Bishop issues directive on placement of tabernacles

Bishop John M D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has promulgated norms for the placement of tabernacles in churches of the diocese. These norms were promulgated on the feast of Corpus Christi and take effect August 4, 2009, the feast of St. John Vianney.
In essence the norms call for the tabernacle to be "...prominently located in the sanctuary of the church, along the central axis behind the main altar."
Along with the growing re-emergence of Eucharistic Adoration in parishes, this practice may further emphasize the centrality of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist to Catholic life and worship.
Good on you, Bishop D'Arcy.

New deacons in Hong Kong

I was interested to see that the Diocese of Hong Kong ordained three men to the permanent diaconate on July 11 bringing the number of permanent deacons in the diocese to 11 (they have a long way to go to catch up with the over 600 deacons in the Archdiocese of Chicago).
My brother deacons who feel that the current minimum of four years formation for the Archdiocese of Chicago is onerous might be surprised that these men have completed a seven-year program.
Congratulations to the newly ordained.

Just a small step

Forty years ago I was working for Mr. Henry T. Groves on his farm near Louisville, KY. Due to a moment of inattentiveness and an errant footstep while mowing the lawn in front of the farm house, I managed to severely cut my toe. Thanks to the fine work of a couple of physicians, the toe was saved and the lasting effects of the injury ultimately proved to be negligible. But the injury was severe enough to keep me away from work for several weeks.
This comes to mind only because of my recollection that I was able to follow the lunar landing of Apollo XI because I was laid up at home. As I was injured and did not have to get up to be at the farm at 6:00 a.m. the next day, I was able to witness Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon.
A footstep is a simple thing, and a very significant thing as is demonstrated by Armstrong's first step and this video from CatholicVote.org.



with thanks to The Deacon's Bench

Is butter fit for the "King of Pop"?

This certainly has to be one of the great moral questions of the age., and leave it to the good folks of Iowa to forthrightly face it. (story here)
It appears that shortly after Michael Jackson's death, The Iowa State Fair announced that they would honor him with a display of his likeness sculpted in butter. But the announcement raised concerns of many critics in the Hawkeye State who felt that the late entertainer was not worthy of such an honor. Though assured by state fair officials that the proposed sculpture would not be displayed with the same degree of prominence accorded to the traditional butter sculpture of a cow (how's that for a golden calf?), the critics were not satisfied.
Organizers chose to let voters decide. Voters can go to iowastatefair.org to weigh in on the matter. Voting closes at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 2009.

Harry gets Vatican blessing

Some will be surprised to learn that L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, has lauded the newly released film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince giving the movie a 4-star review and praising the film for supporting values of "...friendship, altruism, loyalty, and self-giving."
This is a change from earlier condemnations of the series for promoting witchcraft as positive. story here
I wonder if someone there read ahead and discovered that the final book of the series develops the character of Harry into a very Christ-like figure.

A hopeful sign

The nomination by President Obama of Dr. Regina Benjamin to the post of Surgeon General of the United States provides a bit of hope to Catholics. In 2006, Dr. Benjamin was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross by Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of service to the Church and the pontiff. Retired Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb of Mobile exspressed his pleasure at the nomination and described Dr. Benjamin as a person with a great sense of responsibility and one who is authentic in her Catholicism.
CNS story here.
I remain cynical but am cautiously optimistic with this nomination.

One to go... and do you want fries with that?

Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper has taken heat over a You Tube video showing him receiving a consecrated host from a priest at the funeral mass for Romeo LeBlanc. The video shows him receiving, but not consuming the host. The prime minister's office and the Speaker of the Senate, Noel Kinsella, have issued statements attesting that Mr. Harper did indeed consume the host.
However, that will not stop people from holding his feet to the fire.

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