As we prepare for history to be made, some insight from the Catholic Register in Canada: In all the talk of politics and front-runners and leaks to the Italian newspapers, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that a papal conclave is a liturgy — just like a baptism or a wedding in any Catholic Church. “A conclave is an act of God. If it’s an act of God you worship God,” explained Catholic University of America liturgy... Read more
Courtesy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, blogging from Rome for the USCCB: Jesuit Father Norman Tanner was our briefer today and was quite interesting. Father Tanner, a professor of church history at the Gregorian University, said that media played the most important role in redefining the modern papacy. He gave the example of Pope Pius IX (1846-1878), the first pope to be photographed, as the beginning of a cult of personality around the office of the papacy. Other examples would be... Read more
An alert reader sent this my way: another interesting voice, from Sean Connelly, in the debate over a celibate priesthood: It was recently my distinct displeasure to be roped into a debate about whether, under Canon Law, married deacons in the Latin Rite have an obligation to observe “perfect and perpetual continence.” Those arguing in favour of the obligation were remarkably passionate. One young lady even went so far as to say that she and her husband avoided liturgies officiated (she might... Read more
John Allen today looks at three American cardinals who are getting some papal buzz, and what he says about New York’s Timothy Dolan is especially entertaining: What’s the case for Dolan? First, he’s evangelization on steroids. He’s easily the most charismatic, media savvy and engaging personality among the 115 cardinals who file into the Sistine Chapel. If he weren’t a clergyman, Dolan probably would have been a U.S. Senator, given his people skills and gift for gab. One buzzword among... Read more
From John Allen: Journalists are often derided as a fairly un-churched bunch, but yesterday the 5,000-plus reporters covering the conclave swelled the churches of Rome to catch a glimpse of cardinals saying Mass, hoping to pick up some hint of what to expect when things get underway tomorrow. On that front, probably the most interesting insight came from Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, France. “Last time there was a figure with real weight, three or four times more so than... Read more
From Catholic News Service blog: The first clue to the identity of the new pope will be the announcement of his first name — in Latin, in the accusative case. If he is not the one chosen, French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the top-ranked cardinal-deacon, will say, in Latin, “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope: His most Eminent and Reverend Lordship, Lord …” followed by the Latin version of the chosen cardinal’s first name. If Cardinal... Read more
Here’s something you don’t hear about every day. From the Washington Post: Shortly after arriving in Rome with his boss, dark horse papal contender Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Terrence Donilon received an e-mail. It was from his brother Tom, the national security adviser to President Obama. “How’s it going?” the top White House official asked. The answer is: astonishingly well. In the days leading up to Tuesday’s conclave, O’Malley has built up momentum. The archbishop of Boston, a baritone-voiced Capuchin Franciscan who prefers the... Read more
Details: Sr. Susanne Gallagher, Sr. Mary Therese Harrington and Rev. James H. McCarthy, founders of the Special Religious Education Development Network (SPRED), will receive the 2013 Laetare Medal during the Commencement ceremony May 19. The Medal, established at Notre Dame in 1883, is the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics. It is awarded annually to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity,” according to... Read more
Hot on the heels of this video of nuns getting into the act, along comes the video below of seminarians. A reader wrote: Thought you would like to see this video from Saint John Vianney College Seminary [in Miami, FL]. The Minor Seminarians of the Province of Florida produced this a couple of weeks ago. We did it for our Come and See Weekend. Alrighty. Consider yourselves forewarned. Read more
Ann Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gives some welcome perspective on what is unfolding in Rome this week: As the world awaits a new pope, polls are taken, essays written and hopes expressed for what he might change. Priestly celibacy? Contraception? The working language of the Vatican Press Office? The latter would be most feasible, but probably would likely involve a tough internal political battle for the new pontiff and his aides. There are theological and logistical limits on the... Read more
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