ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?

From the Guardian:

A report in the German news magazine Der Spiegel, to be published tomorrow, will say that a former aide was put under "heavy" pressure to take the blame for an abuse scandal in the pope's former archdiocese of Munich and Freising. In 1980, while the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was archbishop, a priest known to be a paedophile was accepted into the archdiocese and, instead of being given therapy as planned, he was swiftly assigned to parish duties.

After the case was brought to light by the New York Times last month, Benedict's former vicar-general in Munich, Gerhard Gruber, accepted "full responsibility" for the decision.

According to Der Spiegel, citing sources very close to the 81-year-old prelate, Gruber received a string of telephone calls in which church officials "begged" him to take the blame. After he agreed, he was sent a fax containing the statement that he eventually issued, the weekly will say. The priest, Father Peter Hullermann, went on to commit an offence involving a boy for which he was tried and convicted.

In Spain, meanwhile, it was reported that a cardinal who congratulated a French bishop on not reporting a paedophile abbot said he had cleared his message of congratulations with the late pope, John Paul II. La Verdad, a newspaper in the southern city of Murcia, said that Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos told a press conference in the city on Friday that he wrote a letter to the bishop "after consulting the pope and showing it to him".
....

The statement was one of several indications that Benedict's supporters were shifting from defence to attack in their run-up to the fifth anniversary of the start of his papacy tomorrow.

When I read the article, I felt sick. The news is shocking, and yet, who believed that Benedict did not know about the priest in his archdiocese? Who didn't think that Vicar-General Gruber was falling on his sword for the sake of protecting the pope? I expect that what will come out in Der Speigel is only the beginning of a flood of revelations that will follow. Benedict and John Paul II are and have been bad news for the Roman Catholic Church. The one enabled the other, and now insiders in the know appear to have decided, "Enough is enough!"

Thanks to Cathy for the link.

AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES

 

My grandson and I headed off to the movie theater this afternoon to see "How To Train Your Dragon". In my habitual fashion, I was running late, so by the time we bought our tickets and made the stop at the concession stand, the movie had already started, but only by a few minutes. Sigh.... When we handed in our tickets, the ticket-taker said they were for the next showing of the movie, about two hours later!!! He said, "The movie has already started." I asked if we could go in anyway, and he said yes. Yay!

Of course, my grandson ran far up the stairs to a seat higher than I wanted to go, but I gamely followed. We crawled over the folks in the row and settled down. After a few minutes, GS says, "I left my candy on the counter! I'm going to get it." He jumped up, passed me, and knocked my bag of popcorn on the floor. I said, (in the middle of a movie for kids!) "Gotdammit, you spilled my popcorn!" Lord, forgive me. Children forgive me. On GS went crossing in front of the people in our row again, but not spilling their popcorn.

He came back with his candy, and we settled down to watch the movie. Suddenly we begin to see double, and I realized that 3D had kicked in, and we didn't have 3D glasses! Honestly, I thought about watching the movie in double vision, because we'd already made such a fuss, but GS wanted the 3D effect, which is quite understandable. I told him to go wherever to get us our glasses, and he crawled over me and the others in the row again and made a successful run for the 3D glasses. I guarded my half bag of popcorn which I had rescued from the floor, so he didn't knock it down again. We settled again to watch the rest of the movie with our 3D glasses without causing further disturbance. When I reached into my pocket to get a napkin, there was GS's bag of candy. I picked it up off the counter and forgot all about it, because the server distracted me by trying to sell me a new item, a cinnamon pretzel for $5.50, which I declined.

The movie was charming, enjoyable for both children and adults, with enough in the way of chases on the ground and in the air, close calls, fire-breathing, etc. for GS, and a literate and lovely message for all ages.

When the movie was over, I picked up our trash, except for the sea of popcorn at my feet, turned in the extra bag of candy at the concession stand, (I am honest to a fault!) and we were on our way home.

So. Should I give up taking grandchildren to the movies? We seem to have more than our share of adventures. We, no doubt, annoyed a few folks, but we didn't hurt anyone. I suppose we'll try again.

IS TEC ON A WAYWARD PATH?

Check in at Openly Episcopal in Albany to read the post titled, Former Bishop Savages TEC, on the opinion column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch by retired Suffragan Bishop David Bena of Albany, who departed from the Episcopal Church.

The painful irony is that TEC's decision to reject the authority of God's Word has been gravely injurious, and has itself caused the very division that TEC's leaders claimed they sought to avoid. Once someone rejects Scripture, then they reject Jesus Christ and Christianity as a whole. It's as simple as that. We could not follow a national body that rejected the very Word of God.

Strong words indeed from Bishop Bena, who continues to speak to groups and preside over Eucharists at the Spiritual Life Center of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany.

IRVIN MAYFIELD'S "BOOK ONE" WINS GRAMMY

"The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra won for the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album the debut CD Book One at the 52nd Grammy Awards. The album was composed and arranged by Irvin Mayfield, Artistic Director and founder of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra - and good friend to our diocese [the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana]. Book One explores post-Katrina stagnation, the ongoing financial crisis, and falling in love.

Mayfield and Ronald Markham CEO and president of the 20-piece orchestra accepted the award and thanked the City of New Orleans, members of the orchestra and past jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton and Danny Barker. 'This Grammy award demonstrates that jazz is alive and resides in New Orleans,' said Mayfield, adding that 'the musicians in the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra took original compositions and created timeless music.'

Book One was recorded live at Christ Church Cathedral in November 2008 for the Cathedral's annual 'All the Saints' concert. The concert was originally commissioned after Hurricane Katrina and was hailed as the cultural reopening of New Orleans. Each year the performance includes elements of the original along with new music composed by Mayfield. Congratulations to everyone involved!"

Text from Churchwork, the official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana.

If you like big band jazz, go to Amazon to listen to snippets of the tracks. If you like what you hear, you may want to buy the album. I already have the album and recommend it highly. It's good, quite good.

"ORDAINED WHILE GAY...THE NEW DRIVING WHILE BLACK"

Please read John Chilton's piece at The Lead titled An occasion for gay bashing and scapegoating:

Ordained while gay -- it's the new driving while black.

In a revealing campaign, Anglican Mainstream seeks to persuade you that sex with children reveals whether you are gay. And it's using the Catholic sex abuse story to make its claims. (And also is an apologist for that church's handling of sexual abuse.) Anglican Mainstream claims the problem is not with the church, but with homosexuals in the priesthood. According to its website, the "Primatial Adviser" of Anglican Mainstream is The Most Rev Drexel Gomez, former Archbishop of the West Indies who chaired the committee that drafted the Anglican Covenant. (My emphasis)

John lists articles in Anglican Mainstream which attempt to demonstrate that sex with children shows whether a person is gay. The list is long.

The Draft Committee for the Anglican Covenant tilted in an anti-gay, anti-North American direction from its inception.

ANOTHER LITTLE BREES IS ON THE WAY

Brittany, Drew, and Baylen Brees after the Superbowl

From NOLA.com:

Brees revealed that he and his wife, Brittany, are expecting their second child in October -- a little brother or sister for 15-month-old son Baylen, who became immortalized as a Saints mascot during the Super Bowl postgame celebration.

"We're very excited, " said Brees, adding that fatherhood has been an "awesome" experience.

STORY OF THE DAY - PIG CAT

Your cat seems very healthy, I said to
her. That is not a cat, she said. That is a
pig in cat's clothing.


From StoryPeople.

THE LAWS OF ULTIMATE REALITY - PART 1

Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

Law of Gravity - Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability - The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of Random Numbers - If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

Law of the Alibi - If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law - If you change traffic lanes, the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

Law of the Bath - When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters - The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result - When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Thanks to Doug.

A HISTORIC DAY!

Arkansas Hillbilly posted two good news items at Hillbilly Musings. Thanks be to God, indeed.

RANDOM IMAGES

EMS RESCUE DOG

 

Breathe, damn you, breathe!

From Doug.



(Illustration: a bumper sticker spotted by a reader in Juneau.)



H/T to Andrew Sullivan.

 

Thanks to Lapin.