The New York Times reports here: ROME — Responding to global outrage, especially in Pope Benedict XVI’s native Germany, the Vatican for the first time on Wednesday called on a recently rehabilitated bishop to take back his statements denying the Holocaust.
I think it’s fair to say that you can learn a lot about saints and the canonization process by reading My Cousin the Saint. But this blog post is good, too. By the way, St. Gaetano Catanoso is the patron saint of parish priests.
Video by Michael Frierson, UNC-Greensboro. Shot on location in Reggio Calabria.
The New York Times today reports: VATICAN CITY — The Vatican issued the most authoritative and sweeping document on bioethical issues in 20 years on Friday, taking into account recent developments in biomedical technology and reinforcing the church’s opposition to in vitro fertilization, human cloning, genetic testing on embryos before implantation and embryonic stem cell research.
The Vatican reports that nine Catholic heroes are closer to sainthood as the result of recent declarations by Pope Benedict XVI. The story is here. This is interesting insofar as Benedict was seen by many upon becoming pope in 2005 as dramatically slowing down the number of saints and blesseds named. This does not appear to be the case; at the very least, he seems to be looking favorably among those in the long pipeline filled by his predecessor (and prodigious saint maker) Pope John Paul II.
Now the big question is: when will JPII make the list? A miracle has been credited to him, which would clear the way for beatification, but it has not yet been approved. What’s the status?
Photo by Len Catanoso Jr. during the canonization of Padre Gaetano Catanoso
HAVANA (Reuters) Nov. 29 – Cuban President Raul Castro attended a ceremony for the country’s first religious beatification on Saturday in another sign of warming relations between the Communist-ruled island and the Catholic Church…After Fidel Castro came to power in an armed revolution in 1959, Cuba expelled priests and Catholics faced decades of official atheism. Ties improved after Cuba guaranteed religious freedom in 1992 and Pope John Paul II visited six years later.
In the midst of recommending holiday gifts that are themed entirely around saints, Ask Sister Mary Martha, a popular Catholic blog written out of California, has some very nice things to say about My Cousin the Saint, which she also recommends (here) this holiday season.
She writes: “Justin Catanoso found the Catholic Church, his giant Italian family and his cousin the saint. He wrote a wonderful interesting, funny, poignant, informative story. Miracles do happen. It’s a book you’ll want to read yourself and pass on. I really couldn’t put the book down. It’s a real page turner.”
Kate Wicker, who writes a popular blog on themes of faith and family, offers a thoughtful and thorough review of My Cousin the Saint today. The review is here.
An excerpt: “Catanoso describes himself as a ‘mostly lapsed, mostly doubtful Catholic’ and considers his spiritual life as little more than an afterthought. He remembers the ‘forced march to Mass every Sunday.’ He questions some of the Church’s teachings and in fact does indulge in a bit of rationalization by citing Garry Willis’s Why I Am a Catholic, a book that criticizes some of the core beliefs of Catholicism. At first, I admit I ‘tsked, tsked’ at the few passages that seemed to trivialize some of the Church’s teachings. But then I stopped myself and realized I had no grounds to scorn this seeker. Really, who am I to judge? Haven’t I, like Catanoso, been Catholic in name only during parts of my life?”
If you’ve ever wondered about the connection, your explanation is here, offered by none other than a leading expert on saints, Father James Martin, SJ. The answer to that question is brief, but Father Martin, in this simple and engaging video, shares plenty more of his expertise on this favorite topic of his.
The process of making this video came in two parts. First, Micheael Frierson, a film maker at UNC-Greensboro, filmed me doing a stand up in front of the cathedral in Reggio. I had to just about shout over the noise of the traffic rushing by on the street. There’s a short transition related to the canonization and then, presto, there I am in Rome! This segment was shot on the last night of our stay in Italy last March. It was filmed around midnight and St. Peter’s Square was all but deserted. Laurelyn and Martha, Michael’s wife, were holding a light reflector and boom mic. We were all gibby from a late, wine-soaked dinner and tired from a long train ride that day from Reggio to Rome. We must’ve done 50 takes, laughing through most of them. Somehow, Michael found a take that worked well enough to use.
