Author: Richard Chonak

L’espresso

St. Mary Major’s is the only of the great Roman basilicas left that celebrates the liturgy according to the classical tradition of Gregorian chant and polyphony.
Fact: Two years ago, when another Roman basilica wanted to accompany its Holy Week liturgies with this form of music, it had to turn to Germany and the excellent singers of the “Singer Pur” choir, invited by Brandmüller.
Another, more striking fact: the metamorphosis imposed on the Cappella Sistina, the choir that accompanies papal liturgies.
The coup de grace came in 1997 with the firing of the Sistina’s director, Maestro Domenico Bartolucci, an extraordinary interpreter of the great Roman tradition of sacred music. Since then, the papal rites – music included – have as their unchallenged director Bishop Piero Marini, the maestro of pontifical liturgical celebrations.

The despair is closing in on me again: where’s my Prozac?

Today on the CWN blog, Fr. Wilson referred us to the Dallas diocesan paper, whose editor, with a shaky finger, accuses the bishop’s critics of “sliding ethics”. It’s an embarrassing rant, and the awkward writing makes you wonder what qualifications said editor has for his post:

Other TV stations are likely to take their cue from Belo’s operations unless they have a rare independently-minded [sic] manager….So much has changed corporately [sic]. The New York Times owns the Boston Globe…We could tell all that we know, but our Christian ethics guides us [sic] to be charitable.

Call me narrowly-minded, but I like my English to be written in English.
Y’know, progressive types are fond of reminding us how well educated the Catholic laity is these days; so why does the diocese of Dallas insult the faithful with such schlock?

Mike Wendland (Detroit Free Press):

Now there is online grieving and virtual visitation for deceased loved ones.
Across metro Detroit and the nation, funeral homes are building tribute Web sites and putting up online guest books to share memories and honor the dead.
It’s a growing trend. And despite some industry concerns over privacy, some homes are using live webcams in the visitation room and streaming video of funeral services…

And an AP article today reports on one firm in this field:

The company captures funerals with a digital camera and broadcasts them live for seven funeral homes in South Dakota.
Its clients include funeral director Daryl Isburg, of Hot Springs, who heard about Chapelview during a conference and decided to give it a try.
Isburg said families often ask for a tape of the service to send to loved ones who couldn’t be there. Relatives and friends who want to watch it online will be given a password.
Not everyone is sold on the idea.
“So will it come to: ‘Hey, Mom’s funeral got 40,000 hits?”‘ asked Tim Wingen, managing partner of Miller Funeral Home in Sioux Falls.

The Pope John Paul II comic book below isn’t the only one with a religious motif. This Saint Michael comic (2002) from the Battle Pope series (by Funk-O-Tron Comics, no less!) looks pretty cool too. Was he modeled after Tommy Franks? Or is there some Colin Powell in that squint?