Real Catholic Blog

When Pope Benedict endorsed using all modern electronic means to spread the Word of God, he might not have had Father Jay Finelli in mind. As devout a Mac head as he is a priest, there is no gadget or online tool Father Finelli is not using to win new souls for Christ (see The Georgia Bulletin). You can even see him opening his iPad upon its deliver to him.

Podcasts? Check! Video podcasts? Of course! Blog? Got that down, too. He even has a Chantcast! He is on Twitter as well Facebook and YouTube might as well be old school for him. He even has a live stream.

It’s all well and good and with younger priests come newer techniques.  Priests are no different than anyone else. They will bring with them their interests and parts of applicable modernity to their job. In this sense, they are no different than a young CPA using online tools while the grizzled old vet still uses the ledger book. In fact, we love EWTN and a new wave of technology at its founding allowed it to take off — and newer technology allows it to flourish still — and EWTN is about as traditional and true to the Word as there is. It’s safe to say we love the way technology has enabled hundreds of millions to stay in tune with the Faith, and to spread it, or we wouldn’t be here at RealCatholic ourselves.

Still, and again as in life, technology has a role. It can be a road to, but not a substitute for, our personal relationship with God and the manifestation of that on Sunday, which is the receiving of the Holy Eucharist. Delivering and receiving a better understanding of the Word through technology is a useful supplement it, but listening to Father Finelli’s homilies or watching Mass on EWTN cannot take the place of attending Mass. Watching videos of a papal address cannot take the place of saying the Rosary or Eucharistic Adoration.

Technology has its place. But we have ours — in the pews and in prayer, engaged in our parishes and the communities around us.

The iPadre takes Christ’s injunction seriously high tech: To spread the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. 

You might not think that 2009 was much of a year of hope — contrary to Orwellian rhetoric that emanates from our progressive secular rulers in Washington these days. But Brian Burch of CatholicVote.org lists 10 reasons why 2009, despite the government’s move toward rationed health care, taxpayer paid abortions and removal of conscience protections for medical professionals, among many other goals to debase the culture, gives us reason for real — not demogogic — hope. Here they are:

10. It’s Cool to be Pro-Life

Across the popular culture spectrum, the younger generation is, on average, more pro-life than their parents. Whether its reality-TV star Kourtney Kardashian telling People magazine about her decision to keep her child or the multiple opinion polls that show more and more Americans self-identifying as pro-life. Even the show Law & Order included a powerful courtroom scene that compelled a character to question her ‘dogmatic’ support for Roe v. Wade. Hope for the unborn is en vogue.

9. You – the Members of CatholicVote

Over 400,000 members of CatholicVote working to build up the Church and our world made 2009 truly memorable. Back in January the Super Bowl didn’t like the message, but millions of people watched a commercial by CatholicVote.org that reminded America of the dignity of every human life, including an unborn Barack Obama. The inauguration of a strident pro-abortion president was very disappointing, but the proud members of CatholicVote.org responded with the first in a series of ads in our “Life: Imagine the Potential” campaign that also included an ad during the American Idol finale, and a summer ad commemorating the historic achievement of Apollo 11. All of this work and more was made possible by you. Through hard work and prayer, you and I are building a movement. A movement we can be proud of.

8. Death of Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

The death of a man is a sign of hope? Only in the sense that Fr. Richard John Neuhaus once explained: “We are born to die. Not that death is the purpose of our being born, but we are born toward death, and in each of our lives the work of dying is already underway. The work of dying well is, in largest part, the work of living well.” In that sense, Fr. Neuhaus died well, evidenced by the lives he touched, the intellects he captivated, and the winsome pen that delighted and moved thousands of hearts and minds during his rich life. Fr. Neuhaus is no longer with us, but his ideas, and spirited engagement with the world — uniquely as a person of faith — most certainly are.

7. Priests, Religious, and More Priests

From Ireland to New Zealand to many dioceses across the United States, Catholic seminaries are recording record numbers of new seminarians after years of decline. Wherever you look, large numbers of young men and women are bravely choosing to serve Christ and his Church in a world that so urgently needs the witness of courageous, self-sacrificing men and women of God. Perhaps not coincidentally, Pope Benedict XVI designated the second of half of 2009 and first half of 2010 the ‘Year of the Priest.’

6. Maine Delivers for Marriage

During the spring and summer of 2009 a few states in New England, including Maine, legalized so-called same-sex ‘marriage.’ In November, the voters struck back at the ballot box and overruled their Legislature by returning marriage to the traditional definition of one man and one woman. This means that marriage has won 31 out of 31 times when put before the people for a vote! Maine’s triumph effectively put the brakes on efforts to legalize same-sex ‘marriages’ in New York and New Jersey.

5. Religious Leaders Unite to Sign Manhattan Declaration

Invoking the legacy of the late Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, Catholic, Evangelical and Orthodox leaders released a powerful 4,732 word document renewing their commitment to the defense of unborn human life, marriage as a sacred union of one man and one woman, and the rights of conscience and religious liberty no matter the cost. The leaders drew a line in the sand stating their willingness to defy any edict that violates these foundational principles. You too can join over 300,000 people who have already signed the Declaration here.

4. Bart Stupak and the Rise of Pro-life Democrats

The deeply disappointing capitulation by Senator Ben Nelson is still fresh on our minds. But it is worth noting as a sign of hope the strengthening voice of pro-life Democrats in the House. For years these pro-life Democrats would vote for life, but remained relatively quiet and rarely publicly challenged their party’s leadership. But with Democrats in control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, pro-life Democrats couldn’t stay silent any longer. In the end it was the reckless power grab by the abortion lobby to hijack healthcare reform that spurred Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) into action. Stupak helped rally other pro-life Democrats to oppose any healthcare bill that included abortion funding, eventually forcing even Speaker Pelosi herself to buckle. As we write this, the final fate of the pro-abortion healthcare bill remains unknown. But the efforts by Stupak and other Democrats represent a sign of hope for a party that all too often is shamefully beholden to the powerful abortion lobby.

3. Smashing Success of the 40 Days for Life Campaigns

Community organizing at its finest. Volunteers who pray and witness outside abortion clinics across the country have always been the unsung heroes of pro-life activism. But the 40 Days for Life campaigns, begun in 2004, are exploding and have now included hundreds of thousands of participants in nearly 300 cities. Their efforts have shut down multiple clinics, saved countless lives, and have pro-abortion advocates grasping for a way to respond. There is none. Modeling prayer efforts on the biblically-based 40 days of prayer and fasting practiced by Our Lord himself is inspirational and paying dividends. Big time.

2. The Conversion of Abby Johnson

The 40 Days for Life campaigns began in Bryan/College Station, TX. In November, the Executive Director of the local Planned Parenthood in this same city was overwhelmed by the evil of abortion and walked out. After watching an abortion on an ultrasound, and seeing the warmth and joy of pro-life activists holding vigils outside the abortion mill, she walked down the street and joined the 40 Days for Life effort. This episode confirms that the conscience of every person is always burning, and nobody is a lost cause. In military terms, the pro-abortion forces suffered a major defector, as Ms. Johnson also revealed what we already know to be true – abortion is heavily pushed for the money and profits, not because it helps women. This story confirms the power of prayer in our fight for justice, and represents one of the most inspirational pro-life stories of 2009.

1. Bishops With Backbone

Someone check what the Catholic Bishops are eating for breakfast — it’s more than Wheaties. Who could have predicted the vocal stand by almost 70 Catholic bishops, led by His Excellency John D’Arcy of South Bend, Indiana, in opposing the bestowal of honors by Notre Dame on our pro-abortion President. The courage displayed over the scandal at Notre Dame carried over into the fall when the USCCB became one of the biggest opponents of health care “reform” because of provisions that included public financing of abortion. Their outspoken opposition prompted more than a few public leaders to call on the Church to be silenced, stripped of its tax-exempt status, and worse. The year also saw more than a few bishops speaking out more forcefully on the fundamental issue of life and its treatment by Catholic politicians. The laity is cheering as more and more bishops are becoming brave to the bone.

The Bishop of the Diocese of Madison, Wisc., has defended the five priests of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest, a relatively new and small society (officially recognized in 1980), and based in Spain, who administer five of the diocese’s parishes. The priests have added times for confession (an hour before each Mass), increased the number of Latin Masses, and ended female alter “servers” and lay extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.

While the traditionalist approach by the society, whose mission is to increase the interest in vocations among boys, has been criticized by some, Bishop Robert Morlino has defended the priests.

According to the Sauk Prairie Eagle:

Morlino said any time parishes change priests, some upheaval is inevitable. He said the priests follow a different course from many in the diocese, but that diversity is good and everything the priests do falls within the accepted practices of the church.

“They are not in any sense renegades,” he said.

Unfortunately, some in the American Church think diversity always is good except when it is to provide at least a taste of traditionalism. Bishop Morlino has stood up to them. Of course, there are many who applaud the priests, whose founder, the Rev. Alfonso Galvez, now 77, wrote this in a 1994 book on the society’s formation:

If we can manage to get the young people to fall in love with Jesus Christ, then they will not but want to be like him and to share his life and mission.

Kay Ringelstetter, a member of Saint Aloysius Parish, told the Eagle:

“They tell us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear” . . . who calls the changes beautiful. “We see their love for Jesus Christ and the joy in everything they do, and we desire it.”