthodox priests who strive every bit to abide by liturgical norms in a post-Vatican II world.

I realize that some people don't want to see sin in the world. Others, however, don't want to see the good in the world. Its like they get an odd thrill out of watching the Church grow ever perillously close to hell actually prevailing because then they can continue to be "right" about what is wrong. They don't want to see young priests coming in who are on fire for the faith and loved JP2 and have positive outlooks regarding Vatican II. They don't want to see bishops doing their jobs. That would mean things are getting better and that would make them "wrong" which is just impossible. They are, of course, incapable of being wrong. After all, they are really Catholic ... their faith assures them that they are right about EVERYTHING, not just that small subset of faith and morals stuff that the Church actually teaches about. Personally I see all of the positive things I mentioned as very good. I am going to rejoice when things go well in the Church mostly because I am sick of letting others complaints make me a grouch.

There is always room for hope and holding on to the expectation that the gates of hell will not prevail. They simply won't. I would rather be of the disposition to be joyful and thus communicative and useful rather than to be bent out of shape and desiring to avoid every Catholic out there because of it.

The Church will never return to its roots if those of us who believe it leave the reins to those who don't. Hope people. Grab a little joy and stay for a while. Good things ARE happening.