for the American Bishops to whom this applies:
We haven’t heard a “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.”
I’m 30, grew up at the poster-Parish for the “Zero Tolerance for Latin” craziness right after Vatican II, and I know what that means.
It doesn’t mean “Mistakes were made.”

Over on Sirman on the mount there’s a response to my previous post.
Here’s a little tidbit back.
First – I’ll summarize my logic. I’m into Truth. Truth is good. The Truth is a gift from God, and acting in truth here on earth is our calling. There’s no question that many priests and bishops have either participating actively in or turned a blind eye to evil. Criminal and civil courts will no doubt address those matters in great detail. There’s not a single person who isn’t outraged, shocked and shaken by the fact that priests and bishops have been a party to and encouraged evil acts.
My problem with the interview on WMAL was that both the journalist and the man interviewed stepped outside of discussing the truth and made an indictment against the entire Church. I’m not using “hostile media” or “person with an axe to grind” as a “caveat.” Fact is, statements were made that were both sloppy and inaccurate and I think it’s appropriate to not only point that out, but express some consternation *and* express concern about the motives.
I’m Catholic and believe all that the Church teaches. That’s my bias. But this isn’t about bias – it’s about truth, and it’s wrong to vilify the entire Church and American Bishops in this context.
Now – here’s a small point, but it needs to be said: I stand by my comment around the use of the term “sexual terror” as demagoguery. Show me where that phase has been used in the English language prior to the widespread terrorist attacks of the latter part of the 20th century to present and I will concede the point. Otherwise – in the context of the interview with it’s inaccuracies, vitriol and sloppiness, that phrase is merely a rhetorical flourish that punches up the inaccuracies and vitriol.

As a result I am here for the weekend. I’ll have to do some reading and see what to blog about. I think we should all ask Alexandra why she hasn’t been blogging lately over at Oremus!

When I was singing at the diaconate ordinations last week, I had a bird’s eye view of about 30 priests during Mass. I was amazed at how many didn’t crack open a hymnal, program or even move their mouths during the acclamations. Singing during Mass has something common with tithing – give anyone an excuse not to and they won’t. So Father – grab a hymnal, turn off the wireless mic and let it rip! And the cranky folks in the congregation won’t be able to say, “Well, Father doesn’t sing, so why should I?”
I have many more thoughts on congregational singing but will save them for later.

John will have to take up the slack while I’m gone. Pray that I have a safe weekend, pilgrims!