Look who went to Rome then...

and greeted Paul VI!

Cardinal Dolan of New York greeting Paul VI.

Now he is in Rome to take part in the conclave that will select the successor of Paul VI.

Time flies...

More importantly, pray for our cardinals who'll enter the conclave tomorrow.

Former Papal MC talking to Cardinal Tagle

Marini:  If you get elected, will you bring me back as Papal MC?  I promise you.  There'll be lots of liturgical dance!

Tagle:  If???

BREAKING: Conclave date set!

from the Catholic Herald

***

The Vatican press office has said the conclave to elect the successor of Pope Benedict XVI will begin on Tuesday.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi announced the date in a message to reporters today.

The first session of voting inside the Sistine Chapel will begin in the afternoon, following a morning Mass “Pro eligendo Summo Pontifice” (“For The Election of the Supreme Pontiff”) in St Peter’s Basilica.  [the Mass will be led by the Dean of the College of Cardinals]

The 115 cardinal electors will assemble in the Hall of Blessings in St Peter’s Basilica after lunch and go in solemn procession to the Sistine Chapel where, after the singing of the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, each cardinal will take an oath.  [As stipulated by the Ritus Conclavis]

Msgr Guido Marini, papal master of ceremonies, will give the command extra omnes (everybody out), the doors will be locked, and the conclave will begin. One round of balloting will be held in the evening.

The College of Cardinals decided the conclave date on March 8, the fifth day of its meetings, after waiting for all cardinals eligible and expected to vote to arrive in Rome. The last to arrive was Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

At the morning session, before announcing the scheduled vote, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, told the assembly that with the changes made by Pope Benedict, the cardinals would not have to debate on whether they were authorised to begin the conclave before March 15, Fr Lombardi said.

During the same session, the cardinals chose 87-year-old Cardinal Prosper Grech, a Maltese expert in the early Church fathers, to give the meditation at the beginning of the conclave.

The Vatican spokesman said that 18 cardinals spoke during the morning session. As people around the world observed International Women’s Day, one of the cardinals spoke about the role of women in the church.

Other topics included interreligious dialogue, bioethics, the Church’s role in promoting justice, collegiality in the church and the need for the Church’s evangelisers to proclaim God’s love and mercy.  [No mention about the handling of sex abuse offenders and theological and liturgical dissenters?]

***

Time to intensify our prayers!

Network of victims of clerical sex abuse endorses Cardinal...

TAGLE!!!

***

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has issued a list of three prelates the group regards as “promising” candidates for the papacy: Cardinals Luis Tagle of Manila and Christian Schönborn of Vienna, and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

SNAP, which has mounted an energetic media campaign in Rome during the sede vacante period, has been persistently critical of prelates who, in the opinion of the group’s leaders, have not been sufficiently aggressive in eliminating abusive priests from the Catholic clergy. The group had previously issued a statement condemning a “dirty dozen” cardinals who, SNAP said, should not be regarded as suitable candidates for the papacy: Cardinals Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State; Timothy Dolan of New York; Dominik Duka of Prague; Sean O'Malley of Boston; Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; George Pell of Sydney; Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City; Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa; Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congegation for the Eastern Churches; Angelo Scola of Milan; Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; and Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC.

***

After it was revealed that some accusations are complete fabrications against some priests and bishops, and after it was also revealed that the lawyer of SNAP was just out to get money, it was downhill for me for them.

Makes me wonder...how did they get to their decision to endorse a certain cardinal?  Do they know how one actually handled a sex abuse case?

How will they endorse one cardinal who actually DID NOTHING???

As it looks, I have no idea how they judged a cardinal as promising in handling sex abuse cases, when in fact, and this is privileged information, I know those who handled these cases properly and YET they are not named Cardinals!

Catholic Vote Pressure: The president dines with the bishops

And why would he suddenly do that?

After making a mockery out of the legislative process, he send one of his henchmen, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad to join them in a dinner at the palace with the bishops, and had "agreed set up a structure or mechanism” that will allow a continuous dialogue between both sides and avoid what happened in the past".  Like what???

Or the the dumb president is feeling the crunch of the Catholic Vote?

Let them feel it!

Do not vote pro-RH politicians in May!  Better yet, make the LIBERAL PARTY SUFFER THIS MAY!

Clerical impostors

I like the cartoons!

But the news of this nut job trying to sneak into the General Congregation of Cardinals certainly must made the Swiss Guards think of how to better identify the cardinals other than their crimson fascias and skullcaps.

An ID perhaps?

By the way, impostors are out there in the field,....like this guy!

I blogged about this fake Roman Catholic priest before.

Now he claims he was "appointed" monsignor by his equally bogus archbishop!

And look!  He has his own stemma!  That of a Protonotary Apostolic, the highest grade of a monsignor!

Did you know that there are only two classes of protonotary apostolic monsignors?  The de numero, those who work in Rome and customarily only seven is the highest of the two grades.  You can identify them by their purple mantelleta.  Only the PA de numeros are entitled to wear this and other regalia.  See the photo below.

You can see him wearing the purple mantelleta and his red tufted-biretta.

The other protonotary apostolic monsignor is the supernumerary which is awarded to monsignors outside of Rome.  Take note.  ONLY THE POPE AWARDS THIS TITLE.

So who gave Mark Bunag his monsignori title?

Let's see...from his website...

It came from his "archbishop" who himself is a FAKE!

He even had the gall to post a photoshopped photo of him with the Pope Emeritus!

They are making it to appear that they are legitimate Catholic priests and bishops with these so-called appointments and photos.

The fact is THEY ARE NOT!

The Catholic Church of the East, where Mussalam and Bunag belong, is not an Eastern Rite Catholic recognized by the Holy See.  Check the list here.

A quick look at the web can confirm this.

Furthermore, if he claims to be an archbishop who heads an archdiocese, therefore a metropolitan archbishop, where in the world is this photo of Ramzi Mussalam?

Well, what do you expect?  The guy is a "poser" ever since.  He stalked Joseph Ratzinger.  Look!

Just for the doubters, I searched for his name of Catholic Hierarchy where all bishops' names are listed.  Here is a screencap under the list of bishops whose last name start with an "M"

I cannot find Mussalam there.  Maybe I can find "MANDURUGAS" in another site, no?

You know why you won't find his name there?  Because HE IS NOT WITH THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH and that makes Mark Robinson Bunag also A FAKE ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST.

Mussalam himself admitted it in a newspaper article in the USA!

A founder of the archdiocese, Musallam is also its first priest and first archbishop. He said he is also the first Arabic Palestinian priest to be ordained in the Polish National Catholic Church.

Born in Jerusalem, Palestine, in 1979, Musallam said he came to the United States in 1992. He graduated in 1997 from Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Conn., and in 2001 from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind., where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in theology. He graduated from Savonarola Theological Seminary of The Polish National Catholic Church, Scranton, in April 2004. He was ordained a priest in the Holy Mother of the Rosary Cathedral in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 14, 2004, by Prime Bishop Robert Nemkovich.

The Archdiocese of St. James the Apostle was formed in 2008 by Arabic Catholics who were members of the Polish National Catholic Church but wanted to form their own diocese.

On March 1, 2009, Musallam was named a bishop by the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil. He was also accepted as a bishop by the Assyrian Church of the East. On March 28, 2009, at Christ the Redeemer Church at Houtzdale, Clearfield County, Archbishop David Bell of the Apostolic Church of Brazil named Musallam Archbishop of the Catholic Church of the East, Archdiocese of St. James the Apostle, Western Rite Liturgy.

"While we are under the Assyrian Church of the East, we hold liturgies which resemble the Western Rite, similar to the Roman Catholic Church," Musallam said.

Lotsa self-proclaimed bishops there, no?

If indeed he admitted that he is not Roman Catholic, then why do they have THIS in their website?

The moral of the story?

These guys are SCAMMERS!  They are intent on fooling people.  They don't care about the salvation of your souls!

All they care about is feeding their egos and getting your money!

Stay away from them!

Cardinal Tagle and the mainstream media

The bishop's staff is inspired by the shepherd's staff.
And it actually means a lot.
It is not a mere decorative walking stick.

Add to that most people in social networking sites.

*sigh*

Some guys really don't know and see how Cardinal Tagle works as a Metropolitan Archbishop.

Well, come to think of it...  What is there to see?

...well, other than his public speeches and TV shows?

Ha!

In this time when the Barque of Peter is being tossed heavily by the rough waters and strong winds, we need a captain who will steer the ship, who'll ACTUALLY hold the steering wheel, and not just SAY the orders.

When the ship is sailing on rough waters, the captain is behind the wheel, not sitting on his chair, shouting out orders.

Just saying.

I know the guy.

He loves to talk in conferences, seminars, retreats, teach and write...

PLEASE!!! Give it to him.

Being a metropolitan archbishop is not his forte.  He just took it...out of obedience because quite frankly he is simple and humble.  But not fit for the job.

If an elderly pope can admit it, why can't he?

Expect this kind of questioning to pop up to those who stick to their jobs as if it were their birth right, as if they were indispensable, as if they still think they are doing a good job.

LET THE COMMENTING............Begin!

Still waiting for 5 more cardinals

It is confirmed.

Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, Archbishop Emeritus of Manila is already in the Vatican contrary to some Facebook comments that he had to stay behind in Manila for some "other more important" events to attend to.  I don't think the cardinal will skip a "simple" conclave just to be in a "more important event" like a birthday concert or a launching of a CD or a retreat or a talk in a....

Uh....what?  Oh yeah.  That's the OTHER cardinal.

Anywho...

It is confirmed that the following are the only cardinals who are ne route to Rome for the General Congregation and Conclave:

Egyptian Patriarch Antonios Naguib, and Cardinals Karl Lehmann of Germany, Jean-Baptiste Pham of Vietnam, Kazimierz Nycz of Poland and John Tong Hon of Hong Kong.

Quick look at what goes on in a Conclave

Holy Water....holy!!!

(%@&!!!

Well, a quick research on YouTube showed that the priest Juan Ramon Hernandez, has been doing this Holy Water Gun since 2011!

Along with the superhero chasubles...



And here is the most recent one.


And the bishops are not doing anything against it.

Is this Mexico or the Philippines or Los Angeles or...

Grrr....

What's next?

This for incense?

This for Ash Wednesday?

Sacred actions are accompanied with sacred items.  A water toy gun is not set aside for holy things.

And Superman and Spiderman???

Good grief!


***
By the way, thanks for AJP and our dear friend in the clergy for sending this to me.

Yes, Father.

He has been GULPED!

HA!

The Conclave: A quick overview

Courtesy of the Vatican News website

Click the image for a larger view.

Indulgenced prayer before a crucifix during Lent

Lest we forget because of all the talk about the recent papal resignation and upcoming conclave...

Don't miss praying this during Lent.

Taken from a paper from the Supreme Council of the Order of the Knights of Columbus:

On any Friday during Lent a plenary indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who, after Communion, devoutly recite the above prayer before an image of Jesus Christ crucified. On other days of the year the indulgence is a partial one.

Handbook of Indulgences

One can obtain a plenary indulgences for himself. However, we can offer that plenary indulgence for a soul in purgatory. This is an act of charity and spiritual tithing to do during Lent.  A plenary indulgence is gained every Friday in Lent by saying the following prayer before a Crucifix after receiving Holy Communion. The usual requirements for a plenary indulgence also apply

PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX

Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus,

I cast myself upon my knees in Your sight,

and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech You

that You would impress upon my heart 
lively sentiments of Faith, Hope, and Charity,

with true repentance for my sins, 
and a firm purpose of amendment,

while with deep affection and grief of soul
 I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate

Your five most precious Wounds;

having before my eyes the words which David in prophecy

spoke concerning Yourself,

O good Jesus:

“They have pierced my hands and feet;

they have numbered all my bones.

Conditions to Obtain the Indulgence

Handbook of Indulgences, Norms

An indulgence is the remission in the eyes of God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose culpable element has already been taken away. The Christian faithful who are rightly disposed and observe the definite, prescribed conditions gain this remission through the effective assistance of the Church, which, as the minister of redemption, authoritatively distributes and applies the treasury of the expiatory works of Christ and the Saints.

1. Besides the exclusion of all attachment to sin, even venial sin, the requirements for gaining a Plenary Indulgence are the performance of the indulgenced work and fulfillment of three conditions: Sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions.

2. Several Plenary Indulgences may be gained on the basis of a single Sacramental Confession; only one may be gained, however, on the basis of a single Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions.

3. The three conditions may be carried out several days preceding or following performance of the prescribed work. But it is more fitting that the Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the day the work is performed.

4. If a person is not fully disposed or if the prescribed work and the three mentioned conditions are not fulfilled, the Indulgence will only be partial ...”

5. The condition requiring prayer for the Pope’s intentions is satisfied by reciting once the Our Father and Hail Mary for his intentions (Pater Noster and Ave Maria); nevertheless all the faithful have the option of reciting any other prayer suited to their own piety and devotion.”

***

I posted this a year ago.