6 May 2025 The Kind of Pope I Want Since the death of our late Holy Father, Pope Francis, and even before, there’s been much speculation on who will be the next Roman Pontiff.  Some of it is blatantly partisan, some of it just downright ridiculous.  Many in the West are treating it as if it were an ecclesiastical version of the secular political campaigning of presidential candidates.  Various sectors within the Church are pushing for their pet ideologies - more freedom for the traditional Latin Mass; more emphasis on the rights of the family; more action against the abuse of the vulnerable, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  Certainly these issues have importance.  However, I think that we of the West tend to ignore the issues facing the Church in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where the Church is growing by leaps and bounds.  Nor can we forget that in some areas the Church is being persecuted, not just in subtle ways, but i...

 Requiescat in Pace! I awoke today, Easter Monday, to very sad news.  Like all Catholic priests, I had gone through the marathon of Holy Week, with all of the various liturgies, which are spiritually and emotionally moving, but also physically exhausting.  Easter Sunday night, after the parish masses, I relaxed, watching the classic Cecil B. DeMille film "Ben Hur", then settled in for a good night's sleep. After waking Monday morning, I dressed and prayed, fed my cats, and made my morning coffee, then turned on the television only to be met with the news that Pope Francis had died. I was stunned, yet I could see it coming.  I had watched the recorded Easter Sunday Mass from the Vatican, and the Urbi et Orbi blessing following the Vatican Mass on Sunday, once I had celebrated Easter Masses at my two parishes.  I was struck by how tired Pope Francis looked when he came out to be driven through the crowd in St. Peter's Square, and when he gave the Po...

 Ah, ça ira. N’est pas?  An Olympic Disasterpiece.     1 Aug. 2024 Dear and gentle Reader, My apologies for being absent for so long a period.  I’m sure you’re famished for my wit and wisdom.  Well, I have a veritable smorgasbord for you!   As you know, here in the States, we recently concluded a year of Eucharistic Renewal with the celebration of a National Eucharistic Congress, which by all accounts was well attended by Catholics of all ages.  Shortly after, we had the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and of course, the controversy that followed due to some elements of the said ceremony. Now, I am, as some of you know, no enthusiast of any athletics, and so I do not watch the Olympics, but I do usually watch the opening ceremonies, which introduce the participating nations and their athletes, as well as highlight the history and culture of the host country.  Some of them have been absolutely glorious, others, well, sad....

 Ending 2023 - thank God! Dear and gentle reader, a very Happy Christmas and coming New Year to you and yours!  We've made it - almost - through yet another year together.  No, I've not posted as often as I should, but then, I was lazy and just didn't feel like it, so deal with it. What a year it has been, and personally, I'm glad to see the back of it.  On a personal note, I'm about the same as I was last year, only older, grumpier, and fatter, and I don't give a fig if I am.  My diocese is still in limbo concerning the bishop's restructuring plan.  I have no idea if I will be transferred this coming June.  My two parishes have been proposed to be split, one being merged with a parish to its northwest to form a new parish, and the one where I currently reside, to be merged with a parish to its northeast.  So, if the proposals go through, which most likely they will, I will be without a parish, thus, no longer a pastor.  God forbid that I be ...

 Unholy Hell in the Holy Land 10 October 2023 Dear and Gentle Reader, No doubt you've heard of the escalating war between Israel and Hamas.  It is shocking, saddening, and brutal.  Many shake their heads and think, "Why can't they sit down and work it out?".  The answer to that is not so simple.  It is not just a battle for territory.  It is not just a battle for political self-determination.  It is not just a battle for human rights and security. It is not just a battle between religions, ethnicities, or races. It is all of those things combined into our modern world of global politics, which had made it even more complex and inscrutable.  To make it clear, Gentle Reader, firstly, I am not anti-Semitic, nor anti-Arab.  I believe that Israel has a right to self-protection, as do the Palestinian peoples.  In opposing some of the acts of the state of Israel, I do not oppose the Jewish religion.  In opposing some of the acts of the Pal...

 12 June, 2023 Dear and gentle reader, how good it is to meet again, even if only online.  Since the coronation of His Majesty, King Charles III, I've watched the whole liturgy at least twice, examined pictures, listened to commentary by historians, and tried to soak in the pageantry and pomp. One notable comment struck me, made by Dr. David Starkey, sometimes known as "Dr. Rude" for his acerbic wit and fearlessness for making controversial statements.  Dr. Starkey, a fellow curmudgeon and monarchist, remarked on how frail King Charles looked before his anointing, stripped down to his shirt and trousers; how he appeared as a man his age, stooped and somewhat frail.  How very human the King was and is.  This weak, fallible man was taking on the burden of being the Sovereign.  Then, Dr. Starkey remarked on the vestiture of the King after the anointing, the cloth-of-gold supertunica, the stole and belt, and the great Robe Royal, and the weight of these garmen...