Tree in St. Peter's Square to be lit today

The Vatican Information Service reports that the Christmas tree presently standing in St. Peter's Square will be lit today:

VATICAN CITY, 17 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today received a delegation from the town of Luson in the province of Bolzano, part of the Italian region of Alto Adige, which has donated the Christmas tree which will decorate St. Peter's Square during the festive season this year.

The tree, which will be lit this evening during a public ceremony to be presided by Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, is a Norway spruce, thirty-four metres high and ninety-three years old. Apart from the main tree, Luson has also donated fifty smaller trees which will be used to decorate various sites in the Vatican.

The Holy Father noted that the spruce, "which stood at an altitude of 1500 metres and was cut down without damaging the forest environment, will stand next to the nativity scene until the end of the Christmas festivities".

"The Christmas tree", he went on, "enriches the symbolic value of the nativity scene, which is a message of fraternity and friendship, an invitation to unity and peace, an invitation to make space for God in our life and society. He offers us His omnipotent love through the fragile figure of a child, because He wants us to respond freely with our own love. Thus the nativity scene and the tree bear a message of hope and love, and help to create an environment in which to experience the mystery of the birth of the Redeemer in the right spiritual and religious context".
AC/ VIS 20101217 (270)

Go ahead and light your tree today!

Let us prepare for the birth of the Messiah

Through history: Christmas in Hawai'i

Writing for the Miami Herald, Gary Warner offers a brief history of Christmas in Hawai'i:

The modern Hawaiian Christmas is a mix of traditions brought by 18th century explorers and missionaries, combined with the winter solstice celebration of the ancient Hawaiians.

Hawaiians observed Makahiki, a four-month celebration around the winter solstice that was a time to thank the gods for the food drawn from the land and sea. At the heart of the festival was the god Lono, who represented fertility and growth. His image in the form of a tiki was carried throughout the islands.

During Makahiki, it was forbidden for warriors of rival clans to go to sea in war canoes. This ensured that the time could be spent in peaceful celebrations and feasts featuring pig and fish.

The festival also marked the beginning of the new year, a time when Hawaiians say "Hauoli Makahiki Hou" - roughly "happy new year to you."

The Western version of the holidays came to Hawaii on Dec. 25, 1786. The British ship Queen Charlotte was anchored off present-day Waimea, on the west side Kauai. This was eight years after Capt. James Cook had come into Waimea Bay and "discovered" what he would call the Sandwich Islands, after the Earl of Sandwich, the Lord of the Admiralty.

According to the accounts of the Queen Charlotte's captain, George Dixon, a search party was sent ashore. The group caught a wild pig, which was roasted by the ship's cooks. Sailors mixed their traditional rum ration with the milk of coconuts taken from the island in what may be the first recorded pina colada in history.

In a celebration that echoed the American Thanksgiving, British officers later extended the season's greetings to the natives by sending "trifles" ashore for women and children on Kauai. Soon after, a local chieftain sent canoes out to the British with pigs and vegetables, the first recorded Christmas gift swap in Hawaii.

The missionaries who arrived in 1820 had a more restrained view of Christmas and did not organize active celebrations for several years. But as other branches of Protestant evangelists, along with Catholic priests, arrived in the islands, the various traditions of Christmas became known. Traders and sailors who arrived in the missionaries' wake were more likely to celebrate the holiday. By 1837, a Honolulu newspaper published salutations of "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year."

In 1856, King Kamehameha IV moved the official national day of Thanksgiving to Dec. 25, more than coincidentally coinciding with Christmas. A large Christmas party was held on the royal grounds in 1858, including what is believed to be the first Christmas tree in the islands.

Christmas became an official Hawaiian holiday in 1862. Historical accounts said the occasion was marked by the firing of cannons and flaming tar poured down the sides of Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu to re-create the image of a volcano.

ituneout.com

One of my former students and soccer players has launched a new web site: www.ituneout.com. He describes the site in these words:

ituneout.com was founded by Neal Deters in late 2010. It provides users with the ability to listen to today's most popular music genres. Unlike many of today's traditional websites, ituneout.com does not give users the ability to download songs illegally. ituneout.com rather promotes the idea of users purchasing the songs through online music vendors such as Amazon.com. Users have the ability to purchase today's newest music through Amazon on the Buy New Song Releases and Buy New Album Releases pages, so go out and support your favorite artists!

It's a clever idea and, for the lazy among us, offers an easy way to listen to music you like.

Go spike his stat counts for me. Thanks!

What's your favorite Christmas movie?

This morning as I sat writing Christmas cards and wrapping presents I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol. It is - by far - my favorite Christmas movie (and is remarkably close to Dickens' classic book).

My curiosity has been raised: What is your favorite Christmas movie?

Planned Parenthood aborts 97% of the time

Planned Parentood released today it's 2008-2009 annual report.

Among other things, the report shows that Planned Parenthood received $363 million from the tax payers.

Planned Parenthood aborted - killed - 324,008 babies in the year 2008-2009 alone. And yet we are to believe that tax payer dollars do not fund abortions. Have a look at this little chart:

That's right: the more tax payer dollars Planned Parenthood receives, the more children die.

In that same time span, Planned Parenthood made 9,433 adoption references.

You do the math. 97% of the babies who enter Planned Parenthood facilities in their mother's womb do not come out alive.

Capello tip to the Creative Minority Report.

Dolan: Keep at it, Bill [Donohue]! We need you!

His Excellency the Most Reverend Timothy Dolan , recently encouraged the work of The Catholic League, which oftens speaks out in defense of the Catholic Church and her faith. Archbishop Dolan's words follow, with my emphases and comments:

It almost seems to be an unspoken rule that Christians, and Catholics in particular, are not supposed to respond to criticism, insults, and slights towards their faith with anything more than a smile. Certainly we shouldn’t actually say anything. For some reason, this is not expected of our other religious neighbors – Jews and Muslims – or of any other group, such as blacks or gays.

If you doubt this to be true just take a look at the reaction inspired by Catholic League president William Donohue’s now widely covered statement on an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

The exhibit, “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” features a video that includes the image of ants crawling all over the body of Jesus on the cross. Dr. Donohue wrote a letter asking the members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee to re-consider funding the Smithsonian; the federal government funds the Smithsonian Institution while exhibits are funded privately.

Dr. Donohue, for daring to articulate that this use of an image of the crucified Christ was offensive, was denounced as a “blowhard,” “a self-appointed censor,” “right wing publicity mill,” a “bully,” “American Taliban” and one who “immediately and opportunistically seized” on the occasion for some kind of self-promotion, among other things.

Apparently, Catholics shouldn’t take offense when our sacred objects are depicted disrespectfully in the name of art. And we certainly shouldn’t let anyone know we are offended if we are.

Bill Donohue hardly needs me to defend him. He’s well-able to do it himself, and has a lot of experience doing so. But, he’s stood up for a lot of us before, and I am glad to express my encouragement for the work he does. Some may take occasional issue with his style. Fair enough, and he’s open to such criticism. Some might even discuss whether the image is offensive. However, no one should doubt the high value and necessity of his efforts, or dismiss him in crude terms. Even the recent high-volume critiques of his stand on this controversy exhibit nasty anti-catholic canards. Keep at it, Bill! We need you!

Our duty to defend our faith is grounded in the true understanding of freedom: the ability to do what we ought to do, not simply what we want to do. Popular opinion may demand that Catholics suffer in silence, or more, embrace an insult as a work of art, but that doesn’t mean that we should, no matter how many in public and private expect us to do so. That is why I appreciate Dr. Donohue and the work done by The Catholic League. I look forward to the day when the work done by the Catholic League is no longer necessary [What are you doing to bring that day closer? Do you speak out in defense of the faith? If not, why? Fear of criticism is a sad reason to remain silent]. Sadly, as recent events have proven once again, that day still seems far in the future.

Iraqi Christian woman adbucted by militants

Asia News reports an attack against a Christian woman in Iraq (with my comments and emphases):

Mosul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A new attack on the Christian community in Iraq. On the evening of December 15 armed militants abducted a young Christian female student from her home in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul. The gunmen burst into her home in Mosul’s Karaj neighbourhood overnight and drove her away to an undisclosed location, according to the Ankawa Christian news website. The girl is a student of a local technical institute.

It is the latest in a string of attacks against the country's Christian community, once 100 thousand Christians lived in Mosul, but now only five thousand live in the area, due to growing wave of religious fundamentalism, and attacks against them [both the mainstream media and the Administration need to seriously investigate and provide further protection to the few Christians who remain]. The Iraqi government decided only days ago to protect Christian churches with three meter high concrete walls [This is a start], to avoid tragic incidents like the attack on the Syrian-Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad Oct. 31.

In his homily of 10 December the Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan asked the Iraqi government to ensure the safety of all Iraqi citizens, and particularly Christians, "people who are honest, peaceful and helpless." The patriarch in the mass in memory of the "46 new martyrs" of the church of Our Lady of Salavation, which took place in the presence of members of the government denounced that “the cover-up of the terror targeting Iraqi Christians is still going on after such a period of time. E it is the responsibility of the Iraqi government to carry out proper and thorough investigations to uncover the terrorist groups who did plan and finance the carnage, of whatever religious or political allegiance they may be, and to bring them publically to justice".His words were echoed at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on December 15 when Mgr. Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka, archbishop of Baghdad, told the assembly; ''Iraq's Christians live in fear of the future”.

The sad plight of Christians in Iraq as a consequence of the present war has not yet been seriously addressed and must be soon.

Sex offenders in public schools, and a clear media double standard

Writing in USA Today, Mary Beth Marklein reports "Registered sex offenders finding jobs in [public] schools."

Her text follows, with my emphases and comments:

Registered sex offenders are getting jobs in schools as teachers, administrators, volunteers and contractors, despite state laws that prohibit them from contact with children [we've known about this fact for a long time; some reports indicate that as many as 1 in 5 public school children are abused by a teacher or coach], a government watchdog report says.

And school officials in some states enable misconduct to continue by ignoring red flags during hiring or by covering up the firing of sexual offenders [where is the same condenmation of such officials as accompanied reports of sexual abusers in the Church?], according to the report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

The report, obtained by USA TODAY, is based on a review of 15 cases in 11 states over the last decade involving people with histories of sexual misconduct working in public or private schools [That's a very small study; a much larger one is in order]. Of those, 11 offenders had previously targeted children, and six abused more children in their new positions.

About 35 states have laws restricting offenders from schools, and most states require criminal history checks, though specifics vary widely, the report found. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who requested the investigation, urged states to strengthen laws or pass a law if they don't have them [far more was demanded of the Church. Why the double standard on the same tragic, sinful and criminal issue?].

"These children were put in this unsafe position because adults in charge of their well-being failed to do their job," says Miller, outgoing chair of the House education committee. "Parents have a right to believe that their children are safe" in schools [That's it?].

An Education Department study estimates that millions of kids in kindergarten through 12th grade are victims of sexual misconduct by a school employee at some point [Again, where is the outrage?]. The GAO report also notes most sexual abuse of children goes unreported. In one study it cites, 232 child molesters admitted to molesting a total of 17,000 victims, often without ever being caught.

How offenders slipped through the cracks:

• A teacher/coach who was forced to resign from an Ohio school because of inappropriate contact with girls was hired by a neighboring district, where he was eventually convicted for sexual battery against a sixth-grade girl. The superintendent at his first school had called him an "outstanding teacher" in a recommendation letter.

• Several Louisiana schools hired a registered sex offender, whose Texas teaching certificate had been revoked, without doing a criminal history check. A warrant is out for his arrest on charges of engaging in sexual conversations with a student at one school.

• An Arizona public school skipped the required criminal history check even though the applicant disclosed he had committed a dangerous crime against a child. He was later convicted for having sexual contact with a girl.

• In three cases, schools failed to ask about troubling application responses. For example, a California charter school hired an administrator who had left blank a question about previous felony convictions; he had been convicted of a felony sex offense against a minor.

When questioned by investigators about why such lapses occur, officials typically said the time and costs associated with background checks made it hard to monitor applicants. Fear of lawsuits also was a factor. [Therse are the very same inexcusable answers some Church officials gave for their lack of action and response. Where is the anger? Where are the demands? Notice how very different the tone of reports on the same topic within the Church are written. Reporters: do your jobs. When you assailed the Church you said you were only trying to get to the truth. Do the same with the public school system.]

Charol Shakeshaft, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor who researches the topic, said school personnel aren't trained in how to recognize and deal with such misconduct [the Catholic Church is the only institution where everyone - staff and volunteers alike are trained to recognize abuse]. "Parents, teachers, students and administrators don't really know how to handle it. Districts don't think it's a high probability. So people just don't learn what they're supposed to do and what the procedures are. There is hardly any education done on this [except in the Church]."

Some of us have been talking about this issue for a while now, while the media refused to look into it. Is this, perhaps, the beginning of a sincere and scrutinizing look, as they did with the Church? If so, the nation will be shocked at what is revealed.

On the Comments

Reader Victoria asked if I might lighten the tedious process of commenting here on the blog and perhaps allow anonymous comments.

In the hopes of engendering more dialogue on these pages, I have done so, but comment moderation remains in force.

If comments turn ugly, the former measures will be reinstated.

Update: First anonymous comment: Spam.

Update 2: Second anonymous comment: Spam.

Senator Santorum on the false separation of faith from politics

With another capello tip to the Creative Minority Report:



Well said, Senator!

From pro-choice to pro-life: Kathy Ireland

With a capello tip to the Creative Minority Report:

More on Santa

Reader Melody is a mom who does not celebrate Santa Claus with her children. In a post from last year she gave her reasoning thus:

If you are a Christian parent, you know that every word that comes out of your mouth is a testimony to your child about the love and truth of Christ. You know from experience that your failures in virtue are soaked up into your little sponge children in the blink of an eye. You know how compromised your witness is by any uncharitable word, selfish behavior...and all deceitfulness. We know how much we abhor lies in our children and teach them to imitate Jesus who is the Way, the TRUTH, and the life. The game of pretending does indeed become a lie if it is intended to deliberately deceive for any extended period of time. When your little one looks trustingly up into your face and asks, "Mommy, is Santa really real?" and you say "Yes, He is", what acceptable justification is there for such a deception? It is likely that, someday, that same child will look at you and ask, "Mommy, is Jesus really real?" and you will say "Yes, He is." The child is asking for the truth and deserves purity in our responses. Our children need to know that we will not lie to them and must be able to trust our word in all things because we are their primary witness to love of Jesus Christ in their lives.

She gives further explanation that is worth reading, and also offers a few humorous reasons.

Just like the kids

Two of my parishioners are natives of Sicily - who happen to also be two of the sweetest people I know -and own an excellent little restaurant in Virden: Di Carlo's. It's a gem of a place.

It is a pizzeria that also serves delicious pastas and other foods (the cannelloni is amazing!). Finding credit and debit cards a hassle and not worth the effort and extra cost, they take cash (and maybe checks; I can't remember). And they're closed on Monday's. If you're ever in the area you really have to eat there; it's on the main street in town: Highway 4.

As a freezing mist settles over my parishes this evening I thought it a good idea to spend the evening on paper work, which is best done while enjoying a pizza. After finishing some business in Girard I placed my order and picked it up on the way back to Auburn.

When I walked in the owners greeted and we chatted for a bit. As the lady of the restaurant brought my pizza to the counter she peeked inside and - seeing a thin crust pepperoni - said with a motherly smile, "Just like the kids."

If you're curious, the pizza's delicious.

Just put the cart back

There is a simple letter in the State Journal Register about shopping carts, and where people leave them:

While most individuals without disabilities will correctly not park in handicapped parking areas, many will leave their grocery carts in the crossed-off areas next to these spots.

These carts then block the wheel chair lifts that need to be extended out from the cars. Since this has the same effect as using a handicapped parking space illegally, we urge individuals not to leave their shopping carts in those areas.

Honestly, folks, is it really so hard to leave your shopping cart in the corrals conveniently scattered throughout the parking lot? (This is one of my many pet peeves.)

We must remember that our love is shown in the little things we do, a.k.a., the Little Way. Just put your cart in the corral and - while you're there anyway - put the carts together so someone else doesn't have to spend more time than necessary returning the carts inside the store (which most of us are simply too lazy to do ourselves).

If nothing else, offer it up for the good of a family member, a friend, a stranger or - better yet - an enemy.

Was he right to say it? I suspect so

His Excellency the Most Reverend Fabriciano Sigampa, Archbishop of Resistencia [a fitting name for his Diocese] recently said in a homily that children should know that it is not Santa Clause who brings their gifts on Christmas:

"That's not Christmas," Archbishop Fabriciano Sigampa of the northern city of Resistencia said in mass, insisting that children should not confuse celebrating the birth of Christ "with a fat man dressed in red."

Sigampa's ire was aroused by plans for a snow covered cabin in the city's main square where a Father Christmas figure would hear children's wishes and receive donated toys to be given out to poor children.

"Surely, in the coming days there will be a deluge of advertisements after they inaugurate the house where a fat man dressed in red lives. And we should not confuse, we should not confuse Christmas with that."

He said children "should know that, in reality, the gifts come from the efforts of their parents and with the help of Jesus." [more]

Commenting on the story, Father Ray Blake added this wise thought:

Though we do not want kindergartens of howling children complaining "Father has ruined my Christmas", I think we Catholics ought to avoid implicating ourselves in deliberately deceiving children, just incase they see the Incarnation as being equally untrue.

I have heard several young people - perhaps sincerely, perhaps not - use this very example as a reason they do not accept the faith of the Church. If parents have deceived them as children about Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, it makes some sense to them that they may also have been deceived about Jesus.

Consider, for a moment, the great energy and thought given by parents to convince their children that Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy visit their homes. Now consider, for a moment, the great energy and thought given by parents to show their children the truth of Jesus Christ. Oh, wait... It isn't equal, is it? Houston, we have a problem.

Just a thought to ponder.

Pray for your priest(s)

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii passes on a few simple reasons to pray for your priest(s) each day:

If the priest is a saint, his people will be holy.
If the priest is holy, his people will be good.
If the priest is good, his people will be fair.
If the priest is fair, his people will be mediocre.
If the priest is mediocre, his people will be bad.

She also has a good quote from St. Francis of Assisi and from St. John Chrysostom.

One more adult stem cell advance

Fr. John Malloy passes on news of yet another medical advance brought about through adult (not embryonic) stem cell research: an HIV positive man has been cured:

Meanwhile, not one advance or cure has yet been found because of embyronic stem cell research.

A reason for beauty

The ever hilarious and often insightful Crescat gives us a simple and profound reason why the Church likes beauty in her buildings, in her music and in her art:

I like pretty. Pretty makes me happy. I lack the discipline of the Carthusians... I need to be surrounded by all the pretty the Church has to offer. It keeps me sane. It keeps me in love.

May the beauty of the Church's arts keep each of us in love.

Good news from Moloka'i

Mozlink passes on the following happy news from the Hawaii Catholic Herald:

KALAUPAPA, Hawaii, Catholic Herald: Thirteen mules lurched their way down the Kalaupapa trail on Dec. 1 for the first time in nearly seven months. A bridge on the second switchback of the zigzagging trail leading to the remote Hansen’s disease settlement where Father Damien labored had been washed out by a landslide in early April. The famous Molokai mule operation was left at a standstill while a new bridge was being built. Financial hardship caused the nearly 40-year-old Molokai Mule Ride to close. But now that the bridge is complete, the company is back in business under a new name — Kalaupapa Guided Mule Tour [more].