pope benedict xvi

During his Wednesday General Audience this morning, Pope Benedict XVI announced that then-Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, among others including then-Archbishop Wuerl of Washington, D.C., was going to be elevated to the rank of Cardinal in the Catholic Church in November!

Read more about the elevation of Cardinal-designate Burke and the 2010 Consistory of Cardinals... also, follow events from the 2010 Consistory of Cardinals live on the St. Louis Review website.

Congratulations to this amazing prelate in the Catholic Church, who is truly humble and loving in all that he does (regardless of how the press sees things ;-).

...this is a question posed by KMOX Radio's Mark Reardon, who hosted an hour of some of the most confusing arguments for the Pope's resignation I've ever heard.

His basic principle was this: Accepting the facts of the New York Times' recent article bashing the Pope, should the Pope resign, as would any other head of an organization accused with being an accessory to a crime?

Unfortunately for Mark, most Catholics do not (and likely will not ever) accept the Times as a credible source of information when it comes to Catholic-bashing. There have been numerous posts on the problems in the NYT piece (some are linked to at the bottom of this post), but Mark would not for a moment entertain these problems, or any other arguments against the basis of his question.

Rather, he blamed a couple people for being insensitive to the victims of these crimes. Mark: nobody is arguing that the crimes should be shuffled under the rug or covered up. Rather, people are arguing that, in the specific instance of the NYT piece (and in most media reporting of the issue, by and large), there are serious flaws and inaccuracies that cause most rational people to discount the entire article!

Anyways, here's some good reading on the issue:

• To Whom Shall We Go? (article by Archbishop Timothy Dolan)
• Clocking the Times (article quoted by Whispers in the Loggia, dealing specifically with the U.S. case mentioned in the Times' article)
• Pastoral Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to those in Ireland (straight from the Pope!)
• "A Well-Oiled Campaign Against the Pope" (mentions some important info from different sources)

From the Saint Louis Review this morning: Pope Benedict XVI Bestows Papal Honor on St. Louisan

Pope Benedict XVI, has bestowed upon Dr. David Mueckl, PhD, DBA, the Papal Honor of Knight Commander with Star of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great.

The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great was established on September 1, 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI. It is one of the five pontifical orders of knighthood in the Catholic Church. As part of the reform of the Papal Orders instituted by Saint Pius X, in 1905 the grades of the Order were modified by the addition of a Star for a higher category of Knights Commander as well as assigning to the Papal Knights a particular place in Papal processions and in ceremonies of the Church.

The order is bestowed on Catholic men and women (and in rare cases, non-Catholic men) in recognition of their service to the Church, unusual labors, support of the Holy See, and the good example set in their communities and country.

Having worked with Dr. Mueckl, I can attest to the fact that he is a worthy recipient of this honor, and I am proud to be a member of this Archdiocese, which supports and upholds many people who, in my estimation, are also great servants of the Church!