Now That's a Down to Earth Bishop (Elect)

When Bishop-Elect Paul D. Etienne was asked what it was like to recieve the phone call informing him that Pope Benedict XVI had named him bishop of Cheyenne he said:

Well, it was bizarre. I don’t know what else to say. Archbishop Sambi called the office at the parish and it was my day off. We had to play phone tag. I was up at the [family] farm with a chain saw, working in the woods. And, when he called, I was just getting out of my pickup truck.

I was in my Carhart jeans and in my work boots, and had nothing to take notes with. I was just sitting there in my truck listening to him tell me that I’ve just been named [a] bishop. And he had to say ‘Cheyenne’ four times before I could understand what he was saying.

I still just can hardly believe it. It’s a very unusual experience. What can I say?

Read the whole interview and get the rest of the story, like how hard it was to keep it a secret, by clicking here.

A Nun's Story?

A recent op-ed piece in the New York Times by Maureen Dowd criticized, rather rudely I might add, the visitation of American Convents. What she wrote has led many to ask why we need this visitation. I mean really, what could nuns be up to that would make the Holy See want to look into what is happening at American Convents?

Well, one example might be something I recently found in a parish filing cabinet (I won't say which parish) in the file entitled RCIA (God save us!). I found three volumes of a series entitled "Woman's Song" published by (again, God save us!) the National Religious Vocation Confrence. It has all manner of strange sprituality and feminist propaganda filling its pages, including this little ditty:

Praise our Goddess in Her Universe

Praise Her in the Womb of Her Birthing

Praise Her for nurturing deeds

Praise Her with harmony and melody

Praise Her with dance and song

Praise her with strings and pipe

Praise Her with Sounding cymbals

Praise Her with dancing children

let everthing that has breath

Praise our Goddess in Her Universe

-Lucy Edelbeck, O.P.

That, dear friends, is why the good sisters need to be visited.