On the feast day of St John Paul II last Saturday, one contributor wrote at All Along the Watchtower of “the greatest leader of my lifetime” who “stood out on the world stage” even in an era of major statesmen.
St John Paul “refused to believe the common wisdom that communism was here to stay,” the contributor wrote. Having “lived under its soulless rule”, he knew it would collapse: “man did not live by bread alone, and the fact that communism had difficulty even providing that made its eventual fate inevitable in his eyes.”
And as his health deteriorated, “St John Paul emphasised that human life is sacred at all its stages, and that illness did not mean any loss of personhood.”
How France should cope with its Muslims
Historian Fr C John McCloskey discussed Pierre Manent’s book Beyond Radical Secularism at the National Catholic Register. “Manent’s main thesis is that radical secularism does not have the capacity to counter the challenge presented in our era by Islam,” Fr McCloskey wrote. “Instead, France must recognise and accept its Christian heritage and culture, as well as its small-but-significant Jewish presence, as foundational to its national identity.”
According to Fr McCloskey, Manent argues that “Muslim immigrants seeking to make a home in Europe must make their peace with having moved beyond the borders of sharia (Islamic law) and to a certain extent be willing to shift mindsets.”
He continued: “However, the established French customs, mores and traditions that make up the structure of a healthy culture have already been rejected by the radical secularist. That’s why Manent insists that France must rediscover her national form, which at some point will require secession from the European Union.”
Tricks of building a beautiful new church
It’s possible to build a new Catholic church without breaking the bank, wrote Fr Dwight Longenecker at Patheos.com. “Our little parish in the poor part of town has just built a beautiful church, and we did it (complete with a pipe organ and a set of fantastic stained glass windows) for under $6 million,” he said,
offering some guidelines.
First, he said, use modern building techniques. “A steel-framed structure with brick veneer is the cheapest way to build. But it doesn’t need to look cheap. We created the illusion of depth in the walls by extra framing on the inside and extra layers of sheet rock.”
He suggested using church salvage companies, but emphasised: “Be in touch with these folks first and plan your church around the fine used items you are going to use.
“Don’t just build a cheap building and then fill it with pretty Catholic stuff. It will look dumb.”
✣Meanwhile…
Geo-confess, a new app which tells penitent sinners where they can find a priest to hear Confessions, will be available in France from mid-November. “It is so difficult to access real hourly Confession,” said Tanguy Lévesque, creator of an app already being called “the Uber of Confession”. “There should be a way to get in touch with a priest by geolocation.” Geo-confess was crowd-funded, and is supported by KTO Catholic Television.
✣ London’s “swankiest hotel”, Claridge’s, right, last week supplied meals for a group of homeless people being given a bed for the night at Farm Street Church in Mayfair. The meal, personally delivered by Claridge’s executive chef Martyn Nail, included freshly baked bread, chicken breast in mushroom sauce, and fruit crumble with custard and cakes.
✣ The parish of St Pius X, in Connecticut, is paying tribute to the Pope it is named after – through the medium of musical theatre. A 35-minute show, X – A Pius Musical, was performed as part of the parish’s 60th anniversary celebration. The musical focuses on Pope Pius’s down-to-earth personality. Of peasant stock, he was more comfortable with ordinary workers than with curial diplomats in the Vatican Court. “I liked that he kept in touch with the common people,” said songwriter Fr Erik Lenhart.
✣The week in quotations
A defeat for freedom of expression Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell on the Ashers Bakery verdict Statement by Peter Tatchell Foundation
Perhaps it is better to be momentarily defeated and wait for a better time Papal liturgist Mgr Guido Marini on liturgical debates Jubilee of choirs conference at the Vatican
The Virgin Mary closed their eyes from seeing us An Iraqi student on how she and others escaped when ISIS captured their house Catholic News Agency
Even killing can become a drug Fr Peter Geremia, a missionary in the Philippines, on the nation’s violent crackdown on drugs Agenzia Fides
✣Statistic of the week
120
Priests at a ‘Confess-a-thon’, Bogotá, Colombia Catholic News Service
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