Staten Island news

A few items on Staten Island Catholicism:

• The disloyal Jesuits at Mt. Manresa are advertising their weekly Zen Buddhist "interfaith" meditation session, taught by their RESIDENT SENSEI, Kenneth Byalin. They are also touting their recent Breakfast with Santa and a talk by famed anti-war activist "Fr." Daniel Berrigan, who seems to have given an entire speech without even mentioning God, an amazing feat for a priest. Does this really sound like a faithful, Catholic organization? How do they stay afloat financially?? Surely it's only a matter of time before they end up selling off some or most or all of their beautiful property to developers, such as is happening now with St. Charles seminary...
  
  
• ...I should say "St. Charles Mission Center", which is considering selling (they describe it as "leasing") a huge chunk of their land to developers. Two years ago they were talking about converting the mansion into assisted living units. Since the Center for Migration Studies moved to Manhattan, I really don't know what goes on up there. Every once in a while, they'll host an expensive talk by a Catholic speaker, but surely that doesn't pay the bills. A few decades ago this was a thriving seminary. Now it's deserted. Just more of the fruits of Vatican II. How long before the entire property must be sold? Is there anything in history comparable to the intentional self-betrayal and suicide of Catholicism since the 1960s? The nearest comparison I can think of is the decline of mainstream American Protestantism in the 20th century, but even that sad example doesn't sink to the level of the Catholic Church's monumental implosion.
  
  
• The Archdiocese announced that 4 old and beloved Catholic schools on Staten Island will be closed. St. Sylvester, St. Roch, St. Margaret Mary and St. Mary will not reopen in the Fall. I'm sure the economy had something to do with the low enrollment, but I think the Church has been the architect of its own problems over the past few decades: horrible catechesis, zero pastoral care, apathy, heresy, stupidity, and cowardice have resulted in loss of faith, decline in parishioners, declining vocations, declining birthrate (the Pill has decimated the traditional large Catholic family, with zero opposition from the pulpit) and so we're left with the unbelievable situation of St. Margaret Mary school, located in a huge Italian Catholic neighborhood,with a student body of only 74 (that's an average of 9 kids a class).
  
  Still, I think the parents are being unfair, when they accuse the Archdiocese of greed. If the school is so financially unviable, how on earth do they expect it to remain open? Why do they think they deserve subsidies? Their children will still get a Catholic education, but at a different, nearby school. However, judging from the empty pews at Sunday Mass at St. Margaret Mary, and the hysterically ignorant comments from the people in the video at the silive article, maybe it's a good thing that the school is closing, since their students obviously haven't been learning their Faith, basic elocution, or logical reasoning all these years.
  

SI clergy to city: "Please Masters, allow us to exist!"

So, our Catholic leaders on Staten Island finally got around to responding to the removal of the Nativity scene from the ferry terminal. And what did they do? Monsignors Finn and Dorney, along with Reverend O'Hara from St. Theresa's, wrote a letter to the Advance. They whined that our feelings were hurt, and offered as a remedy- in all seriousness- to allow ALL the religious symbols of the season to be displayed in the Ferry. So, our Catholic leaders believe that it would be an acceptable solution for the likeness of our Lord, humanity's Savior, to be displayed along with the Channukah menorah, the Moslem crescent for Ramadan, and whatever other symbols any other religion chooses to put up. I'm sure the Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, Jains, pagans, Festivus followers, et al, have major or minor holidays in December, so if these priests' suggestion is followed, the Ferry terminal would look like a pantheon of gods. That would be equally as unacceptable as our Lord being banished. There should have been protests, there should have been street theater. There should have been live nativity scenes, with Catholic volunteers dressing up as the primary characters. There should have been ACTION, not just a pathetic letter to the editor from our tired, fatuous leaders.

The Suicide of the Catholic Church- in microcosm

I attended the "Little Italy" church again this Sunday, since I wanted to go to their Christmas fair and possibly find some good deals on Christmas gifts. The 11AM Mass had about 70 people, all arranged in the "traditional Catholic seating pattern" I've described so many times. The large size of the church made it seem more sparsely attended than it actually was. The organist was a white-haired lady with a reedy voice who sat up in the choir loft. There was no choir. There was hardly any music, as that word is traditionally understood. Because of the horrible sound system in this church, I could not understand a single word she sang, or distinguish between the notes she played. It was a slurry of horrible, muffled noise that droned through the church, hymn after hymn. I didn't notice many people singing.

The celebrant was not the wunderkind pastor, who recently received this ridiculously fawning profile in the local rag, but a Filipino priest who is the curate. His English was better than that of most foreign priests, but he still neglected to speak as loudly as he needed to be heard through that awful sound system. His sermon was not inane, but merely banal. He spoke about how he had met a man who had suffered loss, but still remained hopeful and joyful. The priest said that we should look forward with great anticipation to the coming of Christ in this Christmas season, etc. Nothing stupid or offensive; merely forgettable. I'm surprised I remembered that much.

No, the highlight of this Mass was when the pastor arrived post-Communion to make a few announcements. Without even taking off his winter coat, he told us that he was eliminating the 11:00 Mass. With only 700 people coming to 5 weekend Masses, he felt that 5 Masses weren't justified. It is a humiliating fact that only 700 people- in such a large Italian Catholic area as Rosebank- come to Mass, but that's a completely separate issue. I agreed with the decision, if not his reasoning. I really don't see the need for a parish to have multiple Masses on Sunday, unless the number of people attending Mass exceeds the capacity of the church. It seemed to me like the proliferation of Sunday Masses began with some Vatican II mania for catering to "the people" and their ever-changing whims. Our schedules are not so tight on Sunday mornings that we need 4 different Masses to choose from. Unless a congregation is overflowing the church, we should have one Mass, where the entire parish can worship together, build community, and where the choir and priest can focus all their energies on 1 "performance", so to speak. However, my guess is that the pastor's decision was purely an accounting measure, with a bit of self-interest thrown in: less customers equal reduced services, which means less expense and more free time for him.

That impression was reinforced by his next announcement, that he was reducing the time for Saturday Confession, because of low attendance. It would now run from 4:00 to 4:30, instead of until the current 4:45 because, he explained, only a mere THREE PEOPLE usually come to avail themselves of the Sacrament. The tone with which he made this announcement betrayed no more emotion than if he were reciting the Bingo numbers.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. THIS was the spiritual leader of a community of souls?? If only 3 people are going to Confession on Saturdays, it is self evident that the people of that parish are sunk in unbelievable spiritual complacency and abysmal ignorance of their own Faith. And if their pastor's only response to such a disgraceful fact is to cut the Confession time by 15 minutes, then he is a man who is completely lacking in the even the most basic necessary mental or spiritual qualities of a priest, and should be relieved of his post for gross incompetence and deriliction of duty. I know that this pastor is relatively new, but I believe he has been there for over a year, and this is a reflection of his spiritual leadership. Such a revelation should be a fire bell in the night for any responsible pastor. I would think that a priest who was actually concerned about the souls of his flock would see the glaring need for a lot of sermonizing on the subject of sin, repentance and salvation, and a sustained and powerful effort to catechize, to evangelize and to win souls. But this pastor apparently is more concerned with his high flying diocesan career, his precious time and aesthetic fripperies, like purchasing $10,000 statues. But what else would one expect but bureacratic, placeholding sinecurism from someone whose clerical role models are the Dhimmi pastors Finn and Dorney?

After this joke of a Mass, I went to the school Christmas fair, where scowling parents tried to sell me $5 coffee mugs and hordes of ill-behaved tweens and teens chased each other around the gym.

Who will stand up for Jesus?

The Advance reports that the city has removed a manger scene from the Ferry terminal after receiving some complaints. A menorah and a "holiday tree" will remain, as they are not religious symbols, according to the officials. This sort of anti-Christian assault is nothing new in this country. But my question is what will our Catholic "leaders" on Staten Island do about it? What action will they take? What kind of example will they show? Will it be one of courage and constructive proactivity? Or will they scandalize us with their cowardice and craven submission to the secular order? In light of the whole Midland Beach mosque controversy earlier this years, one can safely guess what the answer will be.



In a postscript, this article tells us the answer to the question posed in my headline. The black Protestant ministers of Staten Island will stand up for Jesus in this latest battle of the culture wars, while our Catholic priests and bishops cringe in terror and do absolutely nothing...as usual.

Sympathy for the Devil

Disgraceful goings-on in this Archdiocese, under the leadership of our so-called "conservative" archbishop: Cardinal Hayes High School hosted a big event honoring Regis Philbin and Helen Gurley Brown for their donations to the school. Archbishop Dolan himself said a Mass that day and announced that Ms. Brown was donating a million dollars to the school for "scholarships and special programs". Perhaps realizing the scandal here, Catholic New York downplayed Brown's presence at the ceremony and her donation, as if it were an afterthought or an incidental occurrence that took everyone by surprise, as if she showed up on her own and decided to make her donation on a whim. But it is hardly plausible that a million dollar gift from one of America's most notorious public figures wasn't a centerpiece of this event and didn't happen without the full foreknowledge of everyone involved. And whoever wrote or edited the article knew that this was a disgrace.

Helen Gurley Brown is evil incarnate. She is one of the Sexual Revolution's original insurgents. She has perhaps done more than anyone else to corrupt American womanhood over the past 50 years, with her incessant propaganda for sexual hedonism. Her gift is blood money of the most corrupting sort, as she has always used her very influential voice to make abortion acceptable to American women. And what does our putative spiritual shepherd do when this vile whore proffers a treasure made off of broken lives, ruined souls and dead babies? He extends his flabby hand, takes her donation and says thank you. What a moral lesson it would have been for that high school and this archdiocese if the archbishop told her to keep her filthy money and repent! His action teaches those young men that money trumps all, even honor. A Gina Aceto wrote a letter to Catholic New York to express her outrage.

I thought that Brown was the only objectionable issue at that ceremony, but now I see that Regis Philbin is a divorced man. I wonder if he took Communion from the Archbishop's hands?

On a similar note, Catholic New York had a small item about how Mel Karmazin, the CEO of Sirius XM satellite radio, was given an award at the Telecare Award of Excellence luncheon, which is sponsored by Telecare TV, some sort of Catholic production company, headed by a Monsignor Jim Vlaun. Cardinal Egan attended the luncheon as well, since he had collaborated with Karmazin to start the Catholic Channel on Sirius radio, where it is one of 130 channels that subscribers can listen to. In Karmazin's long and sordid career, he has pumped so much moral filth into the American mind, that it's a sure bet he's a greater evil than even Helen Gurley Brown. Yet, the Catholic Church honors this mass poisoner of souls because he gave us 1 channel out of 130 on a radio station that is quickly going downhill. Again, why don't our priests and bishops seem to have a moral compass or any common sense?

Crypto-Catholics

This ad for St. Adalbert's school appeared in a Staten Island magazine for parents. In an interesting move, the word "Catholic" appears nowhere in the ad. Why?

In addition, if you look closely at the photograph, you'll see a group of students with an elderly veteran who is making a peace sign. Typical of modern America and fatuous modern Catholicism, this picture represents our repulsion for anything that suggests dignity: all must be degraded in the service of equality. So someone-maybe the smart-a** students or the hip photographer- saw this elderly veteran in his VFW uniform, and decided it would be hilarious to have him act the fool and impair his dignity. It's an affront to this modern age, with its mixed-up standards, to tolerate any notion that implies that one person or one value is better than another. Therefore, dignity, holiness, morality, reason, beauty, must be mocked, undermined and destroyed in pursuit of lunatic egalitarianism and relativism. "Who does he think he is, with his grey hair and his medals? Does he think he's better than us??"

PLanned Parenthood on Staten Island

In a recent church bulletin was an insert from the Respect Life Committee of the Staten Island Vicariate, warning us that Planned Parenthood has opened up a mobile clinic on Central Avenue and Slosson Terrace on Mondays from 10-4. They expect to be open three days a week next year, in the office space of Community Health Action on Hyatt Street. The Respect Life Committee, which is made up of Dolores Celentano, Joann Fitzgerald, Deacon James Stahlnecker and its chairman Rev. Peter Byrne, announces that they are holding prayer vigils at the clinic each Monday and want other people to join them.