The Badger Catholic

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for December 2021

Intention for evangelization - Catechists

at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

Catholic Priests in the United States: Increasingly Conservative and More Pessimistic

Brad Vermurlen at Public Discourse.

"The new Survey of American Catholic Priests was largely modeled after the 2002 [Los Angeles Times] survey. Replicating its questions verbatim allows researchers to assess changes over the intervening years. The survey was first fielded in late 2020 to an email list of priests derived from the Official Catholic Directory, and it was disseminated again in early 2021 to a different email list from a Catholic non-profit organization. Priests from the two email lists reveal findings that are reassuringly similar. The two sampling frames essentially provide a statistical validity check on each other. We therefore combined responding priests from the two email lists into a single dataset, producing a final sample size of 1,036 Catholic priests, including both diocesan and religious."

It does seem that as the years go by I can get an ever closer parking space for Sunday Mass.

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for November 2021

Universal intention - People who suffer from depression

at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

American Catholic History on Orestes Brownson

Podcasts at SQPN, Episode 114 on His Biography and Conversion, and Episode 115 on his American Thinking.

(via Alan Cornett)

In addition Brownson's writings linked at the podcast website, there a few at this page on my website.

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for October 2021

Intention for evangelization - Missionary disciples

at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for September 2021

Universal intention - An environmentally sustainable lifestyle

at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

The Patron Saints for All 50 States

A not-recent Did You Know? feature by Billy Ryan at UCatholic so no peeking or research before posting answers.

Answers along the lines of "Mary", "The Blessed Virgin", "Our Lady", are not specific enough.

Overall, Colorado is probably the hardest. Careful with Idaho.

Issue was taken in comments at uCatholic about some of its answers.

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for August 2021

Intention for evangelization - The Church

at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

Catholic sculptor re-creating Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ aims to shift the emphasis off hell

'According to the sculptor, limiting the poem’s scope to the Inferno has led to a secularization of Dante’s work. [Timothy] Schmalz’s sculpture will be the first to represent all 100 cantos of the famous poem.'

Claire Giangravé reported at Religion News Service.

(via Peter A. Redpath)

Forming Catholic Priests for a Changing World

'Our goal should be to ensure that all the priests ordained from our seminaries will possess the flexibility and affective maturity to live and thrive as holy shepherds and spiritual guides.'

Fr. John Kartje at Public Discourse. Among his observations,

"Unfortunately, contemporary American culture does not generally encourage young adults to become self-reflective and aware of the impact that their emotions have on their decisions and relationships. Our society seeks instant gratification and rejects anything that is perceived as critical or challenging. The effects of this atmosphere present new challenges for today’s seminaries. So, too, does the high degree of broken family structure in our society. Many young men who are beginning to discern a priestly vocation are dealing (or not dealing) with the impact of parental divorce. Others have never had a healthy paternal role model in their life."

Fr. Kartje, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, has since 2015 served as Rector of Mundelein Seminary, where he also teaches sacred scripture.

The Nadir of American Catholicism

Russell Shaw at Catholic Answers Magazine.

"What was the worst year ever for the Catholic Church in the United States? A lot of people would call that a no-brainer. The hands-down worst year, they’d say, was 2002, when disclosures of clergy sex abuse and cover-up rocked the Church from top to bottom.

"Others would no doubt point to other years as real stinkers. For my money, though, the all-time winner as worst year was 1976. Let me tell you why. ..."

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for July 2021

Universal intention - Social friendship

at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

Ignatius Press Bible Offers Something Ever-Ancient, Ever-New

Jeremy J. riest reviewed the Ignatius Note-Taking and Journaling Bible at Adoremus Bulletin.

"The pages of the new Ignatius Bible are thin so as not to make the volume too bulky, but sufficiently thick for writing notes with a ballpoint pen. While the font used for the biblical text is small (7 point, Palatino), the cream-colored paper helps the sharply printed text catch the eye of the reader. The small font provides room for the two inches of lined writing space for taking notes on each page."

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for June 2021

Intention for evangelization - The beauty of marriage

at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

A Complaint Against Liberal Modernity, and a Solution: Faith

Edmund Fawcett reviewed The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos, by Sohrab Ahmari, in The New York Times.

"Iranian-born but raised in the United States and a convert to Catholicism, Ahmari is op-ed editor of the conservative, Murdoch-owned New York Post, which last year endorsed Donald Trump. He also writes a column in the conservative religious journal First Things. Although no foe of Western capitalism, Ahmari is aghast at what he takes for its ethical and spiritual desolation."

The Heart of John Henry Newman: Beating with the Spirit of the Liturgy

Jeremy J. Priest reviewed John Henry Newman on Worship, Reverence, & Ritual, edited by Peter Kwasniewski, at Adoremus Bulletin.

"As Newman’s writings witness, what he passed along to the faithful were the definite things he received from the Lord in prayer and the deep practice of the liturgical life of the Church. Indeed, the continued publication of Newman’s writings attest to this pithy precept: 'necessary is it to have something to say, if we desire anyone to listen' (424). Even huddled in the silence of his study, Newman never lacked 'something to say.'"

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for May 2021

Universal intention - The world of finance

at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

Wisconsin AG to launch statewide investigation of Catholic clergy sex abuse

Wisconsin authorities will launch an investigation into the state's Catholic dioceses and religious orders to determine how many clergy members have sexually assaulted children over the years.

Attorney General Josh Kaul notified the state's five dioceses as well as separate orders of Catholic priests that his office will review sexual abuse allegations against clergy and other faith leaders, according to a letter obtained by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Wisconsin is home to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and dioceses in Madison, Green Bay, La Crosse and Superior.

"I agree with the many survivors of clergy abuse, and those who support and have advocated for them, that a review by our office is necessary to provide accountability and, ultimately, healing," Kaul wrote. "I hope you will welcome that review."

Kaul, a Democrat in his first term, invited representatives for the dioceses and orders to a meeting Monday to discuss next steps and indicated his office would announce the review soon after. The letter also asked that dioceses preserve any relevant documents or information.

continue at JS