The Archdiocese of Saint Louis is pleased to announce that you can be one of the first to know the name of the next Archbishop of Saint Louis, when he is announced! To do so, all you need to do is use the SMS text message signup form, which is linked to on the front page of www.archstl.org on the right sidebar (just over to the right, under the quick links). Click on the link and enter your first name and mobile phone number, and you'll get a text message as soon as the announcement is made, with the Archbishop's name and more information!
I'll file this one in the "what are they thinking?" compartment.
Today, there's a group of individuals standing outside the dump of a building otherwise known as the former "San Luis Apartments," saying "We Love San Luis," and "Perservation not Parking." It's actually kind of funny, because I read in the Post-Dispatch today that they're going to get together and "give the San Luis 'a group hug'." I almost wanted to stick around long enough to see that happen, so I can take some pictures and post them here for your enjoyment. But I have better things to do with my time ;-)
But that's besides the point. I drove past San Luis a few times on my way to run a few errands, and every time I did, I saw maybe 20-30 people standing in a little bunch around the corner of Maryland and Taylor, shouting things and writing on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. What confuses me is the fact that this little demonstration warranted full-page coverage in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Why the heck did this little group of protesters get a full 30+ inches of coverage, when there are so few of them, and when they're fighting for, in my opinion, a ridiculous cause?
Backstory: The Archdiocese plans on replacing this old, ugly, code-violating and abandoned building with a nice parking area that will be used for (a) the safety and security of Rosati-Kain high school girls (right now they have to park wherever they can find a spot around the Central West End... and it ain't the city's safest area!), and (b) to help alleviate the horrendous parking conditions in the Central West End—if someplace like the Chase or the Cathedral holds a large event, good luck parking anywhere within two or three city blocks from the event!
So, again, I ask: Why does this pithy protest receive a full page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch? Especially when an event that involves at least a few thousand St. Louisans, and over a hundred thousand other Americans, recieves little to no coverage?
You'd think the people at St. Stanislaus (former parish in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis) would finally clear up the whole mess they're in, but so far they seem to be content with watching the situation at their former parish decline into some sort of freak show.
Yesterday the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran a story titled "Priest at St. Stanislaus Kostka creates more turmoil for St. Louis parish." In it, Tim Townsend talks about how Rev. Marek Bozek, the excommunicated former Catholic priest at St. Stan's, has aligned himself with not one, but two schismatic Catholic groups! On top of that, Bozek earlier had lambasted one of the groups of which he is now a member.
If it were up to me, I think I'd choose to stick with an organization that's been around for over 2,000 years, makes decisions only after long, hard deliberation (some call this "being behind the times," but I call it "being smart"), and doesn't reject hundreds of years of tradition on a whim. Ah, but who am I? St. Stanislaus Kostka, ora pro nobis!
[UPDATE: Just found out about the ReGain Network, which is trying to help counsel anyone who may be having trouble and suffering in the wake of yesterday's news (see below) - hat tip to Dawn Eden.]
I don't normally post on current Catholic news on this blog anymore, but this story is so odd, and so out-of-the-ordinary, that I had to write something about it. It seems that Fr. Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaires of Christ, fathered a child, had a mistress, and did many other scandalous things. It's quite a shock to me, because on one side, I've seen many very strongly-worded blog posts by people who, in my mind, are respectable Catholic bloggers, calling for the denunciation of the Legionaires and Regnum Christi (the lay affiliate of the L.C.). On the other side, there are Legionaires who seem to either deny the story, or are very reserved about apologizing for the sins of its founder.
I'm amazed that the Legionaires' press representatives haven't learned from what happened in the Catholic Church in America over the past few years, about maintaining a certain level of trust and transparency with its members and with the public at large, and most importantly realizing a mistake and calling it what it is.
Members of RC and the LC that I know and have met have been very holy men and women, and I have no doubt that they will remain integral members of the Body of Christ. So in that regard, I feel that some of the naysayers who are clamoring for the disbanding of LC/RC are being impolite at best. But on the other hand, how can the Legion maintain the status quo with the "cat out of the bag," so to speak?
It's something that I suggest everyone pray about, as many, many people are affected by the news. I know that God will guide whatever happens to a good end... but getting there can be very painful for some. Let us pray for them!
And an open suggestion to the Legionaires: Be open, be honest. Apologize for the sins of your founder. Do not remain quiet, but proclaim loudly the fact that you are working to build up the Church, and that your mission is not in any way dependent on your founder, who has been revealed to have been a duplicitous man. His sins are between Him and God, but they affect you. Do not deny that fact!
