1:01 PM
Christ The King Parish
Peace and Blessings to You All,I have to say, it was very nice to hear Father Antony thank, and recognize the new influx of altar servers at the Sunday Mass this past weekend. All, in all we have been quite blessed at having new people enter into various ministries that haven't done so before. God is indeed working well, and deeply within our parish community. One challenge that we have had is in finding people who are willing and able to serve in different areas and/or on more than a single weekend in a month. I know it sounds funny, but you would almost think people don't gather to celebrate the Lord's Supper with our family here at CTK on a weekly basis!
Believe me, I know from the struggles we've had with our own family that it can be a challenge to re-order and properly prioritize our lives so that there is even a fraction of space left for things like helping at the Church or worshiping with one's parish family on a regularly. Sometimes it seems as though everybody in our lives wants just one more little bit, of our time, of our gifts, of ourselves. It's easy to get annoyed at the seemingly endless requests for giving away more of our lives. We are assailed with guilt when we even begin to wonder whether our kids need to be involved in everything that interested them, or we become afraid that if we don't do this thing or that thing for this person or that person, that we will have somehow failed them, or ourselves.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and wondering what the solution might be. A solution to the anxiety, to the worry, to the fear that we will be pulled apart if we give too much. A solution to the terrifying question at the heart of it all, "What if there isn't anything left for me?" As I said, I've been thinking about this and wondering about this and then, lo and behold, wouldn't you know it, but another story pops out of the universe and right into my lap! It's a familiar scene from the gospels, Jesus and his meeting with Simon the fisherman and how Simon struggled with many of these very same question when Jesus turned to him and said "Follow Me.";
"Lord, You Can Use My Boat" by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
"Nice boat." Simon looked up from mending his nets to see a tall man touching his boat. It was Jesus, whom he'd first met down in Judea where Simon had been listening to John the Baptizer. This Jesus was a teacher too, or so Simon had heard. Jesus was running his hands along Simon's boat, admiring the handiwork. "Very smooth," he said.
"Benjamin the boatmaker finished it last fall," said Simon. "Last boat he made before he died."
Jesus examined the planks along the side of the craft. "It looks tight," he said, "Mortise and tenon joinery. Must have taken a long time to make."
"A long time is right!" Simon put down his nets. Talking was a lot more enjoyable than mending. "Benjamin and his son took seven months. I thought they'd never finish. And he charged me a pretty penny. But then, I probably have the best boat on the lake." Simon got up and came over to the boat pulled up on the rocky beach. "You look like you know something about wood."
"I'm a carpenter like my father," Jesus said, extending his hand. "Mind if I look at the stern?" Without waiting, Jesus climbed into the boat and examined it carefully. "Benjamin built you an excellent boat," he said as he climbed out. "By the way, I'll be teaching this evening along the beach. I was wondering if you could assist me getting the crowd seated tonight. I need a helper, if you'd be so kind."
"Glad to help, Jesus." He liked to be needed, and he liked the fact that a carpenter had pronounced his boat the masterpiece Simon knew it was.
That evening, after all were seated, Simon listened; "The blind man you see healed before you is evidence of God's power among you to heal your life, set you free, and give you joy! The Kingdom of God is here," Jesus had preached. "Turn around and get your life right with God!" This Jesus taught with a firm authority, and boldness that left the self-righteous speechless and brought the common people to tears. As the sun set and the people got up to leave, Simon himself had been shaken. Here he was, a loud and profane fisherman. Was he ready for God's Kingdom and Messiah? He was a good fisherman, yes. But a good man? Not really.
No time for reflection now. Capernaum's fleet was getting ready to put out for another night of fishing. Simon and his brother Andrew pushed the boat off the beach and gave it a running start before jumping in themselves. They rowed out a few hundred feet and cast the first of many nets. They would be busy all night casting, then hauling in, casting and hauling in. Just as dawn began to streak the sky with pink, Simon and Andrew threw out their final net of the night, ready to head in, sell their catch, and get some sleep. It had been a long night, but a better catch than most this week.
"Si-mon," a voice echoed across the water. "Si-mon." Simon watched the net sink below the surface of the lake and then looked up. It was Jesus. Jesus, whose words of the Kingdom of God had challenged and gnawed at him all night as he had toiled.
"Si-mon." The call came a third time. Simon lifted his hand in recognition.
"Follow me!" The word was sharp, short, demanding. "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Fishers of men? Catching men rather than fish? What could he mean? But Jesus was calling. He was calling now!
The net was still in the water where Simon had thrown it, floats still bobbing, still there to trap some unsuspecting fish. But the fish wouldn't find its way to a breakfast table this morning, because both Simon and Andrew were over the side and swimming to shore. Dripping, they dropped to their knees before Jesus. "Simon." Simon could feel the Teacher's hand on his wet, tangled hair. "Simon, follow me."
Simon looked up. "Yes, Lord, I'll follow. Where are you going?"
"You'll see," said Jesus, pulling Simon's arm gently as a sign for him to get up. "And Simon, I'll need your boat."
His brand new boat, pride of the town fleet? What did Jesus want with the boat? Simon looked up. "Umm...Sure, you can use it," he replied slowly, "...during the day, when Andrew and I don't need it."
"I may need it more than that," Jesus insisted. "You own the boat, don't you?"
"Of course, Lord, I own it outright. It took me three years to earn enough extra to pay for it."
"And you've decided to follow me, haven't you, Simon?"
"Yes, of course, Lord."
"Then your boat needs to follow me, too," replied Jesus. "Not just you, but everything you are and own need to follow me, to be at my call whenever and wherever I need them."
Simon was ashamed. "Yes, Lord. Please take my fishing boat. Use it whenever you need it.... I really want you to. Forgive my selfishness."
"You have a house, Simon?"
"Yes, Lord, I have a house."
"I need to use that, too."
"My house?"
"Yes, your house."
"Eh, Jesus. How can I say this? My mother-in-law lives with us and she isn't very well right now. I'm not sure we should disturb her, with her fever and all."
"Your boat and your house and you must follow me, Simon."
"Yes, Lord."
"And I'll care of your mother-in-law, you'll see. Why don't you lead the way?"
"Yes, Lord," said Simon, and he and Jesus and Andrew walked up from the beach into town as the sun peeked over the hills.
Parish News
CWL RAFFLE TICKETS
Anyone interested in a book of CWL raffle tickets to purchase or sell, please call Della at 586-4469. All proceeds to CWL charities.
CHRISTMAS MASS TIMES:
To help with your Christmas and Holiday planning here are the times when our parish Community will be gathering to offer worship to God and share the Eucharist which is, of course, the focus and font of all our other celebrations and traditions;
December 24: 7:00 p.m.
December 25: Midnight & 10:00 a.m. - Christmas Day; A Holy Day of Obligation
December 26: 10:00 a.m. - Sunday Mass - Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
December 31: 5:00 p.m. - A Special Mass of Thanksgiving for the blessings of this past year...NOT an anticipated January 1st Mass
January 1: 10:00 a.m. - Feast of Mary, Mother of God; A Holy Day of Obligation
January 2: 10:00 a.m. - Regular Sunday Mass
As both Christmas and The Feast of Mary, Mother of God fall on Saturday's this year, and both are Holy Days of Obligation, these very important feast supersede any anticipated Masses a parish may do prior to their regular Sunday celebrations. Practically this means that for Saturday December 25th and Saturday January 1st we are unable to have our usual Saturday Evening celebrations of the Anticipated Sunday Mass. These extremely important feasts must always be celebrated in place of any regular anticipated masses in a parish.
Questions about the scheduling of Mass times for Holy Days of Obligation (like Christmas and January 1st) or Sunday Masses verses anticipated Masses in general? Our Bishops have had a lot to say on the matter and, thanks to the wonders of the internet, now you can read all about it in the comfort of your home or wherever you happen to be; CCCB on The Celebration of Christmas Masses - http://bit.ly/cgIb6T
FAITH ALIVE – 100th Anniversary History Book – 1910 – 2010 - Order yours today!
To order one of these beautiful Hardcover Pictorial History Books use the forms provided in the bulletin and submit to the parish office, or call the parish office to order your book(s).The books are $30 each. Make cheques payable to Christ the King Parish.
Living With Christ Sunday Missals Now Available;
These handy books are invaluable aids to preparing ourselves and our families to celebrate the Mass each Sunday. In them you will find the readings for every Sunday of the Liturgical year beginning with the First Sunday of Advent as well as the parts of the Mass and the most common Catholic prayers. Living with Christ Sunday Missals for Adults are $5.00 each and can be found in both entrances to our Church.
NEW! Living with Christ Sunday Missal for Young Catholics
These new missals contain all of the readings and Mass parts that our regular Sunday Missals have, but presented in an attractive and accessible manner for your young Catholics. These Living With Christ Sunday Missals for Young Catholics are $6.00 each and can be found in the main entrance to our Church.
Reminders
First Reconciliation Family Meeting - Wednesday November 17 6:30pm
This is the first of two preparation meetings for children and their families enrolled in our fall First Reconciliation Program. Meetings are in the parish Hall and will last approximately one hour.
Altar Server Practice - Wednesday November 17th 4:00pm
A chance for all servers to meet with coordinator Maggie Gilmore and our Pastor Fr. Antony and to walk through what altar serving is all about. With a new Pastor it is especially important to all servers to meet with him and learn about the different things he would like to see done at the altar. It is also a great time for our veteran servers to get to know our brand new helpers!
Mass Coordinator Training - Wednesday November 17th 7:00pm
An opportunity for new Mass coordinators to meet with Fr. Antony and to learn about new and exciting changes to this very important ministry. All persons who wish to help out in this area must attend this session.
SILENT AUCTION - November 21 & December 5, 2010
L.O.O.K. PROJECT (Linking Orphan Outreach in Kenya)
We ask for your support for L.O.O.K. by attending our Silent Auction and placing a bid on a variety of arts and crafts and baskets of products and services that have been donated by talented people and businesses in our parish. With the blessed Christmas Season approaching, this is a wonderful opportunity to bring cheer to Orphan-headed families in Kenya and to find a delightful gift for a loved one on your Christmas list. Auction Items will be on display for bidding in CHRIST THE KING PARISH HALL on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21st and SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5th, 2010. We LOOK forward to your attendance and support for our families in Kenya.
Advent Prayer Materials Available This Weekend
Advent begins in just two short weeks. Time to prepare your family to enter into this Advent season on the right foot. In both entrances to the Church you will find a variety of table prayers, wreath prayers and reflections on the readings of Advent. There is no cost for any of these materials.
Seeking Your Stories
These days, for better or worse, being a part of a faith community is largely a voluntary choice. This begs the question...why? Why Christ the King parish? What was it and/or is it that draws you to call our parish community home? Is there a particular incident that comes to mind? A person, an event, a celebration that moved you to make us a part of your family? Have you been here so long that all you know is it 'feels like home' every time you walk in the door? We would love for you to share with us your stories about why you have made Christ the King parish a part of your life. Email your stories (300 wrds or less) to ctke@accesscomm.ca. Have you heard a friend's story and found it inspiring too? Please encourage them to share it with us!
Some Inspiration
Atheism and Belief - Ron Rolheiser OMI; http://bit.ly/diSgH7
Father Barron Comments on Stephen Hawking and Tired Atheism; http://bit.ly/bSfNi2
Social media can be your friend - http://bit.ly/axYAhV
Pope Benedict Speaks Out on the Catholic Church and the Bible; http://bit.ly/9N4wJY
"Verbum Domini" - The Word of the Lord - Pope Benedict XVI's latest encyclical on the need for all Christians to better understand the Sacred Scriptures; http://bit.ly/breLZb
Pope offers guide on how 'lectio divina' meditation works; http://bit.ly/bcElXh
Prayers
How to Practice Lectio Divina A step-by-step guide to praying the Bible ; http://bit.ly/bcmWHw
Prayer Before Reading the Bible (1)
Merciful God, anoint me with your Holy Spirit.
And as I read your word, let me hear your voice speaking to me from within.
Give me wisdom to understand your message to me.
Let your word be the joy of my heart and the lamp to my feet.
Give me strength to build my life on your word.
Let it be done unto me according to your word.
May I rejoice in the blessedness of hearing your word and keeping it.
Speak Lord, your servant is listening…
Thank you Jesus… Praise you Lord..God's Word, made flesh. Amen.
Prayer Before Reading The Bible (2)
Father, anoint me with your Holy Spirit, so that as I read your eternal word, your word may
penetrate my whole being and transform me. Grant me the blessing to be a faithful disciple in
believing the Word of God and that I may be a light shining upon all who are in darkness. Amen
Sharing These Updates and Signing up
Are you enjoying having these updates, reminders, articles, videos and stories emailed to you each week? Have a friend who would love to get in on the action? You are hereby officially encouraged to share the love by forwarding this email to whomever you like, consider it a part (just a part...don't get all excited now and think you're off the hook completely) of your own efforts to evangelize and share the Good News.
Did a friend send this to you and now you're so excited about staying up to date on what's going on in our CTK family that you can't wait to sign up for yourself? The very first thing you need to do is thank that friend! Buy them a coffee, babysit their kids, take them out for dinner, maybe invite them on a cruise.
Getting yourself on the list is simple, just email (ctke@accesscomm.ca) me a request like; "Hey Eric, you're so nice and cool and the parish's updates are probably the most exciting thing I've ever found in my inbox...and you're pretty handsome too. Could you please add me to the parish email list?" Something like that. Then just sit back and enjoy weekly digital goodness from your parish who loves you.
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Peace and God Bless,
Eric Gurash - Pastoral Assistant
Christ the King Church
3239 Garnet Street
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4S-1X8
Tel. 306 586-9020
Fax.306 584-7633
Web Site: www.christtheking.ca
CTK Parish Blog: http://christthekingparish.blogspot.com/
Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CTKRegina
Become a CTK Fan on Facebook: http://bit.ly/c8LaC9
NEW! Our CTKRegina YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/aHAeRq
"The whole earth is quiet and still,it is glad and hath rejoiced!" (Isaiah 14:7)
I’m going to say things here today that many Catholics should have said 18 months ago. Maybe it’s easier for me to say because I am not Catholic, but I have had enough, more than enough, disgustingly enough.
During my entire life I’ve never seen a greater vindictive, more scurrilous, biased campaign against the Catholic Church as I have seen in the last 18 months, and the strangest thing is that it is in a country like the United States where there is supposed to be mutual respect and freedom for all religions.
This has bothered me because I too am a minority in this country. You see, unfortunately and I say this very advisedly the Catholics have forgotten that in the early 1850’s when the Italians, the Poles, the Latvians, the Lithuanians, all of Catholic persuasion, came to this country looking for opportunity because of famine, (particularly the Irish) they were already looked upon with derision, suspicion and hatred. Consequently the jobs they were forced to take were the jobs that nobody else wanted bricklayers, ditch diggers, Jewish junkmen, street cleaners, etc.
This prejudice against your religion and mine has never left this country and don’t ever forget it, and (sic) never will. Your people were called Papists, Waps, Guineas, frogs, fish eaters, ad infinitum.
And then after the Civil War, around 1864, the fundamentalists, conservatives, Protestants and a few WASP’s began planting burning crosses throughout the country, particularly in the South. And today; as far as I’m concerned, very little has changed. These gentlemen now have a new style of clothing they’ve gone from bed sheets to gentlemen’s suits.
There is a concentrated effort by the media today to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country. You don’t find it this bad overseas at all. They have now blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage. You and me have been living in a false paradise. Wake up and recognize that many people don’t like Catholics. What are these people trying to accomplish?
From the Sojourner’s Magazine dated August, 2002, listen carefully to a quote, “While much of the recent media hype has focused on the Catholic Church’s pedophilia scandal, relatively little attention has been given to the high rate of sexual misconduct in the rest of American Christendom. This is truly a crisis that crosses the borders of all religions.”
Now let me give you some figures that you as Catholics should know and remember. For example, research by Richard Blackman at Fuller Theological Seminary shows that 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact. In a 1990 study by the United Methodist Church, 41.8% of clergywomen reported unwanted sexual behavior by a colleague; 17% of laywomen said that their own pastors had sexually harassed them. Phillip Jenkins concludes in his book “Pedophiles and Priests” that while 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia, 10% of Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia.
This is not a Catholic problem. This is a problem of pure prejudice. Why the papers, day after day, week after week, month after month, see fit to do nothing but come out with these scurrilous stories? When I spoke recently to one of the higher ups in the newspaper I said, “This is wrong”. He said, “Why, do you want us to shoot the messenger?” I said, “No, just change the message”. He said, “How?” I said, “I’ll tell you how”.
Obviously, this is not just a Catholic problem. And solutions must be broader and deeper than those carried out by Catholic cardinals. The whole church has a responsibility to offer decisive leadership in the area of sexual misconduct whether it is child abuse, sexual exploitation, or sexual harassment.
Recently, churches have shown unprecedented unity on issues of poverty and welfare reform. Now it is necessary to call for a broad based ecumenical council addressing the issue of sexual misconduct in the church not only the Catholic Church, all churches, including synagogues. Its goal would be transparency and openness in developing stringent, forward?looking guidelines, consistent with denominational distinctions, for preventing and addressing sexual misconduct within Christian churches and church?related institutions.
Such a council could include not only denominational representatives but also a majority presence from external organizations such as child protection agencies, law enforcement, psychiatric services, victims’ agencies, and legal and legislative representatives.
Crisis. “Crisis” in Chinese is one word. “Crisis” in Chinese means, on the one side, a real crisis problems etc., but the other side means great opportunity.
We have a great opportunity facing us. Crisis is often accompanied by an opportunity for extraordinary growth and leadership. We have that today. Even though you are the lowest ?? by far the lowest of any organized religion today when it comes to sexual harassment ?? American churches have a unique opening to develop and adopt a single set of policies, principles, practices, and common language on sexual misconduct in Christian institutions that is binding across denominations.
A system of cross denomination review boards could be established to help compliance and accountability. A centralized resource bank could be formed that provides church wide updates on new legal, financial, psychological and spiritual developments in the field. Guidelines, both moral and legal, could be established on how clergy, churches, and victims should best use civil and criminal actions in pursuit of justice and financial restitution for injury. A national database could be established with information on all applicants for ordination in any member Christian religion. Every diocese, conference, presbytery, and district could have a designated child protection representative whose job is to ensure that the policies and procedures are understood and implemented and that training is provided.
Any religious institution, or system, that leaves power unexamined or smothers sexuality with silence rather than promoting open conversation that can lead to moral and spiritual maturity becomes implicated in creating an unhealthy and potentially abusive environment. An ecumenical Christian council authentically dedicated to strong moral leadership in the area of clergy sexual misconduct might move the church beyond the extremes of policing our own or abandoning our own.
For Christians, the true scandal is not about priests. It’s about a manipulation of power to abuse the weak. When Jesus said, “Whoever receives the child, receives me”, he was rebuking his followers for putting stumbling blocks in front of the defenseless. Church is supposed to be a place where one can lay one’s defenses down; where one is welcomed, embraced, and blessed. This can only be authentically expressed in a culture that requires absolute respect for each individual’s freedom and self hood. Until all churches bow humbly under the requirement, the indictments by wounded women and children will stand.
Just what are these Kangaroo journalists trying to accomplish? Think about it. If you get the New York Times day’ ,after day; the Los Angeles Times day after day, our own paper day after day ………………….. looking at the record, some of these writers are apostates, Catholics or ex-Catholics who have been denied something they wanted from the Church and are on a mission of vengeance.
Why would newspapers carry on this vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the Catholic Church?
Do you know and maybe some of you don’t the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday, at cost to your Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. Needless to say, that Catholic education at this time stands head and shoulders above every other form of education that we have in this country. And the cost is approximately 30% less.
If you look at our own Cleveland school system, they can boast of an average graduation rate of 36%. Do you know what it costs you and me as far as the other 64% who didn’t make it?
Look at your own records. You (Catholic schools) graduate 89% of your students Your graduates in turn go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%, and all at a cost to you. To the rest of the Americans it’s free, but it costs you Catholics at least 30% less to educate students compared to the costs that the public education system pays out for education that cannot compare.
Why? Why would these enemies of the Church try to destroy an institution that has 230 colleges and universities in the United States with an enrollment of 700,000 students?
Why would anyone want to destroy an institution like the Catholic Church which has a non profit hospital system of 637 hospitals which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people not just Catholics in the . United States today?
Why would anyone want to destroy an institution like that? Why would anyone want to destroy an institution that clothes and feeds and houses the indigent 1 of 5 indigents in the United States, I’ve been to many of your shelters and no one asks them if you are a Catholic, a Protestant or a Jew; just “come, be fed, here’s a sweater for you and a place to sleep at night” at a cost to the Church of 2.3 billion dollars a year?
The Catholic Church today has 64 million members in the United States and is the largest non-governmental agency in the country. It has 20,000 churches in this country alone. Every year they raise approximately $10 billion to help support these agencies.
Why, after the “respected” publication, the New York Times, running their daily expose’ on the Church, finally came to the conclusion of their particular investigation, which was ongoing for a long time. And guess what: buried in the last paragraph, they came up with a mouse. In their article “Decades of Damage” the Times reported that 1.8% of American priests were found guilty of this crime whereas your own Cardinal Ratzinger in Rome reported 1.7% the figure I gave you earlier.
Then again they launched an attack on the Church and its celibate priests. However, the New York Times did not mention in their study of American priests that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in the face of all this obnoxious PR the church has been receiving.
Why wouldn’t the New York Times, the paper of record they call themselves, mention this? You had to read it in the Los Angeles Times. The New York Times refused to print it.
If you read only the New York Times, you would begin to believe that priests are cowards; craven; sexually frustrated; unhealthy criminals; that prey on the innocent. What a shame.
Sometimes freedom of the press should have some type of responsibility, too. So I say this to you: instead of walking around with a hangdog look ?? I talk to a lot of Catholics all the time, “how’s everything going?” ………… “Well, in the face of things I guess okay”. That’s the wrong answer! The wrong answer!
Also, I ran into a fellow who said they started a discussion at some social function on pedophilia and he said, “I excused myself and left the room.” I said, “why did you do that?” “Well, you know how it is”.
I believe that if Catholics had the figures that I enumerated here, you don’t have to be ashamed of anything. Not only are you as good as the rest, but you’re better, in every respect.
The Catholic Church helps millions of people every day of the week, every week of the month, and every month of the year. People who are not Catholics, and I sit on your Catholic Foundation and I can tell you, and what I am telling you is so. Priests have their problems, they have their failings just as you and I in this room do, but they do not deserve to be calumniated as they have been.
In small measure let’s give the media its due. If it had not come out with this story of abusive priests, (but they just as well could have mentioned reverends, pastors and rabbis and whatever), probably little or nothing would have been. done. But what bothers me the most is this has given an excuse to every Catholic hater and Catholic basher to come out loudly for the denigration of your Church.
If some CEO’s are crooks it does not follow that every CEO is crooked; and if some priests are sexually ill it does not follow that all are sick. And your Church teaches that you’ve got to take in the sick and a priest who is this way has to be taken in and cannot be thrown out the 21st story of a building. He’s got to be looked upon and given the same type of health that you would give anybody who has a broken leg or cancer or whatever.
The Church today, and when I say the Church keep in mind I am talking about the Catholic Church, is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of the Church. You have been hurt by an infinitesimally small number of wayward priests that, I feel, have probably been totally weeded out by now.
You see, the Catholic Church is much too viable to be put down by the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Cleveland Plain Dealer take your choice, they can’t do it, they’re not going to do it and sooner or later they are going to give up. But you’ve got to make sure that you don’t give up first.
In 1799 a notice was placed in a French newspaper that a citizen Brachi had died in prison. Little did the people realize that this was Pope Pius VI who had occupied the Chair of Saint Peter for 25 years. He had been taken prisoner by Napoleon’s forces and died in prison as an indigent. At that time the thought was that this was the end of the Catholic Church, this was 200 and some odd years ago. And the reason was that there was no Pope to succeed him at that time.
But you fooled them then, and we’re going to fool them again.
I’ve been talking more or less about the United States of America as far as the importance of the Church. Let’s bring it home to Cuyahoga County and the seven surrounding counties.
In education, you save the county 420 million dollars per year. Wherever there’s a Church and most other churches have fled the inner city there’s a Catholic Church; and wherever there’s a Catholic Church there’s an absence of drug dealers. You talk to any bank that has real estate mortgages in the inner city, and they will tell you that the one thing that keeps up the value in that particular area is your Church. I’ve seen, for example, on Lorain near the Metro Catholic Schools there at the Church the nuns used to go out in the morning with brooms and sweep away the drug dealers from around the particular area.
On Health and Human Services, the homeless, adoption, drugs, adult care and so on, you saved the county 170 million dollars a year.
At the end of the day the difference that your local Catholic institutions make in the eight counties that comprise this diocese are several billion dollars per year.
Why don’t we hear about this? Why, because it’s good news. If some priest was caught with his hand in the collection plate it would be front page news. But the fact that you have thousands of students being education (sic) free, as far as the rest of the country is concerned, doesn’t make news. Why? Because it is not newsworthy, it’s not dirty.
I’m not here to deny freedom of the press, but I believe that with freedom comes responsibility, and with rights you have an obligation. You cannot have rights that are irresponsible.
Unfortunately, our society today is protected by all rights and ruled by some of their wickedness. Anybody who expects to reap the benefits of freedom must understand the total fatigue of supporting it. The most important element of political speech, as Aristotle taught, is the character of the speaker. In this respect, no matter what message a man brings in, it shouldn’t collide with his character.
The other day was shocked when I opened up America, a Catholic magazine, and my good friend Cardinal Keeler, who is a very dear friend of mine, was being fingerprinted by the Baltimore police not for a crime, but as part of the new law put in place that all members of the Church hierarchy must be fingerprinted.
Amos, of the Old Testament, accused the people of Samaria in words that seared and phrases that smote. They “cram their palaces,” he said, “with violence and extortion.” They had “sold the upright for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals” from Gucci, no doubt. But he also said that all this could be reversed, if only the people of Samaria would turn away from their own self absorption and toward those who, however silently, cry out for help. “Then,” promised Amos, “shall your justice flow like water and your compassion like a never failing stream” (Amos 5:24)
The worst feature of contemporary society is its tendency to leave each of us Locked up in himself or herself, connection less. To lessen this isolation we have developed all kinds of therapies spiritual, psychological, and physical front groups that meet and talk endlessly all day long in spas week spas, month spas, life spas. But none of these things, from primal screams to herbal wrap, seem to be doing the trick, any more than the huge houses and wine parties the.: the Samaritan did.
What we need to do is open our heart to the plight of others, even some of your priests who have been condemned. They’re human beings and they should be shown the same type of compassion we have shown anybody who is critically ill. We need to open our hearts to the plights of others, like our hearts were a dam, so that indeed our justice and compassion may flow to all.
What is essential is that each of us steps forward to hold out our hand to someone. There is no other way to walk with God.
One of the biggest Catholic bashers in the United States wrote “Only a minority, a tiny minority of priests, have abused the bodies of children.” He continues, “I am not advocating this course of action, but as much as I would like to see the Roman Catholic Church ruined. I hate opportunistically retrospective litigation even more.”
Now he’s talking about our tort monsters. “Lawyers who grow fat by digging up dirt on long?forgotten wrongs and hounding their aged perpetrators are no friends of mine.”
I’m still quoting this man, “All I’m doing” he said, “is calling attention to an anomaly. By all means, let’s kick a nasty institution when it is down, but there are better ways than litigation.” These words are from a Catholic hater.
I never thought in my life I would ever see these things.
Walk with your shoulders high and your head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non governmental agency today in the United States. Then remember what Jeremiah said: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” And be proud, speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions. Be proud that you’re a Catholic.
NOTE: Even though of the Jewish faith, Miller has been a staunch supporter of the Cleveland Diocese and Bishop Anthony Pilla. It was published in the May-June issue of the Buckeye Bulletin.
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As I noted above, there are some discrepancies in Miller's talk with respect to sexual misconduct among various denominations. A review of the book by William A. Donohue [Catholic League, A Review Essay on Phillip Jenkins "Pedophiles and Priests" from Catalyst, May 1996] should help in disclosing the source of this apparent discrepancy.
Here’s two relevant Paragraphs from the review,
Were it not for the way the problem of clergy sexual abuse has been socially defined, the public would know that the problem is hardly confined to the Catholic community. Indeed, as Jenkins has written, “In reality, Catholic clergy are not necessarily represented in the sexual abuse phenomenon at a rate higher than or even equal to their numbers in the clerical profession as a whole.” The biggest difference between the Catholic and Protestant clergy in relation to this problem is due mostly to reporting procedures: there is no counterpart among Protestants to the highly centralized data keeping done by the Catholic Church, hence it is often difficult to make comparisons between the clergy of the two religions.
Notwithstanding the difficulties that such data comparisons hold, the available information on clergy sexual misconduct shows that the problem is bigger among Protestant clergy. For example, the most cited survey of sexual problems among the Protestant clergy shows that 10 percent have been involved in sexual misconduct and “about two or three percent” are “pedophiles.” With regard to the “pedophile” problem, the figure for the Catholic clergy, drawn from the most authoritative studies, ranges between .2 percent to 1.7 percent. Yet we hear precious little about these comparative statistics.
Redemption Comes Through The Jews… Jewish Businessman, Sam Miller, Whaps Anti-Catholic Bias in News Media