Pope to U.S.A.?

Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore says it's likely that Pope Benedict will be visiting American soil in 2007 -- he's put in an invitation to the pope to come to Baltimore.

"The Holy Father will most likely be able to come next year," the cardinal said after returning from Rome in mid-January.

The cardinal had originally invited the pope to visit in the fall of this year for the rededication of the Basilica of the Assumption, the first metropolitan cathedral in the United States, but the pope's schedule was filled up, said Sean Caine, archdiocesan communications director.

Read it all here

Catholic Schools Week

Next week, diocesan and private Catholic schools all around the country will be celebrating Catholic Schools Week 2006.

In advance of this event each January, The Criterion publishes a special supplement -- and at 16 pages it doubles the size of our newspaper. Except for extraordinary circumstances, this issue of the paper is always the biggest of year.

As an exception, we have put the entire contents of our Catholic Schools Week Supplement online right away. This includes more than a dozen stories, along with pictures, graphics and other useful information.

Enjoy!

Encyclical released

Pope Benedict's first encyclical letter, Deus Caritas Est, has been released. You can get it from the Vatican's website:

Deus Caritas Est

Especially for anyone who has read it, please feel free to comment on it.

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Catholic News Service has a story posted about the encyclical if you're interested in some analysis:

In first encyclical, pope calls for deeper understanding of love

March for Life stories

Here are several Catholic News Service stories about the March for Life in Washington D.C. and also a similar event in San Francisco:

- Life movement gets younger, larger by the year, say protesters

- Thousands fill national shrine for vigil Mass marking Roe anniversary

- Pro-life walk in San Francisco draws 15,000 participants

- Catholic News Service photos of both events

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And from CNS' own site:

- Rally speakers praise pro-life efforts, call for increased action

March for Life pictures

Our special correspondent for The Criterion just returned a few hours ago from the archdiocesan pilgrimage to the March for Life in Washington, D.C.

She will be writing a news story for us that will appear in this week's print edition of the newspaper, but you can check out some of her pictures right now.

The pictures can be found here, and show youth and adults from our archdiocese participating in the vigil Mass the night before the March and in the March itself, which took place on Monday, January 22.

The event marked the 33rd annivesary of the legalization of abortion in this country by the U.S. Supreme Court in it's decision in Roe v. Wade.

An archbishop with a podcast?

Well...sort of.

Each week, Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein pens a new column that is published (in English and Spanish) in our print edition. "Seeking the Face of the Lord" is consistently one of the most read portions of both our print and online editions.

One of the features that we added to our online edition was the ability to actually download and listen to the archbishop reading each of his columns. He makes the recording for our local Catholic radio station, 97.1 FM, and after they are aired on the weekends I publish them on our site (usually on Mondays).

Click here to go check out the homepage for the archbishop's columns, and check back regularly to see what is added.

This past week, Archbishop Buechlein gave thanks for those who volunteer in the Church, and led into his comments by mentioning a very odd piece of Catholic paraphernalia that someone recently gifted him with.

Listen to it here:

MP3 file (approx. 2 MB)

Real Player file (approx. 1 MB)

More on the encyclical

Over the next two days, the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" is hosting a congress with the theme "...but the greatest of these is love." This morning, Pope Benedict XVI address the congress with some thoughts about his encyclical to be published this week. He refers to The Divine Comedy:

The God Who appears in Dante's central circle of light "has a human face and, we may add, a human heart. Dante's vision shows the continuity between the Christian faith in God and research based on reason; ... at the same time, however, there appears a novelty that goes beyond all human research: ... the novelty of a love that impelled God to assume a human face, to take on flesh and blood. ... The 'eros' of God is not just a primordial cosmic force, it is the love that created human beings and stretches reaches out towards them."

"The word 'love,' is so overused today," the Pope continued, "that one is almost afraid to pronounce it. Yet, ... it is the expression of a primordial reality, ... and we must retrieve it, ... so that it may illuminate our lives. ... This awareness is what induced me to choose love as the theme of my first Encyclical. I wanted to try and express, for our own times and our own lives, something of that which Dante encapsulated in his vision."

You can read the whole release from the Vatican here.

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Also, you can check out a story that the Catholic News Service released that includes a bit of analysis of the new encyclical, which contends -- among other things -- that Benedict is trying to drive home the simple message that "God is good, God cannot be shut out of personal and social life, and God reaches out to humanity through Jesus Christ," and that, in his own words "Christianity is actually very simple and consequently very rich."

Nearly 27 years ago...

...Pope John Paul II was also getting ready to release his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis. Now Pope Benedict XVI is about to release his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est.

Though it's only a crude image taken with a digital camera, you can now see the front page of special coverage of JPII's first encyclical in The Criterion back in 1979.

Additionally, you can visit a part of our online edition that features about a dozen "pages from the past" in which our newspaper covered a historic event in the life of the Catholic Church.

Criterion Digital Archive

For the first time, a digital archive of all the local Criterion news stories from 2005 is available on CD for $5 each.

Based on coverage provided through this website, the disc includes all the local news stories and coverage from last year as well as an abundance of photos, all of Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein’s columns—in text and audio format—and viewable versions of each print edition of the newspaper in their entirety.

Click here for more information

New local stories

Posted today are several items from our print edition for January 20. You can read about works of charity being done by our first archdiocesan class of permanent deacon candidates, or about the involvement of the Indiana Catholic Conference in legislation for immigrants, or about an upcoming "Mission Day" that aims to help people coping with a traumatic loss.

In addition to those stories, we are pleased to offer our editorial, obituaries, letters to the editor, events calendar and the weekly column of Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein.

Enjoy!

Supreme Court cases

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week there were three U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have an impact on some aspect of the Catholic Church and morality. Here are the headlines (follow the links to the stories):

Court rejects federal effort to prohibit physician-assisted suicide

Court orders review of ruling striking down abortion notification law

High court allows Holocaust survivors to sue Vatican, Franciscans

A daily dose of Vatican radio

A reader has asked that post a link to a site that features daily shows from Vatican Radio 105 FM.

For the tech-savvy reader, you can even set up a podcast to get a half-hour program each day. The full program listing shows that each day the radio station offers news, the Mass, the Angelus, music and a host of other things.

Click here to check it out.

Preview our January 20 issue

Each week The Criterion is printed and delivered to our offices by Wednesday morning. At the same time, it is sent out in the mail to our subscribers -- and usually arrives on Friday or Saturday.

This week's edition is out the door, and contains not only our regular features and stories from Catholic News Service, but also several local stories -- ranging from the charitable work of deacon candidates to the work of the Indiana Catholic Conference.

Click on the picture to the right (or here) to be taken to our full listing of what's in this week's edition.

First encyclical

Here is the latest from the Vatican Information Service on Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical:

VATICAN CITY, JAN 18, 2006 (VIS) - During today's general audience, Benedict XVI announced that his first Encyclical, the title of which is "Deus Caritas est," will made public on January 25. The official presentation of the document will take place in the Holy See Press Office at midday on the same day.

Explaining the contents of the document, the Pope said that "love today often appears as something far removed from Church teaching." Yet "It is a single movement that has various dimensions."

"Charity," the Holy Father went on, "is the love that renounces itself in favor of others. 'Eros' becomes 'agape' if one seeks the good of others, it becomes 'caritas' if it opens to one's own family and to the entire human family."

The Pope affirmed that his Encyclical "seeks to show that the very personal act of love must be expressed within the Church also as an organizational act. If it is true that the Church is an expression of God, it must be true that love becomes an ecclesial act."

"I feel it is a sign of Providence that the Encyclical will be published on January 25, the final day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, when I will go to the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, to pray together with our Protestant and Orthodox brethren."

Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by expressing the hope that the forthcoming document may "illuminate our Christian life."

You'll note that Benedict mentions a "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity;" if you'd like to know the theme for each day of prayer -- beginning today -- then follow this link. Also, check out the pope's comments on ecumenism from his weekly audience.

New Jersey passes death penalty moratium

New Jersey has become the third state in the U.S. to begin a moratium on the death penalty after recently passing a bill. This story is from the Catholic News Service:

The bill suspends executions until Jan. 15, 2007, while a task force studies how the death penalty has been applied in the state. New Jersey would become the third state to enact such a moratorium.

Under executive orders, Illinois and Maryland previously suspended executions while similar studies were conducted. With a different governor in office, Maryland has since lifted the moratorium and resumed executions. The Illinois moratorium has remained in place since 2000.

Read the whole story here.

In truth, peace

Those are the words that Pope Benedict XVI chose as the them for World Day of Peace at the start of this year.

On the website of the Vatican, you can read his message, which spells out his thoughts on both the nature of peace and our path to attaining it.

Before reading it, I'd never really had it click in my mind that peace meant anything more than the absence of war, but Benedict explains it as a much more vast concept. He quotes Pope John Paul II: " 'the fruit of an order which has been planted in human society by its divine Founder', an order 'which must be brought about by humanity in its thirst for ever more perfect justice.' "

Peace is a universal desire, Benedict writes, that is universally damaged and pulled away from us through lies and the distortion of reality -- and as such he ties the importance of truth to the achievement of peace. For, he writes, "wherever and whenever men and women are enlightened by the splendour of truth, they naturally set out on the path of peace."

And it is in Christ, the Prince of Peace, that we find Truth incarnate. "The power of his grace makes it possible to live ''in'' and ''by'' truth, since he alone is completely true and faithful. Jesus is the truth which gives us peace."

Anyone interested in more of the pope's reflections on peace should also definitely check out his address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, which occured on a week ago.

Papal address to the Curia

Pope Benedict XVI addressed the Roman Curia at the Vatican on December 22 -- it's an address that covers not only the topics of World Youth Day and the Synod of Bishops from this past fall, but also looked at the Second Vatican Council and the first 40 years of its implementation.

The talk itself is rich and splendidly written; I'd recommend anyone interested in how the mind of this pope works go check it out. It shows the mind of a theologian who is thoughtfully reflecting on the challenges of the Council and the years that followed it. Also, anyone who followed the events of World Youth Day, or of the Synod that closed the Year of the Eucharist, would benefit from giving this address a read.

Also, George Weigel -- who spoke here in our diocese this fall -- writes in his column about this papal address and what it shows about how we are to understand the reforms of Vatican II. You can read his column here, courtesy of the Archdiocese of Denver.

Archbishop Sheen update

The latest from the The Catholic Post of the Diocese of Peoria on the Cause of Canonization of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

The official site for the Cause can be found here.

A reaction to the Korean cloning scandal

The USCCB issues its official reaction to the South Korean cloning scandal that has been in the headlines lately.

Perhaps most interesting is this phrase: "The Korean hoax is the most obvious symptom of a field where ethical concerns were dismissed in the pursuit of alleged miracle cures."

It also references a Washington Post article that claims that "the highly touted field of embryonic stem cell research is years behind where scientists thought it was."

Go check out the whole statement -- which is only a few paragraphs long -- by clicking here.

Great Catholic photographer

Without a doubt, one of the best Catholic photographers around is Karen Callaway, who works for The Northwest Indiana Catholic for the Diocese of Gary -- but she has shared her talent with surrounding dioceses and most frequently with Catholic News Service.

I know that more than once she has helped me and the staff of The Criterion learn how to take better photographs. Many of the photos I took this summer in Europe for World Youth Day only turned out well because of the advice she'd given me.

Anyway, you can check out a couple of photo stories that she's done here and here.

If you visit their site periodically you'll see why the newspaper's awards page is covered with honors for Karen. In the future, I'll try to post more of her outstanding photos whenever possible.

Religious Vocations Supplement

Just posted over at The Criterion Online Edition is our annual Religious Vocations Supplement.

It's one of our biggest special sections of the year, and this time around it features several stories and a photo essay that cover a lot of ground from all different types of religious vocations. Only a few of the stories are linked to at this point -- to get the rest you'll have to either get our print edition or wait a few weeks for the online archives to be updated with the rest.

Beatification for Indiana girls' home foundress?

The front page of the Northwest Indiana Catholic, the newspaper of the Diocese of Gary, has a teaser for a story about a religious sister whose Cause for Canonization is progressing:

"EAST CHICAGO — The staff at St. Joseph’s Carmelite Home for Girls has certainly witnessed growth in recent years.
The facility expanded its services several years ago with the Holy Innocents Center for emergency care. Last year the home dedicated the Mother Maria Tauscher Center for infants and toddlers.
Now, the staff is looking at a possible halo for the home’s founder.
On Dec. 19 Pope Benedict XVI signed decrees recognizing miracles attributed to the intercession of nine individuals. Among those now ready for beatification is Sister Anna Maria Tauscher.
The German-born founder of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus also founded St. Joseph’s Carmelite Home for Girls — one of a number of facilities still in operation that she founded on a trip to America."

The story appears in the January 15 issue of the newspaper, and access to the story is limited to the print edition. There is a picture of the sister currently up on the website.

Pope Benedict XVI resources

What better place to start on this blog than by posting the homepage of our pope, Benedict XVI.
It's a great place to read the rich words that have made up the many addresses and homilies of his pontificate thus far.

And in case there are any eager encyclical-watchers waiting for Benedict's forthcoming Deus Caritas Est ("God is Love," the supposed title of the encyclical), the link for encyclicals hasn't been turned on yet. Varying news report put the new document as coming out in the next two weeks.

Meet your bloggers

As this blog launches, there will be five of us posting on the site. Feel free to contact any of us using the information on our Criterion staff page.
We are:

Brandon A. Evans - the online editor of The Criterion, website manager for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the moderator of this blog. He's worked with the newspaper since May 2001.


Sean Gallagher - reporter at The Criterion. Sean has been with the paper for the past few years and focuses on vocations stories, religious education and special features.


Michael Krokos - editor of The Criterion. He started at the beginning of 2006, and prior to that has served as editor at Catholic papers in Minneapolis and on the east coast.


Mary Ann Wyand - senior reporter at The Criterion. She's been with the newspaper for more than 15 years, and written about every topic we cover. Mary Ann has especially focused her stories on the pro-life movement, family life and multicultural ministry.

Greg Otolski - executive director for the Secretariat of Communications. Greg has served for several years as editor of the paper before moving into a new role which includes being the associate publisher of paper.


This amounts to nearly the entire editorial staff of The Criterion -- and more bloggers may be added in the future!

Ground Rules

This blog is intended to be both a source of information and type of public square for people to share their opinions. It is also operated by the communications office of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and as such, there are some ground rules.

Namely, all comments submitted will be sent to the online editor (myself) for review before they are published. I will try to publish comments as quickly as possible on weekdays and several times over the weekend.

Any comments must conform to the same policy as letters to the editor in the print edition our newspaper. That policy is as such: Comments from readers are welcome and should be informed, relevant, well-expressed, concise, temperate in tone, courteous and respectful. The online editor reserves the right to select and edit the comments based on space limitations, pastoral sensitivity and content.

Wherever there is the genuine possibility of debate and discussion that can bear fruit it will certainly be allowed to flourish.

I ask that you include your name with your comments -- or at the very least use a consistent nickname so that readers can identify you if you become a regular poster.
Normally, we will post most heavily from Monday to Thursday each week.

Online edition

Be sure to check with the online edition of our newspaper for the latest updates on national and world stories.