tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16 2008-07-22T03:56:16Z Movable Type 3.31 tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.371 2008-07-22T02:34:18Z 2008-07-22T03:56:16Z

Writes Cardinal O'Malley about the '2010 Initiative,' an effort to strengthen the schools of the Archdiocese of Boston, "The mission of the Catholic Schools has been one rooted in humanity: to provide children of all backgrounds an opportunity to learn...

Catholic Democrats Staff For more click here. ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.309 2008-05-21T23:44:17Z 2008-05-23T05:59:44Z

Senator Ted Kennedy accepted an offer from Senator Barack Obama Thursday to take his place as Commencement speaker at Wesleyan University on Sunday. He was catching up on reading and correspondence on Cape Cod, after spending five days in the...

Catholic Democrats Staff reprinted in the Boston Globe, expressing thanks to their many friends and well-wishers. Senator Kennedy had requested staff briefings during his hospitalization, which came as no surprise to the Washington insiders who have long recognized his Senate office as one of the busiest on Capitol Hill. Much has been written the past few days about his accomplishments and his place in modern history, and the ongoing suffering in Iraq is one among many reminders of how one senator can serve as the conscience of a nation. It is worth re-reading the speech he gave on October 7, 2002, calling on all Americans to stand up against the exceptionalism of unilateral war--six months before the invasion of Iraq.]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.307 2008-05-17T18:06:26Z 2008-05-20T19:14:50Z

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital reported Tuesday that Senator Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a treatable condition that underlies the seizure he suffered last Saturday at his home in Hyannisport on Cape Cod. "Preliminary results from a biopsy...

Catholic Democrats Staff Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital reported Tuesday that Senator Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a treatable condition that underlies the seizure he suffered last Saturday at his home in Hyannisport on Cape Cod. "Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe,'" said Drs. Lee Schwamm and Larry Ronan in a statement. About 9000 Americans per year suffer malignant glioma, which is treated with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. Senator Kennedy remained in good spirits, surrounded by his family and greeting people as he walked around the hospital. Senator Kennedy turned 76 in February, and has kept up one of the busiest schedules on Capitol Hill. Senator Barack Obama had released a statement over the weekend, saying, "Senator Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He has done more for the healthcare of others than just about anybody in history. So we are going to be rooting for him." Senator McCain was also quoted in the press, "Senator Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call him my friend. Cindy and I are praying for our friend, his wife, Vicki and the Kennedy family." Senator Kennedy is a tireless champion in public life for Catholic values. Since joining the Senate 46 years ago, he has played a pivotal role in virtually every major piece of social legislation passed in Congress--playing perhaps the most critical role of any US senator in advocating for broader access to good healthcare. He stood virtually alone among his Senate colleagues in his passionate opposition to the contrived case for war in Iraq when it was first proposed in 2002, and his predictions of disaster there now seem prescient. Little known has been his advocacy for constructive measures to decrease the incidence of abortion across the US, in legislation that has been quietly advancing for the past two years. The Catholic Democrats commend him and his family to their prayers at this difficult time.]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.308 2008-05-15T22:16:05Z 2008-05-19T22:20:34Z

The four bishops of Massachusetts submitted a letter to the chairs of both the Senate and House Ways & Means Committees in support of increased funding for a program providing emergency assistance to older persons, children and persons with disabilities....

Catholic Democrats Staff submitted a letter to the chairs of both the Senate and House Ways & Means Committees in support of increased funding for a program providing emergency assistance to older persons, children and persons with disabilities. In part the measure would provide stop-gap assistance to people applying for Social Security benefits. ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.305 2008-05-07T03:23:43Z 2008-05-17T03:27:44Z

Brighton MA, 5 May 2008--The revitalization of Catholic education in Dorchester/Mattapan took a significant step forward today when ground was broken on the Columbia Campus of Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley was joined by Boston's...

Catholic Democrats Staff Brighton MA, 5 May 2008--The revitalization of Catholic education in Dorchester/Mattapan took a significant step forward today when ground was broken on the Columbia Campus of Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley was joined by Boston's Democratic Mayor Thomas M. Menino, local clergy, the Catholic Schools Office, Campaign for Catholic Schools, members of the 2010 strategic planning committee, students, teachers and staff as well as representatives of the Teen Center at today's event. See article. ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.277 2008-04-19T15:04:35Z 2008-04-19T15:07:39Z

More than 3,000 from the Boston area are expected to attend the Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium, but many will make the pilgrimage in hopes of simply catching a glimpse of the pontiff as he makes his way around the city.

Catholic Democrats Staff In 'the spirit of the pilgrim' 3,000 from area expected to attend N.Y. Mass By Tania deLuzuriaga, Globe Staff | April 19, 2008 It lasted only minutes, Bob Bubencik Jr.'s glimpse of Pope John Paul II almost 29 years ago. He was a child, waiting in the rain with his parents among hundreds of thousands who had come to witness the Catholic faith's most exalted figure as he passed through Boston. All Bubencik saw that day was a fleeting image of a man in robes passing in a motorcade. He hardly knew what to make of it. But he gradually came to think of the moment as a revelation; as he grew up, married, and had children of his own, he found that he returned to it in his mind again and again. "It kind of tied it all together for me, as a Catholic, my faith and seeing the pope," he said. Now Bubencik wants to make memories again, this time for his children. He and his wife, Laurie, are taking three of their five children, 8-year-old Emily and 9-year-old twins Adam and Heather to New York to hear Benedict XVI's Papal Mass on Sunday, hoping the experience will take root in them the way it did in him. "I think it's important to show the kids that it's more than going to church on Sundays." Across the region, thousands of faithful are preparing to make the journey during Benedict's first US visit, with reasons as diverse as the people themselves. Among them: a man from Lowell who wants to validate his recently rediscovered faith after a long absence from the church; a high school girl who wants to get to know this pope better; a Boston College junior giddy about his first papal Mass; nuns from the Daughters of St. Paul in Jamaica Plain who have seen many papal events but just can't get enough. Youth groups, fellow parishioners, and individuals planning to go it alone got ready to board planes or buses. More than 3,000 from the Boston area are expected to attend the Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium, but many will make the pilgrimage in hopes of simply catching a glimpse of the pontiff as he makes his way around the city. Some, like a group of 300 Catholics led by Father Carlos Flor, the director of religious education at Immaculate Conception church in Revere, had not yet figured out particulars like lodging, or even whether all of them would get into the Mass. But they didn't worry. "It's like an adventure. We don't know where we're going to eat," Flor said. "We don't know where we're going to sleep. But that sense of precariousness helps you come out of your routine. It's two days in which you trust in God. This is what we call the spirit of the pilgrim." Many in this community of Catholics say they sometimes feel isolated in an increasingly secular society and are trying to move beyond the clergy sex abuse scandal that shook the faith of so many. They say they hope this will be an opportunity to reaffirm the values and traditions that first drew them to their church. "This is going to remind us of the best of ourselves," said Sister Karen Marie Anderson, the novice director at the Daughters of St. Paul in Jamaica Plain, who will bring 10 of her novices to New York this weekend. "To me, it's a sign that Christ is still in the world," said Katie Elrod, a theology teacher at Montrose Catholic High School in Medfield and the mother of a young son. Benedict "brings hope, direction. . . . I want to hear what I can do to love God better, to be a better person." For some, expectations were deeply personal. "I need hope," said Julian Nunez an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who will travel to New York with a group from St. Patrick Church in Lowell. "I have been lost, and for some reason I came here [to Catholicism]. Now the love of God is in my life. My motive on this trip is the salvation of hope." Pope John Paul II's chief enforcer of doctrinal orthodoxy when he was named pope three years ago, Benedict remains a relative unknown to many, and Boston-area Catholics lucky enough to get tickets to the Mass see it as their first opportunity to evaluate their spiritual leader. "I'm just getting to know him as pope," Bubencik said. "I'm hoping I can learn more about him, not just through the media or second-hand, but by hearing him speak." "John Paul II had such a long pontificate, I think it's hard to get used to someone new," said Ana Teresa Buckley, 17, a junior at the Montrose School, who will travel to New York with some of her classmates Sunday. "I think his coming will inspire me to read his writings and get to know him better." Those who have seen him before said they couldn't help but be inspired and moved by him. "He just had such a warm face; it spoke such openness," said Rebecca Sullivan, 17, a junior at Montrose who has seen the pontiff twice in the past year: last summer on a family trip to Rome and earlier this month on a school trip to the Vatican for Easter Mass. "You could tell he wanted to be there," said Elrod, who was also at the Easter service. "You could look him in the eye and see how he depends on our prayers." Regardless of his message, many said they felt blessed simply to have the opportunity to be a part of the pope's historic visit. "I just want to be there to welcome him and be part of the crowd reviving our faith," said Sister Bridget Ellis, music director at the Daughters of St. Paul. "It's so gracious of the pope to make the journey here. . . . It probably will be the first time that many see a papal Mass; it could be the only time. It should and ought to be a treasured moment." Tania deLuzuriaga can be reached at deluzuriaga@globe.com ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.218 2008-03-10T22:03:06Z 2008-03-10T22:08:23Z

The goal of the summit is to identify best practices and make recommendations to reduce hunger in Massachusetts. Congressman Jim McGovern is playing an active role in this summit and he hopes that this will be the first step in ending hunger.

Catholic Democrats Staff Massachusetts is holding a statewide Hunger Summit on March 27, 2008. The goal of the summit is to identify best practices and make recommendations to reduce hunger in Massachusetts. Congressman Jim McGovern is playing an active role in this summit and he hopes that this will be the first step in ending hunger once and for all in Massachusetts. We believe everyone, every business, every organization can have a role in fighting hunger. Please spread the word about this summit. The meeting may be webcast. Details are as follows: What: The Hunger Summit When: Thursday, March 27, 2008 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Where: University of Massachusetts Boston Campus Center. How to attend: Register by 3/18/08 at hunger.summit@state.ma.us, or by FAX (617-348-8592) For more information: 617-348-5555 tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.164 2008-02-05T18:41:52Z 2008-02-17T14:02:18Z

Presidential elections are often a surrogate forum for the kinds of moral debates we don't have in church. The Catholic Democrats of Massachusetts met to plan and celebrate the presidential election challenges of the coming months.

Catholic Democrats Staff Catholic Democrats of Massachusetts had a gala event to celebrate Mardi Gras and the Super Tuesday primaries on February 5, featuring a Dixieland band, Cajun cuisine, and election watching with two large-screen TVs that kept the discussion going in the ballroom until nearly 11pm. We talked in particular about a "Born Catholic" campaign, focused on ways we can reach out to all those people who were raised Catholic but have eschewed participation in recent years. Several members emphasized the need to listen to "the people in the pews" in addition to our drawing on the words of the bishops and the Vatican. One Catholic priest spoke about Senator McCain's weakness among religiously-minded voters, and was laughing about the stage being set for a potential reversal of perceptions about which party was the 'moral values' party. We discussed the early Republican efforts to smear the Democratic candidates. The political T-shirt world is packed with hateful slogans directed at Senator Clinton, and the conservative Catholic blogosphere is alive with vituperation directed at Senator Obama. But there was a new energy directed at finding creative ways to renew our Catholic faith through greater participation in the great moral debates of the coming months.]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.136 2008-01-22T05:47:30Z 2008-01-22T06:03:34Z

Initially, Zahn's account of Jaegerstatter's resistance to the Nazis sparked outcry in 1960's America, and a German Cardinal tried to suppress its publication arguing it would merely serve "the enemies of the Church." Eventually it led to Jaegerstatter being placed on the path to sainthood by the Vatican last October.

Catholic Democrats Staff From The Times January 17, 2008 Gordon Zahn Co-founder of the US branch of the international Catholic peace organization Pax Christi A Roman Catholic sociology professor, writer and peace activist Gordon Zahn co-founded the US branch of the international Catholic peace organization Pax Christi. One of his enduring legacies was to have publicised the story of Franz Jaegerstatter, an Austrian peasant executed in 1943 for refusing to fight for Hitler. Initially, Zahn's account of Jaegerstatter's resistance sparked outcry in 1960's America and a German Cardinal tried to suppress its publication arguing it would merely serve "the enemies of the Church." Eventually it led to Jaegerstatter being beatified, or placed on the path to sainthood by the Vatican last October. A father of three, Franz Jaegerstatter had been advised by his local bishop in Linz that family obligations made it excusable for him to join the Nazis. Saying "I cannot serve both Hitler and Jesus" Jagerstatter refused to do so, encouraged by a dream he had had in 1938 in which he saw large crowds rushing to board a beautiful train and heard a voice saying "this train is going to hell." A vision of suffering followed. Later, Jaegerstatter wrote that the dream was an allegory for the Nazi's exaltation of patriotism and war. "His was, at least to me, the real story," explained Zahn. "A priest - given his calling, his education, his training - might be expected to take such a stand; but the witness of a simple peasant.. deserved more intensive study. The crucial lesson to be learned," Zahn wrote “is that, however hopeless the situation, the Christian need not despair. Instead he can and should be prepared to accept and assert moral responsibility for his actions." Zahn's account of Jaegerstatter's life entitled In Solitary Witness played a crucial role during Vatican II, in shaping Catholic doctrine on pacifism. Jaegerstatter was cited by the British Jesuit, Archbishop Thomas Roberts as a model for all Christians, and later Zahn was invited to give a talk on pacifism and Christianity to the English and Welsh bishops finding them more receptive to the concept than their counterparts in the United States, some of whom such as Cardinal Spellman, the Archbishop of New York, were openly pro-military. Vatican II's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World recognised for the first time, the right to be a conscientious objector. But Zahn considered it an even greater triumph when, following decades of resistance, the US Catholic hierarchy acknowledged the right of Catholics to be pacifists as well as their right to fight in a Just War. This breakthrough occurred in the bishops' 1983 pastoral letter: War and Peace: the Challenge of God's Promise and Our Response. While drafting it, the Catholic hierarchy had interviewed Caspar Weinberger, then US Defense Secretary as well as generals and pacifists. Zahn was a primary consultant on the document, ghost-writing a section, at the request of his local bishop. Gordon Zahn was born in 1918, the son of a man named Roach but later adopted the surname of his stepfather. By adulthood he was a convinced pacifist, and spent most of the war doing civilian public service, working with the mentally ill in a Baltimore hospital. His report on the neglect and mistreatment of patients there was published in The Baltimore Sun and provided the basis for long-term reforms to the treatment in the US of the mentally ill. Openly declaring he was a conscientious objector on his college application forms, Zahn ran into trouble after his first year at St John's, a Benedictine College in Minnesota. He had been given a tuition grant and access to a job to fund his living expenses, but many on the staff were ex-war chaplains who objected to a grant being given to a pacifist. The college prior wrote to Zahn suggesting he drop out for a year or so "until tempers had cooled." Zahn offered to pay his own tuition fees and, evicted from college residence, spent a night or so sleeping in his car while the Sociology faculty debated his future. Eventually he graduated from St Thomas' College, Minnesota and in 1953 obtained his PHD from the Catholic University of America in Washington. Later he taught Sociology at Loyola University, Chicago, a Jesuit institution. Attempts to publish his book German's Catholics and Hitler's War: a Study in Social Control at Loyola failed and it was eventually published by a branch of the British Catholic publishing firm Sheed&Ward, but some Catholics decried the book as being "intentionally defamatory" asking why Zahn was permitted to continue teaching at a Catholic university. In 1968, he transferred to the University of Massachussetts-Boston. Four years later Zahn and Eileen Egan founded Pax Christi USA, the American branch of an organisation originally established in postwar Europe to help reconcile French and German Catholics. From 1982 - 90 Zahn was director of the Pax Christi centre on Peace and Conscience in Washington. A dapper man, he inspired unusual reverence in his fellow Americans (they were said to bow in his presence). Gordon Zahn was born on August 7, 1918. He died of Alzheimer's Disease on December 9, 2007 aged 89 ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2008:/MA//16.134 2008-01-22T02:45:47Z 2008-01-22T02:52:59Z

"As we reflect on our history, we see that it has never really been easy to be Catholics, to be a disciple. Our religion is not to be an escape. An exercise in comforting the comfortable. It's rather about discipleship. Taking up the cross each day with the confidence that love lightens the burden. That his yoke is sweet and his burden light."

Catholic Democrats Staff December 2, 2007 - Homily delivered by Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley during the Mass celebrated to mark the opening of the Archdiocese's bicentennial year 'Let us put a candle in the window' [Following is the homily delivered by Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley during the Mass celebrated to mark the opening of the archdiocese's bicentennial year. The Mass was celebrated Dec. 2, 2007, the first Sunday of Advent, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.] Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to all of you and to my brother bishops. We are very pleased to have also with us Bishop Robert Muhiirwa, a bishop in Uganda who is visiting. We are happy to welcome so many of our brother priests and deacons, fellow religious, brothers and sisters in the Lord and those who are home watching us, thanks to Catholic Television. Today, we inaugurate our bicentennial celebration in the archdiocese - "Journey Together in Christ" is the theme and apt description of the Church's life. I want to express my thanks to Father Bob Connors and the Bicentennial Committee for all its hard work that is coming to fruition beginning with this opening Mass and the parish Advent missions this week. Welcome all to this Cathedral of the Holy Cross. As a young priest, one Saturday in December in the early '70s, I was in the sacristy at St. Matthew's Cathedral waiting for a wedding. My weddings were always notoriously late. Suddenly, the young bride appeared in the doorway, looking lovely in her white gown and her veil. But I could see that she had been crying. I asked, "What's the matter?" She said, "Father, there's not going to be any wedding. My fiancee is in Buffalo, N.Y., and there's six feet of snow there. Father, please inform the people in church that there will be no wedding." So I went to the pulpit and I announced that there was not going to be a wedding. There was an audible gasp from the congregation. But then I told them that they were to go to the restaurant for the reception. That the band and the food were waiting. They all trotted off and had a grand time. Later that day, I was reflecting on the strange turn of events. And because it was Advent, I thought, "Christmas has become like that wedding." We have the lights and the music and the food and the parties and the gifts and the Bridegroom is in Buffalo. Advent needs to be about bringing the bridegroom back to the party at Christmastime. By making this time of spiritual preparation a time of more intense prayer, a time for confession, a time for works of mercy, reconciliation in our families and communities. A time to listen to the Bridegrooms' call to be vigilant and awake. Yes, Jesus is the Bridegroom, he is never the widower. He does not exist separate from the bride, his Church. He loves us so much that he became a part of our human family and he laid down his life for our salvation. And yes, he calls us to journey together with him. For our local Church, an important part of the journey began 200 years ago, when we were established as a diocese, as the local Church of Boston. Advent is a time when, in the Church, we look back and we look forward. We look back to the first Christmas. It's like opening the family album to look at the baby pictures and rejoice that our Redeemer has come into the world. But Advent is also about looking into the future to the second coming of the Lord - about living with a sense of expectancy and urgency. As we begin our bicentennial, we too, look back with a sense of profound gratitude and look forward with the hope that Pope Benedict describes for us in his new encyclical, "Spe salvi." Sometimes we rhapsodize about the past, glamorize history and remember only what is pleasant. As a Catholic community in New England, we should know that our beginnings as a local Church were fraught with hardship and hostility and with enormous sacrifices. In the good ol' days, here in Boston, there were laws that were very anti-Catholic. Priests were not allowed into this colony. If a priest were to be found, he was to be banished. If he returned, he would be executed. And each year, as people sang, "Remember, remember, the 5th of November," the pope was burned in effigy on the Boston Common. I am sure that those early residents of the Bay State would be horrified if they had known that Pope John Paul II would one day come to the Boston Common and celebrate the Eucharist there for about 400,000 people. Yes, 200 years ago, it was not easy to be a Catholic in America. The Jesuit order had been dissolved because of political pressures. The former Jesuit, Father John Carroll was appointed the first bishop of Baltimore in 1787 by Pope Pius VI. The pope was a prisoner of Napoleon at the time and died in captivity. The conclave to elect his successor was held at a Benedictine Monastery in Venice, since the cardinals were not safe in Rome. On March 21, 1800, Pius VII was elected pope. Pius VII was the pope who established the dioceses of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Barnestown in 1808. That same year, Napoleon conquered the Papal States and kidnapped the pope, who was prisoner for six years. In those days, the entire Catholic population of the diocese would not have filled this church. There were about 1,000 Catholics and two priests. Most of the Catholics were working-class Irish and their priests were two Frenchmen, Father Matignonand Father Cheverus - who became our first bishop. He was of French nobility, the "noblesse de robe." He was baptized Jean-Louis Anne Madelain Lefebvre de Cheverus. He was tonsured when he was only 12 years old. After his ordination in 1790, he worked with his uncle, who was a priest, for two years. And then, he was placed in a concentration camp because he refused to take the obligatory oath that the revolution imposed on all the clergy and that would have caused him to have to betray the Catholic Church and his priestly vocation. Father Cheverus escaped to England where he learned English, worked as a teacher and ministered to other French refugees there. He came to Boston at the invitation of Father Matignon who had been his seminary professor. Father Cheverus was an extraordinary priest. A holy pastor of souls, who spent much time in Maine working with the Indians, as well as in Newburyport, and in Plymouth. He was beloved by Catholics and Protestants alike. And in God's providence, he was named the first bishop of Boston. Those handful of Catholics of two centuries ago, have grown to over 5 million Catholics in New England today. We can sing with pride Fabers' hymn "Faith of our fathers living still, in spite of dungeon, fire and sword." As we look back, our hearts must be filled with gratitude and admiration for the priests, the religious, the laity that have gone before us, marked with a sign of faith. The parishes, the nursing homes, the schools, the hospitals, the agencies, the social services, the organization. The many who collaborated with the Church's mission and the universal Church as priests in the military service. Over 300 who have served in the St. James Society. Those from Boston, who founded Maryknoll. The countless religious, including our own Sisters of St. Joseph, the Notre Dame sisters who staffed so many countless schools. The five convents of contemplative sisters here, praying for the needs of the Church. Our two seminaries, and the countless faithful Catholic laity, who have made so many sacrifices for their Church. And so courageously and quietly witnessed to their Catholic faith and family life. For the priests and deacons and catechists in our parishes, our unsung heroes. Today, for all of these blessings of 200 years, we say, "Thank you, Lord." The Advent readings remind us that we must press on to the future. With hope, but also with a great sense of the urgency of the Gospel. St. Paul tells us, "It is the hour for us to wake from sleep, for our salvation is nearer now, than when we first came to believe." Jesus tells us to be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. He uses the image of Noah's ark. He says, just as some people were caught up in the routine of their daily lives, so today, we must be aware of allowing ourselves to be so distracted by the demands of each day, as to miss the moment that the Lord offers to us. To literally miss the boat, as those people did in Noah's day. The father's of the Church use the ark of Noah as a metaphor for the Church. Last year, when I spoke to the [Boston] men's conference participants, I said, "the Church is like Noah's Ark, a floating zoo." Some people have jumped ship, others are seasick. Some are rowing in one direction and others in another. What we must never lose sight of, is that Jesus Christ is the captain of the ship. And he is summoning us, "All hands on deck." Every baptized Catholic must know that we have a personal call to holiness, to a vocation to be part of Christ's mission - "All hands on deck." The ark reminds us that we have been reborn in the waters of baptism. Those waters have made us part of Christ's family. But we are truly his brothers and sisters, when we obey the will of the Father. Last week, Mary Ann McLaughlin was addressing the Presbyteral Council about "Arise," the Renew program for the archdiocese's bicentennial celebration. She said, "It's not easy to be a Catholic." As we reflect on our history, we see that it has never really been easy to be Catholics, to be a disciple. Our religion is not to be an escape. An exercise in comforting the comfortable. It's rather about discipleship. Taking up the cross each day with the confidence that love lightens the burden. That his yoke is sweet and his burden light. In the Scriptures, after Jesus' arrest, Peter tried to follow Jesus at a safe distance, while Mary was standing next to Jesus' cross with his blood splattered on her face and dress. And, as on the day of the annunciation, Mary was still saying "yes" in the face of the cross. We, too, must say "yes" in the face of the cross. We cannot follow Jesus at a safe distance. Discipleship means following the Lord up close. We cannot follow Jesus alone. We do so in the context of community, of the body of Christ, of his family. In the Holy Fathers' new encyclical, "Spe salvi," Benedict XVI underscores the social reality of salvation and points out how the Church Fathers see sin as the destruction of the unity of the human race. As fragmentation and division. The Tower of Babel, the place where the languages were confused, the place of separation, is seen to be an expression of what sin fundamentally is. As redemption appears, as the reestablishment of unity in which we come together once more in a union that begins to take shape in the world community of believers. The Holy Father rejects the narrowly individualistic interpretation of Jesus' message. The Christian project is not a selfish search for salvation. It's not "Jesus and me and the warm fuzzies." It's about serving others, about spreading the Gospel. We might feel more comfortable in our own lifeboat, but Jesus wants us on Noah's Ark and it is, "All hands on deck." It's time to recommit ourselves to the mission that is entrusted to us, to witnessing to Christ's Gospel, to passing on the faith, to building on a civilization of love. If some of our brother's and sisters in faith have grown disillusioned and stepped away, then I invite them to come home. Noah's Ark may have sprung a leak, but it is not sinking, and Christ is the captain. Like the Apostles, we may fear that the Lord is asleep in the stern, but he assures us of his loving presence, especially during the stormy night. To our brothers and sisters in the life rafts, I say, "We love you, we want you to return to the practice of the faith, to the faith of our ancestors, the faith of the saints, the faith of the Apostles." Is it going to be easy? No. Will the Globe say nice things about us? No. No, it will not be easy, but it will be good. The first 200 years of the Church here in Boston have not been easy, but they have been good. They have been good because, despite our sufferings, despite our sins, despite our failings, despite our humiliations, the grace and love of God has always been with us. The faith and the prayers of countless people, living their baptismal commitment to Christ and to his body, the Church, has never been absent. Many hidden, anonymous, but there, like the elderly, the Simeon's and the Anna's of today, braving the cold and the darkness of the winter to be at daily Mass. The sick and the homebound, who pray the rosary with BCTV and offer their pain and loneliness as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins and as a vote of sacrifice for our young Catholics, their grandchildren. How many St. Monica's pray for the return of a family member who has drifted away or stormed off to a self-imposed spiritual exile. Yes, it is not going to be easy. But it will be good. We are journeying together with Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. When I was a child, my dad used to go and buy the Christmas tree, just a few days before Christmas. By then, they're all pretty much picked over and he would bring home a rather scrawny tree with big gaps in the foliage. Then, he would drill holes and stick branches into those holes so there would be someplace to hang the ornaments. But it was still a pretty paltry Christmas tree. But as children, we were much more interested in what was beneath the tree - the electric train and the presents. Then I went to the seminary. It was a German seminary. St. Fidelus of Sigmaringen. It took me six months to learn how to pronounce it. At Christmastime, they felled a forest. There was a tree in every room. And in the chapel, one entire wall was covered with pine trees. The smell was exhilarating. For the Germans, the "Tannenbaum," the Christmas tree, is certainly a strong Christmas symbol. For the Italians, it's the crèche, the "presepio." After all, the patron saint of Italy is St. Francis of Assisi, who invented the practice. For the Irish, the most powerful Christmas symbol has been the candle, placed in the window. It was lit by the youngest member of the family and could be extinguished only by someone named Mary. I don't have to tell you that there's no shortage of Irish girls named Mary. The candle in the window in an Irish home had two meanings. It was a sign of welcome to the Holy Family, of Mary and Joseph looking for a place in the Inn. It was also an invitation during the times of persecution, to a priest to come and celebrate a clandestine Christmas Mass for the family. It was worth risking everything to be able to have the Eucharist. Today, as we begin our bicentennial celebration, I am here to say that in Boston, the candle is in the window. We want to invite and make welcome our brothers and sisters, especially the alienated. Especially the poor and the newcomers. We are always an immigrant Church. In the past, they came from Europe, from the Old World. Today, they are coming from the Caribbean, from Brazil, from Asia, from Africa, from Central America and even some from Rhode Island. Yes, the candle is in the window. As our ancestors who refused to take the soup, and who risked their lives and fortunes to go to Mass, we profess and believe that God's love for us is so great he has made a gift of himself to us in the Eucharist. Yes, the candle is in the window, because Christmas is Christ's Mass. The Eucharist gathers us, as Christ's family, to be united in the teachings of the Apostles, in fellowship and in prayer, and in the breaking of the bread, sharing what we have so that no one will be hungry. Not materially hungry, not spiritually hungry. The urgency of the Gospel today bids us, "Gather faithfully each week, as a worshiping community." The stakes are high; it is a matter of life and death. The branches need the vine. We need to be nourished by Christ's words and by his sacrament. And we need to be nourished by the presence of the brothers and sisters of the household of the faith, the body of Christ, the Church. My brothers and sisters, as we journey together in Christ, let us put a candle in the window. A candle that says, "Welcome, welcome, welcome." A candle that says, "The Eucharist is to die for." --Cardinal Sean O'Malley tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2006:/MA//16.90 2006-02-22T15:00:00Z 2007-04-17T04:43:37Z

Boston's Archbishop Sean Patrick O'Malley was one of two Americans named a cardinal of the Church today by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, just two years after assuming the helm for the nationally influential Boston Archdiocese. The other bishop elevated was William Levada, the former archbishop of San Francisco and now director of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. Cardinal O'Malley issued a statement, posted on the Archdiocesan website...

Catholic Democrats Staff Boston's Archbishop Sean Patrick O'Malley was one of two Americans named a cardinal of the Church today by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, just two years after assuming the helm for the nationally influential Boston Archdiocese. The other bishop elevated was William Levada, the former archbishop of San Francisco and now director of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. Cardinal O'Malley issued a statement, posted on the Archdiocesan website: "I am deeply humbled and honored to be named a Cardinal by the Holy Father, for even greater service in the Church. While there are certain additional responsibilities that come with the privilege of serving as a Cardinal, I wish to reaffirm a commitment I made during my Installation Homily to the priests, deacons, religious and laity, who together form this great Archdiocese of Boston. That is, I am your Shepherd, your brother, and I am here to serve all the people of the Archdiocese. Since being named Archbishop of Boston over two years ago, I have relied on the daily prayers and support of the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Archdiocese. Together, we have faced many challenges and I look forward to continuing our work together towards strengthening our Church. I continue to pray that all people of the Archdiocese will renew their commitment to our shared mission of faith and rebuilding the Church. In the immediacy of receiving this honor from the Holy Father, in a spirit of charity, I ask for the prayerful support of the people of Boston as I assume this important role in the life of the Church." tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2005:/MA//16.92 2005-12-10T15:00:00Z 2007-04-17T04:52:29Z

Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino was the keynote speaker for a much-publicized fund raising dinner on Friday December 9 for the local Catholic Charities, Massachusetts' largest private social services agency. He had been targeted by a few vocal conservatives for his views on abortion and the respect that he had afforded to gay people. They had succeeded in persuading Archbishop Sean O'Malley to withdraw his attendance from the event. Perhaps because of all the publicity, the dinner was sold out for the first time, almost a week in advance, and raised more money for the less well-off than ever before.

Catholic Democrats Staff See Boston Globe article for more details ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2005:/MA//16.93 2005-12-03T15:00:00Z 2007-04-17T04:53:38Z

Not content to have embarrassed their archbishop into a pointless confrontation with their mayor, two Boston area Republican surrogates have upped the ante by demanding the resignation of the director of Catholic Charities and the revocation of an invitation to Mayor Thomas Menino to speak at a fund raising dinner next week for Boston's poor.

Catholic Democrats Staff Not content to have embarrassed their archbishop into a pointless confrontation with their mayor, two Boston area Republican surrogates have upped the ante by demanding the resignation of the director of Catholic Charities and the revocation of an invitation to Mayor Thomas Menino to speak at a fund raising dinner next week for Boston's poor. In a letter to Archbishop Sean O'Malley, the two activists falsely accuse Mayor Menino of being "pro-abortion," although neither the mayor's words nor his actions have ever demonstrably led to a single abortion in Massachusetts. Joseph Doyle, leader of a group sponsored by the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, and Carol McKinley, co-founder of an organization opposing the lay group Voice of the Faithful, patronizingly wrote, "We request that you avoid further scandal and confusion to the faithful by insisting Catholic Charities disinvite Mayor Menino and find a suitable candidate to honor in his place on December 9." They obtained the co-signatures of some 100 Catholic friends to a document that reads, "Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." Ms. McKinley's website, which lavishly praises President Bush, makes no mention of his defiance of the Catholic Bishops' renunciation of the death penalty and the war in Iraq. As governor of Texas, Mr. Bush oversaw the killing of more people (152) than any other governor in US history, and his actions in Iraq have led to the deaths of more than 100,000 people since his invasion of 2003. None of the involved parties have offered any criticism of the honor bestowed on Mr. Bush last spring when he was the featured speaker at the "National Catholic Prayer Breakfast" in Washington DC, which was attended by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and five other bishops. Not satisfied with having cornered Archbishop O'Malley into withdrawing his attendance from the event, Ms. McKinley further insulted the Archbishop in remarks she made that were publicly quoted this week, "The diocese is still not in compliance with the directive (of the national bishops' conference to exclude pro-feminist speakers from Catholic events) and it's a classic example of how pro-abort politicians use their 'honors' to trample mothers and fathers attempting to hold the Bishop accountable to the promises he makes." In other words, unless a Catholic public figure's stance on abortion matchs the empty Republican rhetoric on the issue, these individuals feel perfectly comfortable dictating to Church authorities who should and who should not be included in Catholic events. Curiously, the national Republican figure who started the ball rolling on this issue is Dr. Deal Hudson, a former Baptist minister turned Catholic philosophy professor who was fired from his faculty position at a Catholic university for sexually assaulting one of his students. One must wonder if these radicals really think that Boston's mayor and the director of Boston's Catholic Charities, an internationally known Catholic priest and scholar, are sinners of such notoriety that members of the Church should shun them. The whole effort has the flavor of one party's efforts to label the other party as the party of sinners, rather than any effort to observe the Gospel. Even were it true that the Mayor is a formidable sinner, it's worth recalling that Jesus sought out dinner companions who bore that label. "The healthy do not need a doctor; sick people do. I have not come to invite the self-righteous to a change of heart, but sinners (Lk 5:32)." It's clear in this story who the self-righteous are, how far they are willing to go in humiliating our Archdiocese and defunding our Catholic Charities, and how hypocritical their efforts are in light of the orchestration from national Republican activists who have never held themselves to similar standards. tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2005:/MA//16.94 2005-11-25T15:00:00Z 2007-04-17T04:55:52Z

Many Massachusetts Catholics are fuming about a campaign by a small klatch of Republican sympathizers who succeeded in compelling Archbishop Sean O'Malley into withdrawing his attendance from an annual fundraising event for the local Catholic Charities. Groups calling themselves "Faithful Voice" and the "Catholic Action League of Massachusetts" had challenged Archbishop O'Malley to boycott the December 9 event as a rebuke to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who is the invited keynote speaker.

Catholic Democrats Staff Many Massachusetts Catholics are fuming about a campaign by a small klatch of Republican sympathizers who succeeded in compelling Archbishop Sean O'Malley into withdrawing his attendance from an annual fundraising event for the local Catholic Charities. Groups calling themselves "Faithful Voice" and the "Catholic Action League of Massachusetts" had challenged Archbishop O'Malley to boycott the December 9 event as a rebuke to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who is the invited keynote speaker. An article last Sunday in the Boston Globe outlined a campaign by Carol McKinley and Faithful Voice, described as "an antiabortion group," to not only castigate Mayor Menino and Archbishop O'Malley, but also to defund Catholic Charities of Massachusetts. Ms. McKinley is quoted as advocating "boycotts of the charity well beyond the benefit dinner, hoping to reduce donations by at least $100,000 in the next six months." To our knowledge, Ms. McKinley's group has no track record as an anti-abortion group. They were founded in 2002 as an effort to sabotage "Voice of the Faithful," a group advocating greater involvement of the laity in Church governance, and have been largely inactive for the past two years. Their website is a hodgepodge of mostly anti-homosexual diatribes with an emphasis on writings from people like Barbara Kralis, an extreme partisan who has written extensively in praise of President Bush and who, in a column linked on the website, labeled the Democrats as "the official abortion and sodomite party." The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts is a 10-year-old group focused on opposing gay marriage, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts. It ostensibly functions "to combat anti-Catholic bigotry and to protect the religious freedom rights of the Catholic community in Massachusetts," according to its website. Attacking Catholic politicians should be antithetical to their function as advocates for Catholics in public life. Joseph Doyle is the Executive Director of the Catholic Action League, a one-man political osterizer that has provoked some amusement among its detractors by virtue of its ironic acronym ("CALM"). Mr. Doyle's previous position was as Operations Director for the Catholic League in New York, a Heritage Foundation-affiliated attack dog organization that patently violated its 501(c)3 status by broadcasting 14 press releases last year condemning John Kerry in the Presidential race. Going after Mayor Menino in the same way, despite all his good works, is apparently another page out of the same Republican Catholic Outreach national playbook. Nowhere on the websites of Faithful Voice or the Catholic Action League is there so much as a word of support for the Bishops' strong stances in opposition to the death penalty or the war in Iraq. So these groups are highly selective observers of Catholic morality. The fact that they envision a longer campaign to sabotage Catholic Charities' financial viability indicates to us that they are perfectly willing to burn down the house in order to redecorate it. Mayor Menino has never advocated the performance of more abortions in Massachusetts, and he has never advocated legal measures to compel any religious congregation to perform gay marriages. He has worked tirelessly for the wellbeing of the poor in Boston, a cooperative effort with Catholic Charities that constitutes the most extensive and effective effort on behalf of those who are less fortunate among us. This advocacy for the poor would seem to be at the heart of the Christian message, and we will continue to combat efforts by Republicans to narrow the Catholic agenda to grappling with gay marriage and embracing the empty Republican slogans regarding abortion. tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2005:/MA//16.95 2005-11-25T15:00:00Z 2007-04-17T04:56:29Z

Representatives decisively rejected Governor Mitt Romney's bill (H3834) that proposed to reinstate the death penalty in Massachusetts for selected forms of murder.

Catholic Democrats Staff Representatives decisively rejected Governor Mitt Romney's bill (H3834) that proposed to reinstate the death penalty in Massachusetts for selected forms of murder. The vote was 53-100. Mr. Romney had argued that using DNA-based technologies to validate guilt made the measure a moral response to crime. Massachusetts has not had a death penalty statute for more than 30 years, and violent crime has continued to fall nonetheless. This fact had led many observers to conclude that Mr. Romney was more interested in appealing to conservative voters elsewhere during the 2008 presidential race, rather than actually believing such a measure might have any positive effect on crime in his own state. The overwhelmingly Catholic House widened its margin of opposition substantially from the last time such a measure came up (73-80) under former Governor Paul Cellucci in 1999.