Guiliani received Communion at one of the papal masses…big mistake.  Apparently he had an agreement with Cardinal Egan.  Now Cardinal Egan is mad.

New York Cardinal Edward M. Egan will request a meeting with Rudolph Giuliani, saying in a statement he deeply regretted that the former New York mayor received Communion during a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Patrick’s Cathedral April 19.

A statement issued by Cardinal Egan April 28 said that when he first came to the archdiocese and Giuliani was mayor the two of them “had an understanding … that he was not to receive the Eucharist because of his well-known support of abortion.” Giuliani has long opposed efforts to limit access to abortion and supported state funding of abortions for poor women in New York. He was widely described as a pro-choice candidate during his run for president that ended earlier this year.

Cardinal Egan’s statement said he would be “seeking a meeting with him to insist that he abide by our understanding.”

Giuliani was among guests invited to attend the Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral celebrated by Pope Benedict. The Mass was described as being for clergy and religious, although there were other invited guests including Giuliani and current Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is Jewish.

Giuliani told reporters as he left the Mass that he had received Communion.

Cardinal Egan’s statement said “the Catholic Church clearly teaches that abortion is a grave offense against the will of God. 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.

It’s reasonable for Egan to raise this issue - a public person involved in publicly removing themselves from Communion with the Church.  He’s been told not to receive but he did anyway.  It will be interesting to see what happens if they have their meeting.
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Here’s a shock…Al Sharpton is calling for his followers to shut down New York City because a trial didn’t go the way he wanted it to:

Al Sharpton promised to “close this city down” to protest the acquittals of three police detectives in the 50-shot barrage that killed a groom on his wedding day and wounded two friends.

“We strategically know how to stop the city so people stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent civilians,” Sharpton told an overflow crowd of several hundred people at his National Action Network office in the historically black Manhattan neighborhood. “This city is going to deal with the blood of Sean Bell.”

Sharpton was joined by the family of 23-year-old Sean Bell - a black man - and a friend of Bell who was wounded in the 2006 shooting outside a Queens strip club. Two of the three officers charged were also black.

The rally at Sharpton’s office was followed by a 20-block march down Malcolm X Boulevard and then across 125th Street, Harlem’s main business thoroughfare, where some bystanders yelled out “Kill the police!”

This could be a redux of the riots in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict.  God forbid that happen.  I’ll be interested though, to see if Senators Obama or Clinton have anything at all to say about it.  Even more interesting would be if Jeremiah Wright got in on the action.  Could be very entertaining (and very damaging to Obama.)

Fr. Michael Pfleger, famous for encouraging the murder of a gun shop owner , got some face time on Fox News recently, talking about how Jeremiah Wright isn’t racist, bigoted, hateful, or nuts. Pfleger recently had Wright speak at his parish. Stinks when you find content for your blog on DailyKooks, but they seem to think that Pfleger handed the reporter’s hinder to him on a plate…personally, I think the video serves to show how Pfleger should be in a monastery somewhere. In the background you can see the Father’s goons (I mean, bodyguards.)

Some priests did bad things so therefore the Church has no moral authority.  Thus saith Lou Dobbs,

Pope Benedict XVI addressed the social context in which the scandal took place, asking, “What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?” On his CNN show last night, Lou Dobbs made the following comments about the pope:

“I don’t want to put you [addressing a guest] in jeopardy of either perdition or Hell itself. But, so I will gamble this, may I? The idea that the pope would come here and criticize the United States this way is, I think, first of all bad manners. I don’t care if you’re infallible [sarcastically] or not. So it’s bad manners. Number two, it is absolutely out of all proportion with the world scale. This is the most welcoming nation, the most generous nation on the face of the earth. And for this pope to have this attitude and to make these comments is, in my opinion, absolutely repugnant…. I’m on my way to Hell…. It seems to me that if one is going to reach to the level that he did, you have to have some moral standing for it. And what has been happening to this church…for the last decade, seems to leave open his standing, cleaning up his own house. I don’t know if there is a scriptural reference there, but it seems to me that, glass houses, stones. Whatever it may be, it’s just bad manners.”

To which Bill Donohue, of the Catholic League, responds:

“What the transcript doesn’t reveal is the tone of Dobbs’ remarks. He was sarcastic and insulting throughout. Dobbs can either apologize for his offensive remarks, or he can invite me on his show to debate him. Enough is enough—this guy has crossed the line big time.”

Thanks to contributor Tim for passing this story along!

Ooohh, I am soooo sorry if that headline is judgmental.  But, the Bible does say that he that eats and drinks Communion unworthily eats and drinks judgment on himself.  Suffice it to say, the same members of Congress who last fall wrote a letter to the USCCB chastising them for some of their positions (unmitigated gall, anyone?) have stated that they will receive the Eucharist at the papal Mass tomorrow.

Here are some stupid comments from the politicians:

“Pope Benedict’s historic visit is an important opportunity for Catholics and for all Americans to reflect on the ways we can contribute to the common good, address global issues of poverty, disease and despair,” said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., whose views in 2004 led several Midwestern bishops to say they would deny the Democratic presidential nominee Communion.

“In a nation and a world facing such extraordinary and daunting challenges, the pope’s visit promises hope, inspiration and great wisdom,” Kerry said in a statement.

“There’s a time for celebrating who we are as Catholics, and this is one of those times,” said Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.

“The leader of my church and a head of state is visiting my country, my city where I work, in a brand new ballpark,” he added. “There is a great sense of excitement.”

No, the Eucharist isn’t about the physical real presence of Christ’s body, blood, soul, and divinity, it’s about being proud that the Pope’s visiting your country.

Think just for a minute…provided these folks don’t go to confession before the Mass (and let’s face it, they clearly don’t think they have anything to confess) the blood of millions of innocents is on their hands, and those hands will hold Jesus.  Makes me want to wretch.  The fallen part of me wants to be really judgmental about them…but one must not forget the transformative power of the Eucharist.  It is Jesus after all.  Maybe the veil of ignorance will be lifted from them when they receive and they will change their positions which are incompatible with Catholic teaching.

Amazing what you’ll find on Facebook. An old acquaintance of mine who happens to be a “friend” on Facebook posted a rather lengthy manifesto after her experience at the Passion Conference this past weekend. For the uninitiated, the Passion Conference has been going on for some years now, led by Louie Giglio (whom I am told is quite a speaker in the church growth movement) which features a lot of rock-type “praise” music, powerful preaching, and so on. Never been to one, but this is the impression I get from folks who have been there. My boss says the music is all 7-11 songs. The same seven lines, sung eleven times. Anyway, here’s what she wrote:

This weekend was Passion Regionals in Atlanta and I had the opportunity to volunteer. It was an amazing weekend of renewal mixed with personal challenge. Speakers included Louie Giglio and Francis Chan and worship leaders Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall and David Crowder. God was certainly glorified!

So today I started reading Francis’s new book, Crazy Love, which I picked up at the conference. I’ve only read the first chapter, and already I’m starting to remember the untruths I believed about God, Christians and the Church when I was growing up. I’m not blaming my church; without them I wouldn’t have necessarily experienced the fundamentals that I now take for granted (I’m learning that over and over, and repenting for it!). Don’t get me wrong; my parents never taught me these things overtly, nor did the church. However, here are the top 5 myths about God, Christians and the Church that I came up with:

1. God is big and powerful, and he lives up in Heaven, but is somewhat disconnected from us.

2. To be a Christian, there are all kinds of rules to follow, most of which involve a long list of things not to do.

3. Church is where Christians go on Sunday and if you don’t go, you’d better be hospitalized or gravely ill.

4. Don’t hang around people who don’t go to church because they will be a bad influence on you.

5. Worship = Hymns (verses 1, 2 and 4) or Latin Songs that nobody understands.

Now this may all seem absurd to some of you, but how many of us are still living as if these “myths” are reality? For example, how many of us have meaningful relationships with people who aren’t believers? Or how many feel that God takes attendance at church every Sunday and if you’re not there, you’ll be punished? And I’d venture to say that lots of believers say that they have a relationship with God, but still feel at times, really disconnected from Him.

I’m confessing now with a repentant heart that I do not believe these lies anymore. God is very near to my heart now, and having a relationship with Him isn’t about what NOT to do, but rather how to ENJOY His love and all He can do through me. I missed church today, but still had fellowship with Him and other believers. I am intentional in developing relationships with those who don’t yet know the love of Christ. And I know worship can involve singing, clapping, jumping (as demonstrated by the students at Passion!), or…watch out now…raising your hands! Who would have known?!

Ok, now for the record, she and I are on exactly the same page with regard to having friends of different beliefs. I have lots of non-Catholic friends and family members and try to be a good representation of the Faith without ramming the Truth down their throats (and the last part of that statement was written with tongue planted firmly in cheek.) Taking her “lies” on a one-by-one basis:

1. She’s right - we shouldn’t consider God to be “disconnected” from us. But, by the same token, too many folks take the “accepted Jesus Christ into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior” thing too far, to the exclusion of all else - like what you DO as a result of that relationship, for example. I have a co-worker who, whenever I speak of anything liturgical with Methodist of Presbyterian co-workers, says “I just love Jesus.” Something there about babies who aren’t ready for solid food. Of course there’s more to it than just loving Jesus - there’s work you do following him, the sacraments, and so on. Sanctification. Shouldn’t place so much focus on the “personal relationship” that we forget about serving Him.

2. This is like #1 - if you’re so wrapped up in the personal relationship aspect of the faith, you miss out on the fact that you are supposed to “do” and “not do” certain things. No, the rule book is not the primary focus of the faith, but it is there, and it’s there for a reason. Sanctification. Of course, coming from a sola fide mindset it’s hard to consider that one might have to do anything at all (except believe, which is a work itself, and I’ve gotten into the convoluted thought processes behind this in previous posts. I’ll spare you now.)

3. Well, Jesus is there at Church. He asks an hour a week. He wants to be physically present to us and in us. He gave us the Eucharist. If you miss that, then obviously, going to church on Sunday would be a matter of personal preference. If you’re just going to hear someone preach, you can do that equally well on the sofa at home or at a rock concert masquerading as a worship service.

4. Personally, I think it’s a good rule for teenagers to follow, not to hang out with people of a different value system, as they will be a bad influence on you. Teenagers of course think that they have it all figured out (though for some reason I never really had that feeling as a teenager, I have known enough to know that most do) and that they can avoid negative influences. Or, they excuse it with “I am sharing the gospel with them so I should spend time with them.” Simple fact is, to a teenager, the things that teens of a different value system tend to do are a heck of a lot more fun that the things that a solid Christian teenager tends to do. And, being exposed to such stuff as a teenager can result in developing a greater sense of moral relativism and “tolerance” (2007 definition, not the dictionary definition) which will make the liberals very happy but which results in someone ultimately drifting away from their faith because, hey, what’s the point?

5. In college I went through a period of thinking that rock music could be a legitimate part of a church service. Then what I realized was that the rock music was creating an emotional high that felt good but had no real depth or impact on my faith. Now I have gone back the other way…I have seen how Life Teen music done in the most flamboyant of ways waters down the awesomeness of what happens at Mass (and thankfully, many teen and college types are seeing the same thing,) and essentially, rock music at Mass insults the intelligence and spiritual depth of the communicants, because it says “you need to be attracted by this music because nothing else that’s going on here would interest you.” All that said, I still to this day think that “praise choruses” have a legitimate place in worship services/concerts which are separate from Mass or any other formal church service for that matter. As for Latin songs that no one understands, it’s very easy to find out what the Latin means if you’ll go to the trouble. Latin’s part of the universality of the Church which has been rejected for 500 years by Protestants.

The Governor of California has made clear once again that he is only a little bit conservative…

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that he would fight an initiative to amend the California Constitution to ban gay marriage if it qualifies for the November ballot.

Schwarzenegger said he was confident that such an amendment, which already are on the books in 26 other states, would never pass in California and called it a “waste of time.”

A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman, Julie Soderlund, said it was the first time the governor publicly stated opposition to the measure, though he has held the view for “some time.”

Meh.

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I know it may come as a shock, but Hollywood’s making a movie about President Bush that is not accurate.

“It leaves you with the impression that the White House is run as a fraternity house with no reverence for hierarchy, the office itself or for the implications of policy,” said Robert Draper, author of “Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush.” “Everybody calling everybody else nicknames and chatting about whether to go to war as if they were chatting about how to bet on a football game really misses the mark of how many White Houses, including this one, are run.”

Jacob Weisberg (”The Bush Tragedy”) was skeptical about Stone’s claim that he wants to make “a fair, true portrait” of Bush. “His saying he is going to be fair to Bush is like Donald Trump saying he is going to be modest,” Weisberg quipped.

Wow, who would have thought Oliver Stone would depict something inaccurately?

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And as the father of 2, let me first say that there are times when it feels like a punishment…

Barack Obama was campaigning recently and explained how he would educate his daughters…he said he’d teach them values and morals, but if they made a mistake, he didn’t want them punished with a baby or an STD.  Apparently, he isn’t interested in teaching them the value of personal responsibility or natural consequences.  They need to have an “out.”  Hmm…think that you might repeat the same mistake over and over if there’s no consequence?  Also telling is that he considers a baby and and STD to be on a similar plane.

Don’t believe me?  Here’s your video clip.